The Dumbing of Age Book 15 Kickstarter continues! ... to explore our feelings
yes the magnet art's new, i redrew it
Joyce: DOROTHY!
Dorothy: THERE you are, Joyce! I was expecting you sooner.
Joyce: Oh, I had to... sort some things out with JOE, still. We hadn't yet had a proper TALK.
Dorothy: That's encouraging to hear! I'm glad that you two are still interacting. I prefer to remain on amicable terms with all MY exes.
Dorothy: Now, what did you two talk about? Or is it not any of my business?
Joyce: I told him that you RAILED ME.
Dorothy: I concede that that IS how one amicably interacts with Joe.
139 thoughts on “Amicable terms”
NGPZ
re: alt-text
Joe WOULD be the kind to know sexy talk in a wide variety of languages, wouldn’t he? (˵ ¬ᴗ¬˵)
Astariel
It’s nice to see that Dorothy supports Joyce being on good terms with Joe, despite her issues with him in the past.
Everything about the last panel is perfect, especially Joyce’s big grin.
IntangibleMatter
Joyce, I get what you mean, but I’m like 90% sure that what you’ve done with Dorothy does not include her having “railed” you.
If for no other reason than I doubt either of you has a strap-on.
Manticore
Where do you get one? Joyce is a size 6.
KtBear
That was so bad I laughed. Out loud even.
Silphael
I’m also pretty sure everything so far has implied Joyce was the top, so would have been the one doing the railing.
Steamweed
Carla’s gonna have to lend her elite engineering skills, once again, isn’t she.
Sajuuk-Khar
Can Carla make a strap-on out of milk jugs that is functionally enjoyable? Science must know the answer.
BarerMender
Yeah, there is the notable absence of a rail.
ZombieKyrik
At least Joe will have the lasting title of “Best Wingman” even if it is a consolation prize, right?
Amós Batista
Well, Joyce looks fine…
Corey C.
As I said before, with Joe officially out of the picture, Joyce can give 100% of her heart to Dorothy and their relationship should be smooth sailing straight to the altar, when Joyce becomes Mrs. Keener.
I mean, I’m sure Joyce’s mom wouldn’t approve, but she’s gotten so bonkers that I don’t even think she’d be invited to the wedding.
Dot
This would be a great time for Danny to show up
Pocky
Who?
Cholma
I think they meant Ken. Or maybe Ryo? Vega? Oh, wait. Wrong Walkyverse comic. Sorry.
Jeff K!
No, M Bison is in this comic too – he works at Galasso’s, I think.
Sajuuk-Khar
You know, the guy with the thing on his head, and the music…
someone
That’s some weird fan nickname for the character officially known as Wonderbread.
EpochFlame
i don’t think dorothy is on good terms with her exes rn lmao
clif
Depends on what you mean by good terms I guess. They aren’t actively plotting to take each other down. Danny was willing to lend his shoes in a pinch and Walky and Dorothy haven’t had an opportunity to converse post “breakup.” It should be interesting when it happens.
Now personally, I think Dorothy should play the “You didn’t take Joyce seriously?” card just to see what Walky would do, but that’s because I’m a bad person.
Bill Erak
hmmmmm miscommunication and deflection, nom nom nom, delicious
Pocky
I do so love cute headbonks.
nadamás
God I missed seeing them together.
EpochFlame
seems joyce resolves her lack of skill at lying with lying by omission. *grabs popcorn*
Mitzi B.
Eventually she’ll learn how to not dramatically look to the side while lying, and then she’ll be unstoppable!
DiDi
Does that mean Dorothy is still holding out that Walky and her can remain buddies??
He seems to generally be chill about it, aside from snapping at Joyce basking in her afterglow in everyone else’s faces that one time.
But he is pretty occupied with Amber. Plus he messed with Danny again regarding having common exes. So perhaps it’s no longer on his radar.
Suppose it’ll really depend when Walky and Dorothy see each other again. IF they do.
dinerkinetic
the first time she dumped him he was pretty upset. I can’t imagine this would be better, given the circumstnaces.
Daibhid C
I remember him being upset. I also think I remember him saying he didn’t blame her for making that decision and if anything he was pleasantly surprised it lasted as long as it did and he didn’t actually screw it up. But navigating the archive is a nightmare right now, so ICBW.
(Wait, how many times have Walky and Dorothy been dating — now I have the feeling that the time I’m thinking of might not have been the last time they broke up?)
Astariel
Let’s see, they briefly broke up after a fight about Walky wearing pajama jeans, but that only lasted a few hours until Joyce (!) yelled at Walky until they got back together. Then they went on a break so Dorothy could focus on her studies, but they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other, so they broke up for real. That was the last one before this latest break up due to Joyce and Dorothy getting together.
