Fourteen
Posted on September 10, 2024 by David M Willis

185 thoughts on “Fourteen”

  1. Sirksome

    Dorothy’s pretty bad at slacking off.

    1. Monito

      She just needs to try harder

    2. anon

      i mean nothign wrong with doing busy work, like when you clean up your room procrastinating on more importnat things lol

  2. Doctor_Who

    Ironically, in Dina’s paleontology class she finds she can only take notes by doodling math problems.

    1. True Survivor

      That would be a fantastic gag.

    2. Switchchris

      She can’t help it, she knows more about dinosaurs an fossils then the teacher. She has refuse to listen to what he says ever since she found out that he likes the Jurassic Park franchise and thinks dinos should not have feathers.

      1. Michael Steamweed

        He what? He thinks what?!

        Dina, I will help you exact science justice.

      2. wetmonstersmell

        I happen to actually know the vertebrate paleontologist who teaches the intro to paleontology class at IU, and I’m not gonna tell him you said this!

    3. Thag Simmons

      Does IU even have a dedicated Paleo department?

      1. Radiance

        I wouldn’t be surprised, based off the fact that Dina chose IU.

        1. wetmonstersmell

          she is 100% gonna do an undergrad thesis with Dave Polly

      2. Psychie

        When I went I believe they had 750 majors, I’d be shocked if they didn’t.

      3. Mark

        The intro. courses seem to be graduate-level. There’s also the IU Paleontology Collection. Dina’s probably in a general life-sciences course.

        1. Tatterhood

          Dina probably only refrained from challenging for credit on the intro courses because she is taking a year adapt to dorm life before letting herself hyperfixate on graduate courses.

    4. Dday

      She’s probably furiously writing down objections to specific things the professor is saying about dinosaurs to bring up after class.

      1. ValdVin

        Dina has her own video channel, PalwoCinemaSins

        1. ValdVin

          (Paleo.

  3. Rose by Any other Name

    Sal and Walky clones confirmed.

    1. Thag Simmons

      that is what twins are

      1. Sirksome

        They’re fraternal I think, which technically means they’re not clones. I don’t know enough about genetics to know how it shakes out. The matching appearance is just strong genes I guess. Which Walkerton parent is responsible for that?

        1. DailyBrad

          Yeah, they are fraternal, and presumably their dad, both look more like him beyond being a quarter-black. (Charles is half.)

        2. Uly

          Fraternal twins are no more genetically similar than other siblings, so in the ballpark of 50%. It’s hypothesized that there may be half-identical twins, where an egg cell divided before fertilization and who would share all genes from the mother and about half the genes from the father, but we can’t confirm this.

          It’s also possible that, due to a weird condition that activated in Sal but not Walky, the at they’re both XY identical twins… but you gotta think that Sal would have noticed she never went through menarche.

        3. CrazyJ

          Google says your info is out of date and that there are at least two confirmed cases of semi-identical twins.

        4. Dara

          Thanks to the increasing cheapness of genetics testing, there have now been found and confirmed XY women who have successfully carried their own children to term, so even that’s not ruled out.

          I mean, it’s quite rare, but here’s one from 2008. She conceived and bore two children. The reason they found out about her is that one of her kids had a genetic developmental disorder and they started working backwards.

        5. adam Black

          I think half twins are confirmed.

          There are also identical twins of opposite sex.
          Because both have a mixed genome of different ratios.
          ( Probably due to a merger of embryos and then division)

          This has been confirmed.

        6. Cimorene

          Very rarely can there be identical twins with one XX and one XXY

        7. Miri

          Genetics as a field is SO COOOL… TIL.

        8. Miri

          (Already knew about genetics being cool. Did not know there were known cases of XY women getting pregnant and giving birth, or identical XX and XXY twins!)

        9. cory

          The other way around might work? I know a guy whose mum was going through early menopause when she had a surprise pregnancy. Full grown person when he found he was genetically XX. (He tried it out, but decided to stick with he/him.)

        10. adam Black

          Fraternal are just normal siblings

          But there are “half twins” that share 3/4 DNA
          One egg splits, two different sperm.

