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The Dumbing of Age Book 12 Kickstarter is live!
currently working towards unlocking Ruth magnets at $50k
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what’s the crisis, Sal has a social life?
Her brother was kidnapped and his roommate died.
Or at least, that’s what THEY want you to believe happened!
yessss… more “Booster is Mike with lip injections and a spray tan” Tin foil enthusiasts join the collective.
She was looking the other way, how could she even see you smiling
Heard it in her voice like you can hear someone smiling over the phone.
Because as we know, only someone DEDICATED to Sal would turn down Malaya.
I can’t stand Malaya.
Out of all the characters that aren’t super villains, trauma inducing parents, or Mary or Raidah, I dislike her the most.
I like Malaya but then again I’ve gone on record saying that my favorite characters are assholes. I LOVE JERKS.
See, I didn’t really have a problem with Mike, who definitely did worse stuff than mouth off, and to more people.
And I love Walky, who has many Jerk moments.
There’s just something about her.
Maybe it’s the insistence on Sal being fake with no evidence of her being so.
I don’t like when they say “fakey” instead of a word that other people also use. I’m not even sure what they mean by it, or if they know what they mean, because the whole “fakey” decider thing seems like a schtick.
I think she’s trying to establish how unique she is by slightly adjusting a real word.
Then again, I THINK it’s also a skateboard term, and she does skate, so maybe she got it from that.
There is a skateboard term called a Fakie.
Per Wikipedia –
Fakie: Rolling backwards; the rider is in the normal stance, but rolling in the opposite direction. (Basically a switch nollie position)
I also think it’s a ridiculous word. Like…just say ‘poser.’ Her using the word makes her sound fakey/like a poser. It’s pretentious.
Reminds me of certain characters saying think like “Dorkus”
[Somehow, a second Malaya bursts through the door]
“HA! FAKEY!”
Maybe it’s the context of seeing a character be stuck in a room with someone intent on making what should be their safe place hell. Malaya bullies Sal for no apparent reason, making her room a deeply unpleasant place for her to be. Mike, for all his flaws, wasn’t like that. (I think he’d sneer at Malaya’s way of trying to bother Sal, tbh, and he wasn’t really focused on Walky or on their room anyway.)
(Honestly, the idea of forcing two people who are complete strangers to share rooms like this is bizarre to me even before including the specific age of the strangers.)
Mike was worse. Recording Walky crying to play back for his friends?
Walky is still half convinced Mike faked his death just to mess with him and will be hiding in a closet or something.
Yes, was about to say Mike made Walky’s life hell. But that jerky habit is why I also dislike Becky. Can’t she tell Dorothy is having on by her fingernails?! There is no reason to constantly needle her even when she’s trying to study. And to deliberately make the entire dorm room stink of dirty laundry and presumably piles of unwashed dishes and used tissues and food wrappers and discarded drink bottles too, ugh. (Yes, I have a teenager!)
Mike was cartoonishly bad, and it helps that most of his worst stuff were off screen throwaway gags.
Malaya is realistically annoying, you can feasibly know someone like that or see yourself having to room with one. Relatable annoying is so much worse that cartoonish annoying. And most of her worst offensives are on screen, like when she shined the heat lamp in sal’s face. That triggered me so hard. I’d probably slap someone or throw the lamp if they tried to overwhelm me sensory like that
I know why Mala rubs the wrong way.
Mike and Walky had/have prolonged relationships with the people they harass. It’s basically banter at this point because they would not deal with Mike for as long as they did if there wasn’t some redeeming quality to their hanging out.
Mala came out the gate an asshole and wants nothing to do with anyone but Marcy.
There is dislike from the first foot so there’s nothing to even halfway assume she’s an asshole with a heart of gold.
On TOP of that, the only reason Marcy puts up with her is because she wants to crack her open like a Cloyster and evolve into Slowqueen.
I mean, it’s also because they’re hot, isn’t it.
Finally a kindred spirit for the hating of Malaya and her nonsense. I wouldn’t even mind her barbs to Sal if they had any truth behind them, but instead she arbitrarily decides what parts of Sal are fake, and which parts are real.
