Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 5, 2026

Following

by David M Willis on March 10, 2024 at 12:01 am
  • 03 – Trystin' in the Wind
└ Tags: jacob, sarah

Discussion (128) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    March 10, 2024 at 12:01 am | #

    “eye contact, my weaknesssssss”

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      March 10, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

      She’s going to be a great lawyer someday. Juror selection will be a scream, she’ll reject any who are too hot for her to look at or speak to.

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        March 10, 2024 at 1:12 am | #

        simpson’s bus driver tapping sign meme, about how there are a lot of different types of lawyers, and even for defense attorneys most cases do not go to trial.

        • deliverything
          deliverything
          March 10, 2024 at 5:11 am | #

          To quote LegalEagle: “…the litigators and trial lawyers, the… let’s call them real lawyers. No I don’t want you to think that transactional attorneys aren’t real lawyers, I mean, they’re not real lawyers, but I definitely don’t want you to think that.” (followed by “I am gonna get some very well-worded angry emails from a bunch of transactional attorneys.”)
          https://youtu.be/UfZgNamKbwc?feature=shared&t=486

        • Hof1991
          Hof1991
          March 10, 2024 at 2:56 pm | #

          My brother and sister are both retirement age lawyers and I’m not sure either of them were ever involved in a criminal case. My son has spent his career putting people in jail and keeping them out of jail. The other seven lawyers in the family were on the spectrum. I escaped, but have been directly involved in more criminal cases than my siblings (witness and juror).

      • anonymsly
        anonymsly
        March 10, 2024 at 8:54 am | #

        She’ll also never win a jury case even if she manages to select a jury, because rejects little things like ‘tact’ and ‘persuasiveness’. She’d be like Rosa Diaz, “Look, I’m gonna make this REAL simple so even you dumdums can understand…”

    • Decidedly Orthogonal
      Decidedly Orthogonal
      March 10, 2024 at 12:12 am | #

      Brave Sa-rah ran away!
      Bravely ran away – away!

      • Michael Lanting
        Michael Lanting
        March 10, 2024 at 6:32 am | #

        When Jacob reared his pretty head,
        she bravely turned her tail and fled…

        • Makkabee
          Makkabee
          March 11, 2024 at 1:06 pm | #

          She liked to gaze upon his tail,
          But conversation? Epic fail!

          • Eyebrow
            Eyebrow
            March 28, 2024 at 10:26 am | #

            This won the Internets. Neil Innes would be proud.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      March 10, 2024 at 4:44 pm | #

      I mean my weakness too 😵‍💫

  2. Animedingo
    Animedingo
    March 10, 2024 at 12:01 am | #

    Called her out

  3. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    March 10, 2024 at 12:02 am | #

    BOOOO

  4. shrub
    shrub
    March 10, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    Is Jacob even human, the amount of patience he’s displaying is otherworldly

    • Coatl
      Coatl
      March 10, 2024 at 12:14 am | #

      They say that the anger of a kind person is extremely dangerous…and we may see that in Jacob in the future.

      • shrub
        shrub
        March 10, 2024 at 12:16 am | #

        I hope so because at the moment he seems less like a real person and more like an idealised caricature

        • Psychie
          Psychie
          March 10, 2024 at 12:39 am | #

          I don’t think he’s displaying patience at all, he’s annoyed by her being so blatant about *not* interacting with him, her behavior is making him uncomfortable so he’s trying to confront her about it. Patience would be passively dealing with the annoyance of her behavior and doing nothing about it, he’s actively trying to change the situation to be more tolerable for him.

        • JR
          JR
          March 10, 2024 at 3:19 am | #

          Funny, that’s how I feel about Sarah in these interactions. She’s being given such clear invitations by a guy she’s on record as attracted to, and even after all she’s been through, she still can’t take the win. She’s so assertive in every other area, increasingly comfortable with expressing love (see: Joyce, Liz), and has none of the sexual hangups of her loved ones (see: Other Jacob). That she falls to pieces and acts like such an asshole on purpose to this one guy who has every reason to dislike her and still lets her in…well, as one of the best fictional characters of the last 5 years put it, “Get out of your own way, man, because this woe-is-me thing you’ve got going on is just fucking ponderous.”

