157

Terribly
Posted on February 2, 2017 by David M Willis

157 thoughts on “Terribly”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “nooooooo I can’t be with someone who can’t count his nuts and get the same number twice”

    “THAT DOES NOT INVOLVE HIGHER MATH”

    …

    “wait does it, is there something you aren’t telling me”

    1. shadowcell

      “hey there is nothing wrong with my counting, lady, it’s just that whenever i count my nuts there’s a different number of them there so shove off”

    2. Reltzik

      Well, for most men, their nuts are a real thing.

      But then their brains aggrandize things, and so their nuts also have an imaginary component.

      The short of it is, nut sexuality is complex.

      1. Makkabee

        So you’re saying you can’t have penis without i being a factor?

        1. Opus the Poet

          Have you seen what some guys call 6″? i has to be involved somewhere.

        2. badmartialarts

          Complex numbers show up when rotation is involved. Maybe there is a bend to the right, a jog to the left….

        3. DaveM

          “With your hands on your hips”

        4. biggo

          Your avatar is disturbingly appropriate.

        5. TheGrammarLegionary

          @biggo Probably the first time that’s ever been called ‘appropriate’.

        6. Remmington Steele

          Do the resurrection shuffle …

        7. Failing Academic

          “You bring your knees in tight”

        8. butting

          You put your hands on your hips…

          — whoops, sorry, I was thinking of something completely different.

        9. ozzi

          You mean you bring your knees in tight?

        10. N0083rP00F

          But it’s the pelvic thrust!

        11. Falling Star

          This is gonna drive me insane.

        12. jy3

          We need to go back to before this thread started. Maybe we need some kind of “time warp”.

        13. das-g

          “again!” … and suddenly we’re at the topic of the hover-text. Wat.

        14. Reltzik

          And this is how people get their nuts twisted.

      2. Sageress

        You could say it’s a little….

        nuts.

        1. Koms

          Don’t let me cashew making nut puns.

        2. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          I spent almond-day thinking of nut puns, and instead they come along on thursday! xD

          (I’m weak :P)

      3. Reltzik

        There IS an i in penis, yes.

        One i.

        It’s the one-i member.

      4. Remmington Steele

        The long of it …

    3. Emperor Norton II

      Since we’re on the topic anyway here… Dorothy might have thought of Walky as unflappable, but most certainly not unfappable.

  2. butts

    yes i am, no i’m not shut up NO YOU SHUT UP

    1. Doctor_Who

      Is Walky about to split into Ruby and Sapphire?

      1. Carms

        huh, i thought ‘Madness of King Scar’ =p

        1. Falling Star

          What about One-One?

      2. Emperor Daniel

        David and Walkerton.

  3. AnvilPro

    I think everyone’s gonna be juuuuust fine.

    1. Reltzik

      The first step is admitting you have a problem.

      1. Reltzik

        The second step is slipping back into denial. The third step is the first step again. Repeat ad infinitum. Blame your inability to complete the process on never having learned what an infinite process is.

        1. Ana Chronistic

          Step 4: Alternative facts!

      2. Leorale

        The first-and-a-half step is frantically attempting to take it back.

      3. David

        Few problems don’t yield to a flame thrower.

        1. thejeff

          At the very least, after applying a flame thrower to your problem, you likely have a very different problem.

    2. Shade

      Well if nothing else, Dotty tutoring him in math could keep her distracted.

  4. Derek

    he said it!! HE SAID IT!!

    1. Mordecai

      He blew the drunk out of Dotty in doing so.

      1. Stu

        Nah, it’s still there – it just decided to hide in her hair.

        1. DarkoNeko

          They went where the surprised eyebrows go

  5. Danni

    he can take the class again, probably

    1. Doctor_Who

      I had to retake a math class in college.

      I didn’t even flunk it, I got a C. But then I switched majors from education to engineering, needed the next class in the series, and to take that you needed at least a B in the last one.

      So now I needed to retake a rassin frassin class I got a passing grade in.

      1. David

        An ex of my brother was top of class in designer school. She repeated the class because she considered herself not good enough.

