Welp it’s handy. How was I supposed to know at that resolution? ?
Decidedly Orthogonal
The shower caddy reveals all. (about something I’d not have even noticed otherwise. You may not perceive everything, but at least you’re looking. Unlike my brain. ?)
She’s also wearing socks, who wears socks in a wet floor area?
Psychie
I’m not familiar with the shower rooms at Forrest, but if there’s a dressing area, or even a bench, sufficiently far from the the actual showers that there wouldn’t be much risk of puddles, putting on socks before walking back to the room isn’t all that unreasonable given it’s like January right now. If someone is particularly sensitive to the cold they might even be willing to sit down on the floor in the hallway to put them on.
zee
Tbh I’m surprised anyone even gets dressed in the showers. When i lived on a dorm with shared showers (got a private bathroom now babeyyyy) i went to and from in my robe. Hell we were lucky if someone dried off before coming out wrapped in a towel and didn’t track water all down the hall
After gathering references for Billie/Jennifer while working on my thing I’ve come to realize that Yellow is like…her defining color. She’s got a lotta yellow shirts or splashes of yellow. Though I will say once she shifts to Jennifer her predominant color becomes Blue.
Which I’m just realizing is on the opposite side of the color wheel from Yellow. (technically orange depending on what hue of blue.)
Joy
Her skin tone is kinda yellow so that tracks? It seems like she just generally wears colors that go with that, so lots of yellows dull blues and saturated reds… Her hair is black with a slight blue/grey sheen so that affects what looks good on her.
I lack the photoshop wizardry, but I’d like you all to imagine that scene in Thor Ragnarok where Hela is like “You can’t defeat me” and Thor’s all “No but he can”.
Except Hela is Dorothy, Thor is Becky, and a giant Jennifer bursts out of a castle and starts laying waste to Asgard.
God, she’s only been on screen for four panels and I already seriously wanna draw Jennifer again….
Then again I should funnel that energy into the Millions of Billies I need to line for that one thing I’m working on.
I doubt this is what you were going for with this comment, but I read it to imply that Jennifer and Billie were different characters who happen to be sufficiently similar in appearance that drawing Billie satisfies the urge to draw Jennifer, and I am amused by that interpretation of her ongoing identity conflict.
My implication was moreso that I refer to Jennifer as she is currently as Jennifer, but the comic I’m drawing takes place during a time where she went by and identified herself as Billie.
When Becky admits something about herself, she goes out of her way to tell everyone about her revelation. She’ll soon have the words “possessive” tattooed on her forehead.
I know there are people who are really annoyed at people trying to get Joyce to do things, and I get that. There are also people who hate Becky, and… I mostly don’t get that.
Still, I do kind of hope we’re reaching a turning point for that story and that Joyce takes better care of herself, with or without help, and part of me wonders if some of that ends up coming from Joe. I know that, so far, Joe and Dina have already been more helpful on the autism from than the others have, with Becky not knowing about it and Dorothy and Sarah showing that even intelligent, progressive people can have very flawed understandings of autism.
Joyce needs validation and support so she can face her problems on her own terms, not multiple mom friends fighting over who’s the most effective at forcing her into something “for her own good” “because she has to”.
More Jennifers and Joes, less Beckys and Dorothys.
Joe maybe, though Joe’s also shown a tendency to pull away from these problems and push them onto her other friends.
I really don’t think it’s true for Jennifer. Her approach worked for the doctor’s visit, when Becky and Dorothy were hesitating to take that step, but her attitude was still “someone has to solve this”.
Needfuldoer
I don’t think “friend realizes Joyce needs help” is the problem, it’s the way that help is implemented that’s the problem.
Archieve
This! Jennifer offered help and only acted after Joyce accepted. Dorothy and Becky first decided without Joyce’s input that the pill wasn’t an option and now that Joyce has proved them wrong they are back to deciding for Joyce how she needs to act right now for the prescription…again without any real input from Joyce…it’s the same problem being shown on opposite sides of the helping spectrum.
thejeff
Jennifer still walked into that situation going “Why haven’t you fixed this?” That Joyce was in bad enough shape to immediately agree to going to the doctor, doesn’t change that approach. She also left it for the others to follow up on – getting her to actually get the pills and take them. I think this take on how much better she is at it doesn’t really match what we’ve seen.
Archieve
She gave Joyce a choice to say no. What needed to be done was let joyce know there was an option. We find out later that part of the reason joyce is so beat down is feeling worn down by Dorothy Becky and Sarahs micromanaging tendencies not because she’s in too rough shape to give a meaningful yes or no. As others have already pointed out the 3 mom friends were showing up at the crack of dawn before Joyce even had a chance to decide to try on her own so it comes off more as a completion to who is the helper rather then something the others “needed” to follow up on.
