THE SEVENTH DUMBING OF AGE KICKSTARTER IS GO! Collecting (obviously) the seventh year of Dumbing of Age, this 228-page book's also got strip commentary and 27 Patreon bonus strips! Also, hey, as always, character magnet add-ons. This year we're starting out with Sierra, Amber, and Ukulele Danny! If/after we hit $50k, everyone who pledges for a paper book gets a Ruth magnet for freeeeeeeee!
148 thoughts on “Afterwards”
Ana Chronistic
next: homeless Jason hides out in Walky’s dorm room
SHENANIGANS ENSUE
Ana Chronistic
It’s okay, alt-text, thanks to that non-existant climate change, winter’s in April now, too ¬_¬ *turns up the thermostat*
Yumi
Okay, it snowed here last night, but I don’t think it managed to unmelt the polar ice caps.
Arawn
Well, it was 88 degrees Fahrenheit here yesterday. It’s always hot somewhere =3… just not so hot for Walky right now.
cbwroses
*ba dum tis!*
Dana
It’s always cold somewhere. So global warming always has a convenient counterexample to cherry pick. Apologies on the lack of joke.
DownhillSky
And also people always like to forget that while its called global warming, it actually has very little to do with us detecting warmth – if anything, it causes the opposite of that
Deanatay
That’s why most activist groups now refer to ‘global climate change’, rather than ‘global warming’.
Annonymouse
The whole thing is similar to changing a pot of water from simmer to boil – overall things get more active/interesting as more energy is dumped into the system.
thejeff
That’s certainly true, but I’m not sure that it causes us to detect the opposite of warming. Other than those desperate to grasp every cold snap or snowfall as evidence against.
There are certainly some regional effects attributed to global warming that produce localized, temporary cold spells, I suppose.
CJ
Seems like the US Atlantic coast is in for more cold and Europe for more heat because Gulf Stream got slower and less cold salty water sinks to drive it.
It’s complicated.
thejeff
“Global climate weirding”
Roborat
Yes, if winter can stay around this long, so can Valentine’s Day.
smashman42
South of the equator summer is still going strong. Someone broke the planet!
Cattleprod
And after Becky and Jason, the strip will slowly shift until 90% of the cast is people hiding out in the dorms.
AnvilPro
Walky and Jason hyjinks are a go
Kris
Laying on a little heavy there Walk.
TJ
I don’t know, I went through something EXTREMELY close to what Walky did, and my feelings were more or less the same.
ezzy
Fuckin’ same.
Coma
Well, he JUST got broken up with.
After I had been broken up with (by a person I at that time actually loved) I felt like simply running across the street not looking whether or not a car would come. Pretty unhealthy thought, I know, and it thankfully didn’t last long.
At the same time I couldn’t even cry in front of my then-ex, because I knew he couldn’t handle someone crying (he was really uncomfortable with it), and I loved him despite the break-up enough to wait till he was gone until I let the waterfall and effin misery start.
So, it’s not that heavy a thought immediately after a break-up – maybe it’s a bit strange because Walky is normally not about talking feelings, so openly admitting (besides on the garbage roof), how much Dorothy means/meant to him, is a pretty major thing.
Coma
And not meaning to say, his train of thought is completely healthy – just that I can very much empathise with him (probably many of us can).
Also, it’ll depend on whether or not he really stops putting effort into everything after that, however more difficult it might now seem, because he has to bring up intrinsic motivation for bettering himself.
Durandal_1707
Heck, I’ve felt like doing that ever since Nov 2016.
Hopefully that will change this year. (C’mon Millennials, don’t us down for once in your lives…)
Yumi
If you’re successful in some areas of life, that could result in you having more money; having more money means you can buy more chicken nuggets.
There’s your motivation, Walky. Go study.
lilyliv
I know this is hypothetical inspiration for Walky, but I feel legit motivated after reading it. (Or maybe I should go get a snack.)
King Daniel
Walky feels like he’s being torn apart
Danni
walky needs someone as a means to improve himself? wouldnt that end in a heavily one-sided relationship?
Yumi
It’s possible emotion is having a heavy impact on the things he’s saying currently.
Stellar
That would probably depend on what Walky brings to the table.
lilyliv
He’s bringing a lot of chicken nuggets, obviously. 😛
begbert2
Which is probably his entire point – Dorothy forced him to be a better person – better dressed, less slovenly, less gross, more mature. With only himself as motivation he has no reason or even desire to be ‘improved Walky’ – as demonstrated by him falling back into old habits the second they broke up, and by him trying to at least feign civility the moment they stepped into the elevator together. So it’s not that he’s going to be lonely and depressed without her – it’s that he’ll be himself without her, and he knows it.
thejeff
I’d say Dorothy inspired him to be better, not forced – he was for example willing to walk away over the pajama jeans incident.
I also wouldn’t read too much into what happened during the pause – was he really falling back into old habits or was he covering for his loneliness and depression by pretending he was happy to go back to them? The equivalent of “Glad to be rid of her. Now that I’m single, let’s party!”
ruhrow
So…Walky’s strip club is a box of chicken nuggets? I approve!
Dana
From experience, it can go either way, but when it’s bad it’s really bad.
BBCC
I mean, he’s also 18 and having his first breakup. I’m gonna give him a bit before I start worrying about how much he depends on a relationship.
Jago
He’s being dramatic. And sad. He just had his first breakup and he really liked Dorothy.
Formerly Glenn
It could be argued that that’s exactly what they had, despite their mutual affection.
