Dumbing of Age Book Eleven

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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August 1, 2023

Accomplished

by David M Willis on August 10, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 04 - Vote for Robin

└ Tags: jennifer, ruth

Discussion (102) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    August 10, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    also Oktoberfest probs

    “ANUS”

  2. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    August 10, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    Billie in the last panel looks like she’s addressing Willis as he smirks and draws this.

    “Ain’t I a stinker?”

    • pienapp1e
      pienapp1e
      August 12, 2019 at 10:21 pm | #

      YES!!!!! toooooo funny (and appropriate)! lololol

  3. He Who Abides
    He Who Abides
    August 10, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    There’s always a catch.

  4. Kravis
    Kravis
    August 10, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    But isn’t better having the tests NOT hangover?

    • Shadowypenguin
      Shadowypenguin
      August 10, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

      I think it’s for after the tests. Also she is going to feel like shit for not feeding her addiction

      • AntJ
        AntJ
        August 10, 2019 at 2:55 am | #

        Remember how bad Ruth was doing freshman family weekend after quitting? Couldn’t handle Blaine when she needed to. Quitting could jeopardize Billie’s grades, but her resolve might not be as strong if she waits until midterms are over. Walked right into a lose-lose

        • Clif
          Clif
          August 10, 2019 at 2:42 pm | #

          It’s worse than that. Billie is a high functioning drunk and has acquired a fairly high tolerance to alcohol and when she’s awake she fairly consistently drinks enough for a mild high. When you learn something in a particular mental state, your recall of it is best in the same state. If Billie takes her tests completely sober, at this point it’s almost certain to lower her grades. And that’s in addition to the other factors.

    • Nono
      Nono
      August 10, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

      It’s like someone who’s got a caffeine or nicotine addiction suddenly dropping it cold turkey. Sure, it’s ‘better’ for you, but you’re gonna be in for a hell of a time dealing with the symptoms.

      Dropping an addiction right in the middle of a stressful period isn’t going to help, no.

      • Hazel
        Hazel
        August 10, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

        The best thing at least is that she is only 18. Years, not decades into an addiction. Still super hard! But easier, and if she can quit (or cut down to say, a beer or two a week) she has halted so much body/mental health/relationship damage.

      • Terry
        Terry
        August 10, 2019 at 1:02 am | #

        Also potentially more dangerous. Unlike caffeine or nicotine, severe enough alcohol withdrawal can actually kill. It’s doubtful someone as young as Billy had fed the habit enough to be lethal, but not impossible. Good thing she is seeing a therapist experienced (presumably) with alcohol addiction.

        • CookieX1313
          CookieX1313
          August 10, 2019 at 3:50 am | #

          DTs (Delerium Tremens) normaly only occure if you have tried and failed to stop drinking before, but yes it can kill. (Hence why hospitals actualy have prescription beer, incase someone comes in with horrible DTs)

          My advice in this situation would be, stop drinking the hard stuff vodka,whiskey,rum etc, and instead stick to lighter stuff like beer or cider.

          Also I’m not a doctor. (Legally covering my butt! :3)

          • Khyrin
            Khyrin
            August 10, 2019 at 9:58 am | #

            I have to assume ‘prescription beer’ is served intravenously to make sure the patient actually detoxes slowly as opposed to presenting the addict with one fewer 22oz(650ml) container each week until they’re out of the danger zone.

            • StClair
              StClair
              August 10, 2019 at 3:18 pm | #

              If one of those bottles should happen to fall…

      • Gillybby
        Gillybby
        August 10, 2019 at 8:07 am | #

        This. Any doctor will tell you to continue your addiction until a particularly stressful period in your life is over. An attempt to will almost certainly end in failure, and will always make a stressful situation 10x more stressful. It’s the reason they tell pregnant women who smoke, NOT to go cold turkey. The stress from cutting nicotine off is worse for the foetus than the actual cigarettes.
        It would honestly be more sensible of Billy to continue drinking until the midterms are over, and THEN cut down.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          August 10, 2019 at 10:18 am | #

          At this point – go to therapy first. Now. (Well, tomorrow, since it’s late.)
          Get and take their advice.

          Beyond that, Billie’s mostly a functional drunk – she doesn’t drink to the point of passing out every time, so sticking to relatively moderate drinking for the next week might be an option. Get someone (not Ruth) to monitor her drinking.

