283

Dropping
Posted on February 26, 2021 by David M Willis

283 thoughts on “Dropping”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Becky: “♥ TWOO WUVV ♥”

    1. Sirksome

      Oh no! Is Becky a hate shipper?!

      1. JiggyJohn

        I don’t think that’s the case so much as she knows she parent trapped them and she’s excited that it worked.

        1. RassilonTDavros

          If we include these two, then Becky’s up to five substitute parents now by my count. Do I hear six?

          I dunno, I can’t really think of anyone else that would make a fine addition to her collection.

        2. Sirksome

          I don’t see these so much as her parenst but more like two grumpy aunts she’s secretly rooting for.

        3. RassilonTDavros

          Neither do I, but if Becky’s “parent trapping” them, then I guess it’s kinda implied.

        4. thejeff

          How has she “parent trapped” them? She didn’t do anything to bring them here, as far as we know.

        5. Demoted Oblivious

          Not even. They (JB & R) signed up for the course themselves. Beck’s also here of her own accord. It’s like she went to the beach for some fun and sun, and didn’t know till she got there that it was July 4th.

        6. Demoted Oblivious

          Oof, wrong parent post. I am in agreement with the one and only, a, thejeff.

        7. ziggy78eog

          I highly doubt that is the case; “we signed up for this together”, implies that Jennifer and Ruth were still a couple, when registering for classes. The break up might be a fairly recent occurrence, so Becky would not have had the foresight to bring them back together. Also, keep in mind, before she hooked up with Dina, Becky’s experience with healthy, romantic, relationships, was zero. So, in her mind, she is thinking, “Parent Trap”, and how to get those two back together, but this was never planned out.

        8. Needfuldoer

          The Hayley Mills version, specifically.

      2. Merbrat

        Becky is here for the “Constant Blindsidin’ Dramatic Bombshells™”

        1. Clif

          Be honest. Aren’t we all?

        2. milu

          Becky is like, “Damn you, Willis” but also “Damn! you Willis” and it’s a messy, heady, twisted feeling, but it occurs at reliably frequent intervals, and that’s pretty sweet.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      Becky: “Wait until I get back with the popcorn.”

    3. Doctor_Who

      Becky: basically the reader.

    4. Nono

      Y’know, considering her own parents, maybe Becky doesn’t have the best depictions of romantic figures.

      1. Diner Kinetic

        is becky looking for romance, or just a rumble? not gonna lie based on what she said yesterday I assume she’s in it for the verbal fisticuffs

        1. Regina phalange

          I’d have more respect for her if she was excited about the prospect of a fight instead of thinking this is in any way cute. But knowing Becky, she probably thinks it’s adorable simply because a queer female relationship is at all involved.

        2. Diner Kinetic

          well, I’ll cross my fingers for becky being the sort of terrible appreciate instead of the kind that would romanticize whatever throwdown’s about to go down

        3. Clif

          Hey, I’m with Becky on this.

        4. GreyICE

          She can think the catfight is totally hot.

        5. Sam

          It can be both when it comes to Billie and Ruth.

        6. Demoted Oblivious

          It can be both when Billingsworth and Ruth are coming.

          (added another layer of inuendo there, because why not?)

      2. ziggy78eog

        I am thinking the exact same thing.

  2. Sirksome

    How about you both drop and then Dina can take the class?

  3. Amara Rezby

    I really wanna know what actually happened and why they broke up. I hope we get some details soon.

    1. Vukodlak

      It will in a few weeks comic time, so maybe a year or two in RL

  4. Srancamon

    Yay, time for wild speculation as to what happened in the comments section!

    1. Diner Kinetic

      two words: adultery blimp

      1. Rose by Any Other Name

        I desperately and sincerely want to know absolutely everything about adultery blimp.

        1. He Who Abides

          It’s an airborne knockoff of swing barge.

        2. Diner Kinetic

          Let’s just say bad choices were made while… getting high

        3. Jenn

          Your gravatar is entirely too appropriate.

        4. Diner Kinetic

          I like to think I was changed to match it and not the other way around

        5. Clif

          My understanding was that Frank Sinatra”s adultery blimp was planned but never actually constructed.

        6. milu

          what is this adultery blimp of which you talk
          besides a pretty awesome band name

        7. Diner Kinetic

          It’s hard to describe, but… love is in the air

        8. zee

          Iirc it’s a shortpacked thing

      2. Deanatay

        *blink* *blink* Those are two words, all right. Yup.

    2. chris2315

      Jennifer got into hockey but she’s a senators fan.

      1. Blackdrazon

        We’ve got it, we’ve found the canon.

      2. Blindness

        nah, that’d draw pity…she’s clearly a Canadiens fan 😉

    3. Sirksome

      I still believe it’s alcohol related. “Billie” never did seriously commit to dropping her dependency when they were together. She lied about it once and even near the end of the last arc before the time skip she was suffering from withdrawal and still had booze in her room she wanted to dispose of. That whole thing was just a powder keg ready to go off. The break up is maybe even what pushed Jennifer into therapy and this whole new more healthy attitude if it’s legitimate and we have no reason to believe it’s not.

      1. Dr. Gonzo

        Yep, I had a feeling being faithful to Ruth’s commitment would be too exhausting for someone as self-centered(not a judgement, it’s just her nature) as Billie.

