Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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May 12, 2026

Learned

by David M Willis on March 14, 2013 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - Guess Who's Coming to Galasso's
└ Tags: dorothy, ethan, joyce, walky

Discussion (129) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. asdsadas
    asdsadas
    March 14, 2013 at 12:01 am | #

    Joyce… Face Palm

    • Theozilla
      Theozilla
      March 14, 2013 at 12:18 am | #

      The specific variety of face palm known as the “Joyce Palm”.

      • TPman
        TPman
        March 14, 2013 at 12:46 am | #

        Inner wrist to chin cleft.
        Clasp forehead.
        Slide hand down face.
        For added effect repeat immediately, alternating hands back and forth.

        • Cooledd
          Cooledd
          March 14, 2013 at 1:21 am | #

          Pressure is also key

          • MrSmiley
            MrSmiley
            March 14, 2013 at 6:57 am | #

            The doctor recommends proceeding to pull out your hair afterwards.

            • BrokenEye, True False Prophet
              BrokenEye, True False Prophet
              September 19, 2015 at 12:27 am | #

              You sure? ‘Cause my doctor told me to stop doing that

        • Anonymous
          Anonymous
          March 14, 2013 at 10:11 am | #

          Really!? I’ve been doing it wrong this entire time! I’ve just been slapping my hand to cover the eyes/nose/cheekbones area while groaning!

          • Deimir
            Deimir
            March 14, 2013 at 5:25 pm | #

            I’m more of a “Palm of hand applied directly to forehead with sufficient force to create a light clapping sound” kind of guy.

            • Andiemus
              Andiemus
              March 14, 2013 at 10:01 pm | #

              im a “pinch the bridge of my nose” guy, myself.

    • mathiasmindblade
      mathiasmindblade
      March 14, 2013 at 8:13 pm | #

      *facedesk*

      • Erika Hammerschmidt
        Erika Hammerschmidt
        March 14, 2013 at 11:11 pm | #

        facekeyboard m,nmvxh.c m/n,.v;’88k,.

  2. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    March 14, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

    “Were you in the same bathroom I was?” =|

  3. Tagg
    Tagg
    March 14, 2013 at 12:02 am | #

    We still have some work to do apparently.

  4. David Herbert
    David Herbert
    March 14, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    Back to the ladies room for another conversation. And maybe more hugs.

  5. Uniqueantique
    Uniqueantique
    March 14, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    That’s our Joyce.

    • Newsman
      Newsman
      March 14, 2013 at 12:13 am | #

      *cue sitcom theme song*

      • BananaDemocracy
        BananaDemocracy
        March 14, 2013 at 1:16 am | #

        *cue How I Met Your Mother theme*

      • Rognik
        Rognik
        March 14, 2013 at 1:30 am | #

        So… do we do the Everyone Ends Laughing now, or after the theme song starts?

      • Tucker
        Tucker
        March 14, 2013 at 7:40 am | #

        “I’m no Superman!”

        • Farmer_10
          Farmer_10
          March 14, 2013 at 9:10 am | #

          “It takes, Diff’rent Strokes to move the world!”

          • Tucker
            Tucker
            March 14, 2013 at 7:14 pm | #

            “Charles in Charge…!”

    • mathiasmindblade
      mathiasmindblade
      March 14, 2013 at 8:21 pm | #

      Who else but Quagmire?

  6. Sensedog
    Sensedog
    March 14, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    Clearly, Mike is needed for this situation.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      March 14, 2013 at 12:22 am | #

      He would be, but there’s a blondness ratio we’ve got to keep under control.

      • Resne
        Resne
        March 14, 2013 at 2:52 am | #

        We do have Dina. Sometimes.

      • Andiemus
        Andiemus
        March 14, 2013 at 10:28 pm | #

        What? Dorothy is the only blond.

        • Rognik
          Rognik
          March 15, 2013 at 1:38 am | #

          actually, joyce is a dirty blonde.

