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Mom follows Marten (and Claire) back to NoHam!

5 (5.7%)

Claire doesn't remember NCS with Marten!

9 (10.2%)

Claire does the Tasha Yar routine ("It didn't happen.")

7 (8%)

Marten puts down the boundaries with Claire (about not dating interns).

5 (5.7%)

Next scene: Faye and Angus are FIGHTING!

0 (0%)

Marten returns to the library, and the first thing? Tai's RIGHT HOOK!

14 (15.9%)

A freak snowstorm hits Central Mass, trapping everyone at COD!

5 (5.7%)

Hannelore's freak illness turned out to be indigestion.

1 (1.1%)

...or worse, SHE'S PREGNANT! (Yeah, I know, Jeph would never do that.)

6 (6.8%)

Cristi commits Shipper Mutiny, demands Marten and Claire get together over Jeph's protests!

14 (15.9%)

The Final Four: Waffles, Spathe Ham, Feral Hogs and "Look! Boobs!"

4 (4.5%)

A whole week of Yelling Bird strips.

6 (6.8%)

THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER OPTION, #### IT!

12 (13.6%)

Total Members Voted: 80

[Method of Madness]

Didn't they suddenly start glowing mid-comic and never stop? Archive hunters?

[cesium133]

This twitter conversation may shed some light on the glowing glasses.

[Delator]

Didn't they suddenly start glowing mid-comic and never stop? Archive hunters?

1693 was the original appearance. It's almost certainly in reference to Gendo Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

Coincidentally, 1693 was the last time the reference was funny. 

[Carl-E]

That's the problem with a running gag, they can't stop of their own (or anyone else's) volition. 

The only way we'll ever see Dale's eyes again is when the glasses come off. 




Preferably pertaining to PVP sexytimes, but you didn't hear me say it. 

[HeavyP]

Weighing in with the "Don't like Dale" folks here.

Was thinking about it, and it's not so much the WoW dynamic that bothers me - the fact that they play opposing factions and fight about it is amusing and could be good source material.

Dale's demeanor is what bothers me, something about him just creeps the HELL out of me.  Like, brain screaming "don't leave your female friends or children alone with this person!" vibes.  In any interaction he has with people BESIDES Marigold he seems as normal and amusing as a second or third tier cast member can be (i.e. the "secret menu" incident at Coffee of Doom or when he's delivered pizzas to the main cast), but any time he interacts directly with Marigold he just shifts into a completely different persona.  The rapeface glasses are not helping his image, either.

[Boiled Dove]

IIRC he was normal with her too until she caught on to who he is in their game and she got weird, thus making all of their interactions weird.

[celticgeek]

I like that Marigold is looking (furtively?) down the hall, to see if anybody actually sees her making nice with Dale.

[HappyHavoc]

I wish people would bring me free pizza, but all I get is spam mail

[Masterpiece]

I'd like to argue that Dale's creepy persona is just a reflection of Marigolds weird attitude towards him. He's never been portrayed as anything but a nice character outside the Marigold thing, Hannelore even unintentionally offered to shoot a porno with him.

He does seem a bit over the top with the whole evil villain deal though(I just remember how he crept up on her from a side-road), yet I hope that he'll tone it down a bunch now that he accepts Marigolds superiority.

[Sassafras]

I think the fact that he behaves normally with other people than Marigold is part of why I find him creepy. It's like, Clinton is creepy and weird, but he's like that with everyone so he clearly just doesn't know how to behave. Dale on the other hand, is ok and friendly with the others, but when he's alone he's trying to intimidate Marigold in person or stalking her online and trying to get his friends to kill her in game (and yes, I know she acts weird too, but hers doesn't involve forcing herself into his life). That makes me worry that the friendly face is a mask.

If he proves me wrong in the next few pages I'll be glad.

[Boiled Dove]

Fair enough

[Method of Madness]

I wouldn't really say he's forcing himself into her life, he seems to just be doing this when he happens to run into her (not justifying it, just hardly "stalking"). As for the online thing, Marigold's "agents" make it seem like it's not exactly a one-way street. Anyway, I think we need to see more of Dale before we can judge him either way.

[Carl-E]

I wish people would bring me free pizza, but all I get is spam mail

Better than being mailed spam. 



