179

Spill
Posted on May 28, 2013 by David M Willis
I am back from Phoenix!  I met so many people and loved all of you!

179 thoughts on “Spill”

  1. Juliecat

    AAAARG CLIFFHANGER!

    1. Darth

      CLIFFJUMPER!

      1. Wack'd

        CLIFF RICHARDS!

        1. Dean

          CLIFFORD D. SIMAK!

        2. Rob Stark

          HEATHCLIFF HUXSTABLE!

        3. Doctor_Who

          CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG!

        4. Totz the Plaid

          Damn! I didn’t reload the tab and someone got it before me…

        5. Totz the Plaid

          HEATHCLIFF THE CAT!

        6. Groove

          Cliff Richard and falling off a cliff:

          http://youtu.be/ozjN_bmfI5c?t=2m55s

        7. SeanNOLA

          Cliff’s Notes!

        8. Wack'd

          Fun fact–all of my knoweldge of Cliff Richards comes from The Young Ones.

        9. Totz the Plaid

          CLIFFORD THE BIG RED DOG!

        10. tahrey

          HANK MARVIN!

          Wait what game were we playing again

      2. TheBenenator

        AAaaagh! Frickin’ CLIFF RACERS!

        (These things, if you don’t remember: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/File:MW-creature-Cliff_Racer.jpg)

        1. Led

          Thankfully, those horrible creatures were wiped out by Saint Jiub somewhere between Morrowind/Oblivion and Skyrim 😀

        2. Buckybone

          More like wiped out by the GIANT VOLCANIC ERUPTION.

    2. Mr. L. Shade

      CLIFF NOTES (or the condensed version: ClfNts)

      1. DSL

        CLIFF CLAVEN!

  2. wednesday

    …pee?

    1. Kernanator

      Urine trouble now.

      1. Juliecat

        just a piddle bit

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Does that mean that wee are going to start another widdle pun thread?

        2. Wonder Wig

          It’s to-ilet. It’s already started.

        3. Doom Shepherd

          Cool, I’m a whizz at puns.

        4. Vabolo

          That wasn’t quite flush with the other puns.

        5. Wack'd

          Oh, like yours is much wetter.

        6. Rob Stark

          who gives a crap?!?

          … I think I did that wrong.

        7. Totz the Plaid

          Oh, just shake it off…

        8. nothri

          These puns are awful, and that pisses me off.

        9. TheBenenator

          These puns are just bowling me over in the lolvatory.

        10. Bettyspaghetti42

          Alright guys, this is getting off mark, let’s wipe it up.

        11. Mal

          No job is complete until the paperwork is done.

        12. TPman

          Tooo funny! I’m bowelling with laughter!

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Your guess is as good as mine.

    3. HK-A6A7

      Nah, it’s booze… A LOT of booze.

    4. M84A2

      Well it is a common reaction when somebody dies. It is kind of grim for Ruth to commit suicide by hanging herself from the doorknob or having an auto-erotic asphyxiation accident.

      1. ZZANzzzz

        It’s not dark. It’s just F’ing intense, like going camping with prostitutes

    5. Neospector

      Suddenly, urine, again?

    6. Felix Kütt

      Someones trying to drown them selves…

    7. Zuche

      We’re just flush with toilet humour today, aren’t we?

  3. Aras Pabedinskas

    I hope that is just alcohol and Billie’s alcohol consumption has given her super scent for alcohol.

    1. Totz the Plaid

      If alcohol is soaking the carpet THAT much, anyone could smell it. Familiar with the stuff or not.

    2. timemonkey

      If she starts licking carpet we’ll know it’s alcohol.

      1. Melvin Schlock

        I think that story line is happening elsewhere on campus.

        1. Josh

          I’d like to think on the other side of that door.

      2. Robin

        Or that Billie secretly is Bear Grylls.

    3. Skull025

      Confrontation time?

    4. Tomb

      Her super heroine name would be Booze Hound

      1. nekobawt

        wait, i thought it was amazi-girl.

  4. Wonder Wig

    I don’t know if I could’ve handled this as a Friday cliffhanger.

    1. RaijinK

      Saturday.

      1. RaijinK

        Don’t mind me, just posting before reading alt-text and also before considering how obnoxiously pedantic it can sound.

  5. Kernanator

    It’s vomit stains.

