345

Misery
Posted on April 16, 2017 by David M Willis
It's the final 10 days of the Dumbing of Age Book 6 Kickstarter!  Roughly $2k to go until we unlock Joe and Jacob character magnets!  Until then, there's Becky (who comes free with a physical book pledge), Dina, Jocelyne, Carla, Head Alien, Monkey Master, Leslie, Robin, and Galasso!  Book 6 is 228 pages, including 24 Patreon bonus strips, and 9 pages of bonus material, including 13 unused/unfinished/abandoned strips!  It is the biggest Dumbing of Age book of all time!  OF ALL TIME.

345 thoughts on “Misery”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “dag, gurl, you shoulda TOLD me you were just in it for your own Mar-a-Lago”

    hmmm, nah, still not really feeling it–I had an unpleasant roommate, and I just ended up LITERALLY camping out in the computer labs for the rest of the semester lolololol =p

    #collegelyfe

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Computer labs be comfy, yo.
      Though I imagine faculty tend to frown on campfires.

      1. DinaWho

        For some reason this reminded me of the fact that the engineering school near my college had a ban on bonfires /more than two stories high/.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Stories like this make me wish I’d majored in Engineering.

        2. Carms

          honestly you don’t need a reason to remember that, you should bring that up in every conversatione ver

        3. butts

          Why does that engineering school HATE SCIENCE

        4. DinaWho

          It had to to do with the fact the dorms were two stories tall and they didn’t want the neighbours seeing the flames and calling the fire department because they thought the dorms were on fire.

        5. Disloyal Subject

          A purely practical rule. I love engineers.

        6. Mr. Random

          This is when you dig a pit. It is no longer 2 stories high, and it is shielded from the winds by the walls of the dorm you just broke into. Oh god. They’re calling the police. Where did that gun come from. Run quickly, the dorm is on fire.
          Please move. You just trampled that kid. I can’t think with these sirens. The police are here. Why did you shoot. Oh god. I jst wanted some s’mores.
          Please don’t shoot me.
          Ow. That stings.
          My leg.

        7. Rukduk

          My school had to implement a similar rule after someone they never caught *carefree innocent whistle* stole all their drunk roommates booze, including three full bottles of everclear and a pint of absinthe, and used it to soak fifty pounds of wood in one of the barbecue pits.
          ….
          And that’s how I found out I had a touch of pyromania.

        8. Tawdry Quirks

          Did you lose your eyebrows in that incident? Because that sounds like an eyebrow-incinerating quantity of booze.

        9. Rukduk

          Surprisingly, no. I’d made a little impromptu fuse with rum-soaked rags.
          …
          My college roommates were heavy drinking alcoholics who liked to stay up until 4:30 am drinking/partying regardless of what day it was, so they always had a ton of alcohol. There was also Jameson Whiskey and some sort of Scotch in that fire.

        10. Arioch

          Okay, you had me sure until you added the Jameson and the scotch – at that point it is clearly alcohol abuse (j/k , though to be fair those are my favorites so I would have been saddened to them sacrificed to the gods of fire).

        11. Arioch

          *to see them – coming off massive insomnia and small break in it, and apparently can’t type.

        12. Pinkie

          Aw don’t go giving my brother ideas. He’s a budding engineer and could probably already produce a decent crater with some combination of an Arduino and a potato cannon hooked up to a 5-gallon propane tank.

        13. Exalaber

          At my school, the normal Engineering Student Society formulation no longer exists because they owed a $20,000 fine after hanging an SUV from a bridge in Calgary. So now we have an SESS instead.

        14. Roborat

          I remember that (I took civil engineering at the U of A).

        15. Kitsune

          ♫And that’s as high as a building aught to go♫

        16. JiBB

          Was that school HMC? All our dorms were cinderblock, so we weren’t too woried about courtyard bonfires posing a real fire risk. The real risk was taller-than-the-dorm fires being visible from the neighboring schools, having them call the fire department, and then getting the LA County Fire Marshal involved.

      2. Needfuldoer

        That’s why Pentium 4s were invented. Fire up CPUBurn and you can fry an egg on those things.

    2. Ana Chronistic

      oh also I remember getting into that mess b/c my original roommate discovered her BFF was living with the shitty roommate and wanted to trade, so we just up and traded rooms, w/e

      (the BFFs then broke up I noticed so THAT WORKED OUT SO WELL)

    3. Rukduk

      I lived in the lounge. Not the dorm lounge. The student lounge. For three weeks. Before anyone noticed. In their defense, I was regularly showering at the gym and washing my clothes in one of the gym showers as well as shaving in a bathroom in a corridor no one knew about so I wasn’t dirty at all or anything, but still. Three weeks. I had a pillow and comforter and everything. Even an alarm clock. An alarm clock and no one noticed.

      1. zoelogical

        amazing

      2. Savail

        They probably thought you were just a commuter student taking long naps between classes or something. Though that reminds me that my alma mater had a designated napping area for commuter students where they could get a little shut-eye in. I may or may not have taken advantage of it a few times while living in the dorms because people suck.

        1. Rukduk

          Ok, your college rocked if they had that set up for commuter students.

        2. Savail

          It surely did. Looks like they still have it. They call it Boko’s (the mascot) Living Room. “Boko’s Living Room is located on the first floor of LBJSC, to the left of the elevators. BLR provides the Texas State family with a comfortable recreation and relaxation center with the following amenities: Alarm clocks, Blankets, Headphones, Magazines, Pillows, Remotes for every TV room.”

        3. Savail

          Of course, I feel the need to point out that commute times for students can range anywhere from 10 minutes to nearly 2 hours even if they don’t live that far away. Parking was also always abysmal, so once you got there, you didn’t want to leave until you were done for the day.

  2. Doctor_Who

    Hell, Dorothy would give up her future room at the White House if it meant saving someone from having to live with Mary.

    1. Opus the Poet

      Assuming her wife allowed it…

      1. BBCC

        I wonder what the press would call Walky if they were a thing when she became President? First….what?

        1. John

          For Walky, I’m a firm supporter of “First Dude”.

        2. BBCC

          That’s sure what Walky would insist on!

          And then it’s too late for all next president’s husbands. The precedent is set. First Dude it is.

        3. JustCheetoDust

          Sure, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing.

        4. Spaz

          fine.

          “First Bro.”

        5. xarls

          “First El Duderino” does have a bit more gravity to it.

        6. Awnman

          The White house style guide recommends First Gentleman, although obviously we are without precedent so that may change

        7. DSL

          I can’t see “gentleman” applying to Walky.

        8. Undrave

          First Laddy

        9. Deanatay

          If he’s Scottish, sure.

        10. Guerisso

          How about First Lad?

      2. Thursday Violist

        But why would Mary’s wife care about Dorothy being in the White House?

        1. Rukduk

          Supporter of the “Mary is a closeted lesbian or bisexual” theory? Hello my friend may I offer you some cider?

        2. Kitsune

          Is that Dickens brand Cider?

  3. Kris

    Paul Ryan weightlifting photos sounds like a perk!

    1. Spring

      Ewwww

      1. Kris

        She probably also has a photo of him dabbing!

        1. Kamino Neko

          Dabbing?

      2. Pinkie

        ….Yeah, Willis, you owe me a gallon of brain bleach for that.

    2. Mr. Mendo

      If I never say anything nice about Paul Ryan again, I respect that he still lifts at his age!

      1. John

        The dude’s only four years older than I am, and I can still sprint across a battlefield in fifty pounds of armor and cut a hole in a shieldwall when I get there. Ain’t no need to respect him just because he picks up heavy things.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          I don’t think it’s what he does so much as that he keeps up a routine. A lot of people let that fall by the wayside, especially as they get older.

        2. Mr. Mendo

          I know it took a lot of dedication for me to get back into it after a few years off (stopped doing while I was in the Army, ironically enough).

          I don’t *like* the guy at all, but I know how easy it would be for someone his age to just stop altogether…

        3. Felgraf

          John: SCA Heavy fighter?

    3. Screwball

      If you consider Paul Ryan weightlifting a perk, then I have a bonus for you…

      Personally, I don’t think it does anything for me…

      1. Belegcam

        May I suggest Enver Gjokaj as an alternative? All of Paul Ryan’s good looks, none of his gross politics!

      2. Kris

        I was joking. My life is worse for seeing this.

      3. Krys Brynhildr

        See, my first thought was that I hate his stupid backwards bright red baseball cap that doesn’t fit with the rest of his outfit’s color scheme.

        It was only after that that my brain clicked that this is a guy who is an actual currently active political figure and not some 80s sitcom “dude”.

      4. Sunny

        I liked that “House of reps” pic.

    4. Deanatay

      Dat Christian conservatism

    5. Jhon

      Those photos are probably -not- the
      real deal.

  4. Mr. Mendo

    Hmmm, Robin always struck me as more of a Donald Rumsfeld type…

    1. Mr. Mendo

      Oh, it’s MARY who has them. My error.

      1. Spaz

        the way you said that makes me think that you would go “My error, my human.”

        1. Mr. Mendo

          Oh no, it’s just an expression. 😉

          …a *robot* expression!

    2. Kitsune

      @Mendo, if you follow, she’s actually more of a Bill Clinton type, it’s just that she went in a conservative direction. 1) No clear ideology of her own, just goes with what she thinks people want 2) Get in trouble with a sex scandal. That’s Clinton not Rummy.

  5. Danni

    so mary gets off to paul ryan?

    1. Emperor Norton II

      It’s already established she gets off to Ronald Reagan… And while one’s not supposed to be judgemental about other people’s sexual fetishes in general, it’s really, really hard not to be in this case.

      1. BBCC

        If it helps, she’d certainly be judgy about yours.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          Who told you that I get aroused by the panel where Billie punches Mary?

        2. BBCC

          You did. Just now. 🙂

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Punching: the best foreplay.
          So long as it’s consensual, whether it’s the partner’s permission to punch their enemies or a mutual agreement with the partner to punch each other.

        4. Kitsune

          Boxing takes on a whole new meaning now.

        5. Deanatay

          I want you to hit me, as hard as you can. Baby.

        6. John

          The one in DoA, or the one in Roomies?

          Because if you get aroused by Roomies!-era art, I’m gonna judge you.

        7. Emperor Norton II

          The nice thing about… how shall we put it… less refined artwork, is that it lends itself better to different interpretations. That lower-left part of the third panel can easily be seen as some perky boobs instead of some badly drawn boots.

          But I was talking about the DoA one.

        8. Disloyal Subject

          I dunno, she judges people harshly for politics, religion, and orientation, but I believe she was established to like anime. She might be fairly relaxed about fetishes, excepting of course any that set off her prejudices or that she just finds disgusting.

