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Cleanin waffle irons.

Something not mentioned.

[Storel]

How come everyone knows more about Norse Mythology than me? I didn't know you need to be a friggin Norse Mythology major to read this comic!

The irony of hearing this said by someone calling himself Loki is delicious. 

Not a lot of people would be completely unfazed by Pintsize. 

Very good point. Claire doesn't seem to be fazed by much, though, besides people who don't respond to her puns.

[bhtooefr]

Very good point. Claire doesn't seem to be fazed by much, though, besides people who don't respond to her puns.

Or her brother spilling secrets, of course. That required her to break out the Ativan.

Edit: Oh, and I am a shameless shipper, and even I realize that all Claire has said in that response to Pintsize is, yes, she likes making out, no, not with Pintsize.

[Mr_Rose]

We also note that Hannelore has taken to perching on the couch arm instead of sitting properly. Is this because of all the horrifying things she knows have been spilled/done on the seats?

[Akima]

Maybe, or maybe it's because Marten and Claire are sitting so that Hannelore would have to squeeze in uncomfortably. Or ask them to sit close together to make room, which might lead to awkwardness. Claire's comeback is great!

[bhtooefr]

And I almost forgot.

Claire was clearly afayed when the beer can was placed upon her head.

* bhtooefr puts $20 in the pun jar

[Loki]

20$ is the least you can do for that.

[Border Reiver]

Claire is getting better and better! She even outshines Hannelore these days. Today's punchline was excellent!

Frankly, I think its one of the better ones that Jeph's done.

[techkid]

Except Pintsize, it can go make out with the waffles.

The most disturbing thing is, he probably already has... 

Oh Claire. That response was simply marvellous! I tip my hat to you *tips hat toward Claire*.

[WAYF]

Wow, Claire's approach to handling Pintsize is... genuinely refreshing! I did not expect that in the slightest.

And the poll raises a good point - how DID Marten manage to hang out with the two ladies he's most shipped with, and he's the only one in the room with them, and he did it without any effort whatsoever?
I'm sure Marten's previously mentioned state of simultaneous profound frustration and utter delight applies here somewhere.
(Mostly cause nothing's going to happen, cause he's Marten and this is what he does.)

[Zebediah]

ZOMG! Claire said something vaguely related to makeouts while Marten was in the same room! Clearly that means they are in wuv!


...is what the shippers are thinking right now.

Yes, shippers will seize upon any shred of evidence to support their fantasies, and will gleefully make up evidence when there is none.

And no, I'm not going to make the obvious analogies to politics, religion or conspiracy theories. Not going there. Not in the WCDT. 

[Mad Cat]

"Wanna make out?"
"In general, or with you specifically?"

Greatest. Comeback. Evar.

[Tova]

Aaand the rumour mill begins.

[Lubricus]

The rumour mill begins? When did it stop?

[GarandMarine]

"Wanna make out?"
"In general, or with you specifically?"

Greatest. Comeback. Evar.

I am so stealing that for future use

[TheEvilDog]

Wow Clare. You know less than half the story of people you don't even know. Then again from what I've seen, Clare tends to do that kind of thing on a fairly regular basis.

[Loki]

Am I the only one who thinks the punchline wasn't all that great?

And damn, it completely slipped by me that she mistold the story.

[bhtooefr]

But she got the important parts across.

[TheEvilDog]

But she got the important parts across.

But she didn't. She got Faye's roundabout side of the story and filled in the rest herself. All Clare heard was that Angus was talking to Faye about going to New York and that was it. But the thing is, it wasn't Clare's place to bring it up anyway.

[bhtooefr]

Marten specifically declared an interest in what was up, Claire shared the information that she knew and was able to determine from the conversation with Faye.

I'm really not seeing this being a problem.

[Welu]

I think the same as bhtooefr. Although if it was me I would have had an "I think..." before everything else she said to Marten. I guess "apparently" kind of covers that though.

I like Claire's response to Pintsize.

[Is it cold in here?]

Claire has been known to jump to conclusions.

[Masterpiece]

Am I the only one who thinks the punchline wasn't all that great?

Thank you! Same here.

[Zebediah]

Claire has also had some beer. And she weighs what, 105 pounds soaking wet? So mild intoxication is a possibility. Therefore if she's having difficulty accessing her social protocol database I'm inclined to give her a pass.

On the other hand, Pintsize seems to be having no trouble accessing his social protocol database. It's just that his is a bit, um, different from the standard release.