          You end up with fraternal twins that look very similar

        11. asmodai27

          Fraternal are just normal siblings
          Who were born from the same pregnancy, and who shared the very same life experiences in infancy and sometimes up to adulthood, which matches up with Sal and Walky having the same coping mechanisms.

        12. a/snow/mous/e

          Yeah, genetically just normal siblings, but very close on a nurture level.

  4. ian livs

    real talk, I’m glad more teachers understand nowadays that some kids doodle to pay attention. There was a marked difference in my grades between classes where I could draw and classes that didn’t let me.

    (Yes, I have ADHD, how did you guess?)

    1. Doopyboop

      Eeey fellow ADHD and doodler in class, fistbump!

    2. Dante

      Hi5! It’s a thing, yeaaaah :’33

      Unmedicated = Doodling/writing so I could pay attention. Anything less and suddenly sitting still was torture.

    3. Yumi

      Being neurodiverse myself definitely helps with recognizing issues with some of the conventional “wisdom.” Like, actually I often listen better and can retain more when I’m not looking directly at the person. Doodling during classes was helpful, too. Though I also understand why there may be teachers who have issue with it because I’ve definitely had kids (4th/5th grade) who say they pay attention more when they x, and it turns out they really don’t. Still, better to talk about it with those students than just do blanket bans.

      1. Taffy

        Schools should ban all behaviors

        1. Yumi

          They’re trying.

        2. staszu13

          Especially in Florida

        3. Michael Steamweed

          They are _very_ trying in Florida.

        4. NGPZ

          Imma fuckin bugs bunny that shit off D:<

          https://media.tenor.com/A2H9BNaLtuoAAAAM/bugsbunny-florida.gif

        5. Taffy

          Oh, what are those gatorfuckers doing now?

        6. butting

          Dark sarcasm
          in the comments

        7. Michael Steamweed

          Hey! Butting! Leave those baby goats alone!

        8. clif

          All in all, you’re just a …. Ooooo! Doughnuts!

    4. sultryglebe

      My 5th and 6th grade teachers did not like that.

    5. Bogeywoman

      Same. My teacher last semester liked to come over and see what I was drawing during videos because I’d draw the people I’m listening to or diagrams/doodles that sort of expressed information. Like, learning about globalism (not that one) I had like a set of comic panels with characters sharing things across them or building bridges and walls.

    6. Daibhid C

      Oof, that reminds me not only that my teachers didn’t get that, but of the time I drew some Halloween decorations for the classroom at home, took them in, and the teacher refused to believe I hadn’t been drawing them in class. They were in colour! I didn’t even have felt tips with me!

      The main reason my Uni career imploded was undiagnosed dyscalcula, but being trained against doodling, and instead filling a folder with notes I would go back to a week later and think “But what does that mean?” (assuming I could even read my own writing) didn’t help.

    7. Tatterhood

      Knitting 1×1 ribbing or stockinette. Kept my hands busy and provided juuuust enough interest to keep my brain from trying to make it’s own fun without needing enough focus to pull my attention from the lecture. Drawing was too absorbing for me.

    8. anon

      considering it’s college i imagine most profs dont’ care as long as you aren’t openly distracting everyone else versus ‘needing’ to turn in notes/worksheets and such

  5. Thag Simmons

    I wonder which Walkerton twin draws the best dinosaurs.

    1. Nono

      Depends on your metric.

      Walky just draws what he thinks is cool. Which probably means 90% are T-rexes.

      Sal seems to have some actual knowledge based on her favourite dinosaur and conversation with Dina.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Probably Sal then.

      2. Roborat

        Good thing Dina didn’t see you spelling it that way.

    2. Dante

      So in one hand, Sal was the actual dinosaur kid. She has a favorite one and everything! On the other hand afaik she’s musically inclined while Walky’s the cartoonist.

      I’d go for Sal but wouldn’t bet more than a dollar on it?

    3. Switchchris

      I imagine the Hand Injury might interfere with Sal’s ability to draw well for more then a few moments before the spasms kick in. Walky on the other hand does art on a regular basis and while it is cartoony, he still has more experience at it then Sal.
      Unless im forgetting some art talent that Sal has.

      1. GingerMadman

        Hand injury is in Sal’s non dominant hand. Her right hand was stabbed, she is left handed.

