254

Wrongly
Posted on August 29, 2018 by David M Willis
The first Patreon bonus strip for August is up, and patrons voted to see Evan!  Evan's popular both in this month's vote and, it seems, within the world he inhabits.  Such boyish charm!  Any and all patrons can go log in to Patreon and see this bonus strip and over fifty previous bonus strips. And if you pledge $5 per month, you can see tomorrow's strip today.  This might come in handy soon.  Or maybe right now.  Who's to say.

254 thoughts on “Wrongly”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    hey HEY now, it’s not Garbage Stairwell!!

    (yet)

    1. Shiro

      Maybe the true Garbage Roof was in their hearts all along

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        Apparently so – they are literally manifesting the word wherever they go now (at least when they kiss). Clearly they no longer need the roof.

        1. Clif

          After all theyhave their own portable ship with the name written on the side.

      2. TemporalShrew

        Something something “friends we made along the way.”

      3. Agemegos

        This week’s Caution: not safe for work or anywhere else Oglaf is also about this being in their hearts all along. It’s skeptical….

        Fingers crossed: I am attempting HTML without a preview or review feature.

        1. Agemegos

          Boo!

          https://www.oglaf.com/ageofdiscovery/

    2. Ana Chronistic

      it’s not Garbage Scowl?

      Ambly?

      1. King Daniel

        Garbage Skowl, because their ship name uses Xtreme Kool Letterz.

        1. butts

          …except it has to be Scowl

          because, y’know

          vigilante

        2. Tacos

          Naw it’s S.K.O.W.L.

          You can try to figure out the acronym yourself.

        3. King Daniel

          Some Kind Of WordpLay.

        4. Reltzik

          S.S. Garbage Skowl, thankyouverymuch.

        5. Missymumu

          You guys.

          Garbarge.

        6. Diner Kinetic

          I’ve been calling it garbage barge

        7. HeySo

          Right? =O

        8. adjudicus

          Garbarge

      2. ShinyNeen

        This must be the curse Willis suffers for writing the alt-text in advance. At least, I’m pretty sure he does that?

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          He does, but then sometimes he changes it. At least once that I recall, he’s changed it after first publication.

    3. Walky_Talky

      It’s Dumpster Stairwell……where the Garbage stays for a week or two.

    4. FacelessDeviant

      Oh no… Its spreading… We have a containment breach!

      1. Jon S.

        Activating MTF Delta-10 (“Answer Key”), as they specialize in hostile anomalies in educational institutions – and if they interrupt this ship, either Amber or Amazi-Girl is going to become remarkably hostile.

        1. Jim the Fish

          Would that make her Keter-class?

    5. Reltzik

      It became garbage stairwell the moment they tossed their garbage down it.

    6. Killer Klown

      Shut Your Mouth
      You Look So Fine
      Tell Me Where It Hurts
      Why Do You Love Me?
      Sex Is Not The Enemy
      I Think I’m Paranoid
      The World Is Not Enough
      Stupid Girl
      Only Happy When It Rains

      Because it’s all …
      …
      …
      Garbage.

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        I own every single one of those songs (and the albums that contain them).

      2. Djenk

        Don’t Push It

      3. Ana Chronistic

        Special

  2. Doctor_Who

    Advance copies of the next book are out, and this ship is getting rave reviews.

  3. newllend(henryvolt)

    Getting sort of heated-
    http://rs1113.pbsrc.com/albums/k501/CherrySoda_99/Glee%20Gifs/ItsHotInHEre.gif~c200

    1. butts

      it’s getting hot in here

      so take off all your clothes

      and get thee to slipshine

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        so hot

  4. toby

    Who knows, maybe this garbage will turn out to be recyclable.

    1. adjudicus

      Rubbish! Considering where they’ve bin, it’s unlikely Walky will be able to help her completely.

      1. Sporky

        Even if he can, this is still a bit beyond the pail.

        1. King Daniel

          Hopefully they won’t trash the place.

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          This is truly an offal situation.

        3. Reltzik

          Cue some snark from Anna to Leslie about debris-ders.

  5. butts

    WHAT YOU GUYS THIS ISN’T GARBAGE ROOF

    this is garbage stairwell(?)

    1. butts

      oh for fuck’s sake

      what i get for not checking the comments first

      1. Doctor_Who

        Poor butts. Always bringing up the rear.

        1. butts

          really made an ass of myself, eh

        2. Doctor_Who

          Nah, you’re just a little behind.

        3. butts

          EXCUSE YOU I PUT A LOT OF EFFORT INTO THAT BEHIND DON’T YOU DARE CALL IT LITTLE

        4. Doctor_Who

          Alright, no need to be an irritable bowel.

        5. Inahc

          you two, quit farting around! 😉

        6. Dean

          Yeah, you’re showing a lot of cheek!

        7. Clif

          Well, we can hope that’s the end.

        8. Marsh Maryrose

          Don’t get bummed out!

        9. Reltzik

          Those glutes are definitely maximus.

  6. Okamiking

    AWwwwwww

    Alexa, play Depeche Mode’s Wrong

    1. butts

      this is so sad danny play desperado

  7. shadowcell

    Dumbing of Age Book 8: GARBAGE!!!

  8. NerdHerder

    #trashbarge

  9. Kathleen

    Hell yeah, Team Garbage

  10. Kris

    Hmmm….looks like someone forgot to take out the trash.

