168

Lounge
Posted on March 14, 2021 by David M Willis

168 thoughts on “Lounge”

  1. Thag Simmons

    This can only end well

    1. Clif

      This moment was inevitable.

      1. milu

        hindsight bias =P
        j/k,
        see yesterday’s comments for elaborations which i lazed out of making in a timely manner because i was sulking about being censored by the spambot but which i have now posted kbai

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          You have hindsight bias too!? We should start a movement. Ohhh I hate the past. Always being the cause of how I am here today, never changing, and so smug about it too. Look at me, I’m “HISTORY”. It even has it’s own field of accadamia. Ridiculous!

        2. milu

          god yes the past can be so obnoxious, shut up, the past

        3. anonymousethatscurriesinthedarkness

          Understanding The Past is a three-edged sword: your version, their version and the truth of what actually happened.

      2. Xaeon

        On the contrary. It was completely possible for the administration to actually attempt to hold a conversation with Robin before hiring her. Had they done so, Robin would no longer be permitted on school grounds thus preventing her from showing up in the teacher’s lounge.

  2. Sirksome

    You ever feel like these incidental side characters are living their own webcomic type stories we just don’t know about?

    1. Sirksome

      Also it’s a new day so back to Sarah until a BBCC thread dictates I re-roll for a change.

    2. Thag Simmons

      I feel like Vivian lives a very normal life, except for when her path intersects with crazy webcomic shenanigans she has no patience for.

      1. Sirksome

        You sure about that? You sure here stoic demeanor isn’t a smokescreen as she comes off a high stakes dramedy plot involving a somewhat age inappropriate romance between one of her students and a political figure that also tied into a real estate scam with another student’s evil parents? It utilizing all side characters that we’ve seen before? To Vivian this interaction is just a gag and Leslie’s just that one random teacher you see once every few years.

    3. thejeff

      It’s long been my assumption that everyone else at the campus has lives maybe one step less crazy than our main cast.

      Less outright kidnappings and murders, but otherwise, about the same.

      1. King Daniel

        Well, Indiana University Bloomington (this campus) has a student-plus-faculty population of over 46,000 – it’s a bit of a stretch to say that everyone on the campus has lives that crazy.

    4. Rainhat

      Absolutely. sometimes I wish I could go with them instead.

      1. Deanatay

        Willis saves those stories for his Patreon subscribers.

    5. Lars

      Vivian is the homeroom ethics teacher of Arnold, Blanka and Beef and has a life long feud with Alma over some obscure events in their past.

  3. Doctor_Who

    “I’m a reasonable woman, Vivian, so I know this isn’t Robin Desanto.”

    1. Stephen Bierce

      Does that make Vivian’s last name…Douglas?

    2. C.T Phipps

      “This is not a reasonable world, Leslie.”

      1. StClair

        It really isn’t.

    3. EvilMidnightLurker

      “Don’t worry, your excellency, she never sticks. Around.”

  4. JetstreamGW

    Boy howdy! This can’t possibly go wrong!

  5. Doc Harleen

    I really want Robin’s prof outfit.

    1. Doctor_Who

      You mean her Eleventh Doctor Cosplay.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        Honestly, all she needs at this point is a fez.

        1. RassilonTDavros

          Or a Faz.

        2. Proxiehunter

          A Faz in a fez?

        3. I am Nothing

          A fez in a Faz?

        4. milu

          a fez phase?

      2. Doctor_Who

        Actually, in hindsight, I could totally see Robin not knowing where to get professor clothes, walking into a Spirit Halloween (Halloween happened during the time skip, there could totally be one around), asking for something nerdy, and actually walking out dressed as Eleven (Doctor, not psychic nosebleed waffle kid).

        That’s my personal headcanon now.

        1. brionl

          I’ll allow it.

        2. Bagge

          Works perfectly!

      3. Keulen

        I was assuming Robin was just going for a stuffy professor look. Forgot that her outfit looks so much like Eleven until now.