      2. Tan

        Going by the dialogue of today’s strip, Jennifer is certainly presenting herself as the aggrieved party, and Ruth is not denying such. I have trouble seeing how that fits with Jennifer slipping up.

        1. Devin

          It could still fit. Jennifer didn’t see anything wrong with her continued drinking. If that continued to be the case and ended up with Ruth dumping her because she knew Jennifer was never going to change, I can see how Jennifer would see herself as the aggrieved party, and Ruth might not see the point in arguing. Or at least not rehashing an argument about drinking with someone who’s still underage in public.

        2. Blindness

          Ruth is recovering, Billie never stopped even though she was supposed to. For someone who’s trying hard to move on from the addiction and issues that caused it lying to her and continuing to use it would be more than enough to cause friction and make Ruth break things off.

          Billie is also bitter and angry enough to blame Ruth when it was her own actions that caused Ruth to break it off.

        3. Eric

          Sometimes even when you’re right it can be too exhausting to ‘prove’ it. You just say “yeah sure, whatever” and move on with your own life.

      3. Blindness

        …that actually makes perfect sense and it looked a lot like Ruth was moving that way before the big semester finale arc happened

      4. thejeff

        Jennifer had committed to stopping and to going to therapy. That’s what the withdrawal towards the end of season one was about. She’d at least started therapy before the season was over.
        She certainly could have backslid, but so could Ruth.

        1. Sirksome

          It’s just a theory. Probably not the strongest one either. They were in a good place at the end of last arc which does make the breakup rather jarring. I’m mostly thinking of this strip though specifically .
          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2019/comic/book-10/01-birthday-pursuit/birthdays/
          She still had booze around and we never saw that addressed. Maybe it’s just a loose plot thread, but it you pull at that thread it could explain some things about the current situation. I do think she was seriously committed but having hidden hooch stashes doesn’t make quitting any easier. I would’ve at least liked to see her actually disposing of it. It’s prime backslide material.

        2. Byron Orpheus

          This is where I wish the comments had karma. I’d give you points or upvotes or a cookie or whatever for providing a link to the specific comic that proves your point. Thank you!

      5. zee

        Oh I’m going for the Opposite, i think ruth fell off the wagon

      6. Sporky

        She’s with Asher. It’s definitely not.

    4. Lars

      They invided Nash to a three-some, which made her head explode. The guilt about it drove them apart.

    5. milu

      Ruth was super mad after Jennifer stabbed her in Paris, but she got over it, then Ruth shot her in Rome and then Jennifer stopped talking to her, ‘cos come on. Ruth still lowkey thinks she deserved it, cos she’d said mean stuff to her.

      1. Demoted Oblivious

        Maybe, but I thought this was about their throw down in the fountain on the Rambla in Barcelona.

        1. milu

          hmm, that might have played a part too. Or it’s to do with Jennifer’s ex getting pitchforked through the neck in Poland, and her suspicion Ruth had something to do with it. Who even knows at this point.

  5. Proto_Eevee

    You hang up the phone! No you!

  6. Kyrik Michalowski

    “You remember what happened.” Oh boy, drama we missed during the time skip. I know Billie/Jennifer is dating Asher now but I still don’t like him and wish she and Ruth would get back together.

    Am I hoping for too much?

    1. RassilonTDavros

      I mean, not if Becky has anythi… hang on, not Star Wars-y enough

      “Not if anything to say about it, Becky has!”

    2. crow

      Billie and Ruth’s on-again-off-again thing is so tiring, if Billie dumps Asher it should be for someone else

      1. Kindra

        I agree. Finding out that they broke up during the timeskip was a huge relief for me, I’ve always found their relationship to be unhealthy and honestly? Not that interesting.

        1. poofdepoof

          ++

        2. BarerMender

          I found their relationship to be the most interesting thing in all of DOA.

      2. drs

        Becky breaks up with Dina for lack of sexual compatibility, and hooks up with Billie, who gets to fulfill her “shoving nerds into lockers” fetish.

        1. misanthropope

          YES. then dina gets traded to QC for Claire’s mom (and a second round pick in ’22), and the Dina/Momo ship can SAIL.

        2. Demoted Oblivious

          Huh… I had figured Disney would buy out QC and DoA so we could get the Pintsize-Thumbs/RocketRoomba/BlowjobCat/Threepio quad-crash’Shine we all deserve.

        3. Ana Chronistic

          Punchbot pls

    3. Geneseepaws

      Yeah, it started off wrong, sure. But I think that Ruth truly is in love with Jennifer. Not sure if Jennifer is sure about her own desires and motivations, but I think Ruth is in it for the long haul, If Jennifer will have her.

      1. Geneseepaws

        Can I emend that to read, I think Ruth truly loves Jennifer. I think Jennifer may call herself that, but the Billie in Jennifer may love Ruth, but she loves the bottle even more.

        1. Leorale

          A major thing I learned in my 20s: true love is not enough.

    4. Keulen

      Yeah I feel the same way.

  7. Bryy

    So….

