Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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amber should know by now that she can't literally escape into her computer
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June 1, 2026

Nineteen

by David M Willis on February 8, 2018 at 12:01 am
  • 03 - Faz Is Great
└ Tags: amber, becky

Discussion (187) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    February 8, 2018 at 12:01 am | #

    “Mewtwo came before Mew. I don’t know how that works. And even though there’s supposedly only one Mewtwo and Mew is a myth, the Pokémon that come afterward are numbered as though Mewtwo and Mew exist, even in regions where they’ve never heard of them.”

    “How do you know so much, Dina?”

    *looks up* “My phone has Wi-Fi.”

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      February 8, 2018 at 12:01 am | #

      also I totes got the “you’re not legal to drink!” “…I’m THIRTY”

      • Schpoonman
        Schpoonman
        February 8, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

        I was once getting a drink in the bar of the restaurant I work at when one of the owners walked through and said “You’re not old enough to drink!” “…Jane, I’m 23.”

        • Unusually Angry Hippie
          Unusually Angry Hippie
          February 8, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

          The curse of having a young face, constantly having to remind people I’m probably older than them.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            February 8, 2018 at 2:17 am | #

            Yuuuuuuuup.

          • Yet_One_More_Idiot
            Yet_One_More_Idiot
            February 8, 2018 at 3:24 am | #

            My sister was still being asked for ID to buy herself booze into her early 30s. She took it as a matter of pride. Until one day the checkout staff stopped asking her…that made her sad.

            • Lieutenant Dan
              Lieutenant Dan
              February 8, 2018 at 5:40 am | #

              I used to be sad when they stopped asking me for ID… until they started asking if I was eligible for the seniors’ discount. 😮

              • Deanatay
                Deanatay
                February 8, 2018 at 8:21 am | #

                Welp, time to get a cane, so I can shake it at people who call me old.

                And eyeglasses, so I can hit when I throw things at people who call me old.

                And a hearing aid, so I can hear when THOSE YOUNG PUNKS call me old.

                And a fence so I know when those kids are ON MY LAWN and I can yell at them to GET OFF IT.

              • Victor
                Victor
                February 8, 2018 at 9:24 am | #

                Eh, the grocery store has actually given me the senior discount AND carded me for booze at the same time.

                (I’m not actually quite old enough for the discount, but I’m not going to turn down 10% off on my groceries.)

              • Ana Chronistic
                Ana Chronistic
                February 8, 2018 at 11:58 pm | #

                then Amazi-Girl will throw your cane into a tree

              • Yet_One_More_Idiot
                Yet_One_More_Idiot
                February 9, 2018 at 7:42 pm | #

                When I was a kid, I used to get asked for ID…to prove I was entitled to the child fare on buses. xD I always looked way too old (never a thing I was happy with).

                It just got worse over time though…I was 19 the first time I was mistaken for my dad’s younger brother. He was 49 at the time. 😛

        • Tarmaniel
          Tarmaniel
          February 8, 2018 at 4:27 am | #

          In my experience, if you’re late 20s/early 30s you can get a pretty goid read on the quality of an establishment by whether they card you or not. Quality places generally won’t, even if they’re large national chains. I’ve never been carded in a Fleming’s, for example, but a place like Buffalo Wild Wings or Chili’s will not only card me every time, they sometimes demand 2 forms of I’D. I once was refused service in a Buffalo Wild Wings because the first name on the two forms of ID didn’t exactly match. (I had my nickname on one)

          • Dave M
            Dave M
            February 8, 2018 at 4:42 am | #

            28 years old, and I walked into a bottle shop to buy a bottle of Glenfiddich, and the guy behind the counter asked for proof of age. I’d had a bad day at work, and was tired of people underestimating my age because I looked young, so I vented. “Yes I know I look young, and if I WAS underage I’d be showing you 6 forms of false ID, but I’m not, you know why? Because I’m over 18 and don’t need to show you any! Also I’m not buying a bottle of some cheap flavoured ethanol to mix with brand name cola, I’m buying a bottle of single malt to be savoured over ice, with maybe a splash of water. So do you want my money, or should I go somewhere else where they employ people with basic logic skills?”
            His response? “(brief pause) That’ll be x dollars sir, would you like a bag?” Made that my port of call after that. We understood each other.

            • Lieutenant Dan
              Lieutenant Dan
              February 8, 2018 at 5:36 am | #

              This story would be so much better with a bottle of Lagavulin 16 y.o. 🙂

              • Dave M
                Dave M
                February 8, 2018 at 5:44 am | #

                True, but (a) My drinking budget wouldn’t have stretched that far, and (b) the place in question wouldn’t have stocked anything that top shelf. But now you have made me price a bottle of 16 year old Lagavulin from nearby retailers. Well played sir, but I will have my revenge!

              • Roborat
                Roborat
                February 8, 2018 at 4:38 pm | #

                At first read, I thought you said a bottle and a 19 y.o.

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              February 8, 2018 at 6:50 am | #

              Depends where you are, but many states have laws requiring requiring them to ask for id anyway – some from everyone, others anyone appearing below a certain age. Your employee without “basic logic skills” may simply have been following the law or at least their employers policies. To avoid getting caught out selling to underage kids who look older.

              I’m also pretty sure there isn’t an exemption for top shelf booze – rich kids don’t get to buy underage.

              • Oz
                Oz
                February 8, 2018 at 7:12 am | #

                Thank-you for being the reasonable adult in this conversation. The person checking ID has no way to know who looks 23 but is actually 28, and who looks 25 but is actually 17.