I am fist bumping you through my iPad right now.
Malaya can’t get along with Sal because they’re basically the same sort of person, although Sal’s a lot nicer.
I mean Sal called out Malaya and then basically muttered ‘alright where is that cumstain’.
Sal’s not a PEACH.
And then physically assaulted her. Great folks all around.
Malaya is a weapons grade bongo, so being a lot nicer than her is not particularly challenging
I will not deny that Malaya has not earned her spot, on the list of unlikable people, in this series. But, unlike, say, Jennifer, Mary, or Raidah, Malaya might be unlikable, but she’s not toxic. I would put her at the same place as Roz; you might not like her, but at the same time, you know you are not going to get steered in the wrong direction. Just like Roz, Malaya will be upfront with you on how she feels; she will never say one thing to your face, and another, behind your back. You may not like Malaya, but you always know what you’re getting, and I kind of like that.
Malaya is toxic
I couldn’t stand her but this strip changes my vision of her.
She actually has a belief system, and a coherent one.
I don’t find her likable at all, but she just earned some respect here.
I like Malaya. That doesn’t mean I blindly defend them, but I like her nuances. They’re complicated.
(Also, getting ahead of tonight’s Malaya Discourse now: If she reminds you of someone who treated you badly IRL, that’s okay and valid, but just keep in mind that that’s not a framing everyone has for the conversation, and it can be difficult if you don’t communicate that personal context up-front.)
Thank you. I like her too. I often feel like the only one. If I was in college I would have thought Sal did seem kind of fake or like a poser or whatever. Like getting a window into Sal’s trauma makes me sympathetic to her, otherwise I’d think ill of her the way Malaya does
She reminds me of multiple people who treated me badly IRL. Just since you being that aspect up. She’s a bully who makes Sal’s home base- the place which is supposed to be safe- an unpleasant place to be.
That sort of thing is far more damaging to a person’s mental health and well-being than the typical bullying of this nature, because the place Sal is supposed to be able to get away is the place it’s happening. The place where she is most vulnerable- where she sleeps and lets her guard down- is rendered a place she cannot be at ease.
I’ve said it above but I’ll say it again, I am deeply against strangers being forced to share rooms. It gets worse at this age range, but for any age range.
(Admittedly good for fictional drama and storytelling.)
I guess now that I think about it *Sal* makes me think of someone who treated me badly, so that’s probably where my like of Malaya and dislike of Sal come from. It’s also probably biased by… This is a comic with Ross and Blaine, and also people like Mary and Radish, so Malaya to be seems incredibly tame for the amount of hate she gets
Also tbf, I feel like we know nothing about Malaya compared to Sal. They might feel unsafe too
Big agree on not having people forced to share rooms – college freshman year was hell for that reason
She’s just, annoying to me. I’ve never met someone like her but if i were in sal’s situation I’d feel so suffocated I’d halfway move out until she got moved
Which is funny to me, because honestly, her utter lack of nuance is what annoys me about Malaya. She’s one-note (and an annoying note, at that) for the most part, declaring herself the ultimate arbiter of what is ‘real’ and what is ‘fakey’. It doesn’t even make her a compelling foil, IMNSHO, so she annoys me as a character as well as a portrayal of a person.
Hell, I’m inclined to say that MARY has more nuance than Malaya. And Mike was positively three-dimensional in comparison. Honestly, Malaya seems to exist solely to provide a reason for other characters to have a falling-out.
I still hate Malaya, but at least she isn’t being a bongo right at this moment. As for Sal, I am happy she is happy to get flowers from Danny.
Now… when is the next kick to the particulars coming for these two?
Malaya actually really just wanted to get in his pants. They’re nice pants and she wanted to see if they wore the same size.
She could fit maybe. He’s not much taller than her. He might not have enough ass though, could be a tight fit for Malaya.
The literal form of getting into someone’s pants, and all that comes with it.
Malaya checking everybody’s doors while they’re away at class, and trying on all their clothes when they’re unlocked. Think that’s too specific for bonus strip voting?
It might be how Malya speaks to everyone but i do not remember her trying seduce Danny although knowing Malya condescension and insults might be her form of seduction.
