227

Phony-baloney
Posted on July 31, 2017 by David M Willis

227 thoughts on “Phony-baloney”

  1. Doctor_Who

    Ruth: “No, see, that was your mistake. Next time thrust the knife UP, under the ribcage. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

    (Amber feverishly takes notes.)

    1. inqntrol

      Amber: Don’t people say that about food.
      Ruth: Well yeah, but you could say you were feeding him steel…through his stomach.

      1. Emperor Daniel

        Isn’t there a guy out there that once ate an entire airplane? (piece-by-piece obviously, not all at once)

        1. Opus the Poet

          There was a guy in the 1950s who ate a Jeep.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Good thing he was assigned to a medical unit.

        3. Draco Ro'Tor

          I’m glad that I wasn’t the only one who thought of that.

        4. Reltzik

          There was an old lady who swallowed a horse.

        5. NelC

          Of course.

        6. Delicious Taffy

          Plus, several TV sets, a few shopping carts, some computers, and various other things. Naturally, he was French.

      2. Tacos

        Ruth: Ryan clearly had an iron deficiency that needed to be fixed

        1. N0083rp00F

          That usually entails swinging the blade just a smidgen lower.

      3. Jamie

        It’s perfectly okay to stab down the throat, nick the stomach, and then carve upwards. I mean, it’s harder, but if you can hack that, more power to you.

  2. Emperor Daniel

    YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE AMBER

    YOU’RE A WIZARD NOW

    1. Emperor Daniel

      “Hey, you want the RA role?”

      “Hell no.”

    2. Doctor_Who

      Even the Dursleys were better parents than Blaine.

      1. C.T Phipps

        Blaine: How could I screw up being your father? I was never there!

        1. Delicious Taffy

          To be fair, my father also was never around, due to being a general dirtbag. And then he died (suicide) before I ever got the chance to form a memory of him, so that’s a nomination for Father of the Year, in my book.

    3. Keulan

      It was said that Amber would destroy the Sith, not join them. Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.

      1. Jonathan

        The Laser Fitted Armored Scorpion of Death was built to help mankind, not destroy it!

        1. MatthewTheLucky

          I designed the murder moon only for peaceful means!
          -Dr. Shark, nonadventures.com

        2. Emperor Daniel

          That’s almost literally Palpatine’s line in Darths and Droids, except it was called “the Peace Moon”. 😛

          Darths and Droids is a pretty fun read by the way, being a screencap-comic of the Star Wars series interpreted as if it was all the creation of a tabletop-roleplaying group. They started with The Phantom Menace (or “The Phantasmal Malevolence”) back in 2007, moving on afterward to Attack of the Clones (“The Silence of the Clones”) and Revenge of the Sith (“Revelation of the Sith”), before continuing into the Original Trilogy. They just finished off Return of the Jedi (“The Jedi Reloaded”) a little while ago, and are set to begin Rogue One tomorrow.

        3. MatthewTheLucky

          Ooh, Rogue One’s already ready? I thought it would be another week.

      2. Sean Murphy

        Bring balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.

        Shouldn’t that be, Bring Jedi Domination to the Force, not leave it balanced ?

  3. Miguel

    Ruth Amber time

  4. Stephen Bierce

    They were talkin’ ’bout HOCKEY
    The cat was talking back!
    ‘Round about then everything went black–
    But Wasn’t It A Party!

    1. Cholma

      Coulda been the whiskey
      Mighta been the gin
      Coulda been the three, four, 6-packs
      I don’t know, but look at the mess we’re in!

      1. thejeff

        First we drank some whiskey
        Then we drank some gin
        Then we drank tequila
        I think that’s what did me in
        Then we drank some brandy
        And the women had a dance

      2. Stephen Bierce

        So ya see Yer Honor
        It was all in fun
        That little bitty track meet down on Main Street
        Was just to see if the Cops could run!

  5. Sunny D

    I am bisexual, and I do not in fact, have that hair.

    Granted, I am male and my hair sticks straight out all the time no matter what, but that’s besides the point.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      But do you ever have the plotting expression, complete with steepled fingers? Do you plot?

      1. Sunny D

        I do sometimes, yes. What self respecting human doesn’t plot?

        1. Emperor Norton II

          None that I know of. In fact, the concept of not plotting is entirely alien to me…

          …

          …

          …

          I’ve figured out how we can reveal aliens secretly living among us!

        2. Tacos

          But what if they are aliens that are plotting to eat our pancreases? How would you reveal them then?

        3. Emperor Norton II

          Oh please, have you ever seen any form of entertainment media where aliens of any sort have ever plotted to do anything even remotely bad to humans?

        4. ValdVin

          They would be seen to stock up on maple syrup and Skittles, as a diet rich in pancreases would give them the natural insulin-making capacity to ward off diabetes.

        5. Needfuldoer

          How do you know they’re really aliens? Maybe they just lost the plot.

    2. Shiro

      I got that haircut when I was 14 and had just discovered “omg girls” so maybe it’s more of the bisexual girl haircut.

      1. Sunny D

        Idk man, maybe. Maybe it’s the bisexual female haircut? I’ve had essentially the same haircut since I was 10 and still a pure and good Christian boy.

      2. Emperor Norton II

        Well, I get you, ’cause girls are totally super cute!

