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idk Mike doesn’t have the same fear factor
or is it more pleasant getting one’s head bitten off by Sal than just being around Mike
I mean some people would be into that.
tbh Sal is one of those characters who could punch me in the face and i would thank her.
Does Joyce still have a girl-crush on Sal, or is that ancient history?
That is so last week. (In story time)
We need a baseline for these things.
Anyone seen Faz lately?
I can’t think of many things that would be less pleasant than being around Mike.
methinks Walky will drop the course
Does he even know that’s a possibility or when the cut-off date is? He only has 5 more years til the cutoff date.
Well when he finally went to Jason for help, Jason’s first response was to tell him the drop date had ended. If I recall correctly, Walky rejected that option conceptually regardless.
Withdraw, then.
That’s gonna leave a bad mark on his record.
But yeah, what else can Walky do?
Learn to study?
It’s not like this isn’t going to come back to bite him later on, even if he drops this class. He could drop out of school, I suppose.
His problem isn’t that this particular class is too hard for him. His problem is that he’s never had to work for grades before and he doesn’t know how. He will wind up in more classes he’s going to have to work for. He’s not going to be able to coast through four years of college if he just drops this one class.
It took me all of high school and 1 year of college to learn this lesson…
I have a friend who never learned this lesson and, instead, somehow managed to only take classes that didn’t require him to study (he was some humanities major– I want to say English, but possibly Public Health or Marketing & Communications). For any *hard* class, even core requirements, he would drop right away, and then he somehow managed to find an easy alternative that he could at least get a C in without studying. Often, he still got A’s and B’s.
It still boggles my mind, to this day. He wasn’t a legacy kid (we went to My Town State, so we didn’t even have legacy kids), he was just persistent about finding loopholes. Plus, some things were easy for him that were hard for others, like writing good papers quickly. He had a minimal math requirement that was a repeat of the Algebra he learned in high school, and every other class he seemed to find the shortest cut. He always seemed to have a bunch of free time.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/deadline/ I think it would be awhile before Walky would actually consider that an option for himself. Besides which, according to Jason he’s past the drop deadline without academic penalty.
Drop date is usually less than a week, but there’s still the option to Withdraw (or at least there was at my University), which counts against you in that you can only do it so many times and you’re still stuck paying for the course, but it doesn’t hurt your GPA and you’re able to try again next semester.
Mike’s time has come. Also I think that’s the most casual Joyce has ever spoken to Walky, almost like they’re acquaintances
mike’s hair is a F
Just like Walky’s math grade!
Yup, maybe get serious about math before your GF litterally overwork herself to death there, Walky. No pressure ~
Hey, there’s an urban legend that if your girlfriend overworks herself to death you get straight As for the semester. Walky’s just hedging his bets.
Nah, he’s probably going to the bathroom to stare into the mirror, turn out the lights, and repeat a name three times.
“Stephen Hawking, Stephen Hawking, Stephen Hawking.”
[robotic voice] ITTT’S SHOWTIME
*Walky grabs Mike by his shirt collar and holds him back while Joyce frantically hops away*
It’s actually pretty considerate, by Mike standards, to check which foot is okay to stomp on.
And he doesn’t have the default angry, scowl…
I guess getting laid somehow mellowed him.
Wait who got Mike laid. What did I miss.
Mike seduced a minor character (Eric, maybe?) apparently as part of his plot to screw with Ethan and Danny.
He isn’t saying what he’s going to do with the information, though.
Yeah, that sounded much more like a “What is your weak point?” to me.
Wait. Does he mean okay for stomping on as in, “which is your one good foot for now?”. Or does he mean, “which one will be extra-painful to stomp on?” Or does he mean, “doesn’t really matter and I don’t really care, I’m just jerkily pointing out that your in trouble either way.”
Mike knows which foot is okay to stomp on. He’s just instinctively putting his victim off-balance while he decides whether would give him more satisfaction to injure the uninjured foot, or to further injure the injured foot.
Use this as an opportunity to overcome your fear Joyce, unless you really love limping.
I’ve been there, Sal. Being stuck with people you hate drains you like nothing else.
So… take some time to recharge with people she likes?
Sadly, not how it works. When you’re that fed up with people, you don’t want to be around ANYBODY and being around other people, even your friends, just drains you more. It feels like someone shoving something itchy even deeper until you snap and start hollering at everyone to fuck off and leave you alone.
Depends on the person. Some people apparently do recharge spending time with people they like.
I, on the other hand, need solo time to recharge from even time with people I do like.
Sal’s an introvert, so probably solo-time for her.
Yeah, a lot of people recharge with people, but I’ve never heard of that being the case when ‘fed up with people’ is the problem.
Mike or fear of strangers, Mike or fear of strangers. Tough call.
I know this is painted as something of a joke, but in context, it is a pretty tough call.
There’s always the possibility of Amazi-Girl just showing up, picking Joyce off the ground and carrying her hither and yon. But for that to happen, Joyce would have to threaten Mike.
Anybody see a downside?