        Some people just don’t trust their teachers…

    2. Mav

      We weren’t allowed to retake classes unless we actually got an F. So if we needed to retake stuff, we had to find a summer class, otherwise the GPA would be screwed.

      1. Mav

        What I meant actually was, any grade higher than a D was kept on the record, even if you re-took it somewhere else. So the only option actually was to just drop/withdraw before the shit hit the fan.

        1. Lexi

          We had a 40 day window where you could drop a course without penalty. Definitely used that policy more than once to drop a course I knew I was failing.

    3. DaveM

      Had a friend who was doing computer science. He aced all the subjects except the Math. Failed it multiple times. On his final year the university rearranged the curriculum and dropped the Math component. He graduated not because he passed maths, but because he outlasted it. 🙂 Actual True story.

      1. KingoHrts

        I had a friend at UK who didn’t graduate with a computer science degree until they allowed computer languages to fulfill the foreign language requirement.

  6. tim gueguen

    No, Walky, you don’t want to do that day over and over. Just ask Max Caulfield.

  7. Nono

    Missed opportunity for a Dorothy ‘Joyce face’ here.

    1. Falling Star

      Just wait a minute.

  8. m-m

    His declaration brought Dorothy sobriety. Poor little lost buzz bubbles

  9. JessWitt

    The oasis has run dry.

  10. newllend(henryvolt)

    Well glad that’s out in the open.

  11. UltraKyrie

    it’s happening!

    1. Needfuldoer

      It’s happening!

    2. Hellespont

      Yep, finally. Dorothy is going to love studying with Walky. Walky can pretend he is studying just to spend time with Dorothy. Zero Sum Set Downside.

      1. DonDueed

        Are you referring to studying with Walky, or “studying” with Walky?

        1. Schpoonman

          Yeeesssss…? Some of it may drift towards “studying,” though I suspect Dorothy’s not above rewarding Walky with some Anatomy, if he’s actually putting in effort.

          Walky: “Dorothy, I’m not even TAKING Anato–Ooohh, that’s what you mean.”

  12. Plasma Mongoose

    I have trouble with any maths where you cannot just stick a number in to figure it out.

    1. Reltzik

      You can do that with all maths!

      …. depending on how broadly you define “number”.

      1. Rukduk

        Pre-Calc hurt my brain. Regular Calculus nearly killed it. So keep the imaginary numbers out here.

        1. DaveM

          Imaginary numbers confused me greatly, until I realised they were actually 2 dimensional numbers, and suddenly everything made perfect sense.

        2. DonDueed

          Your tactics suggest one-dimensional thinking. -Spock eyebrow-

        3. Geneseepaws

          I emphatically endorse your assessment, you nailed it.

        4. Reltzik

          But calculus with imaginary numbers is awesome!

          That’s when you manage to wrap your brain around e^(pi * i) + 1 = 0 and have it make sense!

      2. 3oranges

        Something like “triangle” or “Mandelbrot set” will only fall under a really, really broad definition of number.

        1. Reltzik

          But the point is that they WILL fall under a really, really broad definition of number.

    2. thejeff

      I have trouble with any math without some letters and greek symbols in it. What am I supposed to be solving for?

  13. Some1

    Noir Dumbing of Age

    Joyce’s Tootsie Pop fell out of her mouth.

    Joyce: Someone killed Mary?

    Ruth: Yeah, and I’m suspect number one.

    Joyce: Well you do have a propensity for violence…and you had a motive…

    Ruth: I didn’t do it.

    Joyce: and I believe you. Pull up my Dexter and Monkey Master chair and tell me your story.

    Ruth glances over at a small leather chair with prints of Monkey Master on the backrest and a large print of Head Alien’s head.

    Ruth: This chair makes it look like your sitting on Dexter’s face.

    Joyce: I realized that after I bought it…it’s only dirty if I think about it.

    Ruth: So…from what I’ve heard, Mary was found dead outside of the gender studies classroom. The one taught by that Leslie chick. She had a knife in her back, and a piece of paper crunched in her hand. It looked like she had been trying reach the door, but was caught before she could.

    Joyce: What did the paper say?

    Ruth: They’re trying to figure that part out…a lot of blood got on it.

    Joyce: Do you know when it happened?

