This comic is about a robot powered by bees, but it's also about the kind of people who think filling a robot with bees is a good idea, and why they're wrong.
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She’s stirring up drama. It’s boundary-crossing much like Joyce’s, and it’s only unintentional in the sense of “that’s just how she is.” That excuse shouldn’t fly for Becky any more than it does for Joyce.
Still not entirely convince she also didn’t clam up to try to see if Dorothy is at least not so far gone as to not be wigged out by that and try to follow to ask wtf that was about
She can do subtle (just check her full day of interaction with Joyce before coming out to her, chill as a bean despite being love sick, desperate and on the run). She just don’t wanna. It’s an informed choice.
In all fairness, Dorothy only recently broke up, which would be a perfectly logical reason for her not to be okay
If Dorothy weren’t so wrapped up in her studying she probably would’ve assumed that’s what Becky meant. Hell, that might ACTUALLY have been why Becky asked, and she just panicked when Dorothy questioned it because she wasn’t expecting that
It definitely was on her mind, but she obviously wasn’t prepared to hide that she knew about anything else Dorothy might’ve been upset about, so I feel like it’s 50/50 whether she assumed Dorothy already knew or assumed that Dorothy would still be more upset about breaking up
Being nosy about other people’s business can be good and bad. It’s a nuanced issue, like everything. Becky is just trying to figure out a way to do what she thinks is best, which is hard to fault her for.
Becky could’ve just said “heard about your breakup or something” but no, now Dorothy is gonna worry even more about things she doesn’t need to!
Also, I’m surprised Becky even came to check. The last few times I remember them interacting it was always Becky trying to prove that SHE was Joyce’s best friend, not Dorothy.
Nice to see she’s kind enough to care about a friend-stealer <3
Of course she cares about Dotty, she needs to make sure Dotty knows Becky is the #1 friend. (Also, she knows how much Joyce care about Dorothy, and Joyce deserves THE BEST, dangit).
(Also, also, despite all her noise I don’t think Becky mind Dorothy all that much. I don’t think she has forgotten who bought her sushi the day she had NOTHING, if nothing else)
Becky never really disliked Dorothy. She’s definitely felt pangs of legit resentment or jealousy (especially when she first arrived) but I think she knows Dotty is alright. Her friendly, one-sided rivalry with her is probably just a way to vent those negative feelings without giving into them
Besides, she’s gotta know how Dorothy helped Joyce with Ryan, and on top of that, she was the one who called Amazi-Girl to the scene when her dad kidnapped her. She and Dorothy might not be close, but it’s a no-brainer that she’d care
Sure, she’s got some lingering resentment, but she’s clearly making a conscious decision to hold it back given how they go on to have a perfectly friendly conversation
Sort of. The “enemies” part has almost exclusively been from Becky’s side so far, IIRC. The fact that this scene demonstrates that Becky actually cares for Dorothy is kinda heartwarming.
More like rivals (at least from Becky’s point of view), and I think most of that is just Becky making noise for the sake of it. Here, her real concern shines through.
Well, Becky knew that Dorothy broke up with Walky, and Dorothy’s withdrawal/burnout began a while before that happened. Plus Dorothy has stopped spending as much time with Joyce as well, and due to her jealousy Becky surely would have noticed that even if Joyce never complained to her about it. It seemed reasonable to assume Becky would connect the dots, but I could be wrong.
Becky has a job and is living off campus now, so she’d have to be actively snooping around to pick up on changes to Dorothy’s habits unless somebody she talks to specifically mentioned them to her
So was Becky actually checking if Dorothy is okay or was she trying to tell her that Walky and Amber are dating without actually saying it? I can’t actually get a read on what her goal was here. I’d say Becky was doing so to make Dotty paranoid about her ex but as we have established, unless it is gay, she doesn’t really care.
Now Dorothy’s gonna follow Becky to find out what she was worried about and see the SS Garbage Skowl. Or maybe not, but if Becky didn’t want Dorothy to be suspicious that was entirely the wrong way to answer that question.
Mostly offtopic but, thanks to Sal’s torn jacket, I now have several sewing projects planned out. Yay!
It actually seems easier to plan them while I don’t have any sewing equipment with me. And I figured out how to solve one without any actual sewing, even.
Except of course when it matters. Like when she first showed up and played happy goofy Becky all day with never a sign there was a problem until she kissed Joyce and it all broke down.
