258

Fresh
Posted on June 21, 2018 by David M Willis

258 thoughts on “Fresh”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    shouldn’t you do that when the audience ISN’T watching…?

    1. Clif

      I trust Billie’s instincts.

      1. Clif

        In this case.

  2. AnvilPro

    I have no idea what Billie is doing in the last panel

    1. AnvilPro

      Oh I noticed. Lewd.

    2. Doctor_Who

      Either snapping her fingers or copping a feel.

      1. Chronos

        I kind of wish she did it by snapping her fingers; that would have been more impressive, a la Fonz.

        1. foducool

          more like lesbian jedi powers

        2. Clif

          Someone’s going to correct you and say bisexual Jedi powers. Oh! I guess that would be me.

        3. Doctor_Who

          All Jedi are bisexual.

          Only a Sith deals in absolutes.

        4. El Chupacabre

          I’m proud of you, Doctor_Who

        5. Annonymouse

          Absolutely ….. uhm

      2. MM

        Do wah diddy diddy dum diddy do

      3. SeanR

        backhanding Joyce in the sternum.

    3. Yumi

      Took me a minute. She’s unbuttoning the top buttons on Joyce’s shirt.

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        Oh! So she is!
        I thought she was asking for a hair tie at first.
        And, for those making the coping a feel joke, her hand is pointed the wrong direction for that.

        1. Kendyll

          Maybe Billie’s a rakshasa

      2. Chronos

        Huh. I didn’t notice that.
        I thought she was planning to Kali-ma Joyce’s heart or something.

        1. Koms

          What does that mean?

        2. 3oranges

          Kali Ma is a Hindu goddess. The heart thing is from a human sacrifice in Indiana Jones: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBIdcUxdgo0

        3. Chronos

          You betrayed the shareholders!

        4. Koms

          Ah. I’m a Hindu myself. And I haven’t seen the movie. So I was terribly confused.

        5. BigDogLittleCat

          Don’t. It’s a really sh!tty movie. Excruciatingly bad script and story.

        6. Koms

          Thanks for the heads up.

        7. Linkletter

          It’s a rather iconic scene from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

      3. Needfuldoer

        She did it by snapping like the Fonz, like Chronos suggested.

      4. Roborat

        She must have been taking stealth button lessons from Jumpei.

        1. NickG

          Junpei is a leet gentleninja and does errant buttons up.

        2. kendermouse

          I was wondering if there were any MT fans in here. And for a non-ninja, Billie’s skills are surprisingly close to Junpei’s level in that regard, yeah…

        3. darthmiho

          Junpei – wan kenobi….Junpei. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. A long long time.

    4. foamy

      Telekinetically opening Joyce’s shirt.

    5. Kernanator

      I think she’s just holding Joyce back.

      1. JetstreamGW

        Nope. It’s the buttons thing.

    6. cbwroses

      Is Billie related to the Fonz?
      I’d bet money he’s done that on Happy Days.

      1. Tan

        Billie has a particular set of skills.

        1. cbwroses

          I will find you. And I will reveal your cleavage.

        2. wraith_ferron

          She had gotten really good at undoing women’s clothing recently.

        3. thejeff

          She’s apparently been working on that skill for some time now. Starting back in high school at least.

    7. Charlie Spencer

      I thought she was ‘turning on the highbeams’ for Jacob’s benefit.

  3. Ferdinand Rosenthal

    I’m missing some hand symbol context here. What is that?

    1. Yumi

      Undoing Joyce’s buttons.

    2. Annika

      Billie unbuttoned Joyce’s shirt a little, to show cleavage.

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        Head cheerleader, problem solver!

    3. ninjabuttocks

      I thought she was pinching her boob, but her shirt is unbuttoned now, so i assume she unbuttoned it

    4. Ferdinand Rosenthal

      Ohhhh, now I get it. Thanks, ya’ll.

  4. BBCC

    Billie, Joyce, no

    (also, raise your hand if at first glance you didn’t realize Billie was undoing one of Joyce’s buttons).

    1. DinaWho

      I am extremely grateful to the comments section for explaining.

