281

Trying
Posted on February 23, 2023 by David M Willis

281 thoughts on “Trying”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    honestly, the odds of dudes who shop at the same places wearing the same outfit are pretty high tho

    especially when they “try”

    (found someone who looked like a friend cosplaying in nearly the SAME COSTUME as said friend, a little different but still somehow the same thing) [and it wasn’t like “two Asian girls cosplaying Kaitlyn Ka” either]

    1. Clif

      All cosplayers look alike, confirmed.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        no wonder more people talked to me when I wore a tissue box on my head than when I actually dressed up

  2. sdrainbow

    It’s always weird when I find myself identifying with Jennifer.

    1. Stephen Bierce

      As you should.

    2. Aura

      Sharing a favourite semi-obscure Star Wars character with her really threw me for a loop!

      1. newlland(Henryvolt)

        Sorry I accidentally flagged your comment

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          It’s nothing to worry about. I mean, Willis will probably hunt down and slaughter Aura publicly as an example to others, but /sometimes/ they skip a day.

        2. Opus the Poet

          You don’t have to use slashes for emphasis with this comment system. It understands some basic HTML commands.

      2. FlamestAndLight

        wait which is her favourite star wars blorbo? There’s so many good ones. I think my favourite is Asajj Ventress. (New soft spot for Merrin from Fallen Order because I apparently just love Dathomirans since Maul is also a fav of mine)

        1. Rabbit

          Kit Fisto

      3. zee

        I mean clone wars (2003 and 2008) fisto can get it. Man’s fine as hell in animation. And he’s voiced by phil lamar

        1. Opus the Poet

          And Lamar has a voice like warm caramel sauce over vanilla ice cream.

  3. DarkoNeko

    Jennifer.com has encountered an error and unexpectedly crashed

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      So Asher need to turn her off and then turn her on?

      1. Amós Batista

        Yes, but it’s Jennifer.com, not Jennifer.exe.

        So, as we’re talking about a website, it will be different, I suppose. hehe

        1. DarkoNeko

          ….no, we’re not talking about a website here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COM_file

        2. DarkoNeko

          (but, man, i really showed my age with that joke ^^; )

        3. Amós Batista

          I’m happy you got the point.

        4. Opus the Poet

          I understood that reference dot gif

        5. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Hey, I’m glad *someone* pointed it out.

    2. Tan

      The look of ultimate betrayal in the last panel

      1. Archieve

        I’d say it’s mortification.

  4. Caro

    a new emote!

  5. Cmasta1992

    Jennifer is just worried she has a type that includes Walky

    1. cbwroses

      He did teach her how to kiss in the other reality, if I’m not mistaken.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        that seems VERY mistaken, as they were very much also like siblings THERE, too, but I don’t have the brainpower to look it up

        1. cbwroses

          It was mentioned that he taught her how to fight and how to kiss.
          That’s why she didn’t immediately get stomped by Sal when they fought over Danny (though I’m sure that’s not the time both were mentioned as she mentioned the fighting specifically at that time).

    2. Proxiehunter

      Her type has always included Walky, she just doesn’t want to admit it. Like how she tries to pretend to not be a Star Wars fan.

    3. Yeet

      honestly Asher is coming off as manlier, paler, Walky right now

  6. Doctor_Who

    I’ve seen that look Jennifer’s wearing. That’s the look of someone who’s frantically trying to suppress a memory while it’s still happening.

    1. Nono

      Stop the core memory!

  7. Sirksome

    I mean you’re all just going to breakfast. How nice do you have to look for that anyway? Also it’s kind of sad that putting on a jacket counts as trying.

    1. Norah

      It doesn’t seem bad if the look nice wearing it

    2. Thag Simmons

      Depends on the Breakfast I guess

    3. anon

      i’d assume other than a ‘nicer’ undershirt, if ur putting a jacket over a hoodie just to go to breakfast than that state/city must be cold but i assume a ‘fancy’ place would have decent ac/heating if it’s not some weird “cold food” kinda serving

    4. zee

      It’s trying for a lot of 19 year old guys

  8. Yotomoe

    I LOVE Walky. I’d marry him if I could.

    1. The Wellerman

      He’s the most lovable screwball ever, huh? ?

    2. barswanian

      I saw this comic, and immediately thought: Yotomoe is going to be in the comments with this one.

    3. Amós Batista

      Walky is, like, my target of life.
      I wish to be so lucky and snarky like him.

  9. RassilonTDavros

    Honestly I feel like there’s some real potential in these two developing a weird friendship

    1. HueSatLight

      If he keeps his participation in the kidnap and murder attempt secret.

    2. tim gueguen

      I suspect Asher and Walky have more chance of a relationship that outlasts the month(in comic time) than Asher has with Raidah.

      1. Archieve

        Given Radiah seems to replaces friends she looses as opposed to gaining more you might be on to something.

    3. cbwroses

      Walky could do to expand his friend group.
      But it’s Asher.
      Then again, Asher is definitely the preferred person to hang out with given the other two people.

    4. newlland(Henryvolt)

      I can see it now, Since Asher seems to be a big eater they bond over their favorite food chains, debate over what what restaurants are the best like “Taco Bell vs Del Taco” or “Popeyes vs KFC”.

