223

Superhuman
Posted on March 18, 2016 by David M Willis
Hooray!  The Dumbing of Age Book 5 Kickstarter reached $50k, meaning everybody who pledges for a paper book (versus a PDF) will get a free Amber magnet.  That's pretty sweet.  And once we get to $55k, there'll be pledge levels for new Joyce and Billie magnets!

223 thoughts on “Superhuman”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    RIP IN PEACE “conscience” and “good sense”

    1. Doctor_Who

      “Hygiene” is gasping its last breath. Dorothy waits nearby to perform CPR.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Only the good die young.

    3. Kamino Neko

      Walky has a conscience…it’s just terribly non-observant, and gets over-ruled by Too Cool For School. His conscience is working in this scene, even, though he doesn’t want it to be seen.

      1. John Brewer

        Hmmm. Sound heart, deformed conscience…. Sounds familiar….

    4. Uniqueantique

      I’m not so sure I agree that he’s wrong.

      Walky just told her, in plain English, no phyc talk, that it is perfectly okay to be human and screw up. She needs to hear that, that more than she needs anything else I think. I wonder if anyone ever told her that before.

      1. Cerberus

        So much this. It’s exactly what Amazi-girl most needed to hear. And it’s the type of advice that could lead her back down the path of properly integrating her alters.

        Amazi-girl needs to accept her humanity, her capability for error, to be allowed inconsistency and mistakes, to be able to admit imperfection, both to keep the Amazi-girl alter from being a violent thug who post-hoc justifies it (like how she decided that underage drinking was a major issue to her because it justified her attempted attack on Sal) and because it’ll prevent her from becoming a road pancake the next time she tries to force herself to “not fail no matter what”.

      2. trlkly

        I didn’t take their comment that way. I took it to mean that Walky is himself being stupid in regards to what he’s doing. He’d rather drown out the voices in his head than deal with his problems.

        Ironically, the advice that Amber* needs to hear is not the advice that Walky needs to follow. He’s gone too far the other way, running away from all expectations.

        *From now on, I’m going to call the full person Amber. In the rare case where I need to refer to Amber as distinct from Amazi-Girl, it’ll either be clear in context, or I’ll specify.

        1. Amazi-Stool

          Oh, absolutely!

          “RIP” from the comment refers to “I’ve mostly strangled mine.”

    5. Peduncle

      “RIP in peace”? Geez, I hope that’s redundant.

      1. Just Saying

        “RIP in peace” is a pretty common meme type saying on this here interwebz thing.

        1. Peduncle

          Okay, but don’t expect us pedaunts and peduncles to suffer it in silence.

          Meme = internet cliché.

          Sorry, just kvetching.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          No, actually. A meme is a repeating idea. Internet memes have popularized the term, but it is older.

        3. Peduncle

          Dyn-o-mite!

        4. John Brewer

          See for example:

          http://www.hackersdictionary.com/html/entry/meme.html

        5. gwalla

          Dawkins wanted it to mean “a self-replicating idea” and thought it would totally revolutionize cognitive science (despite him having no familiarity with the field), but no, all it means now is “a cross between a fad and a running gag”.

        6. trlkly

          It still refers to a self-replicating idea, though. And how memes change and evolve is exactly how he predicted.

        7. Amazi-Stool

          Relevant xkcd.

        8. Peduncle

          Agreed. Another one, ancient.

      2. Disloyal Subject

        The redundancy has become an enduring joke.

      3. Greebs

        It’s up there with ‘ AM in the Morning.’

        As opposed to the Other AM… when? >_>

        1. Gigafreak

          Well, I can see someone saying “12 AM at night” because that time is literally also known as “midnight”

        2. Kryss LaBryn

          We should go back to calling midnight “low noon”. That would be awesome. (That’s why “high noon” is a thing; because “low noon” was also a thing. An awesome thing.)

        3. Jhon

          “the Other AM… when?”

          I always get up in the AM. Except sometimes it’s the other AM.

      4. begbert

        I read it and immediately presumed “Let huge farts out to disturb the silence.” Sure that didn’t make a ton of sense with the words that came afterwards, but I can see no other way of interpreting it that makes sense. Well, unless instead of none of the all-caps words being acronyms, maybe all of them are, in which case I’m just ignorant of what “I.N. P.E.A.C.E.” stands for.

        1. Jhon

          “Let Huge Farts Out to Disturb the Silence” is now my standard expansion of any obscure acronym.

    6. Lan

      Mine aren’t those. They’re the ones that tell my “YES EAT THAT ENTIRE BATCH OF BROWNIES YOU JUST BAKED FATTY”. I really should ignore them.

      1. Charlie Spencer

        Mine has stopped talking to me entirely, and now hold poker games that I’m not invited to.

  2. Mr. Mendo

    I like that they’re bonding, but maybe I shouldn’t like where this is going…

    1. Seer Of Rage

      Literal voices, you think?

      1. Mr. Mendo

        That’s not bad, per se.

        What they told us in the Army was, “It’s normal to talk to yourself, it’s normal to have a conversation with yourself. It is NOT normal to get into an argument with yourself and get so mad you stop talking to each other!” 😉

        1. Stephen R. Bierce

          I’m glad I only have the one body, because myself would always be beating the crap out of me.

