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Dumbing of Age
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I like cats because it works both ways. Sometimes my cats randomly attack and scare the shit out of me. Sometimes I stomp at them when they’re on the tile so I can watch them scramble and try an get traction. We love each other very much.
I actually a little amazed that Billie can outrun Ruth; didn’t she put on a bunch of weight after graduating high school? Whereas Ruth is fully capable of de-femur-ing a college student at will…! xD
It’s a real campus. We should fuck with them someday by getting together and requesting a tour. Then we all go nuts and take hundreds of pictures when we spot something from the comic.
“This is where Amber stabbed a motherfucker! There’s Garbage Roof! OH MY GOD, BLOWJOB CAT!!!”
I’m currently assuming that if anyone who lives in Bloomington (never mind actually goes to IU) read the comic, questions like yours would probably be answered quickly and authoritatively.
I’ve long posited that there is someone at IU whose only job is to read DoA and then enact changes designed specifically to thwart Willis’s location models.
The Landes Dining Room in Read, the original source for most earlier dining hall scenes, is long gone. But there apparently is a new-ish food court built to replace it, still in Read but in a different location. I say “apparently” because online, all of the IU dining locations seem to exist in a Schroedinger’s state. Open, closed, moved, re-opened? At this point, I’m not sure I trust the official IU:RPS site for any of this.
But I’m willing to assume, for the moment, that Read Hall has some sort of food court. (The architect for the Read Hall renovation says that El Bistro was “relocated to a more central location,” but doesn’t say if that location was still in Read Hall. Also, the non-IU:RPS references to El Bistro are mostly from Foursquare, which considers El Bistro to be closed.)
There’s a food court-ish area in the middle of Read Hall, yeah. It’s up the stairs from the center of the main lobby, and at the end of the hallway from that big windowed area Ethan sits at sometimes. I haven’t drawn it up close yet because 1) it’s a complicated place to draw a background set of, and 2) it’s an awkward public place to take photos, when it’s not gated off because it’s closed.
In 2015, the center establishment in the food court was called Bistro Deli. But as of 2017, it’s something called…. Erbert Gerbert’s…? Look, I don’t know.
From the official IU:RPS page, Erbert and Gerbert’s. “Sandwich shop dedicated to serving more flavorful sandwiches and soups.” If one prefers less flavorful sandwiches and soups, look elsewhere.
It’s a Wisconsin-based chain. They are currently promoting a Mac & Cheese BBQ Brisket sandwich.
I am assuming that the fact that this sandwich contains a layer of brisket ON TOP of a layer of Mac & Cheese means that this sandwich would never be one that Joyce could eat, never mind the Citrus Chipotle BBQ sauce.
They say love and hate are more closely intertwined than people are aware of, but I think that is slightly off. I think love and sass are more closely intertwined than people are aware of and this relationship is just one example of it.
True, but I don’t remember seeing any actual healthy love between these two. As far as I remember, they either seem to snap to each other, or fall into self-destructive depression together…
A fair point. I want Ruth and Billie to have a good relationship, because I think they seem good together but they don’t actually have much healthy interaction. I’m sure there is at least a couple of things that could be pointed to as normal or healthy between them but I can’t think of any.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s better than before, but Billie’s hiding her dorm and her relationship with her floor mates from Ruth (because she’s been treating Ruth like a conquest with them) and she hasn’t been going to therapy.
Meh, therapy doesn’t work for everyone. And I don’t read it as Billie hiding her dorm from Ruth so much as her trying to escape it, which is when she ends up spending time back with Ruth, so there’s natural separation there.
While that’s true, Billie seemingly hasn’t gone since Ruth was hospitalized and they made her go. And I’d argue that you’d need to try first before you can just say that it doesn’t work. Billie clearly has depression and suicidal and self-destructive tendencies, just like Ruth, but she is neither receiving medication or treatment for it, which is not going to help her in the long run.
Billie hasn’t even gone so she can’t say it ‘doesn’t work for her’ and you can’t decide ‘therapy doesn’t work’ when you refuse to open yourself up to the possibility of it working either. You have to genuinely be willing to accept advice and being corrected for it to work.
