/*JUST* finished reading an autobio about being a child of an alcoholic and finding the lack of COMPLETE dysfunction in the lives of nonalcoholic families, frankly, *a miracle* when it happens in their own family
Yep. And here’s Ms Billingsworth, utterly unable to process that getting away from Ruth’s imbalance is exactly what Ruth wanted for her. Because Ruth can’t find love for herself.
Doesn’t care, or is kidding herself it’s not important. In any case it may come back to bite her.
Regalli
Or he’s mentioned/Jennifer’s known “powerful” but he’s been cagey with precisely HOW he is powerful to potentially dangerous extents, which I suspect is the case with Raidah and co. (Given the emphasis we’ve seen Raidah put on her friends’ families being influential and the specific WAYS being things like big-name lawyers and such, I don’t think “My grandpa is a mob boss but I’m on the outs with him” is one she’d really take to. Even if she’s okay with “mob boss”, “leaving the mob” is a lack of influence and in fact a possibly dangerous one. That’s reputation poison.)
I could see Jennifer, investigative reporter extraordinaire, knowing Asher’s grandfather is a big investor in local businesses, super influential in the community, and Asher admits to her that his Gramps is bad news or something and he’s trying to get away from that all, Gramps didn’t want that, and her conclusion is NOT “He’s a mob boss, and by the way Asher stole a ton of money from him which will be very very dangerous if he ever finds out.”
Now, most likely, since she made the connection from “sleeping with one eye open” to “Asher’s GRANDFATHER, specifically, and not Asher himself,” Jennifer knows, but I’m not ruling out the possibility she thinks he’s like, economically/politically dangerous and not murderously dangerous, and Asher either assumes he told her enough and she seemed to get it enough that she made the connection or has let her remain ignorant of the true extent of it. If only because that would bring back the “Sal is Amazi-Girl” reasoning we know and love, but this time under very dramatic circumstances, AND leave us the audience screaming in agony once it becomes clear because SAL assumes she knows, ASHER maybe assumes she knows, WALKY AND AMBER AND AG would know from Sal that she knows, and JENNIFER doesn’t actually know until that gun finally fires. It would leave us damning Willis’s name to high heaven, and it would therefore be great.
Rhetorical question, should have linked the relevant comic to make that clear.
Asher’s family are major bad news and with him, sure, he’s probably not going to flip a table, but Uncle might come around with a cadaver and a hacksaw asking for a favour.
Yotomoe
True, but you are not your family. I’m pretty sure we learned this with Joyce and Becky. And sure, Asher seems to be involved in some minute way but not really in a way that anyone in the comic could call him on. For all they know he hates his parents and their activities as much as Amber hates her father.
Thag Simmons
Amber and Becky’s fathers would also have been significant sources of worry and instability. Asher could be the best intentioned, sweetest boyfriend ever and he’d still be a source of well founded stress and concern because his family are dangerous mobsters and he is not out of it as much as he wants to be.
Nono
Doesn’t mean you should stop dating someone because of their family. Like Sal’s not her mom, Joyce isn’t her mom, and Mary isn’t her parents, who are apparently very nice people.
Thag Simmons
I’m not making a moral judgement, I’m stating a fact.
Asher is trapped in a web with some extremely dangerous people, and dating him means getting tangled up with all of that. I’m not making a moral judgement there either, but it is decidedly not stable and worry-free.
Asher will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life, and so long as you’re in his orbit you probably should be too.
Yotomoe
So what’s your point? Cuz it sounds like you’re saying Jennifer should NOT date him because of his family? As if that is comparable to your actual partner being abusive. There is literally no other way to take this. Asher should not be allowed to find love or happiness because he was born to the wrong family, by your logic. What’s the point of living at that point?
Hilen
Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I understand, Thag is only referencing what Jeniffer herself said? Like, she’s saying her new friends are more care-free and safe (compared to Ruth) and that is very arguable, particularly so Asher with his general situation. Leave him or keep him, she’s saying this either to spite Ruth, or because she doesn’t know, otherwise, this statement would make no sense. She can be with whoever she wants, but her stated reasons (here) to be with them don’t quite work.
