Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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May 12, 2026

People meter

by David M Willis on November 19, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 01 - Birthday Pursuit
└ Tags: dina, sarah

Discussion (119) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    November 19, 2019 at 12:01 am | #

    love makes you do inane things sometimes

    like leave a room with a cat in it

    the cat isn’t even poopin’

    • JetstreamGW
      JetstreamGW
      November 19, 2019 at 12:14 am | #

      Pretty sure the cat is just fuckin’ off somewhere away from Sarah. Because cat.

      • ktbear
        ktbear
        November 19, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

        See that cat coming in the window? It’s only got one eye.

      • Kensou
        Kensou
        November 19, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

        Cat defies Sarah’s outlook on fair trades.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          November 19, 2019 at 8:10 am | #

          Confirmed cat is libertarian, does not believe in trade agreements.

          • Clif
            Clif
            November 19, 2019 at 2:14 pm | #

            All cats are libertarians?

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              November 19, 2019 at 9:21 pm | #

              Like to think of themselves as proud and independent, but are happy to curl up in front of the heater or eat the free food supplied to them (or spurn it, if it’s not to their taste at the moment). Yeah, it kind of checks out, doesn’t it.

    • plasticwrap
      plasticwrap
      November 19, 2019 at 2:14 am | #

      lol inane or insane? I guess both

  2. Andr3wtime
    Andr3wtime
    November 19, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    THIS CONCEPT OF WUV CONFUSES AND INFURIATES US!

  3. BBCC
    BBCC
    November 19, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    Awwwwww, Dina! <3

    I gotta say though, cat + empty room + love is pretty great.

    • Clif
      Clif
      November 19, 2019 at 2:01 pm | #

      Dina may not naturally get everything, but she gets what’s important.

  4. ValdVin
    ValdVin
    November 19, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

    “They’re out there for free pizza”?

    I thought I was cynical.

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      November 19, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

      If I didn’t care about the people, I don’t think I’d go to a birthday party just for $5 pizza.

      Fancy pizza, maybe.

      • not someone else
        not someone else
        November 19, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

        I sure as hell would most days. These are college students.

        Then again, this is far enough off-campus that several of them would have to drive, which makes it not technically free.

        • JetstreamGW
          JetstreamGW
          November 19, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

          But, I mean, it’s literally $5 pizza. Like, $5 for an entire pizza. 😛

        • Yumi
          Yumi
          November 19, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

          When I was in college, if you lived in the dorms you had to had to have a meal plan, all of which were unlimited dining, so low-quality food as a motivator wasn’t as effective.

          • Marsh Maryrose
            Marsh Maryrose
            November 19, 2019 at 1:40 am | #

            At IU, first-year students are required to buy a meal plan. Details are not offered but the official IU:RPS page seems to imply that the lowest-cost plan does not offer three meals every day, and that the highest-cost plan offers more calories than the medium-cost plan. Of course they don’t anything about quality, but college students.

            I’m honestly a little more surprise by the fact that these partygoers are going like half a mile off campus for free pizza on a Monday night.

            • plasticwrap
              plasticwrap
              November 19, 2019 at 2:17 am | #

              quality lmao that’s a good one. I wonder if my old college has expanded the vegetarian options in the last 10 years…

            • ValdVin
              ValdVin
              November 19, 2019 at 10:18 am | #

              Well, that brings us back to whether it’s Galasso’s, or “free candidate-provided” grade pizza.

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                November 19, 2019 at 10:33 am | #

                Galasso’s employee discount pizza.

                Where the discount is basically what you can get out the door with.

          • zee
            zee
            November 19, 2019 at 11:58 am | #

            Wait What? Meal plan? At my university you’re responsible for your own food. As long as you pay your hall fees and turn up at/participate in hall events you can starve for all they care lmao

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          November 19, 2019 at 6:38 am | #

          It’s not that far off campus. Not for active college kids. Google maps suggests about a mile and half. Which is a little farther than I’d walk everyday across campus when I was in college – probably multiple times. Of course, we had a more sprawling campus than IU, but still.

    • Nono
      Nono
      November 19, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      I mean, I can’t imagine Mandy and Grace are there for Sarah and Dina.

      And this is a school where Walky will go to a LGBT meeting for free pizza.

      • Hazel
        Hazel
        November 19, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

        They are young and short on cash. Of course they would go to a party for pizza! There might even be cake!