      1. Beef

        I’d never have got it lol

      2. Inahc

        me too 🙂 even with the explanation it took me a moment to see it.

      3. Agemegos

        So am I. Thank you, Comments Section. Take the rest of the day off.

      4. Leorale

        Yep, same, came to comments to find out.
        Maybe if the speed lines were coming from the buttons/cleavage, instead of coming from Billie’s fingers.

    2. King Daniel

      *raises a hand*

      1. Clif

        Also.

    3. Doctor_Who

      Present.

    4. adjudicus

      Yep.

    5. Regalli

      I didn’t even notice her hand gestures at first. (In my defense, phone screens are small.)

    6. cbwroses

      Ahhh! My eyes have been opened. Thanks for clearing that up.

    7. DailyBrad

      I didn’t notice, I thought she was snapping as a wordless “dang” at Jacob. Wouldn’t be the first time she oggled him, I think. Trying to remember if they’ve really bumped into each other before.

      1. Sara Hysaro

        This was also my interpretation.

      2. Nono

        She’s ogled Ethan, but not Jacob.

    8. Miri

      I thought shr was back-handing Joyce in the stomach to prevent hsr from going over to Jacob as some sort of instinctive reaction motivated by “dang” and was not bery impressed.

      Reality ia better!

    9. Jamie

      My first thought was “holding her back” which seemed… wrong. Thank you, comments section.

    10. CJ

      I also wondered what Billie was doing here. Looked like a mixture of pulling down the sweater’s neckline and holding Joyce back to me.
      Thanks for the explanation!!!
      It’s totally Billie to get what the ponytail is about and go one up without asking.
      Sarah’s reaction to all this is going to be interesting.

    11. Remmington Steele

      Yes Sir!

      I thought she may have been involved in an entirely different, and unfitting, activity.

    12. cookie1995

      *raises hand*

    13. thejeff

      *raises hand*

      Billie has lots of practice at subtly unbuttoning other girl’s shirts. One-handed and without looking.

    14. Zee

      The hover text helps

    15. Tesla727

      I thought she was air-pinching Jacob’s butt or something

  5. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    Hn. Can’t say I approve of Joyce possibly continuing to go after someone in a relationship. We’ll see how this goes.

    1. Woobie

      It happens ALL THE TIME.
      They aren’t married. Jacob can decide to upgrade.
      And Joyce can worry about Jacob whenever another female says ‘Hi’ to him.

      1. Nono

        ‘Upgrade’ feels like a terrible word here.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Oh, you Users and your silly, outmoded notions of not treating relationships like software.

          End of line.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Wait, does that mean prostitution is SaaS? Are strip clubs “the cloud”?

        3. K^2

          I’m pretty sure strip clubs are games with micro transactions. May or may not be free-to-play, definitely pay to win, and lots and lots of grinding.

        4. Deanatay

          ‘Sex-as-a-Service’? Is practically the definition of prostitution.

        5. LordDragonfang

          Pay-by-the-hour motels are IaaS.

          Brothels are PaaS.

      2. Felian

        even if they _were_ married, that has never stopped theoretically monogamous people from pursuing other people.

      3. TemperaryObsessor

        That sounds like a toxic situation.
        Also every woman who does that works to cut off women from being able to network. But I guess everyonw would be within there rights.

    2. Mydnyt

      I’m a little more ok with it now that she is doing it aware of Sarah’s manipulations instead of blind to them. She has made her own choice on the matter and is going into it with her eyes open. You can be a good person who occasionally does less then moral things

      1. Emily

        But she’s made the wrong choice that disregards Jacobs expressed wishes because they don’t suit her selfish desires. Once again she’s decided she knows best and is going to do her damnedest to steamroll anyone between her and what she believes is for the best.

        1. Clif

          Pfft. Like Jacob knows his own mind. Look how delighted he is with Joyce’s arrival.

        2. thejeff

          Joyce is a friend. Of course he’s happy to see her. Why wouldn’t he be?

        3. CJ

          Did I miss Jacob telling Joyce he’s only interested in friendship?

