THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: pwhodges on 15 Jan 2012, 05:55
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We have reached the end of an arc which started a year or so ago when Marten first visited the Secret Bakery. Sure, there's likely to be a bit more angst, and discussion in Coffee of Doom (and maybe Elliot(t) will have another word to say) - but Padma's gone, and that story is ended bar a bit of whinging.
So what's next? What new direction might Jeph take with his characters? And assuming Marten remains a/the key character, what's next for him?
If Jeph wants to change direction for a while, perhaps the story of where Dora goes next might be a natural one to follow (she's had a hint of that with Jim, but that's fizzled out); Faye and Angus have reached a more-or-less stable position, which would seem natural to leave on the back burner for a bit; perhaps more of the greater emphasis on AI, and perhaps Hanners, with her upbringing in space. Or maybe back to a bit more music - though I don't expect the return of the indie-based style of the early QC.
And for Marten? Well, there is no sensible romantic interest for him in the current cast, and so any move that way would require more new characters, and maybe another new setting, like tSB was - but Jeph would surely not want to make such a move too similar to the previous one. I discount everyone else for Marten, simply because the only feasible candidates have either been ruled out ex cathedra, like Hanners, or have been around for so long with no spark of interest that it would be unrealistic for something to get going with them, like Raven or Marigold.
(N.B. This is not an invitation to start shipping; the no-shipping rule is not in abeyance for this discussion. Nor are we telling Jeph what to do - just speculating a bit.)
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I suspect Jeph has something up his sleeve, but as to what I can only guess.
The only thing that hasn't been "explored" is the Marigold-Dale thing, but I'm not sure that would be worthy of a whole 'nother story arc.
A few possible twists could include something happening to CoD - business drops, rise in cost of coffee, maybe even a Cosette "oops".
Another could be Marty's dad getting married, or something happening where HannerDad ends up coming down from the space station.
There could also be a whole arc on Deathmole's first attempt at a "gig". That could be hilarious - if Jeph actually wants to go through drawing something like that.
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I'd like to see
1. Marten giving up on ladies for a while, focusing on the band, I'd actually really like it if the band could at least reach some sort of.. famous local band status, making a record, playing shows, the like,
2. Hanners moving ahead, taking some sort of larger step towards a better life,
3. Marigold doing the same, I'm guessing some sort of major event/incident in her life forcing her to see things differently,
4. ANIMALISTIC GROUP SEX PARTY
and also, butts.
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I'm not sure the present story arc is entirely done. It would not surprise me to see at least one or two pages this week showing Faye, Dora and maybe even Hanners beating Marten up for the way he handled things on his end with Padma. The forum users may debate how much fault is on Marten, but the ladies will most likely be unhappy with the way Marten ended things, and will give him a piece of their mind. Heck, the last page of him at CoD (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2098) showed the ladies already weren't happy with the way Marten was dealing with the Padma situation.
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Hmm. So many ways this could go.
Like other posters I somehow expect Marigold and/or Hannelore to get more air time. With or without Dale and/or Clinton.
Other possibilities:
- Sven helps out Deathmole (my long time favorite)
- tSB needs a new day-shift assistant manager. Where would Jim recruit one? IOW, Jeph put a lot of effort into those interior scenes at tSB, and will probably still reuse them.
- back to basics: Dora vs. Faye sassathlon at CoD
- we haven't seen Pintsize in action for a while?
- time to learn the secret of the secret ssssample. (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2008)
Standard caveat: Jeph's driving
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Marten and the band has been on the back burner for a while. We can speculate that Marten will be looking for something to do and will show more visible effort there.
I don't feel free to specify, since there's absolutely no canonical support for it, but there was one minor character we haven't seen for a while who seemed like she would have been highly compatible with Marten.
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Meenah? :evil:
I'm not sure Padma's gone for good. That would mean marten could move on, only beating himself up (with a little help from his friends). I fully expect her back at some point, with a huge dose of awkward.
In the meantime, band arc and character development are in order. And I think Dora's sudden turn back to the bright lipstick and longer dark hair mean she's on the prowl market again.
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I would say the possibility of Padma returning are about 70/30
Of course, Jeph could probably drop a Piano at any stage
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With Padma tied to it? Going under water?
I don't feel free to specify, since there's absolutely no canonical support for it, but there was one minor character we haven't seen for a while who seemed like she would have been highly compatible with Marten.
Lydia?
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Hit by a bus, in other words? :-D
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The description when you search for the comic comes up as this: "Centers around an average frustrated 20-something music nerd, his PC and Faye." So, most likely characters to focus on would be something involving one of those three, eh?
