It’s hitting me that even though she drew a line over the drinking and car crashing, there’s a lot of classic Billie bullshit that Alice is probably 100% on board with.
Of late, I’ve been wondering if it was less about the drinking and more about Jennifer denying that what she and Alice shared was a romantic relationship.
Like, if I was in love with my best friend and had sex with my best friend and then my best friend claimed to be straight and that passionate lovemaking was just a thing that happens sometimes between friends and not a big deal, my heart would be shattered into many jagged pieces. Reason enough for her anger even without the drinking and crashing.
Thag Simmons
Might have been a factor. We can definitely say the fracture point wasn’t the crash itself, but the aftermath where Billie tried to pretend nothing was wrong and nothing had happened, probably including Alice’s confession after the crash.
I do think that it was mostly “she is not safe”, but maybe that calculus is different if Billie’s willing to commit to actually being a couple.
Proxiehunter
The begging her to wake up post crash implies some probable head trauma. Between that and the drinking she like does not remember Alice confessing to her.
Tesset
And *that’s* what Ruth said that got Alice back on board. That she and Billie were officially a real, lesbian couple, and that Billie wasn’t in denial anymore.
GholaHalleck
I think it was basically “We nearly died because you FINALLY admitted you wanted us to be together, and NOW you’re saying it was just a phase?!”
She could go in front of the whole school and tell off a jock in the middle of being crowned prom queen, but she refused to be truthful about her bisexuality.
So they would never be an *actual* couple. Billie would NEVER admit they were anything but besties. And Alice couldn’t accept being in that closet, of being a “friend” instead of a partner.
Billie refused to take that leap and Alice cut her off because what other choice did she have while retaining her self respect?
thejeff
I don’t really get the first part. I don’t think Billie ever admitted she wanted them to be together. It was always “I’m sometimes into girls, like all straight girls are.”
GholaHalleck
I mean, she was the prom queen, told the prom king to fuck off, grabbed his girlfriend and ran out like The Graduate only instead of taking a bus like a safe drunk, she ran into a tree.
Tequila Mockingbird
Oh wow, I hadn’t considered it from this angle, but now that you’ve pointed it out, it makes too much sense to dismiss… yeah, I cannot imagine how much of a gut punch that whole scenario would be for Alice.
Rowen Morland
If you ar following Pixie Trix these days you’ll realize that Billie is just “bro’ing out” with her best friend.
Geez I haven’t read Pixie Trix in years. I think I kind of grew out of it. That’s Aaron? What happened to them? Were they a trans egg this whole time?! Is that what the story is actually about? I might try re-reading it if that’s what’s happening.
Steamweed
Probably not trans, but trying out dressing female? So far, it feels like Aaron wants to present as both (maybe?). Bi-presentation?
Sirksome
I read some of the comments for the strip posted and the speculation seems to lead toward fluidity or nonbinary as Aaron’s ultimate realization of his gender identity. He does share Jen’s self defined exceptions for his sexuality. That’s pretty funny actually.
Nymph
Genderfluid/nonbinary identities are also trans, but I don’t read the comic, so I can’t say whether that fits or not!
Steamweed
Given the equation “genderfluid/nonbinary identities are trans”, Aaron / Erin does qualify thusly. Eventually to be figured out. (i’m sure it will go totally smoothly with no obstacles at all)
Yeee, genderfluid falls under trans umbrella, can confirm
^-^ <3
thejeff
I think it was a combination. That Alice had followed Billie into a lot of self-destructive behavior because of her crush and the crash helped her realize not only how bad that was getting, but also look a little more clearly at Billie and see that she really wasn’t going to get what she wanted. Despite the tempting hot sex.
My question is: How clearly is she seeing her now? How much is this just seeing a few signs of change and letting hope and the crush take over again?
Honestly, given Jennifer’s history with observation, I was worried she missed the very obvious tells Joyce and Dorothy were putting out. Apparently not. I applaud the character growth.
Probably Facade. She no longer burns, or poisons herself so it was only doing half damage anyway. Fun game now though. What pokemon types would the DoA cast be? I’ll start. I think Jennifer would be a dark type maybe mixed with something like normal or fairy now that she’s evolved.
Tesset
Danny is Normal type.