        4. thejeff

          No, but he’s never told her he is interested and he is dating someone else, so it’s uncool at the very least.

        5. Emily

          You’d think the committed monogamous relationship he’s in would serve as a standing notice of that.

        6. Zee

          I mean really all it looks like she’s doing rn is flirting and trying to look cute, in a way that could be misinterpreted as friendly banter. Even if he is with raidah, that’s still pretty innocent. Unless she starts making blatant moves on him (straight up asking him out, trying to kiss him, etc.) Or shit talking or lying about raidah to make him break up with her, or lying to raidah or doing something else to deliberately plant doubt about Jacob in her mind, this still seems to be in not that bad territory.

        7. thejeff

          Yeah, she’s not actually doing anything nasty, because she’s Joyce and nasty really isn’t her style.
          Nonetheless, it’s clear now to everyone except probably Jacob, that she is flirting with intent – It’s clear to us, to Joe, to Sarah, to Billie, to Becky, to Raidah and her cronies – everyone who’s seen them interact. She’s being relatively subtle about it, but she’s still trying.

          Honestly, I’d be happier with her if she did just ask him out, rather than even this low key attempt. At least that way, Jacob would know what was up and could choose to respond or not, rather than just keep going with the friendly flirtation until his relationship with Raidah blows up.

      2. thejeff

        The whole situation has gotten better since Sarah’s no longer manipulating Joyce. Joyce’s own actions have gotten worse, since she’s now knowing acting on more selfish motives.

  6. SailorCake

    Get some Joyce

    1. King Daniel

      How much Joyce?

      1. McBogue

        Just Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.

        1. wwwhhattt

          You’re forgetting A Portrait of Joyce as a First-year College Student

      2. Shiro

        Precisely 3.75 pints of Joyce

      3. Remmington Steele

        2 to 3meters.

        Need to fix my loft.

        1. Bathymetheus

          I suspect you’re thinking of “joists”. Nailing Joyce into your attic would be illegal. Not to mention noisy.

        2. thejeff

          Nailing Joyce in your attic however …

          Not illegal, as long as she’s cooperating. Might still be noisy.

          [couldn’t resist]

        3. NickG

          IW Joyce would probably bring the rest of the roof down.

        4. Bathymetheus

          Resistance is futile . . .

  7. Passchendaele

    Billie, this is Walky, you only need half a whiskey shot, if that

    1. Doctor_Who

      He just needs to stand downwind of the bar for a minute or two.

      1. Yumi

        Or downwind of Billie.

        1. Passchendaele

          *that* would explain why Walky vanishes in the last two panels

    2. thejeff

      All the better.

      More left for Billie.

  8. Stephen Bierce

    *plays the Kool & The Gang song that shares the strip’s title on the hacked P.A. speakers*

  9. newllend(henryvolt)

    We’re power keg through those emotions God damn it.

  10. Pablo360

    Billie: HeadEx-Cheerleader. Problem SolverExacerbator.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Apparently, she has changed her motto to, “Head cheerleader, problem solver, boilermaker.”

      1. UniqueSnowflake2

        She’s at the wrong Indiana college if she wants a Boilermaker.

      2. hof1991

        No wrong college for a Boilermaker
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boilermaker_(beer_cocktail)

  11. Kyrik Michalowski

    Billie, your level of helping should come with a warning label, a safe word and an eject button. And that is at the bare minimum, you and Mike both I’m not sure whether you are helpful to anyone but yourselves. Despite past intentions, as we’ve seen.

  12. Danni

    billie helping?

  13. TemporalShrew

    Can we all just take a moment and agree that Billie should stop helping?

    1. LordSimian

      Hell no, Billie’s helping hijinx are more entertaining than new episodes of Dexter and Monkey Master!

    2. GoblinScribe

      I love Billie but she is an incredibly toxic friend. Between the buttons and the “go on, Walky, solve your depression with booze” advice, she’s just got so many awful habits and coping mechanisms and whenever she wants to “help” she tries to push them onto other people.

      This is why she’s my favorite character.

    3. Clif

      No.