        2. mystseekyr

          So which will it be? Stand up FOR yourself, or Stand up TO yourself?

        3. Mr. Mendo

          Or stand BY yourself?

        4. Betty Anne

          ALL by myself.

        5. Emperor Norton

          *blows whistle hard*

          Yellow card! Do that again and you’ll watch the rest of this comment tree from the sidelines!

        6. Reltzik

          Is that yellow card for the song or the singer? What if I linked the original Eric Carmen version rather than a cover?

        7. StClair

          Get up, stand up;
          Don’t give up the fight!

        8. Disloyal Subject

          I dunno, that sounds refreshingly cathartic.

      2. Doctor_Who

        I hear voices in my head, they counsel me, they understand!

        1. miados

          mine seem to vary but at least they talk to me

        2. Bigshowgto

          They talk to me. You’ve got your rules and your religion all designed to keep you safe.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      When MPD sufferers meet…

      1. Doctor_Who

        The introductions can take quite a while.

      2. Cerberus

        Sorta, and it’s an interesting contrast. Walky is struggling with his conscience and so feels guilty and rides himself about not just biting the bullet and learning how to study and adult. Amber is having knockdown screaming fights between her alters, which yeah, is one of those things that happen sometimes when you’re being an idiot who tries to force your alters to be as compartmentalized as possible (and yes, I’ve been that idiot before).

        1. Reltzik

          First, I don’t think Walky’s issues are conscience issues, really. I think it’s “crap people expect stuff from me” versus “I just want life to keep being easy” versus “I don’t want to admit I’ve got ADHD and probably don’t recognize that’s a thing that can apply to me”. There isn’t really a MORAL element to that conflict for his conscience to work on and I don’t think guilt is a significant part of it.

          Second… I don’t really see Amber’s alters as fighting each other. They’ve got clearly-delineated roles and boundaries and aren’t working at cross purposes. They don’t really have negative opinions of each other, save Amazi-Girl’s concern about Amber’s anger-management, which is both reasonable and shared by Amber. There’s plenty to worry about there, but the two of them fighting doesn’t seem to be on the list. Is there something there that I’m missing?

        2. thejeff

          First, there’s definitely conscience issues there. Referenced a couple of strips back with the “cookies I know I should have shared”. The racism thing with his parents and sister is definitely tearing at him, which definitely includes how much he’s benefited and probably whether he’s made it worse.
          Mind you, everything you said is there too and plays into it. As he said long ago, “it’s a lot of work to be offended”.

          Second, I do agree they’re not really fighting. More that they’re both beating up on “Amber”, not just over anger management. Both personas agree that Amazi-Girl is the better one and that Amber is worthless and doesn’t deserve anything good. This is of course neither healthy or true.

      3. trlkly

        Technically, neither of them have DID. I actually looked it up. A key characteristic is actual dissociation–to the point that you don’t remember what your alt did.

        What Amber is doing is an extreme form of compartmentalization. We all do it some degree. And Walky is pretty much doing it the normal way. Maybe not helpful in his current situation, but not pathological.

    3. BenRG

      I still wonder if they may end up doing something stupid that they’ll regret. Furthermore (to double the irony) Sal and Danny end up doing something stupid that they’ll regret.

  3. Seer Of Rage

    Hi :3

    1. Seer Of Rage

      5th place!

      1. Disloyal Subject

        No places. Oͬ̿͗̍͆̈́̀ͤ͒͏҉̢̧͟n͒ͣͭ̍̑̔̎͗̿́͠҉l̨͐ͦͥ̒҉͡͡y̸͊ͩ͗́͆̈̏̄̀̾̀҉ ̷̢̽͂ͭ́ͧͬͦ̀̐̓̈́͜͡Z̷̡̀ͣ͑̈́̾̈́̎̅ͣͥ͂ͩ́͒̚͢͢͞ủ̴̶͊͊͊ͪ̈ͭu̡ͫͫ̅ͮ͘҉l̡̡ͭ͑̈̾ͣ̉̈ͤ̔͛̑͂̌͊̈́͛̑.

        1. inqntrol

          Enough with the “demonic writing! Who knows who you might summon.

        2. Wublub

          But if they summon Ryan we can all beat the poop out of him.

        3. Falling Star

          pooooooooooop

  4. Opus the Poet

    Oh this is just, lowering expectations?

    1. JustCheetoDust

      Somewhat appropriate Oglaf logline

  5. jepmz

    Come on break thru! COME ON!!!! Heh

  6. Kernanator

    Walky strangled his conscience and common sense? That explains so much.

  7. Luzahn

    Oh good, Walky’s continuing to look adorable today.

    1. Chandra

      When before in this universe has he not been adorable? xP

      1. Luzahn

        I dunno, something about smiley, windblown Walky is unusually appealing.

        1. Kas

          Agreed! Walky’s always been kind of goofy-cute, but he’s just been plain adorable in these strips.

  8. LimeSheep

    probably shouldnt suggest that its okay to “indulge in your worst instincts” to a woman who just said she wanted to stab people

    1. Seer Of Rage

      Lmao

    2. InTheEndYouSubmitToTheVoid

      Yeah that strikes me as not the best idea. Not that it matters when you know that The Void shall swallow us whole.