Icalasari
Bit sad we didn’t get one more strip with Sal. But my favourite current Disaster Lesbian Pair is back so that’s always fun :3
(Top favourite will always be Ruth/Billie though)
Qube
in some things, dorothy, you concede too easily
QueenofSodor
joyce’s shit-eating grin in that last panel might be the second-best thing in the known universe
(the first-best thing in the known universe is the tender little headbonk they share starting in the panel before)
clif
As is well known, the first-best thing in the known universe is Carla.
redcaela
Somber one minute, then you see your beloved and the giddy clown pathway of your autonomic nervous system activates. Never fails.
Li
I dunno, I think Dorothy can honestly and genuinely prefer to remain on amicable terms with her exes and still not have a 100% success rate at it.
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Also she and Danny were eventually “amicable” — not friends, really, but amicable. She and Walky were awkward for a while, but then seem to have become friends, albeit with complications…
.
I dunno, I must be missing something, heh.
Li
Like. Amicable is not a very strong word. When you’re talking about an ex, amicable terms doesn’t describe a deep friendship, it describes a lack of active hostility. Hence: “I’m glad you’re still interacting!”
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Whether Dorothy would be glad to see Joe and Joyce still be friends or whether it would make her feel insecure is as-of-yet unexplored, because her sentiment here is so mild.
clif
I feel like the phrase “friends with complications” has a future.
Li
Haha! Thanks.
.
It’s like the opposite of benefits. You both want to still be friends but things are unavoidably Weird, Unfortunately.
zee
Yeah I prefer not to be dogshit at arcade rhythm games, ig me and dotty both have a sub 50% hit rate
Daibhid C
Nope, she was too busy desperately trying to drag Joyce out of the room.
Li
Plus I mean, is she even batting less than 50%? Danny was annoyed by her question and then more annoyed by the news of what she and Joyce had done to their boyfriends, but neither has anything to do with his own breakup with her.
.
And so far Walky has expressed irritation with Joyce for how she interceded in Dorothy’s breakup with him, but not resentment of Dorothy.
Big Z
Honestly, as far as I can tell, Dorothy’s apparent desire to remain on good terms with her exes is like, I dunno, my desire to get back into a weightlifting routine for my upper body.
I have every intention of doing so. It would be a very nice thing to do and in keeping with my self image. And, crucially, I take very few active steps to actually make it happen. :D
On camera, at least, she doesn’t much interact with Danny and only keeps on as good terms as she does with Walky because she doesn’t seem to know how to quit him even if he DOESN’T fit her self-image and he’s willing to put up with that due to his own issues.
Li
I dunno, I think Dorothy is also on better terms with both her on-panel exes than she’s either giving herself credit for (because again her actual statement here was very careful and precise and mild) or being given credit for by us.
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Like, she and Danny didn’t become close friends, no. But did he seem to dislike her afterwards? Has he ever had a bad thing to say about her, prior to “she’s making the rest of us bis look bad”?
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Same with Walky: has he ever had an unkind word for Dorothy? Do we really think he would have an unkind word for her now? So far, he has reserved what animosity he feels like expressing for Joyce (and, kind of, himself).
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Like. I think it would be very fair to say that Dorothy is lucky to be on as good of terms with her exes as she is. And I’m really looking forward to her next conversation with Danny, because I expect it to surprise at least Dorothy if not also all of us.
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Also: “not fitting Dorothy’s self-image” is driving a lot of Dorothy’s behavior, but I don’t really think it’s why she broke up with Walky.
thejeff
I’d say her current status with Walky is on hold until we see them interact or at least until he says something explicit about her.
Honestly for both him and Joe it’s kind of awkward since a part of their reasons for being less upset than they might be is their own low self-esteem – feeling that they weren’t good enough for their partners.
I’d really like to see Walky frame being upset with Dorothy as “I deserved better”, but I doubt he’s yet in a place to do that.
It’s also easier to at least claim the moral high ground of trying to be amicable when you’re the one who did the dumping. Like, you’re not the one who got hurt (unless obviously you’re dumping them because they did hurtful things).
Big Z
I think we’re in general agreement here, in terms of Dorothy having reasonably amicable relationships with both of her exes mostly out of luck rather than by any actual effort on her part.
It might well be an interesting thing somewhere along the line, if she and Joyce ever break up, for Joyce to NOT be essentially okay with it and give Dorothy something to think about here. (the same could be achieved with Walky deciding to object to the way she’s treated him in the past, I think, but only if he does so soon.)
