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{{trope}}
[[File:sixyears_6267.jpg|frame|[[Loads and Loads of Characters|And this doesn't even include the cast of]] ''[[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|Shortpacked!]]''...]]
 
 
[[The Verse]] which is the setting of five [[Web Comic]] series by David Willis: ''[http://www.itswalky.com/d/19970908.html Roomies!]'', ''[http://www.itswalky.com It's Walky!]'', ''[http://www.shortpacked.com Shortpacked!]'' (which now [[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|has its own page]]), ''[http://www.itswalky.com Joyce And Walky!]'' and ''[http://www.dumbingofage.com/ Dumbing of Age]'' ([[Dumbing of Age|which also has its own page]]).
 
''Roomies!'' began in 1997 as a [[Slice of Life]] webcomic concerning the adventures of Danny Wilcox, [[Ordinary High School Student|Ordinary College Student]], and his [[Kavorka Man]] roommate Joe Rosenthal. Other important characters included Danny's love interest Jennifer "Billie" Billingsworth, his mixed-race [[Broken Bird]] ex-girlfriend Sal Walters, and the [[Virginity Makes You Stupid|sheltered]], [[Yandere|semi-well-adjusted]] Joyce Brown. The strip gradually developed both [[Cerebus Syndrome]] and a love for theatrics, culminating in Joe and Joyce being kidnapped by aliens.
 
At this point it re-branded itself ''It's Walky!'' and began to focus on the adventures of a [[Government Conspiracy]] called SEMME, dedicated to dealing with extra-terrestrial threats to Earth. The titular David "Walky" Walkerton, a [[Keet|hyperactive]] member of Squad 128, found himself fighting alongside Sal, Joe and Joyce, all of whom were inducted to SEMME and placed in his squad, with [[Stuffy Brit]] Jason Chesterfield, [[Jerk Withwith a Heart of Jerk]] Mike Warner and [[Genki Girl|even-more-hyperactive]] Robin DeSanto rounding out the central cast.
 
After a random collection of [[Where Are They Now? Epilogue|Where Are They Now Epilogues]], DW launched ''[[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|Shortpacked]]'' in 2005, which revolves around the adventures of [[Straight Gay]] [[Straight Man]] Ethan Siegel and [[Meganekko]] Amber O'Malley as they work at the titular toy store. By the third strip, it has linked itself back to the [[Walkyverse]] when Robin DeSanto, still just as hyperactive as before, seeks employment there; not too much later, Mike Warner also joined the cast. In the same year ''Joyce And Walky!'' a [[Dom Com]] centering around the [[Official Couple]] of the verse, debuted, playing out the affairs of characters after the retirement of ''It's Walky!''. Only strips published on Saturdays were available to the public; Tuesday and Thursday material were for subscribers only.
 
This strip was put on hiatus in 2010, and later that year got a soft reboot into ''[[Dumbing of Age]]'', which transplants characters from all of Willis's other comics into Indiana University and strips off the sci-fi elements, thus going back to the original premise of ''Roomies!'' ...and so the circle is complete.
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* '''Joe Rosenthal''', Danny's [[Kavorka Man|womanizing]] best friend and dorm roommate.
* '''Joyce Brown''', a quirky innocent girl who is intent on [[Yandere|making Danny her boyfriend]].
* '''Sarah Clinton''', Joyce's jaded pre-law roommate and [[Friends Withwith Benefits]] with Joe.
* '''Jennifer 'Billie' Billingsworth''', a [[Troubled but Cute]] student with a reputation as a party girl.
* '''Mary''' (Mary Paul in ''Walky!''), Sal's hypocritical 'best friend' whose moralizing towards Billie is proven hollow {{spoiler|when she has an abortion}}.
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== Shortpacked!: ==
See [[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|here]] for info.
 
== Dumbing of Age: ==
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* [[Belligerent Sexual Tension]]: Danny and Billie. [http://www.itswalky.com/d/19990518.html I'm enjoying this way too much.]
* [[Book Ends]]: The comic begins and ends with Danny on the phone with his girlfriend and scolding Joe for climbing up out the window to the girls' dorms, trying to get him to think of the consequences. The first time, Joe's response shows his obliviousness to the concept of dealing with your actions; the second time, Joe [[Character Development|has actually considered the potential ramifications]] (if only the favorable ones) and decided to do it anyway.
* [[Can't Get Away Withwith Nuthin']]': Drink one beer, and {{spoiler|you'll proceed to get totally drunk and a close friend of yours will GET KILLED saving you from your own stupidity}}.