                • N0083rp00F
                  N0083rp00F
                  February 8, 2018 at 9:12 am | #

                  I always find it fascinating with the various states age restrictions.
                  You can vote at this age, have carnal relations and get married at these ages depending on partners age, throw your life away for your country at this young age, drive a mechanical death machine at that other age BUT you are not mature enough to imbibe alcohol till this much much latter age.

                • R2
                  R2
                  February 8, 2018 at 9:50 am | #

                  No kidding. And the price for being wrong can range from being fined to jailed to losing the right to sell alcohol. I’m 40 and still get carded most places around where I live (near IU, ha!), it’s just a matter of course.

                • ChukG
                  ChukG
                  February 8, 2018 at 11:50 am | #

                  I was the 17 year old who looked 25 (in Canada so you only have to be 19). I actually don’t drink but I only ever got carded once before I was legal age.

                • Roborat
                  Roborat
                  February 8, 2018 at 4:08 pm | #

                  Psst, ChuckG, legal age is 18 in several provinces.

          • Shawn Levasseur
            Shawn Levasseur
            February 8, 2018 at 7:58 am | #

            IDs that have a nickname on them trigger the “McLovin Rule.”

            • Roborat
              Roborat
              February 8, 2018 at 4:09 pm | #

              Cops take you out to have an awesome time?

          • hof1991
            hof1991
            February 8, 2018 at 11:12 am | #

            I got IDed the other day and I am 3X the legal age. Store policy is store policy and I don’t give clerks grief for following the rules, when not doing so can get them fired. It’s tough out there – Be kind.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              February 8, 2018 at 3:26 pm | #

              I get carded absolutely everywhere with an age restriction – casinos, booze, etc. The legal age here is 19 and I’m 21. I hand over my driver’s license and health card (and my passport if I have it) and then complain about my damn baby face to my friends later. Because, again, this is their job and possibly the law.

      • autogatos
        autogatos
        February 14, 2018 at 8:07 am | #

        Yeah, I’m 32 and was recently asked if my daughter was my baby sister because I did not look old enough to have a child.

        Also once when I was in college I went to the bank to deposit a check and someone asked if I was lost and looking for my mom…

    • cesium133
      cesium133
      February 8, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

      Thinking of birthdays, yesterday was Mewtwo’s: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pok%C3%A9mon_Mansion_journals

    • TemperaryObsessor
      TemperaryObsessor
      February 8, 2018 at 2:01 am | #

      After a certain period of time working on the Pokedex for one region they just add the legendary Pokémon at the end whether there is a confirmed sighting or not. They added Mew because they knew if Mewtwo existed so did Mew and that started a tradition. You’re actually sort of on the tail end of the process for your region.

  2. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    February 8, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

    Dina probably really appreciates the designs of Pokemon like Muk, Voltorb and Seel. Especially Seel.

    • Some Random Name
      Some Random Name
      February 8, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

      I prefer Dewgong. Totally didn’t steal the name from actual dugongs.

  3. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    February 8, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

    “back in my day there were only 151 of the fuckers, and they didn’t fuck!”

    • Roger
      Roger
      February 8, 2018 at 12:03 am | #

      i’d like to think they still dont fuck

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        February 8, 2018 at 12:05 am | #

        When a Nidoran and a Nidorina love each other very much…

        • Nono
          Nono
          February 8, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

          But Nidorina can’t breed…

          • Doctor_Who
            Doctor_Who
            February 8, 2018 at 12:08 am | #

            Who said anything about breeding?

        • cesium133
          cesium133
          February 8, 2018 at 12:14 am | #

          When a Skitty and a Wailord love each other very much…

          • King Daniel
            King Daniel
            February 8, 2018 at 12:19 am | #

            …you get hot Skitty-on-Wailord action.

            • Some1
              Some1
              February 8, 2018 at 12:30 am | #

              http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HotSkittyOnWailordAction

              • EvilMidnightLurker
                EvilMidnightLurker
                February 8, 2018 at 2:27 am | #

                I wrote that page! Borrowed the name though.

      • Kernanator
        Kernanator
        February 8, 2018 at 12:09 am | #

        I mean, the Daycare people say they don’t know how the eggs get there. Maybe they’re telling the truth!

        • Emperor Norton II
          Emperor Norton II
          February 8, 2018 at 12:30 am | #

          I think this is how the eggs get there?

          (Link is…. not really safe for work. I mean, it’s supposed to be innocent puppet show, but…. Yeah.)

          • Linkara
            Linkara
            February 8, 2018 at 12:53 am | #

            Don’t worry, a special event in Gold and Silver explained EXACTLY how Pokémon eggs are made!

            …It’s kinda weird. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mhsDkOiod4

            • Linkara
              Linkara
              February 8, 2018 at 12:53 am | #

              Sorry, HEARTGold and SOULSilver, just to avoid the pedantry.

            • vlademir1
              vlademir1
              February 8, 2018 at 2:21 am | #

              Aren’t you supposed to be off competing for the Heart of Infinity or some such ;D

            • Shade
              Shade
              February 9, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

              Thats only for three pokemon that we already knew were made by Arceus though so doesn’t help us with the rest.

        • Dark
          Dark
          February 8, 2018 at 2:11 am | #

        • Dark
          Dark
          February 8, 2018 at 2:12 am | #

          Yeah, let’s be honest, no one understands it.

          Take two.