          • keithcurtis
            keithcurtis
            March 10, 2024 at 1:34 pm | #

            Mentioning “Other Jacob” suddenly makes me realize. She (like most of the cast) really took off on Joe for his objectifying list. How is naming a literal sex object after a specific person any different? Now she is stalking the person she named a sex toy after. Sorry, Imagine the positions reversed. Sarah is just being extremely creepy.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              March 10, 2024 at 1:49 pm | #

              She’s not “stalking” him. As she says they share a schedule and she’s freaked out about interacting with him, which makes it weird, but that’s not stalking.

              The sex toy is creepy, but it started as a joke.
              And it’s still not nearly the problem that early Joe was.

            • HueSatLight
              HueSatLight
              March 10, 2024 at 8:19 pm | #

              going to flip this for you. imagine being socially awkward, and you keep telling someone you find intimidating that you don’t feel charismatic to strike up a conversation with them, and they keep insisting you try and then scold you for being a bad conversationalist.

              that’s a more accurate description than “she’s stalking him”.

              • Taffy
                Taffy
                March 10, 2024 at 11:08 pm | #

                I just noticed, but is your current Gravatar a picture of Dorothy with Krillin’s haircut and scars?

              • Reaver
                Reaver
                March 11, 2024 at 12:28 am | #

                Imagine this really awkward person who never strikes up a conversation with, oogling you like a big ol hunk of meat all the time, and then volunteers to spot for you, only to continue to stare at you like a tasty hunk of meat.

      • Amara
        Amara
        March 10, 2024 at 7:03 am | #

        We did see him get mad before. At the whole Joyce and breaking up with Raidah arc.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      March 10, 2024 at 12:19 am | #

      On the one hand, in Jacob’s situation *I* could display this kind of patience on a regular basis.

      … but I would be doing it so I could delight in watching her squirm, and I don’t think that counts as the same thing.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 10, 2024 at 8:44 am | #

      I think he’s also a bit into Sarah, otherwise he might not have given her so many chances.

  5. Jo_cubstar
    Jo_cubstar
    March 10, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    Sarah Sarah Sarah… Just talk to the guy

    • Coatl
      Coatl
      March 10, 2024 at 12:12 am | #

      But she is determined to make it so difficult

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        March 10, 2024 at 8:45 am | #

        Talking to people you find attractive is difficult!

  6. Nono
    Nono
    March 10, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    (squints at Panel 2)

    Is… is Jacob balding? There’s like gaps of scalp between the blonde fop and the part where he has some natural hair.

    • Jeremiah
      Jeremiah
      March 10, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

      I think that’s just a hairstyle.

      • Sirksome
        Sirksome
        March 10, 2024 at 12:11 am | #

        It is. Those are supposed to be short dreads which will leave parts of the scalp exposed from the braid, especially if the hair around them is cut usually a fade.

    • anon
      anon
      March 10, 2024 at 12:16 am | #

      i just assumed it was an undercut/ fade

  7. Jeremiah
    Jeremiah
    March 10, 2024 at 12:04 am | #

    Jacob is disappointed but not surprised.

  8. RacingTurtle
    RacingTurtle
    March 10, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

    Oh, Sarah

  9. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    March 10, 2024 at 12:07 am | #

    She’s just using him to block wind so she has less drag and conserves energy when walking.

  10. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    March 10, 2024 at 12:07 am | #

    Sarah should ask Carla for a recommendation on some wheelies, on account of her need to escape her feelies.

    • M!a
      M!a
      March 10, 2024 at 3:07 am | #

      FeelieWheelies! I like!

  11. Schpoonman
    Schpoonman
    March 10, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

    Did we talk about how Sarah treats Jacob much the way she accuses Joe of treating women? No personhood acknowledged, he’s just eye candy.

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      March 10, 2024 at 12:17 am | #

      people have suggested that before. you can tell how accurate it is by how Joe has been too self-concious to even talk to any women and how it’s never been on Sarah’s mind since Jacob brought up being objectified.

