462

Going on
Posted on July 9, 2024 by David M Willis

462 thoughts on “Going on”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    somehow feels like a missed opportunity for “hold my beer” XD

    1. Doctor_Who

      You have to be holding one first, Sarah is just laying the groundwork.

    2. Hof1991

      Liquor is quicker.

    3. Needfuldoer

      I have a feeling Walky’s going to be wearing it in about 10 seconds.

  2. Doctor_Who

    Ironically, Ruth showing up right now might actually break the tension.

    1. Uly

      And hopefully a few femurs.

      1. darkoneko

        …hopefully ?

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          You hread them. Hopefully. ?

        2. Doug D

          …a few?

  3. Schpoonman

    Oh boooy.

  4. butts

    just kind of starin’, huh

  5. elfroyalty

    Oh, Lucy. 🙁 Poor thing. They may have broken up but this has got to sting, getting left behind so quickly.

    1. Corronchilejano

      I don’t think Lucy thinks she broke up with him.

      1. Taffy

        Well, she had to find out eventually.

        1. Vanessa

          Oh boy, this girl.

      2. BorkBorkBork

        Heh. Nope.

        This is not the look of a girl that is hurt that her ex boyfriend rebounded with his ex.

        This is the look of a woman who just had her entire planned future stolen by a brazen blonde succubus. Panel 4 in particular is the calculation of the angle of the stab wounds she’ll administer to her cheating asshole of a boyfriend.

        And all y’alls thought Ms. “We’ve been dating for months!” had broken up with Walky. Hah. Yeah right. She was just giving him space so he could do some sort of grand romantic gesture to show her that she meant the world to him.

        1. superglucose

          then I’m fucking *glad* she finds out this way. May she grow and learn from this experience.

        2. BorkBorkBork

          Maybe. Hopefully.

          There’s a certain level of social unawareness that Lucy has, which has also influenced her perception of her relationships with her roommates, her neighbors, and everyone else. It’s what has given her resiliency despite continuous put-downs. Lucy Glenn is “everyone’s friend,” when in reality, she has no real friends.

          After all – only Sarah thought to invite her here. When pushed.

          The IRL person who her behavior reminds me of most – an in-law of mine – was a piece of work when they were dating people, and they’re a piece of work still after they’ve been married for over ten years. Completely unaware when they do something that’s grossly wrong or offensive, because they don’t consider what others think or feel to begin with. Almost always pleasant and sociable, but unable to read a room.

        3. BorkBorkBork

          What I’m saying is – this problem goes deeper than Walky. Like, this is the same problem that led her to bringing a huge tower of board games to the “keg” party. If she “grows and learns” from this, it means she needs to shatter her WHOLE social illusion, not just the “I learned I can’t say this to my boyfriend and still be together” part.

        4. Whirlakitty

          Eh…Sarah probably said something like ‘hey, want to our come to our party, and you seem like you know how to keep people entertained at parties, what do we do?’. I doubt Sarah said it was a party specifically to get drunk. Board games would seem like a great pick for me. 🙂
          (Plus, the known attendees so far were Sarah, Becky, and Dina. Would anyone EXPECT that to be a ‘get drunk’ party? 😛 )

        5. BorkBorkBork

          Yeah, it’s more the fact that when she gets there, sees the cups and booze, gets questioned twice on it, and her answer is just “People like board games, Sarah.” It’s like her telling her whole floor that movie night is going to be Flight of the Navigator and being positive that everyone will love it, despite literally no one being interested and no one showing up.

        6. RoyanRannedos

          Compliance.

      3. Adept

        This is going to be really tiresome. Lucy has never been particularly adult, and nobody in the room needs to see what happens nex.

        1. Rook

          Sarah should have never invited Lucy, she knew this was going to happen.

          I think Lucy knew the relationship was over, after the church incident when Walky couldn’t even compromise in doing the one thing she loves but she put up with everything he wanted to do. Although, she was hoping he would wake up and realize what a butthead he is, but that was never gonna happen.

        2. thejeff

          What?
          First of all, she never even hinted at trying to get him to go to church and she seemed fine with him not wanting to go again.
          It was the whole “I love you” thing that blew up and then that dragged his parents back up and that ended it.

        3. Kelibath

          I think the important part everyone’s missing is – was WALKY invited?
          As if he wasn’t, it shouldn’t be that unusual that Sarah thought of Lucy over him. And he did ruin the last party.

      4. Gbz

        She totally broke up with him though. I know naivety is her thing but she can’t be so naive as to not know she dumped walky.

        1. VicMortimer

          Eh, who knows.

          I mean, I was once dumped, then a few days later had sex with somebody else. When my recent ex found out, she promptly started yelling at me about it. I had to point out that she had, in fact, dumped me, that I hadn’t had any intention of ending the relationship, but, having been dumped, was not in any way obligated to not fuck other people.

          It turned out well, we were roommates several years later, even had sex a few times during that, and are still friends even if we don’t talk often after she moved hundreds of miles away.

      5. Leadsynth

        Huh? I thought Lucy clearly broke up with him.

        1. Corronchilejano

          “Fuck you” is different than “we’re through”. Of course, she then proceeded to not bring the subject back, and just do whatever. I wouldn’t fault Walky for thinking they were.

        2. anonymsly

          ‘Fuck you, I deserve better’ is for sure a breakup, though, and that’s what she said.

    2. anon

      it did seem like she drew a line/boundary even if she didn’t literally say the words but she also didn’t say “let’s try to work this out”

      1. aelfwine

        Not saying the words is in fact not breaking up.

        If someone’s confused about whether the words were spoken, they could ask.

        1. Daibhid C

          “Hi, Lucy. Just checking, when you said ‘Fuck your parents, fuck you, I deserve better, I’ll see you at math class,’ what did that mean exactly?”

        2. Mark

          Precisely. “Are you saying I’m not good enough and you’re done with me, or asking me to be better because you’re not done? I like you. I like us. I don’t want to hurt you or disappoint you. So tell me what I should do.”

        3. TerribleTransit

          Not saying the words is also not not breaking up. You can make things pretty unambiguous without ever explicitly saying you want to break up! In this case, it certainly was ambiguous (hence all the debates in the comments as well as this whole plot line) and they both clearly would have benefited from discussing it rather than making assumptions, but that’s not universally true.

        4. smolgrlboi

          that seems wildly manipulative if you ask me.

        5. Nymph

          So A) You do not have to say “I’m breaking up with you” to be broken up. It’s not a magic spell or a curse or something. People break up all the time in the real world without spelling it out.

          B) Walky wasn’t confused. He didn’t need to clarify because he felt he understood exactly what Lucy was saying. Which is reasonable since a huge portion of the comment section also agrees that was an unambiguous break up.

          Lucy said some very cutting things, including that she deserved better, and then cut off contact. That Walky saw that as a break-up is 100% fair and valid whether Lucy intended him to or not.

          I genuinely do think she intended to though.

        6. TerribleTransit

          Regarding B, he very much was confused. He expressed multiple times that he was uncertain about their status — he felt like they were probably broken up and ultimately decided they were, but there was definitely a period of confusion before he arrived at that conclusion.

        7. BorkBorkBork

          Agreed. I mean, after hovering anxiously near her when going to and from class, then he talks to Dorothy and says, “An’ I’m probably out of a relationship fer not havin’ ’nuff of a spine fer the most easy-going, amicable sweetheart on campus?” Then Dorothy kisses him, and he clarifies, “Y’know, I said PROBABLY out of a relationship.”

          This was Walky’s second relationship, and the first one was very, VERY clearly ended. AFAIK this is Lucy’s first. Both of them are hyper-nerds on their own particular fandoms and not part of any “in-crowd” in high school. So I don’t know why everyone thinks that they suddenly have the experience to both know without spelling it out that they’re done. They were watching Dexter and Monkey Master and Teen Titans Go when their peers were watching Gilmore Girls and Dawson’s Creek (or whatever sex-filled high school drama was popular with teenage girls in the 2010s).

        8. misanthropope

          the eff you might reasonably just be the honest expression of her feelings at the moment. the who speech after, and the admirably consistent grey rock impression she did in subsequent interactions is unmistakable.

          you pull a stunt like that insincerely, the other party DEFINITELY needs to be shot of you.

    3. Pergola

      “Break up? Doesn’t matter! You are still mine!

      1. Nymph

        And other things no one in the comic has said!

  6. HueSatLight

    Only Amber, Dina, and Walky are matching the theme. Dina’s triceratops thing, Amber wearing Dina’s “bird is the word” hoodie, and Walky is extinct.

    1. Doctor_Who

      And Lucy is about to unleash an ice age.

      1. hastur

        Or possibly a supervolcano.

      2. Thag Simmons

        That’s not a mesozoic thing so she’s still off theme. Should have unleashed a Chicxulub impactor instead.

        1. AGV/Ruby

          Well, the Cretaceous did have the Deccan traps. Or even the Siberian traps if we consider the P-T extinction.

        2. Thag Simmons

          Was talking about the Ice Age thing, not the Supervolcano thing.

      3. Yumi

        A reenactment of how some dinosaurs may have attacked others.

      4. Shaith86

        More like an Ice Rage.

        …I’ll see myself out.

        1. Michael Steamweed

          No, no!
          *catches you at door; pushes you back in
          Please go on!
          😀

    2. Segnosaur

      What does rationality have to do with people in general?I am amazed that Dina’s hoodie actually fits amber, given their differences in body type/bust size. But I guess they are designed to be a bit loose fitting.

    3. Dante

      Have a manual upvote. Lucy is about to unleash a supermassive event innit

    4. Taffy

      Dorothy matches too. She’s a roight fit bird, she is.

    5. Kim

      xD !!

    6. Francoinblanco

      Wait for all people, why Becky dont have any dino motive

    7. anon

      maybe dina can be some referee in some ‘dino fight/powermove’ or so between lucy and dorothy

    8. DiktatrSquid

      Now that’s funny

  7. Puppeteer Nessus

    Lucy is Medusa

    1. AGV/Ruby

      You’re not too far off

  8. Nono

    Should be kinda interesting to see where Lucy’s anger goes, considering she was the one that broke up with Walky.

    Will she be mad that he already rebounded? That he’s not trying to fix what led to their breakup in the first place? That he doesn’t have Nachito crumbs on his jacket for once but he always had them while he was dating her?

    1. Doopyboop

      I think Lucy’s anger is a one-two punch. Like, she broke up with Walky because she clearly had way more investment/feelings in the relationship than he did. And then within two days of breaking up he’s gone back to his ex. It definitely would make Lucy feel pretty bad. Probably makes her feel like he never really loved her anyway, and like her chapter in his story was just filler until he inevitably got back with the ex he actually seems to love.

      1. Dara

        To his white ex in particular, in the context of breaking up because of his mom’s racism about her.

        This is gonna be crunchy is what I’m saying.

        1. Bryy

          YUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP.

      2. Jay

        Hopefully…it was.

      3. fridge_logic

        Ironically a contributing factor to him getting together with Dorothy so fast is that Lucy broke up with him and he did care about her. If Walky had been single I thik it’s way more likely that he would want some emotional reconciliation from Dorothy before getting back together.

        As it is he’s kind of stacking up emotional wounds now: Mike’s Dead, Dorothy Dumped him, I think Amber dumped him too right(?), he’s finding out his mom is racist against his sister and the people he dates, Lucy Dumped him.

