It’s more likely he would have encouraged the scheme to make Walky learn the painful lesson of “you shouldn’t enable your parents’ biases by throwing your partner under the bus” and make Lucy learn the painful lesson of “if your man can’t confront his parents’ racism for you, he ain’t worth it”
Mike liked being good, but only as long as it was cruel good
Depending on how much Mike actually likes you, he won’t stop you from doing the stupid thing but it’ll change how obvious he makes it that the thing you’re doing is stupid.
I feel like he would have stopped it, but only because Amber was the one getting dragged into it. If Walky was involving literally anybody else he probably would have made a few snide comments and then sat back to watch the fireworks.
Are we talking about the time he repeatedly punched someone for money, the time he convinced his best friend to go back in the closet, then mocked him for it, or the time he decided to mess with said best friend’s head in order to mess up someone else’s head even worse?
Some of what Mike did led to people having realisations and becoming better. I have yet to be convinced that that was a goal he ever had, and even if it was, it clearly wasn’t a goal he always had.
Tofusmith
I mean, both of those count I think? Him punching Joe is tricky but it was the first step towards Joe learning to treat women with even a tiny bit of respect
Also he didn’t really want Ethan to go back in the closet; Ethan kind of read his sarcasm wrong. But after that, Mike realized that Ethan needed to come out on his own and not be outed again, and helped him get to that point
Walky needs a Mike on each shoulder, angel Mike to tell him his plans are dumb meanly, and a devil Mike to tell him his plans were dumb after they’ve blown up.
You probably knew a decade before you first drew him. Which must have been really confusing, knowing you were going to kill off a character you hadn’t created yet, in a story you had no idea you’d write, in a format you had no clue you’d do.
Yeah, I could see Mike making one comment about what a shit plan it was and then holding back until it came crashing down so he could do some form of “Told you so.”
And I could see him dissuading Walky from following through with it because he wouldn’t want Amber to get dragged into that mess (unless he was doing the dragging).
I didn’t get a chance to comment this yesterday due to Christmas Eve plans but man, Linda excusing Jennifer’s dui is already pretty crummy, both because of how Sal’s mistakes are still framed as being forever and always, yet Jennifer’s are cause she’s young, but we also gotta remember that Alice was in that car wreck too! But you know… just a mistake that could have been EXTREMELY DEADLY…
Billie checks all the boxes in Linda’s head so she’s fine to do whatever she wants. It’s such a well observed method of having a “good” parent who is exceptionally blind to their own faults.
It’s a little more understandable, if Linda only thinks of it as a one-time after Prom mistake by an otherwise good upstanding girl because Jennifer hid her pattern of partying, alcoholism and depression, while she knows more of Sal and sees it as a pattern of bad behavior.
A little more.
Getting way too drug or high is one thing, making the decision to drive afterwards is a move out of insane levels of selfishness, back when I did drink I would get blackout drunk all the time, never once did I drive with even a little alcohol in me.
Which sucks, because we’ve since been repeatedly exposed to both Linda and Carol, two moms who really deserve to be the subject of Your Mom jokes, but there are none to be had.
i was about to say that walky should direct his anger at blaine and not mike since its not mike was responsible for his own death and then i remembered oh right blaines dead too. rip loser
But Walky didn’t want Blaine to be there forever, so him dying doesn’t feel like a loss. Without loss, there is no anger over the loss.
The mere existence of loved ones means they made the implicit promise to continue existing, which is why a death can make you angry at someone for dying, even though you know that isn’t rational. We’re more than just rational beings.
So what are the odds Walky interpreted the earlier discussion with Lucy as a break up, decides to pursue Amber (or Dorothy, or someone else) only to later learn that Lucy did not interpret the discussion as a break up
It was definitely a break up. I’d worry for Lucy’s sanity a bit if she didn’t see saying ‘fuck you” to your partner in that context as a break up. I’d worry for Walky too.
She only said that she would be “brave enough” and said that they would see each other tomorrow, this can create different interpretations:
or Lucy really doesn’t want anything to do with Walky anymore or
A “new Lucy” will be presented who will not allow herself to be trampled on and this option is easily the most viable because a “determination” was seen in her eyes…of course this will not be good at all.
Look even he’s not that tasteless or atleast not tasteless enough to do that a second time.
Anyway I need like a time skip of a week or two into spring before I see Walky pursue another romantic pursuit. Which is probably going to come any time now since we’ve already spent a considerate amount of time in January…they got what another week left comic in comic time?
