Joyce has been homeschooled her entire life until now, when she's suddenly a freshman in college! Things don't go well.
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Guilded Age
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Welcome to the saga of the working-class adventurer! Enjoy the complete story with new annotations daily!
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I can feel a little bad for her. This event was a very hard test for her to pass. Imagine trying to move on with your life only to confronted with your old triggers. It would be like forcing new atheist Joyce to have a meal with her family. That’s a high check to clear.
I don’t think this situation is even remotely comparable to Joyce having a meal with her family. Her parents were directly complicit in all the toxic BS she’s only now getting away from, and while her father is trying to be better after her mother and the church took things “too far” that doesn’t absolve him for supporting all the crap before that that somehow wasn’t “too far”.
Meanwhile Walky was her best friend and closest confidante her entire childhood, genuinely cares about her well being, and has always been supportive of her. The only way in which his presence is triggering is because he happened to be there for her trauma, not because he in any way contributed to it. Pushing away a positive member of her support group simply because “he was there” is very much not healthy behavior. She was genuinely very awful to him and has zero excuse, no amount of trauma or baggage justifies that kind of treatment.
That’s not really the point though. It’s the fact that the person exists as a trigger. Walky reminds Jennifer of her past and she regresses back to that person because he does. It’s fine that he was her “best friend” although I don’t really believe that because siblings hold a different role and that what they see each other as.
It doesn’t really matter what the trigger is over the fact that it is a trigger. Walky wouldn’t be seen in the best light if someone started talking about what the best episode of Dexter and Monkey Master is and why it’s not Wedding Smashers. Sal would probably crumble is she had to each lunch with Malaya. The list goes on. You think Raidah could keep her composure if Joyce and Jacob started making out in front of her? Everyone has something that sets them off. Some people aren’t capable of rising above it. I think it deserves some sympathy.
I don’t entirely disagree, but I think the severity of the trigger should be acknowledged.
Malaya is awful and spends every second she’s with Sal huffily ignoring her and then glancing over her shoulder so she makes sure Sal sees Malaya snubbing her, and if Sal starts to actually ignore her Malaya will make more comments until she’s gotten under Sal’s skin. Joyce and Jacob making out in front of Raidah is… Well, that’s a lot closer to Malaya and her kinda-sorta-not-really targeted harassment than Walky being invited to breakfast by a third party and Jennifer taking offense at nearly his every word.
It’s not his responsibility to walk on eggshells when she’s determined to have a problem with him. And if his very presence is a trauma button for Jennifer then it’s still her responsibility to mind her own reactions, or remove herself from a situation she knows is going to trigger a bad reaction. Jennifer doesn’t get to tell Walky what he can and cannot do when she is going out of her way to remove him from her own life.
If Walky is such a problem for Jennifer, she should be an adult about it, not scream at him for not following a script she isn’t giving him in the first place.
The same goes for Tall Rachel. If Ruth is such a nightmare that TR felt the need to find her after a suicide attempt and say “You’ll always be a monster,” she needs to get the fuck out of that dorm, not stick around for an additional semester past that point so she can continue to snipe at Ruth.
It’s partly she knows Walky SO well and she therefore KNOWS this is not the real Walky. Walky’s a charmer and he can schmooze with the best of them if he has to, but Jennifer knows that when the chips are down and he’s left to his own devices, he’ll turn right back into the lazy geeky sloth she knows him to be.
What I’m mostly curious about is what will happen when Lucy inevitably discovers this about Walky. She knows about his natural inclinations, and she definitely can get him to “smarten up” in situations that call for it, but is Walky’s natural state of being (his “true self”, so to speak) something that she actually loves and will appreciate? Or is it something that she actually dislikes and wishes he were more hardworking, professional etc. A lot of failed relationships I’ve seen (including some of mine) happened because one partner thinks the other person will change, but the other has absolutely no intention of changing and resents/pushes back when the first person tries.
I don’t necessarily agree. I think sometimes you can know someone so long that you think you have a complete picture of who they are and all that they can ever be, and as such never allow them to change in your mind. Sure, that’s the Walky she’s always known, but they doesn’t mean that’s the Walky he’ll always be. It’s clear from the last bit of comics that he’s starting to care more about appearances and what people think of him, and he’s been worrying about needing to work harder to maintain the grades he expects from himself since almost the beginning of the comic. People change in college, and a lot of time the people who have known them the longest are least able to see that.
I haven’t seen any indication that Lucy is looking to “fix” Walky, at least not in that way. She has mentioned wanting him to dress nicer and I can see how you would extrapolate the rest from that, but I don’t think she wants to change his personality beyond keeping the Pajama Jeans to a dull roar.
“And yet nobody else is going to let you forget who you were.”
Jennifer’s interactions with Ruth and Walky are motivated by this: their presence reminds Jennifer of who she once was, and she doesn’t like that. She also vehemently refuses to allow them to be anything other than what they once were to her, and she doesn’t notice the hypocrisy inherent to it. “I get to grow up into someone else, but YOU aren’t.”
That’s what it looks like, to me. It’s pretty classic of her, I think. There are a lot of angles or lenses through which this can be presented (e.g. “she is the protagonist of her story and everyone else is a static supporting character who must never outshine the hero”) but I doubt she’s aware enough of it to apply any meaningful philosophy to it.
I’m also pretty sure she’d reject that it’s happening if someone tried spelling it out to her. This could take a while (or take a disaster) to resolve, if indeed it ever is resolved.
Maybe because he’s the one thing about her past she doesn’t want to change….Like he’s the only good thing about life before college, holy shit I see it now.
Yep. However much “Billie” pats herself on the back for becoming “Jennifer”, the “alpha cheerleader” is still a core part of her personality that she’ll never give up. Walky is problematic for Jennifer since he grew up with Billie, never took the alpha cheerleader all that seriously, and is now (for lack of a better way to say it) threatening to steel some of the spotlight from her.
Also, being “adopted” as Walky’s new best friend on the first day of kindergarten, and adopted as a foster daughter by Walky’s parents (whatever the parents’ social-climbing reasons may have been) essentially saved her from what she clearly foresaw (waiting alone at the bus stop that day) as a lifetime of neglect, exclusion, and isolation. The nickname “Billie” gave her confidence, uniqueness, a chance to create her own identity anew for the new school environment.
I don’t think she wants to lose that affectionate bonding memory she had of trading nicknames with Walky on day one.
There may well be deeper motives here that are more of a problem, but I really don’t get the hypocrisy angle here. “Call me what I want to be called and call him what he wants to be called” isn’t hypocrisy. Even if Walky seems to be willing to put up with it for whatever reason.
It would be hypocritical if Walky was asking to be called David and she was protesting that, but he’s not.
Of course if she recognizes that Raidah’s trying to manipulate him the same way she did Jennifer, that complicates everything, but I don’t think she’s there yet.
This kind of makes me feel like maybe Raidah pressured her to drop “Billie” to present professionally as “Jennifer” and she is having emotions about that being brought up here and no emotional capacity to do process it or do anything about it.
I second thejeff’s point here—it’s not hypocrisy because Walky *wants* to be called “Walky.” “David” is the name that only banks, government officials, his mother, and Raidah use.
Meanwhile, Jennifer doesn’t want to be called “Billie” at all.
That said, Jennifer has been incredibly out of line concerning Walky in other ways during this outing, as others have noted.
i mean if anything getting into a fight with jen would prolly make him more immature or say snarky things but idk how much jen’s actually physically hurt him besides ‘shoving him into lockers’
Especially when they’re based on an insular, stuffy 2nd grade teacher from a small suburban “flyover state” community in the 1950’s stereotypical view of an much bigger world she’ll have nothing to do with.
It’s “Mr. Walkerton” or “David Walkerton, but my friends call me Walky” just as easily for presenting oneself professionly *unless* practiced otherwise by the specific professional setting in question. I’m sure it’s done exactly as Raidah said in the household she was raised in…But I’m also pretty sure her parents don’t have half the respectability they believe they’ve earned with their cartoon levels of broom-up-the-ass they display that Raidah mimics…
have decided to start abusing the reddit page more. As of tonight to get the ball rolling on that I have opened up a one week poll to vote on who has the most heated rivalry in Dumbing of age.
