Dumbing of Age Book Twelve

Dumbing of Age

A college webcomic by David Willis
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June 1, 2026

Blunts

by David M Willis on February 6, 2019 at 12:01 am
  • 02 - But the Sun Still Shines
└ Tags: jennifer, ruth

Discussion (216) ¬

[ Comments RSS ]
  1. Ana Chronistic
    Ana Chronistic
    February 6, 2019 at 12:01 am | #

    “I was just thinking I could use a drink–”

    “WHAT DID I JUST SAY”

    “–OF WATER”

    *glare*

    “a tall drink of water… in bed”

    • Stephen Bierce
      Stephen Bierce
      February 6, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

      Gimme Some Water
      I took a femur from a man on the Mexican border…

    • Bruceski
      Bruceski
      February 6, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

      I grew up in the desert and water was the first go-to for any ailment. Even when it wasn’t the issue it tended to make any issues worse.

      Made for an interesting time in college when I’d forget to hydrate and heavily sigh “I need a drink.”

  2. AnvilPro
    AnvilPro
    February 6, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    And now they’re not alcoholics 🙂

    • Beef
      Beef
      February 6, 2019 at 12:03 am | #

      I’m no expert but I don’t think that’s how it works

      • JetstreamGW
        JetstreamGW
        February 6, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

        Given my family history, I’m pretty close to being an expert, and I know that’s not how it works 😛

        • meep
          meep
          February 6, 2019 at 11:43 am | #

          My mom says that once your an alcoholic, you are always an alcoholic. Even if you get sober, you are an alcoholic recovering for life.

          • HMH
            HMH
            February 6, 2019 at 3:25 pm | #

            This is a common thread with addiction recovery strategies, and for all intents and purposes, it seems to be a very beneficial way of thinking about addiction. It doesn’t allow for the kind of fuzzy subconscious logic that makes it so much easier to badly relapse.

            • Sunfish
              Sunfish
              February 6, 2019 at 6:36 pm | #

              Personally, as a recovered addict and as someone with addicts in the family, I hate that line of thinking. I see it in very much the opposite way – if you’re just going to be an addict for life, then what is the point of stopping at all? Recovery without relapse is incredibly unusual. A much more realistic expectation and hope is that one will relapse less and less as one recovers. One has to learn to relapse well, to not let a relapse become full-blown addiction again. Will an addict always bear the psychological scars of their addiction? Yes, absolutely. But should they always define themselves by their addiction? No, that’s doing the exact opposite of what recovery should do – it’s replacing the identity of the addict with their addiction. The most challenging thing about addiction is getting to the underlying causes – biological, chemical, psychological, and healing those factors. Defining a person with addiction is pretty similar to defining someone with the flu. Your body and mind do change forever after having had the flu. You have new antigens, different immune cells, and the experience of going through it. But would you call somebody who has had the flu a recovering flu victim for the rest of her life? Of course you wouldn’t. Nor should you call someone who has had an addiction to alcohol an alcoholic for the rest of their life. Give people hope and let them be people again instead of defining them by their addiction.

              • BBCC
                BBCC
                February 6, 2019 at 9:10 pm | #

                The flu isn’t a chronic, often long term issue though. Many people with non-addiction but still chronic or long term issues DO consider that part of their identity because it’s not just an experience they’ve had, but affected every aspect of their life long term. Plus many addicts use that line because they are always going to have to try not to relapse or manage their relapses and resist falling back into the addiction cycle. It’s fine to not do that for yourself, sure, and I can see the wisdom in not applying it to people you don’t know feel that way, but it is a real thing I’ve seen many addicts express.

    • Pablo360
      Pablo360
      February 6, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

      Whether you’re making a sincere statement about what’s happening in the comic or a sarcastic complaint about the direction it’s going, panel 2 invalidates your point.

      If you’re making a more general sardonic remark about the way stories tend to portray recovery as a binary, then I have nothing to add, because you’re right.

      • Dark
        Dark
        February 6, 2019 at 12:57 am | #

        I’m pretty sure they’re making a joke.

        • Pablo360
          Pablo360
          February 6, 2019 at 10:11 am | #

          Hence two of the three options I outlined are jokes.

    • Dunedon
      Dunedon
      February 6, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      It doesn’t work that way, unfortunately. I’ve spent way to many years as a functional alcoholic, through periods where I didn’t touch a drop knowing that I was one night away from going right back to a 26er a night. I’ve got it controlled now, drink sparingly … by I’m still, and always will be, an alcoholic.

      • Zaxares
        Zaxares
        February 6, 2019 at 5:37 am | #

        Just wanted to chime in to add support for this. Non-addicts often don’t realize that addiction is never truly “cured”. The potential for it is ALWAYS there, and it’s not uncommon for addicts to stop one addiction (whether it be drugs, gambling, sex, gaming etc.) only to fall headfirst into a different addiction. Being an addict means always having to keep an eye on yourself and avoiding things that could trigger a relapse.

        • C.T Phipps
          C.T Phipps
          February 6, 2019 at 5:56 am | #

          Yes, the cure for alcoholism is “never again, not even once.” It also means removing the temptation as much as possible.

        • Sunfish
          Sunfish
          February 6, 2019 at 10:22 pm | #

          If it helps them live a meaningful and full life, more power to them. I just question if it is all that true, and if it is really that useful to pretend like alcoholism is so different from using movies or showers or exercise to numb out. The addictive cycle is a real thing, but it’s also simple reward pathway functioning in the brain. It’s more like a slippery slope than an on/off. I think it’s more realistic to see everyone as on an addictive spectrum (in fact – multiple addictive spectrums for many substances) than either an simply an addict or not. Semantics perhaps, but semantics change the way we think about people, and therefore the way we treat them, which can change the courses of their lives.

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        February 6, 2019 at 7:38 am | #

        A 26er?

        • Agemegos
          Agemegos
          February 6, 2019 at 8:01 am | #

          26-fluid-ounce (750mL) bottle, I imagine. A fifth of a US gallon

          • StClair
            StClair
            February 6, 2019 at 10:25 pm | #

            Thus the term, “a fifth of [liquor]”.

      • Ana Chronistic
        Ana Chronistic
        February 6, 2019 at 11:11 am | #

        Unavowed treats this amazingly well, the alcoholic character has been sober for years, “and with luck, one day more.”

  3. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 6, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    …This is sorta going better than I feared.

    • Nono
      Nono
      February 6, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

      Not completely. While the point needed to be delivered, that’s a lot of blame being shoved onto Billie. Most of it deserved, mind, but when paired with Billie’s lack of self-esteem… hoo-boy.

      • Sam
        Sam
        February 6, 2019 at 12:10 am | #

        Sometimes you have to say something that can negatively impact someone’s mental state to protect your own. You can’t always avoid hurting people.

        • AntJ
          AntJ
          February 6, 2019 at 12:57 am | #

          Ruth is much more at risk here than Billie. Billie knows that, which is why she doesn’t respond in panel 6. There’s nothing for her to say. She already told Ruth she would quit, but she never did.

          • Nono
            Nono
            February 6, 2019 at 1:13 am | #

            Billie also has a lot of tragedy-adjacent guilt considering she still has images of Ruth, passed out drunk in her dorm room.

            And knowing that she’s being responsible for Ruth not getting better…

            The problem is that Billie seems to accept that part of their relationship means that she can avoid getting better. That they can both be toxic together. But she also wants Ruth to get better, and in order for Ruth to get better, Billie has to get better.

            • Geeky Warrior
              Geeky Warrior
              February 6, 2019 at 10:19 am | #

              I feel like that is a theme of the comic of late. The dangers of merely accepting your issues instead of working on them.