** Also [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshaded]] and [[Averted Trope|averted]] much, much later ( {{spoiler|"Alcohol killed Ruth." "No, Ruth killed Ruth."}})
* [[Cerebus Syndrome]]: Ruth's {{spoiler|death}} brought the strip's consequence-free hijinks to a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|screeching halt]].
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* [[Creator Cameo]]: [http://www.itswalky.com/d/19980403.html "If I don't get a girlfriend in the next five seconds I'm gonna jump out the window."]
** The first of many. Willis make multiple background appearances throughout his comics, and later on becomes Ethan's [[Sitcom Arch Nemesis]] in ''Shortpacked''.
* [[Disneyfication]]: Parodied with ''Roomies!'' issue two, which has Danny, Joe and Joyce watching "Disney's ''[[Hansel and Gretel (Literature)|Hansel and Gretel]]''".
* [[Fallen Princess]]: Billie, a former Libby-esque Cheerleader, has a hard time adjusting to her loss of status upon entering college where no one cares how "cool" you supposedly were in high school.
* [[Famous Last Words]]: {{spoiler|Ruth's "Act with integrity... No regrets!" was echoed throughout the series, even by characters who didn't know her.}}
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''Both [[Aside Glance]]''<br />
'''Danny:''' That was...[[Lampshade Hanging|informative]]. But yes. Joyce. }}
* [[Kavorka Man]]: Joe - to the point that later [[Fanon]] would speculate that part of his Abductee powers was [[Love Is in Thethe Air|enhanced pheromones]]
* [[Killed Off for Real]]: {{spoiler|Ruth.}}
* [[Meganekko]]: Billie
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* [[Punny Name]]: Whitney Howard Lesse, Ruth Lesse, Dick Lesse.
* [[Shout-Out]]: The title of the first book collection. ''Roomies! [[Dr. Strangelove|Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Beer]]''.
** The second book has two: the title is ''Roomies! [[X -Men|Giant-Sized]] [[Cerebus Syndrome]]''. The cover is a take-off on the ''Giant-Sized X-Men'' cover.
* [[Too Kinky to Torture]]: Both played straight and subverted : Joyce seems to be the only human who can stand ''[[Cool and Unusual Punishment|The Sound of Music]]'', but once the aliens realize this they show her porn instead, which [[Heroic BSOD|screws her up]] for [[Character Development|the long term]]
* [[Tsundere]]: Billie, toward Danny.
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* [[Chekhov's Gunman]]: The Cheese is {{spoiler|(Linda's once-mentioned ex) David.}}
* [[Cloning Blues]]: Anti-Joyce, whose murder by the original would lead to severe repercussions.
* [[Cool and Unusual Punishment]]: [[Two Words: Obvious Trope|Four words]]:''The Sound of Music''
* [[Conspicuous CG]]: 3D models were used for some of the robots and spaceships. They looked ''really'' [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20020512.html out of place.].
* [[Contractual Genre Blindness]]: Head Alien just enjoys playing the Villain too much for his own good.
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* [[If You Kill Him You Will Be Just Like Him]]: But it doesn't work the last time Head Alien tries it.
* [[Indecisive Parody]]: It doesn't really know if it's a comedic series or a dramatic one. It's a mix of both.
* [[Is That What He Told You?]]: Another tactic Head Alien often used.
* [[Killed Mid-Sentence]]: {{spoiler|Mike Warner.}} Also doubles as both a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] and a [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
{{quote| {{spoiler|'''Mike''': (as he's about to be eaten by a martian) You call ''this'' tentacle violation? Your ''mom's'' better at this. That's because she's a prosti-* SKLRCH* }}}}
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* [[Ladykiller in Love]]: Joe, first with his crush on {{spoiler|Joyce}} and then with him starting to fall for a nerdy girl in a chatroom. It sets off his character development arc, and he eventually becomes a more well-rounded person because of both instances.
* [[Laser-Guided Amnesia]]: The mindwiper.
* [[Let's Wait Aa While]]: Though in Joyce and Walky, it's not so much "Wait until the time is right to have sex" as much as "Wait until Joyce can think about sex without going catatonic or psychotic."
* [[Loads and Loads of Characters]]: At least 90% of the characters on that page up there were introduced for or major players in this one. The [http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~carnildo/itswalky_all.html unofficial stats page] lists 247 named or otherwise identifiable characters.
