Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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'look, that's nothin', i'm secretly the duke of thingley'
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May 12, 2026

Hunt

by David M Willis on December 22, 2017 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - This Is the Way that We Love
└ Tags: amber, walky

Discussion (151) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    December 22, 2017 at 12:01 am | #

    “WHOA WHAT… Other Rachel?!”

    “…”

    • Ana Chronistic
      Ana Chronistic
      December 22, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

      Who knew the Duke of Thingley was secretly the Timesink Math Imbecile?!

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        December 22, 2017 at 1:03 am | #

        Duke of Thingley is….

        NO! I WANT TO KNOW THAT HE’S…

        TMI! TMI!

      • KingoHrts
        KingoHrts
        December 22, 2017 at 3:48 am | #

        It has to be the fact I’m doing this at 3:30 cause I’m up with the stupid dog, but the first time I read this, I thought Walky referred to himself as the “timesink with muscle”. Which fit the reference too well to suspect.

        • HeySo
          HeySo
          December 22, 2017 at 8:05 am | #

          “thought Walky referred to himself as the “timesink with muscle””

          “Hey, Amazi-Girl. I’ve got this great new superpower of my own, it’s called “Timesink”. Be my muscle?”
          :Amazigirl strips off mask: “Let me give myself to you, honestly.”
          “Whoa, whoa! Not where I was going with this! At least buy me nacho dinner first!”

          I think I’ve seen this fanfic before, actually.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          December 22, 2017 at 9:17 am | #

          Please.

          Walky’s supervillain name is The Caramel Timesink.

          • HeySo
            HeySo
            December 22, 2017 at 11:43 pm | #

            I thought that was his exotic dancer name..

  2. butts
    butts
    December 22, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

    “Waaaaaiiiit….”

    “SIS?!”

    • butts
      butts
      December 22, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

      frig Ana made the same joke

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        December 22, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

        Everyone was thinking it. I had it copy-pasted and everything, but was too late.

  3. Maveric1984
    Maveric1984
    December 22, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

    Waaaaaaaait a minute. You’re not Sal!

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      December 22, 2017 at 8:08 am | #

      “Dammit, Billie! You steered me wrong again!
      I really need to start getting advice from sober people..”
      :In the background, Jason downs another beer out of spite:

  4. Nono
    Nono
    December 22, 2017 at 12:02 am | #

    @its… Dorothy

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      December 22, 2017 at 8:10 am | #

      Then Real-Dorothy comes up on the roof to find them making out.
      “But.. I thought she was you!”
      “I thought I was you, also! I don’t even know who I am anymore!”

      The Amazi-Girl split personality condition isn’t only increasing, it’s mutating and spreading to other people.. =O

  5. Ferdinand Rosenthal
    Ferdinand Rosenthal
    December 22, 2017 at 12:03 am | #

    It’s – Lucy!

    • CrazyJ
      CrazyJ
      December 22, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

      The white Lucy.

  6. Blender
    Blender
    December 22, 2017 at 12:03 am | #

    Amber has a very pronounced collarbone-hole

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      December 22, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

      Somewhere, Daisy is thinking “Close enough!”

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        December 22, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

        Daisy is trying to edit the design of AG’s outfit in photoshop and making everyone around her real uncomfortable in the process.

        • LookingIN
          LookingIN
          December 22, 2017 at 12:45 am | #

          The constant clicking on her boobs and whether or not she has nipples showing can’t help…

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      December 22, 2017 at 2:45 am | #

      You mean the suprasternal notch?

  7. Claire
    Claire
    December 22, 2017 at 12:03 am | #

    Oh snap!!!

    • Haven
      Haven
      December 22, 2017 at 1:00 am | #

      I just whispered “ohmigod” to myself.

      Possibly a little undercut in that I don’t know if Walky knows who she is…at all. But a pretty big deal for Amber, certainly.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        December 22, 2017 at 1:05 am | #

        http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/amber+walky/

        • Lieutenant Dan
          Lieutenant Dan
          December 22, 2017 at 6:58 am | #

          I– I did not know you could search multiple tags like that. 😮
          A cookie for you.

        • adjudicus
          adjudicus
          December 22, 2017 at 8:10 am | #

          Do you have to type it into the url to search for multiple tags, or is there some other way to do it?

