159

Tantalizin’
Posted on September 26, 2020 by David M Willis

159 thoughts on “Tantalizin’”

  1. Ana Chronistic

    “Didn’t you notice the “BEaWARE of DINA” sign on the door?”

    1. Ana Chronistic

      under the top is a bottom XD

      over the top implies a threesome…? =o

      1. Nono

        Maybe it can mean that you’re ‘over’ the top who used to rail you. That’s right, you went from being a bottom to a top.

        1. Daibhid C

          You’re the top, you’re Galasso’s pizza,
          You’re the smile as a raptor eats ya…

          …Wow, that came out way more of a double entendre than I intended.

      2. Agemegos

        Or that the infatuation has passed. ?

        Please tell me that Becky is not over Dina!

        1. clif

          Becky is not over Dina.

          That will be $5. please.

  2. Chris

    They’ve been together how many months now, and she still hasn’t been under the top?

    1. drs

      Becky is saving herself for marriage.

      1. Sam

        Was about to say this + not everyone wants to jump into it that fast even if they are interested. It can also be situational. Which I say as someone with negative interest in it and who honestly thinks even a few months is pretty fast for a long-term relationship. It’s fine for short-term ones and fun ones but the wrong pacing (too slow or too fast) for a long-term one can crash it straight into the ground (speed and intensity can cover up major issues, while lack of speed comes across as lack of interest or care).

        Plus Becky is from a hyperreligious background, which may have actually made her extra wary of going too fast because some of the married couples around her, possibly including her own parents, probably grew to despise each other, and Joyce’s parents, did not actually click well together as a functional team.

    2. Doctor_Who

      Dina is definitely the top.

      Possibly a tricera-top.

      1. Another Sierra

        I’m pretty sure those were just a special effect in Total Recall…

        1. showler

          Got the joke on the third read. Fittingly.

        2. clif

          We’re all assuming Becky was tricera-toppled.

      2. Geneseepaws

        Tri-Cera cera, who ever will be top, will top, this comics not urs to top, que Sarah, Sarah?

        1. clif

          You win something.

          Something that’s not the Internet, but something.

  3. Cattleprod

    No one is tagged to be the door opener, so obviously Mike is now some sort of door ghost.

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      This series could use a supernatural element, I approve of Ghost Mike as a character.

      1. Doctor_Who

        Billie: What’s the Ouija board saying?

        Amber: I-F-U-C-K-E-D-Y-O cut it out, Mike!

        1. Deanatay

          Amber: Well, this Ouija board apparently has a ‘middle finger’ icon on it, and the board just went to it, twice. It’s Mike, all right.

  4. Nono

    Is this where we find out if Amber is still around or not?

    (Ugh, imagine if she’s not and Dina has to room with someone insensitive to her sensory needs.)

    1. aelfwine

      Ruth or Dorothy implied that their dorm hasn’t lost anyone (other than Billie), so I think Amber is still around.

      In a surprise plot-twist Amber is now Becky’s girlfriend.

      1. aelfwine

        Ugh, I meant to say Ruth/Dorothy said that their dorm hasn’t lost anyone other than Billie and that other girl whose name I don’t remember but who was only a tertiary character at best.

        1. Doctor_Who

          Bloodrose.

          She was actually in tons of strips, but doesn’t show up on film.

        2. Slartibeast Button, BIA

          Because of a special computer hack?

        3. clif

          Sure, let’s go with that.

        4. Needfuldoer

          Her abductee superpower back in the Walkyverse was staying just out of frame. I think she might be in a crowd shot or two here in DoA, but she’s never tagged.

        5. Captain Oblivious

          Is Bloodrose the sister of Bloodthorne?

  5. 0kami

    pleasebeDina, pleasebeDina, pleasebeDina

    1. NotPiffany

      I’ll settle for “anyone but Mary.”

      1. Doctor_Who

        Potential future sequels to It’s Walky!:

        That’s Robin!
        Where’s Billie?
        Why, Faz, Why?!
        Anyone But Mary!

        1. KingoHrts

          Cause I Love Lucy has been done.

        2. Opus the Poet

          And can be seen somewhere on Earth 24-7 366 days a year, counting the Leap Day 24 hour Marathon.

    2. Regina phalange

      I just want it to be Dina because I assume the alternative is that Becky is just speaking generally about their female neighbors: Which would be extremely creepy if she is (imagine if it were Joe saying the same about sharing a half-bath with neighbors because he knows they’re girls). So, yeah, PLEASE be Dina. (Or at least a different girl whom Becky is actively dating, but that would be pretty shocking.)

