345

Somebody
Posted on November 14, 2014 by David M Willis

345 thoughts on “Somebody”

  1. Jen Aside

    to be fair, Becky, Joyce was trying to CALL your poopful butt

    1. ninja_jesus

      Eww, that’s gross. Butts are full of poop? Becky butts?

      1. Dedlok

        LIES AND SLANDER! Becky’s butt never poops!

        1. Tunaro

          *Gasp* But… Everybody Poops.

        2. nothri

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-9VzNVxDj0

        3. Dedlok

          I didn’t say she doesn’t poop. Just that she doesn’t poop from her butt.

        4. Robert

          No.. You’re thinking of “Everybody Hurts”

        5. Arkadi

          Everybody poops. Sometimes.

        6. Plasma Mongoose

          Not Saffron’s mother, she just has a colonic irrigation every week.

        7. Tenn

          Except androids. And they should be destroyed.

        8. Drunken Nordmann

          It’s not slander. In written form it’s libel.

        9. RoberJolt

          J.K. Simmons FTW!

    2. Hoboturtle

      Completely unrelated. That avatar.

      You chose well with what you had Willis draw. XD

  2. Undead Mantis

    Joyce would probably use way too much teeth.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Yeah, I wouldn’t want that gigantic grin anywhere near my nethers.

      1. Tunaro

        I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, but I can’t resist.
        http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130909034845/shingekinokyojin/images/e/ed/Shingeki_no_Kyojin_-_01_-_Large_34.png

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Oh my. Excuse me, I need to pick up my ribs from laughing too hard.
          Be neat to see the DoA cast as Titans sometime, like that one sketch of the Recon Corps’ forms if they were Shifters.

        2. Cephalo the Pod

          Okay, okay.
          Now.

          Someone needs to shop Joyce’s grin onto that.

  3. Tunaro

    Whelp, it’s official. I ship this now.

    1. Very Good Karma

      Joyce can only be best friends with girls who like Walky. It’s her curse.

    2. nothri

      Walky/Becky or Becky/Joyce? Or Walky/Joyce? Or Walky/Joyce/Becky?

      1. beege

        Dorothy has to fit in there somewhere.

        1. Kelly

          simple, Walky/Dorothy/Becky/Joyce

        2. Khantalas

          Not enough men.

        3. thebombzen

          Throw in Mike then. I’m sure that’s an amazing idea.

        4. Khantalas

          Throw in Dina as well and we got a deal.

        5. Kelly

          Or they could just track down your avatar and borrow the TF gun

        6. Khantalas

          We don’t talk about what happened in Canada.

    3. Kelly

      *shipping intensifies*

  4. Jonathan S

    Answer the question, Becky!

    1. nothri

      I think that answer is best found amongst the fanfic writers, don’t you?

      1. Annie

        There are DoA fanfic writers?!? :O Where?! You must tell me where I can find such works of art! Please!

        1. Leonou

          There is this one .

          There used to be a few other ones , but they seem to be lost in the interwebs … If anyone knows of other Fics, please share !

        2. Deanatay

          Start with Plasma Mongoose – she’s, like, Queen of DoA fanart.

        3. ocbrad1

          Yotomoe has been known to dabble in the fanfic.

        4. caramelundqueer

          I think I’d be willing to write DoA fic if it wasn’t pretty much guaranteed David Willis would read it.

    2. ocbrad1

      Perfect Gravatar is perfect.

  5. Kodra

    Part of me is surprised by Becky’s non-reaction to Walky’s statement, and another part wonders whether she knows what that means.

    1. March

      This girl seems to have somehow circumvented her parents’ attempts at isolation from the outside world. I sense a young lady that quickly learned the library did not have parental blocks.

      1. Tunaro

        The Internet. Ruining years of sheltered conditioning since 1991!

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          The Internet? Pfft. My brother’s junior high (Grades 8-10) school library had Anne Rice’s “Exit to Eden” in it.

          –It’s possible they didn’t actually check too closely, originally. My brother read it, I read it, a bunch of other kids read it–and then they pulled it. Party poopers.

        2. HiEv

          Well, that’s *one* way to get kids to read. LOL

        3. Deanatay

          The Library is for porn, Porn, PORN!

        4. fogel

          If it’s in the library it’s not porn, it’s literature, just as the difference between porn and art is that if it’s in an art museum it’s art. http://candicomics.com/d/20040706.html

          Mary delenda est

    2. TheOthin

      Yeah I wonder if we’re gonna have another strap-on moment incoming.

      1. Jon P

        “Why would you want to DO that?!”

    3. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

      She strikes me as the type to do a ton of stuff behind her parents’ back.

    4. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      I’m starting to think that Becky is a LOT more worldly than Joyce realizes.

      1. T Campbell

        The pieces are very, very slowly falling into place.

        1. Dragon

          I’m liking Becky more and more. Thought she was just gonna be a Joyce-clone, but I have been proved wrong, and am glad 🙂

      2. saltchocolate

        We’re going to see if it’s as easy for Joyce to accept Becky’s worldliness as it was for her to accept Dotty’s godlessness. Not that *that* was easy . . .

  6. Chef Excellence

    I like where this is headed.

    1. Undrave

      That’s what she said!

      1. Arkadi

        Really? That’s what I said too! What are the odds? 😀

  7. Idon'tcarenomore

    Good one Walky. Exactly what Joyce does.

    Yup Becky and Walky only 2 Ive ever shipped.

  8. Plasma Mongoose

    Yes, Joyce do tell…

  9. DK1105

    Calling it now

    1. Yotomoe

      Call it whatever you want. It’s called “Dumbing of Age”

  10. Yotomoe

    ALL HANDS ON DECK FOR THE BECKY WALKY SHIP.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      The POOPDECK no less. 😛

      1. Thomas64

        You win.

