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Now departing the USS MartenClaire *bell rings*

122 (56.7%)

Jephizba trolls us all, hallowed be the trollmaster's name.

32 (14.9%)

Spatheham and Clairemom Pancakes

7 (3.3%)

A solid week of Steve eating cereal

9 (4.2%)

Martenmom and Clairemom team up and fight crime/meddle in their children's personal lives

45 (20.9%)

Total Members Voted: 195

Voting closed: 09 Oct 2014, 22:04

[Thrillho]

In Australia, she'd be "Blue". Because she's a redhead.

Buh?

The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2008) by Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor says:

    Bluey noun used as a nickname for a red-haired person. Ironic in origin. Australia, 1906

Some redheads, especially those of Celtic ancestry, have extremely fair skin that can appear pale blue in the right light. So it's not always so ironic.

And Celts used to wear woad.

[valkygrrl]

And Celts used to wear woad.

Only till Mel Gibson did it. Then it became too mainstream and they stopped.

[DSL]

Some anagrams of OMG I SHIP IT (some the help of an anagram generator):

I GOT IMPISH (We know, Tai ... )
OI SITH GIMP (Darth Maul?)
HI MOIST PIG (ummm ... )
I MIGHT IPSO (facto?)
THIS MOI PIG (multilingual but ungrammatical)
MOI PIG SHIT (I'll show myself out ... )

[aliensporebomb]

I rather don't think that Claire would be frustrated by Marten's lack of ambition all that much. One of the things she praised him on was his stability. In fact she got a bit upset when he mentioned that he might leave the library... for some pretty clear reasons now of course. So long as he doesn't get in the way of her ambitions, or become a leach if they move in together eventually I don't see this as a problem for her. She might nag him to wear ear protection when playing his music, but I don't think she'll get all upset if he never does anything major with his life.

The other thought I had: we haven't seen her past up close and detailed and it's possible the stability and generally agreeable even disposition he has might be just what she needs.   

Think about it - she may have lost friends or had to change schools - who knows?  Only Jeph and it's probably not necessary to delve into it.

Instead of a guy who's trying to get an MBA and do tons of business travel she'd rather have a guy who will work a steady job, whatever it is, and be around.

[TieDyeKat]

I've already got my head-canon on how the Marten x Claire intimacy issue will be handled:

They come back to Marten's apartment from a date, clearly quite excited and start making out in the middle of the lounge. Marten then carries Claire bridal-style into his bedroom. Jeph brings down the brightness of each panel until the last panel is totally black with just speech bubbles of them whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Won't happen.  Our stringy hero wasn't even trusted to help lift a sofa, remember?  A whole human being just seems out of the realm of possibility.

[Leveton]

I've already got my head-canon on how the Marten x Claire intimacy issue will be handled:

They come back to Marten's apartment from a date, clearly quite excited and start making out in the middle of the lounge. Marten then carries Claire bridal-style into his bedroom. Jeph brings down the brightness of each panel until the last panel is totally black with just speech bubbles of them whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Won't happen.  Our stringy hero wasn't even trusted to help lift a sofa, remember?  A whole human being just seems out of the realm of possibility.

I expect Claire weighs less than an average sofa, however. She is fairly petite. I'm not saying Marten could or couldn't carry her, but comparing her to a sofa seems silly.

[Method of Madness]

Comparing her to Hanners seems fair, though.

(Sure, it was only one arm but he could barely keep her from falling, much less pick her up outright)

[Leveton]

Yes, Hanners is probably a much better point of comparison. But for whatever reason, someone who goes limp just seems that much harder to pick up. Like a toddler or cat that doesn't want to be picked up. And Hanners seems to be pretty much dead weight there. Again, not saying Marten could carry Claire (and even if he could, probably not without some difficulty, scrawny as he is), but it could be explained away if Jeph decided to have it happen for the sake of the narrative/art/squee.

[TieDyeKat]

In Australia, she'd be "Blue". Because she's a redhead.

Buh?

The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2008) by Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor says:

    Bluey noun used as a nickname for a red-haired person. Ironic in origin. Australia, 1906

There are actually blue people.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/blue-skinned-people-kentucky-reveal-todays-genetic-lesson/story?id=15759819

[jwhouk]

In Australia, she'd be "Blue". Because she's a redhead.

Buh?

The Concise New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (2008) by Eric Partridge, Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor says:

    Bluey noun used as a nickname for a red-haired person. Ironic in origin. Australia, 1906

A little bit like a super heavy and large man in the US is called "Tiny".

