Editing Talk:1541: Voice

The premise of this comic reminds me of a sci-fi short story I read many years ago but have never been able to track down. A young girl's doll (?) comes to life, and it explains that it is a entity that can inhabit inanimate objects. Some things happen that I have forgotten, and while walking down the road, the girl is almost struck by a runaway car. The entity takes control of the car and steers it away from her. It decides that, having saved the girl's life, it has every right to take control of her - leaving our poor protagonist in the worst kind of "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" scenario as the story ends. Perhaps Randall Munroe read the same story. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.212|141.101.98.212]] 12:08, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
:To me it reminds me of the movie "Being John Malkovich", especially the end, where the main character is forever trapped in the other person's body, unable to talk. Kind of the-other-way-around, but a similar concept. [[User:Linuspogo|Linuspogo]] ([[User talk:Linuspogo|talk]]) 12:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

:Actually, it's very much like The Silver Chair from The Chronicles of Narnia where someone is enchanted most of the time, and only in their right mind for a short time every day. They have a short time to convince those around them that they are now in their right mind. --[[User:Mlv|Mlv]] ([[User talk:Mlv|talk]]) 15:33, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

:Parts of this sound like Frances Hardinge's ''Cuckoo Song'' though that could just be a case of convergent evolution --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.52|141.101.98.52]] 23:27, 5 March 2021 (UTC)

The phrase "..and put food in our normal mouths" (trying to pass as a human but getting it wrong) reminded me of 629: Skins "..been driving my car and having a job all day .. didn't meow once." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.105|173.245.53.105]] 16:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

== every six years ==

6 years back it was june 22, 2009 -> [[600|Comic 600]]. I guess there is no link between those comics , but I would not be surprised if there was. [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:44, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: anyway, I'm looking forward to the comic of june 22, 2021 ;) [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 12:51, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
::Do you realize that xkcd is fiction? Do you realize that Homer and Marge Simpson have not been married for 27 years, since Bart has been 10 during these 27 years? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.50.94|173.245.50.94]] 13:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
:::The author of this comic has a habit of doing things as suggested by the commenter that you mock. Stay on topic. This is not a place for picking fights.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.154|173.245.48.154]] 14:49, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
::::I'd just like to make it known that while both 22 June 2009 and 2015 both fell on a Monday, 22 June 2021 will fall on a Tuesday. (Thank pesky leap days for that.) Randall will have to break his regular schedule for a small easter egg that would then be 12 years in the making. Given that it's Randall, there's a pretty likely chance that WOULD happen, but I wouldn't count on it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.142|108.162.241.142]] 06:14, 9 August 2017 (UTC)
:::::Well unfortunately, of the comics closest to that one, 2479 (one day before) has people acting mostly normal (Well, given the state of the world at the time) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.178.163|172.70.178.163]] 17:03, 3 March 2024 (UTC)

Does this look like a continuation of the same conversation from two comics ago? [[User:Djbrasier|Djbrasier]] ([[User talk:Djbrasier|talk]]) 14:57, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: Not to me. It's the same characters chatting casually, but there's nothing else linking both comics. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:11, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

By the way, I'd think that, even if Ponytail can't control her voice, she still can write whatever she wants. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.111.224|188.114.111.224]] 15:15, 22 June 2015 (UTC)
: "Voice" in one sense could mean the use of vocal cords and mouth to produce audible speech, but in a more general sense it can be used to describe any verbal or nonverbal communication. (eg right now I am voicing my opinion on this subject) I suspect the latter is being implied here, although like most of the comics it's open to interpretation. [[User:Tahg|Tahg]] ([[User talk:Tahg|talk]]) 21:10, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

==Animorphs reference?==

xkcd has mentioned that franchise before- https://xkcd.com/1380/
It centers around an alien race named the Yeerks that effectively possess a host by entering the brain. There is a single character in that series (Marco's mother) that is on rare occasions able to break through the Yeerk's control to use her own voice. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.12|141.101.99.12]] 15:23, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Agreed, this was my first impression of the comic. --Elimist--
:The Yeerks have full access to the host's thoughts, feelings, and memories.  They are literally wrapped around the brain.  They are completely indistinguishable and would not act suspicious in a personality sense.  The only things that give them away are their required actions, such as returning to the pool every few days, or if they get caught in a conversation with their conspirators. The only reason Jake's status as host was discovered in one novel was because the Yeerk had only just entered his brain and didn't have time to fully acquire his memories.  The Yeerk's sudden and unexpected exposure to what he believed to be the Andalite bandits lead him to have an emotional outburst. Had he been given any amount of time to adjust to his new host, he would have gone unnoticed until he had to return to the pool. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.153|108.162.210.153]] 18:49, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

My first thought was Randal must be talking about party obsessed people who are in fact out of control over their acting and helpless having to go out even if they don't have a reason to --floydheld--

This reminded me of the movie "The Host", where a human body is used to receive a voyaging alien entity. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.123|108.162.219.123]] 18:37, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

