U up?
Posted on November 3, 2025 by David M Willis


Tags: amber, walky

279 thoughts on “U up?”

  1. Sirksome

    I’m upset Mina the Hollower got delayed on all platforms including the Switch. That keeps this comment relevant right?

    1. Greg

      It’s important to be brave in these trying times.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      I don’t think the sliding timescale applies to the comments.

      1. Sirksome

        I meant as in relevant to the topic of the strip so it doesn’t get deleted. I mentioned a Nintendo. I should be fine right?

        1. nadamás

          Why would it get deleted?

      2. BorkBorkBork

        Speaking of the sliding timescale, ineonder if Amber’s Switch will have since metamorphosed into a Switch 2 yet.

        1. KiaStirling

          the buffer is about a year ahead and the Switch 2 was announced ~7 months ago so I’m going to say no metamorphosis yet unless Willis went back and updated the buffer

        2. Byron Orpheus

          Background hardware upgrades are a reference to Alice Grove. The implication is that Walky and Ardent are the same entity.

        3. Tequila Mockingbird

          Wake up, fam. New fandom conspiracy just dropped.

        4. Anna Grant

          It’s kinda neat how we can track the age of the comic by Amber going from having a DSi, to a 3DS, to a Switch. That Switch 2 looms on the horizon!

    3. Armadillo

      I’d say I’m also upset but my reckless spending habits combined with university expenses mean I really couldn’t afford it anyways.

      …Who am I kidding I’m still gonna buy it whenever it finally comes out.

      1. Sirksome

        I know money is different for everyone but the game should be only 30 bucks and will release on most or all currents platforms including PC and Switch 1. Hopefully that makes it accessible for your circumstance if you’re interested. I’m not a dev or anything I just thought the game was cool. Definitely a game Amber would like.

      2. Azhrei Vep

        Pffft. That’s not Reckless. I bought it three years ago when there was nothing to show but a general idea, and just have to hope it turns out well!

        1. RoyanRannedos

          The demo was promising. It felt as late 90s as Shovel Knight felt early 90s.

    4. EpochFlame

      hopefully it comes out fully cooked whenever it actually releases. looked cool, as a link’s awakening enjoyer

    5. AbacusWizard

      Oh dang, did you see The Wizard? There’s gonna be a Super Mario Bros THREE! It is gonna be totally rad.

    6. Spacie

      I guess don’t trust release dates?

  2. EpochFlame

    aw poor both of them

    1. Pocky

      i can relate to Amber; just got out of surgery not too long ago, and also dropped my phone on my face.

      1. Thing 2

        I sometimes wake up with my phone on my face after falling asleep in late night convo…

      2. Tofusmith

        Yeah, I have mild narcolepsy and I drop my phone on my face *often* when getting sleepy

        1. Juanoku

          I do that without narcolepsy, I’m just an idiot tho

  3. ReFlex76

    Thus, Wamber returns.

    1. Sirksome

      Someone call the Wambulance.

      1. Jernacious

        In case Amber’s stitches get loose

  4. twiz

    But would you drop the Nintendo on your face?

    1. JA

      It’s college. Anything is possible.

    2. Alexander Krizak

      I have absolutely dropped my Switch on my face by dozing off while playing it in bed.

      1. Amara

        It’s after the second time it happened that I finally paused the game and put the switch on my side table. It’s so hard to put obsessions down though, when they get right into your head and all that.

    3. jeaux

      Gravity happens.

  5. Bootshivers

    One need not be operating a controller to play Nintendo together

    1. KM

      If I recall correctly amber doesn’t want every one to know she’s been stabbed so she’s just using that as soft excuse so walky won’t see she’s in fact been stabbed.

      1. KtBear

        I thought it was shot, not stabbed? Sorry, your comments perfectly valid, I’m just being pedantic because I still haven’t recovered from the Nascar Cup final…and only barely recovered from the Nascar Infinity final…

        1. KM

          I don’t think the comic has explicitly confirmed but I feel stabbed is more likely because

          1) the news didn’t report shots fired from firearms (as opposed to rubber bullets)
          2) I may be wrong, but I think being ambushed and stabbed by one of the incellarator thugs is more plausible to the situation and being treatable by a mob doctor on a kitchen table than being shot by state police and yet still able to get away without being hunted down and arrested/disappeared (if the could see her to shoot her they are finding her afterwards)

        2. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

          Yeah, we dunno what exactly happened or when. Stabbed or injured in the fray seem likely. Cut fencing is pretty sharp.

        3. KM

          She was already in street clothes when she was injured, which is another reason I think it happened s after.

        4. thejeff

          I don’t think we know that. She was in street clothes when Sal found her crawling in the woods. That doesn’t mean that was where and how she was hurt.

        5. KM

          Fair, I just don’t think it’s likely she managed to change to street clothes after getting injured like that, but until we get to the flashbacks that’s just speculation . Can’t remember if there was enough detail to see if the street clothes or the suit had the requisite tears/holes

        6. SunflowerBanjo

          Dina explicitly says she was not shot.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-16/01-not-so-smooth-criminals/paraphernalia/

  6. Dara

    Ah, the SS Garbage Scow tried but failed to relaunch

    but there’s always try, try again

    1. Thag Simmons

      Like the Mary Ellen Carter rise again!

      1. kdmw

        She went down last October in a pouring driving rain!

      2. Andy

        I got that one. I can even sing parts of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mary_Ellen_Carter

    2. John Campbell

      Really, if you’re too high to operate machinery, you probably shouldn’t be operating relationships either.

      1. Steamweed

        Wisdom!

      2. Dan

        Practice drunk, play sober.

        College is practice time!

      3. ResRam

        Eh, thats how quite college kids only ever get to operating relations.
        Liquid courage and all that.
        Not saying its a good idea – but its a very common tactic to overcome the visceral anxieties around hooking up. I know 40somthing grownups who still go that route.

    3. The Queer Agenda [frog memes]

      We can hope, and I’ve heard it floats or somesuch.

      1. SarahTerra

        We all ship down here.