[Method of Madness]

Yeah, but "tiny" is actually the opposite of true. Blue and red are just...different colours. If I had to think of an "opposite" of red I'd say green, but only because of traffic lights.

[bhtooefr]

There are actually blue people.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/blue-skinned-people-kentucky-reveal-todays-genetic-lesson/story?id=15759819

Long tails, on the other hand... (yes, vestigal tails, but long ones?)

Oh, wait, wrong thread.

[hedgie]

Yeah, but "tiny" is actually the opposite of true. Blue and red are just...different colours. If I had to think of an "opposite" of red I'd say green, but only because of traffic lights.

I'd say cyan, actually.  Try doing colour adjustments in Photoshop.  The "opposite" pairings are red/cyan, yellow/blue, and green/magenta.  I can see how someone might confuse cyan with blue, though.

But for whatever reason, someone who goes limp just seems that much harder to pick up. Like a toddler or cat that doesn't want to be picked up.

Well, cats *are* a liquid.  Best to stick them into a container for involuntary transport.

[Leveton]

Yeah, but "tiny" is actually the opposite of true. Blue and red are just...different colours. If I had to think of an "opposite" of red I'd say green, but only because of traffic lights.

Cyan is the opposite of red, as far as photography and printing are concerned.

[Leveton]

Well, cats *are* a liquid.  Best to stick them into a container for involuntary transport.

I'd say they're more of a non-Newtonian fluid, but for the purpose of this discussion that would be quibbling.

[Orkboy]

And Celts used to wear woad.

Only till Mel Gibson did it. Then it became too mainstream and they stopped.

They also stopped because woad contains a narcotic with effects similar to PCP when absorbed through the skin.  Which explains a lot. 

[SubaruStephen]

And Celts used to wear woad.

Only till Mel Gibson did it. Then it became too mainstream and they stopped.

Those Celts, such hipsters.

[DrBear]

 A final thought before we enter next week.

There has been speculation about somebody spilling Claire's information, whether it will hurt her, be embarassing, cause problems in her new relationship and so on.

If you look back, Jeph, for all the hoops he puts his characters through, rarely tries to harm them. Embarrass them, yes, but not in a serious, run off and become a nun way. The most painful thing that happened to a character was with Faye's father that caused her severe emotional problems that she is only now getting over. Compared to that, various characters showing up places in their underwear, having vomiting incidents, etc. are minor. Even Marten's breakup with Dora

So ... some embarassment down the line, maybe. and Clarten may not work out. But I don't think anybody will be in danger.

[hedgie]

He does tend to like torturing Marten, though.  He is the butt-monkey of the strip, after all.  I guess that'd make Hanners and Claire the woobies, though, so no harm done to Claire; even if the ship sinks, she'll probably have had a better first relationship than most of us.

[Netrunner]

He does tend to like torturing Marten, though.  He is the butt-monkey of the strip, after all.  I guess that'd make Hanners and Claire the woobies, though, so no harm done to Claire; even if the ship sinks, she'll probably have had a better first relationship than most of us.

The saddest part of that is that it's true. 

[anahata]

He does tend to like torturing Marten, though. 

Marten's torturing himself mostly, which is why people poke fun at him about it.

even if the ship sinks, she'll probably have had a better first relationship than most of us.

True. And she'll be rescued from the sinking ship because Jeph wouldn't do otherwise... but I don't think it will sink. It may encounter stormy weather and have the wind against it at times, but I sense a quiet determination between the two of them to make it work.

[Rghfrgl]

 Remember a few threads ago when 15 pages seemed a big deal?

[BenRG]

Remember a few threads ago when 15 pages seemed a big deal?

Threads last as long as we have something to post about...

Let's just hope that this one doesn't turn into another pancake thread. That last one made me hungry and, as I'm diabetic, the particular cravings it produced were just this side of psychological torture. 

[kerky]

He does tend to like torturing Marten, though.  He is the butt-monkey of the strip, after all.  I guess that'd make Hanners and Claire the woobies, though, so no harm done to Claire; even if the ship sinks, she'll probably have had a better first relationship than most of us.

The saddest part of that is that it's true. 

Maybe Jeph has decided itīs about time for Marten to have grown and to be happy, to achieve his newfound goals in life (I dare speculate he will soon quit his job in the library - because he loves Claire and wants her to get her dream job - and being a wildly sucessful salesman or store manager at a music store) and to love and be loved the way he deserves, for at least the next 2810 comics. Of course, there will be ups and downs, but i donīt expect anything relationship-shattering as with Dora or Padma anytime soon.

