Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 12, 2026

Successful

by David M Willis on May 22, 2021 at 12:01 am
  • 04 – Hompk!
└ Tags: daisy, ruth

Discussion (151) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    May 22, 2021 at 12:05 am | #

    Later:

    Jennifer: “I KNEW you were into that shit!!”

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      May 22, 2021 at 9:36 am | #

      “This could be the start of a beautiful relation-shit.”

      • Clif
        Clif
        May 22, 2021 at 11:13 am | #

        What an odd way to spell train wreck.

        • Icalasari
          Icalasari
          May 24, 2021 at 1:24 am | #

          *Shit Wreck

  2. Sirksome
    Sirksome
    May 22, 2021 at 12:06 am | #

    Things seem to be going well so far. Also I still don’t care about Halloween. Nice try tho.

    • Thag Simmons
      Thag Simmons
      May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

      Well, good news, because there’s definitely going to be at least one extended flashback sequence.

      • Clif
        Clif
        May 22, 2021 at 12:13 am | #

        Bets. My money is on Willis just keeps dangling Halloween at us.

        • Concolor44
          Concolor44
          May 22, 2021 at 12:48 am | #

          Not touching that one.

        • Delicious Taffy
          Delicious Taffy
          May 22, 2021 at 1:09 am | #

          I can’t take that bet. I’m between jobs and also I already owe somebody here five bucks, for something I can’t remember.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          May 22, 2021 at 9:34 am | #

          I’m pretty sure Halloween is going to be a noodle incident for a good bit, until Jennifer and/or Ruth recount their sides in flashback sequences. Whether we see an actual flashback sequence from an objective viewpoint, I’m still 50/50 on that.

          Until then, we can only speculate on the cast’s Halloween costumes.

          • Clif
            Clif
            May 22, 2021 at 10:45 am | #

            So the first flashback is like https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/stash/ but redrawn with Halloween costumes?

            • Needfuldoer
              Needfuldoer
              May 22, 2021 at 11:21 am | #

              Each wearing half a two-person dinosaur costume.

              They wore the same one as Becky and Dina. That was awkward.

              • Shen Hibiki
                Shen Hibiki
                May 23, 2021 at 12:03 am | #

                How did all four of them fit in it?

                • Librain
                  Librain
                  May 23, 2021 at 3:13 am | #

                  Very snugly.

                  And much trying to work out who’s hand that was.

  3. Wagstaff
    Wagstaff
    May 22, 2021 at 12:06 am | #

    Maybe if we clap hard enough, we’ll get a Halloween flashback….

    • NotThatDrew
      NotThatDrew
      May 22, 2021 at 12:08 am | #

      I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious as to what exactly caused the breakup

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        May 22, 2021 at 12:11 am | #

        Jennifer: Ruth, there must be some mistake. The toilet paper in your bathroom is in the holder “underhand style”

        Ruth: Oh yeah, I prefer it that way.

        (Kill Bill Music)

        • Cholma
          Cholma
          May 22, 2021 at 12:14 am | #

          +1 You can never go wrong with that music in a situation like that.

        • jimbotherisenclown
          jimbotherisenclown
          May 22, 2021 at 3:34 am | #

          Wait, what’s wrong with toilet paper being hung under? It makes it way harder for toddler or pets to destroy an entire roll.

          • jimbotherisenclown
            jimbotherisenclown
            May 22, 2021 at 3:34 am | #

            ~toddlers. That was supposed to be plural, damnit.

          • FriskyJacket
            FriskyJacket
            May 22, 2021 at 3:51 am | #

            OR, you could take the tp off the roller and put it somewhere the little animals Can’t get it to destroy it, like a civilized person. Or you could be a villain I guess.

          • King Daniel
            King Daniel
            May 22, 2021 at 4:14 am | #

            What’s the excuse if there are no toddlers or pets in the house, or your pet is like a horned lizard or budgerigar or something that can’t spool out the roll?

            • Sol
              Sol
              May 22, 2021 at 5:09 am | #

              My excuse is that it literally doesn’t matter and this whole debacle about toilet paper has confused me since I first learned about it a couple years ago.

              Plus our TP is kept pretty high up and it’s easier to get to when it’s hung under than over.

