329

Relief
Posted on November 25, 2016 by David M Willis
doabook5frontcoveredited666Dumbing of Age Book 5 is now available in the online store!  I GUESS holiday shopping season has officially started as of today, so have at it!  You can buy it normal and plain, or upgrade to a signed/sketched version. magnetset1Also new to the store is a set of 8 character magnets left over from the Book 4 Kickstarter.  It's missing the ninth magnet, Joyce, because I'm kinda out of her Book 4 magnet, but for now there are eight magnets left you can get as a set. poster-tothosewhogroundme400Also also new in the store is the "To Those Who Ground Me" 11"x17" poster!  It's new to the store because I forgot to put it in the store last spring when it was actually new.  But it's pretty!  

329 thoughts on “Relief”

  1. Charles Phipps

    The funny thing is Becky, I actually think your metaphor for all this is dirtier than just being direct and literal.

    1. Schpoonman

      Patton Oswalt: “Dude, come on! That’s grosser than just saying it.”

      1. Stu

        “I’m gonna fill your hoo-ha with goof juice!”

        1. Scar Man!!!

          ah, it was Patton Oswalt. I thought it was George Carlin

    2. Orion Fury

      Well the hat must be high in fiber, and for some commenters, Becky may have a problem going…

      1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

        I think my favorite part of that is the bit about eating the hat. Becky doesn’t just want to remove it, she wants to destroy it, and the only way she can think to destroy something is by eating it. That way she KNOWS it’s gone.

        1. Disloyal Subject

          She and Walky really do have a lot in common.

        2. The Other Mike

          Even a similar way with words. (Seriously, if Walky were in Becky’s place here, the line in the last panel would probably be word-for-word identical, except for the “lady-syrup” part.)

        3. Deanatay

          ‘man-syrup’? Yeah, let’s not go there.

          Like I just did. *sigh*

        4. Fart Captor

          I think ‘man-butter’ works a bit better there.

          It continues the theme while accounting for the difference in viscosity

        5. Haven

          well, I can’t say you haven’t thought this through.

          Only that I wish you hadn’t.

        6. Scar Man!!!

          how about the biologically accurate term: white snot 🙂

        7. Morrison

          Or she will have the taste of Dina inside her by doing so.

    3. Wheelpath

      I’m taking it as the single sexiest thing written in all of webcomic history, and I read lots of dirty webcomics

      1. Dellaran

        I’m sorry, but for me, it still takes second place to “Go Leafs? 🙂 “

      2. jonathan

        I really do agree with Wheelpath…this is hella hot “Every single possible ladysyrup” sure beats anything in Lady Chatterly’s Lover or books such as that. I am not being facetious. This is hot x 1000.

    4. Heavensrun

      The Coke machine thing is a simile, actually.

  2. Schpoonman

    …So Becky’s been feeling some feelings.

    1. Arianod

      More like urges amirite.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Time to slice into the muzak and play ‘Urges’ by Thomas Dolby.

        1. Deanatay

          Follows it with ‘Urgent’ by Foreigner

      2. Kamino Neko

        Becky: ‘I have urges…in my areas.’

        Dina: ‘Urge isn’t being used like that.’

        Becky: ‘Mine is.’

        For explains.

  3. AHR

    Communication!

    1. Kmoore305409

      Well that escalated quickly, also aww Dina don’t he sad.

  4. AnvilPro

    Will Dina realize that’s really weird? Tune in tomorrow!

    1. achallenger

      fair point

    2. TheAnonymousGuy

      Becky can’t take it anymore, rips off the hat and we discover dinas a neko.

      1. Tomas

        And her real name is Blake Bella-Dina.

        1. Minomelo

          Did you just…

        2. James

          I think they did.
          Try not to go to pieces over it.

        3. Deanatay

          I still get all torn up about that…

        4. Falling Star

          Just like Pyrrha’s heel.
          And Arkos, for that matter.

        5. Shade

          That still burns me up.

        6. Falling Star

          She won’t be needing the hat anymore.
          (also Becky as a monkey would be really weird)

      2. EvilMidnightLurker

        Kittysaurus!

      3. GuruBuckaroo

        I am a firm believer that there is nothing in this world that cannot be made better by the application of kemonomimi of some variant.

      4. carl320

        Di-nyan?

    3. Dana

      Dina knows she is strange and offputting, but she didn’t need Becky to join her.

    4. Fart Captor

      Dina doesn’t care about weird any more than Becky does. It’s one of my favorite things about these two

  5. Romanticide

    FINALLY!!

  6. StClair

    Those are some words!

  7. gkheyf

    shame on anyone who forgot that this was the point of all of the prior

  8. Ana Chronistic

    “What, no foreplay?”

    “I thought that’s what the dinosaur stuff was about.”

    1. TheAnonymousGuy

      Throw her on the floor, Becky, do the dinosaur!

      1. Mr. Mendo

        No no no, you gotta open the door, THEN get on the floor! 😉

        1. Pablo360

          But Becky has learned always to close the door.

        2. John

          And lock it!

        3. Disloyal Subject

          Unless it’s a closet door, of course.

        4. ety

          That she nukes from space.

        5. Dean

          But if the door is open, Dina might be standing behind it!

  9. Mr. Mendo

    Awkward, yet sweet, and kinda hot. Awk-weet-da-hot! ^_^

    1. Fridge_Logik

      I’d be aroused under the circumstances.

      1. Mr. Mendo

        Everybody deserves to be passionately grabbed by a loved one at a pizza place at LEAST once! ^_^

        1. Schpoonman

          Ooh, kinky.

        2. Mr. Mendo

          Plus, there’s pizza afterward! ^_^

        3. ety

          or before! or during!

  10. Makkabee

    FINALLY!

  11. Orion Fury

    So, what strip number is it?

    1. Viktoria

      We could be pretty close to 2000. 350 strips a year, 6 years takes us to 2100. It’s too late for me to figure out when he changed to the 7-a-week schedule, but 1999 is at least plausible.

      1. Orion Fury

        Maybe Book 3 Kickstarter is when those stretch goals appeared? I do believe that info is somewhere, also a bit late for me to figure out where.

    2. Cephalo the Pod

      According to the archive, this is #1982.
      Strip 2000 is on December 13.

