David

Revision as of 11:48, 15 July 2026 by Alegria (talk | contribs) (Replace with Fable-generated candidate page)

Loud, sunny, and nearly impossible to discourage, David is a chocolate Labrador Retriever and Paulo's best friend since grade school. He is the friend group's resident agent of chaos, the sort of dog who celebrates his fourteenth birthday by accidentally becoming a televised kidnapper. Every so often, though, he turns out to be the sharpest observer at the lunch table.

David
GenderMale
Age15
BirthdayFebruary 22, 1993 (Pisces)
GradeJunior as of Table for One
SpeciesDog
BreedLabrador Retriever
FamilyDavid's mom (Mother)
OccupationStudent
AffiliationTrack team, Junior friend group
ResidenceDavid's house
DebutSimple Pleasures, page 4
November 2, 2009 (2009-11-02)

Personality

No amount of reality has ever managed to dent David's cheerfulness. He starts his birthday morning by frying eggs still in their shells,[1] and when he learns his face is on the national news, his takeaway is "Wow, my birthday's THAT important?"[2] His very first appearance set the tone, with David carrying Paulo away from imaginary park bears while wailing "THEY KNOW OUR FACES!!"[3] Even his sad moments are hard to read. When he lets out a full-page scream in Second String, James admits he can't tell whether David is heartbroken or elated, and Mike has to translate. "Oh, he's elated, all right."[4]

He also lives about half his life inside a genre fantasy. His fourteenth birthday became a full secret-agent mission, complete with a code name (Sergeant Rainpop), a seven-year-old sidekick, and a quest for a "goddess."[5][6] He decided on sight that Augustus must be a video game character, trying out "Sephiroth" and "Melfice" before settling on "Final Fantasy Cat."[6][2] His athletic career runs on the same engine, since his working knowledge of track comes, in his own words, from "my sports animes."[7]

The nonsense doesn't mean he's oblivious, though. David is regularly the most astute person in the room. He is the one who first works out that Paulo has feelings for Daisy, and he corners him about it with patient, airtight logic in Intervention.[8][9] Years later, he is the one who figures out how to get Lucy back to the lunch table, a plan she rates with a genuine "You've outdone yourself."[10] The trouble is that the insight comes with no filter attached. When Sue grieves that Lucy left without saying goodbye, David corrects her with a flat "She hated them,"[11] and a couple of pages later he offers "I heard she died." The glares baffle him, since he thought they were comparing rumors.[12]

Underneath it all sits a devotion that runs deeper than anyone expects, and an equally deep fear of being left behind. David will abandon a fight he personally started the second he spots Paulo crying,[13] and his worst meltdowns come when the people he loves change or keep things from him. He screamed "YOU RUINED HIM!" at Tess for taming Paulo,[14] and his first wounded question on learning Paulo and Daisy had hidden their relationship was "They don't trust me?"[15] Junior year has also given him a sharper edge, most visibly in his cheerful engineering of Mike's exile from the lunch table. Veronica has confirmed the shift is deliberate, saying David is now "causing actual chaos that affects people" and that "We are past the days of Intervention."[16]

Appearance

David is a tall brown dog with rather a lot of leg. Mike, losing a footrace to him, complains that "Your legs are longer than my torso!"[17] His fur is shiny enough that Katie became obsessed with it in Field Day; David credited the shine to "Ovaries," and later to rolling in dirt.[18][19]

Like most of the cast he usually wears nothing at all, a policy he takes a bit further than his friends; he once ran to an Acapulco beach naked and could not fathom why swim trunks were expected.[20] When he does dress up, though, he commits. His record includes a lobster suit for Mike's Birthday[21] and a "zombie table quilt" ghost sheet in Mischief Night, which he later refashioned into a billowing scarf to mock Mike.[22][23] For Madison's bowling party in Fair Game he built a Sonic the Hedgehog outfit out of the rental shoes, white gloves and bunched-up socks ("Gotta speed, keed"),[24] and the following Halloween he went as Batman.[25] The side story Magic Tricks adds a star-covered cape and top hat to the pile.[26]

Significant events

Middle school

David debuted in Simple Pleasures, wobbling past Lucy on a skateboard and, two pages later, carrying Paulo away from the park bears.[27][3] The middle school chapters kept him busy in exactly that register. He staged a one-dog protest against school in Merry Snow Day and invited Lucy along hoping for romance, only for her to turn him down flat.[28] He crashed Mike and Lucy's date in Off to the Movies and started a popcorn uproar by barking at Paulo.[29] For the last day of school in Farewell, Middle School he flooded a hallway with chocolate ice cream, and he later admitted that he and Paulo spent the whole summer stalking Mike and Lucy.[30][31]