              Walky & Amber “We can be garbage up here”, eventually the problems you put off will come back to bite you.

            • HMH
              HMH
              February 6, 2019 at 3:27 pm | #

              “Billie also has a lot of tragedy-adjacent guilt considering she still has images of Ruth, passed out drunk in her dorm room.”

              Uh, so, are we just glossing over the fact that Billie got shitfaced and literally nearly murdered a person with a car?

        • Kat
          Kat
          February 6, 2019 at 3:39 am | #

          As for the previous conversation about the binary status of “cured”,
          There is a reason that the term is “Recovering Alcoholic” and not
          “Former Alcoholic.”

          And actually, I see where this is going. One of the common things you
          hear from AA and other programs designed to help someone quit is that
          you have to get away from the things that triggered you to drink and the
          enablers. How long before Ruth figures out that Billie is her Enabler, and
          decides she has to choose between getting better and having Billie?

      • Proto
        Proto
        February 6, 2019 at 1:46 am | #

        A lack of self-esteem that was caused in part by Ruth! Everyone’s at fault and no one’s happy! yaaayyy

        • Sam
          Sam
          February 6, 2019 at 2:03 am | #

          It was not *caused* by Ruth in part or full, Billie’s lack of self-esteem already existed before they even met as her alcoholism problem existed long before this and led to her totaling a car before. Even when acting harmfully, Ruth more just baffled and angered her and didn’t seem to really impact her self-esteem. She didn’t HELP her self-esteem by humiliating her in front of people in the first meeting of the dorm but that didn’t seem to have a real lasting effect since Joyce was soon fawning over her.

      • Shane Wegner
        Shane Wegner
        February 6, 2019 at 2:27 am | #

        I don’t see much blame here. I see mainly Ruth: “I need this behavior to stop.” Billie:”No you don’t, because it’s not so bad!” Really rude, undercutting behavior, especially to someone in a vulnerable situation.

        I think there might even be some “Watching you fight to get better makes me feel bad about not getting better, so I will feel better if I pull you back down to my level.”

        • Jurti
          Jurti
          February 6, 2019 at 9:25 am | #

          I think you’re spot on. I see Billie as not wanting to change (or put the effort in to change, perhaps) and that it is simply easier for things to go back to status quo with them drinking, etc.

    • Pablo360
      Pablo360
      February 6, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

      Now, instead of Ruth relapsing into another alcoholic-depressive spiral, Billie’s going to have another reason to label herself as a toxic drama hurricane who ruins everything around her!

    • Keulen
      Keulen
      February 6, 2019 at 4:30 am | #

      Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time for it to get worse again.

  4. William Leonard Reese Jr.
    William Leonard Reese Jr.
    February 6, 2019 at 12:02 am | #

    . . . Good on Ruth for laying down that law. About her fears of backsliding and how she is trying to be better. She has made amazing progress opening up to Billie and herself.

    • BigDogLittleCat
      BigDogLittleCat
      February 6, 2019 at 12:11 am | #

      This.
      Ruth is facing the difficulties in her life and trying to muscle through.
      Billie is still in denial and hasn’t taken responsibility for herself. “Let the alcohol do the heavy lifting” says it all.

      And she said it to Ruth! WTF does she not understand about Ruth’s situation? If she doesn’t get her shit together, Ruth is going to have to break up to save herself.

      • Jenny Islander
        Jenny Islander
        February 6, 2019 at 12:38 am | #

        I get the impression that Billie often thinks that being flippant about something = making it actually be inconsequential. So if she’s all nonchalant about booze, booze can’t hurt her.

        And people who think like that try to find other people who think like that to hang out with, because it’s easier to whistle past the graveyard that way.

        • AntJ
          AntJ
          February 6, 2019 at 1:06 am | #

          Billie does have a lot of shit to deal with. She was flippant about Linda’s cookies until Carla forced her to think about why she’s favored over Sal, and then she didn’t want them anymore. She’s a bust at journalism, even though it’s her major. She can’t quit alcohol, she doesn’t want to be the responsible one in her relationship, she doesn’t want Ruth to have responsibility either (see: copying her keys), and her new popularity is largely a facade built on degrading lies about her relationship with Ruth. Plus, her family was never there for her on top of it all. It was too much to confront, so she’s learned to ignore it instead and trust that everything will work out. (I tried this once and it failed spectacularly.)

          Ruth is trying to break the spiral of depression, so she’s forcing herself to care. This results in fights she’d rather not have, but it’s good to see her standing up for herself.

          In Ruth’s ideal of their relationship, they’re sober and support each other. In Billie’s ideal, they get roaring drunk and don’t hurt anybody. But Ruth is becoming less of a depressed mess, and is quickly becoming less “toxic”, to use Billie’s word. Soon enough, she’ll be at a point where Billie CAN ruin her. They need to end their “mutually assured destruction” suicide pact relationship in favor of a normal one as soon as possible.

          • TK
            TK
            February 6, 2019 at 2:32 am | #

            Honestly, that may not happen.

            It would be wonderful if it did, but self-reflective change is difficult, and is often very painful.

  5. Nono
    Nono
    February 6, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

    As much as I feel for Billie – alcohol was one of the things they had in common, and now that’s being taken away – Ruth is completely in the right here.

  6. BBCC
    BBCC
    February 6, 2019 at 12:05 am | #

    Thank you, Ruth!

    Seriously though, even if alcohol didn’t blunt the effects of the medication, you shouldn’t fuck around with combining the two. I was on seizure meds for 16 years and one of the things they started telling me as I became a teenager was ‘no drinking! Your meds and alcohol don’t get along and they will fuck you up if you make them hang out together.’

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      February 6, 2019 at 12:27 am | #

      Sounds like your health advisor knew how to talk to teens!

      • BBCC
        BBCC
        February 6, 2019 at 12:36 am | #

        I may be paraphrasing a little. My neurologists have been really great (though I fucking LOATHED one of their residents who tried to wean me off my meds waaaay too quickly way too soon – my doctor told me she’d done the same thing to one of his other patients and he died from a massive seizure), but not very much of the ‘talking to teens’ variety. XD

        • Bathymetheus
          Bathymetheus
          February 6, 2019 at 2:12 am | #

          Wow! I really hope that resident learned not to project their own problems onto patients. Though not before encountering you, apparently.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            February 6, 2019 at 9:30 am | #

            My doctor said she was following the newest advice in the textbooks (like weaning off meds if you’ve been seizure free for a couple years) but went way too fast for someone who’d been on them over a decade.

  7. shadowcell
    shadowcell
    February 6, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    blunts! i get it! ha ha!…ha!…ha…

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      February 6, 2019 at 2:15 am | #

      Joyce avatar does NOT work for that comment.

      • Gwen
        Gwen
        February 6, 2019 at 4:54 pm | #

        I dunno, I can see Joyce having learned that word, like, yesterday and being pleased to recognize it in context

  8. Danielle
    Danielle
    February 6, 2019 at 12:06 am | #

    glad this is happening. the hope is billie will make the good decision going forward, but i really can’t tell whether she’ll nudge alcohol out of her life entirely for the sake of her and ruth or whether she’ll continue to drink.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

      Ruth’s not even asking Billie to stop drinking – she’s asking Billie to stop trying to get Ruth to drink.

      • Danielle
        Danielle
        February 6, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

        she isn’t, but ruth may as well have. one of ruth and billie’s common grounds is drinking, and if ruth wants to stop being tempted to drink, billie might see that as someone telling her to stop drinking.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 6, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

          Not necessarily. Billie can always drink when Ruth’s not around, even if Billie’s invested in not having alcohol in Ruth’s living space.

