287

Bug
Posted on October 28, 2016 by David M Willis

287 thoughts on “Bug”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    TAXING TAXONOMY

    CURSED COLLOQUIALISMS

    1. butts

      “Time’s Short” was better.

      You heretic.

      1. Leorale

        That talking shrimp in Wedding Smashers will always have a special place in my heart.

        1. Jacques Cornelius Parrot III

          I’m disappointed that nobody seems to appreciate Ultra Car for the masterpiece that it is.

        2. Adept Arcanist

          Pshh, *kids’ cartoons.* Everyone knows that Robo-Vac is the true masterpiece of our time!

  2. Architex

    Phobias don’t care about technicalities.

    1. Clif

      I’m not at all sure that Becky’s reaction is from a Phobia vs being spider-blocked.

  3. AnvilPro

    That spider just got to first base with Dina!

    1. Mollyscribbles

      Given the bases adjusted for a relationship with Dina, I think it’s third. First is holding hands, second is smooches.

      1. BBCC

        Third is meeting the parents, so not quite. XD

        1. Ksanj

          So… 2 1/2?

        2. Leorale

          I don’t think that Dina and the spider are related.

        3. Clif

          But the spider might have been a parent, so …

      2. Joshua Petersen

        I think this particular game has like 30 bases.

    2. Clif

      Also AnvilPro wins the Internets. Use them wisely.

  4. Marie

    Byee little friend bug

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      Actually, this one seems rather average, in terms of spider sizes.

      1. de Combys

        Depends where you’re from. Here up North that would be hella BIG.

        1. Annie

          Contrary wise, here in south Texas that spider is fairly small.

      2. Marie

        smaller than Dina

  5. Wheelpath

    This is so cute. I’m gonna die from over exposure to adorable

    1. Deanatay

      *shuts jaw, realize I’m still squeeing*

      Damn you, Willis! EVERY TIME I think Dina has reached maximal awesomeness, you KEEP CRAMMING MORE IN!!

      1. Clif

        Dina has no maximum awesomeness.

        1. Emperor Norton

          Dina’s awesomeness is like the universe. There is the visible awesomeness, and naturally, we can only see so much of that. Then, outside the edge of that, we still have the (for us) invisible awesomeness, which expands into infinity.

      2. Deanatay

        ARe you saying Dina is composed of 99% Dark Awesomeness?

  6. Doctor_Who

    Now Becky’s Craniophilia will mix with Arachnophobia and birth a startling new fetish.

    1. lone gay friend

      heard of muffet from undertale? there ya go

    2. Dean

      Girls with giant spiders for heads?

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        It is like The Fly, only you know, with spiders.

        Be afraid.

    3. Plasma Mongoose

      Not sure if phobia + phobia = fetish

      1. wwwhhattt

        Philia + phobia

        1. Plasma Mongoose

          Philia + phobia cancel each other out like electrons and positrons.

        2. truk2

          electrons and positrons ANNIHILATE each other in a burst of gamma radiation. There’s something to be said for the intensity of a meeting like that. Bring on that kink!

        3. de Combys

          Hell yeah!

        4. Deanatay

          Not necessarily. You can feel fear and arousal at the same time. In fact, this is how many abusive relationships begin. Let’s hope Becky & Dina aren’t going down THAT path…

        5. de Combys

          Nothing wrong with “abuse” if it’s safe, sane and consensual.

        6. ObiKemnebi

          Kink and abuse are not the same thing, and calling them as such even with finger quotes can lead to very bad things…

        7. de Combys

          I’m not so dumb as to not know the true disctinction.

          The quotes are only there to tell that some people are quick to categorize some things as “abuse” when in fact, it’s consensual. People which are also quick to say that it’s not “sane”, because supposedly the “abuser” has meddled with the other one’s head. Or the “abusee” is crazy. Etc, etc.

          In fact, I have lived through both real abuse and kinky relationships, and… arousal + fear, really? Never in a lifetime when it’s real abuse. Kink though? Yeah, totally. Real abuse generates emotional distress at a level which can’t be handled, and in a way where the control is taken out of your hands (meaning: you can’t put a stop to it when you’ve had enough).

          That sentence: “this is how many abusive relationships begin” was very misinformed imo. And potentially confusiong for people wondering about their kinks. And also kink-shaming. There, I elaborated.

          The quotes are also a shout-out to all the “please abuse me” that have been uttered with puppy dog eyes after pressing all the buttons at once.

        8. BBCC

          I think I just vomited in my mouth a little.

        9. de Combys

          Hope you like the taste of vomit, then.

        10. pablo360

          Science shows that fetishes can arise from phobias. Now you know!

      2. Needfuldoer

        I think the term is “scaroused”?

        1. Clif

          Well,it is now.

  7. lone gay friend

    lucky spider

  8. Sam

    ….. Becky I don’t think you’re going to win this, if a spider under her hat doesn’t phase her what can

    1. Doom Shepherd

      Pet Peeve Triggered. It’s “FAZE!” “Phased” is something that happens to you after the modulation of the molecular subspace inducers hits a 6.7 femtometer variance, and then you walk through the bulkhead into space and die.