I don’t even remember her talking to Danny. When did that happen?
She talked to Danny when he dropped off the flowers.
And she didn’t proposition him; I just checked.
Can you link the strip of him dropping off the flowers?
This one and the strip after that.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-13/03-joementum/infavor/
Thank you, I appreciate it.
No problem.
Unless it was in a Patreon strip.
in a brief two-strip interlude while Walky was at breakfast and Dorothy was stuck in a BSOD. We did not actually see Malaya proposition Danny, just said bringing flowers was a kink.
I’m aware of that but I what I don’t remember is Malya actually propositioning Danny
I just assumed they were joking around
I assume it was offscreen. I can’t rule it out, either a genuine attempt or her just testing him.
I mean, she’s down for casual stuff, considering her hooking up with Joe with no real qualms.
She didn’t. Her going along with Sal’s question just might be playful.
It’s possible that she said/tried something as part of the act of receiving the flowers after the camera cut away? Cause she thought cornball romantic gestures are Danny’s fetish?
I think its just another off screen gag
Malaya continues to be the worst and I continue to love them for that. I would love to see some backstory deconstructing their obsession with phoniness, but until that backstory comes I’m just enjoying the ride.
I can’t help but wonder if it’s externalized self loathing. Malaya’s had some issues with their own identity after all, wouldn’t surprise me if this whole thing about “Fake” people and “Real” people is their way of dealing with their uncertainty about themself and their gender identity. Or at least started that way.
Malaya seems inclined to assume the worst of most people, and they’re very aware that people hate her (they explicitly sought out Joe at least in part because they felt he was equally disliked). I think they just have serious trust issues, which gives them a guarded and prickly manner that hurts their ability to make friends and thus exacerbates those trust issues. They may also be autistic and bad at reading people, which leads to anxiety, which leads to demanding that everybody be 100% up-front and blunt and leave no doubt as to intentions. I’d believe that.
this is my current guess (see also Bryy below).
Malaya being the worst and thinking people doing random things is “fakey” is why I find them really annoying. I’d love to know what’s wrong with Malaya that they think so many of the things the people around her do are “fake”, because most of them don’t seem very fake to me.
I’m not defending the way they act, but a lot of college students can put on airs and it can get pretty tiring.
I think it was established that it’s how she deals with her body dysmorphia, but that could be me wildly misinterpreting that strip.
malaya brings me such joy
also panel 2 is really good
I feel like this is them starting to get along-ish.
I also feel like I really wanna see a high-res version of Sal’s tattooes because that Spider-Man logo looks like a coverup.
I didn’t even notice that it might be covering another tattoo. I thought it was just extra webbing, or extra design around the spider.
It could be a coverup.
Or it might be a spider in a dreamcatcher.
But I think it has changed.
I’ll see if I can notice anything.
I don’t think it’s spider-man. It was this, but she’s had stuff added to it since the fall.
https://itswalky.tumblr.com/post/98293895862/i-want-to-ask-something-cool-but-cant-think-of
planning to add to: it https://www.dumbingofage.com/parental/
Still old version on Halloween: https://www.dumbingofage.com/oc/
First time new version visible (mid January): https://www.dumbingofage.com/juke/
Beat me to it.
And, yeah it’s changed with a circle around the spider itself and horizontal lines that seem to wrap around her arm, from what I can tell by staring way too closely at my screen.
It was unchanged during the Halloween flashback, but changed at the derby event, which is the first time we see her with short sleeves since the time skip, that I could tell.
I was incredulous that I had missed that Sal’s tattoo was now a sleeve, but learning that the only time we ever saw it was like two or three strips from two years ago, I feel less bad about it now.
Dreamcatcher looks about right. The things projecting off the circle near the spider’s forelegs look like small feathers.
Hm. If, just maybe, Spider symbolizes Sal, perhaps Dreamcatcher represents Danny? Spider Sal+Danny Dreamcatcher?
It’s definitely a clock, you can make out the Roman numerals at 10 and 11 o’clock. Then there appear to be leaves behind the clock, maybe in a laurel. Then, based on the previous comic’s view of it there seems to be a staff behind the clock as well, wrapping around the arm.
