Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 19, 2026

Patience

by David M Willis on July 1, 2024 at 12:01 am
  • 04 – For Me It Was Tuesday
└ Tags: carla, charlie

Discussion (148) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. NGPZ
    NGPZ
    July 1, 2024 at 12:03 am | #

    Another Pride Month has come and gone,
    but Gay Wrath Year is going STRONG! 🏳️‍🌈🐅

    *plays “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor on hacked muzak*

    • Nymph
      Nymph
      July 1, 2024 at 8:50 am | #

      Hey! Moving this request here (from yesterday’s comment section), because I genuinely am curious to know and I think I replied too late yesterday for you to answer – can you show me the comic or comment from Willis that said Becky’s mother was a lesbian? I don’t remember anything like that, and I would love to know if that’s true!

      • Username Taken
        Username Taken
        July 1, 2024 at 2:36 pm | #

        I was wondering the same: fan theory, or part of the backstory that I missed or forgot? After a decade plus, I’ve definitely forgotten some character and plot details.

        • Nymph
          Nymph
          July 1, 2024 at 3:10 pm | #

          I’m guessing, given the lack of an answer yesterday to the many people asking and the lack of answer today (although that might just be due to busyness) that this is a fan theory. Usually if something is canon people are falling all over themselves to confirm it in the comments.

          I hope NGPZ confirms/explains soon, I’m so curious!

          • NGPZ
            NGPZ
            July 1, 2024 at 5:11 pm | #

            I thought there was a strip confirming it, but am unable to remember it, or really anything much besides Ross saying that God was punishing them for failing to condemn sin hard enough, and I assumed that was it.

            It might have just been hearsay, but I really wish there was an easy way to look through comic dialogue to confirm.

            (Sanda and Woo strips for instance always have their dialogue typed out)

            • Nymph
              Nymph
              July 1, 2024 at 5:25 pm | #

              Okay so fan theory until proven otherwise. Thanks for clarifying, was really concerned I had missed something that large and specific to my interests.

            • Nymph
              Nymph
              July 1, 2024 at 6:11 pm | #

              I have gone back through all the Ross strips and definitely didn’t find even the slightest suggestion that Becky’s mom was a lesbian. I think she was “just” garden variety depressed and abused by her husband.

              (please note the “” around just because obviously that is also very bad and I’m not minimizing it, just saying it wasn’t compounded with being closeted as well)

            • Username Taken
              Username Taken
              July 1, 2024 at 9:47 pm | #

              Thanks for following up. Ultimately it doesn’t matter to the plot (for now) WHY Bonnie was depressed, it’s enough to know that she was and that Ross was a factor.

              Ugh. I hate it for Becky so much.

    • Akane
      Akane
      July 1, 2024 at 9:33 pm | #

      Are Joyce and Dorothy slowly coming out for each other part of the gay wrath year?

      • Amós Batista
        Amós Batista
        July 1, 2024 at 9:41 pm | #

        🙏🏽🌈

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 1, 2024 at 9:47 pm | #

        hopefully

        i really wanna start work on gay ass DoA fan games

        (fuck I can’t wait until i get SSI, rn i gotta take code commissions all most of my time just to feed myself ;-;)

  2. IntangibleMatter
    IntangibleMatter
    July 1, 2024 at 12:04 am | #

    ADHD and Autism, everybody. Give them a hand!

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

      Sure, if I don’t forget.

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 1, 2024 at 12:10 am | #

        *joyful finger pistols*

    • Max
      Max
      July 1, 2024 at 5:36 am | #

      I’ll do it later.

    • SpaceDorf
      SpaceDorf
      July 1, 2024 at 8:05 am | #

      WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
      *runs around in circles*

      WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

    • Hexx
      Hexx
      July 1, 2024 at 9:58 am | #

      Yeah, feeling very called out by Charlie for no reason… Called out as in “the call of my people…”

    • Spongegirl Circleskirt
      Spongegirl Circleskirt
      July 1, 2024 at 1:23 pm | #

      *tosses in a glove*

    • Kazuma Taichi
      Kazuma Taichi
      July 1, 2024 at 3:05 pm | #

      wait, but I still need my hands

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    July 1, 2024 at 12:04 am | #

    Tigers are my actual favorite animal and have been since I was nine, so go Charlie and Carla!