        Like he’s been through a lot personally and romantically. It’s hard to blame him for seeking out familiar comfort and validation.

      4. Mark

        “…like he never really loved her anyway….” By the definition Lucy is using, this is exactly right. So this would just be perceiving reality.

        By another definition, Walky could say the same of Lucy.

      5. zee

        Yeah I don’t understand why people here act like you don’t have a right to feel things about what your fresh ex does. If you were emotionally invested in a person, unless something huge happened those emotions aren’t just going to magically cut off the second you break up. It would make no logical sense for Lucy to be chill with this. If she actually lashes out at him then yeah, uncalled for. You can criticize her for that. But she dumped him like, 3 days ago max. It was her first relationship and she was super invested in him, on top of what you and others pointed out. Feeling upset is not only her right, it’s natural and it doesn’t make her a manipulative monster who wanted Walky to come crawling back to her

        1. Antsan

          Some people just hate Lucy for some weird reason. I’m not quite sure how people confuse “making stupid mistakes and being emotionally immature” with “manipulative”, but here we are.

      6. Nymph

        “Probably makes her feel like he never really loved her anyway.”

        He didn’t. They barely dated, he didn’t love her, that was part of the whole problem between them.

    2. cbwroses

      The only thing she could arguably be mad about is how fast he got back with Dorothy, and she honestly has no claim to that anger, especially since he was broken up with her longer than when he broke up with Dorothy the first time before he started messing with Amber (which Lucy fully supported).

      She has no right to be mad he didn’t try to fix things since she (politely) shut down any attempts at communication by leaving his presence and never initiating communication on her own.

      And she can’t be mad that he’s cheating as she very clearly broke up with him with no room for confusion (as other commenters have told me multiple times).

      As for the crumbs, he left them in Dorothy’s bed; nothing he can do about that.

      1. Akane

        Walky held off on Amber out of respect for Dorothy. Unearned respect, but still there. He immediately went to Amber after Lucy, then Dorothy in two days. Walky refuses to address his terrible behavior with his girlfriends. Scumbag moves

        1. Woop de doop

          This is such an unhinged take. I can’t tell if you’re trolling us.

        2. Barf Ninjason

          Think it’s one of those weird double-standard things, one of the few anti-male ones, where a guy who moves from one gal to another is a gross horndog but a gal who does the same is seeking validation and lacks independence; as usual, it’s unnecessarily gendering what is ultimately universal human behavior, and either a lady-lass or a dudely-dude could easily be doing either, both or neither of those things.

        3. Pergola

          “lady-lass or a dudely-dude” I like this.
          Together they fight crime!

        4. cbwroses

          “He immediately went to Amber”?
          What are you talking about?
          He talked to Amber.
          He didn’t try to get with her again.

        5. Nymph

          The difference is that Walky was heartbroken after Dorothy because they dated a long time, had a lovely relationship, and broke up out of mutual affection for each other rather than some huge angry blow out.

          Lucy is someone he didn’t have that depth of feeling for. He’s not a scumbag for not treating her the way he treated Dorothy, their relationship was completely different. Lucy can be upset, hell I’d be upset about a partner moving on that quick, but Walky isn’t in the wrong to do so.

          Things can hurt someone’s feelings without being morally wrong.

      2. Aura

        “And she can’t be mad that he’s cheating as she very clearly broke up with him with no room for confusion (as other commenters have told me multiple times).”

        I’m still not anywhere near as convinced of that as a lot of people here (and I think there’s lots of evidence that she didn’t consider them fully broken up in the strip from 2 days ago and today).

        1. Vanessa

          Lucy just wants to have it both ways, to break up with Walky and yet still have him begging for her attention.

        2. Aura

          I think I agree in so much as I also think she left the conversation deliberately ambiguous, but I think it was more because she didn’t know what she wanted herself and was trying to leave herself time to process everything and then make a decision (and/or she wanted to punish Walky for a while and then get back with him when she felt he’d suffered enough or learnt whatever lesson she was trying to teach him or whatever). Honestly, I don’t think either’s behaviour through this has been perfect, but they’ve just been imperfect in very normal, emotionally immature not great at communicating 18ish-year-old ways.

        3. Freemage

          Do I think Lucy meant to break up with Walky? Maybe, maybe not; she hasn’t specifically declared either way, though implications are against it right now. Do I think it’s perfectly reasonable for Walky to interpret her behavior over those two days as meaning, “We’re through”? Hell, fucking yes. “Fuck you” + subsequent frost-out is pretty much a break-up for most folks.
          And this is college. Sorry, Lucy, but if you’re attractive enough, yes, you have a revolving door on your relationship downtime.

        4. Barf Ninjason

          I feel like it’s a pretty big stretch to NOT interpret “we’re through” as meaning… that they’re through. Having some regret or ambiguous feelings about it doesn’t mean she didn’t DO it.

        5. Barf Ninjason

          I personally think she’s just pissed off that he’s already seemingly with someone else; she was feeling like he didn’t like her that much and didn’t respect her, and seeing him with someone else two days later cannot help with that feeling.

        6. Taffy

          Just to be a pedant, I’m gonna point out she never said the words “we’re through”. That’s kinda the gist of people’s “Wait, but they didn’t break up” arguments, I think. She didn’t invoke the sacred terms, so it doesn’t count.

        7. Mark

          That is it. One of the things I do for a living is design and implement communication protocols. (Okay, two things.) And the communication seen here is garbage. It wouldn’t even be sketched on a scrap to be crumpled and thrown in the trash. We don’t know if they broke up or not. They don’t know if they broke up or not.

          (The comic is great. Among other greatness, it’s very good at displaying good communication, poor communication, failure to communicate when it’s important, and what happens after.)

        8. Barf Ninjason

          Okay, I went back and looked up what she actually said because I didn’t remember if she actually said “we’re through” which yeah, she didn’t, Freemage just summed it up as that.

          What she said was “Fuck you for going along with it” about trying to sitcom-plot his parents out of being racist, and then “I need to be brave enough to know when I deserve better” followed by “See you at math tomorrow.”

          So that’s a literal “fuck you” followed by “I deserve better” and then implying that our relationship now consists of being in math class together.

          How would he NOT read that as breaking up? I don’t think you were being pedantic, but one doesn’t need some full-on magic words to communicate. If she later clarified “I meant I want you to treat me better” then mayyyybe I could see that as she didn’t realize she was breaking up with him and/or changed her mind. But she didn’t, it’s just been radio silence, right? So… yeah, she’s just pissed he’s ♪dreamin’ of… the one he really loves / He’s dreaming of…. the one he really loves♪

        9. Aelfwine

          She didn’t say “we’re through”.

        10. Aura

          Eh, personally I can understand why Walky might have thought Lucy was breaking up with him but I do think ideal behaviour (like, perfect from an outside observer perspective, not necessarily realistic or in character) in a case where there’s any room for doubt about the status of the relationship would be to clarify and make sure before sleeping with someone else — that’s not a step you take unless you’re 100% sure where things stand.

        11. Azhrei Vep

          While I absolutely read her statements and behavior as clear ‘breaking up,’ it wouldn’t have hurt for Walky to take a page out of Asher’s book and double-check just in case.

        12. thejeff

          Given how she brushed off his attempt to talk to her the next day, I’m not sure how well that would have gone.

        13. Mark

          “Just a second, Lucy. I need to know if you broke up with me or not, so I know whether I need to try harder or move on.”

          She could just keep walking. I consider that unlikely.

        14. Psi baka onna

          In their last interaction together it felt like Walky tried to start a conversation with her but she shut it down and left before he could really ask her anything. Hard to have an adult conversation if the other person doesn’t want to engage…

          Not that that means Walky is guiltless or anything, Lucy just needs to take a long look at her own behaviour before accusing anyone of being unfaithful. (Assuming she didn’t think they were broken up…)

        15. Nymph

          I’ll note that Lucy hasn’t accused anyone of being unfaithful yet. She’s just upset, which is fair regardless of what she meant when she said “Fuck you, fuck your family, I deserve better.”

        16. Heavensrun

          Yeah, but Walky is clearly ADHD. His brain doesn’t work that way.

      3. Vanessa

        However, she is clearly mad about all of that anyway. And also just mad at Dorothy for existing.

        Great job, Sarah, what the hell were you thinking. Lucy has always been a time bomb of unmet expectations and unvoiced assumptions.

        1. Coatl

          The way Lucy thinks about things is disturbing.

        2. Bryy

          Once again: we as an audience tend to forget that more than half the cast is indoctrinated into the region’s religion in some form. Lucy’s thought process (also take note that she’s the only one here dressing VERY FORMAL) stems from the same cultural zeitgeist as Joyce’s and Becky’s, and even Jennifer’s. Heck, even Dorothy is affected by it. My main fear here is Lucy not going off on Walky, but revealing that Becky has been trying to reconvert Joyce.

        3. Taffy

          Wearing a cute top is “very formal”? And also Becky hasn’t even mentioned that in like two years (our time). I don’t think it’s real anymore.

        4. PedanticJerkass

          revealing that Becky has been trying to reconvert Joyce.

          What.

        5. Bash

          Like when they had mac and cheese night and Becky was playing Rich Mullins.

        6. Woop de doop

          Becky and Joyce had a fight but ultimately resolved their differences regarding religion. That was a long time ago.

          Also Lucy is wearing the outfit she was already wearing before she got invited to the party. She didn’t feel the need to change. That’s really the most casual thing.

        7. Nymph

          This whole take feels like a pretty big reach.

        8. Dante

          Hey, Sarah had no idea about any of this when she invited her!

          Bet she’s caught on like, reeeal fast tho

        9. Rowen Morland

          I don’t believe Sarah invited Dorothy or Walky.

      4. not someone else

        Honestly, she’s allowed to feel mad about whatever the hell she wants… it’s whether or not she has the right to tell Walky off about it that’s in question.

        1. Meagan

          This!! Upvote.

        2. Bash

          And I honestly think she does, because he really did not think about her and how she might feel when getting back with Dorothy.

          No he doesn’t owe her anything, but sometimes to be a good person you do need to consider how your actions will affect others.

        3. CrazyJ

          If Walky didn’t consider how Lucy felt he wouldn’t have rejected Dotty’s multiple attempts to hook back up with him. It wasn’t until he was forced to consider how Dorothy felt about being rejected that Walky finally gave in and stopped holding out hope that Lucy may not have meant to have dumped him.

        4. thejeff

          I could be wrong, but weren’t all of those rejections before Lucy broke up with him?

        5. CrazyJ

          First rejection was before they broke up. And then later when Walky told Dorothy he’s probably broken up with Lucy, Dotty tried to mack on Walky and Walky stopped her. Then after Dotty’s and Joyce night of drinking Dorothy came to Walky’s room likely to make a more subtle attempt to get in Walky’s pants, and that just lead to them standing on a snow pile. It wasn’t until it looked like Dorothy was about to have a nervous breakdown that Walky suggested they have sex.

        6. smolgrlboi

          once you are no longer dating someone they do not, in fact, have to consider your feelings regarding any of the decisions they make. the relationship is, ya know, over.

        7. thejeff

          As Bash said, “he doesn’t owe her anything”, but it is good to consider how your actions will affect others, if you care about them at all.

        8. Antsan

          That’s assuming that all and every relationships are romantic relationships, or at least that after you end a romantic relationship, there can be no kind of relationship left at all. Neither of which is true. The two share a world, and even a campus, and sometimes a classroom, I think it is entirely reasonable to expect them to consider each other’s feelings at least a little.

