333

Deserves
Posted on March 3, 2023 by David M Willis

333 thoughts on “Deserves”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    Now now, Sal canNOT just rail whoever she wants… it needs to be consensual, with those of a consenting age

    Rail permissions

    (reminder of how much clout Walky is pulling with the dean btw, which Random Button reminded me about)

    1. Some1

      She also, of course, should not rail anyone who is already in a committed relationship.

      1. Carla's #2 Fan

        Well, a committed monogamous relationship, anyway. And responsibility isn’t on her if she’s not aware of a cheating person’s relationship status.

        1. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Exacthree. Well said C#2F.

        2. Clif

          Dumbing of Age 14: My Sis Can Rail Whoever She Wants

          There was a better one but Willis already grabbed it in the Tweet feed.

      2. Liliet

        That seems like the other person’s business, not hers.

  2. Icalasari

    Raidah’s really trying to get into Walky’s graces, huh?

    1. newlland(Henryvolt)

      Is this my cue to point out it looks like Raidah is giving walky an under the table handy in that 4th panel?

      1. Yotomoe

        https://imgur.com/a/1uMG7Mm (suggestive)

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          God bless you Yoto

        2. The Wellerman

          ??? I lost it!!! Hilarious!!!

        3. Clif

          Love Lucy’s reaction..

        4. Liliet

          Lucy is just giving the “shipping her boyfriend with everyone else attractive” vibes, huh?

        5. nobodybasically

          Next Slipshine please.

        6. Amós Batista

          I wonder is Lucy wants to give OR receive “networking”

        7. Yotomoe

          That’s the thing about Networking. It’s usually both!

        8. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Full duplex communication is a vital interpersonal skill!

      2. AndysDrawings

        Hey, what do you think this is, 9 Chickweed Lane?

      3. JBento

        Raidah’s right hand is clearly visible, though?

        1. newlland(Henryvolt)

          I thought that was Walkys.

        2. JBento

          Can’t be. If it were Walky’s hand, it’d have to be his left, and if your left hand is right in front of your chest, palm out, then the thumb points down, not up.

      4. Fnord

        Wouldn’t her hand have to be, well, under the table for that?

      5. Jinx

        Except for the fact her hand is clearly visible ABOVE the table in the 4th panel.

  3. The Wellerman

    Raidah is just oh so eager to milk him for his connection to the Dean.

    I dunno why she’s virtue signaling this hard, she’s basically scraping the bottom of the barrel, even according to Walky himself.
    Still don’t forgive her for what she called Dina and thought was “kindness” BTW ?

    1. Miri

      Your comment, under the previous one. Amazing!

    2. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

      The bottom of barrel may be all she has to work with…Hide limitations or vulnerabilities from everyone and they will still exist. Billie and Walky could hook her up in every way she wants and she just might ruin in for herself on her own…This isn’t an up-and-comer after all…

  4. Lingo

    It’s funny because Jennifer almost railed that same dorkus, pre-hat.

    1. RassilonTDavros

      And for bonus points, in another universe she railed him after he got her childhood friend-slash-onetime-lover killed!

      1. poofdepoof

        The dorkus in question in this strip is Jason, not Danny.

        1. poofdepoof

          Omg sorry I forgot about the fact that Danny actually did tutor her in math.

          And also that bowties aren’t hats

          Time for me to go to bed

        2. Gbz

          If it makes you feel any better I thought Jennifer was also talking about Jason too. I assumed she was just misinformed about the bowtie and thought it was a hat.

  5. DailyBrad

    Good answer, Walky.

    I do not trust Raidah here, but I’m sort of curious if Walky’s buying her act or not.

    1. Thag Simmons

      I don’t think Raidah’s trying very hard to hide what she’s up to

      1. Bryy

        Raidah doesn’t think she’s doing anything wrong.

        But wow. I knew this group was fake, but this is off-the-charts.

      2. Illjwamh

        This is key, I think. She wouldn’t need to be sneaky or hide anything because to her, this is perfectly normal, acceptable, and even expected behavior.

    2. Rose by Any Other Name

      Yeah, Walky is spitting truth this comic.

      1. The Wellerman

        BASED

        1. True Survivor

          What does that mean? I keep hearing the term, but I don’t understand it.

        2. The Wellerman

          i think it means “true” or “praise for being true [to yourself]”, tbh dunno too much about it either ?

        3. True Survivor

          That makes sense. Thank you.

        4. The Wellerman

          ✌?

        5. not someone else

          It just means “really good”.

          It’s also one of those words that has spread really far and wide despite having some kinda screwy origins, so like… I don’t fully understand the history, it’s based on ironically commenting on some guy I don’t know if he’s a musician or a YouTuber or what the hell but he does cocaine or did it or something? So I’m not gonna say you shouldn’t but… shit’s weird.

        6. BadRoad

          Earliest use I saw was fans of Mike Cernovich, Chicago-based lawyer, dropping the “Chicago” from his self-description, back in 2014 when he first became super concerned about ethics in game journalism.

          Given that this is my understanding of the origin, I try not to use the term.

        7. thejeff

          Yeah, it seems to have come off the chans back then and spread into alt-right edgelord use, but it’s pretty much mainstream now.

        8. Kintrex

          Via Know Your Meme: The expression was originally invented by rapper Lil B, aka Based God, taken from the word “basehead,” which he used to receive as an insult. Lil B took the word in the opposite direction around mid-2010, transforming it into a term for being yourself and not being swayed by outside influence, which was solidified in his interview with Complex on June 9th, 2010.

          “Based means being yourself. Not being scared of what people think about you. Not being afraid to do what you wanna do. Being positive. When I was younger, based was a negative term that meant like dopehead, or basehead. People used to make fun of me. They was like, ‘You’re based.’ They’d use it as a negative. And what I did was turn that negative into a positive. I started embracing it like, ‘Yeah, I’m based.’ I made it mine. I embedded it in my head. Based is positive.”

        9. Spriteless Aunty

          Wellerman is right it does mean true. It also has the vague positive connotations ‘cool’ or ‘groovy’ mean, when they aren’t carrying the meaning of ‘in control of one’s reactions’ or ‘able to read the situation and groove with it.’

    3. UrsulaDavina

      Well Raidiah doesn’t really gossip she just plots behind peoples back plots are not gossip.

    4. Fay

      Walky can actually pretty perceptive at times, especially about facades/fronts people put up. Off the top of my head, he figured out Ethan being gay and the Amber/Amazi-girl alter situation both without being told.

  6. MickeeC

    Okay one, that was months ago Jennifer, TWO…just the WAY she said it was awkward.

    Also Raidah creeps me out.

    1. Vanessa

      I think Danny’s the duffus in a hat who has been tutoring her in math, Lol. I bet Billy thinks it’s some grad student.

      1. DailyBrad

        Yeah, Jennifer means Danny. I don’t think she’d even know about Jason. I also assume Jennifer doesn’t even remember almost banging Danny herself, but then again, that was like the beginning of the year just about and the two have only rarely been so much in the same room since then, as Jennifer moved out of the shared room with Sal ages ago, so it kind of makes sense she doesn’t remember him.

        1. Fay

          If Jennifer knew about the Sal/Jason situation she would 100% gossip about it whenever Sal was brought up.

        2. Anna

          I think she’s actually getting people confused and not entirely clear on who is who.

        3. Rogue 7

          Also keep in mind that Danny didn’t have the hat yet. The hat is very important to knowing who Danny is.

  7. Sirksome

    Lol. If only they knew banging Jason had the exact opposite effect.

    1. Bryy

      I never knew banging a singular teacher had the ability to keep you in college.

      1. Clif

        Out of curiosity, how many would you say it takes?