        And I say that even though I’m not one!

        (I also say this because Carla is not in fact real and thus cannot come and kick my ass for stealing her lines.)

        (I hope.)

        1. Halpful

          I’m sure you had the best of intentions, but this comment made me feel weird.

          not sure if it’s lingering paranoia from the dexedrine or something actually weird about it.

      3. Tawdry Quirks

        I haven’t been able to commit to the full-fledged version of the bisexual haircut…bangs don’t work well on my hair, although my deep side part does work for a mock side-swept bang. Closest I’ll ever get is doing an a-line haircut.

    3. AlexDenton

      Always makes me laugh when someone says a certain haircut has a sexual orientation. All kinds of weird pictures pop into mind ^^

      1. Li

        Well, that’s not what anyone’s saying. These haircuts are popular enough among people of a sexuality that they’ve been used to signal that sexuality to other people. It is not remotely the same thing as haircuts gaining senitience.

        1. Goshii

          And the joke went completely over your head… its a pun on interpreting it literally:

          Bisexual Haircut: literally a haircut is bisexual

          instead of the implied Bisexual’s haircut or Haircut of Bisexuals

    4. SonicBlueRanger

      There’s been a thing on Tumblr for a while where people post pictures of Korra and Marceline the vampire Queen with that hair cut and have dubbed it the Bisexual Haircut.

      I’m Bi and a guy too and I’ve never had it. Can’t anyway since I’m also balding.

    5. R. Francis Smith

      I’m bald, and now I feel completely out of place about it. Can you actually be bald and bisexual both? (I just asked for the alliteration.)

  6. AutobotDen

    Am I the only one hoping for Ruth to go “I’m sorry I failed you when your parents visited.”???

    1. TheGrammarLegionary

      Personally I’m thinking Ruth is going to bring up Amber’s father (and for the love of all that is holy, I hope she does it as tactfully as possible). I’m kinda hoping Ruth has put two and two together, and recommends some therapy. Hell, that could be a weekly floor meeting for all the characters…

      1. Pl0x

        Group therapy led by Ruth? LOL

        1. nothri

          …..I mean…that could be fun. I wouldn’t want to be the one in charge of gathering the weekly supply of torches and pitchforks, though.

  7. Kris

    Is that what that hair is called? I didn’t think hair had a sexual orientation.

    1. Bonnie

      It’s just a running joke because a lot of bisexual characters have that hair cut, to the point where it became a meme. I, a bisexual have that haircut irl and refer to it as such lmao.

    2. Kamino Neko

      The Bisexual Haircut.

      1. Needfuldoer

        I’ll just leave this here…

    3. Reltzik

      Not only can hair have orientation, it can also have kinks.

      1. davidbreslin101

        I am walking around with SO MUCH LEWDNESS on my head. It’s great.

        1. Reltzik

          I just let mine all hang out.

        2. Leorale

          I’m sure Becky would be delighted if Dina’s hair can like her, too.

  8. tim gueguen

    Next strip, Ruth asks Amber how much it would cost to have her kill Ruth’s grandfather.

  9. William Leonard Reese Jr.

    Huh. I thought the ” bisexual haircut” was that . . .Not sure how to describe it right. When one half of the women’s hair is cut short but the other half goes down half their face and covers an eye? I think that’s the best way I can describe what I’ve typically seen described as the ” bisexual haircut”.

    1. Sunny D

      A sidecut. What you are describing is a sidecut

      1. William Leonard Reese Jr.

        Yes that is it exactly! My thanks!

        1. bluebird

          that’s the lesbian haircut 🙂 the bisexual haircut being a bob stems from fictional characters like korra , max caulfield and marceline

        2. Li

          It’s not really a “lesbian” cut. It’s also popular among nonbinary people and queer dudes. Also bi women.

          Undercuts are much more generally-queer.

        3. Egg

          That’s a “bob”? I always imagined “bob” was describing a much shorter haircut.

          I guess my perspective is skewed since I used to buzz my hair off on the (ir)regular (and only stopped bc I wasn’t diligent enough to do it on the regular-regular, and I look like a smurf when my hair’s growing out from a close buzz…)

    2. DinaWho

      Do you mean an undercut like Becky has? (I thought that one was considered the lesbian haircut tho)

      1. William Leonard Reese Jr.

        Huh. Hadn’t realized it, Becky’s is more unruly then I typically see, but yeah.

      2. Pl0x

        I consider it the queer haircut because lots of nonbinary people also have it. But also there are many similar variations of the undercut hair. I guess it’s the undercut that is really the queer thing about it.

      3. Pl0x

        Oh, also the side shave.

  10. C.T Phipps

    I wonder if Mary is one of the three. I assume that shit is kept anonymous.

    1. D.S

      “If evil weren’t nice, people wouldn’t do it.” -Mary . That panel, in the strip she said that in, was massively loaded. Assholish as she seemed, she also seemed haunted.
      There is Mary gloating over Ruth’s de-Ruthing and being an overall shit, and then there is Mary during this Druggo McStabbed arc where her personality has completely changed. It’s very possible she was one of the three and saw justice, for once, happen.

      1. blergh

        I vaguely remember her saying that, but I can’t remember the greater context and I want to go back and look at it with this possibility in mind. Do you remember what story arc it happened in, by chance?