            • zee
              zee
              May 22, 2021 at 2:20 pm | #

              There is none. They are simply a masochist who wants to make taking their tp harder

          • annarchy
            annarchy
            May 22, 2021 at 12:49 pm | #

            A man of thought and reason I see.

            Nuance about toilet paper impossible./s

      • Keulen
        Keulen
        May 22, 2021 at 5:49 am | #

        I’m still betting Ruth wasn’t nearly as much to blame for their breakup as Jennifer (and Ruth apparently too) seems to think.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          May 22, 2021 at 9:38 am | #

          Yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out the self-described alpha bongo cheerleader who’s all about perception and optics offloaded responsibility with a good dose of gaslighting.

      • Jem
        Jem
        May 22, 2021 at 9:06 pm | #

        honestly, if we never find out, i won’t mind.

    • Sirksome
      Sirksome
      May 22, 2021 at 12:09 am | #

      No! Don’t clap! I really hope we never get a Halloween flashback. That’s defeats the whole point of a timeskip! If Halloween was that important we should be reading about that instead of this. (Just my opinion though, I completely understand why some people would desire the Halloween flashback)

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        May 22, 2021 at 12:10 am | #

        I mean, the robbery was pretty important, but we still got flashbacks. 😛

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          May 22, 2021 at 12:35 am | #

          If you’re talking about the gas station incident with Sal and Amber and Ethan and such, I don’t think that’s a very fair comparison. That event basically set the foundation for the entire first ten year story of DoA and its major climax. Maybe a decade from now I’ll eat my words, but I doubt couples breaking up has as much significance.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            May 22, 2021 at 2:02 am | #

            I doubt it’ll have AS much significance, but it clearly has some significance to Walky, Amber, Jennifer and Ruth and it’s being referenced as something significant. That merits seeing what happened, especially since a fuckton of exposition gets boring.

            • Sirksome
              Sirksome
              May 22, 2021 at 9:51 am | #

              It’s very interesting to me how people read things differently. To me it’s the exact opposite. It doesn’t seem that significant to any of the characters involved. Walky didn’t seem effected by the breakup at all, if anything he’s doing way better post Halloween. He got hotter and has a new potential romance in the works. Amber also doesn’t seemed to have changed in anyway and is still fairly amicable with Walky. So to me their breakup really doesn’t seem that important.

              Ruth and Jennifer does have more intrigue especially since Ruth seems to miss her and I admit early on I was a bit curious, but things have moved on since then. I’m way more invested in if she’ll connect with Daisy then why she and Jennifer aren’t an item. They both seem fine. In fact most of the cast seem fairly normal compared to before the time skip. To me that means that the details of what happened during probably aren’t that big a deal.

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          May 22, 2021 at 10:04 am | #

          We only saw the robbery sequence in full, from the audience’s perspective (not tinted by any one character’s perception) in 2018, eight years into DoA’s run.

          I hope the Halloween conflict is revealed sooner than that. The robbery was load-bearing, the breakup is just a partition wall.

      • a/snow/mous/e
        a/snow/mous/e
        May 22, 2021 at 12:16 am | #

        Not a fan of in medias res?

        • milu
          milu
          May 22, 2021 at 6:42 am | #

          huh! now that you put it like that i guess i am a fan of in media res type stories. i love it when backstories are dropped in cryptic allusions. I love when small details, a stare, a silence, an elliptical turn of phrase, convey huge looming secrets or stakes, when you know there’s an elephant in the room but you just sort of have to guess what it is about… I think on the one hand it just feels more naturalistic, but probably also i enjoy the detective work of trying to piece together what might have happened?! =)

          As one example, I recently saw Sound of Metal, the way it spaces out the background elements of the protagonists’ lives and drops them right when learning about them will be most impactful. it’s beautiful. I also love Alice Munro’s short stories, same sort of style.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        May 22, 2021 at 12:19 am | #

        A fun thing about stories is that you can tell them out of order, show the effect before the cause, and create a different sort of drama than you would if you showed those events in chronological order.

        • Sirksome
          Sirksome
          May 22, 2021 at 12:30 am | #

          I understand it. But to me it kind of softens some of the impact of the time skip. Right now we’re seeing a new status quo and new stories. Daisy’s getting some more time and development and I’m getting invested in this date. I no longer care why Jennifer and Ruth broke up.

