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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 8h
Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com ⋅ 9h
trash panzer @panzertron.bsky.social ⋅ 15h
Meredith Rose @mrose.ink ⋅ 1d
Alex Wayne @aawayne.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
David F Walker a.k.a. BadAzz MoFo @davidfwalker.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Arren @arrenm.bsky.social ⋅ 3m
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
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“I knew I could count on your sanctimoniousness!”
“…might actually go as far as BACON BITS on her salad”
That DOES seem worrisome.
Is she running back to Walky (ugh no girl have some respect!)
To be fair she was happy with Walky, and despite the slight dip in her grades they were good for each other. That doesn’t give her the right to break up Walky and Lucy, even if she was the one to push Walky towards Lucy.
Best case scenario: Walky and Dorothy agree that if they suddenly both become single then they can try and be a couple again. Without any sabotage on either end.
Best case scenario for me: Walky dumps Lucy, and he rides off into the sunset holding hands with Dorothy
I honestly think Walky would push back. His whole thing was he felt like he was/would be holding her back. If she goes to him and says “I don’t know WHAT I want, but it isn’t Yale; can we try again?” I feel like he’d interpret that as she gave up on her dream because of him and his reaction would be an incoherent “nonononononononono” because he would feel like it was his fault, no matter how much he DOES love her.
And that’s just his objections on the Dorothy side of the equation. I don’t think Walky is is ready or able to just dump Lucy the moment his ex reappears.
On one hand, he certainly wouldn’t want hurt Lucy.
On the other hand, we know that he’s at best conflicted about his feelings for her. Moreover, after the hostage situation, he’d asked Dorothy if they should get back together; at the time, he and Amber had gone much farther physically, and much deeper emotionally, than we’ve seen him go with Lucy.
But it wasn’t even that she gave him up for Yale. She gave him up for lack of time and her grades were slipping. If she’s got that under control, why not try again?
Other than Lucy of course.
Could be Yale.
Fingers crossed.
¿Por qué no los dos?
She’s running back to the washing machine.
Now she calls it the Walking machine.
i mean i can imagine her doing a semi-impulsive kiss but doing anything more than that i’d hope walky would stop her
Walky is a “small selfish thing” right?
We can hope.
Dorothy nooooooooooo!!!
This is how Willis is leading up to his next Slipshine.
We’re sure that she isn’t just thinking of taking a motel room for the night so she can spend an hour in a hot bath with a glass of wine and nobody she knows anywhere in the building?
I feel like JOYCE would find that as more of a moral failing than Dorothy.
i mean it’d be hypocritical given what happened with jacob
but you can be hypocritical and still right/of all ppl she would know better by now lol
You mean putting cheese on salad? I mean if there’s any statement Joe could make that’s designed to make Joyce chase down Dorothy, some threat about combining one food with another would be it.
The Cheese stands alone.
Surprise twist. In the Dumbing Universe the Cheese is
CarlKevin.Brought to you by, the cheese man from Buffy.
This one actually made me laugh. Hope Joyce follows up on that instinct of hers, though.
SMALL, Dorothy! Small!
Yeah, she just glossed over that, din’t she?
OMG you don’t suppose she’s decided to sign up for a fall class that’s unrelated to her career, just because it sounds interesting?
Walky’s not nearly so big as Joe.
Is that an aroflux flag on Dorothy’s shirt?
I think it’s just stripes. Maybe the flag of Tajikistan
Probably stripes
I see more pansexual, although the blue is off
i don’t think it’s intentional but there was like multiple posts about it when she first wore it and one of walkys shirts with stripes too
No, probably is nothing. Willis has made DoA character clothes inspired by department stores, so nothing spacial from their outfit.
Book13: All her Stripes are Flags.
*sighs* Someone grab the spray bottle..
Small selfish things like referring to selfishly breaking up a relationship as “small”.
Dorothy doesn’t have the ability to break up Walky and Lucy’s relationship. Walky is a (technically) adult human being and is perfectly capable of making his own decisions. If you don’t like his decisions, fine. But in such a case blame Walky, not Dorothy.
That fact that Joe and Joyce are holding hands throughout this entire comic makes me happy.
I did not intend for this to go here. Oops!