      4. Deanatay

        At some point, I am certain that Leslie will bring this point up. She is sufficiently nerdy to suspect that it’s Doctor cosplay – and Robin is sufficiently closeted-nerdy that it actually might be.

  6. Nono

    Sometimes I wonder if I’m the side character in someone else’s story.

    1. Doctor_Who

      I do sometimes feel the urge to stand around outside and say “Welcome to Corneria!” to passers-by.

      1. milu

        I am occasionally moved to perform a dance number about the dry-cleaners having gotten the mustard out.

        1. Edwin I Callahan

          But that only happens when Joss decides to do a musical episode, right?

        2. milu

          oh, was that the name of the demonic entity who cursed everyone with a secret-spilling, uncontrollable-dancing frenzy that one time, because they think chaos and strife and people bursting into flames is entertaining? ;D

        3. StClair

          The episode’s name was “Once More With Feeling.” The demon’s name (of convenience) was “Sweet”.

        4. milu

          heh i was performing a joke about Joss Whedon being about as damnable-worthy as our own David “Damn You” Willis here, but ty for living up to the eager helpfulness of our shared avitar =)

        5. Demoted Oblivious

          Wow, whoo… when do we get the movie version of the first MCU musical? And will they do it soon enough to bring Jackman back with Reynolds for the Logan/Deadpool dance off?

    2. BarerMender

      Yeah, mine. You can carry on as usual, but someday I will ask for a favor.

    3. Thag Simmons

      I kind of feel like an extra. I go back and forth about whether or not I’m cool with that.

      1. milu

        I’m so relieved I’m not in the main cast?! it looks exhausting.

    4. crow

      We’re all side characters in Willis’s story of being a successful webcartoonist.

      1. Adam Black

        Does that mean we all show up as genderflipped commenters in JuliaGrey verse ?

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          What happens to enby people/characters in a gender flipped world? Do they just rest with their average behaviour on the mirrored side of the midpoint, or do they flip to varying between the extreme opposites of their previous representations (either for more radical representations, or to completely muted representations). Does someone who regularly represented as variously very male and very female end up being representing as a subdued gender neutral? Do very cis people become highly trans? It seems like there are a lot of elements of this that could be explored.

          Apologies, if any find the question offensive, none is intended, I’m just really curious about this idea. The gender swap stories I am familiar with typically just do m/f swapping and call it a day, but it really seems like more could be explored.

    5. Rainhat

      There’s some kind of German word for that: Sonder.

      1. milu

        Actually it’s a Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows coinage. (I mean it’s also a German word but it doesn’t have that meaning.)

    6. milu

      WE TELL OURSELVES THAT WE’RE IN A MOVIE.
      WHOA WHOA WHOA
      EACH ONE OF US THINKS WE GOT THE STARRING ROLE.
      ROLE ROLE ROLE.

      BUT THE TRUTH IS SOMETIMES YOU’RE THE LEAD
      AND SOMETIMES YOU’RE AN EXTRA
      JUST WALKING BY IN THE BACKGROUND
      LIKE ME,
      JOSH GROBAN!

      BECAUSE LIFE IS A GRADUAL SERIES OF REVELATIONS
      THAT OCCUR OVER A PERIOD OF TIME
      SOME THINGS MIGHT HAPPEN THAT SEEM CONNECTED
      BUT THERE’S NOT ALWAYS A REASON OR RHYME

      PEOPLE AREN’T CHARACTERS
      THEY’RE COMPLICATED
      AND THEIR CHOICES DON’T ALWAYS MAKE SENSE
      THAT BEING SAID IT’S REALLY MESSED UP
      THAT YOU BANGED YOUR EX- BOYFRIEND’S DAD
      OHHHHH

      NEVER BANG YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND’S DAD.

      (<3)

      1. jufreire

        crazy ex girlfriend has a song for every human emotion and i stand by that

      2. Enasitra

        So specific, yet so universal in their emotional resonance. Heck yeah CxG, heck yeah.

