173

Catches
Posted on March 6, 2017 by David M Willis

173 thoughts on “Catches”

  1. Doctor_Who

    What? Walky was just going to make sure Bill Cipher attends class today. What’s wrong with that?

    Being a cosmic entity of pure malice doesn’t excuse one from class. I mean, Mike showed up.

    1. Reltzik

      Mike’s not pure malice.

      He’s at least part-snark.

    2. Pablo360

      Don’t insult Bill by comparing him to DoA Mike.

      1. MatthewTheLucky

        What’s the difference between walkyverse Mike and Bill Cipher?
        One’s an unstoppable, omniscient, evil force of pure chaos, and the other is a demonic triangle.

        1. Silly Name

          Bill can sing.

        2. Clif

          I’m glad you cleared that up for us. Goes off to Google Bill Cipher. Returns with new respect for Mike who does it all without extra-dimensional powers.

        3. James

          And I don’t think Mike has ever been outsmarted by a pair of twelve year olds, much less repeatedly

    3. Haven

      Well, that explains Mike’s hair…

  2. Ana Chronistic

    “QUICK BILLIE IS TRYING TO GET OUT OF GOING TO MATH”
    “Projecting much?”
    “SHE WIRETAPPED MY PHONE”
    “yup, projecting”

    1. Emperor Daniel

      So Walky wiretapped Billie’s phone, gotcha.

    2. nobodybasically

      The real news here is that Dorothy blabbed.

      1. Needfuldoer

        But her text messages!

        1. Clif

          were all faked by the Russians.

        2. Needfuldoer

          This “Galasso’s” is involved somehow, too. I just know it. We just have to figure out what “FOOLS” really means, and then the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.

  3. Schpoonman

    Oh my god, Walky, your eyes.

    1. Gwen

      Your avatar is perfect

  4. AnvilPro

    Joyce is Walky’s keeper

  5. Gram91

    Dat 6th panel face.

    1. Svankensen

      Yep, its lovely. I don’t think I had seen that expression on Joyce before!

  6. AlexanderHammil

    oh my god, joyce has cleavage, it’s the end of days come upon us

    1. Undrave

      I know right?!

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Distracting Cleavage is an actual skill you can allocate to your character in D&D.

      1. Pablo360

        Technically you can make up whatever skill you want and allocate points to it in D&D.

        1. SgtWadeyWilson

          We’ll just add ten points to “Craft Chimichanga” and completely ignore all that stealth bull.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Forget Stealth, dump all your points into Charisma. That way when you get caught you can basically be like Obi-Wan and convince the enemy you were never there!

        3. Pablo360

          In what D20 implementation is it possible to divert points from a skill to an attribute

        4. neeks

          not to be confused with Kraft Chimichangas, the ultimate MexiCanadian cuisine

      2. CJ

        Is it used mostly by male players?

        1. Clif

          In some cases that would be more distracting.

      3. Deanatay

        I wish this were true, but it’s not.

        It’s totally a feat, not a skill.

    3. Passchendaele

      I will never be able to unsee that. Joyce has gone hardcore. o-o

    4. Emperor Daniel

      How many facets does she have?

    5. Keulan

      Holy shit I didn’t see that at first. Who is this imposter and what did she do with the real Joyce?

      1. Passchendaele

        The return of Anti-Joyce, maybe?

    6. Foxhack

      … She’s had cleavage for a few strips already. 😛

      1. Smiling Cat

        It wasn’t as noticeable until we got a shot of her from the front.

        1. Clif

          It’s the pladies effect.

    7. Reltzik

      Yeah, but, I’m pretty sure it’s innocent* cleavage.

      *meaning, not shown with the intention of catching the eye of anyone in particular or people in general, but just a consequence of not considering or caring that it would be showing.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Your definition of “innocent” sure seems like someone else’s definition of “sinful and negligent”. I like it.

        1. Reltzik

          …. okay, I can’t work this into a coherently punny sentence, but you got me thinking about sinfully negligent negligee.

        2. Brotato

          Comments like this make me wish we could like comments.

      2. Mx Miki

        Could also be the “women’s shirts are often lower cut” sort of cleavage

    8. Bicycle Bill

      That’s a direct effect of Joyce’s acquisition of the “Freshman Fifteen”.  If you look back, you will see that Billie has also gotten a little more curvy in a couple of places as well.

    9. showler

      Dina noticed. She’s wearing her “clevage girl” shirt.

    10. nightsbridge

      …Um?

      Why are we focusing so much on Joyce’s wardrobe choice? It isn’t even a subject of the strip. I feel vaguely like I’m listening to people cry cameltoe.

