175

Overexert
Posted on February 8, 2025 by David M Willis

175 thoughts on “Overexert”

  1. NGPZ

    that’s a “I wish I had some serotonin instead of these huge tits” face if I ever seen one

    T_T

    1. Justnobodyfqwl

      God bless Jennifer’s Boobs, the most important characters in the comic

      1. NGPZ

        im excited for SarahTonyn myself, and really wish i had more serotonin T_T

        1. CianM1301

          Now that’s a good ship name.

    2. ian livs

      Agreed–I see that expression in the mirror all the time, and those last 2 panels are nailing the vibe XD

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        > those last 2 panels are nailing the vibe

        Oh is that what she’s doing? I didn’t see it on her caddy. Maybe it’s hidden in her towel? ?

        1. Michael Steamweed

          I see what you did there.

    3. Bruno

      Are they mutually exclusive?

      1. Bruno

        I mean are they mutually exclusive?

    4. Kazuma Taichi

      I’m not sure I’m familiar with the face, but my best friend lives that life so I’m quite familiar with the sentiment
      (meanwhile I’m sitting here asking for both serotonin and some tits)

  2. Doctor_Who

    (Linkin Park intensifies)

    Jennifer: “Ew, what? We’re on a floating timeline here, Hybrid Theory released when I was negative six. “Play That Funky Music” was the same age when “Crawling” came out as “Crawling” is now. Just how old are y-”

    (Linkin Park intensifies)

    1. Random832

      what are the kids these days listening to instead of Crawling?

      1. mindbleach

        Jennifer’s basically looping on Operation: Mindcrime right now.

    2. jeffepp

      And we know how that… ended.

  3. Nono

    Are there ever any happy showers here, it’s all sad shower feels.

    1. Thag Simmons

      I feel like the venn diagram between happy showers and showers that are significant enough to get paneltime is pretty small

      1. Decidedly Orthogonal

        Or all the happy ones are Patreon exclusives. Because reasons…

        1. Michael Steamweed

          I’m on the Patreon. We don’t see any happy fun time showers. We are sad about it.

        2. RoyanRannedos

          I think happy fun time showers run into complications if you try them in the communal shower room.

        3. Michael Steamweed

          Well, it depends if Joyce is watching out or not. She’s a good lookout.

        4. BorkBorkBork

          I mean. Are you just on the Patreon, or are you on the OTHER Patreon?

          … legit asking, I don’t know what happens on the other one, but I had assumed happy shower time.

    2. Tesset

      This one’s kind of a happy shower
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-14/03-trystin-in-the-wind/cleanest/

    3. mindbleach

      Are we counting that time Joyce asked for advice?

    4. Tan

      Two happy showers for the price of one: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/04-dont-stop-billie-ving/heeheeheeheehee/

      1. Michael Steamweed

        Very few people are averse to pie. Pie is good.

      2. BorkBorkBork

        So far all of the happy showers include Roz.

        Coincidence? I think not!

    5. Mark

      Well, when you’re happy, showering is kind of an interruption. And when you’re sad, a shower can help a little. So, sad showers should predominate.

  4. Sirksome

    Just gonna say Jacob and Lucy try too hard to be nice. It’s not their fault but some people don’t want that.

    1. Charles Phipps

      Jennifer isn’t really doing better by not having friends, though.

    2. Archieve

      can’t decide if Jennifer is on the verge of wanting that or withdrawing further.

      1. Charles Phipps

        An insight into Jennifer’s mind is “Well, don’t overexert yourself.” It’s another damn example of Jennifer testing people. She dumped Asher to test to see if he’d come crawling back to her, she got mad at Ruth for ‘abandoning’ her, and now she’s mad that Lucy and Jacob aren’t pushing.

        Jennifer has internalized that you’re supposed to ignore a person’s wishes to fight for them.

        1. Sirksome

          I don’t think that’s the case here. She definitely has internalized that and we should all be more pissed at Ruth for training her to have this expectation, but I think she’s just kind of done. Her last three major relationships destructed at left her with huge emotional trauma. Even though Asher really liked her that relationship was doomed to fail. I don’t know what Jennifer needs but I don’t think she’s saying “try harder” to anyone anymore.

