That would be pretty awesome… or we see a few short strips of the original timeline beginning to collapse in on itself once events in the flashback have altered and cut that timeline off…
My take on the subject is that Ruth is almost literally a different person with her medication. She no longer ENJOYS the anime hate-kiss-hate that Jennifer thrives on. There’s also the fact they almost nothing in common without the lesbian suicide pact. Particularly since Ruth isn’t interested in the suicide thing before.
Ironically, Billie DOES seem to stop drinking after she gets out of Ruth’s sphere.
They really were terrible for one another but the worst part is the fact that Billie was attracted to the BAD parts of Ruth and isn’t interested in the good ones.
So when she was goading Ruth into hitting her it was an “I know the woman I love is still in there somewhere” thing. I’d rather it was just Jennifer hating Ruth and demanding the worst from her, but that first take sounds depressingly believable.
also it kind of feels like there are large parts of herself that billie actively hates—the drinking, the same-sex attraction, the nerdishness—and ruth being actively antagonistic and cruel gave her license to do/be all of those things in a way a healthier relationship wouldn’t have.
Billie/Jennifer has 2 versions of herself that are in constant tension – the presentable, ‘popular’, helps-other-people, apparently-empathetic version she generally presents to the world; and the wildly emotional, spiteful, impulsive, often violent, and self-destructive version that she always hides, but who is also always just beneath the surface, metaphorically whispering in her ear all the nasty words, cruel actions, and dangerous behaviors she’d do if the outer face slipped.
Before she met Ruth, Billie only felt safe expressing that hidden self while alone, indulging in solo self-destruction like excessive drinking. Ruth’s apparent bullying when they met gave her public persona permission to loosen the mask a little at first, and respond in kind. Which led to a relationship dynamic that allowed her to feel safe being the “inner Billie” with someone for the first time. Which was undoubtedly incredibly cathartic for her (especially since presenting as “okay” to the world is much more important to her than admitting she has problems of her own and seeking healthy treatment for them. After all, she says psychological treatment isn’t shameful because that’s what one is supposed to say, but inner-Billie relentlessly disparages such “weakness” and taunts herself with the implication that she herself is similarly weak, so “giving in” on that front is unacceptable), but also not terribly healthy. But the co-dependency was self-reinforcing in both directions as long as Ruth wasn’t getting treatment. They each fed on the other’s dysfunction, which produced a bond, of a sort.
But now that Ruth is getting effective treatment, she’s feeling obliged to keep the dynamic going because she knows it’s what Billie wants from her. But she also knows it A) isn’t helping Ruth’s own mental stability to force herself to act that way, B) come to realize how harmful it is for Billie to have a “safe” outlet for these impulses, as it makes it easier for her to hide from the need for real help, and C) Ruth’s actual feelings towards Billie have changed – she isn’t hate-loving Billie anymore, and pretending she still feels that way is becoming too painful to maintain.
I don’t know that that makes her a different person. I feel like it’s more that her head is above the water enough to see that it’s not healthy for either of them, and not in a salvageable way.
There’s the show on TV “My 600 Pound Life.” A lot of the people on that show have low self esteem and very bad partners. One woman lost hundreds of pounds and her husband left her because “I liked you when you were fat.” People suck a lot of the time.
See, the problem is Ruth’s Canadian, and breaking up with someone up there requires them to do a lot of paperwork so they can join your League of Evil Exes.
You ever dump someone and then make their day WORSE by handing them a stack of forms to fill out?
Why does an ex have to be evil? I refuse to fit the mold your contrived and ridiculous world wants me to fit into.
My ex and I treated each other well throughout our marriage and didn’t lie to each other except when she asked me to. Eventually, she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her, so we got divorced, but you know, we’re still friends because there wasn’t any betrayal.
” she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her”
oof. I don’t know that you want to unpack that, but say you do: why did you think you weren’t good enough for her? and if so, how was this relationship ok for you? did it actually feel fair?? and… how did it make her feel to hear that you, the person she chose to marry, believe yourself to not be worthy of her?
don’t get me wrong, i fully get low self-esteem (if this is what it is, which it strongly sounds like). but i think you need to be aware of it in order to address it, both for yourself, and for the impact it has on the people around you. what do you think?
I don’t want to step on Ed’s toes – you may well be interpreting those words correctly – but it’s possible something else was intended than you assumed, also.