        1. Miri

          Depends how many subjects you’re taking. And do you mean per term/semester or over the year? And are we assuming that the student in question is banging their way to grades in all of their courses, or is actually learning traditional content for some classes?

  8. UrsulaDavina

    Todays strip reminded me i really should finish Xenoblade Chronicles 3 at some point.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      Weird. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 mostly just made me want to play Persona 5 again.

      1. UrsulaDavina

        I beat Persona 5 royal in december and Fire Emblem engage last month now I am on Octopath Traveller 2 just a conga line of jrpgs

        1. Rose by Any Other Name

          I played Persona 5 classic when it released, and am currently playing Royal and Strikers.

          But yeah, plyaing Xenoblade 3 several months back, every time I activated the super move and the game turned weirdly turn-based with an entirely different art style, I kept being like “wow – this reminds me of Persona 5 – I wish I was playing Persona 5 instead of this”. So then I stopped playing Xenoblade 3 and started my first time through Royal instead.

          I stopped playing XC3 during the boat section. Nothing wrong with the boat section, it was just the point where the desire to be playing Persona instead of Xenoblade 3 reached critical mass.

        2. Savail

          I had that same problem with FFX. Every time I got to that fight where you push the monster over a cliff, I was like “man, this was so much cooler when Vyse and co did it…and then I’d end up playing Skies of Arcadia yet again (admittedly, I struggled to like FFX anyway).

        3. Rose by Any Other Name

          See, I fuckin love FFX.
          For me, it was Xenoblade 2 where I was like “Oh, it’s Skies of Arcadia… but without the good game mechanics.”

          I did like the setting of XC2, though.

        4. UrsulaDavina

          I preferred XC2 setting to XC1 Setting bit preferred XC1 to XC2

        5. UrsulaDavina

          I still have a large backlog of games that I am about half way through Tales of Arise, Elden Ring, Horizon Zero Dawn, Scarlet Nexus and FF7 remake intergrade Xenoblade 3 and Pokémon arceus. To many games to little time.

        6. Rose by Any Other Name

          Don’t have a PS5 yet.
          HOrizon Zero Dawn… I tried to play, but it just didn’t click for me.

          Got Elden Ring for Solstice, but haven’t played it yet.
          And I got Arceus Legends on release and got to the post game. Never finished the Pokedex, though, so I never got to the final ending. My eldest kid did, though, so I got to see it.

        7. UrsulaDavina

          Elden Ring is really hard I never played the Souls games or bloodborne so I had no idea what I am into. It’s like Golf for me I love it but I am awful at it but sometimes I get lucky and that’s how I have progressed

        8. Schpoonman

          The trick to playing the Dark Souls games is to realize that they’re all actually turn-based RPGs masquerading as action games. Once you realize you can’t actually control the flow of a fight, you have to wait for bosses to use their moves so you get your turn, the franchise falls apart.

          God, I wish those games had better gameplay.

        9. Schpoonman

          I should qualify this statement that Bloodborne has actual action gameplay, and I have not yet played Sekiro, which based on the videos I’ve seen and people I’ve spoken to is just an action game through-and-through.

          The rest of Miyazaki’s Kings Fieldlikes (Soulslike isn’t a real thing unless you’ve got droppable expericash, and half the mechanics owe their existence to Armored Core in the first place) are just very long knowledge checks.

        10. zee

          @schpoon my boyfriend says they’re just secretly rhythm games

        11. UrsulaDavina

          I think I am at the boat section I can’t remember I think k I dropped out of XC3 When Victoria 3 came out and ended up playing P5r beacuse it was on Xbox game pass

    2. cbwroses

      All this wholesome discussion about JRPGs, but I’m still hoping you’ll explain why the strip reminded you of Xeno Blade Chronicles 3.

      1. UrsulaDavina

        Ouroboros is a mechnic in the game the whole snake eating its tail is also a theme in thr game.

        1. cbwroses

          Ah. Thank you.

  9. EAG46

    “Smoochy chart.” Oh Walky you innocent little bunny. Nice use of “Ouroboros,” too. [One wonders how much of a culture-shock college really was for David Willis.]

    1. Liliet

      Not sure what’s so innocent about that, except that Walky is really good with words…

      It’s funny how once he gets a confidence boost, he’s actually really good at this.

  10. Yotomoe

    I don’t normally use Networking as code for “making out” but whatever floats your boat.

    1. Rose by Any Other Name

      I could use a good Networking. It’s been a rough week.

      1. Yotomoe

        Honestly I haven’t networked since before the pandemic. I miss it.

        1. BarerMender

          Right? I’ve been afraid of going out and getting, ah, “networked” myself.

        2. Rose by Any Other Name

          You know, it occurs to me that I could reverse the adjectives in my previous comment and it still works.

        3. milu

          Or drop the second adjective altogether

    2. The Wellerman

      boats… hooked… porting… connecting… clam fishing… out at a sea with nothing to do but cum on!!! XD

    3. Jamie

      Considering the networking connection Raidah wants Walky for is based entirely on a past romantic thing…

    4. cbwroses

      Ms. Scarlet believes in that kind of networking to an extreme degree.
      But I’d take her advice with a grain of salt since she’s pretty much a murderer.
      And a capitalist.
      But not a communist.
      Communism was just a red herring.

      1. JBento

        +1 for the Clue reference.

    5. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Now I’m thinking of the sex scenes in “Network.”

    6. Bryy

      Raidah doesn’t view people as people.

      She views them as tools.

      She probably honestly doesn’t understand the Sal and Danny genuinely like each other. Judging by how she viewed her relationship with Jacob, most likely not.

    7. Keulen

      I’m not entirely sure what networking is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not that.

  11. Imogen

    I do like Raidah getting to have a good moment here. This comic is at its best when its antagonists are allowed to breathe as complex characters, like Billie is.

    Raidah says she cherishes loyalty because she feels betrayed, fairly or no, by Sarah. It seems like a genuine moment. I honestly don’t read further into it than that.

    1. Imogen

      Also, all, they’re talking about Sal and Danny. Danny was her math tutor. Jason wasn’t a tutor, he was a TA.

      1. BarerMender

        I think she cherishes loyalty the same way Trump does. If you’re loyal you do things my way; if you don’t, you’re a traitor.

    2. Doopyboop

      She was also betrayed by Jacob. As much as I personally don’t like Raidah, I will definitely say Jacob was in the wrong to kiss another woman while still dating Raidah. Breaking up with Raidah right afterwards doesn’t… really lesson the pain from such a betrayal.

      1. Imogen

        Yeah, the thing about Raidah is that her hurts are usually understandable, she just doesn’t handle those hurts healthily. Someone is either her friend, here to help her and her loved ones, or her enemy, here to destroy them.

        I’ve known people like that. They weren’t evil. Mostly they were just scared and bad at processing hurt in non-toxic ways, and it led them to hurt others.

        Raidah is a pretty rotten person a lot of the time, but she lashes out at those who “hurt her” because she refuses to accept that sometimes a bad situation isn’t anyone’s fault. That’s a hard lesson for some people to learn.

        1. Jamie

          Yes.

        2. Bryy

          Sometimes, the reaction far outweighs the action.

        3. Schpoonman

          And that’s what makes her a complex villain, unlike Mike who was a flat one, in every interpretation of the word.

        4. Clif

          Now see, I thought Mike was the misunderstood hero. No one appreciated him except our moms.

        5. Fay

          I feel like Raidah is also a really controlling person right underneath the surface, which plays into why she has a such a negative reaction to people that “betray” her or show they can’t be controlled by her.

      2. cbwroses

        Raidah doesn’t know about the kiss.
        So any betrayal she feels from Jacob is simply being dumped because he has feelings for someone else, not because she know he did something with someone else.
        But, honestly, emotional cheating is still cheating for many people, and she seems to be one of those people, so still betrayed.