        • EvilMidnightLurker
          EvilMidnightLurker
          February 8, 2018 at 2:28 am | #

          I think they just don’t want to have to give The Talk to a stream of ten-year-old trainers.

          • Emperor Norton II
            Emperor Norton II
            February 8, 2018 at 3:14 pm | #

            They are professional Daycare people, they should be used to that shit.

            I mean, I guess I can understand it in the sense that ten-year-olds should KNOW THIS SHIT already and therefore don’t have to ask them…

            But surely they have first-grade school classes visiting every now and then, no?

          • Roborat
            Roborat
            February 8, 2018 at 4:14 pm | #

            Oh sure, it is ok to let 10 year olds wander unsupervised in the forest, but heaven forbid you teach them anything about reproduction.

  4. Emperor Norton II
    Emperor Norton II
    February 8, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    I thought Pokemon would be more Amber’s thing… Of course, only as a little side quest, so to speak; because the only one whose heart she truly belongs to is Donatello.

    • Tacos
      Tacos
      February 8, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

      No one escapes Pokemon Go…

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 8:28 am | #

        I think Pokemon is IS Amber’s thing. Becky is just good at homing in on the thing that will gently explode the head of the people she is talking to.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      February 8, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

      It occurs to me that she now would have been around 11-12 when the modern TMNT show aired. So I guess she likes Rob Paulsen Donny instead of Barry Gordon Donny.

      Must have been confusing to go back to see what the original was like and hear Donny’s voice come out of Raph.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        February 8, 2018 at 2:24 am | #

        I imagine it’s a bit like hearing Lorenzo Music’s voice from any character other than Garfield.

        • DSL
          DSL
          February 8, 2018 at 12:10 pm | #

          You mean Carlton Your Doorman?

  5. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    February 8, 2018 at 12:04 am | #

    there is no escape, amber. 😛

    • JustCheetoDust
      JustCheetoDust
      February 8, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

      Unless she’s Freakazoid.

    • Yet_One_More_Idiot
      Yet_One_More_Idiot
      February 8, 2018 at 3:25 am | #

      Yes there is – Amber can escape by putting the laptop over her face!

      Her Face!

      FAAAAAAAACE!

  6. Dean
    Dean
    February 8, 2018 at 12:06 am | #

    “Tell me about Fat Pikachu.”

  7. Axel
    Axel
    February 8, 2018 at 12:07 am | #

    s’almost like social ability and visible markers of “adult behavior” are a bad indicator of overall maturity, or that “maturity” and self-sufficiency ability don’t increase uniformly with age, or both, or something.

  8. Emperor Norton II
    Emperor Norton II
    February 8, 2018 at 12:10 am | #

    This strip is a direct result of DYW thinking to himself “Hmmm, I recall Amber enjoying not thinking of Dina as a sexual being. It’s definitely time to stop that enjoyment. Awkwardness country, here we come!”

    • Just a Ian
      Just a Ian
      February 8, 2018 at 7:28 am | #

      I heard that the summers are nice in Awkwardness country 🙂

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 8:30 am | #

        Awkwardness. Not just for summer anymore.

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        February 8, 2018 at 12:54 pm | #

        They are, except someone’s shorts always get caught up in a branch when going to the beach.

  9. kkiten
    kkiten
    February 8, 2018 at 12:11 am | #

    What is that thing Amber is holding over her face?

    • King Daniel
      King Daniel
      February 8, 2018 at 12:12 am | #

      Hovertext says it’s her computer.

    • threePwny
      threePwny
      February 8, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

      Pretty sure it’s a book. Could also be a very large DS or something. But prolly a book

      • threePwny
        threePwny
        February 8, 2018 at 12:14 am | #

        And King Daniel has conveniently proven me wrong after I commented

        • threePwny
          threePwny
          February 8, 2018 at 12:15 am | #

          By which I mean, I commented, then it refreshed, then I saw his comment. I’ll be quiet now. On a side note, we really need edit and delete options

          • Some1
            Some1
            February 8, 2018 at 12:24 am | #

            If that was an option it would probably be about a week before I was banned for asking seemingly innocent questions, and then changing my question to make the respondent seem nuts.

            For example

            Some1: Hey, what’s the name of Becky’s dad

            Some poster: Ross

            Edit comment to “Who should Dina make out with?”

            • threePwny
              threePwny
              February 8, 2018 at 12:33 am | #

              Some kind of edited tag would help that. Oh god I’m at 4 comments on this thread now I need to stop

        • Emperor Norton II
          Emperor Norton II
          February 8, 2018 at 12:15 am | #

          That is why he is king and you are not.

          • Clif
            Clif
            February 8, 2018 at 8:34 am | #

            See now, your emperorship, I was thinking it was a Chromebook and they’re both right.

      • merbrat
        merbrat
        February 8, 2018 at 1:13 am | #

        Looks like a small laptop (Asus 8″, etc) Mine was about that size.

    • Lingo
      Lingo
      February 8, 2018 at 1:49 am | #

      I thought it was a shallow trash can at first ….

  10. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    February 8, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

    Hey Nineteen
    No, we can’t dance together
    No, we can’t talk at all
    Please take me along when you slide on down…
    Steely Dan

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      February 8, 2018 at 12:18 am | #

      The Fine Colombian…

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      February 8, 2018 at 6:54 pm | #

      Suddenly I have a question: who is the current “Dandy of Gamma Chi”?

  11. Gen
    Gen
    February 8, 2018 at 12:13 am | #

    Amber seems more OK with yaoi than yuri.

    That, and, Dina is her roommate.

