THE SEVENTH DUMBING OF AGE KICKSTARTER IS GO! Collecting (obviously) the seventh year of Dumbing of Age, this 228-page book’s also got strip commentary and 27 Patreon bonus strips! Also, hey, as always, character magnet add-ons. This year we’re starting out with Sierra, Amber, and Ukulele Danny! If/after we hit $50k, everyone who pledges for a paper book gets a Ruth magnet for freeeeeeeee!
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next: homeless Jason hides out in Walky’s dorm room
SHENANIGANS ENSUE
It’s okay, alt-text, thanks to that non-existant climate change, winter’s in April now, too ¬_¬ *turns up the thermostat*
Okay, it snowed here last night, but I don’t think it managed to unmelt the polar ice caps.
Well, it was 88 degrees Fahrenheit here yesterday. It’s always hot somewhere =3… just not so hot for Walky right now.
*ba dum tis!*
It’s always cold somewhere. So global warming always has a convenient counterexample to cherry pick. Apologies on the lack of joke.
And also people always like to forget that while its called global warming, it actually has very little to do with us detecting warmth – if anything, it causes the opposite of that
That’s why most activist groups now refer to ‘global climate change’, rather than ‘global warming’.
The whole thing is similar to changing a pot of water from simmer to boil – overall things get more active/interesting as more energy is dumped into the system.
That’s certainly true, but I’m not sure that it causes us to detect the opposite of warming. Other than those desperate to grasp every cold snap or snowfall as evidence against.
There are certainly some regional effects attributed to global warming that produce localized, temporary cold spells, I suppose.
Seems like the US Atlantic coast is in for more cold and Europe for more heat because Gulf Stream got slower and less cold salty water sinks to drive it.
It’s complicated.
“Global climate weirding”
Yes, if winter can stay around this long, so can Valentine’s Day.
South of the equator summer is still going strong. Someone broke the planet!
And after Becky and Jason, the strip will slowly shift until 90% of the cast is people hiding out in the dorms.
Walky and Jason hyjinks are a go
Laying on a little heavy there Walk.
I don’t know, I went through something EXTREMELY close to what Walky did, and my feelings were more or less the same.
Fuckin’ same.
Well, he JUST got broken up with.
After I had been broken up with (by a person I at that time actually loved) I felt like simply running across the street not looking whether or not a car would come. Pretty unhealthy thought, I know, and it thankfully didn’t last long.
At the same time I couldn’t even cry in front of my then-ex, because I knew he couldn’t handle someone crying (he was really uncomfortable with it), and I loved him despite the break-up enough to wait till he was gone until I let the waterfall and effin misery start.
So, it’s not that heavy a thought immediately after a break-up – maybe it’s a bit strange because Walky is normally not about talking feelings, so openly admitting (besides on the garbage roof), how much Dorothy means/meant to him, is a pretty major thing.
And not meaning to say, his train of thought is completely healthy – just that I can very much empathise with him (probably many of us can).
Also, it’ll depend on whether or not he really stops putting effort into everything after that, however more difficult it might now seem, because he has to bring up intrinsic motivation for bettering himself.
Heck, I’ve felt like doing that ever since Nov 2016.
Hopefully that will change this year. (C’mon Millennials, don’t us down for once in your lives…)
If you’re successful in some areas of life, that could result in you having more money; having more money means you can buy more chicken nuggets.
There’s your motivation, Walky. Go study.
I know this is hypothetical inspiration for Walky, but I feel legit motivated after reading it. (Or maybe I should go get a snack.)
Walky feels like he’s being torn apart
walky needs someone as a means to improve himself? wouldnt that end in a heavily one-sided relationship?
It’s possible emotion is having a heavy impact on the things he’s saying currently.
That would probably depend on what Walky brings to the table.
He’s bringing a lot of chicken nuggets, obviously. 😛
Which is probably his entire point – Dorothy forced him to be a better person – better dressed, less slovenly, less gross, more mature. With only himself as motivation he has no reason or even desire to be ‘improved Walky’ – as demonstrated by him falling back into old habits the second they broke up, and by him trying to at least feign civility the moment they stepped into the elevator together. So it’s not that he’s going to be lonely and depressed without her – it’s that he’ll be himself without her, and he knows it.
I’d say Dorothy inspired him to be better, not forced – he was for example willing to walk away over the pajama jeans incident.
I also wouldn’t read too much into what happened during the pause – was he really falling back into old habits or was he covering for his loneliness and depression by pretending he was happy to go back to them? The equivalent of “Glad to be rid of her. Now that I’m single, let’s party!”
