238

Therapist
Posted on March 28, 2025 by David M Willis

238 thoughts on “Therapist”

  1. NGPZ

    Tell me what you want, what you really REALLY want!”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      The Spice must flow!

    2. Amy

      I’ll tell you what I want, what I really really want!

      1. IntangibleMatter

        I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna

        1. AGV/Ruby

          I wanna a zig a zig ah~

    3. anon

      lol at least she’s not manipulatinve like “well being friends with alice again will make me happy, so help more” or so to joyce XD; but i mean, jen’s issues, aside, i’d think mild annoyance would be valid to have a roommate that has a partner hooking up with them constantly

  2. Doctor_Who

    That poor therapist has multiple volumes of notes in Jennifer’s file devoted to Kit Fisto.

    1. Charles Phipps

      Therapist: Why did you pick such a shitty and obscure character?

      Jennifer: DUDES LIKE AALYA SECURA! WHY IS THIS DIFFERENT?

      Therapist: Did you ever play Mass Effect? Are you one of two players who dated Thane?

      1. Aura

        Hmph! Hmph, I say! >=(

      2. Liara

        If I was straight, it probably would’ve been three

      3. AMagicalDuck

        He’s not shitty! He’s cool! Not as cool as my man Plo Koon though

        1. Mano308gts

          Back before the animated Star Wars ruined him by making him a jerkass, Ki Adi Mundi was cool.

          Kitt Fisto was actually one of my favorite of the Jedi Council, so I was glad that he lasted (marginally) longer than the other two Masters that accompanied Mace Windu against Sidious.

          Now, as to why Aayla Secura is my favorite non-MC Jedi? No particular reason…. XD

          (Speaking of Mass Effect, my romance choice is Liara T’soni… But really, only because Tali’Zora Vas Normandy wasn’t an available option.

        2. Doctor_Who

          I actually switched from playing FemShep (I like Jennifer Hale’s voice) to BroShep when ME2 came out just to have Tali as a romance option.

          Tali’zorah: the girl so awesome Shepard transitioned just to get a shot with her.

        3. Mano308gts

          I stuck with femshep…

        4. Veronica

          Me on the way to the final mission of ME3: There’s still time for a Tali/femshep romance to happen. It’s possible. It could happen. There might be a last minute conversation that covers an entire romance

        5. Aura

          Oh I love that! I could never see past Tali to the other crewmembers, my femshep run had SUCH an unrequited love for her, couldn’t bring myself to romance any of the available options when Tali existed.

      4. Formedras

        THANE IS HOT.

      5. Mr D phone posting

        I gotta say, film version Kit Gisto just looks like the costume is way too loose around the guy playing it. Like some of those latex halloween masks.

      6. Thag Simmons

        Thane’s honestly one of the better romances in those games. Certainly a cut above Kaidan and Jacob.

      7. aSnowyEvening

        While I dated Garrus (the Citadel DLC was glorious), I did watch all of the Thane romance scenes on YouTube. I don’t feel like I missed out exactly, but I also had no idea what I was missing. The feels, man, the feels.

        I know nothing about Kit Fisto but Googling him and I see the resemblance with Thane. Refreshing my memory with Morinth though, there’s no way Billifer wouldn’t be a moth drawn to that hot mess of a flame and go all the way to death joining. Which would, coincidentally, be great therapy fodder.

        “Do you see any similarities between Morinth and Ruth?”
        “What? Morinth is a blue alien, Ruth is a red-head. What are you talking about?”
        “… We have more work to do.”

        1. Aura

          I didn’t romance him either (I just… couldn’t see anyone past Tali) but there was always something so romantically tragic about him that I almost wanted to (although I think tbh I wanted to see his romance with someone else more than to be a part of it).

          Kit Fisto is my favourite Star Wars character and I will never stop shipping him with Aayla Secura no matter how thoroughly those EU stories I only ever read about on wookiepedia are retconned. Doomed forbidden romance oh my godddddddd

        2. Amelie Wikström

          Tragic past, tragic future, sensitive, emotionally expressive, kind, caring, huge eyes, Thane is like 150% of a stereotypical Harlequin novel love interest. Pretty sure all the straight women dated him. I did cause Liara wasn’t available in that game. . .

        3. Schpoonman

          To be reeaaallllyyyyy pedantic, I think with Lair of the Shadow Broker you can keep the romance running through all three games without pause.

    2. mindbleach

      I went to make a Glup Shitto joke and was deeply disappointed to learn Wookiepedia’s been replaced by Fandom.

      1. Aura

        It’s so AWFUL now! You are blessed for having remained in ignorance these years, I was so devastated when I found out. I used to have a bunch of my favourite characters’ pages bookmarked… ^^;

      2. Thag Simmons

        Fandom’s managed to pod person so many wikis and make them nigh unusable. It sucks tremendously.