      • Reltzik
        Reltzik
        December 22, 2017 at 1:07 am | #

        She’s the person he shared a Cube Of Solitude fort with.

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          December 22, 2017 at 1:09 am | #

          Also, he knows she shares a half-bath with Dorothy.

  8. Tarkara
    Tarkara
    December 22, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

    Beef!?

  9. Rambling Idiot
    Rambling Idiot
    December 22, 2017 at 12:04 am | #

    Walky: We meet again sister.

  10. adjudicus
    adjudicus
    December 22, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    Aw man, right in the feels, especially Walky resignation with all this in panel 5

  11. Danni
    Danni
    December 22, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    OH SHIT

  12. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    December 22, 2017 at 12:05 am | #

    She going to reveal her identity and walky reaction will most likely go along the lines of : https://youtu.be/6bfBhIM5tb4

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      December 22, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

      I Some how did not see the 6 panel.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      December 22, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

      I was thinking more like this.

    • Kamino Neko
      Kamino Neko
      December 22, 2017 at 2:47 am | #

      I knew exactly what this clip was going to be.

  13. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    December 22, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    So much for Billie’s theory.

  14. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    December 22, 2017 at 12:06 am | #

    I’m am suddenly onboard the AmberxWalky train that I never even thought of before this strip

    • mister gray
      mister gray
      December 22, 2017 at 12:31 am | #

      suddenly……….me too.

    • Adept Arcanist
      Adept Arcanist
      December 22, 2017 at 12:32 am | #

      Dammit, like… on one hand walky/dorothy is great and i don’t wanna sink it but on the other hand I’m starting to ship this???

      • Koms
        Koms
        December 22, 2017 at 12:36 am | #

        This is a gaaaarbage ship.

        • AnvilPro
          AnvilPro
          December 22, 2017 at 12:42 am | #

          That’s the way they love

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          December 22, 2017 at 1:15 am | #

          Nah, it’d be nothing but glares. Less garbage ship and more garbage skow-l.

          • JessWitt
            JessWitt
            December 22, 2017 at 2:55 am | #

            More of a garbage barge. A garbarge, as the French say.

            • Joe Covenant
              Joe Covenant
              December 22, 2017 at 4:56 am | #

              That was one rubbish pun.

              • Lieutenant Dan
                Lieutenant Dan
                December 22, 2017 at 7:02 am | #

                It was déchettiest pun ever.

              • Koms
                Koms
                December 23, 2017 at 12:24 am | #

                Don’t trash the pun

        • Liquid Len
          Liquid Len
          December 22, 2017 at 7:59 am | #

          Garbage Barge?
          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobro_4000

        • StClair
          StClair
          December 22, 2017 at 10:15 am | #

          And then Scotty punches him.

    • tirachokko
      tirachokko
      December 22, 2017 at 7:13 am | #

      bongo i called it

      (did not mean any offense with the “bongo”)

  15. Doctor_Who
    Doctor_Who
    December 22, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    I was thinking more like this.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      December 22, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

      Shoot, this was supposed to be a reply. Dangit.

      • LookingIN
        LookingIN
        December 22, 2017 at 12:48 am | #

        Batman demands his own response anyway!

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      December 22, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

      Ha

  16. Mandy
    Mandy
    December 22, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    Whoa. Also, my brain is tired and I can’t remember – do Walky and Amber know each other?

    • Nono
      Nono
      December 22, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

      They briefly met at Joyce’s party and in Amber’s half-bath.

    • Some Random Name
      Some Random Name
      December 22, 2017 at 12:09 am | #

      Amber basically almost murdered the guy that tried to sexually assault Joyce. Therefore, everyone in the building kind of knows her. Plus, I also think Amber and Dorothy share a bathroom so they probably have ran into each other before.

    • Cass
      Cass
      December 22, 2017 at 12:10 am | #

      They chatted at Joyce’s party at least.

      • Cass
        Cass
        December 22, 2017 at 12:26 am | #

        Wait, nevermind, apparently my brain is just making up strips that didn’t exist. I swore I remembered a couple with them chatty and Amber being a little inexplicably (to her) edgy with the implication it was because he reminded her of Sal but hadn’t put that together, but apparently not!

