391

Buffoonery
Posted on January 23, 2025 by David M Willis

391 thoughts on “Buffoonery”

  1. NGPZ

    dammit Booster, leave Tony’s seat and stop making me hungry! XD

    *plays “Buffoonery” from SpongeBob Music on hacked muzak*

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Yes Booster is cryptic. ? No they can’t sit there.

    2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      Tony does not suffer buffoonery; he also does not suffer chicanery.

      The occasional shenanigans are fine, though. ;D

  2. shadowcell

    he’s built like a steakhouse but he handles like a bistro

    1. Nono

      More like a beefstro, am I right kids?

      1. Nymph

        Beefstro is a comic book villain for sure.

        1. Jeff K!

          I am continually baffled by the lack of a Ghost Rider style supervillain named “The Vicious Cycle”.

          You would think someone at Marvel, DC or Image would have pounced on that by now.

        2. Clif

          Takes notes.

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Sounds more like an Incredibles villain… but yeah 100%. Or maybe DyW. The Incellerator’s head hench or the person Incelmo answers to?

      2. Mr. Random

        Nah, no one remembers Beefstros.
        That’s why they turn to villany.

    2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      I believe I understood that reference!

      Hitchhiker’s Guide, yeah? 🙂 The Bistromathics drive?

  3. Doctor_Who

    Booster was there all along. They’ve been taking lessons from Dina.

    1. Clif

      Booster was behind the door?

      1. Casi

        Booster has put their own spin on it, and become the door.

        1. Casi

          I don’t mind marci but lets see if i can get sal

        2. Casi

          robin is acceptable

        3. Clif

          I would think so.

        4. Casi

          indubitably

      2. Michael Steamweed

        Charlie gravatar adds nicely to that question.

    2. Queezle

      They are a fast learner.

    3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      The snarks are coming from Inside The Tony!

    4. Lars

      It is Ghost Booster in Sarahs mind – like Ghost Mike in Ambers. Just look at the shading.

      1. someone

        If there’s a new ship in your neighborhood
        Who you gonna call? Ghost Booster!
        If people flirt, and it does look good
        Who you gonna call? Ghost Booster!

    5. Sharizard

      With Sarah’s luck lately, the next scene is just going to be Tony and Booster making out in front of her.

    6. Mark

      Hiding among the busy wallpaper.

    7. samantha

      much like Sam Reich, Booster has been here the whole time.

  4. Nono

    Booster, Tony is perfectly average height, are you the kind of person that only goes after men of Joe’s height

    1. Nymph

      Maybe! Nothing wrong with that.

    2. Amelie Wikström

      The campus average size may have distorted Booster’s view of men. (Willis likes his giants.)

      1. Nono

        Giant men and short thick women with glasses?

        1. Clif

          He has a type?

        2. Kimi

          I thought that he fed off of drama and other people’s angst and internal suffering?

        3. Amelie Wikström

          I know we’re joking but what you like to draw doesn’t really say anything about any of that. . .

        4. Taffy

          Unless you can draw feet well. Then everyone knows what you’re doing.

        5. Kimi

          I thought that we were talking about Booster?

        6. Kimi

          And I now realize that I used the incorrect pronoun, which would be the cause of the confusion. I wish that we had something different for gender neutral singular because by brain absolutely hates “they” as a singular subject. Sometimes I can’t decide if my brain or thr English language is worse.

        7. Nono

          It has probably changed over the years considering in the first strip Danny was originally supposed to end up with Mary.

        8. morleuca

          Please tell me there’s another Mary that I didn’t know about.

        9. Taffy

          No, there was some heavy flirtation between Danny and Mary in the ancient scrolls. Both of them were scumfuck killjoys and it didn’t work out.

    3. peng

      aw cmon they called him filet mignon!

  5. Nono

    I guess new gravatar shuffle? Good luck to everyone I guess.

    1. Chiatroll

      new gravitars? Do they stick to an email?

      1. Chiatroll

        hell yeah! blowjob cat.

        1. MK15

          Ooh! What do I get I wonder!? I’ve had Sarah for a while now…

        2. MK15

          Appropriate juxtaposition!

        3. Theluxland

          Everyone changed? Or is it a ”Normal character thing”?

        4. Michael Steamweed

          Perfect gravatar is perfect. 😀

      2. Nono

        You can basically change the capitalization of letters in an email to try and fish for a different one.

        1. Clif

          I’m currently trying to catch Becky. She’s proving resistant.

        2. Nono

          Have you considered using a lesbian as bait?

        3. Clif

          Good thought.

        4. Ololo-518

          It worked!

        5. John Campbell

          But why would they when they already have the best one?

        6. JA

          Didn’t know this was a thing.

        7. JA

          …testing to see if it works.

        8. JA

          Huh, wow, it does.

        9. Plain Marie

          Also testing. Do I still have the little sister?

        10. Plain Marie

          Hahaha! Lemme try again.

        11. Plain Marie

          Oy, it’s roller derby all the way down.

        12. tunasammich

          I just keep what fate hands me

      3. Decidedly Orthogonal

        There’s an article about Grav Roulette on the Walkypedia.

        https://walkypedia.fandom.com/wiki/Grav_Roulette

    2. Cassie

      Bleah I liked who I had. Rolling i guess.

      1. Cassie

        Hm. Let’s see other options

        1. Cassie

          2 gay girls in a row let’s see if we can make it 3

        2. Cassie

          Idk if bj cat counts

        3. Cassie

          Universe really wants me to have Leslie. I was hoping Jocelyne would be in here tbh.

        4. Cassie

          Absofuckinglutely not. One last roll and we’ll see what comes up

        5. Cassie

          Hell yeah last try lucky! I’ll take Carla any day of the week.

