Drunk bubbles are a part of the iconographic vocabulary of comics. It’s a symbol that conveys some meaning about the subject in a visual way that doesn’t necessarily reflect the actual appearance of the subject. It’s the same way that Sunday’s Dumbing of Age used lines to accentuate Billies’ kick. Those lines weren’t physically present in the comic, but to the reader they indicate the speed and power behind the action. The same holds true for speech and though bubbles, as Wack’d mentioned above.
[[Before seeing this thread, I had “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” in my head. Now I’m watching the instrumentality part of End of Eva in my brain. Damn good movie!]]
Oh God… I read that last part with Gandalf’s voice.
First and last time I do marathon with the LotR trilogy (Extended), it’s already taking a toll in my brain.
Because nothing says kissable like a woman who has verbally abused you, stole and destroyed your personal property, physically assaulted you, potentially sexually assaulted you (depending on how you interpret it and how unwanted it was), is emotionally vulnerable, and just vomited.
Sure bring logic and rational thinking into this. Next you would have Joyce seek adequate counseling instead of repressing her issues by dating a “safe” gay man.
Nah, I just can’t get behind ship’s that involve abuse. Therapy is pretty much off the table as DoA will never progress far enough into the future for therapy to actually work, so it’d end up seeming like Joyce’s problems could be solved in a session or two.
That is a thorn in my side too but I think these two would do each other a lot of good if they get past Ruth’s anger issues. Ruth needs someone assertive that won’t let her steamroll every situation that would comeup in a relationship. Billie on the other hand needs someone who can get her off her old alpha bongo tendencies. Also as a lady who loves ladies, especially the redheaded ones, I’m rather biased here.
Ya, but it was sung during the end credits of the original Evangelion series. Yes, it’s originally from Jazz, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be associated with other things. In my case, the anime was my first exposure to the song, I didn’t even know it originated elsewhere for a few years.
Remember kiddies, if you ever feel depressed, don’t listen to Evangelion’s soundtrack. The soundtrack to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann will pick you up and fill you with FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!
“You’re feeling depressed and worthless and you’re pretty damn drunk so I’m just gonna take this opportunity to say that I tend to insult people like you.”
What’s wrong with bullying Goths? I mean, for crying out loud, two branches of the Goths, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, were responsible for the sack of Rome in 410. This led to the fall of the Western Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
The Goths led the civilized world into a thousand years of disease and ignorance. They’ve got it coming, I tell you!
Considering the Evangelion soundtrack consists of a lot of calm, beautiful music or intense action pounding music (or Fly Me to the Moon), I don’t quite think that’ll match up with the tone.
I still think of her as the Beerleader in costumed gear, but now I’m imagining arrogant-aristocratic top-of-the-food-chain CEO Jennifer Bullingsworth and her partner in crime (or beefy bodyguard? Just for the shades and suit) Ruth Lesse. By day, she’s a small-business-crushing CEO who rules with an iron fist…by night, that fist is gloved and clutching a beer can! Donning her pom-poms of power, she becomes the Beerleader!
She can be one of those villains that goes through a couple different names, evolving from the Bullie, crusher of geeks, to the Beerleader, lush dictator of the less popular/attractive.
*Not sure* and it’s time to go to bead early and come in at the tail-end of another of these discussions/riffs/what-have-you’s tomorrow night. I’ll be glad to get back to regular schedule of late nights and occasional insomnia.
I dunno. It’s a good song, and if you pay attention to the plot of that part of the movie, and its context, Instrumentality is more of a harmonic coming together of everyone into one giant hive-mind. It ends hate and war and everything through a universal understanding.
I mean, I wouldn’t want to live through the build-up to it or let go of my individuality, but it’s really a bittersweet ending to the series more than anything else. (Also, Lilith!Rei/Kaworu gave Shinji the choice, and because of him, anyone who wants to separate from the seas of LCL and return to being an individual can. That’s what Asuka did, after all…)
I think Billie more fits the Misato role, honestly.
That made me realize that the least emotional character in this comic is Dina.
DINA would be Rei.
I’m not sure whether I love that idea or hate it.
Joe would be Toji, of course, or maybe Kaji.
Galasso seems the best match for Gendo.
Not sure who would be Fuyutsuki… Jason, maybe?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but I think Dorothy would be the best match for Ritsuko.
That would, of course, make Joyce into DoE’s Maya. (DoE = Dumbing of Evangelion, natch.)