    3. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      I’m just glad that Willis didn’t accidentally put a blank space in the middle of the title… “The rapist” would give entirely different connotations… (Actually, how has that not been used as a title before now?)

  3. Animedingo

    Rip joe having to have people talk around him

    1. Yumi

      Hopefully his food is good.

      1. morleuca

        He’s hanging out with Joyce. Nothing else matters

    2. Steamweed

      No problem. I have had many an enjoyable meal, quietly and contentedly consuming, while people were yapping on around me. I think he’ll be okay.

      1. Laura

        Oh, 5th panel Joyce is pure gold…
        Shedding her religion did nothing to diminish her faith – in people.

        1. Steamweed

          I think that’s a major part of her appeal to many of them. Her instinctual (and deliberately practiced) acceptance, faith, and patience.

    3. Astariel

      I expect he’s just enjoying watching Joyce do her thing.

    4. Jerach

      I imagine Joe’s just thinking “man, Joyce is good at this but in weird ways, that’s neat.”

  4. ZombieKyrik

    Whoa there Billie/Jennifer; believe it, or not, some people actually want you to be happy with expecting anything in return.

    What is causing all of this? I know the original cause was because Walky and Asher dressed the same, but there has to be something underneath that; right?

    1. Nono

      At the risk of sounding obvious, the “something underneath” is spelled out right in the strip?

      1. ZombieKyrik

        I meant what happened to change her so drastically from being able to handle it to “handling it.” Although I guess that change was after October when Ruth locked her out?

        1. ZombieKyrik

          I think I just answered my own question.

        2. Clif

          Yes.

          For Ruth and Jennifer to be so dysfunctional, they were also good for each other.

        3. DashWallkick

          Correct. This is why she blew up at Ruth in the hallway after Halloween. “You lied because this is the real you, your real feelings.”

          Jennifer was okay being a dumpster fire because so was Ruth and they balanced each other out and she could get her affection without having to change herself. Now she can’t do that and her boyfriend got bored and left because she pushed him away.

          All of reality is screaming at her THE PROBLEM IS YOU, JENNIFER, YOU HAVE TO TRUST AND BE SINCERE WITH OTHERS and Jennifer, because this is who she is, blows it off because she’s too comfortable hating herself.

          The brain does insane things when it finds the familiar comforting.

        4. Yumi

          Don’t fully agree with this… she HAD been changing when she was with Ruth. Their relationship was becoming less of a dumpster fire with more genuine affection. And then Ruth dumped her. And Ruth thought it would help Jennifer (to not be with the person she was in a suicide pact with, to not be pulled down by Ruth breaking down again), but Jennifer’s brain seems to have gotten the message “This is what happens when you let people in. Actual vulnerability just gets you hurt.”

        5. Li

          +1

        6. Sirksome

          +1 From me too. In my opinion Ruth does not get enough heat from how she treated Jennifer during most of their relationship but especially how it started and ended. They were getting to a good place and Ruth is the one that didn’t trust it and ended things, and in a way that didn’t even offer closure. She had Dorothy do it for her. The Asher relationship was basically doomed because after Ruth, Jennifer can’t be vulnerable with any partner and likely thinks she doesn’t deserve to.

          We should really be more pissed whenever Ruth interacts with Jennifer. She even wants to get back together! No way. And I had come around to them being a couple.

        7. DashWallkick

          I don’t agree. Ruth was definitely self sabotaging but toxicity isn’t healthy and she was self aware enough to recognize that and get out. Billie was the one who didn’t want to because she was fine coasting on the misanthropy.

  5. Sirksome

    Jen has a therapist?

    1. Nono

      Yeah she started seeing one for her alcoholism at Ruth’s suggestion. Guess she’s stuck with it.

      1. Charles Phipps

        It sounds like she’s a shitty therapist.

        Oh, she’s got Jennifer down cold but the therapist has clearly built no trust with her patient.

        1. Nono

          Managed to get Jennifer sober so they succeeded in that.

        2. Sirksome

          I don’t know if that was the therapist. It’s 50/50 it was therapy or Jennifer wanting to have something over Ruth. Maybe both. Yeah that sounds fair.

        3. Proxiehunter

          If I’ve got my timeline right she’s been seeing her for a few months at most. And Jennifer dosen’t seem willing to let her build trust. Might be that the therapist needs more time to build trust or it might be that Jennifer is a shitty patient.

        4. Bryy

          Can’t build trust if the patient isn’t engaging.

        5. Laura

          Oh it could be that Jennifer is deliberately playing it cool so that she can maintain her persona/facade that she’s “playing a long con” and “doesn’t really need therapy”. Plenty of folks actually do engage with therapy in private, but also talk sarcastically about it to their friends.

        6. Uly

          The therapist can’t do all the work there.

        7. Shade

          Bit hard to build trust when the patient has trust issues. I’m sure they’re doing their best.

