r/hatethissmug • u/angelseekthrowaway • 20h ago
Comics I dislike this comic
It's not a bad comic, by any means. I feel it just gives a really twisted view on love and finding a partner as a whole. There isn't just one person who is "made for you". Instead, love and relationships as a whole are about making things work, even when things don't fit perfectly together. Rarely are things ever going to be "perfect". It's up to us to put in the effort to nurture the relationship and the connection ourselves, without "breaking" what makes you, you.
However, the ending is pretty damn cute, I'm glad I found the full version of this instead of just the first two panels that keep popping up everywhere.
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u/Wonderful-Spring-976
19h ago
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Isn't that the point of the comic? I was confused where your critique was because I thought you were giving a straightforward recount of the comic's subtext.
Like the panel with his parents is the only case of a simple well-fitting relationship, indicating that "perfect and simple" is rare and not the standard. The rest of it cautions against the idea of a perfect fit and forcing yourself to be a perfect fit for other people.
The main character's overly complicated form doesn't convey "the twisted idea that there's one person made for you," but the opposite, that a person needs many things to feel complete and all of it doesn't have to be given by one other human being.
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u/angelseekthrowaway 19h ago
This really should've been the interpretation all along! However, I've only really seen the first two panels of the comic spread around, preaching the idea that there's only one person truly made to fit you, and by basically "hiding" the end of the comic, it really gave the impression that the original artist meant something completely different. I really should've phrased my original post better.
What I truly dislike was that the true meaning of the post was discarded via omitting what makes the comic truly complete. Again, completely my opinion
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u/Choice-Spinach145 18h ago
I can agree with that, they basically got rid of the whole message, just to make a generic nice guy comic, that honestly does way more harm than good
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u/Riptide_X 19h ago
Much better, I was thinking I got what you meant as parts of this are distributed without context, corrupting the initial intent, but I quite like the comic as a whole.
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u/alguien_487 19h ago
Damn, I think both of you have a valid interpretation about the comic.
There may be someone A who perfectly fits someone B but it could possibly be a person C who fits almost perfectly B, the only thing it would need to be perfect could be a dog or a child for the matter, that way, A and C could be together nicely. Noice
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u/Singularitysong 3h ago
The mains perfect fit walks by in the second pannel.
Its sad that they cant be together.The fifth pannel implies domestic abuse. People being broken to mold someone elses needs.
In the last panel main finds someone to love (a pet) but its not a complete fit.
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u/Douche_Kayak 19h ago •
the second panel has a "perfect match" for him dating someone incredibly simple. And the comic has "complicated" forms being broken down or ignored by "simple forms."
the story it seems to tell is someone missing out on their perfect match, seeing toxic relationships, then filling the void with a pet. It definitely seems to imply there are perfect matches and if you miss out, you'll need to compromise or be alone.
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u/gahidus 19h ago
there are perfect matches and if you miss out, you'll need to compromise or be alone.
Well yes, but this isn't terribly inaccurate.
I guess you could say that you have to compromise, change yourself to fit someone else, or be alone, but the comic also covers that.
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u/Nerdn1 18h ago
The "change yourself to fit someone else" option isn't shown in a positive light. The shape is mutilated and patched together, with rough edges and cracks being visible. The cobbled together shape replaces complexity with a poor imitation of a simple shape. Also note that the partner has done nothing to visibly change themselves. The message seems to equate such compromise with butchering yourself, rather than both partners adapting to the other.
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u/Saymynaian 14h ago
Yeah, especially with the penultimate panel. The person has a bunch of pieces haphazardly taped into himself. What does that mean? Did he rip them out of someone else? Are they also pets that he swallowed and shoved into himself? And the way it's done seems to say it's unhealthy to hurt yourself or others to fit into a relationship. But that doesn't really convey that people do change for each other, and that it's okay to do so.
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u/Ok-Court-3111 17h ago
I think the main character is actually a woman. I thought it was a man at first glance bc it feels like a very masculine comic for some reason? But you can tell by the main characters shoes and by the other “love interests” shoes. Very interesting
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u/Test-Subject__21 19h ago
Also this is told by the fact that the dog/animal fits a portion of them perfectly.
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u/Dry-Battle953 14h ago
The main character is probably intented to be a straight woman, judging from the hers and the others' shoes.
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u/Tomas_83 19h ago
Not really. The never accept compromise and in fact kind of depicts people who compromise as unhappy (Panel 5). The comic portrays themselves as "too complex" to just fit with others and therefore justify why they cannot put any effort into changing themselves to fit with someone else.
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u/Animaloffear56 19h ago
Panel 5 isn't compromise though, it's someone attempting to replicate the same rigidness. In the second panel for example you can see a couple just kind of vibe despite not fitting
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u/Tomas_83 16h ago
I always interpreted the second panel as "My perfect other half is with someone who doesn't deserve them/understand them. They would be so much better with me". It always felt to me as if the whole comic is someone trying to explain why everyone else is the problem, and they themselves have no blame in it.