        • Cass
          Cass
          December 22, 2017 at 12:27 am | #

          …Okay, I clearly need to go to bed, I was not wordsing very well there.

        • Koms
          Koms
          December 22, 2017 at 12:38 am | #

          Yes. When they met at the rooftop earlier.

          • Yumi
            Yumi
            December 22, 2017 at 12:40 am | #

            But that was Walky and AG, so it wouldn’t add meaning to Walky as an interaction he had with this unmasked person.

            • Koms
              Koms
              December 23, 2017 at 12:26 am | #

              True true

        • segnosaur
          segnosaur
          December 22, 2017 at 1:11 am | #

          Walky and Amber did meet at the party, but they didn’t show them interacting one-on-one. But, the following day Amber described him to Danny as a lazy goof and someone who “sets the corner of her brains on fire”.

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/04-walking-with-dina/goofoff/

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      December 22, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

      When your brain is tired, you can do this: http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/amber+walky/

      So basically, they know each other; not well, but enough for Walky to connect past meetings with Amber to the girl with Dorothy who stabbed the rapist to the person with him now.

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        December 22, 2017 at 12:42 am | #

        I ended up wandering through lots of strips, and then discovered http://itspregnancy.tumblr.com/post/119081056426 🙂

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        December 22, 2017 at 1:56 am | #

        But has Amber figured out that he’s her alter ego’s former arch-nemesis’ twin brother yet?

        • PlainMarie
          PlainMarie
          December 22, 2017 at 9:21 am | #

          Yes! When is she going to figure that out?

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      December 22, 2017 at 1:22 am | #

      He hid with her in the cube chairs, and they met in Dorothy’s half-bath, and the party, and everyone knows Amber from Ryan.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      December 22, 2017 at 2:26 am | #

      Not really; this strip shows that it’s more of a ‘by one remove’ thing. Walky knows of Amber and Amazi-Girl through their relationship with Dorothy and what she has likely told him about them.

  17. Yumi
    Yumi
    December 22, 2017 at 12:07 am | #

    So there’s this song “Giants” by Lights, and when I read “We/I can be garbage,” I sing it in my mind to the tune of the lyric “We can be giants.”

    And now I’m looking at the lyrics and I feel like this song is always going to be about garbage roof for me now.

    And all our problems make us powerless
    Let’s get somewhere where the both of us come rising up
    Come rising up
    Where we could be giants garbage

    • tirachokko
      tirachokko
      December 22, 2017 at 7:35 am | #

      lmfao yes

  18. Stephen Bierce
    Stephen Bierce
    December 22, 2017 at 12:08 am | #

    *plays Tom Lehrer’s “Hunting Song” on the hacked P.A. speaker*

  19. Inahc
    Inahc
    December 22, 2017 at 12:11 am | #

    as Pattern would say… mmmm. progress.

    • lia47
      lia47
      December 22, 2017 at 2:06 am | #

      that’s such a weird reference to make here but im also literally taking a break from reading that book to read this so good job

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        December 22, 2017 at 9:23 pm | #

        not weird considering what’s going on in Oathbringer. 😉 although the hints were there in earlier books – I just didn’t pick up on them before, thinking it was normal…

        I really like what was said at, like, two thirds of the way through the book. but it might count as minor spoilers, so, rot13: Jvg fnvq, “Npprcg gur cnva, ohg qba’g npprcg gung lbh qrfreir vg.”

  20. Passchendaele
    Passchendaele
    December 22, 2017 at 12:12 am | #

    *stands on garbage roof and sings* IT’S NINE IN THE AFTERNOON

  21. Disastroid
    Disastroid
    December 22, 2017 at 12:13 am | #

    Walky gets to be her The Sorceress, Man-at-Arms, and Orko!

  22. Keulen
    Keulen
    December 22, 2017 at 12:15 am | #

    Walky has more secret identities than Amber, since she’s Amazi-Girl while he’s both the Duke of Thingley and the Timesink Math Imbecile.

  23. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    December 22, 2017 at 12:16 am | #

    “Hey, lady I’ve met like twice”
    Kidding aside, very interesting development.

