295

Until
Posted on August 15, 2016 by David M Willis

295 thoughts on “Until”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    But… this is the BEST time to make loads of bad decisions with no one to catch you before you ruin your life FOREVAR!

    /did nothing worse in college life than fail to sign in a dude visitor

    1. Ana Chronistic

      COLLEGE GIRLS GONE WILDwith educational dedication

      1. Wheelpath

        “Tonight, let’s not use the cover protectors on our books”

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          That is going too far. Always Practice Safe Text!

        2. Chief_of_Staves

          Cover protectors: condoms for textbooks, because we know how they multiply over the years.

        3. Silvester Crow

          On behalf of all college students, I award to you this internet for spreading safe text awareness. Let none of us forget to do our part to control the text population. Only buy used books for school, and new books for enjoyment. Don’t spend 160 dollars on a history book you never open!

      2. darkoneko

        woohooo studying ALL NIGHT

      3. Deanatay

        “Bring Your Own Books” sounds like my kind of party!

        1. JustCheetoDust

          Until someone brings phonebooks to a blanket party.

      4. Bagge

        There must be at least one college girls gone wild movie attempting to fool frat boys into studying.

    2. Tunaro

      Young adults making responsible decisions and actively working to better themselves? What the hell is happening to this comic?!

      1. Reltzik

        It’s okay, they’re extras. The main cast is still super-messed up.

        … except Dorothy. Dorothy’s just weird.

      2. WhoWasI

        They’re studying but Dorothy isn’t! “Inconceivable.” What’s next? Mary being compassionate and accepting. Maybe the comic has been hijacked!

        1. AGV

          The strip seems forced, blink twice if you’re kidnapped, Willis

        2. Vincent

          I see some kind of blinking code.

          “H-E-L-P-I-V-E-B-E-E-N-T-A-K-E-N-H-O-S-T-A-G-E-B-Y-T-H-E-D-E-P-A-R-T-M-E-N-T-O-F-E-D-U-C-A-T-I-O-N”

          Whatever could it mean?

    3. Aeron

      But that’s what they do when they’re being watched.

    4. Killian

      Not sure if the worst thing I did in college would be making out with my boyfriend or being in the ballroom dancing club.

      I went to a very strict fundamentalist college. Either of those could have gotten me expelled.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Ballroom dancing was grounds for expulsion? Why, for not “leaving room for Jesus”?!

        Did they give detention to anyone listening to music more edgy than Pat Boone and Up With People?

      2. leafirebender

        wow, that’s stricter than where I go. We started allowing dancing in 2009

      3. Mr Ak

        I, uh, think you may have just broken the first two rules of ballroom dancing club

    5. Yet_One_More_Idiot

      The worst thing I ever did was in secondary school, not uni. It was jerking it in class and getting away with that shit. 😛

  2. butts

    pssht, whatever, got shit to do

    1. Some1

      That is kinda your whole thing

      1. butts

        I AM AN ENDLESS FOUNTAIN OF SHIT

        1. leafirebender

          Did you eat sugarfree gummy bears?

    2. Needfuldoer

      Take out the H and you’re still correct!

  3. Coco Pommel

    Whee freedom

    1. miados

      I’m free. to bad i am to busy to enjoy it.

    2. Stephen R. Bierce

      *plays Michael McDonald’s “Sweet Freedom” on the hacked Muzak*

      1. Stephen R. Bierce

        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewjCsK_icz4 <- "In this neighborhood, a Mercedes is probable cause!"

        1. Cholma

          Great song. “Running Scared” is one of my favorite movies!

          “Try not to scrape the third rail, OK? There’s about 600 volts in there. ”
          “It’s not the voltage that gets you. It’s the amps.”
          “How many amps are there?”
          “Enough to push a train!”

        2. JustCheetoDust

          Gotta love showing your age when that movie title makes you think of Billy Crystal, Gregory Hines and Jimmy Smits instead of Paul Walker.

        3. Deanatay

          “… Why weren’t we on THAT rail?”

          “Oh, now you’re going to criticize my driving??”

        4. Deanatay

          And, of course, my FAVE Running Scared line:

          “You want to come and go as you please – invincible, invulnerable, invisible.”
          “Can you do that?”
          “Won’t be invisible until 4:30.”

        5. thejeff

          It’s one of those movies with all the best lines.

          “Hablo, Smith and Wesson? You have the right to remain DEAD. Anything you do will be used against you. You have the right to a CORONER. If you cannot afford one, we will appoint a medical examiner for you.”

          Of course, in light of headlines over the last few years and a better awareness of police/minority relations – in Chicago, as well as elsewhere, good chunks of it are far more problematic than it seemed to my naive self in the 80s. It’s still witty as hell though. Just that I’m wincing along with laughing.

      2. WhoWasI

        Yea, freedom! But could you keep it down? I’ve got an early class tomorrow. (They really know how to run amuck here.)

      3. StClair

        This was one of the first tunes I put on a mix tape, off the radio, and later acquired as an mp3.
        … my, how thirty years flies.

    3. Thevoiceoftreason

      FREEDOM!
      HORRIBLE HORRIBLE FREEDOM!

  4. AnvilPro

    They can go crazy! They don’t have to wear shoes now!

    1. leafirebender

      you never have to wear shoes in college (except when it snows…)

      1. Killian

        Or in the dining hall.

        1. leafirebender

          yeah, that doesn’t change with the RA leaving tho 😉

  5. Mr. Random

    RAS are there for the people on the further edges of the bell curve.

  6. Robin

    Those rascals with their studyin’ and their BOOKS!

    1. JustCheetoDust

      Way to not live up to this webcomic’s title.

      1. Ana Chronistic

        *they both go back to their rooms and “study” with comics inside the books*

        **yes, even though no one’s watching them**

        1. Dean

          A more advanced textbook is tucked inside the comic.

        2. Deanatay

          I… I didn’t want the other students to feel inferior!

        3. JustCheetoDust

          A graphic novelization of a dissertation is placed inside the more advanced textbook.

        4. SgtWadeyWilson

          A tablet with this very webcomic open is placed inside the graphic novelization of a dissertation.

        5. das-g

          They scroll down to the comment section. Some of the comments are educational. Others link to link to educational comics. Also, educational animations. They skip the other, more fun-focused comments.

          Wat.

        6. JustCheetoDust

          They skip the other, more fun-focused comments.

          Like the pun chains? Those two sicken me.

        7. Ana Chronistic

          It occurred to me there are now Shakespearian graphic novels!

        8. SgtWadeyWilson

          That’s a novel idea, but Shakespeare was pretty graphic already!

  7. Doctor_Who

    The Trope name for this is Reality Ensues.

    Man, reality sucks.

    1. Tunaro

      Counterpoint: Reality has beer, fireworks, anime, tacos, video games, and Batman the Animated Series.
      They are just choosing to ignore these things.