    Either that or beer.

    1. saltchocolate

      But seeping under the door?

      1. ASmellyOgre

        She opens the door and a wave of alcohol comes out, flooding the whole floor and knocking people off of their feet. Ruth literally drowned herself in it.

        1. saltchocolate

          No!! Let Billie save Ruth. Let her save the whole floor! Cheerleader to the rescue!

        2. timemonkey

          She will drink all the booze and save them all!

        3. Geminia999

          That reminds me of a scene form Strange brew
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssM4KBRX_Qw

        4. HMRC4EVR

          Save the cheerleader, save the booze??

        5. Wack'd

          And then the entire rest of the comic is just a riff on The Shining.

        6. Totz the Plaid

          *Jack Nicholson voice* Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit’s Walky!

        7. Totz the Plaid

          All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl. All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl. All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl. All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl.All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl. All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl.All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl. All Ethan and no makeouts makes Joyce a dull girl.

        8. Tenn

          Galasso as the ghost bartender.

    2. Rex Hondo

      “or”? The two are not even remotely mutually exclusive.

      1. molochmachine

        Nice comment-avatar synergy there.

  6. pisshorse

    Nooooooooo!

    1. Ivan

      I think Ruth’s water broke!

      I didn’t even know she had her water fixed!

  7. David Herbert

    And then she walks off ’cause she ain’t give a damn.

  8. BayoWolf

    I AM INDIFFERENT TOWARDS YOU WILLIS!

  9. GoogerGeiger

    Urine for a surprise in the next comic!

  10. SUGauthor

    Are we finally going to see Ruth?

  11. Red Robot

    Hoping for alcohol here. Seeing that was meant to be a cliffhanger, I feel compelled to say it: Damn you, Willis! Now I am hoping yet dreading that some day, when the book is printed, this strip will come in scratch-and-sniff…

  12. Sporky

    Oh no, Ruth’s room is flooding with her own tears!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOOK OUT

    1. Doctor_Who

      Dammit Ruth, just because something says “Eat me” on it doesn’t mean you should! Now you’ll never get through the little door!

  13. Plasma Mongoose

    Billie’s booze senses are tingling.

  14. John Harmon

    Uh-oh…

  15. Doom Shepherd

    Daid of alcohol poisoning?

    1. Wack'd

      I can’t help but read that in the voice of the little girl from Manos: the Hands of Fate because I’m reading your spelling error phonetically.

      1. Doctor_Who

        I hear it as Judd from Oklahoma; “Poor Judd is daid”

        1. Doom Shepherd

          Flawless victory.

      2. Doom Shepherd

        No error, I spelled it that way on purpose.

  16. NerdHerder

    Welcome to America’s #17 game show,

    GUESS THAT LIQUID!

    Is it:
    a) Urine
    b) Alcohol
    c) Water
    d) Liquified Iocane Powder

    1. Wack'd

      It can’t be d), Billie clearly smelled it.

    2. james

      E) love juice

      A mass orgy is happening behind that door

      1. Robbie C

        Ick. I can’t believe I was the only one to think of this.

        1. Viredae

          That gravatar fits so well.

  17. Locke

    “Free beer, sweet!”

  18. Z3tto

    It’s a tarp!

  19. Smugulon

    Finally some more Billie ‘n Ruth? Was waiting for that for a long time…altough I am sure it will be sweet sweet drama of the Willis variety waiting ahead. And I just want them to be happy q_q

  20. piemanpie24

    Judging by the title of the strip, I’m going to guess it’s alcohol. You don’t normally spill urine, unless you keep it in a jar. Which Ruth may have been doing…

    1. Ivan

      Judging by the title, Exxon & BP have set up a joint drilling operation in the limestone, but the blow-out protectors sucked and blew (blowed?)… and now we have this 879,000,000 gallon spill on our hands! Will Briscoe ever be the same again??

  21. Em

    Vomit is likely, but generally doesn’t look like that. Pee seems really strange. My guess is that she broke a bottle of strong liquor in front of the door. (err…behind it?) Maybe by unintentionally stepping on it. I hope Bilie calls campus police. Well, I mean after checking for herself, and maybe asking around. That seems more realistic.

  22. Philippe G.

    “My booze sense is tingling.”