I mean, that’s technically true in that it would be Walky and/or Lucy’s choice to end the relationship, but there is a lot she can do to sabotage their relationship.
But that’s fine because Walky has free will and any attempt to blame Dorothy for it is denying his agency. Or something, I don’t really understand this viewpoint.
Though, if she’s open and honest about asking him, I’ll respect that more than Joyce’s more subtle attempts to “steal” Jacob.
Of course being open and honest would involve first making it clear she’s still hung up on him and shouldn’t be giving him relationship advice.
Big selfish thing to her is, like, dropping a MoAB somewhere…
Unless that’s actually anti-Dorothy and she’s thinking about putting herself on Walky!
Anti-Dorothy wants to be the opposite of the president. Whatever that is.
Anti-Dorothy is still an American president, currently getting indicted tho.
Bonapartist dictator of the Third French Empire. Or maybe a mall cell phone kiosk manager.
The opposite of the President
Google provided me with some potential answers, including “baby”, “society”, “slave”, and “corporation”. Nothing specific or even helpful, just scattered things that vaguely don’t mean “one person in direct power over a large group”.
Maybe Anti-Dorothy is the entire population of the United States *except* the president.
The opposite of the president is the absodent.
We have spoken.
It gets hits on Google.
Vice president
Ah, so that’s how everything’s going to go wrong.
i feel sorry for lucy but i did think walky and dorothy seemed more into each other but hopefully lucy would be able to tell dorothy to back off
Willlis shall dutifully be damned and all will be well with the world
Dumbing of Age Book 13: Well That Seems Worrisome
We have a winner.
Mmm… cheese….
New Poll: Grilled Cheese or Mac and Cheese?
Neither I don’t like the texture of Mac and cheese and I don’t like having a single piece of cheese on toasted bread unless it comes with ham and also the cheese has to be swiss.
Oooo! Add tomato and bacon!
The one time I had grilled cheese with mac and cheese as the filling it was not as good as you’d think. Uh, I mean grilled cheese.
Mac & Cheese
Baked mac&cheese. With sharp chedder sauce. And with bacon bits on top.
Grilled Cheese, but only if someone else makes it because mine is mediocre at best.
Mac and Cheese, but only if my mom makes it (I can make it well enough, but I don’t like all the hassle).
Grilled mac and cheese.
depends, i’ve never been that fond of some store bought mac but i like this one baked mac and cheese as a side from a fast food chicken place i’ve been to, idk if it’s the flour/roux but some cheese in the mac and cheese tastes kinda ‘off’ to me or just a bit heavy lol, tho one time my culinary arts teacher made mac and cheese with velveeta? or something like that and it tasted surprisingly good, but it’s def not something i’d eat a huge amount of compared to being able to eat a whole grilled cheese sandwich
tho surprisedo ther than places with kids menus, ‘grilled cheese’ ‘isn’t a more popular option in like burger places (unless it’s those places with those ‘stacked’ grilled cheeses with a ton of stuff on it and paying like 4x you would just getting the ingredients and doing it yourself), it with bacon is nice if a bit greasy. and maybe eggs too. so basically a breakfast sandwich lol.
Neither. You take each cheese slice and seperate it four quarters. Then around each quarter you sandwich a pretzel on top and bottom. Grilling is unnecessary.
Yes please.
Both are good in their place
Depends on the girlled cheese, depends on the mac.
Grilled cheese, not “girlled.”
Although. hmm. …begins brainstorming AU where Linda’s consciousness gets sent back in time in the robot body instead of whatsisname
She’s going to go back to Walky and is going to do something stupid, isn’t she?
Fingers crossed that happens, it will be very interesting.
If by “Do something stupid” you mean “Walky” then yes.
If only we all had a Walky to do dumb things with in our lives. I personally wouldn’t date Walky though, he needs to improve his hygiene first.
I would definitely prefer to BE the Walky in the relationship if I’m being honest.
Fair enough; having a smart and kind partner to balance out my own shortcomings would be nice.
Also, I accidentally hit the flag button, I am sorry.
That’s okay. I flagged you to make up for it, so now you are morally neutral.
Ah, thank you lol.
Of course not, Walky’s relitively smart.
