164

Pals
Posted on September 23, 2021 by David M Willis

164 thoughts on “Pals”

  1. Schpoonman

    DAAAMN, GURL. GET YOU SOME.

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Suspicious of what’s happening? Collect more data!

  2. Ana Chronistic

    EYE TWINKLES

    can’t be real, nope

    1. Switchchris23

      I love how the eye twinkles look like music notes.

      1. RassilonTDavros

        Nice catch, I hadn’t noticed that! They look like dotted-eighth notes, I think.

        No clue if that was intentional or not but it makes perfect sense for these two.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      “Even ah’m a little suspicious.”

      As heartwarming as this strip is, I died a little inside when I read that. It really shows how hurt she’s been over the years that she genuinely can’t believe that something nice would happen in her life with no strings attached, at least not without some part of her refusing to accept it.

      1. He Who Abides

        Willis is good at capturing people’s damage through seemingly innocuous dialogue, it would seem.

      2. Oz

        It’s also kinda sad that Danny still doesn’t totally believe Sal’s into him. Sal’s so used to being put on a pedestal, and Danny is so used to being uncool and not see himself as attractive… I’ve been shipping them since they first became friends but damn if they don’t have issues to help each other through… It’s nice that Sal can be vulnerable with him, and Danny… Well, he seems more confident with her than with most people actually. And it’s gonna be good for him to be with someone who accepts his love… lI mean his relationship with Amazigirl was mostly just sexual, Amber had too much self hatred, and Ethan was out-of-bounds… Meanwhile Sal had a lot of people lusting over her but I don’t think she ever dated anyone who actually cared about her…

        Sal and Danny are super duper lonely and have been disconnected from their best friends and totally need what each other has to give… I’m not sure if that spells a good or a bas relationship but this being a willis comic I’m betting this relationship is not gonna be all that simple

    3. Needfuldoer

      Aww, they can wait for the other shoe to drop together! c:

      (Hopefully it won’t, they just think it will.)

  3. King Daniel

    I sensed a great disturbance in the Force. As if hundreds of readers cried out in delight, and were suddenly moved to comment. I believe something wonderful has happened.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      **shrugs**
      Meh.

    2. eh, whatever

      ^_^

    3. Keulen

      I’m happy about it, yeah. But I’m also still worried that Willis will sink this ship soon.

      1. Rose by Any Other Name

        Willis has sunk ships before, only for them to rise and sail again. JoJo being the most obvious example.
        We might well see Danny and Sal sink only to come back later.

  4. Varangian

    *M. Bison voice* Y E S !!

    1. Chronos

      *George Takei voice* Ohhhhhhh myyyyyyy….

      1. Casi

        *homer voice* Woohoo!

        1. I'm Batman

          *Data voice* YES!

          *fistpump* Hmph!

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          *Darth Vader/J.E. Jones* “nnNOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!”

        3. Roborat

          *Lisa Jones voice* “Gary?”

  5. Thag Simmons

    Well, can’t wait to see what sort of calamity befalls the Joe/Joyce ship in order to balance this out.

    1. Spencer

      Well he’s currently backsliding into his old persona because he had a dose of the feels yesterday, and Sarah’s sister is right there.

      1. newlland(Henryvolt)

        A chill just ran down my spine because I actually like Liz.

      2. Radiance

        Your avvie is how I feel reading your comment

        1. Spencer

          It just looks like Susie is dabbing the more I see it.

  6. Twig the Troll

    *cries rainbows*

  7. brionl

    Yeah, still haven’t ruled out an Incident at Owl Creek Bridge/Danny’s dead yet.

    1. BarerMender

      An Occurrence

  8. nothri

    Well, I guess we’d better do it again, then. And then some more after that. Only way to be absolutely certain.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Hypotheses need to be repeatedly tested to demonstrate veracity.

      1. eh, whatever

        Bingo.

