176

Spot
Posted on March 26, 2014 by David M Willis

176 thoughts on “Spot”

  1. NCP19

    The highest of fives?

    1. Wonder Wig

      The cheesiest of fives.

    2. Cheryl

      OMG I LOVE YOU!!

      1. Doctor_Who

        Shouldn’t you have changed your name to Shirleen and added poofy hair to your avatar by now?

        1. Mr. Random

          Carol changed into Shirleen.

        2. DRen

        3. Felix

          …and stop calling me Shirly!

    3. cybik

      B* please.

      Higher than the highest of fives.

      1. N0083rP00F

        I would hasve thought Hi C – Grape or Orange though?

        1. Jeff K!

          Ecto Cooler.

  2. Yotomoe

    Neither is sexy makeouts…stupid outdated manual.

    1. KingMabel

      I’ve heard that next year’s manual will include training for sexy makeouts.

    2. newllend

      I will help you fund a sexy makeout manual , but no promises I’m broke as shit.

      1. Badeyes

        And thus the donation can was passed around, gaining much coinage.
        Strangely there wasn’t a nickel to be found though…

        1. Opus the Poet

          Mike has all the nickles.

        2. Tenn

          Not all. Various mothers have some too.

        3. No

          Not for long…

      2. ocbrad1

        I hear there’s a couple of useful manuals over at Slipshine…

      3. Porglezomp

        But are you going to get bought out by facebook? I don’t know if I want to fund your manual if you’re gonna get bought by facebook.

  3. EvergreenFir

    Ruth is your favorite Willis? Mine too!

    1. Jay Eff

      Ruth is my favorite Willis, too!
      Which Willis is your favorite, everyone??

      *ducks*

      1. Jen Aside

        What Willis choo talkin bout?

      2. CanvasWolfDoll

        ItsWalky!era willis. dunno, the character just seemed more fun-loving then.

    2. Van Dyne

      huh, David is my favorite Willis.

      1. Doctor_Who

        He’s my third, after Bruce and WhatChuTalkinBout.

        1. MM

          Mr. Cartoonist Willis, sir, if you turn this into an official poll, I promise I will vote for you.

        2. Ess

          I’m partial to Damnyou Willis, myself.

        3. Porglezomp

          Seconded

    3. Jen Aside

      says “whenever” so it must change based on who he’s writing for?

    4. someguywithakatana

      Bruce is my favorite Willis. Although Chuck is a close second.

      1. someguywithakatana

        that moment you post a joke and realize you’re entirely unoriginal and nothing you say is funny and nobody loves you and the room is full of spiders and they’re burrowing into my eyes Jesus Christ help

        1. Deathjavu

          Maybe lay off the acid? I’m not a doctor, but it seems like it might help your situation.

          Cutting out meth could help too. Again, no expert.

        2. Badeyes

          Until he brought up spiders just figured it was due to the Mary avatar.

  4. Reltzik

    Do a high-five hug! That way you cover all bases, save liability insurance.

    1. Paidraig

      That sounds like a recipe for a concussion. Ruth’s repertoire grows ever deadlier.

    2. Yotomoe

      Just do the black guy handshake! It covers all the bases.

      1. Drunken Nordmann

        How does it go?

        1. Yotomoe

          First you hold your hand out and give your companion a psuedo waist high high-five (mid-five?)
          Afterwards you grab each other’s hands and interlock fingers into a tight grip.
          Finally you pull towards one another and using your free arm rap it around your companion. You may pat their back if your bond is particularly strong.

        2. Drunken Nordmann

          Some parts of it remind me of the handshake we used in my youth.

        3. Geo

          We call that “the man hug.”

  5. Doctor_Who

    “Sympathy via light physical contact? I’ve got a source for that, actually.”

    1. Yotomoe

      “I used to have one of those…but she is a lying drunk”.

      1. Kaiden

        “Well you can share mine if you want. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know what alcohol is.”

        1. Yotomoe

          OR MAYBE SHE’S SO WASTED SHE FORGOT HOW TO BE A HUMAN.

        2. Doctor_Who

          It’s hard to imagine drunk Dina. Maybe her personality reverses like Mike.

          So she’d be an extroverted creationist. Basically Joyce, then.