        1. thejeff

          Early on, when they all went out looking for a church.

        2. Jamie

          Here you go: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/02-choosing-my-religion/avoid/

      2. poofdepoof

        Oooh I like this theory, especially because I feel like Mary has been somewhat… one-dimensional so far? (*flinches apprehensively*) And her recent behavior has confused me.

    2. Joe Covenant

      Not if there is a court case, I wouldn’t imagine it *could* be kept anonymous?

    3. begbert2

      We saw Mary just a few strips ago, and she seemed both not to be very impacted by this and to be unfamiliar with the idea that Ryan is the son of a pastor (which is totally part of his pickup line when approaching religious-seeming targets).

      I don’t think she was one of the three.

      1. thejeff

        The theory is her recent happiness is because Ryan’s been caught/eviscerated. Good point about the “pastor’s son”, but she could just have been hiding that she already knew that.

        Still, I doubt it as well.

  11. butts

    oh hello jacob’s right arm

    how are you

    1. Emperor Norton II

      You seem to be telling Jacob’s arm where you’d like it to be put…

      1. Spencer

        I used to ship it.

        Then the majesty of Joycob came into my life.

  12. Passchendaele

    I was hoping so badly that ryan was not a repeat offender. I hope that his hands, face, and the rest of him have been ruined, so that he may not harm anyone anymore.

    1. butts

      Ech. That guy knew what he was doing too well for it to have been a first attempt.

      1. Passchendaele

        ugh, true. I want to see what he looks like now, just to see how much of a sore thumb he’ll stick out as in a room.

  13. Puckish Rogue

    Looks like Joyce was less interested in helping Amber and more about getting stuff off her own chest or something, not that I blame her but still it was nice of Ruth to step in and remove Joyce

    I’m not saying Joyce doesn’t deserve to have her time or anything just that it probably wasn’t the best time for Amber

    Also has Ruth always been that tall?

    1. Ryek Hvek

      More like Amber is that short

      1. Fart Captor

        It’s both.

        1. Ryek Hvek

          Ruth is wearing her new RA Shoes, with a re-purposed Action Wedge once seen in PF Flyers, to provide the extra height to give her Real Authority.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Ruth looks like she’s about half a head taller than Joyce, who’s 5’4″ according to the wiki, so I’ll guess she’s about 5’7-5’9″.

          The bob makes her look a little taller, too.

    2. gkheyf

      i’m with you there. joyce could’ve been more tactful. her anger is not unjustified, it just seems to run things a bit more than is desirable

      1. Puckish Rogue

        Like I think she means to help but I’m just glad Ruth came in and de-escalated the situation

        I’ve long thought that Joyce has some anger issues to deal with, even before Ryan appeared, so she probably would have ended up making things worse

  14. gkheyf

    joyce still needs to learn that forceful helping is sometimes not ok, even if you’re pretty sure that this time you’ve got it right.

    maybe you are right that he deserved worse, joyce. maybe you’re not. i’d recommend laying off encouraging murder either way. amber’s dealing with some stuff that might require more finesse to handle.

    1. Orion Fury

      Damn it all.

  15. AnvilPro

    I’m glad Ruth stepped in, Joyce’s anger was starting to sound like blame for Amber not going far enough. Obviously Joyce didn’t intend for it to, but she’s a bit too involved

  16. Tacos

    Wasn’t the “bisexual haircut” an undercut? At least that’s what I’ve heard before.

    1. ScarvesandCelery

      The “bisexual haircut” alt text is presumably a reference to this meme:

      http://enthusiangst.tumblr.com/post/132670415248

      1. Commodore Jeep-Eep

        Is it just me, or is the standard bizexual haircut getting to be kind of the queer equivalent of giving Asian girls a dyed streak in their hair?

    2. blergh

      I think the undercut’s more the “lesbian haircut”. In media, this kind of bob has shown up on a lot of bisexual lady characters — think Korra, or Max from Life is Strange. If you look it up, seems like it’s a Thing.

      1. C.T Phipps

        It’s the “Sci Fi Haircut” so that’s a kind of weird thing to do. It’s also Audrey Horne’s haircut to me.

        1. blergh

          Eh, just something people joke about on the internet after noticing a pattern in media. The haircut is definitely not restricted to bisexuals. You’re totally right that Sci Fi ladies have a bob thing going on too — though often really angular and sharp.

      2. C.T Phipps

        Random Aside: Max and The Twin Peaks revival inspired me to do a female 1st person novel as my next work. I was so angry they didn’t do a Life is Strange 2 with her. Stupid VA strike (in which case, all my anger is at the companies not the strikers).

        1. blergh

          …I am intrigued. Similar themes to LiS and Twin Peaks too? Also yeah, Chloe having a different VA for the new game is throwing me off in previews/demos.

        2. C.T Phipps

          Yeah, I am writing I WAS A TEENAGED WEREDEER which was inspired by Max’s “Jane Doe” t-shirt. I am going with the idea of an urban fantasy in a small town–which seems to be going around as Charlaine Harris’ new series is about. Mine is in rural Michigan, though. I’m digesting a steady diet of Alan Wake, Deadly Premonition, Life is Strange, and so on–only focusing on the “Audrey/Max” hybrid character for my lead rather than an Agent Cooper.