I feel like there’s still stuff we could see first. We’d be skipping completely over Joe and Joyce in their honeymoon period of just started dating, Sal and Danny too for that matter. Dorothy’s also just kind of hanging in this depression that I’d like to see resolve instead of hanging around for potential months. A skip soon could be possible though. No one else is really deep into huge stuff now that Walky and Lucy is over. They were kind of carrying the main drama as long as the Walkertons also leave soon.
Vanessa
It would be unhealthy for Walky to boomerang right back to an ex-girlfriend. But typical, since he is like one of those widowers who just likes being married and replaces their wife immediately like hiring a replacement housekeeper.
Ok. After seeing other comments, let me clarify my take.
I do not see what happened as a break up.
Not to say they won’t break up, but that I don’t see Lucy not clearly stating it, and waiting to tomorrow is supposed to give her time to think about if she’ll break up with him.
That said, when I said chances are low, I was specifically talking about Walky pursuing anyone.
I see people acting like Walky wants to be in a relationship.
That’s not the case.
Walky didn’t PURSUE Amber when he and Dorothy broke up.
He never planned to go after her and there was never any indication that they were feeling each other before it happened (unless you count the toy throwing, which I do, but only as confirmation bias in hindsight).
Amber just made the hurt go away some, the second day of pain at that, as the first day was spent drunk with Jason.
Hell, he never pursued Dorothy.
She knew he liked her, because he couldn’t help making it obvious, but she came to him.
If Walky was really the type to just want to be in a relationship all the time, he wouldn’t have been chilling during the time skip (which we can assume since there was no mention of any time skip love interest and it would be weird for there not to be unless it was a secret, which would be weirder), and he would have probably tried harder in the relationship with Lucy.
As for being hurt enough to somehow find someone to make him feel better, all we’ve seen is Walky be upset that he hurt Lucy, not that he himself is hurt.
So Walky pursuing anyone is low because pursuing someone isn’t his deal in the first place, he’s perfectly fine not being in a relationship, and he’s not hurt enough to need someone to make the pain go away and it somehow blossom into a rebound.
Could he somehow end up messing with Amber or Dorothy (couldn’t be anyone else because there’s no one else he’s close to nor even expressed attraction to)?
Sure, all kinds of mess could happen today in the strip, but it wouldn’t be his plan to do so.
226 thoughts on “‘Steada”
Ana Chronistic
alternately, he would’ve TOTES let you do it, then laughed in your face when you fucked up
(I miss him)
Ana Chronistic
(Merry Crimbus)
Decidedly Orthogonal
Apropos of nothing Mike related, and because I **need** to share somewhere, Bembo is really putting the LOL in Lolth.
Decidedly Orthogonal
? Merry Mike’smas ?
Here’s a nickel ⚪, for your mom.
Karadaga
It’s more likely he would have encouraged the scheme to make Walky learn the painful lesson of “you shouldn’t enable your parents’ biases by throwing your partner under the bus” and make Lucy learn the painful lesson of “if your man can’t confront his parents’ racism for you, he ain’t worth it”
Mike liked being good, but only as long as it was cruel good
Decidedly Orthogonal
Ultimate chaotic good. Net good, by any horrible means.
Warcodered
Depending on how much Mike actually likes you, he won’t stop you from doing the stupid thing but it’ll change how obvious he makes it that the thing you’re doing is stupid.
Armadillo
I feel like he would have stopped it, but only because Amber was the one getting dragged into it. If Walky was involving literally anybody else he probably would have made a few snide comments and then sat back to watch the fireworks.
Tofusmith
Nah, when you get down to what he actually did with his meanness, Mike was generally one of the nicest and most helpful characters in DOA
Which is maybe saying more about the other characters and how much they think about their actions, but still
Daibhid C
Are we talking about the time he repeatedly punched someone for money, the time he convinced his best friend to go back in the closet, then mocked him for it, or the time he decided to mess with said best friend’s head in order to mess up someone else’s head even worse?
Some of what Mike did led to people having realisations and becoming better. I have yet to be convinced that that was a goal he ever had, and even if it was, it clearly wasn’t a goal he always had.
Tofusmith
I mean, both of those count I think? Him punching Joe is tricky but it was the first step towards Joe learning to treat women with even a tiny bit of respect
Also he didn’t really want Ethan to go back in the closet; Ethan kind of read his sarcasm wrong. But after that, Mike realized that Ethan needed to come out on his own and not be outed again, and helped him get to that point
thejeff
Told you it was dumb, but in such a way that you’re go ahead and do it anyway, so he’d have more of a knife to twist later.