      1. Tenzhi

        And apparently, the referenced song was released in 1982, so that all adds up.

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          Plus 1 + 9 + 8 + 2 = 20(00) so it all adds up!

          Meaning! 😀

      2. Falling Star

        On.
        My.
        Birthday.
        Happy 17th to me!!!

  12. achallenger

    i somehow doubt that was the expected explination

  13. Stephen R. Bierce

    *plays “Do You Wanna Touch Me?” on the hacked Muzak* (which version I leave to you)

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Hard to go wrong with Joan Jett, even if she is… eerily youthful at live shows.

      1. Opus the Poet

        Rock and roll – drugs = immortality and eternal youth

        1. CJ

          To bad her brain also got stuck in eternal youth and she didn’t take a stance on the sexual assault issues in the Runaways.

    2. Falling Star

      Well, I was thinking of ‘Touch Me, Touch Me’ from Rocky Horror, but…

  14. Tacos

    I…. uh… Alright Becky that’s one way to put it.

  15. GJT0530

    “That’s too Becky”

  16. Jay Eff

    “Lady Syrup?”
    Like Mrs. Butterworth’s?

  17. shadowcell

    last panel is pretty long for a book title but i think you could make it work

  18. Larkle

    I feel like their relationship is going to have pretty solid, straight forward communication.

    1. Leorale

      Mainly out of necessity, but that’s a perfectly good reason!

      1. Fart Captor

        I think that last panel illustrates why Becky was so afraid to talk about this. Everything would just end up gushing out like so much lady syrup.

        1. Cerberus

          She has been carefully taught, both by religion and sitcom television, that the last thing one should ever do is bluntly make a sexual request.

          Worm around it, let it be an “accident of passion”, most certainly don’t plan it or outright ask for it to happen, because doing that makes you a “bad girl”, a “dirty girl”, a girl that is less than the worms in the dirt in the ground and deserving of bad things to happen to you*.

          Becky pushing through all that to express herself here is downright heroic and triumphant.

          *There’s a really weird strain of anti-sex Christianity, that views certain things as a “fitting” punishment for being sexually active and especially for things like having no shame for being sexually active. Lots of vile gleeful talk amongst folks about how they hope X individual gets raped or gets pregnant or gets an STI, because those things would be a “just punishment” for thinking they can go off and have sex that isn’t in the exact configuration that would be approved of by God.

          And yes, getting pregnant is seen as a punishment by them and it’s why so much pro-life stuff gets intertwined into general things that make it harder for a poor single mother to survive and general pushback against things like contraceptives. Cause to a not-insignificant portion of that movement, the point is punishing a woman for having sex outside of God-approved marriage.

        2. Fart Captor

          Realizing that this isn’t just breaking through typical inhibitions, but conditioning that was deliberately reinforced for most of her life makes it all the more triumphant that she did.

          She’s broken one more of the chains her dad wanted to shackle her with. Fudge that guy.

        3. Leorale

          I didn’t even have a fundie upbringing, but observed from every fairytale ever that girls aren’t supposed to want or ask for things. (That’s how you can immediately tell which the Good girl is — she only asks for a rose, or helps the disguised witch politely without requesting anything in return, or maybe makes a risky fairy bargain to settle her father’s debt. Good stuff happens to her not just in spite of not wanting it, but because she didn’t want/request/expect/try to get it.) Boys go off to find their fortunes, but any girl seeking fortune is clearly Bad, and gets cursed.

          Not that Becky had all that much access to classic fairytales, but that’s what probably zapped me til I grew up.

          Becky is more breaking sex-negativity and kink-negativity. And at the same time! Go Becky go.

        4. jonathan

          Cerberus, are you a therapist or social worker? If you are not, you ought to consider it. This is bloody brill.

  19. miados

    and now i cant wait to see how dina reacts

  20. Rukduk

    Well…I’ve never heard anybody put it like that before.

    1. Scar Man!!!

      honestly, I don’t even care how they word it at this as long as I get someone to say this to me.

  21. Kater

    Becky and Danny should compare weird shit they’ve said to the people they’re into.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Maybe at the next queer meetup thing.

      1. Scar Man!!!

        can she go to those if they are hosted by the college?

  22. Rukduk

    Also, yay for communication!!!

  23. newllend(henryvolt)

    …ok there’s having a weird ass fetish then there’s what ever the hell Becky has.

    1. StClair

      Mostly “sexual frustration”, I would say.

    2. Ansel

      if you think this is weird, you haven’t begun to scratch the surface.

      (well, of weird fetishy behaviour. most of the not-illegal fetishes are only as weird as each other)

    3. Orion Fury

      A weird scalp fetish? Though it’s been explained, or at the minimum, theorized, as to why Becky seeming craves to see Dina without her hat on.

      1. Ansel

        Yeah I think it’s more to do with Dina hiding it than a fetish (especially since it’s just Dina (that she’s been interesting and that permawears a hat, as opposed to this being a thing Becky’s had throughout her life).

        Not that I’d disbelieve Willis, my husband confirmed that after years at catholic school, that is exactly how it felt with things uniforms had to cover (though he got over it in the year between leaving and meeting me).

        (that doesn’t mean it’s not fetishy behaviour, though)

        1. Kryss LaBryn

          Make anything forbidden and it will be weirdly attractive.

          Hey, remember when boobs were okay (if you weren’t married) but elbows weren’t? Man, fashion/cultural history is weird.

        2. Cerberus

          It’s because of the hidden aspect. If something is typically hidden in polite company and in general society, but seen during intimate moments, then we usually ascribe that body part as something intimate, because the act of doffing that article of clothing would be an act of trust and intimacy.

          So that can be for anything and it’s why we’ve decided in our current society that the depiction boobs, butts, and genitals are erotic and acts of lewdness where in other societies, those would be seen as no more erotic than someone doffing their elbow.

          It’s the context of the thing.

        3. Leorale

          I work Renaissance Faires in the summer (I’m the book fairy!) and one of the actors mentioned that, after spending all his time with beautiful women in period clothing, he was becoming inured to the constant cleavage but excited by a flash of ankles or knees. We laughed with him, but we could see how that might be the case!

