David Willis
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Unused strips for October 2 and 3, 2025
🕑 Added 2025-10-02 22:24:34 +0000 UTCwhoof, i wrote this Alice/Ruth sequence while being Norovirused the eff up. one of those "dang the election results are really making everything come out both ends OH i see, everyone in our family is just actually super sick, okay" situations, you know the ones
(yes, this sequence was originally placed earlier, directly after Jennifer meets Joyce and Dorothy coming out of the media building)
The first thing I did after coming out the other side was to make Alice's motives here more explicit, anchoring them more solidly in her previous interaction with Ruth. It meant directing towards a different punchline endpoint.
Plus, "what does that face mean" feels more like a Dina line, and something i discovered during this whole experience is that i start writing everyone like Dina when I'm Under Duress. I use way more precise words than are strictly necessary. And social interactions suddenly become a puzzle.
And so I also retooled the dialogue a bit on the following strip. Put it more in Alice's voice than Whoops All My Masking Is Down, I'm Just Writing Dina Now By Default voice.
"Cults of personality" is gone. "Evaded" is gone. "Imminently" is gone. "Vouched for" is gone. I put things in a less Dina-like rhythm.
Plus "I am going to put my mouth on [her] mouth" is, like, just a 30 Rock line. I think originally in penciling stages I had "cooch," but thought that was a bit too horny for the moment and changed it to "mouth," but with fresh eyes post-Norovirus I realized it was just a 30 Rock line, so then reverted it back to "cooch."
Anyway, this is why Alice was wandering by in Read Hall during the earlier Raidah/Asma strip! She wasn't just wackily materializing in the presence of Hot Goss. She was on her way to talk to Ruth. (She doesn't live in Read, after all!) After getting a lunch there, I guess, since it took her a while.
Comments
Maya
How about we split the difference with "I'm gonna put my mouth on her cooch!" Or heck, "I'm gonna put my cooch on her mouth!"
Hambolove16
The inner workings of this is so fascinating. I think this is the first time I've actually read the texts under these.. I never realized there was more because I read them from the home page. This is sad I've had these for years. 😭
Amós Batista
I loved Alice's face, when she was biting her hand. Adorable
Wednesday
Excessive Precision Whilst Under Duress is a known phenomenon, inasmuch as oh man I know that feel and such, &c.