  7. NCP19
    NCP19
    March 14, 2013 at 12:03 am | #

    I misread that last line as closet. Well, I guess I just assumed that’s where this conversation is going.

    • Bearfuz
      Bearfuz
      March 14, 2013 at 12:25 am | #

      I think that misreading is Freudian. I certainly wanted that word to be there, too. And therein lies the Willis-style irony, I think, with Ethan in the room.

      • Rognik
        Rognik
        March 14, 2013 at 1:31 am | #

        OR, NCP19 could be British and thought they left the water closet.

        • Groove
          Groove
          March 14, 2013 at 4:44 am | #

          Because that’s totally what we call it. All the time.

          • Matthew Davis
            Matthew Davis
            March 14, 2013 at 1:21 pm | #

            Half-English gravitar adds extra gravitas to your words, Groove.

  8. Wonder Wig
    Wonder Wig
    March 14, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    Oh Joyce, often you remind me that you like Twilight.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      March 14, 2013 at 12:22 am | #

      And why I dislike aforementioned series and fans there of.

    • Rognik
      Rognik
      March 14, 2013 at 1:32 am | #

      Isn’t the Twilight author a mormon, and used vampirism as an allegory for sex? That’s what I’ve heard. I’ve managed to avoid too much infection from the series.

      • Groove
        Groove
        March 14, 2013 at 4:50 am | #

        I’m pretty sure vampirism is more akin to marriage. Since he won’t have sex before she’s a vampire, and they won’t get married until after she’s a vampire aswell, so it’s kind of like an engagement? Also women will tempt you and will lead to everyone trying to kill each other.

        It’s stupid is what I’m trying to say.

        • Led
          Led
          March 14, 2013 at 5:49 am | #

          Well actually she would die if they had sex before she’s a vampire, if I understood correctly… We discussed it in my literature class at university.

          Our teacher said one of her earlier students worked with women who were in abusive relationships and that they had a list of 10 questions to ask those women to determine if the relationship was abusive or not… The relation between Bella and Edward apparently fit ALL of those 10 questions.

          • vsophi
            vsophi
            March 14, 2013 at 8:55 am | #

            Actually no, Edward and Bella have sex before Bella becomes a vampire. In fact, they get married first, because Edward refused to boink her without a license. After arriving at the Cullens’ extravagant summer home (because they are obscenely rich), Edward then proceeds to ruin the bed and bruise her entire body in the throes of passion, which he feels guilty about, but Bella reassures him is fine (it’s almost like Bella’s corrupting him and not the other way around… actually, it’s not almost, it’s exactly like that).

            She’s turned into a vampire in the middle of giving birth (after being impregnated by Edward’s alarmingly viable sperm) so she won’t die, because the baby is about the size of a toddler in there iirc, and also has been eating her from the inside out.

            …Yeah, I actually read the whole series. I wanted to a) judge it for myself, b) be able to explain it and how fucked up it is just for situations like this one.

            • Regalli
              Regalli
              March 14, 2013 at 9:35 am | #

              And the summer home is on an island that they own. THEY OWN AN ISLAND. WHY are they still going to high school? They own a fucking ISLAND!

              The baby’s a normal infant when born, I believe, she just grows ridiculously fast. I believe it’s that Bella dies because a) the entire pregnancy lasted a MONTH, which probably wreaked havoc on her internal organs in addition to the aforementioned eating her from the inside out thing, and b) when she goes into labor it BREAKS HER SPINE.

              Yeah, same as you. It’s so fun being able to explain some of the more horrifying sections. Anyway, yeah. Pre-marital vampirism is basically entwined with pre-marital hanky-panky in a few disturbing and nonsensical ways.

              • Andiemus
                Andiemus
                March 14, 2013 at 12:45 pm | #

                Can we all just say “screw that series and everything it stands for” and move on.