      • Lumino
        Lumino
        March 10, 2024 at 12:54 am | #

        He brought it up directly to her at the gym. She looked introspective for one panel, and then instantly forgot.

        • HueSatLight
          HueSatLight
          March 10, 2024 at 1:05 am | #

          you can tell how she forgot by how she’s now too self-conscious to talk to him. When you find someone attractive and intimidating, it means you don’t acknowledge their personhood.

          • Sirksome
            Sirksome
            March 10, 2024 at 1:13 am | #

            I think Sarah gets criticized too much for her relationship with Jacob. She felt extremely guilty for objectifying him to the point she completely gave up on pursuing him romantically for a while because she felt she didn’t deserve him. Even now she probably feels that way. Her antisocial traits are only even a problem because Jacob actually likes her and wants a real relationship with her which I think is ignored a bit here in the comments. It wouldn’t be difficult to avoid here if he was truly as creeped out as he says. He’s trying to break her walls to form a real connection. That’s why this keeps coming up.

            • Anon A Mouse
              Anon A Mouse
              March 10, 2024 at 1:23 am | #

              In my personal opinion, she doesn’t deserve him. She has been manipulative to him directly and indirectly and has even been (rightly) called out for objectifying him. By all accounts, she is the one who keeps setting herself up in these antisocial situations and he is doing his best to ease that and she reacts in extremely negative ways. Does she even deserve this much patience from him? Any relationship they form seems like it would be emotionally abusive.

            • Bash
              Bash
              March 10, 2024 at 3:13 am | #

              Wasn’t she objectifying him in the gym scene a few days ago? I don’t think that was just anxiety.

              • Sirksome
                Sirksome
                March 10, 2024 at 12:20 pm | #

                She does objectify him and that is a problem but I don’t see it as the real problem. Jacob doesn’t have to give her the time of day, he chooses to. Because he likes her. Sarah just doesn’t like herself enough to be unguarded around a great guy like Jacob so she defaults to staring at him and keeping distance. I think Sarah doesn’t get any empathy because her personality is awful, but she’s really just a shy girl with a crush here and that’s pretty relatable to me.

                I also don’t like taking away Jacob’s agency. He is trying to pursue some kind of deeper relationship with Sarah. He doesn’t have to walk near her just cause they’re going to the same class. I doubt she was intentionally stalking him. He’s just not letting Sarah get away with being shy because he wants to be her friend. It’s just not working well.

                • Morleuca
                  Morleuca
                  March 10, 2024 at 2:33 pm | #

                  and to add this, I also think he is kinda, on some level, enjoying this whole….thing

                • Li
                  Li
                  March 10, 2024 at 3:06 pm | #

                  The readership really seems to be struggling with the idea that their personal dislike of Sarah might not be shared by Jacob.

                • Schpoonman
                  Schpoonman
                  March 10, 2024 at 3:59 pm | #

                  Almost every instance of him trying to open up to Sarah since the timeskip has been met with “Shut up, busy looking at my eye candy.” She absolutely reduces his personhood. His very first appearance after the timeskip, the first time we’d seen him in years, was to hear Sarah say “Hey, remember how I pointed a Joyce-shaped cruise missile at you and Raidah? Mind being that cruise missile for my own emotional gratifucation again?”

                  Jacob is free to like or dislike Sarah, they’re fictional characters. But fucking miss me with “She’s just nervous,” when she’s clearly not too nervous to stand over him and stare at him while he’s working out, explicitly shooting down every attempt at conversation.

                • Li
                  Li
                  March 10, 2024 at 6:18 pm | #

                  To elaborate on / clarify my point: I have genuine sympathy for all the folks who are waiting impatiently for an emotional catharsis (in this case, Jacob telling Sarah to go fuck herself and leave him alone forever) that just isn’t going to happen.

                  That must be very frustrating.

                • Mark
                  Mark
                  March 10, 2024 at 6:21 pm | #

                  As someone who was once (well, thrice) a shy guy with a crush, I offer another possible factor: I didn’t know how to approach someone I was attracted to, and just froze up. It was awful. It took a long time to figure it out.

                • Li
                  Li
                  March 10, 2024 at 6:36 pm | #

                  @Mark: sympathy via light physical contact.