    • Zee
      Zee
      August 10, 2019 at 9:39 am | #

      I don’t think withdrawal symptoms and exams go well together

    • Noxx
      Noxx
      August 13, 2019 at 1:23 am | #

      When you’re a real no-shit drunk, the first 2-5 days after quitting are pretty much non functional. Wild emotional swings, compulsive random crying, it’s a real joyride.

  5. Nono
    Nono
    August 10, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Man, as someone who really only had end-of-year exams or just assignments throughout the year, seeing everyone get so worried for midterms is kinda weird.

  6. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    August 10, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

    *cues up some George Thorogood on the hacked Muzak*

  7. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    August 10, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

    She picked the wrong week to- okay, you know how the bit goes.

    Hide the airplane glue.

  8. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    August 10, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

    Well maybe Billie is serious and can follow through this time? I’d be elated if that were the case. Also the alt text reminds me of something but I can’t remember it for whatever reason, what is it?

    • brionl
      brionl
      August 10, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

      Sad trombone

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQeezCdF4mk

      • Kyrik Michalowski
        Kyrik Michalowski
        August 10, 2019 at 12:38 am | #

        That be it, thank you.

      • SpaceshipPilot
        SpaceshipPilot
        August 10, 2019 at 2:46 am | #

        I know it’s meant to be the sad trombone, but I can’t read “womp womp” without thinking of this.
        https://youtu.be/0W2-d84ni5s

        • Kamino Neko
          Kamino Neko
          August 10, 2019 at 8:27 am | #

          Yeah, me, too.

        • StClair
          StClair
          August 10, 2019 at 3:20 pm | #

          For me, it’s The Law and Order Sound.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        August 12, 2019 at 2:50 pm | #

        I heard that in Tiny Teena’s voice.

    • GoblinScribe
      GoblinScribe
      August 10, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

      I have a tiny pet theory, from Billie’s sotto voce in the first panel, that she’s got the idea now to “wean Ruth off her”. I don’t think it’s likely, judging by the previous comics, but I kind of wonder if she’s decided she needs to get Ruth into a state where Ruth can be on her own, then she can bail safely.

      • GoblinScribe
        GoblinScribe
        August 10, 2019 at 12:25 am | #

        In other words, she’s learned that she needs to manage her self-destruction, but hasn’t really abandoned it yet.

        • Khyrin
          Khyrin
          August 10, 2019 at 10:00 am | #

          Hopefully that’ll be enough of a ‘crack in the door’ for even a not-that-great therapist to get Billie on the road to recovery herself.

  9. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    August 10, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

    Dumbing of Age Book 9: MOTHERFUCKER!

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      August 10, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

      Does that count as an F-bomb for the purposes of the Official Count?

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        August 10, 2019 at 12:36 am | #

        I can’t see how it doesn’t. It’s not Scongahorpe or New Milford, but a compound word.

        • ValdVin
          ValdVin
          August 10, 2019 at 12:37 am | #

          Son of a boingo! Having never typed in that word, I didn’t know there’d be a brute-force autocorrect.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            August 10, 2019 at 12:48 am | #

            It’s honestly a lot of fun watching someone else discovering this forum’s Scongahorpe filter for the first time. Takes me back to those halcyon days when I discovered it myself. (Of course, it was in place long before I started posting.)

            Last time this came up, some posted about their own “New Milford” experience.

            • Bicycle Bill
              Bicycle Bill
              August 10, 2019 at 1:38 am | #

              I must be missing something.  The only filter I was aware of is the one that comes into play whenever someone tries to use the b-word that rhymes with ‘witch’.

              • Bicycle Bill
                Bicycle Bill
                August 10, 2019 at 1:47 am | #

                However, Google is my friend.  I was able to find out it replaces one of George Carlin’s infamous seven words with “conga”.

                • Marsh Maryrose
                  Marsh Maryrose
                  August 10, 2019 at 9:42 am | #

                  There have been others, but they have mostly been rescinded.The bongo and the conga remain. The conga filter is unique in that it will replace those four letters no matter where they occur in a word. I believe bongo only applies to the word on its own, so “bongoin” and “sumbongo” are not affected.