Yes, Amber’s plan to turn into Amazi-Girl to commit misdeeds is heavily flawed by the fact that once she puts on the suit she’ll be Amazi-Girl and seek out good deeds!
Things fall apart.
The centre cannot hold?
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world!
List of safe men, according to Joyce:
Ethan: Good guy, also gay.
Walky: Good, if annoying, guy, also taken.
Joe: Is scared of her.
Jacob: Good guy, also hot.
Mike: ???
I wonder how well Joyce might do at tutoring Walky, if she could hold off bickering with him. If I’m remembering right she still has math skills, even she doesn’t have alien-augmented maths brilliance this time around, give her a chance to try that whole teaching thing she’s using as an excuse to try to get her MRS Degree, and let her take a little of the pressure off her beloved Dottie.
This is assuming he can knuckle down and focus, or that she’ll tolerate his being a goofball without feeling like she’s wasting time.
I have a feeling Joyce will have a much easier time getting Walky to focus than Jason – for one, her head is not too firmly wedged up her ass to observe accurate reality, and for another, she knows his pressure points.
“Would you rather Dorothy did this?”
“FOCUSING. FOCUSING NOW. WATCH ME FOCUS”
It’s kind of sweet that even though Walky is in the middle of a “my life is falling apart around me” breakdown he’s still looking out for Joyce and being considerate of her feelings and needs – and I’m pretty certain that reflects character growth on his behalf?
But I’m not sure if he’s thinking about (or even knows about) Joyce’s fear of strangers, or if he’s just polite enough not to force the limping girl to fend for herself. (I totally forgot about her toe until I read the alt-text.)
Come to think of it, is Joyce still afraid of walking alone, now that Ryan’s off the streets?
I think THAT’S where Walky’s mindset is. Less of a “you have to hobble” and more of “our ‘friend’ group agreed not to let her walk alone”.
It’s probably a fear of all strangers in general after all that’s happened. Add on the attempted assault and kidnapping from Toe Dad and one could see why she won’t feel safe without someone she feels is trust worthy by her side.
It was very much a specific fear of Ryan – we’ve been shown her seeing him everywhere when she was stuck outside alone. I’m pretty sure Walky knows about it. He’s definitely been one of the people she’s relied on to keep from walking alone – despite her apparent dislike of him. And he’s definitely trying to help cover for her here.
She’s been getting better – even before the stabbings. Some of that might just have been being distracted by her other troubles though.
Well, Joyce specifically told Sal that she hadn’t told anyone about her fear except for Ethan and Amazi-Girl. But Sal told her to talk to someone else about it. (That was just before Becky was kidnapped.) So I’m not sure if Walky knows or not.
IS Ryan off the streets, or did he get bail?
he’s still in the hospital
He got a knife to the gut.
List of safe men, according to Joyce:
Ethan: Good guy, also gay.
Walky: Good, if annoying, guy, also taken.
Joe: Is scared of her.
Jacob: Good guy, also hot.
Mike: ???
Mike is safe, but only because the anticipation is worse than the payoff could be, so he’ll never get to it.
Joe’s merely being in Dorothy’s presence kept Ryan from attacking her. That’d outweigh “scared of Joyce’s emotions” in my book.
Mike and Joyce have an interesting dynamic.
She’s not at all intimidated by him and doesn’t take any of his shit. He in turn hasn’t really tried to screw with her.
Look, this is very easy. Joyce is good at math and is majoring in education, so she either can tutor the stuff or can use practice. Walky isn’t intimidated by her or shamed by her and she won’t take bullshit from him but can put him in his place and she’s not Jason-level incompetent.
So, Joyce takes over Walky-tutoring duty, freeing up Dorothy’s time for her to be awesome. Flawless victory, up until Mike invites himself along.
yeah!
At which point Joyce gets fed up with Mike and delivers him a very cathartic punch to the face.
Ace solution. Which is why it won’t happen.
Maybe it will!
…in a year
I’m in favor of that solution.
Problem is in the Dumbiverse Joyce and Walky do not get along very well, I can’t imagine tutoring would get very far before they started bickering
Perhaps, but she is less likely to call him stupid for not getting it, more likely to adapt to suit his needs and if he gets too goof offy she absolutely will play the Dorothy card.
Walky, here’s a way to make sure Joyce doesn’t get saddled with Mike: kick Mike in the balls. Right now. Incredibly hard.
Mike is the least mean to Joyce, but yeah, safe bet is Sal. RUN JOYCE.
Mike’s a dick, but he’s not THAT much of a dick. Right? RIGHT?!
I actually find myself wondering if Mike is being serious here. I admit that it’s generally difficult to tell but…
Yay! Feels like forever since we’ve had Mike pop in for more than a one-shot, hopefully he gets a full scene this time.
“So which foot”
“The…the left…OW!!!”
“Oh wait was that your left or my left? I’ll just cover my bases”
“OW!”
I wonder which of Joyce’s feet Mike would decide to stomp on, the foot that’s already injured, or the one that isn’t?
both, the answer is both
“Becky?” “No, I have to work triple shifts because I’m a homeless LESBIAN”
“Amber?” “DON’T ask.”