      1. butts

        Don’t forget rockets, the ISS, superconductors, cosmic microwave background radiation, gravitational waves, pentaquarks, aaaaaand pornography. And butts. Never forget about butts.

        1. Bard1cKnowledge

          im more of a leg guy myself

          but in the defense of butts i suppose i can add this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6mAeipSTvs

        2. Needfuldoer

          Without butts there’d be nowhere for legs to attach!

        3. Bard1cKnowledge

          but without legs, butts wouldnt have anything to support them!

          im sorry if this makes you the butt of the joke, but you dont have a leg to stand on!

        4. WhoWasI

          Isn’t the “standing” joke for this is that without your butt, you wouldn’t have anywhere to sit? (Sorry!)

        5. Agemegos

          You’ve seen this week’s “Oglaf”, then?

      2. Tacos

        Counter-counterpoint. Taxes and/or tuition.

  8. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    They should all dye their hair red to help Becky get lost in the crowd so Chloe never realizes there are too many redheads.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Sadly, Too Many Redheads, the Harry Potter spinoff sitcom about hijinks at the Weasely household, only lasted a single season.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Publicity still.

        1. Woobie

          Ha! Love it!
          …distant relatives of my mom?

    2. butts

      Actually, with Mandy’s hair dyed blue, Becky makes it add up to the same number of gingers as before.

    3. Fart Captor

      Her not living on the same floor may help with that.

      I can only hope that after that crap Mary pulled before, she won’t be inclined to listen to anything she might try to report

    4. Fart Captor

      Also, seriously, who would complain about there being too many redheads?

      1. butts

        Maybe she’s jealous. Puddinghead has all the powers of a blonde and a brunette… but she can never be a redhead.

        (Unless she, like, dyed her hair or something. But who does that?*)

        *mandy

        1. Ana Chronistic

          Too many redheads. Throw a redhead away

    5. StClair

      I remember that MASH episode.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        “They said my nose was just sprained and that i should stay off of it for a week.”

    6. Fart Captor

      There, I took care of it

  9. Doctor_Who

    Did Sierra always talk like Shirley the Loon, and I’m just now noticing?

    1. Kris

      Who like knows? She’s barely had like any speaking lines. I’m thinking like probably not though.

      1. Jay Eff

        I’ll be convinced when she starts using words like “Grody” and using “or some junk” as her go-to interjection.

        1. Needfuldoer

          She’s a bit too young to have peak valley-speak. Dropping “like” into every other sentence is the last remnant of that, but it’s everywhere.

          Back in college seemingly every girl had fallen into this habit. To this day I have no idea why.

    2. JustCheetoDust

      She might have picked that up from another show.

  10. Kris

    SIERRA!….See you again in like three months or something.

    1. inqntrol

      And Mandy as well.

  11. Jess

    That’s literally what college is like and I love it. You’re either living it 80%, 90% wild or you’re…this.

    1. Bagge

      OR you are a cute dinosaur chick falling in love with a rad lesbian on the run from her butthole father, which ends up with a car chase and you biting his face and teaching her about 9000 year old corn.

  12. Kkiten

    Did danyone figure out which repurposed character she was? I don’t remember her from any of the older comics.

    1. Nono

      She’s Chloe, a Wal-mart clerk that appeared for all of two strips towards the end of It’s Walky!

      1. Derek

        walmart? what walmart? wasn’t it a nondescript corner store?

        1. Nono

          Possibly, my memory’s off on that one.

    2. Catullus

      Chloe? She was the cashier at the convenience store where Joyce and Walky bought the box of condoms.

    3. John

      Who, Chloe? Yeah, she was the snarky convenience store clerk from near the end of IW!.

      1. John

        Walkyverse Cloe’s [sic] only on-screen appearance. Yeah, I remembered and recognized her from that.

    4. Bicycle Bill

      But what is with her hair?  Looks like she spilled something on the top.
      Or is she supposed to be a bottle-blonde and she’s in the middle of going back to brunette?

      1. Jason

        It’s established canon that she’s a scoop of ice cream with chocolate poured on top. (Or pudding, but whatever.)

  13. Kernanator

    Same. Except, I never really study, so not same, congruent.

  14. Moblin Umbrella

    Well… this is… sad?

    1. butts

      Really playin’ at our heartstrings, there.

      1. inqntrol

        Everyone’s experience through college.

      2. Deanatay

        Dang you, Willis?

  15. Makkabee

    This is an almost eerie level of responsibility from college freshmen.

    1. Nono

      I’m surprised how much testing they have in the first semester of freshmen year. Weekly math quizzes and people studying seriously in about six weeks in?

      1. butts

        …Clearly your college experience was very different from mine.

    2. Tunaro

      Ruth, Joyce, and Amber used up all the local drama reserves for the moment. Gotta give it a coupla days to refill before someone else gets into shit.

    3. AngelBadman

      Why? Ruth isn’t the one that has been making them study up till now.

    4. Regalli

      It’s Sunday afternoon/early evening. THE TIME FOR STUDY, unless you’ve completely lost control of your life and that’s usually…

      well actually it can be right about this point of the semester now that I’m remembering *that* October, but that was mostly beginning and I’m pretty sure most college students aren’t the anxiety disaster zone I was in late 2013 and like. all of 2014. We’ve seen enough of Sierra at least to figure she has an actual executive function and no significant signs of an anxiety disorder reaching critical mass.

      Anyway it took me like, TWO more months before I reached the point people were calling me and driving up to campus to make sure I was alive that year anyway!

      1. Woobie

        It took me forEver to stop postponing study and homework until the last minute (Sunday evening).

        1. Regalli

          I would always fall into this habit of starting off “Oh this is finally going to be the year/semester/class where I FUNCTION!” and for a while it would work! Homework would be done the night it was assigned! I would consider Planning and Outlining my papers, maybe even write some of it in stages! I WOULDN’T routinely do homework 11 PM the night before at earliest!

          And then inevitably I’d fall off the wagon. Something would slip by. I’d try to write a paper and get stuck. Sometimes I’d miss class. Sometimes I’d not have something ready in time for the class it was due in and avoid it for just one day because I’d DEFINITELY have it ready in time for Thursday! Sometimes I’d be so caught up in homework for one course I’d completely forget the other one had it until being confronted with it, like, sometimes the day of. Sometimes I’d open the assignment and just stare in paralyzing fear, particularly when there was a question that threw me off.