      1. Gesc

        CAMELT- oh wait you didn’t actually mean that.

      2. thejeff

        I suspect it may actually matter, in that it’s a conscious wardrobe choice by Willis. Joyce being willing to wear a slightly more revealing outfit is interesting, even if it’s not actually talked about in comic.

        1. nightsbridge

          unlikely

      3. Plasma Mongoose

        The more truthful answer is we will find any excuse to talk about naughty bits.

    11. Gesc

      That kind of shirt lends itself to it. And Joyce is definitely endowed enough to warrant a bit of cleavage at least.

      Not that it really matters? I think?

      1. AlexanderHammil

        it’s probably not at all significant, but she’s been in high collared shirts since at least Toe Dad’s rampage, so it feels significant. Like, it’s been Serious Biz for several days, and now it’s settling down a little. Maybe? Or alternately it’s just a part of her wardrobe and the calendar moves so glacially in DoA that we haven’t seen it in years and years. :-/

  7. Leorale

    Jesus is cool with it, I asked

    1. Undrave

      Jesus is all abou that free love!

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Roz on the other hand, is all about the “No glove, no love”.

    2. Cybersnark

      At this point, I’m pretty sure Jesus ships it.

  8. Undrave

    I just realized that Joyce is showing more cleavage than usual…

    Anyway it’s suspicious that Dorothy isn’t there… I’m guessing she will also be attending that meeting in the RM’s office?!

    1. Smiling Cat

      Okay, it wasn’t just me.

    2. BBCC

      Their class ends and they’ll be seeking lunch in about an hour.

      Huh. What else is happening in an hour?

    3. foamy

      Yeah, that connection seems pretty obvious to me.

      Still holding out hope for SIDNEY YUS though.

      1. Clif

        Still holding out hope for Headie Allen Monkmasters, the unknown evil.

  9. Reltzik

    Panel 6 Joyce: Challenge accepted.

  10. Yuki

    I adore this incredibles reference

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      I wonder if he got it from our comments on when sal ripped amazi-girl out her hiding spot?

      1. Needfuldoer

        I bet he got it from The Incredibles.

        1. Jon Rich

          What’s the reference?

        2. Insomniac

          The alt-text, “NO CAPES!”, is a reference to the Pixar film The Incredibles.

          Edna Mode, superhero costume designer, shouts it when a main character wants a cape on his costume. She rattles off a list of superheroes who were killed because they did superhero stuff with a bug useless piece of cloth on their back that catches on stuff and gets in the way.

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      But he could have gone with a Watchmen reference: “No damned stupid cloaks!”

  11. Danni

    so beckys thinking about sex, right?

    1. Undrave

      She’s slipshining it up in there something fierce!

    2. Leorale

      She may just be hoping really hard that Dina doesn’t sleep in her hat.

      1. Leorale

        (Dina totally sleeps in her hat.)

        1. Smiling Cat

          And nothing else. 😛

        2. Clif

          BOOM!!! Sorry, that’s my head cannon.

        3. Greenygal

          She sleeps in the hat. Or the hoodie, as the case may be.

    3. Reltzik

      She’s thinking about NOT thinking about sex, which is an even greater challenge than not thinking about sex.

      …. pretend that made sense.

      1. Danni

        and then it circles back to thinking about sex

        1. Emperor Daniel

          It’s the circle of sex
          And it rules us all…

        2. Emperor Daniel

          (but not everyone)

        3. Danni

          a percentage of the human population

        4. Clif

          Sorry. What’d you guys say? I was thinking.

  12. Passchendaele

    “Lunch is a class and she wanted everyone to be in class so I need to get her so she isn’t tardy and WHY CAN’T I GET OUT OF THIS HOODIE?”

  13. Keulan

    No capes!

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      I’m more of a “no capers” myself.

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        What have you got against pickled flower buds?

  14. John

    Who’s Bill Hurk?

    1. Reltzik

      That’s Will the Frat Bro after the huge party.

    2. JessWitt

      Wild Bill Hurk, accent on the Hurk.

  15. motorfirebox

    Huh. It actually never occurred to me that Becky would still try to live within her church’s strictures.

    1. Leorale

      Just because you reject that your spouse must be a dude doesn’t necessarily mean you instantly reject all your values about chastity, monogamy, etc.

  16. Smiling Cat

    Is it just me or is Joyce’s somewhat more provocative than usual? There’s clevage!

    (By provocative, of course, I mean fairly normal for people who aren’t sheltered fundamentalists who feel shame in acknowledging they have boobs)

    1. Smiling Cat

      Joyce’s shirt, I mean.