Big Z
RE: Dorothy’s self-image and Walky — I think several of her interactions and the PREVIOUS breakup with Walky could be characterized as being driven by her own self-image, but definitely not the current breakup (driven as it was by her awakening desires for Joyce, instead).
thejeff
I don’t see it for the previous break up. Maybe in the sense that her self-image was “future President via perfect grades” and time with him was distracting her from those grades, but not because she didn’t see him as fitting her image.
Li
@thejeff: re: “reserving judgment on Dorothy’s current relationship status with Walky until we see them interact — 100% fair! I’m placing my bet on Walky not really being upset with her. I would, frankly, be happy enough for him if he’s JUST able to not blame himself for this breakup and characterize it as a fourth time he “dated a girl who was too good for him and ruined it”, because that’s how he keeps talking about these breakups, and it’s tremendously unfair to him.
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@Big Z: I I just don’t think that’s why she broke up with him! I think that apart from like two sitcom-y incidents, she actively loved his “goofy” vibe. She just also very much felt like she needed to break up with him — and indeed give up ALL her hobbies and “distractions” and things that made her remotely happy — in order to get her grades back up.
Big Z
I recognize it’s hair-splitting, but “I am the perfect student; I am going to get to transfer to a better school on my journey towards Madame President” is kinda what I am referring to as “Dorothy’s self-image” here — at the time she was very much determined to chase that dream, and “having a happy-go-lucky goof of a boyfriend” was one of many things that had to go.
Li
But I just don’t think that’s true! We disagree. Which is fine. :) I think her self-image was perfectly compatible with watching goofy cartoons and having a carefree boyfriend, but when her grades started slipping, she panicked and overcorrected.
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Like, do you think reporting on Amazi-Girl was also not part of her self-image? Because she also dropped that.
Bryy
Brown chicken brown cow. omg i just realized joyce is joyce brown.
Yotomoe
I can’t even genuinely point out that Dorothy does not seem to be on amicable terms with either of her exes without getting deleted? This moderation here certainly feels overboard. And I know this comment here won’t stick around but I have to say it. I can understand Wanting to fight off the negativity and over-criticism but deleting someone discussing the comic and the dynamic of the characters within it, even in a negative way shouldn’t be deleted just because it’s negative. If I was criticizing Mike for being a jerk or Joe being a perv I think it’s a comment warranted making. Dorothy claiming she’s amicable with her exes while not actually being very amicable with her exes is a valid character criticism. It may even be intentional by the author. It’s a really alienating experience.
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Yotomoe
I can sympathize with the idea that something had to be done but this whole thing is genuinely depressing and makes me feel like shit. This isn’t just frustration. I have never felt as unwanted as part of this fandom as I do now. I hate that this is the emotion we are now cultivating in the comment section. The negativity may be getting deleted but it’s still seeping through in the deletions. This is just as depressing as the worst argument chains.
Doopyboop
I hope you feel better Yotomoe. *internet hug*
Allen Alberti
Hard agree in every way
Wack'd
The problem wasn’t that you were pointing out that she’s not on amicable terms. The problem was that it was more character-callout behavior: “Dorothy, your current girlfriend pointed and laughed in your most recent ex’s face and you haven’t spoken to him since. Not a text. Not a call.” This sort of litigation, just pointing out mean things these dumb teens have done to each other, is something I’m trying to cut down on. People “just pointing out” that characters have fucked up, with no further context or analysis, is one of the first things I wanted to clear out.
I’m sorry you’re feeling alienated and that I’m the cause. Folks here love your art and love seeing you around. I generally try not to start metadiscourse by getting into specific things I’ve deleted, but I hope knowing there was a reason beyond “it’s negative” helps.
NGPZ
like I said I think having the new rules posted somewhere would REALLY help build trust here
not exactly easy for people to follow them when they don’t even know where to reference them :/
Wack'd
yeah okay i’ll talk to willis about putting together a formal post
one with comments locked so that i personally do not become the subject of endless insults, arguments, and petty threats
(can you understand why maybe i am hesistant to make public proclomations)
NGPZ
yeah my condolences, in any case your position is not one I envy 👀
kdmw
I mean, there’s already the About/Read Before Posting page. Couldn’t that just be updated?
eh, whatever
I mean, there’s already the About/Read Before Posting page. Couldn’t that just be updated?
“Read before posting” is exactly where I expect rules to be!
Dot
I’m sympathetic to not wanting to become a public whipping girl but having a clear, concise, and easily-accessible set of rules for discussion is, I would assume, a bare minimum standard for having any sort of forum for public posting.
