369

Stopped
Posted on December 13, 2023 by David M Willis

369 thoughts on “Stopped”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    well, shit

    being stuck in church is MY nightmare, too

    (one of)

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      How do you comment so quickly? I swear it must be time travel, or magic. I was refreshing the page as fast as I could, but your comment was already done between me refreshing.

      1. Frelance

        patrons early access

        1. Cholma

          No. No. Patreon only allows her to COMPOSE her reply in advance. The deal she made with the devil is what allows her to post first!

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Thiotimoline-based processor.

        3. clif

          Any sufficiently advanced Thiotimoline-based processor is indistinguishable from time-travel magic.

        4. Xujhan

          That is a deep cut, well done.

        5. Ed Rhodes

          Steve Rogers raises his hand.

        6. Crytter

          Years ago, in the IRC days, someone used to call the update every night to the second.

        7. ValdVin

          She’s hired Watson, that machine which was smart as a Jeopard! champion and somehow knew the nanosecond it was allowed to buzz in.

      2. Mym

        The comic doesn’t post until Ana does

        1. Opus the Poet

          I can’t imagine what level of Patreon that takes.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          And the oral sex!

      3. Needfuldoer

        We don’t question the magic of Ana.

    2. Lokitsu

      Mine is being stuck listening to a couple publicly meltdown. Seriously, Lucy- take it somewhere private.

    3. Decidedly Orthogonal

      General life tip: losing your shit on someone when you’re upset does not help or encourage them to be helpful or understanding of your feelings.

  2. Grimey

    Not how I imagined how this was going to go.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Still, probably better to rip this bandage off sooner than later

    2. anon

      yep, that’s pretty quick emotional whiplash

      tho it was bound to have some kinda outburst at one point if walky admits that he didnt mean to say it to begin with

      1. ktbear

        But he DIDNT say it to begin with!

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Ding ding ding!

          This is why phone companies don’t sponsor beauty pageants. Nobody likes Miss Communication.

        2. DumbingOfAlice

          that’s a Decidedly phenomenal pun/joke right there! I’m in awe 😀

      2. DashWallkick

        That’s just it though — she said it, and she can’t stop saying it, and she just kind of imagined the rest. Lucy is a sweet kid but she’s never dated and it shows, she hasn’t really had to grow up yet. She still thinks the world runs on the optimistic logic of a cartoon or YA novel.

        1. Adept

          It’s been a painful train wreck to watch. I hope this means it’s over. I don’t enjoy cringe.

  3. Yotomoe

    Honey, Honey.
    I’ve never loved you.

    1. Mr. Random

      Ah yes, honesty.
      That’ll make this less dramatic.

    2. anon

      “They could both do better”

    3. StClair

      “I just misspoke earlier, in a careless moment!”

      1. cbwroses

        Walky never misspoke.
        She misheard.
        Knowing that she misheard, he never clarified due to taking bad advice from Dorothy.

    4. HueSatLight

      “Maybe you should rewind that conversation in your mind and check if that’s really true.”

      1. Kim

        Oops! Accidentally flagged! Sorry:(

        1. HueSatLight

          wait, Flag doesn’t mean flagging an exceptionally good comment?

        2. Pergola

          I’ve been doing it wrong all this time?

        3. Thag Simmons

          Accidental flags are a known thing and the system is built to account for them, don’t worry about it. You need a lot of flags to get a comment removed for review

  4. Kyrik Michalowski

    Oof, that happened much faster than I expected. The sexy time vibes have just been killed.

    So we taking bets on how this about to go down?

    1. True Survivor

      Can I get odds on: Very nasty public break up?

      If so, do you think I should bet on 1) Lucy manipulates Jennifer to somehow get revenge on Walky OR 2) Jennifer tries to get Lucy back with Walky so she doesn’t have to hear about it anymore.

      1. Coatl

        I think it’s a little bit of both, I mean, it’s Jennifer and her greatest wish is for Walky to suffer.

      2. Johan

        What’s worse?
        A nasty break up in public?
        A nasty break up in church?

        Imma go with church. Public forgets. Church drama is forever.

        1. Mym

          But thankfully it only circulates with the churchies, the rest of us can accept that churches just bring out the worst in couples

        2. Dante

          I’m not disagreeing, it’s just. This is Lucy’s church, so if this explodes here now then she’s def not showing up there again ;33;

        3. thejeff

          It’s a college church, so there aren’t the deep ties and gossip networks you find in most churches.
          Or at least the college kids going aren’t tied into them.

        4. Some Ed

          Yes, but Lucy might not understand this. I wouldn’t expect her to show up here again for… long enough we’d never see it.

          Except everything happens faster in comic time, because the alternative is for stuff to happen even more insanely slowly for those of us in real time. So who knows? I mean, Dave *might*, because it’s possible her return is already in the massive queue. But otherwise he probably doesn’t even know yet.

        5. HueSatLight

          where Jesus can see? It’s going to be so awkward whenever she runs into him now.

        6. Bay

          a fucking men.

    2. Yotomoe

      The last time the sexy time vibes were this dead I had to go out and buy new batteries.

      1. Jamie

        I thought this was a different pun at first and then I understood.

        My reactive impulse to puns is so confused right now.

    3. anon

      well hopefully not being guilt tripped into sex

      https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1677

      ‘would that work’?

      1. Casi

        Man, i completely forgot about Angus. Hope he’s doing good in NY doing that comedy writing stuff.

        1. Some Ed

          Well, at least Marigold provided him that bit of material as part of her sendoff.

    4. Karla Jean

      1) Walky explains he never technically said it.
      2) Lucy rightly gets mad at him for trying to skate by on a technicality when he knew his words were misunderstood.
      3) They fight and she’s seen as the unreasonable one because everybody likes Walky more.

      1. Nono

        Walky is a manchild and I’d still defend him over Lucy here.

        1. mneme

          Yup.

          Lucy didn’t deserve what she went through with Walky’s parents, but she’s been pressuring him throughout their relationship and any pain she gets from the whole house of cards falling down on her is literally on her; she’s the one who built the house; Walky just didn’t try to disassemble it early.

        2. Vanessa

          Yup. She didn’t have to meet Wally’s parents. She was warned. And they’ve only been dating a few weeks and barely know each other. Her expectations are radically out of wack.

        3. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

          Kind of like a ‘the Disney franchise mirrors Reality just fine!’ version of my dad when it comes to people. It’s not unusual to want to believe that because of all the ‘wholesome child-like innocence’ surface to it all that’s it somehow makes her more of a genuine ‘good person’ that appreciates people more than the brand of neurosis of people like Sarah….But it really isn’t that much better than how Sarah deliberately gets in her own way. She’s nicer, yes, but also more flaky.

          She’s also starting to sound like she’s smart enough (along with making her peace with not being able to be giddy ALL the time since Life isn’t all sunshine and rainbows) to outgrow the Lucy she’s been before she hooked up with Walky.

        4. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

          I…Really wrote that prolix, garbage grammer-laden mess…Must be Tuesday.

      2. Mym

        Right…that’s why she’s seen as unreasonable…not the rest of her behavior

      3. thejeff

        Figuring out which of these two is the one to blame and which one is the innocent victim is an error.
        It took both of them to get here. Lucy’s overeagerness and Walky’s avoidance of conflict made this inevitable, one way or another. Neither of them was malicious. Just a misunderstanding and not wanting to hurt her by correcting it.

        1. bemisawa

          Yeah. It’s not either/or. I’d add they’re both being a bit immature here. Walky is acting as if he was Just Following Orders, and not admitting his own agency here, which is making things worse, which may be making things worse than the original misunderstanding did – and Lucy is insecure / lied to by media / not coming at this from a place where she’s willing to hear the subtext here, that he really does care about her. In a more mature relationship, this could easily be a non-issue. But here, I’m not completely convinced that Walky sitting her down before and saying, “Listen… I like you very very much, but I didn’t say ‘I love you’, I said ‘I love hamburgers’ or something, and you misheard me, but because I care about you, I didn’t want to upset you, so I didn’t correct you, and this has just kept going from there and here we are,” would’ve gone over well at any point. I’m also not sure she would’ve let him get to, “…And because I care about being sincere with you, and having my words have meaning, because I like you very much, and I think I will someday be able to say that to you sincerely. For now, I am still very happy with you, and I do care about you a lot.” I’m not sure that he ever actually *had* a good option here, short of maybe saying right after the misunderstanding, “No no, I said I love *hamburgers*. I do think you’re super cool though and care about you a lot, and I’m really glad to hear that you love me. I’m just not ready to say it yet, because when I say it, I want to be able to mean it fully.”