    3. Durandal_1707

      The way I’m reading it, he’s telling her it’s better to just be herself and not worry about trying to be superhuman, because then she *won’t* have to go to the roof and indulge in her worst instincts (which is what she’s been doing).

      1. Uniqueantique

        I agree that is what he’s saying. He’s telling her in plain English that’s its okay not to try to be superhuman. That it’s okay to screw up. That’s what humans do.

        1. Cerberus

          Yup, that the way she has held the Amazi-girl alter to be perfect and to never fail and to always need to be this cipher of an ideal is not really the best way to go. That there’s a lot better in her being a human being and accepting her human limits. That she can make mistakes (like thinking Sal is an eternal supervillain enemy), that she can be inconsistent, that she can express the full-range of emotions beyond grim determination.

          And it’s exactly what she needs and she’s honestly hearing it from someone she most needed to hear it from. Someone just different enough visually from Sal to be listened to, but still close enough visually to maybe clue her in that her “eternal nemesis”, Sal, is also a human being with flaws but also positive parts that shouldn’t be discounted to fit her internal narrative.

          And it’s even at the right time, because it’s right after teasing her about being racist so maybe now she’ll actually start looking at the racial implications of viewing a black person as an eternal thug deserving of violence whose good deeds must be erased in favor of antagonizing her based on her admitted flaws and mistakes.

        2. LimeSheep

          i get all that. its just not all mistakes are okay to make, and the only potential mistake from her walky knows about is… one of the ones that isnt

          you dont need to be superhuman to not stab people anyway

        3. Spencer

          I don’t really think Amber was referring to physically stabbing Sal, if only because she doesn’t have a knife on her. I think she saw Sal and it put her back in the frame of mind that “Amber will do something terrible.”

          And what Walky’s saying can still have a positive impact on her, because the need to be perfect and wonderful all the time is what Amber relies on Amazi-Girl for. It’s less about “it’s okay for Amazi-Girl to make mistakes” and more “it’s okay for Amber not to be perfect.”

        4. Cerberus

          Definitely, not stabbing people, not getting verbally or physically abusive with your lover, all of these are very much mistakes she doesn’t and shouldn’t want to make, but she’s adding way too much stress to both alters in her demands that Amazi-girl be perfect and that she cannot fail and by viewing Amber as a fuck-up who can’t be relied on to human correctly without Amazi-girl’s vigilance.

          It’s personally exhausting and doesn’t help deal with the core issues that are leading her to respond so poorly to the Sal trigger and to echo her father’s words when stressed.

    4. Greyson

      I thought he was saying so you DON’T have to indulge in your worst instincts

  9. Stephen R. Bierce

    I’d quote another Eagles song, but it’s too soon.

    1. Dara

      It is always too soon.

      1. butting

        Well that’s just, that’s the stress talking, Dude.

        1. Dara

          No, I’m just someone who knows to hate the Eagles with the fiery burning passion of a thousand fusing stars.

        2. butting

          It’s been a rough night, man.
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JlmvtAHhnc

    2. Sokol

      No hacked muzak today?

      1. Vagabond J

        In the spirit of your worst enemy, I think some more anime music would’ve been in order.

        1. Stephen R. Bierce

          I’d settle for some incidental music from Doctor Who–the Peter Davison era.

        2. Dallas

          Good choice.

          But knowing Jacket, he probably left and is off annoying another webcomic by now. So, yeah. I’ll cover the damages to the Hacked Muzak, as well as some sticker-remover for those ugly neon palm tree stickers all over the sides.

        3. Falling Star

          here you go, my personal theme song for amazigirl
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMDxKRx10mU

      2. Deanatay

        Apologies. Jacket smashed it yesterday, and apparently my spit-and-bailing-wire fixes to it were insufficient to restore functionality. Perhaps later today? May need to raid the local junkyard for spare parts…

    3. biffzinker

      How about a song from Korn? http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/korn/bongowegotaproblem.html
      warning contains the bongo word

      1. Deanatay

        Remember, your link won’t work because of a certain replacement algorithm.

        1. biffzinker

          I knew that, figured if anyone was interested that can copy the url and switch the bongo for that other word. I purposely in my warning typed out bongo knowing before hand.

  10. Plasma Mongoose

    So Ruth isn’t the only one who thirsts for necks, Walky likes to strangle as well.

    1. Tacos

      Isn’t she more into femurs though?

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Yeah but she also thirsts for necks, I cannot recall the comic where she said it though.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          No, no. It’s just her hands.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          Of course, linking doesn’t work if you forget the ‘/a’ portion.

  11. Deadlinedance

    The alt text is so true it hurts.

  12. Just Me

    Is this a callback to Walkyverse? Yeah, being Superhuman isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Hopefully Amber will realize that soon.

    Though I still like Amazi-girl.

    1. miados

      especially if your super power isn’t the best but the best is still expected.

    2. John Brewer

      Callback to the Walkyverse? Naw, it’s just another cheesy aphorism.

      1. Gigafreak

        The hovertext is even lampshading the walkyverse connection, though.

  13. Jay Eff

    Walky’s Voices: “David? Shouldn’t you be studying?”
    Walky: “Why you little….!”
    Walky’s Voices: *Bart Simpson Choking Noises*

  14. Steve

    I HEAR VOICES IN MY HEAD THEY TALK TO ME THEY UNDERSTAND THEY COUNCIL ME YA GOT YOU RULES AND RELIGION DESIGNED TO KEEP YOU SAFE …

    1. Rukduk

      Fan of the band or a fan of the viper?

