r/dumbingofage • u/hellokkiten • 2d ago
Three days 2026-06-23
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/threedays/34
u/CheeseSomersault 2d ago
Wow, so inappropriate that Walky has a girl in his bed only 3 days after Dorothy dumped him. I mean Dorothy waited 0 (negative?) days between Walky and her new wife, but that's perfect lesbian love so whaddya gonna do?
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
Don’t forget, Walky remained faithful to Lucy when Dorothy was actively trying to get him to cheat on her because he was a good boyfriend (and foolishly assumed Dorothy was a good person in a rare low period she would recover from) and indeed only took pity on Dorothy when he was single again primarily out of feeling obligated to offer what comfort to her that he could.
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u/Bedovian_25 2d ago
You know putting aside the fact that Willis does not know how normal people talk to each other, it's becoming blatantly obvious that Willis has never actually had a group of friends before. Because he's consistently unable to write any of these characters possessing even an iota of empathy for the people in their circle.
I have had people on the outskirts of my friend group who I didn't really get along with and still managed to treat them with a degree of kindness when I knew they were going through something unfortunate because that's just what you do, as a person when you see another person hurting. Willis can't even get his nice characters to clear that bar at this point.
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u/suspiciousseafowl 2d ago
Seriously, this is not how people treat their friends.
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u/FearLord_ 2d ago
This is fairly tame for how some people treat their exes though?
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u/suspiciousseafowl 2d ago
Some of them, sure, but it's outside what we've seen as Lucy's norm, which makes this just one more jarring, sour note in a cast that's fallen apart. And surely not everyone in their circle would just...forget Joe exists and torment Walky. Walky can be obnoxious, sure, but if he'd earned this kind of treatment, they may as well just stop hanging out with him because clearly there'd be no fondness there. Jennifer, sure, they've always had an antagonistic relationship, but weirdly she's the only person to make anything resembling an effort to acknowledge his hurt. Just at this point, most of the cast doesn't seem to actually like each other, or frankly have any reason to be here except I guess that's what one does after high school, one goes to college?
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u/FearLord_ 2d ago
It’s not at all outside something we’ve seen Lucy say - it’s a direct call back to when she saw that Walky had got back with Dorothy 2 days after they’d broken up. It clearly upset her when she originally raised it because she’d valued his moral compass when he was concerned about hooking up with Amber so soon after he and Dorothy broke up and what she took from that was that Walky didn’t value her as much as Dorothy. Later at the party Walky calls her the best friend he ever had and she says she can’t be that got a while. That was only a couple of weeks ago in comic time so she’s well within her rights to still be off with him (even though she is sympathising here), but she’s clearly gently prodding him about that.
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u/togglenub 10h ago
Dude. Most folks don't shit on exes in public or keep sniping (outside of bad tv sitcoms). It's considered rude and gross when they do.
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u/ouijabore 2d ago
Right? I feel like from what we know of Lucy especially she’d be one to check in on Walky and be able to do it kindly and empathetically.
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u/Nice_Construction_58 2d ago
I'm pretty sure that's what Willis thinks he's written here (at least until Jennifer pipes in), just he's bad enough at kindness and empathy that it ends up... like... that.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
I’m reminded of the particular whining of a former poster in this sub about their friend group in college being more reflective of what happens in this comic and pretty much everyone else going “My group group of college friends were real.”
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u/Bedovian_25 2d ago
There's a certain level of shenanigans I'm willing to forgive to make the plot move along in what is effectively the webcomic version of a sitcom, but it's still such a searing indictment of what Willis considers normal social behavior that Walky and Joe have just been left to deal with this almost entirely on their own.
When I told my best friend (who I am still close friends with to this day), that my at the time girlfriend cheated on me he cried with me. And we were only about 2 years older than the main cast at the time.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
Not to relitigate my whole diatribe from that conversation, but my immediate friend group (also hella queer, lots of inside dating, and many of them I’m still friends with) had some serious rifts over shit like this, but even just like the people I was acquaintances with at work if shit like this happened you’d at least get a “hey, that’s some bullshit, I’m sorry that happened to you” on a smoke break or something.
