189

Sighs
Posted on January 20, 2019 by David M Willis

189 thoughts on “Sighs”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    she’s definitely trying

    1. Dana

      That joke is trying.

      1. Deanatay

        I try not to judge…

        BUT I JUDGE

    2. ShinyNeen

      Overused joke? Excellent running gag?

      Maybe it’s both.

      1. SgtWadeyWilson

        Both?
        Both.
        Both is good.

  2. shadowcell

    Dumbing of Age Book 9: It’s Walky?

    1. Clif

      DOA9: I Try Not To Judge.

      1. Keulen

        Dumbing of Age Book 9: Hmmm

        1. Dean

          DoA9: So Many People’s Personal Anecdotes About Billie Involve Alcohol Consumption

        2. Jam Jar

          And we have a winner.

        3. Furie

          I thought we settled on “Book 9 – You Want To Laugh At ‘McNutt’ Don’t You”

        4. Hoodiecrow

          DoA9→0: Let’s Start Over, I’m Lucy

  3. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    . . . .Hell I approve of the LucyXWalky ship but I also like the now canon and on the rocks WalkyXAmber relationship. What to do ,what to do ,what to do.

    1. Yumi

      Multi-shipping hell!

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        BOOK NINE TITLE!

        1. Neeks

          Nah, that’s the title for the eventual DOA omnibus.

      2. Roborat

        Harem manga time.

    2. Tacos

      Cloning. Make copies of everybody and have a big ol’ orgy.

      1. Clif

        Cloning. Multiple Mikes. Nuff said.

        1. Keulen

          Make clones of everyone except Mike. He’ll find a way to sleep with multiple people in the same night anyway.

        2. Deanatay

          ALL of the nickles will accrue

        3. Felian

          But if you make clones of Mike, he’ll also have more ways to sleep with multiple Mikes in the same night!

    3. BBCC

      Multi shipping hell!

      One of us! One of us!

    4. Jamie

      As a poly person, I feel like the solution is obvious.

      1. a4lbi

        *fist bump*

        1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

          **multi fist bump**

          Also… yall ninjaed me like an hour and a half ago. That’s what I get for not reading down the comment thread before adding to it. :p

    5. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      Polyamory.
      Of course, that’s my answer to basically everything.

      1. Freezer

        The answer is always polyamory!

        Or least, the right answer always is.

      2. Felian

        I also think that a) it would solve SO MUCH DRAMA in media and real life, and b) create specific new poly drama.
        And i’d really like to see media about poly drama that is NOT determined to claim in the end that monogamy was the better option after all.

        1. Benjamin Geiger

          Poly guy here: agreed, on all points.

    6. Keulen

      I’ve found myself in the same situation, I like both ships even though they conflict with each other. I also wouldn’t mind if Walky and Dorothy were to get back together eventually. Now I have three conflicting ships.

      1. Benjamin Geiger

        Walky in a cuddle puddle.

        I can dig it.

        And I eagerly await the Slipshine strip.

    7. not someone else

      Personally I’m for LucyxWalky and AmberxTherapy for the forseeable future so I dunno…

    8. Icalasari

      Simple

      LucyXWalky
      JoyceXDorothy

  4. ValdVin

    Panel six Lucy face is wonderful. Complete with stratospheric eyebrows.

    1. ValdVin

      Actually Joyce in six is great too, but one would think that is the face she uses for Billie (breaks out her flask) anecdotes more.

  5. Mr. Mendo

    Joyce is cribbing Sarah’s Sarah-isms!

  6. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Steely Dan’s “My Old School” on the hacked Muzak*

  7. Yumi

    Yeah, Joyce, and I try to pull my life together. Yet here we both are.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Have you tried ratchet straps, yet? They’re fantastic.

      1. Yumi

        You know, I’ve mostly been going with bungee cords. Ratchet straps do sound like an improvement.

        1. Clif

          Bungee cords sound less painful tho.

        2. SeanR

          Huh. I suspect you don’t know what at least one of those is.

          A bungee cord is some sort of elastic, with a hook, usually metal, on either end. The strap may be a lot of what are basically rubber bands, in a bundle, in a colorful braided sheath that looks something like an old lamp cord.
          Or it could be basically a molded strip of tire rubber with a hook on either end.
          Either way, the thickness tends to less than half an inch, and oftentimes with a rounded profile. Like rope. (Less so with the black rubber ones, which tend to be flat, and kind-of bone shaped, if you squint.)

