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The hospital waiting room?

50 (33.3%)

Faye on a trip down Deriver Denial?

26 (17.3%)

Emergency Cast Meeting?

45 (30%)

The police station, charged with the assault (or even murder) of Pintsize?

9 (6%)

Weird archetype-filled dream sequence for Faye in which she sees her life as a strange Pyroland-like fantasy and is Elightened?

20 (13.3%)

Total Members Voted: 139

[TieDyeKat]

I see you have the machine that goes "Ping! Beep!"
I don't know how common it is in every ICU, but they do keep it attached for alcohol poisoning cases as far as I know

Warning - while you were typing 3 people had more valid things to say than a Monty Python joke. Shame on you

I thought it was a Doctor Who joke.



Warning - while you were typing eleventy new replies have been posted. You may wish to scream an obscenity.

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

I doubt we'll see Angus.  Anyone who would get in touch with him is also likely to assume that Faye's binge drinking has been a result of their breakup, and that having him show up probably wouldn't be a good idea.  An exception might be Hannelore, whose romantic streak might convince her Angus showing up would be what Faye wants.

[A_S00]

The way I see it there are two possibilities. Faye has either died of alcohol poisoning or has passed out in hospital after punching Marten. Now with the passing out, I don't think she's going to wake up 100% ok. Alcohol poisoning is serious business and I don't think Jeph is going to play it off as "she went to emergency after being vomitiously drunk and is now 100% fine."

I mean...I think generally, you're either okay or you're not when it comes to alcohol poisoning.  Exceptions I know of are:

• If you stopped breathing while you were passed out, you might have brain damage.
• If it happens a bunch of times, you might get Korsakoff syndrome and/or liver disease.

Of course, "100% fine" is admittedly not going to be a good description of Faye, especially in the state-of-mind department, even without major health complications.

[Is it cold in here?]

Poor Faye didn't even get to enjoy any cute EMT butts.

[eschaton]

Prediction for this week: Faye wakes up, shrugs off Marten's concerns, possibly even snapping at him. She paints Dora in a negative light and goes to look for another job aka goes to the nearest dive. During the week, Faye drinks some more and possibly decks someone. Faye either ends up arrested or in hospital to pump her stomach.

Again, I think it's worthwhile to see what Jeph himself has written on the subject.

http://jephjacques.com/post/11016004407/high-and-dry

Jeph didn't "hit bottom".  He didn't fuck up his strip or alienate every single person in his life before he wised up.  He just had a really bad experience from drinking, and realized he had to stop.

Obviously Faye could fall a lot further than Jeph did.  But the question would remain - why bother putting one of his characters through that much additional pain and anguish? 

[Mmeaninglessnamee]

Warning - while you were reading 3 new replies have been posted. You may wish to review your post.
(Wow, right off the bat.)
(And now it's 7.)

I'd like to point out one of the little details I noticed in today's strip, the little bit of blood visible in the IV going into Faye's hand. I would think that if there is anything pumping into or out of Faye, this small stable bit of blood wouldn't be there, it's showing an equilibrium of pressure in the line. So is this just how Jeph drew it, am I incorrect about how IV's "in action" look, or does it mean that at that point Faye is not actively receiving any drugs? (I'm guessing it's the second, the only dealing with IV's I've had is one surgery.)

[bears!]

I doubt we'll see Angus.  Anyone who would get in touch with him is also likely to assume that Faye's binge drinking has been a result of their breakup, and that having him show up probably wouldn't be a good idea.  An exception might be Hannelore, whose romantic streak might convince her Angus showing up would be what Faye wants.

I don't think that Angus showing up would be a good idea, but I hope that someone contacts him and lets him know what's going on. And that no one blames him/holds him unduly responsible.

It's looking more an more like Faye didn't break up with Angus because long distance is hard. She did it out fear of abandonment. All of the choices she's made (major ones) come down to giving into that fear or wrestling with it. Her over reaction to getting fired is probably another aspect (Dora abandoned her--not really, but to a person with a pathological issue around abandonment, it would look that way).

Also, Marten has been off with Claire while Faye has been dealing with the fall out from her breakup with Angus. I can see that really playing into her fear of abandonment as well; how many times have we seen Marten come home to a drunk Faye and just check up on her in passing? I can understand how the feeling of "my best friend is off with his new girlfriend while I sit here alone" could loom much larger in her mind than the hugs he's given her and the ways in which her friends have checked up on her.