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          *heheheh*

      2. Arkadi

        Poopdeck it is! All aboard!

      3. Baggy

        Toilet humour is soooo crappy…

    2. Disloyal Subject

      SWABBIN’ THE DECKS

      1. NoHeart

        I call being the lookout

    3. newllend

      Fuck it why not, sounds like a hell of a lot of fun.

    4. Tunaro

      Preparin’ to be boarded. Can someone check, I’m not sure if I’m using this innuendo right.

      1. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

        So you share my love of being raided?

    5. Nonagon

      Hoisting the mast.

      1. CRtwenty

        I tentatively support this ship so long as it occurs after an amicable breakup with Dorothy and a mandatory waiting period to avoid rumors of two-timing.

        Also I ship Joyce/Dorothy

        1. Disloyal Subject

          I favor:
          WALKY likes DOROTHY and BECKY
          DOROTHY likes WALKY
          JOYCE likes DOROTHY
          BECKY likes JOYCE

          Is there a word for a diagonally bisected square? ‘Cause this is two right love triangles neatly meshed.

        2. Tunaro

          So…This whole storyline’s a riff on Shakespeare?

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Welcome to modern fiction, I guess.

        4. Kelly

          Indeed

        5. gansmaltz

          I think you mean kitty-corner

        6. PlainMarie

          HAAAaaaaaa! 😀

      2. Disloyal Subject

        What kind of ship has a collapsible mast?

        1. Nonagon

          Smaller sailboats, usually. All the ones I’ve used. Easy to transport, with room enough for two. I don’t know if they count as “ships” though; not exactly transport vehicles. More like a toy that you bring out occasionally, go for a ride for another person, and at the end of the day, pack it up and return to your main ship.
          …Did I just nautically fail my way into saying something clever?

        2. Opus the Poet

          one with ED? Sorry, I’ll let myself out now.

        3. Undrave

          The Solaris in the Mysterious Cities of Gold.

        4. Kryss LaBryn

          Viking longships? The mast could be lowered even at sea; also could be rowed. Also sailed very close to the wind for a ship with no keel, which meant it could tack reasonably well so it could continue on in the direction they wanted to go in even if the winds weren’t cooperating. Also with a shallow draft of about 8″ they could be sailed in to shore before anyone knew they were even there for sneak attacks.

          Seems appropriate.

        5. Matthew Davis

          Don’t forget that the shallow draft also made them river-navigable, which meant they could, for example, sack Paris.

        6. M FunnyBone

          Leave me out of this. I don’t wanna be sacked; I have a good gig.

      3. Leorale

        Leaving dry dock for the ocean’s embrace

    6. Kamino Neko

      The SS Wacky has officially set sail.

      1. democraticMayonaise

        “The ship set sail.”
        “The ship set sail.”
        “The ship set sail.”
        “The ship set sail.”
        I always wondered why I couldn’t blast that guy with my level 84 Blastoise. I guess I’ll never know.

    7. Boom

      You’re all late to the party and I’ve already claimed the best chairs on the Leto deck!

    8. timemonkey

      Some of us are not so quick to abandon the Dorky ‘ship.

      1. Rutee

        Why should anyone be? Tis a fine vessel. But the Wacky has her virtues.

        1. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

          May I beseech you not to discount the quality of the fine boats Boyce and Fundothy?

    9. Cephalo the Pod

      Oh no, you can’t fool me! I will NEVER surrender this duel!!!

    10. Tenn

      I guess I can tag along on the Wacky for a while, but I might defect and rejoin the Dorky at any moment.

  11. Emperor Kiva

    Someone destroy Walky and Becky

    1. Yotomoe

      You can not destroy perfection.

      1. Emperor Kiva

        Watch me

        1. newllend

          To late, this ship has set sail and there’s to many passengers on board. We’re sailing out to the sea of endless possibilities.

        2. Emperor Kiva

          FIRE ALL TORPEDOES AND MISSILES, BLOW THAT THING OUT OF THE WATER!!!!!!!

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Firing projectiles on a Straw Hat? You poor soul.

        4. Emperor Kiva

          I got Napalm too

        5. newllend

          Still need more dude, still need more.

        6. Jen Aside

          YOU SANK MY BABBLESHIP

        7. Undrave

          No one wins at ship to ship combat.

        8. Atomix26

          in bed

        9. Opus the Poet

          Sorry, but the juxtaposition was just too funny.

          Undrave:
          No one wins at ship to ship combat.
          Atomix26:
          in bed
          OtP:
          for a nickle.

  12. Kernanator

    The evidence for this ship is mounting.

    1. liahansen

      Whoa, I don’t think they’re quite to that point yet. Give em time though.

      1. Kamino Neko

        *thumbs up*

        1. Boom

          Up what?

        2. Cephalo the Pod

          Up in the air, we need to measure the air temperature.

          ‘Cause I think it’s getting HOT in here!

    2. Yotomoe

      Implying you need evidence for a ship. The requirements for a ship is that the two characters exist.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Pfft. As if we only ship things within that criterion.

        1. liahansen

          CarlaxCarla 4evr

        2. Cephalo the Pod

          We’ll call the ship: Carla.

        3. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

          No. CARLA 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

      2. Leorale

        I thought liahansen meant give them time to mount. Tsk, tsk, I’ll pretend I didn’t read that. Also like half the comments. And the internet. Where am I

        1. liahansen

          that is precisely what i meant

        2. Yotomoe

          But I didn’t reply to liahansen.

  13. newllend

    Walky wins AGAIN ! look at him he’s just stirring the pot.

  14. buckybone

    This ship’s getting a little crowded…

  15. otusasio451

    Well, Becky’s nowhere near as reserved as Joyce. BACKSTORY! I REQUIRE BACKSTORY!

