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Angus and Faye: The Quickening

46 (33.3%)

Dora Tells Her Parents (To Predictable Results)

10 (7.2%)

The Library Implosion: Emily Finds Out!

19 (13.8%)

Moms Meet!

8 (5.8%)

Momo and May - The Odd Couple Revisited!

12 (8.7%)

Hanners FREAKS OUT!

7 (5.1%)

Pintsize!

7 (5.1%)

Love and Pancakes!

7 (5.1%)

Waffles and Spathe Ham!

1 (0.7%)

...Wait, who IS that blue guy lying on the ground?

11 (8%)

CLINTONSPOLSION!

10 (7.2%)

Total Members Voted: 127

[aphanisis81]

Shouldn't Angus be responsible for finding the new roommate (not Marigold)? Obviously, it's important that Marigold like this new roommate. Regardless, Angus should be paying rent until he finds someone to take over the lease, or the lease terminates.

As someone who was in that position.. that's garbage. I had to leave an apartment before because of a bad situation with my then room mate. They tried to stick me with paying half the rent for an apartment I wasn't living in (and had the police report to back up) until my ex room mate found someone else. Funny how she really didn't go looking until I refused to pay it. I seriously doubt that Angus could afford to pay half the rent there and rent on a place in The City anyway. Though if he could it would be a way to reassure Faye and a place for him to come back and visit her in. But that seems unlikely, and he could just as easily visit and stay with Faye for a weekend. If he's a nice guy (he is) then sure  helping Marigold find a new room mate would be good. Besides he is her friend not just some random person he roomed with. I don't think he would leave her in the lurch. But to expect him to pay half rent on a place he isn't living in is just to far beyond nice or reasonable.

All that matters is the terms and time range of their lease. If it's long-term with a substantial amount of time left, then he's legally obligated to continue paying or find a sub-letter. Otherwise, he truly would be "breaking the lease" and his landlord could extract the money legally. It sounds like they have a month to month, though, in which case paying next month's rent and leaving it at that would be exactly the right thing to do.

It does occur to me, though, that when we first learned about Angus and Marigold's situation, Angus says that he "heard she was looking for a roommate" which could be taken to mean that she already had the lease in her name, and she just lets him live there and pay half the rent without being on the lease. In that case, it could be pretty shitty of him to bail out.

Realistically though, given the state of Massachusetts housing, especially in a hip college town like Northampton, all it would take is a Craigslist ad and they'd have a their pick of new roommates within a day.

[BenRG]

Another good story-telling reason to have Clinton move in with Marigold. We know he has a creepy sort-of-man crush on Hannelore. Who is Marigold's best girl friend? Hannelore! We know that he can't come to see her at Coffee of Doom anymore because Dora has him hosed down when he starts getting creepy. So, it would be an interesting way to see how his feelings and behaviour has developed.

IMO, it will be a case of Hannelore coming over to see Marigold and, whist they're doing girl things together, Clinton will simply sit on the couch and creepily worship Hanners from afar until Momo tasers him.

Realistically though, given the state of Massachusetts housing, especially in a hip college town like Northampton, all it would take is a Craigslist ad and they'd have a their pick of new roommates within a day.

Suddenly, I have a mental image of Marigold, Momo and Angus as an interview panel, vetting each applicant as if they had applied for a job with a blue chip finance house.

[aphanisis81]

Another good story-telling reason to have Clinton move in with Marigold. We know he has a creepy sort-of-man crush on Hannelore. Who is Marigold's best girl friend? Hannelore! We know that he can't come to see her at Coffee of Doom anymore because Dora has him hosed down when he starts getting creepy. So, it would be an interesting way to see how his feelings and behaviour has developed.

IMO, it will be a case of Hannelore coming over to see Marigold and, whist they're doing girl things together, Clinton will simply sit on the couch and creepily worship Hanners from afar until Momo tasers him.

Realistically though, given the state of Massachusetts housing, especially in a hip college town like Northampton, all it would take is a Craigslist ad and they'd have a their pick of new roommates within a day.

Suddenly, I have a mental image of Marigold, Momo and Angus as an interview panel, vetting each applicant as if they had applied for a job with a blue chip finance house.

It wouldn't be unrealistic. The MA market is tight as hell and NoHo has some really serious shithole apartments for rent near downtown. I mean like slums. A halfway decent place popping up would be like catnip.

[PLGRN8R]

As for Marigold's new room-mate, in descending order of likelihood (from my perspective, and without the idea of brand-new characters):

1. Dale/May. No, not a good idea, but they're both naive and completely nuts over one another. Umm... Dale and Marigold that is. May and Momo will need time to warm up a little more.

2. Clinton. He's a character we don't see much, and with the SS Clairten setting sail, his traffic across our monitors is sure to increase, and this would be a nice setup for it. Additionally, he clearly has a job at the company that produces AnthroPCs, so his finances are steady. This could set up some return jealousy from Dale towards Marigold, allowing more drama and friction.

3. Claire. Assuming she DOES make money at the library, and that the Angus/Marigold residence is clearly not too far a jaunt from CoD or the Marten/Faye apartment, so it would allow for faster commutes to see Marten.

4. Amir. I'm starting to stretch here, but I don't think he likes living in that practice space too much. It'd be a good way to give him more screen time and to set up for more jam sessions with Marten and co, which would be nice, but he'd have almost no dynamic with Marigold.