    1) So whatever Ruth did, she’s morally obligated to respect Billie’s boundaries
    2) Billie could just be being dramatic as fuck

    1. proxiehunter

      “Don’t call me. don’t text me, don’t try to get back together with me.” those are boundaries anyone is morally bound to respect no matter what caused someone to set them. Unless there’s a restraining order “Drop out of the class you signed up for.” is not.

      1. Jane

        Eh, I can think of some cases where I would consider the other party morally obligated to be the one to drop out, not that I think Ruth would have done anything those lines.

        For instance, if Ruth had done something that made Jennifer legitimately fear her and was trying to make amends for what she had done, then I would think that it would be on her to drop the class rather than make Jennifer have to further reorganize her life to avoid her.

        But, well, I can’t imagine Ruth having done anything on that scale since I doubt that Willis wants to portray Ruth as a proto-Blaine, so it’s not really applicable here. It’s just that I can imagine some people to whom I would apply such a standard.

        1. Regina phalange

          Or maybe it’s as simple as Ruth was the one to break up with Billie, therefore Ruth is the one who has to make more effort to avoid awkwardness and/or respect Billie’s post-break-up boundaries? It doesn’t have to be as serious and dramatic as people are making it out to be.

        2. He Who Abides

          “It doesn’t have to be as serious and dramatic . . . ”

          Ah, you must be new here, so allow me to explain.

          Damn you Willis.

          That is all.

        3. Jane

          It doesn’t have to be serious and dramatic for Jennifer to be annoyed that Ruth didn’t drop the class, but I do think there would have to be a serious reason for Ruth to have an actual moral obligation to drop the class, is what I meant.

          I mean, Ruth doesn’t have to upend her life and education to avoid annoying Jennifer if it was “just” an unpleasant breakup. But if she had done some actual, lasting harm, to the point that her presence is a serious detriment to Jennifer being able to learn – then yes, in that case, I do think she would have an obligation to ensure that she’s not doing further harm.

          That’s not what happened here, though, so it’s beside the point. I was only talking about a hypothetical “So what would be a situation bad enough that Ruth should have dropped the class?”.

        4. milu

          Yeah these two have been massively co-dependent and self-destructive, so I can see a less egregious situation where Jennifer holds Ruth responsible for some sort of suicide-attempt-enabling pattern of behaviour that she eventually found the strength and support to escape.

          Ruth might not actually be “morally obligated” by any consensual set of moral rules but sometimes life makes things impossibly complicated without blame being super cleanly assignable to any one person.

    2. Sarpiedon

      Or maybe they could both be mature facing adults and realize neither one of them has to drop the class.

  8. RassilonTDavros

    Whatever happened to
    The life that we once knew

  9. Octopus Ink

    *waits patiently for back-story*

    1. RassilonTDavros

      “You see, Billie, I was heading to a land of golden opportunity, a land with a pioneering spirit which welcomed misfits like me— but I ended up in America instead.”

  10. crow

    Imagine how much of a non-issue this would be if they just sat on opposite ends of the classroom and didn’t talk to each other

    1. Miri

      “Imagine if these characters were different people, who understood how not escalating ‘mildly awkward but easily manageable’ into ‘a situation’ worked” isn’t particularly helpful ?

  11. Alexander Hammil

    Did Ruth cheat on Billie?

    1. Valerie

      I just took it as Ruth being the one who broke things off.

    2. RassilonTDavros

      I feel like that would be a little too obvious of a direction to take this in. Unless Ruth did so because she really felt she had to break up with her for good, and felt that that was the only “no” that Jennifer would permanently take for an answer.

      I dunno, I just feel like there are more interesting potential violations of trust to explore here than that.

    3. Eldritchy

      I’d love to see the person who is brave or crazy enough to… [side-eyes Roz speculatively]

      1. milu

        I thinl Roz is canonically straight?

        1. Eldritchy

          Honestly I wouldn’t put it past her if it would suit her goals.

        2. fire_daws

          Pretty much https://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/out/

        3. milu

          Yeah OK, she’s just saying that to piss her sister off. And she might have meant it , but eh, i could could do a lot of stuff i don’t normally find appealing to shock conservatives (I’m pretty sure the subconscious impulse to do shit my parents would disapprove of explains a lot of my questionable decisions, lol)

        4. milu

          …come to think of it, an extra funny layer to that strip is Robin is probably gayer than Roz actually =D

        5. Eldritchy

          Robin be like
          “Now I will kiss girls during Your speeches!”
          “Eh, that’s fine.”
          “Oh yeah… sorry, old habits.”

    4. timemonkey

      With mental health and emotional stability.

  12. Vangeln

    Sore, huh?

  13. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Phil Collins’ “Don’t Lose My Number” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Tawnee

      I’m sure I’ve made an 867-5309 joke before but it’s a good joke so I’m going to bring it up again.

    2. Deanatay

      Nope. Sorry. You’re wrong.

      There’s only one song for this scene.

  14. JetstreamGW

    “Has anything really changed between them, honestly?”

    They’re not banging.

    1. Proxiehunter

      And given how their relationship started are approximately 20% less likely to start in the near future.

    2. StClair

      wait for it.

      1. Clif

        Well, okay. But you didn’t say to wait patiently.

    3. Wizard

      Well, not at this exact moment anyway.

    4. Keulen

      Give them time, they’re in class right now.

  15. BBCC

    Well, it’s nice to see some things haven’t changed.

