119

Curse
Posted on July 23, 2019 by David M Willis

119 thoughts on “Curse”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    interestingly, I just got a new passport photo taken and I look horribly old in it, vs. pretty okay with my glasses on

    (I may try again but idk, it’s not like I ever look at my passport photo, and $15 for another round is a lot)

    1. Bathymetheus

      Passport photos are deliberately taken with high contrast. This brings out wrinkles, making people look old.

      1. Bathymetheus

        Or in my case, older.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          Older? What are you, 16-20ish? That’s when you start getting old, according to every blonde white girl I ever went to school with.

        2. Bathymetheus

          Haha. No.

      2. keithcurtis

        You can take your own passport photo. I took them for my family.

        1. Ana Chronistic

          I don’t have the patience to get photo paper and fuss with our dubious refurbished printer

        2. keithcurtis

          Fair enough. Just pointing out that you don’t have to put up with whatever sort of photo your passport office takes.

    2. Neveth

      (as a passport acceptance agent, you aren’t allowed to wear glasses in your passport photo. they’ll just reject the application)

      1. Jon Rich

        Why on Earth would they have that rule?

        1. thejeff

          Likely to keep people from hiding their face in the photo, so it’s more easily identifiable.

        2. Tan

          As I understand it, to make both human and software facial recognition easier if you’re not wearing glasses (or are wearing different glasses)

      2. Ana Chronistic

        (what if I’m not a passport acceptance agent)

        [haha grammar pedantry about dangling modifiers]

  2. butts

    drink with integrity

    1. Freezer

      All the regrets.

  3. ValdVin

    What is she doing there?

    1. Dean

      She’s on a date!

      1. RuthIsBestGirl

        Oh god no. We don’t need a bar fight getting them kicked out of school.

      2. Kat

        Those Lessons with Dina are paying off.

  4. JetstreamGW

    Nice slasher movie entrance there, Ruth.

  5. Danielle

    OH. SHIT.

  6. Stephen Bierce

    *plays Garth Brooks “Friends In Low Places” on the hacked Muzak*

  7. shadowcell

    is this my curse

    or my destiny

    1. Isactuallyabear

      It’s your cursed destiny!

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      Are you human? Or are you dancer?

  8. MixMax

    I’m calling it now to say that Ruth hasnt actually been drinking, but is instead telling her woes to Jason, kinda just cuz he’s there.

    1. MatthewTheLucky

      On the contrary, she’s gone through about a pimt of root beer.

      1. krylani

        There’s now a part of my brain that’s shouting about wanting a Wreck-It Ruth crossover, and I think I agree with it.

        1. CJ

          Ruth would be Shank who owns the car Ralph and Vanellope try to steal?

  9. Nono

    What IS Ruth doing there?

    1. AntJ

      Perhaps waiting to see if Billie would show up.

      Anyway, maybe THIS is what finally gets Billie to stop.

    2. Kyoulkoa

      Ruth’s finally going to get those femurs

      1. Dean

        Galasso’s has a special this week, quattro fromaggi et femur pizza.

    3. Keulen

      I’m assuming either she was waiting for Billie, or she’s drinking again. Or maybe she just likes hanging around the bar part of Galasso’s for some reason.

      1. Felian

        “hanging around the bar“ isn’t particularly conducive for a recovering alcoholic, though… Ruth what are you doing

  10. DailyBrad

    Relapses are either going around these days, or Ruth went here to see her.

    Is Ruth legal either?

    1. Chronos

      I was under the impression she was only a year older than the freshmen.

      1. Nono

        That actually brings to mind something – Ruth very briefly attempted to hit on Tony near the start of the strip, only for him to say, ‘I’m not buying you beer, freshman.’

        Is Tony legal? And why would Billie assume anybody in the dorms could buy her beer anyway?

        1. Rotunda

          It was Billie who accosted Tony: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2010/comic/book-1/01-move-in-day/card/

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          You mean Billie, of course. And there must be 21-year-olds in the dorm.

          And it’s not like everyone has a jewel in their palm that changes colors on significant birthdays.

        3. Nono

          Yeah, I knew what I meant, my brain just crossed wires while typing.

          Maybe it’s just my old tired brain but I feel like 21-year olds would just have moved out of the dorm at that point and away from dorm drama. Or Tony just looks older.

        4. Marsh Maryrose

          IU-Bloomington is insanely big, student-population-wise, and I assume nearby apartments are priced accordingly.

          I haven’t done a serious investigation, but in the IRL world it looks like campus housing is currently a bargain compared to nearby rentals, so you’d expect to see more upperclassmen in the dorms than you would in normal times.

          And I would be crushed that you missed my Logan’s Run reference were it not for the fact that Logan’s run came out when I was…a lot younger than I am now.

        5. Marsh Maryrose

          And really, how is Carousel any different from ascension to the Heaviside layer?

        6. jmsr7

          Hey, i got it

        7. Geneseepaws

          Are you rocking it for the Sci-Fi geeks, or the old fogies?
          Yes!