      2. Taffy

        That’s not even the important factor. Technical skill is irrelevant, because the best dinosaurs have buzzsaw ridges on their heads and laser blades on the ends of their tails. Jeraparsolophus Phaesertiensis is the objectively best dinosaur, so unless Sal is drawing one, she’s losing the note-doodle competition.

        1. clif

          I’m convinced.

  6. Davus

    Dorothy is being to relatable. I think she’s about to realize that she is trying to help others, when right now she needs to chill and help herself.
    And also wow, Walky+Sal Synchrony.

    1. Coatl

      That’s true, the expression in the fourth panel seems to say “oh, this is new.”

      And yes, that Walkerton synchronicity haha.

  7. Dante

    The ADHD is so genetic it hurts to look at, I love the Walkertons

  8. AK

    Sal and Walky are adorable.

  9. Clif

    With any luck it won’t be kicked out of the house at 18.

    1. Taffy

      It won’t be kicked out, but it’ll help its dad murder its mom, to keep her from selling the farm. Things will really spiral after that.

      1. clif

        I’m not even sure who the mom of Dumbing of Age would be. Unless you consider Willis to be both the dad and the mom, the farm to refer to the strip as a whole and Amber, rather than Joyce, to be the autobiographical character. Still not sure that completely works.

        What was in the back of my mind was a group of SF&F fans in Dallas/Ft Worth area who ran a Science Fiction convention for 18 years and then stopped, with the comment that since the con was 18 they were throwing it out of the house.

  10. Kyrik Michalowski

    Happy birthday Dumbing of Age!!!

    Also, is Dorothy going to have a meltdown if she feels like no one needs her help? Or is she going to learn to chill?

    1. True Survivor

      Yes! Happy Birthday to Mr. Willis’s beloved brainchild.

      Beloved by us anyway. Apparently he keeps whoring it out to feed his flesh-children. Thus is the life of an artist.

    2. Coatl

      That seems to be a 50/50, and it seems that the collapse will be first and then see the importance of relaxing. It’s obvious there’s still a lot Dorothy needs to learn but I honestly don’t want to see her break down again.

      1. Coatl

        True!!, I forgot, Happy Birthday Dumbing of Age!!!

      2. clif

        Dorothy Will Diminish, and Not Go Unto The Yale, and Remain Dorothy.

    3. Bash

      I think she’s just bored.

  11. Doopyboop

    Dorothy, you work-a-holic, you could always actually attend your own classes and take those notes. Though I’m curious to see if she bites Jennifer’s offer and next time we see her, she’s got an entire stack of class notes for her.

    1. Mark

      Somebody give her a sheet of paper and a pencil so she can take her own notes!

      1. Needfuldoer

        Or draw dinosaurs. That’s a valid option, too.

  12. Adj

    Panel 4 Dorothy is pretty adorable.

    1. Coatl

      Indeed

  13. Sirksome

    Professor Rees is so far disappointingly stable and far away. Queer status is debatable and they’re likely not a woman. No wonder we rarely sit in on this class.

    1. HueSatLight

      I imagine he feels like he’s not his true self, like his body is a meat robot that he’s just piloting around. But since the other two characters he probably interacted with the most either got deported or ghosted him, there’s not a lot of opportunities for Alan stories.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        I like to think he’s still somehow an Alien piloting a human robot suit, even in this world, if only because the idea of the only fantastical being in this universe being so completely irrelevant that this detail just never comes up is endlessly amusing to me.

        1. clif

          We’re all alien software plotting a human robot suit.

        2. clif

          *piloting – tho plotting works too.

  14. Mr. Random

    Y’know, I wonder if the Walkertons have ADHD.
    And now I’m genuinely curious how often identical and fraternal twins both share the same disorders.

    1. Rebecca

      Walky at least has been informally diagnosed by his friends as ADHD since back when Mike was alive.

      1. clif

        But was Mike ever actually alive, or was he just pretending so that he could annoy people.

        And collect nickles from your mother.

    2. Jess

      I know a set of twins and they both have depression, but that may just be the world we live in and not so much a twinsy powerup.

    3. Doopyboop

      I used to work with a pair of fraternal twins (one boy, one girl) who were both diagnosed with ASD. It probably depends, but there’s definitely some precedent for twins sometimes having the same disorders.