Note the key modifier at the end of the line you quoted: “…she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her…” Could be Ed only meant they were an imperfect fit for each other – not that she should expect to find someone “better” than Ed in a hypothetical objective sense, but merely someone that served as a better complement to her own strengths and weaknesses than Ed did. In that context, the statement isn’t self-deprecating, merely self-aware (and possibly unusually insightful).
I’m sure that’s going to be part of the salvo of vitriol Billie’s going to throw at Ruth once she breaks the news. Even if she doesn’t mean it, that just sounds like something she’d pepper in to be more hurtful.
On a side note, I accidentally flagged you while trying to hit reply on mobile with my fat fingers and I don’t know how to undo it. I am really sorry about that and hope that whoever checks that sees this. I really didn’t mean to. Having a double confirmation for flagging would help with accidental hits, but the program might not allow that. Apologies in any case.
Sometimes, “measurably better” is such a dramatic shift from baseline that it takes a while to realize how far from real, long-term stability one still is.
nooooo that’s what the mom says in every zombie movie ever and she either 1/ never comes back, 2/ comes back as a zombie and tries to eat her kids, 3/ kills a billion zombies before she finally gets back to her kids, dishevelled and soaked in blood, and saves them, the end
Yes, I do. We’re in one now. It’s actually a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a… you get the picture.
When I wrote this comment originally, it was supposed to be a funny joke, but then when it was first a flashback, it seemed like an erie foreboding of things to come. That’s only gotten worse each time we get to the next reference to the prior reference.
Dorothy doesn’t seem like the type to get drunk when she’s got a favor to fulfill.
Maybe Billie’s the one who gets drunk (“C’mon, it’s a Halloween party! How can we *not* drink?!”) and gets angry with Ruth’s breakup, Dorothy notwithstanding.
I was trying to think of who might overhear this conversation because I love chaos. Yes, the door was closed, but maybe Sierra will suddenly chime in because this is technically still her room too. And then the half-bath is shared with Amber and Dina, right? Dina is known for suddenly having been there. Still, I think in this case, I would enjoy Sierra most.
Also– first semester, Sierra roomed with Dorothy. Second semester, Sierra’s with Agatha. Did we ever learn who Agatha’s first semester roommate was?
Now that I say that, it is funny that Dorothy was the one to call Ruth out on “we didn’t lose anyone” by mentioning Jennifer, post-skip. It felt like a dig initially, so I’m curious if things between the two of *them* got worse after this night.
< i hate i have to say this. No one is obligated to do Any extra work because i prefer it, ask or merely encourage.
* i was literally accused of white slavery on Twitter, ( by a 3rd party webcomic blog ) for Politely encouraging an online friend to finish a graphic novel , then maliciously added to a block chain. GN rhymes with Boats.
Actually, Willis originally planned to do this, rather than the timeskip but he screwed up the coloring. He would have had to have either completely reworked the entire chapter, or find an excuse to tidy up the colors in a relatively easy, low-effort sort of way that managed to show us the screwed-up content after the end of that story. In other words, these are bluepers.
(No, in point of fact, I did NOT just invent all that stuff about what Willis did and why for the sake of a good pun. Definitely, definitely did not do that.)
huh. i’d always assumed the two expression were essentially the same and originated in the “blue notes” of the African scales used in blues music.
turns out, no on really knows where “being blue” comes from, but it dates back to at least Chaucer.
It appears that “have the blues” and “be in a blue funk” are both attested since the 1700s.
There’s a theory that the “blue” of blue notes and blues music may come from the indigo colour used in mourning in parts of Africa, but basically, uh, no one knows =D
Dorothy probably says something very reasonable and Ruth probably takes it way too far.
Billie probably brushes off multiple tamer expressions of intent to decouple, so who’s wrong heRuth. Its Ruth who’s wrong. They both agree. Everyone else looks back and shudders at this.
Maybe it breaks up Walkie and Amber from sheer “this is what mental instability and relationships can do.” And thats okay. I like walkie and Lucy way better. Lucy could do better with someone who shares more interests and dreams, but she definitely could do worse too and they’re definitely cute.
Love Ruth for other reasons. Her romantic sensibility is not one of them! Period, ever.
Suddenly feeling the urge to make a Ruth/Billie video with this Hasley song, (Definite chance it’s the song you’re thinking of, and yes, it occurred to me for the reason that you’re thinking.)
