435

Gramps
Posted on March 21, 2017 by David M Willis
Welcome to the Fuck Zone #21 is Sierra!  Slipshine members can sign in and see the whole deal.  I've decided to inline the image to the left even though there's one JUST THERE to the left of it, because, like, what if you're archive trawling and the usual <----- arrow points to whatever the current graphic is on the site instead of the relevant one, I dunno. Tomorrow/Wednesday/whatevsday is when Dumbing of Age Book 5 goes live on Comixology!  So if you want a digital copy of that book, Wednesday is here for you.  Wednesday is always here for you. And as an additional heads up, I'm currently waiting on a quote from my printer for Book 6.  This means the Kickstarter for Book 6 is fairly imminent!  So hold on to your butts!

435 thoughts on “Gramps”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “uh… uh… COME AT ME, BRO”

    “I said I *fought* in wars, kid. I’m done with that shit.”

    “So I win by default? YASSSSSSS”

    “friggin Millennials”

    1. Ana Chronistic

      also, good call, Newsbox, since I was just on Cocoon and thought Sal looked a bit different

    2. Pablo360

      “Friggin millennials with their weak punches and their solidarity and their communist manifestoes and their nuclear warheads and their touchscreen phones and their giant boobs and their third-person pronouns and their insightful thinkpieces and their webcomics and their third-party browser extensions and their oral hygiene and their holographic trading cards and their

      1. Clif

        Woah. Tell me more about the holographic trading cards.

    3. Jon Rich

      What are all these “fought in wars” comments referencing?

      1. Reltzik

        Clint’s original appearance in Shortpacked.

      2. Deanatay

        Willis also used it in the mouse-over text when Clint was introduced in DoA, so it’s somewhat canon.

        1. Kamino Neko

          Billie also mentioned he was a vet when she hit him. Though that might have been speculation.

      3. Guairdean Beatha

        I wonder if he actually fought in wars, or if he was in some cushy stateside job. He seems like the stolen valor type. http://tinyurl.com/mkl9asy

    4. BrokenEye, True False Prophet

      Which side?

  2. AnvilPro

    Oooooh, he’s gonna go tell Billie’s parents… who don’t seem to care about her at all so he’ll probably tell Walky’s parents instead

    1. BBCC

      And, for all that I hate them and love to rag on them, the Walkertons have never struck me as particularly homophobic.

      1. Historyman68

        Nah, but I could see them as parents who are fine with Walky being bi as long as long as he ends up with a girl eventually.

        1. BBCC

          I can see them being like ‘average uneducated 40 something’ homophobic (and little to no knowledge on anything else in the LGBT+ community) at worst. Certainly nowhere near Toedad or even Robin or early Joyce.

      2. pjeseb

        If they are, it doesn’t seem to have been passed on to Walky and Sal.

        1. BBCC

          Walky has a habit of casually (and accidentally, I’d hope) stepping into the homophobia that’s considered typical of ‘teenage nerd boys’. He’s not OMG THE WORST but he needs to step it up.

        2. Adam Black

          I don’t think typical homophobic teenage boys promise to suck cock for pizza. And a hundred other things

        3. BBCC

          How about talking about how you’re so super smart because you came to a questioning kids meet up to score ‘free gay pizza’?

        4. Jon Rich

          I think that has more to do with his love of junk food of all kinds (Nachitos, pizza, McNuggets…) than any presence or lack of homophobia.

        5. Needfuldoer

          The freshman 15 are going to bring some extra buddies along with them, aren’t they.

        6. BBCC

          It’s generally considered a dick move to crash an even meant to help folks figure themselves out and then make jokes about how oh yeh, they’d totally suck off a dude for pizza, yeah, isn’t that funny, he’s so smart because free gay pizza.

        7. Lexi

          I distinctly recall University being all about “how do I score free pizza.” Most of the clubs wouldn’t care anyways, because more people at the event = more people talking about the event = more support for future events. For a first meeting like that, it’s basically expected that more people came for the pizza than for the topic of the meeting.

        8. BBCC

          Yes, but doing so and then making jokes about the purpose of the meeting, which was helping questioning kids, and building the LGBT+ community at the school is a dick move and not helpful, because it’s not getting more people talking constructively and supportively, it’s turning the point into a ‘lol I’d totally suck a dick for free pizza’ punchline.

      3. Pablo360

        Granted, that might just be because they’re waiting for the perfect chance to strike.

        1. BBCC

          ….True.

    2. Syngraphea

      Pretty sure “you really are your father’s daughter” is referring to Ruth, not Billie. He’s saying Billie is like Ruth’s mom (or…like Ruth’s dad’s other…paramours). So, no confirmation that Clint knows the Billingsworth’s yet.

      1. LovelyMonsters

        Ohhh, I see. So it seems likely that in this universe also Ruth’s dad slept with Billie’s mom. Or at least another irritable, stacked Asian-American lady.

      2. Deanatay

        Agreed, that line seems referenced to Ruth, not Billie. In fact, Clint doesn’t address Billie directly at all, in this strip. he doesn’t consider her important enough to interact with.

  3. Shadowypenguin

    The is smart enough to back away in public which is very annoying

    1. Shadowypenguin

      The guy
      ignore that mess up

      1. Delicious Taffy

        No, no, this works. Now we have an excuse to just call him The.

        1. Reltzik

          He is definitely an article.

        2. Passchendaele

          Yeah, we can read him quite well.

          *slays everyone with bad pun power*

        3. Delicious Taffy

          Clint Hughes? More like Fake News, am I right, folks?

        4. Falling Star

          Alternative facts.

        5. Emperor Daniel

          I’m now reminded of how in Backstroke of the West, Count Dooku was renamed to simply “The”.

    2. Undrave

      Clearly he’s gotten the memo about what happens to abusive father figures at that campus…

  4. Doctor_Who

    Ruth isn’t saying anything. Can’t tell if she’s intimidated or furious and about to snap.

    1. fillerusername

      In that last panel I think she looks like she’s about to cry.

      1. Pat

        She can do all of them. She’s a talented lady.

    2. wynne

      I’m reading her as furious due to the panel 2 eyebrows, but I think that’s still an improvement over catatonic. Before Willis decides to turn it towards giving us more tears, that is.

    3. Lou

      I kinda expect her to snap at Billie.

      1. rectilinearpropagation

        I’m also worried that’s what’s about to happen.

      2. rectilinearpropagation

        Or maybe she won’t. I just clicked on that link below to the Parent’s Day storyline and went back to the strip where Ruth freaking flips Blaine over her head. So clearly she is OK with throwing down with abusive dads.

        She might feel differently since it’s her dad but she isn’t against confronting abusers as a strategy in general.

    4. Annie

      I was kind of thinking a mixture of furious, scared, insignificant, and just generally mentally shut down and starting to involuntarily dissociate.

      But I could be projecting.

    5. Needfuldoer

      ruth.exe is not responding. [Wait] [End task]

      At least there’s a hint of green back in her eyes, that’s a step in the right direction.

      1. merbrat

        Yuss! I was going to post about the return of her green eyes! They went black the moment she stepped into Chloe’s office.

    6. DarkoNeko

      She froze

    7. Deanatay

      Yeah, she’s withdrawn completely, in response to her father’s verbal battering. Maybe a kiss from her lady love would awaken he – yeah, not going there.

  5. Reltzik

    “Congratulations, Ruth! You have your green eyes back! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NEXT???”

    “I’m going to roll them to the heavens at what a goof Billie is being.”

    1. Leorale

      While secretly falling in love all over again that she tried to defend me from my abuser. I mean, uh, she is ridiculous at everything. Baka.

      1. Chris Phoenix

        Tried? Billie did defend Ruth, very effectively. She got the guy to go from raging abuse and manhandling, to walking away while speaking quietly, in about four panels. She seems to be expert at defusing human firebombs!

        Bagge pointed out last strip that she did the same thing to Blaine. Spot-on! And You called it!
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/04-just-hangin-out-with-my-family/eaten/

        …Makes me wonder where she learned it…

        1. Leorale

          Good point. Billie is super great.

        2. Bagge

          She used to be an alpha bongo, and it seems she was good at it. Between her own parents, Sal’s and Walky’s and who know how many other, she had a lot of practice.

        3. Durandal_1707

          Looking back at the older strip, it seems like the Ruth actually orchestrated the thing with Blaine, though. All Billie did was do what she was told, without really understanding why.

        4. Bagge

          I’m specifically thinking of how she de-escalated the situation when she confronted Blaine in the strip Chris Phoenix linked.

          Amber had found refuge with Danny’s parents. Blaine was standing on the side-line deciding his next move. Confront them? Make a scene? Talk to Dan… Huh? Seems like Billie is talking to him, better answer… oh, here is Asma, escorting him out. Opportunity lost.

          I don’t know if he had done anything if Billie hadn’t engaged him, but she made sure he didn’t have the opportunity, and she did so in a way that gave him minimal opportunity to kick up a fuss.

        5. Leorale

          I don’t think that she masterminded it, I think she just had really great instincts and did the best possible thing without even knowing she was doing it.
          Either way, though, Billie is 100% the best in times of crisis.

        6. Bagge

          I start to appreciate just how good Billie are with short-term solutions.

          Here is another example.
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/03-answers-in-hennessy/trash-ca/

        7. Bagge

          And here’s another

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2015/comic/book-5/03-the-butterflies-fly-away/payup/

        8. Cerberus

          It’s heavily implied that the major part of being “alpha bongo, problem solver” was having to intervene in a number of high-pressure short-term crises, whether that be standing down an abusive parent, sneaking someone into an abortion clinic, or responding immediately to a rape or attempted rape*.

          And we see that consistently. Her short-term crisis management skills are amazing and it’s a shame she’s lost her ability to full take pride in them with the loss of the regard and station that used to bring her.

          *I still remember her immediate taking control of the situation with Joyce:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2011/comic/book-1/06-yesterday-was-thursday/allergies/

        9. Bagge

          Oooooh, yes that’s a good one as well. Billie is in fact awesome.

          I just wish she could remember it as well…

        10. thejeff

          “A wealth of helpful knowledge pertaining to terrible and horrific things” is one of my favorite lines.

        11. Cerberus

          thejeff- That’s one of my favorite lines in all the comic, because that’s something my friends say about me all the time.

        12. Leorale

          It makes me want her to be a crisis-helper type when she grows up (Social Worker, EMT, etc). This is how some are born!

        13. Cerberus

          She would be such a good Social Worker!

        14. thejeff

          She’s got some learning to do before she’d really be good at it. She’s not real good at planning – witness her “efforts” to find Becky another place to sleep. Great on the immediate intervention, needs some work on the follow through.

        15. Leorale

          True. Also she’ll need to be able to ask for help ever, create sensible boundaries, and not get her self-worth all wrapped up in solving folks’ problems. But, with 6+ more years of maturity and schooling, she’d surely learn. 🙂

  6. BBCC

    Now, now, Billie, journalistic integrity. Don’t print a lie.

    Go on, deck him for real.

  7. Opus the Poet

    Yay Billie! Stand up for your woman.

    1. Undrave

      I could have seen it escalating with Grumpy Gramp threatening Billie and THEN Ruth would have been ‘You leave my woman alone!”… maybe next time…

      1. Delicious Taffy

        And then Ruth would awaken the sleeping power of myth, transforming into the legendary Super Canadian.

        1. Bagge

          Go Leafs

        2. Undrave

          KA-MA-PLE-ME-EH?

        3. Kryss LaBryn

          Step 1: Pull the back of their shirt over their head.

          Step 2: Kidney punches.

          Step 3: Timmy’s.

        4. Undrave

          DOUBLE Kidney punch, for the ‘Double Double’ puns!

