Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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walky continues to be up on his memes
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May 19, 2026

So you agree

by David M Willis on July 27, 2023 at 12:01 am
  • 04 – But Don't Give Yourself Away
└ Tags: amber, linda, sal, walky

Discussion (224) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    July 27, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Walky wouldn’t be flunking if he majored in memes lol (minor in The Avengers, I guess)

    also, once again, Walky profiting by doing the jackest of shit

    • clif
      clif
      July 27, 2023 at 2:23 am | #

      Wait? The train stayed on the track? There was no wreck?

      Damn you Willis! What am I going to do with all this popcorn?

      • Opus the Poet
        Opus the Poet
        July 27, 2023 at 4:34 am | #

        Too early to string it for Christmas tree decorations?

      • Amelie Wikström
        Amelie Wikström
        July 27, 2023 at 5:09 am | #

        Everybody reached so far for the wrong conclusions they ended up pulling the train back on track

  2. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    July 27, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    alright, fission mailed, gg guys

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      July 27, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

      Fission is actually a good word to describe this situation

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    July 27, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    Task failed successfully.

  4. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    July 27, 2023 at 12:04 am | #

    They say that Breakin’ Up Is Hard To Do~oo

  5. Yearofthecat
    Yearofthecat
    July 27, 2023 at 12:05 am | #

    Success but at what cost?

    • Archieve
      Archieve
      July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

      Panel 4 Walky realizing the whole plan was pointless.

      • Vanessa
        Vanessa
        July 27, 2023 at 12:37 am | #

        Has Walky learned anything though? Proably not.

        • Bash
          Bash
          July 27, 2023 at 4:39 am | #

          What lesson is there to learn here?

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            July 27, 2023 at 7:38 am | #

            “Don’t do this”?

          • MM
            MM
            July 27, 2023 at 7:43 am | #

            I think it’s been very educational for Charles on the subject of Transformers reproduction.

    • Freezer
      Freezer
      July 27, 2023 at 3:52 am | #

      On the one hand: Sal would be right to be pissed that he nearly goofballed something she’d already set right.

      On the other: She got to watch him get reamed out, while remaining the innocent party.

      • Steamweed
        Steamweed
        July 27, 2023 at 5:51 am | #

        Maybe she’ll be so hopped up on this sheer novelty that she’ll drag Danny up to the roof (later) for garbage roof sex.

  6. shrub
    shrub
    July 27, 2023 at 12:07 am | #

    Of course he hasn’t learned anything

    • Bryy
      Bryy
      July 27, 2023 at 4:02 am | #

      You misspelled she.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 4:19 am | #

        The fucked up part is that regardless of pronouns, everyone at the table has learned about Transformers reproduction, whether they wanted to or not. So the idea that someone hasn’t learned anything is an outright malicious lie designed to bring about the end of civil discourse.

        • Azhrei Vep
          Azhrei Vep
          July 27, 2023 at 8:26 pm | #

          Hey now. I don’t think Amber has a learned anything about Transformers reproduction, and she’s definitely at the table.

      • shrub
        shrub
        July 27, 2023 at 12:52 pm | #

        Fair point

  7. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    July 27, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    Whew. Crisis averted. Linda is back to being the best parent!

    • Joshua Kronengold
      Joshua Kronengold
      July 27, 2023 at 12:43 am | #

      I mean, no, because Dina (and her parents) are still in this strip.

      Linda is noticably better than several other parents in this strip, but that just means she passes a low bar; she’s differently messed up than her Its Walky counterpart, but still kinda messed up.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 1:34 am | #

        Okay, but “in Linda’s opinion” felt implied there.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          July 27, 2023 at 2:20 am | #

          In her own opinion, was she ever not the best parent?

          • clif
            clif
            July 27, 2023 at 2:25 am | #

            I believe that to be the point.

  8. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    July 27, 2023 at 12:08 am | #

    Welp, mission complete. Walky has truly Dumbed of Age.

  9. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    Glad this whole fake girlfriend plan worked and definitely didn’t plant any worrying seed of a potential relationship crash and burn!

  10. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    AGHHHH MY STOOOOCKS.
    I’M GOING BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUST

    • CMasta1992
      CMasta1992
      July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

      The Rise and Fall of Yotomoe

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      July 27, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

      Its the boom and bust cycle The market was rigged buy silver and gold by that I mean Dina and Becky and Dina and Dotty’s parents as solid ship assets.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        July 27, 2023 at 12:34 am | #

        Amber and Walky is also just not a great investment. Like it had promise once and even after it crashed there was still some hope, but once the details of the split came out that should have been your sign to bail.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          July 27, 2023 at 8:11 am | #

          Sure, but you could have made a bundle over this last week if you’d timed the swings right.

      • UrsulaDavina
        UrsulaDavina
        July 27, 2023 at 12:54 am | #

        Also the whole buying gold thing is stupid investment.

      • Laura
        Laura
        July 27, 2023 at 1:54 pm | #

        *Plays “Fear the Boom and Bust” on the hacked car stereo:*

        https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      July 27, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

      We’re lucky the entire market hasn’t crashed

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      July 27, 2023 at 1:12 am | #

      This is why you don’t invest in risky startups. I put all mine into the Dina and Becks 500. It’s not really even investing, you’re basically assuring growth from investing in the top 500 partnerships. It’s slow growth, but it’s stable.

      • UrsulaDavina
        UrsulaDavina
        July 27, 2023 at 1:16 am | #

        There is always volatility in the market but if you’re going to gamble… I mean invest, I suppose Dina and Becky is one of the more stable stocks

      • CMasta1992
        CMasta1992
        July 27, 2023 at 1:55 am | #

        The DB500 was such an obvious success there was no value. You can’t get any buyers or sellers. It’s just something that exists. If you’re gonna play the game you may as well gamble a little bit.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          July 27, 2023 at 2:22 am | #

          The trick is to watch where all the rich jackasses invest the bulk of their money. They’re certainly not going to let those funds fail!

          • clif
            clif
            July 27, 2023 at 2:27 am | #

            You would think, but in the long run there is always a bigger jackass.

          • Regret
            Regret
            July 27, 2023 at 3:24 am | #

            The system doesn’t require that its followers are safe, just that it has enough followers.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            July 27, 2023 at 8:10 am | #

            Unless they can sell first.
            If you’re always following them, you’re buying higher and selling lower.

