134

Perspective
Posted on February 26, 2019 by David M Willis
February's first bonus strip is up at the Dumbing of Age Patreon, and folks voted for Jocelyne!  All Patrons can now go check it out.   also if you're on drip And, hey, you can also upgrade to seeing tomorrow's strip a day early every day!  That comes in handy sometimes.

134 thoughts on “Perspective”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    yeah, one day I’ll be disappointed to have it confirmed that all my loved ones are mere mortals

    or, alternately, that they got to outlive me

    DISAPPOINTED

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      You either die a hero to your family or live long enough to have a stack of their femurs in your murder cave.

    2. Needfuldoer

      Yeah, I don’t know what’s more disconcerting: your parents’ first big health scare, or the first time you realize you’re older they are in your earliest memories.

      1. Clif

        Yeah, no. The big one is when you realize for the first time that you’re older than they were when they died.

        1. keithcurtis

          +2

  2. Nono

    Ruth is taking about Billie isn’t she.

    1. lilyliv --> ian livs

      I didn’t even realize until you pointed it out, but judging by her expression in that last bit… dammit, you’re right. 🙁

    2. ShinyNeen

      Yeah, probably. I mean, she’s never had a great opinion of people on average, but in this case… yeah.

  3. Electriccombines

    Let’s make a club for disappointing families! We can swap stories!
    Also known as group therapy!

  4. Lily

    Feeling bad for Ruth right now, Billy hasn’t been great lately

    1. Lily

      *Billie

    2. Yotomoe

      To be fair, she hasn’t been great at many other points in their relationship too.

  5. AnvilPro

    …is Ruth x Amber going to happen? I’d be happy that Ruth gets someone better than who she’s currently with, but I really want Amber x Walky

    1. Nono

      Amber has given absolutely no bisexual tendencies so far, so… unlikely?

      1. JetstreamGW

        Is anyone REALLY straight in this comic?

    2. Tilt

      Oh god I hope not. D: They both need someone stable, and neither of them is that.

    3. Rowan

      I’d really hope that Ruth wouldn’t fall for another person under her authority.

      1. Axel

        or at least not act on it again

    4. Makkabee

      I think if Ruth gets caught banging a second girl on her floor even Grandpa Schmuck’s influence might not be enough to save her.

      Of course, AmaziGirl isn’t one of her charges, right?

    5. Marsh Maryrose

      Ruth has never dated Dorothy, so I’m going with no?

      1. Clif

        Your logic is impeccable.

    6. Keulen

      I don’t think Amber was ever interested in other girls in the other universe, and I’m pretty sure the sexual orientations of characters stayed the same from that continuity to this one.

    7. Roborat

      Can’t they just become friends?

  6. ValdVin

    Is it obligatory for Ruth to wear a Leafs shirt when she says that line in panel five?

    1. Makkabee

      Well, it IS the official team motto.

    2. Doctor_Who

      It adds gravitas to what she’s saying.

    3. Marsh Maryrose

      No. It would only be obligatory if she’d said that continually everyone disappoints you.

    4. Tan

      She also has the option to wear an Arby’s shirt.

      1. Annonymouse

        Is Arby’s even in Canada?

        I have had it stateside and was not impressed at all.

        I don’t see it going well here. At best taking the Crispy Cream track with quick public fascination, expansion, and implosion, ending up with maybe one location making a technical presence.

        1. Tan

          The Arby’s webpage location finder shows 55 Arby’ses in Canada, mostly in Alberta and Ontario.

          That aside, I am making reference to Nihilist Arby’s, a popular parody twitter which tweets bleak and pessimistic messages paired with unenthusiastic or backhanded suggestions to eat Arby’s, based on the premise that Arby’s is terrible, but so is life, so you might as well.

        2. Clif

          Wait. There’s a twitter? I just thought it was a meme.

        3. Roborat

          Yes, there are, at least in Alberta where I live. The impression I have of them is that they are . . . somewhat erratic. The first one I experienced, in Lloydminster, was great, really tasted good, yet several of the ones in Edmonton are awful. It seems the food taste is very location specific, which I find strange for a fast food chain.

        4. BBCC

          We have one where I live too. I LOVE their curly fries.

        5. Marsh Maryrose

          Love the potato cakes. Like the Arby’s sauce. Their sandwiches, though, range from blah to inedible.