  14. Axel

    It took me a moment (okay several) to realize Billie was not just pinching Joyce’s nipple

    1. Yumi

      I like how “not just” sort of implies that she was ALSO pinching Joyce’s nipples.

      1. Mydnyt

        Turning the headlights on

      2. Axel

        I meant that she was doing something more reasoned, instead of it just being a weird impulse, but I like your interpretation (and Mydnyt’s)

        1. Clif

          As long as you enjoyed those minutes, it’s all good.

    2. cbwroses

      She’s not?

  15. ShinyNeen

    I don’t drink, but hey Billie’s an expert right? I trust her when she suggests that whiskey leaves you feeling “fresh”!

    1. Danni

      having whiskey leaves you feeling something

      1. Inahc

        if you can still feel something, you haven’t had enough 😉
        … assuming we’re talking cheap whisky, not the good stuff. no sense drinking expensive booze once you’re too drunk to appreciate it.

    2. Noxx

      We may have to revisit the definition of “fresh”.

  16. Regalli

    … So uh, guessing no one ever informed Billie that alcohol’s a depressant, huh.

    1. BBCC

      Well she’s a party drunk so it’s not surprising she thinks otherwise.

      1. Regalli

        Especially since she’s not going to a therapist and almost certainly wasn’t paying attention to that unit in Health. (In fairness, public school health classes suck, but alcohol and drugs is one of the two units that are actually covered in significant depth! The other one is STIs. I actually did get the useful and accurate information that condoms are a semi-effective method of disease prevention, albeit with a ‘but only abstinence guarantees your safety!’ bit at the end every time, so like. Score half a point for abstinence-only sex education, I guess.)

    2. Agemegos

      Homonyms!

      A drug that depresses CNS activity doesn’t necessarily or even usually produce symptoms like psychological depression.

      1. Regalli

        Well aware, but there are still several reasons why it’s recommended you don’t mix the two. (Or at least not with the treatment.)

        Also Billie’s attempt at problem solving clearly won’t fix anything and is more an excuse to get drunk and not feel bad about it, but that one was obvious.

        1. Agemegos

          My advice as a long-term sufferer is not to mix depression with stimulants either.

    3. John Smith

      Not to alcoholics.

    4. CJ

      Most (recreational) drugs first of all reinforce the feelings that are already there.
      If you drink when sad or depressed, you get to be more sad or depressed, if you were happy before, you will be more happy (as long as you stop before you pass over to falling down drunk).

      And I agree with Agemegos: If you have a clinical depression, stimulants without supervision can be a really dangerous idea.

  17. cbwroses

    You know what will get Walky over his break up?
    Seeing Joyce’s smushed toenail!
    Did we just forget about that story beat?

    1. ShinyNeen

      Who could forget “Joyce Brown and the Mediocre Body Horror”?

    2. Regalli

      I’m just gonna assume between the bandaging and Joyce eventually getting painkillers offscreen that also decrease swelling, we’re just gonna Not Hea About It Again until the toenail does fall off a year from now, once everyone’s forgotten it.

      Good old Webcomic Time Unrealistic Healing Times For Injuries.

      1. DailyBrad

        Yeah, the toenail’s probably going to be a brick joke.

  18. Jed!

    As nobody else has done so, allow me to make the obligatory joke: Joyce wants to have Jacob for lunch.

    1. Jed!

      Sexually.

      Just in case that wasn’t clear the first time.

      1. Danni

        like a sandwich?

        1. King Daniel

          Who’d been the third then? Most sandwiches have three parts.

        2. Clif

          Sometimes you fold the bread over.

        3. King Daniel

          In my experience, it usually snaps into two pieces when I do that.

    2. Chronos

      I like the exclamation point to your name.

      1. Clif

        Just think. You could be Chronos!

    3. hof1991

      It’s a cookbook. Or a sex manual.

  19. Cody C.

    I’m embarrassed by how long it took me realize what exactly Billie was doing in that last panel. It looked like she was coping a feel.

    1. Spaz

      Coping a feel, of course, is a more existential variant of copping a feel that should not be tried by beginners.