            • Needfuldoer
              Needfuldoer
              July 27, 2023 at 9:27 am | #

              True.

              They get to write their losses off, too….

        • Freemage
          Freemage
          July 27, 2023 at 10:10 pm | #

          That’s why I continue to invest in DannyXSal. DXS at least has all the elements of a stock that could go the distance; as yet, there’s been no red flags. A yellow one, in the form of Linda’s approval, I suppose, but betting against a solid ship just because of an outside factor is, in my opinion, just as risky a bet.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      July 27, 2023 at 2:21 am | #

      Bamboozled by another rug pull!

  11. UrsulaDavina
    UrsulaDavina
    July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    Technically what Amber did was criminal hacking a government system… but sins of the father much Linda? Piss off.

    • MisterJinKC
      MisterJinKC
      July 27, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

      It’s a private college, not government, correct?

      • UrsulaDavina
        UrsulaDavina
        July 27, 2023 at 12:26 am | #

        No IU is a public institution run by the State of Indiana also hacking private institutions is illegal as well.

  12. CMasta1992
    CMasta1992
    July 27, 2023 at 12:09 am | #

    I’m counting this as a win. I’m not even gonna question it.

    • Bin
      Bin
      July 27, 2023 at 12:26 am | #

      For Sal I guess.
      Meanwhile Amber just confessed to hacking to a lady who wants her expelled. Granted Walky would get hit too because he benefited but just say he was unaware of it / he leaves for some other reason.

      • James
        James
        July 27, 2023 at 5:57 pm | #

        She’d have to prove it beyond “I was told in a private conversation”, wouldn’t she?

  13. Animedingo
    Animedingo
    July 27, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    Ok but

    This proves thats not the reason he was failing

    Arguably had more to do with dorothy

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      July 27, 2023 at 12:17 am | #

      No it’s more likely Walky was lazy and or not prepared for college or being on his own. Also If he as ADHD and doesn’t have medication he probably was not use to such a loose strucutre. I think Linda controlled his life and controlled his scheduale to a fairly high degree. So without that rigid structure and routine it caused him to spiral. This isn’t always the case but I’ve seen it happen to a few of my friends who have ADHD.

      • Serendipity
        Serendipity
        July 27, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

        Laziness does not exist.

        • UrsulaDavina
          UrsulaDavina
          July 27, 2023 at 12:45 am | #

          I had to look this up the book seems interesting. So I rephrase Walky was directionless. The other points I made though I stick by.

          • AY
            AY
            July 27, 2023 at 1:51 am | #

            My therapist lent me that book nearly a year ago and I still haven’t gotten around to finishing it because, you guessed it, ADHD keeps driving me to other things lol

            • Leorale
              Leorale
              July 27, 2023 at 7:45 am | #

              Solidarity. I have a really good-looking book on ADHD but I forgot about it partway through and now I don’t know where it is.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          July 27, 2023 at 12:11 pm | #

          I disagree with this. Sometimes I AM lazy (as in I just plain ole fashioned don’t feel like doing something) and that’s okay. I don’t think that’s the case with Walky failing in math though.

      • Devin
        Devin
        July 27, 2023 at 12:39 am | #

        Control by Linda doesn’t have to factor into it for ADHD and a looser structure in college to be the cause.

        The urge to blame Linda is not unreasonable, but in this case not necessary for an explanation.

        • UrsulaDavina
          UrsulaDavina
          July 27, 2023 at 12:49 am | #

          Given that Linda demanded Walky send her copies of his college report cards and claiming him to be her scholar and her plans for Walky to become pre med indicates to she probably does factor into this.

          • Devin
            Devin
            July 27, 2023 at 2:54 am | #

            I’m not saying she couldn’t possibly, but speaking as someone who’s had the described experience, the parental control aspect is not required for the same outcome. Especially since as Needfuldoer pointed out, he never learned how to study because good grades came to him easily until college moved past what he already knew. Also familiar territory for me.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          July 27, 2023 at 2:24 am | #

          He also never learned how to study because good grades came to him by default (up until college started moving past review material).

        • Regret
          Regret
          July 27, 2023 at 3:22 am | #

          On the other hand, ADHD doesn’t have to factor into it for Linda’s excessive control and a looser structure in college to be the cause.

  14. Wendy
    Wendy
    July 27, 2023 at 12:10 am | #

    THIS SHOULDN’T HAVE WORKED but the fact that it did is somehow the funniest outcome

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 27, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

      FUCK YEAH!!!!! 🤘😁

    • UrsulaDavina
      UrsulaDavina
      July 27, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

      Did it really work though? I thought the plan was to expose Linda as a racist and that her dislike of Lucy was because of it, and that didn’t happen. All that happened is that Linda is ok with Walky dating Lucy beacuse in comparison to Amber anyone is better. It’s like to Linda Walky is better off eating a sour cream and green olive sandwich then eating a straight up turd on moldy bread. Neither of which Lucy and Amber are but that’s just Linda’s perspective I assume.

      • Just an Armadillo
        Just an Armadillo
        July 27, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

        The goal of the scheme was to get Linda to approve of Lucy in spite of her closeted racism by presenting her with the worst possible choice of white girl imaginable as a horrifying alternative.

        • Vanessa
          Vanessa
          July 27, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

          Apparently all Walky needed to do was show up with Lucy though.

          • Proxiehunter
            Proxiehunter
            July 27, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

            But he didn’t know that Sal was going to be there at all or the her dating the white boy . . . damn those typos the right boy would get their mother to listen to Sal or that Sal would even try to convince their mother Lucy was an alright girl for Walky to be dating.

            I’m not saying that Lucy’s (remember, this was her idea) convoluted scheme was the best idea but Walky had no way of knowing that all he had to do was nothing.

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            July 27, 2023 at 1:02 am | #

            Yup. The hijinks were totally irrelevant to Linda preferring Lucy. Sal had already put in a good word and fixed it for them.

            (Granted, normally Linda wouldn’t listen to Sal, she just did today because of Wonderbread over there. But still! Walky and Lucy should thank Sal, not their wacky shenanigans.)

