I don’t know if they’re horny, or just basically a voyeur for disaster. Since they’re genuinely the least helpful person in the comic, it’s hard to tell.
They seem to rate relationships based on the personal amusement they get from watching them.
Mary, like Raidah, is often incompetent in her malice, and accidentally causes the actual cast to come away better for the encounter, without meaning to do so.
Booster is just a blight, even when trying to be helpful in some fashion.
I happened to re-read that strip yesterday. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/observe/
Amber: I warn you. I’m going to be extremely boring.
Booster: Will you? You yourself pointed out that I’m into people who’re “fucked up in the head.”
Amber: You’re into hot people who’re fucked up in the head.
Booster: Yes.
Amber: :<
Booster: 😀
heck we can always just pretend that’s what’s “actually” happening if these are expected to be 100% *realistic* college students in 2026 being portrayed XD
are they really ‘her meds’ or did dina somehow off screen drop off more painkillers
granted, emergency situation but usually ppl run tests and prescribe speciifc ones for diff bodies but hopefully no backlast/negative side effects when she’ recovers’
I uh, don’t think they would make a joke like that, actually. Honestly there’s very few named characters in the cast who would. Ryan. That’s about it honestly. Maybe Mike but he’d turn it into more like a “she has to take oxycodone just to be around you” angle I think.
I mean I was specifically referencing the lyrics of Ja Rule’s “Always on Time.” A club rap song from the early 2000’s. The context of the song being he’s a playboy who has women waking up in his bed and he’s always ready to please them. A subject that feels relevant to the forced misunderstanding Booster is going for here.
I understand that but I’m assuming Pocky’s mention of Booster taking the joke way too far would be. You know. Implying unsavory reasons for why a sexual partner would be zonked out on opiods. If that wasn’t the case I apologize Pocky.
The fact that Amazi-Girl is a wanted fugitive means she’d probably be receiving substandard care regardless of how functional the country’s medical system is
I love that people are unintentionally fixing this as “single-payer”. Yes, our healthcare system is super broken. And, Dave Van Domelen spelled it how he meant to. 🙂
Friend of mine got a compound fracture in his back and developed an abscess. He had to have surgery for it and, as you can imagine, needs physical therapy. His insurance denied him and it took an additional three weeks of him wasting away in his hospital bed for it to finally be appealed. American healthcare is a bongo.
Booster making an unforced ass of themself here. “Don’t take that the wrong way, even if you’re super gonna” should definitely have clued them in that something else was going on.
i mean it’s very teenager like to be snarky/contrarian, but attraction aside you’d think they’d also turn away/ ask if privacy is needed vs being a creepy/getting a glance ven if accidental
I feel like “Amber is in my bed” is a contextual prerequisite to “amber’s not feeling well”. Like even if he just said “Amber’s not feeling well” the followup would be “oh, is she in your bed?”
I think they ight genuinely be good for Raidah, in that they’d read her instantly and then start teasing her about who she really is, and she’ll either double down (interesting) or be stung into shifting her behavior (also interesting) and either way she grows as a person.
Oh for sure. Booster has a definite preference for a) positioning themselves outside binaries and b) maximizing the drama potential in their personal relationships. Being a switch would satisfy both those things.
You know at some point I was going quote Draxes “Life is like a pound” line from GGvol.3…but since Walky seems to not have a choice what girlfriend comes and goes in his life I’ll save that for Joe. I loved Amber & Walky don’t get me wrong.
I’m firmly indifferent to Booster. True Neutral on Booster. They’re not interesting enough for me to dislike them. I’d happily accept 4 straight months of booster over certain other characters.
Booster is and has been consistently one of my fave peeps since they showed up lol. I’ll never understand the hate. Like… they’re not more obnoxious than your average 18 year old, I’d have probably been friends with someone like that lol
The things that really gets me is that Walky made more or less this same joke texting Sal that it was more than an hour (implying that Amber was in his bed for next reasons). So it feels weird to me to wag our fingers at Booster for it
I hope Booster will help nurse Walky by educating him on post-op hydration to protect the kidneys. If they can’t set an IV at least they need to monitor water intake.
Fetuccini Alfredo.
You can put italian sausage in it.
Put some shrimp in it
Throw in some mushrooms
Some grilled Chicken
Lobster
it don’t matter. It’s so good.
You can even eat it plain. Or mix in some parmesean
Dip your bread in it. It’s the perfect pasta.
Spaghetti, pizza, pigs in a blanket. If you sprinkle some shredded cheese and/or baste the top of the croissant with some melted butter, parmesan, and parsley, it is super banging.
Auuugh if I could eat pasta every night I would. Another savory meal that brings me up is a tasty roast beef but that takes quite a while. If anyone ever wants to try it though, the best way to get a buttery and soft roast beef is to rub salt and pepper on the meat (more marbling the better) and then sear all sides of it in a pan with a bit of oil. Just enough to get a good golden brown, then put the roast into a stock pot with broth, choice of veggies, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours depending on preference. It comes out so tender and succulent.
Grilled pork tenderloin with roasted new potatoes. Asparagus with spicy hollandaise sauce. Chocolate covered pretzels. Grilled chicken that’s been marinated in the state fair chicken marinade my grandfather helped develop. A good spiedie. Corned beef and cabbage omelets served with boxty or colcannon. Decent Chinese take-out. A mongolian grill. A Brazilian rodizio. Caesar salad with chicken and blue cheese. A solidly curated charcuterie board with lots of stuffed olives. A simple dill and garlic pickle.
