…that’s a possibility, but I’d say that it’s more likely his own discomfort at not being the silly one.
Walky’s been dealing with a lot of Sad Clown energy since the time skip, and while he’s smarter and sharper than people tend to think, he deliberately undercuts that a lot.
Probably because addressing it would mean really focusing on his own issues and problems.
There was no need to add on the roast there. If anything, it damaged the message more than it helped it, because Jennifer does not think highly of Walky, so him going for the roast makes her more likely to think all the kind words there were bullshit, just as a set-up for the swipe.
Suitora
Honestly, a gentle roast after something like that tends to make me feel a bit reoriented. He wasn’t super mean about it, and she knows it’s Walky being Walky. I could see how someone hates it, but I could also see it as helping someone like Jennifer, who takes herself way too seriously all the time… to not be so hard on herself.
Wraithy2773
Maybe, but Jennifer’s not you.
Because when someone does that stuff to me? Give me a roast after saying nice things? It infuriates me. I have issues involving trusting that other people are being sincere (not to mention a lot of self-confidence problems), and undercutting the compliments with a comment that’s like a mocking insult just makes me think that the good words were bullshit.
And yeah, I see a lot of that stuff in Jennifer. She’s extremely self-conscious and doesn’t seem to really trust people. If this were Dorothy, then she’d absolutely take the comment as you would, a bit of comedy to make the soft stuff easier to take. But you gotta know your audience, and Walky kinda should know better.
Sirksome
Jennifer does actually seem pretty put off by the roast, intentional or not. You gotta know your audience I guess.
BarerMender
I haven’t been paying attention. When did “insult” become “roast?”
Wraithy2773
Intent, mostly. I don’t think Walky is trying to hurt Jennifer with the comment at the end. I have issues with his behavior for other reasons, but I think its safe to say that he’s not being malicious here. He’s just fucking up his genuine effort to help his sorta-sister because of his own issues, and isn’t realizing it.
He wants the comment to be read as good-natured roasting, not as a real insult. Doesn’t seem like it’s being received that way, though.
It’s sad how Walky hates seeing people trying to be better because he has convinced himself that he can’t be better so he has to sabotage anybody else’s attempts at improving.
I agree. Lucy is the most valuable member of the cast because she is pretty much the only one preventing the final chapter of this comic being the gang reuniting ten years later at Walky’s funeral, each bemoaning how Walky was so kind to them, yet they never took the time to stop him from eating only junk food.
Nah, junk foods not the substance that will kill Walky. He’s going to choke to death the one time he chooses to eat a vegetable not inside a taco, sandwich, or on top of a pizza. It will probably be a piece of broccoli or cauliflower.
cbwroses
I know that’s why I never eat broccoli or it’s albino twin (that and the smell makes me nauseous).
Aside from the high sugar content and lack of fiber, a person could live forever on cold cereal and milk. Cereals like Cheerios and shredded wheat and their generic shelfmates have no sugar and high fiber so with the added vitamins required by the gov’t would be a healthy way to sustain life pretty much indefinitely.
https://i.imgur.com/5g0Q8tq.png (NSFW)
Alright we’re finally moving towards an endgame. I know it’s getting a lot looser but positioning can be a bit harder. But hopefully moving forward I’ll get a bit more confident.
Story so far… https://imgur.com/a/9Ob1cy3 (NSFW)
wait no, what comic is this, the past three days have been an uninterrupted ‘how to friend’, AND Jennifer seems to be receptive at all, where is the other shoe, WHERE IS THE OTHER SHOE
Nope! That might be considered that being nice in a joking way in more jocular circumstances, but Billie Jennifer is pretty vulnerable right now.
Walky just figuratively kicked Jennifer in the teeth. Read the room. Look at her expression in the last panel. She’s likely to burst into tears or punch him in the face. Maybe both.
I love how the past 3 strips, the colorful posters on the wall behind Lucy and Walky look like stained glass windows. Gives the whole conversation a more ecclesiastical feel.
…Dunno, maybe I’m wrong — I recently joined and read the whole series from the beginning — but when I first started reading this series I was super stoked to see an Evangelical character. Like maybe there’d be a comic that made room for exploration of theological questions. That made room for personal growth and growing awareness of political and social issues, within that context of coming to terms with religious upbringing.
And Star Wars is a very spiritually grounded entertainment franchise. You can get a lot of personal life guidance from the movies’ teachings about ethics and the use of the Force. I know I do.
…So I kind of feel like, with Walky quoting Yoda while pointing backwards at a brightly-colored backdrop, it’s almost like bringing a little friendly and non-religious “church” into the dorm room with them.
Hm. “Una rama de la literature fantastica”. It doesn’t really quite translate. ” fantastico” includes science fiction, fantasy, horror. Anyway, Borges agrees with you ^^
Thank you, all, for the insights. Nice to see you folks here. Yes, I think religion and sci-fi/fantasy go hand in hand. It’s all just about imagination and belief and what brings people together (or divides them).