                  I have mixed feelings about the aggressive pathologization of “creepiness”. On the one hand, absolutely the worst guys on the internet and real life started claiming it was a slur and the worst thing you could accuse a guy of being, which is… revealing, heh.

                  But on the other, absolutely there ARE a lot of perfectly benign shy people with social anxiety who were already constantly second guessing themselves and worrying about how they came across and worrying about the impact just passively crushing on someone might have on the other person — and those folks did not need more ammo for their self-doubt. 😞

    • anon
      anon
      March 10, 2024 at 12:18 am | #

      that’s def something she needs to reflect on, jacob did mention it when she and joyce had lunch with him but at this point, he can’t be the only attractive person on campus sarah can tolerate it’d be easiest for her to move on and find osmeon to have a fling with

      • clif
        clif
        March 10, 2024 at 12:51 am | #

        I hear Walky might be free.

        • anon
          anon
          March 10, 2024 at 3:21 pm | #

          personality aside, i think she prefers someone taller/buffer b/c she wants them to be an ‘obstacle course’ (which also is kinda objectifying but i imagine there would be some guys into it/wouldn’t mind), tho dang even if she somehow admitted that walky was hot i imagine walky would stay far away from her lol

          • Schpoonman
            Schpoonman
            March 10, 2024 at 4:00 pm | #

            She was in the group when he hair hit the right “intentionally long and messy” length and she was not immune.

            • Schpoonman
              Schpoonman
              March 10, 2024 at 4:19 pm | #

              *his hair

          • Li
            Li
            March 10, 2024 at 6:38 pm | #

            I think she’s said as much, though I might be confusing her with someone else (there is So Much DoA). Something about wanting to climb her boys like trees and not being so much a fan of boys climbing her like one.

    • Masumi
      Masumi
      March 10, 2024 at 12:25 am | #

      Then again, she’s only like this around Jacob, therefore we can assume it is caused by something about Jacob *as a person*. He’s not the only hot dude on campus, after all.

      • sakamism
        sakamism
        March 10, 2024 at 12:55 am | #

        She has something like a crush on him, but her objectification of him is a big part of it and needs to be disentangled.

        Normally I find her really annoying when she’s interacting with Jacob but right now her anxiety and awkwardness is just too relatable

      • C.T. Phipps
        C.T. Phipps
        March 10, 2024 at 12:57 am | #

        I think Sarah doesn’t want any form of emotional intimacy with a partner and thus only wants a purely physical relationship.

        Jacob, sadly, is a big cuddly teddy bear of muscles who is all about emotions.

        • someone
          someone
          March 10, 2024 at 4:36 am | #

          So what she wants is Joe, but the Joe from before his character growth. Might be why she claims it hasn’t happened.

          • Schpoonman
            Schpoonman
            March 10, 2024 at 4:05 pm | #

            She just hates that she’s regressed while someone she had a legitimate problem with is progressing.

      • eh, whatever
        eh, whatever
        March 10, 2024 at 5:34 am | #

        He’s not the only hot dude on campus, after all.

        Is she on record as finding anyone else hot?

        • anon
          anon
          March 10, 2024 at 3:21 pm | #

          ethan fling aside, it would be mildly amusing if she somehow hooked up with asher just to get under raidah and jen’s skin

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        March 10, 2024 at 6:34 am | #

        Jason wants to be kind to her, and she doesn’t know what to do with that. She knows how to act around abusive people, but not this.

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      March 10, 2024 at 11:00 am | #

      Are you serious?

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      March 10, 2024 at 11:33 am | #

      “The way she accuses Joe”? Is that different from the way we saw early Joe treat women?

      And no, she really doesn’t. She does objectify him and that is clearly treated as a character flaw, but she’s not aggressive about it as Joe was. She doesn’t show up out of nowhere to tell a stranger how much she wants to fuck him – as Rachel phrased it.

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        March 10, 2024 at 3:53 pm | #

        Yeah, that was some seriously fucked-up behavior Joe was engaging in months ago. Behavior for which he has apologized and he is actively attempting to better, but Sarah think she can declare that a mistake is forever.