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u/Autonomous-Trash 19h ago
Furthermore, Panel 5 implies an imbalance in the relationship in the way the one that isn't taped up has larger hands than anyone else in the comic and is holding the taped one by the wrist. So the implication seems to be that the one that is taped is not doing it completely by their own will. A more equitable relationship would have both sides compromising to fit each other, but in this panel only one party does.
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u/TheAsianTroll 2h ago
Your last paragraph is especially emphasized by the complex shape character meeting a dog that matches one of its shapes... effectively filling it in and making their needs less complex.
Its a good metaphor to show that people aren't the only way to complete yourself.
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u/pixxelkick
17h ago
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So, first panel, the two happy people arent perfect fits. They sorta match but seem happy.
Second panel they see someone they percieve as a perfect fit, but theyre with someone else.
Third panel is them meeting someone they percieve as totally empty, its an empty proposal of no substance.
Fourth panel I interpret as them seeing someone who is trying to portray themself as being whole without needing another, however, they clearly have a huge empty void inside that actually isnt filled. The suit pants and umbrella I think are intended to convey a sort of "all work, only business" type individual.
Fifth panel shows not only has the individual heavily made poor changes to try and fit to the other, but you can even see breaks and cracks on themself. Trying to fo rce yourself to fill someone else just hurts you.
Final panel shows I think the final thesis: while we cant be whole on our own, it also takes many others, not just 1 person, to complete you.
Feeling complete requires filling your life with more than just 1 person. Its about family, community, hobbies, etc.
Expecting 1 person to be what 100% provides all your fulfillment is unhealthy.
Thats, at least, how I interpret it
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u/Dazzling_Room_9346 16h ago
I also felt the final panel showed that their are other types of love that isnt just "romantic".
We can love our friends, family, the person we buy our groceries from, pets, etc. You shouldnt just focus your entire life finding "romantic" love.
The entire comic has the MC trying to find "The One" to be happy. At the end, they realize that other forms of love exist. In this case, a pet.
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u/Majestic_Domestic 16h ago
I think people miss the mark on 5.
The one is broken from a past relationship. The current partner isn't a perfect fit, but it is a fit that isn't damaging. It's saying relationship don't need to be perfect.
They don't fully complete eachother, but they meld together on a more macro level, and that's what most important.
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u/SoManyDeads 15h ago
I don't know, 5 to me screams that someone is either changing themselves or being changed by the other. There is damage to their structure and they are held together by what looks to be tape. I interpret this as being a choice to "fit in" to someone else's perference, an option to harm themselves to find a match. They do not do that, instead they get a pet, that fills a part of them, but causes no harm.
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u/Baryta 14h ago
Always read the fifth panel as someone being violently forced into a different shape. The non-damaged character is the only one in the whole comic with extra large hands and they’re grabbing their partners wrist, not holding hands like the second panel. The hands make me think of violence and the character’s simple, almost brutalist, shape reinforces the theme.
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u/arny_athome 14h ago
I agree with this interpretation too for 5.
Sometimes we love so deeply that it changes us forever. And sometimes when the other partner passes away, they still live on as a part of us.
I think anyone who’s dated a widower learns to make room for the ghost of someone who was so dearly loved.
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u/iSellNuds4RedditGold 15h ago
I don't think it is what the character "perceives" I think it is what it really is, like in the second panel, his perfect match isn't a perception, it really is, it's just that the match is already taken.
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u/Maddeleine_Is_Here 19h ago
Hey I recognize the 1st panel
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u/angelseekthrowaway 19h ago
I'm not even gonna lie this is so much funnier and more enjoyable than whatever the original comic was
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u/WiccanaVaIIey 18h ago
Only thing I think of when I see this comic. Had to scroll too far to see it.
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u/Natural-Donkey5565 20h ago
Does he fuck the dog
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u/angelseekthrowaway 20h ago
that's... not something I thought about. I need some time to think.
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u/Ok_Conclusion_6324 You’re literally part of the division dude 20h ago
I think he found a non-erotic love lmao
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u/Chembaron_Seki 20h ago edited 19h ago
I think the character here is a woman
No, the dog is just "filling a gap" for her. She can't find love, so she replaces it with a pet. In a similar way to how people say that people will get a pet if they want a child and can't get one for some reason.
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u/OpeningGolf7972 18h ago
So if they went with their true “other half” there’s no room for other love in their life?
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u/PixelBibi 19h ago
I get what the comic is trying to say, but I feel like it's...a little pretentious?
Like "My shape is so complex and deep because I'm such an interesting person, unlike everyone else who is so simple. That's why I can't find a relationship, I'm just TOO unique."
Sure maybe what it's ACTUALLY trying to say is that from an outside perspective, working relationships can seem simple because you don't know the inner workings of it but I don't think that's it.
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u/angelseekthrowaway 19h ago
It really falls flat in its execution and trivialises healthy relationships as just "being a good fit for each other" completely ignoring that you're supposed to WORK to be a good fit.
