519

Nina
Posted on July 19, 2016 by David M Willis

519 thoughts on “Nina”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    straight from cookie to nookie

    with a side of OMGWTFBB8

    1. Jack

      I’m loving Carla more and more.

    2. Jay Eff

      Just imagine if this was the first Dumbing of Age strip you ever read–!

      1. -JAD-

        Yes, it would be sort of – weird, funny and random, I guess. Now, I discovered Willis through “Shortpacked!” and there is one chapter where the “Roomies” crew makes an appearance and my reaction was pretty much what it would have been had I read this one as the first “DoA” strip.

        1. Skai Cyan

          I discovered Dumbing of Age about a year ago, through an add on Rule 34 of all things. 😛

    3. Reltzik

      Hey, there’s nothing wrong with cookie-based foreplay.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        It has always been crummy for me.

      2. JessWitt

        It could really hit my sweet spot.

      3. Jay Eff

        Don’t forget the Lady Fingers…

        1. Charlie Spencer

          Or the creamy filling.

        2. RandomRedMage

          now thats the stuff.

      4. Volkai

        Once, I would have agreed with you.

        Then I played Cookie Clicker.

    4. TheAnonymousGuy

      great, another damn porn comic I won’t be able to see

      (responder) just get a subscription to slipshine

      I’m not at a point in my life where I can just spend money frivolously. plus I just don’t trust a website that requires credit card information (security wise)

      1. TheAnonymousGuy

        also, I’m not that upset over them, just in my mind its like missing a part of the story, like missing I piece to a jigsaw puzzle, sure you don’t need that piece to see the full image you just wish you had it for a “complete” picture.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Can’t understand how everything fits together?

        2. TheAnonymousGuy

          no I understand, just that it’s like a corner piece, or a piece of the sky, or grass. not actually needed but, would appreciate it being there

        3. HiiroArana79

          That looks like sturdy bed.

        4. Dean

          I was the same about the Patreon strips, until I subscribed, their existence was twanging my completist nerve.

      2. Ana Chronistic

        You don’t have online banking?

        (I use disposable CCs, myself–after spending the entire balance or near enough to it, they’re handy for using to sign up for “free” accounts that need a CC # but give a sign-on bonus)

        ((such as getting 50 Shades of Grey as a free Audible d/l to prove a point about how much abusive garbage it is to a Shades defender who demands to know if I’ve read the book b/c no I didn’t but at least the bad writing is almost bearable at 3x speed even if I couldn’t make it to the tampon scene before saying GAH STOP THIS IS THE EXACT TRASH THAT EVERY ARTICLE IN THE WORLD HAS SAID IS IN THE BOOK AND I DON’T NEED TO VERIFY ANY MORE))

        (((or, you know, stuff like that, doesn’t have to be that EXACT thing)))

        1. Ana Chronistic

          ((((just saying maybe save up a change jar and get a $25 card from Target down the road when it’ll be even more cost-effective to subscribe and get like FORTY-TWO Willis Slipshines at once)))

        2. David

          For a moment there, I thought you enquired about “online banging” capabilities.

        3. Tan

          http://pervocracy.blogspot.com/search/label/Fifty%20shades%20of%20grey is approximately the only way I have been willing to “experience” 50 Shades. It is an honest-to-goodness Safe, Sane, and Consensual BDSM-type kinkster going through the book chapter by chapter and mocking the crap out of it, with extensive demonstrative quotations.

          The same blog also has a ‘Cosmocking’ series which similarly mocks issues of Cosmopolitan magazine. It is amusing and oftentimes informative.

        4. Mollyscribbles

          Along the same lines, The CEO can Drop Dead. It takes the basic character of Grey and has him attempt to target a woman who recognizes his behavior as sexual harassment and is freaked out rather than seduced. One drawback: Sadly, [SPOILER] the CEO in question is still alive at the end.

      3. Kryss LaBryn

        I really, really wish they’d just take PayPal. I always am slightly aghast when anyone online (looking at you, too, Amazon) doesn’t take freaking PayPal. It’s PayPal! What, you think I wanna trust everyone out there with my credit card number? Fat chance.

        1. agera

          paypal doesn’t like pron thats why i’ve many site lose money from paypal and adsense do to that policy.

        2. Volkai

          Slipshine would love to be able to take PayPal!

          PayPal does not feel the same way. Direct your ire towards PayPal.

        3. Ana Chronistic

          I understand they’ve changed their stance and will now allow payment for NSFW artists!

          …though I’m not sure about NSFW websites

        4. gwalla

          Patreon managed to finagle an exception due to being a 5000lb gorilla but in general, PayPal bans “adult materials” transactions and will freeze your account if they find out.

      4. bunivasal

        You don’t trust a website that requires credit card information? One that’s a known quantity, that clearly has a robust and devoted following? It’s not like you’re buying used pinball machine parts from a site based in Chechnya or something.

        Honestly your credit card information is probably at a greater risk every time you swipe it at Target or use an ATM at a lonely gas station.

        1. Mollyscribbles

          Alternative way of looking at it: Doesn’t want to leave a paper trail for their porn purchases.

      5. ditrysia

        I read the “responder” in Spanish, so it was just “to reply”, and I was very confused several minutes. God I’m tired.

  2. SailorCakes

    I missed Sal <3

    1. butts

      Her facial expressions. Priceless.

      1. Dara

        yeah, seriously. XD

      2. John

        Sal:
        |: S: D8 😐

        1. John

          Oh, come on, graphical emoticon thing. Don’t just convert one of them.

      3. David

        She has an obvious beef but a boarding school history. I’m guessing this face is about Marcia’s past.

  3. Spencer

    carla no

    1. Wheelpath

      Carla YES. Bow chicka wow wow, chicka neh neh, Chicka bwoom bwoom bnew

      1. magicallady

        isnt that music for a porn?

        1. butts

          YES.

        2. magicallady

          why go for cliche porn music? make up something original!

        3. Woobie

          So that noone would get the reference?

        4. Fred

          If we’re at home, we usually put on some Clockwork Cabaret.

        5. Orion Fury

          Country.

      2. Reltzik

        What WAS that song, originally? I know it was its own piece before it became associated with porn, but…

        1. Jay Eff

          Oh, it could be any number of 1970’s stock music cues. I don’t think it’s any one song in particular.

          I mean, listen to this. And this one, too. I have no idea whether they were ever used in porn, but I wouldn’t be surprised..

        2. Cunobaros

          I can’t answer that, but the “Mahna mahna, do doo dedodo” song made famous by the Muppet Show was originally written for an Italian soft porn “documentary” about Swedish women having saunas, so these transfers can go both ways.

        3. wotsthisollabout

          this is the hilariest thing i’ve heard this week! thanks!!!

        4. gwalla

          Not a specific song, it’s just that the “golden age of porn” was the ’70s so a lot of it ended up with a ton of wah-wah funk guitar on the soundtrack since that was in fashion.

        5. PlainMarie

          Ah, thank you. That makes so much more sense of that reference. I know just the kind of music you are talking about now.

    2. FLUFFYWOLF

      CARLA YES

      1. Haven

        ULTRA-YES

    3. Cerberus

      Very much, Carla no.

    4. Reltzik

      Don’t out the relationship to Sal, Carla.

      …. Sal DGAF, but you don’t know that, and you gotta be careful with secrets on principle.

      …. also, the sex thing is a terrible solution, but it does get the point across that it’s an emergency and will eventually illicit a more detailed report, which is the priority, so I won’t deduct too many points for that.

      All in all, a solid B, which I’ll raise to a B+ for being under pressure.

      1. Shaunock

        Sex may be a terrible solution but it’s still a solution.
        Like alcohol.

        Oh, I think I just went full circle.

        1. Dean

          Technically, alcohol is a solvent.

        2. Geneseepaws

          Oh, Plus 5 to Dean and Ravenscroft!

        3. vlademir1

          in the particular case of alcoholic beverages alcohol is actually the solute and water is the solvent in the main solution, but both the water and alcohol act as a solvent to other components of the beverage.

        4. Reltzik

          Unless it’s something strong like, say, a bottle of 151, in which case the alcohol is the solvent, the water is the solute, and both act as solvents for the other components.

      2. George

        Elicit. Illicit means ‘illegal’.

  4. Mandy

    what

    1. butts

      what

      in the butt

      1. magicallady

        stop

        1. Tan

          Hammer time?

        2. magicallady

          cant touch this

        3. Ana Chronistic

          She’s a very freaky grrrl

        4. Reltzik

          Don’t. Turn around.

        5. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Turn around, bright eyes.

        6. magicallady

          someday, someone’s gonna make you turn and say goodbye

        7. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Le freak, c’est chic

        8. Needfuldoer

          children what’s that sound

        9. Kitty

          Everybody look what’s going down

        10. sarahlost36

          Something happenin here, what it is, ain’t exactly clear..

        11. SundaesChild

          Collaborate

        12. Jonathan

          and listen

        13. Lawzlo

          to the flower people

  5. Mr. Mendo

    Oh, I’ve had THIS conversation…

    1. Doctor_Who

      Yeah, who hasn’t been asking about housing options for the homeless when you were suddenly called upon to perform coitus.

      1. Cerberus

        That’s… not a typical Friday for everyone…? Oh…

        1. DannyZebra

          *Shrugs* Straight people…

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Never. That is Tuesday stuff, duh!

        3. magicallady

          you do that on tuesday…?

        4. inqntrol

          It sounds more like a Monday thing.

        5. magicallady

          specifically monday morning

        6. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Oh Monday mornin’ you gave me no warnin’ of what was to be

        7. LWS

          It’s just another magic Monday…

        8. Kitty

          Monday you can fall apart

        9. Willoughby Chase

          I don’t like Mondays, but Friday I’m in love.

        10. Orion Fury

          That’s sounds kinda nice, actually. Doing good deeds then the good deed?

  6. Lumino

    You know you have fucked up when Sal is the voice of reason.

    1. TrueVCU

      You know you have fucked up when SAL’S FACE is the voice of reason

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        Faaaaaaaaaaaaace.

        1. Woobie

          FAAAAAAAAAAAAACE

      2. Cacturne

        Obligatory FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE.

      3. Reltzik

        You know you’ve fucked up when her face shows something worse than apathy.

    2. Durandal_1707

      I dunno, Sal’s been doing a lot of “voice of reason” lately, it seems.

      1. JessWitt

        Isn’t that Mike’s schtick?

        1. Rycan

          He’s the asshole of reason. There’s a difference.

        2. Sam

          The difference is that Sal tries to put it nicely and help you come to the realisation yourself before things go out of hand.

          Mike presents it in the cruelest way possible causing you to run into denial land but he stabs you in the back with the truth as you leave so that eventually you will have to stop ignoring it or it will screw you over. Also if there is room to bang someone just to mess with you, he definitely will try to fit that in.

