Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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June 24, 2026

Not yet

by David M Willis on July 25, 2014 at 12:01 am
  • 04 - The Whiteboard Dingdong Bandit
└ Tags: jennifer, ruth

Discussion (239) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. An Average Loser
    An Average Loser
    July 25, 2014 at 12:01 am | #

    But. . . She can’t.

    • Camachri
      Camachri
      July 25, 2014 at 12:12 am | #

      She will, and she’ll like it. (She won’t like it)

    • T Campbell
      T Campbell
      July 25, 2014 at 12:13 am | #

      Yeah, she did promise, didn’t she? Though part of her seems to be fighting to break that promise. The same part that makes her say things like “not yet.”

      So what she told Billie in their last parting is still true– Billie really is Ruth’s only hope, right this minute. By all means, Billie is strongly advised to get more of a support system around Ruth as quickly as possible by any means necessary, but the next move is hers, and she no longer has the luxury of wallowing in failure.

      Meantime, let’s just hope Ruth doesn’t get into any circumstances that’d make her feel right about a dramatic “self-sacrifice.” It’s only a “sacrifice” if you actually want what you’re giving up.

      • Helmet
        Helmet
        July 25, 2014 at 12:27 am | #

        That’s kind of unfair to Billie, though.

        I mean, think about it. Ruth’s kind of just been saying that she doesn’t want Billie around. Billie has every right to be like #won’t deal. To say that Billie is her last hope isn’t true, either; Ruth’s a lot stronger than that. She’ll make mistakes, sure, because she’s human. But at this very moment, she’s strong enough to resist drinking even after, you know, that whole thing with Billie.

        Personally, I think she just needs to put more faith in herself.

        • Kodra
          Kodra
          July 25, 2014 at 1:05 am | #

          I don’t think it’s unfair to Billie at all. Billie is the only one in a position to help Ruth. She’s the only person who has seen all of the various sides of Ruth, which Ruth has stated in the text of this comic: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/privy/

          Given all of that, onus is on Billie to step in and help. She did it before, and just because she’s hurt doesn’t mean she shouldn’t do it again. (Or rather, it’s what a hero would do, and Billie wants to be a hero in her own right.)

          • T Campbell
            T Campbell
            July 25, 2014 at 1:22 am | #

            I think it’s absolutely unfair, but Ruth is dead wrong about one thing: in college or elsewhere, we rarely get exactly what we deserve, at least in the short term. This is the hand Billie’s been dealt: how she plays will determine who she is.

            • Gigafreak
              Gigafreak
              July 25, 2014 at 2:36 am | #

              Billie is not the hero Ruth deserved, but the hero she needed.

              • Opus the Poet
                Opus the Poet
                July 25, 2014 at 10:27 pm | #

                Well she’s the hero she gets, one way or the other.

          • ninja_jesus
            ninja_jesus
            July 25, 2014 at 1:35 am | #

            How is that not unfair to Billie? To put that amount of stress and guilt on anyone is pretty harsh. “You are my only hope”, a.k.a. “You are the only person on this planet that is giving me the will to live, don’t fuck it up.” I do not think you understand the implications of this, and the effect that it’s had on Billie.

            On the other hand, Billie did volunteer for this, and she was the one who broke the promise. I hope she’ll do the right thing and save Ruth from herself. :\

            • Kodra
              Kodra
              July 25, 2014 at 1:44 am | #

              I think we’re in violent agreement. None of us asked for the lives we live, what we control is how we respond. Billie has sorta embroiled herself into this whole mess, and she is the only one who can do something about it. She’s a head cheerleader. The problem solver. That’s the identity she’s most comfortable with. Part of her current breakdown is the loss of that identity.

              In some ways, this is exactly what she needs: A problem that she can solve.

            • Arkadi
              Arkadi
              July 25, 2014 at 4:31 am | #

              Well, Ruth said “You *were* my only hope” and that was when she broke up with Billie. It’s not like she put the pressure on her while they were together.

            • whatintheliteralfuck
              whatintheliteralfuck
              July 25, 2014 at 10:40 am | #

              Ninja_jesus, i have nothing worth saying on your statement, but you may want to keep a lookout, some guy named rick is looking for you.

          • Roland Jones
            Roland Jones
            July 25, 2014 at 1:36 am | #

            What Ruth is doing is pretty awful; going to someone and telling them “if I die it’s YOUR fault” is a fucked up thing to do. And Ruth forced herself on Billie, which was also pretty fucked up. Making out with someone without their consent and guilt-tripping them with threats of suicide are not nice things to do to someone, to put it mildly. Ruth shouldn’t be alternating between molesting someone (someone she has power over as her RA, at that) and demanding that that person save her from herself. She put Billie in the situation you describe here, so yes, it is entirely unfair to her. It’s downright abusive.

            • Ikaru
              Ikaru
              July 25, 2014 at 1:45 am | #

              Passive aggression and regular aggression. Not a nice mix. Neither of these girls are exactly stable, but at least I think they are both aware of this.

            • Kodra
              Kodra
              July 25, 2014 at 1:52 am | #

              I don’t think Ruth realized what she said. She was trying to absolve Billie, but in the process revealed just how wounded she still is. She’s not forcing this on Billie, but now that Billie knows, she is compelled to act. Because that’s who Billie is.

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            July 25, 2014 at 9:04 am | #

            When you save someone’s life, you’re responsible for the rest of it.

            • whatintheliteralfuck
              whatintheliteralfuck
              July 25, 2014 at 10:42 am | #

              in that case i think most people who’ve stopped a suicide have caused even more suicides because they thought the problem was over.

        • JepMZ
          JepMZ
          July 25, 2014 at 6:47 am | #

          I…thought she’s talking about that she still cares without outright admitting it and Billie finally realizes that?

      • JWLM
        JWLM
        July 25, 2014 at 12:28 am | #

        I would be a little more worried about the “drowning myself” part of that monologue. Ruth’s an English major, after all, and she’s currently feeling very much like a betrayed lover. Does she have the full on self-destructive drama queen chops to pull a full Ophelia?

        • LeslieBean4Shizzle
          LeslieBean4Shizzle
          July 25, 2014 at 12:39 am | #

          I was going to make a joke about Ruth being murdered by Billie’s mother, but it occurred to me that the popular theory that Gertrude murdered Ophelia isn’t well known outside certain circles.

          • Catullus
            Catullus
            July 25, 2014 at 12:59 am | #

            What does Gertrude stand to gain from murdering Ophelia?

            • LeslieBean4Shizzle
              LeslieBean4Shizzle
              July 25, 2014 at 1:41 am | #

              1) Ophelia called her an adulterer, to her face, in their last scene together.
              2) If Ophelia is pregnant with Hamlet’s child (which her carrying around an armful of birth control suggests) then that child is the rightful heir to the throne, NOT any child Gertrude has with Claudius, which factors into…
              3) Ophelia offers Gertrude some of her birth control, and says that Gertrude likely has need of it as well, implying that Gertrude may be pregnant by Claudius.
              It should be noted that birth control in that time period often worked by chemical abortion. Every single plant that Ophelia is noted to be carrying can be used to either prevent or terminate pregnancies.

