But I'm A Cat Person

And here we have the flip side of Emma: a character I designed with a deliberate amount of thought and backstory, only to have her appear, like, twice in the whole comic.

Sometimes writing be like that, folks.

Is this the second time I’ve used “character makes Profound Statements about what it means to be human, unwittingly referring to a non-human character” in as many chapters? Going a little overboard on the dramatic irony, there.

That said, props to Shamila for being all “so you’ve had hundreds of relationships? Gosh, that’s unusual, but as long as it was happy and fulfilling for both you and your partners, well done.”

Teacher: Okay, everybody pair up with the person next to you and ask three questions each in different past tenses.

Shamila: Patrick! This will be easy. How was your morning?

Patrick: Good! Did your nephews have a good time in school last year?

Shamila: The older one did. The younger one had some trouble. Have you ever had a girlfriend?

Patrick: N-no.

Shamila: A boyfriend?

Patrick: Not that either . . . Unless you just mean any person that you love, and would do anything for, and are happy to be around . . .

. . . and hopefully they love you too, and it can involve sex if that ‘s what they want, but it isn’t necessary. In which case, I’ve had a few hundred of those, I think.

Shamila: Ah! You sure do “get around.”

Patrick: Maybe? Only the one I have right now is important, though. I barely remember the others.

Shamila: Oh, my, don’t say that. To love one person does not mean you must erase the idea of others. Having a past is part of being human.