371

Thumpasprunging
Posted on March 22, 2025 by David M Willis

371 thoughts on “Thumpasprunging”

  1. Doctor_Who

    Booster is going to make the best therapist one day.

    Patient: “Doctor, I’m a mess. I’m having 37 affairs, and I recently killed someo-”

    Dr. Booster: “Hold your horses, popcorn isn’t done yet. And that couch is actually for me, in case I get giddy and swoon.”

    1. Opus the Poet

      You win the Internets today!!!! We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!

    2. Aura

      I actually love that for a spin-off idea

    3. Lysbeth

      Plot twist: they all already are. We’re watching the timeline Booster recreated inside their mind as everyone tells them what hurt them.

    4. Nymph

      Reporting this for misgendering Booster

    5. Proto

      “Dr., you seemed a little psyched”
      “No, I’m bummed”
      *“But I wasn’t bummed, I was stoked”*

    6. Stormies

      Sure, if by “best therapist” you mean “worst therapist”.
      Encouraging clients in their worst impulses just for their own entertainment doesn’t seem very ethical.

      1. deliverything

        I’m guessing The Doctor means something like “best therapist to read about” or “best therapist to hold up as an example of what not to do”.

  2. Grayfinity

    Oh.

    Oooooooooh. Seems the emotions aren’t entirely buried.

  3. Sirksome

    Wait is Amber the secret lesbian love sleuth?!

    1. Axel

      I think the hint is mostly that she wants for fuck Walky

      but some lesbian love sleuthing is helping her along the way

      1. Sirksome

        We desperately need more men in this dating circle if we’re at trying to lowkey plot relationship downfalls just to get some. Where’s Lyle at? He seemed cool.

        1. HueSatLight

          Probably making out with Arnold.

        2. Rose by Any other Name

          I mean, this is Amber. As Booster points out, she is pro Joyce/Joe.
          She is just ALSO pro Joyce/Dorothy.
          And probably Joe/Joyce/Dorothy.
          She might even be up for Joe/Joyce/Dorothy/Walky/Amber if it came to that.

        3. Sirksome

          Based on previous conversations she’s had with Sal and Danny and Dina and Becky, being a unicorn third to a m/f couple seems like it could be Amber’s ideal relationship at for now.

        4. Davus

          Wait, can you elaborate? I want this to be true, but I don’t remember anything that direct.

        5. Sirksome

          I can’t remember exactly the moment but Amber has expressed a few times in the past that she desires or needs a sort of relationship buffer between her and any potential partner because she’s so quick to be abusive when she’s upset. I don’t remember who she specifically said this to though so I just kind of cast a wide net.

        6. deliverything

          Considering her fanfic-related interests, I suspect she might prefer being a third to an m/m couple.
          See also: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-15/01-love-dares-you-to-change/disposeof/ — “if Amber finds out boys canoodled up there, she’ll never wash those sheets again”.

        7. Michael Steamweed

          Amber’s cravings of mess are (totally coincidentally) the same that we (the chorus) have.

        8. BarerMender

          But mainly pro Amber-Walky.

        9. Joy

          Can You imagine having a sibling at the other end of your polycule

        10. clif

          Step sibling.

        11. Stephen Nedland

          This is why Slipshine exists.

        12. Taffy

          Who the fuck is Lyle?

        13. Sirksome

          Don’t pretend that you don’t remember DoA’s breakout star Lyle! He was pivotal in the “A Walk Man Returns” arc! The effects of his actions are still felt to this day. Booster couldn’t even exist without Lyle!

        14. Taffy

          [David Spade Voice] You have no idea who Lyle is either, do you.

        15. Yumi

          Lyle’s the guy whose name I keep saying. Lyle Lyle Lyle Lyle Lyle

        16. Taffy

          The only Lyle in my brain is the one who’s always being yelled at to wake up and turn on the TV for reasons involving the Pentagon.

        17. clif

          Lyle is Lucy’s brother and Gun’s sister. It’s complicated.

        18. Yumi

          One time at work, another staff member said she was “sort of related” to one of my students, and I was like, uh, what does that mean? “She’s my daughter’s step-sister,” she said, and I was like, oh, that makes sense. But then she went on, “And my other daughter’s cousin. It’s a whole thing.”

          Extremely tangential, but I thought about this regularly for a year.

        19. John Campbell

          Lucy’s brother.

        20. Taffy

          It’s impressive that you managed to copy Willis’s art style so well and make a clone website that redirects to the main one solely for the purpose of inserting fake strips that include a character you made up.

    2. Roborat

      I thought Jamie (Girls With Slingshots) had that job.

  4. butts

    someone hasn’t totally gotten over halloween, i see

  5. Dave Van Domelen

    Thumpasprunging on rumspringa.

  6. Nono

    And we haven’t even gotten into Amber’s ex dating her rollerderby teammate who stabbed her hand several years ago.

    Actually, I’m assuming Booster has no idea about Amazi-Girl, because they would be chomping at the bit to armchair psychoanalyze Amber otherwise.

    1. poofdepoof

      whose* hand she* stabbed several years ago.

      I know canonically Sal has forgiven Amber for this, but as a reader I’m just still holding on to this a little bit ?

      1. Taffy

        No, Sal definitely stabbed Amber’s hand. I remember it that way for sure.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Oh, yeah, that’s how Amber got that scar.

        2. Clif

          Was that before or after she killed Mike?

        3. Taffy

          During, IIRC. I’m pretty certain Sal was trying to defend Mike, her One True Love, but Amber caught the knife with her palm and did this really slow, creepy motion where she pushed it further in to get closer to Sal and kiss her on the eyelid. Very odd comic, I thought it was kind of dark for this series, but it was really well-made.

        4. spriteless aunty

          You are very creative. Unless this is a reference, in which case, SHARE PLZ!

        5. Taffy

          If it’s a reference, I certainly don’t know it. I just enjoy making up really uncomfortable situations.

    2. cbwroses

      The roller derby teammate was stabbed BY Amber in the hand.
      The way you wrote it has Amber the one that was stabbed (or Sal stabbing herself).
      I assume it’s just a typo and not a misrememberance (is that a word? Well it is today) but wanted to clarify just in case.

      1. OBBWG

        Misremembrance is a word first used in the 1550s. The extra “e” in the word in your post was clearly just a typo.

        1. cbwroses

          Thank you.
          Normally, I’d have added (sp) at the end, but since I wasn’t sure it was a word in the first place, you can’t misspell a word that doesn’t exist.

        2. Owlmirror

          Sure you can.

          The word “thumpasprunging” doesn’t exist, but spelling it “htmupaspsrunggni” would be spelling it very wrong.

    3. Yumi

      Booster knows she’s plural

      1. Yumi

        Here’s where that came up: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/herselves/

        1. Dante

          Knows she’s a plural, but I wonder if they know who that plural is? 😮

          Still. The plot thicckens, and I’m here like yelling at Booster to handles this with care once the time comes, or else. :’33

        2. Yumi

          I don’t think so, because it’s been pretty notable when most characters learned of Amber and AG or started to piece it together. I feel like with Booster, we’d see the reveal. But maybe not!

        3. Aquila

          I’m expecting something more along the lines of Amber nervously confessing she’s Amazigirl and then Booster being all “I’m happy you trust me enough to confide in me, but I’ve actually known about that for ages now. It’s pretty obvious, to be honest.”

        4. Dante

          Thank you for the link last night, btw!

          Honestly, that strip itself made me hopeful about this interaction with AG I now totally need to happen: Walky’s awkward “made extra herselves to cope” was met by Booster’s “oh, is she plural?” with no hesitation and no judgement. I’m crossing my fingers we get an actual #Reveal, as you say! :33

        5. Peep

          The plot is always thiccening when Amber’s around ?

  7. darkoneko

    …probably not, but I enjoy the way you think

  8. John Campbell

    As a joke, yes.

  9. Chaucer59

    Booster is now officially my spirit animal.

  10. Tenzhi

    ~Don’t get knocked up! Just go down again!~

    1. Michael Steamweed

      Perfect lyrics are perfect.

