251

Buhbye
Posted on July 30, 2024 by David M Willis

251 thoughts on “Buhbye”

  1. Grimey

    Oh.

    Oh dear.

    1. jeffepp

      “Yet.”

      1. Michael Steamweed

        A “dun Dun DUN” moment.

        1. CardinalFan

          You said what immediately entered my head. “DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN!”

    2. Rose by Any other Name

      Wasn’t it something like “I think my next girlfriend is going to be a lot like you” ?
      Foreshadowing?
      Yeah, I think Sarah has made a grave mistake.

      1. Clif

        It was inevitable. Unless, of course, Willis is just winding us up.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          Willis? Do THAT? No way!

          Shirley you can’t be Sirius.

        2. clif

          Don’t call me Fred.

      2. Ophidiophile

        Sarah would consider it a near miss.

    3. Xronium

      oh dear indeed..

    4. BarerMender

      I’d go so far as to say, “Whoa!”

    5. Zaxares

      All’s fair in love and war… Which means Sarah might come back with that baseball bat. ;P

  2. NGPZ

    “If I may be direeect… nah nah nah,
    you’re standing on my nack,
    la la la”

    1. TrueVCU

      [Halfheartedly attempts to block volleyball after it passes]

      1. Kyrros

        Not gonna lie… I do that IRL when something physically passes by me that was either unplanned or unexpected.

        The deadpan expression really is the most important part. XD

    2. morhek

      I realised it was Daria about five seconds after thinking “Malcolm in the Middle?”

    3. vlademir1

      You’re Standing on My Neck really was such a good Splendora song. Far from their best, but really good.

  3. Sirksome

    How near sighted? Sometimes I think those glasses are for show.

    1. Doctor_Who

      The glasses are actually to partially block his vision, which is too powerful. For example, he can see right through Sarah.

      1. Schpoonman

        If I make a Tales of the Abyss reference, is that too deep a cut? Will I just get confusion?

        1. ian livs

          I would get it!!

    2. Needfuldoer

      Glasses are powerful. De goggles do nothing!

    3. Dr. T

      Not everyone wears glasses for show like Robin does.

  4. Red

    I’m feeling surprisingly protective of Sarah.

    1. Vanessa

      Poor girl is so vulnerable and Lucy is just moving in.

    2. Erica

      And Sarah actually went out of her way to invite her to the party and is trying to be nice. Fuck off Lucy

      1. BorkBorkBork

        He’s a man, not a dessert. You can’t call “dibs.” He makes his own choices. And it’s not like Lucy and Sarah are such good friends that Sarah ever shared with Lucy that she liked him, that she was trying to improve herself and develop a friendship – or shared any personal feelings at all, honestly.

        You go, Lucy. You deserve someone kind that will treat you well, and Jacob deserves someone who cares about him for more than his body. Just because Sarah’s going through her own personal 8-4, doesn’t mean that if she manages to defeat Bowser that she’s entitled to a kiss from the Prince.

        1. Freemage

          This seems overly rose-colored glasses re: Lucy’s motives. She’s had a single conversation with Jacob prior to this, which was almost entirely about either Sarah or her own humble bragging. She knows nothing about him, except that he makes her want to strain her neck. If she sees something more about a possible relationship with him, it’s entirely invented–like it was with Walky.

        2. BorkBorkBork

          Lucy doesn’t know a thing about how Sarah feels about Jacob, other than that she was being antisocial to him earlier. I might be reading a bit into her “yet” comment – it might not be an innuendo – but I don’t think one bit that Lucy’s “motives” are “taking advantage of a vulnerable Sarah,” as the people I was replying to seem to believe. To do that, she would have to be *aware* of the dynamic between Sarah and Jacob.

          She may only be interested in Jacob as a friend and is just being social, or she might be interesting in something more and is flirting, but either way there’s not a thing wrong with this.

        3. Psychie

          She literally just watched that entire interaction between Sarah and Jacob, Lucy isn’t nearly so socially oblivious that she’d miss that Sarah quite obviously has it bad for him, because she *knows* what it looks like when Sarah is making an effort to be friendly (as she has been on the receiving end of that a few times recently, this very day in fact) and it was *very* clearly not *that*.

          Having said that, I agree her motive isn’t to take advantage of a vulnerable Sarah, as that’s far more malicious than I believe Lucy to be capable of. I believe she was able to tell Sarah is into Jacob, but she is *also* attracted to Jacob and has a vibe with him, and she may not realize just how much this might hurt Sarah if she made a move and got together with him, especially since she’s drunk and feeling like crap herself right now.

          Something can be not intentionally malicious and still be a betrayal, and frankly, of all the bad stuff that has been teased at this party, I feel this is possibly the worst that could happen. Lucy’s betrayal of Sarah, intentional or otherwise, would confirm all of the crappy stuff Sarah believed before Joyce and them started to get under her skin and cause a *massive* backslide in her mental health and potentially undo just about all the character growth she’s experienced over the last semester and a half. Lucy, meanwhile, would feel absolutely terrible about it, potentially causing harm to *her* mental health when she’s already in a pretty bad place.