      1. He Who Abides

        We tried playing “What if it was Joe?” back when Becky said she only remembers names if they’re attached to, and I quote, “hot girls”. IIRC, a disturbing number of people decided Becky gets a pass because she follows the teachings of Sappho.

        1. spookyfox

          comparing a lesbian to a cis man in that situation is very yikes. no need to trawl into “predatory lesbian” territory

        2. Mariah Hardnett

          Agreed besides becky doesn’t have any intention of sleeping with anyone while joe sleeps everyone so it makes since to be more wary of him

        3. thejeff

          Context does matter. Becky wasn’t doing all the other creepy shit Joe was up to. On their own, without context, only remembering names attached to “hot girls” would be a pretty bad look for a lesbian or a straight man.

          Also, there’s a strong performative aspect to it for Becky – she’s obviously not that oblivious, but she’s announcing it to revel in her new freedom to be out as a lesbian.
          There’s a performative aspect with Joe as well, but in his case it actually did tie directly to how he was treating women. Focused largely on hitting on them, which is not how Becky ever behaved.

      2. BBCC

        Becky is taking Sierra’s place in Dorothy’s room. Dorothy shared a half bath with Dina and Amber. Assuming neither have left the university or requested a new roommate (and I don’t see why Dina would have) that’s still true.

    3. thejeff

      It might not be Dina coming through the door, but it’s pretty clear who they’re talking about. (Barring things have changed drastically during the time skip.)

  6. plasticwrap

    Slapstick just doesn’t hit the same in comic form.

    1. Doctor_Who

      Looks fine to me.

    2. abacuswizard

      It works best if it’s accompanied by the sound effect ¡PLOP!

    3. Captain Oblivious

      I know what you mean, but am still ovewhelmed by the desire to point out that slapstick is literally a comic routine.

      1. clif

        This is a comic, but I wouldn’t call it routine.

        1. abacuswizard

          Reading this comic is definitely party of MY routine!

        2. plasticwrap

          Me too! Wake up, check DoA, check other webcomics, brew coffee, get ready for work. 6AM here is 12AM EST tho.

  7. Suet

    Et tu, la porte?

    That’s gonna leave a mark… at least until the next class. Start now, Becky.

    1. Cholma

      I first read this as “you too, La Porte [Indiana]?” and I was like Damn! The city is against Becky? LOL

      1. Schpoonman

        If the rest of the town is anything like Joyce’s and Becky’s old church…

        1. Suet

          To be fair, the rest of the town that is after Becky might just be the Little Caesar’s, the ghost of Maple Lane Mall that was attached to a K-Mart, and the Taco Bell.

        2. Suet

          *presses the reset button in 2017* Oh that mall better be alive when I’m back—

        3. Needfuldoer

          It was once Chestnut Lane Mall, but Darth Vader from Vulcan took out the chestnut tree in 1955.

        4. BigDogLittleCat

          Now it’s Darth Mall.

  8. Kyrik Michalowski

    I see Becky is still fearing for her immortal soul regarding doing the deed with Dina, but I wonder if she’ll have a revelation before long.

    I don’t remember who sgares the half bath with them but, who are we guessing is opening the door?

    1. drs

      Amber and Dina shared a bathroom with Dorothy and Sierra. Walky ran over Dina to get into Dorothy’s room through the half-bath when Walky and Carla were chasing Dorothy for dissing their favorite cartoon episodes.

      No my memory isn’t that good, I just happened to re-read it recently.

    2. randomMadman

      Dina and Amber, assuming Amber is still enrolled

    3. Wraithy2773

      I mean, Becky shouldn’t feel like she has to rush into a super-physical relationship either. Sure, she shouldn’t feel like she needs to wait for marriage, but she should wait until she’s comfortable going to pound town.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        I just want her to have a revelation along the lines of, “I don’t have to feel any guilt for wanting to do so (before marriage or not) and when I decide to it’ll be because I want to.”

        1. Wraithy2773

          Aye, absolutely, I’d love something like that!

        2. Agemegos

          My reading is that it is Joyce who is ashamed of having libido. Becky is comfortable with frankly acknowledging that she wants to do it, and feels only that to act would be wrong. It’s an interesting contrast.

  9. Sirksome

    Ouch!…..I’ve decided Becky somehow deserved that.

    1. clif

      Not the fist time Dina’s knocked Becky off her feet.

      1. clif

        *first

        1. Diner Kinetic

          this comment is my favorite comment

        2. Captain Oblivious

          Wait… the “knocked off her feet” or “*first”?

        3. clif

          Pretty sure the answer is yes.

  10. BigDogLittleCat

    Becky, read your bible. There’s nothing in prohibiting two ladies.