        3. BlackIo

          Well, she did get drunk enough in the Walkyverse to end up sleeping with Mike.

        4. begbert2

          I’m not sure she was the one who was drunk. Now hush before Willis swoops down and crushes us both, leaving only fire and ruin in his wake.

        5. Gigafreak

          http://www.itswalky.com/d/20030531.html

          It’s not explicit that Dina has already drank from the bottle, though it is heavily implied.

        6. nothri

          So…a typical Friday night, then?

  6. Raine

    High fiving is a sacred art. It took my sensei decades to perfect it.

  7. Dorsilus

    I’ve actually been really eager to see if Ruth would ever go talk to Amber. I’m excited it’s happening, and once again I find myself way too invested in this comic. Damn you, Willis!

  8. Poklonskaya

    Enough of this “who beat up who?” stuff, author! We need to find out who this vigilante is!

  9. Kernanator

    I’d suggest both, but that would probably be awkward and uncomfortable to pull off.

    1. andmangrewproud

      Christian side hug plus arching high five. Next.

    2. Yotomoe

      Clearly you’ve never done the black guy handshake!

    3. Jen Aside

      The bro hug?

  10. Mr. Random

    This. Is. Interesting. For a second I thought she was saying she knew it was her. I’m slightly disappointed.

    1. Jay Eff

      Hey I thought that, too!
      It was beginning to look like Ruth was going all Maxine Gibson on us..

  11. Triniking

    Not sure if it’s a bad sign that I breathed a sigh of relief that Blaine ain’t dead.

    1. Triniking

      And Ruth was kinda close to doing a Gendou Ikari pose in the last panel.

    2. Opus the Poet

      That would be because you don’t want Amber to be a killer, especially a patricidal killer. Silly spell check, patricide and variants thereof are perfectly valid words, like suicidal.

  12. Super Duper

    Guys:
    What if Amber accidentally kills her own father, and has to live with the consequences? And she feels bad and stuff.

    1. Sock

      She’d be like batman!

      Only darker!

    2. Soulend

      Girls : Why are you not affected by this?

      Then she’ll give her Amazi-girl costume to Dina, and make a super-villain’s one for her new career

      1. tinfoil theory

        Aren’t all vigilantes villains by definition anyway?

        1. Opus the Poet

          Just like the difference between a freedom fighter and a terrorist.

    3. newllend

      That might send her over the edge she’s already wondering if she’s a bad person that would just convince her.

  13. Plasma Mongoose

    Are hugs part of your training Ruth?

    1. Opus the Poet

      The dialog would say so. Maybe not a practiced part but a part none the less. I did like the high five suggestion for Blaine being in the hospital.

    2. Triniking

      How else is she gonna squeeze the angst out of her charges?

      1. Doctor_Who

        “BE HEALED!” ~Hug

        …I can actually totally see Joyce doing that.

        1. petsinwinter

          That’s how Butters does it, basically.

    3. Yotomoe

      I don’t know how she passed her training then.

      1. begbert2

        “Okay, good, good -let’s see how you did. Oh. Well, you only broke *one* rib this time; that’s a big improvement! I have a feeling it’s only going to take one or two more tries for you to pass! Okay, bring in the next volunteer!”

      2. John

        “Thank you for your, ah… assistance with the trust falls, Ms. Lessick. Now we’re going to be practicing ‘showing sympathy through light physical contact’. Everyone turn to your training partner and give them a caring, reassuring hug.”

        *Ruth slams her partner against a wall and kisses her*

        “… Oh, what the hell, good enough. We haven’t got all day here. But you might try using a little less tongue next time, Ms. Lessick. Now, moving on to ‘establishing yourself as a kind and caring leader’…”

    4. Drakkin the Alien

      would they hug and share feelings?

  14. Sensedog

    “Blaine wasn’t attacked. He simply fell on his keys…”

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      You don’t often see too many fist-shaped keys these days.

    2. MM

      He ran into my fist. He ran into my fist ten times.

      1. timemonkey

        He had it coming.

        1. Batman

          He only had himself to blame.

        2. Charlie Spencer

          If you’d been there, you’da done the same.

      2. Plasma Mongoose

        …and that’s terrible. =3

        1. Jay Eff

          Did you hear? A huge whale just took Amazi-Girl’s shoes!