        9. BBCC

          Anything outside proper vanilla missionary between two cis, heterosexual married people tends to be very not okay in those kinds of mindsets. I’d be surprised if she were okay with fetishes.

        10. Disloyal Subject

          *with the lights off
          Personally I think she’s a little less hardline about some stuff, given hints like her endorsement of a church with electric guitars, but it could really go either way, and I think most of us are perfectly happy not to focus on her enough to find out. The other characters have stories to be told, and following around an incredibly hateful person to catalogue what does and doesn’t constitute an acceptable target in her eyes could get uncomfortable for some.

        11. BBCC

          Yeah, but that church was still ‘pretty close to what she was used to at home’. I guess, to her, it doesn’t really matter what instruments are played so long as you have the right songs, doctrine, etc.

          Joyce was also swayed by those drums and guitars, but she’d probably also tell you that being kinky would send you to hell. Something something ‘sex is sacred’ something something ‘don’t pervert it’ something something ‘only to make children’ something something.

        12. Screwball

          So I’m guessing neither Joyce or Mary would follow the “kinky is using a feather, perverted is using the whole chicken” thing? Why do I get the feeling there ARE some there who do?

        13. BBCC

          Sadly, in this scenario, kinky and perverted are synonyms.

        14. Rukduk

          Are you talking about tentacles? You better not be talking about tentacles. That’s practically Lovecraftian horror.

        15. Needfuldoer

          Have we seen any indication that she likes anime (or anything but religion, for that matter)? I thought she just has a generic DeviantArt anime drawing style (because art school hasn’t beaten it out of her yet)?

      2. Danni

        im gonna be so judgy about marys sexual fetishes

      3. Pigeon Pollyx

        sounds like my tenth grade history teacher

    2. Disloyal Subject

      Getting off outside the bounds of marriage would be a sin*.
      So yeah, probably.
      *to certain branches of Christianity, I’m not familiar enough with all the subcults to know how hers may or may not view female masturbation

      1. Leorale

        They probably don’t acknowledge that it exists.

        1. BBCC

          If they do, it’s most likely not a good thing – see: Joyce freaking out about ‘touching your vee-vee.”

        2. Leorale

          Aww, it’s one of those sects that thinks vaginas are dirty or gross, that’s sad, like, a young Mary kept honing her hated until she could hate everyone and everything, to distract her from hating her own body.
          …just kidding, Mary has no mitigating backstory, she became 100% awful all by herself.

        3. BBCC

          Willis’ tumblr says her parents are probably very nice people and she just picked up all the wrong lessons at Church.

          If he sticks with that for the comic, it may not even be partially THEIR fault for raising her like that.

        4. Leorale

          Cool. I legit prefer having Mary as 100% unmitigated evil. I like having a full-out villain from time to time, without any confusion or moral grey area. It’s cathartic when she doesn’t get what she wants.

        5. Needfuldoer

          Not 100% evil. All her hypocrisy has to be a significant percentage.

      2. Abel Undercity

        Worst of all, getting off may lead to dancing.

    3. Deanatay

      If by ‘gets off’, you mean ‘stares longingly at pictures of, and has vaguely erotic and frustrating dreams about’, then, yes.

      1. thejeff

        Slipshine says otherwise. 🙂

    4. ESM

      I actually have trouble believing that. I’d have thought Mary was more of an alt-right Trump-supporting type, rather than an establishment Republican.

      Though, I guess even her huge girlboner for Ronald Reagan is starting to seem kind of weird. That’s not really where religious conservatives are anymore, as far as I can tell.

      1. BBCC

        Mary’s got all the red tape, obstructionist, rules lawyering parts of an establishment republican though, so I’m not surprised.

        Plus keep in mind Robin wasn’t originally a Trump parody in this comic – she was originally Sarah Palin with some Reaganism thrown in. Mary can be like Trump on social shit and Reagenomics on economics.

  6. Pearl

    It’s like she said that in direct response to the things I just commented on the last strip.

    Just picture me in this comment box glaring at her unkindly and skeptically like, yeah that’s what I thought.

    1. Krys Brynhildr

      Well, I guess thats slightly better than my impression that she was just doing it to spite Dorothy. Marginally.

      Still not someone who I find particularly likable or would be willing to trust due to how she’s acted most of the time on panel though.

      1. StClair

        Oh, but she’s very likeable. Much more likeable than Dorothy. She said so! So you should believe her. And when she says she would have been great at it, too.

        1. Krys Brynhildr

          Well, that first bit was “proven” by her turning the thing into a popularity contest and then generally winning at it. I’ve just had plenty of experience seeing “popular, well liked individuals” treat other people like dirt or at best lackeys. Usually they insist on a lot of ego stroking as well.

          So, you know, I tend to just trust my own nerdy self-inflicted social outcast gut on whether I like someone or not…and then constantly reevaluate everyone as new information reveals itself.

          There’s a lot for me to dislike about Roz so far, and very little to like that is something I can directly perceive or even have a way to remotely verify.

          Honestly though, I doubt she’d actually even care that I disliked her. Just like the other people who she doesn’t care whether they like her or not in the comic.

        2. Betty Anne

          A whole thread of folks who don’t get what the people want. Sad! Roz got 3000 more votes. I have proof; just look at Fox News not fake news.

  7. Keulan

    Please tell me Paul Ryan weightlifting photos are not actually a thing.

    1. BBCC

      Sorry, hon.

    2. OBBWG

      Here they are.

    3. Screwball

      OK, I won’t TELL you…

    4. Betty Anne

      Please tell me how you avoided seeing them until now. 😐 (Oh, right, I got them force-fed because I live in Wisconsin. 😐 )

  8. fillerusername

    Of course she does, she is the WORST.

    1. fillerusername

      Get off to Paul Ryan I mean. Accidentally posted this as a comment and not a reply to Danni.

  9. Stephen Bierce

    We will start a factory…that makes Misery
    We’ll create the cure…’cause we make the disease…

    1. Brotato

      More hacked muzaks?

  10. Fart Captor

    Roz’s expression in the last panel would be permanently stuck on my face if I had to live with Mary.

    Even while eating, laughing, pooping, etc

    1. butts

      Pretty sure I’d’ve shivved her by now

      1. Fart Captor

        Going to prison for murder would probably also put that expression on my face

        1. butts

          What you mean 😀

        2. Fart Captor

          …It would have to look like an accident.

      2. Rukduk

        Why does everyone go with the shiv instead of a garrote wire. Nearly as easy and as cheap to make, less chance of blood getting on you, and easily disposable (or easy to clean and hide in a scarf if you use gloves).

        1. Pearl

          where’d you do hard time, mar-a-lago? fancy rich kid here gets scarfs and gloves in jail

        2. Rukduk

          Oh, you’re talking about prison. Which I guess college could qualify as a variant of. If in a cell, just wait until lights out and then use your cell mate’s sheet to garrote him thuggee-style (old group of highwaymen in India during the 1800s, who some claim were part of a Kali cult). Then fasten one end to a ceiling lamp or other fixture and turn the other into a makeshift noose, making it look as if your cell mate hung himself. For someone else, wait until in the showers and then use a towel like a garrote to snap the windpipe or strangle them, discarding after use.
          …
          I’ve put too much thought into this sort of thing, haven’t I?

  11. butts

    Wait, she still likes Paul Ryan? Would’ve figured she’d have found some reason to drop him by now. I mean, it’s not like he’s Reagan. Or Trump.

    1. trlkly

      Remember that the comic is 3 months behind.

      And she seems more traditional Republican. She may actually have the one redeeming feature of hating Trump (even if she probably voted for him).

      1. BBCC

        He IS divorced and thoroughly bungled any questions about bible verses/book names.

        1. butts

          Reagan was also divorced.

        2. BBCC

          Yes, but according to Mary that’s okay because he was REALLY in love with Nancy his whole life (sure, Mary).

          Trump’s been divorced twice and made jokes about how he would date his daughter if she weren’t related to him and has had multiple sexual harassment allegations.

      2. butts

        Doubt it. She’s a big hypocrite, remember?

    2. Abel Undercity

      It does special things for her, when she imagines looking into Paul Ryan’s cold, dead eyes as he takes her into his arms. Electric chills race up her spine as he whispers softly into her ear: “Let’s starve the poor and let them die of cancer, as Jesus and Ayn Rand intended.”

      Excuse me, I need to go fan myself…

  12. Wendy

    Me like a week ago: Roz’s motivations for running are kinda sketchy but ehhh
    Me today: LET! HER! WIN!! LET! HER WIN!!

    1. zoelogical

      lololol

      yes

    2. Deanatay

      Amazing what a mutual hatred of Mary can accomplish…

    3. foamy

      If Mary should invade Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil in the House of Commons. -Dorothy.

      1. fogel

        😉

  13. BloodLily16

    Well. Could she lodge a complain about her roommate’s pinups bugging her? Or would the fact that she’s infamous for the sextape put that in bad light? (Not that it should, but would it?)

    1. Ana Chronistic

      I just printed out gross artwork from folks I like and put it on MY side of the room (for instance an old Spike Trotman drawing of her character puking in a toilet)

    2. Disloyal Subject

      It probably wouldn’t help her case, and considering all the clauses about [x]ist language she tried to cram into their roommate agreement, Mary likelywrung out some concessions herself to okay the pinups.

      1. Leorale

        If Roz claimed that, she’d have to take down all her own posters, too.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2013/comic/book-4/01-the-only-dope-for-me-is-you/hungry/

  14. Disloyal Subject

    Yes, but how is Unknown Evil taking the loss?

    1. Screwball

      Apparently we have been unable to contact them to get any comments on these developments…

    2. Tacos

      Not well. They’re binge-eating soft serve ice cream.

      1. JustCheetoDust

        My takeaway from this is that hell brain freezes over.

  15. Rodimiss

    Having to live in a room full of Paul Ryan photos is my personal nightmare.

    I mean it’s something I’ve never considered before reading today’s strip but now I’m going to have nightmares about it.

  16. Larkle

    Alright, I sympathize more with Roz running for RA now.

  17. shmid

    God I can’t stand roz, like I’m cool with her ideology but her personality just rubs me the wrong way :/
    But her character is pretty interesting.

  18. Passchendaele

    “what about the Trump weightlifting pictures, Mary?”

    “ew no, I have standards.”

    1. Disloyal Subject

      He’d have to lift for that. iirc he doesn’t have any kind of fitness regimen.
      I don’t usually judge DYELs too harshly, but when your doctor tries to pass you off as the height of healthiness you’d better at least be making a token effort to stay in shape.