    Ruth: It took place after classes, I know that, but Leslie wasn’t there.

    Joyce: So essentially anyone could have done it. Okay, I’ll start investigating.

    Joyce grabs her fedora, and steps out the door. She turns back..

    Joyce: Oh by the way Ruthless, don’t assume people are going to automatically blame you. It just says makes you sound guilty.

    Joyce walked down the hall, she knew she should start with her main informats on crimes and the street, she had to go see Sal’s posse.

    1. Kit M. Harding

      …I want the rest of this. This is great.

    2. Falling Star

      Are you just gonna do things like this forever?
      Because that would be amazing.

      1. Some1

        Well I’ll probably die at some point

        1. George

          Best start training your children in literature now.

        2. Some1

          I’m in high school

        3. SgtWadeyWilson

          How fortunate! That’s the perfect time to begin gathering literature and textbooks thereof, in my experience, public schools are often lax in book security.

          Hypothetically, one could leave with books and never even be asked to pay for them. Not that I’d suggest such unsavory actions.

          There are many ways to prepare for an apprentice before one comes along.

  14. Dana

    Okay, her goofy, flappable oasis.

  15. Reltzik

    No Walky no! You’re breaking the relationship contract! Goofy and unflappable oasis! GOOFY AND UNFLAPPABLE OASIS!

    1. Dellaran

      That’s a book title right there, that is…

  16. Stephen Bierce

    He still has plenty of time to turn it around. Midterms aren’t for at least two years. 😉

  17. Rukduk

    Walky looks a bit like he’s going to cry in that last panel. Then again, that’s just probably how I interpret puppy-dog-like eyes. At the same time, while probably good that he said this, I don’t know if now was the best timing. Then again maybe it is.

  18. Pigeon Pollyx

    FINALLY

    1. DarkoNeko

      FINALLY

      1. Falling Star

        FINALLY

        1. Jhon

          NOT FINAL ENOUGH!

        2. xKiv

          NOT FINAL DELETION!

  19. Peter

    Attaboy, Walky. Face it.

    1. DarkoNeko

      Ooh, Yokohama kaidashi kikou avatar.

      1. Peter

        Nice to see a fellow fan who recognises it. 🙂

  20. Mav

    I’m glad he finally told her. He can’t be feeling worse than when he was bottling it up – maybe he’ll learn something about feelings and asking for help! Maybe…

  21. Marvelman

    Walky needs a tutor. Now, who do Dorothy & Walky both know who is really good at math? 🙂

    1. Marvelman

      Oh, come on! Am I the only one here who thinks the idea of Joyce tutoring Walky is hilarious, and possibly the beginning of something else?

      1. David

        Frankly, I cannot imagine Joyce to be overly good in college level math. Her kind of faith relies on embracing so many inherent contradictions that she’d have outgrown it a lot sooner if she had a mathematician’s mind frame.

        The typical mathematician of faith has way more complex and less obtrusive beliefs.

        1. BBCC

          Joyce’s favourite subject is math and she’s apparently very good at it (a reference to It’s Walky, where she had the super power of doing complex calculations on the fly).

          Never underestimate cognitive dissonance.

        2. Knayt

          I think you’re vastly overestimating the level of thinking needed for what is almost certainly Calc I. On top of that, there are a lot of conservative engineers who have comparable kinds of faith to Joyce, and they’ve generally gone to college and taken a whole lot more math than we’re seeing here.

      2. Falling Star

        I think it would be funnier and much more awkward if it was Jason.
        We all know why.

      3. Andy

        I thought you were talking about Danny.

        1. poofdepoof

          me too

        2. Rowen Morland

          Danny, Sal, Walky, math tutoring threesome?

  22. Keulan

    I was like Walky, I breezed through high school with As and Bs with almost no effort, then I had trouble when it came to college-level chemistry. After I got a D and a C in two chem classes, I changed my major.

  23. Bluewind

    Yes! So proud of Walky here. I think Dorothy putting words to how he himself felt is what finally gave him the courage to go it. But he’s scared out of his mind for so many tiny reasons and two big ones. First for admitting he’s failing something that’s always been easy for him and second for being afraid of how Dorothy will react.