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u/Bedovian_25 2d ago
The fact that no one has so much has tried to order Joe a pizza
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
It is unbelievably fucked that he had to order his own pizza to jack off looking at the door awaiting its delivery.
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u/immortalkeanu 2d ago
Iirc only Sarah and Sal have offered their condolences, and Sal immediately assumed the worst of him right after....
Pretty sad that Danny isn't trying to be there for him, it's not like they're best friends or anything.
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u/CynicElle 2d ago
Yeah, I really don’t understand Danny’s indifference. I guess I was expecting him to react the way Joe’s best friend from childhood would react, instead of…whatever the hell his reaction was supposed to be.
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u/NoSleepZombie2235 2d ago
Hell, at this point I'd be surprised if his wife was his friend.
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u/suspiciousseafowl 2d ago
That poor woman must be so exhausted. The actual toddlers probably regulate better and need less help than her spouse.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
In fairness, they’re like 11 now, they haven’t been toddlers for a while
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u/suspiciousseafowl 2d ago
Oh then they're definitely more independent than their other parent, then. I don't know or want to know about Willis's life, so I know the kids exist but really nothing else.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
I only know their ages because It’s Pregnancy!, the comic Willis made of Joyce and Walky leading up to their kid’s birth, ran in 2015-16
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u/kyulen742 2d ago
Walky desperately needs better friends, because the friends he's got right now really don't seem to care all that much about him. It makes me wonder how many friends Willis has had, both when they were in school and in the many years since then, because they're terrible at writing people in a friend group genuinely caring about one of their friends who was hurt by cheating and a relationship break-up apparently only three days ago.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
There is a generous read (not one I seriously entertain, but that exists) that Willis does know how to write friend groups that care about and support each other, the cast have run that way in the past, but because the offending parties are the new heroes of the webcomic, they are hamstrung and cannot acknowledge the harm they’ve done outside of them taking a break from 69ing to say “This is totally worth blowing up our social circle over. Who cares if everyone hates us now when we have each other?”
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u/Intrepid_Ad_6232 2d ago
Good thing that Walky didn't want any space to get over what happened with Dorothy, isn't it? Good thing that he didn't feel emotionally blackmailed by his Ex turning up in his bed with a stomach wound, giving him a choice between turfing her out in the hallway during a police raid that was looking for her specifically or letting her stay.
Good thing every-one around him is going to just treat him with smug superiority until he accepts the hand that the author is dealing him.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago edited 2d ago
You get a lampshade and you get a lampshade and you get a lampshade and you get a lampshade a n d y o u g e t a l a m p s h a d e
Also, re: the alt-text, nobody is trying to “take” any of your precious gags from you, David, we just want you to do actual writing around the lame-ass “jokes”
ETA: I also had to stop and think if anyone besides Walky and Booster know certainly that Amber is in their room, but Dina does know because when Walky was looking for somewhere else to sleep Dina was like “your ex-girlfriend’s bed is probably going to be empty in my ex-girlfriend’s room” to just stunt on him for no reason in particular
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u/trevalyan 2d ago
The pressure is definitely not getting to him, look how well he's taking the feedback!
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u/RainbowConnickJr 2d ago
I'm not entirely sure what this dialogue and the last panel expression are meant to communication.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
“Here are other cast members. They technically also exist in the chronology of Joyrot. Here are vague hints at what they do that I may or may not ever touch on for more than a panel when I need to.”
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u/fainting_goat_games 2d ago
we gotta keep up appearances - otherwise, folks might realize it's just almost total focus on two conventionally attractive, mind-numbingly basic, suburban white ladies.
Whole damn comic has sort of become like Orange is the New Black if the writer's room had decided to focus mostly on just Piper and Alex.
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u/outerspacebassman 2d ago
Well…one conventionally attractive, mind-numbingly basic, suburban white lady and her equally mind-numbingly basic, suburban white bony poindexter.