Freshman year

The move up to high school changed very little about him. He greeted Enter High School with some crude flirting at Tess,[32] spiked the punch at the Christmas party with thorns rather than anything alcoholic,[33] and "rescued" a drowning Mike in Troubled Waters by stomping on his hand.[34]

His flagship chapter is Onwards to Adventure, the story of his fourteenth birthday. Lucy talked him into playing hookey, a word he misheard memorably, and he set off on a secret-agent mission with seven-year-old Justin as his sidekick.[35][5] Under the name Sergeant Rainpop, he quested after his "goddess," Flower Girl, and somehow ended the day as a televised kidnapper, standing on a rooftop with police guns pointed at him.[36][37] The fallout landed at home: a restraining order, a hospital apology to schedule, and the news that Flower Girl had transferred schools. His mother put a sparkler in his hot dogs anyway.[2] He closed the year on a genuine high, testing up into CP English II and gloating at his old English teacher.[38]

The summer trip to Acapulco, starting in Arrival, brought out both his best and his worst. At breakfast he exploded at Tess for turning Paulo into a lapdog, then went off to sob in his room. Paulo eventually promised him beach fun, and David swung all the way back around to "THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!"[14][39] In Search and Rescue, his and Paulo's roughhousing cracked the rock bridge that dropped Mike and Lucy into the river below. David threw himself into the rescue. He carried the unconscious Lucy out like a prize, and later found Mike by diving into the river and getting reeled in on his fishing line.[40][41][42] Then, in Intervention, he produced his masterwork. Sent to fix a sulking Paulo, he worked through every girl Paulo knew before dropping the bomb: "Well, how about Daisy~? ♥"[8] He dismantled every objection with patient logic, and a closing fairytale about two kingdoms finally forced Paulo to blurt out the truth.[9][43] Once Daisy turned out to be holding hands with Abbey, Paulo chased him down, accusing David of brainwashing him.[44][45]

Sophomore year

For much of sophomore year, David was Paulo's love-life pit crew. In Back and Forth he pulled Paulo aside with the immortal excuse "I'm menstruating," grilled him about turning down both Lucy and Tess, and eventually shoved him bodily at the freshmen, which is how Paulo met Jasmine.[46][47] He then leapt out of the bushes demanding details.[48]

The year's heavier turn came when Lucy left the school in Breaking Up.[49] David processed it in his own way. Rachel's party in Happy Hour doubled as his fifteenth birthday at his own suggestion, and while the rest of the group grieved, he swapped rumors and then went back to running pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.[50][12][51] He also spent an afternoon terrorizing an art gallery with Paulo in Critical Hit, dramatically "dying" at a Euthanasia exhibit before quietly handing over his ticket and heading home alone.[52][53]

Junior year

Junior year opened at the beach in Golden Hour, where David picked a fight with Madison by calling her "Maddie-baby" and comparing her to "my Lucy-baby… God rest her beautiful soul."[54] The instant he spotted Paulo crying, he abandoned the wreckage.[13] What came next was the sincerest anyone had ever seen him. He consoled Paulo about Daisy, scooped him up and twirled him, and told him he loves him. When Paulo asked when he was ever going to be serious, David answered, "I've never been more serious in all my life," and Paulo fled into the night.[55][56][57] Paulo tried to raise the subject in Ice Block, but David steamrolled the conversation with an ice cream truck, and the matter was left unresolved.[58]

David found a whole new arena in Date Night. Spotting Mike holding hands with James, he declared the "James Bowl" and ordered Paulo to race Mike for James's heart.[59][60] Mid-race, he stopped to inform Mike he was running "The race to be the WORST CHARACTER ON EARTH."[61] James, watching all of this unfold, fell for David on the spot and begged him to join the track team instead.[62][17] David accepted, deduced that the team requirement was falling in love with Mike, and volunteered "If I MUST."[63][7]

At the party in New Year's Resolution, he stayed close to Paulo through a rough night about Paulo's absent mother, tackling him with "AIIIBOU!! Happy new year!!!" and following up with a quiet, sincere "You okay, Paulo?"[64][65] Then Second String delivered the news that Paulo and Daisy were secretly dating. His reaction ran from a frozen blank face to a full-page scream to outrage that nobody had told the future best man at their wedding.[66][4][67][15] Once Mike explained that the secrecy protected Abbey, David understood immediately and vowed silence. Then he erupted with joy about their love anyway.[68]

He also managed to wound Sue in Participation Trophy by publicly praising Jessica's play after having trashed hers.[69][70] His apology only made things worse, complete with a fake "little birdie" cover story to protect Amaya.[71]