I also think Marten is a perfect match as Claireīs first relationship. Why? He loved a girl so much he followed her across the country to Massachusets. He was patient for a long time with Faye, without bitterness and hard feelings, understanding and always a friend. He has been able to face Drama on his breakup with Dora - remember she definitely has issues since she visited Fayeīs therapist for quite some time. He has managed to make Hannelore able to hug somone, making her father incredible happy on his birthday party at  the space station, he has dealt with Padme leaving town, although not in the most elegant manner, but Iīm sure he will do better from now on since he has realized how foolish he was then. And thanks to Delilah he has discovered casual sex is not for him.

Also, Claire knows all of this (plus some of Martenīs "Family Values"  ) and therefore her comfort zone around Marten is muuuuuuuuuuch wider than with any other male character in the series, maybe with the exception of Clinton, but of course he is her brother and not boyfriend material. It would be nice to see Faye taking care of any possible overprotecting moves he may make, as she has sucessfully fought his creepiness in the past, and he will certainly not publically out Claire to anyone else in the cast, because in all his creepiness he does care a lot for her.

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

Faye gave her the obvious moniker: "Red".

Ever since I saw that nickname, I've actually been thinking: "Someone should make fanart of her as Little Red Riding Hood". Don't really know why.

[Storel]

I can think of at least one or two cartoons I've seen about Little Red Riding Hood -- one was directed by Tex Avery, IIRC -- where somebody calls her "Red" for short. Perhaps you've seen them too and subconsciously associated that nickname with LRRH.

[Rghfrgl]

I don't think the hood would work very well with red hair(RED red hair that is, rather than the orange hair we call red for reasons). Too monochrome.

I do kinda want to know who gets to be the wolf and hunter though.

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

Huh. I guess that makes sense. Marten would make a rather sorry hunter. But then, so would overprotective Clinton. The wolf, of course, would be Faye. It's only recently that those two got along.

Also, since I'm rereading, I've come across something that could bode well or ill for Marten and Claire: favorite Toto song. You could say it's only a valid measure for Faye, but it also preceded problems for Marten and Dora... like, immediately. The same problems that lead to the eventual end for that one.

[MooskiNet]

Ever since I saw that nickname, I've actually been thinking: "Someone should make fanart of her as Little Red Riding Hood". Don't really know why.

I think you're right - I put my attempt in the fan art thread.  More like little red riding hoodie, but what can you do, ya know?

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Maybe Jeph has decided itīs about time for Marten to have grown and to be happy, to achieve his newfound goals in ...(Snip)

Characters without conflict are dull. They either need to be conflicted or a source of conflict. Self doubt is a fairly common inner conflict because anything can trigger it, everyone has had it, and it doesn't have to be logical to be believable.

It's not that you can't have a happy character who has compelling inner conflicts. It's just a lot harder.

That said, there's no rule that says the only valid conflicts are romantic--even in a comic whose dynamic tension is almost all relationship based.  It would be interesting to see Marten growing into a stable relationship. That's as challenging as anything else, in real life. And uncharted territory for him. (As good of a g it as he is, he was phoning it in with Dora.) But I'm pretty sure Marten still has a long way to go before reaching Nirvana.

[jwhouk]

kerky: Dora didn't see Faye's therapist. She told her she didn't want to see anyone in her social circle (something she told Sven).

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

kerky: Dora didn't see Faye's therapist. She told her she didn't want to see anyone in her social circle (something she told Sven).

For good reason, too. Problems in this social circle tend to revolve around each other's relationships and how they relate to their own inner demons. To work through it, one might appear to be taking someone's side over another. Probably just a measure instituted in order to remain impartial.

[cesariojpn]

Claire doesn't have a nickname yet, does she?

"Fire head girl" is already taken.

Crimson Godd.....oh wait, thats taken already by Pyrrha in RWBY.....nevermind.

[DSL]

Crimson the Librarian.

[tywren]

After a few days of thinking, i'm going to have to say i'm not a fan of they way this is shaping up.

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical". Two consecutive nights of getting hammer later, and all of a sudden, he's going on about "This feels right"?

WTF; What Da Fuq?!?! this is making Martin out to be one of the most inconsistent, flip flopping, characters i've ever seen, and it's coming from out of nowhere.

[Netrunner]

After a few days of thinking, i'm going to have to say i'm not a fan of they way this is shaping up.

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical". Two consecutive nights of getting hammer later, and all of a sudden, he's going on about "This feels right"?

WTF; What Da Fuq?!?! this is making Martin out to be one of the most inconsistent, flip flopping, characters i've ever seen, and it's coming from out of nowhere.

