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Walkyverse: Difference between revisions
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[[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|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 with 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]]'' in 2005, which revolves around the adventures of [[
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.
''Joyce & Walky!'' got taken out of mothballs on May 13, 2012, with three updates since then. Willis says he's unsure how long updates will keep up.
The cast of these series is [http://walkypedia.com/index.php/Category:Characters vast], but the main players in each can be boiled down to:
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* '''Becky''', Joyce's new best friend. She is generally more sane and easy-going than Joyce.
* '''Dorothy''', Walky's over-achieving ex-girlfriend who dumped him for not being studious enough. She's moved into Walky's neighborhood and is having second thoughts about her decision all those years ago.
* '''D.J.''', Danny and {{spoiler|Sal}}'s hypothetical kid from the future. Other universes sending help for other versions of him, only to end up in the mainline continuity, is the impetus for most of the plot.
== Shortpacked!: ==
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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]]''".
* [[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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* [[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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* [[Blond Guys Are Evil]]: Mike. It's a [[Comedic Sociopath|funny kind of evil]], though.
* [[Break the Cutie]]: Walky, Joyce, Linda...
** Joyce in particular could be the poster girl for this trope.
* [[Can't Hold His Liquor]]: It takes a mere sip to get Sal and Walky passed out.
* [[Cat Fight]]: ''So'' many, most involving Sal.
* [[Call Back]]: To ''Roomies!'', multiple times. For example, [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20040123.html the incident Billie's describing in panel one] [http://www.itswalky.com/d/19990529.html can be seen here.]
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* [[Creator Cameo]]: At it's subtlest. [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20041016.html Look in front on Monkey Master's left arm, the one that's not holding Aliens.] (Warning, comic contains spoilers!)
* [[Crossover]]: With ''[[Melonpool]],'' twice, and both times it had a lasting effect on ''Walky'''s storylines.
** And another with ''[[Fans]]'', which seemed more concern with advancing both character sets' emotional arcs.
* [[Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass]]: Both Joyce and Walky.
* [[Dark Action Girl]]: Sal, through much of the series.
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* [[Klingon Promotion]]: {{spoiler|Penny's assassination of Dargon.}}
* [[Knight of Cerebus]]: The Wanderer, in his first full appearance. He even provides the page quote.
* [[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 a 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."
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* [[Mysterious Parent]]
* [[Never Bareheaded]]: Dina is never seen without her trademark safari hat, even when sleeping or suspended upside down. In the entire series, she takes it off exactly once: {{spoiler|when she is about to die.}}
* [["Not Making This Up" Disclaimer]]: [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20010129.html "Yes. Yes! He put me in his 'tummy prison.' I'm not making this up."]
* [[Not-So-Harmless Villain]]: The Head Alien is a pretty funny guy... who also happens to singlehandedly ruin several characters' lives.
* [[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 by 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.]]}}
* [[Peek-a-Bangs]]: Sal, for a while.
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* [[Took a Level In Badass]]: Billie actually dares to challenge [[Dark Action Girl|Sal]] over Danny and manages to give a surprisingly good account of herself due to martial arts training and a childhood spent fighting with Walky.
* [[Totem Pole Trench]]: In [http://www.itswalky.com/d/20020210.html this] '' strip, Joyce and Dina use a more specific version to pretend to be Jason.
* [[Translation Train Wreck]]: Translations of {{spoiler|Martian}} speech come out this way.
{{quote|'''''Excellent.''' They wish '''also''' do battle. This is satisfy.''}}
* [[Tsundere]]: Sal, towards both Tony and Jason.
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* [[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.
* [[Unpredictable Results]]: The Head Alien's time-freezing ray, which at first seems to just cause [[Gender Bender]] but makes reality gradually more wibbly the longer it lasts. The fact that the ray was used to freeze the Cheese, who is functionally if not literally God in the Walkyverse, may have had something to do with this.
* [[Unresolved Sexual Tension]]: Willis had way too much fun with Joyce and Walky's. By the time it was released it had the force of a small thermonuclear device.
{{quote|''[[Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex|Man of steel.]] [[Averted Trope|Woman of steel.]] [[Funny Moments|Bed of Kleenex.]]''}}
* [[Unbroken Vigil]]: [http://itswalky.com/d/20010409.html Seen here.] (''[[The Sound of Music]]'' lyrics he's singing are what brought her out of it last time she was comatose.)
* [[Unrobotic Reveal]]: Alan.
* [[Unstoppable Rage]]: Often - usually after Head Alien has pushed one of them a little ''too'' far.
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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 with 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]]!
''' Joe:''' ''Now'' I want it to be a suicide mission. }}
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== ''Joyce & Walky!'' ==
* [[After the End]]: The comic's tagline describes ''J&W!'' as "post-apocalyptic." Given that said apocalypse was averted, it's debatable how well the description fits.
* [[Alternate Universe]]: Hoo boy. The villain's entire plot revolves around building an army out of the future kids of potential pairings, and that's just for starters...