Thag Simmons
I would also call Dina choosing to date Becky an unstable situation because of Becky’s precarious position and dangerous family member, even though Becky herself did nothing wrong. That doesn’t mean it was a mistake, it just means it was a risk
The risk isn’t being acknowledged by what Jennifer says here. And I’m not even going to judge. It’s hard to say how much Jennifer knows (although I’m going to guess less than she should) and what she does know she has no obligation to share with Ruth, especially when it’d undercut her argument.
Yotomoe
What I’m saying is there is a market difference between “My SO is gonna put me through a table” and “My SO’s crazy family will put me through a table. It’s the dynamic behind that which is tthe problem. If Becky’s dad hit Dina that’d be bad. If Becky started hitting Dina that’d be unacceptable.The risk isn’t devoid of the context that you’re kinda removing from it.
Thag Simmons
You’re arguing against a point I wasn’t making. Literally all I’m saying is that what Jennifer says she’s getting with her new relationship and what she’s actually getting don’t match up.
Yotomoe
And my point is that Jennifer has no reason to feel at risk of that happening. At least at the moment Asher not raidah has made a threat or action making her think they’ll lock themselves in a room or flip a table at her. And we’re only on edge about that happening as outside observers who know that could pose a problem. “What she’s getting” is conjecture at this point. We can assume it’ll come to a head at some point but for now Asher has proven himself to be a chill dude, which is more than what we can say for Ruth and Jennifer’s relationship even at its inception. And I feel like Jennifer’s statement here is much more pointedly describing being bullied and worried about her SO self harming or getting aggressive than she is of some third party attacking them.
Granted he could be hurt or killed by the mob and that could have some psychological trauma for Jennifer but I feel like that’s not the same as the actions she’s comparing them to in reference to Ruth. This isn’t a just “I’ll never have to worry about getting hurt again”. It is very pointedly “I don’t have to worry about you hurting me or yourself anymore.”
Thag Simmons
Asher stole a bunch of money from the mob and then had a hit ordered on a murderer who tried to blackmail him. He’s a chill dude and I do think he’s sincere, but there is mortal danger here for him and for Jennifer.
Taffy
Stealing money from the literal mob is a good deed. What happened with Blaine was on the exact same moral level as removing a stain from a carpet. Any reprisal he gets for either of those things is automatically disproportionate.
Thag Simmons
Mobsters inflicting disproportionate retaliation on people is of course utterly unimaginable.
Johannes
Thag, I think part of what’s tripping people up is that what you’re saying Jennifer is saying isn’t what she said. Jennifer didn’t say anything about people’s families being level, stable, not likely to do violent stuff, etc. Her point isn’t about danger but about how emotionally difficult it is to care about someone who is emotionally unstable, sporadically violent, and self-destructive. You’re making this about people’s families and danger when what she’s complaining about with Ruth was Ruth herself having issues.
Regalli
Sal knows one VERY important fact in which he is very actively NOT involved with the family business, but which is still very very dangerous: He stole money from Gramps to pay his college tuition. A LOT of money. Enough money that a mob stooge could figure it out and blackmail him, and enough money therefore that if Gramps somehow does find out, he’s screwed. Which also leaves him susceptible to blackmailing again.
The fact that Asher is not so far out of the mob that he’s willing to fall back on them to at least some extent to deal with the blackmail is something none of the cast know except Asher (and maybe Lester the dirty cop, or maybe someone else), but that is also very dangerous indeed.
Basically I tend to think that if you’re trying to escape from your mobster family by robbing them, you should get as far out of their sphere of influence as you possibly can, worry about everything else AFTER you’re far far away, and Asher’s still in a city where there are cops on Gramps’s take. Which is not NEARLY far enough. Even if he genuinely thinks he’s out for now, and that’s a VERY open question, he’s not, because he’s still in range for people to recognize and blackmail him and potentially fake his suicide if that’s deemed necessary. If he’s serious about getting out he needs to keep running.
