Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 5, 2026

Pile

by David M Willis on May 15, 2015 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - The Butterflies Won't Fly Away
└ Tags: jennifer, ruth

Discussion (177) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    May 15, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    BILLIE YOU FUCKING NARC

    • Gigafreak
      Gigafreak
      May 15, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      BILLIE YOU FUCKING ‘HOLIC

      am i doing it right

    • chris73
      chris73
      May 15, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      Why wouldn’t she tell her girlfriend?

      • winter
        winter
        May 15, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

        Because she’s now put her girlfriend in the uncomfortable situation of having to possibly evict Becky from the building if she wants to keep her job?

        • chris73
          chris73
          May 15, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

          So she should keep it secret from Ruth and if it blows up Ruth gets into more trouble for not knowing what was happening?
          Who should Billie be loyal to, Becky whom she barely knows and but finds aggravating or her girlfriend Ruth?

          • Ess
            Ess
            May 15, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

            Really, she doesn’t realise she has much reason not to tell Ruth. Is she even aware of how dire Becky’s situation is? If she says she’s “visiting from another school,” she probably doesn’t know that Becky doesn’t have another school to go back to, and assumes it really is just a little visit. Telling Ruth isn’t malicious, here.

            • winter
              winter
              May 15, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

              Definitely not malicious. A bit careless, though.

              • Rich
                Rich
                May 15, 2015 at 12:21 am | #

                She doesn’t have a reason to be careful. Billie’s not aware of Becky’s situation.

                • Agemegos
                  Agemegos
                  May 15, 2015 at 1:14 am | #

                  I’m with Ringo here.

                • That Damn Rat
                  That Damn Rat
                  May 15, 2015 at 1:19 am | #

                  Nor any responsibility to be careful, keeping Becky is Joye’s project, so she has to be the one to water, feed her and keep her form being impounded.

                • Dean
                  Dean
                  May 15, 2015 at 1:49 am | #

                  Next strip: Ruth finds Becky loitering in the hallway and wheelclamps her. Joyce has to pay a fine to get the clamp removed.

                • Rich
                  Rich
                  May 15, 2015 at 7:44 am | #

                  Surely that would be Carla getting the wheelclamps, wouldn’t it?

              • Jackson
                Jackson
                May 15, 2015 at 9:44 pm | #

                We would all do so many things differently if we were in these characters’ shoes but with the knowledge we have from watching all of them at once.

          • winter
            winter
            May 15, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

            Oh, I agree with you completely on that.
            But it’s still a rotten thing to do to Becky, so of course the commenters are going to take issue with it.

            • chris73
              chris73
              May 15, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

              thats why i read these comic, everyone sees the same comic yet there are so many different opinions and all based of everyones own experiences

              Its brilliant

        • Rycan
          Rycan
          May 15, 2015 at 1:10 am | #

          Billie has no clue that Becky is homeless.

          • saltchocolate
            saltchocolate
            May 15, 2015 at 2:35 am | #

            ^ This.

            • DarkoNeko
              DarkoNeko
              May 15, 2015 at 6:18 am | #

              ^ that

              • Lurker
                Lurker
                May 15, 2015 at 8:11 am | #

                it like this and that and this an ah

              • Rich
                Rich
                May 15, 2015 at 8:19 am | #

                ^ and the other thing

        • Rowen Morland
          Rowen Morland
          May 15, 2015 at 3:58 am | #

          I@d assume that Bille thinks Ruth will just do whatever she wants but square it with her masters as best she can.

    • Doc
      Doc
      May 15, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      GOSH BILLIE DONT JUST NARC ON EVERYONE

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        May 15, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

        Now she has something in common with Sarah.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 15, 2015 at 4:06 am | #

          Harsh.

      • DoctorLantern
        DoctorLantern
        May 15, 2015 at 5:36 am | #

        It isn’t “narc”ing if she doesn’t know Becky is actually living with Joyce atm. Billie has no clue about Becky’s actual situation.

        • ScumlordAzazel
          ScumlordAzazel
          May 17, 2015 at 2:16 pm | #

          But it is narc-ing if she tells Ruth about a prty Joyce probably shouldn’t be having in the dorms.

    • thebombzen
      thebombzen
      May 15, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

      “She’s been around.”

      Nice subtle implication there. Looks like Billie wants Ruth to blackmail Becky so the next slipshine will be amazing.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

        And now I cannot shake the idea that EGS Sarah reads Slipshine. Extra disturbing considering what her mark does.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 15, 2015 at 4:06 am | #

          …noooooo. Your mind, out the gutter.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 15, 2015 at 8:07 am | #

            Please, the girl’s been Tedd’s lab assistant forever now. That changes a person. Literally. Several times a day, even.