        1. milu

          <3 <3 <3

    7. Opus the Poet

      Well I have been living in a series of frequently improbable stories, but I wasn’t sure until I was in the hentai manga script. That’s when I knew for sure, because stuff like that DOES NOT happen in Real Life™.

  7. BBCC

    VIVIAN.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      That moment when you realize that Vivian the “Masturbate Responsibly” lady.

      1. BBCC

        Wait what?

        1. BarerMender

          Above, left, just over the Hive Works logo.

      2. Regalli

        Nah, Vivian appears to have short hair, Slipshine Sidebar lady has a ponytail. (Also, her eyes are drawn with brown iris versions of the Brown family baby blues or Ruth’s green eyes, rather than the black dot ones Vivian does. But that could just mean Vivian’s waiting for a significant backstory reveal that changes how we and Leslie see her. Maybe. Probably not, though.)

        Either way, run, Vivian, run while you can.

        1. King Daniel

          Vivian also has a tagged prior appearance (and appeared on Patreon before that), and I recall Willis saying he was rather careful to create a wholly-new character for the Covid-era Slipshine ad.

        2. King Daniel

          (Seeing as, obviously, none of our established characters could really be shown to be in lockdown as that would break the intended timelessness of the strip setting.)

        3. Clif

          While I applaud Regalli’s research and King Daniel’s reasoning, the fact remains that, unlikely as it may seem, there may be more than one lady who masturbates responsibly.

        4. Regalli

          Oh, sure, but we’re talking about the specific Slipshine Ad Masturbate Responsibly lady. I’m sure Vivian does masturbate responsibly on her own time.

        5. Rose by Any Other Name

          I don’t really care that much… BUT…

          The slipshine lady does NOT have a pony tail – the window thingys create the illusion of one, but if you actually examine her face, she has the exact same hair, glasses, and freckles of Vivian. So yeah, pretty sure that’s Vivian.

      3. Mydnyt

        I always assumed that was Billie to be honest

      4. milu

        IT’S TOTALLY HER
        good points whoever says it’s not her for reasons, counterpoint: i don’t care
        IT’S VIVIAN xD
        why is this making me so happy

        1. Demoted Oblivious

          “it’s not her for reasons”, because life is an absurd hollow construct in which i occassionally and with futility strive for even a tiny victory, only to see it inevitably stripped away. Maybe some ‘good points’ will alleviate that.

          It is good that you don’t care about the reasons and that it makes you happy. Enjoy your victory and may it carry you towards a brighter future. I too am somewhat enamoured of masterbate responsibly woman and her sex positive eroticism and would like to know more about her. Yes this world is a cold and lonely place.

        2. milu

          haha Demoted, no one coats the sweetest comments with lovely existential dread like you do <3

      5. JessWitt

        I don’t use Slipshine but I was wondering who that person was forever.

        Anyone know who the Winter Slipshine sale pair are – the couple staring at the snow falling?

        1. RacingTurtle

          Her housemates!

        2. JessWitt

          Really?? If so, thanks!

  8. RassilonTDavros

    This can only go well poorly well poorly soggies

    1. King Daniel

      may rule

    2. justin8448

      May they rule forever!

  9. Teddae

    oh. oh noooooo.

    1. Teddae

      ooh. finally commented after a few months and got a nice becky avatar 😀

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        How do you like them apples @BBCC?

        1. BBCC

          I’m happy for Teddae! C’mon, I’m not a bongo.

          Okay, I kinda am, but not like that.

  10. Kyrik Michalowski

    I like how Leslie assumes that she must be hallucinating Robin’s existence. Although I do have to ask, what kind of dreams/nightmares does Leslie have, to assume that she is hallucinating Robin?

    1. Thag Simmons

      Because the alternative is that Robin became a teacher at the university.

      Which is obviously ridiculous, right. Right?

