Discussion (176) ¬
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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
LOWρUFO 
@lowrhoufo.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
preternia @preterniadotcom.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
The New York Times @nytimes.com ⋅ 2d
Tea Berry-Blue @teaberryblue.net ⋅ 2d
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“okay so if i may slightly rephrase”
Exactly. For the literal minded.
No, no she’s got a point: Dorothy is responsible for the most important sexual discovery of Joyce’s life so far (masturbation is cool), why shouldn’t she be the go to for every other sexual discovery Joyce ever wants to have?
“Fridge_logic” is a perfect term for Joyce’s thinking right now.
do we want to know whats in that box
A sock.
For the doorknob.
for Jacob ~<3
That Could be a box. My first impression was a huge stack of Dotty-aimed paperwork.
I also assumed it was paperwork. All her sex research
My first assumption was laptop. I think that’s probably wrong, it looks a little heavy, but it’s possible.
I thought it was paperwork too.
There’s a preview panel dated for tomorrow on tumblr. It is a stack of paper. A ream perhaps.
A ream of in terms of sex?
Cupcakes? I bet it’s cupcakes!
I was gonna say doughnuts.
A size six.
If I had to guess from the shape, donuts.
The bunny. It was put back in.
I understood that reference!
From my studies of Midwesternism Culture, I suspect it should be some form of casserole.
In a box?
I mean: yeah, casserole is not unlikely, but not in a box. The paper gets all smokey in the oven.
Laundry.
They finally caught the cricket.
My brain keeps flip-flopping between “stack of papers” and “white foam take-out container”.
She’s bringing Dorothy her box so Dorothy can tell her what to do with it.
It’s not a box. It’s a giant sammich
I assumed it was a pie, but I might just be hungry.
Cannolis and donuts. You know… to demonstrate with.
I thought it was a huge sandwich
I love Roz’s energy. She is putting all of herself into this spiel.
But this was also very, very predictable.
Dorothy controls Joyce’s sexuality. Soon she will have power over everyones!
The Kinsey Whisperer.
Ooooo, I wouldn’t recommend citing Kinsey, bud – dude was waaaaay fucked up.
How so?
Oh, OK, I found the critique: he interviewed sex offenders and abusers without reporting their conduct to law enforcement. Yeah. Problematic.
Was that what you were referring to?
She’s also got Walky’s sexuality.
Avatar checks out!
Mario ads are consuming my dumbing of age webpage. Soon nothing of Joyce or the gang will remain only him – a Mario. I’m scared.
Hmmmmm… DoA Mario…
The Age of Dumbing is over.
The Age of Plumbing has come.
Your Dorothy is in another castle!
Sorry Sarah, your Jacob is in another castle!
And your Other Jacob is in an other another castle.
+1
I’ll express-a my sympathy in-a Mario-ese: “WaAaAaAaAaAaAh! Ohhh no!”
I’m sure this is going to go very badly, but there’s so many different ways it could go badly it’s hard to call.
oH
Some more alone time with HER Dorothy.
Oh Joyce, you’re precious
Tease. (Joyce teasing Dorothy and Willis teasing the shippers)
It’s already scary to think what Joyce will do, if she already scared Dorothy before in the bar… oh god, the intrigue
my vision of a Dorothy, Joyce and Joe sexy times is coming closer. ~<3
“0 days without Willis teasing us with Joyce/Dorothy ship
Our record: X. (Being X the amount of days that Dorothy was trying to fix Walky).”.
It’s worth pointing out that Joyce was in a cult for 18 years and got free just six months ago. While Roz is entirely correct, Joyce is used to “listen to those smarter than you” as the correct approach to every problem and may be unlearning that for the rest of her life. “Do what is best for you personally” is far more advanced than where she is right now.
That is a good insight.
Yeah, good point.
TBF cults capitalize on and distort the perfectly reasonable tendency for social animals to seek out leadership in moments of uncertainty.
Human cognition has a very large number of well-documented exploits and vulnerabilities, and most of them go unpatched in the wild.
Quick, I need a copy of Wannabe to get playing before someone else takes control of this comic’s audio server…
Anyone?
Also, it’s really annoying when the banner ad at the bottom of the page decides to cover the post comment button and a video ad in the bottom right corner covers the close button on that banner ad and doesn’t have it’s own close button.
Tip from a web developer – if you right click and “inspect element” you can delete stuff from the page.
