329

Shielding
Posted on July 16, 2016 by David M Willis

329 thoughts on “Shielding”

  1. Sageress

    Why… why does Dina talk like this, anyway?

    Like, I get she doesn’t get social norms, doesn’t understand people and stuff, but she talks like a robot. She’s, what, 18? She’s been alive long enough that, even if she’s autistic (and I’m speaking from experience here, I’ve struggled with my autism and social anxiety my whole life), she’d be able to at least talk like a regular human being.

    I’m not trying to bag on Willis’ writing, I’m sure there’s a REASON for it, but… what IS the reason? There’s a point where it becomes weirdly unrealistic how she speaks, even if she doesn’t interact with people much.

    My point? Use some contractions, girl.

    1. David Herbert

      Willis has said she has a disorder but won’t say which one.

      1. David M Willis

        That’s definitely not what I’ve said.

        And Dina speaks like me when I was 25. My future wife had to work with me very hard to use contractions.

        1. Reltzik

          …….

          Okay, I know that she had your twins for you, but still, PHRASING.

        2. Orion Fury

          Oddly enough, I got it on the first pass, and had to reread it to understand the issue.

        3. Bicycle Bill

          I thought your twins were delivered by Caesarean (no contractions).

        4. Sageress

          That’s why it was so hard.

        5. Sageress

          Willis I love you but this just raises more questions

          For one why did you talk like that

        6. David M Willis

          Essentially the same reasons Dina gave when she and Sarah discussed her contractions earlier in this very webcomic.

        7. Sageress

          I keep forgetting that existed

          Ah well, thanks for clearing that up.

        8. Kamino Neko

          Since I can’t remember that conversation, and somehow can’t find it in the Dina+Sarah tag, can you (or somebody) repeat the reason?

        9. Doctroid

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/contractions/

        10. Kamino Neko

          Thanks.

        11. Orion Fury

          I, too, found that useful.

        12. Volkai

          Interestingly, almost exactly one year before this comic.

        13. Orion Fury

          So that’s where the cigar was.

        14. Raen

          25? I would have been following you by then… I’m pretty sure you posted with contractions…

        15. Foxhack

          Posted yes, but spoken? Sometimes they just don’t match. Like kids these days who speak proper English but do all their internet talking with emoteecons and emojees and stuff.

        16. Sageress

          it’s like they say

          ;~; 8=====D

        17. Orion Fury

          Um, I don’t know what you’re saying there, and I think I’m better for it.

        18. Kamino Neko

          A horse with a springboard on his head?

        19. Rowanmikaio

          I think a horse is closer to 8===========D

        20. Annie

          A frog next to a penis?

        21. Furie

          It’s like they say, confused cry at penises… Penii?

        22. No Name

          If you what to be technical, the proper plural is “penes”. Latin nouns that end with -is are usually a special case of the third (short e) declension, and trade that “i” for an “e” in the plural. (And while we’re at it, most nouns with -us are masculine second (long o) declension, and only switch out the “us” for ONE i)

        23. Arian

          Salve, mi amice / mea amica!

        24. Will

          thatsapenis.gif

        25. rectilinearpropagation

          I went through a period where I did the opposite: speech was pretty regular but in writing I got very formal, didn’t use contractions, etc. and for the same reasons. When it seems like everyone somehow “misunderstands” you all the time you go to extremes to be as clear as possible.

        26. miados

          I find myself not using contractions as much as i used to because at my current job it makes it easier for the person on the phone to understand me.

        27. Plasma Mongoose

          You didn’t use contractions? Were you at least fully functional, programmed in multiple techniques?

        28. Orion Fury

          What about being anatomically correct?

        29. Kesli_47

          Beat me to it!!! 😀

        30. Kryss LaBryn

          I saw one of the writers of that episode at a con shortly after it aired. He said that the writers joked that Data had three speeds: “Slow, medium, and OH MY GOD!!”

          Apparently they also had a pet name for Lwaxana Troi, and it was “Twin Peaks”.

        31. Slacker

          But weren’t you under 25 when you were writing TF: WW? I could have sworn there were contractions in those. I mean, Rumble had lines. Rattrap too. Blame it on Picard? (I miss those, thinking of them gives me nostalgia, they were great reads to me).

          I mean, I can’t remember you using a contraction on IRC in #wiigii or #tfww. But I also honestly wouldn’t remember if you had to be honest. I’m not as perceptive as Sarah is.

        32. trlkly

          So you (Willis) talked like her, or you just didn’t use contractions? The latter is easy to believe. But actually speaking more formally? That’s hard to believe. You’re too good at sounding casual now.

          Unless it’s only how you type and not how you speak…

      2. John

        What he’s said is that she hasn’t been diagnosed with anything.

      3. Orion Fury

        Well I now see the way to summon Willis into the comments. I’ve rarely come across how to summon just his presence, or wake, if you will. Normally I’m around after the hammer comes down.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Do not call up who you cannot put down.

    2. QWERTY

      English could be her 2nd language.

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        I watch a lot of the news programming from NHK, and I’ve noticed that in Asia (and in Hong Kong in particular) there are a lot of people who speak English even as a FIRST language, but their culture means they approach it very formally, much more so than we do in the West.

        1. JessWitt

          Very sensible. And then ESL-ers pick up our bad habits in conversations rather than beyond the textbooks.

        2. JessWitt

          *not rather, but instead of.

          See, bad English habits

        3. Conuly

          The way native speakers speak is not “bad habits”.

        4. Uncertainty Moth

          It is if you care about the formalities of English as it’s currently designed (which you don’t have to do, but I happen to anyway)

        5. Orion Fury

          I recall a joke from a British comedian where he said that he wasn’t speaking with an accent, it’s just what the language sounds like when spoken correctly.

        6. Fran

          i am pretty sure that wasn’t a joke.

        7. davidbreslin101

          Was that Eddie Izzard? I remember seeing footage from one of his US shows where he was playing up the whole “pedantic English snob” thing.

        8. Will

          Fun fact, apparently the “real” way of speaking English is not the one in UK but the one found in some parts of USA, since the pilgrims brought it over and has ever since remained unchanged, whereas UK has seen it change over time.

          Not that it matters since it’s all English at the end of the day.

        9. SgtWadeyWilson

          I like that you said “it’s all English at the end of the day.”

          At the beginning of the day it’s all growling and nonverbal communication until coffee or whatever.

        10. Kryss LaBryn

          Yup; I remember that set. I’m pretty sure it was the same one with the line about “Herbs… because it’s got a fucking ‘H’ in it.” Which is pretty much when I stand up and cheer, lol.

        11. Orion Fury

          Nah, it wasn’t Eddie. The guy had a half hour special on Comedy Central Presents like 15 years ago. It was like his third line in his set. It was a joke in the snark sense of the word.