  16. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

    This is wonderful. And I think Becky is my new second-favorite, first being Dina.

    1. newllend

      Me too, she’s almost replacing Amber/Amazi-girl.

  17. Victor Riley

    Is Walky going to be crux of a love/crush triangle between Atheist Dorothy and Christian Becky?

    Though, I suspect that Becky is not as religious anymore as Joyce would like… might explain the mystery of her arrival, as Sarah started to question.

    1. Rachel Roth

      Actually, I’m going to guess that Becky probably wasn’t ever that religious She probably just grew up in an uber religious household, but secretly rebelled when she could. If I’m wrong, I’ll give you one internet, otherwise, please give me one. Deal?

      1. ninja_jesus

        I’d like the idea of secretly rebellious Becky.

        1. a4lbish

          That is also my headcanon.

      2. dreadedseamonster

        It sounds like she IS Christian (she talked about God giving Joyce to Sarah to be her friend), but I think she’s a much more laid back type of Christian despite how she’s been raised. I like it. I like her.

        1. dreadedseamonster

          Also I want to say that I really enjoy having Amber as my icon since I’m like her hipster doppelganger.

      3. Victor Riley

        Let me check my stash of Internet… yep, I can spare one. You’re on.

  18. alicemacher

    “If you like him so much why don’t you marry him?!”

    1. newllend

      Walky: “then I would have stolen 2 girls you love from you, then you would never stop crying about it.”

      1. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

        Joyce would just stick her tongue out at him in response.

      2. Vangeln

        “And you would ruin this too”

  19. Kenny the toliet king!

    What the frack is wrong with Becky’s face in last panel??!!! I’m scared!!

    1. Disloyal Subject

      She’s saying, “Oooh,” that’s all.

    2. gwalla

      It’s the Garfield ooh-face.

    3. barefootbiker

      Reminiscent of “Fox Trot.”

  20. RJ

    Other people are thinking Becky’s gay, right? Becky’s gay and we love her, hooray for Becky?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Hip hip!

    2. ninja_jesus

      Possibly; the way she reacts to Walky’s joke could be taken as such.

    3. Chupicron

      I’ve been thinking her parents found out something like that and disowned her or cut off her funding until she “sees reason” since Sarah asked her question. I’ve been suspecting it was explicitly gay or premarital sex around Billie.

      1. Aolbain

        Wait, is this my sleep-adled brain speaking or did you just claim that Becky had sex with Billie? ‘Cus I could get behind that.

        1. GamaranSepudomyn

          I’m not sure Billie would let you.

        2. Arkadi

          I can’t see how she could stop us. She’s just too damn easy to get behind ;3

        3. Chupicron

          It’s your brain, or maybe my own tired brain phrasing things poorly. I meant it was around her reaction to Billie as described by Joyce that made my brain go “that girl might be gay.”

  21. Emperor Kiva

    Walky, shut up

    1. Emperor Kiva

      Freakin’ asshole trying to make Joyce feel bad to make himself feel better.

      1. Itama

        as opposed to joyce telling him to his face that he shouldn’t be loved?
        i’d say she definitely deserved to be taken down a notch.

        1. Emperor Kiva

          Who asked you anyway

        2. Sageress

          It’s almost as if posting comments in a public space elicits feedback. Weird!

      2. Chrissy

        Seriously, they’ve only known each other for a month and a half or so and he’s being that much of a jerk to Joyce? He’s infuriatingly immature. Joyce can be as well, but at least she tries to go out of her comfort zone.

        1. begbert2

          Jerk? He’s just trying to get her to admit her shameful nonhomosexual lusts. Dorothy, Sal’s motorcycle, whichever: if Joyce accepted that part of herself she’d be much better off. Or have the most horrific tireburn ever, one or the other.

        2. chris73

          Being that Joyce was encouraging Dorothy to be jealous over Walky and Billie (not to mention forcing their way into Mikes shared space without his consent) you could say its karma coming back to bite her

      3. Rutee

        No, I’m pretty sure he’s saying it because he thinks it’s true. Frankly he’s got cause to.

  22. LiamAldam

    Guys, no. Beneath that charisma is mal-intent! You’re playing into his hands!

  23. Corsair114

    Has the Becky-Joyce-Dorothy trimaran already left port?

  24. Plasma Mongoose

    I wonder how will Becky feel when see finds out that Joyce knows about strap-ons?

    1. Yotomoe

      “Great! That makes this next thing I’m gonna do much easier to explain”

    2. Arkadi

      *Cue Becky rubbing her hands* “Yesss.”

    3. Jen Aside

      eh, she knows

  25. ninja_jesus

    I hope Becky becomes Walky’s new best friend. He needs more of those in his life.

    1. newllend

      But then Dorothy will probably get jealous and will try to compete for Walkys attention and then Joyce will get even more pissed-….actually I like this idea.

    2. Undrave

      Dumbing of Age is going to slowly turn into a harem comedy with Walky at the center.

      1. Arkadi

        Surely you meant to say “Joyce”.

        1. Undrave

          OOH! TWO harems! intercrossing like a giant venn diagram of shipping and awkward relationships! that would be revolutionary!

        2. begbert2

          I’m now immediately unhappy that there aren’t more double-harem shows. The only one that springs to mind is Ranma.

        3. Clif

          So is this something I need to search for on the Interwebs?

        4. ninja_jesus

          But what about… harem war? Two people fighting against each other with the strength of their harems.

        5. Khantalas

          Isn’t that just Fate/Stay Night?

  26. dailybrad

    Becky’s awesome.

  27. JessWitt

    Becky’s a lot more fun than I realized. Can she transfer to IU for good?

    1. Adam Black

      can she transfer mid-semester ?

      1. Arkadi

        Happens all the time in anime.

