The irony of this being that Sal actually struggles to make friends despite being “cool”. Her main character arc last semester besides fist fighting Amber was learning not to overly rely on her one friend and meet new people.
someone
When the model for “cool” is “aloof loner rebel”, being cool while making friends becomes difficult.
well there are probably nerd groups she could find even if this isn’t a particularly ‘nerdy’ college but even among cliques there’d still be some exclusion and some ppl not respecting ‘nerdy girls’ though hopefully ppl have changed the last decade, i have heard about guys being shitty as STEM majors towards women
Yeah, listening to Lucy hurts because I basically had the same beliefs when I first went to college. When I realized the opposite was true, that the social skills that I had never developed when I was younger now only held me back more than ever…. Well it was the start of a pretty big depression spiral for me. Just coming to terms with being a loser for life.
I kind of had what Lucy describes, though it wasn’t so much “everyone here is a cast-off nerd like me” as “since college is much bigger than high school, there are still enough to make a good friend circle”.
Lucy, yes, it should be like that, but it won’t be until you, personally, make it happen. Nobody will do it for you. Nobody can. The phoenix that rises from its ashes is not the same bird.
I had good friends in my department, but HATED the communal living side of it. Just could not deal with it at all. Probably didn’t help that I’d come in with the naive idea that university was full of smart people who are interested in stuff, whereas freshers’ culture was all “drink, puke, drink, puke and don’t EVER admit to reading a book.”
This is awful. She’s batshit crazy. He’s got to get away. The best way for her to get respect from those people is to be cool and aloof, not demand and beg for their approval. Yikes. Surprised her brother isn’t giving her a reality check here but encouraging her craziness.
calling her crazy feels like overblowing it. shes definitely far from figuring stuff out but uh yeah shes a teen thats expected. also obviously her big brother comment was a joke
This seems needlessly mean-spirited. She may be abrasive but “batshit crazy” is just rude.
Also, it’s almost 2023, the world has long since moved on from the need for “crazy” as a perjorative and I would encourage you to branch out and consider nuance before lambasting somebody as “crazy.” Even a fictional character.
Stu
Unless it’s the hypothetical girlfriend from this College Humor skit – https://youtu.be/QGHjjrWIiyM – calling a girl “crazy” like this is not productive.
She’s not crazy, though she sure does act the par here. She’s just immature and insecure, which makes her desperate for approval and tokens of social success (such as having a cool boyfriend like Walky and a successful, “i love you” style relationship).
Oh no, I was cringing with Walky being hung up on it and being passive aggressive. She’s already an awkward girl, so it’s okay for her to build up her self esteem awkwardly
thejeff
Walky’s still messed up about the declaration of love. He’s not being passive aggressive, he’s not parsing the rest of the conversation.
The black stripe represents the patty
The white stripe represents the bun
And the other stripes represent all the various sauces, vegetables, etc. that you can optionally put in between
Walky is going to continue to be fascinated with his burger until it is polite for him to leave. He will then come up with a reason to go alone, and probably need to talk to someone about this.
I think Lucy’s trying too hard. I think she’s actually worked her way into a friend group with the main cast via Walky/walking too or sharing the same political science class. The hard part is done already. Constantly trying to show how capable a friend you are at this point seems like needless struggle.
Yes, the better strategy is to blow off all the people being jerks to her and find other people to hang out with. Then maybe once she isn’t begging people to like her, she’ll make friends at her dorm. She could try being snooty and rude to Jennifer, that would work better than what she’s doing.
Sirksome
I’m honestly not sure what Lucy’s looking for. It’s not like the main cast really hangout much together when they’re not walking to class. Joyce is kind of a focus that a lot of them occasionally hover around but even she only really spends frequent amounts of time with Becky and Dorothy. Sarah’s a hermit, Amber’s a hermit, I have no idea what Dina does when she’s not with Becky. Joe kinda floated in very recently cause he’s attracted to Joyce but he spends most his time with Danny. Sal is with Danny and maybe Marcy off panel. Jennifer is the most actively social now with the largest regular group but they’re mostly trash and the actual popularity is debatable. Ethan’s a hermit now. I think her core group of Walky and Booster is pretty solid (for the moment). Does she just want to be relied on, cause that takes time to let trust build.
Archieve
I’d say she’s looking to gain what she thinks Jennifer has, high-school queen bee status which she wants to unlock by being a helper. Lucy is looking at Jennifers social group from afar and doesn’t yet get that their less popular and more clique based on parental status. The people who do appreciate Jennifer for her helping qualities are already friends with Lucy, just not as close to her yet because she’s a relatively new addition.
Needfuldoer
Approval. She wants to be the nucleus of a strong friend group.