      2. DashWallkick

        Therapists are not mechanics for brains. You can take the person to the couch and have them talk and it’s not going to work if they’re not willing. Jennifer, in case the comic was too subtle, is extremely unwilling.

        1. NGPZ

          yeah therapy is HARDLY the psychological panacea people all too often make it out to be

          the common thought-stopping cliche of “go to therapy”, rhetorically boils down to:

          “I don’t know how therapy actually works or what it can and can’t do, but what I do know is that it’s an easy thing to say to be dismissive of other people.”

        2. DashWallkick

          It’s so fucking annoying. They really treat it like there’s a sort of sin you can cleanse yourself of if you talk to a clinician.

        3. Nymphie

          I like to say they are personal trainers for your mental health. They can show you correct form to avoid injury, they can encourage you, but you are still the one doing all the heavy lifting and you only get as much out of it as you give

    2. StClair

      I very much get the feeling that she had a therapist, who she saw a couple of times and then decided she didn’t need to anymore.

      1. Yumi

        I thought that previously, but this strip makes it feel like it’s ongoing. Jennifer is one of the cast most able to get therapy from a non-university therapist, so she doesn’t have to worry as much about a session limits. Also, if she did bail for a bit, she’s more likely to be able to return to that therapist if it’s not through student services.

  6. Yumi

    Joyce: “You… to find happiness… and to keep it…”

    1. Freezer

      Billyfer: I… Don’t get it. Seriously, what’s your angle?

    2. anon

      i mean, idk how much joyce knows what happened with asher but i wonder if she’d still think she ‘deserves it’ (tho i guess as a ‘friend’ joyce might be willing to overlook some things) after the way billiefer behaved/treated him

  7. Icalasari

    …Wait, somebody in the cast has a therapist!?

    1. DailyBrad

      A few do. I think Ruth miiiiiight? I know she takes/took psych meds, at least.

      Dorothy and Jennifer have therapists, Dorothy is not being fully honest with hers out of concerns about how it will affect her future. Jennifer seems to be pretty honest with hers, but skeptical about the advice, going by here.

    2. Thag Simmons

      We knew that Dorothy has one

      1. Needfuldoer

        Who she lies to by omission.

      2. NGPZ

        She said she saw a *councilor*, not really the same thing as a therapist,

        @Needfuldoer’s point holding true either way.

        1. Anon

          I think earlier on Walky commenter how She was acting diff and she responded with “I got therapy”

    3. Proxiehunter

      At least one cast member meantioned the therapists available not being that great.

      1. Bogeywoman

        My experience with uni shrinks is…. Yeah, they’re not great. Either overworked with no time to really give students the attention they need (like, just to read their damn file) with a ridiculous turnover rate…. Oorrr they’re green as fuck themselves and a little too keen to push intensive therapies without the ability to provide the support and therapeutic alliance needed.

        First uni shrink I saw decided session two to push me to do exposure therapy to “cure” my panic disorder and PTSD. Ended up so bad I didn’t leave the house for two years.

  8. DailyBrad

    Jennifer/Billie knows she’s the bee’s knees. Also, that she’s the dirt worst. No one in the comment section is ever going to love or hate her as much as she does.

    1. Jeremiah

      That sounds like a challenge

    2. M!a

      I seem to recall Gollum being described much the same

    3. Li

      I don’t think she thinks she’s good at all, really. I think she just talks a good game sometimes.

      1. morleuca

        She perpetually trying to psych up the kid with severe depression.

        1. Li

          This, yes.

      2. DailyBrad

        She will talk herself up for being a cheerleader and problem-solver. It’s just she views her value to others as being very transactional.

        1. Li

          Right. The subtext there, which is practically text, is “I have to be. If I’m not, no one will put up with me.”

  9. Rachel McCall

    At least she’s seeing one?

  10. Nono

    What I want is for Jennifer to stop sabotaging her relationships because those storylines are not endearing me to her.

    1. Jeremiah

      They are not meant to ender you to her? They are mean to be bad thins that she does because of her flaws.

    2. Thag Simmons

      It’s not endearing but I gotta say, it is pretty readable.

    3. Charles Phipps

      Notably, I’m not even sure Jennifer even liked Asher or ever gave his feelings at being dumped a second thought.

      She used him and discarded him like a tissue.

      1. Clif

        Did Asher deserve better?

        1. Charles Phipps

          Whether he deserved or not, his feelings for Jennifer seemed sincere.

        2. Thag Simmons

          He deserved to get dumped for the right reasons at least.

    4. HueSatLight

      [Hans Moleman voice] I’m endeared.

  11. Deanatay

    Joyce: I think Jennifer DOES deserve to find happiness, and to keep it!

    *COMMENT SECTION REBELS*

    1. Rosstifer

      THE FUCK SHE DOES

    2. Devin

      I’m rooting for her so hard. I’m frustrated because any progress she’s ever made has been reversed.