        12. Needfuldoer

          Hong Kong was British territory from 1841 until 1997, so it makes sense that English is so prolific there.

      2. magicallady

        i wondered if english being a second language for dina was a possibility as well

      3. Mara

        Also, Dina reads way more than she talks to people. It’s not surprising she talks like a (dinosaur) book.

    3. Stephen R. Bierce

      Why does Dina have to be a regular human being?

      1. Sageress

        Because society

        1. magicallady

          society is real damn demanding. what the hell, society?!

        2. Tacos

          Society. Schmociety.

        3. magicallady

          ive been trying to pronounce schmociety for the last 12 minutes

        4. Bad Monkey

          Thanks. Now all that will run through my head is the “sh-muck” scene from Ishtar. Yes. Haven’t seen that movie in over 20 years and somehow my subconscious still has that scene readily available.

        5. magicallady

          OOPS

        6. Paul1963

          “Telling the truth can be dangerous business/Honest and popular don’t go hand in hand…”
          I don’t recall when I last saw it, but I’m pretty sure the year didn’t start with a 2.

      2. Orion Fury

        Spoken like a regular human being. So lucky.

    4. kkiten

      I think is is loosely maybe has Asperger’s. Many people who have aspergers/are “on the spectrum” remind me of Dina. It’s pretty realistic actually once you consider that.

      1. DinaWho

        My impression is that Dina has undiagnosed ASD/Asperger’s as per Word Of God.

        If I am erroneous or repeating something I shouldn’t, please step in Willis

      2. Sageress

        As an Assburglar myself I can confirm I do not talk like a robobot. I am a human of flesh and bone and fluids of varying viscosity, just as you are, meat child.

        1. magicallady

          its not robobot anymore! thats outdated! its cyberborg now! thats the neato slang being thrown around these days!

        2. Sageress

          How dare you. That’s our word.

        3. magicallady

          technist…..

        4. Orion Fury

          Well that’s just rude.

        5. magicallady

          sageress is the rude one, using outdated terminology reserved for insults.

        6. Orion Fury

          But is it accurate? Does it fit?

        7. Sageress

          I’m allowed to. We’ve reappropriated it to be a word for us to rally behind. You, fleshboy, can’t say it. Especially not with a hard “rg”. “Cyberbah” maybe.

        8. magicallady

          ….im a lady…

        9. Orion Fury

          And I’ve never like reappropriation. A slur’s a slur’s for me.

        10. Sageress

          UNLESS YOU ARE A MINORITY YOU CAN’T COMPLAIN, FLESHBOY

        11. Orion Fury

          I was diagnosed with Autism over 20 years ago. I was told I’d be a leech on my parents for my entire life. Never get a job, go to college, be able to drive, have a family. Been in the workforce for 20 years, dual degree, driving for nearly 20 years, wife with 2 kids. Every day is hell for me, for the stress I put myself through to just interact with bigots who look down on me. So words like ‘aspies’ and ‘assburglurs’? They hurt, alot. If you are fine using them, good for you. Just not something I can do.

        12. Orion Fury

          Eh, spectrum. And until I have proof otherwise I’ll just assume you’re a not synth.

        13. magicallady

          sith?! i would never associate with palpatine!

        14. Orion Fury

          Fallout, not Star Wars.

        15. magicallady

          never played

        16. Orion Fury

          Ah. Sorry you missed the joke then. Fun RPG series.

        17. magicallady

          i actually countered with my own joke, since synth and sith can sound similar

        18. Orion Fury

          Didn’t say the counter was bad…

        19. magicallady

          😀 if there is time i can play one of those fallouts

        20. Orion Fury

          I’d put aside time if you go to play Fallout 4, I’ve barely tackled a third of the map, and barely started to main storyline. I joke that I’m playing the ‘Animal Crossing Edition’.

        21. Kamino Neko

          Hail Sithis.

        22. Sageress

          I too am made of sinews and riboflavin.

        23. magicallady

          i thought there was more, like vitamins and liquids

        24. Orion Fury

          I’d say more an assortment of elements, but that would be too simple for some. Gotta be at least one person there thinking of quarks.

        25. magicallady

          and i think there’s certain amounts involved, like 35 l of water and traces of 15 other elements

        26. Orion Fury

          Well now you’re just threatening to bring in transmutation circles. Is there a particular Sin I should watch out for?

        27. magicallady

          wrath is nasty enough to be on the lookout for

        28. Needfuldoer

          As am I!

          You both are invited to my next meeting of riboflavin-beings. We will partake of bovine prepared in the traditional manner: heated to a minimum of 344.2611111(repeating) degrees Kelvin over rapidly oxidizing carbon in a metal box. Report to the land ajacent to the rear of my domicile at 18:00 GMT on 20160717. Bring liquid refershments of your choosing.

        29. Orion Fury

          Must the beverage be introduced in it’s fully technical term, or can I use it’s colloquialism?

        30. Jewelfox

          I talked like GLaDOS when I was under a lot of pressure. I still do.

          I developed a lot of language stims.

          “This is just how Dina wants to sound” is perfectly believable to me, as is the idea that she feels that it makes her easier to understand. I remember feeling like written English was my first language, and spoken English a clumsy second at best.

        31. AGV

          Since you said that you spoke like GLaDOS I’ve read the rest of the comment with it’s voice

        32. No Name

          HER voice, AGV. If I remember correctly, GLaDOS gets her mind from an uploaded woman, and therefore identifies as female. She may be a crazy, murderous operating system, but that is no reason to use the wrong pronoun. In fact I’d say that’s a reason not to use the wrong pronoun.

          Sorry, but “it” is demeaning, and you don’t even have the excuse of a non-binary robot (for which I’d insist on “they”).

        33. Linkletter

          Well, at the end of the second game, she deleted Caroline, so “She” is technically dead. Do we have canon confirmation on GlaDOS current pronoun choice?

        34. trlkly

          No, but “it” is the impersonal neuter singular pronoun. It’s weird to use when speaking of someone as a person.

          I’m sure there’s probably someone somewhere who prefers “it,” but that’s even less common than several of the new pronouns that haven’t really caught on.

        35. Orion Fury

          I’m staying out of this conversation.

        36. Amazi-Stool

          In this reality Transputer is a thing that exists!

        37. Uncertainty Moth

          You aren’t helping your case with that “do not” business.

          // I’ve never heard it called assburglary before. I’m stealing that one. And asses.
          // I think that’s also what Dora should do if Coffee of Doom goes under. Not that she wouldn’t make a good bank robber, but stick with what you know.