          • Wagstaff
            Wagstaff
            May 22, 2021 at 12:42 am | #

            If I’m not mistaken, One Piece pulled off quite a major time skip with a couple of flashbacks, and its storytelling is decompressed even further.

          • Airyu
            Airyu
            May 22, 2021 at 12:54 am | #

            That’s wild to me about how differently people can feel about a storyline! I honestly thought the time skip was there so the new storyline could start on the anniversary of the comic. Its impact was to leave me wondering what happened, and I very much care as to why things are so different and what we are missing :0

            • ktbear
              ktbear
              May 22, 2021 at 2:48 am | #

              This ^^

      • AbelUndercity
        AbelUndercity
        May 22, 2021 at 11:06 am | #

        Damn the plot! I just want to see everybody’s costumes!

  4. Suet
    Suet
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    Getting into a relationship with Ruth would have tons of warnings if it were packaged in a bottle.

    • Proxiehunter
      Proxiehunter
      May 22, 2021 at 12:25 am | #

      On the bright side, Ruth is no longer packaged in a bottle.

      • Sam
        Sam
        May 22, 2021 at 9:54 am | #

        That made me chuckle.

  5. NotThatDrew
    NotThatDrew
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    Daisy, if you could stop channeling me, that’d be great

  6. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    …
    Does…
    Does their awkwardness cancel each other out?

    • NotThatDrew
      NotThatDrew
      May 22, 2021 at 12:09 am | #

      Somehow it does seem to be functioning that way

      • Clif
        Clif
        May 22, 2021 at 12:15 am | #

        There are the roots of we can be garbage together, but I’m not sensing the chemistry.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      May 22, 2021 at 12:19 am | #

      Together, they make one functional person.

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        May 22, 2021 at 2:55 am | #

        Yeah, one fully dis-functional person. Source: it takes one to know one.

      • Fist_of_Life
        Fist_of_Life
        May 22, 2021 at 10:00 am | #

        slash labradoodle

    • Nono
      Nono
      May 22, 2021 at 1:09 am | #

      Hard to be awkward when you’re too occupied with either being self-deprecating or a person-pleaser.

  7. Octopus Ink
    Octopus Ink
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    The Awkwardness is palpable with these two.
    It’s also kinda cute.
    I can’t help but wonder if this won’t be the most stable relationship for either or both of them for some time to come.

    • I am Nothing
      I am Nothing
      May 22, 2021 at 1:54 am | #

      Here’s hopin’…

      Heck, who knows, maybe both Ruth/Daisy and Walky/Lucy will both end up working out.

      Stranger things have happened, I guess.

  8. Kyrik Michalowski
    Kyrik Michalowski
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    If we don’t get a flashback to what happened at some point, I will lose my mind.

    Unrelated to that, this date is already going better than I expected. Maybe it won’t end terribly? Am I being too hopeful?

  9. RassilonTDavros
    RassilonTDavros
    May 22, 2021 at 12:07 am | #

    Seriously, what the hell was Namek Halloween?

    Interesting how Ruth seems to be equating the breakup to the totality of the relationship itself.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      May 22, 2021 at 12:10 am | #

      I approve of your reference, and yeah, Ruth seems to be taking it out on herself without any good reason(that we know of.)

    • Mr D
      Mr D
      May 22, 2021 at 12:27 am | #

      I get that reference

    • TheKelliestKelly
      TheKelliestKelly
      May 22, 2021 at 2:28 am | #

      I also get your reference

  10. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    May 22, 2021 at 12:08 am | #

    *the jukebox switches to some Duran Duran*

  11. King Daniel
    King Daniel
    May 22, 2021 at 12:08 am | #

    So now we’ve got TWO breakups that confirmedly happened on Timeskip Halloween

    • NotThatDrew
      NotThatDrew
      May 22, 2021 at 12:20 am | #

      Eh, those are rookie numbers. Back in my dorm if there weren’t at least 3 breakups and two drunks passed out in the lounge by the end of Halloween night, the whole thing was considered a bust

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        May 22, 2021 at 12:24 am | #

        We’ve got two confirmed break-ups.

        • JessWitt
          JessWitt
          May 22, 2021 at 2:22 am | #

          I forget, was the second one Amber and Walky?

          • King Daniel
            King Daniel
            May 22, 2021 at 2:55 am | #

            Yeah.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          May 22, 2021 at 9:28 am | #

          Dina and Becky also broke up that night, but Dina mainly did it to follow social cues, they got back together the next morning.