…Honestly, if I can find a pronoun changed version I like, I might do it.
Oh, gosh, bipolar representation. I’ve wondered a lot in the past if I have it, so this actually means a lot to have it represented so simply and plainly. More than I would have expected it to, honestly.
This also means I may finally be moving on from stubbornly shipping the problematic lesbians.
I have bipolar, it really is nice to see the shit I go through be represented.
I was sorta expecting/secretly hoping that Billie would be the one with bipolar, but it does make more sense that Ruth has it from what I remember from the original strips from when their relationship started.
I also would never be able to stop shipping the problematic lesbians™ because if I would, I would have to admit to myself that I am, in fact, a problematic lesbian™ too.
They remind me a lot of a wonderful relationship I’ve been through, it went on for like a year and a half and we really helped and affected each other a lot in a lot of positive way, especially because it started in a less violent but equally problematic way.
I’m conflicted on this
my normal brain agrees that this is probably the right thing to do for Ruth’s mental health
my love brain says “no don’t do it you can fix her and stay with her, just look at what you two have been through in the last couple months and how you’ve grown and changed!! you can continue helping and improving each other through your love!!”
if I was in Ruth’s place I would totally be following love brain and I would totally try to fix Billie, but also I would completely go along with normal brain if I was in Dorothy’s place because I’m a hypocrite like that lol
I remember the TV show Heroes.
They did an entire episode flashback once where you find out what happened in the timeskip between seasons.
Odd structure, but I was okay with it.
One thing I thought was kinda cool was how they had the dad of one of the characters survive the big fight of the last season, instead of dying there like implied. It made a ticking clock of doom, while you were able to see him be a parent and help the kid he hadn’t known that well.
In the end he died, but in a less satisfactory way.
Heroes was always up and down in terms of writing quality, but I think bringing a character back so you can give them proper time as a parent, was honestly an interesting writing decision. Wish they’d stuck the landing, but eh, it still worked.
I love the epiphany displayed in Ruth’s face between panels five and six.
Also, did I not notice that Ruth and Dorothy have different colored freckles before, or is this a function of Flashbak-O-Vision? (I’ll have to dive into the archives to make sure.)
Jennifer is a drama hurricane, as Alice noted. She almost killed Alice and herself in a drunk driving incident. Ruth is now waking up to what Alice knew. Ruth can’t have an actual life if she is in a relationship with Jennifer,
Ruth has put her life back together. Jennifer took a short pause and went right back to her usual behavior. She’s inviting Ruth back into the madness and chaos. That’s not love. It maybe co-dependency or follie aux deux.
Jennifer still doesn’t get it. She’s still trying to get Ruth back into a shared dysfunction. She wants the violent and out of control Ruth back. Ruth is violent only in defending herself from Jennifer. In a “not today Satan” kind of way.
Ruth lost her parents in an accident and has an abusive jerk controlling her life. A sharp trauma that lingers. She wants a way out of the chaos. Got on meds and got therapy. Jennifer had her parents walk away and has no adult she can trust (except Linda? is that better than nothing?). She has lived with the chaos so long its like the air she breathes. She craves it but its not visible to her. She won’t listen to therapy because she’s ready to stay as she is, even though its not working well.
Settling for a boyfriend / sex partner and a bunch of “friends” won’t satisfy her, thus she went back to get Ruth. Not happening. The suicide pact is dissolved.
this thing billie and ruth had together was not healthy or safe, it seemed nice, but it wasn’t.
they both flirted with this odd combo of love/hate/suicide.
it seems nice, but in the end it was 2 people dancing towards their graves.
Ruth started to show actual love to billie, recognizing her as the woman she wants to be with.
billie on the other hand seems to have wanted to keep the dance going; lashing out at ruth in hopes of getting her to lash back at her, trying to drag her back into the anger sex and depression so they can be miserable together.
This is one of those strips that I can’t understand and I don’t know if it’s because, as an aromantic, I don’t understand anything about how relationships work or because as a non-native speaker I don’t understand English. Even though I’ve been studying it for more than twenty years.
Ruth wants to break up with Billie. The reason hasn’t been revealed yet, but Ruth wants to make sure it’s not because of depression or other mental health issues.
