149

Social circumstances
Posted on July 12, 2015 by David M Willis

149 thoughts on “Social circumstances”

  1. Jen Aside

    There is already way too much Danny for what I expected of this story =<

    1. Jen Aside

      (I keed, I keed)

      ((though there sure is a lot))

      (((also, I can attest to FAAAAAAACES being tiring)))

    2. Opus the Poet

      Well you have to take the good (Dina) with the bad (Danny)

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        So who’s the ugly then?

        1. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Toedad.

        2. Opus the Poet

          Completion of the proof is left to the student.

        3. Blackbird

          Faz.

        4. podian

          “Ugly” doesn’t even start to describe Faz.

        5. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          It’s not even that he looks that ugly. His personality is what makes him truly abhorrent and disturbing.

        6. Screwball

          “If the looks are a 10, but the personality is a 2, then they’re a 2…”

          …at least that’s what I’ve been told. I just like all the pretty Human ladies…

        7. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          His looks are a 4. His personality is a -9001.

      2. SonicBlueRanger

        You take ‘Em both and then you have Walking With Dina.

        1. Deanatay

          Actually, from the name, I think you’d have Walky and Dina…

    3. Dammy

      More Danny, but none of the Danny aftertaste. What is this madness?

  2. Opus the Poet

    Dina thinks Amber/AmaziGirl changes personas to help her, Dina?

    1. Viktoria

      No, Dina thinks A/AG changes personas to help A/AG, Dina thinks A/AG is so careful about saying which is which to help Dina. Sorry Dina, A/AG doesn’t do it for you, she does it because she’s just that fucked up.

  3. MiffedMab

    This is adorable.

  4. otusasio451

    Guys, I’m telling you…personality schism comiiiiiiing…

    1. 6Qubed

      The potential Amber/Danny/Ethan threesome is gonna end up being a foursome, isn’t it.

      1. Captain Batson

        Well, “Mask or No Mask” was a two-person threesome…

        1. 6Qubed

          you know what, fuck it. masks for everyone

    2. winter

      I’m not so sure, if only because when she’s under pressure, her two personas seem to converge instead of diverge. It would think it would take a complete flip in Amber’s MO for a split to occur. Don’t know how likely that is irl…?

      1. DSL

        Which make’s Dina’s internal observation that it’s difficult to tell Amber-Girl from Amazi apart both perceptive and prescient. The two personas aren’t as distinct as either Mask or No Mask would like to think.

        1. winter

          Also the alt text implying Amber herself has trouble distinguishing them. Yea.

          The only real difference I see between Amber and Amazigirl is the amount of control Amber feels she has in a situation. Amazigirl has the same anger issues, but she’s can ‘control’ her anger in a way Amber ‘can’t’ because she releases her anger only on criminals who ‘deserve’ it. Amazi-girl, a superhero in a world mostly void of them, also lets Amber control encounters with others. When people interact with Amazi-girl, they (usually) automatically go to a comic book script that Amber feels comfortable with.

          So, yea, I think Amazi-girl is about Amber feeling in control. So when Amber feels completely out of control (re: Blaine, Sal) there can be no Amazi-girl.

        2. Les

          That’s a pretty good summation of the difference between Amber and her alter-ego…

        3. MeghanTheWorldEater

          Maybe they only look different in the dark.
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/zipper/

    3. timemonkey

      And I’m telling you, you don’t know what you’re talking about. For one thing if Willis actually gave her a split personality he’d have to deal with it for the rest of the comic, and worse he’d be obligated to portray it accurately. Second, if she was going to snap it would have been when she was under heavy stress, not the minor stress she has now.

      1. otusasio451

        Yeah, fair enough. In truth this is mostly in jest. I don’t really think she has DID, she doesn’t have the symptoms involved.

  5. Doctor_Who

    It’s cool how Amazi-Girl’s mask gives her sclerae. That way no one will ever think Amber is her secret identity.

    1. Jen Aside

      no eye-white, it’s a face-whitening mask

    2. Stephen R. Bierce

      It’s made of a variation on that translucent material Peter Parker used for his Spider-Man masks.