  15. miados

    my voices are so soft and constant that it is hard to not have them affect me. Although a lot of them have stopped bothering me after failing to do what they wanted.

  16. Wolf

    Dumbing of Triangle: DAY 2 (now with triangle grins)

    http://imgur.com/AjJXWCj

    While the tone here is light hearted….

    1. Jacket

      Y’know. I sort of like this. My only complaint is that sometimes it changes the tone from the comic entirely, especially during the serious moments.

      1. trlkly

        I’m pretty sure that’s the point. It always is supposed to change the tone. To a happy one!

        Especially that ending. It looks like Walky actually made her happy!

        1. Clif

          Wolf, you are a sick individual. I like that. Well done.

    2. Sam

      I laughed. Thank you for this. XD

    3. Architex

      I’m now looking forward to this abridging everyday until things lighten considerably.

    4. Vagabond J

      I’m changing my profile pic to that first panel.

    5. Emperor Norton II

      HEAR YE HEAR YE!

      As Emperor of the Internet, I hereby proclaim Wolf to be the Official Triangle Smile Inserter, a position not held since 1845, when the previous holder of this position got killed by the French police while attempting to give Mona Lisa a triangle smile.

      The compensation for this title shall be as it was back then: Eleven half-shillings a month, and all the leeches needed for the necessary bloodletting shall be provided.

      Joshua Norton II
      Emperor of the Internet

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Triangle Man, Triangle Man

  17. Lurlock

    When Amazi-Girl talks in those inverted speech bubbles, I’m imagining her using a Christian Bale-style Batman voice. Is that the intent?

    1. linkman0596

      Clearly it is, especially when she’s getting it on with Danny….actually that may explain a few things

    2. Schpoonman

      I believe so. When she first pulls it out (along with the mussed-up hair), Danny calls her out on both.

    3. Vagabond J

      While I know she does that, I like to imagine her with stilted dialogue as well.

      1. Amazi-Girl impersonator

        Like this?

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAvRBDQqSmY

    4. EvilWriter

      When I read the comic to my beloved (yes, that is a thing we do), I just scratch the voice up a bit. I thought about going full Christian Bale, but honestly so much of Amber’s character is tied to which voice she’s using, I didn’t want to detract from the excellent writing with unintentional comedy.

      Amazi-girl ends up sounding like a voice actress playing a boy. You know, kind of husky and scratchy. Now imagine that being imitated by me, with my naturally baritone voice. 🙂

      I have a wide variety of different voices and accents, and maybe… three for women. Because it’s hard to make my voice go high AND emote AND have lots of variety. So the Dumbiverse ladies are distinguished more by cadence and enunciation than real differences in voice timbre.

      1. Someone

        I kinda want to start creating an audio version of Dumbing of Age, like Dumbing of Age for the blind or something.

        1. Vagabond J

          There was a project like almost what you described called dubbing of age, but that’s long gone.

        2. Someone

          Mine would be closer to an actual audio book, starting with translating the comics into more of a novel format.

          Joyce swung the pink dildo around like a light saber, “I’ll never join you, you’re not my father!”, she yelled.

      2. modulusshift

        Oh yeah. Voice acting a large cast is amazingly hard. Especially when you’re gender bending your voice to do it. You end up relying on accents and speech patterns a lot more than trying to push and make room for different kinds of voices in that range, because if you try to do that, your limits push back once you’re in the swing of things and trying to keep a cadence.

        My experiences have been in voicing the Vinyl Scratch Tapes, my favorite My Little Pony fic, because the first time I read it, Vinyl’s scratchy radio DJ voice leapt into my head and I just had to play with it. Octavia’s Mid-Atlantic accent is fun, too, and a great contrast.

        But it got really tricky by the end with Vinyl (scratchy, bombastic and high pitched) and Spitfire (scratchy, a little chiller than Vinyl, fuller throat, high pitched) and Trixie (not scratchy, but still bombastic and high pitched) and Octy (barely higher than natural pitch with feminine touches, Mid-Atlantic) and Princess Celestia (somewhat higher than Octy, somewhat less Mid-Atlantic) and Prince Blueblood (slightly lower than natural pitch, fuller throat but whiny, Mid-Atlantic)…

        It didn’t really help that they’re basically in two groups, voice-wise. When Apple Bloom showed up halfway through with a cute little Southern accent, it was such a relief.

      3. Gigafreak

        When I think of boys voiced by actresses, I think of Naruto, Laharl, Ash Ketchum, and Bart Simpson. Scratchy they may be, but I don’t think I’d call those voices husky…

      4. StClair

        Your description, in turn, makes me think of Tara Strong doing Raven.
        … Sounds about right.

    5. Disloyal Subject

      Seems to be.

      1. Amazi-Stool

        And “she really likes standing on top of high stuff” is a nice foreshadowing to the current storyline!

  18. Someone

    First you become superhuman, then your loved ones die, then you have to become actual Jesus, to the point where someone betrays you at the end to your enemies.

    1. inqntrol

      But at least you will ressurect later.