          And sometimes I’d just procrastinate because I was a legally-adult-developmentally-FUCK-IF-I-KNOW* and time has never been a thing I’ve had a good handle on. And of course if anyone asked if I needed help I’d say no, because I didn’t really I could totally handle this (I could not totally handle this) and if I wasn’t that was my own fault for not bootstrapping myself into pulling all-nighters again because hey, it worked the first two years, eventually my fear of failure would push through the paralyzing anxiety and brain fog and I’d get shit done even though it was clear that fear of failure was no longer a sufficient motivator. And it all piled up until I was avoiding classes so frequently my professors called DSS and my case manager called my mom and she, in fact, drove to campus one Monday night because I wasn’t answering my phone (in that brilliant anxiety logic that if people are calling you repeatedly and you won’t answer, eventually they’ll give up) and she was, in fact, seriously worried about my life status since even though I’m pretty sure I had left my dorm room to get food, no one had seen me. Not a good day.

          And then we had a talk. I emailed my professors assuring them I was in fact alive and asking for an extension on my final assignments. I read through Adam fucking Bede and Tess of the D’Urbervilles in one night each to have enough of my English Lit class material read to write papers on them. I took an F on the one class after trying all break to make up for material my brain just could not grok. I made it through that spring semester with several more flares of threatening agoraphobia, caught myself and dragged myself into the DSS office to ask for help one day after I realized I needed it and had managed to get out to eat, had several breakdowns including one in the office of the professor I was begging to be able to retake a test for because my spiralling anxiety and routine adherence kept me from scheduling it at the testing center (by the way, fudge you to THAT professor who kept asking me if I thought it was ‘fair to my classmates’ I was asking to take this test, with a guaranteed letter grade loss due to delay, while I was sobbing. My classmates didn’t have a poorly-managed anxiety disorder, learning and developmental disabilities simultaneously kicking their asses!) I got a tutor/Papers For Executive Functioning How-To Person that semester. We tried to adjust my medications over the summer to deal with the mounting anxiety.

          I took a medical leave of absence fall semester senior year, took one class at the school my mom worked at to stay in some degree of habit once I crawled out of the pit THAT med switch precipitated, spent spring semester taking two classes and writing a thesis and being nonetheless entirely spent (in part due to recovering depression, in part due to undiagnosed vitamin deficiencies), and finally seemed to learn some degree of study skill by that point. Graduated in four years/three and a half because thank goodness for AP credits.** If not then then now, a year and a half after graduating when I’m back at school for paralegal training and seem to be actually handling it at a reasonable pace.

          (I really feel bad for Walky and hope he learns in less than five years. It was not fun.)

          * Like I hate and resent that “chronologically they’re x age but mentally they’re x years younger” narrative with autistic and neurodivergent people, but at the same time our brains do in fact develop at different rates and it’s not as though your frontal cortex is even done at 20 for the neurotypical, I have no idea what my brain looked like in 2013-2014 but it was not a Functional Adult Brain.

          ** Yes, I took AP courses and still didn’t have a functional study ability to take to college. It’s complicated.

        2. Lailah

          Hagu, if you want one.

        3. Her.

          older me!

        4. No Name

          I believe you. All AP courses do is give you an excuse not to take a course; they’re still high school level. If I had known that, I wiuld have done it with Chemistry, that way I wouldn’t have to waste time and money taking it a third time because I suck at getting papers done (I failed Chem 101 Lab twice because of that!).

        5. Reltzik

          Actually, I think I’ve figured out the secret to beating procrastination.

          It’s not to stop procrastinating. I’ve determined I don’t have the skill to pull it off.

          It’s to procrastinate some MORE.

          For me, procrastination is something I am quite thoroughly capable of doing. It is a well-practiced, well-honed skill that I implement effortlessly. So, why not turn the liability into a strength? I figure, whenever I want to procrastinate, I will procrastinate on procrastinating?

          That’s right, I can just put off procrastinating until I’m done with whatever I need to do! And THAT is the secret to productivity!

          … at least I think it is. I’ll get around to actually trying it one of these days.

    5. March

      What else would they be doing?

  16. Mandy

    Finally something that looks like what I actually experienced in college. (Probably because I lived in an engineering learning community, but still.)

  17. Cattleprod

    Hey, it’s characters who just had their first appearance reposted on It’s Walky! Synergy.

    1. Reltzik

      But where’s Guns?

      We’re kinda due for someone else to shoot up campus. It’s been a whole year.

      1. Needfuldoer

        NO GUNS EVER.

        Hasn’t it only been a week in-comic since the Ross incident?

        1. Reltzik

          Yeah, but it’s America. A week without a gun incident is actually a pretty long time.

  18. Marvelman

    Nobody has mentioned mid-terms yet.

    1. Opus the Poet

      At this rate we won’t get mid-terms until sometime after the year 2020…

      1. Woobie

        In the yearrrr
        2525…

    2. JustCheetoDust

      Americans in real life will see a midterm election before the people in this comic see a midterm exam.

    3. Bagge

      I’m sure Dorothy will remind us of them.

  19. Tacos

    What anarchy is this? Studying!? Have they no self-control?

  20. Bicycle Bill

    Freedom’s just another word for nuthin’ left to do.

    1. butts

      nuthin’

      DON’T MEAN NOTHING HUN IF IT AIN’T FREE

    2. Bagge

      Freedom’s just another word for having to do your homework

  21. AngelBadman

    Pretty much…

  22. Yumi

    Honestly, in my three years in the dorm I barely needed my RAs. One helped me out in the second semester of my freshman year when I got sick and started puking (in my lofted bed) in the middle of the night, in my sophomore year one helped me locate a shovel to dig out my friends car in the winter, and in my junior year my RA was found passed out drunk in the bathroom around a month in and then we got a new one who I barely saw.

    But also, during my senior year something like seven RAs from one building were caught drinking in one of their rooms at some sort of RA party, and apparently in the time the university scrambled for their replacements, that building was wild.

    1. Bagge

      “Ruth helped me to find a shovel to….”

      For some reason the first end I think of that sentence is NOT “to dig out my friends car”

      1. Kernanator

        Would Ruth help you bury a body?

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          If you let her keep the femurs, sure.

    2. Regalli

      I got help from the one telling the asshole partiers next door to quiet down a bit past curfew/sure it’s 11 PM on a Saturday so technically you can but WE CAN LITERALLY HEAR YOUR MUSIC ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE BUILDING, THROUGH CLOSED DOORS AND GLASS, THIS IS EXCESSIVE, but other than that they were mostly hands-off. Though I think she did check in the day after the Are You Alive debacle but I don’t think Res Life passed on the “please send your RA to check on this student” tip until the day after.

      Which considering that was the semester there was in fact a suicide on campus, was kind of jarring.

    3. ischemgeek

      My year in dorm, my RA was worse than useless – he instigated a lot of the floor hijinks and drama.

      His response to my complaint about my roommate’s 3 AM on a week night hour-long phone conversation habit (happened about 4 nights out of 5)? “Lighten up – at least she has someone to talk to.”

      Yeaaah.

      Eventually wound up going all the way to the Residence Admin building on that front because no, fuck you, a 3AM phone conversation over something that is NOT an emergency is NOT something I should have to put up with more nights than not. She can damn well step outside or schedule the call at a reasonable fucking hour.