        • UrsulaDavina
          UrsulaDavina
          July 27, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

          I guess I gave this stupid plan more credit then it’s worth, beacuse I’d that’s the case it does not solve the underlying issue.

      • Mark
        Mark
        July 27, 2023 at 6:56 am | #

        “Expose Linda as a racist” is what the comment section wanted, craved, lusted for. What Walky wanted was the quiet enjoyment of a relationship with Lucy.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          July 27, 2023 at 7:49 am | #

          He did advertise “we’re solving prejudice!”

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-13/04-but-dont-give-yourself-away/solving-2/

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            July 27, 2023 at 7:54 am | #

            If Walky had wanted quiet enjoyment, he could’ve just not mentioned Lucy to his mom in the first place. (That may have been his original desire, when he suggested that Lucy run away.) But he also wanted to be commended for his good job at choosing ladies, and then he got excited about wacky hijinks, and now here we are.

  15. NGPZ
    NGPZ
    July 27, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

    Linda is known for being manipulative and abusing her children, so I wouldn’t take her at her word.

    Mission completed!

  16. cbwroses
    cbwroses
    July 27, 2023 at 12:11 am | #

    So how likely is that Linda and/or Charles will pick up on what he had originally tried to do by inviting Amber vs we cutting to something else tomorrow?

    • Random832
      Random832
      July 27, 2023 at 12:12 am | #

      I’m worried they’re going to decide that it means Sal and Danny’s relationship is also fake.

  17. JA
    JA
    July 27, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

    All’s well that ends well!

    …right?

    • Bin
      Bin
      July 27, 2023 at 12:23 am | #

      Walky: Don’t jinx it!

  18. Derek
    Derek
    July 27, 2023 at 12:14 am | #

    and everyone at the table continues not to question how or why Walky changed girlfriends in the span of a few hours. this is really wacky sitcom bullshit of the worst sort. eugh

    • Nono
      Nono
      July 27, 2023 at 12:26 am | #

      I mean Sal’s probably figured out what he was doing.

      • Twitcher
        Twitcher
        July 27, 2023 at 12:06 pm | #

        I’m betting Charles will, too, but will decide not to tell his wife. Linda is just the right amount of irrational so as not to question this.

    • Regret
      Regret
      July 27, 2023 at 3:20 am | #

      You don’t ask your loved ones what’s up with the new bimbo every second hour while said bimbo is there. That’s just not polite.

  19. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    July 27, 2023 at 12:16 am | #

    I bet these juvenile antics convince Linda he’s a responsible adult and doesn’t need mothering.

  20. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    July 27, 2023 at 12:19 am | #

    Well, all’s well that ends well… sorta.

  21. Bin
    Bin
    July 27, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

    Lady… YOU have a criminal family.
    And Sal also distracted Walky’s TA with her own T&A.

    Speaking of, I hope Jason shows up.

  22. Rose by Any Other Name
    Rose by Any Other Name
    July 27, 2023 at 12:22 am | #

    I hear ya, Amber. I hear ya.

  23. StClair
    StClair
    July 27, 2023 at 12:24 am | #

    “What did we learn, Palmer?”

  24. Nono
    Nono
    July 27, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

    Criminal family?

    Wonder what Linda thinks of Amber’s step-brother who was involved in an on-campus sex scandal.

    • Nono
      Nono
      July 27, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

      Joe, not Faz.

    • temporaryobsessor
      temporaryobsessor
      July 27, 2023 at 4:55 am | #

      Well his dad is a doctor. But he’s kind of a screw off and a player himself.
      On the other hand no piercings or tatoo’s and not part of a gang.
      He’s not white but he had lighter skin than her kids.

      • Nono
        Nono
        July 27, 2023 at 7:44 am | #

        Don’t most US Jewish people consider themselves white?

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          July 27, 2023 at 8:07 am | #

          I’m US Jewish with light skin, and I don’t. (I’m Ashkenazi.)

          Light-skinned Jews are provisionally white — ie, the real white people will tolerate us as long as things are going well for them, with reminders that we’re very much guests who are here on their terms… until things start going badly for the real white people, and then they come kill us.

          Like, I have a lot of white privilege currently, and I do appreciate that cops see a little white lady and want to protect me instead of shooting me. But I’m still not really white, everyone who hates BIPOCs also hates Jews, and I’m ready to run for it.

          • Miri
            Miri
            July 27, 2023 at 4:19 pm | #

            See, I’d say that I’m really white. Just “white, other”. And that “other” would almost definitely matter to racists because they’re generally also xenophobes, and intolerant of other heritage-type differences…

            But when I get the “where are you from?” questions, people are generally guessing France, whereas my sister often has them thinking Russia/Middle East (if it were triangulated, I think our heritage would average out about Mediterranean. Iraqi-Jewish, approximately Polish (pre-Poland), Spanish via Turkey to escape the Inquisition…). She can get a more hostile approach… I generally just go with British. Apparently I have at least one French doppleganger and this has thrown people… Or many people use the same excuse.

            A half-Malaysian friend apparently sometimes gets the charming “What are you?” Rather than “Where are you from?” though 😬

            So definitely something to be said for passing privilege.

            • Miri
              Miri
              July 27, 2023 at 4:20 pm | #

              (But I’m at least 3rd generation British on one side… so White British is also true?)

        • temporaryobsessor
          temporaryobsessor
          July 27, 2023 at 6:39 pm | #

          I think his tan skin tone and dark hair would be a slight problem for Linda.
          If he were a blond haired, blue eyed, and pale skinned like Dorothy I don’t think Linda would factor in his Jewishness. She’d just be weighing his player recent past and lack of life goals against his doctor dad.

          • temporaryobsessor
            temporaryobsessor
            July 27, 2023 at 9:39 pm | #

            Sorry I guess I don’t know Dorothy’s eye color.

  25. MisterJinKC
    MisterJinKC
    July 27, 2023 at 12:25 am | #

    So “Sally convinced me she was a good choice for you before you even arrived. ” sounds like it’s settling up that she isn’t racist, but rather makes snap judgements based on her gut without any evidence or desire to look for any.

    • Vanessa
      Vanessa
      July 27, 2023 at 12:35 am | #

      Her racist snap judgments lead her astray but she has the potential to grow and learn? She’s impressed by Danny being such a suave nerd too not just by his whiteness, if he were a pierced and tatted up white guy working retail she would certainly hate him.