          Yes, I feel Jacob and Lucy might wind up being a decent fit, but this is very much not the time and place for exploring that to be even remotely a good idea.

        4. Delavan

          ^^ This. All of this.

        5. Vanessa

          On the other hand Lucy repeatedly watching Sarah try to flirt with Jacob and then moving in to flirt with him herself, may just be the start of her new villain arc. Teased first with the red panels (the ones that happened while she was desperately trying to gain approval from the parents of some guy.) Maybe Lucy doesn’t give a damn anymore and is just going to be the selfish mean girl she always wanted to be.

        6. thejeff

          You can’t call “dibs”, but it’s definitely awkward to claim to want to be friends with Sarah and make a play for the guy she’s interested at the same time.
          That he gets to make his own choices doesn’t change that.

          If she doesn’t realize Sarah’s interested, that’s something of a different story.

    3. Insanenoodlyguy

      I”m feeling surprisingly spiteful towards Sarah. Crush her dreams Lucy. Crush them by crushing this boys pelvis.

  5. Schpoonman

    Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang.

    1. Schpoonman

      That is the single filthiest thing I’ve ever heard come out of Lucy’s mouth (I only read parts of Shortpacked!) and I am fucking here for it.

      You climb him like a tree, girl.

      1. Dday

        Lucy Strains her Neck:
        A DOA Pornographique

        1. Michael Steamweed

          I am conflicted about that. Yeah, I want more Pornographiques. But I don’t want Lucy getting Jacob. Dangit.

        2. Dday

          Hey the night is young, it doesn’t have to be Big Jake, though I think he’s basically considered the jackpot here.

    2. bibulb

      Seconded.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        Thirded.

        1. Theluxland

          Fourthed?
          Somehow, it sounds weird.

        2. Xronium

          fifthed sounds weirder, i think the higher it goes the weirder it gets

      2. Michael Steamweed

        Is this the Bibulb of Houston fame?? :O

  6. Nono

    Lucy speedrunning the ‘go from a relationship where they were madly desperate for affection to alright new man, confidence game on’ journey.

    1. Corronchilejano

      I don’t know if “affection” is what she was desperate for.

      1. Nono

        Considering how frantic she got around the ‘L’ word, it played some part in it.

        She wasn’t just horny.

        1. Freemage

          Yes and no. Lucy seems to have an internal conflict–she thinks she’s supposed to want love and romance and then have sex. Meanwhile, her hormones are absolutely going full-bore “WANT SNU-SNU”. So she resolves this disconnect by assuming that if a guy gets her motor running, then it must be ‘love’.

  7. shadowcell

    BAH GAWD IT’S LUCY FROM THE TOP ROPE WITH THE FOLDING CHAIR

    1. Schpoonman

      My scrollwheel was throwing the page around and I read “FUCKING CHAIR” at first and all I can say is: Yeah, accurate.

    2. Clif

      Lucy picked her perch well. And in advance.

  8. Vanessa

    Taking the man that Sarah has an obvious, desperate crush on is NOT the way to make friends, Lucy.

    1. Thag Simmons

      Well, maybe a way to make friends with some other people, but definitely not Sarah.

      1. Vanessa

        Raidha would clap.

      2. Jamie

        Sarah would approve. Vocally. Possibly while dying inside.

    2. NGPZ

      *plays “Advice” by The Pillows on hacked muzak*

    3. Grimey

      If Lucy’s thought process is that this is just what this friend group does, bump uglies with each other (possibly fueled by alcohol and TRYING TO make sense of the Walky/Dororthy/Her situation) and that she is part of the friend group regardless of what Sarah thinks…

      This is happening.

      1. BarerMender

        When did “bumping ugly” become “bumping uglies?” It no longer makes sense. Not that it ever made a lot of sense, but now it’s down to none.

        1. Leadsynth

          Huh, I’ve never heard it as “bumping ugly.” I thought it was like, your genitals are “uglies,” and you’re bumping yours against another person’s. So it’s plural. Bumping uglies.

        2. BarerMender

          It’s old-fashioned, probably Victorian. Bumping is the movement and ugly is a judgement of the nature of the movement.

        3. Agemegos

          Google Ngrams shows no appearances in text for either phrase between 1800 and the 1960s.

          “Bump uglies” or “bumping uglies” appeared in text once in 1968 and sporadically in the Eighties. Then it started to appear as an increasingly common expression from 1990 through to the latest material in the data (2019).

          “Bumping ugly” and “bump ugly” don’t appear at all, not even once since 1800, in the Google Ngrams compendium of English text.

          Green’s Dictionary of Slang has an entry for “bump uglies” but not for “bump ugly”.

        4. clif

          BarerMender is from an alternate world confirmed.

        5. Psychie

          The uglies are the genitals and you bump them together, that makes a LOT of sense, especially if, like me, you find neither the male nor female genitalia particularly aesthetically pleasing.

          (for the sake of clarification, I’m not asexual, I am extremely attracted to other parts of the female anatomy, but until I fell in love with my GF the sight of any genitalia, male or female, was a turn off so I’d focus on other parts, I really like hers, though, largely because it *is* hers)

        6. Taffy

          Haw haw, Psychie’s got a girlfriend ? ??

