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Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social ⋅ 20d
Gwen Snyder is uncivil @gwensnyder.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Ash Parrish @adashtra.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Katie @katiestp.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Hunter S Schafer @bolt451.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
DaisyFM ✒︎ @daisyfm.net ⋅ 3d
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(he/him)
⚧
New game! BOLTED 
“…I’m in a lesbian relationship with her.”
“… and she didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
But we talked and she’ll let you watch….
“But if you get involved she’ll throw an Amazi-rang in your crotch”
Damn, it’s like some guy’s wet dream…and his nightmare.
WE ALL WIN THE INTERNET!!!
Except you. You got the Danny gravatar.
Some people are perfectly content with the Danny Gravatar.
…
R-Roadblock…? Is that you?
Suddenly, Sarah walks up.
Amber: It’s HER!
Danny: …WHOA, does this mean I’m not racist after all?!?
Suddenly, Sarah wakes up.
“Oh, it was all a dream. What on earth is wrong with me?”
She walks over to the bathroom to find Walky in the shower.
“Honey, what’s the matter?”
Danny: Well good news then, because I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body.
Sounds jolly uncomfortble being trapped inside some guy’s body.
And why is everybody fine with the concept of being trapped for nine months inside some babe’s body?
Because ideally she has made a conscious decision to have a person in there, and they’re not yet fully grown.
Sure, fine, but did anybody ask the baby?
All that crying babies do? It’s not because it’s hungry or poopy or anything like that. Its PTSD from being trapped for 5 to nine months in a small, dark, claustrophobic cell.
It’s their attempts to communicate and pass a message on to the loved ones they just left behind, which gets weaker and weaker as they go through the process of the soul integrating to a new body and mind and the memories of their prior life fade, finally dying away completely just as they learn to talk.
Reincarnation is a cruel mistress.
(Any time you feel deja vu in a place you’ve never been to before? Well… you haven’t been to it in *this* body… the electromagnetic patterns that made up the soul and consciousness of your prior existence only persist and amplify where at least superficially matching ones are formed early enough in the chaos of your new body’s infant brain, leaving only the shallowest echoes of the amazingly complex cloud that was previously “you”. Then you go somewhere that just randomly happens to activate a few of those straggling, surviving tracks at once, enough to produce the impression of a fleeting coherent memory…)
What about jamais vu?
Déjà vu is most likely the result of incoming sensory information being misfiled into the long-term memory instead of short-term, giving the impression that the events of the present happened some indeterminate time in the past.
If you’re lucky, you will retain muscle memory *and* deja vu fragments.
Unfortunately, you do have to be the same body type for past lifetime muscle memories to be non-detrimental.
>Jamais vu
Not to be confused with Jammie fu, the martial art most closely associated with nightware.
I know that feel. Doing anything about it?
NO AMBER, HE’S NOT WORTH IT!
Eh, maybe it’s just me, but I don’t mind Danny too much. He’s an idiot, yes, but imagine for a second that Amber wasn’t Amazi-girl? His behavior would be incredibly loyal. From what he knows, he actually is doing the ‘right’ thing.
Even if I want to smack him for it.
Well yeah. This situation doesn’t really make up for the fact that, as a character, I still don’t like him. Yeah, he’s doing the right thing right now. Maybe sometimes Blaine recycles. That doesn’t make me like him.
Are you seriously comparing Danny to Blaine?
What? You didn’t know that being a putz is that same thing as horrible child abuse?
Did you seriously just say that even though it’s a perfectly good comparison despite it not being the exact same type of person?
Did you seriously say that it’s perfectly valid to compare (as in one of those ‘these things are similar enough to be reacted to in the same way’ comparisons) being a putz and horrible child abuse.
You’re rude on the internet. That means we can treat you like a rapist, because you’ve done something pretty much as bad.
This only works if you find valueing your girlfriend and being a loyal enough boyfriend to drop one of your FEW friends out of your life is equal to recycling.
Um, no. It only works if I don’t think that dropping one of your few friends (out of a desire to avoid hurting her later and to avoid cheating on your GF) is as bad as REPEATEDLY BEATING YOUR DAUGHTER.
And, funny that, I don’t. I’m odd that way.
(The thing you were comparing to recycling was “doing the right thing right now”. Remember?)
Well yeah. This situation doesn’t really make up for the fact that, as a character, I still don’t like him. Yeah, he’s doing the right thing right now. Maybe sometimes FAZ recycles. That doesn’t make me like him.
(That said I like Faz)
Holy crap guys, you are completely missing Yotomoe’s point. The comparison could just as easily have been made using, I dunno, Faz, or Mary, or the Browns, or the Siegals, or any number of characters with some degree of awful. He didn’t even have to use DoA characters.
So no, he’s not saying that Danny is equal to Blaine at any level, just that he’s a guy who sucks who does good things sometimes.
The thing is, that’s sort of exactly how many fallacious rhetorical attacks work.
And you can’t argue with that, because Hitler argued with that, and you wouldn’t want to be like Hitler, would you?
Aaaaand time! 14 and a half hours to satisfy Godwin’s law. With this conversation I absolutely knew it was heading there, but guys, I’m so disappointed. You could have gotten there much quicker! Pick it up next time!
And I only Godwin’d ironically! I’m sorry! I’ll try to do better next time!
You can do the right thing in the wrong way. It’s a hard trick to pull off, no matter how effortlessly Danny accomplishes it.
Most people have a social filter called “the brain” that comes between the gut and the mouth. Not our Danny.
If Danny were to use his brain…he would probably just end up causing himself a “blue screen of death”
So dont use that brain danny…you might hurt yourself in the confusion!
In the same way you can do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
Oh my gosh, he actually managed to think about someone else’s feelings for three whole seconds before circling back to “Wah! Now I got to have another awkward conversation with my awful parents about what a loser I am! WAAAH!”
Danny is just the worst.
I…I didn’t say that. Can I not NOT like someone if they’re making a good decision. Just cuz he’s a good boyfriend doesn’t mean I have to like him.
Eh wot?
I was just springboarding off of your call for Amber not to reveal her secret to Danny by expounding on why he’s not worth it. I wasn’t rebutting you.
Sorry, misread.
He’s not really that good of a boyfriend. He just did one not-bad thing. He’s still a tool. “I don’t want to know your real identity because I don’t want to think of you as an actual human, I’d rather have you be a fulfillment of my own childish wants.”
Oh yes how terrible of him to be pissed that someone he liked and trusted forced him into an uncomfortable position. I wouldn’t be annoyed at all in that position…oh wait I would. Whatever her intentions, from Danny’s perspective Amber’s behaviour constitutes a betrayal. And clearly being shat upon by his parents seems to be part of Danny’s life, so no doubt he would be weary of it.
Oh yeah, she sure forced him. I completely forgot the part where she put a gun in the small of his back and told him that he better play along if he ever wanted to walk again. Let’s revisit that, shall we?
AMBER: Look, Danny, just…play along for now. You need a girlfriend this afternoon, and I can play the part, Okay?
DANNY: Okay, but I’m not keeping this from her.
OMG, the unholy coercion!!!
Yeah, about that… Some of us have mastered a secret, lost art called “subtlety”. We’re not supposed to talk about it bu-
Of the secret arts there is subtlety but also the mysterious Glaswegian martial art of Icky Thump. What is this you say? Why none other than *thump* ……. *_*
At least with Billie’s, Joe’s, and Mike’s brand of dickery, it’s linear enough for the surrounding public to clearly follow.
I read that as trying to use humor, but looking back at his expression it’s apparent he just views it as the fly on the shitpile his life is. It is indeed a selfing thought, but it’s not one I begrudge him. I would probably say the same thing in this situation.
Oh my god I woukd Danny this situation up. Good thing I believe is euthenasia. ;p
Well what was he supposed to do? Sit around and say everything again? He said he doesn’t think they should hang out, he said why, why should he stick around?
He just said he meant everything at Galasso’s, but is willing to make himself be happy rather than risk any disloyalty to his current gf.
That’s kind of a point in his favour.
I take it you meant to say “unhappy”?
Yep, thanks. Didn’t realise I’d screwed that up.
