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To her house.

To her parents house.

To the internet!

To a game store.

To a Game Stop.

To a new character, because there aren't enough already.

To Capcom headquarters.

To Marten

To the batmobile.

To the barricades.

To the moon.

[Valdís]

Besides, if I've understood anything that I've read, starting a transition enables a huge improvement in the emotional well-being of the person.

+1 from me. Don't presume the occasional depression is just as a result of pills (post hoc ergo propter hoc), I was a lot worse in that regard before.

[RedWolf4]

Goddamn you Jeph for using first panel Claire to grab at some heartstrings and yank 'em like a church bell.

[Outlier]

Am I the only one that noticed that the Ativan bottle is empty?

Jeph has done a bit with alcohol abuse in the past, perhaps he is setting up a drug dependency...

[Loki]

Is what Claire describes in the last panel a sign of deep depression or an effect of Ativan?

[Lubricus]

Well, I can't believe you want to stare at a wall for three hours when depressed. You might do it anyway, but not because you want to.

[mtmerrick]

its not "want to", persay. its more like " don't feel like doing / can't imagine doing / can't bring myself to do anything else"

[Neko_Ali]

I can say ditto (tritto?) on the post-transition calming effect, and how it doesn't fix everything. In addition, not because, of being trans I also seem to suffer from a mild case of bi-polar disorder, a strong case of social anxiety and likely a middling case of PTSD. All for reasons other than being transgender. I look on, and the medical establishment is working towards seeing being transgender as more of a physical issue than a mental one, though not dealing with it can lead to stress-related mental problems. The general public needs to catch up with that though instead of thinking of us as 'them crazy weirdos'.

[Lubricus]

Am I the only one that noticed that the Ativan bottle is empty?

Jeph has done a bit with alcohol abuse in the past, perhaps he is setting up a drug dependency...

I hope not. Recovering from drug addiction is in no way a fun subject. I'm not saying that recovering from alcoholism is, either, but in my experience the two are in different leagues. I can't see Claire becoming (or being) a full-blown addict, either. But then again, it's not always easy to spot.

Warning - while you were typing 2487531 new replies have been posted. You may wish to review your post.

Argh!

[pwhodges]

i petition for Marten to at least pat her on the shoulder. if not fully hug her. :c

Given that Claire's mortification is associated with cuddling Marten, this would need tact (of the sort that Marten is actually quite good at, fortunately).

[Lubricus]

its not "want to", persay. its more like " don't feel like doing / can't imagine doing / can't bring myself to do anything else"

"Want to" is exactly what she said. My point was that it's more likely that she is reacting to the medicine than that she is depressed enough to sit staring at the wall.

[marsman57]

Is there anyone in this strip that isn't medicated?

[Border Reiver]

Is there anyone in this strip that isn't medicated?

Marten,
Steve,
Pintsize,
Winslow,
Angus,
Marigold,
Tai,
Sven
Wil
Penny,
Raven
Jimbo
Dora

The list of persons taking medications is much shorter:

Faye (actually I not sure if she still is);
Hanners; and
Claire

And as for Marten giving claire a hug right now that would be a bad idea:

a.  She's having an anxiety attack because of the revelation of cuddling - a hug from that person might not be the smartest thing right now; and
b.  She's at work and the library sexual harassment policy may kick in if someone who doesn't know the backstory walks in.

[Zebediah]

I was about to post a similar list, but you beat me to it.

Some of the characters occasionally self-medicate with alcohol (or, in Tai's case, other drugs), but Hannelore seems to be the only one who is on prescription drugs on an ongoing basis. Claire's medication seems to be an as-needed thing.

Not even sure how you'd medicate an anthroPC. Antivirus software?

[Lubricus]

Cake batter, obviously.

[bhtooefr]

And IIRC Faye was just taking vitamin supplements or something.

I agree, Marten's the wrong person to give her a hug. Doesn't mean that she doesn't need one. Unfortunately, she's close to two people that we know of in the comic - Marten, and Clinton, who's an even worse choice in this situation. 

[Lubricus]

Not sure Marten would be the "wrong" person to hug - that might actually defuse the situation considerably. And all persons concerned agree that Marten is a good guy, and that he would not be a danger in any way.

[Boiled Dove]

I think we've all been there at east once, Claire.

Yep.