Or for that matter, Joyce never knew Bonnie killed herself.
Becky may have said to herself: “He’d say that, wouldn’t he?” It’s just how I interpret this strip that it has genuinely surprised her to see that a woman can take the lead in a relationship (Remember her background, that isn’t something she is likely to have been told was acceptable).
God, can these two just smooch already? It’s been years of this cat-and-mouse shenaniganistic tomfoolery between Dorothy and Becky, and if they don’t resolve their thinly-concealed romance soon, I’m worried they’ll miss their chance.
I recall Willis saying in the It’s Walky! rerun commentary something along the lines of how if Becky ever treats Dina like how Walky treated her (the parallels of both Walky and Becky being in relationships with Dina on the rebound from Joyce already being there), she’s getting sent back to Anderson.
Pro tip: when checking in on someone, ask “how are you doing?” instead of “are you ok?” because the latter inquiry is a great way to spike someone’s paranoid tendencies
“…am I gonna find a dead body in the closet”
“I NUKED THAT CLOSET FROM ORBIT”
+1
It’s sweet to see Becky checking in on Dorothy… even if she just unintentionally compounded her worries.
She’s stirring up drama. It’s boundary-crossing much like Joyce’s, and it’s only unintentional in the sense of “that’s just how she is.” That excuse shouldn’t fly for Becky any more than it does for Joyce.
No. I don’t buy it. This is actual checking in and screwing up, not messing with Dorothy. She’s worried and off her game.
Yeah she seemed genuinely concerned
Still not entirely convince she also didn’t clam up to try to see if Dorothy is at least not so far gone as to not be wigged out by that and try to follow to ask wtf that was about
There were definitely more subtle ways to check if Dorothy knows that Walky is dating again.
Becky still needs to learn subtle.
Becky’s many things. Audacious, a quick learner of science, and fiercely loyal to Joyce and Dina.
She is, however, as subtle as an orbital strike.
SUBTLETY IS FOR THE CLOSET
Nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Oh wait. She did!
“Closet Destroying Girl knows no this subtlety you speak of”.
She can do subtle (just check her full day of interaction with Joyce before coming out to her, chill as a bean despite being love sick, desperate and on the run). She just don’t wanna. It’s an informed choice.
See also: her masterful manipulation of Jacob & Joyce into dating.
Very true
Hm.
This *was* becky subtle; and when I saw this strip my brain did a triple take
In all fairness, Dorothy only recently broke up, which would be a perfectly logical reason for her not to be okay
If Dorothy weren’t so wrapped up in her studying she probably would’ve assumed that’s what Becky meant. Hell, that might ACTUALLY have been why Becky asked, and she just panicked when Dorothy questioned it because she wasn’t expecting that
Yeah, I actually forgot about the garbage ship for a minute and assumed that was what Becky meant.
Skowl. It’s the Garbage Skowl.
Though she did just walk in on Amber and Walky kissing. No reason for Dorothy to suspect that, but it has to be what Becky thinking of.
It definitely was on her mind, but she obviously wasn’t prepared to hide that she knew about anything else Dorothy might’ve been upset about, so I feel like it’s 50/50 whether she assumed Dorothy already knew or assumed that Dorothy would still be more upset about breaking up
Potential issues solved. Good job Becky.
Everyone’s wise sage
bartenderpizza server Becky to the rescue again!“becky that’s a closet.”
“…becky how did you get in here in the first place.”
“becky?”
In the same way that Dina can be behind any door, Becky can exit any closet.
and nuke it from orbit, just to be sure
*sees note on closet*
“Visiting Mr. Tumnus.”
That’s actually the bathroom.
Bathroom. Closet. Same difference.
Water closet.
Don’t tell Becky that – she’ll nuke the toilets next, and that will no be good for ANYONE’S urinary tract health, Yo
That was probably the best way Becky could’ve handled it.
Apart from not mentioning it in the first place?
Becky has many admirable traits, but keeping her mouth shut is not among them.
There was absolutely zero chance of that from the get-go, with her.
Checking how someone is doing is bad now?
Potentially making things worse and causing undue stress could be classified as a bad thing to do
Well, that’s a rather callous take on checking on other people.
You don’t think Becky is, potentially, making the situation worse than it is?
