# The Curse **URL:** \ **Category:** Summer Time\ **Tags:** comic\ **Created:** [June 19, 2019, 3:57am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698 "2019-06-19T03:57:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/21 "2019-06-22T20:18:11Z")
Ha! Took me a moment (and a reread) to notice the spirits, who actually kind of look like raggedy neckties. Nice effect, though (even if Alycia’s spirit being black and Summer’s being white feels a little cliche). This could either get very metaphysical (What, precisely, has been switched? Some sort of self aware network of electricity and chemical reactions? Souls? Or is it just “magic” and leave it at that?) or very hilarious. Or, quite possibly, both! I want to proactively lodge a protest on Jason’s behalf before I even get beyond the setup. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:25pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/22 "2019-06-22T20:25:39Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Alycia isn’t taking this well, for every good reason. Alycia already has identity problems, let alone everything else. That said, my first thought was, “Surely she’s read about this already in the Menagerie mission logs,” and then it made me laugh that I thought anyone was keeping mission logs (though most of the group has probably individually thought it would be a good idea for various reasons). Would Jason have told Alycia that he rode around in Charlotte’s body once? Mmmmaybe. Even probably. With multiple insistances that He Didn’t Do Anything Untoward While There. But, hey, for this storyline I’m willing to suspend that. 🙂 Also, I’m already enjoying noticing the difference in facial expression. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:29pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/23 "2019-06-22T20:29:16Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > While identity mix-ups and romantic shenanigans would be hilarious, I think both girls are past that. So let’s see what other trouble we can get them into. I agree. Which isn’t to say that such problems couldn’t be thrust upon them through circumstance, not choice. That said, I think both would find exploring/understanding the nature of the bodies they are in fascinating. Or, as this strip demonstrates, inconvenient. It could give each a lot of insight into the other (and others of their sort). It might even be interesting to see how they feel at the end of the week about returning to their own bodies. Relief? Like coming home from vacation? Regrets? Let’s find out! ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/24 "2019-06-22T20:32:35Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > I plan to handle these topics with some taste and discretion, and I know you folks will let me know if you think I mess up. For all I have written female characters before (including this one), it occurs to me that I don’t think I’ve ever addressed this particular aspect of their physiology and experience, except maybe in passing reference. I don’t know if that was a limit in worldview, or just shrinking away from asserting what the experience was like, or what, but now it has my curious (about my own writing). Anyway, you’re a braver man than I am, Gunga Din. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:36pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/25 "2019-06-22T20:36:19Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Alycia’s worst nightmare comes true. Oh yeah? Wait until Summer is given instruction on Alycia’s daily fitness regimen. Taking a week off that is not an option! 😃 I do love the expression on Alycia-as-Summer’s face in panel 3. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:37pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/26 "2019-06-22T20:37:40Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Teehee I LOLled. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/27 "2019-06-22T20:40:08Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Alycia has her own problems. I’ll confess I’d not thought yet of that aspect of her experience here. Well done. Among the interesting parts of this whole thing will be a fascination as to how well the body memory (in both of them) works. No balance issues, no “Oh, I hugged you with my full robotic strength, sorry” problems. A relatively benign spell. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/28 "2019-06-22T20:41:55Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Mutual comfort and support. Alycia might have some tech upgrade recommendations for Summer on the other end of all this, too. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:47pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/29 "2019-06-22T20:47:36Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Oh dear. All right, now I want to know how Nono knows. > [@garrett](#): > > I’m checking in with our audience. Is this interesting? Too talky, too weird? I am, as you can tell, enjoying the heck out of it. If she had a moment for more self-reflection (and much, much larger thought balloons), she would probably be wondering why this “mission” (exactly the way she’d need to frame it) is so difficult. Is it just about being trapped in Summer’s body? Is she losing her edge? Is it she’s afraid of doing something that causes Summer difficulty afterward (like, getting her fired)? (It’s easy to pretend to be the Thai ambassador’s daughter when you don’t care what happens to her life after the deception is done; it’s different when it’s a friend.) Is it just being out of her own body and thus comfort zone? Is it that customer service is really hard when you’re profoundly not “perky-cute”? Anyway, I’m loving this. I eagerly await more. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 8:53pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/30 "2019-06-22T20:53:52Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > a callback to it seemed appropriate Perfect. _That_ aspect of this Alycia would have down pat. > [@garrett](#): > > Wait, Nono sees Alycia as what? Jeez. First Emma, now Nono? Not even counting Summer’s sentiments previously expressed, or the Lost Ducklings. Next think you know, she’s going to be opening up Ms Chin’s School for [Etiquette and Espionage](https://gailcarriger.com/series/the-finishing-school/). ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 9:05pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/31 "2019-06-22T21:05:19Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > Meanwhile, we peek in on Alycia’s life, as seen by Summer. _Several months ago …_ “Why wouldn’t I?” “You just … don’t seem like the business suit sort of person. You’re usually in fatigues or jeans or comfortable yet easy-to-break-necks-in clothes.” “You know the phrase, ‘Clothes make the man,’ Jason?” _"Vestis virum facit._ Erasmus." “Erasmus was a wooly-headed compromiser, but he had that one right. Clothes are part of the kit for the mission, but how you handle the mission is defined by how you prepare for it, not just the other way around. Like selecting a garrotte instead of a rocket launcher, it affects your approach and your chance of success. What clothes I wear affects how I take on the task … _and_ how others react to me – which is, in turn, also a critical component of mission success. Generals and bankers and ambassadors who show up to work in sweats and ‘Ask Me about My Evil Plan’ tees have significantly reduced effectiveness.” “Sooooo … I need to wear a tie when I go talk with the Board?” “If you want them to take you as seriously as possible, yes.” “I hate you.” “Suck it up, buttercup. At least you don’t have to wear a bra, too.” ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 9:56pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/32 "2019-06-22T21:56:02Z")
![MindSwap_014](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/f/fd26335c0aafa7a7b5fb219d35c3a3bf69a161b2.jpeg) Montage! ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/33 "2019-06-22T22:37:15Z")
![MindSwap_015](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/8/821d446755c035ea2d697946cc079e8eb8372778.jpeg) Summer is terrible at OpSec. The rules Alycia is quoting are from [Allan Dulles’ 73 rules of spycraft](https://blog.cyberwar.nl/2016/02/some-elements-of-intelligence-work-73-rules-of-spycraft-allen-dulles-1960s/). ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 10:45pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/34 "2019-06-22T22:45:19Z")
> [@Dave](#): > > Alycia’s spirit being black and Summer’s being white I needed contrasting colors, and their hair colors are actually my guideline there. Plus, I think of these two as the Yin-Yang symbol associated with Taoism - mutually complementary and harmonious opposites, each with some of the other. > [@Dave](#): > > What, precisely, has been switched? I have an internal explanation but presenting it doesn’t do much for the story, so I’m not going into detail for now. > [@Dave](#): > > Would Jason have told Alycia that he rode around in Charlotte’s body once? Leo would have. I assume Alycia doesn’t immediately make the connection because she’s suddenly coping with a huge influx of chaos. > [@Dave](#): > > how they feel at the end of the week I think right now (as presented) that they envy the other in some ways, and one thing I want to do is pay off that feeling in some way. > [@Dave](#): > > this particular aspect of their physiology and experience From my own life, it’s just a thing that happens. I think the most respectful thing for the characters is just to tear down any mystique and treat it like another facet of life, one that Summer up until now hasn’t experienced. > [@Dave](#): > > I hugged you with my full robotic strength Leo built in safeguards to the robots to forestall this problem. Essentially, Summer has a few extra ‘muscles’ wired into her, and flexing those unlocks certain extra-human capabilities, like Pneuma’s transformation mode. One of those gates her super-human strength. > [@Dave](#): > > Alycia might have some tech upgrade recommendations for Summer This’ll be covered in more depth in the comics too. 🙂 > [@Dave](#): > > it’s different when it’s a friend I’m assuming this is her biggest issue. More coming soon. ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2019, 10:58pm UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/35 "2019-06-22T22:58:09Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > More coming soon ![](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/2/24c66d04b56db17c2db640d7f3b323794a288182.gif) ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 12:45am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/36 "2019-06-23T00:45:24Z")
![MindSwap_016](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/9/996018f085f9d0e4582f2085b126b0a950cdaf7c.jpeg) Judo CHOP! ---
**Author:** ![Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/dave/32/6344_2.png) [@Dave](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/Dave)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 1:05am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/37 "2019-06-23T01:05:26Z")
> [@garrett](#): > > I’ve known Alycia for years. _A few years ago …_ “Dad, can we infiltrate Dr. Chin’s Death Ray Base in the Andes, um … next week?” “Jason, this is a matter of national, if not world security! Why would we delay for a week?” “Yeah … my calendar says next week might be less, ah, dangerous. For me, at least.” ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/38 "2019-06-23T02:05:43Z")
![MindSwap_017](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/d/d99fd26f790603e6f0387a7dc20cb4383049a961.jpeg) Day 2 ended great you guys. ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:33am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/39 "2019-06-23T03:33:49Z")
![MindSwap_018](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/7/7e64686baf385e54f5b45b43633e7a744064c772.jpeg) The girls trade notes. ---
**Author:** ![garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/user_avatar/forum.menagerie.team/garrett/32/3_2.png) [@garrett](https://forum.menagerie.team/u/garrett)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2019, 3:44am UTC](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698/40 "2019-06-23T03:44:43Z")
![MindSwap_019](https://forum-menagerie-team-assets.sfo2.digitaloceanspaces.com/original/2X/7/7fac784198469c353320dd06d273b4ce099d31db.jpeg) It’s always been interesting when Alycia gets set off by little things. Wait. Teaching Nono what? [Previous page](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698.md?page=1) [Next page](https://forum.menagerie.team/t/the-curse/698.md?page=3)