          At least Ashley Burch is doing the writing for Chloe. That was something.

  17. Achallenger

    That is not the Joyce response I expected in panel 1

  18. Ryek Hvek

    Phony and baloney rhyme with spumoni and macaroni, and the hacked Muzak should be playing Mony Mony

  19. Rukduk

    “Three other girls came forward.” Jesus fucking Christ. Odds are those are only a small portion of his victims too, given how hard it is for rape victims to come forward because in addition to the horrible emotional trauma they have to deal with, there’s the fact that US law enforcement still has spotty record at best, shitty record at worst for treating abuse victims. Those three other girls are incredibly strong and brave. At the same time, Mary as one of Ryan’s victims who was too afraid to come forward seems more likely given that statement. And if that’s true, while I will always believe she has behaved shitty to a lot of people, it would still give context to (but not excuse or forgive) her actions. How much harm scarboy did is simply horrifying. And while Amber feels horrible about what she did, and she has every right to feel that way, what she did was heroic. Traumatizing but heroic. Someone like Scarboy Ryan O’Evicerated was never going to stop. If Amber feels bad, that’s very understandable. But what she did wasn’t the action of a monster. It was the action of a good person pushed into a corner. And hopefully with time and a proper therapist, she’ll be able to see that too. Hopefully Ruth can point her in the right direction to get the proper care she needs.
    In short: may the scarface rot for the rest of his natural life, and may Amber be able to forgive herself for doing what she had to do.

    1. C.T Phipps

      Mary would still be a transphobe, blackmailer, and person who gloated over someone’s near-suicide. None of which have anything to do with being a victim of a horrifying crime.

      But I can understand why she’d be in a constant state of anger and lashing out. It’s not like she had a support network either.

      1. Fart Captor

        Yeah, I might be able to muster up some sympathy for her, but don’t think I’d hate her any less

      2. Rukduk

        Oh don’t get me wrong. I’d still think she’s a vile person. But at the same time, if she was a rape victim…that’s a horrible thing to happen to anyone, and can’t help feel a little sympathy towards that. I’be been told before that I have to much agape (stupid philosophy major roommate), but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I think I can still recognize Mary’s vileness while being simultaneously a little sorry for her. Because in a way, she’s very much what Joyce could have become if Joyce hadn’t been able to establish a support network so early on. Especially given that I believe Willis has said via twitter that Mary’s parents are basically ok. And a part of me will always feel sorry for her if being a rape victim does turn out to be the case. And a part of me will always remember how she hurt Carla, Billie, and Ruth and hate her for it.

    2. Tarmaniel

      Mary as a Ryan victim doesn’t really make sense as she’d already have been acting like this three days ago when he was caught, rather than surprising everyone by starting it today.

      1. C.T Phipps

        Well the time skip is when Mary started her good mood.

      2. Arioch

        Yeah, no, her true good mood starts in the current story arc. Which means it starts with ding-dong Rapey McScarface is gone. I think she may have been one of his first victims. It doesn’t excuse and of her other shit. She’s a transphobe, a blackmailer, and was just being an asshole about Ruth’s near suicide because she seems to be a homophobe.
        Here’s the thing, she can get better. It is possible to learn and grow and not be an asshole. If she was in a constant state of anger and lashing out and falling back on a seriously stifling church upbringing and trying to basically lash out at everything that she thought that upbringing would want her to lash out at, then it is possible that she could get better.
        While I may not hate her any less, I certainly wouldn’t mind it if she became someone that I could like someday. I would certainly be nice to see her own up and apologize for all her shit.

        1. blergh

          Huh, that… makes sense.
          Honestly, I just assumed her good mood was because she had something bad planned, as the last time we saw her, which was a couple of weeks ago (for us), she was reacting with glee to Ruth being back and that being something she could use to get to Billie.

    3. HeatherJean

      I can see Mary as one of Ryan’s victims, as it would explain her uncharacteristic happiness after whatever Amber meted out to him. Maybe he even knocked her up….

      Joyce telling Amber that there were other victims is probably supposed to make Amber feel better about whatever she did to Ryan; telling that to AG (who was responsible for his escaping on the night he became Gashface) might have the opposite effect, making her responsible for all the victims afterward. Or so Amazing Fantasy #15 might have one believe.

      1. Rukduk

        Ah crap. AmaziGirl probably will try to pull that shit with Amber. I didn’t even think about that. The more the story progresses, they more I’m really disliking AmaziGirl as a character and hoping Amber can stand up to her in her head. She needs to see a highly skilled, highly competent therapist who has (successful) experience with patients with DID.

    4. zoelogical

      yup. yup! that’s why joyce is where she is

  20. Shiro

    As down as Ruth is on her own abilities, that was well handled. She deescalated the situation and got Joyce out of there while still acknowledging it was a conversation that needed to happen–just not right at this particular second. At the same time, sometimes Official Conversations gotta happen after something like this.

    I’m looking forward to this new non-femur-threatening RA Ruthless

    1. Rukduk

      When she’s not trying to rule with fear, it appears she’s actually very good with her job. And honestly? I trust her here with this situation. Now that she’s faced her own inner (and outer) demons, I think Ruth might be able to help the residents of her hall exorcise a few of there own.

