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Ste Jormur @stejormur.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
🥹
(I'm the butt of the joke in @damnyouwillis.bsky.social's #DumbingOfAge comic on 3/25/25)
Full strip: www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b...
Pat Brosseau @droog811.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
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Another Pride Month has come and gone,
but Gay Wrath Year is going STRONG!
*plays “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor on hacked muzak*
Hey! Moving this request here (from yesterday’s comment section), because I genuinely am curious to know and I think I replied too late yesterday for you to answer – can you show me the comic or comment from Willis that said Becky’s mother was a lesbian? I don’t remember anything like that, and I would love to know if that’s true!
I was wondering the same: fan theory, or part of the backstory that I missed or forgot? After a decade plus, I’ve definitely forgotten some character and plot details.
I’m guessing, given the lack of an answer yesterday to the many people asking and the lack of answer today (although that might just be due to busyness) that this is a fan theory. Usually if something is canon people are falling all over themselves to confirm it in the comments.
I hope NGPZ confirms/explains soon, I’m so curious!
I thought there was a strip confirming it, but am unable to remember it, or really anything much besides Ross saying that God was punishing them for failing to condemn sin hard enough, and I assumed that was it.
It might have just been hearsay, but I really wish there was an easy way to look through comic dialogue to confirm.
(Sanda and Woo strips for instance always have their dialogue typed out)
Okay so fan theory until proven otherwise. Thanks for clarifying, was really concerned I had missed something that large and specific to my interests.
I have gone back through all the Ross strips and definitely didn’t find even the slightest suggestion that Becky’s mom was a lesbian. I think she was “just” garden variety depressed and abused by her husband.
(please note the “” around just because obviously that is also very bad and I’m not minimizing it, just saying it wasn’t compounded with being closeted as well)
Thanks for following up. Ultimately it doesn’t matter to the plot (for now) WHY Bonnie was depressed, it’s enough to know that she was and that Ross was a factor.
Ugh. I hate it for Becky so much.
Are Joyce and Dorothy slowly coming out for each other part of the gay wrath year?
hopefully
i really wanna start work on gay ass DoA fan games
(fuck I can’t wait until i get SSI, rn i gotta take code commissions all most of my time just to feed myself ;-;)
ADHD and Autism, everybody. Give them a hand!
Sure, if I don’t forget.
*joyful finger pistols*
I’ll do it later.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
*runs around in circles*
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Yeah, feeling very called out by Charlie for no reason… Called out as in “the call of my people…”
*tosses in a glove*
wait, but I still need my hands
Tigers are my actual favorite animal and have been since I was nine, so go Charlie and Carla!
Wow, we’re going on 20 minutes past the o’clock now.
I’m on vacation for a week and the spacetime continuum goes to shit. Story of my life.
I’ve also been traveling and I feel like it was at around 14ish when I left. Six minutes of drift in under a month feels pretty substantial
Is that when you were introduced to Calvin and Hobbes?
I can actually neither confirm nor deny that, but honestly it might be.
The zebra’s stripes are lacking hue, so they don’t compare to you-know-whose.
Orange, black and white is what to wear! It’s Haute Couture for those who dare!
It’s camouflage, and stylish too! Yes, tigers look the best, it’s true!
Thirty-Second? Feeling optimistic today I see, Carla.
Hey, she’s met a whole human who she likes! That’s bound to improve the rankings.
(Note: Charlie Georg is an outlier.)
Carla is human despite her protests and she enjoys many things that humans produce, which skews the rankings a bit
I don’t know about Carla, but I’m always ecstatic to hear tiger facts. They’re rad
New character appears: Ty Garfield
remarkably similar to Dina
goes around wearing this hat: https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Animal-Winter-Beanie-Aviator/dp/B017C3C9RO
Is this the first thought bubble since the Dina chapter? The contrast of the two bearers of the thought bubble being our most internal character and our most external character seems deliberate to me. Carla is growing.
Not that she needed to grow–we all know she’s perfect and the most important person ever and has never been wrong in her entire life–but, you know, it’s still fun to see her arc.
No, it’s happened a few times in between. You don’t get receipts on that, I’m too lazy.
Nah, Carla is just using the new Rutech MindProjekt app to make her thoughts appear in a hologram above her head, so she can continue to subject the public to whatever she’s thinking on the rare occasions she isn’t actually telling them.
