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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9d
Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net ⋅ 16h
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9d
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9d
Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social ⋅ 2dDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9d
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 9d
Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social ⋅ 22d
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yes, absolutely nothing can possibly go wrong here
Jennifer is like an almost stopped clock that’s close enough to right for about 15 minutes every twelve hours, but you’re never sure which 15 minutes.
this server, meanwhile, [server clock rant]!!!
THIS! You summed it up perfectly.
I mean getting laid might help
Or make everything worse! Depending!
Let’s find out!
It’s amazing how sometimes the answer to “Why is everything pissing me off lately” is just “I haven’t had sex in a while”
No one actually cares about the Monty Hall problem
I have had sex recently and care about the Monty Hall problem, but I do recognize that sometimes people just need to bone.
Perfect Gravatar-comment alignment, there.
I think you would be surprised how angry the Monty Hall problem can make people
Honest question, why would the Monty Hall problem upset people? It’s been solved. If you stay with your first door you have a 1 in 3 chance of winning, if you swap doors, you have a 2 in 3 chance. Mythbusters even did some pretty extensive manual testing and proved that it worked IRL as well as mathematically. What’s to get angry about?
because some people have a deeply innate but wrong sense of how probability OUGHT TO work, dammit deity
–Dave, they don’t realize that math constrains the divine as well
Dave — It’s a miracle how that happens.
There’s a fun one with two coins that is essentially the same as Monty Hall and that can break people’s brains who have internalized ‘coinflips are independent 50-50 chances’.
Suppose I flip two coins and show you one of them, with it being (for example) heads. What are the odds the other coin is tails?
The answer is 2/3.
because you can pick which coin you show
contrast to “you turn one over without looking and it happens to be heads”; _then_ the odds for the other one are indeed 50-50, as they would also be if Monty picked a door without knowing where the goats were
There’s got to be some missing rules to make it 2/3 though, right? Like, if you *preferentially* show heads it’s a 2/3 chance to be tails, but if you just show a coin at random it’s still 50/50.
Prefer heads: could be HH, HT, TH, 2/3 have tails. (TT is excluded, of course)
Show one random coin: could be HH or HT (but not TH or TT) so 1/2 chance it’s tails.
yes, the missing piece is that Monty KNOWS which doors have goats behind them, so he’s not gonna accidentally open a door and show you the new car and ruin the game
The missing rule is hidden in the Monty Hall problem. When they reveal one of the doors after the first choice, they will NEVER get rid of a winning door unless more than 1 door can win. The mathematical probability is founded upon your initial choice, not your second choice.
– Blind Choice 1: You chose right. They remove a bad door. The other door is wrong.
– Blind Choice 2: You chose the wrong door. The other door is right.
– Blind Choice 3: You chose the wrong door. The other door is right.
2/3 of the time, you chose wrong at first, so 2/3 of the time, the other remaining door will be correct.
This feels wrong because, in isolation (as most probability is generally considered), each choice has its standard mathematical value (1/3, followed by 50/50). The Monty Hall problem/solution isn’t presented in isolation, but in a series in which one probability sequentially affects the second.
BONE?!?!?!?!
Thank you Lurker in the Halls for FINALLY explaining that in a way that makes sense.
*Wires
To be clear, this only works if I don’t know which of the two coins you’re showing me. Say you flip a nickel and a quarter. You show me that the nickel has come up heads, there are only two possibilities: the quarter came up heads, or the quarter came up tails. Now if you flip 2 quarters, show me one came up heads and I don’t know which one it is, either both quarters came up heads, quarter 1 came up heads and quarter 2 came up tails, or quarter 2 came up heads and quarter 1 came up tails.
Hindsight when they lose.
“I was right! I should’ve stayed!”
“You were right! I should’ve switched!”
Aldo, it’s a reference to an episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine.
I understood that reference.
Bone.
Dorothy is falling apart, yearning for something self-destructive but comforting… while her most recent Ex is currently reeling from being dumped, because he wanted a more casual relationship than his new girlfriend.
Sounds like a perfect time for Dotty x Walky hookup that everyone will regret tomorrow…
I wonder if jen would try to set walky and dorothy back up together again after she finds out lucy broke up with him
My long shot money is that she tries to set Dorothy up with Daisy. I mean look how well that worked last time.
Let’s hope so. That would be the last straw for Lucy for finally say to Jennifer what terrible person she is and ask for be moved in another room.
