WCDT - October 10th to October 14th, 2022 (strips #4891 to #4895)

[Gyrre]

We all know Jeph doesn't read the forums, so any similarities are purely happenstance and are not legally actionable. Relax.
[Really hoping I haven't torpedo'd anything.]

EDIT: So what do you all think might happen.

[BenRG]

I remember that, when she first got the septum ring, Claire said that she wanted to be a cyberpunk jakked librarian. Cubetown may be her chance.

[Gyrre]

I remember that, when she first got the septum ring, Claire said that she wanted to be a cyberpunk jakked librarian. Cubetown may be her chance.

But will she get a data spike or SCOMP link type attachment?

[DaiJB]

"Other" :-
There is a thriving fan-base for terrible country music in Cubetown and everyone goes into meltdown over the fact that Marten actually knows Sven Bianchi;

Pintsize is the Director;

There is a thriving fan-base for terrible romantic fiction in Cubetown and everyone goes into meltdown over the fact that Marten knows Jimbo;

Raven already works there, Emily works there too, but remotely (it hasn't occurred to her to tell anyone about it) and Melon has been offered a job but she prefers working with bugs...

[DaiJB]

New comic!
C'mon - if Pintsize sassed a moose there wouldn't be anything left of him...

[sitnspin]

In Pintsize's defense, he was in Sasskatoon

[Farideh]

My guess is that he insulted their poutine.

[St.Clair]

Sassin' a moose?  That's a paddlin'.

New comic!
C'mon - if Pintsize sassed a moose there wouldn't be anything left of him...

Depends on how far away he was and what was between them at the time.

[Gyrre]

I was guessing it involved a moose[1] and then I got to the post text (under text?) of the comic.

[1] I figured he got one drunk and rode it through a town or something.

[cesium133]

When you force a moose and a goose to perform a dance from Footloose, you become a nuisance and they give you the boot.

[shanejayell]

Faye is taking this suspiciously well. I expect a mild freak out in private later....

[Wingy]

If Pintsize was leading a cult ritual, that would explain the Canadian Tire money.

And I agree, Faye is doing very well indeed.  I expect a major freakout on Bubbles later, and an offer to a new AI to move in somewhat after, just about the time the top of Claire's head blows off and Claire/Marten decide to move back to Noho.

[hedgie]

[1] I figured he got one drunk and rode it through a town or something.

But was this before or after the incident with the reindeer in Northhampton?

[badbum61]

This is definitely something to do with how Pintsize came into all that Canadian Tire money, isn't it?

[dutchrvl]

Why do I get the feeling that it's actually Claire who really has a hard time with leaving everything and everybody in Northampton behind. Not marten, not Faye, not her mom, not pint size, but her.

[hedgie]

You're quite possibly correct, but is that because she feels like she's possibly hurting others, or using that only as an excuse?  Would she even know which was the truth?

[DreDotJs]

New comic, and this is a wonderful example of a time where sex, in fact, can solve all your problems

[St.Clair]

"Talk nerdy to me."

[shanejayell]

"Talk nerdy to me."

*LOL*

[DaiJB]

Ah. So that's how you turn on a librarian?

*Makes notes*

[traroth]

The alternate punchline made me giggle stupidly.

[Thrillho]

Absolutely love this morning's gag

[Tormuse]

I feel like I should point out that the two definitions of "fuck me silly" that Marten gives are not mutually exclusive.  Clearly, there's nothing stopping him from doing both!

[BenRG]

I have to say that I'm a little worried about Claire's health. If she's reacting to indigestion or stomach pain in panel 2, it could be an early sign of a peptic ulcer, a condition commonly caused by high stress levels.

[dutchrvl]

The alternate punchline made me giggle stupidly.

One of the funniest QCs ina long time, both the actual one AND the alternative punchline (which made me laugh oddly loud all by myself)

[Tova]

Stress doesn't cause peptic ulcers. It can exacerbate them, however.

Also, if she is reacting to physical pain or discomfort in panel 2, then I will be quite surprised, but that's an impressive leap either way.

[Farideh]

Personally, I tend to pull faces and act physically uncomfortable if I'm struggling with something ("Should I take the job? What if it all goes wrong? What if I pass up the opportunity of a lifetime?", etc., etc.)

