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[IanClark]

In comic #1418, Hannelore mentions finding a box of pocky under Marigold's bed from ten years ago. So unless she actually made a conscious effort to keep the pocky (which wouldn't really fit in with her character unless she had some kind of hoarding mental disorder), she would've had to live in that apartment for at least ten years. Now given that the youngest age she could've moved out when she was a kid was 16, that makes her at least 26. However, this is assuming that she actually did that, also that she never moved. Assuming she waited until she was 18 like most people, she'd be at least 28. Even so, that's assuming she either never went to college or lived in one apartment during and beyond college. If you don't make that assumption, she'd have to be in her thirties, possibly older. Yet, of course, she looks like she couldn't be older than maybe, maybe 25, especially with the acne.

[Norton Quintessential]

Marigold always was. Marigold always is. And there must always be a Marigold.

Hannelore should watch out, lest she become the latest.

[nicoley]

You can move out when you're only 16? I thought it had to be 18... well that is unless you get emancipated.

She's probably a kleptomaniac or something.

[Eris]

people can have bad skin when they are older than 25. i know people with bad skin in their thirties, it's not really that uncommon, especially if she eats greasy food or soforth

[IanClark]

You can move out when you're only 16? I thought it had to be 18... well that is unless you get emancipated.

I may be going on Canadian laws here. Or I may be full of shit. Either way the point stands.

people can have bad skin when they are older than 25. i know people with bad skin in their thirties, it's not really that uncommon, especially if she eats greasy food or soforth

True, but she actually looks young. Like for about a week after she was introduced, I thought she was supposed to be a teenager.

Marigold always was. Marigold always is. And there must always be a Marigold.

Hannelore should watch out, lest she become the latest.

It... it all becomes clear now. Marigold is like the Dalai Lama. Or Doink the Clown.

[Surgoshan]

Acne remains a problem after the teen years.  If you don't wash, it's a serious problem.

Ask yourself this: How often does Marigold bathe?

If your answer is "every once in a while" then the acne is quite understandable.

[IanClark]

True (to a degree), but she still looks young. She actually looks a lot like an ex of mine, who last time I saw her was 21.

[nicoley]

well i agree, she does look really young. I see where you're coming from now with the whole pocky thing after I thought about it. Maybe shes a super genius, self-sufficient person who got emancipated at age 14 and she hasn't moved out of that apartment since... making her 23-24? I dunno. Oh and who obviously never bathes, thus the acne.

[Watched Pot]

Hmmm...I think you might be reading a bit too much into this, Ian. I don't know that she'd really have to make a conscious effort to keep it. Speaking from personal experience as a slob, a relatively small object could easily get mixed in with your crap and follow you around as you move. I'm guessing Marigold is a "shove everything in boxes, get to the new place and dump them out" kind of mover.

Also, just because the pocky is "from ten years ago" doesn't necessarily mean it's been under the bed ten years. As a matter of fact, Marigold's response to the "....from ten years ago" line is "it was vintage". I suppose you could take that as a lame excuse she made up on the spot, but sometimes people buy/collect weird stuff. (And at the risk of pissing off any passing Japan-ophiles, white kids who are into Japanese culture seem to collect the weirdest stuff of all)

I agree about her looking young though, I thought the whole bar invitation thing a few weeks ago was going to end up with her either making excuses to hide the fact that she's not 21 or else she'd get caught with a fake ID and hate the 'main' characters for a while.

[NotAFanOfFenders]

Oh and who obviously never bathes, thus the acne.

I have acne. I shower everyday.

[Alex C]

I had acne until I stopped using soap every time I showered and I have had great skin for a decade or so now. A lot of our ideas about hygiene are based more on speculation, advertisements, guilt and guesswork than what actually works on an individual basis.

[nicoley]

Yeah... well obviously I didn't mean that just because you have acne you must not shower. just that Marigold's character is known to be sloppy and not very well taken care of, so that could be one of the reasons why she has such bad acne.

[IanClark]

Hmmm...I think you might be reading a bit too much into this, Ian. I don't know that she'd really have to make a conscious effort to keep it. Speaking from personal experience as a slob, a relatively small object could easily get mixed in with your crap and follow you around as you move. I'm guessing Marigold is a "shove everything in boxes, get to the new place and dump them out" kind of mover.

Also, just because the pocky is "from ten years ago" doesn't necessarily mean it's been under the bed ten years. As a matter of fact, Marigold's response to the "....from ten years ago" line is "it was vintage". I suppose you could take that as a lame excuse she made up on the spot, but sometimes people buy/collect weird stuff. (And at the risk of pissing off any passing Japan-ophiles, white kids who are into Japanese culture seem to collect the weirdest stuff of all)

I agree about her looking young though, I thought the whole bar invitation thing a few weeks ago was going to end up with her either making excuses to hide the fact that she's not 21 or else she'd get caught with a fake ID and hate the 'main' characters for a while.

No one sells expired pocky (I think it's actually illegal), so at best it'd be maybe nine years old. the vintage line was meant as an excuse. As for her just bringing it with her by cramming it into a box, for it to end up under her bed she'd have to have swept it there to hide it from someone. However, delving into that hypothetical scenario would be even more reading too deep into it than I'm already doing.