    1. JBento

      Hey. I just read the denouement from yesterday, and I just wanted to say that YOU didn’t make anything worse. That librarian did, and the only reason she shouldn’t be smacked on the mouth with the full Encyclopaedia Brittanica (addended) until she ate her meals through the back of her head is because that’d be book abuse.

      All the hugs.

  24. Romanticide

    well good he is saying it, and it’s terrifying but something might finaly be done about it.

  25. DarkoNeko

    Just noticed, she immediatly sobered in the 2nd to last panel.

    1. Dara

      Yeah, I was about to post that. Flunking math == INSTANT SOBRIETY.

      1. butting

        “OH SHIT HE CAN’T BE FIRST GENTLEMAN WITHOUT PASSING MATH.”

        1. DonDueed

          The Duke of Thingley must know all the maths.

        2. JBento

          Don’t see why. Clearly, lack of education isn’t an issue while picking the actual president, why would it be for the first spouse?

  26. chromacandi

    Fiiiiiiinally

  27. AeroQC

    Nice ‘Groundhog Day’ reference in the title text.

    1. TachyonCode

      Glad I wasn’t the only one coming here to say it.

  28. sun tzu

    Oh thank Celestia. I mean WOW has this plotline being going on for long.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      In comic time? About a couple of weeks or so.

      And it hasn’t been covered in that many strips either, as it’s mostly been one or two strips at the time, mostly as something happening between more major storylines.

  29. Well_Played

    And…boom goes the dynamite

  30. Bagge

    Dorothy (thinking): “I either picked the best or worst day taking up drinking rocket fuel. I can’t decide which.”

    AWESOME, WALKY!

    1. Dana

      Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.

  31. Ashley

    The cat is out of the bag.
    And it’s also flunking math.

  32. nightsbridge

    I’m happy for Walky even if he shut down.

    It’s okay nerd boy i failed my first year of math too.

  33. Tenchan

    Finally!

  34. Woof

    Oh Jesus, I feel like I’ve been waiting for this ball to drop for forever. Hopefully now Walky can make some positive steps towards not failing instead of…. wait… it’s almost valentines day… I suddenly feel like this isn’t going to end well.

    1. Opus the Poet

      It’s early October in-comic, so whatever you had in mind probably wouldn’t work anyway.

      1. John

        In the real world, it’s almost Valentine’s, though, and DoA’s track record for romantic Valentine’s Day strips is… not good.

        2016: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/02-that-perfect-girl/thoughtless/
        2015: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/02-threes-a-crowd/climbing/
        2014: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/reassess/
        2013: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/scoot/
        2012: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/02-choosing-my-religion/dickdeep/
        2011: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/03-men-are-from-beck-women-are-from-clark/swear/

  35. AlexanderHammil

    Oh, thank god, he told somebody, that’s actually the healthiest thing he could possibly do.

    1. DarkoNeko

      And all it took was Dorothy showing weakness.

  36. Larkle

    Wow, it looks like that sobered her. The boozles are gone. (Are they called boozles? I think that’s it…)

    1. StClair

      boozles or squeans, yes.

  37. @zombieundergrnd

    It isn’t as though anyone uses math in real life.
    You go to the store and load a cart. They push the items over a scan thingy. Then you put a little piece of plastic in a machine and enter a pin or scrawl some unrecognizable symbol. Then they give you a small piece of paper and you’re off on your way. Nobody had to do any equations.

    This is fine.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      I can assure you, there are plenty of people out there who meticulously calculate the total amount of money in the cart in their head before they get to the scanner. Sometimes because they enjoy it, more likely because they really need to watch how much money they spend, and every dime counts.

      1. Opus the Poet

        And for some of us “shopping” is a sport, a game which the object is to get the most stuff for the least money. It is a game I play not not just win but crush.

  38. Emperor Norton II

    Aaand the moment we’ve been waiting for ever since this day!

    But wait, there is more to this (of course there is!) than the fact that Walky’s just finally admitting something he’s been deadly afraid to admit.

    First of all, the timing. Walky doesn’t know this part yet, but the timing of him doing this just as Dorothy’s been having her own struggle with how soon she should tell Joyce about Gashface. And as soon as Dorothy’s finished having a good and proper Walky-Talky about this, she will hopefully find renewed strength to do what she’s been laying off for far too long now.