Yeah, but is Joyce ready to admit her Sapphic desires as well?
It doesn’t matter! Dorothy just needs to boink someone! anyone! But also, yes please
And, to be fair, Jennifer was going to talk to Walky about other things today. What’s one more task for the quasi-sibling she’s working so hard to not have any human empathy for, who also dated Dorothy and just had his third college romantic interlude crash into the sea-wall of unpleasant realities.
Is Jennifer… threatening to basically cuck Ruth?
I mean, they aren’t dating anymore, I wouldn’t really count that.
Only if she is trying to get Dorothy together with Jason, whose new file-photo under the cast section is way too sexy for me. It doesn’t help I had a remix of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” on in the background – I find it funny.
Huh. I checked and it is surprisingly sexy.
I can’t imagine Jason being her first choice to set someone up with, so probably not?
Yeah but the cast list of available to bang Dorothy options is pretty short. Who we lokking at…Ken? Lyle? Get outta here!
Jacob.
Jacob’s not a let’s smash type and I’m not sure if a slow burn romance solves the problem.
Dorothy isn’t really a “Let’s Smash” person either
Analyzing that leads to a deeper discussion and question we may not have answers too. Like we know Dorothy is sexually active and equally frustrated, but is Jacob. There’s a valid argument he’s a virgin. He’s at least spoken his aversion to purely physical relationships and being objectified. I don’t really ship Jake and Dorothy because I think it would be boring but the sex topic might add a compelling obstacle that creates more interest for me.
That’s true. You wanna go for Booster or Walky when it comes to Smash as they have the Switch.
Isn’t that back with Charlie?
Or am I thinking of another device?
If you combine those two, you’re just a Ren away from Kylo Ren.
Lyle Ken is missing an “O” and an “R” and the “K” is in the wrong spot
just add a passing dork, mix well, and bake steamily for 15 minutes
–Dave, … o hai thar Arnold
[glare]
completely o/t, sorry but
your avatar background is quite pretty
thank you, it’s from a June Brigman panel. https://womenwriteaboutcomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Untitled.png
I honestly can’t remember if Jennifer already knows that Walky and Lucy just broke up.
If she does, though, I’m betting her plan will involve setting up Walky with Dorothy. It could solve so many problems, from her perspective! Make Dorothy stop being sad by giving her some quick sexual satisfaction! Give Walky an easy rebound, so he also stops being sad! Affirm her sibling relationship with Walky once more, so she can stop feeling kinda icky about the fact that she accidentally dated Walky But He’s Taller And Also Smokes for a while! GENIUS!!!
Always love when Jennifer tries to play matchmaker. It never works, but it’s fun in a Coyote trying to catch the Roadrunner sort of way
Yes, yes it is.
She has a 100% After the fact ratio.
If anything her real power isn’t matchmaking, it’s cursing and dooming already paired with her Dumpster aura
You know, gotta say, for someone who basically got broken up with at a big party and then was yelling at her to basically smash her face in just a few weeks ago, Jennifer is surprisingly pleasant to her ex.
The hatesex must have been REALLY good.
This is only because Jennifer wants to tout how amazing she is.
Their last interaction was her assaulting Ruth.
…how? Their last interaction was posted just a few days ago, and Billie was… Mildly rude? A little callous? And before that they were in class together?
No, see, it was BILLIE who got broken up with.
JENNIFER only harbours neutral if aloof feelings towards Ruth.
Dorothy/Jennifer!
I ship it! <3
I’m still holding out hopelessly and desolately for Dorothy-Joyce.
just end the series in one big ‘fuckpile’ 8D;
I think Dorothy-Joyce is endgame. Or perhaps a V poly (not triad!) situation that also includes Joe will be where we finally end up.
But if I had to guess, I would say that Willis probably has a few decades before retirement, so we’re going to take our time getting there.
helllpless-ly ho-ping
her harrr-lequin hovers
nearby
awaaaiting a word
That’s how I read this interaction!
I was about to say that Jennifer wouldn’t do that, since she’s already dating Asher, and then I slapped myself for expecting far, far, too much from Jennifer. Actually, she’ll probably RELISH the chance to brag to Asher about how she totally got poetic revenge for him cheating on her with a guy that one time. Oh dear…
this is a lot more canonizing bi dorothy than i was expecting here we go lads <3
…I’m trying to think about where Jennifer could have gotten that idea about Becky. She’s loud and impulsive, but she’s never really been absent-minded.