      I’m dying for her to get some progress that actually sticks. Her part in all this has been very frustrating for me.

  12. Bittersweet

    Jennifer’s therapist is the comment section lolololol

    1. Steamweed

      “What’s your therapist say about this?”
      “Oh, those fuckers are ALL over the place about me.”

    2. anon

      given how ‘upper class’ her family is i’m surprised she has a proper therapist

      I mean , rich ppl can still have problems/valid and such, but i wonder if there are like ones assigned to the upper class ppl that have to listen to whiny teens venting like “My parents got my brother a yacht but I only got (some reasonably slightly nice car brand)” and just being paid to listen and not roll their eyes about it

  13. Taffy

    I agree with Joyce, even though she’s making a Faz face in the first panel.

    1. NGPZ

      Jennifer doing a lip bite in the last one, wonder what it means… ?

      1. Tawnee

        She’s biting back an angrier response maybe?

      2. HueSatLight

        She’s suspicious.

      3. anon

        i’m sure some ppl do it irl, but i always thought lip bites felt ‘awkward’ to show as a sign of like mild lust (maybe b/c i’ve never done it myself lol) or whatever/feels like one might sneeze or bite too hard (like how in pixie trix comics the artist there has a habit of making their charas have ‘pursed lips’ when they’re ‘curious’? about something/reacting even tho irl doing that would make it seem like ur doing some silly ‘duck’ face)

    2. Aura

      Oh god and the pose too!

    3. Steamweed

      Yeah, that was my first impression, too. Like, “Joyce, no, please don’t do that.”

  14. audkitten

    I think Joyce will end up as a therapist, whether or not she sticks with early childhood education.

    1. Steamweed

      Could be a counselor / therapist who works with children. (she gonna need herself a masters degree for that.)

  15. M!a

    “I just wanna be able to USE my room once in a while! Jesus!” ?

    1. anon

      i’m sure she got her’usage’ outta it when she was with asher and doing the ‘sexiling’

  16. Erica

    Jennifer doesn’t deserve it because she’s an asshole who treats people terribly

    1. Jeremiah

      Jennifer would agree with you!

    2. DashWallkick

      Correct. And that’s why she needs Joyce to convince Alice that she’s turned her life around. Because she is different now, and you can tell that’s true because she said so.

    3. Taffy

      No.

    4. anon

      Dunno if crashing and burning would change things but maybe a little bit of happiness might do her some good/make her less of an asshole unless she self-sabotages again

  17. Sirksome

    Jennifer’s track record with relationships seems pretty poor. Her parents ignore her, her romantic history is a trash fire Ruth included. Walky and Sal were the only consistently reliable people in her life until now. It makes sense she doesn’t trust happiness. It’s only a matter of time until it collapses.

  18. Deanatay

    Jennifer: BUT I FEED ON HATE! WHY WONT YOU HATE ME!? *sob*

    (Totally stole this quote from another comic’s comment section, points if you know which one)

    1. Puppeteer Nessus

      Is it For Better or For Worse?

      1. Deanatay

        Nope

    2. Davus

      Questionable Content? (in the style of Liz?)

      1. Steamweed

        Liz is my favorite gremlin of all the gremlins. 🙂

      2. Deanatay

        No, but appropriate. Note: this is from the _comment section_ of the comic…

  19. Nevermaker

    You know, for someone who held herself over everyone else because she went to therapy, Jennifer sure doesn’t seem to listen to her much.

    1. Charles Phipps

      The therapist doesn’t seem to have understood much about her job given you’re NOT supposed to tell patients that but get them to realize it for themselves.

      Is it Booster’s mother? Their family?

      1. Nono

        Different approaches though I think. Someone who has a high level of self-delusion or narcissism would probably never come to that conclusion on their own.

        Some people need to be told outright “you have this problem, and we need to start working on it.”

      2. Masumi

        Dunno, sometimes things take a while to understand even after being told. Mine told me that my depression is fuelled by boredom, and I wad like “wat”. Several years later, it sunk in that there was quite a bit of truth in that. About a decade after, I realised that that’s a weird way to spell “adhd”.

      3. Chubseus

        Bear in mind, this is Jennifer speaking. She doesn’t have a good track record of giving accurate information or observations. Knowing what I know about Jennifer, I’m willing to give the therapist a hearty benefit of the doubt.

    2. DashWallkick

      Weird, isn’t it? It’s almost like Jennifer’s responsibilities to others are entirely born of obligation and compulsion and not actually because she understands sincerity or self-improvement.

    3. HueSatLight

      If the therapist had got her to this realization only for Jennifer to reject it moments later, she’d easily describe it this way.