      • Steelbright
        Steelbright
        July 27, 2023 at 1:06 am | #

        Yeah this seems like a good take–after all, she can be prejudiced in many different ways that kind of overlap and may even cancel each other out in different circumstances 😛

    • CMasta1992
      CMasta1992
      July 27, 2023 at 2:00 am | #

      This is kinda where I’m leaning. We’ve lead to Linda being racist or colorist but over the course of this, it’s feeling more that Sal was the “problem child” and Walky was the “smart one” and the color was coincidental. She accepted Lucy with very little pushing and she pretty rightfully went Mama Bear against the girl who stabbed her daughter.

      Not saying we should throw a ticker tape parade for her but Linda seems a bit less shitty than we pegged her for

      • MM
        MM
        July 27, 2023 at 7:49 am | #

        I wouldn’t call screaming about Amber being “feral” to Amber’s face when Amber is arguably being the calmest person in the room “rightfully going Mama Bear.” More importantly, I don’t think the problem/golden child dynamic disproves the colorism when it still seems pretty closely tied to how Sal became designated the “problem child” in the first place.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        July 27, 2023 at 12:18 pm | #

        She only cares about the stabbing because she wants to use it to get Amber expelled because Walky got kidnapped.

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 27, 2023 at 4:22 pm | #

        I would not call agreeing to provisionally tolerate Lucy “acceptance”. Nothing she’s done is inconsistent with an unconscious racial bias.

    • Chromatic Roses
      Chromatic Roses
      July 27, 2023 at 2:25 am | #

      if willis goes the “this black woman was incorrect about the fact that she was on the receiving end of prejudice” route that would be. fucking terrible and i have enough faith in willis to presume that’s not true. the fact is that people are way more complicated than “alt right white supremacist” and “saint of anti-racism”. linda’s snap judgment was ABOUT lucy being black, and therefore not good enough for walky. you can’t act like snap judgements aren’t rooted in prejudice, especially when there was LITERALLY nothing about lucy that would imply in any way that she was bad for walky. she was literally standing there and being perfectly polite

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        July 27, 2023 at 8:29 am | #

        Also, the reason she’s rethinking her take on Sal is that Sal showed up with a nice white boy.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      July 27, 2023 at 2:28 am | #

      We know she’s prejudiced, but we don’t know exactly how bigoted she is.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 2:36 am | #

        She’s at least bigoted enough to decide her word being law is more important than Marcie getting to maybe use her vocal cords ever again just because her parents maybe crossed an invisible line without debasing themselves with pointless paperwork. Whether or not it’s confirmed the surgery/whatever would definitely work and the only problem was time and money, Linda definitely would have done the same thing in either scenario.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          July 27, 2023 at 12:22 pm | #

          She’s hated Marcie since she was five and we saw her treating Sal and Walky differently for the same behaviour at a similar age.

    • aelfwine
      aelfwine
      July 27, 2023 at 3:33 am | #

      Making snap judgment based on racial prejudice is still, you know, a form of racism.

      Like, that’s what prejudice IS, making judgments prematurely.

      Being willing to drop the racist prejudice on second consideration, is more likely to mean simply that Linda’s racism is unconscious rather than deliberate, not that she isn’t racist.

      • James
        James
        July 27, 2023 at 6:06 pm | #

        Racism isn’t really a thing people ARE, it’s a thing people DO.

        …and Linda has been super duper racist to her own children and others.

    • Felgraf
      Felgraf
      July 27, 2023 at 4:03 am | #

      Yes but those snap judgement are possibly, clouded by (potentially unconscious!) racism.

      Racism isn’t mustache-twirling assholes going “NYAHAHAHA, THOSE PEOPLE WITH OTHER SKIN TONES ARE INFERIOR”. Or, it isn’t just that.

      It’s honestly better to think of being not-racist like being good: It is not an intrinsic state. It is a thing you work towards. The point at which you believe that it is a thing that you ARE and no longer need to work on/think about/try to do, but just your intrinsic state of being—

      iissssss when the problems start.

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 27, 2023 at 6:42 pm | #

        THIS.

        Strictly speaking, the whole not-racist / racist binary is moot.

        In today’s framing, there are several layers to systematic racism, and there’s anti-racism, there is no “non”. And in fact one of the greatest challenges to fighting systematic racism is within the thick “outer layer” as it were — the widespread, incorrect idea that one can simply opt out of systematic racism without having to think critically about their place in it.

        • Bryy
          Bryy
          July 27, 2023 at 8:35 pm | #

          Yup.

    • Chubsius
      Chubsius
      July 27, 2023 at 7:33 am | #

      Sometimes your gut is full of poop, and makes you act like a real butt.

    • Twitcher
      Twitcher
      July 27, 2023 at 12:23 pm | #

      She’s racist, but can’t admit that to herself. Sal quietly called her out, and that made her accept Lucy.

  26. Just an Armadillo
    Just an Armadillo
    July 27, 2023 at 12:27 am | #

    Uhh, okay then, mission accomplished, all according to plan! Bad romcom schemes have won the day!

  27. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    July 27, 2023 at 12:28 am | #

    … very subtle, Walky.

  28. Taffy
    Taffy
    July 27, 2023 at 12:31 am | #

    Walky might be up on his memes, but I’m apparently not. Is there a meme here?

    • Vanessa
      Vanessa
      July 27, 2023 at 12:35 am | #

      Not that I can tell!

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 27, 2023 at 12:36 am | #

      Memes are like airborne yeast particles — I can’t always perceive them, but I just always assume they’re present at any given moment.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 2:38 am | #

        It doesn’t help that so many “memes” are just a completely normal sentence without any distinguishing inflection or interesting context.

    • Nymphie
      Nymphie
      July 27, 2023 at 3:16 am | #

      “So you agree” is from Mean Girls. It took me amoment since Walky is facing the opposite direction than Regina George

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 4:09 am | #

        That’s exactly what I mean though, it’s such a normal-ass thing to say. I was staring at the strip, desperately looking for some kind of anomalous choice of words or hand motion or anything, but apparently it’s nothing more or less than half a movie quote from a movie where people talk normally. That’s why I was confused.