    1. Agemegos

      I don’t think Becky is a Biblical literalist, and certainly not a hair-splitting one. She is convinced that sexual purity is good for her; Dina is aware of her position and consents to have their experiments and copious note-taking postponed until whenever.

    2. BBCC

      Yes there is. At least in her Church, Romans was interpreted as prohibiting lady on lady.

    3. Ana Chronistic

      In which translation? I can only vouch for English versions myself

  11. BBCC

    Becky is dead!

    I shall prepare the flood gates for Bagge and Fart Captor. 😛

    1. Sirksome

      Death by door’s gotta be a pretty pathetic way to go too! I mean Mike died all heroic sacrifice and shit but Becky just gets offed by a door? Disrespectful to the time we invested in the character!

      1. BBCC

        This story is the real wrap up. EVERYONE DIES! 😀

        Trust me I have patreon. 😛

        1. clif

          Which character is the last to die?

        2. BBCC

          The killer, obviously. 😛

        3. clif

          Which in this case is presumably Dina, unless it’s Amber.

        4. clif

          Or maybe after all this time the door just decided to knock back.

        5. Keulen

          Do the Soggies take over this universe too?

        6. BBCC

          Nah, Linkara took care of them in this verse.

        7. Delicious Taffy

          Huh. I never considered whether or not Linkara exists in this comic’s universe. Somewhere just slightly off-campus, there’s a chance he’s reviewing a season of Power Rangers or helping to preserve an abusive workplace culture or whatever he does these days.

        8. William Leonard Reese Jr.

          Well he just bought a house with his wife, Viga, and adopted a pair of really cute cats.

          So that’s the most recent news I believe.

        9. FacelessDeviant

          Thats just life though 🙂

    2. Bagge

      She died the way she lived – over the top.

  12. leaf

    Did Becky just come out as a top?

    1. Jamie

      Which part of “nuked from orbit” was unclear?

      1. clif

        The former closet.

        Besides which, she technically came out as an over the top.

    2. drs

      No. She’s probably just riffing on Dorothy, but based on previous behavior, (a) Dina is the top and (b) Becky is avoiding pre-marital hanky-panky for Christian reasons. Thus she has never been under the top.

      Whether she meant that meaning, I dunno. (I’m sure Willis meant it for her.)

    3. Wraithy2773

      Becky doesn’t even know what a Keg-Stand is, I doubt she knows what topping/bottoming is…

    4. Spencer

      If she did she’s in clear denial.

  13. Lenora

    I’d be crushed if Dina and Becky are broken up post time skip, like I could understand why considering what Becky went through but Dina was very good for her and Becky seemed good for Dina, they both had healthy communication and respect for boundaries.

    1. Lenora

      Actually remembering that Dina shares the half bath could be what Becky is finding to be a tantalizing new opportunity…

  14. Stephen Bierce

    *plays “Love TKO” on the hacked Muzak*

    1. Stephen Bierce

      Takin’ the bumps and the bruises

  15. DailyBrad

    Kapowie!

  16. drs

    In yesterday’s comments someone asked where Booster’s parents were to help them move in. I note that in previous strips, there are a lot of old posters and such. But the clincher strip is https://www.dumbingofage.com/2020/comic/book-11/01-this-bright-millennium/timestamp/ where we see Walky just back from winter break, and his books and bedsheets and (possibly eww) drink cup are all there waiting for him.

    So Booster’s stuff is probably in another dorm room, waiting for a quick game of musical dorms.

  17. Cattleprod

    Booster’s character page still says ‘they arrived literally today’ which I now realize wont go out of date for a while because the strip will still be set on the same day for a few weeks at least.

    1. clif

      From now on the comic takes place during a floating day. It’s always today.

      Which, come to think of it, seems to be how real life operates as well.

      1. He Who Abides

        And that’s why I always promise people I’ll deal with their shit “tomorrow”.

  18. Kravis

    They always said that “going to college opens doors”, but…

  19. Bryy

    A new cast member appears.

    And the strip gains ten more years of story.

    1. Slartibeast Button, BIA

      When do we get the extended flashback scene where we learn Booster’s Dreadful Secret?

    2. Keulen

      I would’ve preferred that we get Booster without losing Mike as well.

      1. Needfuldoer

        Mike will always be in our hearts (and moms).

        Besides, Brain!Mike occasionally appearing to snark on current events isn’t really so far removed from his normal role in the comic. He just won’t be able to mess with Danny and Ethan anymore.

  20. Reltzik

    Becky and Dina have always been adoorable.

    1. Needfuldoer

      Athleisure Joyce is right up there too.