          • Leorale
            Leorale
            February 6, 2019 at 12:58 am | #

            Billie’s in denial, but she also really likes fixing things.
            A likely annoying-but-positive Billie reaction: to become overbearing about removing all alcohol from Ruth’s presence. Possibly by drinking it.

            PS my housemates are having really loud sexy times right now and it’s very appropriate for a Billie/Ruth comic.

            • BBCC
              BBCC
              February 6, 2019 at 1:10 am | #

              That sounds like a very Billie solution for sure.

              • Opus the Poet
                Opus the Poet
                February 6, 2019 at 1:34 am | #

                Loud sexy times is a solution for many things.

            • Delicious Taffy
              Delicious Taffy
              February 6, 2019 at 1:14 am | #

              If you knock on their door really loud and angrily tell them to turn up the volume, you might confuse them enough to make them chill out.

              • Leorale
                Leorale
                February 6, 2019 at 5:21 am | #

                I could blow my nose or something to show them that the walls are thin. But I don’t need to make them self-conscious — I live on a city, it’s on me to get headphones, I just think it’s funny.

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  February 6, 2019 at 7:22 am | #

                  Well, they live in close proximity to others so it’s at least partially on them to maybe be less loud about their fucking.

                • El Chupacabre
                  El Chupacabre
                  February 6, 2019 at 11:17 am | #

                  Having lived in places where the walls are very thin, there really isn’t a volume level for sex that makes it comfortable to be the neighbor. It isn’t a great situation for anyone, but I think Leorale is right–music is the best way to make middle ground.

                • Drunk Mike
                  Drunk Mike
                  February 6, 2019 at 3:17 pm | #

                  You can be as loud the hell you want… when you’re makin loovvveee.

                • thejeff
                  thejeff
                  February 6, 2019 at 4:43 pm | #

                  If I recall my dormroom/crappy apartment days, I think the proper response is clapping and cheering the performance when it reaches the climax.

          • C.T Phipps
            C.T Phipps
            February 6, 2019 at 5:58 am | #

            I’m inclined to believe Ruth will want Billie to stop drinking because she wouldn’t want her to be an unrecovering alcoholic.

    • Alanari
      Alanari
      February 6, 2019 at 12:38 am | #

      Probably not. If someone yelling at them was enough to get an alcoholic to stop drinking, it wouldn’t be such a problem. I just really hope she stops bothering Ruth with that.

  9. Ashley
    Ashley
    February 6, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    *standing ovation to Ruth for making her feelings clear*

    • ValdVin
      ValdVin
      February 6, 2019 at 12:45 pm | #

      Seconded. Some anvils need to be dropped, goes the trope.

  10. Yumi
    Yumi
    February 6, 2019 at 12:07 am | #

    Do we know what medication Ruth is on? I know it doesn’t really matter because the experiences of them can be so different for different people and also this is a work of fiction, but as someone also medicated for depression, I’m curious.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 12:09 am | #

      I don’t believe we’ve ever been given specifics. All we know is they take about two weeks-ish and apparently they’re blunted by alcohol.

      I have no idea how much that does or doesn’t narrow it down.

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        February 6, 2019 at 12:16 am | #

        Well, Serotonin re-uptake inhibitors typically work on that time frame, and are frequently used as anti-depressants. But I think Mr. Willis is wise not to specify.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 6, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

          Well, huh, the Willis hath answered.

          Apparently they’re a fictional brand.

        • NotPiffany
          NotPiffany
          February 6, 2019 at 12:26 am | #

          Especially since it’s pretty common to have to try a few different meds before you find the one(s) that work with your individual brain.

          • Agemegos
            Agemegos
            February 6, 2019 at 7:57 am | #

            Or, very often, not.

    • Lilyliv
      Lilyliv
      February 6, 2019 at 12:12 am | #

      I was just about to ask the same thing. I don’t drink often at all (and when I do, it’s maybe several sips bc I don’t even like the taste and I’m a lightweight), but for a sec I was worried I’d been screwing myself over 😅

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        February 6, 2019 at 12:45 am | #

        Alcohol is a Central Nervous System depressant, so it interacts with psychoactive drugs of almost any kind. I’m not aware of any instances in which this interaction is beneficial*. However it sounds like you have kept your exposure to alcohol very low.

        *taken with sleeping pills it tends to amplify the effect, which some people consider a benefit. But this is extremely dangerous as it can suppress breathing while the person is unconscious.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 6, 2019 at 1:10 am | #

          I dunno whether barbiturates are considered psychoactive, but they have a bad reaction to alcohol too – it can kill you if you mix them.

    • David M Willis
      David M Willis
      February 6, 2019 at 12:13 am | #

      it is a made-up one and you will learn its name in some hovertext in like two months

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        February 6, 2019 at 12:16 am | #

        I’ll wait with bated breath.

        • Roborat
          Roborat
          February 7, 2019 at 5:53 pm | #

          I suggest you bate once in a while, otherwise you will suffocate.

      • Bathymetheus
        Bathymetheus
        February 6, 2019 at 12:32 am | #

        If you depict them as working, people will Google them, and be frustrated when the only result is this comic.

        If you depict them as not working . . . DAMN YOU WILLIS!

        • Reltzik
          Reltzik
          February 6, 2019 at 12:34 am | #

          Why should we expect fake medicine to work? ;p

          • Wizard
            Wizard
            February 6, 2019 at 12:43 am | #

            The placebo effect can be surprisingly powerful.

            • Clif
              Clif
              February 6, 2019 at 1:07 am | #

              Yep. One of the many hints we have that the human brain puts a lot of effort into hiding it’s own abilities from itself. If we knew why, we would be ahead of the game.

              • Bathymetheus
                Bathymetheus
                February 6, 2019 at 1:26 am | #

                It’s not so much hiding, as that we don’t pay attention to what is going on in our own body. One of the skills a Shaman needs is the ability to tell what plants have medicinal effects by observing how he or she feels after consuming them. Typically they would fast for two or three days beforehand to avoid confounding effects from other foods.

                • Jhon
                  Jhon
                  February 6, 2019 at 1:05 pm | #

                  BTW, I like your handle. A ‘learned borrowing from the Greek’ for ‘deep thought’?

                • Bathymetheus
                  Bathymetheus
                  February 6, 2019 at 4:36 pm | #

                  Congratulations Jhon! You are the first person to figure that out (or at least, the first to say so). It is of course a Douglas Adams reference.

          • hallucigenia
            hallucigenia
            February 6, 2019 at 2:37 am | #

            Because it’s working on fake people!

    • Michael
      Michael
      February 6, 2019 at 12:17 am | #

      Hopefully not an SSRI or (realistically) we should expect fewer slipshines in the future.

      • Yumi
        Yumi
        February 6, 2019 at 12:21 am | #

        Commonly, but not necessarily. But more than that, I don’t feel like we’re on the edge of Slipshine territory anyway.

        • Leorale
          Leorale
          February 6, 2019 at 1:09 am | #

          Some people have more libido on SSRI’s that work for them — not directly, but like because they’re less depressed, they have some energy, or are less suicidal. You never know!

          • Yumi
            Yumi
            February 6, 2019 at 5:47 pm | #

            True– when I got a med combo that worked, at least for a time, I was confusedly Googling if antidepressants could have increased libido as a side effect. Really, I guess that was just a move toward baseline.

            • StClair
              StClair
              February 6, 2019 at 10:29 pm | #

              “I, uh, think I may have some kind of sex problem… I actually feel like having some.”

      • DailyBrad
        DailyBrad
        February 6, 2019 at 12:47 am | #

        That’s what Leafs jerseys are for.