        38. magicallady

          i thought assburglar was a literal burglar of asses

    5. Mr. Mendo

      Perhaps English is not her first language? That’s usually my assumption when people don’t use contractions. Mila Kunis in the first few seasons of That ’70s Show, for example…

      1. Emperor Norton II

        It’s not my assumption, because English isn’t my first language, and I can contract* with the best of’em**. My English education (which back then started at ten years old) almost immediately introduced them, talking about how they are mostly for informal/spoken language. Something that was reinforced by all the movies and TV shows in English that I’d watch (thankfully, my country’s too small to dub everything, so I got subtitles instead).

        Granted, the character Mila Kunis almost certainly did not have that same experience, since he grew up in the 60s as a kid, but in these times, I feel fairly confident in saying that most foreign kids today that gets a formal education in English also gets a lot of informal education one way or another.

        *Wait, that makes me sounds like I’m a serious bridge player…

        **Not to mention than I can contradict with the best of them.

        Yes I can. Shut up! See, I contradicted you before you even replied, because I knew you were going to contradict me!

        1. Clif

          I agree completely.

        2. Amazi-Stool

          I admit misgendering GLaDOS cores is an issue i give a damn about, but:
          “Mila Kunis”
          “he”
          Really?

      2. tim gueguen

        Since Dina isn’t a Japanese name at first glance that doesn’t seem to be the case. On the other hand we’ve only heard her mom Haruka speak, and she apparently speaks the same way as Dina.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/strength/

        1. linkman0596

          personally I believe Dina to be second generation, so her parent’s would be ESL and would speak more or less like people are suggesting. due to being raised in America with English as a primary language Dina would be much more fluent, but due to her self imposed poor socialization she wouldn’t change her speech patterns from her parent’s by much.

        2. CaptainBatson

          If I remember correctly, both Dina and her parents have lived their entire lives in the U.S.

    6. Tacos

      She’s said she doesn’t use contractions because she wants to get her point across to people clearly.

      1. Uncertainty Moth

        I’m sorry, I can’t understand you at all right now. Must be all those contractions.

        1. Orion Fury

          *She has said she does not use

          Does that help?

        2. SgtWadeyWilson

          *The bipedal Earth female has articulated verbally about her calculated avoidance of

          I am clearly helpng.

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        She should join the STOA.

    7. Larkle

      I know plenty of people who have had a normal socialization and suffer from no disorders who have particular mannerisms when speaking which deviates from the norm. Sometimes people just do their thing.

      1. Sageress

        PEOPLE SHOULD CONFORM TO MY DESIRES.

        1. Orion Fury

          People don’t, and I don’t like that.

        2. magicallady

          i am feel uncomfort, when are we not about me

        3. Orion Fury

          Never.

        4. magicallady

          >:(

        5. Orion Fury

          And that’s why I don’t like negative contractions. Half the time I only ever think them, and don’t say/type them. At least with typing if you proofread you can catch the error. Because meaning to say a negative, and not, can drastically affect what you’re saying.

        6. Amazi-Stool

          “don’t”
          “don’t”
          I see a pattern here!
          Really sure about half the time?
          (You can of course decide to do not use contractions in the near future and follow up with a post where you do not use any of them at least two times, but that is entirely you’re decision!
          Because your awesome!

        7. Amazi-Stool

          )
          Dammit!
          Because i’m a pendant!

        8. Orion Fury

          I think I had the proper use. Perhaps a rewording.

          When speaking, there are time where I mean to use the ‘not’ operator but I end up skipping past it, with both contracted and uncontracted. Plus layering them can lead to confusion for some. I have a programming degree, so I can typically parse them out, but for some people, a double negative is a negative, wherein it’s a positive.

          My response of ‘Never’ to ML above was meant to invert the phrase, since it was asked about when we not talking about here. The intended meaning was to indicated that we would always talk about here.

          I find that tends to happen often, actually. Asking a question with a negative in it, a negative answer should thus make it a positive answer to a positive question, it’s just not taken as such.

    8. Showler

      Perhaps it is because there are a limited number of ways to show someone as different without using an insulting stereotype or having to have other people keep mentioning that they are different.

      1. Sageress

        That’s… not true. Like, from a writing perspective I’d say that using speech quirks to differentiate characters is a last resort/lazy option, over actual character traits.

        The fact that she looks and acts like a 12 year old with a dinosaur fetish is enough to make her different.

        1. jeffepp

          And, that’s not true, either. In writing terms, it’s the character’s Voice. I have been to workshops devoted to working on individualizing character voice. It’s an important tool, that can convey much about the character, both true and false, to the reader.

          There is a purist school of thought, that says that written language should and must be formal in nature, with no colloquialisms or accents. That disregards how a person or character would speak in real life, in favor of how they SHOULD speak. As they tend to get in fist fights with each other over minor grammar variations, most don’t pay much attention to them.

        2. Jon Rich

          Wait, *actual* fistfights?

        3. Sageress

          I am aware of a character’s voice being important. But voice != arbitrarily never using contractions. Especially considering just a few comics ago Dina said that Amber’s face “did a thing”. If it was to be consistent, she’d have said something like “her face contorted” or something.

        4. Orion Fury

          But the face didn’t contort, it ‘did a thing’.

        5. jeffepp

          Ah, but it does fit. She doesn’t understand what the face thing is, so it’s a thing. She won’t name it, because she doesn’t know it.

          Further, if you read through the comments on this page, you will see that a lot of people are taking information from Dina’s voice, and interpreting it. Not every one get’s the same answers, but it has meaning that they interprate. The way she speaks, the words she uses, the order of how she uses them, all say something.

          Removing or altering parts of her voice would change how we see the character. If she used more contractions, we would see her as less stiff, more flexible, and less out of step with the social norms of the rest of the world (if this bunch has any “norms”). We might see her as less “adorkable”, and more someone who seems to be more creepy, due to her tendency to hide behind things.

        6. davidbreslin101

          I always think of it as “He seems to be having some kind of expression.” Expressions of ambiguous or supressed emotion confuse the hell out of me, which is unfortunate as I live in the land of the stiff upper lip.

        7. Sageress

          She used a contraction last page tho

    9. Bicycle Bill

      Have you ever read the dialog from the movie “Guys and Dolls”?  Damon Runyan, the writer of the stories upon which it was based, often wrote excessively stilted dialog that was very formal and precise and very rarely employed contractions.  I see Dina’s Runyanesque speech patterns as merely being another one of her little idiosyncrasies, along the same line as her fixation with dinosaurs.

    10. John

      For emphasis. And clarity. She wants to be understood.

      1. Sageress

        Contractions don’t make points less clear. I’m using them right now, aren’t I? Or… wasn’t I?

        1. Betty Anne

          Explain that to my college professor, whose favorite red pen mark was circles around apostrophes. Contractions apparently make your essays sound “unprofessional” and “uneducated.” Partly because they make the writing “less clear.” (And yes, that sentence is a poorly-constructed sentence fragment, so I do know that A) English evolves and B) he was full of bullshit and just wanted stilted-sounding papers turned in.)

