- Previously ignored hug impulse (Though a handshake happened shortly after)

 

I would have left out the “symbolism, mind you” narration if not for the fact that EGS is exactly the sort of bizarre comic in which one could fairly interpret that symbolism as something way more literal, and I saw a future of debating the hidden machinations of the weird phantom thing following Susan around.

 

I still wanted to keep that visual, however, because it addresses why I can get touchy when people try to simplify my own issues with some things. The difference between simply being afraid of something and it setting off an anxiety klaxon in one’s brain that one knows to be irrational is a distinction that matters to me, and it matters to Susan (we’re big on precision)

 

That said, it can be a difficult thing to express to other people, and I fully expect to not have gotten what I was trying to say across to everyone with this.

 

Diane’s analogy in panel four is one I have used myself to describe how I react to some things. I know my feelings are disproportionate to the problem (assuming there even is a real problem), and when I heard a description of how some physical allergies worked once (hypersensitivity and a defense worse than what it defends against), it sounded awfully similar.

 

 

Original during the day message:EGS:NP during the day mostly due to WRITING! Stupid writing. What good did it ever do?