205

Premeditated
Posted on August 17, 2022 by David M Willis

205 thoughts on “Premeditated”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    yeah Dotty you should KNOW this!

    /s

  2. Sirksome

    I’m still confused on how this whole thing is going down. That’s my truth.

    1. Thag Simmons

      in flames, it’s going down in flames

      1. Clif

        The slow motion train wreck speeded up.

  3. Yumi

    This all seems healthy to me!

    1. Clif

      That’s funny. Your avatar doesn’t look like a dog surrounded by flames.

      1. The Wellerman

        I do not get the meme reference, human.

        1. Andy

          I believe it is the “This is fine” meme, where a dog is setting at a table while the house apparently burns down around it and Says This is fine.

      2. TrueVCU

        You have to cross your eyes and look 3 ft past it

    2. Tan

      “You see, I was FORCED to punch her in the nose, because our mutual friend failed to, and at that point what was I supposed to, just let her get away with breaking up with me without getting physically attacked?” – a member of a healthy relationship, probably.

      1. -

        Man, if only Ruth hadn’t basically set the entire tone of this relationship with violence on her part and the goading of Billie to react violently, huh? What might have been.

        1. Schpoonman

          Yes, and people aren’t allowed to change, even over short periods of times, and at no point has Ruth tried to begin setting boundaries that Jennifer has regularly trampled.

        2. thejeff

          Has she though? I don’t think we’ve seen it. Nor has Ruth made that claim. Maybe something during the time skipped between the kidnapping and Halloween, but that’s kind of cheating to spring on us.

          What Jennifer says here could be a reference to something new, but it could also be a reference to their old pact – which includes essentially “don’t leave me, even if I try to make you.”

          Those are unhealthy boundaries, certainly, but they’re the ones Ruth set and we haven’t seen her try to change. And ones Jennifer is still abiding by.

        3. Tan

          You understand that that doesn’t make it better, right? That one partner abusing the other does not cancel out the latter also abusing the former?

  4. Doctor_Who

    Please say tomorrow’s strip cuts to Ruth whistling as she lays bricks or backs up a cement truck.

    1. Bicycle Bill

      Or wearing a full-face flip-down helmet as she uses an arc welder to fasten a steel plate over the entire door frame.

      1. Rose by Any Other Name

        And the strip after that is Billie using one mighty kick to demolish all of Ruth’s defenses and no one ever mentions this herculean feat at any point and that is the joke.

    2. Gandalf007

      While sipping amontillado?

      1. Clif

        While all the while the open window just sits there.

        1. King Daniel

          “Dude!?!“

          “Dude indeed!”

          *sets the last brick in place*

    3. Pylgrim

      Nailing boards across it may just hit the sweet spot between cartoonish hilarity and realism that DoA navigates.

      1. Edwin I Callahan

        Only if, when Ruth turns around, Billie is standing there saying “Well now I wouldn’t say that…”
        Or…
        “Gee Ruth you’re awfully late…”

        1. Ryek Hvek

          But not the Gildersleeve version… “Well now, I wouldn’t say that.”

        2. Puppeteer Nessus

          I got the hell out of this reference. (Creepy gildersleeve laugh noise)

  5. The Oracle

    Dorothy’s moral failures are innumerable, now that she’s failed to physically attack Ruth for no reason

    1. Doctor_Who

      For future reference, here’s how to react when someone approaches you for advice.

    2. Axel

      How could you, Dorothy? 🙁

      1. Clif

        She’s a future politician. She’s here to help.

    3. Sam

      Dorothy refuses to be stay kidnapped, mourns the dead and refuses to punch innocent people in the face. Are these the values you want in your president? Against kidnapping, murder, assault AND battery? Next she’ll say she’s against grand larceny.

    4. Reed

      All problems are the result of Dorothy, any problems not caused by Dorothy will be re-assigned to her accordingly.

      1. Paradox

        Thanks Obama Dorothy

  6. Roe

    Abuse

    1. The Wellerman

      ?

    2. Laura

      Yup.
      Apparently, this is how Billie burns all her bridges on the hall. By revealing herself to be a physically abusive ball of rage. Even more than Ruth is.

      Plays on the hacked Muzak:

      “If we break up on Sunday
      And we make up down on Monday
      Ain’t nobody’s business if I do.
      Do, do, do.
      I swear I won’t call no copper
      When I’m beat up by my poppa.
      Ain’t nobody’s business if I do.”