            I wonder, can her spell let her access fictional situations? If she’s watching TV (or reading a webcomic) when she casts, can she use the screen as a doorway into the story and act within it? Her scenarios are already fictional setups, however accurate they may appear. Moving another level away from reality seems possible once she gets the hang of things. If so, her new trick is a fan fiction writer’s dream come true.

            • Dr. Smart
              Dr. Smart
              May 15, 2015 at 10:11 am | #

              based on the way it was described she can control the entire simulation, theoretically it would work like lucid dreaming allowing her to alter anything she wants, if she had enough practice theoretically she could create such a fantasy (though still frozen in time) but It would be more about designing a set to look like the story then actually entering the story. I imagine her putting all her friends in costumes and setting them up in a fantasy location similar to how Dan portrays internet conversations (except everyone but sarah is afk XD) since there is limited time to set up and enjoy such a scenario though, she would need to get really good at altering her surroundings instantly (possibly basing it on a picture and letting her subconscious do a lot of the work) of course the practical use of the simulation is for spying, (such as being able to check someones pockets or see what someones written in a not or journal without having to worry about being noticed. if she alters the entire simulation, I think certain things (especially things she was unaware of before) might still be around but the fantasy might be more a distraction and will alter the accuracy of the simulation

              TLDR; she would be able to alter it as if lucid dreaming but it might cause inaccurate findings making the spell less usefull

              I think in actuality this will be more about angst, as she might start using the spell to spy on her friends (unintentionally) and will find out things shes not supposed to know and may not want to tell them the truth. Dan prides himself on predictable sitcom drama.

              • Rich
                Rich
                May 15, 2015 at 11:33 am | #

                Accuracy isn’t really a requirement when used for entertainment purposes, though. And she can let the NPCs in her sims act autonomously, which for fictional scenarios would probably be guided by her subconscious. Might actually be an interesting therapy tool when running that way.

                Occurs to me EGS Sarah getting addicted to running fantasy sims could “solve” the ambient magic issue just by virtue of her chain-casting so many times a day she siphons away most of the excess power. Pandora said she eats a noticeable chunk of it with every cast. Works great until somebody/something comes looking for the person being a power hog. 🙂

                • Gamaran Sepudomyn
                  Gamaran Sepudomyn
                  May 15, 2015 at 5:00 pm | #

                  That would be a great solution, but she uses up all the power in one area when she casts a spell. She’d have to find another area, one where no one will bother her while she casts it and which still has the ambient energy, to cast it again.

                • Dr. Smart
                  Dr. Smart
                  May 15, 2015 at 6:02 pm | #

                  she is still susceptible to burnout, (wonder what color her hair would be XD) so yeah use of the magic might help deplete the excess energy but it would probably deplete her own energy as well…

                  its possible she might be able to animate such a scene as well, if she had the fantasy figured out in advance (or as suggested it was based on an existing story her subconcious might be able to let the similation create a scenario, but it seems like this would take up not only a lot of energy but it would push her mental abilities since she would have to consider tons of variables subconciously but be able to picture them accurately without mistakes. (like Sarah and Nanase trying to change there heights and missing the mark) though I could be wrong, she has godlike powers within the simulation so its possible that with a little practice it will be easier then that. still while it might be fun to make her own fantasy worlds that she could role play in and I could see how that would be addictive, I don’t think that would be the main purpose of the power within the comic, not that I know exactly what Dan has planned (though I imagine it may include characters being transformed) so we will just have to wait and see

        • Dr. Smart
          Dr. Smart
          May 15, 2015 at 9:50 am | #

          hey an excuse to talk about EGS litterally just caught up on EGS and EGS NP last night, I didn’t sleep for 2 nights o_o whoever introduced me to that series I don’t know if I want to smack them or hug them, or just transgender them…

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 15, 2015 at 11:27 am | #

            It took me three days to marathon everything when I first found it. Addictive to a degree matched only by DoA.

            • Gamaran Sepudomyn
              Gamaran Sepudomyn
              May 15, 2015 at 5:01 pm | #

              A problem only compounded by the sketchbook and newspaper sections.

    • Foxhack
      Foxhack
      May 15, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

      NEXT THING YOU KNOW SHE’LL BE BLOWING UP INNOCENT DRUG DEALERS AND DOGS

      Oh wait, wrong NARC.

    • Rutee
      Rutee
      May 15, 2015 at 1:00 am | #

      When the fuck did Ruth get the nickname “Narc”?