.
thejeff
She sort of did – but we don’t know what would have happened if Joyce had said no, because she was in rough enough shape to just go along.
I’m not convinced, give what Jen said when she showed up, that she would have just backed off if Joyce hadn’t agreed. Different read on the scene maybe.
I don’t hate Becky but I find her tiresome sometimes. The whole “rivalry” thing seems really played out and unfunny to me. I wish she could grow up a little.
Becky initially didn’t even want to try to get Joyce on the pill and just accepted her pain as a fact of life before it became another way to compete with Dorothy. I really hope Jennifer points that this dynamic is not healthy and advises Becky to wait for Joyce to decide whether she want help or not.
Jennifer wouldn’t even know about that, would she? I took it less that she didn’t want it, and more that she just took it as a given that Joyce wasn’t going to do anything about it, since Becky correctly knew Joyce wouldn’t on her own volition. Once the ball was actually rolling, though, she did seem to genuinely be all for it, but also knows Joyce has hangups about taking pills.
What I’m getting at is Joyce having hangups isn’t justification to make all the decisions for her. She needs to be given the opportunity to learn her own limits.
I am agnostic (I can’t even commit to being an atheist, but I certainly don’t check the box for Christian), but will certainly go to church if invited for a wedding or funeral, as it’s about the people who send the invite, not me making it about me.
Yotomoe
Fellow Agnostic here and that’s basically my relationship. I’ll even join in a group prayer with my family on thanksgiving, though tbh I usually just spend the entire prayer pondering the existence of a god and hoping if there is one he’s cool with me being skeptical. Followed by me getting super defensive in my own head like “well I mean, you didn’t give me a lotta great evidence and blind faith has lead to a lot of bad stuff. If anything it’s RESPONSIBLE for me to be agnostic” and by the time I’m done thinking that the prayer is over.
Needfuldoer
My family doesn’t even do that. Both parents were raised Catholic and had to do the whole CCE thing (as far as I know), so they were completely burned out on the formalities long before I came along. The only masses I’ve attended have been at weddings and funerals.
Yeah, Becky’s not wrong in that Jennifer really isn’t committal on this, though Lucy’s right in that Jennifer does consistently refer to herself as a Christian is it comes up. Just, without any real passion for it, seemingly treating it as just this thing that’s always been there. I can’t speak for what it’s like in Indiana, but I know growing up in Texas that church is social as much as anything else, especially so for people in sports/extracurricular groups, so as a cheerleader, she probably went to church with others in her social group, like Alice. Doesn’t necessarily mean she’s ever given it much thought beyond that, though, like Becky suspects.
128 thoughts on “Smartypants”
The Wellerman
Oh yeah, sure Becky ?
Also where’d ya get that jacket Jennifer, such a nice color…
David M Willis
it’s a towel, and probably target
Bryy
LORE DUMP.
The Wellerman
Welp it’s handy. How was I supposed to know at that resolution? ?
Decidedly Orthogonal
The shower caddy reveals all. (about something I’d not have even noticed otherwise. You may not perceive everything, but at least you’re looking. Unlike my brain. ?)
Acher4
LOOOOOOOOORE
Ana Chronistic
OLYMPUUUUUUUUUS
Needfuldoer
Lore is an android, but he’d definitely invent a way to take a dump just to mess with people.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
So Jennifer is a hoopy frood?
pdp15
Handy to have in case there are any Vogons in the neighborhood.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
I think you mean “Ravenous Bugblatter Beasts of Traal.”
Yet_One_More_Idiot
But which of them is the Triple-Breasted Whore of Eroticon 6? I hear her erogenous zones start three miles away from her body….
ValdVin
Woebetide the ship which gets caught in that tractor beam….actually I take that back.
RowenMorland
Took a second to remember Target is a store and this wasn’t some sort of towel game Jennifer is into now.
Carla's #2 Fan
I think it’s a towel
Clif
Jennifer knows where her towel is.
Cholma
Jennifer doesn’t have a jacket; pretty sure that’s a towel. She also has her shower caddy in the other hand.
Time Sage
She’s also wearing socks, who wears socks in a wet floor area?