Possibly also one of the most supportive rivalries because while there are some genuine insecurities spilling out there and at play especially on Becky’s end, they also do seem to mainly like each other as people…
Johnny Dangerously, Batman (twice), Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom, and more recently Birdman (for which he received a Best Actor nomination), vs Winkler’s very deep TV and very shallow film career.
Or to sum up, Night Shift was probably Henry Winkler’s best film, but it doesn’t crack Keaton’s top five. I do enjoy Night Shift, and then forget that it existed.
No. No. It’s a bad idea to plan your murdering aloud in front of witnesses. Even if you don’t follow through, you’ll still come across as Jenniferious.
Not to mention how gauche and immature it is to even consider murdering for free in this economy. A willingness to ice for cash is an asset. Some individuals might even be wanted dead by multiple parties. If you play your cards right, by dropping a single body you might rake in several billings’ worth.
Walky? Professional? Dude’s gonna walk onto a film set, joke around with director a bit and suddenly he has a job. 5 years later he’ll be heading up WB’s fifth reboot of the DC universe.
Being able to casually side step the rules is the Walkerton twins brand of cool. Radiahs idea of the required steps to sucess is actually closer to Dorothy’s work ethic.
I give the odds better than 50/50. That emphasis on “bet it was” last comic can be taken as “I know I’m awesome,” but it can also be taken as “ok, I get your game and hopefully Billie will too.”
I say very likely (and it may lead to a heated discussion).
But I think the first thing he’s going to say, when out of sight and earshot, is “whew! that was exhausting!” That fixed grin will fall off like a mask with its string cut. After the “discussion” we may see him return to his normal level of Walky insouciance.
She thought all of her hard work rebranding had worked but seeing Radiah casually give Walky the same invitation and push her to the side means she never had the acceptance she thought she had refound.
Asher may be somewhat up to par with her preferred crowd, but the two others would have to be a charity case on *her* end, in terms of fake fair weather friends, for her not to feel rightfully stupid for hanging with them.
You would think she might atleast respond with a yes when Lucy addresses her to ‘appear’ polite especially when lucy responds better to her then her target. but I guess Radiah never expects to have to acknowledged anybodies SO in a professional setting ever.
Exactly as we all know lawyers never have to address the concerns of their clients significant other.
Its not like for instance the spouse might chime in during a personal injury claim, about having to take on more housework, or just how much this is harming their spouse etc. and be upset when they are ignored. She also certainly couldn’t possibly lose valuable information by ignoring the spouse about the situation by doing this and no one will decide that she’s not the lawyer for them as a result.
It would be nice if Walky immediately starts talking to Lucy about how mean these fremenies were to his old buddy Billie and to Lucy herself. But I betcha Lucy will start word-vomiting about how wonderful those cool kids were and not let him talk.
Wally’s getting getter at noticing that shit. He’s been getting through the backlog of stuff he never noticed about his parents’ relationship with his sister.
I think he might have clocked it actually.
I just went through the archives of Raidah crossed separately with Lucy, with Walky, with Jennifer, and with Dorothy.
Raidah has never said a single word to Lucy on panel (unless you count continuing where Carl left off with their version of what happened with Dana).
Also, in none of those shared strips does anyone introduce Jennifer or Walky by their first names to Raidah; it’s bad enough she knew Jennifer’s first name, but it’s even weirder that she knew Walky’s, seemingly unprompted.
She obviously learned their names off panel, but the how and why definitely skew more towards the sinister than the innocent.
All of her behavior since breaking up with Jacob skews that way, and not speaking to Lucy doesn’t make her look any better.
*also, just for gits and shiggles, I checked on the last time we saw Chan (she suggested Jacob might fall for Joyce, with Raidah walking off mad) and Char (she continued to insult Jennifer’s weight after Raidah just invited the new cult follower into the fold) to reconfirm what most of us were thinking: that it’s bad to jettison people except seemingly when Raidah does it.*
It’s actually weirder that she knew Jennifer’s name. At least for “David”, it’s reasonable that Jennifer told her about her friends. How would she have gotten “Jennifer”?
No really, the only fun thing about this was watching Asher and Walky bounce off each other and seeing Walkys ” Ferris & Jennie Bueller” dynamic with Jennifer.
I have to wonder why Asher is putting up with that group. He seems to not feel the need to try the way the others do and he’s more comfortable in his skin, so what’s he getting out of it? Raidah is not pleasant company, at least the times we’ve seen her. Maybe he and Carl are really good friends? I’m assuming it’s not his relationship with Billie that brought him into their orbit.
Okay, Jennifer’s very much in the wrong. Not remotely denying that.
But I’m frankly a lot more concerned by every single thing coming out of Raidah’s mouth beyond the “happy place” line. The red flags are performing an entire rhythmic gymnastics routine.
Jennifer is getting increasingly angry at not getting acknowledged and I can’t tell for sure if Radiah is deliberately gaslighting her to give reason to dismiss her or if she expects telling Jennifer to shut up and smile will resove everything.
He’s the hero we deserve…but not the one we need right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not a hero…he’s a watchful guardian. A silent protector.
I find this to be comic exaggeration, not terrifying threats. This is also the most genuine Billie has been with Raidah since that first day she insisted five or six times her name was Billie. I’m hoping we’ll see some character growth because I don’t like fake-nice-girl Jennifer anymore than I liked stuffing-Walky-into-lockers-drunk-cheerleader Billie.
I only have anti-Jennifer takes in stock. The pro-Jennifer ones have been recalled and buried underground due to their radioactive nature for the time being. Please wear appropriate protection when approaching a pro-Jennifer take, it may use violence to try to seduce you the second it has lured you into liking even a sliver of her personality.
The emotional damage from this is not fatal. But may be infuriating.
Ah, I was wondering about that “stay away from potential-smotherers” line. Walky’s potential for “what”? Of course it doesn’t matter if he’s never expressed an ambition beyond keeping a girlfriend and a supply of McNuggets, his familial connections to wealth and power are there to be exploited for wealth and power. That’s what’s important in life!
People who climb really high on the corporate and government ladders in the U.S. generally tend to be terrible people, though they often have good publicity.
That’s true basically anywhere – because people who prioritize gaining power and influence tend to be terrible people.
This applied in communist countries as much as anywhere else.
Actually it seems to be the basis for lots of societal problems — prioritizing image over anything else, like creating and maintaining genuine relationships.
I dunno. There’s plenty of people who use their nicknames when they present professionally. Just ask Jeff “Swampy” Marsh or Charles “Sparky” Schultz or Monkey Punch.
Yeah, but its either in industries where pseudonyms are the norm (like e-sports, or DJing), or those who have the clout to get away with it. For most people, getting in on the ground floor? You have to start off going by a professional-sounding name, usually your given name.
yeah there are def celebs who go by one first name but idk if legal reasons have their pay check be their real names but i imagine there’s huge behind the scenes deals if not NDAs so their real identities don’t get ‘leaked’ and all
She’s so mad that she’s working so hard to be in this social group and be happy about it and accepted and then fucking WALKY shows up and makes it look fucking effortless.
Partially that, partially being confronted with parts of her Old Life she’s trying to leave behind, partially the knowledge that Walky is potentially More Useful to Raidah than she is, partially Cain instinct.
Jennifer believed that she had liberated herself from her old failures, and Knowing Walky was one of those old failures because he’s a big nerd and her social inferior, and now she’s in Chump City. It’s where she lives now!
That may be what she’s thinking, but it’s nonsense all around. She didn’t to get in this group – they sought her out and are using her. And they’re trying to do the same to Walky.
(Asher probably being the exception to that. I think he likes her and isn’t in on the plan.)
“walky” could be an endearing nickname in his field depending on what he does lol. but it does make me wonder if he signs his name/signature as walky on the once in a blue moon legal document lol
makes me think of that infamous reddit(?) story where this guy ended up making 3 ‘cat faces’ as his signature officially lol
Well, if his goal of living in a trampoline park comes to fruition then Walky certainly would still work professionally. No one is going to mind it at all.
well, ur job doesn’t need to define you. i mean within reason i can see him being perfectly happy being a ‘trophy husband’ to some way more successful spouse/partner haha
Jennifer is becoming a flat-out villain. She insists that she no longer be called “Billie”… but doesn’t allow that same consideration to anyone else.