Line in the Sand is where his schemes started carrying real weight. When Augustus menaced Mike outside the school, David broke up the standoff himself and redrew the entire seating map. He wooed Lucy back to the lunch table with some well-aimed flattery and sent Augustus inside to Rachel's table. Mike, he ruled, could stay outside and "make a man out of himself."[72][73][74] Lucy later admitted she had wanted him to spend time with his other friends for months.[10][75] Soon after, David gave Paulo a cheery recap of the whole affair, summing up Mike's exile as "And so.. I killed him!" and pronouncing the situation "completely optimal!" while Paulo squirmed.[76][77] David, for his part, is pleased as punch with his own work. "I just come up with this stuff!"[78]

Major relationships

Paulo

 
David meets Paulo in Mother's Day.

They met as little kids, in a flashback shown in Mother's Day. David pestered a crying Paulo up a tree, fell out of it himself, and wound up beside him outside the principal's office.[79][80] When Paulo blurted out that his parents were separated, David's entire response was "COOL", followed by the cheerful news that he had no dad at all and an even better mom.[81] He offered his mom's spare baking tray so Paulo and his father would have something for the bake sale, and informed the teacher, "Oh, it's okay! We're best friends now!"[82]

David has been Paulo's hype man, wingman and occasional therapist ever since. He engineered the Jasmine relationship by literally shoving Paulo at the freshmen,[47] and his Intervention fairytale surfaced Paulo's feelings for Daisy long before Paulo could say them out loud.[8] He calls Paulo "Aibou," Japanese for partner.[83] The flip side is that nothing rattles David like Paulo changing; the Acapulco breakfast meltdown was all about losing the Paulo who "used to be my ROLE MODEL!!"[14]

His beach confession in Golden Hour, delivered mid-twirl and completely serious, sent Paulo running into the night.[56][57] David has never once used it against him. These days the love is simply part of the furniture. At New Year's he signed off with "I love you, Aibou ♥︎", to which Paulo could only wail, "Why do people keep SAYING this to me tonight!"[65] In a Tumblr ask, Veronica explained that David didn't initially recognize his crush as a crush, and that his early freak-outs over Paulo possibly being gay were homophobia David had absorbed from Paulo himself. She adds that he hated Paulo dating Tess far more than any thought of Paulo with Mike, because it turned Paulo into a groveler.[84]

Lucy

She has been "Lucy-baby" since his second page in the comic.[85] Lucy treats him with a mix of exasperation and real fondness. She coached him through skipping school on his birthday and broke the Flower Girl news to him gently, and his disastrous day ended with her ".. Yes, David. Happy birthday."[1][2] After she vanished from school, he became the deadpan source of the recurring rumor that she died.[12][86]

When she finally returned, David met her with his most uncomplicated warmth, leading her birthday celebration in Unwanted Gift by carrying her around on his shoulders and insisting she was too good for the floor.[87] And it was his "best babe" pitch in Line in the Sand that finally ended her lunchtime self-exile.[73] She punches him when he deserves it, and keeps him around anyway.[88]

Mike

For most of the comic, David and Mike ran on low-stakes mischief. In Call Waiting, David texted him crude messages in class until an explicit image landed Mike's buzzing phone with the teacher.[89][90] He sculpted Mike a fish out of candy corn for Halloween in Witch Hunt,[91] and folded him into the big three-way hug at New Year's.[65]

Things turned adversarial once James entered the picture, and David demoted Mike to "just SHORT."[59] He lectured him mid-race about being the worst character on Earth,[61] and then engineered his exclusion from the lunch table entirely.[74] His recap to Paulo framed the whole thing as a successful assassination, delivered with total cheer.[76] Paulo, for the record, would very much like everyone to stop talking about killing Mike.[92]

James

 
James lays eyes on David in Date Night.

James came to Date Night to recruit Mike for the track team and left besotted with someone else entirely. Watching David rant, framed in roses, James could only ask "Who is HE?", and moments later he was begging David to join the team.[62][17] David accepted, "so I can give this 'running' thing a shot."[63] He then patted James on the head with a reassuring "I'd be picking you first, got it?"[7]

James has orbited him ever since, promising "I'll go wherever you go, David!" and following him into the cafeteria even when it strands Mike outside.[10] David, blissfully unaware or possibly not, spent Second String trying to matchmake James with Paulo, offering to find him "an energetic boyfriend."[66] In the meantime, the two stretch together and trade magazine banter at track practice.[93]