      2. Annie

        I get the feeling that Gramps is used to abusing people in private and acting like a loving, caring, if stern, Granddad when he has an audience. Even if that audience has been told of his abusive tendencies.

        Narcissistic and/or sociopathic abusers tend to be good at that. Because then, if need be, they can gaslight the hell out of their victim and anyone that believes their victim, and claim the victim is making it all up due to a need for attention.

  8. Pablo360

    “In my journal I have a journal.”

    1. Passchendaele

      “I write it with the pen I don’t have, but I do in my journal.”

      1. Pablo360

        After Dumbing of Age ends, Willis’ next webcomic is just Billie’s journal, a la Diary of a Wimpy Kid, or Homestuck.

        It somehow crosses over with the original Walkyverse and everyone is very confused.

        1. SgtWadeyWilson

          Just to clarify, is everyone confused in her journal, the original Walkyverse, reality, or some combination thereof?

        2. Liliet

          everyone is confused
          everyone

        3. Pablo360

          everyone is
          in
          the
          fire

  9. MM

    Can’t quite tell if Ruth is feeling more her usual self or mulling over Sir’s words.

  10. Darkoneko

    Eyes to green.

  11. MatsuoTanuki

    There”s a tiny bit of green in her eyes in the last panel. Did Billie sticking up for her rekindle even the tiniest spark of Ruth’s spirit?

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Among other things.

      1. MatsuoTanuki

        What other things I wonder though…

        1. Delicious Taffy

          I’m not telling, but here’s a fun fact: Ruth is into girls.

  12. Shiro

    Billie, you fucking treasure, she’s back from black-eye mode. Well done.

    Now go deck him for real.

    1. BBCC

      You get me. Let’s be friends.

    2. Fart Captor

      Yes

  13. Danni

    he needs to walk faster so his heart can give out

  14. Historyman68

    Hmm my first interpretation was that Ruth’s dad was gay. But Clint apparently knew “she” existed already, so I guess he wouldn’t actually be referring to that…

    1. Foxhack

      Perhaps he meant her father had a preference for Asian women. Which would imply he cheated on Ruth’s mom.

      Didn’t folks here mention Ruth’s dad cheated on her mom in the Walkyverse?

      1. Emperor Daniel

        Yep – most prominently, with Billie’s Walkyverse-mom. (Both were married at the time.)

        1. zoelogical

          o.O

        2. C.T Phipps

          Wow, that would be awkward.

          “So, your dad ****ed my mom?” – Billie

          “Yeah,” – Ruth said.

          Billie said, “Small world!”

        3. Eukie

          Ruth was Billie’s babysitter in the Walkyverse; they grew up in the same town.

        4. thejeff

          They dated there too. Which was also weird.

        5. zoelogical

          it’s like second cousin incest. step-incest. or something

        6. Kryss LaBryn

          Hey did anyone notice the alt-text on that comic with Blaine linked above?

          You know, the one that says, “So hey you look like a mean version of Ruth’s brother, what’s up with that?”

          Guys. GUYS. What if–what if Blaine is actually Ruth and Howie’s dad? And if, when Gramps is complaining about how much of Ruth’s father is in her, he’s not actually talking about her mum’s husband (the man she knows as her father), but Blaine, whom he knows is her actual biological father??

          Did her mum have an affair? Was she raped? Did she use a sperm bank? So many questions, but I’m calling it now: Blaine is Ruth and Howie’s biological father!! D:

          (might indicate a family propensity towards violence beyond her perfectly valid reasons for being so as well, although Howie, from what extremely little we’ve seen of him, seems to have skipped that part).

        7. BBCC

          Word of Willis has shut that one down, sadly. I think it’d be interesting though.

        8. Historyman68

          The propensity for violence could be coming out in Game of Thrones love.

      2. dn3s

        I read it as based on the “crazy loose cannon” part. Since he seems to be into attacking her parents’ (and her) mental health.

        1. dn3s

          (as in, “you, just like your father, are into crazy chicks”)

      3. 3-I

        Hoo boy, I think you may be onto something there. x.x

        Yay, a nice soupcon of racism on top of everything! Clint, you are such a likable character.

        1. No Name

          At least he isn’t homophobic?

  15. lia47

    wait who’s The Boy

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Howie.

      1. MatsuoTanuki

        That in mind, if gramps here called him “the boy” with no small amount of contempt, I think poor Howie might be getting a different flavor of abuse and neglect than his sister, or possibly the same…

        1. thejeff

          Yeah, I think that pretty much shoots the “golden child” theory about Howie in the head.

        2. Deanatay

          Well, he clearly disdains ‘the boy’, although Ruth may be absorbing the lion’s share of his temper. Or, they’re both being abused, and Howie just has a different mechanism for dealing with it. Hard to tell, from just the one line.

        3. Silly Name

          Well, Howie does seem to like to shut everything out and focus only on Game of Thrones (and possibly other nerdy things). That level of escapism might be his way of defending himself: filter everything out and focus on magical blood and boobies land.

        4. Gwen

          I read it slightly differently, as if he’s underestimating Howie and still thinking of him as younger than he is.

    2. Shiro

      I’d guess Ruth’s brother.

    3. lia47

      oh wait right her brother

      1. lia47

        arnold or something

        1. Pablo360

          Howard.

          Howard the Duck.

          The wonderful, wonderful duck.

        2. DarkoNeko

          Arnold, lol.

    4. inqntrol

      He must be referring to Howard.

    5. Kole

      her little brother we LITERALLY just saw a few panels ago? lol

      1. lia47

        it’s been days!! i dont remember what i had for breakfast

        1. Reltzik

          Food. You had food for breakfast.

          ….

          … I hope.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          If it was had for breakfast, it was food.

        3. Deanatay

          Does coffee count?

        4. John

          Coffee always counts.

        5. JetstreamGW

          Maybe he had the cursed Frogurt.

        6. Dana

          Why have food for breakfast when you can have black coffee?

        7. DarkoNeko

          why not both

        8. Kamino Neko

          Because vomiting is a terrible way to start a day?

  16. Delicious Taffy

    Billie’s really cool, here. And Ruth seems to have cooled down some, for the moment.

  17. Mr. Random

    So… Does that mean that Billie is like Ruth’s mom?

    1. Delicious Taffy

      Spunky and full of sass? Ooh, let’s hope.

    2. fillerusername

      I’m guessing he’s comparing Billie to the kind of women Ruth’s dad was implied to have cheated with.

      1. nightsbridge

        …I think he’s comparing Billie to Ruth’s mom.

        1. nightsbridge

          No, wait. Hm. Maybe your’e right. I don’t know that Ruth’s mom cheated, though. Honestly, I figure that their deaths was the worst thing that happened to her, and I don’t know that it’s really her parents’ fault in any way.

          If anything, he might have been bi.

        2. Larkle

          It wasn’t Ruth’s mom that cheated, it was her dad. Bad-grandpa guy is saying Billy is the same type as Ruth’s dad cheated with. Billie is guessing he’s either referring to her rack or being Asian as Ruth’s dad’s type.

        3. fillerusername

          That doesn’t seem likely to me considering how he was speaking about her in the last comic.

      2. Leorale

        Why do I have a fuzzy memory that, in the original universe, Ruth’s dad cheated with Billie’s mom?

        1. BBCC

          Because he did.

        2. Leorale

          Ah, that’s a good reason.
          Perhaps Billie takes after her mom, then, and would’ve been a Lessick’s type. Creepy.

        3. Deanatay

          I’m getting the distinct vibe that Rich (Ruth’s dad) cheated on Happy (my name for Ruth’s mom, until I hear otherwise) with an Asian woman.

        4. Clif

          Go all the way and make that Billie’s mom, so she and Ruth are half sisters.

    3. Pablo360

      I took it as Dick was “unfaithful” because he was gay.

      1. thejeff

        I took it as Ruth’s dad was “unfaithful” because he took Clint’s perfect daughter away from him, disrupting Clint’s plan for her life. Any actual unfaithfulness is not strictly necessary. Clint is not a reliable source of evidence.

        It’s probably true though, if only as a callback to the Walkyverse version.

    4. Woobie

      I’m not going to try to make sense of his blatherings.

      1. Mr. Random

        Understanding what someone else says and why, from a perspective of why they think it is literally for the best is how you understand how to defeat them.

  18. Just Me

    Decking other peoples’ parents or grandparents is not normally an effective strategy, Billie.

    Though, in this case I can see why she’d want to.

  19. John

    I thought you were a journalist, Billie. Or is that only euphemistically?

    And, nah, he just thinks you look familiar because Ruth’s dad banged your mom in this universe, too.

    1. pjeseb

      So… surprise incest?

      1. Pablo360

        Why do I read the comments?

        1. Kamino Neko

          I have that reaction a lot. But not this time. >_>

      2. Delicious Taffy

        It’s not incest if you don’t scissor.

        1. DarkoNeko

          …is
          that
          so.

  20. Whammy

    So, good news is Billie coming in, offering support, Ruth gaining some emotional reaction. But I’m a little worried about Billie cause she hasn’t quite also dealt with her own issues and concerned she could throw herself in too much to try and reassert her “I can fix this!” attitude from her head cheerleader days and was tied into her relation with Ruth. Not that she shouldn’t offer support and fight for Ruth, just a worry that in boosting up her own worth she might get a little over-enthusiastic?

  21. Stephen Bierce

    Chapter One–we didn’t quite get along
    Chapter Two–is when I fell in love with you
    You said you’d stand by me in the middle of Chapter Three…
    But we’re back to our old tricks
    In Chapters Four, Five and Six!    –Elvis Costello & The Attractions

  22. Keulan

    Ok, that was not how I expected Clint to react. Not sure what I was expecting, but I definitely didn’t think he’d just walk away.

    1. Reltzik

      Makes sense. Witnesses = less abuse.

      1. Chris Phoenix

        Also, Billie totally took the wind out of his sails. Bagge called it yesterday. Billie seems goofy and even ineffective, but she’s too off-script for an abuser to engage with in abuse mode. It’s pretty brilliant.

        1. Bagge

          Yeah, I’m extremely impressed with Billie. She might not be great long-term, but she excels at short term solutions.

          AAAAAAALPHA BOOONGO!

  23. Pablo360

    Oh.

    I don’t know much about the Walkyverse, but does anyone else get the implication that the reason Dick Lessick was “unfaithful” was because he was gay?

    And yes, I know that Billie is bisexual, but I’m certain Clint doesn’t.

    1. Passchendaele

      That’s a possibility, but I remember one scene in the Walkyverse of Ruth’s dad cheating with Billie’s mom, so I’m not sure that’s the case. And Clint doesn’t seem all that more bothered by Billie’s being a girl – it’s her personality he dislikes. But he doesn’t seem a happy man anyway.

    2. John

      One Day in the Walkyverse, Ruth walked in on her dad cheating on her mom. With Billie’s mom. So, on the principle that people’s sexualities are multiversal constants, no, Dick Lessick wasn’t gay.

      I was only half-joking about the “Ruth’s dad banged Billie’s mom in this universe too” bit above. I’m guessing father and daughter share a taste for busty Asian ladies, at least.

      1. Liliet

        Might have been bi tho

      2. Silly Name

        As far as we know, Billie’s parents live in Indiana, while Ruth’s family was in Canada. That lowers the chance of Ruth’s dad having had sex with Billie’s mom considerably.

    3. Deanatay

      I imagine that Ruth is ‘her father’s daughter’ in the sense that her girlfriend’s Asian. Just the vibe I’m getting. If Clint ‘fought in wars’, it was probably Korea or Vietnam, so he might have an inbred dislike of Asians.

      1. Frederic Garber

        1. It might give him an _Acquired_ dislike of Asians. No amount of training will change your parent’s genetics, at least not in the DoA universe. He can’t be _inbred_ racist from that.