Yes, but that can be applied to pretty much every time someone checks on how someone else’s doing
It sure can and, hopefully, Becky will learn from this even if its just thinking things through a little more
Being nosy about other people’s business can be good and bad. It’s a nuanced issue, like everything. Becky is just trying to figure out a way to do what she thinks is best, which is hard to fault her for.
I’m not faulting her for doing what she thinks is best, its more that she didn’t think things through first before rushing in
She’ll learn from it though, probably, so it’ll most likely turn out ok
Why ought Becky to handle it. Not her circus, not her monkeys.
well, she just made them hers by coming over.
Aww, I like seeing Becky be concerned for Dorothy! Kinda like Dot-o as a nickname, too.
Concerned, yet avoidant. I can relate.
I prefer Dotgov.
Shit, that’s perfect. Now if only I could upvote you!
Yesss another perfect Joyce reaction face matched to the comment.
Becky could’ve just said “heard about your breakup or something” but no, now Dorothy is gonna worry even more about things she doesn’t need to!
Also, I’m surprised Becky even came to check. The last few times I remember them interacting it was always Becky trying to prove that SHE was Joyce’s best friend, not Dorothy.
Nice to see she’s kind enough to care about a friend-stealer <3
Of course she cares about Dotty, she needs to make sure Dotty knows Becky is the #1 friend. (Also, she knows how much Joyce care about Dorothy, and Joyce deserves THE BEST, dangit).
(Also, also, despite all her noise I don’t think Becky mind Dorothy all that much. I don’t think she has forgotten who bought her sushi the day she had NOTHING, if nothing else)
Dorothy must continue to operate optimally in order to be the best possible friend for Joyce!
And I figure Becky can’t help but snark at Dotty for being kind of a super-serious nerd.
Becky never really disliked Dorothy. She’s definitely felt pangs of legit resentment or jealousy (especially when she first arrived) but I think she knows Dotty is alright. Her friendly, one-sided rivalry with her is probably just a way to vent those negative feelings without giving into them
Besides, she’s gotta know how Dorothy helped Joyce with Ryan, and on top of that, she was the one who called Amazi-Girl to the scene when her dad kidnapped her. She and Dorothy might not be close, but it’s a no-brainer that she’d care
“Becky never really disliked Dorothy.”
2nd panel side eye suggests otherwise
http://www.dumbingofage.com/2018/comic/book-8/04-of-mike-and-men/wallets/
Sure, she’s got some lingering resentment, but she’s clearly making a conscious decision to hold it back given how they go on to have a perfectly friendly conversation
Which says a lot about Dorothy and her ability to let things go
Poorly-concealed concern is a step up from misguided antagonism, at the very least.
Becky, the answer to her question is “Because you and Walky broke up.”
She panicked, okay! That answer is so obvious that it’s surprising Dorothy didn’t just assume that’s what she was asking about x
Yeah, and now she’ll be panicking because she’s wondering if she just gave it away (and Dorothy’ll be suspicious now).
Ain’t they frenemies?
Sort of. The “enemies” part has almost exclusively been from Becky’s side so far, IIRC. The fact that this scene demonstrates that Becky actually cares for Dorothy is kinda heartwarming.
More like rivals (at least from Becky’s point of view), and I think most of that is just Becky making noise for the sake of it. Here, her real concern shines through.
dorothy isnt the kind to have frienemies. enemoyfriends, o yeah, but no frienemies.
Becky: Do you know about the thing?
Dorothy: What thing?
Becky: oh so you don’t alright good talk.
Well at least this is better than when she hated Dorothy.
Becky, you know how Dorothy has recently been spending more and more time locked inside her room and slowly cutting off all human contact?
That also would have been a perfectly valid
excusereason to check up on her.You know. In case you didn’t want her to start suspecting the real one.
Yay! I’m learning html!
I don’t think she knows about that.
Well, Becky knew that Dorothy broke up with Walky, and Dorothy’s withdrawal/burnout began a while before that happened. Plus Dorothy has stopped spending as much time with Joyce as well, and due to her jealousy Becky surely would have noticed that even if Joyce never complained to her about it. It seemed reasonable to assume Becky would connect the dots, but I could be wrong.