        2. thejeff

          I’m not sure how Ruth trained her to have this expectation?
          Just by ultimately breaking up with her for real?

        3. Sirksome

          Ruth taught her to pick locks. Ruth admitted even after breaking up with her she expected Jennifer to fight for her.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/02-turning-saints-into-the-sea/assumption/

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/02-turning-saints-into-the-sea/pettyselfish/

          This is after of course the physical and psychological torment Ruth subjected Jen to before they even got together.

          Ruth had even broken up with her a few times mostly over fear of the nature of their relationship, their self destructive ideology, the drinking being really bad for either of them, ect.

          So I can’t really pit all of Jennifer’s toxic relationship expectations on her alone. It was a team effort.

        4. thejeff

          Oh, I misread what you were saying. Makes sense now.

        5. Yumi

          They really baked the expectation into each other.
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-9-comic/04-vote-for-robin/refusing/

        6. Bittersweet

          Jennifer and Asher were really happy together until she threw a tantrum over a shirt, I wouldn’t call it doomed to fail. Was kind of squarely Jennifer’s decisions that ruined it. Pretty sure Ruth’s thing was mostly Ruth’s fault though unless I’m forgetting something.

    3. Jeremiah

      You reminded me of this gumball quote
      “No one is that nice! No ONE! Because of they were I’d have to ask some very difficult questions about myself!”
      In short, thinking someone “tries too hard to be nice” is kind of weird. Especially here where he is just Being nice.

      1. Ed Callahan

        Sometimes I get the feeling some DOA fans are a little too protective of their misery.

        1. Sirksome

          I’m interested in what you mean by this. Not to spark conflict, just for clarification. I feel like it’s easy to jump to assumptions about a commenter, but I really just like discussing the comic.

      2. Sirksome

        It’s not about them being nice in general. It’s about them not getting their head bit off by someone not ready to receive help. Or risking alienating that person by reaching out and annoying them. I have personal experience with this and it doesn’t end well. Jacob and Lucy are trying too hard, it’s who they are but that’s not always the right move.

        1. Jeremiah

          Trying too hard, by Jacob asking one time to Jennifer if she wanna hang out, to I Claude her? I just think that is a weird way to see this interaction.

        2. Brendan of 6

          ^This^

    4. Mark

      “Trying too hard to be nice” is how you find out who doesn’t appreciate it, so you can be nice by not doing that any more for that person.

      1. Jeremiah

        And is egue again they are not trying too hard ata lol, it is just, normal levels of being nice.

        1. Jeremiah

          *not hard at all.

    5. Hroethvitnir

      Eh. I find the average level of sweetness between them… well, not for me. But inviting her to breakfast was a nice, and normal thing to do. Someone who acted like Jennifer does would be totally isolated a lot faster irl than in comic land.

  5. Shakes

    >tfw no gf

    1. morhek

      >tfw no f

      1. AGV/Ruby

        that fuck when no feeling

        1. Michael Steamweed

          >feeling that when no fuck

  6. Charles Phipps

    Jennifer really doesn’t want anyone reaching out to be her friend, does she?

    1. Archieve

      I think remembering Alice right after Ruth confessed to still wanting her has her feeling very conflicted over what she wants. All that’s clear is that right now she doesn’t want to be around a happy couple.

      1. Rose by Any other Name

        … I’m kinda lowkey wondering if bi-erasure Jennifer is gonna snap and be like:
        “Fuck it! Only women have ever loved me, so I’m just a fucking lesbian now apparently. Better find a girlfriend to immediately move in with and whatever other fucking lesbian stereotypes I can think of.”

        1. Charles Phipps

          The irony being Asher really did care for her and was angry she dumped him for no other reason than he wore a funny shirt. Jennifer didn’t even LIKE Asher and tried to establish a boundary that backfired.

        2. DailyBrad

          I feel like there was tension even before that, like when he came to her room wanting sex in a strip prior to all of that, and she seemed less into it than him. I kind of just get the impression that the expiration date was looming before this on what seems to have been something of a rebound after Ruth dumped her.