        6. Inahc

          There are at least two here, each in a mall I visit about once a decade. The meat has a certain strange charm… I’m still not sure whether to count it as food, though.

  7. shadowcell

    this is the most Maple Leafs comic Ruth has ever been in

  8. Nono

    ‘I’m disappointed in you Amber, you could have thrown that chair at least another couple feet.’

    1. ValdVin

      But not in the hallway, or it’d end up on a plaque in Ruth’s room along with Walky’s shoes and other trophies.

    2. Mollyscribbles

      Pretty sure she held back. Even when you’re angry you can have a moment of realizing that breaking a window isn’t a great plan.

      1. HeySo

        Besides, she was frustrated and stressed, not angry. One’d assume there’d be less of an urge to thoughtlessly break things, and more of an urge to satisfyingly bounce a chair off the ground.

    3. BarerMender

      I expect the chair hit the wall and bounced.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Yeah, looks like it hit the closet door (with a nice, loud, clattery *BANG*).

    4. Deanatay

      She’s been practicing with it.

  9. Sporky

    They make a good team.

    1. Opus the Poet

      Not the Leafs. The are mediocre at best. I was in third grade the last time the won the Cup, I’m 60 now…

  10. butts

    ruth is perhaps not qualified to give advice on this subject

    1. Kern Wallace

      She is simultaneously the most and least qualified to give advice on this topic.

  11. meep

    Is she feeling Envious of Sal and Walky? I mean, their family has their own problems, but since neither of Sal&Walky’s parent’s where outright physically abusive I guess it’s still an improvement.

    1. Nono

      They can at least work things out.

      Meanwhile, Amber has… Faz.

      1. meanderling

        Hey, don’t be like that. She also has…Joe…

        1. Clif

          Now that really makes things better.

    2. BenRG

      They still have someone else with whom they are determined to always be close. Right now, Amber really would like to have some kind of anchor point in her life.

  12. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Jackson Browne’s “Shape of a Heart” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. UniqueSnowflake2

      What, not “Disappointed” by Electronic?

  13. circuitbound

    She just noticed the missing USB stick.

    1. Alanari

      That is an interesting possibility

  14. timemonkey

    Weirdly, I could ship these two.

  15. DailyBrad

    I am just picturing the chair-throwing bit from Boondocks now.

    1. Michelle J. Caboose

      I think more of the chair-throwing scenes from “The LEGO Movie.”

  16. 1 2 2 50 in Roman numerals

    I swear the more jocelyn bonus strips we get the more im tempted to support doa on patreon

  17. Bathymetheus

    The cynicism is strong with this one.

  18. BBCC

    Ruth is everyone’s favourite den mother, I dunno what you mean, Willis.

    And don’t worry Amber – if you’d kept dating Walky, you’d have found out the Walkerton parents are plenty disappointing in their own special ways!

    …That’s not helpful.

    Your mom seems pretty nice, if a bit oblivious?

    Yeah, I got nothing. Sometimes things just suck to suck.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Ruth studied at the Davan MacIntire School of Counseling.

  19. Yotomoe

    “Everybody’s disappointing the more you get to know them”

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      ” Which is also a good reason why you should never meet your Heroes.”

  20. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    . . . That is a completely human reaction from Amber. Disappointment. Anger. Resignation. Perhaps not the healthiest of ways of reacting mind but much better then dressing up as a vigilante.

    Also. . . Ruth there is a time for Cynicism. This is not it. This is a shoulder to lean on moment. But you’re trying at least.

    1. Clif

      Much safer than dressing up as a vigilante superhero. Better, when you can actually carry it off and make others safer? Unconvinced.

      1. thejeff

        Though when you add in the actual disassociation part, that pushes it back into the seriously unhealthy category again.

        1. Clif

          Fair enough.

  21. someguywithakatana

    “Even yourself?”

    “Especially yourself”

  22. artschoolrage

    Is Ruth saying that about Billie?

    1. BBCC

      Almost certainly.

      Who wants to take bets on whether Willis is mean enough to break up two couples in one storyline? 😛

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        It’s late at night, the storyline is almost over, and Billie is presumably still drunk in her room in Forest, so I’m going with not likely, though Billie could certainly drunk call or drunk text.

        Wait, that’s not the question you asked, is it. The question was: is he mean enough? And the answer is yes, hands down.

      2. artschoolrage

        Lowkey hope so. I like the idea of Ruth finding healing and success on her own, which leaves Billie to focus on her issues.. ideally.