We've seen next-to-nothing from Pintsize lately, but it seems too soon to do another AnthroPC storyline.
Faye and Angus are, as stated, pretty stable right now, but isn't that when things usually go wrong? They probably have a little longer before there's some kind of miscommunication or something badly spoken that leads to problems. Not saying they'll break up, but now would be an interesting opportunity for conflict between them that will make them grow closer in the long run.
Marten is such a heavy focus right now that it almost seems weird to just push him aside and let someone else take over for a bit just yet, so I think it may be possible he'll go to Sven for help with the band. The band stuff has been ignored for a while now, and that would be a good distraction for Marten and would be a good time to bring Sven back.
As I said in the other thread, Marigold seems like another likely choice, given that she has popped up at weird moments during the Padma/Marten stuff. I kind of think that this might be a good time for Marigold and Marten to bond and get back out of their reforming shells. Marigold hasn't been around the bigger group much lately, and Marten will probably retreat a bit during/after the aftermath of Padma's departure.
I don't feel free to specify, since there's absolutely no canonical support for it, but there was one minor character we haven't seen for a while who seemed like she would have been highly compatible with Marten.
Pizza Girl? :D
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How about Marten helps out a writer's block tormented Sven. The song becomes a big hit, and Marten suddenly has to get all angsty about having co-written a horribly commercial country song. He hates that type of lowest common denominator stuff, yet it's made him a nice paycheck. And Sven wants to collaborate more....
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Marten's into bossy women and one with a music background would be a plus.
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And Sven wants to collaborate more....
You do realize the slashfic you just created somewhere on the internet with that statement don't you?
Where next? I think at least the next week will be the characters beating up on Marten, I predict at least one instance of physical violence and not from Faye or Steve. After that.....I could see Faye or Hanners calling Veronica about Marten's little tantrum. The next day Marten would get an angry phone call with an airline confirmation number directing him to come out to CA and apologize to the nice young lady or else. Who's up for a road trip?
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I'd be thrilled if Jeph decides to do something illogical and out of sequence, like the long-awaited appearance of Hannerdad.
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
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Sounds promising!
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Kewl! Can't wait! :laugh:
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That's the best thing you could've said!
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I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Yay!
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I think you're underestimating your audience, Jeph!
No, I'm not going to explain myself.
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
I am intrigued.
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I actually like the idea of Marten following Padma and leaving the main cast for a bit.
We'd have so much room for
- Marigold and her AI and WoW shenanigans (maybe one of those obligatory digital-reality arcs, where members of the cast are used as NPCs or whatevs)
- Hanners' steps into the world of normal people, and eventually even a dramatic fallout maybe
- Dora's new romantic interest
- AnthroPC shenanigans (Pintsize getting a new chasis?)
... then, one story-arc later, Marten and Padma return with offspring. Dun duuuun!
(I may have formulated this quite blabbery, but I am actually seriously considering this for an option to fanfic about... if I ever find the time to start THAT again.)
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I will admit that weird and silly in context for this has be more than a little curious.
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Four months of Sweet-Tits + Yelling Bird strips. :psyduck:
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Four months of Sweet-Tits + Yelling Bird strips. :psyduck:
What's this about Sweet-Tits stripping? :D
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"Yelling Bird strips".
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"Yelling Bird strips".
I don't think ANYONE wants to see THAT.
Well, maybe Stoutfiles would, but he's not around anymore...
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"Yelling Bird strips".
Yelling Bird strips. (http://www.thisnext.com/item/E1149D07/Deluxe-Rubber-Chicken)
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Dude, spoilers! :mrgreen:
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Ahh at last, Marten's LoTR Fantasy Dream Sequence :-D
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Maybe Marten has a surreal dream sequence where he manages to deal with his issues by battling them subconsciously while we get periodic attempts to mess with his dreams by pintsize?
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Maybe Marten has a surreal dream sequence where he manages to deal with his issues by battling them subconsciously while we get periodic attempts to mess with his dreams by pintsize?
You really haven't been paying attention have you? ;)
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
Who cares? That means that half will love it.
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Oooooh, I'm definitely intrigued by Jeph's comment....
(the weird and silly part, not the 50% audience hate. audience hate is pretty much a given. you can't please all the people and whatnot....)
Personally...I would love to see more Hanners. It's been a while. Weird and silly make me think AnthroPCs but it feels as though we just wrapped up "Momo's New Chassis", so I can't see Jeph going back to them quite yet. Hmmmmmmm....
