I imagine it going as only one of them (based on this strip, Ruth) thinks of it as a dress-up worthy thing, so she tries her best to fix herself up and Billie just goes with what she has on.
Nah, Billy was a cheerleader and most of them care about status enough that they’re more than capable of dressing up for a social outing much less a date with a girl she likes.
Now, I think a casual comfortable date would be just as fun as a get dressed up and go out to a nice place to eat date.
I am unsure of if this is Ruth trying to go for some normalcy since they don’t have her position to worry about, or if this is a worry on her part that they may be drifting by not having things be the same way they were.
That’s what it seems like, but I feel like a date is also a good step into normalizing the relationship and taking it away from just being a weird suicide-pact/codependency thing
Especially since this comes alongside her trying to have a more healthy outlook and dial back the aggression. So that might be a point towards the “Date is what normal people do, right, let us do the normal thing” camp.
It’s accepting that Billie is something good, and real, and hers. It’s about remembering Billie being there for her. It’s about wanting to have trust and hope that that special thing truly is hers, and that it won’t slip away. It’s about wanting to truly have it as her own, to be able to place weight on it and not find it fall out from under her.
It’s about starting to breathe again, after so long holding her breath.
In Panel 4, Ruth’s eyes have shrunk to pinpoints. This happens when she is withdrawing, crawling back into her shell, retreating from the world.
But, in Panel 5, she realizes what she’s doing, and makes a conscious effort to come back out again, to engage with Billie, proposing a social and public activity.
She’s fighting back, and it’s beautiful.
A little creepy, too, the way she does it, but it’s very Ruth.
Speaking of creepy – the scrollover text reads “we all go on dates in here”. I don’t know if that was just Willis making commentary on how many couplings there has been, but to me it read like a line from the movie ‘It’.
Ruthiewise the Dancing Clown: “We all Float down here. We also date. And when you come down here, you’ll date too. You’ll all date down here!”
In all honesty, I really hope willis does this. It’d be fascinating to see them get ready for the date, then skip right to the messy aftermath and let the readers find out what happened bit by bit from the secondhand accounts of other characters
This is how awkward I am with a dude I mess around with. Sometimes it is easier to fuck and bongo about things than it is to have normal conversation and dates…and then when you WANT a normal date or something it is now ruined because you’ve built one kind of relationship to the point where doing anything different with someone and fixing things to be better seems impossible.
I am reassured, based on my own learning. This is advanced stuff that Ruth is doing here. 1) Realizing early on her need for more quality time together. 2) Being upfront and constructive about it. 3) Not trivializing or backing out when questioned.
small brain: throw toy at head
medium brain: watch toons together
expanded brain: get drunk together
galactic brain: be emotional support
cosmic god brain: lets play with toys
I said a long time ago that if Billie and Ruth was ever to have a chance to survive, they’d have to figure out the transition from co-dependence towards a more healthy dynamic and I think we see here some signs that both are trying in their own way.
On Billie’s end, we see her making time for Ruth but avoiding the temptation to sequester herself permanently in Ruth’s sphere and check in while letting her know that she’ll be okay with some time and space. That she has built that ability (through therapy and medication) to survive the quiet with her thoughts.
On Ruth’s end, we see her still scared of letting go, but trying in her way to not interfere with Billie taking time on her own and be supportive of Billie’s needs and not smother her and she’s also made a huge leap forward in her growth.
That Panel 4 is her fighting off her demons, Grampus “sir”‘s voice telling her that Billie will wise up and leave her, that screaming voice she’s internalized through his repeated abuse.
Panel 5 is her winning. And Panel 7 is her pushing herself into something new, something very healthy. A request for a date.
Cause it’s something Billie has requested wanting and which Ruth in her depressed state couldn’t imagine doing. For her to push for a traditional date is her stepping out of her comfort zone and trying with support to be more rounded and appreciative of her relationship.
And Panel 7 is how hard that is, how loud the voices of self-doubt are. Even though she knows Billie loves her, part of her does fear that it is temporary or dependent on the unhealthy dynamic or that her Grampus “sir” is right. She’s half-behind the door, ready to run if her greatest fears manifest, but also half-out of the door, not retreating, standing on faith that something beautiful is there and will still be there through her recovery.