    • segnosaur
      segnosaur
      May 15, 2015 at 2:05 am | #

      Re; Billie being a ‘Narc’…

      Remember, Joyce and company don’t know who Billie is dating (and Joyce is assuming its a guy). And Billie probably doesn’t know all the details about Becky’s situation (i.e. open-ended visit).

      So Billy’s blabbing to Ruth is probably more due to a lack of some information, rather than maliciousness.

      • Jen Aside
        Jen Aside
        May 15, 2015 at 2:16 am | #

        come on, haven’t you watched sports on the telly and yelled at the players even though they can’t hear you because yay release of violent tension

        • Gigafreak
          Gigafreak
          May 15, 2015 at 10:22 am | #

          Or shouted sports referees because they doesn’t have the benefit of a bird’s eye view over the action like your TV screen provides

      • John
        John
        May 15, 2015 at 10:43 am | #

        Also, everyone acts like it would be the end of the world for Becky to be evicted. Yes, it would be a challenge, but it’s only really terrible if they send her to her parents. If it just forces her to go to a shelter and start moving her life forward then it’s actually a good thing she be narc’d on.

    • Killjoy
      Killjoy
      May 15, 2015 at 11:28 am | #

      Like Becky has any idea what’s going on or that she shouldn’t tell Ruth.

      What did I miss that makes her a “bad person” for offhandedly mentioning it to Ruth?

    • Lin
      Lin
      May 15, 2015 at 1:14 pm | #

      I find the commenters assumption that it would be a big deal to have a non-student crashing with you really baffling. My freshman year of college, my best friend wasn’t a student at my university. When my roommate got mono, I had a spare bed in ,u room and she would sleep there most weeknights. My RA didn’t give a damn,

      • Jen Aside
        Jen Aside
        May 15, 2015 at 6:46 pm | #

        http://www.rps.indiana.edu/doc/AtoZGuide.pdf

        3. Occupancy of a room is limited to the residents assigned to that room.
        The room will be used only as living space.

        per the ACTUAL school’s dorm rules

        • Jen Aside
          Jen Aside
          May 15, 2015 at 6:48 pm | #

          [also remember that Ruth is NOT known for not giving a damn]

          • Lin
            Lin
            May 16, 2015 at 3:17 pm | #

            I just don’t think she’d care. She doesn’t want people putting themselves in danger and she doesn’t want them reflecting poorly on her. Becky’s presence does’t threaten either of those things.

        • Lin
          Lin
          May 16, 2015 at 3:16 pm | #

          Right. and that’s dependent on the RA giving a damn.

  2. HorchataShake
    HorchataShake
    May 15, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    BILLIE YOU USELESS BISEXUAL

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Don’t be so orientationist! 😛

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 15, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

      You’ll thank her when she’s keeping Ruth distracted during the party.

    • Turbanous
      Turbanous
      May 15, 2015 at 5:59 am | #

      Is the “you useless Bisexual” thing some sort of meme? I first noticed it when Danny was talking with Dorothy and I brushed it off as generic Danny hate. Seeing it in regards to Billie suggests there is something more behind it.

      • DarkoNeko
        DarkoNeko
        May 15, 2015 at 6:22 am | #

        I’ve been wondering, too. It doesn’t seems particulary funny.

      • aiimy
        aiimy
        May 15, 2015 at 7:09 am | #

        It’s from tumblr, actually! Someone once told a story in which they messed something up and their friend shouted “TIFFANY YOU USELESS LESBIAN”. It became sort of a thing, especially in all caps.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 8:25 am | #

        I always read it was a play on the old SNL news skits with Jane Curtin and Dan Akroyd, but that’s just me.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          May 15, 2015 at 3:05 pm | #

          “Jane you ignorant slut” closely followed by Jane ripping her blouse open. Classic SNL bit from the early years.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        May 15, 2015 at 8:30 am | #

        Googling, it’s definitely a thing (seems to be restricted to Tumblr, mostly)…looks to have originated as a reaction to a couple of screenshots from Free!, but that might just be the most reblogged use of the meme, not the origin.

    • Skai Cyan
      Skai Cyan
      May 15, 2015 at 6:10 am | #

      “That’s racist.” *+1 Sin ding*

  3. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    May 15, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Everyone is suspicious. Did you see Rachel? She’s hiding something.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      She’s hiding a whole ‘nother Rachel is what. We can’t have two Rachels! It’ll make the cast page confusing!

    • John
      John
      May 15, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      She’s too pretty to be a good person.

  4. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    May 15, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Nothing more suspicious than a redhead… errr wait…

  5. EvergreenFir
    EvergreenFir
    May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    Ruth’s new hobby is Billie

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      May 15, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

      Crack is cheaper… 😛

      • brumagem
        brumagem
        May 15, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

        Pretty sure Billie is cheaper. She will occasionally pay YOU when you date her.