      3. Cholma

        “He had it coming, he had it coming
        He only had himself to blame
        If you’d have been there, if you’d have seen it
        I betcha you would have done the same”

      4. TPman

        The first time I was just doing some stretches when he ran at me from my blind spot.I couldn’t see him ‘kay?
        Then when he got up, I guess he thought I punched him so he ran at me again. I just kind of held my fist out in front of me- unmoving, just holding it there, you know, to keep some distance between me and him. Then he runs into it again. Like 7 or 8 times again.
        Then the cops show up and somehow it’s my fault.

        1. TPman

          And officer Mick’s kind of a clutz, right? So he drops his gun and I pick it up for him, but being the butterfingers I am…

        2. Bill

          Mit kersek, en itt?
          Azt mondjok, hogy a hires Lakem lefogta a ferjemet en meg lecsaptam a fejet.
          De nem igaz, en artatlan vagyok.
          Nem tudom mert mondja Uncle Sam hogy en tettem.
          Probaltam a rendorsegen megmayarazni de nem ertettek meg.
          De csináltam?
          Huh-uh! “NOT GUILTY”

    3. The Meek Ninja

      I thought he fell down a flight of punches.

      1. newllend

        No it was more like a flight of…fists

    4. Yotomoe

      He mistakenly opened up a can of whoopass.

      1. newllend

        Haha best one yet

        1. Drunken Nordmann

          I bet it exploded in his face.

        2. Zephyr, God of the West Wind

          FAAAAAAAACE

    5. Heavensrun

      He fell down an elevator shaft.

      …onto some bullets.

  15. David Herbert

    It’s been switched out for a fist-bump.

    1. John

      I’m pretty sure only terrarists do that.

      1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

        Those iguanas sure are vicious.

  16. JessWitt

    To visit or not to visit? That’s a tricky question.

  17. Darwin

    Ruth using the tiny amount of empathy in her toolbox. I find this character growth and salute it.

  18. Cheryl

    the highest of fives!

    1. KingMabel

      Don’t tempt her, getting high is a gateway drug.

      Thats why i stopped buying markers.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Especially the gold and silver markers.

        1. KingMabel

          Oh don’t get me started. It took me months to work my way down to one green marker a day. Happy to say I’ve been marker free for 3 months.

        2. Badeyes

          Sooo, Sharpie, MarksALot, or Sanford King Size?

        3. Opus the Poet

          Crayola dry-erase… The colors…

  19. Pteropine

    It’s okay, Ruth, you’ve done plenty of things that aren’t in your training.

  20. nothri

    I can think of literally no two characters in this whole goddamn comic more in need of a hug than these two. So kill two birds with one stone over here!

    1. moby

      Stepping stone towards a great friendship between two broken people working together to heal…if only they would open up to each other… [seperate spotlights on each of them, to emphasize loneliness, as rest of stage is covered in darkness] [sad and sentimental music plays]

      Dumbing of Age stage musical production, apparently??

      1. Tainnryst

        And then, all of a sudden, I started picturing a musical DoA, with Amber as the main character. And it was all about how she became Amazi-Girl and – where the heck are we gonna find an actor/singer who can also do the over-the-top battle-dance moves…?

        1. begbert2

          I wonder if Chloë Grace Moretz can sing…

  21. newllend

    I think this is harder for Ruth than it is for Amber, and HO NO, someone attacked Ambers dad!? This is something Amber didn’t know and is not in anyway involved in said attack.

    1. TPman

      How much do you think Ruth knows? I think she suspects that Amber was involved somehow.

      1. tinfoil theory

        Ruth is here to apply for the position of sidekick.

  22. xain

    Blaine is in the hospital ….HIGH FIVES FOR EVERYONE!

  23. Dierna

    So all he got was some cracked ribs? Meh…

    1. Charlie Spencer

      She should visit him. Apparently she missed a few.

      1. Jen Aside

        ^ haha this

  24. newllend

    You know what would be Ironic? Danny get blaimed for the attack.

    1. timemonkey

      It’s not like there’s anything to link anyone to Danny. He certainly didn’t leave behind any evidence or anything that could be used to identify him.