  21. SuperFroakie82

    I can’t believe Willis killed off another character already

    1. Robbie

      Lol lol too soon

    2. not someone else

      Ow.

  22. Delicious Taffy

    Re: My “98% lips” comment on yesterday’s strip-
    I was joking. It wasn’t necessarily the single funniest thing I’ve ever posted here, but I still wasn’t being serious about it. I also sorta resent the not-so-subtle insinuation that I have some sort of problem with Booster just because they’re nonbinary. I use they/them pronouns and present “unusually”. Because I’m agender. Which I’ve stated before, and I’ve had the agender flag in my avatar for months.

    It literally was just an unfunny remark, so could we not do that dance?

    1. Kyrik Michalowski

      In my mind it’s already forgotten about.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Normally I’d say the same, but for real-life reasons, I’ve been especially touchy about stuff like this, lately. This one just sorta gets in my craw because, like… Booster is the closest to gender representation I can think of, so the idea I’d have a problem with them was alien to me until yesterday.

    2. Nine

      I understood what you meant. Booster’s lips are really dark, like lipstick-dark. I mean, we don’t really think about it on Rachel or Conquest because we instinctively know it’s probably just make-up. Booster seems masculine-presenting so the dark colors seem like an unnatural red color because we are more likely to assume they aren’t wearing make-up, so the red lips stand out. Eddie Redmayne has distinctive, rather feminine lips but they’re not dark. Booster’s lips are more like James Haven’s. When lips on someone masculine-presenting are both shapely and saturated, they do seem to become the key feature of their face.

      1. not someone else

        Yeah, like… regardless of how Booster may or may not present I think it’s partly the combination of a fairly pale skin color with a very dark lip color (and what looks like a darker shade on the top lip). That’s a bold choice that’s meant to stand out, moreso than standard lipstick red.

        I can also get why after hundreds of comments about it, Willis might be super sick of it though!

        1. Nine

          It’s a warm/orange lip shade too, paired with a cool skin tone—both unnatural and unflattering. That is a Make-Up 101 no-no, so it stands out extra.

        2. Seregiel

          tbf – I dont like Rachel, other Rachel, Booster, or whoever else’s lips were listed in this as a counter point yesterday as a style choice. I think it is an odd design that is reminecent to a jam smear and I never got why Rachel was considered the hottest woman Willis has drawn. I get what it is short hand for but… eh. I prefer other character designs. As long as Booster’s characterization is delicious, they will grow on me.

    3. Needfuldoer

      Yeah, that comment yesterday probably could’ve used a “/s”.

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Probably. I’ve gotten used to hyperbole being easily understood as such, but the way the last few years have gone, I guess it’s gettimg harder to distinguish a bad joke from nightmarish reality.

    4. leaf

      After reading that exchange, I’m worried the new they/them character might end up being used as bait to “catch” people being transphobic, or show off how woke Willis is. I’ve seen a few innocuous comments about Booster that were basically met with “you’re not saying that because you hate non-binary people, ARE YOU???”

      1. Delicious Taffy

        Not sure I’d go that far. Gender Stuff is still a touchy subject for a lot of us, but I don’t think anyone here would genuinely try using it for a facetious “gotcha” moment.

  23. goki

    “Tantalizing Possibilities”

    Dang it Becky, don’t make them throw ya into Horny Jail!!!

  24. BenRG

    If someone more experienced than you gives you a warning, you’re smart to heed it. Becky knows that now!

  25. showler

    I want to simultaneously make jokes about “behind a door” being Dina’s natural habitat and that Becky would have seen it coming if she didn’t have that sheet of hair blocking her vision on the right.

  26. Keulen

    I’m hoping that’s Dina who just opened the door. Though it would also be nice to find out how Amber is doing now.

  27. Rabid Rabbit

    Panel 2 is really one of the loveliest pictures of Joyce we’ve yet been given. Sheer kindness, without the overwhelming … Joyce-ness. No wonder Becky fell for her.

  28. Agemegos

    When I was living on campus one of my friends always used to knock on the door of his own room in college (= US the dorm), and when asked why he explained that it was because the door opened inwards.

  29. Bagge

    Becky has never been under the top.

    and still, she is the subtle, restrained one compared to her girlfriend.

    Methinks her loins and soul is in some danger.

  30. Bagge

    I love the content smile of Dorothy putting up a fresh whiteboard. So empty. So full of possibilities.

    1. Zaxares

      We are now taking bets on a return of the WDDB! 😉

      1. Bagge

        “a dick on the whiteboard again? Joyce, I thought you had stopped doing that.”

        “What? I have alibi for the whole night?”