        3. cbwroses

          I don’t recall that.
          Maybe you mean a different strip, but if you mean the one I’m about to share, that’s not what happened:

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/04-dont-stop-billie-ving/attractionlevel/

        4. DailyBrad

          Ah okay, maybe I am conflating things, it has been years, after all.

          In any case, she wasn’t goo-goo about him even before the “let’s gaslight Walky to try to recruit him” shtick from the Raidah crew.

        5. GholaHalleck

          … Oh my god I hope she goes after Leslie.

          I have been aching for someone to make a “Your name is literally lesbian, you are the most lesbian to ever lesbian” rant…

        6. RassilonTDavros

          Considering the student-teacher power imbalance between them, that’s… honestly totally plausible for Jennifer, yes.

        7. Thag Simmons

          I feel like she would be about as successful as her attempt to woo Tony. Maybe less

        8. Mark

          Or Daisy finally gets lucky(?).

        9. Shadowsnail

          Jennifer (or maybe another name shift – Jenn?) asks Dorothy to sew her an Amazi-Girl costume and then takes a trip to the newspaper office.
          Or she reverses the color scheme and wears a U for Unremarka-Girl.

        10. Shadowsnail

          Wait – it’s been there in her last name all along. In her current mental state, it would be W for Worthless Girl.
          I somehow slipped from silly to tragic here. Someone please help Jennifer.

    2. Sirksome

      Considering what’s happened to her through the last year it’s understandable. Every relationship she’s had has not worked out well. At that point distancing yourself is easier than being a drama hurricane for others.

    3. DashWallkick

      Friendship is for losers and dorks, the only thing that matters is looking cool and the admiration of your peers. The fact that she’s visibly about to cry because she’s so lonely and confused and miserable is unrelated.

      1. Sillygoose

        Completely unrelated indeed. Clearly the last two panels merely indicte that the hot water ran out.

    4. Bruno

      Ok, come on. Hanging out with those two looks hellish.

      1. Deanatay

        Indeed, LucEthan are in that Happy Honeymoon phase where everything is about looking at each other, touching each other, and giggling hysterically. Absolutely insufferable to anyone outside their relationship.

        1. cbwroses

          Jacob, not Ethan.

        2. Shadowsnail

          Would that make it Jucy?

  7. IntangibleMatter

    Jennifer could really use some antidepressants, huh?

    Honestly way less people in this comic are medicated than they should be.

    1. Amelie Wikström

      Jennifer thinks she’s too smart for therapy so I don’t see that happening soon.

  8. Opus the Poet

    I recognize that facial expression. That’s depression, I saw that expression staring back at me for many years while I was growing old.

  9. Mano308gts

    I don’t often focus on the artwork…. But the last two panels here are a really excellent job of doing more with almost nothing. There is a strong emotional shift between “annoyed depression” in panel 4, and “on the verge of tears” in panel 5. The differences are almost invisible (slightly more shading under the eyes, slightly flatter lip) but if works.

    1. audkitten

      This is almost exactly what I was thinking too

    2. Sporky

      I gotta be honest – other than the natural variation from drawing the same thing twice, the expression looks exactly the same to me in both panels.

      1. clif

        It may be all in our minds, but it’s kind of what I saw is well. I don’t know what it is but whatever Willis did, even if it is just repetition, subtly works to depict evolving emotion.

      2. Thag Simmons

        She does definitely feel sadder in the last panel, but it’s a subtle difference to be sure

        1. Matthew Davis

          Much less. Leslie wants a relationship, but she wants a meaningful relationship, and her pre-comic arc is all about establishing her boundaries. She’d talk Jennifer down and send her to counseling before adding her to the list of students to worry about.

    3. Thomas

      Thank you for spotting this. It’s verrrry subtle, but it’s definitely there. Mostly in the eyes. Tears are welling up.

      Which is a good thing, honestly. Sadness is a feeling. It’s a huge improvement over not feeling anything at all. Or over anger, which often has sadness at its core.

      It’s a bit frustrating how Willis can be this subtle and still has Joe’s pupils travel all over his face to do expressions.