  23. motorfirebox

    I like that Ruth can specify what was thrown. The sound a chair makes when you throw it is much different from a book, or a pillow, or a babysecond pillow.

    1. motorfirebox

      stupid tags not closing when i don’t close them

      1. RacingTurtle

        On the bright side, we all get to try to decide what a babysecond pillow is!

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      Differential diagnosis should be pretty easy in this setting. Beds and desks are pretty much attached to the wall, and apart from chairs and mini-fridges, most throwable stuff wouldn’t make a noise you could hear outside the room. And if you can’t tell the difference in sound between a chair and a mini-fridge, you should get your hearing checked.

      Also, you’re less likely to forget the closing tag if you do it immediately after the opening tag, and then put the text between the tags.

      1. Clif

        Witchcraft, I tell you.

      2. Roborat

        Ruth is just that good, she can not only tell what style of chair has been thrown, just by the sound it makes; but also brand, age fabric pattern and colour.

  24. DarkoNeko

    Good chemistry here. Just don’t start making out, that’d make me upset on *two* existing couples.

  25. SaraB

    This is the origin story of AmaziGirl and Toronto Woman, isn’t it?

    1. Mollyscribbles

      Toronto Woman’s not that catchy. Toranado? Canuck Amuck?

      1. Marsh Maryrose

        IceBlade
        Slapshot
        The Femur Collector
        The Kaladar Castigator

        1. Mollyscribbles

          Trannha — this might make more sense in my head, but sort of a mashup of the way people from Toronto pronounce it and piranha.

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          Trannasaurus Rex!

          Note for Ruth: The Raptors are currently at the top of their division. If she’d like to root for a winning team for a change.

        3. Mollyscribbles

          I could see that leading to a debate with Dina over if the mascot should add feathers to the design, and if so what color scheme they should go with.

    2. BenRG

      Nah, Ruth’s superhero name is The Maple Leaf.

    3. Nono

      Billie as the Drama Hurricane, Ruth as the Toronto Tornado.

      1. Rotunda

        Those sound more like wrestling names.

        1. BenRG

          Hey! No giving Willis ideas for Slipshines!

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          Um…why not? Apart from the fact that we don’t want his drawing hand to cramp up again.

  26. Rabid Rabbit

    Aww, Ruth’s doing well.

    By which I mean she’s saying What she does in panel 5 with a sarcastic smile and almost an eyeroll, rather than with an expression suggesting that her next line is going to be “So let’s drink ourselves to death.”

  27. Agemegos

    I hope Dina is doing something nice with Becky.

    1. Fuchs Sakemann

      We haven’t seen them in a while. I hope they’re having a good time.

  28. OnyxIdol

    Side eye buddies! This is the beginning of a wunderful ~~friendship~~ something!

    1. OnyxIdol

      gdi

  29. BenRG

    You know what’s the real tragedy in this strip? What Ruth says in panel 5. She’s really too young to be that broken and cynical!

    As for Amber, I guess I do understand what’s happened. The Walkerton twins are, in the end, a very close family and Amber would be less than human if she didn’t get a little jealous when she compares it to what she’s got. However, at least some of the distance she has from her mother is due to her own nature. Maybe there’s time to try to fix at least some of her family connections because I think that Stacey and Faz are salvageable links in her life.

    1. BBCC

      I wouldn’t call the Walkerton twins ‘very close’ family, but they’re trying to fix things and I think Amber’s got a very human reaction to that.

    2. Roborat

      I am wondering if she is referring to something else, like maybe that thing with her Dad and the stolen USB stick has just become an issue now?

  30. Bagge

    Eat at Arbys

    1. JBento

      Eating at Arby’s will kill you.

      But, eventually, what won’t?

      Eat Arby’s.

  31. foducool

    “chair throwing is not allowed on this floor”

    1. BenRG

      “Unless it’s at my grandfather. Then it’s a public service.”

      1. Mollyscribbles

        Nah, I can’t see her encouraging someone to do that in an area with security cameras. She’ll draw up a map of the campus blind spots and mark the areas her grandfather is more likely to lurk in.

    2. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet

      It wasn’t on the floor. It was through the air.

  32. Keulen

    That chair was being a jerk, it deserved it.

    1. BarerMender

      Damn arrogant chairs.

      1. Roborat

        Yup, but the Arrogant Worms are great.