              • LeslieBean4Shizzle
                LeslieBean4Shizzle
                July 25, 2014 at 1:45 am | #

                There’s more, but I assume you don’t want me to copy/paste entire articles in here.

              • LeslieBean4Shizzle
                LeslieBean4Shizzle
                July 25, 2014 at 1:51 am | #

                An additional note: On number 1, I should have noted, Ophelia used the flower language popular among Elizabethan nobles to call her an adulterer. Ophelia: “There’s fennel for you, and columbines.”
                Fennel and columbines and nasty shit in Elizabethan flower language. That’s pretty much the Elizabethan version of calling the Queen a whore, Gerry Springer style.

                • Kaoy
                  Kaoy
                  July 25, 2014 at 4:36 am | #

                  That actually would make a lot of sense. I never understood why Ophelia would have killed herself, but could totally see Gertude doing the deed/ordering someone to.

                  Worth noting here that most Shakespeare plays have some elements that are ‘lost in translation’, so to speak. I never new about the flower language or the birth control information. It is quite possible that that was the intended assumption for its original audience to make.

                • Ivan
                  Ivan
                  July 25, 2014 at 9:51 am | #

                  Better the Fennel than the way used on camels for centuries before that. They used to (used to?) take a stone, roll up their sleeves (or remove their KKK sheets) and stuff it into a camel’s uterus as a de facto IUD.

                  I’ve seen fisting, but never cervical fisting!

                • Thomas
                  Thomas
                  July 25, 2014 at 11:39 pm | #

                  @ Ivan: While interesting in terms of content, I find the way you chose to phrase your comment in poor taste. Comparing the garb of desert nomads to Klan robes, implying there are similarities between the two groups, is xenophobic. The fisting joke seems to imply sexual violence.

          • Historyman68
            Historyman68
            July 25, 2014 at 7:45 am | #

            Whoa, mind blown.

            • Ivan
              Ivan
              July 25, 2014 at 9:51 am | #

              I knew that would do it.

  2. Mr. Random
    Mr. Random
    July 25, 2014 at 12:01 am | #

    Who checked?

  3. Jen Aside
    Jen Aside
    July 25, 2014 at 12:01 am | #

    Who bathes the bathmen?

    • AgentKeen
      AgentKeen
      July 25, 2014 at 12:05 am | #

      Soon, all comics are about bathtime.
      “Don’t make me bathe, you wouldn’t like me when I bathe.”
      Bathman: The Scrubbed Night
      “I’m the best at what I do, and what I do is refreshingly clean.”

      …I may be a little punch-drunk tonight.

      • Camachri
        Camachri
        July 25, 2014 at 12:11 am | #

        About time they cleaned up their act.

      • Pink Freud
        Pink Freud
        July 25, 2014 at 7:57 am | #

        Time is an illusion. Bathtime doubly so.

        • Jen Aside
          Jen Aside
          July 25, 2014 at 10:02 pm | #

          moar like BUBBLY SO

    • Mr. Random
      Mr. Random
      July 25, 2014 at 12:21 am | #

      Soap boxes in alley this morning, tire tread on empty shampoo bottle. This city is afraid of me. I have seen it’s true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of mud and when the drains finally dry up, all the vermin will suffocate. The accumulated filth of all their filth and mud will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout “Cleanse us!”…

      …and I’ll look down, and whisper “no.”

      • Mass Confusion
        Mass Confusion
        July 25, 2014 at 2:06 am | #

        I wish I had more “Yes” just for your comment

        • Ocbrad1
          Ocbrad1
          July 25, 2014 at 9:27 am | #

          Agreed!

    • David M Willis
      David M Willis
      July 25, 2014 at 12:50 am | #

      WHO WASHES THE WASHMEN, GOD DANGIT

      • jeffepp
        jeffepp
        July 25, 2014 at 12:57 am | #

        The Omb-suds-men, of course. With their giant blue, lufas.

        • NCP19
          NCP19
          July 25, 2014 at 1:20 am | #

          Have all of my admiration

          • Rybridge
            Rybridge
            July 25, 2014 at 3:23 am | #

            The Dark Knight Rinses

            Bane: Nobody cared who I was until I scrubbed off the mask.

            • Deanatay
              Deanatay
              July 25, 2014 at 9:07 am | #

              Scrubbing Of Age: When Somebody Washed Me

            • Gigafreak
              Gigafreak
              July 25, 2014 at 1:41 pm | #

              I am vengeance. I arm the night. I am Bathman.

              • Swerve
                Swerve
                July 25, 2014 at 3:33 pm | #

                With great power there must come great responsibility to bathe frequently and wash your costume twice a week, True Believer!

      • Rufus Saltus
        Rufus Saltus
        July 25, 2014 at 3:14 am | #

        Because the original quote was in Latin and I can’t help myself:
        Quis lavabit ipsos lotores?

        • gwalla
          gwalla
          July 25, 2014 at 12:23 pm | #

          YES

        • StClair
          StClair
          July 25, 2014 at 4:43 pm | #

          Ave!

      • Jen Aside
        Jen Aside
        July 25, 2014 at 10:04 pm | #

        DANGIT

        [I had actually started with “showers” so I guess at least “bathes” was kinda recognizeable]

    • nothri
      nothri
      July 25, 2014 at 2:27 am | #

      …..are you looking for volunteers? Cause I’ll bite that bullet!

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 10:47 am | #

        sounds painful

  4. Nono
    Nono
    July 25, 2014 at 12:01 am | #

    Dumbing of Age: Introspective Moments in the Shower

    • An Average Loser
      An Average Loser
      July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

      I thought everyone does that.

      • Tunaro
        Tunaro
        July 25, 2014 at 12:03 am | #

        I just jam to Daft Punk.

        • nekobawt
          nekobawt
          July 25, 2014 at 4:42 am | #

          you’re up all night to get soapy?

          • Deanatay
            Deanatay
            July 25, 2014 at 9:09 am | #

            Sudsy. Up all night to Get Sudsy.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

        Yeah, I bet the invention of philosophy and the invention of showers are linked somehow.

        I mean didn’t Archimedes have a great idea in the bath and run outside yelling “Eureka!”?

        • Kinoko
          Kinoko
          July 25, 2014 at 1:11 am | #

          The story goes that he noticed while getting into his bath that the water rose, and was therefore being displaced by the volume of his body.
          So he actually had a revelation *about* the bath, rather than just in it.

        • Avery
          Avery
          July 25, 2014 at 6:28 am | #

          That was more physics than philosophy. Lotsa good physics probably got worked out in the shower.

        • Deanatay
          Deanatay
          July 25, 2014 at 9:10 am | #

          And all the other Greeks said, “You don’t smell so hot, yourself!”