Yep completely agree. Finally Danny shows that he’s not a complete asshole (he’s still partially one), but he’s mainly an idiot.
Don’t listen to Yotomoe! DO IT AMBER! AH BUH-LEAVE IN YA!!!
YOU FOOL! HER IDENTITY MUST BE SECRET! DANNY EVEN SAID SO!
I THOUGHT YOU DIDN’T LIKE DANNY, SPOILING HER IDENTITY IS THE BEST WAY TO MAKE HIM SQUIRM!!!!
I LIKE AMBER MORE THAN I DISLIKE DANNY!
BUT THAT WOULD BE THE HEALTHY THING TO DO!
CAN WE GET SOME LEMON TEA WITH HONEY IN HERE? MY THROAT HURTS FOR SOME REASON.
WELL BETTER ASK CLIFF FOR DAT.
WHY ARE WE YELLLINGGGG???!!!!!!!!
THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE!
CARD GAMES ON MOTORCYCLES?!
LOUD NOISES.
STOP IT! ALL OF YOU! CAN’T YOU SEE YOU’RE TEARING THIS FAMILY APART?!
WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Can’t think …. Too loud in here. What with all the yelling. Kids these days…. [puts on old school oversize noise canceller hedphones] ahhhh
MINE TOO. IT MUST BE THE WEATHER.
WOLVERINES!!!
Oh snap! Secrets lies and video games!!!
Is that a 21st Century reimagining of Sex Lies and Videotape?
I’d hope so, cause if not then I feel like an idiot…
Idiots go great with McD Freedom Fries….. and some catsup ….
[ it is spelled Ketchup but idiots pronounce it that way]
I think it’s an east coast thing. My grandmother in Philly always pronounced it “catsup”.
*yankee thing
East coast southerners say ketchup.
So do east coast northerners, or at least the ones in New York.
I know for a fact the Windy City uses Ketch.
NO AMBER NOOOOO! YOU CAN`T TELL HIM GALASSO IS AMAZI-GIRL!
THAT MAN HAS A RIGHT TO KNOW THE TRUTH!
WHY DO YOU THINK SHE THREW PIZZAS SO WELL?
Good arm strength?
Hehehe…”good arm strength”
c-c-c-combo breaker!
No it isn’t, it’s Leslie!
Leslie is too cool not to have included a chest window.
There’s a lot of yelling in this comments section.
WHAT?? SPEAK UP!! I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE MUSIC!!
(Boogies to the beat)
…She’s actually my twin sister. And we’re both into threesomes
Which now begs the question, where is Amber going to find another person with the same buil…Don’t answer that.
Dorothy.
I would say Billie’s shape is closer to Amber’s.
Which is perfect as she’s also Bisexual and has already shown interest in Danny … for a short moment.
Yeah. Amber’s actually kind of a failure as a Dorothy clone, unless you never look below the neck.
Which makes it kind of weird that Joe is the one who accused them of cloneship, actually.
As Genie once kinda said, “TELL HIM THE TRUUUTH!”
But can he handle it?
“You can’t handle the truth!”
“I can handle the truth”
“Well if you say so, then let me tell you about your mother…”
“and her relations with the World Cup Soccer Teams for 1972 …”
“Which were all the more impressive given that she wasn’t born until 1974”
… for a nickel.
“Beeeee yourself!”
“Never get involved in a land war in Asia”
“But more importantly, never bet against a Sicilian when death is on the line!”
Hahahahahahhahahhaha-drops dead-
There’s no such thing as immunity to iocaine powder!
Come onnnnnnn.
DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT
DON’T DO IT DON’T DO IT DON’T DO IT DON’T DO IT DON’T DO IT
You’ll kill us all.
But it would stop a whole lot of yelling would it not?
I’m so conflicted…I want both of them to be happy….but danny is so freakin hard to like as a character sometimes
He’s such a butt. But you want it to work out. WORK OUT THAT BUTT.
i doooooo XD
He’s such a butt sometimes I just want to fill him with meat and make t-shirts of him.
I though Amber was Butt Taco?
Is she filled with meat?
If she plays her cards right!
*boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo*
*golf clap*
badum-tish.
If it wasn’t for Keen pointing out the shift, I would have been amazed if that counted as even a single Entendre.
It also would have implied a horrifying afterglow, but that’s also implied by Hexidemical in general.
OH MY.
<GeorgeTakei>
OH YEAH!
This was supposed to say “Kool-Aid Man” underneath it….didn’t take
Danny is being a double butt. for real.
What’s he supposed to do? Say “I like you but we can’t hang out anymore so let’s sit and have a conversation about it”? That’s like asking an alcoholic to have some whiskey before their intervention.
Would probably make the intervention more fun.
Poor Danny. Amber should explain!
Danny told both Amber *and* Amazi-Girl that he didn’t want to be told what Amazi-Girl’s secret identity was. She’s been trying to honor that, but his absolute putzy behavior makes the whole situation full of conflict and stupidity.
Like I said in the comments of the previous strip, I have a different interpretation on that moment:
Maybe I am getting it wrong, but the way Amber said “Y-You need to know who I am now?” sounded a bit like “you already want to know my secret ID, isn’t that a bit early?” And Danny, for me reacted in way that meant “oh no, you will reveal your ID to me when you feel ready”.
That was for me the interpretation of Danny’s reaction. I am a bit surprised to have seen so many interpret it as if he had gone full Frozone on her.
So? He has a fantasy that (from his perspective) Amazi-Girl doesn’t have a problem with, so if Amber does have a problem with it, she totally can. I find it hard to feel sorry for her (in terms of her relationship problems) when they can be solved by untying a friggin knot.
She’s gonna do it!!! O.mi.god!
First person I came across thinking the same thing I am.
THE ONLY THING I’M SCARED OF IS HE MIGHT NOT BELIEVE HER
Kaci! You said the scary thing out loud…
Might not? This is Danny we are talking about!
Please do the right thing, Amber. The mask is in your pocket, you can do this.
You mean choke him with it until he passes out and say it was an accident just to pretend it never happened?
+1
YES
Yes, I mean murder her love interest. You got me.
He saw that opening and he just put himself in there!
Just like Walky.
I don’t think Walky put himself into any openings lately, because Dorothy’s been busy with other stuff.
Hey-ooooo!!
Knowing Danny…Amber would pull out her Amazi-girl mask only for him to dumbfounded-ly say “how did you get Amazi-girl’s mask”
Or he just tells her that tying to role-play like that is kind of pathetic, because they’re selling bootleg masks down at the quad.
This sort of reveal is best done as Amazi-girl. It’s easier to convincing remove the mask than to convincingly put it on.
(Yes, I reacted to you as though you aren’t just spouting garbled Danny-hate. I get to do that because I have awesome facial hair.)
This works too
Dangit, I would have bet money we were going to cut to different characters for today’s strip.
Y’know, just so Willis could be a troll and get us to complain about cutting AWAY from Danny for a change.
And I hope she tells him. Lois Lane and Mary Jane Watson were always more interesting when they were in on the secret.
Also if Danny could give Double Middle Fingers to Blaine, that’d be pretty awesome.
Wait, Yotomoe, did you just wanted Danny to do something awesome? Who are you and what have you done to the Danny hating Yotomoe?
Hating Blaine outranks hating Danny.
Danny’s a bit of a schmuck. Blaine is a loathsome asshole.
This ^ +(insert largest# in existence)
Not according to some people – to some people around here the two’s actions are perfectly comparable.
Yes, the mind boggles.
Not to be an asshole, but simply because I used two people that are disliked as an offhand example doesn’t mean I project them in the same league…
I just couldn’t think of anyone else at the time.
Am I not allowed to use a flimsy example without getting a lot of flack?
Seemingly not!
There’s a chance you picked the biggest asshole in the comic by accident, yes, but the usual rhetorical device is to make somebody look worse by comparing them to somebody HORRIBLE, with the implication that they’re as bad as the other. This is the reason Godwinization is popular, and the entire basis for the Hitler Ate Sugar trope. So while there’s a possibility that you did it by accident, you successfully imitated somebody doing it on purpose.
There’s a chance that you might be completely overreacting here.
We should ponder that.