      5. HueSatLight

        nobody is allowed to be pissed when they find out how much their exboyfriend lied to them.

        1. drs

          What did Walky lie about?

        2. Adept

          Lied about what?

      6. Wereg

        The anger not being rational does not mean she won’t be angry.

      7. Antsan

        I don’t think she needs a “right” to feel the way she does.

    3. Jeremiah

      Whatever direction it might I am sure someone in the comments will get pissed at her for it.

      1. Nymph

        This lmao

    4. Aelfwine

      “Should be kinda interesting to see where Lucy’s anger goes, considering she was the one that broke up with Walky.”

      Certainly people seem to be experiencing a linguistic disagreement if some of them think you can break up with someone without realizizing you broke up with them, and others think that breaking up with someone is in fact actually communicating a clear deliberate intention that you no longer want to pursue this relationship.

      What Lucy did with Walky is say “fuck you” and walk away. Which isn’t actually the latter.

      I’d personally call that just “having a fight”, but if people are convinced that “fuck you”+walking away is the definitive ritual for “breaking up”…. I would encourage that american culture adopts a more clear ritual than that.

      1. Hazel

        I think in a more established relationship I would call it a bad fight but after only a week, maybe two of dating? It’s a breakup.

      2. TerribleTransit

        Saying “fuck you” and walking away is having a fight, yes. But when the core of that fight is “you don’t respect me and I deserve better” it’s understandable to interpret it as a relationship-ending fight. Couple that with her very pointedly treating him in a polite-but-not-familiar way the next time they met and it really starts to look that way! Now, that could all just be a continuation of the fight where you act cold and distant until you’re ready to discuss things properly… but there’s also some onus on Lucy to make clear that she’s interested in talking about it but still needs some time to process.

        Consider this hypothetical: a person you’re dating tells you “I need some space, I’ll talk to you later” and then blocks your number. No magical words were spoken, so you’re still dating, according to your rules. How long does that remain true? Do you have to wait a year after their last response before you can assume the “space” is permanent? A month, a week, a day? Do you have to wait until communication is re-established, potentially making you “dating” for decades as you desperately stalk them to deliver a “we’re through” message to clear your conscience before you move on?

        There is no definitive, canonical ritual for breaking up, and sometimes things are pretty gray. That said, smooching on someone else can often serve as “communicating a clear deliberate intention that you no longer want to pursue this relationship.”

        1. Mark

          Let me try it this way: if you don’t want to be hurt or left hanging, be explicit. All this tea-leaf-reading is both exhausting and unproductive.

      3. Miri

        When I was 15 or 16, I met a guy and we kissed some. I quite liked him but didn’t get his number. Went to the same place (weekly small live music venue) the following week. Didn’t see him. Figured I hadn’t seen him and a kiss was just a kiss.

        A friend whispered to ask me to play along and pulled me in for a snog. (Found out later she was trying to wind up her boyfriend ? we stopped being friends not too long after that and I spent some time processing what a manipulative user she was.)

        The week after that, I got a letter delivered to me at the music place, passed on by a mutual acquaintance of an acquaintance, letting me know that, since he “didn’t approve of bisexual activity of any sort” I was dumped.

        I had no idea I was supposedly dating this guy that I had no way of contacting and had met once! And also if I’d known he was a bigot wouldn’t have kissed him in the first place, eew.

        1. Miri

          But if it’s possible to be dumped by someone you didn’t know you were dating (without acquiring an actual “you need a restraining order” stalker as an interim step) then I’m pretty sure it’s possible to break up with somebody without realising that you’re breaking up with them.

          Plausibly better one… When I was 17, my bf at the time was getting salty that I was getting excited about my university acceptance letters starting to come in because “I was happy about leaving him”… I was a bit upset he wasn’t being more supportive of me. Also we were talking about me going to university in ~10 months, and we were about 5 months into our relationship, so the degree of bent out of shape-ness seemed out of proportion… I thought we were agreeing to take a break until he asked me the next day if I’d mind if he’d ask our the girl he’d dated before me again. (But unlike Walky – he asked… So my brain quickly clued me in on the permanency of our break-up, and I went with the “pfft, no, we’re over, I have no say over what you do, why would I mind?” response.)

        2. Big Z

          Ugh, I’ve been the GUY in this situation. Had a date or two with a lovely lady from a nearby school district that was not mine, then SUMMER NONSENSE happened (as it does when you’re 17 and trying to juggle a job and band camp and whatnot), asked her to another date a month and a half later and she (more politely than I deserved) pointed out that if you don’t talk to someone for a month, in a world with phones and e-mail, you are not dating anymore.

        3. Sere

          I had this happen to me in my mid 20s, but the guy didn’t handle it with as much grace as you seemed to. I think on mt end there is also a culture thing at play since the US is so large and I’ve bounced around a bit. Some areas it seems common to date multiples until you decide to go one on one and you outline that. Some areas only date one at a time before hand. Some seem allergic to labels for months but are explicit on boundaries date #1. It was always a loop because I went in with expectations that didn’t match reality, but at least I’ve always had dates with people who communicated and clarified.

      4. Michael Steamweed

        This is America. We don’t want it to be clear and unambiguous. We want it to be murky and uncertain. We like our relationships just like we like our employment and political situations.

        1. Nymph

          Not sure why you think that’s an American-specific thing, but I assure you it isn’t.

        2. Michael Steamweed

          Aww, dang. I was hoping positively for you.

        3. Nymph

          Sadly no.

  9. Serendipity

    I don’t see what Lucy has to be mad about here.

    1. Wraithy2773

      Rationally, yes, Lucy shouldn’t be mad about anything here.

      What does rationality have to do with college freshmen?

      1. Segnosaur

        What does rationality have to do with people in general?

    2. Shakes

      Being back in the arms of your white blonde ex a couple days after being dumped because you wouldn’t stick up for your black girlfriend in the face of your mom’s racism is pretty bad optics.

      1. Animedingo

        Thats a bit of an over simplification.

        Lucy idolized walky in an unhealthy manner and walky wasnt reciprocating.

        1. Jeremiah

          Two things can be true at the same time.

      2. James

        Optics aside it definitely sends a message when someone you were very interested in romantically manages to move on in basically a day.

        1. cbwroses

          She supported him moving on to Amber in a day.
          At least it was 2 days this time.

        2. Proto

          Pretty sure that was supposed to be part of a long con to make them accept Lucy and not an actual “moving on”

        3. thejeff

          It’s funny because sometimes we assume “that wasn’t real, look how fast he moved on” and sometimes we assume “this isn’t real, it’s just a rebound”.

      3. aelfwine

        “after being dumped”
        More like “after having a fight and assuming you were dumped”.

        1. Nymph

          that’s the same thing – both people in a relationship get to decide when it’s over or not

      4. yak

        Yeah in fact Lucy might just think that Walky took his mom’s advice. Which would be grounds to be really pissed off.

    3. Akane

      It’s been two days. Walky should’ve waited like he did when he broke up with Dorothy last time.

      1. Taffy

        Says who? Where’s the law that requires a mourning period before you move on in from a breakup?

        1. Vanessa

          It’s college. They are still basically kids. And Walky wasn’t dating Lucy for very long at all, barely even holding hands for that short time too.

        2. Taffy

          That’s what I’m on about.

      2. cbwroses

        He was with Amber the very next day.
        He actually waited longer this time.

        1. a/snow/mous/e

          I think that was the joke, maybe?

      3. Nymph

        He loved Dorothy and was hurt when they broke up. He did not love Lucy.

        He’s not a bad person for moving on. Especially as the person who was broken up with, it’s literally not his job to coddle his exes and it’s weird that people think it is.

        Of Note: I still think Lucy’s anger is valid, you can have emotions about things even if they aren’t morally wrong.

    4. Bash

      Remember why she first liked Walky? It was because he was the kind and considerate boy who wanted to make sure he didn’t cause any more harm to his ex-girlfriend even though she had broken up with him.

      None of that same consideration is on display here.

      1. Dante

        On his (weak) defense, he didn’t know she’d be there. And she hasn’t let him communicate with her.

        Sadly the thing with Dorothy wasn’t planned and now we can only wonder what kind of consideration he would’ve shown her. Walky’s a good dude, all in all. I truly don’t think he’d want to hurt Lucy.

        1. Bash

          It’s less about going to this specific gathering with Dorothy, and more about agreeing to get back together with her without thinking about how it would feel for Lucy. I don’t think he wants to hurt Lucy but I also don’t think she was a factor at all in the decision. Probably the best thing to do would have been to wait a few weeks and let the dust settle. I don’t think Walky is a bad dude, but he can be a little impulsive and emotionally clueless.

        2. Adept

          That’s nonsense. Dorothy was hurting, Walky cares deeply for her and things with Lucy had clearly ended with her angry and disillusioned with him.

          ”He should have waited” doesn’t work at all. That would have just hurt Dorothy and himself for some absract goal of ”maybe it helps Lucy”.

        3. smolgrlboi

          Idk if you realize this but abusive obsessive ex-partners use your logic to justify their unhinged behavior. a thing can hurt to see happen, doesn’t mean the person doing it is in the wrong. break ups hurt, but most people live through em. don’t prioritize your ex’s feelings over your own, ever.

        4. Nymph

          “more about agreeing to get back together with her without thinking about how it would feel for Lucy.”

          Why would Lucy’s opinion about who he dates matter? She broke up with him, she doesn’t get to continue factoring into his relationship choices after that.

  10. morhek

    Gustav Holst’s “Mars Bringer of War” kicking in.

    1. Opus the Poet

      Please take this imaginary upvote!

    2. PedanticJerkass

      “Betrayal” from Silent Hill 2 kicking in.

    3. Mark

      Perfect!

  11. IntangibleMatter

    That’s ending up in someone’s face before the end of the storyline.

    1. Dante

      The question is, it’ll end thrown up as-is, or as actually thrown up?

    2. Pergola

      More wasted booze.

  12. Wraithy2773

    Okay, see, Sarah does have some people skills. 😀

    1. Dara

      And very occasionally impeccable timing!

    2. Dante

      Poor Sara tho. Given she’s in a “let’s be social” arc, for once she invited Lucy with the express purpose of being kinder…

      Aaaand now this is guaranteed to end badly 8’DD

      1. Freemage

        And possibly to have Lucy hurl herself at Jacob in an attempt to ‘move on’ from Walky as fast as he moved on from her. THAT would sit well with Sarah.

        1. Dante

          Step 1: Find the most beautiful man at the party
          Step 2: oh nooooooo

          I’m very worried about this possibility you’ve brought up. It’s one of the most Disasterful bombs that could go off and Chekhov’s Gun pretty much demands it be fired DDD:

        2. Nymph

          Yeah this is absolutely what’s going to happen and I’m here for it!

  13. Animedingo

    Lucy you are valid in being upset seeing walky with an objectively better version of you. However you do not have the right to lash out at anyone about it.

    1. Jay

      She’s gonna lash out about it

      1. StClair

        yyyyyup.

      2. Taffy

        She’s gonna get laid about it. Calling it now.

        1. Vanessa

          That would actually be the funniest thing to happen. She’s going to revenge get engaged to and have sex with Jacob. And it will be all poor Sarah’s fault.