      1. StClair

        But it takes somewhat longer than three days, and your sweetie will have to cover the tube because “he’s naked!“

  19. newllend(henryvolt)

    I have voices in my head the talk to me they understand, they talk to me~

    1. Uniqueantique

      I got a cat to shut the voices up. Works sorta well. Now I can talk to the cat and ignore them.

    2. Rukduk

      Fan of the band or a fan of the viper?

      1. newllend(henryvolt)

        I have a huge thing for wrestling.

  20. Vangeln

    Your’s is right, Walky, go study.

    1. TamiDOA

      How often does someone get to chat over cookies with a masked sorta superhuman on a rooftop. She’s the closest thing to the comics and cartoon that Walky loves. Priorities!

      1. John

        I’m pretty sure if Walky got to chat with the characters from the cartoon he loves, he would not be having fun for very long.

  21. Shiro

    I need an adorably naive but perceptive friend to give me nuggets of wisdom like that when I’m down like that.

    1. Leorale

      That would be lovely. For extra points, they could think they’re talking about their problems but it’s even more relevant to mine.
      Anyway their interaction continues to be the gift that I didn’t know I wanted until I have it and now I like it a lot. There should be a word for that.

      1. John

        I’ve been a big fan of Amazi-Girl/Walky interactions since that time they bumped into each other during the whiteboard dingdong banditry.

    2. caesaria82

      And also actual nuggets. Chicken nuggets.

  22. Cheshrin

    Heh. I like Walky. He’s kind of super insensitive at points, but overall he’s a pretty chill dude. Sometimes you just need a Walky in your life you can just hang out with without having to worry about All the Big Stuff.

  23. Archivist

    Oh, ha, took the alt text to point out that bit of irony. Walky inadvertently assessing the psyche of his alternate universe self who got people killed alternately rejecting or embracing the idea that he wasn’t allowed to screw up! You don’t see that every day.

    I’m really liking this interaction. For one thing, their hair blowing in the rooftop wind makes it visually interesting, so it looks awesome. But also this dynamic is just really interesting, partly on its sheer merit of ‘girl with rage issues and insightful slacker’, partly because now I’m kind of looking forward to Amber-as-Amber running into him somewhere on campus. Superhero shenanigans, woo.

  24. Leorale

    Every time I see these comics, I want cookies on a rooftop.

    (I’m not sure if comic causes this, or if I just always want cookies on a rooftop.)

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Can’t it be both?

      1. inqntrol

        Why not bring a whole picnic basket? You can savour your food while enjoying the sight.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Too likely it will get stolen by bears.

    2. StClair

      now I want cookies.

  25. JessWitt

    When will book 5 be available to buy? (I know it’s not the right place to ask but I’m not on tumblr and don’t wanna be.)

    1. brumagem

      It is currently available for pre-order on Kickstarter (look at the orange box under the comic), and will probably be available for direct purchase in a few months, but it can vary.

      1. JessWitt

        Thanks for that quick answer!

  26. brumagem

    Oh my god Walky stop being so sagely and idiotic at the same time.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      He should only be idiotic?

  27. TamiDOA

    Should I be worried that the voices in my head don’t speak any language that I know?

    1. JessWitt

      Depends if there’s a bit of demonic-ness in them. I mean the bad kind of course.

      1. TamiDOA

        There’s a good kind of demonic-ness?

        Actually, they seem to be increasingly frustrated like they’re trying to warn of something coming. But I can’t tell if it’s the Rapture … or just another Willis dramatic cliffhanger. (Cliffhanger on a rooftop. 🙂 ).

        1. Rex Vivat

          Oh, did I leave those on? I just sent the shutdown signal, they should be gone in about 21 days. Sorry to have bothered you.

        2. TamiDOA

          Can you do anything about the visions? Or the alien schematics I keep drawing? I think the world isn’t ready for a “-10 cm long temporal rift generator”.

  28. Rukduk

    Walky! Stop giving Amazing Girl ideas!!

  29. caesaria82

    On the one hand I find this cute because Amber really needs a friend right now and Walky is treating her like a human, having a chill convo on the roof and eating cookies and trying to make her feel better.
    On the other hand, maaaaan, she is saying some disturbing stuff. Just. Really, really disturbing. And I don’t think Walky is equipped to handle the severity of what’s going on with her.

    I just want this girl to be safe and loved and happy and that seems SO far away and so unreachable at the moment. Sigh, fictional characters getting me overly emotional and overprotective, what else is new? ;p

    1. Joey245

      I know, right? It’s strips like these that make me want to go in there and hug the character, going “Shh. It’s gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna be fine. You’re a lot stronger than you know. You’ll get through this. I believe in you.”

      Right now this applies to about half the cast. Especially Joyce and Amber.

    2. Kamino Neko

      Nobody in the cast is equipped to deal with A’s issues.

      The closest is someone in the faculty might be able to put her in contact with a therapist who is, but even that requires Amber to actually see the therapist.

      1. Spencer

        Yeah, and it makes me really curious to see how Amber will start grappling with her issues, because she can’t be locked in this forever.

        I think occasionally showing Amber visiting a therapist could work, because given Amber’s issues and a sliding timescale, you could, theoretically, have Amber deal with it for as long as the story required. I’d like to see some positive therapy, anyway, and if there’s any character it can work for it’d be Amber.