        6. Casi

          So jelly you got Carla, cassie. I’m okay with professor robin tho

        7. NGPZ

          BTW if I may ask, are both your names pronounced the same or no?

        8. Taffy

          In my upcoming animated adaptation of this comment thread, Cassie’s name is pronounced “KOSS-yay”, and Casi’s is pronounced “KAZ-ih”. We’ve already got half of Grey Griffin’s dialogue recorded, but you’ll never guess who she plays.

        9. NGPZ

          heh, wonder if Willis can fill us in on their orientations ^^

        10. Miri

          I didn’t realise BJ cat was a real option (I thought a few people had it as a custom one!)

    3. Random832

      rolling

      1. Random832

        fine with that, but one more for good measure

        i don’t have a gambling problem

    4. Dawn

      Ooh, testing

    5. thejeff

      I guess this is the thread for today’s spin

  6. abi

    re: the alt text, booster is absolutely a cryptid, yes.

    1. abi

      hmm… i don’t hate lucy, but i don’t love her either.

      1. abi

        gravatar roulette GO

        1. abi

          oh come on…

        2. abi

          squints at site, now you’re just doing this on purpose

        3. abi

          …yeah okay, considering I have two panels of Ruth clipped and saved on my desktop because of how much I felt that in my soul, I’m good with this.

        4. Clif

          Congratulations on achieving your final form.

        5. sultryglebe

          Final form for now.

    2. Clif

      Booster may absolutely be a cryptid, but I’m not at all clear where the question is coming from.

      Probably from the cultural referent flying over my head.

      1. Nono

        Probably in the sense of appearing out of nowhere in a paranormal sense?

        1. Clif

          Wouldn’t that be a spectral?

  7. Kyrik Michalowski

    I totally forgot about Booster; how long has it been since we have seen them?

    Strangely though I did not forget about Charlie because she’s with Carla and that delights me.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      Roulette time!

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        How about no?

        1. Kyrik Michalowski

          Forgot to change a letter

        2. Kyrik Michalowski

          Neat, but not Sal.

        3. Kyrik Michalowski

          Hell no

        4. Kyrik Michalowski

          Why didn’t that change anything?

        5. Kyrik Michalowski

          Danny is Sal adjacent, so he’ll work for tonight.

        6. NGPZ

          probably cuz every time it picks randomly from the pool of *all* the avatars, and there’s no rule preventing it from picking the one you already have (odds of it happening are ~1/30)

        7. HueSatLight

          I’ve got a count of 36, not counting the super-rare Arnold one.

        8. Clif

          1 in 34 by my current calculation. Which is indeed about 1 in 30.

        9. NGPZ

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-12/01-sister-christian/too

          I counted 33 unique ones here, although might be missing one XD

        10. NGPZ

          heck, when we get 3 more that’ll legit be enough for a standard roulette wheel hahahaha

        11. Clif

          Ah, 35. I forgot to count Danny because I have him listed separately for expression.

          My list: (loosely alphabetic-ish)
          Amazigirl, Asher, Amber, Agatha, Becky
          Blowjob Cat, Booster, Brock, Carla, Charlie
          Danny, Daisy, Dorothy, Dina, Ethan
          Fuckface, Jason, Joyce, Jennifer, Julia Gray
          Joe, Jocelyn, Jacob, Liz, Leslie
          Lyle, Lucy, Marcie, Malaya, Ruth
          Robin, Sarah, Sal, Tony, Walky

          Am I missing anyone except for Arnold?

        12. HueSatLight

          Roz

        13. NGPZ

          awe SHIT

          now the total number of them actually corresponds with the number of places on a standard roulette wheel! ^-^

        14. Clif

          Thank you. – 36!

        15. Sirksome

          Ah! Another season of my favorite show! Grav Roulette: The Search for Sal. I always fear each season will be the last but it inevitably renews. I have, like many, opted to draw and input my own unique grav but I do sometimes miss the chase!

        16. Clif

          Sal was difficult, but not the most difficult this time around. I’ve seen very few Amazigirls so I suspect she’s the hard one this time, though I finally found her. I’ve seen plenty of Beckys, but I can’t seem to get one.

        17. Clif

          And there we are!!!

        18. Miri

          I’ll do a roll in your honour ?

        19. Nono

          Ooh Tony’s in the mix, I’d be okay with him. Or Joe/Asher I guess?

        20. Clif

          Tony is indeed in the mix.

    2. Nono

      Last time was basically the party in Joyce’s room where Lucy and Jacob hooked up. So around 5 months ago.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        I sometimes forget how long it takes to finish a day, let alone a week.

      2. thejeff

        Or as we like to call 5 months ago around here, day before yesterday.
        (Technically they also appeared waking up the morning after.)

      3. Rosstifer

        So, yesterday in strip time?

  8. Vanessa Pinter

    Why walk away, that is pretty disrespectful. He can still be romantic even if he likes grumps.

    1. Thag Simmons

      I suspect Tony is not the most romantic guy, like, in general.

      1. Clif

        He’s only throwing away the coffee cup. He’ll be back.

        1. HueSatLight

          running back. ba-dum–tish

    2. Taffy

      Why walk away from where the trash can isn’t? “I’m throwing away my cup.”, Panel 3. He has to walk to the trash can to get to the trash can. He can’t get there by staying at the table. Walking toward Sarah would only result in collision with Sarah, not the trash can.

      1. Nymph

        Maybe he was supposed to throw it in from the three point line… oh wait, maybe that’s a different sport.

