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She doesn't date men named Mark

She is holding out for Bob

She knows musicians only lead to heartbreak

She sees no overlap between one night stands and relationships

Marten didn't bring his A game

Alluring aluminum aliurophile

[aliensporebomb]

Why do I have a weird feeling when Marten goes out drinking with his friends he might run into someone else out drinking with her friends and.....  it could be awkward and interesting.

[Kugai]

Jeph wouldn't do that to us

Would he?

[cesium133]

Yeah, he would.

[Method of Madness]

I'm missing something.

[Zwammy]

Well it still does. It goes from "I don't want to date anyone" to "I don't want to date you". How is that not more harsh?

That does seem a bit more harsh to me. Steve and Angus are sure to smack some sense into him, though.

[Detachable Felix]

Maybe the twist is that there won't be any girl drama, but The Horrible Revelation is now serving Ol' Janx Spirit and Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters and the three of them end up in hospital. (Where's the option for that on the poll, guys?  )

[cesium133]

I'm guessing the tequila monster for that is Zaphod Beeblebrox?

[Detachable Felix]

Naturally. Two heads and all.
Either that or a thirty ton mega elephant with bronchial pneumonia.

[cesariojpn]

Jeph wouldn't do that to us

Would he?

He did it with Padma (The bar bit).

[Method of Madness]

Oh, I thought spore bomb had someone specific in mind.

[Case]

...
I want there to be a better reason for such a dramatic little after-shock.

Q:    Since you brought it up recently, just who HAVE you written out of the strip permanently? Honestly, I can’t think of anyone.
Mr. J: Sarah, Ellen, Nat, any chance at happiness for Marten
Jeph Jacques Q&A Dump #9

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to review the contents of your fridge, your mailbox and your rationales for getting out of bed in the morning.

[Method of Madness]

Q&A dumps are fun, but do you really think he'd spoil his own comic? Or for that matter, restrict himself in any way? Besides, if it's not in the comic itself, it's not really canon.

[Method of Madness]

I'm pretty sure even Marten doesn't know, Steve.

[Coffee_Kaioken]

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1818

Should I be scared of what happens after those four-five beers?

[Method of Madness]

Four or five beers when you're in a good mood or at least amused is hardly the same as an entire bottle of whiskey when you're grieving. Assuming the bottle is a fifth (750 mL), that's about 17 standard shots.

[douçaine]

I'm deeply, deeply worried for Marten. He might be able to repress everything right now, but after 4 or 5 fancy beers, he'll be having himself a tear-stained, embarrassing evening. Poor Marten. Our author is setting it up perfectly! Marten never even answered Steve's question satisfactorily--of course he's not okay, even if he's laughing.
On the other hand, I'd love it if he could calm down about this. Imagine, the same day (in QC time) you begin to hanker for some sexual contact, you get it? Sounds like Jeff-ex-machina to me. A normal shy guy who has little sexual confidence would not be so lucky; try a gap of months (or weeks, if you're lucky). He's basically living in a storybook world, where casual sexual partners grow on trees. It's weird, but the fictional people who mope about not getting any action get many times more action than their real-world equivalents. And yes, he's looking for a relationship, but it would be nice if he would at least thank his maker (well, thank his author) for making life so bloody easy in other ways. Seriously.

[Method of Madness]

I just wish I knew what he said to Tai when she asked why he was laughing.

[ysth]

After quick research, I learned that "iambic" is indeed pronounced threesyllabically (eye-AM-bick) and not, as I previously thought (and as it is pronounced in German), twosyllabically (YAM-bick). Thank you for helping me expand my ever-growing cache of useless-in-everyday-life knowledge and congratulations to your formally correct haiku.

"trisyllabically"

Jeph wouldn't do that to us

Bujold's Rule: think of the worst possible thing that could happen to your characters, then make it so.

[Jazzmaster]

Why do I have a weird feeling when Marten goes out drinking with his friends he might run into someone else out drinking with her friends and.....  it could be awkward and interesting.

Authors don't generally write things in unless they have some kind of significance to the plot.

"Marten goes to the bar with friends and has a completely normal night where nothing significant happens" is not something that'd get written into the comic.

What would be really awkward is if he ran into Padma there.

[Rghfrgl]

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1818

Should I be scared of what happens after those four-five beers?

We'll have a string of drunken nights that last until Marten has been knocked out by the entire female cast.

[Coffee_Kaioken]

Alcohol sometimes does a 180 on your mood. You can go to a bar after a shitty day at work and then come home feeling better, then you can drink to celebrate something and feel like crap after the fact.

Yes, drinking hard liquor while grieving is different than a few beers after an awkward hookup and then a friend putting an ironic twist on it, but still.

[Method of Madness]

Keep in mind all the times Marten's gone to the bar and had a few beers and got fancy. I'd imagine it'd be closer to that than post-breakup.

[Throg]

Marten seems...brittle. Usually he's all chill in a genuine way, but this rings false.

Laying money down that we'll see Marten get drunk and then his facade of chill cheerfulness comes crashing down.

[HeavyP]

I will say that I think he's honestly chill about it - the laughter in the last strip was the dam breaking.  At some point, when bad things keep happening, you will eventually reach a tipping point.  I think Marten has realized the absurdity of everything that keeps happening to him, how little it matters in the overall scheme of things, and is finally like "Y'know what?  Fuck it.  I'm gonna have some beers with my friends, then enjoy my evening and tomorrow because why not?"