Dreamcatchers usually, if not always, have something like feathers and/or beads hanging below the hoop. And a dreamcatcher on Sal would be cultural appropriation, which I don’t think Willis would do. Thank you for reading my dissertation.
I looked again, and I think you’re right.
So now I’m wondering what it symbolizes.
Could a clock symbolize “biding one’s time”?
And spiders spin webs…
Spinnin’ a web
Bidin’ my time
[something something]
Gonna get what’s mine
(I hear it in my head as the lyrics of a C+W song — Am I imagining, or actually remembering?)
A dreamcatcher tattooed on your body is also a fucking amazing misunderstanding of how a dreamcatcher is supposed to work, so yeah, double cultural appropriation.
It’s a “tarantugun”, a flying, spider-shaped, mechanical weapons platform from one of Willis’s childhood comics.
Sal added the web of music staves to it over the time skip.
No, Malaya, you get on her case when YOU think she’s being fake. Or when Marcie is mad at her. Or when you have a hunch. Or when you feel like it. 😛
Makes me wonder if Malaya’s “fake or real” mindset is actually her projecting it onto Sal. It seems reasonable, but then again when has Malaya ever been reasonable?
Most likely yeah, everybody projects. Some of us try to occasionally try to catch ourselves doing so.
I think it’s 10000% projecting.
Could be, could also be Malaya’s contrarianism rising again.
Malaya, the bridge troll of… of…
hey why don’t the rooms come with numbers?
They do, but Willis refuses to draw or say what they are because those are real people’s addresses, since IU is a real school.
Probably for the best. It would be weird and creepy for people to suddenly visit people because they live in the room that fictional comic characters reside in.
Keystone Motel got utterly RAILED by the rabid Steven Universe fandom because the show used their name for their fake show hotel. Not even a lookalike of the motel either. Just the same NAME.
Now THAT’S what I call extreme… or Hotel Hell 😱
I couldn’t imagine living a like this, constantly thinking everyone’s a fake, wasting time thinking about everyone being a fake
I don’t like her but I feel really bad for her (or anyone) living like this
Maybe she read Catcher in the Rye too many times
I won’t say it’s the most overrated book ever written but I won’t disagree if anyone else says it is
Catcher is 100% a “If you didn’t read it at 15-16 years old, you’ll hate it” book. It is the case of fresh strawberries Ur-example of literature.
You have to be that PRECISE age to think it’s deep and meaningful, instead of just a git whinging about life (read it too old) or utterly hate that *nothing* happens and they close the book *right* when something was about to happen. (read too young).
Why was that book banned anyway? (-_-)
Because it suckered, probably
Because the MC masturbated in it. That’s it the whole reason some do-gooders got their panties in a wad. They saw it as encouraging masturbation.
Someone who was struggling with their mental health read it, and decided to shoot John Lennon because he was the biggest fake.
Or she’s never read Catcher in the Rye, and could stand to read it once.
well there are a lot of highschoolers and college student that are fake but you’d prolly have to get used to it tho i don’t imagine malaya being in some kinda ‘office’ type job/setting where you basically /have/ to be a little superficial/fake/’work mode’ , other than her having personal beef with sal, i’d think she’d have more outward dislike for Roz and Dorothy with aspiring political jobs thatd be even more ‘fakey’
Someone pleeeeeeeeeeease tell me Malaya is just being facetious/ironic and not into Alex Jones-y stuff
If it assumes the worst of people she’ll consider it as a possibility.
I’m distracted by whatever is hanging on the wall, with a note that says… *squints* “Fuck! Addict”?
Do Not Touch!!
??????? Project
DO NOT TOUCH
SCIENCE PROJECT
Maybe?
correct https://www.dumbingofage.com/pronouns/
I’m reasonably sure that’s Fuckface’s terrarium. They’re not supposed to have pets in the dorm.
It’s not a pet, it’s a clearly-labelled science project!
Also, these days I don’t like the people who use terms like “crisis actors” much.
Yeah, it’s one of my tune-out phrases, like “failed policy” (or Malaya saying “fakey”).
