343

Slipaway
Posted on May 22, 2024 by David M Willis

343 thoughts on “Slipaway”

  1. System_Anomaly

    ಠ_ಠ

    1. Grayfinity

      I second that.
      ➕1️⃣

  2. anon2

    what a wonderful person

    1. GreyICE

      It’s really amazing how she managed to hit Toe-Dad levels of hatable.

      1. Alongcameaspider

        She is not anywhere close to toedad levels yet

        1. superglucose

          she’s trending to get there by the end of the comic though

        2. Bryy

          Let’s seriously not hyberbole to this level.

          Toe Dad was a cult member who shot up a school and kidnapped five kids with the full intent of killing every single one of them including his own daughter.

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          Yes. And per the road to hell, Toe-Dad thought he was doing the morally right thing, as grossly misinformed as that was.

          Raidah is knowingly fucking with people’s lives purely for her own desire and benefit. Her actions are not yet at his level, but arguably her motivations have already passed his.

        4. Lars

          I don’t know her motivations yet. Why is Asher oh so important? It would be interesting to have an evil-doer with a relatable motivation.

          And is she fucking with peoples lives? Billie was a mess, Jennifer slightly less so.

        5. Verdande

          Connections. His family has ties with the mob. That’s my guess on why Raidah wants him in the group, anyway. She’s all about social climbing and making friends with important family members (see also, her immediately grilling Walky about his connection to the Dean.)

        6. Adept

          Raidah is utterly mercenary, and using people as building blocks for future advances. She seems Machiavellian.

        7. thejeff

          “Jennifer slightly less so” – and that change is built on a foundation of support from Raidah and her crew which is absolutely fake. I’m sure it’ll be fine when she finds that out though.

        8. Lien

          What ?
          It’s been a while, but IIRC he never intended to kill anybody, he was just misguided by Amber’s dad.
          Yes, he was stupid and had no qualm to use violence to force people to do what he believes is “right”, but that’s not “willing to murder children”.
          He wanted to bring his daughter to conversion therapy, not to murder her.
          WE know how that is nearly as horrible, but he doesn’t.

        9. brionl

          Wasn’t he shooting at Amazi-girl and/or Dina the first time he tried to “rescue” Beckie? That is pretty much willing to murder children.

        10. Azhrei Vep

          Hateability is not directly proportional to how terrible a person someone is, odd as it may sound.

          If anything, little petty shit like this tends to make someone more hateable faster than big crazy shit like Toedad, because it’s more relatable and has a way better chance of hitting on something a person has actually experienced.

        11. Benjamin Geiger

          It’s the Umbridge situation.

          Most of us don’t have to deal with wizard Hitler, but we all have to deal with petty bureaucratic tyrants, which makes the latter, while objectively less bad, much more hateable. Most of us haven’t had to deal with a friend’s parent who has tried to kidnap us, but we’ve all had to deal with “friends” who… well, act like Raidah.

        12. jflb96

          ‘Let’s not hyperbole to this level,’ they said, about to do some hyperbole of their own

        13. Taffy

          He fired a gun on a college campus. “Shot up a school” is a stretch, sure, but it’s not on the same level as saying Raidah (some random nobody with no future) is gonna wind up like Ross. That’s really the only hyperbole here.

        14. jflb96

          He also didn’t intend murder during the kidnapping

        15. Taffy

          He totally would have done it.

        16. Bryy

          Ross didn’t seem to have any qualms about being the direct cause of Mike getting mortally injured.

        17. Jamie

          The fascinating thing about internet morality is how one-dimensional it is.

      2. NotPiffany

        Toe-Dad? No, not even close. She’s more like Carol.

        1. GholaHalleck

          In an odd way, I think Carol’s worse then Toe dad.

          Toe dad was misguided and was basically brainwashed into thinking he had to do the things he did to save his kid.

          Carol is just a controlling monster who uses religion as a weapon.

      3. HueSatLight

        almost every time that judgment is passed down, that a character is at “toe-dad levels of evil”, they’re just being a dick while also being a woman.

    2. DudeMyDadOwnsADealership

      Not like she can stand having real friendships and having real values…

    3. Pylgrim

      She barely was able to stop herself saying “important asset”.

    4. ValdVin

      Her use of “…friend” and “we like having him around” sounds like something out of Mad Men.

  3. NGPZ

    A breakup to Jennifer is like climate change to republicans —

    it’s always “not happening” until it’s already happened (-_-)

    1. Reltzik

      And when they reach that point, it’s perfectly fine and laissez-faire is the only way to live anyway.

      1. Needfuldoer

        But anything bad is always someone else’s fault.

    2. True Survivor

      And then you change the laws of Florida to ban most mentions of it and outlaw offshore wind turbines, so that you can pretend the problem isn’t happening and hope that without those remainders, the people will somehow be too distracted with all the social issues you’ve generated or blown out of proportion to remember how you screwed them and their children over for that sweet, sweet oil baron campaign money.

      1. Taffy

        Oil’s not even that cool, I don’t know why people piss so hard over it.

        1. superglucose

          ok to be fair it’s pretty cool. Liquidated reduced carbon! In long-chain alkanes that are easy to manipulate into a variety of useful objects! You can make pharmaceuticals, plastics, like, anything!

          … or you can light it on fire and poison the planet. I recommend *not* doing that one.

        2. Needfuldoer

          Yeah, but it tastes lousy.

          “Light, sweet crude”? Yeah, right.

        3. clif

          Yeah, but if you process it right you get this light compact reasonably safe store of easily available energy on demand. Yeah, there are terrible cumulative effects of burning it, but if you time it right, you get all of the advantages and your grandchildren are the ones who get to deal with the consequences.

        4. thejeff

          If you’re really good at it, you can use it to jumpstart a more sustainable economy.

          But here we are.

      2. Ophidiophile

        And now you know the real reason for all the trans hate. They can’t acknowledge the real source of their problems, so they have to find something/someone else to attack to feel like they are doing something that will make a difference.

        1. ktbear

          Oh it makes a difference alright. Not in a good way, which is their intention all along.

        2. Reltzik

          Eh, that’s like 40% of the reason at most. Political and economic conservatism isn’t CREATING the trans hate — that already existed, thanks to religious and social conservatism — so much as taking a pre-existing diversion and supercharging it. It’s that they NEED* to do something like that now, rather than just want to do it. But they’d be doing it either way.

          (… okay, they don’t actually NEED to do it, but when the alternative is losing and we’re talking about people that would rather merge the worst aspects of a two-year-old temper tantrum and a coup d’etat than lose, THEY think they need to do something like this and they act accordingly.)

        3. NGPZ

          That’s the Fascist Pattern in a nutshell — their goal is to harness class resentment, and redirect it towards a scapegoat.

          Fascism begins by stealing targets from the left: elites, corrupt businessmen and weak-willed politicians. They then subtly shift focus from leftist critique of systems to types of people. Sooner or later, they settle on something that can’t change: race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religious background, gender, sexual orientation.

          The bigotry is always localized to existing prejudices in the region. Fascist Italy under Mussolini targeted Slovenes, at least until they invaded Ethiopia and Libya, and so demonized their citizens as well. Nazi Germany targeted disabled people, queer people, Jews, Romas and Slavs. The KKK in the United States targets black people, Jews, Catholics, queer people and immigrants. Fascist Spain under Francisco Franco wanted to determine the exact racial makeup of the country so he could cast people out for having a wrong *combination* of ethnicities.

          As Reltzik pointed out, this is exactly why the Alt Right has gone all-in on transphobia. On some ironic level, reactionaries KNOW that trans people aren’t just cis people in disguise, desistance is rare and conversion “””therapy””” (TORTURE) doesn’t work. If reactionaries knew that trans people could just stop being trans, they would have never picked them as an enemy.

      3. Opus the Poet

        Florida’s shoreline is already vulnerable to sea level rise. I don’t know if Miami is like Charleston where some streets are flooded every king tide, but it won’t be much longer if they aren’t. And every big storm surge causes more destruction. America’s limp dick is in the process of becoming much smaller.

        1. NGPZ

          Florida and their leaders realizing the danger to them when it’s too late:

          *erection goes flaccid*

  4. Ty34er

    This is where Jennifer learns that she isn’t their friend. Asher is.

    1. MM

      Asher’s not their friend either. He’s an important contact. Why Raidah can’t just socialize with him on her own, who knows, though. (Maybe she knows he wouldn’t bother if not for Jennifer?)

      1. Doopyboop

        Yeah I think Asher’s aware enough that if left alone with Raidah, he’d pick up on the fact that she just wants power/money/influence/something and say ‘fuck that’. He seems like a surprisingly genuine guy.