    4. Disastroid

      The good ship and true is imperiled!

  7. Dot

    The Fabulous Whitebread Duo are not around so no containment thread for today. Nice to focus on something else for a bit.

    1. Donovan

      Its nice to see Amber again

      1. Big Z

        Yup. Also nice to see Walky reaching out to try to find someone to hang out with.

    2. Lumino

      Enjoy the 48 hours.

      1. Envy

        Based on the strip previews Willis posted on tumblr months ago, we’re gonna at least get to see what Carla is up to before we go back to them.

    3. StClair

      I’d say it’s a breath of fresh air, but given their habits, I doubt either Walky’s or Amber’s room smells that pleasant.

      1. cbwroses

        Dina’s giant dinosaur canonically smells like sex.
        Walky’s room probably smells like nuggets with a side of Jennifer right now, since both were in his bed the last time we saw him.

      2. Yotomoe

        Find you a girl you can smell bad together with.

        1. Throwatron

          smelling good is for working hours

    4. Kyulen

      I’m glad to see more of both Amber and Walky. I wouldn’t mind if they get back together, but them just spending time together as friends would be fine too.

    5. JBento

      Amber going behind Walky’s back to change his grades aside (granted, pretty big aside), Garbage Roof is one of the best ships in this comic.

  8. Doopyboop

    At first I was like “does Amber have a bunch of lice hopping around on her head” but now I get it, she’s still woozy.

    1. Dot

      Yeah it’s the classic Willis inebriated bubbles

      1. StClair

        “boozles”, per Breathed.

      2. Alongcameaspider

        I was actually curious if he’d use a different style to indicate being high on pain pills than being drunk but I guess theres no real need for that

      3. RassilonTDavros

        I could swear they were called “boozles”, but a Google search for the term is getting me nowhere.

        Of course, this might just be an indicator of how shit Google is at actually finding relevant results nowadays…

        1. Donovan

          They’re called squeans

        2. Taffy

          By who?

        3. Donovan

          The Squeen

        4. Clif

          Donovan.

        5. Ornathe

          By Mort Walker! Squeans are one of the types of emanata (little symbols coming off a comic character to indicate a state), and squeans commonly indicate drunkness or other forms of inebriation. The ones in this strip aren’t exactly shaped like Walker’s squeans, but definitely serve the same kind of purpose here. Mort Walker’s Lexicon Comicana is a really fun read for anyone who’s wondering if weird comic things have a name, because he decided to essentially make a comprehensive lexicon to name as many of them as possible to give cartoonists a common reference language for these things.

        6. deliverything

          Supporting evidence:
          https://comicbookglossary.wordpress.com/squeans/

          I’d also link the trope page for Briffits and Squeans (which also mentions Boozles, apparently from the Bloom County Sunday strip for August 5, 1987), but I gather linking trope sites is just a few steps short of a warcrime when people might have other things to do.

        7. deliverything

          Just to add: I’d have linked the strip if I’d managed to find it anywhere other than GoComics.

        8. thejeff

          Boozles are from an old Bloom County strip.

      4. Thing 2

        Doesn’t QC do them too? I kinda assumed it was a comic ‘meme’. but I don’t read enough comics to know.

        1. Levantoni

          I am pretty sure I have seen them around there, yes. For example: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2133

    2. Twinsword

      I dunno about boozles, but I am seeing a definite pair of creature eyes just above Amber’s left eye, and it’s freakin’ me out, man!

    3. SarahTerra

      Amber finally earned enough experience to purchase a superpower. She chose… poorly.

  9. Suet

    Heavy machinery

    oh my poor nose

  10. M!a

    I’m a total Joyrothy cheerleader but FINALLY, we get to check up on either/both of these two.

    1. Ray Radlein

      Same here. I’m just going to assume Joyce and Dorothy are busy in each other right now, and I’ve been wanting to look in on Amber some more anyway.

  11. Poewar

    Amber looks to be recovering OK. That’s a releif.

  12. Elf grrl

    Thank goodness this strip is a cut away from yesterday’s trainwreck of a final panel.

    1. Astariel

      It’s hard to follow up on perfection.

  13. RassilonTDavros

    I like the use of text message boxes as a substitute for dialogue bubbles in this strip. Not that it’s particularly novel or anything, but still. Also the fact that no words are bolded for emphasis is a nice detail, since AFAIK you can’t do that in text messages.

    Not that that stops me from just typing them as HTML tags anyway…

    1. Otl1973

      Technically not text messages, but iMessages between i devices certainly can do bolding.

      1. not someone else

        True, but the only way Amber has an Apple device is if she’s rehabbing something old enough to be her parent.

  14. Jo_cubstar

    Aww poor walky

    1. Jon

      He’s definitely feeling it more than he’s letting on 🙁

      1. Tequila Mockingbird

        That has been one of his recurring problems, hasn’t it? He just bottles everything up and acts like the chill dude 24/7. When he was failing math his response was to literally eat the paper, out of sight, out of mind. That does not strike me at someone who is particularly good at confronting his emotions.

  15. Bittersweet

    Amber you might need some Head and Shoulders, that’s some gnarly dandruff /j

    Also, I know it’ll likely be shot down in dry dock, but I still have faith that Garbage Skow will sail again

  16. ZombieKyrik

    Is Amber still interested in Walky, or was that ship sunk with Walky’s “Mike” comment?

    I would love Walky to get back with Amber, and I’m hoping they’re both still interested in each other.

    1. Nono

      I think Amber meeting Linda (and Charles) sunk that further.

    2. cbwroses

      She is still physically attracted to him, as evident by her summoning Dina to attack her when she noticed his hair.
      And, according to Booster, she encouraged Dorothy to send cleavage pics to Joyce in the hopes that Dorothy would end up with Joyce, thus freeing up Walky.

      1. cbwroses

        Booster also thinks her fan fiction shows her physical desire for Walky.

        1. Clif

          Also Amazi-girl’s comments to Amber tend to indicate that Booster is correct.

    3. Thag Simmons

      Well she definitely still finds him attractive

      1. ZombieKyrik

        Your link failed to activate.