        1. Taffy

          He’s a football guy, yeah? That’s definitely the one with a three point line. It’s located about 2/3rds of the way down the diamond.pp

        2. Taffy

          Let it be known I did not type the “pp”, my phone is just haunted and the phantom inputs are aggressive. (In fact, while typing this, it’s opened up several extra tabs, nearly every app, and almost signed me up for HBO Max using my autofill.)

        3. Nymph

          Did you remember to get the exorcist app?

  9. Matty

    Speaking as one himself I don’t know yet if I like or dislike the frequent reminders that Tony is a short king.

    1. Nono

      He’s around 5’8”? That’s like average. Just that the men as part of the cast have been kinda tall other than Walky.

    2. Nono

      Kinda funny comment from a Becky gravatar.

    3. HueSatLight

      It seems like the kind of bullshit he would not suffer.

    4. Nymph

      I think it’s probably getting mentioned so much because it’s going to be part of a plot in a bit here.

      1. Taffy

        Someone’s gonna try sniping him, but they’ll aim for his head and miss because his head is lower than they expected.

    5. Michael Steamweed

      Bugs me a bit, but not much. Just seems like commenting on a man’s height is as shallow as commenting on a woman’s breast size.

      1. Clif

        Ones you could get lost in?

  10. Vukodlak

    He’s Booster, moment killer.

    1. Sirksome

      Obligatory and polite “they” correction for Booster.

      1. Thag Simmons

        They’se Booster, moment killer.

        1. NGPZ

          like Hannibal Lecter for moments XD

    2. RassilonTDavros

      *they

    3. NGPZ

      *they

    4. Nymph

      Obligatory and impolite correction to they/them for Booster to counteract the polite one.

      1. Clif

        Gratuitous and random lack of any correction to counteract the coherent ones.

      2. Reltzik

        Obligatory philosophical musings meant to undermine cultural norms of “polite” and “impolite” as containing any well-defined and relevant meaning, thereby making the distinction pointless.

        1. Clif

          Evil! Pure and simple. By way of the eighth dimension!

        2. thejeff

          No matter where you go.

    5. Freemage

      Hopefully soon to be Booster, hot coffee wearer.

      1. Michael Steamweed

        Hopefully ol’ Boost will fuck right off so SarahTonyn can get back to things.

  11. Sirksome

    Now is when Sarah will realize that being a main character in a comic named “Dumbing of Age” means there’s lots of buffoonery in her life.

  12. RassilonTDavros

    You never knew it, Sarah, but Booster was always there.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      …there.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        …there.

        1. RassilonTDavros

          …there.

        2. jeffepp

          …their.

        3. Nymph

          they’re

        4. Clif

          Here.

        5. Michael Steamweed

          …their’re.

  13. jeffepp

    A rival has arrived! But whose rival are they?

    Tune in next time for:

    Three For Tea
    Or
    Poly Me Pnother One

    1. jeffepp

      -Another-

      1. Clif

        No, no. I feel Pnother has possibilities.

        I’ll have a pnother pnutbutter pnanna sand-witch.

      2. Michael Steamweed

        No, the P is fine; it’s silent, ’cause they sit down.

  14. BBCC

    Booster is always with us!

    And they ain’t wrong about Tony.

    1. Thomas

      Steak’s taken, Booster!

  15. Throwatron

    every nb ive ever met is definitely a cryptid. i think that’s why people keep thinking they don’t exist!

    1. Nono

      Malaya being a cryptid makes some sort of twisted sense, I guess?

  16. DailyBrad

    Booster has been a fun addition to the cast.

    So far, so has Tony.

    1. DailyBrad

      Oh yeah, I could get used to this one.

    2. Michael Steamweed

      Shaping up to be a good straight man (in the comedic sense). (probably the other sense, too)

      Doesn’t like suffering buffoonery.
      Takes up with Sarah.
      Immediately gets buffooned at by 30+ DoA cast members.

  17. Coatl

    Booster has already been installed to see more.

  18. PedanticJerkass

    “Can we get more of Charlie?”

    “We have Charlie at home.” –> last panel

    1. Clif

      Excuse me, I was thinking about steak.

      What were you thinking about?

  19. HMRC4EVR

    If Booster is a Cryptid, does that mean the Secret Saturdays will soon guest star?

    1. anon

      I mean if anything some psych student analyzing some young teens/20 somethings might be more scary than an acutal cyrptid lol

  20. HueSatLight

    Find it hard to believe Walky didn’t at least point him out to Booster, so that he could make his joke again.

    1. GholaHalleck

      Willis is saving that for the next time Walky wins the pateron poll.

      1. GholaHalleck

        Dina? Acceptable! I too have wanted to engage in sexual relations on top of a giant plush dinosaur.

        1. Clif

          Haven’t we all?

  21. Sirksome

    Gotta say I don’t know how I feel about Tony being a guy who says “buffoonery”. Really changed my perspective on him. I just don’t’t know where I’d stand.

    1. Nono

      Is it better or worse than tomfoolery?

      1. Sirksome

        Worse than “tomfoolery”, not as bad as “shenanigans”. And for gays sake be wary of anyone who uses “hijinx” regularly. Once every fort night is acceptable.

        1. Nono

          Is hijinx on the same level as hijinks, or will we just chalk that up to regional differences?

        2. Doopyboop

          I for one would absolutely get a cup of coffee with a guy that says ‘chicanery’.

        3. Michael Steamweed

          Lotta people in Louisiana like chicanery root in their coffee.

        4. Clif

          Piquant .

        5. Casi

          isn’t that chicory?

        6. Michael Steamweed

          Yes, that’s chicory. That was the joke…chicanery/chicory. 😀

    2. Versen

      Fat fingered a report on your comment when I was going to reply, so my bad.