                • vsophi
                  vsophi
                  March 14, 2013 at 2:11 pm | #

                  I dunno, I think Twilight brings to the surface a lot of interesting cultural and social dynamics in media, particularly those that (attempt to) appeal to females. It’s incredibly popular for several reasons, and it’s fascinating examining them.

                • Roborat
                  Roborat
                  March 14, 2013 at 2:53 pm | #

                  Just thank your lucky stars that they are not talking about 50 shades of dreck.

                • Andiemus
                  Andiemus
                  March 14, 2013 at 3:29 pm | #

                  Yes, Roborat, 50 shits is worse, but it started as twilight fan fiction. Without twilight this never happens.

              • vsophi
                vsophi
                March 14, 2013 at 2:03 pm | #

                Ah, thanks for filling in the blanks. It’s been years since I finished the series.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          March 15, 2013 at 3:25 pm | #

          Yes, Andiemus, I know. Something ironic about two of the most horrible literary works ever being related.

  9. timemonkey
    timemonkey
    March 14, 2013 at 12:05 am | #

    They were discussing their first kisses with boys, Ethan, your thoughts and experience on the matter would be welcome.

    • Valdrax
      Valdrax
      March 14, 2013 at 12:09 am | #

      Winner of the comments section for tonight. Everyone else can go home.

      • Khrene Cleaver
        Khrene Cleaver
        March 14, 2013 at 12:29 am | #

        Aww man I just got here… Man this is almost as bad as when the internet ended because of this.

        • Groove
          Groove
          March 14, 2013 at 4:51 am | #

          Amazing. Thank you.

    • Pat
      Pat
      March 14, 2013 at 1:24 am | #

      I don’t understand. With whom else would a first kiss be?

      • vsophi
        vsophi
        March 14, 2013 at 8:56 am | #

        …a girl? That’s who my first was with, anyway.

        • Andiemus
          Andiemus
          March 14, 2013 at 12:43 pm | #

          With whom else would JOYCE’S first kiss be?

          • John
            John
            March 14, 2013 at 6:18 pm | #

            Dorothy?

            • Andiemus
              Andiemus
              March 14, 2013 at 9:05 pm | #

              Not if dorothy has anything to say about it.

        • mathiasmindblade
          mathiasmindblade
          March 14, 2013 at 8:11 pm | #

          My first kiss cost me $128 and I didn’t even get laid.

          • Andiemus
            Andiemus
            March 14, 2013 at 9:59 pm | #

            Vice cops: the friendly neighborhood cockblockers.

  10. Ridureyu
    Ridureyu
    March 14, 2013 at 12:06 am | #

    No, that’s totally what she learned.

    Now, if she starts getting mad at Ethan because of things she dreamed, then we’ll really have my college experience!

    • Rognik
      Rognik
      March 14, 2013 at 1:34 am | #

      Considering her last dream about Ethan, she’s about one step away from it now.

  11. Narf
    Narf
    March 14, 2013 at 12:07 am | #

    And lo, Joyce did strike a mighty blow for the forces of selective perception! Hi-YAH! 😛

  12. Count Dracula
    Count Dracula
    March 14, 2013 at 12:11 am | #

    Joyce keeps reminding Ethan that he is a boy. Does she think he forgets?

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      March 14, 2013 at 12:20 am | #

      I like to think her Gaydar is going off, but she doesn’t have enough experience to know what it means. Or is just in denial.

      “Hmm, he keeps checking out Walky’s butt. He must have momentarily forgot that he is a boy.”

      • DEG1377
        DEG1377
        March 14, 2013 at 12:29 am | #

        That’s MY excuse!

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        March 14, 2013 at 12:36 am | #

        Though he could excuse that as forgetting that WALKY is a boy.

        • Yotomoe
          Yotomoe
          March 14, 2013 at 12:40 am | #

          He’s simply confusing Walky for Sal. He keeps forgetting which is the one with long hair.

          • Rognik
            Rognik
            March 14, 2013 at 1:35 am | #

            This is why Ethan should be a breast man. Walky’s chest isn’t as impressive as Sal’s.

