Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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July 29, 2023

Fall

by David M Willis on September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - To Those Who'd Ground Me

└ Tags: becky, dina, joyce, mike, walky

Discussion (204) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce’s taunts could use a little workshopping.

    • Mada
      Mada
      September 7, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      Taking bets on whether she’s singing this to the tune of a song from one of those Hymnal cartoons.

      • inqntrol
        inqntrol
        September 7, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

        That would be appropiate for this situation since we know that Walky appeared in an episode.

      • Eyebrow
        Eyebrow
        September 7, 2015 at 3:12 pm | #

        I heard it in my head to the tune of ‘I have some iiiiiiiiiice cream’ from Eddie Murphy’s routine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J61aeN7apF0

    • begbert
      begbert
      September 7, 2015 at 12:21 am | #

      I don’t know, her last statement couldn’t be more annoying if it tried.

      “Your beliefs don’t maaaatter and they’re so stuuuupid and wroooong that you’ll drooop them on your ooooown because you knoooow that I’m riiiiiight!”

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        September 7, 2015 at 2:52 am | #

        “Walky and Billie sitting in a tree
        K-I-S-S-I-N-G
        First comes LOVE
        Then comes MARRIAGE
        Then comes Walky with a BABY CARRIAGE
        Then comes Billie, dragging you to JESUS
        Because you know that will please us!”

        …I tried

        (take #5, not sure why this isn’t posting)

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          September 7, 2015 at 2:52 am | #

          THERE it is, SHEESH

          • No Name
            No Name
            September 7, 2015 at 3:11 am | #

            So THIS is where you got the Grav. And the name is certainly fitting. Well, was, at any rate, before this comic.

        • BenRG
          BenRG
          September 7, 2015 at 4:21 am | #

          BenRG’s Rating: 7.5/10 — Hey! I liked it!

        • Rowen Morland
          Rowen Morland
          September 7, 2015 at 4:58 am | #

          I better not be hearing that when I walk past a playground.

      • Nono
        Nono
        September 7, 2015 at 4:10 am | #

        Joyce is probably one of those people who think guys and girls can’t be purely platonic friends.

        Of course now she’s friends with Ethan, so we’ll see how long that argument holds water.

        • BenRG
          BenRG
          September 7, 2015 at 4:23 am | #

          It was established early on that one of the reasons Joyce went to college was to find ‘Mr Right’. Given the way the other characters in her immediate circle are pairing off, she could be forgiven for believing that this is the sole reason why one goes to college.

  2. Some Name
    Some Name
    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    But what if I don’t wanna come to Jesus?

    • Arkantos
      Arkantos
      September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

      Then you and I are watching very different types of pornography.

      • Some Name
        Some Name
        September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

        But Joyce said not to watch porn.

        • Pier
          Pier
          September 7, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

          … but you just said come to Jesus. Your statements are contradicting.

          • Pier
            Pier
            September 7, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

            I’m sorry I misread your question. I just need sleep :S

        • Arkantos
          Arkantos
          September 7, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

          Well then Joyce needs to be more specific on her definition of coming. Also, if you don’t wan to come to Jesus, boy did you get an ironic avatar.

        • Mattyos
          Mattyos
          September 7, 2015 at 1:05 am | #

          Joyce also looked up pictures of real penises to draw them on doors.

      • HadToComment
        HadToComment
        September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

        you made me laugh out loud!

      • Pier
        Pier
        September 7, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

        I got that as a dark joke. Don’t go there.

        • Pier
          Pier
          September 7, 2015 at 12:09 am | #

          Just kidding go ahead. 😀

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      September 7, 2015 at 12:11 am | #

      Don’t worry. He’ll come to you. He’s like a loyal pet or a terrifying stalker.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 4:23 am | #

      He’s always made a point of leaving that up to you.

  3. Mada
    Mada
    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    I notice an odd lack of Dorothy here… o.o

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Dorothy isn’t in their Calc class, she is in their Gender Studies class.

    • electromagneticDestroyosaur
      electromagneticDestroyosaur
      September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Which would explain the whole Joyce-insisting-on-WalkyBillie-shipping thing.

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        September 7, 2015 at 10:41 am | #

        Yup, if Dorothy showed up, she’s change her time to the ever-popular “please don’t hate me because I tried to fix my gay boyfriend”. Weird that she’s ok with teasing Walky in this manner when she already dreads that Dorothy may hate her. Or that soggies may rule…

    • AgentKeen
      AgentKeen
      September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

      She doesn’t have math with them, and has a super early class (which is where she probably is).

      She usually meets that during/after lunch to go to gender studies.
      Oh my god, I know webcomic characters’ schedules better than my own.

    • Shrugs
      Shrugs
      September 7, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

      i think they’re walking to math class, which Dorothy isn’t in.