    • DinaWho
      DinaWho
      February 8, 2018 at 12:22 am | #

      Given what we’ve seen Amber and others say about Dina before, I think it’s an infantilisation thing.

      • Axel
        Axel
        February 8, 2018 at 12:37 am | #

        But yeah I think it’s more this.

      • Kamino Neko
        Kamino Neko
        February 8, 2018 at 7:47 am | #

        Even just sticking to what she says in this strip, that’s the most likely interpretation.

    • Sam
      Sam
      February 8, 2018 at 12:08 pm | #

      It is more a mild ableism thing where because Dina is autistic and struggles with social cues and due to her physical stature, it is difficult for people to picture her as well, an adult, that could be older than them, possibly sexual or worldly in aspects they aren’t.

      Amber has noted that the idea Dina is older shouldn’t cause a knee-jerk reaction like it has, and probably wouldn’t say anything to Dina’s face like that, but even despite genuinely caring about Dina and helping her, she still has some internal knee-jerk reactions she needs to examine.

  12. Bagge
    Bagge
    February 8, 2018 at 12:14 am | #

    Bonus points for Becky for finding a way to brag about her rad-ass girlfriend

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      February 8, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

      Not just brag, but sexy-brag.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      February 8, 2018 at 12:21 am | #

      I mean, it doesn’t seem that hard. Dina did most of the work by being so rad

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 8:36 am | #

        Yeah, but Becky has a talent.

  13. Keulen
    Keulen
    February 8, 2018 at 12:16 am | #

    Pretty sure Amber probably knows more about Pokemon than Dina.

  14. Poskie
    Poskie
    February 8, 2018 at 12:18 am | #

    It’s like Willis has a personal link into my brain and knows exactly how to make me love Becky like my own daughter.

  15. DinaWho
    DinaWho
    February 8, 2018 at 12:19 am | #

    Given the sliding timeline, Dina’s first game would probably have been one of the Advance games.

    • Unusually Angry Hippie
      Unusually Angry Hippie
      February 8, 2018 at 12:38 am | #

      Probably FireRed/LeafGreen, so still Gen1.

  16. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    February 8, 2018 at 12:23 am | #

    “Earlier generations of Pokemon modeled extremely inaccurate conceptions of evolution, to the point of absurdity. For this reason, I did not play the games, and spent extensive time educating my peers on their inaccuracies.”

    “So when did they get better?”

    “…. better?”

  17. kitty
    kitty
    February 8, 2018 at 12:28 am | #

    here is kitty’s finnish word of the day!

    lakki (headwear)

    there’s also hattu but usually hattu is used to refer to like, a cowboy hat while lakki is used to refer to the style of hat Dina wears. but it doesnt matter that much

    have a nice day!

    • Emperor Norton II
      Emperor Norton II
      February 8, 2018 at 12:34 am | #

      And now it’s time to combine Finnish lessons with sexytimes, by doing the most sexy music genres of them all: The polka!

      • Marsh Maryrose
        Marsh Maryrose
        February 8, 2018 at 1:46 am | #

        I still think this is one of the most amazing live acapella performances ever captured on a recording.

      • Kannen
        Kannen
        February 8, 2018 at 5:05 am | #

        My mouse apparently couldn’t handle all the sexiness. I clicked the link to open it in a new tab and after that it just stopped working.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 8:41 am | #

        The Polka more sexy than the Tango? What kind of weird demented universe are you living in?

        • Emperor Norton II
          Emperor Norton II
          February 8, 2018 at 1:03 pm | #

          Look, Finns do things a bit differently, mmkay. And hey, that song is basically about a woman sneaking out without her mother’s permission to “dance polka” with a man she’s got the hots for; so don’t underestimate the seductive powers of polka.

          Also, don’t mess with the Finns; or they’ll send some of their snipers on you.

          • kitty
            kitty
            February 8, 2018 at 6:41 pm | #

            true

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      February 8, 2018 at 1:14 am | #

      <3333333

  18. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    February 8, 2018 at 12:29 am | #

    Let’s see this would make Dina older than Amber, Joyce, Becky, walky, Dorothy, freaking Joe, Danny, Eathen, Sal, Roz…anyone else I’m missing ?

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      February 8, 2018 at 12:36 am | #

      Dorothy has been shown to be nineteen.

      • King Daniel
        King Daniel
        February 8, 2018 at 1:02 am | #

        I remember there was a strip a few weeks back where Billie and Ruth were going over upcoming birthdays…and as you pointed out, Dorothy was herself stated to be nineteen relatively early on.

  19. Miri
    Miri
    February 8, 2018 at 12:32 am | #

    Do 18 year olds generally care that much about a few months?? I was one of the younger ones in my academic year, I was used to most people being older than me and never felt that it mattered after the point people stopped playing families and saying “you’re the youngest so you need to be the baby” (somebody I was friendly with had am August birthday; I remember her getting upset once because she wanted to be the mummy instead and was always the youngest and expected to be the baby)…

    • Nobody
      Nobody
      February 8, 2018 at 3:22 am | #

      Speaking as a 19 year old? No. Nobody cares.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        February 8, 2018 at 8:36 pm | #

        You care?

    • Oz
      Oz
      February 8, 2018 at 7:21 am | #

      Idk but I remember when I was 20 and some guys in my class (who were 18) found that out and they were like “oooh you’re so old!! how come you’re that old?? You’re ancient! I thought you were one of us!”… it lasted weeks, too, it was annoying.

