Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 8, 2026

Tattler

by David M Willis on October 24, 2018 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - Flyin' to the Red
└ Tags: dorothy, fuckface, joyce, mary, ruth

Discussion (134) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    October 24, 2018 at 12:01 am | #

    Ruth: What do YOU got the stink-eye over?

    Mary: *pushes kitchen magnet ‘8’ upwards* “Everything.”

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    October 24, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

    Either Ruth just assumes that stink-eye is Mary’s default expression, or Mary’s got an extra pair of eyes on the back of her head that are doing it too.

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      October 24, 2018 at 12:17 am | #

      Guessing she might be able to tell from her posture, or her just kinda standing in the hallway being pissy.

    • BarerMender
      BarerMender
      October 24, 2018 at 2:37 am | #

      Willis always draws the characters facing the reader, no matter which way they’re actually facing in the DoA world.

    • Taellosse
      Taellosse
      October 24, 2018 at 7:55 am | #

      *looks at first panel*

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 24, 2018 at 8:14 am | #

      How do you tell if Mary is angry at someone?

      Check her pulse. If she’s got one, she’s angry.

    • Kitty
      Kitty
      October 24, 2018 at 2:52 pm | #

      Folded arms. Hunched shoulders. We can’t see her lower body but there is a LOT that can be expressed in posture and body language that would indicate the stink eye without actually seeing someone’s face.

  3. ShinyNeen
    ShinyNeen
    October 24, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    I adore that fourth panel.

    Whoop!

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      October 24, 2018 at 8:18 am | #

      Clearly, Joyce’s workouts with her sister are paying off…

      • ShinyNeen
        ShinyNeen
        October 24, 2018 at 11:23 am | #

        You’re right! She’s actually got lots of practice moving people around.

  4. Shiro
    Shiro
    October 24, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    Oh, that was a clever move of Joyce that shows she understands Mary very well. Direct her attention onto a lesser secret that you pretend to care about more!

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 24, 2018 at 1:21 am | #

      That was pretty impressive, and I’m hoping it worked. Seems like it’d be hard to forget that one of your hall-mates is using an iguana as a hat.

      • Heavensrun
        Heavensrun
        October 24, 2018 at 3:28 am | #

        Yeah, but the genius of it is that Mary doesn’t know where the iguana came from, and since she didn’t get the story, she doesn’t know it’s something worth tattling about. To her it’s just Joyce being weird.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 24, 2018 at 7:05 am | #

          She does know pets aren’t allowed.
          So is Mary fooled here or is she holding onto the bigger secret for later use?

          Mary’s not really a tattler. She’s a hoarder. She uses secrets for power, not just to get people in trouble up front.

          • ruhrow
            ruhrow
            October 24, 2018 at 12:45 pm | #

            But at this point, the ‘secret’ is that Joyce brought an iguana into the dorm…or maybe, just maybe, she could stretch that into “Joyce possibly has a pet iguana”, which could be easily disproven by searching her room. Joyce has no real ties with Malaya, so it’d be a leap to jump there. She may possibly go with “someone possibly has a pet iguana somewhere in the dorm,” but proving that would require searching EVERYONE’S room, which is problematic on the face of it (especially given that Mary is unpopular overall and with Ruth even more so) and would also give Malaya ample time/warning to cover her tracks.

            Joyce played this well, overall.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              October 24, 2018 at 3:21 pm | #

              Or Mary will do her thing, now that she knows to look for something and lurk and spy and wait for more evidence.

  5. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    October 24, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    Huh, I’m actually impressed that Joyce was able to come up with that so quickly and that Mary bought that. Maybe Fuckface’s powers aren’t as bogus as I previously thought…

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      October 24, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

      yeah. I really thought they were fucked, there.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        October 24, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

        You thought that, but Joyce faced Mary down with courage.

    • emusam
      emusam
      October 24, 2018 at 4:11 am | #

      I suspect it was a true statement, although it’s possible Dorothy had permission, so when Ruth takes the accusation seriously and follows up on it (probably the correct course of action unless Mary cries wolf too much), Sierra will honestly be able to say Mary was bearing false witness. Borrowing + suspicious demeanor ≠ stealing.