Psychie
I’m not familiar with the shower rooms at Forrest, but if there’s a dressing area, or even a bench, sufficiently far from the the actual showers that there wouldn’t be much risk of puddles, putting on socks before walking back to the room isn’t all that unreasonable given it’s like January right now. If someone is particularly sensitive to the cold they might even be willing to sit down on the floor in the hallway to put them on.
zee
Tbh I’m surprised anyone even gets dressed in the showers. When i lived on a dorm with shared showers (got a private bathroom now babeyyyy) i went to and from in my robe. Hell we were lucky if someone dried off before coming out wrapped in a towel and didn’t track water all down the hall
anon
https://dumbingofage.tumblr.com/post/699185312413433856/april-28-2023 she def owns a yellow shirt at least lol
(tho you’d have to search like + hoodie or “clothing” too because of yellow jacket just on its own would bring up bees XD)
The Wellerman
Yup yup that’s exactly what I thought it was LOL ?
Yotomoe
After gathering references for Billie/Jennifer while working on my thing I’ve come to realize that Yellow is like…her defining color. She’s got a lotta yellow shirts or splashes of yellow. Though I will say once she shifts to Jennifer her predominant color becomes Blue.
Which I’m just realizing is on the opposite side of the color wheel from Yellow. (technically orange depending on what hue of blue.)
Joy
Her skin tone is kinda yellow so that tracks? It seems like she just generally wears colors that go with that, so lots of yellows dull blues and saturated reds… Her hair is black with a slight blue/grey sheen so that affects what looks good on her.
Joy
She also wears teal a lot tbh?
Ana Chronistic
BJ’s really good at reading people who are transparent
Bryy
She’ll take any victory she can get (and then exaggerate it).
Yotomoe
That nickname carries some connotations with it. Though I’m not sure if they’re wholly unfitting ones.
Needfuldoer
But she’s not serving as a surgeon in the Korean War…
Yotomoe
Oh I was implying she’s very good at BlackJack.
darkoneko
…I”m not quite sure this is how it works.
Alex
Which part?
BBCC
She has your number, Becky!
Doctor_Who
I lack the photoshop wizardry, but I’d like you all to imagine that scene in Thor Ragnarok where Hela is like “You can’t defeat me” and Thor’s all “No but he can”.
Except Hela is Dorothy, Thor is Becky, and a giant Jennifer bursts out of a castle and starts laying waste to Asgard.
Yotomoe
God, she’s only been on screen for four panels and I already seriously wanna draw Jennifer again….
Then again I should funnel that energy into the Millions of Billies I need to line for that one thing I’m working on.
Psychie
I doubt this is what you were going for with this comment, but I read it to imply that Jennifer and Billie were different characters who happen to be sufficiently similar in appearance that drawing Billie satisfies the urge to draw Jennifer, and I am amused by that interpretation of her ongoing identity conflict.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
I thought they got split apart in a transporter accident…
Yotomoe
My implication was moreso that I refer to Jennifer as she is currently as Jennifer, but the comic I’m drawing takes place during a time where she went by and identified herself as Billie.
Xujhan
Would millions of Billies not just be Billieons?
Yotomoe
Yes. And different hierarchies of them are called Jennerations.
pickonecard
It’s nice that Becky can now admit she’s possessive. First step to positive change.
anon
well shes’ willing to share with jen but at least she’s not actively trying to sabotage/distnace her and dorothy lol
Plaaaa
When Becky admits something about herself, she goes out of her way to tell everyone about her revelation. She’ll soon have the words “possessive” tattooed on her forehead.
Sirksome
Jennifer is really the one Becks should be threatened by at this point. She’s the dark horse in the battle for Joyce’s soul.
Jamie
Wait until she finds out about Joe.
Sirksome
Joe’s not a threat. No possible relationship potential he could have compares to the sway the best friend has over Joyce.
DailyBrad
I know there are people who are really annoyed at people trying to get Joyce to do things, and I get that. There are also people who hate Becky, and… I mostly don’t get that.
Still, I do kind of hope we’re reaching a turning point for that story and that Joyce takes better care of herself, with or without help, and part of me wonders if some of that ends up coming from Joe. I know that, so far, Joe and Dina have already been more helpful on the autism from than the others have, with Becky not knowing about it and Dorothy and Sarah showing that even intelligent, progressive people can have very flawed understandings of autism.
Needfuldoer
Joyce needs validation and support so she can face her problems on her own terms, not multiple mom friends fighting over who’s the most effective at forcing her into something “for her own good” “because she has to”.
More Jennifers and Joes, less Beckys and Dorothys.
thejeff
Joe maybe, though Joe’s also shown a tendency to pull away from these problems and push them onto her other friends.
I really don’t think it’s true for Jennifer. Her approach worked for the doctor’s visit, when Becky and Dorothy were hesitating to take that step, but her attitude was still “someone has to solve this”.