          A ratchet strap is, a ribbon of nylon, usually about an inch wide, and FLAT, with a buckle-like thing that you feed the end through, then work the level to tighten it.
          The look a little like very long nylon web belts, except the buckle can actually be used to tighten the things, not just hold them fast by friction.

          Bungee cords ~= stretchy rope with hooks on the ends.
          Ratchet straps == flat nylon with a hard metal “buckle”, that is also flat on the back.

          If I was going to be “held together” I’d rather it be done with ratchet straps, not bungee cords.

        3. Needfuldoer

          Nah, go for the gusto. A hand winch will pull just about anything together.

      2. foamy

        I can confirm that ratchet straps are, indeed, fantastic.

  8. DailyBrad

    Gosh, Lucy’s adorable.

    Also, I hope Joyce is being a little colorful with the flask thing, but who knows with her, or Billie for that matter.

    I wonder what she likes about Walky. I mean, he’s good looking, and his frankness is probably refreshing, so I imagine that plays into it.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      She thinks he’s cute. Who needs to go beyond that, at the very first stages of attraction?

      Perhaps in addition she also has a hunch that he’s got a torso sculpted out of caramel. Perhaps in addition she also has a hunch that he initiates relationships by throwing toys at girls’ heads, which to her would be a positive thing.

      But honestly, why look for a better reason than cute?

      1. DailyBrad

        Oh, I am not passing judgment, I am more just curious about her “type” than anything else.

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          I’m guessing her type is “adorkable.” Opposites may attract, but congruent entities tend to bond.

  9. BBCC

    No one could blame you for failing this time, Joyce. Sometimes we try but we still judge.

    I mean, I’m pretty sure judging other people’s taste in partners is normally only for people you know, but still. 😛

    1. Emily

      I mean, she knows Walky and she knows he’s a manchild who probably baths once a week at best and thinks only owning one pair of shoes is manly so she doesn’t really need to know the person interested in him to think they have poor taste. You have like a photographic memory of this comic has Walky ever done laundry?

      1. thejeff

        I think the only person in this comic who’s ever done laundry is Danny.
        And it was Amber’s laundry.

      2. Khyrin

        The only persons I can remember doing laundry in this strip are Billie, Ruth, Amber, and Danny. And Danny was just finishing Amber’s Laundry.

        1. thejeff

          I could be wrong, but I don’t think Billie was actually doing laundry, but covering for carrying her clothes to Ruth’s room.

      3. BBCC

        I was referring more to Joyce judging Lucy’s taste out loud to her face. ;P

        As in we actually physically see him doing so? I don’t think so. Now, normally I would say that doesn’t mean much – we’ve never seen, for example, Dorothy doing her laundry either, but we can assume it gets done.

        But I also remember this strip exists: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/skip/

        1. Emily

          I think it’s not unreasonable to assume Walky is one of those guys who goes home every break with three bags of laundry for his mom to do for him I just wanted to be sure there wasn’t like direct evidence to the contrary before I made that assumption.

        2. BBCC

          Walky says ‘a while’ so I’m choosing to believe he has in fact done some laundry since he got here and just is very lazy about it, for the sake of my ability to look at him without gagging.

  10. Emperor Norton II

    “I think I’m interested in him”, combined with that face, equals “I can think of nothing else than me and Walky doing naked activities together until we’re too sore to continue… and then we continue anyway.”

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Lucy is secretly the horniest character in the entire canon.

      1. Spruce Goose

        The inevitable Slipshine clock continues to tick

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          I’m not yet on twitter, but I’m pretty sure “Inevitable Slipshine Clock” will be my first twitter handle. Either that, or it will be the name of my band.

        2. Clif

          Band names should have more gravitas . Slipshine would be fine for something of lesser importance, say as the name of your first child.

        3. Marsh Maryrose

          I’m pretty sure my first child will be named “Candle-Ends.” Or maybe “Thing-um-a-jig.”

        4. NickG

          Snarkish?

        5. Marsh Maryrose

          Let us hope that no Boojums show up to the birthday parties.

        6. AGV

          Hm, so “Life, uh, Finds a Way” should be a good name for my first born

        7. 3-I

          “Lucy and Amber Trade Smutty Slashfic”

      2. not someone else

        Now I cannot unsee Lucy as the Isabelle of DoA and I appreciate this thought.

  11. AntJ

    my goodness is Joyce being… pessimistic?