        I’ve seen it theorized that Amber goes to jail, but I don’t see that happening because then she’d be out of the comic, and you can’t really expose her identity without having her arrested.

      2. Cerberus

        Ironically enough, the one who could do the most to help and would have the most understanding of what she’s dealing with would be Sal, but thanks to the panic attack trigger, she’s not ever going to be in a psychological space where she can accept that help.

    3. trlkly

      What is disturbing about what she said today?

      The only disturbing line I saw was the one about needing to get away lest she stab someone. And, as someone else said, she didn’t have a knife. I think she meant it a bit more figuratively.

      I honestly think that part of Amber’s problem is that she’s so afraid of herself that she’s built up all these barriers. But, in actually, these barriers only make it safer for her to feel these certain ways.

      Her coping mechanism is actually making “Amber” (the alt) more dangerous. And that in turn makes Amber (the whole person) more dangerous.

  30. Walky_Talky

    “We should do this again sometime.”

    “Sure. Have your voices call my voices.”

  31. Uniqueantique

    I think Walky is giving Amber just what she needs right this minute.
    He is bein himself while treating AG like a normal person, and no one does that.

    Eating cookies on a rooftop like to normal students, enjoying the moment.
    And he’s told her in plain English, with no phsc. bs, that it is perfectly okay to be human and screw up. I wonder if anyone has ever said that to her?

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Ethan’s probably said it at some point, but it’s probably been a while, and it might have more impact coming from a relative stranger instead of someone she’s not only close to but tried to protect from assholes’ reactions to his sexuality.

      1. Wublub

        I agree. I’m sure Ethan has told her tons of times that she’s a good person and doesn’t need to be perfect.

        I’m also sure she brushed that off as him just trying to be nice because they’re friends.

        1. Spencer

          Oh yeah, tell me about it. The easiest way for me to deflect any kind of positivity is for it to come from someone I know, since obviously they’re only saying it because they just don’t get how much of a worthless piece of shit I am and soon they’ll get it, I just have to wait them out.

          And I think this can be significant for Amber because it’s coming from someone she barely knows, not really about her as a person, but her thought process and actions, and she doesn’t have any reason to doubt it.

  32. Charles Phipps

    The irony is Amber is the dark and psychotic one while Amazi-Girl is the decent and well-adjusted one.

    1. Uniqueantique

      Yes? The decent well adjusted AG that jumps onto a speeding Kidnap car? That beats the living crap out her father -who very much very much deserved it yes.

      But…still.

      1. Uniqueantique

        Oh yeah, and the decent well adjusted one on the roof, contemplating stabbing Sal again?

        1. Charles Phipps

          Uhm, because Amber wants to stab her, yes. Amazi-Girl is the one who recognizes it’s wrong. You realize Amber is the one who DID stab Sal, right? Shortpacked Amber isn’t Dumbing of Age Amber. She’s a much much darker character.

        2. Havtorn

          They’re not actually diffrent people. They “both” stabbed Sal, even if Amber chooses to try to dissacociate Amazi-Girl with it.

          But assuming they were separate I would say that it’s safe to say that neither is particularly healthy. Amber doesn’t trust herself to act and Amazi-Girl just needs the flimsiest excuse to inflict violence on someone, up to and including kneeing an unaware person in the face without warning for being a creep.

        3. StClair

          yup, this. Amazi-Girl is still brutally violent, but recasts it in a context that’s more acceptable – she’s not abusing the weak, she’s defending them.

          Also, while Amber is never allowed to be right, Amazi-Girl is never allowed to fail. (Which means any time she actually does, or might, is completely shattering, ’cause that’s a central element of that invented identity.)

        4. Emperor Norton II

          Not contemplating stabbing Sal. Stopping her other self from stabbing Sal (pretty much her exact words).

          And yes, that means that AG is the one that has the self-control to not stab Sal. It might not be particularly healthy and well-adjusted, but it’s still a hell of a lot less dark and psychotic than simply flipping out and stabbing Sal.

        5. Cerberus

          This. The Amber alter is out of control and violent when triggered. The Amazi-girl alter has the control and the ethics to resist and counter that.

          The only problem is that Amber is dealing with this not be figuring out what’s setting off the Amber alters violent streaks and how to have Amazi-girl talk to Amber about control, but instead to treat Amber like a naughty puppy, locking her up in the corner of the brain and giving Amazi-girl all the positive rewards like a boyfriend. And this is also paired with assuming that Amazi-girl has no flaws herself and thus ignoring big problems like Amazi-girl’s habit of risking the whole person’s body and life frequently.

        6. trlkly

          You know what? My last comment made me have an idea of how to do this from now on. Amber is the person. “Amber” is the alter.

          I bring this up to you, so that (if you like it) it might catch on.

        7. Cerberus

          I like it. “Amber” + Amazi-girl = Amber.

      2. Amazi-Stool

        AG (…) beats the living crap out her father

        Nope that was Amber – check the tags!

    2. Bagge

      It’s by design. Amber is the violent, uncontrolled one that stab people. Amaziegirl is in control, she is prepared for anything and does not flip tables.

      Amber doesn’t allow herself victories – those go to Amaziegirl

  33. Uniqueantique

    Dang, no edit. should be ‘being’, and two not to.