        • Schpoonman
          Schpoonman
          March 10, 2024 at 4:03 pm | #

          Tall Rachel, Sarah, fucking Bloodrose, Joyce herself, none of these characters are required to accept Joe’s apology or spend time with him, and none of them do. Except Joyce, who has accepted Joe’s apology, who is interested in seeing how he grows as a person/character, and as far as we’ve seen he hasn’t gone looking for Sarah or Tall Rachel to try to get them to accept him. He just is in Sarah’s vicinity by coincidence and she hauls off and says “No, he cannot be forgiven.”

  12. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    March 10, 2024 at 12:09 am | #

    I hope we get back to Ethan post-coitus soon.

    We need him to comment on the new Energon comics that are basically violent R-rated children’s cartoons.

    🙂

  13. Coatl
    Coatl
    March 10, 2024 at 12:11 am | #

    Sarah, I don’t hate you, but why do you insist on making things so difficult?

    • Erica
      Erica
      March 10, 2024 at 12:25 am | #

      Anxiety

    • Insanenoodlyguy
      Insanenoodlyguy
      March 10, 2024 at 12:59 am | #

      At this point I want her to finally be ready to talk to him only to discover he’s been seduced by Joe.

    • Bash
      Bash
      March 10, 2024 at 3:08 am | #

      If you are not used to talking to people, your crush is not a good place to start.

  14. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    March 10, 2024 at 12:11 am | #

    flashback to Sarah in highschool getting hurt repeatedly after trying to open up.

  15. anon
    anon
    March 10, 2024 at 12:15 am | #

    i’d def ppl not walk directly behind me either tho ia ssume most would pass me b/c i’m super slow at wlaking haha

  16. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    March 10, 2024 at 12:15 am | #

    NSFW
    I gave into the Demons. Joyce Butt.

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      March 10, 2024 at 12:18 am | #

      This must be a Joe dream…or maybe a Dorothy one. 😉

      • FlamestAndLight
        FlamestAndLight
        March 10, 2024 at 12:36 am | #

        A Dorothy dream where she IS Joe

    • FlamestAndLight
      FlamestAndLight
      March 10, 2024 at 12:39 am | #

      I really like the details on the back like the shoulder blades and the spine bit. I also appreciate that she looks like a real human with real human amounts of fat and real human proportions. Thanks Yotomoe

    • sakamism
      sakamism
      March 10, 2024 at 12:49 am | #

      I know this is just supposed to be a hornypost but I just want to say I like your art style

    • clif
      clif
      March 10, 2024 at 12:53 am | #

      Nice!

    • DailyBrad
      DailyBrad
      March 10, 2024 at 1:35 am | #

      Damn, good even by your high standards.

    • Jeff K!
      Jeff K!
      March 10, 2024 at 1:57 am | #

      This is beautiful but not in a dehumanizing way.
      It’s just nudity as a snapshot, as if we happened to spot her in a quiet moment.

    • M!a
      M!a
      March 10, 2024 at 3:09 am | #

      So. Very. Cute. ^____^

    • Wereg
      Wereg
      March 10, 2024 at 3:10 am | #

      You draw a nice butt.

    • Shorduie
      Shorduie
      March 10, 2024 at 3:42 am | #

      Excellent but

    • PirateTawnee
      PirateTawnee
      March 10, 2024 at 8:08 am | #

      That’s really good.

    • Steamweed
      Steamweed
      March 10, 2024 at 8:48 am | #

      Spoiler! Oh no she has a butt! :O
      *steamweed shows joyce-shock face

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      March 10, 2024 at 11:02 am | #

      That’s perfect!! 👌🏿🔥🔥

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      March 10, 2024 at 12:03 pm | #

      😘

  17. Bryy
    Bryy
    March 10, 2024 at 12:28 am | #

    Love it when we see more of the campus.

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      March 10, 2024 at 5:45 am | #

      I think the first time we saw the greenhouse Willis mentioned how much of a pain it is to draw.

      By the “Conservation of Scenery” rule we’re going to see the background for ar least a few more strips.