    • everlastingwonder
      everlastingwonder
      February 6, 2019 at 3:37 am | #

      I guess it’s fictional, but I had been guessing bupropion HCL (aka Wellbutrin) since that’s the first antidepressant with bad alcohol interactions that comes to mind (for reasons that may or may not relate to me checking the bottle on my nightstand just now to see how “bupropion” is spelled).

  11. Spruce Goose
    Spruce Goose
    February 6, 2019 at 12:08 am | #

    Come on let’s see this breakup!

    What? It’s completely unhealthy and I don’t trust Billie to pass up drinking or bringing it up on the sly so it’s better for them both to split before one or both of them do something permanently damaging.

    Props to Ruth taking a stand for her growth though.

    • Michael
      Michael
      February 6, 2019 at 12:15 am | #

      Hard disagree. This relationship needs to succeed, and these two need to become better, despite everything.

      • Spruce Goose
        Spruce Goose
        February 6, 2019 at 12:23 am | #

        In my experience, these kinda relationships don’t get better. Two people with the same weakness don’t have anywhere to draw strength from and just enable the worst of each other.

        Better to end it, grow separately and move forward.

        • C.T Phipps
          C.T Phipps
          February 6, 2019 at 5:59 am | #

          I ship Carla and Ruth. Billie and Ruth is interesting but has run it’s course.

      • Emily
        Emily
        February 6, 2019 at 7:28 am | #

        Why? Like I can understand why you’d want it to succeed by I see zero reason it needs to. Ruth and Billie are just as capable of recovering outside of this relationship and if Billie keeps on as she has it may very well be the only way Ruth can.

      • Jhon
        Jhon
        February 6, 2019 at 1:09 pm | #

        If this relationship fails, then we’ve lost all the work Willis put into it. [/meta]

    • Zee
      Zee
      February 6, 2019 at 8:31 am | #

      Totally. Billie currently has no interest in self improvement and she is very dangerous for Ruth rn. They need to go their separate ways and work on themselves. Maybe, *maybe* after a few years of treatment and sobriety, when they (especially Billie) are healthier and more stable and not at risk of dragging each other (read: Billie dragging Ruth) down, maybe they can try again. But right now this relationship is unhealthy and needs to end.

  12. BarerMender
    BarerMender
    February 6, 2019 at 12:18 am | #

    I suspect Billy wants to quit drinking but doesn’t believe she can do it, is even afraid to try. Hence the minimizing, the “What’s the big deal?”

    • Kim
      Kim
      February 6, 2019 at 12:35 am | #

      Interesting point!

    • Proto
      Proto
      February 6, 2019 at 1:40 am | #

      See I think she doesn’t because she doesn’t view it as a problem. She thinks she’s got this alcohol thing under control, and she’s a “social drinker” or a functional alcoholic or whatever other name you can use to justify that behavior.

      I think she thinks she’s not suicidal so she doesn’t need to stop like Ruth does.

  13. Kern Wallace
    Kern Wallace
    February 6, 2019 at 12:19 am | #

    So far, so not terrible.

  14. Uly
    Uly
    February 6, 2019 at 12:20 am | #

    I’m rather skeptical of grandiose claims that AA is for everyone but regardless… these two need some sort of professional help.

    • Bicycle Bill
      Bicycle Bill
      February 6, 2019 at 12:36 am | #

      It works for some people but not for others.  There is more than one path to sobriety, and as long as your way works for you, I don’t think anyone else is allowed to quibble.

      • Uly
        Uly
        February 6, 2019 at 11:27 am | #

        And I fully support those who found that AA helps them. I’m all for that! But it’s overemphasized in our culture as THE way in a way that overshadows other options… including options that have peer reviewed studies backing them up.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 12:44 am | #

      Some branches of AA can be very heavily religious too. Willis has said that wouldn’t bother Billie too much but it probably wouldn’t work for Ruth.

      • Nono
        Nono
        February 6, 2019 at 12:45 am | #

        The only other person who might hate religion more might be Leslie.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 6, 2019 at 12:50 am | #

          I don’t think Ruth necessarily hates religion but it might not appeal to her anyways. I don’t hate religion but I don’t find it personally compelling at all and it probably wouldn’t work for me.

        • Opus the Poet
          Opus the Poet
          February 6, 2019 at 1:39 am | #

          You might wanna include Becky and possibly Dina on the list of people who hate Western Religion. I’m not sure about Dina and Bhudism or Shinto, as neither one is known for being science-denying.

          • Sol Karas
            Sol Karas
            February 6, 2019 at 1:55 am | #

            Nah, Becky kept her faith (as far as I can tell, anyways). She’s just not fundamentalist anymore, most like.

          • Nono
            Nono
            February 6, 2019 at 1:58 am | #

            I don’t think Dina hates religion so much as find it completely baffling and counterproductive to scientific evidence.

            • C.T Phipps
              C.T Phipps
              February 6, 2019 at 6:00 am | #

              Becky is probably the most religious after Joyce and the healthiest.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            February 6, 2019 at 6:37 am | #

            Religion, even Western Religion, isn’t necessarily science-defying, despite the best efforts of the Religious Right to make everyone think so.

            Plenty of Christian biologists out there.

            • C.T Phipps
              C.T Phipps
              February 6, 2019 at 10:52 am | #

              The Dali Lama is famous for being a science enthusiast. It actually irritated Mao during the short period he was trying to be civil. He wanted the Dali Lama to be more of a caricature.

            • Leorale
              Leorale
              February 6, 2019 at 6:23 pm | #

              I hope you aren’t including Jews in Western religious groups that don’t like science. I’m not sure if we even count as Western, but, we’re typically major fans of science & education!

              • Leorale
                Leorale
                February 6, 2019 at 6:26 pm | #

                Pretty sure Faith vs. Science is a Christian thing… and clever Christians have invented workarounds if they want.

                • Emily
                  Emily
                  February 6, 2019 at 8:44 pm | #

                  It’s a theocracy (or wants there to be a theocracy) thing really.

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        February 6, 2019 at 7:02 pm | #

        I’ve heard some branches are straight-up toxic cults too, so like, watch out for that.

    • Proto
      Proto
      February 6, 2019 at 1:42 am | #

      Well Ruth has supposedly getting therapy off panel. Billie on the other hand…

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        February 6, 2019 at 4:13 am | #

        Billie’s supposed to, but doesn’t go because it’s easier to deny a problem exists than to fix it.

    • CJ
      CJ
      February 6, 2019 at 5:18 am | #

      Well, Ruth is able to say “I’m an alcoholic”, but Billie still doesn’t own that she is.

    • BarerMender
      BarerMender
      February 6, 2019 at 8:06 am | #

      Ruth is getting help, bu Billie blew it off.

  15. Bathymetheus
    Bathymetheus
    February 6, 2019 at 12:24 am | #

    At least Billie has the grace to look chastened in the last two panels. Whether she will actually change her behaviour remains to be seen. I hope so – for both their sakes – but I’m not holding my breath.

  16. chris73
    chris73
    February 6, 2019 at 12:28 am | #

    Starting to like Ruth a bit more now

  17. Bicycle Bill
    Bicycle Bill
    February 6, 2019 at 12:33 am | #

    And speaking as someone who fights the same battle Ruth is fighting, this is when you find out who your true friends are.  They’re the people who will accept the fact that you choose not to drink – fpr whatever reason – and don’t make a big deal about it.

    Time to step up and be that kind of friend, Billie.

  18. Romanticide
    Romanticide
    February 6, 2019 at 12:34 am | #

    Well it seems finally it sunk on Billie what’s up.