Do we think Dina is Dragon, as the closest analogue to dinosaurs? Or is she Rock, as all the fossil pokemon are?
Sirksome
Rock/Dragon seems perfect for Dina.
thakoru
The idea of a Pokémon evolving into a normal type is very funny to me. Anyway, my contribution is that Becky is an electric/psychic type Dina is a rock/flying type
It’d be neat to have like a reverse Eevee, where you’ve got a bunch of little dudes of several types who all turn into a specific Normal-type.
Yumi
And that normal-type is a crab.
TheFungus
Joyce is probably a Flying type, flight is a core part of her character. Back in the walkyverse she had a jetpack and Julian Gray is a fighter pilot. Her whole arc is in a sense like a baby bird leaving the nest for the first time and learning to fly on it’s own. I feel like there is a chance she evolves into something with a more hardcore second type like fighting or steel which is a funny match because when it comes down to fight or flight situations she is very much always a fight person.
No, if she’d learned discretion, she would have established the timeline in a way that didn’t make obvious that it was relevant to something that she wasn’t telling Walky.
Nope, just half a decade. I know this because I started reading at the start of this semester and this was apparently about five years ago.
…Dear god I can’t believe I’ve been following this for so long, that’s crazy. Feels like I only started reading this a year or two ago but I found it literally the day before the timeskip.
Jeff K!
There are those of us who began following (versions of) these characters in 1999, and been here ever since!
Leorale
Yep! I’ve likewise been reading since before the great Y2K wiped out all civilization as we know it.
(It’s like the one constant in my life, and kinda means a lot to me?)
Welcome to the ride
: )
Leorale
No, wait, I think I may have started in 2003, the last year of It’s Walky!. So we’d rediscovered bronze, at least.
Cmasta1992
I definitely didn’t join in until SP! when I was in high school so maybe…2005? 2006?
Steamweed
Been reading Girl Genius since it started 1999. A few years have passed but only because of an actual time skip.
Been reading Dumbing of Age since it started 2010. About ~8 months have passed.
Carla's #2 Fan
Ayy, that’s about when I started reading! Did you also find out about this because Jeff referenced it at the bottom of a Questionable Content strip?
I think she was making sure that she didn’t need to tell him Dorothy had cheated on him (by ensuring they weren’t together when Dorothy did laundry with Joyce)
Wait, no, I’m wrong, that was only 2 days ago. I retract fully.
clif
Wait, if that was only 2 days ago, what happened one week ago? Let’s see that would be 7 chapters ago. Goes off to check.
Tan
As others have pointed out, Joyce said to Jennifer less than an hour ago that by some definitions, she maybe had sex “a week ago, by accident, with my best friend”
214 thoughts on “Back with”
Bootshivers
I am so excited for Alice, honestly.
Thag Simmons
It’s hitting me that even though she drew a line over the drinking and car crashing, there’s a lot of classic Billie bullshit that Alice is probably 100% on board with.
Rose by Any other Name
Of late, I’ve been wondering if it was less about the drinking and more about Jennifer denying that what she and Alice shared was a romantic relationship.
Like, if I was in love with my best friend and had sex with my best friend and then my best friend claimed to be straight and that passionate lovemaking was just a thing that happens sometimes between friends and not a big deal, my heart would be shattered into many jagged pieces. Reason enough for her anger even without the drinking and crashing.
Thag Simmons
Might have been a factor. We can definitely say the fracture point wasn’t the crash itself, but the aftermath where Billie tried to pretend nothing was wrong and nothing had happened, probably including Alice’s confession after the crash.
I do think that it was mostly “she is not safe”, but maybe that calculus is different if Billie’s willing to commit to actually being a couple.
Proxiehunter
The begging her to wake up post crash implies some probable head trauma. Between that and the drinking she like does not remember Alice confessing to her.
Tesset
And *that’s* what Ruth said that got Alice back on board. That she and Billie were officially a real, lesbian couple, and that Billie wasn’t in denial anymore.
GholaHalleck
I think it was basically “We nearly died because you FINALLY admitted you wanted us to be together, and NOW you’re saying it was just a phase?!”
She could go in front of the whole school and tell off a jock in the middle of being crowned prom queen, but she refused to be truthful about her bisexuality.