        7. Blakey

          Literally forever ago? I’m in my 40s and have only ever heard “bumping uglies”, where “uglies” is a dysphemism for “genitals”. It’s “bumping ugly” that doesn’t make sense. It’s grammatically nonsensical.

    4. Jammy

      So Jacob is just an object of desire and not a character…fun.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        I mean, technically he can be both.
        In theory. Um…
        **flips back through Jacob’s arcs both here and at Shortpacked!**
        Yeah, I got nothin.

        1. alice

          i think him being [aware of and very much resenting](https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/sex/) the objectification he constantly faces is pretty character-ey.

        2. alice

          oh oops this is regular old html, not markdown. and there’s no edits! aaaaaaaaaa

      2. Jamie

        I really wonder whether or not Lucy’s hangups on the hoops you have to jump through before sex will apply with Jacob.

      3. justin8448

        Jacob has had a great deal of agency throughout the comic, and at least one very clear moment of character growth.

      4. Freemage

        No, he’s a character, whom other characters sometimes (all too often) dehumanize into a sexual totem. Him dealing with this is part of his characterization.

    5. Schpoonman

      Sarah has a cartoon revolver with the comically long barrel attached to her foot. Jacob, Lucy, Joyce, and no shortage of other people at other points have all said “Have you tried opening yourself up to people conditionally? You don’t need to be Joyce, you can back out if you find you don’t gel with the human in question, but have you tried?” and in almost every instance Sarah has said “Fuck you!” and pulled the trigger, forgetting she’s just going to shoot herself in the foot again.

      Don’t compare Raidah’s year-long harassment campaign to Lucy. It makes you look like you haven’t read the comic.

    6. anonymsly

      Funny, I thought talking to people was how you make friends.

      Also: Jacob is not Sarah’s property.

    7. Reltzik

      Lucy wants to be more than friends with Sarah. She wants to be family! Soon Sarah will be treating her like a little sister!

    8. Christron5000

      I think events that lead to the break-up with Walky, that little talk Sarah gave her awhile back, and the aftermath of all of that has maybe lead Lucy to realize “huh, these people kind of suck maybe I should get my shit together and treat myself better while I’m at it.”

      Just speedrunning self-actualization a bit.

    9. Queezle

      Is that what is happening here? I do not see it.
      Am I missing something?

  9. JA

    Ooh, Lucy moving in on Sarah’s territory.

    1. anonymsly

      Jacob isn’t property. He’s a free agent if he wants to be.

      1. Sirksome

        I mean at the risk of getting hate I don’t ship it at all, but yeah Sarah has had plenty of opportunity to score a Jacob. If Lucy picks him up that is kind of Sarah’s fumble.

      2. thejeff

        That’s true, but it does conflict with her stated goal of befriending Sarah.

        And of becoming part of this friend group in general.

    2. BMBLB

      Idk, Sarah seems pretty intent on shoving Jacob out of “her territory.” We don’t need to wait for Sarah to stop being dumb. Also Jacob’s a big boy, he can make his own decisions.

    3. Francoinblanco

      Sarah didn’t salivate Jacob so, according to ancient rules, she didn’t dibs him

      1. Michael Steamweed

        But how many of the people in this room are likely to respect the “I licked it; therefore it’s mine” rule?

  10. Thag Simmons

    See, Joyce understood that she needed to keep Lucy away from Jacob if she wanted to pursue him romantically.

    1. Clif

      So you’re saying that Lucy is a terrible person for breaking her promise to Joyce?

      1. Antsan

        First sensible “Lucy is a terrible person” comment.

      2. Mendel

        Joyce has Joe now, so the promise is void

      3. Thag Simmons

        statute of limitations on this have long expired, she’s cool

    2. justin8448

      Oh, wow. If Lucy and Jacob do get together, that is some truly epic foreshadowing.

      1. Michael Steamweed

        Willis plays the long game.

  11. HueSatLight

    she’s getting better at flirting. I think they’d be mostly boring together. Even their potential drama regarding sex will be short-cut by Jacob being better at communicating. Still I approve.
    Jacob’s not a good match for Sarah anyways. She deserves someone whose snark will make her laugh.

    1. Jamie

      I think Jacob/Lucy would be the bad sort of boring rather than the good sort of boring. They don’t really bring anything to the table to make each other better, as far as I can see. In a lesser writer’s hands, I’d expect this relationship to happen out of obligatory pairing-off rather than it making sense.

      1. Segnosaur

        They also don’t seem to have much in common (except for perhaps a religious belief). Jacob is into sports and wants to be a lawyer, Lucy likes her cartoons and has a different major.

        1. nicoleandmaggie

          They’re both academically serious, which sometimes is enough. Also the religion, like you said. Is she also Episcopal? I forget.

        2. Segnosaur

          I don’t think she’s episcopalian. In the strip where she dragged walky to church, she described it as a “college church’ where half the people would be in their pyjamas.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-14/02-its-the-love-i-havent-got/comeasyouare/

          And just how “serious” is Lucy as a student? (I don’t think she is a bad student by any stretch of the imagination. She is certainly more serious than Walky. I just don’t know if she’s on the same level as a Jacob or Sarah when it comes to studying.