Yeah, she’s in denial about her problems. She’s an alcoholic who’s making no effort to stop drinking. She’s depressed herself, though differently than Ruth. She needs help of some kind and she’s not getting it.
None of which means that separation from Ruth would be good for her.
I think Billie moving to another dorm is giving them both that separation they need. And I don’t think Billy is hiding anything from ruth. I think what she is trying to do cultivate a reputation and she was trying to avoid exactly ehat happened with Carla and her cute roommate people finding out she wasn’t popular and wasn’t cool
I think she’s more hiding Ruth from her other dorm, which is unhealthy enough for the relationship.
But that also suggests she’s hiding her reputation in the other dorm from Ruth – particularly the parts of it based on her “seducing her RA”.
This day in-universe is, like, the healthiest, happiest these guys’ relationship has ever felt and I love it and I’m all fueled by new year optimism and I hope that they have turned a corner <3
I know right I am rooting for them. Nut i think as Ruth gets a bit healthier she will get more annoyed with Billy’s narcicism i really hope it works abd Billy continues to improve as well
Same! I don’t think I’ve seen Billie smile this much, ever. She’s an alcoholic and that is a problem obviously, but I feel like maybe she could get to a place where she wants to get help for that? And Ruth has been on medication for what, two days? Give it time, she’ll get better too.
No im not upset with Ruth at all shes adjusting and making a lot of progress. Just as she continues improving she may get more annoyed or notice bullies Narcissistic tendencies like it seems her roommate is.
And we have actually seen Billy improve as well. She hasnt been drinking as much and seems to be channeling into making a goodninpression and being doted on by her new popularity
I’ve never seen Billie as an alcoholic myself. She seems more of a (mostly) functional alcohol abuser to me. She uses alcohol for it’s effects rather than needing it to feed an addiction. She doesn’t seem to have been drinking since their hospitalisation, but is showing no signs of withdrawal at all. I think her drinking is a symptom of her issues, rather than the cause of them and if she deals with the real cause of her issues, the need to drink herself senseless will likewise fade. Or maybe I’m barking down the wrong track entirely. Time (and Willis) will tell, they always do.
I’m with Clif. There’s no sign that she’s ever stopped drinking, which is why we’ve never seen signs of withdrawal.
We know she was drinking with Dorothy while Ruth was in the hospital and we saw her trying to drink at Galasso’s when Jason recognized her.
In Just Hangin’ Out With My Family, when Ruth tells Howie he’s too young for Game of Thrones, Billie asks her if she should be saying that since both Billie and Ruth were teenage alcoholics. Ruth tells her to shut up.
I am so happy to see these two actually becoming healthier and spending time together I. A more stable way. Billie your snark is endearing but can you really outrun your annoyed girlfriend
I normally would slap Billie for being a jerk, but I applaud her for mocking conspiracy theories and anorexia. Eating is important, and conspiracy theories most of the times are based on antisemitism. Also, I love eating delicious food.
There’s an alien juggalo called Gamzee, and he types in alternating caps. He’s batshit flippin’ bonkers, and he takes naps on a big pile of bicycle horns.
While this strip is kinda sweet in its own way, I can’t help but think that replacing a suicidal person’s depression with rage/anger is NOT a healthy solution. :/ In real life, that’s how you get suicide bombers or people who go on mass shooting sprees before offing themselves.
That’s quite a slippery slope you’re on. Ruth is not genuinely angry or full of rage, and her depression hasn’t gone away because of it. There’s a huge fucking leap from Billie lightly mocking her this one time and the steps it takes for someone to become a mass shooter.
This one time, yes. What I’m saying is that this should not be a repeated pattern. It’s very easy for the depressed/ostracized person in their vulnerable state of mind to think that the teasing is instead mockery. Very often when people are in pain, the first thing they look for is somebody to blame. This is how jihadists and other terrorist groups tend to do their recruiting; they approach desperate people who think there is no way out and convince them that everything that is wrong in their life is because of X, and that X must be destroyed, at the cost of one’s own life if necessary. Of course Ruth herself, in her current position, is in no danger of being recruited, but you can probably see how someone who is lost, hurting and alone can be easily self-radicalized by just associating with the wrong people or reading the wrong literature online. The last thing they need is people in real life inadvertently reinforcing that warped world view.