    3. Hoboturtle

      I thought it was like the Dark Knight trilogy where Bruce Wanye obvious paints around his eyes. Except in this case its Amber and white paint.

  6. AnvilPro

    Will we hear Dana’s thoughts on scenes where she isn’t present?

    1. David M Willis

      Except for a strip or two, Dina is in all strips in this storyline. (In the few she isn’t, she’s still there, just off-panel.)

      1. Lucina

        And that’s how I already know this is going to be the best chapter of Dumbing of Age.

        1. Bagge

          Seriously. We must have been extra nice lately or something to get this storyline.

        2. ditrysia

          Well, this is Willis, so instead of being optimistic now I’m afraid something terrible is about to happen to Dina.

      2. Orbit Junkie

        Dina is always just off-panel.

        1. podian

          That’s my new headcanon.

        2. JaneDoe

          Hiding behind the nearest door.

        3. Arianod

          Yess.

      3. Skizz

        Fantastic idea. Looking forward to this one.

    2. Blackbird

      Probably not. Dana likely hasn’t returned to IU since she got kicked out after her roommate Sarah reported her drug problem last year. :trollface:

  7. Stephen R. Bierce

    And there’s a cold lonely light that shines from you
    You’ll wind up like the wreck you hide behind that mask you use    –Elton John, “I’m Still Standing”

  8. Pierre-Eric

    Dina’s inner monologue is adorabz

    1. Arianod

      Dina officially confirmed for precious cinnamon roll too good for this world <3

    2. Bagge

      And now to go back and read all Dina strips and add inner monologue

      1. begbert2

        As it has been confirmed* that Dina is always just off-panel or behind a door in any given strip, feel free to add inner monologue to all the strips period. Like the roofying party, the Blaine interactions, and of course all the sex scenes. (The last goes without saying.)

        * well, almost.

  9. David Herbert

    Should be okay, so long as Danny doesn’t whip it out and go “Hey, Dorothy, remember this? Well last night it was in a superhero!”

    1. showler

      Wonder what Walky will think, though?

      1. Opus the Poet

        Joyce put D and W in their own rooms since they had already passed out.

    2. Opus the Poet

      And Dorothy says ,”Yeah , I already know where AmaziGirl sleeps.”

      1. Opus the Poet

        Or maybe, “Ow, do you have to breathe so loud?”

        1. gkheyf

          wonder if she’ll still go for a morning jog hung-over

        2. Tacos

          I actually wonder if Dorothy and Walky are hungover. I mean Danny also had alcohol yet he’s fine right now. Granted he didn’t pass out and fall asleep like they did and he probably uh… did… stuff to work the alcohol through his system.

        3. Shade

          I don’t think danny had had nearly as much as walky, and dorothy was almost as drunk as her caramel-sculpted boyfriend.

        4. podian

          Walky doesn’t need much, he gets drunk on the smell of beer.

        5. Screwball

          LOL people like that are funny. Daniel the Human is like that too. Used to try splashing him in “grog” as some Australian Humans call it, but stopped when he started carrying metal bars & magnets around the house…

        6. Darkoneko

          Seeing her study rythm, i’d guess Dotty was pretty tired to begin with.

  10. Plasma Mongoose

    That mask really does highlight her eyes.

    1. Kris

      I know right? It’s almost like she’s a whole different person.

      1. Screwball

        …Says the human with the amazi-girl Gravatar… :p

      2. Darkoneko

        hah !

  11. tim gueguen

    This brings up the question of whether Amazi-girl wears contact lenses, or Amber wears glasses strictly for cosmetic reasons. The mask doesn’t seem to have lenses.

    1. MeghanTheWorldEater

      They could be reading glasses, and she just chooses to wear them most the time.
      My glasses are reading glasses but I almost never take them off.

    2. Cass

      Well, her glasses don’t distort the line of her face (final panel) which’d make them either very weak or fake.

      Or, you know, that’d just be annoying as hell to remember to draw all the time, but the other way works on a Watsonian level!

      1. Darkoneko

        Glasses can feel like a layer/protection against the outside world.

