We’ll leave these two to negotiate the details of this trade pact — mostly because if we show it, Facebook and Tumblr will have an aneurism, and we just cannot have that right now. But rest assured that these negotiations will no doubt continue well into the night, with, come the sunrise, an agreement everyone will no doubt find felicitous.

I’ve had some interesting discussions with some of you during the run of this. “So Frank is just pretending to be straight, isnt he!” “So David was just taking advantage of someone in need, wasnt he!” On both counts, no, I dont think so. We’ll come back to them again in the New Year, but I have a hunch that this is just one of those strange, weird, wonderful things that no one, not even the two people involved, can explain. Does Frank still find women hot? Possibly. Is that going to be threatening to Dave, who’s already once-burnt-twice-shy about things? Probably. But for the moment anyway, they seem to have got this thing licked… so to speak.

If anything, when you look at the relationships in this strip, every single one of them comes from a near-impossible point of concept. We had a pornographer fall for a priest. A rich man in pursuit of someone who wasnt the hooker he thought he was. A triangle that has one corner left wide open in exploration. A gay guy and a straight guy. And of course our leads, whose life together for almost twenty-five years (in their time) is predicated on a shared love of beating each other senseless. None of this makes sense, none of it really should work, and yet it all does, each in its own way. There’s no doubt a lesson there to be learned, but I’m not one for bumper sticker quotes, so for that you’re on your own.

Okay, two days until a Certain Big Holiday. In the main strip, we have a lot to accomplish before that happens, so we’re leaving this storyline for the moment. But if you wish, let me know your thoughts about Dave and Frank. I’m genuinely curious. And thanks again, as always, to all twelve of you.