Minor relationships

Daisy

Their history goes back to childhood rescue games, in which David cast Daisy as the damsel and was, by all accounts, unbeatably strong.[94] These days he functions mostly as her chaos multiplier; his goading her into taking the rock-hopping to the extreme in Scenic Route came moments before her ankle cracked on the rocks.[95] He is also the loudest supporter of her and Paulo. At her sixteenth birthday picnic in Moments Apart he demanded the two make out, right in front of a seething Abbey, and suggested they get married.[96] In the side story Everyday Life he declares himself "all about tragic, unrequited love!" and vows to cheerlead the two of them until they sort out their feelings.[97] He has also wrecked one of her would-be dates, riding along to the movies in Featured Attraction and beaming obliviously from the back seat.[98][99]

Sue

David and Sue have been bickering with each other for years now. When she grabbed him at the art gallery, he calmly pointed out their height difference.[100] Things got personal in Participation Trophy, where David publicly hailed Jessica's play as the work of a brilliant mind after having trashed Sue's own.[70] His apology involved a fictional birdie that tore into him "With their beak. Because they're a bird," and then he fled.[71] The chapter closed with Paulo and James teasing Sue about having a crush on him, so this one is far from settled.[101]

David's mom

David is a proud mama's boy, and with reason. She sends him off with "Be sure to get to school on time! I love you, bye! ♥", and she salvaged his fourteenth birthday with hot dogs and a sparkler.[1][2] As he once explained to young Paulo, "Why miss him when I got a mom so awesome?"[81] He raided her secret cupboard for an iPhone and got away with it clean.[102] She and Paulo's dad were spotted flirting at the New Year's party, but Veronica has confirmed the two are just friends.[103][104]

Flower Girl

His middle school "goddess." He growled Paulo away from her at prom,[105] and his fourteenth birthday quest was built entirely around finding her, complete with a bellowed "DON'T YOU LOOK AT MY WOMAN!!"[36] By the end of that day, she had transferred schools.[2] The shipping-gag side story Ships Ahoy, Season Six revisits her wishing he had "come up and said hello instead of leaving forever."[106]

Augustus

 
David greets his Final Fantasy Cat in Witch Hunt.

David has been enchanted with Augustus since the day he dubbed him "Final Fantasy Cat."[6][2] The peak came on Halloween, when David sprinted across a street to ask where his horns were, addressed him as "brother Melfice," and answered an outright threat with a starry-eyed "You're like MAGIC."[107][108] None of this stopped David from shooing him off to Rachel's table when it suited his seating plan.[74] According to Veronica, David finds Augustus captivating but never actually hangs out with him.[109]

Quotes

C'mon, be a hooker with me!! It'll be so exciting!! — David, inviting Lucy to play hookey in Onwards to Adventure

He's such a pathetic lapdog now! All 'cuz of you!! — David, holding Tess personally responsible for the new Paulo in Arrival

And that's why I love you. — David, coming clean to Paulo on the beach in Golden Hour

Paulo wins. I'm Paulo now. — David, settling the James Bowl by fiat in Date Night

WHY DIDN'T THEY TELL ME!!! I'M SUPPOSED TO BE THE BEST MAN AT THEIR WEDDING!! — David, learning about Paulo and Daisy in Second String

You know you'll always be my best babe! My feisty li'l senorita! — David, luring Lucy back to the lunch table in Line in the Sand

Gallery

Appearances by volume

Outfits

Trivia

  • Onwards to Adventure is a full-length chapter devoted entirely to David's birthday. Veronica jokes in its commentary that "David might as well be the main character of BCB, huh? Even Lucy only got a measly three pages!"[1]
  • The first page of that same chapter was the sample page Veronica and Oliver used to test their production methods for remaking the early chapters. Oliver's commentary salutes it with "You walked so the Omnibus could run."[1]
  • Asked which cast member would be best at Fortnite, Veronica picked David.[110]
  • The local ice cream man knows David by name.[58]