    4. Uly

      ADHD and autism are part of a whole constellation of highly heritable conditions, which all overlap with each other.

      If your sibling has one or both then it’s not surprising if you do as well.

    5. Dante

      Exact rates I can’t give you, but ADHD and Autism are linked to genes. My family on the side of my dad is a Punett Square on having either or both, reaching all the way to yours truly and my brother (we share the ADHD, only I got the ’tism.)

    6. Dana

      iirc Schizophrenia is one of the most heritable, and an identical twin has about a 50% chance of Schizophrenia if their twin has it. Mood disorders are I think somewhat less but still some of the highest.

    7. Needfuldoer

      “The ADHD is strong in my family, my father has it, I have it, my sister has it.”

      – Walky, probably

      1. Schpoonman

        RIP JEJ

    8. cain

      Myself and 1 brother have been formally diagnosed with ADHD, but I’m confident at least 4 of the 6 of us have ADHD and the others just didn’t get clocked by doctors about it.

  15. True Survivor

    “And as you can see, as the student’s row number increases, their ability to read the blackboard approaches zero.

    Well as some of you can see, anyway.”

  16. Rebecca

    Oh thank PRIMUS we cut away, I don’t think the comments section could have handled another strip of the Sarah and Jacob Show.

    1. Yumi

      I misread “show” as “snow,” but I also recently read a MG book where “snow” was used to replace “shit” (and maybe other swears) in the text, so my first reaction to “the Sarah and Jacob Snow” was “Oh, you read that book too?”

  17. IntangibleMatter

    Somebody get those twins some ADHD meds, stat.

    Lectures are so hard without them. Hate when I forget them.

  18. Stephen Bierce

    A nervous glance at scribbled notes
    From handsome men in overcoats    –Honeymoon Suite, circa 1986

  19. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    Sometimes the best way to help is to get out of the way. But if that doesn’t satisfy her then Dorothy could just sign up to be a student assistant. Not for this class though we don’t want a repeat of Jason.

    That aside, happy anniversary you magnificent bastards.

    1. Coatl

      Dorothy… student assistant.
      Interesting

    2. Sol

      She could also sign up to be a tutor, or to be a note’s taker. My university always sends out emails beginning of term for note-takers for people with disabilities that get in the way of being able to take notes.

  20. DiDi

    OK but it’s adorable that Walky and Sal have that in common.

    On another note, I’m a little irked that we’ve left Sarah but it’s just as well. We need to be away from her so she can have time to fester. Because I’m morbidly curious enough to wanna see where it goes.

    1. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      This is the part we’re I apologize for accidentally touching the “report this comment button” while scrolling down.

    2. anon

      would be great for them to become better friends with dina too lol

  21. RassilonTDavros

    Oh, huh, it is the DoAnniversary day, isn’t it.

    I suppose it’s an oddly appropriate day, then, to remember one of the greatest Evil Dads of them all. Rest in Peace, James Earl Jones.

  22. jeffepp

    As a dyslexic, I Am In This Comic And Don’t Like It.

    See, I was good in math classes. Now, and classes that involved spelling…

    GNU James Earl Jones

  23. Taffy

    Oh hey, I doodle during my Public Speaking class. None of the others though, just that one. Not sure why, but at least I’ve got some cool abstract textbook covers out of it.

    1. clif

      Someday those covers will sell for jillions.

      Unfortunately, by that time, inflation will have made those jillions virtually worthless.

  24. Jesse

    Dina would be pleased.

    1. Da Boy

      Or not, I can’t imagine Walky and Sal drawing dinosaurs that are scientifically accurate enough for Dina.

      1. thejeff

        Maybe close enough

        1. Da Boy

          A very good point ^^

  25. Xronium

    happy 14th birthday doa!!

  26. sultryglebe

    Happy birthday!

  27. AGV/Ruby

    Happy birthday, DoA! Damn, this year is sure is long

    1. Michael Steamweed

      Those people should graduate by 2070 (our time).

  28. JA

    Dorothy could take notes for herself, if anything.

    Also why is DoA’s age 1/3 of my life?

    1. Carla's #2 Fan

      It’s around half of mine! (I’m 27, for context)

      Happy birthday DoA!