Slightly off topic, but is it just me, or has Billie gained a lot of weight since the start of the comic? Considering it’s only been around 1 month in DoA time, she must have a serious eating disorder to go from this to where she is now.
I think it’s just the art evolved. Joyce looks like she’s also gained some curves, with bigger hips and breasts at point. Ruth, on the other hand, looks like she’s lost weight, because she’s taller and has a thinner head shape now.
Willis commented before that Amber’s always been rounder in his mind but it’s only the past few years he’s been able to render it as specifically. Same is probably true with Billie and Marcie, and, on the other side, Dorothy and Ruth both seem skinnier lately, but we know Dorothy’d previously been described as ‘bony’.
Speaking of Billie and Ruth, do you guys understand what are the reasons for their problems? I honestly can’t say why Billie is depressed and suicidal…
Oddly enough, people don’t need reasons to have depression. Sometimes it’s just a thing that happens, likewise with thoughts of suicide.
Billie is depressed because she has a mental illness. That’s the reason.
Now, it’s possible that her depression/alcoholism/suicidal thoughts are related to a thing or several things you can point to, like crappy parents (smart money in this comic is on crappy parents, always), but they don’t have to be. People don’t need a reason to be sick.
Honestly, my theory is that Ruth has depression and uses alcohol to self-medicate, while Billie is mostly an alcoholic, with the depression being secondary.
Ruth has been able to quit alcohol several times, only relapsing when circumstances changed (when she and Billie got together in their sexy lesbian suicide pact). Billie has never tried, as far as we know. Billie’s depression at the very least doesn’t seem as overwhelming and constant as Ruth’s.
It’s possible that Ruth’s depression is just chemical, but given that she’s an orphan with an abusive guardian/grandfather, it’s very likely that the roots of it lie in that.
Billie’s homelife was more one of emotional neglect – her parents were largely absent. She likely ran pretty wild in her high school years and the binge drinking turned straight into an addiction. Which both feeds and helps her cope with her self-loathing.
That’s certainly possible. I was responding mostly to the implication that people can’t be depressed/suicidal without a “reason”. It’s just not like that, and even if there is an outside reason it may not be one that’s easy to pin down or explain.
I don’t think it answers your specific question, but you would probably be interested in the book Gulp, by Mary Roach, a fun and entertaining read.
Anyway, according to this Vox article of surprising facts about feces, apart from water, poop is mostly bacteria, with some indigestible plant fiber and a smattering of sloughed-off intestinal cells.
In other words, pretty much everything you eat that isn’t cellulose gets absorbed into the body, assuming no acute or chronic problems with your digestive tract.
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if you love something, taunt the shit out of it
Well, that is the basis of my relationship with my cat…
now, now. The cat is just bored, it’s only taunting you to get you to play with it.
Pretty sure Chris is the one doing the taunting…
I like cats because it works both ways. Sometimes my cats randomly attack and scare the shit out of me. Sometimes I stomp at them when they’re on the tile so I can watch them scramble and try an get traction. We love each other very much.
There have been worse relationships.
I’m talking about Billie and Ruth, of course. You and your cats sound hopelessly co-dependent.
…mine too. I guess it explains why she always hisses and swipes at me
I’m sure this strategy will in no way backfire and these twos’ terrible relationship will be secure, forever.
I will have your femurs!11!!!!
I actually a little amazed that Billie can outrun Ruth; didn’t she put on a bunch of weight after graduating high school? Whereas Ruth is fully capable of de-femur-ing a college student at will…! xD
Well, that’s one way to make Ruth go to the toilet, I suppose. but I wouldn’t have expected either of them to be into scat play.
If it’s true love, it can endure the taunting.
*In a bathroom stall*
Ruth, angry: “I don’t have time for this shirt!”
True love.
No speed lines means no love?
Or, as they say in the English department, sun-deer.
Tsun dere ?
Son, Dear?
Thundercats, Go!
Sunder Ray.
So they live up in the north-east then, in Tsundereland?
Ha’way, why aye man! xD
Ah love, it comes in so many forms. The question here is, what is Ruth going to do with Billie when she catches her?
DOA(whatever number this is): How Billie Lost Her Femurs
Someone remind me, is their dining hall attached to their dorm building?