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 15, 2015 at 12:53 am | #

          “Have a twenty.”

        • saltchocolate
          saltchocolate
          May 15, 2015 at 2:40 am | #

          It’s more like she’ll pay you *not* to date her. And by “date her,” she means “be anywhere in her sight.” (I’m looking at you, Becks.)

      • Rycan
        Rycan
        May 15, 2015 at 1:14 am | #

        Dunno, there’s some pretty cheap alcohol out there. Can’t say whether it’s safe (a relative term when it comes to ethanol), but it’s cheap!

  6. Kris
    Kris
    May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    It’s kind of an open ended visit.

  7. Rich
    Rich
    May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    Ruth’s hobby, raving paranoia. She’d have been right at home during the 1950s.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 15, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      Especially since she’s Canadian. She could have accused people left and right of socialism, and had a very good success rate.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

        Of course, that decade wasn’t exactly noted for tolerance of non-heterosexual relationships, so perhaps I’m wrong.

        • fogel
          fogel
          May 15, 2015 at 9:37 am | #

          (Cough) Roy Cohn (cough)

      • Corwin Haught
        Corwin Haught
        May 15, 2015 at 5:04 am | #

        Would she be protesting at CCF conventions?

    • Smiling Cat
      Smiling Cat
      May 15, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      Young, college educated, non-traditional sexuality, I’m pretty sure she’d be part of the “Red Menace”.

      • Dean
        Dean
        May 15, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

        At the moment, she’s just a ginger menace.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

        Just being a ginger was grounds for suspicion. But that’s always been true. Can’t trust redheads. 🙂

        • Lord Stoneheart
          Lord Stoneheart
          May 15, 2015 at 2:33 am | #

          Hey, just because I’m a redhead doesn’t mean I’m plotting something. I mean I am plotting conspiracies and the like but that’s unrelated to having red hair. (Though this post will be more pointless if my gravatar changes from a sneering Ruth).

          • Rheios
            Rheios
            May 15, 2015 at 11:38 am | #

            You could use Galasslo and it’d still work!

            • Someone
              Someone
              May 15, 2015 at 7:10 pm | #

              Fools, you will not know what I am planning until it is too late!

      • fogel
        fogel
        May 15, 2015 at 9:38 am | #

        “Lavender Menace”

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 15, 2015 at 11:23 am | #

          That would be Tedd from EGS, wouldn’t it?

          • fogel
            fogel
            May 15, 2015 at 4:06 pm | #

            Could be also, but i was thinking of the 1950s, when Joe McCarthy and Roy Cohn — who may have been closeted — went after gays in the US govt as much as Reds, and got Ike to sign an order barring gays from federal jobs, and more people were fired for being Lavender than Red. if youve seen the movie Julie and Julia, theres a scene in which a Witch Hunting Goon from DC has come over to Paris and asks Julia Childs husband, who’s in the State Department, if hes a homosexual. That kind of thing.

  8. Dusk Tornado
    Dusk Tornado
    May 15, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    This is going to get funny

  9. David Herbert
    David Herbert
    May 15, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Taking out the trash? Who knows what’s in there.
    Having a party? How many drugs are being taken?
    Eating cake? Aren’t you chewing a little too loudly?

  10. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    May 15, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    Ruth: “Becky sounds hot. Any chance she’s into girls?”

    Billie: “I guess we’ll never know.”

    • Kris
      Kris
      May 15, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      That’s the real mystery isn’t it?

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

        If there’s one thing Becky is known for, it’s being mysterious about her sexual preferences.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          May 15, 2015 at 12:38 am | #

          http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-sarcasm-i-get-it-now-see-at-the-time-i-thought-your-jokey-manner-was-just-the-way-you-were-jon-stewart-269959.jpg

        • Killjoy
          Killjoy
          May 15, 2015 at 11:31 am | #

          + 1 internets.

        • Dr. Smart
          Dr. Smart
          May 15, 2015 at 7:38 pm | #

          I honestly think she may be a question mark on the Kinsey scale

    • fogel
      fogel
      May 15, 2015 at 4:07 pm | #

      She totally denies it!!

  11. LiaHansen
    LiaHansen
    May 15, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    Looking menacingly down at each other is how these two say hello

  12. MeghanTheWorldEater
    MeghanTheWorldEater
    May 15, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    God this just makes me sad.
    Billie’s trying to be a good girlfriend by bringing Ruth some food, but Ruth just couldn’t care less..

    • Carriethedragon
      Carriethedragon
      May 15, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

      I’m not sure what you’re implying, but I think it’s more about the fact that she’s depressed than that she doesn’t appreciate Billie’s efforts.