          (Assuming, of course, that he *is* actually happy with her (and just stressed at the ), and not just convincing himself that he is because she is checking all the boxes of being a good girlfriend. Which I go back on forth on.)

    5. Amelie Wikström

      About the last time it looked like Lucy and Walky were done, which I guess was yesterday after the lunch with the parents, I posited a scenario where the breakup leads to Lucy and Sarah becoming best friends. Nothing has changed that would make it less likely to happen so I’m betting on that.

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        That’d be neat. Sarah is a good big sister and Lucy needs an occassional reality check.

  5. newlland(Henryvolt)

    How desperately he tried everything to avoid having this exact scenario and this exact conversation only to end up here anyway. It was Inevitable

    Dread it, run from it, and yet destiny still arrives.

    1. HueSatLight

      he didn’t have to come up with a delicate way to start this conversation, all he had to do was wait and that problem solved itself.

    2. anon

      i mean she would’ve said it again eventually versus just forgetting. tho i wonder if it would’ve been worse if they hooked up and she said it at the end and walky stayed awkawrdly silent

      1. thejeff

        It’s definitely good that this happened before they had sex.
        Even if it leads them not having sex.

        1. DashWallkick

          Honestly the funniest and most likely outcome would be after all of Lucy’s effort to create rules around when you’re allowed to have sex so it’s not in violation of the Lord, she never actually got to fuck Walky because her immaturity ruined the relationship before she could.

        2. Some Ed

          To be fair, it also made the relationship, so it was really its prerogative to end it whenever it wanted.

        3. Adept

          I really hope so. I’ve got nothing against casual hookups, but this one seemed like a bad idea all around.

    3. David DeLaney

      “odd, Lucy, I was expecting to have this conversation with you in Samarra”

  6. True Survivor

    Lucy has a fantastic sweater, but terrible timing
    (also apparently a not so great boyfriend).

    1. Thag Simmons

      Eh, Walky’s okay. Exceeding expectations honestly

      1. True Survivor

        For Walky or Boyfriends? If it is the latter, then that is very sad.

        1. Thag Simmons

          Both really. He’s not handling this perfectly but he’s not the problem right now

        2. pope suburban

          That’s part of the tragedy for me, honestly. Walky is, globally, trying to become a better and more proactive person. It started with backing up Sal to their parents, and it’s continued with Lucy. Like, when Lyle was taking a joke too far and making Lucy uncomfortable, Walky saw that and actually spoke up. He’s growing as a person and trying to think before he speaks/acts. Lucy, because she’s Lucy, is seeing all of that as *for her specifically* and not something Walky is doing for general betterment. All of that is colliding in spectacular fashion here and it’s really quite sad.

        3. JA

          It’s Walky. He’s not being malicious here, just oblivious. It’s a common feature among guys, especially when they have no relationship experience.

        4. mneme

          I mean, he’s not even oblivious. He’s never said the L word to Lucy; he didn’t say it then (the way she took it) and he didnt’ say it now. He knows it’s a big step; that’s why, while he avoided confrontation by not actually -saying- he’d never said the L word, he’s…continued avoiding saying it. He’s let himself get backed into a corner, always knowing this corner was -somewhere-. (he was hoping it wouldn’t be, in, you know, a church).

        5. Nymphie

          Technically he declared he loved her before her, when she called Joyce a white, bisexuality version of herself.

          (But yes I’m with you, she heard what she wanted to hear and ran with it and he was too afraid of the fallout once he corrected her)

        6. Aura

          I think not even oblivious. He knew this was coming for a while but I don’t think he could work out how to set the record straight without, well, all this.

        7. bemisawa

          Did he at any point have a good option that wouldn’t cause a minimum of one (1) kerfuffle and some very hurt feelings on Lucy’s part?

        8. bemisawa

          I will say, Walky could definitely be saying this better now – he didn’t need to mention Dorothy at all here, for example – but I think that’s at least as much because he’s being put on the spot as it is obliviousness as to what Lucy will get upset at. But if there is obliviousness here, that’s where it’s at.

          Not that this is Lucy’s fault either, I should add; she’s at where she’s at, and it’s not her fault if she’s insecure, immature, etc.. Everyone has to grow at their own rate. She will probably get to a more mature understanding of relationships in time. This was always going to suck for both of them.

      2. Throwatron

        Yeah. Lucy is legitimately too immature to be having a relationship with anyone in this strip. And that says a lot, considering every other character. She’s actually like she’s still in high school.

        1. Kimi

          I do wonder if she learned to masterbate if she would be this desperate to have a boyfriend. I do sort of understand the feeling of wanting to be in a relationship with someone since it feels like sometimes that is the only way to get someone to spend time with you doing fun things (as they are otherwise too busy, so only spend the little bit of free time with their boyfriend/girlfriend or family). Feeling that way and acting on it are two different things though. My problem could also be that I lean towards they asexual side of the spectrum, which makes it difficult for relationships as well. A lifelong friend to live together with, eat meals with, do fun this together with and other such things has always been more appealing to me than things such as kissing. It is hard for me to tell what is more socially common or not though.

        2. Nono

          There’s been nothing indicating that Lucy has never masturbated.

        3. Kimi

          I just made the assumption based off of Christian background and some of the comments and ways she has acted about sex, but I could very easily be totally wrong.

        4. thejeff

          It’s possible, but consider Becky – who comes from an even more restrictive Christian background and was even more anti-sex (after marriage as opposed to after 3rd date), but who we know masturbated. And was guilty about it of course.

          I don’t think it’s even completely clear that Lucy’s a virgin?

        5. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

          High School is generous….I’m think Joyce at the beginning of this comic…

        6. zee

          Joyce at the beginning of the comic hired a guy to chaperonne her date and punch him if he ever thought about sex. Thays a pretty massive gap

        7. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

          Correct you are. What Lucy is going through is closer to that hit song by Paramore. Hopefully this’ll play out as her first lover’s quarrel in the long run and she’ll eventually get an appreciation for the journey over the destination…

    2. anon

      or great timing b/c it reinforces walkys belief that there are no good church experiences

      tho it would be quite something if it was the catalyst for lucy to become atheist/questioning if she gets a breakup within a church

      1. drs

        Nah, it’s God punishing her for considering pre-marital hanky-panky, and she becomes even more devout and joins a _strict_ church.

        1. justin8448

          I get the feeling that Lucy’s willingness to shrug off taboos against behaviors that don’t actually harm anyone is closer to a core part of her personality, that won’t be easily cast aside.

    3. Jon

      In this instance, Walky is not even remotely in the wrong. He failed to defend her against his shithead mom and he’s made other mistakes, but “not being ready to say ‘I love you’ in the first week of the relationship” is NOT one of them.

      Lucy needs to get a grip. I’ll feel sad for her if this hits her hard, but sometimes you just gotta learn this shit the hard way.

      1. J.Gawain

        eh…he also knows that she thinks he said I love you. He isn’t at fault for not saying I love you, but he knew the misunderstanding was there and did absolutely nothing to correct it.

      2. zee

        I mean. He had like what, two, three days to clear this up? Maybe more? Walkys always been shit at commutation and it’s biting him in the ass hardest in this relationship. He got some bad advice from Dorothy he shouldn’t have listened to. I know he didn’t wanna hurt her but this whole thing could have been avoided if he cleared things up that same day. Maybe she would have taken it terribly and the relationship would have ended, still better than coasting off a misunderstanding and hoping she just forgets the words I love you for a few months

        1. bemisawa

          I agree it’s the most mature thing for him to have done, and probably his best bet. I’m just not sure how much good it would’ve done with her and their relationship ultimately. …Although, it probably would have sucked less for him, because this pressure has definitely been bothering him.

    4. Mym

      I do like that sweater tho

  7. Keldas

    He’s *kinda almost* said it once, right?

    These two have gotta put their heads together before they smoosh their privates together

    1. Tan

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/02-turning-saints-into-the-sea/pretending/ is what he said (the following strip is her, having clearly misinterpretted, responding “I love you too”)

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        “I kind of hate a blind spot for romance”, said the biggest romantic idiot in the observable universe, on course to get her baby-ass heart obliterated

        1. PedanticJerkass

          She’ll certainly hate blind spots for romance after this, that’s for sure.

        2. Sajuuk-Khar

          Ha!

      2. Benjamin

        Wow…can’t believe that was a year ago (in real time)!

      3. AlexaSpuds

        Ah, tragic misunderstandings, the bane of many a young relationship.