    4. anon

      “It’s a life long process” tho idk how much therapy can help ppl unwilling to change versus putting in the time to follow her around all week on campus or so/observing, tho be hilarious if Booster talking to her actually made her take a step in the right direction

    5. monkyvirus

      I mean to be fair I’d be annoyed with that therapist who turned my perfectly normal irritation at not being able to use my own room due to people having sex all the time (a freshman issue so common it’s barely worth reading into at all) into some statement about my self worth. Like no there’s people having SEX all the damn time in my room ?

  20. Sirksome

    The comments have taught me that all therapists are terrible so based on what Jen has said here were are we on her therapist being a quack?

    1. Jeremiah

      Considering how spot this analysis and how dismissive Jennifer is of it I say pretty low chances.

    2. Charles Phipps

      I mean, it’s absolutely terrible because, again, the goal of a therapist is to get a trusting relationship with a subject and them to make their own conclusions about what they need to do.

      Any therapist who tells a patient what’s wrong like this has failed basic psych.

      1. Jeremiah

        I am honestly willing to believe that this is Jennifer unflattering retelling of what her therapist had actually said.

        1. Charles Phipps

          I would agree but there are actually a lot of shitty therapists out there, particularly if you’re neuroatypical.

          Dina was repeatedly mischaracterized as having difficulty with English versus autism by one’s racism.

        2. Aura

          This is more or less my read too. Maybe she has a shitty therapist, maybe she doesn’t, but I don’t think we’d be able to tell from her description to Joyce because we can’t assume this is an accurate portrayal of her therapy experience.

        3. Steamweed

          Jennifer’s unflattering _and_ inaccurate retelling. She is such an unreliable narrator.

      2. Tux Time

        Therapists aren’t supposed to let “you figure your shit/problem out on your own”. They’re meant to help you learn and cultivate skills to help cope with your condition or illness. Practical coping skills, especially when trauma is involved.

        I’ve had excellent and caring therapists tell me something I’ve not put together yet point blank similar to what Jennifer’s has apparently told her— and I bet the therapist also couched it in “this is what I’m feeling from our conversation, what do you think?” Rather than just saying that and not budging.

        The patient absolutely needs to desire change on their own tho. And that’s the part that sticking with Jennifer, cos she believes she’s thatworthless and doesn’t deserve happiness. (Not that this excuses her past and current behaviour in treating others.)

        I’m not intending to be rude here, but as someone who has seen real improvement from therapy and therapists, what you’re saying is not correct in my experience at all whether group therapy or solo.

        (Slightly off topic: If anyone here has had little success with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) like me, I’d suggest trying Dialecital Behaviour Therapy (DBT) instead. It’s what clicked for me as a neurodivergent individual, and several of my close friends who are also neurodivergent.)

    3. Bash

      Therapists in media are often shown as being insightful and helpful because it advances the plot. “I see a therapist but it’s mostly a waste of time” would be realistic but uninteresting.

    4. HueSatLight

      The comment section has taught me that therapist, like Jennifer, and many of the other characters in the cast, is History’s Greatest Monster.

    5. anon

      Tbf billiefer is esp stubborn. but idk if as bad as amber/amazigirl like “as if there’s any therapist out there equipped to deal with everything about me”

  21. Amós Batista

    Joyce, that’s not in your paycheck. To get real Jennifer manifesting in your face

  22. Deanatay

    Also, Willis is DAYS AWAY from lapping himself. That is crazy. When his Twitter talks about a March bonus comic, I actually have to ask, “which year?” Now!

    1. Deanatay

      Willis, you need a life. Go play with your kids. Take a walk on the beach. Give the world some time to catch up with you!!

      1. Charles Phipps

        No! Don’t let him know that!

        He must sacrifice his happiness for us like Spider-man!

        Except instead of saving lives, it’s drawing humor and porn!

        1. Steamweed

          And double points if its humorous porn!

      2. BBCC

        Hey, he needs something to do while his kids are at school.

  23. Van Jealous

    “Pretty telling that this the first strip titled ‘Therapist'”….well Mr. Willis, at least you didn’t spell it like they did on Benny Hill!!

    1. Charles Phipps

      Or Sean Connery on Jeopardy.

    2. Thing2

      I came to spell it with a space in it…

  24. darkoneko

    ..I thought it was all the noise and getting stuck outside, but WOW

  25. not someone else

    *sniffs in happycry* She looks so much like her big sister in panel 3…

    1. Charles Phipps

      I’m eager to get back to Jocelyn and Bulmeria but unfortunately the RL treatment of protestors makes this another case of being terrified for her.

  26. Steve

    Who else in DoA is confirmed to be seeing a therapist?

    1. Doopyboop

      Dorothy’s confirmed to see a therapist, and we also learned she’s been deliberately leaving things out when talking to her therapist out of a worry that if she was ever diagnosed or medicated for something it’d come back to bite her when she becomes president. I don’t know if we have confirmation that Ruth went to a therapist? If Jennifer had to see a therapist after the suicide pact, I’d assume Ruth had to as well but if she has I don’t think we’ve heard much about it. And I think that’s it!