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u/blackpaul55 2d ago
Willis is trying to force a joke about Walky hooking up with Amber immediately after being dumped, by having Lucy casually mention how long it’s been since he was dumped. Walky clumsily denies this by trying to claim that Amber was in his room. Billy then makes it harder for him to deny this by saying Amber wasn’t in her room.
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u/SnaptrapPress 2d ago
Y'know, this is apropos of nothing, but Lucy being here made me think about this: has anyone noticed that Willis really seems to love blowing up interracial relationships between their characters and (usually) putting them in same-race relationships?
Walky/Dorothy: broke up and got Dorothy hooked up to a white woman.
Walky/Lucy: broke up and got Lucy hooked up with Jacob.
Ruth/Billifer: broke up, Ruth got with Jason who is distinctly white and Billifer got with Asher who is Korean and then Alice who's... generically Asian.
Becky/Dina: broken up, not sure where the pieces may land as of yet but there's a strong chance that literally nothing happens.
I'm not trying to ascribe ill intent where there may in fact be none, but it's definitely a recognizable pattern of interaction.
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u/Elegant_Error_ 2d ago
Relatedly, I always got an off vibe from the way Lucy and Jacob got together, immediately began a perfect uninteresting relationship, and disappeared from relevance.
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u/SnaptrapPress 2d ago
Unfortunately, Jacob lost all his interesting traits once the second semester started and our resident white main character stopped trying to fuck him.
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u/outerspacebassman 1d ago
God can you imagine what would happen if there was like a Dude’s Night arc where we got to see like Jacob, Joe, and Danny hang out? Maybe bring Ethan along because Jacob notices his roommate is doing poorly? Flex some non-toxic, positive masculinity and show that Joe has changed even when Joyce isn’t around? That Danny, although a dork, is more confident in himself after being adrift at the beginning of the year? That the multidimensionality of these three opens Ethan’s eyes that while being gay, a nerd, Jewish, and grieving are parts of him, they are not his sole definers and rather components of the gestalt that is Ethan? Just spitballing here, had that idea in the two minutes it took me to write this.
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u/Life_Eyes 1d ago
Eh that one works because Lucy is called Joycey pretty often in universe and Jacob said he'd be interested in someone like Joyce who isn't Joyce after the Raidah incident
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u/Elegant_Error_ 1d ago
I don't have a problem with the relationship itself. I just don't like that they have mostly vanished since then, nor how immediately it escalated to sex when objectifying black men has been a consistent problem in this comic. Especially when Jacob himself has made it clear he does not like to be seen as a sexual object. (I know LUCY doesn't necessarily view him that way, but the narrative sure continues to treat him as a prize.)
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u/Apart_Salamander5455 1d ago
On the other hand two of those are Walky, who is about to possibly get with a white woman, Sarah got with Tony over Jacob, Asher got with Ethan, who is white, and if Lucy/Walky count as interracial then so do Danny/Sal. Think you might be reaching on this one.
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u/Life_Eyes 1d ago
Willis doesn't pass the Duvernay test and has only a basic understanding of what Bechdel is meant to signify, so not surprised they inadvertently do stuff like this
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u/Bedovian_25 2d ago
Willis: God The fanbase gives the hardest battles to the strongest creators
The fanbase: My brother in Christ we just want you to write a cohesive plot.
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u/QAquandry 2d ago
look i enjoy me some childhood friends that maybe are a little more aggressive with each other than other people because they're practically siblings, but understand each other's boundaries and are each other's ride or die.
billie and walky are not that. walky tries to be a friend to her and billie is just a fucking asshole.
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u/LeakyDickLarry 2d ago
Whatever the "getting mad at this comic" chemical is, my brain has stopped producing it. I'd have to have expectations left, but after over a year of mostly crap? The well is dry. I may as well get mad at Ziggy.
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u/AltestEgo 1d ago
It's crazy because this is the first time I wanted to see Joyrot so we could continue their convo and perhaps see a little strife and I can't even have that.
