Wow. Poor guy.

owwtch

You know, having been there in that seat before, I can say this actually does come pretty close to how it goes.

Out of sheer curiosity, how did you come up with the storyline for him?

I'm very sorry to hear you've been in a position like this. It was difficult to even imagine putting a fictional character through such an ordeal. This comic is a little glimpse of a back story I've been crafting recently. The ending here was left like this because I wanted to put the readers in Ash's position and make them think about what they would do with that gun, or do in general when faced with opportunity to actually do something at all other than grieve. It's completely fictional and is not rooted in anything directly in my personal life, but rather a look at how a severely traumatic and tragic event in someone's life early on can send them down a dark road of grudges, hate, anger, and revenge if they let it happen to them. Ash goes down that road and will eventually do some awful things to some people whom one may not much sympathy for.

Gotcha :3

This comic really stood out to me in a powerful way because of the second and third panels, the way that everything the doctor was saying faded to nothing. That's exactly what happened to me. He almost immediately started to tell me how treatment is really advanced today compared to decades past, and I know he was saying some helpful things I needed to hear, but I couldn't hear anything. It was sort of like those trauma scenes in a movie, where a bomb goes off or someone gets stabbed, and all they can hear is a dull ringing in their ears as they try to process what happened to them. When I came back to reality, everything hit at once. Kind of like anticipating a really bad car accident, and the world stops for a second before the chaos hits. Also, I'm somewhat ashamed to say that the last panel is also completely true, in my case. I didn't have to go buy mine, as it was already with me, but the sentiment is the same. The look of despair really hits home, because the hours following the diagnosis are really a continued series of live or die moments. Hate, both for self and others, plus a ton of other unpleasant thoughts, are all front and center, wondering what you did to deserve it, or who gave it to you, or how long you had left... All that.

I guess what I'm trying to say here is... Thanks for making this. Well, having it commissioned, but since you made the story for it... you get the idea. :p It sort of felt nice to remember that I'm not the only one that took it the way I did. Like I'm still somewhat human after all.

Wow. I can't even imagine all you have been through since that day you got the news. I'm just glad you're still with us and got something from the comic. When i was first trying to come up with this story I wanted to touch on a topic rarely covered in fiction in the fandom, I just never thought it would hit so close to home for someone. If it has had a positive impact on you, that's more than I could have asked for.

I am thinking about asking Dave Hopkins to illustrate another comic short taking a look at another period in Ash's life. It may be too inspirational, Ash doesn't go down the high road later in life.

I suppose there's a reason it's a topic nobody really visits in the fandom. :s To someone that has never had any personal impact from the disease (self, or someone close to them) it's often taken very differently than it would by someone that has first or second hand experience with it. Personally, I never really gave HIV a second thought in my life. It was one of those things that you often heard still happened to people, but you always thought it couldn't happen to you. After a while though, no matter how traumatic it is initially, it becomes normal, and it's simply another piece of the world you live in. The initial adjustment is what kills you these days, really, not the sickness.

Honestly, when I was diagnosed, it forced me to take a very good look at my future. I guess that was partially because I didn't know how much of one I had left, really. I thought of using the time I had left to get out in the city and go vigilante, as crazy as that sounds. I thought that since my time was short, maybe I could do something that could have an immediate impact on the world, if only a small area. Of course, it didn't take long for me to come back to reality and look at what I still had to hold on to. I don't doubt for a second that it could darken someone's heart, especially if contracted at a young age. If I didn't have the support I do, I couldn't say where I'd end up in life. It probably wouldn't be anywhere pleasant, though.

I just gave you a +watch, so I'll keep updated :3

... I just realized that this comic was made right around the time that I estimate it happened. <.< That's pretty crazy.