Sliced, tucked into an unlined envelope...

[Pilchard123]

http://www.businessinsider.com/mini-cooper-care-package-2013-1

[Masterpiece]

Forcing himself into her life? One might argue that Angus did exactly the same. Look what that did to Faye .
Can't say I don't agree with you though. He's been acting weird, but I always found him somewhat nice. Maybe he just doesn't know how to behave around girls he's attracted to (similar to kids fighting when they like each other). IMHO his first interaction with Marigold was perfectly nice though, but ended with Marigold throwing money at his face and calling him scum. I'm fairly sure I'd be pissed at a girl like that too. But to top that off, that girl now frequently appears in the coffee shop he's a well-known regular in (Dale is on a first-name basis with both Faye and Dora, and knows about the secret menu), maybe that just burned a fuse somewhere (which would also explain the light behind Dale's glasses).

OH MY GOD GUYS DALE IS A ROBOT... Jephzibah is going to write about Human-Robot relationships now!

(click to show/hide)

Dale is not actually a robot.

[Masterpiece]

Having read my previous post again, I can't help to think of Veronica Reed's horrible segues - I think I skipped a few thought processes when I wrote the above.

[jesslc]

That he went out of his way to insert himself into her life and annoy her repeatedly just because she was rude to him once doesn't help, it makes him look like a grudgy douche.

This is exactly why I don't like Dale!

The way he repeatedly came up to annoy her, and particularly the way he often invaded her personal space when he did so... I found him very creepy. I know that Marigold's behaviour to him was pretty awful too but that doesn't make his behaviour acceptable.

I'd be curious to know if there's a gender difference between the sides of thoughts on Dale's behaviour... Because as a woman, if any stranger or relative stranger invading my personal space like that, I would be seriously creeped out. Unwanted attention like that just sets the warning bells ringing.  If on the other hand he had said the same insults to her from across the room/at a normal distance for a stranger, I would (probably) have been fine with Dale.

Angus did keep coming back and annoying Faye - true. But he wasn't ever like this:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895

That's not flirting. That's creepy and being a douche.

[Masterpiece]

I forgot about that strip.

Seeing that strip is making me wonder why I chose to use Dale as my avatar.

[Boiled Dove]

Yeah, that is creepy.

[jwhouk]

I wish people would bring me free pizza, but all I get is spam mail

Better than being mailed spam. 



Sliced, tucked into an unlined envelope...

I've gotten Spam cups, Spam shirts, Spam salt-shakers - so I don't see the big deal.

(Of course, my sister WORKS for Hormel, so there's that...)

[JohnTheWysard]

The only acceptable ginger ale is Vernors.  Which I'm not certain is even marketed in all states, let alone in other countries.

When I went to college at Michigan State University (over forty years ago...  yipe!) I had a friend who lived in Colorado. He'd drive home for holidays with a trunkful of cases of Michigan-made Vernors and sell it there; he'd return with three or four cases of Coors Beer (brewed in Colorado, not then available in Michigan). He easily doubled his cost both ways.

[Shogouki]

That he went out of his way to insert himself into her life and annoy her repeatedly just because she was rude to him once doesn't help, it makes him look like a grudgy douche.

This is exactly why I don't like Dale!

The way he repeatedly came up to annoy her, and particularly the way he often invaded her personal space when he did so... I found him very creepy. I know that Marigold's behaviour to him was pretty awful too but that doesn't make his behaviour acceptable.

I'd be curious to know if there's a gender difference between the sides of thoughts on Dale's behaviour... Because as a woman, if any stranger or relative stranger invading my personal space like that, I would be seriously creeped out. Unwanted attention like that just sets the warning bells ringing.  If on the other hand he had said the same insults to her from across the room/at a normal distance for a stranger, I would (probably) have been fine with Dale.

Angus did keep coming back and annoying Faye - true. But he wasn't ever like this:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895

That's not flirting. That's creepy and being a douche.