      2. pararell spade

        Okay, that’s hot

      3. Decidedly Orthogonal

        They also need to be falsifiable. So we need to be able to demonstrate that Sal and Danny are not ever kissing again. To maintain verifiability, they’ll have to keep kissing to push back claims they won’t ever do it again.

        Also, because it seems to make them happy.

  9. Stephen Bierce

    *another passing car plays The Steve Miller Band’s “Rock’n Me” from its sound system*

    1. Screwball

      Sure you didn’t just drive past playing the 1st song, then turned around & drove past again playing the 2nd song?

      1. Stephen Bierce

        I’m not even in the same time zone as Indiana!

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Sure it wasn’t the same car passing, turning around and coming back and then playing the other song? Maybe these musical drivers forgot something?

          Also, this is becoming suspicious how the cars are staying out of frame in every shot.

      2. Plain Marie

        Stephen is versatile that way.
        I approve of these drive by tunes.

      3. Needfuldoer

        He upped his game to hacking the local radio stations’ playlists, so every car that drives by contributes to the effect.

  10. McMuffin

    My heart

  11. Adam

    I may be emotionally unavailable but goddamn if I won’t get giddy for these two fictional characters

  12. BBCC

    Damn you, Willis, these ‘noise violations’ tickets are getting fucking EXPENSIVE. 😛 Honestly, you’d think after “Flyin’ To The Red” my neighbours would be USED to me screaming about this comic (as opposed to any of my other fandoms that make me scream) but nooooo.

    1. He Who Abides

      I just got a pair of arm-punches for waking up both Mrs. Abides and Ms. Abides with my girly squeal of delightmanly noise of ship-fulfillment celebration. Worth it.

  13. powerpowerpow

    This is the first time in a long time that a comic has made me audibly go “AWWWWWWWWWWWW”

    1. Diner Kinetic

      Yeah I think I might’ve actually giggled, sal’s tiny smile at the end is just perfect

  14. Cmasta1992

    LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO

  15. Sambo

    The dialogue makes me feel like this is low-key a reprise of Joyce and Jacob’s kiss

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      Are you worried Willis is going to be like “Sike it’s not happening” in the next strip or so?

      1. SilverLining

        god how fucking funny would it be if it actually was a dream

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          I’d be pissed, laugh it off a little sure but I’d be pissed.

    2. ValdVin

      “We’ve barely ridden bikes together. It’s not like you k-“

      1. Sambo

        Exactly!! Both are like:

        “I have to tell them about us”
        “Why? We’ve barely done anyth-”
        *interrupted by smooch*

  16. Jamie

    Wow. That is the exact place Sal dragged Amazi-Girl to after the bridge, isn’t it? Geez.

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      I doubt it. She was seeking cover, although she *did* stay beside the creek… so, maybe? She was very clearly wanting to avoid the cops. I would’ve figured she’d either be fully in the bushes or further downstream around a bend. But /shrugs/, iuhnoh.

  17. Kyrik Michalowski

    Words cannot express how much I love this. Winter is already my favorite time of year and this just seals the deal.

  18. Grimey

    Can someone play ‘Hold On’ by En Vogue for me?

  19. newlland(Henryvolt)

    I’m glad to see Sal Being considerate enough towards her friends feelings about this stuff. Even though there isn’t much to worry about since they’re the one who threw out the suggestion they hook up.

  20. Sirksome

    Love the kiss but can’t agree with Sal at all. Amber/AG is the last person who has the right to know anything about this relationship. She did wrong by both of them! That’s bullshit.

    1. He Who Abides

      Hard agree.

    2. Spencer

      It wouldn’t kill her to say “yo I’m dating your ex” to her friend.

      It’s not like Amber’s gonna say no, or if she did have the capacity to stop Sal.

    3. DailyBrad

      I don’t think she *has* to tell them, but considering they’re on a roller derby team together, she probably ought to. Amber already suggested Sal date Danny in the past, but obviously, I understand it may be more complex on AG’s end since that doesn’t mean she’d be on board. Still, not like AG did jack shit about Amber dumping Danny when she was having Blaine tendencies. Bit late to cry foul now.