  11. Nono

    Huh, so the exes of two of Joyce’s favourite people (Dorothy and Ethan) just got together. Should be interesting.

  12. jeffepp

    Walky does a Stairwell.

    1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      Ouch.

      1. jeffepp

        Well, he can’t very well preform a stairwell.

        1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

          Sure he could. I bet Walky would look adorable in a stairwell costume.

    2. Tacos

      That doesn’t sound comfortable…

  13. Keulen

    The garbage will do.

  14. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Huey Lewis & The News’ “Perfect World” on the hacked Muzak*

  15. newllend(henryvolt)

    Hot Garbage?

  16. Kyrik Michalowski

    “You may be wrong for all I know but you may be right.”~
    Well at least they’re self aware that this might go down in flames, but hey I am happy for them for right now. Also now I got that song stuck in my own head, worth it.

  17. BBCC

    But guys, these are the STAIRS to garbage roof, surely that changes things?

    Also – these two are gonna be a train wreck and I am gonna love it. <3333

  18. Passchendaele

    There are probably a lot of problems with this ship and I refuse to think about any of them

    guess walky’s got to get out of bachelor mode now

    1. Reltzik

      No, that’s just it. Amber’s perfectly cool with Bachelor mode. Untucked shirt, velcro, food stains? She’s fine with it, so long as he’s fine with her MMO all-nighters.

      ….. ohno he’s gonna react to that by being supportive and joining her guild, isn’t he?

      1. MM

        Better hope he can pull off the bow tie trick with Galasso, ‘cause college ain’t happening in that case.

        1. Reltzik

          “Okay, so we need some help monitoring the auction house. I’ll need you to sign up for these three econ classes.”

  19. Inahc

    darnit. Amber *almost* said something important. but nope, back to garbage.

    at least they’re cute 🙂

    1. JessWitt

      Eh, baby steps with the story progression. We just got that big one last weekend.

  20. Sporky

    my new favorite sound effect

  21. Diner Kinetic

    <3 but also MWAHAHAHA

  22. Mr. Random

    …I’m reminded of Hyde and Jackie in that show about the 70s.

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Ruth is gonna have to put her foot in one of their asses.

      1. Fire_daws

        Just got to say I love that avatar ♥

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Every time someone compliments my gravatar, I get more powerful. >:(

        2. fire_daws

          Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility.

        3. adjudicus

          At least a few people in the US government need that memo.

        4. maxyai

          Who?

  23. newllend(henryvolt)

    “Garbage lovers”

  24. Agemegos

    Blaine doesn’t know about Amazi-Girl, does he?

    If Blaine kidnaps Walky to advance some plot against Amber, will Amazi-Girl get him before Batsal does? Or will it be an Amazi-Girl / Batsal crossover?

    1. King Daniel

      Blaine does know of Amazi-Girl’s existence – perhaps not the whole story, but Amazi-Girl showed up when Blaine kidnapped Danny, and it was Amber-in-the-Amazi-Girl-suit who hospitalized him when he tried to drag Danny back into his car.

      1. Agemegos

        So Blaine will be planning for Amazi-Girl but not for Batsal…

  25. Kathleen

    Thank you David for giving our heros at least two (2) smooches before ripping their hearts asunder

    1. Reltzik

      But…. their hearts had already been ripped asunder before they started smoo-*vaudeville hook*

  26. artschoolrage

    Y i k e s.

    Ah well I’m into it let’s see where it goes. But it’ll be extra awesome once danny AND dorothy find out. Cuz they will. >:)

  27. Larkle

    What the hell, it’s a garbage world.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Pour your misery down on me.

  28. AlexanderHammil

    this ship is fun and all but what i’m REALLY looking forward to is when danny finds out

    1. Kris

      I think Danny has well and moved on from Amber by this point. She treated him really poorly near the end and honestly she isn’t worth him griefing about of feeling jealousy or whatever. Besides he’s got a hat, a ukulele, AND he’s regularly hanging out with Sal, so I don’t think he’ll care. At least I hope he won’t.

      1. cbwroses

        He was making snide remarks regarding Walky being with Dorothy the night of them being on pause, which was just a couple nights ago comic time.
        If he’s petty enough to feel that way about Dorothy, this will probably stagger him for a second.
        And Sal will probably the one who mentions it to him which may or may not make it easier for him to take.

        1. Kris

          I guess we won’t know until it happens, if it happens. It would just be a shame cause Danny’s gotten kind of a raw deal as far as relationships and it would suck for him to take another blow.

        2. Zee

          To be fair, he was with dorothy for a long time. Amber was pretty much a rebound for a couple weeks that went really badly

  29. Mollyscribbles

    . . . still not the worst decision anyone in the strip has made.

  30. Agemegos

    Amber has a supply of condoms, right?

    1. Inahc

      amazi-condoms, yes. 🙂

    2. King Daniel

      Amazi-Girl is always prepared for…anything.

      1. Reltzik

        This isn’t Amazi-Girl.

        1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

          True. But, if AG has condoms, presumably they don’t vanish into the ether when in Amber mode. After all, we’ve also seen Amber parkour for Pokemon, so presumably any ability of AG translates over to Amber – thus Amazi-condoms.

        2. thejeff

          No, but they’re kept in the Amazi-pouches, which are on the costume she’s not wearing at the moment.

