0104: "Find You"

[Syrin]

Well, that's mostly my area of specialty.... mental disorders, psychological disorders, and so forth. I suffer from a plethora of them myself, and I like to explore them in others. What happens when a character with virtually unlimited biological potential experiences unfathomable trauma? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood develops unwanted powers? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood is GIVEN tremendous powers? What happens when a subjugated personality regains dominance?

A Piers Anthony book called Macroscope, which involved a government program whereby they bred very intelligent people together to make intelligent childrens. Apparently, one of them was smart enough that he decided to start having a different, less smart personality, and hid his smart personality from himself. Cause he was just /that smart/.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

A Piers Anthony book called Macroscope, which involved a government program whereby they bred very intelligent people together to make intelligent childrens. Apparently, one of them was smart enough that he decided to start having a different, less smart personality, and hid his smart personality from himself. Cause he was just /that smart/.

Schon Read that YEARS ago.

[3.14159265...]

I promised this girl, that one day I have to go seek her out, and find her should we lose each other. I am slowly losing touch right now.

[bookishbunny]

I promised this girl, that one day I have to go seek her out, and find her should we lose each other. I am slowly losing touch right now.

That is really sad! Is it to late to build the bridge back? Or have you lost the drive?

This one reminds me of my latest ex because I know he would never put out any effort to find me if I were lost to him. Whenever I feel sentimental about the relationship, I just recall this comic.

[Sprocket]

Well, that's mostly my area of specialty.... mental disorders, psychological disorders, and so forth. I suffer from a plethora of them myself, and I like to explore them in others. What happens when a character with virtually unlimited biological potential experiences unfathomable trauma? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood develops unwanted powers? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood is GIVEN tremendous powers? What happens when a subjugated personality regains dominance?

And so forth.

See, I take issue with all of that. It always seems like people become evil because someone was mean to them, or the kid who was picked on learns to pick on other people to make himself bigger. I personally had the opposite expereince. Being picked on made me realise how much it sucked. It had a negative effect on my personality yes, it made me introverted for many years. I only talked to people who talked to me first, and didn't trust most people's motives if they gave the slightest sign of being 'normal' or having the potential for popularity. But it made me aware of how much it sucks to get picked on and made me feel that I would never want to make anyone else feel like that, so I think all in all it made me less likely to hurt others. I am always perplexed that this doesn't happen more often.

A Piers Anthony book called Macroscope, which involved a government program whereby they bred very intelligent people together to make intelligent childrens. Apparently, one of them was smart enough that he decided to start having a different, less smart personality, and hid his smart personality from himself. Cause he was just /that smart/.

Sounds really interesting. Maybe I'll have to read that.

Speaking of DNA, you know how sometimes in a family you get one genius and one complete moron? I wonder how often that genius ends up having a complete moron for a child. I mean I'd say that obviously there's moron in his genes. (most men have a moron in their jeans)

[Syrin]

I have the lucky experience of never having been picked on. Also, unfortunately, Macroscope also involves stuff like fleeing to Pluto and turning Pluto into a spaceship/base to escape from said government, and aliens. It would've been way cooler if it just involved a smart guy who made himself less smart because being too smart sucked, or something. It's still a good book, though.

[Belial]

(most men have a moron in their jeans)

Joke's on you! I don't even *wear* jeans!

(Mostly because I loathe denim.)

[Sprocket]

It always reminded of 'Last of the Moheicans.'

Oh, and this comic always makes me think of the Last of the Mohicans.

DOH! I can't believe I already told you all that...I really need to read threads before I post, eh? (CARDINAL RULE!...also need to check my typographical errors)

Joke's on you! I don't even *wear* jeans!
(Mostly because I loathe denim.)

More to the point, one more reason you're the transgendered haberdasher lizard.

http://www.x-strikestudios.com Hahah, X-strike. They make me giggle. Last convention I went to, my friend Dirk spent the entire weekend hanging out around their table fostering his hetero man-crush on one of their team. The outtakes from Silent Horror were gold, by the by.

Moses! You KNOW X-Strike!? (oh yeah...all those cons are in VA aren't they)
Which one's your friend's man crush? I'll bet I can guess....and make your friend jealous.
I haven't actually seen the outtakes from Silent Horror.
I probably will someday though.

ALSO - this comic brings to mind that song by Kosheen "Hide You"

[wing]

This comic KILLS me. I can't see it without crying. Once upon a time, I made that promise to a girl, and she made it to me. We'd be friends forever, no matter what. I'd keep her safe and protect her from all evils. Ostensibly, we were best friends. Inwardly, I was convinced she was the one. Fun times, being with her through her first boyfriends and all those things, each time convincing her that they were the douchebags they actually were.