        • Mark
          Mark
          July 27, 2023 at 7:06 am | #

          Well, I didn’t see it either, for the same reason. This is where we’ve come to: we’re awash in “memes” simply because it’s fashionable and people are looking under every rock for something that could just possibly be a meme if you squint at it.

          • NGPZ
            NGPZ
            July 27, 2023 at 8:49 pm | #

            Yup. I therefore propose the Fundamental Theorem of Memematics:

            That any work can be broken down into a sum of memes that work together to achieve the desired gestalt for it’s audience.

  29. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    July 27, 2023 at 12:33 am | #

    o3o Yeah all my kinks are pretty unfeasible in real. And also might be dangerous.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 27, 2023 at 12:38 am | #

      What is danger but spicy safety?

    • Angel
      Angel
      July 27, 2023 at 2:22 am | #

      yeah some online kinks/fanfics/art does seem like it’d be impossible or deadly

      But maybe with enough imagination/roleplay it can help with some (or who knows, maybe in 50 years from now we’ll get to see it in vr headsets XD)

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 27, 2023 at 2:42 am | #

        Hell, VR Chat is super customisable and can take full-body input AND connect with sex toys, so even if you can’t get the IRL tactile sensation of like, getting fisted with a handful of bees and having the bees left in there, you can go buy a fist-shaped toy and some of those little vibrating pellet things and have your VR partner remote-control your toy to realistically do something pretty similar.

        Or so I hear.

      • Dr. Sharks
        Dr. Sharks
        July 27, 2023 at 10:35 am | #

        Some kinks have “fantasy-only” as an intrinsic part. As in, the people with the kink are aroused by a fantastical scenario involving their kink but would be disgusted by the same scenario enacted in real life. Fetishes are not necessarily only realized by IRL actions. Sexuality is weird.

        • Yotomoe
          Yotomoe
          July 27, 2023 at 3:39 pm | #

          Personally I’m extra virgin olive oil so I have no idea which kinks I’d enjoy in real and which I wouldn’t. I mean most things I’m into are things I’m not into and im into them because I’m into the idea of being made to do them, ya dig?

  30. Dr. T
    Dr. T
    July 27, 2023 at 12:38 am | #

    It supremely irks me to see Linda continue to call Sal by a name she has often objected to.

    • KM
      KM
      July 27, 2023 at 12:48 am | #

      Has she really objected to people calling her Sally before? Where?

      • TulipKitten
        TulipKitten
        July 27, 2023 at 12:54 am | #

        I just checked the history, and there hasn’t been any comic where she tells her mom to call her Sal. You’d think it would be there.

      • Amós Batista
        Amós Batista
        July 27, 2023 at 3:07 am | #

        There’s a strip that she get angry because Danny has called her “Sally”. I get the URL, it’s a one that she are using very scandalous clothes and playing Mario Kart in Danny’s video game.

        • Vegetalss4
          Vegetalss4
          July 27, 2023 at 6:22 am | #

          Searching through the archive for early strips I found it here
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/sally/

          She certainly was rather insistent that she wasn’t a sally then, but that was the day after the parent visit day where she tried having curly hair and a conservative dress in the failed hope of getting parental approval, so it might have been a particularly sore subject that day.

          • Mark
            Mark
            July 27, 2023 at 7:11 am | #

            Consider that she may object to “Sally” because her mother calls her that.

            I’ve been wondering: does her birth certificate really say “Sally [Middlename] Walkerton” or is “Sally” in turn a diminutive? Are there two “Sarah”s here?

            • Dr. Sharks
              Dr. Sharks
              July 27, 2023 at 11:30 am | #

              TIL Sally is “short” for Sarah. Except it’s the same number of letters and the same number of syllables, so it is neither easier to write nor easier to say. What the heck? I thought Robert->Bob, William->Bill, and Richard->Dick were the weirdest ones, but at least they get shorter.

              Real question: anyone who goes by one of those shortened names, how did you decide to go with that instead of the longer version? As soon as you learned that, for example, Bob was short for Robert, did you just say “Yeah that makes sense, I’m gonna rewire my self-perception around this now.” No judgment, I’m legitimately curious.

              • Uly
                Uly
                July 27, 2023 at 12:00 pm | #

                If there are two Sarahs in a small town before widespread use of last names, it makes sense to call one Sarah and one Sally or Sadie.

                If there are several Roberts, it makes sense that one is Robin and one is Hob and one is Bobby and one is Bert and so on.

                Many people acquire their nicknames in childhood – it has nothing to do with their self-perception, just what other people call them. And lots of people are called different things by different groups of people. Again, nothing to do with your self-perception needing to be “rewired”.

                • KM
                  KM
                  July 27, 2023 at 11:36 pm | #

                  Heck if you’re Chinese you also get used to maybe having a western name and a Chinese name and said Chinese name being also pronounced in multiple dialects+ standard Mandarin

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                July 27, 2023 at 1:35 pm | #

                Yeah, most commonly it’s the parents that name a kid “Robert”, but call them “Bob” throughout childhood.
                Sometimes kids will pushback against a childhood nickname during adolescence and either use a different short version or the full name. Part of switching to an adult identity.

                Elizabeth-> Betsey (or Betty) is the one I always thought was weirdest.

              • Miri
                Miri
                July 27, 2023 at 5:27 pm | #

                I submit Daisy, short for Margaret (French Marguerite = Daisy, translation). Also Peggy, short for Margaret (Margaret > Maggie > Meg > Peg > Peggy). And Molly and Polly, nicknames for Mary.

              • Mark
                Mark
                July 27, 2023 at 9:56 pm | #

                Heh, my mother’s diminutive for me was six syllables longer than my actual name.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              July 27, 2023 at 12:24 pm | #

              Her full name is Sally Elizabeth Walkerton. It’s not short for something in her case.

          • KM
            KM
            July 27, 2023 at 8:30 am | #

            Yeah I guess she was just mad she already introduced herself as Sal and Danny just assumed Sally and like vegetal said this was particularly sore spot that day. I don’t think she has that much objection otherwise. Danny strikes me as the kind of person that probably uses Daniel when he’s feeling fancy so maybe didn’t get it

    • TulipKitten
      TulipKitten
      July 27, 2023 at 12:48 am | #

      Honestly, I’m wondering if it’s meant to be symbolic for how some transphobic parents will engage in deadnaming. I mean, if Carla’s parents called her something else, the shittier parts of the fanbase would latch onto it. Although, that argument kind of gets thrown out the window since Jocelyne is regularly called by her deadname.

