Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

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June 24, 2026

Confident

by David M Willis on March 13, 2017 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - The Thing I Was Before
└ Tags: amber, dina, ethan

Discussion (137) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. factorsofx
    factorsofx
    March 13, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    The dinosaur has found her prey…

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      March 13, 2017 at 12:22 am | #

      I had to.

      • factorsofx
        factorsofx
        March 13, 2017 at 12:43 am | #

        It’s perfect.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        March 13, 2017 at 2:35 am | #

        All it needs is a little music!

        • 3oranges
          3oranges
          March 13, 2017 at 2:52 am | #

          I read “a little music” and assumed it was going to be Seagulls. It isn’t – but before I noticed that out I was wondering why you might pick it.

          And I realized: that song actually is about dinosaurs finding their prey. And poking its head. Nothing it could do but yell.

  2. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    March 13, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    “though dying WOULD be a great way of preserving my secret”

    “not if both of you die, people might put two and two together”

    “okay, it’d be a great way of it not being my problem anymore”

    • Passchendaele
      Passchendaele
      March 13, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

      “I can probably get Sal to follow my legacy, nobody will suspect the difference.”

      • John
        John
        March 13, 2017 at 12:48 am | #

        And Billie suddenly, and through no fault of her own, becomes right!

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          March 13, 2017 at 2:37 am | #

          That’s how Billie usually becomes right.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        March 13, 2017 at 12:27 pm | #

        Sal would probably throw a rock at the tomb and make her get out of there. Sal’s a lousy enabler for AG.

  3. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    March 13, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    From adorable to scary in 0.2 seconds.

    Time for Amber to change her name, move to another country, and grow a mustache.

  4. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    March 13, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    At last, Amber realizes that combining the cube chairs was a grave mistake.

    ….

    *flees for dear punning life*

    • Solenoid
      Solenoid
      March 13, 2017 at 12:17 am | #

      The gravest mistake in all cremation.

      • tyersome
        tyersome
        March 13, 2017 at 12:24 am | #

        … and with nothing to cushion the blow recovery will take a truly marbleous intern-vention …

        • Plasma Mongoose
          Plasma Mongoose
          March 13, 2017 at 1:15 am | #

          Puns like this need to be buried. 😛

          • Reltzik
            Reltzik
            March 13, 2017 at 5:19 am | #

            That’s one inter-pretation.

            • Daibhid C
              Daibhid C
              March 13, 2017 at 1:47 pm | #

              I see nothing funny inhume-our like this.

              • tyersome
                tyersome
                March 13, 2017 at 3:36 pm | #

                Have we urned your ire? This comment procession remains all rites with me …

                • Reltzik
                  Reltzik
                  March 13, 2017 at 7:49 pm | #

                  I think we’ve just hit the marker of tomb any puns.

  5. Emperor Daniel
    Emperor Daniel
    March 13, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    And Amber becomes Tomber.

    *flees for deer-pun stealing-life*

    • Amazi-Stool
      Amazi-Stool
      March 13, 2017 at 3:46 pm | #

      Tombing of Age!

  6. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    March 13, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    Here lies Amber. She died as she lived: trying to avoid interacting with others.

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      March 13, 2017 at 5:21 am | #

      And here lies with her her best friend, who insisted on being present to highlight through contrast by proximity the flaws in her isolationism.

      In other words, her attempts to avoid interaction were foiled again.

      *flees for dear punning life*

  7. butts
    butts
    March 13, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    and here we see the wild dina, silently stalking her natural prey.

    • Hellespont
      Hellespont
      March 13, 2017 at 12:30 am | #

      Cereal?

      • N0083rP00F
        N0083rP00F
        March 13, 2017 at 3:09 pm | #

        There is not too much that is natural about cereal unless you get that stuff pounded flat with a rock.

  8. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    March 13, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    it will be the comfiest tomb

    • lia47
      lia47
      March 13, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

      maybe if you got some pillows and blankets in there, but as is its literally a cube

      • JessWitt
        JessWitt
        March 13, 2017 at 1:22 am | #

        It would be like a genie bottle.

      • Truk2
        Truk2
        March 13, 2017 at 2:11 am | #

        A single chair formed a cubes dimensions. Two pushed together formed an open rectangle twice as long as it’s with. With a cover it’s the same but higher.

        So not a cube, and good enough to lay down in if other occupants can be convinced to cuddle. Where were those pillows and blankets again???