          Becky is still insecure about it, and refuses to acknowledge it happened.

  12. BBCC
    BBCC
    May 22, 2021 at 12:10 am | #

    I love tis. These two are such goofuses. I’ve definitely seen dates start worse.

    • Kyrik Michalowski
      Kyrik Michalowski
      May 22, 2021 at 12:10 am | #

      As long as there’s no vomiting then it should be better than my worst date.

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        May 22, 2021 at 2:57 am | #

        Ugh. Please don’t remind me of Europe. It should have been such a nice trip.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        May 22, 2021 at 9:42 am | #

        No, the traditional roommate initiation ritual involves a headbutt to the crotch, then vomiting.

        (It’s an old, OLD QC reference.)

        • Kyrik Michalowski
          Kyrik Michalowski
          May 22, 2021 at 5:38 pm | #

          I remember tnat, good times. For us at least.

        • ASTAPHE
          ASTAPHE
          May 22, 2021 at 7:26 pm | #

          Ahhh back before Jaques realized that Faye and Martin was literally the worst possible pairing of any members of his cast. I’m so happy that they’re both now with better partners than they would have been for each other. Though as a trans lesbian who thinks robots are neat, I might be biased.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            May 22, 2021 at 7:32 pm | #

            I think Hannelore is about to remind Dora why her relationship with Marten fell apart. She’s slipping into her prying, gossipy habits again.

          • NotThatDrew
            NotThatDrew
            May 22, 2021 at 8:21 pm | #

            Could just be you’ve got good taste in webcomics rather than being biased. Hell, as a bisexual man who also thinks robots are neat I definitely squeed waaaaay too loud when Faye and Bubbles finally got together.

          • He Who Abides
            He Who Abides
            May 23, 2021 at 7:02 pm | #

            Honestly, I would’ve liked to see them try and fail instead of the whole cockteasing, borderline-misogynistic-at-times, passive aggressive will-they-or-won’t-they that we got.

  13. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    May 22, 2021 at 12:10 am | #

    This is honestly probably not the worst ice breaker, somehow. Getting this stuff out of the way before the pizza arrives might be a gameplan.

    • milu
      milu
      May 22, 2021 at 7:13 am | #

      also, airing out potential dealbreakers up front is good form

  14. Newllend(henryvolt)
    Newllend(henryvolt)
    May 22, 2021 at 12:16 am | #

    I know Jennifer is the one who hooked them up but I would probably never recommend starting a conversation for a first date by talking about each other’s ex’s.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      May 22, 2021 at 12:20 am | #

      Well, Jennifer set this all up, and is the one person they both have a connection with, so she’s probably going to come up.

      Here’s hoping Daisy doesn’t talk about her last ex too much. A shoebox full of pictures of Amazi-Girl makes for an awkward mealtime topic.

    • a/snow/mous/e
      a/snow/mous/e
      May 22, 2021 at 12:23 am | #

      Ruth was already supposedly self-sabotaging, so tit for tat.
      Then again, dual self-sabotage sounds a little too much like mutually assured [self-]destruction and Ruth JUST got out of the lesbian suicide pact dynamic…

  15. Ohmsford
    Ohmsford
    May 22, 2021 at 12:18 am | #

    “I will date you because I have no better alternative” is not a healthy way to begin a relationship. Why, yes I DO know this from personal experience, why do you ask?

    • Rabisch
      Rabisch
      May 22, 2021 at 12:38 am | #

      This remember me that one of the most beautiful, sweet and poetic Italians love songs literally start saying “I fell in love with you, because I had nothing better to do”.

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        May 22, 2021 at 3:09 am | #

        “no better alternatives” is a rather different creature than “nothing better to do”.

      • milu
        milu
        May 22, 2021 at 7:34 am | #

        @Rabisch i imagine you are referring to this song

        nice!

        ..but i don’t think that’s really what he’s saying?
        “mi sono innamorato di te perché non avevo niente da fare; il giorno, volevo qualcuno da incontrare; la notte, volevo qualcosa da sognare”

        it sounds to me like he’s saying “because i had nothing to do” as in “because my life was empty” not “nothing better to do” as in, “falling in love? eh why not”. it’s… sort of the same thing maybe, but it’s not quite the same mood!