    2. Thomas O.

      Thread winner!

  11. Mr. Random

    Booster…. actually, I feel like your enthusiasm may be helping.

    1. audkitten

      Me too

    2. GholaHalleck

      They can’t learn to be better people until they get shamed by “These are the Days of our Booster”

      1. Dante

        I legit thought this was the name for a future storyline and now I’m sad sdlgkjs

        1. GholaHalleck

          The future has yet to be written, there’s always hope.

  12. MM

    A drama llama?

  13. SvenTS

    Sometimes you just gotta love Booster.

    1. Amara

      Oh I adore booster, one of my fave characters since their introduction. “His pronouns are they/them!” Lives rent free in my brain. But also I love their hijinks. Just one of my absolute faves.

      1. Schpoonman

        Joyce is trying. She’s very trying.

    2. better time

      And the rest of the time you gotta hate them. seriously though, a rare chuckle doesnt make a bad character good

  14. HueSatLight

    perfect kind of twist. didn’t see it coming, but now it seems obvious.

    1. Clif

      And leaves you feeling annoyed at yourself for not realizing it sooner.

      1. clif

        I mean clues were there. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-14/02-its-the-love-i-havent-got/equalchance/

  15. RassilonTDavros

    Sometimes I forget about Amber’s evil side.

    1. Coatl

      I’m surprised many here didn’t consider that the “joke” suggested by Amber had those intentions.

      1. GholaHalleck

        A lot of people don’t think Walky is worth the trouble of plotting.

        Barring his constant “I don’t judge you, let’s bang” stance when in relationships, she could have just filled a set of pajama jeans with pillows and covered a dildo with cheeto dust and called it a day.

        I want one of them to realize he’s just the personification of *Old* Joe’s wish to bang lots of ladies without real commitment, only he’s passive and not slathered in self hatred and misogyny.

        1. cbwroses

          Except Walky always commits, so how does that make sense?
          I also don’t think banging 1.5-2 girlfriends (still unclear if he and Amber ever got past dry humping) counts as wishing to bang lots of ladies.
          Hell, he’s only ever even been attracted to 3 women in his life, and I’m still not sure if we should count Lucy.
          So I’m not sure how you came to this conclusion.

        2. GholaHalleck

          He commits, but then gets dropped either through his own dumbassery (Amber/Lucy) or “for his/her own good.” (Dottie)

          It’s not that he WANTS too, as much as he’s just falling into the pattern Joe wanted to live until his character growth.

          He’s basically been a warm, non-judgemental sponge with a wing dang doodle.

        3. Taffy

          Oh, like a penis.

        4. Sirksome

          I think it was actually confirmed that Walky didn’t have sex with Amber. I always believed they had because they were so physically passionate for each other but apparently an Amber comment somewhere confirms that they didn’t get the chance. Ironically despite being so desired by women, Walky has still only had sex with Dorothy.

        5. morleuca

          They had agreed that it wouldn’t be fair to Dorothy if they did.

        6. Plain Marie

          Huh. I don’t *ever* remember Amber and Walky being a romantic thing/$3xy thang. I thought they were too sibling-like.
          I only remember Amber and Danny.

        7. clif

          Why would Amber and Walky be too sibling-like?
          Are you confusing Amber with Jennefer or Walky with Joe?

        8. Dante

          It’s canon they dry-humped but didn’t go all the way o/

      2. HueSatLight

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/mikethoughts/
        I took that as definitive, not as Amber trying to convince herself.

        1. sultryglebe

          Fair, but you can change your mind. Something in the Lucy/fool parents arc looked like regret.

        2. HueSatLight

          Are you telling me I’m wrong, on my explanation why I didn’t consider this intention behind Amber’s “joke”?

  16. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    The feeling here are complicated. I mean clearly this was just a goof but…I don’t know how to feel about this.

  17. 3oranges

    Wait, Amber is trying to get with Dorothy? Well, I guess hooking up with someone who looks like you is kind of a fun narcissistic fantasy.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      My theory is that her end game is:
      Joe/Joyce/Dorothy/Walky/Amber

      Both because it resolves her actions (promoting both Joe/Joyce and Joyce/Dorothy) and because the bi polycule is the most fan-fic ending possible.

      1. Dante

        I get the feeling Amber has long smelled a Je Ne Sais Quoi non-cis/non-het whiff coming off Walky. I don’t think she’d be opposed to the fujo throne, and if Joe is the one dude available to conduct, eh – she just will have to make sure the big guy is similarly inclined, right?

        (… This is how Danny and Walky can still happen.)

    2. Dana

      No, no, I’m talking about you and Chidi.

  18. Dot

    I know Amber doesn’t have a *lot* of self-respect, but surely she has enough not to be hung up on a guy she was a rebound for

    1. StClair

      Apparently not. (And don’t call me ‘Shirley’.)

      1. Charles Phipps

        I mean, Amber is much more compatible with Walky than Dorothy.

        By which I mean Amber is more compatible with Walky than Walky is with Dorothy

        And also more compatible with Walky than her dating Dorothy.

    2. Doopyboop

      I think the whole ‘pretend to be Walky’s girlfriend to get to his parents’ thing might have helped unearth some of her unresolved feelings for him. Plus it seems like near everybody else around her is making kissy face except for her, so she probably feels left out.

    3. DashWallkick

      It’s pretty normal for people filled with self-loathing to push others away then desperately desire for them to come back. It’s the self-fulfilling prophecy of hating yourself then hating being alone more, and Amber’s whole thing is hating herself so much she invented an alter-ego to put all her good qualities into.

  19. reed

    walky cannot possibly be worth this much work.

    1. Sirksome

      Walky is the most desirable man on campus. He had a whole story about it. Also just the spur of the moment nature of their break up probably leaves some emotions still on the table. I can totally see Amber regretting it.

      1. peng

        “most desirable man on campus” how quickly we forget galasso

        1. Dara

          i dunno, how quickly can we forget galasso? does gin help?

        2. Armadillo

          Pretty sure Galasso isn’t on campus. He just works in the vicinity of the campus.

        3. Dante

          Galasso bows to no gender. Are we sure he’d claim the title of “desirable man”?

    2. cbwroses

      I don’t think 20 minutes of cleavage pics is that much work.

    3. tim gueguen

      Yeah, Amber has enough problems without having to help Walky avoid flunking out and to grow up a bit in general.

    4. Jeremiah

      Clearly you haven’t seen his butt.

    5. DashWallkick

      As Booster aptly said, they are diametrically opposed garbage. That he’s not actually worth all this is the point — they mirror each other’s failings so she feels like this is the best she could possibly do. Or, as she said herself, her ideal relationship is ruining someone then forcing them away.

    6. anon

      tbf i assume amber just wants to hook up, not marry him.t ho i can’t imagine any of the cast necessarily wanting to get married, mabye becky/dina b/c they don’t have completely negative stereotypical 20 year olds’ opinions about it compared to otehers

  20. Bajja

    How is this healthier than Mike?

    1. peng

      well anything’s healthier than mike nowadays

      1. Yumi

        *digs a crumpled up vote out of my pocket and hands it to you*

        1. Rose by Any other Name

          Yup. I considered making a joke of my own, but I got nothin that’s better than what peng already said.
          Consider me liked and subscribed.

    2. Dante

      To be loved is to be known, and Booster is providing a non-judgemental outlet. Maybe it’s not conductive to the best “results”, but they aren’t actually a therapist – they’re a friend of the same age who’ve also commented they worry about Dorothy and Walky being good for each other given the nature of their neuroses.Everyone involved is a teenager.

      Please tell me how Mike going “you’re fated to repeat your parent’s relationship. If you aren’t dating the abusive asshole, that says something about you” is healthier.

    3. Taffy

      For starters, Mike is dead. Any level of health is technically better than that.

      1. Clif

        A fair point.

    4. Bash

      It’s a lot more fun than how Mike would have reacted. Say Mike noticed the same thing. What would he do? He would frown and make a snarky comment, and Amber would feel bad about herself. It makes the whole thing feel too serious. Booster can be lighthearted and have fun with it.