  28. Emperor Kiva

    I don’t think Joyce has a problem kicking a guy in the balls.

    1. Yotomoe

      What if that’s Walky’s fetish? Maybe that’s why he’s egging her on.

  29. Keroshino

    Walky is Love, Walky is Life!

    1. Emperor Kiva

      Walky is an idiot

      1. Yotomoe

        Love is an idiot! Life is an idiot!

        1. Opus the Poet

          Exactly, and for idiots as well.

      2. Mkvenner

        Your point being?……..

      3. Disloyal Subject

        Give it a rest, good sir. It was funny in moderation, but you’ve exceeded that.

        1. That One Weirdo

          Mmmyes, I agree. This chicanery has gotten well out of hand. Now, sir Subject, let us return to deciding what we must do about the harbor situation. It seems two ships are attempting to dock at the same pier, and at least one will have to either sink or beat a hasty retreat.

          Here’s the real kicker, sir. They both share the same figurehead! A bust (and I do mean BUST) of lord “Walky” Walkerton, as it were. Mmmyes, quite amusing, I know.

      4. Arkadi

        Yeah, that too ^^

      5. ShaggyDonahugh

        “Walky is love, Walky is life.”
        “Walky’s an idiot.”
        I actually died. I laughed so hard I fell onto my computer dead, randomly spawning this comment. Then my soul came back, I read it, approved, and sent it on to be enjoyed by the people of the internet.

  30. Lumell

    Presumably, Becky is the “Somebody” referred to in the chapter title

    1. Arkadi

      Nah, it’s Dorothy. Joyce pretty much dropped it in the first panel.

      Unless it’s both, of course *grins and sips at his tea mug*.

      1. John

        I’m kind of thinking it’s everybody.

      2. chisci

        yeah, and this strip is titled somebody. the overthinker’s analysis all point to dorothy being that somebody.

        tho i’d think it refers to both becky and dorothy. maybe the obvious “my best friend at iu is an atheist who is not becky” shoe will drop and becky will be hurt; maybe joyce trying to impress becky and keep her around will be super callous to dorothy or vice versa; maybe since joyce is introducing becky to the whole campus this is the storyline where the “im dating a gay man to turn him” shoe drops, no thanks to becky being queer herself being obviously more wordly that joyce and probably clocking ethan as soon as she meets him, and then it gets back to dorothy and she gets mad at joyce and all that -not necessarily abandoning her forever, but leaving joyce entirely alone after becky inevitably leaves campus at the end of the day. who knows, maybe becky will be disturbed too because she’s queer herself and she realized joyce wouldn’t just accept her because of whatever backstory made her become so much more obviously lax between books 2 and 5

        maybe i’m reading too much into all this. who knows.

  31. ninja_jesus

    Oh oh, I just realized; maybe Joyce is hesitant about talking about Dorothy, not only because she’s an atheist, but because Dorothy has taken Becky’s place as her best friend.

    1. Gadgeteer Smashwidget

      ninja_jesus, droppin’ character insight bombs from the shadows

      (that’s an interesting point which I agree with)

    2. Cephalo the Pod

      The atheist part had occur to me. The replacement factor hadn’t.

    3. Axel

      Yeah, I could practically hear Joyce almost say “She’s my best friend” before hesitating and going with “…somebody”.

    4. Em

      That was my first guess. Becky seems a little touchy on the “best friend” subject.

  32. fireindaarcade

    As much as I’m loving Becky right now, I really don’t want a Walky Becky ship. I’m not sure I could really articulate why, but Walky has always been one of my least favorite characters. He’s that perfect slacker, immature character that I dislike. He certainly has his moments, but that doesn’t mean I have to like him.

    1. GamaranSepudomyn

      Same here.

    2. the last guy

      I’m with you, honestly I really rather Becky to be a lesbian in love with Joyce. It would be so much better. However if it’s Becky/Walky well that’s disapointing because that shows about Walky how little he really cared for Dorothy and that’s not cool…

  33. MrSirk

    This is Joyce’s worst nightmare right now.

  34. newllend

    Wow those two are getting along better than Spider-man and the Autobot’s did on that one adventure where he teamed up with Gears and he fought Soundwave and Megatron where, he just beats both their asses with Spider webbing.

    1. David M Willis

      Well, I should hope so, Spider-Man didn’t really understand them much at all in that issue. He was all like, dude, what the fuck, Gears just died, why the hell are you so nonchalant about this???? and Optimus just rolls his eyes and is like “humans”

      1. newllend

        What I don’t understand is why Spider-man’s ass didn’t just fall when he tried to catch him, I know he’s strong but damn shouldn’t he have just flown off the side of the mountain?

        Anyway I’m glad there’s a comic book store right across the street of my college.

      2. Kelly

        sounds interesting

      3. EmbraceEvil

        please tell me this is a thing.

        1. David M Willis

          http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Prisoner_of_War!

          um, add a ! to the end

        2. George

          http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Prisoner_of_War%21
          Maybe that will work?

        3. George

          Hey, it does! Percent encoding ftw!

  35. foolicus maximus

    I’m likin’ Becky,

  36. Boomwolf

    So much yes

  37. Jerry

    Becky = new favourite character. That is all.

  38. Aolbain

    Joyce, no matter what happens, you will never be free of Walky.

  39. the last guy

    It feels like everyone is abandoning the Joyce and Becky ship for the Walky Becky ship….

    1. ninja_jesus

      The Joyce and Becky ship didn’t have nachos or chicken nugget fights.

      1. Arkadi

        ninja_jesus tells it like it is ^^

    2. 00dette

      My attachment to the Joyce and Dorothy ship was just too strong

      1. Rutee

        That does handle all loose ends, doesn’t it?

        1. Deanatay

          I want to jump ship, but I’m tied to the mizzenmast…

    3. newllend

      This one’s more fun and possibly more chaotic.

