172

Mindless
Posted on September 28, 2023 by David M Willis

172 thoughts on “Mindless”

  1. BBCC

    Well this’ll be fun.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      I hope that this goes well, and that they all simply game and sit around in their pajamas/underwear. Unfortunately my spider sense tells me things will not go well, can’t imagine why.

      1. Angel

        well dina will stil lbe there so hopefully it’d be less tension. or walky putting his foot in his mouth like “…Threesome?” XD

      2. yetimaster

        I will never forgive Walky if he hurts Lucy

      3. Decidedly Orthogonal

        Well, Dorothy’s got some flexibility/comfort in her sexuality, holding hands while sexually exciting Joyce. Maybe this display of skin will tip her over into complete submissive bi+sexuality and we’ll get the patreon orgy fest we’ve all wanted.

        1. clif

          Maybe. Personally, I’m waiting for all the analysis of how bad a person Dorothy is for entering without knocking and not respecting boundaries.

          Or Dorothy could just take off her pants and join the dinosaur.

        2. Gigafreak

          I repeat

          Open the door
          Pants on the floor
          Party on the beanbag dinosaur

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Woooo! 11/10

        4. a/snow/mous/e

          boom boom shakalakalaka boom
          boom boom shakalaka boomboom

        5. Some Ed

          That sounds more like a Slipshine to me.

        6. Taellosse

          I don’t think Dorothy has been through enough self-discovery to be submissive yet.

          If she were to get involved in sexual power play at this stage, she’d be a service top for sure.

      4. thejeff

        By the end of the day the whole cast is in Amber’s room in pjs playing games and eating chips.

        1. smolgrlboi

          that would actually be a really cute wrap-around cover for one of the books

        2. elebenty

          Seconded

        3. Ana Chronistic

          they’ll have finished the chips by then

  2. Ana Chronistic

    “clearly I’m seeing things” *takes melatonin and goes back to bed*

    1. Ana Chronistic

      ETHAN was a hikikomori, of COURSE they’d forget

      1. Ana Chronistic

        “Amber isn’t?” there have been active attempts to prevent her case from worsening

      2. Doctor_Who

        Also, one of Dorothy’s criteria was “easy to find”. Ethan wears all black now, in poor light he’s actually quite well camouflaged.

        1. Furie

          Are you studying Ethan as a possible enemy got the next series, Doctor?

      3. Angel

        And, i don’t rly think dorothy and ethan were particularly friends, even when he was ‘dating’ joyce i think their interactions was limited

      4. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

        With great self-sabotage comes no great ‘then they’ll be sorry’ moment from the big, bad world whatsoever no matter how much you “deserved better.”

    2. Angel

      i mean, it’s not like they’re making out ,so i don’t think it’d be too weird for walky to visit and ‘chill’ with amber

      1. Jo_cubstar

        I mean, if he can be friends with Dorothy after they broke up why can’t he also be friends with amber?

        1. Needfuldoer

          Because! That’s why.

        2. Angel

          @Jo : yeah i understand her being surprised but ‘what the actual fuck’ is a bit of an overreaction. unless she’s interpreting it as them being ‘flirty’ right after walky turned her down or so

      2. NoNamePlaceHolder

        But it’s INDIRECT HANDHOLDING

        1. Ophidiophile

          And since they are putting their hands up to their mouths, does that also count as indirect kiss?

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          And then when they go to pee and clean up after? It’s the indirect oral sex!

        3. Taffy

          And they’re both looking at the Switch, so it’s an indirect loving gaze.

        4. NGPZ

          Only if the angle of incidence equals the angle of refraction for both of them tho :p

          physics!!!

    3. Meagan

      Dude I’m so tired I read that as taking melanin and did a double take

  3. Doctor_Who

    Dorothy: I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I wish to watch cartoons, and I know you partake. May I see a Transformer? Is there more than one? Will I find the plot hard to follow?

    1. Sharaku

      Yes, yes and what the hell is a ‘plot’?

  4. Shorduie

    Finally someone is asking the right questions

    1. PirateTawnee

      Nah, the right question is “when the fuck?”

      1. cookie1995

        I’ll do you one better, why the Fuck?!

        1. thejeff

          Why seems obvious.
          “where” and “when” are the key questions.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          One should always be conscientious of the partner(s) and be sure to ask “How the fuck?”

  5. Animedingo

    What is that smell?

    1. Doctor_Who

      Stale sex, fresh Nachitos.