        Or just, well, feel like a normal and integral part of the face, depending on people.

        1. MeghanTheWorldEater

          I’m definitely in the “normal part of my face” camp.

        2. Darkoneko

          I just feel naked without mine ._.

  12. Li

    Inb4 “who cares what the alt text very clearly implies, Amber is obviously just pretending to have identity issues”.

  13. gkheyf

    oh, teens and their social and psychological issues! it’s fun because it’s like normal teen drama, but it’s mixed with capes, masks, and dina!

  14. Mandy

    I really don’t understand why Danny doesn’t just announce that he and Amber are dating. I mean, really no one knows he’s dating Amazi-Girl, and the few people he told probably didn’t take him seriously anyway.

    1. Tacos

      Amber doesn’t want him to. Danny wanted to “break up” with Amazi-Girl so he could date Amber but she wouldn’t allow it.

      1. ninja_jesus

        That makes no sense. Is he worried about cheating or something?

        1. Tacos

          It’s not logical but that’s just how it is. Amber probably has reason for why she wants it like this though they might not make sense to us.

      2. BenRG

        It would be relatively simple for Amber to stage an incident before multiple witnesses where Amazi-Girl tells Danny that it can’t go on. Whilst she will always remember him with affection, the Mission must come first. For his safety, they must break up.

        Danny then, with Dorothy’s help plays the heartbroken beau before ‘running into’ Amber and the two of them getting together.

        They would need to develop a plausible explanation. Maybe Ethan could arrange a ‘spontaneous meeting’ at the Comic & Hobby shop where they could publicly ‘bond’ over their mutual geekhood.

        1. Michael I

          Danny and Amber wouldn’t need any particular explanation. They’re already known to be friends. And they live in the same dorm, have some of the same friends, and at least one class together.

          They probably would decide to have some time pass between the “breakup” and dating in public.

    2. Idon'tcarenomore

      Which is even worse If you think about it.
      Amber won’t date him because of the crummy way he treated her.
      But, AG will date him because she is crazy over him (literally).

      1. MeghanTheWorldEater

        I sorta saw it the opposite way.

        Amber isn’t particularly fond of herself and her anger issues and Amazi-Girl is in large part a coping mechanism.

        So rather than have Danny date Amber she wants him to date the ‘better’ one.

        1. winter

          Yea. It’s pretty much confirmed that Amber doesn’t allow herself any of the good stuff. Not allowed the good haircut. Not allowed the boyfriend.

        2. Inspector Hound

          Ah, thanks for phrasing it that way. I think you’ve zeroed in on her problem — daddy has inculcated in her the belief that she (Amber) doesn’t deserve the good things in life.

          But by being Amazi-Girl, Amber’s father isn’t her (Amazi-Girl) father, and all that “disappointment” doesn’t apply to her.

        3. timemonkey

          Well, Amber was supposed to get both those things she just handled it poorly and Amazi-Girl ended up with them.

      2. Spencer

        “Maybe Amazi-Girl could dump me and I could date Amber.”

        Seriously now. You’ve been told this already.

    3. AgentKeen

      Possibly relevant:
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/compartmentalize/

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/faithful/ (mostly for the implication the alt-text might have on that last panel)

  15. Icalasari

    I want to go right up to Dina and ask her permission and then if told yes give her a big ol’ hug

  16. halcyon1234

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/why-2/#comment-244287

    Also: timing.

  17. Idon'tcarenomore

    Dina is for sure huggable. But, she showed that she does get upset being treated like a kid because of her looks, height, and general adorableness. So maybe that’s not such a good idea.
    She might go raptor on ya, with the teeth and all.

  18. BenRG

    Dina’s thoughts on Amazi-Girl and Amber are interesting. She, at least, does not seem to believe that they are separate personae but rather two different roles played by the same woman for appropriate different for circumstances.

  19. Skizz

    I wonder if Dina is her real name, or just one she has insisted on so long that even her parents call her that. Picturing a whole different persona under that dinocap…

    1. Agemegos

      It might be an abbreviation of something that ends in -dina. I have a family connexion whose name is “Geraldine”, known as “Dine” professionally and to friends and family.