    3. Emperor Norton II

      I have said it before: In the DoA cast, Sal is actually one of the more mature of the cast, relatively speaking. Sure, she’s not -fully- mature, and she definitely has her weak points (hi, Malaya!), but she had to grow up a lot faster than the others had (especially Walky and Billie, who still have not really had to grow up at all before college), and she knows a hell of a lot of real life things that they don’t teach you at school.

      And because of that, as long as you are not Malaya, then if you are in trouble, then Sal is probably the one who is best prepared to come up with solutions that aren’t perfect but works in real life, as opposed to theoretically perfect solutions that doesn’t.

      And this is not new either in the comic. When Joyce was attempted raped, Sal was the one who understood what solution would give Joyce less pain, because she knew that going to the cops most likely would not solve a damn thing anyway, and it would therefore only serve to hurt Joyce to have to go through that night over and over again.

      So yeah, that Sal would be the one really going “What the everloving fuck?!?!” to Billie’s display of being a sheltered rich kid… Makes perfect sense to me.

      1. Spencer

        On that note about Sal and Joyce…. eeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhh i dunno.

        I mean, she is right that the police probably wouldn’t solve anything but ultimately ended up causing Joyce to try and bury the issue, and later on she tells Joyce not to talk to a therapist about her trauma because therapists are dumb jerks.

        1. Sam

          She did however make Joyce promise to confide in a friend about it later – her advice wasn’t ‘bury it because therapists suck’, it was ‘confide in a friend because you can trust a friend and I’ve never found a therapist I could trust’.

        2. Lea_firebender

          I hope she goes to a therapist soon though 🙁 PTSD is serious.

      2. Andy

        Yeah, Sal’s also got her own truckload of issues, but she’s developed coping mechanisms… like, I suspect, wearing gloves all the time to cover a scar on her hand that constantly reminds her of her worst decisions. Though whether her coping mechanisms have their own costs… I suspect we’ll learn. Probably around the time Amazi-Girl actually corners her.

  7. Achallenger

    well, she’s trying

    1. Opus the Poet

      Very, yes. I’ll let myself out.

    2. Orion Fury

      I guess I should have looked to see if this had been posted already.

  8. tim gueguen

    Nina gets a tag.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      [Prepares bonus strip campaign.]

    2. HeyMay

      Slartibeast, my thoughts exactly!

    3. Orion Fury

      For having to listen to that, she deserves a tag.

  9. jalika123

    Sals expression through out this comic is me

  10. Inspector Hound

    Sal is actually dumbfounded. I didn’t think that was possible.

    1. magicallady

      even with her knowing joyce?

    2. Doctor_Who

      She’s speechless. Billie has broken Sal. And then Carla compounded it.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Have you tried turning Billie off and then on again?

        1. Doctor_Who

          Ruth sure has!

        2. Cerberus

          Ruth did.

        3. magicallady

          repeatedly

        4. butts

          With her face.

        5. Kamino Neko

          That’s Jason’s job…though to be fair, he hasn’t done the second part in a long while.

        6. Kamino Neko

          Oops, I misread that Billie as Sal…though from the context that really seems what Slartibeast intended, so…who knows. >_>

        7. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          S’okay, I meant to say Sal actually, but brain no worky.

        8. Reltzik

          In point of fact, it’s Jason’s job NOT to do that.

        9. Pat

          …is that his entire job? I can do that! Er, not do that. I will take one job, please.

        10. Cerberus

          One proof among many that Jason is very very bad at his job.

        11. Orion Fury

          Is she plugged in?

    3. Drs

      Panel 3 is less dumbfounded, more rage and horror.

      1. Woobie

        Gobsmacked?

        1. Leorale

          Appalled.

        2. magicallady

          bewildered

        3. Kitty

          Flabergasted

        4. Spencer

          Agog.

      2. Reltzik

        I’d call it shock and disgust.

  11. Some1

    http://imgur.com/VJ7Cmre

    yay my sexy fan art is slightly relevant!

    1. butts

      I approve.

  12. Qwil man

    sal

    1. Qwil man

      sal is the best

  13. Proxy

    Sal’s reactions are gold XD

  14. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Nina, pretty ballerina…

  15. FLUFFYWOLF

    Sal: “This is one of the weirdest moments I have ever seen and that is saying a lot.”

    1. gkheyf

      i chicken’d a truck to save a superhero with a churchy girl as counter-weight

  16. Too Old To Be Cool

    It’s gonna be messy!

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Fucking the shit out of someone always is.

      1. Dellaran

        I have to ask you who this gravatar is! I didn’t see her in your Tumblr…

        1. Amazi-Stool

          She’s in the tumplr, but you have to browse to page 9.

        2. Dellaran

          Oh! I guess I’m just blind. Thanks!

  17. chris73

    Yes to getting Billie involved but I’m thinking sex may not be the best idea ever…

    1. gkheyf

      are…are you sure? it’s a pretty good idea, up there with fire and sliced bread

      1. chris73

        Its a good idea in general certainly but I’m thinking it might not be the best idea for this particular situation

        1. magicallady

          oh no probably not the best idea

        2. Cerberus

          Oh, very much so.

          Honestly, I’m genuinely disappointed in Carla here largely because the idea that sex can “cure” depression is a really toxic one for a variety of reasons.

          I mean, there’s:

          a) Depression fundamentally doesn’t work that way.

          b) The casual idea that sex fixes everything is all a common joke in society, but it tends to get really nasty when applied to asexuals in romantic relationships and encourages a culture where it is expected for an asexual to “perform” to show they care about their partner and as a romantic asexual herself, and one who is likely sex-repulsed, that’s an extra bag of internalized acephobia right there.

          c) Depression really doesn’t work that way.

          d) Depressed people tend to be less likely to feel any type of sexual desire and the idea that they can just “make themselves better” by pushing themselves into something they don’t feel any interest at the moment gets really toxic and can lead to internalizing self-hatred for not “even being able to give their partner(s) love”.

          e) Not only does depression 100% not work that way, but the public perception that sex cures depression leads to some toxic shit. Like, women with depression have gotten harassed really badly entirely because a group of really toxic men believed that no woman could be depressed because “they can access sex whenever they want”. And that idea is fucked up in like 90 different ways, but that idea of depressed people are people who can’t get laid and it instantly gets better when people get laid is a common social myth that gets a lot of play in sitcoms and other comedies.

        3. Kris

          I agree with this especially since depression like most things differs from person to person. I think this really just shows that Carla’s has no experience with a depressed person. Hopefully Billie who has experience with Ruth at the very least will be better at engaging. Honestly sometimes just being present is enough.

        4. Cerberus

          Yeah, Carla has no faith in how much she was already helping Ruth, because she believes she’s inherently “bad at this” because of her lack of experience with depression. It’s a pernicious catch-22.

        5. Dana

          Wouldn’t this be an easy mistake for Carla to make, not “getting” the details of the attitudes of the sexually inclined? Or is this a case of the minority needing to know all about the majority’s situation, living in the majority’s world?

        6. Cerberus

          Could be. In that Carla in the other universe is sex-averse and so if she is still that in this universe, she might have actively pushed away learning to much about people’s “vile mating rituals” as her other-universe counterpart put it.

          But it’s probably more that the idea that sex “fixes” depression is just a common cultural myth (like there’s a lot of comedy plotlines that essentially go, guy is emo and depressed about life, but then a hot girl bangs him and suddenly, he sees life in a whole new light and his depression is completely gone until that relationship ends and he’s no longer getting regularly laid*), so it’s really easy to believe that even if you belong to a group that that myth can directly harm.

          *On that particular idea, I think this is also what is behind cultural memes such as when a person is in a foul mood, others may refer to them saying “that person just needs to get laid” or the more toxic idea that the “ball-buster” archetype suddenly becomes a mewling kitten once she’s been given the “D”.

          I dunno, it’s part and parcel of a whole suite of cultural beliefs I find especially galling.

        7. Doki

          “On that particular idea, I think this is also what is behind cultural memes such as when a person is in a foul mood, others may refer to them saying “that person just needs to get laid” or the more toxic idea that the “ball-buster” archetype suddenly becomes a mewling kitten once she’s been given the “D”.”

          UGH these both bother me so much. Especially the first one, if only for the reason it makes me feel bad about how other allosexual people think. Like, sure, I like sex a lot but it’s not hard to understand that other people just? DON’T???

          The second one’s gross too, but that first one just gets to me more personally OMG. It gives sex positivity a bad name (and sets productive discussions about sexuality back) when people think like that. :C

        8. Doki

          …my phrasing is kind of fucked up here aaaaa. Hopefully my meaning is clear though?

        9. Cerberus

          Nah, it makes sense and I agree as a sex-positivity activist.

        10. Historyman68

          Totally. I had a friend who was being a real asshole and my other friend kept saying “he just needs to get laid.” Which I kept arguing with him about because, among other things, he was being a real creep to women, and I didn’t see that stopping because of that. I eventually had to cut him out altogether, and I really don’t see the other friend much either anymore.

        11. Regalli

          It’s a mistake I can totally see someone making, but I dunno, as someone who is both (sex-curious) ace and deals with long-term depression I don’t think I have ever had a single thought in my life of “man I should have sex that’ll totally help this situation”* because, as Cerberus mentioned, depression fundamentally does not work that way. Hell I’m actually LESS likely to desire a partner when I’m in a bad spot because I don’t have the energy or the sex drive and tend to be not really up for humaning there, and my basic compassion for other human beings means I wouldn’t want to inflict my depressive lumpness on another person.

          * Note that this is a distinct thing from “oh that’s my sex drive reminding me it exists I should deal with that.” That’s not really an emotion as such anyway.

          And it’s a very long-standing and insidious belief that mental illness in general can be “cured” by the love of a supportive partner, with sex or otherwise. We’ve seen Joyce demonstrate it, for instance, when she was aware Billie has depression issues, and it was bunk then, it’s bunk now, and it will always be bunk, because (say it with me kids,) mental illness does not work that way. So it’s REALLY disappointing to see Carla, who as a character isn’t perfect but is generally more with-it than Billie or Joyce, spout this idea. Not necessarily unexpected (it is Dumbing of Age after all,) but disappointing. A supportive partner can HELP, but it’s a hell of a lot for them to deal with themselves and it is by no means a guaranteed cure, and it’s usually a shitton more involved than “let’s bang now you’re better”. Sex is not going to help Ruth right now. Billie being present and supportive might, but due to the shitton of other factors in their relationship she could just as easily make things worse. What Ruth needs right now is antidepressants and someone to keep an eye on her, make sure she takes them, and make sure she doesn’t hurt herself and maintains some baseline level of survival necessities like food and water until she’s got the means to take care of herself. (Also for that someone to keep alcohol way the fuck away from her and help her detox, things Billie’s not the right person to go for with.) Long-term she also needs someone with some degree of training to talk to about her obvious self-loathing/parental death/guilt issues, but that can wait until she can like, actually interact with other human beings again.