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          March 13, 2017 at 5:23 am | #

          You’d need 8 chairs to make a cube.

          … or 1.

          …. or 27.

          … really, any cube number.

          …. I don’t know if that counts as a pun or not.

          • Random832
            Random832
            March 13, 2017 at 1:37 pm | #

            Except it’s closed on four sides, so you can’t get a single cube. They’d need one that only has three sides to make an 8-chair cube, and it’d need to be combined with armless chairs and ottomans to make a 26-furniture-unit cube (the middle would obviously be hollow)

  9. Danni
    Danni
    March 13, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    bonding by talking about sex!

  10. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    March 13, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

    The tons and tons of raw sexual power of dina sarazu.

    Alternatively: “Can we viking funeral this.”

    • Passchendaele
      Passchendaele
      March 13, 2017 at 12:57 am | #

      And, for the comments section: everybody was pun-fu fighting…

      • SgtWadeyWilson
        SgtWadeyWilson
        March 13, 2017 at 1:31 am | #

        Those quips were fast as typing.

        • Mr. Bulbmin
          Mr. Bulbmin
          March 13, 2017 at 2:01 am | #

          And the people think Mike is frightening

    • Random832
      Random832
      March 13, 2017 at 1:32 pm | #

      Her last name in DOA is Saruyama.

  11. Keulan
    Keulan
    March 13, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

    I love Dina’s faces in this strip. And I’m glad Amber’s actually building this fort/tomb now.

  12. BBCC
    BBCC
    March 13, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

    It was only then that young Amber realized her anxiety disorder would TRULY be her enemy.

    Also Dina calling her on her (unintentional?) condescension.

  13. UltraKyrie
    UltraKyrie
    March 13, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    Dina Saruyama: Sexual Intimidator

    • DonDueed
      DonDueed
      March 13, 2017 at 5:17 am | #

      I’d stream it.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      March 13, 2017 at 8:56 am | #

      RAWR.

  14. Danni
    Danni
    March 13, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    if someone searches for amber in the chair tomb, are they a tomb raider?

    • UltraKyrie
      UltraKyrie
      March 13, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

      Chair-a Croft?

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        March 13, 2017 at 1:16 am | #

        +1 for PUN

    • Passchendaele
      Passchendaele
      March 13, 2017 at 12:14 am | #

      Anyone who can do that sounds…crofty.

      *ba dum tiss*

  15. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    March 13, 2017 at 12:15 am | #

    *plays some Doors on the hacked Muzak*

  16. Rukduk
    Rukduk
    March 13, 2017 at 12:16 am | #

    From nice smile to scary eyes in the blink of an eye. Either that or Dina determined that that was the proper lie to tell Amber in order to constitute a proper joke. If that’s the case, you haven’t yet quite perfected the art of comedy Dina.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      March 13, 2017 at 12:17 am | #

      Considering how strongly she reacted when people thought Becky putting the moves on her sounded wrong, I’d say she was genuinely offended there.

      • Rukduk
        Rukduk
        March 13, 2017 at 1:48 am | #

        Good point. Although, to be fair, I’ve always thought that petite women can still be very intimidating, sexually or otherwise (I’m judging from comparing her height to other characters that Dina is somewhere between the range of 4’10” and 5’1″, which I believe puts her in the “petite” category), which is why I’m a bit bewildered by other people finding Becky being sexually intimidated by Dina amusing.

        • Fart Captor
          Fart Captor
          March 13, 2017 at 2:03 am | #

          It’s not just that she’s petite, but that she looks younger than she is, and her unusual mannerisms lead people to infantilize her.

          Sadly, Amber still doesn’t want to see Dina as a sexual being, despite being really good about treating her as an equal otherwise.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            March 13, 2017 at 2:44 am | #

            Exactly, and even if its just ‘ew, ew, ew, I don’t want to think about my friend’s sex life’, it has a larger, more harmful, impact when your friend is neurodivergent because of the history of desexualizing and infantilizing them.

            • TSB
              TSB
              March 13, 2017 at 8:59 am | #

              Great points. I also think that Dina’s race may be relevant here. My understanding of American culture is that Asian women in particular are stereotyped as passive objects of sexual desire, rather than people with sexual agency.

              • thejeff
                thejeff
                March 13, 2017 at 10:29 am | #

                Unless they flip it around as the Dragon Lady, that’s the common stereotype.