      1. NGPZ

        Dammit now I want that as a scented candle.

  6. Kyrik Michalowski

    Don’t ask Dorothy, just take a seat and ask someone to pass you some nachitos.

    1. Angel

      if there’d be any left lol. i’m surprised dorothy herself wouldn’t also bring snacks/an offering

  7. NGPZ

    Yes, Dorothy, a wonderful dream land with video games and the Dinosaur Empress awaits you!!! ????☄️?

  8. RassilonTDavros

    Welp, the commentariat called it. Can’t wait to see how badly this goes.

    1. clif

      And now we’re only missing one of Walky’s harem.

      That’s right. Danny.

      1. Seven

        Oh, I thought it’d be Asher.

  9. Icalasari

    Woo! She recognized that she needs mindless fun, not more sleep! Way to avoid the depressive spiral!

    1. Angel

      i mean, as long as the ‘mindless fun’ doesn’t turn into playing vid games for 8 hours straight lol

      1. NGPZ

        If you’re me that’s basically your job. :p

        1. Nathan

          What’s your job?

        2. NGPZ

          I program video games. One of the few professions where you can work and be lazy at the same time. ?

    2. DashWallkick

      TBH I get the feeling that the idea of “mindless fun” for her isn’t actually decompressing and relaxing, it’s just another form of checking a box in her head that will solve her problem so she can get back to her unreasonable high standard for herself. Total guess though.

  10. Laura

    Hey, NG, she followed your advice! 😀

    1. NGPZ

      Hey yeah!!! ? She needs a day of fun and games,

      Speaking of which, imma treat myself as well, finally got the code to work for a zipline in a platformer game commission, pizza here i come! ?

      1. Laura

        Congratulations!

  11. Yotomoe

    https://i.imgur.com/5WzbkPv.png (Suggestive)

    I wanted to draw more Sarah but the idea I had woulda been really time consuming so forgive me for this lazy one.

    1. Angel

      nice and no worries lol

    2. NGPZ

      hahahaha, lazy? to a porn-demigod in training, maybe?

      to the commentariat, this is quality stuff, ?

    3. DailyBrad

      In what world would someone need to “forgive” Joyce’s pantied ass? This is quality content.

    4. Decidedly Orthogonal

      We have been blessed this day!

    5. Arcee

      I really like your art style!

    6. Mym

      I love your style so much, they look so soft

  12. Yotomoe

    The ship has sailed. It’s sailing forbidden waters but it’s afloat!

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      Garbageskow remains a favorite ship of mine because of moments like panel 5. Walky and Amber are just so dang compatible – they just seem like great friends.

      *says the person who literally married their long-time BFF

  13. Puppeteer Nessus

    No nachitos, overdressed, no entry

    1. NGPZ

      “must be at least *this* nude to enter”

    2. thejeff

      She’s no more dressed than Amber, unless she put on pants offscreen. Certainly no more dressed than Walky.

      No snack offering counts against her though.

  14. Nono

    This is when people (and Walky) remember that Dorothy shares a half bath with Amber, huh.

    Also where is Becky? She’s been surprisingly quiet for a while.

    1. Da Boy

      And she isn’t with Dina either. Mighty suspicious.

    2. Opus the Poet

      She might be at work this afternoon.

  15. UrsulaDavina

    Dorothy had to many of those weed multi vitamin gummies… or not enough

  16. Laura

    …Would anyone be up for an early game?

    Here’s the question:

    Walky and Amber like Nachitos as their mindless-fun snack. What is the best quick, easy snack for you when you want to veg out, space out, be passively entertained, or engage in a vacuous pastime? How do you like to engage your autonomic nervous system via snacks?

    1. Laura

      I can go: Wasabi peas!

      1. Laura

        And sheet after sheet of Costco dried nori, while watching old sitcoms.

    2. Mym

      Puffy Cheetos and Tetris

    3. DailyBrad

      Depends. Pretzels are nice, though I really love a good salt and vinegar or pickle chip.

    4. Jo_cubstar

      Depends if I want sweet or salty,
      Sweet: girl scout thin mint pretzels
      Salty: honey bbq frittos

      The down side: I’m Canadian and both of these products are only available in the states FML. My in-law’s buy me them in bulk whenever they do a trip across the border, which thankfully is a few times a year lol

      1. Mym

        Okay, but do you have access to pickle chips in Canada? I miss them so much.