      1. Spencer

        That actually was AG who dumped Danny.

        The actual meat of the conversation is that she was verbally abusive to Danny and there’s no getting around that, I do wish she’d apologize for it but A. it’s been like five years now and B. Amber doesn’t apologize for things because she’s too busy using it as fuel to tell herself she’s inherently terrible.

        1. He Who Abides

          Amber ended Danny’s romantic relationship with AG. AG told Danny to fuck out of Amber’s life because he was friendly with Sal.

        2. Spencer

          Yeah that happened but then when Amber confronted Sal at the rally and immediately turned face (because Amber is incapable of processing anything other than binary thinking) Amber started blaming herself and that he was better off and all that.

        3. thejeff

          I could be wrong, but I don’t think Amber was there at the rally at all. That was all AG.

        4. thejeff

          Wait. What?

          How did Amber end Danny’s relationship with AG? That whole conversation was AG, though not in costume. Amber saw Sal, lost control to AG, and flipped out at Danny.
          Which might have been enough to end the relationship by itself, but I think the actual trigger was Danny telling AG that she should take a break and that he liked Amber more. Which he obviously meant in terms of not doing dangerous superhero stuff and not caring about the glamour of dating a superhero, but in the context of two separate people is pretty rough.

        5. He Who Abides

          Way back when, Danny kissed Amber because he (and we) didn’t know that “you date Amazi-Girl, not Amber” wasn’t just LARPing. Amber’s reaction to that is where I’ve always considered DannyxAG as a romantic relationship to have ended.

        6. Spencer

          I mean yeah it was their last interaction before the actual breakup. Safe to say the goose had been cooked at that point.

          Amber’s not okay and hasn’t been okay for like eight years now since she beat the hell out of her dad that one time.

        7. Clif

          And all of this happened last semester, not five years ago.

          Keep the timelines straight.

        8. Spencer

          Aight.

          It’s been like four months now.

        9. Needfuldoer

          Roughly five of our years ago.

          Five of their in-universe years ago was the whole robby-stabby incident.

        10. Decidedly Orthogonal

          “the whole robby-stabby incident”

          I couldn’t have put it better myself.

    4. Reltzik

      Without comment on the question of AG deserving to know… telling her is probably the route most likely to avoid a sitcom-turned-slasher-movie blowup.

      1. Sirksome

        AG doesn’t have the privilege of blowing up at this if she even would. She had her blowup when she broke up with Danny just for knowing Sal. For her to even be upset would be incredibly hypocritical and that’s before you even factor in her smooching on Walky.

        1. Jamie

          Ah, yes. Because feeling hypocritical definitely stops people from blowing up.

        2. Reltzik

          And Amber/Amazi-Girl, in particular, have never had trouble processing negative emotions in a healthy, rational, even-handed manner.

        3. Needfuldoer

          Maise was resentful about Sal “taking” Danny in the lead-up to their fight at the DeSanto rally.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/two-2/

          She was also angry with Danny for even speaking to Sal. She expected him to just automatically know the comic book narrative she built up in her mind (and Danny’s misunderstanding Amazi-Girl’s nature only fed into it). There was some strong Anakin and Obi-Wan on Mustafar, “she turned you against me” energy in that conversation.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/whothatis/

          Even if she doesn’t feel that way anymore, some of that feeling may bubble up to the surface again. I think it’s better if they just tell Amaziber up front instead of letting her find out at an inopportune time.

        4. thejeff

          Basically that last bit. I don’t know if she has any “right” to be told, whatever that means, but they’re if they don’t actively hide it from her, she’ll find out pretty soon. Telling her is simpler all around.

          I wonder who they’ll tell though – Amber or AG? I think they’re sharing enough now that they’d only have to tell one, but the initial reaction is likely to be different.

        5. Sirksome

          I don’t know. There’s something gross to me about their relationship needing to be run by AG/Ambs. Especially since they never gave Sal or Danny that level of respect. I get that Sal is being a considerate friend but this is a little too much.