So…Walky’s strip club is a box of chicken nuggets? I approve!
From experience, it can go either way, but when it’s bad it’s really bad.
I mean, he’s also 18 and having his first breakup. I’m gonna give him a bit before I start worrying about how much he depends on a relationship.
He’s being dramatic. And sad. He just had his first breakup and he really liked Dorothy.
It could be argued that that’s exactly what they had, despite their mutual affection.
In relationships you should both be pushing each other to improve and it can feel easier to do so with someone to do it for besides yourself. He doesn’t mean he can’t improve without one, but that Dorothy’s presence alone drove him to try harder and do better because he wanted to make her proud.
Now that they’re broken up, it is harder to find the drive to actually do it because it would have to be for HIMSELF, not for her. And tbh, if you think of any situation you find difficult, but find easier to do when it is for someone else, this is an example of that. It isn’t impossible – but it can feel so much easier when you know there is someone else that will be influenced by it.
This CAN become a negative thing if someone expects you to spend all your energy fixing them or forcing them to improve but that isn’t what Walky had with Dorothy.
Wait. Is Sal supposed to be Jason’s Dorothy or his anti-Dorothy or his anti-Joyce?
I think Sal is Jason’s Anti-Faz with Mike add-ons.
Because it’s still your best self, Walky. Even if Dorothy can’t be there to appreciate it (and you know she would if she could), YOU can still appreciate it. You know it’s your best self, so be that guy for you.
right in my feels. ;-;
(also this spot/dialogue reminds me of the reverse of the joyce and becky scene in the distant in-story time of a week or two ago)
Oh, if only there was someone that could understand him. Who he could relate to. Some other who he’s connected to, in a deep, mutual self loathing…
Oh, hey, Amber!
Kinda want him to date AG, and any other future ex Danny may have.
Unless, you know, Danny and Sal ever happen.
Hm. Would Amber see her dating someone and Amazi-Girl dating someone else as cheating, or ‘acceptable’? Depends on how deep the dissociation runs.
Regardless, that sounds like something you talk to both potential partners about.
She’d probably see it as cheating to whatever extent she would see any consequences of crime fighting she didn’t remember as her, Amber’s, fault. I’m guessing she’d do whatever she could spin most effectively in order to shit on herself.
It doesn’t depend on how deeply the dissociation runs so much as what the rules of that particular system’s dating are. From what we have seen before, who AG dates also = who Amber dates. This would not be true for all systems and could also be something they have changed their mind on now that they are in conflict. It wouldn’t necessarily be ‘cheating’ unless they decided it was but it is something that would need communicated with potential partners and between themselves too.
I would…not be opposed to that.
I’ve shipped it since Garbage Roof.
The last panel just made me say “Whoa!” out loud.
Well done!
McNuggets.
*the piano solo from Fine Young Cannibals’ “Good Thing” on the hacked P.A. speakers*
You sure you don’t want to play the ending theme to the old Incredible Hulk tv show?
Funny, I was just thinking how well “It’s A Man’s World” by Renee Geyer would go here.
I feel like it should be raining to get the full effect of that song.
Thqt would work, although I always associate it with hot n sweaty.
What Walky needs is to reinvent himself with a blue ukulele.
…wait that sounds familiar…
…shit I bought a blue ukulele like an hour ago.
Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue…ukelele?
Women cut their hair, men buy a blue uke?
Why would anyone buy a painted ukulele, the paint muffles the sound.
But you can do a blue stain and lacquer on the surface of the tonewoods to get the sound you need while protecting the wood the Uke is made of. I’ve seen some really pretty blue mahogony ukes and violins.
huh, I had a dream about ukeleles – well, one guitar and one ukelele – except then they were violins, but really weird, and someone was expecting me to play a tune well despite having never played a violin before. I got distracted playing with the different sounds I could get just from the angle of the bow-thingy, but then noticed some of these violins were actually wind instruments, which seemed really stupid because they were rentals, and who wants to share a wind instrument? and they had this pretty grid pattern of inlaid gold that was supposed to be kinda like the frets on a guitar, except not… and then somehow this turned into avoiding shark-like monsters at a beach…
it was really entertaining at the time, but probably just sounds nonsensical now 🙂
What’s the use in feeling blue?
Is every strip gong to be themed by a Steven Universe song now?
I’m not complaining. I just don’t think there are enough songs.
NOOOOOOOOOO
This is too damn real
Dude, you haven’t even been fired, yet.