        (unless we are talking about a different song 😉
        (Also Demoted is right, this i still not quite what’s happening here)

        • Rabisch
          Rabisch
          May 22, 2021 at 6:59 pm | #

          Yes, This song by Luigi Tenco. One of the most beautiful and deep love songs i know. You’re right in the interpretarion. Start a love song saing something like that, so powerful!

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      May 22, 2021 at 1:14 am | #

      Eight years into a relationship that basically started exactly that way, I can’t necessarily disagree.

  16. Yotomoe
    Yotomoe
    May 22, 2021 at 12:21 am | #

    I don’t ship them but I do want them to fuck.

    • a/snow/mous/e
      a/snow/mous/e
      May 22, 2021 at 12:27 am | #

      i’m generally in favor of sex-positive people who aren’t jerks getting laid

      • a/snow/mous/e
        a/snow/mous/e
        May 22, 2021 at 12:29 am | #

        oops that could be a confusing parse. i’m in favor of sex happening between non-jerky, sex-positive people.

        • Demoted Oblivious
          Demoted Oblivious
          May 22, 2021 at 3:12 am | #

          But… but… if they’re jerking, aren’t they pre-empting getting laid? I mean, I’m pretty sex positive and am positive I’m not getting laid so rely on being jerky.

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            May 22, 2021 at 10:13 am | #

            you can jerk before/during/after getting laid! You can get laid, without anything to jerk in sight! Embrace as many jerky possibilities as you wish.

            • Delicious Taffy
              Delicious Taffy
              May 22, 2021 at 3:40 pm | #

              Just keep the food type of jerky out of the equation.

    • Rabisch
      Rabisch
      May 22, 2021 at 12:40 am | #

      They sure look cute together.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        May 22, 2021 at 9:45 am | #

        Indeed.

        They both deserve to be happy (whether Ruth believes it or not).

  17. Thag Simmons
    Thag Simmons
    May 22, 2021 at 12:26 am | #

    I wonder if Mike died on Halloween. It seems like a lot of shit went down that night.

    • I am Nothing
      I am Nothing
      May 22, 2021 at 2:03 am | #

      Mike just wanted to attend as a ghost.

      • Demoted Oblivious
        Demoted Oblivious
        May 22, 2021 at 3:13 am | #

        You saying Mike ghost the halloween party?

        • Demoted Oblivious
          Demoted Oblivious
          May 22, 2021 at 3:13 am | #

          ugh. ghosted… Mike ghosted the halloween party.

    • milu
      milu
      May 22, 2021 at 7:14 am | #

      Mike died?????????

      • Clif
        Clif
        May 22, 2021 at 10:56 am | #

        That’s the cover story. Jennifer dating Asher to investigate his role in the kidnapping and Amber’s father’s death is pure coincidence.

        • a/snow/mous/e
          a/snow/mous/e
          May 22, 2021 at 7:01 pm | #

          oh of course, jennifer followed her amazing reporter’s intuition

          • milu
            milu
            May 22, 2021 at 7:15 pm | #

            She does have great intuition.

      • Thag Simmons
        Thag Simmons
        May 22, 2021 at 7:48 pm | #

        Unless there’s a surprise twist, yes.

  18. Rabisch
    Rabisch
    May 22, 2021 at 12:29 am | #

    Daisy’s smile in panel two is so sweet and cute that make me hope this date will be a success. Maybe Ruth has do the most stupid thing during Halloween, but it’s time to move on and Daisy seems perfectly fine with Ruth. Let’s hope even Ruth will be perfectly fine with Daisy ♡.

    • Airyu
      Airyu
      May 22, 2021 at 1:03 am | #

      Even if they don’t become a couple, it seems like a very healthy experience for them

    • Emily
      Emily
      May 22, 2021 at 8:42 pm | #

      I think they’re cute. I want to Ruth to experience someone actually enjoying her as a person, instead of finding an external version of her self-hatred.

  19. Bagge
    Bagge
    May 22, 2021 at 12:36 am | #

    Things are… still going well?

  20. Victor Riley
    Victor Riley
    May 22, 2021 at 12:58 am | #

    I will be forever annoyed we didn’t get to see Halloween Shenanigans. Stupid time jump…

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      May 22, 2021 at 5:57 am | #

      Same, and I’m definitely hoping for a flashback or two to see some of what we missed.