If anything, she’s hyper focused at times.
(taken from a Patreon comment) She remind her of Walky attitude and so she is predisposed to assume she is equally careless about stuff because she doesn’t Becky all that well and Jennifer has a tendency of assume things about people and situations.
*doesn’t know Becky all that well
Yeah, she doesn’t really know Becky, and especially doesn’t know that friends are something Becky takes very seriously.
Of course, irony being, Walky also takes friends pretty seriously, Jennifer perhaps most of all, but she’s not really in a headspace to look at that objectively.
The first thing you need to know is that nobody can help anyone except Jennifer.
also, Marley was dead.
True. None of which follows would make the least bit of sense if Marley was not, in fact, dead.
Marley faked his own death so he could set up the greatest Christmas prank of all time.
Marley and Marley are dead, you mean.
The Marleys are dead. Dead as a doornail.
Adhd coded
Wow, for being terrible at reading people, Billie is really good at reading people! That is in fact Dorothy’s exact problem. Well, one of them anyway.
It’s really not.
Dorothy’s need for Walky right now isn’t hormones, it’s an emotional blanket that she can’t get close to because he has (had) a girlfriend.
If it was just horniness she would have rubbed one out by now; she doesn’t have issues with doing that.
It’s Dorothy’s attraction to Joyce that Jennifer is almost right about.
How would she react to finding out that Walky and Lucy didn’t work out?
That’s what would really get attention, but it would also be interesting to see Walky’s reaction if Dorothy found out about that. After all, he still sees Dorothy at the top, but maybe it would also be Walky’s chance to finally see that Dorothy is not only “the greatness of the organization,” she is also a girl who has problems and realizes who also hurt her (not intentionally obviously), the latter is more of a whim, but come on, who hasn’t wanted whims in this comic?
Always trying to be helpful, but in a way she’d kind of botch it.
You know how in fiction, to disarm a bomb, the protagonists must cut every wire in the right order, otherwise it detonates and kills everyone in the building?
I think Dorothy’s first wire is absolutely not the Joyce attraction
Better cut it anyway just to be sure. What’s the worst that could happen?
… I love these two.
Dating or not dating, their interactions are just the best. I love how they bounce off eachother and come to just the worst conclusions.
Just… so good.
For real. i expected more nuclear dumbing with these two together again but we’re getting this instead and it’s very cathartic. They’re being smart and self-aware in ways that aren’t enough to get them to come to any better conclusions but enough to show that time away has put emotional distance between the events of semester 1. They’re being good at being exes rn
neither of them appears to currently be even a li’l bit drunk
Nuclear dumbing is an excellent way to describe what often goes on here
I’m going to swipe that term to refer to the outcome that the Cold War successfully avoided.
I’m actually the opposite. I very rarely enjoy their interactions in recent years — it all just feels like the same toxic, nasty energy. Kind of confused why they’re getting along this well, honestly
Or maybe get Dotty to open up her therapist so she get the help she needs. Remember when Jennifer tried the same thing with Daisy and Ruth? That didn’t really work out. And about Becky being flaky, I don’t get where Jennifer’s coming from with that.
It’s Jennifer making assumptions and incorrect judgement of someone. It’s something she does sometimes.
She likes to think she’s super good at reading people, an essential skill for the alpha bongo, trend setting, hub of the social wheel sort of person she somehow thinks she should be.
We could summarize the difference between what Jennifer thinks she wants and her actual needs and wants by the fact she’s been more successful at writing Star Wars fanfiction than journalism. I think it’s actually much more important to her but she’s still listening to the popular girls in high school telling her otherwise.
given that the comments section tended to seem that her therapist wouldn’t that effective with the ‘my emotional trauma is just grist for the mill’ that dorothy said, dunno if it’ll be helpful, tho hopefully it wouldn’t be more damaging XD
Becky isn’t doing squat about Dorothy aside from antagonizing her. She’s busy boning her girlfriend and doesn’t like Dorothy anyway. I really don’t see how asking the roommate to keep an eye on her helps aside from being notified when someone is passed out in the bathroom or something obvious.
But Becky does care about Dorothy? The antagonizing has been acknowledge by both of them to be pretty much just performative at this point. She was genuinely concerned when Dorothy told her that she hasn’t answered to Yale and encouraged her to do it because she wanted to at least someone get something good out of that awful event. Isn’t that a sign of caring?
