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"Jimbo!" "Dad!" "CLAIRE?" "...Jimbo?"

28 (35.4%)

Steve (Commence arms race!)

8 (10.1%)

Pintsize & Winslow ("It's been militarized!  RUN!")

20 (25.3%)

"...Tai?  Are you FOLLOWING us?" "Just wanted to see which slashfic played out!"

23 (29.1%)

Total Members Voted: 73

[bhtooefr]

The cars of Questionable Content:

Amanda's rental car: Probably a 2000-2005 Ford Taurus (well, 2000-2007, but the comic was from 2004), shown in 175
Amanda: 1999.5-2005.0 Volkswagen Jetta (VW used to be bad about introducing a new model while the old one was still in production and part-way through a model year, and that's how the enthusiast community deals with it, half model years), shown and stated to be a Jetta in 609
Angus: 2011-2013 Ford Fiesta hatch, shown in 2292
Claire: 2011-2014 Mazda2, shown in 2378
Dale: Another Ford Fiesta hatch, we don't see enough details to tell whether it's a 2011-2013 or 2014-2015, shown in 2496
Raven: 1998-2005 Volkswagen New Beetle TDI, shown in 423, stated as a Bug (not that it was necessary) in 451, implied to be a TDI in 621
Tai: 2003-2005 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon (and an interior shot, and the sunglass holder that gives it away as at least a 2003), shown in 1916

Hopefully Jeph's OK!

[ReindeerFlotilla]

The Forenza has the same internal configuration. The kicker would be a shot of the full dash, or a clear shot of the center console. That said, it's probably a Jetta. Good spot on the Mazda 2. If the 14-15 Fiesta is a model year, and thus rolled out in late 2013, then Dale's might be one. 2496 is over 300 strips ago, so it was the middle of 2013, or before, when it was drawn. (if it rolled out in 2014, then Dale's probably isn't one)

[BenRG]

Hands up who wants to see Claire teaching Marten to drive and proving that she has a little Dom in her when it comes to being a teacher?

[bhtooefr]

Airbag cutline and door handles don't match on the Forenza: http://www.gminsidenews.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10067/car%20056.jpg Compare to the Jetta interior image I posted.

Everything I've posted is a model year (and using US-market generations), although the 99.5-05.0 Jetta is an enthusiast designation, not an official one. (The official one is 1999 New Jetta, 2000-2005 Jetta (the 2005.5 being the New Jetta again).)

[MrNumbers]

Hands up who wants to see Claire teaching Marten to drive and proving that she has a little Dom in her when it comes to being a teacher?

Argh.

My arm shot up so fast I think I pulled a muscle...

... and punched my ceiling fan.

[Lubricus]

Was your hand chopped off? You could get a Clintonesque robot hand!

[hakko504]

The cars of Questionable Content:

Amanda's rental car: Probably a 2000-2005 Ford Taurus (well, 2000-2007, but the comic was from 2004), shown in 175
Amanda: 1999.5-2005.0 Volkswagen Jetta (VW used to be bad about introducing a new model while the old one was still in production and part-way through a model year, and that's how the enthusiast community deals with it, half model years), shown and stated to be a Jetta in 609
Angus: 2011-2013 Ford Fiesta hatch, shown in 2292
Claire: 2011-2014 Mazda2, shown in 2378
Dale: Another Ford Fiesta hatch, we don't see enough details to tell whether it's a 2011-2013 or 2014-2015, shown in 2496
Raven: 1998-2005 Volkswagen New Beetle TDI, shown in 423, stated as a Bug (not that it was necessary) in 451, implied to be a TDI in 621
Tai: 2003-2005 Volkswagen Jetta Wagon (and an interior shot, and the sunglass holder that gives it away as at least a 2003), shown in 1916

Impressive. Nice detective work there.

[MrNumbers]

Was your hand chopped off? You could get a Clintonesque robot hand!

Unfortunately, I'm Australian, so my fan was on the maximum setting to deal with our crippling summer heat.

Fortunately, I'm Australian, so I have punched things much more likely to take my hand off and come out of it unharmed -- rather than unarmed.



In all due seriousness, though, AliceGrove hasn't updated either, and Our Jeph and Saviour mentioned with the last update that he'd written Friday's update back then...