      1. miados

        i thought a phase was when you go through an oddity in your life that you will eventually discard.

        1. Loki

          When you go through an oddity like a bulkhead in space, yes.

        2. Jim the Fish

          A space oddity?

        3. Opus the Poet

          Ground control to Major Tom…

        4. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          I’m sorry Tom, I’m afraid I can’t do that.

        5. Needfuldoer

          Ground Control to Top Space Man…

      2. SgtWadeyWilson

        You die, Batman just stands there. Unfazed by the vacuum of space.

        Now I know what you’re thinking, “but what does he stand on?” And I think you know the answer already…

        1. thejeff

          A turtle?

        2. MatthewTheLucky

          The turtle doesn’t stand on anything. Turtles swim.

        3. Deanatay

          Batman always stands on gargoyles. Yes, even in space. He brought his own.

        4. Clif

          It’s gargoyles all the way down.

      3. davidbreslin101

        It’s one of those words you hear a lot more than you read… The wrong spelling now gets into magazines all the time, and I’ve even seen it in books.

        1. Clif

          Fazers on stun!

        2. Annie

          Yeah, I see ‘faze’ and ‘phase’ misused often. Almost as often as ‘aw/aww and ‘awe’.
          In books and magazines, though, I think the most common ones I see are mixing up ‘further’ and ‘farther’ and using ‘poisonous’ when the proper term would be ‘venomous’.

      4. Ed Rhodes

        I have one like that. It’s STRAITjacket, NOT straight jacket. A straitjacket is a canvas device used to subdue the murderously insane. A straight jacket is a nice tweed that no gay man would ever touch. To fit it into terms the group can follow; you force the Joker into a straitjacket, Bruce Wayne wears a straight jacket. Are we good?

        1. Bicycle Bill

          A straight jacket is a nice tweed that no gay man would ever touch.
          ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
          Now would you like to have a try at explaining the line from the Christmas carol about “gay apparel”?

  9. Just Me

    Becky, Becky, Becky. If you want Dina to remove her hat, just say so! What’s the worst she will do? Say no? Dina is too smart to be tricked so easily.

    1. Fart Captor

      Whil Dina is pretty dang smart, I’m pretty sure she has little or no experience with this particular type of shenanigan

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      When you are this new to relationships, the prospect of “no” can be pretty devastating.

      And the worst that can happen is that Dina is outrageously offended, screams at Becky of only liking her for her body head, and stalks off in a huff, refusing to even have anything to do with Becky ever again. In other words, the End Of The World.

      Yeah it sounds like some bad movie or sitcom, but what other model does she have for how relationships work?

      It may not be likely, but Becky isn’t a position to know that. This is only the second woman she has liked ever, and the only one who liked her back.

      (Unless you count one makeout session with Kaitlin.)

    3. Deanatay

      Dina blushes furiously.

      “My… my hat? I know we talked about sex, but I hadn’t thought you wanted to take it THAT far… I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment!”

      1. Leorale

        So adorable tho

  10. Orion Fury

    Another day closer to Project S.A.U.R.S. becoming reality.

  11. Train Moblin

    Aside from paleontology, entomology is Dina’s favorite hobby.

    1. Train Moblin

      and manufacturing hats from her own willpower and spirit energy

      thats pretty high up there

      1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        Now picturing the DoA remake of Inuyasha with Dina as an ancient spider-girl and Becky as her reincarnated time-travelling girlfirend.

        1. Annie

          And the ancient spider-girl uses the silk-like threads she makes to weave various hats?

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Magical Hats!

        3. Annie

          I’d watch that.

  12. Fart Captor

    Gah! She’s full of spiders!

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Is Becky brave enough to enter The Spider Zone?

      1. Fart Captor

        She looks very unsure about that

      2. miados

        that comment plus your avi picture made me think of the coffee of doom basement.

        1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Check out the link.

      3. Disloyal Subject

        Doo doodoodoo doo doodoodoo…

    2. Tomas

      Seriously, dude, don’t touch it.

    3. Kernanator

      Of course she’s full of spiders, she’s a girl.

      1. Plasma Mongoose

        Face spiders are an actual thing.

        1. Gamaran Sepudomyn

          Mites != spiders.

        2. Disloyal Subject

          Face arachnids, then.

        3. davidbreslin101

          Acne arachnids?

    4. Willoughby Chase

      Spiders all the way done.

      And that’s cool.

  13. BBCC

    Becky, no. Stop. Use your words like a big girl and ask for what she wants. I know it can be tricky to phrase and it might be awkward and intimidating, but it’s the only way to do this right.

  14. Tan

    Becky, you know not the forces with which you deal.

  15. Tacos

    Give it up Becky. Dina’s too prepared.

    1. Clif

      She always keeps a spider in her cap, just in case.

  16. CaptainBatson

    Becky, Becky, Becky.

  17. Stephen R. Bierce

    *gets the campus glee club to sing “The Itsy-Bitsy Spider” as a round, and puts that on the hacked Muzak*

  18. John

    So does Becky use the same system of taxonomy that Walky does?