* [[Locking MacGyver in Thethe Store Cupboard]]: [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20041015.html We found Phil, the Destiny's janitor, trapped in a closet, and he helped us escape using a variety of common household tools.]
* [[Loud of War]]: The aliens use ''The Sound Of Music'' as a form of mental torture.
* [[Love Martyr]]: Dina.
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* [[Obfuscating Stupidity]] Dizzy and hyperactive as he is, Walky is not nearly as dumb as he acts, (he was a straight-A student) but he prefers to play the fool to avoid responsibility. (And he has trouble breaking the habit of a lifetime when responsibility is ultimately forced upon him.)
* [[Oedipus Rex]]
* [[Only Known Byby Their Nickname]]: Walky is called "David" a small handful of times in the strip's entire history (mostly by his mother.) Doubly ironic as everyone calls him "Walky", which is a nickname he doesn't even like (he insists people call him "Walkerton") due to its association with repressed memories.
** Billie also qualifies.
* [[Pet the Dog]]: {{spoiler|The only time Mike shows any display of emotion for his fellow human beings other than abject hate (as long as he isn't drunk) was [[Shoot the Shaggy Dog|when Dina died in front of him.]]}}
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* [[Punny Name]]: Dina Sarazu, Peter Paul (husband of Mary).
** Also, Alan, {{spoiler|who's an Alien.}}
* [[Redemption in Thethe Rain]]: Walky's "it's the rain" speech
* [[Separated Atat Birth]]: {{spoiler|Sal and Walky.}}
* [[Shoot the Dog]]: Sal shooting Tony, in a [[Story Arc]] appropriately entitled "Kill Your Friends".
* [[Shout-Out]]: Walky seeks inspiration for how to effectively lead his team, and it comes [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20030629.html crashing through a window.] Turns out Willis was making references to [[Batman]] even before he started parodying him explicitly.
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* [[Super Window Jump]]: Sal. Frequently lampshaded.
* [[Switched At Birth]]: Sal and Beef
* [[Take That]]: A story takes place in a [[Comic Book Time|time-frozen]] small town in Canada, taking place in large part in a high school, where a fish can be seen floating in midair. c.f. ''[[Avalon (Webcomicwebcomic)|Avalon]]''.
** Another take that to ''[[Avalon (Webcomicwebcomic)|Avalon]]'' in the announcement of ''Dumbing of Age'':
{{quote| "I do intend to finish [''Joyce and Walky!''], and not, like, end everything with a text story where [http://www.avalonhigh.com/ everyone becomes lesbians.]"}}
* [[The Artifact]]: ''The Sound of Music'', early sexual [[Aesop|Aesops]].
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{{quote| '''''Excellent.''' They wish '''also''' do battle. This is satisfy.''}}
* [[Tsundere]]: Sal, towards both Tony and Jason.
* [[Two Words: Obvious Trope]]: "Four words...{{spoiler|[[Luke, I Am Your Father|your twin sister, Sal]]}}."
* [[Unexpected Successor]]: Walky's mother becoming head of SEMME.
* [[The Unmasqued World]]: The Aliens come out of hiding and attack Denver about halfway through the series.
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* [[Wrench Wench]]: Lith.
* [[You Say Tomato]]: Walky cracks up because of how a British character pronounces his name.
* [[Your Approval Fills Me Withwith Shame]]: After Danny asks if he, Joe, Rachel and uber-nerd Howard are on a suicide mission, Joe outlines why it's not and explains intangibility by bringing up [[X -Men|Kitty Pryde.]]
{{quote| '''Howard:''' [[Nerd]]! [[Nerd]]! [[One of Us]]! [[One of Us]]! <br />
''' Joe:''' ''Now'' I want it to be a suicide mission. }}
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{{quote| '''Danny:''' I'm off the hook?<br />
'''Walky:''' You're off the hook. }}
* [[Back From the Dead]] / [[Back for Thethe Finale]]: {{spoiler|Head Alien ''I''. "That's right, I'm original recipe. Wanna dance?}}
* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]]: How the {{spoiler|alt-universe future kids end up, for the most part.}}
* [[Burger Fool]]: Sal ends up as one when forced into the working world.
* [[Call Back]]: Sal calls Joyce's use of her jetpack cheating when recounting one of their ''It's Walky!''-era fights to Becky. Later, whilst fighting the {{spoiler|brainwashed alt-future kids}}, Joyce gleefully refers to the use of her jetpack as cheating as she and Walky fly into battle.