    2. drs

      He said “I love that about you”

    3. Warcodered

      Yeah that’s not happening this relationship is dead.

      1. Taffy

        RIP
        (The P stands for “Piesta”, because my handwriting is bad)

  8. JR

    May this ship end, may it end quickly, and may it end soon.

  9. Jo_Cubstar

    You misheard him, Lucy. He never said he loved you to begin with. It’s been like 2 weeks

    1. anon

      it’s prolly going to be more shattering since he also technically made the first move as opposed to her having a lingering crush

  10. Sajuuk-Khar

    Comrade Perevozchenko, what you’re saying is physically impossible, the core can’t explode. It has to be the tank. RMBK reactor cores do not explode!

    1. AGV

      Just like Chernobyl

    2. Sajuuk-Khar

      Walky is very sure this situation is just 3.6 roentgen! Not great, but not terrible!

  11. Laura

    God, that’s gotta hurt so much.

  12. Animedingo

    This is why you dont go to church

    1. anon

      i mean, getting dumped in a church isn’t as bad as it happening when ur walking down the aisle lol

      1. Kimi

        Or finding out after the wedding that you and your spouse don’t actually get along or that they don’t respect you. My sister had a boyfriend who got together with someone else really quickly after they took a break from each other. She was heartbroken about it, but I saw it as a good thing. She is the type of person to see value in herself only through taking care of others, and gets into unhealthy relationships because of that. I know several people that insist that they have more value if they are in a relationship, and it is hard to not be pulled into that mindset. If you only have value when someone else cares enough about you to be in a relationship with you, then you probably don’t value yourself enough.

      2. Aura

        Many people at get married at churches so you can do both! Why settle for mediocrity?

  13. sakamism

    A lot of the time if you avoid awkward conversations that need to happen, they eventually just come find you, and when that happens they’re always worse

    1. anon

      i mean, if you don’t feel humiliated and don’t do it in a harassing kinda way that’d make ppl feel unsafe versus uncomfortable, it’d be great just to be as awkward as possible/give the most awkward ‘firsti impression’/kinda relationship dynamic right off the bat so ppl aren’t disappointed later dow n the line

  14. Tan

    “None of this is a denial” except for the part where he just said “No”

    1. Rocketboy1313

      I know right.

    2. drs

      You can’t stop loving someone if you never loved them in the first place.

    3. BBCC

      “No” to it being because of his parents. Not to the core concept – “You don’t love me anymore”. Which…..is true because he never did to begin with but he didn’t tell her that.

    4. LiterallyJustSomeGuy

      I came here to say this and am glad someone else said it first!

  15. BBCC

    Yeaaaahhhhh this is a mistake that’ll be tough to fix. Walky going along with it instead of explaining it to her beforehand is gonna make it look like this is about his parents now. Godspeed kid.

    1. Warcodered

      I mean maybe, she’s not going to react well to the reality anyway. She’s also not listening well, which was part of the problem in the first place. He’s given several hints/disagreements to what she’s saying with the “anymore” and just saying “what no.” Right now he seems focused on maybe having this conversation somewhere that isn’t the middle of a church which isn’t the worst idea.

      1. BBCC

        She seems to me to be trying to understand without getting the core concept – that Walky never loved her (which is fine, they’ve been dating a week or two, that’s a lot to ask). He said anymore so she told him what she’s thinking and when he said ‘what? No’ about it being because of his parents, she clarifies further (he said it before and then he stopped). I think before he might have been able to explain it in a way she’d understand even if she was unhappy. Now? Uh uh. There’s very little way to say that doesn’t look like scrambling because of his parents.

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          He even wanted to learn to love her! He just doesn’t *right now*, and unfortunately that’s not what Lucy wants or is even able to hear at the moment.

          (Not that it’s easy on her to be told she’s kind of a project lmao)

  16. IniquitousKing

    Oh, this is blowing up way quicker than expected.

    Lucy is going to make a -scene-. In a church. 😀

    1. anon

      cue the opportunistic ones swarming to lucy to offer ‘support’ wit hstrings attached 8D;

      (then again becky seems to be ok with this church so hopefully ppl aren’t too like that here)

  17. RassilonTDavros

    Well, it was nice while it lasted.

    1. Nicoleandmaggie

      Was it though? /meme

      1. Username Taken

        Now don’t start that again, that’s how we got into this mess! 😀

  18. newlland(Henryvolt)

    You know it all fairness we all know he didn’t actually say it, which is better character than last time he was in this situation of him saying it to Dorothy and not being 100% sure he means it.

    He learned to say it and mean it or not say it at all…now he just needs to learn to set boundaries for when things are moving to fast after someone else says it.

    1. HueSatLight

      what if he’s been saying all those times he’s been secretly kissing her without us being able to watch.

      1. Warcodered

        He hasn’t been saying it or he wouldn’t have said “anymore.”

      2. Mym

        I wonder if they had secret chemistry during these sessions

    2. Jon

      It really is not fair at all that everybody keeps springing the “L” word on Walky in the first, like, 2 weeks of dating. Once is an anomaly but twice is starting to look like they’re all fucking with him.

      1. David DeLaney

        it’s because they’re all wanting to be

        –Dave, he can’t really help how he looks, that’s literally his falling-out-of-bed resting face

      2. eskimolos

        I think we have to accept that some of these things happen on an expedited timeline so Willis can get to through all the intended story beats in a mortal lifespan.

        1. thejeff

          Also, it’s not all that unrealistic. Early college relationships tend to move fast.

      3. zee

        Tbf, she thought he said it first. That was on him to correct

  19. Coatl

    I don’t know who will take the first step, but please… stop tormenting each other and put an end to all this.

  20. Mym

    Zee!!! We have a duel to complete! I am not a gentleMym if I do not follow through on our friendly sport

    That being said, big oof today, huh?

    1. zee

      Whoops
      I don’t usually check these until I wake up
      Yeah big oof. Doesn’t make me like her any less tho. This was bound to happen if walky never cleared up that misunderstanding, a girl can’t learn if she doesn’t know the problem.

      1. Mym

        I hope for Lucy to grow from this!! I really want to like her, but it’s so hard right now
        I hope Walky goes to a damned therapist and works through his trauma, gets ADHD meds, and stops lying by omission.

        1. Li

          Big +1 on the Walky bits ? Also hoping for more character growth from Lucy.

  21. Wereg

    Part of me hopes that they talk this out so that Lucy learns that it was a misunderstanding and they can carry on happier and healthier.

    Part of me really wants the relationship to end here because good GOD am I tired of Lucy. If she loses the whole Walky Obsession she might actually be a character I like.

    1. Diane

      Naw, then she’ll just be obsessed with outdoing/overcoming Jennifer, and that’ll be even worse.

    2. Warcodered

      Yeah I don’t see fixing this, Lucy finding this out even if it’s a misunderstanding it’s still going to feel like he told her he doesn’t love her anymore after having done it for a little while…or just a few days?

    3. Bittersweet

      Yeah, Lucy is my least favorite character to see, like below actual bad people. That’s not great.

      Like, she is so painfully boring that I struggle to find words for it. Characters can be monsters and I’ll enjoy reading them even if I hate them. Almost all of Lucy’s characterization has been spent on this horrifically dull relationship and it has made me want to skip any strip involving her on principle.

      1. anon

        i don’t dislike her but with so many ppl statistically someone had to be a bit boring since everyone being over the top ‘interesting/quirky’ would be hard to keep up with/might be too anime-ish, which isn’t necessarily bad but sometimes ppl just are ‘average’ other than tryign too hard to try to make themselves ‘unique’ lol

        all she needs to do is go to a local con in a cute outfit she’ll get a new bf in no time lol

  22. Yotomoe

    “Oh, Lucy. If only there was somebody who loved you”

    1. drs

      Oof!

      That’s from something, isn’t it? But I can’t remember what.

      1. aelfwine

        Frozen, I think

        1. drs

          Ah right, the lovely Hans. Thanks, y’all.

      2. pygmypenguin

        Frozen i think?

      3. Yotomoe

        Frozen. I think.

        1. Kimi

          100% Frozen and technically a spoiler for the twist in the movie.

        2. Yotomoe

          Yep. I was just doing a chain.
          Also sorry for spoiling the twist but also I don’t respect that movie.

        3. BBCC

          The movie came out ten years ago. You can’t spoil it anymore, whether you respect it or not.

        4. mneme

          You can totally spoil classic movies! Or anything else!