5. Padma. Again, stretching, REAL far this time. Padma left at almost exactly strip 2100. And while some people say she's been gone about 6 months, people ALSO say that's how long Faye and Angus have been together, so it could be longer. The time between her leaving and Marten hooking up with Delilah was about 525 strips, and Marten seemed to be going through serious intimacy withdrawal, so it had probably been around six months by THEN. If we extrapolate that it's around late August right now in QC, then her grandma may have passed away 2-3 months ago and she decided to return to Northampton, because she liked her life there. Also, that would set up HUGE drama for the SS Clairten. Could you imagine Claire's insecurities if a previous lover of Marten's rolls back into town and starts hanging around him? Also, if she gets her job back, then Marten would hear about it through Jim, seeing as Jim is now dating Marten's mom, and probably knows that Marten was close with Padma before she left.

Personally, I'm hoping for 2 or 4, just to give them more "screen"-time, but yeah. I think 5 would have the biggest "splash", but is the least likely.

[bhtooefr]

Hang on, do we have Marten's address, though?

Because here's where Claire lives: http://goo.gl/maps/6p6Y6

Edit: 144 Dwight, although Google's putting that in an undefined location in an industrial area of Hatfield, MA (north of Northampton), not Northampton itself.

[hakko504]

Another good story-telling reason to have Clinton move in with Marigold. We know he has a creepy sort-of-man crush on Hannelore. Who is Marigold's best girl friend? Hannelore! We know that he can't come to see her at Coffee of Doom anymore because Dora has him hosed down when he starts getting creepy. So, it would be an interesting way to see how his feelings and behaviour has developed.

I've been thinking a bit more, and I don't see any male character moving in with Marigold except Dale. I think Marigold is much more aware now about who she will allow into her life/apartment than when she started living with Angus (when she probably only cared about him not disturbing her gaming). There was a moment of jealousy from Marigold when May returned/appeared in person which could indicate that she wants her man for herself and that she'll insist on having Dale move in with her.

Faye moves in! This prompted not so much by Marigold but by Claire, who wants Marten for herself and decides to move in with him.

I don't see it. Claire is pretty conservative and cautious. She's probably super relieved that Marten accepts her for who she is, but she's also inexperienced with relationships and doesn't want to rock the boat just yet. It also doesn't make sense financially: grad school is bloody expensive, and living at your folk's place makes things so much easier. Claire also has good emotional support at home with her Mom, and Clinton if he lives there, too.

I mostly agree. Though I think that some of the demons that haunted Dora may appear in Claire as well, namely the thoughts about whether Marten have feelings for Faye or not. It's probably easier for Claire to accept them sharing an apartment when Faye is in a relationship, but if that ends then there could be all sorts of trouble sending waves through many relations in the comic.


Another unrelated thought: What has Claire & Marten been doing all day? Eating pancakes should have happened in the morning (or at least not much later than lunchtime). Faye was going to start work at 5pm but she may have decided to go early in order to gossip spread the news to Dora.

[BenRG]

So, the scenario could be something like this:

Faye, being Faye, buries her misgivings for now and tries the LDR with Angus. It just happens that this occurs in parallel with Marten and Claire spending a lot of time together in her vicinity. They visit CoD together and spend time at the apartment together. Faye is clear to Marten that Claire is his GF and she has no problem with him bringing Claire over but... seeing them together when Angus is away hurts a lot.

It doesn't help that Angus keeps on putting off their reunion. It is understandable that, whilst he's couch-hopping and trying to settle into the city, it is impractical for her to visit him or for him to visit her. However, it still plays to Faye's insecurities. When she finally visits him, a month later, which will probably be an arc in its own right, it will be the deciding point for their relationship. Either:

• Angus is all over her and can't wait to spend time with her, showing her his new life and... er... showing her how much he missed her;
• He is still preoccupied with his own affairs and the ardour seems to have cooled a little but he is still determined to make the relationship work as best as he can (Faye later tells Dora that it was a 'fun time' but not quite like it was before);
• It is pretty clear that, in the month, the fire has gone out; Northampton (and Faye) are the past. New York and the pretty lady in the apartment opposite his are the present and maybe the future.

There are variations but, in the end, I think that what happens will fall into one of those three categories. I am leaning towards option 2 - Faye and Angus keep kicking the can down the road for a while, possibly as far along as the start of winter, before coming to a final decision, positive or negative. That is how it tends to happen in the real world. That would give Jeph time to have Faye confront the opportunity Sven offers her - a consequence-free all-physical affair with him to soothe her loneliness. This would be a good way to illustrate the strength of Faye's commitment to Angus, even in these less-than-ideal circumstances.

I do not find it inconceivable that Faye could end up being put on the bus by moving to New York to live with Angus. Something similar has happened already with Hannelore, who has arguably retreated to being a secondary character whom you only usually see behind the counter at Coffee of Doom. The key to make that a satisfying end to her story would be to write her realistically responding to the effective wrap-up of her life in Northampton and the inevitable weakening of her ties to the people there.

Another unrelated thought: What has Claire & Marten been doing all day? Eating pancakes should have happened in the morning (or at least not much later than lunchtime). Faye was going to start work at 5pm but she may have decided to go early in order to gossip spread the news to Dora.

Or, Friday's strip was at 5pm; Marten and Claire have spent the day together off-screen doing stereotypical boyfriend/girlfriend things together (maybe someone like Cossette will remark later on that they were being, in their view, 'disgustingly affectionate in a public place'). This means that Faye has had to digest the generally-unsatisfactory conversation with Angus and factor that into her response when Marten and Claire come to CoD.

[Skewbrow]

It'd make more sense for Faye to have that epiphany and go to the city to be with Angus and pursue an art career, but I don't think Jeph will want to write Faye out of CoD.

Ain't that the unfortunate truth. Agree with those saying that this time Angus' timing for a joke was not optimal. Either Faye explodes


... or Angus pulls out a box with a ring from his pocket ...


... or both ...


... not necessarily in that order.

[Blackbird]

I've been thinking a bit more, and I don't see any male character moving in with Marigold except Dale.