And it doesn’t even make sense here. There’s no “crisis” to be faking. It would have been just “actor”, if anything.
I would be more inclined to believe Malaya’s ‘I only get on your case when you’re fakey’ if they didn’t have a demonstrated history of getting on Sal’s case when she’s being real. Which is most of the time.
Malaya’s fake detector might be faulty.
i just thought she hated sal’s ‘too cool to care’ attitude or so when she’s leaning against hallways or on her motorcycle but it was still mostly real even if it did seem like the superficial ‘cool’ stereotype or so
Something something interpersonal conflict, blah blah blah fakey, what’s important here is Malaya continuing to wear belly shirts in winter.
That’s how you know she’s REAL, and not like the rest of these PHONIES who are NOT COMMITTED to their MIDRIFFS.
I do feel like Sal’s being her real self more and more with Danny, so on that front, I guess I agree with Malaya.
I still don’t get why Malaya seems to think other people are being “fake”, especially when most of them don’t seem to be acting very fake to me. Malaya’s criteria for fakeness makes no sense as far as I can tell. I didn’t really like Malaya much in Willis’ other webcomic universe, but she seemed better there than in DoA.
IIRC, it’s because she’s projecting her internalized transphobia onto everybody, because she’s not ready to accept she’s NB. Pretty easy to think everybody is fake all the time, when you’re already a narcissist, and are being perpetually dishonest with yourself, despite deeply valuing an ephemeral sense of “realness.”
That said, this analysis is pulled out of my ass from half-remembering one old strip with Malaya from years ago, so I may be over-playing it a little bit.
i can imagine her being a bit insecure/questioning her gender (she did ask carla about it a bit on the rooftop i think?) but idk about internalized transphobia/maybe less intense of a feeling, but she does say she ‘transcends’ gender and wore a binder/ok with fucking around with her presentation or so, does seem like she just dislikes sal and saying ‘fakey’ as an excuse. since she was pretty casual when she was like “i’m not sure i am (a girl)” when carla told her that marcy likes her
What has always bothered me with Sal and Malaya’s dynamic is that I don’t think Sal has ever been “fakey”. She has/had a whole deal of frustration she don’t want to make an open deal about, but it’s not the same as being fake.
No, you must air out every single bit of baggage you have, and you must do it to every rando you ever meet, or else you’re being fake and plastic and not genuine. It’s actually super unreasonable to expect the entire rest of the world to do your emotional labor for you by coercing them into asking questions about you.
Eh, Sal has a habit of hiding her emotions behind acting cool.
Malaya is usually wrong or laying it on thick, but sometimes, Sal can be a bit self-conscious, same as most people. Malaya just gives Sal in particular virtually no benefit of the doubt.
Sal’s childhood has taught her wanting things does permanent harm to herself and her friends, so she doesn’t decorate her room because having tastes and preferences and such superficial desires isn’t worth the danger. Malaya has decided the lack of movie posters on her walls means she’s scared to let people know what she likes, which is fakey, so it’s Malaya’s job to be as judgmental and unpleasant as possible about everything Sal does or doesn’t do to make her open up more.
Yeah, I’d continue to ignore her and not get her as much as I could while living together too.
The thing about Malaya is, she’s never right and just serves to be antagonizing for antagonist sake
Because no crisis actor can resist casual sex.
Welp, looks like I was wrong with Sal reacting poorly to suprise flowers!
Fuck off, Malaya.
What is going on with Sal’s tattoo?
It’s evolving!
“Crisis actor?” What the fuck?
They’re joking with each other in a confrontational manner.
I think this is the first time where Sal doesn’t immediately take the bait, so to speak.
Malaya respects genuine defiance, like the time Joyce took Fuckface for a walk.
It’s possible that Malay has some traumatic backstory, or maybe she’s just an asshole like Mike. To be fair on the fake thing, Sal and Malaya continue to not get each other. I think theres room for mutual respect.
I can actually get behind that issue with people being fakey, but respecting whatever they genuinely believe.
However, i think that it builds trust better if you respect everything someone does in their self-expression, because that helps people realize that they dont have to fake anything *or* hide anything to get your approval. 🙂
Is Malaya a skeptic or a paranoid?