        2. If he fought in Korea, he’d be at bare minimum 84 years old. He doesn’t look that old. Canada almost didn’t fight in Vietnam, but there’s a small possibility for that.

        Given DOA time, he’ll be the right age to have fought in the Gulf War or the Balkans by the time he sees Howie again, so that’s something!

        1. DSL

          Re: 2. — Is Clint Canadian, though? He lives in Indiana. Was it Ruth’s father who was Canadian, with Mom going north to be with him, with their children being Canadian by birth as a result of that?

        2. thejeff

          That’s the current working assumption. No reason to think Clint is Canadian. He definitely lives Indiana now.

        3. BBCC

          Canada didn’t fight in Vietnam except for a small number of troops enforcing the Paris Peace Accords.

          Canadians who did joined the US military. And we exported a lot of military equipment.

  24. Grethelwvier

    Keep Calm
    and
    Love Billie.

  25. Passchendaele

    Quick, somebody make fanart of this doubly-fictional notebook. We need the recursive fantasy to collapse on itself and become a reality – Billie will have a journal, she will hit Clint over the head with it, and it will be awesome.

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      Artists around the world now wonder: “What material is light enough to carry and could bind a journal together, but heavy enough to ensure a concussion?”

      1. No Name

        I think titanium sheet metal would do the trick. It’s not exactly heavy (and is, in fact, incredibly light for a metal), but is very rigid and what you need for a concussion is a jerk (and yes, that’s a technical term: it means a change in acceleration), not necessarily weight.

  26. mrj

    Following up on my comment in yesterday’s thread: Ruth’s got eyebrows back! (And defiant ones, at that.)

  27. JessWitt

    He knows the Billingsworths?! How far does Clint’s influence go?

    1. aeromechanicalace

      Hopefully far enough to get him assassinated.

    2. Passchendaele

      I think Clintn is referring to Ruth’s troubles, but it wouldn’t surprise, especially if Billie’s dad is a sucessful businessman. And every man is likely too familiar with Billie’s mom. 😛

      1. Passchendaele

        *Clint DAMNIT

    3. Pat

      Ruth is her father’s daughter, because her girlfriend is somehow similar to her father’s girlfriend?

      Which might be an odd compliment disguised as an insult, if he means Billie is like Ruth’s mother. Or perhaps it’s about ladies who were not her mother.

  28. Shiro

    I’m no Cerb, but I predict Ruth getting mad at Billie for failing to butt out, then kissing. Lots.

    1. Dana

      Yeah, that’s the sort of thing I’m expecting. Ruth being super pissed even though deep down she’s grateful.

  29. Larkle

    I feel like Ruth is going to be pissed off at Billy…

    1. Larkle

      *Billie

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Ruth can’t be mad at Billy. Nobody can be mad at Billy. He’s the friggin’ Blue Ranger, for cryin’ out loud.

        1. SgtWadeyWilson

          I’m still mad that he left the flying VW Bug white. I mean, c’mon, you’re the blue ranger for crying out loud! You couldn’t have made that blue too? (Sarcasm… mostly.)

        2. Kamino Neko

          Hmm….I’ve never seen that episode in the Power Rangers form…they connected Clocke’s car to the Rangers? Seems weird…

        3. Delicious Taffy

          The Rad Bug got cut from the show relatively early on. It wasn’t very interesting.

    2. Leorale

      Perhaps so, but that counts as having a feeling, so it’s still an improvement from the black eye-void of death.

      1. Larkle

        Fair enough. I guess Billie is also most used to pissed off Ruth…

  30. Fallingivy

    Her eyes are green again, I’m choosing to take that as a good sign.

  31. Fart Captor

    So was he just not planning to drag Ruth wherever he’s off to now, or has Billie’s presence just made him decide it’s too public for that?

    1. Reltzik

      I think he was looped into rant-slash-verbal-abuse mode. There wasn’t really more of a plan than “lecture her” which went unscripted (but whole-heartedly) into Dump A Bunch Of Hate On Her and Disparage Her Dead Parents and so on. With a witness confronting him he decided the best thing to do was check that task (momentarily) off his to-do list and move on to whatever was next.

  32. Travestyhat

    I move that, in the manner of Toe-Dad, Ruth’s grandfather hereafter be known as Chin-Gramps.

    1. Shiro

      I think I’m going with all-caps THE CHIN.

      1. shammers

        But that reminds me of the crimson chin and I liked him!

    2. showler

      Shorten it to Chint.

  33. carms

    MAN that guy does not have a great profile.
    Green eyes are back!
    Billy looks super adrenalin’d. Not scared necessarily, but not in-the-moment angry, either. That cartoon’s expression has cracks in it- they’d seal up if the thing escalated, prolly, but for now- and her wise-crakkin is a cover for the adrenalin jitters.

    I reckon Billie would totally try and fix this for Ruth. I think she’d be fairly confident that her emotionally distant compensatory-spender rich dad could be convinced to fund billie’s rescue of Ruth. Whether he knew or not. Probably wouldn’t fund her college, but she’d have a place to stay maybe

    1. No Name

      My theory is that Billie’s parents will do everything in there power to sweep this right under the rug, but Billie will throw a tantrum until they sweep it under the right rug – the one where Ruth’s happy and away from Clint.

  34. Derek

    is it me or is Billie taking really awkwardly here? maybe because she’s nervous?

    1. Leorale

      It could be because she feels awkward. She knows she needs to do something, but she doesn’t know what to do, it’s confusing to her.

      1. Chris Phoenix

        I think she’s deliberately going off-script (non-standard and awkward behavior) to throw THE CHIN off balance. It’s super effective.

        1. Leorale

          I actually love her awkwardness if it’s that she doesn’t know what to do but is totally doing it anyway. I so relate!

          Billie and I thrive on a really good black-and-white crisis, there’s no time to think (ie you can’t get bogged down in your sucky thought patterns), and this great mental clarity of what you should do right the heck now (something in front of you is on fire, put out the fire).

          Billie’s confusion/awkwardness is because there’s a shade of gray in what she should do (defend Ruth; don’t surprise-punch disabled elderly veterans). She’s even trying to cover for her confusion by claiming it’s because she’s crazy/threatening. I love it.

    2. Bagge

      I think she was really psyched up to fight him (but smart enough not to do it unless he landed the first blow) and boils off extra adrenaline in the last panel.

      And of course she is scared shitless as well, given all she knows about Ruth’s mental state.

    3. DarkoNeko

      She was pretty awkard last page, too, and explain why

  35. Pigeon Pollyx

    I don’t like his gnarled open hand in that one panel. My hands get like when my anxiety gets too bad, when the energy of fear and adrenaline becomes to much for me to comprehend and I’m somewhere between a fight or flight response and a barely cohesive grasp onto where I am.

    Obviously Clint doesn’t have anxiety. He might end up having some kind of ptsd or something, but if I were to hazard a guess by that hand there and the whole situation, he’s barely containing the impulse to hit her back. Maybe he’s not physically abusive (not that it’s any better) but I’m sure he wants to be.

    Wonder how Howie’s doin too

    1. Bicycle Bill

      The gnarled hand, and walking with a cane?  I’m going to put it down to the after-effects of a stroke that affected the nerves and some of the motor skills along the right side of his body.

      1. Kamino Neko

        Hmm. A stroke would explain one thing that’s been bugging me about this.

        Strokes can change a person’s personality if they affect the right (wrong) portions of the brain.

        If Clint was always an abusive shit, one would hope the Lessicks would have wills that specified child custody in the situation where both died while the kids were minors, and excluded him – the elder Lessicks, or some Canadian friends, for example – in order to keep them out of his hands.

        If, though, he had a stroke that changed his personality after his daughter moved to Canada (maybe even not long before the Lessicks died), it’s not unlikely that they skipped that, or even chose him as the kids’ guardian.

        (It’s also possible, of course, that they were clueless, or careless, and didn’t make their wills at all, or even actively in denial about Clint’s behaviour, but for now I’m going to give them the benefit of the doubt.)

        1. erinacea

          They died fairly young and in an accident, so I’d guess they simply didn’t leave a will, in which case custody would naturally fall to Ruth and Howard’s grandparents. (Apparently, their father didn’t have any living relatives.)

        2. Cerberus

          Most young people don’t write wills assuming that’s only necessary in old age. Plus, even with a will, a family member can sometimes sue to override it to keep kids “in the family”.

    2. Dierna

      Oh he’s definatly got the signs of PTSD. Patrick Stewart grew up in a similar situation. His father was in WWII and would take out all his frustrations on his wife. Patrick learned that his father had PTSD in an episode of Who Do You Think You Are. He’s an advocate for battered women and now for helping people like his father.

  36. NinjaNick

    I’d still punch him hard in the face or the nuts, if I were Billie. Grumpy Old Man deserves it.

  37. not someone else

    I’m not sure whether he seems to have no additional problem with the fact that Billie is a girl or whether he’s just… subtle enough not to pick one specific thing?

    I’m not sure how to put it, but the latter seems lind of terrifying. I would be a little surprised if this particular guy didn’t turn out to be also physically abusive.

    …Also, hoping this is a lead in for us finding out wtf is up with Howie, whether he’s spared or just has similar personality/coping skills to Becky.

    1. Liliet

      He’s been physically grabbing, restraining and dragging Ruth around, which absolutely counts as physical abuse. It doesn’t have to be direct hits. Twisting arms, pulling off-balance, preventing escape – all this shit can be just as terrifying and painful.

      Just saying.

  38. Bluewind

    Billie you beautiful alpha bongo you. Punching or no you saved Ruth from a verbal assault that could have put her back in the hospital. I can only hope that little frown on her face at the end there doesn’t mean she’s considering pushing you away to protect you. 🙁

    Also, to reinforce what I’ve been saying, don’t stand by and let abuse happen just because nobody is throwing a punch. De-escalate, change a subject, whatever needs to be done. You can see here that verbal abuse can push victims into deep depression or even suicide. Stop things like how Sir treats his granddaughter from being treated as trivial.

    1. Leorale

      Standing up against abuse effectively, that would be so great if everyone could do that! And if we consider how beforehand, we’ll be far less likely to freeze up.

      Do you know of any instructional comics or how-to’s online? I can’t think of strategies or advice that would apply across all situations, myself, and I’d rather like some.

      (I like to focus on the victim, as I’m brave but totally unintimidating.)

      1. Leorale

        Here,found some: http://endingviolence.org/prevention-programs/be-more-than-a-bystander/what-you-can-do-to-be-more-than-a-bystander/

        https://www.wespeakupforchildren.org/dont-be-afraid-to-intervene-stand-up-to-abuse/

        and my favourite comic on the topic:
        https://www.themarysue.com/bystanders-harassment-guide/

        yaaay

  39. Leorale

    …journalism.

  40. StClair

    (live)Journals are so ’00s. Everyone uses Facebook Twitter Tumblr Snapchat now.

    And in a few years, when I come back to this comment, the sliding timescale means I’ll have to add a few more struck-through names.

  41. CriticalQuit

    Not sure if Billie made this situation better or worse. Guess we’ll find out soon!

  42. Azutte

    *attempts tilting head and crossing eyes to get duplicate Fuck Zone images to overlap*

    *gets mild headache*

  43. Owlmirror

    I’m trying to think of what other “fires to put out” Clint might be referring to.

    Mary?
    Or – oh dear – Becky?

    Both?

    1. Kris

      He’s talking about literal fires. Ruth is a closet pyromaniac. She flys around with a jetpack and flamethrower at nights.