                • C.T. Phipps
                  C.T. Phipps
                  March 13, 2017 at 11:00 am | #

                  A Korean friend of mine said it was funny that Ada Wong was the only sexually active Asian woman she could find in video games, even if most of them were made in Japan.

    • Deanatay
      Deanatay
      March 13, 2017 at 8:59 am | #

      “Untrue! I believe I have mastered the art of… comeDina.”

      *snerk*

      Dina is amused, therefore it is comeDina.

  17. Hellespont
    Hellespont
    March 13, 2017 at 12:27 am | #

    Been a few years now, it is still both funny and adorable that tiny Dina views herself as a raptor and expects others to as well.

    • Goblin Scribe
      Goblin Scribe
      March 13, 2017 at 1:04 am | #

      Raptors are very small!

      • Hellespont
        Hellespont
        March 13, 2017 at 3:53 am | #

        With razor teeth, aggressive attitudes and, y’know, tails.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        March 13, 2017 at 10:48 am | #

        “You’re the size of a turkey, not a lion” — The Doubleclicks, “Velociraptor”

        Raaawr!

  18. Hellespont
    Hellespont
    March 13, 2017 at 12:30 am | #

    Also. The problem with building a cube tomb is that final piece going up and your being inside.

    • SgtWadeyWilson
      SgtWadeyWilson
      March 13, 2017 at 12:42 am | #

      The trick is to balance the top chairs at a mostly-closed position, carefully crawl in, then pull your tomb shut.

      But try not to stay for too long. After a few centuries… getting out is a real lich.

      • John
        John
        March 13, 2017 at 12:53 am | #

        Shouldn’t that be “longo”?

      • Hellespont
        Hellespont
        March 13, 2017 at 3:56 am | #

        I thought the same thing. Those chair backs may be wide, but humans are wider, the angles don’t work for that idea. Even with Ethan holding them the RL geometry is against them.

        • Hellespont
          Hellespont
          March 13, 2017 at 3:59 am | #

          Amber completes the cube. Ethan stands up, holding the chair above his head. That would provide enough of a gap for Amber to carefully crawl in, without bumping the other top chair off. In the same spirit Ethan lowers the chair.

          Job done.

  19. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    March 13, 2017 at 12:54 am | #

    Right. it’s one hour earlier now. forgot.

    • Egg
      Egg
      March 13, 2017 at 12:57 am | #

      My entire being howls in rebellion against this unnatural subversion of time’s passage 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      (RIP sleep schedule)

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      March 13, 2017 at 11:40 am | #

      Don’t think it’s one hour earlier.

      Think that all the clocks are one hour liars.

  20. All-Purpose Guru
    All-Purpose Guru
    March 13, 2017 at 12:58 am | #

    Gawd, even MORE adorable Dina.

    GAAAAH

  21. Gesc
    Gesc
    March 13, 2017 at 12:59 am | #

    Fluff aside, Ethan feels like such a zero the the left.

  22. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    March 13, 2017 at 1:08 am | #

    Sexually intimidating are not the first things that cross my mind when I think of Dina.

  23. Professor Fate
    Professor Fate
    March 13, 2017 at 1:12 am | #

    Since it’s near the windows will it be a Tomb With A View?

  24. Clif
    Clif
    March 13, 2017 at 1:31 am | #

    Few tombs get good reception.

  25. Doopyboop
    Doopyboop
    March 13, 2017 at 1:33 am | #

    Dina and Becky are too cute. (also I found my new gravatar)

    • Positron
      Positron
      March 13, 2017 at 3:19 am | #

      I was thinking the same thing, but can’t bring myself to give up this one.

      • Doopyboop
        Doopyboop
        March 13, 2017 at 4:15 am | #

        oh man smug Joyce is a good one

        • zoomer296
          zoomer296
          March 14, 2017 at 11:14 am | #

          Mine’s not going anywhere, that’s for sure.

  26. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    March 13, 2017 at 1:42 am | #

    Comic Reactions:

    Panels 4-6: Ah, yes, the difference between the soft joy of knowing someone close to you is excited by your presence even if you lack similar urges to them and having someone view you as a being incapable of being lusted after.

    One is flattering, the other is insulting.