      1. newllend

        Except hanging out with him the entire day then leaving with out a trace rite after he got beat up. That kind of makes him the prime suspect dude.

        1. tinfoil theory

          Certainly a person of interest, if only as a witness.

      2. RK

        Except a big ol’ wad of his DNA he so kindly gobbed onto the “victim” in question.

        1. The Weirdo

          You mean the saliva that likely got washed away in the rain and was never even noticed by Blaine because he was already unconscious?

          Yes, those crafty forensic scientists sure are something.

          In all seriousness, an actual DNA test for an attacker’s identity is worthless unless the perpetrator is already in their database. Nevermind the fact it takes from several weeks to several months to correctly process a DNA sample. As a matter of fact, because of these drawbacks, DNA tracing is rarely used in the actual process of finding the perp, despite what CSI would have you believe. It’s more commonly used to corroborate his identity so that the trial may go along more smoothly. The actual investigation has to be done through old-fashioned footwork.

          TL;DR: That big ol’ wad is useless unless Danny is a registered criminal.

        2. tinfoil theory

          It doesn’t take that long to process DNA anymore.

          Either way, DNA tests don’t identify a person uniquely. (Just think of identlical twins, for example, but it’s actually even less precise.) DNA evidence can only be used to exclude suspects.

      3. Rutee

        Danny’s white, so nobody’s going to assume he beat Blaine senseless just because Blaine says so. People will actually look at which one is bigger, and listen to Danny when he says “nope”.

    2. Yotomoe

      Everything is Danny’s fault.
      Actually if you think about it…in this case that’s not really wrong.

      1. begbert2

        You’re right; Blaine was truly an innocent victim.

        1. Yotomoe

          That’s not what I was saying at all, begbert.

    3. Drunken Nordmann

      Who in their right mind would believe that Danny could beat anyone up? I mean, he just looks – soft.

      1. blah

        Well, same applies for amber, so..

  25. Deathjavu

    Confused, outside-her-comfort-zone Ruth is pretty great. More interesting than alpha-bongo Ruth and less annoying than mopey emo-Ruth. Character development!

  26. TPman

    So your dad got beat up, high five?

    1. Badeyes

      More like-
      So your abusive sociopath asshole sperm donor got beat up, HIGH FIVE!!!

      1. Yotomoe

        We have proof he was also a Chauffeur at least once.

        1. Jen Aside

          Unwillingly, though, like “I expect to be paid for this service” kinda chauffeur.

  27. coolhandluke

    I feel like we are gonna find out about Ruth’s dad soon as she seems to also have father issues. This should be interesting/heartwrenching.

    1. David M Willis

      It’s a very short story.

      1. Deathjavu

        It’s quite impactful. You might want to sit down first. Yeah, in this car seat. It’s…comfy.

      2. Animal

        He’s a midget.

    2. newllend

      But Ruth already said that….you know what if you do know I’m not going to spoil it for you.

      1. coolhandluke

        did she? I sort of caught myself up in one swoop so I remember the bit on the phone but not the specifics

        1. John

          Ruth’s parents were killed by a drunk driver several years ago.

          Howard lives with their grandfather, who’s probably who Ruth was talking to on the phone that day.

      2. coolhandluke

        found it and that sure is heartwrenching

  28. Jesse

    I think the last few strips are the first time I liked Ruth.

    1. Bill

      Also started to have some likes for her when she was trying to make amends to Billie by repairing and returning her “Dragons” top.  The fact that she followed it up with a stolen cheerleader’s outfit only shows that old habits die hard.

    2. John

      I’ve liked Ruth since back in Roomies! when she punched Danny.

      1. Jesse

        I’ve only read this and Shortpacked, though.

      2. timemonkey

        But that was an entirely different, and much more likable, Ruth

    3. begbert2

      I liked Ruth when she showed up and nearly made Joyce piss herself out of femur-fear. Admittedly my fondness for her shriveled a little when she showed that she was a sadist in deed as well as word…

  29. Kladeos

    Go Ruth.

  30. The Weirdo

    It’s not really connected to this much, but…

    I’m really happy to see Ruth here. Specifically, trying to help Amber. She’s soldiering on, despite having lost some very important emotional support by no fault of her own. She’s still doing her job to the best of her ability, and doing a fine job of it, too.