  24. Mr D
    Mr D
    December 22, 2017 at 12:20 am | #

    AWKWARD QUESTION TIME :toot:
    So, as of late I’ve seen that there is a strong pushback against the typical japanese trope of “She looks like she’s 12 but she’s actually 1000”.
    I mean, I get it, its an excuse for japan’s unhealthy obssesion with underage girls.

    But this DID led to another question: What about IRL people with this problem? Don’t they deserve love, companionship, even sexual gratification? And what about their SO, wouldn’t they be accused of being perverts?

    Yes, some of you will say that is impossible. To you I say: My little sister is 23 and with a plaid skirt could pass for a young middle schooler.

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      December 22, 2017 at 12:30 am | #

      when I was 21, one of the Costco sample tables asked if I had a parent with me. the minimum age for getting samples on your own is *12*.

      I really, really appreciated this strip, and the one after it: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/safe-2/

    • Yumi
      Yumi
      December 22, 2017 at 12:39 am | #

      I mean? Those seem like they’re really two separate things.

      Sometimes people get read as being way younger than they are, and that can suck for them unless they’re getting like a discount or something from it (or they just don’t care). But assuming that their SO knows how old they are, hopefully they’re not the one treating them like this.

      I’m not sure who would be accusing the SO of being a pervert? People who know the person in question would know how old they are, so are we talking, like, random people on the streets? I don’t really see that being a thing, in part because I think people are well aware that people can look younger than their age. I guess if a couple is very PDA and on looks 28 while the other looks 12, that could raise some flags for people…hopefully if anyone felt the need to do something, though, it would be able to be resolved with, “Hey, we’re both adults…” before it escalated to, like, physical violence.

      Also, I find that a lot of people who may think a young looking adult “looks 12” or whatever have a skewed idea of what 12 year olds look like.

      • PlainMarie
        PlainMarie
        December 22, 2017 at 9:25 am | #

        My husband went grey early, while I am more baby-faced. An older man once asked me what it was like to be in a relationship with someone so much older than myself. Wut? I had to tell him that: Sorry to burst your bubble, but we are the same age!
        People make weird assumptions sometimes.

        • Miri
          Miri
          December 22, 2017 at 11:11 am | #

          When I was 15 somebody assumed my father was my husband. That freaked me out quite a bit…

          • Socks
            Socks
            December 22, 2017 at 1:25 pm | #

            THAT HAPPENED TO ME WITH MY STEPDAD SO MANY TIMES I DO NOT GET IT AHH

            And then, when I’d clarify to the much older dudes that no, actually, I am 16, that is my stepfather not my date… they’d offer to buy me drinks??? Bro I literally just told you I’m way underaged what the utter assfuck why are you like this

            Sometimes I worry about people who find me attractive. Like, I’m 23, I am still REGULARLY casually mistaken for being under 16… people who meet me in contexts where I am clearly an adult, like at clubs or back when I was in college, they’re always really surprised to hear that so many people think I’m in high school, so I guess context must play a part of that? But I can’t help but wonder if there’s something weird going on whenever someone just randomly in public checks me out.

            The day I start going grey is gonna be the happiest day of my life I’m pretty sure.

            • Inahc
              Inahc
              December 22, 2017 at 3:14 pm | #

              Nope, sorry. I started getting grey (well, white) hairs in my early 20s. Still getting ID’d in my 30s. To me it looks like I’ve almost got the white streak from Frozen, but other people don’t seem to notice, despite most of them being taller than me (so presumably they can see the top of my head where it’s most visible)

              OTOH, a bit more white and I’m gonna try dying it green – it’ll be nice if I can get colour to show without any bleach 🙂

    • kitty
      kitty
      December 22, 2017 at 12:47 am | #

      well. yes? the problem is not adults who look young. but other adults who think theyre attractive BECAUSE they look young

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        December 22, 2017 at 1:03 am | #

        Yeah. There’s a big difference between real-world people who happen to not look their age, and skeevy “I can’t believe it’s not pedophilia!” wish-fulfillment fantasies.

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      December 22, 2017 at 1:01 am | #

      In my mid-twenties, I walked into a middleschool/highschool to teach a class, and the administrator said “aw, is it your first day, do you need help finding homeroom??”