          I am not Asian, not ESL, and have never been diagnosed on the spectrum (though my mom did keep me away from testing when the school insisted, because she “didn’t want me treated any differently than other kids”), but I have quirks of speech to this day, after 36 years struggling to overcome them. It comes from not hearing a lot of people speak, due to being ridiculously isolated from the world.

        2. DarkVeghetta

          In academia, speech (especially written) is more formal and sed professor was somewhat in the right to insist on a specific style, as that’s what is required in his social group.
          Language may evolve, but academia only takes into account the official, textbook version, which is at times somewhat removed from informal, everyday speech.
          It’s a matter of knowing your audience and adapting yourself for sed audience, thereby making yourself more accepted and successful in that circle. Alternatively, challenge him to a debate on the fluidity of language and see if you can sway his opinion… which likely is about as unproductive as it sounds.

        3. John

          If it’s a sed professor, you can just s/n’t/ not/g and so on, and everyone will be happy.

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          I dunno, I’d find that awk-word.

        5. Orion Fury

          I’m confused.

        6. Sageress

          Wasn’t I being clear? If you’d’ve payed attention, it’d be clearer what I’d meant. Instead, y’all didn’t stay focused. If you did, I’d needn’t be so repetitive and y’all’d’n’t’ve to face my abbreviative fury.

        7. Orion Fury

          That I understood.

        8. magicallady

          that was so southern i can smell biscuits and waffles

        9. Orion Fury

          That’s sounds good. I recommend we stop talking about all this talk and go eat.

        10. magicallady

          yes

        11. Amazi-Stool

          Contractions don’t make points less clear. I’m using them right now, aren’t I? Or… wasn’t I?
          “she’s” = “she is”?
          “she’s” = “she has”?
          Maybe even “she was”?
          So yes, cont’ions do make points less clear and even your faked confusion about present vs. past tense is a real issue when using cont’ves.

        12. Sageress

          “She’s thirty feet tall!”

          You’re right… what if she has thirty feet tall?

          And has anybody EVER used “she’s” to mean “she was”? REALLY?

    11. Leorale

      It’s probably how her family talks (on the relatively rare occasions that they do so). She is also very committed to accuracy, understanding others and having herself understood. Her speech patterns are designed for maximum clarity and reject house she naturally thinks. Also, as a kid, she probably read scientific journals more frequently than she socialized. She talks how she wishes that others would talk. Etc.

      1. Leorale

        Reject house? I meant, reflect how she naturally thinks.

        1. Sageress

          Reject House is the WORST fraternity

        2. magicallady

          i thought the worst fraternity was apathy house

        3. StClair

          It’s neither the worst nor the best. It’s just kinda there.

        4. Neeks

          Apathy house isn’t even a fraternity, no one ever bothered submitting a house charter.

        5. trlkly

          No, it’s the name for people who only saw the last season of House.

        6. Vex Godglove

          Reject House sounds like the best fraternity. Considering the type of ppl most frats accept, it seems to me that being a reject would be a largely positive thing.

      2. Local Vigiliante

        Yes, this is my reading also. As a younger person there were times I spoke like this minus the lack of contractions. I do get the sense Dina wants to be respected for her mind, and does not want others to dismiss her for bs reasons. She strikes me as very precise and as someone who seeks precision in social interactions. I am tired and low on spoons so idk if this comment makes sense or adds anything.

        1. Jason

          Hope you get your spoons!

        2. Orion Fury

          I saw spoons and was confused, and then I remembered the reference. Spoons are bastards.

    12. Khambatta

      I’m glad you said that. (I find it very difficult to talk formally, ie without using contractions…)

    13. magicallady

      i figure the absence of contractions is a way of speaking that dina grew up with and finds comfort in doing. outside sarah, no one has really brought up that dina does not use contractions and i assume that they are okay with the dina speaks, even if they do not completely understand why she does not use contractions.

      also i suppose the lack of contractions in how dina talks adds to her characterization and makes her stand out even more amongst all the people at the college.

    14. JessWitt

      There’s a family friend who requests that any visitors do not use contractions around his daughters, and especially not “ain’t”. He’s upper-crust with regards to their English skills.

      Side-note: He’s a Brit in Thailand, his wife is Thai, so his kids are biracial.

      1. Sageress

        That’s horrible. What a horrible, evil man.

      2. Orion Fury

        So what’s his opinion on “ain’t never”?

        1. JessWitt

          He’d have a conniption.

        2. butting

          That aten’t natural.

        3. davidbreslin101

          ….is that Granny Weatherwax dialect? As in, “I aten’t dead.”

        4. Orion Fury

          I recall a coworker normally saying “conniption fit”. It always made me twitch a little.

    15. KingOfGreyfell

      Dina is Data.

      1. Orion Fury

        I don’t know if I should agree with you or call you blasphemous.

    16. JohnF

      I know other aspies who talk like that. I don’t (see?), but I’m (look – I did it again) very high socially functioning, even if terrified most of the time. It’s Dina’s lack of terror that makes me think she’s not aspie.

      1. Orion Fury

        /twitch

    17. Orion Fury

      Perhaps when she was younger she was berated by peers for not being understandable, and it evolved into a compulsion?

    18. Gecko

      I know people who speak like that. While I use contractions all right, I’m often told I should relax, or that I act stilted and strange, when I’m not making a conscious effort to speak in ways that other people perceive as “casual”. (An effort that, ironically enough, is way more taxing and requires more calculations than speaking or writing in the manner people think is more natural. Especially in realtime.)

      1. Orion Fury

        I know, so much work in trying to sound relaxed.

    19. MIB4u

      …
      O_Ô
      You’re not Ana Chronistic … … Weird …

    20. ischemgeek

      Dina has explained this before, both to Amber and to Sarah: Dina is afraid of being misunderstood by others, so she speaks very deliberately and exactly in hopes of ensuring understanding.

      It’s the same reason I spoke pretty much like that only with far more arcane language (“defenestration” is a word that I have used in conversation, and used to use on a fairly regular basis. Plus it has not been uncommon for people to tell me, “Nobody fucking talks like that! Speak like a normal person!” up until about a year and a half ago, and even then, when I am tired or anxious, I default to a Dina-like style of speech).

      To get an idea: I used “arcane” and “ensuring” in those two paragraphs, and I genuinely cannot think of another way to phrase them, and this is me toning my vocabulary down because of the backlash I used to get for it. And with time to re-write and re-phrase things so that my language choices feel more contemporary. You should’ve seen the first draft.