And then came king douche himself - snatched up her virginity on the first date and used her vulnerable "Gee Willikers I'm a girl and I just gave you my cherry! I love you forever!" stupor to feed her crap about how she couldn't have male friends anymore, and that I didn't matter anymore. Or ever. And she was gone.

Instead of embarking upon my sworn quest, I kept to myself and cried like a baby. It took me nearly a year to regain some semblence of sanity. For whatever reason, I took up marksmanship and developed a strange affinity for everything that can be used to kill, or especially to wound and subsequently torture. But it never crossed my mind to use these new skills to liberate her from her oppressive, abusive "boyfriend." Instead I engaged myself in a dead-end relationship, with lots of kinky sex, and forgot all about her... Until she found ME.

To me, this comic is just as much about the pictured character being lost and in need of finding. Just look at him, he's just kind of dangling there on that rope. Not exactly a pose that denotes confidence and determination. In fact, he looks fairly helpless.

[GhostWolfe]

To me, this comic is just as much about the pictured character being lost and in need of finding. Just look at him, he's just kind of dangling there on that rope. Not exactly a pose that denotes confidence and determination. In fact, he looks fairly helpless.

Your story moved me to tears, I hope things have gotten better for you, and I hope that you have/are able to regain your strength.

*strong hugs*

You are a lucky, beautiful man.

[3.14159265...]

I promised this girl, that one day I have to go seek her out, and find her should we lose each other. I am slowly losing touch right now.

That is really sad! Is it to late to build the bridge back? Or have you lost the drive?

Actually the reason is that we kept fighting, we had pretty much lost what we had when I made the promise, so i decided it was better to let go and find her in 5 years or so. She will be travelling away from canada in a month or so.

*I know her too well, and I have a suspicion that she is reading this"

[EradicateIV]

I've made a promise with my ex-girlfriend that when I turn 28 I would go out of my way to find her to see how she was doing. From that point, we're not together because of her terrible drug usage and worthlessness in life. I still plan on finding her when I'm 28 just because these are things that make life interesting.

[wing]

To me, this comic is just as much about the pictured character being lost and in need of finding. Just look at him, he's just kind of dangling there on that rope. Not exactly a pose that denotes confidence and determination. In fact, he looks fairly helpless.

Your story moved me to tears, I hope things have gotten better for you, and I hope that you have/are able to regain your strength.

*strong hugs*

You are a lucky, beautiful man.

Things are mostly (well, as much as things like this can be) back the way they were.... I won't fail again.

[Sprocket]

To me, this comic is just as much about the pictured character being lost and in need of finding. Just look at him, he's just kind of dangling there on that rope. Not exactly a pose that denotes confidence and determination. In fact, he looks fairly helpless.

Your story moved me to tears, I hope things have gotten better for you, and I hope that you have/are able to regain your strength.

*strong hugs*

You are a lucky, beautiful man.

Things are mostly (well, as much as things like this can be) back the way they were.... I won't fail again.

You didn't fail. There was nothing you could have done. If she couldn't see he was a controlling bastard, there's nothing you could have done to show her. She needed to figure that out for herself. She needed to grow, you couldn't do that for her. The important thing is now. Plus, using any sort of physical attack against him would have only been sinking too low, and probably would have driven her further from you.

[wing]

To me, this comic is just as much about the pictured character being lost and in need of finding. Just look at him, he's just kind of dangling there on that rope. Not exactly a pose that denotes confidence and determination. In fact, he looks fairly helpless.

Your story moved me to tears, I hope things have gotten better for you, and I hope that you have/are able to regain your strength.

*strong hugs*

You are a lucky, beautiful man.

Things are mostly (well, as much as things like this can be) back the way they were.... I won't fail again.

You didn't fail. There was nothing you could have done. If she couldn't see he was a controlling bastard, there's nothing you could have done to show her. She needed to figure that out for herself. She needed to grow, you couldn't do that for her. The important thing is now. Plus, using any sort of physical attack against him would have only been sinking too low, and probably would have driven her further from you.

Okay, so maybe I'll fail next time, but at least I'll finally get to see what a 7.62mm round does to male genitalia. Consolation prize?

Seriously though, failure is relative. In my mind, I failed because I achieved none of my goals. In yours, I didn't fail for some other set of reasons.

[GhostWolfe]

Even if you did fail, you aren't a bad person, and you can admit that you know you weren't happy with how you reacted. Recognising these things are some of the hardest things anyone can do.

I know you wont fail again.

[Mighty Jalapeno]

See, I take issue with all of that. It always seems like people become evil because someone was mean to them, or the kid who was picked on learns to pick on other people to make himself bigger. I personally had the opposite expereince. Being picked on made me realise how much it sucked.

Ok.... and what makes you think the people in my stories become evil because of their experiences? I have said nothing of the sort.