      1. Passchendaele

        He’s a grumpy egotistical 70-year-old who is mildly overweight, so it’s easy to guess he lacks a fitness regimen. But imagine how creepy it would be if he lifted weights with the same…figure?…he has now. 😛

        But hey, he has lots of expensive golf games, which is *totally* any effort on his part to be healthy, token or otherwise. 😛

        1. Liliet

          so uh how about we don’t use someone’s fatness as either 1) a token of moral judgement or 2) a sign that they don’t have a fitness regimen
          coz like… that’s not how it works even for young people, and I’m pretty sure it’s EVEN MORE not how it works at 70

          there are lots of things about Trump to be disgusted about that aren’t an actual axis of oppression

        2. Jason

          I have a friend who’s about eight years younger than me, exercises more than me (despite my best intentions to do more) and possibly eats better than me. And for some reason the doctors have yet to work out, she’s rather overweight.
          Personally I have a sneaking suspicion (based solely on my own experiences and nothing more) that something in her diet disagrees with her. Regardless she’s a wonderful, brilliant young woman who certainly doesn’t deserve to be judged on her shape.

          Point is I 100% agree with you. Have some bunny hugs. (If you like!)

        3. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Might be she either a: just has a body type and the overweight is a misdiagnosis (I have no clue how overweight your friend is) or b: she has some undiagnosed disease. I know that at least one disease increases one’s weight significantly, occurs in 11% of women in the US, and is relatively unknown among doctors, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the name.

      2. DSL

        The fact that you even use DYEL indicates you not only don’t “try not to judge” but you find pleasure in not not judging.

        1. BBCC

          Okay, now I’m curious – dare I ask what that stands for?

  19. Derek

    See? I said it yesterday: Roz DEFINITELY has issues with Mary and wants to get away from that [redacted] at the first opportunity.

    1. Goblin Scribe

      Yeah, I was amazed at the poster who just took for granted that she plays nice with Mary, just to justify their own Roz-hate.

  20. Jabberwocky

    Man, I’d say Ryan probably isn’t socially conservative enough for Mary.

    Marco Rubio or Tom Cotton, on the other hand….

  21. Whatevsman

    Ok, I wasn’t opposed to her being R.A. before, but now? Now I’m genuinely sad she doesn’t get to be R.A. There are few motivations I sympathize with more than gettin to ditch a crazy room mate

  22. fillerusername

    So does knowing Roz has to live in her own personal version of hell make her more sympathetic to anyone? I feel for her. I went to school with a Mary. (Punched her in the face once after she decided to say something really fucking offensive about my parents being divorced somehow meaning I didn’t have a father and my mom just “had a lot of boyfriends” out of fucking nowhere. It was worth the in school suspension.)

    1. Leorale

      Absolutely. Roz is under a lot of stress. Who among us could possibly act our best under the circumstances?

      Either way, I think Roz has a point that it’s okay to plot the political demise of super-harmful politicians, and Becky is absolutely justified that it makes her unable to trust Roz from here on out.

      1. Liliet

        Robin absolutely deserved everything that’s coming to her on the “outed” front, but LESLIE is collateral damage. Becky knows firsthand just how much it isn’t your fault if you’re crushing on someone… ah… asymmetrically, and doesn’t like the idea that it might one day be used against her.

        1. Leorale

          I completely agree.

    2. trlkly

      Not really. Because we kinda already knew about all this. Maybe not Paul Ryan specifically, but we know how Mary is, and we’ve actually seen them interact, so we know plenty specifics.

      Sure, I feel sorry for her, but the problems I have with her don’t stem from her roommate situation, so it doesn’t really affects how I view her.

      Plus, I can’t help but think she can ameliorate a lot of this particular problem. We already know that there’s no bed check or anything to make sure you’re sleeping in your dorm room. And Roz says she’s very friendly and approachable, so surely she could find friends who would let her stay with them.

      No, it’s not perfect. She’d prefer to have a place on campus. But surely that’s better than staying with Mary.

      1. Derek

        Why should Roz be chased out of her room and become near-homeless within campus when Mary is the problem? And even if Roz was sleeping away every day, I bet she doesn’t dare leave her stuff in that room unsupervised because Mary is the type of person to take petty revenge on the property of people she doesn’t like.

        1. trlkly

          Why did you make up the idea that she was chased out of her room? I just said she has other options. Hence it’s harder to be sympathetic for her.

          She’s also a bad person, so it frankly keeps bugging me that you guys keep defending her. Yeah, it’s not the best. Maybe if she became a decent person, I could care about that. But, as is, she kinda deserves things not to be great for her.

          There are too many great people with problems to be worried about the no-so-great ones who have problems.

          And, anyways, my point was to show she doesn’t really have any friends.

        2. Fart Captor

          I defend her because when I was her age, I was similarly blind to my own privilege, with a similar result of me being insensitive or pig-headed in ways that I was fortunate to be forgiven for.

          She fucks up, but unlike her sister, and especially unlike Mary, Roz clearly is trying to be a good person, and has shown she’s capable of it, and that while she’s quite stubborn, she may be able to get a handle on her worse tendencies.

          – She’s clearly a supportive big sister, what we’ve seen of her interactions with Riley.

          – Despite butting heads with Leslie, we’ve learned from Robin that Roz appreciates (even if begrudgingly) being called out on her shit.

          – Despite seriously butting heads with Joyce, she reached out to her immediately after realizing something awful had happened at the party, even though Joyce had been exclusively unpleasant to her at that point, and Roz didn’t even know her name yet.

          – Despite that and further heated clashes with Joyce, she quickly accepted the olive branch she was offered when Joyce invited her to her party

          Roz irks me. Frequently. She’s got plenty of flaws. She has plenty of good qualities as well, and I seem to have enough empathy that I can feel for her as well as the less flawed characters.

          Do I mind that Leslie booted her out of class, or that Becky told her off? No. She had that coming. Do I think she has done anything nearly awful enough to deserve Mary? Absolutely not.

          I have enough empathy that I could spare some for Mary. The difference there is that Mary has thoroughly disqualified herself.

          If she did a complete 180 and strove to be a good person, I might be able to manage it, eventually. But unlike Roz, she’s shown zero redeeming qualities, and not the slightest hint that she gives a damn about harm to other people, much less whether her own actions caused it. She isn’t stubborn. She’s completely unbending in her views of right and wrong.

        3. Minder

          i wanna print out this comment and frame it for its beauty

    3. Krys Brynhildr

      Sympathy. Yes. I wouldn’t wish Mary on anyone.

      Does this mean I like Roz or would wish her on most people? Does it mean I think she should have gotten a job that she just wanted for the perks of it?

      No, not really. It doesn’t make me disapprove less of her previous behavior in regards to unrelated things either, even if having the context might make me go “well, maybe this is why she’s so quick to rage at other people”. Thats still not cool and she’ll need a lot more screen time actually showing a real ‘good side’ without seeming like she might have a personal agenda about it to make up for that dislike of her.

      I mean, this is basically how I approach people in real life too, due to my own poor experience with trusting people just because they’re “well liked”. That said, everyone has a ‘bad side’, so I’m generally willing to let that get a pass as long as the particular bad side isn’t “particularly harmful, threatening, or untrustworthy”*…and they have a good side that’ll make up the difference.

      *Basically things like domestic violence, rape, and other forms of abuse are things I can’t see any good side that would make up for them however. Even characters who do so.

      Honestly, I’d rather Roz just somehow got her room transfer request. Though I guess part of the issue is probably that she doesn’t want to move floors? Are these sort of waiting lists usually that bad at major universities?

      1. Minder

        I have seen and others are attesting that getting a transfer at this point of the year before the end of the semester can be very difficult.

        Roz might have better luck finding an open space after winter break when the first wave drops out at the reception of their first semester grades, but that’s another six, seven years from now in comic time.

  23. Minder

    Wow, Roz sure is just like her sister, isn’t she! Two sides of the same coin!! They’re such similar characters! Roz is totally equivocal to her politician sister who’d do anything for her PERSONAL AGENDA!!!

    1. Minder

      WILLING TO DO AAAANYTHING FOR THEIR BELIEFS!!!! (WHAT THOSE BELIEFS ACTUALLY ARE IS IRRELEVANT)

    2. StClair

      She doesn’t give a damn about anyone else on the floor. She just wants to not have to live with Robin Mary. Becoming RA was the most expedient (legal) method of getting that.

      So yeah, it’s still all about R____.

      1. Minder

        Why do you think she doesn’t give a damn about anyone else on the floor? Dorothy if anything is the one who gave less of a damn and unthinkingly, and still quite innocently, used her floormates as a checklist to get what she wanted by mechanically making the rounds to prove she could handle their emotional issues to further her actual political ambitions.

        Roz didn’t want the job. She would have worked hard at it and been good at it if she got it. She was willing to do the job and do it well and do her best by her floormates, and she wouldn’t have done wrong by them even if her motivation was 100% fueled by desire to get rid of Mary in her life.

        1. Cerberus

          This.

          Like Roz is flawed as hell, but she’s not actually evil and uncaring.

          And it says something that a passionate woman who deeply cares is seen as ambitious and Lady Macbeth like despite what we actually see. And I can’t help thinking of how Actual-President Clinton was viewed as some Machiavellian uncaring monster when in reality she was one of the most genuinely caring politicians to her constituents, going above and beyond in many respects in ways she absolutely didn’t have to.

        2. StClair

          and in that respect, I actually would compare Dorothy to Hillary, and hold her up as an example for doing it right. We get to see Dorothy caring, and giving of herself and her time to help others. She may not always know how to present herself, but she’s sincere and earnest.

          What do we see in the same strips? Roz gloating about her “win”, and confidently asserting that she’s going to get the job over Dorothy – arguably the more qualified candidate – because she’s more “likeable”. According to her, that is.

          I don’t know if we should call it fortunate that Clint stepped in before we got to see another triumph of shallow charisma and stunts over good policy and hard work, but that’s where it seemed to be heading for me.

        3. Minder

          Roz knows politics and Roz knows Dorothy wants to be a politician.

          Roz likes Dorothy’s political beliefs.

          I don’t think Roz is pointing out Dorothy’s charismatic flaws or political shortcomings without the suspicion that this is exactly the type of motivation for Dorothy to get better at these types of things and get into office.

        4. fillerusername

          Roz and Dorothy should keep in touch. At some future point Roz would probably make a hell of a campaign manager.

        5. Lailah

          Oh my jesus, I still hate this.

          “Shallow charisma” /is the fucking job./ Listening to people and making them feel at ease with you, rather than weirding people out with a check list, /is the fucking job/. Roz was, and is, better suited. Dorothy would have been fine, because RA-dom doesn’t actually require a lot of skill, but she was the less skilled candidate.