        3. nicoleandmaggie

          I thought her being academically strong was a big deal when comparing her to Walky’s previous ex-girlfriends (who are also academically strong) and a reason Walky’s parents should like her if they weren’t racist?

    2. HueSatLight

      I approve in the “we won’t have to watch it” sort of way. Except maybe a little bit at the “I wanna have sex / I don’t wanna have sex [yet]” conversation, just to contrast with Walky.

  12. Sirksome

    I think we need to notice at a party where everyone who has been drinking is drunk after what appears to be maybe one cup of alcohol, that Lucy is definitively not. And we know she’s been drinking at least as much. What is girl on?

    1. Thag Simmons

      She might just be having Sprite, like Jacob.

      Or maybe she’s one of those tiny girls with shockingly high alcohol tolerance. We’ve got to have at least one character in this cast who isn’t a complete featherweight.

      1. Sirksome

        She’s not having Sprite unless she’s witched from the drink Sarah handed her and she also rejected the Sprite mixer when offered.

    2. Jammy

      Roommates with Jennifer, I believe. Was halfway mentioned, but is fully in force here.

      1. Schpoonman

        She mentions Malaya in the same breath, which makes me think either Malaya also drank hard liquor in their dorm and offered it to Lucy to try to reduce her Luciness, or Lucy went “There is nothing I can do to reduce how awful my roommate will be to me,” and was drinking on her own.

        1. Jamie

          Malaya is part of the “drinking beers in a Walmart parking lot” crew, so it would not surprise me if she’d introduced Lucy to alcohol. It does actually feel like something Malaya would try.

        2. Nono

          That implies Malaya would willingly talk to Lucy to introduce her to beer, which seems unlikely.

      2. Sirksome

        You know who else roomed with Jennifer and Malaya? Sal, and she’s completely off her ass already. And we know Sal likes drinking and she’s known Jennifer for longer, and Lucy has actually been roomies with Jen longer with Jennifer sober by this point because of the time skip. It’s hard to buy it’s just because she rooms with drinkers, or because her roommates are annoying. Lucy can hold her drinks and seems experienced at drinking. That is a legitimate mystery about her character that is interesting,

    3. Switchchris

      Maybe she would sneak the communion wine back in her teenage years.
      Yeah she has gone through some bad experiences, but she seems way more willing to drink some strong stuff then I would think she would be.

    4. Needfuldoer

      She’s on a chair, which is on a table or something.

    5. Michael Steamweed

      Could be that she just has a belly full of pasta.

    6. HueSatLight

      Maybe she’s British. No, wait, Walky didn’t make jokes about it ad nauseam. Maybe she’s French.

  13. DailyBrad

    Helluva line, admittedly, though I am still far more interested in Jacob x Sarah.

  14. Axel

    daang, but I’m with Sarah unless Lucy does something real neat to change my mind (or I guess if Sarah does something real unneat).

  15. Kitschensyngk

    Lucy rushes in where Sarah fears to tread.

  16. Ty34er

    Wow, Lucy, that… I kind of hope she can pull it off.

  17. Cassie

    So I’m confused here. Walky was a good person for caring about the feelings of his ex until he didn’t and therefore wasn’t and she had to be a good Christian and not do a sex until date 3 but it’s okay for her to make a move on a guy that one of her other friends is super into 2 days after she broke up with her bf for not being as into her as she was into him. Is that supposed to be internally consistent in any sort of way?

    1. KM

      Internal consistency? From dumb teen-agers? Surely you jest

    2. Proto

      The girl’s thirsty and she’s not waiting around for more convoluted shenanigans like Walky’s parents to happen again.

      1. thejeff

        Though flirting with Jacob doesn’t mean she’s down to fuck tonight. She might well still want her 3 dates or some other measure of actual connection.

        Which would probably appeal to Jacob anyway.

    3. BarerMender

      She’s already had two dates. One more and she’s good to go. Oh, did you think she meant three dates with the same guy? It’s a magic formula anyway, she just as well do what work for her, which is to say, whatever she wants.

    4. Clif

      Cassie, have you met people?

    5. Jamie

      I think Lucy is trying out new ways of being herself and seeing how it feels.

      She might very well decide that this tactic is icky.

    6. alice

      it’s only inconsistent if you don’t see values as dependent on context. She sees herself as having been wronged; walky was inconsiderate towards her in a way she found hurtful, and thus she no longer feels she owes him that same consideration.

      like I think the specific thing about the timing is entirely petty in a vacuum; it can be painful to see someone you still care about with someone else but those feelings are not their responsibility to address. but i think in the future when she reflects on this, she won’t entirely discount her reason to be upset. he failed to meaningfully defend her from his racist parents, and she put in the effort and vulnerability to make sure he know how much that hurt her. the purpose isn’t for him to learn and grow from it, but it’s the least he can do. so the fact that he’s immediately back with dorothy in particular, it really implies a narrative of “wow this whole racism thing seems pretty tricky, i’ll just go back to my white girlfriend where this isn’t an issue”. and in that context the timing just kinda reinforces this narrative.

    7. SocietyPilled

      I genuinely see no inconsistency with what you described here.