    2. BenRG

      I’m going to go out on a limb here: Until otherwise stated, I’m assuming that this is Carla’s doing. She made a random comment about Joyce’s figure that at least encouraged Joyce to try something different.

  17. Stephen Bierce

    *looks for some Whodini*

    1. Stephen Bierce

      These Are The People We Call FRIENDS.

  18. Reltzik

    You know, I said a month or two or five back that Joyce really didn’t want to have kids because of how she reacted to (shower) grodiness.

    And then I realized, Walky would LOVE doing the grody stuff. He’d be that dad who’d tweet pics of diaper-changing.

    And Joyce is good at the responsibility stuff that Walky’s bad at. And Walky’s pretty good at seeing what lies in Joyce’s blind spots and calling her on it without being depressingly cynical or coddling.

    They compliment each others’ weakness pretty darn well.

    I know it’s not going to happen because it’s a Walkiverse relationship, but still, I ship it.

    1. Bagge

      Joyce and Walky, in unison: “YUCK!”

  19. JayTheBookworm

    “Milan darling, Milan”

  20. Fart Captor

    I’m sure Amber will say yes. But it’s Amazi-Girl that I’m worried about.

    1. Ansel

      On one hand, yes. On the other hand, while her having been there so long is breaking dorm rules, spending a couple nights with her girlfriend shouldn’t be, so if AG can consider it a separate occasion it might work?

      1. Leorale

        I think Amazi-Girl cares about her own rules, not the school’s. She jumps around on buildings and beats people up a lot. Plus she’s already saved Becky’s life, bit tough to turn on her. I think Amber’s shyness and current stress-level might make her unhappy to have a constant gregarious roommate, but she’d feel pretty bad to say No if it’s presented to her as just a coupla days.

      2. Fart Captor

        She was worried about AG’s reaction to Ethan breaking the rules. AG hasn’t been shown to be super-flexible about people breaking rules (other than the ones forbidding vigilantism)

        1. BBCC

          Assault, battery, and stalking are also okay by AG’s book. As are breaking and entering, theft, and vandalism.

          Basically, ‘it’s okay if AG does it’.

        2. Reltzik

          More like “it’s okay WHEN AG does it”.

        3. Fart Captor

          Theft and vandalism? When did AG commit either of those?

        4. Sam

          She stole a stop sign that was being gratified. Put it back later with Danny. Still stole it which counts as vandalism and theft even if temporary.

        5. Knuf Wons

          I’m pretty sure you meant to say graffitied, but now I can’t help but wonder if you’ve discovered a new genre of porn or not.

        6. BBCC

          Stole the traffic sign.

          She put it back a little while later, but she freely agreed it counted.

    2. Larkle

      I’m wondering… She did flip out that time when Danny got a little tipsy because of underage drinking.

    3. BenRG

      Amazi-Girl would be most likely to lecture ‘Dino-Girl’ at the risk of letting innocent people get too close where your enemies may target them to get to you.

      1. JBento

        Wouldn’t she be lecturing Becky about it instead? She’s far more likely to have people want to “get to her” than Dina.

        1. BenRG

          Yes, but Becky isn’t the one with superpowers… At least none we know about.

  21. Kris

    Joyce is at least 3x stronger than you Walky give up.

    1. Rukduk

      I think it’s closer to 4x, but then again I’m not entirely sure. Also, I now want to see Joyce use the Kaioken for some reason.

      1. RedNoBlue

        Kaio wha-?

    2. Bagge

      He held his own here
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/godpertunity/

      I think as long Joyce is not in RAGE!MODE she is at most 2x stronger than him.

      1. Kris

        Hmmm? I don’t know? My bias would argue Walky’s struggling from a position of weakness. Obscuring the face to improve his chances because Joyce has him thoroughly handled….but objectively….2x is more accurate. But that is boring! In the interest of baseless hyperbole factoring Walky’s poor diet I argue Joyce is at least 5x stronger than him!

        1. Rukduk

          And it isn’t even her final form!!!

    3. showler

      In today’s strip she doesn’t need to be very strong, considering he’s pulling with his throat.

  22. Reltzik

    Also, calling it now. The something that’s come up is that Joyce is at Ruth’s meeting with the RM.

    #PlayingItSafeSpeculation

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Don’t you mean Dorothy is going to be at Ruth’s meeting with the RM?

    2. Reltzik

      #FailureToUseSpellingProtectionIsNotActuallySafe

      1. Reltzik

        ….. just pretend that was a spelling mistake rather than a name-choice mistake.

        What is WRONG with my brain tonight?