      1. Halpful

        yeah, I’m really hoping they have a good talk here. Ruth might actually know what to say, or at least where amber can get the right kind of help. at the very least she can understand the self-hate thing.

    2. Emperor Norton II

      I wonder what the odds are that Ruth will say she found the hiding spot for the AG costume.

      1. Clif

        Low. More likely she’s going to do her job and recommend councelling, which Blainsdaughter will reject.

    3. Deanatay

      ‘Ruthful’. We’re calling her ‘Ruthful’ now.

      (An extra ‘l’ can be added, if you prefer.)

  21. Reltzik

    ……..

    … so the question I’m asking myself is, if three girls came forward, how many others are saying to themselves “he’s going to get what’s coming to him anyways and there’s no reason that I have to come forward as well?”

    1. C.T Phipps

      Probably more than zero. Albeit, Amber doing what she did probably lifted what amounted to a curse on the campus.

  22. Rambling Idiot

    I’ve tried everything, even shaving my head, no matter what my hair looks like Ruth’s the next time I look in the mirror like that scene from Santa Clause.

    1. DinaWho

      The fact you have a Ruth grav makes this comment even better.

    2. Reltzik

      Pigtails.

  23. Edonarus

    Is this the part where Ruth asks Amber to torture her dad?

    1. Kamino Neko

      Ruth’s dad’s been dead for several years, it’s why she’s in the States to begin with.

  24. Delicious Taffy

    Well, we finally have confirmation that Phone-Boy did, in fact, have victims other than Joyce. I was getting a little tired of it just being assumed, for some reason. Obviously, one is bad enough, never gonna see me excusing even one rape or attempt of such, but I haven’t understood why it was assumed he had more victims.

    1. s

      it’s a pretty reasonable assumption because statistically most rapists do

    2. Far

      It’s hard to put my finger on, but something about the way he acted with Joyce at the party just seems… practiced? Like he knew what he was doing. The fact that he would escalate to assault with a deadly weapon is another tick in the “gotten used to committing violence” column. And his self-justifying attitude, acting like Dorothy and Amazigirl deserved comeuppance for getting in his way… it just gives off a very heavy repeat offender vibe.

      I mean, I get what you are saying, up until now there was nothing concrete and we couldn’t be certain at all… but if I’d had to place a bet, I would have bet that Joyce was not his only victim. Really, the common consensus that he likely had more victims is just a sign of the strength of Willis’s writing: the subtle implications were there, he was written to make us suspect he’d done it before, even if we had to wait for actual confirmation.

    3. Kamino Neko

      It was a planned thing at a college party. The chances of it being his first were extremely low. I mean, obviously, every bastard has to have a first victim, but the chances of Joyce being Ryan’s first were not very high.

    4. CJ

      When you review the scene at the party, it is obvious he has a script (talk to a girl alone, get her to an extra room, provide roofie, rape her). Look at his expression when he finds other people in that extra room and how he acts later on.
      This is not the behavior of a first-time rapist. Much to engaged with his script, much to sure it will work.

    5. Delicious Taffy

      These are pretty good explanations. I’m not particularly good at picking up even slightly subtle story cues (though I’m learning), so it can take four or five read-throughs of an entire story, often supplemented with outside sources (usually TV Tropes) directly spelling out what’s being shown, before I really get what’s happening. Not that this makes it hard for me to understand the things being shown, just the smaller details and implications of it all.

      Like, I can clearly see that, way back at the start of this whole “Ryan” thing, he’s friendly to Joyce at first, then weirdly insistent on getting her alone, and then makes it abundantly clear that he was attempting to rape Joyce. What I missed was all the other details, which you’ve all been kind enough to explain, without being condescending about it. Now that it’s been pointed out, I won’t miss it the next time I see it.

      1. Halpful

        Yeah; tbh, I’m still amazed I can understand Cerberus’ posts now. A decade ago, they would have sounded like nonsense because my brain just didn’t have the necessary social concepts or experience or whatever. And I feel like the comments here are continuing to grow my brain in that way 🙂

  25. nerdyjuan

    does anyone else think the strip is heading towards “the rapist did nothing wrong” court case

    1. Gesc

      Fucking hope not, mate.

    2. Fart Captor

      That would be a story nobody wants, so I doubt it’s headed that direction

      1. Halpful

        most importantly, it’s a story *willis* doesn’t want to write. draw. whatever.

      2. Bicycle Bill

        Not to mention that Willis has dropped hints more than once that this comic will more than likely never get past the first semester. Since we are already into mid-October it’s likely no civil or criminal court case would ever be able to come to trial in the time that’s left.

    3. Kernanator

      Even if he never gets convicted for the rape stuff, he still came at Dorothy and Amber with a knife, which was caught on camera.

      1. Vulcanodon

        Yeah, Ryan is on-camera attacking an innocent person with a weapon. Only cops can get away with that.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Hey, come on now. Let’s not compare real-life cops to Ryan.

          Even cops wouldn’t get away with going after two white people.

        2. Delicious Taffy

          Reading this again, I’m not sure I conveyed the original idea properly. Not even sure what I meant, now.

        3. N0083rp00F

          Most likely you were in “the zone” and had things well organized in your head at the time but forgot to put everything down in text before hitting the POST button.

