FOUR! FOUR DAYS LEFT! Ah! ah! ah! for the Dumbing of Age Book 15 Kickstarter!
Joyce: Amber was definitely in there! She totally was! I KNEW it! I CALLED it! Joyce H. Brown: Lesbian Love Sleuth! Or--Or Bisexual ...Buv? Sleuth? I guess?
Dorothy: ...well, I PREFER to be on good terms with my exes. Or is that just a selfish desire to make ME feel better about MYSELF?
Dorothy: Maybe I'd be a better person if I just let Walky hate me.
Joyce: I LOVE to watch your thoughts churn as you consider how to best care for other people.
Joyce: That you always did this WITHOUT being under threat from an invisible bearded guy is half the reason I'm the person I am now.
Joyce: The other half is your butt.
113 thoughts on “BBS”
IntangibleMatter
I mean according to the ever-increasing-in-popularity “transfem Walky” theory you were right the first time, Joyce. Might be able to keep that moniker yet.
QueenofSodor
dorothy will see a free dose of self-loathing on the table, ask “is anybody gonna pursue that,” and then not wait for an answer before mainlining it
(yes i know i posted this same comment yesterday, just look at what she’s saying in panel 4, jesus girl)
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(also, joyce is adorable in panels 1 and 5. that last face especially is priceless!)
QueenofSodor
…just realizing i meant to say panel 3, and to some extent panel 2. oops.
(not cursing out the edit function’s fickleness this time bc this one’s truly on me)
Chronos
That face is hilarious
Aura
Yeah but I mean. That’s just like normal. Right?
RassilonTDavros
Dumbing of Age Book Sixteen: The Other Half is Your Butt
clif
<3
NGPZ
BUTT wait there’s more XD
Sajuuk-Khar
BUTT WEIGHT: THERE’S MORE?
elebenty
But wait there. S’more?
clif
Butt weight from heavy smore’s.
OngoingConversation
Butt weight <= their s'mores
Wack'd
rules post
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replies will be deleted, posting this will stop sunday. it’s linked from my username now though
Astariel
I love slightly manic Joyce. And terminally horny Joyce.
Tan
This is the opposite of butts disease. Butts cure??
Jon
Imagine reading Joyce’s comment about the invisible bearded guy if you didn’t know about the (Americanized) Christian God.
He’s just some dude, his job is to be 1) invisible and 2) bearded.
Jon
Also don’t sell yourself short, Joyce! You are the way you are now (at least, your deconstruction) because of your own empathy and unwillingness to accept hate-driven contradictions! Dorothy may have catalyzed your change but you were the one making it!
Kinda reminds me in a weird way of Dorothy talking about the Humming Hymmel video. About how “all the good parts about me are because of God” broke her heart that Joyce believed that.
Might not be an intentional story beat, but it’s really interesting how Joyce is once again defaulting to that same mindset — “Dorothy is the most important thing in the world to me, thus I will center my sense of self around her, thus I will find a way to make her the architect of my college transformation.” Like Dorothy said before, she’s keeping the *ethos* of evangelical Christianity but swapping the nouns. I wonder if their relationship will explore that dynamic!
Take some credit for yourself, Joyce!
TrueSurvivor
Ohh, I hope they explore that dynamic. That is some very nice character analysis. I really like that idea.
marcus erronius
Dorothy being the way she is, despite being an atheist, is what helped Joyce realize that, just maybe, morals didn’t have to come from God! And probably made her realize her own morals came from within — at least, the morals she cared about.
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One of the first things my mother asked me, when I revealed to her that I was now an atheist, was “Then what’s the point of doing good?” Now, I don’t think my mom would turn into an awful person if she decided to stop believing in her god. Like her, many Christians have been brainwashed into believing they would be terrible people if not for their god keeping them in line. It’s hard for them to understand you can both not believe in a god, and be a good person at the same time.
CT Phipps
I stick with the idea of, “If you are doing good for a reward, you have misunderstood Christianity. The religion is built on being willing to endure incredible suffering to do good.”
Rachel
this hasn’t been my exact read on their relationship but it’s absolutely how I’m reading her character arc as a whole. every time she thinks “ok NOW I’ve excised all the garbage of my Christian fundie upbringing,” she does something that makes me go “uhhh you sure about that?”
TrueSurvivor
Shit, I knew Merlin was still out to get us! Look in retrospect swearing an oath of feality to Mordred was a bad idea, but he said I could have my share of the spoils and my sister said she wanted furtinture for her new banquet hall for Christmas, and it completely slipped my mind, but then I thought “hey King Arthur has a pretty sweet table”, and … I don’t know it was a whole thing. Anyway, I saw some guy throwing a sword into a lake like a dumbass, so I guess I’ll just go fish that out, see if I can pass it off to my stupid sister as decour for her stupid banquet hall.
Needfuldoer
You sure it’s not Dusty Hill smiling down on everyone who wears sunglasses?