                • Marsh Maryrose
                  Marsh Maryrose
                  August 10, 2019 at 9:43 am | #

                  Huh. I was wrong on that last point. Let’s try a couple of old ones:

                  For me, it was Tuesday

                  SJW

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 10, 2019 at 10:20 am | #

                  I really miss the SJW one.

                • SpaceshipPilot
                  SpaceshipPilot
                  August 10, 2019 at 11:52 am | #

                  What did those correct to, just out of curiosity?

                • Amazi-Stool
                  Amazi-Stool
                  August 10, 2019 at 4:44 pm | #

                  Tuesday: Just disappeared .
                  But then Willis, in the persona of Faz, made a tuesday-joke himself, so it was only fair that the filer was removed.

                  SJW: I remember “glistening penis”. Should I be scared that I remember a glistening penis?

                • Amazi-Stool
                  Amazi-Stool
                  August 10, 2019 at 4:46 pm | #

                  filer -> filter

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 10, 2019 at 4:59 pm | #

                  “glistening phallus” actually. 🙂

                • LeslieBean4shizzle
                  LeslieBean4shizzle
                  August 10, 2019 at 8:52 pm | #

                  I heartily approve of “glistening phallus”.

                  Just in general, I mean.

                  Also, having only run afoul of “bongo” (since I tend to refer to myself as such), I am TERRIBLY CURIOUS what “New Milford”.

                • LeslieBean4shizzle
                  LeslieBean4shizzle
                  August 10, 2019 at 8:54 pm | #

                  Whoops – this is why I shouldn’t edit mid sentence – forgot to finish.

                  Anyway, I meant to say that I am terribly curious what “New Milford” replaces. I mean, there’s a goodly chance I’m better off not knowing, but still… so very curious.

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  August 10, 2019 at 10:17 pm | #

                  New Milford doesn’t replace anything. Much like certain letters in the name of the town of Scongahorpe, the first part of “Milford” can be filtered because it’s a common porn search term. It isn’t here.

                • LeslieBean4shizzle
                  LeslieBean4shizzle
                  August 11, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

                  Oh, that’s dull. I misinterpreted the OP (or second P?)

                  Anyway, I still prefer ‘glistening phallus’. That is a phrase I can enjoy.

                  …

                  Yes, I know what I said.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        August 10, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

        Looking at the chart (you can mouseover each character’s count bars to see on what date a particular bomb was dropped, and what line contained it), it has certainly counted before.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      August 10, 2019 at 2:36 am | #

      DoA Book 9: I Was Out Of My Mind. And I’m Definitely Going To Get In Trouble

  10. NerdHerder
    NerdHerder
    August 10, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    Wow, almost to midterms! In a few decades, Freshman year will be over!

    • AbacusWizard
      AbacusWizard
      August 10, 2019 at 12:46 am | #

      *sniff* They grow up so fast…

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        August 10, 2019 at 10:13 pm | #

        I literally laughed out loud.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      August 10, 2019 at 12:54 am | #

      Actuarially speaking, I might live to see the end of their first semester. After that it’s a crapshoot.

  11. PB
    PB
    August 10, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

    Awwwww, she meant what she said! <3

    • Shane Wegner
      Shane Wegner
      August 10, 2019 at 12:49 am | #

      It’s still words and not actions yet, hasn’t been converted, could still be backed out on. And saying these words is scoring Ruth points right now. But she’s rolling around the idea on her tongue. We’ll see how she handles her urge/habit of backing out.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 10, 2019 at 10:22 am | #

        It’s definitely the most seriously she’s taken the idea yet. Which is in itself a big step. Going to therapy will be a bigger one.

        She will almost certainly relapse if she doesn’t use midterms as an excuse to delay starting at all.

  12. Eyebrow
    Eyebrow
    August 10, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

    Meanwhile, Ruth’s allergic rash is fascinating.

    • CMasta
      CMasta
      August 10, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

      It’s how she can tell Canadian Voldemort is near

      • He Who Abides
        He Who Abides
        August 10, 2019 at 2:09 pm | #

        Canadian Voldemort curses like an American, doesn’t he?

  13. BBCC
    BBCC
    August 10, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

    PFFT

    Hey, look at it this way – you’ll be sober for your exams now.

    Hopefully that means you’ll be less likely to fail.

    • Zee
      Zee
      August 10, 2019 at 9:45 am | #

      Wellll
      Sober but probably going through withdrawal. Which’ll probably be worse

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        August 10, 2019 at 12:49 pm | #

        You’re not wrong – even mild withdrawal suuuuuucks.