I think it's really powerful that Marten was the one who found her. He's the guy who's stuck with her since the very beginning, despite all the things she's done that might have driven someone else away. I hope that seeing that he's not going anywhere, even when things get incredibly bad, will help ease some of her fear of abandonment.

[Kelamin]

It could just be for blood transfusion or a way for nurses to extract bloods, I don't think that they input fluids in the hands but I could be wrong. Could be anything really, could be the colour of the tube so that it stands out against the bandage/skin. Also could be that things got messy which does happen frequently when bloods are taken, also could have ripped out if she'd been convulsing and could have caused some damage.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

They put fluids is where ever they can. Last time I got the good drugs it was in the hand, as was my only hydration IV.

Partly because I have rolly blood hoses, so they tend to have a hard time stabbing them. I guess it's easier to get the ones in the hand.

[Oilman]

FAYE has clearly been drinking far too much, passed out and had her stomach pumped, at the very least. I'd assume she is also on intravenous rehydration, because that's common in such cases.

I'd read the last few panels as her relapsing into unconsciousness and remaining there for long enough for whatever is required in plot terms, to transpire - people being phoned, Dora freaking out, Angus saying she really isn't his responsibility, whatever factors are required to be introduced. She is is a stable, safe environment and won't suffer any further harm.

[DillyDolly]

So, think Faye's family will show up?  I am honestly hoping Marten contacts her family and they come up to see her.

I think we're going to see it the other way around. She gets taken down to stay with them in the next few strips. Look at the titles. They appear to be spoileriffic.

2878 is "Hospital Bound."
2879 is "Homeward Bound."

The current title (2882) is "Close to Home." 

[Kelamin]

Nope I was wrong a saline or IV drip does get inserted into the hand and is the preferred choice for point of insertion.

[TieDyeKat]

Somehow, I believe Sven will take the blame.  After all, the unhinging really started to roll after his ill-timed confession of adoration.

[DonInKansas]

Where's the Punching Intern when you need him?

[cesium133]

In the next room over, recovering from the most recent childbirth.

[Kugai]

Probably on Medical Leave 

[Kelamin]

Where's the Punching Intern when you need him?

I was thinking the same thing though he might be the punching Dr instead of the punching intern by now

[Kugai]

But that would make him House.

[Neko_Ali]

Prediction for this week: Faye wakes up, shrugs off Marten's concerns, possibly even snapping at him. She paints Dora in a negative light and goes to look for another job aka goes to the nearest dive. During the week, Faye drinks some more and possibly decks someone. Faye either ends up arrested or in hospital to pump her stomach.

Again, I think it's worthwhile to see what Jeph himself has written on the subject.

http://jephjacques.com/post/11016004407/high-and-dry

Jeph didn't "hit bottom".  He didn't fuck up his strip or alienate every single person in his life before he wised up.  He just had a really bad experience from drinking, and realized he had to stop.

Obviously Faye could fall a lot further than Jeph did.  But the question would remain - why bother putting one of his characters through that much additional pain and anguish?

'Hitting rock bottom' is something that has come up a lot in the last week or so, for obvious reasons. That point is not 'when you're living on the street, bumming/stealing to get a cheap bottle of rotgut'. It's different for everyone, but it usually means something has opened up your eyes to just how screwed up your life is and brought you to the realization that you either need to change, or you're going to wind up dying in a place you don't want to be. Possibly sooner than later depending on the circumstances. So you don't have to lose everything... The shock of losing her job and then having to be hauled to the hospital could be enough to shock Faye. Or she could try to crawl right back into the bottle when she is released. Either way, harder times are coming for her, and the rest of the cast.

As far as Marten getting punched and the EMTs looking surprised... by the looks of it, they were just wheeling her into the hospital, hence the 'triage' sign. She's clearly been drifting in an out of consciousness. She may have been restrained from the ride over and got loose. Or they may have just been surprised she was able to move. Most likely though they were just trying to move to keep her calm and get Marten out of flailing range.

[SRRRRRRRR]

I'm glad this strip was posted.  For the horror that is involved of a friend going to the hospital, it is funny as hell to see it from the point of view of the person who isn't quite sure about what's happening.  I laughed about a fictional character going to the hospital and it was more for the silent reactions than anything else.