[shanejayell]

Faye is taking this suspiciously well. I expect a mild freak out in private later....

Called it. *lol*

[Near Lurker]

Bubbles' presence is probably going to ameliorate this somewhat, but considering what happened when Angus left, I have to think at least Marten thinks Faye may be about to go full Birnham.

[Smallest]

Hey, this time he wore pants

[Farideh]

Faye is in a much better place now than she was when Angus left, so hopefully she and Marten will be able to talk this through. It's fine for her to be sad, because this IS sad.

[ihaveavoice]

Hey, this time he wore pants

I'm now imagining some extra panels where Marten just starts blithely strolling outside with no pants on, realizes what he's doing, and ducks back inside so as not to risk an indecent exposure arrest. It's a fun mental image.

[Near Lurker]

What tickles me pink is that while the police might care if Marten forgot his pants, I feel like if this conversation were taking place in a utility room, not one of the four of them - Marten, Faye, Bubbles, or Claire - would.

(And in fact, the police probably wouldn't either, since those boxers look like something from an auguste's broken-suspender bit.)

[funguyflys]

Really felt today's comic. Simple but emotionally rich.

[dutchrvl]

Faye is in a much better place now than she was when Angus left, so hopefully she and Marten will be able to talk this through. It's fine for her to be sad, because this IS sad.

Yeah agreed, plus now she still has her significant other with her after Marten moves away. After things with Angus went south, that wasn't the case. Yes, her best friend Marten was there, but still not quite the same.

Plus, perhaps more importantly, in this case there is likely no element of self-loathing/guilt involved, which almost certainly was there in the Angus situation.

[Is it cold in here?]

Really felt today's comic. Simple but emotionally rich.

Welcome, new person!

[Farideh]

New comic.

Fair enough Faye, fair enough

[shanejayell]

Awww. That was nice...

[SmilingCat]

Penitent... penitent...

[Gyrre]

Wow.
This'll tie up a pretty old plot thread. Maybe Jeph really is bringing the strip to a close.

[Mr_Rose]

I was wondering what Bubbles was up to... turns out it was *being adorable* and also new hair?

[shanejayell]

And again, a very awww scene.

(Still wanna know if Union Robotics is still OK.)

[MrGone]

Calling it now, strip ends at #6000. Also the promise to stay in touch enough that there's never any catching up to do in the first place is 10/10

[Smallest]

Hey, this time he wore pants

I'm now imagining some extra panels where Marten just starts blithely strolling outside with no pants on, realizes what he's doing, and ducks back inside so as not to risk an indecent exposure arrest. It's a fun mental image.

Yeah it is a little less surprising considering they met up outside instead of in the living room. Also, I think today's comic (4895) justifies my comparison (not that anyone called it unjustified)

[BenRG]

I'm wondering if Marten and Faye are going to come back in to find Claire asleep on Bubbles' lap. Because neither could just 'go back to bed' until they were sure that their respective significant others were handling things okay.

[ihaveavoice]

Hey, this time he wore pants

I'm now imagining some extra panels where Marten just starts blithely strolling outside with no pants on, realizes what he's doing, and ducks back inside so as not to risk an indecent exposure arrest. It's a fun mental image.

Yeah it is a little less surprising considering they met up outside instead of in the living room. Also, I think today's comic (4895) justifies my comparison (not that anyone called it unjustified)

Marten's brain definitely felt the callback there, just in the split second before the reminder that he's in a much healthier and more trusting relationship now. Today's comic feels like a warm hug. I love it so much!

[pwhodges]

Claire's face in the third panel is just sooo perfect!

[traroth]

Calling it now, strip ends at #6000. Also the promise to stay in touch enough that there's never any catching up to do in the first place is 10/10

#6000? That would be in, like, 4 years or so. That's a daring prediction...

If it is what happens, it will probably have nothing to do with what is happening now. #5000 would be more pertinent.

[notStanley]

>It's chilly out here. Put this on

A mature and secure relationship!  That knocker over some old baggage from Fay and Marten :}

[Tova]

Calling it now, strip ends at #6000. Also the promise to stay in touch enough that there's never any catching up to do in the first place is 10/10

#6000? That would be in, like, 4 years or so. That's a daring prediction...

That should be just enough time to get Claire to the end of her first week at her new job.