      For the sake of not sending the message that a relationship didn’t matter from an emotional standpoint, immediately getting with someone else is seen as poor form. But if the other person already did so, then why extend them the grace they denied to you?

      On the other hand, it’s not Lucy’s job to recall who Sarah is into and keep a “dibs” list in her head. Does Lucy even know that Sarah is planning on taking actions towards Jacob?

    8. Aura

      I don’t think it’s inconsistent at all, actually. I think that even if you do owe your ex consideration in waiting before dating someone else, in this case where her ex has so clearly already moved on then it’s pretty fair to say that’s no longer a concern. I also think that seeing Walky moving on so quickly would probably actually be a significant motivator for her to try to get over him and find someone new.

    9. thejeff

      Also, character arcs involve inconsistency. That’s what change is.

    10. Segnosaur

      Well, given the fact that she has just seen things go poorly for her for being “miss nice girl”, its understandable for her to decide “being nice got me dumped. maybe I should change”.

  18. Matrix

    Jacob is a fine rebound

  19. Shogo

    Good for her. I hope she succeeds. Though I admit this is in part motivated out of spite. Of the characters I’m pretty sure we’re not supposed to hate, Sarah is one of the ones I just flat out don’t like. So if Lucy pulls Jacob that will be really amusing to me.

    1. Marvelman

      I’m not sure Lucy does things out of spite. She just wants to get laid.

      1. Queezle

        I think that Shogo meant that their being on team “Lucy and Jacob” is partly motivated out of spite.

    2. Rose by Any other Name

      I like Sarah fine when she’s in team mom mode, defending her friends with a bat like a discount Amazigirl.
      Her whole… I can only describe it as “Tsundere”, tired and overused though that term is – thing is fairly tedious, particularly her situation with Jacob.
      Still, I like DoA Sarah far better than her original Walkyverse version. So progress?

      1. thejeff

        I wouldn’t like her “tsundere” thing in real life, but for a character, seeing her struggle with it, torn between her misanthropic persona and her repressed desire for connection, is great.
        I really like that she’s finally taking active steps to reach out and be vulnerable, hesitant though they are.

    3. Amós Batista

      spite can make miracles in your life

      1. HueSatLight

        Not a good mixer for booze though.

  20. Francoinblanco

    All talk and no trousers

    1. NGPZ

      Of course no trousers.

      Some penguin is using them to steal a diamond.

      1. LeafletErin

        Wallace and Gromit deep cut. Nice. Lol though I had nightmares about that penguin as a kid.

        1. Ray Radlein

          He’s coming back in the next Aardman Wallace and Gromit movie. Getting out of jail and coming back for revenge.

      2. morleuca

        I so need to see Vengeance Most Fowl…

  21. StClair

    yeah, this is shaping up to be another great party.

    1. Jamie

      There’s no such thing as a great party.

      There are just varying degrees of dignity left intact by the end.

      1. Taffy

        “Dignity” isn’t a word that belongs in a judgement about a party.

    2. MM

      It wouldn’t be an accurate portrayal of a college party without at least three romantic drama subplots happening simultaneously.

  22. Armadillo

    I mean, every conversation between Lucy and Jacob has been lighthearted and charming, while every conversation between Sarah and Jacob has been a bit of a train wreck. I don’t care who has a crush on who, there’s a clear imbalance in which girl Jacob seems to have chemistry with and it’s not in Sarah’s favor.

    Really, anyone who thinks Sarah is ready for a relationship in the first place is deluding themselves, this girl is a mess.

  23. BarerMender

    Where’s Lucy’s left eyebrow? Did she fall asleep at this party?

    1. Thag Simmons

      Not drawing unnecessary eyebrows is the secret to building up a six month buffer

    2. thejeff

      There aren’t quite enough eyebrows to go around the whole cast. They have to share.
      Jacob’s got two today. One of them is probably Lucy’s.

  24. IntangibleMatter

    Don’t worry, she’s recently gotten into furry culture and her fursona is an owl.

  25. Plaaaaaa

    Lucy’s found a new victim.

    1. Jeremiah

      That’s a weird thing to say.

      1. Adept

        It is. People have really strange takes, and are not self aware enough not to air them in public.

      2. VicMortimer

        Not at all. Raidah has turned her annoying happiness into toxicity. Jacob doesn’t deserve that, he just got out of a toxic relationship.

        1. Jeremiah

          That is also a weird thing to say.

        2. Taffy

          Toxic Lucy, talking to a boy. Better watch out, he might also talk to her.

        3. Jeremiah

          Talking is toxic. Looking at people is toxic. Thinking about things is toxic. We all should exist in unmoving, unconscious stasis so nobody can ever have even the possibility of being toxic.
          /J

        4. Taffy

          Live in constant fear of all human interaction. Interpret all stimulus as hostility. Don’t try to get diagnosed or medicated for your obvious anxiety disorder.

        5. Clif

          What a toxic attitude.

          I think that means you win.

    2. VicMortimer

      Yep.

  26. Veronica

    Good for her.

  27. ktbear

    Ive never been a fan of Lucy and this isn’t helping.

    1. Jeremiah

      She having confidence and throwing her shot with a hot guy she got along with?