      • MeghanTheWorldEater
        MeghanTheWorldEater
        May 15, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

        I was kinda seeing it as too depressed to appreciate her efforts.
        It reminds me of funks I’ve been in where I was just too depressed to really have the energy to care, and that’s what I see in Ruth.
        Or maybe she’s just waking up and I’m over analyzing everything

        • Carriethedragon
          Carriethedragon
          May 15, 2015 at 12:24 am | #

          I think you’re right. It reminds me friends who’ve been depressed. Barely eating or sleeping, apathetic, uninterested in doing anything. …Yep. :/

          • DarkoNeko
            DarkoNeko
            May 15, 2015 at 4:20 am | #

            Ah, was wondering if I was the only one that noticed that she… probably won’t eat it at all.

            I mean, seriously, I wish eating *cold* burgers on no one.

            …I was assuming another reason for lack of appetite, tho.

            • Rich
              Rich
              May 15, 2015 at 7:41 am | #

              But…but I like cold hamburgers…

    • BobaFett2
      BobaFett2
      May 15, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

      She does care, she’s just depressed. When you’re depressed, you don’t enjoy the things you normally enjoy and life becomes very dull, among other things.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

        Understatement of the millennium.

        And gods, I hate it when people tell me to just cheer up.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          May 15, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

          I know, right? What’re you going to say, “gosh, I didn’t think of cheering up! I’ll do that right now, oh boy I feel so much better”

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 15, 2015 at 12:52 am | #

            My usual response is “Holy shit, why didn’t I think of that?”

          • Gordon
            Gordon
            May 15, 2015 at 12:54 am | #

            “It’s all in your head.”

            Yes. Perhaps that’s because there’s nothing in yours.

            • MeghanTheWorldEater
              MeghanTheWorldEater
              May 15, 2015 at 1:06 am | #

              “It’s all in your head”
              I’m gonna take this conversation in a radically different direction (as the person who started it I have the right to do so shaddup >.<#)
              Yes it is all in your head but so is everything else, including the outside world. I mean you don't actually know the world you just know your experience of the world.
              And although we trust are sense to be accurate we know they often are not.
              So although it's unlikely your experience of the world is wholly inaccurate it's equally doubtful that it's fully accurate as well
              So not only is it all your head, you're trapped there.
              Sorry I just find this idea fascinating…

              • brumagem
                brumagem
                May 15, 2015 at 1:46 am | #

                What Meghan said but with the added distinction that things being all in your head =/= being in control of what is in your head.

                Shit’s hard man. And even if you can get around it you have to get around it about every damn day of your life. It’s like a bridge is out in the map of your brain and everyone else just says to flipping FLY over the gap instead.

              • fogel
                fogel
                May 15, 2015 at 9:49 am | #

                Which is why you can be wrong about what youre looking at but not about what you see.

                On the other hand, what we see is what the Universe looks like when we look at it.

                And, finally, we all live in our own little worlds, inside our heads, but some of them are more congruent with each other than others

                Meghen TWE you gave me an excuse ..uh, reason to propagate 3 of my very favoritist memes. Bless you, for you have made my day!

              • Gigafreak
                Gigafreak
                May 15, 2015 at 10:28 am | #

                So I guess the way to cure yourself of depression is to discover that you are The One and overthrow The Matrix

            • saltchocolate
              saltchocolate
              May 15, 2015 at 2:45 am | #

              Gordon, I’ll be sending you royalties on that line every time I use it. It’s too good to leave on the comments “floor” . . .

              • Gigafreak
                Gigafreak
                May 15, 2015 at 10:32 am | #

                It is short and snappy but sadly leaves the other person no wiser than when they said the stupid thing to begin with, thereby solving nothing aside from giving yourself smug satisfaction that you are unable to fully enjoy due to the aforementioned depression blunting all your feelings.

                …Well, maybe the other stupid person might finally leave you alone after being insulted, so that might be kind of a small win.

                • saltchocolate
                  saltchocolate
                  May 15, 2015 at 11:09 pm | #

                  Aww… sad kitty-face grav + that comment took all the fun out of it for me. Le sigh.

        • fogel
          fogel
          May 15, 2015 at 9:43 am | #

          Cmon, its like when you tell people with broken legs to get up and dance, same thing. Why should folks with psychological injuries get special coddling?

        • Tenn
          Tenn
          May 15, 2015 at 5:02 pm | #

          “Why don’t you just stop having cancer?”

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            May 17, 2015 at 7:45 pm | #

            “have you tried not being a mutant?”