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      July 1, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

      Wow, we’re going on 20 minutes past the o’clock now.

      I’m on vacation for a week and the spacetime continuum goes to shit. Story of my life.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        July 1, 2024 at 12:11 am | #

        I’ve also been traveling and I feel like it was at around 14ish when I left. Six minutes of drift in under a month feels pretty substantial

    • Marianne
      Marianne
      July 1, 2024 at 1:04 am | #

      Is that when you were introduced to Calvin and Hobbes?

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        July 1, 2024 at 1:24 am | #

        I can actually neither confirm nor deny that, but honestly it might be.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        July 1, 2024 at 6:06 am | #

        The zebra’s stripes are lacking hue, so they don’t compare to you-know-whose.

        Orange, black and white is what to wear! It’s Haute Couture for those who dare!

        It’s camouflage, and stylish too! Yes, tigers look the best, it’s true!

  4. IntangibleMatter
    IntangibleMatter
    July 1, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

    Thirty-Second? Feeling optimistic today I see, Carla.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      July 1, 2024 at 12:07 am | #

      Hey, she’s met a whole human who she likes! That’s bound to improve the rankings.

      (Note: Charlie Georg is an outlier.)

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        July 1, 2024 at 12:10 am | #

        Carla is human despite her protests and she enjoys many things that humans produce, which skews the rankings a bit

  5. ian livs
    ian livs
    July 1, 2024 at 12:05 am | #

    I don’t know about Carla, but I’m always ecstatic to hear tiger facts. They’re rad

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      July 1, 2024 at 11:48 pm | #

      New character appears: Ty Garfield
      remarkably similar to Dina
      goes around wearing this hat: https://www.amazon.com/Tiger-Animal-Winter-Beanie-Aviator/dp/B017C3C9RO

  6. Imogen
    Imogen
    July 1, 2024 at 12:06 am | #

    Is this the first thought bubble since the Dina chapter? The contrast of the two bearers of the thought bubble being our most internal character and our most external character seems deliberate to me. Carla is growing.

    Not that she needed to grow–we all know she’s perfect and the most important person ever and has never been wrong in her entire life–but, you know, it’s still fun to see her arc.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

      No, it’s happened a few times in between. You don’t get receipts on that, I’m too lazy.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      July 1, 2024 at 12:09 am | #

      Nah, Carla is just using the new Rutech MindProjekt app to make her thoughts appear in a hologram above her head, so she can continue to subject the public to whatever she’s thinking on the rare occasions she isn’t actually telling them.

    • HueSatLight
      HueSatLight
      July 1, 2024 at 12:20 am | #

      There have been a few. But “recently” they changed from color-coded to black on white. I don’t have my list, but this is one I remember: https://www.dumbingofage.com/turnaround/

      • Imogen
        Imogen
        July 1, 2024 at 12:24 am | #

        Neat! Okay, so I guess somewhere down the line Willis decided to bend that rule a little. In all honesty, I was thinking that this comic might be stronger without the bubble, especially considering it doesn’t have that extra oomph of contrast.

        It’s a good little prompt for thinking about the issue of show-don’t-tell. Is it better for the speech bubble to make Carla’s growth extremely obvious, or would it be more powerful for Carla to just silently sit down and wait, encouraging the reader to consider why she’s taking that action and think about what it means for her to make that choice?

        There *is* a certain power to the visual of Carla physically trying to hold the words in and it manifesting as thought bubbles, but I think it only really works if either there’s a lot of words or thought bubbles are a lot rarer.

        • Tan
          Tan
          July 1, 2024 at 2:07 pm | #

          I think the thought bubble in this case does a good job contextualizing that the first two panels are the act of Carla purposely and mindfully calming herself. Not just being patient but *making* herself be patient. To show this properly without the thought bubble would’ve taken more panels, probably the entire rest of today’s strip. Which is a choice you can make sometimes, to decompress and focus in on a particular moment because it is important, but it really needs to be used sparingly in a one-a-day, lest it drag the overall pacing to a screeching halt. Plus you’d have the entire comments section for this day freaking out about how many hours it’s taking Charlie to respond, how there’s “no way” Charlie is independently functional, etc, etc, etc.

          • Nymph
            Nymph
            July 1, 2024 at 6:32 pm | #

            Not that it completely stopped those comments from happening anyway, but I really hope they fizzle out at some point.