        1. thejeff

          I mean, I’d say pretty much everyone’s going to be hurt by that whether you process it as betrayal or cheating or not.
          Not necessary emotional cheating on its own, but if it leads to a breakup? That’s the problem with emotional cheating – it’s a process of developing feelings for someone else that can lead you to cheat or break up. It doesn’t make sense to pretend it’s fine right up until you cross the line.

        2. cbwroses

          But some people do.
          My father, who loved my mother to the day he died, who told me that seeing her for the first time was like being hit by a thunderbolt, also told me it’s not cheating unless you’re married.
          It is also the case that they were not married until like a year after I was born.
          Do I know if my father ever stepped out on my mother?
          No idea (I doubt it, though).
          But, based on what he told me, if he ever did prior to marriage, he would have considered it ok.
          The rules people have for relationships are varied, and, while you can ere on the side of caution (and also try to treat them how you want to be treated), the only way to know what they are is to communicate.

        3. thejeff

          Interesting choice of phrasing though. Those who do cheat often considered it okay. Wonder what your mom would have thought about him stepping out? Or what he would have felt if he found out she had?

          But that’s not really my point. Whatever people agree to if fine, if it works for them. But if they’ve agreed on a exclusive relationship, “emotional cheating” is still a problem even if it doesn’t yet cross the line into the physical. Because it’s building the romantic connection that can lead to either physical cheating or to a breakup. It’s not inherently morally wrong, whatever that would mean, but it’s risky.

        4. cbwroses

          While my mom was pregnant with me, she broke up with my dad and got back with her ex who wanted her to abort me.
          My dad went up to dc (they lived 3 hours away) and reestablished their feelings for each other and brought her back.
          So that’s as much as I know about either stepping out: him saying it’s not cheating until marriage and her actually quitting him for her ex.
          I don’t know how he felt at the time, but it apparently worked out.

          And my point was that what people consider cheating in the first place varies and all too often people just assume that they’re on the same page instead of communicating.
          That’s why I gave the example of my father who, even if he believed in emotional cheating, still wouldn’t consider it as such until after marriage.
          To some, there is no risk as they don’t recognize it as such.

    3. UrsulaDavina

      I have a feeling think that loyalty doesn’t go both ways for Raidah.

      1. Imogen

        So far, we haven’t seen any evidence of that except a simple rule: Her loyalty is binary. If you’re with her, she’s with you. If you cross her, even in a way that isn’t really your fault, she flips like a switch and assumes you’re just trying to hurt her. That’s a really bad mindset to have. Loyalty and trust are two very different skills.

        1. MisterJinKC

          She turned on Sarah because Sarah took their mutual friends suicidal statements seriously. She doesn’t care about loyalty to anyone but herself. She’s nasty and vindictive to anyone who isn’t useful in her eyes. Not to mention she’s a big believer in guilt by association as shown from her recent interaction with Dorothy.

        2. Imogen

          1. She clearly cared about their mutual friend a lot. She just didn’t take the problem seriously because she wasn’t seeing it. Was she a good friend? No. But you’re editorializing.

          2. Who has she been “nasty and vindictive” to? Like, I’m not saying she’s not nasty to *anyone*, but to *everyone*? She was friendly with Jennifer and (in her mind) to Dina on their first meetings. She was only harsh to Dorothy on their second meeting, and that was… well, it was abrasive and self-righteous, and probably clout-chasing, but it could also have been a genuine opinion she has.

          3. Guilt by association? What, because she thinks presidents are war criminals? If she believed in GBA, she wouldn’t be cozying up to Walky, who she knows is friends with Dorothy, after all. Not to mention Jacob and Sarah being friends.

          People are inferring so much from so little when it comes to Raidah.

        3. UrsulaDavina

          Raidah was pretty nasty and vindictive to Sarah Joyce and Dorothy especially Sarah like to the extent where she has tried to sabotage Sarah from obtaining any sort of friendship she spoke shit about Sarah at the mall she infatilzed and insulted Dina. Joyce is understandable but Sarah is not if she had actually cared about Sarah as friend she would have listened instead she continues to try to sabotage Sarah socially that is vindictive.

        4. UrsulaDavina

          Furthermore I am not even convinced the Raidah actually cared about Dana as much she probably cared more that Dana’s dad was an attorney at a high powered firm then Dana’s well-being hence why she wanted her around given yeah its speculation but given Raidahs statements about Jenifer and her family and her interest in Walky I wouldn’t put it past her

        5. Prince Mech

          You really need to stop saying Raidah was “friendly to Dina” when her “friendliness” was condescending compassion and implying she was mentally handicapped. She might be otherwise open to interpretation but this one really isn’t it.

        6. Schpoonman

          I will point out once again that Raidah’s first appearance in Dumbing of Age was to seek out Sarah, who was minding her own business eating lunch, to taunt her for not having any friends beside her and then wish death on her.

          “I hope you choke.”

          Raidah is in no way a victim.

        7. Schpoonman

          No, wait, she was a victim when it came to Joyce getting between her and Jacob. The way Joyce did it was shitty. Joyce wasn’t wrong to have a crush on Jacob, and he wasn’t wrong to break up with Raidah when he realized she wasn’t who he wanted to be with, but lying to Harrison and kissing Joyce were both fucked up.

          But again, that’s just adding Joyce to Raidah’s ongoing campaign of abuse towards Sarah.

        8. zee

          Imogen never said raidahs a victim though, just. Basically that she has some genuine emotions and lashes out *badly* at perceived betrayal, and has serious issues with black and white thinking.
          What Sarah did wasn’t a betrayal but raidah still felt betrayed by it, that’s all.
          I can’t stand raidah either but it kinda sucks when you can’t try to look at any nuance to her character without people (not necessarily you) immediately assuming it’s apologia. She’s a shitty 20 year old and a bully, not a cartoon villain. She’s like the equivalent to a terminally online twitter person irl

        9. Imogen

          Thank you! It’s really stressful seeing people going after things I never said. I’m not pro-Raidah and I think I’ve been pretty clear about that!

        10. eh, whatever

          People are inferring so much from so little when it comes to Raidah.

          Yes; you for example.

        11. GUIGUI

          How did you do that?

        12. Wendy

          They didn’t say anything that wasn’t actually laid out in the comic as far as I can tell. No need for personal hostile attacks.

        13. Tan

          If saying that someone is inferring much from little is a personal hostile attack, then it is called for by Imogen doing so first. If it is not a personal hostile attack when Imogen does it, then it is not when “eh, whatever” does it either.

        14. Jamie

          I don’t think that’s fair. It may have been clear to Raidah that sending Dana home was a death sentence.

        15. Fay

          What? Why would it have been a death sentence? I’m pretty sure her home life was fine and the catalyst for Dana’s depression was her mother recently passing away.

        16. temperaryobsessor

          We don’t know what Dana’s father is like. Raidah might know something we don’t know and Sarah didn’t.
          Then again even if she did she would know Sarah wouldn’t know that which would still make her shitty.

        17. thejeff

          I mean, it’s possible she thought that – though we’ve got no reason to think Dana’s dead, so it’s a bit extreme.

          We do know she was blind to how bad off Dana was getting at school.

        18. Imogen

          Okay, also, hang on. Do you mean suicide attempts, or suicidal behavior? Neither was described by Sarah, that I remember. Sarah said that the friend was struggling badly, and that Raidah and the rest were blind to it–didn’t see it because it was hidden in public and/or that they didn’t want to see it. Sarah *never* mentioned suicide or self-harm beyond, yes, extremely unhealthy habits. Marijuana isn’t generally going to kill you. Is smoking it good for you? No, and definitely not to the extent she was.