It’s actually not clear how smart any of Walky’s closest relatives are, including Sal, but Walky is cannonically smart.
Isn’t called Dumbing of Age for no reason…
oh she’s Breaking Down.
She’s breakin down, she’s breaking bad, she’s breaking down bad.
And now it’s time for a breakdown.
Never gonna get it never gonna get it
neeeever gonna get it never gonna get it
neeeever gonna get it never gonna get it
never gonna get it
never get it
…well that’s definitely not disconcerting.
DOTTIE NO!
DOTTY YES! By yes I mean putting. Cheese on a salad I mean yeah the calories but it’s okay to be a little selfish.
“Dotty No!”
“Dotty Yes!”
I love Team Dumb Star; Dumbing Ball Z Abridged is one of my favorite series.
But who says the second “Dotty, no”?
Danny?
And we have a candidate for volume title. “Well, that seems worrisome.”
That does seem worrisome
Ohhh, no, Dorothy. I was concerned last strip but oooooh, Dorothy.
Girl could really some of her favorite comfort food. And a hug.
Her favorite comfort food is Walky.
I’m torn. All this Joyce/Joe stuff makes me REALLY wanna draw Joyce. But the Kickstarter book thing makes me wanna draw Liz.
Maaaybe I should continue that Joyce/Liz/Joe thing I was drawingListen to the demon on your shoulder: draw the threesome and enjoy it.
I would volunteer to be the demon on your shoulder but I’m fat and you would be crushed. I’d still give the same advice though, after your recovery of course.
Yup, yup, yup. This isn’t the “Dorothy learns to leave Walky alone” arc. It’s the “Dorothy decides she’s ‘allowed to be selfish’, and that means she’s allowed to give Walky calculated advice to exacerbate his doubts about him and Lucy so Dorothy can cut in” arc.
Dorothy’s messing up and making some mistakes. I’m here for it.
SO HERE FOR IT
Dorothy hasn’t had a quality arc in a little bit, and I’m loving this
…Well in that case we need to stop her IMMEDIATELY.
Everyone speculating that she could be trying to sexify Walky again. BUt it maybe she is thinking about actually putting cheese on her salad also maybe she may want to put half a hard-boiled egg as well and some black beans with balsamic vinegaratte!
To everyone in the comments flying into a frothing rage at the thought of this happening: Read the title of the webcomic. This isn’t about a bunch of teens making smart decisions. Dorothy is ALLOWED *CLAP* TO ADD *CLAP* EGGS AND CHEESE *CLAP*
What about black beans and Balsamic vinegarette?
I missed that part. Oh, look, Dorothy being an awful, manipulative beans-loving harpy again. I hope everyone from last week insisting that Dorothy is somehow blameless is ready to apologize to me, personally.
My hubris! I was a fool, and I can’t say sorry enough. Those beans… I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.
In your defense, the beans were only mentioned twice, both of them between books 5 and 8. And even then, they were in the last panel of their respective strips, which is usually saved for a punchline.
“Balsamic” is just an anagram for…. [looks it up] “Cabalism”. The fuck is that? [looks that up too]
often capitalized : esoteric doctrine or interpretation according to the Jewish cabala
I don’t know how to make an exaggerated, jokey “Dorothy is bad because of this” claim without it being antisemitic or at least adjacent to it?
I’m not Jewish but have a bunch of (Ashkenazi) Jewish heritage and have read a fair amount about the Calabala/Kabbalah/Qabalah/etc. (Many different spellings.) And there are about as many interpretations as spellings. Part of the issue is that some believe that Kabbalah should be an oral tradition passed down only to men who have a practicing history of Judaism on both sides of their family. But there is still a lot of information available about there about Kabbalah and the Tree of Life. Long story short, it’s a way of trying to understand the universe, the Divine, life the universerse and everything, and people’s place in it.
So, if Dorothy’s choice to make her salads fancier (BTW, I am a HUGE fan of fancy salads) leads to spiritual transcendence for the DoA characters…that’s good!
(sorry for typos – it’s late at night where I am!)
Well, I’m sold. Valhalla for alla.
Dorothy is an anagram for thy door. And a door without a mezuzot is an entryway to an evil world.