      2. Thag Simmons

        Gonna try to make that link actually work

        1. Thag Simmons

          i hate HTML

        2. Thag Simmons

          Okay, third time was the charm there.

        3. ZombieKyrik

          That was the trick, and I had forgotten about that, but now I have higher hopes that the Amber/Walky ship will sail again.

        4. Steamweed

          Is good indicator, but the one right before it seems gooder. 🙂

        5. The 25th

          There’s also this strip: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/03-me-and-who-you-say-i-was-yesterday/thumpasprunging/

          And the strip that follows it. (I will not be messing around with html)

    4. Lightweight Baybee

      I really hope it’s not sunk
      I always thought it was cute even if it was a bit toxic to say the least

      Walky was just coping with a horrific situation in a maladaptive way, and i can’t hate him for that.
      It’s a very walky way to respond to how traumatic that whole arc was on all of them

    5. Sirksome

      She’s still interested enough to think she’s responsible for pushing Dorothy toward Joyce in order to sabotage her relationship with Walky and free him up so Amber can assumedly do exactly this. That was a confession under light coercion though so some would say that doesn’t mean anything.

      1. Ray Radlein

        She may also have been chemically enhanced by powerful narcotics at the time

        1. ZombieKyrik

          When she was talking to Booster?

        2. Ray Radlein

          No, when she was confessing her culpability to Dina

  17. Viktoria

    One of the advantages of Nintendo co-op specifically is that there’s often a “little sibling” mode that requires minimal brainpower or dexterity but allows someone to contribute. That’s roughly what Amber is capable of right now.

    1. ZombieKyrik

      I used to let my little sister play Mario Galaxy with me; all she had to do was point the Wiimote at the screen to collect “Star Bits,” and at the time that was the best way for us to play videogames together.

  18. cbwroses

    Does Walky know Amber is hurt?
    I don’t think we’ve been given any idea of how much he knows about what happened at the protest, let alone that AG was hurt during/afterwards.
    He might think she’s on cough medicine or something.

    1. KM

      I’m getting the feeling that’s also because Amber doesn’t want everyone to know so she’s giving everyone the impression she’s on very strong cough medicine as an excuse?

    2. Nono

      Feels like Sal needs to be the bridge here; she can let Walky know that his ex was hurt, and Walky can let her know that Dorothy dumped him to go make out with Joyce (for however much she might care about that).

      1. Astariel

        Sal may know already, given that she walked by Joyce & Dorothy making out the day of the protest.

        1. Rosicrucian

          Sal is definitely not going to be the one to tell either Amber or Walky each other’s circumstances unless she’s told to. She’s decent at keeping secrets told in confidence.

  19. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    I wonder If it’s a good look to ask your ex to cheer you up while she’s reeling in pain and his highly medicated…granted he didn’t know so.

    1. Lightweight Baybee

      Yea the timing is atrocious and slightly scummy
      Like dude got dumped maybe 1-2 hours ago and is already hitting up his ex

      1. Taffy

        He knows like 3 people on campus, alright? What’s he supposed to do, make friends?

      2. cbwroses

        Charlie has the Nintendo.
        Amber is the only one he knows with a game system whose controllers aren’t messed up.
        I doubt he’s hitting her up to make out.

        That said, the last time he broke up with Dorothy, talking to Amber made him feel better and they soon ended up making out.
        As a student of media tropes, he is probably not ignorant to where such action could possibly lead.

        On the other hand, the people he hangs with the most are Dorothy, Joyce, and Lucy, and due to recent events, none of them are likely to be hanging out with him right now.

        So the situation is nuanced.

      3. Sirksome

        I do find one of Walky’s only friends to talk to being his ex who at least tangentially sabotaged his relationship to free him up slightly problematic.

      4. Bittersweet

        Bro literally has not one other person to turn to lol. Like, Billifer was okay-ish but I can’t blame him for not feeling like he can bother her, and while I love Booster I can totally understand why Walky wouldn’t want to turn to them.

        He’s like the loneliest cast member, he has no actual friends. Amber is the closest he has, scuzzy or not.

      5. Yotomoe

        Walky doesn’t have any friends who aren’t trying to fuck him or that he used to have sex with.

        1. Clif

          Which is Jennifer?

        2. Yotomoe

          Depends on if you wanna go with my headcanon, or my fancomic canon :P.

        3. Mr D phone posting

          Yes

        4. Kirdei

          I wouldn’t really consider Jennifer to be his friend. Sister figure, maybe, but really since the start of the comic she’s not really shown him anything but scorn and occasional moments like we saw earlier.

        5. Nono

          Does Booster count as a friend?

          Otherwise there’s uhhh, Lucy, since they never actually had sex.

        6. Yotomoe

          She’s in the nebulous category of “WAS trying to fuck him but is currently not”.

      6. Gangler

        I mean, considering the way Dorothy left him here, I don’t think he’s really obligated to give her some grace period before calling up his other friends.

        Like he’s the one disrespecting their relationship if he starts calling people too soon after the breakup. Meanwhile, Dorothy’s already having sex with her new girlfriend.

        1. Yotomoe

          I don’t think the grace period isn’t for the ex necessarily. Moreso if you get out of a relationship and immediately hop into another it kinda makes you as a person look “shallow”.

        2. Sirksome

          In Walky’s case it’s less about him looking shallow and more about him looking used. He kinda just gets passed around like a toy by these women. Maybe that’s an uncharitable way to describe it but it’s how I feel.

          It just seems like he doesn’t have much agency. Dorothy decides she doesn’t like his clothes, they breakup, Joyce forces them back together, Dorothy’s grades are slipping, she decides they need a break, break doesn’t work, she decides they need to break up, He starts texting Amber, they start dry humping, things are good for a bit, Walky makes an ass out of himself at Halloween, Amber pushes him and dumps him, Dorothy decides hey wouldn’t it be cool if you date that girl who’s just been hanging around you for four months because she’s wants to take Walky off the table as a romance option, then after he’s already with Lucy Dorothy decides I actually still wanna fuck him and tries to get him to cheat, Lucy and Walky end for a number of reason but I will observe that Lucy was really weird about trying to get to sex in a way that made me uncomfortable, then he gets back with Dorothy almost immediately truthfully just because Dorothy was horny, only for Amber to decide hey I still wanna fuck Walky! Dorothy dumps him for Joyce and here we are! If trends continue Lucy will be trying to get on Walky’s dick at some point in the future and undermining whatever relationship he’s in to do it.