      • Yet_One_More_Idiot
        Yet_One_More_Idiot
        September 7, 2015 at 8:13 am | #

        Ahh, maths class. 😀 My favourite 3 years of university. 😀

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 4:24 am | #

      It’s been established that Dorothy isn’t in this class (I think that this must be the math class that Jason teaches).

  4. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce NO ! it’s such a nice weather, please do not invoke the rain.

  5. electromagneticDestroyosaur
    electromagneticDestroyosaur
    September 7, 2015 at 12:01 am | #

    She’s in for one hell of a wakeup call.

    • cynthash
      cynthash
      September 7, 2015 at 1:41 am | #

      Dibs on her trying things to see if they’re right for her? 😀

  6. inqntrol
    inqntrol
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    At least she is not singing the Sound of Music.

  7. otusasio451
    otusasio451
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Manage your expectations there, Joyce. For LOTS of different reasons.

  8. Yu'Karaya
    Yu'Karaya
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Wonder how weirded out Joyce will feel when she finds out Billie’s boyfriend is actually her girlfriend. So many gay friends.

    • Arkantos
      Arkantos
      September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

      Now that I think about it, doesn’t she only have like, 3 straight friends?

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

        Lessee, Walky, Dorothy, Sarah.

        I suppose you might count Mary as her friend. As much as Mary is anyone’s friend, anyway.

        • Mada
          Mada
          September 7, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

          Y’forgot Amber.

          • Mada
            Mada
            September 7, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

            (Yes I know things between them were rough with Ethan, but considering Joyce was willing to invite Amber to her dorm party, as well as the events towards the end of the Whiteboard Ding-Dong Bandit incident…)

          • airyu
            airyu
            September 7, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

            If Mary’s being counted, Joe and mine ought to be counted.

            • airyu
              airyu
              September 7, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

              Heck even roz honestly

              • Nightsbridge
                Nightsbridge
                September 7, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

                Roz is more a friend than Joe. Joyce at least respects her.

              • inqntrol
                inqntrol
                September 7, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

                Still she didn’t want Joe to come to the party. She even Becky to tell him that he’s not invited.

                • inqntrol
                  inqntrol
                  September 7, 2015 at 12:20 am | #

                  *sent*

        • Norah
          Norah
          September 7, 2015 at 12:39 am | #

          What about Sal?

        • RedFloyd
          RedFloyd
          September 7, 2015 at 9:08 am | #

          I dunno. Walky isn’t completely a 0 on the Kinsey scale. I would probably put him at a 2. (Would suck dick for pizza, and slightly homoerotic statements, though mostly in jest.)

      • fogel
        fogel
        September 7, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

        Mike, sort of? He counts as a friend insofar as Joyce had Becky invite him to her party, notwithstanding that his welcome was conditional on being nice. But is Mike straight in this universe? In Shortpacked he seemed to be somewhere near the middle of the Kinsey Scale.

        • Lord Stoneheart
          Lord Stoneheart
          September 7, 2015 at 12:42 am | #

          Sexuality remains constant through the universes. (So Mike remains whatever you don’t want him to be. And for that matter Walkyverse Danny is also bi, and Walkyverse Becky is gay)

        • Gordon
          Gordon
          September 7, 2015 at 2:04 am | #

          I don’t think Kinsey’s scale really took into account sexualities based entirely in spite and/or blackmail. You can’t really make any definitive statements about what Mike’s sexuality is.

          • Erin
            Erin
            September 7, 2015 at 3:39 am | #

            I think he’s pretty definitively kinky. Sadomasochist is a sexuality 😛

    • Lord Stoneheart
      Lord Stoneheart
      September 7, 2015 at 12:39 am | #

      She’ll probably try and explain really awkwardly that she’s chill with that idea. Though she already knows that Billie has had girlfriends before, so we won’t even get a shocked Joyce face out of it.

      (Though Billie isn’t telling anyone it’s actually a girlfriend anytime soon I would guess. Having everyone think boyfriend is at least going to throw the likes of Joyce off the trail of discovering who Billie is having a relationship with)

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 4:26 am | #

      This is me but, given how mutually destructive the Ruth/Billie relationship is, I’ve got a horrible feeling that Joyce will find out only when the disaster finally happens and then she will be too focussed on helping Billie recover and rediscover her centre to worry too much about the nature of said relationship.

  9. Mallow
    Mallow
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    [insert sex joke related to coming here]

    • Mada
      Mada
      September 7, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

      coming to Jesus, no less. I hope they asked first.

      • Cerberus
        Cerberus
        September 7, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

        Was that coming to Jesus, or coming on Jesus. Is this why Jesus is so white in American Church depictions?

        #yesiknowiamgoingtohell

        • Nightsbridge
          Nightsbridge
          September 7, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

          I will high-five you on the way down.

        • Plasma Mongoose
          Plasma Mongoose
          September 7, 2015 at 12:37 am | #

          They don’t call it The Second Cumming for nothing. 😀

        • Gamaran Sepudomyn
          Gamaran Sepudomyn
          September 7, 2015 at 8:38 am | #

          Or is it coming out of the closet to Jesus?