See also

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 1
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 7
  3. 3.0 3.1 Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 6
  4. 4.0 4.1 Chapter 124: Second String, page 10
  5. 5.0 5.1 Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 3
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 4
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 21
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chapter 44: Intervention, page 14
  9. 9.0 9.1 Chapter 44: Intervention, page 15
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 32
  11. Chapter 80: Happy Hour, page 16
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 Chapter 80: Happy Hour, page 18
  13. 13.0 13.1 Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 32
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chapter 42: Arrival, page 14
  15. 15.0 15.1 Chapter 124: Second String, page 12
  16. "Ask response". Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr. 2026-06-10.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 19
  18. Chapter 16: Field Day, page 2
  19. Chapter 16: Field Day, page 12
  20. Chapter 42: Arrival, page 17
  21. Mike's Birthday, page 1
  22. Chapter 57: Mischief Night, page 4
  23. Chapter 57: Mischief Night, page 9
  24. Chapter 104: Fair Game, page 3
  25. Chapter 105: Witch Hunt, page 14
  26. Magic Tricks, page 1 🔒 (members only)
  27. Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 4
  28. Chapter 3: Merry Snow Day, page 2
  29. Chapter 12: Off to the Movies, page 2
  30. Chapter 18: Farewell, Middle School, page 3
  31. Chapter 18: Farewell, Middle School, page 6
  32. Chapter 21: Enter High School, page 3
  33. Chapter 28: Feline Festivities, page 12
  34. Chapter 30: Troubled Waters, page 5
  35. Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 2
  36. 36.0 36.1 Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 5
  37. Chapter 33: Onwards to Adventure, page 6
  38. Chapter 40: Moving On, page 3
  39. Chapter 42: Arrival, page 16
  40. Chapter 43: Search and Rescue, page 7
  41. Chapter 43: Search and Rescue, page 12
  42. Chapter 43: Search and Rescue, page 21
  43. Chapter 44: Intervention, page 23
  44. Chapter 45: Return, page 17
  45. Chapter 45: Return, page 18
  46. Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 2
  47. 47.0 47.1 Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 20
  48. Chapter 54: Back and Forth, page 26
  49. Chapter 75: Breaking Up, page 4
  50. Chapter 80: Happy Hour, page 3
  51. Chapter 80: Happy Hour, page 39
  52. Chapter 79: Critical Hit, page 11
  53. Chapter 79: Critical Hit, page 14
  54. Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 31
  55. Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 34
  56. 56.0 56.1 Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 36
  57. 57.0 57.1 Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 37
  58. 58.0 58.1 Ice Block, page 2
  59. 59.0 59.1 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 15
  60. Chapter 118: Date Night, page 16
  61. 61.0 61.1 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 17
  62. 62.0 62.1 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 18
  63. 63.0 63.1 Chapter 118: Date Night, page 20
  64. Chapter 119: New Year's Resolution, page 37
  65. 65.0 65.1 65.2 Chapter 119: New Year's Resolution, page 38
  66. 66.0 66.1 Chapter 124: Second String, page 8
  67. Chapter 124: Second String, page 11
  68. Chapter 124: Second String, page 13
  69. Chapter 126: Participation Trophy, page 3
  70. 70.0 70.1 Chapter 126: Participation Trophy, page 6
  71. 71.0 71.1 Chapter 126: Participation Trophy, page 15
  72. Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 29
  73. 73.0 73.1 Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 30
  74. 74.0 74.1 74.2 Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 31
  75. Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 39
  76. 76.0 76.1 Chapter 128.1: [Unknown Title, page 2]
  77. Chapter 128.1: [Unknown Title, page 3]
  78. Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 33
  79. Chapter 58: Mother's Day, page 7
  80. Chapter 58: Mother's Day, page 9
  81. 81.0 81.1 Chapter 58: Mother's Day, page 10
  82. Chapter 58: Mother's Day, page 11
  83. Chapter 90: Golden Hour, page 35
  84. "Ask response". Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr. 2026-06-27.
  85. Chapter 1: Simple Pleasures, page 5
  86. Chapter 92: Table for One, page 12
  87. Chapter 107: Unwanted Gift, page 2
  88. Chapter 96: Unspoken Rule, page 19
  89. Chapter 62: Call Waiting, page 6
  90. Chapter 62: Call Waiting, page 7
  91. Chapter 105: Witch Hunt, page 15
  92. Chapter 128.1: [Unknown Title, page 4]
  93. Chapter 127: Line in the Sand, page 6
  94. Chapter 89: Guest of Honor, page 28
  95. Chapter 84: Scenic Route, page 9
  96. Chapter 98: Moments Apart, page 24
  97. Everyday Life, page 22 🔒 (members only)
  98. Chapter 113: Featured Attraction, page 1
  99. Chapter 113: Featured Attraction, page 4
  100. Chapter 79: Critical Hit, page 1
  101. Chapter 126: Participation Trophy, page 19
  102. Chapter 62: Call Waiting, page 3
  103. Chapter 119: New Year's Resolution, page 5
  104. "Ask response". Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr. 2026-02-09.
  105. Chapter 18: Farewell, Middle School, page 1
  106. Ships Ahoy, Season Six, page 9 🔒 (members only)
  107. Chapter 105: Witch Hunt, page 16
  108. Chapter 105: Witch Hunt, page 17
  109. "Ask response". Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr. 2026-06-20.
  110. "Ask response". Bittersweet Candy Bowl on Tumblr. 2026-07-04.