      I don’t act my age, and I’ve been one of the oldest in my class ever since I decided to start a new undergrad at 23, so ppl tend to think I’m younger than I am, and the reaction is always the same. I think I relate to Dina a lot in this aspect.

    • drs
      drs
      February 8, 2018 at 11:13 am | #

      Care a lot, no, but there was a girl in college for whom it was weird and amusing to think that she was a few months older than I was. Partly her playful demeanor and being much shorter, though also her being the class below me (since I came to college a year early). So I get Amber’s thing.

      El Goonish Shive had the reverse: a bunch of high school seniors, later in their year so most had turned 18 already, being bemused that Susan — tall and mature-seeming — was actually the youngest in the group. Again, it doesn’t *really* matter, but it’s still a ‘huh’.

    • Sam
      Sam
      February 8, 2018 at 12:23 pm | #

      Care a lot? Not really. Still surprising when they don’t look or act like you expect of their age? Yes. Dina looks like she would be the youngest of the cast due to her small stature. Add in her austistic traits which hinder her social skills, and it makes it seem even more obvious that she is younger.

      It also shows a mild degree of internal ableism that Amber’s knee-jerk reaction as she stated was to almost reject that as true, because it is common to infantise people with developmental disorders and see them as younger, non-sexual and more like they are children than adults with their own knowledge, experience and abilities.

  20. Some1
    Some1
    February 8, 2018 at 12:39 am | #

    Is it bad that sometimes I’ll look back at my old comments and be like “Even I don’t know what this means!”?

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      February 8, 2018 at 12:51 am | #

      That has happened to me with *code* comments. 🙂

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 8:45 am | #

        But it’s not that bad until it happens before you can hit the send key. Then you should worry.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          February 8, 2018 at 10:17 am | #

          Yeah, generally it happens coming back to work on code I wrote months ago and I’m like “past me, what were you thinking?”

  21. Robbie
    Robbie
    February 8, 2018 at 12:45 am | #

    Is Dina explicitly autistic or just coded that way? I can’t recall. Anyways, Amber infantilizing her like this, over and over, is super frustrating. I like Amber a lot but jeez. I’m not complaining about the writing though. It’s a true to life representation of how people treat autistic people. *scowls*

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      February 8, 2018 at 1:07 am | #

      Willis I believe has stated something along the lines of “she’s just based on me, and I was never diagnosed, so -audible shrug-“

      • Wendy
        Wendy
        February 8, 2018 at 12:16 pm | #

        Yeah, see, my problem with that is that this defense doesn’t take into account that a straight white neurodivergent guy’s experiences and perspectives are going to differ vastly from a queer Asian neurodivergent woman’s experiences and perspectives, the same way a straight white neurotypical guy’s experiences and perspectives are gonna differ vastly from a queer Asian neurotypical woman’s experiences and perspectives.

        And that shows in his writing and is probably why Dina comes across to me as an inauthentic bag of cutesy, likable tropes with a dash of Very General Autistic Experiences, rather than, like…a person.

        A lot of the characters in this comic are written really well, Dina is just not one of them. And the fact that Willis has based her on himself (straightwhiteguy), which be brings up whenever anyone criticizes his portrayal of her, kinda…makes sense to me.

        And I say this as a fan of the comic who’s a queer Japanese girl on the spectrum myself, so it’s disappointing when I know he’s capable of doing better. I like to think he will. I know Willis can’t change her characterization at this point, but I’m hopeful he’ll be a little more mindful when he takes on future projects about how he uses representation of minorities.

        • hallucigenia
          hallucigenia
          February 8, 2018 at 4:23 pm | #

          And this reaction seems strange to me, because to me, Dina seems startlingly similar in a lot of ways to a real person I know (a neurodivergent queer white woman). ::shrugs::

        • Liliet
          Liliet
          February 9, 2018 at 2:06 am | #

          I mean, Joyce is ALSO based on Willis’s personal experiences? He’s capable of sprinkling in a dash of personal experiences while fleshing out the character in other ways that make sense to them personally in-universe? Saying that a white guy cannot write a queer neurodivergent Asian woman well sounds really weird to me.

          • Emperor Norton II
            Emperor Norton II
            February 9, 2018 at 9:38 am | #

            My reading from Wendy’s comment was that she thinks Willis -can- write a queer neurodivergent Asian woman; and that it’s therefore extra disappointing that he, in her opinion, failed to do so this time. And she only said that Willis can’t change the characterization much -at this point-; meaning she knows that said character is so established by now any major change would end up looking like a ret-con.

    • Fart Captor
      Fart Captor
      February 8, 2018 at 1:07 am | #

      I don’t believe it’s been made explicit in the comic. It seems likely she’s undiagnosed.

      But at least Amber realizes that viewing Dina that way is bad and is thinking about how what she said could be hurtful. Not saying it at all would be even better, and not seeing Dina that way in the first place would be ideal, but that first lesson that “this thing I’m doing is hurtful in a way I didn’t intend and I should stop” is the critical one that leads to those other steps. It took MONTHS and a lot of effort by other people to drive that lesson through Joe’s thick skull. Amber only needed to see how it affected Dina and is trying to change on her own accord

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      February 8, 2018 at 1:13 am | #

      And that’s why there’s this strip (and the one after it): http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/safe-2/

    • Marsh Maryrose
      Marsh Maryrose
      February 8, 2018 at 1:18 am | #

      You are going to hate finding out how Raidah treated Dina.

