My first college roommate got married (I attended). My second college roommate was all gaga for a guy, but several years after I left that school, she came out with a girlfriend. I told her, it was awesome ( I had both a roommate that accepted her status and a friend that found her first marriage partner, so I didn’t care about the sex of said partner at ALL) Unfortunately, I don’t think she believed that I really didn’t care what her identity was and just accepted her, so I haven’t heard from her since she moved to CA. I still miss her. No one in my life could respond with the sarcasm that she had. 🙁 One of these days I will find her again. Friendship is important to me.
Sierra could’ve joined a sorority, too. At least some places, you can’t move to the house until either 1) there’s room or 2) at least one quarter (or semester I guess) has passed.
And ends up being, not only the first independent since Washington to win the presidency, but the first candidate to win after withdrawing, because the parties are just that awesome and gay!
As someone in a place that theoretically has three or more viable parties in most elections, it’s not actually much better. I don’t think we’ve had anyone but the Liberals or whichever version of the Conservative party is currently active at the federal level in my lifetime, and here in Ontario, it’s been almost 30 years since the NDP have won. (And any other party that’s ever actually won no longer exists.)
Well I’m still holding out hope that someone went from flab to abs in the past three months. And not someone we expect to be ripped like Joe, or Ethan, or Jacob! I wanna see like a Danny or a Ruth to come back with a six pack a scar and a tattoo!
Speaking of tattoos actually Sal had mentioned something about wanting more additions to her spider tat so I’m gonna predict that happened along with maybe letting her hair go natural.
Oh! Now that you pointed it out I kind of see it! I guess that’s also Walky next to her also maybe sporting a new hairstyle. I only think it’s him cause his silhouette has untied shoes which is kind of embarrassing for someone his age.
Becky, you are so determined to be enemies with Dorothy, it’s almost impressive. Can’t you just accept that Dorothy cares and wants to be your friend? Or is this the hill on which you will die?
Hah! Great passive aggresive move in the last panel, Dotty. Becky will have her work cut out for her.
I love this room mate pairing almost as much as Becky does. Can someone smell shenanigans? I can sure smell shenanigans. Before Joyce knows it, it will be Becky who does subterfuge within certain outlined parameters with Dorothy.
Until proven otherwise I’m choosing to believe Sierra, Grace, and Mandy all got a suite or something together and while Sierra likes Dorothy, is relieved to be farther away from the Drama Nexus so she can focus on studying and her girlfriends. (Though I do wonder what she does if it’s snowing. Hope she at least wears socks then!)
I see Danny, but no Joe. (Unless that’s him next to Carla?)
I see Ruth, but the silhouette next to her doesn’t look like Billie (I think it’s Dina, actually). I don’t see any Billie-like silhouettes, to be honest. Maybe next to Amber.
Carla looks shorter than she usually is, but pretty sure that’s her.
The one behind Joyce could be Sarah, if she’s redone her hair. Otherwise, I don’t see her.
Carla is definitely in the center back next to Joe (she has on her skates) and that is almost certainly Sarah behind Joyce sans her omnipresent-to-this-point headscarf.
Wonder where Sierra is off too. I’d say maybe she moved in with some friends (or Mandy and Grace) but freshmen are required to room at IU. Unless she’s not a freshman?
I was wondering too! She’s one of my top five, and it’s not like we got to see her a whole lot to begin with! I hope we get to see her soon (and soon in real time, not in comic time :9 )
The bit can be adorable as long as it stays just a bit. If Becky starts/keeps doing things to irritate Dorothy (like the jacket on the floor), then it will start building resentment, which is not cool. They do have to live together.
Heh, I always say that the main draw for me in this comic is Joyce and her two ladies, but this banner rather promises BECKY and her two ladies (well, two of her three ladies, I assume).
I think he’s the second from the left, next to his sister. Interestingly, it seems that both of them as well as Sarah may get some interesting new hairstyles!
I do love Becky, so much, but I am definitely tired of the enemies shtick. I get why she does it, I get why it’s entertaining to her, but it just kind of exhausts me at this point? I’m not super fond of when folks go out of their way to be, idk, aggressive sounds too harsh… Go out of their way to create negative energy? Even when it’s a joke, and especially if it’s unwarranted. I don’t entirely know how to explain it, but it’s one of my least favorite traits a person can have, given how much experience I have on both sides of that coin.
Anyway. Point is, I’m ready for the joke to finally get old, either for Becky or for Mr. Willis, but I also understand if it never does. At the end of the day, I do just want to see her happy, and if Dorothy (and Joyce) don’t mind than it’s fine. And I do genuinely believe that if Dorothy really had a heart-to-heart about it with Becky, that Becky would tone it down.
Ditto. Even if there is zero hostility and she truly means it only as a joke, she’s the only one who enjoys it. It’s just tiresome.
