209

Been somethin’
Posted on February 13, 2017 by David M Willis

209 thoughts on “Been somethin’”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “Are you questioning my logic?” [/Rocky]

    1. thebombzen

      https://i.imgur.com/MWg8sz0.gif

      1. Rheios

        http://www.lackadaisycats.com/comic.php?comicid=19

        Bottom picture. Rest of the comic’s amazing.

  2. Hellespont

    Oh Good, an ex turning up at a difficult moment with an I told you so, these always end well.

    1. TrueVCU

      You just got DANNY’D

    2. TheAnonymousGuy

      Maybe now they’ll get back together

    3. DarkoNeko

      Better him finding Amber demasking herself in public than, say, Mary.

      1. Woobie

        Danny has the advantage of knowing her habits.

        1. Hellespont

          To be honest, I would like that, but a confrontation in public is not the way to go about it.

      2. Reltzik

        Yeah, Mary’s gotta be pretty damn mean behind her mask.

        1. TheAnonymousGuy

          Mary’s secretly sal in disguise, I mean, you never see them in the same place at once right?

        2. Emperor Norton II

          Strangely enough, there are only three strips total where they are both tagged. And there has only been one single strip where you see them in the same panel.

          And it’s not a close-up of either, so for all we know, there might be some disguising going on in that particular strip…

        3. 3oranges

          Mary’s mask is the smiling face with kind eyes she’s used when she wants things. It doesn’t actually hide much.

    4. J Corwin

      Gotta love sticking somebody with “Admit I was in the right” while they’re hyperventilating and panicky.

      I swear Danny’s the most self-absorbed character in this strip, which is saying something.

      1. Oz

        tbh he kinda deserves a pass after how Amber treated him…

  3. AnvilPro

    Amber can’t stand that even her alter-ego likes Sal

    1. Mark

      Yeah, I was wondering how on earth she was handling all that. Bottling it up inside, no doubt.

      1. StClair

        That’s what she does. That’s all she does!

        … well, that and kill spiders.

        1. Doctor_Who

          Those spiders are in for a hell of a night.

        2. StClair

          Ha ha, it’s funny ’cause I use MMOs as a avoidance coping strategy too!

          wait, not funny, the other thing.

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Better spiders than neighbors.

        4. David

          Except that “spider” is short for “spiderman”.

        5. SgtWadeyWilson

          If killing Spider-Man isn’t a hobby, then what is it they do at Marvel?

        6. Disloyal Subject

          Don’t forget the fanfics.

        7. Historyman68

          Neighbors/Spiders is my favorite fanfic. Also, my favorite Arcade Fire song.

    2. Dreadbeasts

      I think it’s less about liking Sal and more about disliking what Amber did to Sal, and what that represents in her life. We haven’t seen the aftermath of what went down after she friggin’ stabbed her, but I doubt it was “yep everything’s cool now”

      Probably less repercussions for Amber due to being 1. white and 2. blaine’s kid (he’s got mob ties in Walkyverse, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s got something similar here), but I sincerely doubt that Linda Walkerton just rolled over on “yeah ok this kid stabbed mine, no biggie.”

      1. BBCC

        Considering Ethan only noted that she enrolled in self defence and she was visibly traumatized, it looks like that’s exactly what Linda (and Charles! He’s part of Sal’s mistreatment story too) did. Or maybe they were too busy being angry with Sal to press charges or they went ‘well, that’s what you get for robbing stores’ or something.

        I’ve seen it theorized that they went with a deal where they don’t press charges on Amber in exchange for less serious ones against Sal, but that seems unlikely to me, as the court would be the ones charging Amber, not them (and yes, police can charge you for something serious like stabbing someone even if the person doesn’t want them charged) and that doesn’t seem like the kind of deal the courts would go for.

        1. Yet_One_More_Idiot

          I read this as Amazi-Girl developing a small crush on Sal, and then going into shock when she realises she has. xD

        2. BBCC

          Not a ship I sail, but far be it from me to punch holes in your deck.

  4. DarkoNeko

    A for efforts, Amber.

  5. BBCC

    Well, shit.

  6. butts

    Okay, time to Danno it up, Danno

    1. Valdrax

      Ya know, I don’t care if he buries his chances with her forever. Someone has to bring up with her what a maaaassive hypocrite she’s been about that.

      1. Fart Captor

        There’s a massive difference between being a hypocrite and changing your mind.

        Shortly after blowing up at Danny for talking to Sal, AG followed Sal to a rally with the intention of beating her up.

        When she realized she was wrong to hate Sal and ended up sorta friends with her, that was not hypocrisy. It was growth.

        1. Valdrax

          Not forgiving Danny or saying one word to him about it was, though. Especially since she never really explained why she had a problem with it.

          Unless the upcoming strips change this, she’s not yet shown any distinction between, “This wasn’t wrong,” and, “This wasn’t wrong when I did it.”

        2. Fart Captor

          She’s forgiven Danny I think, she just thinks she doesn’t deserve to be forgiven. She’s convinced herself she’s toxic and Danny is better off without her.

          Plus it’s only Tuesday, and AG only let go of her fixation on Sal Sunday night. She’s got all kinds of emotional processing she has no doubt been either avoiding or simply refined into more self-loathing. Not a lot of time to fit in awkward apologies to the ex-boyfriend she doesn’t feel she deserved in the first place.

      2. Killian

        As much as a Danny Danny is, I still think he doesn’t deserve putting up with Amber/Amazi-Girl’s drama. I mean, she broke up him because he suggested that she try to move past a traumatic experience (as would be healthy) instead of letting the wounds fester.

        Danny just needs to quit Danny-ing up his life for five minutes and realize this, move on, and then be with Ethan, as the both clearly want.

        1. Fart Captor

          Yes, she did that because she really could use a therapist’s help to deal with said traumatic experience. It’s not like she’s having emotional problems on purpose.

          If Danny still wants to be there for Amber as a friend, that’s not him being a weak pushover, pining for his ex-girlfriend. That’s him being kind and sympathetic, and wanting to help someone he cares about who is hurting.