      As far as I can recall, no one in DoA is canon diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum. That doesn’t stop commenters from doing their own diagnosis, and Dina certainly pings on many readers autdars (not the only character to do so).

      • Robbie
        Robbie
        February 9, 2018 at 12:23 am | #

        I’ve read every strip, although I’ve forgotten some details of course (I did hate it, but I don’t understand the relevance)

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      February 8, 2018 at 4:50 am | #

      There was also that time when Joyce swore for the first time, about how if Adam and Eve did not start Sin then God did and that was a terrifying thought to Joyce, and then Dina noted (while giving examples) that Joyce’s cuss vocabulary is still limited and everyone just stared at her, weirded out by Dina swearing.

    • Alyssa
      Alyssa
      February 8, 2018 at 7:18 am | #

      Explicitly not diagnosed but given her family background (a lot of diagnostic folks assume that “no eye contact” is because Asian and not because autistic, that any language delays are because English isn’t spoken at home, and sometimes think girls can’t be autistic… it’s shitty) I would totally expect her not to be diagnosed anyways. The median age of diagnosis for girls is something teen, too.

      Basically I think she super is and also that her lack of diagnosis makes sense if DoA universe psych folks are like ours.

    • Derek
      Derek
      February 8, 2018 at 11:14 am | #

      Shortpacked Dina has specifically mentioned being neurodivergent, just not in what way

  22. Liliet
    Liliet
    February 8, 2018 at 1:07 am | #

    Becky using Dina’s age as a cudgel is THE BEST THING

    • DinaWho
      DinaWho
      February 9, 2018 at 12:02 am | #

      I liked that part too. ^__^

  23. Adj
    Adj
    February 8, 2018 at 1:17 am | #

    First off, I really enjoy this comic.

    But as an older reader seeing a reaction “oh wow, 19 is old!” or something similar, I find my reaction is best encapsulated by humorist/critic Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, when he said:

    “THERE IS NO MIDDLE FINGER BIG ENOUGH!”

    But also, happy birthday, Dina.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      February 8, 2018 at 1:40 am | #

      19 isn’t old.

      19 is older than most of the other first years. Who perceive her as 12.

      • Clif
        Clif
        February 8, 2018 at 9:07 am | #

        When I was a kid and my family had finally gotten a black and white TV, one of the things we did was watch a western called Gunsmoke. In one episode there was this dilapidated old codger that looked like he would blow away in the wind if you sneezed on him hard. At one point he gets shot or something as as he’s laying there he says something like, “Don’t morn for me. I’ve lived a good full life. I’m almost 40.”

        My father thought this was hilarious.

        I had no clue why.

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          February 8, 2018 at 10:21 am | #

          Henry II: I’m 50 now. Good God, boy, I’m the oldest man I know! I’ve got a decade on the pope!

  24. Ivy
    Ivy
    February 8, 2018 at 1:27 am | #

    Jesus, why’s everyone so disrespectful towards Dina? I would hate it if people treated me like a little kid the way they treat her.

    • Nobody
      Nobody
      February 8, 2018 at 3:20 am | #

      Because people think anyone who doesn’t understand the random-ass social customs of their generation must be stupid or immature, and as Dina clearly isn’t stupid she must be immature.

      • jeffepp
        jeffepp
        February 8, 2018 at 7:17 am | #

        Or old. And, that appears to be what they are going to have to face up to.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 8, 2018 at 9:20 am | #

      I don’t know. The real question is why do we disrespect little kids.

      • Valerie
        Valerie
        February 8, 2018 at 10:11 am | #

        We shouldn’t be disrespectful to little kids, but there are valid reasons to treat them differently from adults. For example, holding hands when you cross the street, because a lot of kids might get hit by a car due to being too slow/fast or too small for the drivers to see them, etc. Making an adult hold your hand to cross the street would be different.

        But it does make me mad when people are just straight up rude to little kids. I work in a grocery store pharmacy, so I see a lot of parents losing patience with kids every day.

        …anyway, what I’m saying is:
        1. We should respect kids, even though we also need to treat them different from adults in many situations
        2. Treating an adult like a child you respect is still disrespectful to the adult

        • thejeff
          thejeff
          February 8, 2018 at 2:34 pm | #

          Not just the physical differences – too slow/fast or too small to see, but mental ones as well. Little kids generally have poor judgement – they’re still learning and their brains are developing.

          We shouldn’t disrespect them, but we also can’t really respect their decisions or opinions in very many cases.
          Kids aren’t mature. That’s why they need to be treated differently.

          None of which excuses treating Dina without respect, of course.

  25. BenRG
    BenRG
    February 8, 2018 at 1:57 am | #

    If it will make you feel any better, Amber, I’ve got the feeling that Dina is going to be one of those unfortunate women who will probably still be mistaken for being a freshman until she’s way into her 30s.

  26. HMRC4EVR
    HMRC4EVR
    February 8, 2018 at 2:35 am | #

    The big twist is Dina is actually a Digimon fan!

    • Valerie
      Valerie
      February 8, 2018 at 10:12 am | #

      That’s because Dina is the best.

      But also I could see her being irritated by digivolution, since it’s reversible.

  27. Nobody
    Nobody
    February 8, 2018 at 3:18 am | #

    “Legends tell of a generation that predated ruby, a generation of 250 Pokemon, a generation called gen 2”
    “Wasn’t there a gen 1 then?”
    “Haha what lunacy”

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      February 8, 2018 at 4:25 am | #

      Stop making me feel like an Ancient Dinosaur… I played Gen 1! I watched the first season of Pokemon when it came out!