    5. sea salt ice cream sequel

      idgaf about what’s healthier for the characters this sure is more fun to watch

    6. Jeremiah

      Nobody said it was healthier but it is considerably more entertaining.

      1. Dante

        +1 agreed

        Unrelated af but I’ve been meaning to tell you: That kitty in your grav icon is absolutely adorable.

  21. peng

    sucks when walky dorothy joyce and joe all end up being cool with dating each other lmao

  22. MissKellie

    “, as a joke”

  23. Suet

    Dumbing of Age: The Bitter Denial Makes Me Love It More

    Tubthumpasprunging

  24. DorJoJoe

    Genuinely asking: where does everybody see this Joyce/Dorothy situation going?

    Are they gonna get together? Bang it out? Something else???

    1. peng

      <_< DorJoJoe where do you see it going

      1. DorJoJoe

        There’s zero chance Dorothy canonically ends up in an OT3 relationship that involves Joe lol

        1. Rose by Any other Name

          … what an ironic name you have given this statement.

        2. Proxiehunter

          I don’t think she’s down to thumpasprung Joe. But if Joe and Joyce are cool with it she might be down to split Joyce’s time with Joe. Just the two of them dating Joyce seperetly and ocasionally thumpasprunging her but not each other.

        3. thejeff

          In a very long term end game maybe, but I just can’t see any of the three of them being even near a place where they could handle a poly relationship yet.

    2. Leon

      They’ll get together eventually. For the time being, though, I think they’ll both pretend the sent photos was just dumb fun on the surface to each other, but progressively ramp up the physical intimacy between each other (testing the waters) while privately freaking out.

    3. Taffy

      I figure Dorothy might just outright tell Joyce how she feels, Joyce might reject her politely with a confusing hug that probably squishes more boob than necessary, Joe might see the writing on the wall and suggest a three-way in the most genuine manner possible, and they might all wind up going out for dinner as a compromise.

      1. Yumi

        Also, once a semester for the rest of college, a close female friend of Joyce’s will express romantic feelings for her. She’ll determine that the common denominator is that they all attend IU.

        1. Taffy

          At no point will she notice that all of them have seen her nipples and then hit on her shortly afterward.

      2. Dante

        This tastes pretty much like canon to me, are you sure you’re not a prophet?

    4. Masha

      I would say nowhere but deciding to be in a throuple with a guy you hate just for the opportunity to be with a girl you like and convincing yourself it’s fine is the ending this plot line deserves.

    5. Florence

      I said this elsewhere but narratively there’s gotta be a confrontation between Dorothy and Joyce. I think they both decide not to move forward with it for their current relationships but it’s understood that Joyce does also have feelings for Dorothy

      And credit to Li for this, Dorothy goes back to Walky who somehow finds out about it and decides to break up despite Dorothy committing herself to him

      It’d be bittersweet, which is my kind of ending

      1. Florence

        And then I think we have an arc of Dorothy exploring her sexuality

      2. Li

        ❤️

        1. Florence

          It’s a good idea dang it! ?

        2. Dante

          +1 , I’m into this. Sits right in the intersection of the Venn Diagram between “Most Likely” and “Most Interesting”

        3. Li

          Hee! Thanks. I do think it would be cool.

        4. Li

          Gawd I feel the need to clarify.

          — Narratively I think it would be interesting.

          — In terms of Walky’s character growth, I think actually ending a relationship that he thinks should end instead of clinging to it feeling guilty and afraid until the girl ends it for him, would be a huge step.

          — In terms of dramatic irony, having him finally do it but for the wrong reasons or at the wrong moment would be so good.

          I WOULD ALSO FEEL FOR HIM. But I think in a cathartic way?

          — Most of all, I think Walky needs a break from romance. He’s had four relationships in such a short amount of time, and all of them have been big deals in one way or another. (The current relationship is his first “get back with an ex” experience, too.)

          I know he can’t actually take a LONG break, because we’re only in the second semester here after 15 years due to a three-month timeskip. So even a week of no relationship would take a long time.

          (The shortest storyline was 30 strips long, the longest so far has been 118, the average there is 74; that’s 2.5ish months per storyline, 17ish months per week of storylines…)

          But ideally I think he should get some downtime.

    6. HueSatLight

      Dorothy waits until Joyce’s wedding to say anything, and also kidnaps someone.

    7. Li

      I don’t know!

      I feel most confident in my predictions when I think Joyce/Dorothy won’t happen in any form, so I am completely unmoored by current events.

      There are a lot of things I can easily picture happening right now, but they don’t all go together.

    8. anon

      Considering Joe still has his hangups of Joyce giving him her virginity, maybe it’ll be like “ok i’ll just bang dorothy a thousand times til you’re ready” or so , but this isn’t ma3 so /shrug

  25. JA

    Amber managed to surprise (maybe shock) Booster. I’m impressed.

  26. Charles Phipps

    I have nothing against Booster as badly needed representation for nonbinary folk.

    I have everything against Booster for their being an awful manipulator and treating people like playthings for their mind games.

    1. Taffy

      DECK the halls with proper gender, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

    2. Taffy

      There’s no value in hating a version of a character you made up.

      1. Charles Phipps

        I admit, I am all about their sibling.

        Mostly because they were me in college.

    3. NGPZ

      *they

    4. Nymph

      Misgender report

  27. Icalasari

    …Holy shit Booster is the comment’s section. I just realized it

    1. Dante

      So, that makes the loathing some in the comment’s section have for Booster specially interesting. They’re here to boost our voices as the commentariat incarnate, and meanwhile… Look at all the virulent reaction.

      Couldn’t be me, though 😛 Love a good mirror.

      1. Jeremiah

        Something called “Projecting” comes to mind.

      2. Icalasari

        Yeah, it just adds another layer to Booster that makes me love him

        “No no, Mike wasn’t like you. THIS is like you. LOOK INTO THE MIRROR!”

        1. Icalasari

          *Them

          Cripes it’s been so long I forgot Booster is a They/Them

  28. IntangibleMatter

    Amber has better instincts for toxic gay relationship dynamics than anybody else, and it’s beautiful.

    1. Rose by Any other Name

      A gift, truly.

  29. staszu13

    I think we got Book 15’s title, last panel

  30. woobie

    Ew. Still dislike the Booster character.

  31. Animedingo

    This is only gonna lead to an orgy

  32. I Write Monsters

    “Thumpasprunging” is the superior Chumbawumba album.

    1. Dara

      Ah, there it is, the better version of “is my Chumbawumba cover band.” Thank you!

    2. Roborat

      I knew someone was going to make a Chumbawumba reference. Which saved me from doing it.

  33. TrueVCU

    The siren call of Garbage Roof intensifies

  34. Carm

    Booster is such a messy lil creep, I lov them

  35. TDKnave

    Booster is the worst (affectionate).

    1. Schpoonman

      That rat bastard (also affectionate).

  36. thakoru

    I understood that reference.

  37. Dante

    ROLLCALL FOR BOOSTER ENJOYERS
    I’m going to dust off this beautiful tradition we should’ve never gotten rid of.

    ITT: I’m truly loving the shifts in facial emotions and body language through tonight’s strip. From initial teasing, then to a genuine interest, to an silent, impressed surprise. They manage to start talking again past the “…!” as they tie up ends, and then… Then it clicks. And Booster legit lights up.

    It’s so cute! I really like that they get her.

    1. Taffy

      I’m basically neutral on Booster (They need to be in a fight scene before I can form a full opinion of them), but I’ll sign on for the train.

      1. NGPZ

        cosigned, at the very least they need to be an assist character in a fight (or should I say be a Booster? XD)

        1. Dante

          Look, you two have now prompted my brain into spitting out “AG = Batman therefore Booster = HQ, quod erat demonstrandum”

          I’m craving this mineral, y’alll

        2. Taffy

          Is HQ Harlequina?

        3. Dante

          It’s the “being a fruity, unhinged therapist” part, ok :’DDD But yeah, I meant Harley Queen.

        4. Proxiehunter

          You mean Harley Quinoa?

        5. Dante

          No, my bad. Meant Harem Queen for sure

    2. sultryglebe

      I really do miss Cerberus.