  23. Em

    But since WHEN are Willis comics realistic? xD

  24. ridtom

    D-Do we want to know what that is??

  25. Alex Stritar

    So… they say Ruth hasn’t left her dorm room at all since the kiss? Does that mean not even to go to the bathroom? … I’d say give it a week and she’ll be forced out of the room as a bio-hazard.

    1. Yes Son, I Am Space

      RA’s get their own bathroom in some colleges.

  26. timemonkey

    I keep forgetting Ruth is even in this comic.

  27. Chronomancer

    That’s body juice. Like, Dead body juice. Cause Ruth is probably dead.

    1. tahrey

      Sad to say that was my first thought as well. Anything else is kind of hard to explain and there’s little else that would cause your nose to rankle up like that. Unless it’s quite humid there and spilt beer has time to soak that far through the carpet and go bad before evaporating away.

      Could be that Ethan is gay, Ruth dies… multiversally.

      There’s still hope of course, but there’s been some pretty strident foreshadowing.

      Time to call CSI Indiana.

      1. Gargamel

        I wouldn’t have thought she would become decomposed that quickly.
        Though I suppose it depends how warm it is in the apartment.

      2. Raen

        Everybody dies multiversally.

        Given that Billie was the one to notice the smell, I’m going with whiskey.

      3. Tenn

        She can’t die without saying the arc words. Off-panel doesn’t count. I’m adamant about this.

      4. Rex Hondo

        Billie’s already there, and she is a CSI.

        Cheerleader Super Intoxicated

  28. nothri

    Dear Ruth, please be something other than dead. That’s all I ask.

    1. Zuche

      I echo that sentiment.

    2. xKiv

      Suddenly, undead.

      1. nothri

        Hot Vampire lesbian Ruth sounds suddenly sounds like the greatest thing ever.

  29. jnzooger

    I really hope its not what I think it is… Gasoline.

    1. Raen

      Are you suggesting Ruth is a catgirl?

  30. Kamino Neko

    … We’ve already had enough Saturday comics to move a planned Friday comic to Tuesday?

    Where has the time gone? (Also, assuming the Kickstarter doesn’t get to the point of Sunday comics coming, any idea how long before you get to the point where cliffhangers are planned for when the comics actually go on their break again?)

    1. xKiv

      It’s on tuesday this week, so monday, saturday, friday … three almost-weeks … 18 days from now.

  31. Yes Son, I Am Space

    My guess is, it’s a puddle of Hennessy. In which Ruth has been looking for answers.

    1. tahrey

      That’s a stupid-expensive puddle if so. More likely a puddle of Wild Grouse or some other off-brand gulpin’ whiskey.

    2. Tenn

      So that’s what Hennessy is. I’ve been too lazy to google it.

  32. Gregory

    IT’S BODY FLUIDS FROM THE CORPSE!

  33. Uniqueantique

    I have been pretty sure that Ruth is in the trash chute every since she was first noticed missing, and the chute was mentioned as being backed up. However, as no one’s mentioned trouble with the chute lately (lately? DoA time?) I guess maybe that’s Ruth seeping out from under the door.

    1. begbert2

      Billie cleared it with a well-placed kick. Presumably any corpses that were in the shaft are now waiting for pickup in the dumpster below.

  34. Audiophillie

    The wild Billie is able to smell sources of alcohol from up to 500 yards away.

  35. Layman

    Guys, she’s clearly partaking in a water fight. Be glad Ruth finally lightened up.

  36. Gil

    Ruth is spiderman! See this pic: http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/37537_134325696602150_5974198_n.jpg

    1. begbert2

      Aunt May’s next thought: Ewww.

  37. Ellerious

    Did anyone think about lighter fluid? That stuff has a strong smell right?

    1. Ivan

      Rotten eggs have a strong smell too… But why would it be lighter fluid or rotten eggs??

      I don’t get your reasoning. Because it is something that could smell strong, it should be considered?

      How about the juice from a 5 gallon jar of pickled pigs feet? That has a strong smell, right? Or last year’s Kimchi that Ruth had been preparing to share with the entire floor as punishment — but now, suddenly, the radioactive seal has broken, and is flooding the whole compartment!

      SHE’S DEAD ALREADY!

      1. Ellerious

        I’m not exactly sure why I even thought of lighter fluid. Somehow that was the first thing that popped into my head. Lighter fluid seems so extreme. Sorry about that.