This. 

In addition to hakko504's point about Marigold's increased socialization, it's not like Angus was just some dude off the street.  They went to college together and was probably, in Marigold's view at least, one of the few people who was nice to her back then.  Given Marigold's established fear of talking to boys, any male roommate would have to be somebody she knows and gets along with well enough.  In the extended main cast, that's pretty much Marten and Dale, and Marten isn't really an option.  People have brought up Clinton and Amir, but Marigold's only major interaction with Clinton involved him being creepy to the point that Momo had to shock him and I don't think she's even met Amir.  I don't see Marigold agreeing to live with either.   Unless it's a new character, it's either Dale or a female. 

That said, I'm sticking with Raven randomly reappearing again. I want to see those two interact. 

 

[Zebediah]

Marigold and Emily sharing an apartment, for maximum weirdness.

[digitarii]

For me, the Skull picture in the background of the current comic pretty much set the tone for the eventual outcome of their conversation.

[BenRG]

For me, the Skull picture in the background of the current comic pretty much set the tone for the eventual outcome of their conversation.

No, but I do think it is symbolic of Faye's mood. She's fearing the worst and acting appropriately. I don't think that Angus understands that; he's too happy to understand her fears and, frankly, I don't think he's ever entirely understood or appreciated how she feels about this matter.

[valkygrrl]

Well if we're going to go with all the possibilities for Marigold's new roommate there's still Tortua, Pizza Girl, Faye's sister, and the Vespa Avenger to consider.

[kerky]

Suddenly, I have a mental image of Marigold, Momo and Angus as an interview panel, vetting each applicant as if they had applied for a job with a blue chip finance house.

Is there a reason this is written in Iambic Pentameter?

[eschaton]

Amir's been staying in the practice space. If he lived with Marigold then Hanners and martin might spend more time thinking about band practice.

Amir dated Natasha way back when, who had even worse hygiene than Marigold, so he wouldn't give a shit about messiness.

That said, he's easily the oldest non-parental character in the story.  Around 35, IIRC.  Would he want to live with someone he wasn't dating at that point in his life? 

Natasha coming back might be a good idea honestly. 

Also: c'mon, Angus. Suggesting that you will spoon on your friend's couch as your answer to "what about me?" Setting aside the fact that you should try to show sympathy towards your girlfriend with abandonment issues, and reassure her that you two will be ok, you should at least say that you'll be snuggling in the bed at your new apartment! It does not take THAT long to find a place in NYC if you're motivated to find something.

NYC is the only city I know of where grown adults (sometimes in their 40s!) who aren't dating share bedrooms.  Finding totally private space can be quite difficult. 

Unless Faye and Angus were to marry and have children, all interesting aspects of this relationship have been dealt with. Time to move on.

With the pacing of QC, it will be another ten (RL) years before anyone gets married, and ten after that before they have kids.  I don't see Jeph continuing the comic that indefinitely.  Hell, if  he keeps it up that long I'd much prefer if he just skips the series ahead like 5-10 years.  Although by then the "gang" will probably be attenuated anyway. 

2. Clinton. He's a character we don't see much, and with the SS Clairten setting sail, his traffic across our monitors is sure to increase, and this would be a nice setup for it. Additionally, he clearly has a job at the company that produces AnthroPCs, so his finances are steady. This could set up some return jealousy from Dale towards Marigold, allowing more drama and friction.

Clinton has a good-paying job?  I know it's been said in-comic he's only 21, so it would be shocking if he had a professional job lined up already - he's probably a student at UMass or Amherst College (Doesn't seem the Hampshire College type).  Hell, given he's younger than Claire, and their mom lives in town, it seems a given he lives at home as well. 

I do not find it inconceivable that Faye could end up being put on the bus by moving to New York to live with Angus. Something similar has happened already with Hannelore, who has arguably retreated to being a secondary character whom you only usually see behind the counter at Coffee of Doom. The key to make that a satisfying end to her story would be to write her realistically responding to the effective wrap-up of her life in Northampton and the inevitable weakening of her ties to the people there.

Hanners becoming more of a secondary character is totally different from writing Faye out of the strip.  Martin and Faye are the core of the comic - it won't be Questionable Content without all the plot lines weaving back to them eventually.  Without Faye, Jeph may as well call it quits on the comic and concentrate on the new one.

As for why Hanners isn't around like she used to be, there's a few reasons.  One is I think her character has been explored as much as she reasonably can be, but sort of stalled out.  For example, having her suddenly get over germ issues enough to date would totally break her character, but without getting over said issues she's missing out on a lot of character development/exposition that the rest of the cast has.  I also think Jeph dialed her back a bit because there were too many creepy obsessive fans of her back in the day, and it freaked him out.  Regardless, she's still here, she's just boring to use as anything other than joke strips at this point. 

[BenRG]

I do not find it inconceivable that Faye could end up being put on the bus by moving to New York to live with Angus. Something similar has happened already with Hannelore, who has arguably retreated to being a secondary character whom you only usually see behind the counter at Coffee of Doom. The key to make that a satisfying end to her story would be to write her realistically responding to the effective wrap-up of her life in Northampton and the inevitable weakening of her ties to the people there.

Hanners becoming more of a secondary character is totally different from writing Faye out of the strip.  Martin and Faye are the core of the comic - it won't be Questionable Content without all the plot lines weaving back to them eventually.  Without Faye, Jeph may as well call it quits on the comic and concentrate on the new one.

As for why Hanners isn't around like she used to be, there's a few reasons.  One is I think her character has been explored as much as she reasonably can be, but sort of stalled out.  For example, having her suddenly get over germ issues enough to date would totally break her character, but without getting over said issues she's missing out on a lot of character development/exposition that the rest of the cast has.  I also think Jeph dialed her back a bit because there were too many creepy obsessive fans of her back in the day, and it freaked him out.  Regardless, she's still here, she's just boring to use as anything other than joke strips at this point.