  13. Regina Phalange
    Regina Phalange
    May 15, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

    I find it odd that, at a college so apparently heteronormative as to apparently not understand bisexuality, there’s a concern that people will find out they’re in a relationship if they hang around each other too much (specifically Mary–I don’t see how she could leap to this specific conclusion, leading her sheltered life). I understand Billie being caught in Ruth’s clothes the next morning is problematic, but they can pass off most of this interaction as becoming friends. Friends have sleepovers, especially if one friend is an authority figure potentially helping another friend, a known alcoholic, with her issues by keeping an eye on her over weekends winkwink.

    • Carriethedragon
      Carriethedragon
      May 15, 2015 at 12:18 am | #

      I don’t think Mary’s as sheltered as Joyce, to be honest. Brainwashed, probably. Also, maybe this is just my opinion, but sneaking in and out of the room of a person–an authority figure, no less–that you only met a month ago and are openly antagonistic with… that’s suspicious.

      • Regina Phalange
        Regina Phalange
        May 15, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

        That’s true–Mary is clearly more comfortable talking about pre-marital pregnancy. And I agree it’s suspicious, but I just don’t think “lesbian lovers” is the first assumption people with a heteronormative mindset will make

        • Rich
          Rich
          May 15, 2015 at 12:48 am | #

          There’s been a lot of dread about their relationship being found out by Mary, but I agree, that probably isn’t what she’s thinking of. OTOH, this is a dry campus, and Mary may well suspect that the two of them are getting drunk together (which they are) – those bottles have not always been disposed of very secretly. That’s just about as bad for both of them. Billie’s already got that DWI on her record, and Ruth as an RA is supposed to know better and is in deep trouble if she’s caught giving alcohol to a minor.

          • Greenygal
            Greenygal
            May 15, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

            No, the relationship is what she’s suspicious of: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/dvr/

            • Rich
              Rich
              May 15, 2015 at 8:10 am | #

              Hmmm, fair point. Still hard to get evidence of short of a public meltdown or catching them in the act, though. Whereas the boozing gets Ruth and Billie in just as much trouble and is way easier to prove.

        • Rheios
          Rheios
          May 15, 2015 at 11:43 am | #

          The opposite is also true. I had a buddy in college who just up and decided to move out of our door to a different one. I thought it was because he didn’t like his roommate (apparently the guy was a Dana) and so was leaving because of that. I just thought he should try and get into a dfiferent room int he same dorm because then he’d be able to keep hanging out with everyone. Then on the final day he’s moving the rest of the stuff he pulled me into a different room with the RA and let me know that he had moved so that they could date. I knew he had been bi, but had no clue about the RA. Dude was a good guy though. Sadly my first friend, the one who was moving, is also a rampaging narcissist so it didn’t end great.

          • Rheios
            Rheios
            May 15, 2015 at 11:45 am | #

            *out of our dorm. ARRGGHHHH no EDIT!!

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 15, 2015 at 1:11 pm | #

            Yeah, sometimes what looks like a clever room change turns out to be an epic fail. There was a year where I swapped rooms to live with the guy who was dating the roommate of my own girlfriend. Seemed like a great idea, right? Two couples, two rooms, easy privacy. Within two weeks my new roomie broke it off with the gal he’d been dating and impregnated some girl from another dorm. I got to deal with his angry ex, my girlfriend who was pretty doubtful about me all of a sudden, and his understandably unhappy new lass. At least I had the room mostly to myself after the abortion – he pretty much moved to her dorm for months after that.

      • Charles Phipps
        Charles Phipps
        May 15, 2015 at 2:00 am | #

        Actually, Mary strikes me as one of the girls who converts to fundamentalist Christianity from an atheist background as opposed to someone raised in the faith.

        • DarkoNeko
          DarkoNeko
          May 15, 2015 at 4:14 am | #

          “born again [religion]” tend to be the most extremist lunatics.

          • fogel
            fogel
            May 15, 2015 at 9:52 am | #

            Saul/Paul?

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      May 15, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

      They DO understand Bisexuality.
      That’s the problem here.

      Ruth is the R.A.
      Billie is her charge. Ruth isnt allowed to sleep with , OR worse have relationships with her students. She could fired and lose her job.

      NO, Mary isnt sheltered. She’s actually quite quite worldly and just scornfully judgemental .

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:33 am | #

        Yeah, even an entirely consensual relationship is a serious ethics violation under every RA contract I’ve ever seen. They could sidestep it easily enough if Billie just requested a room swap to some other RA’s dorm/floor/wing before getting caught out, but that wouldn’t be tragic enough, would it?