        6. Krys Brynhildr

          See, the trick with her seems to be that she does generally care, technically… at least when its brought to her attention.

          Its more that she doesn’t seem to think that much about the consequences of her actions, because of the large splashes she makes, or overlooks individual people’s actual feelings or what is or might happen to them in the moment. Even her plan to derail Robin’s political agendas were presented through her personally finding her sister’s practices distasteful.

          So yeah, she’s not a monster and probably treats people she views as friends pretty well at least generally. She also doesn’t seem to ask people if they want her to do what she does in “their benefit” and at least occasionally has less than altruistic reasons for doing so. This is what I’d basically say is just an average person?

          Its not the things she fights for, and its only a bit the means she uses, but mostly the way in which she presents her passionate crusade that makes me dislike her and personally distrust her.

          Well, that and the way she generally been a force of shutting people down when they don’t understand stuff while acting all high and mighty about her support for her causes really makes me uncomfortable with her.

          This is all just me personally, and maybe I’m not giving Roz a completely fair chance, but she seems like the type of person who would generally make me feel uncomfortable about taking a gender studies class, and make me uncomfortable about the thought of calling myself a feminist (though other people have said I seem like one before) and the sort of person I tend to worry I’d run into on Tumblr who would yell at me for the audacity of not knowing the things I’m fumbling around trying to learn.

          I mean, yes, I can understand that she’s maybe one part of what helps a cause succeed, and that she’s probably not a bad person specifically, and that its okay that people who are the people being affected directly by what she’s fighting against might approve of her results at least.

          I mean, your particular comment about that part of the last page didn’t make me think less of you for your viewpoint Cerberus even if you thought it might result in others doing so, for example. Maybe if that was all I had to go off of it to make an impression of you by it would have been something that made me more wary of you, but even the next section of the comments helps diffuse that anyways.

          But, since I caught up enough to start reading them, you’ve always been someone who has been very understanding and helpful in regards to people who have been…less informed about a lot of the sorts of issues the comic focuses on. As someone with well…”social anxiety” seems a bit too extreme of a term but I don’t do well with people speaking at me aggressively to the point of usually avoiding saying anything that might upset people because they might yell at me especially if I don’t mean to say anything that might be upsetting and don’t understand why I’m being yelled at.

          Roz seems someone who would look at me and my super straightlaced life with next to no life experience in it and would judge me for it. Who would gate me out as a “them” for not knowing the lingo or having the guts to fight the fight as passionately as she does. Possibly for not potentially putting myself at risk while I’m still fumbling around trying just to figure things out. I can’t say she would do this for sure if she was someone I could actually meet and interact with, but it feels like she might.

          Meanwhile, you also are someone who will fight those battles as well as being someone more directly affected by them, but even so, you don’t torment people or try to shut down people who are trying to converse and get a better understanding of whats the issues are. I still wouldn’t want to say anything that might upset you, but in your case its more out of not wanting to make your days any worse instead of worrying I’d be verbally attacked. Its something I personally appreciate a lot, and why I generally feel more comfortable about speaking my mind on here and find you personally to be likable to me.

        7. Cerberus

          I woud agree strongly with that. She doesn’t think through the consequences of her actions and the hurt that comes with that. She knows how to talk the talk and walk the walk with very specific actions, but she’s also a fuck-up who isn’t fully cognizant of the extent of harm and hurt she can cause and why that activist spirit needs to be tempered with empathy and focus.

          She’s the type of person who would pour heart and soul into an activist campaign but not think about whether or not it erases or triggers a marginalized group she didn’t think about.

          Heck she’s what used to be referred to as a warrior person for the justices of social before that got turned into a right-wing buzzword for person who cares. Someone who fights and fights hard but is young and stupid and hurts a lot of people with their intensity and makes movements a little less inviting because of it.

          The fire of activism but not enough of the connection to people and I would argue that she’s very much not safe because of that and people would be right to be wary of her. Her heart is in the right place, but she needs to be more aware of her privilege, when she’s barreling over those more marginalized, and when her actions attempting to help are causing harm.

        8. StClair

          Agreed.

    3. trlkly

      Yeah, kinda. Why was she doing this? For herself. She didn’t want to help other people. She just wanted something that having the job would provide. Sure, we may sympathize with her final goal, but it’s still all about Roz. Just like Robin is all about Robin.

      The main difference is that Roz is actually on the right side. Whatever her reasons, that can’t be ignored. But she’s still a self-centered asshole.

      The only exception is the same exception Robin has: the one about rape. Roz tried to give out a flier when she heard someone was molested. And Robin promised to do what she could to stop the rapists.

      Neither are 100% awful. Both are very self-centered and have traits we commonly call “narcissism,” though not necessarily those that fit the clinical definition.

      She’s not (yet) a good person. She is, as you admitted yesterday, an “asshole.” Not just acts like one at times, but to her core.

      That said, many people said they used to be like her, so there’s hope. I honestly think she’s on a redemption arc. She needs to brought low to get better.

      But we have a whole lot of comic left to go. It’s gonna take a while.

      1. Leorale

        Eh, it’s okay for a teenager to be self-centered, that’s legitimately part of the developmental stage. At least Roz tries to be aware of what others are feeling. Robin does not do that, she doesn’t know or care about any feelings except her own whims.

        1. Leorale

          Also, you know, Robin probably makes queer kids die through her terrible policies, and Roz doesn’t make anyone die, so there’s that.

        2. StClair

          I’m absolutely willing to concede the difference that Roz doesn’t have a body count.

        3. Krys Brynhildr

          True. I’m not too fond of using that as an approach to decide if people are good or trustworthy or whatever though.

          I mean, even Ryan Scarface is presumably at least marginally better than the Donald, and Roz is much less horrible than either of them. Also presumably better than Mary because at least she seems to support less things that result in bodycounts than Mary does.

          I’d still prefer to try and base my impressions of people on their own merits according to how I see them behave around me and not as a comparison to other people, and Roz tends to result in a lot of collateral damage due to her quick temper and fondness for louder tactics that cause bigger scenes with little thought seemingly given at the moment for what bad things might occur to people as long as they at least vaguely signed on for the ride.

          I mean, until there was implications that someone tried to rape Joyce, Roz didn’t even consider worrying about her being at a wild party with naive unworldly outlook. Her thoughts were more about “Well, maybe she’ll learn how the real world actually works”.

          Which yeah, hey, is maybe how normal average teenagers are expected to be. That particular level of self centered. I personally failed at being a proper teen and care perhaps overly much about anything that seems like maybe possibly someone could end up having something bad happen to them even if I don’t know for sure if anything even reasonably would.

          So, as a result of that being my normal, a lot of people seem really uncaring to me actually. Even hearing about minor cruelties hit me super hard as well. I’m…”sensitive” and as such, people who act like Roz tends to aren’t people I can feel comfortable about how they act. Even if they aren’t “Evil TM”

        4. Minder

          I know about caring about minor cruelties, I struggle with oversensitivity about them also in the context of people around me, and I know that’s absolutely never a bad thing.

          However, caring more about minor cruelties / collateral damage on the scale of, say, people’s feelings getting hurt if you call them out–that matters less and should matter less than people’s rights being impeded upon.

          Roz’s behavior toward Joyce when she thinks Joyce may have been attacked speaks more to Roz’s moral character than any refusal on her part to coddle Joyce’s feelings over the awful internalized beliefs Joyce used to act upon.

          You don’t have to like Roz. Heck, Roz is not a likeable character! Or a person even! But I will task you to defend the reasoning you use to decide whether Roz is actually good.

      2. Minder

        Dorothy didn’t want to help other people either. She was willing and happy to do it and thought herself capable of it, but she wasn’t the type to think to go and be nicey and reach out to her floormates until it became a strategy that could further her goals to get into Yale.

        And Dorothy would have still done a great job of it, is the thing. Roz would have also. Roz was willing to put in the work and do something that mattered even if she didn’t want the job itself. Neither Dorothy nor Roz wanted the job itself and neither of them would have used the power wrongly.

        Robin is the one who wants the job itself. Robin is the one who is using her power wrongly. Robin is the one who does these things and doesn’t care about the ones who get hurt while Roz is the one who sees her own mistakes when someone checks her hard on them and will not hesitate do the right thing by someone she personally dislikes as you mentioned with Joyce, if she has reason to suspect that there’s something she could do to help. Roz wants to help.

        Roz is also a self-centered asshole like you said and sure that’s a thing, your are right. But unlike Roz, Robin actually is 100% awful to date and has done nothing to redeem herself and everything to damn herself in the eyes and at the cost of others.

        Roz is an asshole. That does not make Roz a bad person. Robin is a bad person. Robin is a bad person in a way Roz’s rude behavior and condescending attitude is not comparable to. Robin gives lipservice on stuff she claims or even thinks she believes after cheerfully voting off on the very opposite. Roz is not giving lipservice. Roz is doing what she does because she believes it’s her rights as a person at stake here and others’ too. Being full of herself does not make Roz equal to her sister.

        1. Grethelwvier

          So your issue is not the criticism of Roz, but the conflation of her and her sister. Yes?

          Because we can absolutely acknowledge the ways in which they are similar without doing that.

        2. Grethelwvier

          Actually, I’m gonna do that now. Here is my own, likely unwanted, and unnecessary, analysis of the two most prominent Desantos sisters.

          Similarities:
          1) Both Roz and Robin are self-centered. They both naturally default to thinking of themselves before anyone else.
          2) They both are highly assertive, and have difficulty tempering themselves.
          3) They are both rather blunt. Nuance is a bit of an afterthought for both of them.
          4) They both seem to be very resourceful.

          Differences:
          1) While they both seem naturally self-centered, Roz at least makes some effort to consider others, though it’s not always effective. Also of note, is that Robin’s concerns are very superficial. The focus of her self-importance is her image. Roz, meanwhile, wants freedoms and rights that are important to her.
          2) Not actually much difference here, other than Roz occasionally tries, while Robin doesn’t bother.
          3) Fortunately, Roz is starting to learn that a lot of things aren’t so cut and dry. Starting. Actually, Roz surprisingly seems more actively judgmental than Robin. (Which is the main reason I personally don’t like her much, but I acknowledge that she may get there yet.)
          4) With Robin this seems to manifests more tangibly, while Roz is a bit more for cunning.

        3. StClair

          Sounds about right to me.

        4. Minder

          All these things check off in my book!

          I don’t mind people pointing out the ways Robin and Roz are similar. They’re sisters and yep, here Roz is saying they have a lot in common.

          “THE ONLY REAL DIFFERENCE–” argument is something else entirely and something I saw a lot of yesterday and it is so so so much worse than all of these and other perfectly, even shared legitimate criticisms of Roz. I think it does matter quite a lot which sides of the equation they’re both on, especially given Roz is the one who actually grudgingly accepts people who call her to task and appreciates them for it.