  19. Reltzik
    Reltzik
    February 6, 2019 at 12:35 am | #

    Tomorrow, we get to see this argument resolved…. no, actually, we cut back to Walky eating McNuggets in Gender Studies as he watches Leslie chew Joe out.

    • HeySo
      HeySo
      February 6, 2019 at 1:43 am | #

      I’m okay with EVERY strip ending with a cutaway panel to Walky eating McNuggets.

  20. newllend(henryvolt)
    newllend(henryvolt)
    February 6, 2019 at 12:38 am | #

    Well that’s the second time in one day Billie failed to take Ruth’s feelings into consideration. They had a good start when the began but man she’s blowing this.

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      February 6, 2019 at 4:36 am | #

      Yep! No Lucy to bail her out now.

  21. jeffepp
    jeffepp
    February 6, 2019 at 12:55 am | #

    Is this a good time for Billie to remind her of their suicide pact? You know, relationship goals, and all?

  22. miados
    miados
    February 6, 2019 at 12:56 am | #

    my own game over attempts…… and pills as a result of said attempts……. are why i am glad i can’t stand the taste of booze.

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      February 6, 2019 at 1:05 am | #

      Don’t know why you felt that way, and it’s none of my business. But I’m glad you’re still with us.

      You may ask why, since we’ve never met, and probably won’t.

      “No man is an island, secure unto itself . . . Never ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee”

      I don’t believe in life after death. When we’re gone, we’re gone. All that we have learned, all the difference we could have made to others’ lives, is gone too. Every person’s death is a loss to us all.

      • BarerMender
        BarerMender
        February 6, 2019 at 8:10 am | #

        Amen.

  23. Piotr W
    Piotr W
    February 6, 2019 at 12:59 am | #

    I positively love Ruth today. Go maturity!

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 1:05 am | #

      Ruth’s been kicking ass today, for sure. She has some real moments when she’s functional and not either numb or drawing on anger/sadism.

      • AntJ
        AntJ
        February 6, 2019 at 1:07 am | #

        You can see why she used to be Chloe’s favorite RA.

      • Nono
        Nono
        February 6, 2019 at 1:59 am | #

        It’s the bisexual haircut.

        • Clif
          Clif
          February 7, 2019 at 11:06 pm | #

          Mm.

  24. DailyBrad
    DailyBrad
    February 6, 2019 at 1:08 am | #

    I am glad Ruth’s making a stand, I am glad Billie looks to not be shrugging it off, and I hopeful that Billie can start to see what seems to me to be one of her big problems:

    I don’t think Billie knows who she is. I get it, she is 18 or so, but even still, she’s clung to being “Head Cheerleader, problem solver!” and then even seemed to lean into “problematic drunk, but not alone”, and I feel like she was so close to a breakthrough on that front when she was confronted by Alice, and that she didn’t want the old Billie back. But in Forest Wing, that’s been old Billie.

    She needs to make some hard decisions.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      February 6, 2019 at 2:34 am | #

      The thing is that Billie has never really had to make hard decisions before. Like Walky, she’s dodged, prevaricated and generally hoped that someone else make the hard decisions for her and insulate her from personal hardship in the process. This may be the first time she’s confronted the very real likelihood that any kind of avoidance or denial will lose her something she doesn’t want to lose.

      It could be devastating for her in the short-term. She nearly dived off of the deep end when Alice told her that she was toxic.

  25. rectilinearpropagation
    rectilinearpropagation
    February 6, 2019 at 1:23 am | #

    So I know the mimosa thing was more recent but is the beer a reference to this?
    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/02-this-is-the-way-that-we-love/dirt/

    Billie opted to have their date moved from the nice restaurant to the bar across the street. Is that what Ruth is referring to when she said, “I don’t want a beer?” Or am I reading too much into it? (I was never totally clear on why she looks upset during a date that seems to be going well.)

    • Leorale
      Leorale
      February 6, 2019 at 1:37 am | #

      I don’t know what the beer refers to specifically, but, Ruth only looks upset because she’s yelling at the sports on tv. Yelling at the tv is fun, she loves it.

      • Rectilinear Propagation
        Rectilinear Propagation
        February 6, 2019 at 7:48 pm | #

        Oh sorry, I meant that second to last panel where Billie looks upset, not Ruth.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      February 6, 2019 at 6:42 am | #

      I’m not sure, but she did comment in the nice restaurant about getting wine with her fake id.
      This has been a long ongoing thing.

      • Rectilinear Propagation
        Rectilinear Propagation
        February 6, 2019 at 9:35 pm | #

        Oh, good point.

    • BarerMender
      BarerMender
      February 6, 2019 at 8:13 am | #

      The straws suggest they’re drinking soda pop.

      • Rectilinear Propagation
        Rectilinear Propagation
        February 6, 2019 at 9:32 pm | #

        Yeah, I was wondering if maybe Billie had tried to get beer and Ruth insisted on something non-alcoholic.

        It was probably more of a general comment than a specific reference to something that happened off panel.

  26. DarkoNeko
    DarkoNeko
    February 6, 2019 at 1:49 am | #

    Ok, I can’t hold it anymore so
    I’m sure smoking blunts would have the same effect, too !
    (sorry)

    • Schpoonman
      Schpoonman
      February 6, 2019 at 11:33 am | #

      I get the danger of self-medicating, but holy shit is it hard to disagree with that because THC and CBD have been borderline wonder drugs for me when I’ve been feeling really depressed.

  27. kilgaen
    kilgaen
    February 6, 2019 at 1:56 am | #

    That last panel is pretty much the response I’d been expecting. Ruth has been trying to be a grown up all her life, Billie only just started. She’s realising how incredibly far she is from her goal and it is humbling.

    As are loved ones shouting at you with justification. Eat that shame, Billie. Eat it.

  28. Opus the Poet
    Opus the Poet
    February 6, 2019 at 1:56 am | #

    The problem here is Billie likes to drink and thinks she loves Ruth, and there is conflict between those two facts and what evolves from them. To be with Ruth she has to give up alcohol, to continue drinking she has to give up Ruth.

    • PB
      PB
      February 6, 2019 at 2:38 am | #

      I think she really DOES love Ruth, but she needs to examine what she wants out of the relationship and what she’s willing to do to stay in it.

  29. BenRG
    BenRG
    February 6, 2019 at 2:03 am | #

    I wonder if this is the very first time that anyone whose opinion mattered to Billie have told her that her actions have consequences?

    Billie’s expressing in panel 6 is instructive because it’s like a young child’s reaction to being scolded when she’s realised that she was in the wrong. Billie clearly has a lot of growing up to do in many areas. This could be a turning point for her in that area or it could lead her to fight a little bit harder against ever acting responsibly.

    • Bagge
      Bagge
      February 6, 2019 at 2:37 am | #

      Not the first time, no.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/dramahurricane/

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        February 6, 2019 at 4:30 am | #

        I’m not sure Alice fits the category of ‘someone whose opinion mattered’. I suspect that she was something like the Forrest Hall girls – Pals to hang out with but no more than minions really.

        That doesn’t mean being told she was toxic was anything less than a shock but that says more about Billie’s view of herself than her view of Alice.

    • Sam
      Sam
      February 6, 2019 at 2:41 am | #

      It definitely isn’t as Alice told her to her face that her self-destructive tendencies were harmful to others but Alice was also speaking from a place of pain and didn’t put it in the kindest way. And it sounded like from the way she said ‘finally, an epiphany’ when Billie said she didn’t want her old self back, that she likely tried and failed to get through to Billie before and it didn’t work.

  30. ninja_jesus
    ninja_jesus
    February 6, 2019 at 2:36 am | #

    This talk is SO important for Ruth and Billie. It was going to be brought up sooner or later.