If you can right click and inspect element you can use an adblocker. Doesn’t help anyone on mobile.
Yes, but that does nothing to make it less annoying. The issue is baked into the UX of the platform this comic is hosted on.
Joyce Makes a Zigazig Ah: A Dumbing of Age Pornographique
There’s a gauge labeled Joyce No and Joyce Yes, and the needle is wavering halfway between them.
That’s marked “I get it, but come on!”
The needle is swinging back and forth so quickly that it has achieved quantum superposition and is pointing to both simultaneously.
YES THAT IS TOO HOW THAT WORKS!
Turns out it’s actually a metronome.
Joe can keep rhythm with no metronome
No metronome
No metronome
metro gnome?
I recognize that reference. Handlebars.
THAT IS NOT WHO ROZ MEANT, but probably true XD
Yup is 100% what Roz meant. Good job Joyce no notes.
In my best Don Adams voice: “Missed it by THAT much.”🤏
Would you believe…?
Sorry about that, Roz!
Whoa. This is some old school referencing. Intelligent stuff. Quite Smart, if you will. (And I understood that reference.)
Tennessee Tuxedo must not fail.
What can I say? I’m that old.
That would’ve been good advice if Joyce trusted her own judgement -u-
She did. She judged that Dorothy is more experienced than she and less likely to brush her off with nonspecific advice like Roz.
Not that Roz’ advice is wrong; it simply doesn’t address Joyce’s question. (Which she never actually got to ask.)
Yeah, Roz did that to Joe last time too.
this strip made me CACKLE
Me too. It’s good to have an old-fashioned, uncontroversial gag once in a while.
Honestly this is a contender for DoA’s funniest last panel gag. Perfect combination of completely unexpected in advance but completely expected in hindsight and of utterly absurd yet believable.
From what we know of Joyce her ideal sexuality is being gently crushed under a massive ass of ambiguous gender, while staring at a boner, possibly with her face pressed into large boobs, and holding Dorothy’s hand or watching her as she engages in some sexual act. Also throw stubble in there somewhere. Yes. I’ve solved it. No idea what that means though.
Could also throw in her response to Sal’s hair the first time Joyce saw her take her crash helmet off.
So her sexuality is Jennifer Walters and Bruce Banner?
Under the repression she’s bi? But Becky’s family and she can’t see her like that?
Ok this might actually be what breaks Dorothy
Perfect gravatar yessssss
This shoe has been in the air a long time now, and I could NOT have predicted this would be how it dropped.
ok; but like, is this gonna be another washing machine arc?
I’m sure that would be completely uncontroversial and not cause any kind of angry arguments.
not another joyce’s washing machine arc
Joyve has been ramping up the queerness lately and I’m VERY pleased. Why, even the last panel has Bisexual Lightning.
I know I’m not getting it, but my little heart here is like HELL YEAH SHE HAS TWO HANDS LET’S GET ALL THREE OF THEM TOGETHER. Apologies.
She keeps talkin’ about polycules. What is that if not foreshadowing!
Polycules are just particles that parrots are made of.
Half the comics I follow tease central polycules and not a single friggin’ one has actually done it. Not even as a romantic disaster arc for comedic purposes.
One I’m following is actually starting one because one female character has discovered she’s bi, and enamoured of both the male and female leads. It looks like it’s heading for a trainwreck, but at least it’s an interesting trainwreck.
And you’re keeping which one a secret?
Roz, two minutes later: Should I have outright SAID ‘direct communication with the person you want to do sex with’? No… No. I don’t wanna talk down to the gal.
There are two interpretations:
1. Joyce didn’t understand what Roz meant
2. Joyce understood exactly what Roz meant, and realized she’s a lesbian sub with a thing for girls who wear glasses.
naked_gun_mass_face_palm.gif
“What should I do” sounds incomplete, even if panel 6 is something.
If we’re rekindling the Joyce-Dorothy ship, I want to rename the ship as Breen… coz the day the ship sails will end up in a BANGGG
The only canonical Breen ship ended tragically. Time to even the score.
Yesterday’s comments were so smug about the Joyce/Dorothy shippers being overreaching lol. Well well well, look how little time it took for us to get back here…
“Dorothy, good news! I’ve realised I need to practice sex before I try it with Joe! Do you have a spare strap-on we can use?”
Scenario I: “Dorothy, I need to watch you and Walky (ugh) have sex while I take notes.”