    2. Doctor_Who

      This but with Robin.

      She only found it hot the first couple of times, now it’s annoying.

      1. milu

        (lol!!!)

    3. milu

      Obviously, she dreams of Robin constantly?

      1. Rabisch

        Now, this is scary.

  11. Proto_Eevee

    aaaaaaaaand kiss

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Considering all the crap this version of Robin has pulled, I don’t think we’re there yet.

      1. Zor

        Enemies-to-coworkers-with-history-to-coworkers-who-have-started-resolving-their-history-to-friends-to-lovers
        11037K words

      2. Proto_Eevee

        Not according to the fanfic I’m writing in my read right now.

        1. RacingTurtle

          Thank you for psychically transmitting your fanfic; it is excellent

        2. milu

          the bit at the coffee machine was a riot xD

        3. He Who Abides

          Eh, that bit was OK.

          The scene on the city bus, on the other hand, that was hilarious.

        4. milu

          omg yes “where do you get off?!!” “oh i’ve missed my stop a while back” Ahahaha i diedddd

        5. RassilonTDavros

          I dunno, the Aslan cameo felt a tad gratuitous.

  12. Rani

    I love how Robin’s role as instructor is constantly being treated like it’s a glitch in the matrix. And frankly, if that turned out to be a twist, I’d buy it gladly.

    1. Clif

      What’s your alternate hypothesis?

      1. JBento

        The US education system is irrevocably broken and unis are more concerned about getting staff that impresses potential donors than staff with any qualifications that will actually do a good job educating students?

  13. King Daniel

    Whyy couldn’t we have gotten more Vivian instead

  14. danielle

    is she gonna return in 4 years?

  15. Stephen Bierce

    Today’s strip is brought to you by Epson Printers.

    1. milu

      they kindly waived intellectual property rights over their user manual illustrations, that was handy

  16. UrsulaDavina

    The question I have is Robin intentionally in the wrong department or forgot where the poly sci department is or the Poly sci department intentionally told Robin the wrong office number.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Considering her current cast page bio says that she “hopes Leslie notices the bow tie,” I’m guessing it’s the former.

      1. milu

        good catch!

    2. Rabid Rabbit

      Robin asked for directions to the PoliSci lounge, but the person she asked misunderstood that as Poly sci, as in where the people study the geometry of poly relationships, and sent her to the Gender Studies lounge.

      1. Clif

        It’s cute you think there’s a gender studies lounge. Political Science and Gender Studies are both going to be in the Social Science department.

        1. UrsulaDavina

          Given that I have worked for Universities that ranged from large to small. their social science programs had separate office suites and lounges. I would assume Indiana University a very large institution would have separate offices and lounges also the Gender studies department is located Ballintine Hall and Political science is located in Woodburn hall.

        2. Thag Simmons

          I think both Leslie and Robin teach in Woodburn Hall

  17. BlackScarabFilmZ

    All this is missing is the classic cartoon rubbing eyes thing to be perfect.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Maybe a spit-take?

  18. Carla's #2 Fan

    I don’t remember Vivian.

  19. crow

    Heyy Vivian’s kinda cute, maybe Leslie could date her

    1. Opus the Poet

      That assumes Vivian’s gender identity and sexual orientation are compatible with dating anybody.

      1. Proto

        Clearly you’ve never shipped characters before. Their actual canon gender/sex/orientation don’t matter, those are merely hurdles that you can recklessly plow through on the way to “I want these characters together”

        1. StClair

          and by “together” we mean “bangin'”.

  20. C.T Phipps

    Will Leslie recognize Robin in glasses? Or will she fall for the mild but quirky professor who is secretly Super-Robin!

    1. King Daniel

      Robin was wearing glasses in literally her first appearance in Leslie’s class in Dumbing of Age. 😛

    2. RassilonTDavros

      Don’t be silly, Super-Robin isn’t in this strip!