  16. Ray Radlein

    So I’m guessing this means Ruth dumped Billie, which we already kind of assumed from the hall meeting strips

  17. danielle

    well this can only end well

  18. Kravis

    The only thing these two should drop is acid.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      Oh good, because these two didn’t have enough substance addiction issues already.

      1. jimbotherisenclown

        Fun fact – the diminishing returns on frequent acid use are so extreme, acid is nearly impossible to get chemically addicted to. Mentally addicted is a different beast, of course.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          So what you’re saying is, I should do the big acid to gain an immunity just in case I’m ever kidnapped by the enemy.

        2. Clif

          1. That’s what I heard.

          2. Who is the enemy now? We have an enemy?

          3. If Big Acid were a thing, there would probably have been lobbyists and it would have been legalized. The closest we came to Big Acid was Timothy Leary.

        3. Ray Radlein

          It’s also nearly impossible to fatally OD on it. I don’t think it even has an LD50.

  19. ubertenorman

    The way she says “it’d be your responsibility to change classes” makes me think there was some sort of official ruling by a student conflict resolution panel (or whatever they’re called) that ruth has to follow. it might be a more serious situation

    1. Axel

      I’m pretty sure Billy’s just saying Ruth was the one who was ‘wrong’ in the breakup so she should have been the one to drop the class, as Ruth doesn’t seem concerned about them being in the same class.

    2. dinajoyce

      if it were that, I’m pretty sure student compliance would compare their schedules and enforce the no contact order

  20. Axel

    And we get a hint of some of the fairytalish views Becky shares with Joyce

    1. PB

      This is the most oddly appropriate comment ever.

  21. Newllend(henryvolt)

    One would think this probably meant the breakup was just that severe, but given that this carries the same type of energy of sexual tension they had when they were just starting to get into their relationship the first time. It just feels they’re holding back a bunch of pent of sexual frustration they Harvard from being separated for so long.

    1. milu

      MIT understand they Yale at each other when actually all they really want to do is find a dark Cornell and go all Kinsey Institute on each other’s ass?

      1. Clif

        Applause.

        1. milu

          *Curtsies daintily*

  22. Chris

    How long until they start making out? (Again?)

    1. RassilonTDavros

      I give it somewhere between two to five years, real-world time.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Probably leaning towards the five years end, since we still don’t even know the *why* and we’ve got the Jen/Asher thing

        1. RassilonTDavros

          Oh yeah, as much as JenAsh gives me bad vibes (whatever else she did, I’m pretty sure Ruth never killed anybody… oh God that’s what Billie’s talking about here Ruth killed somebody didn’t she

          Shit, my parenthetical aside has escaped the parentheses. If Ruth actually is responsible for a death… then I really hope it’s Clint’s.

        2. RassilonTDavros

          Anyway, what I was trying to say is that as much as JenAsh gives me bad vibes, it wouldn’t make sense to introduce their relationship and then not develop it at all. As much as I miss the pre-timeskip relationship, it’ll be interesting to explore their characters in relationships with different people, though I have no real clue who that might be in Ruth’s case.

        3. Thag Simmons

          They’ve been so intertwined with each other I think there’s an appeal to just seeing Ruth and Billie exist independent of each other

        4. RassilonTDavros

          Yeah, I think that’s something that’s needed to happen for a long while. Even when they were improving they still seemed codependent as all hell, and if their relationship is going to be endgame then I think they were always going to need to learn to live without each other for a while. That way, if/when they do start back up again, it’ll be from a much healthier place.

          Personally I’m hoping that being around Leslie will help Jennifer embrace her inner Star Wars fan that she’d been denying for so long as part of her cheerleader persona.

        5. Geneseepaws

          Jennifer’s drinking very nearly DID a kill someone. She was behind the wheel and crashed the car.

        6. thejeff

          If Ruth did kill Clint, that wouldn’t have led to a breakup. Jennifer would have been cheering.

        7. BBCC

          Wouldn’t we all? 😀

        8. thejeff

          She did say she’d “murdered almost nobody”.

  23. Kindra

    Sit at opposite ends of the classroom, pretend you’re total strangers. Problem solved!

    1. Newllend(henryvolt)

      For them, that’s harder than you make it sound.

  24. brumagem

    Willis is straight-up taunting us now…

    1. RacingTurtle

      Yyyyup.

  25. brionl

    Now Ruth spits on the ground: “There!”

  26. Yup

    The best assumption would be Ruth decided at the time that she needed to try and be single for her own mental health and progress. Billie couldn’t take that or maybe she tried to at first but maybe hanging out with Asher one time that seemed too much like a date annoyed Ruth, and things escalated into a shouting match and a permanent break off.

    Maybe something to the tune of, “IT WAS A BREAK!”

    I guess Ruth is Ross in this scenario.

    1. Mydnyt

      Eww… don’t insult Ruth that way… it’s just cruel

    2. RassilonTDavros

      IDK, Ruth looks nothing like a toe.

      1. Thag Simmons

        Ross from Friends, I think

        1. RassilonTDavros

          Oh.

          …yeah, I know nothing about Friends.

        2. Geneseepaws

          Ok, so when a bee likes a flower and the flower likes a bee back, the bee collects the pollen from the flower’s ‘guy parts,’ and takes it back to her commune,… wait, this is … never mind.