    2. zoelogical

      i really have no idea what he means here and this worries me

      like. ruth was depressed and suicidal she wasn’t…running around hurting people and starting fires, just threatening their limbs if they stepped out of line (ha. HAHA. like that’s small. but very in line with military trashtalking, i guess). and her floor is a bundle of issues but those were issues already and fires already started

      what are the public problems? you got Roz, Billie, Ruth’s suicidalness, Toedad??

      …is Carla a potential problem? is Joyce? Mary seems more subtle but still?? is the Dingdong Bandit still an issue???

      1. Kris

        A real guess based on the context of conversation I’d say maybe talking tp the other “candidates” for her R.A. position or maybe the people Chloe mentioned?

        1. zoelogical

          or maybe just one more way to guilttrip her while he heads out of dodge away from the gay

    3. Fart Captor

      Chloe and the administration don’t know about Becky yet, as far as we’ve seen. It also seems unlikely that he’d especially care. Billie’s been using Mary’s blackmail to blackmail Mary, so she seems unlikely as well. Though if it was, we might end up seeing a weird situation where Mary inexplicably has the high ground for once in her life.

    4. Frederic Garber

      I’m thinking he’s going to try and use whatever Evil Rich White Dude powers he used to get Ruth’s job back to go and get her medical records altered so that she just had a case of “exhaustion”

      No granddaughter of HIS could be suicidal, after all.

      1. Gwen

        Getting her records altered would be nigh-on impossible. At most, he could interfere in her aftercare, and I doubt campus health would even allow that.

        1. Gwen

          Also, if Ruth was officially not suicidal, he’d probably wind up stuck with a $10,000 hospital bill. No exaggerations there.

  44. DarkoNeko

    Random thought : by other fires, gramps means Becky.

    So, he’s gonna make it so she becomes an actual student there and all, because he’s such a nice per– yeah, right.

    1. Cerberus

      Well clearly, in fact I see no reason why everyone is assuming he’s a bad g-*dissolves into a thousand shrieking banshees cascading into the night*

      1. MatsuoTanuki

        *adds own mindless rage-shreaks to the cacophony *

  45. AbbeFaria

    So Ruth’s grandfather is on the other end of the spectrum from Toedad where as Toedad was clearly from a rural middle class christian community (with emphasis on the “Christian” community). Jerk-pa is from an affluent (and military) upbringing and rather then pulling a gun or beating to enforce his world view he’ll buy and intimidate to enforce his views on what is “right”…hence his referring to “investing” in ruth’s path, and now putting out her “fires”…in his eyes it’s not too far a stretch that he probably sees her as more an employee then a family member, and that’s not even getting into the CLEAR resentment that he has for her late father.

    1. DarkoNeko

      Military people don’t have “employees”

      1. zoelogical

        a cadet?

  46. K. Ivan Ruppert

    I wonder if he’s going to go try to convince people in charge that Billie was to blame for Ruth’s behavior and otherwise kick up shit until she gets expelled.

    1. DarkoNeko

      He apparently got her moved to another wing so they could date in peace, from a few pages ago.

      1. Sunny

        I think it’s more likely that was Chloe’s doing.

      2. Guairdean Beatha

        He wants Billie out of the picture. The next fire he puts out may be an attempt at getting her expelled. If he writes a big enough check, the administration may agree that her influence was the prime cause of Ruth’s alcohol problem.

        1. Clif

          With Billie’s family that may not work so well. He can try though.

  47. Thevoiceoftreason

    How would he even know about Becky?

    1. Owlmirror

      If Mary tattled to Chloe, it might be in the official paperwork.

      So, answering my previous question — [probably] of course both.

  48. Kris

    “Just like your father” as in?….interested in girls?….or interested in someone like Billie? Cause Ruth’s dad did marry his daughter so does this mean in some small way Clint approves of Billie?

    1. Leorale

      Or Billie reminds Clint of the Other Woman.

      1. Leorale

        –wait no, hopefully Clint did not meet the Other Woman. Here’s hoping he means that Billie kinda reminds him of Ruth’s badass, determined mom.

      2. Kris

        Was there an “other” woman? I totally missed that if that’s been eluded to. Or maybe Mr. Lessick turned out to be gay?

        1. Foxhack

          Another commenter told me that Walkyverse Ruth’s dad cheated on Walkyverse Ruth’s mom with Walkyverse Billie’s mom.

          Yeah.

        2. Kris

          Oh so it’s like a reference.

        3. Adam Black

          Oh, yeah.

          That’s not in the mainrun.

          Willis did a great prequel After,

          Ruth’s journal ,
          It establish es Ruth as Billie and Walkys babysitter, Walky getting upducted in broad daylight by aliens, Ruth falling love with Ryan and he tricks her for sex, and Ruth’s X Billie summer romance. All in all its drawn great, well written, much more than Roomies.

          It’s only flaw is it’s too good. ( Billie’s easy grief and rebound with Danny in roomies looks even worse, in context. Willis could rewrite it, but I think he just said screw it and did Dumbing instead. )

        4. John

          Clint referred to Ruth’s dad as “unfaithful” in his ranting yesterday.

          I think the “Billie reminds him of the Other Woman” theory is probably accurate. (Billie seems to have taken it that way, anyway.)

          In the Walkyverse, the Other Woman was actually Billie’s mom.

        5. Kris

          Well I feel a little dumb for missing or forgetting that but I’m glad I asked. Thanks helpul comment section!

        6. Huttj509

          Last page mentioned “unfaithful” between ‘Weak’ and ‘collection of mental problems.”

    2. zoelogical

      my guess is “just as gay” but like idk

  49. Zatar

    Fuck Yeah. You tell him Billy.

  50. Ryan

    Very good Billie. Short but pointless. /Egon

    And yes, Ruth is definitely going to be mad at Billie “for interfering” and take dickhead’s side.

  51. Bagge

    OK, Ruth actually looked angry in panel 2. I count that as a win!

  52. Crazy Potato

    she’s asian?

    1. John

      It is known.

  53. zoelogical

    i was wikipedia’ing the other night trying to figure out which war clint here might have fought in. because he’s not american, he’s canadian, right? and the most likely suspect i found was the korean war, 1950s. he would have probably been young-ish then. potentially?

    i have no idea how the canadian military works but this amuses me because it’s a little like wolverine going “i’m canadian” when the american military guy tells him that his country needs him and like. i guess my first assumption was that he was in vietnam, for…reasons?? reasons. american reasons.

    1. John

      Clint’s American. He lives in Carmel, Indiana. That’s why Ruth and Howard had to come to America after their parents died.

      1. zoelogical

        …………..i seem to have been confused somewhere along the line but honestly this does not surprise me

        was ruth and howard’s dad canadian? i could have sworn there was a canadian in there somewhere

        1. John

          Ruth and Howard lived in Canada when they were young (younger for Howard than Ruth, obviously), and were moved to Indiana to live with their mother’s father after their parents died. Ruth still identifies as Canadian. Howard’s more indifferent on the subject.

          I don’t think there’s been any canon explanation of how the Lessicks ended up living in Canada, but “Dick Lessick was Canadian” seems like a pretty plausible one.

        2. zoelogical

          thank you for the link!! haha it’s been a long, long while.

          i agree, dick lessick being canadian seems the occam’s razor approach.

          this way. clint doesn’t have to have actually been in vietnam, but those odds are likelier, i’d imagine. but i mean the US has a long history of military pride and lineage, anyways, so there’s an extent to which it doesn’t really matter which war he was in as long as he was in a war. i mean, like, american engagement in iraq has been ongoing for about sixteen years there’s…a lot of options for battle experience.

          i think where i was going with this is “how likely is it that this dude has ptsd” but it’s difficult to say. i mean, i don’t know that it’s necessarily even relevant to anything, i’m mostly just trying to logic out the background. either way, tho, that hardcore manipulativeness speaks strongly of strategy.

        3. CJ

          Canon explanation for “the Lessicks lived in Canada” probably is: Because that was far away from Sir and he could only abuse them by phone.
          We already know he is one to make his displeasure known on a permanent basis.

        4. John

          That’s also a plausible explanation. There are others. But I’m pretty sure none of the possibilities have been made canon as yet, and if there’s been Word of God on the subject, I missed it.

      2. DarkoNeko

        If I didn’t know better, I’d say his daugher ran to Canada to escape him.

    2. Eukie

      Do we have a reason to think Clint isn’t American? Ruth’s Canadian, and her family lives in Canada, but that could just mean Ruth’s mother moved to Canada to live with Ruth’s dad.

      1. zoelogical

        moving to another country to get away from your jerkdad seems like a totally legit strategy

    3. BBCC

      If he were Canadian, he wouldn’t have gone to Vietnam, no, unless he enlisted in the US military. Not impossible, though we were more famous for harbouring draft dodgers than for some of us joining the US military.

      He’s American though, so that’s totally still on the table.

      1. zoelogical

        i mean on a level it doesn’t really matter which war he was involved in as long as he saw enough front line engagement to feel like a soldier, i think. to be engaged with that community/legacy and had to have watched people die. certainly gave him the training necessary, i think

    4. Oruncrest

      He’s American. Ruth’s Parents moved to Canada to get away fom him.

      1. zoelogical

        my b

  54. chris73

    Billie can consider herself a bit lucky, Clint looks like he could still deal to someone physically if he really wanted to. The last thing to go on anyone is their strength.

    Also more of your fires to put out?

    1. Liliet

      He’s got a cane, and Billie is a former cheerleader. She could absolutely beat him up if she so desired, despite the difference in mass.

      It would create more problems than it would solve for whoever won the altercation either way, of course.

      1. chris73

        Well sure in a comic fantasy world she could but in the real world not so likely as I say hes a big unit, doesn’t look overly fat and strength is the last thing to go

        Whereas Billie is an out of shape, alcoholic former cheerleader

        1. thejeff

          I still think that if he touched Billie, Ruth would snap and kill him.

    2. Tufto

      He could, but assaulting a student in the middle of a university campus would not be a good idea. He can only get away with it in Ruth’s case because of all the abusive-intimidation-thing.

      1. chris73

        I’m not saying he should, I’m saying if Billie tried punching Clint she’d probably get a helluva reality check because he doesn’t strike me as the type that’d let anyone assault him without firing back

        and probably twice as hard

  55. What Was The Question Again?

    Every angle makes his face look like it is at least 45% butt.

    1. Whatevsman

      Toedad and Grandpa Buttface. Coming to a theater nesr you.

    2. Kamino Neko

      His head is 100% butt.

  56. Gesc

    He’s gonna try to get Billie expelled now, mark my words.

    And is that green in Ruth’s eyes? Ya!

    1. Bagge

      That’s…. shit. I believe you are right.

      THAT will make things even harder on Ruth, so of course he will.

      1. emusam

        It probably wouldn’t work. The Dean’s ex likes Billie more than her own daughter.

        On the other hand, Chloe just gave him the identities of three people who do not need more trouble in their lives, and if he ‘solves those problems’ for Ruth, Ruth will be even more indebted to him.

        I hope Joyce is holding a glass of Sierra Mist when he tries to tell her it’s her fault for almost getting shot.

        1. Bagge

          Lots of “fun” possibilities in the future. You are right, that’s a very likely outcome as well.

          Good thing is, all those three are probably more than he can chew, should he go for a bite.

        2. Spaz

          Grandpa Buttface le Chin vs. Carla is a match I…….would dearly love to see.

  57. Bagge

    “The boy”, eh? If Clint wasn’t so horrible, it would be hilarious how careful he is to talk over EVERONE’s head in turn. The only reason he actually addresses Ruth now is that he has no one to talk to about her.

  58. Lielac

    Hm. Combined with the “unfaithful” comment from the last page, “you really are your father’s daughter” in the context of “dating Billie” reads more like “Ruth’s father was a gay/bi man who cheated on Ruth’s mom with a guy” to me than Billie’s interpretation. Or maybe “cheated”; it’s possible Ruth’s mom was his beard or they were poly/in an open relationship.