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 1, 2024 at 12:33 am | #

        Just remembered, thought bubbles are how we know Carla isn’t faceblind.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          July 1, 2024 at 6:11 am | #

          And how we know she doesn’t have aphantasia.

    • PedanticJerkass
      PedanticJerkass
      July 1, 2024 at 2:03 am | #

      Speaking of Dina, the fact that this is empty (at least as of now) makes me a bit sad.

  7. Bittersweet
    Bittersweet
    July 1, 2024 at 12:06 am | #

    Oh! Okay! So it is more like just a short lag/delay thing. I feel 900% better than yesterday.

    Also, this is adorable.

  8. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    July 1, 2024 at 12:06 am | #

    Carla learning to wait patiently and respect someone else’s speed of life? Has Hell frozen over?

    • True Survivor
      True Survivor
      July 1, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

      I don’t know, but Charlie seems to have melted her heart (though come on -how could she not?).

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      July 1, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

      Maybe she needs something like this

    • Meagan
      Meagan
      July 1, 2024 at 12:18 am | #

      Right?

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      July 1, 2024 at 1:12 am | #

      Being sweet on somebody will do that.

      If she transfers it to other people, that will be impressive.

    • anon
      anon
      July 1, 2024 at 4:43 pm | #

      well she did agree to booster about it but even if she needed extra instruction/prep to be told about ‘extra’ i would hope most partners would be patient than rushing or just grabbing

      Tho be funny if charlie agreed to be in some modified wagon thing she could comfortably sit on while carla skates with it , in emergencies if they were to like hang out in a cafe and needed to go bc its closing time

  9. daeranilen
    daeranilen
    July 1, 2024 at 12:06 am | #

    Ohhh, I feel this audio processing delay in my SOUL.

    • dalniente
      dalniente
      July 2, 2024 at 7:40 pm | #

      Big big same.

  10. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    July 1, 2024 at 12:07 am | #

    Huh. Learned something new about tigers today!

  11. Taffy
    Taffy
    July 1, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

    Carla will be playing a tiger-striped Hrothgar lady once the Final Fantasy XIV Online: Dawntrail expansion is released. It’s canon, Willis confirmed it, this is explicitly stated in the comic now.

    (Anyone who mentions the free trial gets their gay gene replaced with a Twizzler.)

    • anonymsly
      anonymsly
      July 1, 2024 at 12:22 am | #

      What job does she main? Inquiring minds want to know! (Is it machinist?)

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 1, 2024 at 12:27 am | #

        She bought level skips for every single class and doesn’t have a particular preference for any of them. She’s actually intentionally bad at the game and plays every class like a tank.

        • anonymsly
          anonymsly
          July 1, 2024 at 9:02 am | #

          Delightful! Thank you.

  12. Slartibeast Button, BIA
    Slartibeast Button, BIA
    July 1, 2024 at 12:08 am | #

    And Polar Bears have black skin under that white fur.

    • Carla's #2 Fan
      Carla's #2 Fan
      July 1, 2024 at 5:01 am | #

      Technically it’s clear fur anyhow! They just happen to be around a lot of white.

  13. HueSatLight
    HueSatLight
    July 1, 2024 at 12:11 am | #

    Isn’t that how most animals with markings in their fur are? [seaches images of hairless calico cats]

    • Daibhid C
      Daibhid C
      July 1, 2024 at 5:11 am | #

      This NatGeo article says it’s not true of zebras, cheetahs or giraffes, but is of other big cats such as snow leopards.

      https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/animals-skin-colors-zebras-big-cats

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 1, 2024 at 10:13 am | #

        hm, not sure what to think of that article. I don’t know of anything that would keep all markings on the skin for every single animal. But also says domestic dogs and cats, but hairless calico cats and dalmatians have spots. I see other sources for the zebras, but so far they either directly/indirectly cite one particular zoo’s factoid page, or don’t cite. Guess I’m going to have to break into the zoo and shave a zebra (it’s ok, they’re really close to the outer fence, I see them when I walk by).

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 1, 2024 at 10:14 am | #

        appreciate the article, though, thanks.

  14. Doopyboop
    Doopyboop
    July 1, 2024 at 12:12 am | #

    These two are adorable.