          Taking you second statement by itself I would have to politely disagree.
          I just came across an article where a Sheriffs office SWATTED a household and held everyone, including the kids, at gunpoint for over two hours. It was planned etc etc. If the couple had not had high up contacts from previous employ the story would have been buried like all the rest. You can check out this story here though sadly there are many many more.

        4. Halpful

          I think I got the joke, but have insufficient words to explain it at the moment.

    4. OnyxIdol

      I’m thinking not. This reminds me about something Willis wrote after the Toedad incident, namely that although shitty things happen in real life (and in this comic) this is still a work of fiction where, sometimes, the good guys win.

      1. Cephalo the Pod

        This. As dark as the subject matter in this comic gets, final outcomes for definite good-vs-evil conflicts are typically idealistic.

  26. JetstreamGW

    “The rules still don’t apply to you?”

    “These are, in fact, the rules.”

  27. Raen

    *blink, blink*

    …isn’t that the hair she’s always had? And… who else has that haircut… Sia, sorta? Who is bi, IINM…

    1. Reltzik

      She got a haircut after she got back from the hospital. It was down slightly below her shoulders until then.

    2. Fart Captor

      It’s not dramatically different, but it used to be longer on the sides

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/dynamite/

  28. AgentKeen

    It’s a bisexual bob, for alliteration.

  29. BenRG

    “Hey, I apply the rules but I don’t respect ’em, so why do you expect me to obey ’em myself?”

  30. Jaime

    I REALLY like the dialogue here. Ruth telling Joyce to “talk to her [Amber] when she’s ready” – Joyce needs to hear that. I also note that Amber says “Dina’s right. I did request that.” in regards to being left alone. But she doesn’t actually say that is what she WANTS. I hope that Amber realizes what she has done for Joyce. I’m worried about her (Amber).

    I also like Ruth kind of “stepping up” as an RA here. (Admitting that her job is “phony-balony is, IMHO, actually a good step towards actually DOING that job.) Ruth has been in a bad place as well; maybe she can give Amber some much-needed support or at least therapist recommendations!

    1. Scar Man!!!

      somehow, I feel like “Sir” agrees with Blaine in their opinion on therapists

  31. OnyxIdol

    This is remarkably, unexpectedly insightful of Ruth.

  32. QueerBitch

    I mean statistically it would make sense for him to have more victims. with how many people are raped it wouldn’t be logically for all of them to have completely different attackers. Plus assuming someone is a rapist once and magically changes as a person without some kind of punishment or repurcussions is unrealistic. (restorative justice in the form of complete social ostracization and usually physical violence from the victim/victims loved ones followed by therapy seem to work best in most cases I’ve seen near where I live). Most rapists are repeat offenders and it’s just a fact that if someone does it once they WILL do it again without some kind of confrontation to force them to change.

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      I don’t think anyone assumed he reformed. The assumption was that Joyce was his first attempt and that he was in hiding after.

  33. Bagge

    Good RA-ing, Ruth.

  34. Reltzik

    Actually, between the abuse she’s had from Sir Grampus and the way she’s been recycling his behavior, Ruth’s actually in a pretty good place to relate to, understand, and help Amber right now.

    All that’s left is for these two characters to communicate with each other openly, rather than burying the truth under layers of dissembling, attitude, passive-aggressiveness, or silence.

    And hey, it’s not like those things have ever gotten in the way of open communication in this comic!

    1. Kamino Neko

      Ruth doesn’t seem to be taking on Sir’s behaviour – she’s more violence and overt threats, whereas he’s all about passive aggressively grinding his victims down.

      1. Reltzik

        He also does verbal abuse, and she DID do the verbal abuse thing to Billie, and then Asma. Enough for her to have the “I’m becoming the monster” epiphany.

  35. Danni

    ruth with the bi hair

  36. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    This one will be shorter than usual because I’m in a weird headspace tonight. I think my fiancee broke up with me today over text message…

    Panel 1: Yup. That was going to be the case. He was too practiced in his technique for that to have been his first time and too invested in violence to defend it for it to have been a one-off shitbird action. And too well aware of how the system had his back. Plus, well, serial rapists are the ones who tend to commit the most rapes.

    But yeah, for Joyce, that hits hard. Especially as she internalized it so roughly onto herself so finding out that there was a string of victims, that that’s how these fuckers work is infuriating and igniting her and probably getting her to beat herself over over “not trying to stop him” even though that was highly unlikely to be any more successful.

    Panels 2 and 4: I love these panels so much. Like, I love positive depictions of consent practices and the form of social consent matters because it’s the training ground for things like sexual interactions.

    And Ruth’s actions here are perfect. She asks Amber not Joyce what Amber’s wishes are regarding Joyce and doesn’t just take Dina’s assertion directly and waits to hear what Amber herself says. And then she supports and enforces that consent removing Joyce.

    And Joyce needed to be removed. What she’s saying is important and likely helpful to a degree, but it needed to come at a point when Amber was emotionally ready to deal with that and had the spoons. And it needed to happen at a moment when it wasn’t overriding her consent.

    Panel 3: I find the phrasing here very hopeful for Amber. Like, it’s intentionally vague, placing the decision in the past and it gives me hope that some of the more affirming things Joyce said amidst the anger got through and aided Amber a little. (I would not at all mind Joyce and Amber forming a sort of mutually supportive club sometime as both have a tendency to overly absorb and self-torment).