Great as usual to see you here Regs, very good points as usual!
Mr D
You know, I never assumed that Asher called the hit due to the blackmail material, I thought it was “This man forced me to turn on people I like, and may try to do it again”.
Felgraf
Asher has literally had a corrupt officer murder a dude.
The dude sucked, but Asher ordered the hit, because he got told *when it was done*
Taffy
Sure, he potentially “ordered a hit” and “got a text message” when the target “died”, but he’s hot so he can do what he wants.
Joy
Jennifer is clearly what he wants 😀
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist making the joke.)
JBento
And the only bad thing about it was the hit wasn’t ordered SOONER.
BBCC
For real. The hit was on BLAINE. That’s practically a good deed.
Taffy
Literally the only casualties of that whole ordeal were guys nobody liked in the first place. Next we’ll be condemning Batman when he finally kills the Gomer.
Taffy
…JOKER.
Gomer?????
????? Either I’m way too fucking high tonight or this autocorrect is possessed by the spirit of Andy Griffith spinoffs.
Fnord
Take the cadaver and hacksaw to Ruth, problem solved.
I always wonder if she and Asher already knew each other in the past. They did grow up in the same town, would her parents have cared (or prodded deeply enough to know) that another wealthy family in town was Mob Rich instead of legit, or would the two of have been chucked together with any other kids in the same age range at various society functions over the years?
Way more involved in messing up their respective personal lives, maybe. Not actually ordering murders though.
And, since Asher’s stolen money from him, if he ever finds out it’s only family sympathy that’ll keep him from getting killed.
JBento
Well, Ruth’s grandfather was in the war – sliding timescale says take your pick on which, but unless it was EXCLUSIVELY WW2, if he didn’t order murders he certainly went around commiting them, with a high possibility of war crimes.
Ruth’s grandpa probably hasn’t killed anyone since he left the military. He’s major bad news but he doesn’t seem to be in the same league as ‘head of local crime syndicate’ in terms of concerning relatives.
Sure, Jennifer. Keep telling yourself all of that.
Try to convince yourself you finally have everything just how you want… until you inevitably fuck it up and have to walk away from the wreckage. Again.
Given that her new “level and stable” friends are only pretending to like her, I don’t think she’ll have to do anything but wait.
This one came fucked up.
As someone on Patreon pointed out – she calls them Raidah’s friends. Not her’s. Enough said, whether she and Ruth ever get back together or not. If she wasn’t happy with Joyce and co. even without Ruth – well, so be it, but she desperately needs new friends regardless.
We have not.
The last time we saw the two of them was when they were warning Raidah about Joyce.
And then we saw the shorter one one or two more times after that.
But nothing post timeskip, yet.
Thag Simmons
We saw one of them in the Halloween flashbacks but that isn’t post-timeskip, and they’ve been notably absent from Raidah’s recent appearances
I’m pretty sure we saw Jennifer meet Asher through Raidah in the last Halloween strips? So there is him as well, but… referring to your current boyfriend as someone else’s friend is not a promising sign, if that’s what she’s doing.
It’s the SMALLEST red flag incidental to Asher and their relationship, most of which aren’t really his fault but are there nonetheless (the mafia WILL be back eventually, this WILL blow up in people’s faces, because you don’t set that gun on the wall and not fire it eventually, but it’s still up in the air how willing he’ll be in that.)
cbwroses
Or it’s a sign that she realizes they don’t really view Asher as a friend, either.
Thag Simmons
Asher wasn’t in the flashback meeting and Jennifer knew him from their hometown, I think he’s also a relative newcomer
Regalli
Ah, no, he’s tagged there but only in the final panel, you’re right.
CJ
Does Jennifer know he’s the guy who ratted on Sal to put her in whatever that school/institution was she grew up,in?
I think it’s reasonable that she’d refer to the new friend group as X’s friends, to contrast with her prior friends, but I find it very odd that she refers to them as Raidah’s rather than Asher’s.
I think Asher’s separate from that group. They know him through Jennifer, not the other way around.