I read a lot of the comments on this one as like, “good, Ruth is making a Healthy Decision for her!” And frankly as much as I agree that this may actually be a healthy decision (maybe! I equivocate about many things!), I’m not convinced yet that her reasons aren’t still self-destructive. It seems unlikely to me that Ruth has that much self-knowledge and self possession and like, willpower that’snot born of spite, after only a month or two on medication. It takes a long time to unlearn unhealthy patterns and deliberately break free of them, and I’d be really surprised if ruth’s there yet for her own sake. But I guess we’ll see soon!
I know its been like 2 weeks since this flashback started but im literally so happy to see this flashback, like ever since the breakup was revealed ive been wanting to see why it happened (as Ruth and Jennifer’s on-and-off relationship was one of the most interesting parts of the comic to me) and im so glad we’re finally seeing it.
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“…well she isn’t NOW, so you’re good to go!”
D=
Alternative: Ruth is asking Dorothy because they hook up after the party.
Dorothy’s Kinsey scale moves to 1 and 1 step closer to the Joyce/Dorothy ship that we’re all wanting.
But then Ruth does not break up with Billie in this flashback…pime taradox!
Through the course of the storyline the color gradually fades back in, the flashback continues and we never seen the post-timeskip world again.
*0* that would be so cool
That would be pretty awesome… or we see a few short strips of the original timeline beginning to collapse in on itself once events in the flashback have altered and cut that timeline off…
It would be cool, except I’d miss a lot of the developments post-timeskip.
My take on the subject is that Ruth is almost literally a different person with her medication. She no longer ENJOYS the anime hate-kiss-hate that Jennifer thrives on. There’s also the fact they almost nothing in common without the lesbian suicide pact. Particularly since Ruth isn’t interested in the suicide thing before.
Ironically, Billie DOES seem to stop drinking after she gets out of Ruth’s sphere.
They really were terrible for one another but the worst part is the fact that Billie was attracted to the BAD parts of Ruth and isn’t interested in the good ones.
So when she was goading Ruth into hitting her it was an “I know the woman I love is still in there somewhere” thing. I’d rather it was just Jennifer hating Ruth and demanding the worst from her, but that first take sounds depressingly believable.
Yikes. I forgot about that
“I know you’re still in there! You don’t have to become boring stupidheads like the rest of the world!”
“I like…reality shows and dates telling me I’m pretty.”
“Then my girlfriend is truly dead.”
No, it was pretty much Billie demanding the worst of her. Billie needs other people to fit into the boxes that she gives them.
also it kind of feels like there are large parts of herself that billie actively hates—the drinking, the same-sex attraction, the nerdishness—and ruth being actively antagonistic and cruel gave her license to do/be all of those things in a way a healthier relationship wouldn’t have.
Billie/Jennifer has 2 versions of herself that are in constant tension – the presentable, ‘popular’, helps-other-people, apparently-empathetic version she generally presents to the world; and the wildly emotional, spiteful, impulsive, often violent, and self-destructive version that she always hides, but who is also always just beneath the surface, metaphorically whispering in her ear all the nasty words, cruel actions, and dangerous behaviors she’d do if the outer face slipped.
Before she met Ruth, Billie only felt safe expressing that hidden self while alone, indulging in solo self-destruction like excessive drinking. Ruth’s apparent bullying when they met gave her public persona permission to loosen the mask a little at first, and respond in kind. Which led to a relationship dynamic that allowed her to feel safe being the “inner Billie” with someone for the first time. Which was undoubtedly incredibly cathartic for her (especially since presenting as “okay” to the world is much more important to her than admitting she has problems of her own and seeking healthy treatment for them. After all, she says psychological treatment isn’t shameful because that’s what one is supposed to say, but inner-Billie relentlessly disparages such “weakness” and taunts herself with the implication that she herself is similarly weak, so “giving in” on that front is unacceptable), but also not terribly healthy. But the co-dependency was self-reinforcing in both directions as long as Ruth wasn’t getting treatment. They each fed on the other’s dysfunction, which produced a bond, of a sort.
But now that Ruth is getting effective treatment, she’s feeling obliged to keep the dynamic going because she knows it’s what Billie wants from her. But she also knows it A) isn’t helping Ruth’s own mental stability to force herself to act that way, B) come to realize how harmful it is for Billie to have a “safe” outlet for these impulses, as it makes it easier for her to hide from the need for real help, and C) Ruth’s actual feelings towards Billie have changed – she isn’t hate-loving Billie anymore, and pretending she still feels that way is becoming too painful to maintain.