        1. Archieve

          Just goes to show how bad at socializing long term Radiah actually is if the though of having to be nice to Asher and Ethan instead of Jennifer is too much for her. It’s the same issue she had with ignoring Lucy where she apparently thinks in the real world she’ll never have to worry about losing connections by being rude/dismissive to one’s spouse.

        2. Psi baka onna

          Is it not wanting to socialise with Ethan or being aware that if a breakup occurs, she’ll lose either an important mob contact (Asher) or an important political contact (Jenifer(‘s dad)) as those 2 probs won’t be too keen to hang out with their ex.

          She also might be taking it a smidge personally considering how things ended with Jacob…

        3. Archieve

          Even if one of them leaves the official group they shoukd still ne able to maintain social contact with both if tactfully about it

        4. bemisawa

          I kind of wonder how convincing Raidah can be when her being transparently manipulative and shallow *isn’t* serving the punchline. Because I don’t think she’d usually be this explicit, at least when charming new people – I think she’s more self-aware than that, albeit only as a fitness-increasing adaptation for her own private little social Darwinism. As I recall, she wasn’t too subtle when talking to Walky.

      2. Illjwamh

        Yeah, I get the feeling Jennifer’s the hook they have on him, which amounts to 75% of her value in their eyes.

      3. Wereg

        Jennifer has slightly important family, I think. Plus Raidah probably views her as easy to manipulate AND a minor blow against Sarah.

      4. Bryy

        Raidah literally only called Asher a friend because she stopped herself in time.

      5. Warcodered

        One possibility is that by being connected to Asher through Jennifer it gives a level of separation that’s useful. I mean his connection to his dad isn’t exactly a clean thing to be involved with.

    2. Thag Simmons

      It seems like Asher is only really tied to Raidah and co through Jennifer, so it is important for Raidah if she wants to leverage Asher’s contacts (bad idea) to keep that relationship stable.

      1. miz

        it does seem that way here, which is a little odd, because earlier on it was suggested that asher was part of their group BEFORE jen was: https://www.dumbingofage.com/pretended/

        1. Nono

          I think the implication is that Raidah would want to keep both those connections around, and a breakup is a pretty good reason for one of them to leave the group.

          Jennifer was the one who broke up with Asher, so Raidah wants Jennifer to ‘fix’ it.

        2. Mturtle7

          My read on this is that Asher and Jennifer both joined the friend group (or rather, “friend” group) independently, but Asher is both more important than Jennifer to Raidah, and less dependent on this particular group for affirmation.

          And Raidah thinks (perhaps rightly) that an unhappy breakup between Asher and Jennifer will cause Asher to ditch the whole group so he doesn’t have to be around his ex. Especially if he’s already hooking up with people outside the group!

          So I presume her options now are either to force Jennifer and Asher back together, or ditch Jennifer entirely and try to entice Asher back through other means. This is gonna go SO well!

    3. Rose by Any Other Name

      Ayup.

      I didn’t know it was possible to like Raidah less, but here we are. Just keep digging that hole deeper… eventually you’ll hit Mantle.

      1. Jeff K!

        I don’t know, at this point I think Reggie Mantle is *more likeable* than Raidah.

        1. Formedras

          Reggie has actual redeeming qualities, such as not bragging about (or even revealing) what little selflessness he has. Reggie’s still overall horrible, but Raidah has rather consistently made him look like a saint in comparison.

        2. Abdomino

          Who’s Reggie again?

        3. Creatrix Tiara

          Reggie Mantle is from the Archie comics (and related Archieverse), he’s a smug bully type.

        4. Mark

          Ah, thank you. I was thinking, “oh, great, another celebrity I never heard of, do I care enough to Google this one?” Now I remember him.

        5. brionl

          I was thinking at first, “Why does Jeff hate the baseball player”?
          But that’s Mickey Mantle, not Reggie.

        6. Van Jealous

          But Mickey was great at putting on all of those shows with Judy and the gang!….No…Wait….that was Mickey Rooney…

      2. Vanessa

        Unfortunately, I don’t think Jennifer is learning this important lesson. Who else is she going to hang around, certainly not Joyce or Walky or Lucy. She only likes people who diss her.

        1. spriteless aunty

          That’s how you know they’re important

      3. Archieve

        It’s weird how Radiah is almost acting like an evil version of Sarah here in that she apparently thinks social niceties like feigning concern and not being blunt line a hammer aren’t important.

        1. Archieve

          *Like

    4. bemisawa

      Yeah. Except this doesn’t sound like he’s really their *friend*, per se. Raidah was going to say something else, and given Asher’s family, I’m pretty sure it’s *nothing* good. Is Raidah aiming to be a lawyer for the Korean mafia, then? Is that even public knowledge that Asher’s family is at the heart of it?

      1. bemisawa

        Although, Jennifer IS still a connection to the Billingsworths. So I think Raidah probably still sees her as a valuable ally to use as well.

        1. Vanessa

          I wonder how much Raidah actually knows about Asher, just that he’s cute and his family is rich and powerful. I don’t know if she is already straight up corrupt enough to court mob influences?

        2. Sajuuk-Khar

          No, she knows, Sal straight up told the whole Raidah Gang.

        3. spriteless aunty

          I get the vibes off her that she’s manipulative not because she’s found it works, but because she’s heard it does? She’s the type who thinks “I’ll learn the black arts because everything forbidden must be more powerful!” not to use the best tool for the job. At least she strikes me that way.

      2. Sajuuk-Khar

        Raidah is aiming to get Asher to kill people she doesn’t like, namely Joyce and Sarah.

        1. Sajuuk-Khar

          She’s doing 5D chess to accomplish a completely 1D goal. She has no depth; she really is that petty and unpleasant.

        2. Bryy

          1) I highly, highly doubt Raidah wants to get Asher to kill people. That seems way too outlandish for her. See #2.
          2) Raidah does indeed think she is playing 5D Chess for goals that are entirely 1D. She wants to destroy Joyce and Sarah but she is coming at it from the angle that they are as “popular” as she is. She wants power but really is just an asshole.

      3. staszu13

        It’s known to Walky, Sal probably Jennifer (who all knew him back in Evansville), Amber through Walky, possibly though not probably Dina, Becky (through Amber) maybe Joyce and Dorothy. While I am certain his grandfather is all over Indiana media as an “alleged organized crime figure” I am reasonably sure Asher has largely escaped notice to most people

    5. Nono

      Jennifer can learn?

      1. Needfuldoer

        The hard way, maybe.

    6. Michael Steamweed

      Hopefully she learns. Hopefully she acts accordingly.

  5. DarkoNeko

    Well THAT was fast.

  6. Animedingo

    What it looks like when you just use people

    1. pope suburban

      Seriously, Raidah is categorically repulsive. The other kids might have their share of flaws and problems, but at the end of the day they’re friends because they value each other as people. They care, even if they’re dumb at showing it. Raidah, on the other hand, makes the Grinch look like a cuddly delight. Just…ew.

      1. Lumino

        Raidah vs Mary. GO!

        1. Nono

          Raidah hasn’t slung out transphobic hate speech.

          Raidah still wins, for now.

        2. Regret

          Disagree. Raidah is building a power base, in the long run that will do much more harm than anything Mary will do in her entire terrible life.

        3. Decidedly Orthogonal

          “Say what you will about the tenets of National Socialism, at least it’s an ethos.” Raidah cares about nothing but herself. Mary’s steeped in the same misguided shit as Toedad, and enjoys it maliciously, but at least seemingly thinks she’s ethical.

        4. Decidedly Orthogonal

          In short, I agree and was just adding support.

        5. Bryy

          No, you’re not thinking big enough.

          Raidah vs. DINA.

          Raidah thinks she can get away with saying shit like “

        6. eh, whatever

          …but I guess you can’t? 🙂

        7. Bryy

          Curse copy-and-apse and thinking you didn’t actually post.

        8. yak

          Hard to say, but if they both live their lives pretty much how they are currently (Raidah politically powerful and constantly fucking with peoples’ lives, Mary a bitter, isolated transphobe) then Raidah is worse.

    2. True Survivor

      I have a question: I looked back at some of the first strips Raidah was in, and while she was bitter and cruel towards Sarah and demeaning to Dina, she does not seem to be purely transactional in her friendships, though she always been a somewhat skilled manipulator.
      In the flashback, where Sarah talks about what happened between her and Dana, she states that only she saw how bad Dana’s mental state got because Dana put on a brave face in front of Raidah and the others – suggesting that Raidah dislikes Sarah because she thinks her actions where purely selfish rather than at least partially for Dana’s benefit. Raidah’s facial expressions also seem to denote real empathy driven hurt at the thought of Dana being taken out of school.
      So did the loss of Dana change Raidah for the worse, or was she always cynically transactional in her relationships and her manipulative behavior simply concealed that fact? I can’t recall Dana having anything current Raidah would value.