    That aside, I’m not particularly worried about Dorothy’s reaction to this. What she’ll dislike about this is is him not telling her for all this time rather than him failing math in the first place. But this is Dorothy. She’s one of the most understanding people there are, and we’ve seen it over and over and over with Joyce that if you open up to her, then by the gods will she have your back! There is no reason to not assume the same will happen here.

    I only hope that it’s not too late for someone (probably Dorothy… but you never know, Danny might step in again) to teach Walky good studying habits. Trying to change that by yourself is bloody hard. Having some help should make it easier.

    1. Annamal

      To be honest I think Dorothy is going to be profoundly grateful that Walky’s got a problem she can actually help with.

      I would be suprised if Walky does not end up laden with study guides.

    2. Bagge

      Having Danny tutor Walky WOULD be an interesting development, I’m all for it.

      And you are right, Annamal. A problem she actually can help with will be a godsend after all the vague “I have problems I don’t want to talk about” hints she has got.

  39. AgentKeen

    …Oh, dang, I almost forgot it was Groundhog’s Day! I gotta make sure to watch that…

    1. Remmington Steele

      …Oh, dang,

  40. MatsuoTanuki

    *best Jim Carrey impression* AND THE TRRRRUTH SHALL SET YOU FRRRREEEEE!”

  41. Emperor Norton II

    Also, BAGGEBAGGEBAGGEBAGGE!

    I have a new headcanon! In my head! That I think you will like! To have in your head!

    So, we know that Austen and Sunati are some serious DOOOFUSES in Always Human, a comic set in the far future. And we also know that Austen has some DoofDads, especially Carlos.

    Where does all that Doofusness come from?

    Well, my headcanon thing that is in my head is that Dina and Becky ends up as a serious couple with kids and all. And in time, throughout the generations, the doofusness is passed along from parent to child… until we have Carlos. Who then passes it on to Austen.

    How else would you explain the almost unbearably high levels of DOOOOFUSNESS in Always Human?

    1. Bagge

      Heh, that almost triggered a Dina-level response from the biologist in me about how GENES DON’T WORK THAT WAY.

      But I agree that the extreme level of DOOFUSNESS experienced by both these were dooofusy couples can’t be chance alone. l postulate that Sunati at one point recreated a VR-scene with dinosaurs, and doing so had reasons to read up on the famous Saruyama paleontologist couple, and thus got infected by their dooooooofusnessness!

  42. maycroft

    Welp, it finally happened

  43. BenRG

    Well, it was bound to come out eventually and it’s better that it has. Did Dorothy get Walky to confess by admitting to her own imperfections and vulnerability? If so, I think that she’s learned an important lesson about how one is really approachable.

  44. Zebrathinker

    Yeah walky! Rip off that bandaid.

  45. acher4

    Finally, this is in the open.
    Now to see how it develops 😀

    1. Zaxares

      Indeed! I’ve been waiting for this revelation and the subsequent arc for a while now. 🙂

  46. SoupBot

    To be honest, Willis, all this Walky stuff hits a little too close to home for me. Like that was me 4 years ago. Except I didn’t confess.
    Still have that baggage with me.

    Love your comic by the way. Still super great. 🙂

  47. BenRG

    This is the first time that I really feel deep sympathy for Walky. It clearly has cost him quite a lot in emotional terms to admit this to Dorothy.

    1. inqntrol

      But now that he admitted it to her, she may be able to help him or find somebody to help him with Math.

  48. Delicious Taffy

    Jeez, Dorothy, way to go. You just HAD to be a sweetie at him, didn’t you?

  49. Falling Star

    Oops.
    I think that is the only word to describe this moment.

  50. JBento

    That ‘unflappable’ oasis is now flapping so much, it’s like a bird about to take off.

  51. crys

    Aw, Dorothy’s lil’ smile in panel 5 is so cute.

  52. chris73

    You’re braver than me Walky, took me years into my adult life to open up like that

  53. Remmington Steele

    Smooth, Walker-man. Smooth.