The point is that Hanners story had really reached an effective conclusion when she hugged her father, proving that she was slowly on the mend. It could be argued that Faye's story of healing has become intrinsically linked with her relationship with Angus. If the relationship endures and ultimately thrives (and it will take a while to determine that, IMHO, months in-universe) then she too may fade, only appearing for the occasional weekend visit or being the contact/anchor character for any future New York-based arcs. The role of 'Marten's snarky room-mate' can be filled by anyone, given the general attitude of most characters in the strip; indeed, it has been a role of declining importance for some time with Tai at the Library and the ladies of CoD being more key as foils and sounding boards for Marten.

I'm not saying "will happen", I'm saying "plausible".

[Fig]

Faye was just recently made assistant manager of CoD (can't find the exact comic at the moment) and I'm not sure she'd be comfortable with just giving that up on a whim. 

[TheCallMeFez]

Yo guys, why not Hannelore as Marigold's new roommate? I feel it would be a positive step for both of them. I certainly feel this is more likely than Amir or Padma.

Also, as much as it would suck, I think it would be interesting to see how current Faye would deal with a break up over not shitty reasons. The only time we've seen her deal with something like that was with Sven, and she had a perfectly justifiable reason for rage. This would be much less so.

[pwhodges]

I see a real possibility of Faye moving with Angus (after sufficient relationship and CoD drama).  Another possibility is that she takes over Angus's room in the house with Marigold, which gives him a familiar base for visiting and could help facilitate the LDR.

Either of these would leave the obvious possibility of Claire making the move out from home to the safest possible first house share - one that, given the example of Faye's history there, could even continue to be viable if Claire and Marten decide not to develop their relationship at some point in the future.

[jwhouk]

Hannelore and Marigold as roommates... That's been done before, hasn't it?

[Aziraphale]

It'd make more sense for Faye to have that epiphany and go to the city to be with Angus and pursue an art career, but I don't think Jeph will want to write Faye out of CoD.

He wouldn't have to. Whether she visits him in NYC on weekends or lives with him and visits Northampton periodically, it's not as though she doesn't already spend lots of time off-screen to begin with.

As for Marigold's new room-mate, in descending order of likelihood (from my perspective, and without the idea of brand-new characters):
(snip)
2. Clinton. He's a character we don't see much, and with the SS Clairten setting sail, his traffic across our monitors is sure to increase, and this would be a nice setup for it. Additionally, he clearly has a job at the company that produces AnthroPCs, so his finances are steady. This could set up some return jealousy from Dale towards Marigold, allowing more drama and friction.
3. Claire. Assuming she DOES make money at the library, and that the Angus/Marigold residence is clearly not too far a jaunt from CoD or the Marten/Faye apartment, so it would allow for faster commutes to see Marten.

(snip)

5. Padma. Again, stretching, REAL far this time. Padma left at almost exactly strip 2100. And while some people say she's been gone about 6 months, people ALSO say that's how long Faye and Angus have been together, so it could be longer. The time between her leaving and Marten hooking up with Delilah was about 525 strips, and Marten seemed to be going through serious intimacy withdrawal, so it had probably been around six months by THEN. If we extrapolate that it's around late August right now in QC, then her grandma may have passed away 2-3 months ago and she decided to return to Northampton, because she liked her life there. Also, that would set up HUGE drama for the SS Clairten. Could you imagine Claire's insecurities if a previous lover of Marten's rolls back into town and starts hanging around him? Also, if she gets her job back, then Marten would hear about it through Jim, seeing as Jim is now dating Marten's mom, and probably knows that Marten was close with Padma before she left.

Personally, I'm hoping for 2 or 4, just to give them more "screen"-time, but yeah. I think 5 would have the biggest "splash", but is the least likely.

Comic-wise, Padma's served her purpose. It's clear that Marten doesn't see her as "the one who got away" any more than he'd see, say, Delilah in that light. And Claire has plenty of other stimuli for her insecurities without Padma in the picture. Claire and Clinton are both "possible" roommates in the broadest possible sense, but neither one is likely. We'll see more Clinton because we're going to be seeing more Claire.

Maybe Dale will move in with Marigold.

How many relationships do you want to see implode over the next few weeks?

I know you're asking rhetorically, but I'm really ready for the all-consuming Dora/Tai NRE to wear off. They've both got some corners and hard edges that I would enjoy seeing bounce off each other.

Momo might be making enough at the library that she can be the other roommate for Marigold. She has said that she would like more space.

I don't think Momo has that kind of cash flow, since she's still paying off the debt Marigold took on for her new Chassis.

RE: Tai/Dora: Agreed. I don't begrudge anybody a happy relationship, but this is QC... nobody has relationships that run smoothly, especially over the long term. I also find it odd that Dora's talked to Marten about this, but we haven't seen a substantial conversation between her and the one person you'd think she'd talk to about it (Tai).

RE: Momo: It's not as though they couldn't renegotiate. Besides, Momo is the most logical (or at least, the least contrived) roommate for Marigold, barring the introduction of a minimum of three new characters (the new roommate, new roommate's love interest, and an itinerant bisexual hipster pottery instructor named Rodolfo, just on general principle).

As for why Hanners isn't around like she used to be, there's a few reasons.  One is I think her character has been explored as much as she reasonably can be, but sort of stalled out.  For example, having her suddenly get over germ issues enough to date would totally break her character, but without getting over said issues she's missing out on a lot of character development/exposition that the rest of the cast has.  I also think Jeph dialed her back a bit because there were too many creepy obsessive fans of her back in the day, and it freaked him out.  Regardless, she's still here, she's just boring to use as anything other than joke strips at this point.