    1. Tacos

      Joyce turns into Sarah when she’s around Lucy in order to preserve the fabric of reality.

    2. newllend(henryvolt)

      When it comes to the rare occasion of people being more overly Sunny than her and guys she’s made up her mind to be an absolutely “nope” on her radar then yes she’s pessimistic.

  12. laladoria

    Joyce must be so confused as to why the boy she finds incredibly annoying is getting so much female attention.

    1. King Daniel

      Gotta be those caramel abs.

    2. DailyBrad

      With the added irony of her having crushed on him when she was a kid and he was a mouse.

  13. newllend(henryvolt)

    Everyone is just calling it like I see it Lucy, if you look up the definition of the word alcoholic in the dictionary then right next to the word you going to see a pictures of Billie sprawled out on someone’s floor surrounded buy beer cans after graduation night.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      The confusing part is, the picture is from six in-comic years later.

      1. newllend(henryvolt)

        Time traveling book huh…sound familiar.

    2. newllend(henryvolt)

      *Calling it like they see it

  14. Kyrik Michalowski

    I have to ask here, what does Lucy actually see in Walky? I’m confused how Lucy has any interest in him from barely any interaction with him. Is it just because she thinks he is cute?

    Also Joyce, while that may be an accurate thing that Billie says or does, saying it to her roommate may not be the most courteous thing in the world. On the bright side she is interacting with Lucy marginally better, minus the sass for liking Walky of course.

    1. Fart Captor

      She thinks he’s cute, and Billie suggested it

      Romantically inexperienced nerds can be highly susceptible to suggestion

    2. Emperor Norton II

      So far, I’d say it’s the attraction’s entirely on a physical level, which often can take about .9 nanoseconds to establish; especially at that age.

    3. Uly

      She doesn’t know him and thinks he’s cute. I mean, does she need another reason to want to know him better?

    4. DailyBrad

      Walky’s cute, she developed sympathy for him on hearing the stuff he was going through, and Walky can be charming in a frank sorta way.

    5. Zero

      I thought Joyce’s point was that she understands why Billie looks at her when thinking of Lucy.
      She is recognizing that they are actually similar, and that Lucy wasn’t making fun of her like she initially thought.

      …although she probably didn’t have to say the bit about sighing and drinking.

    6. StClair

      *looks at thread*

      I think it might be because he’s cute, yeah.

  15. ShinyNeen

    Aww. Lucy’s trying decently hard to make friends with Joyce, but it looks like there’s some hurdles to clear first >.>

    (Also, goodness, I think Joyce just uttered three solid punchlines in a row)

  16. lilyliv

    In a different universe, that could be you, Joyce. Don’t judge. 😛

    1. lilyliv

      (Also Lucy is super adorable as always, but that’s just fact.)

  17. Badgermole

    Lucy no you can do better

    1. AntJ

      I kinda want to see how Walky fares in a relationship where his girlfriend isn’t a giant ball of stress for him to defuse

      1. BBCC

        I kinda want Lucy to go out with him just to see how Linda and Charles react, but then I feel bad because Lucy is super adorable and does not deserve that.

        1. AntJ

          oof you’re right

        2. krveale

          aaaaaaaaaaaaa lucy no run

        3. Schpoonman

          I really want Lucy to go out with him because that is the PERFECT opportunity for Linda to be raked over a few miles of coal.

        4. BBCC

          I mean, his dad’s not going to be much better, but yeah, it’d be nice to see one of them getting called out.

        5. ShinyNeen

          We can shoot for a two-fer, can’t we? There’s gotta be enough coal out there for that.

        6. Felian

          Really? Dating people just to upset your parents? … at least give your partner a heads up if that’s what you’re going for, and not just use them. obviously

        7. BBCC

          I’m not hoping Walky dates her to upset his parents. I’m just saying *I*, personally, want them to start dating, in part because it will upset his parents. And then I feel bad because upsetting the Walkertons tends to go…poorly.

      2. newllend(henryvolt)

        But that’s was one of best part of romantic dynamic when it came to his relationships with Amber and Dorothy.

    2. DarkoNeko

      Litterally

    3. GenJen

      She can do different
      Better’s a stretch

      1. Emily

        It’s really not. Walky has the maturity of a 12 year old and throws toys at people like a kindergartner.

    4. MatthewTheLucky

      I kinda want to see Willis subvert all our expectations and have Joyce convince Lucy of that.