Needfuldoer
I don’t think “friend realizes Joyce needs help” is the problem, it’s the way that help is implemented that’s the problem.
Archieve
This! Jennifer offered help and only acted after Joyce accepted. Dorothy and Becky first decided without Joyce’s input that the pill wasn’t an option and now that Joyce has proved them wrong they are back to deciding for Joyce how she needs to act right now for the prescription…again without any real input from Joyce…it’s the same problem being shown on opposite sides of the helping spectrum.
thejeff
Jennifer still walked into that situation going “Why haven’t you fixed this?” That Joyce was in bad enough shape to immediately agree to going to the doctor, doesn’t change that approach. She also left it for the others to follow up on – getting her to actually get the pills and take them. I think this take on how much better she is at it doesn’t really match what we’ve seen.
Archieve
She gave Joyce a choice to say no. What needed to be done was let joyce know there was an option. We find out later that part of the reason joyce is so beat down is feeling worn down by Dorothy Becky and Sarahs micromanaging tendencies not because she’s in too rough shape to give a meaningful yes or no. As others have already pointed out the 3 mom friends were showing up at the crack of dawn before Joyce even had a chance to decide to try on her own so it comes off more as a completion to who is the helper rather then something the others “needed” to follow up on.
.
thejeff
She sort of did – but we don’t know what would have happened if Joyce had said no, because she was in rough enough shape to just go along.
I’m not convinced, give what Jen said when she showed up, that she would have just backed off if Joyce hadn’t agreed. Different read on the scene maybe.
Alex
I don’t hate Becky but I find her tiresome sometimes. The whole “rivalry” thing seems really played out and unfunny to me. I wish she could grow up a little.
Archieve
Becky initially didn’t even want to try to get Joyce on the pill and just accepted her pain as a fact of life before it became another way to compete with Dorothy. I really hope Jennifer points that this dynamic is not healthy and advises Becky to wait for Joyce to decide whether she want help or not.
DailyBrad
Jennifer wouldn’t even know about that, would she? I took it less that she didn’t want it, and more that she just took it as a given that Joyce wasn’t going to do anything about it, since Becky correctly knew Joyce wouldn’t on her own volition. Once the ball was actually rolling, though, she did seem to genuinely be all for it, but also knows Joyce has hangups about taking pills.
Archieve
What I’m getting at is Joyce having hangups isn’t justification to make all the decisions for her. She needs to be given the opportunity to learn her own limits.
Reltzik
Just admit it, Becky. Jennifer respects that sort of spite.
Jess
I love Becky’s smile in panel 3. Very cute.
Amós Batista
Yes, telling someone you’re already christian to get rid of a discussion about religion, heaven and hell. It’s a cheap trick, Jennifer, but it works.
DailyBrad
It’s consistent, at least, she’s said it before in the past, even if she seems to kind of have just sort of a vague relationship with religion.
Needfuldoer
Maybe she’s a wedding-and-funeralist.
ValdVin
But that is less than a C+E Christian, right?
I am agnostic (I can’t even commit to being an atheist, but I certainly don’t check the box for Christian), but will certainly go to church if invited for a wedding or funeral, as it’s about the people who send the invite, not me making it about me.
Yotomoe
Fellow Agnostic here and that’s basically my relationship. I’ll even join in a group prayer with my family on thanksgiving, though tbh I usually just spend the entire prayer pondering the existence of a god and hoping if there is one he’s cool with me being skeptical. Followed by me getting super defensive in my own head like “well I mean, you didn’t give me a lotta great evidence and blind faith has lead to a lot of bad stuff. If anything it’s RESPONSIBLE for me to be agnostic” and by the time I’m done thinking that the prayer is over.
Needfuldoer
My family doesn’t even do that. Both parents were raised Catholic and had to do the whole CCE thing (as far as I know), so they were completely burned out on the formalities long before I came along. The only masses I’ve attended have been at weddings and funerals.
thejeff
The Agnostic’s Prayer.
Marvelman
Billy can be very perceptive when she’s not drunk.
thakoru
I feel like Lucy is missing a very important distinction between “yes” and “sure”.
DailyBrad
Yeah, Becky’s not wrong in that Jennifer really isn’t committal on this, though Lucy’s right in that Jennifer does consistently refer to herself as a Christian is it comes up. Just, without any real passion for it, seemingly treating it as just this thing that’s always been there. I can’t speak for what it’s like in Indiana, but I know growing up in Texas that church is social as much as anything else, especially so for people in sports/extracurricular groups, so as a cheerleader, she probably went to church with others in her social group, like Alice. Doesn’t necessarily mean she’s ever given it much thought beyond that, though, like Becky suspects.
Mark