          • BalRog gets a "D"...and PASSES!!!
            BalRog gets a "D"...and PASSES!!!
            July 28, 2014 at 2:19 pm | #

            and the colored girls go, “Doot, Doodoot, Doodoot, Doot-doodoot…”

        • Ivan
          Ivan
          July 25, 2014 at 9:55 am | #

          yes, but the idea was a catapult.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        July 25, 2014 at 12:05 am | #

        I daydream about my characters and sing the english version of Bloody Stream.

        • Ivan
          Ivan
          July 25, 2014 at 9:57 am | #

          The Mandarin version, combined with ‘sing-song’ is much more interesting.

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      July 25, 2014 at 12:03 am | #

      You didn’t?

  5. Idon'tcarenomore
    Idon'tcarenomore
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    Interesting pattern of strip. Nice work. wake up Billie

  6. AgentKeen
    AgentKeen
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    …Ah shite.

  7. Foxhack
    Foxhack
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh so now she has a reason to get drunk again.

  8. Tunaro
    Tunaro
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    Blue flashbacks? What the Hell does Blue mean?

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

      Blue means Billie picked the Control Ending.

      • thomas0comer
        thomas0comer
        July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

        Does that mean Amber, with her red flashbacks, is a renegade player?

        • Aizat
          Aizat
          July 25, 2014 at 12:07 am | #

          I didn’t see the red nightmare scars on her. Must’ve been Paragade.

        • Tunaro
          Tunaro
          July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

          You can be Paragon and still pick Destroy. Shepard deserves to survive, damn it.

          • Aizat
            Aizat
            July 25, 2014 at 12:20 am | #

            Heck, we deserve a better ending, damn it.

            • Mr. Random
              Mr. Random
              July 25, 2014 at 3:54 am | #

              They added a fourth, if I remember correctly. People complained about it too.

              • Kaoy
                Kaoy
                July 25, 2014 at 4:54 am | #

                I think they felt it was a slap in the face. The 4th ending is sort of an Easter-egg that occurs when you attempt to shoot the god-child-thing.

                You hear and angry demon voice say something to the effect of “If this is your decision, SO BE IT”, the god-child flickers away, you see the battle raging on out side the dome, then a hidden bunker on some far away planet playing the recorded message Liara briefly mentions at one point explaining how they fought and lost.

                Players said they wanted an option to go out fighting, since that is what they felt their Shepard would pick. They got what they asked for – very tactfully done, imho, given what the dev team had to work with – but what it wasn’t the way they wanted it to go.

                Honestly, I think what pissed off people the most about the whole situation was that the tone of the entire series got turned on its head in the last 5 minutes of the game, with VERY little and arguably no foreshadowing. The new endings are definitely better, but they are still far and away from what anyone really wanted or expected.

                • Opus the Poet
                  Opus the Poet
                  July 25, 2014 at 10:43 pm | #

                  You realize that there are a bunch of people that have no idea what the hell you guys are talking about, right? I mean I know you’re talking about some kind of video or PC game, but no idea which one…

          • Karfsma778
            Karfsma778
            July 25, 2014 at 4:48 am | #

            Normally go synthesis, myself.

    • whatintheliteralfuck
      whatintheliteralfuck
      July 25, 2014 at 10:50 am | #

      It means your avatar’s hair got caught in the shower drain and billie can’t stop seeing it.

  9. Emperor Kiva
    Emperor Kiva
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh……….shit

  10. Khaner
    Khaner
    July 25, 2014 at 12:02 am | #

    Oh shit oh shit oh shit.
    It sounds a bit like she’s, uh, planning to kill herself.
    Please don’t do this to me David.

    • Estron
      Estron
      July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

      Hasn’t Willis already said nobody dies in DoA?

      • ShaggyDonahugh
        ShaggyDonahugh
        July 25, 2014 at 12:19 am | #

        A. Love the Gravatar. B. Doesn’t mean making the attempt and surviving (or even coming really close to doing it), isn’t extremely traumatizing to the attemptee and those closest to them. Technically, nobody died.

      • NightmareWarden
        NightmareWarden
        July 25, 2014 at 1:08 am | #

        Just out of curiosity, why would he say that? Mr. Willis if you do not have a problem spilling your writing process secrets, would you be so kind as to explain why you have no intention of “crossing the line” of killing one of your characters in spite of how deeply emotional and realistic some of their lives are?
        In short: “…nobody dies in DoA.” Why not?

        • David M Willis
          David M Willis
          July 25, 2014 at 1:14 am | #

          Have you noticed how slow time passes in this strip? My characters would be devastated and in morning for YEARS. YEEAARRS. I wouldn’t want to write it, much less anybody want to read it.

          • Khaner
            Khaner
            July 25, 2014 at 1:15 am | #

            So, is that an official “She isn’t?”
            *Phew*

            • Emperor Kiva
              Emperor Kiva
              July 25, 2014 at 7:09 am | #

              I’m with you

            • gwalla
              gwalla
              July 25, 2014 at 1:25 pm | #

              Right, but Billie obviously doesn’t know that.

          • Yotomoe
            Yotomoe
            July 25, 2014 at 1:32 am | #

            An eternal Morning! The comic would slow WAY down!

          • ninja_jesus
            ninja_jesus
            July 25, 2014 at 1:38 am | #

            You could always write in a time skip. ~5 months later~ and all that.

            • David M Willis
              David M Willis
              July 25, 2014 at 2:12 am | #

              I’ve got too many interwoven plots going on for that to be even remotely plausible. Plus I don’t wanna.

              • Ivan
                Ivan
                July 25, 2014 at 10:05 am | #

                Plus I don’t wanna. he said, while sticking his tongue out menacingly at the person who had the unmitigated gall to suggest so foolish a method without considering the complexity of the weave!

              • whatintheliteralfuck
                whatintheliteralfuck
                July 25, 2014 at 10:52 am | #

                you know what David? THANK YOU FOR SAYING I DON’T WANNA! YOU ARE IMPENETRABLE WALL OF MANLINESS.

        • Catullus
          Catullus
          July 25, 2014 at 1:17 am | #

          I believe part of the reason is to avoid rehashing storylines from the original Walkyverse, which has had character deaths as major plot points at several points throughout the story.

        • Clif
          Clif
          July 25, 2014 at 2:26 am | #

          Willis is lying to us so that it will be unexpected when the meteor hits and kills everybody except Walky (and so it will have more impact).

          • Ivan
            Ivan
            July 25, 2014 at 10:07 am | #

            Leaving only Walky and his toys to breed, thus creating a new species to trample upon the ruins of earth.

            • whatintheliteralfuck
              whatintheliteralfuck
              July 25, 2014 at 10:56 am | #

              you sir, just wrote the next slipshine comic for willis.

          • gwalla
            gwalla
            July 25, 2014 at 1:22 pm | #

            Deep impact.

          • laurenh
            laurenh
            July 25, 2014 at 10:29 pm | #

            I’ve decided to take your comment and Catullus’s above into consideration…. meaning next frame we’ll find out Ethan just drowned in the shower like a baby turkey in the rain.