    Also, it’s good to see the green coming back to Ruth’s eyes. (Fuck off and die, Clint, you’re awful.)

    1. C.T Phipps

      I think it reads, “she’s Asian.” Then again, I see Clint as probably a Vietnam veteran which is going to make him racist that way.

    2. Liliet

      Given Walkyverse, Billie’s appearance sounds most likely.

      He knew Ruth was gay already.

    3. zoelogical

      SAME

  59. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

    And once confronted with another sign about his failure as a father simply using his demented late son-in-law as an excuse to avoid owning up to it (grandkids’ lives couldn’t be about anything other than *him*) he just defaults on his thought-cancelling cliche like Ralph Wiggum talking about his cat when people are speaking over his head. Nice.

  60. Delicious Taffy

    Come ON, guys! We don’t know for SURE if Clint is bad, yet!

    1. Micro-Girl

      Strictly speaking you are correct, but at this point we can all infer his douchbaggery.

  61. caesaria82

    I really fucking love Billie right now. Just. A lot.

  62. Tarmaniel

    Am I the only one a little concerned/creeped out by how Ruth seems to have checked out of reality entirely? She’s gone completely unresponsive and has been frozen in the exact same posture/facial expression for like three strips now.

    1. Wack'd

      Disassociation is a hell of a thing.

      1. Cerberus

        Yup. It’s super useful for riding out abuse though. The less you’re there, the less you’re feeling it, and the more it can be like a bad PTSD-inducing dream when it’s over with. It’s one of the reasons that I have no memory of my rapist’s face or name whatsoever, because I disassociated that hard when it started happening and focused instead on the people around me.

  63. nobilis

    I think “you are like your father” means “you totally freeze when I’m talking to you and let your partner defend you”, Billie acting like Ruth’s Mum here.

  64. Rotunda

    “More of your fires” might include the Leslie/Robin situation. Clint’s idea of an orderly Indiana could conflict with allowing such a scandal to be associated with the university.

    1. BenRG

      If that is what he’s thinking about then he’s cruising for a time in a jail cell. No matter how scandalous her behaviour the police will always favour a sitting politician over a Mr Random making a complaint.

  65. BenRG

    Yeah… I think that if Clint is planning to ‘fix’ things Ruth ‘did wrong’ in the dorm, he’s going to very quickly find that the dorm floor where she worked is the single weirdest and most eccentric place on Earth. I strongly suspect that the only person who would give him the time of day is Mary and that would be more harm than good to his cause.

    If Chloe gave him details about Ruth’s associates and maybe their parents’ contact details (even if, as in Billie’s case, they’re significant figures in Ruth’s life) then she is pretty much finished.

    1. Cerberus

      The dorm devours him alive leaving Ruth finally safe and free.

      1. Leorale

        Chomp chomp 😀

      2. MatsuoTanuki

        I suddenly have the mental image of a pride of lionesses with Joyce and the others hairstyles stalking up and attacking a lion with Clint’s glasses and half a mane to tear him to pieces

  66. Liliet

    I am very worried about the ‘put out more of your fires’ comment >_>

    But as per my earlier ‘benefit of doubt’ comment, he still seems… eerily non-homophobic. Nice.

    1. Micro-Girl

      While he still hasn’t done anything “wrong”, it’s pretty obvious he’s bad.
      Ruth and Sirs interaction alone to warrant investigation.

    2. Scar Man!!!

      he’d just rather she never get into any relationships at all. That could subject her to non-him influences. Much Better 🙂

    3. Gwen

      My parents were actually really good about me being queer. It was me being mentally ill that they had a problem with. So I don’t see it as that strange.

  67. Ellegos

    Yeah Ruth is going to be angry. That eyebrow. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to defend him. The gist of his emotional blackmail is that Ruth is indebted to him, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she really does agree with that sentiment, despite the fact that the debt is morally nullified by all the abuse.

  68. zellgato

    Dun think I ever realized in any of the last…………………Oh wow.. what nearly 20 years? When did Its Walky start? My brain says 97 but i’ve no proof of that off hand..

    but yeah I’d never realized Billy was Asian haha. Not that it matters, just amusing since I’m the kind of asian that fits in anywhere and no one realizes the asian.

    1. John

      Billie’s shirt says ’97.

      She wasn’t actually Asian in the original Walkyverse, but people kept thinking she was, and Willis made her half-Chinese, half-English in the Dumbiverse. (She’s mentioned a couple times that she’s mixed-race, and I linked the strip where she explains the actual mix to Joyce up above.) I’m not sure if she’s retroactively half-Asian in the Walkyverse now or what.

      1. BBCC

        Willis hasn’t stated – though he did say he never really mentioned her race in the Walkyverse, so it’d be an easy retcon to make if he wanted to.

  69. Arioch

    Oh, Billie, you precious girl, you are the best. I’m concerned about Sir and “the fires”. They could be damn near anything. I’m concerned for Howie, who I feel like has been spared the majority of the abuse before now, I feel like that is about to change.

    1. Bagge

      We can be almost certain that if “Sir” looks for fresh ammunition against Ruth, it will be Howie.

      “Sir” is a charmer like that.

    2. thejeff

      “The Boy” makes me think the Howie already gets a huge dose of neglect and disdain, if nothing worse.

  70. Bagge

    OK, I’m sorry, I can’t be silent about this. I have to comment, even if the content is behind a paywall.

    The latest slipshine is ADORABLE!!! “You ask her… No, YOU ask her!”

    1. Deanatay

      *so much regret, cannot afford Shipshine*

      1. missilentmurmur

        same here

    2. ValdVin

      I gotta get that service. I know you’re not hawking it, but you’ve jusr provided a goldmine-level word-of-mouth recommendation.

      1. Bagge

        I know, I know and I really don’t want to pressure anyone into buying something they can’t afford. The slipshine is a neat addition to the comic (and, you know, there are a selection of very interesting bodyparts doing very interesting things), but you don’t need it to appreciate the story.

        What I like most about it is Dorothy…

        OK, fine, what I like SECOND MOST about it is the reminder that despite the extremely slow flow of time, that it take months in real time to see a single day for the characters, there is always more to tell. The slipshine gives us a hint of those stories (as do the Patreon for that matter).

        (Note: If you get a slipshine account, don’t reuse old passwords. They send it to you in plain text in the register email, so it’s not very secure)

    3. thejeff

      I do have to say, though I really like some of the WttFZ pictures, I miss the earlier narrative stories. Do we know if those are done permanently or if they’ll come back from time to time?

  71. Historyman68

    Clint makes it clear that one of the themes of DoA is parents fucking with their kids’ lives for their “own good.”

  72. raul

    I’ve got a bad feeling about this

  73. brasca1

    I had to wonder why someone who seems to stifle happiness would permit Howie to watch Game of Thrones, but seeing as how he would consider Tywin Lannister a positive role model I suppose he condones it.

    1. Guairdean Beatha

      Clint probably uses TV as a babysitter/pacifier. As long as “the boy” stays quiet and out of his way, he doesn’t care what he’s doing.

    2. John

      I had assumed that the reason Howard was so enthusiastic about watching Game of Thrones when he visited Ruth during the Parentpocalypse was that he didn’t get to watch it at home, though on re-reading those strips, I see that they don’t actually say that.

  74. Leorale

    So, Clint wants to put out Ruth’s fires.

    And he knows the identities of three people that the RM and potential RAs considered highly problematic (thanks, Chloe).

    Looks like it’s time to antagonize more of the cast!

    Luckily, all three are badasses. Let’s have them mess him up, please.

    1. Cerberus

      Oh, fuck, I didn’t even think about that…

      *rocks back and forth worrying about Roz, Carla, and Joyce*

      1. Spaz

        I can see Roz and Carla taking care of themselves. Joyce I can see bending a bit more to authority.

        But I think that Carla has shown with Mary that she’s more than capable of defending herself.

        And Roz can too. She hasn’t necessarily shown it in comic, but her reactions to Robin’s shenanigans, I think, show her strength.

        1. Bagge

          Going after Joyce could also have some… negative consequences for him, even if Joyce herself doesn’t hulk out.

          Clint: *Tries to do mean things*
          Sal, Amazi-girl and Sarah: DIBS!!!

          Clint: *Tries to do mean things that are not readily solved by the bat of the old testament God*
          Dorothy: ME, ME, MY GO!!! I’M NOT USELESS ANYMOOOOOORE.
          Becky: I get to comfort Joyce! Because I’m her bestest friend, so there!

        2. Cerberus

          Yeah, but he comes in sideways and with the weight of authority which is always harder to fight against (see Roz having to back down to the Dean). So *still worried*.

        3. BBCC

          Cheer up, Sal gives no fucks about authority and I’m sure Dorothy knows all the proper channels to go over his head and get him out.

        4. Leorale

          Even if Joyce is unlikely to use her power of punching jerks really really hard, she has full use of her rad network of support. (Creating a powerful support network totally counts as being resourceful/badass. 🙂 ) Clint cares about his image, and Joyce is a very sympathetic character to everyone ever… plus she’s not a threat to Ruth, so I’m not sure what he’ll get out of antagonizing her unless he considers Becky a real threat.

          Roz has a network, too, and political knowledge. Clint is basically the Man whom she fully expects to try and keep her down, she’ll be ready for the likes of him.

          Carla, in addition to giving no fucks, has the power of sweet, ultra-satisfying pranks. If Clint tries to mess with her, it will end in epic comeuppance and satisfaction for all of us! (It would even set up a nice moment for her to defend Ruth, who previously was unable to defend Carla.) I want this to happen last, so that Clint can get a pie in the face and be defeated forever.

        5. Leorale

          So while I’m aware this is a Damn You Willis comic, and he’ll make us real mad on the road to taking down Clint, I have every confidence in the characters to have moments where they/we also win, eventually.

          I think the best predictor of Clint’s arc is the order in which he antagonizes our heroes. If he picks Becky last, he may be a longterm threat, but if he picks on Carla last, he’s going down. Beware the power of funny.

        6. Bagge

          There are many satisfying and/or horrifying ways this story can go and I have no idea which is more likely, but I kinda like the half-joked idea that Clint will turn out to be the challenge for the next RA to prove herself with.

          Will it be Dorothy who works the system, who proves it works, to remove an abuser?

          Will it be Roz who stands up to THE MAN (well noticed!) and shows that two can play the game of politics, and she is better?

          Will it be Carla (who is WAY TO COOL TO BE RA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH) who proves once and for all that she is a MOTHERFUCKING GODDESS, and that she takes the responsibility for Ruths well-being she grudgingly accepted seriously?

          Will it be Billie who shows just what a craaaazy lose canon ALPHA BONGO with nothing to lose can do, if she has a cause (hint: she has a cause)?

          Will it be Ruth who finally stands up and shows the world what happens if you mess with RUTHLESS!!!!

          Or will it be all of them? CLARK WING UNITED!!!!

        7. Bagge

          Or, you know,

          “Half-man, half-man, half-man, HALF-MAN!!!”

          “Why do we even have a cross-bow?”

          “Dunno, something to do with the math department”

        8. BBCC

          Ooooh, I like this stream of thought!

          Will it be Joyce, whose ship he threatened and so she knocked him on his head?

          Will it be Sal seeing him bullying his granddaughter, taking his cane, and whacking him with it?

          Will it be Rachel seeing it, taking a video, and calling the police because holy shit he’s manhandling his granddaughter?

          Will it be Mary, blackmailed into using her powers of asshole for good by Billie (so technically this is another Billie win oops)?