          Maybe my summary is wrong but I kinda wish these ladies would leave Walky alone. No wonder he has self worth issues. He gets treated like a thing.

        3. cbwroses

          Walky had agency once.
          When he broke it off with Amber after finding out she stabbed Sal’s hand.
          Then the night Mike died, before they found out Mike died, and before everyone showed up for an impromptu roof party, Amber teasingly suggested messing around and Walky turned her down again, wanting to be a good brother (so him turning down Dorothy when he was with Lucy was kinda pre established behavior).
          Then Sal showed to mess with them before giving them the go ahead, and Walky still said no.
          But then Mike died, which kinda brought them back on the romantic track in a comforting sorta way, and then Halloween happened.

        4. Yotomoe

          I liked when Walky broke up with Dorothy (yes he broke up with her) for making an ultimatum over the pajama jeans. I HATE that Joyce convinced them to get back together. Especially cuz her argument was basically just “Walky you’re dumb and your priorities are wrong” and Dorothy was just like “I wanna look at you shirtless you’re so hot you stud”

          Like if she’s gonna “decide to not find you attractive” cuz you’re choosing to wear comfortable pants then she’s gonna basically use withholding affection as a way to control you as a person for more important things. It’s a toxic as hell trait and we just sorta gloss over it. I really hate that the story acted like Walky was in the wrong in that situation.

        5. Dot

          I mean not just shirtless, she had him strip. One of the most uncomfortable moments in the comic imo

        6. thejeff

          I don’t feel like the story acted like Walky was wrong.
          I think it was Dorothy finding out that Walky wouldn’t just fold the way Danny would have.

          Which he didn’t. He kept wearing the pajama jeans.

        7. SunflowerBanjo

          I don’t think any of this is Wrong, but I think there’s a slightly more charitable read that could be used for Amber’s part.

          (Preface: I haven’t reread through the strips where they’re together, and I remember there being a good helping of Toxic in their relationship). She and Walky had a good thing going, but his behavior at Halloween was extremely fucked. To insist that her dead friend–whom she was still actively grieving–wasn’t actually dead, and to do so in a cartoon-y voice was really atrocious. Amber already has anger issues, so her reaction and response was absolutely clouded by her rage and ongoing grief/trauma/emotional turmoil.

          In the months since, she’s been able to process things in a healthier way and she’s become (a bit) more emotionally balanced. I don’t think she had really considered even wanting to reestablish things with Walky until HE brought HER on the double date with Sal/Danny and the Walkerton parents. Yes obviously that was a Whole Situation, but there is a degree to which it could have made Amber remember/miss the parts of their relationship that were Good. She’s since had time to reflect on her relationship with Walky while observing the relationship(s) he’s been in since their breakup. With Lucy he seemed happy and she was genuinely interested in him, so Amber had no reason to feel like she could/should intervene. But with Dorothy, I think she could ABSOLUTELY see Dorothy as just using Walky and feel bitter/defensive/”Fuck this, I can break this up and feel like the good guy because I actually miss Walky and she just wants his dick.”

          Idk, I think the strip where Booster calls her out as trying to rig the Dorothy situation is really telling in bc it shows us there’s some romantic feelings there that Amber hasn’t otherwise given voice to.
          I really like the Garbage Roof ship, and I really like the idea that Amber regrets breaking up with him on Halloween because she’s had time to actually process some of her feelings. Her response to his Mike comments felt very in character because of her anger+grief, the breakup felt Deserved (in that there was a Bad Guy vs his previous breakup with Dorothy where nobody did anything wrong), and her coming around on/missing what they were now that she’s had time to cool off and emotionally deal with some things is appealing to me and feels more genuine than what Dorothy was doing.

        8. thejeff

          I agree with most of that, but just to cast the first part in a slightly different light, Walky wasn’t just messing around, but crashing out himself over his roommate’s death. He was more affected by it than Amber and Ethan.

          That didn’t make it any easier on Amber in the moment of course, but we should understand it a little

        9. Astariel

          What you say makes sense, but it still feels wild to me that someone can have self-worth issues from a lot of people wanting to fuck them rather than from no one wanting to fuck them. There is no basis in my reality to relate to that. To quote Questionable Content, “It’s like a bear complaining to a shark that its feet hurt.”

        10. Dot

          I get a lot of girls sniffing around me, but it’s usually for simple physical attraction and a desire to fuck me rather than any genuine romantic interest, which is what I’m ultimately really interested in. I get how it must seem when you’re not in the situation, but trust me when I say that it really does suck to only get attention from people in a sexual context when you want something else. It makes you feel objectified like you can’t believe.

        11. Yotomoe

          Especially cuz all the girls break up with Walky cuz he’s not good enough or they don’t vibe or whatever. Whenever he opens himself up and people get to know him beyond his physical appearance they all decide to leave him. I don’t really understand how that WOULDN’T effect your self esteem. Hes basically treated like a piece of meat. He clearly wants more out of a relationship than just sex.

        12. zee

          You’re talking about a man dying of thirst unable to understand the pain of the man drowning. Like, yeah he’s not thirsty but the dude is still drowning. Frankly I find it impossible to understand NOT understanding the dehumanizing feeling of being wanted only for your body, being seen only as the parts that provide sexual satisfaction and not as a whole human being. If I were never sexually desired again it’d be too soon. Yeah being reduced to a fuck toy in what feels like everyone else’s eyes is gonna take a toll on your self perception and worth as a human being

        13. Grimeyville

          Saving this to my notes. This is the most succinct description of Walky’s love life I’ve ever seen.

