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(he/him)
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New game! BOLTED 
Dumbing of Age Book 15: You’re Dumb to Feel That Way
Not bad, but I’d consider the full line from panel 4.
Dumbing of Age Book 15: Tell Me About Your Dumb Day and I’ll Tell You You’re Dumb to Feel That Way
With your selection getting the big block text.
I’m partial to Dumbing of Age Book 15: It’s Nothing You Can Fix
I would put money on Dumbing Of Age Book 15: All The Frickin’ Little Mousey Nerds Keep Bagging All The Buff-Ass Fuck Machines.
Followed up by the very first DOA “adult” book: As God Is My Witness, I Will Find Us A Gazebo.
No F-Bombs on the book covers!
What about on the back cover instead of the front? Surely that’s OK?
i try to avoid sample strips with f-bombs in them on the back cover, too
Alternatively, you can play cut the bridge from Linkin Park : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f9b0NB5o4E
Old Ruth would grab the matches.
New Ruth grabs the matches but isn’t compelled to set herself on fire.
That bridge is made of asbestos, and somehow even more toxic.
I find no fault in Ruth’s system.
Burn Me Down, to the tune of Wake Me Up.
Is that the one by Avicii? Good tune!
I think they meant the version by Evanescence. However, I’d think it’d be better with the version by Wham.
Burn me down before you go-go,
But don’t confuse Kit Fisto with Han Solo.
The Evanescence track is called “Bring Me to Life”.
Nothing is improved by the Wham song. One of the worst songs of the 1980s.
If that’s one of the worst, I figure that says a lot about the overall quality, because that song’s a jam.
(Before You Go-Go)?
I prefer “Burn me to the ground!” aka Operation Pyrite from the Arknights lobby themes tracks.
Ruth is honest, I guess. She said she what she was going to say, and then she said it, which I find funny.
We find it funny because we are bad people insensitive to the unfolding drama and suffering.
On the positive side, we are easily amused.
Jennifer Freakin Billingsworth!
When the tag changes from “Jennifer” to “Billie”, she’s going to appear with a blonde stripe in her hair.
Can you explain this joke? Idgi
Is that a Frozen reference?!?
They’re references to WWE pro wrestler Seth Rollins. He is often introduced as Seth Freakin Rollins. Mine was in reference to his music and catchphrase “Burn it Down.” since Jennifer said “burn me down”. Mada may be referring to the fact that Seth often in the past had a blonde streak in his hair when he returned post breakup with his faction The Shield.
https://youtube.com/shorts/dJ9FyHgh1mI?si=NVN_ENsvZEofGFp-
Here’s hoping Jennifer gets a huge push after the likely incoming repackage.
See, she has changed! Billie was all about toxic lack of introspection, but Jennifer has evolved to toxic introspection
Progress.
Ruth helped.
That strip where the tag changes from “Jennifer” back to “Billie” is gonna hit like crack, as they say.
Respawn? Can someone drop me a clue, please?
Thanks!
Just a video game metaphor, a respawn point would where you restart from after you die or hit some other total fail state.
Respawn is a video game term. When you die in a game, often you come back to life at the start of the level or some other special location. This is the respawn point.
Like, a player respawning in a video game after they run outta health or fail a challenge
The place in a video game where the player character reappears after dying or losing a life.
In some video games, when you lose a life, you are then revived (or: you respawn) in a certain location.
Heh, I forgot I had this avatar. Would’ve worked better if I had been first to explain
Salmon
Spawn is the Iglotnig word for spiteful lesbian sex.
Re is the Iglotnig modifier for doing it with many tears.
Got it! Thanks, all!
Just to be a pedantic nerd, this can also be used to describe things like items or enemies reappearing after they’ve been used/defeated, although in this case the comic is alluding to a player character respawning. And the first instance of a character or item being placed is just a spawning, not a respawning.
god this sequence is raw as fuck
+1! This is raw as fuck.
Roast Jennifer, with fava beans and a nice Chianti.
“You’re dumb to feel that way”? If only she knew what comic she’s in…
Jennifer roasting on an open fire…
*Joyce Brown taking off her clothes*-
“Damn You Willis”‘s being sung by a choir …
+1
And Dina dressed up in formal clothes…
Everybody knows
A jerky, grumpy misanthrope
Knows how to swing a baseball bat
Although it’s been said, many times, many ways,
You are dumb to feel that!