      It would be a beautiful bromance, like two peas in a pod.

      1. 80-watt Hamster

        There are enough people who prefer KFC over Popeye’s for that debate to have any legs? o_O

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          You’d be surprised. I mean I’m not one of them but still.

      2. Psychie

        There aren’t popeyes or del taco locations anywhere near Bloomington as far as I know, so unless those two are from further away than I thought, or there are locations nearer that I’m unaware of, that wouldn’t be much of a debate.

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          What popular fast food chains do they have in Indiana?

    5. justin8448

      They have a similarly relaxed attitude to everyday life and social interaction. I expect it could go pretty well, as long as nothing serious comes up.

  10. bejouled

    Really love Walky’s reaction in panel 3. He’s right, it would sound disingenuous!

    1. PirateTawnee

      Agreed. I really don’t love Lucy in panel 3. C’mon girl, you have value in yourself, not as a Walky accessory.

      1. Bryy

        Lucy is the wildcard here. Walky is aware that these people are at the very least phonies. Lucy seems actually invested in this.

      2. thejeff

        At first glance, I read that as a diss of Walky. “I look good because I’m standing next to you” – as in “by contrast with you”.

        Completely out of character for Lucy of course, so I know it’s not what she meant.

      3. Blakey

        I think that’s a little unkind, she’s just still in compliment mode

    2. Mark

      Nah, it’s an opportunity to double-dip. Lucy looks well in that jacket. Say so. Then, when she takes it off, he has a chance to say, “ooh, I like that outfit.”

      1. Psychie

        Frankly, I think the stealth complement of “she always looks good” is better than forcing it in the moment. Genuine reactions in the moment will always be more impactful than sucking up due to social convention.

        1. Liliet

          Yeah.

  11. AbacusWizard

    In my mind, I am, of course, pronouncing the “e” in “Broclones” as if it were the name of an ancient Greek philosopher.

    1. True Survivor

      Is that an flute or a piccolo the Wizard is playing?

      1. John Campbell

        It’s clearly an abacus.

      2. Taffy

        It’s an abacus, learn to read.

        1. True Survivor

          I always assumed it was, but I zoomed in tonight and it looks like a wind instrument of some kind and not an abacus. Am I going crazy?

        2. Taffy

          An abacus is a wind instrument.

        3. cbwroses

          Is this a joke I’m just not getting or is there a definition for abacus that I’m unaware of?
          Because the only abacus I know is old tool people used for counting.

        4. cbwroses

          Never mind.
          I get it now.

        5. Taffy

          The joke is that I’m blatantly lying. It already wasn’t funny, and now it’s even less funny since I’ve explained it.

        6. adam Black

          You got that wrong. It’s getting funnier with
          Each level.

          Just try telling more lies then tediously explaining them.

          Sometimes I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion!

        7. Clif

          If there were an abacus that were a wind instrument, it wouldn’t really count.

        8. Aura

          That took me a moment!

        9. adam Black

          Dayumm
          Count Cliffula with wind harp wins Eurovision

      3. SeanR

        It’s a flut-ee.
        You have to pronounce the ‘e’ as its own syllable.

        1. Clif

          The e is pronounced cus.

          You’ll never guess how the flut is pronounced.

        2. Jeff K!

          However it’s pronounced, I bet it could rock “Dancing Queen” and “Take a Chance on Me”

        3. adam Black

          I just put the flut in my ? and blow, and let nature take care of the sounds.

          That counts for someone

      4. Mark

        No. Flutes and piccolos are held transversely. Could be a pennywhistle. It looks too short for a recorder.

      5. AbacusWizard

        It is in fact a pennywhistle. Photo is of me performing at a Ren Faire about 15 years ago. I used it as a “gravatar” for some reason a long time ago and it carried over to this discussion forum.

    2. Deviant

      Is that Broclones, the famous Broccoli-philosopher?

      1. AbacusWizard

        or “broccolosopher” as they say

    3. Dr. Sharks

      I stared at that word and couldn’t get it not to sound sorta like “broccoli” in my head. BROCK-luh-nees. I was like, “Is this a clothing brand? A nickname for Asher that I wasn’t aware of? Some sort of greeting or thanks in another language?” I did eventually figure out that it was bro-clones, but maybe the hyphen is necessary?

  12. Axel

    yes I love it

  13. Yotomoe

    I actually super agree with what walky said about “just saying it to say it.” In so much that I hate generic pleasantries if you don’t mean it. If you ask me “how are you?” I’ll tell you. If you don’t care, don’t ask. I know it’s rude but I feel like I’m just reciting my lines in a script.

    1. Shorduie

      Yup. People being nice just as a conversation filler is really obnoxious sometimes

    2. anon

      it’s prolly also him not accidentally wanting to say “i love you” again to lucy til he’s ready/means it for real as well. tho he can still compliment our outer jacket

      and yeah small talk can be awkward or so but i imagine it’s prolly part of interacting with a group compared to being on guard if a stranger just starts talking to you

    3. Taffy

      I saw a mudcrab the other day.

      1. Clif

        Was it wearing a jacket on top of a hoodie?

        1. Taffy

          No, but now I wanna mod that into every single video game.

    4. adam Black

      I agree but we need to strike it entirely from first l & 2nd evel conversation and replace it with better Shibboleths.