Another example of this: comparing someone who casually compared two very different but still disagreeable people to someone who intentionally uses manipulative rhetoric.
…and I get a Billie gravatar… think the wording of my reply didn’t fit at all, then.
I believe I conceded the possibly that it was an accident that he selected the worst available character to compare Danny to.
There’s no way that’s the case, of course. But I at least made a token nod to the idea that he had no idea what he was doing.
You give me too much/little credit. Whichever amount of credit you’re giving me it’s not the correct amount. Besides, I’ve been defending Danny quite a bit.
I just find that particular sort of hyperbole really irritating at the moment, for some reason. (Why, I’m not actually sure.) It’s nothing personal.
Same here. But then I discarded the thought, as it would break pacing too much.
No, that’s for tomorrow.
And I will be in the chorus of voices yelling “Damn you Willis!”
Yeah, Danny being a rational person again is nowhere the level of cliffhanger as a will she/won’t she tell him.
Tomorrow: four panels of Sal at a beauty parlor with her head under one of those 1960’s dryer things. In panel four, she turns the page of her magazine.
Sal has never done anything that boring in her life. Even under the dryer, she would be bad-ass. (I’m not sure how, but Sal would know!)
It’s a machine gun magazine.
Amber, at least tell him part of the reason you did it was to escape you sociopath father.
Seriously, even if she doesn’t tell him she’s Amazi-girl, he should at least know why she backed him into a corner. Without that context, what she did was pretty -not cool-, but she absolutely needed him, even as just a friend right there for that.
+1 to you both.
“Amazigirl is dead. She left me you in her will.”
“And also gave me all her game systems too. So I’ll have her DS.”
This was hilarious.
*next day*
“What? Amazi-girl stopped some crimesters last night? Maybe she’s back from the dead!”
There are now four people claiming to be Amazi-Girl.
And one claiming to be a dinosaur. No one is paying attention to the Amazi-Girls, because the dinosaur superhero is so freaking adorable.
AMAZI-DINO
awwwwwww
Oh… my… God…
Amazi-Dino is Dina! D:
So Amazi-Girl is Jean Grey. It figures.
“OMG! Jean Grey is dead!”
*Yawn* “Must be Tuesday.”
Well, if Amazi-Girl is a Jean Grey, shouldn’t she have a clone and a daughter from an alternate timeline?
Who else did you think Dorothy was?
OK, that covers the clone but what about the daughter from an alternate timeline?
That would be Ruth.
Why Ruth?
Red-headed, violent, dubious ethics, just like Rachel.
Uh, Donna?
Just wait until the Sentinels show up at IU.
“MUTANT ENERGIES DETECTED. TERMINATING …”
“Yeah, she died fighting…a giant cake…..yeah, that’s it, a giant mutant cake monster.”
or was it a honey bun? well it was some kind of confection
Next you’re going to tell me that Mike was helping her.
Honeybun
“Why did I sign that contract that labeled me Amazi-girls’ property?…oh yeah, Second base!”
All she needs to do is whip out her DS and message him, or text, or whatever, right in front of him. He knows and she keeps her identity without having to pull out her mask.
I could hug you right now. This is a perfect way to show Amber knows how clueless Danny can be AND is smart enough to counter it.
Now, this is getting interesting.
OH GOD
DIOS MIO
MEIN GOTT!
Mon Dieu!
Bozhe Moi!
My Glob!
Christ’s Wounds!
Emperor’s Black Bones!
Åh Herregud!
Maker’s breath!
By Moradin’s Hammer!
By the Dread Wolf!
(I’m the one who started the thread, but I had to respond to The Candyman)
ODIN’S BICUSPIDS!
Deus Le Volt
I hope she DOES actually get to tell him soon. If only so the jokes about other people being Amazi-Girl can stop.
I thought that one strip already killed that joke.
Look at the comments for this strip. They are still going, and will continue to go even once she reveals herself because no one wants to accept that it’s been beaten to death and through the center of the earth’s core.
Plus I think the reason those jokes started was because of Billie, not Danny.
The joke is becoming so old the Slezstack from the Land of the Lost called and asked it stop being told. They’re getting tired of hearing it.
Next thing you’ll be telling us, you don’t even need your femurs to live with that FAAAAACE. For a nickel.
That is because, if you continue to beat it into the ground, at some point it begins to become funny again. Case in point, Family Guy. Roadhouse!
Even if she flat out says it, the jokes won’t die.
IT’S HAPPENING!
Amber in evolving into…
…Ambest.
This is a pretty rough day for Amber. I wish she’d go home and think about everything before doing anything rash, but if she did, the strip wouldn’t be living up to its name.
I doubt going home and finding Faz in her room will improve her day.
Especially not since he’s making out with Dina.
And with Amber there, Faz will want a three-way, possibly a four way if there’s livestock.
Dana’s parents are still there so he can have a Five-Way.
So this story ends with Amber burning down her dorm, huh? Does that mean she’s going to have to move in with Ruth now?
Daniel you are a doodoohead.
Uh oh, she’s going to take the HISHE Batman route.
“Hey, I’m Amazi-girl…wanna know my secret identity?”
<3 HISHE
STOP DANNING AROUND– Aww, he called her “perfect”!
Danny’s logic bothers me, because it IS possible to be “just friends” with people you are attracted to for the sake of keeping your current relationship, even if awkward things happen sometimes. DANNING UP THE LOGIC.
I agree that is possible, but not so much when you factor all her actions from the first panel into it. That is not a sign of someone looking for just a friend.
Danny wants to keep what makes him happy going, even if it’s dysfunctional.
It is possible, but you need to have time in order for it to become possible. It’s like how Amber pushed Ethan away for awhile.
Yeah, It’s just flippin’ hard. You’d have to keep Amazi-girl around all the time to moniter and make sure you two aren’t humping each other.
It’s possible, but whether it’s suggested is another story. Both of them are attracted to each other. That’s just not a safe situation. And as far as their friendship, it’s relatively new. It’s only been, at most, a month at this university. It’s not as if he’s throwing away some epic friendship that spanned since childhood. He’s trying to distance himself from a mutual attraction that could lead to something more. Even if he never cheats, it’s not fair to any of the three (technically two, but it IS three from Danny’s POV) involved if he maintains the friendship. It brings too little reward for way too much risk.
It also requires a both parties to be on the same page, and based on Amber’s behaviour today, I think Danny doubts that.
+1
I’m excited for this reveal and INCREDIBLY scared. Danny, if you Dan this up…
DANNING INTENSIFIES.
ONLY THE DEAD KNOW PEACE FROM THE DANNING!
Until Danny dies. Then everyone will experience Danning FOREVER!
“If?”
“Danny, there is no Amazi-girl. She never existed. This is all just a teenage angst nightmare”
In fact, none of us are. *she fades away and Danny is in his dorm and recieves a call*
Yes?
oh!
Hey, Sal. Yeah, College is fine!
;’d;dsgklfkgkkg
Pffffft.
Very rough situation for both of them, and I have hope they can work it out. I’d actually be sad if they don’t.
Here’s hoping we see some good development on this whole amazigirl/danny/amber love triangle (sortofa triangle anyway) but I’m feeling one of those stupid tropes where just as something the audience is holding their breath for is about to be revealed/explained, something ro someone interrupts them. Please God of Tropes, don’t let that happen.
You clearly don’t know the God of Tropes very well. Bastage lives for this sort of thing.
Damn it Danny, stop doing stupid crap for the right reasons, you remind me of me in High School. And I hate me-in-high-school.
Amber, just, just give in and walk away. Danny’s pain when he eventually learns his mistake will be so much better, and will lead to a very dramatic moment in…well, like 8 years real time at current rates, but still.
Or tell him about your biological (he doesn’t get the word dad, didn’t earn it) throwing you off by being…well Blake. Danny is dumber than a sack of hammers and about half as useful (you can use both as a weapon to beat someone with, but the sack of hammers at least has some useful hammers inside) but at least he won’t be THAT much of an ass if you have an excuse.
I just realized I wrote this as though the characters would read it and take my advice, despite them A) not being real B) being scripted and plotted in Willis’ head and C) that script already being drawn for well into probably November at this point. I feel dumb.