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      February 8, 2018 at 5:28 am | #

      I have only one thing to say to you: “Missingno bug”.

  28. Bagge
    Bagge
    February 8, 2018 at 3:57 am | #

    I’m so glad everytime Amber has problems of the non-stabby/non-daddy/non-Amazi-girl kind.

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      February 9, 2018 at 2:03 am | #

      ME TOO

  29. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 8, 2018 at 4:24 am | #

    oh Becky.

  30. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    February 8, 2018 at 4:41 am | #

    As the old saying goes, age is nothing but an arbitrary means of keeping score in living.

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 8, 2018 at 9:12 am | #

      Sounds legit. At what age do you win?

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        February 8, 2018 at 11:20 am | #

        When you’ve outlived all your enemies.

    • Eldritch Gentleman
      Eldritch Gentleman
      February 8, 2018 at 11:06 am | #

      I think it’s more of a countdown… or maybe difficulty rating? The older you get the harder everything gets. 70+ is basically the Brutal setting.

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        February 8, 2018 at 4:21 pm | #

        At least you really get to sex it up at that age.

  31. Pl0x
    Pl0x
    February 8, 2018 at 5:23 am | #

    Dina and I have so many similar traits.

    Anyway the hover text is not working for me. I’m on iOS 11.2. I press the thingy and nothing happens. Also the hiveworks comics banner is not showing up. Something wrong with the script on this website.

  32. Emily
    Emily
    February 8, 2018 at 6:26 am | #

    I love Becky and how she respects Dina as a peer unlike like every loser in this school.

  33. FacelessDeviant
    FacelessDeviant
    February 8, 2018 at 7:07 am | #

    Between the time when the oceans drank Pokélantis, and the rise of the team of Rocket, there was an age undreamed of. And unto this, Dina , destined to wear the fanged crown of Kanto upon a troubled brow. It is I, her chronicler, who alone can tell thee of her saga. Let me tell you of the days of high adventure!

    *pokémon theme starts playing*

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 8, 2018 at 9:16 am | #

      I know of pokemon only by cultural osmosis, but I would watch that.

    • John
      John
      February 8, 2018 at 9:30 am | #

      I would watch the hell out of that series.

  34. Vulcanodon
    Vulcanodon
    February 8, 2018 at 8:02 am | #

    I like the fact that Dina may be autistic or maybe not. It highlights the fact that people all around you may have been diagnosed as having one condition or another, but they shouldn’t need a note from their doctor to be respected.

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      February 9, 2018 at 2:03 am | #

      YES

  35. BenRG
    BenRG
    February 8, 2018 at 8:47 am | #

    Re.: Hovertext – How long has Amber been looking for the ‘Code: LYOKO’ command line that would digitise her and let her live her life in cyberspace?

    • Clif
      Clif
      February 8, 2018 at 9:18 am | #

      My theory is that long ago the machines locked us into this crude simulation of reality for our own good.

  36. Wright
    Wright
    February 8, 2018 at 11:14 am | #

    I don’t understand this strip. Dina’s a freshman in college; of COURSE if she has a birthday she’s turning 19. The only way for her to be a 17-year-old in college is if she skipped a grade. Kids normally turn 18 in their senior year of high school.

    Put a different way- if Dina was turning 18 now, she would have started her senior year at 16 years old. Meaning that she would have started first grade at 5. 5 years old is Kindergarten; six-year-olds start first grade.

    … Amber’s comment in Panel 4 implies that most of the characters in Willis’ sexy-fun-times Web series on Slipshine are under 18, i.e. minors.

    Kinda hope that’s a typo or mistake. It doesn’t really make sense to me otherwise.

    • DSL
      DSL
      February 8, 2018 at 11:44 am | #

      … Because under-18 frosh, never, ever have sexy times in the dorms?

      • Wright
        Wright
        February 8, 2018 at 12:24 pm | #

        More like, because you can’t be portraying minors in that way, even if they’re fictional, hand-drawn characters. It falls under the same guidelines as other adult entertainment. I’m sure that somewhere on the site, SS probably has a disclaimer stating that all characters portrayed are at or over 18 years of age.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      February 8, 2018 at 11:52 am | #

      Dina’s a freshman in college; of COURSE if she has a birthday she’s turning 19. The only way for her to be a 17-year-old in college is if she skipped a grade

      Quite aside from your post presenting a way for her to be 17, that’s not actually the only way. Different school systems have different entrance ages, some allowing 4 year olds. I know this firsthand – my parents were given the option, since my birthday is early in the year, therefor I would have turned five during the school year (one of the requirements for early entrance being allowed). (They decided to hold off until I would be 5 at the start of the year.) Don’t know if the district where Dina went had that option, but it does exist.

      … Amber’s comment in Panel 4 implies that most of the characters in Willis’ sexy-fun-times Web series on Slipshine are under 18

      No, it doesn’t – it suggests they’re younger than Dina – who is, again, about to turn 19, leaving approximately 11 months worth of other 18 year olds.

      • Wright
        Wright
        February 8, 2018 at 12:31 pm | #

        I suppose that makes sense – I forget sometimes that we’re still really early in the school year, and so Dina can still be older than everyone else, who are going to be turning 19 in the next few months.

    • Wendy
      Wendy
      February 8, 2018 at 12:04 pm | #

      The “joke” is that because Dina is a Small Asian Neurodivergent Girl, Dina is so childish that everyone thinks she MUST be younger than everyone else.