      7. Nymph

        If you’re the one who gets dumped, you’re allowed to fuck and die and flirt however fast you want. You don’t owe someone who didn’t want you any time between. Fix what they broke however you gotta.

        1. Yotomoe

          I think people just tend to frown upon guys who rebound super fast.

        2. eh, whatever

          …if they make it look like they had that person already, so they were really cheating the whole time.

          No realistic danger of that here.

        3. Yumi

          Yeah– really happens for anyone who gets with someone else “too fast”– but the thing is, it’s bullshit. There are circumstances where it could be shitty– like, you get dumped, and you go for someone who you know is really into you when you just want a quick fuck to comfort yourself. But sometimes you move on quick; the timeline itself isn’t what someone should be judged for.

        4. Dandi_Andi

          I imagine (but obviously can’t know) that the concern here is for Amber and how she might feel about *being* a booty call. How does she feel about Walky only wanting her when he can’t have anybody else.

        5. Nymph

          I mean, she probably feels great about it since she hates herself and deliberately kicked over some of the dominoes with the hope of starting this exact situation.

      8. Jay

        FUCK.
        THAT.
        SHIT.

        WITH HOW HE WAS DUMPED HE’S ALLOWED TO DO WHATEVER THE FUCK HE WANTS

      9. Kyulen

        I don’t think Walky’s doing anything wrong here. Sounds like he just wants a to play video games with a friend right now, and if they end up getting back together that’s not harming anyone.

      10. Corey C.

        Dorothy wanted to get back together with Walky almost immediately after Lucy dumped him. It may not be conscious to him yet but I think he’s hoping lightning strikes twice and he pulls a “Seinfeld” by switching out one bad ex for another.

        This may be completely innocent on his part, but with the way he got dumped, with Joyce literally laughing in his face about it, I could see him fall into the same pattern he had when Lucy dumped him and suggesting he and Amber get back together so he can ignore the pain rather than dealing with it.

        1. Grimeyville

          Actually even before that. Dorothy briefly tried to get him to cheat on Lucy which he quickly shot down.

      11. Big Z

        Meh, there’s nothing particularly scummy about calling your gaming buddy who also happens to be an ex. There’s no indication he’s trying to make a booty call or anything, and on top of that he doesn’t know that A) she’s injured or B) she’s potentially implicated in breaking up him and Dorothy.

    2. Vukodlak

      You mean dumped by a girl who BEGGED to get back together with him when he was still dating Lucy?, who the moment he became available was ready to jump him for sex to take her mind off her own problems.
      I think Walky has earned the right to do what or whomever he likes without judgement as to the timing of it all.

    3. YourCousinJay

      Beyond the fact that he’s just reaching out to hang out with a person he feels comfortable with whenever he’s having a shit day. He’s the one who got both cheated on and dumped by his dreamgirl who begged to be with him. Even if he went there explicitely for a rebound I wouldn’t judge him for it

    4. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      People say my comment and thought I was asking if it’s a bad thing that Walky trying to rebound so quickly, when in truth I was just asking if it’s bad that Walky is asking her to help make him feel better when she’s bed ridden and in fucking pain.

      1. YourCousinJay

        Does walky know she was wounded?

        1. YourCousinJay

          Actually even if he didn’t before, he’d know now with her medication comment so nvm

        2. Gangler

          Yeah, that’s confusing me a bit.

          Some people are saying she used the medication as an excuse to blow off this visit without explaining that she’s injured.

          But if Walky doesn’t know she’s injured then why does he think she’s taking medication that warns against using machinery? I’m not sure what other conclusion he’s supposed to draw from that.

        3. KM

          I mean, that’s a warning on cough syrup and antihistamines, not just painkillers so there’s plenty of reasons

  20. Steamweed

    Feel ya, Amber. Been there; done that.
    (several times)

  21. IntangibleMatter

    No machinery at all? Sounds torturous (I write from my linux laptop that I spend most of my time on)

    1. KM

      She’s not being literal…

      1. Gangler

        The medication probably says “No Heavy Machinery”, as in like, don’t operate a car or a forklift.

        She’s used it here to explain why she can’t operate a videogame console, and then illustrated her point by explaining that she’s having trouble operating her phone.

        This does sound like she’s interpreting it as a super literal “No machinery of any kind” ban. Since she’s citing it as the reason she can’t use incredibly light wight and harmless machines.

        1. KM

          I’m very sure she does knows that’s what it means and is just avoiding having to explain to walky she’s actually recovering from surgery, which he will probably notice if he comes over.

  22. Yotomoe

    HOLD? HOLD? HOLD?
    WALKAMBER?
    HOLD!?

    1. Smokeysis

      Finally some good fucking food

    2. Twinsword

      SSHHH. Don’t jinx it. The time dilation is young!

  23. Gangler

    Good on Walky for still putting himself out there.

    Just because Dorothy’s not dating him anymore doesn’t mean he isn’t still surrounded by friends who love him. It’s nice that he hasn’t lost sight of that.

    Amber’s not doing too hot either right now though. Might need to call up another friend or maybe find some way of meeting Amber in the middle here. Cheering Amber up could be a good way of distracting Walky from his own problems maybe?

  24. Yotomoe

    I drop my phone on my face all the time and I’m not at all medicated.

    1. ZombieKyrik

      I have dropped my phone on my face more times than I wish to admit.

      1. cbwroses

        I prop my iPad up on my chest when reading or playing mobile games, but end up letting it slip my grasp when I’m sleepy and immediately waking up out of fear that it or my glasses are now scratched.

  25. Taffy

    Walky should eat more trash.

    1. Yotomoe

      Hey, her name is Amber!

      (this joke is a reference to Walky and Amber considering themselves garbage.)

    2. John Campbell

      He already ate 237 McNuggets. Are you trying to kill him?

      1. Taffy

        It’s what he would want.

  26. Charles Phipps

    Does Walky know she was injured?

    1. Ray Radlein

      I would assume so. It’s a small dorm/friends circle and his sister was the one who arranged her medical care, after all

      1. Clif

        When would he have talked to his sister? Sal probably thinks it isn’t a good idea to tell people.