  34. Bagge

    “Youuuu scoooooored baaaaaaaaaaaad at maaaaaaaaath. Ooooooooooo”

  35. Liz

    The alt text is fantastic.

  36. nothri

    Willis, stop trolling the Itswalky audience. Its just mean.

  37. DarkoNeko

    I feel like Walky’s been gaining a bit of Sal’s accent.
    Tho, well, with english as 3rd language I really suck at differentiating accents ^^;

    1. Havtorn

      I’ve gotten the same impression. Sal also seems to have partly lost her accent. Perhaps proximity to each other normalizes the walkerton twins?

    2. inqntrol

      The scottish accent is pretty easy to recognize.

    3. trlkly

      I don’t hear it. Her accent is very Southern, while is just Indiana-ish.

      If he actually spent some time around Sal, maybe it could rub off. But he doesn’t.

  38. Holly

    “I’m not a superhero. I’m just a boy.”

    Guessing I’m not the only one to have Walky’s song stuck in their head after reading the Alt text.

  39. BenRG

    Yeah…

    Yeah, Amazi-Girl’s voices shout. Poor Walky could never understand that she isn’t talking about the ‘voice’ of her conscience or something similar. She’s talking about at least two other entire personae in her head, trying to influence her or even wholly get control of her body. That little moment in panel 6 is one of the most desperately sad moments in the strip to date.

    Another thing that Walky could never understand is that Amazi-Girl wants to be perfect and flawless, as unobtainable as that aspiration is in objective reality.

    That’s something that Sal probably never could understand – The reason why Amazi-Girl hasn’t hurt more bystanders is because of the level of total dedication to being flawless that she has and, consequently, the level to which she has somehow managed to drill herself to handle almost anything.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Sorry, I am dense. Who is the second voice Amazi-Girl hears in her head besides Amber? Blaine?

      1. BenRG

        Probably ‘Dark Amber’, basically a version of herself but with a behaviour pattern like Blaine’s.

        1. StClair

          worse, I’m pretty sure she just thinks that’s “Amber.” 🙁

        2. Spencer

          Yeah, that’s what “Amber” is. Amber is the violent nutcase who will attack the people she loves unless she filters that anger through Amazi-Girl. Danny broke her compartmentalizing and got shit for it from her, and she needed to be Amazi-Girl before she could talk to him again.

      2. Cerberus

        I think Ben’s using the perspective of Amber the whole person and these two alters fighting with each other for control.

        Which yeah.

        Also, I gotta say, Willis must have done his homework, because he really does nail a lot the daily reality of living with squabbling alters, especially when you’re doing exactly the wrong things to treat it.

        1. trlkly

          It sure doesn’t fit what I’ve read on DID, for one important reason. She doesn’t seem to have the memory loss that is required for the diagnosis of the disorder.

          Instead, she seems to be doing an extreme form of compartmentalization. Maybe this will lead to complete dissociation, but she’s not there yet. She still gets mixed up on occasion. She still seems to remember everything from both alters.

        2. Cerberus

          Um, that last paragraph was with regards to my own life experiences living with DID since I was a young child.

          Also, I would agree that her alters are still sharing memories and are still at least integrated, rather than fully disassociated. But she definitely rings true to what life is like after integration or when you’re bumping really close to triggering full disassociation because you’re being a young idiot and you don’t know what the fuck is going on with your brain.

    2. trlkly

      I wouldn’t call them literal voices. That’s getting close to schizophrenia, which is a different thing altogether. Amber has two semi-distinct personalities in her head.

      Right now, “Amber” is screaming at her, not in the sense that she literally hears screaming, but in the sense that she has channeled all her anger and anxiety off to “Amber.”

  40. BrokenEye, The True False Prophet

    The voices in my head convinced me to list them as independents on my tax return. What really worries me is that when I followed up on it, it turned out that they were already legally considered real people at the time.

    Oh, and one of them isn’t allowed to come with me when I board an airplane.

  41. Shadow Eagle

    Amazi-Girl’s new friend, yay. her friend, not amber’s – GREAT. she needs one that do4snt know her secret. Who will help her, not there to help Amber.
    Just don’t tell Sal.

  42. Spencer

    “I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

    I get the feeling Amber thinks that a lot. What Walky’s telling her now is basically the one thing she needs to hear; it’s okay to fuck up sometimes.

    Danny and Ethan, I think, are too devoted to Amber to constructively criticize her, and no way is Amber ever going to listen to anything Sal has to say, but Walky is both detached enough from the situation to give her some unfiltered advice, and sympathetic enough to the idea of needing to be perfect at all times that he can recognize that it’s bullshit.

    1. TamiDOA

      I keep half expecting Dina to blurt out some, obvious to her, suggestion on on how to resolve the Amber/Amazi-girl schism. Dina appears understand far more about human behavior than she thinks she does.

      1. Cerberus

        She definitely picked up on the DID faster than Amber’s boyfriend did:
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/socialcircumstances/

        1. John

          Amazi-Girl’s boyfriend.

  43. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    Persons can, like, screw up an’ not disappoint everyone.

    Obviously, Walky does not read the comments section. After he strangled his voices did he seal them up in the fourth wall?