[quix0te]

1)I question having a relationship with somebody that has a 'blast radius'.  But I have my own pathologies and if Angus wants that, thats his choice.
2)Claire's response actually reminded me of a line from the Hitchhiker's Guide books:
"I'm a friend."
"Anybody's friend in particular, or just well-disposed towards people?"
3)I don't see Marten connecting with Claire because thats a narrative tar baby.  Claire can't break up acrimoniously with Marten because that would be painting a transgender as a villain.  Nogo.  Marten can't break up with Claire because that would push him over the line from pitiable punching bag to a different kind of bag.  Since he's largely the focal character, Nogo.  Jeph can attempt the same wierd finesse he did with Padme "She's crazy and its your fault for not being a unicorn Marten." but that was a pretty unsatisfying denouement after they had a nice thing going.

[Method of Madness]

A unicorn?

[Zebediah]

Since when does someone have to be the villain in a breakup? Sometimes relationships just don't work out, they end, and life goes on. Look, for example, at how Jeph handled it when Dora and Marten broke up. So no, that isn't a deal-breaker. Jeph could quite easily have them give it a go, have it not work out, have them split up, and yet still keep them both in the strip as well-liked and positive characters.

I still don't think Marten+Claire is going to happen, but I have other reasons for thinking that.

[bhtooefr]

There's plenty of other ways to end a relationship, though, rather than an acrimonious break-up or a move.

And, Jeph's a good enough writer that he could figure out a way for Marten to break up with Claire without him looking like a douchebag. (Well, the forums might think he's a douchebag, but...) Or, a way to make Claire break up with Marten, without her being the villain.

As I've suggested earlier, one way to do things would be, play Marten's passivity against Claire's passion. I think it could create a healthy dynamic for both of them, but it could just as easily create a bad dynamic. And, QC isn't MA3 with its hamfisted writing, QC characters actually do sit down and talk with each other once in a while - Claire could have a reasoned discussion with Marten about how their relationship isn't working because she feels like she's being held back by Marten, without being angry at all.

[katsmeat]

I don't see Marten connecting with Claire because thats a narrative tar baby.  Claire can't break up acrimoniously with Marten because that would be painting a transgender as a villain.

Jeph is already in that minority of authors who have used a trans-character and taken the trouble to developed them beyond a crass  1-D caricature. If an author has clearly developed a trans-character as an actual human being, then I think readers won't mind if the author gets them to act within the full range of human possibilities; this naturally includes the possibility of being a villain.  After all, always portraying people from a minority group positively is, in a way, is almost as dehumanising as always portraying them negatively.

Not that Jeph would make her a villain, IMO, simply because that would be OOC for Claire. In a relationship, I can easily see her doing something exceptionally stupid, mainly out of inexperience, but never anything villainous. Not that breakups actually need villains to happen.

BTW,  I think trans-person (or transwoman/transman) is  a better. Using 'transgender' as a noun seems to me like referring to a Jewish person as "a Jew".

[Loki]

Since when does someone have to be the villain in a breakup? Sometimes relationships just don't work out, they end, and life goes on. Look, for example, at how Jeph handled it when Dora and Marten broke up.

...and even then, a nuclear war broke out on the forums. A lot of people were on the side of "if Dora had worked on her issues in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Dora sucks." vs. "if Marten wasn't such a pushover all the time, this wouldn't have happened. Marten sucks."

[Redball]

I too have considered the word "Jew" as pejorative. I came to realize that sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, and I don't think Jews have a problem with the word in their own usage. This link sheds a little light on the usage as well as the suggestion that referring to, say, "the Jew" or "the transgender" is limiting and more likely to be offensive.

[Latias]

Need an adult... what?  Bookstore?  Is she running out of Yaoi? 

And "Marbles" is a brilliant nickname...

Marigold is an adult. The joke is from a meme.

[gopher]

As the stories have developed and moved away from the Marten/Faye dynamic I really think the strip could survive Faye and Angus being put on the bus. Hell culling a few characters may help the rest.

[TheEvilDog]

As the stories have developed and moved away from the Marten/Faye dynamic I really think the strip could survive Faye and Angus being put on the bus. Hell culling a few characters may help the rest.

The comic doesn't necessarily need a character cull. Several less important characters tend to be put on a bus anyway, Raven being the most prominent character. As it is, Jeph tends to rotate characters, with the main cast being the comic's landmarks as it were.

[cesariojpn]

Hell culling a few characters may help the rest.

I nominate Natasha.

[DSL]

Like the overused and misused "jumping the shark," I think putting a character on a bus is something that for the most part happens naturally and is noticed after the fact -- Natasha, for example, seems to have already been on the bus for some time. Sometimes sudden actor unavailability, not a concern here, necessitates a character being shoved under the bus (or, in one notable example, the plane which didn't quite make it to Japan) and the measure of quality of the production is how well that's handled in terms of the story.

RE: the comic -- Hanners perched on the sofa arm in the first panel seems to have an air of "Let's see what these two do" about her, I think. Is her notebook handy?

[Jazzmaster]

ZOMG! Claire said something vaguely related to makeouts while Marten was in the same room! Clearly that means they are in wuv!


...is what the shippers are thinking right now.