Doopyboop
I think the issue with that reasoning is that part of a comment’s section is gonna be people commenting on what’s happening in the strip. If Joyce said something like “I love to mix all my foods together in a giant bowl and eat it in a messy mush” and a commenter replies “Joyce, you don’t like that at all, you’re telling a fib”, it’s not litigation, it’s still engaging with the goings on of the strip. I mean, you’re the mod so you can certainly run things how you see fit, but I do disagree with certain lines that are being drawn in the sand because it feels less like a comment section where people can… you know, comment on the comic, and instead just nothing. I’ve been commenting on this comic for years and I enjoy the back and forth with people even when I get a bit frustrated. I’m not really gonna comment much anymore though.
Wack'd
i think there’s a difference between what you’re describing and, say, if this hypothetical food lie happened a year ago and all the comments were like “god, joyce is such a liar. it’s so awful how she claimed to mix all her foods together” any time joyce showed up or mentioned food
Shepsquared
How is anyone meant to discuss Dorothy and Walky without referring to something that happened months ago when that as the last time they interacted? It’s been a year and a month since Dorothy and Danny spoke, are we not meant to discuss anything about Danny because of that? Because he’s Dorothy’s other ex and was implicitely mentioned in this comic.
Wack'd
just pointing out a character did a bad thing is not a discussion
i will not be litigating this further. i broke “no metadiscussions” containment specifically because yomotoe being sad made me sad and this is the end of it.
Yotomoe
I mean, those “mean things” are just the plain text of the comic. Dorothy, as of late, hasn’t expressed much of an interest in talking to Walky post-breakup. And the breakup itself was pretty harsh towards Walky. This isn’t a “call-out”. I’m not here to say she’s some sort of evil monster. But I do think it’s noteworthy that she hasn’t put much effort into reaching out to Walky in any way (in the text at least) since their break up, despite her claims of wanting to remain on “amicable terms” she hasn’t done much to form that kind of amicable connection to Walky. I am observing the hypocrisy of that statement, and then using examples of her behavior to further cement why I find that statement to be hypocritical.
Which, with the comic itself being named “amicable terms”, and the reality that Dorothy is not currently on good terms with Walky OR Danny may very well be discussed within the next few strips for all I know.
I can understand that people can be hyper-critical of Dorothy and Joyce. They’re very divisive. But I genuinely think cracking down on any discussion of flaws they have with deletions without telling people WHY they were deleted makes posting here feel truly awful. I think when you’re moderating like this it’s better to try to guide conversations away from getting too extreme and argumentative. Warn people if they start getting too personal about Willis, or if their arguments aren’t relevant commentary on the day’s comic. But within a narrative where characters have flaws, and often times are jerks to each other. And where the audience WILL have divisive opinions ON those characters, Deleting evidence based criticism of those characters just cuz it comes off as a call-out really limits any discussion that isn’t just surface level praise. Which is a level of toxic positivity that makes posting here feel like you’re constantly walking on eggshells.
I understand that you’re reacting with extreme discretion in response to how chaotic the comment section has been this past year, but I’m pleading with you to loosen the reins a bit. I have been posting on this comment since I was 18. 13 straight years. I don’t want to be chased off the site. But I’ve already felt as if the only place I can discuss this comic is on other sites because of the heartbreaking, soul shattering feeling of having my posts deleted. I know deleting posts you don’t like is easy and might feel good but it’s really hurting the morale here. Healthy discussion can have criticism of the characters or their actions, and some people hate characters others love.
I like Walky but I know some people hate him passionately, but I would rather hear their arguments for why they hate him than see their comments deleted. I want to be able to discuss the comic, for better or worse (within reason) and these recent deletions make that feel impossible.
Doopyboop
I honestly don’t even know what I can say anymore for fear that it’s just gonna get deleted but know that I support you, I think you’ve got the right idea of it, and I hope you feel better.
Yotomoe
Thank you, Doop. You can hit me up on discord if you want! I’m yotomoe everywhere.
zee
Fully with you on this one, brother
PilkScientist
Why would Walky want to talk with Dorothy enough that it’d deserve a comic about it, they broke up like 4 days ago, and Walky is vocal about how he handles negative emotions by stewing alone. Like. Why would either of them talk right now.
It sounds like you’re asking to see an interaction that’d boil down to Dorothy sending a curated meme, and Walky ignoring it because he’s kinda tied up at the moment, and then nothing of consequence happens, just to allow Dorothy to say her relationships, which have never ended in a fight or long-term conflict, ended amicably.
I’ve been around in the comments about as long, even if I never posted much and certainly didn’t under this name. I’ve known your username & pfp since I was like 14. If you gotta take a break or dwell less on the comic to do it, then I hope you can be back soon, but…. it’s gotten kinda out of hand. It may be time to chill out a little.