          Will it be Grace because damn it, Ruth and Billie being together is winning her a bet with her girlfriend?

          Will it be Dina unleashing the Raptor upon request?

          Will it be Amazi-Girl because it always has to be dads (or granddads in this case)?

          Will it be Becky because nobody is sending anyone back to the suicide ward on her watch?

          Will it be Amber because beating the fuck out of shitty guardians is her schtick?

          Will it be Sarah who simply reports his ass to the cops….and hits him with her bat because why not?

        9. Leorale

          @Spaz, regarding Roz’s strength: I think it’d be really neat if Roz sees through Clint’s public facade. She’s raised on politics and fake personas, after all, and he’s basically the Man trying to keep Ruth down. She should spot it!

      2. JBento

        I wouldn’t worry. Hells, the best possible segue to this would be for Clint to try to take on Carla, because Carla has no fucks to give and all the style and fury to give them with. For bonus points, she’s as liable to care about Clint having been in the military and using a cane as I am (i.e., fuck all). I think Roz would stand her ground, but Carla would positively fuck his shit up.

        1. thejeff

          But not with violence. With sweet, sweet pranks. 🙂

        2. JBento

          The pranks won’t be swift. They will be cold, swift, and absolutely ridiculous.

        3. JBento

          Sweet. Sweet. The pranks won’t be sweet.

        4. Leorale

          They’ll be as sweet as a Sweet Pickle Pie.

      3. rectilinearpropagation

        Wait, I thought Roz was in a different dorm. Didn’t the RM say that some other RA was punished for the whole sex tape thing?

        1. John

          Roz is Mary’s roommate; they live on Clark 3 (Ruth’s hall), diagonally across from Ruth. The RA for Beck 3 (the boys’ hall) caught the flak for Roz’s porn shoot because they used Joe’s room for it.

        2. rectilinearpropagation

          Ah, thank you!

        3. BBCC

          That was Joe’s RA, because the tape was made in his room. Roz lives on Ruth’s floor, she’s Mary’s roommate.

    2. Temperaryobsessor

      I don’t know its possible he will actually try to help. I know he’s a terrible grandpa but its possible he sees himself as an alpha drum problem solver.

      1. thejeff

        It’s possible he seems himself that way. But he’s wrong. It’s possible he’ll try to help, but he won’t.

        That he hid his anger and didn’t take it out on Ruth until he thought they were alone (and were away from the other authority figure – Chloe), strongly suggests that he knows that such behavior is wrong.

    3. Silly Name

      I don’t find that likely. He only has surnames and vague knowledge of their situation. Apart from Roz, I doubt he could ever recognize any of them.

      I think what he refers to is more along the lines of pulling the strings of the higher-ups to further secure that Ruth keeps her job and any problems are swept under the rug.

  75. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: Oh, I love Billie so much here. Just taking none of his gruff, pointing out that she knows his dirty laundry and doesn’t support him, and even that it took time to find out the extent of the damage he caused.

    And she’s even still got her dukes up if he was still interested in rumbling. Like, it’s stupid brave, but I really like and appreciate stupid brave as someone who’s been on my own a lot in really shitty circumstances.

    And it’s also a sign of her role as “alpha bongo, problem solver”. Like her self-esteem on that has been utterly wrecked, but Ruth is someone that makes her believe in that again, so we see the lengths she’ll go to to protect folks being targeted even if it’s by someone with way more privilege and power than her.

    Panel 2: And we see the effect of that. Ruth’s eyes have been dead with a heavy frown before Billie’s intervention. Now we see Ruth’s eyes returned to their full green and she’s even got some angry eyebrows again so she’s feeling emotions again beyond the depressive spiral.

    Billie did that by being someone willing to stand up for her and interrupt the abuse “sir” was laying into.

    Of course, “sir” being the shitlord that he is, openly ignores and dismisses Billie, instead berating Ruth to tell him who this girl is as if she wasn’t in the room standing and interacting with him.

    Panel 3: Oh… oh no. Like I love Billie here, so much. It’s such a great moment fighting for her gf. Calling out his attempt to third person her, recentering his abuse and her willingness to fight for the woman she loves instead of letting him twist this into another reason to lay into Ruth. I even love her exploiting her own mental health struggles to get him to take her seriously despite her size and gender. Billie is an absolute cinnamon roll here.

    But I’m all “oh no”, because now “sir” has a face to go with the name. And he knows from Chloe where she lives. And that’s everything Ruth didn’t want to happen, because she knows that he’s the type of fucker who will go to extreme lengths to isolate and control her, especially from things that are good for her or that she wants for her own reasons rather than his.

    Billie, by doing this, has put herself in a lot of danger from “sir”, especially if he feels that she’s a “bad influence” who is “making my granddaughter rebellious and son-in-law-like”.

    And having seen second-hand what isolating abusive fuckwits do to partners they think are a “bad influence”, I’m really really scared for Billie here and I’m willing to bet Ruth is too.

    1. Bagge

      He can’t really get to Billie, can he? She has her own parents with wealth and influence who, if Clint tries to stir up anything, of course would listen to… her and… believe her… side of the story…

      um…

      Fudge.

    2. Reltzik

      In Panel 2 I can’t help but feel that Ruth’s staying silent primarily out of fear of Sir Clint learning who Billie is. Ruth’s defending her identity. (Or maybe it’s the trauma keeping her silent. Could be either.)

      And in Panel 3, I can’t help but read that as Billie rejecting that defense and saying, in effect, that she’ll assume the risks in order to stand up to Sir.

      1. Cerberus

        I think they’re absolutely doing that.

        They both have a bit of a martyr complex, where they’ll take on any hurt if they think it will protect/help the other and put themselves in risk for that.

        Which with Ruth involves mostly trying to push Billie away and go it alone with shitty abusive situations and Billie jumping right into the middle of things even when it puts her at risk or is psychologically costly.

  76. shammers

    Yesssss I’ve missed this Billie so much

  77. Cerberus

    Panel 4: … “sir” is such a smug piece of shit, oh my fucking Bob. Like, he’s still dismissing her as if she wasn’t even in the room, talking about her rather than to her. And letting the implicit threat inherent in him knowing her name just sit like a lead balloon as he walks away.

    But he is walking away and that’s important.

    Also, I gather from this dig that Ruth’s dad really did cheat on her mom likely with someone asian or with big breasts or spunky or all of the above. But so what? He wasn’t the one hurt by that. And holding a blood grudge about that against the person’s children when you’re not even the one hurt?

    Yeah, it’s clear that this is just the excuse in order to control. A ready-made “sin” for him to judge Ruth by whenever she “disappoints him”.

    Panel 5: And there’s the confirmation that he is abusing Howie as well though that was already heavily implied by Ruth’s fear and worry for him. But yeah, that venomous drip on “the boy” is so brutally dismissive. Howie doesn’t get to be a person with a name. He’s just “the boy”. And someone who can be dropped like a soiled handkerchief into a servant’s lap. Another “inconvenience” to his delicate structured desires for life.

    Fuck, I despise this man.

    And oof, that “more fires to put out” line scares me. A lot. Like he’s already intervened to this degree and established control this much, so what else does he consider a “fire” to put out and how much is that going to fuck Billie and Ruth?

    Is it going to target her hall, reducing her authority or making her job more difficult? Is it going to target her medical treatment, trying to eliminate that crucial band of support? Is it going to target Billie as retaliation for her “distracting” Ruth from “her fulfillment of the investment”?

    I’m scared, cause all the actual fires have been “put out” with the iron fist of his control and leaning on the levers of the school, so what unholy BS is he going to “fix” to tighten his grip on Ruth’s life? Making sure her money goes straight to him so she has to rely on him for any form of spending money? Throwing away all her meds? I dunno, but whatever it is, it’s going to be bad.

    Panel 6: And Billie recognizes the infidelity comment right off, which makes sense seeing as how I think she mentioned that her parents sleep around on each other, which, who knows maybe the Walkyverse background of Ruth’s dad sleeping with Billie’s mom has been retained.

    And I love the casualness with which she analyzes “sir”‘s shitty dismissal of her, actually figuring out the likely axes of oppression he was using to do so. This comic is all around one of Billie’s finest moments, though I worry Ruth’s face in the last panel suggests that Ruth doesn’t feel the same, likely largely because she knows he’s going to go after Billie now and that’s exactly what she tried to prevent*.

    *Which, honey, sorry, but that ship sailed when Chloe outed you and Billie to “sir”. Him having a face to go with the name is not going to change that. She was already fucked long before she intervened on your behalf. And at least this way, she was able to interrupt a stream of abuse you were absorbing and give you a moment to breathe and process the complete fucking over of your life that just occurred.

    1. BBCC

      I don’t think Ruth’s dad and Billie’s mom were together – it’d be a long ass commute to Canada. Billie did say her mom is cheating on her dad with every man she knows though.

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        Depends if they spent time in the region.

        1. BBCC

          I believe Willis has said no, not Billie’s mom (at least, on Patreon).

    2. Andy

      On the “more fires to put out,” I wonder if that’s just an excuse to give him cover to retreat. He picks his times to hammer on Ruth very carefully, and the presence of a witness changes everything.

      But this is a Willis-work, so… probably not. I don’t know enough to know the possible parameters of what he can do, but that sounds very ominous.

    3. Arioch

      I think the “fires” could be a little bit of column A and a little bit of column B. I think that he wants to take some time to plan out exactly what he’s going to do because he’s a military man, he’s a man with a plan. If he wasn’t such an abusive asshole he could be admirable because you know he gets shit handled. That is why he pisses me off oh so much. So, I think some of this is so he can retreat, but not just to retreat – he does have things to plan and he does have things to do directly in relation to Ruth’s position. But, he needs to plan. He was given names (sort of) – the Ruttech girl, the Brown kid, I think Chloe may have actually said Roz DeSanto’s name, but it didn’t matter because he knew who she was. He has to find them and then try to approach them. Or, alternatively, he will try to lean on someone to have them moved – and that will cause problems.

    4. Heavensrun

      “Also, I gather from this dig that Ruth’s dad really did cheat on her mom likely with someone asian or with big breasts or spunky or all of the above.”

      Really? My takeaway from that was that Billie reminds him of his daughter. Strong willed, fearless, all the things he is certain Ruth isn’t (which is also, by the way, the facade she put up when she was first introduced as the RA. I seriously doubt it’s a coincidence that the Ruth first presented to the wing is the exact opposite of what Clint seems to think of her.

  78. BenRG

    I’ve got to say that the more this arc progresses, the more that Chloe is shown to be either incompetent or both lazy and negligent to the point of criminality.

  79. Scar Man!!!

    “the boy”? Yep, he abused Howard too. It’s pretty much certain

    1. Guairdean Beatha

      No, that would require acknowledging “the boy” is worthy of his time. Howie’s been neglected (yes, that is a form of abuse, but it’s on the low end of the scale), but he hasn’t been subjected to the hatred that Ruth’s received.

      1. thejeff

        There is not yet evidence he’s been subjected to the same hatred. I’ll accept that, but not blanket statements that he hasn’t been.

        Of course, we’ve seen far more of Ruth and more of Ruth & Clint’s interaction. For as much as we’ve seen of the two of them, I’d be surprised if we’d yet seen direct evidence of abuse of Howie, but that’s just because we haven’t seen enough.

        1. Leorale

          I kinda got the impression that Howie is more like collateral to further keep Ruth in line. It’s not uncommon for one sibling to absorb abuse in order to try their best to protect another from it. 🙁

        2. thejeff

          It’s not uncommon, but there have been hints already and “the Boy” is another strong one. Despite being apparently cheerful, Howie’s behavior isn’t exactly normal. I already suspected it was a coping mechanism.