If we match Joe with Toji, then Danny would be Kensuke, but that’s a bit of a stretch…
“I’ve never had any cherished dreams or ambitions. I don’t aspire to any future profession or career. So far, in the first fourteen years of my life, things have always happened as they had to. And things will probably continue the same way. That’s why I’ve never really cared whether I got into an accident or something and died.”
One of my favourite things about Komm Susser Tod (other than it being an amazing song) is that the singer also did some pretty decent duets of Rocky Horror songs with Richard O’Brien. Oh, the nerdy glee when I found that out.
Just as a result of typing this out, I’m now imagining Ruth as Magenta and Billie as Columbia.
Kernantor if you are quoting something ok. But if you are stating that you are 14 and never had any cherished dreams or ambitions, may I say to you that most 14 years do not have either. And most 14 year olds don’t think about not caring if they die in an accident or something.
He’s also more sarcastic in the manga, but trades it off with being more apathetic and more of a dick.
He’s also slightly more stable than in the anime, at least until SPOILERS the Dummy Plug kills Touji. Which, to be fair, would probably mess anybody up.
Man. Heavy.
I really like Billie’s expression in the last panel — is she worried about Ruth and just saying something to get a reaction? Does she genuinely think these emotions are unwarranted or worth making fun of? Is she being made uncomfortable by the sheer level of depression displayed here?
Does Billie hide her own emotions a bit? Or at least, I’ve never seen her being sad over something. At most uneasy. She either transmutes it into anger or pushes it down, and the “used to bully goth kids in high school” bit seems to be be in line with her alleged shallow image. Not displaying undesirable emotion.
I think that Billie is trying to motivate Ruth to take action. I’ve been in a very similar situation before, as Billie. You need to get the drunk person as awake as possible, and Ruth (as we know) responds with anger pretty well.
Whenever I would lock myself in a room with the Eva soundtrack, it was pretty much Misato’s happy drinking music and, thus, happy would occur. So… I don’t think that counts… I can’t even get Evangelion right.
…and with that, Billie loses every scrap of sympathy I ever had for her. She deserves everything that has happened to her since she arrived at college, and no good things in her life ever.
Hey, Willis, you should have let us know this sooner, back when she was getting her karma, so we could have enjoyed it and not wasted pity on a bully (and no, the fact she was a self-important snob didn’t necessarily make it clear that she was a bully).
Man, were you not aware that high school bullying is an irredeemable sin? According to the internets being bullied in high school always results in life-crippling PTSD and all bullies are heartless, soulless monsters fully responsible for all their horrible, unforgivable actions, even (especially) the children.
If you think it’s funny, I’ll just start posting links to kids who were bullied to suicide in lieu of further replies. See how much of a laff riot that is.
Srsly, highschoolers are stupid and impressionable, most people who were bullies either picked it up from example or peer pressure or both. Or they were just scared of being bullied themselves. I think you could stand to be less judgemental of *children*
I am with you on school bullying being real, serious and scarring and I don’t think that anybody here would seriously try and argue against that. Especially not given how many of us here are likely to be former high-school – or local equivalent – nerds.
This?
She deserves everything that has happened to her since she arrived at college, and no good things in her life ever.
This is where you cross the line into being kind of a dick yourself, because considering what Billie’s been through since starting college? You’re basically saying that being a former bully makes you fair game for bullying – because Ruth has been bullying her, and Billie not being a little angel herself doesn’t make that somehow less true now – and not from thoughtless kids, either, but from other young adults. And because she was an unpleasant teenager, she apparently doesn’t deserve it to let up, ever.
Brr.
Kids do stupid and shitty things to one another, yes, but the idea that stupid and shitty acts committed as a child mean that you deserve absolutely nothing good to happen to you for the rest of your goddamn life? All forty or fifty years of it? Because at no point have you grown or changed or gotten over who you were in high school? That’s not only a ludicrous overreaction – people mature, it’s kind of what we do – it’s a ridiculous oversimplification. Not all bullying ends in suicide, not all bullies are doing it simply for shits and giggles, and kids and teenagers – even nice kids and nice teenagers – aren’t exactly models of empathy.
I was bullied in secondary school, by kids who probably thought that what they were doing was no big deal because everyone knew I was a weirdo and anyway, it was only a bit of a laugh. At the same time I also bullied another kid, a year younger than me and also deeply socially awkward, precisely because I was being bullied. I saw him as partly responsible for what was happening to me, so I acted out. Of course I was being an unreasonable little bongo: it wasn’t his fault our parents had strong-armed us into walking in together after I moved house, and it certainly wasn’t his fault that my classmates decided this meant I was dating him and also a lesbian (go figure). I wanted him to leave me alone because it would at least be one less thing for them to use against me, and could think of no other way to do it than by treating him horribly. Because I was twelve, and twelve-year-olds are stupid.