        2. Freemage

          Nah, if it’s for revenge, she won’t be able to get Jacob to commit to engagement that fast. If she goes this route, she’s going to be totally down with climbing Mt. Jacob tonight, and then be struck with morning-after guilt if she succeeds.

        3. Michael Steamweed

          That entirely depends on how Jacob responds to it. He’s expressed before his unease with being viewed as a sex object or conquest target.

        4. Nymph

          Ooo maybe she’ll try to get revenge by throwing herself at Jacob and will get politely, but firmly, denied by a man who doesn’t want people treating him that way.

          Then maybe, just maybe, she’ll grow and be an awesome person on her own. Which is the best revenge really.

    2. Akane

      Dorothy’s kinda worse than Lucy right now.

      1. drs

        No, she isn’t.

        1. Taffy

          What a horrible person Dorothy is, walking into her friend’s room to see what all the commotion could be.

        2. Vanessa

          And not expecting Lucy at all because Lucy isn’t friends with anyone here. Dorothy is the one who is really going to be hurt here if Walky does his usual cowardly wishy-washing, flip-flopping, path of least resistance.

        3. Coatl

          I know it’s asking too much, but Walky, please clear everything up at once.

        4. cbwroses

          Walky has nothing to clear up, assuming Lucy broke up with him as so many claim.
          And if she didn’t break up with him, then she owns part of this by not communicating clearly and avoiding his attempt at communication.

        5. Bash

          Oh, true! I was so focused on Lucy I didn’t think that far ahead.

        6. HueSatLight

          Dorothy used Lucy as a tool, to pawn Walky off on, and then when she changed her mind, she got him right back.

        7. Taffy

          I’m personally fine with that, to be honest. It seems like he is, too. The only holdout here is Lucy, and after her “I deserve better” comment, I’m sure she’ll come around.

        8. PedanticJerkass

          and then when she changed her mind, she got him right back.

          That is demonstrably not the case.

      2. Freemage

        Please, for once, could you justify your hot takes? Or are you just a perpetual font of “Lucy can do no wrong”?

        1. Bash

          The hot take that Lucy might feel upset when she sees her ex immediately get with someone else, but she still needs to be civil about it? Because honestly that’s pretty lukewarm to me.

        2. Freemage

          No, the hot-take of “Dorothy’s worse than Lucy right now.” Dorothy has, by and large, been communicating honestly both with herself and others, but Akane’s consistent position is that St. Lucy cannot be at fault in anything.

      3. Nymph

        No. Neither of them are “worse” because neither of them are doing anything wrong right now.

        Dorothy is back together with a man she loves who was single. Lucy is hurt (presumably) and is handling it pretty well atm.

        This doesn’t have to be a situation where one is better or worse, they can just both be people in an awkward and hurtful situation.

    3. Jeremiah

      I don’t think that was your intention but I think it’s just a little weird to call the white blonde girl the “objectively better” version of the black girl.

      1. Bryy

        *slowly walking out of the room*

      2. Adept

        I think it’s a reference to them both being positive and ready to help in interactions with other people. Dorothy definitely has been going above and beyond in commitment and efficiency regarding that.

      3. Taffy

        I think it’s weird to immediately take it in that direction, especially after admitting you don’t think the other person is doing so in the first place. That’s just kinda you calling the white blonde girl the better one, since you’re the one introducing that idea to the conversation.

        1. Jeremiah

          I don’t really think that being slightly uncomfortable at the implication of this specific comments for these specific characters, it’s that unreasonable. Just because I don’t think they intentionally meant it that way, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth bringing up how it can read.

        2. Taffy

          Who said anything was unreasonable or not worth doing? I said it was weird, there’s a very large difference.

        3. Jeremiah

          I didn’t say you said those things though. I just used them to express my point.

        4. Taffy

          Playing the “I didn’t say you said I said you said you said I said” game is pointless, and I don’t know why you people love it so much.

    4. Proto

      You’re right, trying to convince a ~18 year old girl how she should react in an emotional state is definitely a smart move…

    5. Nymph

      I mean… she hasn’t lashed out? She also super has the right to, it might be kinda shitty, but she can totally do it. I support her lmao.

  14. Dara

    I like Amber’s “nope” slide in panel four xD

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      Yup.
      Everyone else is talking about Lucy, and I’m grinning at Amber side-stepping off panel to get out of the way.
      Smart girl, Amber. Cheers to her.

      1. StClair

        You now have – TEN minutes – to reach minimum safe distance

      2. Dante

        Clever girl, even

  15. Jay

    They were together what…3 months? Max?

    1. cbwroses

      Walky and Lucy? They met in October the day after he first kissed Amber.
      So they’ve been friends about 3 months.
      As romantic partners, they were together less than 2 weeks, I think.

      1. drs

        > together less than 2 weeks

        Sal made a prediction along those lines, though I forget if she technically won or not.

        1. Vanessa

          About as long as Liz Truss was Prime Minister of England, right?

        2. drs

          Lucy can date the Lettuce next!

        3. Miri

          I was trying to explain to my 6 year old why the queues to vote were so long on Thursday, and that we’d had a series of PMs without getting to vote on them. I completely forgot about Liz Truss because she’s not much more personable than lettuce, either…

          The guy with the red (Labour) rosette outside seemed to find my 4- and 6-yo-appropriate explanation of the shower of fools we’ve had beginning with Brexit and Cameron entertaining for some reason ??

      2. Jay

        Sheeeeet she was the filler arc of filler arcs for walky

        1. Dante

          BIG OOF. Yeah, that would sting anyone 8’D

    2. anon

      tbf lucy had a crush on him pretty much since the beginning so it was prolly more intense to her

  16. James

    Adding alcohol to all this will surely lead to nothing but good!

    1. anon

      well tbf unless they’re a lightweight or what dina stole was super strong, one drink wouldn’t make her fly off teh handle, hopefully

      1. Adept

        She may well be holding her first drink ever.

  17. Vukodlak

    Wow I was wrong, I thought it’d be a week before we saw this.

    1. anon

      i can imagine it jump cutting in between to some other ppl’s ongoings, like maybe mary yelling at roz for camming in their room

  18. Switchchris

    All of Walky’s past and current partners are in one place… and there is a drink with high alcohol content involved… this surely won’t end poorly.

    1. Woop de doop

      That’s true all his GFs are here XD oh MAN the drama

    2. Nono

      Plot twist: his future partners are in the room too.

      1. Taffy

        Dina’s gonna get curious about wangus, Dorothy’s gonna be like “Yeah, I’ll supervise tho”, Walky will be all “Wait, for real? Cool, Dina’s like the hottest chick in the building.” and Becky will go “Fine, if it’s what my gal wants. Plus it involves cucking Dorothy, which is cool too.”

        1. Dante

          Dina, who knows what Safe/Sane/Consensual means and the depths of her sexual might, is definitely the best person to direct a scene like this.

          She’s a natural born Domme on top of a natural born predator. Immediately clocked Joe’s subby tendencies. Has stated she can ruin a partner for anyone else in front of witnesses.

          Joyce could use a master to learn from.

        2. Michael Steamweed

          Willis will draw that 30 page slipshine, because he likes to punish himself.

  19. Aura

    I know we’ve done this discussion to death already, but I am increasingly confident from the last few strips that Lucy didn’t think they were ‘broken up’ broken up and hadn’t yet fully decided she wanted to break up with Walky.
    (https://www.dumbingofage.com/2024/comic/book-14/03-trystin-in-the-wind/hug/#comment-1779133)

    1. Vanessa

      I agree. Walky had every right to think they were broken up, but Lucy does seem like she lives in a fantasy world like the proverbial too-invested stalker girlfriend.

      1. Bryy

        Lucy expects the world to conform to her.

    2. Wraithy2773

      I think both things can be true:

      Walky was entirely reasonable in thinking that Lucy broke up with him.

      Its understandable that Lucy had not realized she gave off that impression. It seems to be her first relationship and all, and there was a lot of shit that she was going through there.

      1. Aura

        Yeah, I think I’d agree with all that.

        I think ideally both could have done better here (especially if Walky would have preferred the relationship to continue as he seems to have indicated a few times post ‘break-up’) but they’re like, 18 or something? They’re not going to communicate perfectly all the time, thus the drama.

    3. anon

      even if they were ‘officially’ broken up, showing up with an ex isn’t the best look versus maybe dorothy having a convo with lucy in between as well

      1. Nymph

        He didn’t know Lucy was there. He didn’t know there was a party at all, they were just checking on the noise next door. He isn’t required to hide Dorothy to spare Lucy’s feelings, and if he had the comments section would rightfully be ripping him up for the attempt and wondering if he was still into Lucy.

        I don’t think there’s a good way to accidentally walk in on something you couldn’t have predicted.

  20. TrueVCU

    O H N O

    1. Michael Steamweed

      O H Y E S
      *passes the popcorn to you

  21. Jeremiah

    …. Is it weird that only now I realize that Walky really seems to have a thing for glasses?

    1. Akane

      I noticed that.

      1. StClair

        He’s not the only one.

        (Bonus strip!)

  22. Shakes

    Even though you can only see a fraction of her face Amber’s expression in panel 4 is super clear.

  23. DailyBrad

    This’ll be interesting.

    I do understand where people are coming from, saying Lucy has nothing to be mad about, and I think the issue is that being upset does not require someone to have done something “wrong”, per se. You can be aggrieved without it being someone else’s fault, and you can even be upset when you feel it’s your own fault.

    Maybe she didn’t think they were broken up? Possible, as it was ambiguous.

    Maybe she’s frustrated he moved on that quickly? Also possible.

    Maybe she is upset he did not try to win her back? Not impossible, either.

    None of them necessarily require Walky to be some kind of dirtbag, or for her to be wholly irrational, regardless of how, yeah, a lot of this situation is a bed she made and now has to lie in. It’s her first boyfriend and her first breakup, it’s gonna be messy.

    1. Mollyscribbles

      It’s like Friends. Yes, they were on a break. But it was still REALLY fast to hook up with someone else.

    2. Bash

      Yes, exactly. Even if we assume she was the one to break up with him, I don’t think its fair to say the breakup was only because of her. I think she was making the best choice available, given the circumstances. The main catalyst was Walky’s mishandling of the “I love you,” misconception. Honestly the whole relationship was sort of a mistake, and if Walky was more emotionally astute I might suggest that he took advantage of her feelings.

      I think it is entirely justified for Lucy to hope that Walky feels bad about how things went down, and spends some time reflecting on what he did wrong. Instead he is back with his ex, without any regard about how that might feel for Lucy. It reinforces the idea in her mind that he doesn’t care about her, which is why she broke up with him in the first place.

      1. thejeff

        Or the main catalyst was Lucy making the absurd “I love you” misconception in the first place.

        And I’d say that Walky was trying very hard not to take advantage of her feelings and that’s part of what screwed it all up.

    3. Dave

      The whole deal with Walky and Lucy confuses the hell out of me. She becomes interested in him in after Billie declares Walky should turn to Lucy to get his dick wet, spends every storyline afterwards asking when she gets to ride his baloney pony and little else, then Walky tells her “bee tee dubs my mom’s hella racist” and they go to meet Linda anyway, she shockingly learns that she’s racist, yells “hey fuck YOU Walky” and begins pointedly ignoring him. Like…there was zero romantic substance to this relationship, it always was a vehicle for the two of them to get laid, and there’s nothing WRONG with that but it makes it super confusing that:
      1. Lucy was so dead set on meeting Linda after being warned about her, 2. Linda was a dealbreaker when Lucy’s sole goal was wiigii-ing her hole, and
      3. Lucy thinks she has anything to be mad about once she decided she didn’t want to bang Walky after all and he decided to look elsewhere.

