133

Equal chance
Posted on December 26, 2023 by David M Willis

133 thoughts on “Equal chance”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    YES, to steal you back after she already DUMPED you for your OTHER bad decisions!

    all around great moves

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      “No! That was Dorothy’s plan! I just wanted to watch and laugh.”

    2. Emperor Norton II

      Don’t know about you, but I am ever so slightly beginnimg to suspect that maybe, just maybe, there might possibly be a reason for this comic to have the title it has.

      1. clif

        Yay! I thought maybe you had disappeared into the general population since I hadn’t noticed a comment from you in a long while. It’s good to know the rightful ruler of the US is still around.

        Yes, I’m pretty sure the title was deliberate.

    3. Decidedly Orthogonal

      I’ve never seen the sibling connection before, but panel 4 is very telling. That self satisfied smirk is the most Faz expression depicted on a non-Faz.

      1. Lysbeth

        Well, almost :p

        1. Opus the Poet

          Well, that was a delightful tangent.

    4. TemplarKnight

      It’s called a “long game.” Look it up.

    5. anon

      i just assumed amber was a bit apathetic about it or was more focused on trying to help ethan with booster to rly intervene too much with walky’s situation

  2. BBCC

    Mockery is the bedrock of many a relationship.

    1. clif

      Indeed. I’d like to disagree with you, but I really can’t.

  3. Thag Simmons

    I’ll say that as a Christmas gift I’m really appreciating this scene transition away from the Walkerton parents

    1. clif

      on the other hand, I have to protest Amber taking credit for Mike’s plan!

      Even though I know that that too was part of Mike’s master plan.

  4. Icalasari

    Amber’s turn to remember the taste of foot

    1. Icalasari

      Ooh I’m feelin’ this Gravatar!

    2. PirateTawnee

      And a chance to expand the tag range on her fan fictions, if she decides she likes the taste?

      1. Opus the Poet

        She might find that she gets some interesting traffic if she uses the scientific term: Podophilia

    3. Thag Simmons

      Amber has anxiety problems and the permanent aftertaste of foot is a fun thing that comes with those.

    4. Taffy

      It’s not so bad if you grill it up with some garlic and chipotle.

    5. Mr D

      The taste of defeat.
      Oh sorry, I meant the taste of the feet.

  5. Doctor_Who

    She needed new fic material. This is gonna be great stuff once she recasts Walky and Lucy as Steve and Bucky.

    1. Coatl

      She could create an immense saga taking with all the characters in the strip

    2. Sirksome

      Steve: And fuck you for going along with it.

      Bucky frowns as Steve’s harsh words cut through him sharper than Logan’s adamantine claws.

      Bucky: Yer totally right. I was trying to life hack a path between being with you and still serving as a sleeper agent for Hydra that wouldn’t upset anyone too much. I like to be liked.

      A moment linger as the cold frost of winter matches the chill between Cap and the Winter Soldier.

      Bucky: I should’ve been favoring you.

      Steve: Me too. I need to be brave enough to know when I deserve better…..See you at Shield HQ tomorrow, Buck.

    3. John Campbell

      So who’s Amber in this scenario? Tony?

      1. Adam Black

        Gotta go with Star War slash Cast Asher as Kit Fisto and walky as ….?
        amber writes it.

    4. John Campbell

      Actually, on consideration, I think Amber is Bucky in this scenario. Lucy’s Peggy Carter. But Nick Fury doesn’t approve of Steve dating Peggy because she’s British, so Steve’s all, “Well, who’s the American I could bring to lunch with Fury that he’ll be the most shocked and offended by? I know! I’ll sitcom-fake-date the Winter Soldier!” And then Steve dumps Peggy and he and Bucky have lots of anatomically improbable dude-sex.

  6. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    No, she sabotaged Lucy and him so she can mock him for his future bad relationships.

    1. Coatl

      hehe, if so, she did hide her intentions very well.

  7. Nono

    See this is why Ambers best friend was Ethan. No chance of suspicion that Amber would break up his relationship with a dude so she could jump his bones.

    Unless… her master plan would be to get Ethan angsty so he could have angsty hatesex with another dude?