[Is it cold in here?]

unless she had some kind of hoarding mental disorder

If she does, that would be consistent with her snapping "Don't touch anything!". On the other hand, it's inconsistent with her acceptance of a Hannnelore-level cleanup.

How long does gaming obsessiveness last? Is it something you grow out of? If so, that might set an upper bound on her age.

[Teria]

You know, she could have bought this stuff (whatever "pocky" is) years BEFORE she moved out of her parents' home.

[alienatedduck]

Pocky is a food, so as people have pointed out it would be a little weird to transport some old food when she moved, unless there's a bizarre reason for it.

[MrMonk]

Pocky is a food, ...

They call it a food so you'll know that you're expected to eat it.

[Random832]

The obvious answer is that when she moved into the apartment she moved the pocky box from her previous residence. When she was first introduced people were talking about compulsive hoarding.

[maddness]

You don't necessarily have to be emancipated to live away from your parents if no one's bothered. When I was 16 I started staying at friend's places. I once stayed with a friend for six months before one of my aunts came by to say that my mom was worried because she hadn't heard from me, my friend didn't have a phone, and I ended up back home for a while. If Marigold had a job and there is a multiple roommate situation going on, it might be possible. Or, the apartment might have originally belonged to an older sibling whom she lived/lives with. The more plausible scenario is that she's a young looking 28 and moved in to the apartment at 18. There were times, when I was 26, that I was mistaken for a high school senior. Genetics are weird like that. My mom is 52 and she looks like she's just hitting 40 and no one believes my grandmother is over 70.


Oh, I was wondering, didn't Angus say he had roommates? Plural? If so, how come Marigold is the only one we've seen at all. Wouldn't we randomly see them in the background or in passing if they existed?

[Captfamous]

Yet, of course, she looks like she couldn't be older than maybe, maybe 25, especially with the acne.

Considering that there are real people who, at least into their early thirties, get legitimately (as in, not as a rule, but because people think they're under 21) at bars, and also considering that it's even harder to differentiate age in a comic, where it's almost impossible to simulate subtle skin aging, "looks young" really doesn't mean much. The most substantial changes to someone's appearance between the ages of 24 and 30 are just going to be weight and style/hair (assuming you don't go completely bald or grey). So if she doesn't gain a lot of weight, and never gets a different haircut, she probably looks about the same now as she did when she was whatever age you think she is.

Keep in mind, Sven is supposed to be about 5 years older than Marten. Does he really look it?

[cerement]

Pocky is a food, ...

They call it a food so you'll know that you're expected to eat it.

(Very tasty) edible food-like substance ... but not food ...

[maddness]

It's just a chocolate coated cookie stick type thing.

Well, not just chocolate, there are several flavors. my favorites are the strawberry chunk, chocolate banana, and the green tea. I havven't tried the milk & honey because I usually have to share 'em with the kids and they don't really like honey, but the next time we go to Mitsuwa, those suckers are mine!

[Random832]

(Very tasty) edible food-like substance ... but not food ...

If you are saying that chocolate and/or cookies are not "food", then you have a very strange definition of food.

If you are not saying that but are still saying pocky is not food, then... well...

[Ozymandias]

I can't believe I have to explain this.

QC exists in a parallel dimension where people live for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. As a result, 10 years is a very short amount of time to these people.

This is also why the comic has been running for 6 years and it seems like barely half a year has gone by for them so stop fucking asking for and trying to come up with timelines Jesus.

[SGeier]

At the risk of taking this all way too serious: someone who would have pocky in the house in the first place and came across it during a move wouldn't just stuff it into a box. They'd eat it right there.

[bicostp]

She's probably in her early 20s like most of the cast.

she would've had to live in that apartment for at least ten years.

Not necessarily. She could have had that box of Pocky in her room at her parents' house and brought it with her when she moved. I've helped a friend of mine move a couple times, and he has boxes and boxes of junk he packed up when he moved out 15 years ago and hasn't opened since. But every move, they come along. It's hoarding.

I'm more curious as to what she does for a living, and what her relationship to Angus is.

[Jace]

At the risk of taking this all way too serious: someone who would have pocky in the house in the first place and came across it during a move wouldn't just stuff it into a box. They'd eat it right there.

Because only fat people have pocky. it all makes sense now.

[Watched Pot]

No one sells expired pocky (I think it's actually illegal)

Ah yes, who could forget the International Pocky Distribution Talks of the 1970's and 80's? Those Bulgarians just wouldn't back down.

so at best it'd be maybe nine years old. the vintage line was meant as an excuse.

That's not the way I read it. You can still buy Crystal Pepsi (and other vintage food products) on eBay. I don't think it would be much of a stretch for her to have done just that.

As for her just bringing it with her by cramming it into a box, for it to end up under her bed she'd have to have swept it there to hide it from someone.

I don't think you quite understand the mechanics of a Marigold-level mess. Something as small as a box of pocky could get caught up in the general clutter and end up anywhere.

However, delving into that hypothetical scenario would be even more reading too deep into it than I'm already doing.