          Spoilage prohibition follows a bit of a double-hump wave — when something first comes out (or before), it’s a jerk move to spoil it, but going into the 2-3 year (at maximum) period people are going to be talking about it if it’s popular so it’s on the unspoiled to avoid such conversations rather than people who are in the know not to have them. But once that “lively discussion” period is over, it’s back to being rude to spoil stuff.

          That said, as something moves from “recent” to “classic”, the assumption that anyone who cares has seen it slowly increases, until eventually it gets thrown into the “myth and folklore” category where it’s so much the background that the idea that spoiling that, say, the trojan horse has people inside, osiris comes back from the dead, or that Camalot eventually falls after the battle of Camlin doesn’t even occur to most people as an issue.

        5. Taffy

          The takeaway is to never talk about anything ever. Don’t mention the plot, the characters, the title, the medium, or even the existence of fiction. Everything is a spoiler to somebody, so you have to assume everyone you ever meet is super invested in not knowing anything about anything, no matter how “hyped” they claim to be. Even the most insignificant detail will ruin a person’s ability to enjoy something, and if you’re the one who said the detail, you’re a piece of shit who deserves to be killed in public.

          At least, that’s what I’ve gathered.

        6. HueSatLight

          I just watched It Was His Sled, I mean Citizen Kane for the first time. Spoiler alert: he dies.

        7. MM

          No. No, it didn’t. It was only a few months ago. Life runs on DoA time and you can’t tell me otherwise.

        8. Kimi

          No worries. I was going to say that it has been long enough that it didn’t matter but got distracted and forgot. Frozen is one of those movies where I thought that if it had spent longer in development to work on the story a little more, especially with some of the late stage changes they made, it would have been better. I always thought that the pacing was off in some points, and things like the troll “fixer upper” song ruining the tension build up that they had at that point. I understand personal dislike of a movie though. I absolutely hate the movie elf, and being forced to see it everywhere due to others liking it didn’t help.

        9. Yotomoe

          Elsa shoulda been the villain. That is my cold take.

        10. NGPZ

          good. i mean it was okay if not for the fact that it was FUCKING EVERYWHERE aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

        11. Kimi

          I think she originally had been before they changed it. Also, I wasn’t really exposed to it everywhere due to happenstance so that probably helped. My sister got tired of Homeward Bound and Milo and Otis sue to me watching it all the time as a young child. Kids’ tastes in watching things repetitively is like holiday music in retail stores.

        12. Amelie Wikström

          Yes, Kimi, they changed the story because “Let is Go” was too good to be a villain song.

          And that’s why we got about the only big budget movie ever that is about two women main characters whose love for each other save the day; a success story Disney has yet to figure out how to replicate.

        13. Kimi

          Part of that Amelie is I think that they focus on Anna being quirky as why people liked Anna rather than her being humble. Sort of like Aang from Avatar the Last Airbender, the cheerful easy-going personality help you to cheer them on even if they are “overpowered” (compare likeability of Luisa and Isabella in Encanto, and kids liked Luisa more, who also acted more humble). You can have other characters or personality types in the group of main characters, but I find that personality type really acts as the “glue” or “heart” that holds stuff together. I think that you can also see that in Jester’s character in Critical Role, if you have seen that. They can be hard characters to write well, and possibly come from seeking to be loved or be considered loveable (from their own standpoint not the writer’s standpoint). You may not have to have this type of character to have a good kid’s movie, but I think that it can help. One of my favorite movies, the Luon King, I would say that Pumba fits this character type.

        14. Li

          @Yotomoe BRB sincerely going to queue up the whole soundtrack cuz all of Encanto’s songs are great so wanting to hear one means I gotta also listen to Under Pressure, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, etc etc.

        15. Kimi

          We don’t talk about Bruno is great to listen to even without the lyrics. It just has that beat.

        16. thejeff

          It’s only one of the most popular Disney* movies in decades.
          If someone doesn’t like it personally, that’s cool, we’ve all got different tastes, but the idea that it’s fundamentally flawed and needed to be radically changed is just weird.

          *Of you know actual “Disney” Disney movies as opposed to everything owned by the conglomerate.

        17. Yotomoe

          I can think something sucks and needs a fundamental change AND recognize that it’s wildly popular in its current state. I don’t really conflate quality with popularity, especially not for a movie who’s main fans are very young children.

        18. Li

          Bonus extra take: I can recognize that “Let It Go” was wildly popular and means a lot to a LOT of people and has been read by all kinds of marginalized people as liberatory, including Willis themself

          and still think it has truly terrible lyrical structure and is an overrated song. The lyrics read like a first draft no one bothered to revise. The rhyming is incoherent and the actual writing is uninspired. “The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside”, just as an example? Storms do not swirl. Swirling is at direct odds with howling, and not intentionally so. Clumsy and uninspired.

          It’s also probably just true that the lyrics are a first draft, because Frozen and Frozen II were super rushed and hacked together to avoid the expense of rewriting and rerendering things.

        19. Li

          Like people sure did turn on LMM after he got popular, but Moana and Encanto’s songwriting is soooooooooo much better.

        20. thejeff

          I guess, but that movie was magic for a lot of kids and I really suspect that would absolutely not have happened with the changes people think should have been made.

          I think, whatever its technical flaws, they caught magic with that one and like Amelie said above haven’t been able to replicate it.

        21. Yotomoe

          @Li
          “Let it Go” walked so “What else can I do” from Encanto could run

        22. Li

          @thejeff idk, I’d agree with you if I really felt like Disney’s animated movies were “kids’ movies”; but they’ve always been family movies, intended to appeal to all ages, and it’s not like Hans-as-villain is actually less dark or more kid-friendly than Elsa-as-villain.

          I agree that the movie did well by giving girls in the audience two female protagonists, something that… I do not think Disney had even attempted before. Like I’m racking my brain all I’m coming up with is ensemble pieces (The Aristocats, Atlantis, etc).

          On the other hand: has Disney actually… tried to replicate the success of Frozen? Apart from the very messy sequel?

        23. Li

          Oops wrong place

          @Yotomoe BRB sincerely going to queue up the whole soundtrack cuz all of Encanto’s songs are great so wanting to hear one means I gotta also listen to “Under Pressure”, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, etc etc.

        24. Li

          “Surface Pressure”, jeez self.

        25. Kimi

          To Li, for swirling storm, they can swirl on a vast scale, like around a low pressure. Another example of swirl (as in spinning) would be a tornado, which is very loud and compared to a train, so maybe howling there? Normally when I think of swirling storms, though, I think of hurricanes or Noreaster’s (New England type of storm). I might be getting into different ideas on what swirl is compared to you, so apologiesif it was just that type of misunderstanding.

        26. Li

          @Kimi – I dunno, maybe it’s just me, but swirl is a gentler motion in my head. The swirl of autumn leaves in a breeze. Whirl has the same mental feel. You have to add that something is whirling “violently” for me to imagine it as frenzied or stormy.

          Swirling after howling defuses the howling, which was already lacking a certain verve because it’s such a well-worn cliche for wind to howl.

          By comparison, the writing in “Surface Pressure” is so much more deliberate. “I’m as tough as the crust of the earth is” — even the rhythm of the line conveys tension and pressure, and the very first metaphor in the song works both ways: the earth itself IS pretty tough, pretty stable… on the surface. But the CRUST of the earth immediately makes you think of the molten core beneath that surface.

          “And I glow cuz I know what my worth is” — again, that tense rhythm. But also literally the glow she mentions is sweat on her brow. And also what Luisa THINKS her worth is will be the focus of the rest of the song. “I know what my worth is” is not, by itself, a positive statement; not the way it would be if she said “I know I’m worth it”. Worth-is also suggests and foreshadows “worthless”, an upcoming rhyme later in the song.

          Plus all the songs tie in together. If you listen to the whole soundtrack you hear repeated motifs used very deliberately to remind you of previous moments. Recognizable riffs with meaning, like how Mirabel echoes Isabel’s solo in “Let’s Talk About Bruno” for her own solo in “What Else Can I Do” — the (obvious) meaning being Maribel taking on Isabel’s subject position for the first time in her life, actually understanding her sister.

          “Let It Go” by contrast has a good tune and its general thrust is good, but. Frozen’s music in general has nothing on Encanto’s.

        27. Li

          Isabela, stop helping autocorrect I swear

        28. Li

          Let’s talk about Bruno

          Let’s talk about Bruno

          fffffffffffffff

          I don’t know how I can expect anyone not to take all these typos as undermining my point that the movie’s got great songs but pls orz

        29. Li

          Also I’ll agree, I think Frozen was very mid.