I’m now in my thirties. I feel terrible about the knowledge I hurt him, though it wasn’t until many years later that I even realized I’d done it. Even when, four or five years later, he told a school assembly about his experiences with bullying I only grew upset because it brought back memories of being bullied myself. I was one of the nice kids, and I was still deeply selfish. It took me a shamefully long time to realize that, for him, I was one of the bullies. Now? I wish to God I knew how to track him down and apologize for it. But believe me, the whole situation is a lot more complicated than ‘bullies are evil and totally irredeemable’, and if you really can’t see that then frankly I’m glad you’re only friends with angels.
Actually, Reepicheepchan is arguing against that, and if s/he was the only one who responded, there would be more flaming rage here today.
Your story, however, I find moving. One of the primary sources of my anger is the idea that bullies grow up and, like Reepicheepchan, dismiss it as just something stupid that kids do, and blithely move on with their lives without a stray thought to the scars they left on their victims.
And angels? No. But what I can forgive is entirely dependent on whether or not their victims have forgiven them yet. If they don’t have any victims, we don’t have any issues.
Having re-read your story, I wanted to make something clear. This:
Kids do stupid and shitty things to one another, yes, but the idea that stupid and shitty acts committed as a child mean that you deserve absolutely nothing good to happen to you for the rest of your goddamn life? All forty or fifty years of it? Because at no point have you grown or changed or gotten over who you were in high school? That’s not only a ludicrous overreaction – people mature, it’s kind of what we do – it’s a ridiculous oversimplification. Not all bullying ends in suicide, not all bullies are doing it simply for shits and giggles, and kids and teenagers – even nice kids and nice teenagers – aren’t exactly models of empathy.
…is actually the kind of thing that makes me angrier. The fact that you’ve grown and changed and matured doesn’t mean you get to just leave behind the evil things you did.
This:
I’m now in my thirties. I feel terrible about the knowledge I hurt him, though it wasn’t until many years later that I even realized I’d done it. Even when, four or five years later, he told a school assembly about his experiences with bullying I only grew upset because it brought back memories of being bullied myself. I was one of the nice kids, and I was still deeply selfish. It took me a shamefully long time to realize that, for him, I was one of the bullies. Now? I wish to God I knew how to track him down and apologize for it.
Is what matters. If your growing and changing and maturing leads you to realize that what you did was horrible, and to try to set it right if you can, then it actually counts for something.
Speaking as a former bullied kid, I want to make it clear that I hate bullying, and know first hand how dangerous and destructive it can be.
That said, Seraph, your post disturbs me. You are advocating that, because Billie did bad things to other people, she deserves to be bullied herself. Do you not see the problem? In advocating such a position, you become as bad as the bullies themselves.
It does legitimize Ruth’s bullying, doesn’t it? Which conflicts with the base postulate that bullies are bad people…dammit. I wish her karma had come some other way.
I must say, the jocks/cheerleaders/elites must have been off their game at my high school, because I never once heard about a single suicide. Nor in middle school, either. Nor did the levels of bullying I experienced as a prime grade-A nerd lead me to kill myself, so far as I know.
I have no doubt that there have been cases where high school bullying led to suicides. But I find myself wondering if there aren’t levels of bullying that are mean and unjust but not “take her out back and burn her alive”-worthy.
I also find it hard to believe that Billie bothered to associate with the Goths enough to bully them as much as she claims.
So let’s see, looks like Billie’s doing a better job than Danny did so far.
In that the entire conversation does not appear to have ended on the same page it started.
Am I the only one who thinks there’s no way for Ruth to avoid getting into trouble here? I mean, there’s high-proof alcohol leaking out from under her door and there’s empty bottles littering her floor. Even if they hide under the bed, I can’t imagine those will go unnoticed. Especially not if the door is broken and won’t close anymore.
If they throw the bottles in the closet and hide themselves, they should be okay. The fire department will only be looking for fires and people who didn’t evacuate. After that they should have some time to clean up before anyone inspects.
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And Ruth is your divine punishment, Billie.
Think you might have that backwards.
I thought Walky was her punishment?
You are all wrong. Mike is everyone’s punishment.
But this Mike has barely done anything more than be a mild inconvenience that ended up solving problems.
Just because you can’t see him doesn’t mean he isn’t responsible for everything that’s happening.
Hahahaha. Just like God.
No no, God is only responsible for the good stuff, remember?
Gravatar jackpot!
Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good. Too good…
And so He descended to Earth to bang your mom. For a nickle that he didn’t need.