* [[The Cameo]]: Joyce logs onto a [[All Girls Like Ponies|pony]] chatroom in the hopes of finding a new friend to be her maid of honor, only to become discouraged and give up. [[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|Amber is on the same forum.]]
* [[Cerebus Retcon]]: We get an explanation for the duct tape restraints. Apparently it worked on the abductees when they were kids and they just never felt the need to upgrade. (Hey, no one said it was a ''good'' explanation.)
* [[Crossover]]: With ''[[Shortpacked (Webcomic)|Shortpacked]]'' for the wedding. Robin is authenticating, and Mike is invited. They bring Leslie and Amber as their plus-ones and they all show up in Ultra-Car.
* [[Clue From Ed]]: The [[Rubber Band History]] version of [[The Unmasqued World]] arc comes with the following note from Willis.
{{quote| ''Longtime It's Walky! readers may find this scene familiar. Sort of.'' <br />
''Hint: Things are different.'' }}
* [[Crack Pairing]]: Invoked with the alternate-reality kids for the future. Some of them have really bizarre parentage--[[Screw Yourself|the kid of Doc and Doc's clone]] and [[A Date Withwith Rosie Palms|Harold and]] [[Cargo Ship|a tube sock]] are some of the ''less'' bizarre examples.
* [[Dead Guy Onon Display]]: The final fate of Head Alien I--in the ''Smithsonian'', no less.
* [[Fainting]]: Happens to Danny and Billie when faced with the reality of D.J.'s existence for the first time.
* [[Fantastic Racism]]: Lampshaded and subverted.
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* [[Flash Back]]: An extended one happens early on, which introduces us to Dorothy and tells the story of how Walky became an honor student in high school.
* [[First Episode Spoiler]]: Jason and Sal don't last, which is why Sal now lives with Joyce and Walky.
* [[Friends Withwith Benefits]]: Jason and Sal try this for a while after their relationship falls apart. It doesn't work out.
* [[Fourth Wall Portrait]]: Walky takes a life-drawing class and is critisized by his professor for "making up anatomy."
{{quote| '''Joyce:''' Were you drawing lips again?}}
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* [[Got Me Doing It]]: Joyce now also uses "wiigii" instead of "woo-hoo", and probably picked it up from Walky.
* [[Friendless Background]]: Jason's employers are ''very'' happy that he comes from one of these.
* [[Halloween Cosplay]]: On occasion, with the most memorable instance of Joyce being ''just'' a word a way from [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall|implying Walky was dressed as David Willis.]] Walky quickly clarifies that his costume is actually [[Harry Potter]].
* [[Happily Married|Happily Engaged and Living Together]]: The titular duo. While Joyce does become a tad paranoid when Walky starts hanging around Dorothy, their relationship is remarkably drama-free and all of their arguments are petty and short-lived.
* [[Henpecked Husband]]: Danny. He doesn't seem to mind.
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'''HAII:''' It should be fun. }}
* [[Hypocrite]]: Joyce edges into this territory when she has a mini-freakout over Walky and Dorothy hanging out. Walky points out that she pined after both Danny and Joe and he doesn't take issue with them being around.
* [[If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...]]: Walky threatens Jason with this when he finds out he and Sal have been sneaking around. Jason is unimpressed.
{{quote| '''Jason:''' You may be superhuman, but I remember you have a soft neck.}}
* [[I'm Not Here to Make Friends]]: Jason's excuse for his lack of social life.
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* [[Intangible Man]]/[[Voluntary Shapeshifting]]: Electric Man, and later {{spoiler|Head Alien II.}}
* [[Left for Dead]]: Head Alien II does this for Sal and D.J., in spite of Monkey Master's insistence that D.J. still has vital signs and he should finish the job.
* [[Married to Thethe Job]]: Jason, kind of. While he ''does'' love his job, his issues are mostly unrelated to that and he considers his [[Secret Agent|career choice]] is a convenient scapegoat for said issues.
* [[Meaningful Echo]]: Back to [http://itswalky.com/d/19991219.html this Roomies! strip.] D.J. uses Danny's [[Anvilicious]] moralizing as his last words to his alt-universe father, and in doing so lends them a small bit of dignity.
{{quote| '''DJ:''' I shouldn't be interacting with you to begin with. I only initiated it for my own selfish reasons. So I deserve any ire thrown my way. This was stupid, plain and simple. But hey, principals mean diddly squat without the experiences to back them up, right?}}
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