Why ? Because I’m starting to think the only way to convince her that she didn’t fail in helping you is if you get your life together. That way she knows that even if she didn’t have that long of a presence in your life she still would’ve had a impact in it.
On top of that this sounds like quiter talk, if you want to get her back so badly keep trying what harm can it do if your already at Rock bottom.
Despite what romantic comedies try to tell us, ‘creepy stalker’ behaviour is usually not a winning strategy.
I don’t think that is what was meant. I’m guessing that “Improve yourself the way you wanted to for her ANYWAY, and come back later and try again.”
Except that’s not why she broke up with him, so it’s not likely to matter much. His improving himself won’t fix her issues. Which doesn’t mean he shouldn’t of course – he’s still got to get a handle on the math for his own ego’s sake.
I don’t think this is played out yet though. The break up certainly isn’t going to stop Dorothy’s slide – likely to make it worse if anything. I suspect and hope that Walky will play a role when she does turn it around.
Damn this strip hit me right in the feels.
Wally, you’re 18. There are other women in the world. Also, being your best self for yourself is good too.
Without dumping on Dorothy again (I feel at this point I am beating a dead horse). Very much agreed. If we can’t live for ourselves, who hopefully we know pretty well, how can we live for another?
Those of us with depression or other conditions that leave little to no will to live or improve ourselves do it every day. Oftentimes it’s only for other people that we can make ourselves do things.
I often question the assumption that ‘we know ourselves the best’. While we have the best access to information about ourselves, that’s true, that information is often highly biased, often in ways we aren’t aware of, so we can’t account for the bias, even if we want to. This means our information about ourselves is often highly inaccurate.
I’ve often felt that if you want to know something about yourself, turn to your friends – they can help you detect bias, and they may notice things about you that you ignore or filter out.
Come on, have a heart. Remember breaking up with your first love? The last thing you wanna hear is ” You’re young.There are plenty of fish in the sea”. Heck, you don’t want to hear that after any break up, 1st or 10th.
Also, before Dorothy, he thought he was being his best self. Dorothy gave him a reason to see past that and now he’s lost his main motivator.
This, seriously. He literally just got dumped only minutes ago. Of course this isn’t the end of the world, but right now it certainly feels like it to him. Most people need some time to get over heartbreak like this
“It’s important to know that we can be better.”
“No, I think that was … the best we could do.”
(Both EXPLODE)
Darn this is heartbreaking. As silly as Walky can be, there’s real emotions beneath those food jokes and guy talk.
He just wanted to be a better man.
“When I was with her I took regular showers… well, semiregular.”
It tells you a lot about High School era Walky and the Walkertons’ conception of ‘parenting’ that he can say this.
Dudes being terrible at hygiene is more the result of societal standards being super lax about (and often downright hostile to) men grooming themselves than it is parenting.
Well…. when Dorothy dumped Danny for selfishly (not the dumping part, but waiting so long to do it), Danny eventually became a better and more complete person for it.
Hmmmm… Maybe her ending the relationship with Walky will improve him too, maybe he will do better in school now that HE isn’t the one that is distracted.
If anything else, it would be interesting to see if now that Walky is free, maybe events will lead to a future relationship with Joyce like in other dimensions (unlikely, but ya never know) If anything else, it could be interesting drama to see.
(Also, last jab at Dorothy…. for now)
Walky being distracted is his natural state. Dorothy didn’t contribute to that.
I am more saying that he might be more focused and better himself than blaming Dorothy.
It is possible that will sink into a deeper state of bumdom, but it would be interesting to see if being dumped by Dorothy actually makes men better.
Far as I can tell, Walky never blamed Dorothy for anything.
Or vice versa, for that matter.
I don’t think either of them so much shifting blame or making excuses. It is just the way things are working out.
Walky, I think you were getting a little dependent on Dorothy. The fact that this hurts so much proves that you needed it.
Calling BS on that. When you love someone and y’all breakup it’s gonna hurt hard, whether you “need it” or not. She was his first love and the first person that really made him want to do better. Losing that is an emotional one two punch.
On a less serious note than everyone else, Jason’s eyebrow bothers me. At first it’s totally missing, but then it appears over one eye and stays like that, but he’s not saying or hearing things that really correlate with a raised eyebrow.
It confuses me.
I’m reading it as going from sort of blank and tired to just being sad.
Yeah, seconding this, it seems like Willis usually only draws eyebrows if they’re specifically relevant as part of the facial expression. It does look a bit weird here with just the one eyebrow though
Oh cheese I feel this hard.
