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"Go home, Dora, you need a vacation."

4 (7.8%)

"Welp, I have no choice - either I hire Samantha or you cut back on your hours."

2 (3.9%)

"Don't make me bring Pintsize into this!"

2 (3.9%)

"Very simple: you let me hire someone, or I'll tell Sven to pester you into selling the place to him."

0 (0%)

"How about you go home and sleep for a few days and we can talk about this when you wake up?"

3 (5.9%)

"We need to hire Dale. The plot demands it."

16 (31.4%)

"We hire someone or I tell Tai you have a questionably-obtained social disease."

0 (0%)

"I'm serious - it's either Dale or Pintsize. Your choice."

4 (7.8%)

"No, I'm not hiring Momo. She talked about 'unfortunate circumstances' with me once."

1 (2%)

"Why are you taking business advice from Mieville?"

3 (5.9%)

"No, we are NOT starting a kickstarter to hire a house band."

0 (0%)

"That Harriet girl was in here again, and this time she dropped off her resume."

8 (15.7%)

"No, I don't know why there's a Great Pyrenees, a Bandicoot and a Dicksissel out in front."

3 (5.9%)

"We are NOT going to open a Spathe Ham and Waffles Breakfast Bar downstairs."

0 (0%)

"Something else entirely, because the forum is putting WORDS. IN. MY. MOUTH."

5 (9.8%)

Total Members Voted: 50

[TheBiscuit]

You didn't mention Faye directly, but I think it was implied, since that was the genesis for this discussion.  But really?  She's had drinking "intervention" from her friends, has been in therapy, and was wooed (in unique fashion) by some one she decided to finally begin a relationship with.  I think those few incidents alone, and especially whatever she's learned in therapy, are all excellent ways to develop your personality into one that's more in line with what you want than what you have.  Sure, some of it's offscreen and assumed, but it's no "magic wand".

Of course it is valid to assume I mean Faye to some extent. I'm totally onboard with the development that took place around her cutting down on drinking, and becoming generally happier as a person. All that totally made sense to me as far as it went. What really sticks out like a sore thumb to me is that I still don't think she's in a  place where she'd be comfortable starting a relationship. That entire story arc was enjoyable enough, but it seemed to be a definite 'magic wand' moment.

If Hannelore were to start dating tomorrow, nobody apart from creepy shippers would buy that, and I consider this comparable.

And her personality's still the same at the core. 

Just a little less hostile.

LESS hostile? Lately I've noticed just how hostile she can be to her alleged friends. If you're really saying she's less hostile now then I guess maybe I shouldn't have ever liked her character to begin with. Maybe that's actually more accurate.

I want to say that there was a long period in which she was actually less hostile, but I think that she has (for no apparent reason) been written as Miss Nasty McSnarkerson a lot lately.

If there's a "magic wand" in Faye's case, I suppose it's Sven's.

*RIMSHOT*

For what it's worth I didn't have any problem with her seeking out Sven for sex, because everyone has physical needs. It was an  appropriately awkward set of encounters, and didn't last long. I thought that was entirely in character for her and should in fact have put her off the idea of dating even more.

More seriously, Faye usually mentions Marten as having helped her change: "I'm a different person than I was back then.  Because of you."

Ehh... well, I can't say anything that would convince anyone, or that wouldn't sound unnecessarily mean. I'll just note that this was prior to the point at which she entered a relationship with Angus and not something I take issue with except in the implications.

[Method of Madness]

Yep. I remember one day realizing that "ship" was short for "relationship" and almost being disappointed how simple that explanation was.

[Redball]

Shortened and turned into a transitive verb.

[Border Reiver]

And the reason comes out: she's being rewarded for being a control freak.

Actuating behavior/event: "The shop is more popular, so I need to be open longer hours to serve people."
Irrational Belief: "I need to be in control of things! It's my shop!"
Consequence: "I have to work more hours than ANYONE ELSE."

Consequential Behavior: "Hey, I'm taking home a lot of money!"
Irrational Reinforced belief: "The more I'm in control, the more money I make!"
Consequence: "ZZZZZZZ HUH? WHAT? YES! ONE LARGE LATTE COMIN' UP!"

("Oh, and Dora? That'll be $50...")

I like this and believe that it is a reasonable and balanced conclusion based on the evidence to date, and personal understanding of psychology.

Therefore, it will be ignored and something else adopted.

Today's poll was a near run thing between the final option, and the one with Shelby, Randi and YB.

[Barmymoo]

Maybe you're just expecting comic characters to conform to your notion of what people are like, and your notion could be wrong. People are inconsistent, things happen that alter their character in ways they didn't even expect themselves. As we get to know the QC characters better, their nuances are revealed - that doesn't mean they're not realistic, I'd argue the opposite! I'm often surprised by people.

[Loki]

Meta shipping

all the other definitions were nice...
but you win.
I tip my hat to you sir

Why thank you so much I will be in town all day and night and week and the weeks after but only four or so

I'm often surprised by people.

I like when I am surprising myself, because that usually means it's a surprise for the better. It rarely is a surprise if I fuck up.