        12. Cerberus

          This. All the this.

        13. David

          Cut Carla some slack. She’s run out of things she can think of doing herself, so she wants to engage Billie for something only she can do.

          And she does not seem to consider sex some sort of cure here, more like CPR. Because right now, Ruth seems to be emotionally flatlining.

        14. Cerberus

          Well, I’m not really angry with Carla. It’s more, oh, Carla, no, not that trope. Sad-face emoticon.

          Like it is entirely in keeping with her panic state to throw that out there, because the main thing she’s wanting is help, because this is probably her first time handling someone who is suicidally depressed and she’s freaking out about that.

        15. Spencer

          Is it bad that I think Cerberus being told to cut Carla slack is really, really funny?

        16. StClair

          Bad, no. Ironic as all heck, yes.

          And I can certainly understand Carla’s misapprehension / error / confusion. Her personal experience with romantic relationships is probably close to zero, and most other sources are totally behind the message, 100%, that “together == bangin'”.

        17. Reltzik

          But (and Carla don’t know this) while all that’s true, we have to add…

          f) Her romantic relationship with Billie seemed to be a stabilizing influence on her, and losing it a destabilizing influence.

        18. Cerberus

          Yeah, but there’s a difference between “this romantic relationship reminds me that someone sees me as a person of worth and she arouses long-lost emotions in me that make me want to almost view myself as a person of worth, but in a kinda co-dependent sorta way” mixed with “sex produces endorphins and endorphins can sometimes help mood as can NRE” and “fuck this person to make her happy and not suicidally depressed again”.

          Like, there’s just an extra coat of “nngh, no” when it’s treated as something that cures depression or at least waylays it rather than recognizing that it’s the relationship that was helping stabilize her and that sex, when she felt up to it, was something she was exploring in that relationship, rather than a key component of not being depressed anymore.

        19. Regalli

          I think it’s partly the “no, sex does not in fact solve EVERY problem, we can maybe quit joking about it?” alienation thing (’cause I sure as hell get it whenever people talk about Mary Slipshines and the like,) and partly the fact that it’s just fundamentally unfair to a romantic partner to expect them to be able to magically cure their SO’s mental illness. Because not only does it not work that way, but even if they’re helping and supportive and not going into this expecting their presence to be the magical chemical bandaid that fixes all ills, even if they’re in a decent space themselves and it’s not a mutual leaning on each other and trying to stay balanced situation, it’s still a lot of work helping another person out of the brain hellpit.

        20. Regalli

          Related to d) the fact that even if you try and get in the mood depression also fucks with your ability to achieve orgasm (pun entirely intended) does not help matters there whatsoever.

          Because as mentioned, depression super Does Not Work That Way.

        21. Cerberus

          Yup, that one comes up a lot for me in my personal life, because I’m an asexual who tends to date sexuals who also tend to struggle with depression and various other stuff. So I get to see and notice when a partner suddenly doesn’t ask for sex for months, because their depression has literally strangled out their libido and their ability to orgasm.

          And for sexual partners for whom sex is very important to them, this can often mean lending some extra support because the inability to feel sexual is bumming them out on top of the depression kicking their ass.

        22. Regalli

          Gotta love your brain malfunctioning so badly/being such an asshole that it strangles out even smaller temporary reprieves from the Unending Suck Pit.

        23. StClair

          yup.
          Because it’s only temporary and then it’s back to the “unending” suck, so why should you (or did you) even bother; or, indulging will only make something else worse (more broke, more fat, used spoons you could have done something important and productive with); or, my favorite, “you don’t deserve to feel good, not even for a little while.”

        24. Dana

          It’s funny, I don’t see it as odd if people need sex three times a day or not at all, but if I personally am disinterested for more than a week or two it’s a small crisis of identity. As if depression didn’t suck in enough ways already, right?

        25. Regalli

          Tell me about it. Mine’s sporadic enough I don’t really bother tracking it, but having brain routines to fall into is a comforting thing.

        26. DarkVeghetta

          Amen to the small crisis of identity when not feeling interested for a week+ (well, 2-ish weeks for me – then I get really worried). I’ve had exactly that happen a few times and it’s disorienting every time. Usually has more to do with lack of energy compounded by unsexy weather (especially when winter rolls over into spring and autumn into winter), but at times depression can certainly be a factor. It’s highly disconcerting when it happens.

        27. Falcon

          On the other hand, I’m not at all surprised. Carla has no idea how to deal with depression, or up to a couple hours ago even to spot it. She knows this. In a panicked state from seeing someone suicidally depressed, there was always going to be a high chance she’d try to think of a solution even as she’s running to get help, and it would unsurprisingly not be a great one.

        28. Cerberus

          What can she say, she’s a really good judge of what she is and isn’t good at. And handling depression issues with grace is not on the list with designing Rube Goldberg machines.

        29. Leorale

          Adding to all this, Carla assumes that Ruth is sad because Ruth and Billie broke up. If so, then no more breakup = no more scary sad.

        30. Falcon

          To be fair, that’s part of the sad. Not all of it.

          Billie will likely be feeling lots of concern and worry, yes, but perhaps also some anger. Ruth engineered their temporary break because she cared passionately about maintaining standards in her life. Now Ruth can’t muster enough care for anything, and is headed toward rendering their sacrifice meaningless.

        31. Roborat

          That was my read on Carla’s “logic” as well. She has no idea what depression is, and she is thinking like an engineer. Problem: Ruth is sad because Billy is gone. Solution: get Billy back with Ruth, Ruth is happy, problem solved.

        32. Cerberus

          Roborat-

          That makes a lot of sense and would fit with her problem –> solution thought processes that brought us her epic response to Mary.

        33. Doki

          As a chronically depressed allosexual person, I’d like to offer a slight counterpoint here? ;~; (It’s only slight because I DO agree it’s harmful to make sex compulsive for asexual/otherwise uninterested people. I’m personally extremely sex positive, but that doesn’t mean I expect sex to be anything better than neutral for a lot of people, even people without trauma.)

          Anyway! Without going into too many TMI details, when I’ve been at the worst with my depression and/or anxiety, I’ve actually self-medicated with sex, and it was extremely helpful. ;w; It feels like it, uh… resets my brain, if that makes sense? Just making a pause in the panic or numbness (depending on which thing I’m using it to fix) is extremely helpful, and the high you get off of orgasming is nice. Plus, I dunno, it just gives me something to DO? Like food – when I remember to eat – sex is something that I can still want on some level even when extremely depressed.

          Do I think sex will FIX Ruth’s depression? Uh. Definitely not LMAO. Do I think sex could theoretically break her out of her current funk? Maybe. It’s not a long-term solution, but it’s been a decent short-term for me personally? I GUESS??? (I’m so not used to talking about my depression in public oh my god I have no idea how to do this. |D)

          (Also hi, I totally saw your nice reply to my other comment on here – which was actually like my first ever! – but I lost what day it was on so… OOPS. Basically you offered me queer consolation hugs. Thank you! ;w;)

        34. DarkVeghetta

          Y’er doing good, mate. Don’ sweat it.
          And I’ll add my experience to your point, as I’ve done much the same when handling my past depressions. Though in my case I have never been depressed while in a loving relationship – somehow that dynamic always overwrites any and all depression-related feelings, but even masturbation helps ‘reset’, as you put it, my brain when depressed. Dopamine’s a hell of a drug. Ofc this isn’t fool proof, but it can be a stop-gap measure if available (as in, if you can actually still feel sensual when depressed, because often one can’t have those two states of mind coexist).

        35. Orion Fury

          Cerberus is good for that. A Champion in these parts.

        36. SundaesChild

          Thank you for this. I’d also add that as someone whose depression and anxiety is usually centered around or exacerbated by a lack of real connection with people, or being a burden to loved ones? The idea of “just getting laid” would most definitely not make things better. Especially if you’re interested more in making your partner feel good than yourself, I can’t imagine it would help.

        37. vlademir1

          “e) Not only does depression 100% not work that way, but the public perception that sex cures depression leads to some toxic shit. Like, women with depression have gotten harassed really badly entirely because a group of really toxic men believed that no woman could be depressed because “they can access sex whenever they want”. And that idea is fucked up in like 90 different ways, but that idea of depressed people are people who can’t get laid and it instantly gets better when people get laid is a common social myth that gets a lot of play in sitcoms and other comedies.”

          It doesn’t help that there are plenty of mental states that society at large, and unfortunately sometimes even the professional psych community, mistakes for depression which are not. Having access to sex and/or other forms of similar intimate relationships can seem to “fix” some of these reinforcing that stupidity you mention.

        38. Orion Fury

          It’s fucked up that fucking doesn’t unfuck feeling fucked up.

          I did take Carla’s solution there as a ‘turned up to 11’ thing. Everyone’s depression functions in different ways. Hence, the ‘cure‘ will vary. Ruth needs help, at minimum short term, possibly long term. Perhaps a comforting word or two from Billie, with a promise of companionship, may be enough to get Ruth functioning, at the least.

          It’s just, panel four Ruth yesterday? So me, for years now. I’m running on hope for tomorrow, cause that’s about all I got left.

        39. Aquatus

          Wait, which one is asexual? They both seemed pretty pro-sex at one point.

        40. Doki

          Neither of them are, I think people are just talking about people in general now?

          Carla is asexual though!

        41. Aquatus

          She is?
          Did I miss that or was it one of those other universes people talk about?

        42. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Sexual orientation is invariant across the dimensions of the Walkyverse. Only trivial things like Martians and Evil Head Aliens dooming Earth change.

        43. Cerberus

          Carla. Which makes her suggestion… a little extra unfortunate.

  18. Stephen R. Bierce

    *drops the needle on the record and it skips*

    1. m-m

      “put the needle on the record
      put the needle on the record
      put the needle on the record
      when the drum beat goes like this…”

      1. Jonathan

        Mars
        Needs
        Women

    2. Geneseepaws

      Arthur Pirahna: oh, sorry Squire, yer record’s broke.

  19. buddy

    honestly? that is the best line in all of dumbing of age spoken by someone besides dina. well done sir.

  20. Achallenger

    i like sals return in the last panel of ‘ok this plan i understand/could endorse’

    1. gkheyf

      or “oooooh…it’s a dream. i’m dreaming after eating expired tacos”

    2. Kamino Neko

      I think it’s more ‘this is a stupid plan, but at least it’s stopping Billie from saying horrifying crap’.

    3. Reltzik

      Or, “Back to the normal insanity, rather than disgusting causally-evil insanity.”

      1. Reltzik

        *casually

  21. gkheyf

    that fourth panel is sal giving up on processing anything. jason be damned, 2+2=fish

    1. Proxy

      Why? Because the Kool-Aid Man is red.