I do think what he’s saying is accurate, and hell, maybe it’d make it a little too awkward if he *didn’t* razz her a bit in the process. At least, it would for him. Sal and Walky have observed a lot that their background makes them kind of uncomfortable with emotional intimacy, so there’s probably an urge to take the edge off a bit.
127 thoughts on “Reflectin’”
Ana Chronistic
shades of https://www.askideas.com/drink-coffee-funny-vintage-meme/
The Wellerman
YEAH! Way to roast her like a toaster!!!!
? ??? ?
GO WALKY!!!!
*plays “Wild Battle” from Pokemon Kanto CD*
Felix
IDK, I’ve just got Smooth Operator ironically playing in my head, err, on the hacked muzak here
David M Willis
smooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooothoperator
Sirksome
I feel like he could’ve articulated that better. I know it’s not but it reads like a back handed compliment.
poofdepoof
I think he’s purposefully adding a gentle roast at the end of some genuine kindness, to make it a little more “Walky”
Wraithy2773
…that’s a possibility, but I’d say that it’s more likely his own discomfort at not being the silly one.
Walky’s been dealing with a lot of Sad Clown energy since the time skip, and while he’s smarter and sharper than people tend to think, he deliberately undercuts that a lot.
Probably because addressing it would mean really focusing on his own issues and problems.
There was no need to add on the roast there. If anything, it damaged the message more than it helped it, because Jennifer does not think highly of Walky, so him going for the roast makes her more likely to think all the kind words there were bullshit, just as a set-up for the swipe.
Suitora
Honestly, a gentle roast after something like that tends to make me feel a bit reoriented. He wasn’t super mean about it, and she knows it’s Walky being Walky. I could see how someone hates it, but I could also see it as helping someone like Jennifer, who takes herself way too seriously all the time… to not be so hard on herself.
Wraithy2773
Maybe, but Jennifer’s not you.
Because when someone does that stuff to me? Give me a roast after saying nice things? It infuriates me. I have issues involving trusting that other people are being sincere (not to mention a lot of self-confidence problems), and undercutting the compliments with a comment that’s like a mocking insult just makes me think that the good words were bullshit.
And yeah, I see a lot of that stuff in Jennifer. She’s extremely self-conscious and doesn’t seem to really trust people. If this were Dorothy, then she’d absolutely take the comment as you would, a bit of comedy to make the soft stuff easier to take. But you gotta know your audience, and Walky kinda should know better.
Sirksome
Jennifer does actually seem pretty put off by the roast, intentional or not. You gotta know your audience I guess.
BarerMender
I haven’t been paying attention. When did “insult” become “roast?”
Wraithy2773
Intent, mostly. I don’t think Walky is trying to hurt Jennifer with the comment at the end. I have issues with his behavior for other reasons, but I think its safe to say that he’s not being malicious here. He’s just fucking up his genuine effort to help his sorta-sister because of his own issues, and isn’t realizing it.
He wants the comment to be read as good-natured roasting, not as a real insult. Doesn’t seem like it’s being received that way, though.
Deviant
Judging from the expression in the last panel, its not that gentle to Jennifer.
Kaiyalai
Sure seems like a gap between intent and effect.
Needfuldoer
Walky’s nothing if not outwardly flippant.
Ashley
It’s sad how Walky hates seeing people trying to be better because he has convinced himself that he can’t be better so he has to sabotage anybody else’s attempts at improving.
zee
Sure that’s a way of interpreting it i guess
Yotomoe
Walky’s a good friend.
The Wellerman
Yeah, seeing him like this is just lovely! ?
True Survivor
I agree. Lucy is the most valuable member of the cast because she is pretty much the only one preventing the final chapter of this comic being the gang reuniting ten years later at Walky’s funeral, each bemoaning how Walky was so kind to them, yet they never took the time to stop him from eating only junk food.
Sirksome
Nah, junk foods not the substance that will kill Walky. He’s going to choke to death the one time he chooses to eat a vegetable not inside a taco, sandwich, or on top of a pizza. It will probably be a piece of broccoli or cauliflower.
cbwroses
I know that’s why I never eat broccoli or it’s albino twin (that and the smell makes me nauseous).
BarerMender
I’m more worried about Dina eating nothing but cereal.
Opus the Poet
Aside from the high sugar content and lack of fiber, a person could live forever on cold cereal and milk. Cereals like Cheerios and shredded wheat and their generic shelfmates have no sugar and high fiber so with the added vitamins required by the gov’t would be a healthy way to sustain life pretty much indefinitely.
Brooks Flugaur-Leavitt
Yeah, he is.
The Wellerman
Say, your icon looks rather similar to Reaver’s hee hee
Doctor_Who
Honestly, I wouldn’t consider someone a true friend unless they gave me a little shit along with their support.
Taffy
Yeah, exactly. Everyone’s got different things they’re after.
Azhrei Vep
He certainly tries to be, anyway.
Yotomoe
https://i.imgur.com/5g0Q8tq.png (NSFW)
Alright we’re finally moving towards an endgame. I know it’s getting a lot looser but positioning can be a bit harder. But hopefully moving forward I’ll get a bit more confident.