        6. thejeff

          No idea what you’re talking about really.
          Should they hide it? Or just wait to blindside her with it?

        7. Sirksome

          The fact that Sal is even thinking about AG in this scenario or feeling even a hint of responsiblity to inform her is the problem. The first two panels specifically. I just have to wonder why Sal cares when AG never did? It feels like a double standard. I approve of Sal doing whatever she needs to in order to feel secure in herself and her relationships, but this feels so unfair when AG/Amber never really showed to care much about them based on previous actions. It’s not about blindsiding or hiding it, or trying to get one over on AG because it’s not about her at all.

          But admittedly Amber’s actions toward both Sal and Danny first semester are a huge soar spot for me.

        8. thejeff

          They’ve kind of become friends since the worst of it though. It’s kind of misleading to say Amber/AG never cared. There are plenty of examples of AG/Amber being awful to Sal from the early days, but their relationship has changed since then.

        9. Needfuldoer

          I don’t think they “need her approval” necessarily, but it’s best if they’re upfront about it given her previous patterns of “you know what you did” negative thinking.

        10. zee

          Man this thread is a great reminder of why AG is the worst

  21. Yotomoe

    I guess you’ve got to do it like…3 or 4 more times for me to confirm it truly happened.
    Or y’know like, one really long time.

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      Maybe take a whole night to themselves to sort things out if need be.

      1. Keulen

        Obviously they have to take as much time as they need to make sure it actually happened and is not just a dream.

  22. Joe Moose

    Here is hoping that this one time is that one time in the comic that will end up good or at least [much] less shitty than whatever plot is driving this comic.

    1. Spencer

      wut

    2. Delicious Taffy

      lol ok

    3. Clif

      Yeah, because Becky and Dina never happened.

      1. Needfuldoer

        If Becky keeps bottling up her repressed fundie horniness shame, she’s going to spontaneously combust.

    4. Thag Simmons

      Can you restate that? I’m not entirely sure what you’re trying to say and I would rather not guess

    5. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Keep the cynics guessing Joe. Your words convey a sense of hope and well meaning and so I will apply a sense of hope and well meaning to my reading of your words.

  23. Spencer

    See what I like most about this strip is that Sal is just as giddy and excited as Danny is.

    Usually this character dynamic kind of plays it up like the dude is the only one who feels things and the girl is just cool and aloof and basically too good for him but she hangs around anyway because plot.

    But, no actually, Sal’s super giddy and starstruck too. She kissed a boy she has a crush on! It’s actually a big deal to her!

    Like it’s so weird to talk about it like this but that’s what happens when you get deluged in cliches all the time, but here it is. Sal gets to not only unwind around Danny, she gets to be someone she’s not around anyone else. She gets to be jubilant and excitable and express herself around someone who is a constant dependable rock who’s basically incapable of tripping over her trauma buttons. Right now they’re perfect for each other and Danny’s sort of the more put together of the two which is a total flip of their usual dynamic, and for Sal that means she has someone she can trust completely and utterly and you’re goddamn right that’s gonna make her as happy as can be.

    1. DailyBrad

      Yeah, Sal rarely lets herself be openly excited, but here she is, letting herself want good things for herself and making that happen. That’s huge for her, and definitely counter to the Cool Girl image she often projects or is forced on her by others.

      I’m glad Danny seems to be on the same frequency as her about all of this, and is getting her to put her cards on the table by being patient and not pressuring her.

    2. BBCC

      I don’t mind the cool, aloof girl in love because they still usually express adorable things in their own ways and quiet affection is very cute too.

      That said – Sal IS more excitable and it is so so SO goddamn cute to see.

  24. newlland(Henryvolt)

    And to think these two met because Billie managed to convince Danny that Sal was secretly his girlfriends alter ego at the time.

    1. King Daniel

      Billie is an excellent matchmaker confirmed…?

      1. newlland(Henryvolt)

        Unintentionally I guess so?