        3. Clif

          So the bee and the flower were just friends?

  27. Mr. Random

    I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say Ruth did something fucked up because her meds weren’t working or whatever and she didn’t/couldn’t control herself.

    It’ll be revealed sometime around when we find out why Rachel hates Ruth.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      My guess is that the breakup is directly connected with Ruth learning why Rachel hates her, and telling Jennifer all of the horrible things she’d forgotten she did in her freshman year because she felt dishonest keeping that from her.

      1. Michael Haneline

        oooh, that’s a good prediction

      2. MrSmith

        Nice

      3. thejeff

        Maybe. I hope not though. I’d rather see that play out in the main continuity, not in flashbacks. Well, it’ll be flashbacks anyway, but these would be flashbacks that flashback.

      4. Sporky

        I see where you’re coming from, but I can’t imagine anything Ruth that Billie would draw a moral line at, other than like, sexual abuse or beating someone to death, and I’m pretty sure Ruth didn’t do anything like that.

    2. thejeff

      I was thinking that as well. Possibly foreshadowed by her talking about the new new antidepressants right before Dorothy brought up losing Billie.

  28. Rose by Any Other Name

    I do not approve of whatever lip gloss Billie is wearing. Makes her face look weird.

    Also – still not used to the Akane Tendo haircut.

  29. Nayann Martinelli

    Bickering is the path to Hate Fucks.
    Bickering leads to sexual tension.
    Sexual tension leads to arousal.
    Arousal leads to Hate Fucks.

    1. He Who Abides

      Hate Fucks lead to Slipshine.

    2. Blindness

      …so, just another weekday for those two?

  30. Kitschensyngk

    “I’m not dropping!”
    “Well, I’M not dropping!”
    “Good, because I’M not dropping!”
    “I’m not dropping times ten!”
    “Well, I’m not dropping times a hundred!”
    “Times a thousand!”
    “Times a million!”
    “Times infinity!”
    “Times infinity times a million!”

    1. Chris

      Then a random math major chimes in to point out that infinity times a million is still the exact same infinity.

      1. Council

        Then they start to explain Aleph numbers in great detail, shortly before being subjected to well-justified violence.

        1. Agemegos

          Quick! Get them before they start in the Continuum Hypothesis.

        2. milu

          Math freshman excitedly starts explaining Hilbert’s Hotel.
          Ruth says, “your femurs are going Heartbreak Hotel if you don’t shut the fuck up”
          Jennifer high-fives her automatically.
          Math nerd retreats cautiously.
          Ruth and Jennifer resume death glare.

        3. thejeff

          Then they fuck.
          Then they resume death glare.

        4. Clif

          Not to be outdone, Math nerd begins to explain Sureal Numbers.

          https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surreal_number

        5. milu

          Glowing post-coitally, Jennifer and Ruth still don’t really give a shit about understanding the math but allow themselves to enjoy the austere Borgesian poetry of the Wikipedia article Math Nerd is now feverishly chanting, like

          It has been shown (in von Neumann–Bernays–Gödel set theory) that the maximal class hyperreal field is isomorphic to the maximal class surreal field; in theories without the axiom of global choice, this need not be the case, and in such theories it is not necessarily true that the surreals are a universal ordered field.

          (These characters are super fictional and any similarities with actual nerds is of course extremely coincidental, right Clif?)

        6. Clif

          Borgesian poetry?

          I had no idea the Borg were into poetry.

        7. milu

          oh no, this reference falls outside the Venn diagram of our nerdnesses, i do not possess the competence to perform a follow-up joke

          please proceed to wittily banter back at your own comment if you so please

        8. misanthropope

          ive spent tens of hours on the hyperreals, but not hundreds, but they seem to me to be a pet project designed to give a trivial definition to the word “infinitesimal”, but with no other merit and some pretty severe unintended consequences.

        9. Jhon

          “My aleph is bigger than your aleph”

          I love this comment section.

        10. a/snow/mous/e

          omega omega omega omega

        11. BarerMender

          My aleph can kick your aleph’s ass.

  31. Reltzik

    IIRC, this conversation they’re having was typical of their foreplay.

  32. Delicious Taffy

    Well, it’s been half an hour and nobody’s stated the obvious yet, so I’ll be the one to bear this cross:

    Ruth murdered Billie, didn’t she. She straight-up fucking killed her, probably with some sort of sports equipment or a broken bottle. The absolute length of the time skip let the cast deal with the fallout of four deaths in a row, and the reason nobody fears Ruth right now is that they don’t know it was her, yet. I’m guessing it was covered up by Sir, who probably even hid the body because he didn’t want that shame on himself. It’s all there, plain as day. That’s why nobody has interacted with Billie, and it’s why we haven’t seen her since Garbage Roof. Becky thinks Ruth is talking to her, also.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      So does that mean the new Jennifer is really “Billie Shears”?

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Ha! Perfect.

    2. Thag Simmons

      This is the first time we’ve *seen* Ruth interact with Jen since the timeskip, but it’s not Jen’s first appearance or interaction with other characters. This definitely isn’t a sort of guilt-induced hallucination, which kills that theory.