        2. Joe Angel

          okay but what if we consider poly relationships and everyone wins?

  7. Fart Captor

    Oh god I hope she tells him what the deal with Sal is

    1. Doctor_Who

      She really needs to tell someone.

      1. Leorale

        Yeah. I think she told Ethan, but he didn’t make much of it, so he I expect he didn’t quite get how important it was to Amber.

        1. timemonkey

          All she said was the former robber was on a student on campus. He has no idea that she’s broken mentally and how bad the split is.

        2. Fart Captor

          Yeah, I’m too lazy to go back an check atm, but I remember her backing off from actually telling him when she realized he didn’t recognize Sal.

        3. Leorale

          That makes sense.

        4. Needfuldoer

          Sal didn’t seem to recognize Ethan, either.

        5. Andy

          Ethan hit puberty like a boss, too, which may have something to do with it. Think of Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom). Add in Sal’s desire to put that shit behind her, and it’s not surprising she wouldn’t recognize Ethan.

        6. Oz

          I think the main reason is that that particular event was nowhere near as traumatizing for Sal and Ethan, compared to all the other stuff each of them went through, as it was for Amber. Sal and Ethan both have normal “yeah bad day but let’s move on” memories of that day, while Amber has this very vivid memory of a life-defining event that she can’t move on from.

  8. DarkoNeko

    Oh, it’s Ruth for this week’s pornlord offering.

    1. StClair

      yeah, that’s… quite a panel.
      dang.

  9. Kernanator

    Well gee, this can’t possibly end well.

  10. Pablo360

    This cannot be good.

    For reasons I’m sure Cerberus could elaborate on better than I, but I do foresee this conversation leading to a worsening of Amber/Amazi-Girl’s mental integration.

    1. DarkoNeko

      Danny making that comment after she basically dumped him over Sal too may…
      Well, that may work, actually. Eventually.

      1. Reltzik

        And eventfully.

  11. Dana

    She does, doesn’t she.

  12. Julia

    Okay, for a second I thought Sal meant she had to do math assignments and had to do amazi-girl, and I was really confused

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      Wouldn’t be the first time she’s hooked up with someone she dislikes in the middle of doing math assignments.

  13. Kris

    I don’t know. Sal seems pretty dangerous and frightening to me. *puts mask back on* Actually she’s fine.

  14. Thor

    I think that last panel is the look on all our faces when Danny appears too.

  15. Leorale

    Big day for Amber/AG, and she doesn’t even get to decompress for a second. Does Danny realize how terrible his timing is? Can’t be see she’s starting to panic and/or cry?

    1. Adam Black

      Bad timing is dannys superpowe

    2. Fart Captor

      I think that makes his timing absolutely perfect. Ethan might be a better person to have shown up right now, but Danny is a supportive, kind friend and that is absolutely what she needs

      1. Emily

        Danny also has firsthand experience with just how integral vilifying Sal is to Amber’s worldview.

    3. Sam

      He probbaly doesnt because he is approaching her from behind.

      1. Leorale

        But, look how she’s standing! Even from the back, and even mostly hidden by her cape, tilting her head down into her hands is not a happy pose, particularly if he can hear her hyperventilating or half-sobbing.

        1. Sam

          Hm, I still dont agree. The clues that seem obvious to us (hving seen the scene from the front) may not be that apparent to him. We dont know how loud she has been and Danny prbbly is more focused on “holy hell, she is talking to Sal after she blew up on me for doing the same?”. I am not going to put any blame on him here.

        2. Leorale

          That’s a fair point.

    4. trlkly

      I have to admit, I don’t understand the comments here sometimes. Danny is responding exactly like a normal person would respond. He’s being a bit sarcastic.

      Then again, I don’t get the hate on Danny, or why people have turned the name of a character with chronic self-esteem issues and assertiveness problems due to a crappy home life into a synonym for fucking things up.

      I’m not saying it’s the same as doing it in real life or anything. Just that it just doesn’t fit with how they respond to everything else in this comic.

      1. Leorale

        I’m usually not aboard the hate train at all. I like Danny, and all the other times he’s missed a beat have struck me as 100% legit, he does not have this info, he is reacting appropriately for what he’s seen or been told.

        It’s just, body language, the context cues are actually THERE this time.

        I do have full confidence that, just like every other time that somebody’s bothered to fill Danny in, he reacts with great kindness and loyalty and is a lovely person.

  16. Sporky

    This can only end well.

    1. Leorale

      Super well. The wellest.

      1. JessWitt

        Damn you Wellest!

  17. ValdVin

    The sweat is a nice touch. This dividing yourself thing takes a toll.

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      Also, wearing things on your face for a whole day.

  18. StClair

    Panel 4 is probably the scariest most worrisome part of this, because it looks like the Amber alter quite literally having to struggle to the surface, wresting control from Amazi-Girl by pulling her mask off.

    1. Fart Captor

      I’m not sure that’s what the struggle was. Her cheek coloring returned the panel before that.

      I could easily be wrong of course. We haven’t actually seen that before, so it’s not like the rules have been established for it, but to me it feels a lot more like previous times where she was frantically putting her mask on, because Amber couldn’t handle the situation, and needed the mask to feel like Amazi-Girl, who could.

    2. timemonkey

      Judging by the sweat in the last panel she’s just overheating.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Heat isn’t the only thing that can induce sweating. I think she’s actually that freaked out.

        1. Deanatay

          Yeah, that looks like a panic attack, to me. Being near Sal for so long is very triggery for Amber.

    3. Chris Phoenix

      I read it as the Amber alter was incredibly stressed by what Amazi-Girl had just done, and Amber was desperate to physically get the mask off.

    4. Cerberus

      Yeah, she’s popped in there and in deep distress and can’t even stand to have the mask on her. I really want to see the full context of this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Amber wasn’t having some feelings of betrayal about AG, considering all the crap AG has put her through in the name of protecting her from Sal.

