Topic: Passage of time in QC... (Read 72037 times)

AprilArcus · « **Reply #150 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 19:06 »

I wouldn't be too upset if it's not possible to fit all this on to a real-world calendar; I mostly started charting it out because I felt confused by the slow real-time pace of the strip and wanted to understand the evolution of these characters' relationships better.

Omega Entity · « **Reply #151 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 19:19 »

Well, when does Smith's term end? I think most colleges' Winter sessions wind up somewhere between May and June, so I think mid-spring is a safe assumption for your timeline. Either way, it won't affect your timeline if Smif and Smith's schedules line up or have a few weeks' difference, the plotted timeline is still viable, especially if we're going with the bipolar-Spring theory.

AprilArcus · « **Reply #152 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 20:31 »

I posted some academic calendars from 2003-2006 on page 2

Omega Entity · « **Reply #153 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 21:15 »

Ah, yep. My community college Winter semesters (which would be the Spring semesters in your lists ) seemed to always end late April/early May too. So, I think that other schools will likely have something similar, with maybe a week of leeway either way..

Orkboy · « **Reply #154 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 21:29 »

April, the amount of work you've put into this makes your choice of avatar seem like more than just a coincidence.

Omega Entity · « **Reply #155 on:** 02 Feb 2015, 21:30 »

I made that exact same observation on the last page

Apparently she looks like her IRL, too

AprilArcus · « **Reply #156 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 01:20 »

More from Jeph:

Quote

I imagine it’s been at least a couple years in comic-time since the strip started. I think Marten and Dora dated for maybe 9 months their time?

More like 14 according to this count. More quantum uncertainty? Maybe eight months worth of seasons and hair growth elapsed during the time skip, but the characters subjectively experienced it as only three months?

Carl-E · « **Reply #157 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 08:49 »

April, don't sweat the calendar in Meena's apartment.

I know you never have, but many people leave a calendar up past it's "freshness" date. That 31 day month could be December, and they never got around to taking it down, or maybe they liked the picture of the robot - he might remind Meena of a juggler she knew in the mortuary...

And while "perfect" Dave might not leave a calendar hanging, he may have done so at Meena's insistence. Maybe she was just trying to drive him nuts...

cesium133 · « **Reply #158 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 08:52 »

"Perfect" Dave is too busy feeding the homeless to change a calendar.

Carl-E · « **Reply #159 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 08:53 »

Good point. Wrong kind of "perfect", I guess!

cesium133 · « **Reply #160 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 08:55 »

The twist, though, is that he feeds the homeless... to wolves.

Carl-E · « **Reply #161 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 09:19 »

Perfect!

Omega Entity · « **Reply #162 on:** 03 Feb 2015, 09:55 »

I wonder if Jeph's ever taken a look at this thread. Or if he drops little details (like the calendar) in to give astute readers hints at the timeline he's using.

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #163 on:** 05 Feb 2015, 21:21 »

I can't believe it's been summer for 5 years. I was thinking it was more like 2 or 3. Where did my life go?

doglion · « **Reply #164 on:** 06 Feb 2015, 10:33 »

My two cents on this (hi, btw): I've never really been bothered by episodic stories that remain in relatively static time periods, because I've always figured that only the exceptional events are depicted. There are probably long stretches of time where it's just Marten, Pintsize, and Faye sitting on a couch, watching TV and screwing around on their phones. We don't get to see that because it's uninteresting, without conflict there is no story, etc.

Part of what I really like about QC is the setting. It may be in the past to us chronologically, but Jeph had the awesome idea of making their technology advanced while keeping their social culture relatively the same. The get to have all the latest devices because, in the setting of QC, iPhones probably came out in, like, the early 80s and nowadays you can get them in the checkout aisle at Target for $3. It also presents interesting storytelling opportunities, like the fact that they probably have more advanced medicine, but receiving treatment is still hampered by their lack of healthcare reform (hence Dora letting Faye stay on the books so CoD's insurance will cover her).