See, it all makes sense.
Her last Twitter exchange with Joyce involved bean sprouts IIRC.
Oh deary deary me…
…..did Dorothy just put words in Joyce’s mouth in order to hold her accountable for Dorothy’s hypothetical questionable decision?
Shh!
Small, selfish things for yourself… Climbed up a tree to hide your butts disease… Yeah Joyce was right to say yes.
Alt-text, don’t let me see you drop a rocket on a cheese wheel, aight?
alt-text would get along fine with my friend who likes a little bit of tea in her sugar.
No, it was ‘cheese wheel on a rocket’. Get it straight.
y’know if you think about it, a hamburger is basically a salad
Anything is a salad if you believe hard enough. 4 slices of pieces in a bowl? Pizza salad. M&Ms and broken up Hershey bars in a bowl? Chocolate salad.
The possibilities are endless.
If you start randomly listing off things to put in a salad and it doesn’t work at least you have word salad.
This is a top-tier comment.
I know etymology ≠ definition, but salads are named after the salty dressings the Romans used. So when you have pieces of fresh vegetables with oil and vinegar, but no salt… kind of not a salad.
As a wise scholar once said, “Fuck salt.”
Mmmmmmmmmmm, salt
A wise scholar on a low sodium diet?
It’s like when something tragic happens in a webcomic.
(or a free ride when you’ve already paid)
The Midwest has entered the chat.
Careful. Down this path lies Radical Salad Anarchy.
worse.
Jello “salads”.
Radical Anarchist Islamic Salad Insurrectionist Network or RAISON as we call it in the biz.
Is it selfish to try to see if Walky and Lucy are into an open relationship?
It is if you know you’re likely to find a way to eject Lucy from the situation if they are.
Probably! It’s certainly motivated by personal desires rather than altruism, but at least it would be considerate to ask directly, rather than attempt to sabotage the relationship.
(Assuming, of course, that it’s not in an attempt to sabotage their relationship.)
I think she’d only be down if their third is Nightwing.
Sure it’s selfish, but now that everyone agrees being selfish is Good Actually, that’s not an issue
Good choice on the not-quite-the-truth in panel 1.
Dorothy asking permission to be self destructive rubs me the wrong way because I am so guilty of that MO and I don’t like looking at a thicker version of me make these mistakes
Dorothy is THICKER than you?
You must be svelte.
I am but Amber isn’t exactly a beanpole neither
Well here’s hoping Walky’s self control is better then Dorothy’s at the moment
He seems like he’s really trying to do right by Lucy, but I can’t tell if he’s going to give in, turn Dorothy down calmly, or turn her down angrily. Or mystery fourth option.
I’m kinda fascinated by how Dorothy decided to ask that question anyways. She knew the answer and didn’t care about the real answer. She just wanted to hear something that sounded like the answer.
I’ve used that trick in reverse before. Didn’t expect to see Dorothy use it, too.
What’s the reverse version?
It’s where you trick someone else into asking the question, you don’t know the answer, and nobody cares what the real answer is. It just has to sound good.
Maybe Dorothy is going to hold Lucy down while Jennifer punches her.
Geez, I don’t think Lucy is a great fit for Walky, but there is no need to beat the shit out of Lucy.
Dorothy’s been taking shit from Becky for a long long time. How about punching her? Just once will do.
Sideling up to Amber: “So hypothetically, are fight clubs real?”
Why are we so violent today?
Opportunities for self-destruction abound on a college campus, no need to involve external parties.
But if you hold your parties externally, you don’t have to worry about University regulations.
Why?
I don’t like Lucy. For all her “I want to help everyone,” she’s a self-centered little shit.
Are you shrub’s gender-bent alterego?
Oh, just because she keeps breaking up happy couples by psychically inserting herself into their minds weeks or even months before making her move, disrupting their happiness and subtly influencing them toward negative behaviors?
Oh come on, Joe, we all know she has to move on to dressing first.
Dorothy, we can all see you slinking off while you ask that question. You’re foolin’ no one, mate.
Plausible Deniability, baby
She’s talking about presidential war crimes, right?
Just a little bit of war crimes, as a treat.