    1. Leorale

      I know a person who was raised to keep kosher, which has a totally different/ancient taxonomy for figuring out which animals are okay to eat. She’s a sciencey person who is also fully capable of grasping regular taxonomy, so her friends were really startled and appalled when she tried to explain that bats are like birds and frogs are like bugs.

      1. Clif

        Also I think no one uses the same system of taxonomy Walky does.

  19. Derek

    Hm I wonder how interested or disinterested Dina is in entomology, since insects change a lot faster than most megafauna (that’s why we use fruit flies for experiments on genetics!). Since she knows the arachnid distinction off the top of her head, does she consider that common knowledge? or common knowledge for any science student? (I’d say the latter)

    1. Ramona

      “…off the top of her head…”

      I see what you did there.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Some creepy-crawlies do look kinda like miniature dinosaurs

    3. Joe Archer

      Basic zoological terminology should be general knowledge in any civilized society, even among proponents of hypotheses like intelligent design. However, I get the impression that US education rather enumerates the bones in the human body than the general overview over the animal kingdom.

      Is the use of latin names like femur and vagina over English-rooted terms like thigh bone and womb a consequence of puritanism and bowdlerizing?

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Isn’t the womb the uterus, though?
        Pretty sure ‘vagina’ is considered a lewder word by far in the US. We’re not Victorian England, categorizing poultry meat into white and dark so no one has to enunciate ‘thigh’ or ‘breast.’
        Familiarity with the basics of etymology is middle school material to my knowledge, but the USA are anything but consistent in what our schools teach.

        1. Leorale

          I knew that arachnids weren’t bugs in high school, I probably learned it from a book or my nerdiest brother or something. I figure it’s common knowledge among people who remember random weird facts, and Dina is definitely such a person.

        2. Clif

          Bugs is an ill defined term. Google sea bugs for example. English as it is used can incorporate spiders as a kind of bug.

        3. ety

          I think most people are taught it… but I’m not sure very many of them are paying attention and even if they are they don’t remember it for long. My class definitely covered the material in 7th grade “life sciences” and possibly covered it some in grades before that. That said, I’ve always had a ridiculously easy time with basic biology and “life sciences” material, so I don’t really know how to compare that to other people.

  20. butts

    Oh my god, becky’s FACES in this one

    (see, I can do things other than butts)

    1. Deanatay

      Butt, you still had to say SOMETHING with butts in it, butt?

  21. Amias

    Honestly, Becky, just be straight with her.

    Wait, that came out wrong.

    1. Plasma Mongoose

      Hats off to you for realizing that.

      1. Leorale

        hey-o!

        1. Clif

          Ting-a-ling. 《rings bell》

  22. Zach

    Dina and I just had a bonding experience.

    Watch the pretty spider.
    Bye little spider!

  23. Doom Shepherd

    Enough with the manip, Becky. Just ask, FFS.

  24. TrueVCU

    God will be toppled from his throne before Dina removes THE HAT

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Willis has to get up and walk around sometime, but it’ll be a few years before his kids can wrestle him to the ground.

  25. Arquinsiel

    Aaaaaaand we’re done.

  26. miados

    dina is so chill the dinosaurs went extinct

    1. Shalmi Barman

      Dina would probably not appreciate that zinger but I do.

      1. miados

        actually since one thing she appreciates about dinosaurs is the fact they are in a sense time locked as in what they are will not change like how humans she tries to interact with change she might appreciate it.

  27. Tomas

    Her hat swallowed a spider to catch the fly.

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      To this day, no living soul can fathom the reason it consumed the fly!

  28. Tomas

    Becky seems turned on by the thought of checking Dina’s hair for parasites.

    1. Needfuldoer

      She got in trouble for watching a Jane Goodall documentary late at night on TV when she was a kid.

    2. Deanatay

      Hrm, red hair, no sexual hangups… Becky confirmed to be part bonobo.

      1. Scar Man!!!

        are you kidding? That kid is full of sexual hangups

        Also, I thought bonobos had black fur

        1. Clif

          Why is scalp lust a hang-up, per se.?

        2. Scar Man!!!

          1) the reasoning behind it

          2) The scalp lust is not even what I was referring to

        3. Deanatay

          MIGHT be confusing them with orangutans…

  29. Shiro

    You know, I bet if Becky just asked…

  30. Jason

    Next Becky will claim that the hat must be hurting Dina’s heels. Then she’ll suggest removing the hat in honor of National Naked Head Day. Then she’ll just ask for a coffee.

    1. Clif

      Hats are the ultimate coffee mugs.

  31. Bicycle Bill

    “I’d like to see you out in the moonlight
    I’d like to kiss you baby way back in the sticks
    I’d like to walk you through a field of wildflowers
    And I’d like to check you for ticks.”

    1. Bagge

      That’s… kinda cute, actually.

      1. Deanatay

        “Then, she let out a long sigh
        Which, I took to mean, ‘Uh
        “Mama, What is that deodorant you’re wearing?
        It’s intoxicating
        Why don’t we drive out to the country sometime?
        And collect deer ticks in a zip-lock baggie’, Oh yeah”

        Weird Al, Jackson Park Express

      2. Bagge

        Like in most places, ticks in Sweden transmit borelia and other fun stuff. Due to the climate Northern Sweden is tick-free, but thanks to global warming they are moving north. My cousin comes from up there and everytime we are in any even remotely nature-like place that is south of the border he FREAKS THE FUCK OUT. He basically plans to follow the ice north as temperature increases.