There have been a few. But “recently” they changed from color-coded to black on white. I don’t have my list, but this is one I remember: https://www.dumbingofage.com/turnaround/
Neat! Okay, so I guess somewhere down the line Willis decided to bend that rule a little. In all honesty, I was thinking that this comic might be stronger without the bubble, especially considering it doesn’t have that extra oomph of contrast.
It’s a good little prompt for thinking about the issue of show-don’t-tell. Is it better for the speech bubble to make Carla’s growth extremely obvious, or would it be more powerful for Carla to just silently sit down and wait, encouraging the reader to consider why she’s taking that action and think about what it means for her to make that choice?
There *is* a certain power to the visual of Carla physically trying to hold the words in and it manifesting as thought bubbles, but I think it only really works if either there’s a lot of words or thought bubbles are a lot rarer.
I think the thought bubble in this case does a good job contextualizing that the first two panels are the act of Carla purposely and mindfully calming herself. Not just being patient but *making* herself be patient. To show this properly without the thought bubble would’ve taken more panels, probably the entire rest of today’s strip. Which is a choice you can make sometimes, to decompress and focus in on a particular moment because it is important, but it really needs to be used sparingly in a one-a-day, lest it drag the overall pacing to a screeching halt. Plus you’d have the entire comments section for this day freaking out about how many hours it’s taking Charlie to respond, how there’s “no way” Charlie is independently functional, etc, etc, etc.
Not that it completely stopped those comments from happening anyway, but I really hope they fizzle out at some point.
Just remembered, thought bubbles are how we know Carla isn’t faceblind.
And how we know she doesn’t have aphantasia.
Speaking of Dina, the fact that this is empty (at least as of now) makes me a bit sad.
Oh! Okay! So it is more like just a short lag/delay thing. I feel 900% better than yesterday.
Also, this is adorable.
Carla learning to wait patiently and respect someone else’s speed of life? Has Hell frozen over?
I don’t know, but Charlie seems to have melted her heart (though come on -how could she not?).
Maybe she needs something like this
Right?
Being sweet on somebody will do that.
If she transfers it to other people, that will be impressive.
well she did agree to booster about it but even if she needed extra instruction/prep to be told about ‘extra’ i would hope most partners would be patient than rushing or just grabbing
Tho be funny if charlie agreed to be in some modified wagon thing she could comfortably sit on while carla skates with it , in emergencies if they were to like hang out in a cafe and needed to go bc its closing time
Ohhh, I feel this audio processing delay in my SOUL.
Big big same.
Huh. Learned something new about tigers today!
Carla will be playing a tiger-striped Hrothgar lady once the Final Fantasy XIV Online: Dawntrail expansion is released. It’s canon, Willis confirmed it, this is explicitly stated in the comic now.
(Anyone who mentions the free trial gets their gay gene replaced with a Twizzler.)
What job does she main? Inquiring minds want to know! (Is it machinist?)
She bought level skips for every single class and doesn’t have a particular preference for any of them. She’s actually intentionally bad at the game and plays every class like a tank.
Delightful! Thank you.
And Polar Bears have black skin under that white fur.
Technically it’s clear fur anyhow! They just happen to be around a lot of white.
Isn’t that how most animals with markings in their fur are? [seaches images of hairless calico cats]
This NatGeo article says it’s not true of zebras, cheetahs or giraffes, but is of other big cats such as snow leopards.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-skin-colors-zebras-big-cats
hm, not sure what to think of that article. I don’t know of anything that would keep all markings on the skin for every single animal. But also says domestic dogs and cats, but hairless calico cats and dalmatians have spots. I see other sources for the zebras, but so far they either directly/indirectly cite one particular zoo’s factoid page, or don’t cite. Guess I’m going to have to break into the zoo and shave a zebra (it’s ok, they’re really close to the outer fence, I see them when I walk by).
appreciate the article, though, thanks.
These two are adorable.
I love that Carla is now capable of Understanding and Patience, thats the biggest character development in this entire series, with a Close second being Joyce’s whole change lol. I wonder how long it will take before she will be able to do things like Apologize or Comfort somebody who isn’t Charlie.
W-why would she be able to do that? Those people are Not Carla and Not Charlie. There’s absolutely no bandwidth for paying attention to pointless nonsense such as that!
Carla and Charlie are my fave
Pika pi!!!
They are certainly to Becky X Dina as an ADHD autism power couple!!!! ^^
Good job, Carla! Understanding and patience, especially the latter, don’t come easy to you, so it’s double nice to see.
Fun Fact: Apparently Tiger Urine smells like Popcorn.
wait so it’s not just me?
does that mean I’m part tiger?