[TheBiscuit]

Maybe you're just expecting comic characters to conform to your notion of what people are like, and your notion could be wrong. People are inconsistent, things happen that alter their character in ways they didn't even expect themselves. As we get to know the QC characters better, their nuances are revealed - that doesn't mean they're not realistic, I'd argue the opposite! I'm often surprised by people.

Actually I'm expecting it to conform to my idea of what people in a fictional narrative should be like, and that idea is based on some actual study of and familiarity with the form. Also I don't think that real people actually are all that inconsistent. They often just seem that way because we (and even they) don't get to know all the relevant influences upon their character. A work of fiction is capable of demonstrating the reasons shift in a person's character.

In a lot of ways, a fictional narrative can and should be more coherent than a narrative in reality.

There's something that I just happened to realize while typing. If you compare QC to other comics, it actually comes off pretty favourably in terms of both character development and consistency. I'm including both webcomics and the kind which are published on paper. I'd say that while there are comics that adhere to a higher standard in this regard, they are few and far between.

By the standards of the medium, it's pretty good. I'm probably seeking something I would never find in a webcomic.

Man I love my current title. I need to not post too much, so I can keep it forever. It makes me feel like a real hipster.

[Is it cold in here?]

They just woke up one morning after enough time was passed and decided to act like they were suddenly a changed person

Raven is a good example.

The Pugnacious Peach has been loosening up in ways foreshadowed from early on, when she compared herself to a hedgehog and Raven compared her to a kitten who knows no way to express affection except by scratching.

[Kugai]

And so the word got abbreviated to being a word that already existed with a different meaning?

Sorry, not aimed at you, just the idea of it -> 

Be grateful you were'nt here for the horror of The Shipping Wars


It was a bloodbath - even I got banned for a week! 

*Shudder*

 



Seriously though, if this is doing this to Dora, she really needs to consider letting Faye lengthening the girls hours or bringing Dale someone else on board.

Extra money be damned - Killing yourself over a business is not the way to go. 

[FunkyTuba]

Is it shipping if you're gratuitously matchmaking people to jobs?

"Steve should submit a resume for CoD!"

Would that be candidating? Dating?

"I TOTALLY Date Angus and The Nightly News"

[Kugai]

No, that's just Angus doing his 'Straw Man' job.

[Zebediah]

Yes, that's it - they hire Angus at CoD, and he tries to argue all the customers out of their orders. And loses. 

[Perfectly Reasonable]

So what exactly does Dora do with that extra income? I smell a poll in the offing!

[K1dmor]

And so the word got abbreviated to being a word that already existed with a different meaning?

Sorry, not aimed at you, just the idea of it -> 

Well, it created it's own meaning. And it works with other terms related to "ship".

 Like "All Aboard the X ship!" .

 And my favorite, how do you sink a ship?

 With a can(n)on.

[Kugai]

Yes, that's it - they hire Angus at CoD, and he tries to argue all the customers out of their orders. And loses. 

They'll be raking it in.

[Storel]

I've seen other web forums where it's referred to as 'shipping, with the apostrophe representing the "relation" part that's been dropped. Seems like the proper spelling to me. I think making clear from the start that it's an abbreviation tends to reduce the level of confusion slightly.

[Redball]

That's an excellent thought. But I doubt we can make it stick.

[TheBiscuit]

They just woke up one morning after enough time was passed and decided to act like they were suddenly a changed person

Raven is a good example.

Raven is still in the strip? I'm struggling to remember her last appearance. I'm almost inclined to say that in her case sudden and seemingly random changes in direction are her consistent character. 

The Pugnacious Peach has been loosening up in ways foreshadowed from early on, when she compared herself to a hedgehog and Raven compared her to a kitten who knows no way to express affection except by scratching.

Most of her 'loosening up' is fine by me and has taken place in a well-documented way. What I have a real problem with is that she's suddenly starting to act more and more mean. That could be a perceptual problem I have though.

Despite the fact that the conversation started there, Faye isn't really a character whose development I have the biggest problem with. I still don't think she should be ready to be in a relationship given everything we've seen, but she's not the character I take issue with. Not the same way I do with Dora (unless her consistent character is that she's bipolar) or Dale, or (to a lesser extent) Marigold. I have a minor issue with Hannelore's early development but at the same time I recognize that Jeph probably decided he was going down a blind alley there.


Fixed a missing / in the quote tags

[jwhouk]

The theme of QC is "Everyone should try to be nice to each other." That's about the only thing any of us should "get out" of the strip, if Jeph has his way.

[Redball]

Well, a predictable outcome to the Faye/Dora conversation?

[jwhouk]

Comic: Aaaaaand called it.

"Hi, Welcome to Coffee of Doom! (NOT NOW MAY)"

[Carl-E]

But... but it's not even 11 yet! 

[checks]

Damn, that man's sleep schedule is really messed up now! 

[jwhouk]

He's really freaked out by the whole Kickstarter thing.

And how Shelby's been acting as of late.