      I hate lying. Or bothering people. But it’s stifling to self silence.

      The reason for these things is Neurotypical to gauge people while acknowledging with minimal effort.

    5. Mark

      Think of it as deference. “I don’t have anything to say, do you? I’ll play off of your lead.”

    6. Keulen

      The thing that bothers me most about people asking “How are you?” is that most of them don’t want an honest answer. So even if you’ve been having a crappy day you’re still expected to respond “Good” or something similar. Pointless small talk and pleasantries annoy me too.

      1. anon

        Captain Holt: When people say, “Good morning,” they mean, “Hello.” When people say, “How are you?” they mean, “Hello.” When people say, “What’s up?” they mean, “I am a person not worth talking to.”

    7. thakoru

      I just say “hi” or “hello” back and most people are fine with that, but sometimes they push for an actual answer and act like I’m the rude one for not technically following the expected script. The good news is, those people generally aren’t worth talking to anyway.

  14. FadingMemory

    Willis has been killing it with the distinctive react faces as of these past few weeks of comics.

  15. Sajuuk-Khar

    FUCK YES

    WE STAN A MAGNIFICENT K-MAFIA HIMBO

    1. milu

      HE’S SUCH A SMOLDERING FUCKBOY

      I WANT HIS DICK IN MY Mwait whaaat

      1. Taffy

        Are you sure? I heard a rumor that Asher’s dick is shaped like a skeleton key, complete with a ring in the middle somehow. And it only gets hard when you discard one card from your hand to Special Summon it.

        1. milu

          i have no idea what you’re talking about but sure, that still sounds hot

        2. zee

          Can probably find something like it on bad dragon

        3. Taffy

          If you know where to buy a silicone skeleton keynis, I will gladly accept a link.

        4. milu

          WHY

        5. Taffy

          BECAUSE IT MIGHT BE COOL TO HAVE ONE

        6. milu

          OH I SEE, ALRIGHT THEN

        7. Opus the Poet

          Because it might cause pleasurable sensations inside for some women.

        8. Rabbit

          The term Skeleton Keynis fucking took me out. I want one soley because that sounds hilarious.

  16. Yotomoe

    Why you such a HATER, Jennifer. Stop hatin’.

    1. True Survivor

      She’s desperate to prove to herself (and others?) she’s back on top in the cool clique like she was in high school. Also, that she has moved up in the world is definitely, never, under no circumstances having regrets about how her relationship with the members of a certain dorm hall and its RA ended.

    2. Sirksome

      I don’t think she’s hating here. I think they’re both kinda right. It is a decent enough look for their outing, but just throwing a jacket on doesn’t count as trying. It’s cold out, of course you’re gonna throw on a jacket. Everyone is wearing jackets.

      1. Bittersweet

        I mean, it’s trying for Walky.

        I don’t wear makeup. If I put any on, it’s just foundation and a bit of lip gloss (or just mascara and lip gloss). That’s me trying. If my husband complimented me and my friend was like “PLEASE. You didn’t even follow a tutorial or anything, it’s just lip gloss” I’d feel pretty awful. Not gonna put on any more makeup because I like my face, but I’d be pretty cross with that friend.

        That being said, I know this is Billie’s thing and she’s gonna work through it. The punchline on this page got a good laugh out of me.

        1. adam Black

          Some people don’t even need much makeup.
          Full complexion rosy lips& cheeks smoky eye, thick lashes.

          You do you.

          I wish my eyeballs were whiter. Huge problem. No makeup will fix that.

        2. khn0

          well it will, but you’d have to keep the lids closed.

        3. Zero

          Nobody needs any makeup.

  17. Axel

    also, love that Walky seems to be genuinely saying this, not scrambling for an excuse for not having said she looked good already

    1. Axel

      though I think an ideal response to Lucy’s second comment would have been ‘that’s not true, I can’t even see myself’ or similar

  18. Nono

    I can’t decide if Walky somehow stalked Asher to wear the same outfit, the other way round or they just happen to shop in the same places.

    (Also, I’m impressed with how much variety these guys have in their wardrobe. When I was a student I had maybe two weeks’ worth of outfits before I had to start recycling.)

    1. Tan

      I want to believe Asher looked in his closet, thought to himself (perhaps consciously, perhaps subconsciously) ‘What is the most Walky-like outfit I own?’ and just fucking nailed it in one.

      1. Archieve

        Radiah and Carl plan to pretend to like his humor so could definitely be Asher is in on it. If so that would make Jennifer the odd on out in the group.

        1. Tan

          To be clear, I’m saying this from the view that I believe Asher is genuinely wanting Walky to like him. (as yet uncertain whether in a het way or a bi way)

  19. Chaucer59

    Sweet burn, Walkster.

  20. Taffy

    It’s not often I have an audible reaction to this (or any) comic. Well played, Willis.

    1. zee

      Literally had to say out loud “oh God that’s so funny. That’s so fucking funny.”

  21. True Survivor

    Carl looks like he can’t tell which one is which and it’s blowing his mind.