I hope she doesn’t push Dorothy past her patience. Although what really needs to happen is Dorothy needs to tell her, “I know you mean it as a joke, but it’s run its course. Please stop. And my name is Dorothy, not Dotty.”
Yes, oh gosh, the name thing especially! I grew up with an extreeemely uncommon name, even among other people in our community/language, and I dealt with yeaaaaars of people coming up with crappy nicknames, none of them wanted. Especially since it wasn’t ever even someone I was close with; it was just people not wanting to put in the two minutes worth of effort to learn how to pronounce it. And sometimes those nicknames signaled hostility, in the same way Becky’s does. It was only after I changed my name to Green that the torment ended. (though, I went from one unusual name right to the next so, still got a lot of questions lol :p )
But yeah, definitely also not fond of folks using unasked for nicknames.
OH, fair point! I forgot all about the other nicknames Becky uses. I guess in this case, at least to me, it does feel hostile, since it’s coming along with a deliberate intention to cause negative energy.
I generally agree with you, but Dorothy hasn’t given any indication that she minds Dotty and her name is as white and common as they get. There aren’t some of the same undertones that go with “your name’s too difficult, can I call you some other name?” For me, Becky calling her Dotty reminds me of how some people call me Jess even though I generally go by Jessi (instead of Jessica). It doesn’t bug me if people shorten my name to Jess, but I’ll never introduce myself as Jess.
Tl;dr I agree with everything else about the bit being old and frustrating but I’d wait for indication that Dorothy objects to Dotty before worrying too much about that piece.
Oh, I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to say they’re equivalent experiences, just that the passive-aggressive nature of the Dotty nickname bothers me for such and such reason.
YES, 100%, couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m actually kind of disappointed to see that they’re roommates, because that means we’re going to see them interacting more, and the shtick was tiring when they had the bare minimum interaction going on. Clearly Becky isn’t interested in dropping this even after several months, so even if this arrangement ends up okay, I’m really not looking forward to going on the journey.
Like, I genuinely feel sorry for Dorothy that she has to LIVE with this everyday now. I’m sure we’ll find out the score eventually (random assignment? Becky asked? Dorothy offered?), but frankly I almost think less of Dorothy for going along with/being cheerful about it….
Yeah, seeing that they’re roommates now kind of made my stomach drop, very much in the “oh, here we go again” kinda way. I get that Dorothy wants to be polite and respectful and understanding of Becky’s situation, but at the same time… she’s kind of just letting Becky get away with some Very Uncool Behavior? And I don’t want to see Dorothy having to deal with that so endlessly. It’s so freakin hard to share a living space with someone who jabs and pushes and makes underhanded comments. It’s so stressful; you learn to hate being in your own home, the one space where you should feel comfortable and safe. That tension and negativity, it’s so relentless. Sometimes you can’t do anything to change it, but Dorothy can, and I wish she would.
Like I said, I do think Becky will drop it whenever Dorothy gets to the point of no longer being able to tolerate it, I want to believe she’s mature enough for that, but you put it perfectly: “I’m not looking forward to going on the journey.”
Here’s the thing, though. Becky’s a very likable, fun, and interesting character, but she also has an aspect to her personality where she can enjoy being genuinely annoying. I think she enjoys taking this kind of thing past the point where she should stop. I don’t expect her to magically lose that aspect of her personality any time soon.
What do you mean? Continuing a joke for extended periods of time only gets funnier the longer it goes on! Especially after people tell you to stop doing it because it’s annoying and you keep on doing it anyways, that’s when it’s funniest!
Everyone knows that the Cool Chick always has steady breeze following her wherever she goes so her hair can always dramatically blow in the wind! It’s how she maintains her Cool Chick status!
Well it has been established that Walky and Becky are very much a like…. and actually at the same time it has been established that Joyce and Dorothy are a like. In retrospect its hilarious that Koyce and Becky end up hating people who have the same temperament as their best friend.
Honestly people like Mary feed on people to arguing. She’s like Carla if Carla if Carla consistently failed her Charmisa checks. Sierra and Mary would be like that one middle age problem customer at a grocery store, constantly getting madder and madder that the polite, unfazed employee who probably finds it hilarious. I think the only person who could truly needle Mary in a aggresive manner is Mikayla just because she is perceptive enough to figure out how Mary ticks.
I think Joyce’s hair has become fuller, in a way? Or like it falls differently now? It definitely feels different to me, at least, but at the same time I also can’t put my finger on it.
At some point, Joyce needs to tell Becky that openly stating her intention to bully and harass Dorothy isn’t cute, it isn’t funny and it isn’t something that she can let her get away with. At some point it could ruin their friendship and Becky needs to know that.