        #SwedishAnecdotes

  32. Valdrax

    Oh, Dina. Bug doesn’t equal insect. “Bug” as a colloquial term encompasses all land arthropods (and sometimes other terrestrial invertebrates), and as a semi-scientific term, it only encompasses the order Hemiptera, aka the “true bugs.”

    1. Fart Captor

      That doesn’t conflict at all with what she told Becky?

      1. Shay Guy

        Dina implies that Hemiptera is the “real” meaning, when “arthropods in general” is by far the more common usage.

        1. BBCC

          If anyone is going to put proper (or semi-proper) scientific terms above the most common usage, it’s Dina. This is a hill she will die on.

        2. Fart Captor

          No, she only says that spiders aren’t bugs, and nothing at all about what would correctly be considered a bug

        3. Dean

          If a lobster had crawled under Dina’s hat, ‘bug’ would have been an incorrect usage.

        4. SgtWadeyWilson

          Also, far more interesting problems would be of somewhat higher priority.

        5. Willoughby Chase

          That’s not a bug, that’s a feature /programmer joke.

        6. ety

          I’m pretty sure it’s just a moth.

        7. Fart Captor

          Lobsters are the tastiest kind of bug

        8. Bicycle Bill

          Crawfish/crayfish, which are basically freshwater lobsters, are known colloquially around these parts as “mudbugs”.

        9. Agemegos

          Slipper lobsters are known in these parts as “Balmain bugs”. And flathead lobsters are known as “Moreton Bay bugs”.

    2. Plasma Mongoose

      Bugs are insects that special mouths that suck.

      1. No Name

        I thought bugs were defined by their wings, which are hard like a beetle’s near the base but become membranous like a fly’s as they go along their length, hence Hemiptera, or “half wing”. That said, aphids, which are usually wingless (they only get wings when the previous generation has finished sucking their poor victim dry, requiring a mass exodus), are true bugs, so the mouth parts may be a back-up identifier.

        1. 3oranges

          It’s like how mammals are defined by being hairy and warm-blooded, or having a particular pattern of dentition, or nursing their young with milk glands. They’re really a lineage, and you could pick different unique things to recognize them.

          True bugs have a distinct type of wing when present, and are one group with sucking mouthparts, and I’m sure share other features you could pick. I wouldn’t say “bug” is the same thing as true bug, though. It’s more calling someone a “true friend”, it doesn’t mean the others aren’t friends at all.

    3. Joe Archer

      Anyone working in IT will tell you that there is a huge difference between bugs and spiders.

  33. Rukduk

    Oh dear god a spider actually crawled up Dina’s hat!!! Similar scenarios are my worst nightmare but she isn’t freaked out in the slightest.

  34. Inara

    well, I’ve just gotten derailed by imagining spiders in my hair now – anyone else?

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      It would make for a good Halloween costume, but my cousin’s tarantula died, and toy spiders are much less fun.

  35. Scar Man!!!

    How old is Becky again? Cause I want to know if I (at 20) am old enough to tell her “Good lord child you’re really reaching now!”

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Probably 18, like Joyce. That said, cluelessness is not a factor of age, it is a factor of experience. And Becky has zero experience with trying to talk people out of their clothes, and may not have much with guys trying to talk her out of hers. And almost certainly none with gals trying to.

      1. Joe Archer

        I wouldn’t say zero experience – she did succeed in one case, which led to her being taken off Anderson U.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          Pretty sure they were both still fully dressed when they got caught. Doesn’t seem like Becky’d rush the removal of clothes; she did come from the same community that produced Joyce.

        2. Joe Archer

          Panel 4 pretty much suggests that they got down to underwear:
          http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/definitely/

        3. David M Willis

          In panel four, they’re on their third set of clothes in a row. The middle panels don’t all take place on the same day, unless they wear shorts and then put pants on and then take off their pants to reveal their shorts again, all while changing shirts constantly.

        4. Roborat

          Well, based on my daughter’s clothes changing activity when she was a little kid, that wouldn’t be considered all that unusual girl behavior.

        5. BBCC

          Speaking as a girl, yes it would, in my experience. Unless they were going out to different places requiring vastly different types of clothing and/or had a school uniform to change out of (neither of which is the case) there is no reason to be constantly changing clothes.

          Also, that was when your daughter was little. Becky and Kaitlin are 18.

        6. Fart Captor

          It seems unlikely that couple of teenagers would interrupt their steamy makeouts for multiple unnecessary wardrobe changes.

          I guess it’s possible at least, since we have no idea what kind of stuff Kaitlin was into

        7. ety

          I definitely interpreted that as a collage of various day’s activities.

  36. Scar Man!!!

    Dina is hijinks-proof. Only serious and cute things happen around her

    1. Bagge

      And sometimes Seriously Cute.

    2. Fart Captor

      Ah, but what about tomfoolery? I’ll bet that’ll work

    3. Plasma Mongoose

      Not sure spiders crawling out of her head counts as “CUTE”

      1. Bagge

        I’m pretty sure Becky is wrestling with the same conundrum in the last panel.