        1. foamy

          Too easy. :p

        2. JBento

          Same thing it’s wrong with it EVERY NIGHT, Reltzik.

          It’s trying to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!!!

        3. Reltzik

          …….. actually it was trying to proove the Collatz Conjecture.

        4. JBento

          And now I know what the Collatz Conjecture is. Woot, knowledge!

  23. StClair

    “Not so fast, Buster!”

    1. Reltzik

      *jerked off feet by hood*

      *Keaton pratfall*

      ….

      *flees for dear punning life*

  24. JessWitt

    Just grin and math it, Walky.

  25. Whatevsman

    Hoodies have been the number one leading cause for inability to run away from your problems since 1998. This has been another Useless Fact

  26. Rukduk

    Careful Walky. If she has to lead you into class like someone taking their pet to the vet, everyone else will notice. They won’t care, but they’ll notice.

    1. Reltzik

      Mike will care. Yesssss.

      1. JBento

        For a nickel.

      2. Rukduk

        I don’t count Mike. Mainly because I already have to deal with try-hard edgelord trolls, so I tend to just dismiss fictional ones. I’ve already spent too much time arguing with a group of particularly dense ones that a) black people do exist in Tolkien’s universe and b) the presence of one as a Gondorian soldier is not lore breaking on the trailer for “Shadow of War”.

  27. Mandy

    Joyce’s face in panel 6 is my everything.

    1. BenRG

      Suspicious Joyce is suspicious. I wonder how detailed the warning was Dorothy gave her about Walky’s likelihood of trying to run away?

      1. JBento

        Considering that there’s an ellipse before she says “everyone,” I’m going to go with “very.”

  28. Lokitsu

    I think Sarah and Mike are actually impressed.

  29. Delicious Taffy

    This is a nice strip. I always love it when someone grabs a hoodie-clad friend by the hood to keep them from running away, because it’s just funny to see them get pulled back so easily.

    To elaborate on the “deadname”* thing I brought up last strip, I realise it might have come across like I was implying I now have one less sibling, based on the phrasing “I used to have”. I still have the same amount (2 brothers), one just prefers male pronouns and has a different name, these days.

    *I assume that’s the term for someone’s name before they get it changed?

    1. Leorale

      Yep! I’m sure there are other terms but that’s the one I know. It came across as you intended, you used to know him as your sister, and now you know him as your brother.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Thank you for not misunderstanding my admittedly somewhat-ambiguous phrasing and consequently laying into me about it. That’s happened in the past with this sort of subject matter, and I’m glad it didn’t happen here.

        1. Leorale

          No worries, and thanks for making the world that much better by supporting your bro 🙂

  30. TrueVCU

    I feel like both Sarah and Mike are impressed with Joyce’s hoodie grabbing technique

    1. BenRG

      Mike’s expression actually says to me that he’s thinking: “What a woman!”

      1. TrueVCU

        Also Mike’s thoughts: Sex choking

  31. Bagge

    MAKE SPACE FOR JESUS, BECKY!

  32. jimbotherisenclown

    Those last three panels are why they were married in the other universe.

  33. Bagge

    All teasing aside, Becky is behaving admirable. The prospect of sleeping together with your first partner – with the possibility of “sleeping” together not entirely off the cards – is daunting for anyone. And she has had the same sex ad Joyce has!

    Sex is one of the biggest sins she has been constantly warned about. She has a very vague idea how it’s even supposed to work, especially for two women, and she knows that Dina is about as clueless as herself. She REALLY doesn’t want to screw this up, but at the same time she is so exited and pent up she is about to… do that thing with the lady syrup.

    So all things considered, a few silly jokes on her own expense while at the same time managing to communicate needs and concern to Dina is pretty impressive.

    1. Bagge

      I mean, “being forced by circumstance to share a bed” is one of the cornerstones of cheesy romance writing. Becky’s brain has NO problem extrapolating from there.

  34. MatsuoTanuki

    *selects Mortal Kombat soundbites* GET OVER HERE!

  35. cmd1095

    Joyce’s facial expressions continue to be hilarious all by themselves

  36. Jay

    I don’t know if I’ve ever loved Joyce as much as in that last panel.

    …Yeah, I’m weird.

  37. zoelogical

    it’s joyce’s supervillain origin, She Who Makes Sure All Attend Class

  38. BenRG

    Joyce can see through your weaksauce schemes, Walky. You’re really going to need to up your game with her… If you can.

  39. nooB

    Am I in the right comic universe?
    This Joyce-Walky thing is pretty shippy

    1. BenRG

      Nah, it’s more the ‘big sister/little brother’ dynamic than shipping. Walky is the Calvin to Joyce’s Suzy.