Even God likes to keep score.
Remember? Mike is everything you NOT want him to be.
You mean, we’ve been counting on him to really mess $~!£ up, so he…. Dear G-D, it’s Meta-Mike!
Mike is Sithrak!
You know, I never understood the drunk bubbles. It isn’t like drunk people exude bubbles from their body. Though just imagine if they did.
It’s cuz they burp and hic-up a lot and the bubbles represent the gas constantly leaving their body
It all started with a little drunk elephant named Dumbo…
But they don’t actually make bubbles, especially ones that hang around your head >_>
So? When you talk white balloons don’t emerge from your mouth with words in them.
I think I need to see a doctor then.
How frequently does this symptom arise?
Weekdays.
I think now you’re going to get it on weekends, too.
Drunk bubbles are a part of the iconographic vocabulary of comics. It’s a symbol that conveys some meaning about the subject in a visual way that doesn’t necessarily reflect the actual appearance of the subject. It’s the same way that Sunday’s Dumbing of Age used lines to accentuate Billies’ kick. Those lines weren’t physically present in the comic, but to the reader they indicate the speed and power behind the action. The same holds true for speech and though bubbles, as Wack’d mentioned above.
Thanks, Mort Walker.
You do not question the boozles!
You’re all thinking about this:
http://www.bugcomic.com/comics/cartoon-generated-imagery/
right?
Now I am!
You know what makes me either annoyed or freaked out whenever I notice it in comics? Ink outlines.
The alt text here is my motto whenever I get sad.
Me too!
Billie…you know what you must do.
I was hoping she’d push for option 2. But, you know, whatever.
I know, I know I’ve let you down,
I’ve been a fool to myself
I thought that I could
I thought that I could live for no one else
But now, through all the hurt and pain,
It’s time for me to respect…
[[Before seeing this thread, I had “Cruel Angel’s Thesis” in my head. Now I’m watching the instrumentality part of End of Eva in my brain. Damn good movie!]]
The ones you love mean more than anything.
So with sadness in my heart,
I feel the best thing I can do
Is to end it all and leave forever
What’s done is done, it feels so bad,
Now I am imagining Willis in a bathtub with slashed wrists as Komm Susser Todd plays in the background.
I’ve been a fool to myself,
Can’t live without the trust of those you love…
I know we can’t forget the past..
If “Komm, Susser Tod” is the new theme song for DoA, I think we are all in trouble.
Relax, dude, just hug the Rei and become one with everyone.
Or in Ruth’s case, a naked Billie.
A Giant Naked Billie.
…Now I know what I want for my birthday!
Why does a “Giant Naked Billie” sound to me like a mixed drink that’s far too light on the ‘mix’ part and semi-dangerously heavy on the grain alcohol?
I just don’t see Ruth as a Hot Topic kinda gal.
Spencers on whim maybe.
She’s in college. I just assume we all shop at salvation army.
Kiss her you fool!
Ew. It’d taste like vomit.
But also alcohol!
I don’t think you’d want to kiss someone who just threw up. You’d just be tasting stomach acid and whatever they ate last.
Ok, rinse her mouth out then kiss her. Hygiene you fool!
Oh God… I read that last part with Gandalf’s voice.
First and last time I do marathon with the LotR trilogy (Extended), it’s already taking a toll in my brain.
Gandalf? Mr T! Dental hygiene, fool!
But as a lovely little lady in her late twenties I’m afraid my voice would not match either. I do neither wizarding or B-level acting.
you mean T-level!
A T is never late, nor is he early, foo’! He arrive ezzactly when he mean to!
Because nothing says kissable like a woman who has verbally abused you, stole and destroyed your personal property, physically assaulted you, potentially sexually assaulted you (depending on how you interpret it and how unwanted it was), is emotionally vulnerable, and just vomited.
Sure bring logic and rational thinking into this. Next you would have Joyce seek adequate counseling instead of repressing her issues by dating a “safe” gay man.
Nah, I just can’t get behind ship’s that involve abuse. Therapy is pretty much off the table as DoA will never progress far enough into the future for therapy to actually work, so it’d end up seeming like Joyce’s problems could be solved in a session or two.
That is a thorn in my side too but I think these two would do each other a lot of good if they get past Ruth’s anger issues. Ruth needs someone assertive that won’t let her steamroll every situation that would comeup in a relationship. Billie on the other hand needs someone who can get her off her old alpha bongo tendencies. Also as a lady who loves ladies, especially the redheaded ones, I’m rather biased here.
There’s the attitude that made her famous in Roomies.