Billie’s tAlEnTs never cease to impress
oops this wasn’t supposed to be a reply >.<
Someday we’re going to make Willis assemble a virtual map of the campus et environs.
It’s a real campus. We should fuck with them someday by getting together and requesting a tour. Then we all go nuts and take hundreds of pictures when we spot something from the comic.
“This is where Amber stabbed a motherfucker! There’s Garbage Roof! OH MY GOD, BLOWJOB CAT!!!”
THIS
I’ve always been curious how many people who actually go to IU read this comic. I wonder if it ever pops up on, like, campus meme pages.
I’m currently assuming that if anyone who lives in Bloomington (never mind actually goes to IU) read the comic, questions like yours would probably be answered quickly and authoritatively.
Not everyone who reads the comic necessarily reads the comments regularly, though.
Not super-recently, but I’ve seen comments in here before by people who attend/have attended IU, for what it’s worth.
Blowjob Cat, technically, is not on campus.
Here’s a start.
Yes, they have A dining hall in their dorm (though I don’t think it’s the same one in which Billie ran into her old flame that one time).
But I thought that that area with the tables and chairs that they’re walking TOWARD was their dining hall. So now I’m a bit confused.
It was, in 2010.
These days it’s just a study area that looks like a dining hall.
So Billie’s carrying food there from one of the other places within the building that sells food.
because that’s how we deal with sliding timescales
I see, gotcha
I’ve long posited that there is someone at IU whose only job is to read DoA and then enact changes designed specifically to thwart Willis’s location models.
The Landes Dining Room in Read, the original source for most earlier dining hall scenes, is long gone. But there apparently is a new-ish food court built to replace it, still in Read but in a different location. I say “apparently” because online, all of the IU dining locations seem to exist in a Schroedinger’s state. Open, closed, moved, re-opened? At this point, I’m not sure I trust the official IU:RPS site for any of this.
But I’m willing to assume, for the moment, that Read Hall has some sort of food court. (The architect for the Read Hall renovation says that El Bistro was “relocated to a more central location,” but doesn’t say if that location was still in Read Hall. Also, the non-IU:RPS references to El Bistro are mostly from Foursquare, which considers El Bistro to be closed.)
There’s a food court-ish area in the middle of Read Hall, yeah. It’s up the stairs from the center of the main lobby, and at the end of the hallway from that big windowed area Ethan sits at sometimes. I haven’t drawn it up close yet because 1) it’s a complicated place to draw a background set of, and 2) it’s an awkward public place to take photos, when it’s not gated off because it’s closed.
*sorts through photos*
In 2015, the center establishment in the food court was called Bistro Deli. But as of 2017, it’s something called…. Erbert Gerbert’s…? Look, I don’t know.
From the official IU:RPS page, Erbert and Gerbert’s. “Sandwich shop dedicated to serving more flavorful sandwiches and soups.” If one prefers less flavorful sandwiches and soups, look elsewhere.
It’s a Wisconsin-based chain. They are currently promoting a Mac & Cheese BBQ Brisket sandwich.
I am assuming that the fact that this sandwich contains a layer of brisket ON TOP of a layer of Mac & Cheese means that this sandwich would never be one that Joyce could eat, never mind the Citrus Chipotle BBQ sauce.
Last time I tried, mac&cheese was all that flavorful. I can’t see sandwiches around that improving it much?
Wasn’t
(Why can’t this damn keyboard intuit which language I’m writing in and what I mean to say?)
Well it depends on what cheese you use. A really sharp whatever will remain really sharp when melted around a bunch of macaroni, after all.
Mac and cheese on pizza or sandwiches is a thing in Wisconsin. Low rent foodie kinda thing.
Erbert and Gerbert’s is officially the best name for a bistro.
Dumbing of Age Book 9: It’s Just Going to Become Poop, and Then You Have to Poop It
Dumbing of Age Book 9: It’s All Just A Conspiracy By Big Food, Huh
Dumbing of age book 9: MuSt Be NiCe HaViNg A pUrPoSe
I’m going to stick with with my reply to Kyrik above: DOA9: How Billie Lost Her Femurs.
“Most men are of naught more use in their lives but as machines for turning food into shit.” – Piotr Vorkosigan, attributing it to Leonardo da Vinci.