      • Emperor Kiva
        Emperor Kiva
        July 25, 2014 at 6:22 am | #

        I hope you’re right, and we’re overreacting.

      • Random832
        Random832
        July 25, 2014 at 11:47 am | #

        The plotline Khaner was suggesting does not have to end with someone actually dying.

      • Bill
        Bill
        July 25, 2014 at 12:24 pm | #

        He did say that nobody dies.  But there’s still lots of ways for a drunken Ruth to seriously mess herself up without actually dying.

    • Aris Katsaris
      Aris Katsaris
      July 25, 2014 at 1:42 am | #

      Eh, nonsense. The bit that Billie seems to not be hearing in her flashback is that Ruth also told her “I didn’t want to cause you that much pain again. So don’t worry. *I won’t*.”.

      Selective hearing can make anything seem menacing.

    • MarcinMN
      MarcinMN
      July 25, 2014 at 9:08 pm | #

      Sounds more like typical college angst as opposed to real intent to me.

  11. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    July 25, 2014 at 12:03 am | #

    Her father is a comedian? Which one?

    • Aizat
      Aizat
      July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

      Shecky Rimshot.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      July 25, 2014 at 12:05 am | #

      It’s a reference to Watchmen.

      • Yotomoe
        Yotomoe
        July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

        Those men who are always punctual or those men who are very watchful?

        • Doctor_Who
          Doctor_Who
          July 25, 2014 at 12:15 am | #

          The latter. If I recall, they were 35 minutes late.

        • Tunaro
          Tunaro
          July 25, 2014 at 12:16 am | #

          No, they’re Transformers with time pieces as their Alt-Mode.

          • Aizat
            Aizat
            July 25, 2014 at 12:23 am | #

            You sure that’s not Microman?

      • tinfoil theory
        tinfoil theory
        July 25, 2014 at 3:00 am | #

        Billie is the Silk Spectre?

        • gwalla
          gwalla
          July 25, 2014 at 1:26 pm | #

          Somebody draw this plzkthx

        • Tenn
          Tenn
          July 25, 2014 at 5:44 pm | #

          And now, the Comedian will never get that kiss.

    • AgentKeen
      AgentKeen
      July 25, 2014 at 12:08 am | #

      Y’know, the one form that comic book, and he laughs about people and death… the Joker.

      -Gasp- Billie is Duela Dent? Yeah, she could rock the top hat… but not the Joker’s face.

      • Doctor_Who
        Doctor_Who
        July 25, 2014 at 12:17 am | #

        Nah, everyone knows that Duela Dent is secretly Mad Moxxi.

      • Aizat
        Aizat
        July 25, 2014 at 12:21 am | #

        And if you remember one episode of Batman The Animated Series, he is also a comedian who crashed a comedy contest.

        • Ivan
          Ivan
          July 25, 2014 at 10:10 am | #

          Wow! I can’t tell you how pleased I am to not know what in the hell you are talking about!! The benefits of a Ratus Labrotorius.

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 11:00 am | #

        Give her enough to drink and she could rock the joker’s face more than you want her to.

  12. StClair
    StClair
    July 25, 2014 at 12:03 am | #

    … these are not the feels I want to be having while looking at Billie in the shower. (And/or a towel.)

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      July 25, 2014 at 12:07 am | #

      I’m having an internal struggle the likes of which has never been seen.

    • Barf Ninjason
      Barf Ninjason
      July 25, 2014 at 12:17 am | #

      Hello, Internet citizen! I agree with your comment, except that the noun you are trying to refer to is feelings; “feels” is a verb, as in she/he/it feels. (Also, it is probably just one feeling, which is lust. You want to be feeling lust. On your way, citizen.)

      • Fit-to-freak
        Fit-to-freak
        July 25, 2014 at 12:26 am | #

        It’s a meme….

      • David M Willis
        David M Willis
        July 25, 2014 at 12:51 am | #

        Hello, Internet citizen! You’re a little late.

        • Barf Ninjason
          Barf Ninjason
          July 25, 2014 at 1:50 pm | #

          I mainly wanted to do the “the feeling is lust” joke. I mean, I saved up my one spasm of irritation over “feels” for it and everything. But yeah. Yeahhhhhh…

      • Clif
        Clif
        July 25, 2014 at 2:34 am | #

        Also any noun can be verbed and verbs are subject to nounification as well.

        • Clif
          Clif
          July 25, 2014 at 2:40 am | #

          This works even on verbs that started out as nouns.

          “noun” –> noun
          “to noun” –> verb
          “nounification” –> noun

          You might argue if it is correct English, but these are standard English moves. You didn’t have the least bit of trouble understanding them, did you?

          • Clif
            Clif
            July 25, 2014 at 9:00 am | #

            Just as you can go from a verb (noun) to where you verb a noun (verb -> verb) to a specific instance of a verbing of a noun (verbing -> noun), you can then verb that so that you wind up verbing a noun. The noun forms of verb and verbing are related but not quite identical in definition. A verb is primary; it is a word that denotes action or being. A verbing is the result of something being verbed. So not all verbs are verbings, but when they are both forms can be used interchangeably (at least in theory).

            The humor in feels/feel/feelings is in treating the verb feel as verbed noun so that feel (and hence feels) are primary. It implicitly postulates there must be a feel to be felt. And feelings are that subset of feels which have in fact been felt.

            So now you know. 😉

            • Clif
              Clif
              July 25, 2014 at 9:11 am | #

              Also note the parallel distinction between a feeling of lust (feeling -> noun) and feeling lust (feeling -> verb).

              • whatintheliteralfuck
                whatintheliteralfuck
                July 25, 2014 at 11:04 am | #

                you have it wrong clif, the English language is a clusterfuck of every word that just happens to fall out of enough people’s mouths in a certain time period ’till people accept what is said as English- like twerk.
                Whether it is started as a noun does not matter as by the end of it all it will eventually become a verb, noun, pronoun, and adjective all at once. that being said, i need to go punch myself in the face for saying that twerk is a word.

                • Betty Anne
                  Betty Anne
                  July 25, 2014 at 11:16 am | #

                  We’ve reached the point where a word (and/or its various forms) can be used as nearly every word in a sentence: Fuck the fucking fuckers!

                  Twerk being a word kind of pales in comparison. ^^;

                • Roborat
                  Roborat
                  July 25, 2014 at 2:47 pm | #

                  Only a Willis forum could turn into a grammar lesson.

                • Swerve
                  Swerve
                  July 25, 2014 at 3:28 pm | #

                  You think the grammar discussions are rough? Check out the heated civilized discussions every time religion is mentioned in the strip.

                  That being said, slang is an important part of any language. On the one hand you have the technical language that you find in dictionaries. Then you have language the way its spoken by the lowest common denominator. Somewhere between those two is what everyone agrees is the main mode of communication. Over time the language changes, as the lowest common denominator of society start to gain more and more influence, or an outside language influences the original language. In fact, I think your planet has a story about how all languages diverged from a single, Ur-language; essentially whenever words like “feels” or “twerk” or “turducken” or “engex” are added to your language you are repeating the process of diverging.