  22. Amanda

    billie

    billie no

    billie stop

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Billie, why don’t you take a stress pill and think things over.

      1. Tomas

        billie, i’m afraid.

        1. Tomas

          daisy, daisy…

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Daisy might be willing to take on the task if Billie won’t…

    2. Her.

      Billie give the cute homeless lesbian your bed. sleep with sal.

      1. gkheyf

        Those are all reasonable words to put in that order, yet for some reason almost all of them compel me to say something inappropriate.

  23. Black

    That third panel is just AWESOME.

  24. Derek

    I gather Nina is the housekeeper? Did she hang up on Billie in panel three? that seems rude…

    1. magicallady

      tbf billie’s question was rude

      1. Derek

        Ok maybe I’m being dense because I don’t see how it’s rude….it’s a legitimate question, wanting to know what happened to the homeless people, were they relocated or unceremoniously dumped in another state?
        From the sounds of it this happened when Billie was younger so I wouldn’t expect a teenager to pay attention to all social issues, especially someone as spoiled as Billie who was concentrating on being social and excelling at cheerleading
        If anything the question is rude to BECKY, so I don’t get why Nina would get offended….

        1. Needfuldoer

          My guess is they were relocated under protest without any extra help or support given, just booted from downtown to “clean it up” for the rich NIMBY people.

        2. David

          It’s a reasonably safe bet that Nina would be more likely to empathize with homeless people than Billie or her father and more likely to have friends/relatives affected by such stuff. When Marie Antoinette suggested that the poor should eat cake when they did not have bread, she was more likely than not completely clueless. But that did not render her more likeable.

          At least Nina’s solution was to hang up on Billie rather than hang her.

        3. insomniac

          Not to be That Guy, but to totally be That Guy, Marie Antoinette didn’t actually say that.

          Not that it invalidates your point, I just like being a pedant.

        4. vlademir1

          Let me add to that a quote from Is It Fall Yet?
          “Did you know Marie Antoinette never said ‘let them eat cake?’ That expression comes from a story about a princess, written by Rousseau.”

          And to be really pedantic while I’m here…
          The quote is not really accurate as commonly translated either, seeing as the word translated as “cake” is “brioche” which isn’t really a cake even by the context of the day. It isn’t the bread of the peasant classes, being a rich near pastry form of bread, but it still isn’t cake either.
          Marie Antoinette has been shown by much of the surviving first hand documentation of her life, such as surviving correspondences with her family, to have been deeply invested in the concepts of charity and noblesse oblige, so it could be interpreted to be the case that if she had said such a thing it would have been intended as instructions to feed the poor from the royal larders.
          That quote has documentation to suggest it existed even before Rousseau, and his story was already penned before Marie Antoinette even came to the French court.

    2. Sylvie Wrath

      I just realized, if she’s a housekeeper, then maybe she knew a lot of the homeless and it was too close to home for her to continue the conversation?

      1. magicallady

        that makes sense

        1. Cerberus

          Quite likely.

          Made even worse that that was something she probably had to bite her tongue on when “Senor Billingsworth” went on his anti-homeless tirades and was plotting to literally evict all the homeless people like a Dickens villain and so being reminded of that probably brings up a lot of difficult emotions that mess with her ability to do her job without wanting to plot to piss in the whiskey bottles.

          Not to mention that Billie’s clueless naivety on the matter is a bit much to handle. Like, oh honey, you’re my employer and if I actually were to give you the 101 on issues of class, you could get me so so fired.

        2. magicallady

          “mmm, that good ol pisskey taste”

        3. StClair

          all of this. 🙁

        4. Silly Name

          If it were Jack Daniels, pissing in it would probably make it taste better.

        5. vlademir1

          Couldn’t make it any worse.

  25. Bea

    Sal’s face in panel three is my new reaction image for everything.

    also oh Carla, how I love you

  26. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Panel 3: Sal was going to rip out Billie’s femurs and let Ruth take the rap, but now she’d need to silence Carla also…

    1. Reltzik

      Given that Billie wasn’t the one who sent “the homeless” to “somewhere else”…. probably not. I think that’s more a horrific realization that something bad happened, combined with shock at Billie’s total naivete on the subject.

  27. JessWitt

    No stuffing that cat back in the bag, eh Billie?

  28. Icalasari

    Thank you Carla, you may have saved Sal’s brain and Billie’s life

  29. Plasma Mongoose

    What size strap-on does Ruth take, we already know that Joyce takes a size 6.

    1. magicallady

      size 9?

    2. Raibean

      Wait, wait… Is there universal sizing for sex toys now?

    3. Orion Fury

      I think I missed that comic.

  30. Cholma

    OMG SAL! FAAAAAAAAAAAACE! <3

  31. miados

    how would sex help? sex isn’t even that great. It’s not bad but not as good as people make it out to be.

    1. Woobie

      Oh, yes it is!

    2. Proxy

      Maybe you’re just doing it wrong

      1. miados

        I dunno. after the first hour i was just tired and called it good. *shrug*

        1. Cerberus

          *hug* It’s okay for sex not to be a thing for you or not hold much interest for you.

          I dunno, if the asexual spectrum is something you would identify with, but it might be worth checking out if you feel it extends to attraction in general.

        2. miados

          I am attracted to people and such, but sex just isn’t something that excites me. I don’t hate it but i’d really usually just do it to make them happy.

        3. Cerberus

          That’s totally awesome! *supportive hug*

        4. Leorale

          From that particular comment, it sounds like you’ve only ever had sex one time. If enjoying sex is important to you, don’t despair, it’s very much a learned skill within each partnership and over a person’s lifetime! It varies so much on what you’re doing, and with whom, and whether you’re hitting the spots or concepts you like most, etc etc. If enjoying sex isn’t important to you then that is also a-ok!

        5. miados

          yeah…… only once.

          stopped because it was taking so long and i was getting tired by the end. so many people have told me just do it more you will like it. at least here people seem more varied in their opinion.

        6. Proxy

          I don’t think anyone’s first time is a perfect experience (I spent the whole time trying to figure out what I should do with my hands) but if sex just doesn’t excite you, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.

        7. vlademir1

          I’m guessing most of the people who told you that were below the age of 25. From my experience a majority of people in that age group, both when I was that young and in the intervening years since I was that age seeing it among the people I know who are, seem to think of sex as sort of the end all be all experience while failing to realize that everyone’s experiences of that experience can be vastly different.

        8. Regalli

          Seconding the hugs and the “yeah sex can be totally overrated and if it’s not something you’re interested in that’s totally fine.”

        9. Doki

          OH GOD you did it for over an hour?

          I, like, really really REALLY like sex, but even I don’t keep going if it’s taking more than an hour. You just get tired and it’s not really worth it anymore??? I hate that stereotype that it’s great to go ALL~ NIGHT~ LONG~~~ No, it’s kind of… not. It’s exhausting. :C

          I’m going to second the sentiment that it’s a learned skill, though. I don’t know if you were doing it with people who were extremely inexperienced or what, but they might have sucked at it LMAO. It’s a lot easier to know what gets you off once you’ve done it more than once. And bodies can be extremely picky with what even gets them off in the first place, which makes it harder to do it well without a lot of practice. ;~;

          But if you’re okay with never trying it again, that’s fine too! Sex can be amazing for some people, but it’s just not that great for everyone. Just like how not everyone’s a foodie, not everyone’s into sex.

        10. Orion Fury

          Admittedly I’m resisting making a Zoidberg reference.

          But it is different for everyone. Ultimately, you must do you.

    3. Emperor Norton II

      Short version: It would not. Cerberus has a long reply up there that explains why not.

      Also, sex is pretty great… for me, when I have partners it is really great for too. And yeah, a few people probably feel the way I do. But if it’s not that great for you, then just skip it and focus on something that really is great.

      1. Doki

        ^ YES. THIS SECOND PARAGRAPH.

        It might be something you want to invest time into, it might not be. Only you can really decide that though. ;w;

    4. David

      It makes shaking Ruth out of her torpor more engaging.

  32. OptimusPride

    “I NEED YOU TO FUCK THE SHIT OUT OF RUTH!” is probably the most awesomely WTF sentence since “YOUR VAGINA IS HAUNTED!”

    1. insomniac

      Oh God, that comic…

      1. magicallady

        use the power of the ghost vagina

    2. Orion Fury

      Book Seven title?

  33. AngBadman

    Carla’s expressions

    Panel 1: soooooo… Nice Day Outside
    Panel 2: WTF?
    Panel 3: Are you kidding me?
    Panel 4: soooooo… Nice Day Outside

    1. miados

      you mean sals?

      1. AngelBadman

        Obviously

  34. Chonos

    I hope in the next comic Sal climbs out the window without a word. Because, fuck all this noise, she needs to get out.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Doesn’t that violate their roomate agreement?

      1. Leorale

        Sometimes she just needs to blow off some steam!

        1. Roborat

          And right now, I am really wishing I was named Steam.

        2. Spencer

          But then she’d just ignore you.

      2. Chonos

        I’m sure there’s an escape clause.

        1. StClair

          *rimshot*

  35. Agemegos

    Paygrade.

    1. Agemegos

      That wasn’t supposed to be a reply to anything.

      1. David

        It meets this objective.

  36. Audkitten6

    Where’s Carla’s tag?

  37. otusasio451

    This is one of my favorite strips in a LONG time. I love this comic, but…yeah, no, this one was gold.

  38. Reflex76

    “A farm upstate, which one?”

    1. Bagge

      “Where the homeless will have lots of little homeless friends to play with.”

      1. Cerberus

        “They can run around and chase well-paying job opportunities all day. *starts to cry* They’ll be really really happy.”

    2. Orion Fury

      Abbr title=”Both? Multilayered? Still kinda funny?”>Is it good or bad I find that to be a racist joke?

      1. Orion Fury

        Goddamn stupid missing <, get up there!

  39. Cephalo the Pod

    I genuinely think that panel 3 Sal might be the best face Willis has ever drawn.

    1. Dellaran

      Seconded.

    2. Jonathan

      agreed.

  40. figureaddict

    Panel 3 Sal expression, priceless!

  41. AgentKeen

    “Ah ain’t needin’ ta know any of this new info.”

  42. DinaWho

    Did Sal even know about Billie and Ruth before Carla came in in the last panel here?

    1. AgentKeen

      Nope. She was teasing Carla about having a thing for Ruth when she was trying to do Billie’s bidding.

    2. magicallady

      no i dont think so. if i remember right, like everyone one else, sal thought billie had a boyfriend and had no knowledge of billie and ruth being together.

    3. David

      She still doesn’t. Billie is just the best person to ask when you need someone banged and don’t have the time to do it yourself.

  43. Kamino Neko

    … Jesus Christ, Billie. Really? Holy shit, how did you manage to be that sheltered?