      1. smolgrlboi

        FOR REAL I do NOT understand how their relationship had fans cuz it’s so clearly based on very little actual mutual understanding and was mainly about getting laid.

        1. Taffy

          It was also boring as hell. So boring, in fact, that the fandom has consistently had to make up the most overwrought nonsense to compensate for the lack of interesting events between the two characters.

        2. thejeff

          I think there was the core of an interesting story about Walky dealing with her being so much more invested in it than he was, but it never quite came together enough to work for me.
          Jamming Walky’s parents’ racism in didn’t help. Nor did centering it around the wacky “I love you” misunderstanding.

      2. yak

        Lucy decided she loved Walky because she wanted to bang him, and she really wanted him to love her back, which is what caused pretty much all of this.

        It’s kind of the bad version of Joyce and Joe’s relationship tbh.

  24. JA

    Lucy, you are in no position to be upset. You dumped Walky, he’s not beholden to your feelings nor is it wrong to reconnect with an ex.

    1. Akane

      Two days.

      1. Alongcameaspider

        You are not entitled to your ex waiting any amount of time before seeing someone else

        1. Taffy

          Like I said yesterday(?), it’s healthiest to assume they’re gonna be elbow-deep in somebody else by the time you’ve finished turning around, and to accept that.

        2. StClair

          all of this is true, And Yet

      2. Big Z

        After a “relationship” that lasted what, two weeks and three-four dates?

        There is ZERO moral obligation to have a post-relationship waiting period before moving on, especially if the only thing you’ve “moved on” to is “rebound sex with an ex”, and somehow even LESS moral obligation after a short relationship with a dumpster fire ending.

    2. Bash

      I have trouble imagining her feeling any other way. She spent a long time fixated on Walky. He asked her out, and she thinks its finally happening for her. Then it all goes wrong. His parents are weird about it. Her feelings turn out to be one sided. She breaks up for her own sanity, and what does he do? He gets back with his ex. Whether or not Walky has done something wrong, all of that still hurts.

      1. Mark

        There isn’t much controversy today, so I’m gonna go ahead and opine that Walky isn’t showing much enthusiasm about getting back with Dorothy either. It seemed like he wasn’t expecting that and is, at most, going along with it.

    3. anon

      i mean, ppl can’t control whether they’re upset or not , but i imagine feelings/hormones are irrational/at an all time high in college ; wouldn’t be surprised if ppl who had a handful of relationships during college just stopped dating at like 35 to not deal with otherppl’s bs

    4. Michael Steamweed

      As we all know (or hopefully most of us do), our ethics and grace brain parts have no connection to our relationship territoriality brain parts. The question is, does Lucy have connections between her parts? I’m thinking “no.”

    5. Nymph

      Lucy is post break-up, she’s in exactly the right position to be upset.

  25. Yumi

    Amber quietly peacing out of there is a mood.

  26. NGPZ

    Drunken Lucy?

    This should be a treat >:D

    1. Vanessa

      Has Lucy ever been drunk before? She’s all Sarah’s responsibility from the invite to the whiskey and Sarah will hate it. Better get ready to be the shoulder to cry on and the hand holding the hair away from the puke.

    2. Miri

      I haven’t seen anybody asking “is the drink Sarah just gave her to down, or to throw over Walky?”

      I’ve checked…

  27. Pocky

    this will go well; with absolutely no issues.

    I am sure they will all leave amicably, with little to no arguments.

  28. Woop de doop

    Yay shenanigans

  29. Dante

    Only one thing can fix this.

    Spin the bottle.

    1. Coatl

      In case that happens, there are not filters for everyone

      1. Dante

        sdkjgsdl sorry, tonight I’m super sleepy so. Filters? :33

        1. Coatl

          If they turn the bottle, let the revelations be clear, no filters

      2. Taffy

        Why would you put a filter on the bottle? It’s supposed to be empty.

        1. Freemage

          I believe ‘no filters’ in a game of Spin the Bottle means that you can’t declare that someone else in the circle is not an eligible result. In particular, this means that you can be called upon to kiss members of whatever gender, or exes, or someone in a seemingly committed relationship (why the last one would be playing StB is left as an exercise for the reader).
          The most extreme case, of course, occurs if both Walky and Sal sit in the circle and take the risk of taking a spin.

        2. Taffy

          I see. In that scenario, I’d think they could opt to take a shot or something, to avoid the creepy nasty outcome.

        3. Dante

          OOOOOH. Ok! I’m ESL so I wasn’t privy to y’all’s slang for the “no takebacksies”.

          And yeah, Coatl is right. If this is going to work, then yeah – no filters.

          (I’m now… Kind of imagining Walky’s bi awakening with Danny here tho. It’s been foretold.)

  30. Taffy

    Blah blah blah break, blah blah broken up, this character has no right to do that blah, whatever. Nobody’s gonna mention the important thing, which is that Becky’s shirt blends in with Dorothy’s hair? She’s gonna shrink down and hide in there and nobody’s gonna be able to find her.

    1. HueSatLight

      It’s her hairshirt.

  31. Coatl

    In the third panel, a slight fear is seen on Walky’s face.

    In the fourth panel, it’s good to see that at least Amber stepped aside and didn’t become Lucy’s accomplice.

    And now the last panels…..Oh no no no Lucy, don’t you dare act indignant, young lady, you idealized it in a very absurd way, you saw that things were not as you thought and you made things clear by final.

    Dorothy, don’t let them walk all over you.

    1. Vanessa

      Agree! Old Dorothy would try so hard to do the right thing and get walked all over, new Dorothy should give no fucks.

      1. Coatl

        It’s good to see that some of the comments want to see Dorothy have a new approach, to be the usual kind girl, but not weak.

  32. Aura

    Oh, um, steals Walky’ phone when he’s not looking and queues up good 4 u by Olivia Rodrigo

    1. Aura

      Oops forgot to actually paste the link in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNi_6U5Pm_o

  33. Jess

    oh boy here we go

  34. Dom

    Amber’s reflection on the window really sells the motion of her scooting away from the imminent blow-up, it’s a great artistic touch.

  35. Kitschensyngk

    Someone’s gonna die.

    Why do I get the feeling it won’t be from alcohol poisoning?

    1. Taffy

      Better not be like when The Simpsons did it. RIP Maude and all, but I don’t think anyone was especially torn up about her death.

      1. Francoinblanco

        Its South Park chef case. Simpsons have arguments with Maud e voice actor so they kill character and inuniverse nobody care about it to salt the wound

  36. Lingo

    BIRD is the word, is the word that you heard, it’s got groove, it’s got meaning

  37. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    She can be grouchy about it if she wants since I believe you’re allowed to emot whoever you want about a very recent breakup as long as there’s no harm done.

    But she’s still the one that cut him lose, wouldn’t be fitting to hold a grudge about it.

  38. M!a

    … THAT’S why.

  39. Opus the Poet

    AWKWARD!!

  40. Derek

    I find it interesting that there are people here saying Lucy and Walky broke up because of his parents’ racism. I thought it was obvious that it was because Lucy was more interested in dating while Walky just sort of let it happen. Linda’s racism may have been the thing that triggered the thought process in Lucy that she’s in an uneven and ultimately doomed relationship, but I wouldn’t call it the cause.

    I genuinely think Lucy’s and Walky’s relationship was doomed from the start.

    1. StClair

      Agreed.

    2. Coatl

      At the beginning of this relationship, it was evident that things were not good, with Walky taking things too calmly and Lucy with too much enthusiasm and a “secured future.”

    3. GholaHalleck

      Walky wasn’t ready to get back in the saddle, but Lucy was there and giving him attention and his brain needed the serotonin.

      She was the “Date because he was hungry and she was paying” for him.

      Which sucks for her, but let’s be real, none of Walky’s sexual relationships are healthy or viable long term, so she’s ahead of the game by getting out early.

    4. Shakes

      Its less the fact that Linda was Linda and more Walky was spineless in the face of it that made Lucy aware their relationship was one sided.

    5. Jay

      I knew it was from day 1

    6. Bash

      Yeah exactly, that “I need to know when I deserve better,” was the breakup line for me.

      1. Adept

        But apparently she didn’t quite hear (or convince) herself.

        Of course we get spectacularly hung up on attractive people, but boy was the Walky/Lucy relationship annoying to watch.

        1. Nymph

          Apparently? She hasn’t said anything yet to indicate how she feels in either direction. So far it’s just the comment section that thinks she doesn’t know.

        2. Nymph

          Doesn’t know: About the fact that she broke up with him.

          I’m thinking you actually meant she hadn’t convinced herself she deserved better, so if that’s what you meant then ignore me lmao

    7. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      It’s shame because he did give that one his full effort, sadly it doesn’t matter how hard you try if your not on the same emotional level.

      1. Antsan

        I wonder whether people realize how bleak this idea is that any relationship is doomed only because the participants are not “on the same emotional level”. How do you imagine any relationship at all would survive if that were true?

        Their problem wasn’t that Lucy was much more into it than Walky, their problem was that they never talked about what they wanted from each other. Among other things.

        1. Mark

          +1

          Every relationship starts out on different levels. Some converge quickly, some slowly, some never. But someone always goes first, because it was more important to that one than to the other.

        2. Freemage

          It was also that she did not know (or at least acknowledge) the difference in their commitment levels, leading to a set-up for massive disappointment. If I’m really into someone, but they’re keeping it casual, then my obligation is to either accept that (if I feel I can), or walk away (for my own emotional health). But Lucy didn’t do either of those things, instead, she (willfully?) ignored the opportunities to read the room, until doom was, indeed, assured.

        3. Hroethvitnir

          I don’t get how anyone in the world sees Walky/Lucy as being at all like your average relationship. “I should like you on paper” and “I want to have your babies” are irreconcilable.

          I have been the person who doesn’t understand why they’re not more into it. I still feel guilty 20 years later for how poorly I handled it. You can’t will yourself into being attracted to someone if your feelings are lukewarm (and you were keen as a drunken one off… even if it was struggling with internalised homophobia the result was the same).

    8. Mark

      But, but…everything is ultimately about racism!

  41. BBCC

    Oh, Lucy. It can’t be easy to see him with the white woman that Linda loved for Walky.

    1. Amós Batista

      Wow, that meeting with Wally’s mom. I forgot it, and it turned more bitter.

  42. Dday

    I’ll be blunt, I seriously don’t know what any of you mean when you say they broke up.
    Lucy (A) dressed Walky down for not sticking up for her, and (B) waxed bitterly about how Walky didn’t love her as much as she loved him. Then she (C) got pretty cold towards him for the past couple of in story days.
    For some relationships, that’s called a rough patch, none of it actually constitutes a break up! Believe it or not, I’ve seen relationships go through much worse, and still soldier on somehow. I don’t… envy people in those relationships (yeesh), and it definitely would have been the strong, smart and mature thing for the two of them to try to clarify what the state of things was. But they *didn’t*, and it’s just been a couple days since they had an unhappy exchange.

    1. Jay

      Nah if you utter cold sholder me for multiple days in a relationship I’m assuming you broke up with me and am getting a nove on

    2. Sirksome

      They broke up because of the lack of communication from Lucy. You don’t get to be cold and shut out your partner without communicating that you still intend to date and Lucy had multiple opportunities to explain her intentions. If she still considered them as dating then this outcome is a failure on her part because Walky tried multiple times to talk to her and she ignored him.