[GarandMarine]

Panic/Anxiety attacks are one of the least fun things ever...

[Madmartigan]

Not sure Marten would be the "wrong" person to hug - that might actually defuse the situation considerably. And all persons concerned agree that Marten is a good guy, and that he would not be a danger in any way.

It is if Claire has romantic attachments to Martin (which I'm still not fully convinced of) while Martin not having romantic interest in (of which I'm 90% sure of).

[miados]

Is what Claire describes in the last panel a sign of deep depression or an effect of Ativan?

not sure about ativan but I have had similarly odd thoughts with my depression.

[Rghfrgl]

Is what Claire describes in the last panel a sign of deep depression or an effect of Ativan?

Since it's in the punchline slot I'd say it's the happy pills.

[judemorrigan]

Poor Claire. 



That's all I've got.

[tassaron]

Wow. Last comic was definitely awkward but I wasn't expecting a full-out panic attack. Poor Claire.

[techkid]

I'm going to continue the "Poor Claire" theme.

Poor Claire.

This is probably the last thing she wants to deal with right now. But now she has to deal with it, there is no fucking way she wants to deal with it. I couldn't imagine what that would be like (and I hope never to find out).

Clinton has a hell of a lot of work to redeem himself for this day's work (such as eliminating every bigoted, hate-filled dumbass on (and maybe off) the planet).

[Loki]

I know something that Clinton could do to redeem himself in the collective eyes of the forum.

(click to show/hide)

Tell off Veronica.

[westrim]

I hope they didn't get any blood on the books while scattering Clinton.

Maybe the tertiary intern will get more importance and be the hugger.

[Method of Madness]

Am I the only person who still doesn't think Clinton did something horrible? Probably not want anyone wanted, but probably better than leaving it unsaid, if he didn't say it well.

[TheEvilDog]

I get the feeling that Clinton's action was less about Claire and more about he does not like Marten (being forced out of an apartment at sword point and then being tied to a chair do little to keep a positive attitude towards someone).

[Method of Madness]

On the contrary, I thought that was his way of showing he's finally come around to Marten.

[JustAQCFan]

Am I the only person who still doesn't think Clinton did something horrible? Probably not want anyone wanted, but probably better than leaving it unsaid, if he didn't say it well.

He was told something in confidence, something that was of considerable concern to Claire, and then betrayed that trust not only by revealing it to another person, but to the very person it was about.

It wasn't his to say anything about, it wasn't about him.  Sure, he's concerned about his sister, but by meddling, even with the best of intentions, he's not trusting his sister to manage her own relationships (good or bad) and allowing her to grow.

Is it the end of the world, no... but it was still the wrong thing to do.

[Sidhekin]

Nah, Clinton didn't do anything horrible.  The awkwardness was already there, he just brought it to the surface.  Information wants to be free, after all.

But even if not horrible, what he did was still a poor choice, and bad enough, if he in any way could have predicted Claire's reaction.  And as close as those two seem to be, I see no reason to doubt that he could, unless he is terminally oblivious.  Which, I suppose, he might well be ...

I've never had panic attacks myself.  I've never witnessed panic attacks.  But I have heard people tell of their panic attacks.  It is not the actual horror that causes them.  I'm not sure it is even the potential, imagined horror.  It sounds more like the panic is triggered by trivial matters, and in turn triggers images of potential horror.  But what Claire is displaying here (with or without scattering), is not the reaction that these people have told me about, so I suspect I'm on the wrong page entirely here.  Off any map I know.

[Valdís]

Is it the end of the world, no... but it was still the wrong thing to do.

Yeah, also it's the first time we've seen Claire's tears, right? That doesn't exactly brush off the incident as him not doing anything bad.

[Madmartigan]

Maybe I'm alone....but, better to rip off the scab quickly than do it slowly, metaphorically speaking.

I think Marten pretty much stopped worrying about it.

Claire just needed to get it out there rather than bottle it up. 

[Valdís]

You don't go around ripping up other people's, though. At most you tell them they ought to do that.

[Neko_Ali]

Nnnnnot really. At least not in my personal experience. A lot of my panic attacks are triggered by more imagined and exaggerated things, but not minor or impossible. My biggest triggers are being around loud people, drunk people and people having arguments. Especially loud, drunk people having an argument, obviously. That stems from the fact that my father was an alcoholic. So I have very real reasons to fear that, even if it's not directed at me. Claire seems to have pretty strong issues regarding her parent's break up and possibly intimacy issues in general. Look at how she reacted when she found out Tai was going out with Marten's ex...