          • motorfirebox
            motorfirebox
            September 7, 2015 at 8:57 pm | #

            Well, coming IN the closet is just gross.

    • electromagneticDestroyosaur
      electromagneticDestroyosaur
      September 7, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

      These are the thoughts I’ve always had about the part of Mass where they say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. Hosannah, hosannah in the highest!”

      • Mada
        Mada
        September 7, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

        Well people do tend to yell out “OH GOD” during climax, so…y’know…

      • Rabid Rabbit
        Rabid Rabbit
        September 7, 2015 at 2:16 am | #

        I’m particularly fond of one part in the Latin Mass. The English translates as “As was promised to Abraham and his descendants”. The Latin, however, is “quam olim Abrahae et semini ejus”. The last bit sounds exactly like what you think it does. I particularly like Mozart’s setting of the words in his Requiem. Lightens the mood a bit.

  10. LiamAldam
    LiamAldam
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    Looking forward to 2020: The year of Halloween costumes.

    • Stephen R. Bierce
      Stephen R. Bierce
      September 7, 2015 at 12:26 am | #

      You just gave me an excuse to talk about the passage of time in this comic, and pull out my Extremely Crude DoA Calendar(TM). By my reckoning, as the series started with Book 1 as the 2nd week of August, as of this chapter now, we’re starting the 3rd week of September (with the next chapter the first full day of Autumn). If Willis holds to this model (and there is no law saying that he must, because in the words of Scott McCloud “Time in comics in INFINITELY weirder than THAT!”):
      2017~’18 = Last week of September
      2018~’19 = First week of October
      2019~’20 = Second week of October
      2020~’21 = Third week of October (including midterms! And College Night for High School Seniors!)
      2021~’22 = Last week of October (up to and possibly, but NOT necessarily–Halloween).

      • Stephen R. Bierce
        Stephen R. Bierce
        September 7, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

        And I damn myself, for typing too fast. It ought to be…
        2016~’17 = Last week of September
        2017~’18 = First week of October
        2018~’19 = Second week of October
        2019~’20 = Third week of October
        2020~’21 = Last week of October

      • Siyajkak
        Siyajkak
        September 7, 2015 at 1:31 am | #

        to be fair, the first few weeks of freshman year are infinitely more eventful than the rest of the semester combined, so the pacing of notable events will probably slow down soon, and thus the comics, which only care about notable events, should cover more time as they go on.

  11. Stephen R. Bierce
    Stephen R. Bierce
    September 7, 2015 at 12:02 am | #

    *plays The Doobie Brothers’ “Jesus Is Just All Right” on the Muzak*

    • Kelly
      Kelly
      September 7, 2015 at 1:02 am | #

      I like that song, despite the actual lyrics. But it sounds good, and I love the Doobie Brothers, so.

      • Stephen R. Bierce
        Stephen R. Bierce
        September 7, 2015 at 11:59 am | #

        When it was a hit somebody else did a pop-rock version of The Lord’s Prayer. Religiousity in the mass media was a slightly different thing back then.

        • Sunny
          Sunny
          September 7, 2015 at 1:47 pm | #

          Pop-rock? Weaksauce. Get on the Norwegian level already: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82BYUPCAYyU

    • motorfirebox
      motorfirebox
      September 7, 2015 at 8:59 pm | #

      That song always makes me think of a Bible/Firefly crossover.

      “Jesus is a great man!” *stab* “Well, he’s a good man.” *stab* “Well, Jesus is just alright with me.”

  12. HorchataShake
    HorchataShake
    September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    I sincerely wonder what Joyce will be like in DOA two years. Will she ever become areligious? Who knows.

    • airyu
      airyu
      September 7, 2015 at 12:12 am | #

      Naw, I’m sure she’ll still be Christian, but she’ll leave behind her bigotry from her upbringing

      • nightsbridge
        nightsbridge
        September 7, 2015 at 6:47 am | #

        Depends on exactly how far she moves down the Willis autobio track I think.

    • Edupoet81
      Edupoet81
      September 7, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

      We’re never going to see anything past their freshman year, so we won’t be finding out. We can only imagine what their lives might be like after that time. Considering the fact that Joyce is based on David Willis, I suspect that she is on a path to eventually make a full break from her fundamentalist roots. I can absolutely see her becoming areligious eventually.She still has a way to go on said path, however, which is understandable, seeing as she’s only a few weeks into freshman year, and autumn has only just begun.

      • Someone
        Someone
        September 7, 2015 at 1:08 am | #

        perhaps the comic will end with an anime house style ending.

        • Someone
          Someone
          September 7, 2015 at 1:58 am | #

          Dammit animal house

          • Danny
            Danny
            September 7, 2015 at 7:29 pm | #

            I mean really, either works.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      September 7, 2015 at 3:58 am | #

      I believe that Joyce will remain religious.  Based on my own experiences, she will begin to recognize that just like there is more than just one way to get from La Porte to Bloomington there is also more than one way to find God, and will become more tolerant of those who are not following the exact same path as she is.