        “I wonder what she hides under her hat, there is where all the good stuff is. It must be something amazing, it must be… SPIDERS!!!!

        …OK, that didn’t make my already confused libido any less confused.”

      2. SgtWadeyWilson

        Are you sure we just read the same comic?

        I found that cute.

        1. Deanatay

          Not cute.

          ABSO-FREAKIN’ ADORBS.

        2. Fart Captor

          ADORI-BUG

      3. Willoughby Chase

        Yes, yes it does.

        1. Clif

          With Dina it does

  37. Bagge

    Dina is all: “Becky DOES know the difference between insects and arachnids, right? That is fundamental for taxonomical understanding of animals…. No, I mustn’t assume. They have lied to her about so much. But I mustn’t condemn either. I should present this fact as the wonderous thing it is rather than chide her for her lack of knowledge.”

    Becky is all: “Booooooooooooooobs Scaaaaaaaalps.”

    1. Random832

      My personal position is I understand it but as a linguistic descriptivist categorically object to the notion that science has any business deciding that “bug” must mean “insect”, let alone “hemiptera” (and why doesn’t anyone ever object to describing flies and beetles as bugs?). Also, tomatoes are vegetables.

      1. Dean

        A tomato is a FRUIT.

        1. Random832

          Wheat is a fruit. Peanuts are fruit. The definition of “fruit” which is used to justify saying that tomatoes are fruit is so broad as to be useless. And incidentally by that definition a strawberry is not a fruit.

        2. Narf

          Wheat is a grass and peanuts are legumes, bro :p

        3. Random832

          Yes, and the actual part we eat is the fruit. Did you think that grass didn’t have fruit? All plants* have fruit. (On a strawberry, the yellow dots that we call seeds are the fruits)

          *Well, most plants. There are a few exceptions. For example, pinecones aren’t considered fruit. Incidentally, a juniper berry is a pinecone.

        4. Narf

          I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t help myself

        5. Bagge

          Great, I started a taxonomical debate. Now this comment thread feels just like work.

          *Browses over the article, keeps writing*: “THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS PROKARYOTES!!!!”

        6. Clif

          Without prokaryotes there can be no antikaryotes.

        7. Bagge

          …that would be virus, I think.

          Anyway, the idea is that bacteria and archaea are different groups, so lumping them together in one group is wrong, kinda like reptiles is not one group (unless you include birds). Norman Pace wrote a piece about it in nature a few years back, and we have been arguing about it since.
          http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v441/n7091/full/441289a.html

        8. davidbreslin101

          Yep. Pretty much any scientific use of a common name for something needs the caveat: “Definition may not apply to everyday life.” The botanical definition of “nut” does NOT include: almonds, brazil nuts, cashew nuts, pistachio nuts, peanuts, macadamia nuts, pecan nuts, walnuts…. but what the hell else do you call your bag of mixed nuts?

        9. 3oranges

          In botany “fruit” isn’t a broad meaningless term, but a very specific one: it means a mature floral ovary. That just so happens to include tomatoes and legumes, but not say the parts we eat in carrots, celery, or cauliflower. Strawberry are usually called a multiple fruit.

        10. Random832

          Actually a strawberry is an accessory fruit. Raspberries are multiple fruit.

          My point is it’s meaningless from a culinary perspective – it includes all grains and all nuts (real or otherwise).

        11. 3oranges

          Yes, I mixed the two up! I have been pedantic one too many times here, and it caught up to me. Apologies, it wasn’t the best day.

        12. Narf

          Botanical fruits and culinary fruits are different things. If you’re going to be pedantic, do your research first.

        13. Emperor Norton

          Is there anything sweeter than out-pedanting a pedant?

        14. Fart Captor

          A spider is a VEGETABLE

        15. Clif

          I knew that.

    2. Deanatay

      Becky’s like “EEEE you slipped your hand up under your hat! DO IT AGAIN”

      1. Bagge

        +1

      2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

        So I tucked my spider under my hat, and I turned left to ask her why.

  38. OnyxIdol

    Dina has really improved her smiling skill.

    1. Bagge

      Being close to Becky helps.

      Doooooooooooofus

  39. Bagge

    This arc does a great job describing just how immature Becky is when it comes to relationships, and I’m glad it does it with Becky pining about Dina’s scalp rather than her boobs, because this is hilarious, but that would have been very uncomfortable.

    Mostly because it would have it too close to home for a LOT of people who have been awkward 14-year-olds. Becky says she wants to take the “next physical step in their relationship” Having Dina take off her hat for her – knowingly, willingly – WOULD be that because, as Cerberus note, that’s something that Dina rarely do, and that makes it an intimate act.

    But tricking Dina to take of her hat in some sort of stupid lesbian shenanigan (TM) is not an intimate act, it is not the next physical step. It is just Becky catching an eyeful of forbidden fruit. And it is very, VERY similar to lot of 14-year-old-boys “accidently” brushing against their girlfriends boobs in a narrow corridor.