But if it's because he's had a bad hit with readjusting to Lexapro, it might just be a case of the braincooties acting up, so fingers crossed he comes out of this feeling human and healthy.

EDIT: It updated! It updated! Ye gods it updated!

He just fell asleep! False alarm!

[Taigan]

Pre-thanksgiving drama bomb coming soon. My guess: they're at Coffee of Doom when Clinton finds out about Marten and Claire, then he says something that outs her in front of everyone.

[MooskiNet]

The impish side of Claire is something I've been waiting to see again.  Sweet.

Pre-thanksgiving drama bomb coming soon. My guess: they're at Coffee of Doom when Clinton finds out about Marten and Claire, then he says something that outs her in front of everyone.

I don't think the fact that Claire is a trans woman will be part of any drama we have - Jeph has made it pretty clear he's going to steer clear of that.  We already have two drama bombs ticking; either would work for Turkey time.

[BenRG]

I think that Marten and Claire are slowly putting together the pieces. There really does seem to be a parental conspiracy of some sort going on here, doesn't there? 

The last panel is no great surprise. We know that Claire loves teasing and insulting her little brother (like most older siblings on Earth). So, seeing if she can make his temple veins pop out by introducing her boyfriend (and implying activities that haven't occurred yet) will probably be a diabolical entertainment for her.

So... Archive addicts! Have we seen this diner/restaurant before? My hazy memory suggests that it isn't The Hidden Bakery, which has ochre walls, IIRC.

EDIT: It updated! It updated! Ye gods it updated!

He just fell asleep! False alarm!

Yeah, I did wonder. He's had a bad time and sometimes you just can't keep your eyes open.

No worries, Jeph. Thanks for doing it anyway! 

Pre-thanksgiving drama bomb coming soon. My guess: they're at Coffee of Doom when Clinton finds out about Marten and Claire, then he says something that outs her in front of everyone.

I don't think the fact that Claire is a trans woman will be part of any drama we have - Jeph has made it pretty clear he's going to steer clear of that.  We already have two drama bombs ticking; either would work for Turkey time.

If there is a confrontation with Clinton in CoD, my feeling is that he will end up humiliating himself in front of the girls (especially Hannelore). I can see him trying to tap-dance around Claire's secret but ends up saying nothing particularly revealing (and that just makes him lose even more credibility). Clinton will end up throwing lots of wild accusations at Marten, Dora barring him from her shop and him storming out like a child half his age denied a treat.

I wonder if, is there is a 'bomb', it will have something to do with Claire's father and his mistress. That's just a guess though.

[Lubricus]

It pleases me that Clinton doesn't know yet - it's s a great opportunity for both drama and humour. I just hope Marten can survive the robot hand's murder mode...

[anahata]

he will end up humiliating himself

No change there, then.

In answer to Marten's "what about your brother?"...  we've already heard "Maybe you're not such a bad guy after all" from Clinton so though he may be shocked, he can't 100% disapprove. But he won't like the undermining of his self-appointed role as his sister's keeper.

And as others have said, lovely to see Claire in more confident "tease" mode and expecting to be on top of the situation for a change.

And to see Jeph back. Alice has been updated too, as I expect everybody's noticed by now.

[Neko_Ali]

I predict: Clinton will take the news straight faced and say something like 'Well, if it had to be someone, I guess you aren't the worst.' Then shake hands with Marten and try to get into one of those macho 'crush the other guy's grip' things. Unfortunately, it's his flesh hand, and he just winds up embarrassing both of them while Claire looks disgusted at him.

[osaka]

Or worse, he tries to do that with the robo hand and still gets pwnd.

[BenRG]

Or worse, he tries to do that with the robo hand and still gets pwnd.

I've long thought that his robo-hand has a squeeze force limiter to stop him from accidentally damaging anything (such as people). It ends up as a bonding moment with Marten, who agrees with Clinton that it sucks to have a robot hand and not be allowed to crush peoples' bones into powder.

[valkygrrl]

Prediction: Clinton becomes indignant. Asks Claire if Marten tried to do anything weird with her. Claire gets angry and says (per BenRG) there's nothing weird about anything she might choose to do with her boyfriend. That to suggest it would be werid is insulting, and whatever they do or don't do is none of Clinton's business. Followed by Clinton turning red and Marten reacting like Tai did when Dora called her 'my girlfriend.' And then maybe she touches Marten's butt because dammit there has not been enough butt humor lately.

