Comic Transcripts

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There’s this great girl I cross paths with at school. I’d love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here’s what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty…but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn’t want to seem like a creeper — wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that’s how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you’ve ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem transcribed by in

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There’s this great girl I cross paths with at school. I’d love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here’s what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty…but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn’t want to seem like a creeper — wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that’s how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you’ve ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem transcribed by in

[[A young fellow, ARSTUR, speaks to his father, BLORTHINGTON, who sits at a desk covered in papers.]]

ARSTUR: There's this great girl I cross paths with at school. I'd love to get to know her better.
BLORTHINGTON: Here's what I did when I was your age!

BLORTHINGTON: There was a WONDERFUL girl I knew. I was terrified of letting her know I liked her, so I would never make eye contact with her, never say more than a few words to her. Always played it cool, you know?

BLORTHINGTON: She was GREAT. Very friendly, even a bit flirty...but I never let on how much I crushed on her. Didn't want to seem like a creeper -- wanted to let HER make the first move, from a place of comfort. This went on for YEARS. Man. She was AMAZING.

ARSTUR: Wow. And that's how you met Mom?
BLORTHINGTON: Oh, no! I found out later this girl never even learned my name. Your mother and I met in a support group for sufferers of INVERTED PATELLA SYNDROME. So if you've ever wondered why your kneecaps are concave, well, you do come by it honestly

{{header: the eternally patient WONDERMARK.COM}}

I bring up the story not because I think it's at all helpful to your situation, but because I never really stop thinking about it

#1155; The Passive Pining Stratagem

  — September 4th, 2015

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1155/

Buy a Print

Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.


Recent blog posts