      1. Matthew Davis

        To be fair, Joe is an OG character design from pre-Roomies days evolved to the present day.

        1. Thomas

          You mean all pre-Roomies characters still have dot eyes? Danny, Jason, Joe, Sal, Walky… yeah, that works out. With Howard as a possible exception due to wearing glasses.

    4. Davus

      And also good on willis, in the way that he re-draws the panels. Another artist might have copied and pasted but no, he redraws each panel, literally every time. I’m pretty sure he said this somewhere.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        I believe Willis sometimes copy-pastes the pencils, but always inks each panel individually.

        also sry for the accidental report

    5. anonymsly

      The eyebrows are a little different between panels too! It’s really impressive expression work.

    6. zee

      Oh I think she’s already crying with the placement of those water streams. Cry in the shower so you can lie to yourself that you’re not crying

  10. Pocky

    I too do not wish to go places with people early in the morning.

    1. clif

      I’m perfectly willing to go places with sane people I know well early in the morning, but I need a couple of hours of waking up before I can deal with unreasonably cheerful people.

  11. AnonGrouch

    oof

  12. DailyBrad

    Jacob’s good at least for keeping his eyes up, given this is Jennifer, and there’s basically zero percent chance she’s got pants on. Got that going for him, at least.

    1. Jeremiah

      And you know being nice, smart, attractive young men, build like a brick house.

  13. jeffepp

    Two comics in a row ending in her crying. She’s not in a good place.

    1. Devin

      I don’t think we’ve ever seen Jennifer in an actually good place. I think the closest we’ve seen is her lying to herself about that.

  14. bwooom

    I’m so excited for the Unrelenting Jennifer Agony chapter.

    1. DashWallkick

      I am vibrating with delight for her to ruin her life from her own actions even more than she already does.

      1. Matthew Davis

        Oh crap. She’s going to try to fix Dorothy, isn’t she? All her self-destructive behaviors stem in part from trying to solve problems for other people, and Dorothy’s the character who is most obviously got them.

        1. anonymsly

          Jennifer thinks she fixed Dorothy already, I think. If we’re unbelievably lucky, the storyline is where the alpha bongo problem solver realizes that the person most in need of the alpha bongo problem solver is the alpha bongo herself.

        2. DashWallkick

          Yeah, if we’re centering this much on Jennifer and she’s crying in the shower, I get the feeling this ends with her at least looking in a mirror for once, or maybe even quietly and abashedly asking for help because she’s at the end of her rope. Hell, we’ve had a lot of talk of suicidal ideation around Becky lately, wouldn’t surprise me if we get a redux with Billie relapsing or something.

  15. Charles Phipps

    I note that jennifer didn’t say NO.

    Then Jacob rescinded the invitation.

    1. Thomas

      I note that Jacob did nothing of the sort.

    2. Needfuldoer

      She implicitly declined the invitation.

      1. Charles Phipps

        She just glared.

        1. Freezer

          And in the real world, where there are no telepaths, that’s a no.

    3. zee

      He read the room

    4. Jeremiah

      He didn’t recind it, she glared at him, he fell he made her mad somehow and explained that he wanted to include her and then Jennifer show disinterest in his attempt to be nice.

  16. TheKelliestKelly

    In regards to the alt text: that’s dedication! Have you ever wished you did location tags as well? You know, so your archive binge could be limited to shower scenes in these types of situations

  17. RassilonTDavros

    It’s a subtle thing, but I really love the slight change in Jennifer’s expression between Panels 4 and 5. Something about that little shift in her eyebrows really gives the sense that she’s gone from feeling dead inside to feeling outright miserable. It’s definitely not just shower water running down her face.

    A small detail, maybe, but sometimes those mean all the difference in the world.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      (I somehow missed Mano308gts’s earlier comment, which says basically the same thing. Oops.)

  18. Lingo

    “I gotta practice looking and acting like Ethan so I can lure Asher back into my passive-aggressive clutches.”

    (kidding)

    1. Lingo

      I keep forgetting about my avatar, lol

    2. Theluxland

      I though it was Ethan yesterday because I keep forgetting who room with who, I feel stupid now lol

  19. Bryy

    So.