    1. anon

      well she isn’t against asher and ethan hooking up lol

  8. newlland(Henryvolt)

    I know these guys are the garbage pair but come on how does someone find a way to screw up a bonding moment like this?

    They just fumbled this.

    1. Thag Simmons

      baggage from a previous relationship that ended badly is exactly the sort of thing that screws up a bonding moment.

    2. zee

      They suuuuuuck

    3. anon

      i mean walky was bound to say something snarky tho idk how upset he actually is at amber with that last remark

  9. Sirksome

    Yeah they’re gonna bang again…I personally assume they banged at least once during the time skip.

    1. Bryy

      Oh, they are 1000000% having Grief Canoodling.

  10. Animedingo

    Theyre not mutually exclusive objectives

  11. Viktoria

    Please, Walky, y’all have tried that. Amber sabotaged you so she could have LUCY for herself.

    Wait, that actually would be a workable pairing. Not perfect, but Amber seems like she’d handle some of Lucy’s quirks better than Walky did.

    1. Karadaga

      Maybe I’m misreading Amber, but Lucy is WAY too much of an MCU baby for her. And considering how ride or die Amber is about nerd culture, that’s probably grounds for breaking up.

      Also, Amber being extremely straight to the point that she has to rely on others’ accounts to verify Sal’s hotness, but the nerd fights take precedent

      1. Adam Black

        I thought lucy was just into Teentitans

      2. Justnobodyfqwl

        I completely get where you’re coming from that modern terminally online, sarcastic nerds are often big MCU haters- but the comic is old enough that Amber has been a canon MCU yaoi slash fic writer for many years

  12. Hoboturtle

    Willis predicted everyone’s comments about how Mike would totally let Walky mess up to make fun of him later.

    1. David DeLaney

      he knows his commenters … too well

      –Dave, and if he has seen inside my head, apologies – i’m told it wears off after a bit

  13. NGPZ

    OTP Mike x Amber bite me :3

    (also I am blackout drunk at the moment, perhaps the oldest Xmas celebration by far. feel free to ask me anything i guess)

    1. True Survivor

      Are you drunk because of your family celebrates too hard or because you can’t stand them or because you could not be with them this year?

      Get anything good for Christmas?

      How is your newish job going?

      What is your favorite color?

      1. NGPZ

        The second option on the first sentence.

        I got… hair bands. So that good I guess.

        My newish job with Donkey Kong Collisions went well.

        My favorite color? Probably Yellow heehee

        1. True Survivor

          Thanks for sharing. Sorry about your family. I hope you still managed to have a great Christmas.

        2. NGPZ

          In a moment I will.

          Unironically getting blackout drunk was how Xmas was celebrated the majority of this millennia haha. True fact.

          I maybe shall also celebrate with Willis’s Xmas Joyce pin-up in the same vein.

        3. NGPZ

          How your Xmas go BTW?

          Hopefully it was better than mine

        4. True Survivor

          It was very nice, thank you for asking.

    2. Taffy

      How many people did you murder between 4/15/1987 and 12/26/2023?

      1. NGPZ

        Zero. At least IRL.

        In video games however? Tons.

        1. NGPZ

          Also, why the fuck is Twitter’s logo a butterfly now?

        2. NGPZ

          ooop nevermind that be BlueSky haha XD

        3. Mark

          Hey, I can totally see that silly “X” as a minimalist butterfly.

        4. Bogeywoman

          Me: slaughters a small village to spell out “I love U sis” with their bodies
          My sister: Dude, stop

        5. David DeLaney

          but are you THIS old? remembering the goldscam bots suiciding into messages spelling out their websites in Ironforge and Orgrimmar

        6. Needfuldoer

          It’s not the 27th yet, you still have time to get those numbers up!

  14. Keldas

    oh man does she look like Faz’s sister in these panels

    1. BarerMender

      Right? Same smug grin.

      1. NGPZ

        “To protect the World from devastation”
        “To unite all people within our nation”…

        1. Just_IDD

          if you shoot everyone the melting pot becomes more literal as they decompose together and intermingle.

          I don’t know why I just had that gruesome thought, or why I had to share.