Walky can’t make her have self respect. If she wants respect, she can start by calling out her roommate’s disrespect in public and saying it’s unacceptable.
I’d like to add that there are lots of ways of having self-respect that don’t involve starting unnecessary conflict. “Eh, not worth my time” is a perfectly healthy response to other people being rude.
148 thoughts on “Recalculations”
Ana Chronistic
I feel like the only brothers cast-off nerds are likely to listen are my brother, my brother, and me
Colineo
Hey-oh!
Shadowsnail
Unless…
CardinalFan
An advice show for the “modren” era.
Osopescado
My text tone on my cellphone is Justin Mcelroy saying “I cook an egg with a spoon!!”
EpochFlame
burger on his mind
The Wellerman
I love burger too! ???
anon
nothing wrong with a good burger but those buns look kinda pale haa
Needfuldoer
They’re probably at one of the dining halls, so that’s to be expected.
aelfwine
Burg’er? He barely knows ‘er.
shadowcell
i love the power glove
it’s so bad
BBCC
Ahhhhh no, Lucy, that’s not how this works
Doctor_Who
Yeah.
Now if SAL said “This person is cool, be their friend” it would somehow work.
Sirksome
The irony of this being that Sal actually struggles to make friends despite being “cool”. Her main character arc last semester besides fist fighting Amber was learning not to overly rely on her one friend and meet new people.
someone
When the model for “cool” is “aloof loner rebel”, being cool while making friends becomes difficult.
Slartibeast Button, BIA
Walky needs a Ring Of Power, so he can bend other peoples’ minds to his will, and make them like Lucy.
Clif
Why would he do that when he could have unlimited burgers.
King Daniel
But consider: making people like Lucy, and unlimited burgers
And Mountain Dew
anon
well there are probably nerd groups she could find even if this isn’t a particularly ‘nerdy’ college but even among cliques there’d still be some exclusion and some ppl not respecting ‘nerdy girls’ though hopefully ppl have changed the last decade, i have heard about guys being shitty as STEM majors towards women
Guy5
Yeah, listening to Lucy hurts because I basically had the same beliefs when I first went to college. When I realized the opposite was true, that the social skills that I had never developed when I was younger now only held me back more than ever…. Well it was the start of a pretty big depression spiral for me. Just coming to terms with being a loser for life.
thejeff
I kind of had what Lucy describes, though it wasn’t so much “everyone here is a cast-off nerd like me” as “since college is much bigger than high school, there are still enough to make a good friend circle”.
Mark
It’s never too late to acquire a new skill. Go for it!
Mark
Lucy, yes, it should be like that, but it won’t be until you, personally, make it happen. Nobody will do it for you. Nobody can. The phoenix that rises from its ashes is not the same bird.
Mark
Drat, that was supposed to be a new thread.
davidbreslin101
I had good friends in my department, but HATED the communal living side of it. Just could not deal with it at all. Probably didn’t help that I’d come in with the naive idea that university was full of smart people who are interested in stuff, whereas freshers’ culture was all “drink, puke, drink, puke and don’t EVER admit to reading a book.”
Sirksome
Y’know what? Valid.
JepMZ
uh oh, I’m starting to criiiiiiiinge
Vanessa
This is awful. She’s batshit crazy. He’s got to get away. The best way for her to get respect from those people is to be cool and aloof, not demand and beg for their approval. Yikes. Surprised her brother isn’t giving her a reality check here but encouraging her craziness.
Hashbrown
calling her crazy feels like overblowing it. shes definitely far from figuring stuff out but uh yeah shes a teen thats expected. also obviously her big brother comment was a joke
Lan
This seems needlessly mean-spirited. She may be abrasive but “batshit crazy” is just rude.
Also, it’s almost 2023, the world has long since moved on from the need for “crazy” as a perjorative and I would encourage you to branch out and consider nuance before lambasting somebody as “crazy.” Even a fictional character.
Stu
Unless it’s the hypothetical girlfriend from this College Humor skit – https://youtu.be/QGHjjrWIiyM – calling a girl “crazy” like this is not productive.
helisa
She’s not crazy, though she sure does act the par here. She’s just immature and insecure, which makes her desperate for approval and tokens of social success (such as having a cool boyfriend like Walky and a successful, “i love you” style relationship).
JepMZ
Oh no, I was cringing with Walky being hung up on it and being passive aggressive. She’s already an awkward girl, so it’s okay for her to build up her self esteem awkwardly
thejeff
Walky’s still messed up about the declaration of love. He’s not being passive aggressive, he’s not parsing the rest of the conversation.
The Wellerman
She’s not crazy. She’s still just a freshman.
(tho it is a nice change from referring to the cast as children and toddlers, I’ll give you that)Nicoleandmaggie
I have some insight now as to why this isn’t working for her.