      That’s obviously Spider-Ca—

      OH GOD WILLIS JUST BROKE INTO MY HOUSE NO NO PUT DOWN THE everything is fine, go about your day. signed, not willis

  21. DailyBrad

    I somehow forgot that, oh yeah, these two were going to run into each other at some point.

    1. Clif

      I thought it was the moment we were all waiting for.

  22. Bagge

    No, no, Vivian. Stay and enjoy the drama

    1. StClair

      Literally being in the middle of it is not a good way to enjoy it. She should at least find a safer better vantage point.

      1. Clif

        On the other side of the fourth wall?

        1. StClair

          Given recent developments with Joyce, that’s only mostly safe.

      2. SeanR

        Get up.
        Go to the snack machine and purchase one(1) bag of microwavable popcorn.
        Proceed to microwave the popcorn.
        Find a new seat no closer than ten(10) feet, or two(2) tables distant, whichever is less, from your previous seat.
        Enjoy your popcorn.

    2. Keulen

      Nah, I think Vivian is making the smart choice to nope the fuck out of this situation as quickly as possible.

      1. StClair

        Agreed.

  23. Reltzik

    Vivian? More like Vamoosian.

  24. Yotomoe

    I know they won’t bang here in the teacher’s lounge right here on the table but it’d be pretty great if the banged right here in the teacher’s lounge on the table.

    1. RacingTurtle

      Ah, and some imaginary fanart as well! The comment section is rich with transmundane Leslie/Robin content tonight, and I am grateful

      1. Yotomoe

        I keep promising lots of fanart. At this point I wonder which pairing you guys would be most interested in seeing me draw.

        1. RacingTurtle

          Everything I’ve seen of yours is good and I trust your choices. But if you’re having trouble deciding between all the options, I vote for Robin. She’s such a spectacular disaster that the fact that she’s cute is about all she’s got going for her at the moment

        2. Spencer

          Danny/Sayid of course.

  25. Moon

    ngl robin looks really cute in the suit

  26. BenRG

    This is going to either turn into a screaming argument or the two of them will end up making out (or something similar).

    1. Keulen

      Maybe both, first the argument then them making out?

  27. Needfuldoer

    The long-anticipated return of the Xerox machine! (Although that one looks mre like a Canon.)

  28. Proto_Eevee

    Head Canon: Vivian is the Cheese

  29. milu

    “Leslie! I had absolutely NO idea you were teaching here when I very specifically and relentlessly applied for this position, and now we’ve run into each other and it looks like this might keep happening because we are colleagues now???!!! this is wild?!”

    1. BenRG

      The horrible thing is that Robin is sufficiently a cloudcuckoolander that she could say the things you suggest and actually be telling the truth.

      1. milu

        Robin is post-truth. It’s not that she’s sometimes lying sometimes not, it’s that there is no discernable difference to anyone including herself. She is made out of pure politics.

        1. milu

          …almost pure. she had a twinge of integrity at some point and quit literal politics, but she’s still close to 100% inauthentic, to the point where it loops back to being her actual personality

        2. StClair

          These two comments are gold and/or truth.

  30. Pan

    Lounge: The Return of Vivian

    1. Rabisch

      She actually lives there.

  31. Rabisch

    YEEEES! THE AWKWARD MEET! I’ve waited for this since the first strip with Robin as a prof! Now, start to fight for the Theater’s lounge possession!

    1. Rabisch

      SHARE THE LOUNGE IS NOT A POSSIBILITY!!!!!!!!!

  32. Heather

    Come on Vivian, there’s probably a microwave in there to make yourself some popcorn.

  33. Proto

    Oh no I already don’t like where this is going…

  34. Juanoku

    Robin still looks ridiculous in that

  35. Ryek Hvek

    the alt-text could have been “No no no no no”

    1. StClair

      I thought that link was going to be to the cat.

    2. milu

      sweet sounding song, but….