          We don’t know why Raidah ignored it. We know what she’s said, and what Sarah inferred. Sarah seems to interpret Raidah as genuinely caring but not wanting to admit there was a problem, which seems fair to me. Raidah has said that Dana is suffering back at home, and that may be true. Raidah expressed grief and hurt at Dana getting pulled out of school, and that’s understandable hurt–even if the way she chose to process that hurt and expel it at Sarah has absolutely not been.

        19. Bryy

          Did Raidah view their mutual friend as “not important”?

        20. Mr D

          “Raidah has said that Dana is suffering back at home”

          Raidah has not said that, I checked. The most she said was that she was “not doing better” at her home, but that does not mean immediately “She is doing worse”.

        21. Imogen

          Yeah, that’s why I said “suffering” and not “doing worse”. 😛

        22. Tan

          A simpler explanation for “not better” is that Dana simply still hasn’t admitted to Raidah just how severe a depressive spiral she was in at the time. Like surely if Dana HAD told Raidah that and Dana has more severe complaints than not enjoying doing a year at the local community college before she can reapply to university… Wouldn’t Raidah throw that knowledge in Sarah’s face instead of continuing to assert that Sarah got Dana thrown out for no reason?

        23. BBCC

          Sarah said that Dana might be in a coffin if not for her. So either Dana moved on to something harder than weed, or Sarah at least was worried she was suicidal.

        24. Imogen

          That *was* to win an argument with Raidah, though, if I remember correctly.

        25. BBCC

          No, she said it to Jennifer when Jennifer accused her of wanting to get rid of Joyce because Sarah wanted to tell Joyce’s parents about the party where Ryan attacked her.

    4. Bittersweet

      Ehhhhh people who say “I value loyalty” in a super intense manner, like it’s something they’re constantly looking for, can be some of the worst people.

      I’ll admit here that I’m projecting *hard* though, Raidah has plenty of valid reasons for that to be something she’d seek out (as opposed to narcissists wanting loyalty which is where my brain immediately went). I might be reading her tone completely incorrectly too, like that tone that people use with scared cats. Puts me on edge.

      1. Imogen

        That’s fair! I’m trying to give Raidah the benefit of the doubt as long as possible, mainly because I *want* this comic to have nuanced antagonists we can root for on some level and not just Blaines and Marys we want to die in flames. When Raidah proves she really does only value people as tools… well, I’ll still empathize with her, because narcissism as a condition is defined hugely by fear and self-hate and it’s not fun, but I’ll accept that she might just be another Toedad.

        1. Bryy

          Blaines and Marys are so good because they are real, though. That is also nuance.

        2. Schpoonman

          Yeah, this is starting to stink of “Willis, why are you writing these Christian characters in such an unrealistic manner?” “I grew up with people just like this.” “You’re being so mean to Christians!”

        3. Imogen

          Seriously? Jesus Christ, y’all are reading so hard into my words you’re going to get a headache. Blaine isn’t even a Christian??? What is going on here?

        4. Imogen

          Also, like, this whole conversation is about trying to see nuance in the comic’s only major Muslim character, so your characterization of me is extra-bizarre.

        5. The Oracle

          No?

        6. Taffy

          It’s really not, by a long shot. You’re wildly misinterpreting here.

      2. Vanessa

        That does sound exactly like something Trump would say and we have proof his loyalty only goes one way. As soon as you weren’t useful he dumped you and made sure everyone saw him kicking you when you were down. And sometimes expected you to come back for more.

        1. Jamie

          I mean, the western world has been saturated with Trump-style loyalty for a near-decade, at this point. It’s easy to forget there are non-Trump styles of valuing loyalty, generally via reciprocation or at least substantial gratitude.

      3. The Wellerman

        Totes with you. Only people who have really fucked up in the past and/or are really rotten on the inside need to virtue-signal THAT hard. ?

      4. temperaryobsessor

        Honesty out of all the virtues in MLP FIM I see loyalty as the least inherently good.
        Don’t get me wrong all of the virtues have downsides when taken to extremes but loyalty, its inherently about not seeing things objectively and not trusting the new guy.
        Its also about not bailing on someone the second something better comes along, so its not outright bad.
        But loyalty when done right is a sort of retroactive honesty anyways.

    5. Vanessa

      No, I’m pretty sure Raidah is still just blowing smoke to get Walky to fall in with their group just like she love-bombed B’Jennifer. As soon as she sees a better target she’ll crush him just like she’s crushing Jenn or dump his Cheeto-covered ass.

      1. thejeff

        Yeah, it’s really weird how many people are taking Raidah seriously here when she literally talked to Carl about pretending to like the “stunted man-child”.

    6. Wendy

      Agreed. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to call it a GOOD moment, exactly, but it’s nice that she’s written with more complexity than most DoA villains.

      Absolutely not to say that said villains are unrealistic or poorly realized – just that they’re also simple, the way people as evil as say Blaine are fairly simple in character. It’s nice to see different and varied flavors of unsavory being portrayed; it makes the cast feel even more alive.

      Personally Raidah’s one of my favorite characters. She’s unlikable, and not a great person, but I also wouldn’t say she’s a monster.

      1. Imogen

        Agreed. I really hope she stays that way, and doesn’t veer into some of the more cartoony moments we’ve seen from her so far. Willis’s normal villains tend to turn into supervillains really quickly, and I’d like to see more grounded, quasi-sympathetic antagonists. After all, this webcomic is about dumb kids making mistakes, and Raidah is still young.

  12. Stephen Bierce

    *plays The Alan Parsons Project’s “Same Old Sun” on the hacked Muzak*

  13. Doopyboop

    Okay yeah Raidah seems to have… ulterior motives that amount to wanting to rail Walky. She’s obviously comparing him to Jacob in panel 5 there. Good thing Walky’s not gonna be into Raidah.

    Also Jennifer what the fuck. Danny gave her a few tips in math, like, months ago. He is absolutely not, like, a tutor on par with Mr British Bowtie. The implications there are just… so toxic and insidious. Walky brings up that Sal makes good grades, Jennifer starts talking about how Sal is “railing” her math tutor. I know you aren’t nearly as close with Sal as you are Walky, but still, what the fuck.

    1. Yotomoe

      I don’t know if she wants to rail Walky, but I’ll say this. She’s DEFINITELY giving off that kinda vibe, isn’t she. Like her “networking” is coming off weirdly flirty. Just saying Lucy should keep an eye on her.

      1. cbwroses

        Raidah acknowledges the affects of Walky’s hair magic, but she also considers him a manchild.
        So unless she plans to mold him (and maybe she does, idk), I don’t think she actually wants to steal him from Lucy.
        That said, I don’t know if she’d be willing to give him that impression if she thought it would steal him from Joyce and Sarah’s friend group.
        The girl holds grudges.

    2. Archieve

      She’s so insecure she’ll talk trash about anybody right now to feel better about her own issues. Might also be she wants her gossip to get back to Sal so she will confront her and give her more of that drama injection she craves.

      1. Bryy

        This group’s social currency seems to be “leverage”.

    3. Jamie

      Jennifer and Raidah are in a race to see who can be the worst. If they weren’t so realistic, I’d get out the popcorn.

    4. Liliet

      Tutor, not TA. I think Danny /is/ tutoring Sal in math in an ongoing manner, it’s just weird to imply that there’s anything wrong with your boyfriend helping you study.

      1. Doopyboop

        When I say “he’s not a tutor on par with Mr. Bowtie” I’m saying he’s exactly that, NOT a TA, aka not an official person where her sleeping with him could be seen as ‘sleeping to upgrade her grade’. Also, it’s been months in-comic since we’ve seen the two do any math studying, it kinda comes off like Danny’s tutoring was more giving her the “keys” to figure out the math, and she went the rest of the way herself.