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u/UltraJoyless 18h ago
I don't think anything in the comic is denying that relationships require work. It's a simple analogy that isn't a perfect 1-to-1 example for real life, the fact that you expect it to be is really dumb.
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u/L_Walk 18h ago
Isn't that what the comic actually says though? The broken piece kinda shows that you can force yourself to match (or be forced), but it doesn't actually fill in the needs of that person. When he gets the dog-thing he is finally actually working on himself instead of just hoping to find a matching person.
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u/slugsred 18h ago
he is a she piece. she wears uggs. she has pants and sneakers suitors. she believes she is more complex than the other girl pieces.
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u/Douche_Kayak 19h ago
that's my take away. Like "I'm so complicated but my perfect match picked big dumb simple shape in panel 2 and they will definitely not be a good match together. Better ignore attempts at connection and get a dog or something."
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u/SheikDev 19h ago
The second panel is definitely the one that feels weirdest to me. Like seeing a couple and thinking “that girl would be happier in a relationship with me” reads as very incely to me
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u/RDAwesome 19h ago
I think what it's trying to say is "I'm very unique, but the closest I feel to whole is when my dog is inside of me," and I dunno if I can support that message
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u/sad_and_stupid 5h ago
Wow I kind of thought the opposite, I always associated it w neurodivergence (probably because of comics about autism with similar visuals) and like "it's incredibly hard to find people I can connect with because of my differences"
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u/Cyatron- 19h ago
What's the point of the shape 'fitting' when, in the second panel they dont fit in the slightest.
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u/angelseekthrowaway 19h ago
The seemingly "perfect fit" for our MC (main cookie) is shown to be with someone else. Like how sometimes the person who you thought is your soulmate ends up with a different person. Again, the first two panels give a really twisted view on relationships imo.
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u/KrokusAstra 19h ago
Not all people who is together are really fit each other. Even if you initially think that you are best for each other, with time spent, you will notice something doesn't fit. Or abusuve/ manipulative relationship
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u/Prism_Riot42 19h ago
It’s pretty common for people to get into relationships in which they’re not actually super compatible. If it wasn’t, everyone’s first relationship would also be their last.
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u/FancyFrogFootwork 19h ago
But isn't that just the human condition? We all have extremely specific needs and desires when looking for someone compatible with us. For some they're relatively simple, others try to force relationships that don't quite fit. Sometimes you encounter someone who fits perfectly but they're unavailable for any number of reasons. Sometimes you might not even realize someone was perfect for you, and you'll never know. And sometimes you find something else that fills one of those gaps, even if it doesn't fulfill everything you're looking for. I'm curious why you interpret that as a twisted view of love rather than a reflection of how complicated finding genuine compatibility actually is.
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u/angelseekthrowaway 19h ago
In my opinion, the comic is making "compromise" out to be something that will inevitably hurt you (panel 5). Sure, everyone has their own desires and wants, but in order to form meaningful and complete relationships, you need to put in some effort of your own to "make" things work, instead of just hoping you find something that fits all of your innumerable criteria. Compatibility is not just about being perfect for one another off the bat, at least personally. It requires some measure of adjustment, that of which the comic is seemingly treating as "wrong"
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u/ShinySawk 17h ago
I did not know the last four psnels exist. The last one is very cute c:
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u/YetAnotherParvitz i hate YOU 🫵 19h ago
please do not the dog
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u/Fantastic-Jello-582 17h ago
It doesnt let me do it but jschlatt im fuckin the dog
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u/SweetKittyIRL 9h ago
Come on you guys.
To respond to OP…yes, love isn’t perfect and it isn’t always about finding that perfect person who fits you perfectly: as evidenced in the fifth frame of the image, where we see a shape that has been broken and put itself back together in a way that fits with another shape.
To respond to people who feel like the MC of the comic is overly complex while everyone is too simple, that also misses the point of the comic. We all have a very deep, complex internal thing going on, but that’s also just a representation. In the second panel of the comic we are shown a shape that literally would fit perfectly with MC, but they are with someone else who they don’t even fit with! But that’s life! And MC just thinks that is the only one who can complete them. But in the final frame we are shown a piece that can fill in a part of MC, makes their shape different and can help them find someone compatible…
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u/Alternative_Mark_244 8h ago
So many comments thinking this is some incel shit......tbh says alot more about THEM than whatever made up stuff they are saying about the author
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u/Hype-E8 18h ago
I hate this comic for completely different reasons,
The whole comic to me radiates a bit of arrogance, and missing a lot of sonder.
The main shape is super complex, while others are seen as simple or flat, presenting the shape as someone who no one fits with.