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        November 19, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

        Walky “Free Gay Pizza Smart” Walkerton’s response behavior is not what I’d consider median.

        • Proxiehunter
          Proxiehunter
          November 19, 2019 at 12:46 am | #

          Walky who eats 8,000 pizzas a day is an outlier and should not have been counted.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            November 19, 2019 at 2:14 am | #

            Only 8,000? Damn, he needs to buy some more grandmas.

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        November 19, 2019 at 12:32 am | #

        Mandy and Grace were conspiring with Dina and Becky to keep Becky hidden from Ruth. I think that makes them friends enough.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          November 19, 2019 at 6:41 am | #

          Some of them are probably there because they like Joyce or Becky – who are actually doing the inviting, not so much the more reclusive Dina and Sarah. Or because they like someone else who’s going.

    • Beef
      Beef
      November 19, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      Probably not 100% wrong though, lots of people out there hardly interact with them (not that I blame them on account of Sarah and Dina not being very social), it seems like Becky just invited everybody on their floor and they showed up because party

    • plasticwrap
      plasticwrap
      November 19, 2019 at 2:20 am | #

      yo, free pizza is free pizza, people are practically GUARANTEED to show up for that. As for the “no one wants to see me,” IMO that’s a combination of narcissistic self-loathing and exaggeration. But on the other hand, I she’s probably right.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      November 19, 2019 at 2:38 am | #

      Some of them are probably there for the free pizza, and at least one because she heard it was a joint party. But I’m sure at least a few are there because they like Dina and Sarah.

  5. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    November 19, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    *”All Right Now” reprises on the stereo*

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      November 19, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

      As for the cat’s name, I have to, in full disclosure, mention that it resembles Rather Manor’s current cat, Feathers DelToasterpastry.

      • Geneseepaws
        Geneseepaws
        November 19, 2019 at 8:33 am | #

        Currently hearing Tina Turner’s “what’s Love Got to Do With It?” In me head. I’m so incredibly happy for Dina and Becky.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      November 19, 2019 at 2:41 am | #

      I’m thinking What Is Love by Haddaway seems fitting for the last two panels.

  6. Bagge
    Bagge
    November 19, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Bah, humbugh!

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      November 19, 2019 at 9:36 am | #

      Do you want pizza or not?

  7. Josh Spicer
    Josh Spicer
    November 19, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Wait THERE’S A CAT?!

    Fuck the party I’ll take the cat. You already nabbed a pizza box so you’re golden.

  8. Solenoid
    Solenoid
    November 19, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    I’ve got only one thing to say today. Catbutt. That is all.

    • Geneseepaws
      Geneseepaws
      November 19, 2019 at 8:33 am | #

      Seconded.

  9. Chaucer59
    Chaucer59
    November 19, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

    And the cat flashes its butt-hole in approval.

    • Alan in DC
      Alan in DC
      November 19, 2019 at 7:32 am | #

      I wish I had a pencil sharpener that looked like that cat. All my bro’s would be dying laughing, and all potential girlfriends would be horrified.

      • Liquid Len
        Liquid Len
        November 19, 2019 at 8:10 am | #

        I do have one (well, it’s black, so not exactly like THAT cat). You stick a pencil in its butt to sharpen it and it meows. A horrible wailing meow!

        • Flareonflare
          Flareonflare
          November 19, 2019 at 9:41 pm | #

          I NEED ONE NOW

          That is brilliant

  10. Hazel
    Hazel
    November 19, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

    Dina seems really self-assured in this strip! …please nothing happen to shatter that.

    • ktbear
      ktbear
      November 19, 2019 at 12:22 am | #

      Yea, theres no way Willis would feel obliged to mess this up, right? RIGHT??

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        November 19, 2019 at 12:33 am | #

        Of course Willis wouldn’t feel obliged to mess it up.

        ….

        He’d do it for the sheer sadistic pleasure, instead.

        • ktbear
          ktbear
          November 20, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

          Good point. I feel better already.

  11. Delicious Taffy
    Delicious Taffy
    November 19, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

    Awwww, she said the L-word.

    • LeslieBean4shizzle
      LeslieBean4shizzle
      November 19, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

      Is the comment system actively trying to prevent me from making a Scott Pilgrim/Showtime reference?

      • LeslieBean4shizzle
        LeslieBean4shizzle
        November 19, 2019 at 12:30 am | #

        Fine comment program. Be that way. I’ll just make it even better.
        AHEM.