  31. Zaxares

    … Ruth, you just gained +15 Influence with me. 🙂

    1. Zaxares

      And my comment takes on double meaning with my gravatar. XD

  32. Incubus

    That awkward moment in the DOA timeline when Dina is better at comforting someone that Ruth.

  33. MrMyerst

    Is it just me, Or does Ruth’s reaction imply she knows, more or less, what happened? I mean, she doesn’t really hand out the high fives- and this is exactly the sort of thing that might impress her :p

    1. GhostWriterL

      I don’t think she has any idea what Amber does in her spare time or why she’s hard to find. I don’t think she really cares, either. Her extent of caring right now is that she knows Blaine is an asshole and had to forcefully evict him from the dorm already, and given that Amber is perceivably such a shut in, can guess what kind of abuse he doled out on his daughter and that Amber hates him when she’s not terrified of him… so the best way she thinks to show that she understands is to essentially be all like “Good news, your dad got his ass beat!” except a bit more subdued.

    2. Joe

      She knows that Blaine’s an utter jackass, that he’s not allowed to visit Amber at school, and that he tried to do so anyway, resulting in an altercation in the dorms. She probably put together that, even if she doesn’t know exactly what went on between the two in their past, it must’ve been pretty damn bad to result in that ban on visitation.
      This is probably more of a “That ass got what was coming to him! Woo-hoo!” kind of high five.

      1. BlackIo

        Probably fueled by her own issues with her grandfather, if past dialogue is anything to go on.

    3. Jerden

      Possibly. Probably not though.

  34. asmcint

    Ruth has no idea how much that high five would be appreciated.

  35. ocbrad1

    “That second option’s not in my training.” I heart Ruth!

  36. RandomRedMage

    I cast my vote towards High-Five.

  37. Tenn

    Ruth is adorable doing the “moral support” part of her job. ^_^

  38. hack

    that hospital visit probably not a smart idea.

  39. Alexx

    Man, that’s strange. I commuted to my classes all through college, so I never experienced this RA thing. Then again, my wife stayed at her college and barely experienced an RA either. Are they supposed to do this? Do they actually hold floor meetings and stuff like that? Hadn’t thought of it until now.

    1. Tyler

      Speaking as a current RA, yes, this is exactly the sort of stuff that we’re expected to do (well if you’re a good RA and actually do your job anyways). Floor meetings, programs, bulletin boards, door decorations, all that sort of stuff. It varies depending on colleges though of course. Mine’s pretty big on RAs being a pretty active part of the residential community and actually doing their jobs while others are much more lax and laid back about things. Every RA is different, though, so your experiences will vary even in the same building.

    2. John

      Most of my RAs were more like the guys’. “I’m holding this floor meeting because they said to. Drunkenness is not consent, remember to wrap it, now get outta here, I’m missing the Simpsons.”

      One of my friends was an RA one year. He spent basically all his time that he wasn’t actually the RA on duty and required to be there outside his dorm so that he couldn’t be roped into assisting the morons residents on his floor.

      Of course, he’s also the one who wrote himself up for underage drinking one night – personally handed the form to the dorm director and everything (who filed it away safely under ‘B’, for “blackmail material”) – so he may not be the ideal RA role model.

  40. Volkai

    Yes, yes that is a good sign.

    1. ZORK

      It is indeed.

      After I commented here on DoA for the first time and saw that the gravatar I got was Ruth, my first thought was “Oh great, I got the mean RA”, but now i’m warming up to her.

      (also, I mostly replied to Volkai’s post so that Volkai’s Amber-avatar and my Ruth-avatar are actually looking at each other)

  41. Sir Robin

    Is Ruth putting together a Super-Team?

  42. Vree

    She’s in “Dina mode”.

  43. blah

    This is where amber smiles, cracks her knuckles, and says, “I have no idea who did that.”

  44. bob99938

    Oh Ruth, if only you knew

  45. kirwar4face

    Looks like I’ll have to stop reading till I can upgrade to a computer that can handle the video ads. By that time there should be a nice big backlog of DoA strips for me to read through. : )

    1. slicedtoad

      adblock my friend. Or at least some script blocker

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