    2. tahrey

      Lighter fluid?

      Well, perhaps, but that’s some exceedingly lateral thinking right there…
      1. Just how do you get to the point of making a puddle of it, seeing as disposable lighters contain very small amounts each, and the refills for reusable ones come in aerosol cans?
      2. Why … just, why? Is the suggestion that she was trying to off herself by way of solvent inhalation, or that she was (is?) trying to set the place ablaze?
      3. Lighter fluid evaporates pretty damn fast, which is why small amounts of it have a strong smell (and why sniffers go for it). Not sure it would soak through a carpet so much as just wick up through it and into the air.

      This does however prompt a new theory: it’s the overspill from a gallon of gas, tipped over her head, and she’s about to burst through the door looking like the Human Torch, having set herself alight and intending to give firey hugs to as many people as possible before jumping down the trash chute to start a powerful, blinding/choking-smoke-billowing, building-consuming blaze thanks to the combination of thin plastic bags, small pieces of paper and card, copious amounts of part-fermented organic waste, and a wide but still enclosed flue with ersatz chimneys opening out onto every floor.

      1. Josh

        Then they kiss, I mean what’s hotter than lesbians making out? Lesbians making out while on fire.

      2. Churba

        Nah, you’re thinking of butane refills. Lighter fluid is literally a fluid, usually a light petroleum distillate, that you use to fuel lighters that use a padding-and-wick sort of arrangement, rather than pressurized gas – Zippo Lighters, for example.

  38. Brando

    ……This universe HAS to be better to Ruth. Come on!

  39. LittleWyvern18

    it’s like the longer you stare at billie’s face in the last panel, the funnier it is

  40. tahrey

    Hang on … look closer at the puddle.

    There’s three bits, only one of which overlaps with the door frame.

    Whatever that is, it was spilt on the outside.

  41. Kai Gon

    So … I wonder, why noone thought about bathing foam or shower gel?

    Ruth came back from the showers, her towel in one hand, shower gel and shaver in the other hand, fumbling with her keys – and dropped the bottle of shower gel.

    1. CianM1301

      Now THAT is an interesting theory. Let’s hope it’s right, too. But then again, how would Billie be able to smell that?

      1. madd

        Have you never walked past a Bath and Body Works?

      2. TheKelliestKelly

        No, Billie would definitely be able to smell another girl’s shower gel; especially if it was recently spilled.

        1. xKiv

          Only if it’s alcohol-based.

        2. CianM1301

          What if the bottle was closed? The spill could could have been caused by the bottle being wet, in which case it would just be water, which would not explain how she was able to smell it.

  42. StealthMarmot

    I seriously hope it isn’t water… because it would be one DARK turn for this comic.

    1. e-

      I don’t think the dorm rooms have plumbing…

      1. begbert2

        Other than the attached bathrooms that have been repeatedly shown, you mean?

    2. Heavensrun

      Eh, the attached bathrooms don’t have baths or showers, which means if it’s coming from the attached bath it’s coming from a sink or toilet. I cannot really fathom a suicide attempt that involves leaving a sink going, and death by swirly isn’t really suicide material. If it’s water from a glass or bottle, then it has to be recent. And honestly, IIRC, they’re upstairs. If the bath -was- overflowing, they’d know it downstairs probably before it leaked into the hallway.

    3. LittleWyvern18

      i don’t know if this was a dark waters reference or not but if it was, it was appreciated.

  43. Darth Cariss

    SHE DEAD

    1. Josh

      She’s dead Dave!

      1. showler

        They’re all dead, Dave!

        1. Boom

          Everybody is dead, Dave.

        2. Totz the Plaid

          Dave’s dead, Dave.

          (Sorry, had to go for Narbonic’s reference of the Red Dwarf reference you’re all pulling out.)

  44. Snograt

    That’s an assprint, a footprint and a handprint. Someone’s squatted in that doorway for peepee.

  45. Josh

    Last panel Billie: “Oooooh! Free beer!”

    1. David

      +1

  46. Scott

    I think I’ve been watching too many crime dramas. I saw that puddle and I’m like, “We haven’t seen Ruth in so long. Maybe it’s because she’s dead.” Which makes sense when you consider that she looks down because she can smell something. >__< I hope I'm wrong.