        1. Thag Simmons

          Hooked up Ruth and Jason too. Personally, hoping she goes three-for-three and inadvertently sets Daisy up with Alice.

  25. Skater Girl

    She did, but she and Sal are friends now and whether she deserves it or not, the general social custom is to inform a friend if you intend to date their ex.

  26. ADLegend21

    YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!

  27. Tan

    Dumbing of Age Book 12: I Mean In Like Which Way

  28. Dr. T

    I am liking that this pairing is happening and might actually be a healthy thing for both of them. That’s also the complete opposite of their dynamic in the Walkyverse, where Sal’s pretty toxic and Danny sort of encourages it.

    1. BenRG

      Sal in the Walkyverse is a completely different character. She’s severely mentally ill due to continual abuse from all sides to the point where I don’t think she’s capable of a healthy relationship.

  29. vlademir1

    This makes me very happy. We never really got to see Sal/Danny be a couple in the Walkyverse and here they’ve had this sort of chemistry that just makes sense to me practically since their first meeting.

  30. Bagge

    Danny needs more kisses, is what he’s saying.

    1. Spencer

      It’s a foolproof plan: Is Danny about to say something dumb? Kiss him.

      Or just wrap him up in duct tape. Either or.

      1. Reltzik

        I feel like at least one of those is providing positive reinforcement for bad behavior.

        1. Spencer

          Training your Danny is hard but rewarding work.

      2. He Who Abides

        Do NOT use duct tape. It can cause some serious irritation on skin, and is a bongo to get off without leaving residue behind

        1. thejeff

          Unless you need to stop an malevolent Alien in an abductee’s body. In that case, go right ahead.

        2. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Or warts.

        3. Spencer

          You sound like an expert and I would like to know more for Reasons.

        4. He Who Abides

          Long story short, Mrs. Abides enjoys being restrained at times, and experimentation has been done. Duct tape was used as a substitute on a trip where we decided not to pack any equipment, and the experiment was deemed a failure.

        5. BBCC

          It can also rip the shit out of your skin.

  31. Delicious Taffy

    [definitelynotbitter] Wow, it’s amazing how incredibly horribly abusively manipulative Danny’s bee. He even tricked her into kissing him and acting like she likes him as a defense mechanism from his overwhelming terror and mistreatment! [/bitter]

    Nah, but for real, these two are adorable and I’m Here For It.

  32. NinjaNick

    Aw, yeah!

  33. BenRG

    Frankly, I’m not sure if Amber and Maizie would be jealous or start down the stereotypical superhero self-loathing “they’re better off without me” mental spiral.

    1. Jamie

      See, I thought you typoed “Marcie” at first and got confused about the superhero thing. The jealous part could still track, though.

    2. Decidedly Orthogonal

      Or… and hear me out because I know it’s preposterous, but maybe, maaaaybeee Amber/AG could just be happy Danny and Sal have found some joy in the world.

      1. zee

        Yeah no its hard to believe

      2. thejeff

        Probably that, tied in with the self-loathing, at least on Amber’s part.

        Didn’t she actually suggest they get together at one point before the time skip?

  34. Reltzik

    Panel 5:

    InceptionTop.GIF

  35. darkoneko

    woaaah

  36. Rabisch

    Those eyes… those beautiful eyes with which they are looking at each other… my heart♡..! IT’S TOO SWEET!!! I wonder how Amazi Girl and Amber will take the news. I hope they will be supportive and no jealous.

    1. BenRG

      I suspect that Sal will need to be very strict with Amber and Amazi-Girl both to stop her from spiralling about Sal and Danny being ‘better off without us’.

      I wonder if this will lead to an arc where Sal and Danny help Amber break the influence of ghost!Mike over her behaviour and sense of self-worth.

      1. Rabisch

        Seing Sal and Danny help Amber would be really a nice thing.

    2. Zaxares

      Sal with shimmer eyes is totally adorable, I have to agree. XD

  37. Barf Ninjason

    OH MY GOD WHY ISN’T SAL REACTING TO THE BLUE VERSIONS OF AMBER !!!AND!!!HERSELF!!! THAT ARE TALKING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM?!?