        1. Mym

          **ketchup chips, jfc

        2. morleuca

          We finally have ketchup chips in the ny north country! It never made sense that being 45 minutes from the border we didn’t have ketchup Chios. We’ve had all dressed for years, but ketchup? Nope. It was very sad.

        3. Mym

          But now you may rejoice!!!

      2. Schpoonman

        Waitwaitwait, thin mint pretzels? I’m normally not a fan of chocolate and mint together, but you add some saltiness to the equation and we’re playing a whole new ball game.

      3. EA West

        I mean the girl guides in Canada also sell thin mint cookies, and are doing so currently as it is autumn. And in my humble (biased) opinion, the Canadian ones are better.

        1. angie

          WAIT I FORGOT ABOUT THESE just last month I spent a week trying to find any sort of dark mint chocolate at a reasonable price available in canada outside the holiday season and all I could find were lindt bars which make a mess if you try to eat them in bed. I have no idea how to get my hands on them though if I don’t know anybody who knows kids. maybe I can leave a note in the break room at work and cross my fingers lmao

      4. angie

        same problem, my favourite snack is dark chocolate mint M&Ms but I am in canada so I have to stock up any time I’m in the US. even at christmas time canada only gets milk chocolate mint M&Ms, which Are Not the same

        1. Roborat

          Lately I cannot even find the regular dark chocolate M&Ms.

    5. Yotomoe

      Goldfish Crackers. I’m eating them right now. They’re probably why i’m fat.

      1. Needfuldoer

        The wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off!

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBDWLM2AphA

    6. BOOSTER SHOT

      Cheetos has this thing called puffcorn, which is pretty good. But hilariously, they have a version that is still Cheetos branded but contains ZERO CHEETO FLAVORING. It’s just butter flavored puffed popcorn with a picture of a cartoon cheetah on it. And that is my go to, ever since I bought two barrels of cheese balls in a row and ate them both in a month and burnt myself out on cheez for a while

    7. Taffy

      If I had to pick a favorite mindless “vore this while doing other things” snack, I think Chex Mix is probably the main one. I will commit terrible crimes upon my body if you put a bag of that stuff in front of me.

    8. NGPZ

      cereal and grilled cheese!!! ?

      1. NGPZ

        Oh and hotdogs and burgers! Anything I can eat while I use my phone or PC ?

    9. HueSatLight

      radishes or dark chocolate chips.

    10. Dara

      Not really a thing I do, but I will drink tea this way, so: tea. Usually my nice tippy assam (I’m one of those whole-leaf no-teabag-thank-you tea drinkers).

    11. clif

      Texas Trash. Which is like Chex Mix only better.

    12. egg egg

      I used to really tear into sour gummy candy when I was younger. Sour dots were my favorite, and my Mom would always pick some up for me when she got some smokes from the gas station. Tragically they make my teeth hurt if I eat too much of them now, so they aren’t as mindless as I’d prefer.

    13. mrnoidea

      Either Cheez-Its or Ruffles with onion dip!

    14. Hazel

      Jelly beans.

    15. Opus the Poet

      Cheese ball puffs, starlight peppermints, alternating with cinnamon disks hard candy, but I can destroy a barrel of cheese balls in one day if I forget to stop.

    16. Laura

      WOW… so many DEE-LICORISH SNAX!
      I want to make a Schmerger Beard (smörgåsbord) of all of them!
      Dish delish! ;-9

  17. HueSatLight

    @panel 3. What about those two guys next door to Walky? Ken likes the pop culture fluff, and the other one is kind of cute. What’s his name again?

    1. KM

      I salute your unending devotion to keeping Arnold front and centre.

  18. BOOSTER SHOT

    I love when the alt-text mirrors my thoughts. It makes me feel like I am doing an extra good job reading this webcomic, which is a normal and possible thing to want

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      And you *are* doing an extra good job of reading the comic. Way to go and keep it up! ??

  19. Suet

    Ethan’s… preoccupied, I guess. So’s all of the laundry room. Guess what they’re playing then, because it surely needs a P3 to make it interesting.

    Crawling back to Joyce? Who’s zooming who?

    1. Thomas

      Dorothy recognized the co-dependency in her relationship with Joyce and tried to distance herself by teaching Joyce to be more self-reliant.

      …is certainly one way of putting it.

  20. Otl1973

    Dorothy can only come up with 4 people who would be involved in mindless childish pop culture fun and who don’t go anywhere. So why should it be shocking that 2 of them are doing that together?