Though likely redundant and off-topic, I urge a daily half-hour of outdoor air and sunlight (while walking). In the past that has always prompted the greatest positive shift in my mood, even when it seemed nothing else could.
For food, my comfort foods are mostly sweet things, and for savory things that suits your own personal tastes closest may be most important, but “When in doubt, eat fish”: 300g of frozen fish cubes (e.g. pollock or salmon), one layer each in two bowls (~150g fish each), microwaved together for 45 minutes on 100 Watts is reliable for me. A little salt (more savory) if it’s pollock, 10g honey (5g per bowl) if it’s salmon. The salmon is higher-calories than pollock, but has more good-for-brain healthy fish oils.
A daily multivitamin tablet can also be meaningful in not accidentally suffering from any common nutritient deficiency which could have unfortunate effects on muscle-or-otherwise health and/or downstream effects on mental state.
No matter what, prioritise/maintain dental health, both to stay out of an unable-to-eat-easily vicious spiral and because unhealthy gums and teeth directly affect the health of the rest of the body (and thus brain).
Eat well–at least 1200 kilocalories per day to not be hungry, and if at all possible with several servings of whatever fresh fruits you most likely–sleep well, and get outdoor light and movement every single day (unless it’s perhaps pouring with rain?).
“Whatever We Got Curry” is my go-to lazy meal – japanese curry (usually just get golden curry brand and follow the box instructions + stir fry the actual curry block a little bit before adding water to get those aromatics going), onions+carrot+whatever veg is in the freezer, grate a little apple into it, throw in whatever protein is on sale at the grocer. Serve on rice or dip some toasted bread in it! Easy and filling.
If you really want to punch it up, you can do a lot, too: serve with an acidic side – i like fukujinzuke or rakkyozuke, add shallots and garlic, throw in a bit of heat (i bought a jar of just straight capsaicin powder at an H Mart years ago and sprinkle a pinch into just about everything), rinse the rice and then soak in ice water overnight before cooking it + use a nice short grain like koshihikari, throw a little heavy cream or worcestershire or fish sauce on top….
Hard to screw up, easy to make in big batches, can freeze for later…
Lentil soup from a can. Just had that just now. Speaking of which.
Or mac ‘n’ cheese. (With penny hot-dog slices fried in butter and a little ketchup, and even a touch of pepper if you’re feeling fancy.)
Or a tuna melt on rye.
Or cheesy broccoli quiche.
Or plain couscous with butter (or olive oil, if you’re fancy).
Or plain unflavored rice milk.
In addition to turmeric, other anti-inflammatory spices include ginger, coriander, and cardamom.
Saffron (in miniscule, teeny-weeny doses) can also have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect, but it also often provokes stomach and pelvic cramping and heavy menstrual bleeding. (Parsley leaf and carrots can also provoke cramping and bleeding.) So… maybe not necessarily your cuppa tea right now?
Do watch out for tomato if you happen to be sensitive to nightshade. Otherwise it’s fine, and actually can help reduce inflammation.
I just got over 4 weeks of mostly bed rest, and am now back to work full time. (After multiple rounds of steroids and injections, I’m up and about again.) Thankfully, though, business is slow, so I can still lie down when I’m feeling worn out and hurting. I was so lucky to have that time off, though!
I *really* hope the sun starts to shine on you again soon.
wow…. I did not know there was this hate towards Booster. :/
And then I checked the other comments in today’s update.
What’s going on with the commenters over the last year?
Is it the exhaustion with RL causing this towards fiction characters?
People are so ready to be very hateful…and for things that were never real facts for the chars. :/
sheesh
Sometimes I think people take the strips on their own and get mad about it rather than remembering that there’s set up before and pay off in following strips. Like if this was the only exposure in this strip that we had of Booster, I would agree that this is an unpleasant interaction.
However, the last time Booster and Walky talked, Booster tried to nudge him to hanging out with Amber. Walky was resistant to hanging out with Amber because of her prior rejection and the dumping, now a couple hours later she is “in his bed, her pants on the floor” and Booster is just teasing Walky about that because from their POV Walky “escalated” from ‘I can’t hang out with Amber’ to potentially sleeping with her or at least maybe having some spooning or something. I’m sure next strip will have Booster asking why Amber is taking pain meds, learning she got hurt, and having the appropriate response but since all some readers see right now is the teasing it’s like some sort of object permanence.
I don’t even think it’s that complicated, honestly. I’ve had acquaintances like Booster whose style of humor was “jokingly stirring the pot” in various ways.
It gets old. And, like today, it’s often the case that the joke lands BEFORE the friendly concern you’re assuming will happen tomorrow, which is also irritating even if that ends up being the case.
They might well mean well. That doesn’t make it any less of a “not NOW, jackass, my friend is having an ACTUAL problem” situation.
It isn’t just a Booster thing though. I feel like a good 50 to 75% of the time, if a character in the strip isn’t saying the most basic, 100% appropriate and socially conscious remark, there’s at least one comment like “oh my god this character is terrible “. When Becky said she undina’d herself, I saw a comment say she was “disempowering” Dina by saying that.
I can’t deny that the trick of interacting with this comment section has always involved a fair bit of trying to ignore the people who’ve obviously never went to college, dated, or talked to another human being before in their lives.
True that, true that. I definitely agree that Booster isn’t someone I’d wanna be around for long periods of time either but I would get fashion tips and ask Booster where they buy their clothes.
I mean yeah. Some people just hate certain characters. That’s genuinely normal. Some people like people like Dorothy but she reminds me of every obnoxious know it all ive ever met.