  13. Nightsbridge
    Nightsbridge
    September 7, 2015 at 12:03 am | #

    Now if you excuse me I’m going to focus on Dina and Becky holding and hands and smiling.

    • Mada
      Mada
      September 7, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

      I’ve made enough sex jokes tonight, so I think I’ll join you

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 7, 2015 at 12:40 am | #

      Squeeeeeeee

  14. Ash Ketchup
    Ash Ketchup
    September 7, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    What? Autumn?

    How many weeks has it been since the beginning of freshman year?!

    • airyu
      airyu
      September 7, 2015 at 12:14 am | #

      About 4 I think?

  15. chris73
    chris73
    September 7, 2015 at 12:04 am | #

    I’m looking forward to Joyces reaction when she finds out whats up but it is nice to see her wearing less clothes, I’m assuming it means shes feeling more in control of herself or something

  16. Regina Phalange
    Regina Phalange
    September 7, 2015 at 12:05 am | #

    Joyce pairing Walky/Billie was cute before, but now that her “bestie” is and has been dating Walky, sticking to the construct seems vaguely inappropriate….

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      September 7, 2015 at 12:39 am | #

      If Joyce can get Billie and Walky together, she could have a shot at Dotty.

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        September 7, 2015 at 4:05 pm | #

        And then Becky will be all ‘I KNEW IT!” and be trapped somewhere between being really pissed and really turned on by the idea.

  17. Jordan
    Jordan
    September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    How far exactly are we into the school year? It can’t be more than a couple of weeks…

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      September 7, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

      Start of week 6.

  18. Smiling Cat
    Smiling Cat
    September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    It’s an interesting sign of character development when Joyce starts using “come to Jesus” as a taunt rather than a commandment.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 7, 2015 at 12:43 am | #

      She did it to Walky before when they found out about his life as a cute little mouse boy.

      It’s a bit in line with Sals advice about owning your own identity

  19. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    September 7, 2015 at 12:06 am | #

    I wonder if Joyce knows what Mpreg is.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 7, 2015 at 12:45 am | #

      She DOES know about shipping…

      • Kelly
        Kelly
        September 7, 2015 at 1:04 am | #

        And strap-ons, and vibrators. School is for learning new things after all!

    • Disloyal Subject
      Disloyal Subject
      September 7, 2015 at 6:14 pm | #

      Becky’s only recently been exposed to secular biology, but has expressed an interest in learning more. Perhaps she’ll read about seahorse reproduction at some point.

  20. tim gueguen
    tim gueguen
    September 7, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    And what we’ve all been waiting for has occurred, the return of Mike!

    • DarkoNeko
      DarkoNeko
      September 7, 2015 at 1:01 am | #

      cautiously staying away from the happy couple.

      • tim guegue
        tim guegue
        September 7, 2015 at 10:58 am | #

        Unfortunately he’s a Dina/Faz shipper.

    • Anna
      Anna
      September 7, 2015 at 6:31 pm | #

      When are we going to find out more about Mike’s secret crush on Joyce, is what I want to know.

  21. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    September 7, 2015 at 12:07 am | #

    I’d rather me and Jesus keep the relationship proffessional.

  22. Mr. Mendo
    Mr. Mendo
    September 7, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    I have a sneaking suspicion that Joyce did that to the tune of a Stryper song…

  23. AgentKeen
    AgentKeen
    September 7, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    I know Dorothy isn’t around, but come on, Joyce. That’s your best-not-Becky friend’s boyfriend you’re shipping with someone else.

    • airyu
      airyu
      September 7, 2015 at 12:13 am | #

      Ikr I thought it was a little mean too

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        September 7, 2015 at 12:23 am | #

        Almost as if she doesn’t like him, possibly for being rude and teasing her for weeks.

        • AgentKeen
          AgentKeen
          September 7, 2015 at 9:22 am | #

          I get her teasing/being mean (depending on how serious you take it) to Walky, but she’s doing it in a way that also seems mean to someone she really likes.

          • timemonkey
            timemonkey
            September 7, 2015 at 4:02 pm | #

            Sure, she should be nicer to Billie than trying to inflict Walky on her but then it frees up Dorothy for better people.

        • Rutee
          Rutee
          September 7, 2015 at 2:18 pm | #

          Look, as little as you like it, it is honestly and sincerely disrespectful to a person you like to not-so-subtly try and get their SO together with someone else. Not everyone you like has to get along with one another – it’s not disrespectful to Dotty for them to be enemies (Or frenemies, whatever. He was invited to the party). It *IS* disrespectful to Dotty to try and break them up.

          • timemonkey
            timemonkey
            September 7, 2015 at 4:07 pm | #

            Is that directed at me? I never said it wasn’t disrespectful, I know it is. (I don’t care that it is, but that’s a different issue).