So now you know, if you can suddenly smell popcorn, there’s a tiger VERY nearby!
Most tiger attacks occur in movie theatres, this is 100% true.
It’s their perfect hunting ground!
Are you sure it’s not a sample urine test on tigers which have been eating only popcorn “butter” for three days straight?
they probably wouldn’t survive that…
tigers are obligate carnivores
This made me feel joy. I’m just happy that Carla is actually practicing what Booster preached. I hope she continues to in more ways than one! And I hope Charlie keeps giving more animal facts
there’s a lot of them out there. This is the part where I’d put what I know, but I forgot.
Did you know that humans also have stripes? They’re just normally the same colour as the rest of the skin, so we can’t see them. But some animals, such as cats, can.
That’s actually a myth; neither cats nor any animals can see the patterns in our skin. There are ways to find out what yours look like, but I do not know how. I know only that I was told it is possible.
I assume your talking about Blaschko’s Lines which are a series of stripes. You need UV light. See https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/n76btq/til_human_skin_is_overlaid_with_blaschkos_lines_a/
Apparently visibility under short UV light is not universal. If interested in the patterns though, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaschko%27s_lines .
Are you sure you’re not thinking of tan lines?
I dunno if you’re doing a bit, but:
A few years back, I saw an image that confirmed that panthers have spots just like other kinds of leopards, they just can’t (usually/easily) be seen in our visual spectrum.
“Panther” is really a catch-all term for any large black pantherid, I think. (Panthera being the genus of lions, leopards, mountain lions, etc.) It’s like reverse albinism. I suppose it’s not too surprising that spots are differentiable at some level, since the patterns would still form at different times/places in the embryo (presumably the general coat followed by localized spot patterns).
Not mountain lions; they’re Puma, not Panthera, and are more closely related to Felis than to Puma.
While true, cougars are also called panthers. But they’re not black panthers.
ah, yes, that’s why I was thinking they could be panthers as well. but that’s very confusing terminology when “panther” is already used for black pantherids! not that it’s a meaningful label, but cougars/mountain lions/etc. have so many terms for them already…
anyway, apologies for the “panther” conflation; you’re right that pumas are in Puma, not Panthera (and that’s another reason why “panther” is a bad term for them!)
Melanism is the word you are looking for
ah, I see. I would have thought “hypermelanism” maybe, but then I suppose albinism isn’t called “hypomelanism”…
One of the coolest effects in Zootopia is the black jaguar where you can see this based on how the light hits different fur layers.
Microchimeric humans have stripes or patches. Genetically homogenous ones, though?
Wow. Giving Charlie time to process. I absolutely love that. I can take a while to process what people say to me, and so rarely do people have patience.
Carla is great.
The expression of Carla in the last pannel is adorable.
Charlie doesn’t seem functional enough for college life or most jobs. I hope we get more detail about her soon.
You’d be shocked about how much you can do with ADHD. Vyvanse will be her friend, but assuming you’re not doing something where twitch reflexes matter, ADHD is not as big a barrier as you might think.
y’know, vyvanse doesnt mess with my twitch reflexes but every few hours I do get slightly shaky hands lol
With ADHD is one thing. Plenty of people have ADHD and are capable of interacting with the world around them in real time.
And plenty of us aren’t. It’s a disorder with a lot of variation; some of us are barely tethered to the earth if unmedicated. It’s been really nice to see someone like me in fiction.
I feel like Willis has drawn Carla and Charlie prettier than usual in this comic strip. Charlie in particular. It might just be the really cool shirt, but I think it’s probably actually a reaction to the how cutely both are smiling.
Aww.
Cutest Carla face ever in Panel #whichever-panel-that-is.
The way she bites her lip is too much. I’ve never actually seen her look happy before.
Strongly agreed!
Tiger, tiger, in her mind
Look at Carla being kind
yes the tiger is free
yes
yes
A guy at the zoo today asked me if I knew tigers had striped skin and I said yes
wow, did you tell him you learned it through webcomics
Also, did you know that polar bear fur is translucent rather than white?
All white hairs are translucent. Mammals don’t make white pigments.
LEARNING!
That second panel is just…. so perfect!
I love Carla here!
C&C FTW!
Honestly, Carla might be PERFECT for Charlie. Her somewhat compulsive need to get attention actually kind of goes well with Charlie zoning out…I mean, it seems like Charlie needs someone who is persistent enough to coax her back and get her back on the task of going about her day. The patience and understanding part will be the struggle, especially for Carla, but maybe having someone who will eventually respond happily to your desire for attention is a good trait to have. Carla’s obsessive persistent attention seeking might be a net positive in this case.