  22. anon

    lol her shocked eyes at the end. XD; guess everyone’s shopping at the same local mall/asher got his hood at the same place lucy bought walky his shirt

    But yeah other than something ‘unique’/fancy suits or maybe some ‘alternative’ brand clothing and stuff, not as much variety for ‘male’ clothes, hoodies/jeans can look nice/easy to draw as well as some hoodies being ‘nicer’ than others lol (personally i like a plain pullover in a nice color as opposed to obnoxious logo or at least a cool pattern or some kinda ‘inspirational quote’/words as opposed to the brand name)

    1. Sirksome

      IU district’s Casual Male must be raking it in with their off the rack salmon hoodies! It’s the kind of look that says. I’m a dude between the ages of 8 and 88, it’s cold out, and I need something to wear, but I’m also feeling just bold enough to wear something more colorful than black or grey! Buy one now as a perfectly acceptable gift for you bf that’s just cheap enough it doesn’t make you seem desperate and just expensive enough it looks like you didn’t buy it last minute even if you did.

      1. adam Black

        Does Casual Male still exist?
        It wasu goto in the 1980s. They rebranded as big&tall and haven’t seen once since.

  23. Taffy

    Also, I think I pointed this out yesterday, but literally everyone else is consistently calling him Walky, as they should, while Raidah keeps calling him David. She’s like addicted to being wrong, and it’s truly impressive how far she can fit her head up her own ass. If it gets any further up there, you’ll be able to see her looking at you from within when she opens her mouth.

    1. Rabisch

      Yep. Here’s another aspect that makes me think more and more how Raidah is actually very childish.

    2. thejeff

      I don’t think she’s addicted to being wrong so much as she wants to change people to fit her mold. I suspect it worked on Jennifer.

      1. Archieve

        It definatly worked on Jennifer but she already wanted to be somebody different. Unfortunately for Radiah, Walky doesn’t desire escape from his past self and it looks like she’s setting herself up to be the odd one who only calls him David.

      2. Taffy

        This might be a weird thing to say, but I don’t think there’s much practical difference between being a control freak and having an addiction to being wrong. In both cases, the person is going out of their way to find people who aren’t like them in some way, and subjecting themselves to whatever distress and upset comes with those interactions. And it’s not like there’s ever going to be enough to keep them satisfied, so they’ll just go hunt down the next hit when it’s been long enough without needless confrontation.

  24. Barf Ninjason

    See, I’d respect Comrade Billingsworth demands to be called “Jennifer” instead of “Billie” if I didn’t suspect it was all part and parcel of this insidious desire to distance herself from her actual friends and personality in a transparent attempt at social climbing with snooty people she’s deemed more important.

    1. anon

      Jennifer is already her legal first name, i think it’d be even more of a distancing thing if it was a completely new name too

    2. Wraithy2773

      Before the time skip, she was occasionally suicidal, forcing a relationship on a partner that wanted to break it off, and engaging in her worst impulses more often than not.

      Sure, she seems to have traded one set of bad traits for another, but its important to acknowledge that there’s more than social climbing at work here. Jennifer might be more of a snooty asshole than Billie was, but she also seems, well, healthier too.

    3. milu

      Yyyeah rule of thumb though, maybe just call people what they ask to be called.

      Unless they’re a 5-year-old saying you shall now refer to them as “Fartpotato”. Actually, scratch that, especially if they’re a 5-year-old wanting to be referred to as “Fartpotato”.

      1. JBento

        You should definitely start calling them ‘fartpotato’… and then never stop. For decades.

      2. adam Black

        I broke this rule once no regrets.
        I have a mentally ill friend who invented a new Heterosexual Persona “Chet” at the behest of his Evangelical brother & mother trying to get him back in the closet
        ( It blew up as I expected it would.

    4. thejeff

      Given Raidah’s insistence on calling Walky “David”, it seems very likely that the return to “Jennifer” was prompted by Raidah.

      1. Archieve

        It was, in her flashback she initially corrected Radiah that she was Billie but then Radiah introduced her as Jennifer.

  25. Mr. Random

    That’s gonna hurt her soul.

  26. anonymsly

    Have we ever seen that particular usually-Joyce-face on Jennifer before? I don’t think so.

    I do like that, probably boosted by the advice from Dorothy, Walky is leaning on his genuine charm and it’s working. It hasn’t even started and Walky is the star of breakfast.

  27. TemporalShrew

    Oh, now that’s *very* good.

  28. StClair

    Okay, one of you is going to have to change.

    1. anon

      i wouldn’t be surprised if walky or lucy packed some ‘backup shirt’ in case he does make a mess on himself or so lol

    2. Yumi

      Last time I went to some friends’ house for DND, I was wearing the same shirt as the friend who answered the door– a t-shirt another friend in the group had made. So he greeted me with, “Well, one of us is going to have to change.” I pointed out that it was his house, where his clothes were, so it would have to be him.

      (Neither of us actually felt the need to change, by the way.)

      1. anon

        matching t-shirts /a ‘team/group’ kinda shirt to wear to dnd sessions would be fun tho

  29. True Survivor

    Mr. Willis really went all out on the backgrounds this strip. I wonder what that tall sky-scraper looking building is?

    1. Taffy

      That’s the Chrysler Building.

      1. Clif

        The Chysler Building is in New York, but it’s a natural mistake. It’s actually the Dodge Building.

        1. Devin

          Sure failed to Dodge being in this strip though!