Would Vorkosigan lie?
Nothing else is a Vorkosigan.
it’s a conspiracy by Big Poop
Exercize is where you make it happen.
It’s cute now that the power dynamic has been removed.
I think the power dynamic was established the first time Ruth tossed her around.
… you know, I honestly don’t understand how this relationship works. These two seem to spend their time snickering at each other. Huh?
Some people really like casual banter.
They say love and hate are more closely intertwined than people are aware of, but I think that is slightly off. I think love and sass are more closely intertwined than people are aware of and this relationship is just one example of it.
True, but I don’t remember seeing any actual healthy love between these two. As far as I remember, they either seem to snap to each other, or fall into self-destructive depression together…
A fair point. I want Ruth and Billie to have a good relationship, because I think they seem good together but they don’t actually have much healthy interaction. I’m sure there is at least a couple of things that could be pointed to as normal or healthy between them but I can’t think of any.
They do take care of each other as well as they can, but yeah, these two need, at minimum, some time apart imo, much as I love them.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s better than before, but Billie’s hiding her dorm and her relationship with her floor mates from Ruth (because she’s been treating Ruth like a conquest with them) and she hasn’t been going to therapy.
Meh, therapy doesn’t work for everyone. And I don’t read it as Billie hiding her dorm from Ruth so much as her trying to escape it, which is when she ends up spending time back with Ruth, so there’s natural separation there.
While that’s true, Billie seemingly hasn’t gone since Ruth was hospitalized and they made her go. And I’d argue that you’d need to try first before you can just say that it doesn’t work. Billie clearly has depression and suicidal and self-destructive tendencies, just like Ruth, but she is neither receiving medication or treatment for it, which is not going to help her in the long run.
Billie hasn’t even gone so she can’t say it ‘doesn’t work for her’ and you can’t decide ‘therapy doesn’t work’ when you refuse to open yourself up to the possibility of it working either. You have to genuinely be willing to accept advice and being corrected for it to work.
Yeah, she’s in denial about her problems. She’s an alcoholic who’s making no effort to stop drinking. She’s depressed herself, though differently than Ruth. She needs help of some kind and she’s not getting it.
None of which means that separation from Ruth would be good for her.
I think Billie moving to another dorm is giving them both that separation they need. And I don’t think Billy is hiding anything from ruth. I think what she is trying to do cultivate a reputation and she was trying to avoid exactly ehat happened with Carla and her cute roommate people finding out she wasn’t popular and wasn’t cool
I think she’s more hiding Ruth from her other dorm, which is unhealthy enough for the relationship.
But that also suggests she’s hiding her reputation in the other dorm from Ruth – particularly the parts of it based on her “seducing her RA”.
She’s saving it to taunt her with.
>but they don’t actually have much healthy interaction
pray tell, what is a “healthy interaction”
if they are cool with it, it’s “healthy” there are no rules in love, everything works as it should until it doesn’t
People can and are okay with all sorts of things that are unhealthy for them. See: These two’s suicide pact.
Those who love you will put up with you.
“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”
Food good, Ruth! Food so good! Well. Maybe not college cafeteria food.
Food is good as long as it isn’t made by cafeterias.
Food is fuel. You need fuel.
The rest is exhaust.
That’s adorable.
If you don’t sass the ever-loving shit out of each other*, is it really twue wuv?
*Pun not intended.
This day in-universe is, like, the healthiest, happiest these guys’ relationship has ever felt and I love it and I’m all fueled by new year optimism and I hope that they have turned a corner <3
I wish you could embed images here, but alas.
I’m gonna tell him.
I know, I know. I probably just jinxed it. I accept my role as the Olaf of the comments section.
I know right I am rooting for them. Nut i think as Ruth gets a bit healthier she will get more annoyed with Billy’s narcicism i really hope it works abd Billy continues to improve as well
Same! I don’t think I’ve seen Billie smile this much, ever. She’s an alcoholic and that is a problem obviously, but I feel like maybe she could get to a place where she wants to get help for that? And Ruth has been on medication for what, two days? Give it time, she’ll get better too.