Their origins are horrible. But this moment isolated from that is beautiful and a sign of a really positive step in their relationship.
I hope you’re right.
I’m afraid this is more Billie trying to escape the earlier awkward silence and Ruth desperately grasping for a way to keep her coming back.
Well, I mean, Billie does get nervous in silence and Ruth does desperately want her company, but this feels like a healthier evolution of those things.
Yikes, Bilie should hopefully pick up on how Ruth might have felt threatened by the new distance they have… even though she’d probably accept the date anyways, for an excuse to go out
Or is she gonna be like no what we’re still kind of on low key mode and object? Ooh dang the tension!
That’s what I’m scared of. Her new dorm thinks Billie was just manipulating Ruth, they don’t know that there were/are feelings. If she does get ready for a date, I imagine there will be all sorts of cheerleader-hype questions about her date, and she won’t have the guts to be honest. I don’t see it ending well
Oh thank god. That is a MUCH better way to get your beau to spend time with you than trying to induce her to never leave your room by BRINGING EXTRA FURNITURE like jfc
Loading ...
GALASSO’S
…please??
And then a scenic walk by Blowjob Cat.
Followed by a stroll past the stairs where Amber incapacitated druggo mcstabbed
‘Legend has it, before the cops hauled him away, a vengeful RA removed both his femurs.’
*a-Hem*
…. is there another place in town? I don’t think there is.
As far as the comic goes, I don’t think so. But real world Bloomington? Oh wow there are so many delicious places to eat there.
…. wait, a delicious PLACE to eat? Like, what, a gingerbread house?
There’s the fountain that Becky got kidnapped at. And the one bar in town.
There’s that sushi place that Joyce enjoyed so much!
There’s the Chick-Fil-A Becky applied at (where the nice gay boy worked).
Galasso’s, where they’ll be waited on by Becky. I predict shenanigans as Becky is exposed to yet another unhealthy relationship.
…She is still working there, right?
I think she’ll just go full Joyce on them.
“Here is your order (now kiiiiiiiss her). Just let me know if you need anything else (aaaask her to take off her haaaaaat)”
“It is what the Hoo-mans do, yes?”
According to what I hear. Haven’t had much opportunity to see it for myself, but it’s what I hear…
Aaaand Daniel the Human is annoyed-glaring at me, so I’m gonna shut up now…
This is an amazing idea. I want to see this! I want to see them dressed up and pretty-fied!!!!
I imagine it going as only one of them (based on this strip, Ruth) thinks of it as a dress-up worthy thing, so she tries her best to fix herself up and Billie just goes with what she has on.
Nah, Billy was a cheerleader and most of them care about status enough that they’re more than capable of dressing up for a social outing much less a date with a girl she likes.
Now, I think a casual comfortable date would be just as fun as a get dressed up and go out to a nice place to eat date.
yesss
*GASP* Ohmygodohmygodohmygod this is really happening.
“Stop, don’t go! Can’t you see our rapidly improving mental health is tearing this relationship apart?!”
I am unsure of if this is Ruth trying to go for some normalcy since they don’t have her position to worry about, or if this is a worry on her part that they may be drifting by not having things be the same way they were.
In either case, I do hope they can work it out.
I read it strongly as worry that they’ll drift apart.
That’s what it seems like, but I feel like a date is also a good step into normalizing the relationship and taking it away from just being a weird suicide-pact/codependency thing
Especially since this comes alongside her trying to have a more healthy outlook and dial back the aggression. So that might be a point towards the “Date is what normal people do, right, let us do the normal thing” camp.
Mood
It’s accepting that Billie is something good, and real, and hers. It’s about remembering Billie being there for her. It’s about wanting to have trust and hope that that special thing truly is hers, and that it won’t slip away. It’s about wanting to truly have it as her own, to be able to place weight on it and not find it fall out from under her.
It’s about starting to breathe again, after so long holding her breath.
It’s a…
Note the eyes.
In Panel 4, Ruth’s eyes have shrunk to pinpoints. This happens when she is withdrawing, crawling back into her shell, retreating from the world.