She may have committed some… *light* treason.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0GCKXZTV8E
War crimes are to presidency what cheese is to salad.
Overdone, it’s bad for you in the long run, but sparingly your face goes on a banknote
This made me wonder if she’s thinking of getting a bit of her own back from Raidah. I’m not sure about that peaceful smile, though — is it telling me I’m wrong, or is it ominous?
Dorothy working against somebody on the sly could rise to almost Carla levels of devious.
She’s gonna throw everyone for a loop and go make out with Raidah.
I think the key word here is small, and Dorothy is being very flexible with it.
She’s gonna try to break up Walky and Lucy, isn’t she?
well, you can see a blurry walky in the preview so…
She’s thinking about putting Walky on her salad. Salad may or may not be a metaphore.
What dressing may represent in this metaphor, well.
I’m sure walky’s thing isn’t that small, dorothy lol /shot
Bigger than hers, anyway.
Not that I’ve read that Slipshine chapter like a dozen or more times, or anything ahaha…
So. In recap.
Dorothy saw Joe and Joyce together as a healthy pair and completely haywired into fucking Walky.
Because, originally, she was looking for Joyce to talk her out of it.
Pretty much. I’m not buying her explanation that she was going to be cool with JoJo and just ask a question about caramel treats or whatever
Super out of nowhere and not happening, but this makes me want to see Dorothy and Jacob bang.
As much as I want Walky to break up with Lucy, I still have “sexual rejection from Walky” on my Dorothy breakdown bingo card
Cheese on salad that’s some sick shit.
Lifehack: If you end up with a salad in front of you, for diet reasons or just cause it came free with the meal, ask for an A1 bottle instead of normal salad dressings.
It’s similar to vinegar based dressings in terms of complimenting the salad flavors, but is much more reliably good if you’re not sure about the quality of the dressing they’ll provide you or if you, like me, just don’t like most salad dressings period.
Some of us just… like salad…
(I’d be willing to try the A1 thing out of curiosity, but I found the list of reasons to have a salad being “diet” and “free” to be funny.)
A general answer to a vague question is not permission to steal Walky back, Dorothy.
Huh. Dorothy’s snapped. Was wondering when that would happen
I think we can call Joyce and Joe a couple now, right? What’s exactly moment two people can call themselves a couple?
When they discover that they agree on this?
I like this explanation, without irony.
Two person that kisses and holding hands can’t be necessary a couple.
Two other person that are so far, or even don’t want to touch each other can consider themselves a couple.
Ha, and this is the person who thought she was too moral and honest to be a politician?
She’s got nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.
There are people who DON’T consider cheese part of a salad?
Oh, hey, it looks like Dorothy didn’t do the bad thing we were mad at her because she was obviously going to do. Welp, time to get mad at her for the next bad thing she’s obviously going to do!
CLEARLY now she’s going to go seduce Walky because she’s a horrible person and every breath she breaths at Walky is her trying to break him and Lucy up :V
I actually like the Walky side of plotline a lot better. I still think it’s wrong, but it’s a very understandable kind of wrong and ties up their original break up falling flat narratively.
I also don’t like the way Joe’s character arc has been handled, so having Dorothy’s character flaws less tied to that works for me.
If you don’t mind my asking, how come you’re not a fan of Joe’s arc? I know you wanted to see more of how his shit worked with a woman who isn’t inclined to yell at him to back off but is it more than that?
It feels way too easy to me. He was never allowed to be bad enough, other than by implication, for his redemption to be meaningful. It’s easy to think that it was basically all a pose. He always was the ethical slut who would never really push too hard. The list was really the only thing bad and he dropped that easily enough.
In this arc, if we don’t dig deeper into it, it really does leave Dorothy looking like either over controlling or just a really bad judge of character, with no hint that her concerns could have been valid, even if they were outdated thanks to Joe’s recent growth. Joe really always was a safe nice guy, despite having been a walking red flag.
Other characters get their growth and redemption after doing some seriously bad things. Joe rated women.
damnyouWillis is a tease.
There’s a difference between “angry at her” and “speculating on her spiraling”.