          • Disloyal Subject
            Disloyal Subject
            September 7, 2015 at 6:16 pm | #

            I don’t think she’s trying to break them up, but she’s found a way to get under Walky’s skin, and she’s leveraging it.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      September 7, 2015 at 12:15 am | #

      Well, remember that she kinda hates Walky and would rather Dorothy be dating someone “better” in her eyes.

      • Cerberus
        Cerberus
        September 7, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

        Though yeah, it’s a little odd, because she has also been repairing that friendship and finding Walky less threatening and offputting as of late, so maybe she’s just imagining 20 year down the line future babies or some such shit.

      • krveale
        krveale
        September 7, 2015 at 12:54 am | #

        Yep, and that ‘someone better’ rhyme’s with “Boyce’s tuppressed band henied kisexual jendencies.”

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 3:19 am | #

      She’s not ‘shipping’ in the classical sense of the word. I think that she’s aware that Walky and Billie were once in a mutual orbit of sorts and is jumping to conclusions about why he’s so concerned about Billie.

      It’s basically a typical girl’s schoolyard taunt. No need to read too much into it.

      • AgentKeen
        AgentKeen
        September 7, 2015 at 9:19 am | #

        I’m just using her own phrasing.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-2/01-pajama-jeans/gross/

  24. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    September 7, 2015 at 12:08 am | #

    To be fair, Walky. We’re all jealous of Billie’s “boyfriend”. Alchoholic or not this is BILLIE we’re talking about. She’s got it goin’ on.

    • Kraken
      Kraken
      September 7, 2015 at 8:35 am | #

      *Co-signs*

  25. Nik
    Nik
    September 7, 2015 at 12:10 am | #

    Wait, how are they just getting into autumn now? What season did they start college in o.o

    • Rebecca
      Rebecca
      September 7, 2015 at 12:22 am | #

      In the midwest it doesn’t usually start looking/feeling like autumn until late September, and school starts in early to mid-August usually. This is about right, it’s taken years for them to get 6(?) weeks into the semester.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        September 7, 2015 at 10:25 am | #

        I’m confused by the claim I’ve seen a couple times here about school starting in early to mid-August. I go to a Midwest, Big 10 school, and we always start near the end of August. I just looked up IU’s schedule, and this school year started for them on August 24th.

        • Nik
          Nik
          September 8, 2015 at 12:25 am | #

          Ah, well fair enough.
          Man I feel so bad for the folks who don’t start in September
          (btw B1G here too, high five!) (cept RU so we kinda shouldn’t be here loi)

  26. Belegcam
    Belegcam
    September 7, 2015 at 12:16 am | #

    You know, I wouldn’t have expected Joyce to be so accepting of unmarried cohabitation. I guess the chance of having oodles of Christian babies balances out that sin in her eyes.

  27. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    September 7, 2015 at 12:17 am | #

    In an alternate universe we see Billie and her boyfriend stuck in a sultry heterosexual murder promise.

    • Lord Stoneheart
      Lord Stoneheart
      September 7, 2015 at 12:51 am | #

      Sadly Walkyverse Danny doesn’t follow through with those promises.
      http://www.itswalky.com/comic/no-way-out/
      (Seeing your post just made me remember that. If you were just doing word play with the phrase “Sexy lesbian suicide pact” then my bad)

  28. Twilightomens
    Twilightomens
    September 7, 2015 at 12:19 am | #

    Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
    eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesussssssss

  29. Adj
    Adj
    September 7, 2015 at 12:28 am | #

    Hey, Dina and Becky are holding hands in the first panel.

    Ahem…

    …squee…

    …that is all.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 7, 2015 at 12:44 am | #

      Squee indeed

  30. Cass
    Cass
    September 7, 2015 at 12:30 am | #

    For some reason my brain just totally parsed that last panel as Joyce sing-songing him marrying the boyfriend and I was all “Wow, Joyce, that’s some nice quick progress to being okay with a gay couple adopting children! Good girl!”

    • C.
      C.
      September 7, 2015 at 12:34 am | #

      Well, “the boyfriend” is Ruth, who is bisexual, so that would work out.

    • skdk
      skdk
      September 7, 2015 at 4:48 am | #

      im pretty sure she means that hes jealous of the boyfriend, and that he and billie will have kids

  31. Zatar
    Zatar
    September 7, 2015 at 12:32 am | #

    Gotta say I like seeing Joyce get to be the one deliberately annoying Walky for a change.

  32. Darwin
    Darwin
    September 7, 2015 at 12:35 am | #

    Oh Joyce, be ever hopeful and annoying!

  33. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    September 7, 2015 at 12:41 am | #

    Panel 4 Joyce face is troll face.