I think a lot of it probably comes down to the competitiveness in them.  They both think of themselves as hardcore gamers and the way they first met could be interpreted by Dale as a throwing down of the gauntlet.  There is often a lot of competitiveness between players who play their faction seriously in WoW, especially on PvP servers.  I also kind of think that they've both been growing somewhat attracted to each other and neither of them seem to know how to express that in a healthy way.  It seemed to me that they act towards each other in a way that's very reminiscent of the tsundre personality trait (Basically a character who is unable to express their affection for another in a way other than being seemingly hostile or insulting) that is pretty popular in anime right now.  And since Jeph seems to be quite a fan of anime himself I wondered if that might have something to do with the way Dale and Marigold act towards each other.

And the Gendo villain vibe is pretty strong in that strip as well.  Just noticed his shirt!

[Is it cold in here?]

Male here. Thought Dale in 1895 was creepy and out of line.

[Masterpiece]

... so that's what Tsundere is!

[Kugai]

Well, that was an interesting week

[Masterpiece]

I was a bit annoyed by Jephzibahs chicken-out of the entire Claire situation (they really didn't talk about it in the car? COME ON!), but I liked todays comic.

And there's still a comic tomorrow.

[Shogouki]

Male here. Thought Dale in 1895 was creepy and out of line.

I certainly don't disagree with you, I think that if I were in Marigold's shoes I would be quite unnerved.  I just get the feeling that there is no malicious intent so much as him simply being unaware of how his behavior seems to others and that the way things go between them isn't entirely one sided. 

I love the way Hannelore interpreted the situation though. 

[Loki]

Okay, since genders were requested, I am male and I don't really get the hate on Dale.

I understand that what he is doing might be considered rude in real life, but I think some of his behavior counts as an "acceptable break from reality"(tm) that one might expect in a comic.

I think what he really does is simply teasing Marigold about how childish she is to hate him on account of being a different faction. When asked what she doesn't like about Dale, she doesn't even say anything like "He behaves inappropriately and creeps me." When he meets her in a dark alley, she isn't even bothered. She says "he is a jerk because he is playing Alliance".

Regarding 1895: Hannelore recognized he was flirting. Granted, in his own very weird way by stating how much less hardcore than him Marigold is, but I would still count it as flirting.

Incidentally, Marten also thinks their rivalry can be considered flirting.

You must also not forget that he was the one who came to Marigold offering a truce. He is behaving "in character" in a "weird gamer"-ish way full of tropes.

1) He recognizes her as a WorthyOpponent (TvTropes link).
2) He presents a challenge to her. The challenge is accepted.
3) He gauges her "power level" (by repeatedly sending guild mates to their virtual deaths  )
4) He executes a direct attack himself.
5) He loses.
6) He recognizes his defeat and asks for a truce.
7) He backs down when she refuses at first.


So.
Is what he is doing childish? Maybe. Depends on whether he really believes this rivalry stuff or whether he is going with it as a pretense to interact with Marigold.
Is what he is doing creepy? Apparently, Marigold doesn't think so.
Could he be doing it better? Maybe. Then again, probably the easiest way to interact with Marigold is in-game.
Does he mean evil? I definitely don't think so.
Are his glasses annoying? Hell yes.

[Truec]

That he went out of his way to insert himself into her life and annoy her repeatedly just because she was rude to him once doesn't help, it makes him look like a grudgy douche.

This is exactly why I don't like Dale!

The way he repeatedly came up to annoy her, and particularly the way he often invaded her personal space when he did so... I found him very creepy. I know that Marigold's behaviour to him was pretty awful too but that doesn't make his behaviour acceptable.

I'd be curious to know if there's a gender difference between the sides of thoughts on Dale's behaviour... Because as a woman, if any stranger or relative stranger invading my personal space like that, I would be seriously creeped out. Unwanted attention like that just sets the warning bells ringing.  If on the other hand he had said the same insults to her from across the room/at a normal distance for a stranger, I would (probably) have been fine with Dale.

Angus did keep coming back and annoying Faye - true. But he wasn't ever like this:
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1895

That's not flirting. That's creepy and being a douche.

I think a lot of it probably comes down to the competitiveness in them.  They both think of themselves as hardcore gamers and the way they first met could be interpreted by Dale as a throwing down of the gauntlet.  There is often a lot of competitiveness between players who play their faction seriously in WoW, especially on PvP servers.  I also kind of think that they've both been growing somewhat attracted to each other and neither of them seem to know how to express that in a healthy way.  It seemed to me that they act towards each other in a way that's very reminiscent of the tsundre personality trait (Basically a character who is unable to express their affection for another in a way other than being seemingly hostile or insulting) that is pretty popular in anime right now.  And since Jeph seems to be quite a fan of anime himself I wondered if that might have something to do with the way Dale and Marigold act towards each other.