        • brumagem
          brumagem
          May 15, 2015 at 1:54 am | #

          That would only happen if the comic were called “Everyone Is Smart and Makes Good Rational Decisions Age” and not “Dumbing of Age”, to paraphrase Willis.

      • Regina Phalange
        Regina Phalange
        May 15, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

        Actually, most of the characters we’ve seen discussing bisexuality and who are *not* bi don’t seem to have a good grasp on the concept. Becky and Danny are prime examples, and Dorothy is even a little hesitant talking about it. Only Billie has displayed a very clear understanding, which makes sense because she has known that she’s bi for awhile.

        I understand why they don’t want people finding out, I never indicated that I didn’t, I just really doubt that it’s the first assumption people will jump to. Most straight people will project their own mindset and assume two straight friends unless it gets super obvious, and I just don’t see it at the super-obvious point yet.

        And sorry, but Mary isn’t worldly. Maybe sheltered was a bit too strong of a characteristic to assign, but she certainly isn’t open-minded, and that had to be due to some degree of sheltering.

        • OnnaStik
          OnnaStik
          May 15, 2015 at 1:17 am | #

          You really don’t have to be sheltered to be a judgmental asshat. Like… at all. The graphic descriptions of anal sex you sometimes hear from homophobes are second in detail only to erotic fanfic. They know, they just hate.

          • CJ
            CJ
            May 15, 2015 at 3:09 am | #

            How come they know so much? Either they are reading way to much porn or invested a lot of energy in finding out. 😏

            • DarkoNeko
              DarkoNeko
              May 15, 2015 at 4:16 am | #

              me thinks the homophobes protests too much 🙂

        • Lord Stoneheart
          Lord Stoneheart
          May 15, 2015 at 2:45 am | #

          Mary doesn’t have to have a good grasp of what bisexuality is in order to suspect Ruth and Billie to be in a relationship. She knows that gay people are out there, and has seen Billie sneak in and out of Ruth’s room. Like she doesn’t want to be seen. And she’s the kind of person to assume the interpretation of a situation where others are evil sinners who have fallen short of the grace of God. As opposed to sheltered Joyce who assumes the best in people.

  14. boomwolf
    boomwolf
    May 15, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    People have differing hobbies. Some folks like scale models. Others like flying kites. And some of us spend time suspecting everyone around us of mischief and malice.

  15. Saaaam
    Saaaam
    May 15, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

    Well Billie, you probably just led Ruth to know too much about Becky. Good job.

  16. advancecasette
    advancecasette
    May 15, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

    *hanna from octopus pie voice* I’M the narc!

  17. Tacos
    Tacos
    May 15, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

    Looks like Ruth might find out about Becky if she decides to drop by the party.

  18. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    May 15, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

    *plays Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” on the Muzak*

  19. Rodimiss
    Rodimiss
    May 15, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

    Oh no. Oh no. Because now Ruth will see Becky being around… and around… all the time… this cannot end well. Nothing ends well. I’m waiting in fear to see what terrible thing happens at the party.

    I feel like Ruth, except instead of being suspicious of everyone, it’s suspicious of Willis and of anything that looks happy.

    • MeghanTheWorldEater
      MeghanTheWorldEater
      May 15, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

      Well on the bright side since time passes so slowly in DOA it’ll probably be like three years before Ruth starts to get really suspicious.

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      May 15, 2015 at 12:27 am | #

      If Beckys gaydar picks up Ru-Bie , then they can have a stalemate,
      provided they can keep Mary from finding out about both.

  20. Chronos
    Chronos
    May 15, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

    Billie just Danned it up.

  21. CommunistCanada
    CommunistCanada
    May 15, 2015 at 12:31 am | #

    Just something I noticed on the Cast page, Becky is ogling Dina, and Amber and Ruth are staring at eachother.

    I have New ships.

    • MeghanTheWorldEater
      MeghanTheWorldEater
      May 15, 2015 at 12:35 am | #

      I can’t imagine Dina and Becky at all.
      I mean Dina is just so quite and blends into the woodwork
      And Becky is so loud and she nukes closets from orbit
      …Then again you know what they say about opposites.

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 12:39 am | #

        …they annihilate one another in a blaze of hard radiation?

        • Dean
          Dean
          May 15, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

          Next Slipshine, David Willis is trying to attract some of that physics-porn crowd.

          • Rich
            Rich
            May 15, 2015 at 12:49 am | #

            Mmmm, physics porn. Work that coefficient of friction, baby.

          • Rycan
            Rycan
            May 15, 2015 at 8:49 pm | #

            Panel 1: Two objects approach against a black background

            Panel 2: All white

            Panel 3: Static

      • No Name
        No Name
        May 15, 2015 at 5:17 am | #

        I notice you don’t have any objections to AmbRuth.