  40. MrSirk

    You know this has actually just gotten interesting. Becky seems similiar to Walky in a lot of ways. At least superficially (thus all the shipping). It begs the question how is she Joyce’s friend and Walky her enemy when they’re so much alike? It’s not just the Dorothy factor because Walky and Joyce have been antagonistic almost since they first met.

    1. Adam Black

      Walky isnt her enemy. He’s a friend, or a friendly-acquaintance.
      They have more annoyingbrother/ annoying sister relationship

      If Joyce wasnt protective of her religious upbringing, or had her memory wiped,
      She would be all over Walky. There is definitely a latent attraction.

      Despite what we were told, Joyce appears radically under-socialized with boys and men. They are an “other” to her. A category to be relate to for social-status, rather than full people. If Walky was a girl , Joyce would probably want to be friends with Ms Walky.

      on the same side. Walky is also radically under-socialized with women. He’s a late-bloomer. They are just not ready for each other yet. Everyone likes to feel superior to someone. They have that in common. Joyce feels superior to Walky and lets him know it frequently. He gives it right back.

      In a couple of years, who knows, these two might even hit it off.

      1. MrSirk

        Perhaps enemy is too strong a word for the point I was trying to make. That Becky, Joyce’s best friend is as close to a female Walky that we’ve gotten so far. They’re practically wearing the same clothes though that might just be a coincedence.(Sal is nothing like Walky so she really doesn’t count regardless of what her d.n.a. says) But the point you made makes a lot of sense. Perhaps it’s a bit of irony that Joyce is annoyed by those qualities in Walky that she perhaps hasn’t noticed in Becky. I still doubt Walky’s very high on Joyce’s friend list.

        1. Adam Black

          You are RighT! They are wearing the same clothes. Good eye.
          No, this is not an accident. They have the same exact haircut too. Even the sideburn locks

          I bet Willis is about to play this irony, for all its worth.

          No, hes at the bottom. But hes on it.
          But hes deliberately, and intentionally held down, on the Bottom.

          If she wasnt making an effort to keep letting walky know his place, they would probably bond more.

          Afterall, those “mouseboys were cute” ,
          and you saw Joyces look when she saw his abs, Just after Dorothy said he was sculpted from caramel.

          Joyce likes everything Walky likes ( almost ) ;
          ( Joyce Loves Dexter and Monkey Master nearly as much as Walky )
          and everyone he knows, she likes.

          Unfortunately , she sees him as competition and advertises this fact .
          Which is exactly what she is doing with her first Leer.

          Walky hangs a massive lampshape on it, then he hangs a second one.
          They both see each other inferior socially awkward people that they condescend to be around. In their own ways they are both right.

          Neither has really noticed or acknowledged how the other has grown.
          For what it worth, If not for Joyce’s background she is perfect for him.

          To be fair I would be annoyed if they immediately started dated.
          like in the Original Spiderman movies when they skipped Peter Parker’s first 2 girl friends and went right to Mary Jane.

          Neither character currently meets their minimum standards.
          But Joyce is beautiful and adorable.
          Now that Walky is no longer hating girls , he is going to notice how stunning Joyce is sooner or later.

          I admire how Willis keep dropping large hints that there is more compatibility than either character admits, yet wont ship them. It make sit more realistic for where these characters are in their life.

          Plus Joyce is Willis. I like reading into that.
          ( from things Ive read it seems Danny , and Ethan have had their turns as author-avatars. I suspect he puts a lot of bits of himself into different characters )

          Actually I agree that its odd that Joyce is annoyed by Beckys, … scatalogicalness ? earthiness? It could be part of Joyce’s double-standards for how she sees men and women. But I was surprised by Beckys poop comment in the first few pages, and Joyce just ran with it.

          This might be a case of Joyce having these qualities too , but repressing them. And Projecting them onto Walky as things she doesnt like.

          Another possibility is its due Joyce’s Crush-blindness.
          ( She definitely crushes on girls. I think that is normal pubescent and post-pubescent behavior for heterosexuals ( and everyone ) for deep same-sex attachments with friends. I dunno. There is a window from late-high school thruough college age where this happens. It probably die to hormones. Expanded homosocility . I’m not straight so I might have a bias. )
          Joyce is very non-judgemental with almost all female characters. Even the ones that are her near opposite, like Sal.

          Until Willis gives an explanation for the way of this paradox, i think this makes the most sense.

        2. MrSirk

          I always thought Joyce was idolizing her female friends because she was trying to foster that sisterly relationship she feels she lacked growing up with only brothers.

        3. Gigafreak

          I was kind of wondering why Walky was wearing a cold-weather top with warm-weather shorts today considering I’ve only ever seen ladies make that outfit work, but chalked it up to “Walky barely knows how to dress himself.” (Or possibly “my teenage fashion sense is about a decade out of date.” Either or.)

          The observation that he’s dressing exactly like Becky makes it look intentional!

      2. Opus the Poet

        So a couple of years in-comic? At that rate I’ll be dead and concrete (I’m having my ashes mixed in concrete for my monument) before the first kid is born 10 months in-comic after the wedding.

      3. caramelundqueer

        In another life they might be very happy together 😉

    2. hurocrat

      Becky is her friend and Walky is her antagonist because one at least superficially shares her religion while the other puts it down every time it comes up in conversation. It really can be that simple. If Walky were even a bit less hostile about saying things like “your authority figures need to die in a fire” thay’d probably get along just fine.

      1. hurocrat

        *they’d

  41. Ben Leingang

    Can we get gravatars of first and last panel Joyce?