    1. Cerberus

      Money. Lots of it?

      Mixed with an intentional incurious nature for her life up until this point, where thinking about what other people were dealing with was “nerd shit”?

      1. magicallady

        honestly i had a similar kind of life as billie had, minus the lots of money. wasnt terribly curious for a lot of my life and had sheltered ideas about the world.

        1. Cerberus

          I think it’s an easy place to be. One of the major downsides of axes of privilege is how easy it can be to simply not think about or realize how you’re not thinking about the lives of those marginalized on those axes.

        2. vmgx

          Yeah, I also grew up pretty sheltered and I’m often scared of saying or thinking really fucked up things because I lack perspective. Dumbing of Age actually helped a lot in that, I’m terrified of what I actually thought about trans people a few years back. I didn’t understand shit

        3. Orion Fury

          Being sheltered and not wanting to be anymore have given me a serious case of leather mouth.

      2. ischemgeek

        With a side dose of “The adults in her life actively discourage her thinking too much about it and actively prevent her from being exposed to it by making sure she socializes only with the ‘right’ people and spends time in the ‘right’ neighbourhoods.”

        Like, for reals: Where the hell do you think Billie picked up her social snobbery?

        (Seriously: If your parents make you honestly think that going to a place on your own is going to get you seriously injured or killed just for being there, you’re not gonna go there. If you don’t go there, you’re not going to see what it’s like. If you don’t see what it’s like, you’re not gonna be clued in that not everywhere is like where you live and not everyone lives a charmed life like you do. If you don’t get that clue-in, you can’t really develop empathy on that front.

        Hi my folks are not as rich as the Billingsworths but they still are upper-middle-class and I was sheltered as fuck and thus hard-right libertarian up until I started uni.)

        1. Cerberus

          Very good point.

          And I’ve really liked that aspect of Dumbing of Age. That all the sheltered kids are shown how they became sheltered and how much of that had to do with their parents trying to intentionally limit part of their world or encourage a particular “right” way of thinking or interacting with others.

    2. Reltzik

      Because Daddy wasn’t going to explain to her the other side of the story, that’s why.

    3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      “No one could be that clueless” is one of those statements that is almost never true.

      1. Jonathan

        kind of like someone I work with who, when I was trying to say that minimum wage was too low, said “well if they wanted to get paid more they should have gone to college”. My expression ended up looking a LOT like Sal’s in panel 3. It was quite a lunch – another guy expressed doubt that any kids were starving in the United States…”That doesn’t happen.”

        1. Orion Fury

          “Doesn’t” and “Shouldn’t” are two different things. Reminds me of an old mantra I heard from my first computer programming teacher: “You can never make something idiot-proof. They’ll just go and make a better idiot.“

  44. Huttj509

    Did…did Billie’s dad convince the mayor to ship the homeless to another state? Or a nice farm somewhere with lots of room to run around?

    1. Woobie

      They appear to now be under US 101 in SF.

    2. Viktoria

      That’s the standard solution. When major sporting events come to town, often local governments will give bus tickets to other cities to all the homeless, then arrest any who don’t leave.

    3. Cerberus

      Sounds like.

      It’s a popular solution in America. Get all the homeless people away from where rich people might notice they exist, make it unpleasant, deadly, or illegal to exist anywhere in the city and then push them on to the next one so they can pass the same laws.

      Like, we’re all playing hot potato with our empathy to try and avoid actually responsibly dealing with the huge homeless population our laws and policies have spawned.

      1. Regalli

        It’s almost like hey, this isn’t a functional society. Who’da thunk.

        1. Cerberus

          Whaaaat??? Noooo. It’s super functional, what are you even saying?

        2. StClair

          Just like Ruth.

        3. Doki

          OMG

      2. TheGrammarLegionary

        This is also a pretty common tactic in Canada. They tend to end up in the Lower Mainland on the west coast because the climate stays pretty temperate all year (unlike most of the rest of the country; we’re really only half-kidding about living in igloos in some places). But yeah, this is very much a thing and it Does. Not. Work.

        1. David

          What do you mean, “does not work”? You can’t kill them all in the same place without people raising eyebrows. You have to distribute that across an area with different grand juries.

          Of course it does not magically house the homeless and/or give them job opportunities but it is clearly not intended to do that. It is intended to make them go away, and those falling by the wayside in the country or getting into a lethal encounter with police or resident criminals elsewhere are a net step towards that goal.

  45. Rodimiss

    Honestly, I was focused on what Billie was saying and didn’t even notice Sal’s faces until I read the alt text after the last panel. And let me tell you, going back over it and seeing the progression of Sal’s expression: fantastic.

    1. Cerberus

      She’s so expressive and horrified in those panels, like she literally can’t believe the combination of Billie’s naivety and her dad’s cold-hearted brutality.

      1. Regalli

        Seriously. Holy fuck, we knew the guy was an asshole but that is a special level of asshole.

        1. Cerberus

          I think the worst dad competition got some new blood for the 3rd place fight.

        2. Regalli

          Like it’s the little touch that he’s not even the mayor himself, just (presumably) some random but incredibly wealthy citizen that truly elevates him into Dickens villainy to me. (And nice comparison because it is spot-on.)

        3. Cerberus

          I know. It just paints this horrifying picture of some rich asshole who think he can just bully his personal opinions into law. Which becomes especially horrible to think about when you note Billie’s comments earlier in the comic about how being in an interracial marriage doesn’t mean that you aren’t a massive racist or his tendency to flake out of literally everything important or the fact that she seemed to peace out of dealing with home stuff a lot to hang out with the Walkertons instead.

        4. David

          The worst dad competition is not about being the worst person who also happens to be a dad. Unless you consider getting the homeless sacked a parenting move, this does not count.

        5. Cerberus

          Well if this is the sort of work that he ignores his kid for…

  46. Reltzik

    Ah, Indiana. You continue to shame this country, not because you embody the depths of societal moral turpitude to which we sink, but because you do not.

  47. Kris

    I guess Billie’s never heard of Homelessatopia the guilt free paradise all homeless people are sent to.

    1. Spencer

      “Tell me about the sauropods.”

  48. Tomas

    And the comment section invades the comic once again. Willis ought to make a tag.

  49. Dana

    It’s always awkward when I need my acquaintances to fuck the shit out of one other.

    1. David

      Laxatives are a less awkward way to deal with constipation. Also less fun.

    2. Roborat

      And don’t get me started on the reactions when I want to watch.

  50. Palamdrone

    Ruth is full of shit?

    1. Reltzik

      Given that she probably hasn’t had the will to leave her bed to go to the bathroom? Yes.

      1. inqntrol

        Maybe she has one of those bags they use in hospitals that patients poop in. (must not make obvious flaming bag of shit at the door joke)

  51. Bagge

    Awww, I needed a strip that made me laugh. Billie did a good job enlisting Carla – they both have the exact same idea of solving problems.

    See, Billie IS working on the housing problem, it’s not her fault that her brainstorming is not rewarded. And Sal’s faces are the best!

    1. Orion Fury

      And the rewards for all that brainstorming is in Ruth’s room!

  52. Bagge

    I think this is a great idea! They should all swap problems. Billie fuck Ruth, Carla figure out housing for Becky and Sal deal with Mary.

    Everyone wins!

  53. Zaidyer

    “No, I don’t think Mexico would work… Wait, what’s “Soylent” and why do they let people live in their factory?”

    1. Reltzik

      “‘”Green’ sounds nice, I wouldn’t want her living in some urban blight somewhere. She won’t be living there? Great!”

  54. Palamdrone

    So, who else is imagining Nina as that maid character from Family Guy saying “No no, Senor Billingsworth ees not here. Need more Lemon Pledge.”

    1. magicallady

      i dont want to think about family guy in any way, shape or form.

      1. APersonAmI

        Seriously. I tried to get into family guy once, and watched an episode at random. It turned out to be told from the perspective of the adult son of a recently transitioned transwoman in a straight relationship, who was trying to get himself to feel that this was normal, who was told by all the main characters “so he’s gay.”, and then he harassed his parent at a party.

        I then gave up on family guy.

  55. Bagge

    Becky’s photos are still up by the bed. They have been staring accusingly at Billie all day.

    Billie has the time of her life… 🙁

    1. Cerberus

      Aw, shit, yeah, that’s an important detail.

      She’s been lying in bed for most of the morning staring at the ceiling in a depressive funk, just like Ruth, all while Sal has been hinting at the need to solve the Becky situation and Becky’s tiny remainder of life just sitting in a carefully constructed series of pictures on the wall next to her.

      And that’s another parallel, because Ruth is also keeping a physical object near her reminding her of that which she’s beating herself up about (the cookies and the loss of her relationship with Billie respectively).

      Which makes me worry that way too much attention by all the characters is being given to Ruth and none is being spared to a Billie very much prone to depression and very much in denial about having been broken up with.

      1. Bagge

        Yup, sadly. Billie is not doing well AT ALL. I doubt she has been this low since she wrapped a car around a tree.

        As far as I can tell she has not even got any more booze today. That’s seriously out of character.

        The good news, I suppose, is that if Becky and Ruth comes out of this ahead it will do a lot to improve Billie’s situation as well, at least short term. So I think the current attention is not misplaced.

        1. thejeff

          OTOH, she hasn’t shown any of the signs of withdrawal from alcohol like Ruth was dealing with Saturday and we’ve seen that pattern before.

      2. Regalli

        Yeah, Billie was/has been a lot better at seeming okay than Ruth up until this point, but she went into the sexy lesbian suicide pact on the grounds that she was broken too and despite being able to redirect attention from her own issues to worry about Ruth, her own issues really are pretty dang bad.

        1. Leorale

          Some helpful people try to focus on others’ problems as a way to procrastinate, to buffer their falling self-esteem, or to forget/fight their inability to solve their own problems. (Not that I would relate, nosiree.)

        2. Doki

          “to buffer their falling self-esteem”

          I-I have no idea what you’re talking about. NONE.

        3. StClair

          no, not at all.

  56. Lenny

    Can the next book title just be Sal’s face in panel three?

  57. JetstreamGW

    The best part about the comments here is the fact that Carla totally just outed Billie and nobody’s even blinked 😀

    1. David

      Carla did not out Billie at all, not in relation to Ruth. Who else in the dorm would you run to if you needed someone’s brain fucked back into place? Billie obviously is the resident expert.

      1. thejeff

        Joyce agrees:

        This is Billie. She’s the expert on stuff like how to be at parties while intoxicated and doing sex things with strangers.

    2. Heavensrun

      I think more importantly is that Carla didn’t do it maliciously. Yeah, it’s super dumb, but she’s panicking and afraid Ruth is going to kill herself. I am really interested to see Sal’s reaction when she realizes Carla isn’t just being random and catches on that Ruth is the “boyfriend” Billie had moved in with.