Oddly enough I was thinking the same thing.  I mean, about the shippers.

Like the overused and misused "jumping the shark," I think putting a character on a bus is something that for the most part happens naturally and is noticed after the fact -- Natasha, for example, seems to have already been on the bus for some time. Sometimes sudden actor unavailability, not a concern here, necessitates a character being shoved under the bus (or, in one notable example, the plane which didn't quite make it to Japan) and the measure of quality of the production is how well that's handled in terms of the story.

RE: the comic -- Hanners perched on the sofa arm in the first panel seems to have an air of "Let's see what these two do" about her, I think. Is her notebook handy?

I agree for the most part, especially with the bit about characters sort of popping in and out of the QC verse.  I almost sort of forget about some of these people until they're randomly introduced in strips throughout.  A similar thing happens to me IRL where I just sort of forget about people even if we only met a couple of days ago.  Is that bad?

[Latias]

Nominating Natasha for culling is a bit pointless, and she's not on the bus.

Since you brought it up recently, just who HAVE you written out of the strip permanently? Honestly, I can’t think of anyone.

Nat

[Method of Madness]

Is that Amir's ex? Because she's not dead, so she could come back, theoretically.

[Is it cold in here?]

That's the one.

[cesariojpn]

Nominating Natasha for culling is a bit pointless, and she's not on the bus.

Joke flew over your head.

[Latias]

Nominating Natasha for culling is a bit pointless, and she's not on the bus.

Joke flew over your head.

I read the new comments in reverse orders (from newest to older). The poster who talked about Natasha being on the bus was serious - not so much flew over my head as I happened to read the posts in the wrong order.

[Carl-E]

Need an adult... what?  Bookstore?  Is she running out of Yaoi? 

And "Marbles" is a brilliant nickname...

Marigold is an adult. The joke is from a meme.

Had to look it up.  Still doesn't make much sense in this context...

I too have considered the word "Jew" as pejorative. I came to realize that sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't, and I don't think Jews have a problem with the word in their own usage. This link sheds a little light on the usage as well as the suggestion that referring to, say, "the Jew" or "the transgender" is limiting and more likely to be offensive.

Re: Jew.  My mother's family was "conservative" (halfway between orthodox and reformed - my grandfather always wore a hat, only a yarmulka at schul, which he attended regularly, but no beard).  My mother gave it up and married my father, a goy.  I am at best cuturally jewish, growing up with the food, Yiddish around the house, and a nod to a few holidays. 

But when I moved to the midwest for college, I was surprised to hear an expression that I've heard here in central PA as well (in a town with two synagogues, mind you), and throughout the south;

"I jewed him down / he jewed me out of it" in reference to driving a really hard (and by implication unfair) bargain.  The first time I heard it I could've sworn the guy had said "he chewed me down", but it only took me a minute to realize what was actually being said. 

And though my grampa would proudly state that he was a Jew, despite having come here in 1902 fresh from a russo/polish pogrom, this verb usage is downright offensive.  The negative connotations of Jew as a noun were, I think, established more by the negative stereotyping campaign that led up to WWII - not that Jews were looked at in a favorable light before then, but it was not as out in the open, the very word was not an automatic condemnation.  Not in all circles.  They were tolerated in many places, even allowed to participate in society in some small ways.  Persecuted and often blamed for things, yes, but not universally on the receiving end of a pike. 

But the money thing?  That's where it gets sticky.  Even Jews don't tell those jokes.  And the casual use of that verb just left me stunned.  I mean, the holocaust was 40 years previous when I first heard it - had nothing penetrated? 

I still hear it.  And I still feel sick when someone I know, someone I respect, brings it into casual conversation.  Suddenly, they look much uglier to me than they did before.  And that pisses me off, because it'll be someone I liked, and I'm not going to be able to disabuse them of this ingrained idea, and... well, I mourn their ignorance.  It's hard impossible to not have it bug me. 

Sorry, I'll stop ranting now. 



Warning - while you were typing 6 new replies have been posted, because you got distracted and ate dinner. You may wish to review your post.

Nah, I'm good. 

[ecstaticjoy]

"in general, or with you specifically?" Bwaaahahahahahaha!!! I'm gonna use that next time.

[Carl-E]

Are you often in a situation where someone walks up and asks you to make out? 



Never mind, I don't want to know, I don't think my ego could handle it...

[Kugai]

It may be too late Hanners


It may be too late.




Double Plus Good there Claire.  Outsnarking Pintsize takes effort.

[Throg]

Is it just me, or did that couch shrink?

[Kugai]

It's a couch ruled by the laws of indeterminacy.


All it needs now is a nice hot cup of Tea.

[celticgeek]

Or something that is almost, but not quite, exactly unlike tea.

[Kugai]

Exactly

[jwhouk]

No, they're not in apartment 42.





I am.