      1. Vanessa

        Probably rich parents. Dana’s parent had money to put her in rehab I think, that is incredibly expensive and it’s difficult to get a spot.

        1. thejeff

          Don’t think there’s any evidence of Dana being in rehab.
          Her dad pulled her out of school and Raidah later comments that Dana wasn’t happy about it. I think that’s all we know.

      2. sultryglebe

        Good questions. I would not rule out that Raidah might play off her irritation with Sarah as righteous indignation. Dana would almost certainly be more connected than Sarah, and Raidah has definitely made herself look like a nicer person when she wants to.

      3. Bysmerian

        I agree with you. I feel like Raidah went through some character development in her freshman year. It just wasn’t positive development. I don’t know if I could call her “nice” but she seemed more capable of seeming uncertain and her concerns for Dana seemed more personal and genuine. The woman we see now has reshaped herself into a proto-attorney: confident, tactical, and directing conversation to make the rhetorical blows she came onto the scene already planning to throw.

      4. thejeff

        She’s definitely seemed more openly transactional now, but some of that might just be that we’ve seen more of her.
        And that whole friend group was openly formed around connections – multiple kids with fathers who run law firms.

        1. Bysmerian

          You’re absolutely correct that the friend group was always kind of about connections. But she’s capable of seeming nervous and awkward around Sarah’s standoffishness as a freshman, and seems upset and distraught when Dana is taken away. I genuinely feel like she’s hardened in the interim, going from maybe a first among equals in the flashbacks to the alpha bongo of her clique.

  7. Blibdoolpoolp

    I really hope at the bottom of my heart Radiah is utterly unemployable by the end of DoA, just by the sheer number of bridges she tries to build under selfish pretense.

    1. Reltzik

      I, for one, wish that she remains completely employable as a sewer technician.

    2. Coatl

      It would be the most splendorous, glorious and satisfying justice of all.

    3. Yarrr

      I imagine she’ll be president then

      1. Mark

        Those who can, do. Those who cannot, enter Congress and get in the way of the doers.

    4. Cybersnark

      I hope that Raidah ends up unemployable by everyone except Galasso.

      She deserves to spend her future slinging pizza (and subs).

  8. Doopyboop

    Wow I gave Raidah a LOT more credit than I should have. Wow. But maybe this’ll finally help Jennifer realize that her new friends don’t give a damn about her.

    1. Bryy

      It’s been building for a while.

    2. Warcodered

      Yeah this is actually pretty dark unless she just doesn’t know where Asher’s power/wealth comes from. Wanting to maintain a connection to him for his connections when said connections at one point had him call in a hit on Amber’s dad would put her in a different category from just being an image obsessed greedy college girl.

  9. Kyrik Michalowski

    Hey Raidah, have you ever considered “go fuck yourself?”

    If you haven’t considered it, I can think of a list of people who can explain the concept.

    1. Reltzik

      Starting with Other-Jacob.

  10. furubatsu

    I don’t know what I expected from either of them and I’m still disappointed.

    1. Archieve

      I expected nothing from Radiah and am still disappointed.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        I’m disappointed to see raidah anywhere; she should get eaten by an allosaurus.

  11. Blume

    It’s weird. Jennifer has a wealthy family, doesn’t she? Does Raidah not care for keeping her around as much as she does Asher?

    1. Shakes

      Maybe mob connections are more important as a future lawyer than Billingsworth money.

      1. Coatl

        Well she said “important…friend”
        That shows many things.

        1. Dr. Sharks

          Any bets on what the second word was going to be before she reconsidered? My guess would be “asset”.

        2. superglucose

          “person” is my guess

        3. Bryy

          Nah, totally “asset”. She views Asher and Jennifer as a package.

        4. Adept

          Asset, definitely.

    2. Cass

      Unlike Jennifer Raidah hasn’t isolated Asher from everyone who cares about him yet. She assumes she can let her attitude slip around Jennifer a little because she knows how much Jennifer wants to feel like she’s part of an in crowd and will put up with more than she might think she’d be willing to to not feel like a friendless loser. But if Asher breaks up with Jennifer than he’s just gone.

      1. eskimolos

        Jennifer also speaks in transaction sometimes, and gets the idea of building connections to facilitate future job opportunities. I’m not sure how much she’s being used specifically for access to Asher, and I don’t think she is either, but Raidah probably knows her parents barely acknowledge her existence and therefore even if they have social power, it may not be particularly accessible given Jennifer doesn’t get nuch access as their own daughter.

    3. Mturtle7

      Jennnifer’s also really annoying to Raidah, because she’s a total nerd who talks about dumb stuff like Kit Fisto. Raidah is very invested in never ever learning who Kit Fisto is. Asher’s dorkiness, on the other hand, is far enough below the surface that Jennifer didn’t notice it for months, so I’m guessing he’s a lot easier for Raidah to convincingly tolerate.

  12. quark

    i will be shocked if its RAIDAH who gets jennifer to stop being such a ding dong

    1. bemisawa

      I mean, meeting THE DEVIL HERSELF* is not the *most* unlikely come-to-Jesus moment (if you’ll permits the turn of phrase).

      *Fixed it for you.

      1. bemisawa

        (But yes, that’s a pretty damn surprising twist. I wasn’t even thinking in that direction, but I do like your interpretation as that.)

    2. Coatl

      It would be a double-edged sword if that were to happen.

    3. Mturtle7

      Honestly, I LOVE the whole trope of “competent villain is so frustrated with hero’s incompetence that they put everything else aside just to force the hero to get their shit together”. Well, not that Jennifer is a hero per se, or that Raidah is a 100% one-note villain…but still, I can see that kind of dynamic happening, maybe, and I think I’d like it.

  13. Illjwamh

    Jesus, what a terrible person. I mean, I already knew that, but goddamn.

  14. RassilonTDavros

    Wonder how long it’ll take for the penny to drop in her head.

  15. Bobcat

    BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

    1. Reltzik

      dammitbeatmetoit

    2. Mark

      Looks like it’s pretty cold indoors, too.

      In other news, Raidah is wearing a hat.

      1. spriteless aunty

        Ah she must have gotten it in the new Stardew update

        1. clif

          Typical bait and switch.

        2. brionl

          Hey, Sun Haven just added a bunch of new hats too.

          Oh, and a whole new town.

          But NEW HATS!!1!!

  16. HueSatLight

    Guess Raidah’s going to be boring.

    1. Coatl

      heh, way of her to show her empathy with Asher by calling him “important….friend”

      Is it my idea, or does it seem that Jennifer’s expression in the last panel is one of submission to Raidah.

      1. Vanessa

        Probably, she’s always worked hard to be one of the mean girls. Usually the head mean girl isn’t much nicer to her own group. Cheerleaders in particular can be vicious. This behavior of Raidah’s might just cement her head bongo status in Jennifer’s eyes.

    2. Bash

      I keep wanting her to have some complexity but I guess she’s not that kind of character.

    3. HueSatLight

      To me, the most interesting part of today’s strip is the “fusion” food station. Tomorrow’s strip had a preview panel, and my guess was it was in a food court (correct) and the visible “fu” was for “fugu” (incorrect).

      i could make up something about Raidah collecting hot guys vicariously, but it’s not worth the effort, I don’t give a fuck what her particular motivations are right now, she’s a flat character.

      1. Username Taken

        IMHO, most of the antagonists in DoA are kind of flat, at least compared to the protagonists, and I think it’s intentional. Ryan, Blaine, Ross, Carol, Mary, Raidah, none of them are especially deep, but they serve as catalysts for the main cast to grow. That’s where Willis’s real character development magic happens.

        1. HueSatLight

          Raidah had more depth. In the first 10 books even, which were more cartoonish.

          Raidah doesn’t have to be good to be interesting. She went through something similar to what she perceives is happening to Jennifer. Through panel 3, it seems like that could play a part of today’s strip. But nope, boring hate sink. And we end up with “rAiDaH iS lIkE tOeDaD eViL” commentary. It undermines the message elsewhere in the comic, that people can change for the better, even if not everyone does. Instead, “evil” is just her character trait. A boring antagonist and a comment section full of tedium, people patting themselves on the back for thinking Raidah is inherently evil.

  17. IntangibleMatter

    Jennifer, as unbothered as ever, may kill someone over this

    probably not

    hopefully

  18. Emperor Norton II

    Aaaand there we have Raidah, not there to make friends, but connections, and who will gladly attack you as a person if you can’t be of benefit to her. It’s why she will gladly attack a very moral person like Dorothy, yet say nothing bad about amoral people with actual influence.