    Panels 5-6: And here we have the other shoe as Ruth ignores her consent about talking to folks to talk to her herself. Which is… oi.

    I’m going to guess it’s going to be a survivor of abusive family members quick support, but still, I would love it if Amber had a little time to get in a better headspace before dealing with all of it as she’s not going to be able to absorb much in her current space.

    Also, I love seeing Ruth giving the position as little respect as her boss showed to her needs and it makes me think Ruth was able to stabilize a bit after the hell of three days ago.

    1. Halpful

      *hugs*

      1. Cerberus

        *hugs*

    2. Zoe

      Hi Cerberus, I just wanted to emerge from the internet shadows to say how I really love your analysis and you are basically one of the main reasons I read the comments here and I hope your day stops being so shitty.

      1. Cerberus

        Aw thank you that’s really sweet.

    3. C.T Phipps

      I really hope that’s not the case. You deserve more than the shit salad bar you’ve been given lately.

      1. Cerberus

        It gets really hard to believe that sometimes. But thank you.

        1. Gwen

          Seriously, all the hugs. Unless you don’t want hugs, in which case all the appropriate gestures of support.

    4. BenRG

      FWIW, ‘consent’ becomes iffy given Ruth’s responsibilities as RA. Yes, she should leave Amber alone if she still wants to be left alone. However, first she has to make sure that she’s not a risk to herself and others. Normally, she could rely on the room-mate in that area but Dina has a unique view of humanity that means Ruth could reasonably be concerned that she would not necessarily spot (or correctly interpret) warning signs in Amber’s behaviour.

      1. StClair

        Exactly. Just as the duties of police officers sometimes require them to break the ordinary laws and regulations that apply to ordinary citizens – e.g., traffic laws during a high-speed pursuit – so does being an R.A. and similar authorities mean you sometimes can’t fully respect consent.
        (Not that that’s a free pass to completely ignore it, only that one may have to say and do things that others don’t like or want to hear.)

      2. DinaWho

        Yeah. One possible interpretation I had of Ruth’s use of ‘phoney and baloney’ to describe her job in the last panel was ‘RA bullshit says I need to have this talk with you now’.

      3. Cerberus

        That’s a good point I hadn’t thought of.

      4. Halpful

        the only part I disagree with is “Normally, she could rely on the room-mate”.

    5. ischemgeek

      *hugs* if wanted.

      1. Cerberus

        *hugs*

    6. Delicious Taffy

      If it helps at all, I’ve gotten several messages from my girlfriend, making it seem like a breakup was inevitable, and that she would be the initiating party. Obviously, I can’t speak for your case, but if it’s any help, I’ve been mistaken most of those times, and the times I read it correctly, things wound up working out after a serious no-holds-barred discussion regarding the state of our relationship. Each time, what we really needed was to hash things out and put it all on the table.

      Not saying it’s definitely a good idea to do that here, since your relationship is likely very different, with different rules, boundaries, and such, but I thought it might be helpful to at least offer the ghost of advice on an issue I can relate to.

      1. Cerberus

        Thank you for this, but it definitely feels dangerous to hope that this wasn’t just the end.

        1. thejeff

          It is, but then if you’re not in a good headspace already it’s easy to take the worst interpretation.

          All the internet hugs anyway. Hope it works out or at least becomes clear soon.

    7. Nymphie

      Oh my Cerberus, that sucks. Breakups over text generally sucks but that double sucks *offers support by hugs*

      I know I don’t comment here often, just not having time writing good comments, but I wanna say that you are a highlight of my daily life and I find it so amazing how dedicated you are to analyze every panel. I wish I will have even remotely as awesome fans when I finally get going with my art

      1. Cerberus

        I believe in you. You will definitely have awesome fans of your art some day.

    8. Li

      /hugs 🙁

      1. Cerberus

        *hugs*

    9. Fart Captor

      Oof, that sucks 🙁

    10. Spencer

      Holy shit that’s awful. I’m so sorry.

    11. Sam

      I’m expecting it is partially that Ruth has to have a chat with her and partially that she wants to and probably can say something that is helpful hopefully.

    12. Bagge

      *hugs*

    13. Rukduk

      *hugs*
      I’m very sorry to hear that. You deserve more happiness in your life right now, not more sources of pain. I sincerely hope that your fiancé breaking up with you isn’t the case, but if it is your fiancé doesn’t know what they’re missing. Or maybe they’re in a bad place right now and think they might be hurting you. But I sincerely hope, if you are receiving a breakup, that you can find some solace in that you will find other people who will love you. Because I think, solely from what you’ve been open enough to let us know, that once someone knows you they can’t help but love you. You’re strong, intelligent, compassionate, and have a beautiful soul.

      1. Rukduk

        Ok, I just realized that those last couple of sentences might have come off a bit creepy and that was not the intent. I was just listing reasons why you deserve to be happy and why I think you will eventually have someone/some people (I forgot if you mentioned being poly or not and I’m sorry about forgetting) who is/are able to have a mutually happy and beautiful relationship with you. Because you deserve that.

        1. Halpful

          it didn’t seem creepy to *me* when I read it… but I don’t always notice such things, and I also worry about how to express strong platonic feelings without sounding creepy. I miss being blissfully unaware of the danger that creepiness signals.