She wants to be perceived as someone else… but won’t ever look at anyone other than what she believes them to be. Guess only she is allowed to be reinvented.
Yes, I know Walky isn’t asking for the reinvention… but she is clearly doing this as a power-play so she can feel superior. I’m glad it’s failing.
Does Raidah think Serious Businesspersons don’t use nicknames? They absolutely do, especially in rural areas. I’m too stone rn to look up any specifics, or how to word that query, but I trust y’all to be adults tonight and understand what I mean.
Raidah believes that buzzwords and interview-speak is Real Fuckin’ Life, and I doubt one could persuade her otherwise. She also probably thinks law practice is 100% big corporate firm hours.
There is also a level on which “Bubba” the white rural lawyer can get away with informality that would completely sink a Muslim woman trying to do the same.
Book 13: And My Name’s Carl, and I Was Here the Whole Time!
And then despite the title, Carl appears in monochrome in the background (possibly with Raidah and Jennifer standing next to him), and Walky and Asher are fistbumping in the foreground.
man none of these kids have ever had a job. i know that feels very “duh” but like the only thing you need to make a nickname work in a professional setting is charisma. walky’s got a whole brand thing going on and the charisma to sell it to anyone.
& not to have a “pro-jennifer” (?) take but i think people read a lot more like, diabolical or malicious intent into jennifer’s actions here. walky, in true little brother fashion, has the nuclear codes to making jennifer mad. he’s also like, the person who knows her the best out of anyone else in the main cast. if anyone has the potential to ruin her* reinvention, it’s walky. i think also this whole thing has possibly given jennifer an inkling that she is just a networking opportunity, and raidah doesn’t actually care about her. i think she’s been a huge brat this whole breakfast but i don’t think she’s a villain for it – she doesn’t have the patience or manipulative chops for that.
*i think it’s kind of obvious part of this reinvention is raidah’s doing. she’s jennifer instead of jen bc of this group’s weird concept of “professionalism”
Now that you mention their collective lack of employment, I wish someone would just ask Radiah, so if your trying to get all influential people from under Sarah, how do you plan to endear yourself to Joyces childhood friend, the 18 year old campaign manager with connections to congress whose girlfriend you bullied and insulted?
Firstly, I’m not sure where you’re getting “effective” from in elfroyalty’s comment which seems to be far more about Jennifer’s motivations.
Secondly, villains do kind of need to be effective. Just ask Killer Moth how far motivation and will get you in the villain game when they’re paired with complete incompetence.
We’re going to have to see someone do violence on Carl’s face. That way Raidah’s group will have something in common besides all of them being a means to elevate Raidah’s career.
I have to wonder who Dana’s dad was. Raidah is so self-absorbed that I cannot imagine she actually cared about Dana. She almost certainly was simply sore about losing access to whatever influence Dana could offer in the future. After all, if she cared she would have kept contact with her.
I find it hilarious that Carl has apparently been seething about not being noticed since before breakfast began. Almost as much as Radiah thinks her parting words to Walky are a dig at Sarah and not herself. Walky is coming into his potential just fine. Radiah is just as blind to what said potential is as Linda so atleast she has that in common with her.
Oh my god, finally a ray of light onto what the fuck Jennifer’s motivations might be.
New theory: she’s experiencing cognitive dissonance because she doesn’t want to lose Walky and what Walky represents while also super intentionally losing everything else about her past, thus explaining her hair trigger overreactions (and her default is already at a pretty high level!).
Oh, so Jennifer’s name change was Raidah telling her that nicknames are unprofessional?
And, Duh, Jennifer, you’re getting mad at the wrong things again…
I dunno about anyone else, but if someone I just met was telling me not to lose sight of my potential my immediate gut reaction would be “And who the hell are you to be getting up in business like that, person who is one step removed from a complete stranger?”
Honestly I’d either think it was a joke (like when I tell my flat mate to “be good” when he heads out to work like I’m packing him off to school), or I’d think it was really strange.
It’s kind of funny that Raidah has had some success gathering a friend group as I’d find her so off-putting. Of course there is some level of comic exaggeration.
You know, I catching up since I paused reading a bit, and it occurs to me that I’m pretty sure that Carl was dating Dana, right?
So isn’t that a bit weird considering the past between Raidah, Sarah, and Dana? I dunno. I’d never date a friend’s ex.
Carl was dating Dana. Then she broke up with him during her spiraling. But he isn’t dating anyone now as far as we know, that topic literally has not even come up in regards to Carl as he barely exists.
Some comments I do think may have joked that Raidah and Carl were dating, but in strip literally nothing states this or implies Carl is in any kind of new relationship at this time. The guy’s too busy not mattering.
What’s more, he still refers to Dana as his “girlfriend”. Not Ex, not former, current tense. He’s obviously one of those people who builds his identity around his relationships with other people. Raidah probably only keeps him around because his dad is rich or something.
It seems like Walky might… actually be making friends with Asher, maybe?
I mean, he’s a friendly guy, but who are his actual male friends? He doesn’t exactly hang out with Joe, Danny, or Ethan.
1) Walky+Asher: Y’know, Asher sounds chill, but that’s exactly what he would say if he were plotting a hideous secret revenge.
I actually wondered if the followup to the previous strip (Walky confesses to punching Asher) would be Raidah mentioning that Sarah had punched her (Raidah).
I’ve started to suspect that Raidah really is less concerned with harming Sarah than she is with making sure that Sarah doesn’t harm anyone else. Raidah doesn’t want revenge (she could have gotten Sarah expelled and arrested for the assault and battery if that was her goal); she just wants to make sure that Sarah doesn’t harm anyone else. She may even think of her campaign to warn people about Sarah as helping Sarah as well (Sarah doesn’t like people, so encourage people to not interact with Sarah).
I just want to put out there that Asher really has no reason to take revenge against Walky. It wasn’t shown but it’s heavily implied that Asher was the one who pulled the fire alarm allowing for everyone to get kidnapped. Also the fact that Asher is aware he did wrong by Sal I think he recognized the punch was pretty much justified. I am personally banking on Asher feeling guilt and is now trying to buddy up to Walky one of the people he did wrong. Here’s the reference to Asher helping Blaine. https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/gone-too/
So Jennifer can ask tell people to stop calling her, “Billie”, but David has to remain, “Walky”, until the cold death of the universe. I’m starting to think that Ruth dumoing her, was a good idea.
I don’t think the comment was about Sarah. Walky doesn’t really interact enough with Sarah for her to “smother” his potential. He doesn’t shun her, but he doesn’t seek her out for deep and meaningful conversations either.
I wondered if it might have perhaps been a subtle dig at Lucy or Dorothy, but really, the only one who’s been obviously attempting to “smother” his potential recently is Jennifer.
I also thought it was deeply ironic, because Sarah’s desperate call to Dana’s father was precisely because Dana’s depression and drug use was smothering Sarah’s potential to get her schoolwork done.
(Another thought I had was that Dana, in combination with institutional racism, could have gotten Sarah expelled/arrested as well, for being Black in the proximity of drug abuse. )
Something I’d like to see is someone asking Raidah: Would you have traded rooms with Sarah? Would you have taken on the consequences of dealing with Dana’s depression and drug abuse yourself, and let Sarah off that hook? It’s not like it would have been too hard. Sarah wanted out of the situation. Filling out some forms to swap residences, and then moving, is just a minor bureaucratic inconvenience. But would you have actually done it, even if the result was you losing sleep and study time, and your own grades going down?
Of course, it’s easy to say, after the fact, “Yes!” to that hypothetical. But maybe Raidah is intellectually honest enough that a certain about of doubt or hesitation would be evidenced.
There are only two honest answers to that question.
I was filling out the paperwork but then Dana was suddenly withdrawn.
I like to think if Sarah had explicitly asked as much I would have agreed, or at least offered to switch off days but I don’t know. I guess should have offered to take some of the load myself.