        3. Inahc

          I assume she also has some in her backpack, but, neither of them are carrying backpacks. and pockets are not a good place for condoms (too much body heat).

          Then again, it’s a comic, hammerspace probably exists.

  31. Kyrik Michalowski

    Also ship name? Walker? Nope. Ambky? Waler? Amblky? Wamber? Wambam thank you ma’am? I may have gone off topic somewhere. I also may not understand what I’m doing.

    1. Pat

      Garbage. It says so right there.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        Oh, that makes more sense. I didn’t really have any strong contenders so I’m glad it was a staement, not a question.

    2. Beef

      Garbage roof has spread to garbage stair case. It will keep spreading and soon we will be living in garbage world

      1. BBCC

        Soon?

        1. Clif

          Someone isn’t paying attention to the news.

    3. Reltzik

      S.S. Garbage Skowl.

    4. Stu

      My vote is for Wamber too, given what they seem to be on-course for doing.

  32. Tacos

    I feel like this end in a massive train wreck and I won’t be able to look away.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      Hey worser decisions have been made.

      1. Reltzik

        In a world that’s given us church pedophile cover-ups, libs voting third-party in 2016, the Donner Party, multiple invasions of Russia, and Star Trek Nemesis, I feel that’s kind of a low bar.

    2. Deanatay

      It couldn’t possibly be any worse than Joyce’s decision to date Ethan, right?

      1. MM

        That at least ended with everyone involved on decent terms.

  33. Bathymetheus

    But . . . Did the mask land on the doorstop?

    Inquiring minds want to know.

  34. Beef

    Garbage roof has spread to garbage stair case. It will keep spreading and soon we will be living in garbage world

    1. BassBone

      I could swear we were already there.

      1. cbwroses

        Beat me to it.

    2. Abel Undercity

      The scales have tipped. The Garbage invades Agartha.

  35. tim gueguen

    Next strip Shirley Manson bursts through the wall and tells them the name Garbage is already taken.

    1. m-m

      nice! +1 internet

  36. Kris

    Ok, so is it slightly hypocritical that Amber or excuse me “Amazi-Girl” broke up with Danny over just being friends with Sal, but is now making out with her brother? Cause I feel like it is…..Although the whole dual identity thing technically means Danny never dated Amber at all. Actually now I don’t know anymore. It still feels hypocritical. I’m willing to be corrected about this.

    1. Inahc

      no, but being friendly with sal and not explaining to danny (or apologising for getting mad at him) was pretty messed up.

    2. lilyliv

      I mean, I’d figure it’s a lot easier to rationalize someone being related to someone than choosing to be their friend. As Amber knows way too well, you can’t help who you’re related to. (Disclaimer: Sal is nothing like Blaine. I really like Sal, and Blaine is the Actual Worst. But to Amber at least, Sal is connected with a massive trauma so I can see her maybe drawing the comparison. Idk.)

    3. SailorCake

      You can choose your friends you can’t choose your siblings

    4. Marsh Maryrose

      I wouldn’t say so much “hypocritical” as “awkward.” Amber’s current arc is about her wresting control from Amazi-Girl.

      When AG broke up with Danny, the mere sight of Sal instantly brought AG into control. Since then, AG learned to work with Sal to fight Ryan, but AG was still in control. Then the privacy chair incident caused a Gollum-like dialogue between AG and Amber, but Amber managed to stay in control. And just now, the sight of Sal made Amber flee, but she stayed Amber.

      tl;dr: Amber has changed a lot in the last week, especially in relation to Amazi-Girl. Amber — maybe for the first time in five years, or more — is starting to be open to growth, while AG is mostly fixed and immutable. And part of Amber’s growth involves her reaction to the people around her.

    5. thejeff

      Remember Amazi-Girl only partly broke up with Danny because he was talking to Sal – it was more complicated.
      She “turned him against her”, by getting him to ask her to stop being Amazi-Girl – in his mind “stop doing the super-hero thing because I don’t want you to get hurt”, but in hers “I want you to go away, I like Amber better.”
      Much confusion caused largely by him not understanding the relationship between Amber and Amazi-Girl.

  37. ShinyNeen

    Who could say no to such Walky faces as in panel 3?

  38. Bagge

    Oh my!

  39. newllend(henryvolt)

    Ok so she’s still withholding some major things from him but it’s all good, she’ll open up about it whenever she feels like she’s ready too.

    1. thejeff

      Yeah, but will that be before or after he has a confrontation with Amazi-Girl?

    2. Emily

      You don’t get to withhold stuff like “I’ve put you at risk of expulsion be changing your grades against your wishes” until you’re ready.

      1. newllend(henryvolt)

        I was referring to the hole “I stabbed your sister” thing but ok that too.

        1. Emily

          I’m willing to give that a bit more leeway because it doesn’t like directly affect Walky’s life in very serious ways immediately but yeah she definitely should be telling him that too.

  40. jeffepp


    Fix Me Now

    1. jeffepp


      I Think I’m Paranoid

      1. jeffepp


        Only Happy When It Rains

        1. jeffepp

          And, inevitably…


          The World Is Not Enough

      2. Delicious Taffy

        Goddamned song, putting me in the video hole again.

  41. Goki

    Because why make good and logical decisions now?

    1. JessWitt

      Best to get the bad decisions out of the way while still in college.

  42. Koms

    Last panel is so adorable awwww

  43. jeffepp


    Temptation Waits

    1. JhennaSide

      1) OMG nostalgia

      2) Yes. Perfect.