        4. Bagge

          The book fairy sounds like the best thing ever!

        5. Leorale

          Thank you! I’m super proud and it’s such fun! 😀

        6. Bagge

          You just tied into first place for my favorite fairy 🙂

          http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1939

        7. Ansel

          Elbows should always be allowed. Unless one’s good and chilly, sleeves are a pain.

        8. deliverything

          I am in no way disagreeing, but it could be similarly argued that breasts should always be permitted, both for breastfeeding and because boob sweat can also be a pain.

    4. marianne

      Obligatory XKCD: https://xkcd.com/37/

  24. Fart Captor

    Oh my GOD, Becky!

    1. Fart Captor

      Look at her scalp!

      1. ety

        Please tell me this isn’t a reference to what I think it is.

        1. zathael

          This isn’t a reference to what you think it is.

          Unless you think it’s a reference to a certain song about the attractive quality of large posteriors. In which case I cannot help you.

        2. CoMa

          Well, I personally think it is. At least it’s the thing it promptly popped up in my mind. So…yeah. I think only Jedi tricks will work to eradicate that. Let’s try that: “Ety, this is not what you think it is.”
          Did it work?
          … No?
          Well, damn, I thought I was getting better at polishing those skills.

        3. Falling Star

          Well, you cannot lie.

        4. Fart Captor

          :V

        5. Fart Captor

          She likes bare scalps, and she cannot lie (anymore, at least)

      2. a snow ʍousɐ

        gootchie!
        (that’s what it says right? idk)

  25. Leorale

    Awwww Dina was afraid she wasn’t attractive.
    Dina.
    DINA
    Do not worry about this.

    (I am aware she can’t hear me.)

    1. Bagge

      But she CAN hear Becky, and I think that works wonders

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Indeed. Today I give thanks for the Terrible Lizbians.

  26. 6Qubed

    next slipshine comic confirmed

    1. LeslieBean4Shizzle

      Next on Slipshine, Becky runs her goddamn face through Dina’s naked scalp.
      …
      How exactly does someone run their face through someone else’s scalp? Cause right now I’m picture Becky vigorously rubbing her face against Dina’s head and it seems incredibly uncomfortable.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        Dina’s got short hair, so not too uncomfortable for either of them.
        I speak from experience.

      2. Cerberus

        I presume it’s something like that, though less vigorous and more giggly happy smiley. I’m pretty sure I’ve done something like that at some point while snuggling a partner, cause sometimes I snuggle like a cat.

  27. Keulan

    Well, at least Becky finally told Dina, though that might have been the weirdest way she could say it.

  28. Koms

    2nd and 4th panel nearly made me cry. That’s one kind of lady syrup.

  29. Charles Phipps

    Dina, it’s important you get this: EVERYTHING SARAH IS WRONG. Once you accept this and do the exact opposite of everything she tells you about how the world works, you will have a happier life. That includes the fact you and Becky are doomed.

    1. Charles Phipps

      Everything Sarah says is wrong. That ruins it a bit.

      1. EvilMidnightLurker

        I don’t know, I liked it that way.

    2. BBCC

      I dunno, her calling Joyce on the hypocrisy of deciding being gay is okay while simultaneously trying to ‘fix’ Ethan was pretty good judgement.

      Aaaaaand, while Joyce couldn’t possibly have known this and it isn’t her fault, it would have gone better if she hadn’t gone to that party.

      And had Raidah listened to her and convinced Dana to seek a therapist, that probably would’ve been more painless for all involved…

      1. BBCC

        By which I should specify I don’t think Joyce’s life is happier for not listening to Sarah’s advice not to go to the party. She had no reason to believe Sarah was right and it’s not her fault anything happened. It’s just an example of how not listening to Sarah isn’t a guarantee of a happier life.

      2. Emperor Norton II

        But at the same time, she thought Joyce would lose Dorothy -forever- over the Ethan thing. Rather a mixed bag, Sarah.

        1. BBCC

          That was a different instance. I’m referring to when she called Joyce on deciding gay people were probably not sinners while simultaneously trying to ‘fix’ Ethan.

        2. thejeff

          Might have, if Joyce had kept pushing it and hadn’t already accepted she was wrong and broken up with him before Dorothy found out.

        3. BBCC

          Also true. I can’t see Dorothy standing for it if Joyce refused to admit she was wrong.

    3. Cerberus

      She’s a cynic. She’s not always wrong, but she’s wrong as often as she is (especially in matters of Dina) because she believes the worst about any situation.

      That and she doesn’t much trust Becky because she knows how good a liar she is and so assumes that must have one pre-defined path of badness when it’s really just a coping strategy she developed to survive an abusive upbringing.

      1. BBCC

        I WILL agree with that. Too much cynicism (or too much optimism, as we’ve seen with Joyce) gets in the way of her normally being practical and honest, if blunt.

  30. Aislashu

    I think we have a winner for most awkward sexy-talk EVER.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Or possibly the sexiest awkward-talk ever.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        That’s about how I’d categorize it.

    2. StClair

      “Rub your thing on my tummy!”

      1. Gwen

        But that one wasn’t actually said out loud to another human being

  31. Koms

    And I think the last panel is rather hot.

  32. Emperor Norton II

    So, did Bagge call this or did Bagge call this?!?!

    “This is when we leave shenanigans and enter the truly intimate moment Becky craved. Look into her eyes, Becky (not the hat-eyes, the Dina-eyes) and use your words. Tell her the experience you want to have with her. Tell her why. Tell her about how she makes you feel.

    And Dina has finally registered that even for their standards, there is something amiss in their relationship. She is anxious for small changes in Becky’s behavior. She has understood that Becky wants SOMETHING, but what?”

    Hopefully the part after that will also be correct. Right, Bagge?

    1. Pl0x

      Bagge 🙂 🙂

      1. Emperor Norton II

        I think maybe she needs some sort of imperial medal for this particular prediction.

    2. trlkly

      Nah, until the kisses, she’s still only at 50%.

      1. Emperor Norton II

        66.67%. She was right about Becky just using her words, and about Dina sensing something was off.

        Two facts down, one to go.

        1. Bagge

          I was wrong about what Dina thought was wrong, though. I forget how insecure she is in her relationship.