    And it of course makes sense – Becky IS very immature and have not been given any way to prepare for this at all. So far she has excelled at relationship far better than could be expected, with support, consent and overall empathy, so this is a good reminder.

  40. Ash_Ketchup

    If Dina’s got bugs crawling around in her hair up there….. bad hygiene.

    1. Fart Captor

      Look, she just went over this…

    2. John

      She never takes her hat off, what do you expect?

      1. Clif

        What’s inside Sal’s glove?

    3. Leorale

      Eh, she walked under a tree. That’s how a spider got into mine. It wasn’t a big deal.

  41. Opus the Poet

    I think it’s safe to say Dina does not have arachnophobia or any insect phobias.

    1. Willoughby Chase

      Spiders are cool. Dina confirmed as favourite character.

      1. Scolopendra

        If there was ever any doubt, it has now been eradicated.

  42. brasca1

    I’ve seen worse crawl out of a dude’s dreadlocks before.

  43. Arianod

    Becky, you should do something about that eye of yourse before it wanders off…

  44. Plasma Mongoose

    Will we get to see Dina without her headgear by Haturday?

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      [rimshot]

  45. Grubbo

    You, know i’ve never posted here before, but I think this is an appropriate time…. I hope these kinds of comics go on for eternity, i absolutely adore this relationship! XD

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Eternity in-comic time, or external time?

      1. Bicycle Bill

        Considering “DoA time” works out to be roughly one week per (real-time) calendar year — Sept 10th 2016 was the sixth anniversary of the first strip and we’ve only covered about 37 days into the semester — I will probably be on Social Security before the characters get to mid-semester, and will likely be pushing up daisies before the semester final exams.  So for me, it probably *WILL* go on for eternity.

  46. MatsuoTanuki

    *thinks long and hard*

    Crud… I said I was gonna put song lyrics related to the strip in every comment I left, but all I got is the Spider Man theme song… barely fits…

    1. Bagge

      Is there a spider-girl theme song?

      1. MatsuoTanuki

        Not yet, but I got a feeling between Spider-Woman, Silk and Spider-Gwen, it’s only a matter of time.

      2. Roborat

        Well, there is a Squirrel Girl theme song, which by an amazing coincidence, sounds remarkable similar musically to the Spider Man theme song.

    2. SgtWadeyWilson

      What about:

      I am the one hiding under yours stairs
      Fingers like snakes and spiders in my hair

      1. MatsuoTanuki

        Aaaaw, darnit, it’s so obvious now…

    3. Bicycle Bill

      How about some Jim Stafford?

      “I don’t like spiders and snakes
      And that it ain’t what it takes
      To love me…
      Like I want to be loved by you.”

  47. bargamer

    When BDSM means, “”Bug?” Dina. “Spider, mean!””

    I tried. ^^:

    1. Emperor Norton II

      I honestly did not get that at all.

  48. Teddae

    dang is becky getting desperate

  49. KaitouKidisBae

    “Hey, I wanna see what you like without a hat/bandana on your head. Is that cool?” are apparently the hardest words to say in the English language.

  50. NinjaNick

    That was cute, but what are the chances that spider was making eggs under Dina’s hat? Becky might be speculating that.

  51. Lipke the Articulate

    Every time I see that friggin’ grass now I’m gonna get happy
    Willis you better not ever use a grassy background for bad things

  52. Bagge

    Becky’s youth pastor: “And bewaaaaare of the daaaangers of girl-on-girl-hanky panky, because the eeeeeevil leeeeeeesbians are dangerouuuuuus and full of spiiiiiiiiders.”

    Becky, present day: “Would you look at that – he was actually right about something. Still hot, though.”

    1. yo.

      Nah, they just teach you that lesbians are lost souls desperate for husbands and got confused. Only gays and trans people are evil, because they’re possessed. /s

      1. Fart Captor

        “Spiders are dangerouuuuuus because they’re full of eeeeevil leeeeeeesbians”

        1. Opus the Poet

          Muttley LOL.

        2. Bagge

          +1

  53. Keulan

    I would be freaking out if I found a spider on my head.

  54. Heather

    I don’t know why but the last two panels have me concerned like Becky will get annoyed and snatch it off her head. I have absolutely no basis for this but I just had my mind jump to it for some reason.

    And why does this thought make me so uncomfortable?

    Eh on reflection I don’t think Becky would. Hopefully she’ll just come clean and Dina will poke/become a bit ticked at her not being direct. Dina prefers people being direct and upfront given conversations with Sarah her second fave. It is a potential interesting area they could clash as a couple, as a kid, Becky hid her desires so effectively, even from herself, a common aspect of being in the alphabet soup depending on how they are raised/wider society expectations affecting your own. (After all it took being away from Joyce to realise them).

    1. JBento

      That thought makes you uncomfortable because it’s a massive violation of boundaries, bordering on assault.

      I don’t think Becky would, either. I think it’s much likely that she we would have a strip of despairing meltdown in front of Dina, to which Dina responds “oh. you could’ve just asked,” reaches for the hat aaaaaand… either the strip fades to black or we get a full shot of Becky’s face with shining eyes (possibly saying “It’s… it’s beautiful…”)

    2. Leorale

      I think it makes you uncomfortable because you know that Becky has sexualized Dina’s hat, so that, to Becky, it’d be like ripping off Dina’s shirt without consent. I agree with JBento’s hypothesis that Becky will get to see and we won’t, I think that’d be perfect.