At least here she managed to produce a more effective anger-shell.
I have a feeling it gives +2 AC against trucks.
Don’t worry Billie, once Ruth recovers she will regain her Aggression. This will dispel the Gothiness.
Come on, Billie. Just give it a lil’ pinch.
Fly me to the moon and let us dance among the stars. (only song from evangelion I know besides a very messed up version of the theme song)
“and let me play among the stars”
That’s not from Evangelion. It’s a jazz standard.
It was also the outro tune for a Swedish kids’ sci-fi show!
Ya, but it was sung during the end credits of the original Evangelion series. Yes, it’s originally from Jazz, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be associated with other things. In my case, the anime was my first exposure to the song, I didn’t even know it originated elsewhere for a few years.
Remember kiddies, if you ever feel depressed, don’t listen to Evangelion’s soundtrack. The soundtrack to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann will pick you up and fill you with FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!
“Quick! Get in the closet!”
..
“No wait, get out of the closet!”
Of course! What better music for a sexual awakening?
*Ode to Joy starts playing*
“You’re feeling depressed and worthless and you’re pretty damn drunk so I’m just gonna take this opportunity to say that I tend to insult people like you.”
“While I’m at it, I should mention that I’m kicking around the idea of letting you get caught cuz I still dislike you.”
And then an evil laugh.
Billie is refreshingly honest about how casually awful she is/has been.
What’s wrong with bullying Goths? I mean, for crying out loud, two branches of the Goths, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, were responsible for the sack of Rome in 410. This led to the fall of the Western Empire and the beginning of the Dark Ages.
The Goths led the civilized world into a thousand years of disease and ignorance. They’ve got it coming, I tell you!
You don’t comment often enough, Animal. It’s been too long.
I’m putting kids through college. It eats up way too much of my time.
…and pretty much every medieval historian in existence wants to punch you right now.
“Dark Ages” indeed.
The hell bear! Say that to my face, not on this magic picture box and see what happens.
Sure thing, let me just tie one hand behind my back to make it a fair fight.
Considering the Evangelion soundtrack consists of a lot of calm, beautiful music or intense action pounding music (or Fly Me to the Moon), I don’t quite think that’ll match up with the tone.
Look up “Komm, Susser Tod” from EoE.
Enjoy!
Probably the most cheerful, upbeat song about suicide ever.
And I for one love it for that.
I think of “Komm, Susser Tod” as the Happy Suicide Song.
Now that I think about it (after watching it), a Youtube of a song from the end of Evangelion juuuuust might contain spoilers in the video.
Or watch the Rains of Castamere without being spoiled to future plot developments…. Only way I made it through that episode.
*ponders pointing out Ruth isn’t being gothic, just kind of emo*
*decides she doesn’t need the agita of the ensuing argument*
*posts anyway*
*Decides that self-narration is the best form of communication*
*Desires to join in on the fun*
*starts rationing asterisks due to online overuse*
…
*realizes she fails at it*
-tries to be original by being different from the rest of the group-
-is really just copying others-
*has nothing to add, but enjoys the typing format anyway*
*types words between asterisks*
Types * asterisks * between * words * just * to * be * ironic
*
**********************************************************************
XXX!
Am I doing this right?
* * *** * * ***
* * * * * * *
*** ** * * * *
* * * * * * *
* * *** *** *** ***
Maybe this is what goths are like in Indiana? Or maybe just in Billie’s world?
(If you’re really a goth, where were you when we sacked Rome?)
Visigoths are best goths.
No, Ostrogoths rule!
Don’t forget about the loligoths!
Iä! Iä! Ioligoth! Ph’nglui Mglw’ nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn desu.
I cracked up at “desu.” “Cthulhu-chan fhtagn!”
Look, for the last time, I slept in. You miss one little sacking and you seem to keep paying for it forever.
*points out a LOT of wannabe goths really just wore black and acted emo leaving the rest of us to associate the two groups forever*
*adds that to some extent that also describes the Cure’s Robert Smith…*
*Joins in a year-and-a-half later to point out that Billie is probably not the kind of person who would know the difference.*
|: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 😐
Now it’s time, I fear to tell I’ve been holding it back so long
i read the tags as “bullie, ruth”
i wasn’t going to post this, until i saw kamino neko’s post but that made me
Y’know, Bille as ‘Bullie’ wouldn’t be too shabby as an Amazi-Girl villain. I mean, she did just break down a door, so it works both ways.