      1. Rukduk

        If AG hasn’t been hiding the most recent interactions with Sal from Amber, it might be a case of “I thought I needed protection from her but I don’t need to be afraid of her anymore” and AG justifying her increasing control with “But she needs protection from you.” And that’s, that’s pretty messed up. From what little I understand about DID, an alter (in this case AG) is usually created in response to abuse and trauma in order to help keep the original (in this case Amber) safe or attempt to protect the original. So for an alter to start becoming abusive towards the original is deeply disturbing to me. I may be completely off the mark though, and please correct me if anything I said was wrong or insensitive. I have only a very limited knowledge of DID and what it entails, and am by no means a mental health expert.

        1. CrockedCop

          Amber was a victim, and she needed a hero, ergo Amazi-Girl.
          But the problem with heros is that they are heroic, AG was acting in response to what Amber “told” her about Sal, however AG now sees that Sal isn’t bad, so i forsee this resulting in a new Alter for Amber, someone who WILL attack Sal, the consequenses be damned. (That rage monster she is suppresing for instance)

          Amber needs to be institutionalized ASAP, before she starts making more Alters.

        2. Cerberus

          I don’t think that’s likely. And I don’t think it’s a given that if there was another split it would be a “rage monster”. Honestly, I think viewing it on those terms is kinda the problem with AG trying to deny that she is affected by PTSD or strong emotions and thus blame all of her fuck-ups on Amber because “Amber is the rage monster” in her mythology.

          And I don’t think she needs to be institutionalized as she doesn’t pose an immediate threat to herself or others. What she needs more is to actually have a productive dialogue between Amber and AG.

        3. Cerberus

          Yeah, it’s frequently triggered by abuse or trauma, though not always. This one however, definitely triggered by both abuse and trauma. And I dunno, for some people the split might be between an original and an alter, but at least in my experience, there’s not much value in trying to pinpoint an “original alter”.

          And yeah, alters getting abusive to the other alters is… a thing. And it sucks. Especially when you are a survivor of abuse and especially when the one who has been abusive to the others is the one you thought was the golden alter.

    5. Deanatay

      Actually, Amber appears in Panel 3 – see the blush marks, appearing just below the mask? AG transitions to Amber quite gently – it’s only AFTER the transition that Amber freaks out.

      1. StClair

        This is true, I didn’t notice the cheeks.

  19. Disloyal Subject

    Looks like he’s picked up her Batman-entance trickery.

  20. Keulan

    Oh shit, this is gonna be interesting. I still think it’s ridiculous that Amber/AG broke up with Danny because he befriended Sal. Danny had no way of knowing about Amber’s history with Sal, and in fact he still doesn’t know since she never told him.

    1. Leorale

      I think she broke up with him because she felt out of control, and that she might endanger him by wigging out, such as about Sal? It’s a bit unclear to me, I’ll have to reread it.

      1. Fart Captor

        My take was that Amber seeing him talking to Sal didn’t help, but trying to talk her out of vigilantism was the catalyst for the breakup.

        The idea that she was bad for Danny was Amber’s self-hating rationalization for the breakup.

        1. Emily

          I mean, it was also true which doesn’t help matters much.

        2. thejeff

          Just to add to the confusion, it was Amazi-Girl who broke up with Danny and she did it when Danny suggested Amber needed to stop being Amazi-Girl. He meant “stop the dangerous vigilante stuff before you get really hurt”, but did the AG persona hear that concern or did she hear an attack on her own existence?

        3. StClair

          almost certainly the latter, IMO.

          and AG was so upset she didn’t even try to offer justifications like “Amber needs me, she’s helpless and worthless without me”; she jumped straight to breaking it off.

      2. Disloyal Subject

        That’s how she rationalized it aftet the fact. I don’t think it was her primary concern at the time.

      3. Leorale

        –oh yeah, nope, it was because she took a nosedive into the middle of super unhealthy paranoia. She thought that her nemesis had wickedly turned Danny against AG, and therefore Amber, and she chose AG over Danny.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/teensiest/

        1. Leorale

          And yes, as the other commenters had said, AG did the paranoid breakup, and Amber later rationalized/self-retconned that she broke up with him because she’s bad for him.

          I’m very curious about their level of integration right now.

  21. Plasma Mongoose

    She needs a third personality to deal with this sort of thing.

    1. StClair

      yeah, that worked so well for Harvey Dent…

      1. Reltzik

        No, three is more stable than two. Three allows the beginning of a system of checks and balances. Harvey only had the TWO faces, and BOY did he flip out.

        ….

        *flees for dear double-punning life*

      2. Historyman68

        In TAS, he had Big Bad Harv beforehand Two-Face surfaced.

        1. StClair

          I guess you could count it that way.
          I was, of course, thinking of the Judge.

    2. Leorale

      A super-ego, to manage ego-Amber and AG-id?

      1. Reltzik

        Except, I think these days Amber is id and AG is superego.

        1. Pablo360

          Except that’s not actually how it works, and AG thinking it is makes up half the problems.

    3. Cerberus

      Maybe. Sometimes you need a mediator. It was especially useful having more than two alters when two were being sorted into a “golden alter” and a “monster alter” in my dumbass kid understanding of things. They were the ones that kept me more or less functional and one of those was instrumental in stepping in when the “golden alter” revealed her poisoned edge.

    4. CrockedCop

      In general I would agree, the problem is this third one will most likely have all the rage, so it will be a rage fulled hate monster, hell bendt on attacking and possibly killing Sal.

      What she needs is a psychiatrist.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        A psychoanalytic third persona…mmm that could work.

    5. Falling Star

      where have you been

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        I do check out this comic but I am out a lot more often so I only see the comic on my phone most of the time rather than on PC and commenting on my phone is a lot more troublesome, so I don’t unless it’s on PC.

  22. Masumi

    Talky time!
    Please?

  23. Some1

    Noir Dumbing of Age

    Narrator: Joyce, Robin, Kyle, and Reginald walk down to Gassalo’s Pizza! and subs.

    Reginald: Well this seems to be a nice little place.

