"Feh! The fates, it is clear, do not want me to keep updating regularly".

"Long story short: My computer crashed and burned. Hard. Like, I had to re-install the operating system and buy a bunch of new hardware. But I'm back now, and more technically equipped than ever. Things are going well".

"So there goes Pat. I don't know. I tend to think I would have gone a lot sooner, personally, but that's me. His friend there, I just realized, I never bothered to identify. This is Ryan. You'll be seeing more of him later".

"Oh, and hey! Vyacheslav is back! Man, I can't wait to get past this storyline. I mean, it's not like I don't have fun with the other characters, but there really hasn't been a big part for one of the two title characters in this arc. It feels like maybe it's too early in the strip for that... He'll be playing a bigger part from now on, which I'm sure will make everyone as happy as it makes me".

"So anyways. Three strips left until the end of the current storyline! One more week! Garrgh! Hardcore! HARDCORE!!!"

"Oh, and one more thing. Anyone who's familliar with the mall I use as the basis for the SSRTSD, I hope you all appreciate how much went into making all those backgrounds actually make sense and line up properly".