      My point: Dina’s speech isn’t weirdly unrealistic. How she talks is how I used to talk all the time, and how I still talk with people that I’m comfortable with or when I am tired.

      1. davidbreslin101

        I think I’m slightly further down the same route. Mainly because, for several years, I have been surrounded by people who just plain don’t know the words I used to use. It helps that I enjoy playing around with language, and have learnt to fake “normal” talk by parodying it. Remember Penny, with her class-rollercoaster of Britishisms? I have friends with whom I’ve had entire conversations in that style.

    21. Joshua Hengel

      Looking at Dina’s behaviors, it seems likely that she has a mild form of Autism Spectrum Disorder. With her misunderstanding of social norms, her obsession with dinosaurs and her difficulty in making conversation, I think it fits best. Before the DSM 5 was released, she probably would’ve been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome; but as of now would fall under the umbrella of ASD. Here’s a link to the CDC website that lists the DSM 5 symptoms of ASD: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-dsm.html

    22. Brute

      if it weren’t for people bringing it up, either in the story or in the comments, i probably never would have noticed her lack of contractions.
      this probably either means i’m super open minded about people’s differences or super bad at noticing things.

    23. Sam

      It sounds like the way someone such as Dina, who wants to be understood with clarity, would speak to try to ensure it is easy to understand.

      And, while you are autistic and do speak normally, other people with autism will not necessarily have the exact same capabilities with speech as you – I knew five people with autism in my last couple of years of high school and none of them had the same level of communication skills or same way of speaking.

      I personally do not find it much of a stretch that an autistic person, such as Dina, might speak rigidly, while another, such as yourself, might not.

      1. davidbreslin101

        When working as a volunteer, I encountered someone who was apparently incapable of talking without using “advanced” vocabulary. Like this:
        “Would you like a drink?”
        [in a whisper] “Hydration is not required but the offer is appreciated.”
        I don’t think he was putting it on. I actually quite liked the guy.

        1. Sageress

          Consider: He was an alien?

        2. Clif

          We’re all aliens. Well, except for Amazi-stool and that’s because she’s a pendant.

        3. Orion Fury

          I saw that about AS. And that’s part of the ‘problem’ with a spectrum disorder, so many different ways it can present itself, and varying degrees within the symptoms itself. Plus, I do like the part about Hydration. If I was ever to use that line, which I’ve probably have before, it’d be as a multi-layered joke.

        4. ischemgeek

          Hi this is me when I am tired or comfortable.

          “Huh? Oh. Some variety of non-alcoholic beverage, while while it would be appreciated, is not at this point absolutely necessary as I am not in any danger of dehydration.” is a sentence I have used in conversation before, in response to, “Do you need a drink?”

          Because at that point I did not yet realize that people use “Do you need a drink?” interchangeably with, “Have you received a drink yet?”

    24. Schol-R-LEA

      I am guessing she’s from Clan space originally.

      Scientist caste, obviously. I mean, could you really see her pilot an OmniMech?

    25. George Wiman

      I’m not on any spectrum that I’m aware of, and I’ve learned to use contractions. But I don’t like them. I am much more likely to use them in print than in speech because I just don’t like the way they sound.

    26. Will

      She’s Laura Kinney, save the claws and the traumatic life.

      Well, that we know of.

    27. zoelogical

      her parents talk the same way, i think?

      it might just be a family thing.

    28. Michael

      As someone with ASD, who is married to someone ASD, and who works with children with ASD for a living, I’d like to remind you that different people on the spectrum manifest it in different ways. Just because a specific behavior is not something you have engaged in as a person with ASD does not mean it is or is not a behavior that can result from it.
      I myself talked very much like Data from Star Trek up until my late teens. I’ve seen a number of similar and other unusual verbal mannerisms in many of the ASD children and teens I have worked with over the years.

  2. Doctor_Who

    Amber: “Really? Say the Flintstones was a documentary.”

    Dina: “That is one of the things.”

    1. inqntrol

      “The Jetsons were a documentary as well.”

    2. Reltzik

      “It quite thoroughly documents society’s poor understanding of, or more accurately apathy towards, prehistorical truth.”

      1. Orion Fury

        Or Zeerust.

        1. DarkVeghetta

          Noted.

  3. inqntrol

    “Destry Sal!”
    “What?”
    “Nothing..”

  4. TheWrathAbove

    Oh no not another Gate.

    1. Doctor_Who

      -The Order of the Stick

      1. Woobie

        What Gate?

        1. Lawzlo

          Watergate.

        2. Orion Fury

          Stargate.

        3. magicallady

          thestralgate

        4. Needfuldoer

          It is a FARgate, because it goes FAR.

        5. Orion Fury

          in the scape?

  5. David Herbert

    And then she learns Becky hangs toilet paper the wrong way.
    “Screw it, now you’re in my debt.”

    1. Orion Fury

      For me, the wrong way is the right way. But I’ve had cats that like to bat at it, so to minimize the mess, it had to be that way.

  6. kkiten

    Aww. This situation is fucked up from so many angles I love it.

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      say goodbye to amber for a two weeks, there’s still a lot to cover till tomorrow to keep you busy. in the mean time here’s a copy of the url to mikes secret fanfic page, it’s almost exclusively bad (in a good way) romance stories curiously enough.

      1. jeffepp

        More than enough time for Mike to rebound-seduce Danny.

  7. Nicster216

    You know it’s bad when your ex girlfriend would rather talk to Mike instead of you.

    1. Doctor_Who

      I think you know it’s bad when Mike is involved in any capacity whatsoever.

      1. Reltzik

        It’s a teenage college drama comic. You know things are bad period.

      2. JessWitt

        That’s more of a good kind of bad, but I’d likely rethink that if I was in a comic with him.

  8. Doctor_Who

    In addition to Tailgate, who is tagged, I think I see Cyclonus, Whirl, and Windblade. I have all of those!

    1. Urukak

      Tailgate is the one on the desk then, I take it?

      1. Doctor_Who

        That’s Windblade. Tailgate’s the little blue and white guy in front on the dresser.

        1. Reltzik

          The one that the big purple guy is RIGHT BEHIND?

          …..

          Tailgate is getting tailgated. Well played, Willis.

        2. Betty Anne

          Amber’s posing them for a Cygate fanfic. :3 (Google “Cygate Transformers” with Safe Search off. I dare you. :D)

        3. Kamino Neko

          The big purple guy is the one Tailgate’s been orbiting around romantically for almost the entire series (it hasn’t happened mostly because Cyclonus is possessed of a ridiculously low opinion of himself, but if they both survive the current arc, I can’t see that not coming to a head, soon – if it doesn’t, I’m going to reach through the fourth wall and smack Cyclonus until his other horn falls off).

        4. Doctor_Who

          Yeah, I ship it too.