          Let’s not turn this into a whole round of “Well okay, now we know he’s abusive to Ruth, but we’ve got to give him the benefit of the doubt. He might not be doing the same to Howie.”

          It’s possible, but the red flags are there and he doesn’t deserve any benefit of doubt.

        3. Leorale

          Oops, my apologies — I have zero intention of giving Clint any benefits or minimizing his abusiveness. (Holding people hostage would still be abuse, and Clint is still horrible.)

          I took my suspicion from Ruth’s fear that her failure could make things worse for Howie…
          However, you’re right, that absolutely doesn’t mean it isn’t already super terrible for Howie. Dang.

  80. Deanatay

    In her journal Billie is Super-Unruh, Problem Solver! Champion of half-asians, red-headed depressives, and whitebread Christian fundies everywhere! Foe to laundry chutes, abusive step-gramps, and Stupid Walkies!

    Her Secret Weakness? Sweet, sweet booze.

    Alas, not so secret.

    1. Deanatay

      Team up with Amazi-Girl? Inevitable.

      1. BenRG

        And Amazi-Girl will never understand why Billie keeps calling her ‘Sal’.

  81. Guairdean Beatha

    “You really are your father’s daughter.” I wonder if Ruth’s Dad’s infidelity was with another guy. That would explain a lot of the hate.

  82. missilentmurmur

    I find it strange that I can look at sir as calmly as I do. I’m very stressed and anxious about having to complete my thesis in a month, because my family constantly rushes to remind me that I also am an investment and I am nothing until I get my degree. It helps to some degree that it is also my own goal. But I get less and less sleep and I have to ask my boyfriend for reassurrance from time to time that I am a valuable person even if I postpone my graduation. So, taking this into consideration, this arc should hit close to home, but still I can’t really identify with it.

    (I’ve been trying for a while now, I’d like to get a Walky or Jason or Jocelyn gravatar)

    1. missilentmurmur

      Aaand it is finally Jason 🙂

      1. Bagge

        You sir, are top notch! Mighty fine bowtie if I may say so. Pip, pip.

    2. Guairdean Beatha

      Good luck with the thesis, I’m sure you’ll do well. I can only leave you with the wise words of Neil DeGrasse Tyson: “You Matter! Unless you multiply yourself times the speed of light squared, and then you energy.”

  83. Findx

    I really like the way you drew Billie’s hands in the first panel, they’re very solid.

    1. JBento

      “You have very solid hands.”
      “The better to punch you with.”

  84. JBento

    I forgot yesterday! Here’s to hoping Gorsuch gets blocked! You’d need to flip… 3? republicans for him not go through, right? What are the chances of that happening?

    1. BBCC

      If folks keep calling, you might be surprised.

    2. thejeff

      More complicated. Supreme Court nominees can currently be filibustered. That takes 60 votes to overcome, so all we need to do is keep all (but 7?) of the Democrats together.

      However, with a simple majority procedural vote Republicans can change the filibuster rules for SC nominations. The real challenge is to keep them from doing that. Which will be somewhat easier than actually flipping Republican votes on Goresuch himself.

      1. JBento

        *eye twitch*

        You can use a block that takes 60 votes to overcome, but you can remove the possibility of putting up that block with 51?

        WHY DOES NOTHING ABOUT YOUR GOVERNMENT SYSTEM MAKE SENSE?!

        1. BBCC

          I’m sitting here rubbing my temples.

          Honestly, sometimes, the US’ government system hurts worse than ice cream. I mean, Canada’s isn’t perfect (hey there, electoral reform!) but the US’ just…..what the fuck.

        2. thejeff

          It’s actually worse than that. 🙂

          The filibuster exists as an artifact of Senate Rules, not a law or a Constitutional requirement. Somewhere back in the early 1800s, the rule allowing the Senate to proceed on a motion by simple majority vote was removed in a cleanup of Senate Rules. The Senate at the time generally worked by unanimous consent and the removal didn’t create any immediate problems. Once someone noticed, filibusters started. Various rules were changed over the years to limit and end them. Those rules changes were always done by the rules, which allowed them to be filibustered under the existing rules.
          The catch is this: The Senate determines its own Rules, according to the Constitution. No other entity can interfere – unless those Rules violate the few restrictions laid down in the Constitutions. If there is a question about what Senate Rules mean, it is a majority vote of the Senate that determines that interpretation. So, if the Senate Rules appear to allow the filibustering of Rules changes, but a Senator questions that and finds 50 other are willing to vote to agree, then the Senate Rules do not actually say what they appear to say.
          This has historically been hard to do, since Senators tend to not like being quite so blatant as to go on the record saying that X = not X, but we’ve been moving towards a paradigm where all the old traditions and gentlemen’s agreements that made the US government work are being abandoned in favor of “letter of the law” and sheer naked power politics.

          As for why? Much of the weirdness of US government comes from little of it actually being designed. It just growed, like Topsy.

        3. JBento

          So, your first paragraph says that there were tactics to impede governance, but you could remove those tactics. But only if the people using those ways to impede governance were okay with them being removed. It’s like you could stop a thief from robbing you, but only if the thief didn’t want to rob you in the first place.
          Your second paragraph is basically saying that the “checks and balances” USAmericans keep talking about exist, but they’re applied at the discretion of the people they would check and balance. I am now no longer surprised that the investigation into your attorney general’s ties to Russia falls under the purview of the attorney general. I don’t even want to try and understand this bit “So, if the Senate Rules appear to allow the filibustering of Rules changes, but a Senator questions that and finds 50 other are willing to vote to agree, then the Senate Rules do not actually say what they appear to say” because I’m afraid of breaking reality and summoning Yog-Sothoth.

          Is this why republicans are so against legalising weed? Because then people could get in the frame of mind to actually understand how the system works, and they’d try to get elected to their positions?

        4. thejeff

          Kind of. The main hitch is that practically speaking you can’t take the barrier away to let you do the thing, then put it back to keep the other side from doing what they want next time they have a slim majority. Once someone actually pulls the trigger on one of these tools, it’s exploded. Republicans have generally been able to make more use of the barriers recently, since they’re the party of “government shouldn’t really do anything”. The question is whether they’ll all be willing to blow this very useful tool up for this short term gain.
          A Supreme Court nominee is a big prize, so it might be worth it. There’s a handful of Republican Senators who might be willing to block it, on the grounds that they’ll want to be able to block later Democratic nominees.

        5. JBento

          Thanks.

        6. BBCC

          I repeat: It hurts worse than ice cream.

        7. Arioch

          Kind of, basically. It’s like thejeff said, the big problem with removing a barrier is you can’t put it back. Once it is gone, it is gone. I remember a story recently out of I think one of the Carolinas where that happened. They removed a different barrier. Some rule or other in regard to voting and now they want to reinstate it and it is causing problems.

  85. Jack Faire

    “God you have so many mental issues” Yeah you know what doesn’t help those? Being an abusive piece of shit.

    1. JBento

      “Ugh, why are you on fire?” says man holding gas can and box of matches.

    2. Cerberus

      It seems like abusers love to bang on about mental health and how it makes someone untrustworthy because they know full well how much PTSD and other mental health struggles they cause in the people they abuse and want them to be discredited before they can ever get a chance to speak on their own behalf.

  86. Shanunu

    Is he really gonna walk around the girl’s dorm unattended? Come on that is definitely against the rules. Someone needs to see him and report him man, that would be freaky as heck, just some guy walking around the dorms trying to be nice and get information about who is who.

    1. Leorale

      Yeah, that would look creepy for sure, like he’s ogling teens in their towels.

    2. BBCC

      He’s not in the girl’s dorm room. He’s in the hall, in the RM’s office. People are allowed to be in the residence hall when they don’t live there, because of things like offices, classrooms, exams, food, etc.

      1. Leorale

        Oh, you’re right, the meeting is ‘downstairs’, on the main floor, no towels to see here.

        1. BBCC

          Plus this building doesn’t have locks or keys for the elevator or stairs or anything. It’s only propriety that keeps people from going up to the dorms unattended. The same thing is what keeps people from the boys wing and the people in the girls wing from crossing over to each other’s wings – because there’s no door or anything, they’re just further walks down the hall.

        2. thejeff

          Pretty much nothing keeps boys and girls from crossing over to each other’s wing, as we’ve seen repeatedly.

        3. BBCC

          Exactly – there’s no barriers to it. The only thing that would is propriety and these are college students, so they’re unlikely to be too stunned by it (especially once folks start hooking up).

    3. thejeff

      And frankly, even being in the dorm on the girl’s floor wouldn’t be that strange. It’s not like the boys don’t just wander over whenever they want. There’s no actual security during the day at least.
      I suspect an older adult no one recognized there alone would get some strange looks and maybe questioned by an RA or some other authority, but a parent walking up unescorted to their kid’s room wouldn’t be that big a deal.

    4. David M Willis

      One can definitely walk around in THIS location unattended, and I have the reference photography for this scene to prove it!

      1. JBento

        That photograph is from the fake media.

        1. Clif

          That’s what they want you to think.

        2. thejeff

          So the story that the photograph is from the fake media is actually from the fake media? Or is that what they want you to think?

          I’m so confused.

        3. JBento

          I think they want you to think that the photograph, being technically media, is therefore fake media FROM the fake media. It’s… fake mediaception.

  87. Nico

    I aspire to be Billie in this comic! Haven’t been very successful at de-escalating or defending others in my time.

    1. Leorale

      You can learn it! You’ve been getting more skillful every time.

      (When we’re all great at this, we still won’t always be measurably successful. However, I bet you’ve shown somebody that their situation is not normal, and/or that they’re worth your efforts, that’s really powerful even though the abuser doesn’t run away.)

  88. Remmington Steele

    Just kick stick away, ffs.

  89. Falling Star

    What the fuck is wrong with his chin?

    1. JBento

      Finally, someone who agrees with me! It is SO WEIRD that it remains unpunched!

    2. Guairdean Beatha

      “What the fuck is wrong with his chin?” Which one?

  90. Adam Black

    OK Gang, I have some uncomfortable feelings about this recent plots.

    I’ve decided that since it’s a provocative piece of pop-art, it’s fair , just and honest to invite people out of a sense of goodwill to critique my reactions and feeling, in a symmetrical way that any of talk of the comic as provoking strong feeling with us.

    I realize this comic attracts clueless disingenuous concern trolls and abuse deniers ( because it’s well written enough )and concern trolls. I am not one of them.

    I honestly think I may have something to learn by my reactions to it, but I don’t know what it is.

    First off, I don’t like this last week. Ruth is not my favorite character, —and until now I thought she got off easy for her Problems in comparison— to chaos she caused and didn’t fix. Obviously. To all who are dead inside this has been blown to smithereens.

    Instead we have been given a full tilt, easy explanation, one sufficiently horrific it even explain s away all Ruth’s abuse, and I just hate that! It’s not that I have no empathy for her, but it’s hard seeing her collapsed in a fugue zombie state her will and agency simply erased by this man.

    But I also hate the way it’s written. Yes, it fits, it wraps up Ruth’s Problem in a shit tired bow, but it feels too easy.
    Now I’m forced to exculpate Ruth totally and I’m not ready. I wanted her to earn that. She was capable of growing and earning forgiveness. ( Maybe I needed more than foreshadowing. To digest this. We have never not seen Ruth dominate people and conversations. Her she is, transformer med into a weak passive hostage, a vessel , ragdoll for Sir to toss around. I feel the most empathy about her Depression . But even that seems like a total sham now. She doesn’t have depression. She’s PTSD from a lifetime of active physical and emotional abuse from a caregiver.
    This takes away what I could empathize about, and leaves in its place a worse condition that I just feel weird icky and helpless about.
    ( Yes it’s totally OK to Criticize my reactions and feeling s. That’s why I’m posting them. )
    I would have felt very different if I know the whole story of Ruth’s background earlier. My compassion for her would have been easier and natural. I see Ruth’s own abuse as acting out how her Sir treated her, when she had authority. And Ruth recognizes her culpability in this and the danger to her psyche for her to hold a position of power where she could abuse.