          I still hold out for mouth smooches!

          I humbly accept the imperial medal in green band, third class. Shipping division. Does that give me a rank in the imperial navy?

        2. Disloyal Subject

          I don’t think the Emperor’s holdings include any naval forces, but that’s easily remedied with a bag of goldfish crackers and a stream. It’ll do until a space armada can be built.

        3. Emperor Norton II

          What makes you think I don’t already have a space armada?

        4. Bagge

          Never presume an Emperor does not have a space armada at his disposal.

        5. Reltzik

          Honestly, I’m kinda surprised that you don’t have some sort of teleportation device for deployment of troops and launching of weaponry that would render space armadas obsolete.

          …. unless it’s a historical/ceremonial thing, like keeping a few old-style clipper ships in service just as floating museums and show pieces.

        6. Disloyal Subject

          I have my sources.

        7. ety

          for the last time, I told you, you can’t trust that one.

  33. StClair

    “… no pressure.”

  34. lia47

    you what

  35. Leorale

    I also really like that Becky got the courage to talk about her fetish (albeit with the weirdest phrasing ever) the moment that she realized that her silence was hurting Dina. Those two!

    1. Bagge

      Doooooooofuses 🙂

      1. Emily

        They are the cutest

  36. Just Me

    Honesty! Finally, it tok l8ng enough.

    1. Just Me

      Forgive my typos. It should read “it took long enough.”

  37. Plasma Mongoose

    Somewhere in the internets, there is a website devoted to Becky’s special fetish.

    1. Disloyal Subject

      Scalp nuzzling? I almost want to look for it.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      Rule 34 — Whatever exists, there is porn of it … no exceptions.
      Rule 35 — If no porn is found at the moment, it will be created.

  38. Teddae

    i’d say this might be the beginning of a new fetish but i’m very, VERY sure there’s already a sexual head fetish somewhere on the internet

    1. Fart Captor

      I did some cursory googling, and everything I found was much grosser than I was expecting :/

      1. Disloyal Subject

        How gross are we talking here? Because it’s hard to top botfly removal.

        1. Fart Captor

          Lets just say “dandruff fetish” was the shallow end, but the deep end doesn’t quite get THAT gross

        2. Disloyal Subject

          Not too bad then.
          Botfly removal may be hard to top, but some people go the extra mile.

        3. a snow ʍousɐ

          I don’t know what that means and I don’t want to

        4. Roborat

          It means exactly what she said.

      2. Gordon

        Isn’t that how it always works when you’re googling a fetish?

        Unless, you wind up going the opposite direction.

    2. Bicycle Bill

      Google either kapelophilia or trichophilia; I think one of these covers it.

    3. Cerberus

      From my experiences, there can be a fetish (and a consensual way of meeting that fetish) for nearly everything you can possibly imagine. And I’ve definitely known folks that have a scalp fetish… in that they find the rubbing of their scalp to be an intimate sexual act that gets their juices flowing.

      Hell, I know someone who can cum just from having her earlobes licked. Erogenous zones man, it’s like some sci-fi shit up in there.

  39. Lipke the Articulate

    ;u;
    Thank you Willis, for not making us suffer with this strip

  40. Ainara

    Becky, I love you but what the fuck

  41. Dana

    Apparently she’s been saving up all that directness she should have been using from the first.

    1. Emperor Norton II

      Of course, if she hadn’t saved it up, it wouldn’t be all gushing out at once.

      1. John

        Like lady-syrups.

  42. Yotomoe

    I’ve looked up a lot of crazy, gross and weird porn in my day and Becky’s comment still seemed really gross.

  43. Tandel

    I am disappointed that ‘Lady-syrup” is not the title of this strip.

    1. BBCC

      Punchlines don’t get used as strip titles because it’s a semi-spoiler for those reading via twitter links.

  44. Yotomoe

    WILL YOU AT LEAST KNOCK!!!?(NSFW)

    1. Disloyal Subject

      http://i.imgur.com/48jUYap.jpg

    2. Architex

      Gotta love those wrist bands

  45. Pl0x

    I agree with Dina. Eye contact is difficult and awkward. I am so bad at it.

  46. TheGrimCorsair

    I see a business opportunity here. Think about it.

    “Galasso’s Galoshes,” got a nice ring to it, don’t it?

  47. John

    That…. that’s definitely a mental image there, Becks.

  48. Fart Captor

    “If only it were a Pepsi machine, Becky. I would have been very interested in Mt Dew lady syrup”

    1. Cerberus

      They end up having to break up over irreconcilable soft drink preference differences. So tragic.

  49. A Scientist

    How…

    How do you even respond to that?

    1. John

      “Check please!” ?

    2. Tomas

      In Dina’s case you snarl like a raptor.

      1. Disloyal Subject

        I wonder if any raptors cooed like pigeons.

        1. KSClaw

          I feel like that would have been weirdly terrifying in Jurassic Park. A snort, the glass fogging over… and an ominous c̶̸̻̺̝̖̪̼͎̰̪̀͟ͅò̥̙̫̱̖͓͍̯̬̩͔͔͔̺͜͜ó҉̺̗̣̭̞

        2. JBento

          According to Manly Guys Doing Manly Things, raptors go “wok wok,” and are adorably chubby and fluffy.

        3. Disloyal Subject

          That’s velociraptors, though. There were plenty of other dromaeosaurids.

  50. AngelBadman

    I think we have the title of this year’s book, ladies, gentlemen and other self identifiers…

  51. Tomas

    Mmmm… lady syrup…

    Sexual dimorphism is so hot…

  52. EvilMidnightLurker

    I sympathize with panel 2 Dina. I have very mild Asperger’s, and the eye contact thing is by ffar my most prominent symptom.

    1. ischemgeek

      I’m also autistic and yeah unless I know the person very well, I can’t eye contact much cuz it makes me nonverbal.

      (weirdly, if I know the person well enough, I can talk if I’m relaxed – but most of the rest of the time, eye contact isn’t something I can do while communicating)

      1. JohnF

        I’m ASD as well, and yeah, eye contact can be done with people I know very well, who are completely non-threatening. Most people are as scary as hell, and terribly threatening.

  53. Jason

    In my experience, ladies do not taste like syrup.