  28. BarerMender

    Frame 4:What’s the significance of the dashed line from Jacob’s cheek to Lucy’s hair?

    1. KM

      I think it’s Jacob moving his hand to illustrate the distance to emphasize his joke about his short sightedness

      1. BarerMender

        I’ll buy that.

  29. Now

    I feel like this is a set-up to make Jacob realize he’s spending a lot of energy on Sarah when he could have something easier with someone else. He’s been known to calculate algorithms for “perfect partners” before, this will throw him off when he realizes that Sarah’s issues are growing on him, very irrationnal romantic attraction. Looking forward to it.

  30. Taffy

    Everyone is focusing on the wrong thing. Why is there a chair in here that puts Lucy closer to eye level with Jacob?

    1. Wereg

      I think she’s sitting on the back of the chair, with her feet resting in the seat?

      1. Michael Steamweed

        That’s how it looks, yeah. But that can’t be comfortable.

        (the lengths she’ll go to, to get those lengths)

        1. Wereg

          Ehhh I sit like that sometimes, but I also definitely fall into the “sits bisexually” trope.

    2. Charlotte

      She’s sitting on the back rest. I hope it’s a stable chair.

      1. Taffy

        I thought she was straight.

        1. John Campbell

          This is Dumbing of Age. No one is straight.

        2. Taffy

          Nah, Gisèle Lagacé isn’t involved with this comic, so that rule can’t just be assumed.

  31. Charlotte

    I also think Lucy and Jacob would be a bit boring together, but not in a bad way (i.e. just boring for the readers, not for them).
    However I was hoping Lucy would grow into herself more on her own after realising she’s been treated poorly, before attaching herself to someone else. But I guess that’s not how this comic works.

    And Sarah really needs to get over herself. I love Sarah in spite of everything, but her behaviour around Jacob is a bit tedious.

    1. Bash

      I feel like Lucy and Jacob could have something on more even terms. Certainly they would be friends first. I think it could be more of a meeting in the middle instead of anyone attaching themselves.

      1. Taffy

        He’s everything she wanted Walky to be, and she’s really similar to Joyce, so it might be interesting to see how those interact.

    2. Miri

      I kinda think maybe this is good for Sarah? Like, she’s realised that actually doing something to put her scholarship at risk for a guy who she knows kinda likes her anyway is silly and she should just just find her spine and talk to him properly and she doesn’t need booze confidence for that. She just needs to believe in herself, for a moment…

  32. DashWallkick

    My guess at this point is he goes for Lucy and Sarah has to learn a lesson. He’s been trying his best to warm up to her for a bit but she’s Sarahing all the time. This might be the “you’re making progress but you can’t keep pushing people away and going in baby steps” kick in the ass she needs.

    1. Daibhid C

      Or it might be the “well, making an effort sucked and made everything worse” kick she doesn’t.

      1. DashWallkick

        Possible! The comic has spent so long making Dorothy miserable I kinda can’t imagine punishing her for trying like that, but it’s entirely likely.

    2. HueSatLight

      I don’t think Sarah and Jacob are a good match because he’s trying to teach her that lesson. They want different things, and he’s kind of said it, but then he keeps sending mixed signals, probably because he doesn’t understand communication as fully as he thinks.

      Sarah’s lonely, but I think she’d be better off with someone compatible with her personality-wise, who she’s comfortable being around, than someone who is her sexual ideal.

      1. DashWallkick

        I didn’t say *he* was teaching her the lesson, just that she has to learn one. If Jacob gets fed up and goes to someone warmer and more loving then Sarah has to take that as his decision.

        1. HueSatLight

          I know you didn’t say that. I did. That’s why I italicized “he”, it’s the difference between what you were saying and what I was saying.

          That’s the difference in their personalities from his side. He wants her to be warmer and outgoing, he’s not comfortable with her as she is. I’m not even convinced he’s thinking of her for a potential relationship, just how he’d be comfortable with her as his friend.

  33. Osopescado

    the first and only time a DOA has caused my literal jaw to literally drop, like, in real life.

  34. Amós Batista

    Shit, Willis, why Sarah versus Lucy? These are the two I cheer for, even more than Joyce…

  35. Wendy

    GET EM LUCY

  36. Acher4

    So many happenings in this party!
    <..>
    <.<
    Don't know anymore from where exactly the drama will emerge.

    1. Mturtle7

      Answer: EVERYWHERE AT ONCE.

  37. darkoneko

    yet.

  38. CJ

    Speaking as a person from Europe, where drinking is legal from the time you are 18: it’s incredible that getting drunk on campus could void one’s scholarship.
    (I hate people drinking to get drunk but still).

    1. Francoinblanco

      In my european country its the most dead rule but still a rule that you can get expeled from dormitory for drinking and if the scholarship involves paying for the dorm you were kicked out of, it may be a problem. Plus not all scholarships are based only on grades, sometimes there is also nonsense like representing the sponsor

    2. Michael Steamweed

      I live in America in one of our most conservative states, but not Indiana. But I can affirm that Indiana, as a state, is pretty dang conservative in everything alcohol, drugs, racism, sex, and sexism. We call it “The Middle Finger of The South”.