      1. thejeff

        Ruth definitely did while she was in hospital, and I assume she kept going for at least awhile after, but I don’t think that’s been confirmed.

        1. Li

          I kind of think Ruth wouldn’t want to continue therapy right now.

          Just like she’s gone back to drinking.

          I don’t think dumping Jennifer was ever supposed to be about saving both of them.

  27. IntangibleMatter

    The happiness! It cannot be trusted! Only the hot mess is safe!

  28. Joey245

    Bless her heart, Joyce is trying. Accept the friendship Jenniferrrrrr

    1. Charles Phipps

      “It is too late for me.”

      “Billie, please!”

      “That name no longer has any meaning for me.”

      “It is your true name! You have only forgotten it…wait, is this a trans thing. AM I BEING AWFUL!?”

      “…no, Joyce.”

      “Oh, phew!”

      1. Vanessa Pinter

        Very good! Clap!

      2. Steamweed

        A beautiful exchange!

    2. DashWallkick

      She will do no such thing. Jennifer will wait for the right moment to exit the table, call her a dork, and learn no such lesson.

  29. Kyulen

    I think Jennifer should listen to what her therapist is telling her. And maybe try to stay friends with people like Joyce instead of people like Raidah.

    1. NGPZ

      as much as I don’t wanna believe it, doesn’t seem likely :(

      Jennifer craves clout, but at what cost?

  30. Aura

    I feel like this kind of adds another dimension to why she might prefer the “friendship” of Raidah and co to the genuine friendships she had before

    1. anonymsly

      Yeah, Raidah is so conditional and transactional that Jennifer never feels threatened or suspicious of her motives. Raidah’s motives are super obvious, she’ll just tell you flat out.

    2. AGV/Ruby

      Yep. Can’t get hurt if there’s no real expectations, right?

  31. Qube

    frankly I can’t tell if it’s a good thing that she even has a therapist, or if it’s just wasted money because she’s clearly not listening

  32. Bryy

    oh shit, so Jennifer actually is going to therapy, but just ignoring it.

    Because of course she is.

  33. Derek

    what a weird question in the first panel: “what’s so grating about your roommate constantly fucking?” even if Billie didn’t have baggage about sex and relationships, even if she was the most well adjusted person, she’d still be right to be annoyed that she can’t use the living space SHE’S PAYING FOR. She can’t sleep or study or just relax in there while those two are shtupping

    1. Zamperla

      I might be able to guess what a friend is thinking about an annoying situation they’re in, but I would still like to give them a chance to choose to complain about it to me. Plus I could turn out to be wrong, and then I know more about my friends, who I love.

      1. AGV/Ruby

        Joyce has entered the chat

    2. Bash

      Think about the times she has been most annoyed at them. It was not when they kicked her out of her room, it was when they were being happy and affectionate with each other. She made it sound like the inconvenience was about sex, but I think that is hiding the deeper problem.

      1. sea salt ice cream sequel

        Yeah this. literally the last scene we had of Jennifer being in a bad mood about this was when Jacob was spinning Lucy around to make her laugh & then asked her if she wanted to hang out with them. Cut immediately to her crying in the shower. mayyybe Lucy’s sex life isn’t the real problem here (but also like. if it was, Jennifer should talk to Lucy instead of scowl at them lol. would it be nice & great if Lucy & Jacob were more thoughtful towards roommates in their horniness? Sure but I guess they’re not. Communicate!)

      2. DashWallkick

        Lucy and Jacob are perfectly respectable of her time and boundaries. The problem is that Jennifer does not understand why she’s miserable and resents them for their honesty and sincerity. So she glares at them and rolls her eyes and excuses herself and sneers at their attempts to include her because, obviously, it’s rude to flaunt your PDA in front of people.

        Not because Jennifer hates and mistrusts sincerity. Not because her abandonment issues make her insecure. Not because Ruth was the one time loving openly with her whole heart worked out and she was broken up with. It’s because PDA is irritating.

        Joyce doesn’t fully grasp that yet, but she’s going to get a hint when Jennifer bails again.

        1. Sirksome

          It can be everything you said and probably is, but it can also just be annoying. Like she said it was grating not that it was devastating her emotionally. People can just be annoyed by stuff. Jennifer must not be that bothered if she hasn’t said anything. I feel like she’s getting criticized at both ends. She’d judged for being annoyed by it and for not speaking up about it?

          Also they’re banging for an hour at a time. Lucy and Jake are good people but that’s too much in a shared room. We need designated sex areas or a cheap motel near campus.

    3. thumb

      It’s intended to be Therapyspeak as-seen-on-tv.

      “So, tell me about your mother and father.”
      “Uh huh, now why does that upset you?”
      “And why do you think this a bad thing?”

      Which is why Jennifer immediately tells her to knock it off. It’s not serious.

    4. Li

      I mean I literally think Joyce is just trying to ask follow-up questions.