      2. Tacos

        Tailgate is over on the dresser with Cyclonus and Whirl. Windblade is on the desk.

      3. AutobotDen

        No. Tailgate’s a tiny teal and white bot. The one on the desk is someone else.

  9. Wheelpath

    Becky/Dina will never die Willis, never!

  10. Mr. Mendo

    Oh, Dina’s got a big lashing-out scene in her future…

  11. Lordmazapan

    That’s the reason why I consider Dina one of the best character from this webcomic.

  12. DJTsurugi

    I’d fault Dina for this, but no I know that feeling all too well. ~<3

  13. Leorale

    Hey cool, somebody was wondering about this very concern last night. Well done, Dina. She may not read social cues, but she is on point re: thinking of others’ emotional needs.

  14. Kernanator

    Surely there is no way that this could create problems! I’m sure that everything Amber does will be perfectly reasonable, and not detrimental to herself at all!

    1. inqntrol

      There’s no way that people will het hurt from this!

      1. Tacos

        None whatsoever!

        1. Reltzik

          …. does Ryan count as people? Because I can almost right a fic where Amazi-girl really really really needs to lash out at someone and renews her efforts to hunt him down.

        2. Reltzik

          *write. Curse you creative brain for taking over my precise analytical motor control functions.

        3. magicallady

          your gravatar would be disappointed

  15. Umbrellan Garor

    Dina is just adorable in this strip… a slightly depressing kind of adorable, but adorable nonetheless

  16. Reltzik

    Willis writes these weeks ahead of time, right? I love how he managed to anticipate (maybe unintentionally) a lot of the commentators asking whether what Dina’s doing in shielding Amber is good for Amber.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      I think I have said it before (and possibly others too) that Willis quite likely is a time traveler. It would explain so many things, after all.

      True, most of those things can also be explained in ways that do not break our current understanding of the space-time continuum, but I’m pretty sure that “being very, very good at understanding humanity at its worst and most awkward” doesn’t sound nearly as… Actually, that -does- sound rather impressive, now that I think about it.

    2. Orion Fury

      Eh, I think he just knows the vocal part of his audience.

  17. buddy

    dina is the only good character in this entire fucking comic. delete every character besides dina and people dina likes and dumbing of age becomes the worlds first perfect webcomic. at the moment its almost there but people keep annoying dina. if there were no characters in this strip that dina disliked, this comic would be even closer to perfection. can’t emphasize enough how important dina is to me here mister willis.

    1. Nono

      Who does Dina like? Becky, Amber, Sarah, I’d say Ethan but has he committed the sin of Pterodactyl?

      1. Rukduk

        I think she’s technically ok with Joyce. Aside from the whole “creationist vs. scientist” schtick that they have, they get along pretty well.

    2. Emperor Norton II

      One, your current avatar is very, very appropriate.

      Two, might it be that you harbour feelings towards the world in general that are similar to how Dina feels? If so, I can’t say I blame you. If not, apologies for being a fool.

      1. Jon Rich

        Love the name, Emperor Norton II. Great reference.

      2. Jon Rich

        Are you from San Francisco?

        1. Clif

          He owns San Francisco.

    3. Orion Fury

      But perfection is boring. Chaos is interesting.

      1. magicallady

        so said ledger’s joker.

    4. Amazi-Stool

      ” if there were no characters in this strip that dina disliked, this comic would be” – boring!

      Sorry to break it to you, but Dumbing of Age really benefits on its basic premise: Almost all people in the cast are dumb!

      Therefore the one exception – Dina – has to remain exceptional to keep the comic interesting.

      1. buddy

        sir please this comment was about my superficial gay love for dina i wouldnt mind a webcomic that was nothing but dina being unexceptional and boring. also many characters that dina likes are very dumb, keeping her exceptional. there is nothing that would make my first idea bad in my opinion. thank you.

  18. JessWitt

    At the very least it doesn’t seem like Amber is engaging in self-destructive habits at the moment (is she really writing fanfic?) so some alone time for one day seems like a fair request.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      She’s working on the rough draft of Amazi-Girl’s suicide note.

      1. JessWitt

        *tugs collar* errgh.

        1. Orion Fury

          So long as Amber keeps living, in a non-technical way, that wouldn’t be too bad.

  19. Pyrpyr

    Is it safe to say that we’ve called it yet, that Dina will probably end up sheltering Amber/Amazigirl beyond reasonability/safety?

    1. Marie

      I’m not sure. She is growing concerned, which I think means it might still go too far, but not as much so as it could.

  20. Rukduk

    I think it’s good that Dina is at least willing to question her own willingness to help Amber isolate herself and is also essentially saying that she cares more about Amber’s health than Amber’s will. It takes some of the worry out of the possibility of the “I owe you” mentality that Dina has clouding her judgement.

    1. theKOT

      Yeah I’d argue that Dina’s dialogue could foreshadow some pretty awful enabling behavior

  21. Lan

    I approve of Amber’s choice in decorative Transformers. Windblade is definitely the translator of the computer.

  22. Reltzik

    Well, Grav Roulette, you’ve certainly redeemed yourself after last night, which we shan’t mention again.

    Yes, Jason’s a background character, but I always found him relatable in Walkiverse (except for his part in the Britja storyline). In terms of ability, he was the everyman, getting by on his wits, steady nerves, self-control, and ability to surround himself with people who can actually do his job at the same time they do theirs. I’m told that makes him officer material.

    In terms of character, he was the straight man (which I mean in terms of seriousness rather than orientation), the responsible guy. Always left high and dry socially and almost always striking out in love. Perceived as a square and too mature to be anyone’s peer. Always liking an orderly world around him and always striving to obtain it. Uptight and formal, with a wry, sometimes self-pitying sense of humor.

    Everything about him was either something I dealt with in my life, or which I aspired to. Except for the accent and British phrasings. Those were just fun.

    Here in DoA, he’s even more relatable to me in his grad student role. I’ve been the Calculus TA, watching young students run face-first into a meat-grinder of a class. I’ve been a tutor who doesn’t know how to make that connection. (I got better.) I had major hots for a student. (Fortunately I kept it under control better than he did. I don’t thinks she ever noticed. Then again she didn’t whip off her top and climb into my lap in the middle of a tutoring session, so I can’t actually claim to have succeeded where he failed.) I lamented my inability to help every student in my section. I’ve lamented how little desire they had to accept my help. I’ve thought of myself as a good teacher and then been forced to question that evaluation. At the end of the day, I ended up caring more about that than most of my peers… and then discovered that the system doesn’t really work when I care too much. I kept my objectivity when I wrote out the grades of students I cared about and it hurt far more than if I hadn’t cared.