I guess I’m just weird in that if I hate a character it is due to them doing something unforgivable, like a violent crime or being an intolerant douchebag instead of the crime of… being a bit obnoxious.
See I’m the opposite. My taste for a character is pretty separate from how morally reprehensible they are. I mean sheesh some of my favorite characters are like…DIO, Freeza, Seto Kaiba. Me liking a character and me approving of their actions are so separate or me they may as well be completely different questions.
I like villain characters too, I’m saying that especially in this comic the kind of characters we have are the goofy but well-meaning (mostly) protagonists, Ryan, Blaine and Ross the murder dads, Ruth’s abusive asshole grandpa, Mary, and then people like Raidah or Booster who are more complicated. If I’m hating someone in this comic it is gonna be the murder dads and the abusive grandpa. I don’t approve of the cheating Dorothy and Joyce did but I still like their characters just fine.
I should also say it’s fine if people hate whatever characters they hate them for, just keep that energy away from me I suppose because I’m old, I’m tired, and if I am gonna get angry and hateful about something it needs to be worthy of my wrath and not just “ugh this character is annoying grrrr grrr I’m gonna shit myself”.
I suspect a lot of it has to do with the colloquial language around what being a “hater” means, too — for example, as much as I’m a “certified DoJo hater”, I wouldn’t actually describe any emotion I have about them as “actually hate”, y’know?
Combine that with the fact that vast swathes of the internet use “exaggeration as humor” and you end up with people saying… well, the kind of stuff that gets said around here about a fairly large portion of the cast.
But also, 100% what Yotomoe’s sayin’ — whether or not I like/hate someone as a character has almost nothing to do with their actions and everything to do with how enjoyable I find them. Like, Blaine and Ross were GREAT characters in terms of “generating interesting and gripping stories”! I’d hate people who acted like them in real life, but I have nothing against them existing in a story. Contrast Booster, who just kinda reminds me of annoying people I know in real life, and as such I understand a “oh great, now THIS asshole’s back” as a reaction even though I personally think he’s a perfectly cromulent character.
See I don’t hate characters like Blaine or Mary insomuch that like…I’m supposed to hate them. So I hate them less because hating them is the authorial intent. Like Mary sucks, but I’m also supposed to think Mary sucks. It’s easier for me to dislike a character that I’m NOT supposed to hate.
I do not disagree regarding characters and actions and whatever else. I would appreciate the lack of implication that I’m saying something I’m not. All I can say is I tend to find these characters aside from the shithead ones enjoyable and thus enjoy their presences in strips even when they’re being flawed and annoying.
Totally having nothing to do with today’s strip, but yesterday I tried Google’s goofy AI engine to see what it would come up with. I asked for a photorealistic image of “Dorothy Keener from the webcomic ‘Dumbing of Age’.”
Crummy thing didn’t even come close! It created a picture of a young woman on a college campus, yes, but she was thin and tall, with no glasses, and had dark brown hair in a style that Frank Zappa would have called, “a hairdo that rinses”.
Folks are crowing about how wonderful AI is and are exploiting the artistic results as much as possible. But sorry – the results I got were laughable at best and not even in the same world as us.
There’s no way Booster doesn’t start to put some pieces together, right? If they find out she got shot and AG showed up at the protest then they’re going to think about their superhero smut fiction and go, “hey. wait a second.”
I’m going to make a bold claim here and say that Mary is the *only* cast member who would snitch to cops. Even taking that aside, considering Booster is both nonbinary and Hispanic, I feel like they’d be an exceptionally poor character to play the role of “the snitch” in this storyline.
I can imagine if Booster had been set up as someone who believes being a snitch makes them “safe”, it would be good. But it would be an incomprehensible 180 for their character on many levels.
I would assume they have the context of “the police just searched this floor.” And the social intuition to figure out that a booty call probably doesn’t involve the roommate being fully clothed and saying “shhhh and keep the lights off”
They might not have the context of the floor being searched (for those of us without social media, we don’t know about things until someone specifically tells us), and they may be assessing this as a *concluded* booty call after which Amber fell asleep.
Sorry I haven’t been much of a presence in this comment section of late (or you’re welcome, if you’re one of my bizarrely-persistent haters), I just lost my job so I’ve been having to devote much of my time to dealing with the fallout of that.
In brighter news, my girlfriend will be visiting me over Valentine’s Day weekend, so I have that to look forward to.
Oh, right, the comic. I’ve never understood the *hate* Booster gets, although I think a lot of what gets interpreted as hate is just mild annoyance, which is what I feel toward them. Good on Walky for stepping up to the plate here. He’s had a rough go of it lately but I’m glad his better traits are getting a chance to shine.
Oof, sorry to hear about the employment situation. Fingers crossed for you that things resolve as smoothly as possible. Great news on the girlfriend front tho!
I am so sorry to hear about the job, Dot. I hope you can get unemployment insurance benefits or severance or some such, for a little while at least. Sending hopes to you.
… I don’t know whether you might happen to be in the States or not, but if you are, these are my favorite resources for finding ways to get employed and/or get by. (I’m sorry… I’m a nosy busybody who thinks in list form and compulsively speaks in lists of hyperlinks.)
careeronestop.org
idealist.org
governmentjobs.com
usajobs.gov
apprenticeship.gov
dol.gov/general/topic/unemployment-insurance
usa.gov/benefit-finder
needhelppayingbills.com
findhelp.org
211.org
…Hope this is at least a little helpful and not TOO annoying…
Using obscure words can cause issues when writing fiction, though. Someone I asked to read my work looked up and asked, “what does ‘hecatoncheironic’ mean?”