      1. Agemegos

        “Oswaldina”, for instance.

        1. Darkoneko

          …Donaldina ?

        2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Tyrannosauridina?

  20. Bicycle Bill

    I just hope that Willis is able to keep the Amazi-Girl and Amber personae separate.

  21. grantimusmax

    Aww, poor Amber always has to comb out her AG hair, even though it doesn’t look as good. That detail always makes me sad.

    1. Bagge

      Awwww, I didn’t notice that.

      Poor Amber – Amaziegirl seem to grab more and more of her positive experiences. Amaziegirl has the good haircut. Amaziegirl has adventures. Amaziegirl can snuggle with Danny while Amber argues with him.

      1. grantimusmax

        Well, one of these days she’s going to have to reconcile her personae, so maybe she’ll collapse all those good experiences together? Maybe? *fingers crossed*

        1. Bagge

          What I hope for is a triumph for Amber rather than amaziegirl. Helping Dina could maybe be it

      2. Lord Stoneheart

        And on top of that, she refers to her Amber haircut as the haircut she got for prom. Her number one association with her hair is not a happy memory.

    2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

      I actually prefer Amber’s normal hair. Amazigirl’s hair looks like a puffy pastry.

  22. Bagge

    The logistics behind secret identity romances can be tiring.

  23. Pro Gammer

    Willis, your comic load seems to be blocking on loading everyone’s gravatar for some reason. Since Gravatar’s CDN seems to be down right now, I can’t see any of your comics without manually opening the image in another page.

  24. Darkoneko

    ok, panel 2-3 made me cringe.

    1. Eric

      That girl is not well.

  25. Eric

    So… Is there anyone in this story who isn’t in need of psychiatric care?

    Amber and Ruth seem to need it the most.
    One is seriously emotionally unstable, if she hasn’t become an alcoholic she might have become a cutter.
    And the other seems to think she’s two people – she has a ready made insanity defense for when she’s eventually arrested, the years she’ll spend institutionalized may be good for her.

    I guess Dina is just Aspergers.

    Joyce is a religious nut who simply needs exposure to reality so as to realize that if there is a deity it is – at best – indifferent to humanity, or – at worst – a sadistic psychopath. That will come with time (one hopes).

    Strange as it may seem, Walky might be the most sane and emotionally stable of the lot.

    And if that isn’t disturbing…

    1. JBento

      Plenty. Besides the ones on your list, Danny (just needs further information on bisexuality), Dorothy, Marcie, Malaya, Jacob, Joe, Leslie and Roz all strike me as in good mental health, and that’s just the ones off the cast page.

      Also Mike? Maybe? And I don’t think Mary needs psychiatric help, either – if being a terrible human being were a mental health condition, at least 3/4 of the world’s surface would have to be a sanatorium.

      1. RedFloyd

        I’ve always been of the opinion that while Mike is a sadistic asshole, he actually uses this for good as best he can. (Though he would never admit it. Think of all the good the initial wang-drawing and marker switch did.)
        So he’s probably the most mentally stable.

        1. Spencer

          What possible good did that cause? Joyce just scribbled a bunch of dicks and then had a PTSD-fueled breakdown.

        2. Heavensrun

          It did lead to Amber and Joyce becoming friendlier, and having a case to solve helped Amber recenter and find her self-esteem again. Also Joyce grew a little as a person. But yeah, there’s no way Mike did that on purpose. Shortpacked! had a few moments where Mike deliberately used his assholish nature to make points that needed to be made, but DoA Mike is pretty much just a comical misanthrope.

        3. DarkVeghetta

          More like plot misanthrope – as many of his actions led directly or indirectly to much of the plot development or triggered personality growth in DoA.
          He’s basically the plot-demon – where he threads noteworthy stuff happens.

        4. Screwball

          …Or is he? Perhaps he is conversing with Mr Willis himself, shattering that 4th wall, & using that information to play Devil’s Advocate, facilitate other people’s growth…

          Oooo, new word, facilitate…

      2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        Danny needs psychiatric care to stop being a complete and utter doormat.