And the Gendo villain vibe is pretty strong in that strip as well.  Just noticed his shirt!

I must respectfully disagree.  If Jeph's been trying to set up anything between Marigold and Dale, it was done poorly, as all he's accomplished is to make Dale look like a creepy stalkerish douchebag who can't see Marigold in a public place without immediately jumping down her throat, whereas Marigold, for the most part, only responds once he's already in her face.  It's less tsun-tsun and more "I don't like you and want you to go away".

On the other hand, I can easily see Dale being interested in Marigold, but he's interested in the "oh wow a girl with the same interests as me exists this is amazing and I will immediately begin courting her by being annoying" way that I'm told many male gamers actually do, but that I still relegate to fiction written by people who aren't gamers, or want to pretend they're a better class of gamer, or are embarrassed about being gamers, because real people do not act like that.  So pretty much the exact feelings I had about Marigold until Jeph fleshed her out and made her interesting.

Dammit, he's doing it again!  He's set up a character for me to hate and then he's going to make him interesting and nuanced with a backstory and interactions with other interesting characters!  Damn you Jeph Jacques, why am I not allowed to hate your characters?

"Warning - while you were typing..."

Blargh!  Truec smash puny forum software!

[Akima]

Coke and Pepsi both taste completely disgusting. Fizzy soft-drinks are a rip-off. Even at supermarket prices, Coca Cola costs more per litre than petrol (roughly A$2 per litre in the largest, cheapest-per-litre plastic bottles; more than double that in some sizes). And it is 99% water; the stuff that comes out of the tap for $2.13 per kilolitre.

Didn't Marigold one-hit Dale's rogue? Yes, she did (however unlikely that is in MMO combat, which is usually tediously protracted). He deserved for 1895. and 1771 too. Peace-pizza is a good idea. No meat or cheese on mine, Dale.

[Masterpiece]

Loki is truly a master of words and has reassured me in my choice of avatar pictures.

[Bluesummers]

<WORDS WORDS WORDS>

^This.

I am currently boarding my SHIP. () I will send you one cannonball if my voyage goes as planned, two cannonballs if I am keelhauled.

[Valdís]

Loki is truly a master of words and has reassured me in my choice of avatar pictures.

Once again a hapless mortal foolishly trusts the silver tongue of Loki. This won't end well.

[Shogouki]

I must respectfully disagree.  If Jeph's been trying to set up anything between Marigold and Dale, it was done poorly, as all he's accomplished is to make Dale look like a creepy stalkerish douchebag who can't see Marigold in a public place without immediately jumping down her throat, whereas Marigold, for the most part, only responds once he's already in her face.  It's less tsun-tsun and more "I don't like you and want you to go away".

On the other hand, I can easily see Dale being interested in Marigold, but he's interested in the "oh wow a girl with the same interests as me exists this is amazing and I will immediately begin courting her by being annoying" way that I'm told many male gamers actually do, but that I still relegate to fiction written by people who aren't gamers, or want to pretend they're a better class of gamer, or are embarrassed about being gamers, because real people do not act like that.  So pretty much the exact feelings I had about Marigold until Jeph fleshed her out and made her interesting.

Dammit, he's doing it again!  He's set up a character for me to hate and then he's going to make him interesting and nuanced with a backstory and interactions with other interesting characters!  Damn you Jeph Jacques, why am I not allowed to hate your characters?

"Warning - while you were typing..."

Blargh!  Truec smash puny forum software!

I got the feeling that Dale himself isn't really aware that he's attracted to her, or at least can't consciously admit that.  And as someone else pointed earlier that sometimes kids who like each other will pick on each other not knowing how to express their affection.  To me this really seems like a likely possibility if Dale is anywhere as inexperienced in human interaction as Marigold is.  This is something that I've noticed in people who are introverted or simply immature when it comes to relationships, that they often react in very childish ways and that seems very possible to me in this situation.

That said, I do think he came across as quite creepy in that strip but I still get the feeling that there is no malicious intent.  Though this opinion is coming from an introverted guy who doesn't get out much so my perspective is pretty limited in some ways.