          I like the sisterly love thing, I like the Hans reveal, I don’t actually have a huge problem with Disney poking fun at itself; but it was an okay movie whose inescapability rendered insufferable for me.

        30. Needfuldoer

          The Emperor’s New Groove is a vastly superior Disney movie.

          It’s a buddy road trip movie that pokes fun at itself, breaks the fourth wall constantly, doesn’t stick around long enough to wear out its welcome, and has Eartha Kitt and Patrick Warburton as its villains. What’s not to like?

        31. Li

          YessSSSSSSS

          I have like, categories of favorite Disney movie, because it’s hard to directly compare the poppy light comedies (of which Emperor’s New Groove is the Most example, but Hercules and I’d argue Aladdin are also examples) with the more dramatic/Serious Artistic Works (Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast). And where do movies like Robin Hood or 101 Dalmatians fall… like there are Genres of Disney Animated Movie and they’re hard to compare across them.

          Anyway, Groove is definitely one of my faves.

    2. PirateTawnee

      Sadly not even Lucy loves Lucy, or she wouldn’t have been lying to herself about this for, what, almost two weeks now? One day she’ll be grateful it only took this long.

      Today is not that day though.

    3. Mym

      Unlike in “Frozen,” we actually had foreshadowing for this one

    4. Nono

      I mean, her brother probably loves her.

      1. David DeLaney

        Joyce probably has a brother or two to spare who could work on it

        –Dave, er, maybe in three or four more years anyway

  23. Suet

    And this is why Joyce isn’t the blonde bi churchy version of Lucy anymore… at least one description doesn’t apply.

    *sings in the choir I Will Always Love You… by Dolly Parton*

  24. Sirksome

    Didn’t hit the two weeks. Sal might be owed some money.

    1. anon

      imagine if it suddenly cut off to sal/danny post coitus cuddling in bed, more salt in the wound to the ver yfew/rare ppl shipping walky/lucy

  25. DarkoNeko

    “…anymore ?” ooooooof

  26. Regalli

    Oh, this is even more of a disaster than I expected, and the timing makes it SO MUCH WORSE in a way I didn’t anticipate.

    Eighteen-year-olds – emotions are confusing, everything is intense, and I for one am watching with popcorn!

    1. Warcodered

      The timing is honestly way better than I was fearing, I was really worried it was going to be after they’d slept together, and that would have been real fucked up.

    2. NGPZ

      ?? their relationship is doo doo doo DOOOOOOMED!!! XD

  27. HueSatLight

    I am unironically happy for both of them. Two topics he was avoiding talking about, he going to have trouble joking his way out of them now. Things he knows he needs to talk about. Her actually talking about the insecurity she feels.

    1. HueSatLight

      break up. work it out. I don’t care about that much. They need to talk about this shit.

      1. Li

        +1

      2. Vanessa

        Walky’s freedom is so close. All he has to do is not lie, and not tell Lucy whatever BS she needs to hear to maintain her delusional perfect relationship. Unfortunately she’ll go crying to Raidah about how Walky is cruel and racist.

        1. J.Gawain

          At which point Raidah will likely discard her completely and try to use their breakup to get in Walky’s good graces. Raidah doesn’t care about Lucy, she cares about money and power, which she perceives Walky as having via his parents.

        2. Li

          Actually strong disagree. Raidah is pretending to care about Walky’s family connections, but all she really cares about is destroying Joyce’s social circle as revenge for what happened with Jacob.

          (Disclaimer: this is still just a theory of mine. But the last we saw of Raidah before the timeskip was this ominous strip.)

        3. Li

          (And like literally her first question of them-Billie was “you’re one of Sarah’s friends, right?”)

          (But Billie was NOT one of Sarah’s friends, she was a weak link primarily in Joyce’s circle.)

        4. Vukodlak

          The truth might not work out either, telling her “I’m not ready to say I love you yet.” could drive her to more extreme behavior to get Walky to fall in love with her.

  28. anon

    …so did becky split off to meet up with dina/back to the dorm or is she off screen mingling wit hthe other church goers?

    1. Sajuuk-Khar

      She’s exiting stage left as fast as she possibly can but she’s ended up with Roadrunner legs

      1. cbwroses

        And now I see Snagglepuss with Roadrunner legs.

    2. Sirksome

      Why would Becky stick around for this drama? She actually has someone who loves her waiting.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        She has to record it for science, you see. Dina and her are doing a term project that hopes to prove, empirically, that the straights are not okay.

      2. anon

        i guess it would be too ‘hetero’ for beckys’ radar to notice that walkys not as into lucy even if they are friends lol

      3. Mym

        This was a delicious burn

    3. HueSatLight

      She saw this coming and went back to the narthex to warn Sierra. Or if this is in the narthex, to the sanctuary. I just wanted to say narthex.

  29. Bittersweet

    Me too, alt text, me too lol.

  30. AbacusWizard

    oh no

  31. Yotomoe

    On one hand, it’s sad that their relationship is hitting a rocky patch.

    On the other hand I ship Walky and Amber so I’m literally just waiting for the fumble.

    1. Warcodered

      They do fit together better anyway.

      1. Taffy

        That’s what we hope, anyway. We’ll find out once the pants come off

      2. Mr. Random

        Their dysfunction does, not the parts of who they are that are trying to be better.

    2. Sirksome

      The ball has fumbled. It fumbled days ago, we’re actually waiting to see if Walky will recover.

    3. YordleJay

      Walky shipper truly got a 3 way war going on #TeamDorothy

      1. Yotomoe

        Our own little harem protagonist.

        1. cbwroses

          I fully support the harem route.

        2. Yotomoe

          As you can imagine, so do.

    4. HueSatLight

      The good thing about Walky+Amber is I don’t think it’s mutually exclusive with Walky+Billie, which is inevitable.

      1. cbwroses

        But which one of the 3 gets to wear the gauntlet before snapping them all into a king size bed?

        1. HueSatLight

          Amber+Billie is not part of the polycule.

        2. cbwroses

          No, but they can tag out, and I’m relatively sure Amber would be into watching as well.
          And it’s not like Jennifer hasn’t rode Amber before (granted, it was a piggyback ride on AG).

        3. Yotomoe

          Just imagining Walky absolutely spent on the bed and Amber just tags out and Billie walks in.

        4. cbwroses

          She quotes Jack Reacher: “Remember: you wanted this.”

        5. HueSatLight

          sorry, I was being indirect. I’ll be direct.
          I’m not comfortable with how common it is in the comment section for polyamory to be conflated with group sex. I’m ok with rule 8 being pretty relaxed. But there’s a strip even about this specific thing. Is it just going to be impossible to mention polyamory without “wooo, group sex” or “wooo, group sex, but they’re tagging out”?

        6. cbwroses

          Impossible?
          Probably not.
          Is it where my mind went when you suggested Walky openly (more or less) dating both women?
          It definitely did.
          But that’s my experience when dating multiple people: they want no overlap or they want to explore the idea of mutual attraction across all parties.
          But, then again, I’d never consider my experiences as polyamory since the concept comes with commitment (at least in my mind, no idea if it’s actually the case), and my experiences involved no commitment when dating more than one person.
          I would have been in the appropriate frame of mind if you had used the word polyamory initially, but that’s not on you, that’s on my horndog mind and the associations it applies to certain words.

        7. Li

          I mean. Just because Amber+Billie isn’t part of your preferred polycule doesn’t mean other people can’t ship it…?

          I dunno, this is shipping. Regardless of whether it’s monogamous or poly, straight gay or bi — there is always an unrealistic amount of sex happening in shipping. I don’t think folks who jump to saying a poly ship should all pile into bed together are necessarily making any kind of assumptions about RL polyamorous relationships…

    5. anon

      i wonder if anyeon’s upset about this breakup even if walky doesn’t necessarily do it in the best way, i don’t think anyone was rooting for lucy but not necessarily against here ither

      1. Li

        People definitely definitely were rooting for Lucy, and arguing that all the naysayers were overreacting and prematurely declaring the ‘ship dead. I just think they haven’t been commenting since this took a Particular Turn.

        Which to be clear I don’t blame them for. I wouldn’t be much in the mood for commenting if it were me.

    6. Mym

      I vote Walky and Joe, just because of that one class where they were married

  32. sdrainbow

    oh, lucy.

    I genuinely wanted this to work, but boy it was never gonna.

    and as much as I am not inclined to give walky any benefits of any doubts, he generally mostly didn’t do anything wrong, this is all a buuuuuuuuuuuuncha self delusion from lucy mixed with just enough avoidance from walky to make it far, far worse.