      • KM
        KM
        July 27, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

        I don’t see how the situations are at all comparable

        Jocelyne is still closeted, no one who calls her by her deadname actually knows that.

        On the other hand I genuinely cannot recall any scene where Sal objected to being called Sally. And I’d think it’s very normal for parents to use a name they gave their kid and not the nickname friends use

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        July 27, 2023 at 1:19 am | #

        Doesn’t seem like a deadname, as nobody has ever expressed that these two don’t want their mom to call them Sally or David.

        As a narrative technique, it nicely implies that Linda is not in touch with who her kids really are as people, since the names she gave them don’t actually suit their personalities.

        In-universe, it’s like when your pals give you a nickname, your mom doesn’t automatically adopt that nickname instead of the one she gave you.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      July 27, 2023 at 12:52 am | #

      I dunno I figured it’s the thing where your parents and close relatives call you something different than your colloquial name. I mean Walky similarly goes by Walky but that’s his last name so it’d be weird for her to call him that and not David.

    • Nono
      Nono
      July 27, 2023 at 1:09 am | #

      She prefers Sal but she’s never objected to Sally, probably because it’s just ‘what my mom calls me’.

      Like I do the same where the name I go by to friends and even work is different from what my parents call me. It happens.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        July 27, 2023 at 12:27 pm | #

        She objected when Danny called her that, probably because it’s what her mom calls her, but if she ever asked her mom to stop, she lost that battle. We have no evidence of her asking her mom to stop though.

        • James
          James
          July 27, 2023 at 6:10 pm | #

          Probably because she’s very aware she would lose that battle.

  31. Golden Yak
    Golden Yak
    July 27, 2023 at 12:40 am | #

    Mission accomplished.

    • Kitschensyngk
      Kitschensyngk
      July 27, 2023 at 12:49 am | #

      You might put an asterisk next to that.

  32. CrazyJ
    CrazyJ
    July 27, 2023 at 12:45 am | #

    So instead of having to turn in all his graded work to Linda, Walky just had to break up with a girl whom from his parent’s perspective he has been dating for an entire afternoon because that girl is apparently the cause of Walky failing some months ago. I wonder if Linda even knows or cares how insane she sounds.

    • Wraithy2773
      Wraithy2773
      July 27, 2023 at 12:45 am | #

      100% she doesn’t care.

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 27, 2023 at 12:54 am | #

        As is pretty much standard for abusive parents (and alt-right trolls), she believes whatever she needs to in order to make her child wrong somehow at any given moment.

      • Archieve
        Archieve
        July 27, 2023 at 12:58 am | #

        Now that’s she’s somewhat calm she’s looking for someone besides Walky to blame. Doesn’t matter who as long as she doesn’t have to acknowledge her parenting flaws. It’s her kids fault when they fail but her accomplishment when their on the “right” path.

      • Bryy
        Bryy
        July 27, 2023 at 4:05 am | #

        I mean, Linda literally just said “if you were not distracted by a girl that clearly loves you”.

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      July 27, 2023 at 12:53 am | #

      She didn’t say he doesn’t have to report his grades to her.

  33. Icalasari
    Icalasari
    July 27, 2023 at 12:47 am | #

    Is… Linda all there, mentally?

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 27, 2023 at 12:49 am | #

      While I sincerely hope dementia or something else claims her, nah, I in this particular instance I think she’s just not being candid.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 27, 2023 at 12:53 am | #

      Are you asking if she’s stupid?

      Because yes, she’s absolutely a moron.

    • Angel
      Angel
      July 27, 2023 at 12:57 am | #

      well she just did find out her ‘perfect student’ was failing

      Tho technically walky was flunking while/during he was with dorothy leading to their ‘pause/breakup’, so amber wasn’t rly a ‘distraction’ tho even if lucy seems better in comparison i imagine she wouldn’t want walky to date nayone til he can prove his grades are ‘better’

      • Icalasari
        Icalasari
        July 27, 2023 at 12:59 am | #

        More how all over she’s been since that point

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      July 27, 2023 at 3:03 am | #

      I don’t think so She’s just a entitled mother.

    • Bash
      Bash
      July 27, 2023 at 4:31 am | #

      I’d say she has anger issues that cloud her judgment, as well as huge blind spots regarding herself and her kids.

  34. Angel
    Angel
    July 27, 2023 at 12:55 am | #

    well, let’s hope lucy wouldn’t also be considered a ‘distraction’ tho i feel like ‘making up’ with lucy in time for her to join for dinner would still make it awkward

  35. TulipKitten
    TulipKitten
    July 27, 2023 at 12:56 am | #

    I fucking love Walky’s face when he realizes that his plan was incredibly stupid, and got him in huge trouble.

    • MM
      MM
      July 27, 2023 at 7:55 am | #

      I’m not sure there were any realizations going on there so much as a total reset.

  36. Steelbright
    Steelbright
    July 27, 2023 at 1:04 am | #

    This conversation went from zero to sixty to…zero again? HMMM

    • Mollyscribbles
      Mollyscribbles
      July 27, 2023 at 3:01 am | #

      It’ll probably speed up again soon; it just paused because Lucy is a non-issue compared to everything else going on.

    • Woof McGee
      Woof McGee
      July 27, 2023 at 9:36 am | #

      yep – no real drama. No real bombs dropped. This meeting could have been an email.

  37. Gilthwixt
    Gilthwixt
    July 27, 2023 at 1:15 am | #

    This whole episode just leaves me really confused – is Linda that delusional or does she genuinely not realize Sal robbed a gas station at knifepoint and caused Amber to have a panic attack in “self defense” (I know she was no longer in danger when it happened).

    • Zero
      Zero
      July 27, 2023 at 2:19 am | #

      That’s the only part that matters when she’s talking to Sal.
      When she’s talking about Sal (which is her possession), that’s the only part that doesn’t matter.