      1. Cerberus

        Yeah, my experience was super similar, where the RA was too focused on creeping on freshman girls to really even be present on our side of the hall and so all manner of fucked up things ended up occurring with no checks.

        Hell, the one time we had an official response to anything it wasn’t the guy being sexiled from his room for two months, the person who moved their gf into the dorm room for the entire year, the drug dealer, my roommate’s weird exorcism thing, or any of that. It was one single party by the drunk who regularly had loud drunken parties in his room because he was literally throwing beer cans out the window at passerbys and that caught the attention of campus security.

        And this was at a non-party college. That said, my reaction to the lack of supervision was pretty much Sierra and Mandy’s.

        1. Rukduk

          While my attitude was much like Mandy and Sierr’s my four suite mates were very much party animals. Also, racist. If I had a penny for every time I heard them shout *insert racist term for a black person* or *insert racist term for a Jewish person* I probably would have no student debt. And this was just for junior year. Campus security actually got called on them twice, and since the college operated on a “three strikes” rule they were one away from being kicked off campus. Of course, the first RA got kicked for smoking weed with a student (which they procured from another student). And another student actually got expelled for having a gun in his room. This was all at a private college as well, so administration was not happy. But they were busy trying to deal with four sexual assaults that year, so a lot of crap was gotten away with.

    4. trlkly

      Literally all I ever did with my RAs was talk to them when they were on desk duty, to help pass the time. They would occasionally have hallway meetings.

      I mean, I heard stories about things that happened, like someone getting fined $500 for pulling the fire alarm, but that’s it.

  23. Chrysalis

    And this is why Mandy and Sierra aren’t main characters.

    1. Bagge

      Sarah: “PLEASE LET ME JOIN YOU GUYS!!!!”
      Mandy: “Sorry, this is a no drama zone.”
      Sarah: “What do you mean???? I’m no drama, I don’t do dram… oh shit, I have to check on Joyce and maybe have a shouting match with Raidah, I’ll be back in a minute to tell you about my drama free life.”

    2. Tomas

      –At least until Willis reveals the scars Sierra is hiding behind her hair.

  24. John

    Palette-swapped Mandy still looks weird.

    1. Dean

      That’s Player 2 Mandy.

      1. butts

        Manduigi!

    2. Reltzik

      You know mobs aren’t important if they’re pallet-swapped and the designers couldn’t be bothered to make a new model for them. She’s clearly a dye-m a dozen.

  25. tim gueguen

    Hopefully Mary doesn’t find out about the lack of an RA too soon, as she’s likely to appoint herself as the new one.

    1. March

      The problem is, the only person who thinks Mary is an authority is Mary, and people she has blackmail on. Everyone else seems to just kind of tune her out, or even outright ignore her entire existence.

      1. Reltzik

        And she’s kinda out of people to blackmail.

        Except Becky. …. and Joyce.

        … and she’s got the RM to go tattle to.

        …. but surely that won’t be relevant to the plot at all! It’s not like Becky and Joyce have anything Mary wants.

        1. March

          Would /you/ want to try and fuck with Joyce right now?

          Then again, Mary is the sort of spineless ‘better-than-thou/born-again’ who desperately needs the reality check of a good beat down. Would not be good for Joyce, psychologically, but would remind Mary how to shut the fuck up and keep her opinions to herself like a good entitled, self-righteous asshat,

        2. Reltzik

          So the moral of the story is, no, I wouldn’t want to try and fuck with Joyce right now, but then again I’m smarter than Mary. (And am also benefiting from third-person omniscient perspective.)

        3. Jothki

          For her sake, I hope she never tries to blackmail Amber.

        4. Regalli

          Though at least if she does take things to Chloe/Chloe inevitably finds out because she Actually Pays Attention To Her Job, she seems aware enough to be “wait aren’t you the girl who was rescued from the shooter last week?”

          It’s probably not in her jurisdiction to do anything beyond “okay you can’t live here anymore” and I’m sure she’ll be too swamped to really follow up there, but I can’t imagine her not at least going “you are a clearly homeless teen who was just in the news due to a hate crime, here’s the LGBT helplines.”

        5. Reltzik

          I could see her saying, “Here’s a bunch of resources, and I’m going out on a limb and extending the amount of time you’re allowed to visit to give you one more week.”

    2. Jason

      I thought of that nightmare possibility too, but I’m guessing the administration would much prefer to hire someone who’s not a freshman (as Mary seems to be).

      So I’m guessing … Raidah. (Sarah would probably refuse.)

  26. Chief_of_Staves

    All hell breaks loose without the RA, unless of course, the RA is a factor in the hell. Then the RM prevents all hell from breaking loose.

    All hail pudding Jesus, though Willis the Damned, the great and terrible Pornlord may still send her there for three days. Someone must suffer for our viewing pleasure after all.

  27. Some1

    Questing of Age

    The Airship continues to fly through the sky, and begins to pass over a series of mountains.

    Suddenly

    Hank: Crap!

    Joyce: What’s wrong?

    Hank: For some reason, I’ve lost control of the airship. You’re going to need to evacuate.

    Joyce, Dina, Amber, Ethan, Sarah, Becky, Dorothy and Walky jump out of the ship, while Hank guides it into a snowdrift.

    Hank steps out and walks over to them.

    Hank: Well, it didn’t explode, but it will take a few days to prepare.

    Dorothy: Well at least we brought food, and we can still use the airship for shelter.

    Joyce: I’m going to use this time to train.

    Becky: I’ll join you.

    Dina: I also wish to train.

    Everyone goes there separate ways, and Joyce spends her time training with Dina and Becky.

    Joyce and Becky throw rocks at each other, trying to evade them.

    Joyce and Becky also spend their training, wearing leg weights and climbing up the sides of mountains as quickly as possible.

    Meanwhile, Dina trains by tracking and catching small animals, such as snow rabbits. Making them unable to sense her.

    Joyce: CREATION OF ADAM!

    Joyce attack makes a hole through a mountain.

    Becky: Wow.

    Joyce: Glad to see I haven’t lost it.

    Dorothy walks up to them.

    Dorothy: Hey, what are you doing?

    Becky: Training, you?

    Dorothy: Sparring.

    Suddenly Walky comes flying in, Dorothy grabs his ankle and slams him into the snow.

    Becky: Oooh fun!

    Sarah walks up.

    Sarah: I think Hank’s close to being done with the repairs.

    Walky gets up and brushes himself off.

    Walky: That’s good.

    Dorothy looks on at Joyce, who continues to train.

    Dorothy: I can’t believe how much she continues to improve.

    Becky: We’ve all gotten stronger the last few days, but she takes the cake.

    Hank steps out and calls to them.

    Hank: Hey, the ship is fixed!