    The next two storylines are going to hurt, huh?

  20. Doki

    This is definitely the face of someone whose therapy sessions fixed all their problems.

    Definitely.

  21. MickeeC

    Fire. Her. Fraud. Of. A. Therapist.

    1. AGV/Ruby

      To be fair, not even the best therapist can help someone who will not open up. And Jennifer is immensely stuck in her shell.

      1. CianM1301

        Well, when something’s stuck in its shell, y’know what you do? You get a screwdriver and pry that shit open.
        (Note, this should not be attempted with turtles/tortoises).

        1. Jeremiah

          Yeah when you try to do that with a person it only make them clamp up harder and possibly snap off your finger in the process (you figure out what that a metaphor for)

        2. zee

          Dawg the reason you made a physical comparison is because that shit is impossible in a non physical sense. That is exactly the opposite of what you’re taught to do in Therapy School. All that’ll do is retraumatize a patient and make them resent you and therapy as a whole. Therapy only works if the patient wants it to, and billifer clearly doesn’t want to introspect like that

        3. Mark

          It just occurred to me (because of what I’ve been reading elsewhere today) that this is very like what a good interrogator does, if the object is to get at the truth.

    2. Nymph

      It has been a few weeks, maybe a month+ in comic. Even if Jennifer was doing all the work (and we know she isn’t), that just isn’t enough time to sort out complex issues like the ones Jennifer has.

      It’s talking to someone and maybe getting meds, it isn’t a magic wand.

      1. thejeff

        Is she still in therapy? We know she started before the timeskip? Has there been anything since then about her continuing?

    3. Bruno

      Someone get that ler some treats.

  22. Ray Radlein

    When I first read this, I briefly thought that Jacob and Lucy had started pouring water on Jennifer’s head in response to her comments

  23. DashWallkick

    Jennifer’s tears are delicious to me, this is decades of issues coming home to roost and I am delighted by her life collapsing for the second time as she pretends she doesn’t care (she does, more than anything, she cares so so so so much).

  24. Thomas

    Jennifer’s eyesight is bad enough that she needs glasses to gather her toiletries and/or walk to the showers.

    1. zee

      It might just be that it’s disorienting to walk around without them. When I was on the brink of being a full-time glasses wearer walking around without them made me feel like I lost my depth perception. I feel woozy if I don’t wear them while I’m sick

    2. Yumi

      As someone who always wears glasses, that just seems…normal. Like, I get out of bed, I put my glasses on. I don’t just not wear my glasses because I could technically do some tasks without them.

      1. Thomas

        I won’t put my glasses on if I’m headed for the shower directly after waking up. If I first have breakfast, it’s different. Not much experience with communal showers down hallways. I think I could manage that without glasses.

        1. Yumi

          Could manage, yeah, but could also manage to have breakfast without glasses. Going down the dorm hall would definitely increase how much I’d want my glasses with me.

  25. VicMortimer

    Hey look! 100% of everything involved is 100% toxic!

  26. foducool

    “why am I like this…”

  27. brumagem

    Been there :{

  28. ADLegend21

    ugh, Lucy. Don’t remind me.

  29. Suet

    …mood.

    although I prefer the water sprayed towards my face

    Wonder how long til’ alt-text discovered the shower caddy and the shampoo’s colors

  30. Rabisch

    Is Jennifer crying in the last panel or just really sad? Probably Jacob’s good intentions make her realise how miserable she is. Well, better cry that try to hit someone.

    1. Mark

      Looks like full-bore weeping to me.

  31. Kyulen

    Sometimes it feels like Jennifer wants to stay miserable. I’m not a morning person and I’m an introvert, but even I would’ve turned them down nicer than Jennifer just did.

    1. Bruno

      Jennifer legitimately has no concept that you should be nice to people at all.

      1. Charles Phipps

        I think it’s more that everything about society and television taught her it’s a zero sum game so the fact that Joyce and Lucy are succeeding in college is ruining her worldview.

  32. Needfuldoer

    Shampoo for her real friends, real poo for her sham friends.