Scenario II: “Dorothy, I need to watch you and Joe have sex while I take notes.”
Scenario III: “For proper comparison, I need to watch you have sex with Walky and then Joe, while I take notes and update the spreadsheet that you probably already have.”
Dorothy did SAY she was the only person who’s ever made Joyce cum!
No she did not.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-13/02-turning-saints-into-the-sea/murderous/
Because I am stupid I decided to go looking in the strips and I think Dash is referring to this! It’s not exactly what Dorothy said but it is close. The idea of her bragging to herself (if sardonically) about making Joyce cum is hilarious.
She is the Abraham Lincoln of emancipating Joyce’s sexuality.
Panel 3-4 “Wow I’ve been in a funk since transitioning this is great to hear. Thanks Roz.”
Panel 5-6 “Oh no. Joyce no. Oh no.”
I KNEW IT
laundry day already huh
Roz is being very pleasant about all of this. Sort of wonder if she just, takes Joyce a touch more seriously now or what, but sure, I’ll take it.
This is the topic that matters the most to her so it makes she takes it seriously.
They both didn’t get off to a good start and it seems like Roz notices sincerity in Joyce these days, maybe that’s why she’s so kind.
Sincerity and noticing (respecting???) that Joyce is actively open to learning and changing when she recognises her ways of thinking aren’t healthy.
tbf, Joyce has always been sincere
One of the things I like about her.
I legit facepalmed. But, like, in an affectionate way.
….
I’m remembering a story. I’m not sure where I remember it from. I’m not sure if it’s fact or fiction. But it doesn’t really matter if the story’s true, it just matters because it feels applicable to today’s comic.
This story is about land pirates. Basically, pirates that stayed on land while they did their piracy. They’d use lanterns at night to appear to be lighthouses and guide ships onto the rocks, and then swarm on board, kill the crew, and take the valuables. Pirates, but they didn’t actually need to go to sea. It feels applicable here.
… yeah. Land pirates. That’s definitely what’s happening in Panel 6.
We’re getting ship-baited.
Are you trying to describe wreckers?
Nice pun.
IIRC yes, there have been at least coast-dwellers in places where shipwrecks are common, who supplemented their livelihood by scavenging wrecked ships in their neighborhood.
I’m not saying that some did not realize that they could make even more profit if there were more wrecks, and that they could do something about that, but I’m not saying they did.
Literally wheezing. Perfect set up and pay off.
Not beating the sapphic allegations today, I see.
…
Only you…
First up: lmao on this tease
Secondly: I am trying to figure out Dorothy’s face in the final panel and as much as I want the chaos from the DorothyxJoyce kiss nothing previously indicates we’re there yet. She just seems so caught in the moment of Joyce’s beauty
I’m reading it as: it’s been maybe 300 milliseconds since Dorothy recognized the shape approaching her, Joyce seems particularly happy to see her, and Dorothy is just beginning to think “what’s this about?”
Okay but speaking from experience, this is not the best advice to give a repressed autistic girl trying to figure out what all the sex stuff even IS. Urban Dictionary was a better resource than Roz. At least that explains penetration.
Yeah. XD To be fair to Roz, her overarching point is VERY on point; do not look to others to try and figure out what YOU like in sex. That is something only you can discover through trial and experimentation. But Roz forgets that Joyce is SO clueless about intimacy that she needs at least SOME advice on where to start. (Like, if I hadn’t seen the strips with it, I’d probably have assumed that Joyce needs directions on KISSING.) So, sitting her down and listening to her questions and answering as fully and honestly as you can is probably the best approach for Joyce. And amusingly, Dorothy is probably the best person suited for that.
Indeed. I do hope this is comedic timing, and Joyce is coming to Dorothy for the detail oriented advice, not just for dommy mommy god replacement.
I feel like Rix likes feeling like she’s morally (sexually) better than people, rather than actually helping them.
Same. She’s passionate about what she cares about… What she cares about isn’t exactly individuals though. Hmm, I guess it’s seeing the forest before the trees? I’m not implying she’s a bad person, by the way.
I do like Roz sometimes
Yep. She’s the SME (subject matter expert) with the right attitude someone like Joyce needs. Joyce isn’t the only student on campus who could use this advising.
Oh man, poor Dorothy
[EXTREMELY LOUD INCORRECT BUZZER]
Which is the correct buzzer?