        1. Spencer

          Being a doormat isn’t a psychological condition. Besides, hes shown more than a few times in the comic that he can take initiative. He’s just not very good at it.

        2. Darkoneko

          He’d much rather follow the flow, most of the time.

          …I can’t blame him for that. I really can”t 🙂

        3. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          If it leads to scenes like Danny & Dorothy’s breakup, then yeah, it is a condition. Maybe not a DSM-recognized disorder, but more severe than Dina’s issues.

        4. Spencer

          I don’t even know how to begin to describe how much I disagree with that interpretation. Like, Dina has some problems expressing herself, but there’s nothing wrong with her. Likewise, Danny can be a bit too passive and can be a fantasist, but that’s not a mental illness.

          I genuinely await the day we all collectively stop treating the break up as if it has some major impact on how we’re supposed to view Danny as a person.

    2. Pilgrim

      Aspergers doesn’t require psychiatric care automatically.

      1. Regalli

        Though anxiety attaches itself to it pretty easily nonetheless. Turns out being unable to read people’s cues and often being treated negatively because you’re different doesn’t make you very confident in yourself and your ability to make friends without thinking you’re imposing on people!… Life is uncomfy sometimes.

  26. Spencer

    So does Amber only pull her third-person terms when she’s with Danny and Ethan? I think this is the first time she’s ever stopped herself from referring to Amber and Amazi-Girl as separate people.

    1. Heavensrun

      Well, Ethan, Danny, Dina, and Dotty are the only ones in on the secret, (at least until Daisy finds out) So around most people, referring to Amber and Amazi-Girl as sepearte people is sort of an important defense mechanism.

      1. Spencer

        Right, but when she’s with Danny and Ethan she’s super strict about compartmentalizing her identities and here she drops it in front of Dina. Does she recognize it as strange? If so, why does she do it to Danny and Ethan?

        1. kinzvlle

          I think it was more the mask. Onxe thats off she no longer sees herself as Amazi girl. Whether she took it off to drop the facade or juet cuase she was getting ready to change is uncertain

        2. Heavensrun

          I think people overanalyze the way she compartmentalizes it with Danny and Ethan. They see it as this weird split where she has different identities, but I really think it has more to do with the fact that she’s aware that what AG does is illegal, and could get her in trouble if anybody put two and two together. It’s not about her actually seeing AG and Amber as different entities, it’s about the need to keep her identities separate to the public.

        3. Heavensrun

          The point being, Danny dating Amazi-girl and explicitly not Amber is not because AG is a separate person, but because Danny has been -telling- people he’s dating AG, and so if people see him being flirty and close with Amber, she could get busted. Also, Habitually referring to Amber as a separate person when talking as Amazi-Girl is a similar thing. If she doesn’t make it a habit, and slips up when talking to someone that knows both of them, it’s bad mojo.

  27. zee

    I don’t see why it would be flaunting. She dumped him, and she had a new boyfriend at almost the exact same pace. But give the reasons behind the dumping, would she be the one who’s “flaunting.”

    1. Spencer

      In their last conversation Dorothy asked him if he was just bragging about his sex life. I assume this is in reference to that.

      Danny confirms on the next panel that he is flaunting just a bit and that’s fine, really. It’s a little petty but it’s a perfectly human reaction after a bad break up.

    2. Heavensrun

      It’s not about flaunting the fact that he has a relationship, it’s flaunting the fact that he’s dating AMAZIGIRL.

      1. Darkoneko

        And doing it from a grappling hook.

    3. Bagge

      Danny is self conscious about stufflike that

  28. theheroesofcrash

    Willis doesn’t have them explicitly say it, but the fact that Dina and Amber get exhausted by socializing pretty much pegs them as introverts.

    Some of you may be saying, “No surprise there, they’re socially awkward,” but introversion is not the same as social awkwardness (nor is it the same as shyness, being antisocial, or always wanting to be alone). An introvert is someone who feels drained by interacting with groups of people, whereas extroverts are those who feel energized by social interaction. About one in four people are introverts, and many of them can be good as socializing, and even become great leaders – one notable example being Abraham Lincoln.