HueSatLight
Walky needs a Mike on each shoulder, angel Mike to tell him his plans are dumb meanly, and a devil Mike to tell him his plans were dumb after they’ve blown up.
Cmasta1992
Garbage roof ship rises like a barge in New Jersey
Rose by Any Other Name
Garbage Skow Lives!
clif
Garbage Skow is only mostly dead.
Thag Simmons
Like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again
Bootshivers
Mike is my favorite
I got to tell this to Willis in person once, this was like a year before the death reveal
I wonder if he knew
David M Willis
iiiiii kneeewwwwwww
tim gueguen
You probably knew a decade before you first drew him. Which must have been really confusing, knowing you were going to kill off a character you hadn’t created yet, in a story you had no idea you’d write, in a format you had no clue you’d do.
bootshivers
I’m glad that you did, and I want you to know that it was not a disappointment in the slightest to see how the story went with him!
Armadillo
Mine too. Mike was the best at being the worst in the best way.
Yotomoe
Yeah I loved that angry blonde weirdo.
Ana Chronistic
I mean, it happened before… (SPOILERS)
NGPZ
Well that’s… certainly A Christmas Strip.
As you earthlings say,
Damn You Willis!
Jo_Cubstar
That was exactly my reaction
anon
happy freeza day 8D;
NGPZ
His father was not a very Wise King, that’s for sure! XD
BBCC
Eh, maybe. Mike could go a lot of ways with that.
Yumi
Yeah, I could see Mike making one comment about what a shit plan it was and then holding back until it came crashing down so he could do some form of “Told you so.”
Needfuldoer
And I could see him dissuading Walky from following through with it because he wouldn’t want Amber to get dragged into that mess (unless he was doing the dragging).
Doopyboop
I didn’t get a chance to comment this yesterday due to Christmas Eve plans but man, Linda excusing Jennifer’s dui is already pretty crummy, both because of how Sal’s mistakes are still framed as being forever and always, yet Jennifer’s are cause she’s young, but we also gotta remember that Alice was in that car wreck too! But you know… just a mistake that could have been EXTREMELY DEADLY…
M!a
…committed by a rich white person (whole, half, passing or other). Ergo, a learning experience.
David DeLaney
a protective layer of $20 bills shielded her from consequences
DashWallkick
Billie checks all the boxes in Linda’s head so she’s fine to do whatever she wants. It’s such a well observed method of having a “good” parent who is exceptionally blind to their own faults.
thejeff
It’s a little more understandable, if Linda only thinks of it as a one-time after Prom mistake by an otherwise good upstanding girl because Jennifer hid her pattern of partying, alcoholism and depression, while she knows more of Sal and sees it as a pattern of bad behavior.
A little more.
Cloud
Getting way too drug or high is one thing, making the decision to drive afterwards is a move out of insane levels of selfishness, back when I did drink I would get blackout drunk all the time, never once did I drive with even a little alcohol in me.
newlland(Henryvolt)
Yeah him dying out of nowhere really did throw some shit out of wack… like for example a severe lack of “Your mom” jokes.
Merry Christmas by the way.
Doctor_Who
Which sucks, because we’ve since been repeatedly exposed to both Linda and Carol, two moms who really deserve to be the subject of Your Mom jokes, but there are none to be had.
Jon
Aaaand there it is.
This has been a long time coming, Walky. Get it all out in the open.
newlland(Henryvolt)
Allowing himself to feel lost instead of hiding behind his jokes?
Vanessa
Yeeess, nice to see Walky almost apologize to Amber here by having a heart-felt talk about their dead friend. That’s all Amber ever wanted from him.
wwwhhattt
Oh man, I’d totally forgotten that bit of context, thanks!
Mark
I’m enjoying her faint smile.
Pergola
Amber’s smile is my Merry Christmas present.
anon
maybe he and amber can have a group therapy session with booster.
or he’ll end up hooking up with her again and dorothy finding out and reacting lol
Needfuldoer
Both can happen!
Booster needs Lucy Van Pelt’s “Psychological Help ¢5” booth.
quark
i was about to say that walky should direct his anger at blaine and not mike since its not mike was responsible for his own death and then i remembered oh right blaines dead too. rip loser
quark
and by “anger” i mean “deflective jokey anger for the sake of a punchline”
Regret
But Walky didn’t want Blaine to be there forever, so him dying doesn’t feel like a loss. Without loss, there is no anger over the loss.
