888 Carolina.

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I don’t suppose many people will be confused by Thomas’s last line, but by tax form he means a W2. A tax form he wouldn’t have normally seen, but the store being what it is he saw the paperwork she filled out that lead to a W2. So he didn’t literally see the form itself. This is a completely useless bit of information, but I did think about it. I saw a lot of papers i shouldn’t have in my retail times. It wasn’t even a matter of security. People just can’t be bothered to put things away properly.

This is one of those scenes that I wrote a very long time ago. So long, in fact, that I wasn’t sure I hadn’t drawn it already. As far as I can remember Carol has never stated her full name, and the only way a person would know that Thomas’s name is J. Thomas is if they look at the cast page. I don’t think he’s ever said anything about it.

People are funny about names. I think it comes from that old superstition that if someone knows your whole name they can work magic on you. At this point it’s more likely they’d try to steal your identity, but whatever. I’ve known people for years and years without learning their proper names. I’m actually more likely to remember someone as their net handle than their right name. Probably because I’ve known about a hundred Brians, but only one Manekochan.

There is actually a pattern to the names I’ve chosen for some of the characters, but no one has ever properly figured it out. They get as far as the most obvious things, pat themselves on the back for their extreme cleverness, and leave the real mystery unsolved. The only person I ever told literally took that information to her grave.

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I’ve looked over the cast page multiple times and somehow never noticed that J. Amazing how one letter can slip your eye so easily lol

It looks like in the third panel, thomas’s eye looks like it took on an anime-esque look to it. I like that art style, but it looks weird to my eye. How the style changes for one panel. But still, you do amazing work, and I am not yelling at you doing that

He looks like he could be a Jonathan.

I don’t like my name, so I tend not to use it. Not that I keep it secret or anything(anymore), I just don’t like being called by it. Names are often embarrassing.

Of course, with as much as some people actually understand identity theft and how to deal with it, it might as well be magic. You’re more likely to be cursed with your name nowadays than before.

Never particularly cared for my name, either, but never got a nickname to speak of, so the whole point was moot. Although i did use the byline ‘The Odinson’ back in my brief high school newspaper days. (also the Thunderer, Sleipnir’s Mama, Marginally Irrational… I had a lotsa bylines back in the day)

Which isn’t to say that my name is terrible, per se. I share similarities with several famous types, some of which are male like myself. Most of them, however, aren’t. Of course the real complication for me was attending classes with the name Loren, and having classmates named Laura, Lorie, Lauren, and Lara.

Naturally, I blame society.

Never really thought of it like that before, but it’s true: in our day and age, knowing someone’s “true name” (and a few other details) really does potentially grant power over them. Well, the power to rip them off, anyway.

I was going to guess him as a “John” too, not because of his looks (he’s a cartoon character, for one), but mostly because that would then make his first two names “John Thomas” (a slang term for penis… but not one so ubiquitous and obvious that it couldn’t have slipped past his parents when they were filling out his birth certificate) which he probably wouldn’t tolerate from Jr. High school onward.

Also that would have two Johns working closely at the store, and their social circle, so even if “Thomas” cared less in his 20s about his teasable name, he might happily keep the “Tom” handle for communication clarity.

SHOOT! There’s a pattern? A secret pattern? Why’d you have to tell me that? Alright, now I must figure it out on the spot.

Umm… Lessee… Well…

Does it have anything to do with their faces? I notice a lot of characters have differently shaped ears and if you’re VEEERY loose with the interpretation you can see some of the letters in their names/ initials.

Nina Grace for example has an “N” formed by two bangs and an upside down “G” in her ear.
Joline Brooks has “J”s formed by low hanging hair and a “B” for her ear.
J. Thomas Blackwell’s ear looks like a long J connected to a lowercase T. Can’t fins a “B” though.
Mike Hernandez has an “M” in his beard and a funky looking “H” in his middle section of hair.

This might all be a coincidence though. They could simply be named after some mathematical formula I know nothing about. Am I close though, with the letters thing?

No, but I’m going to remember it and start telling people that I thought of it. XD

No fair… Ah well, attempt number two!

Maybe in original appearences?

Nooo… Man, this is killing me. Maybe a mash-up of movie references? No it’s a pattern…

Can you give a hint? Which characters fall in the pattern? Rrrr, I wanna get this…

I got a warm fuzzy feeling from seeing my name up there. :) As far as I can tell, I am the sole manekochan on the internet except for one German person on facebook. >:( I was so pissed.

Yeah, it can be neat to have a unique name, even if only on the internet.

I typically just use my own name, but you’d be surprised just how many TJ’s there are. Crave is a “JT” and I know a TJ (not me)posted in one of the first strips.