      1. StClair

        So say we all.

        1. Clif

          You are not alone.

    3. Jeremiah

      They are an adorable trash goblin. But with fashion sense.

    4. Li

      Present!

  38. Van Jealous

    Willis you GENIUS! You just came with a new holiday “THUMPASPRUNGING”! (Or at least a suitable synonym for “OOM PA PA”)

  39. Amós Batista

    Look, if I was majoring Psychology, and talking to my friend, that would be the exactly reaction I would have.

    1. anon

      not sure if saying “yes i love it” to potentially desctructive behavior would be that good tho idk how much boosterk nows about joyce’s hangups to where she could also be potentially be in denial about being bi

  40. EpochFlame

    chanelling mike a bit

    1. Jeremiah

      Mike would die before smiling that much. And he did.

      1. anon

        @ jeremiah well, he smiled when he was drunk in shortpacked, but dunno if we would’ve seen that if mike didn’t get killed off

        1. Clif

          I would so looking forward to this version of Mike discovering what he was like when he was drunk. It would have been awesome.

  41. cain

    I would like everyone who dislikes Booster to remember 2 things:

    1. They haven’t had much of a character arc yet. Most long-time faves have already had time to grow and change as people.

    2. They’re VERY entertaining.

    1. Taffy

      They’ve also been in the comic for like half a decade, basically a third of the comic’s existence. How many characters were so perfect by Book 5?

    2. Dara

      I’m on the Team Mild Dislike but I’ll hand it to them for this strip, this is hilarious and almost precious. xD

      1. NGPZ

        Yeah I’m still on the fence about them, on account they haven’t gotten so much development, but at the very least they care about their sister so they got my respect for that ^^

        really hopin Amber and them team up to form a Trash Goblin Duo >:D

        1. Dante

          Aw, really? ;33 I would’ve hoped you of all people remembered their Anti-Billionaire Rants with some fondness~!

          (Please don’t mind me, I’m joking. Being on the fence or disliking a character -any character- is totally valid dslgghkjs what gets my goat is only when people make up a version that doesn’t exist so they can be unpleasant. Even more if the character in question is queer or brown. I don’t even like Lucy and still felt compelled to defend her back when some people were being like “SO THIS IS WHY SHE IS SATAN: A LIST” on the reg.)

    3. anon

      I mean anyone’s better than mary.

      unlikely to happen after one convo but imagine if one conversation with them made her full on athiest

  42. Cmd1095

    Booster is just all of us feeding on the drama. they did just get dropped into a group of the most dysfunctional people in the college, as a psych major, no wonder they’re just chugging the tea at this point. By now they’re probably just gonna write their thesis on all of this

  43. jeffepp

    I’m here, I’m here. Just a problem at work. A reactor core leak, it took some time to lock it down. We’re fine. We’re all fine here now. How are you.

    Ah, this conversation was getting boring.

    I’m too tired… how about: Amber wants Joe for herself, because psuedo incest is the best something something. Maybe she wants Walkie back, again, given it’s her turn in the rotation. Maybe both, one for each personality.

    I don’t know, man. Talk among yourselves. I got stuff to finish up.

    1. anon

      (hope you don’t have to deal with radiation/have good health insurance)

      i can’t rly imagine amber wnating to hook up with joe even if she likes muscles after the “glad we never hooked up b/c of the stepsibling thing” lol

  44. Zamperla

    God I love Booster. I just adore them I really do.

    Them and Amber could be TERRIBLE together. They should make out <3

    1. anon

      Other than wanting to go on a ‘date’ with Ruth, i wonder if they’re interested in some long term relationship versus them just wanting to observe and take notes if not chime in now and then/add ‘fuel to the fire’, so to speak, jsut to see whathpapens lol

  45. Barf Ninjason

    Always was confused by killing off Mike to make room for Booster, but in retrospect it kinda makes sense because Booster is similarly “extremely perceptive” combined with “complete asshole.”

    1. Bash

      I think Booster fills a similar role but without such a “negative” vibe.

    2. Rolf of Many Doors

      Mike: cynical asshole because someone needs to be (will help people when they need it)
      Booster: positive asshole because they think a smile and a level of scientific separation makes it so you’re not a bad person

      1. Jeremiah

        Oh come on this again, Mike whole “asshole to help people” thing was very much an excuse. Booster at least doesn’t shy away from why they do what they do.

        1. Rolf of Many Doors

          Mike’s assholishness was intentional, often pre-meditated, and often funny both regardless of context to the observer or person experiencing it.
          Booster’s not intentionally being an asshole, it’s just who Booster is, and it’s always just unmitigated dickishness even in context.

        2. Jeremiah

          Was it funny though? I honestly find it far more endearing that Booster doesn’t really had any major reason to do what they do, it’s how they are I find that more interesting and entertaining that Mike whole “Asshole that manipulate people to help them” thing.

        3. Yumi

          Some of Mike’s stuff was funny from an audience perspective, but not really to characters in the comic. That he intentionally set out to be an asshole to those around him definitely seems WORSE than Booster unintentionally being insensitive, awkward, etc.

  46. Rolf of Many Doors

    Booster continues to be a bad person

    1. Ophidiophile

      Wouldn’t that require that they cause harm? Booster may be a snoop, but they’re a snoop who can’t be gas lit. Humans are experts at wishful thinking and ignoring the truth, and Booster delights in figuring shit out.

      1. Rolf of Many Doors

        Even though it’s just doing what it’s prone to do, you still smack a mosquito that’s sucking your blood because it’s bad

        1. Dante

          I’d believe this more if you hadn’t been making excuses for Mike like, two comments further up.

  47. GUIGUI

    David, I seriously hope I am not mistaken and that you are not trying to make your own discount Kroger coffee advertisement.

    1. GUIGUI

      Oh wait, I finally get what Booster is talking about. Never mind, then. I wish I could delete comments.

  48. Josh Spicer

    Alright, I’ve come around to Booster now.

    1. Jeremiah

      Yessss it was only a matter of time!

  49. Kyulen

    I’m still not a fan of Booster, but I’m kinda enjoying this interaction between them and Amber.

  50. Mal

    I don’t…like Booster, exactly. I waver on them, some things I like, sometimes they go too far. They can be an asshole but I don’t think they’re as actively malicious as Mike was. An asshole, but an asshole who sets situations on fire less to see people suffer, more out of curiosity or, sometimes, genuine but manipulative interest in helping that causes collateral chaos. Still ends up with asshole moments, but not in the “set things on fire to make others suffer because that’s how I control the world” Mike stuff.

    This interaction perfectly illustrates my struggling ambivalence. On the one hand: great insight, without pulling the punch so Amber can wiggle out of it. The fact that Booster tends to ramble out whatever they notice–rather than hoarding information like Mike to use at the optimal point of destruction–forces other characters to face actually important questions about themselves, questions they SHOULD maybe ask themselves.

    On the other hand, taking such shining glee in the chaos being caused, despite the emotionally destructive source in Amber and the distress it’s causing Dorothy, is pure asshole.

    I guess I’ll see how Booster guides the chaos. Sometimes they do for ultimate good, other times not so much.

    1. Dante

      This is actually good criticism! And one of the reasons I’d love them getting more integrated with the cast tbh.

      So far, this is just gossip for Booster — But it’s way easier to treat others as characters with interesting stories to pick apart from afar, when you don’t know them as people. I do believe this stems from growing up isolated, and in their good intentions, but it’s def one of their major flaws.

  51. zims

    Does Booster know Amber is Amazi-Girl? I feel like their head would explode with joy if so.

  52. foducool

    I swear Booster is a supervillain in the making

  53. BorkBorkBork

    *snap* I’ve got it! I get Booster now!

    They’re almost (but not quite) an audience insert. Or, I suppose, an author insert, but only that part of you who, when you’ve come up with something really, really juicy, just can’t help but sit back, look at it all, and go, “Damn I’m good.”

    They love *exactly* the same drama that we all love, the same complexities. They can point out in an half second what everyone’s faults are in a floor meeting. Only we see it as a story, and they experience it as life.