  18. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    March 10, 2024 at 12:31 am | #

    Jacob keeps doing a lot of lifting in trying to patch this, but… at this rate even he will get tired of trying, too

    • Anon A Mouse
      Anon A Mouse
      March 10, 2024 at 1:15 am | #

      I’m surprised he’s still bothering. I’m personally sick of Sarah just being a garbage human and hope we don’t see much of her beyond this.

      • Jeremiah
        Jeremiah
        March 10, 2024 at 3:29 pm | #

        Calm down, the majority of the characters on this strip has acted like garbage humans at one point or another. That is kind of one of the points of this strip.

  19. All-Purpose Guru
    All-Purpose Guru
    March 10, 2024 at 12:34 am | #

    God damn some of these people are broken

    • clif
      clif
      March 10, 2024 at 12:55 am | #

      I would say most people are broken in one way or another. It’s the human condition.

    • Azhrei Vep
      Azhrei Vep
      March 10, 2024 at 8:04 am | #

      Yeah, but Jacob’s hot, so we forgive him.

    • Mturtle7
      Mturtle7
      March 10, 2024 at 6:05 pm | #

      …only “some”?! Are we even reading the same comic?!

  20. BBCC
    BBCC
    March 10, 2024 at 12:35 am | #

    Oi! She’s legging it!

  21. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    March 10, 2024 at 12:56 am | #

    Sarah has gone from being someone who was standoffish and private to someone who actively and knowingly hates any form of emotional connection to anyone else.

    I wonder if this connects to Radiah’s belief she kicked out her roommate for reasons other than concern for her mental health.

  22. Giblets
    Giblets
    March 10, 2024 at 3:08 am | #

    The continuing saga of Sarah completely effing fumbling it

  23. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    March 10, 2024 at 3:12 am | #

    It’s already been established that Sarah suffers from SPFP. Jacob should be more understanding of the position she’s in.

    … oh, wait, he correctly identifies that position in panel 1.

  24. WizardPantaloon
    WizardPantaloon
    March 10, 2024 at 7:59 am | #

    This is getting old.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      March 10, 2024 at 8:42 am | #

      You know what really gets old? When you brain locks up when you encounter someone you find attractive.

      And what doesn’t resolve itself? See previous answer.

      • Anon A Mouse
        Anon A Mouse
        March 10, 2024 at 11:26 am | #

        You know what really gets old? Someone self-aware enough to realize this ( especially when openly stated to them ) constantly putting themselves in this position and expecting the other to just accept it when they’re brain locks up.

        • Taffy
          Taffy
          March 10, 2024 at 12:05 pm | #

          You know what really gets old? Many forms of organic life, due to cellular decay over long periods of time.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            March 10, 2024 at 8:09 pm | #

            And you know what else gets old? This segue to our sponsor!

      • anon
        anon
        March 10, 2024 at 3:23 pm | #

        other than someone having a crush on a friend, not that i came across ppl super attractive to where i’d be flustered just being near them in highschool i’d prolly actually avoid them or stay outta their way bc they’d prolly be the ‘popular’ type that’d have their own group of friends anyway, even in a non ‘fangirls following’ anime cliche type of thing XD

  25. Steamweed
    Steamweed
    March 10, 2024 at 8:44 am | #

    Dumbing of Age, Volume Any: It’d Be Way Less Creepy If You Just Talked To Me

    Dumbing of Age, Volume Any-Plus-One: That Is A Chance I’m Willing To Take

  26. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    March 10, 2024 at 9:06 am | #

    What a big chicken! But it’s nice to see her human side.

  27. Professional asexual
    Professional asexual
    March 10, 2024 at 11:03 am | #

    Sarah the incel lmfao

  28. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    March 10, 2024 at 12:30 pm | #

    feels like this comment section is half full of puriteens who are saying being sexually attracted to someone is objectifying them.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      March 10, 2024 at 1:45 pm | #

      Some of it is probably that, but it comes up with Sarah because she goes farther than that. Focusing on him just for his body, while not being able to talk to him and ignoring his explicitly stated dislike of that.
      Not all sexual attraction is like that and we don’t get that reaction to other cases of sexual attraction in the comic.