Gotta say, Walky x Dorothy Slipshines were my favorite
Easy answer to that, Walky – so that you can deserve her.
Eh, the only way to sustain self improvement is to do it for yourself.
Unfortunately.
Well said.
Is it weird that in panel 5, I feel like that is the most helpful and even nice Jason has so far been to nearly any other character. And it might be reading too much into it, but I feel the “we” is very important there. Like Jason’s finally owning that he made mistakes, that he needs to change in order to be a better version of himself. And it’s a pretty touching sentiment as well.
Looking at the face he’s making the whole comic, I think that’s about right. He seems to understand that where he is right now is his own fault, whether he’s made excuses or not. I hope that’s the case, too, it’d be a shame otherwise.
Oh my god! What if Walky starts sitting on the steps at night, and Danny comes out to play on the steps at night, and then they form an impromptu duet over being dumped by their girlfriends and actually bond?
And then Sal comes out, sees them, immediately starts to go back inside, but hears the sorrow in her brother’s voice, and they become a trio, and she and Walky grow closer as well?
I know that’s not going to happen, but I suddenly really want to see that!
Walky can sing nicely. Danny can provide background music to suit all occasions.
Their act has one song: Desperado. But it is effin’ hilarious.
Oh Walky, I’ve been there son. Don’t worry, there’s life after your first break-up.
Jason, here’s your chance to really make an impact on Walky. Tell him that he can be a better man for himself, so that he looks himself in the eye in the mirror every morning and says: I’m a better person than I was yesterday!
That aside, I’m calling it now: Rebound sex going to happen for Walky. I haven’t decided whether it will be Jason or Joyce.
Impopular take: Dorothy was actually a garbage girlfriend.
She kept trying to change Walky and everything had to be on her schedule.
We’re not on the roof so … Not a garbage girlfriend, but far from a perfect one either. And not so much that everything had to be on her schedule (though schedules are kind of her thing), but as she acknowledged a couple strips back, she kept setting emotional limits then breaking them. She couldn’t hold herself back as much as she thought she should.
Despite that, I think they were actually good for each other – him supporting her goals, but also helping her loosen up and relax which she desperately needs, her inspiring him to rise out of the goof-ball idiot act occasionally.
I still wonder if her pattern will continue and she’ll reach out to him despite the break up.
Everything had to be on Dorothy’s schedule because she was the one with a demanding schedule. Walky’s schedule was incredibly flexible because he has a lighter course load and a poor work ethic. She even made that clear upfront, and Walky never objected, so it’s not like she just arbitrarily decided when and where she would have time for him.
Hell, the fact that her schedule leaves so little time for her to spend with Walky is why she broke up with him Because even though he was okay with it, she didn’t feel it was fair to him.
She also didn’t “try to change him”. She bought him some shirts, and expected him to actually bath himself and not go around with gross food stains all over his clothes. “Basic hygiene” is (unsurprisingly) a pretty common and reasonable expectation to have of someone who wants to be granted smooching privileges
Well, she did try the pajama jeans thing early on, but it backfired when he stood up for himself. Not something she was used to because Danny never did.
It’s worthwhile to better yourself — FOR yourself.
That’s called Self-Esteem, and it’s something I’ve been working on my whole life. I have very supportive friends and family who love me and think I’m great, but it’s never enough. I don’t love and respect MYSELF. Working on self-improvement is like working out the self-esteem muscles. Learning to find value in yourself is worth it.
Aw buddy
The relevance of being your best self primarily for the sake of yourself is hard as fuck, especially while you’re still figuring out who you even are and/or want to be.
Why, Walky? SPITE! SHOW HER UP!
🙂
You need to show up with your new boyfriend who is in need of comfort!
*No, I’m not letting this joke die*
Just to say that, IMO, panel 6 confirms that Walky really is in love with Walky.
I wonder if Dorothy knows that she’s leaving a trail of broken hearts across IU. I mean Danny has Amber, Amazi-Girl, Ethan and possibly Sal as compensation so, maybe, this is this start of a serious new era for Walky if he has the same post-Dotty luck but still…
What the HELL…? I meant that ‘Walky really is in love with Dorothy’! I definitely need more sleep!
No, I think you had it right the first time. ;D
Sal is the only potential love interest for Danny who isn’t entirely emotionally unavailable and tangled up in unaddressed neuroses though so it’s not like his luck has been AMAZING.
The irony is that Sal was the least level-headed character in the other universe.
Not that she is here, quite the opposite, in fact.