    Joyce: Yeah we eat here all the time.

    Reginald: Well it must be good than.

    Joyce: It’s really just close.

    Narrator: They sit at a table and Becky walks up to them.

    Becky: Oh hey Joyce…why are Walky, and the Congresswoman with you?

    Kyle: also me.

    Reginald: I don’t know who this Walky fellow is, but I am Reginald Duke of Thingley. Wait I remember you.

    Becky: You do?

    Reginald: Yes of course, you were that strange lesbian I tripped over.

    Becky: that was me!

    Reginald: Now I suppose we start with drinks, I will have the Pinot Noir.

    Becky: I’m sorry but we only carry Chardonnay.

    Reginald: That will do.

    Narrator: Gassolo walks out and goes over to their table.

    Gassolo: MINION have you served these pawns yet!?

    Reginald: You’ve hidden yourself well Gassolo.

    Gassolo: Reginald, my old friend.

    Joyce: You two know each other?

    Reginald: Gassolo used to be the king of another small country. Until a massive uprising forced him into hiding.

    Robin: What was it called?

    Reginald: Gassolo’s dictatorship!…and Parliment.

    Becky: Uh…so what kind of pizza did you guys want?

    Reginald: Surprise us.

    Gassolo: I will cook the ultimate pizza!

    Joyce: He was a dictator?

    Reginald: A really bad one, I never felt the was really into the whole oppression thing, the people mainly revolted because of how badly he screwed up the economy.

    Kyle: What happend?

    Reginald: He made some bad investments involving a certain nonexistent prince of Nigeria.

    1. Falling Star

      Pinot NOIR

  24. Hopeful Sarcastic

    I’m… confused. Does Amazi-Girl like Sal and Amber doesn’t approve or am I injecting The Gay into this?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      AG realized at the rally how fucked-up stalking Sal and picking a fight was, and has been civil with Sal since.
      Amber is still freaked out by Sal.

      1. Hopeful Sarcastic

        OK, bleh, I’m an idiot sorry.

    2. Fart Captor

      Amber’s had flashbacks or panic attacks every time she’d encountered Sal in the past.

      It’s possible Amber isn’t 100% hetero, but I think this is just freaking out a bit

      1. jeffepp

        I wouldn’t be surprised if AG isn’t into men, really. Multiple personalities tend to form from sexual abuse. It’s possible that AG is becoming attracted to Sal. But, Amber isn’t, and is still freaked out by Sal. When you add Danny and Ethan into this, you have the most complicated relationship this side of MA3.

      2. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        There was signs back in Shortpacked that she wasn’t arrow straight…

    3. Shiro

      I would agree that AG’s starting to like Sal in a hesitant respect for a kindred spirit kind of platonic way, and Amber almost definitely doesn’t approve if it’s something she realizes.

    4. Captain_CloudWolf

      Amazi-Girl likes Sal because she is a good person and has changed from how she used to be. Amber is still heavily traumatized by the robbery many years ago. Amazi-Girl can handle the trauma, Amber cannot.

  25. Kris

    I actually don’t think this will end badly. Danny’s so sensitive and understanding I’m actually more worried he will get hurt again. But I will give him credit and say this will be a reassuring and supportive conversation for both of them. Or Amber will run away again cause that’s what she does after seeing Sal.

  26. Reltzik

    TFW you got a pun to make, and it’s almost irresistible, but you also know it’s inappropriate and insensitive towards some people in the community.

    ….

    *GRRAAAAAH!*

    1. Captain_CloudWolf

      I say make the pun anyway, then flee for dear punning live.

      1. Captain_CloudWolf

        *life

    2. Falling Star

      Tell us! Tell us! Tell us!

      1. Reltzik

        Sigh.

        FINE.

        Warning, potential offense upcoming, please brace or skip as appropriate for your personal situation.

        …

        From DANNY’S perspective, yeah, Sal seems nice. But Amber’s got alternate facts.

  27. JessWitt

    I forget if Danny even knows what Sal did to Amber and Ethan.

    1. Gespenst

      pretty sure he doesn’t

      1. JessWitt

        Darnit, get on that already AmaziGirl.

  28. Bagge

    That’s either the worst or the best timing EVER, even with Danny’s standards and I don’t know which.

    NOOOO, DANNY, THESE ARE THE YOU-ARE-DUMPED-STAIRS. DON’T HAVE DRAMATIC CONFRONTATIONS BY THE YOU-ARE-DUMPED-STAIRS!!!

    1. Reltzik

      But he’s already been dumped. He can’t get dumped right now, there’s no one to dump him. It’s not like he can have a negative number of girlfri-…

      … actually, where there’s a Danny, there’s a way.

      1. David M Willis

        can’t get dumped if you’re not in a relationship

        1. Hellespont

          Oh, you poor, naive fool.

          Person A asks Work Collegue B if they would like to come with them to a seminar. B responds that they have enjoyed the time they have spent together, but thinks they should go back to being friends. A realises they have just been dumped without ever knowing anything was happening. Confusion joins rejection and eventually gives way to an awesome story to share.

    2. Emperor Norton II

      For Danny and AG, it’s also the “work things out and then make out” stairs.

      So, you know.

  29. Emperor Norton II

    Since yesterday’s link to the latest Podcasting of Age got in rather late, here it is again: https://skepticalclown.wordpress.com/2017/02/12/podcasting-of-age-episode-5-jason-chesterfield-the-jason-vorhees-of-teachers/

    1. BBCC

      Squeeeeeeeeeee

    2. Emperor Norton II

      And Bagge, when we finally do get to the episode of Becky, we might have to have you with us as a special guest… Maybe.

      1. Bagge

        Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES

        http://iambrony.steeph.tp-radio.de/mlp/gif/gVTJs.gif

        1. Emperor Norton II

          I take that as you being slightly interested in the prospect.

        2. Bagge

          …I might be talked into babbling about the bestest character of the comic with some awesome human beings, yes.

          (The real trouble will be scheduling, but I think the time zones will work to our advantage. Let me know how to contact you and we can figure it out!)

