I took the road less traveled by

[brigid]

1-30-2023

This should have been at least two strips.

What we have right here is:

Edda and Mary run into each other by accident? They're meeting as planned?

Edda gives a quick infodump about her life.

Mary makes one of the most convoluted statements it's possible to make, humans just... don't talk like this. Anyway, she basically asks Edda to brag about Amos.

Edda... recognizes that Amos could have wound up with Mary?

Edda and Mary used to be best friends. They had a long history that included Amos being obsessed with her in high school, and later as adults Amos turned to her and proposed essentially an affair as he was trying to figure out if he was actually in love with Edda or not. He said "let's do it," she said "ok," he began projectile vomiting from stress.

Will either Mary or Edda bring this up? Is that the "road not taken" reference? Or is it a general "you snooze you lose" type thing? Amos, I want to reiterate, was a gross stalker in high school. He was a real late bloomer.

Anyway, this really should have been at least two strips and hopefully we'll see more of this. What HAS Mary been up to? How HAS she been? REALLY? Because right now she exists solely as a narrative device for an infodump and to, I guess, talk about how desirable Amos is?

Imagine this whole thing with room to breathe.

1) The two meet up and embrace in a way that doesn't look like they are about to, or have just finished, a tongue kissing session. Edda asks Mary how she is. Mary answers in a way that indicates the two have been in regular communication.

2) Mary asks Edda how she is, and Edda talks about having kids and what she and Amos do for a loving. Not "oh by the way I have twins," because the two of them have been in contact at least once over the last five years. No, she mentions something specific about her kids/parenting.

3) They both talk a little more about their lives. Again, it's them catching over about the past few months - not years. They're still friends. They still talk. They're adults but still are in each others' lives. Edda has female friends other than Xiulan.

4) As they're parting ways Mary ponders life with Amos. Edda can get off some kind of bon mot about roads not taken or two roads diverging in a wood or whatever.

5) Edda goes home where she greets her husband and children. It's just... a domestic/family thing.

The strip as-is feels very rushed, crammed.

It's only Monday, we might see more of them talking. I don't know. I hope we do. But this strip is just so clunky.