Dunno, I think Becky actually enjoys her (one-sided) rivalry with Dorothy.
You missed the entire exchange where Becky and Dorothy verbally acknowledged that their “rivalry” was for play, didn’t you?
Does Dorothy need actual sexual intercourse with a human or does she just need orgasms? If she just needs the latter, then use Amazon Prime to ship a nice selection of toys to her, either electric or battery powered. Sitting on washing machines doesn’t seem to be enough. Or ask Carla to invent something, she’s good with tools.
I’m pretty sure Dorothy teaching Joyce to use a washing machine was just the least most intrusive way to teach Joyce, that she could think of. I don’t know if that her most prefered method given that it’s a public place.
“Least most intrusive” is a way to describe that debacle.
she needs to understand that she’s attracted to Joyce.
Definitely. I don’t think we get to go there yet, but, well.
I think she needs the other person 100%. Hence her subconscious deciding it was AOK being IN THE ROOM with the first Joyce Does A Orgasm. I think it’s not just horniness, but Intimacy that she lacks. Her roommate is a constant sitcom frenemy battle. Her next life goal says “leave all your friends behind; you will make new friends at Yale.” Dorothy doesn’t have brain problems or vagina problems, she has heart problems, and that’s why she almost relapsed with Walky and is so upset about Joyce finding Joe’s heart. Nobody is looking for HER heart.
Jennifer, I do not know how many times you have to learn this, BUT YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE NOT UNIVERSAL
She likes to think she is really knowledgeable about people and how they work which make it so funny when she is completely incorrect on her conclusions. It’s why I love her.
Except they are.
What exact experience of Jennifer you think it’s s universal?
well, remember that it’s HER universe
–Dave, from a certain PoV anyway
The Total Perspective Vortex told her so.
It’s not just that. She’s done this sort of thing before, and the issue is less assuming her problems are universal so much as a running gag that she always draws conclusions sliiightly to the left of reality. Remember “Sal is Amazi-Girl”? Remember “Walky needs my help to get with Dorothy”?
But you know what is universal? People believing that their own experiences are universal.
(Seriously, I realized this a few years ago and it’s literally everywhere you look once you start seeing it.)
I no longer wish to be horny. I wish to be happy.
🥺 I never thought I’d live to see you say that. 🫂
You either die horny, or live long enough to see yourself become happy.
but but both?
Can confirm that happiness is a pretty great emotion. 10/10, five stars, would experience again!
Good luck getting there, along whichever path is easiest for you, Yotomoe!
As heartwarming as this all is, that specific sequence of words is a meme quote, and I believe they meant to apply it to Jennifer’s perception of Dorothy rather than to their own life goals.
She’s Jenning It Up™️.
Anyone got popcorn and possibly a spare fire extinguisher?
Well, Ruth has plenty of experience coming to Jennifer, that much isn’t in dispute.
“Usual”? Sank those a long time ago. Just hasn’t caught wind of the news.
Alas, thinking horniness is the reason can’t be it, or else we’re wandering into the “Blonde, Brunette, Redhead of Self-Destruction” zone
Absolutely nothing can possibly go wrong with this plan, and I unreservedly endorse it.
Yup.
Called it.
Jennifer is incapable of not making this about her.
This is going to be a disaster isn’t it?
Maybe “It’s the love I haven’t got” isn’t referring to what I originally thought…
When it comes to those titles, more than meets the eye, I guess.
I wonder how far Willis gets into writing a chapter before picking the title. There’s sometimes multiple situations it applies, matching the title in different ways (literal meaning, lyrical meaning(s), … )
It’s a Jennifer plan, so… probably?
She’s going to get back to her room and a very unhappy Lucy, and put 2 and 2 together in the worst way.
Yeahhh this goes a bit deeper than a lack of orgasming
I can foresee no way this could go wrong and unreservedly endorse what’s about to happen.
soooo much James D Nicoll influence in these here comments
–Dave, the self-awarenesses in this strip are clear off the chart! says Faz
The only way this could be good is if Jenn just makes a pass at Dorothy, assuming her desire that dare not speak its name is just lesbian desire.Dorothy is having a whole self-image crisis though.
Stop thinking about dick for five seconds and focus.
This comment needs a Dina avatar.
None of this interaction makes sense.
When did these two become on speaking terms again?
(Is this about jen dumping Asher?)