I agree that Jeph's kinda written himself into a corner with Hanners. Thing is, though, if he were willing to/could be bothered, it's not like it'd be that difficult for him to write her back into a main story line. I think he's just lost interest in her as a character, as he did with Sarah, Gabby, Wil, Penelope, Raven, Cosette, Steve, Veronica, the entire crew at the Secret Bakery, et cetera. My money's on another character being introduced before/instead of Hannelore's story having any more effort put into it.

Yo guys, why not Hannelore as Marigold's new roommate? I feel it would be a positive step for both of them. I certainly feel this is more likely than Amir or Padma.

Also, as much as it would suck, I think it would be interesting to see how current Faye would deal with a break up over not shitty reasons. The only time we've seen her deal with something like that was with Sven, and she had a perfectly justifiable reason for rage. This would be much less so.

Agree with your latter point. The former, not so much. For Hannelore, becoming Marigold's roommate is a step down/backwards. Right now, Hanners is independent, both financially and in terms of her living arrangement. Barring a drastic -- and contrived -- plot development, that's not likely. Besides which, as I mentioned above, that'd mean Jeph having to write more for a character that he's all but written off/lost interest in.

Warning -- While You Were Trying to Keep the Formatting Straight With Quotes From, What, Like Seven or Eight Posts, Even More Posts Were Posted For Your Delectation and Rumination.

Listen, Mr. Disembodied Red-Letter Voice, I've had enough of your crap. Next time, I'll just type a bunch of individual replies.

On a side note, I love how people who just last week were saying that the Marten/Claire relationship came from out of nowhere are coming up with frankly ludicrous roommate pairings just for teh dramaz.

[BenRG]

Either of these would leave the obvious possibility of Claire making the move out from home to the safest possible first house share - one that, given the example of Faye's history there, could even continue to be viable if Claire and Marten decide not to develop their relationship at some point in the future.

I suspect that Claire moving out (and possibly into Marten's apartment) will likely not happen for a long while. I suspect that she'll want to focus on her studies at least for a while (remember, this is a life-long dream we're talking about here). However, I think that, after a while (maybe a semester or so) she'll feel safe enough to do it. Naturally, there will be lots of drama with Clinton and Mrs A.

I'm sort of looking forward to the first time Claire duct-tapes Pintsize upside-down to the wall for giving loads of obscene or pornographic auto-corrects the first time she uses him to type up her course-work. Naturally, no-one will be even slightly sympathetic to his plight.

PINTSIZE: "I was wrong! You're as bad as the other one!!!"

[Comic Strip Critic]

Faye and Angus are boring now.  Let's sensationalize the race to be Marigold's new roomate!

Will it be May?  Steve?  Jimbo?  Claire?  Clinton?  Hanners?  Lydia?  Maridad?  Amanda?  Spaceship?  Dave?  That former boss of Marten's whose name I cannot remember right now?  Wil?

Smart money is probably on Clinton.  They can talk nerd to each other.

JIMBO. Even if it's only for a short while, any Marigold/Jimbo interactions could be comedy GOLD.

[bhtooefr]

I'm sort of looking forward to the first time Claire duct-tapes Pintsize upside-down to the wall for giving loads of obscene or pornographic auto-corrects the first time she uses him to type up her course-work. Naturally, no-one will be even slightly sympathetic to his plight.

PINTSIZE: "I was wrong! You're as bad as the other one!!!"

You're assuming that Claire wouldn't know better than to try to get real work done using Pintsize. Most likely, she was already at Smif by 303, where there were AnthroPCs in the library (presumably as a pilot program)? Actually, given that bad experience, it's surprising that they hired Momo...

[SteveCostello]

I'm beginning to wonder if Jeph is starting to wrap this comic up. After reading through the posts in this thread, I could certainly see that as being very possible. The primary and most secondary characters are shipped. Yeah, there are a few issues (LDR for Fayngus, the trans situation for MartenClaire) that could be explored, but those could honestly be wrapped up pretty tidily and then we'd be left to imagine our own ultimate endings without feeling hung out to dry. Hanners (who I definitely miss seeing) has, as has been mentioned, made terrific progress with her issues, and there's no reason to indicate she'd continue. Dora and Tai seem pretty happy, so outside of introducing a new twist for them, they could be left alone.

Jeph's been drawing QC for how long? I'm a relative late-comer, having been introduced to the comic with "Get Out of My Shop." (I really wish the date was on these comics...) With the introduction of the new comic, and since QC has been drawn for so long, I might be able to see how Jeph might start to wrap QC up to dedicate more time to AG or explore other projects. Just like any of the rest of us that work on something *forever*, every once in a while you feel the need for a change of scenery.

Just postulation. I certainly hope this is not the case, as I'd love to see QC keep going. Just pointing out the possibility that we're actually reaching a point where the comic could potentially be resolved, or at the very least, left in a good place. Maybe even around comic #3000... which will probably be just a gigantic, zoomed in image of a certain cloaca.

[Aziraphale]

I'm beginning to wonder if Jeph is starting to wrap this comic up. After reading through the posts in this thread, I could certainly see that as being very possible. The primary and most secondary characters are shipped. Yeah, there are a few issues (LDR for Fayngus, the trans situation for MartenClaire) that could be explored, but those could honestly be wrapped up pretty tidily and then we'd be left to imagine our own ultimate endings without feeling hung out to dry. Hanners (who I definitely miss seeing) has, as has been mentioned, made terrific progress with her issues, and there's no reason to indicate she'd continue. Dora and Tai seem pretty happy, so outside of introducing a new twist for them, they could be left alone.