        2. Taffy

          New York isn’t real, they made it up for those Marvel comic books. No real city has dozens of unrelated superheroes who seemingly patrol like one city block apiece and never interfere with each other’s problems.

  30. The Wellerman

    Who’s that Pokémon?

    It’s BROCLONE!!!!

    “Broclone! Broclone!”

  31. AGV

    Congratulations, Jennifer, you played yourself

  32. Sajuuk-Khar

    Also Lucy and Walky are cute. They’re probably gonna blow up later this month, but they’re cute.

    1. DailyBrad

      Yeah, I do actually like their dynamic, and I feel like he’s being totally sincere here, that he wants to not say it just to say it.

      1. Yumi

        Wonder if that’s going to connect to him maybe going along (or trying to?) with saying “I love you”…

      2. 80-watt Hamster

        Lucy’s way too invested, and it’s giving me both heebies and jeebies.

        1. zee

          It’s her first relationship, let her be

  33. DailyBrad

    I love when Walky gets a good dunk on someone, especially when it’s Jennifer or Sal.

  34. newlland(Henryvolt)

    Great minds think alike.

  35. Yumi

    “Trying” with clothes/appearance has always been weird to me. In part just not knowing what will register to others as having done so… and in part knowing and disagreeing.

    Like, there’d be times when I’d put a decent amount of effort into my appearance for the day, and I’d think I’d really look good, and no one would comment on it. Then there’d be days when I barely did anything, and I’d get compliments from different people throughout the day. In the cases of this I’m thinking of now, I did know one factor– in the “effort” days, I’d be going for a more androgynous-to-masculine look. In the days I’d get compliments, I’d be wearing a dress.

    Okay, let’s try to loop this back around to the comic… Walky and Asher in matching dresses. Yeah.

    1. Dinajoyce

      Same! I don’t think I look great in most dresses. And I’m pretty much always uncomfortable in them. I think I look really good in jeans and well-fitting t-shirts. They make me feel confident and I think they accentuate the things I like about my figure too! But everybody comments on the dresses, never the jeans and t-shirts. It’s lame.

      1. Yumi

        I remember one day where I put on a dress literally because I could not make the effort to put on two pieces of clothing… it was really annoying to have that apparently be “better” than my usual or days I tried. Now, though, I’m more likely to be around people who appreciate various aesthetics one might be going for, so that’s nice.

        1. Steelbright

          I’ve definitely had days of “[being a woman-shaped person and] getting only compliments from straight boys when you are trying your hardest to look bi,” hah. maybe kinda the opposite problem, but it’s sad when no one is around who can appreciate an androgynous look. Glad it sounds like you found some people who do! I’d definitely be among them, I love an androgynous look (and appreciate how hard it can be to achieve!)

      2. Masumi

        I do wonder if dresses are just something people are more comfortable complimenting because it’s more likely the person is trying to look nice? Like, not coming from an actual opinion but from a perceived expectation to say something?

        Personally, I’m somehow weirdly uncomfortable with looking like I made an effort. I’d like to look good, but not like I spent any amount of energy on that. I dunno what that’s all about, it’s kinda dumb XD

        1. milu

          Yeah plus under traditional heteronormative values, commenting on men’s appearance is kind of not done, or certainly very optional, because men don’t really gain much value by looking good, while women’s value traditionally is entirely in looking good. Maybe that tends to carry over reflexively to specific gender presentation styles?

          Now this works in my favour (sort of) because im amab and people praising my appearance does tend to line up with me presenting more feminine, which as it happens i do typically spend more thought on (and desperately crave the validation to hack back at my internalized queerphobia lololol).

          But also i think like Yumi i just have nicely queer friends who appreciate gender-fuckery for ots own sake generally ^^

      3. Zach

        Dresses are seen as more acceptable to complement, and you don’t have to comment on the persons body to do it. You can’t talk about the cut of a T-shirt like you can a dress.

        It’s just a safer comment to make with more conversational potential.

        1. milu

          oh sure, silly me. nothing to do with gender roles after all, whew

        2. anon

          Casual dresses are more comfy than jeans (esp if you gain weight after graduation oof) and can look nice without it being too ‘overly dressy’ but i imagine ppl might still compliment those more, other than a unique pattern or cool look/’ripped’ jeans, i assume some generic blue/black jeans that ppl get complimented on saying “nice jeans” ppl might take that as them indirectly hitting on you/complimenting ur ass probably

          tho jeans ‘not looking unique’ might work in ur favor/you can get away with wearing the same pair two days in a row as long as ur top is diff since for some ppl they might own like 5 pairs of the same brand to where no one would notice anyways lol. as long as you don’t show up in sweatpants or look homeless/l ike you’re about to beg/panhandle most ppl/places wouldn’t care tho given that it’s college , walky has plenty of freedom afterwards to go back to his pjs and doritos when he’s away from lucy

    2. zee

      I’ve been “trying” more since i moved back to campus which to me just means being intentional. Selecting pieces that complement each other and jewelry that’ll highlight certain aspects. Wearing clothes that are on paper very basic (most of my outfits are just a crop top jeans/joggers and sneakers/boots) but with a unique pattern or cut or fabric. I get mostly complimented by other women so i guess I’m doing something right.