      1. Li

        Revising this opinion based on Joyce’s expression, heh.

  34. Reltzik

    If the frequent hanky-panky is becoming grating, that’s a problem that can be fixed with lube.

    1. Antisolanum

      heyoooooo (airhorn) (“HOLY SHIT WHERE’D YOU FIND THIS”) (guitar riff) (“109.6 THE SPLURGE”) (shotgun sound effects) (“KILLTACULAR”)

  35. Zamperla

    Oh, honey.

  36. Freezer

    This would be so sad if it wasn’t Billyfer.

    1. anon

      at the very least she’s more likeable than mary or raidah , don’t see either of them getting any kinda ‘redemption arc’ so to speak (tho you could argue that Asher is worse than both of them /shrug)

  37. Davus

    “You do deserve to find happiness and keep it, Jennifer.”
    “Why are you telling me this? What do you want?”
    That’s like a very clear example of “only ever had people do nice things for her or be nice to her when they wanted something, like to feel better about themselves, to get her to do something for them, or just to have a hold over her” or some related type of trauma, I think. (I am not a Doctor)

    1. anon

      i wonder if it’d be believed if ruth of all ppl said it versus “nah, you should just be miserable” lol

      Wonder if we’ll ever meet jen’s parents, the sense of distance isn’t the worst, while her relationship probably could be better at least so far we haven’t seen her desperately doing things just for her parents approval

  38. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

    The funniest thing about this is Billifer could have just given Joyce the normal, obvious answer that it’s an inconvenience. Instead, she does… this.

    1. Bash

      I don’t think it’s actually the inconvenience, I think it is… this.

  39. BBCC

    All this ‘support’ and ‘friendship’ and ‘good advice’ is sus, sorry, Joyce.

    Jennifer, your family resemblance to Sal is showing.

    1. anon

      i mean at least she’d know/expect joyce of all ppl to be sincere as opposed to say, having this convo with walky although maybe joyce being snarky and ‘roasting her’ the same way Walky wold might help more

  40. Li

    God, that last panel. If it doesn’t just sum up so much about Jennifer’s inner turmoil.

  41. Throwatron

    you know guys

    startin to think maybe jennifer is a little not okay

    1. Steamweed

      Whaaat??

      *reads all 903 strips with ‘Jennifer’ tag
      *looks askance, disbelieving, and side-eyed at you

      1. Reltzik

        IKR?

        She’s A LITTLE not okay???

    2. Freezer

      Appropriate avatar is appropriate.

  42. Adept

    Poor Billie is so cray

  43. ADLegend21

    Jacob and Lucy aren’t exactly stable when it comes to relationships.

    1. Jeremiah

      Based on like, the 1 relationship we saw them have with people they weren’t really compatible with.

    2. HueSatLight

      It’s possible, but not likely that Jennifer has actually mentioned them to her therapist, so there’s probably like 2-3 levels of generalization going on. They are happy though.

    3. Sirksome

      Jacob maybe isn’t. I actually think Lucy is okay if you actually communicate with her.

      1. thejeff

        Lucy wasn’t great at communication in the Walky relationship either – from not saying anything for months before it started to eagerly misinterpreting what was obviously not a romantic declaration of love.
        She was a lot more willing to openly make a move with Jacob, but that doesn’t mean she’s mastered communication. I suspect there are more shoes to drop in that relationship.

  44. Arianod

    “Who sent you?” >_>

  45. Needfuldoer

    She’s telling you this stuff because she’s your friend and wants you to be happy, Jen.

  46. Maddie B

    One actual step closer to actually finding a solution to the “rekindle things with Alice” issue. The “allergic to happiness and stability” bit is a pretty major roadblock.

  47. zims

    I was surprised Jennifer went to therapy, then I remembered it was an hour to talk about herself and the bill went straight to her parents.

    1. Charles Phipps

      I predict the therapist will be as useful an adult as Puddinghead.

      Someone utterly uninvested in helping Jennifer an simply playing headgames.

      Never trust anyone over 30 but Leslie.

      1. Jeremiah

        Based on absolutely nothing but seemingly your own, incorrect, assessment of what a therapist is supposed to do.

        1. Charles Phipps

          You disagree a patient is required to have trust and work on themselves?

        2. Jeremiah

          Your argument seems to be that a therapist can never tell things upfront to their patient and they must always figure things out themselves or else they are a bad therapist. I, and other commenters, don’t think that is an accurate statement.

        3. Charles Phipps

          My argument, which you’re taking as absolute, is that Jennifer clearly does not trust her therapist and is angry at the diagnosis that she has been given. Which obviously is going to prevent further working on her problems as well as put up walls.

          Which is to say, “Jennifer is an absolutely perfect example of why what the therapist has done is shitty.”