I see that even spellcheck has issues with that one.
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So she does have her meds. Clever Gir- *gets mauled by Dina*
Booster us horny for drama.
And possibly also just regular horny
Shipping is not necessarily horny. It often is! But it doesn’t have to be
this is true!
Booster is definitely horny tho
I don’t know if they’re horny, or just basically a voyeur for disaster. Since they’re genuinely the least helpful person in the comic, it’s hard to tell.
They seem to rate relationships based on the personal amusement they get from watching them.
What? You maintain that Mary is more helpful than Booster?
Mary, like Raidah, is often incompetent in her malice, and accidentally causes the actual cast to come away better for the encounter, without meaning to do so.
Booster is just a blight, even when trying to be helpful in some fashion.
Booster is attracted to Amber…
I happened to re-read that strip yesterday. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2022/comic/book-13/01-bring-me-to-life-drawing/observe/
Amber: I warn you. I’m going to be extremely boring.
Booster: Will you? You yourself pointed out that I’m into people who’re “fucked up in the head.”
Amber: You’re into hot people who’re fucked up in the head.
Booster: Yes.
Amber: :<
Booster: 😀
“This couldn’t be further from sexy i’m actually pretty stressed right now!”
Finishing someone’s Mario Kart laps has got to be SOME kind of base, right?
the kind of base that are belong to us
Has it… been 6 hours?
space is warped, and time is bendable.
wibbly wobbly timey wimey something something something
Walky, you know there’s a thing called… texting, right?
I feel like informing the roommate might not have been the first thing on his mind
also in this particular case where the police are specifically looking for someone matching Amber’s injuries and/or her costume
texting is
not a great idea.
As willis has said in alt text before, if characters started texting to convey information all the time that’s 90% of what the comic would be
heck we can always just pretend that’s what’s “actually” happening if these are expected to be 100% *realistic* college students in 2026 being portrayed XD
or being a bit more vague like “i have someone over in my bed, can you give me a few hours alone” versus her staying more than one night or so
Oh, good, they got her meds. I will tick that off my “ridiculously minor details that no one else worries about” checklist.
You are not alone.
are they really ‘her meds’ or did dina somehow off screen drop off more painkillers
granted, emergency situation but usually ppl run tests and prescribe speciifc ones for diff bodies but hopefully no backlast/negative side effects when she’ recovers’
Huh, I didn’t know you could get a prescription for that.
(Not that she actually has one…)
walky mightn ot know that it was dina who swiped the meds forh er
“Keeping her drugged up, eh?”
“Yeah. On oxycodone.”
“Kinky.”
eugh
yeesh
Booster does strike me as the kind to take a joke like that way too far tho
I uh, don’t think they would make a joke like that, actually. Honestly there’s very few named characters in the cast who would. Ryan. That’s about it honestly. Maybe Mike but he’d turn it into more like a “she has to take oxycodone just to be around you” angle I think.
I mean I was specifically referencing the lyrics of Ja Rule’s “Always on Time.” A club rap song from the early 2000’s. The context of the song being he’s a playboy who has women waking up in his bed and he’s always ready to please them. A subject that feels relevant to the forced misunderstanding Booster is going for here.
I understand that but I’m assuming Pocky’s mention of Booster taking the joke way too far would be. You know. Implying unsavory reasons for why a sexual partner would be zonked out on opiods. If that wasn’t the case I apologize Pocky.
Civilized countries have single player health care.
The fact that Amazi-Girl is a wanted fugitive means she’d probably be receiving substandard care regardless of how functional the country’s medical system is
Speaking as an American… you’re not wrong
I see what you did there, and it was brilliant. 😁
I love that people are unintentionally fixing this as “single-payer”. Yes, our healthcare system is super broken. And, Dave Van Domelen spelled it how he meant to. 🙂
But then big corporations wouldn’t be able to profit so easily off people getting sick or injured.
Some sorta healthcare masturbation?
Friend of mine got a compound fracture in his back and developed an abscess. He had to have surgery for it and, as you can imagine, needs physical therapy. His insurance denied him and it took an additional three weeks of him wasting away in his hospital bed for it to finally be appealed. American healthcare is a bongo.
We need to campaign for the healthcare system to include a gamer for every incapacitated patient, who will finish your laps for you.
I’m serious. I’m hoping if this gets enough traction it’ll confuse the system just enough that we can sneak some actually decent legislation through.
Create jobs for gamers! I love it.
Its nice to see we can count on Walky when it matters
yeeesss
At this rate you’ll have to help her pee too
Damn, didn’t know Walky was into toilet play.
I see Booster is back to reminding me why I dislike them again.
they joke about Walky playing doctor now,
but just wait till they discover what malpractice insurance is :p
That’s how they got Omochao.
Ohhh yeah how awful that… Thing, they surely did, how dare they.
I see booster is back reminding me why they’re the best character in the strip
Booster making an unforced ass of themself here. “Don’t take that the wrong way, even if you’re super gonna” should definitely have clued them in that something else was going on.
i mean it’s very teenager like to be snarky/contrarian, but attraction aside you’d think they’d also turn away/ ask if privacy is needed vs being a creepy/getting a glance ven if accidental
To be fair, administering prescriptive medicine every six hours could be a really committed kind of sexy play.
I mean, as long as you don’t mind your partner sleeping 20+ hours a day while they try to deal with agonizing pain T~T
“Amber is in my bed” is the way to avoid saying, “Amber’s not feeling well” because you want them to take it the wrong way.