      • Li
        Li
        March 10, 2024 at 3:40 pm | #

        I mean. But MOST of Sarah’s objectifying has stayed in the privacy of her own head, or at least far away from Jacob. (And tbqh I am not really convinced that Sarah actually thinks of her vibrator as Other Jacob, I kiiiind of think that was just something she said to convey her intention to fantasize about him to Joyce, which has now become a running joke.)

        So far we’ve had the one instance where her staring at and drooling over him was obvious enough for him to notice, and he asked her politely to knock it off. We will see how she ultimately responds to this criticism in the future, and that will say a lot about her respect for his boundaries.

        But in the meantime, yeah, there’s a real Neo Puritan streak running through this comment section — lots of hand-wringing about masturbating anywhere but the privacy of your own bedroom, and characters getting lambasted for being too openly interested in sex. Just recently it seemed like Lucy was getting an unreasonable amount of flack for being too enthusiastic about sleeping with Walky.

        (No one directly called her a slut or anything, but there was a lot of baseless speculation about how she was using him and didn’t care about his feelings, instead of… being caught up in her OWN feelings and a bit oblivious to the anxieties Walky was deliberately hiding from her.)

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          March 10, 2024 at 10:31 pm | #

          I’m not sure it’s so much neo-puritan as just an excuse seized on to attack characters already disliked for other reasons.

          • Li
            Li
            March 11, 2024 at 12:58 am | #

            Stuff can be two things, thejeff!

            But no, genuinely the wider trend is definitely Neo Puritan. Loads of young folk have gotten very comfortable with asserting that all public spaces should be Family Friendly by default, even if those spaces have a clearly posted age restriction, because the need to protect children’s innocence should be prioritized over everything else, and mostly seeming not to realize that “obscenity” and “inappropriate for children” was always going to mean “even the most vanilla transgression, like simply being trans or holding your non-pericishetero, gender-nonconforming partner’s hand in public”.

            The wider trend is just also evident in this comment section, where Sarah is sexually harassing Jacob now just by being in his presence while sexually attracted to him.

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      March 10, 2024 at 4:10 pm | #

      Keep those ad hominems coming.

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        March 10, 2024 at 4:14 pm | #

        In the comic at the top of this page, Jacob says Sarah’s behavior makes him uncomfortable. She is continuing to view him as a pretty purely sexual object, like he described in the strip you linked at me, and when he tries to do something more about, because Sarah again told him she’s not interested in talking to him, just lusting after him, she bolts.

        But please, tell me more how I’m a Puritan for agreeing with someone who is saying “I am feeling objectified.”

        • HueSatLight
          HueSatLight
          March 10, 2024 at 8:11 pm | #

          if you see today’s strip as her objectifying him, then yes, you’re acting like a puriteen. “She is continuing to view him as a pretty purely sexual object” you made that up.

          • Makkabee
            Makkabee
            March 11, 2024 at 1:20 pm | #

            Why do you consider Jacob’s discomfort so irrelevant that you attack anyone who sympathizes with him over it?

    • Rectilinear Propagation
      Rectilinear Propagation
      March 10, 2024 at 5:35 pm | #

      And then treating objectifying someone in your own head the same as harassing them in real life. It feels like some people think Jacob has been reading the comic and knows everything he wasn’t there for.

      It doesn’t help that it’s also half full of people who just flat out hate Sarah.

      • Li
        Li
        March 10, 2024 at 6:47 pm | #

        +1 to this. Absolutely also where I’m at. It’s as if that time in class where she started fantasizing about him instead of listening had involved her grabbing him by the front of his shirt to tell him her graphic thoughts or demand he make them a reality, instead of… something she clearly felt embarrassed about after she tuned back in and realized she’d lost track of the conversation.

  29. Da Boy
    Da Boy
    March 10, 2024 at 7:44 pm | #

    Sarah, at this rate Lucy is going to snatch him up and you’ll be kicking yourself for decades to come.

  30. Kaffeeteria
    Kaffeeteria
    March 11, 2024 at 1:42 am | #

    Why is he carrying a mop on his head?

    • Amós Batista
      Amós Batista
      March 11, 2024 at 9:11 am | #

      Ugh, really?

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