    • foamy
      foamy
      October 24, 2018 at 4:19 pm | #

      Am I the only one noticing Mary shifting ‘borrowing’ to ‘stealing’ in her game of telephone tattling?

      • foamy
        foamy
        October 24, 2018 at 4:20 pm | #

        … literally the comment right above mine said the same thing twelve hours ago, I’m an idiot.

  6. TheKelliestKelly
    TheKelliestKelly
    October 24, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

    Mary sounds like the un fun aunt in the first panel and the annoying cousin in the last two panels.

  7. Cattleprod
    Cattleprod
    October 24, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

    I actually went back to see if Dorothy’s feet are ever visible to see if she has shoes. Because Sierra doesn’t wear them, and she’s borrowing her clothes…

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 24, 2018 at 2:03 am | #

      It looks like she just threw that floral print shirt on on top of what she was already wearing.

    • showler
      showler
      October 24, 2018 at 10:19 am | #

      Frictionless shoes, apparently.

  8. Bathymetheus
    Bathymetheus
    October 24, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    It seems that Joyce’s command of psychology is as good as Dorothy’s.

  9. Tacos
    Tacos
    October 24, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    Look at that expression on Fuckface. He’s so done with this shit.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      October 24, 2018 at 1:22 am | #

      I don’t know, that seems like Fuckface’s default expression.

      • MatthewTheLucky
        MatthewTheLucky
        October 24, 2018 at 2:42 am | #

        Exactly.

        • Beef
          Beef
          October 24, 2018 at 10:21 pm | #

          Fuckface is permanently done with all the shit

  10. Bagge
    Bagge
    October 24, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

    Subterfuge? To avoid detection from an authorothy figure?

    I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: NEVER mess with Joyce.

    She can break your heart (right, Joe?)
    She can break your pedal magna distal phalangeal bone (right, Toe?)
    Or, if she feels like it, she can be a very sharp suberfuge operator indeed. It start to show that although she did not always agree with her methods, this is the girl who grew up with Becky has her best friend.

    • Minotaur
      Minotaur
      October 24, 2018 at 2:37 am | #

      “But she’s always a woman to me!”

      • Bickendan
        Bickendan
        October 24, 2018 at 5:24 am | #

        lol
        beat me to it!

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          October 24, 2018 at 9:35 am | #

          Wha… what are you two talking about?

          • StClair
            StClair
            October 24, 2018 at 10:27 am | #

            Song lyric.

            • Bagge
              Bagge
              October 24, 2018 at 10:52 pm | #

              Aaaaah, that makes much more sense. Thanks

              • Bagge
                Bagge
                October 26, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

                Found it! Not half bad, either.

  11. Kern Wallace
    Kern Wallace
    October 24, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

    Mary better watch out, I hear there’s a killer going around called the Tattletale Strangler.

  12. BBCC
    BBCC
    October 24, 2018 at 12:10 am | #

    Well, they’re right. You’re the DEFINITION of a tattler, Mary.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 12:20 am | #

      Cerberus was spot on when she described her as a curtain twitcher ready to catch her neighbor in any little sin they might be up to

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        October 24, 2018 at 1:58 am | #

        Somewhere out there, there’s a seat on a homeowner’s association board with her name on it.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          October 24, 2018 at 4:03 am | #

          Good LORD do I not want her as a neighbour.

          • Regalli
            Regalli
            October 24, 2018 at 9:05 am | #

            Seriously. Mary would be the one complaining about noise and parking when you have three friends over for dinner at six pm on a Saturday. (Not even a party with music or anything, just dinner.)

    • Kris
      Kris
      October 24, 2018 at 12:37 am | #

      They may be right about Mary (like 100% right with a 2% margin of error), but…..do they know why children love the great taste of cinnamon toast crunch?! I don’t think so. Stay humble ladies.

      • Some1
        Some1
        October 24, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

        Is it sugar? I’m gonna go ahead and guess sugar.

        • BarerMender
          BarerMender
          October 24, 2018 at 2:34 am | #

          Well, I’m not prepared to say it’s sugar, but, yeah, it’s sugar.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          October 24, 2018 at 10:26 am | #

          CINNAMON sugar even?