Also you don’t jettison friends when they become an inconvience?
Question how were you not jettisoning Sarah by trying to make her sacrifice her scholarship, and possibly go to jail in order to continue to allow Dana to spiral.
Raida: Explanation of how Sarah could cover her own college costs with enough elbow grease and determination.
Or lie about how they would have helped Sarah pull through if it came to it.
Responce
Wow that’s great advice./Wow thats really generous of you guys.
Why don’t you call Dana now with the good news.
All she needs to do is XYZ and she can come back. Your all going to XYZ so she can come back.
On one hand, I get the feeling that Jennifer actually does care about Walky, in that she cares about him retaining his essential personality, instead of getting repurposed for Raidah’s open social climbing ambitions.
On the other hand, I can’t think of a single instance of her not directing bitter surliness or obnoxious superiority at him, like even for a single panel. (Can anyone link proof that I’m wrong about that??)
Idunno, maybe that’s just proof that her relationship with him is more sincere. He clearly revels in the amusement of innocuous button pressing and letting her dig her way to China, but also doesn’t really judge her for acting this way, because he knows that’s what she’s really *like*. You get the impression she’s normally expected to keep this side of her personality bottled up around her new clique, and that insincere dynamic was precisely what Walky was trying to warn her about at brunch.
How to read all 28 issues of my Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane run on Marvel Unlimited:
1: The first four issues were published as the miniseries "Mary Jane."
www.marvel.com/comics/serie...
today in #9chickweedlane i learned we have to be shown children learning and relearning what sex is, for Reasons, even though they already clearly know and have prepared nuanced questions about it!
also that Gran must hate, if she's still alive, how Old Juliette is the same but with gray hair
one of my favorite things is when a commenter explodes WHEN DO THESE CHARACTERS GET THERAPY but directed towards a character who canonically has a regular therapist
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btw if you're one of those rando bluesky weirdos who doesn't know me but sees me in the wild being sarcastic and don't know i'm being sarcastic because you haven't taken like 30 seconds to, like, maybe look at my user profile or something, keep walking, you're not going to score internet points here
Here's an entertaining cite at the bottom of the first page
Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
JUST IN: Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan moves to dismiss federal criminal case against her for allegedly helping immigrant hide from ICE. Her lawyers say she's protected by official acts & judicial immunity and 10th Amendment. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Where did Hollywood go so wrong? I thought movies were supposed to be an escape from reality, a chance to put your worries aside and not have to think about any underlying ideas or concepts. Well, not anymore.
theonion.com/you-can...
It's not a new argument, of course, but Chesterton dismissed it effectively in 1908.
"You will hear everlastingly... this argument that the rich man cannot be bribed. The fact is, of course, that the rich man is bribed; he has been bribed already. That is why he is a rich man."
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
Hawley dismisses Trump lining his pockets with his memecoin: "Listen, I think nobody believes that Donald Trump can be bought. I mean, what does Donald Trump need more money for?"
wilbur, savvy enough to know he's in a comic strip but still not a great actor, awkwardly lifts a muffin up into frame so that we, the audience, understand that he has a muffin right now, which is very important narratively, but he's not really selling it well as an organic, human action
preternia @preternia.com ⋅ 1d
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social ⋅ 2d
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com ⋅ 2d
Pavel
@spavel.bsky.social ⋅ 11d
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so angry about not completely losing “Billie” but so insistent that he never loses “Walky”
Hypocrisy of Age
Also she’s still inexplicably mad at him when he did nothing wrong, didn’t embarrass her, and left on a good note.
I want to feel sorry for Billie but she makes it so hard.
Yup. It’s Walky, Billie.
I can feel a little bad for her. This event was a very hard test for her to pass. Imagine trying to move on with your life only to confronted with your old triggers. It would be like forcing new atheist Joyce to have a meal with her family. That’s a high check to clear.
I don’t think this situation is even remotely comparable to Joyce having a meal with her family. Her parents were directly complicit in all the toxic BS she’s only now getting away from, and while her father is trying to be better after her mother and the church took things “too far” that doesn’t absolve him for supporting all the crap before that that somehow wasn’t “too far”.
Meanwhile Walky was her best friend and closest confidante her entire childhood, genuinely cares about her well being, and has always been supportive of her. The only way in which his presence is triggering is because he happened to be there for her trauma, not because he in any way contributed to it. Pushing away a positive member of her support group simply because “he was there” is very much not healthy behavior. She was genuinely very awful to him and has zero excuse, no amount of trauma or baggage justifies that kind of treatment.
That’s not really the point though. It’s the fact that the person exists as a trigger. Walky reminds Jennifer of her past and she regresses back to that person because he does. It’s fine that he was her “best friend” although I don’t really believe that because siblings hold a different role and that what they see each other as.
It doesn’t really matter what the trigger is over the fact that it is a trigger. Walky wouldn’t be seen in the best light if someone started talking about what the best episode of Dexter and Monkey Master is and why it’s not Wedding Smashers. Sal would probably crumble is she had to each lunch with Malaya. The list goes on. You think Raidah could keep her composure if Joyce and Jacob started making out in front of her? Everyone has something that sets them off. Some people aren’t capable of rising above it. I think it deserves some sympathy.
Good points
I don’t entirely disagree, but I think the severity of the trigger should be acknowledged.
Malaya is awful and spends every second she’s with Sal huffily ignoring her and then glancing over her shoulder so she makes sure Sal sees Malaya snubbing her, and if Sal starts to actually ignore her Malaya will make more comments until she’s gotten under Sal’s skin. Joyce and Jacob making out in front of Raidah is… Well, that’s a lot closer to Malaya and her kinda-sorta-not-really targeted harassment than Walky being invited to breakfast by a third party and Jennifer taking offense at nearly his every word.
It’s not his responsibility to walk on eggshells when she’s determined to have a problem with him. And if his very presence is a trauma button for Jennifer then it’s still her responsibility to mind her own reactions, or remove herself from a situation she knows is going to trigger a bad reaction. Jennifer doesn’t get to tell Walky what he can and cannot do when she is going out of her way to remove him from her own life.
If Walky is such a problem for Jennifer, she should be an adult about it, not scream at him for not following a script she isn’t giving him in the first place.
The same goes for Tall Rachel. If Ruth is such a nightmare that TR felt the need to find her after a suicide attempt and say “You’ll always be a monster,” she needs to get the fuck out of that dorm, not stick around for an additional semester past that point so she can continue to snipe at Ruth.
It’s partly she knows Walky SO well and she therefore KNOWS this is not the real Walky. Walky’s a charmer and he can schmooze with the best of them if he has to, but Jennifer knows that when the chips are down and he’s left to his own devices, he’ll turn right back into the lazy geeky sloth she knows him to be.
What I’m mostly curious about is what will happen when Lucy inevitably discovers this about Walky. She knows about his natural inclinations, and she definitely can get him to “smarten up” in situations that call for it, but is Walky’s natural state of being (his “true self”, so to speak) something that she actually loves and will appreciate? Or is it something that she actually dislikes and wishes he were more hardworking, professional etc. A lot of failed relationships I’ve seen (including some of mine) happened because one partner thinks the other person will change, but the other has absolutely no intention of changing and resents/pushes back when the first person tries.
To clarify though, Jennifer’s behaviour at this breakfast was DEFINITELY over the line and she needs to scale it back. XD
I don’t necessarily agree. I think sometimes you can know someone so long that you think you have a complete picture of who they are and all that they can ever be, and as such never allow them to change in your mind. Sure, that’s the Walky she’s always known, but they doesn’t mean that’s the Walky he’ll always be. It’s clear from the last bit of comics that he’s starting to care more about appearances and what people think of him, and he’s been worrying about needing to work harder to maintain the grades he expects from himself since almost the beginning of the comic. People change in college, and a lot of time the people who have known them the longest are least able to see that.
There’s some real irony here in this observation of Walky and Jennifer.
I haven’t seen any indication that Lucy is looking to “fix” Walky, at least not in that way. She has mentioned wanting him to dress nicer and I can see how you would extrapolate the rest from that, but I don’t think she wants to change his personality beyond keeping the Pajama Jeans to a dull roar.