    5. Mark

      Jennifer may have heard vague tidbits about both relationships and conflated them.

  14. Kirtro

    *moves the “SHUT UP ALREADY!” token from Dorothy to Jennifer*

  15. JessWitt

    I like that the ouroboros mention coincides with the Horrorboros appearing in Splatoon 3’s Salmon Run this weekend.

  16. pope suburban

    Raidah, love bombing only works if you’re capable of love. If not you just come off as deeply creepy, and/or someone who is about to try to recruit someone for an MLM.

    Bleh. Raidah reminds me right here of someone who I deeply dislike. She tried to force a close friendship right away, got real weird when I pumped the brakes, and surprise surprise, she was just doing it to try to get me to bully people for her. This is gross behavior that in some people is clinical. Walky, Lucy, and Jennifer need to get while the getting’s good.

    1. thejeff

      That’s pretty much what love bombing is. It works, but it’s basically defined as abusive. Term was coined for cult practices.

  17. Yotomoe

    Y’know what I’m just gonna say it. Fuck Jennifer for this shit. I may be an eternal simp for her but that was uncalled for. Sal’s basically like you sister and you’re gonna gossip about her fling with her Math Tutor? And in this context it definitely feels like nothing but trying to reinforce the idea that Sal’s not earning her place here. Fuck off with that bullshit.

    She’s still hotter than the deepest pit of hell, though.

    1. The Wellerman

      Same. Sal may have flinged her tutor, but dammit Jennifer I hear your math, and it’s bad. ?

      1. Vanessa

        It’s quite satisfying that B’Jennifer may be aiming for “scandalously bonked her math TA and got him fired” but is landing on “is dating Danny.”

      2. Archieve

        Her network math is actually pretty bad as far as her journalism career is concerned. Jennifer acts like shes making important connections but so far she hasn’t gotten any more stories implying Daisy still doesnt think shes reliable enough and her attempt to get her boss laid in exchange for more work went nowhere.

    2. cbwroses

      Honestly, I don’t think Sal and Jennifer are on Sister from another Mister status anymore than Walky and Marcie are best buds.
      It’s just overlap from growing up together, but the intersection was Walky.
      For instance, I don’t think anyone in universe has referred to Sal and Jennifer as siblings or acting like siblings, but they have done so repeatedly for Walky and Jennifer.
      There’s also the time at the beach when, after Joyce said she’d ship the pseudo siblings, Walky said she’s like his sister and Jennifer said she’d rather do his sister, after which Walky said he could make that happen.
      So none of them seem to consider that dynamic a sibling one.

      All that said, it’s a jerk move regardless for her to be talking about Sal like that, especially here in front of her brother and her ex adjacent.

      1. Archieve

        Shes also giving Radiah amo to use against Sal in the future which is as mean spirited as it is hypocritical given her motivation for setting Daisy up with her ex.

    3. Jamie

      Would you say that she is hot shit, though?

    4. BarerMender

      It occurs to me that Jennifer also knows of Sal’s former relationship with Asher. Could she be subtly jerking his chain?

    5. Sajuuk-Khar

      In a very, very mild set of mitigating circumstances, not really a defense because you’re right, Yoto, I will point out that Jennifer is known to turn into a supervillain over Sal getting credit for anything. There’s some deep-seated resentment there, due to the fucked up Walkerton/Billingsworth family dynamic.

      1. Schpoonman

        Jennifer, or Malaya? Jennifer doesn’t like anyone succeeding except on her very specifically defined terms, Sal just seems to fall under that umbrella. Malaya is Sal’s Newman.

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          https://www.dumbingofage.com/2021/comic/book-11/05-as-long-as-its-free/capitalh/

          Naw, not Malaya’s silly bullshit, I mean THIS type of behavior. I worded it wrong as to what the underlying cause is but it’s this whole song and dance.

    6. GeekyWarrior

      It’s also an extremely silly accusation. Railing your tutor is going to do jack shit to your grades unless said tutor is also doing your work for you.

      1. Archieve

        At first I thought she was referring to Jason, now I think her gossip has a slut shameish undertone. Also who is telling her about Sals romantic buisness anyway? Sounds like Jennifer is keeping closer tabs on Sal then she would like to admit

  18. Danae Jay, Local Gay

    Dorkus perhaps.

    Malorkus, perhaps not.

  19. Archieve

    Hoping someone eventually points out to Jennifer that somebody who thinks pimping out their ex for newspaper jobs is good politics has no room to talk smugly judge over banging for grades like they think their winning something.

  20. RassilonTDavros

    …Raidah is trying to steal Walky, isn’t she.

    1. cbwroses

      She already implied to Jennifer that she finds him physically attractive, and this was a day or three after his hair magic activated.

      1. Bryy

        We also have to take into consideration that Raidah’s entire master plan is based on a fabricated idea of how Joyce/Dorothy’s group works.

    2. shellshockbp

      100% trying to seduce him. Which is very funny that it’s going to blow up in her face, and not just because he’s with Lucy.

  21. Suet

    Was, my dear Jenny, was.

    He could be loyal, but the moment he feels an “out-of-peer group” experience, don’t try to reel him back in.

    1. cbwroses

      No. It’s “is”.
      The math tutor is Danny.
      The math TA was Jason.
      Though, I don’t think Sal and Danny have reached “railing” levels, yet.
      But, yeah, I thought she was talking about Jason at first, too, until I read it again.
      That said, I could be thinking too literal and Jennifer does in fact mean Jason since he, as the TA, was tutoring her.
      And maybe Willis deliberately phrased it that way to have some of us wonder who she’s talking about.
      And now I’m just overthinking.
      What are words?

      1. Vanessa

        That look on her face says “Sal scandalously got her TA fired” while the “doofus in a hat” is hilariously just fellow freshman Danny.

      2. Suet

        Thank cheese for the “dorkus in a hat”, really, coz I’d like to see Jason wear a newsie.

    2. Suet

      “My Peer Group’s Smoochy Chart is Basically Now an Ouroboros”

      Good book title, VERY hard to realize a politburo without knowing

    3. Bryy

      Holy SHIT.

      Jennifer does NOT KNOW that Jason is now with Ruth, does she?

      OMG.

      1. The Wellerman

        Herding and Extrapolating

        “Networking” and “business management”

        Primal instinct under a tench coat is what I call it. ?

      2. thejeff

        Ruth told her she went home with the skinny Englishman bartender instead of with Daisy, but I don’t know if Jennifer processed that enough to figure out who he is. Or knows it was more than a one night thing.

  22. Nik

    I wonder if by the end of this scene, anyone will still think that Jennifer is Actually The Good Guy.

    1. Cmasta1992

      I sympathize with her but she is putting on a master class I’m self sabotage rn

      1. CMasta1992

        *in
        (friggin mobile autocorrect)

    2. Sajuuk-Khar

      People thought Jennifer was the Good Guy?? Who? Please tell me so I can laugh hysterically at them???

      Like, by what metric?? Is it that she’s playing the role of Wile E. Coyote chasing the Social Clout Roadrunner and keeps completely eating shit???

      1. Nik

        There are some who leaned into taking her side during her arguments with Ruth and Dorothy in the last arc, and even when she was talking with Walky last. Situations where, at best, both participants were wrong for different reasons, I got the sense that a disproportionate amount were going after the person standing opposite Jennifer. Like Walky says this whole nice and insightful thing about her, but ends it with a little rib, so some of the comments are “Wow Walky was so mean.” Just this weird buying into all the lies Jennifer has been telling in order to make herself feel more secure. For a comments section that tends to jump down characters’ throats for making little social faux pas or making mistakes as part of their growth or their grieving process, the fact that I see *any* benefit of the doubt being given to Jennifer during what is basically her villain arc is quite weird to me.