  44. Bob Bobberman

    ..I mean being superhuman… that would be as bad as like being with Joyce or something…

    1. podian

      bed of Kleenex

  45. skdk

    shipshipshipship

  46. skdk

    im not sure we should call amver and amazi girl different names all the time and talk as if they are two different people. theyre not. theyre both amber after all. i dont think amber has multiple personality disorder, i think shes just trying to be a better person as amazi girl because she cant ever see herself as a good person and stuff

    1. Charles Phipps

      No, Amazi-Girl doesn’t have multiple personality disorder but the personas she adopts are very distinct entities.

      1. skdk

        not really. theyre both amber

  47. Paul1963

    Next week: Walky on being killed and brought back to life.

    1. StClair

      It would be impossible to discuss the subject without a common frame of reference.

    2. Spencer

      “Well first you get yourself a Martian Resurrection Chamber and leave some of your genetic material hanging around, then…”

  48. TheNinthShader

    What are these voices you keep talking about? I’ve been takin’ LSD and ever since then, I have not had any voices.

  49. Griffin

    “and not disappoint everyone”

    ha
    ha ha
    you’re funny, Walks.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Another one of those little things Walky has to discover is different between him and his sister in order to realise just how fricking lucky and blessed his life is.

  50. Also Becky

    It just occurred to me, I hope Amazi-Girl has some insulated material on the inside of her outfit so she doesn’t get too cold when standing/sitting on a windy rooftop.

    1. trlkly

      You’d be surprised how warm that type of fabric can be. Heck, one trick for when you get caught in a cold place camping is to take your trashbags and wear them as clothes.

      I mean, it looks quite latex/rubbery. I’ve actually wondered how she doesn’t overheat.

  51. Reltzik

    So THAT would explain why whenever it’s time for Walky to be responsible, he chokes.

    ……..

    *delayed-action rimshot*

  52. Clif

    Look, Amber does not have alters. She has assumed identities. She is not insane. She is however emotionally damaged, both from long term emotional abuse and from trama. She is given to uncontrollable anger and has a strong propensity to violence, and however much she might wish it were not the case, she enjoys hurting people. This is partly from inate (probably genetic) predisposition and partially from her upbringing, and both can be laid at the door of her father. She rejects her father. She refuses to be another version of him. She doesn’t try to deny those aspects of herself exist and repress them. Rather she channels that behavior and only lets it be expressed within the persona of Amazigirl who is allowed to act only within the stereotypical constraints of a strict code derived from classic comic book superheroes. Amber knows exactly what she is doing and suffers no confusion on the relationship of these identities. Amber works hard at the skill set the successful expession of the Amazigirl identity requires. Being a vigilante is illegal and carries high risks. But so does, for example, race car driving. We do not presume that race car drivers are mentally ill. Trying to be a super heroine is not the most realistic of goals. On the other hand, Dorothy’s goal of becoming president is not particularly realistic either. Unless, you know, she actually manages to pull it off.

    Amber manages to pull it off.

    Those presuming she is mentally ill are missing the actual dynamic.

    There is a very human tendency to react to someone who is different, whose behavior may not follow norms, by assuming either they are bad or evil or assuming they need to be fixed. What I find very sad is that some people who have suffered the most from being victims of this kind of thinking find it so easy to apply it to others.

    Yes, Comment Section, I’m looking at you.

    1. Liliet

      Uh.

      Uh…

      Uh.

      Actually from what I’ve gathered a decent part of the comment section ‘assuming’ Amber has alters are actually drawing from personal experience?

      Like, they are literally relating to what she’s going through?

      Who actually actively discuss their own therapy approaches and relationships with headmates?

      “She is not insane. She is however emotionally damaged, both from long term emotional abuse and from trama.”
      yes, this is… totally not the same
      and you are totally not drawing a line between “people who are, like REALLY crazy and are EVIL and should be FIXED” and “people who are just, uh, emotionally damaged and it’s not their fault and they are coping as best they can and look she doesn’t have alters despite how similar it looks to having them because theN I WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO RELAAATE TO HEEEER )=”

      Just… what the hell.

      1. Clif

        Emotionally damaged and insane are not the same thing. One implies a lack of touch with concensus reality and the other does not.

        Yes, I understand that there are people who are drawing on their own experiences and there are obvious parallels between presenting distinct multiple identities to the world and having alters. Talking as if Amber and Amazigirl are distinct is a natural way to communicate and Amber does a certain amount of this, but Amber shows no actual sign of confusing the different ways she behaves in each role with an actual disassociation of personality. She is well aware it is still her. I would suggest that those who have had direct or indirect experience with such personality disassociation are being misled by the similarities.

        Look. I could be wrong about this. I would accept word of God on this if Willis commented. In the meantime, I will try to keep an open mind. It would be nice if others would as well. In particular, I would ask that we not accept the premise of multiple personality disorder as a given.

        If I am wrong I can empathize and relate to Amber just fine, just as I can empathize and relate to Ethan just fine even though he is gay and I am not. Oddly enough it is a thing.

        If events do not require the assumption of an actual mental illness, then I would invite you to consider that just as Ethan doesn’t need to be fixed because he is different, so Amber doesn’t need to be fixed simply because she is different.

  53. Hawke

    Is it bad that I kinda want to see these two together just to see how it ends up going?

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