      1. thejeff

        Personally, I’m just surprised Billie wants Dorothy to flirt with Ruth. Remember, fighting is foreplay for these two.

  7. Animedingo

    Oh yeah this is healthy

    Billiefer is such a hypocrit

    1. Bryy

      I’m starting to understand that Billie is mad at HERSELF and not RUTH in the future/present. She’s mad that she didn’t take their relationship seriously.

      Holy fuck that’s why she’s in a Serious Adult Relationship with Asher.

      omg it all just clicked.

      1. Clif

        Mature. You left out mature relationship.

      2. Needfuldoer

        We’re through the looking glass here, people.

  8. ThunderNight

    By the time Billie actually goes to Ruth she’ll have a whole defence system set up.

    1. Doctor_Who

      There will be an electric fence. Billie will hire Dina to systematically test the fence for weaknesses. She never attacks the same spot twice.

      She remembers.

      1. SpongegirlCircleskirt

        Clever girl…

    2. Thag Simmons

      She’s got a pot of boiling oil and an IKEA Portcullis kit just off-panel

      1. Bicycle Bill

        I wonder what sort of weird name IKEA would give to a portcullis kit?

        1. Wraithy2773

          Bürn.

        2. Anna

          I’d just go with “Fällgaller”.

        3. Stifyn Baker

          indkørsel

        4. Vegetalss4

          Hmm,
          Out of the various classification groups IKEA uses, I think a portcullis kit would fall under the heading of “Outdoor Furniture”.

          Therefore it should be named after a Scandinavian Island.
          Looking at a list of Swedish Islands for names not currently I suggest “Tjörn”.
          It’s not currently in use and the word is etymologically related to the swedish word for a thorn, which seems fitting for a defensive structure.

        5. Stanistani

          This careful attention to detail is why I lurk here. Bravo!

  9. Stephen Bierce

    *is getting ready to switch the hacked Muzak to Sammy Hagar*

    1. SpongegirlCircleskirt

      Is it because you can’t drive 55?

  10. Thag Simmons

    Alright, Bridge Burning time.

    1. Thag Simmons

      I wanted to make a joke calling this the greatest bridge burning since [historical bridge disaster] but the only ones I know off the top of my head are the Tacoma Narrows collapse (which wasn’t a burning) and the Ashtabula Horror, which killed like 92 people and even though it happened like a 150 years that still felt in bad taste.

      1. UrsulaDavina

        There was the Silver Creek Bridge in Point Pleasant which collapsed in 1967 killing 46 people. Its linked witb Mothman prophecies. If we’re going with bridge disasters.

        1. Thag Simmons

          Should have remembered that one, but that combines the problems I had with both examples where not only is not a burning it also killed a whole lot of people

        2. Sirksome

          I think the problem with a bridge burning joke is that people commonly use bridges to cross things, so if a bridge has burned that was serving its intended purpose almost inevitably in would involve the injury or death of some people.

        3. Sirksome

          But honestly go off. I think you’d have to try really hard to make a bridge burning joke offensive. I don’t think it’s inherently insulting.

      2. Mano308gts

        London Bridge has a history of fires on it (which happens when you build over with shops/houses), stretching nearly a full millennium back, to when it last burned down.

        1. Mano308gts

          (I should clarify that I am referring to the historic London Bridge, which has been gone for nearly two centuries now…)

        2. King Daniel

          Yep, they even made a song about it. 😛

        3. Neeks

          fun fact!

        4. powerpowerpow

          Oh yeah. What was it called again! Humpty Dumpty, or something like that.

      3. Librain

        Bridge over the river Kwai?

        I mean technically it wasn’t so much burned as asploded, but… maybe that’s not actually wrong?
        (disclaimer: haven’t seen the movie in decades so could be off on some details)

      4. Bicycle Bill

        The Johnstown Flood, 1889.  Debris swept up by the floodwaters got jammed at a stone arch bridge which had been able to withstand the surging torrent and, as a high point, was jammed with refugees trying to escape the raging waters.  Somehow the debris caught fire, and because of the total destruction of any fire-fighting infrastructure, roughly eighty people are believed to have died in the resulting conflagration.

      5. ktbear

        Try the Wan’an bridge. Being 900 years old and the longest wood arch bridge in China its an especially note-worthy bridge and no one was killed.

      6. Clif

        Everyone knows that the burning of the Alderaan Capital Bridge by the Death Star was in a class by itself.

        1. Keulen

          Is it really a burning if the whole planet around it blows up as well?