        3. Emperor Norton II

          Well, we already got a couple of other topics scheduled before that, so no rush.

          But my address is hawkone and then you do that at thing and it’s the email provider pretty much everyone and their mother use.

        4. Jess

          AOL?

  30. Tnoy

    Danny can sneak up on superheroes now.

    He’s putting those skill points to good use.

    1. Needfuldoer

      He always forgets about Charisma when he earns stat points.

      1. Emily

        Charisma is a dump stat in like everything ever.

        1. JBento

          In D&D 5E, INTELLIGENCE is the dump stat, because it does pretty much nothing unless you’re a wizard.

        2. David

          Story of my life.

        3. JBento

          On the upside, you’re the only party member with a half-way decent chance of surviving an Intellect Devourer.

    2. Rukduk

      He double classed into rogue, and now he’s wondering why he didn’t pick it in the first place because he’s only using a lesser healing spell from his base class. It’s called “Light Tutoring Session”. It can also be used offensively against chaotic enemies with a low enough wisdom stat, but he rarely gets to use it.

      1. Gigafreak

        If his alignment leaned the other way, would he instead have Darkness Tutoring Session?

        1. Rukduk

          No, he’d have “Boring Monotone Lecture”.

  31. Rukduk

    “Abort! Abort! Abort! Repeat abort conversation now!”
    “He can’t hear us sir!!”
    “Then God have mercy on his soul.”

  32. BenRG

    Danny… Look, I don’t have any psychiatric qualifications but I can say with some confidence that Amber shouldn’t be left alone. She seems to be in the middle of a major crisis right now. Possibly she’s just not able to keep up with her life and her relationship with Sal jumping the rails into the unexpected.

    More worryingly, perhaps she’s losing control as the ‘primary’ to Amazi-Girl and she’s finally started fighting back.

    1. neeks

      i dunno, she’s pretty heavily introverted, she might need some alone time to decompress and process amazi-girl’s day. that being said, her jerkbrain might not be in the best shape for any kind of proper decompression, given her…everything…

  33. ugh

    me before: amber/sal just wouldnt work bc of their heavy past
    me now: furiously rearranging shipping chart

    1. BenRG

      I guessing that conflicting alters possibly with issues with sharing memories can lead to very, very odd romantic triangles. Danny x Amber simultaneously with Sal x Amazi-Girl isn’t impossible in narrative terms although I hope that Willis restrains the urge. Amber has too much on her plate as it is without waking up in bed with Sal with no possible memory of how she got there and Sal talking to someone else whom she is expecting to be in her body.

      1. thejeff

        Sal’s also pretty damn straight, which doesn’t stop shippers of course, but makes it unlikely as an actual plot development.

        1. BenRG

          I would point out that perception of reality trumping reality is a key aspect of the Amazi-Girl persona. If she gets the idea into her head, it will be difficult to shift, especially if she chooses to go the superhero way and just continually try to imply and infer to Sal rather than openly express her feelings.

        2. BBCC

          I dunno about that – Sal’s apparently spent more time looking at Marcie’s boobs than Malaya (an actual girl into girls).

        3. thejeff

          ? I’ve missed that.

          And are we sure Malaya’s interested in girls? (Sexualities carry over, but Malaya was interested in female humanoid robots, not so much actual girls.)

        4. Fart Captor

          Presumably that could translate to somewhere on the ace spectrum (demisexual seems the most apt if I understand the term correctly), though that still makes it fairly insignificant for somebody to spend more time looking at boobs than her.

          Plus, it’s possible to appreciate the attractiveness of somebody of the same sex, yet not be far enough up the Kinsey scale to actually want to smooch them.

          Sal’s opinion of Marcie’s glorious baps could be similar to my own reaction to shirtless Chris Hemsworth. I’m not aroused by it, but I can definitely tell he’s a very attractive dude.

          Like, if he walked into the room naked, I feel like it would be a boner-neutral event for me. No boners would be inspired by it, but none would be lost either, unless it were from surprise and alarm at a celebrity suddenly showing up in my house naked.

        5. StClair

          yup, that’s pretty much where I’m at, and why I put myself at Kinsey 1 (or maybe .5) and not 0.

        6. BBCC

          We never got a word on Malaya. But we do know she was into a girl (albeit yes, a girl robot) over there, so I’m assuming that would translate over here. I honestly read her as demi – not into anybody until she got a serious romantic connection with them.

          As for Leslie, either A) It wasn’t THAT serious a connection or B) It’s like how, for example, lesbians aren’t actually attracted to EVERY SINGLE girl they meet.

  34. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: One of the interesting things about the Sal and AG plot line has been how AG has mirrored the institutional racism of police forces and some of the racist microaggresions that are harder to call out.

    And it’s nice to see that still a thing, especially as AG, as the golden alter, has been patting herself on the back on how she stepped back from her racism and problematic way of handling Sal.

    Cause yeah, just because you decide to do the right thing doesn’t mean the ingrained attitudes go away or you avoid saying dumbass shit. Just because you want to not be racist means all that social indoctrination goes away. it takes time and hard work and it’s nice to see that depicted.

    Panel 2: Ugh. I’m starting to firmly dislike the AG alter and the reason why is entirely my experiences with my own “golden alter”. So, for those who don’t know a golden alter is a DID alter that is good at presenting itself as the culmination of all your positive traits. The one who can do no wrong and who all your other alters fall short.

    And the thing with that is that golden alters rarely are that. Often times they are just alters with the same mix of positive and negative traits and frequently, the golden alter sustains themself by demonizing another alter and making out like they are a toxic waste dump of all the bad and thus push for greater disassociation and fragmentation so that you never give that “bad alter” control (which is also a narrative heavily sold by movies with regards to DID, with works like Split or Psycho reinforcing this idea of one alter being bad and other alters trying to be heroes to stop hem).