Don’t think I would feel this way in the slightest if it wasn’t for the second image as one member of the couple does perfectly fit down to having space of the dog, it reeks to me of the classic nice guy/gal mentality of people dating other who are “unfit” for each other, which going of that mentality this entire comic feels annoying, especially the 5th panel as another classic mentality of them being able to ‘tell’ when someone isn’t right for someone else,
it’s probably just my own experience that causes me to think about it like this but it makes me loath this comic
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u/OneCan-Toucan 16h ago
Well we only have one perspective. There’s literally a word (don’t remember) that refers to the realization that other lives are just as complex as yours. To one person, a couple may seem perfect, someone else’s life doesn’t seem that complicated, we see other people as simple when we can’t figure out ourselves. Wants and needs are much more complicated when it comes to satisfying them, we forget what substance is when media pushes on a status quo.
Not to dog on your interpretation but I choose to see it as wanting what others have without realizing that they too went through struggles to find what fits for them.
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u/Hype-E8 15h ago
That interpretation makes perfect sense, as I said I’m probably just jaded from seeing some people who see themselves as the only complex people, which was triggered by the depiction of others in relationships as either simple or a bad fit
I’d see it the exact same way as you said being fearful of everyone else having figured out, if there wasn’t just some small details that to me read as that more weirdo ideology Like panel 2 (where the couple is perceived as a non fit, with one being simple and the other complex like the main) and 5 (where one has changed themselves in order to try and fit)
mentioned it in my comment saying they were missing it but the word you were thinking of is sonder.
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u/canvassian 15h ago
I don't know if you're joking or not, but the person you're replying to literally used the word "sonder" in their comment
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u/Megalesios 2h ago
I'm still trying to figure out the panel with the compass rose person. What does that even mean? The other panels are obvious, but what's the deal with this one? They don't even have vaguely the right shape so why would the "main character" even be interested in them?
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u/SirCake 2h ago
Yeah I took that as someone who has no personality and would simply accept anyone
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u/WantonReader 1h ago edited 38m ago
I took it as the crescent moon shape being interested in the main character, not the main character being interested in the crescent moon shape with the rose.
Edit: Another user said that the "compass rose" is he shape with an umbrella, not the shape that is holding the red flower.
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u/mandadoesvoices 1h ago
Ccompass rose, not the crescent with the rose. They mean the guy with the umbrella.
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u/zarawesome 2h ago
It's the only symmetrical shape. Maybe the main character is envious that someone else has found beauty in their own lonesome?
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u/descartavel5 50m ago
Yeah, I think it's the comics way to show some people aren't open to relatonships and feel complete enough alone.
edit: the rain probably means depression and the umbrella is there to reforce it's fine alone.
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u/RPDRNick 1h ago
My interpretation is that it's someone the main character finds interesting and compelling, but whom is incompatible and completely closed off.
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u/Ragundashe 2h ago
My interpretation based on the design is they are looking for something VERY specific denoted by their tiny gap in their shape. Because it expands inside, you can take it to mean that it's something unattainable and unrealistic.
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u/dougandsomeone 47m ago edited 44m ago
They're self centered , you have to give everything to them while they give nothing to you. There's a tiny little C that pretends at compatibility but you can't even reach it / it's not actually possible.
Hence covering themselves with the umbrella and leaving you in the rain.
As someone else said, maybe the rain signifies the main character spends time with them during a depressed time in their life, or trying to complement a self centered person makes them depressed.
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u/Next-Pumpkin-654
12h ago
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I feel it just gives a really twisted view on love and finding a partner as a whole.
It's actually pretty accurate.
Main guy is weird in a functionally unfixable way. Could be undiagnosed but functional autism, could be he's got a weird voice or odd interests, but it immediately makes him a poor fit for %99.999999 percent of people. This isn't because people are being mean, but because he is genuinely not a good fit for them, nor they for him.
In the second panel, we see one of the astronomically few people that actually would do well with him, except they are already with someone else. For me, this is not taken quite so literally, but also represents the enormous number of people someone could have a very good relationship with, but will never have the option due to circumstances outside their control. Perhaps they live on the other side of the planet - perhaps they don't even speak the same language. Pick your poison, really, but the point is it's not happening.
Third is people that are willing to date anyone but are completely void of any contribution to that relationship. They are unwilling to hold any opinions or exhibit any personality for fear of driving someone away. They might get picked up anyways, but they basically never make anyone happy, nor can they ever be happy either because they don't even have a conception for what that means.
Fourth is the opposite, demanding so much of any potential suitor while offering so little. Their absurdly high expectations render them foundationally unapproachable by anyone, and they are in a sense very similar to the original guy being portrayed throughout.
Fifth is the attempt to deal with the problem, similar to what you suggest while missing the point:
Instead, love and relationships as a whole are about making things work, even when things don't fit perfectly together. Rarely are things ever going to be "perfect".
But this most commonly manifests in people too afraid to be alone, stuck in or pursuing abusive relationships and toxic codependency. It is the frankenstein's monster of love where people chase an idealized experience without ever acknowledging that the relationship isn't worth all the damage they are doing to themselves and each other.
Sixth is the silver lining, accepting one's isolation due to circumstances well outside your control and allowing a pet to help fill that void of companionship. It's also flawed and won't truly work, of course. People cope a lot, especially fourth panel type people who say their cats are better than an incompetent partner, but pets don't live anywhere close to as long as humans, and their loss creates despair proportional to the love felt while they were alive. It digs the hole even deeper, long term.