    Panel 7: And since Amber didn’t mean to insult, she goes way overboard in trying to escape her accidental misstep. And that’s the tragedy of Amber. When she was being abused by her dad, her every statement and action were poured over for justification for him to blow up at her. Every misstep a justification for an attack and every regular step analyzed until it could be called a misstep.

    And the end result is a blind panic when she fucks up and a desperate clawing fear and need to escape the situation entirely. And the sad part is that response makes it hard to respond in an actually helpful way with a simple apology, because the mental wheels are already flying down the self-pummeling rails.

    Panel 3: And that’s a shame, because this panel is one Amber should be proud of, as she should her reaching out to Ethan. But I fear all she’s going to take away is that she shouldn’t be allowed to interact with others because of that one misstep later on.

    That her sweet supportive statement about Dina’s happiness, her gentle check on Ethan’s self-destructive tendencies. That they’ll be washed away in her remembering of this day by the one statement later on.

    Panels 1-2: Dina makes a good point. Becky is a person who blurts her mind a lot. Which makes sense, she’s been sheltered her whole life not allowed to say one thing that was going on in her mind lest she be abused. But, now she’s free and in a land that feels like a utopia to her.

    And so Amber fears that new Becky. But the old Becky is still there and Becky knows how to keep secrets when she understands the stakes. She’s told no one what happened to Joyce, she’s hidden a huge swath of her mental suffering surrounding Toedad, and faked being straight and in university her whole big visit with Joyce.

    If Becky knows this is important to Amber/AG, she’ll let nothing slip. And as Dina notes, she’s in awe of the magical superheroine who helped save her. She’s never going to want to do anything to betray her in any way.

    But I understand Amber’s hesitation. That’s a big risk to take for no guarantee of safety. And it’s perfectly reasonable to decide it’s too big a risk to take, because if it does go wrong, there’s no fixing that.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      March 13, 2017 at 2:25 am | #

      Amber is doing good in panel 3. She’s growing as a person – reaching out and forming connections. Her friendship with Dina is something to take pride in. And it’s extra heartwarming because that contradicts her idea of herself as a total loss.

    • DonDueed
      DonDueed
      March 13, 2017 at 5:34 am | #

      Not sure if somebody made this point yesterday, but… it occurs to me that Amber would be in much greater danger if Becky didn’t know her secret (and was sharing the room with her and Dina). Without the knowledge Becky would be likely to give it away accidentally, perhaps at the moment of surprise when she figured it out.

      So if Becky moves in, Amber’s best strategy is to tell Becky directly and make sure she understands the importance of keeping it quiet. But that still makes yet another person who knows. And you know what they say about secrets, and the number of people who know about them.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        March 13, 2017 at 6:18 am | #

        That’s a good point, and that of course means that allowing Becky to sleep with Dina does not only mean trusting her ability to keep her mouth shut – it means entrusting her with Amber’s deepest secret and asking her to keep it hidden from everyone, including Joyce.

        No easy question indeed.

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        March 13, 2017 at 11:39 am | #

        “Three may keep a secret, if two are dead.” – Benjamin Franklin

        • DonDueed
          DonDueed
          March 13, 2017 at 1:03 pm | #

          Yep, that’s the quote I was referring to 🙂

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      March 13, 2017 at 7:32 am | #

      I suspect Becky’s wacky blabbermouth persona is directly tied to keeping her secrets. No one would suspect a person who obviously just says whatever comes into their head of keeping anything hidden.

  27. Cerberus
    Cerberus
    March 13, 2017 at 1:49 am | #

    Panel 4 extra analysis (Ace focus): But on a more narrow focus, I’m going to once again swing my ace spectrum Dina theory and just bask in a very relatable moment here. It’s… nice, when you’re ace and you know that you don’t have the sexual attractions in those ways for your sexual partner and you worry that that will leave them unsatisfied and then you realize that despite that, you’re still exciting them in that certain way.

    Or at least, I like it. Cause I like that direct connection to know I have a means of creating a feeling of specific joy in my partner and that I can turn their crank and leave them feeling all wound up and libidoified. So I relate a lot to Dina softly smiling here thinking of Becky lying on the steps in mortification to how turned on the possibility of sharing a bed with her makes her. Feeling pride that she can summon that in her partner despite not being able to take the easy mode of shared chemistry.

    And that’s fucking adorable.