  55. Kay

    ….I love you Dina. Plz never change.

    (Ahhhh, now I’m remembering when that adorable jumping spider crawled up my hair. It was a bit worrisome, getting her out without hurting her. DX She did not want to crawl on me again after that, either. But. So adorbs.)

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Yeah, I’m pretty impressed that Dina extracted a spider from a snug hat blind and one-handed without harming ir
      Spiders can be pretty dang cute.

      1. Lipke the Articulate

        I really wish I shared your ability to perceive spiders as “cute”.
        To me, if I cannot immediately identify a spider, it is a very angry brown recluse and I treat it as such.
        (Treating it as such involves lots of running away and yelling.)

        1. SgtWadeyWilson

          I find it helps if you go on a field trip where you’re promised butteries, but they won’t sit still, and there’s this nice little orb spider that’s content to just work on it’s web and eat insects.

          Plus, if a butterfly stops by while you’re watching, that’s your best chance to see a wild one sit still for a prolonged period of time.

          Why are you walking away? Is it because you know what happened to the butterfly? Did I not present the spider as the hero well enough?

        2. JBento

          In Lipke’s defence, orb spiders can’t kill you, nor are they super-aggressive little shits. And their webs are super gorgeous, and orb spiders are easily identifiable as such.

          Look, what I’m getting at is that brown recluses are the sort of spiders that make you go “what do you mean, they’re not australian wildlife?”

        3. davidbreslin101

          We have no (0) species of dangerous spider here, but most people are still scared of them. It’s the House spiders that get the worst reaction- big, dark, long-legged and fast-moving, but utterly harmless. They’re actually rather elegant-looking creatures, but I can only appreciate that when they’re safely under a glass.

        4. yo.

          I live in an area where Brown Recluses (dangerous) and Huntsman spiders (harmless) are pretty common. They look a lot alike when they’re small so we were always taught to identify the poisonous one by looking for the “violin” on it’s back.

          (BR’s have a marking on their abdomen that look a lot like the musical instrument.)

        5. No Name

          Also, Huntsmen, though arachnids, have no waist (and therefore aren’t true spiders). They also have no silk, so, again, not true spiders, but you can’t visually identify a spider for it’s silk glands. Around these parts, we call them “Daddy Long-legs” – not to be confused with the Australian spider of the same name that is, in fact, venomous.

        6. JBento

          Oh, are Huntsmen the english common name for opilionids?

        7. BenRG

          Interesting etymological trivia note: Here in London, we also call Crane Flies ‘daddy long-legs’. This may have something to do with the fact that they are many times more common a sight than a Huntsman (of which I’ve seen maybe two in my 42 years).

        8. BenRG

          Apology: ‘Harvestman’, not ‘Huntsman’.

        9. Lipke the Articulate

          I live in an area where damn near every scary type of spider is either relatively common or at the very least not nonexistent. Black widows, brown recluses, etc etc etc.
          In fact, my first day moving into my first house when I moved to this state, I saw a black widow building its web on the overhanging bit of the roof. I haven’t seen one since in my three years being here, which is a good thing because I think I’d have a heart attack if I did… like, logically, I know that I probably won’t get bitten and die horribly if I don’t bother it or stick my finger in its web by accident or whatever, but when I’m seeing jet black and blood red on a natural friggin’ creature, I’m panicking.

        10. 3oranges

          This is a mistake: huntsmans are true spiders. You are thinking of harvestmen, which don’t look much like brown recluses.

        11. Roborat

          If I lived in an area where dangerous spiders lived, I don’t think I would be getting close enough to them to identify some microscopic markings on it.

  56. BenRG

    Give it up, Becky! It isn’t ever going to happen! 😀

  57. Furie

    What the hell, Dina? You kill spiders! Setting them free just means they’ll spider at another innocent bystander.

    1. Emperor Norton

      Spiders generally eat the -real- annoyances. Like mosquitoes. Spiders are our friends. Spiders generally leave us alone too, with a few exceptions. This one was probably just hanging from a strand of web when Dina’s hat brushed against it and swept it away. Then it sought out a hiding place out of sight until it felt safe again.

  58. inqntrol

    I’m geting an “It’s Walky” vibe. http://www.itswalky.com/comic/i-got-it/

  59. Chaucer59

    Oh, FFS, Becky, just ask her to take off the f*€&king hat! Tell her you’re dying to see her without it.

    1. yo.

      Considering that Becky sexualizes the hat now, that might not be a such a good idea.

      “Hey could you take off your shirt for me? I’m dying to see you without it!”

      1. Leorale

        I mean, in their relationship, she could actually ask the shirt one. How else would Dina know that Becky wants to see her disrobe? Dina misses most subtext. Becky needs to learn to be extremely direct.

        The whole hat thing is brilliant because it lets us have Becky’s discomfort and excitement, while still keeping them well in the realm of adorableness/PG-shenanigans.

  60. darkoneko

    There’s one under your shirt too, Becky.