        5. Kitsune

          Asshole by definition is a bad person.

        6. Minder

          Asshole can mean anything from “rude person” to “scum of the earth” used as a moniker but the consensus I understand is that calling someone an asshole in casual conversation applies to anyone being a smartass or especially unpleasant.

        7. Kitsune

          If that’s all it takes to be an asshole, the Roz is beyond that, she’s manipulative and callous, and just and uncritical of her own actions as her sister.

        8. Minder

          In case you haven’t noticed, I’m decidedly uncritical of Roz’s actions as Robin’s sister either. Robin has made Roz’s life personally a living hell and she makes the lives of others hell by both endorsing and voting off on her party’s and her constituents’ goddamn harmful beliefs. Being Roz’s sister owes Robin nothing.

          Being someone’s relation entitles you to NOTHING from them. If a person is harmful to their family members they aren’t owed anything based on family ties. Roz is manipulative when she needs to be and she has shown that she prefers being bluntly honest when she doesn’t. And no she is not going to be sorry (and I don’t think she necessarily ought to be in most cases) for refusing to play nice on her sister’s public image or Joyce’s feelings. Roz is an asshole, she is also dangerously presumptive in her actions and arguments and that’s probably going to hit her hard really soon when she finds out that a media storm wasn’t something Leslie was going to be blindsided or traumatized by.

          Roz isn’t a bad person and she works to make really bad people less powerful than they are.

        9. Minder

          *When Roz finds out a media storm wasn’t something Leslie wouldn’t be blindsided or traumatized by.

      3. StClair

        I tend to be wary of cutting self-centered and/or manipulative people a break just because they’re on “the right side.” Doesn’t everyone imagine their side is the right one? Heck, I’ve even suggested that Mike thinks he’s doing people a favor by teaching them that the world is shit.

        1. Minder

          I mean, certainly, most people imagine their side is the right one.

          Only one of the sides here is open to treating other human beings like people with rights.

      4. Lailah

        …So was Dotty, folks. She said it outright on camera. Why people think this is a special Roz thing is beyond me.

  24. Thevoiceoftreason

    It could be worse. She could be getting off to pictures of Trump.

    1. JessWitt

      I’d rather take photos of Ryan plastered in a shared dorm over SCROTUS any time.

    2. trlkly

      Pretty sure Trumpologists prefer Putin.

  25. crys

    really wanna give props to whoever was speculating she wanted the position to get away from mary

    1. BBCC

      Yup, Cerberus was right again.

  26. Joebo

    I just threw up a little from that image, and it isn’t just because I’m coming down with a flu.

  27. brasca1

    I suppose that’s a healthier alternative to jilling off over pictures of Reagan.

  28. Pigeon Pollyx

    well that’s the most sympathetic Roz has been since…probably since she first appeared in Shortpacked! really

  29. Rukduk

    Oh god Mary would shlick (is that an ok term to use for it?) off to Paul Ryan wouldn’t she. Uugghhh. Think I threw up in my mouth a little. There is no way off redeeming that man at this point, despite probably being the most attractive man in the House of Representatives. At least not until the far off future.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Yeah, schlicking was the onomatopoeia coined for it by the same webcomic to introduce ‘fapping’ for the male equivalent. It’s slightly less universal, and sometimes fapping is used as a gender neutral (much like ‘dude’ and so many other masculine terms) but it’s pretty broadly recognized.

      1. Spaz

        wait, fapping was introduced by a webcomic? HA! Which one?

        1. Cerberus

          Sexy Losers.

          Done by the same guy who now creates Depression Comix. Which makes a lot of sense given some of the plotlines in Sexy Losers.

  30. Smiling Cat

    In it for the perks and not wanting any responsibility that comes with it? Yep, Politics really is in Roz’s blood.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      She does claim she’d have been amazing at it, though, and it did seem like she had the skills. I’d like to think that she’d be willing to shoulder the responsibilities to reap the rewards.

    2. Smiling Cat

      Though this is brewing an alternate character interpretation in my head where nothing she does is sincere at all and everything, even her much espoused beliefs, are all for the betterment of Roz and her own personal image.

      1. BBCC

        Which is why she bothers with grunt volunteer work nobody bothers to look closely at or reward very much and most people don’t pay attention to. Yes. Obviously.

        1. Smiling Cat

          Umm, we know she does volunteer work because she talks about it. 😛 It would still be part of her image.

          I did say it was an “alternate” character interpretation. Like most of those, it’s not likely to be confirmed, and more likely to be disproven.

        2. BBCC

          We know she does it because we’ve SEEN her doing it. And at that level, it’s really not much of an image maker. Especially not when you’re wearing a condom hat.

          I’d be less grouchy about it if that hadn’t been an ‘alternate’ interpretation being spouted since at least she announced she wanted to be RA.

        3. Smiling Cat

          *shrug*. It’s fun to imagine characters as evil sometimes. Roz is easy because her inner monologue isn’t shown to us. Also, she is kinda a loudmouth teenager who insists she knows better than everybody else (but that hardly makes her unique).

          I will point out, though, that wearing a condom hat is VERY much an image maker, and goes along with the image Roz presents about being all about sexual freedom and responsibility. If you’re playing the game right, you only turn it off when you’re alone, maybe.

          Also there’s this duality thing that would appeal to me if Roz and Mary were basically mirror images of each other with the same core motivation (the betterment of self) but approaching it from opposite directions, with one being a force for good and one for ill, but incidentally only as it relates to their own goals. It also opens the way for inner turmoil with Roz actually realizing that she cares about something.

        4. BBCC

          That’s true, it can be very fun sometimes! This one’s been beaten to death and taken for serious so much though it’s lost any enjoyment value as an alternative for me though.

          Yes, but assuming Roz is shooting for some sort of ‘good person liberal activist you should respect’ image, the condom hat is not very conducive to that, as it’s more likely to get you and the thing you’re working for laughed at and not taken seriously.

          Even if this were true though, Roz and Mary wouldn’t be moral images – Roz is nowhere near as extreme as Mary as she’s not driven someone to suicide and then asked permission to actively try and do that to someone else.

        5. Spaz

          Evil Dina:

          Is convinced that she is a dinosaur. actually eats people.

          Still adorable and cute and quirky.

        6. MatsuoTanuki

          Like a Compsognathus!

        7. Minder

          If Roz wanted only what was best for herself she could be standing up next to her sister on a platform stage or just taking it easy at college.

          She is nothing, nothing like Mary who gives lip service to high ideals that are actually terrible and doesn’t even back them up except the awful parts.

        8. Savail

          I’d just like to play Devil’s Advocate and point out that there are plenty of not-nice people who do charity work for less than charitable reasons.

          In fact, I would be wholly unsurprised if Clint got his face-time in with his charity of choice because then that enables him to say “But I’m a good guy. I do charity work FOR FREE for XXY Foundation” while at the same time making anything Ruth and Howie say otherwise have less clout and boosting his own ego.

        9. BBCC

          Yes, but folks in Clint’s position are not generally doing the unglamorous grunt work very few people actually pay attention to and invite open mocking. At least, they tend to want to work for photo ops or well publicized events – not just standing around in some hallway in a condom hat hoping people will take some condoms.

        10. Cerberus

          This.

          Roz genuinely wants to do well and obviously cares deeply about issues to the point of doing the messy dirty grunt work of that that earns no praise and quite a bit of derision (kids are nasty sometimes and being the “condom lady”, especially in a place with shit sex ed like Indiana comes with some nasty street harassment and abuse). And we’ve seen her go way out of her comfort zone when she thinks someone is in need as we saw with her offering a rape counseling service to Joyce at a time when most of her interactions with Joyce were being openly slut-shamed and treated like an evil witch. Heck, Joyce openly asks if she is trying to recruit her to her coven when she offers that.

          Her belief in her causes is genuine. Where she falters, at least in my opinion is in two ways.

          One, when she feels trapped, she’s more likely to bend on her morals in ways that can be harmful to others.

          Two, she can be a bit of the dark side of activism. Where you care to the point of swinging to kill against your opponents and become unable to see that some people really can be swayed by earnest reaching out and kindness and not all need the warhammer of intensity. And that not everyone she bumps heads against is necessarily going to be an enemy.

          Which, yeah, that’s part of growing up in college, learning how to temper all that activist rage and energy so that it’s directed at the institutions and social attitudes of oppression rather than having it fly everywhere and turn into a complex of walls and poorly aimed sniping.

        11. Savail

          I don’t disagree with your assessment by any means, just pointing out that grunt work does not necessarily equate to altruism on the part of the participant.

        12. BBCC

          When it’s handing out condoms in a random hallway wearing a condom hat? I’d argue it’s more likely to be that they actually care than not.

    3. Minder

      Not wanting that responsibility doesn’t negate that Roz would have done the job and done it spectacularly and she would not ever have knowingly abused her power.

      1. Smiling Cat

        Nor does it establish that she would have.

        1. Minder

          “I would have been amazing at it” are the words out of her mouth taken straight from above, and she’s being completely honest about everything else.

          And I’d hazard to assume that Roz would have very likely gone ahead and all of what she just said to Dorothy about the truthful reasoning, even at the cost of risking losing the job to her–if Dorothy had bothered genuinely to ask. Roz is very open about the shitty parts of her personality and even though she hates very much being wrong, she has demonstrated time and again that she accepts criticism that’s valid and is more glad to have it. Those are things that would make her a good RA even if she wasn’t someone who advocates so passionately about protecting people’s rights. Her own and others’.

        2. Smiling Cat

          You often meet people who are great at something just because they swear they will be? Notably, Dorothy was concerned about doing the job while Roz was campaigning for it.

          There’s a reason you don’t usually put kids in this position, they’re not nearly as smart or as good as they think they are.

        3. Minder

          They…They only put kids in the position. All RAs are students.

          And if I see someone saying they would be good at a job who has proven themselves capable of it then yes I believe them. Dorothy was concerned about getting the job, not doing the job. They both were. They both would have done it to their best ability.

        4. Smiling Cat

          Not first years. A significant difference. A freshman hasn’t proved anything about themselves.

          And you seem to be assuming a lot about Roz’s abilities based on very little. People like her, think she’s charming, she’s confident, that’s enough to give someone a chance in an entry level position, not jump the line into a position they wouldn’t normally be considered for. There’s a reason job interviewers tend to ask you about your experience.

        5. Minder

          I’ll concede to that. I am indeed only assuming Roz’s hypothetical job performance here as well as Dorothy’s.

          Your points make me rather glad neither got the position.