Damn it, Blaine. Amber’s Biological is named Blaine. I feel worse now.
don’t, he doesn’t deserve people getting his name right.
Whoops, that’s what I get for not refreshing the page…
Don’t. He doesn’t deserve a name either.
no it’s ok, we all do it
For the record, something dumb is gonna happen before the beans are spilled…
“CLIFF HANGER!! HANGING FROM A CLIIIIIIIIIFF!!”
“And that’s why he’s called Cliff Hanger!”
“Can’t hold on much LONGER!”
Starts kicking Aizat’s hands*
BWAHAHAHAHAHHAHA
AND YOU WIN THE INTERNET
What was that foooooooooooooor? *poof*
You. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
“Can’t… Hold… On… Much… LONGER!!!”
YOU WIN THE INTERNET
How many Internets are there left to give?
Lots of it! You got an Internet, You got an Internet, everybody gets an Internet.
Next on the Aizat show everyone gets shipping angst…
I want so much to +1 the lion-watchers.
YOU WIN AS WELL
So “Hanger” is the nacho guy’s last name?
really I can’t get upset at Danny for this based on what he knows he’s being loyal and is almost as upset about the situation as we are.
Agreed. While I might chose different words and a softer tone for the delivery, Danny is saying exactly what he feels and is being loyal to a relationship that he wants to grow into something more.
Not sure why so much of the fanbase hates his guts…
David Willis: Raising Readers Blood Pressure, One Comic at a Time.
David Willis is Bacon.
Bu-But Willis hates bacon!
Doesn’t everyone?
OH MY GOD EVERYONE’S WILLIS
I like Bacon…iz tasty :3
I like crunchy bacon.
Me too!
Willis is Kevin Bacon?
Six Degrees of David Willis.
Danny’s like some sort of weird jerk version of Schrodinger’s cat. He (almost) admits to saying all of those nice things about Amber, and even says she’s ‘perfect, but he’s also Danning the whole thing up. Amber needs to hurry up and collapse this wave function…
I don’t know, that’s probably a bad metaphor, but whatever…
Amber! Make like a Nike shoe and JUST DO IT!
Is my fanfic coming true? Or is the very fact that the last panel ends on a cliffhanger an indication that things are going to go either wrong or nowhere tomorrow?
In my fanfic, Amazi-girl breaks up with Danny. Luckily I’m there, but it’s not me but a character that represents me. She decides to live with me in my mom’s basement and we totally make out while she wears the costume
PLOT TWIST: The character that represents you is actually… DANNY HIMSELF! :O
Does your fanfic involve Dina in a cheerleader outfit, and Danny and Amber having awesome Amazi-girl babies?
I’m calling it guys right before she tells him a wild Blaine appears.
this would make me cry so many tears
Having Blaine appear and interrupt would be the mix of comic tropes and Days of our Lives that is the twisted mind of Damn You Willis. Just who names their kid Damn You. Anyway, that is what I am expecting too, also expecting Willis to confound me.
“Like tears through the hourglass . . . “
In my fanfic, Amber punches Blaine again and Danny’s smart enough to put two and two together.
I want to see just how far Danny’s stupidity goes.
“Amber, why are you dressed up like Amazi-girl? Wait, you knew I was meeting with her right now. Are you really that desperate to try and win me over?! Now get the hell out of here! Amazi-girl is gonna be weirded out if she sees someone dressed up like her.”
This… is actually ridiculously plausible.
Out of all the characters, Danny is probably the least likely to believe that Amber is Amazi-girl. Just because he’s Danny.
Danny. jump of that bridge, please.
you have lost any right to be a character in my eyes. count me in on club Yotome
Or throw Danny off. Or both.
He’s a nigga with bongo ways. He needs.to get over himself and ask questions instead of being a douche.
This is totally unacceptable. I thought their was a threshold this comment stream did not sink below. *Proved me wrong.*
IT’S HAPPENING!!!
Danny is a bongo-i hate him more than any other character-its not even the fact that hes blowing off his girlfriend for her. its in the way he uses the notion that he has a girlfriend to be a dickhead to Amber
Danny is a messed up character because we know what he wants, and HE knows what he wants, but refuses to admit it to anyone including himself. It’s bad enough to see a person fail at life, but even worse when they are doing it on purpose because they are afraid and refuse to acknowledge it. The reason we like Billie X Ruth is because they can admit to each other that they like each other in some way or fashion and go back to hating. Danny won’t even admit to himself that he has problems so we hate him for it.
I have to say Danny’s is logic is sound he realizes as much as he wants to still be friends with Amber he can’t maintain that without falling into the temptation of being unfaithful. This isn’t something he enjoys but it has to be done.
At least Danny is being honest with Amber, this was not the easy way out and as odd as it sounds i respect Danny for that
I just gonna hang out with you until all the Danny haters stop taking up all the room in the comments.
Yeah, his doucheness is actually sound given his failure to recognize the reality. Trying to do the right thing even though it’s a rough way to go about it, least he’s completely out on the table with it.
I just can’t really dislike him as much as his actions can frustrate me. Hell the rest of the male cast other than Walky bother me more.
Like I said last strip, his emotional turmoil is making it challenging for him to be polite and express his feelings well so we get blunt “get out of my life” statements fueled by confused emotions and displaced guilt (1.I like Amber 2.liking Amber is a threat to my relationship with AG Therefore. It’s all her fault for being likable)
I’m glad I found the section of people who are able to look at this situation objectively instead of jumping to the fallback statement of “He should know their the same because reasons” or “Danny shouldn’t do that because I can’t ship them.” It frustrates me because this is a great example of dramatic irony and everyone uses it as “it’s so obvious their the same person!” Of course it’s obvious to us, we’re suppose to know it, Danny and every other character don’t know, it just like in superman, we all know he’s Clark Kent because we’re suppose to.
I’m not so sure she’s about to reveal! Things could also go this way:
Amber: About.. AmaziGirl.. haven’t you ever wondered who she is?
Danny: No, and I don’t want to know! It would ruin our whole romance. Plus I’d be super-pissed at whomever told me.
Amber: …
Oh shit, now I’m convinced this will happen.
I am going to scream.
That would be the perfect way for him to Dan things up
Haha IT WILL HAPPEN
That’s right, Danny. You play that victim card. There is no way she has one that could trump “Cute girl got me out of having to explain to my parents that I spend my evenings french kissing a girl whose name I have no plans of learning.”
Popcorn, anyone?
Damn it Danny, I knew you’d Dan it up.
HERE IT COMES!!!
DAMN IT, DINKLEBURG!
Amber: “I’m Amazi-girl, Danny. You’ve been dating me in a superhero disguise.”
Danny: “What? No you’re not. You don’t even look like her!”
“I mean come on; she mumbles her hairs, got a much raspier voice, and her fashion style is so much better than yours ! And if she were you, how could she do without glasses, huh ?
Plus, she’s way better at MarioKart.”
Wow. Lots of Danny hate. I don’t get it. He’s a bit of an idiot, yeah, and he’s fairly go-with-the-flow, but I don’t understand the sheer contempt some people have for him.
In this specific case he’s just had a friend of his force him to pretend to be dating her and lie to his parents, while he already has a girlfriend. He reacts not by dressing her down for it, or yelling, but by trying to stay calm.
I dunno, it’s like there’s people who read this comic specifically so that they can find trivial reasons to hate characters.
What’s even worse is when the previous Walkyverse comics are mentioned in the reason why they hate said characters.
It’s a mix of this, as well as…
…gah, I explained this shit yesterday. If you’re really curious, go check what I posted.
So you’re saying people aren’t allowed to yell at Danny for purely emotional reasons that aren’t going to affect the story anyway? Why NOT yell?
Though, anecdotally, I had a completely judgemental ex who made up his mind about things before getting ANY facts, such as how our mutual friend didn’t get his driver’s license until his mid-20s because, Ex decided without asking, Friend was being lazy. In that discussion, Ex’s father even volunteered that Friend must’ve been scared of something and he’d only at that point recently gotten over it.
I mentioned this to Friend later, and Friend explained, “Because MY state’s laws require X hours of driving with another licensed driver, and I couldn’t get that!” Something Ex could have easily asked and didn’t, preferring to jump to his own conclusions.