It had a negative effect on my personality yes, it made me introverted for many years. I only talked to people who talked to me first, and didn't trust most people's motives if they gave the slightest sign of being 'normal' or having the potential for popularity. But it made me aware of how much it sucks to get picked on and made me feel that I would never want to make anyone else feel like that, so I think all in all it made me less likely to hurt others. I am always perplexed that this doesn't happen more often.

So, you're me, and you still think that I'm writing somehow... incorrectly?

[Sprocket]

So, you're me, and you still think that I'm writing somehow... incorrectly?

I wasn't saying you were doing something incorrect, I was just saying I feel like movies/anime/whatever always do it that way.

Also, it annoys me when in those movies where you make the goofy girl popular, or what not, how it's always like "she doesn't wear make-up because her mom died before she could teach her how!" Cuz god knows that's the only reason a pretty girl wouldn't wear make-up...

[Mighty Jalapeno]

So, you're me, and you still think that I'm writing somehow... incorrectly?

I wasn't saying you were doing something incorrect, I was just saying I feel like movies/anime/whatever always do it that way.

Also, it annoys me when in those make-over movies where you make the goofy girl popular, or what not, how it's always like "she doesn't wear make-up because her mom died before she could teach her how!" Cuz god knows that's the only reason a pretty girl wouldn't wear make-up...

Sorry, I get defensive when someone critiques my writing BEFORE reading it (it happens all too often... sigh!) Sorry, it was my bad. Angst. Yarg. You know. Movies always do seem to do it that way, and I do it the way that I've experienced.

Also, I agree.... uhm, you can tell what a girl looks like, makeup or not.... sorry, Hollywood!

[Ghona]

Well, that's mostly my area of specialty.... mental disorders, psychological disorders, and so forth. I suffer from a plethora of them myself, and I like to explore them in others. What happens when a character with virtually unlimited biological potential experiences unfathomable trauma? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood develops unwanted powers? What happens when a person with a traumatic childhood is GIVEN tremendous powers? What happens when a subjugated personality regains dominance?

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance?

[Mighty Jalapeno]

Actually, it's a story called "Soul Lenders". Close, though.

Oh, hey, I posted two chapters here,like, back in 2004. Man, I'm weak....

[Sprocket]

But serisouly...I can't handle the fact that Belial has been to a convention and met the X-Strike folk. The internet has grown too small.

Do you ever go on the forums?

[Belial]

But serisouly...I can't handle the fact that Belial has been to a convention and met the X-Strike folk. The internet has grown too small.

If I remember correctly, they don't live terribly far from me.

Also, back when I had long hair, watching Silent Horror was the creepiest thing in the world, because one of the characters looked *exactly* like me.

Do you ever go on the forums?

No. Dirk might, though. I'll ask.

How do you know them, if I might ask?

[Sprocket]

But serisouly...I can't handle the fact that Belial has been to a convention and met the X-Strike folk. The internet has grown too small.

If I remember correctly, they don't live terribly far from me.
Also, back when I had long hair, watching Silent Horror was the creepiest thing in the world, because one of the characters looked *exactly* like me

If you live in VA, they live no where near you...except I think Chad maybe lived in VA for a little while... They live in Buffalo NY.
Which one looked like you? Steve?

How do you know them, if I might ask?

I went to college with them.

[Belial]

If you live in VA, they live no where near you...except I think Chad maybe lived in VA for a little while...

Ahh. Then I was told wrong.

Which one looked like you? Steve?

Yup. He has a bigger chin, and he is apparently capable of growing a beard, but otherwise....

I went to college with them.

Madness!

[djooleek]

Now that I think on it, it also reminds me of "Everworld" by K.A. Applegate

WOW!! I remember that series from like fifth grade and i LOVED it!! I've never found anyone else who reread it. Now I must go find and read all of them. Don't underestimate how much you've made my day.

[Sprocket]

I went to college with them.

Madness!

Yeah, I was in Improv Society with them and on their first campus TV show, The Gigantic Paper Pile Mystery Power Hour. Of which they have an AMAZING episode about the anniversary of 9/11 called "Farewell to Freedom" Way funny. We got cheap versions of Jenga we found called, amazingly, Tumbling Towers and made a sort of parody toy commercial. The part that would still fit with X-Strike is Cami from...is it street fighter? leads the US army to find the terrorists, whom she believes to be Hari Krishnas. But after all the Hari Krishnas are dead she turns her sights on the real enemy, Cowboys! They had a reoccurring Cowboy character Johnny something I think. They have fight wherein various controller commands are referenced, and eventually they managed to use their ever growing computer skills to run Johnny's head through some of our atrocious campus lawn 'art.'

Offensive yet poignant. These are the kids who took every september 11th to have what they called a Jihad Barbecue. The overall idea of both the episode and the tradition being the irony of minimizing freedoms to protect freedom, expressed generally by speaking in ways that could theoretically in the proper circumstance, get them in trouble.