Jennifer generates self-worth by solving problems and establishing social dominance. She already vented some spleen at Ruth earlier this morning, and this conversation is giving her an opportunity to generate self-worth. And she has consistently been shown to be unable to help herself, especially when it comes to Ruth. That was kind of the hallmark of their relationship. And Ruth is genuinely trying to be better and earn her job.
She isn’t t-posing nearly enough.
They’ve been on fragile speaking terms. Jennifer set Ruth up on a date even. They both have a desire to be on good terms, but also both have a lot of hurt and anger.
Yeah, civility between them comes and goes.
From what I recall, Jennifer is pretty consistently on speaking terms with Ruth. She’s done a lot of sniping, but I think she at least acts like she wants to just move on be, if not exactly friends, at least friendly acquaintances. Ruth understands that that would be a nice and relatively normal way to interact, but also kinda still wants Billie, and also kinda wants to stay as far away from Billie as humanly possible just in case. So like HueSatLight said, fragile speaking terms.
At least, that’s how I remember it. I haven’t actually read the archives in a while.
DagNABBIT! That ain’t what “sublimated” means! You’re looking for the word “repressed”! I’m pullin’ my hair out over here!
You “sublimate” your rage into clay sculpture and weightlifting!
I feel better being puzzled staring at wiktionary now.
I can actually see an argument for how Jennifer’s using it the correct way, because she’s implying Dorothy’s sublimated her horniness into overachieving and over-organizing her life. It’s still an annoyingly ambiguous usage, though, even if that’s true.
Jennifer, trying to not be Billie, continues to believe she’s a savant with people and fixing their problems like a boss bongo, despite everything that’s told her she’s not able to do that.
And Ruth continues to believe that it’s not her place to intervene in other peoples’ bad behavior, or object to their obvious bullsh*t, because she’s inherently poisonous and everything she does will surely only make things worse.
Mmmm, just old times….nostalgia, nostalgia…
Their faces seem so weirdly vulnerable and sweet whilst plotting all this and it’s making me Feel Things
joe avatar is joe-ing grittily
That’s far too simplistic an explanation. I mean, in this case Jennifer’s right, but STILL…
Act with no integrity ; lots of regrets
yes, let’s all agree that Jacob needs to bone Dorothy lmao
What’s that Community quote about Jeff and Annie concocting little adventures so they can spend time together without talking about their feelings for each other?
“Jesus wep–”
“Stop saying ‘Jesus wept.'”
Eh. Good enough.
Sublimated Horniness She Dare Not Speak Into Record.
_There’s_ a DoA book title to end all DoA book titles.
damn, that’s some good writing :thumb_up:
i love the back-and-forth of panels 2-4.
Dday is right about “sublimated” though
If it weren’t for sublimated horniness, I’d never get anything done.
*Hee Haw intensifies, with banjos*
God she’s so cocky i fucking hate it
Jennifer. No. Fucking away the feelings is not healthy. Do not encourage Dorothy’s worst impulse.
It’d also make way more sense if it was regular stress and not an actual mental health issue / mike grief / yale grief.
Jennifer is stepping on the path for make Dorothy’s life even worse.
Joyce will become an enemy and we all know that’s a very bad thing. Let’s hope Ruth is able to prevent the disaster.
I love how Jennifer always wants to help and recognizes problems but is always just a tiiiidge off the mark on things. It’s one of my favorite running gags. She really means well here, and it’s nice to see her trying to help people again.
also these two have so much chemistry it hurts. like bleach and ammonia.
When they get together, it’s always a gas.
… sir
Becky’s goofball facade continues to be neigh impenetrable
so you’re saying it would take a
giant horse?
of course.
Becoming an RA might actually be good for Jennifer, seeing how helping people through their problems seems really instinctive and her better impulses. Wonder if that may be a path she chooses later on.
I don’t hate it, honestly. Like, I think it’d be better for her than for Dorothy, and she’d be better at it than Roz.
I kind of hope this leads to Dorothy shouting for them to stop with the judgments and sex talk, and to leave her the hell alone. (one year ago today).
While Joyce is standing off to the side, with the most incredibly smug look on her face.
book the next title: “That’s Not Your Middle Finger, Joyce”
oh, she still thinks she’s good at helping people. great.
Her track record is mixed, but not all bad. She did genuinely help Joyce.
Jennifer, uh
…Actually wait, considering the homoerotic dreams about Joyce she had (before they turned into nightmares)…
Nevermind, she might actually be right