      There was this one time though where i just wanted a hotdog from the commissary and couldn’t bother dress up just for that so i put on some muddy basketball shoes and went out in my pajamas and got a compliment on my “outfit” along the way. That’ll stick with me forever lol

  36. Tan

    This strip is so delicious I could eat it and be too full to attend breakfast. Amazing.

  37. Qube

    tried a little harder to do what? be a complete asshole? two of them definitely are, yeah

  38. newlland(Henryvolt)

    Asher just continues to charm the pants off of me more and more every scene he’s in. I’m really starting to like this guy.

  39. Twig

    I love everything about this page so much jglksdhagkljsahkjlghsdljkgh

  40. Reed

    oh billie you really haven’t changed.

    1. Yumi

      She actually did. She met up with Raidah before Raidah and Walky met up, but she was wearing the exact same outfit as Raidah and so had to go change clothes.

      1. Clif

        What did she change them into?

        1. Devin

          Ashes. She burned them because it’s deeply uncool to even own the same clothes as one of your social climber friends. It was the only way.

  41. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Plays “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” on hacked Muzak.

  42. Jamie

    Perfection.

  43. Tan

    I know a lot of people were on Dorothy about her advice, but here is Walky owning his loveable goofballness, edging into cockiness about it, and it looks damn good on him

    1. Steelbright

      Gotta agree here, it’s working for him

  44. Jodka

    Billie is such a fucking conga.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      She certainly can be; more so now that she goes by Jennifer. This little breakfast gathering ends poorly in my predictions.

      1. Jodka

        I hope it ends badly for her and Raidah. Lucy doesn’t deserve it.

    2. The Wellerman

      What is a conga ?

      1. Jodka

        I wrote c*u*n*t*, but it seems that word gets replaced with conga.

        1. The Wellerman

          Ha ha, I love a well placed “c_nt”, execution is tricky but well worth it! Like in this aussie comedy skit (hope someone tells this to Billy / Raidah at the breakfast):

          https://youtu.be/x5ksyqgfYI4

    3. Jodka

      Lol, censorship is funny

      1. Clif

        And life’s a bongo.

        1. Jodka

          *Rimshot but with bongos*

    4. Taffy

      Like the dance thing with he lines and the touching of the shoulders and whatnot I bet she’d look extra hot doing a conga line.

  45. Steelbright

    If this is gonna be a storyline where Jennifer gets pissed off at Walky for effortlessly stealing her new friends that she social climbed worked really hard to get, I am SO here for that drama

    1. Jodka

      It’s what she deserves.gif

    2. Needfuldoer

      She was in the right place at the right time, for Raidah to weaponize her in her little one-sided war against Joyce and Sarah.

    3. DailyBrad

      Maybe, though I could see it being something where Jennifer says fuck it and goes back to being Billie, particularly if Raidah overplays her hand and Jennifer gets protective of her sorta brother?/quasi-love interest according to Joyce and one time Walky joking about it.

  46. Amós Batista

    And remember: Walky throw a punch in Asher’s face some time ago…
    Now, they are combining clothes bros.

    1. Amós Batista

      *threw

      1. The Wellerman

        Woah! Good callback!!

        And if Billy knows, this must hurt all the more ?

        1. DailyBrad

          I honestly kind of doubt she knows anything about Asher/Walky/Sal drama, though she may have. Obviously, she was around, but I wonder if she was already cheerleading and being a teenage lush.

  47. HueSatLight

    It’s kind of weird how “social climbing” is seen as worse than participating in a murder.

    1. Devin

      Is it? Or is it just tiring to have to state how much you’re against someone in every strip they appear in regardless of whether or not they’re actively engaging in the thing for which you dislike/distrust them to make sure it’s always properly visible and known how strongly you feel about them?

      Or maybe some folks find murder/complicity compelling in a fictional character and this doesn’t reflect people’s actual values.

      Or maybe he gets off easy because he’s male.

      Or maybe it’s some combination of all of these and more that I don’t particularly feel like typing out because I’m tired and I’m not entirely sure how I got this far into this. My fingers have taken over. help

    2. Taffy

      Point out an example.

    3. Sam

      Asher isn’t a real person, most people don’t know an Asher in real life so it is a lot easier to stay detached.

      But plenty of people have known Raidahs or similar people that have very little interest in you, and only want to talk about people you know like X, Y and Z. Which isn’t exactly comfortable or fun conversation.

      Everyone knows murder is worse than social climbing. But it doesn’t mean the social climber is necessarily more fun or likeable – someone can be more likeable without being more moral. Likeability isn’t tied strictly to morality.

      1. Taffy

        Asher is too real! You just don’t understand, Dad! *runs upstairs and slams their bedroom door*

        1. adam Black

          This was not funny ?.

          ( The joke is I’m lying. You were very very funny. Keep in & carry on.

          But by explaining it I’ve ruined the joke. But not yours. I think your icon is doing a lot of the work! Sort of a bemused sexy librarian. I don’t recognize her, but I’m ready to laugh. )

        2. Taffy

          I’ll take any vague opportunity to Swozpost. The character in my (current) icon is Swozwall Haeredzwyn (good luck pronouncing that), a Sea Wolf Roegadyn from the Cieldalaes islands. She’s/They’re my character in Final Fantasy XIV. I appreciate the “sexy librarian” bit especially, because their main combat class is Summoner, a cool wizard class that uses the arcane geometries in their grimoires to summon the stolen essences of the realm’s tribal gods. She’s also 7’3″ tall and stacked, with mild nearsightedness that doesn’t necessarily require glasses, but she looks cuter in them and they help keep things clear.