    1. anon

      who knows, maybe they’d both grow and change after a couple more relationships and try again, if it’s done well it could be touching or just some on/off again relationship that’s not as toxic as ruth/billie was

      even if waky/dorothy ends up being endgame realistically

  33. Diane

    Walky, probably might as well ask her “when have I said I love you?” just make it worse. But also point out her insanity.

    1. justin8448

      Eeehhhh… If Walky were to deny that he already knew that Lucy misheard him, he would cross the line from “too conflict avoidant, but trying his best,” and into actively malicious territory.

  34. Nono

    Did everyone try the chicken? I thought the chicken was lovely.

    1. anon

      imagine if walky had sneaked a buckt or couple drumsticks in his pocket/coats during this scene

      1. David DeLaney

        are you mad? clearly it would have been NUGGETS

        –Dave, and they would have vanished very soon after he ran out of doodle space, or maybe before

  35. YordleJay

    Run Walky.

    Quick, you can still get back with Dorothy, she’s much less crazy

    1. drs

      Yes she’s spiraling, but you actually _can_ fix that for once!

      1. anon

        i think that’s too much pressure for walky to handle/isn’t that why they broke up in the first place?

        1. Bash

          Having a partner who was a future president was too much. Teaching her how to relax is something he could maybe actually handle.

        2. Mark

          Having a partner who couldn’t decide whether she was a partner or not, was too much.

        3. drs

          IIRC it was mostly Dorothy who broke up with him because he was too distracting.

          Right now, just having someone who is there and “hers” might help her problems.

        4. bemisawa

          That’s how I recall it as well. If anything, he recognized that this was what she was trying to do and went along with it to be supportive, because he did believe in her that much, and believed that was what was best for her.

          And more recently, it was specifically because he was dating Lucy, and he was trying to be a good boyfriend to her. I don’t know how that may have changed his feelings about Dorothy, but if not, so long as he didn’t feel like he was going to drag her down and make her fail to fulfill her true destiny, and assuming he wasn’t already in a relationship, I could see that *possibly* working out, at least if Dorothy is willing to make up her mind about whether she wants to be with him.

  36. Buli-Buli

    Honestly, Lucy reminds me of first quarter Danny.

    At the beginning the school year, Danny acted like he was a character in a Rom-Com. Big “romantic” gestures to show his devotion, a horndog best friend, an intelligent go-getter girlfriend who will eventually settle down with him….

    Lucy is the same way in that she’s come to college looking for a whirlwind romance. Afterall, characters in romances find and win their soulmates over the course of days or weeks in all sorts of media.
    Walky choosing to date Lucy was, from his end of things, choosing to move on and put himself out there again. Maybe it would develop into something greater or maybe not.
    From Lucy’s perspective, the hot guy she’s been pursuing is finally reciprocating and it’s been all confirmation bias from there.

    ____________________________________________________________

    Or, far more cynically, I am full of shit. And Lucy is just extremely horny and the reason she’s upset is because her “churchy brainwashing” means she can’t have sex unless they “love” each other.

    1. anon

      sal and danny are great together but i’m sure danny would’ve been a good match/bf for lucy as well lol

      1. Mym

        It would be a weird revenge against Walky for sure

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          Sal and Danny Have a Threesome With Lucy For Spite: A (Very Awkward) Dumbing of Age Pornographique

    2. Big Z

      I think churchy brainwashing is how it STARTED, but I’m not so sure that’s where she is right now.

  37. Freezer

    At this point (well, long before this point), I’m wondering if Lucy genuinely loves Walky or thinks/convinced herself she does because you have to love someone to bang them?

  38. Sirksome

    Gotta say, I did not expect Walky to be the player type. Really just manipulating innocent young women with his good looks. He used to be such a kind goofball too. This is what happens when you suddenly get hot. It goes to your head and you string people along. He was just playing with Lucy’s heart the whole time and even seeing his exes behind her back. He deserves all of this. You hate to see it.

    1. Jerach

      I think that’s reading a lot of intentionality into what he’s doing. I don’t think he’s totally innocent here, but I think he was just going along with something that seemed like it would be fun, not realizing how much Lucy really was wanting from this. Granted he has totally fucked up with refusing to acknowledge this directly because it’s uncomfortable to do so.

      1. clif

        Are you familiar with the concept of sarcasm?

    2. Bash

      I’m not good at detecting sarcasm on the internet, but this HAS to be sarcasm, right?

      1. Sirksome

        Yes it’s sarcasm. I see sometimes on the internet people type a “/s” after their comment to indicate sarcasm. I’m just an aging millenial though so I don’t do it cause I think it ruins the spirit of the joke, but maybe I should start especially since I have trouble reading sarcasm too.

        1. Matt

          I think it’s a good practice for everybody at this point because the internet means we have access to such DIFFERENT worldviews that’s it’s genuinely to differentiate.

          Political polarization contributes so much.

    3. Sajuuk-Khar

      He’s a womanizer, man, look what he did to Dorothy

  39. Ash

    Walky’s the one wanting to escape but Lucy’s the one who’d be dodging a bullet if he did.

    1. Lanie

      I mean, they kind of both are? They’ve seemed like a poor fit from the start and they both deserve better. Lucy has been making Walky feel incredibly pressured to have sex and escalate the relationship in a way that, personally, gives me the ick. Walky has been less than fully interested in Lucy since before they even got together. Both of them are bad at clearly communicating well with the other for a myriad of their own issues and reasons each.

      1. Ash

        No, no, no. It wasn’t a question.

  40. Derek

    Walky HAS said “I love you” directly to Lucy, but he never meant it romantically

    1. drs

      That’s before they got together, right?

      heck, is that before the timeskip?

      1. drs

        Answer: yes, it’s before time skip. Billie was Billie, Becky was working for Robin…

      2. Bash

        I believe they had just met at that point. Even though she was flattered I’m pretty sure she understood it was a joke.

        1. eh, whatever

          There is zero reason to think she understood it was “a joke” (which it wasn’t; it was just an exaggeration). It is what got her interested in him in the first place!

        2. Li

          No way, this strip was the start of her crush. She already liked him by the time of the other one.

        3. Taffy

          Billie: “Walky, you could just creampie Lucy if you don’t wanna upset Dorothy.”
          Lucy: “I’m immediately in love.”

        4. Li

          I mean let me stress here that that IS a little bit my point, haha.

          Lucy started developing feelings for Walky precisely because Billie suggested he MIGHT like her, and a lot of all of this has been… mmm, shallow because Lucy remains more into the idea of having a boyfriend than she is into Walky specifically.

  41. JA

    WELP

  42. Vanessa

    Here’s the crazy! That’s why he doesn’t want to do it.

  43. HueSatLight

    With the new snow, and the snowplowing, his fortress of solitude might be back.

  44. Bin

    That’s what you get for dating smart people.

    1. anon

      if sarah wasn’t so jaded/hated others i wonder if she and walky would end up making a decent couple since she doesn’t have any ‘lovey dovey’ expectations the same way lucy does XD; tho sarahs def stated her lack of attraction personality wise and walky not being tall enough

  45. Zamperla

    I like Lucy; I think she’s a sweet girl.
    But. And I say this from experience. Sometimes you put a lot of ideas and hopes onto Having A Relationship. And we know she’d kind of wanted college to be when she Becomes A Sucsessfully Social Person.

    Its very human and normal but. I think ‘and then I get a Hot Boyfriend and he’s in love with me Immediately and Everythings Perfect’ is the kind of expectations you build if you’re not good yet at being self examining about things. And a lot of fun media kinda makes “in love in A Week” seem pretty achievable.

    Anyhow all that to say things are about to hit the windmill and it’s not really anyones fault to me.

    1. anon

      nothing wrong with being inexperienced/naive at any age, but this does seem like something you’d see/overhear and expect the couple to be like, 13-14 versus college age (then again dorm rooms kinda university with mostly unsupervised teen would lead to a lot of teenagery drama and such)

      1. Bash

        I think people project a lot of those feelings onto their first relationship, regardless of age.

        1. Li

          +1

      2. Zamperla

        I say this with so much love and kindness in my heart, and with a pretty good memory of what I was doing at 18 and my relationship choices: This is a over-estimation of the amount of emotional maturity an 18 year old has. Like not EVERY 18 year old, obviously. But esp if you haven’t HAD that relationship, or- again as she has said herself- a lot of social experience….?