    Although Dina and Amber have plenty of emotional issues and baggage to sort through, being introverted is the least of their problems.

    ========= _/\_
    ========= \ /
    ========= / \
    THE MORE YOU KNOW…

    1. theheroesofcrash

      (Crud – that star with a rainbow behind it looked perfect in the comment box…)

    2. Edupoet81

      Being an introvert is not a psychological problem. Like you said, introversion simply means one recharges through time alone, while social interaction drains the inner resources. I’m always boggled by how many people don’t understand what these terms actually mean. Recently, I was having a conversation with my mother where she was talking about how she’s had to work on being less introverted over the years. I asked her what she thinks it means to be an introvert. She looked at me like I’d sprouted another head, and told me, “It means you shy away from people.” At which point, I had to refrain from facepalming in order to educate by mother on what introversion and extroversion actually are.
      I myself am a shy, socially awkward introvert, but that’s just me. I make no claims of being the voice of introverts everywhere. When you’ve met one introvert, you’ve met one introvert. I know that there are outgoing, self-assured introverts out there, and there are also shy, socially awkward extroverts. I may wish I was less shy and awkward, but I’m fine with the fact that I’ll always be an introvert. As far as I’m concerned, the world needs all kinds of people — introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts.
      I appreciate that you do understand what it means to be an introvert. So many people misuse and misunderstand the term, and it makes me cringe inwardly. This is especially so when people treat introversion as a character flaw that should be corrected.
      Okay — didn’t mean to get on a soapbox here. Certain topics just bring that out in me, and that’s one of them. I’m done for now.

      1. DarkVeghetta

        It’s good to vent sometimes. 🙂
        Personally I’ve thought of myself as a introvert throughout most of my life,
        but as time went on I became more and more extroverted. Shyness
        notwithstanding, seems that I’ve become an ambivert – though I was not aware of the term until just now. So thanks for the very apt term, Edupoet81.

      2. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        What does ambivert mean? I get exhausted very quickly when dealing with most people, but when dealing with people I like I tend to get less exhausted.

        1. Edupoet81

          http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/ambiverts-for-the-silver#.khdvqWvpM

          That explains it better than I could. I get less exhausted dealing with people I like also, but I personally still consider myself an introvert. I can only speak for myself, though.

  29. billfish

    I really enjoy the strips with Dina in them. She feels pretty much the way I feel much of the time. These may be off-the-board questions, but I am curious about whether Willis had a flesh-and-blood inspiration for her, and whether Willis has a diagnosis in mind for her. I loved shaking his hand at Comic-Con!

  30. Salty

    The voice keeps calling her ‘Amber’. In her mind, that’s not what she calls herself.

    1. Wack'd

      AMAZI-GIRL BEYOND

    2. kinzvlle

      The voice is Dina. Dina wouldn’t be aware of Ambers onner naming, or monolouge

  31. Tenn

    Now I want to reach into the comic and tell Dina to check for cheek blush.

    1. Li

      In this comic at least it seems likely the mask just covers her cheekblushes, but I haven’t looked for that detail extensively.

  32. Deanatay

    Hey, it’s not like Dina doesn’t have multiple personalities, too. There’s Dina, and there’s Dino-Hat.

    1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

      Also “The Raptor”.

  33. Darkoneko

    Also “yeah, ’cause leaving from another girl’s room isn’t suspiscious at all”

  34. Rutee

    I didn’t expect to lose respect for Danny anytime soon, actually. That’s just petty, Danny.

    1. Lord Stoneheart

      Petty but also for pretty minor compared to some other incidents between Danny and Dorothy since they’ve broken up. Or in other words, I’m slightly confused as to how you could maintain respect for him after the incident with the shoes, but lose it after the admission that he is flaunting his relationship with a masked vigilante a little bit.

      1. Rutee

        Wait, the shoe thing was bad to you? It’s… danny. The need to establish he isn’t a complete doormat is pretty valid.

    2. Spencer

      It’s almost like he’s a teenager or something!

  35. OmegaDez

    The white of her eyes goes away when she removes her mask.

    …

    Magic.

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