Original Commentary

I was thinking of doing a comic where David asks Emily about the parties she used to throw for her old flames, because he thought this was something special she was doing for him. And Emily says that his party was so much bigger than the others'. And he says that as long as his is bigger, that's all that matters. But when I wrote it out, it sounded very much like she was talking about something else, so I wrote this instead. And yes, Kimberly said something very similar to Emily when last they met - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Emily did *something* to get this response out of Kimberly. Probably back when they were in high school maybe. There's a history here and I wish we had gone into it a bit more. - Terrence

Original Commentary

After all this time, Terrence and I couldn't find a way for things to go any further, and there was nothing good or useful to come out of Kimberly and Emily fighting, so we decided they should just step away from each other to lick their wounds - Isabel
I like this because it shows David and Brisbane's friendship. I had considered having Jake come up and interrupt the fight before anybody could storm off, but, well, as soon as he walked away, we'd be right back in the same place - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Emily never realized that Kimberly was actively trying to ruin the picnic. No time for it. All of Kimberly's shenanigans didn't amount to anything, but I bet it made her feel better while she was doing it. I wonder if it would've been better if we had paid that off a little more explicitly.

Once Kimberly and Emily had this confrontation, this is how it had to go. They'd storm off and the party is over.- Terrence

Original Commentary

I was stuck for ideas when Isabel came up with this for me. When the party's over, there's a certain type of people who come out. Or at least are left behind. And yes, more deviled eggs. I think they're becoming a motif in our comics. I was intending to do a bit more with Jake, Robert, and Jane, but if I did, then the Kimberly/Emily/Brisbane/David segment would lose momentum. So that's filed in the "Later" pile. There's an awful lot of things in the "Later" pile... - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Yes, a standalone camera. Back in the distant past year of 2005, it's not that cellphones didn't have cameras - half of them did. It's just that cellphones didn't have good cameras.
And these guys didn't have cellphones.

Anyhow, better get that stuff in the fridge, like, two hours ago.- Terrence

Original Commentary

Emily is the kind of person who would live in an apartment wallpapered bright yellow... cheerful to the point of insanity and on edge. I give ol' David another month, tops.

The coat rack is new, the door is the same one as always and the couch used to be Joy's couch from three or so years ago. -Isabel

Modern Commentary
Ironically, David stuck around until the end. He showed up when Brisbane and friends needed another guy, pretty much.

I had considered there being an offscreen second picnic where David introduced his friends to Emily. That never happened. I like the idea of part 2 - and David invites Brisbane to it (and Kimberly comes as Brisbane's plus one).
But I think the idea is more amusing than the storyline itself would've been. - Terrence

Original Commentary

Yes, I mentioned that I was considering using this gag during the picnic but decided against it. It works much better here; it implies that Emily knows what she's hinting at, as opposed to having her say it with a straight face. This says more about David and Emily's relationship than the probably want you to know. I mean the first two panels, not the last one - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Glad we moved it to the epilogue. Trying to shoehorn this in would've killed the momentum between Emily and Kimberly. Once those two started at each other, there was no stopping them.

So...was Emily not dating Rod long enough for him to get a picnic? Or did she just not invite Kimberly? Or was that what the Halloween Party was for? - Terrence

Original Commentary

OK... no real afterthoughts. Terrence wrote most of this arc (except when I did- which wasn't that often). It was rather long for a picnic, but I think it did what it came to do and left a few leftovers (read: a new character) in it's wake. I really get the feeling that the relationship Kimberly and Emily have now is quite similar to the one they had back in High School- they loved to disagree. Emily is just remembering it as being better than it was, otherwise why would she fight so hard to keep Kimberly as a friend- other than hating to loose. Some people are just like that- and those people just happen to be Kimberly and Emily. -Isabel

Modern Commentary
I mean, Kimberly got what she wanted more-or-less. The picnic didn't go well. Emily's day is ruined.

One of the exchanges that got cut was:

Kimberly: I didn't even want to go to this picnic!
Brisbane: Then why did you ask me to it?
Kimberly: Because I thought you'd say no!

I like that and wish we had found a place for it. But I don't think that was consistent with her motives. But it would have been nice. - Terrence