So they would never be an *actual* couple. Billie would NEVER admit they were anything but besties. And Alice couldn’t accept being in that closet, of being a “friend” instead of a partner.
Billie refused to take that leap and Alice cut her off because what other choice did she have while retaining her self respect?
thejeff
I don’t really get the first part. I don’t think Billie ever admitted she wanted them to be together. It was always “I’m sometimes into girls, like all straight girls are.”
GholaHalleck
I mean, she was the prom queen, told the prom king to fuck off, grabbed his girlfriend and ran out like The Graduate only instead of taking a bus like a safe drunk, she ran into a tree.
Tequila Mockingbird
Oh wow, I hadn’t considered it from this angle, but now that you’ve pointed it out, it makes too much sense to dismiss… yeah, I cannot imagine how much of a gut punch that whole scenario would be for Alice.
Rowen Morland
If you ar following Pixie Trix these days you’ll realize that Billie is just “bro’ing out” with her best friend.
Lysbeth
Don’t be silly, Rowen.
Sirksome
Geez I haven’t read Pixie Trix in years. I think I kind of grew out of it. That’s Aaron? What happened to them? Were they a trans egg this whole time?! Is that what the story is actually about? I might try re-reading it if that’s what’s happening.
Steamweed
Probably not trans, but trying out dressing female? So far, it feels like Aaron wants to present as both (maybe?). Bi-presentation?
Sirksome
I read some of the comments for the strip posted and the speculation seems to lead toward fluidity or nonbinary as Aaron’s ultimate realization of his gender identity. He does share Jen’s self defined exceptions for his sexuality. That’s pretty funny actually.
Nymph
Genderfluid/nonbinary identities are also trans, but I don’t read the comic, so I can’t say whether that fits or not!
Steamweed
Given the equation “genderfluid/nonbinary identities are trans”, Aaron / Erin does qualify thusly. Eventually to be figured out. (i’m sure it will go totally smoothly with no obstacles at all)
NGPZ
Yeee, genderfluid falls under trans umbrella, can confirm
^-^ <3
thejeff
I think it was a combination. That Alice had followed Billie into a lot of self-destructive behavior because of her crush and the crash helped her realize not only how bad that was getting, but also look a little more clearly at Billie and see that she really wasn’t going to get what she wanted. Despite the tempting hot sex.
My question is: How clearly is she seeing her now? How much is this just seeing a few signs of change and letting hope and the crush take over again?
Rose by Any other Name
Alice: Yup. I picked the right day for this.
**goes to make popcorn**
Wereg
Even if they somehow don’t get back together, I’m just excited to see Friendly Alice more.
Wereg
Or together proper, I suppose.
Serendipity
This about dorothy/joyce, huh
Frelance
nah, Lucy+guy
Envy
No, Walky was at the party that that happened at, so he knows. This is about the titty pic Dorothy was trying to send.
Steamweed
“Look, she’s sending titties pixies.”
“Oh, cool, yeah, they’re great, aren’t they?”
thejeff
Jennifer wasn’t at the party though. Walky knew, but Jennifer doesn’t know that Walky knows.
Did she even know about the Walky/Lucy breakup before Lucy came home with Jacob?
thejeff
It’s probably Dorothy/Joyce, since Joyce just told Jennifer about that, but I love that there are multiple things to speculate about.
Shakes
It’s Wally is he really going to care? He’s so laid back he’s horizontal.
Opus the Poet
Supine even.
Thag Simmons
He’s laid back, but he still cares about stuff. Not sure how he’ll react, honestly.
bibulb
“Wait, she’s banging Jacob? Okay, yeah, she’s officially out of my league now.”
justin8448
Walky literally watched Lucy and Jacob leave the dorm room party together.
Daibhid C
And if he didn’t figure it out then, he probably figured it out the next morning, when Joyce said “Literally we’ve all paired up. Me and Joe. Dorothy and Walky. Jacob and Lucy.”
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/01-love-dares-you-to-change/audit/
Needfuldoer
He’s been horizontal, alright.
BadRoad
He *might* be curious as to how his love life isn’t his business.
Steamweed
Tbf, more a matter of how his pre-lovelife isn’t his business.
BadRoad
Yeah but he doesn’t know that.
Yeet
he’s gonna care because he cares about dorothy and something happened that’s making her feel bad and act a little weird at times
whether it’s a deal breaker is another conversation but I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not
Sirksome
Jennifer learned discretion? Nice.