  11. Suet

    Yeah, I should have known that it was about the Focke— ehh doggy doggy, what now?!?

    Dotty, what the Bulmeria! You brought too many things on the table, and they all aren’t party favors

  12. RassilonTDavros

    I have a bad feeling about this.

  13. Kyrik Michalowski

    I’m not comfortable with Billie “needing” to be violent in order to maintain her relationship with Ruth. I still love Billie/Ruth and I don’t trust Jennifer/Asher; that being said I feel like Ruth could have talked about this with Billie first.

    1. Sirksome

      I don’t think Billie is actually abusive as people claim. Violence had been how they flirt which really muddies the intentions behind Billie’s words here. I think this is just an emotional outburst because Ruth basically set her up to be angry. I don’t understand why it’s okay for Ruth to do this. It feels a bit emotionally manipulative. It’s not okay for Billie to start hitting Ruth or even threatening it, but I’m not sure how genuine her intent really is.

      1. jpnr

        I mean Ruth is blocking her door right now

        1. Sirksome

          That’s because Billie can pick locks not because Ruth is afraid Billie will hurt her.

      2. Wraithy2773

        Sure, but her reaction yesterday was “she’s always breaking up with me, I’ll just do what I always do, break into her room and go to bed next to her so that we can un-break-up in the morning”.

        That’s… not remotely healthy.

        1. Psi Baka Onna

          It’s not healthy, no, but I think people keep forgetting that Ruth has a history of convincing herself that she doesn’t deserve nice things. There’s levels of consent being breached, yes, but Billie is very bluntly fighting Ruth’s insecurities and trying to get through to her that she does deserve nice things and when her brain chemistry evens out again, she will still be there. I’m not saying Billie is in the right but I can sympathise with the struggle of constantly having to remind someone that they aren’t the garbage fire they think they are.

          I can understand the anger at Dorothy too as she doesn’t know the extent of Ruth’s insecurities and was woefully unqualified to give advice on the topic. Or at least, that’s how Billie is seeing it right now.

        2. Alex

          Oh I really like this take!

        3. thejeff

          Yup. Like Ruth asked her too, way back when their pact started. If she wants to change that deal, she’s got to do more than she has – like actually talk to Billie about it.
          Which she should, because it’s toxic as fuck, but it’s not really fair to blame Billie for doing what she was asked to.

      3. MisterJinKC

        It’s ok to do it because when she tried, multiple times, to break up in the past Billie would ignore her and physically force her way into Ruth’s home and bed. Ruth is doing what she has to do in order to actually break up because she has been left no other choice.

        1. thejeff

          Maybe she could actually talk to Billie about changing the terms of their relationship. Tell her she doesn’t want Billie to stay even if she tries to make her go.

        2. Sirksome

          The problem is that Ruth enabled that behavior from Billie. It’s what she wanted. She’s not trying to escape a clingy ex, she’s avoiding the confrontation she knew would happen because she created it.

      4. Devin

        They can both be in the wrong in different ways, and both be wronged all at the same time. This relationship has been pretty fundamentally a dumpster fire from the beginning, it seems obvious to me that there doesn’t have to be a party that’s actually in the right. We don’t have to choose a morally superior member of the relationship.

        1. Meagan

          Amen

        2. Madock345

          Haven’t you been on the internet? I’m pretty sure it’s a rule that all situations have to be reduced to being treated like team sports.

        3. Edwin I Callahan

          And using the DSM-5 as a rule book.

    2. MisterJinKC

      Based on how often Billie say Ruth tries to break up with her it sounds like Ruth HAS been talking to her about it and Billie was ignoring her.

      1. Bryy

        Cue her jumping to Asher, who validates her as a Serious Human.

        1. Clif

          Don’t you wish Asher would validate you as a serious human?

          Who wouldn’t.

      2. Sirksome

        She hasn’t. They were actually in a good place and Ruth was happy. Like she just confided all this to Dorothy today including her plan to purposefully blindside Billie with the breakup. She’s for some reason decided this is actually for Billie’s benefit and I think the intention is to get Billie to hate her enough to want to leave herself.

        1. C.T. Phipps

          Yes, Ruth is breaking up for the worst reasons.

          Versus all the VERY GOOD reasons to break up.

    3. C.T. Phipps

      I mean Ruth says she can’t talk with Billie about it because Billie would talk her out of it.

      She wants to break up.

      It’s over.

      1. -

        If one can be talked out of something, one lacks resolve. That’s about all there is to it.