Similarly, Danny could’ve just asked, “What was that about?” and Amber could easily-ish have explained about her asshole father. But no–let’s jump to “Get out of my life forever.”
We hate because we love. If we didn’t care, we’d prolly be yelling at some other twisty webcomic. =p
yyyyyesssss +1
DANNY WAS NOT FORCED TO DO ANYTHING.
Seriously, everyone that keeps using the word “forced” please follow the nice link to the strip in question and notice the chain of events.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/liar/
Amber makes a request, followed by an explanation of what benefits Danny would get for acceding to the request. Danny agrees to accede to the request, notifying her of follow-up actions. Then everyone heads to Galasso’s for pizza. THAT’S IT.
But then you go, Aha! She forced him to say all those lovey-dovey things about her! And again, it is not so.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/benevolent/
Amber says a nice thing about Danny..one whole sentence. Danny’s dad asks Danny for what he likes about Amber.
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/dynamic/
As you can see, Danny–who could have reciprocated with a one-sentence like Amber gave–starts gushing forth about all his gooey feelings non-stop for four whole panels. No one forced all this out of him. The boy would just not stop talking.
The only one here who forced Danny to Dan all over everything is Danny himself.
When a friend ask for help, you usually help.
I wouldn’t use the term “forced”, anyway, but the problem is somewhere else. During those events, Danny realized he was starting to grow feeling for Amber and he want to put an end to that to remain faithfull to mazigirl.
Danny was basically taken hostage, not by Amber, but by his own emotions and romantic feelings. He hadn’t much of an option from that point out.
You grew on me like a tumor…
He was indeed “forced”, unless you only recognize physical coercion and not emotional. A friend showing up and begging you to do something, not giving you time to think, is a form of coercion.
future transcript of tomorrow’s script:
amber: about amazi-girl….
danny: yeeeesss……
amber: she’s a really lucky gal!
chatroom:
DAMN YOU WILLIS YOU COCKTEASE!!
Imagine the DoA characters being able to read the comments section for strips they appear in.
…I would almost feel bad for Danny.
I had that thought. Poor dude has low enough self-esteem without realizing the rest of the reading base ready to confirm he’s a scumbag who doesn’t deserve her.
Is it just me though or does the reading base seem sort of judgemental and quick to condemn? The last time I posted on a strip, it was people saying Walky had awful parents for not telling him everything about marriage to the Dean. And Danny has Neglectful parents because they jab at him or ignore him when he’s neurotic/whiny.
Is it horrible that I’m waiting for a super judgemental character to be condemned just so I can watch it all go meta?
I thought people were saying he had awful parents because they sent away Sal. I was kind of confused myself when I read the comments for that page, but then I remembered that little dillio.
As for the parents… Danny is clearly an embarrassment to them, similarly to how Ethan is a disappointment to his parents (to a much lesser extent, of course). I’m sure quite of a few of those people were projecting their own experiences onto him as well. What’s more amazing is the amount of sympathy for Danny the comments section managed to scrounge up for those particular strips.
I dunno, it seems like a lot of people identify very strongly with this comic. It makes sense they’d react accordingly.
I agree in a lot of ways, but I just avoided commenting for a while since I felt like what I read on these comments [Malaya on SP as well, and just generally in other ways] was pretty judgemental and angry about characters [sometimes on a very personal level].
It seems like there’s sometimes a disconnect that people get passionate as if these characters were real people [as opposed to characters filling a role] while not also showing the lenancy and understanding one would get with real people.
It’s interesting because it is a character piece, so we’re looking at characters written to be deeper than plot devices but it’s still wierd to me; imagine having a whiny friend being subjected to this level of angry mob.
It just feels almost like a social experiment; The commenters are really ready to see the bad in characters, especially new/minor ones, without much sense of charity to assume circumstances or just family being family. The whole thing isn’t without Myopia either; Sal for instance apparently “held up two convenience stores” before being sent off which makes the boarding school seem relatively reasonable.
It’s not true all the time. Take Lucy, for instance. I personally didn’t care that much when she first showed up (as a regular character), but everyone else loved her from the get-go. It’s taken me a bit, but now I’m starting to warm up to her too.
I totally get what you mean though. It’s an odd dynamic.
Regarding Sal, sending her away means (to her, and probably the majority of the readers) that her parents were not willing to deal with her. She’s the problem child, the unfavorite, and nothing she can do will change that, as demonstrated by her parents’ flippant reaction to her appearance and subsequent disappearance. When questioned about this, Linda just brushes it off, saying that “she does her own thing”. I believe the general consensus among the readership is that she only does her own thing because her parents didn’t bother helping her do it any other way.
I believe we’ll have our share of Mary strips in about a month from now.
So just wait and see.
…Almost
I realize that Danny has a completely valid perspective here, and that it is there to sweeten the dramatic irony.
And this is a hard decision to make. Cutting a good friend out of your life because you realize that you cannot trust yourself to be honest around them is really hard. You don’t want to cut this person out of your life because they’re a good friend.
As someone who has done it, the person you cut out is going to feel betrayed and the person you’re refusing to betray will still feel betrayed because you’re basically saying that if you are around certain people, you will cheat.
That said, Danny is still an idiot. He knows less than nothing about Amazi-Girl. “Less than nothing” here meaning, of course, that everything he does know, is more or less a lie. They’re not-truths. Not knowing or even being very interested in your significant other’s name? Not a good start for a healthy long-term relationship.
I was going to write a comment, but then I saw this one explain everything I was gonna say so… Yeah, ditto.
Alright, last one, I promise. So Amber is going to chicken out and take on some Peter Parker/Spiderman bullshit role, right?
Because if this isn’t the dramatic reveal for Amazi-Girl’s identity (and I swear to god, if you say “It’s Sal” or something, I will eat your children), can the dramatic reveal be Danny realizing that Amber and Amazi-Girl have the same Streetpass on their DS or something?
Someone upthread mentioned Blaine might appear. Maybe Danny will realize who she is as he watches her fighting him.
If we can put Danny aside–please–what really intrigues me is in the Archive drop-down. There we can see the title for the upcoming Book 4–“The Only Dope For Me Is You”.
Speculations?
walky/dorothy
The inspirational tale of one of the characters avoiding the temptations of drugs with the help of her dorky boyfriend.
That actually makes sense. Cookie for you.
Geeze Willis, your readers are coo-coo for cocoa puffs.
…Dana/Sarah?
Gravatar get!
/unrelated
wait what why didn’t that work
THERE WE GO
Fem-Joshua is weirding me out! O_o
fem?
…er, I guess isolated like that, he does look pretty girly… but nah, the entire picture is all soft and cutesy and chibi-like.
+1000
omfg, willis likes it! ; w ;
I wonder how he’ll react to the full pic… /has some eajosh waiting in the wings for the next relevant strip
THANK FUCKING CHRIST. IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME.
Now if Danny chooses to disbelieve her, all “You’re just saying that too make me feel better/trick me,” I may explode from frustration.
accidentally breaking up with your superhero girlfriend via her alter ego: a scenario that mainstream comics have not explored enough.
AMBER NO, HE’S REEEEEEEEALLY NOT WORTH IT.
Oh wow. She’s about to tell him that Amazi-girl is really that shouting pizza-place owner!
http://youtu.be/MVVoFhdzOAk
Everyone’s missing the obvious way in which this whole thing is gonna get Danny’d:
“About Amazigirl– she’s me.”
“What? No way!”
“She really is.”
“You’re just saying that to trick me again! Wow, I misjudged you, you’re a jealous jerk!”
Is this really about Danny not getting that Amber is Amazigirl, though? Or is it actually about Danny not wanting to admit to himself that he knows, because he “can see wonderful things happening maybe, and [he’s] afraid”, and he figures a fictional girlfriend is safer?
I hope she tells him she’s Amazi-girl.
And dumps his dumb ass.
I have thought from the beginning that Blaine gave up way to easy. He’s still hovering. And yeah, I think he’s about to interrupt big time.
Danny does have a point: while he did go along with ‘their’ deception, he does think he is ‘cheating’ on the one he considers ‘his girl’. So, to his mind he’s doing the decent thing. Too bad he’s still an idiot.