      “She’s a doll who goes no no no no
      all day long, she goes no no no no
      she is so, so pretty
      that i dream of her at night
      no one’s ever taught her
      that she could say yes
      without even listening, she goes no no no no
      without a look at me, she goes no no no no
      and yet i would give my life
      for her to say yes”

      1. Ryek Hvek

        Unrequited love is often more plaintive than eloquent. By the way, the guitar in that recording is played by none other than Jimmy Page.

        1. milu

          hah, that’s fun about Jimmy Page, i didn’t know he had had anything to do with Polnareff =)

          Oh, I’m not saying it’s bad poetry. It’s a finely written song. It just comes off as sort of cringey to me. Like, if she keeps turning you down, maybe it’s not because she’s some kind of pathological refuser, Michel. >_>

  36. ziggy78eog

    Robin has a point; unless the University considers Gender Studies a Poly Sci course, Leslie should not be there. This is not like Highschool, where there is some general lounge, where all the instructors gather. At best, every department would have there own lounge, for their professors.

    1. StClair

      Per above, I think the assumption is that all the social sciences* have to share.

      * “pfft, like that’s even a real thing.“

    2. thejeff

      *Leslie* should not be here? Is there any reason to think that, even if the departments don’t share, that it’s Robin in the right place and not Leslie.
      Leslie clearly knows Vivian and isn’t seen as out of place.

      Robin is known for ignoring boundaries.

      1. Regalli

        Vivian knows Leslie’s laptop wallpaper, and I think in the bonus Patreon strip they shared office space or something. They’re in the same department, or at least same building. If anyone has no business being here, it is 100% Robin.

  37. JessWitt

    Henceforth, the teachers refrained from talking about the Lounge Incident of Winter 20XX and the student body resorted to their own imagination of what transpired there.

  38. Rycan

    Hi, Vivian.
    Bye, Vivian.
    Wonder if we’ll see her again.

  39. Brighter Side

    Indiana University must be going through a rough time if professors don’t get offices anymore. I mean, even lecturers get offices and TAs get cubicles. This lounge business is fishy.

    1. Liam

      That or they have individual lounges which is super bourgeois.

      1. Brighter Side

        So, like a biology professor gets a huge garden patio? I’d dig it.

    2. Regalli

      It’s DEFINITELY not unheard of for junior faculty at some colleges in the US (TAs, adjuncts, people who just don’t have seniority because the actually tenured professors have been there since 1963 and will die in their offices) to share an office space. Or not have any real space to themselves. I suspect/vaguely remember from Patreon that Leslie and Vivian do share space, and that this lounge is more a ‘when you want to eat lunch with your colleagues but not deal with students’ sort of area, but not certain.

      Academia has an issue with treating its incomers like shit – the situation with last semester’s math class that was ‘taught’ by Professor Rees who didn’t do anything because the class was actually handled by grad student TAs is… at most somewhat exaggerated. You’ll also sometimes get issues where there are more students admitted that want to live in on-campus housing than there actually is housing available, which also means you need classes for all these students that need to be taught by more professors, and more lecture hall space… Yeah, it is entirely believable to me for a college to be doing okay financially but have so completely deprioritized faculty members having their own workspace that people who share their office space use the lounge when it’s someone else’s office hours. (Hell, given the concept of open-space offices, I could see them selling a lounge instead of office thing and the adjuncts just contemplating murder. Hopefully COVID’s had people rethinking that as a trend, but I doubt it.)

      1. Vulcanodon

        Can confirm: our college’s shiny new building 15 years ago is already straining its buttons. With the exception of the last year because of covid and remote instruction. But once we’re on-campus again we’ll be back to trying to figure out where to put everybody.

        And the building seemed bigger than we’d ever need when it was planned.

  40. Quinn

    What? First Leslie has to contend with two exes in her class trying to exist in the same space, and then she has to contend with sharing space with her own ex?

    Surely this sort of parallel structure will not hold life lessons for everyone involved!

  41. Sunny

    Still better than having to exit pursued by a bear.

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