    1. Taffy

      I’m not looking at the archive because I’m supposed to be working on a character sheet, but I’m pretty sure the last time Dorothy saw these two together, Amber had just knocked Walky’s block off.

      1. HueSatLight

        She saw them at least as recently as when they had cake for Becky’s mother, a little over a week before this chapter.

    2. Thag Simmons

      They had a fight and broke up

    3. HueSatLight

      Last conversation we saw (thursday):
      https://www.dumbingofage.com/failed-2

      1. smolgrlboi

        aaaaaaaa that makes her seeing this sting a little more. not saying she’s in the right or is making the right assumptions about what she is seeing (I’ve platonically hung out with friends in pjs/undies playing video games and no sexytimes occurred) but oooh girl been there done that. so glad college was ages ago for me dear god never send me back.

      2. HueSatLight

        wait, I’ve changed my mind. Maybe she’s just reacting to the dinosaur bed, if she hasn’t seen it before. Hanging out with your ex in their underwear after rejecting your other ex, citing that you’re a “good boyfriend” is typical behavior, not worth noting.

  21. BOOSTER SHOT

    the nachitos bag represents russia

    the stuffed dinosaur represents the ural mountain range

    1. clif

      Russia is being shared? The Ural mountain range smells of sex?

      I think I’ve lost the thread of the analogy somewhere.

      1. Da Boy

        If Amber is China then it makes sense, they really thirst for those Siberian resources.

        1. NGPZ

          I thought they were playing Mario Kart, not Scythe ?

      2. morleuca

        Now I know why my work colleague Vasily flies home to go hiking so much

  22. Yotomoe

    That’s like…3rd base as far as I’m concerned.

  23. Reltzik

    …. so now Walky’s going to be cartoon-watch-cheating on Lucy with TWO ex-girlfriends at the same time.

    (Yes, I know that’s not a thing but it’s still going to be a thing.)

    1. Mym

      Could be a thing. I’m hopeful

  24. SDRainbow

    Oooh, the elusive “I have to manage how frequently I engage with certain people/places” anxiety, my old nemesis

  25. saltchocolate

    Am I the only one who can’t tell for sure if they’re both looking at Dorothy guiltily or both completely oblivious to her because they’re deep in their game? And why is this evidence of Willis’s skills?!

    1. Alongcameaspider

      Theyre oblivious, you can see the switch at the bottom of the panel and their faces are tilted in a way that indicates to me that they’re still looking at the screen

  26. Schpoonman

    I love that Dorothy usually keeps her language pretty clean, but when she swears she tends to drop f-bombs.

  27. Dday

    So now Lucy is gonna walk in on pantsless Walky in a room that smells like fuckin with *two* of his exes. I mean come on people Chekhov’s gun, you KNOW its gonna happen

    1. clif

      No, this is a Willis comic. The other shoe usually takes a while to drop.

      Though I would love to be wrong.

      1. Needfuldoer

        But when it does drop, boy does it ever.

    2. thejeff

      To be honest, it’s actually less suspicious the more people are there

    3. smolgrlboi

      LMAO I FORGOT ABOUT THE AFOREMENTIONED SEX SMELL

    4. Johan

      Walky’s wearin pants.

      1. Dday

        ok, yeah he’s got pj bottoms. Amber is nopants, Dotty is in pjs that just barely could qualify as shorts (that totally would read as boxers if Walky was wearing them), Dina is currently sporting Schrodinger’s pants until we get a better view

  28. DashWallkick

    So, I’m flipping a coin here — Walky and his two exes playing video games in their underwear right as Lucy comes by and she gets intensely jealous and suspicious? Or is this going to kick the “relaxing” can down the road because Dorothy just got blocked from a way to unwind?

    1. NGPZ

      Awe damn. Seemingly an impossible choice, unless Lucy also decides to join.

  29. Aura

    As was foretold!

  30. eskimolos

    I’m not sure if people remember that the last time Walky and Dorothy talked, she tried to get back with him (or at least hook up) and he turned her down because he was dating Lucy now. To me that’s what this is going to be about now, but maybe not. It just feels like it might compound Dorothy’s spiral?

    1. Bash

      I think that’s the main reading of it here. Dorothy just got turned down by Walky, and now she seems him playing video games with Amber in his pajamas. Even if she doesn’t think something sexual is happening, she’s going to be hurt.