      • Wright
        Wright
        February 8, 2018 at 12:32 pm | #

        I get it now – thank you! I thought that Amber’s assumption was that “She’s turning 18 like all other freshmen this year,” but it really was “She must be turning 18 because there’s no way that tiny girl could be a legal adult yet.” Thanks for setting me right.

    • Kernanator
      Kernanator
      February 8, 2018 at 12:06 pm | #

      Or, here’s an idea, maybe her birthday is late in the year.

      Sincerely, someone who started college at 17.

      • DinaJoyce
        DinaJoyce
        February 8, 2018 at 6:46 pm | #

        I’m pretty sure we’re still early in fall semester, so yes, her birthday is relatively late in the year (we haven’t had Thanksgiving break yet, so it’s october or november sometime?). So Amber isn’t crazy for thinking she’s turning 18, that’s actually probably the most common assumption. I’ve lived in several states and I think most have a cut-off for kindergarten start that’s either December 1 or January 1. But lots of schools have a parental choice period for any child who turns 5 between the start of the school year and the cutoff date. Lots of parents choose to wait, especially if their child appears to be developmentally “slow” (something that wouldn’t be too shocking for a pediatrician to recommend to Dina’s parents if her neurodivergencies were already apparent). So Dina probably isn’t the only Freshman turning 19 already either.

        • Kamino Neko
          Kamino Neko
          February 9, 2018 at 5:09 am | #

          Mid-October if I’m tracking the passage of time correctly.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      February 8, 2018 at 2:48 pm | #

      Maybe things have changed, but back when I was in school the assumption would have been that most college freshmen were 18 or at this point in the semester about to turn 18.
      I was 18 for my entire freshman year, since my birthday was in the summer. I knew people who started at 17 and had birthdays in the fall and I think others who turned 19 in the spring.

      I think there’s been a trend since my childhood of starting kindergarten later, which would push more of those with fall birthdays into the next year.

    • hallucigenia
      hallucigenia
      February 8, 2018 at 4:25 pm | #

      What? No. Lots of people start college before 18. At least that was the case at my school.

      • DinaWho
        DinaWho
        February 8, 2018 at 4:51 pm | #

        It basically depends on what the age cutoff was at their first school. My school had September 1 as the cutoff, so with my late-September birthday, I was one of the oldest kids in my class up through high school and turned 19 about a month into my first year of college. Someone else on my hall turned 18 that November – his school system had used the end of the year as the cutoff.

        • David DeLaney
          David DeLaney
          February 12, 2018 at 2:39 am | #

          I was 15, and turned 16 a few days later.

          But then I skipped a few grades, too.

          –Dave, including kindergarten. no really.

  37. Guest42
    Guest42
    February 8, 2018 at 5:59 pm | #

    Why is Dina being the eldest that shocking?

    Sarah doesn’t count because she actually is a year older. Joe’s more immature, Danny’s finding himself in a way that shows youth, Walky Dorothy and Joyce watch cartoons together and two of them are as childish as Dina if not more so, And Amber dresses up in pajamas and a cape. I don’t know if Mike’s psychotic or if I’m just judging him based on the old Walkyverse. I miss Beef. Mary’s got the judgmental arrogance that could be youthful down. And Ethan’s naievete seems young (though so does Dina’s, as does her obsession with hat.)

    Really the only ones that seem to possibly be more mature or aged would be Sal, Jacob, and Marcie, and I don’t think any of them are specifically mature, just quieter.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      February 8, 2018 at 6:45 pm | #

      OTOH, Dina met Riley and ate cereal with her and thought they’d established a rapport until Amber told her Riley really was 12.
      And Riley thought Dina was about her age too.

      I think it’s been pretty clearly established that not only does Dina visually pass for a kid, but that her interests and behavior are easily mistaken as well. Or at least were at the start – I think she’s been working on that for awhile.
      I don’t think everyone who reacts to her that way is awful – the trick is overcoming that initial reaction.

    • Beef
      Beef
      February 8, 2018 at 6:55 pm | #

      I thought Jacob was a year older too.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      February 8, 2018 at 7:46 pm | #

      Basically everybody in universe, save Becky, reads her as a little kid, and Amber is having a hard time shaking that. (Joyce seems to have adjusted her reading fairly quick, and nobody else has really had reason to demonstrate whether they still think of her as a kid.)

  38. Aislashu
    Aislashu
    February 8, 2018 at 9:57 pm | #

    Plot twist: Dina was behind the door the whole time!

    • Aislashu
      Aislashu
      February 8, 2018 at 9:57 pm | #

      OHMYGODIMDINAWHENDIDTHATHAPPEN

      • Emperor Norton II
        Emperor Norton II
        February 9, 2018 at 9:33 am | #

        A few months back, Willis updated the random avatar list, which meant that people who didn’t have a specific one set got a huge shuffle.

        I was pretty pleased with getting Sierra. And Cerberus got Carla, which was the Most Fitting And Best Thing Ever.

  39. Blaze Gamma
    Blaze Gamma
    February 8, 2018 at 10:04 pm | #

    That Pokemon comment wounds my soul. I feel so old ._.

  40. TheStranger
    TheStranger
    February 8, 2018 at 11:40 pm | #

    I was 18 1/2 when I started college. I just kind of always assumed that college freshmen had had their 18th birthdays already.

  41. Nezumi
    Nezumi
    March 4, 2018 at 6:43 pm | #

    Yeah, I’m autistic. Can confirm we’re often mistaken for younger or come across as childlike in appearance and behavior.

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May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

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