    1. Archieve

      She’s a baby lapdog to the elite, enough awareness to know who she wants to surround herself with to look good, not enough social awareness to know that biting at everyone else isn’t going to endure her to the people she wants around.

      1. Holly

        She’s also not mature enough to realise that the people who look like they might be the ‘elite’ in college, and who actuall will be, won’t have all that much overlap by the time everyon’s middle-aged and it matters.

  19. Drain

    Had Jen’s exact haircut and the shirt she’s wearing here my freshman year what a time to be alive

  20. Taffy

    Lol as of it’s Billie’s job to hold onto Raidah’s connections for her. Do it yourself, lazy-ass ?

    1. Taffy

      As IF.

    2. pope suburban

      I mean I suppose Jennifer is better for the job, on account of she’s not some cold-ass unlikeable snob, but still. Your point stands. Raidah can take a long walk off a short pier.

      1. Taffy

        That’s incredibly disrespectful to the people who have to clean up her body.

      2. Needfuldoer

        At least she’d finally be a good chum.

    3. NGPZ

      some dem earthlings seem to have an… *unconventional* idea of what “friend” means (._.)

    4. DailyBrad

      He probably doesn’t want to fuck her.

  21. cmd1095

    Man Raidah is incapable of even the slightest bit of human decency huh? Can’t even tell someone their boyfriend is cheating on them unless she needs that person for her own ends. Doesn’t tell them to break up with the cheater either, just to seduce her tool again so she can keep him around.

    1. Taffy

      The imagined cheating that’s not happening, even.

      1. Bryy

        Yeah, and the fact that Raidah doesn’t care speaks volumes. I’m willing to be there’s also homophobia there.

    2. Dr. Sharks

      I’m hesitant to call it “cheating”. Asher told Jennifer the first time Ethan kissed him, and her response was literally, “kiss a billion dudes, I don’t care.” As far as Asher is concerned, he did his due diligence with his girlfriend and got her approval before proceeding here.

      The fact that Raidah doesn’t know that is one can of worms, and the fact that Jennifer was being obtusely flippant is another, but I don’t think either of those cans belong in Asher’s tacklebox.

      1. Vanessa

        I don’t think Raidah cares, she just wants the dude in her clan.

    3. anon

      at this point i assume raidah likes asher more than jen so i’m surprised she wouldn’t be like “actually ethan might be good for him, but *you* can’t hang out with us anymore”

      1. MM

        Ethan can’t be good for Asher: he’s a loner of no particular family who talks about juvenile sci-fi franchises even more than Walky.

        Actually, if Raidah were smart, she’d be trying to hook Asher up with Walky.

        1. anon

          sure but i doubt raidah knows too much about ethan

          that said, while it’d be awkward/’openly cheating’ prolly doesn’t look good for a reputation , i’d assume there’d still be ppl that could hang out after being exes and such, even if they individually have ‘power’ or whatever/influence and all that bc of their families, they don’t need to be /stay a couple for raidah to have them benefit her (if not her seeing jen as a tool to manipulate asher if he somehow disagrees with something she wants later down the line)

  22. Sirksome

    Isn’t Jennifer also rich and connected? Raidah might lose both her connections trying to hang on to one.

    1. DailyBrad

      She probably thinks Jennifer’s too stupid to walk away from her. I do suspect that arrogance is going to be her undoing here.

      1. Archieve

        From her interest in Lindas connection to the Dean i wonder if Radiah is trying to use her connections for something soon(before graduation) and that’s the other reason Jennifer is being treated like the unfavorite, her parents ignore her to the point where Radiah cant use their infuence through Jennifer. through

  23. Muttski

    Ahh, Raida as unpleasant as ever.

  24. Sajuuk-Khar

    “GOD, Jennifer, of course Asher’s more important, he’s going to torture murder Sarah and Joyce for me once my elaborate scheme comes to fruition! YOU’RE just rich with good titties!”

    1. Taffy

      I can’t imagine even Raidah saying something that incredibly rude.

      Jennifer has phenomenal titties.

      1. Newlland(Henryvolt)

        God now I want to see a fight break out between these two over these exact lines.

  25. tenkiforecast

    So…
    Why exactly does Raidah consider Asher a “strategically valuable asset?” What, the mob connections? Or is it because he appears hot and she’s someone who only looks at people with a “they matter only in how they benefit me” lens?

    Which, sadly, makes her a better politician than Dorothy. Dorothy’s far too moral/actually has principles to be in politics. Raidah cares only about ladder climbing and benefitting herself, which puts her right in the camp of effective altruists, so…how long until we find out she’s in jail due to massive corporate fraud while being in an extremely abusive polycule?

    1. Sajuuk-Khar

      She thinks Asher being mob connected means he can kill people for her.

      1. Bryy

        We have no confirmation for that at all.

  26. Cmasta1992

    Yeah I guess it has been a while since the plot dumped on Jennifer. Let’s just do this

  27. Suet

    I did! I did! I really did see Asher kissing Daddy Claus

    You gotta believe me! You just gotta believe me!

    1. True Survivor

      This is third Christmas themed comment I’ve seen on the board so far today, but it is the middle of May. What the heck is going on?

    2. Durandal_1707

      I was _just_ about to post this. Beat me to it by a minute 😛

    3. Mark

      For some reason I’m hearing this in Tweety Pie’s voice.

  28. Shakes

    Is there any significance to the yellow scrunchie Jennifer always wears? She doesn’t need to keep it for her hair anymore.

    1. True Survivor

      If it keeps showing up, I am sure it does. However, I can’t recall what that might be. That is good catch. You have an eye for detail.

      1. DinaJoyce

        I just looked through the Jennifer tags. I’m too lazy to link right now, but pretty much anytime recently we can see her right hand and she’s wearing shorts sleeves, it’s there.

        1. Shakes

          It’s been there since the timeskip.
          I don’t think it’s anything huge but it does seem something more than practical reasons.

    2. DailyBrad

      Huh, good question. I could see it being something sentimental for her, or related to her sobriety, like when someone snaps a rubber band on themselves to try to fight an urge.

      1. Vanessa

        It might be habit but you can totally put up hair that short. Just not all of it.

    3. Bash

      It might be from her cheerleader days.

      1. Sajuuk-Khar

        If I recall correctly it’s both from her cheerleader days and kind of a memento of her relationship with Ruth.

    4. anon

      well her hair’s too short to rly use it but ia ssume it’s just a fashion accessory that’s not metallic? (i think willis mentioned in a tumblr ask that he had a fear of jewelry? so a lot of the charas don’t have ‘accessories’ that’s not like a wristwatch, i’m not even sure if i remember becky or joyce wearing crosses even in flashbacks)

  29. John Campbell

    Seriously, Billie, just punch her in the face already.

    1. Coatl

      It will be very difficult to see, given that Jennifer feels “grateful” to Raidah.
      However, I have come to wish that that would happen, but not only Jennifer, but also Ruth and Sarah cooperating, if you have seen The Boys you will know what I mean.

  30. Taigan

    “If I want him back, he can come back” is possibly the most Billie line ever said. Really shows the Escher shape that is her brain.

    1. DailyBrad

      It’s a snotty way to put it, but I mean, that’s how breakups work, isn’t it?

  31. PedanticJerkass

    I really hope that’s Raidah’s final appearance is this particular storyline (or, like, any other storyline, for that matter).

  32. Lightweight Baybee

    Raidah is really sending another person into the storyline spiral huh
    She got that anime antag void aura fr

  33. Ray Radlein

    Way to come in well under everyone’s lowest expectations from yesterday, there, Raidah

  34. tim gueguen

    This brings up the obvious question if Raidah actually cared about Dana, or if she’s mad at Sarah because Sarah cost her an asset.

    1. Freemage

      Was that ever a question?

      Raidah has two motives–spite and status. The fastest way to have her view you through the first lens is to interfere with her schemes on the second one.

      Funny thing is, she’s not even that good at either one.

      Consider her interaction with Dorothy. She clearly wanted to snipe at someone she viewed as part of Joyce’s support network. But she did so in a way that actually resulted in Dorothy sticking around, thereby ensuring that she would CONTINUE to support Joyce, even as she got derailed herself.

      What she SHOULD have done, if she were a remotely competent schemer, would’ve been to follow up, “You want to be President? Ambitious. Hey, I know someone you should meet; sadly, even good people need campaign funds, right?”

      It would have achieved one or both of two things: Driven a wedge between Dotty and Joyce as soon as the inevitable, “Raidah’s been giving me good advice; I don’t think she’s as evil as you and Sarah believe,” conversation happens, AND it would’ve sped Dorothy’s departure to Yale, leaving Joyce with one less ally.

      Similar issue here. Sure, she wants to maintain Asher’s presence in the group, but Billie is both financially well off AND popular among her dorm peers. She could easily have used this as an opportunity to express her emotional support for Billie, even while maneuvering to try to bring Asher back in in some fashion.