        1. Schpoonman

          That is an entire planet’s worth of flags and they’re all red, Jesus Christ.

        2. Taffy

          We’re gonna need a bigger planet to fit them all.

        3. C.T. Phipps

          If one has the resolve to destroy one’s room and barricade the door, one has resolve.

        4. DrunkenNordmann

          Uhm…. you aware are how shitty that makes you sound, right?

  14. Cmasta1992

    Somehow this is more of a disaster than I could’ve ever guessed

    1. Clif

      Really? Fasten your seatbelt.

  15. The Wellerman

    OK best not to think about this…. I’m gonna make a clone of Baldi’s Basics to take my mind off it AND pad out my chances of getting the coding job.

    Wish me luck!

    1. powerpowerpow

      Good luck, Wellerman!

  16. Viktoria

    Ruth’s going to turn around to Billie struggling in the window and complaining about Sal making it look easy.

    1. Clif

      This! If Sal can do it as Amazigirl, how hard can it be?

  17. BBCC

    Well, I for one have no idea why Ruth’s concerned about the healthiness of this relationship!

    Still ship it hard though. What? I love garbage.

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      …Don’t say “Garbage” it still hurts.

      1. BBCC

        Oooh, yeah, it hurts me now too.

    2. Kyrik Michalowski

      I hope Jennifer dumps Asher and becomes Billie once again. Also, I’d with to see her with Ruth again but healthy this time.

      While I’m at it I might as well ask for a functioning new3dsxl, a quick way to lose fat and a new sword. Those are as likely to happen as the Billie/Jennifer stuff, which is to say, never.

      1. Airyu

        I think I like the Billie goin by Jennifer now. She took on the name Billie because she felt like she had to, and there’s a lot in her life that she seems to fee like she *had* to do. I don’t know enough about Jennifer/Asher, but so far it seems like a relationship for funsies, and not feelin like she had to or for gaining something. But I don’t know

        1. Kyrik Michalowski

          I don’t feel lile Billie/Jennifer /had/ to be Billie, she chose it when there were already other Jennifers. I feel like she went with it because it made her stand out a little more, as opposed to being “Jennifer B.” or something similar.

    3. thejeff

      Thing is, I’m not really sure why Ruth’s concerned about the healthiness of this relationship. I’m pretty sure it’s not for most of the reasons we’re arguing about here – which are mainly good and valid reasons, just not Ruth’s reasons.

  18. Adriynn

    So… now we get Billie going out and having a massive breakdown with a potential for self harm outside of Ruth’s thoroughly blocked door?

    For someone who’s apparently “getting better”, Ruth sure seems to be handling a lot of things worse.

    1. alongcameaspider

      How exactly is Ruth handling this worse?

      She let Billie know, then, knowing the lengths Billie will go to in order to force Ruth to stay, is taking steps to prevent that

      Billie’s mental health is not Ruth’s responsibility and it hasn’t been since Billie moved out of that dorm

      1. Edwin I Callahan

        Remember, from Ruth’s POV, keeping Billie out is as important for her own mental health as it is for Ruth’s.

    2. Switchchris24

      “Getting Better” doesn’t mean your doing good. Right now they are in a state where they arnt suicidal anymore, and they are now looking back on how they treated people when they were and have a shit load of Regret. While they arnt Suicidal they are obviously still suffering from Depression, Anxiety, and Self Loathing. She went from Not Caring to Preemptive Fixing, which happens more then you would think.

    3. anon

      well she did cut her hair and get a new partner. dunno if the haircut was done in the heat of the moment but ‘cutting hair after breakup’ is a common trope as well/maybe symbolism

    4. Mr.Morningstar

      She said that she was basically, in her current rare state of being of sound mind she has come to the conclusion that she is not okay with how willing she was to help Billie die. How they were both had a suicide pact in all but name

      Tbh, their relationship has been addled with co-deoendency, consistently encouraging each other’s addiction and overall being toxic and violent, the reason ruth has to breaking it off is a good and valid one, there just also happens to be many more she has not stated

      What’s more she said that Billie would accuse this of being self destruction and break in in order to stop this from happening which is literally what Billie is planning on doing, so shes making it so she cant.

      Quite frankly, ruth is not in the wrong at all for this

  19. Axel

    I feel like this would read a lot less horrible without the “now I gotta do it.”

    (still super inappropriate to say about your (ex)girlfriend mind, but more in “tasteless comment” territory than an actual threat)

  20. Kitschensyngk

    I think she HAS slept on it.