Thing 2
I was once saying to a (non USA) Christian about being sexually faithful to partner because that was important to them, even tho I was open to open relationships. The listener expressed amazement that I could stick to that *despite* not being a Christian, when many Christians failed… Imagine! Having common sense despite the absence of an invisible bearded man!
deliverything
Is the Invisible Pink Unicorn the invisible bearded guy’s ponysona? Or IBG the IPU’s humansona?
Nick Piers
This is the second greatest Willis-created strip about butts.
Nothing tops (bottoms?) the Shortpacked one, though. It’s genuinely a work of art (fart?)
https://www.shortpacked.com/comic/butts
Justin8448
If I recall correctly, Willis did a butt-focused guest comic at Questionable Content that may top either of these, for shock value if nothing else (very NSFW). Unfortunately I can’t search for it or link to it because QC was hacked and is currently down.
It’s also possible that I’m misremembering the author of that comic.
Andy
I don’t think questionablecontent.net ever hosted nsfw, dispite the name. Maybe questionable, but I would say it crosses the nsfw line.
Steamweed
Lookin’ forward to that strip bein reprised with the DoA cast.
:D
Wack'd
dorothy is in the extreme minimum of the overton window for medically possible butt sizes
QueenofSodor
joyce would kill joe if she heard what he had to say at the beginning of the year vis a vis dorpy’s butt (X)
Sajuuk-Khar
Early days Joe was apparently suffering from some sort of low-poly vision disorder where he couldn’t distinguish triangular edges from round objects, doctors are calling it the first case ever of PS2 type eyesight
zee
Amazing how little ass it requires to change a girl on a fundamental level
Li
Continuing to be one of those characters who will just say out loud “maybe I really AM the worst” if given even half a chance, heh.
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Also: pffft, Joyce.
Jesse
I realized one day late that the “5 days left” Amazi-Girl looked like she was telling readers to talk to the hand.
MegaBee
Shake four halves of butt!
Rakeesh
I mean, it’s a profoundly noble impulse…if it’s acted upon. Time will tell if in this respect, Dorothy actually does so. She hasn’t managed it yet, in this respect.
Sajuuk-Khar
Joyce: Becky, tell me what comes to mind when you think of me. First thing. Go. Say it. Now.
Becky: Well, I, uh, Joyce hon, yer a straight up ass girl till end of days.
(I need to make more Achewood references. As many as I can.)
Newlland(Henryvolt)
It’s not a completely selfish desire if you still actually care enough about your ex. You’re with someone else and your hoping to spend a good chunk of your future with them and that’s fine, you also have enough love for your ex to care about them and that’s also fine.
It’s just, I guess my core feelings taword all of this in the end when comes to everything, from the kiss that ended up being front page news, to the fact that Dorothy and Joyce didn’t have the nerve to break things off with Walky and Joe until Sarah confronted them about it, to the fact that earlier in this storyline both of them planned to avoid their “exes” until today and the only reason Dorothy even stopped by Walkys room to talk was because she was looking for someone else and not him…
I know Dorothy and Joyce claimed to still have love for their former boyfriends…I just feel like you shouldn’t treat people you love like that. But I guess even good people do bad things from time to time.
Kelli
I meant to ask before. Is that a reference to Jamie from Girls with Slingshots?
Corey C.
In what regard? Her butt? Jamie was known more for her chest, not her backside. The nickname the author of the strip gave her is literally “The Rack.”
Jon
Jamie is also the Romance Detective. The first time she tried wearing the “appropriate” detective outfit, she attempted to actually smoke the meerschaum pipe, which didn’t go well; she later used a meerschaum bubble pipe, which somehow blew heart-shaped bubbles.
Kelli
Yes, this. Romance Detective, Love Sleuth (also coincidentally characters who discovered that they’re bi).
TrueSurvivor
“Bisexual Bux Slueth” just doesn’t have the same ring to it. There has got to a better appelation to convey that concept. I don’t yet know what it is, but I believe Dick Tracey has to be the starting point in its construction.
QueenofSodor
she really shoulda gone with Bisexual Butt Sleuth
Maece
bisexual butt slueth, on the other hand
Sajuuk-Khar
IN AN IDEA CONTINUED FROM YESTERDAY’S COMMENTS
CARLAHAMMER 40,000: IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE FAR FUTURE, THERE IS ONLY CARLA (AND ALSO WAR)
Okay, actually that’s false advertising because this is more a 30K idea, but like: if Carla was the Empress of Earth, Mistress of Mankind, etc., who from Dumbing of Age would be her Primarchs, her coterie of chosen demigods in power armor?
Obviously we know at least one—Dorothy is the Ultramarines Primarch. Dorothea Marguilliman. No one else could do that many spreadsheets. But who are the rest?! YOU DECIDE, GO
Exarch
Salpharius and Walkmegon
Joeman Russenthal
Joyce as Lorgar perhaps? Joygar?