      1. Vanessa

        Yes, she’s too emotional and spiteful to be strategic. She’s just constantly lashing out at people.

      2. Bruno

        Wait, does Raidah not like Joyce?

        1. Schpoonman

          Not after Joyce pretended to be Jacob’s girlfriend.

        2. Bryy

          Raidah’s entire vendetta against Joyce is due to an entirely imagined version of her.

        3. thejeff

          I mean, it’s due to Joyce hitting on her boyfriend leading him to break up with her. She’s missing some of the details, but it’s not entirely imagined.
          Or undeserved.

          Even more so since Joyce started and was supported in that attempt by Sarah who had it aimed directly at hurting Raidah by taking Jacob from him.

        4. Bryy

          ….. um did you just say Raiah’s hate is undeserved?

        5. Bryy

          I meant “not undeserved”. Sorry.

        6. thejeff

          It’s over the top, but it’s completely legitimate to be pissed about someone setting out to break you and your boyfriend up.

      3. dalniente

        Yeah that’s the part I enjoy about Raidah as a character. She’s a manipulative social climber, but she doesn’t actually seem to be very good at it? She’s too obvious about her goals, and seems to think “being close friends who do brunch with our little cult of personality” is the way to build her network, when I kinda think that’s more likely to result in burned bridges than just… I dunno, “being friendly and occasionally getting coffee together and catching up” would be.

        I think she’s awful, but I’m very much enjoying seeing what she does.

    2. Chubseus

      I’ve been wondering the same thing, and I can’t make up my mind. On the one hand, we know the old friend group with Dana had 3-4 kids whose parents ran law firms. On the other hand, I find it hard to believe that Sarah wouldn’t have seen through this kind of bs right from the get-go. And it seems a little weird that Raidah would go through this long-term bullying/revenge arc if she didn’t care all about Dana’s friendship. One reason I think it’s hard to tell is that Raidah isn’t that good/clever at scheming and being bad. She’s tried to sway Jennifer and Walky to her side, possibly the acquaintances that Sarah and Joyce care about the least, respectively.

      Now I kind of want Jennifer to meet Char and Chan (who have mysteriously disappeared from the friend group).

      1. Mark

        Another, earlier thread leads me to think that Raidah does have real friends, but also pretend friends for selfish uses. And you can never be sure which you are.

    3. bemisawa

      Good point! In which case, was Raidah even knowingly trying to keep Dana in school, no matter the psychological cost to Dana, in order to keep control of that asset?

      Like… this might be overly vilifying her, since I don’t think this is usually how humans consciously operate, but from Raidah’s perspective, either Dana would’ve made it through unrevealed, and her asset status would’ve been achieved, or if it had come out in some way how badly she was doing (e.g. if Dana had overdosed or otherwise gotten hurt), Raidah could’ve played the caring-friend-to-your-daughter-who-just-didn’t-*know* card, and still leveraged that relationship, no matter the cost to Dana. That’d be extremely fucked up, more callous than I thought Raidah would actually be, and obviously extremely Machiavellian, but maybe that’s softened a bit if she didn’t actually think Dana could be helped for some reason – like, if she saw or experienced something to see things this way. To be fair, I guess I wouldn’t expect that most people who would seek out becoming a mob lawyer do so because they believe they can personally make a positive difference in the world…

      …Conversely, did Sarah ACTUALLY reach out for help for Dana to protect her own grades, or was that just her excuse so she could still pretend not to care? Did that fundamentally come from a place of caring about Dana? Was Dana Sarah’s first Joyce?

      1. Mark

        Re: Sarah — why not both?

      2. MM

        I think Raidah just genuinely has no perspective on how bad things were. It wouldn’t surprise me if Dana comes back at some point and thanks Sarah for the “tough love,” and Raidah either short-circuits or tries to pretend everything’s cool with Sarah now.

  35. Samniel

    I HOPE that’s the start of Jennifer realizing just how transactional her new “friendships” are. I thought that she’d already figured it out, but she wouldn’t have been such a bongo to Asher if she did.

    1. Archieve

      I think she knew to a degree but still expected some surface level compassion. The last few strips with Jennifer has been her socializing with different members of her old friend group so she might already be seeking out her old group on some level again.

  36. Dara

    RAIDAH why do you have to be so awful

  37. bemisawa

    I remember someone here suggested a while back that Raidah might be angling to be a mob lawyer. Reading this page, I really think they might be correct. (Because otherwise, why wouldn’t Jennifer’s wealthy family be just as valuable as a connection? Unless I’m misreading this, and Raidah DOES value Jennifer as a connection, and she’s just being awful to her because Raidah is just like that (which to be fair, she almost certainly is), and Raidah just wants BOTH connections.) Does Raidah know about Asher’s family?

    1. Sirksome

      I don’t know what Raidah’s end goal is but I think it’s simple math that two connections are better than one, thus Jennifer and Asher were kind of a nice package deal by dating and being in the group. There some irony though in that if Raidah actually thought of either of them as real friends and not connections their breakup wouldn’t matter.

      1. Archieve

        I guess she’s worried that if Asher views Jennifer as an ex he will avoid the group because of her, that and/or she hates the thought of having to pretend to be nice to Ethan.

        1. dalniente

          That’s my guess as well. So much easier if Asher and Jennifer are together, then Raidah doesn’t have to expend effort maintaining distinct friendships individually.

        2. Archieve

          She should think of it as real life practice but I don’t think she’s considered that after graduation she might not be able to dictate the personal lives of everyone in her social circle.

        3. Throwatron

          if she can’t dictate the personal lives of everyone in her social circle, then they’ve directly and deliberately betrayed her, and they will be removed from her social circle.

          you know. for being “toxic.”

      2. Throwatron

        The one crucial detail you are missing, is that Jennifer has a world-view that is much closer to Raidah’s, than Asher ever will. She wants Asher in her circle, but she doesn’t trust him to live up to the circle, and doesn’t respect Asher as a potential equal in drive. That’s why she’s relying on Jennifer, to keep Asher in control; Raidah isn’t worth committing her valuable Romantic Partner Slot to a guy like Asher, who she doesn’t respect intellectually or socially; but, it’s worth spending Jennifer’s Romantic Partner Slot, as unlike Raidah, Jennifer is not “too good” for someone like Asher.

        Jennifer’s ultimate value to Raidah, at this point, is as a surrogate manipulator for Asher. Because, Raidah knows that Jennifer wants her approval, while Asher would be ambivalent to seeking it; but, Asher wants Jennifer’s approval, so Jennifer is actually the easy vector to control Asher, and retain that social connection, at minimal cost to Raidah.

        If Jennifer can’t control Asher? Now, Raidah’s gotta go to the trouble, of finding a new girlfriend, who is desirable enough to Asher that she can more easily control him, but also is reliant on Raidah’s approval, and subject to her dominance. Otherwise, Raidah loses, and Raidah can’t advance her goals as easily, if she just allows herself to lose useful assets.

    2. Bruno

      Gotta love how Raidah’s plan relies on a casual sex thing between two of the flightiest and least emotionally stable people on campus being permanent.

      1. bemisawa

        As the poet said: what could possibly go wrong?

        (The poet is Bubsy.)

    3. Needfuldoer

      I think Raidah valued Jennifer more as an easily swayed person to poach from Joyce and Sarah’s social circle than anything else about her specifically.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/realestate/

    4. Amelie Wikström

      My theory has been that Raidah “will” be a mob lawyer, but not that she’s especially trying to, it’s just going to happen if she keeps hanging with Asher.. She might not even know when she becomes one In her mind it’s just good and moral to cover up some crimes and cook some books for your friends who do important and profitable business, since because they’re her friends they are right and their opponents are wrong.

  38. JA

    I’m still not sure I understand Raidah’s game. Why does she organize her “friend” circle like she does and dictate to them like we see here, to say nothing of how she basically moderated lunch.

    1. shrub

      She’s Dorothy after one bad day

      1. Taffy

        Dorothy’s had several “one bad days”, and she’s just temporarily burnt out and frustrated.

        1. Amós Batista

          How long for world finally to break a human being?

        2. HueSatLight

          So it was exactly one bad day.

      2. superglucose

        er. No? She’s a controlling asshole who makes everything about her?

        1. Taffy

          Yeah, like Walky.

        2. bemisawa

          Wait, Walky is a controlling asshole?

        3. Taffy

          He is since I typed his name instead of someone else’s.

        4. Adept

          Weird behaviour. Why not debate in good faith? Did your sarcasm font fail to load?

        5. Taffy

          Who in the world told you I was debating at all?

        6. PedanticJerkass

          “It was just a joke, bruh.”