[NotAwesomeAnymore]

Wait just a second. Does Marigold not work part-time at CoD? I was under that impression.

[SageJiraiya]

I believe she works with computers. Y'know, "BEEP BOOP."

[NotAwesomeAnymore]

Oh well. There will still be more Marigold and Dale interactions. 
Cue heated debate about stalking vs. childish flirting.

[Toe]

Is that Faye's long-lost fraternal twin brother?

[KOK]

Wait just a second. Does Marigold not work part-time at CoD? I was under that impression.

Where did you get that impression? I remember noting that could be interpreted that way.

[Method of Madness]

I guess just that she spends time there and we've never seen her at work (although we have been told what she does).

[techkid]

You know... I don't think we have seen Marigold at work (well, I think once when she was doing some work on her dad's website, but that was only one strip...).

I just remembered her introduction when she fixed Pintsize as well. But that was it.

[jwhouk]

What would you do in Faye's shoes?

"Go home, Dora, you need a vacation."    1 (3.1%)
"Welp, I have no choice - either I hire Samantha or you cut back on your hours."    2 (6.3%)
"Don't make me bring Pintsize into this!"    2 (6.3%)
"Very simple: you let me hire someone, or I'll tell Sven to pester you into selling the place to him."    0 (0%)
"How about you go home and sleep for a few days and we can talk about this when you wake up?"    2 (6.3%)
"We need to hire Dale. The plot demands it."    10 (31.3%)
"We hire someone or I tell Tai you have a questionably-obtained social disease."    0 (0%)
"I'm serious - it's either Dale or Pintsize. Your choice."    2 (6.3%)
"No, I'm not hiring Momo. She talked about 'unfortunate circumstances' with me once."    1 (3.1%)
"Why are you taking business advice from Mieville?"    2 (6.3%)
"No, we are NOT starting a kickstarter to hire a house band."    0 (0%)
"That Harriet girl was in here again, and this time she dropped off her resume."    7 (21.9%) <== SOME people got the reference...
"No, I don't know why there's a Great Pyrenees, a Bandicoot and a Dicksissel out in front."    1 (3.1%)
"We are NOT going to open a Spathe Ham and Waffles Breakfast Bar downstairs."    0 (0%)
"Something else entirely, because the forum is putting WORDS. IN. MY. MOUTH."    2 (6.3%)

Total Members Voted: 32

[TheBiscuit]

You know... I don't think we have seen Marigold at work.

Any time you see her at the computer, she could be working. Unless she mentions playing a game.

Maybe like Hannelore, maybe she's good enough that she doesn't need to work much.

[Zebediah]

We've never actually seen Angus at work either. That doesn't mean he doesn't do it.

We also haven't seen Veronica at work, but that would cross into NSFW territory.

[ZoeB]

He'll be easy to boss around...

DOOM

Famous last words....

[jmucchiello]

Any time you see her at the computer, she could be working. Unless she mentions playing a game.

She doesn't "go to work". She works from her home computer. I'm thinking she designs and maintains websites for a living though don't know if that was mentioned in the comic or just some head canon I've created.

[Barmymoo]

She definitely maintains her dad's website.

[celticgeek]

Her reaction to websites I manage would be similar to this:  Amateur website analysis.

[Carl-E]

Saying "Well, the code's not bad" is like saying "You're baby's... so alert..."   

It's the thing you say when you can't honestly say anything else nice. 

[Emperor Norton]

Any time you see her at the computer, she could be working. Unless she mentions playing a game.

I work from home on the computer. You have no idea how hard it is to get it through people's heads that even though I'm sitting in my own house in my pajamas on my laptop that I'm WORKING LEAVE ME ALONE.

My wife told me I needed a sign to hang on the back of the computer so she can know not to ask me to do things.

Which would also be a terrible idea, because then I would just leave it on there when goofing off to keep from taking the trash out.

[Smallest]

He's really freaked out by the whole Kickstarter thing.

And how Shelby's been acting as of late.

I'm worried about Shelby, I hope she stays back to normal

[TRenn]

Out of curiosity, how many pages has it been since a customer was sold a cup of coffee? It seems like a while.

[Is it cold in here?]

http://questionablecontent.wikia.com/wiki/Marigold_Farmer#Employment

[Kugai]

Well, that was unexpected.








































No Cliffhanger










What?  What did you think i meant?






 

[Tova]

Famous last words....

Yep, my immediate thought was "ooooh, bet those words will come back to bite her in the arse."

[Masterpiece]

weeeee, more Dale!

[Arancaytar]

I was half expecting Random Background Customer to apply and suddenly become part of the cast. But I figure there are probably enough characters at the moment...

[techkid]

No Cliffhanger

The fact that there is no (known) cliffhanger is exactly what will keep you hanging until Monday...

[Barmymoo]

I was expecting RBC to at least speak! Maybe it's someone Jeph knows, getting a shout out.

[Carl-E]

Spent the whole time looking at his phone.  Just a typically rude customer, oblivious to the great machinations behind the counter. 

[jwhouk]

Probably catching up on his webcomics on his smartphone.