    2. Viktoria

      I think the problem is Joyce’s shirt color. She’s pale enough that the change from white to skin doesn’t really “pop” the way it needs to for a visual gag. Willis uses Billie’s hand to draw the eye, but even that isn’t enough IMO.

  20. Yumi

    Show that clavicle, Joyce.
    (Okay, that’s a big more than clavicle, but that’s all anyone’s going to focus on, right?)

  21. Bagge

    Billie is such a romantic…

  22. Callid13

    *reads comments*

    So THAT’S what she’s doing! I thought she was, like, stopping Joyce, as in “Hold it right there” or something like that. Turns out it’s the opposite XD

  23. Nobody

    I hope Billie talks some sense into Joyce about hitting on a guy in a relationship but I doubt that’ll happen

    1. Regalli

      Consider: it’s Billie. Even if she knows he’s dating, (and they don’t interact much so that’s an ‘if’,) she’s just as likely to alpha bongo head cheerleader her way into this scheme.

    2. Zee

      Bruh it’s Billie. Besides does she even know Jacobs not single?

      1. thejeff

        Billie was at the party when Jacob showed up with Raidah. I think she’s been in on some of Sarah’s “Raidah’s not going to keep him” rants as well.

  24. Questionor

    Did Billie just snap her fingers and make half of Joyce’s buttons disappear?

    1. John

      Billie has magical powers. They all involve sex and/or booze.

      1. Questionor

        The Cheerleader stones?

  25. Okamiking

    I’m glad in universe consensus places Jacob as a meal and not a snack

  26. SUGauthor

    Ugh, this really isn’t cool Joyce.

    1. Clif

      Jacob isn’t owned. He’s an adult human being fully capable of making up his own mind.

      1. thejeff

        Yes, he is. No one is arguing otherwise.

        That doesn’t mean it’s a good thing to actively and surreptitiously work to get him to change it.

        1. CJ

          Would you say the same about, hm, someone trying to convince a friend they should move to a different city? Or change their job?

        2. SomeGuy

          I would if they weren’t being honest and up-front about it.

          “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I think that girl is bad for you” is way less shitty than secretly seducing someone away from their SO.

          Even “I know you’re in a relationship, but I can’t deny that I’ve got feelings for you” is somewhat less shitty. And incidentally, it’s also I think this is probably going to end up, right before Joyce gets her feelings really, really hurt.

        3. thejeff

          Precisely that.
          If they were doing it by constantly talking up the other city or inviting them to visit it and showing all the cool things, without ever actually asking them about moving? Yeah.

          And it’s not quite the same, because there isn’t another person involved in that. Leaving one city or job for another is a common and expected thing and there’s no one getting left and hurt in the process – even if it’s done with minimal notice.

        4. CJ

          There are always other people involved.
          If you persuade someone to move somewhere else, there are always the friends in the old city who are “abandoned”.

          As everyone but Jacob gets it, you can’t say Joyce is hiding something, or can you?

        5. thejeff

          Yes, she’s hiding it from the person most involved.

  27. FLUFFYWOLF

    Congratulations, Billie, you managed to make Walky look like the sane and reasonable adult here.

  28. brasca1

    I didn’t realize what Billie was doing until I read this comic on a larger screen. I thought she was just snapping her fingers.

  29. Roger

    howd she even do that

    1. Roger

      also like damn Willis I been waitin for the other shoe to drop in this storyline for months now. Where’s that good good ending when Jacob finally realizes he deserves better than all of these people

      1. BBCC

        I get Sarah, Joyce and Billie, but what did Walky do?

        1. mrnoidea

          What happens when Jacob and Walky interact?
          “Jabba the Hutt meets Rudolph the Reindeer. I dunno, Mom.”

        2. mrnoidea

          dis all I got

        3. mrnoidea

          IT WORKED I AM OFFICIAL NOOB OF HTML

        4. Clif

          Well done. Also appropriate link is appropriate.

    2. thejeff

      Long years of practice.