I don’t know that that makes her a different person. I feel like it’s more that her head is above the water enough to see that it’s not healthy for either of them, and not in a salvageable way.
If the person is attracted to a person who is angry all the time, violent, and verbally nasty and then you’re…not?
Well, it will cause a problem.
Especially if you also bonded with her over recreational drinking to excess.
There’s the show on TV “My 600 Pound Life.” A lot of the people on that show have low self esteem and very bad partners. One woman lost hundreds of pounds and her husband left her because “I liked you when you were fat.” People suck a lot of the time.
Humans…. go fucking figure. 🙄
“All that is solid melts into air” indeed.
Jennifer had already stopped drinking before this. We saw it. It was a big plot arc.
See, the problem is Ruth’s Canadian, and breaking up with someone up there requires them to do a lot of paperwork so they can join your League of Evil Exes.
You ever dump someone and then make their day WORSE by handing them a stack of forms to fill out?
“Dude, do you know how awful some of your exes were? I don’t want to be in a league with those jackasses”
Most Leagues of Evil Exes aren’t a big deal. You join the group chat, glance in when there’s a ping. Sometimes there’s a Secret Santa.
Why does an ex have to be evil? I refuse to fit the mold your contrived and ridiculous world wants me to fit into.
My ex and I treated each other well throughout our marriage and didn’t lie to each other except when she asked me to. Eventually, she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her, so we got divorced, but you know, we’re still friends because there wasn’t any betrayal.
Reference to Scott Pilgrim.
” she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her”
oof. I don’t know that you want to unpack that, but say you do: why did you think you weren’t good enough for her? and if so, how was this relationship ok for you? did it actually feel fair?? and… how did it make her feel to hear that you, the person she chose to marry, believe yourself to not be worthy of her?
don’t get me wrong, i fully get low self-esteem (if this is what it is, which it strongly sounds like). but i think you need to be aware of it in order to address it, both for yourself, and for the impact it has on the people around you. what do you think?
I don’t want to step on Ed’s toes – you may well be interpreting those words correctly – but it’s possible something else was intended than you assumed, also.
Note the key modifier at the end of the line you quoted: “…she realized that I’d been right all along that she’d find someone better for her…” Could be Ed only meant they were an imperfect fit for each other – not that she should expect to find someone “better” than Ed in a hypothetical objective sense, but merely someone that served as a better complement to her own strengths and weaknesses than Ed did. In that context, the statement isn’t self-deprecating, merely self-aware (and possibly unusually insightful).
Turns out Billie isn’t a Leafs fan. It was slowly tearing apart the relationship.
She did suggest once that Ruth should start wearing some Ottowa Sens stuff…
Per ByLaw 2021-24 “Procedure” Section 2 Paragraph 3, the name of the City of Ottawa, is spelled “Ottawa”.
(Kidding, this isn’t the correct legal document defining the city’s name.)
At least she didn’t say that she completely hated hockey.
I’m sure that’s going to be part of the salvo of vitriol Billie’s going to throw at Ruth once she breaks the news. Even if she doesn’t mean it, that just sounds like something she’d pepper in to be more hurtful.
On a side note, I accidentally flagged you while trying to hit reply on mobile with my fat fingers and I don’t know how to undo it. I am really sorry about that and hope that whoever checks that sees this. I really didn’t mean to. Having a double confirmation for flagging would help with accidental hits, but the program might not allow that. Apologies in any case.
It takes numerous flaggings for anything to really happen to a comment. It’s not a big deal.
Thanks. That is very reassuring.
“You’re tearing me apart Leafas!”
Ah, it’s not the Halloween disaster that leads to the breakup. It’s the breakup that leads to the Halloween disaster.
*plays “Hellacious Acres” from the 1975 A STAR IS BORN soundtrack on the hacked Muzak*
“–and Jack The Ripper slashing your tires!”
Hm, I need the number to Ruth’s psych. Got medication envy.
Word.
Ruth is still changing meds, according to the convo Becky had with her post-skip, so I don’t think it lasted.
True. Temporary medication envy, then. Definitely lessened by knowing this one doesn’t workout long-term.
Sometimes, “measurably better” is such a dramatic shift from baseline that it takes a while to realize how far from real, long-term stability one still is.