Method of Madness · « **Reply #165 on:** 06 Feb 2015, 20:47 »

Quote from: mustang6172 on 05 Feb 2015, 21:21

I can't believe it's been summer for 5 years.

Northampton, Westeros.

DSL · « **Reply #166 on:** 06 Feb 2015, 21:00 »

Any minute now Nicole and Murphy from Quantum Vibe will break through the inter-universal barrier and decide to stick around.

Storel · « **Reply #167 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 00:43 »

Quote from: DSL on 06 Feb 2015, 21:00

Any minute now Nicole and Murphy from Quantum Vibe will break through the inter-universal barrier and decide to stick around.

Is it just me, or would "Quantum Vibe" be a great name for a shop that specializes in sex toys for nerds?

DSL · « **Reply #168 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 02:32 »

Quote from: Storel on 11 Feb 2015, 00:43

Quote from: DSL on 06 Feb 2015, 21:00
Any minute now Nicole and Murphy from Quantum Vibe will break through the inter-universal barrier and decide to stick around.

Is it just me, or would "Quantum Vibe" be a great name for a shop that specializes in sex toys for nerds?

No, that's "Apple Store."

AprilArcus · « **Reply #169 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 11:47 »

2875-2883: Thursday. Faye gets blackout drunk and spends a night in the hospital.
-- costume change: Dora from 2880/2886. --
2884-2893: Friday. (Was Tai's library party off-panel?)
2894-present: Saturday.

Kugai · « **Reply #170 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 12:49 »

Quote from: Method of Madness on 06 Feb 2015, 20:47

Quote from: mustang6172 on 05 Feb 2015, 21:21
I can't believe it's been summer for 5 years.
Northampton, Westeros.

But would that mean in this storyline that Winter is coming?

AprilArcus · « **Reply #171 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 13:14 »

In another four years, maybe. If the strip is still running.

Carl-E · « **Reply #172 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 16:48 »

Every time you say something like that, your avatar makes it seem SOOOOOOO forebodiing!

Method of Madness · « **Reply #173 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 17:31 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 11 Feb 2015, 11:47

(Was Tai's library party off-panel?)

Probably pushed back a week.

AprilArcus · « **Reply #174 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 18:15 »

Quote from: Method of Madness on 11 Feb 2015, 17:31

Probably pushed back a week.

On account of Tai's friend-of-a-friend overdoing it? I hope it happened off panel, because I'm going to tear my hair out trying to make it fit otherwise.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #175 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 18:20 »

When was this party mentioned again?

AprilArcus · « **Reply #176 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 18:28 »

#2869

Method of Madness · « **Reply #177 on:** 11 Feb 2015, 19:34 »

Oh wow, that was recent. I'm assuming that was Wednesday. Yeah, that party happened offscreen.

MooskiNet · « **Reply #178 on:** 12 Feb 2015, 09:40 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 11 Feb 2015, 18:15

Quote from: Method of Madness on 11 Feb 2015, 17:31
Probably pushed back a week.

On account of Tai's friend-of-a-friend overdoing it? I hope it happened off panel, because I'm going to tear my hair out trying to make it fit otherwise.

I'm getting you a puzzle with three extra pieces for your birthday.

Omega Entity · « **Reply #179 on:** 15 Feb 2015, 18:28 »

Wait, is the timeline still set up as it being a really long break and into fall around 1226, or the (more plausible, imo) mid-spring, considering how the conversations set it up and the propensity for Mother Nature to be a fickle beast?

AprilArcus · « **Reply #180 on:** 15 Feb 2015, 21:51 »

I am leaning toward a November - April/May time for 1-1310, but it's hard to constrain the 1048-1310 period with much certainty.

Half Empty Coffee Cup · « **Reply #181 on:** 15 Feb 2015, 21:58 »

I prefer a principle of parsimony for nebulous timeframes: the minimum amount of time in order for everything to make sense.