        8. StClair

          Renew! Renew!

        9. Needfuldoer

          Maybe the school houses upperclassmen of legal drinking age in a different building, so they don’t become alcohol suppliers to younger students?

        10. thejeff

          Also, from that strip, it’s not clear that Billie was expecting him to be able to buy her beer, but that what he thought she wanted. I think she was just looking for the prestige of hooking up with an upperclassman.

          In my (now long ago) college experience, while few were legal to buy alcohol, older students were more likely to have figured out how to access it – fake ids, older friends, places that wouldn’t card, something. Certainly more so than freshmen in their first days on campus. So he’d probably been asked. (Honestly, at this point, I don’t even remember how I got booze. I didn’t have a fake id, but I never had trouble having alcohol around.)

          Billie, of course, had a good fake id to start with and needed no one to buy for her.

        11. LR

          My state raised the drinking age 10 days before my birthday. Maybe I misunderstood the law, but I remember losing my right to drink for 10 days. Fortunately, drinking wasn’t very important to me. Two of my housemates and I once took about a week to get through a six pack. I suppose that MIGHT have had something to do with the quality of the beer.

      2. BarerMender

        Two years older. Ruth is 20.

    2. BarerMender

      I agree. Ruth is hoping Billy will show up at the bar.

    3. BBCC

      Ruth’s 20, so not in the states.

      I’m HOPING she’s either here to see Billie or here to get something to eat without alcohol (I do it in bar sections all the time).

    4. Geeky Warrior

      At some point I remember her saying she was 2 years older than the freshman. Based on the timing, she might have an October or earlier birthday making her legally 21.

      On the other hand, she did buy alcohol earlier in the series. So either she is already 21 or looks old enough with a decent fake.

  11. AntJ

    wow, I thought this would happen two storylines ago

  12. Yumi

    Oh, shit, Ruth! 🙁

  13. PB

    Why … is Ruth at a bar.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      Why do fools fall in love?

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      Why are there so many songs about rainbows? And what’s on the other side?

    3. Marsh Maryrose

      Why must I be a teenager in love?

    4. C.

      Why do birds suddenly appear every time you are near?

      1. DaveM

        https://xkcd.com/348/

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          It was a zombie jamboree!

    5. Geneseepaws

      And Who wrote the book of Love.
      That’s what I just asked you, who?
      That’s right, Who.

      1. Clif

        You can’t blame everything on the Doctor.

      2. Roborat

        No, it was The Monotones, Who is on first.

    6. Ed Rhodes

      Why does the sun go on shining?
      Why does the sea rush to shore?
      Don’t they know it’s the end of the world?
      ‘Cause you don’t love me anymore

  14. Kyrik Michalowski

    So what are the odds they have a mature and adult conversation here, like they need to? And what are the odds Billie makes an ass of herself?(again)

    1. Delicious Taffy

      I give it 25:1

      1. Clif

        Optimist

  15. ShinyNeen

    Wear your glasses, folks! You might notice that the free beer isn’t until tomorrow!

    … And you can see that your maybe-girlfriend maybe-ex-girlfriend is sitting right there just kinda watching you and probably about to try to discuss some heavy shit and probably try to dissuade you from coming back tomorrow for that free beer and you aren’t sure if you want that or not so wouldn’t it be great if you could at least see her before you sit down?

    1. Bicycle Bill

      “Free beer tomorrow”?  Does this mean that Galasso, while having no mercy, does have a sense of humor?

      1. AbelUndercity

        When I was in college, “Free Beer” was the name of a band that worked the local bar circuit.

        1. Delicious Taffy

          That’s genius. I’m definitely having that name.

        2. Bicycle Bill

          In my area of western Wisconsin there used to be a band that called itself “Three Beers ’til Dubuque” (a city in Iowa about three hours south of where I call home)… and during the karaoke craze one of the traveling karaoke outfits was called “Free Beer and Naked Karaoke”.
          (note: they never delivered on either one)

  16. BBCC

    Oh dear. This’ll be something.

  17. ktbear

    This whole day is starting off wonderfully.

    1. Marsh Maryrose

      This may be the start of your day, but it’s the end of the casts’.

      I just noticed that the next storyline is in the Archives grab-bar. Whose birthday is it, I wonder? Has this already been revealed and I just forgot it?

      1. Yumi

        Dina?

        1. Marsh Maryrose

          I don’t know how I forgot in just two months, but are absolutely right.

          In my defense, I’ve been known to forget the birthdays of close family members.

        2. Marsh Maryrose

          ^ “you are”.

          I used to spot grammar mistakes like a hawk. Now I’m more like Billie without glasses.

        3. Bathymetheus

          I would be surprised if hawks can spot grammar mistakes.

          Isolated rabbits, on the other hand . . .

        4. Nono

          Sarah’s birthday is also coming up, though nobody’s mentioned it and I doubt Sarah wants to celebrate it either.

          Unless… Sarah’s birthday IS Halloween.