      • segnosaur
        segnosaur
        May 15, 2015 at 11:03 am | #

        Nuking a closet from orbit would only be a problem if Dina were hiding behind the closet door.

    • TheZachariah
      TheZachariah
      May 15, 2015 at 12:08 pm | #

      It doesn’t look like Amber and Ruth staring so much as both of them staring at Sal…

  22. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    May 15, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

    Well that’s because everyones hiding some shit, just stop and let’s recap everything that’s happened up to this point.

    • podian
      podian
      May 15, 2015 at 6:05 am | #

      You forget about Dina.

      • Gigafreak
        Gigafreak
        May 15, 2015 at 10:45 am | #

        Dina hides herself all the time, often by accident.

        The Saruyama family must have descended from talented ninjas.

        • Gamaran Sepudomyn
          Gamaran Sepudomyn
          May 15, 2015 at 4:49 pm | #

          Perhaps. Does she have a summer job as a janitor?

  23. Shaunock
    Shaunock
    May 15, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

    Mang, I love Ruth without glasses even more.

    This is strange for me.

  24. Professor Fate
    Professor Fate
    May 15, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

    I’m still trying to determine who’s the top and who’s the bottom in Ruth and Billie’s relationship. Maybe they take turns.

    Just imagine those two with Becky in a threesome. Smokin’!

  25. Aeron
    Aeron
    May 15, 2015 at 2:45 am | #

    Is Ruth thinning out?

  26. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    May 15, 2015 at 3:44 am | #

    I wonder if Ruth would willingly throw out Becky when she’s breaking the same rules.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      May 15, 2015 at 8:40 am | #

      Becky’s an RA banging one of her charges? I seem to have missed a plotline or two.

  27. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    May 15, 2015 at 4:32 am | #

    Aaaand just like that, there goes Becky’s cover. I don’t remember if Joyce asked her to keep it a secret though. Becky was pretty much flaunting herself to everybody at the time.

    • No Name
      No Name
      May 15, 2015 at 5:21 am | #

      Oh she did, but by the time Becky spilled the beans, the damage was done. And then Becky had to blow it even more by being Becky.

  28. nothri
    nothri
    May 15, 2015 at 5:20 am | #

    Wow. Billie is a lot nicer than I would be if someone pulled that Jersey crap on me.

    • Clif
      Clif
      May 15, 2015 at 9:04 am | #

      But Ruth being Ruth is part of the attraction for Billie. Remember the “courtship” phase of their relationship.

  29. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    May 15, 2015 at 6:12 am | #

    So, in the end, we’ll never know wether she had to run naked (with socks) throught the hall.

    • Clif
      Clif
      May 15, 2015 at 9:07 am | #

      Towels are a thing.
      But everyone to their own head-cannon.
      (or other portable weapon of mass disruption).

      • Rich
        Rich
        May 15, 2015 at 1:00 pm | #

        Relatively few ravenous bugblatter beasts on campus, thankfully.

  30. Jimmy
    Jimmy
    May 15, 2015 at 7:51 am | #

    The clothes Ruth’s wearing reminds me of the female uniforms from the original Star Trek.

    • Rich
      Rich
      May 15, 2015 at 8:17 am | #

      There is a bit of that vibe, isn’t there? Maybe it was a gift from the other RA and he’s secretly in love with Ruth? I’ve seen Trekkies give weirder gifts when courting. 🙂

      • Jimmy
        Jimmy
        May 15, 2015 at 2:48 pm | #

        And they have Toronto Maple Leafs colors. Maybe the other RA is a Trekkie/Maple Leafs fan 🙂

        • Gamaran Sepudomyn
          Gamaran Sepudomyn
          May 15, 2015 at 4:46 pm | #

          To me it seems like it was probably just a gift from Howard.

    • m2iCodeJockey
      m2iCodeJockey
      May 15, 2015 at 7:02 pm | #

      It’s a shirt, shaped like a jersey but, long enough to wear like a short dress. They have them in Wings’ alternate colors near me.

      Ruth is a leafs fan. Saying anything about them has provokes her anger.

  31. Bagge
    Bagge
    May 15, 2015 at 9:51 am | #

    Everyone acts like I’m a crazy tyrant or something.

  32. Tenn
    Tenn
    May 15, 2015 at 5:29 pm | #

    “Possibly homosexual. Must investigate further.“

  33. JohnnyO
    JohnnyO
    May 15, 2015 at 10:15 pm | #

    Maybe I got lucky. But I lived in dorms for 2 1/2 years of college and I never had an R.A. who cared what we did, unless there was the smell of weed. Pretty much saw them 3 times per year each.

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