        Ah. Young Lesbians. Is anything more beautiful?

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      November 19, 2019 at 12:42 am | #

      Liaoningosaurus?

  12. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 19, 2019 at 12:27 am | #

    Yahbut, who’s the trade unfair towards?

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      November 19, 2019 at 7:20 am | #

      Mostly me, if we’re being honest.

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      November 19, 2019 at 9:37 am | #

      Why does it have to be a trade?

  13. LeslieBean4shizzle
    LeslieBean4shizzle
    November 19, 2019 at 12:27 am | #

    … I said a thing.
    It didn’t appear.
    I tried saying it again.
    The comment thingy said I already said that.
    … confused.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      November 19, 2019 at 12:34 am | #

      Isn’t it wonderful how easy technology makes our lives?

      • Clif
        Clif
        November 19, 2019 at 2:06 pm | #

        How easy it makes our lives what?

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      November 19, 2019 at 5:16 am | #

      Glitch in the Matrix. Watch out for Agents.

  14. Suet
    Suet
    November 19, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

    Yeah, what a sucker…

    There’s no dog with that cat. There’s always a dog in a truly good college party

  15. FLUFFYWOLF
    FLUFFYWOLF
    November 19, 2019 at 12:29 am | #

    …am I the only one who thinks something really bad is going to happen either at this party or on campus?

    • Rabid Rabbit
      Rabid Rabbit
      November 19, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

      Let’s see. The evil duo are having their sitcom stay in the motel, but are both planning to come after their daughters. And the chapter’s title includes the word “Pursuit.”

      I think you’ve got some pretty solid grounds for suspecting that.

    • C.
      C.
      November 19, 2019 at 3:41 am | #

      Definitely before the end of the book.

      • lightsabermario
        lightsabermario
        November 19, 2019 at 7:59 am | #

        Wait. Are you telling me that there is a MONSTER at the end of this book?

        • Clif
          Clif
          November 19, 2019 at 10:45 pm | #

          There is a monster at the end of every book.

  16. Wixvhen
    Wixvhen
    November 19, 2019 at 12:32 am | #

    I just realized that our christian girl is at a party run by a democrat candidate supporter, for her lesbian girlfriend, while she has strong feelings for an african american who will probably show up, of a different denomination, and her father is looking to hunt her down with a man who is slowly becoming literally satan trying to galvanize her father even more. And is probably on social media chomping at the bit to find THIS EXACT SITUATION.

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      November 19, 2019 at 1:14 am | #

      Are you mixing up Joyce and Becky’s dads? Or switching who you’re referring to with “she/her” part way through your comment?

      • Jay
        Jay
        November 19, 2019 at 9:37 am | #

        Becky has a new dad

    • CJ
      CJ
      November 19, 2019 at 2:10 am | #

      Becky supports a GOP candidate.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        November 19, 2019 at 7:37 am | #

        Becky works for a GOP candidate. It’s not clear she actually supports her.

        • Clif
          Clif
          November 19, 2019 at 2:08 pm | #

          An important distinction.

  17. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    November 19, 2019 at 12:35 am | #

    Ugh.

    Room with cat, or room with people.

    Room with cat, or room with people.

    …. dammit, I’m torn between my allergies and my introversion.

  18. 1 2 2 50 in Roman numerals
    1 2 2 50 in Roman numerals
    November 19, 2019 at 12:51 am | #

    Im torn between calling the cat “ambpurr” and “ameowzi-girl”

    • Jen Aside
      Jen Aside
      November 19, 2019 at 9:27 am | #

      It could easily be a male cat (and since Mike had one the same colour, I’m inclined to believe he got a male one as it would be more aggressive (like Mike))

      Also you passed up “Amazi-purrl”??

      • ValdVin
        ValdVin
        November 19, 2019 at 10:16 am | #

        It’s likely to be a male. Orange or orange and white cats are males at a rate of 6 to 1 or 7 to 1.

  19. Marsh Maryrose
    Marsh Maryrose
    November 19, 2019 at 12:53 am | #

    Halloween has already passed but:

    She was a two-eyed three-horned walking green people meter

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      November 19, 2019 at 1:48 am | #

      They haven’t reached All Hallows’ Eve in-comic yet. I don’t recall the actual date but they’re only to mid-October now.