Ruthless and her sidekick Bullie.
come on Ruth would be her partner in crime not her sidekick
I still think of her as the Beerleader in costumed gear, but now I’m imagining arrogant-aristocratic top-of-the-food-chain CEO Jennifer Bullingsworth and her partner in crime (or beefy bodyguard? Just for the shades and suit) Ruth Lesse. By day, she’s a small-business-crushing CEO who rules with an iron fist…by night, that fist is gloved and clutching a beer can! Donning her pom-poms of power, she becomes the Beerleader!
She can be one of those villains that goes through a couple different names, evolving from the Bullie, crusher of geeks, to the Beerleader, lush dictator of the less popular/attractive.
Ooh, yes. Villain upgrade! With her like-minded followers, she lays siege to the popular class.
No, after these events she is downgraded to sidekick
Billie does seem to have the kick part down, Note sure about the ‘side,’ though.
*Not sure* and it’s time to go to bead early and come in at the tail-end of another of these discussions/riffs/what-have-you’s tomorrow night. I’ll be glad to get back to regular schedule of late nights and occasional insomnia.
Come sweet Death could only inspire someone to want to cut.
END OF EVANGELION SPOILER WARNING!!!
I dunno. It’s a good song, and if you pay attention to the plot of that part of the movie, and its context, Instrumentality is more of a harmonic coming together of everyone into one giant hive-mind. It ends hate and war and everything through a universal understanding.
I mean, I wouldn’t want to live through the build-up to it or let go of my individuality, but it’s really a bittersweet ending to the series more than anything else. (Also, Lilith!Rei/Kaworu gave Shinji the choice, and because of him, anyone who wants to separate from the seas of LCL and return to being an individual can. That’s what Asuka did, after all…)
Also, I totally have “Komm, Susser Tod” from EoE on a mix I made back in 2011 right between Tim Minchin’s “Dark Side” and Cee Lo’s “Fuck You”.
I always associate it with Mario because of a Walrus Guy Youtube Poop.
While I can kinda see Ruth as Asuka, Billie is more like the Anti-Shinji.
I think Billie more fits the Misato role, honestly.
That made me realize that the least emotional character in this comic is Dina.
DINA would be Rei.
I’m not sure whether I love that idea or hate it.
Joe would be Toji, of course, or maybe Kaji.
Galasso seems the best match for Gendo.
Not sure who would be Fuyutsuki… Jason, maybe?
It’s a bit of a stretch, but I think Dorothy would be the best match for Ritsuko.
That would, of course, make Joyce into DoE’s Maya. (DoE = Dumbing of Evangelion, natch.)
If we match Joe with Toji, then Danny would be Kensuke, but that’s a bit of a stretch…
Still…
DINA = REI.
Now I want to see naked Dinas in a dinaquarium.
Or, to invert that, Rei would be Dina.
I am now reimagining Evangelion to include an adorkable dinosaur-fangirl.
Thank you.
“I’ve never had any cherished dreams or ambitions. I don’t aspire to any future profession or career. So far, in the first fourteen years of my life, things have always happened as they had to. And things will probably continue the same way. That’s why I’ve never really cared whether I got into an accident or something and died.”
One of my favourite things about Komm Susser Tod (other than it being an amazing song) is that the singer also did some pretty decent duets of Rocky Horror songs with Richard O’Brien. Oh, the nerdy glee when I found that out.
Just as a result of typing this out, I’m now imagining Ruth as Magenta and Billie as Columbia.
Sadly, the new version sucks. They should’ve just remixed the one from EoE instead of writing an overly busy new arrangement…
Goth and emo aren’t the same thing.
All dorks look the same to Billie. “If you’re not a chearleader or a jock, you can suck my —“
… lollipop?
Dock?
Plushie Spock?
So you know the difference between goth and emo eh? Well you best be careful because I hear that Billie also likes to pick on nerds.
Kernantor if you are quoting something ok. But if you are stating that you are 14 and never had any cherished dreams or ambitions, may I say to you that most 14 years do not have either. And most 14 year olds don’t think about not caring if they die in an accident or something.
Kernanator did put it in quotes.
As far as I am aware, Kerny is a college student in his early 20s, Communications Major IIRC.
It’s from the Evangelion manga. It is literally the first thing Shinji says.
Wow. What a riveting way to introduce a likeable and relatable character!
Shinji was emo before emo was a thing.
“Mustn’t run away… mustn’t run away…”
on the other hand now you have the rebuild movies where shinji starts 3rd impact by being too awesome
To be fair, Shinji is (marginally) more awesome in the manga than he was in the original series.
And he was obviously much more stable in Angelic Days, which came out before the Rebuild.
It’s like he’s gradually morphing into Kamina with each new iteration. . .