      I think it’s to help denote his father/family being older/old money, that WASPy young but also kind of old soul approach. But he seems mostly really good on stuff so it could be a fun contrast.

      I wonder if this will get us more insight into his dad and his dad’s generation, which will then maybe get us more insight into Walky’s mom and so on.

      1. Taffy

        I reported you on purpose, which you’d never have known if I didn’t say so.

        1. Clif

          Taffy didn’t really report you, he’s just saying that.

          I know this for sure because I just made it up.

        2. Taffy

          And now you’re reported for third-degree pronoun ________.

    3. Jeremiah

      Why??

    4. Michael Steamweed

      I think Tony takes after his father (the Dean) in many ways. Very no-nonsense; kind of old-fashioned in mannerisms but open-minded and generally humane.

    5. anon

      I mean buffoonery might evoke a specific type of behavior /trait in mind b/c saying something like “i don’t have time for idiots” might come off as condescending even if you don’t mean like “average/below average” on paper/test taking wise lol

  22. sdrainbow

    fuck off booster

    1. Freemage

      I’m really hoping Sarah decides to get rid of the rest of her coffee, too–in Booster’s lap.

      1. Taffy

        What’s with this persistent misconception that you can absorb nutrients and chemicals via other people’s clothes and skin? No, Sarah should not put her coffee in Booster’s lap, because then Sarah won’t get the caffeine. Gods, I get that culture is different in the Hive Mines of Zeebu 23, where individual bodily continuity gets fuzzy and harder to define, but you space moon brainmelders make it difficult for us individualites sometimes.

        1. Clif

          The joke is that you are actually a committee that thinks you’re an individuality because there is a subcommittee whose job is to is to explain yourself to you and that subcommittee really makes stuff up wholesale that kind of makes sense, and then the committee as a whole believes what the subcommittee reports.

  23. Icalasari

    Did Dina teach Booster teleportation?

    1. NGPZ

      solid maybe?

      Instant Transmission is a technique which takes quite a while to hone

      1. Mark

        You forgot the “Ironically, ” at the start of that sentence.

      2. Michael Steamweed

        Buck Godot agrees with this statement.

    2. OBBWG

      No. Joyce uses teleportation. Dina is undetectable.

      Now for some Gravatar roulette.

      1. OBBWG

        Nah. Try again.

        1. OBBWG

          Maybe, but one more try….

        2. OBBWG

          We have a winner!

        3. Clif

          Congratulations on achieving your final form.

  24. Nono

    Weirdly, almost every time there’s a gravatar shuffle, my old email ends up as Daisy.

    1. Clif

      There are worse fates.

  25. Nullset

    Booster is a collective tulpa born from the trauma
    Mike’s death wrought on the cast.

    1. Raven

      That makes a scary amount of sense XD

    2. GholaHalleck

      Still say he’s some kind of Mike Cryptid. The hair and general miasma of dickish-ness lean into some kind of clone or alternate reality.

      1. Wilde

        They’re not enough of a dick for me to see it, but I do get they serve a similar role as catalysts!

        1. Wilde

          Sorry Lucy

        2. Wilde

          Hrrm I’d like one more try for tonight!

        3. Wilde

          I’ll take it

      2. Nymph

        Booster uses they/them pronouns, not he/him.

  26. Rolf of Many Doors

    Mike’s dickish behavior was born out of general spite and genuine care for others’ ability to handle negative social interaction in addition to Mike’s penchant for schadenfreude. Booster’s dickish behavior is entirely self-serving by all appearances, and being neurodivergent doesn’t excuse being a dick.

  27. Deanatay

    In case you were wondering, a ‘buffoon’ refers to Medieval European entertainers who elicited laughs from a crowd by whacking people with inflated sheep’s bladders.

    I, too, do not suffer people to whack me with inflated sheep’s bladders.

    1. Clif

      How are you at whacking others?

      1. Deanatay

        I have been know to whack off, occasionally.

        1. Clif

          If you use inflated sheep’s bladders, I commend your dedication to the bit.

  28. Dara

    Buffoonery.

    Buffoonery.

    Slappy Squirrel is in the back of my head now saying, “You remind me of a very young Monty Burns.”

    1. Mark

      It’s nice to see someone taking neglected words out for a walk in the fresh air now and then.

      1. Clif

        As a prepilgarlik ultracrepidarian who engages in uglyography and scurryfunge, I heartily concur provided its not swullocking and the fresh air contains no twirlblasts.

        Pilgarlik -Bald. Apparently, in the 16th century, they thought bald men’s heads looked like peeled garlic. Prepilgarlik – someone not bald but headed that way.

        Ultracrepidarian – One who gives their opinions on things they don’t know anything about. Became a popular term in Britain in the 19th century.

        Uglyography – Poor handwriting.

        Scurryfunge – The act of hastily cleaning before a guest arrives.

        Swullocking – excessively humid weather.

        Twirlblast – A tornado, according to people in the 1700s. Why we switched to tornado is beyond understanding. Though the more general term, cyclone, as a synonym for tornado, was popular among country folk when I was a kid. But twirlblast is perfectly descriptive and it is difficult to understand why we gave it up.

        Anybody else have words that need to be trotted out and exercised?

  29. IntangibleMatter

    Re: title text

    In all likelihood yes, surprised it took this long to be realized.

  30. RacingTurtle

    Tony: “I don’t suffer buffoonery.”

    Booster: “Speak of the devil, and I shall appear!”

    Yes, Booster darling, I’m insulting you. Fortunately, I have a little more tolerance for buffoonery than Tony and Sarah do.

  31. Nymph

    I actually really love Booster, and I’m struggling to see what they’re saying in this strip that’s bugging people so much. Genuinely.