      But people who are into me know my age. To my knowledge, my eternal youth has never even been a fetishised thing for my significant folks.

      • Leorale
        Leorale
        December 22, 2017 at 1:06 am | #

        …that said, I once showed up in front of my nerdy pals in a cute punk schoolgirl outfit, and felt their eyes on me very differently, and ran away. True Story.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          December 22, 2017 at 1:13 am | #

          But yeah I’d like to think my lovers are into my mind and personality n’stuff, not just my ability to wear children’s clothing on occasion.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        December 22, 2017 at 3:40 am | #

        I get that kind of thing a lot. I once had to show my ID four times at a casino, twice when I was just eating. I ordered a steak and milk. I was so mad (by which I mean exaggerated snark not actually angry).

        I’ve also been offered virgin drinks by club wait staff I’m pretty sure I was older than, and been mistaken for a first year at my university (I am a FOURTH YEAR DAMN MY BABY FACE).

        Mind you, I have a very young looking face, don’t wear makeup or heels, and sport very kiddy looking stuff like rubber bracelets so. Y’know. Partially on me.

        • David M Willis
          David M Willis
          December 22, 2017 at 4:45 am | #

          went out to dinner for my 30th birthday, asked for a beer, and the waitress laughed at me and walked away

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            December 22, 2017 at 1:08 pm | #

            That will probably happen to me if I ever start drinking more than little sips. I’n sorry.

          • 3oranges
            3oranges
            December 22, 2017 at 1:46 pm | #

            Sure, next you’re going to tell us people can have gray hair at that age.

          • Rachel
            Rachel
            December 22, 2017 at 10:08 pm | #

            Aww! No one’s ever been that rude to me. Though a waiter once asked if we needed children’s menus – and once he learned I was 22, backtracked HARD.

            “Oh! Uh – well, y’know, it can just be a good option sometimes – uh, it’s cheaper, and, uh, the chicken tenders are great, uh, I order off it all the time!”

        • ischemgeek
          ischemgeek
          December 22, 2017 at 5:47 am | #

          If it helps, I got IDd in Norway ordering a beer.

          Drinking age in Norway for beer is 16.

          I’m 30.

          • Liquid Len
            Liquid Len
            December 22, 2017 at 8:14 am | #

            I got the same thing when I was in my 20s. Then I started going gray in my mid-30s. Kinda took care of that.

      • Socks
        Socks
        December 22, 2017 at 1:28 pm | #

        When I was teaching middle school aged kids, I definitely got mistaken as a student, like, more than once. And again when tutoring high school, the kid’s friend came over and was like “oh, do you go to X High School too?”

        No, child. No, I do not.

      • A Scientist
        A Scientist
        December 22, 2017 at 10:00 pm | #

        I’m the opposite, the student who gets mistaken for a professor. Thanks, stress, for the gray hairs!

    • Shiro
      Shiro
      December 22, 2017 at 1:15 am | #

      …there is not a legal woman alive that looks like a small child, which is really what that trope is about. Not like ehh borderline could pass for 16 with the right clothes. We’re talking like the shit that gets used to attempt to justify lolicon.

      I mean, I know anime style art can be ambiguous sometimes but really, it’s obvious when that’s what they’re trying.

      • Shiro
        Shiro
        December 22, 2017 at 1:17 am | #

        Like the immediate example that comes to mind for me is CLAMP because as much as I loved them as a teen, I cannot read their stuff now without getting squicked because they do so much of the “sure she LOOKS eight years old but she’s totes a couple thousand and so it’s fine that she’s in love with a grown ass adult man”

        • Kit M. Harding
          Kit M. Harding
          December 22, 2017 at 1:43 am | #

          I reread Chobits recently and I was sort of staring at it going “Chi acts like a small child, why are you in love?” Though given the lack of sex that’s actually one of the *less* squicky ones.

          • StClair
            StClair
            December 22, 2017 at 10:18 am | #

            You mean like the centurie(s) old vampires, like Angel and Edward, who are still really into high school girls?

            • thejeff
              thejeff
              December 22, 2017 at 11:13 am | #

              Yeah, that’s an even squickier trope. Though in some cases it kind of makes sense – if they’re in a way stuck emotionally at that level of development. Still, that’s just justification.