Also, tigers are cool. And I didn’t know about the striped skin thing.
Carla’s face in the last panel is so cute! OMG!
If a few years ago you told me that Carla was capable of self-improvement, I’d have laughed in your face.
When did Carla grow a patience?
Aw. Honestly Carla just sitting and waiting a second is so sweet to me… sometimes it takes a second to realize you heard someone.
Charlie has SERIOUS ADHD.. If my having it and knowing the symptoms means anything…
Hey wait, you’re not supposed to take your lived experience and form thoughts about things with it. That’s illegal.
Carla is trying really hard to be a better human being. So, thanks a lot Charlie, she’s precious and likes Carla, who is amazing. I wonder what Mary will do for destroy their happiness…
For anyone out there who is trying to do something hard and scary, like Carla’s attempts to BE in relationship with another human being (besides, of course, herself) here’s some comforting music on the hacked high-school PA system:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JYXzKYbNUw
Wait what ?
Was everything Charlie said a lie? All the pop psychology says that looking up and to your left is not recalling a fact or memory, but making one up
That’s looking to the right.
But it’s been debunked.
When a person lies they look at you and say “i am lying but you will not remember this because of { redacted phrase *}. “ . For example: ”i am lying {phrase} NLP is the greatest you will buy all my books. On this.”
*Hardwired into humans since the Keely accords in 791}
Sounds like a load of bullshit, like most of the pop psychology I’ve heard.
Holy shit, growth! Is that allowed?
*checks name of the comic*
No.
Grow IS allowed! It just doesn’t stop anyone from still doing stupid things.
as long as there is an equal and opposite dumbing somewhere else
I did not know that. I learned something today.
Rats. I’ll forget pants tomorrow, though
Carla crushing is do darn cute.
Though not as cute as tigers, but comparing humans to tigers (or cats of any kind) is hardly fair.
These two 🥹
oh my god she’s being lesbian trained this is so great this is so great
I’m curious about this “lesbian trained” thing. Could you elaborate on it, please?
Yeah I also want to know. Is this a thing you sign up for or get chosen for? Did I need to earn a certain number of points in something to get in the beta?
Details! I need details!
…for a friend.
How many CEUs do you get if you pass?
Did the story ever indicate who Charlie is roommates with?
Her roommate is Brynhilde Skovgaard, a Danish exchange student. She’s 5’11”, has brown hair and eyes, and is pretty well muscular on account of her hobbies. Said hobbies include fencing, dancing, and playing the fiddle, and she also goes to the gym twice a week for some cardio and weight lifting. Her major is engineering, but she kinda sucks at it so she’s probably gonna fall back on her minor next year, which is art history. This is canon, confirmed by Willis in a 2021 Kotaku interview.
Okay, now im going to want to see Brynhilde in a future strip
it prolly hasn’t come up later tho idk if it’ll reuse a chara we already know versus a new one. or just someone we’ll never see bc it doesn’t matter story wise
other than a zoo tiger that had to be partially shaved for like a vaccine or treatment or so, wonder if ppl just observed a baby tiger or if someone was brave/foolish enough to just full on shave a tiger lol
zoo date maybe :3
Dead tiger seems a likely option as well.
They’d have to go out of town for a zoo date.
well tehy did go to the beach once early on in the series so i’m sure they could set aside some time to find that or an aquarium lol
Or a tiger with an illness that mad their hair fall out. There’s a picture out there of a bear in that situation, and bears don’t look at all like you’d think.
Unless you’ve played Fallout and encountered a Yao Guai. Then you’ve basically seen a hairless bear.
There was a chimp at our zoo that had alopecia, and she was like the daughter of a matriarch or something, I don’t remember exactly. But the other young chimps started pulling out their own hair to be like her.
awww they’re so precious :]
I don’t know if Charlie is mocking Carla hard, in second panel, or if she just tripping.
Both ways, it was great.
In general, today trip is so awesome.
I think it ha been made abundantly clear that Charlie genuinely have delayed reaction to people talking to her. Pretty much the discard the possibility of her doing it intentionally to mess with people.
I mean she’s probably ADHD or autistic, or likely both
executive dysfunction like that makes it hard to pay attention like that
i really love that this is happening
even tho its hard to socialize, i love idea of accessible romance <3
i love them SO much
Speaking of striped skin, that’s a thing that humans have! The stripes are generally invisible to the naked eye, though.