  21. Nono
    Nono
    May 22, 2021 at 1:08 am | #

    Oh, no. So, this is a theory but…

    …Is this, basically, Anna/Mindy?

    • milu
      milu
      May 22, 2021 at 7:45 am | #

      Ruth has yet to display the casual hostility that seems to be Anna’s thing. also i don’t think Anna would be so upfront about her insecurities, and in fact doesn’t seem particularly insecure at all.

      …But i agree Daisy is Mindy so far. yeah

    • Azhrei Vep
      Azhrei Vep
      May 22, 2021 at 8:13 am | #

      No, Nono. This is Ruth/Daisy. You can tell because one keeps putting her foot in her mouth, and the other is a self-sabotaging hockey fan.

    • Clif
      Clif
      May 22, 2021 at 11:06 am | #

      At this point in time, I’m seeing Leslie/Mindy vibes. Two people who are quite different, but too similar to really work. But it’s early days yet.

  22. Rabid Rabbit
    Rabid Rabbit
    May 22, 2021 at 2:44 am | #

    Daisy, how the hell did you become the editor of the paper?

    I mean, sure, you could be great at managing and cutting other people’s writing, but surely you had to start as a reporter? Or do you manage to avoid phrasings like this when you’re writing?

    • Demoted Oblivious
      Demoted Oblivious
      May 22, 2021 at 3:14 am | #

      Editting. Much harder to do on the fly verbally.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        May 22, 2021 at 9:51 am | #

        That’s why I like these comments. You can proofread before clicking “Post Comment”!

        (Of course they can still end up out of place, or HTML gets broken somehow, or I end up having to clarify three times anyway because I’m a big stupid dumb-dumb, but still.)

        • cbwroses
          cbwroses
          May 22, 2021 at 3:24 pm | #

          Appropriate avatar is appropriate.

    • Axel
      Axel
      May 22, 2021 at 3:16 am | #

      I don’t know much about college papers, but she might have started in proofreading or lower editing, rather than in reporting, before being promoted up.

  23. CJ
    CJ
    May 22, 2021 at 3:24 am | #

    Whatever happened on Halloween why the hell does Ruth think the breakup,is her fault? Bille/Jennifer already started pulling away before that.

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      May 22, 2021 at 5:56 am | #

      I still have a feeling that the breakup might be more Jennifer’s fault than Ruth’s.

      • Pearl
        Pearl
        May 22, 2021 at 6:40 am | #

        Oh, fuckin’ absolutely.

      • Azhrei Vep
        Azhrei Vep
        May 22, 2021 at 8:14 am | #

        I have a feeling it involves Ruth blowing up at Billie over resuming drinking and not taking care of her mental health issues.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          May 22, 2021 at 9:30 am | #

          It’s possible, but would seem weird narratively. We left them with that neatly tied up and while relapses certainly happen, I don’t think it works in this case. Especially offscreen.
          It just feels like “Oh that character development arc we just did? Forget that. Didn’t matter.”

          There have also been other hints about Ruth having trouble. She said something about changing her medication and she’s also talked a couple of times about drinking.

          • Azhrei Vep
            Azhrei Vep
            May 22, 2021 at 5:49 pm | #

            Neatly tied up? With Billie still drinking and lying about therapy?

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              May 22, 2021 at 11:07 pm | #

              Billie stopped drinking, went through withdrawal and started therapy.
              We didn’t actually see a therapy session, so it’s possible that she was lying about that, but it was presented as if she had and as part of the same shift that had her stop drinking – after the scene where Ruth drank again at Galasso’s and got taken to the hospital.

              A lot of people seem to have completely blocked that arc out.

      • Spencer
        Spencer
        May 22, 2021 at 8:42 am | #

        I’m going with Varangian’s theory that Clint came back and Ruth downplayed Jennifer in front of him.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      May 22, 2021 at 9:24 am | #

      Why do you think Jennifer was pulling away before that?

      I mean, she did a couple storylines back, but that got resolved, along with her quitting booze and starting therapy. We left them in a good place before the timeskip.

      She could have reverted to that before Halloween, but I don’t think we’ve got any reason to think so.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      May 22, 2021 at 9:55 am | #

      I think there’s plenty of blame to be shared, but Billiefer deflected most of hers onto Ruth. (Probably through gaslighting or just reframing her own actions.)