I’m sort of hoping that she’s been put with Mary. She’s zen enough to be able to shrug off whatever Mary says but is an Evangelical too and so I suspect that, much against Mary’s desires, they may start building bridges with each other.
Becky needs to find a new shtick; the nemesis thing is getting old. :\
Also, I can ID everyone in the poster but three. Besides Ethan being AWOL, I’m not sure if the silhouette next to Dorothy is Billie or Lucy. There’s a silhouette next to between Joe-silhouette and probably-Mike-silhouette that I have no clue about. (Who in the cast has dreads? Because that what the hairstyle looks like.) And the silhouette next to Amber-silhouette looks to be Leslie but… she’s not a student? Or is _that_ Ethan and he shrank over break?
My guess on the unrevealed characters (left to right) are:
Sal, Walky, Ruth, Lucy, Billie, Joe, Sarah, Danny, Amber, unknown, Mike, unknown, Malaya. Anyone else have any guesses at the fourth and second from right?
I had Sal, Walky, Ruth, Dina (seems to be wearing the hat), Carla (note roller skates), Joe, Sarah, Mike, Amber, Unknown, Danny, Roz, Malaya. Wondering if it’s Billie with short hair?
I agree with you but I’m convinced your unknown is Billie. The figure and personality of the stance is right. Plus there’s no way any of the other figure is Billie. Her narrative has been fairly intertwined with Ruth’s so I’d be surprised to have Ruth and not Billie
Same, but different reasons for each (Becky because this bit’s worn out, Mike because no he is not trying to make people better, he’s just a fucking dick).
My theory on the roommate change is Sierra was in a poly relationship with the 2 other girls whose names elude me and they just opted to get an apartment for this semester.
First part I’m pretty sure is canon (not sure if Willis ever confirmed it but there were very strong implications), but yeah getting an apartment makes sense.
Sierra was seen making out with one of them and claimed she sometimes did with the other. Theoretically that could have been to troll Joyce, but it’s unlikely.
Oh, cookie, this is called “pre-emptively defining the terms of your relationship as negative because you think that it’s inevitable that you’ll end up that way so you are taking control of the presumed narrative,” and I hope somebody catches on soon.
It’s more a routine. It’s a gag Becky’s been pulling since her initial reaction to Dorothy as Joyce’s new best friend. She’s not actually serious about it and she doesn’t expect Dorothy to dislike her.
Dorothy knows all this, but it still irritates her, so it’s a problem for them to deal with.
I wonder if Willis is going to drag this out. Tomorrow we find out that Sierra is rooming with Grace, which leaves Mandy out. Mandy is rooming with Other Rachel now, which leaves Rachel out. Rachel is living with Roz, which leaves Mary out. And so on so that we don’t find out who actually left until the entire cast is reintroduced.
I’m cool with it staying at “which leaves Mary out” for a long while, and after a long time of wondering “who gets stuck with Mary?!” it turns out Mary’s parents pulled her out of such a secular school because Mary was doing so poorly in her art classes.
The Odd Couple theme, sung by Homer Simpson:
Do duff do dah do duff, duff duff duff do.
Do duff do dah do duff, duff duff duff do.
Duff! Duff Duff Duff, duff!
Duff, Duff duff duff duff duff duff
Trailing off into more repetitions of Duff without much rhythm…
Loading ...
Fake beef: like real beef, but saltier!
Come to think of it, after my first year, I never had the same roommate in college more than one semester
idk how I managed the year with the first one, either
(I assume she got pulled out after the botched-forgery-she-never-paid-me-for incident)
In the Air Force, I soon had a room to myself. No one could live with me. I loved it.
My first college roommate got married (I attended). My second college roommate was all gaga for a guy, but several years after I left that school, she came out with a girlfriend. I told her, it was awesome ( I had both a roommate that accepted her status and a friend that found her first marriage partner, so I didn’t care about the sex of said partner at ALL) Unfortunately, I don’t think she believed that I really didn’t care what her identity was and just accepted her, so I haven’t heard from her since she moved to CA. I still miss her. No one in my life could respond with the sarcasm that she had. 🙁 One of these days I will find her again. Friendship is important to me.
I can’t believe Sierra is dead.
She had to leave.
Heh!
Nooooooooo
…her planet needed her…?
Best reply, have an internet cookie. Though I wouldn’t eat it, it’s pretty old.
Sierra got eaten by an allosaurus.
Dina: “Whaaaaaat?”
Sierra got eaten by Gra– You know what? Never mind.
She might have been eaten by a Grue.
Or Mandy
Sierra is Pizza Girl?
I assume related to walking around barefoot in January?
She was going to move in with Grade and Mandy, but she got cold feet.
Heyoooo!
Cymbal/Drum.
In which Dorothy begins her campaign of psychological torment towards Becky.