    In fact, I think she’s slept on it, got out of bed, made coffee, and just opened up the morning paper.

    1. Axel

      this, and also, she probably slept on it enough before Dorothy said that. especially after every other time she tried to break up.

  21. Axel

    Also I feel like this is a good time to mention that on my first read of yesterday’s strip I thought Ruth was locking everyone else in Joyce and Sarah’s room right after what she said on the previous page

    1. Owlmirror

      You can tell that it’s the inside of Ruth’s room because we’ve seen the inside, painted blue with white stripes, presumably for the colours of the Toronto Maple Leafs Hockey team.

      It’s a little hard to distinguish the room’s blue from the blue palette of the flashback, but the white stripes are the giveaway.

      1. Axel

        I figured it out because of this, but at a glance I was just like ‘oh they’re locked in now I guess’

    2. DailyBrad

      Yeah, honestly, I actually thought this was Joyce’s room she was doing this to at first.

    3. brute

      that would have been pretty funny

    4. Airyu

      This made me laugh a lot, thank you, that’s amazing haha

    5. Devin

      Bottle episode!

  22. darkoneko

    Wow Billie, abusive much ?

    1. anon

      well the start of the relationship was pretty confrontational too, tho in ruth’s case she’s also abusing her authority

      1. Vanessa

        I’ve done an about face, probably just like everyone in that room, and now I think Ruth should definitely break up with Billie. Yikes!

  23. DailyBrad

    I am actually kind of impressed Dorothy came right out and laid out what she knew about this. Like, it’s certainly not easy to do, even if I think ultimately it was the right call here.

    Also, I really do hope that Billie’s being facetious that Dorothy should have hit her. I think she is, or at the least, speaking out of frustration, but we do also know she’s good on her threat to get physical with Ruth, which, ugh.

    1. darkoneko

      oh she’s not being facetious, she’s panicking

    2. thejeff

      I’m surprised she wanted Dorothy to hit her. Fighting is foreplay for these two, so why would she want Ruth fooling around with Dorothy?

      Given the very physical fights these two have had in the past and they way they’ve treated them, I really have a hard time taking this seriously as a threat

      1. C.T. Phipps

        Hey not every couple is exclusive.

  24. Francoinblanco

    Now I see Billie in typical greasy undershirt, swearing under her nose gets into her pick-up and drive away tossing away emptied beer can to beat some sense into that goddamn women

  25. Sam

    Goddammit Dorothy, you and your penchant for pacifism and non-violence where possible! Can’t you just punch people in the nose for ever bothering to speak to you like everyone else!?

  26. newlland(Henryvolt)

    OK I’m becoming once again convinced on the bits of disfunction between these two despite it working so well.

  27. Ashley

    Or you could just break up that seems like the healthier thing to do, tbh.

  28. jpnr

    ok now we can scientifically determine who is at fault here

    Dorothy

    1. Clif

      Was there ever any doubt?

    2. Needfuldoer

      It was always…

      Red Herring!

      1. JBento

        It was Red Herring in the dorm room with Chekov’s Gun.

  29. AGV

    Billie you idiot, you do that with bears

  30. Icalasari

    I mean, the last comic already showed Ruth was right to cut Billie out. Now it’s her using physical violence to “Keep Ruth under control”?

    Cripes I need to go on an archive binge because while I remembered how toxic their relationship is, I forgot just HOW toxic it is

    1. thejeff

      Going on that archive binge, I think you’ll find that Ruth generally came out on top when it came to physical violence and that it usually turned both of them on.
      So, I’m not really concerned about Billie using force to “Keep Ruth under control”. Possibly to turn her on enough to make her give up on breaking up.

      1. -

        Yeah, absolutely. Ruth was basically always pulling the strings when things got to the point of a throwdown, and always seemed to at the very least retain a cooler head that got her the advantage. For people now to be wringing their hands at the prospect of the brute Billie thrashing a helpless Ruth is… odd.

        1. DrunkenNordmann

          Uhm, did you ignore the part where Billie’s reaction to Ruth BREAKING UP WITH HER was to want to break into her room and punch her?

          How’s that a valid response? At least Ruth actually realised this relationship was an unhealthy dumpster fire, which is why she’s breaking up with Billie in the first place.

    2. Bryy

      ….. so, Billie totally thinks Ruth slamming her to the floor was her saying “I love you”, doesn’t she? It wasn’t just her confirming that Ruth still has feelings for her, was it?