            • Jackson
              Jackson
              July 25, 2014 at 10:30 am | #

              Marry me.

    • vmgx
      vmgx
      July 25, 2014 at 9:21 am | #

      Why don’t feel both?

  13. Aizat
    Aizat
    July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

    You know, Ruth might not be ready for a relationship.

    • ShaggyDonahugh
      ShaggyDonahugh
      July 25, 2014 at 12:11 am | #

      She’s barely ready for herself.

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 11:05 am | #

        sarah can suggest a few toys that will fix that.

  14. caesaria82
    caesaria82
    July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

    Beautiful.

    • caesaria82
      caesaria82
      July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

      I mean, the storytelling and the build-up, obviously, not what’s being implied here, just to be clear.

      • Clif
        Clif
        July 25, 2014 at 9:12 am | #

        What is being implied? I lost track.

        • Clif
          Clif
          July 25, 2014 at 9:13 am | #

          Ah suicide. Implied in the strip and not implied in the comments.

  15. alicemacher
    alicemacher
    July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

    I am scared now.

    • newllend
      newllend
      July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

      Are we going to haft to spartan kick her door down again?

  16. RAZ
    RAZ
    July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

    and that makes billie the silk specter?

    • tinfoil theory
      tinfoil theory
      July 25, 2014 at 3:14 am | #

      She should team up with AmaziGirl.

  17. Idon'tcarenomore
    Idon'tcarenomore
    July 25, 2014 at 12:04 am | #

    Maybe not a bad thing, blue flashbacks. Billies locking on the ‘not yet’.
    Ruth is fighting her own demons Billie, you’re not alone.
    She knows just how you feel.

    The broken record speaks again: go knock on her door and invite her to AA. Then go.

    • whatintheliteralfuck
      whatintheliteralfuck
      July 25, 2014 at 11:08 am | #

      I thought the proper procedure was:
      Smash the door in
      Yell at one another for reasons
      insult
      emote
      insult more
      do something nice
      further insults
      THEN invite to A.A.

    • hurocrat
      hurocrat
      July 25, 2014 at 6:34 pm | #

      Actually, it’s the “forget me” that Billie’s really running into here. “Not yet” means “not yet,” but “forget me” taken out of context makes it sound as if Ruth has given up on herself. That’s what makes the ‘not yet’ sound so sinister.

  18. Soozi
    Soozi
    July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

    Sssshiiiiitttttttt

  19. Maveric1984
    Maveric1984
    July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

    Relevant Scrubs

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      July 25, 2014 at 12:07 am | #

      Where do you think you are?

      • Aizat
        Aizat
        July 25, 2014 at 12:10 am | #

        You never left.

    • Doctor_Who
      Doctor_Who
      July 25, 2014 at 12:29 am | #

      Aaaaand I just spent fifteen minutes watching the best Dr. Cox rants.

  20. Kernanator
    Kernanator
    July 25, 2014 at 12:06 am | #

    Is she having an “a-HA!” moment? Because it looks like her revelation might not be a good one.

    • gwalla
      gwalla
      July 25, 2014 at 1:29 pm | #

      Realizing that somebody is hinting that they’ve contemplated suicide is rarely a good one.

  21. Plasma Mongoose
    Plasma Mongoose
    July 25, 2014 at 12:08 am | #

    The first panel could have been a perfect setup for a Psycho spoof.

    • Rybridge
      Rybridge
      July 25, 2014 at 2:51 am | #

      Speaking of movies, because of TDKR, I couldn’t help but think of Batman when Ruth said “Not yet.” Oh, and Sweet EVA avatar!!!

      • Plasma Mongoose
        Plasma Mongoose
        July 25, 2014 at 9:57 am | #

        Danke! ^_^

  22. JessWitt
    JessWitt
    July 25, 2014 at 12:09 am | #

    And the neverending blues continue. 🙁

    • tinfoil theory
      tinfoil theory
      July 25, 2014 at 3:15 am | #

      And I guess that’s why they call it the blues.

      • Arkadi
        Arkadi
        July 25, 2014 at 1:28 pm | #

        Because it never ends?

      • xKiv
        xKiv
        July 25, 2014 at 6:24 pm | #

        Time on her hands could be time spent with Ruth.

        • tinfoil theory
          tinfoil theory
          July 26, 2014 at 6:53 am | #

          Yes! Someone gets it!

  23. ShaggyDonahugh
    ShaggyDonahugh
    July 25, 2014 at 12:09 am | #

    It sounds like Ruth is about to kill herself (or at least had a serious thought about making the attempt). Jesus Willis, that’s dark as shit.

    • meghantheworldeater
      meghantheworldeater
      July 25, 2014 at 12:13 am | #

      Well he did say it wouldn’t be a truck.

      • tinfoil theory
        tinfoil theory
        July 25, 2014 at 3:12 am | #

        It’s going to be a monkey.

        (Okay that was both bad and tasteless.)

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 11:09 am | #

        You won a cookie.

    • Yotomoe
      Yotomoe
      July 25, 2014 at 12:17 am | #

      But if that’s not what she meant, that just means YOU’RE the dark one.

  24. newllend
    newllend
    July 25, 2014 at 12:09 am | #

    Scooby doo: Ruh roh

    • JessWitt
      JessWitt
      July 25, 2014 at 6:08 am | #

      Jinkies.

  25. Spongegirl Circleskirt
    Spongegirl Circleskirt
    July 25, 2014 at 12:10 am | #

    I am unable to can even…

  26. Jenniffniff
    Jenniffniff
    July 25, 2014 at 12:11 am | #

    That’s a really low showerhead.

    • Betty Anne
      Betty Anne
      July 25, 2014 at 11:21 am | #

      Some dorms have shower heads that low. I’d hit my head on the ones in the last dorm I lived in if I tilted my head back for any reason, and I’m 5’3″.

  27. Tandel
    Tandel
    July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

    Hmm… could this be the path to porn?

    Billie realizes it’s hero time.
    Intercepts the mistake Ruth is on the cusp of making.
    Dumbing of Age lives up to its name via bad idea thank you sex.
    …
    Jacob realizes that he too lusts for Ethan. Thus the DOA homosexuality equalizes and attains Gayvana.

    • Clif
      Clif
      July 25, 2014 at 9:16 am | #

      The future Jacob lusts for everyone, but the current Jacob is not yet sex addicted and so we get to watch the process. So to speak.

  28. GoogerGeiger
    GoogerGeiger
    July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

    Wait, so Billie took a shower and those strange brown lines under her eyes disappeared?

    Was… was that poop?

    • Tandel
      Tandel
      July 25, 2014 at 12:18 am | #

      I’m pretty sure it has to do with the fact that showers are proof that the world is not an entirely cruel place. They are a font of rejuvenation… and water.

    • caesaria82
      caesaria82
      July 25, 2014 at 12:23 am | #

      Possibly smudged/dried eye-make up? Or possibly just signs of exhaustion/hangover that just went away after a refreshing shower.