    Jason’s in a time and place where he can do something about his concerns. He can take a class on adult teaching — pretty much ever department would encourage their teaching or TAing grad students to do so. He can volunteer to be a tutor and get coaching in tutoring from the campus tutoring center. He doesn’t know HOW to fix his problems, but he’s recognizing them, acknowledging them, worrying about them, and not dismissing them.

    … He also sucks with the ladies and, rightly, thinks that no one wants to be his friend. My own isolation is a bit more about problems in my head than about an unattractively uptight personality, but I still definitely relate.

    While I was searching for Walky, Jason was my #2 pick. They both speak to different, even opposite, sides of me. I am strongly tempted to call off the search here and now.

    But… Jason’s not enough of a goofball to completely represent me.

    I think I want to have a Walky Grav AND a Jason Grav, and be able to switch them up to reflect the mood of any given post. That would be PERFECT. So the search will continue, but I will definitely retain this hash.

    Jason is a very, very good find. Thank you, Grav Roulette, from the bottom of my heart.

    1. magicallady

      😀

    2. Jon Rich

      That was awesome.

    3. Orion Fury

      You gave a Cerberus style post, for a randomly assigned Gravatar pic. I don’t know if I should be scared or impressed.

      1. magicallady

        no reason you cant be both

        1. Orion Fury

          Good to know.

        2. magicallady

          😀

      2. Bagge

        I’m impressed!

  23. Kim

    Looove Dina’s pose in the first panel.

  24. StClair

    I wonder if the next strip is going to start with a “However…”

  25. tyler strahan

    i talk like dina when im new around someone, or uncomfortable. a classmate said i spoke like how books are written. its that or strong new jersey slang. no middle ground

  26. TheAnonymousGuy

    Amazi-girl the movie trailer 2

    V O: this fall, one woman will rise

    amazi-girl: hey you!

    V O: to protect the city

    Amazi-girl: breaking and entering is illegal

    V O: and bongo about nerd stuff

    Amazi-girl: Also you put star scream next to the autobots when he’s clearly marked with a decepticon logo.

    criminal: fuck transformers!

    amazi girl punches the robber and puts the toy in its proper place.

    V O: however when a new challenger steps into the ring she’ll have to be on her toes

    Drunk biker: hey hottie. (starts stroking sals but)

    Sal: (stabs the bikers hand through the table and puts a cigarette out in the wound)

    shows flashes of sal fighting bikers, shows sal kick a biker off his bike and shot another.

    flashes to amazi-girl and sal in the middle of the street.

    amazi-girl: who are you? what are you doing here?

    sal: (shoots a guy running up on amazi-girl) a better job than you.

    Becky: this biker chick is big news.

    danny: you know I worry about you when you put that mask on.

    amber: (hands him a needle) just sow me up.

    Crime boss: Wait, I didn’t want to kill your brother but-

    sal shoots the crime boss.

    walky: you know I get the idea something really bads about to happen

    Que epic music, show space cannon

    Fez: the great fez will use space lazer to make al girls horny for fez.

    Becky: NOOOOOO!

    coming to a theater near you this fall.

    Amazi-girl spins around and punches the screen, cut to black.

    September 22
    all rights reserved by sony pictures and DW comics
    buy your tickets online at http://www.lazyprick.com/movie

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      not a real website, it’s a joke. I don’t know why it made it a link.

      1. Kamino Neko

        Because the parser can’t tell the difference between a properly formatted fake link and a real one.

      2. davidbreslin101

        Rule 34 says it will be registered within HOURS.

    2. Jon Rich

      Now I really, really want to see this movie.

      1. magicallady

        who would be cast as ruth?

        1. TheAnonymousGuy

          it’s just supposed to be the characters as themselves

        2. magicallady

          got it

        3. Clif

          Casting Ruth as Ruth wouldn’t work at all. It just wouldn’t be believable. She’s comes across as much too nice to play Ruth. She’s Canadian for crying out loud.

  27. Kay

    Awwwwwwwwwwww.

  28. Kamino Neko

    I wonder how Dina will react when Amber inevitably comes up with excuses to continue to avoid everyone.

    1. Regalli

      I’m guessing since she’s said “I’ll talk with Ethan tomorrow” she might be willing to contact him and reach out if Amber’s getting worrisomely reclusive. But we’ll see.

      1. Kamino Neko

        One hopes so, but even people who are fully capable of, and comfortable with, reading other people’s emotional states, and don’t have issues with people ignoring other people’s agency due to different mental states, often fail to intervene in situations like this.

        1. Spencer

          I dunno, I’m optimistic.

          Dina seems to be aware of Amber’s dissociation and is now expressing concern that she shouldn’t be letting Amber stay alone. If this were to continue tomorrow then Dina would have evidence that she probably needs to intervene, and that Danny and Ethan were right to be concerned about her.

        2. Clif

          Or maybe when Amber says I don’t want to deal with it today, but I should be able to tommorow, that’s actually the case.

      2. StClair

        “Just a sec, killing spiders.”

        1. Clif

          Gaming nerds. Am I right?

  29. Regalli

    *Scrolls up to first comment thread*

    *Pauses, then aggressively flaps at people complaining about Dina not using contractions*

    Anyway, good old “Yes I know they’re concerned but I can’t handle them right now so I’ll put it off until tomorrow”. Been there. Done that. And then when you’re not up to peopleing tomorrow, it gets… fun.

    1. Regalli

      Also, glad Dina is very much catching on to “Okay, this many people is worrying” and will probably be there to call her on it if she’s not up for peopleing tomorrow. I probably could have used the roommate to intercede before I went full anxiety lockdown, honestly.

      1. Spencer

        Yeah. It’s bad because Amber needs to be deal with the breakup without relying on Amazi-Girl, but trying to lock everyone out for a day because she’s fuming isn’t really that terrible a move.

        She’s taking Dina’s concern to heart, I think. She makes it clear that tomorrow she’ll talk to Ethan, but right now she just wants to be alone, and that’s a pretty natural reaction for me when I get into modes.

    2. Orion Fury

      Flaps?

      At least she does identify a possible issue, and wants to help, along an escalating path. If Amber gets worse today, or isn’t better tomorrow, I figure Dina has a few people she’d be reaching out for assistance.

      1. davidbreslin101

        Flaps? An entirely sensible reaction. I am currently in self-imposed exile from Facebook to stop myself ranting in situations where I’d’ve been better off flailing at the air in dismay and switching my computer off.

      2. Regalli

        Form of stimming where you flap your hands up and down like a bird. Commonly associated with autism. I don’t usually use that method myself but sometimes I just really need to assert my “I exist and am perfectly fine on my own terms, so THERE”-ness.

        And yeah, I’ve got hope that if things do start a negative feedback loop Dina has the resources and awareness to try and intervene.