        7. Taffy

          What you said exactly, but without the inferred sarcasm. I respect the other readers’ intelligence enough to assume they know what Walky is like, and that it’s not what anyone would seriously call “controlling”.

        8. DalNiente

          What I don’t understand is how they apparently thought “Walky is a controlling asshole?” was someone either being stupid or passive-aggressively calling them stupid (?) rather than just…someone seeking clarification. Or asking to hear more about an unexpected point of view. There was nothing aside from context to indicate joking or sarcasm; those of us who don’t intuitively pick up on context would absolutely take that seriously, especially considering how many readers don’t like Walky.

          Maybe I woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, but it reminds me of the people who will just…say wrong things in a totally normal tone of voice, then claim sarcasm and mock me when I take them seriously. It’s unkind. Unfortunately, there’s not much my autistic ass can do about it except assume everyone is being facetious if I don’t immediately 100% understand them, and frankly I’d rather be mocked. Ah well.

        9. Taffy

          I even clarified that I picked a name basically at random, above. This is getting silly now.

        10. dalniente

          Ah. Of course I can’t speak for anyone else, but as someone who can’t intuit context, that didn’t read as a clarification to me; it read as either pissy trolling or saying you had somehow typed Walky’s name by mistake. Both of which seemed…odd, but, again, there really was nothing to actually indicate a joke in the first message. And this is a comment forum on the internet, so I’m afraid “pissy trolling” was my assumption until basically this moment, since the alternative seemed way less likely. It’s good to know that wasn’t intended to be the case.

          You’re free to think me silly. It happens. But sometimes stuff we genuinely think is super obvious simply won’t be obvious to at all to the next guy. Some folks take people seriously unless there is a tangible reason not to. Others think that’s a reflection on those folks’ intelligence. Such is life, big shrug. Unfortunately, if someone hasn’t picked up on a joke in the first place, trying to explain it with a snappy comeback in a medium without tone isn’t always going to be as obvious an explanation as one might intend.

          Anyway, I’m off to bed. I appreciate the additional clarification and I’m sorry your joke doesn’t appear to have landed as you hoped. Maybe next time.

      3. Needfuldoer

        She’s Dorothy’s Wario.

        1. Throwatron

          you shouldn’t have said this.

          you’re 110% correct! you simply shouldn’t have externalized it! now we all have to live with this knowledge!

      4. Da Boy

        Naah, Dotty after one bad day would become a control-obsessed Supervillain who’d take over the world and organize everyone’s lives so they could live happily.

    2. Throwatron

      Because she wants every valuable connection she can get, and zero liabilities. No weakness, no liabilities, no willingness to stand up to Raidah. Otherwise, she cannot predict your actions, and thus, she cannot adequately control you, such that she can trust you won’t do something that could negatively impact her social climbing.

      And, since this is her entire value set, she will always feel like this is the “right” way to act, and will always lord it over everyone around her, how much more value she is adding to their lives than they are adding to hers, as soon as they do anything wrong.

      Perfect 24/7 adherence to a life that best furthers Raidah’s future goals, is the cost of accessing Raidah’s social circle. Which, most of us know, is just a malignant narcissism. But, Raidah probably rationalizes it as “if you want to be the best, you need perfectly-driven people around you, because iron sharpens iron.” She has no time for anybody with any goals besides maximum social climbing, for maximum future earnings.

  39. Adam Black

    Sounds like Raidahs working for Ethans Mom.

    ( or Ashers gf to turn him straight? )

  40. BBCC

    Goddammit, Raidah, you couldn’t give people one more night to place their bets?

    Spoilsport, no cake for you.

  41. Zamperla

    Lmao girl.

  42. superglucose

    Ha! I see Jennifer is about to find out who her friends were *all along*

    1. Throwatron

      I mean, technically, Jennifer has no friends. Billie has a lot of friends, Jennifer abandoned all of Billie’s friends. The friendship credits do not transfer to Jennifer.

  43. Newlland(Henryvolt)

    Some of that is the right thing to say to her but the person telling her this is saying it for the wrong reasons.

    1. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      Like clearly it’s less about friendship and more about keeping a vital connection.

  44. Sol

    Man here I was thinking maybe Raidah was gonna be like “hey I think Asher is cheating on you” but no she’s telling Jennillie that she’s fucking up.

    Raidah you are the worst.

  45. DashWallkick

    Ironically I think this might actually be good for Jennifer — rather than creating a drama implosion, Raidah simply doesn’t want to screw up the friendship circle and tells her to knock it off. Billie does not get what she secretly wants, which is chaos.

  46. Bash

    Damn Jennifer looks great here.

  47. Steelbright

    When the inevitable Jennifer/Raidah blowup happens, it’s gonna be AMAZING

    1. spriteless aunty

      IDK, I can’t imagine Raidah throwing a punch, just suing the pants off the one who punches her.

      1. thejeff

        She didn’t sue Sarah, though she made vague threats about it.

        She also stopped the random harassment after getting hit once.

  48. JessWitt

    With friends like these, Jennifer…

  49. Rikunda

    Jennifer isn’t the one Raidah wants in the group. Just the one she can manipulate to bring the one she wants.

    1. DashWallkick

      We did already see this with Walky, after all. He has connections she wants to know about.

      1. Throwatron

        Also, notice how Raidah hasn’t really even considered interacting with Walky, again.

        Because, the first time they all hung out, she saw that Walky, like Asher, was naturally resilient to manipulation, from both her, and especially Jennifer.

        Raidah wants his connections, but she can’t use him as a primary acquaintance, because she can’t control him easily, and because he isn’t driven to the same behavior that Raidah is driven to, which makes him both weak, and a liability.

  50. Adriynn

    The valuable connection contest between Jennifer and Asher was never going to go Jennifer’s way.

    Jennifer is “moderately wealthy, but not in a way that gets her into the top 3 for this college even” valuable.

    Asher is “have people that threaten him killed in the middle of a hospital while under police custody. BY the police.” valuable.

  51. Francoinblanco

    She is pro in the sims, she needs only 2 more friends to get promotion and she dont need some screwed event to this

  52. Florence

    Somehow Raidah keeps being the worst(who also isn’t an outright bigot or child abuser or you know what I mean)

    Every time she shows up I think she’s gonna be nice but then she just does more social controlling stuff and I’m irritated again

    1. Bryy

      I keep thinking that Raidah is just an asshole and not actually a Bad Guy, but this strip is making me waver in that conviction.

      1. Holly

        I’ve always found her to be the worst kind of Bad Guy, the one smart enough not to get definitively caught out and thus always have people around defending her and letting her get away with her BS consequence-free.

        Look out for people like Raidah and steer clear.

        1. DashWallkick

          The rest of the cast is more self-destructive, Raidah is more self-involved. She’s sneaky in a way someone like Billie is more sympathetic.

    2. Mark

      That is the magic that is Raidah: you think she’s going to be nice this time, until you find out that, once again, she wasn’t.

  53. Amelie Wikström

    Maybe Asher and Jennifer are BOTH important, um, friends, and they can’t split up because it would be inconvenient for Raidah to stay “friends” with both of them in that case. Otherwise I don’t know why she’d bother giving relationship instructions, she could obviously not care less about Jennifer’s feelings or anything.

    1. Throwatron

      You’re one of the only ones in this comment section who actually gets it. Either both of them are a package deal, or one wins out – and, since Raidah sees Jennifer as the leader in that relationship, she sees it as Jennifer’s responsibility to keep her other (lesser) half, in line with what Raidah wants.

      Both of them are valuable to Raidah, so she wants them to be a package deal. But, she only sees Asher, as Jennifer’s narcissistic accessory – his family connection is useful to her, but she does not find him trustworthy or respectable. She can’t work with Asher, cause she doesn’t know how to manipulate someone like him, and she doesn’t respect him as her equal, because he isn’t as status-obsessed and success-obsessed, as her and Jennifer and the rest of her friends are. Since Raidah can’t easily manipulate him, it becomes Jennifer’s responsibility, and if Jennifer can’t keep up with her “basic social responsibilities,” then she is derelict to her duties as part of a prestigious social group, and therefore, she is untrustworthy, and a toxic friend.

  54. Archieve

    The silly thing is I think Asher would still be open to still hanging out with the group but Radiah probably hates the thought of having to invite and be nice to another unconnected SO, which just goes to show how bad she really is at maintaining connections.

    1. Throwatron

      No, I think it’s purely that Raidah views every other person around her, through the same lens that determines her own awful behavior. Jennifer may be well-connected, but if Jennifer doesn’t adopt Raidah’s exact world-view and behavioral pattern regarding other people, then Raidah sees this as a personal failing, as deliberate laziness, as an untrustworthy and mercurial nature.