      1. JetstreamGW

        When has that ever mattered to a comments section on the internet?

  58. Lan

    Well that was fast.

  59. newllend(henryvolt)

    …… I’m in the same boat as Sal for once I have no words.

    1. Roborat

      And yet, I count thirteen there.

  60. Disloyal Subject

    That sounds unsanitary.
    And wow, Sal, way to feed the gravatar-croppers. Those are some great faces.

    1. Reltzik

      The Willis giveth.

      And taketh away.

      But today, giveth.

    2. Bagge

      Nah, not with proper protection.
      …and perhaps a tarpet

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Was that supposed to be carpet, target, or tarpit?

        1. Cerberus

          I’m gonna go with… yes.

        2. Bagge

          …I DID go for tarp, but now I’m committed.

          Yes indeed.

          (Hmmmm, “tarpet – for when just a carpet won’t do IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN”. I’m sure that’s marketable.)

        3. TheGrammarLegionary

          https://xkcd.com/1101/

          And Sal’s eyes got wide again…

      2. Orion Fury

        Tarpet? is that French, or Italian?

        1. Roborat

          It’s the latest trend from La Brea.

  61. Keet

    i can totally relate to the progression of sal’s facial expressions.

  62. Mr. Random

    Sal is getting an enormous amount of information here.

  63. Jake Yaworski

    Random question – did anyone else get an ‘ad by google’ regarding bonus points if I sign up for a credit card that popped up OVER the comic?

    I’ve deactivated my adblockers on this site for awhile now, but that’s the first I’ve seen something like that. Wondering if I should be concerned and cleaning my computer or if that’s a normal occurrence for people…

    1. Jake Yaworski

      K correction – it’s just an invasive pop-up ad that literally covers the comic itself and it changes when I reload the page. Is that normal?

      1. wwwhhattt

        That has never happened to me here (or anywhere else for a while).

        1. Jake Yaworski

          Yeahhhhhh…that’s the answer I was expecting, but kind of hoping wouldn’t happen. I’ll have to clean up the computer. Thanks!

        2. Willoughby Chase

          Happened to me just now. The ad was small, though.

          I’m running Linux on a netbook.

        3. Reltzik

          I’m seeing it too, intermittently. Well a different ad but the same problem. I think the ads have decided to ignore where they’re supposed to be on the page and place themselves front and center. It’s something for Willis (or his tech people) to yell at the ad providers about, I think. It might also be possible to report the ad.

        4. Kamino Neko

          Defiitely the tech dudes…I’ve had ads attempt to do that a couple times lately on other comics (haven’t noticed it here)…they were stymied because I use noscript, and they hadn’t been whitelisted. No way are they getting whitelisted, now (even though there’s a chance less annoying ads are staying in the blacklist because of it). Looks like it’s someone in Hiveworks’ ad rotation.

        5. Kamino Neko

          Woops, spoke to soon…now I’ve had one pop up here, and it was from something I’d already whitelisted.

    2. Mr. Random

      Happened to me too. Never popped up before, so I thought it was just a random glitch.

  64. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Billie: Oh, honey… You really didn’t put two and two together there did you? That “moving” all the homeless people was just your dad evicting them from even the streets so that “respectable” people didn’t have to think about things like where and how do they live and survive.

    And the most horrifying thing is that this really is a common attitude in a lot of cities, which is why hostile architecture is a thing and why there’s all these loitering and solicitation laws that get very specifically enforced. We really have no problem in America with creating swarms of homeless people so long as it’s “not in my backyard” and everyone can go on pretending that they “somehow make it work” in a city far far away from here.

    Billie’s naivety is intense, but it’s a symptom of the system working as intended, to sand down the edges and hide the ugly truth. And she’s really close to that revelation in Panel 3, though her maid/nanny is clearly not interested in getting fired giving a realness 101 lecture to her boss’s daughter.

    And that hopeful innocence there is almost heartbreaking. Hoping that the “somewhere else” is nice and happy and works perfectly for the homeless people and that there is a nice pretty solution for the problem that she’s now had to deal with in the way the rest of us sometimes have to. Where it’s not amorphous “people” in the vaguest of senses who are homeless, but people we know, people we might have been but for a few spots of luck.

    I dunno, it’s impressively ignorant, but it mostly just makes me want to give Billie a hug as she starts to make the Joyce-like growth into realizing the fullness of the world she inhabits and the role of folks like her dad in shaping it in a very specific and horrifying direction.

    1. Reltzik

      15 years from now, Dorothy’s given up her political ambitions to be a school teacher, and Billie has a painful awareness of society’s ills, but is still clueless about the solutions, and is a consumed-by-righteuos-fury activist turned congressional candidate.

      (Because really, an intellectual like Dorothy? Or someone with more passion than awareness of reality? Which one has a future in American politics, the way things are going? Yeah, I’m cynical.)

  65. Cerberus

    Sal: Oh, man, I love her facial expressions. And the alt-text clarifies something for me that I was wondering about, which is that this is the first Sal knew about this. That that shocked face isn’t just, Billie, what are the words coming out of your mouth, but rather, what, someone I know personally, did what?

    Cause the thing of it is that this sort of treatment of homeless people has gotten normalized and sanitized into faux helpful slogans of “getting people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps” and “moving them along in their path” and so on, but the action itself is monstrous.

    People literally die being thrust from what tiny little piece of comfort and familiarity they might have known and thrown into a whole new city and expected to know where to go to survive and not be arrested. And every city is just as hostile to the existence of the discarded.

    Like, it is literally illegal to be a homeless youth. Like, if you are under-18, if the cops find you, you are taken to jail. And that’s if you’re lucky. The unlucky ones get taken back to the abusive, rapey, or toxic backgrounds that abandoned them in the first place, thrust back into the hands of people the kids literally ran into the streets to escape. And that’s usually after first serving the juvenile jail time.

    And so that level of toxicity and Billie’s naivety about what that means is literally stunning her, because it reminds her of all that juvenile anger at the broken system and the casual bigotries of those who raised her and all their friends. She tries so hard to be aloof, but like so many characters, she cares way too much.

    1. Teddae

      oh my god. I know the situation about homeless people in America is bad enough, but wow. This is even more terrible than I thought once you analysed it.

      1. Reltzik

        Not long ago I lived in a town on the Oregon coast.

        We had a homeless problem.

        Specifically, the problem was that half the towns to the east were busing homeless out to us with one-way tickets, and there wasn’t enough public funds to provide services for them all. But there was money to put them on a bus to elsewhere.

        It’s like the Prisoner’s Dilemma writ large. You can be the town that is responsible and buckles down to solve real problems… with lots of debate and mistakes and expense… and promptly have everyone sending you their homeless, incurring even more expense. Or you can be the town that just kicks the problem down the road. If EVERYONE does that, the nation sucks ass. But that’s where all the incentive lies for all the people in power.

        1. Heavensrun

          This reminder of the fact that towns deal with their homeless problem by literally putting them on a bus has made me angry and hateful of mankind all over again.

        2. StClair

          My town (Eugene) was probably one of those.
          Sorry…? 🙁

    2. Cerberus

      Re-reading all of that makes me wonder… Maybe part of the reason that Sal knocked over those liquor stores is because Marcie was gonna be homeless and Sal was trying to get her some money to stave off the worst of it (and presumably her own parents didn’t care enough to help out, because they’ve never approved of Marcie as a person).

      1. CJ

        I have always wondered if Sal’s crimes were somehow related to Marcie. Though I though it might be related to Marcie going dumb.
        If you look at the strips where she is threatening Ethan, she looks like someone in a very bad place, totally terrified herself.

        1. Spencer

          IIRC Sal’s intent with the robbery was just to get caught so her parents would pay attention to her. She wasn’t actually planning on taking Ethan hostage and only did so after the cashier told her she wasn’t threatening so she grabbed him, and then the intro to one of the hard copy books said that the police came in and peacefully diffused the situation, so chances are Sal let him go once the police showed up.

          Still, y’know, not cool, Sal. Kind of a dick move, the whole “threatening to murder someone at knifepoint” thing.

        2. Orion Fury

          It’s been too long since I’ve read that storyline.

        3. Spencer

          I’m kinda hoping that we end up getting a look at the fallout of it someday. Like, Amber and Sal at the police station, how things were settled, Amber’s mom finding out her daughter stabbed a kid in the hand, that kind of thing.

          We’ve got another Sal flashback coming up, so here’s hoping.

        4. Orion Fury

          I know, looking forward to that.

    3. Kitty

      With it being illegal to be homeless youth, I feel like it is a bit more complex than that (also keeping in mind this varies depending on location). Most homeless youth who go to jail were picked up for actual crimes (theft, prostitution, trespassing, etc), but yes, if the police find a young child who is homeless, they cannot just leave them there. In many cases that would be considered child endangerment. But they aren’t necessarily going to jail as much as being “put in the system” (e.g. foster care). The idea here isn’t so much “let’s get rid of them” as much as it’s “a child needs to be taken care of.”

      This will vary depending on the age (they’re gonna be a lot more “protect the child” with a younger kid versus a 17 year old) but I think the intentions aren’t as horrible with homeless youth. It’s better than leaving them to fend for themselves in the streets. Being a homeless adult is rough, being a homeless child is worse.

      Unfortunately, some do end up being taken home if they’re runaways. With some homes, this is fine (some kids run away from perfectly fine homes because of disagreements with family or emotional stress) but most cases it’s not. And unfortunately there is a huge issue overall with the system not being able to handle or detect abuse as well as it should.

      But the treatment of homeless adults is awful, especially with the mentally ill.

      1. Angel H.

        You forget that many cities have curfews for juveniles under the assumption that any juvenile that’s out past a certain time is up to no good. They will be *arrested* and charged with curfew violation.

      2. Cerberus

        It’s slightly more complex, but no, I mean, that in a number of states, it is literally against the law to be homeless and underage, as in a status offense that can throw you in juvie before any of the other laws that fuck homeless youth fuck them over (underage people also tend to not be allowed most forms of legal employment [for a good reason, it’s part of anti child labor laws] so if you’re a homeless youth and want to survive, participating in the alternate economy is pretty much the only way to eat, so things like sex work or things relating to drugs tend to be how you get by).

        And even in the states where it’s not technically a status offense, it still is the case where they’ll get hit hard with truancy or loitering laws, not to mention that most states have laws on the books that no matter what a police officer will “detain” a homeless youth and then prioritize reuniting them with their legal guardians, even if those legal guardians are abusive or have thrown them out of the home.

        And it can be illegal to harbor a runaway youth in many states without informing the parents where they are as well also eliminating people’s ability to support. Overall, and in practice, it leads to a situation where homeless youth will literally spend their days dodging cops and trying to disappear as deep down as they can so as to minimize their chance of being arrested or sent back to abusive family members:

        https://www.nlchp.org/Alone_Without_A_Home

  66. Some1

    Dumbing of Age theory: Billingsworth treatment of the homeless will somehow connect to Mary.