“And yet nobody else is going to let you forget who you were.”
Jennifer’s interactions with Ruth and Walky are motivated by this: their presence reminds Jennifer of who she once was, and she doesn’t like that. She also vehemently refuses to allow them to be anything other than what they once were to her, and she doesn’t notice the hypocrisy inherent to it. “I get to grow up into someone else, but YOU aren’t.”
That’s what it looks like, to me. It’s pretty classic of her, I think. There are a lot of angles or lenses through which this can be presented (e.g. “she is the protagonist of her story and everyone else is a static supporting character who must never outshine the hero”) but I doubt she’s aware enough of it to apply any meaningful philosophy to it.
I’m also pretty sure she’d reject that it’s happening if someone tried spelling it out to her. This could take a while (or take a disaster) to resolve, if indeed it ever is resolved.
Maybe because he’s the one thing about her past she doesn’t want to change….Like he’s the only good thing about life before college, holy shit I see it now.
Related to that i think she still expects the status quo from high-school to remain and Walky gaining status is also stealing ‘the plot’ from her.
Yep. However much “Billie” pats herself on the back for becoming “Jennifer”, the “alpha cheerleader” is still a core part of her personality that she’ll never give up. Walky is problematic for Jennifer since he grew up with Billie, never took the alpha cheerleader all that seriously, and is now (for lack of a better way to say it) threatening to steel some of the spotlight from her.
Also, being “adopted” as Walky’s new best friend on the first day of kindergarten, and adopted as a foster daughter by Walky’s parents (whatever the parents’ social-climbing reasons may have been) essentially saved her from what she clearly foresaw (waiting alone at the bus stop that day) as a lifetime of neglect, exclusion, and isolation. The nickname “Billie” gave her confidence, uniqueness, a chance to create her own identity anew for the new school environment.
I don’t think she wants to lose that affectionate bonding memory she had of trading nicknames with Walky on day one.
There may well be deeper motives here that are more of a problem, but I really don’t get the hypocrisy angle here. “Call me what I want to be called and call him what he wants to be called” isn’t hypocrisy. Even if Walky seems to be willing to put up with it for whatever reason.
It would be hypocritical if Walky was asking to be called David and she was protesting that, but he’s not.
Of course if she recognizes that Raidah’s trying to manipulate him the same way she did Jennifer, that complicates everything, but I don’t think she’s there yet.
Mhm.
This kind of makes me feel like maybe Raidah pressured her to drop “Billie” to present professionally as “Jennifer” and she is having emotions about that being brought up here and no emotional capacity to do process it or do anything about it.
Sounds right to me.
I second thejeff’s point here—it’s not hypocrisy because Walky *wants* to be called “Walky.” “David” is the name that only banks, government officials, his mother, and Raidah use.
Meanwhile, Jennifer doesn’t want to be called “Billie” at all.
That said, Jennifer has been incredibly out of line concerning Walky in other ways during this outing, as others have noted.
There’s a reason why I address Ms. Billingsworth as such, and it’s not out of respect.
I mean, it’s true. You don’t know it’s not, Raidah. Hypotheses require testing.
i mean if anything getting into a fight with jen would prolly make him more immature or say snarky things but idk how much jen’s actually physically hurt him besides ‘shoving him into lockers’
Especially when they’re based on an insular, stuffy 2nd grade teacher from a small suburban “flyover state” community in the 1950’s stereotypical view of an much bigger world she’ll have nothing to do with.
It’s “Mr. Walkerton” or “David Walkerton, but my friends call me Walky” just as easily for presenting oneself professionly *unless* practiced otherwise by the specific professional setting in question. I’m sure it’s done exactly as Raidah said in the household she was raised in…But I’m also pretty sure her parents don’t have half the respectability they believe they’ve earned with their cartoon levels of broom-up-the-ass they display that Raidah mimics…
Poor Jennifer is backsliding.
YOU CAN BE MORE THAN BILLIE! BILLIE IS CHAOTIC EVIL!
Jennifer is…err, Lawful Evil!
have decided to start abusing the reddit page more. As of tonight to get the ball rolling on that I have opened up a one week poll to vote on who has the most heated rivalry in Dumbing of age.
https://www.reddit.com/r/dumbingofage/comments/11ob9xb/greatest_nemesis_type_rivalry_in_doa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Damn it I forgot to put “Dorothy V Becky,” what a waste.
That’s the hottest rivalry, not the most heated.
I don’t actually believe that. I just couldn’t resist the setup.
Possibly also one of the most supportive rivalries because while there are some genuine insecurities spilling out there and at play especially on Becky’s end, they also do seem to mainly like each other as people…
damn Jennifer
I swear, Jennifer has some marvelous frowns
She looks like Nancy.
And all the mention of the movie “Night Shift” on Twitter today. Is it really Michael Keaton’s best movie, or just Henry Winkler’s second best?
Johnny Dangerously, Batman (twice), Beetlejuice, Mr. Mom, and more recently Birdman (for which he received a Best Actor nomination), vs Winkler’s very deep TV and very shallow film career.
Also, is Twitter still around?!?
Or to sum up, Night Shift was probably Henry Winkler’s best film, but it doesn’t crack Keaton’s top five. I do enjoy Night Shift, and then forget that it existed.
Half expected the tags to change back to “Billie” on this strip.
That would be too good. At least our goofball Walky hasn’t transformed into a completely fake hair-brushing tie-wearing premed David.
AND Lucy didn’t freak out and hero-worship the mean girls in cringingly spineless way, or talk for an hour about how much Walky loves her.
No. No. It’s a bad idea to plan your murdering aloud in front of witnesses. Even if you don’t follow through, you’ll still come across as Jenniferious.
Not to mention how gauche and immature it is to even consider murdering for free in this economy. A willingness to ice for cash is an asset. Some individuals might even be wanted dead by multiple parties. If you play your cards right, by dropping a single body you might rake in several billings’ worth.
Walky? Professional? Dude’s gonna walk onto a film set, joke around with director a bit and suddenly he has a job. 5 years later he’ll be heading up WB’s fifth reboot of the DC universe.
Couldn’t be worse than Zaslov.
Walky, a more fully human Mr. Peanutbutter?
Damn, so spot on.
For those that want to know what Walky getting a job will look like
It’s been more than half a year since the latest Batman movie.
Isn’t it time for another reboot?
Being able to casually side step the rules is the Walkerton twins brand of cool. Radiahs idea of the required steps to sucess is actually closer to Dorothy’s work ethic.
You’ve reminded me that I once wondered if it was reasonable to consider Raidah to be Dorothy’s evil twin.
Over/under on Walky finally complaining about what awful people Raidah and Carl are once he and Lucy are out of earshot?
Good odds. I’ve been loving Walky this arc, and would love for him to continue that streak.
Yeah, I’m placing bets on the storyline ender being Lucy’s shift to the dark side.
I give the odds better than 50/50. That emphasis on “bet it was” last comic can be taken as “I know I’m awesome,” but it can also be taken as “ok, I get your game and hopefully Billie will too.”
I say very likely (and it may lead to a heated discussion).
But I think the first thing he’s going to say, when out of sight and earshot, is “whew! that was exhausting!” That fixed grin will fall off like a mask with its string cut. After the “discussion” we may see him return to his normal level of Walky insouciance.
Over/under on Raidah and Carl complaining about the stunted man-child and about Jennifer once they’re out of earshot.
Kind of impressive to have a breakfast that requires multiple debriefings.
Oh no, I suspect they’re going to complain about Walky while Billie still is in earshot.
I don’t think so. Maybe to play up to Jennifer, if they’re being a bit more subtle.
But Raidah and Carl’s conversation when they made the invite showed they’re fooling Jennifer as well.
I didn’t say they’d know she was in earshot.
Great expressions in today’s comic
Quoth the friends from the other side, Jennifer: “You got what you wanted, but you lost what you had”
Nice.
Though which dumbiverse should have Keith David’s voice?
Mary.
Fuckface’s inner dialogue.
Excuse me, I meant Fuckface’s iguana’s inner dialogue.
Galasso obviously, how is that even a question
She thought all of her hard work rebranding had worked but seeing Radiah casually give Walky the same invitation and push her to the side means she never had the acceptance she thought she had refound.