      If Jennifer can’t even control one other person, why would Raidah invest the energy, into trying to improve Jennifer’s standing, or to give her opportunities? Jennifer won’t even control her boyfriend, so how can Raidah trust such a lazy, irresponsible, huge loser?

      Truly awful people, only want to be around other truly awful people, exclusively. It’s because, truly awful people are always scheming, and weighing the values of boosting or cutting down everybody around them, all the time…and they truly believe, that anybody who doesn’t act that way is a moron, and thus, a liability. They prefer to be around people who are entirely as morally ambivalent and self-centered as they are; because, they cannot easily predict the actions taken, by the types of people who do not share this world view, because they literally cannot imagine any other way of thinking.

  55. Bryy

    The throwdown I want to see:

    Raidah vs. DINA.

    I want to see Raidah throw something at her like “oh it’s your autism that makes you say that” only for Dina to logically fucking decimate her.

    1. Needfuldoer

      I think she has enough decorum to not outright say it. She’ll be condescending and/or passive-aggressive instead.

      https://www.dumbingofage.com/bullies

      1. Mark

        I could see Dina deciding, “enough is enough, frankness is Raidah’s kryptonite, and I have that in abundance,” and laying out coldly, in detail, with logical connections, all that she’s quietly observed, and untying every bond in Raidah’s clique.

        1. Holly

          Mike woulda done this too. I wonder, if Ethan meets Raidah, if he’ll channel Mike at some point and call her out.

        2. Throwatron

          When would she ever have the opportunity? Dina doesn’t come from a rich family, and isn’t a social climber. Raidah doesn’t register her as a person, enough for her to ever have a deliberate conversation with Dina, or even anywhere near Dina.

          Everybody can imagine what they’d say to Jeff Bezos. Anything any of us could come up with to say to him, would be both entirely scathing, and entirely fair to say. But we are not relevant people to him, and he would never talk to us, and if we started talking to him, he would literally just walk away. The only way he’d tolerate discourse with a poor, is if said poors were there purely to glaze him.

    2. CianM1301

      I also wouldn’t object to seeing Dina trying to physically decimate Raidah. Y’know, jump up on her like a velociraptor, go for the eyes, try and disembowel her with her toes, all that good stuff.

    3. Amós Batista

      Raidah is a easy target to Dina, that confronted Ross one to one.

  56. CianM1301

    So, if Asher was the only reason Jennifer was sn that friend group

    1. CianM1301

      why not just kick Jennifer out and let Ethan in?
      (Mobile accidentally made me post the comment early)

      1. Da Boy

        Because he is an emo and a nerd and that’s too “alternative” for the boring ass Cool kids.

      2. Mturtle7

        A lot of people are assuming this (understandably, given context), but I will say again: Asher WASN’T the only reason Jennifer was allowed in the friend group!

        Way back in 2022, we saw exactly how Jennifer joined Raidah’s friend group, and Asher wasn’t even there at the time! It was implied, if not quite explicitly stated, that Raidah’s sole motivation was actually to take indirect revenge on Sarah by “poaching” someone from her friend group.

        Of course, that’s not necessarily a very lasting reason to keep someone around, so it’s possible that Asher’s the only reason that Jennifer STAYED in the friend group. But it’s also possible that Raidah just cares more about keeping Asher than Jennifer, so if it’s a choice between them, Jennifer’s getting dumped. We’ll see, anyway.

        1. superglucose

          oh my god losing it at “Jennifer left a toxic friend group” immediately following “you should lose weight” David Willis does not miss.

        2. Throwatron

          I mean, that’s what friends do, right! Look out for one another’s best interests! /s

        3. thejeff

          It’s weird, because unless Raidah’s really set on working the mob connections, it’s hard to see why Asher would be more important to her than Jennifer. The Billingsworth’s have real legit money and connections.

  57. Council

    Yep, there it is.

  58. Adam Black

    good riddance ?

  59. Da Boy

    Oh girl, you are on thin ice with no support from the Asher pillar

  60. Mancuso

    Raidah’s character arc went all the way from go from “understandably clingy GF given the hotness differential” to “Condoleezza Owens”.

  61. Lysbeth

    Thankfully, Raidah is nothing like Sarah, who uses and discards people when they stop being useful. No ranking of people based on worth and object utility happening here, no siree.

    … For goodness’ sake, she’s bad at it. If you want a Family asset in your pocket, you should really exploit his relationship status. I’m against being evil or bigoted, but I’m even more against being that and inefficient to boot. I’m sure there’s plenty of homophobes in the organised crime world, just invite him with Ethan, continue being a helpful and kind buddy, and have a plan ready for the first contact opportunity.

    But hey, that means planning and waiting, usually several years, and keeping the kissing-a-boy blackmail material as physical photos in a drawer that you may not have to use. That’s what you do when your ambition is as high as your lack of morals, instead of the lack of morals driving your actions and your ambition being an excuse.

    … Not that I would ambiguously exploit someone’s relational orientation/status to possibly-or-possibly-not hold power over their family/Family connections, because that would be bad and wrong. I’m just saying, sometimes flawed characters have flaws in the way they approach things. Who could have guessed? Not me.
    TL;DR There are more efficient ways to be evil. Please don’t burn me at the stake I’m not efficient at evil I’m just a writer

    1. Amós Batista

      I was in hope that Raidah could be a great character.
      She’s a person that naturally don’t have much attractive to readers in general: she’s a mean girl; muslin, perharps from Middle-East or North Africa; hates the general conservative people; the MAIN person of the history hurt Raidah, getting her boyfriend.
      She had so many things to turn her into a great anti-hero in Dumbing of Age…
      But today, she shows a petty side, passing over her own friends. I really expected more from Raidah. I mean, I still expect.

      1. Da Boy

        Really? Who do you think the readers of this comic are? Stereotypical racist white folks? We were introduced to her when she was being bigoted to Dina and she showed herself to be nothing but a shallow, opportunistic mean girl who sees people as nothing more than means to an end.

        1. Lysbeth

          To be fair, she could grow. That’s something characters and people can do, and no character in the main cast is all that mature.

    2. Adam Black

      I suggest to you, you might also be “bad at it”

      What happened to the last person who tried to blackmail Asher / threaten him to his family ?

      or the last two?

      This isnt how this game goes. YOU DONT try to exploit a “hot potato” . You exploit a third of fourth party that cant be traced to you .

      1. Lysbeth

        Who said a thing about blackmail? That’s a terrible way of going about it. It only comes to blackmail if you have the subtlety of a rhino stampede, or after years of gathering more and when you’re in overt control.
        Just keep making connections and be loose-lipped in a friendly way until he says “wait, please don’t mention this in front of that one” and now he owes you. The power differential is affected not because you obviously forced it but because he put himself in a situation to ask things of you. It’ll take more than one semi-secret to get over him, but it’s a foot in the door.

    3. Adam Black

      tldr ” efficient ways to be evil.” are efficient ways of putting a target on your chest and saying “shoot” .

      extra steps are good writing.

  62. Jo_cubstar

    Does anyone else think the BG for this strip looks like a bowling alley lol

    1. Mr.Morningstar

      HONESTLY I thought the same thing

  63. goggleman64

    It’s fascinating seeing all of Jennifer’s being-a-lousy-partner stuff pay off at the hands of Raidah setting up her *own* being-lousy stuff.

  64. Sociotard

    These comments seem odd given Sarah’s background story. Sarah sent Raidah’s friend away, for her own good and because it was impacting Sarah. Raidah was angry. Was it because Raidah has contact friends and friend friends? Or did Sarah send away an important contact? Maybe she is just comfortable with the double standard of expecting Sarah to be loyal to friends while Raidah has no obligation to do so?

    1. Archieve

      Double standard most likely, she thought Sarah should just be grateful to be included, hence why she never tried to switch rooms with Sarah, if there were problems with Dana she didn’t want to know.

  65. hatman

    My question is what did Dana bring to Raidah’s group.

    1. Beans

      her dad was a lawyer — Dana mentions it during her “college is for networking which is why you should make friends” pitch to Sarah in the flashback

  66. Chubseus

    Radish and the Banality of Evil

  67. Mr.Morningstar

    Wow

    Raidah is really just terrible

    She’s not telling Jennifer out of geneuine concern or care she just wants to keep asher around. ZERO care for Jennifer in any capacity willing to drop her if she loses Asher.

    And she criticized Sarah for having her old roomate taken home.

    1. Zaxares

      Yeeeep. Raidah basically only cares about people insofar as they can actually be of USE to her. We already know the only reason she keeps Jennifer around is because of her family’s wealth and the fact that she knows the Walkertons.

      In many ways, Raidah is like the dark mirror version of Dorothy; somebody who wants to go into politics and schmooze with the upper echelons of society, but for all the wrong reasons.