I feel like “Amber is in my bed” is a contextual prerequisite to “amber’s not feeling well”. Like even if he just said “Amber’s not feeling well” the followup would be “oh, is she in your bed?”
“Amber isn’t feeling well” would just lead to “then why is she here and not in her own room?”
Booster, you’re worse at reading appropriate context than anyone else in this strip, and that’s saying something.
Ruth had the best summary ever
off:
Jennifer look hella cute in that outfit
She does but also remember that one red outfit she wore? God DAMN.
hehehe ya know that’s something
for so many folk red is the color that gives the hots
but for me it’s yellow, especially orange-ish yellow hahaha
Can we just push Booster over to Raidah, and let them be their terrible selves together?
I NEED to see this.
I actually love Booster but I would very much enjoy them with Raidah.
I think they ight genuinely be good for Raidah, in that they’d read her instantly and then start teasing her about who she really is, and she’ll either double down (interesting) or be stung into shifting her behavior (also interesting) and either way she grows as a person.
Literally what did Booster ecen do now?? They just got here!
Mmmmmm that’d be delicious. Maybe raidah can finally have some depth injected into her
I dunno – is Booster into injecting their depth into people?
Sounds hot
i rarely feel confident that people are switches but Booster is giving me some vibes that way
Oh for sure. Booster has a definite preference for a) positioning themselves outside binaries and b) maximizing the drama potential in their personal relationships. Being a switch would satisfy both those things.
might have binteresting banter buti dk if booster would have ‘good connections’ for her to care.
Seconded.
Oops, that was meant as a reply to Pocky.
Walky: Booster, please. Amber’s dying.
Booster: Yeah! Dying to get that DICK!
*Amber coughs up blood*
This would make for a darkly funny lil comic strip actually.
You know at some point I was going quote Draxes “Life is like a pound” line from GGvol.3…but since Walky seems to not have a choice what girlfriend comes and goes in his life I’ll save that for Joe. I loved Amber & Walky don’t get me wrong.
It’s always great to see that some light teasing lands Booster once again in the “Most Hated By Commenters” position.
Can we at least wait to see if they’re trying to lighten things up or whatever, ye of little faith.
i admit while they can be a bit much, they do seem to genuinely care about Walky and wants him to be happy with Amber
even if that seems to be at least partly for their own shameless pleasure XD
I’m firmly indifferent to Booster. True Neutral on Booster. They’re not interesting enough for me to dislike them. I’d happily accept 4 straight months of booster over certain other characters.
Indeed.
They may be the caffeine-free diet store brand cola to Mike’s Coca-Cola Classic / Pepsi, but at least they’re consistent.
If they really believe this would lighten things up, they’re starkly incompetent.
Booster is and has been consistently one of my fave peeps since they showed up lol. I’ll never understand the hate. Like… they’re not more obnoxious than your average 18 year old, I’d have probably been friends with someone like that lol
The things that really gets me is that Walky made more or less this same joke texting Sal that it was more than an hour (implying that Amber was in his bed for next reasons). So it feels weird to me to wag our fingers at Booster for it
Walky, that’s playing nurse.
Stole my comment.
I hope Booster will help nurse Walky by educating him on post-op hydration to protect the kidneys. If they can’t set an IV at least they need to monitor water intake.
off topic but like
what some savory dishes you like when you feeling down?
i need to take my mind off shit somehow, trying so hard not to spiral, feeling dead inside
Fetuccini Alfredo.
You can put italian sausage in it.
Put some shrimp in it
Throw in some mushrooms
Some grilled Chicken
Lobster
it don’t matter. It’s so good.
You can even eat it plain. Or mix in some parmesean
Dip your bread in it. It’s the perfect pasta.
Spaghetti, pizza, pigs in a blanket. If you sprinkle some shredded cheese and/or baste the top of the croissant with some melted butter, parmesan, and parsley, it is super banging.
Pasta + sauce (marinara or alfredo) is one of my regular dinners, usually alternating with rice + chicken + sauce (soy, BBQ, or other).
Auuugh if I could eat pasta every night I would. Another savory meal that brings me up is a tasty roast beef but that takes quite a while. If anyone ever wants to try it though, the best way to get a buttery and soft roast beef is to rub salt and pepper on the meat (more marbling the better) and then sear all sides of it in a pan with a bit of oil. Just enough to get a good golden brown, then put the roast into a stock pot with broth, choice of veggies, and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours depending on preference. It comes out so tender and succulent.
Grilled pork tenderloin with roasted new potatoes. Asparagus with spicy hollandaise sauce. Chocolate covered pretzels. Grilled chicken that’s been marinated in the state fair chicken marinade my grandfather helped develop. A good spiedie. Corned beef and cabbage omelets served with boxty or colcannon. Decent Chinese take-out. A mongolian grill. A Brazilian rodizio. Caesar salad with chicken and blue cheese. A solidly curated charcuterie board with lots of stuffed olives. A simple dill and garlic pickle.
Though likely redundant and off-topic, I urge a daily half-hour of outdoor air and sunlight (while walking). In the past that has always prompted the greatest positive shift in my mood, even when it seemed nothing else could.
For food, my comfort foods are mostly sweet things, and for savory things that suits your own personal tastes closest may be most important, but “When in doubt, eat fish”: 300g of frozen fish cubes (e.g. pollock or salmon), one layer each in two bowls (~150g fish each), microwaved together for 45 minutes on 100 Watts is reliable for me. A little salt (more savory) if it’s pollock, 10g honey (5g per bowl) if it’s salmon. The salmon is higher-calories than pollock, but has more good-for-brain healthy fish oils.