The physical and psychological reaction I get to my panic attacks, and from what I've heard is pretty common and seems to be what Claire is exhibiting here is triggering the 'flight' reaction. Causing me to withdraw and sometimes even have to run away from the source of the trigger, and then a long time of anxiety, jumpiness and a feeling that I am about to be physically attacked at any second until I am able to calm down. I don't talk any kind of medication for this then.

[westrim]

Ultimately, it doesn't matter how we feel or what we think the right course of action was or how okay this one was, it matters what Claire (and Marten) think and feel. And it's pretty dang obvious they feel, at least at this time, like Clinton did the wrong thing. Both were shocked, and Claire is fighting a panic attack.

[Near Lurker]

I kind of hope Clinton is never mentioned again, and in a few days we see the interns happily cleaning something red off the stacks...

Like Sara.

[Redball]

Is it the end of the world, no... but it was still the wrong thing to do.

Welcome to the forum! Feel free to introduce yourself up in the Welcome section, if you're inclined.

[Smallest]

Poor Claire. The first panel broke my heart, and she's not a character I'm even too emotionally invested in.

"Am I the only one that noticed that the Ativan bottle is empty?"

Regarding this. Ativan are tiny, so it might just be that it's not pictured through the coloured plastic. They also often only give small doses, because of the fact that ativan dependencies are really easy to develop (my doctor says within a week), so perhaps she just took the last or only one or two tiny pills are left. If you haven't seen them, they are smaller than coloured pinheads, maybe 1.5mm in diameter.

I think the idea of her being addicted is unlikely to be Jeph's motive in drawing that, seeing as it's fairly reasonable that she's out of pills or that they're a pain to draw, and also that in the relatively small amount of Claire we have seen, there haven't been many hints toward it. Since she's transitioning, this is probably exactly the sort of situation she was prescribed it for (as well as potentially outing situations, coming out to parents/brother way back when, etc).

What makes me really curious here is whether she takes the ativan to calm down and collect herself or whether her anxiety attacks snowball worse and worse until she melts down/passes out/disassociates/gets hysterical. I think it's more likely to be the first (calm her down so she can get on with life) since Hanners is already in the strip and does two or three of those.

[DSL]

My blood pressure med would be packaged with a month's worth of pills rattling around in the bottom of a vial that was mostly empty space on the inside. When I switched to mail-order meds with three months' worth arriving at a time, I figured I'd get full vials. Instead I got bigger bottles full of even more air. Rattle rattle rattle. I told the prescription people I had plenty of air and didn't need to have any more shipped to me, especially since it went toward my deductible, but that went about as far you you might imagine.

[MillionDollar Belt Sander]

Now we need the next three strips to consist of at least three-four panels showing Clinton being violated... dismembered... burned... folded/chopped/spindled/mutilated and so forth... with the "punchline" being it's one of the other cast members imagining the violence.

The real joke is of course Emily being the most horrifically brutal of them all. 

...

Ok so I'm having a bad day.       When I get home I'ma horribly violate some video-game Nazis and pwn some nOObs.

[Mr_Rose]

On the bottle being empty: it isn't. There are at least two circular anomalies at the bottom of the bottle that can't be explained by her finger being seen through the plastic.

[judemorrigan]

Am I the only person who still doesn't think Clinton did something horrible? Probably not want anyone wanted, but probably better than leaving it unsaid, if he didn't say it well.

I think he meant well, and I'd be unsurprised if it all turns out for the best.  But I still can't help but feel terrible for Claire in today's strip.

[Smallest]

Am I the only person who still doesn't think Clinton did something horrible? Probably not want anyone wanted, but probably better than leaving it unsaid, if he didn't say it well.

I think he meant well, and I'd be unsurprised if it all turns out for the best.  But I still can't help but feel terrible for Claire in today's strip.

I agree. He did a kind of stupid thing, but it was well intentioned and won't hurt anyone in the long run. Of course, it did scare and maybe humiliate Claire, but he was just trying to be a good/protective brother.

Intentions aren't everything, of course, but good intentions+nonterrible outcome (in the comic world or in the storyline as viewed by us) seems like no reason to hate him.