    Anyways, in my experience, my golden alter was a fucking weasel. Making herself look good at the expense of an alter that was easy to demonize, abusing her, and masking her own issues especially with regards to self-loathing, suicidal ideation, and self-injury. And once she was caught out when she was the main driver of a suicide attempt, she became insufferable, never once owning her shit and still trying to sell herself as the sole bastion of all my romanticism and romantic orientation.

    And in AG, I see that fucking shit. That inability to own her fucking crap and acknowledge that she is not in fact perfect and wonderful and better than Amber and that she is just as prone to bias or harmful language. Dismissing the implication of her words and trying to turn it into a joke or an accident like part of her doesn’t still view her as a criminal because of her role in the robbery so many years ago.

    It’s deeply unhealthy and if Amber/AG are ever going to stabilize, AG is going to have to acknowledge she fucks up sometimes and that her negative actions aren’t all on Amber.

    1. vlademir1

      I think we have a somewhat different reading of Psycho.

    2. Rukduk

      I have an honest question even if it might seem sarcastic: am I part of the problem when it comes to society’s treatement of individuals with DID? I liked Split but now I kind of feel bad about that, as if I’m helping to contribute to the continued belief of stereotypes involving people with DID. But I would like to say that I think Split may have also explored the toxicity of a “golden alter”. Barry is the “golden alter” in that movie, but his actions, once you look underneath the surface, are actually pretty mean. He’s pretty abusive towards the other alters. He’s blocked out Kevin for over two whole years. And he’s maintained his control by claiming that Dennis, Patricia, and Hedwig are bad alters. All the other alters have to essentially ask for his permission to even surface. Dennis isn’t really a bad alter. He knows he’s flawed and has problems, and knows that all the other alters are flawed and have problems. In addition Dennis’s main motivation is that he wants to protect Kevin and keep Kevin safe. But he doesn’t think he can protect Kevin anymore, because of the flaw that he’s ashamed of (the fact that he likes teenaged girls). Dennis is only “bad” in that he thinks the Beast can do a better job of protecting Kevin than he (Dennis) can. Hedwig isn’t a bad alter either, but Barry and a lot of the other alters have treated him like crap because they think he’s stupid. The Beast himself could be argued to not entirely be bad as well. He also wants to protect Kevin, albeit he sees everyone who hasn’t gone through similar pain or trauma as threats. And he’s also been majorly influenced by what I view as a sub-par psychiatrist who for years has been implanting the idea that because the alters are so remarkable that they’re better than normal human beings and *spoiler alert*

      the alters all existing in the Unbreakable universe, where subdued versions of super heroes do exist, really doesn’t help matters.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        For what it’s worth, I have these things to say:

        1: In general, it is possible to enjoy entertainment while simultaneously find problematic issues with them. Of course, the more aware you are, the harder it can be to enjoy. Exactly how it goes depend on not only how many issues, but also how severe the issues are.

        2: From what I know of you, you seem to treat people with problems better than a lot of other people already. For one thing, you take care of thinking how real life differs from entertainment, so there is that.

        Because let’s be honest, popular entertainment media pretty much gets -everything- wrong. Everything. Many of the issues we can laugh at, such as the way Hollywood portrays… Well, everything computers, for one thing.

        The real problem is when they get humans wrong, -and- they get to be the only “voice” to tell us about certain problems. The dangerous thing isn’t so much that Split seems to get DID wrong; it’s that for a lot of people, that’s the only way they’ll know about DID at all. And therefore take it more seriously than they should. Sort of like how lots of people took “Wargames” more seriously than they should because most people had no idea about how computers really worked… But since we’re dealing with people instead, the misconceptions can become more damaging.

        If you can look at Split and enjoy it, and then also talk to your friends about where they got things wrong because you have acquired some actual knowledge about this issue… Then I wouldn’t really call you part of the problem.

      2. Cerberus

        Honestly, it’s perfectly okay to enjoy problematic media or media that fits into a negative trope. There’s no such thing as something that purely non-problematic and even works that try really hard occasionally fuck up in destructive ways or use a trope that has negative consequences in the real world (see the Bismuth episode of Steven Universe).

        And it’s perfectly possible to interact with non-problematic media in a deeply problematic or toxic way.

        I mean, I made that note, but I love Psycho. I think it’s a classic even though I also recognize that it popularized a lot of the “DID person is a serial killer with a ‘twisted’ alter genre as well as the trans killer genre”. And recognizing its flaws doesn’t detract from my overall experience.

        And the real issue of problematic material or negative tropes isn’t so much their existence as the way they are assumed to be reality or a stand-in for a lack of knowledge about a subgroup. Using the trans serial killer trope wouldn’t be a problem in a world where most people’s understanding of trans people came from the overuse of this trope in horror films for decades.

        So understanding that there is a difference between actual DID people and the popular depiction is a good thing and largely the point in recognizing a harmful trope.

  35. Cerberus

    Panels 3-4: Holy fucking shit. I’ve been craving this for months. To know what the Amber alter knows, how long she’s known, and what she’s felt about all these developments. And here we’re *fingers crossed* starting to see the signs of that being answered.

    Amber’s pop in seems almost violent and her distressed jerking of the mask off almost like a sign of betrayal and it all could mean a lot of potential possibilities.

    It could be that Amber has known the whole time what has been happening, but has been asked to quietly suffer it in the background (which would be somewhat monstrous considering that AG justifies constantly shoving Amber in the background and not letting her have all the good and exciting life experiences in order to “protect” her from things like anxiety attacks). (Like, seriously, if this one is the case, then I have all the feelings for the Amber alter who has been asked to suffer quietly in the background while being demonized for all of AG’s crap).

    Could mean she’s just found out about the Sal thing, hence the heavy distress we haven’t seen on strip before following this team-up, which would mean that this is feeling like a complete betrayal that she was woefully unprepared for and a sign that AG has been hiding memories she is ashamed about or thinks Amber “couldn’t handle”, which is bad for remaining integrated.

    Either way, the golden alter is definitely not coming out of this smelling like roses.