Omega Entity · « **Reply #182 on:** 15 Feb 2015, 22:06 »

I think I'm getting my comics mixed. that's what happens when I try to figure it out in the middle of the night

~~mustang6172~~ · « **Reply #183 on:** 16 Feb 2015, 19:22 »

And with this Yeti jizz, we're back to winter!

Gladstone · « **Reply #184 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 19:23 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 11 Feb 2015, 11:47

2875-2883: Thursday. Faye gets blackout drunk and spends a night in the hospital.
-- costume change: Dora from 2880/2886. --
2884-2893: Friday. (Was Tai's library party off-panel?)
2894-present: Saturday.

Uh-oh, today's comic (2907) says that it's Tuesday (Faye: "[The Wednesday night support group] is tomorrow night."). We may have lost a few days somewhere...

Edit: They're still wearing the same clothes from 2894. Faye couldn't have spent the entire weekend in the hospital...could she?

(But maybe that's why Claire was so eager to get Marten out of those clothes--he'd been wearing them for four days straight!)

AprilArcus · « **Reply #185 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:29 »

The only room for a jump is still between 2780 and 2781. This gives us:

Sat	2772-2780	Dora resolves to cut Sven out of her life.
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed	2781-2801	Angus leaves for New York. Claire flirts with Marten at work.
Thu	2802-2820	Marten asks Claire out. Angus gets the part. Faye breaks up with him.
Fri	2821-2848	Marten and Claire get dinner. Marigold asks Momo to be her roommate. Faye starts binging.
Sat	2840-2874	Marten and Claire set Clinton up with Emily. Tai posts flyers for a library party of Friday. Faye acts out at work and drinks all night.
Sun	2875-2883	Dora catches Faye drinking at work, fires her. Faye gets blackout drunk and spends a night in the hospital.
Mon	2884-2893	Faye sleeps off her hangover. Marten and Claire have sex.
Tue	2894-	present. Faye's Wednesday support group is meeting tomorrow.

This isn't great, since it gives us Marten and Claire staying home from work on a Thursday (2802-2820), and going in to work on a Saturday (2840-2874) and Sunday (2875-2883).

Meh. I give up.

Method of Madness · « **Reply #186 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:34 »

College libraries are open seven days a week. Them working five days a week and having two days that aren't the weekend off wouldn't be that strange.

Gladstone · « **Reply #187 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:37 »

Paraphrasing Douglas Adams: I love timelines. I love the clashing noise they make as they contradict themselves.

AprilArcus · « **Reply #188 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:44 »

Quote from: Method of Madness on 01 Mar 2015, 20:34

College libraries are open seven days a week. Them working five days a week and having two days that aren't the weekend off wouldn't be that strange.

Only during the semester. If we're going by the 2006 calendar, that means they stayed in from work on the first day of class. If it's 2005, then classes still haven't started yet. And I maintain that it doesn't feel there there are three days missing between 2776 and 2784.

It's dead, Jim.

Gladstone · « **Reply #189 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:47 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 01 Mar 2015, 20:29

The only room for a jump is still between 2780 and 2781. This gives us:

Sat 2772-2779 Dora resolves to cut Sven out of her life.
Sun thru Tuesday 2780 Hannelore learns a lot about wieners.
Wed 2781-2801 Angus leaves for New York.

FTFY

Gladstone · « **Reply #190 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 20:54 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 01 Mar 2015, 20:44

Only during the semester. If we're going by the 2006 calendar, that means they stayed in from work on the first day of class. If it's 2005, then classes still haven't started yet. And I maintain that it doesn't feel there there are three days missing between 2776 and 2784.

It's dead, Jim.

But if everything else from the last thousand-plus strips fits, why not just handwave this one little inconsistency? Meh, three-day gap, good enough.