  30. Lingo

    , then Jacob. Billie must be insanely jealous of Joyce’s man-attracting powers. But not too jealous to help! (Uh, “help.”)

    1. Lingo

      Damn how did I manage to mangle that link so thoroughly? At least it links to the right strip. (It was supposed to say: “First Ethan, then Jacob….”)

  31. JessWitt

    Billie is doing her teen Lucy van Pelt impression. But instead of psychiatric help, she offers alcohol.

    1. BBCC

      Ten cents please!

  32. Koms

    I know I comment this on every Joyce page but she looks beautiful.

  33. auroki

    And this is why a sweatervest over a dress shirt beats plain unbuttoned dress shirt. Leaves more to the imagination

    1. cbwroses

      It’s cleavage. It’s the exact opposite of leaving things to the imagination since it only exists when it’s exposed.

      1. auroki

        Yeah but it’s like getting something gift wrapped instead of just handed to ya. The more you gotta work for it the more hype you have for whatevers inside. At least that’s the way it works for me sometines

  34. Fire_daws

    Joyce, Exodus 20:17. I don’t care if she is a bongo, the principles the same damnit.

  35. Just for kix

    Wow, Billie is FAST!

    1. Well_Played

      She pulled a Joey

  36. BenRG

    It took me a minute to work it out but Billie opened one of Joyce’s blouse buttons to give Jacob a ‘better view’. That’s definitely Billie’s ‘how to snare boys’ experience at work there.

    That aside, just look at Joyce’s reaction to Jacob calling her and you realise that she’s crushing on him bad. Depending on the resolution of the Raidah situation, this is either going to be one of the most awful experiences of her life or a golden autumn that she’ll always remember with a nostalgic smile.

    And Billie? No making your brother into an alcoholic. You of all people should know that it isn’t a solution to anything.

    1. BBCC

      That will require her to acknowledge and understand she’s an alcoholic and that she does in fact have a problem, not just make glib remarks about it to Ruth. If losing cheerleading didn’t do it, it’s gonna be hard to get that realization.

    2. Emily

      I really hope this blows up badly in Joyce’s face because she really needs to learn the “violating people’s boundaries and autonomy is bad” lesson and Joyce doesn’t really learn difficult lessons unless she slams face first into them like a brick wall.

      1. CJ

        Though Joyce is bad at boundaries in some places, falling for someone and seeking them out is not a boundary violation.
        Why is everyone so busy defending Jacob’s boundaries. Don’t you think he can do that himself?

        1. Emily

          It’s harder to set your boundaries when a person is manipulatively trying to weasel their way around them instead of being upfront.

        2. CJ

          How does Joyce manipulate?

    3. Felian

      i’m also wondering why Joyce’s expression didn’t change over the last two panels… wouldn’t she probably be rather ashamed about the button thing? it’s too obviously…sexy? and would go over her idea of modesty?

      1. BenRG

        Joyce’s brain probably literally hasn’t been able to process what Billie has done. It is that unexpected and outrageous.

    4. Clif

      Also, I think Billie opened TWO of Joyce’s blouse buttons, not just one.

  37. Garry

    Said in it an earlier strip, will continue saying it. Joyce keep digging that hole. You’re actions continue to disappoint.

    1. Garry

      grammar noooo

      *your

  38. stoodmuffin

    That looks almost like a boob smack.

  39. BenRG

    I think that the funny part of the Joyce-Jacob ship is the fact that, on a certain level, Joyce feels guilty about this and knows its wrong. However, for the first time, she’s desired a man on a physical as well as a social level and it’s carrying her away. Simply put, she’s not thinking clearly and, unfortunately, with Dorothy in the middle of her own breakdown, there’s no-one around who would tell her it’s wrong.

    1. Emily

      Joe already did, she just ignored him so she doesn’t even have that excuse.

      1. BenRG

        Joe has low credibility in Joyce’s eyes so he isn’t a good Dorothy alternative.

        1. cbwroses

          Joyce has outright said that Joe is usually right about stuff.
          So he does have decent credibility.

    2. thejeff

      Not for the first time.