      • plasticwrap
        plasticwrap
        November 19, 2019 at 2:16 am | #

        oh SHIT the eve of all hallowed souls better be fucking EPIC in DoA

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      November 19, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

      …a two-eyed three-horned walking green(ish) people me(e)<ter

      Marsh, go to your room.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        November 19, 2019 at 11:47 am | #

        I thought of “people greeter” about one ohnosecond after I hit post.

        Anyway, I’m a homebody, so I’m usually in my room anyway.

        Dennis Leary has a bit something like, “We don’t send our kids to their rooms when they’re bad, that’s where they have all their good stuff. We go to their rooms and make them stay in the living room.”

  20. Tacos
    Tacos
    November 19, 2019 at 1:15 am | #

    Welp Sarah, looks like that cat is about to leave cuz well -cat.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 19, 2019 at 4:34 am | #

      Sarah had plenty of opportunity to focus her entire being on the cat but she chose to pay attention to the other two-legs instead. Cats notice things like this and they neither forgive nor forget… unless you have skritches and treats.

  21. Pocky
    Pocky
    November 19, 2019 at 1:33 am | #

    I can’t help but feel like my happiest moments involve love. . . and pizza.

  22. Opus the Poet
    Opus the Poet
    November 19, 2019 at 1:47 am | #

    Pizza is good, yuri is good, yuri and free pizza is best.

  23. CJ
    CJ
    November 19, 2019 at 2:08 am | #

    Exit the cat on cue.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      November 19, 2019 at 2:10 am | #

      Leaving nothing but an asterisk behind.

  24. maxh
    maxh
    November 19, 2019 at 4:07 am | #

    That sounds pretty gay.

  25. BenRG
    BenRG
    November 19, 2019 at 4:33 am | #

    Now, that isn’t true, Sarah. I can’t believe that Joyce is there for the free pizza (especially given her food neuroses). I’m wondering if this is the point where Sarah realises that, yes, Joyce has become her sister in lots of ways and, as annoying as she can be, she owes it to her to at least acknowledge her.

    • He Who Abides
      He Who Abides
      November 19, 2019 at 4:57 am | #

      She already knows that about Joyce. I mean, Joyce was willing to fake hating Halloween just so Sarah could decorate without being outed as someone who enjoys things, so she’d better already know that.

      • thejeff
        thejeff
        November 19, 2019 at 7:53 am | #

        That kind of thing is why I think Sarah’s approach here is at least partly performative. She’s deeply invested in her misanthrope persona and going out to the party would break that.
        Which isn’t to say that she’s not introverted – having the room to retreat to is definitely a good thing, but I think she’d like to socialize a bit more than that.
        I suspect we’ll see her find an excuse to come out of the room before this party’s over, grumbling all the way. And likely after the fact an acknowledgement that she enjoyed it – even if only to herself (and us.)

        • HMH
          HMH
          November 19, 2019 at 11:00 am | #

          She’s just trying to protect herself from being attacked. She tried to be genuinely kind to somebody one time, and became a pariah for it – despite the fact she probably saved that person’s life – all because her peer group didn’t respect or substantiate her particular expression of kindness.

          She’s certainly being somewhat extreme, to write off all human interaction, off of one instance of it backfiring upon her, even though she knows she did the right thing; but, she’s young, and she’s in this place where she is very alone, and so she’s feeling radically defensive, while also denying herself the true introspection into those feelings out of anger, and out of doubt. The self-imposed ultimatum is easier than actually grappling with her complex feelings, especially given that she’s focused on the part of her college experience which she’s convinced is the “really important” part.

          She’s guarded because she’s the type of person who gets hurt when she’s not, and she doesn’t want to be hurt. So, in a sense, it is performative, but she’s performing as much for herself as for everyone else. Her maladroit adoption of misanthropy is an over-correction in the service of bandaging over wounds inherent to human connection, and thus, to vulnerability.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            November 19, 2019 at 12:08 pm | #

            Sarah was already a misanthrope before Dana, though not as much.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            November 19, 2019 at 2:44 pm | #

            Yeah, that’s largely what I see as why and she’s definitely had those tendencies all along.

            I just think she’s torn between wanting to let Joyce drag her out of her shell to interact with others and wanting to stay isolated. She’s probably afraid that if she does lose the part of the misanthropic persona that’s a facade, that she won’t be allowed to retreat when she needs to. Of course, you’d never get her to publicly admit that, since it’s her defense. We only get the occasional glimpse beneath, like so many characters here.