  18. MaddMaxx

    And it has begun

    1. Kyoulkoa

      It begins

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      You might say it all returns.

      1. Clif

        I predict this will end well. No. Really. I predict it will end well.

  19. etherealdesiign

    i really hope ruth is there because she knows billie will be and is there to fight for her to come to her senses, not because she’s also drinking.

    i always liked ruth, but ever since her meds kicked in i’ve been really optimistic for her. i hope to be proven right.

    1. Dean

      I’m hoping Ruth is there because she wanted a soda.

  20. Synnerman

    Oh Billie, such a trainwreck.

    Ruth… protect yourself.

  21. Sirksome

    Everyone relax. It’s the only place in town that airs any Leafs games.

  22. abysswatcher1993

    Billie, you asked for this, you ignorant bongo. Hi Ruth! Thank the universe she didnt became insane because of her drugs and killed Walky and Joyce. Integrivact is dangerous.

    1. Solenoid

      And carries a downright frightening list of side-effects.

  23. mrnoidea

    Plot twist: Ruth was just waiting to catch Billie in the act.

    I hope.

  24. Foxhack

    No one believed I was the person in my IDs; since I had facial hair in them, people (particularly annoying US Border agents) kept saying they were my father’s.

    My over-40-years-older-than-me father.

    Now that I’m old, facial hair makes me look YOUNGER. Go figure.

    1. BBCC

      I once got carded four times in one visit to a casino. I feel your pain.

  25. Tacos

    No this won’t be awkward at all I’m sure.

  26. C.T Phipps

    Billie needs to power walk away to “These Boots are made for Walking.”

    Then Ruth can say, “I just got seated here at the bar because all the booths are full.”

  27. Bagge

    Billie REALLY needs to find herself another bar.

    1. BenRG

      Galasso’s is the only bar in town that accepts her cereal box-back ‘ID Card’!

      1. Bagge

        The weird part is that stick-in-the-mud JASON accept it.

      2. thejeff

        Billie’s fake id is apparently pretty good. Only reason she has trouble is that she looks young and the crow’s feet help with that.

  28. BenRG

    Ruth is there because she’s hooked on Jason’s mixed exotic fruit juices!

  29. Keulen

    I wish Billie would wear her glasses more often. I think she looks better with them on.

    1. Sunny

      Plus she can see better with them on.

  30. Shane Wegner

    Leave it to Billie to frame herself as the victim who is being harassed unfairly here. How dare anyone correctly discern that she is under legal drinking age and follow the mandated procedure of carding her- something police occasionally ask underage volunteers to test in sting operations. It’s not like he has a lot of wiggle room to be fired over failing to card- that job is his lifeline right now since the whole Accidentally Guessed Student Fraternization thing. Not that Billie cares.

    I’m ready to rubberneck the train wreck of ugly denials coming up. Or maybe she’ll accuse Ruth of stalking her and invading her valuable privacy? Or maybe the third, and least likely, she’ll wake up and realize she is indeed an alcoholic.

    Ruth has a lot of power. All she has to do is say she’s an RA and knows that Billie is a freshman, and the tissue thin grudging tolerance to serve her due to her fake ID is gone at Galasso’s. Some restraints do that thing with Do Not Serve This Person. Of course Billie would be mad at being held accountable and for Ruth doing the right thing. Actually Ruth can’t not do the right thing- an RA can’t knowingly see a student breaking the law and just do nothing, that’s becoming complicit. Ruth is also on thinner ice when it comes to keeping her job and such.

    1. Fart Captor

      Acting indignant about being carded is part of the act, trying to convince him she’s older than she is so he doesn’t question it

    2. thejeff

      Ruth’s not on thin ice with her job here. Ruth’s been breaking far more serious rules all along. Her problem is that she can’t get herself fired, thanks to Sir.

    3. Tan

      Jason already knows she’s a freshman anyway.

      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/backpacked/

  31. tirachokko

    kiss kiss breaking up
    (maybe not but vaguely feels like it. Ruth might not be drinking but boy are they in for a talk)

  32. Pocky

    no, Ruth only shows up with special lenses

    1. Bagge

      Rosecolored lenses?

      …no, that doesn’t seem quite right.

      What color is murder?

      1. BBCC

        Ironically? Rose.

        1. Bagge

          Well, there we go then.

  33. Rabisch

    .Yeees! Finally! Now either Bill will run like never before in her life or they will have a very embarrassing and necessary conversation.

  34. JessWitt

    Sure hope Ruth is just hanging out or drinking virgin stuff.

  35. Charlotte

    Oh god, I hope Ruth isn’t drinking… She was doing so well.

  36. Marisa Mockery

    Two alcoholics walk into a bar…..

  37. Juanoku

    FINALLY UP TO DATE

  38. Needfuldoer

    Panel 3 hits close to home. People regularly tell me they think I’m in my early to mid 20s, even though I’m actually in my early 30s. I just want to buy spray paint without getting carded, dammit!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.