    1. RacingTurtle

      For me, the main problem is sitting down in Tony’s chair uninvited. It’s rude. Hilarious from a comic-reading perspective, and I’m interested to see where this goes, but rude.

      1. Nono

        I’m just suspecting they’re a Sarah subconscious fragment taking the form of Booster to remind her how she feels about shorter guys.

        1. NGPZ

          Mike is this universe’s version of the Smile entity confirmed XD

      2. Taffy

        His empty chair he’s not even currently sitting in, which can be un-sat just as easily as it’s been sat.

        1. HueSatLight

          The residual body heat will be all wrong.

        2. Taffy

          Tony has a native body heat of 150°F (~5°C), so that chair was gonna be warm when he returned anyway.

        3. HueSatLight

          Not just the wrong temperature. Tony’s bodyheat is 100% no-nonsense. He’ll sit down and notice the heat in the chair is suddenly much higher nonsense. Booster’s bodyheat is at least 25% wise-cracking.

        4. RacingTurtle

          An action being easily undone isn’t what makes it rude or not? If I did this to someone, it would be to annoy them for giggles, it would be someone I care about, I would be being rude, and I would be doing it on purpose

      3. Nymph

        Oh, I guess I just have a higher bar for rudeness. Thank you for explaining your side of it.

        1. RacingTurtle

          No problem! Gave me an excuse to talk about Booster, whom I love despite (because of?) their comedic rudeness

    2. Jeremiah

      Booster is one of the characters some people get pissy whenever they do anything. Like Becky.

      1. Clif

        Becky never paid Joyce back for the haircut. Or something like that.

        1. Jeremiah

          Oh my god people were so weird about the haircut!

        2. Nono

          Wasn’t Jennifer the one who gave her the $20 for the haircut?

        3. Needfuldoer

          Jennifer gave Becky $20 to go away. Becky used that $20 for the haircut.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/waitup-2/

        4. Nono

          Yeah, I was confused why Becky would have to pay Joyce back for it.

        5. thejeff

          Maybe not “paying her back” exactly, but there was a lot of talk about her wasting money on a haircut when she was freeloading on Joyce.

        6. Jeremiah

          Which was stupid and weird.

        7. Nymph

          Yikes I missed this whole debacle. People are so weird.

        8. Taffy

          Becky was supposed to purchase a home and vehicle, fund her own tuition, solve the energy crisis, end all war in the Middle East, and bring back the original 1993 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers merchandise line so Kyle could get a legit vintage Megazord with no color fading. With $20.

        9. Clif

          In fairness, Joyce was going without food and selling matches and flowers out in the snow in her bare feet so that Becky would have a place to sleep.

        10. thejeff

          The best part of that whole kerfluffle was a year or so later in first kidnapping sequence we get Ross’s “Your hair is your womanhood” and we get a glimpse that it wasn’t as unimportant as it might have seemed.

      2. wetmonstersmell

        Hmm, wonder what those two have in common!

    3. Woop de doop

      Booster is top five for me probably. Idk, i don’t have a line up. But they’re up there for sure.

    4. pope suburban

      I think people are afraid Booster will do something For The Plot, in a way that will have negative effects for Sarah, who has already been through quite a bit between how things went with Jacob and being attacked by an incel and also the lasting damage from Raidah’s bullshit. Like, Booster has done things that were not wrong but were also not polite or arguably necessary, like the floor meeting analysis or how they treated Amber after she asked them to befriend Ethan. So I think it’s just preemptive dread rather than that they have already done something objectionable.

      1. Nymph

        Sounds stressful to exist that way, but I appreciate you explaining what might be the issue there.

    5. Tan

      I love Booster a lot actually, but also they have just inserted themself into someone else’s date between one person they have barely interacted with and another they haven’t at all (to our knowledge), sitting down in someone else’s chair uninvited.

      Like sitting at someone else’s table uninvited just in general is pretty rude if you aren’t close enough to that person to have standing invitation to be around them (so in Sarah’s case, Joyce could). But Sarah also trying to have a romantic moment with a new guy really amplifies it. This is a moment that is Not Cool to interfere with, unless they have a really good reason that is not yet obvious.

      Also just in general I think a lot of us personally resonate with telling someone to go away and leave us alone because you’re in my space uninvited and I don’t want that right now, and that person not respecting that.

      ALL OF THAT SAID. I still love Booster a lot and look forward to them in pretty much any other context than this.

    6. Wraithy2773

      Yeah, for me, its just that they’re doing anything here. This is Sarah and Tony’s moment, they seem to be having a good time together, Booster coming along to wedge themself in there is just rude.

      Particularly since Booster has a tendency towards amateur psychology bullshit, inserting themself and commenting on situations that others have not asked for help with.

      Sarah seems to have a potential issue that she’s taller than Tony, but if Booster comes up here to comment on it, that would just be an asshole thing to do… and also entirely in keeping with previous scenes involving Booster.

    7. PedanticJerkass

      It’s the fact that they’re there at all, in this particular case.

    8. anon

      Some might’ve considered it/welcomed sitting down/near but i guess it does come off as pretty rude, esp with someone like Sarah who’s very antisocial /wouldn’t go outta her way to befriend

  32. Suet

    How is Booster a cryptid? Came out of the wall like *popping sound*?

    More like steak bites than a filet mignon

    1. HueSatLight

      Moth-them.

  33. Ray

    Sarah’s focused on TUBE steak, methinks..

    1. NGPZ

      could really use an actual tube steak rn, ngl

      1. Clif

        Is that anything like a finger steak?