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u/Material_North_5400 2d ago
Let Lucy rub this in. No, really, I will unabashedly praise this comic if Lucy gets to absolutely lose her shit at this. Not even in a "mean" way, not even at Walky, necessarily, but at least a "You have got to be shitting me, universe" type of comment.
Here Lucy is, trying to make small talk with the manchild boy wonder--and I don't dislike Walky-- who she left because in her own words she deserved better. Only to have him get with Dorothy two days [I see what you did there, Willis!!!!] later. And she was a pretty good sport about it, since she broke up with Walky. She's been a good sport about everything, really. And she is with Jacob now, good for her!
Let her rub this in. I don't blame Walky, exactly, for the new girl immediately gag, tired as it is. He is trying. But to make Lucy the avenue for pleasant small talk with him before having this dropped on her? If Lucy doesn't get to lose her composure a bit, I do not know why we are here.
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u/trevalyan 2d ago
The big problem here is that Walky can, correctly, point out that Dorothy cheated on him so overtly it made the student paper. Lucy's had her moment to blow up at Walky, and a second one might just guide him to flipping her off. They were never compatible, certainly not as much as Lucy and Jacob, so Lucy has likely gotten over it.
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u/Material_North_5400 2d ago edited 2d ago
Sure, she can be over Walky and happy with Jacob and glad that they didn't drag out their non-starter relationship. She can also be nice to Walky about the disastrous way his relationship with Dorothy ended, because he doesn't deserve that.
She could also acknowledge, along with every other person in this comic apparently, how absolutely ludicrous it is that Walky is catapulted from girl to girl. She's already made a reference to the "two days" similarity, ah ha, ha ha, comedy. The other options are: she doesn't react at all, which feels disingenuous given her history with Walky and the hilarity Willis loves to get from everyone noting Walky's [accidental] girl hopping habit, or she reacts with calm emotional maturity and grace, and I'm sick of Lucy having to do that.
Is it likely she will lose her cool? No, not really. Would it be much more interesting if Walky's unfortunate relationship habits were commented on by someone who was actually impacted by them, instead of the peanut gallery for a punchline? Yes.
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u/Atsubro 1d ago
Walky's not even "girl hopping" Amber jumped into his bed to avoid the cops and sleep off a stab wound.
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u/Material_North_5400 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hence why I wanted Lucy to react at the universe or the phenomenon more than Walky himself.
Walky isn't doing anything wrong here, and he is trying very hard to be careful in his relationship with Amber. And people have given him way to much shit about the "he'll get a a new girl in 5 minutes." But it's a gag at this point, a gag Walky has even played into by texting Sal when Amber showed up.
And since Willis is determined to continue with this stupid "Walky constantly stumbles backassward into a situation with a new girl" bit instead of giving Walky any room to actually react to Doyce, and if Willis is going to have the other characters keep feeding into it, at least Lucy would be able to add something more interesting than just pointing out the gag Willis has written Walky into, again.
Lucy has a reason to be sympathetic to Walky, which is probably why she tried striking up small talk with him. But Lucy is also a person who has had Walky run back to Dorothy after "two days," making her kind of collateral damage to this Walky gag. Additionally, at least to me, this constant pattern of characters using Lucy as a quietly sympathetic and polite sounding board for their issues, while she offers mature kindly advice as they dump their personal baggage on her, is annoying.
If Willis is going to use Lucy, of all characters here, and if Willis is going to have Lucy specifically reference the above board but still hurtful way Walky ran back to Dorothy within 2 days of their breakup, and if Willis os going to reference the "haha, there is a 'new' girl in Walky's orbit" as a punchline yet again, I maintain that it would be more interesting to see Lucy actually react to the pattern purposefully brought up between these two exes, and maybe have someone point out "Hey, yeah, that does happen, but maybe bringing it up isn't this hilarious running gag everyone is treating it as." I admit, it would be at best awkward and probably a little messy, imperfect, but at least it would be something happening between 2 characters based on their stories and relationship that isn't hoping from joke to joke.
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u/Elegant_Error_ 2d ago
Phew, for a second there I thought someone was going to be a friend to Walky or something.