      Unless Jen isn’t Billie, and is actually a genetically engineered replacement created to cover-up the crime, and her avoiding her former friends and changing her appearance is actually in an attempt to prevent people from cottoning on to the fact that she’s a fake and holy shit we might have cracked this.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        See what I mean? Heck, this could be an Ada Wong/Carla Radames situation, even.

        1. Thag Simmons

          Look man I’m not saying it was aliens, but it’s totally aliens.

        2. RassilonTDavros

          “Your twin sister, Jen.”

        3. milu

          Ruth, under her breath: “what the hell Jennifer, I didn’t do this whole ritual of allegiance to Yog-Sothoth just so you stupid pure-chaos-entity-made-flesh could prance into my class and make me look like a fool goddammit, now go back to your void, and please dont bite a bunch of random people on your way out this time”
          #Expospeak

        4. milu

          *hacks into Stephen Bierce’s hacked muzak and plays “Drop” by The Pharcyde*

        5. milu

          Damn you inscrutable comment field that is not where i meant to post this

        6. Clif

          Yog-Sothoth wins again.

        7. milu

          chaos rules.

      2. thejeff

        She’s actually Mike.

        1. a/snow/mous/e

          mike is jennifer, billie is booster, and ethan is actually the one who died in a hospital coma. jacob pulled the drama tag.

        2. Clif

          We were all the Head Alien all along.

  33. Quinn

    Leslie is still a mandatory reporter. If having Ruth in the class makes Billie uncomfortable, especially if Billie believes that it constitutes stalking, and considering that they had an inappropriate relationship that forced Billie to move, Leslie is required to report the situation to whatever unit handles Title IX compliance at the college. It may be that nothing would come of it, but it’s also possible that a second strike would cost Ruth her RAship.

    1. AGV

      The uni wouldn’t do crap out of fear of what Sir would do if they even touched Ruth’s possition for a second time in less than a year

      1. RassilonTDavros

        What power does Sir/Clint have over the uni exactly, anyway? Is he a major financial backer? Is he on some board or something? Does he have ties to the Korean Mafia? Embarrassing intimate photos of Dean McHenry with Linda Walkerton? Embarrassing intimate photos of Dean McHenry with Linda and Charles Walkerton?

        1. Blindness

          He has enough clout to get Billie forced out of the dorm and put in with Lucy…that means money or influence over people who are donating to the school. Either way, he has the ability to make things tough especially if he puts up a stink about it- and rightfully so this time, even if Howard would get the crap smacked out of him because of Ruth.

        2. thejeff

          Not really to force Billie out. To keep Ruth on as RA. Moving Billie was a reasonable response to the situation – one that IU likely would have taken had Ruth and Billie gone to them at the start.

        3. Clif

          Yeah. I just assumed that’s what the University decided anyway and then he took credit for it. Any influence was from recommendations from Ruth’s boss.

        4. thejeff

          He definitely got them to keep Ruth as RA. That’s on him.

          He didn’t seem concerned about moving Billie.

    2. BBCC

      They both knew ahead of time the other signed up for the class. Jennifer just expected Ruth to drop it, but she’s not actually morally or legally obligated to. Therefore, the university would never enforce that. Being uncomfortable your ex is in a class you knew she was going to take is going to get a ‘Suck it up and deal’ at best.

      1. thejeff

        It’s hard enough to get universities to make rapists (I’m sorry, “alleged” rapists) not sick next to their victims in class. There’s no action here without a lot more reason than we’ve seen.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          I wouldn’t mind if the school could make rapists constantly nauseous and puked if they’re in close proximity to their victims. They could use those gross ball things from that prison movie with Kurtwood Smith.

    3. Blindness

      Billie was forced out by someone with influence, the school knows about her relationship with Billie already. Billie is the one causing the issues, Ruth has a stronger case than Billie as Ruth was asked to go to the class by one of the students on her floor so is doing her job alongside her role as a student…

  34. Abdomino

    I’m honestly not going to give this any more brainpower until we learn what exactly happened. This teasing thing is getting old.

    It took, what, a month for us to get confirmation that Mike was dead? I don’t want to deal with it again over a goddang teenage breakup.

    1. Nono

      Hey now.

      I think Ruth is no longer a teenager.

    2. Blindness

      easiest guess: Ruth’s counselor got her to realize that Billie wasn’t a good influence on her and she needed a clean break from her.

      secondary guess: Billie might have decided that Ruth wasn’t the same anymore and moved on to someone else for her next conquest

      1. Clif

        Alternately, Billie/Rebecca developed feelings for Ruth after finding out how vulnerable and brittle she was. Post-treatment post-depression Ruth no longer needed her help to do well. Rebecca has a strong need to be needed.

        Asher doesn’t appeal to her need to be needed, but he does appeal to her need to be hot stuff.

        1. RacingTurtle

          It’s been long enough since this comment that you’ll never see this, but…Billie’s given name is not Rebecca, it is Jennifer.

  35. Liam

    God dammit Billie.

  36. RacingTurtle

    Just look at that forkin’ drama llama over there. Gonna burst with excitement and get orange hair and lesbian bits everywhere, and then what will Ruth tell Leslie and Dina?

    1. Diner Kinetic

      Dina would accept it, I’m sure Becky’s explained to her that is how she wanted to go

  37. Mister Gray

    Wait does that mean Ruth broke it off?