I think she’s just an AH who really really doesn’t like Sal.
Christ almighty Malaya, why is it your business to tell anyone if they’re fakeywakeybakey or not, just fuck off
I won’t read the comments today, to avoid the risk to see someone defending Malaya for hitting on Sal’s boyfriend. In her face.
Look, Malaya is hot. But asking out a partner o’ mine means you will get some problem to you.
(No not physically. I mean, like a 1 hour sermon and me cursing you mentally).
The main defense for her is that… she didn’t do that? At least not on panel. She’s just allowing Sal to jump to that conclusion and responding in an ambiguous way that doesn’t disabuse her of that notion.
I think they are just insulting each other, not making genuine accusations.
Looks like Sal got some additions to her spider tattoo?
Yeah, she said she’d been thinking about doing so and she’d eventually like a full sleeve.
Man, Malaya really doesn’t like it when people skate backwards huh.
Who the hell appointed you everyone’s arbiter of authenticity, Malaya?
That’s pretty much why I don’t like her and why I don’t understand anyone who does
As a person I mean, as a character that causes tension she’s fine
by that logic, feels like she should’ve gotten along with lucy/joyce because they are unapologetically themselves and not ‘fakey’ but probably too bubbly/religious for her tastes
If I recall she does kind of like Joyce
Malaya did. That’s who.
Malayaaaaa <3 <3
Squeeee
That is all
So Malaya did try to get Danny, in the sack. Too bad it happened off panel; I would have loved to see Malaya trying to brush off getting rejected. She always thinks she’s the hottest piece of ass, that every guy wants to get with.
I’m pretty sure Sal just made a joke at Malaya’s expense, and they made one at Sal’s expense in response.
:/
Jealous much?
Hahaha omg
What makes Malaya so sure she knows when Sal is being “fakey”? Does Malaya really know her well enough to know when she is being her true self? And what makes Malaya so sure that anybody has a true-self?
Eurgh, Malaya can be so much more gross than you’d want to remember, not really evil but seriously without most forms of morality. “Crisis actors” sounds like shes TRYING to make people punch her or hurl, which optimistically might be a reasonable response if she didn’t ask to be so beautiful and resents it a bit, but even if you’re trying to rehab that combination of words it is too fuckin little too fuckin soon for just romantic hate overtures like this, attempted S.O. theft? Eh. Don’t really know a good dramatic term for that, haha.
Trying to seduce clueless shiny Wonderbread is almost besides the point of how she goes about speaking of it. I mean at least she doesn’t hide what she tried, at least she doesnt lie and say she didn’t want to. I think she resents what she perceives as what comes “easy” to Sal, what she “doesn’t deserve,” but she also doesn’t wanna fuckin listen (and sal don’t wanna say) about how exactly “easy” it is
Sal just evades her understanding a bit more for her, than dramatic irony does. Having serious and in a few cases legitimate problems with authority and boundaries, letting perceptions of rotten-ness actually influence her actions, and how the high regard people like Joyce gives her can actually help her feel easier with being herself, allow herself to love herself. Sal got problems. None of that’s as easy and idyllic as it appears at surface level.
But no. Fakey just means crab pot shitty behavior. Justified because deep denial jealousy and a perception of undeservedness. But that may be uncharitable. Malaya… is much harder to read. Is her obsession with that word a projection? She clearly seems to have a problem showing fondness unironically. Is she aRom or some flavor of ace in the way that she almost aggressively doesn’t care about romantic relations but feels like she should and tries, really poorly and robotically?
Trying to understand Malaya just is tiring without much more insight….
I know she didnt actually try Walky any but just her willingness to pretend Sal’s paranoia is real just hurts them both. Allowing Sal to think so bleakly, and letting someone hate them like that.
I still struggle with they pronouns for malaya, they don’t seem to take it seriously or care and I’d rather use the pronouns I percieve when no direction is clear and I can’t ask them.
“Most forms of morality” is the kind of too harsh I get commenting half dead asleep, I forgot the capital and I deserve the blowjob cat avatar for that lol