    1. Rotunda

      Because that was then and this is now. Sal and Amazi-Girl have agreed to take out their aggressions by playing roller derby. They *are* pals. And Sal is going to tell A-G that she’s going out with the guy she dumped for talking to Sal, and this will probably be OK to tell A-G in the current situation.

    2. BenRG

      I believe that it was that flashback was what made Sal decide that she and Danny need to tell Amber and Amazi-Girl that they’re dating. It’s only fair as the two people in the body of Amber O’Malley are Sal’s friends now.

    3. Barf Ninjason

      Uh, guys, this was a joke, I was pretending I didn’t get it.

  38. Yumi

    GOOD BIRTHDAY STRIP

    1. JBento

      Happy birthday!

      1. Yumi

        Thanks!

    2. milu

      NICE! Happy birthday Yumi!

      1. Yumi

        Thanks!

    3. He Who Abides

      Happy birthday!

  39. Moonie

    I did not anticipate this ship but get me a striped shirt and a single earring because I am here for it

    1. Decidedly Orthogonal

      That sounds awesome, but I’m missing the meaning. For me, and those in the same boat as me (maybe just me), please would you be willing to provide and explanation of the striped shirt and ear-ring?

      1. zee

        Stereotypical pirate look

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Ahhhh. A Pirate-Ship.

  40. Bobcat

    Damn you Willis, you just made my cold jaded heart feel things.

    1. milu

      It’s weird. Please stop. On second thoughts don’t

  41. Keulen

    I suspect I’d feel the same way as Danny in the last panel if I was in that situation, except it’d be much more likely that it was just a dream.

  42. goggleman64

    The most adorable Danny’s ever been 🙂

  43. :0

    It’s happening It’s Happening it’s HAPPENING IT’S

  44. hof1991

    Now if this was a soap opera they would get wet and have to take their clothes off to get warm together. Always hated that trope. People anywhere near a bridge are obligated to get wet and then naked. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/HangingOurClothesToDry

    1. Roborat

      I thought that was just a Manga/Anime thing. I have never seen that in a soap opera, however I will admit I don’t watch much (any) soap operas, aside from what I been exposed to from my wife watching them, and my mother when I was a kid.

    2. Needfuldoer

      There’s nothing wrong with naked time, but next to a stream in January isn’t the time or place. That’s just asking for hypothermia.

  45. zee

    ITS HAPPENIIIIIIIING

  46. Dustfeather

    This made my day! Been really enjoying the interactions between these two and it’s such a sweet ship 🙂

  47. Austin

    Ok taking bets, what makes this one go down in flames?

    1. Rabisch

      A combination of Jennifer, Amber and sal and Danny’s Parents. I suppose.

    2. Spencer

      A constant torrent of judgment from everyone around Sal, probably.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Everyone except Danny.

        Watch them elope sometime around midterms, and get married by a short middle-eastern man with a beard and a blue sash.

        1. Spencer

          See if that ends up the main fount of drama for these two, Sal constantly dealing with folks making commentary about her until she cracks, I wonder if Danny’s own passivity and constant desire to please Sal will cause her to chafe. Like she knows it’s not a problem between them, but everyone else is gonna make it one.

          Which is to say Danny will try meeting her halfway by becoming a scooter dork.

  48. zoomer296

    Hey, something’s wrong with the RSS feed.

  49. Spencer

    Dear David Willis:

    The ‘Spike’ being featured in the Super Mario movie is alleged to be Foreman Spike from the Wrecking Crew games featuring Mario.

  50. Kravis

    This is the day that Danny will die.

    And it will be death by Snu-Snu.

  51. Geneseepaws

    I, … I,… what is this feeling? Is this what happiness feels like, cause I’m not suspicious of motives or anything, I’m just not used to David Willis giving me feels like this. This must be what free fall feels like … just before I hit.**
    **not Freefall the comic. That’s something else.

  52. acebender

    cringe

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