  29. meghantheworldeater
    meghantheworldeater
    July 25, 2014 at 12:14 am | #

    So…since the flashbacks are blue instead of red like Amber’s that means this will end well…right? Right?

    • Opus the Poet
      Opus the Poet
      July 25, 2014 at 12:54 am | #

      No, just not with violence and mayhem.

    • Avery
      Avery
      July 25, 2014 at 6:34 am | #

      I think it just means that Billie has a far more stable relationship with her flashbacks than Amber does.

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 11:12 am | #

        because if I know my alcoholic college whores, stability is always a necessity!

  30. Superheadache
    Superheadache
    July 25, 2014 at 12:16 am | #

    Well shit. How I didn’t see that coming!

  31. epershannd
    epershannd
    July 25, 2014 at 12:23 am | #

    1) This strip is really lovely 2) Billie looks so cute here 3) I’m so excited for a possible happy resolution to this storyline ;a;

    • Thomas
      Thomas
      July 25, 2014 at 11:03 pm | #

      “2) Billie looks so cute here” << Yes, indeed.

  32. ChessboardMan
    ChessboardMan
    July 25, 2014 at 12:24 am | #

    … ah. This explains her expression just before closing the door.

    … my psychic powers failed me last time.

  33. Karen Rustad
    Karen Rustad
    July 25, 2014 at 12:26 am | #

    …did Billie take some booze into the shower, or does she just happen to stop feeling the DTs so bad between panels one and three? :/

    • Rani
      Rani
      July 25, 2014 at 12:27 am | #

      HOLY SHIT, has she not been drinking this past volume? Those were the DTs?

      • ChessboardMan
        ChessboardMan
        July 25, 2014 at 12:30 am | #

        She was very intoxicated when AmaziGirl, er, Amber found her the other night. Still the same volume as that isn’t it?

  34. Ridureyu
    Ridureyu
    July 25, 2014 at 12:33 am | #

    Somehow, Danny is responsible for this.

  35. Pyr05
    Pyr05
    July 25, 2014 at 12:33 am | #

    Exclamation mark!

  36. Aolbain
    Aolbain
    July 25, 2014 at 12:55 am | #

    I am drawing conclusions out of this but if these last strips have taught me anything it is that I should not. Explanations?

    • tinfoil theory
      tinfoil theory
      July 25, 2014 at 3:23 am | #

      When Ruth found out that Billie was cheating on her with the booze, she broke up with her and began to studiously ignore her. Which hurt Billie, who was deperately looking for closure. She began to feel like an abject failure who couldn’t do good for anyone, not even herself.

      It took Billie this long to realize that Ruth as much as admitted to her last night that she still loves her.

      She did help one person after all, despite herself.
      Billie: problem solver. Because some problems are not soluble in alcohol.

  37. Swerve
    Swerve
    July 25, 2014 at 1:01 am | #

    Wow this heavy stuff. Lots of emotions. But what’s with the alt-text? Could someone explain that to me? I assume it’s from Earth’s popular culture, but not any that Bluestreak shared with me, before I got shunted into nothingness. So help an Autobot out: what is the alt-text referring to? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with highly unstable engex on top?

    • Catullus
      Catullus
      July 25, 2014 at 1:10 am | #

      It’s referencing Watchmen; it’s been a while since I’ve read it, so I can’t remember the details, but the gist of it is that there’s a scene where the Silk Spectre comes to the disturbing revelation that the Comedian (a pretty terrible guy for a whole host of reasons) was her father.

      • ChaoticNeutral
        ChaoticNeutral
        July 25, 2014 at 1:21 am | #

        The comedian tried to rape her mother in the past- she later forgave him and they had an affair (her mother, the original Silk Spectre, was married to her publisher at the time).

        • Swerve
          Swerve
          July 25, 2014 at 7:47 am | #

          Thanks. Bluestreak gave “Watchmen” to me, but I gave up after the pirate scene. (That’s more Longtooth’s interest than mine.) Now I kind of regret that. I hope this place I’m stuck in isn’t the Afterspark, cause I’m getting bored. I’ve already hummed all the songs I know! BTW: Abe Simpson was wrong; Matlock is not particularly interesting. I’d rather watch “Nominus’ Promise” ten times!

          • Swerve
            Swerve
            July 25, 2014 at 8:15 am | #

            Small critique of the alt-text; shouldn’t “The Comedian” be capitalized? That was part of my confusion. On the other hand, if the alt-text doesn’t allow for capital letters, I hereby rescind that critique. I may not look big, but I’m a big enough Bot to recognize technical and/or time limitations.

            • whatintheliteralfuck
              whatintheliteralfuck
              July 25, 2014 at 11:15 am | #

              that’s it, i’m taking your energon for not understanding alt text.

              • Swerve
                Swerve
                July 25, 2014 at 3:10 pm | #

                Hey, if you want to come get me from whatever dark fate I’m currently caught up in, and smack me upside the head for being dense, I’m all for it. Provided you can find me, and get me out, that is! I’ll give you all the engex you could want! Provided my bar ever rematerializes, that is…

              • Swerve
                Swerve
                July 25, 2014 at 3:15 pm | #

                Silly old Swerve, I guess alt texts never use capital letters. Is that a stylistic choice, or does your planet lack the technology to make capital letters appear when hovering over an image? Cause I’m sure Swindle would be happy to sell you advance font technology from Hedonia!

    • Mass Confusion
      Mass Confusion
      July 25, 2014 at 1:11 am | #

      According to the rest of the comments it seems to be a reference to the Watchmen graphic novels. Speaking of which, that’s on my to-read list

  38. Mass Confusion
    Mass Confusion
    July 25, 2014 at 1:05 am | #

    Here’s to the inevitable pain Willis is going to give these two. Cheers
    https://www.weasyl.com/~punkquacker/submission/180868/punkquacker-your-tears-are-delicious-523144.png

    • Jackson
      Jackson
      July 25, 2014 at 10:37 am | #

      Now picturing Ruth as GOB Bluth and Billie as Michael. “You taste these tears! Taste my sad, Michael Billie!”

  39. Rabid Rabbit
    Rabid Rabbit
    July 25, 2014 at 1:35 am | #

    Congratulations, Willis. I actually went and read the past two days’ comments to check, and no-one highlighted the lines that Billie’s highlightin here. Well played.

    That being said, everyone who thinks Ruth’s talking about committing suicide: what’s missing from Billie’s recollection here is that fact that Ruth’s ‘do it’ specifically referred to the idea of her drinking herself senseless. Which is not quite the same as killing yourself, unless you try very, very hard (at least in the short term).

    • Helmet
      Helmet
      July 25, 2014 at 2:16 am | #

      It stood out to me, yeah, but I interpreted the line entirely differently than how Billie is. Reading it even now, I kind of see it as her holding on still, rather than a warning that she’s slipping.

      ‘Not yet’ is not ‘Will soon,’ after all.