      Walky moving on after two days is a bit quick but he’s apparently the most desirable person on campus. This just tells me he likely would greatly beneifit from some time without a girlfriend.

      1. cbwroses

        He went the majority of the time skip without a girlfriend, so how much more time do you think would help him?

        1. Sirksome

          I don’t like the time skip justification. It doesn’t feel viable to me for multiple reasons. His character didn’t seem to change in anyway concerning his approach to romantic relationships or what/who he wants in a partner, plus if he did develop it would be off panel which is a bit unsatisfying. We get to see Joe develop as a person why skip over Walky? Plus he apparently spent most of his break being a buffer between Sal and the parents so maybe he didn’t have time to reflect on his love life.

          All that being said, to answer your question, more than two days would be nice. I don’t think he’s went longer than a week without a girl hanging around him with a romantic motivation. A month maybe? Long enough at least for him to decide who he wants to be with and why and what he wants. It’s fine letting the women lead your relationship but at least know which women right?

        2. Adept

          Why? What benefit are you lookimg for? Of Walky is getting lots of attention, affection and sex in his hot and dumb college days, what exactly is the problem?

        3. Sirksome

          Uh? Him being a better person? Character development? Him getting lots of sex and attention is fine but it’s clearly coming at a cost or will soon if the story is going where it seems to be. Walky can date every girl on campus if that’s what he wants. I just feel he needs time to decide that and he doesn’t get to by being so wishy washy with his desires.

          Also it’s kind of messed up for the people he’s with. Lucy is clearly upset, which she probably doesn’t deserve even if she kind of created this scenario. Dorothy also doesn’t deserve potential fallout here because Walky got with her while wanting another woman.

        4. cbwroses

          I replied once, but my iPad died before I could post it, so forgive me if this one is less coherent as I try to remember what I was trying to say. But long story long (apologies for the long comment as well):

          Walky did change over the time skip, just not in a way that satisfies you in the area you want (the time skip was from before Halloween to the beginning of second semester, so he would only have been a buffer between Sal and the parents for 2 weeks of the 2 and a half months time skip btw).

          Walky became closer to Sal.

          Walky became friends with Lucy to the point he spent most of his time with her.

          Walky started doing better in school (unless someone else besides Amber is hacking his grades).

          Walky became slightly more mature and considerate of others after the death of Mike, the fight with Amber, and the not-so-great therapy he may or may not have gotten.

          All that happened off panel (I think that’s everything I wanted to bring up).

          It’s true that Walky hasn’t spent much time away from women who have romantic motivation towards him, but he had no romantic motivation towards anyone during the time skip and he was away from Lucy during the winter break, which typically occurs during the second half of December.

          You want Walky to “decide who he wants to be with and why and what he wants”, but besides Walky typically not thinking along those lines in general (still doesn’t want to know what he wants to major in nor does he have any established goal in life beyond his next meal), he can’t be with Dorothy because he thinks he’d bring her down, and he can’t be with Amber because of the Halloween fight.

          He has never liked any woman besides those two, so why would he have been thinking about that during the time skip, let alone after he started dating Lucy?

          You want him to focus on something he has no reason to and is not in his character.

        5. Sirksome

          I agree that he developed in some ways yes, but they weren’t really off panel. We saw the flashback of his break up with Amber and we’ve seen all of his development with Sal.

          I also think this opinion disregards the feelings of the women involved in his relationships. We’re seeing a woman in real time emotionally upset by his actions and inability to be decisive during their relationship and outside of it. Dorothy might be a victim of this too because Walky likely still wants Lucy. Saying he didn’t have to focus on who he wants, that he has no reason to is a flaw in his character.

          This isn’t Walky’s fault fully. I feel like Lucy really caused this situation because Walky is the kind of guy that likes to be lead. Which lead to their breakup in the first place “Likes to be liked” Walky allowed a shitty situation with his racist parents because he didn’t put his foot down to defend Lucy or at least deny her really flawed fake date plan to impress racists. Of course he would get back with Dorothy a confident and powerful women as long as it didn’t conflict his arbitrary relationship morals.

          But maybe I’m wrong. Maybe things will work out great for everyone and Walky won’t have to learn anything or grow as a character.

        6. Taffy

          You seem to read a lot of malice and ill intent into this character, and you’ve got very unrealistic goalposts.

        7. Sirksome

          No malice or ill intent in Walky’s actions. I’m just trying to pay attention to the hints in the story. Walky still wants to be with Lucy. He was expecting Lucy to approach him not Dorothy. He was having guilty or regretful looks when he was having sex with Dorothy. Are these not hints that he’s indecisive?

          I don’t know what you mean by unrealistic goalpost though. I don’t really expect anything from Walky. I just think proper time for introspection here would save him from whatever this relationship drama is.

        8. cbwroses

          No, we saw some of his development with Sal before the skip.

          Do you think they’re closer now than before the skip?

          I do, and if you agree, then some of it happened off panel.

          We also didn’t see the breakup with Amber (which had almost nothing to do with how Walky acts romantically and everything to do with how they both handled Mike’s death) until much later after we saw the estrangement with Amber.

          It took awhile for us to see it, so why shouldn’t it take awhile for us to see him change romantically (assuming he even needs to).

          Also, my opinion has little to do with how Lucy is feeling now as my response was about Walky changing during the time skip, and all this romantic development with Lucy happened afterwards.

          Dorothy’s feelings before the time skip were well established and any change was shown after the skip.

          Amber’s feelings were the only ones that had changed during the skip and we were eventually shown why.

          You need a catalyst for drastic change, and there was none for what you want (also, Walky already does some of what you want anyway).

          There was even a moment after the kidnapping when Walky clearly told Dorothy that he still loved her (who still chose to be broken up) and clearly told Amber he still loved Dorothy (who said she didn’t care).

          Couple that with Walky rejecting Dorothy multiple times, and it seems that he has and is willing to say who and what he wants at least some of the time.

          It’s the arguable ambiguity of his breakup with Lucy that is potentially causing this situation, not Walky’s romantic character flaws.

          This situation may be the catalyst that leads in the direction that you want to see, but there was no such catalyst before, just your dissatisfaction.

        9. Sirksome

          At this point I’m very confused by how others have read this relationship with Lucy.The ambiguity isn’t the problem Walky’s feelings are. You’ve mentioned the exact problem in your defense. He was still in love with Dorothy when he was with Amber, it was just convenient Amber didn’t care. Lucy is a different person though and she clearly does care, Dorothy might also care too that Walky is probably still in some way interested in Lucy while at least tentatively getting back with her.

          I’m confused why suggesting Walky might benefit from time without women pursuing him romantically is such a point of contention. The time skip clearly didn’t solve any of his indecision problems.

          But I concede to your points. I don’t understand the subtleties of romantic relationships. And I’m starting to believe I’ve completely misread most of this comic to have such a drastically different interpretation of events.

        10. cbwroses

          Is Lucy feeling out of sorts right this moment because Walky loves Dorothy or because Walky is WITH Dorothy? To me, the answer is “with”.

          If Walky were by himself right now, would Lucy feel what she’s feeling now? No.

          If Walky were with Dorothy for strictly booty call reasons right now, would Lucy feel what she’s feeling now? Yes.

          If Walky were with Amber or anyone else right now, would Lucy be feeling what she’s feeling now? Probably.

          Why? Because all signs point to Lucy being upset about the time frame of Walky being with someone else, not necessarily who he’s with or how he’s feeling about them.

          And that could be the case if she decisively broke up with and would be the case if she didn’t think they were broken up.

          That’s why it’s not about Walky’s feelings and more about Lucy’s regarding their breakup. It’s her feelings that are causing her to feel some type of way, not his.

          It’s on her if she clearly broke up with him and yet can’t stand the sight of him moving on and it’s on her if she didn’t feel they broke up and left him with the idea that they were.

        11. cbwroses

          I don’t have a problem with you suggesting that Walky could stand to be alone.

          My issue with your suggestion is that ignores the in-story reality of him having been alone all this time during the time skip and that you expect to see him change arbitrarily.

          And it is arbitrarily because, even setting aside the time skip deal, what you point out as a flaw was not a problem in the only two relationships he had, so he has no reason to make the changes you want to see.

          Until recent events, there was never a time when he had the option to be with more than one girl, let alone couldn’t decide between them/wanted them both.

          Dorothy and Amber: a relationship path with both wasn’t on the table.

          Dorothy and Lucy: a path was open with both, but he was already on the Lucy path and stood firm.

          Only now, at this party, might the issue come up and, if so, then he might have the reason to make the change.

        12. thejeff

          Personally, I’ve always found the best way to move on from a relationship or A crush is with another one. Might just be me, but otherwise I’ll keep obsessing about the old flame much longer.

    3. AGV/Ruby

      While I agree that it was left too ambiguous for it to be called a definite breakup, It seems to me that those rough patches happened with couples that were more committed to each other.

    4. Dante

      The “I deserve better” while shutting him out (no texts, stating the only way they’d see each other again was because they shared a class days in the future twice) feels really breakup-y though.

      If it was miscommunication then it can certainly be understood why it was taken as an actual breakup. Walky himself was very sure it was one.

      1. Big Z

        ESPECIALLY since you have to remember that for us it’s been months, but for Lucy and Walky they were together for something like two weeks, 3-4 dates, and no sex. They barely had a relationship to break up to start with.

        1. thejeff

          Nah, the problem was that Lucy had been together with Walky for months before that. She was invested.

        2. Freemage

          The word you’re looking for there is “delusional”.

  43. Sirksome

    Ah! Good ol’ love em an leave em Walky! That’s my sigma male! Lucy wouldn’t put out so he moved on to another conquest! Yeah he banging another chicken head after only two days cause every hoe wants a piece of the Walkman! Lucy should a realized the man had options! Don’t hate the player hate the game! Other toxic and misogynistic phrases that bad faith misrepresent what has happened here!

    1. Dante

      NGL dude for a moment I was worried. Wasn’t someone giving takes like these like a week ago? X’DDD

    2. anon

      be interesting if it somehow lead to a bi-curious phase like “girls are too much to deal with ill date a guy next time” and run into diff yet similar problems lol

    3. Amós Batista

      Joe: I’ve teach you well.?

  44. AbacusWizard

    Dumbing of Age, Book 17: [no words; the title is simply Lucy’s angry glare from panel 4]

    1. Vanessa

      ? ? ?

  45. the cars that ate paris

    I had a longer comment but my browser refreshed & I lost it: but y’all are so strange about Lucy ? also all this talk about “entitlement” or what someone “owes” their ex. what a way to talk about relationships

    1. Taffy

      Sorry, relationships are a legal document. A business transaction. A mesothelioma commercial. If we don’t talk about everything in the most severe and dehumanising terms, it can’t legally be called a discussion.

      1. Nymph

        If you or a loved one has been affected by Lucy, Walky, or Dorothy having feelings, please contact 1-800-Why-MeTho.

  46. Hazel

    People are very anti-Lucy in the comments. I’ll never understand the grudge the comment section has against her.

    1. Taffy

      It’s a big audience. Every character has people who dislike something about them. Blowing it out of proportion does nobody any favors.