Jeph's been drawing QC for how long? I'm a relative late-comer, having been introduced to the comic with "Get Out of My Shop." (I really wish the date was on these comics...) With the introduction of the new comic, and since QC has been drawn for so long, I might be able to see how Jeph might start to wrap QC up to dedicate more time to AG or explore other projects. Just like any of the rest of us that work on something *forever*, every once in a while you feel the need for a change of scenery.

Just postulation. I certainly hope this is not the case, as I'd love to see QC keep going. Just pointing out the possibility that we're actually reaching a point where the comic could potentially be resolved, or at the very least, left in a good place. Maybe even around comic #3000... which will probably be just a gigantic, zoomed in image of a certain cloaca.

I've been wondering the same thing, for some of the same reasons. That'd be a bit of a slap in the face to the people who ponied up for his Patreon campaign though, wouldn't it?

[Mafarfloune]

Considering the whole pateron campaign was directed at QC readers so that he could start new projects and keep working on QC, that'd be a kinda shitty thing to do.

[Thrillho]

Not necessarily. How long does he have to keep working on QC for it to be considered long enough to count as continuing to work on it? Is the artist's view on when something should end not more important than the outside observer's? The second you start catering to your audience rather than being true to your art, you become a brand, not an artist. It's what killed Heroes, for one.

[BenRG]

Depending on whether Jeph has the ideas for new story arcs, QC could easily go on for years. Even if he's on the home stretch now, I could easily see it lasting another 500 strips at least.

[AprilArcus]

You're assuming that Claire wouldn't know better than to try to get real work done using Pintsize. Most likely, she was already at Smif by 303, where there were AnthroPCs in the library (presumably as a pilot program)? Actually, given that bad experience, it's surprising that they hired Momo...

If Smif is a thinly veiled version of Smith, it would be beyond credibility for Claire to have been an undergraduate there. Although Smith doesn't explicitly forbid trans women from applying, it does require that they have female gender markers on all paperwork (driver's license, social security card, passport), and Massachusetts requires SRS to issue a corrected birth certificate.

Claire started HRT at around 18, too late to have jumped through all the hoops by college admissions time. If she had applied as an undergraduate, she would have encountered all the same roadblocks that prevented Calliope Wong from attending Smith.

Even if she had been admitted successfully, she'd have been among Smif's first (if not their very first) trans woman undergrad, which would make her effectively a celebrity, and exclude any possibility of the relative anonymity she enjoys. People like Tai and Emily would recognize her name on sight.

I'm beginning to wonder if Jeph is starting to wrap this comic up. After reading through the posts in this thread, I could certainly see that as being very possible. The primary and most secondary characters are shipped. Yeah, there are a few issues (LDR for Fayngus, the trans situation for MartenClaire) that could be explored, but those could honestly be wrapped up pretty tidily and then we'd be left to imagine our own ultimate endings without feeling hung out to dry.

I don't think Jeph could end QC on a satisfying note without putting some serious effort into addressing Marten's career situation and musical aspirations.

[bhtooefr]

However, if she's 24... wouldn't that mean she's about to go into her third year of post-grad studies?

[Mafarfloune]

Not necessarily. How long does he have to keep working on QC for it to be considered long enough to count as continuing to work on it? Is the artist's view on when something should end not more important than the outside observer's? The second you start catering to your audience rather than being true to your art, you become a brand, not an artist. It's what killed Heroes, for one.

I agree with that. But my point is : if he'd been planning to end QC, appealing to the fans of the strip for monthly financing, while specifying that said financing is so that he can keep writing QC while doing other projects, would be quite shitty.

[BenRG]

However, if she's 24... wouldn't that mean she's about to go into her third year of post-grad studies?

The internship is actually part of the MLS course, from the brief Wikipedia entry that I've seen. I'm not sure at what point in the course it is required but it could indicate Claire is a very senior student.

As I understand American higher education, you start in college when you're 18 or 19, so Claire would have got her BLS when she was about 22. That makes her second or third year in this Masters' course.

[SteveCostello]

Considering the whole pateron campaign was directed at QC readers so that he could start new projects and keep working on QC, that'd be a kinda shitty thing to do.

I wasn't really clued into the whole Patreon thing, so I don't know what the parameters of that campaign were. I thought it was explicitly to start up AG, but if it was stated for the purpose of starting AG *and* continuing QC, then yeah, I agree. Again, though, as Gareth asks, for how long? Comic #3000 is exactly eight months away from today based on the prevailing release schedule, if the comic continues to be published on weekdays excluding holidays. It doesn't seem too far-fetched to wrap this up in a real-life year.

Which, at the pace this comic moves, is actually only next week...

[Thrillho]

Besides, killing QC at what seems to be an all-time high for popularity and quality is a better way to go out than when it's tailing off in interest from both fan and author. Also it might mean Alice Grove moves to a daily rather than twice weekly.

[MooskiNet]

It's just me, but don't like concluding this or that speculated course of action by Jeph would be 'shitty.'  I do the Patreon thing 'cause I've clicked on a link marked QC every weekday morning for years now, and it's a great way to pay him back for all that entertainment.  That said, I'm really, REALLY not comfortable with anything that even indirectly ties that support with a particular course of action, whether that be doing a story line a particular way, or wrapping it up entirely.

[AprilArcus]

However, if she's 24... wouldn't that mean she's about to go into her third year of post-grad studies?

The internship is actually part of the MLS course, from the brief Wikipedia entry that I've seen. I'm not sure at what point in the course it is required but it could indicate Claire is a very senior student.

As I understand American higher education, you start in college when you're 18 or 19, so Claire would have got her BLS when she was about 22. That makes her second or third year in this Masters' course.

Good points. And we know that Gabby was TAing students during the just-ended spring semester, so can't be in her first year as a grad student.