    1. zims

      Excellent take

  54. AGV/Ruby

    I love Booster ?

    You can’t fool them!

  55. odditude

    “thumpasprung”..? ahh, the good ol’ days of “man of steel, woman of steel, bed of kleenex!”

  56. Acher4

    A new word title appears!

    It’s super effective!

  57. June Gloom

    Amused by the comments hating on Booster. Amber is unquestionably the villain in this moment. Booster’s just here for the ride. There’s a big difference between craving mess and creating it.

    1. june gloom

      This was me, got logged out and then filled out my info wrong. Oops.

    2. Jeremiah

      Some people are just ready to jump at any chance to hate on them.

  58. Rabisch

    Like a shark that smells the blood… this is why I like Booster. The fact that Amber can’t tell a lie to them is also very interesting.

  59. Mr.Morningstar

    if booster was a real person I would hate them so much.

    Thankfully they are fictional but still

  60. Arianod

    Oh no, Booster has turned into the Chief Blue Meanie D:

  61. Allison Branford

    I definitely see Booster filling some of the “Mike void”, encouraging drama for their own amusement.

    1. Jeremiah

      I like Booster more because they have more emotional range and actual interest.

  62. Cabbage Jack

    I didn’t care for Booster when they first showed up – seemed like they were going to be too much of the “I am a psychology student so I know what exactly everyone is thinking,” but what Booster turned out to be: “I know what depraved stuff you’re thinking and it dazzles me,” yeah, fabulous character. I love it when Booster shows up.

    1. Jeremiah

      Finally someone who gets it

  63. ValdVin

    Is this the first time a character actually said thumpasprungingout loud?

    Don’t mind me; I’m just here for the onomatopoeia.

  64. raultsi

    thumpasprunging? Isn’t that a song by Chumbabamba?

  65. Florence

    My thing with Booster is I find them delightful and as I didn’t have much of an attachment to Mike I find myself even happier that Booster replaced him

  66. Schpoonman

    Smug Booster has facial expressions on par with some of the best in the comic. Their little eyebrow raise when Carla was bugging them about Charlie was so subtle but dismantled Carla.

    Their role as Mike’s “replacement” is so much gentler and healthier it screams at me when I see people asking for the literal 2D caricature in a cast of realistic snowflakes to come back.

  67. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

    the thing about booster is that they’re annoying and insane in a way that’s accurate to zillennial tumblrinas that no one else in the cast is able to capture, so like. obviously i fucking love them.

    1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

      like, that’s my peer, thank you very much!

      1. Wack'd

        The What Happens Next fan loves an annoying, insane tumblrina? I’m shocked! Shocked!

        well not that shocked

        1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

          it’s the recognition of self through the (webcomic) other.

    2. Jeremiah

      I don’t know I think Amber get pretty close Which is probably why Booster like her so much.

      1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

        Amber is incredibly, terminally online but as a side effect of being a shortpacked! transplant her flavor of being online is always slightly rooted in how fandom and nerd spaces operated in 2012-2017, whereas Booster is absolutely more akin to how terminally online nerds my age act now.

        i.e the “nerd who wears exclusively welovefine sailor moon tmnt parody shirts” vs “nerd who leaves a lengthy comment under a video essay about why the real housewives of salt lake city is real art” dichotomy.

        obviously there’s a lot more crossover btw people like this irl, but it’s a funny little distinction between the two that i noticed

        1. I Know Why the Mowed Lawn Screams

          oop shit forgot to copy-paste my last sentence.

          “Which is to say that it’s great seeing these two bounce off each other the ways that they do.”

        2. june gloom

          It’s the difference between (middle-to-younger) millennial tumblr fandom and (middle-to-older) gen Z tumblr fandom.

          (I’m older millennial and our era of fandom is stuff like msscribe and the FF7 House.)

        3. Dante

          A tumblrina omg! That’s beautiful, no wonder I adore them.Recognition of the self indeed :’33 The kind of character who looks like a snob until you realize they indeed will defend the artistic merit of lowbrow stuff, write +10k character analysis posts, and– oh.

          Oh, they found out about Amber’s Ao3 and were delighted. When we’ve been let known Amber writes things that would make the Hydra Trash Party blush. Aw yis.

    3. Proxiehunter

      Booster absolutely stole their shoelaces from the president.

      1. Dante

        I see you’ve been to the Devil’s Sacrament

  68. Looney

    why is it that every time booster is in a strip, the comments are just a flood of unsolicited (typically negative) opinions on booster? other characters are just as voyeuristic, and even insert themselves into drama more. if booster had suggested dorothy send photos to joyce, people would be calling for their head. is it because they’re nonbinary?also is anybody else sick of their constantly being compared to mike? like yes, they LITERALLY fill the niche that mike left, but they’re very clearly a different character with different motivations.

    1. Looney

      whoops. guess i don’t know HTML as well as i thought i did.

      1. Amós Batista

        Trust me: I’m a front-end developer senior. HTML is STILL hard to me.

    2. Plain Marie

      You’re not the only one. Booster is us, anyway.

    3. Wilde

      Yes, many comments about Booster, and a weighty silence about Amber. Meanwhile this strip is entirely about Booster calling out Amber doing something knowingly manipulative in service of her own goals!

      1. Joy

        Unless she just did it because she thought it was funny without thinking that far ahead.

    4. Taffy

      I’m a little confused about the “unsolicited opinions” part, though I agree with the rest. It’s a comments section, there’s an implied solicitation for opinions about the characters appearing in the strip. Booster appears in this one, so it’s fully fine to say things about them.

      1. Looney

        sorry, maybe unsolicited wasn’t the best word to choose. what i mean is that booster seems uniquely singled out and judged every time they so much as speak. for example, joe is something of a divisive character, but the comments on strips with his appearances aren’t nearly as flooded with people just saying whether or not they think he’s a good person, or toxic, or ruining their enjoyment of the comic. and usually they’re more on-topic with what’s happening in the strip itself. it seems to me that the comments on strips with booster are disproportionately about denouncing or scrutinizing booster’s very existence. does that make more sense?

        1. Jeremiah

          Yeah that is exactly what happened and it is very weird.

        2. Li

          Booster isn’t the only character who gets some of that treatment, but I do think that they currently get the most of it.

          Other characters who have suffered at least similarly: Roz, Malaya, Carla. And, almost inexplicably, Lucy.

          Something I think all these characters have in common (apart from the really obvious things, that they’re all women or nonbinary and that, apart from Carla, none of them are white)… is that they’re more peripheral characters.

          Which, yes, does mean that readers haven’t had as much time to get to know them as the regulars, but also that readers haven’t had as many opportunities to talk about them.

          So, on some level, I think it’s understandable that a lot of us are like, “oh, Booster! Better infodump all my Booster thoughts ASAP! Amber’s scheme? Yeah yeah, we can talk about that anytime, but who knows when we’ll next see Booster!”

          (Lucy is no longer getting nearly as much of this treatment, I don’t think? Of course, she and Jacob seem happy together, so there isn’t currently any possible reason to accuse her of wrongdoing… we’ll see if that holds through her next interaction with Raidah, I guess.

          (Contrast with: Dorothy, who has also polarized audiences, but has always been a main character, so even though folks have been very critical of her, it rarely takes over the whole comment section.)

        3. Charles Phipps

          I’m confused because some of the characters who get some of the absolute worst, “This character is awful” are Joe and Danny.

          Weirdly, Walky is one of the only ones who gets a total free pass.

        4. Yumi

          This honestly startled a laugh out of me.

        5. Taffy

          Which part? For me, it was “Walky gets a free pass”.

        6. thejeff

          And Joe is one of the characters that gets the biggest free pass. He had an entire arc about how shitty he was and how he changed and people still argue he was always a good guy.
          It’s been a long time since Danny took any real heat that I remember. It’s a running joke left over from the Walkyverse that half the audience doesn’t even get.
          And Walky gets shit on all the time.

        7. Li

          There’s that, too…

        8. Li

          As noted below to @june gloom: I wasn’t talking about all the characters who ever get hated on, I was talking about people whose comment sections consistently devolve into nothing but people saying they either hate or (much more rarely) like the character.