      1. AMagicalDuck

        Basically every comic where Lucy says anything, most of the comments are people interpreting her statement in the most bad faith, malicious way possible. She is unambiguously the most hated non-villain character in the comic despite not really doing anything that bad

        1. Taffy

          As an accident of birth, I’m an American. In my country, it’s allegedly not illegal for someone to believe something that’s different from what I believe. Now, I’m gonna go ahead and apply that lack of illegality to what you’ve just said, and assure you (for what comfort it may bring) that there will be no legal charges brought against you for saying it.

    2. Coatl

      It must be taken into account that Lucy has a very… peculiar way of thinking.

      So I wouldn’t call it resentment, but rather a state of alertness to whatever she has in mind.

      1. Bryy

        Yeah, Lucy is very, very much a red flag personality-wise.

      2. Jeremiah

        She doesn’t thought? She has the way of a thinking of a teenager, kinda naive at worst.

    3. Dante

      I don’t dislike her, and I certainly cheered when they broke up because babygirl really needed to get some self-respect. I don’t know why she’s so unpopular when she’s… Not that different from Early Joyce? Lucy always gets a lot of bad faith takes.

      The thing is, tho. Just like Early Joyce, she needs some serious character development.

      1. Coatl

        It’s a good observation, but Lucy not only clung in such an idealized way to Walky, she’s also so obsessed with being noticed that she doesn’t stop to reflect for a moment.

        But as you mention, her breaking up with Walky could have served as starting point for Lucy to value herself, what’s more, it could also have served to stop her from seeking Jennifer’s attention.

        But judging by those expressions in the last panels, it seems that it will be the opposite.

        1. Dante

          Yeaaaah, I wasn’t a fan of the relationship precisely because of the obsessiveness, and how it both prevented her from growing up and was a symbol of how sheltered she is. I just get why Lucy is the way she is, the same as I think Walky didn’t deserve this kind of pressure.

          This party is gonna end badly before any of it gets better.

    4. Francoinblanco

      She is Joyce without being the main character and magic that everyone likes her including comments section

      1. Dante

        She tried really hard to learn by-the-book how to grow up from being the lonely nerd with no social skills, but got shit luck in that dorm of hers. A lot of Joyce’s development comes from her current supportive environment.

        Lucy got Malaya, and a floor full of sycophants who never evolved past HS “OMG LET’S GUSH OVER POPULAR PEOPLE” mentality. Aaaand then she got to room with Jennifer.

      2. Mr.Morningstar

        I mean have you seen some of the comments when Joyce fucks up? They do not hold back lemme tell ya

      3. Bryy

        Early Joyce was fucking horrible.

    5. anon

      i don’t dislike her but she might be a bit ‘boring’ (despite the relationship ‘drama’), would rather see more of her than mary and roz spending time together (i know they wouldn’t necessarily do so willingly but prolly do have more time together than theyd want b/c of their shared room), tho ppl are pretty critical of carla too/expected her to end up being frustrated with charlie

    6. Amós Batista

      Jesus Joseph Mary, twelves apostles. YES.
      I don’t know why. Is she that annoying? Or is her try-hard attitude?

    7. Drain

      It drives me fucking nuts, especially how the racism she faces seems to fly entirely over the comment section’s head or is deemed to not be important enough to mention when analyzing the character drama

      I’ve seen comment sections filled with bad faith takes about everyone at some point but the way people talk about her when she’s expressing her naive HS-level social goals you’d think Lucy was out to tear out the older casts’ jugulars lmao

    8. Derek

      I was never a fan of Lucy, not in the sense that I hate her or even dislike her, but in the sense that for much of the comic since she was introduced she was a complete non-entity. At first she fulfilled the role of “bizarro version of Joyce” as all the weirdo people from her dorm do. She gained a little bit of personality when she got interested in Walky, and most of her character development has been based on that. For me that’s not enough hooks to like her as a character (but again, not to dislike her either); so I’m just waiting to see where she goes with this.

      On the subject of liking or relating to Lucy overall, I’ll say what I said before: it stretches the imagination for her to be a young black woman who is so peppy AND still into Harry Potter/Star Wars the way she is. There’s too much toxic sludge specifically abour racism in both those franchises for a person of color to be a fan and not be massively jaded. Do not misinterpret that as me saying there’s no black fans; far from it; but the black fans that have stuck around tend be…let’s say less sunshine about it. Less Lucy about it.

    9. Dday

      I think it’s largely because she’s so impulsive and short-sighted. She’s always pulling these hare-brained schemes and dragging her neighbor Ethel into the chaos. Then, whenever the problem gets out of hand she goes crawling back to her husband Ricky to bail her out again! This girl’s got some serious ‘splainin to do.

      1. Freemage

        G’dammit, I got three lines in before I realized where you were going with this. Take an imaginary upvote.

  47. Matrix

    HAHAHA YES

  48. Kenny Williams

    Amber’s like scoooooootching over.

    1. Da Boy

      Clearing the Blast Zone XD

    2. anon

      maybe amazigirl will take over at one point and they’ll al lbedistracted listening to her lecture them

  49. Acher4

    Lucy’s feelings are valid, but yes, Walky did nothing wrong.
    Logically and technically, the best kind of correct. 😛

    One other thought: OH MY, Walky does really, suddeny have, all his exes in the same room. <.<
    oh no

  50. PedanticJerkass

    I feel like this might end up with Walky not just confirming the breakup with Lucy, but also calling things off with Dorothy again. (And probably also making it clear that none of it opens him up to Amber or anyone else, either, at least for a good long while.)

    Or… maybe that’s just wishful thinking on my part.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Walky just needs to avoid dorm parties altogether, they just ruin his relationships.

  51. CianM1301

    I like how you can tell from the brief centimeter of Amber’s face in the fourth panel that she’s immensely uncomfortable in this situation.

  52. anon

    well, at least sarah seems concerned rather than some smug smile (tho she doesn’t like walky to begin with more or less so it’s prolly better that lucy isn’t trying to get back with him)

    1. Daibhid C

      Sarah’s never really been one for schaudenfreude, especially with someone she’s trying to build bridges with. Her attitude to Drama generally ranges from “I would like to pretend this nonsense isn’t happening” to “I’m worried about these people, but I don’t know how to express it except through snark”.

      1. Da Boy

        I don’t know, she saw a potentially explosive situation and just handed the most angry party a cup of nitroglycerin. Alcohol and tense situations do not mix well.

  53. Jonathan

    Wherein Lucy learns that when you dump someone and tell him you can do better, he might not sit around and wait for you to change your mind.

    1. anon

      i’d be fine with focusing on my friends but be interesting if lucy just spent the restof the year studying hard and getting a successful career and just have better opportunities for good guys to date too

    2. Bash

      The idea was that she could (and should) do better than obsessing over someone who didn’t reciprocate her feelings in the same way. It’s not the same as saying she can do better than Walky.

      1. Agemegos

        Right. He doesn’t love her. She worked out that he doesn’t love her. She told him that she worked out that he doesn’t love her. So he knows she knows he doesn’t love her.

        It’s over. It should be over.

        She would be a fool to think he’s going to come back when she calls.

        She would be a fool to want him to come back when she calls.

        1. Zaxares

          All this is 100% true. That said, what the head knows to be the right thing to do is often a very different thing from what the heart wants. I personally have someone with whom we parted on fairly amicable terms. I know that we broke up for good reasons, that just like Lucy and Walky, she didn’t love me as strongly as I did her. We’ve both moved on, dated different people. And yet, a part of my heart will always belong to her, and if she were to come back and ask for a second chance, I think I’d probably give it.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Seems like she thought she could prove her point with an ambiguous dumping and a couple days of the cold shoulder. Problem is, not even Jennifer can thread that needle.

      1. Agemegos

        That’s no a strong play when the problem is that your boyfriend doesn’t love you in the first place.

        1. Taffy

          God forbid a guy doesn’t fall in love after a couple of weeks. ?

        2. anonymsly

          Right? He should have been in love at first sight and pined for weeks first!everyone knows that’s the only valid way to start a relationship. All the ‘let’s get to know each other’ stuff is just a lie robots tell.

  54. Needfuldoer

    You can actually pinpoint the second when her heart rips in half.

  55. DJTsurugi

    if many years of watching tv sitcoms has taught me anything, this will lead to Lucy and Amber drunkenly making out (you know, to prove which one should be making out with Walky) before it all explodes and everyone goes home sexually frustrated. ~<3

    1. Sharaku

      I’m curious to know which sitcoms you’ve been watching.

      Please provide full names, including appropriate season and episode numbers.

      You know, for a friend.

      1. Firseal

        I think that was Undressed. It was… actually very Dumbing of Age, at least the season I watched (I am a nocturnal insomniac, and during the late ’90s early ’00s late night TV had some weird options that still were the best available). It ran on MTV, and at all times was juggling three different plot arcs with three different casts, and it was all relationship drama.

        Can’t remember which season it was I watched, though. They ran the episodes like mini-marathons.

    2. Dday

      If watching tv sitcoms has taught *me* anything, it’s that Lucy is going to end up standing in front of a conveyor belt, furiously stuffing chocolates in her mouth and clothing.

  56. Nicoleandmaggie

    Turn around and take walky with you.

    1. Agemegos

      Turn around and take Dorothy with you.

      1. Michael Steamweed

        Turn around and take bright eyes with you.

    2. Taffy

      If she turns around, she’s gonna wind up facing the window. Aren’t they on like the 7th floor of the building? Seems dangerous for her to take Walky in that direction.

    3. Nymph

      Woo, third kidnapping of the comic!

    4. John Campbell

      Turn around, turn around
      There’s a thing there that can be found
      Turn around, turn around
      It’s a human skull on the ground
      Human skull on the ground
      Turn around

  57. Pylgrim

    Amber furtive sidestep away from ground zero is the highlight of the comic.

  58. Kaffeeteria

    That’s … the nicest gesture I have ever seen from Sarah. It’s almost as if she cares.

    1. Dot

      Adding alcohol to this situation is not kind.

      1. Firseal

        Caring and kindness are not the same thing.

      2. Jeremiah

        Speak for yourself, most people would really appreciate a drink in this situation.

    2. Regret

      Sarah shows here that the reason she hates everyone is a surplus of empathy. She knows how people feel all the time and it hurts like hell to feel all those feelings of other people. She’s slowly learning that connecting to people doesn’t always end in hurt and betrayal, so she can now allow herself to occasionally act on all that empathy, even though she is entirely out of practice in doing so properly.

      Or, she just said she was going to grab Lucy a drink and isn’t going to be stopped by drama. That’s possible too.

  59. Amós Batista

    Who Lucy should grab first? Dorothy or Walky?

    1. Nymph

      Neither? Neither.

  60. Michael Steamweed

    “Ooh, extra drama!” :O

    (to quote the Girl Genius comic, Friday, 07/12/24, panel 3)

  61. ValdVin

    Peter Brady once had concurrent dates, one in the front room and the other on the back porch.

    The bar is raised.

    1. Freemage

      I had a buddy who did that once. While on house arrest.

  62. Plaaaaaa

    I imagine Lucy from Peanuts makes the same face if she ever sees Charlie Brown kicking a football

  63. The Jighole Man

    brief reminder that you do not own your ex.
    you do not get to decide what they do, where they go, who they hook up with, and when they get to hook up with them.

    Walky is with the woman he actually loves, rather than being with the woman he was trying to convince himself to love (on the terrible advice of others).