    And so they set out again.

    1. Some1

      Also Jocelyne was there.

      1. Falling Star

        I WAS WORRIED

  28. Teddae

    …until what, pudding lady?

    1. DinaWho

      She probably started off intending to say ‘until she’s recovered enough to come back’ and then realised that a) it’s possible that Ruth might end up needing to take the rest of the semester or more off (or be pressured to by the school), and b) Ruth did actually violate the code of conduct(?) in having a relationship with Billie and there may have to be consequences for that as well.

      1. CJ

        Sounds to me like she doesn’t want to commit to anything. So from her point of view, Ruth isn’t necessarily out but also the situation is to unstable to say Ruth will be back.

        1. Cerberus

          Yup, my take is essentially both of those. She was about to say “until she’s recovered enough to come back”, then realized that might be a long time or might not happen (I suspect that Ruth might end up being given just a warning and some heavy observation for her many violations of the code of conduct, if only because the forces downstairs don’t want to deal with all the extra work of finding a replacement).

  29. pjeseb

    “They may take our R.A., but they will never take… OUR HOMEWORK!!!!”

    1. Chief_of_Staves

      More’s the pity.

    2. Reltzik

      Is it really homework if you don’t go home to do it? Isn’t that dormwork instead?

      1. pjeseb

        Meh. I still call my schoolwork homework, even though I do all of it at home (I take online classes).

  30. Rukduk

    I wish my roommates back in college had been as responsible and self-disciplined as Mandy and Sierra.

  31. Reltzik

    BEHOLD IN HORROR THE GRIM SPECTER OF A LEADERLESS SOCIETY DESCENDING INTO HOBBESIAN ANARCHY!

    1. butts

      YOUR MIDTERMS SHALL BE NASTY, BRUTISH, AND SHORT

      1. Reltzik

        ALREADY INTERNET COMMENTATORS HAVE ABANDONED BASIC NETIQUETTE AND ARE TYPING IN ALL CAPS! SOON WE SHALL DESCEND DOWN THE SLIPPERY SLOPE TO LOSS OF PUNCTUATION

  32. March

    When I was in high school, I was in mostly AP classes by my senior year. If one of our teachers called out, what happened was one of the Administrators would pop in, tell us, “Your teacher won’t be here today, please do independent study or form your groups”, then leave us alone, and…we would all form our study groups and work on our assigned reading or exam prep together.

    Those classes really prepared me best for how college would be. I don’t think I ever heard of one single actual movie-scene “party” or “rager” being thrown. We were all too tired and stressed out to do anything but sleep or play video games in our off time.

    1. Regalli

      Damn, your classmates formed study groups and actually worked together? Maybe it’s just that half my AP classmates also took IB and were thus running on stress, despair, and the need to pass despite an utterly back-and-soul-crushing workload to stay in the magnet program instead of going back to the schools they were districted in, but they were known among the school body as the worst cheaters among other goofing offs.

      I think the Art History elective classmates were pretty good, though. Maybe the ones who chose to take AP classes and not the AP/IB combo were well-adjusted, and not walking corpses.

    2. Yumi

      During my freshman year of high school, my biology teacher was out for a meeting one day and the school forgot to get a sub. We were supposed to be taking notes from the overhead that day, so we just sat there and…took notes. When ever the volume level started to rise up, someone would be like, “Guys, we can talk once we’re done.”

      Later in the day (this was second hour) it was found out that a teacher was missing, and when our teacher found out that we had done the work and he hadn’t lost a day of instruction or anything, he was really proud. (I, personally, always thought it was weird that no one told us we should have told the office ourselves, but whatever.)

      1. Regalli

        Impressive.

  33. Fart Captor

    Oh man, I just realized it’s been weeks since we got a strip that wasn’t either really sad, or really happy, or both. Now I don’t know how to deal with a strip that’s not packed with drama!

    WHAT DOES IT MEEAAAN?? What ominous fate does this portend???

    1. Bagge

      Sierra has no shoes – that means she is fated to play electric guitar!!!!

      1. Reltzik

        …. does not compute.

        1. Bagge

          It was a VERY far fetched reference to rock history.

          Paul Mccartney was the only Beatle without shoes on the Abbey Road cover, which was seen by some as a portent about his murder.

          He also played electric guitar.

        2. Dean

          OMG, Sierra’s going to die!!!

        3. DonDueed

          Bass, actually. But I do admire that very far fetched reference, which I totally missed but might have gotten if you’d said bass.

        4. Bagge

          I stand corrected!

        5. Kamino Neko

          Paul’s supposed death was a car accident, not a murder.

        6. Fart Captor

          So what you’re saying is that Sierra is going to be hit by a truck?

          …or is she the truck???

        7. Kamino Neko

          No, I’m saying Ruth is Paul.

          Thus the Ontario Provincial Police patch he’s wearing on Sgt Pepper.

        8. Dean

          IT ALL COMES TOGETHER.

        9. Bagge

          For making a joke entirely based on Beatles lore, I really fail my Beatles facts today…

    2. WhoWasI

      Attempted sexy lesbian suicide wasn’t drama?

      1. Fart Captor

        I mean, today’s strip. The dust is still settling, of course, but there’s definitely no new drama today.

        1. WhoWasI

          Dust settling may be the answer. I’ve noticed Willis usually avoids unrealistic scene cuts. So rather than have everyone walk into the elevator at the health center then instantly appear on the dorm floor, he puts in some unrelated scene while they travel.

          And it gives us time to start anticipating when SOMEBODY is going to realize that Becky doesn’t have a place to stay.

    3. Marsh Maryrose

      It means that shortly there will be a strip with a main character angsting in their bed. While the strains of Komm Susser Tod echo subliminally in the foreshadowing.

      1. Regalli

        I mean, we are in a storyline named for the song.

        It all returns to nothing…

  34. Bagge

    DORM PARTY!!!

  35. Woobie

    It’s anarchy, maaaan!

    1. WhoWasI

      Well, sorta low key, responsible kinda anarchy, dude.

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        But anarchy has to be wild and chaotic! It’s a rule!

        1. WhoWasI

          Then they’re doing it wrong. “Kids today just don’t know how to anarchy anymore! Why in my day … ZZZZZZZZ”

        2. Deanatay

          Hey, sleeping when you’re not supposed to be sleeping is the BEST form of anarchy.

        3. WhoWasI

          So I’m a *Rebel in PJ’s* ?

          (I like that!)

  36. JessWitt

    Well that explains who’s taking over the RA position. Question is, will Ruth still be eligible or even wanting to be RA?

    1. WhoWasI

      Brilliant, decisive management plan there Chloe. “If there’s any problems, I’ll be in my office. Or not.”

      1. pjeseb

        Remember, this is the same woman who considered Ruth one of her best R.A.’s

        1. WhoWasI

          I’ve known several bosses who thought the best employees were just the ones they never saw, (’cause they never got caught).