      2. StClair

        [citation needed]

        1. Minder

          Sure, here you go.

        2. Smiling Cat

          I’m not clear what this is supposed to prove. Seriously, I took a ruler to my computer to figure out where this comment string started because I couldn’t figure out what Joe consenting to be filmed having sex had to do with Roz’s qualifications.

        3. Minder

          Roz doesn’t abuse her power knowingly. If you want her qualifications ask the people on her floor who preferred her openly to Dorothy for the same job and Roz’s abilities to manage tasks that require a lot of effort.

        4. Smiling Cat

          You’re extrapolating one ambiguous event into a pattern of behavior. You also didn’t seem to notice that Roz didn’t inform him just what her agenda was or what she was trying to provoke. Joe was surprised and briefly unsettled to find out that he was now part of a media scandal. He got over it quickly and probably would have been fine with it from the beginning if he had known, but it’s part of an actual pattern of behavior on Roz’s part. She takes for granted that whatever she does is okay, at times without regard for how it affects others. It worked out with Joe, not so much with Leslie it appears.

          She’s an eighteen year old who thinks she knows everything. She is generally speaking a good person, but she’s got some growing up to do before one should casually trust her with responsibility. This is not a condemnation, it’s just life. We screw up. We learn from it. It takes time.

        5. Minder

          Roz told Joe she was going to tape them having sex and that it furthered her personal agenda.

          Joe not realizing Roz was a Congresswoman’s sister (whether she told him is not known nor and I doubt he’d have been listening or paying attention, even if she volunteered, and it wasn’t a secret) doesn’t mean she didn’t warn him of potential publicity. Posting a video on the internet to further a personal agenda that is political in nature (and Joe knew Roz was a screaming-loud political activist) is kind of a straightforward line of reasoning to ‘media exposure.’ Willis made that post to mock the idea Joe was somehow kept in the dark about what he was getting into or that it’d change his mind for a second if he pulled his head out of his ass long enough to work out the specifics.

          And as for the rest of it, we’re in agreement, Roz takes too much for granted in assuming her actions are good and she has growing up to do. Her worst flaw is assuming others’ reasoning. She assumed Leslie was seducing Robin for reasons based in reality instead of fantasy. Leslie got burned badly and Roz may still have no idea.

        6. StClair

          Okay, sorry, I should have been more specific. I’m doubting that she’d have been as awesome at it as she says (and maybe even thinks).

          Do you believe everything that a (would-be) politician says, particularly about themselves and their qualifications?

        7. Minder

          No, not a would-be politician. I’d believe an activist like Roz. Roz is wholly forthcoming about the shortcomings she is aware of.

        8. Smiling Cat

          It’s not the shortcomings a person is aware of that usually gets them.

        9. Minder

          I don’t care who “gets” Roz. Roz deserves to get called on flaws in herself she cannot see.

          Roz may not enjoy it very much when that happens. What she does is accept and even welcome it anyways.

    4. Lailah

      Good christ, I hate this.

      You folks realize that your noxious disaffection is part of how Trump got elected, right? I actually am not even referring to your voting. These memes are part of what gave him an in- in the first place. This idea that politicians don’t care. That they’re just cynically doing whatever and couldn’t possibly care less about literally anything but themselves.

      News flash: Most *USANIAN* politicians make good faith efforts to get their campaign promises happen. Most promises are something the promise-maker *TRIES* to make happen. I’m not saying they succeed – I’m saying they put real effort into trying to get it. Part of why they don’t is that it’s a god damn democracy – they don’t have the ability to just do whatever. There’s a whole fucking congress. There’s a lot of Politics that goes into getting your political positions into action. And that means sometimes giving things up.

      If they didn’t believe in their (often terrible) positions, /they wouldn’t fucking bother/. You think Random House Member from the 256th District gets a pay and influence commensurate with giving up work in a more high powered industry? Being part of the lobby is better paying than being part of the /lobbied/. That’s why the Lobby has money to throw.

  31. JohnnyO

    I find Paul Ryan extremely attractive even though I hate him and he hates gays. It’s very conflicting.

    1. Jinxed44

      Real life Leslie!
      … Go for it! Please!!
      And good luck if you do!!
      He’s probably better than Robin and hey that would be wonderfully crippling to the Trump admin and their Nazi-esk movements.

    2. Leorale

      His thoughts, words, and actions are abhorrent, but yep, he’s pretty. (He’s kind of like Shortpacked!Mike that way.) Just give him a completely different brain/personality, and you’d be golden; maybe you could date his long-lost non-evil cousin or something.

      1. Krys Brynhildr

        Is that why there was a sketch example of her and Mike making out?

        Not that I feel either of those are attractive personally, but I’m big on personality anyways?

    3. ValdVin

      Many folks incuding me think he’s “zombie eyed”.

  32. newllend(Henryvolt)

    Paul Ryan huh Weird, I always pegged Mary as that one Mike Pence Groupie who would be caught blowing him under the presidents desk after Trump got impeached.

    1. zoelogical

      honestly i am like thirty percent sure that mary has a animesque rpf webcomic about the secret life and times of the republican party on deviantart

      and it is all this heartrending slice of life garbage
      with additional bouncing anime boobs whenever a woman shows up
      so basically just kelly conway

      1. zoelogical

        kellyanne conway? adding anne to an already serviceable name doesn’t make it any more dignified, gdi naming conventions from before my time

      2. Joseph

        Basically, she secretly wants to watch the Republican Party Reservation show from Transmetropolitan….

        By the way, the wikiquote article for Transmet has the weirdest set of stock photo illustrations. https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan

        1. zoelogical

          oh my god. i’d heard things about spider jerusalem but i didn’t know that was what was going on here

          i’m like seventy-five percent surer that i don’t want to know. the other twenty-five percent is grim curiosity

        2. thejeff

          Transmetropolitan is excellent. You do want to read it, even if you don’t want to know.

          I think I need to read it again, now that it’s even more applicable to our current politics.

        3. zoelogical

          GOOD TO KNOW, THANK YOU

  33. Beef

    Marry struck me as a Trumpeter, not the “well deal with what we got” kind but the “Build the wall!” kind. Most of them I’ve met dislike Paul Ryan

  34. JessWitt

    Whoa, I didn’t know the Patreon strips were collected in books. Are they ALL in print (as of book 6, that is) ?

    1. BBCC

      All the ones during the time collected in book six, yes. Same for books 4 and 5.

    2. David M Willis

      All Patreon strips have/will be published in their respective books.

      1. JessWitt

        Neat. Thanks.

        1. Spaz

          +1 reason to buy the books once I get a job again.

          On top of the several dozen other reasons.

  35. Tacos

    Ok so while it’s now understandable why Roz wanted the RA position, couldn’t she have just gone and asked for a room transfer instead?

    1. Danigami

      She says she was on the list and room transfers sometimes can take foreeeeeever not helping that Billy now is on the top of the list

      1. Cerberus

        This.

        She was on the list, but schools are very slow and very resistant on room transfers even for strong cause or emotional distress. It’s very common for a person to be waiting for a room transfer an entire school year until it ends up being moot and given how around the bend Mary is driving her, I can empathize with her not believing she has the spoons to hold on that long.

  36. Oysteinthenoisy

    Nobody should have to face of Paul Ryan photos, weightlifting or not. I say NOBODY EVER!!!!

  37. Sam

    Roz was willing to give Dorothy a perfection complex, to undermine her likeability, and otherwise stomp all over her confidence with people for the position. She was willing to send Dorothy’s mental health into a downward spiral by doing so if it gave herself a better chance of getting the position.

    Roz doesn’t even want the position.

    Fuck right off Roz.

    Stop taking out your damn problems on Dorothy, who would have tried to help you if you were bloody honest with her instead of acting like a smarmy arrogant jackass towards her over it.

    I know you have the knowledge of morals and ethics to know better which is part of why this is extra aggravating.

    1. Leorale

      Roz didn’t know that her comments would hit Dorothy so hard (though I’m sure she hoped it would sting). Moreover, Roz is accustomed to politics being brutal, between two candidates who expect and are fully able to handle that brutality. She is not used to things like showing her vulnerability to a rival. It never occurred to her to simply ask Dorothy for what she needed, as doing that in politics would result in having the vulnerability exploited. They have a lot to learn from each other.

    2. Goblin Scribe

      “Give” Dorothy a perfection complex? Dorothy’s had one since, like, ever. People are so weirdly blind to the fact that Dorothy’s “nice, stable, flawless multitasker” manner has been blatantly coming at her own expense pretty much ever since she started trying to help Walky with his homework. And it was happening before that, just less blatantly.

      Dorothy isn’t the one character in DOA without fatal flaws. She’s just got a fatal flaw that the readers are inclined to see as a good quality, because in many ways, it is. It’s just tearing her apart. Dorothy takes too much on her plate and always has. You can’t blame Roz for that. Frankly, if the rest of her friends were more together and aware of how people worked, they’d have stopped her from trying to run for R.A. to begin with.

      1. Godfather

        Yeah, Walky tried back when she was helping him with math. He mentioned briefly that she couldn’t do everything for everyone forever. I hope that he brings it up again and can help her take some stuff off of her plate. 🙁

    3. Lailah

      Dorothy has had a perfection complex for the entire comic. There’s a reason she spent her time at a party typing a research paper on her phone – and it’s not Roz.

  38. Bagge

    Nooooo, TELL her about your bad score, Dorothy. You will feel better and be rewarded with hugs and sweet, sweet upside-down-Joyce time.

  39. ValdVin

    “Quiet. Brain busy. Right. That. Sure.”

    I’ve never seen Dorothy like this.

    Wow. Concerned.

    1. zoelogical

      i really relate to that feeling but yes. somebody’s overloaded

  40. Travestyhat

    Oh look, Roz’s pandering to everybody in the dorm hall to get the RA post was done for selfish ulterior motives and not, you know, a desire for the job. I’m sure this would’ve worked out great for everybody else. Once again, Roz is an insincere little shit and needs to pull her head out of her ass.

    1. Minder

      What part of “I would have been amazing at it” is selling you on the conviction that Roz would be a terrible RA that screwed her fellow floormates over. Roz cares about them. She wouldn’t have liked the work but she’d certainly DO it if it meant her own room.

      1. Lone Wolf

        Three words: Dunning-Kruger effect.

      2. Cerberus

        This.

        The honest truth is she probably would be good as an RA. Especially for the residents. She’d be less likely to enforce bad rules, has a lot of resources for stressful shitty situations (let’s not forget her sleepy I support your sexuality conversation with Riley or her offer to connect Joyce with a rape counselor or her activism for safe sex), and can be genuinely warm and charming when she has a mind to be.