Is that your coat tossed on the floor? I assume you meant for me to wipe my feet on it. *wipe, wipe*
No, no, she has to keep up friendly appearances until Becky finally loses it at her inability to phaze Dorothy, then befriend Becky for real.
Then she plunges in the knife.
Order is important.
Called it — Becky has her own room (and roommate).
Now, who was Dorothy’s old roommate, and what happened to her?
p/s – site was up early today.
Sierra.
She will be Missed.
She went back to Nevada.
Or back to her madre.
Can’t believe Sierra is fucking dead
Is that anything like the walking dead?
I’ve lost track. Who was Dorothy’s previous roommate?
….Amber ? Crap, did she really drop out ?
No, Amber was Dina’s roommate.
Amber is Dina’s roommate.
Oh, Spencer points to Sierra and now that they mention it, I remember her beeing booted out of the room that ONE time hahaha
Nah, Amber is Dina’s roomie. Sierra is Dorothy’s, maybe she’s moved off campus.
It was Sierra.
No Amber is with Dina. Dorothy was with Sierra
I thought so at first, but no Amber was through the shared bathroom.
I hope this doesn’t mean we lost Sierra though.
Sierra could’ve joined a sorority, too. At least some places, you can’t move to the house until either 1) there’s room or 2) at least one quarter (or semester I guess) has passed.
That would still fulfill requirements for living at IU in freshman year (I think) so that would be cool!
Maybe Willis ran out of story for Amber and got rid of her. She died falling from a building. Right onto Sierra.
D:
Amber is third silhouette to the right of Joyce in the cast reveal poster under the comic, next to Mike.
Sierra.
inb4 Dorothy and Becky wind up running against each other in the Democratic primary 20 years from now
Then Becky separates from the Democratic Party to create her own “awesome gay party”.
Then she remembers how much of a pain political campaigns can be and decides to go into business throwing “awesome gay parties”
and then still somehow wins the nomination.
And ends up being, not only the first independent since Washington to win the presidency, but the first candidate to win after withdrawing, because the parties are just that awesome and gay!
As a straight man, if I had to choose between throwing awesome gay parties or going into politics, I’d choose the gay parties all the time.
I wish it were plausible that we’d have more parties than just the two, 20 years from now.
As someone in a place that theoretically has three or more viable parties in most elections, it’s not actually much better. I don’t think we’ve had anyone but the Liberals or whichever version of the Conservative party is currently active at the federal level in my lifetime, and here in Ontario, it’s been almost 30 years since the NDP have won. (And any other party that’s ever actually won no longer exists.)
After the next timeskip Becky’s side hair will reach her knees
Dorothy: Becky, what are you doing with that chalk?
Becky: Dividing our room down the middle, so we can each have a side, like when roommates fight in a sitcom!
Dorothy: But we have bunk beds, that’s not going to…Becky, you can’t claim the bathroom!
Becky: Too late!
#Headcanon
Wait, it’s a double bath. They share it with…
…oh dear.
Dorothy and amber: “Hurry up in there, we need to pee!”
Becky and Dina: “You will not enter dinotopia uninvited.”
That moment when Becky decides to have sexy times, and Amber is forced to spend time with Dotty.
They don’t have bunk beds, they have loft beds.
She can totally claim the bathroom though.
Bunk beds is why the line is separating the bottom half of the room from the top half like that episode of Clone High.
Oh n–OH YEEAAAHHHH.
This is going to be incredible.
Wacky Hijinks incoming in
3…
2..
To be fair, they started already in panel 2
Becky has been reading too much TVTropes.
Nonsense, there’s never too much TVTropes!
(guiltily closes 37 tabs)
37? You got out early.
In a row?
… That Dotty picture in the banner doesn’t make sense. Fuckface hasn’t shown up yet.
Fuckface is always here, in our hearts and minds.
More often on someone’s head, but sure.
Fuckface is there then their owner must also be there. Malaya will be reintroduced at some point.
Joyce: “I like odd couple escenarios, like with me and-”
Sarah: “Shut up, I am studying.”
Joyce: “Yes, miss.”
That Simpsons joke is a classic.
Aw. I was really expecting Dorothy to get super shredded over the time skip.
This is the wrong genre for that. DoA isn’t a battle shonen.
Well not with THAT attitude.
Anything can be a battle shonen with the power of fanfiction.
Well I’m still holding out hope that someone went from flab to abs in the past three months. And not someone we expect to be ripped like Joe, or Ethan, or Jacob! I wanna see like a Danny or a Ruth to come back with a six pack a scar and a tattoo!
Speaking of tattoos actually Sal had mentioned something about wanting more additions to her spider tat so I’m gonna predict that happened along with maybe letting her hair go natural.
Sal seem to be the furthest to the left in the character poster. I was bouncing in excitement seeing that she let her hair stay natural.