    3. cbwroses

      You’re forgetting the Ethan sex dreams. This is definitely not the first time she wanted someone both physically and socially.

    4. cbwroses

      Also, I don’t think Joyce feels guilty at all. At least I can’t recall any word or sign of guilt at the moment.
      Since she believes God brings soul mates together, if she nabs Jacob, that just means God wanted her to have him, so there’s nothing to be guilty about.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, she was feeling guilty about her thoughts before, because she was supposed to be working on Sarah’s behalf, not her own. Now that’s over with and there’s no need for her to feel guilt.

        Raidah doesn’t enter her mind at all.

        1. CJ

          An why should she.

        2. CJ

          Joyce has no social relationship with Raidah, it’s not like she is lusting after her best friend’s boyfriend and uses that friendship to get close to Jacob.

          Yes, Raidah and Jacob are a couple of a few weeks standing and she knows it. And as long a Jacob doesn’t tell her to back off and she’s just there with her feelings out for all to see, she’s not doing anything wrong.
          I might wonder more about her doing anything wrong if they were a couple of some years standing, but, you know, not much. I personally would weight a long-standing relationship and most likely would back off on my own, but I cannot fault anyone who decides to make their feelings known.
          If someone is interested in you, it’s always your own responsibility to set boundaries no matter if you are in a relationship or not. Being intrested is never morally wrong. Strategies to get someone might be, but Joyce and strategy don’t go well together anyways.

          It would be a different story if she was doing stuff to make Raidah look bad in Jacob’s eyes, lied to him about Raidah or things like that.

        3. thejeff

          Mind you, she’s not “out there with her feelings out for all to see”, at least not Jacob. Or making her feelings known.

          If she’d just walk up to Jacob and tell him she was interested and ask if he’d break up with Raidah and go out with her, I’d mind less. But she isn’t. She’s definitely made it clear to us that she’s after him, but she’s seeing him under false pretenses. That’s where the problem lies.
          It would be worse if she was trying to tear down Raidah, but she’s not being anything like upfront with Jacob.

        4. CJ

          Sorry, thejeff, I find that idea rather strange.
          The one time someone did that to me, I decided to never put someone on the spot like that. If I find it necessary to clear the air, I write to people so they have time to consider their answer without feeling under pressure.

          What about her behavior is not upfront? She’s there, she’s obviously smitten with him, and she is waiting what he will do with it.

          Being physically attracted to someone happens all the time. Trying to spend time with that person will clear up if more might match than just chemistry.

          Joyce’s problem is that she has no concept of lust and is likely to confuse lust and love.

          There are several ways both of them may go from there.
          Jacob might enjoy being the center of her attention but not be interested in doing anything with it. Or, once he realizes it, he might feel guilty about enjoying her presence. Or he might notice he’s also interested in her. Most of you seem to expect that he will feel betrayed when he notices she is interested in him as a potential partner.

          Joyce on the other hand might fall even harder for him with getting to know him better, or she might notice things about him that make her fall out of, ah, well, I’d say it’s more lust than love at the moment, or she might get hung up with pining after him and he stays unavailable.
          Or, or, or…
          There many, many possibilities how this might play out.

  40. Peruhain

    This must be an homage to the old Sunday comic section “what’s different about these pictures puzzles.” Fortunately, some people here are more tuned in to details than I am.

  41. QueerCat

    Come on Billie. I mean…I’m a drinking for comfort person. And a slutty girl…BUT I at least don’t enable others drinking…or start undressing my friends like this.
    Sigh…Billie…you never change

  42. Nico

    It’s pretty interesting how heavily Billie seems to be leading into her high school cheerleader persona given the… encouraging atmosphere at her new dorm. I wonder how everyone else will react to this as it intensifies.

  43. Emily

    Wow, Billie is truly terrible at giving any form of guidance whatsoever.

    1. Arianod

      Her lesbian powers, on the other hand, are off the scale -she just snapped her fingers and the buttons on Joyce’s blouse became undone!

      1. King Daniel

        *bisexual powers

        1. Arianod

          Being bisexual means that she has both sets of powers*, lesbian and hetero, but they can be leveled up independently.