      Also, this reframes Ruth’s entire “I could have kissed her” as showcasing that Ruth HAS moved past physical violence as affection.

  31. Grayfinity

    Wow, Ruth. Use your head.

    That desk will not hold her back. Put the bed, too.

  32. Thomas

    What I said about liking Billie better than Jennifer? I take that back.

  33. Michael L

    I do no understand why everyone is reading Billie’s words as literally true. Has no one ever heard of hyperbole? This is just a variation on “you should have slapped some sense into her” which usually is not meant to say you should have actually for real assaulted someone.

    1. Mr.Morningstar

      I mean, normally i would, butnconsidering the two in question, and there history of actually beating the shit out of each other it may not be

    2. C.T. Phipps

      I mean, we take it as literally true because Billie hit Ruth in the present.

    3. Sam

      The problem is, this is in the context that Ruth and Jennifer are both physically violent people. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jennifer DID fully believe Dorothy should have ACTUALLY decked Ruth in her face for saying something Jennifer thinks is ridiculous. Jennifer is such a toxic person that I wouldn’t be surprised if this is an actual expectation she has of friends.

      1. Bryy

        Plus, Billie thinks she’s the only one on Earth ever that knows what to do, so…. yes. She was serious.

    4. Keulen

      Both Billie and Ruth have been physically violent towards each other in the past, so Billie could definitely be meaning it literally.

  34. Psi Baka Onna

    Well this explains why Jennifer was especially snippy with Dorothy when they were talking about getting Joyce to see a doctor…

    1. Bryy

      Yup. Dorothy is Billie’s new scapegoat. Which isn’t saying much, because everyone is Billie’s scapegoat, but still.

      1. Joy

        It’s possible that Jennifer just felt frustrated with Dorothy’s recurring character flaw? I don’t disagree that she’s easily frustrated, though.

  35. Derek

    while everyone is calling Billie abusive (and I’m not saying she’s not), this feels like a good time to bring up that when they first met, Ruth was the one constantly being verbally and physically abusive.
    Not that that makes this right, but a baseline of “this is normal behavior for us” has been established

    1. C.T. Phipps

      They both hit each other as we see in the present. Which is abusive.

      1. Zaxares

        Mmhmm. Which is why I’m actually cheering about their separation. Two people can love each other while STILL being absolutely a terribad idea to be in a relationship together. The relationship was twisted and abusive from the get-go, and even though they managed to find a silver lining out of it, it’s still a hella toxic relationship that they both need to get out of.

  36. Needfuldoer

    Is that Carla behind Sal?

    1. Thomas

      That is Carla and she is not tagged!

      1. Amós Batista

        Of course she broke the 4th wall and trolling us by the WordPress…

      2. powerpowerpow

        Willis must pay for his sin

      3. Needfuldoer

        Carla has her tag now!

        I know Willis just edited it back in, but I want to believe Carla added it herself through sheer force of refusing to be ignored.

  37. Dot

    Very glad to see that Ruth is in a clear-headed and rational state of mind about this

    1. Amós Batista

      Her treatment is going well, not being ironic about it.

  38. Buli-buli

    Okay this is already a much better handled breakup than I was expecting from these two. Though admittedly the flashback isn’t over.

    And here are my thoughts on Billie’s (Jennifer’s?) responses so far.

    Not believing the breakup is real?
    Shitty, but expected. Billie lives the “slap-slap-kiss” cliché (a violent and criminal one at that). Of course she’d believe in “playing hard to get”. And/or “she doesn’t know what she wants”.
    I will also hesitantly (very hesitantly) suggest Ruth could have been more consistent in prior breakups. Sure we could assume Ruth wakes up and reminds Billie they’re not a couple, but then again Ruth was making out with Billie just minutes ago. Ruth may have the Right to end the relationship whenever she wants, but mixed messages just confuse Billie’s perceptions of Ruth and feed Billie’s warped narrative of their relationship.

    Billie talking about hitting Ruth.
    I originally dismissed Billie’s words as emotionally charged hyperbole, but the above comments are right. The relationship does have a long history of the two punching each other in the face. So, yeah. I can easily see Billie breaking Ruth’s nose. If not in rage (possible), then certainly in an attempted to reignite the oroginal spark of their relationship.

    …why did people like this relationship again?

    1. JBento

      “Billie lives the “slap-slap-kiss” cliché ”

      To be fair, slap-slap-kiss was literally how Ruth initiated the relationship, except with more punching and bodyslamming and trespassing and property destruction and authority abuse. This has never NOT been a slap-slap-kiss trashfire of a relationship.