* [[April Fools' Day]]: 2008 had Ultra-Car getting hit with a missile, Joyce and Walky inside declaring their hatred for each other, and Head Alien and Monkey Master having a [[Dance Party Ending]].
* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: Monkey Master disbelieves Head Alien II's existance and exploits. Head Alien II assumes this is the reason [[Subverted Trope|until Monkey Master tells him it's because]] "that would mean you actually ''succeeded'' at something."
** Played straight later: even after all he's seen and done, Joe ''still'' denies the existance of Danny's alt-future kid DJ.
{{quote|'''Joe:''' Am I the ''only one'' who refuses to dignify this retarded development? }}
* [[Back to School]]: [[Played Straight]]. Joyce was abducted by SEMME before she could finish college and Walky never started, so both start taking courses once the war's over. [[One-Hour Work Week|The plot never focuses on it, granted...]]
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{{quote|'''Sal:''' These antennae can be used as stranglin' instruments.
'''Walky:''' Than we shall remain silent. }}
* [[Benevolent Boss]]: Joe, as head of Rosenthal Industries. Danny works for him.
* [[Best Woman]]: Danny implied he would've ended up Joyce's maid of honor if Becky hadn't popped up.
{{quote|'''Danny:''' I'm off the hook?
'''Walky:''' You're off the hook. }}
* [[Back From the Dead]] / [[Back for the 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|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]]'' 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.''
''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 with Rosie Palms|Harold and]] [[Cargo Ship|a tube sock]] are some of the ''less'' bizarre examples.
* [[Dead Guy on 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.
{{quote|'''Head Alien II:''' Hey, you stupid monkey! Those were the guys on ''our'' side! C'mon!
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'''Monkey Master:''' I'm serious. They're all wearing the same damn outfit.
'''Head Alien II:''' Oh. Well. Point taken. }}
* [[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 with 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?}}
* [[The Fundamentalist]]: Becky's dad. [[The Niles|He's used to show]] [[Character Development|how far Joyce has come.]]
* [[Grand Theft Me]]: {{spoiler|HAII eventually pulls this on Dorothy as one last resort.}}
* [[Goggles Do Nothing]]: The alt-future kids all wear goggles, but mostly on their foreheads. What purpose they serve is never explained, but given that the kids bitch at each other for stealing each other's looks they're probably [[Rule of Cool|just there for esthetic reasons.]]
* [[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 on 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.
* [[Hope Spot]]: The multitude of alternate-future kids have been chained up by Head Alien II, but one (D.J. Wilcox) escaped. The others think he'll be of some help, until...
{{quote|'''HAII:''' I see the hope on your faces, and I know the reason for it. Hell, I ''put'' it there. You know, to taunt you, if only for a few minutes. That's right--I ''let'' D.J. Wilcox escape.
''cue [[Oh Crap]] look on the fleeing D.J.'s face''
'''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.
* [[Insistent Terminology]]: Pluto 9571 isn't a theme restaurant, it's a ''dining experience.''
* [[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 the 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?}}
* [[Milestone Redo]]: [http://itswalky.com/d/20070910.html Hey, Sal! Yeah, college is fine...]
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* [[Non-Indicative Name]]: Machete, who doesn't carry any sort of blade.
* [[Obnoxious In-Laws]]: Sal, to Joyce.
* [[Overly Long Name]]: "I bet you never expected {{spoiler|my army of brainwashed}} kids-of-your-friends from the future! ... [[Lampshade Hanging|Doesn't roll of the tongue very easily, but not everything good is marketable.]]"
* [[Revenge]]: Joyce and Walky are ready to flee HAII's army when Machete mentions he killed {{spoiler|Sal,}} at which point they charge back into battle. Jason is a little less rash but follows them when Machete says HAII recorded the killing and watches it over and over.
* [[Right Through the Wall]]: Joyce and Walky. It gets Becky's dad on their case and, well, Becky...
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* [[Rubber Band History]]: The [[Alternate Universe]] arc starts with a replay of the [[The Unmasqued World]] arc of ''It's Walky'', except Joe and Joyce are together now and Walky is nowhere in sight...and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
* [[Schedule Slip]]: Multiple, which resulted in the ''finale'' only being half-finished.
* [[Self-Serving Memory]]: Joyce has got a bit of a case of this with regards to her relationship with Danny in ''Roomies!''.
* [[Tempting Fate]]: [[Lampshade Hanging|Lampshaded.]]
{{quote|'''Joe:''' Everything's going to be completely different, isn't it?
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'''Joe:''' Nothing happened.
'''Danny:''' Told you everything is different. }}
** And [[Played Straight]] a moment later--after Danny's big speech about how he feels ready for any challenge life lobs at him, D.J. shows up and claims to be his son.
* [[Under the Mistletoe]]: Joyce and Sal freak out when they find themselves under it in the Dec. 2005 wallpaper.
* [[Wedding Day]]: Danny and Billie's wedding, though the duo are out of focus in favor of highlighting Sal and Joyce's hostility towards each other regarding how ''their'' relationships with Danny ended up. The comic also ends on one--[[Schedule Slip|or is about to, anyway]]--between Joyce and Walky themselves.
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