So, I have to go with the up-thread call, a wild Blaine appears as she’s about to spill the beans and Danny will realize that Amber is much more than she appears to be, maybe too late.
Although one kiss would’ve solved the whole thing.
And then again, I like Miggles post.
That is exactly the way Danny would react if Amber actually gets to tell him the truth.
He wouldn’t believe her, and would say she was just jealous.
The fact that this comic has over 200 comments on it not even 2 hours after it was posted (in the wee hours of the morning on my time no less) means you are doing a good job with your story telling Mr. Willis. Well done, sir.
I lost a lot of my sympathy for Danny with his last line. He’s just hurt her, badly, justifiably, but badly – how can he lay his problems on her like this, now, when he’s just shoved her out of his life?
Oh, crap, here it comes.
Anticipation rising . . .
Maniacal laughter subroutine activating . . .
MURPHY’S LAW file running . . .
Am I evil? Maybe.
yeah yeah Amber, we know; Sal is Amazigirl. Jeesh doesn’t everyone know that?
Behold! I have a new gravatar and I want to show it off.
If she gets interrupted by some ill-timed coincidence and then decides not to tell him later my sitcom meter will be pinned.
While its possible, I think the fact that Danny is literally considering cutting all ties with here right then and there will make it hard to justify “putting it off”.
Not saying our esteemed tortu- I mean author couldn’t pull it off…
My prediction:
Amber reveals herself to be Amazi-Girl.
Danny then reveals that Amazi-Girl is fun to be with.
But that he secretly has been carrying a torch for….
(wait for it)
JOYCE!!!
You remember Joyce?
Has he even met Joyce in this universe?
Briefly, when Joe asked her out.
Wasn’t trying to be logical — merely stirring the pot with yet another improbable plot twist.
LOOK OUT EVERYBODY!
THE ABSOLUTE PROOF DANNY DON′T WANT TO KNOW AMAZIGIRL SECRET ID!
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/color/
NOT!
Damn double messed. I wanted to post that link: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/02-guess-whos-coming-to-galassos/compartmentalize/
Tough it’s more about why she is Amazigirl rather than about her secret ID.
Forget I said anything.
(those comment section need a delete option)
No one would listen even if you had posted the right strips (here and here, if you’re curious).
*In the style of a Jerry Springer audience*
TELL HIM! TELL HIM! TELL HIM!
I’ve realized something about Amber’s last line. She only has the mask with her. No backpack, no room for the rest of her costume. I hope the voice and mask are enough but in this arc? Not likely.
Well, shit then!
Hi Guys!
I’m a “new” reader, which means I started in the walkyverse with Dumbing of Age.
And seriously, I don’t understand this Danny-hate. Maybe it’s a bit of folklore coming from the previous characterisations?
Because, seriously guys, in this continuity, he’s the “doing right” guy, compared to the rest of the cast. He tried to make things work with Dorothy, he refused sex with Billie, he is faithfull to Amazi-girl. He is clueless, OK. But everyone of you was as clueless as him when you were freshmen.
And I’m interested to see where his characterisation is going. Even more than heavy-hitters like Amber or Sal or Dorothy. He’s subtle.
I will say it. Danny is my favorite character. Bring on the flame.
No one’s going to bash you for liking Danny. It’s Danny we hate, not other readers.
Still, I monumentally disagree with you (though I don’t feel like explaining why, as I spent a lot of time yesterday doing that).
@vsophi
Oh yeah, I read part of your comments in the previous strip, true that you spend a lot of time writing them
That’s also part why I post here today;)
And I still disagree!
I mean, a lot of valid points have been made concerning the character, some which I agree some which I don’t. But mostly, I think that we forget that we are here in a work of fiction, therefore we have to consider him compared to the others.
So. He was ridiculously clingy to Dorothy, OK. But then, she ditches him for no good reason other than “hey, I wanna go to Big Campus”. And then date another guy.
He prefers to have a meaningful relationship rather than focus on a career or big dreams. While I disagree personnally with this attitude, I find it still valid. I mean, he doesn’t have a dream job. A lot of people don’t, especially at this age.
Let’s for example compare with Joe. His whole character is centered exclusively on “getting booty”. He’s also self-centered and a bit of a jerk sometimes. But nooo, he’s funny! So he gets ahead of Danny in the hearts of the audience.
Or Billie. She doesn’t have any dreams other than “popular girl” yet. Just a severe drinking and alpha-bongoing problem. But nooo, she’s working on it! So that’s likeable and all.
I like Danny because his flaws are more subtle than those of the rest of the cast. I mean, Mike is the Sociopathic Comedic Relief, Joyce is the Noble Bigot, Dina is the Asocial, all types that makes for wondeful character development, but Danny, it’s better hidden.
Danny has to grow as a human being. Most of the others are broken and need to be repaired, and I have no problem with that. But Danny… has to develop. IMHO He’s not sub-par, he’s not over-par, and still manages to have a personnality, a characterisation which I like.
Hi, I’m also a new reader by your definition. I completely understand the Danny haters, I’m one of them. Maybe Danny is trying to “do the right thing”, but he’s the do right guy who will put out a campfire by smothering it with a truckload of dynamite. Fire’s out, but what do we do with the 2 acre hole in the ground? And just sayin’, I wasn’t this clueless as a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL. The only place I want to see his characterization go, is over the side of the bridge.
Good point, but bad analogy, dynamite doesn’t explode when burned.
Drown it with a tanker of gasoline?
@anifreik
Sorry, I didn’t really understand the analogy
What did he do wrong, exactly, considering his knowledge of the situations?
1) He failed to show any compassion for his friend who obviously needed him after the parents left. Easy enough to say, “Ok, they’re gone now, why did we just do that?”
2) He goes straight to the kill shot, “We shouldn’t hang around anymore”. Why? Because he’s too chicken shit to even TRY and be friends with someone he realizes he finds attractive? He should have started with the question from one, then possibly moved on to where they are now if the reasons weren’t good enough (and WE know they are) and ONLY THEN if things can’t be worked out move to “Let’s not be friends anymore because I don’t trust you or me.”
Basically he makes me hate him because he is the kind of person who goes to the most drastic extreme first because it makes it easier on him, and the hell with who else gets caught up in the collateral damage, ’cause Danny’s fine.
I thought of a simpler way. He knows his knowledge of the situation is lacking, but has made no effort to rectify that lapse and is instead making life altering choices for himself and Amber based on knowledge HE KNOWS is faulty. Danny=Asshole.
I think that your view of the knowledge Danny has of the situation is inaccurate
“his friend who obviously needed him”
Honestly, it’s not obvious. It’s obvious for us, not for him. And she forced herself unto him, and it’s not the first time…
” Because he’s too chicken shit to even TRY and be friends with someone he realizes he finds attractive?”
What? It IS a highly dangerous game. So, you consider that leading her along and screwing with her hopes is better than closing down when neither of them will be too much hurt?
Try to be friends? That’s playing with fire.
“He knows his knowledge of the situation is lacking”
No, he doesn’t! That’s the thing! OK, he is clueless, but how can he imagine what is happening with Amber? She doesn’t tell him her problems with her father or her secret identity or any trouble she might have!
From the point of view of Danny, she’s a strong female in an all-male environment that is pushing herself into his company when he already have a girlfriend!
She’s going to tell him…
SHE’S GOING TO TELL HIM…
If you cut away to another scene tomorrow I will be an unhappy Tufto.
Well, Danny, you are in the extremely lucky position of being able to have your cake and eat it too.
With jellyfish topping.
I pretty much expect her to pull out and put on the mask next (we know she’s carrying it), and it will be about as successful as a transsexual wooing a hetero by demonstrating that it’s only the magic of makeup that’s between them.
In short: she may be about to make him break up with both Amber and Amazigirl because they are one and the same.
“it will be about as successful as a transsexual wooing a hetero by demonstrating that it’s only the magic of makeup that’s between them.”
Either this is incredibly ignorant or incredibly rude.
Pretty sure Danny is saying thinking “a transsexual wooing a hetero by demonstrating that it’s only the magic of makeup that’s between them” is incredibly ignorant, which is why it wouldn’t work.