He’s also more sarcastic in the manga, but trades it off with being more apathetic and more of a dick.
He’s also slightly more stable than in the anime, at least until SPOILERS the Dummy Plug kills Touji. Which, to be fair, would probably mess anybody up.
Welp, Billie, you tried. Now leave.
“Winter is coming.”
Personally, I’d go with Grave of the Fireflies on repeat in the DVD player.
Omg! Poor thing. I just want to give Ruth a big hug (while keeping the majority of my body out of puke range). =[
I prefer drunk bubbles over the red blushy face they do in them Japanese cartoons.
But alcohol flush is a real thing. Wikipedia link. Much more common among Asians than others, but a real thing.
Oh great… Now I have the opening song to NGE stuck in my head. >.< DAMN YOU, WILLIS!
A Cruel Angel’s Thesis was on my various music players / systems I have owned over the years when I was really heavily into Anime.
Man. Heavy.
I really like Billie’s expression in the last panel — is she worried about Ruth and just saying something to get a reaction? Does she genuinely think these emotions are unwarranted or worth making fun of? Is she being made uncomfortable by the sheer level of depression displayed here?
Does Billie hide her own emotions a bit? Or at least, I’ve never seen her being sad over something. At most uneasy. She either transmutes it into anger or pushes it down, and the “used to bully goth kids in high school” bit seems to be be in line with her alleged shallow image. Not displaying undesirable emotion.
I think that Billie is trying to motivate Ruth to take action. I’ve been in a very similar situation before, as Billie. You need to get the drunk person as awake as possible, and Ruth (as we know) responds with anger pretty well.
So Billie is the Cheerleader Dom to Ruth’s Goth Sub? I like where this is going.
I guess I’m a closet goth because I love Evangelion!
Everyone does 😉
Whenever I would lock myself in a room with the Eva soundtrack, it was pretty much Misato’s happy drinking music and, thus, happy would occur. So… I don’t think that counts… I can’t even get Evangelion right.
I’ve been reading DoA for three years for something like this to happen. I hope this story arc doesn’t stop too quickly…
…and with that, Billie loses every scrap of sympathy I ever had for her. She deserves everything that has happened to her since she arrived at college, and no good things in her life ever.
Hey, Willis, you should have let us know this sooner, back when she was getting her karma, so we could have enjoyed it and not wasted pity on a bully (and no, the fact she was a self-important snob didn’t necessarily make it clear that she was a bully).
Fun fact, Seraph. In life you will find out that the people you know may have done less than ideal things in their pasts.
Man, were you not aware that high school bullying is an irredeemable sin? According to the internets being bullied in high school always results in life-crippling PTSD and all bullies are heartless, soulless monsters fully responsible for all their horrible, unforgivable actions, even (especially) the children.
Pretty much, yeah.
If you think it’s funny, I’ll just start posting links to kids who were bullied to suicide in lieu of further replies. See how much of a laff riot that is.
Srsly, highschoolers are stupid and impressionable, most people who were bullies either picked it up from example or peer pressure or both. Or they were just scared of being bullied themselves. I think you could stand to be less judgemental of *children*
Your dismissiveness only makes me angrier. I will discuss this with people who take it seriously.
I am with you on school bullying being real, serious and scarring and I don’t think that anybody here would seriously try and argue against that. Especially not given how many of us here are likely to be former high-school – or local equivalent – nerds.
This?
She deserves everything that has happened to her since she arrived at college, and no good things in her life ever.
This is where you cross the line into being kind of a dick yourself, because considering what Billie’s been through since starting college? You’re basically saying that being a former bully makes you fair game for bullying – because Ruth has been bullying her, and Billie not being a little angel herself doesn’t make that somehow less true now – and not from thoughtless kids, either, but from other young adults. And because she was an unpleasant teenager, she apparently doesn’t deserve it to let up, ever.
Brr.
Kids do stupid and shitty things to one another, yes, but the idea that stupid and shitty acts committed as a child mean that you deserve absolutely nothing good to happen to you for the rest of your goddamn life? All forty or fifty years of it? Because at no point have you grown or changed or gotten over who you were in high school? That’s not only a ludicrous overreaction – people mature, it’s kind of what we do – it’s a ridiculous oversimplification. Not all bullying ends in suicide, not all bullies are doing it simply for shits and giggles, and kids and teenagers – even nice kids and nice teenagers – aren’t exactly models of empathy.