      2. Regalli

        It’s a Sunday, she’s still dealing with the fallout of “And I just took two seriously depressed students to the Health Center”, and she almost certainly has a pile of paperwork to deal with that.

        Also in my experience the RM offices tend to be in the dorm building themselves if they’re big enough (this one certainly is), and I’m not sure there’s always one on-hours during the weekend. (Certainly they answer if a call comes, but I’m not sure there’s someone in the office.)

        1. Cerberus

          Yeah, given her comment about thinking Ruth was the only RA who had their shit together and campuses’ penchants for understaffing, underpaying, and overworking their few staff positions, I can definitely see Chloe as a poor RM in charge of all the floors of the dorm and busy managing the drama of all of the other floors and all the other poorly-functioning RAs, some of whom are learning how to job for the first time.

          On the flipside, that may protect Ruth somewhat so long as she recovers relatively quickly to be able to return to her duties in some capacity as the general curve for RAs may be somewhat low, so all of her violations of the code of conduct may just earn her a crapton of observation and a very short leash for fucking up again.

        2. thejeff

          There’s also no indication at this point that Chloe knows how badly Ruth was doing her job. No one’s listening to Mary and no one else seems to be coming forward with “Ruth was violent and abusive” or “Ruth was drunk all the time”. I don’t think anyone but Billie really knows the latter.

          Given that, the working assumption might well be that this is a singular lapse and that given support for the depression and some means to handle the relationship, Ruth can go back to doing her previous excellent job.

        3. StClair

          As noted in various other comments on this comic, it is IMO entirely possible that all the other RAs are, in fact, even worse at their alleged job(s).

        4. Emperor Norton II

          no one else seems to be coming forward with “Ruth was violent and abusive”

          Yeah, there is a good reason for that: Ruth was extremely good at it.

          And with that, I mean that she was extremely good at doing it in a way that made it hard to punish her for it. Mainly in the fact that she would not throw the first punch in public. Ever. She would always let the other person (mostly Billie) star the actual physical altercation, so that she could act “in self-defence”.

          If anyone had reported her the first dorm meeting, she would in fact have said just that, that Billie attacked her, and she stopped the attacker. And that would carry a lot of weight, especially with an RM that actually thinks you are the only competent one.

          Now, one could always argue that she did her best to provoke Billie into attacking; and to be honest, I think she probably did, precisely to get that justification. But even so, the fact still remains that Billie started attacking, and Ruth will milk that for everything it is worth.

          And the reaction to this show was not entirely one of horror either. I believe that several of the other residents were in fact quite in awe over how Ruth dealt with what might well have appeared to them to be an entitled, spoiled kid that just tried to punch the R.A. That sort of thing can give off this strange sort of fear mixed with misapplied respect.

          The one other person that I can remember seeing her being violent with was Blaine; and again, the witnesses of that episode seemed to have little reason to come forward to this. Again, she did not attack first. And from what the witnesses just heard, it was a major jerk-ass who probably deserved it anyway.

          And the only person I can remember Ruth targeting for actual abuse was Billie. Which again was tactically smart, even if it was morally crap. Ruth in fact got to Billie so bad that when Billie tried to make a story out of it, she could not describe it in terms that did not sound absolutely ridiculous to Daisy. So when that did not work out for Billie, she probably figured nobody else would believe her either.

      3. Marsh Maryrose

        It’s a Sunday night. I kinda doubt that Chloe has someone in her contact list ready to step in on an hour’s notice.

        1. WhoWasI

          Actually it’s a little surprising that she would announce it this quick after the event. (And a little out of character for Willis to not make us wonder longer. But it does make a good one strip gag.)

        2. Cerberus

          She’s probably following up from the earlier events, trying to make sure people know where they can go if they need to so no one feels completely on their own, especially since this floor might be flagged because of the recent traumatic events that have befallen some of the people on the floor.

          And so it ends up being a two-fer, because she might not be able to be back up here for a week or more due to all the other work of her other duties and having to check in on the recovery of Ruth.

        3. Reltzik

          She’ll likely come up again in an hour with a bunch of copies of a letter to tape to doors or shove under them, informing everyone that she’s the new emergency contact and where to find her. Hopefully, she’s not just trusting Sierra and Mandy to spread the word.

          But yeah, she won’t have time to be very hands on.

    2. Marsh Maryrose

      As far as the eligible part — in my experience on both sides, if an employee with a proven record of good performance is going through a rough patch, any good supervisor will accommodate as much as they can for a reasonable time. Whether or not it’s up to Chloe depends on the workplace. I’m guessing that needing acute care is not going to affect Ruth’s eligibility. But if she’s not able to return to work in a reasonable amount of time….

      1. Cerberus

        Yup, given Chloe’s empathetic response and her “until” comment, it looks like she’s partially wanting Ruth to come back to the position and isn’t intending to fire her, which is good for Ruth.

        But Ruth may need some intensive work and time off and that might eventually prove too much time for Chloe to handle dealing with this floor on her own. Or some of her other stuff might come out like the abuse and threats towards her charges or the alcoholism that might make Chloe re-evaluate the situation.

        1. thejeff

          Though most anything that comes out in the hospital or in therapy should be confidential. In a college setting that’s often not really the case, even if it should be.

        2. WhoWasI

          Every employer I’ve had included a clause in their insurance plan that gave up my right to privacy for any treatment paid for by it. And I witnessed employees fired right after seeking psychiatric help.

          As you said “it should be”, but often it isn’t.

  37. Kitschensyngk

    This day would go down in the annals of Clark Wing as The Day No Femurs Were Lost.

    1. Bagge

      Wild dogs whimper outside campus. “will no one come to feed us?”

  38. leafirebender

    SO TRUE

  39. Ryek Hvek

    If there’s anything that Depression-era Hollywood taught us, the last panel should have the two characters facing each other, simultaneously shouting “Lets put on a show!!”

  40. Idontcarenomore

    That comment ” I will be RA until, well, until whenever” may be good?

    She seemed sympathetic to Ruth’s problems, so maybe this means she’s holding her job open for her?

    Also, when Mary attempted to take over the scene out in the hall, Chloe managed to blow Mary off with little effort, she just ignored her. I don’t think Mary is going to find a sympathetic ear in Chloe’s office.

    Then again, if Mary comes to her with Becky’s story, that will be hard to ignore that a non-student is living in the dorm.

    1. Raza

      Ah, but where will Becky be living exactly? This is kind of up in the air right now. I mean, sure, Mary could probably figure it out, but Becky could relocate with very little effort. She has almost no stuff.

      1. Fart Captor

        Yeah, but all the places she could relocate to are on the same floor. Not exactly gonna throw anyone off her trail.