          My favorite thing about Christmas is that its over, and we can stop having the same 130 songs played over and over.

        2. clif

          But about half of those songs were written in the 1950s. And all that was before anyone got run over by a reindeer or wanted a hippopotamus for Christmas. Before the 1950s it was only about 30 songs, so you don’t know how lucky you are.

  15. Bryy

    I love how this storyline is three things:
    1) An actual wholesome end to this arc.
    2) Amber and Walky talking about Mike.
    3) Amber and Walky bonding.

    1. NGPZ

      This ain’t the end tho? The next storyline is Feb 2. LOL XD

      1. zee

        It’s like midday too, storyline don’t end till bedtime

  16. Stephen Bierce

    And you deliver again, Willis! Thank you and enjoy the Feast of Stephen!

    1. NGPZ

      *plays “Chilly Down” by David Bowie on hacked muzak*

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=javRqeghBlI

      1. thejeff

        *throws the St. Stephen’s Day Murders on the hacked muzak

  17. True Survivor

    I love the small consistent details that really flush out the characters in this comic. For example, how Amber almost always wears clothes that match Amazigirl’s color scheme and how Walky’s clothes are always disheveled even when he is trying to look nice.

    1. anon

      considering the morning he had, i can’t blame him for looking disheveled this time lol

  18. StClair

    it’s not like I want you or anything (baka)!

  19. Yotomoe

    I have a powerful POWERFUL urge to Draw Walky/Amber stuff later. Let’s see how long it lasts. You just might have a late Christmas present from me. Or last minute Coal, if you hate the ship.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      But coal is great for fueling ships!

      1. Yotomoe

        I get the pun but Coal actually isn’t all that great at fueling most things!

        1. Needfuldoer

          Charcoal is great for grilling, and it doesn’t have to be dug out of the ground!

        2. Just_IDD

          Coal is great, but you need to make it a powder! And use it in something carbureted not fuel injected.

    2. Kyrik Michalowski

      No pressure, but more Walky×Amber art would be an amazing Xmas gift.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        Then again, all your art is a gift; I just really like Amber×Walky.

    3. Adam Black

      do it.

      also Asher and walky and showing off matching tshirts. asher shows a hint of Monkeymaster underwear, and walky says he wants to see it. or get a pair. Asher offers his….

  20. HueSatLight

    I like the placement of the camera

  21. HueSatLight

    And Happy Wren Day. Save a wren, kill a king instead.

  22. Vanessa

    Lol Walky looking for anyone to blame but himself.

    1. cbwroses

      Oh, he still blames himself.
      Complaining to others about how they didn’t stop is just another way to put off thinking about his feelings.
      But he has already and repeatedly said HE was an idiot, HE did something stupid, HE messed up things with Lucy.
      Is he serious about sharing the blame with others?
      Maybe, but I doubt it.

  23. Dday

    Nooooo, the Mike’s most favorite thing to do is your mom

    1. David DeLaney

      … depends on the mom, really

      –Dave, like, he’d do Linda but it might actually cost a quarter

  24. Steelbright

    and they were doing SO well…

  25. Coatl

    Well, they got too confident and want to unleash malice…in their own way.

  26. Warcodered

    Yeah that was convincing.

  27. Taffy

    Alternate final line: “Why, would that work? I don’t wanna pull you two apart if you’re really committed but if it helps, my thighs have gotten even softer since last time.”

  28. Dante

    Fourth Panel Amber might be channeling Faz… but oh, Third Panel Walky is def def channeling Mike. Look at his face o.o

    ANYWAY! Between yesterday and today’s strips they’ve had more chemistry than I ever saw between Walky and Lucy. I legit wish Lucy good, because I… don’t want them to be back together. The energy just wasn’t there ^^;;

    1. sakamism

      Agreed, some characters just bounce off each other better than others. Honestly the only time I remember Walky and Lucy working like that is when they both enthusiastically embraced the cliche sitcom fake-girlfriend trope and then roped Amber into it

  29. Reltzik

    Dinner with the Walkertons was a social situation. Amber was going to keep her mouth shut, master plan or no.

    1. morleuca

      Dinner With The Walkertons – a one act play

  30. Odditude

    Holy hell, their chemistry is off the charts!