  15. Switchchris
    Switchchris
    July 1, 2024 at 12:15 am | #

    I love that Carla is now capable of Understanding and Patience, thats the biggest character development in this entire series, with a Close second being Joyce’s whole change lol. I wonder how long it will take before she will be able to do things like Apologize or Comfort somebody who isn’t Charlie.

    • Throwatron
      Throwatron
      July 1, 2024 at 4:07 pm | #

      W-why would she be able to do that? Those people are Not Carla and Not Charlie. There’s absolutely no bandwidth for paying attention to pointless nonsense such as that!

  16. audkitten
    audkitten
    July 1, 2024 at 12:17 am | #

    Carla and Charlie are my fave

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 1, 2024 at 12:23 am | #

      Pika pi!!!

      They are certainly to Becky X Dina as an ADHD autism power couple!!!! ^^

  17. anonymsly
    anonymsly
    July 1, 2024 at 12:24 am | #

    Good job, Carla! Understanding and patience, especially the latter, don’t come easy to you, so it’s double nice to see.

  18. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    July 1, 2024 at 12:36 am | #

    Fun Fact: Apparently Tiger Urine smells like Popcorn.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 1, 2024 at 12:40 am | #

      wait so it’s not just me?

      does that mean I’m part tiger? 😮

    • pyrock_mania
      pyrock_mania
      July 1, 2024 at 1:22 am | #

      So now you know, if you can suddenly smell popcorn, there’s a tiger VERY nearby!

      • Dean
        Dean
        July 1, 2024 at 2:00 am | #

        Most tiger attacks occur in movie theatres, this is 100% true.

        • pyrock_mania
          pyrock_mania
          July 1, 2024 at 2:07 am | #

          It’s their perfect hunting ground!

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      July 1, 2024 at 6:32 am | #

      Are you sure it’s not a sample urine test on tigers which have been eating only popcorn “butter” for three days straight?

      • NGPZ
        NGPZ
        July 1, 2024 at 11:09 pm | #

        they probably wouldn’t survive that…

        tigers are obligate carnivores

  19. Blume
    Blume
    July 1, 2024 at 1:00 am | #

    This made me feel joy. I’m just happy that Carla is actually practicing what Booster preached. I hope she continues to in more ways than one! And I hope Charlie keeps giving more animal facts 😀 there’s a lot of them out there. This is the part where I’d put what I know, but I forgot.

  20. Birion
    Birion
    July 1, 2024 at 1:05 am | #

    Did you know that humans also have stripes? They’re just normally the same colour as the rest of the skin, so we can’t see them. But some animals, such as cats, can.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      July 1, 2024 at 1:32 am | #

      That’s actually a myth; neither cats nor any animals can see the patterns in our skin. There are ways to find out what yours look like, but I do not know how. I know only that I was told it is possible.

      • clif
        clif
        July 1, 2024 at 4:44 am | #

        I assume your talking about Blaschko’s Lines which are a series of stripes. You need UV light. See https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/n76btq/til_human_skin_is_overlaid_with_blaschkos_lines_a/

        • clif
          clif
          July 1, 2024 at 4:51 am | #

          Apparently visibility under short UV light is not universal. If interested in the patterns though, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blaschko%27s_lines .

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 1:41 am | #

      Are you sure you’re not thinking of tan lines?

    • StClair
      StClair
      July 1, 2024 at 2:07 am | #

      I dunno if you’re doing a bit, but:
      A few years back, I saw an image that confirmed that panthers have spots just like other kinds of leopards, they just can’t (usually/easily) be seen in our visual spectrum.

      • a/snow/mous/e
        a/snow/mous/e
        July 1, 2024 at 2:52 am | #

        “Panther” is really a catch-all term for any large black pantherid, I think. (Panthera being the genus of lions, leopards, mountain lions, etc.) It’s like reverse albinism. I suppose it’s not too surprising that spots are differentiable at some level, since the patterns would still form at different times/places in the embryo (presumably the general coat followed by localized spot patterns).

        • eh, whatever
          eh, whatever
          July 1, 2024 at 4:01 am | #

          Not mountain lions; they’re Puma, not Panthera, and are more closely related to Felis than to Puma.

          • lyzyrdwyzyrd
            lyzyrdwyzyrd
            July 1, 2024 at 7:01 am | #

            While true, cougars are also called panthers. But they’re not black panthers.