    • pienapp1e
      pienapp1e
      August 12, 2019 at 10:19 pm | #

      several studies have shown ppl do better on tests if taken in the same state that they studied/learned the info in………….

  14. Jay
    Jay
    August 10, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

    CMON BILLIE. YOU CAN DO IT. DONT LET THIS SHIP SINK! IMPROVE EACH OTHER LIKE A GOOD STRONG COUPLE DOES. PLEASE.

  15. Cass
    Cass
    August 10, 2019 at 12:27 am | #

    Well, the exclamation does more to convince me she honestly does plan to quit more than anything else she’s said. I hope you succeed, Billie! (But don’t have much faith in you.)

  16. Twirls
    Twirls
    August 10, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

    Wait wait wait this means that we’re halfway through the comic!?

    • Jay
      Jay
      August 10, 2019 at 12:37 am | #

      Through season 1. College isnt 1 year only lmao

      • Kyrik Michalowski
        Kyrik Michalowski
        August 10, 2019 at 12:40 am | #

        I believe Willis has said that this comic only covers freshman year. I could be wrong about that though, can someone verify?

        • Marsh Maryrose
          Marsh Maryrose
          August 10, 2019 at 1:11 am | #

          At the current rate, in-comic first year Move-out day will happen right around Willis’s 70th birthday. As a retiree myself, I can’t imagine he’ll want to continue it after that. But maybe his hypothetical grandkids will keep it going.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      August 10, 2019 at 12:41 am | #

      We’re halfway through October. So, about halfway through their first semester.

  17. ShinyNeen
    ShinyNeen
    August 10, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

    Look, Ruth, the sweet Paint Crimes were definitely worth it.

    Not so sure about everything after that, but still. Paint Crimes. Worth it.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      August 10, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

      And now my brain is feverishly filking Weird Al’s “Word Crimes” as “Paint Crimes,” just as I really need to go to bed. Thanks, ShinyNeen!

      • ShinyNeen
        ShinyNeen
        August 10, 2019 at 1:41 am | #

        Huh, I wonder if that’s where “(X) Crimes” came from or something? Been seeing that around in places here and there (like Let’s Play Crimes, etc) lately.

        A-anyway, you’re, uh, welcome?

  18. Pocky
    Pocky
    August 10, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

    its ok, you’ll still have a headache in the morning.

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      August 10, 2019 at 1:18 am | #

      [most Dr. Suess voice]: “Oh, the symptoms you’ll have!”

  19. Antonio Tyler
    Antonio Tyler
    August 10, 2019 at 12:31 am | #

    I did this with coffee once.

    Let me say, as a recovering alcoholic: quitting booze was easier than quitting coffee.

    • bigbigtruck
      bigbigtruck
      August 10, 2019 at 12:26 pm | #

      Seconded. Post-acute withdrawal was mad rough but it didn’t come with a constant sharp headache.

  20. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    August 10, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

    I’m suspecting Billie’s going to buy energy drinks instead. 😓

    • HMH
      HMH
      August 10, 2019 at 12:48 am | #

      I can’t put my finger on why, but that seems like a terrible substitution. Anybody have any thoughts? It just sounds to me like that would exacerbate the problem but I can’t conceive of a good reason for thinking that.

      • Terry
        Terry
        August 10, 2019 at 1:11 am | #

        Depends. Some people have found success in substituting one addiction for another (definitely not the healthiest way, but some people do it anyway). The down side is that there is a large chance it wouldn’t work. If the caffeine doesn’t alleviate satisfy the cravings, and without another strategy to address them (which if you are substituting as your chosen coping strategy, you probably haven’t considered other options), then you would end up with a problem with both alcohol and caffeine. And you might go down the road of chugging alcohol and mixing it with energy drinks to combat the sedative-aspects of the alcohol to stay awake and drink more alcohol, increasing the danger of overdosing. Not to mention the problem of mixing depressants with stimulants.

  21. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    August 10, 2019 at 12:55 am | #

    I am just going to quote one of the hitman squad members from JJBA, but replacing murder with leaving alcohol.

    Ruth: “Drop the ‘I am gonna sober now’ crap already. That phrase doesn’t work on the real world. Only alcoholics use that bullshit, because when recovering alcoholics so much as think those words, they have already went through rehab and went months or years without alcohol!”