        She’d do a great job. And she’d also hate every damn minute of it, because she loathes authority like Carla loathes authority and so the idea of being a lickspittle to the forces downstairs would fill her with an intense loathing as would the uncomfortability of using those smarm tactics she associates with her sister.

        And I’m not sure we can slam Roz for having an ulterior motive when Dorothy also had an ulterior motive of her own and was also seeking the positions for another reason as well.

      3. Krys Brynhildr

        See, I just don’t trust people who are prone to saying how “great they are” or how “great they’d be” all the time. I mean sure it seems like she believes it, but confidence doesn’t mean you necessarily can back up those claims, especially when its quite possibly the person being overconfident on exactly how competent or knowledgeable they are.

        I mean, even if it was a comeback more than anything, there was the comic where she basically implied she thought she knew enough to teach the gender studies class she’s currently taking.

        I’m not sure there’s anything Roz does that she’s not convinced she’s awesome at. I’m pretty sure I don’t agree with her on how awesome she is even if thats not the case.

        I will acknowledge that if she got the job and made it a priority that she’d probably do a decent job at it, as long as she didn’t go overboard with her newfound power that is. I don’t think it’d actually be as easy of a job as she thinks it is though.

        1. Minder

          Dorothy isn’t the only one learning she has flaws this year.

    2. Travestyhat

      There is a WORLD of difference between Roz and Dorothy’s motives, and that difference says everything about the jobs they would have done. Roz – and thank you, Krys, for saying it better than I could – is being entirely glib in her reasons for wanting to do the job in a way that gives me zero faith in her actual interest in or qualifications for a task which, let’s make it clear here, involves the well-being of others. She’s supportive, yes, and she’s good at being personable and charming, but she’s also judgmental and has shown that she doesn’t exactly think a lot about the wider ramifications of her actions (like how her sex tape would have hurt the school).

      Dorothy? Yes, okay: she’s doing the job because it will look good on her future resume. She. Is. In. College. “I want to do this thing because it will help me in the career I have planned for the future” is basically a universal reason to do anything in college. And I’ll say right now that she probably would have been taking on more than she was ready to handle – her current insecurities vis-a-vis her grades are proof of this – but consider that her approach to becoming RA was to approach people about their problems, make lists and plan for solutions. She was doing the homework. She wanted to have answers. Roz was just playing a charm offensive.

      A world of difference.

      1. Leorale

        Getting paid is a perfectly good reason to apply for a job. We can also care deeply about the job, and do our very best at it, despite knowing that we’d totally quit if the pay was taken away.

        The RA position isn’t a volunteer deal. It pays with a single room, and it pays in experience. Roz wanted the room, and Dorothy wanted the experience for her resume. That doesn’t mean either was doing anything wrong, or that they would’ve been bad at being RAs. You can care about something and desire compensation for it!

      2. Minder

        I do not buy any of this.

  41. Liliet

    …and here comes the reminder that Roz is, in fact, a child.

    And this is why Dorothy would have definitely been a better pick for the RA position.

  42. Triniking1234

    All that for a room transfer? SMFH.

    Luckily Riley will save the bloodline.

    1. Minder

      A ROOM TRANSFER FROM MARY. MARY IS AN ABUSIVE HURTFUL PERSON THAT DELIBERATELY ENJOYS STEPPING OVER THE RIGHTS OF MARGINALIZED PEOPLE OVER GRIEVANCES REAL OR IMAGINED AND IMAGINES THEY HAVE EARNED IT.

      ROZ’S OWN HOME IS NOT SAFE WHILE SHE’S LIVING WITH HER.

      1. fillerusername

        Yeah I mean Mary straight up contributed to Ruth becoming suicidal. She is NOT a safe person to be around. As far as we currently know Roz isn’t combating any issues with depression or self harm and she isn’t a deeply vulnerable minority like Carla but Roz having to live with Mary and bearing the brunt of her terribleness on a daily basis where she fucking lives (and Mary has made it very clear she hates Roz and her family) must take a toll and Roz doesn’t deserve that however she may rub some the wrong way. She has a right to want to get away from a toxic environment and nothing anyone’s said has convinced me she couldn’t have handled the job basically competently.

        1. fillerusername

          And all of WHAT exactly? Literally all she did was say she was interested in the job and high five Grace in a hallway. Then like a day later she found out Ruth was staying on.

  43. CJ

    What’s up with Dorothy?
    She is so preoccupied that it takes Roz’ outburst to pull her really into the conversation. Was she doing homework or rote-learning from her phone? Writing a letter to her parents?

    1. Daibhid C

      Last time we saw her she’d just scored 76% in a test and was looking pretty bummed about it. She’s probably working out how to deal with that (hopefully, not by abandoning Walky).

  44. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Panel 1: Ah. I know those feelings when your brain is a swirling maelstrom. Maybe it’s emotional distress, maybe it’s trying to finish a million and a half things that are all due, or often like with Dorothy here, it’s a bit of both. But for whatever reason, you’re not fit for human interaction, not fully able to be present in the moment, instead stuck with the panic and scramble.

    And it’s worrying. Dorothy has tried to tackle every problem by doubling down on her stress levels and it’s clear that these cracks have appeared because she stretched herself too tight with all the emotional labor she’s been doing and the push on extracurriculars. So I worry that she’s barreling towards a nasty burnout if she doesn’t learn how to pace herself.

    Panel 2: 😀 Nice, I was right on Roz’s motivation. And oof, that is a nasty consequence of “Sir’s” manipulations. That Roz is trapped for even longer with the roommate from hell and being driven more cranky and frustrated by that.

    And I’m willing to bet half of her fountain of simmering rage she rides on stems from not having much of a safe space to deconstruct and detox from the rest of her life.

    Panel 3: Oh man, that close-up makes me really worried for Dorothy. She really doesn’t look well here and seems as much in genuine emotional distress as she is confusion, which is definitely not coming from this interaction.

    Dorothy has given so much emotional labor to others, I hope she sees she can trust others to give her some back. Especially Joyce who would love the chance to support her in the way Dorothy has supported her.

    1. zoelogical

      getting your first bad grade in college after a lifetime of high achievement is just…a really sucky feeling

  45. Cerberus

    Panel 4: Okay, now this is a really fascinating look into Roz right here. She was raised in a political household, right up close to the sausage of how you can manage people’s psychologies to try and make things happen. And she knows just how easily she can perform that as we’ve seen in her RA push and her wink, wink, nudge, nudge with Leslie.

    But that also represents everything she hates. Meaningless votes over issues that matter, political machinations over the people politics affects. It’s her sister’s way and she loathes her sister and the way she was sucked into that campaign.

    She knows she would be good at it, but she loathes that she’d be good at it, because in her heart, tactics aside, she’s an anti-authoritarian with a strong moral streak who wants to stick up for the powerless against the machinations that oppress them.

    As an anti-authoritarian powered by similar rages at injustice and oppression, I can empathize a hell of a lot with that.

    And I feel it makes her recent actions somewhat tragic. Cause it’s her when she feels trapped and like her early attempts to manage the system or resist the system fail resorting to the machinations she loathes to try and engineer a last-chance desperate escape.

    It’s not her at her best and it massages her morals more than she’d like and you can see that in her distressed face here. And I find that really really interesting and compelling.

    Panel 5: *Happy dance at guessing correctly on this one*

    But yeah, of course she’d want that single-room that comes with being RA more than the position itself. Mary is awful and it’s clear that Roz is in desperate need of a space that is calming and relaxing that she can more fully recover in rather than a space where she needs to fight every second and remain fully on guard.

    And I can strongly empathize with the awfulness of having a terrible roommate. I’ve told the story of my first year roommate who I caught trying to perform an exorcism on me while I slept because of my penchant for listening to “devil music” and the fact that I was trying to connect with the Wicca and Paganism of my mom before slipping into the atheism I’ve been in ever since.

    It made the room incredibly unsafe and so I started sleeping in study boxes where I could or during the day while he was in classes. My sleep schedule got really bad.

    And that roommate is still better than the hell that Mary is.

    Panel 6: Oh, Roz. Eventually you’ll have to trust that some people aren’t folks you have to fight to the death against and hopefully this is the first sign of her realizing that everyone she’s in antagonism with isn’t going to be like Mary or her sister and may respond to her being earnest and open in a way that had been punished before.

    And oof, surrounded by Paul Ryan thirst. Yeah, that’s a special kind of hell.

    And it makes me wonder what Roz would be like if she wasn’t feeling trapped by her sister and wasn’t spending her every moment of downtime with a passive aggressive bully constantly trying to come in at her sideways. Would she be as angry, as combative, as quick to go for the blade when a discussion might actually do? Would she find it easier to give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes?

    I dunno. Certainly, I’ve mellowed out more during times when I don’t feel constantly under attack, so perhaps it’d be the same for her. And it makes me want to hope that she finds her place someday, with the freedom to be herself without everything being a constant unending battle.

    1. zoelogical

      it’s that damn thing where if you work within the system it compromises your morals and if you work outside the system nobody listens to you but either way you’re stuck not getting the results you actually want

      meanwhile people suffer and things are intolerable

  46. Cerberus

    One last note on Roz:

    I’ve talked a lot about the changing context of now changing the way characters are interpreted and I think that’s true of Roz. Roz’s main flaw is she fights too nasty, swings too hard, is quick to see enemies.

    But think of the time we exist in. Where fascists have full backing of the cops to beat people on the streets with impunity, where women’s health is being attacked simply out of violent misogyny to the point where almost every form of health care for women is being threatened, and where the right-wing is getting more and more violent and dangerous and powerful while the attempts to be kind and compromise have only made the problem worse because the fascists interpret that as weakness and have openly stolen elections and given rise to a whole resurgence of literal nazis happily sieg hieling across America.

    In this America, Roz no longer seems extremist. Because the situation is fucked and so by the shifting timeleine, of course it makes sense that she rounded on Joyce when Joyce’s church just propped up Trump. Of course it makes sense that she wants to take down Robin and those like her when that might mean the difference between life and death for herself and those she cares about. Of course she’s going to go in hard, because we’re fighting for our lives against a newly powerful fascist movement that is making no secret of their genocidal aims and openly fantasizes about beating us in the street while the cops watch on in glee.

    And that wasn’t true before the election, but thanks to the shifting timeline, it’s true now.

    And it makes her time with Mary even more of a tragedy. Mary is jilling off in their room to the image of a man who openly fantasizes about killing millions of Americans and praising the actions of fascists who have stolen the country, all while constantly demeaning and abusing her for being a sexual woman.

    I could barely take that shit when the world wasn’t burning. If I was a young freshman today? Yeah, I’d be an angry wreck too.

