Hello all! New member freshly registered after about a year of lurking, mostly because I wanted to participate in this thread (yes, I know, I know...).
Anyway, I have an idea of how Marten came to be in Claire's house.
Imagine if you will: He's walking to the diner, stressing out about what happened last night and what he is going to say to Claire. Heck, he probably isn't even very sure about
what he thinks himself. With all this focus on Claire, his feelings, her feelings, what may or may not be professional, appropriate and even responsible, he comes across a familiar face walking towards him. There is a reason why Jeph made Claire's mother look so much like Claire - to justify the fact that, upon seeing her, Marten's reaction was to blurt out: "Claire!"
A conversation would then ensue in which Claire's mother would identify herself and brush off Marten's stammered apology, remarking that Claire's friends are always mistaking them for each other. Marten identifies himself as: "Marten Reed; I work with Claire at the College library."
There is a pause before Clairemom smiles in a near-demonic fashion. "Oh, you're
that Marten! I've heard all about you!" Cue flop-sweat from Marten, wondering if what she's heard is
good. "Claire can't stop talking about you! It's always Marten this and Marten that! She's quite taken a shine to you! So, where are you off to?"
Marten explains he was going to get breakfast and Claire's mother insists that he come home with her. On the way, she elaborates on her previous comments. That is how we got to where we are in today's strip: Marten has heard enough to be sure of Claire's feelings and this means he can get out of his normal "Am I reading something into nothing?" indecision loop and address directly what
his feelings are and how he wants to act on them. Then Claire comes downstairs and...
Well, let's be clear here: Despite the cartoony and stylised nature of his art style, Jeph succeeded in making Claire look
beautiful this morning to the point where I wonder if she was pictured through Marten's eyes. At that point, I think Marten answered his questions about his own feelings.
So, what happens next? I wouldn't be at all surprised if Friday's strip is back to Momo and May. They may lay some foundation for what comes next by talking, from their outsiders' perspective, about the interminable dance and trial that are human relationships and pair-bondings. Then, I am fairly sure that next week's strips will be entirely the most awkward family breakfast in the history of the Augustus household. Apart from a few Dora- or Faye-worthy comments from Clairemom, it will be mostly Claire and Marten talking, mostly expressing their own fears and uncertainties in the form of 'reasons why we should just stay friends'. Finally, they'll agree that they owe it to themselves to determine if there is any depth to their relationship and whether it will work long-term.
Sometime in the conversation, they've joined hands and not noticed it. They finally notice when Marten asks if Claire would consider dating him and, as red as a tomato, she agrees. They take a simultaneous coffee shot and then Clairemom adds: "So, when are you kids announcing the engagement?" Cue perfectly-synchronised caffeine nose-splosion. Claire shouts: "MOOO-OOOM!"
The week after that, I think, would be nice if it was done from Momo's perspective; her and May going to their respective work-places and continuing their discussion about human relationships and the difficulty AIs have understanding their subtleties. Maybe May will offer a parting shot like: "Remember, sister: Android and proud!" Momo's expression will suggest that May is a bit too
strange for her tastes. She arrives at the Library; she's just hooked herself up and is logging into the network when Marten and Claire arrive, hand in hand. The last panel is Tai, hands clasped and stars in her eyes whilst Emily has found a box of confetti that she's thrown into the air before starting to jump around and cheer. Momo's expression shows her shock at realising that it isn't just May -
All sapient minds are that weird.
Regarding Claire still living with her mother, I agree with those posters who said that it is quite logical and reasonable that she would still do so. However, I don't think that will last for long.
You see, I suspect that Marigold will want to move in with Dale - She just wouldn't be willing to continually have to commute for happy time with her boyfriend. As well as opening the chance for humorous domesticity between the two protagonists, it will also allow for developing the Momo-May axis as a robot 'odd couple'. Maybe having May around (and the consequential pressure) will bring back some of Momo's earlier eccentricities such as kung-fu fighting with squirrels and the like...
Anyway, this puts Angus in a bind because he needs a second income to pay the rent on the apartment. He'll ask Faye to move in with him. She'll agree and fret that "Yes, please!" sounds too desperate to keep Angus's respect. Let's face it; they're already married in heart anyway.
So, now it's Marten looking for a roomie (with Pintsize indignantly insisting that
he is roomie enough for anyone). It will be a few strips' joke that Marten doesn't have the first idea of who to ask. Hannelore's environmental and mental health needs are too extreme for her to share an apartment with anyone human right now; Steve has his own place; Marten didn't fly across a continent only to invite his mother to live with him (besides, Veronica spends more time at Jim's than even at her alleged apartment right now). Claire will literally be
the last person Marten thinks of to ask. Initially, she'll move into Faye's old room; She and Marten will re-invent the 'sitting on the couch dissing popular culture and pseudo-intellectuals' trope for the strip but, in the background, they'll be dating. Eventually, Faye's old room will be converted into a study.
Phew! Quite a wall-o-text! You can tell that I've been thinking about this ever since I saw the strip about 12 hours ago. Thanks for your patience in reading!