    14. Reltzik

      If there’s anything we can do beyond gestures of support, let us know.

    15. a/snow mous/e

      I’m so sorry. *offers hug*

    16. Emperor Norton II

      *superhugs*

    17. Tan

      Panel 3: I actually am concerned about Amber’s language here. It’s very… It avoids asserting will. She acknowledges the truthfulness of Dina’s comment, but very specifically without affirming the message. She actually adds an extra sentence to clarify that she is confirming that that happened, not confirming that she wants Joyce out, not confirming that she wants anything. To me it feels more dissociative. It does not help, of course, that we only see the back of her head.

      Whatever’s going on with your fiancee, I hope things turn out okay for you. *sympathy via light internet contact* Know that you are well-loved in this community.

      1. thejeff

        It might be that she’s reacting to Joyce’s words and isn’t as adamant about being left alone as she was when she said it.

      2. Halpful

        ohhhh. that makes sense. I was thinking about it as her not having enough spoons left to ask for things or have an opinion, but it makes even more sense with dissociation. like, the way my brain seems to randomly lose and gain functions, I didn’t have any words for it until I started reading about DID and OSDD and such. (I still don’t remember any words for it right now, but, that’s happening a lot this afternoon.)

        it’s like the part of me that does words stuff gets spooked and runs away inside me. and as of a few days ago I’m kinda ticked off that she’s just abandoning the rest of me like that. at the same time, I can’t really blame her, there’s so much emotional pain at those times… it’s just too much.

    18. Abel Undercity

      Hi Cerberus. I’m a quasi-lurker who really enjoys your strip analyses. I just wanted to offer a gesture of support in time of suckage.

    19. Jaime

      *appropriate gesture of support*

      I seriously hope, like Delicious Taffy said, it’s a misunderstanding or a precursor to a relationship discussion rather than a breakup.

      For all that I make my living by words, I have more than once sent emails or texts that were poorly worded and the reader interpreted VERY differently than how I meant them. I hope this is the case here.

      Virtual kittens and puppies and cookies ? ? ? and I second everyone else who has said how much they enjoy your “deconstruction” of these comics!

    20. JBento

      *offers hugs*

      Hopefully it’s a misunderstanding. You don’t deserve the kicking you’ve been getting from all sides, let alone an extra one. And text message instead of face to face just would add another layer of crappy.

      Hope things improve, fast and greatly.

    21. OBBWG

      *appropriate gesture of support*

      May it all work out bestest soonest.

    22. zoelogical

      *hugs*

      NO FIANCE. do these things in person pls

    23. BBCC

      Oh no, I’m so sorry, Cerberus. That’s the pits. You have my email if you’d like to talk. Hugs if wanted.

      And yeah, Ruth does a good and then immediately a bad.

  37. Eldritch Gentleman

    That “Have no fear” alt-text is kinda funny and kinda sweet considering that Ruth used to be The Dreaded.

  38. showler

    Not Ryan is in a coma.

    Joyce was going to say “I hope he never wakes up”.

    1. Cephalo the Pod

      Or, y’know: “…never gets out of jail.”

  39. Joe Covenant

    Yeah….
    “I hope he never…”

    Good use of the damned annoying cliché: “Halting of sentence just at the point where it becomes informative for the reader/viewer.”

    1. Emperor Norton II

      I’ll be honest, I fail to see exactly what sort of information we might be missing here.

      “I hope he never gets out of hospital/jail” is my first thought on how that sentence would end, and this doesn’t really add anything that we don’t already know. And the other things I can think about to end that sentence with are the same. It’s Joyce expressing her emotions, not Joyce adding important information.

      As such, to me, it reads instead like the related trope “Halting of sentence to quickly end something that would not progress the plot further, and instead introduce something that does”, in this case Ruth having to speak to Amber.

      1. Joe Covenant

        I can understand that POV…
        Except it leaves the conflict unresolved.

        Hospital / Jail are two very different things.
        (At least, they are in Scotland! YMMV!) 🙂

  40. Vulcanodon

    I’m a bit worried that Ryan’s bros will come after Amber now.

    Cerberus… *appropriate gesture of support*

    1. Vulcanodon

      Ruth probably has to give Amber information about campus counseling resources, etc. Then she’ll scram.

    2. BenRG

      That was the point hallucination!Blaine was making – In all likelihood, they’ll be too afraid to do so except in such large numbers that it would almost certainly trigger a police response.

    3. Cerberus

      *accepts*

  41. Fire_daws

    Ruth, the only thing that’s phoney here is the Leaf’s belief that they can win.

    Sorry.

    (Not sorry)

    1. Ryek Hvek

      Three other Leafs fans came forward….

      1. UniqueSnowflake2

        All three other Leafs fans came forward.

        1. Ryek Hvek

          I approve this message.

  42. Scar Man!!!

    Yeah alt-text, Ruth does seem to be the type of person who would need to say “be not afraid”

  43. Orion Fury

    Accept your fate, Amber, don’t challenge it. You must…talk.

  44. ValdVin

    Can I be the only one paraphrasing the alt-text and hearing Underdog’s voice?

    “There’s no need to fear, bisexual-hair Ruth is here!”

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