    • Cannonshop
      Cannonshop
      July 25, 2014 at 5:39 am | #

      Context. “It” might be drinking, but consider that when Billie kicked the door in, Ruth was on the way to that place where you drown in your own vomit. What I got off last strip and this one is the same thing a lot of people who’ve been there got-Ruth may’ve had drinking in the immediate context, but the underlying is definitely darker than merely anaesthetizing through fruit-of-the-vine.

  40. Ry
    Ry
    July 25, 2014 at 2:05 am | #

    Can we all just take a moment to appreciate the fact that thousands–THOUSANDS–of people are sitting on the edge of their computer seats in anticipation of discovering the romantic and holistic fate of two characters who were nothing more than figments of Willis’ imagination at one point?

    *stands, claps* Way to go, you magnificent jerk-face.

    • Mass Confusion
      Mass Confusion
      July 25, 2014 at 2:18 am | #

      I have to admit that he’s a master of his craft. He makes me feel for fictional characters, connect with them. So I must clap my hands in admiration for his skill as I say “Damn you Willis”

    • whatintheliteralfuck
      whatintheliteralfuck
      July 25, 2014 at 11:17 am | #

      at one point? you mean David Willis possesses within him to take fictional characters and make them into actual people that live within the world? DEAR GOD, TRANSFORMERS ARE OUT THERE RIGHT NOW!!!

      • Kai
        Kai
        July 25, 2014 at 3:33 pm | #

        Well, I met more than one person who could’ve been Mike as well. So perhaps Mr.Willis actually CAN bring fictional characters to life…

        • Tenn
          Tenn
          July 25, 2014 at 6:03 pm | #

          I used to be an unnamed extra.

      • Swerve
        Swerve
        July 25, 2014 at 3:38 pm | #

        You sound surprised. I’ve been posting for a couple weeks, and I think Megatron has been posting forever!

        • Regalli
          Regalli
          July 25, 2014 at 6:34 pm | #

          Megatron, the Doctor… Hell, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Optimus Prime a couple times over on the other comic.

  41. Ferrick
    Ferrick
    July 25, 2014 at 3:34 am | #

    I have read this entire webcomic in less than 7 hours. I can happily say that I am addicted to this story and its host of colorful characters. I’m most definitively going to be reading this for many years to come.

    • whatintheliteralfuck
      whatintheliteralfuck
      July 25, 2014 at 11:18 am | #

      I call bullshit on that 7 hours, you must have lightning internet.

    • Bill
      Bill
      July 25, 2014 at 12:40 pm | #

      So do I.  Willis has drawn over 1000 comics in this series.  To get through the entire DoA archive in seven hours, one would need to be reading the strips at an average rate of one comic every 25 seconds.  While it could maybe be done, I don’t think one would get any of the nuances and subtleties of the story out of it.

      • Tenn
        Tenn
        July 25, 2014 at 6:28 pm | #

        Five seconds to load plus 20 seconds to read should be more than enough for most strips, even on regular internet.

    • MrZolrane
      MrZolrane
      July 25, 2014 at 1:48 pm | #

      I dunno. I blasted through the entirety of Penny and Aggie in about the same amount of time. Now THAT was a ride.

  42. etybolik
    etybolik
    July 25, 2014 at 3:41 am | #

    Ruth doesn’t strike me as a terribly dramatic person; if she were looking to kill herself, I don’t think she’d do it here when Billie could conceivably knock her door down again to pull some heroic shit.

    I wonder if she instead realized what others have pointed here, that she shouldn’t be an RA, and maybe took steps to get out of that? Or move to a different dorm (is that a thing?). Maybe Billie bursts into her room to find it empty.

  43. Cannonshop
    Cannonshop
    July 25, 2014 at 5:34 am | #

    Okay, Billie-you’ve been through the briefings, right? That’s a fripping SUICIDE NOTE right there, you dig? Ruth needs HELP.

    • Clif
      Clif
      July 25, 2014 at 10:03 am | #

      But it’s not. Billie’s mind is just seizing on certain phrases and taking them out of context.

      • Cannonshop
        Cannonshop
        July 25, 2014 at 3:08 pm | #

        Billie’s what, eighteen? Nineteen at the MOST? “Taking it out of context” is what you DO at eighteen, it’s how you learn to spot the context (at least, how MOST people learn-by doing and by screwing up).

  44. Jimmy
    Jimmy
    July 25, 2014 at 7:23 am | #

    Throughout all that I completely missed that Ruth said “not yet”. I really hope she doesn’t go down that path.

  45. demoneater
    demoneater
    July 25, 2014 at 9:46 am | #

    Quick somebody put the drama tab back in!

    • Clif
      Clif
      July 25, 2014 at 10:04 am | #

      Sorry. This universe came with the tag pre-pulled. You know, just like ours.

      • whatintheliteralfuck
        whatintheliteralfuck
        July 25, 2014 at 11:21 am | #

        someone really needs to keep a better eye on robin.

        • Swerve
          Swerve
          July 25, 2014 at 3:16 pm | #

          That’s what her campaign managers are there for. 😉

  46. Chris Kern
    Chris Kern
    July 25, 2014 at 11:08 am | #

    I don’t think Ruth was talking about suicide, she was talking about going back to drinking. Despite Billie’s own drinking she really seems to want Ruth to stay sober, and I think hear realization here is not “uh oh suicide”. Billie thought that Ruth was ok now so she didn’t have to worry, but now she’s realizing the “not yet” means that Ruth is only a slight push away from going back to drinking again so she’s not OK after all.

    • Random832
      Random832
      July 25, 2014 at 11:52 am | #

      Except, the whole (speculated) point of Billie keeping her drinking secret was to not drag her down with her, and the fact that she asked at all in this last conversation suggests she did consider Ruth to be a similar risk of relapse to herself.

      • Swerve
        Swerve
        July 25, 2014 at 3:21 pm | #

        The thing is, is there anything Billie can actually do, which doesn’t require her to either report Ruth, or admit to the college administration that she’s been drinking herself? And given how serious the stakes are (Ruth is at the very least sorely tempted to go on a drinking binge, or at worst take her own life) Billie’s going to feel pressure to do something. Ruth also pointed out how immature Billie is, and I don’t think she’s the best person to sort out Ruth’s problems. Maybe Billie should open up to one of her friends, especially someone level headed like Dorothy.

        Hmm, maybe this is a job for… Amazi-Girl!

  47. whatintheliteralfuck
    whatintheliteralfuck
    July 25, 2014 at 11:20 am | #

    How dare you make me enjoy drama Willis. How dare you.

  48. Random832
    Random832
    July 25, 2014 at 11:44 am | #

    Oh, shit. That does not sound like what someone says regarding merely drinking enough to pass out.

  49. Arkadi
    Arkadi
    July 25, 2014 at 1:26 pm | #

    …and the joke’s on her?