          I may or may not have an extensive birth-to-present lore document on them that’s constantly being updated.

        3. Pergola

          But can you breathe in space?

          ( sorry, sorry. level caps happen to us all. )

        4. Taffy

          Is the space thing a reference to something else? Because I don’t get it

    4. Bryy

      …… um what?

      Like what exactly are you trying to get at here?

    5. milu

      Social climbing is worse than murdering Blaine, tbh

      1. milu

        Also, hello? Your avatar signals support for the attempted murder of what’s-his-face by Moy and Brigman. These two situations are entirely equivalent. Now sit back and enjoy hot murderboy

        1. HueSatLight

          I cannot tell if you are joking.

        2. milu

          no i’m not joking! (yes i am)

          (also i’m very pleased with my calling Asher hot murderboy)

        3. HueSatLight

          He is both affable and eff-able. Also still an actual danger.

          I’ll give you that my avatar is weird, not that other stuff about it. The PG-13 version is better/worse, but DoA.com defaults to the G version.

      2. JBento

        Lots of things are worse than murdering Blaine, like knowing what Blaine does and NOT trying to murder him.

    6. oh no

      To be fair, Baine was a terrible person. 😉

    7. thejeff

      There’s also the part where the social climbing is also a major focus of this story, while the murder isn’t. It’ll come up again, but it’s not today’s story.

      1. HueSatLight

        I recall Raidah getting shit for being a [future] mob lawyer because she was friends with Asher, but Asher himself doesn’t get any of that stink on him because reasons.

        1. Yotomoe

          Mostly because Asher isn’t openly malicious. He’s been pretty chill thus far in the story. Raidah walked up to Dorothy and called her a future war criminal to her face, unprompted. People are more likely to point out the hypocrisy of someone who does that than a guy who wears the same jacket as another guy.

        2. thejeff

          I’ve suggested that, though not more than half seriously, but I’ve also never had anything good to say about Asher, that I can recall.
          I don’t usually bother bashing him if he’s just making random comments in a scene or not there at all

    8. Francoinblanco

      The same way Umbrige is more hated character than Voldemort

      1. Taffy

        I recently rewatched those movies*, and goddamn if Umbridge wasn’t hard to sit through. The entire chat was relentlessly shitting on her every single time she was even briefly on screen.

        *don’t worry, it was in a Discord stream, from somebody’s personal stash of what I can only assume were pirated movies, so not a single red cent was generated for the wretched hag

        1. milu

          preemptive sorries about doing an #discourse but she-who-shall-not-be-named isn’t the only one who contributed/ benefits from the sale of movies.

          that said, the HP franchise has made way too much money for anyone’s good as it is, and also pirating movies is based.

          carry on

        2. Taffy

          It’s sad, really. All she had to do was write her children’s fantasy books, keep her idiot mouth shut, and roll in the dough. The books and movies would still have some problems, but at least we wouldn’t have to hear from her nonstop.

        3. BOOSTER SHOT

          It’s my fault, really. I said I wanted her to tweet more. Over a decade ago. I accept my responsibility in what transpired.

    9. HueSatLight

      I did not intend to give the impression that it would be possible to convince me not to feel that it’s weird.

      1. milu

        and yet here we are

        1. milu

          ok yeah that sounded hostile. my bad. take 2:

          and yet here we are =D

      2. Devin

        Well I don’t know about anybody else thinking you could be convinced of anything, but these days I try to avoid drawing too many conclusions about that of anyone I encounter on The Internet.

        You sure did invite comment though. You did that by publicly commenting on The Internet, especially in a place where reply comments are a feature.

    10. Joyfulldreams

      Because fictional characters aren’t real, and the worst thing they can do to US, the readers, who ARE real, is be unlikeable. Which means we don’t enjoy reading about them, and being read about is their entire reason for existing.

      1. Joyfulldreams

        I personally feel that being both unlikeable and uninteresting is the greatest sin of all for any fictional character. A character can be unlikeable or brash or even evil so long as they are interesting enough to be engaging to watch or read. Asher has the benefit of being mostly likeable, and somewhat interesting. Raidah is extremely unlikeable, and barely interesting.

        1. thejeff

          Funny because for me, while neither of them are particularly likable, Raidah’s more interesting. She’s got conflict and plots going on, while Asher’s just sort of hanging out being hot and being Jennifer’s boyfriend. There’s potential interest there, but nothing’s really happening with it at the moment.

    11. BBCC

      If he participated in Blaine’s murder, all it does is make me wanna buy him cookies and beer.

  48. BOOSTER SHOT

    It’s because one is more relevant to more people in real life than the other. And people just like to get mad about fictional characters behaving in ways they would find socially unacceptable if it happened to them, I guess.

    1. Songbird

      Was this meant to be a reply to someone else?