[osaka]

Or worse, he tries to do that with the robo hand and still gets pwnd.

I've long thought that his robo-hand has a squeeze force limiter to stop him from accidentally damaging anything (such as people).

It has murder mode.

[BenRG]

Or worse, he tries to do that with the robo hand and still gets pwnd.

I've long thought that his robo-hand has a squeeze force limiter to stop him from accidentally damaging anything (such as people).

It has murder mode.

He says it has a murder mode but I'm wondering if that's a long-running in-joke between the Augustus siblings.

[AprilArcus]

The cars of Questionable Content

wow. nice work!

2834: This is a lot better! Really glad to see Claire back in character.

[SubaruStephen]

Raven: 1998-2005 Volkswagen New Beetle TDI, shown in 423, stated as a Bug (not that it was necessary) in 451, implied to be a TDI in 621

It's not a TDI, I have a 30 year old Mercedes that I used to run on B100 bio-diesel, and the type of remark she made always come from people with gasoline powered cars. (Because they don't know that making bio-diesel is a lot cooler than just having a unicorn fart into the car's fuel tank)

[MooskiNet]

...and can I just say I think it's frigging cool that Marten pulled out Claire's chair for her?

I see that so rarely anymore.

[BenRG]

...and can I just say I think it's frigging cool that Marten pulled out Claire's chair for her?

I see that so rarely anymore.

I think that Marten and Sven are sort of distorted reflections of each other. Sven has a lot of confidence and animal magnetism. This lets him pick up easily but he doesn't have the instincts to woo and keep a girl. Marten, on the other hand, is a nice guy, is immensely polite and has all the old-world courtly instincts. Whilst he isn't likely to have girls hanging off of him drooling with lust, he is excellent at being their friends and touching them on such a level that, if he wants to move on to a more intimate relationship, they jump at the chance to be with such a nice guy.

It was pretty clear with the tourniquet incident that he is physically attractive enough that even women in committed relationships would prefer him to walk around without a shirt on.

[AprilArcus]

...and can I just say I think it's frigging cool that Marten pulled out Claire's chair for her?

I see that so rarely anymore.

It's perceptive of him to realize that Claire would feel charmed by that kind of move, not patronized.

I think that Marten and Sven are sort of distorted reflections of each other. Sven has a lot of confidence and animal magnetism. This lets him pick up easily but he doesn't have the instincts to woo and keep a girl. Marten, on the other hand, is a nice guy, is immensely polite and has all the old-world courtly instincts. Whilst he isn't likely to have girls hanging off of him drooling with lust, he is excellent at being their friends and touching them on such a level that, if he wants to move on to a more intimate relationship, they jump at the chance to be with such a nice guy.

It was pretty clear with the tourniquet incident that he is physically attractive enough that even women in committed relationships would prefer him to walk around without a shirt on.

Marten is attractive and has no trouble commanding women's attention. He had a year-long relationship with Dora, caught Cosette's eye during it, was single for about a month before dating Padma, and single again for about two months before asking Claire out. Faye is the exception to the pattern, not the rule.

[MooskiNet]

Marten is attractive and has no trouble commanding women's attention.

Or men's.

It's perceptive of him to realize that Claire would feel charmed by that kind of move, not patronized.

Agreed. 

[bhtooefr]

It's not a TDI, I have a 30 year old Mercedes that I used to run on B100 bio-diesel, and the type of remark she made always come from people with gasoline powered cars. (Because they don't know that making bio-diesel is a lot cooler than just having a unicorn fart into the car's fuel tank)

Hrm.

Although, she brought up biodiesel out of the blue. It could be that she runs on petrodiesel but has thought of running B20 from a pump or something.

Then again, the newspost on that comic scares me, given how many TDIs have been ruined at the hands of Greasecar. And, WVO isn't biodiesel. It can be used to make biodiesel, but it isn't biodiesel. Annoyingly, even some people that actually use WVO in their engines don't understand that distinction...

(My car's a 99.5 Golf TDI, for what it's worth. And, I run on commercial B20, except for one trip a year where I pass a station that sells B99 for cheaper than petrodiesel, so I fill up there every time I pass it.)