    5. Agemegos

      You can find a guy who washes regularly and wears clean clothes!

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

  18. DarkoNeko

    Oooooooooh Lucy

  19. Tacos

    I think Lucy can do better than this.

    1. Fart Captor

      She could do a lot worse, too

      1. Emily

        That’s because Mike exists not because Walky doesn’t kinda suck.

        1. Fart Captor

          He’s a cute doofus who can be very sweet despite also being very immature. For an eighteen year old he’s doing alright

        2. thejeff

          He’s also shown an impressive capability to step up when needed, despite that surface immaturity and despite hating to do so.

          I doubt I could have handled the break up with Dorothy so well at eighteen – particularly the planning to break up with her himself so that he didn’t hold her back.

        3. Emily

          For an 18 year old guy maybe but again; low bar. Also doesn’t change the fact that his personal grooming is apparently so bad he gave himself acne on his nethers through sheer grossness of his unwashed clothes.

  20. Artschoolrage

    I’m actually super bored with so many girls liking walky!! My god! Also, digging how acclimated joyce is nowadays.

    1. Michael

      +1 for this. I knew plenty of Walky’s in my early collage years. They were NOT appealing. The parade of ‘interested’ girls in an immature goof-off with little to offer is reaching Mary Sue levels.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Who’s going to be the first to headbutt him in the junk and vomit in his lap, though?

        (It’s a QC reference.)

        1. Hoodiecrow

          Please, that’s one of the oldest romantic tropes in the book. The hieroglyph for the Egyptian god Heh (search for Heh (god) on Wikipedia) represents the young unmarried man trying to be casual about it.

          In Shakespeare’s time, of course, young boys in women’s clothing did the junkbutting and lapvomiting, but it was still fun.

    2. Emily

      It’s getting grating at this point that this entirely mediocre dude is literally landing back to back girlfriends. He brings nothing to the table besides a physique that will vanish as soon as he loses his youthful metabolism and his terrible eating habits and sedentary lifestyle catch up with him and the sense of humour of a small, mean-spirited, child. I guess he has empathy but that’s very much a sometimes thing.

      1. the final pam

        Even if he’s physically attractive, the dude must smell constantly of shitty fastfood and flatulence. It’s also hard to evaluate how his physique is unless you see him naked, but he wears a hoodie all the time.

        1. BBCC

          Walky does shower. His laundry habits are gross, but he does shower.

        2. the final pam

          Showering doesn’t really help from Taco Bell farts. And if Walky’s anything like his self in the rest of the Walkyverse, he has those often and they are rank.

        3. BBCC

          Walky’s already pretty different from Walkyverse Walky. I think he and Joyce are both much more ‘grown up’ than their counterparts were for most of their time over in It’s Walky.

          For instance, here he seems to eat more McDonalds than Taco Bell.

        4. the final pam

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/03-faz-is-great/coldturkey/

          Walky’s still gross, that’s literally all I’m saying.

        5. thejeff

          Consider the possibility that he was exaggerating or just making it up, just like he doesn’t actually think her stupid pretty face is dumb or that she smells.

          It’s hard to tell with Walky whether he’s serious about all the gross things he says or whether he’s exaggerating for his slacker image.

          This is actually a pretty common problem in one way or another in this comic. Sarah’s unreliable about her own actions and motives, because she routinely projects her grumpy misanthropist image to keep from looking like she cares. Becky’s persona is about 95% emotional armor and that made a lot of readers misjudge her.

        6. the final pam

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

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/03-the-first-step-towards-recovery/congratulations/

          The idea: Walky is a gross teenage boy with middling hygienic tendencies with a preference for shitty fast food which results in smelly farts, of which he has talked plenty about before and have shown up in canon before

          Y’all: Walky is exaggerating for his slacker image. Walky eating Taco Bell on the toilet is comparable to Sarah pushing people away because she’s scared of being vulnerable.

          This is about as deep as a rain puddle, but you’re acting like it’s a lake. I’m joking, but okay seriously- Walky, canonically, is a smell gross boy. He loves potty humor. He wore a t-shirt with a butt taco on it. He doesn’t do his laundry often enough that he has zits on his taint. None of these are particularly attractive traits, especially not something his abs (that are hidden underneath a hoodie) can make up for. This is the literal only thing that is being brought up and somehow, I really fucking doubt Walky’s lying about eating nachitos on the toilet, because that is completely in character for him.