[henri bemis]

Yeah, Ativan are really tiny, and the little bumps in the bottle Claire is holding could easily be at least a dozen pills.  While it can be easy to develop an addiction, I see absolutely no indication of that in the strip.  I've had it prescribed before (taking mainly as-needed), and what Claire is going through right now is definitely the kind of situation I'd want to reach for it, too.

As for Clinton, it's possible to have good intentions and still do something totally and completely wrong.  He didn't intend to hurt Claire, but he did. To echo Valdís, it wasn't his scab to pick.

[Masterpiece]

I have to say I didn't expect Claire to react so strongly. Sure, I"d be very mortified, but taking mood-altering pills? Holy crapper.
Then of course, I have no idea of psychological illnesses.

[Boiled Dove]

I think there is also a dynamic between Claire and Clinton that makes for a stronger reaction from Claire than if someone else was involved. I'm thinking of her reactions when we see them first run into each other in CoD. It is obvious that being around Clinton puts her on edge and I think that would explain how what would have been a very uncomfortable situation for her was made so much worse.

 

[Rghfrgl]

On the bottle being empty: it isn't. There are at least two circular anomalies at the bottom of the bottle that can't be explained by her finger being seen through the plastic.

Zooming in I see it...and Claire's tears, which I did not notice initially(And when a poster said she was crying I thought it was a exaggeration). You can just BARELY make them out at the normal size and even then it looks like you might be seeing things. I think that's two details that got lost when he scaled it down after drawing it.

It doesn't really matter how many pills she does or doesn't have left, but the tears were kind of important, even if she is obviously upset either way.

[Smallest]

I have to say I didn't expect Claire to react so strongly. Sure, I"d be very mortified, but taking mood-altering pills? Holy crapper.
Then of course, I have no idea of psychological illnesses.

Being unexpectedly embarrassed is the sort of thing that would set off a panic attack. If she normally had no anxiety and this situation made her go ask for a prescription/take painkillers/get drunk, that would be worrying. But since she has the prescription for ativan, we can assume she has been given it for anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, or something, which means she's probably not going "oh no, I'm embarrassed, time for some ativan!"

I'll try to sort of explain this a bit better. Obviously my train of thought is not accurate for everyone else, perhaps not even Claire, but it's an example. Look at it like a timeline:

(click to show/hide)

- Start the day knowing you have to make an embarrassing, personal statement to your little brother, who you know is protective and a bit socially awkward. I think this would make anyone nervous.
- Get with him. Start sweating, make small talk, then blurt it out.
- He takes it okay! Yay! This might be okay!
- Suddenly you run into the subject of said personal conversation. Automatic heart-sinking feeling. This cannot go good. Does he know? What will he say? Fidget, look away.
- He breaks the ice with normal conversation. Heart still pounding kind of loud, but yay, it's going normal.
- Brother mentions the elephant you've been avoiding. Automatically barfy feeling, your heart starts pouding, voice dies, and you hide to try and calm yourself down so others don't see you amess.
- Subject finds you amess. Eek. Horrible. Heart pounds, feel dizzy and scared and embarrassed all over again, but worse. (this is the point we are at in comic, where she takes the ativan)
Scenario One: No Ativan
- Subject awkwardly tries to breech the problem. You try really hard not to cry, because although you are not sad or even embarrassed enough to cry, your brain is doing a billion emotions and you're so confused that it hurts and you can't talk without sounding like you'll cry.
- Brother and/or subject try to help you. You feel both incompetent and all the horrible emotions from before, plus the embarrassment grows exponentially.
- You peak and do one or several of: pass out, grow hysterical, hide until calming down, or something else

Situation Two: Ativan
- You put a tiny pill under your tongue and sit quietly as you feel it dissolve.
- The familiar feeling and concentrating on the pill decimating help distract you from the situation at hand.
- Tennish minutes later, you take a few deep breaths. This will be okay.
- You try to sort out the situation productively, embarrassed but functional

ETA: I think Claire would hit a moment where it was like "Okay, leave me alone" and destress in the staff room or bathroom or something, probably before it escalated to the end, but the timeline is why the ativan helps, especially if you feel helpless to make other people listen.
Also added the spoiler tags.

[Method of Madness]

I didn't notice the tears earlier either. Poor Claire