              Or the even more common older male hero always hooking up with the much younger, if not actually teenage, female love interest in your average action movie.

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        December 22, 2017 at 3:36 am | #

        Yeah, I am 21 and the youngest I’ve ever gotten mistaken for was 12. Definitely young, but I’d find it hard pressed to find a grown woman who looks like a small child.

    • Anna
      Anna
      December 22, 2017 at 4:49 am | #

      My sister-in-law has always looked at least ten years younger than she is. At 30 she still easily passes for a teenager when she’s in a sporty (instead of a professional) outfit. My brother (who is a year older than she is and looks his age) has occasionally gotten remarks about this, he told me. Someone at a bar who asked him So… how old is she? He got really angry: What exactly are you implying, huh?
      He’s always known her age, so to them it’s not an issue, and you wouldn’t mistake her for a teenager once she starts talking (she’s wicked smart).

      • Arian
        Arian
        December 22, 2017 at 8:04 am | #

        I find it weird how many aspects of my body shape people are able to ignore, just because I’m really short and have an unwrinkled face. I’m 46. I have three children aged 21+. I have boobs that now count as ‘large’, not to mention ‘droopy’. And my pelvis is wide, let alone the overweight that layers them. But nope, my height is under 5′ and my face is smooth. So I can still get taken for a kid. It’s just bizarre.

    • Portland
      Portland
      December 22, 2017 at 1:39 pm | #

      My partner is very young-looking and is also autistic, so often is mistaken for a young teenager (similar to the Dina strip linked above). I have an office job, so I tend to dress professionally and try to present myself as very mature, and I’ve often been mistaken for being in my mid-30s. People tend to be surprised when we explain that not only are we close to the same age, my partner is actually a year older than me.

  25. @zombieundergrnd
    @zombieundergrnd
    December 22, 2017 at 12:22 am | #

    Clark?
    You mean … all tnis time with the glasses…
    I feel like such a fool …

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      December 22, 2017 at 9:52 am | #

      I forget who said it, but: For almost 80 years, Superman’s identity has been kept secret by a freakin’ pair of glasses. It’s tradition. To change it now, where folks would recognize Clark – glasses = Superman, would be like changing the stripes on the flag.

      • StClair
        StClair
        December 22, 2017 at 10:20 am | #

        Watch this.
        You will believe a man can act.

  26. OnyxIdol
    OnyxIdol
    December 22, 2017 at 12:44 am | #

    Undressing already?

  27. Griffin Raynor
    Griffin Raynor
    December 22, 2017 at 12:58 am | #

    dun dun DUN

  28. Shiro
    Shiro
    December 22, 2017 at 1:12 am | #

    …Amazi-Girl’s not gonna like that, not one bit, nope nope

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      December 22, 2017 at 2:25 am | #

      It depends on the outcome, I suppose.

  29. Danni
    Danni
    December 22, 2017 at 1:21 am | #

    69 comments

    • Reltzik
      Reltzik
      December 22, 2017 at 1:24 am | #

      And ruined.

      • Danni
        Danni
        December 22, 2017 at 1:26 am | #

        i know, but for a moment, the joy was there.

  30. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    December 22, 2017 at 1:27 am | #

    And Amber reveals Amber’s real identity.

    …..

    …. it seems less dramatic when you bear in mind she’s not Amazi-Girl.

    • Needfuldoer
      Needfuldoer
      December 22, 2017 at 2:20 am | #

      Aside from the cheek blushes, they’re physically identical.

  31. BenRG
    BenRG
    December 22, 2017 at 2:01 am | #

    Really, Amber? With Walky of all people? I guess my impression I got at the start of this conversation was right: This is going to be a Big Thing, isn’t it?

  32. segnosaur
    segnosaur
    December 22, 2017 at 2:11 am | #

    I have to admit, I really have no idea where this story line is going. Friendship or romance between Amber and Walky based on mutual self loathing? Amber trying to sabotage Amazi-girl by revealing herself?

  33. Arianod
    Arianod
    December 22, 2017 at 2:14 am | #

    “OMG AMBER???”