  34. George Lincoln
    George Lincoln
    September 7, 2015 at 12:46 am | #

    I just realised this makes two lesbian relationships in DoA now between a black-haired Asian girl with problems adapting to college life and a freckled redhead in an abnormal position in life

    • barefootbiker
      barefootbiker
      September 7, 2015 at 3:22 am | #

      I mean, just about everyone has problems adapting to college life here. It’s kind of the crux of the storytelling.

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      September 7, 2015 at 4:10 pm | #

      Two same sex relationships. Of those four ladies only one is a lesbian.

  35. Bagge
    Bagge
    September 7, 2015 at 12:49 am | #

    Poor Joyce thinks she FINALLY had figured out a situation. Billie is in love, Walky is jealous. No self destruction or best-friend-worries here…

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 2:52 am | #

      Here’s another point made plain here: Joyce is a romantic! She really does believe that you can have ‘happily ever after’.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        September 7, 2015 at 3:38 am | #

        She is, she really is and it’s absolutely adorable.

        I especially love how recent events with Dina and Becky kinda proved her point for her. Becky was in DEEEP trouble…until she fell in love and ToeDad got sent on a bus and his car towed and Becky got money for a date, and parental figures that are now invested in her wellfare and… SQUEEEEEEE!

  36. Adam Black
    Adam Black
    September 7, 2015 at 12:50 am | #

    I’m afraid to ask…
    is this a real song?

    • Someone
      Someone
      September 7, 2015 at 1:11 am | #

      That song would be oddly specific to the situation.

  37. Someone
    Someone
    September 7, 2015 at 1:10 am | #

    I really want a Dumbing of age/Walkyverse crossover, simply so there can be a scene where Walkyverse Joyce mentions that she’s pregnant with Walkys child to dumbing of age Joyce…Dumbing of age Joyce spends the next couple strips screaming.

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      September 7, 2015 at 1:23 am | #

      This crossover could take place when she’s asleep and dreams about it.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 2:17 am | #

      I’m actually plotting out a fan-fiction based on this. Walkyverse Joyce has a lot to tell her younger, far more naive and innocent counterpart. A lot of it a warning about Anti-Joyce, who I’d like to see return as the devil on DoA-verse Joyce’s shoulder.

      However, she’s also got something to tell her about superpowers… 😉

      • Someone
        Someone
        September 7, 2015 at 3:03 am | #

        I would read that fanfiction. Especially if at some point everyone teamed up to fight the soggies.

      • Gamaran Sepudomyn
        Gamaran Sepudomyn
        September 7, 2015 at 2:51 pm | #

        I’m not sure whether to be intrigued by this fanfic, or wary of the inevitable DoA Joyce/Walkyverse Anti-Joyce kiss.

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        September 7, 2015 at 4:13 pm | #

        I don’t think Dumbing Joyce needs to worry about Anti-Joyce. She’s nowhere near as repressed and crazy as Walkyverse Joyce was, and there won’t be any aliens to create a clone of her.

        • BenRG
          BenRG
          September 8, 2015 at 4:43 am | #

          To clarify: Not Anti-Joyce as a separate entity but as the voice of her temptations and ‘naughty’ side. Perhaps occasionally manifested in dreams.

  38. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    September 7, 2015 at 1:45 am | #

    So, Walky is genuinely worried about Billie.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      September 7, 2015 at 12:10 pm | #

      He’s a good friend

  39. Torra
    Torra
    September 7, 2015 at 1:46 am | #

    Haha oh troll Joyce. I love the Joyce-Walky dynamic so much in this universe, its always fun to watch. Well, read.

    • barefootbiker
      barefootbiker
      September 7, 2015 at 3:20 am | #

      It’s fun watching DW’s two autobiographical characters make fun of each other, even if it’s a bit of a mindfuck when you think about it that way.

      • gkheyf
        gkheyf
        September 7, 2015 at 2:00 pm | #

        It is only when they exist in harmony that the rift in the author’s mind will finally heal

  40. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 7, 2015 at 2:15 am | #

    I actually had to think a while about Walky’s snappy come-back in panel 5. I believe that he is referring to Joyce’s own confirmed batchelorette state. Meanwhile, her little song showing that she’s basically okay with it.

    That said, I think that Walky suspects that there is something not quite right about the story Billie has been telling them about her relationship status.

    Meanwhile, it does look like Mike may be about to reclaim his Shortpacked! role as the mean-spirited and short-tempered Token Sane One. Given how generally messed up everyone else in Freshman Year seems to be, that wouldn’t be too superlative an achievement on his part!

    • barefootbiker
      barefootbiker
      September 7, 2015 at 3:18 am | #

      …Shortpacked! Mike was the “token sane one?”

      Is there a third universe that I haven’t heard about?

      • barefootbiker
        barefootbiker
        September 7, 2015 at 3:18 am | #

        Dammit, that was only supposed to italicize the first word. Oh well.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        September 7, 2015 at 3:21 am | #

        Yeah, he actually did seem to be the one who saw things the most clearly in Shortpacked!, although he was still a mean-spirited (expletive deleted)!