      1. jeffepp

        Truth is, about 2/3 of Garbage’s songs work for this Amber and this ship. Most of the rest still work for Amber, but when she’s kicking someones ass. Then, a few work for Ethan (or maybe Carla).

  44. Yotomoe

    I want these two to have sex more than I want myself. to have sex.
    And I really want to have sex.

    1. newllend(henryvolt)

      The sexual frustration around here has been off the charts lately.

    2. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      I know, right?

  45. Ivy

    Okay, but what about them would be wrong? Are they cousins?

    What do they think the problem is?

    1. Sigh

      They both perceive themselves as essentially bad people and thus un-datable.

    2. Kris

      Walky being related to Sal

      Walky rebounding the day after breaking up with his previous girlfriend

      Amber’s general low self esteem

      Amber’s guilt over stabbing Sal

      Amber’s worry about being as angry and abusive as her father

      Amber being friends with Dorothy (Walky’s ex)

      There’s a lot of reasons to feel guilty here or ashamed maybe. Nothing truly “bad” except maybe the Sal stabbing thing. But who cares about all that crap?

    3. Brotato

      Amber and Dorothy have a complicated relationship, due to being good friends & the whole Amber-stabbing-Ryan thing. Walky and Dorothy broke up YESTERDAY.

      Remember, Danny and Ethan helf off on dating for a similar reason – both having dated Amber, & still being close (Ethan, at least).

      That’s not even getting into their respective self-esteem issues, or the Sal thing.

      1. Brotato

        … * held off

    4. Zee

      The fact that their entire friendship was based off of “we’re both terrible and shouldn’t get support, not even from each other” and that the whole garbage roof thing is super unhealthy

  46. Regalli

    … And if you need me, I will begin building a fort for when this inevitably crashes and burns.

    I mean like, I should be glad the twin thing isn’t depriving Amber of this relationship, and I would be… but I genuinely do not know how Sal or Walky will react when it comes out, and I don’t want that to get even messier. Also the grades thing. She did it once before they were a Thing, it’s before midterms so she’ll probably have to do it again and I’ve spent enough time academia-adjacent to make my soul physically recoil at the thought of this. It is a personal hang up of mine because academic integrity has been so drilled into me, but also Amber did this expressly against Walky’s wishes and what she did will get them both expelled. Regardless of what the grades are. The policies are that strict, and they are that strict because it’s the equivalent of forgery. (These policies are also tied in with plagiarism, and while you won’t be expelled for accidentally not citing a source or something, it still sends you to the honor board and your final grade will take a hit for that. It is that big a deal. <a href=“

    1. Regalli

      Goddamn it. Page reset and I lost like half my comment. Anyway, think plagiarism’s not that big a deal? Ask Filip Miucin. We teach students these things have severe consequences because it can literally cost you a career. So will forgery. So will hacking. So will fraud. And keeping him off probation is a big deal. Probation affects enrollment but also financial aid. So if Amber keeps hacking his grades and it comes out, we suddenly have the son of one of the dean’s friends having his grades fixed in a way that would impact said friend financially. That is ‘we expel someone before a scandal gets worse and a lot of people lose their jobs’ territory. And it will wreck Walky – betray his trust and his agency in that decision, shatter his relationships with his friends, and heavily strain the relationships with his family – even if Sal tried to cheat too, she’ll still be bitter, especially if Linda tries to twist this to make it Sal’s fault which is a pretty easy bet. All this assuming he doesn’t get expelled outright. Obviously Willis won’t let this situation come to pass, but the worst case scenario is THAT BAD. (And don’t think Walky could get out of it by saying he didn’t want her to – them hooking up makes that less believable to everyone else in universe, AND it casts an ulterior motive for the hookup to the outsiders.)

      Further, Amber’s doing this and breaking her code in the process because she thinks she’s a monster, and that is not a healthy mindset to be in. I don’t want Amber to stay in this mindset, and I don’t want Amber behaving this badly. I understand why she is, but I don’t want her to because NOTHING GOOD CAN COME OF THIS. This coming out and Walky feeling betrayed will probably break the same time as the holdup reveal at this rate, and that’ll be another trip for Amber towards rock bottom. I really don’t want to see rock bottom in this scenario. I keep thinking she hits it and things breathe before getting even worse.

      So. Fort. Figure I have enough time before the nuclear disaster we’re heading towards to make a really nice one, with towers and a moat and shit.

      1. poofdepoof

        UGH ngl I was feeling a small sense of security here because I’d forgotten about the grades-fixing thing… UGHHH

      2. Chris Phoenix

        How seriously plagiarism is taken depends TOTALLY on the institution.

        My ex-wife taught at Miami Dade College sometime around 2004.

        They were just starting their teaching-degree program, which is what made them Miami Dade College instead of Miami Dade Community College. So they needed all their students to pass. In other words, my ex was teaching future grade school teachers.

        Some of the students plagiarized. Blatantly – like, a quick Google search found whole paragraphs.

        She was not even allowed to flunk them. Why? She had not made them sign something saying they wouldn’t plagiarize.

        Next semester, she made them sign a no-plagiarism policy. Some of them plagiarized anyway. She was still not allowed to flunk them.

        She quit.

        1. ischemgeek

          The place I used to work was similar. A combo of that and safety culture issues was why I quit.