  24. Eldritchy
    Eldritchy
    May 22, 2021 at 3:48 am | #

    Depression and self-loathing shipped with Social Looney Tunes Awkardness.
    This is gonna be wild.

  25. Juanoku
    Juanoku
    May 22, 2021 at 4:00 am | #

    Insert doom reference

  26. Farmer_10
    Farmer_10
    May 22, 2021 at 5:36 am | #

    Oh, Daisy. Wish you weren’t so fuckin awkward bud.

    • Azhrei Vep
      Azhrei Vep
      May 22, 2021 at 8:15 am | #

      Oh, Daisy. I’m so glad you’re so unbelievably awkward.

  27. Thomas
    Thomas
    May 22, 2021 at 5:41 am | #

    We’re two strips in and Daisy already assumes they’re in a relationship!
    Probably, she has a U-Haul parked outside as well.

  28. Varangian
    Varangian
    May 22, 2021 at 5:48 am | #

    Oh no they’re kind of cute.

  29. Keulen
    Keulen
    May 22, 2021 at 5:55 am | #

    This is going better than I expected so far, but I’m sure there’s still plenty of chances for one or both of them to fuck this up. Though I’m hoping Ruth and Daisy at least make it through this date okay.

  30. darkoneko
    darkoneko
    May 22, 2021 at 6:39 am | #

    No seriously, what the hell happened during Halloween ? 😀

    • Clif
      Clif
      May 22, 2021 at 11:10 am | #

      Something major it seems. Either that or Willis just sadistically enjoys dangling references to what we missed and can’t have in front of us.

      It’s hard to guess.

      • darkoneko
        darkoneko
        May 22, 2021 at 2:33 pm | #

        it seems to have broken at least 2 couples so far

        and…there’s always more halloween

        • King Daniel
          King Daniel
          May 22, 2021 at 4:38 pm | #

          Not in Dumbing of Age though, barring flashbacks or a timeskip that would put the (roughly) three months skipped between Season 1 and Season 2 to shame.

  31. milu
    milu
    May 22, 2021 at 7:16 am | #

    Ruth: fair warning, i’m a dumpster fire and i hate myself.
    Daisy: that’s cool, i’m a horndog with zero standards.
    *warm smiles*

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      May 22, 2021 at 9:24 am | #

      OTP material, right there.

      (No seriously, they’re both cute and deserve better than they had before.)

  32. Steve C.
    Steve C.
    May 22, 2021 at 7:55 am | #

    Wait until you get to 16 years. By then you will diffinately agree.

    • Steve C.
      Steve C.
      May 22, 2021 at 7:57 am | #

      Uh…that was directed at Delicious Taffy waaaayyy upthread. (I’l just show myself out)

  33. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    May 22, 2021 at 9:19 am | #

    Noting that the first two comments on this comic quickly divided the comments section into two camps: those who really don’t care what happened during Halloween, and those who REALLY DO care what happened during Halloween.

    Me, I just want to see the cast in costume. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      May 22, 2021 at 9:25 am | #

      Huh, I meant Sirksome’s and Wagstaff’s comments, which are actually second and third. Ana always ghosts in at #1, so my brain just kinda ignored them.

    • Jhon
      Jhon
      May 22, 2021 at 10:00 am | #

      I just wanna hear Willis carping about drawing costumes.

  34. Alex
    Alex
    May 22, 2021 at 10:42 am | #

    Against all odds I really want this to work.

  35. Darkseide
    Darkseide
    May 22, 2021 at 5:07 pm | #

    This could be a fun ship

  36. C.T. Phipps
    C.T. Phipps
    May 22, 2021 at 7:38 pm | #

    I support this ship because I am all about the anti-Ruth and Billie ship.

    LET IT BURN AND SINK.

    • RowenMorland
      RowenMorland
      May 22, 2021 at 8:54 pm | #

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXYM6-X8c3o

Who should be the default doodle for Book 14?

  • Jennifer (31%, 663 Votes)
  • Danny (11%, 238 Votes)
  • Jason (8%, 179 Votes)
  • Ethan (11%, 246 Votes)
  • Amber (27%, 584 Votes)
  • Jacob (12%, 253 Votes)

Total Voters: 2,163

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May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

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