Story so far…
https://imgur.com/a/9Ob1cy3 (NSFW)
The Wellerman
First and last panels are the best ?
cbwroses
Nice!
Did her glasses fall off mid orgasm?
Yotomoe
I realized I forgot them right when I posted it.
Dark_T_Zeratul
So what you’re saying is yes, you definitely intentionally had her glasses fall of mid-orgasm. 😛
Opus the Poet
?
Carms
wait no, what comic is this, the past three days have been an uninterrupted ‘how to friend’, AND Jennifer seems to be receptive at all, where is the other shoe, WHERE IS THE OTHER SHOE
StClair
There he goes, being a little brother again.
Nono
Walky would prefer Hamburger Helper to a super helper.
The Wellerman
Especially if that super helper is as self-defeating as the alcohol she used to covet.
? Hamburger helper is much tastier.
C.T. Phipps
See, Walky, you THINK you’re being funny and she likes your teasing.
But, no, you are in fact genuinely hurtful.
Madock345
Hurtful? He’s being super nice here, just in jokeing way. Seems entirely appropriate for friends this old.
Pilgrim
Nope! That might be considered that being nice in a joking way in more jocular circumstances, but
BillieJennifer is pretty vulnerable right now.Walky just figuratively kicked Jennifer in the teeth. Read the room. Look at her expression in the last panel. She’s likely to burst into tears or punch him in the face. Maybe both.
Carms
lol ur funny
newlland(Henryvolt)
OK in walky standards he handled that well.
Mr. Random
They really do have a sibling dynamic there.
Related, I wonder where Sal is?
Kyrik Michalowski
Making out with Danny.
Yotomoe
Yum.
Sirksome
Definitely the better scenario. Hopefully we can get a hard cut to that instead of this.
Deathjavu
Right? I just wanted to go back to that since we saw them together in the last panel of that one strip. No drama, only cute!
newlland(Henryvolt)
Atleast she doing something constructive?
Bagge
Walky ishelping.
Laura
I love how the past 3 strips, the colorful posters on the wall behind Lucy and Walky look like stained glass windows. Gives the whole conversation a more ecclesiastical feel.
…Dunno, maybe I’m wrong — I recently joined and read the whole series from the beginning — but when I first started reading this series I was super stoked to see an Evangelical character. Like maybe there’d be a comic that made room for exploration of theological questions. That made room for personal growth and growing awareness of political and social issues, within that context of coming to terms with religious upbringing.
And Star Wars is a very spiritually grounded entertainment franchise. You can get a lot of personal life guidance from the movies’ teachings about ethics and the use of the Force. I know I do.
…So I kind of feel like, with Walky quoting Yoda while pointing backwards at a brightly-colored backdrop, it’s almost like bringing a little friendly and non-religious “church” into the dorm room with them.
Way off base? Perhaps. 😉
The Wellerman
Well if it’s any consolation, this place is very much like a non-religious church to me, what with the sense of belonging and community.
Great to see you here Laura! How have you been? ?
Deathjavu
I mean, “Jedi” is one of the most popular religious beliefs listed in surveys, iirc.
Laura
Thanks, folks. Good to see y’all here too.
I didn’t know that about “Jedi” on surveys. Wild!
The Wellerman
May the force be with you Laura!
Sure do miss you when you’re not around, you’re always so kind and helpful!
Deathjavu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jedi_census_phenomenon
Started as a joke, and then somehow became not a joke? 0.7% is a lot, although admittedly that’s the highest % I’m seeing
milu
Well, as Jorge Luis Borges said, “theology is a subgenre of supernatural fiction”
milu
Hm. “Una rama de la literature fantastica”. It doesn’t really quite translate. ” fantastico” includes science fiction, fantasy, horror. Anyway, Borges agrees with you ^^
The Wellerman
hmmm…. very fascinating and lovely how Spanish has a word that neatly and beautifully relates all of those!
Fantastica sounds like my kind of genre ? ? ?
BarerMender
In English, we group those together as “speculative fiction.”
Taffy
That or “Sinful affronts to God’s will”.
Laura
Thank you, all, for the insights. Nice to see you folks here. Yes, I think religion and sci-fi/fantasy go hand in hand. It’s all just about imagination and belief and what brings people together (or divides them).
Darkoneko
Wow Walky, you sounded so wise. almost.
DailyBrad
I love their friendship, dysfunctional as it is.
I do think what he’s saying is accurate, and hell, maybe it’d make it a little too awkward if he *didn’t* razz her a bit in the process. At least, it would for him. Sal and Walky have observed a lot that their background makes them kind of uncomfortable with emotional intimacy, so there’s probably an urge to take the edge off a bit.
Mturtle7
I never really thought about how similar Sal and Walky are in that way!
DailyBrad
Yeah, Sal put it once when she and Walky were making up, “we ain’t a hugging family”.
BBCC
Wow. A ‘relating it to things you like’ reach out followed by a smart ass wisecrack.
A+ sibling maneuver. Well done, Walky.
cbwroses
Yes. This is top tier Walky, being both insightful and annoying at the same time.
It’s usually just the latter, sometimes the former, but rarely both.
Sirksome