          *(Plus the power of booze, but that’s beside the point)

        2. Noxx

          What’s the dual class XP penalty like tho?

        3. Arianod

          Not sure, but I think it’s pretty stiff.

  44. Djaevlenselv

    The button flying over Joyce’s head looks like it’s coming in from the right instead of flying away, so I thought it was a coin Walky had thrown and Billie had her hand out to catch it, like they’d made a bet about this or something.

    1. Sol Karas

      That’s not a button, it’s a lamp post.

      1. Makkabee

        I’ll bet that’s a sentence you never expected to type.

        1. Clif

          It’s one I never expected to read.

      2. Djaevlenselv

        WOW! I could not tell that. I never for a second considered that it was anything other than a small round object in motion.

  45. darkgloomie

    Billie finds your lack of sex appeal… disturbing.

    1. Bathymetheus

      Well, at least she refrained from force-choking her.

      1. thejeff

        She force-unchoked her, by loosening her collar.

  46. Hielario

    What the heck is Jacob wearing? It looks like he’s got his suspenders on top of a light sweater?

    1. darkgloomie

      Looks to me either a patterned sweater, or the world’s coziest kinky harness.

    2. FacelessDeviant

      You might have missed the subtle clues, but they are actually enrolled at the Xavier Institute for gifted youngsters.

      Jacob just got chosen for the X-men.

    3. leadsynth

      Looks like the same outfit Jacob had on in the Whiteboard Dingdong Bandit storyline!

  47. Josh Spicer

    She actually will be helping.

  48. Josh Spicer

    I know that the blouse was unbuttoned but it looks like Billie’s stopping her from advancing.

  49. azazel

    at first I thought she was pinching her nipple, but now I notice that she is actually undoing her top button on her shirt. Right?

  50. cbwroses

    So what happened to Walky? Wasn’t he between Billie and Joyce? Did he sneak away? Or did Billie move over to Joyce so quickly, he was shunted into the speed force?

    1. Clif

      It happened between panels. Billie is talking to Joyce and she moves over. Very unlike the last two panels which happen microseconds apart.

  51. Clif

    Ok, admit it. As dense as Billie can be, you’re impressed with how quick on the uptake she is.

  52. abysswatcher1993

    Jacob has become Scorpion! Also, Billie knows all about lust, but just a minimum about love.

  53. Mr. Anderson

    And with a snap of Billie’s fingers Walky faded into dust Thanos-style…

  54. Darkoneko

    the button ninja strikes again

  55. PSadlon

    Billie just did some arithmetic and decided the answer should not be.

  56. Cmd1095

    took me a sec to figure out what Billie did, then I figured it out and it’s perfect lol

  57. Zee

    Billie is the friend that will hold your boobs up out of frame to give you better cleavage for your tinder profile picture.

  58. Reltzik

    Don’t worry, Joyce! Billie has your back front!

  59. Rocketboy1313

    Boob honk.

  60. Roborat

    So, is that move the non-verbal version of “calm your tits”?

    1. Heavensrun

      She unbuttoned Joyce’s shirt. Without her noticing, apparently, which is pretty damn impressive.

      1. Roborat

        That is just a beneficial side effect.

    2. Yumi

      More “awaken your tits.”

  61. Octochan

    I knew I could count on the comments to clue me in on the last panel. I’d settled on “Billie stopping Joyce from moving forward” but that didn’t make a lot of sense.

  62. ValdVin

    Sarah may not agree on Jacob’s plural of “friend” there. Billie and Walky count?

  63. Griffin Raynor

    I may have the dirtiest mind cause I thought Billie was checking to see if Joyce was aroused.

  64. Junpei Iori

    “Wing Gal, soaring with the eagles”
    “Wing Gal, she’s here to help you out”
    “Wing Gal, Wing Gal, Wing Gal”

  65. Lingo

    It just occurred to me that we never saw Joyce confront Billie about throwing her out of Read Hall yesterday. You’d think she might have some hurt feelings over that.

  66. Berky

    Play of the game

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