  34. Qube

    well Booster is certainly some sorta unidentifiable whatsahoosit, but “cryptid” is a strong word

    I mean I’m lookin’ right at ’em they’re right there

  35. endplanets

    Booster isn’t real.
    Dude is just a figment of your imagination that pops up when nobody is around.

    1. PedanticJerkass

      Brain Ghost Booster.

  36. Leaflet Erin

    I like Tony. Tony is chill.

    1. Clif

      Not chill with buffoonery. Or smiling too much.

      Maybe we should start a list.

      1. Thomas

        …and his features travel all over his face. Are his eyes above or beside his nose? You tell me.

  37. Yak

    Oh no. Tony would hate me irl

    1. anon

      i mean as long s you’re not trying to annoy him on purpose, i think most pplwould be happy to let live, esp in a place like college where one would say, ‘get their buffoonery out of their system’ before going into the ‘adult world’ or so lol

      Can’t wait to see him irritated at walky more but i wonder if he tolerates ‘accidental buffoonery’/natural to one’s personality as opposed to intentional buffoonery like walky

  38. Queezle

    I really want Sarah to not let the “I am taller than him” thing get in the way. Tony seems like a good match. And Booster is there… we will see where they are going with this. I suppose.

    1. Queezle

      Nope. Sorry Danny.

      1. Queezle

        maybe

    2. Nymph

      I want Sarah to choose a partner based on whatever criteria she deems important. It’s as important to be physically into and comfy with your partner as any other compatibility issue!

    3. anon

      That’s just more of physical attraction, she seems to connect with him otherwise unless it’s gonna give us a cut to them in the bedroom and being like “Sorry, not feeling it ” or so

  39. Dana W

    When I was younger I dreamed of dating somebody with this low bullshit attitude. Never happened but oh it would have been nice. Knowing whats expected, not playing “Guess the emotion I”m having now” while I sit and look constipated at you. Hope she does not mess this up.

    1. Queezle

      Yes, Sarah deserves something good.

      1. Queezle

        Now, this gravatar I can live with. Praise be gravatar gods.

    2. Mark

      Yeah, that sounds nice. It’s asking the other to take on quite a bit of risk, though, early in the relationship. “Guess how I’m going to react to your frankness.”

    3. Holly

      As someone who is plain-speaking and straightforward, it doesn’t tend to work well. Even people who say they want openness and honesty tend to be terrified of it when they actually receive it – and often don’t reciprocate in kind.

    4. Carl Muckenhoupt

      She is absolutely going to mess this up. Because Willis.

      Basically what I expect to happen is for Sarah, who regards herself as having a no-nonsense attitude and being impatient of nonsense on the part of others, to turn out to be *too nonsense* for Tony, provoking a crisis of self on her part.

  40. Jamie

    Willis, you turned an object into a character and you’re surprised the result is a cryptid? Really?

    1. Jeremiah

      Would be funny if the booster stick had their exact personality but we didn’t know because it couldn’t talk.

    2. Nono

      Not to be confused with Ultra Car in the other universe.

    3. Mark

      [sound of clues falling into place] Booster is the PBR? Oooookay.

      No more wondering if Charlie’s nickname is Orbital Maneuvering System, then.

      1. RacingTurtle

        Booster’s surname is Sanchez, but people with Hispanic surnames often take one family name from each parent. I live in hope that Booster’s other family name is Rodriguez

        1. RacingTurtle

          Hahahaha perfect

  41. Reltzik

    …. it occurs to me that insightfulness might not actually be a trait that evolution selects for.

    1. NGPZ

      *natural selection is what happens to individual living organisms, evolution is what happens to populations of them over a very, VERY long time

      1. eh, whatever

        Evolution is descent with heritable modification. That can go faster.

    2. eh, whatever

      that the environment selects for.

  42. apricot

    The foreseeable problem, of course, is that Sarah is constantly surrounded by and lives with buffoonery, and I’m pretty sure she’d choose her friendships and Joyce over any guy, buffoon or not. She talks a big game, but what’s it gonna be like when that’s actually challenged by someone who legitimately doesn’t suffer buffoonery?

    1. DaveM

      Was just thinking this. I foresee a “Damn you Willis! moment coming. A specific one dealing with this new maybe relationship mind you, not the general one that’s always lurking in the shadows.

    2. Nono

      Does Ruth suffer buffoonery? I think Ruth won that round during orientation.

      1. Thing2

        There it is! The top gravatar.

  43. FacelessDeviant

    Skunk wallpaper?
    Bold choice!

    1. J.Gawain

      Good thing they are in a coffee shop and not a chocolate factory. I’d hate these scratch and sniff options.

  44. Amós Batista

    Off: Must be fun to to play with Avatar Roulette (I do my own questionable avatars)

  45. Kyulen

    Booster, please do not screw this up for Sarah. She deserves at least a few good things, and this potential relationship with her and Tony seems like it could be good for her.

  46. Lee

    I feel like smallish steak of a man is going to enter my vocabulary…

  47. Lamppost

    Is it an American thing to use single-use cups even when drinking in the café? That seems wasteful.

    1. NGPZ

      yes, and it is one of the many ways our capitalist society is rather wasteful

    2. Needfuldoer

      Reusable cups would mean the cafe would need the same scale of dishwashing utilities as a sit-down restaurant, instead of just a small machine to wash their preparation utensils. Customers would break them, walk out the door with them, or throw them away.

      Giving everyone disposable cups is wasteful but streamlines their workflow.

      1. Nono

        Are cafes not considered sit-down restaurants? You get coffee and sometimes food, you sit down and consume them.

        Starbucks uses both resuable and plastic cups.