  13. 3-I
    3-I
    October 24, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

    The irony here is that at this point, Ruth would be more likely to throw Mary out than Fuckface. She already knows what Mary is.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 12:21 am | #

      Yeah, I give it VERY good odds that Ruth already knows about Fuckface and tries very hard to maintain plausible deniability

      • ShinyNeen
        ShinyNeen
        October 24, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

        Fuckface, a.k.a. “Becky 2”? I could see it.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          October 24, 2018 at 7:07 am | #

          Well, Ruth didn’t already know about Becky and Fuckface has been less obvious, so I kind of doubt it. The only real clue Ruth’s had is the escaped Lettuce.

          • ShinyNeen
            ShinyNeen
            October 24, 2018 at 11:10 am | #

            Yeah, fair. I mostly meant that there’s reasonable odds that Ruth would turn a blind eye to Fuckface -after- learning about him. She wouldn’t have the same reasons as she did for turning a blind eye to Becky, but still.

    • Emily
      Emily
      October 24, 2018 at 7:27 am | #

      If that’s true then it’s just another point towards Ruth being a really bad RA because there are a lot of good reasons pets generally aren’t allowed in college dorms. In no particular order: 1) Animals are often messy and don’t exactly respect damage deposits 2) It’s unfair to expect people to cohabit with someone else’s pet not to mention allergies exist 3) Shoebox dorm rooms don’t have the space for the proper enclosures for most animals (they’re not even enough space for the people living there in the first place) 4) Animals can be unpredictable and the college doesn’t want to be liable when someone’s roommate gets bitten by their nervous dog

      • Clif
        Clif
        October 24, 2018 at 9:35 am | #

        Thank you, Mary.

        • Clif
          Clif
          October 24, 2018 at 9:39 am | #

          That was unfair and over the top. I’m sorry. I don’t know why I always find your comments so irritating., but I’m going to see if I can keep myself from responding to them for a few day.

          • Emily
            Emily
            October 24, 2018 at 11:39 am | #

            No need to apologize, I honestly couldn’t give less of a fuck what you think of me.

          • Emily
            Emily
            October 24, 2018 at 11:44 am | #

            But also go fuck yourself. Just on like general principle for conflating me with a transphobe and homophobe.

            • 3-I
              3-I
              October 25, 2018 at 3:27 pm | #

              “No need to apologize, but also go fuck yourself” is the title of the next book.

          • Inahc
            Inahc
            October 24, 2018 at 4:10 pm | #

            Because they are consistently negative, judgemental and dripping with scorn? It’s not that they’re *wrong*, it’s just… consistently unpleasant to read.

      • not someone else
        not someone else
        October 24, 2018 at 1:32 pm | #

        I am wondering if Fuckface actually even has a proper iguana enclosure or whether he’s just wandering around freezing half the time, crapping everywhere and being miserable. Reptiles are not easy to care for, and real adult iguanas who are cared for properly get much larger than Fuckface and require enclosures too large to reasonably fit in a dorm regardless of any other issues.

        He might just be a magical comic iguana like he was in Shortpacked, but if reality applies to him at all, sadly, we’ve seen no indication Malaya is taking care of him on a basic level.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        October 24, 2018 at 7:03 pm | #

        I think all of this is true, barring the bit about it being unfair to expect people to live with other’s pets. Unless there are allergies, you take that risk if you agree to a random roommate. That’s not to say pets should be allowed in the dorms – you’ve given ample good reasons why its a bad idea. I just don’t think it’s unfair to expect others to cohabit with others pets in a random roommate scenario.