Archieve
I don’t know about that. the way Asher met up with Radiah and Carl looking for validation that Jennifer fits in with them (that one strip where Radiah and Carl are talking about pretending to like Walky) made it sound like it’s Jennifer who knows Asher through the group. Also how he’s the one letting Jennifer know when the others are waiting for them.
thejeff
True. He might have a separate connection to Raidah’s group. I don’t think he’s in the core group there though.
We never saw him with them before the timeskip where Jennifer connected to them. And he wasn’t in on any of the “we’re pretending to like” conversations.
200 thoughts on “Martyr”
Ana Chronistic
like Raidah’s friend Dana?
…
ok, drama-wise, that is prob a step down sure
/*JUST* finished reading an autobio about being a child of an alcoholic and finding the lack of COMPLETE dysfunction in the lives of nonalcoholic families, frankly, *a miracle* when it happens in their own family
Decidedly Orthogonal
Yep. And here’s Ms Billingsworth, utterly unable to process that getting away from Ruth’s imbalance is exactly what Ruth wanted for her. Because Ruth can’t find love for herself.
thejeff
I think it’s pretty obvious from Ruth’s behavior that even though that was her motivation for the breakup, she’s not really okay with it now.
Alaric
You can be hurt by something and still think it’s for the best, though.
Pylgrim
Ruth may have been a tad too successful in her efforts.
Thag Simmons
You know who Asher’s grandpa is, right?
Nono
Yeah, she mentioned knowing who Asher’s family is when Sal ran into them. She doesn’t care.
tim gueguen
Doesn’t care, or is kidding herself it’s not important. In any case it may come back to bite her.
Regalli
Or he’s mentioned/Jennifer’s known “powerful” but he’s been cagey with precisely HOW he is powerful to potentially dangerous extents, which I suspect is the case with Raidah and co. (Given the emphasis we’ve seen Raidah put on her friends’ families being influential and the specific WAYS being things like big-name lawyers and such, I don’t think “My grandpa is a mob boss but I’m on the outs with him” is one she’d really take to. Even if she’s okay with “mob boss”, “leaving the mob” is a lack of influence and in fact a possibly dangerous one. That’s reputation poison.)
I could see Jennifer, investigative reporter extraordinaire, knowing Asher’s grandfather is a big investor in local businesses, super influential in the community, and Asher admits to her that his Gramps is bad news or something and he’s trying to get away from that all, Gramps didn’t want that, and her conclusion is NOT “He’s a mob boss, and by the way Asher stole a ton of money from him which will be very very dangerous if he ever finds out.”
Now, most likely, since she made the connection from “sleeping with one eye open” to “Asher’s GRANDFATHER, specifically, and not Asher himself,” Jennifer knows, but I’m not ruling out the possibility she thinks he’s like, economically/politically dangerous and not murderously dangerous, and Asher either assumes he told her enough and she seemed to get it enough that she made the connection or has let her remain ignorant of the true extent of it. If only because that would bring back the “Sal is Amazi-Girl” reasoning we know and love, but this time under very dramatic circumstances, AND leave us the audience screaming in agony once it becomes clear because SAL assumes she knows, ASHER maybe assumes she knows, WALKY AND AMBER AND AG would know from Sal that she knows, and JENNIFER doesn’t actually know until that gun finally fires. It would leave us damning Willis’s name to high heaven, and it would therefore be great.
Thag Simmons
Rhetorical question, should have linked the relevant comic to make that clear.
Asher’s family are major bad news and with him, sure, he’s probably not going to flip a table, but Uncle might come around with a cadaver and a hacksaw asking for a favour.
Yotomoe
True, but you are not your family. I’m pretty sure we learned this with Joyce and Becky. And sure, Asher seems to be involved in some minute way but not really in a way that anyone in the comic could call him on. For all they know he hates his parents and their activities as much as Amber hates her father.
Thag Simmons
Amber and Becky’s fathers would also have been significant sources of worry and instability. Asher could be the best intentioned, sweetest boyfriend ever and he’d still be a source of well founded stress and concern because his family are dangerous mobsters and he is not out of it as much as he wants to be.