      1. clif

        And less than a fifth of mine, so naturally I’m going to lie to myself and declare age to be unimportant.

      2. NGPZ

        It’s exactly 56% of mine! XD

  29. AY

    Happy birthday, DoA! You are two years away from getting your license

    1. clif

      Not being corporately owned, I always thought DoA had plenty of license.

  30. Giblets

    Hell yeah finally something for the professor rees fans

  31. Dara

    And also happy birthday DoA, continuing not to be DOA for 14 years!

    I would say 14 straight years but we all know that would blessedly be a lie. ^_^

    1. clif

      Have a spare Internet.

  32. Derek

    was it worth it Dorothy? was it worth giving up your dream school so you can sit here and do nothing, because your friends don’t need you micromanaging every damn second of their day?

    1. Rowan

      I don’t think it was actually her dream school in the end – I think she realised she didn’t want to go to Yale, but she doesn’t want to confront the reasons for it yet. Dorothy is someone who would be missed like fuck if she left; micromanaging isn’t the only thing she does.

  33. Lingo

    Gosh, I could swear that looks like Joyce sitting there, but according to the tags, it’s Lucy. Guess I need new glasses!

    1. clif

      Joyce is the new Lucy. Kind of like how Billie became Jennifer.

  34. Jeremiah

    “Look I either help someone with their problems or I acknowledge my own and I am NOT doing that.”

    1. Yumi

      Dorothy’s gonna start bumping into people carrying large stacks of paper just so she can help pick the papers up.

      1. Rowan

        She needs to start an advice column in the school paper or something.

        1. Needfuldoer

          Would she author it under her own name, or adopt a pen name like “Dear Aunt Sadie” because people are more likely to open up to a quasi-maternal persona?

  35. BBCC

    Look, Dorothy compulsively takes care of others when she doesn’t know how to take care of herself. Give her a problem to solve or her face is gonna pop.

  36. Steven York

    Wait! Shortpacked was like, last week, right? Right?
    Sigh…

    1. Rowan

      I was surprised myself to realise I’ve been a fan for 13 years! Potentially the longest I’ve been a fan of something, apart from Doctor Who.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Shortpacked! was in April, as is tradition.

  37. Matrix

    Sal and Walky having the same study method is kind of touching

    1. Rowan

      It’s *so* cute, and relatable having ADD. I want to see the dinosaurs! Patreon bonus strip? ?

      1. NGPZ

        Yes, yes, this would make a fantastic anniversary Bonus strip! ^^ <3

  38. Farmer_10

    Dorothy no

  39. Acher4

    Happy Birthday DoA! 😀

    You can finally….
    hmmm……enter puberty(?)

  40. EtchJetty

    Yay, it’s Alan!!!

    And HBD, DOA!!!!!

  41. Adept

    The siblings have more in common than one might think.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Or that they care to admit.

  42. Steelbright

    I’ve never related to the Walkertons this much. One of the funniest punchlines from recent strips too, i am impress. And that’s good cause tonight is “read comics to distract myself from sad feelings” night.

    1. Mark

      I first read Sal’s rejoinder as mimicking Walky to make it clear to Dorothy that she was being brushed off, but it works either way.

  43. Amós Batista

    Dumbing of Age is entering Coming of the Age.

  44. Arianod

    Why isn’t Dorothy taking her own notes, though?

    1. Needfuldoer

      IIRC she’s in a different math class, she’s just sitting in on this one because her friends are in it.

      1. Nono

        She’s not in any math class.

        1. Needfuldoer

          She used to be!

    2. asmodai27

      Because she’s not a student in this class, she’s just sitting in to not stay alone and have to confront her feelings!

      1. Arianod

        But if she’s not taking notes, she’ll have to confront her feelings anyway…

  45. Needfuldoer

    Just ADHD things.

    1. Arianod

      Being Dorothy is suffering…

  46. darkoneko

    happy 14th anniversary !

  47. DashWallkick

    Panel 4: Dorothy’s “This is fine.”

  48. tbf

    Off topic, but this morning I stumbled upon a radio program where Kurt and Kate were talking about their kids and grandkids watching Psalty and how they didn’t want the next generation to grow up without knowing him. He is real and he is remembered.

  49. Jason C

    Dang, can’t belive I’ve been reading this daily for 14 years! Congrats!