    2. Hazel

      Yeah, I agree with you. Lucy is being immature but in an understandable way for an 18 year old in their first relationship.
      She aims for a type of cookie cutter type of popularity and sabotages her own happiness in her attempts at it. She’s a pleasant person but also a dumb teen.

      1. Zamperla

        Yeah exactly. She’s old enough to know what she wants, but not really mature enough to know like. What’s reasonable. At that age I was on a steady diet of young adult novels, fanfiction, and generally media that did not really set me up to know Good Relationship Perimeters. For I too was a dumb Teen.

        As we we all. Luckily I suspect, unlike me, it won’t take Walky and Lucy 10 increasingly miserable years to undo the Age 18 Choices.

    3. HueSatLight

      I mostly agree. except now I’m going to list how I don’t. I think Lucy’s irritating, I don’t like her, but I don’t hate her. Same with Walky, but for different reasons.

      I think it’s neither of their faults, but also both their faults. Neither of them did anything wicked. But they both should be learning one or two things about communication from this experience. Walky should have had a mildly awkward conversation about how Walky knows she has a major crush on him, and he’s fond of her, and willing to see how a relationship could go. Lucy should not have substituted in “idealized relationship must be happening” whenever Walky joked his way out of saying anything concrete. A joke about “Jesus says wait until the fifth date” is not them having a serious conversation about sex.

  46. goggleman64

    It’s fascinating to see such different facets of Walky emerge when he’s combined with other characters. With Dorothy I see his rampant insecurity, Amber seems to bring out a self-destructive grandiosity, Sal fills him with regret (which pushes him to be better), and now bouncing off Lucy I see a sort of ambition and self-assurance.

  47. Bash

    Oh look here comes the breakup.

  48. Synnerman

    The bus from Crazytown just arrived.

  49. Mym

    I’ve never said I want to see more Lucy, but I hope tomorrow’s comic is Lucy throwing a whole pew

    1. HueSatLight

      pew pew

  50. Rikunda

    Does she have borderline personality disorder? So quick to turn…

    1. Mym

      Ouch. I have BPD.
      Now I have to go analyze all of Lucy and decide /why/ I hate her

      1. Mym

        After an analysis: she does not have BPD
        she’s just a teenager

        1. Mym

          I /do/ think Sarah has BPD.
          But Lucy is just horny and a fundie.
          Spoiler: I still hate her, but it’s because she’s presumptuous and boring

    2. Koname

      I don’t believe so, she had a specific goal set in mind and thought that she had already reached it. Now she feels its being taken away. I have seen a lot of people react to this kind of situation in this way, then again I work in a high school so the people doing it are all a bit younger than Lucy.

  51. Now

    The “I love that about you”/”I love you too” quid pro quo from a few months ago still lingers in my mind… Lucy did this to herself but I can’t help but feel sad for her. (I’m not a young adult anymore, so, yeah, I don’t project myself into the character and I might cringe less than some of you do.)

  52. Dante

    The Straight Nonsense ™ is off the charts.

    I do like Lucy. I’m sorry she’ll get hurt, this has to suck. But, she kind of… built up? This whole thing? In a very checklist sort of way?? And then raced through it with blinders on. And at worst Walky didn’t know how to manage those expectations. He has been trying

  53. Steelbright

    Well, i didn’t expect it to escalate THAT fast. But I’m kinda here for it. This will be hard but it will be good for them.

  54. Taffy

    Always let the attention deficit dipshit out of the boring place first. Trapping them in a place they’re trying to leave will only stress them out more, which will make them less likely to behave reasonably. It’s not an excuse, but it really doesn’t help.

    1. NGPZ

      RIGHT?!?!?! Have an upvote ^^

    2. HueSatLight

      would it help if you were standing next to a soundproofing wall that made it feel like you were double inside?

      1. Taffy

        That’s when my primal instincts kick in and I have to escape at any cost. Sometimes that cost is other people being shoved out of the way and then ignored until I’m far enough away from the trap.

        1. HueSatLight

          well at least there’s probably strangers doing small-talk and church-smell and slushy foot prints and people milling about for their coats. And oops I thought about it too much and my brain started playing Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”

  55. Li

    Oof oof oof.

    On the one hand, sympathetic for Walky and his panicky fumbling. On the other hand, man, he knew this miscommunication had happened, but he was absolutely not ready for her to be distressed by it.

    I also feel bad for Lucy, but it’s much better this is happening now than, say, in six months, and Walky’s whole vibe here has been trying not to rock the metaphorical boat, so I don’t know that he would have taken the initiative to clear things up anytime soon…

  56. Needfuldoer

    “You do think I’m beautiful, don’t you Charlie Brown? You didn’t answer me right away. You had to think about it first, didn’t you?! If you really thought I was beautiful, you would’ve spoken right up! I know when I’ve been insulted! I know when I’ve been insulted!”

    1. NGPZ

      An AuDHDer who’s had the experience of people thinking I’m an asshole or something because I don’t respond within like a single fucking second, this hits painfully close to home ?

    2. Bittersweet

      Omg, THAT’s the voice I’ve been ascribing to Lucy this entire time lol, I feel so stupid for not realizing it. I was like “huh it’s familiar but I forget who it is”

  57. David DeLaney

    so wait, the football has been pulled away from LUCY?

    –Dave, well long-played, Willis. well long-played

  58. Acher4

    oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit

  59. Gin

    Do we think Becky can helpfully de-escalate this? I mean it’s been a mismatch for me since it started because I still think Amber x Walky makes a ton more sense (just their vibes together).

    Also geez it’s been a week in comic time, pump the brakes there Lucy

    1. Sajuuk-Khar

      Why do you hate Becky, that you want her to be put in the middle of this? What did she do to you?

    2. pope suburban

      Tbh I think she could. She did a great job calming Joyce down after Ruth started dating Jason, and it seems like she and Dina have really figure out how to communicate and identify/respect others’ needs. Becky is a ball of fun and quips, but she’s also very astute and she never wants to cause harm where she could help.

  60. Carla's #2 Fan

    Yeah but you are more than four oreos from escape. I wonder how many oreos 10 ft is…

  61. eskimolos

    Lots of things to feel about today’s strip. Most of the comments so far have summed it up. I half expect either short, mid or long-term Lucy’s hunger for walky eventually outweighs the shame and hurt from her misinterpretation, and this allows them to actually connect as humans instead of the vision of walky she built up in her head.

    I also feel like Lucy is just… Young. Like the traits that make her tiresome to watch are just young lack of deeper understanding of nuance and different perspective. Lucy is a very black and white thinker, but unlike other caricature people like Mary, we get to watch her full flesh real personhood with so many different facets. We get to feel invested in her hopes and fears.

    Coming from the greater walkyverse, I’m inclined to think that Willis has never intended Lucy to be hateable in the same way Raidah or even Jennifer have been in this comic, though other commenters rightly observe that she seems set to follow in their footsteps. In shortpacked she was honestly cherished, in a sense. She was young and optimistic and kind of inherently good. Even though we’re seeing a lot of cringe traits from Lucy, I think she’s still a bit cherished here, and because of that it’s never clear exactly where things are headed. This could be them breaking up? This could even be a prelude to them having sex. It’s not wholly clear really.

    It’s kind of interesting because many storylines in Willis comics have been about sex, the author is no stranger to building chemistry, so I think a lot of commenters pick up on how there’s very little chemistry between these two. The licking the shirt incident is the only incident I can think of. Yes, Lucy is a go getter and likely quite smart, but she’s young, and walky should ask if he wants to be in a relationship that would likely mirror his oarents”‘ dynamic, even if ironically his parents don’t approve of Lucy.

    There’s been the suggestion from the basketball game that Lucy loves and accepts Walky where he is, but also she frequently expects him to do things that align with her interests and goals, and her interests and goals have also involved getting popular and earning people’s esteem, which has already reflected on how she handles Walky, though eight now being young her actions are largely reactionary rather than premeditated in all parts of her life.

  62. Bryy

    Calling it now. This isn’t about his parents. Not liking church trumps racism.

  63. Yumi

    What a bad day Walky is having.

  64. AlexaSpuds

    And people said Billie ans Ruth were a terrible couple, smh

    1. MM

      Billie and Ruth were more ostentatiously dysfunctional. This just isn’t a good fit.