Oh! Now that you pointed it out I kind of see it! I guess that’s also Walky next to her also maybe sporting a new hairstyle. I only think it’s him cause his silhouette has untied shoes which is kind of embarrassing for someone his age.
joyce’s smile is very adorable here
Not that Becky has noticed or anything…
…noticed how adorable Joyce’s smile is when she looks at Dorothy…
…who Becky immediately antagonizes…
…not noticed at all.
Mmm.
Becky, you are so determined to be enemies with Dorothy, it’s almost impressive. Can’t you just accept that Dorothy cares and wants to be your friend? Or is this the hill on which you will die?
The boogie down, down, on down–
Let’s Groove tonight!
Hah! Great passive aggresive move in the last panel, Dotty. Becky will have her work cut out for her.
I love this room mate pairing almost as much as Becky does. Can someone smell shenanigans? I can sure smell shenanigans. Before Joyce knows it, it will be Becky who does subterfuge within certain outlined parameters with Dorothy.
Dotty will win Becky over yet, or at least put up a hell of a fight.
In truth I think Dotty won Becky over when she bought her sushi. This is just Becky doing a bit because she think it’s funny
Well, she’s wrong about that. This bit has gotten old.
The old bits are the best bits.
My family are still prodding sore points that are sixty years old. Not good.
I prefer to think Becky will win Dotty over as her best nemesis.
That WOULD be the alternative with higher potential for hijinks.
IT IS THE MOST WACKY.
Until proven otherwise I’m choosing to believe Sierra, Grace, and Mandy all got a suite or something together and while Sierra likes Dorothy, is relieved to be farther away from the Drama Nexus so she can focus on studying and her girlfriends. (Though I do wonder what she does if it’s snowing. Hope she at least wears socks then!)
No. Socks are the worst, they just get wet and cold and stick the cold to your feet. With shoes they’re fine, but just by themselves? Ick.
So that “cast reveal” poster in the news post. Is anyone notable missing in the greyed out cast?
Not that I notice, I do see Mike which gives me hope that he and his asshole-ish ways will return.
Could be Amber’s brain Mike.
I think Ethan’s not among them.
I’ve noticed Ethan appears to be missing.
Is that not Ethan behind Becky and Joyce? If not, who else would be that tall?
Joe
Okay, I’m not hallucinating.
No other Mike, you *are* the hallucination.
I see Danny, but no Joe. (Unless that’s him next to Carla?)
I see Ruth, but the silhouette next to her doesn’t look like Billie (I think it’s Dina, actually). I don’t see any Billie-like silhouettes, to be honest. Maybe next to Amber.
Carla looks shorter than she usually is, but pretty sure that’s her.
The one behind Joyce could be Sarah, if she’s redone her hair. Otherwise, I don’t see her.
Carla is definitely in the center back next to Joe (she has on her skates) and that is almost certainly Sarah behind Joyce sans her omnipresent-to-this-point headscarf.
I didn’t even consider the changing of the roommates as a novel thing for the time skip.
So where did Sierra move to and why? Can first-years move off-campus in IU?
I think Sierra is a sophomore
Huh, I always assumed she was a freshie. The fact she’s still yet to be jaded by college was one part of that assumption.
Why does Dorothy have Fuckface?
Willis said on patreon it was because it fit her head best out of the ones on the poster.
fuckface is on dotty’s head?????????
Within certain defined parameters.
Dorothy, this bit will never end. Accept it.
And her smile on the news post is adorable.
Wonder where Sierra is off too. I’d say maybe she moved in with some friends (or Mandy and Grace) but freshmen are required to room at IU. Unless she’s not a freshman?
I was wondering too! She’s one of my top five, and it’s not like we got to see her a whole lot to begin with! I hope we get to see her soon (and soon in real time, not in comic time :9 )
I think Sierra is a sophomore
The bit can be adorable as long as it stays just a bit. If Becky starts/keeps doing things to irritate Dorothy (like the jacket on the floor), then it will start building resentment, which is not cool. They do have to live together.
Heh, I always say that the main draw for me in this comic is Joyce and her two ladies, but this banner rather promises BECKY and her two ladies (well, two of her three ladies, I assume).
I’m totally on board with this. Bring it on!
Is it sad that I’m looking at the slowly revealing cast image and I’m wondering where the Ethan shaped image is. I wonder if he got a haircut?
I’m struggling to pick out one of those images as Walky and failing.
Walky is second from the left, you can tell by the untied shoelaces.
Second one from the left with the untied shoelaces, of course.
I think he’s the second from the left, next to his sister. Interestingly, it seems that both of them as well as Sarah may get some interesting new hairstyles!
Second from left. Check the shoe laces.
Thank you everyone. That is a hell of a detail and I missed it.