Feeling like that lately. I barely have the will to work on my studies these days, and half of it is because I see no point in professional success or the rest of life if I’m always going to be alone anyway.
Turns out attachment IS the cause of suffering. Which does not necessarily make it a bad thing.
Ah, the over-reactive melodrama that is your first teenage love.
Officially heartbroken :'( I loved these two dorks together. I really hope this gives them the opportunity to grow and improve themselves on their own, and they can get back together as more stable, well-rounded people.
Walky is back to his Kingdom of Dirt. Danny found another girlfriend because he is a nice guy with good social skills. He was actually better off without Dorothy, since he branched out and did new things. He is in line for more new things as he continues.
Walky is nothing like that. He isn’t on a hero’s journey. He’s just stumbling around. His relationship with Dorothy helped him move towards adulthood. Without her, his subsitute guide is ?Jason? He is so screwed.
David Willis presents The Dorm
“You’re tearing me apaht Dorothy!”
“Ohai Jason”
It’s the “Where’s my money, Danny?” scene that I’m waiting for.
Yes Walky she brings out the best in you, problem is you bring out the worst in her. That’s why the relationship failed.
How the hell does he bring out the worst in her?
Even she said yesterday “stop being so wonderful”.
If by bring out the worst, you mean force her to pencil in some “I’m a human” time in her schedule, yeah.
Ah, first serious breakup, melodrama and all. I remember it well.
Dorothy tore apart Walky, and there’s no Joyce or Mark to say hi.
And that’s basically how I feel every day.
The opposite of Garbage Roof is apparently Self Improvement Stairs.
I thought those were breakup stairs.
I thought those were Stab O’Clock Stairs
Well, there’s no shortage of stairs there. http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/hurt-2/
To be fair the stabbing that happened there definitely led to an improvement of the world.
Recycling Stairs, maybe?
Not related to today’s strip, but super related to the general theme of religion intersecting with misogyny, racism and deeply conservative values
politicalorphans.com/the-article-removed-from-forbes-why-white-evangelicalism-is-so-cruel/
Interesting read, though I think the article goes a little too far in blaming religion’s problems on southern slavery/racism.
Christianity’s focus on sex and the inferiority of women goes way back in history, though it’s not uniform. There are also similar attitudes in Judaism and Islam, which make me suspect they come out of common, Old Testament roots – or possibly just Bronze Age cultural ones.
Some traditions in all three groups reject those of course. It’s certainly possible the slavery/Jim Crow culture had a strong influence on amplifying them in traditions rooted in those areas.
Speaking as someone who did a lot of study on it, white evangelism is a thing but its’ also notably evangelism where large portions of the congregation and power structure are Indian, African, and South American. That doesn’t fit the narrative of the white power structure being all about race versus religion.
I say that as someone who grew up in a religious and racist society who also found them routinely protested and challenged by religious racially inclusive people (who included some real lunatic fundamentalists too).
Which….I swear I had a point here somewhere.
Ouch, ouch, ouch. This hits close to home. My girlfriend of two years and I just broke up this week, and it’s so strikingly similar to the situation with Walky and Dorothy.
My ex is in college and needs to keep her grades high for various reasons. Every ounce of her life has been devoted to her studies for over a year. She recently realized that, no matter what she did, there was no way for her to juggle both her studies and our relationship. The right decision was obvious; painful, but obvious. We broke up. We left one another on good terms, so at least there’s that.
The past few comic strips regarding Walky and Dorothy have practically mirrored my life the past few weeks that led up to this. It’s so uncanny that it’s startling. I even said something similar to what Walky said here, in this strip: “She brought out the best in me. I’ll never again be as good as I was with her.”
David, you have an insight to the human psyche that so few ever achieve. That you can make your stories so relatable and your characters so human is irrefutable proof. Be proud of that.
That just hurt my heart.
Even Danny didn’t act like this much of a drama queen
So what? Dudes allowed to feel miserable right after a breakup, and honestly expressing how he feels is a healthy thing to do
Because now hes probably going to wallow in the melodrama of it all
So now you’re blaming him for what you’ve decided he’s going to do?
And Danny didn’t? Danny was far worse. Danny chased after her, begging her, telling her he’d drop out of school to follow her anywhere, then yelled to the sky “I”m sorry for thinking love was more important than stupid Yale!!”
some people just want to watch the walky burn
Listen, Willis, men can only feel ANGER and LUST. Walky feeling…feelings…is just terrible.
Danny also stayed in bed all day the next day and skipped all his classes. So there’s that.