Alright, I’m gonna go buy some milk. You kids behave yourselves.
*eats all the cookies you were buying milk to go with*
What kind of milk? Cow milk? Oat milk? Almond milk?
Yes? as in All of The Above.
Emergency backup supply. We’re on the dog’s milk.
Full of vitamins. And marrowbone jelly. Plus Dog’s milk lasts longer than any other milk.
How the hell do you milk an almond, anyway?
Very carefully
You could grip it by the husk!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of1Cc64_TV8
(Yes, I know it was intended as a joke)
nooooo that’s what the mom says in every zombie movie ever and she either 1/ never comes back, 2/ comes back as a zombie and tries to eat her kids, 3/ kills a billion zombies before she finally gets back to her kids, dishevelled and soaked in blood, and saves them, the end
I’m so sorry Ruth, but yes, you are right </3
…Ooh. This may be more interesting than the explosive blowup I was imagining.
And here! We! Go!
This is what I wanna see! 😀 Drama train! Drama train!
Choo CHOOOOOOO!
“Do you suffer from Flashback Awareness Syndrome? 41 out of 42 Doctors recommended using Retconol, when you…”
Really good naming here
Yes, I do. We’re in one now. It’s actually a flashback within a flashback within a flashback within a… you get the picture.
When I wrote this comment originally, it was supposed to be a funny joke, but then when it was first a flashback, it seemed like an erie foreboding of things to come. That’s only gotten worse each time we get to the next reference to the prior reference.
🎵 I got you babe 🎵
I set that as my alarm for a while during the first year of the pandemic
“We must go deeper.
*Inception-horn*
not exactly a prediction, but an idea: dorothy gets drunk again and tells billie herself. or worse, is not drunk first
Dorothy doesn’t seem like the type to get drunk when she’s got a favor to fulfill.
Maybe Billie’s the one who gets drunk (“C’mon, it’s a Halloween party! How can we *not* drink?!”) and gets angry with Ruth’s breakup, Dorothy notwithstanding.
Aw, I feel so bad for her.
Good point, alt-text.
Crap I forgot Lessingsworth will be no more in this storyline.
Surely Worthless is the best ship name for punning potential?
omg.. you are right
It’s only surpassed by my favorite sunk ship, the USS Seecox.
I went scuba diving, and all i could find was a 238 word ficlet. *sigh*
Oh, are there fanfics for this comic? A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.
Ooooh I like that one better. Granted I was operating on five hours of sleep so my brain wasn’t quite there making that comment.
This hurts, yes. But I’m glad that Ruth wanted to be sure she was of sound mind when she made the decision “for real”.
YOU POOR STUPID BABIES
I was trying to think of who might overhear this conversation because I love chaos. Yes, the door was closed, but maybe Sierra will suddenly chime in because this is technically still her room too. And then the half-bath is shared with Amber and Dina, right? Dina is known for suddenly having been there. Still, I think in this case, I would enjoy Sierra most.
Also– first semester, Sierra roomed with Dorothy. Second semester, Sierra’s with Agatha. Did we ever learn who Agatha’s first semester roommate was?
Conclusion: we need more strips with Sierra.
Sorry, low on spoons. But what do you think?
Okay, looks like Agatha’s roommate was only ever alluded to and was presumably Bloodrose.
Bloodrose made one un-tagged appearance in a wide group shot in the hallway. I know I’ve seen it, but for the life of me I can’t find it. :\
FOUND IT!
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/sandals/
I’m reasonably sure that’s her standing behind Other Rachel and Roz.
I believe Bloodrose has a couple of other unstaffed appearances in the comic, but yeah that’s one of them.
*untagged
Yup. Found another one!
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/03-the-thing-i-was-before/dynamite/
Ruth: ..and if this ends horribly, it’ll be on both of us! How’s that sound?
Now that I say that, it is funny that Dorothy was the one to call Ruth out on “we didn’t lose anyone” by mentioning Jennifer, post-skip. It felt like a dig initially, so I’m curious if things between the two of *them* got worse after this night.
Is this entire chapter going to be in blue?
Im starting to think the reason for the Post Alloween timeskip is to avoid colorizing .
We got other options for indoors ? Orange ? Old timey Sepia ?
< i hate i have to say this. No one is obligated to do Any extra work because i prefer it, ask or merely encourage.