        7. BBCC

          No argument here, but my point is he probably doesn’t smell THAT bad, although you’re right that he does have an odour as Dorothy put it – that’s probably his non-Dorothy bought clothes. Sal commented his older hoodies stink.

    3. timemonkey

      Every Willis comic has that one character who gets way more romantic attention than they logically should.

      1. Artschoolrage

        Blegh. I’m starting to think walky will get no development unless he’s with a woman that’ll “change his ways”

  21. theKOT

    I think walky’s sense of humor is partly what everyone sees in him.
    The nachitos off the toilet bowl lifestyle isn’t something that you’d know just by looking at him.

  22. DailyBrad

    Headcanon that Lucy sounds like an older Connie Maheswaran.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      That goes well with Ruth sounding like Peridot.

      1. AGV

        Aaaaaaaaa why
        Also, Billy sounds like Lapis then (which is quite ironic)

      2. timemonkey

        Ruth can not sound like Peridot, if she did she would have never been intimidating.

      3. NickG

        Carla is more of a Peridot, I think.

    2. NickG

      Dorothy sounds like Pearl obviously.

  23. Woof

    Lucy is quickly becoming one of my favorites.

  24. Marsh Maryrose

    Took me long enough to realize this, but…

    Lucy is reacting really calmly to discovering the fact that her new roommate is a notorious alcoholic.

    1. Solenoid

      The realization dawns slowly. As yet, there isn’t much more than her reputation to show her how severe the problem is.

  25. Lacuna

    Is Joyce emotionally aware and/or mature enough to tell Lucy “hey, Walky just broke up with his girlfriend about an hour ago, and that girlfriend was sort of a rebound from another breakup, so you should probably ease off for right now”. In a more Joyce-y way, obviously. Too tired to write good dialogue.

    Joyce has made incredible strides, but I’m honestly not sure if she’d notice that or even think to notice that, since she doesn’t fully understand what’s happening with Walky/Amber.

    1. BenRG

      Given how Joyce and Walky interact in this universe, I strongly suspect that she’s raging in her head and asking why so many women are romantically interested in that… that… that… WALKY!

      Whether Joyce is interested in him or just can’t get why anyone else would be is unclear to me at this point. There is definitely a Calvin and Suzy vibe that suggests that they’d be best friends but for the fact they press each other’s buttons too effectively.

      1. Emily

        I really hope she’s not interested in him because the trope of a woman’s dislike for a man actually being a result of repressed desire for him is gross and needs to die.

        1. MatthewTheLucky

          God yes. It’s demeaning to women and toxic to men. When I was 11 I was told to try flirting with a bully because her physically attacking me was clearly a sign of comedically bad flirting, after I’d just been injured by her.

      2. timemonkey

        I think Joyce understands the physical side of liking Walky but she finds the personality so repulsive it ruins the rest.

  26. Bagge

    One minute into the conversation, and they are down to their third restart.

    Things going well 🙂

  27. PB

    Hmmmmm. I THINK I can still see them becoming friends, but we’ll see.

  28. C.T Phipps

    I ship Lucy/Walky less than anything else I have shipped in any fandom up to and including the Legend of Korra’s Mako and anyone.

    Walky and Amber 4 ever.

    1. Michael

      I ship the incredibly unlikely Lucy/Joyce more than Lucy/Walky.

    2. Dana

      My otp is Amber and happiness.

      1. Deathjavu

        It seems like your ship is a looooooong way from coming in ;_;

        1. ShinyNeen

          It’s a heck of a long haul, but it’ll be worth the wait!

        2. Clif

          Eyh. Happiness is probably a bit much to hope for, but Amber and Walky have a certain unexpected chemistry. I really don’t think that Sal will want to sink the ship and the other icebergs will take a while to hit. So, rough waters ahead, but sail on garbage skow, sail on.

        3. BBCC

          I mean, regardless of whether Sal cares if they break up, Walky still might not want to date someone who’s stabbed his sister before. Like, that is a lot to take in and it does make things awkward.

    3. newllend(henryvolt)

      I’d rather Walky and Amber try to work through things instead of turning tail at the first signs of things getting rough because I feel like there’s so much being wasted to just end it that quickly.