I was bullied in secondary school, by kids who probably thought that what they were doing was no big deal because everyone knew I was a weirdo and anyway, it was only a bit of a laugh. At the same time I also bullied another kid, a year younger than me and also deeply socially awkward, precisely because I was being bullied. I saw him as partly responsible for what was happening to me, so I acted out. Of course I was being an unreasonable little bongo: it wasn’t his fault our parents had strong-armed us into walking in together after I moved house, and it certainly wasn’t his fault that my classmates decided this meant I was dating him and also a lesbian (go figure). I wanted him to leave me alone because it would at least be one less thing for them to use against me, and could think of no other way to do it than by treating him horribly. Because I was twelve, and twelve-year-olds are stupid.
I’m now in my thirties. I feel terrible about the knowledge I hurt him, though it wasn’t until many years later that I even realized I’d done it. Even when, four or five years later, he told a school assembly about his experiences with bullying I only grew upset because it brought back memories of being bullied myself. I was one of the nice kids, and I was still deeply selfish. It took me a shamefully long time to realize that, for him, I was one of the bullies. Now? I wish to God I knew how to track him down and apologize for it. But believe me, the whole situation is a lot more complicated than ‘bullies are evil and totally irredeemable’, and if you really can’t see that then frankly I’m glad you’re only friends with angels.
Actually, Reepicheepchan is arguing against that, and if s/he was the only one who responded, there would be more flaming rage here today.
Your story, however, I find moving. One of the primary sources of my anger is the idea that bullies grow up and, like Reepicheepchan, dismiss it as just something stupid that kids do, and blithely move on with their lives without a stray thought to the scars they left on their victims.
And angels? No. But what I can forgive is entirely dependent on whether or not their victims have forgiven them yet. If they don’t have any victims, we don’t have any issues.
Having re-read your story, I wanted to make something clear. This:
…is actually the kind of thing that makes me angrier. The fact that you’ve grown and changed and matured doesn’t mean you get to just leave behind the evil things you did.
This:
Is what matters. If your growing and changing and maturing leads you to realize that what you did was horrible, and to try to set it right if you can, then it actually counts for something.
…and some of those things would cause me to drop them like a red-hot dime. This is one of them.
Hah, yeah, you’re right, self-important snobs suck.
“Self-important” I’ll give you. “Snob” implies a certain degree of haughtiness that’s incompatible with snarling rage.
Speaking as a former bullied kid, I want to make it clear that I hate bullying, and know first hand how dangerous and destructive it can be.
That said, Seraph, your post disturbs me. You are advocating that, because Billie did bad things to other people, she deserves to be bullied herself. Do you not see the problem? In advocating such a position, you become as bad as the bullies themselves.
I absolutely agree with you, but I am compelled to say:
“No, Seraph. You are the bullies.”
You need more than nastiness to be a bully. You need power. Does it look like I’m in charge here?
Well, at least I can rest contented with you admitting the nastiness.
It does legitimize Ruth’s bullying, doesn’t it? Which conflicts with the base postulate that bullies are bad people…dammit. I wish her karma had come some other way.
I must say, the jocks/cheerleaders/elites must have been off their game at my high school, because I never once heard about a single suicide. Nor in middle school, either. Nor did the levels of bullying I experienced as a prime grade-A nerd lead me to kill myself, so far as I know.
I have no doubt that there have been cases where high school bullying led to suicides. But I find myself wondering if there aren’t levels of bullying that are mean and unjust but not “take her out back and burn her alive”-worthy.
I also find it hard to believe that Billie bothered to associate with the Goths enough to bully them as much as she claims.
*Shrug* I take her at her word.
I have a sneaking suspicion today’s strip will be the closest DoA Book 3 will get to mirroring Roomies!
http://www.bringbackroomies.com/comic/killed-any-conversation/
So let’s see, looks like Billie’s doing a better job than Danny did so far.
In that the entire conversation does not appear to have ended on the same page it started.
Am I the only one who thinks there’s no way for Ruth to avoid getting into trouble here? I mean, there’s high-proof alcohol leaking out from under her door and there’s empty bottles littering her floor. Even if they hide under the bed, I can’t imagine those will go unnoticed. Especially not if the door is broken and won’t close anymore.
If they throw the bottles in the closet and hide themselves, they should be okay. The fire department will only be looking for fires and people who didn’t evacuate. After that they should have some time to clean up before anyone inspects.
and they’re gonna replace the door how…?
… Dammit Ruth, why does your pukeface look so gorram attractive.
I demand pictures of a healthy, non-glassed Ruth!
It’s not. 🙂
Goth kids. They deserve it!
go with refrain its the better soundtrack for eva
Aww Ruth nooo. <3
WELP HERE WE GO AGAIN