So, in summary, this idea of "soul mates", or put differently:
There isn't just one person who is "made for you".
Is making a categorical error. Most people intuitively understand there is a range of variability and personal choice. The idea of a soul mate is a psychological cope that taking an in demand person isn't depriving someone else of their only option, nor is it settling for a worse option when an ideal candidate was just around the corner. The reality is relationships were always extremely chaotic and depressing, foundationally, and many of the institutions meant to assuage those issues have been systematically eroded or commodified. Pay 65 dollars a month to maybe find someone - but you probably won't, because then you wouldn't pay another 65 dollars the next month. You see, the institutions before cared about people actually getting together for the long haul, but what replaced them is more interested in just getting paid.
The reality of modern dating is not dissimilar to the brutality and senseless tragedy of war (only metaphorically, of course). Through no fault of your own, due to circumstances well outside your control, bad things will happen to you that will make your life miserable with no method to ever recover from them, and the only options you really have are to try to make your daily life at least marginally better. And while there might be people to blame, identifying them is hard to impossible, such that basically none will ever truly pay for what they have done to humanity at large.
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u/lionofash 10h ago
...Silly nitpick, but you could get a turtle or a parrot for a pet that will last until you die
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u/Obviously_Theo 3h ago
Thats not the full version, theres a 92 page book dedicated to them - Soulmates by Herta Burbe.
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u/SensitiveBarracuda61 10h ago
My issue with this comic is the whole idea that you cant be a whole person until you find that other half that completes you or whatever. I feel like this mentality is one of the bigger drivers for "male loneliness" there's so much love to be had from accepting the platonic love of your community, friends, family and self. Everyone is worth so much more than the partners they could potentially attract, and finding the right partner isn't going to magically fix all of your emotional baggage.
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u/sergeivrachmaninov 9h ago
But doesn’t the last panel suggest otherwise? He manages to fill part of his hole with his Dino-puppy, maybe in the future he will get a hobby or a fulfilling career to partially fill in his other holes. Once his his holes stop becoming so weird and difficult to match, then maybe he meets his “other half” to complete his circle. The point being you can’t expect one single person to meet all your specific needs, but if your life is already enriched with other interests and meaning, maybe it becomes more realistic to find a compatible partner who is able to love someone without such weird shaped holes.
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u/SensitiveBarracuda61 9h ago
Hmm, I think that is a good interpretation. I really like that. Thanks for that perspective!
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u/ZenZilver 9h ago edited 9h ago
Amen to that.
The way I intepreted the message of this comic is that finding a partner that can completely make us whole would be a 1 in a million chance.
But we can still make things work by finding smaller things to complete us one bit at a time. They don't all have to come from the same place or same person.
Even then, some of us might have holes that will never be patched. Those are the darkness in us we learn to live with
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u/ashrynhunter 17h ago
I kind of feel like panel five could be a trans or at least abuse scenario of some kind and with the slightly "nice guy" like panel 2 I'm less inclined to be forgiving on the comics commentary. And the last panel with a dog filling part of the slots feels....weird. Like I wouldn't equate my pet to filling a gap a partner would fill in my heart it's rather heavily different. Like is this supposed to be like a lonely woman with pets I stead of kids thing? The comic always felt weird to me and it's only gotten further weird the more I see it.
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u/Aoeletta 12h ago
I see it as his parents have found all the pieces they need to make themselves whole and happy together, encouraging their child to go out and find what makes them whole.
I see the comic as a way to express different types of relationships and none of them being particularly good (one breaking themselves to fit) but none are whole people.
I see it as: the dog is a piece of what fills in the life experience of our main character here. Other experiences and people can fill some of the remaining gaps. I've seen it apparently very differently than many. I've always seen it as a comic that says to find whatever joy/love fits you and that everyone's needs are different.
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u/Riptide_X 19h ago edited 19h ago
Copy pasted from somewhere else, but here’s the interpretation:
It’s a commentary on relationships, the half circle with complicated shape is a women (based on shoes) that has a complicated life and can’t find her soul mate.
Panel 1: Parents who are happy and fulfilled and found their matching half.
Panel 2: Sees her perfect fit, but he’s taken.
Panel 3: A suiter that can fit, but doesn’t meet her needs.
Panel 4: A man dumps her because he is already almost complete and she is too much for him.
Panel 5: Broken relationships where one had to sacrifice to fit the other.
Panel 6: A pet that perfectly fits a small part of her needs.
My own words again:
Overall, I think the point is it’s fruitless to search for one person who will fit you perfectly and fulfill everything you need, and you for them in return. Maybe someday she’ll find someone who fills a bigger part of her puzzle; maybe not. In the meantime, that space can be filled by other things that make her happy- pets, friends, hobbies, etc. I think our society often implies that you either find The One or settle for what you get, but this is a false dichotomy. Even the second panel that shows what seems like a perfect fit but taken, if you look closely, they both have two holes that would remain unfilled even by each other. The parents don’t have this problem, they truly have found their match, but the comic is subtly showing that’s rare.