          Joe and Danny strips never do this.

          Including Joe in a list with Booster/Malaya/Roz/Carla/Lucy would also feel weird to me, because… Joe’s had one heck of a character arc, but he started as kind of a dirtbag.

          Meanwhile, the most you can say about Booster/Malaya/Roz/Carla/Lucy is that some of them — only some — are kind of acerbic.

          “Carla skated in the halls while Mary was trying to study that one time” really does not in any way compare to Early Joe, as Joe and Willis would both be the first to tell you.

          And Danny, when he entered the comic, was an expy from a comic where Willis themself almost always has added comments beneath their own strips to the effect of “shut up Danny” and “oh my god Danny you’re the worst”.

          This was part of the culture of IW fandom, and it absolutely followed Danny to DoA, and so much of it is tongue-in-cheek…? Even back when Danny was a bit of a Clingy Nice Guy. These days, we still make “way to Dan it up” jokes sometimes, but they’re even more clearly just part of the lingo, like “FAAAAACE” or “this is totally babies”. I won’t claim to know what’s in the hearts of every single person who says these things, but I would wager that there’s very little genuine animosity for Danny in the comments these days. Like, what about the other most common Danny-related meme, that he’s a good egg?

        9. june gloom

          It happens to Joyce too. Almost any scene where Joyce is suffering is met with derision. The commentariat deemed her as the villain when she was fighting with Becky. Folks in general here are so much more hostile to characters who aren’t white guys (especially if they’re going through growth.) As Spencer pointed out years ago, folks here seem to value cruelty masked as kindness over truth from the marginalized.

        10. Li

          I wanna be clear that I was talking about the very specific scenario of “any comic they appear in, the comments become dominated by ‘I hate/love this character'” comments! Those I think are mostly the more minor characters.

          The more minor characters are by no means alone in getting piled on for minor transgressions. ?

        11. thejeff

          Yeah, the big distinction between this and that Joyce scenario is that she was fighting with Becky and people felt the need to take a side. With Booster it seems to just be a free-floating argument whenever they show up. It’s not about anything other than Booster as a character.

          I’d also say that it’s very easy to misread the commentariat or assume they’re much more united than they are. It’s very easy to focus on those disagreeing with you on a take and get the impression they’re much more dominant than they actually are.

        12. Li

          Both of those are also true.

        13. Li

          But also: yeah, Spencer was right.

          I don’t think it’s conscious, or anything. I also think a lot of “readers holding marginalized characters to higher standards” calls are coming from inside the house. The more rare it is to see yourself represented in fiction, the more important that representation is, and the more bitterly disappointing it is of they’re bad, or even just unrelatable to you personally.

          Speaking from a lot of experience as a kid who often has a very tortured relationship with female characters.

          We aren’t our only critics and we OBVIOUSLY aren’t the critics with the most systemic power, but we are oftentimes the harshest critics.

          An open bigot will unapologetically hate Booster for who they are, even if they say otherwise. An average cis white guy who hasn’t put a whole lot of thought into Trans Stuff might just find Booster unusually annoying, but not realize that he’s giving Booster less grace than he would if they were… well, more Mike-like.

          Meanwhile, those of us for whom Booster is one of two nonbinary characters in this strip, and maybe the ONLY human nonbinary character we’ve ever seen in a Professional Work… well, if we find Booster annoying and unrelatable, it’s not just “oh well, not my fave”. It can never be just that. It’s always got layers of frustration and bitterness from all the previous disappointments we’ve experienced in media.

          A nonbinary character who’s as widely beloved and iconic as, say, Superman? Really isn’t so very much to ask.

          But it’s an extremely tall order for a creator to create.

          And Willis loves characters who are deeply flawed. As do we all, most of the time, as readers of Willis’s work.

          If Booster were perfect, we’d see way less of them.

        14. Li

          and this is me when I’m medicated orz orz orz

        15. Dante

          Agreeing with you – late but all the way. It admittedly stresses me out. I do jump in with my loud “HEY HOW COOL I ADORE THIS CHARA” every time they are around, and yes it’s 1000% genuine — But my emphasis is also in part due to how loudly some people loathe on them.

          Booster is imperfect because everyone in DoA is imperfect. It’s a slice of life comic, there’d be no story otherwise! It’s kinda troubling, though, that every time people ascribe the nastiest intentions to them. The comparison with Mike was impossible not to make, I guess, so Willis lampshaded it from the start — But ffs. It’s like people didn’t get the memo they aren’t the same. They don’t even fill the same narrative niche, in my opinion. And meanwhile the title of “Worse Mike” stuck forever. That they’re a psych major also meant many are projecting their hatred of therapists and medication (and acting like this likely ND lonely kid who uses theoretical knowledge of people as a crutch to interact with others is Actually A Therapist Being Hella Unethical instead of, y’know. An awkward kid.)

          I’m so dooooooone. Let Booster exist as a character on their own oh my god =_=

        16. Li

          +1 to all of this.

    5. PedanticJerkass

      Yeah, pretty much every time Booster shows up, the comments are like 98% filled with nothing but generalized reaffirmations of hatred/love for Booster, replies asking why do you love/hate Booster so much, and arguments about how shitty/great Booster is. Most of it isn’t even ever pertinent to the actual strip in question, it’s almost always just disconnected hate/love for Booster, and any other characters in the strip (in this case, Amber) and their issues, good or bad, are almost entirely ignored. It is utterly bizarre.

    6. Kyulen

      People are allowed to not like fictional characters, and voice their opinions about them.

      1. Nymph

        Good thing no one said people couldn’t do those things. Maybe reread the comment you’re replying to and give this another go?

    7. Astariel

      The only thing I can think of is that fandom always needs a whipping boy. I’ve been rereading the archives and in the early years of the strip it was very similar to this with Danny. Any strip where he showed up would have most of the comments just cursing his very existence. People don’t seem to mind Danny so much these days, maybe because his relationship with Sal is popular, so maybe, at least for the comments section, Booster isn’t so much replacement Mike as replacement Danny, (although Danny had fewer defenders than Booster does.)

      1. Charles Phipps

        Yeah, Danny is one of the most polarizing character and the fact he was left off the list of “people the audience loves or hates irrationally” is weird.

        1. Yumi

          To be fair, this is so far from how I’ve experienced the comments around Danny for years. I get leaving him off feels weird to you, but the idea that he gets (present tense) the same treatment feels bizarre to me.

        2. Jeremiah

          It’s because the specific circumstances, the irrational hate came mostly from his previous interation in the walkyverse who was, let’s just say, not a very good character. After people actually give this version of him a chance that hatred mostly faded away.

        3. Yumi

          He also had somewhat of a butt monkey status in comic early on, and I felt some of the comments on him were in the vein of playing along with that.

        4. Li

          THIS.

          @Charles Phipps: This is why Danny will never be on my own personal list of people who get piled on for no reason.

          “Way to Dan it up” is definitely a joke but I personally have always heard (affectionate) right behind it.

          The other most common thing people say about Danny is that he’s a good egg.

        5. Charles Phipps

          Danny has gotten some fans that have pulled him from the scrappy heap but he really was the absolute worst character in DOA for a long time. Entitled, nice guy, and unconsciously sexist with the fandom piling up on him for it.

          I wonder if it was the hat or the uke that changed things.

        6. Li

          Hmmmm…

          For the record, the blue hat and ukulele appeared in 2017, and I don’t know about you, but a lot of 2017-2021 is kind of a blur for me, so I’ll grant you that that might feel like a lot more recent than it is.

          I still think the early Danny hate that was actually sincere (which wasn’t all of it, but I’ll give you that it was some of it) can’t be divorced from Roomies! and It’s Walky! — which makes it very different from the hate Booster has been getting from their first appearance.

          All that said, I do think that Danny gained some fans specifically when he became canonically bi, and I think Dorothy will also have more fans now: not because of any type of “bi privilege”, which is not a thing, but because they suddenly became relatable in a new way to a segment of the audience, and even for folks who didn’t suddenly find them more relatable, it was still a new facet on a character that a lot of the readers had not-infrequently complained was “too boring”.