            • Plasma Mongoose
              Plasma Mongoose
              March 14, 2013 at 2:49 am | #

              So gays are just ass men who decided that guys asses just look better? Sounds sciency enough to me.

          • Doctor_who
            Doctor_who
            March 14, 2013 at 8:31 am | #

            I think Sal causes Joyce to forget that she’s a girl.

            • mathiasmindblade
              mathiasmindblade
              March 14, 2013 at 8:03 pm | #

              Worst or best case scenario? Lesbian Atheist Joyce created from a rebellion against everything she’s been taught.

  13. Audiophillie
    Audiophillie
    March 14, 2013 at 12:39 am | #

    I love Dorothy’s face in the first panel.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      March 14, 2013 at 12:41 am | #

      Hiding behind a booth?

      • Audiophillie
        Audiophillie
        March 14, 2013 at 12:42 am | #

        She looks like a “ceiling cat” type eavesdropper…

    • DEG1377
      DEG1377
      March 14, 2013 at 12:41 am | #

      Yes, we can see that…

    • Audiophillie
      Audiophillie
      March 14, 2013 at 12:43 am | #

      Holy crap, I didn’t even read the alt-text before saying this! That’s freaking awesome.

  14. Orion Fury
    Orion Fury
    March 14, 2013 at 12:42 am | #

    Dina, Nth panel: ‘Ninja’

  15. ridtom
    ridtom
    March 14, 2013 at 12:44 am | #

    1 step forward and 10 backward saumersaults for Joyce

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      March 14, 2013 at 10:55 am | #

      She is the queen of mental gymnastics.

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        March 14, 2013 at 11:19 am | #

        Is that on top of being Queen of the Drunks?

        Should we just accept that eventually Joyce will be Queen of Everything?

        • mathiasmindblade
          mathiasmindblade
          March 14, 2013 at 8:07 pm | #

          Maybe. I can see Joyce and Dorothy competing for the presidency someday.

  16. SUGauthor
    SUGauthor
    March 14, 2013 at 12:56 am | #

    Maybe she’s just telling Ethan that’s what they learned because she’s not ready to tell him the truth?

  17. Brian Lynch
    Brian Lynch
    March 14, 2013 at 12:57 am | #

    Did they leave Dina in there?

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      March 14, 2013 at 2:51 am | #

      No, she’s just watching from a hidden panel in the ceiling.

      • Andiemus
        Andiemus
        March 14, 2013 at 12:42 pm | #

        Ceiling Dina is watching you conversate.

      • mathiasmindblade
        mathiasmindblade
        March 14, 2013 at 8:00 pm | #

        Sneaky Ninja is sneaky. Dina of the hidden leaf.

  18. bunivasal
    bunivasal
    March 14, 2013 at 1:17 am | #

    I finally figure out who Joyce reminds me of. The 1970s!

    • Plasma Mongoose
      Plasma Mongoose
      March 14, 2013 at 3:02 am | #

      She certainly drresses like she’s from that era.

  19. JoeMerl
    JoeMerl
    March 14, 2013 at 1:19 am | #

    Dina: It isn’t?

  20. Kensou
    Kensou
    March 14, 2013 at 1:30 am | #

    Now Joyce, I’m sure you actually learned that far, FAR earlier than this most recent trip to the washroom…

  21. Rognik
    Rognik
    March 14, 2013 at 1:37 am | #

    …And she’s back. Phew! For a second there, I thought Joyce was going to get character development and grow as a person! Good thing we dodged that bullet. (Disclaimer: I’m insulting Joyce, not Willis’s wrting.)

    • timemonkey
      timemonkey
      March 14, 2013 at 8:18 am | #

      That comment would work better if Joyce didn’t get character development all the damned time. She’s the most developed character in the comic.

      • begbert2
        begbert2
        March 14, 2013 at 10:57 am | #

        Half the development is defining her as a fundamentalist psycho rather than changing her out of being one, though.