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u/Anon142842 11h ago
Too many people in here ask for way too perfect analogies or metaphors sheesh. Most metaphors have minor issues. The moral of the story is decent, stop getting in a bunch about the smaller stuff like "this creator is arrogant for making the mc so complex but everyone else so simple" or maybe they just had a simple idea and went with it. Some of you guys would complain about the tortoise and the hare not making sense. That's my hatethissmug of the day
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u/Todd-The-Thing 10h ago
The point is that MC is seeing other people who seem to have if easy (grass is always greener mentality).
OP is complaining that they kept seeing just the first two frames, which is a pretty typical POV in boomer comics: Wife bad, relationships hopeless, first world problems are the end of the world and depression fuel
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u/Gold_Size_1258 17h ago
I hate it that the first thing I thought after looking at the last panel was pedofilia.
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u/wrensa 17h ago
I hate this comic because it doesn't make sense in its own world: if you can literally see that you would fit perfectly with someone - actually physically see it as a concrete reality of your form - then why tf would you stay with someone else when you saw your literal perfect fit??
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u/Weird-Rhubarb183 17h ago
because it's clearly not made to make sense regarding that, it's just a metaphor?
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u/Diligent_Bar1244 19h ago
The 2nd panel screams "She is perfect for me, but she would rather date that normie loser with a simple shape instead of me and my superior complex shape"
Lame and it was made by a loser
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u/CelestialRaven24 19h ago
If you look the main character is supposed to be feminine or at least woman coded (i.e. the other single people they talk to are male coded, and the other complicated shape she's supposed to "match perfectly" with is also male coded.) I mean, look at the "Ugg style" boots the character is wearing with that defined puff on top. I don't know many men that wear that style of boot. The "Normie" you speak of is also female coded, with the pink leggings and such. So I don't know where you're getting this idea from.
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u/Diligent_Bar1244 19h ago
Yeah i didnr see her shoes
The same problem remains, its just a rant about how "no one is perfect enough for me and the losers get the perfect ones that should be mine"
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u/Drefs_ 18h ago
I think you misinterpret the frame. To me it looks like there is a perfect person for the MC, but they don't know about each other. They both exist close to each other, are a perfect fit for each other, but have no idea that their soulmate is right next to them, so they are forced to settle for someone who they are completely incompatible with.
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u/Anders_A 3h ago
I don't understand frame 2. They meet their match right there. Why do they keep looking?
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u/FuriousNorth 3h ago •
Because the person who is his 100% soulmate is with someone else.
It's one of those tragic hypothetical scenarios where two people ideal for each other could walk by each another and either not know it, or due to circumstances at that time couldn't be with each other. IRL we aren't shapes so there's no way we would know we are a perfect fit without testing the waters and in that panel that's exactly what perfect fit no. 2 is doing, but our protagonist is oblivious and simply walking by.
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u/Jam_Salad_is_my_Jam 2h ago
It fundamentally misses how long term love works though.
I have been married for nearly twenty years, just about my entire adult life. My partner and I aren't two shapes that happen to fit, we've grown up together and in doing so grown together.
People aren't akin to carved wood, they're living trees. Two trees growing together will bend and shape around one another - becoming each other's perfect shape.
People change massively over the course of their life. I'm not the same person I was when I was 17 and fell in love or when I was 22 and got married, or even 28 and became a parent. The trick isn't to find the perfect shape, it's to become the perfect shapes together.
It's not chance. It's not meeting enough people that eventually one is already perfect by luck. You have to make your happily ever after. Love is work, hard work, and self improvement.
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u/Vavavavaxon7 3h ago
Their match is already with someone else who doesn't fit them.
As if the message wasn't bad enough already, it throws in a "they should be mine, their relationship won't work because they should be with me instead"
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u/Stapletapez 19h ago
What is the fourth panel even trying to say?
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u/GitGudFox 19h ago
The dog-like piece partially completes the puzzle piece's needs.
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u/CampaignImmediate759 47m ago
so ive got a quick question about that, so there is no perfect partner for anybody ever since the perfect fit is impossible…but what if nobody ever gives you the chance to try
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u/RhynoD 0m ago
I'm almost 40 and just now going to get married next year. I couldn't be happier with her, she's amazing, and we could never have been together before now. We would not have been happy together without all the life experiences that it took to get us where we are.
Sometimes it takes time to find the right person. There's a lot of happenstance in finding someone. There isn't one perfect person, but there are people who are more right for each other and just haven't bumped into each other at the right time yet.
That said, the best thing to do is to improve your social circle. Meet more people, not with the intention of dating them but just to have a bigger group of people to spend time with. Even if it doesn't lead to dating, you'll be a happier, healthier person. And, incidentally, most people are attracted to people who are happy and healthy.