A daily multivitamin tablet can also be meaningful in not accidentally suffering from any common nutritient deficiency which could have unfortunate effects on muscle-or-otherwise health and/or downstream effects on mental state.
No matter what, prioritise/maintain dental health, both to stay out of an unable-to-eat-easily vicious spiral and because unhealthy gums and teeth directly affect the health of the rest of the body (and thus brain).
Eat well–at least 1200 kilocalories per day to not be hungry, and if at all possible with several servings of whatever fresh fruits you most likely–sleep well, and get outdoor light and movement every single day (unless it’s perhaps pouring with rain?).
Good luck.
I mean walking isn’t really an option for me atm cuz *gestures at leg*
but yeah ive been taking vitamins every other day and eating tons of fish lately
healthy as i try to keep my diet, still depressed and concerned about my foot now slowly swelling like Violet from Willy Wonka ;-;
In the spirit of today’s strip, Booster’s answer to this question is:
“Amber is a savory dish! wink wink nudge nudge”
“Whatever We Got Curry” is my go-to lazy meal – japanese curry (usually just get golden curry brand and follow the box instructions + stir fry the actual curry block a little bit before adding water to get those aromatics going), onions+carrot+whatever veg is in the freezer, grate a little apple into it, throw in whatever protein is on sale at the grocer. Serve on rice or dip some toasted bread in it! Easy and filling.
If you really want to punch it up, you can do a lot, too: serve with an acidic side – i like fukujinzuke or rakkyozuke, add shallots and garlic, throw in a bit of heat (i bought a jar of just straight capsaicin powder at an H Mart years ago and sprinkle a pinch into just about everything), rinse the rice and then soak in ice water overnight before cooking it + use a nice short grain like koshihikari, throw a little heavy cream or worcestershire or fish sauce on top….
Hard to screw up, easy to make in big batches, can freeze for later…
shepherd’s pie
Lentil soup from a can. Just had that just now. Speaking of which.
Or mac ‘n’ cheese. (With penny hot-dog slices fried in butter and a little ketchup, and even a touch of pepper if you’re feeling fancy.)
Or a tuna melt on rye.
Or cheesy broccoli quiche.
Or plain couscous with butter (or olive oil, if you’re fancy).
Or plain unflavored rice milk.
…Those are my go-tos, anyway.
I really hope you feel better soon, dear!!!
(( <3 )) (Sends hugs if they would be welcome.)
Or mashed potatoes and turkey stuffing.
Or a chocolate smoothie protein shake.
Back before I injured my hands, kneading bread to bake was my very favorite way to relax myself…
Oh, and boiled edamame. Just had that too.
Or cooked broccoli with mustard and mayo (plus dill!) mixed together.
hahaha suprized you don’t ass mustard to the mac and cheese XD
*add mustard DAMMIT TYPOS
Oh, yea, well, adding enough ass mustard is just a *given.* Of course.
;-D
I am sorry, though, to hear about the systemic inflammation. That sucks. 🙁
(And it doesn’t even suck ‘ass mustard’!)
I don’t know whether this list of anti-inflammatory foods might help?
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/13-anti-inflammatory-foods
To this list I would add:
Plain yogurt, unless lactose messes with you.
Nuts, especially walnuts.
In addition to turmeric, other anti-inflammatory spices include ginger, coriander, and cardamom.
Saffron (in miniscule, teeny-weeny doses) can also have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect, but it also often provokes stomach and pelvic cramping and heavy menstrual bleeding. (Parsley leaf and carrots can also provoke cramping and bleeding.) So… maybe not necessarily your cuppa tea right now?
Do watch out for tomato if you happen to be sensitive to nightshade. Otherwise it’s fine, and actually can help reduce inflammation.
Plus blueberries and red grapes, of course.
Best wishes for your full recovery!
eh just add mustard, no ass please, i hate how little of life is in my control rn
have to do everything on my phone, been bedridden forever and ive nearly lost my fuckin mind
but as usual, thank you Laura 😖😭🫂
You are so welcome, NG.
🫖🫂
Perhaps county in-home care might help while you’re laid up?
Here’s the program page:
https://www.cdss.ca.gov/in-home-supportive-services
And here’s the certification form:
https://cdss.ca.gov/cdssweb/entres/forms/English/SOC873.pdf
I just got over 4 weeks of mostly bed rest, and am now back to work full time. (After multiple rounds of steroids and injections, I’m up and about again.) Thankfully, though, business is slow, so I can still lie down when I’m feeling worn out and hurting. I was so lucky to have that time off, though!
I *really* hope the sun starts to shine on you again soon.
I really hope so too ;~;
i envy you rn, i cant work at ALL in my condition and still dependent on donations for the time being
wow multiple rounds of steroids and injections? sorry to hear
Update:
apparently my anemia also got so bad that they recommend me for getting an iron injection now
FUN FFUN FUUUUUUUUN @-@
The iron should really help you start to feel better, I hope!
awe thanks TT~TT
welp, biopsy results got back
good news is, no infection was found via culture test,
bad news is, the inflammation is apparently systemic resulting from my digestive inflammatory issues
in other words, it’s exactly the same thing which put me into the wheelchair back in high school
meaning it’s probably gonna take me a while to heal
😭
Plot twist for the bonus strip.
The burning skull was just a weird candle to make the atmosphere nicer for Amber. 😛
https://bsky.app/profile/damnyouwillis.bsky.social/post/3mc6e2pgyi22l
Fells appropriate to put this here.
wow…. I did not know there was this hate towards Booster. :/
And then I checked the other comments in today’s update.