    For these reasons I wish this was written with more nuance, and Sir not written to be the monster responsible for all Ruth’s Problem s. I am not in denial that is currently the case. I am aware my opinion is on the wrong side of the fence. And most of the people( like me ) that wish Sir was written more sympathetically , are abuse denying douchebag.

    ( OK I’m falling asleep )

    If anyone wants to psychoanalyze my responses instead of fighting with those inevitable douches, please go ahead.

    1. JBento

      There’s plenty of people here who, because of their own experiences, will be able to tackle most of your post. I am not one of them, but I wanted to chime in on something:

      You don’t have to excuse Ruth. For anything. Her PTSD may be the cause and explanation for why she acts the way she does (or it might not; Ruth might just naturally be an abusive asshole – they can get PTSD as well), but it’s not an EXCUSE. It’s much the same with Amber/AG and how she, e.g., tries to goad people into attacking her so she can beat them up “in the right” or abuses Danny. Just because they have endured terrible things it does not make it less terrible of them to visit terrible things upon others.

    2. Leorale

      That’s really generous of you, to think out your position so carefully and to invite responses.

      Ruth still has depression. Diagnoses are fuzzy things that sometimes run into each other. Her dad probably had depression too or something similar (Clint called him a collection of mental illnesses), suggesting a possible genetic/chemical component for Ruth. So it’s quite likely that Ruth’s brain chemistry was influenced or ignited by the abuse, but that doesn’t mean she would’ve necessarily got away scott free even in a supportive family. Brains are complicated and we don’t understand them very well yet at all.

      Also, plenty of people with PTSD manage not to abuse people. Even though we now know that Ruth had way more cards stacked against her, she will still have to wrestle with her previous behaviours. Her abusive tendencies may not be her fault exactly, but they’ll still be her responsibility, and that’s hard.

      1. Leorale

        To clarify, I mean Ruth experiences depression and trauma. Depression and PTSD can totally go together, and that seems super likely here.

        You might want to consider: the writing that you want for Clint is the polar opposite of what you want for Ruth — Clint should be written more sympathetically (for example, by having reasons for his terribly abusive behaviours), but Ruth shouldn’t. This may be benign, like that you were more invested in Ruth as solely a bully, but it’s worth examining to see if it’s something else where you want Clint to be kinda forgivable, but not Ruth.

        1. Leorale

          The something else could be sexism or illness-stigmatization that you’ve absorbed from the culture — that stuff is pernicious and none of us are immune to it — if so, you’ll want to root it out and set it on fire, as you always do when you find out you’ve absorbed a harmful cultural message.

          But, since you specified that you’d be interested in some armchair internet psychoanalysis…

          I wonder whether Ruth is a stand-in for you, or at least, your most hated and depressy qualities, and you’re not willing to forgive yourself yet, particularly without a long struggle. Perhaps you want Ruth to work for her forgiveness, just like you hafta, for your shared depression.

          (That would also explain why you felt so let down when you thought you no longer shared a diagnosis. She can’t be you anymore, so you are concerned you won’t be able to reject her/that-part-of-yourself anymore.)

          And/or, it sounds like you feel like PTSD is inherently worth more sympathy than depression is. Perhaps some residual idea that trauma isn’t a person’s fault, but that depression is. That’s a very pernicious cultural message, too, plus it’s something depression loves to claim, so my money’s on this one.

          If you were abused, some part of you thinks, you wouldn’t be at fault (and/or held accountable) like you are for depression. If you were abused, you could forgive yourself, as would others.

          Your depression is not your fault, any more than somebody’s PTSD would be. For both, the brain does wonky stuff, and you can take important steps to mitigate the illness’s impact on yourself and others. For both, you’re still holding the bag when you’ve acted out, and you have to clean it up afterwards, and you try to prevent it as best you can. For both, sometimes people can’t forgive you even though they know it was extra-hard to act your best. (The hall residents definitely haven’t all forgiven Ruth, for example.)
          You know?

    3. Fart Captor

      First of all, Ruth has depression. The fact that she’s been abused and might also have PTSD doesn’t change that. Those aren’t interchangeable attributes.

      Second, even if Ruth’s awful behavior as RA were exclusively a result of her grandfather’s abuse, it was still her behavior. It’s an explanation, not an excuse.

      It’s even been shown within the comic. Rachel – and probably others in the floor – hasn’t automatically forgiven Ruth simply because she was depressed and being blackmailed. Ruth herself doesn’t feel she should be allowed to continue as RA even if she still wanted the job.

      There’s plenty of nuance there. I think you’re just looking for it in the wrong places.

    4. Gwen

      First, depression and PTSD are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they often occur in tandem.Check Wikipedia – 79% of women with PTSD have at least one comorbid psychiatric disorder. So if for some reason you can sympathize with depression and not PTSD, perhaps you can have your sympathy back. I would hope that you can sympathize with suffering, regardless of what diagnosis has been put on it.

      As to your larger point, understanding a strong contributing reason for Ruth’s unacceptable behavior doesn’t absolve her of it. I’m speaking as someone with bipolar who has done some rather stupid things while manic, depressed or mismedicated. My actions weren’t 100% my *fault*, insofar as my brain chemistry was so far off that I wasn’t entirely in control of myself. Repairing the damage is still my *responsibility,* as is learning ways to manage the situation better next time.

      Basically what I’m saying is I still see plenty of room for nuance here.

    5. HeySo

      “We have never not seen Ruth dominate people and conversations. Her she is, transformer med into a weak passive hostage, a vessel , ragdoll for Sir to toss around.”

      That’s false, we have seen her like that before. In fact, it’s been quite a while since she dominated anyone.
      She collapsed into her unresponsive state as part of her psychotic break, quite recently. She’s still shellshocked from it, and speaking from experience, anything that triggers that same state is going to send you back into your unresponsive state, if not encourage a panic attack or anxiety attack.

      While it may be that you’re just not familiar enough with common psychological conditions to be able to relate to them, a lot of your current phrasing seems to indicate you simply have forgotten a lot of the recent arc’s development.

      Well, there are worse excuses to reread, right? 🙂

      1. thejeff

        And the first time we, and Billie, saw her like that was that phone call from Sir. Which had her cringing on the phone and agreeing with every thing he said – then drinking herself into a stupor after the call.

        All with Billie watching from the closet.

    6. OBBWG

      Ruth as an abuser has been explained, but not excused. Ruth has been a bully/abuser. That is not yet resolved. If anything, her going back to being the RA could make things worse.

      If I had to deal with Ruth in the real world, I would probably hate her. I was bullied throughout middle school many eons ago. I thought I was long past that until recently. In the past year I have been in a position of power and discovered several people under me are (adult) bullies. Several of my colleagues have warned me off on dealing with these people saying my actions have been too rash. It made me realize how much I absolutely hate bullies and would love to take them down. Ruth falls into that category. If I were under her supervision in college, I would have probably knuckled under and closed off because I was not yet ready to face someone like her. If my (hypothetical) daughter were under Ruth’s supervision and reported her actions to me, I would be demanding Ruth’s head. (We have seen Ruth’s softer side, but that is known to a relative few. Most have just seen her bullying side.)

      All that said, right now I feel sympathy for her. Her suffering at this time is not due to her being a bully or abuser but due to some poor decisions that caused little harm to others and by her being abused. What is happening to her now is not fair punishment for her bullying.

      Her punishment or redemption as a bully/abuser will come later. She still has to earn that. I strongly suspect she will grow from this and become a much better person. Over time I was able to forgive the people who bullied me because they and I matured and grew. I expect Ruth’s charges will forgive her if she changes and makes amends. But at this moment, she is not yet exculpated.

  91. a snow ʍousɐ

    Last panel Billie ass

    i’m so sorry

  92. chris73

    Theres quite a few things I like about this comic, I like that theres no quick resolutions it rarely happens in real life. I like the drama (lets face it drama makes everything better) but one of the other things I like is the bravery the characters display in the face of the soul crushing defeats they’re likely to face

    Take Billie for example, especially the scene where Chloe first walks in on them, she knows her resistance is futile, she knows its going to turn to crap but shes still in there

    She can’t physically take on Clint (he’d take her out fairly easily) and even if she did drop him it’d turn out worse for her (beating up a war vet is not a good look) in the long run

    But shes still in there fighting even if shes not completely sure what shes fighting (Clint, the system, Clint representing the system?)

    and that’s good

  93. Tufto

    I get the feeling that by “fires” he means Billie. He’s clearly not able to intimidate her, so he “fixes the problem”, as he sees it, by going via the administration.

    Well, whatever he means, he’s a thoroughly unpleasant individual. I really, really hope this doesn’t break Ruth and Billie up *again*, though.

    1. HeySo

      No matter his influence, I doubt it’s enough to take on a Billingsworth (remember that they’re both rich and friends with Walky’s socially influential parents)- so there shouldn’t be anything of real concern that he’d be able to do to her.

  94. Krys Brynhildr

    Is it just me who feels like Billie’s rant is mainly just her trying to be extremely intimidating to the massive war veteran looking old man than anything?

    I mean, I don’t doubt that she’d at least try to back it up if blows came to blows, but just from her facial expression I can’t take her “Crazy Loose Cannon with nothing to lose” comment as being intended as anything more than a bluff because she has to do something but knows she’s probably outmatched by the old man who just no-sold her fake punch.

    1. thejeff

      I don’t know. She can throw down with Ruth and Ruth took down Blaine. A lot of these girls are powerhouses. Don’t judge them by their size.

      Besides, he’s old and has a bum leg. Don’t fight fair. 🙂

      1. chris73

        The other side of the coin is who is to say Clint would fight fair? As you say hes got a bum leg but he also has a cane.

        Probably best to hope it doesn’t come to that

      2. Krys Brynhildr

        Well, I mean, its not that I don’t think she could manage it with a cheap shot or two, and she’s definitely at the perfect height level for gut punching the bastard if not taking advantage of other choice targets if it came to that.

        I more of meant that this isn’t say an Amber/A-Girl style RAGEMODE “Crazy Loose Cannon TM” sort of expression. This seems a lot more like when she was trying to fight the hospital front desk person for her right to see Ruth, where she’s making claims she hopes will work but isn’t necessarily sure she can back up.

        Which honestly makes her seem a lot more brave for what she’s doing, even if its hard to tell if she has any sort of plan. I mean she looks pretty surprised when he actually goes along with it, or more to the point basically just totally ignores her, but it really reminds me of how my older siblings would get bullies who were trying to pick on me to back down even if the bullies were “bigger older kids” than even they were.

        So, yeah, good job Billie for standing up for the one you love, even with having to stand up to that stonewall of a man to do so.

    2. Leorale

      I read it that she’s confused and awkward and isn’t sure what to do, but she’s totally doing it anyway, so she’s trying to mask her uncertainty. Ie, she’s trying to sell her legit awkwardness as if it’s all part of her being crazy/threatening.

      It’s not the most convincing cover, but her intervention still totally works to derail Clint and get him to go away, which is awesome. Go Billie go!

      1. Krys Brynhildr

        Thats probably a better way to sum up the feeling I was getting from it actually.

        That said, pretty sure that knowing enough about him to realize the need to step in would be enough to make everyone want to at least imagine decking him. I know there’s been plenty of that sentiment in the comments at least the last few days.

  95. BP

    (mantra-ing) Her eye color is back, her eye color is back, her eye color is back…

    Also still super proud of Billie. <3

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