Of course, my suspicion is that most New Beetle owners don't even know what "TDI" stands for, and bought a 2.0 or maybe 1.8T instead. And, this might be the TDIClubber mindset, but among all the TDI owners I know, if anyone says "buy a tank of gas", there's a chorus of "a tank of fuel!"

So, yeah, I'm not sure on the engine any more.

[FunkyTuba]

He had a year-long relationship with Dora, caught Cosette's eye during it, was single for about a month before dating Padma, and single again for about two months before asking Claire out. Faye is the exception to the pattern, not the rule.

Totally agree, April, and here's a general comment about perspective:

Anyone who is concerned or frustrated about the pacing of the comic, Please, go back and read the last 500 strips in one go. (or better, do the whole thing).

If this piques your interest about timeline and you want to get down and dirty, April's Passage Of Time thread is amazing and relevant.

But please don't slam Jeph for pacing without first checking out previous instances where he has microscoped a storyline (or even just a meal... jeez) to give us exposition.

I think you'll find that every time he's done it, we end up with needed pieces of content that weave back into the whole work.

[HeavyP]

I just want to say that Claire's expression in panel 2 just makes this comic (and really the last few weeks) for me.  That girl is HAPPY.

[Dalillama]

Or maybe he met someone sexy?  Think good thoughts, people, good thoughts.

I'm pretty sure Jeph is married and monogamous, so I'm thinking not.

[BenRG]

Or maybe he met someone sexy?  Think good thoughts, people, good thoughts.

I'm pretty sure Jeph is married and monogamous, so I'm thinking not.

Jeph and Cristi separated at the beginning of this year, according to Wikipedia. However, according to his happy Twitter posts, he's since met someone new.

[Kugai]

So long as Clinton doesn't set his hand on Marten, things should go well

If not, there's always a Sledge Hammer.

[bhtooefr]

So long as Clinton doesn't set his hand on Marten, things should go well

Actually, if it's set on indecisive mode, that may not be a bad thing.

[Dalillama]

Jeph and Cristi separated at the beginning of this year, according to Wikipedia. However, according to his happy Twitter posts, he's since met someone new.

Shows how much attention I've been paying, doesn't it?

[hedgie]

So long as Clinton doesn't set his hand on Marten, things should go well

Actually, if it's set on indecisive mode, that may not be a bad thing.

And if it's set to special "alone time" mode, things could get *very* awkward.

[MooskiNet]

So long as Clinton doesn't set his hand on Marten, things should go well

Actually, if it's set on indecisive mode, that may not be a bad thing.

And if it's set to special "alone time" mode, things could get *very* awkward.

Especially since he didn't opt for the protective covering.

[Blackbird]

My prediction:  Claire finds Clinton working on something, and tries to rile him up with the news.  Clinton keeps working and doesn't react.  He finally says "When mom told me you had a boyfriend, I asked if it was Marten.  He's a good guy, and you've been obsessed with him since you started that job, so stop being such a spaz about it," and he goes back to work. 

Claire then turns to Marten, who  says "Obsessed, huh?" with a big smile.  Cue Claire-ultimate-red-face.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I can't imagine Clinton giving a reasonable and appropriate response.

I think he's perfectly capable of, and will do, the right thing. But he'll do it in the wrong way, or for the wrong reasons, and he'll make it awkward. That's what he does.

[Endellion]

I can't imagine Clinton giving a reasonable and appropriate response.

I think he's perfectly capable of, and will do, the right thing. But he'll do it in the wrong way, or for the wrong reasons, and he'll make it awkward. That's what he does.

Panel 3 of this comic shows that pretty much

[Gladstone]

Whether he embarrasses himself or Claire more when he gets the news, I also can't see Clinton outing her, even accidentally.  Back when they encountered each other at the coffee shop, he could've easily slipped and echoed Claire's "I'm not creepy, he's creepy!" with the exact same pronoun.  The fact that he didn't misgender her even when surprised/annoyed/under some stress is pretty reassuring.

[osaka]

Doing some surfing on subsequent strips, at that point in time, of all the meatspace, only Jeff knew that Claire was trans. I imagine he didn't want to bring up that topic in such a crude way.