        7. Jeremiah

          I admit Danny had his bad momennts when it comes to his relationships but I never got any kind of sexist or “nice guy” vibes from at any point in the comic.

        8. Dante

          NGL I’m so glad the hate against Danny mostly stopped =w= The dislike indeed seemed to origin from Walkyverse!Danny, but ours was always a sweet guy whose main problems stemmed from being insecure: “A Little Confused But Got The Spirit”, yes — But not a “Nice Guy ™”

          And it lasted so many years, too??

        9. Needfuldoer

          I think that’s more applicable to OG Danny.

    8. NGPZ

      re: Mike,

      I find it ridiculous as well, if only because Willis himself literally said Mike was a character who didn’t really work in a comic like Dumbing of Age

      1. Charles Phipps

        He did?

        1. Li

          Willis has said this a fair few times. Some of it was on Twitter or Tumblr, and I think some on Patreon.

          I myself made comparisons to Mike and I think that in terms of narrative function the comparison is still valid, but basically Willis has said that they got rid of Mike not because he was universally hated or Too Problematic but because they just kept finding themselves reaching for every other character instead of Mike. I remember the specific example of Joyce being used and how anything Willis could have used Mike for with her was just more interesting coming from Sarah, etc.

          Mike just had too little story utility, was too flat and cartoonish, and could only be fleshed out so much before he stopped being recognizably Mike, so Willis threw in the towel.

        2. Li

          Sighs in broken HTML

        3. Looney

          and so we have come full circle.

        4. Li

          ?

      2. Dante

        The thing that made Mike’s death a tragedy was this glimmer of depth when “Of Mike and Men” hit, we got to see his backstory (and realize he was in love with Ethan), and then this hope he maybe could change for the better right before it was clear he’d never get to.

        I enjoyed him for the absolute bastard that he was, which veered from time to time into Magnificent Bastard. And yet I never, ever got the sheer amount of commenters who were like “hey he’s an abuser for the greater good!” because… No, lmaoooo come on, he was hella self-serving and whatever development others derived from his antics was on them rather than Mike. He outright said people were prone to forgiving him because he was a hot white dude, not because he was playing 5D chess with hidden good intentions.

        It’s kinda disturbing that Booster is seldom afforded this much grace. Even more when they’ve been hella honest on who they are, what are their intentions, and what are their flaws from the beginning.

        1. Looney

          you are wise. are you real? are you a real person? come here, come into my little crevice, i wish to discuss mike with you.
          i never read the old walkyverse stuff, so i only have DoA as a frame of reference, but i do find his story really sad – not because he died young, although yes that’s tragic, but because it seems to me he died before he could really figure out what he wanted to be. i think he (and willis, for that matter) had a narrow view of what he could be and couldn’t see himself outside of that, so he just stuck to the same old asshole mike that he knew. i don’t think he liked it, nor do i think he had any great guilt about the stuff he was doing. i think he generally seemed very unfulfilled, and he died that way, and that’s really sad.
          meanwhile booster is NOTHING LIKE THAT, but readers see that they’re walky’s new roommate and they like to cold read people, so they Must Be The Same.
          i started this comment thread complaining about how people always bring up mike in booster strips, and here i am discussing mike. behold, kettle, i am the pot.

        2. Dante

          Nawwww, please, I will not come with kitchenware accusations — I love character analysis and the topic is here already, being all tantalizing. Winking at us, even! I think you’ve nailed it!

          The entire flashback episode haunts me, but his exchange with Blaine in particular, which comes after every attempted good deed blows up on his face. Mike created his persona then and there, all “don’t care if you kill my parents, i hang out with Amber to torture her better than you do”, but the thing is… Does it matter if duty or fear were a part of his original motivations? We can’t even ruefully say the one we met “wasn’t the Real Mike”, because he played it 24/7 no exceptions, for years, and he grew up as That Mike.

          The usual justifications are so frustrating because Mike himself had no delusions on anything he did being righteous, for the greater good, or to provide anyone a learning opportunity. He applied his intellect to being awful, and there’s a thrill in effective task-completion; in the same way there’s safety and power in assholery. The most trust we see him displaying is trusting his friends weren’t dropping his ass no matter what, and the happiest we see him is when he tells Ethan to “take his prize.” He built, took pride in, and willingly did the methodical upkeep of the rigid box he died in: Unfulfilled, but in control. And shit yeah, it’s sad he never got to know who he actually wanted to be — But it’s heartbreaking he sacrificed himself right when he realized “not this.”

  69. Wilde

    I love that Booster is entirely just a mirror of the comment section, except they actually say all this psychoanalysis and mess-craving to the cast’s faces! It’s been interesting noticing who hates Booster, who doesn’t care, and/or who likes them (among the daily commenteriat).

    1. Charles Phipps

      I admit to a certain bias because I am neuratypical and when diagnosed, my therapist strongly indicated I should be under medication the rest of my life and that I should be kept from “normal” people.

      As such, I have a deep antipathy against individuals who cold read and think they know me.

  70. PB

    Wait – THAT was why she did it??? Oh. Oh, Amber, no.

  71. Buck Ripsnort

    I actually found Mike to be a one or two joke character, until the end. But Booster seems to have endless gag potential.

  72. Looney

    anyone else suddenly feeling thirsty for a whiskey drink, a vodka drink, a lager drink, and/or a cider drink?

    1. Dante

      Yeaaaaah, and let’s make it a big one. Cheers!

  73. V98

    yeah yeah boosters a smug invasive weirdo replacement mike blah blah blah. but that open unguarded expression in panel #3… kinda makes me fall in love with them ?

  74. Caro

    that middle panel booster RULES, that’s profile pic material

    1. Dante

      You’re very right! :33 Yoinking to put as my Gravatar

    2. Amós Batista

      Loved their face here. Good job, Willis.

  75. George the Archon

    Thumpasprung is quite a callback

  76. Rocketboy1313

    Sometimes I assign characters a voice when reading these. As there has never been an animated series I am filling these voice in with whatever I think fits. Not consciously, just pops into my mind.

    Booster is Astarion from Baldur’s Gate 3.

    1. Dante

      Oh my god.

      I haven’t played BG3, but I went looking because your comment made me curious. I found this video and now I’m FASCINATED dslgkjsdk what a glorious casting.

  77. Pergola

    A character who is an asshole who forces others to face unpleasant truths about themselves … is going to get punched a lot.

    1. Nymph

      It’s always the physical violence with these comments.

      1. NGPZ

        I concur, suggestions of physical violence against NB and trans folk is NOT the flex they think it is

        1. ZombieKyrik

          Should being NB, or trans exclude them from physical violence after being unpleasant? It’s not like the violence is being directed towards them because they are NB, or trans; the violence is directed towards them because they’re being an asshole.

        2. Jeremiah

          Do people make these kind of comments when other characters that are not Booster act in unpleasant ways? It might not be their intention but it certainly looks like it.

        3. Taffy

          “Should being NB, or trans exclude them from physical violence after being unpleasant?”

          Yes. It’s wrong to punch people just for being unpleasant. You don’t have to be pleased by everyone who interacted with you, and expecting otherwise is worthless entitlement. You can always just simply walk away.

        4. Charles Phipps

          I’d argue that Mary being punched is justified because her threats carry connotations of violence that will be socially accepted and is against extra-vulnerable people

          TLDR: Its fine to punch a Nazi.

        5. Yak

          “Unpleasant” doesn’t just mean “does not please me”. That’s an overly literal interpretation.
          For example, someone who blares loud music at 2 AM is being merely unpleasant, you don’t have the option to just walk away (since when is this a reason to tolerate someone’s behavior?), and in my view it would be perfectly reasonable to fight them if other avenues of getting them to stop fail.

        6. Taffy

          Nah, my interpretation is fine and you’re just making up a justification for your own violent fantasies. ?

        7. Nymph

          I tend to agree with Taffy and not with people wanting to violently injure someone for *checks notes* being loud at an unsociable time.