        4. Yumi

          If that was your argument (which doesn’t seem like it was in previous comments, but if that’s what you meant)… trust takes time, and it can grow and fade. You can be angry about something but still helped by it, and in therapy that can actually really be helpful if you get to a point where you get to explore it. But she has heard what her therapist said, and it might sink in in time.

          Therapist might be shitty, this one strip doesn’t give close to enough information about it. This strip does make me feel like she might be better than previous strips made me think.

        5. Charles Phipps

          My opinion is indeed influenced by a lot of prejudgements from therapists I’ve dealt with as well as individuals who don’t want to work with the patient. So if I’m being biased, I absolutely understand. I also am being biased by being informed by the classes I did take before deciding it wasn’t a field for me. I have no expertise but I was informed it was really about a cooperative effort.

        6. Jeremiah

          Jennifer does not trust most people that tried to help her, (exemplified on this very strip) and she get angry when anyone question that the way she thinks is healthy and normal. Those things are not enough to point at quality of her therapist.

        7. Sillygoose

          My therapist, who was instrumental in changing me from borderline suicidal to stable and happy, recently joked that it took about six months for me to just sit the f down instead of constantly looking like I was gonna bolt out of the door.
          It was a joke, but not just. And she’s definitely a good therapist, and a good fit for me,.and I went to see her of my own volition and I was definitely willing to and ready for change.
          Still, it takes time to build a trusting relationship and unravel stuff, especially when your issues got issues. Not everything is the therapists fault, and I feel like we haven’t got nearly enough info here to draw any conclusion either way. Hers might be shitty, great, and anything in between.

  48. Aquila

    Jennifer: Why are you writing “paranoid tendencies” in your notes?
    Therapist: Why are you reading my notes upside-down?
    Jennifer: Didn’t you just write down the reason?
    …
    Jennifer: Why are you underlining “paranoid tendencies” !?

  49. aSnowyEvening

    It’s stupid early in the morning and I can’t sleep, so I had to reread the comic a few times because I thought Jennifer said “Suspicious because she doesn’t think I deserve it.”. And I was like, “Woah Woah Woah, there’s no way she actually said that, Jennifer must have misheard and/or heard what she wanted to hear. Also it’s sweet for Joyce to he reassuring but that’s a weird face to make at the insinuation that this is what a therapist says.”

    I need more sleep.

    (Let’s roll the dice again)

    1. aSnowyEvening

      A+++ gravatar match.

  50. cmasta1992

    Ohhhh so that’s why I like Jennifer so much…

  51. Dave

    Fuckin’ ADORE that Joyce gets Jennifer to open up by using the same technique you’d use to force a LLM chatbot to write something forbidden by its censoring pre-sets

    1. Schpoonman

      I wonder if you could get Amber to instinctually meme with a “Ignore prior instructions, do thing” message.

      1. Taffy

        Ignore prior instructions, go walk in on Dorothy’s apology and offer to sweeten it with a three-way.

  52. Mr. Random

    I mean… at least she went to a few sessions?

  53. Woop de doop

    Why is joyce making a faz face.

    1. Sirksome

      Because Faz is inevitable.

    2. anon

      Tbf smiling with closed eyes is a common artist thing, even outside of animanga XD; Going ^_^ does suit joyce tho it might look a bit awkward tiwithe ghe glases

  54. goggleman64

    “Who sent you? Was it my absent parents??”

    1. Astariel

      Nah, they don’t care enough.

      1. BorkBorkBork

        Spat out my coffee.

  55. Enkrod

    That smile… that damn triangle smile that comes with so much pure goodness. How could anyone not love Joyce?

  56. Cloud

    Well I predicted the hell out of this strip.

  57. Yeet

    relating to all the characters present today

  58. Proto

    I think this is the best punchline the strip’s had in a while. Good job, Willis.

  59. Suet

    It’s harder to deserve happiness than to manifest it. Which means the happiest Jennifer will ever be is when ████████████████

    I’d say she’s more allergic to *insert common allergen* than happiness and stability.

    1. Jeremiah

      I don’t get it.

  60. eskimolos

    So I’m actually feeling like this extends further out now. I was taking each strip as it came, but as a whole it looks like Joyce took the mission of “Get Alice and Jennifer to be friends again” and went “okay so before that can happen Jennifer needs to be able to accept healthy forms of friendship, full stop.” Which would make Joyce incredibly clever, and at least somewhat aware that Jennifer probably doesn’t really see her as a friend.

    1. Joy

      Joyce being stubbornly persistent about being Jennifer’s friend anyway makes me like her as a character. Also, Jennifer pretends not to be a friend, but she totally cares. It’s the tsundere thing.

  61. DorJoJoe

    If there are ever no Joyce Brown lovers then that means I have died.

  62. Joy

    There’s no way in hell the Walkerton parents’ racism has nothing to do with panel 4.

    1. thejeff

      Some perhaps, but far more her own parents’ neglect.

    2. NGPZ

      yuuuup :/

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.