        “Then who could have…. who is the copycat WhiteBoardDingDongBandit????”

        DUNDUNDUUUUUUUN

  31. Jake'm

    Ah, good ol’ slapstick.

  32. goggleman64

    Just a quick note that panel 2 is Perfect Joyce.

  33. FacelessDeviant

    I heard the Street Fighter 2 KO scream when reading the last panel. Sometimes I love my dumb brain.

    1. Sunny

      Now I hear it, too.

  34. Edwin I Callahan

    Sounds like Becky’s religious values vs. her lust is going to be an ongoing bit for at least a little while. That raises a question about Joyce’s status in the strip dynamic. I’m not sure it would work with two main characters dealing with the same issue, particularly since Joyce has undergone some significant changes in her views. Is she going to be a girl gone wild? Characters such as Ruth, Dorothy, Walky and even Lucy seem to view Joyce’s sexuality as being a seismic even when it kicks in. There’s even been an observation that the virtue of half Bloomington’s population will be at risk…

    1. Chris

      Jacob once said of Joyce that “one day she’s gonna snap and suck like a billion dicks.” Perhaps that day is about to come.

      1. Kyrik Michalowski

        Wait, Jacob said that? I thought Joe said that.

        1. Kamino Neko

          It was Jacob, talking to Sarah. Here.

        2. Varangian

          Hahaha holy shit that strip in hindsight, man

      2. thejeff

        Ruth on the other hand thinks she’ll pratfall into an orgasm and “bang half the town like a frenzied Tasmanian Devil.”

  35. JessWitt

    Well, Becky is “top-pled” as far as we know.

  36. ensiform

    Becky talking about sexy viewing possibilities seems to me to heavily imply she and Dina have broken up.

    1. thejeff

      Except she knows that’s Dina’s room next door through the half-bath.

      1. clif

        Becky is dating Amazigirl now. It was inevitable.

        1. Diner Kinetic

          “You can mask your face, AG, but you can’t mask… your feelin’s”

          (and of course, Walky-if-still-dating-amber is cool with this and we just get healthy poly with a fun platonic friendship between the setting’s two primary “goofs” as a side benefit)

  37. FinalGwen

    And today Becky realises that her nemesis was not Dor(othy), but Door.

    1. clif

      It was a door. Now it’s ajar.

  38. Opus the Poet

    Yeah I’m betting that’s an uncharacteristically exuberant Dina discovering Becky is only a half-bath away.

  39. Alan in DC

    I didn’t hear “Fwump” in my head when I read the frame, but instead a loud Three Stooges impact sound.
    After the all the drama we’ve been thru in the last book, a little slapstick is a welcome diversion.

  40. Greylurker

    In all honesty. I’m thinking Carla

  41. ctlc

    i love the double standard of these days, if it was a dude talking about perving through the shared bathroom everyone would be up in arms. or is this just becky’s locker room talk so its cool.

    1. Zatar

      If a dude was talking about his relationship with his boyfriend I’m pretty sure we’d be fine.

    2. Diner Kinetic

      Eh, I think Joyce was talking about, like, “yo your girlfriend lives over there,” the implication becky picks up being they could do private stuff in there. Like, it’s not “perving” to be excited about close proximity to a romantic partner.

      I’m p sure it’d be probably be creepier if they weren’t dating, but even then, there’s a huge difference between being excited by proximity to someone you’re attracted to and, say, sexual assault (which is what most people assume Locker Room Talk refers to given current U.S. politics, btw). Like, there are honestly some pretty clear boundaries if you think about it, and Becky isn’t overstepping any of them

    3. Spencer

      Except Becky’s talking about seeing her girlfriend? Where’s this coming from?

    4. Emperor Norton II

      I love the way some people completely ignore everything that makes this different from locker room talk/sexual assault talk in order to get a cheap “gotcha” in.

      1. thejeff

        Well, some people might not have realized it’s Dina next door, which makes it easier to read as a lot creepier.

    5. Council

      This is absurd. It doesn’t matter what gender they are. You can talk about being interested in your partner. Hell, she is saying she is interested Despite herself and actively avoids acting on it.

  42. Cool Beans

    *Alarm* Attention! Season 4 of The Good Place is now available on Netflix! I repeat, season 4 of The Good Place is now available on Netflix!

  43. Timtam

    Honest question: Are there a lot of openly gay Christians who still use their Christianity as a reason to repress their sexuality? I mean, it’s funny for the comic, but once you realize that your orientation was falsely considered sinful, how is sex still in the sin category? This fascinates me.

    1. thejeff

      I believe there are denominations that accept homosexual relations within marriage, but still hold to premarital sex as a sin.

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