      2. WhoWasI

        There are several possibilities if the Mary problem can be contained. She could stay in Ruth’s room (Billie and Carla have keys) or Billie could stay in Ruth’s room while Becky stays in Billie’s room with Sal.

        But I doubt Mary will stop being a pain, so I still think Leslie will be involved in finding a place for Becky. She offered to once.

      3. Janet

        Maybe this will be an excuse for Becky to finally get her s*** together and actually register with the school she’s been living at and taking classes at for a month instead of squatting illegally in the dorms.

        1. Fart Captor

          What do you call trying to find a job and *pay* for all that? And trying to get the documents she needs in order to legally get said job?

          She hasn’t exactly been sitting idle for the past week since her dad kidnapped her at gunpoint

    2. Sageress

      “Holding Ruth’s job for her” and “good” only go together if the worst “isn’t” is between them. Ruth is fucking inept, they need to replace her stat.

    3. Cerberus

      That was my take as well on Ruth possibly being in the clear so long as her recovery is over soon enough to make it so Chloe doesn’t feel overwhelmed and like she desperately needs someone to take over. But if she can be stabilized within a week or two (not better, just no longer under observation and more or less trusted to be able to handle things), she should be good and safe from being thrown to the Sir wolves.

      Mary could strike with Becky information, but she’s probably a bit worried at the moment about her blackmail attempt getting out so will probably try and fly under the RM’s radar for a few days until she’s sure Rachel and Grace haven’t ratted her out.

  41. Bea

    I like Sierra’s fashion choices.

    1. inqntrol

      She knows that one day walking barefoot will be the new fashion.

    2. zoelogical

      she is giving short people the opportunity to stare at her navel

      1. Orion Fury

        As opposed to, what, her knees? I bet it’s her knees.

        1. zoelogical

          THE BEE’S KNEES

    3. Jason

      It must be pretty warm in Indiana in early October.

      1. Fart Captor

        I live in Minnesota, and I have coworkers who wear shorts well into November, and t-shirts almost year-round

  42. Siyajkak

    Authority is superfluous, order may prevail without institutionalized hierarchy.

    NO GODS NO MASTERS NO RA’S

    1. Bagge

      “No RA, no RA, nananananana”
      “IDIOTS, there will be an RA”
      “But you said…”
      “I WILL BE YOUR RA!!!! COME WITH ME AND YOU’LL NEVER HAVE TO STUDY AGAIN!!!”

      1. Rukduk

        You know, Scar gets a lot of crap but he’s actually a pretty nice guy to his minions. He basically ends Mufasa’s policy of “banish the hyenas to the worst area of the Pridelands”, with the only real reason that it doesn’t work being a mystically occurring drought.

  43. GenericGuestName

    My freshman year at college our RA didn’t even live in the same building as us. I saw him a grand total of once, and that was because I went and knocked on his door to get him to sign something. And even that took like a week of trying. It was a great year.

  44. Charles Phipps

    What’s genuinely concerning me about Ms. Pudding is that she seems to have thought Ruth was a person who was in any way qualified to be an RA in the first place. Is she some sort of hidden Dolores Umbridge with Ruth as her favorite? The only thing which Ruth ever expressed as an RA was the desire to hurt others so their pain might provide a momentary distraction from her own.

    1. Lailah

      And you know, plenty of minor help and reminders on shit to do. They just weren’t (metaphorically. Or actually) sexy or particularly dramatic, so it wasn’t necessary to do it all the time.

      1. Charles Phipps

        I’m still caught on the, “There’s a school shooting. I’m going to just blow this off since no one seems to care.”

        1. Lailah

          Yes. Take actions from when she was suicidally depressed and could only get out of bed with great effort as the basis for what people do. This is excellent decision making.

        2. Charles Phipps

          Ruth’s suicidal depression is the only time we’ve seen her being an RA because it’s a horrible horrible condition which dominates her life when untreated (her alcoholism certainly didn’t help matters and may be as responsible for her attitude). I love Ruth as a character but that doesn’t mean she should be the RA even if she gets treatment. It’s not an essential part of her character anymore than Buffy working at Fast Food in Seaosn 5 is.

        3. Rutee

          FLatly untrue. For instance:

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/02-i-was-a-teenage-churchmouse/rounds/

          And the name of the comic strongly implies she’d do this sort of thing frequently. We’ve also seen it when she used her standing around offering helpful advice which ended with her fucking with Billie

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-3/01-if-the-shoes-split/pie/

          Whether or not it’s part of her character isn’t really a concern of mine. What is a concern of mine is the idea that she’s never done anything regarding her duties, period.

        4. trlkly

          The point is that said reaction was while she was depressed, so you have no idea how she would act when she’s better.

          Not that I have any problem with what she did. Sure, if people actually cared, then she should be there for them. But since no one did, she handled the mandated meeting perfectly–the same way my RAs did it. They would have a fast meeting doing everything on the list and be done.

          Her threats of violence are the much bigger issue. Those are not actual symptoms of depression (anger is, but not calculated violence), and are not remotely what she is supposed to be doing. There’s maybe something to say about being a bit intimidating and strict, to encourage people work out their own problems. But never violence.

        5. Lailah

          Pretty much. Even assuming they were basically not ‘actual’ threats against anyone besides Billy (And Blaine), it’s not a healthy way (for her charges) for her to go about doing shit. That shit’s fucked up.

          Though given that she had the victim herself in her hall, I /do/ actually agree that a bit more on that meeting was called for. Well, no, not the meeting, with Joyce herself.

  45. BenRG

    “So, what wild and crazy thing will we do whilst there’s no Ruthless to control us?”

    “I’ll think about that later; I’ve got a big essay due on Monday!”

    It’s a miracle really that college students actually ever have the opportunity to do anything ‘wild and crazy’! 😉

    1. BrokenEye, The True False Prophet

      Yeah, but in this case taking advantage of the situation makes you… well.. Mary

      1. Lailah

        Well, no. Just using your lack of supervision to do stuff is… it’s not going to make you Mary. Mary was rather active and /tried/ to hurt people. She succeeded, but it’s also important that she tried. Playing music kinda loud might screw someone over, but where they are now, it could easily not, and, well. It’s not willfully trying to hurt people.

  46. Orion Fury

    Just came off a high feel comic, I guess we needed a drama-free chaser. At least Mary or Amazigirl aren’t tagged in this comic, cause if anyone gonna bring the drama right now, they seem to be the ones most likely to do so.

    1. Orion Fury

      Well, ‘zanny’ drama.

  47. Lordess of Madness

    At least turn the music up a little!

  48. Keulan

    Ah, college.

  49. Triniking1234

    Study or die!

    directed by Michael Bay.

  50. Willoughby Chase

    Anarchy Rules, OK!

    1. BenRG

      Unless it is just too much effort, in which case we’ll stick with quietly conforming.

      1. Lailah

        Well, that is actually part of anarchism.