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      August 10, 2019 at 12:56 am | #

      Just to clarify, people that promise to sober up should show evidence of their progress instead of giving empty promises out of codependence.

      • TemporalShrew
        TemporalShrew
        August 10, 2019 at 1:34 am | #

        I mean, true, but also, it’s probably not particularly fair to count her out in advance any more than it’s sensible to trust her without evidence.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 10, 2019 at 10:28 am | #

        So she shouldn’t even say she’s going to do it? Kind of weird. Should she say it up for a surprise in 6 months? Let Ruth think she’s still drinking until then? Seems kind of counterproductive.

        Of course Ruth’s only been sober about 2 weeks and she’s already drinking again, so she shouldn’t talk about it either. She needs to show evidence of her progress.

        Sure, she shouldn’t make empty promises, but at the same time publicly committing to doing something makes it harder to back out.

        • TemperaryObsessor
          TemperaryObsessor
          August 10, 2019 at 11:35 am | #

          Saying your going to do a thing to make it official and allow other people to hold you accountable is usually a good idea.
          Saying your going to do a thing to get the benefits of doing the thing without having to actually do the thing is not a good idea.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            August 10, 2019 at 1:11 pm | #

            Fair. I guess we’ll have to wait and see which Billie’s doing here.

            It reads to me as if she’s actually intending to follow through – the shock she expresses when reminded it’s midterms is pretty much a clincher.

  22. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    August 10, 2019 at 12:59 am | #

    I had somehow forgotten — ALL of this is taking place on a Sunday, maybe the longest Sunday in the history of DoA.

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      August 10, 2019 at 1:17 am | #

      It has felt super eventful, yeah! Maybe weekends are just super eventful though, story-wise, with no classes eating up the cast’s time.

      As far as I can (hastily) tell, “It All Returns” (6-04) and “Face the Strange” (8-01) were both Sundays (‘cuz there’s church service featured in both storylines). Those were pretty eventful too.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        August 10, 2019 at 10:34 am | #

        The Archives link shows the number of strips per storyline and there’s a timeline which shows what day they were. Looks like “The Only Dope For Me Is You” is the longest Sunday in terms of number of strips. The second day of Family Weekend, featuring Blaine getting stomped into the ground among other joys.
        Longest day as well, though there a few others in the 100+ range.

  23. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    August 10, 2019 at 1:06 am | #

    Priceless that is just priceless.

  24. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    August 10, 2019 at 1:26 am | #

    Once again, the key to comedy is timing.

    BAD timing.

    (And my browser seems to have forgotten the particular capitalization of email that gets me a walky Walky gravatar, so I guess I’m doing the Grav Roulette thing again.)

    • ShinyNeen
      ShinyNeen
      August 10, 2019 at 1:34 am | #

      Oh, huh. Did something server-side reset or something? I had to re-enter my account details in the posting field for the first time in a long time. No idea how all that works, but s’nice to know it’s maybe not just me.

  25. foducool
    foducool
    August 10, 2019 at 2:18 am | #

    lel, perfect timing

  26. Wraithy2773
    Wraithy2773
    August 10, 2019 at 2:27 am | #

    Hey, the Leafs were kinda good this year!

    Look on the bright side, at least she’s not a Senators or Sharks fan!

  27. Keulen
    Keulen
    August 10, 2019 at 2:41 am | #

    Billie didn’t fully realize what she just agreed to until the last panel.

  28. Bagge
    Bagge
    August 10, 2019 at 2:51 am | #

    “Oh, did I say THIS week? I meant NEXT week… unless something comes up…”

  29. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    August 10, 2019 at 9:15 am | #

    GO BILLIE! You can do it!

  30. JohnnyO
    JohnnyO
    August 10, 2019 at 11:06 am | #

    Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffin’ glue.

  31. Axel
    Axel
    August 10, 2019 at 3:34 pm | #

    talk to disability services

    imagine that with the clapbacks I didn’t type

  32. Zero
    Zero
    August 12, 2019 at 11:24 pm | #

    Okay, I am back to being a Billie fan again. For some reason I thought she was trying to emotionally manipulate Ruth two pages ago, but she is actually serious. Hopefully she won’t be a dumb bongo though and actually follow through.

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