    (Jokes aside: yay! This might be the healthiest thing Amber’s done in a long time)

  34. BenRG
    BenRG
    December 22, 2017 at 2:28 am | #

    I’m calling it: This arc will end with them ‘saving’ Dorothy (if only by snatching her books out of her hands, feeding her and then standing guard over her sleep). This whole thing just breaks down Amber’s “I am a monster” delusion and helps her along the path of realising that the real world and real people are not all black or white.

    • SpaceshipPilot
      SpaceshipPilot
      December 22, 2017 at 4:27 am | #

      And then Amazi-Girl starts sabotaging things, because she’s decided that only she can be Amber’s “good side”.

  35. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    December 22, 2017 at 2:54 am | #

    Holy cheese. Little by little everyone will know.

  36. Jack Stamper
    Jack Stamper
    December 22, 2017 at 3:38 am | #

    Okay…anyone got the photoshop ready of there actually being Sal in the last panel?
    Heck, I’d settle for Mike and a changed dialogue.

  37. Bagge
    Bagge
    December 22, 2017 at 4:21 am | #

    That trust is important.

  38. Lena
    Lena
    December 22, 2017 at 4:24 am | #

    Oh wow, those sad eyes on Walky are heartrending.

    • Jimmy
      Jimmy
      December 22, 2017 at 4:57 am | #

      Agreed, and so are Amber’s sad eyes.

  39. Zaxares
    Zaxares
    December 22, 2017 at 6:11 am | #

    Well, well… I’m interested to see how Walky will take this revelation.

    • Leon
      Leon
      December 22, 2017 at 6:36 am | #

      Which is why we’ll now cut to another character in another scene.

  40. Shawn Levasseur
    Shawn Levasseur
    December 22, 2017 at 7:07 am | #

    I’m reminded of a moment late in Batman’s “No Man’s Land” storyline, when Batman finally reveals his identity to Commissoner Gordon…

    Only for Gordon to look away and angrily reply, for Bats to put the damn mask back on, which was an unexpected twist to the moment.

    I think we’re building up to a similar twist here, but only that Walky doesn’t really know Amber, and won’t make the connection when and if he sees her again as Amber.

  41. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    December 22, 2017 at 7:32 am | #

    OH MY GOSH

  42. ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    ǝ snow ʍousɐ
    December 22, 2017 at 8:10 am | #

    @alt-text wait WALKY is the Duke of Thingley???

    • 3oranges
      3oranges
      December 22, 2017 at 1:48 pm | #

      The phrasing is a little confusing, but I think it means Amber is secretly also Duke of Thingley. That makes more sense.

  43. Galuna
    Galuna
    December 22, 2017 at 8:38 am | #

    AMAZIGIRL IS AMBER!?!?

  44. JBento
    JBento
    December 22, 2017 at 9:07 am | #

    Ok, I don’t generally do “perceptive”, and no-one has pointed this out in the comments yet, which means it’s so obvious it doesn’t bear mentioning or I’m wrong:

    Anyone else noticed that Amber says she can be garbage AT THE MOMENT she takes off the mask? I.e., when she stops looking like AG and goes back to looking like Amber?

    • Liliet
      Liliet
      December 22, 2017 at 9:56 am | #

      I mean, the cheek blushes were on the whole time, it was never Amazi-girl. So the symbolism there is probably not that, if that’s what you’re driving at. If it isn’t, I don’t know what you’re thinking about then )=

      • JBento
        JBento
        December 22, 2017 at 9:59 am | #

        I’m not saying that it isn’t Amber the whole time, I’m saying that Amber claims she becomes garbage when she removes the mask (and stops LOOKING like AG to the world at large).

        As in, she’s saying “you only think I’m good because you think I’m AG, lemme show you otherwise.”

        • Inahc
          Inahc
          December 22, 2017 at 9:30 pm | #

          makes sense to me. that or, like, she’s being “garbage” by doing something that miiight piss off amazi-girl the golden alter.

  45. Lizzy gordon
    Lizzy gordon
    December 22, 2017 at 9:46 am | #

    ..
    dumb question. Does Walky know who Amber is?

    I know they were both at that party with Joyce but Walky was also drunk then. I cant remember any scene where thetwo of them directly interacted each eac other in the entire comic. I’m just imagining Walky saying next, “… who are you?”