Rose by Any other Name
Honestly, given Jennifer’s history with observation, I was worried she missed the very obvious tells Joyce and Dorothy were putting out. Apparently not. I applaud the character growth.
NGPZ
she had to unlearn another move to have room for Discretion, wonder what it was…
Sirksome
Probably Facade. She no longer burns, or poisons herself so it was only doing half damage anyway. Fun game now though. What pokemon types would the DoA cast be? I’ll start. I think Jennifer would be a dark type maybe mixed with something like normal or fairy now that she’s evolved.
Tesset
Danny is Normal type.
Do we think Dina is Dragon, as the closest analogue to dinosaurs? Or is she Rock, as all the fossil pokemon are?
Sirksome
Rock/Dragon seems perfect for Dina.
thakoru
The idea of a Pokémon evolving into a normal type is very funny to me. Anyway, my contribution is that Becky is an electric/psychic type Dina is a rock/flying type
Taffy
It’d be neat to have like a reverse Eevee, where you’ve got a bunch of little dudes of several types who all turn into a specific Normal-type.
Yumi
And that normal-type is a crab.
TheFungus
Joyce is probably a Flying type, flight is a core part of her character. Back in the walkyverse she had a jetpack and Julian Gray is a fighter pilot. Her whole arc is in a sense like a baby bird leaving the nest for the first time and learning to fly on it’s own. I feel like there is a chance she evolves into something with a more hardcore second type like fighting or steel which is a funny match because when it comes down to fight or flight situations she is very much always a fight person.
Needfuldoer
No, she just wants him to want it more before she continues.
John Campbell
No, if she’d learned discretion, she would have established the timeline in a way that didn’t make obvious that it was relevant to something that she wasn’t telling Walky.
Shadowsnail
Jennifer uses discretion. It’s not very effective…
Michelle J Caboose
I thought it was because of the titty pic she took with Dorothy’s phone.
shadowcell
i dunno man the days feel like months sometimes, y’know?
Liara
Feels like this semester has been a decade long
Armadillo
Nope, just half a decade. I know this because I started reading at the start of this semester and this was apparently about five years ago.
…Dear god I can’t believe I’ve been following this for so long, that’s crazy. Feels like I only started reading this a year or two ago but I found it literally the day before the timeskip.
Jeff K!
There are those of us who began following (versions of) these characters in 1999, and been here ever since!
Leorale
Yep! I’ve likewise been reading since before the great Y2K wiped out all civilization as we know it.
(It’s like the one constant in my life, and kinda means a lot to me?)
Welcome to the ride
: )
Leorale
No, wait, I think I may have started in 2003, the last year of It’s Walky!. So we’d rediscovered bronze, at least.
Cmasta1992
I definitely didn’t join in until SP! when I was in high school so maybe…2005? 2006?
Steamweed
Been reading Girl Genius since it started 1999. A few years have passed but only because of an actual time skip.
Been reading Dumbing of Age since it started 2010. About ~8 months have passed.
Carla's #2 Fan
Ayy, that’s about when I started reading! Did you also find out about this because Jeff referenced it at the bottom of a Questionable Content strip?
jpnr
“there are decades where nothing happens and weeks where decades happen”
–David Willis, probably
jeffepp
Alice is calculating the relationship combinations. Buffering…
MissKellie
Yeah, Wally! Nothin’ to see here. (If ya know what’s good for ya….)
Nono
She just had to make sure that Wally hadn’t somehow amassed a harem.
Nymph
I think she was making sure that she didn’t need to tell him Dorothy had cheated on him (by ensuring they weren’t together when Dorothy did laundry with Joyce)
Tan
She was making sure her tit pic didn’t go to him
Tan
Wait, no, I’m wrong, that was only 2 days ago. I retract fully.
clif
Wait, if that was only 2 days ago, what happened one week ago? Let’s see that would be 7 chapters ago. Goes off to check.
Tan
As others have pointed out, Joyce said to Jennifer less than an hour ago that by some definitions, she maybe had sex “a week ago, by accident, with my best friend”
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/04-the-only-exception/youvemet/
Isalis
We are all Alice this day
Benjamin Geiger
Speak for yourself.