        • timemonkey
          timemonkey
          March 14, 2013 at 11:22 am | #

          It’s been, what, three weeks? She’s shown amazing growth and acceptance towards others she was taught were bad considering her sheltered upbringing.

          • begbert2
            begbert2
            March 14, 2013 at 3:34 pm | #

            Actually, she’s shown surprising pre-existing acceptance of people and lifestyles she was taught were bad, right from the start. It’s often overshadowed by the painfully horrible things she is prone to saying, but her response to the concept of lesbians was merely hoping she didn’t have to be one to be in her women’s studies class, and her response to atheism was mind-broke hiccups, which is FAR from the worst response fundamentals have had to nonbelievers. For a home-grown fundy, she’s amazingly non-evil, sufficiently so that her evil aspects seem all the worse for it. (As opposed to a cardboard fundy, who can be readily dismissed.) The only things she’s reacted really badly to are pre-marital hanky-panky and Walky. Well, and rapists, but I don’t hold that one against her.

            I actually haven’t seen a whole lot of growth in her towards acceptance in these three weeks she’s experienced; the growth I think your seeing apparently happened before the comic’s start.

            • timemonkey
              timemonkey
              March 14, 2013 at 5:49 pm | #

              The fact that she’s so open and willing to allow her viewpoint to expand and change is a reason to love her. She sometimes says stupid things, she’s aware she does and is actively trying to stop doing so but lacks the experience to know which things those are. And those few times she’s crossed a line she’s been told off for it.

              • Andiemus
                Andiemus
                March 14, 2013 at 9:04 pm | #

                But that’s not character development, so Rognik’s original complaint is valid.

                • SUGauthor
                  SUGauthor
                  March 14, 2013 at 9:33 pm | #

                  She has had character development, she’s on a date with a boy and she didn’t hire mike to punch him every time he stares at walky.

              • Rognik
                Rognik
                March 15, 2013 at 1:58 am | #

                OK, I think I should point out again that I wasn’t attacking Joyce as a person, just like I said I wasn’t attacking Willis’s writing. Joyce is a good person, and I love her for it, but so far she is amazingly quick to snap back. So it was never meant to seem like an attack; she just snaps back to this neutral place. Her clinging to this trait is at once her best and worst trait. So before I let this fester, or I start feeling guilty or whatever, let me just say it was supposed to be a silly joke and please just take it in the spirit it was meant. Thank you, and good night.

      • Roborat
        Roborat
        March 14, 2013 at 2:57 pm | #

        Yes, she does have some impressive sweater puppies.
        .
        .
        .
        What?

        • mathiasmindblade
          mathiasmindblade
          March 14, 2013 at 8:08 pm | #

          I think her name was June, cause she was busting out all over.

  22. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    March 14, 2013 at 1:53 am | #

    Well, I think we all learned a lesson from this. And that would be… um…

    Okay, so we didn’t actually learn anything.

    • Wack'd
      Wack'd
      March 14, 2013 at 3:20 pm | #

      Live and don’t learn, that’s us.

      • Rognik
        Rognik
        March 15, 2013 at 1:58 am | #

        We learned that some people are actually turned on by snot in their mouths?

        RULE 34!

  23. Ross_Varn
    Ross_Varn
    March 14, 2013 at 2:51 am | #

    AND I’M ANGRY AGAIN DANGIT JOYCE

  24. Raen
    Raen
    March 14, 2013 at 3:57 am | #

    …”soon”?

  25. Uncle Rylon
    Uncle Rylon
    March 14, 2013 at 4:21 am | #

    I think I’ve just spotted one of the fundamental ingredients to being a fundie. (sp? fundee? fundi? fundy?)

    • Andiemus
      Andiemus
      March 14, 2013 at 12:41 pm | #

      Fundie is how I always spell it.

      • Rognik
        Rognik
        March 15, 2013 at 1:59 am | #

        Or we could spend the extra 2 seconds to type out “fundamentalist” and not have this issue? Just a thought.