        1. John Campbell

          They used their twin telepathy. Sal called in her mind with her heart to Walky.

        2. deliverything

          Ordinarily, yes, but his heart’s currently broken and can’t receive calls.

    2. Grimeyville

      Nope. That’s why Amber described it as new meds, I think.

      I believe only Sal, Dina, and Asher (also Dorothy) know.

      1. cbwroses

        Technically, since it is unconfirmed if Asher realized Amber is AG when he saw her open closet while leaving her room, he might not know.
        But he probably knows.

  27. Qube

    that specific Worry is why I refuse to use my phone in bed, and I’m not even on any legally dubious pills that make you all wibbly-wobbly

    1. nadamás

      Can you kay on your side. Of rest it vertically on your chest instead of above your face.

  28. Bongoplush

    God walky is such a mess I kind of love him

  29. Thing 2

    Sweet.

  30. Harry Brownhole

    Could it get ant worse for Walky. Finally put out of his misery (or dumped) by Dorothy, mocked by Joyce so that’s most of his friend group gone.

    Now he cant see someone he thinks is a friend (even though she tried to sabotage his relationship) because she goylt injured, in part, because of Dorothy and Joyce.

    I don’t like Walky but even I think the guy needs a break and a new friend group, preferably ones who aren’t trying to fuck him over or just fuck him

    1. Astariel

      Dorothy & Joyce were not responsible for A-G getting injured. She got them out, they urged her to leave with them, and she decided to go back on her own.

      1. deliverything

        Evidence for this: https://www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/book-15/04-the-only-exception/scatter/

    2. Tequila Mockingbird

      I don’t think Amber is actually responsible for sabatoging Walky/Dorothy. I think her intense self loathing is definitely telling her that she’s responsible.

      1. John Campbell

        That freight train’s been coming down the tracks since before Amber even met either of them.

  31. Acher4

    I mean if you don’t drop your phone on your face, you are not doing it correctly. 😛

  32. Kyulen

    I feel for Walky and Amber. Both got hurt due to the shitty behavior of Joyce and Dorothy, and I hope they can spend more time together in the future, even just as friends.

    1. Harry Brownhole

      What Walky needs to do is ditch his current ‘friend’ group and find some others.

      1. Zaxares

        While that is indeed true, I also can’t really fault Walky in his current state for wanting to reach out to people he’s emotionally connected to. :/ “Been there, done that”, let’s say.

        1. Harry Brownhole

          Of course its completely plus he doesn’t know (at least I don’t think he does) that Amber tried to sabotage his relationship with Dorothy but yeah his life is filled with toxic femininity (for lack of a better term)

          He needs to find some guys, I can’t imagine Danny or Joe wanting to have anything to do with him but Jacob might…

        2. Doopyboop

          His life is filled with toxic femininity because… he has friends who are girls? I think Walky could use more friends for sure, even some guy friends, but calling it toxic femininity is just weird.

          As for Jacob, I think he’s too earnest and religious to gel well with Walky, the atheist goofball. Asher and Walky did seem to be getting along during the breakfast date though…

        3. Harry Brownhole

          Dorothy uses him and then casts him aside whenever she chooses, Amber actively trued to sabotage his relationship; the last interaction with Joyce was her laughing at him

          What would you call it if not toxic femininity?

        4. Zerblergen

          His friends being dickwads to him? I dunno what toxic femininity is supposed to be, but women being assholes seems too wide a net for it.

        5. Big Z

          There’s a reasonable ground to conclude that Walky needs some friends who are not women who exhibit toxic behaviors, but by analogy with “toxic masculinity” I would expect “toxic femininity” to mean “historically-allowed gender-specific behavior that is harmful” as opposed to “generic harmful behavior perpetrated by women”, and none of the things you describe are particularly feminine stereotype behaviors (Amber trying to get him back via machinations against his current girlfriend rather than being direct MIGHT qualify, but neither Lucy’s “I am dumping you because your parents are shit and we clearly want different things” nor Dorothy’s “I love you, wait no you are a slob and a distraction, wait no I love you” nor Jennifer’s “Look, you’re basically my little sibling, and I will both taunt and comfort you as needed” are in any way specifically feminine.)

        6. Doopyboop

          Toxic masculinity doesn’t mean “when a guy just acts generally shitty” it refers to a specific kind of behavior that is related to toxic ideas about masculinity. “Boys don’t cry”, “emotions are gay”, stuff like that. Dorothy was being shitty and unfair to him, as was Joyce while I argue Amber didn’t actively sabotage his relationship. Dorothy made her choices. But I would call it “asshole behavior” rather than toxic feminity.

        7. Li

          Like everyone else is saying, this suggestion just seems to mean that you have a confused idea of what toxic masculinity is.

          I’m not opposed to toxic femininity but it’s worth noting that “internalized misogyny” already exists and means basically the same thing — which isn’t for the record “unfair” in any way, the same would be true for internalized misandry if not for the fact that the “Men’s Rights Advocates” crowd that popularized misandry wanted to define it as “crappy things women do to men because women have the real power in society” instead of “crappy things the patriarchy does to men”.

          (Systemic misandry does definitely exist, there are uniquely masculine aspects to the intersectional oppression experienced by men of color, trans men, etc. But unfortunately MRAs were never interested in any of that. As a political movement, they were like the physical manifestation of the kind of white guy who only ever whines that there isn’t an “international men’s day”, and then, when they’re told there is one, can’t be bothered to actually organize anything for it.)

        8. Li

          I’m not opposed to toxic femininity EXISTING AS A TERM. Sob. Obviously I’m not pro-internalized misogyny, whatever name it goes by.

        9. Yumi

          I could potentially see “toxic femininity” as a subcategory within “internalized misogyny,” but unfortunately, the term also seems connected to MRAs already.

        10. Zerblergen

          What he needs to do is pursue/reinforce platonic relationships. Guy needs friends that aren’t trying to fuck him. Becky, Joe, Asher, whoever, just some folks he can get along with without any of this messy romantic drama. He’s had plenty of that for the time being.