[eschaton]

I'm not saying "will happen", I'm saying "plausible".

If Faye is written out of the strip through a move to NYC, then Jeph is clearly wrapping the comic up.  This might be a slice-of-life comic, but writing out one of the main characters is a jump the shark moment you often see in a flailing final season of a TV show.  No thank you. 

I see a real possibility of Faye moving with Angus (after sufficient relationship and CoD drama).  Another possibility is that she takes over Angus's room in the house with Marigold, which gives him a familiar base for visiting and could help facilitate the LDR.

Either of these would leave the obvious possibility of Claire making the move out from home to the safest possible first house share - one that, given the example of Faye's history there, could even continue to be viable if Claire and Marten decide not to develop their relationship at some point in the future.

Why would Faye move out of living with Marten and stay in Northampton?  I mean, Marten is going to be a bit busy with Claire, but Faye is really going to need Marten's help in the short term dealing with the Angus situation, whether she tries a LDR or breaks up with him. 

Claire and Marten moving in together is 100% certifiably nuts, even if it takes a few months comic time to happen.  Nuttier than even Marigold and Dale moving in together, given at least have a few months of experience in a relationship, and don't have anything resembling good sense. 

I'm beginning to wonder if Jeph is starting to wrap this comic up. After reading through the posts in this thread, I could certainly see that as being very possible. The primary and most secondary characters are shipped. Yeah, there are a few issues (LDR for Fayngus, the trans situation for MartenClaire) that could be explored, but those could honestly be wrapped up pretty tidily and then we'd be left to imagine our own ultimate endings without feeling hung out to dry. Hanners (who I definitely miss seeing) has, as has been mentioned, made terrific progress with her issues, and there's no reason to indicate she'd continue. Dora and Tai seem pretty happy, so outside of introducing a new twist for them, they could be left alone.

Jeph's been drawing QC for how long? I'm a relative late-comer, having been introduced to the comic with "Get Out of My Shop." (I really wish the date was on these comics...) With the introduction of the new comic, and since QC has been drawn for so long, I might be able to see how Jeph might start to wrap QC up to dedicate more time to AG or explore other projects. Just like any of the rest of us that work on something *forever*, every once in a while you feel the need for a change of scenery.

Just postulation. I certainly hope this is not the case, as I'd love to see QC keep going. Just pointing out the possibility that we're actually reaching a point where the comic could potentially be resolved, or at the very least, left in a good place. Maybe even around comic #3000... which will probably be just a gigantic, zoomed in image of a certain cloaca.

I think Jeph may have finished the comic years ago and moved onto another project, except it's become his main source of income.  So while a good story would be working towards some sense of climax, or at least closure, he needs to be mindful of his audience's desire for continued developments with established characters.  It's the same conundrum that great TV series eventually reach - sooner or later the well runs dry for character development, and if there isn't a planned arc of closure, the last season or two kinda peter out. 

As I said, I would prefer at this point if he pushed QC up another 5-10 years to allow for some big changes to happen in the lives of everyone.  Realistically, this would mean half the characters would be gone, but it would give him a chance to introduce some new ones, and to show us the remaining cast in a more mature light.  Either that or do a total reboot - start from the beginning with the same characters, but have the interactions turn out differently this time. 

[bhtooefr]

So, in the US, the educational progression is typically:

Age 5 (in August): Enter kindergarten (start of elementary school)
Age 10-11: Graduate 5th grade and elementary school in June, start 6th grade (start of middle school) in August
Age 13-14: Graduate 8th grade and middle school in June, start 9th grade (start of high school) in August
Age 17-18: Graduate 12th grade and high school in June, start university in September
Age 21-22: Graduate with a Bachelor's degree in June, and start post-grad studies in September

There are ways to accelerate or slow down that cycle (generally by whole years, although some of the programs to accelerate it while in high school can really make it strange - I started courses towards an Associate's (2 year) degree when I was 14, and finished them a year after graduating high school (so when I was 19), thanks to scheduling conflicts) if someone's ahead or behind.

Basically, by 303, Claire should've already been in her post-grad studies (for her Master's degree in library science), if timelines of how long QC has been running are accurate.

[eschaton]

As I understand American higher education, you start in college when you're 18 or 19, so Claire would have got her BLS when she was about 22. That makes her second or third year in this Masters' course.

Unless you stayed back a year when in school, you're going to be 18 when you start college, and 22 (barring a summer birthday) when you graduate.  And most masters degrees are typically two years long - basically universally for MLS programs.  You could easily graduate at 24 if you have no time off.  That Claire is 24 and is (presumably) only finishing up her first year means she either stayed back a year at some point in school, took longer to finish undergraduate (perhaps due to changing majors) or took off a year between college and graduate school. 

[BenRG]

As I understand American higher education, you start in college when you're 18 or 19, so Claire would have got her BLS when she was about 22. That makes her second or third year in this Masters' course.

Unless you stayed back a year when in school, you're going to be 18 when you start college, and 22 (barring a summer birthday) when you graduate.  And most masters degrees are typically two years long - basically universally for MLS programs.  You could easily graduate at 24 if you have no time off.  That Claire is 24 and is (presumably) only finishing up her first year means she either stayed back a year at some point in school, took longer to finish undergraduate (perhaps due to changing majors) or took off a year between college and graduate school.

Interesting; I was wondering how long the Masters' courses were but there weren't any easy-to-find references.

It is worth noting that Claire told Marten that she started hormone treatments when she was 21. It's possible that she took a year or two's break in between her bachelor and master studies due to that or because she had reconstructive surgery of some sort from which she wanted a low-stress time in order to recover.