[ZoeB]

My prediction:  Claire finds Clinton working on something, and tries to rile him up with the news.  Clinton keeps working and doesn't react.  He finally says "When mom told me you had a boyfriend, I asked if it was Marten.  He's a good guy, and you've been obsessed with him since you started that job, so stop being such a spaz about it," and he goes back to work. 

Claire then turns to Marten, who  says "Obsessed, huh?" with a big smile.  Cue Claire-ultimate-red-face.

That would be perfect (APPLAUSE)

[AprilArcus]

My prediction:  Claire finds Clinton working on something, and tries to rile him up with the news.  Clinton keeps working and doesn't react.  He finally says "When mom told me you had a boyfriend, I asked if it was Marten.  He's a good guy, and you've been obsessed with him since you started that job, so stop being such a spaz about it," and he goes back to work. 

Claire then turns to Marten, who  says "Obsessed, huh?" with a big smile.  Cue Claire-ultimate-red-face.

That would be great.

[ZoeB]

I think that Marten and Claire are slowly putting together the pieces. There really does seem to be a parental conspiracy of some sort going on here, doesn't there? 

Yup.

..seeing if she can make his temple veins pop out by introducing her boyfriend (and implying activities that haven't occurred yet) will probably be a diabolical entertainment for her.

"Well I'll leave you up to your business. Good Night"
He wouldn't be the only one making such assumptions.

I'm surprised no-one has picked up on that before.

[ZoeB]

She's talked about wanting to bring the gift of knowledge to the younger generation through the power of libraries. Mentorial is probably a better word than maternal.

I only found out my nickname at ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) many years later, from a former student.

"Mum"

*SIGH* Fitting.

[SubaruStephen]

That would be perfect (APPLAUSE)

It would also be out of character for him, he's very protective of his big sister and tries to be all Alpha to anyone he sees that could potentially hurt her.

I think he'd be: "I knew she liked you, but if you break her heart, Martin, I'll max out the hydraulics in my hand and crush your skull like an egg. And then I'll go after your guitars."

[valkygrrl]

She's talked about wanting to bring the gift of knowledge to the younger generation through the power of libraries. Mentorial is probably a better word than maternal.

I only found out my nickname at ADFA (Australian Defence Force Academy) many years later, from a former student.

"Mum"

Mum? Like Veronica? OMG you were the defense force dominatrix! #goodnameforaband

[Blackbird]

That would be perfect (APPLAUSE)

It would also be out of character for him, he's very protective of his big sister and tries to be all Alpha to anyone he sees that could potentially hurt her.

I think he'd be: "I knew she liked you, but if you break her heart, Martin, I'll max out the hydraulics in my hand and crush your skull like an egg. And then I'll go after your guitars."

I disagree that it would be out of character for him.  He's met Marten, he's heard from Calire's mouth that she feels safe with him, he's seen first-hand a time when Marten rushed to defend a female friend from a creep when Marten defended Hanners from Clinton, and he's seen Marten be good to his sister with his own eyes.  He's pretty much wholly vetted the guy at this point.  There's no reason for him to flip out or threaten Marten, especially if Clairemom tells him ahead of time and he has his chance to overreact to it off-panel. 

[DSL]

No reason, maybe. But reason's not all that's in play here. Maybe especially if you're the little brother who thinks there's something to prove.

[AprilArcus]

It would be a little OOC, in a good way. He's too one-note; I think it would be nice for him to surprise us.

[Gladstone]

My prediction:  Claire finds Clinton working on something, and tries to rile him up with the news.  Clinton keeps working and doesn't react.  He finally says "When mom told me you had a boyfriend, I asked if it was Marten.  He's a good guy, and you've been obsessed with him since you started that job, so stop being such a spaz about it," and he goes back to work. 

Claire then turns to Marten, who  says "Obsessed, huh?" with a big smile.  Cue Claire-ultimate-red-face.

I think he'd be: "I knew she liked you, but if you break her heart, Martin, I'll max out the hydraulics in my hand and crush your skull like an egg. And then I'll go after your guitars."

Can't it be both?  To Claire: "Marten's a good guy," etc., then later, privately to Marten: "But if you break her heart..." Although I think just promising to crush his guitars would be enough of a threat; Marten would certainly take that seriously.