  33. TheFlamingonator

    Ruth’s chair senses were tingling. she’s thrown enough of them to have that

  34. Eve

    …I’m worried if this means Faz will be showing up soon. On the one hand, I really feel for him in this universe, I doubt living with those parents is in any way healthy, on the other hand it would probably also mean Ambers dad trying to get back in her life.

    1. BenRG

      I’m pretty sure in my own head that Amazi-Girl’s next adventure will be trying to free Faz and his mother from Blaine’s control. That is going to be a very emotionally-fraught experience and may end up with Amber being in a ‘you broke it, you bought it’ scenario with Faz (especially if, in some misguided act of loyalty, Yuri takes the fall rather than see Blaine busted). There’s no guarantee that Stacey and Richard Rosenthal will be able to help.

      Amber having to work for most of her spare hours to support her kid brother whilst also trying to fit in her college would be a valid development of the character’s journey, given her circumstances.

  35. BarerMender

    Ruth and Amber are my favorite two characters, and I like seeing them together, but I can’t ship them. It would violate the logic of both characters.

    1. Schpoonman

      THANK you. Shipping wars make sense when you see people rooting for SalxDanny vs DannyxEthan, or WalkyxDorothy vs WalkyxAmber vs WalkyxLucy, but then completely unrealistic garbage like MaryxCarla or WalkyxJason is posited and I wonder how the shippers are capable of feeding themselves.

      1. BBCC

        Crack ships never hurt anybody!

        I have to admit neither of those one appeal to me though.

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          Walky and Jason had some pretty good bromance occasions, and Walky once joked that he would “go down on a dude” for free pizza. Doesn’t appeal to me either, but I wouldn’t say it’s totally a crack ship.

          Unlike MaryxCarla. What is up with that?

        2. thejeff

          It did get teased in canon, much to Carla’s disgust.

        3. BBCC

          Fair enough, but I was mostly referring to Amber/Ruth.

  36. Josh Spicer

    God damn if the Leafs fan ain’t right.

  37. Eldritch Gentleman

    Oh come on Ruth, you were doing so well! Don’t be an enabler.

  38. abysswatcher1993

    Don’t get me started, Ruth. Many artists I loop up to end up being jerks, sociopaths, or get criminal charges. This is why I only look up to my family because I already learned their flaws and accept them instead of glorifying them like I did with my “heroes”.

    1. TemperaryObsessor

      No you gotta look up to fictional characters, that way when they mess up you can tell yourself it never happened, or alternatively you can look up to what they did right while not being okay with what they did wrong.
      For example you gotta admire Meowth, I mean not joining a criminal group which abuses his kind, but all the times he helped save the world and teaching himself to read and write with no outside help.

  39. Aprion

    And then they fucked.

    What? You know you were all thinking it.

    1. Schpoonman

      No. No we were not.

      1. Aprion

        * invader Zim voice * YOU LIE! 😛

    2. newllend(henryvolt)

      I’m not judging you for it it’s just that believe it or not my mind on the other hand isn’t always in the gutter….yeah I’m surprised by that too.

      1. Aprion

        Neither is mine, I just like to pretend it is. peoples responses are sometimes hilarious. 😛

  40. HentMas

    With Billie being a bad influence and Ruth relating so much to Amber, are we seeing the beginnings of a love triangle?

    Not that I ship them, but it’s interesting that out of all the people involved Ruth and Amber have the most in common, self hate over particular fatherly figures… Let’s add Joe into the mix but not because of self hate but related traumas from childhood and you have a threesome going……

    oh god, what am I doing…

  41. nothri

    I suppose stark cynicism is as valid a foundation for friendship as any.

  42. Luna

    On the plus side, Amber, at least your mom is about a hundred times better than their’s?

    1. BBCC

      That comparison’s just insulting to Stacey. They’re in completely different leagues of moming that they don’t even rank against each other. 😛

      I mean, yeah, Stacey is oblivious and doesn’t understand what Amber’s going through (though tbf, neither does anyone else who sees her far more frequently), but she also risked her life leaving Blaine and has been making it work since then.

  43. Corey

    Dont worry Amber, Walky has disappointed Sal plenty of times!

    1. BBCC

      And so have their parents! And people who were SUPPOSED to be the responsible adults after she was shipped to Tennessee! 😀

      …Why don’t I feel better?

  44. Bagge

    I love how they manage to bond over nihilism in the final panel, if their facial expressions are any clue.

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