  50. Claire

    Happy 14th Birthday DoA!!!

    1. NGPZ

      Happy Birthday to you!

      The world is a zoo!

      We wish for one true pairing,

      and slipshine pics too!

      XD

  51. HueSatLight

    If she wants to take notes, she should just take notes. She doesn’t need to frame everything she wants to do as a favor for someone else.

    Or borrow some paper and draw stuff too. It’s a calc class, I’m not sure what she was expecting to do.

    1. Jeremiah

      But doing a favor to someone else is the point and what she wants to do, if it wasn’t taking notes, it would be something else. Being a helper is how she copes.

  52. Michael Steamweed

    Happy Birthday to DoA!

    (or is that Happy Anniversary?)

    ((joyful annual?))

    1. NGPZ

      i legit ALMOST thought that said “joyce anal” XD

  53. OBBWG

    Who is that guy sitting behind Dorothy? He looks kinda familiar.

    Happy Birthday, DOA.

  54. raultsi

    14 years and they’re only just into the second semester? I’ll be dead long before they graduate

    1. clif

      It took you 14 years to understand that?

  55. Barf Ninjason

    Kinda doubtful of getting a response this late in the game comment-section-wise, but is “keeping notes” a Midwestern expression? I’ve only ever lived in California and Seattle, but I’ve always heard “taking notes,” never “keeping.” Or is that just Dorothy being weird?

    1. clif

      Why would you take them if you weren’t going to keep them?

      I’ve heard both, keeping implying a longer and probably repeated process while taking notes is immediate, but it may be a generational thing.

      1. Barf Ninjason

        I guess that could work if she meant that she would literally keep their notes for them, but it seemed to me that she was offering to take the notes in the first place. To answer your question, though, the act of taking notes usually made me remember stuff in school, so I did not actually need to keep them, the writing it down was enough.

    2. Yumi

      Lifelong Midwestern here, also found “keeping notes” to be unfamiliar phrasing.

    3. HueSatLight

      They don’t mean the same thing as each other (Missouri). I think keeping notes implies further editing. Like if someone kept notes on background character’s relative room locations, they’d be updating it each time there’s new information.
      Taking notes is jotting things down, which may or may not be referenced later. Since the act of writing or typing it may make the memory stronger.

      1. Barf Ninjason

        I could see it if she was offering to edit their notes for maximum clarity later, except since she’s asking right then, it seems more like she’s saying I’ll take notes for you. Like, what you’re saying makes sense but only if the notes already exist.

    4. Taffy

      I’m from Little Egypt, and I’ve never heard anyone use the phrase “keeping notes”.

  56. Emily

    I enjoy the callback to Joyce’s first ever strip in Roomies. Very fitting for an anniversary.

  57. saltchocolate

    Omg, 14 years?! Congrats to you, Willis! ? I feel like I’ve “known” you for much longer than that, but it’s only because I went back & binge-read It’s Walky & Shortpacked! with all the wonderful commentary about your early days. I’ve been “here” every night since DoA kicked off—it’s a consistent source of pleasure & laughter (& ???). Thanks for your work—& your work ethic! (That buffer!! ?)

  58. Yeet

    happy birthday dumbing of age
    and man that really is a long distance to read across no wonder joyce was having problems before the glasses

  59. Koname

    Dammit Willis, stop reminding me that its not 2010 anymore and I’m no longer in high school (except for the fact that I teach there). So glad I found this all those years ago, its been a wild ride so far, here’s to sliding time scale amount of years more.

    1. Yumi

      I was just thinking that with the anniversary being September 10th, it was good they didn’t start it a day later and have an anniversary for it on September 11th… then I remembered that September 11th was more than 14 years ago… by 9 years… so they were probably aware of it at the time.

      1. Vanessa

        Omg now I really feel old.

  60. vlademir1

    Why is it that looking at DoA being 14 years old makes me feel older than either the fact that my 45th birthday is less than a week away or the fact that I just celebrated my 18th anniversary at my workplace last week?

  61. Mr.Morningstar

    Both Sal and Walky having to draw dinosaurs in order to pay attention is fucking hilarious to me

  62. Jonah (firelight_waltz)

    i think joyce might be missing her tag on here?? :0

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