        1. thejeff

          There was a lot in the Joyce arc too – with Dorothy and Becky being compared to her.

          The fundamental flaw I think is trying to pick any of our main characters to be the “Good Guy”. Or the villain for that matter.

          Jennifer’s got her good points and her flaws, like they all do.

        2. Nik

          100% with you there.

          In defense of my use of the term ‘villain arc,’ she IS specifically hanging out with a group of antagonists, and dating a murderer (albeit, presumably, unaware of the whole murder thing).

  23. Grayfinity

    Wait, did Walky just address Danny by name?

    Guess Mr. Walkerton is ahead of Joyce in that regard.

    1. cbwroses

      Well, the guy is dating his sister and date both of his exes.
      It would be weirder if he didn’t know Danny’s name by now.

    2. newlland(Henryvolt)

      If your going to end up swiping two of the guys ex-girlfriends after they dump him the least you can do is remember his name.

      1. Grayfinity

        You and cbwroses make great points.

    3. Sajuuk-Khar

      Joyce is trying her best! She remembers the important features!!!

  24. newlland(Henryvolt)

    “We don’t gossip about our peers here.”

    I smell the smallest wiff of horse shit in that statement.

    Also Jennifer if memory serves you also tried to rail the same doofus until he turned you down for someone else.

    1. Masumi

      And she says it in such a condescending tone! As much as I dislike Jennifer’s bad gossiping attempt, Raidah sounding like a kindergarten teacher there grinds my gears even more.

      1. Heatth

        I particularly noticed Raidah didn’t complain about Asher’s implication Sal wasn’t earning her grades last strip. Hell, Jenifer was being mean, but that wasn’t actually the implication in her statement either way. A tutor doesn’t grade a student, if the implication was the point Jenife would have talked about Jason and said “TA”.

  25. Steelbright

    “my peer group’s smoochy chart is basically now an ourobouros” yeah Walky, that was my experience in college, too XD

  26. Cmasta1992

    Yay another exciting episode of Jennifer Makes It Hard For Me To Defend Her. My favorite…

  27. anon

    has danny and walky talked all that much? feels like they’d def get along or at least be able to enjoy some nerdy stuff together lol

    1. Vanessa

      They do seem to have the same taste in girls.

    2. cbwroses

      Danny doesn’t seem to have a good opinion of Walky.
      At the very least, he talked mess about him after Dorothy started dating him.
      Then again, he was doing so with Amber, and Amber once (and still does) find him sexy as well as a decent enough human being, so opinions do change.
      And Danny was affected by the hair magic a little, but he chose not to pursue that thought when it arose.

      1. newlland(Henryvolt)

        Yeah the dude doesn’t seem to play nice with his romantic rivals.

  28. SDRainbow

    RED FLAG RED FLAG

    WHEN A STRANGER TELLS YOU SHE CHERISHES YOU OR A PART OF YOU, RUN

    WALKY GET OUT NOW

    1. Masumi

      It sure feels weird, but can you elaborate? Like, is it a scheme to pull someone in or the like?

    2. Amós Batista

      I would totally fall for it if some strange woman says it to me…

  29. RassilonTDavros

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: My Peer Group’s Smoochy Chart is Basically Now An Ouroboros

    1. RassilonTDavros

      (I hadn’t seen this tweet yet when I wrote the comment)

    2. Jamie

      Suet also called it. This is the best book title, no doubt.

    3. newlland(Henryvolt)

      Sold! When can I buy my copy.

    4. mrnoidea

      +1

  30. Raen

    At this point, Sal is going to develop a fetish that will lead to “quality time” with Numberphile.

  31. Francoinblanco

    damn now i need to find a second player to go through resident evil 5 again

  32. Reed

    ugh are raidah’s long term career goals cult leader?

    1. Zero

      Long term?

    2. Masumi

      Yeah, she’s got the exact vibe down!
      … I imagine. I don’t actually know any cult leaders.

  33. GoingOnABearHunt

    Billie really out here trying to pretend she didn’t worship the ground Sal walked on for the last ten years worth of pages.

    1. Laura

      Did she?

      1. BarerMender

        She went so far as to attempt to (drunk) smooch Sal.

        1. Dr. T

          She tried to do even more with the “for us with a hat”. He also turned her down.

  34. APW

    Walky’s taken aback because he has a history of getting together with Danny’s exes. This time it would be… problematic…

    1. Needfuldoer

      We don’t even know if they drink coffee.

      1. pope suburban

        I hate that I immediately understood this. Curse you, Folgers!

  35. Slartibeast Button, BIA

    OK, maybe Raidah *did* mean that kind of “Hook Ups.”

    1. BarerMender

      She was boffing Jacob as social climbing.

  36. Archieve

    Wondering why Asher is so curious about Sals sex life, I thought he was just looking for info on Lindas influence last page but now he wants details on Jennifer’s gossip that’s going off that topic.

    1. cbwroses

      I don’t think Asher is doing clout chasing.

      I think he actually believes that Raidah and Carl are his friends (which would make him asking if Sal had strings pulled “simply” tactless and tone death.

      On the other hand, maybe they’re not friends and he just knows and hangs with them because he cut off the friends he committed crimes with and he knows Raidah and Carl because their dads are his grandpa’s mob lawyers.

    2. BBCC

      Walky said he thought Sal and Asher once had feelings for each other. Maybe that has something to do with it?

  37. missilentmurmur

    Why is Asher so interested in who Sal’s railing?

  38. BBCC

    I’ll give Raidah this, she does seem genuine to me in panel five. It’s just panels four and six, plus knowing she has ulterior motives AND that she’s almost certainly using that genuine-ness to manipulate Walky really sours it.

    And I find Asher’s reaction to Sal having a boyfriend interesting.

  39. Bunny

    Naw, Bilious Jennifer, the math Tutor is railing Ruth. How do you feel about this? Also, Asher is trash. Raidah is vile and I’d like to see the universe slam them.

    1. Dr. T

      She’s with Danny, who took over as her math tutor. Granted, that was YEARS ago IRL.

  40. Vancore

    Dude she’s railing’ has been gone for months and has plays no part in her current grades is just conveniently not brought up. Good old misinformation rears it’s ugly head again, not that it was even true to begin with but you can tell these people are selling a narrative that mainly benefits them and there goals.

    1. Schpoonman

      They’re not talking about Jason, they’re talking about Danny. “Some dorkus in a hat.”

      Still garbage people to a one, especially Jennifer, but they’re not gossiping about Sal’s fling with the TA.

  41. AGV

    Really aiming for the top spot in the bucket of crabs, eh Jenny?

  42. DaveM

    Hmm, Raidah’s dismissed Lucy as inconsequential and decided that a relationship with Walky could be beneficial. Jennifer’s outbursts at Walky’s passive aggressive teasing allows Raidah power over Jennifer and means that she can ask Asher for a favour for all the times she stopped his girlfriend from blowing up publicly.

    All this would be totally correct, except when you factor in that Asher is connected and almost certainly set in motion Blaine getting executed. If Raidah ever try’s leaning on Asher, she’s going to find out (possibly briefly) just how much she overestimated her influence.

    1. Archieve

      At this point I’m wondering if we’re going to see anybody besides Walky and Jennifer talk to Lucy during this breakfast.

    2. Mark

      There’s a lot of leeway to “set in motion.” I could see him just calling someone up to say, “Blaine O’Malley is indulging in a rather dicey adventure, and could attract the attention of people you don’t want to have taking notice of his activities. I just thought you should know.” Just doing an associate a favor, you see.

      Then he had the opportunity to do another favor by passing the word that the problem had been addressed.

      So it all depends on how serious someone else thinks the problem is and what’s the most expedient way to solve it. Asher might be happier if “someone else” had just informed Blaine that Bad Things would happen to him if he didn’t get his head screwed on straight — so long as that worked.