  31. Lingo

    And so the spirit of Christm–er, Mike lives on.

    1. Needfuldoer

      In the spirit of Boxing Day, Amber takes over Mike’s duties for a bit.

      1. David DeLaney

        in-universe it’s gotta be Boning Day instead

  32. John Campbell

    Even when they’re arguing, they have way more chemistry than Walky and Lucy ever did.

    1. StClair

      Seconded.

      1. M!a

        Thirdeded.

        …ded.

        1. Zaxares

          Fouth’d. Seriously, between Lucy, Dorothy and Amber, I honestly think Amber is the best choice of partner for Walky. Dorothy and Walky genuinely love each other, but their long-term life goals are just too dissimilar. Dorothy aspires to do great things with her life. Walky just wants to coast through life and enjoy small goals with someone he loves. He COULD possibly play the supportive, stay-at-home husband to Dorothy, but if she’s serious about her dreams of being President one day, he will undoubtedly become a hindrance to her one day since Presidential spouses are expected to do things like charity work, run PR stunts, and not to mention they’ve got to remain squeaky clean and a pristine role model lest the opposition use them as ammunition against the President. All of that pressure and spotlight will eventually get to Walky, and for her part Dorothy will probably start to feel a sense of resentment that Walky isn’t “pulling his own weight.” If they do end up together, I am quite sure things will end badly years down the line.

          Meanwhile, Lucy clearly loves Walky, and she has the potential to be the supportive, “straighten you up” partner that Walky BADLY needs because he lacks the discipline and commitment to take charge of his own affairs. I haven’t really seen enough of Lucy to know what she really wants out of life long-term, but she doesn’t seem anywhere near as ambitious as Dorothy, so we likely don’t need to worry about their life paths going down drastically different directions. The main problem with this pairing is that, put simply, Walky does not seem to feel the same kind of passion/attraction towards Lucy as he did towards Dorothy and Amber. Speaking from personal experience, this is actually a very bad sign because while people can learn to “live with” things like different hobbies and habits, having a mismatched sense of physical attraction (or sex drive) can BADLY harm a relationship. Plus, if you’re not attracted to someone, nothing is ever going to change that, and we could wind up in a scenario where Walky ended up with Lucy because she’s “comfortable”, but he doesn’t truly LOVE love her.

          That brings us to Amber and, her potentially unresolved mental health issues aside, I honestly feel that she and Walky make the best. They share physical attraction, hobbies, a similar sense of humour, a generally low-key approach to life, but the difference between them is that Amber has the intelligence and aptitude to get things done, so she can be the person in charge of the household, while Walky is a supportive, low-stress partner that will help keep Amber grounded and happy.

        2. Yotomoe

          Fifth’d. I had never even considered them a cute couple before garbage roof and now i’d be disappointed if they don’t end up together. Amber and Walky just sorta bounce off each other super organically. And it’s one of the few relationships Walky had were neither participant puts the other on a pedestal. Amber doesn’t wanna change Walky but Walky tends to change around her. And I like that more than him being lead around by his two mom gfs.

        3. Johan

          Dorothy and Lucy have I can change his motives

          Amber likes him as is.

    2. Adam Black

      o man, just write the 2000 word fanfic script — get a Mulligan out of this torture of het boredom. You are the only one who prob save us from years more of bad pair ups. Hes deputized your fanfic before

      where I dunno Walky Asher and get drunk and bone , Amber spies on them writes the horniest Star Wars slash fiction. Lucy finds it, clueleslsy reads it aloud , shows it to Jennifer. Who figures outs its Asherwocky and REAL; finally Killing WalkiLu and Basher.

      Asher is free to hook up with Ethan, and Garbage Scow is back on top.

      1. John Campbell

        I think you’re confusing me with T. Campbell, who is no relation that I know of.

        I am also not Bruce Campbell, though we have the same chin. Nor am I Golden Age SF editor John W. Campbell.

    3. DashWallkick

      Booster was 100% right that Walky would just make Lucy worse. Their splitting up — now or in the past — would be the best for both of them.

      1. Adam Black

        But WHY?