I AM NOTHING IF NOT A HOPELESS OPTIMIST xD
No im not upset with Ruth at all shes adjusting and making a lot of progress. Just as she continues improving she may get more annoyed or notice bullies Narcissistic tendencies like it seems her roommate is.
And we have actually seen Billy improve as well. She hasnt been drinking as much and seems to be channeling into making a goodninpression and being doted on by her new popularity
I’ve never seen Billie as an alcoholic myself. She seems more of a (mostly) functional alcohol abuser to me. She uses alcohol for it’s effects rather than needing it to feed an addiction. She doesn’t seem to have been drinking since their hospitalisation, but is showing no signs of withdrawal at all. I think her drinking is a symptom of her issues, rather than the cause of them and if she deals with the real cause of her issues, the need to drink herself senseless will likewise fade. Or maybe I’m barking down the wrong track entirely. Time (and Willis) will tell, they always do.
I’m not saying your wrong, but what makes you believe that Billie hasn’t been drinking since their hospitalization.
I’m with Clif. There’s no sign that she’s ever stopped drinking, which is why we’ve never seen signs of withdrawal.
We know she was drinking with Dorothy while Ruth was in the hospital and we saw her trying to drink at Galasso’s when Jason recognized her.
In Just Hangin’ Out With My Family, when Ruth tells Howie he’s too young for Game of Thrones, Billie asks her if she should be saying that since both Billie and Ruth were teenage alcoholics. Ruth tells her to shut up.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/escape-2/
I am so happy to see these two actually becoming healthier and spending time together I. A more stable way. Billie your snark is endearing but can you really outrun your annoyed girlfriend
Why would she want to? I’m pretty sure this counts as foreplay for these two.
Yeah, they’re definitely gonna fuck in a closet. :/
True …. That probably true
Off-topic, I want to direct Dina to today’s Google doodle.
For those not in the US, here is the Dino Doodle. The art is by a second-grader who wants to be a paleontologist.
Is that a pachycephalasaourus in the egg?
Can it breathe fire?
Yo’ure gonna need more food to counter all the energy you’re spending trying to catch Wile E. Coyote over there
A tiny little piece of my childhood died once I read that a coyote is faster than a roadrunner.
Did you read it in an Acme publication?
I love these two. Seriously though, what’s the point in dating if you can’t do a little (harmless) teasing.
[Hanna Barbera running noise]
The one that sounds like a bunch of wooden balls tumbling?
I always thought that was the bongos. Actual bongos, not autocorrect.
In the last panel they’re just running past the same 25 feet of background over and over again in an endless loop.
I normally would slap Billie for being a jerk, but I applaud her for mocking conspiracy theories and anorexia. Eating is important, and conspiracy theories most of the times are based on antisemitism. Also, I love eating delicious food.
Wow! Leafs scores tonight.
The only Leafs that can score aren’t the actual players.
I mean, this might fall under certain definitions of being a player…
mocking spongebob meme? in this comic?
it’s more likely than you’d think
I just imagined Ruth in the role of Buzz here. With Billie as Woody, obviously.
Billie has started to speak Gamzee-style. I’m a little afraid now.
I don’t get it, so I’m gonna guess it’s Homestuck related.
There’s an alien juggalo called Gamzee, and he types in alternating caps. He’s batshit flippin’ bonkers, and he takes naps on a big pile of bicycle horns.
I briefly thought Karkat had rescued him with the pap-shoosh, but then… *sad*
That’s one way to burn calories.
This is the most “comic strip” comic of Dumbing of Age ever and I kinda love it for that.
ILU, Billie. <3
That last panel is giving me serious Calvin and Hobbes vibes.
Second panel
(Sneaks up and puts ‘Yakety Sax’ on the hacked Muzak)
What? It’s a comedic chase scene. It’s traditional!
While this strip is kinda sweet in its own way, I can’t help but think that replacing a suicidal person’s depression with rage/anger is NOT a healthy solution. :/ In real life, that’s how you get suicide bombers or people who go on mass shooting sprees before offing themselves.
Behind every suicide bomber or mass shooting, there’s a Billie?
That’s quite a slippery slope you’re on. Ruth is not genuinely angry or full of rage, and her depression hasn’t gone away because of it. There’s a huge fucking leap from Billie lightly mocking her this one time and the steps it takes for someone to become a mass shooter.