    1. thejeff

      Or did the bad thing that made Jennifer break it off.

  38. JessWitt

    Well looks like there’s one way to decide who gets to drop the class:

    Rock! Paper! Scissors!

  39. Bagge

    …cute?

  40. Eldritchy

    Somehow I feel that if Becky was into anime, the tsunderes would be her favourite characters

    1. drs

      “If girls like her had shoved me into lockers, I would have figured out this lesbian thing a lot sooner.”

      Becky might go for the yanderes.

      1. drs

        https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/joint/

      2. Eldritchy

        I feel like Becky would fit right into that one short comic where the protagonist kept enthusiastically accepting all of the yandere’s creepy advances. Ending with the yandere having this “How exactly did I get here? What is going on?” look on her face while holding their baby.

  41. Nenja

    Why does Becky seem so happy about this?

    1. Nenja

      And why do I keep switching avatars? I’ve gone from Blowjob-cat to Joyce to Roz, and I havn’t changed my email.

      1. timemonkey

        Every time Willis adds new avatars to the pool everyone gets a random one. Since we’re being flooded with new designs and new characters it’s happening a lot right now.

        1. Nenja

          Okay, so that’s what’s happening. Thanks!

    2. AGV

      I mean, it’s sapphic drama in gender studies and the class hasn’t even started

    3. RassilonTDavros

      Because she thinks that whatever happened was just an easy misunderstanding, and that they’ll kiss and make up at the drop of a hat.

      This is not going to go the way she thinks.

      1. Needfuldoer

        I really hope Becky doesn’t try to use this as an opportunity to play peacekeeping moderator. She’ll have about the same effect as hitting an active wasp nest with a broomstick.

        1. misanthropope

          Lesbian Murder Hornets isn’t a terrible band name.

    4. Blindness

      she’s shipping them or thinks that squabbling like this is beneficial to them.

      frankly, I think Ruth needs to get the hell away form Billie/Jennifer and avoid her antics alltogether.

      1. Kamino Neko

        Considering how they got together, she’s not exactly making the unsafe bet, here.

  42. DarkoNeko

    your responsability to drop, my arse.

  43. Varangian

    Becky you fucking GREMLINE

    I love you

    But that is an evil face! For shame, missy!

    also Jennifer you don’t get to dictate Terms

  44. Keulen

    I get the feeling neither of them is gonna drop this class because they’re both too stubborn.

    1. Blindness

      plus one or both of them likely needs the electives…

  45. Blindness

    Jennifer finally shows that she really hasn’t moved on and she hasn’t matured…she’s still the Billie that we all knew and hated

    1. BarerMender

      Loved. I’m sure you meant loved.

  46. C.T Phipps

    I’m 100% Team Billie on this.

    1. Needfuldoer

      We don’t know what Ruth allegedly did yet. It could have been something objectively terrible, or it could have been something normal that was perceived as terrible.

      Until that’s revealed, I’m on Team “Oh Just Suck it Up and Peacefully Take a Class With Someone You Hate Like Goddamn Adults”.

      1. Geneseepaws

        Ruth committed the ultimate betrayal of sobering up, getting on happy Meds, and taking them consistently; thus showing that she was not garbage or ‘poison’ which forced Jennifer to reject her to continue drinking. I suspect that Jennifer ceased to be Billy when stopped trying actively to drink herself to death.

  47. BarerMender

    I mind me of Wapsi Square:
    http://wapsisquare.com/comic/waitaminute/

  48. Sunny

    Alright. Fine! I’ll say it.

    Now kiss!

  49. Lone Duck

    Becky’s a child, who wasn’t present for Billie-Ruth’s special dynamic, and is primarily thinking “More Lesbians! Yay!”
    I imagine Leslie will say something to challenge Billie, and she’ll drop the class.

    1. anonymsly

      Jennifer will never drop the class now. That means ‘letting Ruth win’.

    2. thejeff

      Becky’s no more a child than Jennifer. Becky also owes her for the bed and (in her mind) for missing the suicidal signs like she swore to herself she’d never do again.

      If she’s backing this, it’s because she thinks it’ll be good for Jennifer. Doesn’t mean she’s right of course. She’s got similar naive romantic notions to Joyce.

      And there’s no way either of them are dropping. Far too much drama to mine in having them both in this class.

      1. Eldritchy

        She may not be a child physically but when it comes to life experience she is very inexperienced and naive.

  50. Jay

    Becky is the comment section

  51. Lorien Inksong

    Becky… Becky no…
    I know that’s what it feels like but these two aren’t healthy together. T_T

  52. Genie

    …why can’t they just sit at different ends of the classroom?

    1. Needfuldoer

      Because then we’d need a wide shot to fit everyone in frame. Those are for establishing a scene, not following it through!

  53. Sombrero

    -Hey Ruth, it’s Jennifer now!
    -No, she’s still Billie!
    -You better stop with this, there’s no way Willis will change all the tags again.

    1. RowenMorland

      Do you have to change each instance or just rename tag:13 from Billie to Jennifer and it changes all of them?

      1. Sombrero

        In my headcanon Willis changes each tag by hand using a typewriter and some glue.