        Booster gave her a self fullfilling destructive prophesy that helped undermine walky.

        One that didnt work to lessen to her extreme attachment to walky, ( that would have helped ) only help undermine them at a later weak point.

        in that sense Booster wasnt right.

        Maybe if Booster was trying to help walky he wouldve told him the relationship was unbalanced and walky should see other people.

        Booster doesnt deserve walky. I hope lucky and they date, drive each other insane

        1. Adam Black

          ^ cant delete.
          THEY “wouldve told him.”

          “Lucy and” THEM date

  33. DarkoNeko

    oh Walky…

  34. David DeLaney

    David Walkerton: MOCKERY MASTER

  35. Anna

    …Walky, seriously, don’t flatter yourself.

    1. anon

      i mean, he prolly wouldn’t be saying that if they weren’t together lol since he has a habit of assuming ‘cute girls don’t like him’

  36. Suet

    From nothing to something?

    I hope Walky doesn’t become a Rebound King

  37. Amós Batista

    It will be funny if somebody could learn how to be a medium…

    1. Rabisch

      If the one suddenly awakening the ability to see Mike is Mary, yes! That would destroy her current self forever! Maybe even change her for the best.

      1. Mark

        Mary freaking out over being permanently cursed with involuntary mediumism would honestly be one of the most satisfying things that could happen in this story.

  38. Rabisch

    Finally Amber revealed her evil plan to Walky! Even if I can’t understand why she should wants to return with him. Jokes aside, I wonder if she and Dorothy will try to go back with him or not. Probably no one will be really happy with that turn of events.

    1. Icalasari

      Could actually see Dorothy doing so in a downward, self destructive spiral. Just finally snapping after seeing Joyce doesn’t need her and she gave up Harvard for nothing, all the stress of trying to be perfect getting to her, thinking of how laid back and happy Walky seems (and missing Walky’s own breakdown), and then not just getting with him again, but copying him, leading to Linda’s brain frying as Walky seems to now be a corrupting influence in her eyes while Sal keeps getting her life more and more together

      1. Rabisch

        I’m pretty scared by how much this seems like something that could actually happen. Even a return of Walky and Amber wouldn’t lead to anything good for them.

  39. Vigil247

    While I don’t think it’s strictly literally Walky’s fault that the Lucy thing didn’t work out, it’s pretty funny how he’s blaming everyone around him for not… Stopping him? My dude have a tiny bit of personal accountability please. Like I’m not saying he needs to blame himself over it but nobody is responsible for stopping you from making bad decisions

    1. dneus

      Walky’s blaming himself and his friends in order to not blame Lucy.

      He needs to accept that, actually, Lucy is more than a little to blame herself. Lucy put unrealistic expectations on Walky, and then blamed him for not living up to those expectations. And now Walky is hurting himself by accepting Lucy’s narcissistic framing of the problem, because he lacks the self-esteem to stick up for his own self.

      1. Lanie

        Ok, but Walky’s avoidance of clearly communicating his own thoughts and feelings about the relationship to Lucy is his own fault and his own responsibility. Yes, Lucy was moving faster than Walky was comfortable with, but if he didn’t explicitly tell her that how was she supposed to know, mind reading?

      2. thejeff

        It’s interesting that, at least so far, he hasn’t gone to Dorothy to blame her, despite her having actually given him advice that led to him doing what he did.
        And despite her having made a play to have him for herself shortly after.

        Going to her might just make it too real, while he knows Amber didn’t do any such thing.

  40. Pergola

    Stopping Walky from being an idiot.

    Where’s the payoff in that?

    1. anon

      wel li’m sure previous attempts haven’t worked so i assume mostp pl wouldnt’ bother

  41. Steve C

    Even if the SS Garbage Scow is still in dry dock, it’s nice to see Amber smile.

    1. Mark

      +1

    2. HueSatLight

      is dry docking what they callthis nowadays?

  42. Cloud

    It isn’t a plan I would consider Amber above doing.

    1. anon

      depends on how badly she still wanted walky

      or if she hated lucy for some reason

  43. JA

    Well played, Amber.

  44. Zane Becker-Byrd

    Amber for the love of god, please think through something before you say it!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.