  61. Dana

    The point of this strip is that Dina is comfortable with contractions, right?

  62. Hanii Puppy

    Bug ≠ insect. Bugs = { insect, arachnid, general creepy-crawlies }

    1. thejeff

      Bats are bugs!

      1. BenRG

        And I suppose you’ve got a bit of paper in a professional-looking clear fronted plastic folder that says so?

        1. JBento

          thejeff has several Doctorates on their wall, all issued by Trump U. They have ALL THE DOCTORATES, and they’re yuuuge, the best doctorates there are. Other people don’t have as many doctorates as thejeff, and they’re worse doctorates. Sad.

        2. Clif

          The style sounds familiar but I can’t quite place it. :-P.

        3. Bagge

          I LIKE the two of you.

      2. 3oranges

        Maybe we can show spiders are bugs by tracing the Spider-man logo and adding fangs. Except it already has fangs. Hm.

  63. SlothfulCobra

    People who act like “bug” is a scientific term with a narrow meaning are the worst. Generally people use it to refer to all arthropods, from insects to arachnids to myriapods to some smaller crustaceans (pillbugs mostly, although you can try stretching it further). Sometimes people even use the term to mean non-shelled tiny invertebrates, but I think that’s pushing it.

    Hemiptera can go screw itself with its “true bugs” nonsense. Absolutely nobody but the stingiest jerk taxonomist cares.

    1. Heavensrun

      It’s not a scientific term, but it does have a common usage that usually excludes spiders Most people call spiders spiders and other arthropods “bugs”. (if just for phobic reasons) A lot of other people mistakenly think spiders are insects: Considering the entire thrust of their conversation has been a deliberate effort to dispel Becky’s anti-science creationist teachings, I don’t feel like Dina’s being mean or petty here.

  64. Robert

    Becky’s face in the 5th panel. “I just realized this chick never takes off her hat and probably hasn’t washed her hair in *maybe* 15 years???”

  65. Jenny Islander

    Person who needs things to be laid out in direct plain words meets person who has been trained her entire life Not To Talk About, You Know, That. I’d watch it!

  66. Tenchan

    Oh my God, a spider was there! That means it gotten to see Dina’s head before Becky!!!

  67. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    There is a non-zero chance that when they first have sex, Dina will still be wearing the hat.

  68. Davethedavedave

    Thanks to that dotted line, now I want a comic showing us the Family Circus-esque adventure the spider has from here.

  69. Bicycle Bill

    Why do I envision a panel six in which Becky goes ‘full Garfield’ on the poor little spider?

  70. Roborat

    I am impressed that she was able to grab the spider firmly enough to pull it out of her hair, but yet not crush or injury it.

  71. AGV

    High impact cranial assault incoming

  72. Makkabee

    I wonder how long it will take Becky to just ask.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      Of course, Dina will then say “I thought you’d never ask!”

  73. Noclevername

    OMG DINA IS A COLONY OF SPIDERS

  74. Emperor Norton

    I found out yesterday that one of my friends had passed away. I think she would have fit well into this crowd, so here’s what I wrote about her:

    Slingblade (her internet nick) was a woman that had a big heart, a quart of sass, and a passion for fairness. And she let all those things show.

    The combination of these things also led to a righteous anger towards all those people that would actively deny such things to the world. Her life as a young adult had led her into contact with far too many such people, who told her to stick with her abusive husband, because the bible tells us that a wife shall submit.

    After finally getting out of that kind of absolute bullshit, Sling had had enough of that crap. And what she really, absolutely, detested the most were the kind of people that would a) happily support a system designed to kick and keep certain people down, and then b) immediately tell the people kicked down to pull themselves back up by their own bootstraps. She had no patience with such scumbags of the world (as well she shouldn’t), and frequently told them so.

    But if you weren’t one of those (or similar) arseholes, she’d be as good a friend as you could ever wish for. Always ready with sincere and funny well-wishes when something good happened, and equally sincere empathy when something bad was going on.

    We need more people like Slingblade in this world. Instead we now have one less.

    1. BBCC

      I’m sorry to hear about your friend. She sounds like she was a great person. I hope everyone recovers peacefully and she rests in peace.

    2. Bagge

      *hugs*

  75. zombycow

    Im waiting for the punchline to this whole hat thing.
    >She raises her hands to her head slowly, letting becky savor the suspence
    >Gently she grasps her hat by the bottom
    >She slowly raises it off her head
    >Becky’s heart flutters with anticipation
    >With it nearly off becky can almost see it, that which she has longed for all this time
    >She removes it completely to reveal

    A bald spot

  76. Bizzarro

    Calling it – under the hat dina is bald or has a scar or something. She has Lukemia or cancer or something and won’t make it to the end of the semester.

    Damn you willis.

    1. BBCC

      At the pace of this comic strip, a terminal illness doesn’t actually mean much.

      1. BBCC

        Besides, Willis said that nobody dies in DoA.

        1. ety

          if we never get to her death, she’ll never die 😛

    2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      She has a psionic conjoined twin, like in that movie.

    3. Lipke the Articulate

      Yeah, I’m pretty sure she could be currently bleeding out right now and we’d die of old age before she succumbs.

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