      People made it apparent that the relationship was unhealthy but I can’t help but to disagree with that. Walkys found someone who can operate on the same wavelength as him in the same fashion as Dorothy only the difference is this relationship can bloom it is something serious in time without knowing from the very start that it’s nothing more then a fleeting moment. While as for Amber she’s gone from ” I’m garbage and I hate myself” to “I’m garbage but it’s not such a bad thing since I don’t haft to be Garbage alone.” It’s nice change for Amber and likes herself better when she’s with him and it’s not hard to see why, she’s more open and honest about herself and that should be a good thing for a person or two people in a relationship to grow properly.

      In short Lucy is cool and there’s no reason to not give her a shot but we already have too much of a good thing what the Walky and Amber going to end prematurely. But even so if that does happen all accepted since I was happy with what I got so far, like Walky said ” it was nice, even if only for a moment.”

      1. newllend(henryvolt)

        *she likes herself better when she’s with him…. damn sometimes I wish gravatar had an edit comment option.

      2. Zatar

        I don’t disagree but most relationship’s version of “getting rough” is not “She stabbed my sister.”

        1. newllend(henryvolt)

          True, I don’t know why I keep overlooking that.

    4. timemonkey

      I think by the end Mako could have a LI and not completely suck at it, he’s grown as a person.

  29. Danielle

    the joyce lucy club

  30. HMH

    I so cannot wait for Walky’s mom to have an exceedingly high point of view of Amber, and yet an even lower one of Lucy, even though Lucy is far more like what she might say Lucy is the sort of girl she’d want her son to date…

    1. C.T Phipps

      I believe that would depend on whether Lucy’s family is rich or not.

      1. rectilinearpropagation

        Money probably won’t trump the fact that Lucy is darker than Walky.

  31. JessWitt

    Yep my ship’s happening. But now Amber’s caught in yet another love triangle.

    1. BenRG

      Amber’s likely response would be to sigh and mutter: “Figures.”

      1. JessWitt

        *sigh* Yeahh.

  32. bejouled

    Joyce/Walky is my OTP and if it doesn’t happen in this universe I will be VERY PUT OUT.

    But it seems pretty far away at the moment.

  33. Pablo360

    Alternative panel 1 dialog: “Alright, let’s do this one last time. My name is Lucy Glenn.”

  34. NinjaNick

    Don’t hold your breath on that, Lucy.

  35. BenRG

    I don’t think that Lucy could have chosen a conversational tack less likely to earn Joyce’s approval!

  36. GrantimusMaximus

    CONFOUND THAT WALKY BOY! He’ll drive Joyce to drink! (…Capri Sun)

  37. SpaceshipPilot

    …Yep, I still think these two are twins separated at birth. Joyce’s expression in the last panel is pretty much my expression around my sister.

  38. notlegato

    so. cute. christ.

  39. Chris Phoenix

    OK, Lucy is a saint.
    Joyce: “You suck so badly that you are literally driving your roommate to drink, and she lets everyone know how she feels about you.”
    Lucy: “Wow, I’m alarmed at how much she drinks (I hope she’s OK).”

    As to the Lucy/Walky ship: I perceive Walky’s character as being better than his actions; he’s often foolish and thoughtless, but he’s also kind and caring; he has poor study habits, but he’s intelligent; etc. Given that (similar to Danny) he’s a good egg with often-poor presentation; and she is sensible, forthright, and forgiving of flaws; I have to wonder whether dating Lucy could actually improve his game to the point that he’d be a good match for her?

    1. Zaxares

      I’m inclined to think so. Walky is overall a good person, as you pointed out. He just has a propensity for laziness and a reluctance to apply himself. (Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Some people are just unambitious, and if they’re content and happy working, say, an entry-level job for their entire life… Well, there are many people who try for the gold and end up bitterly disappointed with what they managed to achieve, so who’s to say which approach ultimately resulted in greater happiness?)

      The one thing that perhaps would give me pause about a Walky-Lucy pairing is that Lucy appears to be an extrovert, particularly how she’s always organizing social events. Walky, in contrast, is very much an introvert. Depending on how much each person cleaves to their type, it could wind up in a situation where Lucy always wants to hang out with their social circle, while Walky just wants to stay at home and watch cartoons with Lucy. It’s possible to compromise on this, of course, but my own observations and experiences with relationships has taught me that usually, one person ends up giving way all the time and eventually comes to resent the other person for either constantly dragging them to social events they have no interest in attending, or unhappy that they’re always staying home and doing the same thing over and over.