    Fuck, I already am an angry wreck, especially now that fascists have a “victory” in the “liberal” bay area they are already using to empower their number to commit more hate crimes across the nation. Thanks Berkeley PD, I’ll be sure to think positively of you when some wanna-be nazi is bouncing my head off the pavement in the next couple of months.

    1. Minder

      If I could link a bunch of clapping gifs here you would have a standing ovation and a bunch of roses at your feet for this.

  47. missilentmurmur

    My friend who studies in the US told me they had to fill in a questionnaire on what kind of room mate they’d like and what they are like, and the management combined them into pairs using online dating methodology. I guess this is not a thing at IU, or storytelling reasons swept it under the rug.
    But I think Mary would have been the room mate of Joyce, and this story would have taken a totally different course. What do you think, guys?

    1. Rukduk

      In my general experience, people tend to put as little personal information as possible into said questionnaires, and lie about their less healthy habits (i.e. Drinking, smoking, drug use) because they know the college is watching. And dating websites aren’t that accurate to begin with. The result: the forms make little to no difference.

      1. Cerberus

        At my school, they deliberately used the information to put us with folks who were as different as us as possible in order for kids to learn how to harmonize with folks who were different than them.

        In practice that meant marginalized kids got fucked over with shitty hateful roommates that abused them.

        Given some of the pairings in the comic, I wouldn’t be surprised if this particular IU room person was operating under similar logic.

        1. Leorale

          Eugh, the privilege of not getting drafted as some jerk’s object lesson in empathy.

        2. Leorale

          Willis paired people to be narrative foils for each other, but, in-universe, my head-canon is that Chloe paired people to be each other’s ‘learning opportunities’ or whatever. (She took mercy on Amber’s social anxiety.)

    2. zoelogical

      i think…maybe sierra and joyce would have been roommates. and sal and sarah. which would be a very different story

  48. JBento

    And what he’s weightlifting are the corpses of the poor felled by lack of healthcare.

  49. seventhsword2

    Those weightlifting photos are hilarious

  50. Luna

    Wanting to get away from Mary’s a legitimate reason to try for the job but. She paraded around and claimed credit for her sister’s outing, repeatedly insulted Dorothy and gloated at her, and manipulated the girls in the wing. That all sits just even worse with me knowing she didn’t actually want to do the job. :/

    1. JBento

      Roz did the opposite of taking credit; she explicitly said it wasn’t her. She also didn’t insult Dorothy, who, btw, ALSO didn’t want the job for any reason other than resume padding (and Dorothy, as we’ve just seen, already has enough on her plate right now to take on more responsibilities anyway).

      I’m going to go with “there’s a REASON why freshmen don’t get to be RAs according to regulations” on this one.

      1. Luna

        It’s true she did not claim to have taken the photo personally, but she did take credit for the outcome. She explicitly said to Dorothy ‘There’s a ton of queer students on this floor, and -I- just threw an election in their favor’. That’s pretty cut-and-dry.

        I’m not even arguing that Dorothy should’ve been RA? I’m just saying that Roz’s actions don’t sit well with me, especially not now.

      2. showler

        Roz said “I just threw an election in their favour”.

        How is that not taking credit?

        1. Fart Captor

          No, she didn’t:

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/courting/

        2. Luna

          Yes she did, in the very next strip.

          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2017/comic/book-7/02-everything-youve-ever-wanted/gambit/

          No, she’s not taking credit for the photo or how the outing happened, but she is taking credit for for why the election’s likely outcome has changed. It’s definitely arguable how much responsibility she actually has in how the Leslie/Robin situation went down, but it can’t be argued that she’s at least presented herself to her floor as having played an important role in it.

        3. JBento

          It can, actually. She saying that to her COMPETITOR, while actually denying it to the floor, which garners her… no votes at all.

        4. Luna

          But what’s the point of brandishing it so publically if she’s not using it to get more people on her side? Why would Becky assume she was even in a position to determine is Leslie was an ‘acceptable loss’ if she hadn’t presented herself as such? It makes a lot more sense to assume she’s being more honest to Dorothy (especially since she’s got a consistent history of being upfront with her, even if she’s not always nice about it), and that she’s positioned herself as having influenced the election to the general floor.

        5. JBento

          I think we got a bit of a mix-up here. I’m say she WAS honest with Dorothy. But that wouldn’t get her any points (presumably, Dorothy wouldn’t support her opponent). What MIGHT get her points would be telling the floor residents that she DID have a hand in making it harder for the homophobe-supporting politician to get elected, which she most pointedly didn’t.

    2. Derek

      when did Roz manipulate girls on the wing?

      1. JBento

        I believe they’re referring to this strip: http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/ally/

        and the one preceding it.

  51. L!ghtn!ng

    *Shudders*

  52. KSClaw

    Spoken like a true politician, Roz. No telling of your true motive, until it’s too late in either direction.

    1. Minder

      Dorothy never asked.

      1. MacDiver

        She kinda did.
        http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-7/01-glower-vacuum/groundswell/

        1. Minder

          “Tell me you don’t want to be R.A.” does not sound like it’s asking a question.

  53. Vulcanodon

    I had not done the math. Mary and Paul Ryan posters. That’s an EPA superfund site for toxicity right there. (Bleaches brain to remove imagery)

    1. JBento

      EPA still has funding?

      1. Vulcanodon

        *sigh* Probably not…

  54. hof1991

    I’m hoping the Ryan the rapist is a Willis homage to Paul Ryan. Serious, as a Wisconsinite, how did we produce Ryan, Walker, Reince Prebus and the odious but less well know Sensenbrenner? WTF do we have Klan types here and Birchers, when all we really want is bratwurst, Packers and a boat to fish from in the summer. (In the winter, you don’t need a boat, just an auger to get through the ice.)
    {sigh}

    1. nightsbridge

      Nah. Ryan is a legacy character from It’s Walky, back when Willis’ idea of what politics deserved mockery was quite different.

  55. Esc

    Billie’s transfer goes through, Billie moves out, Billie moves out, Roz takes Billie’s room, new person rooms with Mary.
    Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth.

    1. JBento

      Joke’s on the woman, Trump and Glorious Leader are about to blow everything up.

    2. thejeff

      What did new person ever do to you to deserve such a fate?

    3. BBCC

      Roz rooming with Sal and Becky should be interesting if nothing else.

  56. rectilinearpropagation

    I don’t see Roz wanting the RA job for the room as any more different than anyone else taking a job they know they’ll hate because it pays more or has a benefit they can’t get elsewhere. As long as you do a good job you’re only really hurting yourself.

    I’m assuming Roz is acting like Dorothy should have known why she was trying to be RA is because she’s upset and not because Roz actually thinks people are psychic.

    Leslie is about to walk into a class of seriously cranky students and she’s not feeling any better herself. This class is going to go *great*.

    1. zoelogical

      yeah sometimes people’s emotions are real evident to themselves and they don’t see why other people don’t see them the same way they do because it’s *so obvious*. like mary’s been a day-in day-out part of roz’ life for a while, and everybody knows now how awful mary is, 2+2=4. and dorothy’s trademark kinda is that intuitive social intelligence.

      granted, it’s not fair for roz to feel like dorothy should already know her life situation when they haven’t talked about it and don’t have that kind of bond, but like….i see how that happened. and as you said she’s upset

      tl;dr life’s better when you learn to ask for what you need

  57. Micki

    Wow, kinda sad that I never thought of that ’til now…but, then again, neither did Dorothy. I guess it seemed to Roz like an obvious motivation that anyone could see.

  58. Tenn

    Paul Ryan? I thought he was a cu–

    PfffffFFFFFHA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA I can’t even say it ironically! 😀

    I thought Paul Ryan was a “see you see kay”. But I guess even Mary won’t sink to the murky depths of the alt-right.

    1. StClair

      she’s just regular old GOP right. “Party of Reagan.”

      1. JBento

        One of the Welcome to the Fuck Zones was Mary masturbating to a drawing of Reagan (which I think she drew herself).

  59. Bagge

    Roz would have been a great RA, so would Dorothy.

    It was a good think they looked horns on this whole non-election fiasco, not only because it gave us great stories about them, but because they both grew us characters. Dorothy got a personal meeting with the side of politics that is not about getting straight A:s, and Roz got to stand face to face with the idealist that risked to loose to her pragmatism.

    I also think Becky’s accusation of Roz using her at collateral damage shook her to the core. Is that really what people think of her?

    I also think they will come out of this with a lasting respect for each other, once the dust have settled. They have a lot to learn from each other. Maybe misery DOES make good company?

    1. Minder

      *thumbs up emoji*

      I’m starting to lean toward Roz having been the better candidate for the actual job simply because Dorothy’s already showing signs of overextending herself trying to everything to everyone before having a full-time job, and Roz even with her obnoxiously high opinion of herself is frequently seen casually being mindful of what her real limits are and that she’s aware of them.

      Also I think you’re very right that she’s shaken and stands to learn from the way Becky so confident (and within her rights, really) to assume Roz might also consider Becky acceptable loss.

    2. BBCC

      I think Roz DOES respect Dorothy to an extent – her fashion sense, her skills, her ambitions. But she also knows where she falls short and in political wrangling, that’s what you aim for. Dorothy wasn’t prepared for that.

      And I think most of the girls in the dorm would make a decent, if flawed, RA, but then you’ve seen my chart so you know what I think about each resident’s RAing skills.

  60. Smooti

    THIS IS WHY PEOPLE DON’T LIKE YOU ROZZZZZZ

    but actually i find her a fascinating character in this compared to shortpacked, here’s hoping there’s more of her and more of people calling her out on shit

    it is good that dorothy didn’t get ra though, she’s going through too much and needs to learn to pace herself. it’s just as important as pushing yourself.

  61. Kitsune

    Speaking of not liking Roz, does she have any actual friends? It may just be because she’s not a main character, but it really seems like nobody in the comic actually likes her.

    1. Minder

      Uh-huh.

    2. BBCC

      Other Rachel, Agatha, and Grace all seem to like her okay. I don’t know if they’re friends with her, but they might be. Grace at least seems friendly with her.

    3. Maveric1984

      Joe seems to like her

  62. Kitsune

    “I’d be amazing at it, but I don’t want it” Did that comment set off anyone else’s bullshit detector?

    1. Fart Captor

      Not really. I completely believe that getting the hell away from Mary was the primary (if not the only) reason she was interested in the job.

  63. Deviant

    *googles to see who Paul Ryan is*
    Ah, I see, he’s a politician.
    *Googles “Paul Ryan weightlifting”*
    Huh…

  64. Michael William Crichton

    In her own way, Roz is an much a self-righteous hypocrite as Mary is. Really, they deserve each other.

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