Becky has a job and is living off campus now, so she’d have to be actively snooping around to pick up on changes to Dorothy’s habits unless somebody she talks to specifically mentioned them to her
*the hacked Muzak would be playing Elton John if it were operating properly*
ANYWAY, IMPORTANT DINOSAUR THINGS TO DO, GOTTA RUN, ALSO DON’T PEE JUST NOW, BYEEEEEE
Now that you talked about it, I gotta pee. 8(
And thus the seed is planted
No, that’s not til later in the afternoon. Also, Amber is smart enough to use proper protection, so it wouldn’t be much of an issue.
I don’t know. It’s Amazi-Girl who’s always prepared.
So was Becky actually checking if Dorothy is okay or was she trying to tell her that Walky and Amber are dating without actually saying it? I can’t actually get a read on what her goal was here. I’d say Becky was doing so to make Dotty paranoid about her ex but as we have established, unless it is gay, she doesn’t really care.
Actually checking in. There’s no way Dorothy knows that Walky and Amber are a thing.
Checking in. Though she probably doesn’t know whether or not Dorothy knows about the SS Garbage Skowl.
I see the crap cannon getting ready and the fan is plugged in
Becky, you just unleashed the hogs of war!
“Because you just broke up with Walky” would have been a good save, Becky. Alas hijinx must ensue.
Becky….
Dorothy needs to grab Becky by the neck and say, “Speak English, damn you! There’s no such word as ‘lates’!”
There is now, yo.
There is, totes!
There is too! It’s a type of oceanic fish.
It looks like she’s going into a closet. Which we all know she would never do, unless it was to leave that closet even lesbianer
Reasonably certain that’s the shared bathroom.
She somehow dyes her hair into the lesbian flag in there
Now Dorothy’s gonna follow Becky to find out what she was worried about and see the SS Garbage Skowl. Or maybe not, but if Becky didn’t want Dorothy to be suspicious that was entirely the wrong way to answer that question.
I guess I can’t blame Becky for not wanting to be the one who breaks the bad news!
Mostly offtopic but, thanks to Sal’s torn jacket, I now have several sewing projects planned out.
Yay!
It actually seems easier to plan them while I don’t have any sewing equipment with me. And I figured out how to solve one without any actual sewing, even.
Spiffy! Good old making and improving stuff.
Laterino, Doterino!
Aww. Well, it’s still sweet that she wanted to check up on her.
Good intentions. Sigh.
Becky I love you. But fucking really.
Well to be fair that fact that she was barely able to keep her mouth shut about a secret was like moving a mountain for her.
Cats and dogs.
Oil and water.
Becky and keeping things on the down-low.
Except of course when it matters. Like when she first showed up and played happy goofy Becky all day with never a sign there was a problem until she kissed Joyce and it all broke down.
Or for that matter, Joyce never knew Bonnie killed herself.
Don’t assume the facade is all there is.
Insightful, thank you
It suddenly occurs to me that maybe Becky didn’t realise that Dorothy had dumped Walky and not the other way around.
Walky did tell her it was mutual.
Becky may have said to herself: “He’d say that, wouldn’t he?” It’s just how I interpret this strip that it has genuinely surprised her to see that a woman can take the lead in a relationship (Remember her background, that isn’t something she is likely to have been told was acceptable).
God, can these two just smooch already? It’s been years of this cat-and-mouse shenaniganistic tomfoolery between Dorothy and Becky, and if they don’t resolve their thinly-concealed romance soon, I’m worried they’ll miss their chance.
Boy, wouldn’t Joyce be surprised…
Dotty’s roguish Atheist charms really attract those poor repressed fundie girls.
NOPE, cuz that would lead to a jealous Dina rampage. At once adorable and terrifying.
Now I’ve got a mental image of Dina, Sal and Joyce on Garbage Roof, talking about their lack of luck in relationships and life.
I recall Willis saying in the It’s Walky! rerun commentary something along the lines of how if Becky ever treats Dina like how Walky treated her (the parallels of both Walky and Becky being in relationships with Dina on the rebound from Joyce already being there), she’s getting sent back to Anderson.
Welp, this secret’s only gonna last so much longer.
Wow, started reading some months ago and I just catched up…
I feel empty
Pro tip: when checking in on someone, ask “how are you doing?” instead of “are you ok?” because the latter inquiry is a great way to spike someone’s paranoid tendencies
“You haven’t heard any … rumours that might upset you, have you? Nope? Great, then, bye!”