[eschaton]

It is worth noting that Claire told Marten that she started hormone treatments when she was 21. It's possible that she took a year or two's break in between her bachelor and master studies due to that or because she had reconstructive surgery of some sort from which she wanted a low-stress time in order to recover.

Claire said started transitioning her first year in college, and has been on HRT since then.  Her first year would have meant 18-19. 

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2324

[AprilArcus]

I think Jeph may have finished the comic years ago and moved onto another project, except it's become his main source of income.  So while a good story would be working towards some sense of climax, or at least closure, he needs to be mindful of his audience's desire for continued developments with established characters.  It's the same conundrum that great TV series eventually reach - sooner or later the well runs dry for character development, and if there isn't a planned arc of closure, the last season or two kinda peter out. 

As I said, I would prefer at this point if he pushed QC up another 5-10 years to allow for some big changes to happen in the lives of everyone.  Realistically, this would mean half the characters would be gone, but it would give him a chance to introduce some new ones, and to show us the remaining cast in a more mature light.

Yeah, it seems very plausible that we are building toward a time skip, and in fact, Jeph has already done that kind of playing with the timeline - 1–1300 seem to be set in September/October of the previous semester, followed by a looong time skip between 1302 (where Dora decides to grow out her hair) and 1311 (where she has roots down to her eyes), cutting out the entire middle third of Marten and Dora's relationship.

I think jumping forward a year or two would be more likely, though.

[bhtooefr]

Wait, where was it said that she started HRT when she was 21? 2324 says it was during her first year of college, so when she was 18 (or possibly 19) assuming she wasn't on an accelerated educational cycle...

It's also worth noting that a Master's program isn't necessarily 2 years...

[BenRG]

It is worth noting that Claire told Marten that she started hormone treatments when she was 21. It's possible that she took a year or two's break in between her bachelor and master studies due to that or because she had reconstructive surgery of some sort from which she wanted a low-stress time in order to recover.

Claire said started transitioning her first year in college, and has been on HRT since then.  Her first year would have meant 18-19. 

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2324

The point is that it is possible that she had what we Brits call a 'gap year' for medical reasons. It is one possible explanation for any schedule anomalies. Another obvious one is that she could have felt burnt out after her bacherlors' degree studies and wanted some time to get herself ready to start again.

[edit]
Oddly enough, taking a year off just feels out of character for Claire. She comes across as a bit workaholic sometimes. However, it may not have been entirely her choice.

Apropros of nothing, I noticed that some colleges MLS course includes something called 'Pegagogy', the science and art of education. I recall that, when she was talking about the reason why she wanted to work at the library, Claire said that she wanted to pass on knowledge to the next generation. It might be interesting, as Jeph expands the character, to see how she interacts with Sam and other characters with child-like personalities.

[Aziraphale]

Wait, where was it said that she started HRT when she was 21? 2324 says it was during her first year of college, so when she was 18 (or possibly 19) assuming she wasn't on an accelerated educational cycle...

It's also worth noting that a Master's program isn't necessarily 2 years...

Depends on how you're doing it. For someone who's working full-time and doing a Master's (as is often the case -- especially when you take a few years between your undergrad and grad work), it typically takes a bit longer, but for someone in Claire's situation (living at home, and presumably capable of devoting herself full-time to her studies), two years isn't unreasonable (nor is it unreasonable to take a breather between one degree and the next, even if it's only to start in the spring semester instead of the autumn). Of course, even in Claire's case, it's possible that things could go a bit longer than anticipated, depending on things like course availability, practicums, etc.

[kerky]

Considering the whole pateron campaign was directed at QC readers so that he could start new projects and keep working on QC, that'd be a kinda shitty thing to do.

Well, fellow patrons who do so just because of QC could just opt-out, or just like Jeph's new comic just as much. and carry on supporting him. When and if to end QC is solely his decision, though I hope this will not happen anytime soon.

I can also not see it coming to a dead end. Martenclaire may last, or not, but without venturing into speculation of what may or may not happen, and since Jeph has put so much effort into her character, I think he has plenty of ideas ready and still has a lot to tell us about her (and the rest of the QC cast).

[kerky]

As I said, I would prefer at this point if he pushed QC up another 5-10 years to allow for some big changes to happen in the lives of everyone.  Realistically, this would mean half the characters would be gone, but it would give him a chance to introduce some new ones, and to show us the remaining cast in a more mature light.  Either that or do a total reboot - start from the beginning with the same characters, but have the interactions turn out differently this time.

QC- The Next Generation? 

[Rghfrgl]

It is worth noting that Claire told Marten that she started hormone treatments when she was 21. It's possible that she took a year or two's break in between her bachelor and master studies due to that or because she had reconstructive surgery of some sort from which she wanted a low-stress time in order to recover.

Claire said started transitioning her first year in college, and has been on HRT since then.  Her first year would have meant 18-19. 

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2324

I think she started when she was 20, based on http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2361

[Aziraphale]

As I said, I would prefer at this point if he pushed QC up another 5-10 years to allow for some big changes to happen in the lives of everyone.  Realistically, this would mean half the characters would be gone, but it would give him a chance to introduce some new ones, and to show us the remaining cast in a more mature light.  Either that or do a total reboot - start from the beginning with the same characters, but have the interactions turn out differently this time.

QC- The Next Generation? 

Which brings up another possibility. A daily strip (or even the usual webcomic thing) isn't the only way this could play out. Similar to Trek, I think it'd be possible to wrap up QC (though hopefully not in the near future) and then do longer (say, comic book/graphic novel) projects using the QC cast and canon, launched via Kickstarter. 

It's also possible that Jeph could bring someone in as a collaborator on the writing side of things. Granted, whether he'd want to do that is a whole 'nother story, but it could reinvigorate QC while also giving Jeph more time to develop AG.