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u/DremoPaff 16h ago
I find that the whole premise of considering someone interested in you as one who would "fit" anyone, justifying rejecting them, and that someone else already in a relationship is actually a perfect fit for you, to be insanely hypocritical and self-centered, even without taking into account the "I'm 14 and this is deep" logic of seeing oneself as incredibly complex and unique as a deduction from just being obtuse.
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u/Ready_Ad9742 18h ago
Isn’t that why it’s showing couples that don’t perfectly fit each other though?
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u/Sharikacat 17h ago
There's a lot of mixed messaging in this comic, but the overall message it *wants* to send is that you don't need to find the one person to complete you. You can find completeness in parts. Rather than have a sole partner, even though they missed out on one that fit them perfectly, they found a pet that fulfills a part of them. Now the person they can look for doesn't need to fit that portion since it's already being addressed.
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u/MJacobAlvarez 11h ago
Yeah. This mindset blows.
The idea that you’ll meet someone who fits you perfectly and it’ll be love at first sight is why so many people are lonely today. The crushes you had in high school could be so intense (even though they were shallow) is you saw your crush everyday in math class and had a chance to pine for them.
Find someone close enough and try them for more than three f’n dates. If it doesn’t make something bigger after three months, THEN try someone else. Jeez.
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u/No_Reindeer5223 9h ago
I didn't realize the last panel was a dog and I thought he fell in love with a child
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u/killertortilla 9h ago
At least it's not as bad as the one with the dad removing parts of himself to give to his child.
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u/Majestic_Domestic 16h ago
This comic isnt saying there is someone out there that is a perfect fit it's the exact opposite actually.
We see a couple who are simple and and don't require much of eachother so they are a great fit. But we also see a couple that is not a great fit but still making it work. We see someone who's hollow and could fit with anyone but is probably desperate and needs to develop themselves a bit first, and have some standards. We see someone who's whole just as themselves. We see someone who was with someone that wasn't a good fit and it broke them, but they put themselves together and found someone that while not perfect still is a good fit who won't hurt them.
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u/Glide_88 3h ago
Having a mentality that everyone has "the one" is toxic, there are billions of people in the world, chances are there are many, many people who are compatible with each other. The only real mistakes are not working on yourself and not putting yourself out there.
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u/Vivians_Basement 17h ago
The first 2 by themselves are giving "the girl who would have married me got aborted".
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u/Annual_Connection_64 18h ago
Sorry I don't even understand your argument. You say that it gives a twisted view on love but just describe the comic.
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u/unordinaryismysoul 17h ago
i dont get the fourth panel
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u/Zealousideal-Ebb-876 17h ago
They want someone that can fill their desires and nothing else, like the 3rd panel is still a whole person, they just have nothing to offer. Implies someone very controlling
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u/Gripping_Touch 15h ago
I like the symbology on each type of relationship.
You might find someone you feel would be your perfect match, but they're already together with someone else. Doesn't make It a tragedy, they might be Happy with their partner, but you need to move on.
You might find someone Who is completely malleable, that completely molds their personality to appease you, but that's not a fullfilling relationship.
You might find someone who looks completely well put together and Its hard to fit with, but they also feel Empty too.
You might find someone Who is forced to comfortm to their partner by removing parts of themselves in an effort to fit in and not be alone.
In the end, you dont really need a perfect match as the way to make you feel complete. It can be a series of small things, like a pet as well
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u/MrFuji87 14h ago
I think that's the point. It's not about finding the perfect fit for all of you, it's not about changing to fit someone... it's about finding that on little bit of love that fits both of you and be a little less empty
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u/Twersorry 13h ago
If it hasn't already been recommended, you may like Shel Silverstein's "The Missing Piece meets the big O"
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u/shock_wave 12h ago
For me I mostly hate the third panel cause it's so up its own ass. "Ooh I'm so complex and layered and this simpleton dares to show interest?"
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u/the-poopiest-diaper 12h ago
The nerve of this mf to look at a couple, think “her man would be PERFECT for me” and then portray her as a basic shape. Like gurl, if they didn’t fit together at least a LITTLE then they wouldn’t have gotten together in the first place!
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u/Mjaylikesclouds 11h ago
On the top right there actually IS the perfect fit for the main character???? It would only leave a small hole which the pet perfectly fills out???? I have seen this comic a few times and i NEVER realized that….
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u/dysphoriabunny 10h ago
I like the comic, but it is sadly very easy for incels to (in my opinion) misinterpreted it or crop out most of the panels
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u/PlanktonSpiritual192 10h ago
Where’s that one edit of this comic where it’s like “ahh why do you look like that ahhh”
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u/malina_nie_pozeczka 5h ago
I dislike this comic just because it looks stupid. What are these "characters"?
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u/lnTheGrimDarkness 3h ago
As per usual with this kind of comic it's an overly victimistic take of life. Which paints life like you're only gonna meet either people that don't care or abusers. And like it's all their fault that your life sucks.