          • TemperaryObsessor
            TemperaryObsessor
            November 19, 2019 at 6:26 pm | #

            It sort of feels more like Sarah was convinced to leave her shell once and it turned out she needed it with them. Now she’s even more attached to her shell.

  26. Thomas
    Thomas
    November 19, 2019 at 4:52 am | #

    “Love” has provided the people AND the quiet, empty room. There’s not a choice here, Sarah.

    • Zaxares
      Zaxares
      November 19, 2019 at 4:57 am | #

      Sure there is! You look for someone you love who’s just as happy to be alone in the quiet empty room with you. 😉

      • Thomas
        Thomas
        November 20, 2019 at 5:16 am | #

        That’s what I was getting at. Sarah can have both Love AND the quiet, empty room, since one has been provided by the other.

  27. He Who Abides
    He Who Abides
    November 19, 2019 at 4:58 am | #

    What is “love”?

    • Slartibeast Button, BIA
      Slartibeast Button, BIA
      November 19, 2019 at 5:15 am | #

      Something made up by poets who think things exist just because they like the idea.

    • showler
      showler
      November 19, 2019 at 6:12 am | #

      Baby don’t hurt me, don’t hurt me, no more.

      • He Who Abides
        He Who Abides
        November 19, 2019 at 10:56 pm | #

        Yes, showler, this was the answer I was looking for.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      November 19, 2019 at 7:16 am | #

      The ancient Greeks actually had four separate words for it, each with its own definition.

      * Eros – Romantic and sexual attraction;
      * Storge – The bond between close friends, people you like and want to be with;
      * Fillia – The bond between family members;
      * Agape – The conscious choice to care for someone and do right by them.

      • CJ
        CJ
        November 19, 2019 at 7:28 pm | #

        Isn’t it written as ‚Philia‘ and some sort of mental/spiritual love, without anything to do with family?

  28. Keith
    Keith
    November 19, 2019 at 7:34 am | #

    What’s love got to do with it? I don’t people, I am not a people person. I would save one dog and let humanity die out…still have to have people. Dogs are better company than people.

    • Mra
      Mra
      November 19, 2019 at 9:28 am | #

      Only one dog?

  29. Mike
    Mike
    November 19, 2019 at 7:57 am | #

    Cat butt alert!

  30. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    November 19, 2019 at 8:06 am | #

    *scrolled straight to bottom of comments section to post this, without reading anything*

    This whole comment page is gonna be about the cat butthole, isn’t it?

    ISN’T >*< IT?

    • Zechariah Judy
      Zechariah Judy
      November 19, 2019 at 9:03 am | #

      That’s certainly what I was coming to comment on.

  31. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    November 19, 2019 at 9:11 am | #

    Pizza or cat? THIS is the true hard choice!

  32. Cmd1095
    Cmd1095
    November 19, 2019 at 9:24 am | #

    Dina best girl

  33. Julius Cooper
    Julius Cooper
    November 19, 2019 at 10:33 am | #

    I would think the cat butt makes it a much easier choice!

  34. Julius Cooper
    Julius Cooper
    November 19, 2019 at 10:33 am | #

    Note, I’m not judging which side of the door you come down on. :-p

  35. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    November 19, 2019 at 11:48 am | #

    Love is worth a lot. I already have many video games, and delicious food is accessible with enough money. The love of a woman, the love of humanity, the love of celebration like Halloween and Christmas, the love of a pet, the love you give for others to make you feel human. Seriously, I would throw out a box of cheap pizza if it means I can return home for Christmas after a stressful last semester at college.

  36. Ferret
    Ferret
    November 19, 2019 at 12:36 pm | #

    Ladied and gentlemen, the difference between “introvert” anf “antisocial.”

    • abysswatcher1993
      abysswatcher1993
      November 19, 2019 at 2:15 pm | #

      Dina has problems related to her sensoring input and can’t deal with too much happening at once. It’s just the way she was born. Sarah on the other hand is jaded and angry because of many bad things that happened to her, and think people are asshole by default because of the small sample of people she has met in college.

  37. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    November 19, 2019 at 12:59 pm | #

    …the cat is leaving when Dina is

  38. Ellegos
    Ellegos
    November 19, 2019 at 11:24 pm | #

    I see this ending with the ole’ Tokyo Sayonara.

  39. J. Corkey Custer
    J. Corkey Custer
    November 21, 2019 at 4:19 pm | #

    Sometimes this strip shocks me with how good it can be.

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