“Malaya?” “Um…. No, I literary just switched wing to get away from a Lucy.”
“Sarah?” “Nope, busy with a stupid revenge-plot.”
“Danny?” “Sorry, new Danny only lives of Soy-latte.”
“Joe?” “I think we have enough unresolved issues as it is for today..”
“…Dangit, I need friends with less plot…. Sierra?” “Can’t talk. Busy making out with two girls.”
“FINE, I EAT BY MYSELF. SEE IF I CARE.”
*Sierra and her two gfs still go to lunch with Joyce*
*Joyce learns about Polyamory*
WHAT DOES WALKY HAVE TO GO CHECK ON?
He just blew off Jason, so he’s probably not going in for tutoring.
He’s not going to see Dorothy until the evening.
What is he about to do that requires surreptitiousness?
Something like this, I presume
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/studying-3/
Yeah, I’d assume he’s going to go make a genuine attempt to study. His sessions with Jason seem to devolve into just annoying each other and Dorothy’s being pushed to her limit. If he could get a grip on his studying problem then he wouldn’t need her to tutor him and she could have less stress.
He literally has to go check on a thing. Hearing Dorothy talk about him that way made his penis shrivel up inside his body.
“hey jason, will you tutor me again if I duct tape my mouth shut?”
… of course that doesn’t solve the problem of jason being terrible at teaching, but it seems like something walky might try
I believe this is a job for JACOB!
Wow Joyce has some shit friends.
Sure. Dorothy should blow off her meeting with her advisor. No need to check in the suicidally depressed girlfriend. Walky could just be screwing around, but it sounds like he’s got something important and he’s trying to find someone else for her.
Sal’s the only one who’s really blowing her off here.
And Mike’s a shit, but Mike isn’t her friend. He’s just willing to stand near her.
Even Sal isn’t bad. Inflicting herself on Joyce, given her mood, is probably a bad idea.
I feel this. If I’m in a spectacularly shitty mood the last thing I want to do is inflict it upon my friends and thus make them feel shitty, too.
Generally I agree.
Depends on how badly they need me. If it was just normal hanging out for lunch, probably not. If I was concerned about her panic attacks from being alone or not being able to walk across campus without help due to her foot, then I’d be more concerned about that than about inflicting myself on her.
I’ve been in the position of skipping self-care for somebody else’s sake, and it’s really not good for anyone involved.
If you’re in a foul enough mood that you’re not sure you won’t snap at anyone around you, someone needing you really badly isn’t going to change that. Losing her cool and snapping at Joyce would make both of them feel awful, so it’s a good thing Sal recognizes this and is advising them of her mental state.
She’s not even giving them a hard no, even though that wouldn’t be unreasonable. She said I probably shouldn’t. Once all other options were exhausted (and they hadn’t yet, even just going by Joyce’s friends in the immediate vicinity) she might agree if Joyce asked again. She basically just left the decision to Joyce, who seems to have accepted that Sal needs her space and that her needs are important too.
Sal has already demonstrated she’s willing to walk with Joyce when its merely inconvenient to her (she was the first person other than Ethan to knowingly do so), and also agreed to help Joyce chase after an armed kidnapper without the slightest hesitation. She’s absolutely earned the trust and unquestioning acceptance of her needs that Joyce shows her here
Agreed.
Though if Joyce was really in her “I can’t walk cross campus alone without full on panic attacks” state, I think even Sal snapping at her might be preferable.
Honestly, I think the best alternative would be to say, “Joyce, sit down and text Sarah to come get you instead of going to meet her”.
You called it!
If all of Mike’s appearances from now on are going to be leaning into the last panel to deliver a mean punchline I will consider his potential wasted. But I will also be glad because I don’t have a lot of patience for him being a dick to the undeserving like Joyce.
He’s still got his “seduce-Ethan to make Danny jealous” story arc hanging, so we’ll probably see more full-length comics of him being a dick to the undeserving.
What potential exactly? His potential to be a horribly toxic influence in the lives of everyone he interacts with?
Pretty much. He should be able to generate interesting plotlines, even if they’re nasty ones. Occasional mean punchlines don’t make as good drama.
Keep in mind, he hasn’t sprung his plot on Ethan yet. I’m sure THAT will be plenty dramatic.
His narrative potential, exactly. That’s the only thing remotely enjoyable about Mike’s existence. His ‘hail satan’ to Mrs Brown being a perfect case in point — a totally babies thing to do, but hilarious from a reader perspective.
Believe me I am NOT here to defend Mike as a person :/
“Ha ha, just kidding! I’m gonna stomp on ’em both.”
This is one of those strips where everyone (‘cept Mike) needs a hug
Well, Walky GOT a hug and felt worse after it, so maybe he needs something else.
…whatever it is Billie plans to give Ruth?… NO, BAD PLAN, DON’T DO IT.
Walky in frame 2, just after getting a kiss, is a Walky with his soul sucked out, facing imminent doom and not caring.
Maybe she can eat with Carla? They’re not exactly friends but they’ve had some friendly interactions, neither is threatened by the other.
IS WALKY PREGNANT
No, but his panel-2 pause is.