        1. Taffy

          Starbucks can fuck off and go out of business. Every time I go there and ask for coffee, they give me chocolate milk.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Ya gotta go ta Dunkies if ya wanna cuppa cawfee, ked.

        3. Michael Steamweed

          Be ye reffing Dunkin Donuts? Good eats they got.

        4. Pergola

          Every time I ask for a Large at Starbucks, they put ‘vente’ in it.

        5. Needfuldoer

          It depends on whether they have table service, or if they’re basically a lunch counter with tables. The Panda Express locations I’ve been to give everyone their orders in take-out containers with disposable tableware, even though they have tables. There’s a pizza chain in my region that has disposable everything, but they give you your plates and cutlery on a reusable cafeteria tray.

        6. Lamppost

          Cafes are sit down places! I guess we have a select few places where I’m from that are more like take away spots with a counter at the window, but this place looks a little fancier than that, so I was surprised to see the single use cup.
          I lived in Italy for a bit and we used to buy coffee to consume while standing (it cost more if you sat down). Still served in regular cups!

    3. Zaxares

      It… can get complicated. Re-washing crockery means you need to use water, soap, and possibly hot water. You may also need to use dryers to dry the crockery before they can be sent out to customers again. All of those also involve resource and electricity costs, which when you break it down, depending on your exact location and availability of resources and how the electricity is produced, might actually cost the environment MORE than if you used disposable (and biodegradable) one-use cups that can benefit from things like mass production and economies of scale.

      1. Adept

        It really won’t. To get that result you have to be super inefficient in washing the cups. Now, in a perverse enough environment it may _cost_ the business more to use durable cups, but that is a whole ’nother argument.

      2. yak

        A commercial dishwashing setup is generally very small, takes a few minutes to run, and is going to have a way smaller environmental impact than either producing/transporting the paper in a cup or washing by hand does. They are, however, pretty expensive.

        The main practical issue, aside from the fact that these things cost thousands of dollars, is that a lot of cafes are in generic ‘shop’ slots that might not even have water or 240V hookups. I have seen some that are literally just a counter with an espresso machine on it.

        1. yak

          should also mention that while the marginal environmental impact of an individual paper cup is very small, a successful store will be handing out hundreds a day, and there are a lot of indirect impacts of the infrastructure to produce and distribute them, not to mention that almost all of them are going to end up either on the ground or in a landfill (or being burned in a recycling plant, because they’re probably not recyclable).

        2. Taffy

          This kind of thing is why I think we’re not really meant to live in such large, dense settlements. I can’t fully articulate the connection, but it’s something that’s been at the back of my mind.

        3. thejeff

          Our impact is far less living in those large dense settlements than it would be spread out.

    4. Yumi

      Most places definitely default to disposable cups, if not offering only that. Some part might be that customers may want the option to leave with the rest of their drink after they’ve been sitting with it for a few minutes, but it’s mostly about what the store deems beneficial in big chains. And unfortunately, big chains set a lot of the norms for these things.

    5. Mark

      Dunno if it’s “American” but yes, it’s done here in the USA. Probably it’s more “cheap” and/or “lazy”. By now it’s ingrained habit in the hospitality community: opening a certain kind of establishment? just make everything to-go and buy big trash bins.

    6. Lamppost

      Oh wow, forgot about this until now and saw all your replies! Thank you for engaging with it, this was pretty interesting!

  48. Needfuldoer

    Nobody asked, Booster.

  49. darkoneko

    Boos5er, butt out

  50. Envy

    Grav Roulette time!

  51. Thing2

    Joining in…

    1. Michael Steamweed

      Wait! Where’s Thing1??

  52. Shakes

    What if Tony is TOO MUCH of a misanthrope for the gradually softening Sarah?

    1. Nono

      He’s on the football team, I imagine there’s some level of socializing involved? Maybe not his first pick but he probably interacts with more people than Sarah.

      1. Clif

        Just the pretty ones.

  53. Zaxares

    This strip reminds me of something that Tommy Lee Jones once said to Jim Carrey when they were filming Batman Forever together.

    TLJ: “I do not like you. I cannot stand you. I cannot sanction your buffoonery.”

    Apparently the two actors did not get along on the set.

    1. Daibhid C

      Which may explain why Tommy Jones appears to be in a different movie, and possibly a slightly better one.

    2. Alan Lafond

      I just searched the comments to see if anybody would make this reference! Is Tony’s full name, perhaps, Tony Lee Jones? LOL!

  54. TheFlamingonator

    They just blended in with the wallpaper and snuck into the panel like in Pink Panther.

    1. TheFlamingonator

      New gravatar! Kinda sad I am not Carla but I will take a walky

    2. Michael Steamweed

      Booster can creep around in the wallpaper. Just like in the poem “The Yellow Wallpaper”.

  55. Adept

    Booster turned up to poke at Sarah’s height fetish. Are they trying to make her confront it, or just trolling her?

    1. eh, whatever

      Why would they know about it?

      1. ValdVin

        Is it just that Booster guessed Sarah likes guys at least her height? That would be fairly mainstream (unlike a lot if things about her.)

        And how tall is Sarah anyway? Joyce is 5’4″, as Is Dorothy, and Walks is 5’7″, but beyond that I’m forgetting.

        1. HueSatLight

          It’s mostly relative. Sarah is a little taller than Danny. https://www.tumblr.com/dumbingofage/711775268338122752/this-has-probably-been-asked-before-but-what-are?source=share
          She’s shorter than Joe. https://www.dumbingofage.com/crashandburn/

    2. Nymph

      Fetish? Having a physical preference in partners is a fetish now? lmao

  56. AGV/Ruby

    They’re back!

  57. Alan in DC

    The artwork is generally pretty accurate when it comes to local landmarks. Are you telling me there’s really a coffee shop in Bloomington with that wacky-ass wallpaper?