[Shogouki]

<WORDS WORDS WORDS>

^This.

I am currently boarding my SHIP. () I will send you one cannonball if my voyage goes as planned, two cannonballs if I am keelhauled.

That sounds pretty impressive to be able to do anything if you're keelhauled!

[Zebediah]

Not entirely on-topic, but: I swear I saw a real-life version of Claire walking through Harvard Square this afternoon. Skinny, glasses, mounds of red hair - it was a pretty striking resemblence. 

[LordVaughn]

Considering how rare their interactions are, I can't say he has really forced himself into her life, especially considering most of the times they have met were either due to his job, or him being at CoD. Sure, he taunts her, but in a way, it almost seems sibling-like in comparison, as if he were a younger brother trying to annoy his older sister, but due to the "older sister" in this case being more experienced, he is at best, a fly to her. 

[ink slinger]

Jesus. Would Marigold and Dale just fuck and get it over with already?

Not shipping...just commenting on the hilarious hatred/sexual tension.

[Bad Wolf]

Not entirely on-topic, but: I swear I saw a real-life version of Claire walking through Harvard Square this afternoon. Skinny, glasses, mounds of red hair - it was a pretty striking resemblence. 

I have a friend that looks like a real life version of Claire! Tons of curly, red hair, freckles, skinny as a twig, glasses. I'd post a photo, but I'm not sure if that would land on an acceptable level of the internet-creepiness scale.

[HappyHavoc]

I wish people would bring me free pizza, but all I get is spam mail

Better than being mailed spam. 

Sliced, tucked into an unlined envelope...

Well played sir, well played

[HappyHavoc]

Jesus. Would Marigold and Dale just fuck and get it over with already?

Not shipping...just commenting on the hilarious hatred/sexual tension.

Maybe they will have Second Life sex.

[zmeiat_joro]

It's interesting that Mountain Dew is available in Australia, since I've never seen it in the UK (although it's probably available from specialist shops).

Mountain Dew used to be available in Bulgaria some years ago, even at some corner shops; I don't know if it still is, I don't pay attention to soft drinks, but even with that in mind, I haven't been noticing it lately. I guess it was a brief fad. In any case, I tried it once and I liked it.

[Bluesummers]

Everyone knows that Mountain Dew is nothing compared to MOXIE.

It will melt your goddamn tongue.

[DSL]

Everyone knows that Mountain Dew is nothing compared to MOXIE.

It will melt your goddamn tongue.

Former boss moved to Maine, sent us some Moxie. I was reminded of the "medicinal" origins of many a commercial soft drink. Certainly anything that tastes like Moxie ought to cure something.

[Emoroffle]

Ok it seems pretty clear now that Marten is doomed to spill the secret eventually. Poor, poor Claire.

[TheEvilDog]

I would say that Dale and Marigold both bring out the worst in each other. We all have that one person who makes us gnash our teeth and act in a way that would seem inappropriate. They make us snappy, quick tempered and douchy. For all our belief that we have grown up, there is that one person who just causes us to reset and act like kids.

I will also admit that I don't really like Dale (and I'm not a huge fan of Marigold, pleasedon'tkillme). Its hard to pinpoint why (Ok, maybe in Dale's case, its the creepiness and the hanging around in alleyways, so its not so hard to see).

Point is, most of us are lucky in that that one person who sets us off is usually someone we can fairly easily avoid. In Marigold's case, her person is the guy who delivers pizza around town and someone who could be considered the spear counterpoint to her.

Also, completely unrelated, but has Pizza-Girl disappeared? Since when did Dale become the only pizza delivery game in town?

[HappyHavoc]

Man this week end on a high note.
I think Marten and Claire would be really cute together. She would be good for him.   

[cesium133]

Also, completely unrelated, but has Pizza-Girl disappeared?

Of course. She's busy with her job at Coffee of Doom now.

[Is it cold in here?]

Most recently seen in costume in http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1932.

[Gitler]

Man this week end on a high note.
I think Marten and Claire would be really cute together. She would be good for him.

Yeah, but when things get going where do all the things go exactly? Marten needs another sexually frustrating relationship. Pretty sure the first few years of this comic were devoted to that.