Nono
Doesn’t mean you should stop dating someone because of their family. Like Sal’s not her mom, Joyce isn’t her mom, and Mary isn’t her parents, who are apparently very nice people.
Thag Simmons
I’m not making a moral judgement, I’m stating a fact.
Asher is trapped in a web with some extremely dangerous people, and dating him means getting tangled up with all of that. I’m not making a moral judgement there either, but it is decidedly not stable and worry-free.
Asher will be looking over his shoulder for the rest of his life, and so long as you’re in his orbit you probably should be too.
Yotomoe
So what’s your point? Cuz it sounds like you’re saying Jennifer should NOT date him because of his family? As if that is comparable to your actual partner being abusive. There is literally no other way to take this. Asher should not be allowed to find love or happiness because he was born to the wrong family, by your logic. What’s the point of living at that point?
Hilen
Correct me if I’m wrong, but from what I understand, Thag is only referencing what Jeniffer herself said? Like, she’s saying her new friends are more care-free and safe (compared to Ruth) and that is very arguable, particularly so Asher with his general situation. Leave him or keep him, she’s saying this either to spite Ruth, or because she doesn’t know, otherwise, this statement would make no sense. She can be with whoever she wants, but her stated reasons (here) to be with them don’t quite work.
Thag Simmons
I would also call Dina choosing to date Becky an unstable situation because of Becky’s precarious position and dangerous family member, even though Becky herself did nothing wrong. That doesn’t mean it was a mistake, it just means it was a risk
The risk isn’t being acknowledged by what Jennifer says here. And I’m not even going to judge. It’s hard to say how much Jennifer knows (although I’m going to guess less than she should) and what she does know she has no obligation to share with Ruth, especially when it’d undercut her argument.
Yotomoe
What I’m saying is there is a market difference between “My SO is gonna put me through a table” and “My SO’s crazy family will put me through a table. It’s the dynamic behind that which is tthe problem. If Becky’s dad hit Dina that’d be bad. If Becky started hitting Dina that’d be unacceptable.The risk isn’t devoid of the context that you’re kinda removing from it.
Thag Simmons
You’re arguing against a point I wasn’t making. Literally all I’m saying is that what Jennifer says she’s getting with her new relationship and what she’s actually getting don’t match up.
Yotomoe
And my point is that Jennifer has no reason to feel at risk of that happening. At least at the moment Asher not raidah has made a threat or action making her think they’ll lock themselves in a room or flip a table at her. And we’re only on edge about that happening as outside observers who know that could pose a problem. “What she’s getting” is conjecture at this point. We can assume it’ll come to a head at some point but for now Asher has proven himself to be a chill dude, which is more than what we can say for Ruth and Jennifer’s relationship even at its inception. And I feel like Jennifer’s statement here is much more pointedly describing being bullied and worried about her SO self harming or getting aggressive than she is of some third party attacking them.
Granted he could be hurt or killed by the mob and that could have some psychological trauma for Jennifer but I feel like that’s not the same as the actions she’s comparing them to in reference to Ruth. This isn’t a just “I’ll never have to worry about getting hurt again”. It is very pointedly “I don’t have to worry about you hurting me or yourself anymore.”
Thag Simmons
Asher stole a bunch of money from the mob and then had a hit ordered on a murderer who tried to blackmail him. He’s a chill dude and I do think he’s sincere, but there is mortal danger here for him and for Jennifer.
Taffy
Stealing money from the literal mob is a good deed. What happened with Blaine was on the exact same moral level as removing a stain from a carpet. Any reprisal he gets for either of those things is automatically disproportionate.
Thag Simmons
Mobsters inflicting disproportionate retaliation on people is of course utterly unimaginable.