  42. Bill

    #1 — what kind of jackwagon is Walky that he starts tossing around terms like “going down” on someone when speaking to a person he has just met for the first time?  
    #2 — where, when, and how did Becky become cognizant/familiar with the term “going down”?
    #3 — why, after hearing Walky talking like that, hasn’t Joyce exploded in an apoplectic fit?

    1. Rabid Rabbit

      #3 – Because Joyce has no idea what the term means. And she’s now forewarned that she’s best off not googling terms she doesn’t understand.

    2. Rutee

      #1 A teen speaking, casually?
      #2 Therein lies the mystery
      #3 …She might not know what it means, I’m unclear on that.

  43. XMinusOne

    Becky fits the definition of a ‘tomboy’ and she and Walky can immediately relate to each other. Dunno if she’s Gay or not, but she and Caramel Boy could easily be best buds. Poor Joyce, she sees her childhood pal going over to the Dark Side and all her prayers can’t save her.

  44. ninja_jesus

    Also, mayhaps Walky could actually fail upwards with Becky. At least for the moment. I think Dorothy and Walky will inevitably be together, but Dorothy’s rules didn’t say anything about seeing other people, did they? I mean, Dorothy just wants something easy before leaving, right? Surely finding another potential girlfriend isn’t a bad thing.

    1. Mkvenner

      I don’t think Dorothy and Walky are inevitable.

    2. Em

      Mmm but I think maybe HER feelings have changed, since she’s admitted to being in love with Walky. This will be interesting, especially since I don’t think Walky is in love with Dorothy.

  45. S'toon

    You know, way back when, http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/socialized/ Joyce said she was the best socialized in her group. I’m thinking Becky is actually the best socialized.

    Beck’s my new second-favourite character, after Dina.

    Anyone else getting the feeling that Becky ran away from her college to get to somewhere less “Christian?”

    1. ninja_jesus

      Maybe things changed since Becky and Joyce went to college. What if Becky was like super-sheltered and the sudden freedom of college changed her? That’s happened with a few friends I knew who went to all-girls high schools.

    2. Adam Black

      (1) The problem is, look who is doing the judging?
      Not exactly a fair test.

      ( 2) Also, I suspect , Beckys potty-mouth counted against her

      (3) “Socialized” is the key word. It can mean life-skills, but it can also mean conformity and adaptation to a social-order.

      In that instance , Joyce probably was greater socialized to her ( fundie ) Christian upbringing. Which makes Becky actually more socialized to secular world. Perhaps her parents do not trust her for that reason.

      1. Adam Black

        Willis,
        I felt bad calling Joyce upbringing “fundie” . Is that considered a banned slur?
        I know this is autobiographical, and Its not my intention to slur you .

        I suffer from intermittent aphasia ( seriously , it really sucks )
        couldnt think of anything that fit as well.
        Although, suddenly the words ” Independent non-denominational, Biblical-Literalist, antigay, social-reactionary, fundamentalist ” come to mind now. Damn Brain.

        If this is disrespectful towards you, I wont use it again.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          Pretty sure if you want a non-derogatory alternate term to “fundie” you can just say “Christian Fundamentalist”. I think most people will get to which group you are referring without the term being biased against said group. 🙂

      2. S'toon

        Re: point 3), that’s a good point.

    3. KingoHrts

      I am thinking that Becky is now somewhat more socialized and aware of non-fundamentally religious ways of young adult life than Joyce. Whether this started before or after Becky went away to school is unclear, but it definitely seems to be continuing.

      We know Becky has pushed some limits in the past already and been grounded at least once. And according to my own grown children, for every sin your parents catch you in, there is probably at least a couple you got away with.

      Anyway, Becky seems to be enjoying meeting and talking with other not-so-religious types, and discussing subjects that probably she didn’t hear about at home. All this seems to indicate that Becky is enjoying the new personal freedom and is loosening up quickly. How loose remains to be seen, but I think a surprise is in store for Joyce soon on that front.

    4. sun tzu

      Well… Note that Joyce doesn’t say she was the best-socialized, she says her PASTOR said she was the best-socialized.
      It could be that as far as her pastor is concerned, “vulnerable to non-fundamentalist influence” = “non-socialized”.

  46. Snap

    I see all these folks being like “Walky/Becky I ship it!” and meanwhile I’m just like, “she likes him because his joke implies she totally has a chance with her crush Joyce, right?”

    1. Rutee

      That’s my betting, at least.

  47. GamaranSepudomyn

    Aargh, Joyce’s triangle smile has been transferred to Walky! This is surely a sign of impending doom!
    …
    As are most things in a Willis comic, of course.

  48. Rabid Rabbit

    Panel 1: Suddenly I see what Joyce will look like at the age of 40 when dealing with her kids.

  49. Briny

    Even accounting for “comics time”, Walky’s talking about goimg down with someone he met maybe ten seconds ago. Crass motherfucker’s the broiest bro that ever was bro. Why do we like this asshat?

    1. chris73

      Well with some people you can quickly get a feeling about things you can and can’t say…especially when let rip with an awesome air blast right behind you

  50. Henry

    Well, Becky and Walky have some chemistry.

    Watch them end up being besties, and Joyce ends up having to third-wheel no matter which of her best friends she spends time with.

  51. Ben

    AAAAAAnd now I totally want Becky to stay forever.

    1. NoHeart

      I second this statement

      1. Adam Black

        https://twitter.com/damnyouwillis/status/533133413247496193

        “You have fallen for one of the classic Blunders ….”

        1. Ben

          oh…. god…. dammit….

  52. Adam Black

    “yessssss everyone likes becky, all according to plan”
    —Word-of-God

    uh-oh! All hands on Deck! He can’t kill her off. But he can give her a disease that never effects her physically Freshman year.

    He Can give her Porphyria ,
    http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/basics/definition/con-20028849
    so she knows she will have a shorted life before turning painfully insane. Yet be completely fine the next 5 years ( 100 years our time ) .