Well, let’s say that some magic only works when staying incredibly ignorant. Fortunately as the history of chauvinism teaches us that unlike innocence ignorance can be reacquired wonderfully easily after a mind has been accidentally tainted with knowledge.
oh ok, I think I see what you’re saying here
Knowing Willis, we’re going to cut back to Faz and Dina and return to these two sometime in the next two weeks.
Well don’t jinx it!
I think Amber is going to pull back because her secret identity is her security blanket and if Danny knows, he might take that away from her or spill the beans to others. Then she’d just be ordinary Amber forever. That she can’t allow.
Likewise, I think that Danny’s serious issue is he thinks both his girlfriends (Amber and Dot) were “perfect.” That’s not a healthy attitude, especially since Dot has mANNNNNNY flaws.
Everybody has flaws. It is the ability of a partner to acknowledge and live with these flaws, if not even overlook them in the first place, that defines the difference between a true relationship and merely “hooking up”.
Do you really think he’s “acknowledging” and “living with” those flaws?
Of course not. He dumped Dorothy, right?
I was merely pointing out that no one is perfect and a person is going to become very, very lonely if he/she waits for the “perfect” partner to come along.
Actually Dorothy dumped him. Good girl, Dot.
I’m just gonna go ahead and predict this now: in the next strip Amber chickens out and says “Never mind…” or something.
Dammit.
Anyway, good for Danny for standing by his (Amazi-) girl. Drew the line, left no room for misinterpretation, and assured there would be no on-leading.
Too bad there’s all this context he’s not aware of. He’s doing way more damage here than he realizes, to both of them.
Dammit.
What am I fighting foooooooooooor! *screams*
Yes, Amber, about Amazi-Girl. Tell us all about her. Right now. Before a piano drops on your head or Danny sprouts wings and flies away. Do it NAAAO!
If Danny were erased from existence, I would not shed a tear.
In my fanfic, Amber musses her hair up, puts the mask on, and she straightens up, her shoulders come back, and she says in the voice, “I’m Amazi-Girl. Asshole.” And then she flips Danny a double bird and walks away.
………. Perfect.
Oh god, and I thought I’d walked away from those 3 words when I left Shortpacked until Monday…
And then she marries you and fixes all your problems
I’m just amazed that Danny hasn’t figured it out. He’s the person who’s got the closest to Amazi-Girl; he spends the most time with Amber. He’s either willfully blind or stupid. Billie’s seen Amazi-Girl maybe, maybe twice and I don’t know if she’s ever met Amber, so it’s slightly more excusable.
This isn’t a Batman situation, where the two personalities are essentially completely different. It’s not a Superman situation, where cognitive dissonance and ‘ancient kryptonian disguise techniques’ (or was that just the 70s? I don’t know.) make up for what’s the most obvious disguise in the world.
Also, is it too much trouble to ask WHY she needed to force herself into your day? From what you know of Amber, it seems an unusual situation. Maybe you should have found that out.
I don’t like Danny, of course. I was so disappointed we swapped to him from the box. And I know the standard answer, that this is dumbing of age, not everyone is super geniuses all the time of age. It doesn’t hang in this instance.
I’m sure Willis can write the next few moments between them in a way that’s going to make me okay with them, but until he does, I’m going to stand by my position that Danny is awful. No, not Blaine awful (that was a silly comparison, tyvm) but I can’t really think of another word for it.
*grumble grumble grumble grumble… even carry around the same dses
It’s because of the Rule of Funny.
Oh. Then maybe it doesn’t work for me because I don’t think it’s funny. We’d need to have a sample of people who find this amusing and ask if they find it plausible. Any takers?
Well, for me it was funny, until yesterday.
Most people are angry with Danny because of it, actually. It’s not Rule of Funny, it’s a deconstruction.
Ah, right. The problem is I’ve never found Danny particularly funny. I mean, I’d never heard of him until I started dumbing of age; I don’t remember him in It’s Walky and Joyce and Walky and I just did the archive binge a few months ago. He’s from Roomies, right?
He just seems… grating, I think. Maybe he reminds me of who I was when I was in school, but that’s not a good thing. And I don’t think I was ever that oblivious. Self-righteous. maybe.
Robin being unable to tell that Amazi-Girl isn’t actually a car is funny. Billie leaping to the totally indefensible conclusion that Sal is Amazi-Girl is funny. Danny avoiding thinking about this girl that he claims to care about because he doesn’t want to upset his fantasy isn’t.
“is it too much trouble to ask WHY she needed to force herself into your day? From what you know of Amber, it seems an unusual situation. Maybe you should have found that out.”
Do you seriously believe it’s the obligation of someone who’s already having a difficult day, towards whom someone else acts selfishly and inconsiderately, to figure out why that person is acting inconsiderately and selfishly?
Come on Amber, don’t be a Bruce about this.
Plus he could become your Robin.
You mean, a chance that Danny’s going to be the most well-liked, sex god of the DoA verse like Dick Grayson or a well-intentioned extremist dick like Jason Todd or a genius like Tim Drake or a brattier version of Bruce Wayne with added creepy and social awkwardness like Damian or a fun loving plucky and energetic person like Stephanie…..or dead.
I can deal with dead.
I am not sure these two are good for each other. I heard a rabbi once say you can roughly divide people into flowers and gardeners. A gardener and a flower can make it, two gardeners can make it, but two flowers are going to have a hard time. I don’t see who’s gonna do any of the gardening in this ship. Amber’s quietly out of her mind with her chin just above the water. Danny has a lot of growing up to do, and he’s a person who resents change, which makes it hard.
angsty breakup session + amber throwing her amazi-girl mask down the river and Dan finally realizing how much he Dan’d this thing and the scene finally ending with “Wait!”
Damn, way too many trashy romance novels for me.
May have been said before, but thread, TL:DR.
I’m glad to see Danny taking a good stab at being honest and adult about it.
I’m also glad to see Amber (at least starting to) responding in kind.
I’m hoping this will have a happy wrapup tomorrow… but i fear the Drama Tag will get another yank.
Dan it, Danny…
I keep throwing my money at the screen hoping for compliance from the characters. WHY WON’T YOU ACCEPT MY MONEY!?
Well, he’s honorable, anyway. Incredibly stupid, but honorable.
Pop quiz. Of the charachters in DoA, which of them genuinely like people, and how much?
???
I think they all like people…?
Bzzt! Mike likes nobody.
Except your mom. For a nickel.
oh yes, how could I forget
I can’t believe that Danny, of all people, is the Base Breaker. yeesh
I think it has something to do with the ability to see things from a character’s limited point of view. From the point of view of other characters, Danny is a horrific monster, tearing out spines and eating babies. -Er, I mean, he has caused minor stress to Dorothy with his obvious early clinginess (which soon ended) and medium stress to Amber by his inability to penetrate the disguise she deliberately adopts. Persons who are devoted to those characters (who, admittedly, have both more screen time and also boobs) can take these affronts personally, and thus (in sympathy with the girls) perceive Danny as a villain.
On the other hand, if one puts that aside and looks at Danny’s point of view and feelings on things, he’s actually not a bad guy. Scratch that – he was nice to Billie, nice to Amber, respectful of Amazi-girl as his girlfriend, and he even hasn’t slammed the door in Dorothy’s face when she keeps visiting him despite having dumped him. Plus he hasn’t murdered Joe. From the perspective of his own acts with his own knowledge, he’s a seriously nice guy – nice to a fault, even. So while yeah, pulling a Lois Lane the way he has makes him look dumb, I find it impossible to hate the guy. Keeping his limited perspective in mind of course.
The problem is that while he may be acting nice before (and I’ve never liked him, but this is the first time I actually dislike him)…
Amber’s upset. She’s just behaved in a way that is markedly out of character with all your previous expectations of her. Even Mike would probably question the reality of the situation if Amber turned up out of the blue and forced her way into something. (Mike v Blaine, btw. Make it happen, Willis.)
You let her do it, and you encouraged her and played with it for your own selfish reasons. That’s fine. But you don’t get to claim how awfully you’ve been treated when you were an active participant. It’s perfectly reasonable for a character to do it, but it doesn’t make him likable.