            • a/snow/mous/e
              a/snow/mous/e
              July 1, 2024 at 12:40 pm | #

              ah, yes, that’s why I was thinking they could be panthers as well. but that’s very confusing terminology when “panther” is already used for black pantherids! not that it’s a meaningful label, but cougars/mountain lions/etc. have so many terms for them already…

              • a/snow/mous/e
                a/snow/mous/e
                July 1, 2024 at 12:47 pm | #

                anyway, apologies for the “panther” conflation; you’re right that pumas are in Puma, not Panthera (and that’s another reason why “panther” is a bad term for them!)

        • lyzyrdwyzyrd
          lyzyrdwyzyrd
          July 1, 2024 at 7:02 am | #

          Melanism is the word you are looking for

          • a/snow/mous/e
            a/snow/mous/e
            July 1, 2024 at 12:42 pm | #

            ah, I see. I would have thought “hypermelanism” maybe, but then I suppose albinism isn’t called “hypomelanism”…

      • Daibhid C
        Daibhid C
        July 1, 2024 at 5:15 am | #

        One of the coolest effects in Zootopia is the black jaguar where you can see this based on how the light hits different fur layers.

    • eh, whatever
      eh, whatever
      July 1, 2024 at 4:02 am | #

      Microchimeric humans have stripes or patches. Genetically homogenous ones, though?

  21. APersonAmI
    APersonAmI
    July 1, 2024 at 1:23 am | #

    Wow. Giving Charlie time to process. I absolutely love that. I can take a while to process what people say to me, and so rarely do people have patience.

    Carla is great.

  22. French Fan
    French Fan
    July 1, 2024 at 1:34 am | #

    The expression of Carla in the last pannel is adorable.

  23. Shakes
    Shakes
    July 1, 2024 at 1:46 am | #

    Charlie doesn’t seem functional enough for college life or most jobs. I hope we get more detail about her soon.

    • GreyICE
      GreyICE
      July 1, 2024 at 3:33 am | #

      You’d be shocked about how much you can do with ADHD. Vyvanse will be her friend, but assuming you’re not doing something where twitch reflexes matter, ADHD is not as big a barrier as you might think.

      • Mr D
        Mr D
        July 1, 2024 at 6:00 am | #

        y’know, vyvanse doesnt mess with my twitch reflexes but every few hours I do get slightly shaky hands lol

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        July 1, 2024 at 8:34 am | #

        With ADHD is one thing. Plenty of people have ADHD and are capable of interacting with the world around them in real time.

        • dalniente
          dalniente
          July 2, 2024 at 7:44 pm | #

          And plenty of us aren’t. It’s a disorder with a lot of variation; some of us are barely tethered to the earth if unmedicated. It’s been really nice to see someone like me in fiction.

  24. Richard Barrell
    Richard Barrell
    July 1, 2024 at 1:48 am | #

    I feel like Willis has drawn Carla and Charlie prettier than usual in this comic strip. Charlie in particular. It might just be the really cool shirt, but I think it’s probably actually a reaction to the how cutely both are smiling. ❤️

  25. M!a
    M!a
    July 1, 2024 at 2:04 am | #

    Aww. 🙂 Cutest Carla face ever in Panel #whichever-panel-that-is.

    • Bash
      Bash
      July 1, 2024 at 2:21 am | #

      The way she bites her lip is too much. I’ve never actually seen her look happy before.

    • Richard Barrell
      Richard Barrell
      July 2, 2024 at 10:43 pm | #

      Strongly agreed!

  26. 3oranges
    3oranges
    July 1, 2024 at 2:06 am | #

    Tiger, tiger, in her mind
    Look at Carla being kind

    • BohNo
      BohNo
      July 1, 2024 at 2:12 pm | #

      yes the tiger is free

      yes

      yes

  27. Cimorene
    Cimorene
    July 1, 2024 at 2:21 am | #

    A guy at the zoo today asked me if I knew tigers had striped skin and I said yes 😮

    • a/snow/mous/e
      a/snow/mous/e
      July 1, 2024 at 1:11 pm | #

      wow, did you tell him you learned it through webcomics

  28. AGV/Ruby
    AGV/Ruby
    July 1, 2024 at 2:34 am | #

    Also, did you know that polar bear fur is translucent rather than white?