Sajuuk-Khar
See I love Space Wolf Joe and the twins, but I think Joyce fits Sanguinius or even Horus more than Lorgar; Lorgar kind of needed his faith to operate, to make sense of the world. If anything, Becky might fit poor ol’ Lorgar. (Dorothy even unintentionally razed her Monarchia.)
Sajuuk-Khar
Perturaidah Rasheed (IRON WITHIN, IRON WITHOUT)
Sarah Dorn (Discipline. Duty. Unyielding will.)
Would Dina be more a Vulkan or a Jaghatai Khan?
anon
didn’t peg joyce for a butt person versus boobs. altho i geuss fitting if ur bi since everyone has butts XD;
Bwitty03
she has commented on Joes butt quite a lot
Pocky
bearded men in the sky are overrated anyway.
v
genuinely remarkable that no one has yet commented on the fucking 67 joke in the background on panel 1; like i get that a lot of stuff is going on here but we MUST give willis the right to inflict extremely temporally specific psychic damage on the readership
Thing 2
To which, I understand, we should reply “who left you in 2025?”. But since I was left in the 50’s what would I know?
Thing 2
Panel 4 doesn’t roll off the tongue. Panel 5 does tho. The other half would always be their butt for me.
Bill Erak
Depending on where You’re applying that ‘lesbian’, You’re still very much on point girl
Brian K. Pittman
Joyce, I say this with all honesty and sincerity: what butt? That thing is flatter than Beef’s haircut.
Taffy
“Ms. Keener, you have no ass.”
Mitzi B.
Flat asses need love too…..
zee
I’m glad someone else said it bc I was thinking it
Tilly
It’s only been a few days. I don’t think that Walky *hates* Dorothy, I’m sure that they’ll probably even get to a place where they can be friends again, even if it’s a bit awkward, I just think that anyone would get a bit snappy if their partner cheated on them, even if it’s something they’d come to terms with, and then showed up a few days later playing the concerned ex.
It’s like “Dude, just give me some space, lemme play video games in my underwear while listening to my Spotify breakup playlist”.
Brian K. Pittman
That’s the biggest thing that I feel like gets ignored sometimes: Walky never really has gotten to move on from Dorothy. The one time he tried to really move on from her was with Lucy and Dorothy tried throwing herself at him. It’s not been a healthy relationship back and forth.
YourCousinJay
I don’t think Walky hates dotty at all but she does have a bad habit of kind of dragging him around until she drops him again for whatever reason, so at the same time I don’t doubt he’s at least a bit bitter towards her, especially now with how rough his last breakup was.
–
Walky has never been too open about his feelings but I’m honestly kinda glad he’s at least put his foot down lately that he’s straight up not okay with how Dot and Joyce have been treating him
zee
I think he does resent her right now though. I doubt it’ll be forever but definitely for now. It sounds like it’s not even about the cheating, “stop dumping me every five minutes” that’s about the yoyo treatment. She asked him to break up with his then gf for her (who she set him up with to being with), only to cheat and break things off 3 days after they actually get back together. Not to mention how said breakup actually played out. That’s very confusing treatment! Especially when you combine it with their semester one stuff. Can’t blame the guy for being a little sick of her in the moment and just wanting space.
.
Note for moderation: this is not just “listing out a bunch of bad things a character did”, it’s delving into why Walky would have some reasonable resentment for the time being based on his phrasing in the strip. I hope I’ve justified my argument well enough
apocryphascribe
Exactly. It’s why, at least for Dorothy and Walky, I’ve always said the cheating is just one small part of an otherwise much larger pattern of behavior between the two of them, and I haven’t expected him to react to that specifically so much as getting worn down by her repeatedly giving him the run-around, so it’s nice to see it finally happening a little bit.
Cassie
I don’t think it helps that he’s now been dumped… what? Twice in under a month? And neither scenario was particularly kind to him. Poor guy’s kinda going through it.
Corey C.
I will say that Joyce telling Dorothy that Dotty is the reason Joyce is who she is now is a nice nod, intentional or not, to a strip waaay back right after Dotty met Joyce’s parents where she tells Joyce that she should take more pride in herself, that she’s stronger on her own than what she was brought up to believe she was, and it inspires her. I think Joyce took that advice to heart.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/comic/mysterious/
Jerna
Lesbian Love Sleuth (Or Bisexual Buv Sleuth now, I guess): Suggestion from yesterday “GET ye flask!”
After seeing that your target is storming at you, you fumble in one of the pockets of your trench coat to get a flask and drink from it. The flask is empty because you forgot to fill it again. You definitely need to put some soda in it. Anyway, you pretend to drink from it, trying to be cool and aloof. But you’re nervously looking back at her and your body is moving so much that any liquid contained in the flask would have spilled out. The gal stops in front of you and yells about what the hell is going on here. You try to ignore her, but she keeps shouting and people are staring more than when you were behind the plant. What will you do?
Tofusmith
bisexual butt sleuth
QueenofSodor
throw down a smoke bomb and make a run for it!!!
Jerna