When it clicks and you know you want to be with someone, you just know it. When I met my wife, we were at an anime convention. She was with her husband, and I was with my fiancee. We met, we talked, we had a great time. After the convention, we realized that we had something that was missing from both our relationships. We both took a huge chance. She got a divorce and I broke things off. We've been married 5 years, now. Like I said, sometimes, you just know, and when it happens you either go for it or wonder about it for the rest of your life.

[HiFranc]

After a few days of thinking, i'm going to have to say i'm not a fan of they way this is shaping up.

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical". Two consecutive nights of getting hammer later, and all of a sudden, he's going on about "This feels right"?

WTF; What Da Fuq?!?! this is making Martin out to be one of the most inconsistent, flip flopping, characters i've ever seen, and it's coming from out of nowhere.

You are, off course, assuming 3 things:

• Marten is in touch with how he feels.
• Marten is honest to himself.
• Marten is honest to other people.

We've not seen anything to say 3 is true but we have plenty of evidence that Marten's issues revolve around 1 & 2.

Yes, he did impose that rule on himself from the start but there is evidence that there's more to Marten's freak out about Emily than just that rule.  I suspect that one of the reasons that Emily freaked him out is because he didn't want to ruin things between him and Claire but wasn't willing to admit, even to himself, how he felt about Claire (or how she felt about him).  We see a bit of that in the pub.  He calls her his favourite intern then backpedals.

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if the ship would have sailed had Claire answered her phone.  Hearing that Claire talks about him all the time probably helped him realise just how much he meant to her as well.

{edited to correct spelling}

{edit 2 & 3: Corrected logical error in first sentence}

[BenRG]

kerky: Dora didn't see Faye's therapist. She told her she didn't want to see anyone in her social circle (something she told Sven).

That was after Dora and Marten broke up, wasn't it? It's significant because Dora started seeing a therapist soon afterwards (Faye insisted with the threat of violence). I think that Faye's therapist decided that Faye's social circle was filled with so many messed-up personalities that she couldn't handle three of them.

[HiFranc]

kerky: Dora didn't see Faye's therapist. She told her she didn't want to see anyone in her social circle (something she told Sven).

That was after Dora and Marten broke up, wasn't it? It's significant because Dora started seeing a therapist soon afterwards (Faye insisted with the threat of violence). I think that Faye's therapist decided that Faye's social circle was filled with so many messed-up personalities that she couldn't handle three of them.

No, it's not.  I've been reading forward from that point and 1795 is the beginning of the incident where they break up.  Dora starts asking Marten about his porn.  A quick check shows that the break up happened on 1799.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

WTF; What Da Fuq?!?! this is making Martin out to be one of the most inconsistent, flip flopping, characters i've ever seen, and it's coming from out of nowhere.

Inconsistency has a consistency all its own. How many times have you heard someone say something like, "I just don't understand (insert gender)!" It usually boils down to an unwillingness or inability to look at things from a different view point.

Marten's behavior makes perfect sense if you accept the possibility that he was simply unaware of direction his feelings were going. He had previously declared that he wasn't going to be banging "his" interns. Yet, from the beginning, he was interested in Claire. It probably wasn't romantic at the start, but she was someone he tended to seek out.

That's called internal conflict. That's how stories get told. The Emily arc serves to put that conflict front and center. Ultimately, Marten is not freaking out because his "intern banging" rule is at risk. He probably freaked because he is too nice--therefore worried he'll hurt Emily's feelings--and because it seems like the wrong intern is interested in him.

HiFranc has it right to suggest Marten may have been in denial right up until he actually had a chance to talk to Claire. Jeph doesn't show us his characters' thoughts often, and leading up to the critical moment, we saw a lot less about what Marten was thinking than usual--mostly because Marty didn't talk to anyone about it.

But we do know that he didn't handle it in an un-Marten like manner. He thought things over to the point that he had a big speech planned. That's totally Marten.

The important point is that Marten's actions only seem like a flip if you assume that he was serious about not dating an intern. I expect Faye is going to be making that point, especially given her concern about Tai finding out. Now that she knows Tai is okay with it, it fair game to razz Marten for overreacting about Emily.

[Tub]

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical".

Marten never said such a thing. That was Tai and later even Claire, but never Marten.

[HiFranc]

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical".

Marten never said such a thing. That was Tai and later even Claire, but never Marten.

Actually, he did.  Tai was just throwing his argument back at him.