        • Inahc
          Inahc
          October 24, 2018 at 9:53 pm | #

          I’m on the fence there. pets that stay in a cage/tank should be easy to ignore, but some pets can get really destructive (I lost a lot of things to mum’s dogs as a child) and some pets are incredibly smelly (ferrets, omfg).

          then again, I just skipped the whole dorm thing myself (which it turned out was a good idea because of the people running the dorms anyways – they had somehow gotten an exemption from the Residential Tenancy Act, so they could be as awful as they liked and students literally had no right to complain)

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            October 24, 2018 at 9:58 pm | #

            I’m not referring to the dorms – like I said, there’s a bunch of good reasons to avoid pets in the dorms. But if you agree to a random roommate, you need to accept the risk they have a pet. The pet owner is obligated to keep the pet as unobtrusive as possible, but that doesn’t mean that you (general you) have the right to demand they give up their pet or find somewhere else to live when you agreed to live with a random roommate (which, barring situations like dorms where there are good reasons to bar pets, includes anything they come with).

            • Inahc
              Inahc
              October 24, 2018 at 10:08 pm | #

              …

              why *would* someone agree to a random roommate outside of dorms? that sounds like a blind date that lasts months instead of one evening.

              • BBCC
                BBCC
                October 25, 2018 at 11:49 am | #

                I have no idea, but my point is if you agree to room with someone you don’t know, you kinda have to take whatever possessions they come with (barring if they are illegal to have in the house) if you want to live there (and you don’t have to! Saying ‘no thanks’ is an option). There are good reasons not to allow pets in the dorm, but lots of apartments don’t ban pets (and, where I live, they are not ALLOWED to ban pets except for allergies – they can say a specific animal is disruptive or dangerous but they can’t ban pets in general) so if you agree to room with someone you’ve not met and discussed this with previously, I kinda feel like that’s your own fault (though, again, the owner is obligated to make sure it behaves).

  14. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    October 24, 2018 at 12:17 am | #

    *hacked Muzak switches to The Bee Gees’ “Jive Talkin'”*

  15. Kris
    Kris
    October 24, 2018 at 12:26 am | #

    Just own it Mary. That way you take the power from them!

  16. foducool
    foducool
    October 24, 2018 at 12:36 am | #

    ahaahah it worked

  17. butts
    butts
    October 24, 2018 at 12:43 am | #

    you’re a rebel, Joyce

  18. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    October 24, 2018 at 12:46 am | #

    Question of the night: does the hovertext refer to Joyce’s line in panel 4, or Mary’s line in panel 6, or Mary’s line in panel 7?

    • Some1
      Some1
      October 24, 2018 at 12:49 am | #

      yes.

      • Clif
        Clif
        October 24, 2018 at 9:46 am | #

        Also, yes. Though I initially read it as a hypothetical Joyce response to Marys line in panel 6.

  19. RiverDee
    RiverDee
    October 24, 2018 at 12:51 am | #

    honestly Mary seemjs more confused through out this strip than angry, i’d say the stink eye was more a (safe) assumption on Ruth’s part

  20. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    October 24, 2018 at 12:51 am | #

    This is why nobody likes you, Mary.

  21. dethtolldotmid
    dethtolldotmid
    October 24, 2018 at 1:03 am | #

    The way Joyce has become incredibly good at ducking authority and obfuscating sounds about right for someone who grew up in a spiritual police state. I learned to lie just to have a life of my own.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      October 24, 2018 at 1:56 am | #

      Joyce didn’t lie, she just omitted certain truths. She’d be great at authoring “executive summaries”.

  22. Mkvenner
    Mkvenner
    October 24, 2018 at 1:13 am | #

    not the word I would use.

  23. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    October 24, 2018 at 1:20 am | #

    Mary’s a real Snitchy McLooselips.

  24. Nono
    Nono
    October 24, 2018 at 1:48 am | #

    Mary already went from ‘borrowing’ to ‘stealing’ in less than a minute.

  25. mrnoidea
    mrnoidea
    October 24, 2018 at 1:54 am | #

    ….How did that work?

    Joyce and Dorothy, count yourselves very, very lucky.

    • Sam
      Sam
      October 24, 2018 at 7:04 am | #

      Overemphasised a smaller thing so she became distracted from the bigger thing. It is a tactic and it does work on people and Mary knows not the true significance of the iguana now as Joyce treated it as unimportant.

  26. BenRG
    BenRG
    October 24, 2018 at 2:00 am | #

    “I’m not a tattler, I just don’t let people get away with minor infractions!”