    1. Yotomoe

      You clearly haven’t been licking the right ladies then.

      1. John

        Or the right kind of syrup.

        1. Emperor Norton II

          100% REAL LADY SYRUP IN AISLE 5, NOW ON SALE FOR ONLY 19.99!

        2. CoMa

          This sounds so wrong. But at the same time, like it could actually be available in Japan (I’ll just say “used panties”)

      2. Nono

        Billie might be able to give some education in that department.

  54. Dellaran

    *very carefully does NOT play “You Can Leave Your Hat On” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Bicycle Bill

      You might also want to avoid “Hair” by the Cowsills.

  55. Bagge

    Becky takes a leaf from Danny’s poetry book

  56. Bagge

    Awwwwww, Dina is insecure in her relationship. Becky uses her words, and those are great words indeed. This is such a great “wait what?”-moment for both of them

  57. Bicycle Bill

    At this point, I am not sure if I would describe Becky’s particular brand of lesbian fetishism as being a kapelophiliac or a trichophiliac.

    -“BB”-

  58. BenRG

    Becky clearly isn’t very good at the ‘reassurance’ thing. Instead she comes across as a crazy person. Then again… she pretty much comes across as a crazy person in anything she says and does!

    1. Fart Captor

      Becky is excellent at the reassurance. She positively destroyed any doubt Dina had that Becky finds her attractive.

      It may have been replaced by uncertainty about whether she should invest in a tarp, though

      1. Emperor Norton II

        And don’t forget, Dina likes Becky for her directness. Dina -needs- directness in her communication.

        1. Daisy

          Why do you think all these hat shenanigans have gone so badly? She hasn’t just asked.

          That said, as Dina is pretty much confirmed on the spectrum, the hat is very likely a habit that she’s attached to and taking it off would be leaving her comfort zone. I’m not saying she shouldn’t, but I’m saying I want Becky to understand what she’s asking.

          On the other hand if I’m right that Dina’s asexual she may well be repulsed at this ‘lady-syrup’ stuff. I’m ace and I’m squicked.

        2. pl0x

          I am not asexual, but I am also not too fond of all the liquidy stuff!

        3. BBCC

          Dina mentioned being interested in sex before, at least clinically, so not sex repulsed, like Carla is.

        4. Cerberus

          Yeah, she’s expressed curiosity before at the whole sex thing, so I’m gonna guess she’s somewhat similar to the type of ace I am where I don’t experience the attraction, but am interested in the sex and fluid stuff on an intellectual and emotional level (like seriously, it is so cool to me to do stuff to people that makes them feel so good stuff comes out of their body, like what, bodies be crazy, man).

        5. Daisy

          Haha I am fascinated by the reactions I get but crotch-area responses are a turn off. Dina seemed to be unfazed. I guess not being comfortable with graphic sexuality would make Becky a difficult partner.

          I’m very pleased how this turned out, for the record.

      2. Cerberus

        Remember folks, be mindful of the spaces you engage in safe scalp-x and make sure you’re not getting your fluids on other people’s stuff.

  59. MatsuoTanuki

    *plays “Do I Creep You Out?” by Weird Al Yankovic*

  60. Aprion

    becky has a way with words XD

  61. AgentKeen

    Well, that’s evocative!

  62. Derek

    lady syrup?… ew, just ew

  63. Dariu55

    Dina doesn’t do well with metaphorical wordplay.

  64. Ashley

    TMI, Becky. T. M. I.

  65. OnyxIdol

    I’m surprised Becky knows about ladysyrups.

    1. OnyxIdol

      But then again, since throwing off the fundie yoke, she’s probably had ample opportunity to learn about them.

    2. Emperor Norton II

      Oh, Becky is -very- knowledgeable about the way of the world.

      1. Bagge

        It all comes with her lesbian wiles http://www.dumbingofage.com/2016/comic/book-6/03-when-god-closes-the-door/convincing-2/

    3. Cerberus

      I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that Becky doesn’t share Joyce’s history of not ever masturbating, though she might not have recognized it as that at the time.

      1. Bagge

        Heh, we ARE getting the Becky backstory piecemeal, aren’t we?

        But yeah, you are most likely right. If nothing else because Becky’s attitude to sin seem to have been less of Joyce’s “my family and God will judge me and think less of me” and more “Daddy will punish me… if he finds out about it.”

        1. Cerberus

          It’s the “downside” of trying to use abuse to control someone. You don’t end up teaching them not to do the thing, only to not get caught doing the thing.

        2. Bagge

          Yeah, say what you will about ToeDad, but a stellar savoir of his daughter from sin he wasn’t.

          (Raging fudgemonger of a cockgoblin he was, among other things)

  66. Ivy

    Yep. Becky. You fixed it.

  67. David Alexander McDonald

    Okay, that last panel haz brought the ded upon me from teh laughinging.

  68. NinjaNick

    Wow, how passionate.

  69. JessWitt

    Berserk coke freestyle can mean so many things, but ultimately the one that matters is “a way of life”.

  70. Ryan

    Lady-syrup.

    1. KingOfGreyfell

      Intriguing, yet highly disturbing…

  71. TheStranger

    Becky has…less inhibition in the way of blasphemy than Joyce had, huh?

    1. Bagge

      She doesn’t halfass things, does she?

      1. Gesc

        Always whole-ass everything you do.

  72. JA

    Tomorrow we learn that Dina is a cancer survivor and that her hair is actually a wig and the hat is there to help hold it in place.

  73. Mr. Random

    Clear and open communication is one way to go about it.

  74. lia47

    i feel like she’s just gonna take it off and its just gonna look like how you’d think it would

  75. Zaxares

    Well, not the way I would have phrased it, but at least your fetish is out in the open now, Becky. XD I hope Dina takes it well.

  76. Vivid

    I’m like the opposite of the autistic stereotype but Dina is very relatable here. took me a long time to figure out that eye contact isn’t uncomfortable for most people.

  77. Bagge

    *Galasso in the next stall, takes notes.*

    DAUGHTER, I HAVE NOW LEARNT THE SECRETS OF “INTERCOURSE”, MY EMPIRE GROWS!!!!!