All I'm saying is there are many ways a 10 year old box of pocky could have ended up under her bed that do not require her to have lived in that apartment for 10 years. I don't think this little detail is anywhere near significant or verifiable enough to provide any evidence at all on how old Marigold is or how long she's lived in the apartment. You are making considerably more assumptions than I am.

[Ozymandias]

OH MY GOD SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP AND JUST READ MY POST AND SHUT UP

[Jeff7]

Yet, of course, she looks like she couldn't be older than maybe, maybe 25, especially with the acne.

Acne need not be an indicator of age. My mom's acne persisted sometime into....I don't know, her 40's or 50's.

Mine hasn't really let up either, and I'm 27. If anything, it's just gotten more creative over the years, popping up in all sorts of fun new places, going boldly where no pimple should ever go.

[JD]

It's just a chocolate coated cookie stick type thing.

Well, not just chocolate, there are several flavors. my favorites are the strawberry chunk, chocolate banana, and the green tea. I havven't tried the milk & honey because I usually have to share 'em with the kids and they don't really like honey, but the next time we go to Mitsuwa, those suckers are mine!

Green tea doesn't sound like a great flavor

[IanClark]

Ah yes, who could forget the International Pocky Distribution Talks of the 1970's and 80's? Those Bulgarians just wouldn't back down.

lol I meant in the context of expired food. That was open. And for the record, your opinion on the Bulgarians just plays into the anti-Bulgaria media frenzy that the Chileans implemented.

I don't think you quite understand the mechanics of a Marigold-level mess. Something as small as a box of pocky could get caught up in the general clutter and end up anywhere.

Quantum mess mechanics? I am in awe of you, sir.

You are making considerably more assumptions than I am.

You're not making any, so that's not hard. I'm mostly playing devil's advocate. The correct answer is that it's probably one of the alternate possibilities you or anyone else suggested.

[Delirium]

It's just a chocolate coated cookie stick type thing.

Well, not just chocolate, there are several flavors. my favorites are the strawberry chunk, chocolate banana, and the green tea. I havven't tried the milk & honey because I usually have to share 'em with the kids and they don't really like honey, but the next time we go to Mitsuwa, those suckers are mine!

Green tea doesn't sound like a great flavor

better than it sounds

[maddness]

I'm a tea drinker. Love the tea. Green tea is good, though I'm generally more partial to spice and floral teas.

[pwhodges]

Decaffeinated Green Tea - Yuk  (I was given some last week for my health).
Green Tea Icecream - Yummy  (had some in Japan, served alongside a brandy).

[Tuitsuro]

It was a collectable pocky box, she never opened it.  Also never took care of it, obviously, and it was eaten by rats.  But then one day someone brings it up and she's "oh noes mah vintage pocky!!1one!"

Surely as a kid, most of us held some sort of collectable food item long past it's expiration date because we naively assumed it to have value?  I remember once keeping a can of cola for 3 years because it was one of those collectable superbowl cans; finally the fucker *exploded* and got dessicated syrupy shit all over my closet. 

That was the best birthday ever. 

[Delirium]

I had a friend back in high school who drank a three-year-old can of diet coke on a dare. He said it tasted like sand.

[Kugai]

Here's a thought, could the Apartment actually belong originally to Marigold's parent's and she just took over the lease when they moved out/died/went into care?

[Tuitsuro]

New theory:  Marigold killed her parents and is now using the life insurance money to fund her World of Warcraft addiction. 

[IanClark]

New theory:  Marigold killed her parents and is now using the life insurance money to fund her World of Warcraft addiction. 

Topic's over, we have a winner.

[Border Reiver]

You guys tdo realize that the "10 year old" box of Pocky may simply have been an exageration or Hanners engaging in hyperbole right. 

[scrawney]

Wait, isn't Hanners eating a Pocky stick, when Mari shouts about them not lezzing out?

Wouldn't she have major problems if that Pocky was ten years old?

(I'm basing these assumptions on the posts here that imply Pocky isn't around anymore, and that they're chocolate covered stick things)

[maddness]

What? Not around? They used to harder to come by, but now a days you can pick them up at grocery stores and such, though usually only the chocolate kind. The Japanese market we go by once in a while has a slew of flavors and colors. They even have that Pocky for men, which, as far as I can tell is just a darker chocolate than the standard.

[scarred]

She's 11 1/2.

[Penquin47]

My mother, who is in many ways a very organized and efficient person, once got mocked for months on end over something like this.

When we packed up to move to Germany (Mom was in the Army and was stationed overseas), apparently a Diet Coke found its way into one of the boxes.  We discovered that when we unpacked that box ten years and three moves later.

I should totally call my mom and tease her about her Emergency Diet Coke Stash....

[IanClark]

This topic really turned out a lot better than I thought it would. And I had optimistic expectations.

[akronnick]

Maybe there was a flood.

[Is it cold in here?]

She's 11 1/2.

Celsius.

[Dliessmgg]

She's 11 1/2.

Celsius.

That cold?

[IanClark]

It's 8 celsius right now here. It's like the desert for some reason. Hot during the day, freezing during the night.