    1. Nymph

      Brief reminder that Lucy hasn’t said anything. At all.

      1. Taffy

        Well yes, but she frowned. Her eyebrows are pointing downward, which upsets this fandom far more than anything a character could possibly say. What do you think this is, a continuous scene with things that will happen after the last panel of any given strip?

      2. Jeremiah

        She is showing signs of possibly, maybe indulging in not rational thoughts, that might have the possibility of saying things that could be not a perfect response to a kind of complicated social situation. Don’t you see how infuriating this is?!/s

  64. Max

    requisite link:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsNWlM3fWmI

  65. Peter Huppertz

    I read the comments, digested the arguments, and … I can’t help it, I’m with Walky on this one.

    Telling someone “fuck you, I deserve better”, and then shutting down communications entirely, counts as breaking up to me.

    1. Rowen Morland

      Agree completely. Though it is very human to be frustrated that after demanding better from the world, you find that it doesn’t immediately give you something better then turn around and find your ex did immediately get something better.

      It will be interesting to see how the various peeps handle it.

    2. Taffy

      At the very least, it opens up the path of “Y’know what? Me too.” and then hooking back up with someone better for you. She’s a nice gal and all, but her ass has no freckles. Dorothy has ’em all the way down. It’s a clear advantage that Lucy simply can’t match.

  66. Hof1991

    What? Relationship over for 48 hours and she’s not truly over him?

    1. yak

      Yeah after a breakup you’re supposed to never acknowledge that there was a relationship in the first place. You’re supposed to memory-hole it. The fact that Lucy can’t is clear indication of her immaturity.

  67. Dot

    Jesus Christ she’s even holding his hand how did I call it exactly

  68. Wilde

    Here’s the thing: it took therapy in my mid-30s to learn that a big part of saving yourself from this kind of suffering is directly expressing (a) the specific pattern of behavior of a person (b) how it made you feel (c) how you need those behaviors to change and (d) what they can expect from you until that behavior changes. If you say all those feels Lucy said and then ALSO say “I need you to stand up to your parents and speak up for me the next time they’re here, otherwise I can be your friend but not your girlfriend. Can you do that?” Then you’re leaving the situation pretty damn unambiguous.

    HOWEVER I’m not “taking Walky’s side” here, I’m actually taking Lucy’s insofar as I want her to not be stuck in a cycle of hurt. Walky is a good kid, but he’s got a lot of privilege to unpack. Obviously in an ideal world he would do all that labor, but in this world right now, we as women are often letting a lot of stuff slide from dudes, and frankly we take on a role of permissive moms rather than equal peers. She’s young, she’s dumb alongside everyone else in the comic, my hope is she’ll be one who sees some of the most growth…and hopefully sooner than her mid-30s!

    1. thejeff

      I’m not sure what privilege Walky really has to unpack here. Yeah, he’s a dude and there’s privilege that comes with that, but he’s also an abuse victim who knows his parents support is entirely conditional on him properly playing the “Golden Child” role.

  69. Mr. Random

    You broke up with him.
    Though the fact that it was less than 2 days and he’s back woth his ex is… frustrating.
    I think at least a week would be semi-respectful.

  70. Red Comet

    Hope she’s going to just angrily drink it and not throw it. Excited to see how this plays out ?

  71. Yeet

    rip lucy or at least her liver

  72. superglucose

    If Lucy gets mad I really need someone, *anyone* to remind her that *she chose this.*

    1. Bash

      She chose what exactly? Walky made plenty of choices too.

    2. Reaver

      Yeah! She chose for him to hook up with a white girl after having to deal with his uber racist parents

  73. Hazel

    I am enjoying the drama in the comment section.

    I think Walky and Lucy could have been a good couple if the relationship had had more time to develop before his parents had shown up and if Lucy had been a little more easy going (about the relationship, not about the his mother). But well, they did and she wasn’t. But now we have drama!
    Villains?
    No!
    Teens?
    Yes!
    The differing opinions! The lack of communication! The personal growth!
    (praisingly) Damn you Willis!

    1. Mark

      Seconded.

  74. Florence

    The drama begins! All praise the delicious drama!

    1. Florence

      Also

      I wonder why Lucy would be mad her boyfriend that she broke up with because he wasn’t being honest or defending her, specifically from his mother was being racist to her and describing their relationship as him slumming it, only to then show if a white girlfriend a couple days later to a party(a white women who is superficially Lucy like)

      Real big mystery here

  75. Amós Batista

    At same time I think Lucy don’t deserves be treated like Wally’s family did, I believe she’s totally right to be angry in this situation.

    1. thejeff

      She didn’t deserve to be treated like his parents treated her. I don’t think it’s fair of her to expect Walky to go into a full confrontation with them over it though. As an 18 year old who’s just coming to terms with their racism and their abuse of him and who is still dependent on them, that’s a huge ask.

      1. NGPZ

        Walky easily discerns the message from his parents: “we will keep benefiting you as long as you are excuse our racism”.

        However morally right or sustainable Walky acknowledges this is, Walky is forced into the position of apologist because it just works — as a college freshman with ADHD and little chance of getting a job anytime soon amidst late capitalism, if an unethical strategy is the more viable one, ethics are a luxury. Walky’s been forced into a situation where he can’t win, unable to speak or act on behalf of his sister or Lucy, for fear of dire consequences.

        No matter how hard we scream, The System silences us.

        1. Bryy

          Also,

          They TOTALLY are going to see Walky dating a white woman as “an apology”.

          Yes won’t see the racism in that statement.

        2. anonymsly

          Even more so because it’s the white woman they already like.

        3. thejeff

          Of course he did actually confront them over it, after the fact. We’ll eventually see the consequences of that play out.

          But mostly, even ignoring “late capitalism, I’m not blaming a teen just starting to break out of an abusive family situation for not launching a full blown confrontation with their abuser on the spot.

    2. GoblinBagsSumo

      No she doesn’t. She broke up with him and still thought they were together. She can be upset with how it ended up but you can’t be mad over someone you broke up with moving on without you.

      1. Nymph

        Where has she said she thinks they’re still together? I’m very keen to see Lucy’s actual take on this rather than the takes the comments section keeps imagining.

    3. staszu13

      Quite agree, Lucy may be the nicest person in this strip. Hardly deserved what she got, even if old Walkerton didn’t mean it maliciously

  76. Marvelman

    I strongly suspect Walky and Lucy will not get back together, and that this failure will be what lights a fire under Walky.

    1. Firseal

      How do you construe Walky and Lucy not getting back together as a ‘failure’? It seems like it’d be a win for absolutely everyone.

      1. Bryy

        He already sees it as a failure, though. He told Linda that she was the reason he broke up with “the sweetest girl”.

      2. Marvelman

        Walky failed Lucy because he didn’t stand up for her, but one of the reasons he failed to do so is that he doesn’t feel worthy of her.

        1. Marvelman

          But fear not! You may not get Walky & Lucy, but I have a feeling you’ll soon be getting Jacob & Lucy.

    2. Jeremiah

      Were you still holding onto that possibility after Walky and Dorothy had sex?

  77. staszu13

    Better make it a double, Lucy

  78. staszu13

    Enter Jennifer doing a Palpatine here?

  79. staszu13

    Subtle bit in panel 4, we see Amber having moved a bit off panel, anticipating Lucy Rage. And while we can’t see her full expression it appears as though Amber is a bit nervous now

  80. DashWallkick

    It occurs to me now that Dorothy doesn’t actually know Lucy all that well, and Lucy is probably going to take this as a grave insult and deeply shitty behavior by her part, and she won’t be able to fix it with an apology.

    I love Dorothy and all but man she’s the sin-eater of this comic isn’t she.

    1. Taffy

      From the ‘pedia:

      A sin-eater is a person who consumes a ritual meal in order to spiritually take on the sins of a deceased person. The food was believed to absorb the sins of a recently dead person, thus absolving the soul of the person.

      Cultural anthropologists and folklorists classify sin-eating as a form of ritual. It is most commonly associated with Scotland, Ireland, Wales, English counties bordering Wales, and Welsh culture.

      What part of this pertains to Dorothy?

      1. NGPZ

        I think DashWallkick was using “sin-eater” to metaphorically refer to Dorothy’s tendency to make the whole world’s problems her responsibilitilty.

        It’s them leftovers from her former dream of becoming President.

  81. Wilddeath

    Lucy you have no right to be angry at either of them. YOU broke up with HIM. He was loyal to you, even wanting to stick it out after YOU ruined the entire thing. Do not be a Raidah here. She is not a good role model.

    1. Taffy

      How dare she frown.

    2. Reaver

      How the hell did Lucy ruin anything? Was it when she was upset when her boyfriend sat in silence while his mom was super racist to her? She is allowed to feel however she wants when her ex not 2 days after their break up hooks back up with his white ex.

      But if you are able to not allow feelings, then you aren’t allowed to be annoyed at Lucy for how she feels, you aren’t her ex 😛

      1. wilddeath

        She ruined everything the moment she forced a misunderstanding on the seriousness of their relationship on walky. As for how long a person waits to hook up with someone, ex or no, once you break up with them you have no say on their relationships. She created the awkwardness walky had to suffer through. She refused to believe his warnings about his mother. All because she tried to rush their entire relationship emotionally way faster than walky was comfortable with.

        In every aspect the failure of her and walkys relationship is entirely on her. Walky handled it somehow impossibly better than i would have given him credit for.

        Who Walky fucks as a single guy is not her concern the moment they are broken up. Simple as that. So yes, i am disallowing her possible upcoming resentment towards a boy who frankly didn’t deserve the horrible way she treated him.

  82. Yeet

    oh man I just noticed amber’s hoodie
    sweet hoodie

  83. NGPZ

    420 comments!!!!!

    BLAZE IT!!!! ?

  84. Rabisch

    I really hope the three of them will get so drunk to end up hugging and sobbing to each other and decide to stay friends forever. Even if Lucy has ever right to avoid them and feel a big repulsion for them. This time Sarah seems to be on her side.

  85. Reaver

    Guyssss let Lucy be upset, she doesn’t own Walky and they broke up but you are allowed to have feelings when your ex instantly hooks back up with his white ex that his mom just told him to hook back up with because being with someone black was “Slumming it”

    Let the woman have her feelings even when they are neither rational nor perfect, that’s how humans work.

    1. Taffy

      Nobody’s stopping her. We’re not part of the narrative, so what we say doesn’t matter for the sake of the story. I can say Lucy’s racist against Mexicans and it won’t do anything to the narrative. It’s fine.

      1. yak

        It’s falling apart before my eyes! Panels breaking off and floating freely! Plotlines fraying! DEAR GOD WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!

      2. Jeremiah

        When did they ever said that we are part of the narrative? They are just pointing out the honestly disproportionate amount of excrutity and bad faith reading the comment section put on Lucy actions even when she doesn’t really do anything that is worth that, like it happen with many other characters. Critiquing the way a fandom talks about a character is also perfectly fine.

        1. Taffy

          You’re like, obsessed with who did or didn’t say something. It’s weird, knock it off.

        2. Reaver

          This fandom is so unfun to talk to must days I swear.

      3. Reaver

        Let her feel them without me wading through a bunch of comments trashing her for making a >| face.

  86. Vaiya

    Man, some of y’all forget the name of this comic.

  87. J

    A shirt/hoodie that says, “The Bird is the Word,” but with a raptor on the front? Yes, please, and thank you!

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