But, in Panel 5, she realizes what she’s doing, and makes a conscious effort to come back out again, to engage with Billie, proposing a social and public activity.
She’s fighting back, and it’s beautiful.
A little creepy, too, the way she does it, but it’s very Ruth.
Speaking of creepy – the scrollover text reads “we all go on dates in here”. I don’t know if that was just Willis making commentary on how many couplings there has been, but to me it read like a line from the movie ‘It’.
Ruthiewise the Dancing Clown: “We all Float down here. We also date. And when you come down here, you’ll date too. You’ll all date down here!”
“Note the eyes.” I love this interpretation.
I will be so pissed with you if this date doesn’t happen Willis.
It happens, but it happens during a time skip and becomes a noodle incident.
In all honesty, I really hope willis does this. It’d be fascinating to see them get ready for the date, then skip right to the messy aftermath and let the readers find out what happened bit by bit from the secondhand accounts of other characters
The date will be the next slipshine.
“We are NEVER going out for chow mein again!”
I’m just glad that Ruth said “tonight”. If she said “Friday” or something, we might not see it until June.
Ruth is talking to the cricket here.
Tag the cricket?
Ruth is kinda adorable when the snark runs out?
What do you mean, ‘kinda’?
what do dates with billie even look like?
Drunk sex?
*died laughing*
Going by her sorta-ex from highschool, they probably didn’t look great even before Ruth and her bumped uglies.
wait
dates == schoolwork?
MY WHOLE EDUCATION WAS A LIE
*looks over a horribly huge pile of 1970s soft rock/adult contemporary*
Amazing what you can do in a relationship when you’re not in a suicide pact, huh?
This is how awkward I am with a dude I mess around with. Sometimes it is easier to fuck and bongo about things than it is to have normal conversation and dates…and then when you WANT a normal date or something it is now ruined because you’ve built one kind of relationship to the point where doing anything different with someone and fixing things to be better seems impossible.
This could be very very cute, go very very wrong, or be very very much a bit of both.
Mostly cute, but a bit wrong. That’s my realistic expectations for today.
I’m worried by the underlying motivations but eeeeeeeee *more excited screaming*
I am reassured, based on my own learning. This is advanced stuff that Ruth is doing here. 1) Realizing early on her need for more quality time together. 2) Being upfront and constructive about it. 3) Not trivializing or backing out when questioned.
Omigod are they going to hold hands and look at pictures of dinosaurs
No, they’re going to backpack through Europe and get manicures.
Quick! Throw a toy at her head!
small brain: throw toy at head
medium brain: watch toons together
expanded brain: get drunk together
galactic brain: be emotional support
cosmic god brain: lets play with toys
Hurrah
Awkward, but roughly how I went on my first date.
First date! The big milestone as a newly out couple!
Forget about going on a date. After that last panel, I’d marry Ruth on the spot.
winning smile
best Ruth face
Ruth is so Peridot, it hurts.
That’s real
🙂
Panel five: “Feel my unbridled
ragepassion!”It’s a bit late to ask her out, Ruth. The two of you are ALREADY out.
I see what you did there. o_O
Comic Reactions:
I said a long time ago that if Billie and Ruth was ever to have a chance to survive, they’d have to figure out the transition from co-dependence towards a more healthy dynamic and I think we see here some signs that both are trying in their own way.
On Billie’s end, we see her making time for Ruth but avoiding the temptation to sequester herself permanently in Ruth’s sphere and check in while letting her know that she’ll be okay with some time and space. That she has built that ability (through therapy and medication) to survive the quiet with her thoughts.
On Ruth’s end, we see her still scared of letting go, but trying in her way to not interfere with Billie taking time on her own and be supportive of Billie’s needs and not smother her and she’s also made a huge leap forward in her growth.
That Panel 4 is her fighting off her demons, Grampus “sir”‘s voice telling her that Billie will wise up and leave her, that screaming voice she’s internalized through his repeated abuse.
Panel 5 is her winning. And Panel 7 is her pushing herself into something new, something very healthy. A request for a date.
Cause it’s something Billie has requested wanting and which Ruth in her depressed state couldn’t imagine doing. For her to push for a traditional date is her stepping out of her comfort zone and trying with support to be more rounded and appreciative of her relationship.