    • Emily
      Emily
      March 13, 2017 at 5:33 am | #

      At the end of the day it really depends on your attitude towards actually fulfilling those desires because if you don’t mind yeah, it can play out pretty much exactly like you say here but if you do mind it can feel more like unmanageable expectations being put upon you and make you feel like an inadequate partner who can’t take care of your loved one’s needs.

      • Cerberus
        Cerberus
        March 13, 2017 at 9:17 am | #

        Oh very much agree. I find it flattering, but I have a very deliberate relationship structure that diffuses pressure to perform. Without that, I’d probably find it terrifying and anxiety inducing.

        And even with it, I’ve freaked out before about not being able to connect to that mutual chemistry in the same way a sexual would.

  28. Bagge
    Bagge
    March 13, 2017 at 2:18 am | #

    Heh, methinks Cerberus had a point describing Dina and Becky as dom and sub. When they are ready, I think they will find each other very sexually interesting indeed.

    Embarrassing as it is for her, I’m actually glad when Amber have problems that have to do with AMBER rather than Amazi-girl, if nothing else because that allows her to take space.

    • Commodore Jeep-Eep
      Commodore Jeep-Eep
      March 13, 2017 at 10:57 am | #

      I pity their neighbors in the dorm, as the noise might be alarming.

      • Bagge
        Bagge
        March 13, 2017 at 1:09 pm | #

        “Mammals are weird”

        • Commodore Jeep-Eep
          Commodore Jeep-Eep
          March 13, 2017 at 1:53 pm | #

          Well… either Cerb’s headcanon is correct, or I suspect Dina has one of the most spectacular and head-titling porno collections in the dorm, because childl-looking autistic Asian girl with previously terribad dating prospects and depths beyond dino-girl.

        • Fart Captor
          Fart Captor
          March 13, 2017 at 9:00 pm | #

          +1

      • Pablo360
        Pablo360
        March 13, 2017 at 5:52 pm | #

        Their neighbors, IIRC, are Dorothy & Sierra, with whom they share a half-bath. I’m not entirely sure but I think they might be on the end of the hall and thus not have neighbors on the other side.

  29. Kinoko
    Kinoko
    March 13, 2017 at 2:48 am | #

    Doesn’t Dina also have math with Joyce, Mike, Walky and Sal?

    • nightsbridge
      nightsbridge
      March 13, 2017 at 3:15 am | #

      I don’t think so? She might be in a different class, isn’t that why she was able to go walking with Becky on the day of the bad?

    • TheGrammarLegionary
      TheGrammarLegionary
      March 13, 2017 at 3:30 am | #

      No, Dina’s taking Professor Rees’s class, but not at the same time.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      March 13, 2017 at 7:34 am | #

      No, but I thought she had bio at the same time. A bio quiz was why Becky wasn’t hanging out with her.
      Unless the bio class is later, but then why’d Becky go to class with Joyce today?

      • Nightsbridge
        Nightsbridge
        March 13, 2017 at 8:10 am | #

        …To spend time with her best friend?

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          March 13, 2017 at 10:27 am | #

          Except she specifically commented about not going to biology because of the quiz.

        • Bagge
          Bagge
          March 13, 2017 at 1:14 pm | #

          She still have that time-share thing going on between Dina and Joyce, and it’s adorable!

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        March 13, 2017 at 10:59 am | #

        Her teacher might let them leave as soon as they complete the quiz. Dina might have finished already.

      • John
        John
        March 13, 2017 at 4:01 pm | #

        The bio class is later. When the Duke of Thingley tripped over Dina and Becky during Walky’s math class on Monday, they were hanging out on the grass with Becky telling Dina horror stories. Dina’s bio class was after that.

        • John
          John
          March 13, 2017 at 4:12 pm | #

          More direct reference to their schedules.

  30. BenRG
    BenRG
    March 13, 2017 at 3:06 am | #

    Dina, honey, you’re just going to have to face the fact that you’re intimidating, full stop!

    In Amber’s defence, Dina did a pretty poor job in communicating that the proper response was “You go girl” and not “You’re right, that’s very amusing”. It didn’t help that I’m not sure that Dina knew that was the right response until Amber gave the wrong one!

  31. rectilinearpropagation
    rectilinearpropagation
    March 13, 2017 at 4:06 am | #

    I’ve been on both sides of that, “It’s only funny when *I* think it’s funny” interaction.

    And yeah, sometimes you don’t know that it’s going to hurt your feelings until someone else agrees, agrees too much, or is agreeing for the wrong reasons.