* i was literally accused of white slavery on Twitter, ( by a 3rd party webcomic blog ) for Politely encouraging an online friend to finish a graphic novel , then maliciously added to a block chain. GN rhymes with Boats.
Mostly in blue, at least
Actually, Willis originally planned to do this, rather than the timeskip but he screwed up the coloring. He would have had to have either completely reworked the entire chapter, or find an excuse to tidy up the colors in a relatively easy, low-effort sort of way that managed to show us the screwed-up content after the end of that story. In other words, these are bluepers.
(No, in point of fact, I did NOT just invent all that stuff about what Willis did and why for the sake of a good pun. Definitely, definitely did not do that.)
*gasp*
that was beautiful
you blue my mind
*ka-blue-ey*
No, Ruth. Dorothy said not to make key decisions when you’re feeling low… and you’re DEFINITELY blue right now.
Its so strange to me that its “the blues” and not “the grays” .
“The grays” got taken by references to aliens.
I guess that’s why they call it “the blues”.
huh. i’d always assumed the two expression were essentially the same and originated in the “blue notes” of the African scales used in blues music.
turns out, no on really knows where “being blue” comes from, but it dates back to at least Chaucer.
It appears that “have the blues” and “be in a blue funk” are both attested since the 1700s.
There’s a theory that the “blue” of blue notes and blues music may come from the indigo colour used in mourning in parts of Africa, but basically, uh, no one knows =D
*Elton John intensifies*
Dorothy probably says something very reasonable and Ruth probably takes it way too far.
Billie probably brushes off multiple tamer expressions of intent to decouple, so who’s wrong heRuth. Its Ruth who’s wrong. They both agree. Everyone else looks back and shudders at this.
Maybe it breaks up Walkie and Amber from sheer “this is what mental instability and relationships can do.” And thats okay. I like walkie and Lucy way better. Lucy could do better with someone who shares more interests and dreams, but she definitely could do worse too and they’re definitely cute.
Love Ruth for other reasons. Her romantic sensibility is not one of them! Period, ever.
If only we could shoot you with blood squibs and make you jump into an exploding garbage barge… But that’s too silly.
Any anti-relationship advice feels weirder than a relationship advice. “It’s not you, it’s me-dicine”
That is probably a wild thing for dorothy to hear, after knowing what ruth and billie did in order to be with each other
Suddenly feeling the urge to make a Ruth/Billie video with this Hasley song, (Definite chance it’s the song you’re thinking of, and yes, it occurred to me for the reason that you’re thinking.)
…Honestly, if I can find a pronoun changed version I like, I might do it.
link’s broken :/
This is what happens when I don’t just go to bed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvH5ZhSn1Jg
Thanks. And you’re right — this song is PERFECT for a Ruth / Billie video 🙂
*Halsey (my bad)
There is “Show Your Colors” by Genevieve, which isn’t as specific with it’s lyrics, but a lot more LGBTQ+ adjacent.
Not a bad song, but not really applicable here.
RE Alt-text: We don’t need to create A paradox. With all the ships around here we need many paradox to moor them.
And here we… GO!
Oh, gosh, bipolar representation. I’ve wondered a lot in the past if I have it, so this actually means a lot to have it represented so simply and plainly. More than I would have expected it to, honestly.
This also means I may finally be moving on from stubbornly shipping the problematic lesbians.
I have bipolar, it really is nice to see the shit I go through be represented.
I was sorta expecting/secretly hoping that Billie would be the one with bipolar, but it does make more sense that Ruth has it from what I remember from the original strips from when their relationship started.
I also would never be able to stop shipping the problematic lesbians™ because if I would, I would have to admit to myself that I am, in fact, a problematic lesbian™ too.
They remind me a lot of a wonderful relationship I’ve been through, it went on for like a year and a half and we really helped and affected each other a lot in a lot of positive way, especially because it started in a less violent but equally problematic way.
Billie and Ruth are both bisexual.
I’m conflicted on this
my normal brain agrees that this is probably the right thing to do for Ruth’s mental health
my love brain says “no don’t do it you can fix her and stay with her, just look at what you two have been through in the last couple months and how you’ve grown and changed!! you can continue helping and improving each other through your love!!”
if I was in Ruth’s place I would totally be following love brain and I would totally try to fix Billie, but also I would completely go along with normal brain if I was in Dorothy’s place because I’m a hypocrite like that lol
love brain is stupid, and yet… and yet.
the alt text mad me think of that part in Time Cop where those two guys who are the same, touch. that’s probably beyond paradox though.