    I’m glad to see that Ruth literally has no time for Mary’s issues.

  27. Aprion
    Aprion
    October 24, 2018 at 2:03 am | #

    Go take a short leap off a tall cliff Mary.

  28. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    October 24, 2018 at 2:09 am | #

    Note the self-righteous looming Mary pulls over Dorothy and Joyce, despite all of them being around the same height. That’s exactly the kind of thing a power tripping know-it-all tattletale does.

  29. Some1
    Some1
    October 24, 2018 at 2:32 am | #

    Honestly I feel like “borrowing” your room mates clothing without permission is a bit over the top. I mean, its okay if Dorothy got permission ahead of time, but please don’t steal your roommates clothing. I’d be pissed if I caught my roommate walking around in one of my shirts.

    • Koms
      Koms
      October 24, 2018 at 3:08 am | #

      Well… desperate times desperate measures. And Sierra seems pretty chill. My roommate in college had no sense of boundaries. I got a new shirt. She immediately snatched it to wear it. And mind you this girl does not bathe very often and is stinky. The shirt doesn’t fit her. I thank the heavens so much.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 5:56 am | #

      “Sisters share clothes, right?”
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/03-up-all-night-to-get-vengeance/share-2/

    • showler
      showler
      October 24, 2018 at 10:21 am | #

      I doubt Sierra would be upset if you borrowed every item of clothing she owned. Probably wouldn’t stop her from going to class either.

  30. BenRG
    BenRG
    October 24, 2018 at 2:53 am | #

    It suddenly occurs to me that Joyce’s plan worked! Instead of telling Ruth about Fuck-face, Mary can only focus on the faux-confession about Dorothy borrowing Sierra’s clothes. She’s actually managed to forget about the iguana on Joyce’s head!

    I dunno… maybe Joyce does have psychic powers!

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 10:14 am | #

      It’s an EXCELLENT plan given that it came from little miss goody-two-shoe-never-lie-and-always-respect-authority-figures. And more than that – it’s a pretty good answer to – and A BETTER variation of – Dorothy’s “distraction-with-psychology”-ploy.

      This is the Joyce who broke into a house with Becky and Jocelyne. The Joyce who – if ineptly, still in earnest – hid Becky from the entire world when she needed it, the Joyce who as far as I can tell surpasses Dorothy in Subterfuge.

      I’m impressed and just a little scared.

  31. SillyGoose
    SillyGoose
    October 24, 2018 at 3:03 am | #

    I think the takeaway from this strip is that Ruth’s door goes ‘ding’ when she opens it.
    Smart move from the residents, installing a warning bell.

    • Koms
      Koms
      October 24, 2018 at 3:10 am | #

      Is it perhaps Ruth exiting the elevator?

    • KtBear
      KtBear
      October 24, 2018 at 3:13 am | #

      Only if Ruth is now living in the elevator???

    • JoeCovenant
      JoeCovenant
      October 24, 2018 at 3:15 am | #

      🙂
      I thought that too… then noticed the lift buttons…
      🙂

      • SillyGoose
        SillyGoose
        October 25, 2018 at 4:09 am | #

        It makes so much sense! But I still like my story better.

  32. Koms
    Koms
    October 24, 2018 at 3:11 am | #

    And how adorbs do Joyce and Dorothy look in the third panel!!

  33. Catman
    Catman
    October 24, 2018 at 3:14 am | #

    Mary (in this strip and yesterday’s) seems really downcast.

    She had a boyfriend recently right? Trouble in paradise?
    What happened to her in Roomies…

    EGADS IS SHE PREGNANT??!?

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      October 24, 2018 at 4:07 am | #

      Wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to pressure her into pre-marital hanky-panky and she dropped him like a hot potato.

      • Regalli
        Regalli
        October 24, 2018 at 9:18 am | #

        Dude is apparently genuinely just as sanctimonious as Mary (Joe told Rachel their wing could keep him towards the end of the List leak, which says to me it wasn’t an act to get in Mary’s pants,) so I’m betting no, or at least not PIV until they’re morally unimpeachable doing so under The Rules. (Thinking on it I would actually not be at all surprised if Mary’s one of those people who says she’s still a virgin because she’s never had PIV and so whatever else she’s done doesn’t ‘count’. Very much a letter of the law rather than the spirit type, Mary.)