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I would say
Dora moving on is a good topic
Hanners taking a step into the dating world; which has a side effect of kick starting Martin. If she can do it; why can't he?
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I'm hoping we see some sort of Deathmole (I know, I know, I spelt it wrong) storyline. I had an image today whilst I was out walking my dog that I think would be great as a gig comic. It'd be a view from behind Hanners' drumkit on the stage, with her kick drum foot going like crazy. Amir and Marten would be pulling all their rock star poses in front of her, and obviously there'd be a lot of cameos in the crowd. Possibly Sven lurking in the background, looking thoughtful/approving? And some girls cooing over Marten whilst Faye/Dora either laugh or look daggers at them. I think Jeph would be able to make something really awesome out of that.
If I could draw I would totally make some fan art of that scene.
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Dora has been offstage for what feels like quite a while, though it probably isn't. It would be interesting to see how her therapy is going.
Raven could provide some interest.
Wacky QC seems to follow long stretches of serious realism. The story of Steve as a secret agent was disorienting for a while until I remembered that weirdness is a key part of Jeph's recipe.
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The next arc is completely different and pretty weird and silly by QC standards and I'm fairly sure half of my audience is going to hate it.
So then...
Butts.
IN SPACE.
Looking forward to it! 8-)
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IN SPACE.
http://www.portal2sounds.com/sound.php?id=298&stream
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... pretty weird and silly by QC standards...
Ooooh!!
I know Jeph just said what he said but I'd still like to speculate on what I'm interested in seeing, not meant to be any kind of instruction.
Sven:
I just want to know what he's up to. As some have he could collaborate with Marten which could be fun to see (possibly here?). I'd like to think Sven has a stash of songs he actually likes that he made but hasn't brought up since they're not cashcows like the country songs. Marten has said he's not good at lyrics and despite what the titles suggest (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1234) maybe Sven isn't bad when he tries.
Marigold:
Some Dale interaction could be fun but I'd like to see her interacting with more people in general. It'd be neat to see her hanging out with Momo in more social places and meet other people. There's got to be some LAN parties (do those still exist?) and table-top games around. Maybe Mari will turn out to love LARPing or some other non-geek-specific hobby.
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Good point about Sven! He was starting some character development when we last saw him but we don't know how it's going.
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She just doesn't strike me as the type of person to let silly things like storytelling and character interaction get in the way of smitin' and purgin' and lootin' :mrgreen:
You've obviously never read Marigold's wonderful short stories. ;)
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Two words
Quantum Non-locality.
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I wonder if Sven regrets any of the country songs he wrote for being too hedonistic/jingoistic/campy/etc or if he's well adjusted to the fact that he wrote what was selling at the time.
Is it too much to speculate about a crisis of creative conscience for him?
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Now that he's re-evaluating his life, and given how discontent he was already, that's a perfectly reasonable road for the story to take.
Would Marigirl enjoy flash Potter LARPing? That would make for some fun artwork.
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And... anyone who went with "Hannerdad" as an option - pat yourself on the back!
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Seriously... why would half the audience hate the chance of seeing hanner's dad? It's gonna be hella fun.
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I think it's going to depend on how they get there or if he's coming down.
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His appearance is bound to clash with expectations.
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I forget, was Hanners born on a space station or just raised in one?
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My recollection is "raised". I'll try to find it.
Found it:
"grew up" (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=665)
"growing up" (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=707)
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Agreed. Besides, I really can't imagine Hanner's mom willing being on a space station, let alone giving birth in one. She said herself that she gave full custody to Hanner's father after she was born, and also mentioned having nannies for her before the custodial shift.
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Strictly speaking, we still don't know that she wasn't born on the space station. Also, is it odd that I have no trouble believing a baby was raised on the station, but I have trouble believing that they were able to safely bring baby Hanners from Earth to the station?
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She probably wasn't a baby by then. I imagine Haner's parents blithely went several years before the divorce and custody matters were settled!
Although we know she came back to earth later - we have her high school picture (http://qcjeph.livejournal.com/104536.html)...
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She could've been home schooled...IN SPACE!
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You don't need a graduation phto if you're homeschooled...
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You don't need one, but I doubt it's unheard of.
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She could've been home schooled...IN SPACE!
SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACE! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUKrAwpZrc8)
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That just makes me happy.
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Strictly speaking, we still don't know that she wasn't born on the space station. Also, is it odd that I have no trouble believing a baby was raised on the station, but I have trouble believing that they were able to safely bring baby Hanners from Earth to the station?
Actually, it can be gleaned from this one here that she was, in fact, born on the ground: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=922
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Ahh. Ok, thanks!