      1. John

        Yeah. I’ve said it before: Those two make way better semi-antagonistic pseudo-siblings than they ever did a couple.

  40. Flakky

    Really like Joyce in this one, again. Just noticed Mike standing back there inconspicuously and I wondered how many times I’d missed him skulking around.

    Did he ever interact with/troll Becky? Does he even know about her (despite everyone knowing)? It’s been a while.

    1. BenRG

      Mike followed Walky out of the dorm two strips backs. Aren’t they roomies? If so, it makes sense that they’d appear at the same time.

      It might be interesting if Mike has an ‘Even Evil Has Standards’ personal honour code that impels him to only troll Becky in a way that will not place her at risk. That said, he seems to be more interested in the interaction between Joyce and Walky at this moment.

      1. Flakky

        I totally forgot they were roomies.

        The “Even Evil has Standards” is broadly accepted, I think. He hasn’t really picked on anyone who couldn’t take it, or didn’t in the end learn from it.

        1. Greenygal

          It’s possible that Mike has standards, in the sense that he wouldn’t actually get Becky thrown out on the street for the joy of it. Nobody has told him about her situation, so we can’t tell yet. But there are a lot of people who disagree with your second sentence. Ethan didn’t learn anything useful from being told that he wouldn’t be alone if he’d just stayed in the closet. Dorothy didn’t learn anything useful from having photos taken of her while she was asleep (unless it was “don’t trust Mike”). Joyce didn’t learn anything useful from having her phone snatched and her mother made to think she was hanging out with Satanists. And absolutely Amber didn’t learn anything useful from being told that not wanting to date an abuser meant she was probably an abuser herself. And that’s just a sampling of his general shittiness.

          The only good result I can ever think of anything Mike’s done was getting Dorothy to admit she was dating Walky, and even if that’s what he intended (or if it was any of his business, particularly) that’s no excuse for getting there by slut-shaming her and trying to hurt Walky, in a public forum no less.

          It’s possible that Mike has standards. But that doesn’t make him not evil.

        2. Fart Captor

          Flakky, with Mike has punched down almost exclusively.

          What have Dorothy or Sal “learned” from his slut-shaming? What did Ethan learn from being chased back into the closet? What did Amber learn from being told her taste in men meant she was doomed to become as abusive as her father?

          Nothing. Because he’s not magic. He’s an asshole. Those aren’t brilliant techniques for spurring growth in other people, it’s abuse.

          When positive development does end up happening after Mike’s abuse, it’s not until after his target stops letting Mike fuck with their head. He doesn’t get credit for that.

          Here is about the only instance where Mike was a jerk in a way that actually exposed someone being hypocritical:

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/profane/

          And he’s not even being all that mean there. It could even be construed as him sticking up for Joyce for a moment.

          The thing people need to understand is that even if Mike was being an asshole with the intention of helping people, even if he actually knew what he was doing, and most importantly, even if he actually was helping people, this is still abuse.

          Nobody has the right to treat people the way Mike does. Even if they’re trying to help.

  41. Megan Rivera

    At this point, I don’t even come for the comic. I come for the alt-text jokes.

  42. DarkoNeko

    Sarah and Mike sharing the same expression is… disconcerting.

  43. BenRG

    I just love the mirroring of Joyce and Walky in panels 3/4 and 5/6! It’s a lovely touch.

  44. hof1991

    Maybe no Dorothy because she’s also going to the meeting. Or maybe she knows about the meeting and its potential aftermath and doesn’t want the hallway crowded with gawking teens if Ruth has to exit the building.

    1. Schpoonman

      Dorothy isn’t in their Calculus class.

  45. hof1991

    Sorry, Dorothy wants everyone to attend class to hide that she is mainly concerned Walky attends class. And Joyce is her enforcer.

  46. Fire_daws

    That Joyce face in panel 6. Love it.

  47. trlkly

    The text doesn’t have to be detailed. Joyce knows that Walky is not doing well in math, and noticed his absence. She’s capable of putting two and two together.

  48. Micki

    LOL at Joyce’s face in panel 7

  49. RedNoBlue

    If Dorothy becomes the RA, what will her reaction be to Becky staying on the floor? It’s a big rule they’re breaking, but on the other hand she drank alcohol to help be there for someone.

    1. BBCC

      She said part of the reason she wants the job is to protect Becky.

      Being a good person has always mattered more to Dorothy than perfectly obeying the rules. Much like Joyce, if it comes to a decision between Rules and Right, she’ll pick right reliably.

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