    • eh, whatever
      eh, whatever
      July 1, 2024 at 4:03 am | #

      All white hairs are translucent. Mammals don’t make white pigments.

      • JBento
        JBento
        July 1, 2024 at 8:20 am | #

        LEARNING! 😀

  29. Acher4
    Acher4
    July 1, 2024 at 2:39 am | #

    That second panel is just…. so perfect!

    I love Carla here!

    C&C FTW! 😉

  30. nothri
    nothri
    July 1, 2024 at 4:41 am | #

    Honestly, Carla might be PERFECT for Charlie. Her somewhat compulsive need to get attention actually kind of goes well with Charlie zoning out…I mean, it seems like Charlie needs someone who is persistent enough to coax her back and get her back on the task of going about her day. The patience and understanding part will be the struggle, especially for Carla, but maybe having someone who will eventually respond happily to your desire for attention is a good trait to have. Carla’s obsessive persistent attention seeking might be a net positive in this case.

    Also, tigers are cool. And I didn’t know about the striped skin thing.

  31. Carla's #2 Fan
    Carla's #2 Fan
    July 1, 2024 at 5:03 am | #

    Carla’s face in the last panel is so cute! OMG!

  32. Pylgrim
    Pylgrim
    July 1, 2024 at 5:27 am | #

    If a few years ago you told me that Carla was capable of self-improvement, I’d have laughed in your face.

  33. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    July 1, 2024 at 6:28 am | #

    When did Carla grow a patience?

  34. Zamperla
    Zamperla
    July 1, 2024 at 6:31 am | #

    Aw. Honestly Carla just sitting and waiting a second is so sweet to me… sometimes it takes a second to realize you heard someone.

  35. JasonAW3
    JasonAW3
    July 1, 2024 at 7:20 am | #

    Charlie has SERIOUS ADHD.. If my having it and knowing the symptoms means anything…

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 4:36 pm | #

      Hey wait, you’re not supposed to take your lived experience and form thoughts about things with it. That’s illegal.

  36. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    July 1, 2024 at 7:22 am | #

    Carla is trying really hard to be a better human being. So, thanks a lot Charlie, she’s precious and likes Carla, who is amazing. I wonder what Mary will do for destroy their happiness…

    • Laura
      Laura
      July 1, 2024 at 11:37 pm | #

      For anyone out there who is trying to do something hard and scary, like Carla’s attempts to BE in relationship with another human being (besides, of course, herself) here’s some comforting music on the hacked high-school PA system:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JYXzKYbNUw

  37. darkoneko
    darkoneko
    July 1, 2024 at 8:29 am | #

    Wait what ?

  38. Eric
    Eric
    July 1, 2024 at 9:22 am | #

    Was everything Charlie said a lie? All the pop psychology says that looking up and to your left is not recalling a fact or memory, but making one up

    • Adam Black
      Adam Black
      July 1, 2024 at 12:07 pm | #

      That’s looking to the right.
      But it’s been debunked.

      When a person lies they look at you and say “i am lying but you will not remember this because of { redacted phrase *}. “ . For example: ”i am lying {phrase} NLP is the greatest you will buy all my books. On this.”
      *Hardwired into humans since the Keely accords in 791}

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 4:35 pm | #

      Sounds like a load of bullshit, like most of the pop psychology I’ve heard.

  39. thumb
    thumb
    July 1, 2024 at 9:25 am | #

    Holy shit, growth! Is that allowed?
    *checks name of the comic*
    No.

    • Jeremiah
      Jeremiah
      July 1, 2024 at 12:30 pm | #

      Grow IS allowed! It just doesn’t stop anyone from still doing stupid things.

    • BohNo
      BohNo
      July 1, 2024 at 2:10 pm | #

      as long as there is an equal and opposite dumbing somewhere else

  40. raultsi
    raultsi
    July 1, 2024 at 10:02 am | #

    I did not know that. I learned something today.

    Rats. I’ll forget pants tomorrow, though

  41. Whirlakitty
    Whirlakitty
    July 1, 2024 at 11:12 am | #

    Carla crushing is do darn cute.
    Though not as cute as tigers, but comparing humans to tigers (or cats of any kind) is hardly fair.