    …Father, may I take a look at those, I may have to make some correct…

    DON’T BOTHER ABOUT THAT! THE MIGHTY GALASSO IS INVINCIBLE IN HIS KNOWLEDGE!!!!

    1. JBento

      I mean, he has to know how intercourse works, right? This isn’t Shortpacked! He has a daughter and therefore he has, presumably, at some point in time, had sex with Conquest’s mother.

      After all, a heir must be produced that they might take over GALASSO’S GLORIOUS WORLD EMPIRE after his passing.

      1. Greenygal

        His one comment on the subject so far has been to deny that “human sexuality is a bewildering quagmire at which I’m interminably perplexed.”

        I don’t think Becky’s declaration is going to help him out on this count.

        1. Kamino Neko

          People who say things like that are generally talking about the social and emotional issues involved, not confused about the mechanics.

        2. Deanatay

          Yeah, but this is Galazzo. He’s in his 30’s or 40’s, has a kid, and still doesn’t really get how it works.

  78. Sairin

    I… am not a man who finds sexual things in any way uncomfortable. I have done many things that most people would sneer at (if not run away screaming). I’ve been asked to bleed as well as other things….

    That said, the way she put that made me EXTREMELY uncomfortable for reasons i’m not particularly sure of.

  79. Willoughby Chase

    Dina looks really cute in the last panel.

  80. EvilMidnightLurker

    There’s gonna be an identical hat under there. And another. And another…

    A few dozen in and they’ll start to change, fancier and fancier, more detailed, different recognizable dinosaurs, glittering scales and vibrant feathers, until hat 500 is the most glorious Tricera-Topper the world has ever, will ever, CAN ever see.

    1. Bagge

      We already know there is spiders under there.

      Becky should be careful with what she wishes for.

    2. JBento

      It’s hats all the way down.

    3. a snow ʍousɐ

      Reminds me of Dr. Seuss for some reason

      1. a snow ʍousɐ

        (That’s right, technically there are MULTIPLE Dr. Seuss books with hats within hats. Although sometimes they’re interspersed with cats.)

        1. Bagge

          I am in favor of recursive Dr Seuss books

    4. No Name

      And the last one will attract Emperor Gallaso’s attentions to the point he will give her a boatload of money for it, and all of Dina and Becky’s problems will be solved forever!

    5. DinaWho

      For some reason this reminded me of the Wayside School story with the one kid who was actually a dead rat in layers of raincoats.

  81. brasca1

    Forget Danny! Can we get this in next week’s slipshine? It would be hot enough even without nudity.

  82. Bagge

    “Use your words” we said.

    So Becky did.

    And wonderful, wonderful words they were.

    1. inqntrol

      Yep, Dina should take her hat off to Becky for what she said.

    2. Cerberus

      She did the thing where she used her words! I’m so proud of her!

  83. Solenoid

    If I had to guess, Dina’s proooobably okay/totally on board with most of that. Everything except eating the hat.

    1. a snow ʍousɐ

      definitely not on board with that

      1. Cerberus

        Hard limit.

      2. Bagge

        Dunno about that – she has spares!

  84. Bagge

    Becky, panel 3: Wait, what?
    Dina, panel 6: Wait, what?

  85. Commodore Jeep-Eep

    Jesus, that girl needs a Joyce Lightsabre and like, 8 hours alone.

    1. yo.

      Sometimes it just isn’t enough.

  86. egg

    thanks becky thats what i needed to read while i was eating

  87. David T. Shaw

    Just finished a six year archive binge and this is where I finish? I have to wait for Dina to take off her hat?
    Oh, the dramatic tension (legs gave out, falls into chair and starts fanning himself)

    1. Bagge

      Heh, that was the most awesome end of an archive binge I ever heard. You and Becky will just have to wait. And hope.

  88. Gesc

    Anyone else thinks the meaning behind her words might have been lost behind the… vehemence of them? Certainly it reassures Dina she’s very much wanted, but I’m not 100% certain shes going to understand just how.

    Then again, she’s a clever girl. Wouldn’t be surprised at all if Dina correctly interprets Becky’s words, specially since the hat has been brought up before, albeit indirectly.

    Just hoping for the best, really.

    1. Solenoid

      Since they’ve finally settled on an open and direct conversation, I’m sure that clarification will ensue if the meaning got lost in that manner.

    2. Cerberus

      I dunno, it feels like the sexual intent is very very clear in that request. And I suspect Dina will get that more than most given that she doesn’t have any preconceptions on what does or doesn’t constitute a sexual activity outside of mating acts.

  89. octochan

    Taking bets on this not being resolved tomorrow by being interrupted by the owner of the pizza place refusing to serve ‘the lesbians’ and getting kicked out.

    1. JBento

      Galasso has trouble diferentiating GENDERS, I hardly think he cares. Not getting profit from people would delay that glorious time when ALL THE WORLD WILL BELONG TO GALASSO!

    2. Not a Bumblebee

      Didn’t Galasso host that one questioning your sexuality seminar way back when. I doubt his reaction goes beyond loud befuddlement

      1. JBento

        Not host, but cater. I think the event took place in a university space, but he provided the food (so he could infiltrate and learn, for no knowledge is beyond the grasp of GALASSO!).

        1. Cerberus

          He recognizes the weaknesses of his gender blindness and was hoping for critical input to aid him in addressing it so his foes in the college restaurant business couldn’t use it against him.

        2. JBento

          Galasso: “Galasso has no weaknesses!”

          Sidney: “Fool! That belief shall be your undoing!”

          Conquest: *exasperated sigh*

    3. Solenoid

      If anyone is going to interrupt, it’s going to be SYDNEY YUS.

    4. John

      I would bet anything you care to name that that does not happen.

      I’m not sure that Galasso knows what a “lesbian” is, and if someone were to explain it to him, I don’t think he’d understand that the word could apply to Becky and Dina’s relationship. Because Becky has short hair, and is therefore… a… boy? Possibly? And Dina has long hair, which makes her the other one? Ones? But she has a hat. What does a hat mean?

  90. Micki

    That last panel <3 And not just the words — I love how Dina looks!

  91. Teh Jammah

    And that last panel makes me think of a coke machine as designed by Kentaro Miura. Which would be one disturbing coke machine

    1. Emperor Norton

      I’d use it.