Oh yes we neeeeed kneecaps to live,
and it looks like Billie’s out of fucks to give,
and every crisis, Booster’s gonna spy
Because the anguish is how they get high…
heh that actually smells good :0
maybe with some onion and paprika…
FWIH human meat can be cooked with any recipe you would use for the same cut of pork. That’s why some people refer to human meat as “long pork”.
Just to be a rebel, I’m gonna use catfish recipes for my people steaks.
Technically, human meat can be cooked with any recipe. It’s fine as long as you don’t actually eat it afterwards.
Who am I to insult the chef? They put time and effort into the meal, I can at least try it.
I admire your devotion to the bit.
JenniferPepperami: It’s a Little Bit of an AnimalMore like commitment to a bite, heyoooo.
badoom!
I do think there’s more similarities than just how you cook it, I think there’s a lot of shared properties. Pigs are where you go if you’re looking for a human-sized human meat substitute in scientific testing or other applications
This is why Jennifer needed (needs?) Ruth. Absolutely blunt honesty. It was when Ruth wasn’t honest with herself that they got in trouble.
Agreed, Ruth is being honest, Jennifer has gone the other way, and needs to reminded change is possible just very hard sometimes.
Oh, the toxicity. It’s fucking exquisite, and oh my god it hurts.
Love it. “Burn me down” and Ruth is refusingggg. Is it growth or just the return of their push/pull dynamic? Please, Willis, give us more of this.
PS: Ruth looks gorgeous.
PS: finally someone figured out about Ruth here.
Accurate Gravatar for the comment.
But she can make it worse!
So how soon til jason walks in and assumes the worst lol
They are still clothed and there’s no physical contact. If Jason is the type to jump to wild conclusions like that, I would call that a massive red flag.
Hes in no position to judge
Every word these two say to each other sounds like an emo song lyric. I can hear the power chord under “burn me down.” Ruth is straight up rhyming in panel 4.
I am very anti-Ruth and Jennifer.
But Ruth is clearly getting that Jennifer isn’t just being her usual self.
Nobody else said it yet,l and I can’t fit it anywhere, so I’ll just drop it and run
Ruthlike
No one has said “Ruthlike” before? I’m pretty sure they have. Though probably they were referring to the biblical Ruth.
Goes off to start searching through back comments for the word Ruthlike.
There are apparently video games called “roguelikes” where you respawn a lot, and Ruth mentioned respawning in her room, and Billie seems to keep coming back here a lot.
That makes more sense than what I was imagining.
Who doesn’t like a rogue?
Ha. I got that joke. It was a good joke
I mean, she told you what she’d say.
And she complied with Jennifer’s request as well.
I need what these two have even if it isn’t romantic anymore
Someone to give you shit?
Someone to call you on your shit.
Though, I’ve always felt that sorta puts the burden of monitoring your own behavior on someone else.
your own
personal
Ruthless
Your own personal Ruthless
Someone to say you’re dumb
Someone who’s numb
Reach out and touch faaaaaaaaace
NO you don’t you dont need that toxic relationship.
wait, wait, wait. you can’t fix things with arson?
Arson is more in the “right away you have a different problem” category.
Nothing that can’t be solved with a larger flame thrower.
Jason Mendoza: “Anytime I had a problem, I threw a Molotov Cocktail, and BOOM! I had a different problem.”
Jason Mendoza a true Floridan Philosopher and certified Flordia man.
Also the old adage “if you can’t solve a problem with fire your not using enough fire.”Probably something Donkey Doug told Jason
I’m happy to see the old demonym for a Florida person. “Floridian” never made sense.
But then since Florida doesn’t make sense, doesn’t it make more sense?
Maxim 6: If violence wasn’t your last resort, you failed to resort to enough of it.
right away someone has a different problem.
If I can’t, I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.
Depends on the thing you’re trying to fix, I suppose.
Only if your problem is that something that needs to be on fire is not.
anyone being shot form below gives them giga Aura. Don’t let Ruth know she has Aura, she’ll abuse it.
Ruth doesn’t need to be told because she does not care. This, ironically, makes her aura even stronger.
o.o
Ruth is well aware that she has a terrifying presence and employs it frequently
is the shame new? no. is it more accurate? hmmm it’s warmer
Jennifer’s used to cry , hiding her face, huh?
And suddenly “Burn It Down” by A7 starts playing in the background.
So… I was today years old when I noticed that Ruth has yet to call Jenifer by any name since breaking up with her
I’m not sure that’s true.
In this very strip she called her by her pet name, Weirdo.