I do love Becky, so much, but I am definitely tired of the enemies shtick. I get why she does it, I get why it’s entertaining to her, but it just kind of exhausts me at this point? I’m not super fond of when folks go out of their way to be, idk, aggressive sounds too harsh… Go out of their way to create negative energy? Even when it’s a joke, and especially if it’s unwarranted. I don’t entirely know how to explain it, but it’s one of my least favorite traits a person can have, given how much experience I have on both sides of that coin.
Anyway. Point is, I’m ready for the joke to finally get old, either for Becky or for Mr. Willis, but I also understand if it never does. At the end of the day, I do just want to see her happy, and if Dorothy (and Joyce) don’t mind than it’s fine. And I do genuinely believe that if Dorothy really had a heart-to-heart about it with Becky, that Becky would tone it down.
Same.
Ditto. Even if there is zero hostility and she truly means it only as a joke, she’s the only one who enjoys it. It’s just tiresome.
I hope she doesn’t push Dorothy past her patience. Although what really needs to happen is Dorothy needs to tell her, “I know you mean it as a joke, but it’s run its course. Please stop. And my name is Dorothy, not Dotty.”
Yeah. If it were a joke it would be funny. And even then, something that is funny can still be a microaggression.
How many microaggressions in an aggression? Is it still 1,000.- or is it down to 100.- at this point?
The “micro-” prefix suggests one million.
Yes, oh gosh, the name thing especially! I grew up with an extreeemely uncommon name, even among other people in our community/language, and I dealt with yeaaaaars of people coming up with crappy nicknames, none of them wanted. Especially since it wasn’t ever even someone I was close with; it was just people not wanting to put in the two minutes worth of effort to learn how to pronounce it. And sometimes those nicknames signaled hostility, in the same way Becky’s does. It was only after I changed my name to Green that the torment ended. (though, I went from one unusual name right to the next so, still got a lot of questions lol :p )
But yeah, definitely also not fond of folks using unasked for nicknames.
I don’t think “Dotty” is intended to signal hostility. Becky uses nicknames for everyone. “Ambster” “Jakes”
OH, fair point! I forgot all about the other nicknames Becky uses. I guess in this case, at least to me, it does feel hostile, since it’s coming along with a deliberate intention to cause negative energy.
Kind of at random, I’m assuming you’re not a big fan of Mike’s.
I generally agree with you, but Dorothy hasn’t given any indication that she minds Dotty and her name is as white and common as they get. There aren’t some of the same undertones that go with “your name’s too difficult, can I call you some other name?” For me, Becky calling her Dotty reminds me of how some people call me Jess even though I generally go by Jessi (instead of Jessica). It doesn’t bug me if people shorten my name to Jess, but I’ll never introduce myself as Jess.
Tl;dr I agree with everything else about the bit being old and frustrating but I’d wait for indication that Dorothy objects to Dotty before worrying too much about that piece.
Oh, I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to say they’re equivalent experiences, just that the passive-aggressive nature of the Dotty nickname bothers me for such and such reason.
YES, 100%, couldn’t have said it better myself. I’m actually kind of disappointed to see that they’re roommates, because that means we’re going to see them interacting more, and the shtick was tiring when they had the bare minimum interaction going on. Clearly Becky isn’t interested in dropping this even after several months, so even if this arrangement ends up okay, I’m really not looking forward to going on the journey.
Like, I genuinely feel sorry for Dorothy that she has to LIVE with this everyday now. I’m sure we’ll find out the score eventually (random assignment? Becky asked? Dorothy offered?), but frankly I almost think less of Dorothy for going along with/being cheerful about it….
Yeah, seeing that they’re roommates now kind of made my stomach drop, very much in the “oh, here we go again” kinda way. I get that Dorothy wants to be polite and respectful and understanding of Becky’s situation, but at the same time… she’s kind of just letting Becky get away with some Very Uncool Behavior? And I don’t want to see Dorothy having to deal with that so endlessly. It’s so freakin hard to share a living space with someone who jabs and pushes and makes underhanded comments. It’s so stressful; you learn to hate being in your own home, the one space where you should feel comfortable and safe. That tension and negativity, it’s so relentless. Sometimes you can’t do anything to change it, but Dorothy can, and I wish she would.
Like I said, I do think Becky will drop it whenever Dorothy gets to the point of no longer being able to tolerate it, I want to believe she’s mature enough for that, but you put it perfectly: “I’m not looking forward to going on the journey.”
I feel this.
Yeah, it bugs me too.
So, I’m kind of hearing is, “I like Becky but I hate her personality.”
I’m down with it as long as it leads to some interesting story bits.
Here’s the thing, though. Becky’s a very likable, fun, and interesting character, but she also has an aspect to her personality where she can enjoy being genuinely annoying. I think she enjoys taking this kind of thing past the point where she should stop. I don’t expect her to magically lose that aspect of her personality any time soon.