I realize that from the outside looking in, he doesn't have a bad life and what's raining on his parade is fairly minor, but the miracle of perspective can make that seem a lot worse when it's happening *to you*

[Tova]

I'm with HeavyP on this one. I think he genuinely has been able to find some kind of resolution, even if the people around him can't understand why.

It doesn't have to make sense to anyone else but Marten.

My theory is that the realisation that Marten himself was the one who got weird when Tai said that she thought D might get weird has not only tapped his funny bone but has also given him some much-needed perspective.

[KOK]

Well it still does. It goes from "I don't want to date anyone" to "I don't want to date you". How is that not more harsh?

That does seem a bit more harsh to me. Steve and Angus are sure to smack some sense into him, though.

A guy who has no interests other than dance music does not know how to dance?

[Akima]

Marten is ready for beer. Steve has very low hairline.

[J]

well, it looks like 'ol mark really did go so deep into angst that he came out the other side.

good for him.

[Lubricus]

I'm really curious about what this night out will include. I hope it's more than just "the guys have a good time drinking and bonding". I was surprised when Angus apporached Marten about it, and the timing seems to be tied to Marten's current experiences. Here's hoping for a positive development in Marten's life!

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

Why do I get the feeling that Marten's going to turn the topic of the evening around on Angus and ask about that job opportunity of his, other than the fact that he just stopped taking himself as seriously for a bit?

[snubnose]

I just wish I knew what he said to Tai when she asked why he was laughing.

You are not alone with this question.

[cesariojpn]

I just wish I knew what he said to Tai when she asked why he was laughing.

You are not alone with this question.

I QUIT.

[Uniquitous]

Marten's about to go critical. The alcohol will release Asshole-Marten, and irrevocable words will be said. Faye let it slide that one time, but who knows if he'll get off as lightly this time?

[Lubricus]

I just wish I knew what he said to Tai when she asked why he was laughing.

You are not alone with this question.

I QUIT.

Oh, yeah! That would be pretty wild - and it would sort of explain Marten's apparent overclocking, too.

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to stop trying to fix your spelling.

[Thrillho]

Is a punch in the face really letting it slide?

[anahata]

I just wish I knew what he said to Tai when she asked why he was laughing.

You are not alone with this question.

Not that she's been seen actually asking it, or have I missed something?

Re-reading that strip though, I suddenly understood how Delilah might be "looking for a boyfriend" but at the same time entirely up for a ONS with someone who (for unspecified reasons) she knew wasn't going to be that boyfriend.

Maybe Marten has acquired that perspective too. One thing I remember learning at some stage in life was to feel grateful for any kind of good time you've just had, instead wishing it had been somehow better.

Edit: typo

[GarandMarine]

I think Marten's broken through and having found the absurdity of life, is now on the path to hoppy nirvana.

[Loki]

Is a punch in the face really letting it slide?

No, but not telling him what he did when he wakes up from alcohol-induced amnesia is.

[Thrudd]

So does Smif College have a belltower?

Yes it does - The bells of Smith College are comprised of distinct sets of bells in College Hall, the Mendenhall Center for Performing Arts, The Helen Hills Hills Chapel, and Wilson House in the Quadrangle.
They have 4, count them, four sets of bells on campus. Each has its own Cupola or full on stand alone tower.

[TheCallMeFez]

Just wanted to say how much I'm appreciating the art style. Maybe its because we don't often get to see Marten showing much emotion, but I've been really impressed with the artwork in the past couple of comics.

[Neko_Ali]

It is saddening to me that so many people seem to want to interpret Marten's actions and mental state in the worst light. Just a few days ago, people were complaining about how endlessly moping over his one night stand he was being. Now he's had an epiphany and gotten over the mopes, and people seem to be split between whether this means he's about to go into a rage filled drunken stupor, or have a psychotic break....

[aliensporebomb]

Picturing Delilah possibly going "what have I done?"  She realized what she did and might have liked him more than she could say.  It wouldn't be the first time a woman has pushed a guy she likes away because mentally/emotionally processing it is not possible at the time.

[Zebediah]

New scenario: Delilah is moping at the bar. Marten goes over to talk to her. Delilah tells him about this one-night stand she had with a guy who she then pushed away, but now wishes she had gotten to know better. She's totally oblivious that Marten is the guy she's talking about.

[rschill]

It is saddening to me that so many people seem to want to interpret Marten's actions and mental state in the worst light. Just a few days ago, people were complaining about how endlessly moping over his one night stand he was being. Now he's had an epiphany and gotten over the mopes, and people seem to be split between whether this means he's about to go into a rage filled drunken stupor, or have a psychotic break....

This! 

I read Marten's laughter as seeing the absurdity of the whole situation and being able to laugh at life's jokes even when he's the butt of one of them.  Marten has one night plus one morning's worth of emotional investment in Daria.  If that's going to make him snap, then he's a different person than what I thought I've been reading all these years.

[Is it cold in here?]

"At that moment Marten reached enlightenment"

[Method of Madness]

Daria

La la la la la

[jwhouk]

New scenario: Delilah is moping at the bar. Marten goes over to talk to her. Delilah tells him about this one-night stand she had with a guy who she then pushed away, but now wishes she had gotten to know better. She's totally oblivious that Marten is the guy she's talking about.

This is so ridiculous in ridiculosity level, that it's almost certain it will happen.

[Method of Madness]

Was certain. Now that it's been said, it won't.

[HauntingPoem]

The New Bros (ours) Meet the Old group of Bros (Bros! Bros! Bros!) And a majestic Bro-Off ensues...

[Method of Madness]

They've met before.