      1. Samantha Johnson

        I agree with this, I think the bigest Obstacle to their relationship working would be differing social needs. Lucy seems to be very personable adn friendly and outgoing she needs people around and seems to care very much about appearance and very intuitive. Walky is very introverted and prone to laziness and needs time away. It could be solved by Lucy doing a girls night a few times a month to give her a needed social boost and Walky some quiet time away from friends to recharge so I think it could work. I think they could balance each other well.

  40. Emily

    Even when Billie isn’t even in the strip she finds new ways to make me hate her.

  41. sdrainbow

    *starry eyes* Is that a classic Sarah-Side-Eye I spy?

  42. Eldritch Gentleman

    That’s a lie Joyce, you judge Walky all the time, every time even while you are in deep sleep.

  43. Thomas O.

    Translation: I try not to involve myself in weird alternate timelines.

  44. Whaatt

    Lucy: than what’s wrong with your face ? You seem like you think Walky is-
    Joyce: I TRY NOT TO JUDGE.
    I don’t Lucy’s feelings to get hurt tho. It’s kinda obvious Walky isn’t interested

  45. Zee

    Every Lucy page in this strip is adorable and perfect

  46. Deanatay

    Joyce: OMG, I see it now! How alike we are! We’re totally alike! We are SO alike in every way!
    Lucy: I think I might be… interested in Walky…
    Joyce: WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE

  47. Booker

    I was torn, but I love Lucy now. That being said. She can do so much better than Walky. I may catch flak for this, but he demonstrates often that he is kinda irresponsible and insensative about many things.

    1. DarkoNeko

      if you catch flak for saying Walky is irresponsible, you may as well get mauled for saying water is wet.

    2. Indoor Cat

      Oh, I agree. I wrote a comment that’s probably tl;dr, but essentially, I want to see a Lucy-centered romance plot really badly! But, just, not with any of the currently single male characters.

      1. Clif

        What would you have against LucyxDanny?

    3. newllend(henryvolt)

      I think Lucy’s new gimmick might as well be “She deserves a lot better then what she’s settling for and doesn’t realize it.”

  48. Indoor Cat

    TBH there just aren’t a lot of shippable guys in this story? Jacob is taken, and he’s only really interacted with Raidah-and-Sarah-adjacent people anyway.

    Joe is growing and maturing, which is great, but honestly I can only see him with someone like Roz, or maybe Malaya? Someone who would find stuff like the “do-list” forgivable rather than eternally off putting.

    Mike is just a jerk, Ethan seems to be completely gay rather than bi, Danny is…eh. Nothing really un-shippable about Danny I guess, just not my cup of tea. Actually, I can see a DannyxEthan ship going well.

    Which leaves Walky. He’s single, attracted to women, and his character flaws are more like “immature” and “kinda lazy” rather than “mean” or “judgemental,” something both Amber and Lucy find easy to relate to. So…best of very few options.

    Even if Jacob was single, Lucy and Amber would probably find his confidence and emotional maturity intimidating. He wouldn’t judge them for being less emotionally mature and more anxious, but they might judge themselves by comparison. Whereas confidence and self-assuredness puts people like Sarah and Joyce at ease, and with Raidah it’s a like-attracts-like situation.

    Maybe a currently-minor male character getting ‘leveled up’ would break up some of the romantic plotlines that keep getting so Walky-centered. Zaph, maybe?

    1. thejeff

      It’s definitely a point I’ve noticed before, mostly in context of possible Joyce ships. Barring new characters she’s pretty much stuck with Joe, since Joyce/Jacob is a disaster.
      And I agree they’re not nearly ready for each other yet. Joyce may find the list forgivable, but she’s also not ready for sex and I can’t see even the new improved Joe going for a long time platonic relationship.

      If you’ve read the Joe/Malaya slipshine, they’re not getting together. And I actually think Roz finds the list less forgivable than most other characters. I suspect their occasional hook-ups are history.

  49. abysswatcher1993

    Joyce, Joyce, Joyce. I could break the fifth wall that separates stories and show you your alternate universe husband. Also, you should know that some women like men with tanned skin and a happy go lucky attitude. Not everyone is like you, running to hunky men (Ethan shares that sentiment with you though). Also, you have to judge people sometimes, specially if they have serious issues like alcoholism.

  50. stoodmuffin

    EVEN JOYCE IS HARDENED AND JADED NEXT TO LUCY. HOLY SHIT.

  51. Roborat

    OMG, is that a Charlie Brown smile on Lucy? Is Sir Willis sneaking in a meta joke here?

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