  92. yo.

    I…wow.

    As someone as awkward as Dina, I’m not sure how I’d take that. Dang, Becky.

  93. Lulu

    Woudl that be considered a rape attempt if Becky would remove Dina hat without her consent and start rubbing her head?

    1. Reltzik

      Definitely not.

      But it might qualify as some form of sexual assault akin to fondling/groping.

    2. Cerberus

      Legally or morally? Cause legally, unfortunately no.

      Morally? Yeah, I’d agree with Reltzik that it would count as a sexual assault because Becky would find the act stimulating and erotic and would be engaging in an act she views as sexual without the consent of Dina.

      At the very least, it would be very much a violation of boundaries, one that would make Becky forever untrustworthy as a partner because she would have valued her own sexual gratification over the boundary of her partner*.

      Already in my book, she’s got a yellow card for trying to worm her way into what she perceived to be a sexual act without acting, but I’m expecting much like with the Joyce surprise kiss, she’s going to learn from this about the value of always asking first and become much stronger in her consent practices as a result.

      *As a survivor and with most everyone I know as friends, family, or lovers being survivors, sexual consent is something I take very very seriously.

  94. Vulcanodon

    An amazing new latte flavor, but I would have no idea how to ask for it without sounding like a

  95. Cerberus

    Comic Reactions:

    Yes, yes, yes, Becky used her words! This is so important that she not be rewarded for the attempts at using duplicity to get what she wanted and was shown how hurtful her actions when using that duplicity were so she can reinforce positive consent practices.

    So her being forced to explicitly (and I mean explicitly) state what she wants in clear and unambiguous terms is huge and a major growth moment for the character because in the sect of religion she grew up and I grew up surrounded by, wanting sex is the worst.

    No, like literally, a woman who wants sex and states that she wants sex is someone that sect believes is deserving of all manner of violence and punishment. Believing that they should be “punished” by unwanted pregnancy, STIs, rape, whatever will bounce them from that path of hedonism and into meekly begging the forgiveness of Jesus and his eternal help-meet plan for them.

    And this sect believes that violence should be meted against those who dare stray from that sexual path, it’s partly at the root of Toedad feeling justified in his violence against her to “return her to the path of Christ” and why so few of her fellow church-members could really manage to unconditionally reject his actions and why so many of them would have had a stance of “oh, that’s so tragic, but you know that’s what happens when you get carried away by sinful acts like lesbianism and premarital sex”.

    But she pushes through that because her gf is hurting… badly and needs her to be explicit about the sexy-time thoughts she is having that is causing her to act so oddly and out of character. And that desire to not harm her girlfriend and to be good to her with proper consent practices won out against all that training and messaging.

    And it’s why I still consider this relationship one of the healthiest in the strip (I know, they’re not really rife with competition), atypical fetishes and everything.

    1. Bagge

      Agreed. The efficiency with which both Dina and Becky overcome their shortcomings is astonishing. Despite all their issues they have built up A LOT of trust in each other during this short time, that makes them dare to open up to each other even if – as you note – Becky has learnt her entire life NOT to do just that.

    2. Dandi_Andi

      As reprehensible as Ross’s actions were, I feel almost as much pity for him as I do for Becky.

      Almost.

      Having grown up in such a community, I am consistently heartbroken by the intellectual contortions they go through to justify their behavior. Ross didn’t simply believe that it was his right to control Becky’s sexuality, he believed it was his duty to do so. Men are taught that it is their responsibility to be the spiritual and moral center of their household. He likely already felt as though he failed Bonnie by not providing the spiritual strength she needed (depression is a spiritual failing or an attack by Satan), so he felt that any degree of violence was justified in order to not fail again. He probably sincerely believed that he was doing it for Becky’s own good. In his own mind, he was saving her from Hell.

      Ross and the rest of the church overlook the obvious harm Ross’s actions caused because they have been conditioned from a young age to externalize blame. John referenced the common expression “the consequences of sin” in the restaurant parking lot. Ross’s violence was a consequence of Becky’s sin, not the consequence of Ross abducting her at gunpoint. Her suffering is because she sinned, not because they did something awful.

      And Becky’s been conditioned that way, too. I don’t doubt that she has to remind herself constantly that her current situation is not her fault. Nuking the closet has been as much about reminding herself that she is not broken or shameful as it is about protecting herself from anyone who would try to make her feel that way. And if her coming out has been anything at all like mine, she’s constantly fighting a little voice in the back of her mind telling her “You’re going to hell for this”.

      That’s why I am SO DAMN PROUD of Becky right now. It is so much to push through and she has been steeping in it since she was born. This is so hard for her but that difficulty takes a back seat to not wanting to hurt Dina (or anyone else for that matter). That’s where the line is drawn between Hank and Carol, between Joyce and John, between Becky and the church; it is the willingness to put compassion before conviction. And I love her so much for that right now.

      1. Emperor Norton

        While my pity is nowhere near the levels of my pity for Becky in her pre-free years, I too will admit that Ross too is somewhat of a victim of his sect thinking. He is a horrible asshole, but one with a tragedy of his own, and one has to wonder what he could have become if not so thoroughly poisoned by his religion.

  96. butts

    whoa man, did I pick the wrong strip to miss

    1. Bagge

      Well, I’m glad you managed to butt in in the last minute.

  97. Cerberus

    Panel 1-2: 🙁 Oh, Dina. Assuming something is wrong, because, well… yeah, in most cases it would be, with most folks avoiding eye contact out of guilt, it’s what is somewhat passively discriminatory for some spectrum folks seeking employment, because a steady locked gaze is seen as “trustworthy” and “resolute” even if it is extremely disconcerting in what is an already anxiety-inducing situation.

    And it likely doesn’t help that Sarah filled her head with a lot of gunk about how Becky is going to leave her or considers her just the consolation prize to what she “actually” wants. Especially after Becky just spent the weekend with a person Dina knows she has a(n) (unrequited) crush on.

    Panel 3: And that panel is where that hits home for Becky, how her attempts to skirt around actually having to ask for what she wants sexually because it’s “dirty and wrong” to do that (and she has history of drifting coy when wanting something sexual or intimate from a person, because of that training) have hurt her partner.