    So now I think their relationship will now hinge on Billie’s reaction to being called out.

  31. PB
    PB
    February 6, 2019 at 2:36 am | #

    … What’s the word for feeling proud, relieved, anxious and sad all at once?

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 9:38 am | #

      Dumbing of Age.

    • Yet Another Laura H.
      Yet Another Laura H.
      February 6, 2019 at 2:45 pm | #

      Also, parenthood.

  32. Bagge
    Bagge
    February 6, 2019 at 2:37 am | #

    So, if I get what Billie hears of what Ruth is saying right it’s something in the ballpark of “You’re… so self-destructive. You’re… You’re poison. A drama Hurricane who ruins everything she touches. I need to get out before it’s too late.”

    Or, in other words, OUCH!

    http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/dramahurricane/

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      February 6, 2019 at 2:53 am | #

      Good callback, this scene is what I was thinking of too. I just hope Billie doesn’t try to run away again, that won’t fix this problem.

  33. abysswatcher1993
    abysswatcher1993
    February 6, 2019 at 2:37 am | #

    Really, Willis? Tidepods?

    Also, yes, Billie hasn’t learned anything. Alcohol killed Ruth in one universe, and I hope history doesn’t repeat.

    • newllend(henryvolt)
      newllend(henryvolt)
      February 6, 2019 at 3:44 pm | #

      It almost killed her twice in this Universe.

  34. Darchosis
    Darchosis
    February 6, 2019 at 2:41 am | #

    I see a fork in the road…Does anyone here see a fork in the road?

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      February 6, 2019 at 4:35 am | #

      Yes, and one of the roads leads to a cliff-edge without a barrier for Billie.

      • ninja_jesus
        ninja_jesus
        February 6, 2019 at 4:48 am | #

        Cue the Coldplay music!

  35. Ninjabuttocks
    Ninjabuttocks
    February 6, 2019 at 3:14 am | #

    Billies face in the last panel makes me think she maybe gets it now, at least I hope so.

    • Delicious Taffy
      Delicious Taffy
      February 6, 2019 at 8:15 pm | #

      …Is your grav Freddie Freaker nailed to a cross?

      • Ninjabuttocks
        Ninjabuttocks
        February 7, 2019 at 12:37 am | #

        Yeah… lol

  36. Furie
    Furie
    February 6, 2019 at 3:37 am | #

    Finally!

  37. everlastingwonder
    everlastingwonder
    February 6, 2019 at 3:41 am | #

    Most comment threads on the Internet are terrible, but every once in a while I find one that is truly inspiring, and I’m happy to say that this is definitely one of those.

    • Bathymetheus
      Bathymetheus
      February 6, 2019 at 11:57 pm | #

      I agree (please ignore the fact that several of the comments in today’s thread are from me – I’m not being self-serving, honest!). I noticed a long time ago that this particular comment section has a lot of contributors who understand why it is often difficult to make good decisions, and are non-judgemental about other contributors. About the characters in the strip, they can be very judgemental! But I’m OK with that. Many have shared their own issues with mental health, which has been eye-opening for me. I have learned a great deal here.

  38. Ethics Gradient
    Ethics Gradient
    February 6, 2019 at 3:52 am | #

    The elephant in the room suddenly has full visibility.

  39. Needfuldoer
    Needfuldoer
    February 6, 2019 at 4:28 am | #

    “What’s the big deal about drinking?” asked the alcoholic whose habit totaled a car, ruined at least one relationship, and kept her off the IU cheerleading squad.

    Mumsy and Father can’t spend you out of this one, Billie.

    • ninja_jesus
      ninja_jesus
      February 6, 2019 at 4:33 am | #

      Weird flex considering her parents were never really there for her, but go off I guess.

      • BenRG
        BenRG
        February 6, 2019 at 4:36 am | #

        Unfortunately, some parents think that ‘buy prince/princess whatever they say they want, including immunity from consequences’ is an alternative for parenting and presence.

        • ninja_jesus
          ninja_jesus
          February 6, 2019 at 4:43 am | #

          Except I don’t think that’s happened for Billie, either. In some form or another, Billie is still paying the consequences of her actions as a high schooler. It’s not as if they bribed the police/whoever to remove the alcohol-fueled crash from her permanent record, and I’ve honestly never seen or heard of examples of her parents buying her out of anything (maybe her ability to graduate despite what happened?). Only the occasional mention of it from Walky or Billie.

      • Needfuldoer
        Needfuldoer
        February 6, 2019 at 4:53 am | #

        Her father has political influence, at least on a local level. That’s usually either from money or connections (which themselves come from money), and we know the Billingsworths have money.

        She “got blitzed and wrecked a car“, and it seems being kept off the IU cheerleader squad is the only lasting consequence to come out of that. (Well, that and it was the tipping point for Alice to sever their relationship, but Billie didn’t seem to care very much until they bumped into each other again.)

        Is thinking her wealthy, connected parents have insulated her from the consequences of her actions really that big of a stretch?

        • Needfuldoer
          Needfuldoer
          February 6, 2019 at 10:32 am | #

          Addendum: Even if what she does doesn’t concern them, her parents might still step in to save face. It’s not a good look for the family if everyone knows she totaled mummy’s Mercedes GLS, after all. Minimizing her fallout has the side effect of teaching her that problems can be swept under the rug, especially if you throw clout and/or money around.

          Her continued drinking to excess is “not a big deal” because it hasn’t seriously burned her yet.

    • CJ
      CJ
      February 6, 2019 at 5:13 am | #

      Seems to me, though her parents throw lots of money at her, exerting their influence to help her get out of stuff seems not like something they have ever done.
      Would’ve been quite easy to pressure the school to keep her a cheerleader, but they didn’t.

      • Agemegos
        Agemegos
        February 6, 2019 at 7:50 am | #

        For example, Ruth’s grandfather was able to keep her in her job as an RA, which she was doing very badly, after she had an improper sexual relationship with a student under her care and authority, supplied liquor to a minor, and got as drunk as a stomach pump in a dry dorm. We don’t see Billie’s parents exert influence like that at all.

        • BenRG
          BenRG
          February 6, 2019 at 8:47 am | #

          I think that Billie’s parents did their damage during her high school years and beforehand. The whole point of this thread is the hypothesis that Billie is, for the first time in her conscious memory, in a scenario where it is not possible to buy off the consequences of her actions and she is struggling to adapt to this.

          • thejeff
            thejeff
            February 6, 2019 at 10:31 am | #

            I’m not sure that’s true. There were consequences of her DUI, even if it was just losing the potential cheerleader gig – and her semi-girlfriend and her popularity.

            We don’t know that her parents got her out of it. We don’t even know they came home and paid any attention to her during that whole mess.

            All we really know about them is that they neglect her emotionally and substitute money and stuff for love and attention.

          • Needfuldoer
            Needfuldoer
            February 6, 2019 at 10:49 am | #

            That’s really all this is, a hypothesis. It hasn’t been definitively stated in the comic. It’s also the kind of thing I think Billie wouldn’t talk about.

            However, I think it’s a likely scenario given what we do know.

  40. Pylgrim
    Pylgrim
    February 6, 2019 at 7:27 am | #

    This, THIS is my problem with drugs. “Bro, I a responsible user, I can control myself”; “pfft, I do coke every other day and I’m a successful entrepreneur with a loving family and two dogs”; “shut it Stalin, this is a free country, not a nanny state. I’ll do with my body what I want and deal with the consequences if or when they come.”