  65. Queezle

    Oh boy… this is happening now. It had to happen. I feel bad for every one involved. Lucy kind of did that too herself through…

    1. Zaxares

      I’m also trying to remember what exactly it was that Walky said… Was it “I love you for that”? Or “I love that about you.” Either way, to us the reader it was obvious that Walky didn’t LOVE love Lucy (yet?), but Lucy heard the word and her brain rushed to a conclusion she wanted to hear. :/

  66. TheCozburger

    Walky, Walky Walky…if your girlfriend asks “You don’t love me anymore?”, you NEVER EEEEVER repeat the last word she said!!

  67. thumb

    aw buddy, you can escape church but you can’t escape consequences.

  68. WizardPantaloon

    Walky, burn the bridge and run.

  69. Pylgrim

    Oooh I get it now. Because Lucy is such a good church goer, she had to assume that the two of them were madly in love if they were going to have sex, which is the loophole that countless horny Christian teens have used since forever. “It’s okay, we’re so in love, we’re practically married. In fact, having sex now basically means that we’ve married and we only will have to get the paper saying so later!”

    1. Pseudowolf

      I think it’s more that she’s been running this narrative in her head, but Walky isn’t following the script. So she’s making more assumptions about why.

    2. thejeff

      I think that’s reading a lot of churchiness into her. Before anyone talked about love, she was talking about sex after the 3rd date.
      This sounds a lot more like pretty standard “really horny for him but doesn’t want to seem to easy” than any real loopholes for premarital sex. See Becky and her post-sex proposal for that. Lucy hasn’t shown any signs of the same kind of hangup.

  70. Username Taken

    The only thing worse than this inevitable conversation beginning like this is that it happened AFTER Walky went to church. She couldn’t have had a meltdown over her misunderstanding before? Terrible timing.

  71. DashWallkick

    Lucy you kinda did this to yourself. You’ve been holding hands in Taco Bell for like two weeks, you can’t make him into a husband just because you are obsessed with the idea of being in love.

    1. The Jighole Man

      “you can’t make him into a husband just because you are obsessed with the idea of being in love.”
      Now there’s an interesting thought; Is she in love with walky, or is she in love with the idea of being in love with walky?

      i decided to look back in the comic to see how she and walky met, walky goes to talk to billie, and she is there too. she gives him some platitudes, and walky doesn’t respond too happily to them. Billie tells walky to go outside his friend group if he wants to find a one night stand, and points to her. she is immediately hooked on walky.
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-9-comic/01-flyin-to-the-red/nut/
      She was ready to jump him not 10 minutes after they met. just Billie saying “you should bang Her or whatever” was enough to get it started.
      Then a few panels later walky says “haha, i love you” in response to one of her jokes (obviously a joking “i love you”. like the kind of “i love you” you see in movies after someone makes a joke and the mobster dude goes “…HAHAHA, i love this guy!”), and she decides that this relationship (that hadn’t even started yet) has moved past bf/gf and shot straight to soulmates.

  72. Pergola

    How about we just be friends, OK?

  73. Rabisch

    I agree with Lucy. Walky’s parents make everything worse. If they want to be happy, they have to avoid them.

    1. Mym

      Walky’s parents have literally nothing to do with this comedy of errors

      1. Taffy

        They gave birth to Walky, didn’t they?

        I say “they”, because I assume Linda somehow made giving birth into somebody else’s inadequacy and did some hex on Charles that made him share the burden somehow.

  74. Adept

    Oh Lucy… there’s plenty of denial here.

  75. Orange Lantern

    „… anymore?“ YIKES.

    The moment when the crash you saw from a mile away finally happens.

  76. Heather

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jzz5tR6VSik&pp=ygUeU2FvIGFicmlkZ2VkIGRvbid0IHlvdSBsb3ZlIG1l

    This is how I hear Lucy in this. Basically Asuna in SAO abridged at 1:39 in this video.

  77. Heather

    I will also say it’s wild seeing lots of people call Lucy the most boring character when like Danny exists. Lucy was kind of on the same heap as him but she went up a notch in interest for sure during the whole Sarah… interaction.

    Danny has had a lot more interesting things /happen/ to him or even around him but he still feels a lot more dull to me than Lucy does.Not sure how to put my finger on it. He’s just toast. Unbuttered toast.

    1. Taffy

      Different people are interested in different things to different degrees. It’s really not that wild.

    2. Matt

      personally, as somebody who is pretty eh on both, but finds Lucy more boring, it’s the religion for me. Becky and Joyce both engage with religion in an interesting way, Lucy is just…I dunno, there?

      And that’s personal to me; I find people defined by their religion pretty boring, when they aren’t experiencing conflict and growth aroundit. Not everybody needs to share that view, but I do.

      Plus, one has been around as a character much longer, so people have more to like or hate about them.

      Lucy’s whole personality thus far is “nice” and “really into Walky and projecting a lot of feelings”

      Danny’s whole personality isn’t much more: “nice”, “really into [insert crush of the month]” (to me, that’s mildly more interesting).

      But he does play the Uke and have kinda an earnest embrace of his own cheesiness.

      (none of these are objective reasons to find a character boring or not boring, but I don’t think they’re that wild)

    3. Yumi

      I’m occasionally bored by Lucy, while I find Danny quite enjoyable. Meanwhile, I found Dorothy to be pretty boring for a long time, outside of her relationship with Walky. Different strokes for different folks.

    4. YordleJay

      Has lucy done a single thing in her entire existence other than fall for Walky and want to get laid

      1. The Jighole Man

        she annoyed some of the cast in her first few appearances, heard billie say “walky, if you wanna dip it, do so outside your friends group. maybe with her” and instantly started thinking lust was love. walky literaly said “haha, i love you” in response to one of her jokes (like you would see in a movie when a character says something awkward, and the other dude goes “HAHA, I love this guy”), and instantly decided they were meant to be forever and ever.

        tbh, i have no idea what lucy’s personality even is.
        She’s happy, she wants to bone walky, she annoys some of the cast, and she goes to church. that’s about it from what i can tell.

  78. MiaFillene

    Wally seriously doesn’t deserve a relationship. He is way too immature, irresponsible, and careless. Yet the girls fall all over themselves when he is single…I’ve seen it irl as well. Frankly it disgusts me.

    1. MiaFillene

      Walky. Seriously, Spellcheck…anyone know how I can edit a comment to fix?

      1. Vukodlak

        You can not edit, auto-correct is a **&)&*

        And really by your logic Lucy doesn’t deserve one either. When it comes to the relationship Walky is the mature one here taking things slowly and one step at a time.
        Walkys inability to say “I love you” is not a sign of immaturity but a sign of maturity. That he gives the words gravity and weight.
        His problem is he doesn’t know how to talk to Lucy without hurting her, explain that they haven’t been dating long enough for him to know if he loves her or not.
        Also he’s a college freshman, expecting maturity from a college freshman is a long wait for a train that don’t come.
        If he was really immature, careless and irresponsible like you say. He’d just say “I love you” to end the argument and have taken Lucy up on her first offer of sex.

        1. The Jighole Man

          gonna be real awkward if the next page has him go “fine, i love you, happy?”

    2. YordleJay

      Nah none of this is his fault this time.

      1. YordleJay

        Lucy is the one rushing their relationship just so she can get her box boxed

    3. anon

      he handled dating dorothy ok, kinda screwed up with amber but it probably would’ve been better if he had more interest/chemistry with lucy since doroth ybasically had to guide him to ask her out, i don’t think he would’ve asked her himself eventually or even lucy blurting it out one day tho i imagine lucy’s standards of relationships from fiction probably isn’t the best either

  79. HueSatLight

    I have a petty request for anyone on the patreon. I am probably going to be afk for a few days, and possibly miss bonus strip nomination day this 15th. Could someone nominate Arnold if I haven’t logged in and done it then? You don’t have to vote for him, but I don’t know why you wouldn’t.

  80. Taffy

    God, I want her to get her heart broken so badly.

    1. anon

      well, hopefully not too much focus/emphasis on her sulking the rest of the time at least because i imagine a post breakup lucy ppl don’t wanna read to omany strips of.

  81. Yeet

    I gotta hand it to you willis, I somehow didn’t think lucy could find a way to set up for more heartstomping than she was already in for
    rip in pieces

    1. Mym

      Willis put on his fuckin boots today

  82. Felian

    I *have* told my partner that i love them (we’ve been together for over a year, i don’t say that before than to not mix it up with New Relationship Energy or sex-induced euphoria), but that doesn’t mean i say it all the time. Most of the time we say that we like each other a lot or similar (in German, there’s a phrase between “i like you“ and “i love you” that’s more endearing). It doesn’t mean i stopped loving them, i just reserve those words for special moments, and mostly use other ways to show love.

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