        2. Regalli

          That is a sucky, sucky situation. Totally sorry for that. All the ones I’ve been to were much harsher, but it sounds like that was also a fucked up culture bit too.

          That said I can’t imagine a school reacting well to hacking their systems like that in particular. Reminders of your security vulnerabilities particularly do not go over well.

  47. JessWitt

    If being in love is wrongly-wrong, they don’t wanna be rightly-right.

    Go for it, you lovey-dovely couple.

  48. Aprion

    i dub this relationship the S.S. DOOMED.

  49. Josh Spicer

    I am absolutely serious when I say I want these two to stay together.

    Walky/Joyce might be the original, but in the context of DoA, I want these two to never end.

  50. abysswatcher1993

    Let’s enjoy garbage ship while it last, because if this comic (and Homestuck, and Questionable Content, and El Goonish Shive, etc.) has taught me something is that relationships aren’t a fixed thing in a story and in real life. Who know what will happen in the future.

    -Danny, Ethan and Mike in a poly gay relationship?
    -Joe settling up after hundreds of casual flings?
    -Joyce experimenting with Dorothy?
    -Sal getting pregnant of Danny because of a fling?
    -Ruth leaving Billie to have a health relationship with the director of the college newspaper?
    -Roz becoming a porn star?
    -Mary losing her virginity before marriage and hating herself?
    -Mike seducing all men in campus so straight women and gay men can’t have them?

    1. BBCC

      Definitely no pregnancies because at the rate this comic goes, whoever it is will be pregnant FOREVER. Even noticing the signs and getting an abortion would take forever.

      1. JBento

        Fun fact: everyone in this comic who has ever had sex is actually pregnant right now, it’s just that not enough time has passed for anyone to notice.

        Yes, even the ones who’ve only had gay sex.

        Yes, even the dudes.

        1. thejeff

          Actually, even the ones who haven’t had sex. 🙂

        2. JBento

          So many Jesuses in 9 months, comic-time.

    2. Zoe

      Mike licking all the cookies to claim them as his own.

    3. Emily

      Danny deserves so much better than any amount of interaction with Mike greater than zero. Danny deserves reparations for any time he’s had to interact with Mike in the past.

  51. TheGrammarLegionary

    I ship garbage – wait… I need a tanker ship now…

  52. Queen Anthai

    This is every relationship I have ever had

  53. Varius

    I like “Wamber.”

  54. mrnoidea

    IT’S TIME FOR AN ENCORE UP HERE ON GARBAGE ROOOO– oh wait were on the stairs nevermind

    And so the ship sails on. Many thought it was poorly built, ill-prepared, but the romantic vessel has a strange, what d’ya call, *life* to it. A life that brings both hope and fear into the hearts of many. Its crew is passionate and determined. To find what, you may ask, astonished readers of the world?

    Garbage.

  55. somedude

    i want to die but no one wants to kill me

    1. mrnoidea

      …Uh, you okay?

      1. JoeCovenant

        seconded

        1. somedude

          no but thats ok

  56. Nobody

    Well that was predictable

  57. Clif

    Garbage ship is the best ship.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      It’s a good ship, but my own favorite is still Lucy and Ken; unless somebody’s already named that ship, I’m going with Adorkables. (Nerds need love too!)

  58. Fire_daws

    *Squeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!*

  59. AutobotDen

    I’m thinking back to that flash drive… what if Shit-Stain-Blaine has the flash drive that would condemn Amber?

    1. Inahc

      Amber hasn’t been seen worrying about a missing flash drive, so I’m hoping it’s something from the other building, put together specifically for Blaine. Bonus points if they stuffed it full of viruses and a keylogger 🙂

  60. BenRG

    I think it says a lot about what a fundamentally good person Amber O’Malley is that she is still troubled by what she did to Sal during a breakdown many years ago.

    1. Emily

      If she was a good person she’d be doing something about the danger Amazi-Girl presents to the people around her instead of wallowing on a roof and pretending there’s nothing to be done about it. If she were a good person she wouldn’t have changed Walky’s grades at all and especially not against his express wishes risking his expulsion. Amber CAN be a good person but it’s far more a matter of your actions than it is your feelings about your actions. Self-flagellation doesn’t make you a good person especially if it’s instead of actually trying to make amends with the people you wrong or improve your behaviour.

      1. BenRG

        Sometimes your overwhelmingly negative view of most of the characters makes interaction with you… difficult.

        1. Emily

          I have negative views of people who are doing negative shit. I like people who don’t endanger the lives of who knows how many people by throwing caltrops in the middle of the street. I like a lot of characters I just generally am more likely to comment when someone is doing stupid shit I don’t like.

        2. thejeff

          If only she’d just left well enough alone and let him get away with Becky.

        3. Emily

          Literally the only reason Becky wasn’t seriously injured or killed by her ridiculous escalation of the situation was sheer dumb luck and a very generous dramatization of how physics works. The car fucking flipped after nearly being t-boned by a semi because her shredding it’s tires caused it to spin out. There was no reason she couldn’t have provided the police with his license plate number and location and let them handle it instead of engaging in insanely dangerous “heroics” that nearly got everyone killed and endangered everyone else on the road. Like there are options besides “do nothing” and “risk everyone’s lives on stupid action hero stunts in high speed traffic.”