Leaving aside him not realizing that Amber and Amazi-Girl are one and the same (because okay, maybe it’s just a stylization choice or something? I don’t know, I can’t call it), that’s why I don’t like this. Danny is very quick to make everything all about him; his day, his life, etc. And that’s fine, but you could have had that conversation before. Here’s a hint, it could have gone like this:
“Come on, you need a girlfriend for today. I’m a girl, I’m your…”
“Wait. Amber, what’s really going on?”
(With apologies to the amazing Damnyou Willis)
No, I don’t think his behavior is unrealistic. I think it’s unlikable. Other people may have their own reasons, but that’s mine.
Now put on your Danny glasses. Amber has been all about shoving herself into his life, pretty much from the moment he decided to pursue Amazi-girl. He sits outside waiting for Amazi-girl? Amber shows up and basically drags him off to dinner. She then pressures him into going comic-shopping with her, dragging him out of bed to go. And now she shows up and announces that she’s his girlfriend.
Did Danny enjoy spending the time with Amber, up until this last incident? Yes, yes he did. But that doesn’t change the fact that she’s been in obvious active pushy boy-hunting mode. Admittedly she might have just been the world’s pushiest platonic friend, but then she showed up and introduced herself with “Hey, Lover”.
As for your hypothetical alternate scenario, that happened. Immediately after “Hey, Lover”. The main difference being that he didn’t stand there and demand an explanation, because 1) his parents were watching, and 2) she just pleaded for him to “play along”, with the strong pictorial implication that her tone of voice was a bit desperate, leading directly to 3) he played along because he’s a nice guy. After all, at that point blowing her off would have been embarrassing for her at the least, and, well, she was acting sort of desperate…
Yeah. This last story arc with Danny and Amber happened solely because Danny is too fucking nice.
And of course it goes without saying that Danny did this not at all for selfish reasons; he was (pretty much literally) dragging his feet the whole way. He didn’t want to. He only did it for Amber. And now he’s telling her why she was out of line for pressing him into doing it.
Seriously, Danny almost never makes it all about him. I honestly don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.
I think this is one of those times where we aren’t going to agree. Rather than getting heated in defense of my points, I’m going to concede you made some good ones. I still don’t agree with you, but I probably am being unfair to Danny. So… going to approach the rest of this arc with an open mind.
Fair ’nuff! More than fair!
Can I break the picket line and say I think this little sequence has actually made Danny a bit more rounded and less of an unlikeable dweeb?
Ambs must see something in him, after all. And even if he’s not handling it very well (it’s not like he’s got the most experience or anything), he’s trying to let her go gently…
I don’t get the Danny hate. He’s clueless sometimes but he’s trying to do the right thing. Sometimes he gets frustrated and is unnecessarily abrasive, but it’s in part because he’s still adapting to this big new world. And jeeze, he’s a freshman, he can’t have it all together.
Would Amber like him if he dumped Amazigirl at the first sign of another girl? He doesn’t *know* she is Amazigirl (and at this point it is getting to be her fault for not being honest with him).
I really want Danny and Amber (Danber? *shudders) to work out, at any rate. I think they’d make a sweet couple.
I’m sorta like Danny, and I can see where he’s coming from. He probably is still bound within the illusions of a “perfect” relationship that you see on TV/movies. He likely imagined that he and Dorothy would stay together forever, and he’s turned his relationship with Amazi-Girl into a Lois Lane scenario. Underneath all the uncertainty, there’s that deep emotions that he spewed to Amber, but he just can’t quite break out of the mold he’s made for himself.
Amber actually just said what she likes about him, a dozen or so comics ago. “Sometimes I worry I don’t deserve a person like Daniel, someone who’s honest and respectful and … benevolent.”
She’s probably noticed that he’s probably the nicest and major character in the comic strip; certainly so if you only consider the males. (With Ethan as #2.) As best I can tell there’s not a single character in the comic who disagrees with that. (Though there are some who don’t consider it a good thing, like Joe.) It’s only out here in the deranged world of comment-land that Danny is considered a Death Eater.
DAMN YOU WILLIS!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BVHRsq6CUAIaLbw.png
You know, I read a lot of webcomics, and am a member of a lot of forums, but this one is the best of the internet. You are awesome, and today you are really on fire. Excellent work, all.
As for the page, looks like I was on the right track yesterday, however, as this is Willis we are dealing with, I am not declaring that I called it, until Danny and Amber are married and have grandchildren.
So I’m the only one thinking of an “Amazi-Girl, Inc.”, joke, aren’t I?
The only one. I feel almost proud.
y’know I’m just gonna back off from commenting on danny/amber strips until their whole thing gets resolved
having all these fights with you guys is stressful
(that said, I hope it works out, and the both of them end up happy, even /grumblegrumble danny)
*Reading comments*
mmmmm mmmmm Drama pasta.
~Fa la la la la la la la la la la laaaaa
In Danny’s fanfic, Amber is Amazi-Girl.
Problem is, he knows it’s his fanfic.
Is it okay if I kick Danny’s shins? GAH, he makes me so mad ><
Oblivious jerk!
Nooooo end of the archive
I for one thing ADORE Danny. Especially compared to the rest of the male species in this strip. Yeah, yeah, he’s clueless, but he is also loyal, honest and seems entirely comfortable in his own skin. THAT is a rarity at any age. Even when he’s pretending he doesn’t lie. And in today’s strip, almost any male would’ve lied and said he didn’t mean it. I like this character.
I don’t get the Danny hate here. He’s correct, Amber *did* interject herself into the situation, forced a lie on him -No, it doesn’t change because she *after the fact* explained and put in a request- and put him in the position of having to choose between humiliating her in front of others, or lie to his parents.
The thing is, as we’re finding out here, he DIDN’T lie to his parents about how he felt about her. The problem is that he’s dating someone else, Amazi-girl, and he continues to hang out with Amber, he’s going to end up hurting her one way or another.
He isn’t denying his feelings for Amber, he isn’t insulting her, he’s saying that those feeling are real, but that those feelings are WHY he needs to back off, because someone else that he loves would be hurt if he continues the way things are.
Danny is doing his best to do the right thing, and the fact that he is shooting down Amber should tell her that she has someone who is WORTH trusting, because he doesn’t know. He could have gone with it, but instead, he is staying loyal. What the hell more do you guys want from him?
I want him to stop prioritizing his Lois Lane fantasy over the real girl – with or without her mask – and open his eyes to what’s right in front of him.
People keep excusing him with “he doesn’t know”. Well, he bloody well should know. He’s spent enough time close to Amber in both of her guises that the only reason I can suspend disbelief for for him not having recognized her is that he’s repressing and denying it because seeing the obvious would ruin the little scenario he’s built up in his head. And he values that scenario more than he does this girl he purports to care about.
This is the same problem that Danny had with Dorothy. He built up a little scenario in his head about how their relationship was supposed to go, and clung to it with all his might, and could not see that his scenario had no bearing on reality, or on the actual Dorothy’s needs and desires. Which is why she dumped his ass, and why he had no idea that he was getting dumped even while it was happening.
Now he’s doing it again. The scenario is different, and the cast is different, but he still cares more about that scenario than he does about the real Amber/Amazi-Girl.
This is exactly how I feel…but could not express as well as you did!
Dundundunnn!
Why would she even like a guy who is too stupid to get that she is obviously Amazi-Girl? I find idiocy disgusting in a potential mate.
Why would Superman repeatedly save an entire city that’s too stupid to get that Clark Kent is obviously Superman with glasses on?
But he, like, super-vibrates his muscles to make him unrecognizable or forgettable or unphotographable or something! It totally makes sense!
That is the bestest explanation ever and it’s my personal headcanon.
There’s a difference between SAVING the city and DATING it.
I always assumed that everyone who knew both Clark and Superman sort of always knew but didn’t let it slip to spare his ego.
*scrolls through comments*
so many walls of text!
Everyone keeps saying Danny was forced into lying about Amber being his gf. That is entirely not true; he was cajoled into it. Entirely different thing.
You can’t tell him as Amber he’ll Dan it up and think you are lieing