  47. Arkadi

    Hennessy!

  48. Animal

    The sweet stench of vodka, urine, vomit and failure.

  49. Cattus

    She’s dead Jim, Dead!

    1. jnzooger

      Damnit Bones, I’m a captain not a doctor…wait, that’s your line.

  50. Miles Dryden

    It’s go time people.

  51. begbert2

    This was supposed to be a cliffhanger, so clearly it’s blood. Ruth has very clear, very smelly blood.

  52. John

    Billie’s going to shrug and walk away. In a week or two, something else will draw her attention to Ruth’s door. She’ll consider it for a moment, then shrug and walk away. This sort of thing will repeat for the entire rest of the comic’s run. We’ll never actually see Ruth again. Because damn you Willis, that’s why.

    1. Shariku Onikage

      I would love this to happen.

  53. Robert

    “Ruth, Defecating yourself is not going to help make me want to hump you, sweetie.”

  54. Kaos

    Billie looks like she is kinda disgusted by the smell. so perhaps it is pee or worser.. bodyfluid. *shudders* Don’t be dead Ruth. DON’T! we will revive you and you will be an awesome zombie RA who snacks on the naughty “lawbreakers” 😀

  55. Doom Shepherd

    Maybe it’s KY Intense!

    1. Animal

      Please let this be true.

  56. Ucchan

    My guess is alcohol. For some reason, I’m thinking it’s vodka.

    1. Ed Rhodes

      Vodka doesn’t have a smell.

      1. Aydr

        Except for the distinctive alcohol smell most vodka has.

        Seriously, this is college. What kind of vodka do you think they’re drinking?

  57. Luzahn

    Alcohol does seem to be the most sensible guess here. However, my stupid brain seems to keep insisting that Ruth is dead, because it is a jerk.

    1. Heavensrun

      I’d be really surprised if Willis killed Ruth. I mean, on one hand, it’d be a pretty huge tonal shift fairly early in the storyline. It’d also mean Ruth was “that girl that Billie made out with that then died”, and it’d also be kinda sudden for Ruth’s arc, as well as Billie’s. I mean, it’s established that she’s troubled, she has some vague issue with somebody that isn’t her dad, and she has a crush on Billie. Killing her off now would just sort of leave things incomplete and unresolved. That happens in reality, but it’s not very satisfying in a fictional narrative.

      1. Luzahn

        I would be surprised as well for him to go that route. Aside from Willis stating that he isn’t going to kill her off, it’s more likely that he would go with a near-miss sort of deal, like Joyce’s party incident.

        What was interesting for me though is that I got worried she may have been killed off without even having read Willis’ other work at the time. I blame an overabundance of detective shows. =P

  58. Ed Rhodes

    Crap! Now I’m caught up! I HATE when that happens!

    1. Luzahn

      Don’t worry, daily(ish) updates! Also, we appear to be forming a Mary-gravatar singularity.

    2. Buckybone

      For the low low price of $2,235, you can unlock Sunday updates for all of us!

  59. Rex Hondo

    I see two distinct possibilities:

    1. Ruth deliberately left a puddle of booze outside her door as bait for a Billie sexy-trap.

    2. Ruth’s demons are a lot more literal than anybody thought, and she just killed one in her room. The ectoplasm seeped under the door, but don’t worry. It’ll evaporate in a few minutes.

    1. Darth Cariss

      I thought ectoplasm was for ghosts and sulfur was for demons?

      1. Luzahn

        I find your base racism appalling, friend.

      2. Rex Hondo

        That’s a common misconception. Ectoplasm is for anything from the Nevernever.

  60. TPman

    Best to worst options:
    Water – Stop neglecting your plumbing Ruth! Ruth? Hello?
    Booze – Put the bottle down Ruth!
    Lighter Fluid – Put down the lighter Ruth!
    Transparent blood – Oh no! Ruth has transparent blood disease!

  61. Em

    I really hope she isn’t dead. I mean, I love Ruth, but that would traumatize the FUCK out of Billie. “Oh I didn’t reciprocate her feelings and she KILLED HERSELF.”

  62. Totz the Plaid

    Willis: I really think you need to add a FAQ on here where you remind readers that you said that Ruth and Dina are safe from dying during the course of this comic, but that Tony’s not.

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