        4. Blanche Quizno

          You’re right – it made for an exciting segment of the comic, but in the end, Sal was spot on: She needed to STOP before someone got killed. Sal’s made this observation at least twice now with regard to Amazi-Girl.

          I’m just wondering where Amber got her madd gymnastical skillz…

        5. thejeff

          Right. Because she’s a superhero. Or at least an “action hero”.

          Sure, she could have called the police and given a description of the car and at some point once they’d sorted through all the 911 calls coming in about the shooter and questioned Joyce (assuming she also hadn’t run off in pursuit) they could have started searching for the car, but it would be further away by then. If they every found it and them, there’s still a good chance it would have ended in a shootout, with at least Ross and quite possibly Becky dead. He was prepared for that.

          Yes, it wasn’t realistic. She’s not a realistic character. If she wasn’t an action hero, she wouldn’t have put anyone at risk because she never would have caught the car or would have just been street pizza when it took that first corner with her hooked to it on the skate board. (All assuming she’d survived all the previous stunts and fights she’d been in without spending the rest of her college career in traction.)

        6. Zee

          Okay, first off, i agree with you there about interactions with her being difficult, usually just seeing her avatar makes my blood pressure spike. However, she does have a point here.
          While i dont think amber is a bad person, people arent black and white, and to me it takes a lot to be considered a fundamentally bad person, i wouldn’t say shes a good person either. I think she wants to be a good person, and i think she could be if she just WENT TO FUCKING THERAPY HOLY SHIT. However, using vigilantism to violently take your issues out on people you deem bad enough, and using it to stalk the girl *you stabbed*. I have a very staunch policy of i don’t care what youve been through, i dont care what mental issues you have, none of those things is an excuse to hurt people or be an asshole. And while she doesn’t actively excuse jer actions, other people do. In fact i saw some people saying Blaine and her mental state excuses the fact that she plunged a knife into an unarmed, unsuspecting person. Feeling guilty about doing that is, imo, a *very* low bar for being a good person. You’d have to be a psychopath not the feel guilty. And like Emily said, even saving becky was uh, poor judgement. You cant convince me no body died in all that chaos. I dont like cops but giving over his licence plate number would have been better.
          Again i dont think shes a bad person but i wouldn’t call her good either

    2. Alanari

      I’d say it would be deeply worrisome if stabbing a person didn’t leave a scar in her soul. No human should be able to forget forcing a knife through another person’s hand, no matter the circumstances.

  61. Abbefaria

    Maybe in the Slipshine Walky will go…dumpster diving. ^_^

    1. Bagge

      BOOOOO…. heh, OK, it was pretty clever.

  62. Dev Non

    Walky Performs Another Sex

  63. Mistergray

    IT’S TRUE! IT’S TRUE! THE SHIP IS TRUE!!!

  64. Stoodmuffin

    I. Love that last panel.

  65. Rose

    I feel like Danny is going to….lets say be in a bad mood, when he finds out not one, but now two of his ex girlfriends have gone from him to Walky.
    Will he drop the hat and music and take up Tacos and Mcnuggets?
    ONLY TIME WILL TELL

    1. BenRG

      I think that Danny will just ignore it. He’s enjoying being fancy-free and Sal’s best friend too much right now.

      1. Emily

        I will be so incredibly bored if we do a whole tired jealousy plot with Danny. Like let the guy have some peace he’s a good egg he deserves it.

      2. jeffepp

        He has become the cliche gay best friend, hasn’t he?

  66. NinjaNick

    Garbage romance.

  67. JoeCovenant

    Red Panel Garbage…?

  68. Chris Phoenix

    Yeah, I was thinking this morning: How will Walky react when he finds out that Amber is the person who stabbed his sister in the hand?

    I almost went and posted it on yesterday’s comic comments, just so I could say “Called it!” And then today’s comic raises the issue (though we don’t yet know what happens when he finds out), so I don’t get to look clever anymore.

    Oh well. Nicely played, DYW. Now we get to be in suspense for however-many months until Walky does find out.

    1. BenRG

      A lot depends on how it comes out. If it comes out in context, I imagine that Walky will be too busy hugging his crying unexpected girlfriend and trying to tell her that she can’t feel guilty because she was having a bit of a mental break at the time.

      If it comes out in a way out of context, I can imagine him having a panic attack and asking Billie whether it is his curse to always end up finding crazy girls. Billie will respond that crazy girls are easy and that he should make the most of it.

      1. Emily

        I don’t think there’s any context in which I’d comfort someone for telling me they stabbed my sister but then Walky’s not exactly brother of the year.

        1. Fart Captor

          Amber was just a kid, goaded into it by her abusive father after an already traumatic ordeal. There’s plenty of room for Walky to both love his sister AND empathize with Amber

        2. Emily

          I just do not accept that as sufficiently mitigating circumstances for inflicting serious violence on someone. Especially since not only did she not apologize she has since stalked and harassed Sal and tried to goad her into a fight so she could inflict even more violence on her.

        3. Zee

          For once, i agree with Emily. Also- lets *not* say “oh no its okay, you were having a mental break at the time, you cant be held responsible.” Cuz… That could be a slippery slope. “Oh you shouldn’t feel responsible for shooting up your school, you were having a mental break at the time.” “You shouldn’t feel guilty about beating your girlfriend that one time, you were having a mental break.”
          And to add an extra layer of context i guess, and make it feel less strawman-y, lets say the people in those examples were freshly 13, and grew up in an abusive household where they were constantly goaded to be violent. Still doesn’t excuse anything.