Johannes
Thag, I think part of what’s tripping people up is that what you’re saying Jennifer is saying isn’t what she said. Jennifer didn’t say anything about people’s families being level, stable, not likely to do violent stuff, etc. Her point isn’t about danger but about how emotionally difficult it is to care about someone who is emotionally unstable, sporadically violent, and self-destructive. You’re making this about people’s families and danger when what she’s complaining about with Ruth was Ruth herself having issues.
Regalli
Sal knows one VERY important fact in which he is very actively NOT involved with the family business, but which is still very very dangerous: He stole money from Gramps to pay his college tuition. A LOT of money. Enough money that a mob stooge could figure it out and blackmail him, and enough money therefore that if Gramps somehow does find out, he’s screwed. Which also leaves him susceptible to blackmailing again.
The fact that Asher is not so far out of the mob that he’s willing to fall back on them to at least some extent to deal with the blackmail is something none of the cast know except Asher (and maybe Lester the dirty cop, or maybe someone else), but that is also very dangerous indeed.
Basically I tend to think that if you’re trying to escape from your mobster family by robbing them, you should get as far out of their sphere of influence as you possibly can, worry about everything else AFTER you’re far far away, and Asher’s still in a city where there are cops on Gramps’s take. Which is not NEARLY far enough. Even if he genuinely thinks he’s out for now, and that’s a VERY open question, he’s not, because he’s still in range for people to recognize and blackmail him and potentially fake his suicide if that’s deemed necessary. If he’s serious about getting out he needs to keep running.
The Wellerman
Great as usual to see you here Regs, very good points as usual!
Mr D
You know, I never assumed that Asher called the hit due to the blackmail material, I thought it was “This man forced me to turn on people I like, and may try to do it again”.
Felgraf
Asher has literally had a corrupt officer murder a dude.
The dude sucked, but Asher ordered the hit, because he got told *when it was done*
Taffy
Sure, he potentially “ordered a hit” and “got a text message” when the target “died”, but he’s hot so he can do what he wants.
Joy
Jennifer is clearly what he wants 😀
(Sorry, I couldn’t resist making the joke.)
JBento
And the only bad thing about it was the hit wasn’t ordered SOONER.
BBCC
For real. The hit was on BLAINE. That’s practically a good deed.
Taffy
Literally the only casualties of that whole ordeal were guys nobody liked in the first place. Next we’ll be condemning Batman when he finally kills the Gomer.
Taffy
…JOKER.
Gomer?????
????? Either I’m way too fucking high tonight or this autocorrect is possessed by the spirit of Andy Griffith spinoffs.
Fnord
Take the cadaver and hacksaw to Ruth, problem solved.
Cass
I always wonder if she and Asher already knew each other in the past. They did grow up in the same town, would her parents have cared (or prodded deeply enough to know) that another wealthy family in town was Mob Rich instead of legit, or would the two of have been chucked together with any other kids in the same age range at various society functions over the years?
TheKelliestKelly
I wonder if Raidah knows who Asher’s grandpa is
JBento
Have you met Ruth’s grandfather. Because he’s waaaaay more involved in fucking things up than Asher’s.
thejeff
Way more involved in messing up their respective personal lives, maybe. Not actually ordering murders though.
And, since Asher’s stolen money from him, if he ever finds out it’s only family sympathy that’ll keep him from getting killed.
JBento
Well, Ruth’s grandfather was in the war – sliding timescale says take your pick on which, but unless it was EXCLUSIVELY WW2, if he didn’t order murders he certainly went around commiting them, with a high possibility of war crimes.
Thag Simmons
Ruth’s grandpa probably hasn’t killed anyone since he left the military. He’s major bad news but he doesn’t seem to be in the same league as ‘head of local crime syndicate’ in terms of concerning relatives.
Doctor_Who
I mean, the moat was only a few feet deep and didn’t even have alligators, were you even trying, Ruth?
C.T. Phipps
Ruth: Yes, I’m genuinely happy that you’re happy WHILE HATING IT.
Bratty Roger
↑THIS↑?
Taffy
Complicated emotions are lies, I guess?
Nep
Look, the friends may not be what I want, but Jennifer’s making some real valid points.
Clif
The truth hurts.