    • Bash
      Bash
      July 27, 2023 at 4:30 am | #

      If you weren’t there and you don’t know the specifics of Amber’s situation, you might not realize it was a panic attack caused by an abusive parent.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        July 27, 2023 at 12:29 pm | #

        You don’t really need to know the why’s of the panic attack to realize it’s the state she was in when she stabbed Sal.

  38. Bo
    Bo
    July 27, 2023 at 1:19 am | #

    “a good choice” cool, status quo including that Linda is still pretty shitty

  39. justin8448
    justin8448
    July 27, 2023 at 1:30 am | #

    I hope that Lucy joins them for lunch next.

    And I hope that Amber also stays for lunch, on the grounds that she was promised free food. And everyone just else rolls with it.

    • Mollyscribbles
      Mollyscribbles
      July 27, 2023 at 2:57 am | #

      They realize that if they tried asking her to leave or otherwise engaged her in conversation she might start talking about Transformers mpreg again or worse.

  40. Taffy
    Taffy
    July 27, 2023 at 1:48 am | #

    No, ya know what? If I cared so little about my own child that grades mattered more to me than them actually learning, I think I’d view their grade-hacking “girlfriend” as an asset, not a liability.

    • CMasta1992
      CMasta1992
      July 27, 2023 at 2:04 am | #

      Having done the Walky life where I just breezed through HS and the first part of college before absolutely crashing in Engineering I can tell you that if your parents only know you as a star student that first F is going to misplace a ton of emotions. And I didn’t even fake a relationship on a triple date with my twin sister when I had that conversation.

      *ALOT* is going on in this interaction

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 27, 2023 at 2:16 am | #

        It. Never. Gets. Any. Easier.

      • Rectilinear Propagation
        Rectilinear Propagation
        July 29, 2023 at 4:58 am | #

        This is so painfully true.

    • Zero
      Zero
      July 27, 2023 at 2:17 am | #

      I mean, it’s not that dissimilar to her suggestion a short while ago.

    • pope suburban
      pope suburban
      July 27, 2023 at 12:18 pm | #

      Having had parents like that, it’s crucial that they get to preserve their illusion that they did it all on their own- because, of course, the only reason you achieve anything is because of them, and not your own hard work or native skill. This would vex them considerably, because they might get the appearance of what they wanted but they will have a much harder time lying to themselves about it when they want the credit.

      • Joy
        Joy
        July 27, 2023 at 1:56 pm | #

        Mood.

  41. Now
    Now
    July 27, 2023 at 2:23 am | #

    THE PLAN WORKED I’M DYING OF LAUGHTER I’M DEAD THANK YOU WILLIS

  42. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    July 27, 2023 at 2:58 am | #

    It was so easy for Linda has said she prefer Lucy.
    Better keep the guard on *side eyes 👀*

  43. Proto
    Proto
    July 27, 2023 at 3:15 am | #

    Friendship with racism ended.
    Now “yelling at my kid” is my best friend.

  44. Bryy
    Bryy
    July 27, 2023 at 4:06 am | #

    Amazing mental gymnastics there, Linda.

  45. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    July 27, 2023 at 4:33 am | #

    She’s immediatelly putting the responsability on Sal if it fails later eh ?

    • Da Boy
      Da Boy
      July 27, 2023 at 6:44 am | #

      Most likely, fortunately Lucy is a reasonable girl unlikely to get Walky into anything catastrophic so it… should work out?

  46. Suet
    Suet
    July 27, 2023 at 4:49 am | #

    It’s messy to think that Walky succeeded because Linda think Amber was Walky’s partner during the “flunkie” era, thus perceiving Walky’s love life as a game where you subtitute love interests like players

    Irreproducible fetishes, Amber? Not with that attitude.

  47. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    July 27, 2023 at 5:20 am | #

    Walky’s face in the 4th panel… Priceless.

  48. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    July 27, 2023 at 5:27 am | #

    Goddammit i was hoping this would be the chance that walky grew a backbone and talked back
    Guess I’ll have to keep hoping

  49. Chasey
    Chasey
    July 27, 2023 at 6:47 am | #

    So that didn’t go as badly as it could’ve gone, but we have yet to see any longer-term consequences. Linda was (is?) trying to get Amber expelled, I thought, and Amber has revealed she hacked Walky’s grades. Does she take this info to the dean or does she let it slide because it saved her son from flunking out?

    • Da Boy
      Da Boy
      July 27, 2023 at 6:52 am | #

      I guess it depends on if revealing this information would affect Walky or not.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        July 27, 2023 at 12:32 pm | #

        Probably. Even if she says he didn’t know, he’ll be under scrutiny for his grades and it’s very possible he gets expelled too because I don’t see Walky lying and saying it wasn’t the plan (though he might also say he changed his mind and she proceeded anyway, just planning and attempting it might be enough to get him kicked out of school).

        • Da Boy
          Da Boy
          July 27, 2023 at 3:02 pm | #

          It’s possible she could make a deal behind closed doors, all hush-hush but people would probably ask questions. Also Joe’s Dad Is pretty rich so when he starts asking question Dean would get nervous.

  50. Chubsius
    Chubsius
    July 27, 2023 at 7:00 am | #

    Imagine if Linda asks Danny to tutor Walky. Danny might be too nice to say no. Or Danny might bring up adhd and freak them out again

  51. Buli-Buli
    Buli-Buli
    July 27, 2023 at 7:25 am | #

    So, something just occured to me.

    Assuming nothing narratively important happens after the pizza arrives, Sal is currently riding a confused emotional high after becoming her parents favored child with respected opinions.

    What are the chances this is the incentive for the “spontaneity” Sal was looking for?

    On a similar note, I also just realized that Lucy willing skipped out on a date.

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      July 27, 2023 at 7:36 am | #

      They gon’ fuuuuuuuuuuu

  52. Dot
    Dot
    July 27, 2023 at 7:58 am | #

    How the fuck did this plan actually work

    • Diane
      Diane
      July 27, 2023 at 12:49 pm | #

      The plan never worked. It was done before the plan was implemented. Walky was just late to the party of realizing it was done.

    • Alongcameaspider
      Alongcameaspider
      July 27, 2023 at 1:04 pm | #

      The plan was pointless, Sal had smoothed things over for Lucy/Walky before Walky and Amber even walked in the door

  53. bejouled
    bejouled
    July 27, 2023 at 9:02 am | #

    Oof. My now-husband’s grades also suffered in college because it was unexpectedly harder than high school, and his parents ALSO said it was because he was distracted by me.