        • timemonkey
          timemonkey
          September 7, 2015 at 4:14 pm | #

          It’s easy to see things clearly when you’re not actually invested in the problems.

  41. Rycan
    Rycan
    September 7, 2015 at 2:25 am | #

    And these two became an item in the Walkovers how?
    _

    Oh, yeah. Mindwipes.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 2:34 am | #

      Remember that the Walkyverse Joyce and Walky got together after years in each other’s company confronting and surviving pretty nasty end-of-the-world scenarios as well as triumph and grief together. What they are in Joyce and Walky is the end result of about a decade of a life-style and shared experiences that the DoA characters probably can’t imagine!

  42. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    September 7, 2015 at 2:43 am | #

    is this thing working? my posts haven’t gone through =(

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      September 7, 2015 at 2:44 am | #

      GDI

    • inqntrol
      inqntrol
      September 7, 2015 at 3:10 am | #

      Had internet problems recently?

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        September 7, 2015 at 3:15 am | #

        idk I was at a friend’s house until about 1a and only just tried posting at 2:30

        • Ana Chronistic
          Ana Chronistic
          September 7, 2015 at 3:20 am | #

          but I posted the post, then it didn’t appear, and each subsequent time I tried to post, it said it was a duplicate post, so I don’t think it was internet as such

          • BenRG
            BenRG
            September 7, 2015 at 3:23 am | #

            That’s happened to me a few times. I think that WordPress decides that it doesn’t like certain origin IPs or certain words and refuses to print some submissions.

  43. 6Qubed
    6Qubed
    September 7, 2015 at 2:47 am | #

    Joyce is that a threat

    because that kinda sounds like a threat

    • gkheyf
      gkheyf
      September 7, 2015 at 2:04 pm | #

      Walt is being threatened with a drunken, horny, biracial cheerleader. Poor guy

  44. A Scientist
    A Scientist
    September 7, 2015 at 4:01 am | #

    Not only is Dumbing of Age now in autumn, it’s also now a musical it seems.

  45. Ben Grahm
    Ben Grahm
    September 7, 2015 at 4:24 am | #

    Joyce, you sound like my mother, and that’s not a good thing

  46. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 7, 2015 at 5:50 am | #

    Just FWIW, I always imagine Joyce having a really sweet singing voice normally but, when she sings something hymn-like, it becomes raucous and atonal. This coming from a habit of shouting out praise in church or something.

    • nightsbridge
      nightsbridge
      September 7, 2015 at 7:31 pm | #

      The church she goes to has a guitar. I don’t think she’ll be atonal.

    • Rycan
      Rycan
      September 7, 2015 at 10:06 pm | #

      I think you got the relationship between music and churches backwards. Singing in a group at least once a week (depending on what church you attend) would probably make you a better singer than somebody who never sings unless it’s karaoke night.

  47. Chronos
    Chronos
    September 7, 2015 at 7:11 am | #

    So considering that this is set in Indiana, that puts us around, what, early to mid October?

  48. TSB
    TSB
    September 7, 2015 at 7:31 am | #

    The Dumbing of Age characters were going through freshman orientation and the desperate, giddy let’s-all-be-friends rush at the same time I was. It was kind of comforting.

    Now it is autumn at Indiana University and I’m going into grad school. Can I make doctor before Christmas break? Ready, set, go!

  49. BenRG
    BenRG
    September 7, 2015 at 7:53 am | #

    I’ve been thinking about this. DoA goes out with a single-row strip daily. Given average page sizes, that means that one week’s output is a single two-page spread. Or, if you prefer, a year (taking into consideration DMW’s focus on buffers), one calendar year gives you a maxi-sized 50-page special issue of a regular comic book.

    This means we are at the beginning of issue 6 (assuming one issue/volume) of a comic book. Or, if this wasn’t a daily webcomic but, instead, a monthly mainstream comic book, we’d be six months into the run of the title.

    When you bear this in mind, suddenly being barely one month into Joyce and her friends’ college adventures isn’t that surprising.

  50. hof1991
    hof1991
    September 7, 2015 at 8:03 am | #

    The thing that strikes me is how short this group is. Mike looks quite tall and he isn’t at all. Even Ethan is supposed to be only six feet, which isn’t noticeably tall, except in this comic, where he looks like a giant. Like a height based Lake Wogegone where everyone is below average height.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      September 7, 2015 at 8:07 am | #

      The only two heights I’ve seen confirmed are Amber (5′ 5″) and Sal (5′ 7″).

      • Nono
        Nono
        September 7, 2015 at 3:35 pm | #

        Joe is 6’2″, I think.

    • Kelly
      Kelly
      September 7, 2015 at 4:02 pm | #

      Six feet seems noticeably tall to me (I’m about 5′ 9″ fwiw). Do you live in a land of little giants?