      1. milu

        The thread just above, clearly

        1. BOOSTER SHOT

          Internet is hard

        2. milu

          Phrasing

  49. Icalasari

    I love how hard that blew up in Jennifer’s face

  50. Bryy

    Oh, yeah, this storyline is gonna be 100% Walky deconstructing this group.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Walky is going to effortlessly upstage Jennifer as she scrambles to find something, anything, to act superior about.

    2. Icalasari

      I was so worried Dorothy’s advice would backfire, but it looks like it’s going to instead demolish Jennifer

  51. Carms

    This is very satisfying

  52. Lars

    They came a long way. From wanting to punch Asher to broclones. Waht will be next? Masturbating together?

    1. Masumi

      That would neveOh wait

      1. milu

        chuckle!

      2. shoopdawhoop

        “Ok, we’re sitting on the dryers, what now?”
        “I dunno, just whip it out I guess.”

  53. goggleman64

    Aaaahahahahahahaha

  54. The Oracle

    Goddamn it, I can’t believe Asher is getting all Walky-stalky and stealing Walky’s copyrighted outfits like this. Dude is parasocial as fuck and needs to log off.

  55. Lysbeth

    I wish “Broclones, m’man!” would enter my vocabulary but there’s legit not a reason in my entire life it would

    1. milu

      Just use it when you would normally say “great minds think alike” (because that phrase is overdue for retirement)

      Being bros, or talking to a man, or actually looking similar are not required for this sentence to be understood. Indeed, it will probably sound even funnier

      1. egg egg

        I thought that phrase had been replaced by “same hat!” from that one comic.

        1. milu

          i just realised literally in this comment section someone said it.

          sorry henry volt newlland, didn’t mean to single you out or this perfectly fine phrase which i actually don’t have an issue with

          you may flag my comment, if it makes you feel better

          :shame-monkey-emoji:

      2. Lysbeth

        I’m not even a man myself and I’d probably end up dysphoric about it if I got into the habit of calling myself a bro lmao

  56. Lone Duck

    My impression is that Asher is more genuine the rest of Jennifer’s cadre. Grammatically speaking, he is not completely genuine, hiding his criminal connections, but I think he genuinely wants to mend things with Walky and Sal. He’s more likeable than Raidah and her boo, but that’s a low bar.

    1. Zaxares

      Agreed. My read on him is that he genuinely does want to distance himself from his past, but at the same time, he’s too afraid/unwilling to cut off his connections completely, either because he’s afraid of the repercussions, or because deep down he still values having underworld connections he can turn to when things get tough. But, if he lies low enough, and things continue to go well and smoothly that he doesn’t need to turn to his connections, he may very well turn out to be one of those people where “that day never came.”

    2. JBento

      He’s not hiding his criminal connections. The only person in this group that DOESN’T know he’s a mob kid is Lucy.

  57. CianM1301

    Oh, this has to be a new circle of hell for Jennifer.

  58. Dot

    Calling it now, this interaction ends with Billie getting dumped and cut out of this friend group.

    1. CianM1301

      And to add further insult to injury, replaced by Walky.

    2. Daibhid C

      Why, is she going to stop having rich parents?

      It’s important to remember that nobody in this group except Asher actually likes her in the first place.

      1. Daibhid C

        Oh, wait, I’ve just noticed you said dumped and cut out. So I guess the latter would depend on whether Raidah finds Asher’s connections more useful than Jennifer’s.

        1. GholaHalleck

          100% depends on how much she knows about Asher. But considering he was probably her *in* to the group, Radish will be fine dropping her over keeping him.

  59. Bob

    I hate Walky with a burning passion, but this strip made me chuckle. I feel dirty.

    1. Taffy

      Heartbreaking: Most Annoying Person You Know Just Made You Laugh

      1. milu

        photo illustration: Hide the pain Harold

    2. BOOSTER SHOT

      So when people ask who your least favorite character is, your response is “It’s Walky!”?

  60. Sombrero

    Poor Jennifer will go down kicking and screaming.

  61. mrnoidea

    i’m fuckin dying on that last panel XD

  62. Alex

    This is already hilarious.

  63. C.T. Phipps

    I’ll be honest, I know more than a few people who would still hate Raidah more than Asher as a social climbing manipulator versus a MURDERER in RL.

    Why? Because the victim was Blaine and a lot of those people were victims of child abuse.

    1. not someone else

      Co-signed.

      (Outside of that I feel like it’s deliberately unclear to what extent Asher 1) knew what he was doing and 2) was or was not under duress or threat over it. But even with that…)

  64. Adept

    Haha! In your face Jennifer.

  65. Pergola

    Broccolies!

    Lucy looking nice is a constant in a chaotic universe.

  66. ADLegend21

    HA got her. Man Jennifer can be so full of shit and it’s nice that she instantly got an L for it here.

  67. Devin

    This only just occurred to me, but Jennifer also made a point about this group trying harder in a group with Carl, who I don’t think we’ve ever seen without a backwards baseball cap.

    Whoops.

    1. HueSatLight

      Carl and undercover cop confirmed.

  68. elfroyalty

    y’know i think i’m really warmin’ up to asher. he’s just a guy. a real dude

  69. crys

    agree that lucy always looks nice. her coat looks nice too! lucy rocks bright colors! ?

  70. Bruce

    This is one of my favorite strips ever. I’m still laughing as I’m typing.

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