        1. Orion Fury

          Is…it just your hands or are your arms involved? Though I probably have some weird stimming as well, I just can’t picture it. Well, one I can. I can only pace in a counter-clockwise motion. And when under stress I can only walk around objects the same way, even if it’s quicker to go the other way. Maybe not stimming.

  30. Some1

    well I did my own sexy Dumbing of Age drawing

    http://imgur.com/Q3C9NfV

    1. inqntrol

      Yotomoe:” Are you trying to steal my job?!”

    2. Orion Fury

      A solid attempt. I don’t think Yotomoe is worried though.

  31. Bad Monkey

    I don’t see her lack of contractions as an issue. I don’t see it as a possible future diagnosis. I see it as a quirk of who she is. If it helps, she’s in good company.

  32. Bad Monkey

    Okay. I obviously did that wrong. I haven’t tried to add a link in these comments very often. I was simply referencing the wonderful Miss Faye Whitaker.

    1. Uncertainty Moth

      Who, of course, now contracts her coworker’s name

  33. Palamdrone

    Amber: Good, now get under the desk and service me.

    Next Slipshine title: Acceptable Requests!

  34. Bagge

    Amber seem to have acquired pants. And she is in Dina’s company and writes horrible fanfic instead of being outside doing horrible things as Amaziegirl. This is somewhat positive!

    1. Lurlock

      I think she was just wearing shorts the whole time. In the previous panel, we only see her legs from knees down. In this one, we only see her hips. There’s no contradiction.

      1. Bagge

        Not in my headcanon, she didn’t. Obviously she scrambled to put on pants while Dina discussed taxonomy with Ethan.

      2. Amazi-Stool

        There’s no contradiction.
        I read this as “There’s no contraction.”

        Because that would be a contradiction right here!

        1. Orion Fury

          Don’t blame you there. The word ‘contraction’ appears 44 times (counting this one with it). Popular subject on this page.

  35. OnyxIdol

    Panel four Amber is basically me, every day 😐

  36. Emily

    Amber I highly doubt you can even remember the last time you wanted to deal with anything.

    1. Spencer

      It’s mostly because Amber thinks she’s incapable of dealing with things because she’s convinced she’s inherently violent and worthless, and that every mistake she makes is more proof to that thought process and why she needs Amazi-Girl to be angry for her.

  37. Mx Miki

    I stop using contractions when I am stressed, or having a bad mental day. When I am like that, speech patterns tend to fall apart and I have trouble making myself understood. On really bad days, I just can’t put sentences together at all.

  38. hof1991

    Contractions are the least of it. Dina even stand and walks formally.

    I read her last statement as “I will do this but you are aware this it might not be in your best interest”

  39. Falling Star

    Fair.

  40. Fishie

    My SO has Asperger’s/spectrumy NOS and I fell over when Dina first came into the comic because she’s SO MUCH LIKE him, voice patterns and all. Dinos aren’t his thing and he does use contractions – the cadence and literalness though! He started reading the comic too and Dina is his favorite. He says she’s relatable. So whether or not she’s meant to be autistic, I think she’s an awesome character in terms of her portrayal of a non-neurotypical, and her strengths as a person are the ones I love in my SO, too, which is cool.

    1. Orion Fury

      Agreed.

  41. Jimmy

    I love Dina’s hoodie; it was my understanding that everyone had heard.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WNrx2jq184

  42. Jaxx Sentinel

    Famous last words Dina

  43. xibmer

    1. The main punctuation mark in Burn’s poetry is the apostrophe.
    Ye ca’na write scottish poetry wi’out it.

    2. IBM Documentation standards say avoid contractions (because contractions make it harder for translators).

    3. So I guess its hard to find a good translation of Burns in Japanese.

    1. davidbreslin101

      So it should translate well into French. And even better into French comics, which have all the contractions from formal written French plus dozens of informal slangy ones. I’ve seen pages where the dialogue was about 33% apostrophes.

    2. John

      As a former IBM contractor, I have to say that “recommended by IBM documentation standards” is a pretty strong encouragement to do otherwise.

      This page intentionally left blank.

      See 23C-OO054 “Hardware Guide to Comments” p. G-17.

  44. Agemegos

    Is Amber going to get upset at Dina saying that she saved Becky, rather than Amazi-Girl doing it?

    1. Spencer

      It’s actually not that clear how far Amber’s dissociation has gotten. I think it’s all but outright stated that she has DID, but we don’t know how Amber assigns things between her alters.

      1. Clif

        Or indeed if she actually has alters as such.

        1. Spencer

          I mean, I think at this point it can’t not be DID.

          Like, that last line Amazi-Girl had about how Sal had “taken her sanity, my dignity, and our Danny,” how Amber’s PTSD over Sal caused her to immediately become Amazi-Girl; who responds to Danny calling her Amber by telling him that he’s wrong to refer to her as such, she gets angry at Danny for kissing her when she’s Amber because he dates Amazi-Girl and Amber isn’t her, and then she talks about how Amber thought she was going to die but couldn’t stop because it wasn’t her who was hurt, it was Amazi-Girl, and Amazi-Girl can’t stop.

          The way I’m seeing it is that Amazi-Girl is approaching the same ideas as Anti-Joyce from It’s Walky! in that she’s the literalization of repressed emotion, only because it’s a more grounded universe that manifests as Dissociative Identity Disorder rather than being a sex-hungry clone.

        2. trlkly

          I guess it depends on your definition of “alter.” If you mean fully dissociated states, with the included memory problems, then we’ve not seen that.

          However, she definitely treats AG and Amber as two different people. Heck, the whole reason for the question is that she has gotten upset when that separation was not maintained by others. She’s even at times said she’s afraid of what AG will do. She maintains that Amber beat up her dad, not AG, despite being in costume.

          Plus then there’s the meta stuff, like the rosy cheeks and the different tags, which also do not only correspond to when she is in costume.

          Since she does actually switch, I personally consider them alters.

    2. trlkly

      She didn’t freak out about such comments before. This is isn’t even the first time that Dina has thanked her.

      But I also noticed that she didn’t dissociate Amazi-Girl as much, either. Amber talked about getting some “aggression” out by doing AG things.

      There are two possibilities in my mind–she dissociates more when she’s angry or scared or she dissociates more. Probably both.

      If we see her react negatively to this, I would definitely consider that she had gotten worse.

      1. trlkly

        Edit:

        There are two possibilities in my mind–she dissociates more when she’s angry or scared, or she’s been dissociating more over time due to her psychological state getting worse. Probably some of both.

        If we see her react negatively to this, I would definitely consider that she had gotten significantly worse.

  45. Orion Fury

    Odd, I thought I had a top level comment on this page.

  46. HiiroArana79

    Amber’s chair looks ergonomically sound. I think Willis explained it in an earlier strip.

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