If you really want to hurt someone, go for the truth every time.
Yeet
so if they’re still doing this but apparently not actively trying to die about it do we downgrade them to drama tropical storms or how does it work
Thag Simmons
Eh, Cat V to like, II or III
Nicoleandmaggie
ROFL
The Wellerman
Not being chaotic does not necessarily mean not being evil.
Oh Jennifer, do you not pay attention to human meme things?
StClair
Sure, Jennifer. Keep telling yourself all of that.
Try to convince yourself you finally have everything just how you want… until you inevitably fuck it up and have to walk away from the wreckage. Again.
Imogen
Oh hi Jennifer’s inner voice, where’ve you been
thejeff
Given that her new “level and stable” friends are only pretending to like her, I don’t think she’ll have to do anything but wait.
This one came fucked up.
BBCC
As someone on Patreon pointed out – she calls them Raidah’s friends. Not her’s. Enough said, whether she and Ruth ever get back together or not. If she wasn’t happy with Joyce and co. even without Ruth – well, so be it, but she desperately needs new friends regardless.
Thag Simmons
Also, have we seen Chan and Char post-timeskip? Cause it kinda seems like Raidah’s friends are Carl.
RassilonTDavros
Char discovered the hard way what happens when you call a hungry velociraptor ableist slurs to her face.
cbwroses
We have not.
The last time we saw the two of them was when they were warning Raidah about Joyce.
And then we saw the shorter one one or two more times after that.
But nothing post timeskip, yet.
Thag Simmons
We saw one of them in the Halloween flashbacks but that isn’t post-timeskip, and they’ve been notably absent from Raidah’s recent appearances
Regalli
I’m pretty sure we saw Jennifer meet Asher through Raidah in the last Halloween strips? So there is him as well, but… referring to your current boyfriend as someone else’s friend is not a promising sign, if that’s what she’s doing.
It’s the SMALLEST red flag incidental to Asher and their relationship, most of which aren’t really his fault but are there nonetheless (the mafia WILL be back eventually, this WILL blow up in people’s faces, because you don’t set that gun on the wall and not fire it eventually, but it’s still up in the air how willing he’ll be in that.)
cbwroses
Or it’s a sign that she realizes they don’t really view Asher as a friend, either.
Thag Simmons
Asher wasn’t in the flashback meeting and Jennifer knew him from their hometown, I think he’s also a relative newcomer
Regalli
Ah, no, he’s tagged there but only in the final panel, you’re right.
CJ
Does Jennifer know he’s the guy who ratted on Sal to put her in whatever that school/institution was she grew up,in?
Needfuldoer
Is Carl still Dana’s boyfriend?
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/05-saturdays-all-right-for-slighting/carl/
(Jeez, that arc really doesn’t reflect well on Sarah at all…)
thejeff
No, she ditched Carl during her downward spiral before Sarah called her dad.
Needfuldoer
You are correct.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/05-saturdays-all-right-for-slighting/choice/
Feathers
I think it’s reasonable that she’d refer to the new friend group as X’s friends, to contrast with her prior friends, but I find it very odd that she refers to them as Raidah’s rather than Asher’s.
thejeff
I think Asher’s separate from that group. They know him through Jennifer, not the other way around.
Archieve
I don’t know about that. the way Asher met up with Radiah and Carl looking for validation that Jennifer fits in with them (that one strip where Radiah and Carl are talking about pretending to like Walky) made it sound like it’s Jennifer who knows Asher through the group. Also how he’s the one letting Jennifer know when the others are waiting for them.
thejeff
True. He might have a separate connection to Raidah’s group. I don’t think he’s in the core group there though.
We never saw him with them before the timeskip where Jennifer connected to them. And he wasn’t in on any of the “we’re pretending to like” conversations.
CJ
She recognizes Raidah thinks of herself as the alpha of that group. She allowed Asher and Jennifer in. Jennifer knows how unspoken hierarchies work.
BBCC
It can be but given we know that Raidah and Carl see her with contempt, it feels telling to me.
Schpoonman