The one that goes in the Hitachi wand.
Poor Dotty.
(Sometimes Roz makes sense, she’s just a misunderstood person.)
Hey gang, it’s time to explore mutual carnal congress with Dorothy Margot Keener!
DoA comics are funny and charmign bnut it’s been a while since one made me laugh quite as loudly as this one did.
… oh come the fuck on, Joyce
Dammit, Roz actuallly gives some decent advice that isn’t based on projection and prude-shaming, and what happens?
(No I didn’t put three “l”s in “actuallly” by mistake, that’s just how much I’m emphasising it.)
(Yes, I realise normally you’d push the “ac”, not the “ly” but I’m being quirky.)
Lengthening the timing is a different style of emphasis.
Nonononono
Please let Dorothy tell Joyce to piss off and make her own decisions.
(Don’t say you should go fuck him. Don’t say you should go fuck him. Don’t say you should go fuck him.)
It’s like ice cream. If I’ve never heard of ice cream, and someone takes me into the shop and there’s 39 flavors and oodles of toppings and almost endless ways to combine them all and the clerk asks me what I want…how should I know? I’d probably ask my partner: “what do you like?” I may like it well; I may like it a little; I may not like it at all. But I found a way to decide using someone else’s experience, since I have none of my own. And next time I’ll have a basis for choosing.
But Joyce isn’t even there yet. She wants something to happen, which is outside her experience, but it’s not happening spontaneously and she doesn’t know how to take the lead and move forward. Know well enough to put the odds in favor of success rather than of making things worse. I’ve been there. It’s agonizing.
“… a whole universe of things you can try”
Many of which are icky and crivalent.
I looked up “crivalent” but only got results for somebody’s Instagram and isolated uses in reference to arsenic and something math-related. Assuming it isn’t a typo, could you explain this word?
Entirely made up. Like if the inventor of ‘cromulent’ had ‘cringe’ in mind.
Rational part of me: Joyce, that is NOT the correct conclusion!
Shipper part of me: Joyce, that IS the correct conclusion!
Okay, wow.
It’s odd that out of her ‘friend’ group of 18-20-year-olds, Roz, quite possibly the most self-involved and rebellious, is the only one with helpful advice.
If only Joyce was self-aware enough to understand it.
Jumping off what others are saying about Roz’ limited helpfulness here, it would be a lot more helpful to offer Joyce a yes/no/maybe checklist like are showcased here
https://sexualhealthalliance.com/nymphomedia-blog/yes-no-maybe-checklists
I hope this is the beginning of the Joyce/Joe/Dorothy throupling that I’ve been hoping for, for a few months now.
roz if you want to be the sex expert person you’re gonna need to understand that some people don’t have even the basic mechanical underpinnings here
good advice in a broad sense but I think joyce might need to literally know how things work
I feel like colleges should probably offer free anonymous info for this stuff though given how… varied… people’s backgrounds can be
Just decent sex education in general would be helpful. Unfortunately some people get weird about the idea of people actually understanding the subject
It’s weird to me that society and especially western or conservative society view basic sexual knowledge as taboo. Maybe we need to reframe is to reproductive education? Because it’s just a basic biological function like shitting or breathing. Yet we fight against it being taught in school or children knowing, or freely providing protection and education. Joyce having no real knowledge about it was not just a failing of her parents to educate her but our society as well. Yo me it’s like arguing against teaching people how to use a toilet and just letting them figure it out themselves.
Totally agree exept I suspect a name change wouldn’t solve the problem as it’s not the name they have an issue with
Are they actually gonna bang or is Willis just trolling the readers at this point?
Or maybe Joyce decided, “well, that didn’t help. Who else do I know, who understands these matters?”
Fair
this is like someone walking up to you and asking for some basic cooking tips and you going ‘oh man you can do ANYTHING with food, it’s all a matter of taste, just because i like to flambe my steaks doesn’t mean you will!’
it’s true! but perhaps not helpful in this context.
really hope someone just directs joyce to leslie at some point for some advice. ik she’s a gender studies teacher and not specifically sex ed but like. there’s no way she doesn’t get this type of question 100 times a semester.
Indeed. Joyce is at the “how do I turn the oven on?” stage.
yeah, or “how long do i cook the chicken so i don’t die?”
To be fair, experience has proven her right.
I love this comic so much.
Ok, *that* was funny