    Mary: Billie, do you want to know why you must suffer.

    Billie: Why?

    Mary: Have you ever heard the term, Sins of the Father?

    Billie: What!?

    Mary: My parents were rights activists. Quite influential ones, at that. When your father came up with his “plan” to get rid of the homeless. They tried to tell people…he had them silenced! I’ll stop hurting you, when you give me back my childhood…Jennifer Billingsworth!

    1. inqntrol

      Billie: Where’s a damn time machine when you need one?

      1. Reltzik

        Not where, WHEN. Duh.

        Answer: Not invented yet. But that’s not an obstacle. Once it is invented, just bring it back to this point in time and use it.

        …. actually, the fact that you haven’t already appeared with it is a pretty good sign that Mary’s about to murder you.

        1. Some1

          Mary doesn’t want to murder Billie. That would be too easy. No she wants Billie to watch as Mary tears her life apart bit by bit.

          Mary: When Indiana is in ashes, then you have my permission to die.

  67. Cerberus

    Carla: Oh, Carla, I know you’re panicking and freaking out because you really don’t want a dead body happening on your watch and have no idea how to handle injuries of the mind with the same care and precision as injuries of the body, but no, just no.

    I’ve kinda already gone on my rant about why the pernicious idea that sex solves depression is a fucked up sentiment and especially fucked up for ace people, but I stand by all of that.

    Like, I get why she’s saying it, but this is definitely a “Carla, no, honey, don’t do that” moment.

    And I like the stance she has, you really get the impression that she really did back out of the room going “nope” and then dead sprinted down the hall to Billie to yell at her here.

    And I also like how this completely resets Sal, like, yes, this is a level of emotions I am equipped to handle right now, well done, Carla, have a cookie.

    Now the question is how is Billie gonna handle it. Cause it’s unlikely she’s just gonna leap to her feet and follow meekly behind Carla here and she’s not of a personality type to deescalate the anger or Carla’s confusion of having no clue to handle the task that Billie just sort of dumped on her without much warning of what it actually entailed.

    So argument seems likely, but what flavor will it be and will it actually talk about the central issues or will it get distracted by the high emotions and anger this topic is arousing in them (Carla’s face here, Billie’s face back when she demanded Carla actually go in the room and check on Ruth in person).

    1. Orion Fury

      I already made a joke about where the cookie is.

      Bonus comic of Carla running down the hallway just saying ‘Nope’?

      I figure Billie asking Carla what’s happening is first on the docket. Paetrons probably already know though.

  68. David Liao

    Sal is learning things she did not want to learn just by standing there.

  69. Reltzik

    Huh. Grav Roulette has given me Leslie again.

    Leslie is too much of an unobtainable ideal for me, as a teacher. And for much the same reason as Jocelyne, it wouldn’t be right for me to steal her from or share her with others that identify with her even more in other regards.

    Jason’s more my speed as a teacher. Like a lot of STEM grad students, his background is almost entirely in the facts and application and theories of his field. He got thrown into a classroom environment with pretty much zero preparation for actually dealing with a class. This…. is a significant part of what’s wrong with math education in the university system, IMO. The people running the core classes are selected for their ability to get research grants, rather than actually teach. Jason means well and his heart is in the right place, but he has not been given the skills and the people advising him don’t really care if he has those skills or not.

    Leslie, on the other hand, knows what she’s doing. She runs her class just about perfectly. She’s had a few flubs, but not many. She’s in control and in command and goes through it all with enthusiasm and verve. Her class has soul that the calculus class lacks.

    I’m not quite as bad as Jason, but I’m nowhere, nowhere near as good as Leslie.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Sorry, but Grav Roulette still sounds like something you do in a space station casino.

      1. Bagge

        The winners lands in the bunk, the looser crash into the ceiling

      2. Reltzik

        Nope! It’s something I do with my face!

        FAAAAACE!

      3. Random832

        full contact dabo

      4. OnyxIdol

        This reminds me of Cowboy Bebop.

    2. Bagge

      Leslie is a really cool teacher. Not flawless (I’m not a fan of her shaming of Walky and Joe), but really good.

      1. Spencer

        She didn’t shame Walky and Joe. She asked the perfectly valid question as to why two men would choose to roleplay as husband and wife.

        Also Joe treats her class like a farce.

        1. Bagge

          She shamed Walky the first time we saw her
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/02-uphill-from-here/gender/

          As for Joe it’s more of little snide remarks, for example here
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/spouse/

          Bad teacher? Nope. Good teacher? Yes. Perfect teacher? Nope.

          She has a really informal style which is mostly good, but it is not unproblematic. It invites people like Joe and Walky to clown around, and Roz to use it as her own soap box.

        2. Spencer

          I mean, I don’t think pointing out that Walky has a crush is shaming, and her thing with Joe was telling him to stop screaming in her class.

          I guess the way I see it is that Leslie tries really hard to be informal, and for a social studies class I think that can be good, but then that leads to Roz going full tumblr or Joe treating it like a joke because hur hur he already studies genders amirite

        3. Bagge

          A teacher can never “just point things out”, no matter how informal she tries to be. Leslie tries to be just one more person in the social circle, but when she speaks the entire room listens, no one gets to interrupt and she has the power to ask people to tone it down, to leave and she has the power to grade them.

          A teacher is never just one of the pals, as she herself noted rather poignantly here:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/sandwich/

          Again, it’s a teaching style with pros and cons. It should be noted that Walky came out of HER class able to correctly use the term “slut shaming” in context, while he came out of math class able to correctly draw a TA being devoured by a dinosaur.

        4. Reltzik

          I am certain that Dina would disagree.

        5. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Yeah, that dino lacked feathers.

        6. Emperor Norton II

          OK, here is where I have to disagree about the shaming part… I mean, let us now assume that you are right and that she did shame Walky for what he did. Well, the information that Leslie had was only that apparently a boy had thrown a toy on a girl. The full situation was a little more complex than that, but Leslie did not know that. What she knew was what Dorothy had just told her.

          Now here is the thing: If I just learned what Leslie had learned, I would have wanted to shame the thrower too. Because throwing things on people is not cool. That is a shameworthy thing. Later, if I learned the full story (in this case, that it was more of an accident), I would consider apologising.

          Getting back to whether it was really shaming Walky… Well, it does say a lot about Walky that he is 18 years old and still gets shamed for liking girls. I mean, honestly. I would say that he managed to shame himself, because Leslie sure as hell did not address him directly. She just used the generic “he” of boys everywhere, and then Walky managed to blush and reveal himself to Leslie as the culprit.

          And if there is any problem with Leslie’s comment, it is rather that it is one of those memes that trivialises it when boys are violent toward girls.

        7. Reltzik

          Both of those cases were teachable moments, though.

          The second one, with the marriage scenario, was an excellent opportunity for identify and highlighting prejudices, stereotypes, and assumptions, which is something this class is definitely supposed to do. She’d be failing as a teacher if she didn’t call attention to and correct their assumptions on marriage… and missing a huge opportunity to teach the rest of the class something if she did it in private.

          And with the first day thing… that’s the FIRST DAY. That’s when a teacher gains or loses the class for the entire term. (I’m exaggerating, but only a bit.) That was a golden opportunity to establish herself, simultaneously, as a cool knowledgeable interesting teacher and also not someone to mess with. And, yes, throwing stuff at peoples’ heads in class is something to call out too.

          Leslie manages to artfully take vibrant, energetic chaos in her classroom and redirect it straight into the lesson like some sort of aikido master.

          Half the stuff Leslie does here is an essential part of teaching: reinforcing her authority, both as the person who owns the class and as the person who knows everything. And she does it so effortlessly that, while everyone notices her authority, hardly anyone notices that she’s establishing it… which, I can say from experience, would cheapen it.

          Look in contrast at Jason. Everyone knows or at least assumes that he knows his math. Everyone knows that he has power over grades. But he don’t get no respect, because he can’t manage to establish authority.

    3. Orion Fury

      Do you have one of these typed up for every Gravatar? Though I’m curious as to who your perfect fit Grav is.

      1. Reltzik

        I type them up each day as I see what the randomly assigned grav is.

        My ideal is Walky, but I’ve picked up Jason as my 2nd-place. I’m thinking of switching between them based on the mood, tone, content, or context of the post.

  70. Teddae

    OKAY THINGS CAN NOT BE GOOD HERE I FEEL YOU SAL

  71. Regan

    Man, over two hundred comments and no one used this yet, guess it’s up to me. “Welp, looks like the cats out of the closet now.”

    1. Griffin

      +1 internet.

    2. David

      You think Billie and Ruth are outcats?

  72. BenRG

    Well, if nothing else, Carla has prevented one fight, specifically between Sal and Billie.

    1. Regalli

      Given the expressions and Billie’s truly stunning degree of cluelessness, I’m not certain it’d be a fight so much as a whole lot of “Wait, what the FUCK?!” until Billie either figured out yes it was in fact that bad or Sal lost the ability to handle this shit and bolted for a few hours.

  73. Raibean

    I wish sex could cure my mental illness(es).

    1. Songbird

      Insensitive glibness aside, I, for one, would not wish that, as that would hinge on my ability to obtain sex. Based on my limited experience, those odds would be like me suddenly and inexplicably shooting rockets out my ass and flying to the moon on a stream of rainbows, smiles, and explosive flatulence.

      1. David

        That sounds like a really involved wooing ritual you have there. Maybe you should aim for something less than stunning them into a full mating torpor?

      2. Roborat

        If you were able to do that, I don’t think you would have any problem finding sex partners.

        1. Reltzik

          Is that because they wouldn’t all be scared off, or because Songbird would have bigger problems that dwarf the smaller ones out of existence?

        2. Songbird

          Why not both?

      3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        From the pr0n version of Astro Boy?

        1. Songbird

          I dunno, it was the most bizarre, least likely to happen in real life I could think of at that moment. Although, when you say it like that, it DOES sound like a pretty good foundation for a bad slashfic. I’m gonna go lay down before I can give this any more thought…

  74. Random832

    Are there supposed to be ads on top of the comic? Is anyone else seeing these?

    I haven’t installed any new software recently that could be malware that is doing this, and I haven’t seen this behavior on any other sites.

    1. Raibean

      I’m pretty sure that’s a source of income for Willis. On top of as in above, or covering? Mine are just above and don’t impede reading.

      1. Random832

        Covering. Like, literally on top of Sal’s face. And each time I click the “ad choices” button it says it’s from a different network.

        1. Leorale

          Shouldn’t be there! Check for adware on your computer.

        2. Willoughby Chase

          Umm, I have two computers. Both see the same issue.

          I run Linux on both so it’s only semi-annoying.

        3. Corvus2014

          I’ve got the same ad, very annoyng. I’m on Win 8.1.