The mere existence of loved ones means they made the implicit promise to continue existing, which is why a death can make you angry at someone for dying, even though you know that isn’t rational. We’re more than just rational beings.
thejeff
It’s more complex with Mike, because he certainly didn’t want Mike there forever. Or at all really.
Regret
He wanted Mike to fuck off, but also to always be there to be told to fuck off.
Alongcameaspider
So what are the odds Walky interpreted the earlier discussion with Lucy as a break up, decides to pursue Amber (or Dorothy, or someone else) only to later learn that Lucy did not interpret the discussion as a break up
cbwroses
Low.
David DeLaney
Low-eee-oh, ee-ooooh-oh
Sirksome
It was definitely a break up. I’d worry for Lucy’s sanity a bit if she didn’t see saying ‘fuck you” to your partner in that context as a break up. I’d worry for Walky too.
Coatl
She only said that she would be “brave enough” and said that they would see each other tomorrow, this can create different interpretations:
or Lucy really doesn’t want anything to do with Walky anymore or
A “new Lucy” will be presented who will not allow herself to be trampled on and this option is easily the most viable because a “determination” was seen in her eyes…of course this will not be good at all.
Mym
Yandere Lucy, full flavor.
(I have referred to her as Yandere-light before).
Coatl
could be
Cholma
Sure seemed like a breakup to me. (and not a Ross & Rachel “we were on a break” breakup)
newlland(Henryvolt)
Look even he’s not that tasteless or atleast not tasteless enough to do that a second time.
Anyway I need like a time skip of a week or two into spring before I see Walky pursue another romantic pursuit. Which is probably going to come any time now since we’ve already spent a considerate amount of time in January…they got what another week left comic in comic time?
Sirksome
I feel like there’s still stuff we could see first. We’d be skipping completely over Joe and Joyce in their honeymoon period of just started dating, Sal and Danny too for that matter. Dorothy’s also just kind of hanging in this depression that I’d like to see resolve instead of hanging around for potential months. A skip soon could be possible though. No one else is really deep into huge stuff now that Walky and Lucy is over. They were kind of carrying the main drama as long as the Walkertons also leave soon.
Vanessa
It would be unhealthy for Walky to boomerang right back to an ex-girlfriend. But typical, since he is like one of those widowers who just likes being married and replaces their wife immediately like hiring a replacement housekeeper.
cbwroses
Ok. After seeing other comments, let me clarify my take.
I do not see what happened as a break up.
Not to say they won’t break up, but that I don’t see Lucy not clearly stating it, and waiting to tomorrow is supposed to give her time to think about if she’ll break up with him.
That said, when I said chances are low, I was specifically talking about Walky pursuing anyone.
I see people acting like Walky wants to be in a relationship.
That’s not the case.
Walky didn’t PURSUE Amber when he and Dorothy broke up.
He never planned to go after her and there was never any indication that they were feeling each other before it happened (unless you count the toy throwing, which I do, but only as confirmation bias in hindsight).
Amber just made the hurt go away some, the second day of pain at that, as the first day was spent drunk with Jason.
Hell, he never pursued Dorothy.
She knew he liked her, because he couldn’t help making it obvious, but she came to him.
If Walky was really the type to just want to be in a relationship all the time, he wouldn’t have been chilling during the time skip (which we can assume since there was no mention of any time skip love interest and it would be weird for there not to be unless it was a secret, which would be weirder), and he would have probably tried harder in the relationship with Lucy.
As for being hurt enough to somehow find someone to make him feel better, all we’ve seen is Walky be upset that he hurt Lucy, not that he himself is hurt.
So Walky pursuing anyone is low because pursuing someone isn’t his deal in the first place, he’s perfectly fine not being in a relationship, and he’s not hurt enough to need someone to make the pain go away and it somehow blossom into a rebound.
Could he somehow end up messing with Amber or Dorothy (couldn’t be anyone else because there’s no one else he’s close to nor even expressed attraction to)?
Sure, all kinds of mess could happen today in the strip, but it wouldn’t be his plan to do so.
M!a
I could never read Mike. For me he alternates between asshole with a good heart, and goodhole with an ass… wait.
Regret
Maybe a heart-hole with a good ass?
Li
Ethan would probably co-sign that ZING
Animedingo
Jerking it from the grave
True Survivor