    I think this is a “wrong reasons” moment. Dina is chuffed that Becky finds her sexually intimidating in a general “my SO thinks I’m hot” kind of way. (It may also be the fact that Becky doesn’t seem to get intimidated by much so being able have that effect on her feels extra impressive.) When Amber laughed it probably reminded her that her friends would find this funny because they don’t see her as being capable of being sexual at all.

    It’s like someone saying, “I got the lead part, can you believe it?” and the other person going, “I can’t believe it! You’re terrible at acting!” The disbelief is supposed to be over something that good happening, not that someone would think you worthy of the good thing happening.

    • Cerberus
      Cerberus
      March 13, 2017 at 9:20 am | #

      Yup, all of this!

      And that’s the exact distinction that’s bothering Dina there.

  32. Nico
    Nico
    March 13, 2017 at 5:50 am | #

    I mean, as a person who stands at 4’11” and is very un-curvy… one of my greatest insecurities is that I am fundamentally sexually undesirable to my peers because I essentially have a “child’s body” and do not attempt to augment my appearance in pursuit of conventional beauty via makeup or dressing in a more typically feminine manner.

    And I already live outside of America, in a nation where I am not THAT much smaller/less physically developed than most other people in my age group! And (part 2) while I am neuroatypical, I come off as professional and mature and don’t get infantilized for reasons other than my appearance! So I have a lot of sympathy for Dina, her baggage about it must be so much heavier.

    • C.T. Phipps
      C.T. Phipps
      March 13, 2017 at 10:56 am | #

      Are you sure you’re not Dinah? Do you like dinosaurs? If so, you may put your fears to rest and know the only thing you must do is wear a green hat to let your desire for mating be known.

  33. nobodybasically
    nobodybasically
    March 13, 2017 at 5:57 am | #

    I see Dina saying “Aha, Yes” and wonder if her lines were meant to be read in Jeff Goldblum’s voice the entire time.

  34. brasca1
    brasca1
    March 13, 2017 at 8:37 am | #

    I suppose lifting a cubicle chair shouldn’t be a difficult feat for Amazi-Girl, but for someone trying to maintain their secret identity they should be a little careful.

    • Commodore Jeep-Eep
      Commodore Jeep-Eep
      March 13, 2017 at 10:53 am | #

      *Bantam Elemental Intensifies*

  35. Deanatay
    Deanatay
    March 13, 2017 at 9:02 am | #

    I hope my tomb has WiFi. I want to be able to read all the tweets of people mourning me.

    • JBento
      JBento
      March 13, 2017 at 12:04 pm | #

      No morning. When I’m dead, I intend to sleep late.

  36. JBento
    JBento
    March 13, 2017 at 9:59 am | #

    This looks exactly like what led to Beckasaurus first kiss – Becky admitting she was attracted to Dina, and everyone else finding it odd, because it was Dina.

    I’m think everyone else (in comic) is blowing Blabbermouth Becky out of proportion – there’s only one secret she was entrusted with (Joyce’s attempted rape) and she kept pretty mum about that. She DOES say a lot of stuff that everyone thinks she shouldn’t, but nothing that has actual stakes involved.

    Also, feels for Amber’s self-loathing rearing its head up again in that last speech bubble. 8(

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      March 13, 2017 at 10:23 am | #

      Amber has trust issues of her own. Having to regularly deal with what is more-or-less a stranger would be highly stressful for her. Becky can,/i> blurt things out, especially if its’ new to her so the only way forward would be for Amber to explain Amazi-Girl to Becky and explain why she can’t say anything to anyone about it.

      That would be fantastically difficult to her, especially as this would require her to lie to Joyce about someone with who she has dealings.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      March 13, 2017 at 10:36 am | #

      But of course, since that’s a secret, no one but Joyce (and Sarah?) know she’s keeping it. Blabbermouth Becky is very much her apparent persona. It’s not surprising Amber, who doesn’t know her well, only sees the surface.

      Becky’s actually a very good liar. She’s done it all her life. She kept her secret from Joyce when she first arrived. Didn’t even let on a hint that anything was wrong for the whole day, until the kiss and everything came out, even though it had to be tearing her up inside.

      My biggest reservation about Becky & Dina early on was precisely that – Becky’s a great liar and Dina has no ability to read people. Obviously, Becky’s since removed all my worries on that score.