    2. Reltzik

      …. what are the words “anarchy” and “rules” doing comprising a sentence together? That’s like a direct contradiction.

  51. Stairmasternem

    Chloe’s informing is pretty neutral. Is she leaving it potentially open for Ruth to come back?

    1. Spencer

      It’s possible, but I don’t think it’s likely. Ruth’s relationship with Billie’s out in the open now. If this was over Ruth’s depression then that could conceivably leave her open to return later, but she violated one of the rules of the job.

      1. stairmasternem

        True I suppose. It can be read negatively in that way then.

      2. segnosaur

        Of course it depends on how seriously they take that rule about RAs having relationships with students.

        If it were a teacher/student relationship, it would definitely be a no-no. But, an RA doesn’t have as much power over a student, so its possible they would just let things slide.

        (Of course, the double-whammy of the relationship plus Ruth’s depression might make it a problem.)

  52. BenRG

    A lot depends on how long it takes until they reach ‘Until’. If it’s long enough, I can see a temporary RA being appointed just to keep things moving. Sarah or Raidah are the only obvious candidates at this point although I think Raidah may decline just because she doesn’t want to have to move to Read Hall from wherever she’s currently staying.

    I’m thinking that ‘until’ means “Until the doctors come back with some solid assessment of Ruth’s mental and emotional health.” It’s quite possible that the Residence Department may decide that Ruth’s depression makes it dangerous for her to hold such a position as RA simply because she may literally be so unable to function on some days that she simply cannot motivate herself to do even the most essential duties or provide even the most urgently-needed (immediately safety-critical) assistance.

    However, I can see a possibility that Ruth’s doctor may recommend that she retain some level of responsibility on the grounds that she needs to feel useful and she needs to have some manner of a paid position to maintain her stability; without it, she may crash even worse than before. In those circumstances, I can see Ruth being retained as nominally RA (and, in fact, doing the job more often than not) but with an ‘assistant’ (in fact, a monitor) who will step in if she has a bad turn and can’t function for a few days.

  53. Tomas

    Who are they staring at in panel 4?

    1. Bagge

      YOUUUUUUUUUUU

    2. Fart Captor

      Mary. She’d been gagged and duct taped to the ceiling, and these two had been considering letting her down.

    3. BenRG

      They’re staring at a big bare drywall with ‘Fourth Wall – Do Not Look Directly At This’ stencilled on it in red.

      1. Fart Captor

        And now there’s no one to stop them!

        Hah! Take that, wall!

        1. DSL

          They’re just not that into us.

  54. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    ANARCHY!!!!! Meh, the first big tests are coming up, so no time.

    But beyond that, I’m really heartened by Chloe’s comment and general empathy to Ruth’s situation. Ruth may actually have a job at the end of all this, but have to rapidly adapt her approach as she’ll be under much stricter observation, random checks, and generally more oversight than she’s used to.*

    *Not to say that Ruth is at all qualified for said job at the moment, more just the low curve of RAs is working in her favor. As is Chloe being the sort of RM who understands how nasty a disease like depression can be and is sympathetic to it.

    That all said, it’s probably got a time limit and that time limit is when it proves too much stress and work for Chloe, or if more of her actions come to light and the forces above her say she needs to be suspended or forced to take a semester off. And that might be more than Ruth can handle.

    Ruth might also just complete the self-destruction because she can’t handle worrying about it anymore or the limbo state of her job and tell Chloe to employ someone else for the position.

    But she’s definitely in a much better position than she ever hoped she would be when this situation came out.

    1. Bagge

      If nothing else I think Chloe will be sympathetic and actively try to help Ruth find a possible solution to keep her in Indiana.

      She might even feel a tad guilty for letting the situation go this far without noticing and stepping in, at least that’s how I read her small-voice comment here
      http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/04-it-all-returns/chloe/

      1. Cerberus

        Yeah, I think there might also be an element of guilt there. And I think she’s going to try and do what she can to support her, even though that might be very little. Which is kinda what you want from a person for whom part of the job is mentoring students.

  55. WhoWasI

    So the door is left open for Ruth returning. In the real world, I think that the job of RA is such a terrible, thankless job that only the desperate or malicious will take it. Is Chloe so hard up for people that will take this job that she’ll overlook Ruth’s problems?

    Or what if Ruth really was one of the better RA’s, and the others are much worse?

    1. Rukduk

      So far the only other RA we’ve even heard of is the guys’ RA who apparently doesn’t give a damn as long as his Star Trek marathons aren’t interrupted. That said, knowing some hardcore Trekkies (I’m more of a Trekkie light myself) interrupting said marathons with, say, loud music might actually result in action that makes the theft of femurs look light by comparison.

      1. Reltzik

        I’m imagining him barging into the offending students’ room in full costume and administering a couple of headbutts before destroying the stereo with a bat’leth.

      2. WhoWasI

        So for any infraction of the rules, he makes them wear a Red Shirt and threatens if they do it again, he’ll send them on an Away Mission.

    2. Fart Captor

      Well, when she actually did her job, she seemed to be a competent (if mean) RA, up until she got blackmailed. If she were actually dealing with her drinking and depression, she would probably be much better at it.

      1. segnosaur

        Maybe, maybe not.

        While she did run a ‘tight ship’, she also:
        – used violence on a student (tossing Billie)
        – messed with a student’s property (throwing Joyce’s gloves out the window)

        Now, you characterize it as being ‘mean’, but some might say its downright abusive.

        1. Greenygal

          There was also the whole saga of “I went into your room, stole your property, and am going to vandalize it until you get me your roommate agreement, even though it’s your roommate who’s the actual hangup here.” Abusive and incompetent.

        2. Fart Captor

          I don’t know about incompetent. Given how much trouble Billie had tracking her down, I’d say it made sense to delegate.

          Though I had forgotten about the stuff she had done early on.

        3. Greenygal

          The sane way to deal with that: emailing Sal and Billie to let them know she needs their roommate agreement ASAP. The insane way: stealing Sal’s personal possessions and leaving a note as to why. Either would have gotten the job done faster.

  56. wakeangel2001

    who would have thought they could be responsible adults who don’t need constant supervision.

  57. Charles Phipps

    I still hope Puddinghair goes to Ruth and says, “You have to get better. You were the only person who TERRIFIED these kids. Who made them weep, beg, and drop out of school! WE NEED YOU!”

  58. Minder

    YAY MANDY PLEASE ALWAYS MORE MANDY where’s Grace

  59. Falling Star

    So glad we’re all responsible here.
    [inward snrk]

  60. leafirebender

    This is so true.

  61. Romanticide

    welcome to the dessert of the real girls.

  62. HiiroArana79

    The girl with hair covering her face is Glasco’s daughter from Short pack?Did she scheme her way into collage via the movie Soul Man?

    1. Fart Captor

      No, that was Connie / Conquest.

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