This one time, yes. What I’m saying is that this should not be a repeated pattern. It’s very easy for the depressed/ostracized person in their vulnerable state of mind to think that the teasing is instead mockery. Very often when people are in pain, the first thing they look for is somebody to blame. This is how jihadists and other terrorist groups tend to do their recruiting; they approach desperate people who think there is no way out and convince them that everything that is wrong in their life is because of X, and that X must be destroyed, at the cost of one’s own life if necessary. Of course Ruth herself, in her current position, is in no danger of being recruited, but you can probably see how someone who is lost, hurting and alone can be easily self-radicalized by just associating with the wrong people or reading the wrong literature online. The last thing they need is people in real life inadvertently reinforcing that warped world view.
That’s how approximately 81% of childhood fights with my siblings started.
Slightly off topic, but is it just me, or has Billie gained a lot of weight since the start of the comic? Considering it’s only been around 1 month in DoA time, she must have a serious eating disorder to go from this to where she is now.
They were calling it the “Freshman 10” when I started. By the time I graduated, they were calling it the “Freshman 15.”
Nah, the art’s just evolved and so now she’s closer to how she looks in Willis’ mind’s eye. Same with Amber.
I think it’s just the art evolved. Joyce looks like she’s also gained some curves, with bigger hips and breasts at point. Ruth, on the other hand, looks like she’s lost weight, because she’s taller and has a thinner head shape now.
Willis commented before that Amber’s always been rounder in his mind but it’s only the past few years he’s been able to render it as specifically. Same is probably true with Billie and Marcie, and, on the other side, Dorothy and Ruth both seem skinnier lately, but we know Dorothy’d previously been described as ‘bony’.
Having femurs is nice too.
Speaking of Billie and Ruth, do you guys understand what are the reasons for their problems? I honestly can’t say why Billie is depressed and suicidal…
Oddly enough, people don’t need reasons to have depression. Sometimes it’s just a thing that happens, likewise with thoughts of suicide.
Billie is depressed because she has a mental illness. That’s the reason.
Now, it’s possible that her depression/alcoholism/suicidal thoughts are related to a thing or several things you can point to, like crappy parents (smart money in this comic is on crappy parents, always), but they don’t have to be. People don’t need a reason to be sick.
Honestly, my theory is that Ruth has depression and uses alcohol to self-medicate, while Billie is mostly an alcoholic, with the depression being secondary.
Ruth has been able to quit alcohol several times, only relapsing when circumstances changed (when she and Billie got together in their sexy lesbian suicide pact). Billie has never tried, as far as we know. Billie’s depression at the very least doesn’t seem as overwhelming and constant as Ruth’s.
It’s possible that Ruth’s depression is just chemical, but given that she’s an orphan with an abusive guardian/grandfather, it’s very likely that the roots of it lie in that.
Billie’s homelife was more one of emotional neglect – her parents were largely absent. She likely ran pretty wild in her high school years and the binge drinking turned straight into an addiction. Which both feeds and helps her cope with her self-loathing.
That’s certainly possible. I was responding mostly to the implication that people can’t be depressed/suicidal without a “reason”. It’s just not like that, and even if there is an outside reason it may not be one that’s easy to pin down or explain.
I actually am interested to know how much of the food we eat becomes poop and how much gets incorporated into our bodies now.
I think it depends on what you’re eating…?
Every individual metabolism is different. A lot more than you’d think.
I don’t think it answers your specific question, but you would probably be interested in the book Gulp, by Mary Roach, a fun and entertaining read.
Anyway, according to this Vox article of surprising facts about feces, apart from water, poop is mostly bacteria, with some indigestible plant fiber and a smattering of sloughed-off intestinal cells.
In other words, pretty much everything you eat that isn’t cellulose gets absorbed into the body, assuming no acute or chronic problems with your digestive tract.
It’s because of those bacteria that you fart. On the other hand, you don’t have to poop quite so much.
That’s Dumbing of Age, read the comic for the lols, read the forum to learn interesting facts about bodily functions.
that last panel gives me a real “Early-Peanuts Charlie Brown being a little smartass” vibe
awww
definitely a fave comic lolol
Uh oh…I’m worried about Ruth now.
ED red flag?