Asher may be somewhat up to par with her preferred crowd, but the two others would have to be a charity case on *her* end, in terms of fake fair weather friends, for her not to feel rightfully stupid for hanging with them.
lol she’s totally oblivious to her hypocrisy
You’ll have to be more specific.
No, no, Carl. The catchphrase is “I’ve been here the whole time.”
“I was never here.” …wait.
I have always been here.
Nice. I was expecting a “The Shining” reference. (I’m old.)
Carl, Where you from?
I don’t think Raidah said a single word to Lucy during that entire breakfast.
Nope!
Lol. Why would she? Lucy’s not important or connected.
You would think she might atleast respond with a yes when Lucy addresses her to ‘appear’ polite especially when lucy responds better to her then her target. but I guess Radiah never expects to have to acknowledged anybodies SO in a professional setting ever.
Exactly as we all know lawyers never have to address the concerns of their clients significant other.
Its not like for instance the spouse might chime in during a personal injury claim, about having to take on more housework, or just how much this is harming their spouse etc. and be upset when they are ignored. She also certainly couldn’t possibly lose valuable information by ignoring the spouse about the situation by doing this and no one will decide that she’s not the lawyer for them as a result.
No Lucy kind of had to make her presence known the entire time. At least she did a better job at that than Carl
Nope. I do kind of wonder if Lucy noticed. Would not be shocked if Walky did, however.
It would be nice if Walky immediately starts talking to Lucy about how mean these fremenies were to his old buddy Billie and to Lucy herself. But I betcha Lucy will start word-vomiting about how wonderful those cool kids were and not let him talk.
I think he won’t say something right away, but he definitely noticed. He always notices. He just doesn’t _do_ things about it the way Mike used to.
Which makes me wonder if that was the reason why they were paired up as roomates narratively last storyline.
Wally’s getting getter at noticing that shit. He’s been getting through the backlog of stuff he never noticed about his parents’ relationship with his sister.
I think he might have clocked it actually.
I just went through the archives of Raidah crossed separately with Lucy, with Walky, with Jennifer, and with Dorothy.
Raidah has never said a single word to Lucy on panel (unless you count continuing where Carl left off with their version of what happened with Dana).
Also, in none of those shared strips does anyone introduce Jennifer or Walky by their first names to Raidah; it’s bad enough she knew Jennifer’s first name, but it’s even weirder that she knew Walky’s, seemingly unprompted.
She obviously learned their names off panel, but the how and why definitely skew more towards the sinister than the innocent.
All of her behavior since breaking up with Jacob skews that way, and not speaking to Lucy doesn’t make her look any better.
*also, just for gits and shiggles, I checked on the last time we saw Chan (she suggested Jacob might fall for Joyce, with Raidah walking off mad) and Char (she continued to insult Jennifer’s weight after Raidah just invited the new cult follower into the fold) to reconfirm what most of us were thinking: that it’s bad to jettison people except seemingly when Raidah does it.*
It’s actually weirder that she knew Jennifer’s name. At least for “David”, it’s reasonable that Jennifer told her about her friends. How would she have gotten “Jennifer”?
Unless she specifically asked his first name/full name, Jennifer would never refer to him as such, which is why it’s weird.
No really, the only fun thing about this was watching Asher and Walky bounce off each other and seeing Walkys ” Ferris & Jennie Bueller” dynamic with Jennifer.
I never thought of it, and now I can’t unsee it.
I have to wonder why Asher is putting up with that group. He seems to not feel the need to try the way the others do and he’s more comfortable in his skin, so what’s he getting out of it? Raidah is not pleasant company, at least the times we’ve seen her. Maybe he and Carl are really good friends? I’m assuming it’s not his relationship with Billie that brought him into their orbit.
There are people out in the working world with nicknames, Raidah.
I wish someone would smother with their potential…
It’s like the icepick stabbing of smotherings.
Okay, Jennifer’s very much in the wrong. Not remotely denying that.
But I’m frankly a lot more concerned by every single thing coming out of Raidah’s mouth beyond the “happy place” line. The red flags are performing an entire rhythmic gymnastics routine.
Red flags?? *theatric scoff* Sounds like SOMEONE isn’t ready to synergize their productivity and reclaim their hustle around here!
(No but for real, she’s part vampire cult leader, part Dalek HR director)
Raidah’s got more red flags than a Coca Cola Pride Parade.
She’s got so many red flags, if you introduced her to Stalin on May Day he’d say “That’s a bit much, isn’t it?”
Jennifer is getting increasingly angry at not getting acknowledged and I can’t tell for sure if Radiah is deliberately gaslighting her to give reason to dismiss her or if she expects telling Jennifer to shut up and smile will resove everything.
Raidah is not likely to dismiss Jennifer unless she has to. She is impressed with Jennifer’s father’s real estate empire.
Probably but we have yet to see which Radiah values more, obedience to herself or personal connections.
I would say personal connections 100% that’s Radiah whole scheme.
I am so glad Raidah is getting more screen time, she rules. A much-needed addition to the cast.
I’m not sure if this is sarcasm or not.
Every long-running story can use a good pot-stirrer once in a while.
He’s the hero we deserve…but not the one we need right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not a hero…he’s a watchful guardian. A silent protector.
He’s Carl. And he was here the whole time.
So now she wants to physically hurt him?
Someone give me the pro-Jennifer take on this, because holy shit.
The pro-Jennifer take on it is that she’s exaggerating because she’s being pissy.
Yeah, this screams of grumbling to me, she doesn’t actually mean it.
I get your point, but “this screams of grumbling” is an interesting and tasty expression….
I find this to be comic exaggeration, not terrifying threats. This is also the most genuine Billie has been with Raidah since that first day she insisted five or six times her name was Billie. I’m hoping we’ll see some character growth because I don’t like fake-nice-girl Jennifer anymore than I liked stuffing-Walky-into-lockers-drunk-cheerleader Billie.
And by 5 or 6 times, you mean once, at least on panel.
Where is it shown that Jennifer corrects Raidah other then that one time?
Ruth
rubbed her offrubbed off on herI mean. That’s how she started her relationship with Ruth.
Maybe she’s flirting.
She’s hot and I wish she’d beat me up?
Sorry that’s the best I can do.
If you want a vision of the future, imagine Jennifer’s tiddy slapping Yoto in the face, forever.
Well, I’m imagining it quite vividly, but it doesn’t seem to help me visualize the future.
Maybe I’m doing it wrong.
Not really. Just shove him into a locker or something. For old times’ sake.
“It’s right tonight,
but just for old times’ sake.”
I only have anti-Jennifer takes in stock. The pro-Jennifer ones have been recalled and buried underground due to their radioactive nature for the time being. Please wear appropriate protection when approaching a pro-Jennifer take, it may use violence to try to seduce you the second it has lured you into liking even a sliver of her personality.
The emotional damage from this is not fatal. But may be infuriating.
Nothing about this is new. She’s always talked a lot about wanting to punch people. It’s, like, her standard reaction to anger.
Remember folks, how high you climb on the corporate, government, or academic ladder is the sole criteria of if your life has value.
There’s also how long your yacht is?
Yachts are for losers. The only meaningful criteria is how high your spacecraft can go.
one criterion, two criteria
makes sense in the original Greek
Ah, I was wondering about that “stay away from potential-smotherers” line. Walky’s potential for “what”? Of course it doesn’t matter if he’s never expressed an ambition beyond keeping a girlfriend and a supply of McNuggets, his familial connections to wealth and power are there to be exploited for wealth and power. That’s what’s important in life!
People who climb really high on the corporate and government ladders in the U.S. generally tend to be terrible people, though they often have good publicity.
That’s true basically anywhere – because people who prioritize gaining power and influence tend to be terrible people.
This applied in communist countries as much as anywhere else.
It’s the basic problem we have to deal with.
Actually it seems to be the basis for lots of societal problems — prioritizing image over anything else, like creating and maintaining genuine relationships.
“The key thing is sincerity. Once you can fake that, you’ve got it made.”