*dramatic sting*
….FUCK.
Erh, why not a paradox, Willis?
It could be the best madness you have done to your entire audience!
Legitimate trolling!
^^ THIS
I remember the TV show Heroes.
They did an entire episode flashback once where you find out what happened in the timeskip between seasons.
Odd structure, but I was okay with it.
One thing I thought was kinda cool was how they had the dad of one of the characters survive the big fight of the last season, instead of dying there like implied. It made a ticking clock of doom, while you were able to see him be a parent and help the kid he hadn’t known that well.
In the end he died, but in a less satisfactory way.
Heroes was always up and down in terms of writing quality, but I think bringing a character back so you can give them proper time as a parent, was honestly an interesting writing decision. Wish they’d stuck the landing, but eh, it still worked.
I love the epiphany displayed in Ruth’s face between panels five and six.
Also, did I not notice that Ruth and Dorothy have different colored freckles before, or is this a function of Flashbak-O-Vision? (I’ll have to dive into the archives to make sure.)
Jennifer is a drama hurricane, as Alice noted. She almost killed Alice and herself in a drunk driving incident. Ruth is now waking up to what Alice knew. Ruth can’t have an actual life if she is in a relationship with Jennifer,
Ruth has put her life back together. Jennifer took a short pause and went right back to her usual behavior. She’s inviting Ruth back into the madness and chaos. That’s not love. It maybe co-dependency or follie aux deux.
Ruth will completely and finally reject that path, just as Alice did.
see https://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-4/04-the-whiteboard-dong-bandit/dramahurricane/
Jennifer still doesn’t get it. She’s still trying to get Ruth back into a shared dysfunction. She wants the violent and out of control Ruth back. Ruth is violent only in defending herself from Jennifer. In a “not today Satan” kind of way.
Ruth lost her parents in an accident and has an abusive jerk controlling her life. A sharp trauma that lingers. She wants a way out of the chaos. Got on meds and got therapy. Jennifer had her parents walk away and has no adult she can trust (except Linda? is that better than nothing?). She has lived with the chaos so long its like the air she breathes. She craves it but its not visible to her. She won’t listen to therapy because she’s ready to stay as she is, even though its not working well.
Settling for a boyfriend / sex partner and a bunch of “friends” won’t satisfy her, thus she went back to get Ruth. Not happening. The suicide pact is dissolved.
This is my take on it as well.
On the other hand, Ruth’s drinking again. She’s not okay.
Jennifer isn’t.
this thing billie and ruth had together was not healthy or safe, it seemed nice, but it wasn’t.
they both flirted with this odd combo of love/hate/suicide.
it seems nice, but in the end it was 2 people dancing towards their graves.
Ruth started to show actual love to billie, recognizing her as the woman she wants to be with.
billie on the other hand seems to have wanted to keep the dance going; lashing out at ruth in hopes of getting her to lash back at her, trying to drag her back into the anger sex and depression so they can be miserable together.
Wait, I was right?!
This is one of those strips that I can’t understand and I don’t know if it’s because, as an aromantic, I don’t understand anything about how relationships work or because as a non-native speaker I don’t understand English. Even though I’ve been studying it for more than twenty years.
Whats confusing you friend?
Ruth wants to break up with Billie. The reason hasn’t been revealed yet, but Ruth wants to make sure it’s not because of depression or other mental health issues.
I read a lot of the comments on this one as like, “good, Ruth is making a Healthy Decision for her!” And frankly as much as I agree that this may actually be a healthy decision (maybe! I equivocate about many things!), I’m not convinced yet that her reasons aren’t still self-destructive. It seems unlikely to me that Ruth has that much self-knowledge and self possession and like, willpower that’snot born of spite, after only a month or two on medication. It takes a long time to unlearn unhealthy patterns and deliberately break free of them, and I’d be really surprised if ruth’s there yet for her own sake. But I guess we’ll see soon!
I know its been like 2 weeks since this flashback started but im literally so happy to see this flashback, like ever since the breakup was revealed ive been wanting to see why it happened (as Ruth and Jennifer’s on-and-off relationship was one of the most interesting parts of the comic to me) and im so glad we’re finally seeing it.