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      September 7, 2015 at 4:12 pm | #

      I think that’s because they’re walking up a slope and Mike is at the front. Mind you, he is taller than everyone else in the group (and basically the entire extended cast outside of Ethan, Joe, and Jacob, and older adults).

  51. RedFloyd
    RedFloyd
    September 7, 2015 at 8:58 am | #

    “And you’ll all come to Jeeeeeeeeesus”
    Holiest of slipshines confirmed?

  52. Bandit
    Bandit
    September 7, 2015 at 9:27 am | #

    …So we’re just gonna overlook that Joyce is making the awesomeface in the last panel?

    • Disloyal Subject
      Disloyal Subject
      September 7, 2015 at 6:12 pm | #

      Pretty much. We have our own memes here.
      Besides, she makes that face all the time.

  53. bunivasal
    bunivasal
    September 7, 2015 at 10:19 am | #

    Oh my god, she went from “endearingly” annoying to “I’m not talking to you anymore” annoying in the space of two stretched out syllables. Go away, Joyce.

  54. Toes14
    Toes14
    September 7, 2015 at 10:20 am | #

    So It’s September 21st there?

    • Lord Stoneheart
      Lord Stoneheart
      September 7, 2015 at 11:23 am | #

      I think just autumn in the sense that the leaves have started to turn. It has to be a Monday, but it doesn’t have to be a year where September 21st is both the first day of fall, and on a Monday. I want to say this is the beginning of week 5? So general late September/early October.

  55. Vangeln
    Vangeln
    September 7, 2015 at 2:19 pm | #

    Mike looks cool here.

  56. wakeangel2001
    wakeangel2001
    September 7, 2015 at 2:20 pm | #

    now I REALLY want her to find out Billie’s boyfriend is a girl.

    • m2iCodeJockey
      m2iCodeJockey
      September 7, 2015 at 4:39 pm | #

      Yes, I want her to find out. The worse means possible.

      Say, thumbing through the selfies on Billie’s phone, sees a red bush, BSOD causing Billie to explain just it’s an unshaven armpit…

      • Disloyal Subject
        Disloyal Subject
        September 7, 2015 at 6:10 pm | #

        Anyone who looks through someone else’s image folders deserves every bit of shock, horror, and disgust that they will inevitably feel.

        • m2iCodeJockey
          m2iCodeJockey
          September 7, 2015 at 6:16 pm | #

          About the same as what would happen if she looked in her roommate’s underwear drawer?

  57. SLICEY
    SLICEY
    September 7, 2015 at 3:18 pm | #

    You know i was going to ask what they will do when it is winter break in the year 2020 with becky but then i thought…. Dina will take her home with her duh.

  58. Spencer
    Spencer
    September 7, 2015 at 3:40 pm | #

    Walky’s concern for Billie has always been one of the most humanizing aspects of him, I’d say even moreso than his relationship with Dorothy.

    I think it’s fairly obvious that Walky was really hurt by Sal leaving, but he decided to internalize it by saying he shouldn’t really care. With Billie, someone who loudly talks about how much he annoys her, Walky insists on actively spending time with her and cuts back on his more annoying tendencies with her when she’s hurting. When Billie went missing, he practically bounded out of his room to Ruth’s to find her.

    The way I see it, between his relationships with Sal, Billie and Dorothy, Walky is scared of losing people, but doesn’t know how to express that through his views on proper masculinity.

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      September 7, 2015 at 4:19 pm | #

      I agree on the first part but not the second.

      Walky and Billie used to be really close, much closer than he ever was with Sal. He and Sal only grew further apart as she got madder about how their parents favoured him. From what we’ve seen of his thoughts on the matter so far he might have just shrugged off Sal getting shipped off with a ‘yeah, that was bound to happen’.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        September 7, 2015 at 4:33 pm | #

        I think he did so because he didn’t know how to deal with actually losing Sal. He decided that it was just something to deal with, and he wouldn’t put any actual effort into showing he cared for Sal because that’s feelings, man. Instead of acknowledging that he missed his sister he built a narrative where caring about her wasn’t worth it.

  59. HiiroArana79
    HiiroArana79
    September 7, 2015 at 4:15 pm | #

    Eww! Does Joyce listen to Rappy McRapperson?

  60. J.Crowe
    J.Crowe
    September 7, 2015 at 8:46 pm | #

    Joyce’s face in that last panel kinda makes me want to punch her. It’s such a punchable expression.

    • chris73
      chris73
      September 7, 2015 at 11:31 pm | #

      I want something bad to happen to her but then I remember the bad things that have happened so now instead of that I just hope a big bird flys along and takes a dump on her head

  61. nothri
    nothri
    September 7, 2015 at 9:50 pm | #

    You know, Joyce, you were there when Billie was going through her meltdown. You should know how legit Walky’s concern is.

  62. Wafflebob
    Wafflebob
    September 7, 2015 at 10:56 pm | #

    I find this particularly amusing as parallel universe Joyce and Walky are currently having babies

Joyce and Joe?

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