There was actually an Indian kid at Fredonia who was taking flying lessons. He got pulled over once, and when the cops found his flight lesson manual in the car, they took him in. He moved out of the area shortly there after.

[Belial]

Now that I think on it, it also reminds me of "Everworld" by K.A. Applegate

WOW!! I remember that series from like fifth grade and i LOVED it!! I've never found anyone else who reread it. Now I must go find and read all of them. Don't underestimate how much you've made my day.

I try!

I should probably ever finish reading that series. Except I've already gotten foggy on the first few books, so I have to reread those too....

Which means I get to get caught reading *even more* fiction aimed embarassingly below my current age bracket....

Curses.

[CorranH]

Animorphs was an awesome series. I still haven't read the last book just to keep myself in suspense.

I lost track of the series when it fell into the doldrums of "Oh noes, the yeerks have taken over [aspect of human society]! The animorphs have to morph [unlikely animal] to put a stop to it!" repetitiveness. I heard that it broke out of that cycle after a bit, though, and so I've been trying to reconstruct enough of a collection that I can finish reading the series to the end, but it's hard as hell to find them these days.

Is it? Shit, makes me wish I still had all my old Animorphs books. I used to have the entire fucking series. I loved that shit. I never read more than the first few of Remnants or Everworld, though. Do you know anything about those? Did she finish those series? If not, are they still ongoing, or did they just kind of stop in the middle? Were they good?

[skitch78]

Reminded me of this optical illusion (or "optical effect" rather), where you stare at the b&w image for 30 seconds and then look at a blank wall and clearly see a long-haired hippy.



I gave it a try with this comic and saw Robocop.

[Aviatrix]

I think it's wonderful that so few see death in this comic, because for someone who has lost a love to death, that's all it can mean. I immediately wanted to clip this out (yes, from the laptop screen) and show it to W... in the same way I want to tell him about the Internet, and mp3 players, and laptops and compact discs and cell phones for that matter. All the things that would have delighted him, just to be able to DO that. Never, EVER take technology for granted. You are, after all, here to enjoy it.

[Stief]

I was looking through the archive, and totally forgot about this one...

It's amazing...the thing that hits me the most out of it...."I WILL FIND YOU"...

the way it's seperated from the rest of the text...

I also love the lines "I hope you're not afraid, wherever you are...You don't need to be...I'm not"

Hell, the entire piece is amazing

I was thinking, as I looked at this image, how amazing a story/comic/graphic stickman novel/movie it would make...the whole before and after...

just a thought...
Edit: this is amazingly suited to this comic...(the song moreso...)

[Surgery]

Always made me think of orpheus and eurydice as well. And, now I have a subject for the animation I'm supposed to be doing, thank god.

[Piarew]

When I first went through the archives and saw this one, I think I passed it off as stalker, but reading it now I really feel the desperate dramatic romance that oozes down the cave walls.

Back when I first started reading xkcd I knew the girl for about 5 years and we had remained friends, but between my first reading of the comic and now we've gotten to be more like brother/sister than friends. Seeing this bumped on the forum has got me feeling all mushy now. We both know that there won't be romance between us, but there's still some kind of spiritual bond we share, and I know that if I ever lost her I would find her. We still keep in touch currently, even though we've recently moved in opposite directions. I haven't promised it to her, because such things are a little too melodramatic for us, but I have made the promise to myself. On a similar track, I've made it my responsibility to protect her, like wing mentioned with his story (I feel soo sympathetic for the pain involved! Heart-throb) just not using weaponry. I'm glad to be seeing this again, its taken on a huge new meaning to me.

[Belial]

I think it's wonderful that so few see death in this comic, because for someone who has lost a love to death, that's all it can mean.

Strangely, that's what I was driving at with the Silent Hill 2 comparison.

[Dave]

This is absolutely my favourite comic. I have no emotional or poignant story/memory that I relate it to, but even still it has such an amazing sentiment and the words do sound like something from a book, film, poem or whatever.

I like the funny comics for their humour but this one wins as it has meaning.

[gejr]

Hey, this is my first post in these forums. I hope I'm not stepping on any toes for asking this here.

Which font is being used here? http://www.xkcd.com/104/

I think it looks cool. Maybe something I can implement in my desktop setup

Edit: It just struck me. Could this be handwritten? Ok.. an amazing piece of handwriting in that case and please disregard this post as anything but sheer admiration.

[Nexus_1101]

i can only summerise that it is hand written unles it has some sort of ramdom generation, look at two of the same letters they look diffrent, if you want some cool fonts i suggest '1001 fonts' google it...

[Surgery]

i suggest dafont.com for good fonts. excellently categorized, you can type in custom preview text so you can try before you download, and they have some insane fonts.

[scowdich]

All the comics are handwritten. It's true; I've seen 'im do it.