Original Commentary

I ended up changing Kimberly's line in the last panel, she was originally going to just say, "What?", but I thought this worked a little better.

I'm sure if Kimberly wasn't so lonely from breaking things off with Brisbane she would smack Emily for that "Kimmy" crack. -Isabel

Modern Commentary
Her name is "Kimberly". There are two people who are allowed to call her "Kimmy" - her father and her grandfather. Emily is not on the list.

I regret that Kimberly never said anything to Emily about it, but just know that every single time Emily does it (and she does it a lot), Kimberly's mood gets a little worse.- Terrence

Original Commentary

And Emily was so close to being right about things...and her version of the facts is so much more scandalous than the real version. But that's Emily's special talent - missing the obvious, especially Kimberly's frustration with her. So how did Emily find out about all this? Well, that's not important right now, but if it's not dealt with in the comic, I'll tell you here - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Again, this was before social media was really a thing. Facebook wasn't available to the general public for another year.

I don't think we ever explained how Emily found this out. We may have wanted to keep it vague in case we needed to expand on it in the future.

Nowadays, we would've just implied that Robert vagueposted something about a friend visiting, and Emily was keeping an eye on Kimberly's extended social circle.

But I'm going to just assume that Emily can just sense when Kimberly is alone. - Terrence

Original Commentary

Looking back, Emily does about 90% of her communication over meals, usually at restaurants. Be it coffee, picnics, breakfast, lunch...this isn't intentional; I just realized it now. I've been trying to think of the kinds of things David and Emily talk about when they're together and had trouble. I think this is why - when they're not eating, she's usually quiet - Terrence

Modern Commentary
I love the art in the second panel.

Anyhow, Kimberly hopes that "we broke up a week ago" has fewer follow-up questions than "Our relationship is in a complicated place right now and neither of us are willing to define it."

But Emily is here to chew gum and ask follow-up questions, and she's all out of gum. - Terrence

Original Commentary

Emily's willful cluelessness is only approached by David from Spare Parts. She's trying to be helpful, kind of. On her own terms. But the only reason she's not wrong in all three panels is because she's silent in the first one. I think she should get a little bonus credit for her lack of reaction to anything Kimberly actually did say. It is, of course, tempting to give Spare Parts' David a nice, observant girlfriend named Emily - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Regarding the original commentary, I still find it odd to think of You Say it First David and Spare Parts David as separate characters. Especially since YSiF David didn't have a lot else going on.

I had wanted to do more with him, but he essentially shows up as Emily's plus-one or Brisbane's extended friend group.

But not even a free lunch would get Kimberly to talk about this with Emily right now. Some favors come at too high a price, as they say. - Terrence

Original Commentary

So Kimberly's worry is starting to sneak up on her. She's been trying not to deal with reality, but Emily's little visit has forced her to start being concerned (hence the reason why she doesn't seem to be as physically disheveled as Brisbane was by the end of the week. I just adore how Emily can do that to people and make a bad situation worse (and by adore I mean wish to step on her tail with really spiky shoes).

I made a mistake with the numbering in this story arc, forgot to count the Sunday comic, so it's 34, not 33 comics. - Isabel

Modern Commentary
She says "I won't have to deal with Emily" like Emily doesn't know her home address...

But I like getting Kimberly's perspective on this. Back in Unlike Minerva, she was a mystery that Brisbane reacted to. Isabel did a lot to humanize her throughout this. - Terrence

Original Commentary

So what is level thirty? Because every game has a different idea of what that means. In old-school AD&D, that's "You should have retired this character and started a new one ten levels ago". In some LPMuds, it's "You're part of the administrative staff". In FBAO and most other MMORPGs, it means "You can leave the beginner area and kill the extra-large goblins". Or in this case, the goblins with bunny ears - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Kimberly is making reasonable assumptions here. Incorrect, but reasonable.

Final Battle Adventure Online is more-than-a-little based on MapleStory. Back in 2005, level 30 was an achievement, taking months of grinding and unlocking exciting new abilities. These days, it takes ten minutes (two minutes if you don't stop to read the dialogue) and the real game begins at level 200.

I'm led to believe that other long-lasting MMORPGs have had similar sorts of level inflation. - Terrence