AprilArcus · « **Reply #191 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 21:06 »

Quote from: Gladstone on 01 Mar 2015, 20:54

But if everything else from the last thousand strips fits,

Last sixteen hundred strips. There's also a similar glitch in the 310-417 period that I found recently, but I thought Jeph might have started keeping stricter track after the big time-skip when the seasons started turning.

Quote

why not just handwave this one little inconsistency? Meh, three-day gap, good enough.

Well, I wanted to make a reference to help with close reading, but it seems like the strip doesn't want to be read closely. By all accounts Jeph finds the sort of micro-analysis that I do really exasperating. If you want to handwave away inconsistency, an OCD chart is the worst tool you could pick.

Of course, nothing is stopping him from going back and editing that "Wednesday" in 2906 to "Sunday" to soothe my anxious little heart.

TRVA123 · « **Reply #192 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 21:12 »

idk, you'd think that Jeph would find the coincidental time accuracy kind of cool.

or he saw the timeline and decided to throw a wrench in it

Gladstone · « **Reply #193 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 21:15 »

Send him a sternly-worded email. "Mr. Jacques, I diligently spent many hours working out a fairly-accurate timeline of events of the past year in the QC universe, and you casually ruined my work in a day. How dare you, sir. You ought to be ashamed."

AprilArcus · « **Reply #194 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 21:26 »

Meh, haranguing artists who make the things I love isn't my thing. If he wants to use this timeline to help track continuity, it's right here for him, and if someone here has his ear and thinks he might care, I'm sure they'll feel free to point it out to him gently. Otherwise, it's his strip and he should write it in a way that makes him happy and want to keep writing it.

Gladstone · « **Reply #195 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 22:33 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 01 Mar 2015, 20:44

And I maintain that it doesn't feel there there are three days missing between 2776 and 2784.

But in 2778 Dora says she hasn't told Tai, and if she's still keeping it a secret three days later, their conversation in 2784 could just be about Faye's fears that they discussed in 2782 (edit: and now I really think it is). Maybe it's best to regard 2780 as an epilogue to the most current events, as well as a beat/intermission before a brief 2-3 day time skip. There's still the work schedule/academic schedule issue, but otherwise everything else could check out?

Edit: Plus, that gives Faye a few more days to worry about Angus leaving, which might contribute to her going back to the bottle after the breakup.

Edit edit: Plus, the full-page artwork in 2781 feels like the start of a new chapter, so the three-days-later business might work out. Take heart!

Half Empty Coffee Cup · « **Reply #196 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 22:46 »

I would think that a university library would open a few days to a week before classes actually start. Students move in during that period.

BenRG · « **Reply #197 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 23:33 »

You really have two likely fixed points: Marten asking Claire to be his GF on what is likely a public holiday (a Monday), and the day after Faye returns ffrom hospital is a Tuesday. Any missing days need to go there somewhere.

IMHO, the place to put the gap is between 2842 and 2849. Hannelore and Juicy has no real chronological link with the other strips and doesn't have to be the next day or anything similar.

pwhodges · « **Reply #198 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 23:46 »

Quote from: AprilArcus on 01 Mar 2015, 20:44

Only during the semester.

Not necessarily true.

Gladstone · « **Reply #199 on:** 01 Mar 2015, 23:52 »

Quote from: BenRG on 01 Mar 2015, 23:33

IMHO, the place to put the gap is between 2842 and 2849. Hannelore and Juicy has no real chronological link with the other strips and doesn't have to be the next day or anything similar.

Doesn't really work. Marten is still wearing his 'TEH' shirt in 2848, so he just got back from his date, and Hannelore apparently dropped in on her way back to her apartment after throwing out her clothes and passing Juicy on the stairs. 2849 is the morning after, with Clinton and Claire wearing the clothes they meet Marten in in 2851.

Anyway, I'm pretty convinced now of the time jump between 2779 and 2781.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Passage of time in QC... (Read 72037 times)