  50. Rhy
    Rhy
    July 25, 2014 at 6:26 pm | #

    Just fuck already

  51. Charles Phipps
    Charles Phipps
    July 25, 2014 at 10:08 pm | #

    Sadly, I tried to help someone I was involved in with a romantic relationship and it made everything so much worse. Billie can help Ruth or love her but if she does both, she’ll ruin both.

  52. tahrey
    tahrey
    July 28, 2014 at 1:33 pm | #

    The part of “Billie” in this strip is played by this week’s cameo guest star, Kiki Okinokiri, from popular children’s animated feature “Kiki’s Delivery Service”.

  53. LiveWire
    LiveWire
    August 23, 2014 at 11:17 pm | #

    «sigh» I hope she doesn’t kill herself in THIS universe, too…

CHOOSE A SIDE, NO COWARDS

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CONVENTION APPEARANCES


September 13/14, 2025 - Small Press Expo in Bethesda, Maryland

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 5h
www.ebay.com/itm/23616089... Selling my Toyhaxed Power of the Primes Rodimus Prime!
header image - Transformers Power of the Primes Leader Class Rodimus Prime, loose/ToyHaxed | eBay
www.ebay.com
Transformers Power of the Primes Leader Class Rodimus Prime, loose/ToyHaxed | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Transformers Power of the Primes Leader Class Rodimus Prime, loose/ToyHaxed at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many prod...
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 6h
reactivate shockwave
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
The Thirteenth and The Seven-Point-Five
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
funko pops will come for everything you love and hold dear
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 17h
Dumbing of Age: "Back with" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Back with
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
today in #9chickweedlane i learned how the strip was originally about 3 generations of women living in one house, before becoming about the intersection of sex and music, and how now it's about how sex easily defeated music, ruling supreme, forever shall it reign
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 21h
TF Chronicles Ironhide incoming
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reposted by David M Willis!
danverzone.bsky.social's user avatar
Brent Fisher @danverzone.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Hear me do my usual advocacy soapbox rant about how we need more queer voices in storytelling now more than ever. I swear I'm a delight. ❤️ ♥️ 💜
teaberryblue.net's user avatarTea Berry-Blue @teaberryblue.net ⋅ 1d
Join me TOMORROW from 10:30-11:30 for an interview on editing queer comics with @danverzone.bsky.social and at 2PM-3PM for a talk about Krazy Kat!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
HOW IS IT EVEN DRIVING????7
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
T30 Sky-Byte: *chuckles* I'm in danger!
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reposted by David M Willis!
kennedytcooper.bsky.social's user avatar
Themperor Kennedy🐸🏳️‍🌈 @kennedytcooper.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
They literally just ousted David Hogg for saying exactly this
truthout.org's user avatarTruthout @truthout.org ⋅ 1d
New polling finds that most Democratic voters want the current leaders of the Democratic Party to be replaced, as current leadership has failed to unite behind a coherent message to resist President Donald Trump’s fascist power grab.
header image - 62 Percent of Democrats Want Current Party Leaders to Be Replaced, Poll Finds
truthout.org
62 Percent of Democrats Want Current Party Leaders to Be Replaced, Poll Finds
Democrats recently ousted David Hogg from leadership after he criticized the party for complacency.
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reposted by David M Willis!
longtalljodie.com's user avatar
Jodie Troutman @longtalljodie.com ⋅ 1d
Hey, you should let Jay pick your writin' brain.
edidin.bsky.social's user avatarJay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
ICYMI, I'm now offering coaching for writers on a limited basis. Want to troubleshoot a sticky project? Level up your work or learn a new medium? Bring joy back to your writing practice, push past a block, or come back from burnout? Establish better habits? HMU: edidin.wordpress.com/coaching-for...
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reposted by David M Willis!
kmfao.bsky.social's user avatar
Dracula Enthusiast @kmfao.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
If your art style doesn't look completely different from page 1 to 100 is it truly a webcomic
feathernotes.bsky.social's user avatarKrispy @feathernotes.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
There's a lot of folks who are afraid to start their webcomics because they don't want it to look 'ugly' or don't know if they're ready yet" but... You just need to draw it and have something ugly and potentially 'not ready' That's the secret to starting a webcomic!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Wheeeeeee bikes
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reposted by David M Willis!
kurtbusiek.bsky.social's user avatar
Kurt Busiek @kurtbusiek.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Comics are good.
THIMBLE THEATER daily
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reposted by David M Willis!
mudron.bsky.social's user avatar
Bill Mudron @mudron.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
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reposted by David M Willis!
kendrawcandraw.bsky.social's user avatar
Kendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Here’s another little excerpt from the interview for the night crowd, Hollywood call me www.comicsbeat.com/pride-interv...
Excerpt from comics beat interview where I say “ Other than that, I have big dreams about adapting something into animation and doing more writing-only projects. I love making comics with all my heart but man alive they’re a lot of work. Unfortunately, I will continue to do them until I die.”
kendrawcandraw.bsky.social's user avatarKendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
I got to chat with @ebhutchins.bsky.social about Real Hero Shit: Harder Than It Looks, fantasy capitalism, and writing queer characters who are "obnoxious, slutty, and rude" (my words) over on Comics Beat! 🗡️😈🔥☀️ www.comicsbeat.com/pride-interv...
The header of the Comics Beat interview article, with the text: 
Pride Interview 2025:
Kendra Wells talks their shit, REAL HERO SHIT 2 and future projects
By E.B. Hutchins
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reposted by David M Willis!
kenplume.bsky.social's user avatar
Ken Plume @kenplume.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
“Yes, but what if we made orange juice the cereal??? WE COULD OWN THE ENTIRE DAMN BREAKFAST MARKET!!!”
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
I basically don't drink anymore and I also haven't eassume yet today, so I assume this 10.4% ABV stout will put me on my ass.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
www.ebay.com/itm/23615950... buy my Studio Series 18 Bee Movie Bumblebee!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
I was mistaken! I didn't Sharpie anything on the older Bumblebee. He actually came like that.
damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatarDavid M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 10d
Guess if they were gonna start remaking anybody in Studio Series it'd start with this guy. (Earlier version lightly Sharpied)
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
They made it! Sorta.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "Autocorrect" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Autocorrect
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
ben mendelsohn has joker hair?????
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Oh hey, the new smaller Titan Class still ships in a old larger Titan Class-sized box-- oh
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
give it time
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Cmon, kid, he slides down the spine of a dinosaur skeleton like Fred Flintstone!!!! You can't get more Batman than that!
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
my dad and stepmom lived in New York for a few months for cancer treatment and refused to take the subway, for Scared Reasons. Me: it's a TRAIN, how do you NOT take it???? TRAIN!!!!!!!!
annamerlan.bsky.social's user avatarAnna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Telling me "the subway is so dangerous now" is my immediate sign that you need your TV taken away and your news algorithm adjusted www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/the-subway...?
header image - The Subway Is Not Scary
www.hamiltonnolan.com
The Subway Is Not Scary
Fear of the subway is a mark of low moral character.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Using the Switch 2 for its intended purpose: playing more Katamari Damacy Reroll
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