    Panel 5: Oh Bob, the public anxiety meltdown. I’ve been there. It sucks like hell. And I feel for Amber, because this is preceded by one of Amber’s largest anxiety triggers, one that makes it hard for her to even hear or see things.

    And that must be even worse given the circumstances.

    Panel 6: Oof. Welp, this is going to be interesting. Distressed and triggered Amber being left alone to deal with Danny (and I find it very notable that AG was perfectly happy taking over Amber’s body on so many occasions of late, but is leaving Amber to solo in following-up with Danny after the breakup. Like, this is why I can’t stand golden alters, they present themselves as pure beings never to be questioned, while doing cowardly stunts like that).

    And Danny is going to be pissed considering that he hasn’t gotten a follow-up from that break-up and that break-up was brutal and largely blamed on him talking to Sal, because AG wanted to interpret that as a direct betrayal. So yeah, seeing that same AG doing the same thing a mere two days later has go to slam home on his fragile self-respect.

    And I feel bad for the Amber alter. Cause she already has AG trying to blame all her bad actions on her, but now she’s left to clean up the mess of the angry ex with a real grievance wanting answers and she may not have access to all the memories necessary to answer them and may have just found out about this state of affairs as recently as Danny.

    Seriously, fuck golden alters.

    1. missilentmurmur

      I don’t think Danny is angry. I think Danny is sad and feels sorry for himself and Amber, too.

      1. BenRG

        Agreed; Danny doesn’t know the full story and I suspect that this is the moment when he finds out that he was the boyfriend of two different girls in the same body.

        FWIW (and maybe this is the optimist in me), I feel that the more recent preview art of Amber that Willis has published looks a lot healthier and happier. I’m hoping that Danny is able to at least help her get perspective and stop letting the two sides of her psyche cause so much damage to her mental and emotional health.

      2. Cerberus

        True, I should say upset rather than angry.

        And honestly, it’s important for Danny to get closure and figure out exactly what was going on with his girlfriend to trigger that incident and it’s important that Amber has an outside perspective on the timeline if there are gaps.

        Though I worry this is happening right after a trigger-induced panic attack so she’s not going to be in the most productive headspace right now.

        1. Pablo360

          Let’s just hope Danny notices that, and reacts accordingly.

          …

          He’s gonna Dan it up, isn’t he?

        2. BenRG

          A lot depends on how much time he is willing to invest in Amber after she told him that he betrayed her (remember, I don’t think that he really understands the Amber/Amazi-Girl dichotomy properly). However, he is also Danny and that makes him naively chivalrous; I think that he’ll see Amber in distress and react to that first. He’ll only start to realise just the scale of her problems after he’s been hugging her for a while.

        3. StClair

          Agreed.

  36. Danni

    hey! they’re talking again!

  37. missilentmurmur

    Danny’s hoodie reminded me of Doctor Strange

  38. BenRG

    This is just me but I have a idea in the future that Amazi-Girl may become Amber’s ‘girl in the mirror’, acting as her confidence and strength when she’s nervous. Simultaneously, Amber will become Amazi-Girl’s discretion and caution.

    I guess I’m too much of an long-term Firestorm fan to not enjoy the thought of a character having a second distinct inner voice influencing their life (for good or ill). However, in the case of Amber and Amazi-Girl, I think that talking to each other and coming to a consensus about where their shared body and life goes can only be healthy.

    1. CrockedCop

      The problem is the Third alter (Second by creation), the angry one, the one that stabbed Sal, the one no one seems to be aware of.

      1. Liliet

        nah, that was just Amber

  39. Doc Harleen

    You’re out of your element, Danny.

    1. Bagge

      Danny: “Pffft, what ELSE is new.”

      1. JBento

        From yesterday: glad you liked Clue. My reaction to learning the movie even EXISTED was… not stellar.

        “A movie based on a board game? It’s almost assuredly crap. Wait, it has Tim Curry? And Madeleine Kahn? Ok, I suppose I can waste like 20m of my life finding out exactly how much it sucksWHAT IS THIS MAGNIFICENCE AND WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT IT?”

        1. Bagge

          I usually keep an open mind to any adaption that is not dark and gritty (I’m looking at you, Battleship), and camp and comedy that is actually funny is pure gold!

          My wife (who had seen it before) was looking at me with a bemused smile the entire time as I laughed away.

          Now I just hope someone will manage to do justice to Betrayal on the house on the hill.

        2. JBento

          Arkham Horror or nothing!

          (Betrayal gets too many wonky games for my taste, where the Haunt either shows up too soon or too late, or gets trapped in the basement forever)

        3. Bagge

          Arkam horror would be neat, but they would have to be careful to make it a boardgame film rather than a generic lovecraftian horror film (just like Clue is not just another Agatha Christie adaptation).

          And it Betrayal you would have the wonder that is OX BELLOWS, and all would be well.

        4. JBento

          True. The Arkham Horror Card Game might be easier, seeing as it has the plot built in.

    2. JBento

      This might be an advantage considering Danny’s element seems to be “whatever’s weak to opposing element.”

      1. Pablo360

        He’s the world’s least competent Castform.

  40. Adam Black

    Danny wanted to date Amber and amber said No.
    Danny wanted Amber to take a break from Amazigirl so Amber dumped dumped him.
    Amber feels betrayed by Amazigirl . What Danny did was innocent.

    My Prediction! ( IF Amber doesnt beat him up) Amber will revenge-date Danny to get back at Amazi-girl

    1. Fart Captor

      Amber would have to both suddenly stand up to Amazi-Girl, and think she deserved to be loved in order for that to happen 🙁

  41. prime_pm

    I sold my…oh, different arc.

  42. Bluper

    For one terrifying moment, I thought that was Ryan.

  43. Liliet

    NOW PLEASE TALK YOU TWO *shoves them towards each other*

    1. Joe Covenant

      I’m torn between knowing whether I should dread the next few strips, or be a tiny bit hopeful about them…

      Give Danny a break!!