  54. ischemgeek

    Honestly, this is pretty much the best fucking thing that could happen to Walky. Because:
    1. He will learn the lesson that failure at a thing does not make him, personally, a failure.
    2. He will learn how to study before he’s crashed and burned in his degree and wracked up serious debt.
    3. He will learn that seeking help on a difficult thing does not in fact make him weak or worthless.

    Those are three really important lessons that I didn’t learn until it bit me in the ass. I wish he’d learned it sooner – but since he didn’t, now is better than later.

    1. Anon

      Honestly, this. Just this.

    2. Icalasari

      I’m lucky I learned those lessons before I got too much debt and destroyed my GPA entirely

      Well don’t know the how to study yet but that was replaced with taking time off to work on some hard core depression

  55. Icalasari

    Did she get snapped out of her alcohol bubbles?

  56. BBCC

    Panel One: Awwwwwwwww, this is so sweet. It’s something Dorothy needed to hear. That she’s inspiring and that not being great at socializing does not make her the failure she’s beating herself up as. Although, he also needs to learn that failure does not equal bad person. I guess its easier to give advice than follow your own. And damn, that last line. I’d say this math thing is kicking his ass, but he was talking like that before hand. I think he’s internalized that he’s a goofball who doesn’t do much and while he’s normally okay with that, goofballs who aren’t gunning for huge potential fulfilling success do not get or deserve over achieving pretty girls. I think some might be Linda and Charles nagging him to achieve more, some might be cultural stuff, and some is just Walky thinking simple isn’t very impressive. Which is sometimes okay, because who wants to impress and build expectations, but isn’t good for attracting and keeping satisfied a pretty girl.

    And Dorothy sees a lot of untapped potential. Sometimes what she sees causes problems because she pushes Walky towards paths he does not want to follow, but I think she sees him as really great. And that greatness is something Walky needs to see and internalize, even if he doesn’t choose to pursue anything ambitious.

    Panel Two: Awwwwww, Dorothy is so happy here. Happier than she was a moment ago anyways. She loves her boy <3

    Panel Three: EJOGFDLMXCNB THEIR EXPRESSIONS ARE MATCHING EXCUSE ME I NEED TO GO REVIVE MYSELF BECAUSE THAT IS ADORABLE. HOW DARE THESE TWO WHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT?

    But awwww, he cares about Dorothy a lot too. He wants her to know how highly he thinks of her, and even if he doesn't understand why she pushes herself so hard, he supports her because he loves her. <3 DORKS.

    Panel Four: Dorothy is right. He does underestimate what he's capable of because he thinks if he acknowledges it, he has to pursue something higher. He doesn't need to do that, but hell, try telling someone raised by the Walkertons that.

    He looks so uncertain here. All he can think of is his math grade and why it bugs him and how he can't ask for help because he shouldn't need it and will people be disappointed, will they think he's stupid, oh god, if he's stupid, will they treat him like Sal? All those arguments with their parents he tuned out because it didn't affect him – will those be him now?

    On this note: I hate the Walkertons. They are my least favourite parents. AT LEAST BLAINE AND TOEDAD HAD A CHANCE AT JAIL TIME FOR THEIR SHIT AFTER FUCKING UP THEIR CHILDREN LIKE THAT.

    Panel Five: It's all hitting him right now and he doesn't want it, but this is a thing that's coming up and well, Dorothy talked about her insecurities that are so much like his own. It's a lot to take in, running through his head. Meanwhile, Dorothy is just being adorable and cuddling him. Awww <3

    Panel Six: Oh my god. This was…..rough. That had to HURT to admit. He's put so much stock in nobody finding out but now that he's heard Dorothy admit to similar insecurities, he let it come out – quickly and immediately insecure, but it is out. That is huge. Maybe now he'll get tutoring and find out that he can still be a person of worth even if he struggles. This is great!

    And ha, yeah, Dorothy got shocked sober.

    Panel Seven: Dorothy looks so alarmed here. Like, what, my oasis boy is having problems? Oh no, what do to help?

    And oh, Walky, honey. This is scary to admit and so of course he wants to back pedal but ahahahaha, no. Too late. No stuffing this genie back in the bottle. Sorry, kid!

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