      (the “South” being the southeastern states, not including the southwestern states)

    3. Regina phalange

      When I was at my state university, a guy in my class went drinking as a freshman and got a criminal citation for public urination. No impact on his scholarship. Either Indiana is far more uptight than even I have it credit for, or Sarah and Jacob are both taking this possibility far too seriously (though in Sarah’s case, I think she might just be chickening out and looking for an excuse to bail).

      1. BorkBorkBork

        Some scholarships have very odd, specific rules, because they’re not given by the school or just a bland faceless organization that wants to have X number of scholarships, but some sort of organization focused on a cause that wants optics, or a wealthy individual with specific requirements tied to the reason for the scholarship.

        If Sarah’s scholarship is something like “The Taco Bell Scholarship for Amazing Food Champions,” it’s probably just that she had to be an employee at Taco Bell for some time. If she has “The Presidential Scholarship for Women in Law” or somesuch, its requirements are probably just that she’s a woman, keeps her major in pre-law, and keeps her GPA above 3.0.

        If she’s got something like “The Brigham Young Scholarship for Young Women,” she’s likely got several dozen hoops to jump through, including regular attendance at a Mormon church, abstaining from all alcohol and drugs, a minimum 4.0 GPA, no pre-marital hanky-panky, not getting any arrests/tickets/whatever, and marrying a Mormon dude before graduation.

        1. thejeff

          Rules about not breaking laws aren’t all that odd or specific. Underage drinking is common and generally overlooked, but it’s still illegal.

          Odds are nothing will be enforced or passed up to the scholarship people, but if the university or the authorities are forced to take notice of it, consequences could be real.

        2. NGPZ

          Yeah, this is literally one of the biggest reasons Sarah had Dana sent back home, she definitely was in no position to risk an encounter with a racist cop or other authority who could potentially ruin her life.

        3. thejeff

          I don’t think it actually was. I think she was really worried about Dana and covering it with her usual layer of misanthropy. But yeah, it really was a valid concern. There was a real chance she’d wind up in jail if the cops got involved.

  39. ValdVin

    Lucy has Alpha Sweetie appeal and a smartness which may be overlooked.

  40. bengrue

    Sober Bad bongo-era Lucy 😡

    1. bengrue

      bongo

      1. bengrue

        I’ve learned a thing here today about this forum!

        1. bengrue

          Hey willis! Make your filter keep capitalization! <3

        2. Miri

          Self-filter and then you can capitalise your bangos to Bongo all you like!

  41. Yumi

    I know Willis does the one eyebrow thing often, and I get it from a artistic standpoint– but while I usually don’t pay it much attention, once I notice it, it can be hard to look past.

    On my first reading of this strip, I didn’t notice it at all, then I looked again and just keep imagining someone in universe interrupting the moment here to go, “Lucy, what the hell happened to your eyebrow?”

    1. Mark

      “Oh, no, did it come off again? Everybody: help me look for it.”

  42. Em

    Oh.

    Oh no.

    Oh, Lucy…no.

    1. Jeremiah

      Lucy YES!

    2. Pseudowolf

      Why not?

      Jacob is single. Lucy is newly single and just found out that Walky was never that into her in the first place. Why shouldn’t she flirt a bit?

      1. Da Boy

        And she seems to have actual chemistry with Jacob unlike Sarah’s Lust&Run.

  43. Adept

    Poor Sarah is her own worst enemy

  44. Colin McKenzie

    OOoo, this is gonna be goooood!

  45. superglucose

    now see *this* is a good relationship for these two.

  46. Segnosaur

    Here’s a question…. do we know for sure that Lucy knows Sarah is interested in Jacob?

    I mean, its obvious to us (the readers), and Joyce definitely knows. But has Lucy been privy to any of the “flirting” that’s gone on between the 2 of them? (She might have heard them talking at the party, but there was no guarantee of that.)

    1. Jeremiah

      As far as I remember she does not and she has not.

  47. Yeet

    you really do strain your neck and your back in a height difference relationship if you’re not careful

    1. Miri

      Or stand on chairs quite a bit. Or wait for them to sit down…

      17″ height difference between me and the husband. We good.

      1. Taffy

        That’s a huge difference, dang. What is he, a Roegadyn?

        1. Miri

          I’m short but not unusually so. He’s tall enough people ask him about basketball.

          We’re just on opposite sides of the bell curve, plus he’s male (his mother’s only a foot taller than me, for context). Our eldest is going to be 10 in a few months, and she’s almost my mum’s height now. Her legs are longer than mine, and she’ll probably be my height by Christmas if not sooner. My girls definitely decided height was a “pick a parent to inherit this from” trait, and picked him.

  48. smolgrlboi

    I mean I hate it but I gotta admit that’s a good line and there’s the tiniest bit of chemistry here.

  49. Rabisch

    Sarah and Jacob are a beautiful couple, but she’s not ready for a relationship at all. Jacob is interested, but being with someone like that would not be a relationship, it would be martyrdom! If Jacob would try to got with Lucy and she’s interested, there would be nothing wrong. But I think it’s still too early for her, she’s not like Walky. Maybe.