What’s going on with the commenters over the last year?
Is it the exhaustion with RL causing this towards fiction characters?
People are so ready to be very hateful…and for things that were never real facts for the chars. :/
sheesh
Sometimes I think people take the strips on their own and get mad about it rather than remembering that there’s set up before and pay off in following strips. Like if this was the only exposure in this strip that we had of Booster, I would agree that this is an unpleasant interaction.
However, the last time Booster and Walky talked, Booster tried to nudge him to hanging out with Amber. Walky was resistant to hanging out with Amber because of her prior rejection and the dumping, now a couple hours later she is “in his bed, her pants on the floor” and Booster is just teasing Walky about that because from their POV Walky “escalated” from ‘I can’t hang out with Amber’ to potentially sleeping with her or at least maybe having some spooning or something. I’m sure next strip will have Booster asking why Amber is taking pain meds, learning she got hurt, and having the appropriate response but since all some readers see right now is the teasing it’s like some sort of object permanence.
You put it perfectly
I don’t even think it’s that complicated, honestly. I’ve had acquaintances like Booster whose style of humor was “jokingly stirring the pot” in various ways.
It gets old. And, like today, it’s often the case that the joke lands BEFORE the friendly concern you’re assuming will happen tomorrow, which is also irritating even if that ends up being the case.
They might well mean well. That doesn’t make it any less of a “not NOW, jackass, my friend is having an ACTUAL problem” situation.
(I’ve said it before: Booster’s a fun character to watch, but not the kind of person I’ve liked to have in my circle of friends in real life.)
It isn’t just a Booster thing though. I feel like a good 50 to 75% of the time, if a character in the strip isn’t saying the most basic, 100% appropriate and socially conscious remark, there’s at least one comment like “oh my god this character is terrible “. When Becky said she undina’d herself, I saw a comment say she was “disempowering” Dina by saying that.
I can’t deny that the trick of interacting with this comment section has always involved a fair bit of trying to ignore the people who’ve obviously never went to college, dated, or talked to another human being before in their lives.
True that, true that. I definitely agree that Booster isn’t someone I’d wanna be around for long periods of time either but I would get fashion tips and ask Booster where they buy their clothes.
preach the gospel Big Z you are spreading the Golden Lesson of Comments
That sounds good, but then who am I going to talk to?
I mean yeah. Some people just hate certain characters. That’s genuinely normal. Some people like people like Dorothy but she reminds me of every obnoxious know it all ive ever met.
I guess I’m just weird in that if I hate a character it is due to them doing something unforgivable, like a violent crime or being an intolerant douchebag instead of the crime of… being a bit obnoxious.
See I’m the opposite. My taste for a character is pretty separate from how morally reprehensible they are. I mean sheesh some of my favorite characters are like…DIO, Freeza, Seto Kaiba. Me liking a character and me approving of their actions are so separate or me they may as well be completely different questions.
I like villain characters too, I’m saying that especially in this comic the kind of characters we have are the goofy but well-meaning (mostly) protagonists, Ryan, Blaine and Ross the murder dads, Ruth’s abusive asshole grandpa, Mary, and then people like Raidah or Booster who are more complicated. If I’m hating someone in this comic it is gonna be the murder dads and the abusive grandpa. I don’t approve of the cheating Dorothy and Joyce did but I still like their characters just fine.
I should also say it’s fine if people hate whatever characters they hate them for, just keep that energy away from me I suppose because I’m old, I’m tired, and if I am gonna get angry and hateful about something it needs to be worthy of my wrath and not just “ugh this character is annoying grrrr grrr I’m gonna shit myself”.
I suspect a lot of it has to do with the colloquial language around what being a “hater” means, too — for example, as much as I’m a “certified DoJo hater”, I wouldn’t actually describe any emotion I have about them as “actually hate”, y’know?
Combine that with the fact that vast swathes of the internet use “exaggeration as humor” and you end up with people saying… well, the kind of stuff that gets said around here about a fairly large portion of the cast.
But also, 100% what Yotomoe’s sayin’ — whether or not I like/hate someone as a character has almost nothing to do with their actions and everything to do with how enjoyable I find them. Like, Blaine and Ross were GREAT characters in terms of “generating interesting and gripping stories”! I’d hate people who acted like them in real life, but I have nothing against them existing in a story. Contrast Booster, who just kinda reminds me of annoying people I know in real life, and as such I understand a “oh great, now THIS asshole’s back” as a reaction even though I personally think he’s a perfectly cromulent character.
See I don’t hate characters like Blaine or Mary insomuch that like…I’m supposed to hate them. So I hate them less because hating them is the authorial intent. Like Mary sucks, but I’m also supposed to think Mary sucks. It’s easier for me to dislike a character that I’m NOT supposed to hate.
I do not disagree regarding characters and actions and whatever else. I would appreciate the lack of implication that I’m saying something I’m not. All I can say is I tend to find these characters aside from the shithead ones enjoyable and thus enjoy their presences in strips even when they’re being flawed and annoying.
As being readable as a direct explanation of the pants on the floor, I admit “administering” made my thoughts go directly to suppositories.
“prescription”
When oh when will Americans finally get themselves a proper healthcare system that sufficiently covers blue sparks?!
Blue sparks? Does the ionization of nitrogen have previously unknown health benefits? Cause that’s what usually causes blue sparks.
Well, there is Cerenkov radiation…for the really fast movers amongst us. Of course, that’s more of a blue glow.
Totally having nothing to do with today’s strip, but yesterday I tried Google’s goofy AI engine to see what it would come up with. I asked for a photorealistic image of “Dorothy Keener from the webcomic ‘Dumbing of Age’.”