  42. Florence
    Florence
    July 1, 2024 at 12:53 pm | #

    These two 🥹

  43. BohNo
    BohNo
    July 1, 2024 at 2:09 pm | #

    oh my god she’s being lesbian trained this is so great this is so great

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 4:22 pm | #

      I’m curious about this “lesbian trained” thing. Could you elaborate on it, please?

      • Nymph
        Nymph
        July 1, 2024 at 4:44 pm | #

        Yeah I also want to know. Is this a thing you sign up for or get chosen for? Did I need to earn a certain number of points in something to get in the beta?

        Details! I need details!

        …for a friend.

        • Mark
          Mark
          July 1, 2024 at 5:02 pm | #

          How many CEUs do you get if you pass?

  44. Alan in DC
    Alan in DC
    July 1, 2024 at 4:16 pm | #

    Did the story ever indicate who Charlie is roommates with?

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 4:32 pm | #

      Her roommate is Brynhilde Skovgaard, a Danish exchange student. She’s 5’11”, has brown hair and eyes, and is pretty well muscular on account of her hobbies. Said hobbies include fencing, dancing, and playing the fiddle, and she also goes to the gym twice a week for some cardio and weight lifting. Her major is engineering, but she kinda sucks at it so she’s probably gonna fall back on her minor next year, which is art history. This is canon, confirmed by Willis in a 2021 Kotaku interview.

      • Alan in DC
        Alan in DC
        July 1, 2024 at 7:04 pm | #

        Okay, now im going to want to see Brynhilde in a future strip

    • anon
      anon
      July 1, 2024 at 4:46 pm | #

      it prolly hasn’t come up later tho idk if it’ll reuse a chara we already know versus a new one. or just someone we’ll never see bc it doesn’t matter story wise

  45. anon
    anon
    July 1, 2024 at 4:41 pm | #

    other than a zoo tiger that had to be partially shaved for like a vaccine or treatment or so, wonder if ppl just observed a baby tiger or if someone was brave/foolish enough to just full on shave a tiger lol

    zoo date maybe :3

    • Nymph
      Nymph
      July 1, 2024 at 4:48 pm | #

      Dead tiger seems a likely option as well.

    • Taffy
      Taffy
      July 1, 2024 at 4:50 pm | #

      They’d have to go out of town for a zoo date.

      • anon
        anon
        July 8, 2024 at 11:39 pm | #

        well tehy did go to the beach once early on in the series so i’m sure they could set aside some time to find that or an aquarium lol

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      July 1, 2024 at 5:49 pm | #

      Or a tiger with an illness that mad their hair fall out. There’s a picture out there of a bear in that situation, and bears don’t look at all like you’d think.

      • Taffy
        Taffy
        July 1, 2024 at 6:08 pm | #

        Unless you’ve played Fallout and encountered a Yao Guai. Then you’ve basically seen a hairless bear.

      • HueSatLight
        HueSatLight
        July 1, 2024 at 10:25 pm | #

        There was a chimp at our zoo that had alopecia, and she was like the daughter of a matriarch or something, I don’t remember exactly. But the other young chimps started pulling out their own hair to be like her.

  46. ElderlyMarxist
    ElderlyMarxist
    July 1, 2024 at 4:51 pm | #

    awww they’re so precious :]

  47. Amós Batista
    Amós Batista
    July 1, 2024 at 9:43 pm | #

    I don’t know if Charlie is mocking Carla hard, in second panel, or if she just tripping.
    Both ways, it was great.

    In general, today trip is so awesome.

    • Jeremiah
      Jeremiah
      July 1, 2024 at 10:11 pm | #

      I think it ha been made abundantly clear that Charlie genuinely have delayed reaction to people talking to her. Pretty much the discard the possibility of her doing it intentionally to mess with people.

    • NGPZ
      NGPZ
      July 1, 2024 at 10:19 pm | #

      I mean she’s probably ADHD or autistic, or likely both

      executive dysfunction like that makes it hard to pay attention like that

      i really love that this is happening

      even tho its hard to socialize, i love idea of accessible romance <3

  48. elfroyalty
    elfroyalty
    July 1, 2024 at 11:12 pm | #

    i love them SO much

  49. jflb96
    jflb96
    July 3, 2024 at 1:17 pm | #

    Speaking of striped skin, that’s a thing that humans have! The stripes are generally invisible to the naked eye, though.

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