        8. yak

          Yes, preventing people from sleeping — a core biological need that everyone has — is indeed pretty unsociable. If it’s a consistent issue, it’s not something that you can just tolerate, at best you can actively adapt your lifestyle to deal with it (for instance, by wearing noise-cancelling headphones to bed. Not cheap). It’s not violent, but it is definitely harming other people, and refusing to stop erodes the mutual trust that allows people to live together in cities. Why is violence not a valid last resort?

        9. Jeremiah

          That isn’t how anything works.

        10. Taffy

          Look, it’s not anyone else’s problem that you want to break into people’s homes and stab them 108 times because you heard their TV when you walked by their house and put your ear up to their window.

        11. Li

          Jeez. :/

          Ear plugs, white noise… so many options other than violence.

          Also, am I the only one reminded of the “Carla was being loud in the halls” arguments…………..

        12. yak

          Why does everyone around me need to change if I were to impose my will on them, without considering their needs or desires? Is it okay to smoke in a building with central air conditioning because you could just install HEPA filters? Is it okay to ferment fish sauce on my balcony because you can just close your windows and avoid the smell?

          >So many options other than violence

          Indeed, that’s why I said “if other avenues of getting them to stop fail”. Also, calling the cops or the landlord (who will call the cops) or suing are also forms of violence by proxy.

        13. Li

          “That’s why I said ‘if other avenues of getting them to stop fail'”

          Which is why I listed things you can do that don’t get them to stop and are still much better than violence…

          Smoking in buildings is often a violation of the lease, so. There’s also “report to landlord”.

        14. Jeremiah

          No, not really that would be unprovoked assault.

        15. ZombieKyrik

          My only point was that if you are ok with threats of violence against Mike for being an asshole, then you should be ok with threats of violence against Booster.

          You are correct that almost no one deserves threats of violence, and I’m not disputing that. However if you are fine punching someone for being an asshole the gender/sexual orientation/race/social status/religious beliefs, should not factor into it. That doesn’t mean you should punch anyone; it just means that a double standard isn’t cool either.

        16. Dante

          Textbook excuse.

        17. NGPZ

          right?

          like, did it not occur to them they’re not at all the only person who thought of that? ?

        18. Dante

          I could hear the “it’s not because they’re queer, officer” in my head lmaooo

          And the comparison with actually valid nazi-punching left an awful taste in my mouth too, tbh. You don’t forcefully shut them up because they’re “annoying” — You do because they can’t be reasoned with, they’re violent in words and deeds, and their end-goal is genocide. What in the Whataboutism~ srsly…

        19. NGPZ

          that’s what we gotta put up with in the United States, unfortunately :/

          our country sets such a notoriously low bar for “acceptable” bigotry levels that bigots in other countries literally use us to feel better about themselves

          and it certainly doesn’t help that many of our allies over here *insist* in fighting it via adoption/enforcement of rules and moral absolutes which are morally correct to obey in EVERY context, following the tradition of white Christian moral schemas which are mistaken as some kind of universal human default

          as a result, they become their own impossible problem, as action simply has no intrinsic moral value completely separate from outcome in context.

          stealing from a child to prevent them from helping their hospitalized friend get an operation is wrong

          stealing from a Church which encourages homophobic parents being violent towards their children is right

          Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr can both agree, that there is moral imperative to break the rules when following them does not lead to justice

        20. Charles Phipps

          People forwarded that using violence is never acceptable and they’re doing so in a comic full of people who want to kill people like me and a large part of the cast. Who use verbal violence with the implicit backing of societal institutions. When you bring that up to defend Booster, you bring up the fact that a lot of the cast need punching.

          And indeed one of the cast punches Nazis, rapists, and misogynists as her goal on campus.

          Booster isn’t Mary or Paul. But don’t argue that people threatened by others should be passive if they don’t want to be.

        21. Yumi

          @Charles Phipps: I honestly don’t know who you’re responding to because no one is saying that?

        22. Charles Phipps

          Eh don’t worry about it then. Conversations have a tendency to drift.

        23. Yumi

          I think you’re having a different conversation than the other people here, is the thing. Like, I don’t think anyone is arguing against punching Nazis, or that “people threatened by others should be passive if they don’t want to be.” Some commenters are arguing against the use of violence for someone who’s being annoying. Someone threatening your humanity is beyond that.

        24. Dante

          @Charles Phipps — I brought up the point BECAUSE you gotta apply critical thinking here, rather than just repeat a catchphrase. Violence is a tool. You won’t find me arguing for pacifism when pacifism puts you in harm’s way, and I’m pretty convinced a riot is the language of the unheard. So let’s take a look!

          Why is it ok to punch a nazi? It’s not because they’re annoying, but because they’re violent people backed by institutional power who are, indeed, looking for every excuse to personally enact bodily harm upon the vulnerable.

          Why did we cheer when Amber rearranged Scarface’s guts with a knife?Because it was in self-defense, against a serial rapist who corralled her and her friend, and who was armed. We still got it was a heavy, rather than 100% triumphant moment. Why do we understand stabbing Sal, on the other hand (hah) wasn’t good? Sal was already disarmed, in custody, and handcuffed — And no matter how traumatic that night was, it was disproportional retribution.

          Similarly, we cheered when Joyce punched Toedad: A man she’d known her entire life kidnapped her best friend at gunpoint so he could take her to a torture facility. His was a personal betrayal, backed by horrifying politics. Hell, Mary getting punched was 100% deserved: She didn’t earn it by being “annoying”, but by being an horrific bully who took immense pleasure in blackmailing Ruth and Billie for being queer (to the point she celebrated Ruth’s suicide attempt!), and on being aggressively transphobic towards Carla, whom she wanted at best gone.

          Are we noticing a pattern yet? Do we realize why being annoyed isn’t the same as being threatened? Why de-escalation isn’t the same as being passive? I’m not even typing this whole tl;dr on defense of a character I like, but who can indeed be annoying (or remind people of terrible therapists they’ve had, an experience I share) — Rather, the direction this tangent/thread took is hella worrying. If we can’t understand these clear-cut fictional cases we’ll never get to why shooting someone from behind during a robbery doesn’t count as “in self defense”; or why “due process” is a thing that needs to exist. Violence is a tool — Sometimes you need a hammer, yeah, but look closer! Are those nails or screws? We gotta know, or society is fucked.

          So come on, man. Work with me a little. You think I was born knowing what to do with all the anger I carry within? There’s many an asshole I hate! The number of them I’d punch for realsies is thankfully, for the reasons stated, way lower.

        25. Nymph

          “It’s not like the violence is being directed towards them because they are NB, or trans”

          It actually is exactly like that. Very often EXACTLY like that.

        26. Charles Phipps

          Yes, it’s important that Booster is acknowledged that prying deeply into people’s personal traumas and issues is a matter of potentially triggering (and I mean that in the literal sense) characters who have been subject to child abuse, assault, and personal trauma.

          They seem to be harmless (and don’t mean any harm) but this is a cast where everyone is training on a mountaintop before becoming a vigilante due to their past horrors.

          This kind of prying is also something many of us have experience in real life and has brought up horrifying memories.

  78. David Alexander Mcdonald

    Thumpasprunga, the inevitable end of Rumspringa….

  79. poofdepoof

    Is the word that Amber uses, and title of the strip, specifically a reference to walkyverse? Or does it have other more general origins

    1. Taffy

      It’s a sound effect used when the characters are fucking

  80. Amós Batista

    Booster, stop being an imp. I already love you.

  81. Poyo

    LMAOOOOOOOO I LOVE YOU BOOSTER THEY COULD NEVER MAKE ME HATE YOU !!!!!!!!!

  82. thumb

    Booster will grow up to be a psychiatrist like House.

  83. Matthew Davis

    _There’s_ Replacement Mike. Booster hides it well but it does come out sometimes.

  84. MacareuxMoine

    Amber fleeing only next-door-thumpasprunging means that Becky and Dina aren’t in her room either. So were are they?
    I’m going to offer a very boring* explanation:
    They probably had to leave to attend a class.

    *apparently so boring, that no one mentioned it so far

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