    The difference in his case was that he was already medicated for his ADHD, and had gotten through highschool by just studying more and more until he remembered everything (thanks to the meds). But because of that had never learned to step back and break down problems into smaller steps so he actually *understood* what was happening. And in college the “just work harder” strategy hit its limit.

    So like Walky, but opposite.

    • Joy
      Joy
      July 27, 2023 at 1:14 pm | #

      Dorothy is like this but without the meds. :0

  54. Dan
    Dan
    July 27, 2023 at 9:55 am | #

    If Walky was a clever man he could play off EVERYthing Amber said as part of the act. To convince his mother to give Lucy a chance. Thus erasing the whole “fixed his grades” bombshell… Walky however is not a clever man so congrats Sal. YOU are now the favorite.

  55. poyo
    poyo
    July 27, 2023 at 11:25 am | #

    oh wow, this backfired in a way i hadn’t even predicted !!! hilarious !!!!

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      July 27, 2023 at 1:20 pm | #

      I’m not sure what you mean by backfire. The plan was to get Linda to agree that Lucy was good girlfriend material. That happened. It didn’t happen because of the stupid plan, which has been revealed as totally unnecessary, but it still happened.

      Now if Linda was somehow saying “I was all set to give Lucy a chance because of what Sally said, but nope, you’ve convinced me that Amber is The One” that would be the plan backfiring.

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        July 27, 2023 at 2:02 pm | #

        It backfired in putting him under additional academic scrutiny and getting screamed at and humiliated in public in a traumatic way, but yeah, he did ultimately end up getting his goal, even if it proved to be unnecessary.

  56. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    July 27, 2023 at 2:47 pm | #

    Not especially significant to today’s strip, but I was wondering if I was misremembering some of Walky’s struggles with Calc. Amount of skipping, order of events, sort of things. I have problems when I link too many strips in one post, so strip names are in the parentheses.

    Mon, Sept 20th. Walky skips the first time, (missed-2)
    Wed, Sept 22nd. Class not shown, but Walky attended and took quiz. First appearance of Arnold (interrogation)
    Fri, Sept 24th. Quizes returned, Walky surprised to get a 26. (badscore)
    second and third appearance of Arnold (showercaddy and second patreon bonus for Jan 2015).

    Mon, Sept 27th. Walky attends class, tears up assignment to hide his score (gotthis). Jason recognizes him after class and notes his “proficiency has slipped as they moved out of review material” (admirably)
    Wed, Sept 29th. timeskip
    Fri, Oct 1st. class not shown, Walky present outside class before and after, probably attended.

    Mon, Oct 4th. Walky skips class because of grades. (latenight)
    Wed, Oct 6th. Walky skips. (bone) Forth appearance of Arnold (skip)
    Fri, Oct 8th. timeskip

    Mon, Oct 11th. Walky attends class. receives a bad grade (tintin)
    Wed, Oct 13th. Walky skips (hellmouth)
    Fri, Oct 15th. Class cancelled. (doublechecking)

    – Amber hacks his grades around this weekend, I didn’t pinpoint when –

    Mon, Oct 18th. Walky plans on skipping, Mike gets him to go at Amber’s urging (newleaf). He sees he’s getting a C instead of F, (deadman/minimum). Mike observes he doesn’t know how to study, so his problem is not actually solved. (hiding/technically)

    So his grade first dropped because they were moving into new material, not just from skipping, but probably a combination of the two. At least twice he mentioned his mother as potentially punishing him. It’s not shown how he passed his midterm, he didn’t get an automatic A, but he got some allowances, at least scheduling. Before the abduction Ruth does tell him she’s found some resources to help him. So potentially he does have experience with better options than skipping class or mocking his TA, for getting through challenging material.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      July 27, 2023 at 3:22 pm | #

      Thur Oct 21: Took the midterm on schedule
      We don’t see that he passed it, since that’s the last chapter before the timeskip, but he did take it. And apparently passed the class.

      Before that, on Mon, Oct 18th, he tells Amber that he’s been studying all day and that AG set up a timer on his phone to poke him in the brain about it. (onetruelove)

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 28, 2023 at 1:52 pm | #

        found another mistake 😛 Grades hacked on the 13th, Walky was present at first, and asked her to change them back. (fraud-2, scooch)

  57. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    July 27, 2023 at 4:02 pm | #

    ope. that’s what I get for only skimming MWF.

  58. bcb
    bcb
    July 27, 2023 at 4:20 pm | #

    Walky 🤝 Maria Strongwell from Rain
    People with shitty parents who break off their fake romantic relationships with their friends.

  59. Laura
    Laura
    July 27, 2023 at 6:21 pm | #

    Just in case anyone else is having work/procrastination/avoidance anxiety like me, I’m’a play “Serenity Lofi to Keep you Safe” on the hacked muzak
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-DJquV-T98

    Unlike usual, this is ACTUAL elevator-music dentist-waiting-room muzak.

    Speaking of muzak and elevator music, I find it extremely unnerving to hear passages from songs by Ministry and Nine Inch Nails played as background chords before the start of NPR news radio, like “All things Considered”. It’s just wild, because NPR usually plays “Dad music,” and now that 90s music, rather than being subversive and transgressive, is tinged with childhood nostalgia for middle-aged listeners.

    The other day, I entered a supermarket and heard “Give it Away Now” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers (considered obscenity when it came out) playing over the PA system. I was dumbfounded.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 27, 2023 at 7:03 pm | #

      Thanks Laura, feeling better, albeit still a slight headache here.

      Right now, working on several game coding commissions, this will suit me well. 😊

      • Laura
        Laura
        July 27, 2023 at 9:20 pm | #

        Good luck, NG!

    • Eagle Rock
      Eagle Rock
      July 28, 2023 at 12:13 am | #

      I also find it weird when anti-status-quo songs show up in muzak situations. Then there was the guy playing and singing Dylan’s “Ballad of a Thin Man” inside the baggage claim area at an airport, and being ignored by security. I gave him $10 for his chutzpah.

  60. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    July 31, 2023 at 2:08 am | #

    Kudos to Sal to putting the effort though.

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May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

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