        • Slack One
          Slack One
          March 15, 2013 at 7:42 am | #

          All those extra letters don’t make it look nearly derogatory enough.

  26. Shem
    Shem
    March 14, 2013 at 8:31 am | #

    “Oh, Wheel of Morality, turn, turn, turn … tell us the lesson we should learn!”

    • Wack'd
      Wack'd
      March 14, 2013 at 3:15 pm | #

      Is it that time again?

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        March 14, 2013 at 6:03 pm | #

        To floss? To search for Elvis at the 7-11? To pad out the show? To make the FOX censors cry? To waste our lives?

        etc etc
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv6IWX1_XHQ

      • mathiasmindblade
        mathiasmindblade
        March 14, 2013 at 7:59 pm | #

        To make a googie?

    • Rognik
      Rognik
      March 15, 2013 at 2:00 am | #

      Moral number 23: “Tis better to have loved and lost, then to have bet it all in a poker game and lose your shirt.”

  27. ridtom
    ridtom
    March 14, 2013 at 9:47 am | #

    Wait was Ethan trying to hint at his homosexuality there? 1 Point to Ethandore!

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      March 14, 2013 at 10:58 am | #

      Yes. Only gay men talk about problems. The rest of us just crush cans on our foreheads.

      • Andiemus
        Andiemus
        March 14, 2013 at 12:41 pm | #

        While I see your point, I do think that’s what he was thinking of.

        • begbert2
          begbert2
          March 14, 2013 at 3:38 pm | #

          I’d say that’s ridiculous, expect that that’s exactly how Joyce understood it.

          • Andiemus
            Andiemus
            March 14, 2013 at 9:01 pm | #

            Oh, I thought you were mocking ridtom.

  28. Andiemus
    Andiemus
    March 14, 2013 at 12:46 pm | #

    TIL kissing is uniquely a girl problem.

    • Rognik
      Rognik
      March 15, 2013 at 2:01 am | #

      TIL kissing?

      • Andiemus
        Andiemus
        March 16, 2013 at 4:48 pm | #

        Today I learned.

        • David
          David M Willis
          March 16, 2013 at 4:51 pm | #

          TIL what TIL is.

  29. Memyself
    Memyself
    March 14, 2013 at 2:25 pm | #

    I just feel sad for this version of Ethan.

    • begbert2
      begbert2
      March 14, 2013 at 3:36 pm | #

      I’d feel sorrier for him if he hadn’t spent his last dozen or two appearances actively and intentionally digging himself deeper and deeper into a hole of his own making.

      • timemonkey
        timemonkey
        March 14, 2013 at 5:45 pm | #

        Yeah, he didn’t even really try before crawling back into the closet to hide. I mean, here he is, a big campus, probably plenty of gay or bi dudes for him to meet and try dating. But instead he just hangs out with Mike and occasionalyl Amber, whining and then giving up entirely.

        • Rognik
          Rognik
          March 15, 2013 at 2:10 am | #

          To be fair to Ethan, he’s not really in the closet per say, just in the closet by omission. Which I am quickly learning is just as bad, but for a different set of reasons. Up until the point that Joyce says she has a boyfriend in front of Ethan and he says nothing, this thing falls on his shoulders. But then this story arc would be over far too easily, and we can’t have that now, can we?

  30. mathiasmindblade
    mathiasmindblade
    March 14, 2013 at 7:56 pm | #

    “Something tells me everything is not going to be fine.” ~Twilight Sparkle

    • Alex Stritar
      Alex Stritar
      March 14, 2013 at 9:46 pm | #

      … Am I the only one now imagining Joyce turning into a magical princess upon graduation?

      • Rognik
        Rognik
        March 15, 2013 at 2:02 am | #

        Not any more. Thank you SO much for putting that thought into my head.

  31. Onion
    Onion
    April 29, 2016 at 1:04 am | #

    “Y’know, I was gonna joke, but ya know what…”

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