    Willis why are you going to give this poor Christian child Porphyria.
    Why god, why? She never harmed you.

    oh, no!

    What if Becky is actually evil? Like completely evil. And Joyce just cant tell?

    What if shes a totall sociopath, and is actually the best socialized? Joyce could be her beard, or mirken or whatever Christian Ginger Sociopaths have to pretend to be normal .

    Maybe shes just here to get laid. Ok then she is going to unleash the inner-jezebel. No man is safe. She sleeps with Walky, Joe, Mike, Jacob, and Ethan and Sal ( its Sal ! ) and leaves broken hearts in her wake. Joe cries.

    The fandom is left out-raged. Ships are tossed over. Pro-Becky fandom wars with Lovelorn past shippers. The comments erupt in civil war.

    ( Actually this sounds kind of awesome! Bring it on Becky!! )

    and it was All cold-hearted revenge, cuz some dickwad dared use the M-Sue word against a strong female character.

    Why, Willis, why?

    1. Leonou

      I … hum … okay I don’t know what to say in response to THAT, but here is your +1 Internets.

    2. M FunnyBone

      You are absolutely brilliant.

  53. Hat

    And so continues Walky’s quest to steal all of Joyce’s friends.

  54. Arkadi

    Yes you dooo ^^

  55. mudakthemultiplier

    I am in desire of large versions of the Joyce faces, for science…

    1. Arkadi

      Surely you mean her femurs?

  56. Kevin

    And thus Walky solved his problem of “trading up” in like 30 seconds.

    1. Kevin

      Whoops, “failing up”

  57. StClair

    That is truly an epic eyeroll.

    Also, I really like Becky.

  58. zmm

    Kay I like Becky even more.
    also Walky that’s a hilarious question

  59. CarlaGriffin

    I like Becky more and more with each panel.

  60. Cypherfox

    A while ago, David Willis was saying something about, ‘I predict many people will have a new favorite character due to the strips I’m drawing now.’ I wonder if these were it…

    The fascinating thing to me is that so far we’ve only seen the aw3s0me of Becky. I like Becky based on her reactions, but she’s been remarkably closed-mouthed about herself, and letting Joyce do all the talking. There’s another shoe out there…Damoclese Style. (And yes, you’re supposed to read that with the cadence of ‘Gangnam Style!’)

    I also like the ‘She’s somebody…somebody who loves this doofus.’ which plays into the ‘when somebody loved me’ theme.

    Predictions elided…been wrong so far. 🙂

    1. gwalla

      But “Damocles” has three syllables and “Gangnam” has only two. This does not compute!

      1. Cypherfox

        Pfeh; everything scans properly if you say it fast enough! Try “Dam’clese Style”…? 😉

        1. Boom

          What are we? Poets?

        2. gwalla

          Oppa JohnCleese style.

        3. chris73

          Hey saucy lady

  61. Opus the Poet

    First panel, Joyce shows gum!

  62. Kit

    I ship Walky/Becky as a brotp. They would make good partners in crime.

    1. Cypherfox

      Hm! Becky might be the person to tell Walky how to fix his Dorothy-based screwup… Their wavelengths appear similar enough that she might be able to put it in terms he’d get!

  63. Orgikan

    Becky and Walky? Really? Are you guys not seeing that Becky is into Joyce (“same ol’ Joyce”, “you are so lucky Sarah, being Joyce’s roommate”) and that her reation here is due to Joyce suddently being a possible closet lesbian? 😉

  64. Anonymous

    If Joyce turns out to be gay in this universe, this conversation will seem very awkward in hindsight

  65. gwalla

    Damn, Joyce, do you think Becky will be jealous that you have a new best friend at your college?

    Or are you scared that she’ll freak out when she finds out Dorothy is atheist?

    Either way seems like you’re not giving Becky much credit.

    (Also, Walky, the jab in panel 3 was deserved but panel 4 was just twisting the knife, that’s not cool)

  66. Poskie

    Becky’s so awesome! Everyone likes her!
    …
    god dammit she killed a man, didn’t she

    1. Bill

      Just to watch him die.

      1. Drakey

        When was just a young girl, her mother told her, “daughter, always be a good girl, don’t ever play with guns,” but she shot a man in Reno, just because DMAN YOU WILLIS!

        1. Drakey

          Oh, dammit, I just had to typo on the punchline…

        2. gwalla

          WILLIS YOU D MAN

        3. democraticMayonaise

          that would be very appropriate if he shoved in a ton of girls named Katherine into the story, 19 of them to be specific

  67. TheZachariah

    ADORABLE!

  68. Kirkybobz

    Awwh, Walky’s face in the last panel is adorable. ^_^

  69. Aeron

    Panel 1 is great avatar material.

    1. Aolbain

      It is

  70. Pan

    David’s usually a little more subtle, but damned if he isn’t pushing the whole Becky-has-a-lesbian-crush-on-Joyce thing.

    1. Burger

      Unfortunately that fits a sad theory I have about why Becky is here. After coming out or being outed to her parents, they kicked her to the curb.

    2. Boom

      Then it must be a false flag operation.

    3. timemonkey

      Or maybe she’s just acting normal and knew most of you guys would go lesbian crazy over nothing?

      1. Rutee

        I’m pretty sure the Wacky ship has more passengers than the Joyce/Becky ship? What’s the definition of lesbian crazy anyway?

        1. Drakey

          It’s a little like reefer madness, except that it’s brought on by lesbianism, which just sorta automatically makes it better.

    4. Hoboturtle

      Actually, I think he’s pushing the Joyce has a crush on Dorothy thing. Which I have no problem with.

    5. Pinja

      Really?

      Because I don’t see it at all.

      1. Aolbain

        Yeah, my gaydar might be completely broken (and it have been working quite well lately) but I don’t see a thing.