      “…why did people like this relationship again?”

      Because it was gay. That’s literally it. That’s also WHY some people dislike Asher so much, because he’s getting in the way of gay. I assure you if Asher was Asherina they’d get a lot less hate.

      1. Buli-buli

        Oh, I know Ruth initiated (EVERY step of this relationship has been uncomfortably messed up), but Billie reciprocated. Now however –and maybe I’m infering too much– medicated Ruth seems to be in a much healthier place, while Billie doesn’t seem to regret a thing.

        1. DrunkenNordmann

          Yeah, Ruth seems to have realised that their relationship was very much not healthy.

          Billie’s response of “Yeah, she just thinks she broke up with me and I’m gonna break into her room again” kinda proves the point.

      2. thejeff

        Because while there are certainly toxic elements to it, they’ve also both supported each other and got each other through some incredibly rough spots. Both really seemed to be in a much better place, despite still having real issues.

        1. JBento

          “they’ve also both supported each other and got each other through some incredibly rough spots”

          No they didn’t. You know who did? Walky, who blasted through two dormrooms when he heard someone he cared abut was at risk. Rachel, who had had enough of the entirety of this drama-ridden dorm (can’t blame her) and went to get somebody higher up in the hierarchy. These two literally decided to lay down and die, which is “getting each other through rough spots” only if sinking a ship counts as “sailing it downwards”.

      3. Username Taken

        100% true. For the readers who just like this relationship because it’s a great source of drama and conflict in the story, that’s fair. I don’t understand the reading that these two are good for each other, though.

      4. Taffy

        Not that anyone needs to justify liking a character ship, but I am 400% only into Billie/Ruth because they’re distressingly hot and do intense fucks on each other. Shallow as it gets, but damn if they’re not entertaining.

      5. Wraithy2773

        Ah, nothing quite like someone assuming they know exactly how other people feel while couching that belief in the most insulting, condescending manner possible.

        Does it being gay have something to do with it? Probably. But its also because the relationship is *interesting*. It’s not as simple as being violent and toxic, even though that’s how it’s showing up right now.

        Ruth and Billie were two largely broken, unhappy, unhealthy people before they got together. None of those issues were caused by them getting together. Their relationship is something that needs to end now, but it has helped them recognize some of their issues and seek help.

        In short, people like the relationship because it’s a complicated one that has been woven throughout the series, and people were hoping that they could transition it into something healthier and happier, even if that wasn’t to be.

        1. JBento

          “But its also because the relationship is *interesting*.”

          It’s really not. I can get several copies of this relationship in excruciating detail by googling news of “domestic violence”.

          “It’s not as simple as being violent and toxic, even though that’s how it’s showing up right now.”

          That’s how it ALWAYS showed up. Because that’s what it always was.

          “Their relationship is something that needs to end now, but it has helped them recognize some of their issues and seek help.”

          No, it didn’t. Again, this relationship led these two to LAY DOWN AND DIE. Neither of them sought help. They were FORCED to get help because Walky burst through two dormrooms to get to them and Rachel called Ruth’s supervisor.

        2. thejeff

          Not to really engage with rest of it, but what does “Walky burst through two dormrooms to get to them” have to do with anything and how did it get them help?
          Billie asked Carla to check in on Ruth while they were hiding because of Mary. Carla noped out when Ruth said dying sounded good and went back to Billie who blew her off saying that was normal. Carla started hauling Billie towards Ruth’s room, but as she explained a little more Billie ran ahead.
          Rachel did make the call to Chloe once everyone got a look. Walky didn’t really have anything to do with it.

        3. JBento

          I went back to check the strips inquestion, and it turns out I was confusing instances. That’s not even the time Walky blasts through dorm rooms.

        4. Joyfulldreams

          We get it. You’re not into it. You don’t need to be into it. But some people are, and being all condescending and overly judgemental about some harmless fun enjoyment of a fictional webcomic couple is just obnoxious.

          Also “people only like it because it’s gay” comes off as a little homophobic. Just saying.

        5. JBento

          “Also “people only like it because it’s gay” comes off as a little homophobic. Just saying.”

          I don’t think “gay people have been starved for representation so they’ll latch on to what they can get, because they haven’t been getting any” is homophobic. If it comes off that way, I apologise.

        6. Bryy

          “The gays only like this toxic relationship because it’s two girls” is actually a very homophobic statement, so thank you for apologizing.