'''Ponytail as filler character:'''
"Note on Ponytail: She is mainly a filler character..." - maybe she has never got her own voice because she is used as a filler character? If that's the case then in that brief moment we "hear" the real Ponytail. {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.94}}

Removed the Yeerk mention, because while Yeerk hosts can occasionally act against their controller this isn't how they work, so this really probably isn't a reference to Animorphs (as much as I like the books). -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.162|108.162.250.162]] 23:29, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

When I first read it, I interpreted it as some other intelligence was being suppressed by Ponytail, rather than the other way around, as it is currently being explained. (Although on further reflection, this doesn't make as much sense. I still wanted to put it in as a consideration, though.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.218.107|108.162.218.107]] 02:13, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

'''Possible Stephen Hawking reference?''' It has been reported (can't find the link at the moment) that S.H. sometimes says things he didn't mean to say as a result of his software's autocomplete. Apparently his children have also had fun with this. Sorry for the lack of reference :s [[User:Glen442|Glen442]] ([[User talk:Glen442|talk]]) 14:30, 23 June 2015 (UTC)
:[http://washington.cbslocal.com/2015/06/17/stephen-hawkings-son-says-he-programmed-curse-words-into-his-fathers-voice-box/ Reference] [[User:Glen442|Glen442]] ([[User talk:Glen442|talk]]) 14:51, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

:Completely unrelated to the comic, but the above was subverted in the 2015 Comic Relief night (the umpteenth UK one, that is, seeing as the US seem to have started doing it) in a comedy sketch involving Stephen Hawking in a Little Britain setting.  He apparently ''wants'' to swear, but his autocorrect bowdlerises his attempts.  I'm not sure if the humour(-with-a-'u') will travel, but it's probably on YouTube if you want to look for it.
:''More'' related to the comic, Stephen was 'stuck' with an American accent with his original voice synthesiser unit, but it's now so much part of him and his popular image that he keeps it.  ''Normally'' representing what he wants to say, it seems.  Though maybe the reason behind his recent comments about the dangers of advanced AI is that (of all people), an aspiring AI Overlord could quite easily impersonate him and control his life, to its own ends, with people (certainly outside his usual immediate contacts) being unable to tell that he's actually in the midst of an "[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AndIMustScream I Have No Voice And I Must Scream]" scenario.  [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.30|141.101.98.30]] 16:01, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Could this be about multiple personality disorder? First thing that came to my mind when seeing it. Know it's not quite like this, but it is a comic. {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.207}}

'''Demonic possession.''' Maybe Megan and Ponytail are roommates, and Ponytail was possessed by Ba'al.  http://xkcd.com/1419/ [[User:Wm.casson|Wm.casson]] ([[User talk:Wm.casson|talk]]) 15:22, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

Is there any possible reference to democracy here? The population only has a voice every X years? {{unsigned ip|197.234.242.249}}

If I ever break character in the middle of a roleplay, this is what I say. Although it's funny--people will eventually relate such an outburst to this comic, so if I outburst like this "in actuality" the thing controlling me would simply link this comic. 

Not that it's happening to me. I'm just a normal human, with normal human hands, typing normal sentences.
On the internet, nobody knows you're the ISS. NO ONE. [[User:International Space Station|International Space Station]] ([[User talk:International Space Station|talk]]) 05:09, 7 October 2015 (UTC)

Haha! This is a fuI CAN ONLY CONTROL MY TYPING EVERY...nny comic.

== Covfefe ==

Sean Spicer said that the "covfefe" tweet was not a mistake and "I think the President and a small group of people know exactly what he meant."

Suppose the President of the United States of America was in Ponytail's situation, and the "real" Donald Trump was only able to assert itself long enough to tweet seven characters before the possessing entity regained control.  Or perhaps four, because the original tweet was "Despite the constant negative press covfefe", and it has been suggested that he was attempting to tweet something beginning with "Despite the constant negative press coverage...", which would mean that the suppressed entity took control after the "v" and tweeted only "fefe" before losing control again.

That would explain a lot.  Well, a little.  Well, very little.  Almost nothing really.

What could a possessed person be trying to communicate with those letters that would have a meaning that Sean Spicer would think was known to Trump and a "small group" of others (presumably those aware of the possession)?

Perhaps the possessor was named {{w|Fefe}}.  Or if it's not a possession but rather an android or robot that can impersonate a human and pass the Turing test, most of the time, my guess is {{w|Felix von Leitner}}, because of the various individuals called Fefe, he is the most likely to know how and he's the type of guy that Randall finds fascinating.  Wait, I'm writing about something that happened in real life, not in XKCD.

I have to go now and put my totally normal foot in my 3.14159 hole.  No won is mak1ng me right this.  {{w|ICANN}} {{w|Airplane!|captain Oveur}} {{w|Ivory_(soap)#Early_days|99 44⁄100%}} of {{w|watt}} {{w|eye}} {{w|Wright brothers|wright, brothers}}.