Sam
In relationships you should both be pushing each other to improve and it can feel easier to do so with someone to do it for besides yourself. He doesn’t mean he can’t improve without one, but that Dorothy’s presence alone drove him to try harder and do better because he wanted to make her proud.
Now that they’re broken up, it is harder to find the drive to actually do it because it would have to be for HIMSELF, not for her. And tbh, if you think of any situation you find difficult, but find easier to do when it is for someone else, this is an example of that. It isn’t impossible – but it can feel so much easier when you know there is someone else that will be influenced by it.
This CAN become a negative thing if someone expects you to spend all your energy fixing them or forcing them to improve but that isn’t what Walky had with Dorothy.
CleverTrousers
Wait. Is Sal supposed to be Jason’s Dorothy or his anti-Dorothy or his anti-Joyce?
Goshii
I think Sal is Jason’s Anti-Faz with Mike add-ons.
BBCC
Because it’s still your best self, Walky. Even if Dorothy can’t be there to appreciate it (and you know she would if she could), YOU can still appreciate it. You know it’s your best self, so be that guy for you.
Passchendaele
right in my feels. ;-;
(also this spot/dialogue reminds me of the reverse of the joyce and becky scene in the distant in-story time of a week or two ago)
jeffepp
Oh, if only there was someone that could understand him. Who he could relate to. Some other who he’s connected to, in a deep, mutual self loathing…
Oh, hey, Amber!
Yumi
Kinda want him to date AG, and any other future ex Danny may have.
Unless, you know, Danny and Sal ever happen.
Nono
Hm. Would Amber see her dating someone and Amazi-Girl dating someone else as cheating, or ‘acceptable’? Depends on how deep the dissociation runs.
BBCC
Regardless, that sounds like something you talk to both potential partners about.
Dana
She’d probably see it as cheating to whatever extent she would see any consequences of crime fighting she didn’t remember as her, Amber’s, fault. I’m guessing she’d do whatever she could spin most effectively in order to shit on herself.
Sam
It doesn’t depend on how deeply the dissociation runs so much as what the rules of that particular system’s dating are. From what we have seen before, who AG dates also = who Amber dates. This would not be true for all systems and could also be something they have changed their mind on now that they are in conflict. It wouldn’t necessarily be ‘cheating’ unless they decided it was but it is something that would need communicated with potential partners and between themselves too.
cbwroses
I would…not be opposed to that.
Brotato
I’ve shipped it since Garbage Roof.
cbwroses
The last panel just made me say “Whoa!” out loud.
Well done!
Stellar
McNuggets.
Stephen Bierce
*the piano solo from Fine Young Cannibals’ “Good Thing” on the hacked P.A. speakers*
cbwroses
You sure you don’t want to play the ending theme to the old Incredible Hulk tv show?
Stellar
Funny, I was just thinking how well “It’s A Man’s World” by Renee Geyer would go here.
cbwroses
I feel like it should be raining to get the full effect of that song.
Stellar
Thqt would work, although I always associate it with hot n sweaty.
Some Random Name
What Walky needs is to reinvent himself with a blue ukulele.
…wait that sounds familiar…
…shit I bought a blue ukulele like an hour ago.
Marsh Maryrose
Things as they are
Are changed upon the blue…ukelele?
Dana
Women cut their hair, men buy a blue uke?
Roborat
Why would anyone buy a painted ukulele, the paint muffles the sound.
Goshii
But you can do a blue stain and lacquer on the surface of the tonewoods to get the sound you need while protecting the wood the Uke is made of. I’ve seen some really pretty blue mahogony ukes and violins.
Inahc
huh, I had a dream about ukeleles – well, one guitar and one ukelele – except then they were violins, but really weird, and someone was expecting me to play a tune well despite having never played a violin before. I got distracted playing with the different sounds I could get just from the angle of the bow-thingy, but then noticed some of these violins were actually wind instruments, which seemed really stupid because they were rentals, and who wants to share a wind instrument? and they had this pretty grid pattern of inlaid gold that was supposed to be kinda like the frets on a guitar, except not… and then somehow this turned into avoiding shark-like monsters at a beach…
it was really entertaining at the time, but probably just sounds nonsensical now 🙂
DailyBrad
What’s the use in feeling blue?
cbwroses
Is every strip gong to be themed by a Steven Universe song now?
I’m not complaining. I just don’t think there are enough songs.
Jess
NOOOOOOOOOO
Beef
This is too damn real
DarkoNeko
Dude, you haven’t even been fired, yet.
newllend(henryvolt)
Why ? Because I’m starting to think the only way to convince her that she didn’t fail in helping you is if you get your life together. That way she knows that even if she didn’t have that long of a presence in your life she still would’ve had a impact in it.
On top of that this sounds like quiter talk, if you want to get her back so badly keep trying what harm can it do if your already at Rock bottom.
Mart
Despite what romantic comedies try to tell us, ‘creepy stalker’ behaviour is usually not a winning strategy.
Schpoonman
I don’t think that is what was meant. I’m guessing that “Improve yourself the way you wanted to for her ANYWAY, and come back later and try again.”
thejeff
Except that’s not why she broke up with him, so it’s not likely to matter much. His improving himself won’t fix her issues. Which doesn’t mean he shouldn’t of course – he’s still got to get a handle on the math for his own ego’s sake.
I don’t think this is played out yet though. The break up certainly isn’t going to stop Dorothy’s slide – likely to make it worse if anything. I suspect and hope that Walky will play a role when she does turn it around.
Keulen
Damn this strip hit me right in the feels.
Bunivasal