  31. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    “I must not have fun. Full is the time-killer.”
    – Doon

  32. Lars

    The way the door is opening, she is just about to leave her room and not entering Ambers. So the WTF might be an internal “What am I about to do? Eff”

    1. drs

      > This is when people (and Walky) remember that Dorothy shares a half bath with Amber, huh.

      1. Bash

        Wow yes I completely forgot about that.

  33. missilentmurmur

    It took me this many years from the beginning of this comic to realize something profoundly different from my college dorm experience. People don’t go home every weekend? Our dorm was like 90% empty on any given weekend

    1. Axel

      was your college mostly locals (not necessarily RIGHT there local, but within an hour or so)?

    2. thejeff

      Maybe not 90%, but a lot, in my experience.

      I don’t know if IU is actually different or if it’s just more convenient for plot and character to keep all the main cast around on weekends, except for major events.

      1. nicoleandmaggie

        if you had their parents, would you want to go home?

  34. morhek

    The fact that she automatically associates Becky with “fun” is one more point in favour of the “Dorothy is as invested in Becky’s hate-friendship as she is” theory.

    1. justin8448

      I think it’s really nice that from Dorothy’s perspective, her relationship with Becky is actually uncomplicated.

  35. Mr. Random

    Amber’s REAL popular today.

  36. justin8448

    It’s kind of sad that Dorothy feels she can’t go see Joyce right now. Joyce would be ecstatic to spend time with her.

    1. thejeff

      Joyce is probably still with Joe. It might be awkward.

    2. Daibhid C

      That’s exactly why! Dorothy said she was too busy to spend time with Joyce, and Joyce said that was fine and she would be ready for her to come back. Obviously, she can’t say “Hey, it turns out I’m not too busy to spend time with you, and maybe it turns out being too busy to spend time with you is really, really unhealthy?” because … because then everything would be fine and HOW CAN YOU JUSTIFY A MENTAL HEALTH DAY IF EVERYTHING’S FINE???

  37. TerribleTransit

    Let’s be honest here, Dorothy. It’s not that weird for two people to have an idea like this, and frankly Walky has a much stronger rapport with Amber in this regard. You’ve hung out with her casually as a friend… when before, exactly? This situation doesn’t really warrant a “what the actual fuck” once you think about it.

    Unless the accidental hand-touch in the nachito bag turns into a makeout session, that would probably warrant it.

    1. HoopsieDaisy

      They’d have to go to the roof for that. You gotta put on pants to go to the roof. I think we’re safe from everything, but conjecture.

  38. AGV

    This might become Joyce’s party 2.0

  39. Furie

    We’re about to get a Slipshine set entirely in Dorothy’s mind, aren’t we?

  40. DarkoNeko

    mind, blown

  41. Dot

    *laugh track*

  42. Vulcanodon

    Check your pants at the door

  43. Pergola

    So what’s that color? Magenta? Fuchsia? Hot pink?

  44. Username Taken

    So what are the odds that Dorothy ends up joining them and we eventually get Lucy finding Walky we think both of his pantsless exes for a repeat WTF, hahaha

  45. egg egg

    Time for Dorothy x Amber ship sweep!!!

  46. HoopsieDaisy

    “Everyone forgets Ethan.”
    I thought we were looking for fun today. Sorry, but Ethan’s not a fun nerd, currently.

  47. Some Ed

    Who is Ethan? Or does everyone forget?

  48. Tan

    Walky: I said I couldn’t date you instead of Lucy. I never said anything about being friends with no romantic attachment.

    Amber: You introduced me to your parents as your girlfriend less than 24 hours ago.

    Walky: …Okay, that’s true, but that was Lucy’s idea.

    Dorothy: So if I get Lucy on board, it’s fine?

    Walky: I guess?

    Lucy: A threesome HAS to count as a date.

    1. NGPZ

      But wait didn’t she already have a third date?

  49. thumb

    Amber: Irreedemable and unloved, I am free to be the worst version of myself.
    Everyone else: Ooh, I should hang out with Amber! She’s just what I need.

  50. Hazel

    Dorothy is at the point where she’s going down a list of basically good advice, applying it by the letter, and it’s still not working. The sad thing is, I think she won’t know what she *actually* needs until she finds out the hard way.

  51. Mr. Random

    Lucy better walk in on this. It’ll be weird to see him hanging out with BOTH of his ex girlfriends.

  52. Willoughby Chase

    Hands in the cookie jar! Together!

    They’ll have to get married now!

  53. Bryy

    Really not liking Dorothy’s whole framing of Joyce here.

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