    Yeah, that’s all right, I’m glad that it works out so well for you. Sadly, it doesn’t work that well for huge amounts of other people. People whose lives (and often, the lives of their loved ones) are utterly destroyed. People who become enslaved and cannot break the cycle try as they may. Young people who get hooked well before they get even the understanding of what they’re getting themselves into. Your “responsible enjoyment”, your capability for success in spite of, or your entitlement and apathy towards consequences all pale in comparison to the suffering that your permissiveness and example bring to other people.

    /unpopular opinion.

    • BenRG
      BenRG
      February 6, 2019 at 8:38 am | #

      Not unpopular with me.

    • thejeff
      thejeff
      February 6, 2019 at 10:39 am | #

      This is my problem with people who lump a whole bunch of substances with very different uses and abuse patterns (if any) together as “drugs” and treat them all the same way.

      booze isn’t cocaine isn’t heroin isn’t pot isn’t opiates. Some of them risk addiction to touch at all. Some of them are used incredibly widely with only a tiny minority facing any kind of addiction – and people can get addicted to non-drugs as well. Many others are self-medicating for problems they can’t get any other treatment for, which is a symptom of how screwed up our society is in general.

      • Sunfish
        Sunfish
        February 6, 2019 at 6:45 pm | #

        Amen. And there are people who can use a substance throughout their lives and never be addicted to it and there are people who after one time trying it will be addicted to it. You can’t really point out one substance and say it’s the issue. The issue is the addiction cycle that becomes created and it can occur from any number of substances or behaviors.

  41. Emily
    Emily
    February 6, 2019 at 7:31 am | #

    I’m actually pretty proud of Billie for mostly just taking this on the chin.

    • chris73
      chris73
      February 6, 2019 at 12:03 pm | #

      Looks a bit like the freeze part of the fight, flight or freeze complex, like a deer in the head lights kind of thing

      • Emily
        Emily
        February 6, 2019 at 4:19 pm | #

        I wouldn’t be surprised but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt for the time being.

  42. TomHCinMI
    TomHCinMI
    February 6, 2019 at 8:11 am | #

    I feel like Ruth every time somebody recommends I put my trust in God.
    It’s an attack on my health, whether they know it or not.
    Fortunately people who know me know that; it’s only well-meaning acquaintances who make that mistake, so never have to chew out a friend.

    • C.T Phipps
      C.T Phipps
      February 6, 2019 at 11:35 am | #

      I’m sorry that you have felt that way and it has been a source of discomfort. You should feel safe and secure in your life.

  43. Addfire
    Addfire
    February 6, 2019 at 8:15 am | #

    Haha blunts

  44. Classic Appa
    Classic Appa
    February 6, 2019 at 8:49 am | #

    Yeah, I don’t really see a happy ending to all this. Ruth has hit her low. Billie totaled a car and lost her girlfriend, and we still don’t see any end in sight.

  45. Guest42
    Guest42
    February 6, 2019 at 9:20 am | #

    Honestly by the strip title I really thought this was going to be Billie going “well if we can’t drink, how about blunts?”

  46. Nep
    Nep
    February 6, 2019 at 9:22 am | #

    Good. I’m glad Ruth is standing up for herself, and I’m glad she’s angry. (I like her and Billie together, but she needs to take care of herself.)

  47. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership
    DudeMyDadOwnsADealership
    February 6, 2019 at 9:28 am | #

    Billie making anyone else think about an old Bell Biv DeVoe song?

  48. hof1991
    hof1991
    February 6, 2019 at 10:11 am | #

    Full points to Ruth for being an effective RA for Sal and Amber during this drama hurricane. With so much going on, she could easily have had them face discipline or even be expelled, but she covered for them and has them on a good path. They could have been collateral damage to all this.

  49. Jay
    Jay
    February 6, 2019 at 10:32 am | #

    Billie. Don’t run from this. This is good, this is healthy and this can help BOTH of you.

  50. Nelly Dreadful
    Nelly Dreadful
    February 6, 2019 at 1:53 pm | #

    I want to cheer and purchase Ruth the non-alcoholic mocktail of her choice. I recommend the Canadian Pride, a blend of Canada Dry ginger ale, grapefruit juice, and maple syrup.

    • Axel
      Axel
      February 6, 2019 at 2:54 pm | #

      I can’t have grapefruit or pomelo but I bet this would work with calamansi, it’s not the same but it’s similarly bitter (though with a little more sweet).

      I mean being Canadian but not having clamato in it is enough to please me.

      • Nelly Dreadful
        Nelly Dreadful
        February 9, 2019 at 7:35 pm | #

        Oh right. I keep forgetting grapefruit sabotaging certain brain meds.

        I’ll have to try calamansi sometime. And if anybody else has suggestions for substitutions or alternative mocktails that’d be awesome.

    • BBCC
      BBCC
      February 6, 2019 at 3:27 pm | #

      Grapefruit might be a bad idea with her meds.

      • Inahc
        Inahc
        February 6, 2019 at 11:35 pm | #

        Aren’t meds fun? 😛
        I had an eye exam recently, and my eyesight has actually *improved* because I’m off the last of the migraine meds.
        At one point I was on a medication that interacted with Vitamin C, which it turns out is in a *lot* of things.

        I still haven’t decided whether it’s worth losing my just-starting-to-reappear libido and damaging my teeth to try another anxiety medication.

        • BBCC
          BBCC
          February 7, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

          Yeeep. My seizure meds supposedly make your memory worse and my friend joked I was going to turn into a supercomputer. If anything, my memory is worse. Ah well. It’s not bad, just definitely not supercomputer.

          • BBCC
            BBCC
            February 7, 2019 at 12:04 am | #

            *turn into a supercomputer when I came off my meds.

  51. motorfirebox
    motorfirebox
    February 6, 2019 at 6:06 pm | #

    Hm. Read that fourth panel as “until hope fully makes a difference.”

  52. Sunfish
    Sunfish
    February 6, 2019 at 6:42 pm | #

    Just commenting one more time to drive home the point that the cure to addiction isn’t only abstinence forever. Food addiction can’t be cured with abstinence. Addiction broadly does not have to be and arguably isn’t cured by abstinence. Abstinence does prevent an addict from engaging in whatever addictive behavior and substance they have a problem with, but it doesn’t address the reason they want it in the first place.

    • Emily
      Emily
      February 6, 2019 at 8:28 pm | #

      One of the pretty core tenets of abstinence as a substance addiction treatment is that you aren’t curing the addiction you are managing it. Like, I’ve never seen anybody credible tout abstinence as a cure for addiction so much as it’s an effective means of keeping that addiction from ruining your life or killing you.

  53. Kindra
    Kindra
    February 6, 2019 at 6:58 pm | #

    So… when are they going to break up? Their relationship is massively unhealthy for both of them and, frankly, I don’t see it getting any better.

  54. Dana
    Dana
    February 6, 2019 at 11:20 pm | #

    Why do I have to have so much invested in such a toxic relationship? At least it’s fictional and not my own.