Aaaah finally the drama
HOOK IT STRAIGHT INTO MY VEINS
For some reason I’m reminded of Max Payne 2, where *spoilers ahead for a near two decade old video game*
Vladimir Lem has a conversation with Max about how “if life forces you to do something you don’t really want to do, it’s not really your fault, is it? It’s more like fate.” Max, not understanding what the question is about, can only shrug and go “I suppose.” Of course, we find out later that Vladimir put a hit out on Max, despite Max being his friend, because Max was perilously close to uncovering his criminal scheme. He was essentially asking Max for his blessing to let Vlad murder him.
Stop!!!!Define small, Dorothy!!!!!
Also, Joe and Joyce are holding hands!!!
Mmm, salad, aka “an excuse to have cheese for a meal”.
Sometime last month, in a Ron Swanson appreciation thread, I mentioned my perfect meal would probably include a side of salad rather than bacon with my meat. Someone asked “why would you eat the food that your food eats”, I just said “because I’m an adult”, and I haven’t heard from them since. Might be a useful tip for talking to incredibly boring people.
Dorothy, like Ron, knows what she likes, and she’s very demonstrative about the pleasure she takes in these things. This is great. It generally improves one’s day to when you can see someone care about things. Such people make the world around them a little more bright.
I do like veggies and eat plenty of salads, but I’m still fond of the “food that food eats” joke.
Since when do we need an excuse? Bread-and-cheese has a long and tasty history.
I am very fond of meat, cheese, pasta, etc etc, but there are times when I really want a salad. Often a Cobb or a Caesar with bits of grilled chicken, but when I’m in that mood, I’m down for just some romaine and dressing.
Lucy needs to stop her
Wait, Dorothy, no, wrong lesson! That’s the wrong lesson!!!
Remember who she got the lesson from
I love learning the wrong lesson from conversations I have. (Therapists Hate Them!)
Dorothy should ask Amber who to sex up, and go for whoever she says.
I’m sure Amber has already thought of this with a fanfiction to lay out
Amber’s answer is “everyone, simultaneously”.
Arnold. He’s wearing his sexy hoodie today.
Wait… what if she proposes a 3 some to Walky to ‘help’ him & Lucy.
Knowing Walky would say yes and it would break them up. And Walky asking for advice ( and that she pushed them together) could make the offer seem legit
Okay I laughed
I know Walky isn’t the tallest but calling him a “small selfish thing” is pretty fecking harsh, dotty
= D
Gonna have to agree with Joyce, that does seem worrisome.
Dorothy, please don’t do anything stupid.
Dorothy has the name of the comic to live up to.
Joyce has just validated Dorothy’s decision to accept Yale.
Dorothy is fully going off the rails, like genuine nervous breakdown. This is like the rising action of a villain origin story.
Well here’s my alternative theory for how Dorothy’s gonna use her permission to be selfish: She’s going to put up “out-of-order” outside of the laundry room, along with something blocking people from seeing in (if there’s not a door to just close). It’s going to be really inconvenient for those looking to do their laundry, but Dorothy is going to have A TIME.
Well, *I* think she’s just going to hang out with Walky and have fun with maybe a little light flirting and see what happens.
Right, right, in the laundry room.
Absolutely nothing could possibly go wrong with whatever plan Dorothy has, and I unreservedly endorse it.
DOROTHTY NO
*gasp*
Hand-holding!
If you put lettuce on your nachos, that’s counts as salad, right?
Hg
DOROTHY NO!!
Speaking of Dorothy. I finally drew her again after like, ten years.
https://twitter.com/namioshiro/status/1644424594491682819
Oh how splendid!!!
You really should write a manga one of these days.
awww she’s a cutie
Maybe the “small, selfish thing” is actually going to Yale and leaving Joyce to fend for herself? So Joyce can get glasses and take pills and sign up for classes and learn how to masturbate and choose boyfriends on her own, while Dotty joins Skull and Bones and chills with the other future war criminals.
It is THE ULTIMATE FILTH. (Sorry, I’m a crazy person. And on my last stint in rehab the doctor thought I might be autistic… also everyone who has ever met me ever.)
Welcome to the club. Meetings aren’t a thing because they’re awkward. The uniforms are a JoJo reference.
Dorothy please let the selfish thing be going to Yale and not trying to bang Walky…