  71. CianM1301

    Joyce’s eye-roll is a reaction image waiting to happen.

  72. Fred

    How many ships would a ship-ship ship if a ship-ship would ship ships?

  73. maxlines

    Ok, that was funny.

  74. TheStranger

    This is the funniest thing.

  75. Les

    A month ago (comic time) I’m not sure Walky would have known what that meant (“Going down where?”). Guess Dorothy has contributed to his education…

    1. gwalla

      Walky was never that innocent. Inexperienced, sure,. Naive about how relationships work, sure (still is). But not innocent.

      1. ninja_jesus

        Yeah. There’s a difference between “being a child” and “being childish”. Walky belongs to the second category.

  76. Swoop

    Becky looks like she has a Hitler mustache in the last panel.

    1. Khantalas

      It’s not a mustache, it’s just…

      …dammit, now I can’t unsee it.

    2. chisci

      cover her oooh-ing mouth and her moostache becomes a tiny gasp!

      1. Swoop

        You don’t have to cover it, just pretend it’s a zit.

    3. gwalla

      How can you tell? She’s wearing shorts.

  77. hof1991

    Love the Walky comment. Mike is being an influence on him. Not saying a good influence tho.

  78. Random832

    How does Joyce know what “go down on” means?

    1. Em

      Well she was looking at all that porn…I think at some point she came across the term.

  79. AustKyzor

    This could end in one of three ways:

    1. Walky trades Dorothy for Becky, and then Dorothy is sad but Joyce is happy, but then suddenly everyone is sad. Knowing Willis, this is how it’ll go.

    2. Becky is a lesbian, and she kidnaps Joyce for her secret lesbian harem that will continue to gain power until Ruth and Billie come and take it. Meanwhile, Dorothy is watching all of this from her door, Walky apologizes for being a dumb-ass, and everyone is happy.

    3. OT3 with Becky, Walky, and Dorothy. I am tempted to start a petition on change.org so Obama tells Willis to go with this option.

  80. Deanatay

    There’s only one way this could get worse for Joyce – if Becky meets Dorothy, and they hit it off.

    …

    OK, I’m calling Borocky right now.

  81. Chubsius

    I want Becky and Walky to be bffs now. She seems like she would be such a good influence on him. Becky seems like a great bridge to help both Walky and Joyce remedy their occasional ham-fisted social interactions.

  82. Swoop

    Is this the first time a character has acknowledged Joyce really does seem to have a crush on her friends?

    1. begbert2

      I’m pretty sure Walky’s mentioned it at least once before.

    2. OmegaDez

      And now, it all becomes so clear…

    3. gwalla

      “Everyone, after all, knows how much you adore Dorothy.”

      1. Swoop

        thank you.

    4. Pinja

      Walky jokes about but that’s all it is: A joke

  83. 4th Dimension

    My God Becky and Ruth have the same freckles. She is obviosly here to kill her!

    1. Aolbain

      THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!

  84. Seamus

    Ok, Becky is becoming my favourite character now, it’d be awesome if she transferred to the university!

  85. Dorje Sylas

    All that remains is a shared connection to Dexter and Monkey Master….

    InB4 Becky hates D&MM 😛

  86. Em

    DAMN YOU WILLIS I STARTED LAUGHING IN A ROOM FULL OF QUIET, STUDYING PEOPLE.

    *wipes tears off face* This is amazing. I wonder if Walky has talked to Dorothy about this off screen before…

  87. Saaaam

    Becky and Walky, ship it

  88. Dirk Strider's Splinter Hopeself

    I’m so conflicted. There are quite a few ways this relationship square could pan out.
    1. Walky/Becky + Joyce/Dorothy (A strong contender)
    2. Walky/Dorothy + Walky/Becky + Joyce/Becky (Another strong contender)
    3. Everyone breaks up, everyone cries (Most likely, considering Willis)

  89. Bagge

    I love how overdramatic Walkie is. “I’m ruuuuined – I will never find love agaiiiiiin… Oh, hi friend of Joyce. Wanna tease Joyce with me?”

    1. Pinja

      You made me hear that in Tommy Wiseau’s voice because of the way you said it.

      1. 0kami

        Your avatar is the most appropriate one ever for this particular response.

  90. Tenn

    Oh, Walky, you magnificent bastard.

  91. shammers

    becky is getting better and better.

    i would love walky and becky to be friends

  92. chris73

    I don’t want Becky and Walky together as they seem to hit it off as best buds but hopefully Becky stays…maybe a straight swop with Mary is in order

  93. Timni

    Even though they were both homeschooled together, Becky seems to be way more chill than Joyce.

  94. Vangeln

    I don’t like him!

    1. liahansen

      that’s a fairly appropriate reaction to walky

    2. Los

      Honestly, I kinda wish Joyce and Walky were friends. He’d still cause her outrage but to a more bearable degree, he’d keep showing her new things in his nonchalant “oh, this was a thing?” way. The occasional soft moment involving feelings and we all know how much he loves those. It would be fun, but they’re destined to be yin and yang.

  95. Kevin

    FFS, Willis, please find out which advertiser is running the pixel.mathtag.com JavaScript thing and remove them.

    1. Kevin

      http://s22.postimg.org/8v0ef329d/Pixel_Mathtag_Script.png

      Every single freaking time I visit DoA.

  96. Pickle

    Does Joyce’s expression in panel 1 remind anyone else of Lin Beifong from The Legend of Korra?

  97. Taigan

    That last panel, now with context, is more hilarious.

    1. TJ Baltimore

      It certainly is!

      1. CleverTrousers

        Coming from the future to make fun of sunk ships. The true purpose of the internet.

  98. chromacandi

    hope this is foreshadowing for a Joyc/Becky shipping

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