        11. Dot

          Becky/Walky besties is the ideal outcome of this whole boondoggle

        12. Yotomoe

          I’ve wanted Becky and Walky to become friends since she joined the main cast. I loved their dynamic in in the Walkyverse.
          I FRIENDship them. They should be buds.

        13. Yumi

          They hit it off when she first showed up on campus! Let’s get that back!

        14. Dot

          Joyce steals Walky’s girl, Walky steals Joyce’s best friend. It’s an equivalent exchange.

    2. Astariel

      Amber was hurt after Joyce & Dorothy left the protest. They are in no way reponsible for that.

      1. Dot

        We don’t know the exact circumstances under which Amazi-Girl and Amber got wounded.

        1. John Campbell

          We do, however, know that she was still okay when she left them and went back in to help more people.

  33. yak

    what else are people supposed to do in the darkness? I guess they could skulk…

    1. cbwroses

      Look, you either get busy sulking or you get busy skulking.

      1. thejeff

        Or you just get busy.

  34. GUIGUI

    Nintendo is also my favorite game.

  35. darkoneko

    oh for a second I thought sh was drunk but… yeah. This is gonna hurt for a while Amber, when that wears off.

    1. cbwroses

      I hope she doesn’t end up getting addicted.

  36. Stanistani

    An ad for the AI app Claude on this site just took over my entire phone screen and was difficult to get rid of, respawning several times.

    Nasty.

    1. Mr. 2

      That is the universe telling you to install Firefox and uBlock Origin.

  37. Corey C.

    Wheel of rebounds, spin spin spin.
    Show me the next girl I should stick it in… and the wheel is on Amber.

    To be fair I don’t remember Amber and Walky definitively breaking up like Dorothy and Lucy, but Walky is probably the second to last person Amber should be talking to right now. (Asher would be #1 on the DO NOT TALK TO list.)

    1. cbwroses

      The push into the candy table during Halloween is probably the clearest cleanest end to a romantic relationship he’s had in the series.

  38. ary

    I know David is set in their ways on this so I’m used to looking past it in dialogue but it’s so jarring to see a college kid texting with double spaces after a period. That hasn’t been a thing for almost twice your age!

    1. Gangler

      I feel like texting is where it’s most likely to happen.

      Because the phone automatically puts a space after a period. So if you just write without thinking you’ll end up double spacing because you’ll have the space you typed and the space the phone added.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Maybe their phones automatically add a period when you type a double space, like iPhones do.

        1. Yumi

          Androids do that too. I say this having literally just learned this when testing it out after reading your comment. My phone only automatically puts a space after a period if I get the period from hitting space twice to begin with, though.

  39. Spriteless Aunty

    it’s a rare chance to beat her at games

  40. ResRam

    Awww!
    Sad, badly veiled rebound booty call.
    Been there, done that, still somewhat ashamed of it years later.

    1. Dot

      It’s a rite of passage, although it’s to Walky’s benefit that it fell flat. Last thing he needs right now is another rebound with his revolving door of exes.

      1. Big Z

        I’m not even sure it’s a booty call — hasn’t he played games with Amber prior to this while still dating Dorothy?

        1. thejeff

          Not sure about while dating Dorothy, but definitely when he was dating Lucy.

          At which the commentariat was outraged for him neglecting Lucy.

        2. JBento

          I don’t understand why Walky can’t just literally play games without people calling it a booty call. Man just wants to get his Nintendo on.

        3. Sirksome

          The problem for me wasn’t that he was hanging out with Amber over Lucy it was that he felt he couldn’t chill with Lucy like he could with Amber once Lucy became his girlfriend. That’s all Walky actually wanted from Lucy was her friendship and now because they’ve dated he doesn’t even have that. Dude was talking like this about dating Lucy in less than a week.

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2023/comic/book-14/01-everybodys-looking-for-nothing/bag/

          That was the problem.

        4. ResRam

          To answer that personally: I deduce it from the context.
          He´s just been dumbed, its late at night, and he´s calling up a girl he feels comfortable with.
          Sure, he could just want to hang and game. Or maybe he isnt all that aware of what kind of connection he´s actually looking for here.

          But given my own memory of being a teenage dumped loney guy, the idea of sexytimes to cure what ails you isnt far below the surface, I´d wager.

        5. Dot

          the “u up?” is the universal signal of seeking a booty call

        6. cbwroses

          But timing matters.

          Unless there was a time skip, this is not booty call hours.

          The signal and the hours stereotypically go hand in hand.

          And since I believe it’s been Sunday since Joyce and Dorothy woke up, it doesn’t seem like there’s been a time skip of any significance.

          Also, Walky has never been that proactive in seeking sex, and that’s even more unlikely to be the case here when we remember that Amber and Walky have only ever been confirmed to have dry humped each other.

        7. Big Z

          Sure, after 10pm, but on Sunday morning?

        8. Dot

          We are definitely not still in the morning.

        9. Big Z

          I mean, it’s college, “Sunday Morning” lasts until at least 3pm if you’re not a churchgoer. 😀

        10. JBento

          TIL that I hit up a bunch of people for booty calls back in college when I had absolutely no interest in fucking them.

        11. Dot

          Happens to the best of us!

        12. Yotomoe

          It’s like me finding out Netflix & chill meant fucking. Watching tv and hanging out on the couch sounds like fun why does it need to mean sex.

        13. JBento

          Sometimes I just want to bingewatch a show and bantr about the ridiculous parts, man.

        14. Gangler

          The Netflix and Chill thing started with a meme.

          It went something like “15 minutes into Netflix and Chill and he gives you this look”, and the image would be a man across the couch giving you come hither eyes, indicating he had lured you into this visit under false pretenses. He told you he wanted to watch netflix when really he wanted to fuck.

          Somehow that warped into “Netflix and Chill” becoming a universally understood code word for sex, ironically making the original meme lose all meaning, since if “Netflix and Chill” truly is just a broadly understood euphemism then he has been completely forthright in his intentions, and there’s nothing quirky or humorous about this interaction at all.