She doesn’t seem to address her by name in a lot of their interactions, but she has at a few points.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/05-as-long-as-its-free/filledmein/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-12/04-dont-stop-billie-ving/checking/
(I thought the point/idea was interesting, so I went to check on it. I don’t have the energy right now, but I wonder how often Ruth addressed her by name in pre-timeskip interactions.)
Thank you for your service.
huh, I missed those two when doing an archive crawl earlier. Thanks for spotting them
And these ones:
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/03-see-you-in-the-funny-page/dropping/
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/03-see-you-in-the-funny-page/rightleft/
It has been a couple years since any of these strips.
Panel 3 feels so powerful, that’s a lot of focused emotion from Billie
And yet without context, it’s just Jennifer’s eye reflecting a light. Willis is one hell of a visual storyteller.
Aye
OH YOU BEAUTIFUL IDIOTS JUST KISS ALREADY
Oh, yes, please.
PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE
But then Billie would be cheating on Asher.
I’m fairly sure since he’s playing tonsil tennis with Ethan that boat has already sailed.
Don’t let silly frivolities like “linear time” get in the way.
Ruth literally just fucking cut through all of Jennifer’s performative bullshit with that last line.
Want to call a shot, where the last time Alice rejected Billie drove her into Ruth’s arms to do the “I am coming down with you, hand in unloveable hand” doom spiral, I don’t think that’s going to repeat.
Ruth has changed, Jennifer has changed, and I think even though both of them kind of want to get back to what they had they can’t
I think that’s one of the most genuine smiles I’ve ever seen Ruth make.
Which is one of the most dangerous things about this relationship. It’s toxic, they both know it’s toxic, it was dangerously co-dependent — and this is exactly why it was co-dependent, because no-one else can get to either of them emotionally the way the other can.
Ruth knew it was toxic. I’m still not sure Billifer has fully groked that yet.
And yet Ruth is the one who said she’d throw Jason out to have Jennifer back
I love Ruth.
“Tell me about your dumb day and I’ll tell you you’re dumb to feel that way” kind of sounds like a rhyming couplet. In fact I’ve got the weirdest sense that it fits the tune, and possibly even the sentiment, of a song, but I can’t quite place it.
She is an English major.
Needs another syllable in the first half. Add a so before dumb.
Let’s see if Ruth will be able to do the miracle and help her come back with Alice. Maybe that would save her from the unpleasant surprise to find Jennifer crying in her bed wetting her pillow.
“I’m not heating you up in other ways, either”
(woops I accidentally messed up the nickname field when posting. Sorry)
Aw, that’s not fair Ruth. When Jennifer first secretly disappeared to your room for a few days Walky was worried and came to you for help. You burned that RA Trust Bridge on your own when he found out she was with you.
Also Joyce likely wanted you facilitate the fix her messed up toe that time.
5th panel Ruth looks really good. The angle, the coloring, the lighting, the skills! I’d take a print of it without words.
Ruth just looks really good in general this chapter. (Then again I’m a sucker for an unbuttoned plaid button-down…)
And you’ve got the Gravatar to best support that sentiment!
A lot of people are voting for this to be toxic yuri because of the past relationship, some in excitement and some in disgust. I feel like while it’ll probably still be a little toxic if they go back to being romantic, there’s a chance it’ll be a new exciting and possibly less dangerous type.
Obviously can’t really tell for sure, but I do know that they are two fairly different people than before. So I’m not expecting the same reactions and enabling self hate.
I love Ruth and Jennifer for this exact part of their relationship: Ruth is one of the only people Jennifer lets down all of her walls for. She is very rarely honestly vulnerable with anyone, she falls back on bravado and constructed identities and shallow images of competence that she doesn’t have. With Ruth, there’s no point for any of it- they’ve been at their worst to and with each other. They’ve been at rock bottom together and see each other clearly. Jennifer has no need for any of her usual defenses and she’s just…open and real.
Ruth is posed much like a transformer.
willis’ bluesky profile pic makes its grand debut!
Ruth is in safe territory here. Of all the characters in Dumbing of Age who have done any on-screen introspection, Billie is the emotionally dumbest.
I really like panel 3 (Jennifer’s eye)
Are you actually, finally ready to learn something Billie? Can you learn to be less shitty?
*God* I love the shit out of these two. I don’t even need them to get back together necessarily, just keep doing whatever the hell this is forever. The toxic yuri is exquisite.
Inject it directly into my veins, I missed these two so much