    1. Yumi

      It was identified yesterday as a place called Hopscotch… would hardly say that’s “wacky-ass wallpaper,” though.

      1. Leadsynth

        Ooh, I was hoping it would be analogous to a real place, just as Galasso’s is analogous to Mother Bear’s Pizza!

  58. zee

    Oh fuck gravelette

    1. zee

      Rolling

      1. zee

        Rolling

        1. zee

          Kay fours my daily limit

        2. moon

          why are we talking about limp bizkit

        3. Taffy

          Because if we don’t, their spirit will fade out of existence. Didn’t you watch Coco?

        4. NGPZ

          yeah!

          I like how the way the afterlife works there is actually something which can actually make sense even without belief in the supernatural

          recounts of people’s lives passed on via oral tradition, that which they have written, marks on the world such as those by Akira Toriyama and countless others, etc.

          stores of information in our brains and in recorded media, that which comprises Collective Memory, altogether comprise the “dimension” that is *itself* the afterlife, it is the means by which a person has continued influence on the world and influence on the people in it even long after they have died

          thus when one is no longer present in Collective Memory, they cease to have that influence, and thus cease to have a presence in the afterlife

  59. Nothri

    Booster I am usually a fan of your shenanigans but if you end up cock blocking (or clam jamming…whatever the appropriate term is here) poor Sarah I will officially sanction you getting eaten by a grue.

    1. UrsulaDavina

      I like the term torpedoing beacuse they’re targeting a ship.

  60. Michael Steamweed

    “Seat’s taken, Booster!”
    …followed immediately by…
    “Steak’s taken, Booster!”

  61. Andrew Kippenhan

    Booster! Come not between the Sarah and her prey! Or she shall slay thee in turn!

  62. Gnoka

    They inherited Mike’s gimmick of appearing when they’re least welcome. You love to see it

  63. thumb

    Booster’s like a reverse Batman. Appearing when you’re not looking, and divulging all the detective conclusions you didn’t ask for.

  64. Mr. Random

    Juust let her have this, Booster!
    You don’t always have to overanalyze shit that makes you happy.

    1. UrsulaDavina

      Booster is a shit stirer they saw an opportunity to stir.

  65. Kammon

    Tony’s going to end up looking Taller, now that he’s got a Booster-seat.

    1. Nymph

      Great joke, A+.

    2. NGPZ

      GaryRimShot.mp3 XD

  66. UrsulaDavina

    So obviously Booster is hinting to Sara that she is taller then Tony which may mean she might try to sabotage something that is good for you beacuse of insecurities. So she needs to overcome it.

    On the other hand Booster needs to learn not to solicit psychological advice when not prompted also shouldn’t beacuse they’re not a psychologist or pyschiatrist yet and honestly needs to take ethics lessons if they haven’t already they need more.

    1. Jeremiah

      You are assuming a whole lot of things there.

      1. UrsulaDavina

        Given how Booster has acted in the past it’s not hard to assume that’s what they are doing.

        1. Jeremiah

          Half of that is not really things they had done. They had analyzed people but they are not like mike that actively try to manipulate people to make them confront stuff. They mostly just talk.

        2. elfroyalty

          booster is Literally just saying shit 90% of the time

        3. UrsulaDavina

          There was a whole arc with Carla and Charlie, Also being friends with Ethan. Also they have with Walky several timmes Booster is quite capable and does actively make people into confronting things, unlike Mike they don’t really minipulate people they are pretty direct and its often unsolicited.

        4. Jeremiah

          Carla and Charlie wasn’t any kind of manipulation, it was them not introducing someone who wanted to date their sister to her because they didn’t trust her, that is completely understandable.

  67. Deanatay

    Tony: I do not tolerate buffoonery!

    *gets up to throw away cup*

    *seat taken by buffoon*

  68. Poyo

    BOOSTERRRRR !!!!!!!

  69. Byron Orpheus

    Oh, yeah, Booster. I forgot about them.

  70. Sarah

    How dare you, Booster, we love and respect short kings in this house! (Especially now that Sarah is no longer only looking for dudes taller than her)

  71. Sailorcakes

    I just wanted to play :3

  72. Sailorcakes

    Oops didn’t work >_<

    1. Taffy

      Ya gotta disable your custom pic first.

      1. NGPZ

        rock comes first, what’s it gonna be?

        a rock paper scissors and a

        1 2 3 !!! ^-^

        1. NGPZ

          I GOT DINA!!!!!

          YIPPEE!!!!! ^-^

          may not keep the avatar for long, but still, so fuckin happy I got her my first roll, stimming so much rn eeeek!!!! <3

        2. a/snow/mous/e

          Congrats! 😀

        3. a/snow/mous/e

          oh no

        4. a/snow/mous/e

          welp

        5. a/snow/mous/e

          ok one more

        6. a/snow/mous/e

          …last one

        7. a/snow/mous/e

          Hell yeah

        8. NGPZ

          may as well try to get multiple just for whatevs XD

        9. NGPZ

          oooo! a Fuckface! :D

          let’s see what else I can get…

        10. NGPZ

          a Sarah too? hot damn!

          okay, last one, come on no whammies!

        11. NGPZ

          perfect ^-^

  73. anon

    lol of course booster would show up. it’s one thing to pass by or take a table near these two but weird that they also just basically took his seat lol

  74. Red

    It’s a weird timing to be walking away lol

    1. Red

      How do I change the image?

      1. Red

        Does this work?

  75. Red

    I guess not

    1. Red

      Ooh?

      1. Red

        Okay I guess I’ll be Joyce for a while 😀

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