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      October 24, 2018 at 4:17 am | #

      Maybe he expressed sympathy for Not-Ryan and there are some places even Mary’s self-righteousness won’t go.

      • Eldritch Gentleman
        Eldritch Gentleman
        October 24, 2018 at 4:59 am | #

        Well if he was from a congregation she did not approve of… but that would probably have more to do with “HERETIC!” than “Rapist!”.

    • Catman
      Catman
      October 24, 2018 at 7:41 am | #

      Looking back at strips she’s been in, she might just be upset about Malaya being rude to her at art while also being better at it.

      Little less fun but still somewhat interesting.

    • JBento
      JBento
      October 24, 2018 at 2:44 pm | #

      She’s not pregnant. Willis said that wouldn’t happen, because it felt to him too much like he’d shaming/punishing for having sex.

      • JBento
        JBento
        October 24, 2018 at 2:44 pm | #

        he’d BE shaming/punihsing CHARACTERS for having sex.

        CURSE THE LACK OF AN EDIT FUNCTION!

      • the final pam
        the final pam
        October 24, 2018 at 3:36 pm | #

        Probably also because he already did that to Mary in Roomies! and punishing the same character twice in the same way would be.. bad, to say the least, ignoring the problems with ‘punishing’ a character with pregnancy in the first place.

  34. Stoodmuffin
    Stoodmuffin
    October 24, 2018 at 3:15 am | #

    Perfect. This ended the way I foresaw.

    Amazing how self righteous Mary gets torn down/ torn over “tattler.”

    There’s call ins and call outs, Mary. But YOU are to your version of JESUS as RANDAL is to MISS FINSTER. And your version of Jesus can suck my ass.

  35. JepMZ
    JepMZ
    October 24, 2018 at 3:30 am | #

    That absolute snongo!

  36. Alanari
    Alanari
    October 24, 2018 at 4:06 am | #

    This is carlas room, isn’t it? I’m curious how she reacts to the wohle kidnapping-Malayas-pet-thing

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      October 24, 2018 at 4:20 am | #

      1) Dorothy is dressed like some kind of female Joe;

      2) Joyce has turned out to be a lot more daring and edgy than she ever thought.

      Ergo: “My sisters that I never knew I had!”

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      October 24, 2018 at 7:11 am | #

      Joyce and Sarah’s room, from the stars and letters visible on the door.

      Which is another good move – going in through Joyce’s room, rather than directly to Malaya’s. If anyone does note the iguana, it’ll just be associated with Joyce, but won’t be found in Joyce’s room.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        October 24, 2018 at 7:17 am | #

        Sarah’s likely reaction upon seeing the odd duo: “I don’t know what is going on and I don’t care. Please don’t tell me anything or try to explain anything.”

      • Alanari
        Alanari
        October 24, 2018 at 7:44 am | #

        Hm. I thought Carla had those red stars in her ultracar decorations.

        Having a look at the adjacent room might be something they’ll do though. I would. And iguana tanks aren’t exactly small, so one look should be enough.

  37. BenRG
    BenRG
    October 24, 2018 at 4:19 am | #

    I’m thinking that Fuck-face will be disappointed to be back with his regular endotherm. The one with the triangular maw seemed to make things so much more interesting! 😉

  38. Bickendan
    Bickendan
    October 24, 2018 at 5:27 am | #

    Great Batman Gambit on Joyce’s part!

  39. Lone Duck
    Lone Duck
    October 24, 2018 at 5:36 am | #

    I love that Mary’s so into herself she forgot about the huge lizard on Joyce’s head. Also, is it weird that I want Fuckface to show up in every scene from now on?

  40. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    October 24, 2018 at 6:37 am | #

    Tattling can be used for good too. Whistleblowers are an important part of bringing to light unsavory activities. Somehow, I doubt that Mary will use her powers for good though. 😛

  41. thejeff
    thejeff
    October 24, 2018 at 7:16 am | #

    On “Tattler”, I’m thinking back and trying to remember anything Mary actually tattled on and I can’t come up with anything.