        4. David M Willis

          Hiveworks tells me they’ve isolated the network, sent them a ringy-dingy, and if it doesn’t stop in 24 hours, they’ll eject it.

        5. Orion Fury

          So that’s why the site was down.

  75. GaoShiki

    The look on Sal’s face.

  76. Lulu

    Hopefully new Slipshine moment?

  77. acher4

    Omg!
    This must be one of the best strips ever! :DDD

  78. NinjaNick

    Listen to Carla, Billie. Someone’s got to fix Ruth.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      But which of them has a bigger tool chest?

      What?!

      1. inqntrol

        Carla of course, she has a third arm stored in there, pies…wait, wrong comic.

        1. Orion Fury

          [Insert Multi-Layered Sexist Joke Here]

  79. modulusshift

    Billie is ridiculously sheltered, and I think it’s even more hilarious that Nina still wouldn’t tell her.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Part of sheltering your children is making sure the servants don’t tell them unapproved things.

  80. Condork

    We’ve all been Sal here.

  81. G127

    I have to be honest. This comic takes a very dark turn if you have just been reading a novel about Germany during the second world war.

    1. Cerberus

      It’s not really in the same ballpark, but it’s an interesting parallel into the banality of evil.

      Specifically how horrific systems just become normalized because people really don’t want to think through the implications inherit in the beliefs. And how that impacts real people’s lives and their ability to survive in the world.

    2. davidbreslin101

      it reminds me of an incident I heard about from ’70s India. In order to improve the poverty statistics for Delhi, Sanjeev Gandhi apparently rounded up all the inhabitants of several shanty towns, drove them out of town in trucks, then left them there. So that the census could take place before they had time to walk back.

      1. Charles Phipps

        Guys, this happened in the town I went to college in. Huntington, WV wanted to get rid of its reputation as a depressed former steel town and become a chipper little tourist town. So they got all of the homeless people and sent them elsewhere with all of the places for them in town kept far-far FAR away from the main part of town and on the city limits. Cops were also told to arrest any who were making the place look less picturesque. One of the reasons I hate the place is it now feels like the Village from the Prisoner with its police patrolling fakely pleasant looking fake old buildings.

  82. wanderso

    Wow. I did not expect it to only take a single strip for me to decide that Billie deserves Ruth.

  83. Crumplepunch

    New best Sal face.

  84. (((Mkvenner)))

    No Billie he had the all killed.

  85. Finningan

    If sex fixed depression my gf would be alive….

    1. Cerberus

      *hugs* I’m so so sorry that happened.

    2. Charles Phipps

      *hugs* I’m sorry.

    3. Dana

      I’m so sorry.

    4. Orion Fury

      Oof. Condolences.

    5. Falling Star

      …Oh.

  86. BenRG

    It’s kind of charming in a weird way how naive and sheltered Billie is. People have accused her of being a rich bongo but I prefer ‘poor little rich girl’. She’s had everything pretty easy all told (at least in terms of facing the harsher, wider world) and it comes across as an almost childish innocence. It makes the contrast with her lack of self-esteem all the more startling. It does explain why she has possessiveness issues though.

  87. Charles Phipps

    Favorite comment from spouse. “I hope Ruth gets the help, love, and support she needs so she can recover to live a normal fulfilling life. Then I can go back to hating her and wishing she was dead.”

    1. Charles Phipps

      ME: “Don’t hate on the gingers.”

      Spouse: “No, it’s the fact she’s an R.A. Hated mine.”

      1. StClair

        #NotAllRAs

        1. Orion Fury

          What about #NotAllGingers ?

        2. StClair

          but it is all gingers.

        3. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Gingers all the way down!

  88. Adept Arcanist

    Wow, I think Billie just hit Joyce levels of naivete there in the first three panels…

  89. Lordess of Madness

    Sal’s day just keeps getting weirder!

  90. Jimmy

    I must have missed a step, because I have no idea what Billie’s talking about on the phone.

    1. Emma

      Looks like Billie is trying to figure out where Becky could theoretically live by… Attempting to draw inspiration from an instance where her dad got all the homeless people kicked out of their hometown?????

      1. Heavensrun

        They weren’t kicked out. They were moved. To a beautiful farm, upstate, where they can play and run in the open meadows.

  91. OnyxIdol

    Aaand Carla reminds us why this comic has the name it has.

    Then again, so called adults make plenty of terrible decisions as well.

    Oh well. Carry on, then.

  92. Stairmasternem

    Sal’s expressions are the best. I want to know exactly what she’s thinking in that third panel though. I’m assuming she is upset that Billie’s apparent solution is to send Becky to a homeless shelter when Sal probably meant for her to find a place for Becky ON campus.

    1. Damned

      I think that’s actually shock at the news that Billie’s dad got all the homeless people out of downtown (hence the alt text). “Somewhere else” sounds like “your dog went to a very nice farm in the country with lots of space and other dogs to run around with”

      1. Charles Phipps

        Is it wrong I am now imagining Billie’s parents to be vampires? Billie does resemble an Asian Buffy to some degree.

  93. Stefan Ivanovski

    Carla is the best. xD

  94. Willoughby Chase

    So, will Nina have 99 luftballons

  95. Damned

    To all the people upset at Carla’s plan- perhaps her plan has a little more nuance than the opening line that doubles as a punchline. Wouldn’t be surprised if the next strip was her telling Billie “there’s a lot to be done but the first and easiest thing is for you to go over there and get back together bc this whole situation is bonkers. Then, get her some real help”

    1. Charles Phipps

      I think them breaking up was a very good thing. You can’t substitute relationships for therapy. They should get together after Ruth gets some actual help.

      1. Spencer

        I’m kind of hoping some time apart helps Billie realize that it might not be the best idea to date someone who used to beat the crap out of you.

        Who am I kidding? It’s Billie.

  96. Rakeesh

    So first an American Express ad, and now an Algonquin College ad have used DI Vs to obstruct the comic. DoA is exempted from my adblocker, but that’s the kind of behaviour I install adblockers to stop. I hope it doesn’t persist.

  97. Angel H.

    I was homeless for 5 years up until last September and sometimes I stayed at the local shelter. Sometimes a local charity would send a couple of buses to take us out for a free dinner. Even though they always brought them back (usually with Blessing Bags and other free goodies), I was always suspicious of them and made myself scarce.

    1. Cerberus

      *hugs* And I’m glad you found housing and were able to stay safe during those homeless years.

  98. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

    And rich people think most of us don’t like ’em because we’re “jealous.” Ha…

    1. Charles Phipps

      Oh please…that’s totally why I don’t like them.

  99. Deanatay

    By “fuck the shit out of”, does Ruth mean ‘sex’ or ‘violence’?

    I know, this is Ruth/Billie, the difference is mostly rhetorical, but I have to ask. For REASONS.

    1. Bagge

      I’m sure Carla is fine with either outcome.

      As are Billie and Ruth for that matter.

      As long as there is an emotional jumper cable.

      1. Spencer

        Or actual jumper cables.

        1. Bagge

          I’m sure all of them are open for that.

          Especially Carla.

    2. Heavensrun

      That isn’t a phrase that ever means violence. Violence is “Fuck up”. Although it could be argued that in this case, she might be inciting violent sex.

  100. Darkoneko

    Nina got enough of your crap, Billingworth.

  101. GBHPrime84

    Sal’s face….just priceless! Also Carla… your word play rocks!

  102. Kelli217

    Sal’s face: Moral outrage, building, building… then makes a hard turn into WTF?!?

  103. Victor Riley

    Methinks Billie doesn’t actually know what she’s doing…

  104. Schol-R-LEA

    Where’s the people wanting to roast Billie over an open flame for assuming that her Hispanic maid would know where homeless people hang out? I mean, she did get a hangup for it, but it’s still pretty crass.

    Never mind, sexy-times, Carla’s Asperger’s Syndrome, and Billie getting outted in front of Sal is the more interesting stuff anyway.

    1. Jaybz

      Carla…..doesn’t have Asperger syndrome.

      Not knowing how to deal with suicidal depression=/= Asperger Syndrome

      1. Orion Fury

        Not knowing how to deal with suicidal depression = person that’s lived some kind of normal life.

      2. Norah

        I mean, you might as well say Billie has Asperger’s because she doesn’t know how to help a homeless friend! And Billie doesn’t hav Asperger’s.

    2. Doopyboop

      Also I’d say Billie didn’t assume her maid knew because she was hispanic, she probably thought she’d know because she lives in the house and would know/have heard through Billie’s dad about where the homeless were sent.

  105. Ruthmost

    “They just pushed the homeless into the sea. The remaining packs were chased after with dogs and shot from horseback for sport. Anything else, milady ?”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Wait, so that basement trophy room he’d never let me into…

  106. KingOfGreyfell

    Dammit, Willis! You make the best faces!!

  107. Orion Fury

    So, Billie’s trying?

    1. Spencer

      It was the best she could do.

      wait wrong character

      1. Orion Fury

        I laughed.

  108. Plan D

    I wonder if Sal regrets spending those two facial reactions on panels two and three?…

    Nah, necessary, but I’m sure she wishes she had had a third on deck.

  109. AlexDenton

    We all do Carla, especially Ruth XD

  110. Tenn

    Sal doesn’t really do faces, does she. We are truly blessed today.

  111. Lovely Monsters

    Oh my GOD, is that a tattoo of a solpugid on Sal’s arm? I really, really want it to be.

    1. Kamino Neko

      It’s a Tarantugun, from Dexter and Monkey Master (also from It’s Walky!, but she’d have no way to be familiar with that.)

      1. Spencer

        Amazi-Girl and Sal have their final confrontation, Amazi-Girl about to strike the killing blow when she spies the Tarantugun tattoo on Sal’s forearm. She demands to know why she has that, leading Amber to realize the truth.

        “Your favourite cartoon is Dexter & Monkey Master?”

        And then they become best friends.

        1. David M Willis

          and then beef shows up and is like “hey MY mom’s name is martha”

          but no one understands him since he only speaks in grunts

        2. Bunk

          Walky wouldn’t even understand him in this timeline

        3. Spencer

          So basically Beef is Groot only 15 years before anyone cared about Groot’s existence.

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Best shot of it I could find before I got tired of looking: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/fetchin/

  112. Joey245

    Sal’s facial expressions are fantastic in this. Goodness I forgot how cute Sal is aaaaaaaaaaaaa.

  113. Morp

    Can someone edit a bunch of Past and Future Comics so that it ends with Carla appearing out of nowhere saying this exact line? I feel like it would improve alot of comics.

  114. thumb

    Normal – Horrified – Disbelieving – aaaaand back to Normal.

  115. Falling Star

    Panel three is how you know for sure that Sal and Walky are twins.

  116. julien brightside

    I just love that face expression in the third panel.

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