    2. Throwatron

      >And she criticized Sarah for having her old roomate taken home.

      Well, yeah. Said roommate was probably from a good family. Her presence represented a useful networking opportunity, for Raidah. What’s-Her-Name isn’t of any use to her, if Raidah doesn’t literally have her nearby, to ensure that said connection remains as useful as Raidah wants.

      Now that I’m thinking about it, honestly…being in this friend group, may have been the actual stressor, that led to said forgotten character holing up in her dorm room, and smoking so much weed. I know from experience, just being acquaintances with a person like that, is a mentally-destroying experience. Raidah was probably cool with her being a burnout, she just wasn’t comfortable with her parents finding out. Because the relationships with her friends’ already-successful parents, are almost always going to be more important to her, than the actual relationships she has with her peers. Her peers are only valuable, if they are themselves powerful or successful enough to represent future networking opportunities.

      1. Archieve

        Really hoping it’s revealed that Dana is doing well at another university and hasn’t told anybody because she wanted a totally clean slate. I could totally belive that Radiah toxic positivity made things worse for Dana because she had to strain a fake smile just to leave her bedroom and now we see there’s a chance Radiah was also pressuring her to get back with her ex while grieving.

      2. Adam Black

        I was thinking this too.

        Its genuinely odd that Sarah out of everyone was more attuned to Danas mental well being.
        Sarah seeminlgly made it all about herself, but thats becuase Sarah couldnt tune it out, lke Raidah could. Shes a B ongo , but an empath at heart.
        ( this might be one reason Sarah pushes people away and seeks superficial interactions . I thought Walkyverse Sarah was more well rounded )
        Raidah is the opposite. shes a social climber, status seeker and very transactional. Walky is the anti- Raidah off the group. I would have thought Lucy ( based off walkyverse lucy ) was the AntiRaidah but shockingly Lucy is More Raidah than Raidah, just more wellmeaning, and much more naive, and Less selfaware whats shes doing.

        Lucy already did what Raidah is trying and failing to do, trick them togther another round. Raidah is Trying to get Lucy in her group. If that happens she will probably do this again, and push Lucy to fight for walky so Raidah will have an In with the Dean, and she can push Billie out.

        looping back Raidah was Probably much more than clueless to Danas feelings , but encouraged them to toxicly respress her greif in public. Which pushed dana to be suicidal in private. the illgeal Smoking weed thing sounds incredibly weak for a reason ( very much last decade or before) and only makes sense with crying herself to sleep and suicidal )

        I think Sarah was incompetent at helping dana on her own. BUt Sarah spoke out to Raidah multiple times and was ignored and shut down. If they listened to her concerns and tried to help Dana as a group, got to her greif counseling, Sarah would not have had to pull the plug unilaterally.

        I do want to see Raidah recruit Lucy. and See Lucy try and take over the group. ( She will not be able to help herself ) . Lucy prob end up Dating Jacob. Trying to get Billie a New bf/ gf.

  68. Juanoku

    “ah yes this is who i ditched my friends for”

    1. Mturtle7

      “Thank god I got out of that messy, toxic, social circle, in favor of this well-ordered, toxic, social circle!”

      1. Throwatron

        honestly, i’m pretty sure that’s just how rich people and clout-chasers actually value their social circles.

  69. Smooti

    Radiah continues to be one of the worst characters in this damn comic (barring the abusive parents)

    I hope Jennifer gets out of her own ass and realizes she just traded one shitty coping mechanism for another.

    1. PedanticJerkass

      About the only one who’s worse is Mary, and even that is debatable.

      1. Jeremiah

        Not really, in terms on personal belief and outward behavior, Mary is much worse. But that bar is really low so passing it really isn’t much of an accomplishment.

  70. Yeet

    great way to cheer up your friend who got dumped or dumped her bf or is on a break or whatever, she refuses to clarify.

  71. thumb

    when friendship is apparently a job and they’re looking at your contract’s end-date

  72. Heavensrun

    Man, just in case there was any doubt that Raidah is the fucking worst.

  73. keet

    idk man, relationships aren’t transitive, so raidah should put her effort in herself if she wants to remain …friends with asher :/

  74. Taffy

    We like having him around, but not enough to actually treat him like a human by putting effort into the relationship ourselves.

    1. StClair

      (they don’t actually like him either, but he has value)

  75. wakeangel2001

    when you find out your friend group likes your boyfriend more than they like you

  76. Throwatron

    welp, foot in my mouth from prior comments, i actually under-estimated just how sociopathic and controlling raidah is, lmfao

    1. Throwatron

      to clarify, i KNEW this was the way she FELT.

      i just thought she was smart enough to not be THIS transparent about her intentions, lmao. most manipulators will at least TRY to manipulate!

      1. Rotunda

        Raidah isn’t as good at this as she likes to think. Carl, Char, and Chan aren’t exactly a terrifying power team.

        1. Adam Black

          even Lucy is Far far better at it. esp at Manipulating Billie. she did it muliple times. Raidah wanted to break Joyces social circle in revenge and failed utterly. She coulsnt even stop Billy from hanging out with her ex.

          Even Billie Knows that Lucy is kind of a manipulator , but would be powerless agaisnt walkys mom.
          ( lucy is a closet control freak. She couldnt stand that Billie had more control over walkys mom than she. or Dorothy.
          This is what walky doesnt understand about Lucy. She isnt just “sweet” its also about order, control , and her personal self image as being good and popular. Lucy NEEDS to be well liked, and feels powerless when she doenst get it.

        2. Adam Black

          are Char and Chan gone?

  77. Kazuma Taichi

    ah yes, because having Asher hang around on his own via his own volition would be too difficult

  78. Rabisch

    Jennifer soon will probably have a rude awakening from her illusions. As manipulative as Raidah may be in what she does, I like seeing her tell Jennifer to behave better. Jennifer is becoming more and more annoying, a true nuisance.

  79. JepMZ

    What’s Asher’s background again? Criminals? And she is a future lawyer?

  80. Leadsynth

    If Raidah thinks she has to pick one side of the Asher/Jennifer split to stay “friends” with, why wouldn’t Raidah just pick Asher? Why does Raidah still want Jennifer around? Is it because of Jennifer’s wealthy family or something?

    1. StClair

      She controls/has access to Asher through Jennifer. She’s already invested in Jennifer, including listening to her stupid nerd stuff, and doesn’t want to have to start from scratch with whoever this is that Asher’s going out with now.

    2. Adam Black

      She thinks she has access to Billies family and their wealth and Walkys familiy too, whos connected to the dean.

      the next step might be keep connecting with Lucy ( get lucy to go back to walky for dean access ) or actually Bang walky.
      Does Raidah have sex ? we know she Kept Jacob on a leash and turned him down once. The strange thing was how she thought having jacob was important thriugh his brother legal work for Carla. But hasnt reached out to Carla. Raidah could seduce Carla just be barely feigning interest and being snobby and never putting out. Raidah being hot and cold would even make Carla more interested.

      1. Leadsynth

        Raidah could probably get Carla’s attention by pretending not to know who Carla is. But *seduce* Carla? I don’t know if ANYONE could seduce Carla into sex, since Carla is ace. Well, maybe Charlie could seduce Carla. I dunno.

  81. UrsulaDavina

    I forgot to read the comic until just now, but I suppose I’ll speculate. Radiah wants to keep Asher around because he is connected to a criminal syndicate, and she wants to leverage those connections to get business in the future. I think Jennifer’s dad is a real estate tycoon, so future real estate deals might be part of her plan as well. It seems Radiah is overplaying her hand by trying to jump-start her law career, even though she’s a sophomore and probably has another six years before she graduates law school and maybe seven years before she passes the bar. This plan is likely to collapse in a spectacular fashion.

    1. TrueVCU

      That’s likely part of it, but I’d say an equal-if-not-bigger part is Raidah just likes to control people

  82. Jude Deluca

    Okay but I’m just waiting for when we find out the actual reason Raidah was pissed about Dana being taken out of school. Like what connection did Dana have that Raidah was willing to overlook her addiction problems.

    1. TrueVCU

      THAT part

    2. Newlland(Henryvolt)

      If you want to pant her in a slightly good light then it’s, “Danna was the only real friend she had she could pall around and relax with and when she left Raidah attitude and life at college drastically changed and she blamed Sarah for it.”

      Otherwise and possibly more likely. “Raidah family had big time influence so she did what she had to to keep her around even if it meant turning a blind eye to her friend going into a downward spiral of deep depression and drug abuse. Then held a grudge at Sarah for doing what needed to done.”

    3. Adam Black

      or How did Danas Mother really die?

      every parent death here ( really every death ) has been wildly messed up.
      Did she suicide? was she murdered?

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