  43. IniquitousKing

    Man, everyone in this friend group is so incredibly two-faced. What the -hell-, Jennifer.

    I really hope Walky doesn’t buy into whatever Raidah’s pulling here.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Jennifer, two-faced?! NEVER!

      /s

  44. Maggie

    “Some people network in different ways”

    *laughs in poly*

  45. Sajuuk-Khar

    Man, this whole display of venom from Jennifer makes me wonder once again about Jen’s whole….circumstances. You know?

    I mean, we know she’s really close to Walky and has some sway with his parents, even, there’s this whole pseudo-adopted sibling thing going on there and Sal is the odd girl out. We know Jennifer resents Sal (but also finds her hot).

    We also know Jennifer’s relationship with her parents is fucked, like, supremely fucked. We’ve never even seen the illustrious Mr. Billingsworth. I don’t think Jenn ever mentioned her mom! She’s way closer to Linda, if all people. What brought THAT on?? How horrifying is the Billingsworth household that Linda “Obvious Villainess” Walkerton is preferable??

    1. Axel

      From what I can recall, it’s less “horrifying,” and more “absent.”

    2. pyrock_mania

      Now I’m thinking to myself how wild a twist it would be after this whole conversation if JENNIFER is the one Linda pulled strings for with the Dean. I mean, given how apparently public her past with alcohol in HS is, hard to imagine colleges being stoked to accept her.

      1. cbwroses

        Now that is an idea.
        And it would further indicate how distant the Billingsworth household is that a rich politician and/or businessman wasn’t the one to pull strings for his own daughter, but someone else’s parents did.
        Of course, in this hypothetical scenario, it could be that he didn’t pull strings because of his principles, but considering he pushed out the homeless, that would be surprising.

        1. Mark

          One has to wonder if he was even aware of the homeless there.

    3. BBCC

      Jennifer’s dad is always away on business and according to her, her mom is ;doing business on every man known to her’. They do not pay much attention to her.

    4. Rogue 7

      Linda’s obviously a villain to *us*, but she’s probably pretty damn nice to Jennifer.

      Also- Isn’t IU a big state university? It’s my understanding that places like that have less exacting standards than most private schools, especially for in-state students.

  46. DarkoNeko

    “I cherish it when they’re loyal to me, at least”

  47. ADLegend21

    Raidah’s gonna be all prim and proper until Walky starts talking about Joyce. Calling it.

  48. Council

    …Raidah makes me. Slightly confused.

    In Panel 4, her compliment comes across as genuine. Is it? We know her opinion of Walky is not all great, what with calling him a manchild after she invited him. Is this a genuine case of mixed feelings? And does it mean anything if it is?

    1. Council

      Anything good, that is. I know it at least means “loyalty is good for me because I can hook you in more easily”. I caught that. But I can’t shake the feeling I’m missing something.

    2. DailyBrad

      Eh. She’s probably mostly full of shit, but given her beef with Sarah and her interpreting Sarah’s actions as betrayal, she probably does genuinely value loyalty. She just has her own rationalizations on what does and doesn’t count as a betrayal.

      1. GholaHalleck

        she see’s what Sarah did as betrayal because it “hurt” what’sherface, it doesn’t even enter her wheelhouse that Sarah was trying to help whatsherface.

        Rad is a “we ‘protect’ our friends from the repercussions of their actions” type of friend.

        Rad is the type of person who would have helped Scarface hide out if he was part of her friend group.

        1. Council

          Thank you, your perspective is very helpful. I believe you nailed it on the head.

    3. Liliet

      The impression I get is that Raidah’s understanding of genuineness is “genuinely trying to be nice”. It’s irrelevant whether you really think what you’re saying, the sincerity is in the effort to get along.

      …And Walky is actually putting in the effort to get along here, as well as to defend his sister, and she *does* genuinely respect that, and then sincerely pours more honey on top of that because she sincerely wants Walky to like her.

    4. Dot

      No, she’s full of shit

  49. Nevermaker

    Oh, IS gossiping about our peers something we choose not to do, Raidah? Oh right, we just pretend to be their friend because of their rich fathers and shit-talk them when they’re not there to defend themselves, because that’s what GOOD people do.

    The audacity and hypocrisy on display is mindboggling.

  50. Sombrero

    So much for the “Jennifer is in a better place than Billie was” arc.

    1. timemonkey

      Was there ever any doubt?

  51. Amós Batista

    Told you Raidah’s trying to recruit for her “sindicate”.

    1. Sombrero

      She’s looking for an offer that Walky can’t refuse.

  52. Liliet

    Can’t wait for Raidah to be condescending to Lucy and for Walky to unambiguously stand up for her.

    1. Needfuldoer

      I think Raidah might try roping Walky in by heaping Lucy with empty praise. He might see through it, but she’s too eager to please and fit in with the popular kids, so he might go along with them to avoid upsetting her.

    2. pope suburban

      I am praying for this, if the criticism of Sal isn’t enough to set him off. I don’t’ know where Raidah gets off, talking to her peers like she’s their kindergarten teacher- while she’s openly trying to exploit them, no less! Dina had Raidah pegged from the start, when she said that Raidah imagined she was being kind but was in fact being a condescending ass. Just reading her makes me feel slimy, ugh.

  53. Dr. T

    Jennifer is a horrible friend. She’s so bad that she’s making room for Raidah to appear pleasant. I do think the real question is who Jennifer resents more for turning down her advances, Sal or Danny? (You’ll have to go way back to find those strips, but she did try to make a drunken pass at Sal and actually tried to have sex with Danny.)

    Oh, and Walky got Danny plenty involved by nailing Danny’s two exes.

    1. CianM1301

      I know Walky and Amber were briefly dating and did make out on Garbage roof, but did anything else happen between them?

      1. cbwroses

        There was making out and cuddling in Amber’s room.
        There was suggested dry humping after Walky punched Asher.
        And it was implied that they may have continued to mess around to some extent up until Halloween after Sal repeatedly told him she didn’t care.

    2. Sporky

      I think Jennifer barely remembers Danny TBH

  54. Freezer

    I see Jennifer ordered the Out of Line, with extra Hypocrite.

  55. ValdVin

    Nothing says “adulting” like calling the construct of colored strings and push-pins a “smoochy chart”.

    At least Walky’s spot next to Dorothy gets better indicators than ‘washing machine”.

  56. BadRoad

    Next book title: “My Peer Group’s Smoochy Chart Is Now Basically an Ouroboros”

    1. TulipKitten

      Has anyone ever actually predicted a book title?

  57. Deviant

    Im just gonna go on and say it, this breakfast is a bust. Its filled with catty elitism and manipulation.

    1. Dot

      And Walky STILL hasn’t gotten his burger!

      1. Amós Batista

        It’s an artesanal burger. It will take 30 minutes to get ready..

        1. The Wellerman

          30 minutes? HA! You’d be lucky if they had it done in under an hour! (*_*)

      2. Mark

        It’s been, like, 90 seconds since they ordered.

  58. Valerie

    “We don’t gossip about our peers…. but let me tell you all about SARAH”

  59. vulcanodon

    How smoothly Raidah accused Sal of using sex for networking

    1. shellshockbp

      “It’s okay when I do it.”
      She’s a sociopath, she’s going to be hypocritical about everything.

    2. cbwroses

      Actually, I think that networking comment was not about Sal, but about the connections that Walky’s friend group as a whole has made via the romantic relationships, since that’s all networking is: forging connections.