I dunno. There’s plenty of people who use their nicknames when they present professionally. Just ask Jeff “Swampy” Marsh or Charles “Sparky” Schultz or Monkey Punch.
Don’t forget Mako!!!
Oh and me, NGPZ!!!
I dunno how I never realized that was a nickname.
Or the POTUS. Or three of the four previous Senate leaders of the GOP.
Yeah, but its either in industries where pseudonyms are the norm (like e-sports, or DJing), or those who have the clout to get away with it. For most people, getting in on the ground floor? You have to start off going by a professional-sounding name, usually your given name.
Notch.
Yoshi-P.
yeah there are def celebs who go by one first name but idk if legal reasons have their pay check be their real names but i imagine there’s huge behind the scenes deals if not NDAs so their real identities don’t get ‘leaked’ and all
people who haven’t gotten to that point don’t think of it as professional
Oh. Okay.
She’s so mad that she’s working so hard to be in this social group and be happy about it and accepted and then fucking WALKY shows up and makes it look fucking effortless.
That’s what’s going on, isn’t it.
it’s a very teenagery thing that doesn’t wear off til like late 20s, maybe early 30s for some ppl unfortunately XP
Everything comes easy to Walky. She has to sprint to what Walky can walk to.
So that’s what his nickname means…
Partially that, partially being confronted with parts of her Old Life she’s trying to leave behind, partially the knowledge that Walky is potentially More Useful to Raidah than she is, partially Cain instinct.
If I had to guess.
Jennifer believed that she had liberated herself from her old failures, and Knowing Walky was one of those old failures because he’s a big nerd and her social inferior, and now she’s in Chump City. It’s where she lives now!
That may be what she’s thinking, but it’s nonsense all around. She didn’t to get in this group – they sought her out and are using her. And they’re trying to do the same to Walky.
(Asher probably being the exception to that. I think he likes her and isn’t in on the plan.)
I get the sense that Walky is becoming the sort of person Jennifer wants to be and that is infuriating for her
Being out staged by a Walkerton is pretty much the story of Jennifer’s life.
“walky” could be an endearing nickname in his field depending on what he does lol. but it does make me wonder if he signs his name/signature as walky on the once in a blue moon legal document lol
makes me think of that infamous reddit(?) story where this guy ended up making 3 ‘cat faces’ as his signature officially lol
Well, if his goal of living in a trampoline park comes to fruition then Walky certainly would still work professionally. No one is going to mind it at all.
well, ur job doesn’t need to define you. i mean within reason i can see him being perfectly happy being a ‘trophy husband’ to some way more successful spouse/partner haha
Jennifer has been nothing but awful this whole arc. She’s not doing much to ascend from being my least favorite of the main cast.
Jennifer is becoming a flat-out villain. She insists that she no longer be called “Billie”… but doesn’t allow that same consideration to anyone else.
She wants to be perceived as someone else… but won’t ever look at anyone other than what she believes them to be. Guess only she is allowed to be reinvented.
Yes, I know Walky isn’t asking for the reinvention… but she is clearly doing this as a power-play so she can feel superior. I’m glad it’s failing.
> She insists that she no longer be called “Billie”… but doesn’t allow that same consideration to anyone else.
Jennifer started out insisting to Raidah that her name was Billie, and caved later offscreen. Walky is not asking anyone to call him David.
Unlike the entire rest of her behavior over this lunch, this is her being <i<protective of him
If I was just going by this strip, I’d be willing to entertain Raidah being better than Jennifer at this point.
Does Raidah think Serious Businesspersons don’t use nicknames? They absolutely do, especially in rural areas. I’m too stone rn to look up any specifics, or how to word that query, but I trust y’all to be adults tonight and understand what I mean.
Oh believe me, we get it. Raidah’s such a fucking poser, Walky and Lucy should both leave this group of dangerous phonies.
Raidah believes that buzzwords and interview-speak is Real Fuckin’ Life, and I doubt one could persuade her otherwise. She also probably thinks law practice is 100% big corporate firm hours.
raidah is that “i’m at my emotional capacity” twitter copypasta to me
God, that’s absolutely her, nail on the head.
“Walky” is like the perfect nickname for a small town lawyer, you can just see it plastered on billboards across the countryside.
There is also a level on which “Bubba” the white rural lawyer can get away with informality that would completely sink a Muslim woman trying to do the same.
Book 13: And My Name’s Carl, and I Was Here the Whole Time!
And then despite the title, Carl appears in monochrome in the background (possibly with Raidah and Jennifer standing next to him), and Walky and Asher are fistbumping in the foreground.
man none of these kids have ever had a job. i know that feels very “duh” but like the only thing you need to make a nickname work in a professional setting is charisma. walky’s got a whole brand thing going on and the charisma to sell it to anyone.
& not to have a “pro-jennifer” (?) take but i think people read a lot more like, diabolical or malicious intent into jennifer’s actions here. walky, in true little brother fashion, has the nuclear codes to making jennifer mad. he’s also like, the person who knows her the best out of anyone else in the main cast. if anyone has the potential to ruin her* reinvention, it’s walky. i think also this whole thing has possibly given jennifer an inkling that she is just a networking opportunity, and raidah doesn’t actually care about her. i think she’s been a huge brat this whole breakfast but i don’t think she’s a villain for it – she doesn’t have the patience or manipulative chops for that.
*i think it’s kind of obvious part of this reinvention is raidah’s doing. she’s jennifer instead of jen bc of this group’s weird concept of “professionalism”
Best take I’ve heard yet.
Now that you mention their collective lack of employment, I wish someone would just ask Radiah, so if your trying to get all influential people from under Sarah, how do you plan to endear yourself to Joyces childhood friend, the 18 year old campaign manager with connections to congress whose girlfriend you bullied and insulted?
One Michivalian step at a time.
Villains don’t need to be effective, they just need to have the motivation and will to act on their motives, which, uh, Jennifer has to the nines.
Firstly, I’m not sure where you’re getting “effective” from in elfroyalty’s comment which seems to be far more about Jennifer’s motivations.
Secondly, villains do kind of need to be effective. Just ask Killer Moth how far motivation and will get you in the villain game when they’re paired with complete incompetence.
This yeah.
We’re going to have to see someone do violence on Carl’s face. That way Raidah’s group will have something in common besides all of them being a means to elevate Raidah’s career.
I have to wonder who Dana’s dad was. Raidah is so self-absorbed that I cannot imagine she actually cared about Dana. She almost certainly was simply sore about losing access to whatever influence Dana could offer in the future. After all, if she cared she would have kept contact with her.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2012/comic/book-2/05-saturdays-all-right-for-slighting/networking/ Dana’s dad definitely ran a law firm.
Somebody splain the alt-text to the old guy.
It’s the “this could be us but you playing” meme, with playing swapped out for dying, because of Jennifer’s comment about injuring Wally
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-could-be-us-but-you-playing
I find it hilarious that Carl has apparently been seething about not being noticed since before breakfast began. Almost as much as Radiah thinks her parting words to Walky are a dig at Sarah and not herself. Walky is coming into his potential just fine. Radiah is just as blind to what said potential is as Linda so atleast she has that in common with her.
Oh my god, finally a ray of light onto what the fuck Jennifer’s motivations might be.
New theory: she’s experiencing cognitive dissonance because she doesn’t want to lose Walky and what Walky represents while also super intentionally losing everything else about her past, thus explaining her hair trigger overreactions (and her default is already at a pretty high level!).
This is my favorite theory so far.
Oh, so Jennifer’s name change was Raidah telling her that nicknames are unprofessional?
And, Duh, Jennifer, you’re getting mad at the wrong things again…
Yeah, I was pretty sure that was the case the whole time.
Glass houses… Billie…
I dunno about anyone else, but if someone I just met was telling me not to lose sight of my potential my immediate gut reaction would be “And who the hell are you to be getting up in business like that, person who is one step removed from a complete stranger?”
But then I do tend to be rather private.
Honestly I’d either think it was a joke (like when I tell my flat mate to “be good” when he heads out to work like I’m packing him off to school), or I’d think it was really strange.
It’s kind of funny that Raidah has had some success gathering a friend group as I’d find her so off-putting. Of course there is some level of comic exaggeration.