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CONVENTION APPEARANCES


May 3, 2025 - FCBD @ Laughing Ogre Comics in Columbus, Ohio

David M Willis! avatar
David M Willis!
@damnyouwillis.bsky.social
reposted by David M Willis!
vangelus.bsky.social's user avatar
Vangelus @vangelus.bsky.social ⋅ 17h
check out my original angle photos of ss86 megatron, source unknown and unimportant
ss86 megatron, shot in vertical in a mad seething panic by a severe incompetent
ss86 megatron, shot in vertical in a mad seething panic by a severe incompetent
ss86 megatron, shot in vertical in a mad seething panic by a severe incompetent
ss86 megatron, shot in vertical in a mad seething panic by a severe incompetent
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Tommy Valdez @thomasav.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Target's 2025 Pride Collection
video thumbnail
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Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social ⋅ 4h
header image - Target Scales Back Pride Section To Single T-Shirt Saying They’d Do A Threesome With A Girl For Their Boyfriend’s Birthday
theonion.com
Target Scales Back Pride Section To Single T-Shirt Saying They’d Do A Threesome With A Girl For Their Boyfriend’s Birthday
MINNEAPOLIS—Responding to conservative backlash over a large selection of offerings for the month of June, Target announced Friday that they would scale back their gay pride section to a single t-shir...
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Jules Effin Rivera @lovejoolz.bsky.social ⋅ 3h
Happy Pride! Here's the comic where I come out as a Disaster Pansexual *and* Animal Crossing Weirdo
Love, Joolz comic
Panel 1
Jules and Blackbird chilling on the couch. 
J: I'm going to my friend's Pride March in Animal crossing! Time to make a cool outfit that show off my cousins. 
B: But you already have Disaster Bisexual outfits in Animal Crossing. 
Panel 2
Jules attempts to sew a dress in the Pansexual colors.
J: I am not a disaster bisexual. I'm Pansexual.
B: What's the difference? 
J: Getting horny for way more options.
Panel 3
Blackbird flutters agitatedly at Jules, who struggles with the sewing machine. 
B: Jules you're running out of time! 
J: It's fine! I can get the dress done in time!
B: We gotta go! 
J: It's fine! I can get the dress done in time! 
B: We gotta go! We're gonna miss the march! 
J: It's fine it's fine it's fine it's--
Panel 4: 
Jules and Blackbird at the Animal Crossing Pride parade. Blackbird is in a cap with Trans flag colors and a shirt with a rainbow pattern. Jules is in a suit with a bow tie and a froggie hat. She looks a mess. 
B: Jesus God, you really are a disaster bisexual. 
J: Disaster Pansexual.
B: Right. 
B: Jesus God
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 4h
tfw the secret ingredient definitely isn't poison
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sarahquaint @sarahquaint.bsky.social ⋅ 5h
Can we get a license for an additional official if we pay the processing fee and donate the harvest to a food bank?
kendrawcandraw.bsky.social's user avatarKendra, regular version @kendrawcandraw.bsky.social ⋅ 5h
Every queer person gets to kill and eat one(1) sitting US official this month
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14
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Ryan North @ryannorth.ca ⋅ 8h
by carefully mixing 10% cream with 1% skim milk, you can unlock forbidden milk percentages the government doesn't want you to know about, like 7.725%
some milk I used to make Forbidden Percentages. I didn't mention 2% in my post though. I gotta keep some secrets
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 7h
online transformers collectors: i hope ss86 megatron doesn't have big ol' treads on his back!!! ss86 megatron: *treads fold up inside the legs* online transformers collectors: HIS LEGS ARE TOO CHUNKY >>>:((((
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 16h
Dumbing of Age: "Sweet prank" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
Sweet prank
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
View AND change this, if we were talking quantum mechanics
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Micah @rincewind.run ⋅ 1d
the big disconnect that happens here is between the correct message for D politicians (especially in red states), which is “you’re right, this isn’t who you are, you’re better than that, vote differently next time” and the actual truth, which is yes you did, fuck you
kevinbuist.com's user avatarKevin Buist @kevinbuist.com ⋅ 1d
Yes, you did vote to deport moms.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Raw milk has the opportunity to do the funniest thing
fangferric.bsky.social's user avatarFerric Fang @fangferric.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
RFK Jr celebrated the release of the MAHA report by downing raw milk shooters in the White House with influencer Paul Saladino. Hazards of raw milk include Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, Yersinia, E. coli O157:H7, and now-- avian flu.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
maggie, reading a strip from a year from now: oh this is so obnoxious, i love it she gets me
1
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 1d
Today in #9ChickweedLane I learned it's nice to see Walter Bubbletea, 80-year-old fiance to someone roughly 20, talk to someone his own age.
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David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
"ESPECIALLY willa!" "dad, has it come to mind yet that if i was correct, actually, about belle being cuckoo for murderpuffs, that she was in fact trying to kill me, your human daughter, all this time" "sorry, still only really care about the fish"
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Dumbing of Age: "My eyes only" www.dumbingofage.com/2025/comic/b... #webcomics #webcomic
www.dumbingofage.com
My eyes only
1
6
47
 
reposted by David M Willis!
edidin.bsky.social's user avatar
Jay Edidin @edidin.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
fuck Target's sad beige pride. You don't have to like rainbows to be loud and proud; AND you can support a currently-unemployed trans artist! (many more at link) www.teepublic.com/user/chekhov...
a black hoodie with hand-lettered white text reading,
a black tshirt with hand-lettered white text reading,
a red tshirt with hand-lettered black text reading,
a maroon tshirt with hand-lettered white text reading,
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John Leavitt @leavittalone.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Mammal solidarity “stealing and eating a treat with your dexterous little hands”
paulle.bsky.social's user avatarPaul Lê @paulle.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
I'm obsessed with this li'l hungry bub.
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
*weird dean sounds*
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Got my pointy Galvatron slippers.
1
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reposted by David M Willis!
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Rolling Stone is one of the few news outlets that know how to write headlines.
rollingstone.com's user avatarRolling Stone @rollingstone.com ⋅ 2d
Report: Elon Used So Much Ketamine He Couldn’t Pee Right The New York Times reports that the billionaire experienced some negative effects from frequent drug use while stumping for Trump last year
header image - Elon Used So Much Ketamine He Couldn't Pee Right: Report
rollingstone.com
Elon Used So Much Ketamine He Couldn't Pee Right: Report
Elon Musk's frequent use of ketamine during the 2024 campaign caused him to experience bladder problems, according to The New York Times.
16
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
everyone: remember to transform your ss86 scavenger so that the shovel arm hangs off his ass like a floppy butt-penis
11
8
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PAK @papaalphakilo.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
Sam Reich doing a little dance on the set of
rajandelman.bsky.social's user avatarBlue sky nice guy @rajandelman.bsky.social ⋅ 12d
We need a liberal Jigsaw
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7187
 
reposted by David M Willis!
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Ben Rosen @benrosen.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
i tell ya, my wife is bi. yeah, she bi and i pay!
maggiewestrum.bsky.social's user avatarMaggie Westrum @maggiewestrum.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
we need a rodney dangerfield of the left
9
85
665
 
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Kelly Turnbull @coelasquid.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Oh hey Hulu released the new King of the Hill intro I boarded
header image - King of the Hill Season 14 | Credit Sequence Reveal | Hulu
youtu.be
King of the Hill Season 14 | Credit Sequence Reveal | Hulu
YouTube video by Hulu
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
thanks for the three bigfoot-esque images of cyberworld optimus prime, hasbro pr
2
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
"so now what?" "well handing her every knife in the house has worked out for us so far"
3
1
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Chris McFeely @chrismcfeely.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
CYBERWORLD trailer! www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTsf...
header image - Transformers: CYBERWORLD | OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER | Transformers Official
www.youtube.com
Transformers: CYBERWORLD | OFFICIAL TEASER TRAILER | Transformers Official
YouTube video by TRANSFORMERS OFFICIAL
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damnyouwillis.bsky.social's user avatar
David M Willis! @damnyouwillis.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
(june 1, 2026)
It's Malaya!  They seem incredulous.
1
35
 
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uncleduke1969.bsky.social's user avatar
Uncle Duke @uncleduke1969.bsky.social ⋅ 3d
the need for the inclusion of the graphic is a sad reminder of the shockingly low literacy rate among geese
Sign reads “No Geese” and includes a graphic of a goose silhouette in a red circle with a line through it.
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