  54. Spencer

    I feel like the weirdo pointing this out because fiction tends not to do it, but like, maybe it’s for the best Ruth and Jennifer (that’s going to take so much getting used to) are done and she’s just moved on from her.

    Their relationship was ridiculously toxic and self destructive and even as things started to improve, Jennifer herself sure wasn’t. I’m not saying they didn’t try, I’m not saying they weren’t in love, I’m not saying they both don’t deserve happiness, I’m saying maybe they weren’t going to find it in each other.

    Like, I dunno, I think our perception of Jennifer’s sudden change in demeanor is coming off more negative than it actually is. Jarring yes, a timeskip breakup is always weird to go through, but we’re not talking about Becky and Dina, we’re talking about two people who got together because Ruth was going to die and Jennifer was going with her.

    I’d be perfectly happy if they stayed broken up, but there’s always the likelihood of them getting back together and you can tell a story about that too. Let them actually heal as people before they throw themselves into another drama hurricane.

    (I’m also kind of auto-side eyeing the surface level statement that Jennifer is now changed because of therapy. Between that and Walky going “yeah no one here can help Amber because the therapists here suck” it’s kinda… like, I don’t want to outright cast judgement because we’ve seen barely anything of Amber and Jennifer’s new status quo, that wouldn’t be fair, just that I’ve been burned by the “evils of therapy” before)

    1. Spencer

      Oh wait, sorry, I need to issue a correction. I double checked the strip where Walky talks about the campus therapists with Booster and it’s not actually clear if he’s talking about Amber or his own experiences, and it’s much more likely to be the latter.

  55. Josh Spicer

    Becky, no.

  56. Juanoku

    BIG GAY ENERGY

  57. Deanatay

    Becky: Now KISS!!

    Ruth: Where did you get those two ‘My Little Pony’ figs??

    Jennifer: And stop mashing them together like that! WE ARE NOT DOING THAT!!!

  58. hof1991

    A moment of appreciation for the scenic device that is Leslie’s gender studies class. If Jennifer and Ruth were both in chemistry, there would be no conflict. It’s where Walky courted Dorothy. Where Joyce had epiphanies and arguments. We spend minimal time on all the other classes. Other professors are plot devices at best while Leslie is a character. In some ways, it is the essential location.

    1. RowenMorland

      Leslie’s classroom is over a Hellmouth.

  59. thumb

    Adult relationships.

  60. Deanatay

    Leslie, cracking open the door and peeking in: … Yeah, I can work with this.

  61. FacelessDeviant

    Or, none of you drop the class and you both get over it, like adults.

  62. Deanatay

    You make me wanna hide a weasel in my shorts
    You make me wanna phone home
    You make me wanna write a dozen book reports
    Then pack myself in styrofoam

    Sometimes you make me wanna build a model of the Eiffell Tower out of belgian waffles

    You Make Me
    You Make Me
    You Make Me
    That’s what you do to me

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I98OWrboh-M

  63. Polaris

    This scene would work a lot better if we knew how and why they broke up :/

    1. Needfuldoer

      I bet that will be revealed gradually over at least a couple classes’ worth of bickering.

  64. Rabisch

    YEEEEEEES!!! THIS IS WHY BECKY SIGNED FOR THIS CLASS!!!

  65. Raptorofwar

    I am Becky.

    1. Needfuldoer

      We’re all Becky. Just wait until Leslie shows up, this is gonna get good.

      1. Clif

        It’s always interesting to get clues about the completely different comic that some people seem to be reading.

        1. Clif

          And this showed up at a randomly different place and not as a reply to Throwatron below.

        2. milu

          CHAOS

  66. Needfuldoer

    “You slighted me, therefore it is YOUR responsibility to remove yourself from MY life!”

    Get over yourself, Billie.

  67. Wakeangel2001

    so this is what happens when 2 tsunderes hook up, baka

  68. Alaric

    So, it was something Ruth did? Someone should check whether Jennifer still has both her femurs.

  69. SolomonK

    Maybe Asher will date them both! Golly, which one will he ask to the big dance?

  70. Throwatron

    Billie looks so dehumanized dressed like this and I’d feel so bad if she weren’t doing it to herself.

    1. Spencer

      What?

      1. Delicious Taffy

        I would very much like to second this. What?

    2. milu

      Sounds like something right out of The Devil Wears Prada, lol/ew

  71. Seregiel

    With Ruth on this one… I’d never even have thought about dropping a course just because an ex might be in it, regardless of who was at fault or what occurred. They didn’t even have to interact until Billie confronted, and it could have just been a “can we make this work/ avoid each other as much as possible?” rather than a THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE.

  72. bcb

    Exes can end up in the same class together. It happens. This is going to be Becky’s favorite class.

  73. Oberon

    “You remember what happened.”
    Wait, what happened?

    1. Needfuldoer

      Ruth ate the last tapioca pudding and didn’t buy more when she went grocery shopping.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Well, that’s unforgivable. I need to find a new favorite.

      2. RowenMorland

        Don’t break up with someone for that. Just use most of your limited time jumps to repeatedly go back and eat that pudding first.

  74. Opus the Poet

    I’m reminded of another comic.
    http://wapsisquare.com/comic/waitaminute/
    The emotion is the same, “They’re talking!”

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