    Made her feel that something off and duplicitous is occurring, because yeah, something off and duplicitous was occurring, just not in the way she imagined. And it’s good that those attempts failed and that it ended in Dina having her feelings hurt and made to worry so that Becky never again tries those kind of wacky shenanigans with someone’s consent ever again.

    1. Bagge

      Poor Dina. And you are right – she HAS had those moment with people finding her offputting, and she just counts the minutes until her perfect wonderful Becky realizes that she is just a little dinosaur weirdo.

      She thought this was that moment. Becky’s face when she realizes where Dina’s mind was going was heartbreaking, because she also know ALL to well what that feels like.

    2. Scar Man!!!

      only problem with the term I have is that syrup is sticky, while vaginal fluid is the opposite of sticky

      1. Scar Man!!!

        woops, responded to the wrong post. Meant to respond to the one under this one

  98. Cerberus

    Panel 4: This panel is downright heartbreaking, her eyes to the side, assuming that her girlfriend is losing interest in her, that her girlfriend is seeing the “flaws” she assumes are so readily apparent.

    It’s a fear I struggle with a lot. Because of the manner in which a lot of people have turned on me after years of previous support, I often do assume that there’ll be a moment in any given relationship, where a partner or employer or family member will suddenly see the rot everyone else sees and run screaming.

    And Dina emphasizing strange I think also really kicks it home for Becky that worrying that her gf will find her request strange or offputting is not something that’s backed by historical evidence in this relationship.

    Panel 5: And there’s Becky tearing up the final letter of how she’s been taught by sitcoms and religion to approach sexual stuff and realizing that being straight-forward is what her partner needs and that her partner needs to know how crazy she is for her.

    Panel 6: Welp, now we at least know that Becky is a squirter.

    Also, I love how Becky this all is. The atypical metaphors, the slang, the explosion of honesty. Cause it’s what Dina needs, it’s what attracted Dina to her in the first place and for her to finally realize that yes, all those sitcoms she got in trouble for watching and all those church camp lessons on how “bad girls ask” were wrong.

    That what she needs. What Dina need, is someone being that explicit about the fetish Becky is requesting. And for Dina to know unconditionally that Becky loves the everloving piss out of her and that contrary to her fears, Becky wants her like a shook-up soda about to burst.

    Also, looping back, but I love how in Panel 1 Becky forces herself to make eye-contact. That once she was caught out, she corrected that negative behavior. Cause it’s that willingness to correct that which is harmful to others that Joyce and her have in such common and it’s a consent practice with regards to relationships we don’t nearly see modeled enough.

    Like Becky/Dina isn’t just adorable atypical women-loving goodness, it’s also got such a beautiful history of good consent practices regarding boundaries and open and clear communication. And that’s something that our society is in dire need of in an age where the US openly elected a child molester and serial rapist because he hated brown-people enough for us to “forgive” that.

    Also, lady syrup is such a good term for arousal-induced vaginal lubrication and ejaculate.

    1. Bagge

      Lady syrup indeed. I kinda think Becky’s imagination has been working overtime since she realized just what she wanted to fantasize about.

      At times like this it’s really fitting that your gravatar is Roz.

  99. Vulcanodon

    Becky is having a moment where she realizes the awful weight of hurting someone important to her. It reminded me of http://www.dumbingofage.com/2014/comic/book-5/01-when-somebody-loved-me/screening-2/

    1. Arianod

      My, how far we’ve come since that strip.

  100. The Smiling Bandit

    Lady syrup? Ewww.

    1. Kamino Neko

      I am baffled by the people responding this way to that.

      I mean…I suppose if the only syrup you’ve encountered is maple (or ‘maple’) I can see it, but…

      1. Scar Man!!!

        well, does agave nectar count as a syrup?

  101. Reltzik

    Dina hit Becky with Perverse Scalp Lust!

    IT’S SUPER-EFFECTIVE!

    …..

    ….. dammit, I need to find a meme that was invented less than half of my lifetime ago.

    1. Emperor Norton

      30 years later, Becky will force her children to listen to the story of how she met Dina, leaving no details out. It’ll take a looooong while.

  102. Sporky

    holy fucking shit, becky

  103. Roborat

    Lady-syrup? I know she had a strange fundy upbringing, but what did they teach that poor girl about the sexings?

    1. Emperor Norton

      As euphemisms go, I actually like it. It implies sweetness (not literally, of course), something to be desired.

      1. Scar Man!!!

        we should be glad Daddy didn’t tell her to call it “Devil Snot” or something like that. That said, this just proves George Carlin right

  104. Mravac Kid

    I totally want Becky to get what she wants, but the thought of Dina taking off her hat brings back bad, BAD flashbacks :-/

    DAMN YOU WILLIS.

  105. Benwhoski

    “You think you’re strange and off-putting? I’ll show you weird and off-putting!”

    1. SgtWadeyWilson

      *Curtain opens, revealing Faz.*

      1. Eldritch Gentleman

        Kill it with Fire

  106. Eldritch Gentleman

    Yes Becky! Initiate Full Frontal Assault! That’s the only thing Dina will understand.

    1. Bagge

      We must not forget that Becky is the subtle one in their relationship!

    2. Jhon

      NOT SUBTLE ENOUGH!
      what…

  107. Bagge

    “I want to be ground up into powder”
    “I wanna rip off that hat and eat it”
    “I want to be dumped into his bathwater and dissolved into nothingness in the presence of his glorious sexy man-chest”
    “I wanna erupt lady-syrup like a berserk coke freestyle machine. Every single possible lady-syrup”

    Joyce: “…WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE?????”

    Becky and Danny: “Fanfic”

    1. JBento

      FICTIONAL PRE-MARITAL HANKY-PANKY!!!!

    2. Emperor Norton

      Bagge….

      Never, ever change!

      1. Bagge

        You mean to tell me to keep making running gags and squee over adorable fictional doffuses?

        CAN DO!

        1. Emperor Norton

          We are not telling you to keep doing that, no.

          We are giving you an imperial command to keep doing that.

  108. Scar Man!!!

    George Carlin was right. Using euphemisms just makes talking about sex more awkward and uncomfortable

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