  60. FadingMemory

    So when I first started reading this comic from the beginning a few years ago, I found myself surprised (in a good way) at the extremes the narrative moved into with the whole situation with Amazigirl/Mike/Blaine/etc. I just think on paper, you wouldn’t see a dramedy about college life/coming of age involve this hostage/murder plot. But given that that’s a place the comic already went to (with a few other examples, like Amber fighting scar-guy,) I wonder if at some point down the road from here (like many years from now irl most likely,) if the comic will ever return to that point, and if so, if the root of that villainy is going to somehow revolve around Asher (and potentially Raidah, in some way.) I just remember when Asher was introduced in the narrative it was around that point in the story, and I recall being surprised by his normalization/integration into the existing cast of characters. In an overly realistic/grounded narrative, there’s not much to read into, but just given the long term arcs of DoA, I’ve wondered if he (and/or Raidah) is meant to slow-burn into some spiral out-of-control threat down the road, I suppose in a way similar to how Blaine over time turns from a verbally abusive father into a literal murdering psychopath.

    Curious about any speculation anyone might have RE: ways the narrative in the future has potential to go in that extreme/sinister direction again. I’m not entirely sure whether that whole plot arc in retrospect will just be that “one-time big pivotal thing that happened in everyone’s lives” or a reoccurring flavor of the story at large. Kinda makes me wonder too if Joe will also get some sort of pivotal “hero” moment that counters his public reputation as “sex list guy.”

    1. cbwroses

      I jus5 figure Raidah is angling to be a mob lawyer.

    2. kgy121

      Considering that Asher /starts/ at murdering, probably.

  61. John

    Fuck you Raidah, and fuck you Jennifer. You can both go to hell.

  62. crys

    Lmao i love raidah

    1. Amós Batista

      I like her too, but you must be new here

      1. crys

        I have been reading since 2014! i do not want to be her friend, i enjoy her brand of villainry and the conflict that it’s been causing in the story

        1. crys

          I should probably be specific when I say I “love” a character. for example i love lucy and want to be her friend (and her gf let’s be real.) i love raidah and hope she gets to taste the consequences of solely pursuing transactional friendships

        2. Amós Batista

          nice

      2. TulipKitten

        Strips containing Raidah: 69

        1. Amós Batista

          (nice)²

    2. Alex

      I also enjoy the role she plays in the story.

    3. TulipKitten

      I’m not sold on her yet. She gotta make proper amends, because she is still ableist as fuck. She wasn’t the one to say the R-slur to Dina, but she treaded a very thin line there.

  63. cbwroses

    Not sure it can be said enough, but good for Walky for standing up for Sal, asserting that not only is she deserving, not only does she put in the work, and not only does she get better results than him, but also that he doesn’t have any weird hang ups about her bodily autonomy (is it bodily or body?) when he immediately says she can rail whoever she wants.
    There are plenty of guys who have issues regarding the sex lives of their female relatives, and while Walky never seemed like one, it’s nice to see it.

  64. thakoru

    Dumbing of Age Book 13: My Peer Group’s Smoochy Chart is Basically Now an Ouroboros

    1. thakoru

      Oops, redundant comment. Kinda double redundant, actually.

  65. CrazyJ

    To make this a real Ouroboros Asher needs to start dating Sal. Otherwise it’s just a smaller circle of Danny, Dotty, Walky and Amber with a bunch of branches that just terminate and some unconnected pairings like Dina and Becky.

  66. thakoru

    To be clear, the thing that made the smoochy chart an Ouroboros was Walky briefly dating Amber. Sal is essentially a spur, unless I’m forgetting about her making out with Amber at some point, and I’m pretty sure I’d remember that.

    (Though Walky smooching Asher would actually close that loop. Just saying.)

    1. thejeff

      Well, although Walky doesn’t know it, it does tie some pieces together: Walky-Amber-Danny-Sal-Jason-Ruth-Jennifer-Asher.

  67. Eff M.

    My polycule is mostly relationship anarchists. An Ouroboros is far too linear and uniform to model our connections! 😀 (Now a bowl of spaghetti …?)

  68. Jenna

    Wow. These people suck. Jennifer is NOT coming across well here.

  69. Rabisch

    I’m afraid Raidah’s “sympathy” for Walky is changing from pretend to be a friend, for have an ally who know the guy who runs the university, into some kind of sincere respect and possible attraction. Walky is not a fool, but Raidah knows how to manipulate people. I’m afraid Lucy will go through something unpleasant that will make her leave Walky, whether she wants to or not.

  70. Cinnamon

    Dammit Raidah, panel 5 actually started off as a nice sentiment, and then you had to go and make it creepy

    1. Archieve

      She doesn’t appear to be able to comprehend that some people chose friends and relationships without looking at their network value.

      1. Heavensrun

        I wonder if we’re going to find out that the real reason she got pissed at Sarah over her first roommate was because said roommate was like, the governor’s niece, or something, and Raidah’s just pissed she lost the connection when she went home for rehab.

        Of course, the other possibility is that she’s gone mercenary with her friendships because it’s her way of turtling up after losing somebody she deeply cared about. IDK.

  71. Username Taken

    I’m not a Raidah fan, but her last line definitely earned a chuckle.

  72. Jonah Sanville

    it is driving me up the goddamn wall that raidah refuses to call walky his name and keeps calling him david. call people the name they give you, it’s not that hard. i’m assuming she’s doing it cause david sounds more professional, but it’s insulting and mega annoying

    1. The Oracle

      She’s also the only one doing it. What makes her so special? That’s what I wanna know.

    2. pope suburban

      Oh, good catch! Immediately reminds me of the exchange between Joyce and Walky when Jennifer told them she wasn’t going by Billie anymore. Call people what they want to be called, and all. Walky’s pretty easygoing, so maybe he doesn’t mind it for himself, but I do note he was scrupulous about respecting Booster in this regard, and that he’s been decent about Jennifer too. Probably on some level he realizes that Raidah is doing something with this, and that it flies in the face of “call people what they want to be called, because that is right.”

  73. nicoleandmaggie

    Sal deserves better than a spot there! Though I do kind of want one of those burgers right now.

    1. Nicoleandmaggie

      Have just ordered fancy burgers for dinner. #damnyouwillis. I almost got one with Carmelized onions and blue cheese but went with an Asian fusion thing instead.

  74. Erika

    I spent an embarrassing amount of time looking up the previous comic Willis used that alt-text in.

    http://www.itswalky.com/comic/no-steroids-and-no-hormones/

  75. Nathan

    Raidah has such intense Lawful Evil vibes

    1. ZerglingOne

      Perfect for a corporate law lawyer.

    2. Council

      Intense, maybe. She needs to work on the execution, though.

  76. Yeet

    oh hey he did actually stand up for her, yay walky

  77. milu

    beware walky, ouroboros smoochy chart = ouroboros eventual scabies outbreak chart

  78. Joy

    I believe that Raidah believes on some level what she’s saying, even if her behavior doesn’t always meet the ideal that she tries to emulate.

  79. Omnithea

    You tried to rail that dorkus, you dorkus.

  80. BOOSTER SHOT

    Raidah is good y’all can die mad about it

    1. Autogatos

      Toxic people can occasionally say good things. Most people are neither 100% good nor 100% bad!

  81. Autogatos

    Raidah is saying good things here but it’s undermined by the knowledge it’s kind of an act, because her ultimate goal is buddying up with Walky for his “connections.” I’m not sure we ever what Raidah really thinks about anything, her behavior is fairly calculated.

    Probably would make a good lawyer though! She’s adaptable and capable of crafting whatever argument is necessary to support her goals, and seems very good at convincingly portraying people as either good or bad based on said goals.

  82. poyo

    lmao i bet you do cherish loyalty, raidah

  83. Amelie Wikström

    Definitely no gossip against our fellow students going on at this breakfast, right, nobody’s even gonna mention Sarah. (Spoilers for a week in the future: She gossiped about Sarah.)

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