    1. Nymph

      Amazing paraphrasing.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Oh that little nugget was absolutely stolen from somewhere. Probanly an old xkcd.

  33. Charles Phipps

    Jennifer must go ruin Alice’s current relationship and win her back!

  34. Amós Batista

    sorry, no third-wheeling ?‍?

  35. Maddie B

    Girl is not okay.

    1. Arianod

      Never has been.

  36. Charles Phipps

    Jennifer’s genuine hatred of Lucy’s happiness is kind of the most interesting thing here. She tried to sabotage her and Walky and Lucy just stood up to her with Jacob.

    1. Bruno

      She’s passingly annoyed with it.

      So am I?

      1. Jeremiah

        And that is kind of weird, and in her case is very much resentments that she is happier that she is without having to change who she is.

    2. Sere

      Jennifer has never liked being woken up in the morning. I imagine being on the receiving end of getting kicked out by the roommate for the first time, finally let in, and then waking up early to laughing is less than desirable. I’m a morning person, and even I would be “I need you to be quiet or get out so I can have a moment alone for a bit, thanks.”

  37. BBCC

    Not a good time, Jacob.

    1. Mark

      Nah, it could have been exactly the right time, but Jennifer is not that person.

  38. darkoneko

    Jacob, just stay away from the dumpster fire, for your own good

  39. CianM1301

    Not now, Jacob, can’t you see she wishes to brood in her own self-loathing?

    1. Mark

      I think he saw that clearly.

  40. Arianod

    If it had been me, I’d just have said “screw it, she finished the bottles and bought new brands”

    1. Thomas

      Absolutely. Who knows how many bottles Jennifer finished in the mean time? Exactly.

  41. TheFlamingonator

    Still repping the Blue and Gold i see (go dragons?)

  42. thumb

    Willis… it’s been a while. She could have bought new brands.

    1. thejeff

      It’s been years. The brand could have changed color schemes.

  43. Deanatay

    Jennethan Billingseigel.

    Emothan II: THE INTENSIFYING

  44. Hof1991

    The invite was the final straw. Ruth. Asher walking away. Then Alice in dreams. And behind all that parents who hardly know she exists.

    She so desperately needs therapy and is so unlikely to get it.

  45. Deanatay

    Also, is ALL of that water coming from the shower head?

  46. Greylurker

    That Sobriety Pin is about to fall in the trashcan isn’t it

  47. goggleman64

    *Such* good subtle facial work in those last two panels ~ when I look at the details I’m still not sure what all changed, but my brain immediately registered the shift.

  48. Adept

    I’d ask what she’s got to be so pissy about, but it’s not like Billie / Jennifer ever really needs a reason.

  49. Devin

    I am desperately hoping for Jennifer to have a breakthrough. My biggest frustration with this character was that she seemed for a little while to be making some kind of progress (albeit in some deeply messed up ways), and then fell backwards harder and further than I ever would have expected.

    1. Jeremiah

      That is exactly why I love her so much.

  50. Astariel

    Lucy and Jacob are both good, kind people who deserve their happiness, but I would not want to be third wheel to their honeymoon phase, especially first thing in the morning, and especially if I were even slightly depressed, much less on the verge of meltdown like Jennifer is here. I’d try to be a little more polite about it, though.

    I see a lot of people are enjoying schadenfreude on Jennifer here, but personally I hope she hits bottom and starts to get better in this storyline. Whatever her faults, she doesn’t deserve to be this miserable.

    1. Jeremiah

      Eeeh, she deserves a little bit.

    2. Needfuldoer

      She threw away her relationship with Asher because she got too caught up in playing little miss haughty princess, now she’s miserable seeing Lucy with someone she probably sees as far out of her league.

      She’s thiis close to some long overdue introspecton…

  51. Zamperla

    Handling traumatic events and the sum total of life choices you’ve made by Girlbossing your way through it is….regrettably super *socially* rewarded. People love you being Tough and Capable and Totally Over (Whatever). Not, like. Specific people in her life. But the world at large? Oh baby.

  52. endplanets

    Making the ‘doomer wojak’ face

  53. LittleBigSteve

    Can’t mess up the shower caddy…

    IT’S CANON!

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