Crummy thing didn’t even come close! It created a picture of a young woman on a college campus, yes, but she was thin and tall, with no glasses, and had dark brown hair in a style that Frank Zappa would have called, “a hairdo that rinses”.
Folks are crowing about how wonderful AI is and are exploiting the artistic results as much as possible. But sorry – the results I got were laughable at best and not even in the same world as us.
And this morning it gave me a blonde Goth Amber in a dark off campus apartment.
To hell with technology….
This is your sign to go draw your own Dorothy fanart (please)
Going back to that now, thanks. Time to wear down a few more Prismacolor markers
The goat has returned to my screen. Nature is healing
Irrelevant to the current strip, sorry, but thought it be wise to spread info on the current state of Hiveworks- https://cartoonist.coop/hiveworks-guild-statement/
Thank you for sharing this. I’d heard smatterings of this but did not know there was a formal statement released.
The Channel Awesome of webcomics?
Oh lord, if Willis had to put up with this kinda shit from Hiveworks….
that explains a LOT 👀
Yup. Less Slipshine content than could have been. 🙁
I heard a bit on it from Danielle Corsetto’s Patreon post.
There’s no way Booster doesn’t start to put some pieces together, right? If they find out she got shot and AG showed up at the protest then they’re going to think about their superhero smut fiction and go, “hey. wait a second.”
Hopefully they find the drama of hiding a superhero from the cops more appealing than snitching.
I’m going to make a bold claim here and say that Mary is the *only* cast member who would snitch to cops. Even taking that aside, considering Booster is both nonbinary and Hispanic, I feel like they’d be an exceptionally poor character to play the role of “the snitch” in this storyline.
I can imagine if Booster had been set up as someone who believes being a snitch makes them “safe”, it would be good. But it would be an incomprehensible 180 for their character on many levels.
There are a lot more people who write superhero smut than actual superheroes.
And Amber wasn’t shot. It’s not quite clear what her injury was, but she wasn’t shot. Which makes the connection to the cops a bit less obvious.
C’mon Booster, I know you can be more cool than this…
eh this ribbing is justified for someone with no context on the situation, IMO
I would assume they have the context of “the police just searched this floor.” And the social intuition to figure out that a booty call probably doesn’t involve the roommate being fully clothed and saying “shhhh and keep the lights off”
They might not have the context of the floor being searched (for those of us without social media, we don’t know about things until someone specifically tells us), and they may be assessing this as a *concluded* booty call after which Amber fell asleep.
Sorry I haven’t been much of a presence in this comment section of late (or you’re welcome, if you’re one of my bizarrely-persistent haters), I just lost my job so I’ve been having to devote much of my time to dealing with the fallout of that.
In brighter news, my girlfriend will be visiting me over Valentine’s Day weekend, so I have that to look forward to.
Oh, right, the comic. I’ve never understood the *hate* Booster gets, although I think a lot of what gets interpreted as hate is just mild annoyance, which is what I feel toward them. Good on Walky for stepping up to the plate here. He’s had a rough go of it lately but I’m glad his better traits are getting a chance to shine.
Yay on the girlfriend visiting!
Sad hi5 on the unemployment, sending good wishes your way on ending it soon with a job you don’t hate. 🫂
Oof, sorry to hear about the employment situation. Fingers crossed for you that things resolve as smoothly as possible. Great news on the girlfriend front tho!
Oh no!!!! Hope you get that resolved soon!!! :0
Glad you have that valentine’s day to look forward to tho, have fun with your GF <3
I am so sorry to hear about the job, Dot. I hope you can get unemployment insurance benefits or severance or some such, for a little while at least. Sending hopes to you.
… I don’t know whether you might happen to be in the States or not, but if you are, these are my favorite resources for finding ways to get employed and/or get by. (I’m sorry… I’m a nosy busybody who thinks in list form and compulsively speaks in lists of hyperlinks.)
careeronestop.org
idealist.org
governmentjobs.com
usajobs.gov
apprenticeship.gov
dol.gov/general/topic/unemployment-insurance
usa.gov/benefit-finder
needhelppayingbills.com
findhelp.org
211.org
…Hope this is at least a little helpful and not TOO annoying…
Just for legal work, though, these are the hiring agencies that my friends and I have worked for and recommend:
tempositions.com
oncallcounsel.com/legal-jobs
kellyservices.com
roberthalf.com/us/en/find-jobs
workforgood.org/candidates/about-us
Best of luck to you!
Of curiosity, what do you do for a living? I know a fair few folks hiring in IT at any given time.
My career has been in law, as a paralegal or legal secretary.
Oof, sadly I don’t have any personal trees in that field to shake for you.
On the plus side, less of a dire field than IT?
The job market is bad for everyone but it feels like it’s Worse in software dev right now.
AKA: probably going to suck for a while but hopefully Dot will have better luck anyway ❤️
the real reason you know Booster is insufferable is because they say ‘whyfor’
That’s the real reason you know they’re rad as hell, I love obscure words no one uses
Using obscure words can cause issues when writing fiction, though. Someone I asked to read my work looked up and asked, “what does ‘hecatoncheironic’ mean?”
I see that even spellcheck has issues with that one.
Wherefore are you opposed to that?
Whatfor you bury booster in the cold cold ground?
Forthwith, “whyfor” before forewarning shall henceforth forfeit four fourths of a fortnight’s worth of four loko.
why ARE her pants on the floor? unless she took them off before climbing into bed, be more convenient to just place them next to her on the mattress