      • JBento
        JBento
        March 13, 2017 at 12:04 pm | #

        This is true. More communication would make the lack of communication clear, one might say.

  37. Joe Covenant
    Joe Covenant
    March 13, 2017 at 10:10 am | #

    Three Chairs for Amber…
    Hip Hip…!

    (sorrysorrysorry!)

  38. Commodore Jeep-Eep
    Commodore Jeep-Eep
    March 13, 2017 at 11:02 am | #

    So who’s getting their ashes hauled in the ad?

    • JBento
      JBento
      March 13, 2017 at 11:34 am | #

      Skin tone suggests Walky and (therefore) Dorothy? I think? At least that was my initial inclination.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      March 13, 2017 at 12:22 pm | #

      Walky and Dorothy.

  39. Joey245
    Joey245
    March 13, 2017 at 11:21 am | #

    Waaaait a minute, doesn’t Dina have class the same time as Walky, Joyce, and the others? Whaat is she doing skipping class?

    • JBento
      JBento
      March 13, 2017 at 12:03 pm | #

      Making sure her girlfriend isn’t homeless.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      March 13, 2017 at 12:23 pm | #

      Dina doesn’t have the same class as the others do. Well, she does, but she’s in a different section. Her section meets on Tuesdays and (presumably) Thursdays.

      • JBento
        JBento
        March 13, 2017 at 1:11 pm | #

        Did she switch at some point or something? Otherwise, that shines a really big light on the incompetence of her getting handed Walky’s paper by mistake.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          March 13, 2017 at 1:48 pm | #

          Nope. They really were that incompetent.

          • JBento
            JBento
            March 13, 2017 at 2:13 pm | #

            Is that why we’ve never seen them again? Their incompetence landed them a nomination for Trump’s cabinet? Because I can totally see Penny as Trump’s secretary of ethics or the like.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              March 13, 2017 at 2:26 pm | #

              Oh lord. XD

              We do know that Penny is the TA for Dina’s section (Patreon canon), so presumably Jason misplaced Walky’s notes and they ended up in her student’s pile somehow. All we know for sure is Dina was in the class on the first Thursday of the year, so she definitely did not switch.

              • John
                John
                March 13, 2017 at 8:20 pm | #

                Or Penny saw the notes in Jason’s pile and assumed that they had been misplaced, because it was obvious whose they were.

                • BBCC
                  BBCC
                  March 13, 2017 at 8:36 pm | #

                  That could be it, if she saw the dinosaur and Jason just assumed later he misplaced them.

  40. Tenn
    Tenn
    March 13, 2017 at 6:39 pm | #

    “Sexually intimidated”, taken out of context, sounds… not so hot. *understatement*

  41. trlkly
    trlkly
    March 13, 2017 at 8:35 pm | #

    I don’t think it has to be that Amber thinks she’s not sexual. Amber knows about Dina’s social anxieties. She knows Dina well enough that she’s not going to be aggressive with things like that.

    But, on the other hand, that doesn’t mean that Dina wasn’t reminded of that, or that Amber wasn’t also thinking she wasn’t sexual under the surface.

    BTW, I bristle at assuming Dina is a hard ace for the same reason. She made a big deal about being a sexual person. Maybe she’s gray ace, and only has eyes for people she’s already in a relationship with, but I don’t think we should assume she’s asexual.

    That assumption seems like the very thing she’s a bit upset about now.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      March 13, 2017 at 8:40 pm | #

      Amber’s said before though that she prefers not having to think of Dina as a sexual being.

      Also – sexual attraction does not equal desirability. Dina can be ace, interested in sex, and still want to be seen as desirable. She’s said before she’s never had sexual urges before, but finds them clinically fascinating. That definitely sounds like a sex positive (or sex neutral) ace to me.

      She got mad when people had a hard time believing someone else found her sexually desirable and were really obnoxious and infantilizing about it – which is common among Asian women, neurodivergent folks, and, again, ace folks.

  42. Amanda Mask
    Amanda Mask
    March 13, 2017 at 9:36 pm | #

    idk if anyone has said this, but I bet that stoned dude with the third chair is Sarah’s old roomate’s ex.

  43. kboyx1
    kboyx1
    March 13, 2017 at 11:49 pm | #

    *Plays suspenseful Jurassic Park music on the hacked Muzak*

  44. Morrison
    Morrison
    March 14, 2017 at 2:33 pm | #

    That moon faced kid.

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