What do you mean? Continuing a joke for extended periods of time only gets funnier the longer it goes on! Especially after people tell you to stop doing it because it’s annoying and you keep on doing it anyways, that’s when it’s funniest!
Oh, hush. And have some troll food.
Looking at the cast photo… is that Sal on the left-most side?
With her natural unstraightened hair?
Since it is next to who is clearly Walky (note the shoelaces), I would say so.
Certainly looks like it … and Walky next to her with a new ‘do too.
I think it’s just Sal’s hair blowing in the wind. No it’s not blowing for the others, it only blows for her.
Everyone knows that the Cool Chick always has steady breeze following her wherever she goes so her hair can always dramatically blow in the wind! It’s how she maintains her Cool Chick status!
Or does that mean she’s an evil Toon, like Judge Doom?
And whenever she enters a room, everybody else freezes and can’t move until she speaks.
After all those jokes about Dorothy and Joyce hooking up, you know what would be amazing? If Dorothy ended up dating Becky instead.
As long as Becky and Dina are poly tho.
Well it has been established that Walky and Becky are very much a like…. and actually at the same time it has been established that Joyce and Dorothy are a like. In retrospect its hilarious that Koyce and Becky end up hating people who have the same temperament as their best friend.
Get a room, already, you two!
Oh, yeah, right… Guess you just did…
Perfect gravatar for that comment…..
sierra now lives with mary and mary will disintegrate from the stress within a week
She will succeed where Roz failed!
we can only hope
Honestly people like Mary feed on people to arguing. She’s like Carla if Carla if Carla consistently failed her Charmisa checks. Sierra and Mary would be like that one middle age problem customer at a grocery store, constantly getting madder and madder that the polite, unfazed employee who probably finds it hilarious. I think the only person who could truly needle Mary in a aggresive manner is Mikayla just because she is perceptive enough to figure out how Mary ticks.
Argue with*. Stupid me, not proofreading.
THE HAIRPOCALPYSE IS UPON US! WILL NO ONE HAVE SHORT HAIR AND AN UNOBSTRUCTED VIEW EVER AGAIN? WILLIS SAVE US!
I’m assuming at least one of the cast got a haircut during the last 2 or 3 months that Willis skipped over.
Joyce and Dorothy both have about the same hairstyle as before, don’t they?
Looks a little longer to me, and they already needed cuts!
I like the incremental reveal of the gang’s Spring semester looks!
Oh god I didn’t even notice that was what was happening until basically just now! lol
Neither Dorothy nor Joyce look different to me… are they? I mean, not that they have to change drastically to count as “gradual reveal.”
Looks to me like they just have new outfits, which I do like seeing!
I think Joyce’s hair has become fuller, in a way? Or like it falls differently now? It definitely feels different to me, at least, but at the same time I also can’t put my finger on it.
How ’bout an inaugural room-clearin’ fart, Becky? That oughtta amp up the antagonism while maintaining the symmetry with the beginning of the comic.
Maintain eye contact while doing so, to establish dominance.
You mean I’ve been doing it wrong?
At some point, Joyce needs to tell Becky that openly stating her intention to bully and harass Dorothy isn’t cute, it isn’t funny and it isn’t something that she can let her get away with. At some point it could ruin their friendship and Becky needs to know that.
Ditto if Becky is still trolling Joyce to get those “hilarious” “wacky” reactions out of her.
Wondering about the obscured cast image: are they going to be any surprising changes in appearance etc.? Otherwise, not sure what’s the point?
Someone has suggested that Sal has stopped straightening her hair. I’ll be interested to see if this is the case.
I thought for sure Becky would be rooming with Joyce. So now I’m wondering who Sierra is rooming with.
I’m sort of hoping that she’s been put with Mary. She’s zen enough to be able to shrug off whatever Mary says but is an Evangelical too and so I suspect that, much against Mary’s desires, they may start building bridges with each other.
I swear I heard the studio audience applaud when Dorothy entered the room.
Becky needs to find a new shtick; the nemesis thing is getting old. :\
Also, I can ID everyone in the poster but three. Besides Ethan being AWOL, I’m not sure if the silhouette next to Dorothy is Billie or Lucy. There’s a silhouette next to between Joe-silhouette and probably-Mike-silhouette that I have no clue about. (Who in the cast has dreads? Because that what the hairstyle looks like.) And the silhouette next to Amber-silhouette looks to be Leslie but… she’s not a student? Or is _that_ Ethan and he shrank over break?
It’s likely Sarah by Joe. Without her usual headscarf.
Probably Dina by Dorothy. Short-haired Billie next to Amber and maybe Lucy next to Malaya.
My guess on the unrevealed characters (left to right) are:
Sal, Walky, Ruth, Lucy, Billie, Joe, Sarah, Danny, Amber, unknown, Mike, unknown, Malaya. Anyone else have any guesses at the fourth and second from right?