  44. Terry

    I think I’m detecting a bit of resentment in that comment from Danny. I mean she blew up on Danny for associating with Sal. Now he shows up to find the two of them having a friendly conversation. I think Danny is tired of being walked over by other people and given impossible expectations to stand up to.

    “Danny, you need to want more out of your life and not just be happy with what you’ve got. And you aren’t good enough for me because of your lack of ambition, but I’m going to date this person who is even less ambitious than you.” “Danny, you can’t talk to this person because I say so and I’m not going to tell you why, but I’ll talk to her if I want. And because you talked to her before I told you not to and don’t understand my rule even though I didn’t explain it, I’m breaking up with you because I think you are a horrible person now.”

    Danny is a nice guy and always puts other people first and no one ever seems to put Danny first.

    1. chris73

      Doormats always get stood on so until Danny starts to begin to respect himself it’ll always happen to him

      Easier said then done of course

    2. Pablo360

      Of course, Danny doesn’t realize that it was Amazi-Girl, and not Amber, who dumped him, so he’s about to have a very misguided rant if he even has the self-respect to do THAT.

      There’s no way this can end well, is there?

    3. Fart Captor

      It’s worth noting that Danny himself was among those people who never put Danny first, and who was making him into a doormat.

      Like, his issue isn’t that he’s “too nice”, or that he cares too much about what other people are going through. His problem is that he doesn’t really value himself at all. “What Danny wants from life” isn’t just too far down his list of priorities, it’s completely absent at times.

      That’s something he has in common with Amber. Both of them struggle emotionally because they don’t value or love themselves enough. And while I don’t think Danny explicitly realized it about himself, he definitely saw it in Amber, and tried to discourage her from being so hard on herself, much as Ethan did for him later on, which far greater success.

      And while Danny probably doesn’t understand just what kind of turmoil is going on inside Amber’s head lately, he definitely saw that she was struggling with something and not dealing with it in a healthy manner. That (plus Sal’s urging) was what prompted the conversation that led to their breakup.

      Now, Amber’s issues and pain don’t mean Danny doesn’t have good reason to feel hurt or angry, but I don’t think we’re going to see him lashing out or any kind of spiteful behavior towards Amber, any more than I expect him to try to get back together, or even go back to enabling her vigilantism. The conversation ahead certainly might get heated, but I don’t think that even an improved, more assertive and confident Danny could or should simply stop caring about Amber entirely.

      I expect we’ll see him looking for answers not simply out of a desire for closure, but also out of concern for Amber.

      1. Leorale

        I think you’re right on all counts. Danny has totally legit reason to be ticked off at Amber, but his worry for Amber easily beats any desires or needs of his own. (He tends to forget his needs/desires anyway.)

        He knows he doesn’t understand what’s going on, and he’s very worried about Amber. He wants info and Amber’s safety, a whole lot. Offer him a shot at those, and he’ll forget anything else.

  45. hof1991

    It seems that we rarely see Amber, and when we do she is either quietly killing spiders or losing her temper. The day Danny agreed/asked for “mask on” was a bad one for her. We have seen AG develop, but Amber is mainly standing still and that isn’t good. Amber needs Danny right now, just like she needs to interact with people in just about any way that doesn’t involve table flipping. I hope this doesn’t end in shouting and running away, because Amber deserves a little happiness. Heartbreaking.

  46. Falling Star

    For a moment, I thought that Amber was developing some weird hate-crush on Sal.

  47. Passchendaele

    Three words: strategic balls reserves.

    Dunno if Danny will be able to get them back after this, though.

    1. Passchendaele

      Let’s see if I can reply to this with my Nintendo 3DS and its poor internet connection…

  48. Jothki

    I’ve been reading this as Amber having been trying to reframe her hatred for Sal by passing it over to Amazi-Girl as a more internally palpable desire for justice. Now that Amazi-Girl is actually starting to respect Sal, Amber is left admitting that she’s just been irrationally hateful this whole time.

    1. Jothki

      Palatable, I mean. I wish we could edit these.

  49. Pablo360

    Ah, forehead sweat. I know you well.

    Specifically, I know that nobody who has just been through enough of a psychic rigamarole to be forehead-sweating outside at night is in any emotional state for the conversation that is about to take place.

  50. BBCC

    Panel One: Ohhhh, yes. This whole situation has had to be intense and uncomfortable. They had an….intense relationship and there’s got to still be feelings there and some of them aren’t good feelings. They’re not quite affectionate enough to be friends, but work together and are not malicious enough too much to really be enemies now. No wonder Sal just wants go and do her homework.

    Also – “keep out of trouble”. Uuuuuugh. I know it’s not conscious, but saying it with no reason to suspect there would be trouble or getting in trouble still feeds the pattern of PoC kids getting this a lot, as part of the background radiation of criminalization of PoC. One of the problems of intent vs affect.

    Panel Two: And yeah, it’s awkward to realize ‘crap, made a boo boo’. So AG scrambles away as fast as she can from that one. Not a fun time.

    But Sal’s gotten too many big things to push TOO hard on the little ones. She’s okay with very firmly leaving that situation. Which is probably for the best.

    Panel Three: Ohhhh Amber’s back. It’s been hard to predict how she’d react to this. It seems she knows but is not happy. And when Amber is unhappy she either snaps in rage or freezes and freaks out. She seems to be freezing here.

    Panel Four: And yep, freak out, on cue. I can’t blame her. Sal’s seriously traumatic for her and knowing they’ve been hanging out has to be scary for her at best. I hope she gets a chance to talk to Sal at some point without AG butting her nose in, I think it would do her good. Her tearing off the mask concerns me though – maybe she’s feeling betrayed here?

    Panel Five: Poor Amber. I really feel for her here, crying in the courtyard over this. She’s gotta be feeling lost and hopefully not confused, because that’d mean no shared memories and that is bad. This is going to be a rough road.

    Panel Six: Well, shit. This will be a conversation. Danny remembers AG flying into a rage and dumping him over hanging out with Sal and I think there will be words over that. And that wasn’t Amber, so hopefully this won’t be her taking AG’s rap. That sucks and it isn’t fair.

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