And Panel 7 is how hard that is, how loud the voices of self-doubt are. Even though she knows Billie loves her, part of her does fear that it is temporary or dependent on the unhealthy dynamic or that her Grampus “sir” is right. She’s half-behind the door, ready to run if her greatest fears manifest, but also half-out of the door, not retreating, standing on faith that something beautiful is there and will still be there through her recovery.
Their origins are horrible. But this moment isolated from that is beautiful and a sign of a really positive step in their relationship.
🙂 she asked for a thing! Yay!
Just that Ruth has the strength to take this scary, next step shows she is in a better place than a few days ago.
Maybe it’s not to late for them for manicures in Europe, after all.
I hope you’re right.
I’m afraid this is more Billie trying to escape the earlier awkward silence and Ruth desperately grasping for a way to keep her coming back.
Well, I mean, Billie does get nervous in silence and Ruth does desperately want her company, but this feels like a healthier evolution of those things.
Wiigii!
Hard to go from suicide pact to healthy relationship
Oh no Ruth so adorable.
Would you look at that – Malaya won an award!
https://twitter.com/jephjacques/status/947168370415362048
billy looks the happiest (most content?) she ever has and so does ruth and honestly this is great *KNOCK ON WOOD KNOCK ON WOOD KNOCK ON WOOD*
Yikes, Bilie should hopefully pick up on how Ruth might have felt threatened by the new distance they have… even though she’d probably accept the date anyways, for an excuse to go out
Or is she gonna be like no what we’re still kind of on low key mode and object? Ooh dang the tension!
And with that, the cheshire cat slowly faded from view …
I’m surprised Billie is still keeping up with her schoolwork after she was basically planning to die
Ruth, that is NOT how you make a “I’m excited to be going on a date with you!” smile. That looks more like a “Imma be packing my Rohypnol!” smile. 😛
I’m sure there are non-sinister reasons to carry Rohypnol.
Annoying parents?
Ruth in panel 8: “I did it! I actually asked Billie out on a date! I can’t believe that I actually did it! Woohoo!“
Calling it now. Billie stands up Ruth for her new “friends” at her new dorm.
*FOR Ruth, TO her new friends.
That’s what I’m scared of. Her new dorm thinks Billie was just manipulating Ruth, they don’t know that there were/are feelings. If she does get ready for a date, I imagine there will be all sorts of cheerleader-hype questions about her date, and she won’t have the guts to be honest. I don’t see it ending well
That was adorably awkward from someone nicknamed ‘ruthless’
What a ruthless way to ask on a date…
Adorable.
Ruth is nervous. I would be too.
Sometimes they do homework!
I want these kids to make it.
D’awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Measuring Ruth’s mental health by how green her eyes are, she’s healthiest either at the height of panic or when wearing an awkward shit-eating grin.
……..
… I’m pretty sure this says deep things about humanity. I’m less sure that I want to know what they are.
YES! A nice date! Lovely. They can be awkward and have pizza and walk around campus together or something. This is good.
Yesss, nice Billiess musst go on dateses with us. Yes, Precious!
Say yes, dammit! DO IT!
Oh thank god. That is a MUCH better way to get your beau to spend time with you than trying to induce her to never leave your room by BRINGING EXTRA FURNITURE like jfc
Well in all fairness Billie basically moved in while they were still hiding it.
They’re both trying to figure out where they stand now.
And I think they’d talked about just technically moving to the other hall and her basically moving back in with Ruth. (Or was that just us here?)
Aww, the abusive little psycho thinks she’s people.
What the fuck.
Some people can’t handle multifaceted, flawed characters.
You’ve got some odd takes on these characters, sometimes.
Spencer is back! 🙂
…and saying mean things. 🙁
I wonder if zoelogical still exists too, haven’t seen them in ages iirc.
Spencer, are you doing the thing again where you’re taking people’s opinions about the characters as judgments about you?
Ruth, you smooth devil you
I think this is what they call projecting?
@Spencer
Comment didn’t reply correctly
I’m perfectly aware that Ruth would wanna run me through a meat grinder toes first for saying so but that was about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen
Oh hey its me and my fear of them not coming back