        4. ego

          “slippery slope” is a really bad kind of argument. basically, the construction is “something different that sounds similar is bad, so… yeah, bad”

          amber is obliged to face the consequences of her actions. but a full accounting of those actions and their context probably doesn’t leave an insurmountable burden of redemption. i tend to think a heart-to-heart with sal would leave both of them immediately better off, if a little emotionally raw.

        5. Regalli

          Yeah, agreed. Sal would probably respond to it with some pain and anger (she did get stabbed, and then AG clearly had it out for her years later still,) but also finding it explained a lot about her behavior. And I think if Sal found out how bad Blaine is (either during it, after processing it, or if Blaine reenters the plot before this comes out and the reveal is separate and after) she would have some sympathy for that, particularly once she had time to process the event on its own. I don’t know if a friendship or full forgiveness would ever be in the cards for them after that, but if they did it could be the basis of a really strong understanding and that could help them both a lot.

        6. Fart Captor

          While I agree that harassing and attacking Sal was probably the worst thing she’s ever done, Amazi-Girl HAS apologized for that, and Sal accepted it.

          Also, @Zee: no, I’m not saying that it’s OKAY that Amber stabbed Sal because of her mental state or age. But while it doesn’t totally absolve her of responsibility, it’s also not something that should be ignored entirely.

          I’m not saying it was okay, or that Amber shouldn’t feel remorse over it, or even that Sal or Walky wouldn’t be justified if they weren’t willing to forgive her or accept an apology.

          I hope she’ll be able to be able to actually give that apology and that they will forgive her, but I’m wouldn’t blame them if they don’t.

          Literally, all I was saying is that given the circumstances around tree robbery, Walky accepting such an apology would not conflict with him loving his sister unless it was a really half-assed apology that didn’t accept any responsibility for her actions

  69. Wayne Farmer

    “If loving you is wrong, I don’t wanna be right.”

  70. C.T Phipps

    I think it’s less Danny’s reaction than Dorothy’s. It’s doubly appropriate because, “You threw away it. Don’t get to claim it.”

  71. Bunk

    New name of the Strip:
    OK Walky! Let’s be Garbage

  72. Emily

    Amber if you stabbed someone’s loved one in the past you’ve got to tell them that prior to any hanky panky.

    1. Bagge

      That’s the rule

      1. Emily

        It’s not one that usually comes up but I feel like it’s reasonable

      2. thejeff

        There should also probably be a rule about mentioning your other personality that takes over when you’re asleep before sleeping with someone.

        I guess you can have hanky-panky before that, as long as you don’t non-euphemistically sleep with them.

        1. BenRG

          Especially as I’m starting to think that Amazi-Girl may be bisexual and attracted to Sal.

        2. jeffepp

          Starting? Sal was making a booty call on the roof.

        3. Emily

          There’s a lot of stuff Amber should tell Walky that she’ll probably avoid until it creates a mess.

    2. CJ

      I think asking ” hey, there’s some stuff that might be a serious obstacle to us having a relationship, do you want to talk about it?”, is the most should be obligated to. Though I’m not even sure about that. Amber would tell anyone she’s bad news as a partner.
      The line between giving someone the option to decide for themselves or make them responsible for every hurt they get later “because you told them beforehand” is rather thin.

      1. thejeff

        I don’t really get the “make them responsible” part. Would it be better for them not to know?

        The DID thing he really does need to know before it goes too much farther. It’s completely unfair to let him walk into that unprepared. It was a large part of what torpedo’d her relationship with Danny and the divide was much less pronounced then.

        1. BBCC

          Also – AG might become very upset if she’s no longer sharing memories with Amber and suddenly Walky’s in her bed and neither of them know why (since Walky thought it was just Amber).

        2. thejeff

          Definitely something I’ve been worried about.

      2. Luna

        It’s not about making someone else responsible for your issues. If you have information that you could reasonably expect to be a dealbreaker for someone, not telling them about it is preventing them from making a fully informed decision. At best, it’s dishonest and gives them reason to mistrust you going forward, at worst it’s a serious violation that invalidates any conesnt given beforehand.

        Granted, in this situation, I don’t necessarily think Walky would take things that hard, but that’s not just something that should be taken as a given.

      3. CJ

        Well, I did start a relationship with someone with DID knowing of it beforehand. Me knowing about it was her way to use me for her healing, expect me to deal with an alter that popped up because I was so safe to be around. And it was always “you knew what you were getting into”. No, even though I knew before that she was DID, I didn’t know what I was getting into.

        1. CJ

          any alter, that should have read. Yes, im still angry about having been used, and having let myself be used.
          Telling someone “I have an anger management problem” like Amber might be expected to do – this is something she knows about herself, I don’t think she ever heard of DID – can mean two different things:
          I have this problem and when you start something with me
          A) run like hell if you see the following symptoms, because I literally don’t have control of what I’m doing
          B) because you said you love me, you must live with what I do to you when I lose it.

        2. thejeff

          That really does suck and you’ve every right to be angry.
          I guess I can see how it could be used that way, though I wouldn’t really have thought of it, not having dealt with someone like that.

          Still, would you really rather just not know? And be stumbling around blind in the minefield?