Chill the F down, Billiefer
Why’s she calling him David instead of Mr. Walkerton again?
Title-Surname is reserved for your vast superiors, like when kids talk to adults.
Little formal, isn’t it?
Dumbing Of Age Book 13: My happy place could be the morgue
Walky sowing the seeds of rebellion against the Raidah regime. Wait for everyone shouting: “I am Carl!”
You know, I catching up since I paused reading a bit, and it occurs to me that I’m pretty sure that Carl was dating Dana, right?
So isn’t that a bit weird considering the past between Raidah, Sarah, and Dana? I dunno. I’d never date a friend’s ex.
Carl was dating Dana. Then she broke up with him during her spiraling. But he isn’t dating anyone now as far as we know, that topic literally has not even come up in regards to Carl as he barely exists.
Some comments I do think may have joked that Raidah and Carl were dating, but in strip literally nothing states this or implies Carl is in any kind of new relationship at this time. The guy’s too busy not mattering.
What’s more, he still refers to Dana as his “girlfriend”. Not Ex, not former, current tense. He’s obviously one of those people who builds his identity around his relationships with other people. Raidah probably only keeps him around because his dad is rich or something.
Maybe. He only did so when talking about what happened back then, iirc.
Which isn’t that weird.
Yeah I guess you’re right, radish isn’t dating him. I just thought he was. Lol. That’s on me.
Jennifer, you’re on a fast track to getting dropped from the group for valid reasons. Yeesh, cool your jets there
She’s not getting dropped from the group. She’s not really part of the group. They’ve got plans for her.
Jennifer, do you want to be secluded on Garbage Roof?
You were here the whole time? Likely story CARL, if that IS your name…..
Raidah can fuck off.
Bob was there too.
It seems like Walky might… actually be making friends with Asher, maybe?
I mean, he’s a friendly guy, but who are his actual male friends? He doesn’t exactly hang out with Joe, Danny, or Ethan.
I think Asher sees Walky pushing back on Raidah’s bullshit and respects it.
Is Carl a fan of Game Changer? Because if he is I’m Team Carl.
When he sets up a rousing game of Carl Says Simon Says, we’ll know.
I’m not convinced Carl was there the whole time. He may have teleported in at some point while nobody else was looking.
He’s the anti-Dina.
Dina’s always there, just behind a door.
Carl just teleports in when he needs to say something.
1) Walky+Asher: Y’know, Asher sounds chill, but that’s exactly what he would say if he were plotting a hideous secret revenge.
I actually wondered if the followup to the previous strip (Walky confesses to punching Asher) would be Raidah mentioning that Sarah had punched her (Raidah).
I’ve started to suspect that Raidah really is less concerned with harming Sarah than she is with making sure that Sarah doesn’t harm anyone else. Raidah doesn’t want revenge (she could have gotten Sarah expelled and arrested for the assault and battery if that was her goal); she just wants to make sure that Sarah doesn’t harm anyone else. She may even think of her campaign to warn people about Sarah as helping Sarah as well (Sarah doesn’t like people, so encourage people to not interact with Sarah).
Good intentions; the best intentions, even . . .
I just want to put out there that Asher really has no reason to take revenge against Walky. It wasn’t shown but it’s heavily implied that Asher was the one who pulled the fire alarm allowing for everyone to get kidnapped. Also the fact that Asher is aware he did wrong by Sal I think he recognized the punch was pretty much justified. I am personally banking on Asher feeling guilt and is now trying to buddy up to Walky one of the people he did wrong. Here’s the reference to Asher helping Blaine.
https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-10/03-when-it-crumbles/gone-too/
everyone’s happy place is the morgue eventually
raidah don’t talk like someone’s mom, it’s even weirder than when dorothy does it
Is Carl secretly the host of an internet game show?
Carl wishes he was 1/10th as awesome as Sam Reich
Ughhh I didn’t think anybody could be more annoying and hateable than Mary, but hate finds a way
Sounds like you just need more Mary screen time.
So Jennifer can ask tell people to stop calling her, “Billie”, but David has to remain, “Walky”, until the cold death of the universe. I’m starting to think that Ruth dumoing her, was a good idea.
Walky didn’t ask anyone to stop calling him Walky. Raidah just started using David unasked.
If Jennifer reacted that way to Walky asking to be called David, that would definitely be lousy behavior.
This, yeah.
2) Raidah’s parting comment to Walky:
I don’t think the comment was about Sarah. Walky doesn’t really interact enough with Sarah for her to “smother” his potential. He doesn’t shun her, but he doesn’t seek her out for deep and meaningful conversations either.
I wondered if it might have perhaps been a subtle dig at Lucy or Dorothy, but really, the only one who’s been obviously attempting to “smother” his potential recently is Jennifer.
I also thought it was deeply ironic, because Sarah’s desperate call to Dana’s father was precisely because Dana’s depression and drug use was smothering Sarah’s potential to get her schoolwork done.
(Another thought I had was that Dana, in combination with institutional racism, could have gotten Sarah expelled/arrested as well, for being Black in the proximity of drug abuse. )
Something I’d like to see is someone asking Raidah: Would you have traded rooms with Sarah? Would you have taken on the consequences of dealing with Dana’s depression and drug abuse yourself, and let Sarah off that hook? It’s not like it would have been too hard. Sarah wanted out of the situation. Filling out some forms to swap residences, and then moving, is just a minor bureaucratic inconvenience. But would you have actually done it, even if the result was you losing sleep and study time, and your own grades going down?
Of course, it’s easy to say, after the fact, “Yes!” to that hypothetical. But maybe Raidah is intellectually honest enough that a certain about of doubt or hesitation would be evidenced.
Only the “h” in Raidah is honest.
There are only two honest answers to that question.
I was filling out the paperwork but then Dana was suddenly withdrawn.
I like to think if Sarah had explicitly asked as much I would have agreed, or at least offered to switch off days but I don’t know. I guess should have offered to take some of the load myself.
Also you don’t jettison friends when they become an inconvience?
Question how were you not jettisoning Sarah by trying to make her sacrifice her scholarship, and possibly go to jail in order to continue to allow Dana to spiral.
Raida: Explanation of how Sarah could cover her own college costs with enough elbow grease and determination.
Or lie about how they would have helped Sarah pull through if it came to it.
Responce
Wow that’s great advice./Wow thats really generous of you guys.
Why don’t you call Dana now with the good news.
All she needs to do is XYZ and she can come back. Your all going to XYZ so she can come back.
Well, that didn’t go as disastrously as I expected.
I mean, aside from Jennifer, but otherwise people stayed mostly civil?
Same here, but I still don’t think they’re out of the woods just yet.
BTW how’s it going Wendy, hope you’re fairing well in these tumultuous times.
… I think I actually like Raiday better than Jennifer in this strip. Please don’t kill me.
I make no promises.
So Jennifer can discard “Billie” as she pleases but god forbid anyone else in her orbit attempt to grow and change as a person
Good golly, was *I* this effed up when i was 19? I sure don’t recall.
On one hand, I get the feeling that Jennifer actually does care about Walky, in that she cares about him retaining his essential personality, instead of getting repurposed for Raidah’s open social climbing ambitions.
On the other hand, I can’t think of a single instance of her not directing bitter surliness or obnoxious superiority at him, like even for a single panel. (Can anyone link proof that I’m wrong about that??)
Idunno, maybe that’s just proof that her relationship with him is more sincere. He clearly revels in the amusement of innocuous button pressing and letting her dig her way to China, but also doesn’t really judge her for acting this way, because he knows that’s what she’s really *like*. You get the impression she’s normally expected to keep this side of her personality bottled up around her new clique, and that insincere dynamic was precisely what Walky was trying to warn her about at brunch.
Oh, hey,
So,
I’m maybe doing a thing
I’m teasing it
consider yourselves teased, bongoes
(@Willis this is fine, right?)
HAhaha, nice, very nice!!
“`I’ve been here the WHOLE time.“`
THIS IS GAME CHANGER!!
Love Dropout and couldn’t resist;
Only person who’s gonna smother Walky’s potential is Walky.
Go to hell, Raidah.