    2. Sam

      I only really liked it to any degree because Jennifer was at moments genuinely sweet like reminding Ruth to take her medication and helping organise her day. Whereas otherwise, I didn’t even like Jennifer.

    3. Rabisch

      Because was very romantic. Not romantic in the sense of flowers and long walks under the moonlight, but in the cursed way of the self destructive passions of the French poets of the 19th century, under alcohol, sadness, death and suicides pacts. There’s a morbid pleasure seeing that Because is really wrong, but at the same time it’s really aesthetic and seems like the extreme consequences of the Love.

    4. Alex

      I admit I had some wishful thinking about it because it seems like they do have real feelings for each other. They’re just not great at expressing it in a healthy way.

    5. RedCat

      Because unhealthy relationships are sometimes more interesting that healthy ones, and this is a comic.

  39. JBento

    Relationship that started out as physically and psychologically abusive continued to be physically and psychologically abusive, news at 11.

    Also, still can’t process the fact that when Ruth went looking for break-up advice she went to Dorothy, whose attempt to break-up with Danny was *checks notes* go to college and hope he’d go to a different one.

    1. cbwroses

      And whose attempt to break up with Walky was to be on hold, then have spontaneous sex, then break up officially because she wasn’t being fair to him, then consider one more round of sex the very next day to make him feel better.

      1. The Oracle

        One begins to wonder if Ruth picked her deliberately based on her credentials.

      2. Adept

        To be fair, one more round of sex would definitely have made me (as Walky) feel better, if only for a while.

      3. Wereg

        To be fair, they’re very dumb and horny 18 year olds. All of that is kinda par for the course.

    2. Alex

      Who else in Ruth’s social set would be a good person to talk to about this?

      1. JBento

        For starters, that is irrelevant, because she didn’t do what Dorothy said she should do in the first place.

        Second, anyone whose breakup history is not the plot of theatrical farces would be a starter. I’m gonna go with Sierra and the rest of the poly, who probably have good communication skills.

    3. RedCat

      Well, she is tied with Amber on most breakups right now, I think, so maybe because Ruth thought she knows the most about it, because experience?

  40. Alan in DC

    Cartoon physics! All Billie has to do is draw a new door next to the actual one, and stroll right in. That means Ruth has to do Ah-Ooo-Gah Eyes in response.

    Get John Kricfalusi on the phone. I smell collab…

  41. Stephen Nedland

    Yes, nothing says, “we’re in a perfectly healthy relationship”, quite like, “I have to beat up my girlfriend, so she doesn’t break up with me”.

  42. the jighole man

    “I told her to think it over and come at it with a clear head.”
    “You should have told her to stop thinking and just be with me!”

  43. Greg

    This reminds me of one time in college when a couple girls from down the hall tied a string from my dorm door to the study lounge door across the hall. On it’s own that’s an okay bit but the next part was really baffling.

    In addition to tying our door to the opposite door, they also ran the string into the study lounge and tied to to a couch. Why? Who knows?? Like, if we’re able to yank our door open with such force that we are able to rip the study lounge door’s handle off, you probably have much larger problems than whether there’s a couch weighing it down on the other end.

    So anyway, the real flaw in their plan was that our room was right in the middle of the hallway, so everybody who had to use the bathroom had to pass by it and now had to deal with a waist high string hanging in the hallway. Needless to say somebody cut it well before my roommate or I ever even woke up. My roommate and I woke up to a random string dangling from our doorknob and in our half-asleep state it took us a while to put together what had happened.

  44. Rabisch

    I hope Dorothy will be safe for Billie’s furious revenge.

  45. Ragingagnostic

    All joking aside (and please let’s set the joking aside), Ruth has made her feelings very clear. Billie’s behavior is stalking, aggression and violence. I don’t care what you people think. This isn’t a healthy relationship and if Ruth wants out of it, that’s her decision and Billie needs to respect that and back off before the police get involved.

  46. Bagge

    Yeah, Dorothy. What gives?

  47. Alex

    And this is why Jennifer isn’t hanging out with this group anymore, isn’t it? Whoever said Dorothy actually has terrible social skills might be on to something.

    1. Wraithy2773

      She might not have good social skills, but at least her solution to a rocky relationship isn’t denial, abuse and violence.

  48. Bathymetheus

    Does the alt-text refer to Ruth’s door lock or nose?

  49. Bryy

    I legit fear what’s going to happen when Asher brings up the “bi” word.

    1. The Wellerman

      Oh no….

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