  50. Davus

    Lucy is impressing me.
    I also think that she intends to play a long game here. Right now she’s just flirting, and I think that she’s going to do that for a while before she makes a move. (A while could mean anywhere from 30minutes to a few months depending.)

  51. Matty

    Lucy went from giving a three date wait and like “omg can a hot a boy really like me?” to this pretty quick.

  52. Alan in DC

    Jacob is really into girls with one eyebrow

  53. Fuzzy

    I feel bad for Jacob cuz he attracts all of the horniest girls and poor dude just wants a non-horny relationship. I can see this relationship happening but I foresee hurt feelings all around when Jacob tells her he’s not gonna be ready for sex after three dates and Lucy reacts with, “Oh right, yeah of course, I’m a good Christian girl so I also don’t want sex!” and tries to shove her sex drive into a closet.

    I’m probably wrong but that’s my current prediction.

  54. Da Boy

    Sarah you better up your game and Fast because a new challenger joined the contest.

  55. Derek

    is no one gonna mention that the writing in this comic seems to be pairing black people only with each other?
    I would hope this comic doesn’t fall into the “minorities only date within their own race” trope, because that would be yikes.

    1. Da Boy

      I mean Joyce Really wanted to get together with Jacob but that was a whole mess of its own.

    2. Taffy

      What do you make of both (quarter-Black) Walkerton twins dating white women?

      1. Yumi

        Wait, Danny’s– oh, good for her.

        1. Taffy

          Y’know what, it may have been a typo but now it’s canon.

        2. Miri

          Danny’s a good egg… The egg has not yet hatched, so I believe their current pronouns are he and him?

        3. Taffy

          I’m glad Danny’s not a real person and we can make these jokes about their inevitable realization of being non-binary without it being weird and gross. Fiction is fun.

        4. Yumi

          That’s the joke. I wouldn’t make it about a real person, but Danny’s not a real person, so I felt fine with playing off the typo.

    3. RocketRelm

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/unraveling/

      We also have Sierra and that whole polycule.

    4. Jeremiah

      Why do you only seem to comment to complain about things, often with very flimsy justification? It’s a bit weird.

    5. NGPZ

      Walky literally dated Dorothy and Amber before Lucy.

      Also, Dina is Japanese and dating Becky.

      brotha you high as hell XD

      1. Taffy

        Malaya and Marcie, Becky and Dina, Sierra/Grace/Mandy, Asher and Ethan, Walky and Dorothy, Walky and Amber, Sal and Danny, Billie and Ruth? It’s ridiculous to suggest that the minorities in this comic are only dating people of the same race. Even if we’re nitpicking and restricting it to only Black people, Lucy dated Walky, who’s 3/4ths white and Sal had a whole Thing™ with Jason, who’s the whitest guy in the damn comic. People really just make shit up to complain about.

        1. HueSatLight

          Jacob and Raidah. Leslie and Anna.
          Plus Sarah addressed the exact issue when Joyce was introducing her to Jacob.

        2. Taffy

          It’s not like there’s a character page that lists this kind of stuff, so I apologise if this is answered elsewhere, but is Raidah not Black? I thought she was.

        3. Yumi

          I think she might of Middle Eastern descent, and in the US at least (on forms and such), the racial grouping for MENA people can be weird, but I don’t think she’s Black.

        4. Taffy

          I guess even if she is, that’s one Black couple in the comic, total. Derek’s original comment isn’t just dumb as hell, it’s also objectively wrong.

        5. DailyBrad

          I am admittedly unsure. I would have guessed Middle Eastern due to her name, but there are certainly plenty of black muslims, so names alone don’t really illuminate things.

        6. HueSatLight

          I was under the impression she’s south Asian. Not sure if there was something concrete, maybe a tweet, but I don’t have xformerlytwitter anymore.

      2. Wereg

        Hell, Walky and Dorothy are CURRENTLY an item.

      3. Derek

        Walky is not black as per his own description of himself and I tend to go with what people say about their own ethnicity, especially when it comes to mixed race kids

        1. thejeff

          That was one of our first clues to the racism within the Walkerton family: Walky describing Sal as black, but himself as “generically beige”, despite them being twins and the same actual color.

      4. Derek

        so it’s restricted to black people then? it’s still weird as hell

        1. Clif

          You can’t have it both ways with Walky. Either Walky/Dorothy doesn’t match your scenario or Walky/Lucy doesn’t. Sal/Danhy certainly doesn’t. Jacob/Raidah didn’t. Jacob/Joyce didn’t. So a potential match with Jacob with someone who is also black would be the exception, not the rule. Your determination to see it as a thing, when it obviously isn’t, is what seems a bit weird to me. Your original comment was about minority groups in general and we have Asian exceptions, Jennifer/Asher and Billie/Ruth. We have Jewish exceptions Joyce/Ethan, Mike/Ethan, Joyce/Joe.

          What am I missing?

        2. HueSatLight

          It’s not happening. “All non-whites must be in interracial relationships” is also weird as hell.

  56. Juanoku

    Oh she don’t give a fuck anymore

  57. PedanticJerkass

    I still don’t want either Sarah or Lucy to end up with Jacob.

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