    I mean, I certainly wouldn’t trust her with my secrets, but it would be more the feeling of impending doom from Mary knowing than the assumption she’d go straight to Ruth.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      October 24, 2018 at 7:24 am | #

      Mary once threatened to spread Carla’s trans status about the floor to create trouble for Carla. However, I can’t see Joyce knowing that. She also spread slander about Ruth and Billie’s relationship in the most unpleasant terms and that I do believe Joyce would know about.

      However, I’m wondering if ‘tattler’ is something Joyce has decided for herself Mary is likely to be given the opportunity.

    • Regalli
      Regalli
      October 24, 2018 at 9:29 am | #

      I’m not certain, but then thinking about it Joyce wasn’t present for the ‘shit Ruth’s suicidal, what do we do?’ Hall meeting where Mary suggested they could find an ‘opportunity’ with this information that made everyone conclude ‘Mary’s suggesting we blackmail a suicidal woman, what the actual fucking fuck.’ (She and Becky were on their way back from the disastrous church day.) Joyce may be aware of some of the details after the fact, but I’m not sure how public the knowledge that Mary actually DID blackmail Ruth actually became.

      Whereas I’m pretty sure Joyce recognizes the threat of Mary tattling from keeping Becky secret in the dorm, but no one knew yet that what Mary would actually do is use things as leverage.

      • ShinyNeen
        ShinyNeen
        October 24, 2018 at 11:20 am | #

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/blackmailed/

        In this one, Billie says she told everyone on the floor about what Mary did. And that was after Joyce returned to school. Though if there was someone Billie would neglect to tell, it would be Joyce.

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          October 24, 2018 at 3:33 pm | #

          I forgot that, but: Interesting, Malaya’s the only one who WOULDN’T have gotten that warning as a given, which means she’s the only one Billie’s threat to Mary doesn’t cover.

          I’d lay really good money Carla has either told her already after ‘let’s form an alliance against Mary’ or would the moment Malaya brings up a new blackmail attempt.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 10:16 am | #

      In practise, she’s been much more of a blackmailer than a tattler.

      Even if Joyce wasn’t present, I’m pretty sure she heard about this
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/opportunity/

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        October 24, 2018 at 10:31 am | #

        Exactly. She’s all about the threats.

  42. kilgaen
    kilgaen
    October 24, 2018 at 7:39 am | #

    Must tattle to stop tattling!

  43. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    October 24, 2018 at 8:37 am | #

    On the plus side I feel like Mary actually put in an effort to not tattle for all of one or two seconds. Which is an improvement.

    On the down side, it’s still Mary.

  44. nlips
    nlips
    October 24, 2018 at 9:21 am | #

    “TEACHER! She said I’m a TATTLER!”

    I remember those days… I mean you literally, right now, are tattling on them! Come on!

  45. Shanunu
    Shanunu
    October 24, 2018 at 12:11 pm | #

    I keep thinking about how Joyce said Dorothy was borrowing clothes and 18 seconds later Mary said she was “stealing” them like that’s not even tattling that’s flat out lying

    • Emily
      Emily
      October 24, 2018 at 1:32 pm | #

      Well it’s pretty clearly implied that she’s borrowing without asking (aka stealing) by her preceding it with “keep this quiet.”

  46. Goki
    Goki
    October 24, 2018 at 1:25 pm | #

    …. How did Ruth know she was giving the stink eye with Mary facing the other way?

    • Zeee
      Zeee
      October 24, 2018 at 3:33 pm | #

      Maybe it’s her default expression.

  47. wakeangel2001
    wakeangel2001
    October 24, 2018 at 1:42 pm | #

    wow it’s pretty much pathological…also nice trick putting a new thing to tattle about in her head pushing out the iguana thing.

  48. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    October 24, 2018 at 9:59 pm | #

    Whatever follows “Please keep this quiet…” will arouse all her tattling instincts.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      October 24, 2018 at 10:54 pm | #

      …and thereby neatly steer them away from any OTHER subject… such as iguanas. Nicely done, Joyce

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