Dina and Marcie, I think
I had Sal, Walky, Ruth, Dina (seems to be wearing the hat), Carla (note roller skates), Joe, Sarah, Mike, Amber, Unknown, Danny, Roz, Malaya. Wondering if it’s Billie with short hair?
I agree with you but I’m convinced your unknown is Billie. The figure and personality of the stance is right. Plus there’s no way any of the other figure is Billie. Her narrative has been fairly intertwined with Ruth’s so I’d be surprised to have Ruth and not Billie
Dorothy just wants to be friends with everyone 🙁
March.
I wonder how many people complaining about Becky would just love to see Mike and his “hurtful truths” come back.
I’m fine with neither.
Same, but different reasons for each (Becky because this bit’s worn out, Mike because no he is not trying to make people better, he’s just a fucking dick).
I do want to see Mike come back, but that’s because I want to see how he’s changed.
Bets that the new Mike is even more awesome than the old Mike.
cleverly drawing the scene seconds BEFORE they shake hands to avoid having to draw the handshake
an ingenious technique that could only come from decades of cartooning experience
Always good to see a pro in action.
I’m sitting quietly, waiting for a disaster to appear.
So, the poster will fill in as the characters appear in a strip? Oh, the drama! Was wondering why they hadn’t popped up on Tumblr by now.
Dorothy: Becky, I know we’re friends.
Becky: Nope, clearly enemies.
Dorothy: No way! We’re FRIENDS.
Becky: Enemies.
Dorothy: FRIENDS!!!
Becky: Enemies.
Dorothy: rrrRRRR! *storms out*
Becky: Toldya.
My theory on the roommate change is Sierra was in a poly relationship with the 2 other girls whose names elude me and they just opted to get an apartment for this semester.
First part I’m pretty sure is canon (not sure if Willis ever confirmed it but there were very strong implications), but yeah getting an apartment makes sense.
Sierra was seen making out with one of them and claimed she sometimes did with the other. Theoretically that could have been to troll Joyce, but it’s unlikely.
Yup, in this one it’s suggested that Grace, Mandy, and Sierra are a polygon.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/unraveling/
The three of them are almost certainly in a polyamorous relationship, yes
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-8/01-face-the-strange/peeking/
Dorothy is rocking that collared shirt to woo Joyce with, I see.
Oh, cookie, this is called “pre-emptively defining the terms of your relationship as negative because you think that it’s inevitable that you’ll end up that way so you are taking control of the presumed narrative,” and I hope somebody catches on soon.
Also, pick up your darn coat.
It’s more a routine. It’s a gag Becky’s been pulling since her initial reaction to Dorothy as Joyce’s new best friend. She’s not actually serious about it and she doesn’t expect Dorothy to dislike her.
Dorothy knows all this, but it still irritates her, so it’s a problem for them to deal with.
Wait a minute…. how did I not realize it earlier… Becky is a Boyle! Hmm would that make Dotty Caleb the Cannibal…
I wonder if Willis is going to drag this out. Tomorrow we find out that Sierra is rooming with Grace, which leaves Mandy out. Mandy is rooming with Other Rachel now, which leaves Rachel out. Rachel is living with Roz, which leaves Mary out. And so on so that we don’t find out who actually left until the entire cast is reintroduced.
I’m cool with it staying at “which leaves Mary out” for a long while, and after a long time of wondering “who gets stuck with Mary?!” it turns out Mary’s parents pulled her out of such a secular school because Mary was doing so poorly in her art classes.
Geeze Becky, Dorothy isn’t interested in a kismesis at this time, take a hint.
It’s been exactly 11 months since Sierra’s last appearance:
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-10/01-birthday-pursuit/slightly/
Where is she now?
these nerds started their first semester when I was in middle school and they’re starting their second while I’m starting my fifth
So Sierra went to live with Robin, right?
Before Dorothy finishes her education Beckys teasding will push her into super villain status…Becky was never seen again
My silhouette guess L to R:
Sal, walky, ruthless, dina, dorothy, carla, becky, joe, joyce, sarah, mike, amber, (Leslie?), Danny, roz, mikayala
The Odd Couple theme, sung by Homer Simpson:
Do duff do dah do duff, duff duff duff do.
Do duff do dah do duff, duff duff duff do.
Duff! Duff Duff Duff, duff!
Duff, Duff duff duff duff duff duff
Trailing off into more repetitions of Duff without much rhythm…
A week or so from now we get to see Walky going in to repeat his math class . . .
Try 9 months. Dec 11, 2019 to Sept 11, 2020. Sierra was out having a kid?
She was having Grace and Mandy’s baby.
That…sounds like foreshadowing.
So Becky shares a bathroom with Dina now, how long before Dorothy or Amber swaps rooms so the two can have the same room?