…Anyway, yeah. I’m crying uncle here Crave. I’ve been looking at the underlying theme (You mentioned that was involved in the about section) of both the message of the comic and the character’s personalities. Other than super simple stuff like “Graves’ll put you in a grave” I’m stumped.

YOU HAVE BESTED ME SIR. NOW I SHALL RETIRE TO MY QUARTERS.

Thomas is a well of shady information.

Brooksie is a stream of knowledge.

Reggie and Ed are mortal enemies.

Wesley’s a Weasel.

Nina and John have me stumped, as does Miguel.

This isn’t right either, but I’m telling people it is now too.

I swear you talked about this at one point… maybe in a journal on DA or something. I’m too lazy to trek back through multiple websites to find it… :P Especially since it may be my imagination… o_o;

You have caused me a bit of insomnia for reading this comic… it was worth it. Thank you for starting it and continuing it. I can’t wait to read more.

In the US, we don’t have a “proper” name. You can do business under any name you choose so long as it’s not intended as a dodge to breaking the law. You are what you call yourself. Changing titles on paper is a simple matter, you just have to pay for the people’s time who actually have to do so, and have it printed in local media so people can’t claim they were uninformed (which goes back to “not intended as a dodge to breaking the law). You can also have multiple names because of this.

Her name’s as much Carol as it is Caroline and as much as mine is equally Aita and Aitamen (Aita’s a nick I accept because most people shorten Aitamen… and that’s never bothered me, since part of me is still used to 4-character-name-length entries)

Lots of laws/court rulings associated with it, which is quite interesting in and of itself. This is also one of the reasons why I refuse to join G+: It disallows people who don’t have surnames in their common name.

Also, I’m going to guess John(athan?), and he uses Thomas because of John, or perhaps because of his dad and bad memories or something. I know people who fit both of those (one’s a john, comically enough), so it’s not a stretch at all ^__^ Only other two things that come to mind are Jay or James (Simpsons spoof and another common name).

I *really* hope we find out next post~

Also, as a side-note, I tend to have this thing for information, and people give it freely and seem to be offended if you know it… but never complain if you ask directly, no matter how offensive it seems to be.

I tested this for a few years, I’d ask every attractive woman her bra size. Or one year at ren-fest I asked random strangers for hugs… seems less creepy if you’re honest?

I don’t get people.

Hahahah I feel you on the handle thing. There was a guy whom the group knew as “Beavis”. He was always Beavis. I don’t think anyone knew him by his real name. Even his parents called him Beavis.

My name’s Vince, but there are two distinct groups that call me by completely different names. One group I went to college with calls me Trogdor, and the other group I went to highschool with calls me Tristan. Both have surprisingly uncomplex stories behind them.

Also, I’m pretty sure I’m the only Fauxlosopher, never met another one. My other handle is ironhandSoverign, which I picked up as a Homestuck reference.

Okay, I can relate; I never use my first name, and a lot of people don’t even know me by that name. Mom never called me that unless I was really in trouble. That said, my current employer insists that all my paperwork — including my eMail address — use my full first name. The State of Connecticut and even the U.S. government are satisfied with First Initial, Middle Name, but these bozos won’t hear of it.

Hmm, well he could be one of those unfortunates named for a female relative…

Ha! I knew a guy whose middle name was Hortense. His nickname was Goliath, though — not too many folks messed with him.

Except this one kid, David something… B{)}

Naming pattern? Hmmm… well Thomas is the ‘Doubting Thomas’, who really wants to believe in the paranormal and after-life and all that, but needs proof.

When I see the name Kepler I can only think of Johannes Kepler, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, and his laws of planetary motion. I’ll admit the connection doesn’t quite jump up and announce itself. Maybe it’s just that John has tons of half-baked theories, few that make sense, and all needing tons of work?

Ed Lincoln – like Abraham, as honest as the day is long, not afraid to stand up for what is right. And his enemy, the conspirator, looking for his chance to knock him off – Reggie ‘Wilkes’ Booth?

No idea about Nina, other than the child. Full of child-like grace, more than one might expect to find in a 6′ 3″ adult female. By design or not, her face is drawn to appear like that of a child anyway.

These seem the most plausible…
I’m gonna’ throw in one Wesley Asel. I’m sure this is wrong, especially since they’re spelled differently, but there was a Friends episode in which Ross learned the Dutch word “azel” which I took to mean a**hole. I think it just means a** in reality, but it sounded like the former. At any rate, that’s what I think of when I see Wesley’s name.

Alright, I’m going to take a shot in the dark at this.

You killed someone and buried them in an unmarked Grave(s) somewhere in Carolina, and the name of the forest where the body is buried is Carol’s middle name.

Close?

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