        15. JBento

          Memetic mutation at work.

        16. StClair

          Same.

  41. Needfuldoer

    Is this how Walky learns she got injured?

  42. CianM1301

    Yeesh, Amber must be on some powerful stuff if even she thinks she wouldn’t be able to play video games in her current state.

    1. KM

      I think she’s just using that as an excuse so walky doesn’t find out she’s recovering from injury

    2. Ilucuthen

      Back when I was on a very low dose of oxy, which I believe Amber is on, it made me extremely tired, so I could see it.

    3. Gangler

      Depends on the videogame a little bit, doesn’t it?

      I’ll play a turn based game while pretty severely inebriated, and probably just spend more time staring at my game like an idiot while I consider my decisions.

      But any kind of fast paced action game where my reaction time is being tested? Not so much. I might technically be able to “play” the game but I’d be getting nowhere fast and not having a whole lot of fun.

      I would imagine Walky’s suggesting some kind of party game, like Super Smash Brothers or Mario Kart, which has the issues from the latter category along with the additional caveat of being competitive. So now you’ve gotta deal with Walky gloating when he wins because you were staring at the screen drooling trying to remember what the blue shell did.

  43. YourCousinJay

    Looks like it’s late evening now, so we’re slowly approaching monday morning and DoJo having to face the entire friendgroup all at once

  44. Mr. 2

    No hater containment thread because everybody loves the SS Garbage Scow.

    1. Dot

      Well that and the problem children aren’t in today’s strip

    2. Yotomoe

      My hater comment would simply be that there’s not EVEN MORE of them.

  45. Scruffy looking nerfherder

    I don’t care how toxic it is, I want these two back yesterday. Favorite Amber and Walky ship by far.

    1. Yotomoe

      This x1000

  46. Skychrono

    Amber’s PFP there looks a lot like Dorothy! She’s broken containment!

  47. darkoneko

    …better on your face than on your ribs, right now

  48. ScienceOfFantasy

    Does anyone remember if the Nintendo Switch exists yet here? Cuz I feel like Walky just saying ‘Nintendo’ instead of specifying might be an example of timey-wimey sliding timescales

    1. Sirksome

      I think Willis stated years ago that consoles will change but everyone knows what a “Nintendo” is.

      1. Rosicrucian

        But also, both Booster and Amber are confirmed to each have a Switch. Amber has occasionally had a DS but I think those were earlier strips.

        1. ScienceOfFantasy

          Yeah, I remember Amber having a DS. Thanks for the confirmation on both parts

  49. Mr. Random

    So he’s running back to Amber?
    Why does it feel like things are running in reverse here?

    Seriously, Dorothy already had an arc where she semi-got back together with Walky, and then unceremoniously dumped him.
    And now she’s doing it AGAIN.

    And now both times his reaction was to jump into Amber’s bed?

    And last time he did it… I thought they were okay, but I think I said I thought Walky was good for Amber, but Amber wasn’t good for Walky… and I stand by that.

    1. Rosicrucian

      Stuff like this happened to A LOT of my friends in college.

    2. Sirksome

      Someone brought up in a comment once that do to the pacing of the comic sometimes things happen quickly in a way that undercuts previous development in an effort to have characters sad or mopey for too long. Like Walky jumping into bed with Dorothy a day after ending things with Lucy despite being hesitant about cheating and still having mixed feelings about Lucy, or Lucy and Jacob immediately hooking up despite them both supposedly being the take it slow types. Jacob spouting nonsense about how he doesn’t do quick and casual hookups and Lucy trying to stick to a 3 date rule before sex when she was with Walky. Maybe they’re all just selfish hypocrites, maybe no one learns anything? Maybe both?

      1. cbwroses

        Walky wasn’t hesitant. He was firm about not cheating.

        And I’m pretty sure it was 2 days. Lucy almost had a dramatic monologue about it at the party. They broke up on Sunday, went to class on Monday, and had Walky had sex with Dorothy Tuesday morning.

    3. cbwroses

      Walky’s intentions are not clear beyond face value here, and face value just says he wants to play Nintendo.
      Whether he’s actually trying to run back to her as you suggest will have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest.

  50. zee

    Yoooo I’m mad about some influencer using Hurricane Melissa for clout so here are a couple of links where you can donate to help Jamaica recover if you can

    A government website where you can directly donate money or items. There’s a list of immediately needed items and charities where you can donate (yeah a couple of them are problematic, Christian charity is big here there’s no fighting it)

    https://supportjamaica.gov.jm/

    World central kitchen, pretty self explanatory

    https://wck.org/relief/melissa-25

    Actually got to watch a us cargo helicopter carrying aid westward from my balcony, so that was cool. There are more than one link here so I’m expecting to be put in moderation for a bit. If that’s the case sup Willis, how ya doin?

    1. zee

      Oh sweet, skipped moderation entirely

  51. Li

    Update for anyone who missed my reply on the thread the other day about “who was Willis subskeeting when they talked about being tempted to gloat over Patreon numbers, was it me in the comment section” and might still be worried:

    https://bsky.app/profile/damnyouwillis.bsky.social/post/3m446tznr2k2d
    https://bsky.app/profile/damnyouwillis.bsky.social/post/3m4onbbeeus2l

    If this doesn’t describe you, it wasn’t about you, and you can relax ?

  52. DashWallkick

    The longer we go without seeing Becky the more concerned I am that she’s gonna do something horrible to herself. She’s in a dark place and we just introduced her ideation.

    1. Dot

      Next storyline is definitely Becky-focused based on the title.

      1. DashWallkick

        Oh man, good eye, I did not see that.

  53. NGPZ

    Appropos of nothing,

    I may not be able to post a lot for a while

    My leg is really inflammed rn, if I move it even slightly it’s AGONIZING pain, for the first time in over a year I need my cane just to SHOWER

    probably gonna spend the next week or so bedridden with a mountain of pillows holding my leg up TT~TT

    1. Gangler

      Rest up!

    2. Dot

      Take care!

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