[kerky]

I mean it was what, at most 48 hrs ago in the comic timeline that Martin gets a peck on the cheek form Emily, was freaking out, and all "I can't date an intern, that would be unethical". Two consecutive nights of getting hammer later, and all of a sudden, he's going on about "This feels right"?

WTF; What Da Fuq?!?! this is making Martin out to be one of the most inconsistent, flip flopping, characters i've ever seen, and it's coming from out of nowhere.

Nah, I thinks itīs just Martensīs slightly clumsy way of making clear to himself (along with a lame excuse) that he does not want to date Emily. Actually it is clear for him the moment he answers "thatīs fine" as Tai says "She probably didnīt mean anything by it" in 2373. She also makes sure he knows she would be OK with someone (hinthint) dating an intern.

Also, if Faye has seen Claire has a crush on Marten (and confronts her with that in the bar) then it is only fair to assume that Tai, who works with them every day must have noticed as well, and her reaction to Doraīs SMS in the latest comic makes quite clear that she is outright happy for the two (or was even secretly hoping/plotting for this to happen) which explains strip 2373. It has also been speculated that she may be the only person besides Emily, Marten and Clinton to be aware of Claireīs trans status (since she probably has access to the personnel files) so she could have been secretly plotting this for long. She could intentionally put them on the same shift, make sure they have the same day off, ah, lots of possiblities there to pave the way...

Also, when having crisis wine with Faye later that evening he decides that the best thing about the Emily situation is not to do anything about it, a decision that Faye describes as "Reasonable": in 2769. And Faye describing anything someone does, specifically when itīs about Marten as "reasonable" is waaaaaaaaay to go.

Though, the morning after the post-bar sofa cuddling with Claire he still needs "pancakes" to process this. A pity Jeph has not shared the whole complexity of his Diner-pancake inducted thoughts with us but only the essence of them right before and after the first kiss with Claire, but maybe some information on that will be revealed sooner or later when Marten and Claire talk. Which they will. A lot I guess (and hope for).

[BenRG]

Agreed; in the end, Marten doesn't like Emily on a romantic level. However, being Marten, he wants to be able to find an excuse that allows him to wriggle away without saying so explicitly. Yes, it's a nice sort of moral cowardice; he doesn't want to have to upset Emily by rejecting her. It's just another example of how his personality has the potential to screw up his life sometimes.

Why is unethical, by the way? If Claire were to be recommended for a permanent, paid position and Marten had input into the recommendation, Emily and Gabby could claim that he was simply looking out for his girlfriend. Now, I don't think that Marten would actually be in a position to make such a recommendation or have any input into it - Tai would be the person who makes that call and she's struck me as being very professional underneath her easygoing demeanour (look how she's been managing Marten!). However, he possibility of an accusation of impropriety is there.

[Method of Madness]

You know, I had completely forgotten until someone linked it, but Marten never did say it would be unethical for him to date an intern, only for Tai to do so, because Tai (probably) hired them and has the power to fire them, while Marten just trained them for a bit and has no actual power over them (as far as we know).

[jwhouk]

You know, I had completely forgotten until someone linked it, but Marten never did say it would be unethical for him to date an intern, only for Tai to do so, because Tai (probably) hired them and has the power to fire them, while Marten just trained them for a bit and has no actual power over them (as far as we know).

2216 - and you are correct, sir. He just said he wasn't thinking about it until Tai pondered about doing it herself.

[kerky]

Hah! There it is. The ultimate explanation. In panel 2 in http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=273

Marten has finally gotten over a traumatic experience!

SCNR.

[Rghfrgl]

Hah! There it is. The ultimate explanation. In panel 2 in http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=273

Marten has finally gotten over a traumatic experience!

SCNR.

Or found out that was a thing he wanted.

'Marten, this book is two days late. I..I'm going to have to p..punish you'
*Claire turns beet red and runs out of the room in embarrassment*

[SubaruStephen]

Hah! There it is. The ultimate explanation. In panel 2 in http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=273

Marten has finally gotten over a traumatic experience!

SCNR.

Or found out that was a thing he wanted.

'Marten, this book is two days late. I..I'm going to have to p..punish you'
*Claire turns beet red and runs out of the room in embarrassment*

And now I have this image in my mind of Claire as a naughty librarian... oh, I think I just found the subject for Jimbo's next book!

[kerky]

Or found out that was a thing he wanted.

'Marten, this book is two days late. I..I'm going to have to p..punish you'
*Claire turns beet red and runs out of the room in embarrassment*

And now I have this image in my mind of Claire as a naughty librarian... oh, I think I just found the subject for Jimbo's next book!

Oh god! What have I done (duckandrun)