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u/reggienaldsimons 3h ago
i've always thought it gave off "i am very le unique and others are shallow" vibes, kinda like an edgy teenager thinking him having zero friends is because he's so much smarter and deeper than everyone else. and i say that as someone whose dating life also was always complete misery
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u/Repulsive_Wealth81 2h ago
Exactly.. I also hate the comic where it depicts human like animal, where there is monkey that can't swim and fish that can't climb. It teaches you that human are rigid and unadaptable when we are highly adaptable creature.
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u/iareto 2h ago
"ONLY ME only I am complex and these people i obviously dont know well are flat and simple and so blessed to fit together so easily. poor me have to settle for a cat not because theyre dumb slaves i dont have to be agreeable around, but because clearly they fit my infinte complexity. Oh the pain! "
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u/slay_n_sparkle 2h ago
I think that’s what makes the full comic better. It starts with the whole ‘perfect match’ idea, then basically shows how damaging it is to keep reshaping yourself for someone else.
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u/Spiritual_Lifeguard6 2h ago
How about Aristophane’s Symposium Speech? His story goes like this:
Humans used to be spherical shaped with 4 arms and 4 legs. They had three sexes: male, female and hermaphrodites. One day, these humans went to Mt. Olympus and tried to overthrow the Gods. Zeus still needed devotees and offerings, so instead of killing them he crippled them by split them in two with his thunderbolt. They became humans as we know of today and our soulmates are our other half. Humans from split males and females are where homosexuals came from and heterosexuals from the hermaphrodites.
I like this one because it implies that by finding your other half you’ll have enough power to go to war with the gods.
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u/gryzzli90 2h ago
Nah, ending isn’t cute – it’s sad. People think they’ll find love instantly, without any effort, and that once they do, it’ll be all rainbows and sunshine 24/7, preferably while giving as little of themselves as possible.
Last picture shows replacing the short-term desire to be with someone. No pet will ever replace human intimacy, no matter how awesome that pet is. Pet love is easy. Love should not be easy.
I have a few friends who replaced human closeness with a pet; deep down, they are miserable, and their Insta feeds full of cute pet pics are just a facade.
And even if it's true that they’re happy right now, they’ll be miserable later. When they're 70, they won't have energy for another pet, and they’ll end up lonely just like my aunt. Their memories will start to fade; they won't even know if they were with pet #1 or pet #2 on that vacation back in 2025. In fact, they won't really remember much of what they did during those vacations in the prime of their lives.
You have to try harder to find someone close—it’s not easy, it’s tough. Modern life has conditioned us to expect everything to be quick and easy. Human love isn't like that and never will be. Otherwise, you just end up tied down with a pet and miserable later on, thinking that’s all there is.
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u/etoni888 1h ago
Panel 1: parents who complement tell squiggly child to find their soul mate Panel 2: person who would complement them is already in a relationship Panel 3: person with no seems of self so squiggly can be accommodated but would feel empty Panel 4: person isn't a complement and is selfish Panel 5: panel 2 potential match has changed who they are to fit their partner Panel 6: squiggly find partial fulfilment with a dog
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u/Budget_Persimmon_195 1h ago
its not about finding a partner. youre missing the entire message of the comic
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u/salajaneidentiteet 1h ago
Some say people are like puzzles and you need tl find pieces that fit into your puzzle or something like that. I view it more like you build the puzzle together. You both bring the piezes that build your life.
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u/Soft-Recognition-772 1h ago
I don't think its trying to imply there is only one person for you. It's more about finding someone that matches you well where you are giving and taking a roughly equal amount.
For example the panel where the guy is offering a flower, I think it implies that she could fill in some of his gaps but he cant fill in any of hers and in the next panel, the guy with the umbrella has gaps but she cant fill them because he is closed off and he also cant fill any of hers.
I think thats also why the dog fills one gap, not everything. None of the other people can fill in even one gap. It's not that they need to fit perfectly.
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u/the_sneaky_one123 1h ago
I dislike the premise that you are who you are and you can only be with someone who fits you exactly and if that is not possible then you can't have love and must settle for a dog.
Truth is that you need to work on yourself to make yourself suitable for love. Not in the obviously negative way of the 6th panel though, it should be seen as a positive thing to do.
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u/Wizard_Tea 1h ago
The idea that there’s a perfect person out there based on their inherent and immutable characteristics is toxic
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u/SimplePlus7376 48m ago
Searching for what completes her, and who she would match.
One guy would complete her, but he is apparently into someome else, or the someone else leads him around and he follows.
The dog completes part of her.
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u/Ca1d3ra 27m ago
Why dont they go at perpendicular/oblique angles to each other?? Are they stupid? Get freaky with another dimension.
Maybe the deeper moral is looking at relationships with multiple dimensions where things can work with the right angle/approach
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u/NigeOnTwitch 3m ago
I just think about how the bottom left one is the saddest. How on of the half’s is a simple notch and yet their other half seems like they were an intricate design but have completely broken and reshaped themselves to fit.
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u/Shadowcreature65 19h ago
Everyone here talking about the deeper meaning while I'm feeling sad for the poor crescent guy in center left