          Amber might or might not know the terminology – she did tell Richard that she disassociates and fights crime. Regardless, Walky does know she’s Amazi-Girl, she could try to tell him what that actually means, even if not in proper psychiatric terms.

        3. CJ

          I don’t know how to put it. In a formal setting, the time to talk about things like that would be between meeting for the first time and making or accepting a marriage proposal. Before the first or second kiss seems too early for me, because kissing is something you might do on impulse. It’s not a promise of anything. When you get to know the person better and start feeling like “yes, I want to be with this person” , then is the time to talk about gritty stuff.
          Else you’ll end up entrusting your secrets to people that you find out you don’t want to be around after the third make out, and I don’t think that’s safe for people with problems or the people suddenly trusted with gritty stuff.

        4. thejeff

          Yeah, first makeouts are probably too early. The proper time for it is somewhere between there and when they run headlong into it for the first time.

          It’s not like her not talking about it all with Danny kept it from coming up and causing problems.

    3. TemperaryObsessor

      I feel like Amber should actually tell Sal before Walky if she wants to be Sal’s friend. I mean Amber would have every right to talk to Walky first but explaining her crime against Sal to Walky would lead to Walky finding out about Sal’s crime against her.

  73. ValdVin

    I like Amber’s hold on Walky’s hoodie in the last panel.

    1. Blanche Quizno

      I liked that detail as well.

  74. Gojira

    Hey, you’re not on the roof!

  75. hof1991

    Amber’s super powers are killing spiders, hacking computer systems and impulsive sex. Oh wait, impulsive sex is just a power of most of the cast.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Being a teenager with raging hormones is a power now?

      1. Bathymetheus

        Yes, but it’s not one they wield. Like the joke about Russia, it wields them.

  76. Dex

    Usul no longer needs the roof!

  77. darkoneko

    Dumbing of (garb)age

    1. darkoneko

      Dumping of age.

  78. Sock_V

    They’re not on the roof. THEY ARE NOT ON THE ROOF!

    1. Griffin

      They’re in the roof stairwell, surely that counts.

  79. Sammi

    **garbage intensifies**

  80. Blanche Quizno

    SCOW! As in “garbage ship”

  81. Reltzik

    Okay. For a while I’ve been on record as friend-shipping these two and being kinda open to it turning into a romance-ship. (Or just sexy-times-ship.)

    But now, I’m all on board the ship.

    Yes, it’s likely to end badly. Yes, there are a lot of seeds of its own self-destruction built into it.

    But most relationships fail, and even those that succeed start off likely to fail. That alone is no reason not to go forward. The key tests are whether the relationship will be good while it lasts, whether it’s likely to cause harm to the people in it, and whether the people in it will be better off for having loved each other if it does end.

    This definitely looks like it will be good while it lasts. While Amber hacking Walky’s grades is a worrisome, overall I don’t think it will be harmful for them. (At least, it wouldn’t be if this wasn’t DoA.)

    But I think the biggest plus this ship has going for it is the capacity for both characters to grow.

    Walky came out of his relationship with Dorothy having grown quite a bit. He no longer feels completely outclassed and intimidated by pretty women. He’s able to talk to someone he’s attracted to. But he also came out with a bit of damage. Without meaning to, Dorothy set a bar for him that he literally has no hope of clearing, and his response has been to give up on goals in general. He ended up bottling his fears and insecurities as secret shames to be hidden from everyone, and they ate away at him from the inside, causing him real damage. The foundation of this ship is that both of them can be open with each other about the secrets they normally keep bottled up. That’s something Walky definitely needs right now.

    But more importantly, IMO, is the Amber side of this. Real healing is happening for her. Not all of it is part of her budding relationship with Walky, of course. The whole reason they were able to start talking honestly with him is because she was starting to confront her Amazi-Girl alter and the unhealthy relationship between them. But the two elements — healing and unpacking with Walky — are reinforcing each other. This is real therapy for her, and we’re seeing the results.

    Bottom line, both of them are becoming more self-accepting in their human failings, and that’s very healthy. When (if) the relationship ends, I can see them continuing on in life much better off for having been in it.

    So yeah, I’m finally fully on board.

    1. thejeff

      I don’t really see the healing for Amber. I guess the potential is there and she’s talked about about her feelings, but nothing about her actual secrets. In general, she’s in worse shape than she’s been in before in the comic – complete split with her Amazi-Girl side, deciding she’s completely a monster, that Amazi-Girl’s failed: “There’s no salvaging me. You lost. I’m irredeemable. I am garbage.”
      I mean, she’s smiling here, but she hasn’t even started to deal with any of it or open up about it.

      My take on Walky and Dorothy’s relationship is much more positive than yours. He’s upset about the breakup of course, but I don’t think the relationship itself was damaging.

      1. Reltzik

        She HAS let slip a lot of her secrets. For starters, she revealed that she’s (sorta) AG, and that’s a big one. She shared all her concerns with him about her relationship with Faz, which… isn’t exactly a big secret, but it’s the sort of self-evaluated failing which she’s tended to bottle up as part of how awful she is rather than share with her friends.

        Meanwhile, while Walky isn’t changing her mind about being garbage, he is normalizing it. Everyone’s flawed, and it’s okay to be flawed. You don’t have to be a paragon to be okay. Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien.

        Regarding Walky/Dorothy, I do think that the relationship was a net positive for him. But I lso see ways in which he came out of it with bad self-esteem issues, and Amber’s helping him confront those specifically.

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