Nathan
Walky’s shirt looks like a pride flag but I can’t figure out which one.
This has been bothering me for like a week now.
Yumi
Oh, it’s the burgerromantic flag. Willis loves to do foreshadowing like that, where the payoff is in the last panel of this strip.
King Daniel
The black stripe represents the patty
The white stripe represents the bun
And the other stripes represent all the various sauces, vegetables, etc. that you can optionally put in between
Taffy
Emphasis on “can” and “optionally”.
King Daniel
Burgerlovers pride ?
S
It’s very similar to the top half of the lesbian pride flag, plus an extra stripe of purple
Adam Black
Yes i was just thinking about this.
TerribleTransit
It’s not a pride flag. Willis tweeted about it, and it’s just some random aesthetic stripes based on a shirt sold at Macy’s.
Adam Black
It would be a good flag for interracial couples/ bi racial pride
Puppeteer Nessus
Feel kind of like Wesley Crusher’s shirt
Kavonde
It’s pretty close to the Ace flag, just with a pink stripe instead of purple.
Mark
It’s the saturation gradient pride flag.
Booyahman
Pretty sure it’s the Kohl’s flag, I think Willis tweeted that it’s just a shirt he stole from Kohl’s website.
butts
i also love burger. walky’s got a point
Kyrik Michalowski
Walky is going to continue to be fascinated with his burger until it is polite for him to leave. He will then come up with a reason to go alone, and probably need to talk to someone about this.
UrsulaDavina
Walky do you really love the burger, or are you just saying it beacuse you saw it?
Sirksome
The answer depends on whether that burger was an exclusive to the restaurant’s menu app or not.
huesatlight
I love burger. [emotionally] I love burger.
The Wellerman
????
Needfuldoer
Grilled to perfection over charcoal (no lighter fluid).
Vanessa
That does seem like the safest response here to this looniness.
Yeet
Relatable, Walky.
I can’t decide who would be funniest for Walky to go to for advice on this. I kind of want a montage of him going to everyone.
Doctor_Who
Carla.
Sirksome
I think Lucy’s trying too hard. I think she’s actually worked her way into a friend group with the main cast via Walky/walking too or sharing the same political science class. The hard part is done already. Constantly trying to show how capable a friend you are at this point seems like needless struggle.
anon
college might have more ‘cast off nerds’ but i’d hardly consider jen one even with the star wars appreciation
but outside of knowing all the dorm neighbors i don’t think she’s joined any clubs or extracurricular stuff as far as i know
Vanessa
Yes, the better strategy is to blow off all the people being jerks to her and find other people to hang out with. Then maybe once she isn’t begging people to like her, she’ll make friends at her dorm. She could try being snooty and rude to Jennifer, that would work better than what she’s doing.
Sirksome
I’m honestly not sure what Lucy’s looking for. It’s not like the main cast really hangout much together when they’re not walking to class. Joyce is kind of a focus that a lot of them occasionally hover around but even she only really spends frequent amounts of time with Becky and Dorothy. Sarah’s a hermit, Amber’s a hermit, I have no idea what Dina does when she’s not with Becky. Joe kinda floated in very recently cause he’s attracted to Joyce but he spends most his time with Danny. Sal is with Danny and maybe Marcy off panel. Jennifer is the most actively social now with the largest regular group but they’re mostly trash and the actual popularity is debatable. Ethan’s a hermit now. I think her core group of Walky and Booster is pretty solid (for the moment). Does she just want to be relied on, cause that takes time to let trust build.
Archieve
I’d say she’s looking to gain what she thinks Jennifer has, high-school queen bee status which she wants to unlock by being a helper. Lucy is looking at Jennifers social group from afar and doesn’t yet get that their less popular and more clique based on parental status. The people who do appreciate Jennifer for her helping qualities are already friends with Lucy, just not as close to her yet because she’s a relatively new addition.
Needfuldoer
Approval. She wants to be the nucleus of a strong friend group.
Amós Batista
I hate this feeling: when you’re figure out you are trying too hard fo something… :/
Zach
Walky can’t make her have self respect. If she wants respect, she can start by calling out her roommate’s disrespect in public and saying it’s unacceptable.
Xujhan
I’d like to add that there are lots of ways of having self-respect that don’t involve starting unnecessary conflict. “Eh, not worth my time” is a perfectly healthy response to other people being rude.
anon
i’m sure she and dina would get along, even if she wouldn’t wanna join lucy and becky for church
Adam Black
Down where?
who is she even talking about?
Yumi
Yeah, it feels disjointed, but there was conversation that was ongoing in the last panel of yesterday’s strip, so maybe it’s meant to?
Adam Black