    • the final pam
      the final pam
      December 22, 2017 at 3:49 pm | #

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/tag/amber+walky/

      they’ve talked a few times, but more than likely walky would just recognize her from her being in the same dorm

  46. Liliet
    Liliet
    December 22, 2017 at 10:05 am | #

    Reasons I love this strip:
    1) Walky’s attentiveness to Dorothy. Sure, he’s being a doof thinking that dumping him would make Dorothy’s love easier (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD NO YOU’RE THE ONE OUTLET SHE HAS OF GOOFINESS AND RELAXATION), but he pays attention to HER interests, hobbies and goals, and works to have THEM fulfilled. Sure, it might be a low bar to clear, but given his general childishness and the fact they’ve barely been dating for a month, if that? Walky’s superpower is being a great boyfriend.
    2) Amber is being asked to take care of someone else. This is immediately reminding me of Rurouni Kenshin, no details because no spoilers… anyway, yeah, people just telling her she’s great and trying to help HER only makes her feel worse. But someone who’s entirely out of the loop on her problems asking her to take care of a third person? To do something that’s technically addressed to Amazi-girl, but that AMBER can do? Yep, that can help her snap out of her self-hatred fog into at least ‘functioning’, and eventually maybe even into ‘i’m not THAT bad’. For all of how bad an idea it was, Amber’s still the kind of person whose idea of anger outlet was ‘being a superhero’. Helping other people is central to her priorities and identity. Hell, this might even help her dissociation, brigning Amber and Amazi-girl closer together, what with Amber adopting a distinctly Amazi-girl-esque mindset again.
    3) I love that Amber is letting another person in on her secret. Sure, he’s not the best confidante in the world, but he’s one-step-removed from a person who already knows and has vested interest in protecting the secret, not to mention absolutely no incentive to give it away even without that. Literally just the fact that the number of people who know just did a ++, I’m so happy for Amber about that. Less secrets = healthier, imho.

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      December 22, 2017 at 11:53 pm | #

      “Walky’s superpower is being a great boyfriend.”

      Unfortunately, dramatic decision making and self-deprecation are actually negatives in being a well-developed partner. A strong partner- or family member or friend- is one that supports you by supporting you in the things you lack, being there when needed, and helping you pursue what’s good for you; it’s not in making decisions off what you think is best for the person based on emotion and whim- in fact, where core character is lacking, that’s generally a sign of an *awful* boyfriend.

      You’re confusing being a great boyfriend with “not being a self-centered asshole who only thinks about themselves, but instead tries to do what’s good for other people when it they realize an issue”. That’s characteristic of Walky’s personality on the whole, rather than anything he’s bringing to a relationship.

      In short, he’s doing as good a job at being in a relationship as you can hope for from a confused teenager, but deciding on your own to add to your partner’s stresses, rather than talking things through with them, or finding a more balanced option to pursue?

      Maybe Walky is a great boyfriend- but there’s nothing to indicate such from this comic alone. Again, if you think “[paying] attention to HER interests, hobbies and goals, and [working] to have THEM fulfilled” is a sign of someone being a stand-out relationship partner (rather than it being a normal sign of being in a relationship), then you should reevaluate the kind of relationships you’re having- because frankly, no matter what kind of person you are, you probably deserve a lot better than what you’re indicating you’re used to.

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      December 22, 2017 at 11:55 pm | #

      “Less secrets = healthier”

      So true.

      Also, did not mean to drag down your love of this strip, so please don’t lose that positivity just over what I said above. We all love Willis’ work, after all. I mean, even if he forces us to curse him over it on a regular basis..

  47. PB
    PB
    December 22, 2017 at 11:20 am | #

    jfidoajifeo ajf efj djf ldhgufhgiroghrjgvnjcnknnnngggghhhh

    (that’s positive but anxious keyboard-mashing for all you folks wondering)

    • Inahc
      Inahc
      December 22, 2017 at 9:28 pm | #

      PB’s secret identity: keyboard cat! 😉

  48. davidbreslin101
    davidbreslin101
    December 22, 2017 at 2:36 pm | #

    If I’d bet a Chef Dexter figure on my not tearing up at this strip, I’d be all DAMN YOU WILLIS by now.

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