I seriously can't get over this emoticon, either.   

[jheartney]

1. Glad Marten called the EMT's and didn't try to deal with it himself.
2. Doubt we'll see Angus again soon, if ever. Faye dumped him, he's not responsible, and he's in the middle of trying to not blow a huge career break.
3. Doubt Faye's dead (nor Pintsize). But it looks to me as if she's in the ICU, which is pretty serious. They may well have sedated her if she's being aggressive.
4. Alcoholism thrives in secrecy and denial. Neither is possible with Faye in ICU. Which is a good thing.
5. The QC crew of twenty-somethings is tight-knit, and probably has little experience of seeing each other suddenly bundled off to hospital. Dora is going to feel a real punch in the gut, knowing her firing of Faye led to this. (Dora's blameless here, but it won't feel that way to her.) There may be some blaming to go on, either self-blaming or other-blaming. They'll all wonder why they missed it.
6. The $64,000 question is will Faye continue in denial, or will this be enough to make her deal honestly with her condition. (Assuming she recovers, which I expect her to.)

[Blackbird]

Oh wow.  This strip.

For another interpretation of the title. "Close to Home" doesn't have to be close to home to Jeph.  This is also close to home for Faye.  I can't find the strip(s) in question, but I recall Faye talking about how she fell in and out of consciousness after ramming her car into that tree, and it's been heavily implied that Faye was trying to kill herself when she did that.  The title may be evoking the tree episode and how Faye has been here before. 

Keep in mind too that Angus is the first real relationship that Faye has had since her dad killed himself (her thing with Sven was never a relationship) and losing Angus probably tore off alot of those band-aids from wounds she had convinced herself weren't still bleeding. 

For a sometimes cheesy gag-of-the-day comic, the underlying story in QC is just so well-written. 

[Omega Entity]

Alright, I'll join in on some postulating. Mainly because I'm bored, tired, and don't feel like going to bed yet.

There's a (remote) possibility that Sven could come into play here. He confessed to thinking he's in love with Faye not long ago, and if he gets wind of this I can totally see him showing up at the hospital to lend support. It'd be an extremely poor decision to make and would cause a shitload of drama, but this -is- Sven we're talking about - he really doesn't think things through, and especially has a penchant for thinking of things from a very self-centric point of view, i.e. not taking others' feelings into account when trying to get what he wants.

That, and I just don't see Jeph having Sven drop that massive confession bombshell and then not having it come into play sooner rather than later.

[explicit]

So... who punched Marten?

[Natswash]

So... who punched Marten?

Faye punched Marten

Alright, I'll join in on some postulating. Mainly because I'm bored, tired, and don't feel like going to bed yet.

There's a (remote) possibility that Sven could come into play here. He confessed to thinking he's in love with Faye not long ago, and if he gets wind of this I can totally see him showing up at the hospital to lend support. It'd be an extremely poor decision to make and would cause a shitload of drama, but this -is- Sven we're talking about - he really doesn't think things through, and especially has a penchant for thinking of things from a very self-centric point of view, i.e. not taking others' feelings into account when trying to get what he wants.

That, and I just don't see Jeph having Sven drop that massive confession bombshell and then not having it come into play sooner rather than later.

That makes a lot of sense, and we could actually see some Svenectomy drama between Dora/Sven

[Omega Entity]

Yep, I was thinking a side of Dora/Sven drama, to go with the Faye/Sven main course.

[explicit]

If she was blackout, how the hell did she punch him? I'm not saying you're wrong, but when most people black out they stay asleep for quite a bit of time.

[sluthy]

(her thing with Sven was never a relationship)

Yes it was, just not a particularly healthy one. They both kept telling each other and themselves that it was just FWB, but Faye on a couple of occasions indicated she wanted more. And Sven, while convincing himself at the time, has obviously later come to realise she meant more to him than he first thought too.

[LilBlueSky]

All I can say is that I hope to god she's alright. She isn't just some secondary character. She's THE main character (besides Marty that is). I couldn't breathe from this strip. I am at a loss for words right now.
Note* This is my first time posting in a weekly discussion thread... be kind please?

[Motorcycle]

It's obvious that Faye punched Marten. I don't believe she's dead. She just passed out again there at the end. As for everyone saying she need to go into therapy: Have yall forgotten that she is already in therapy? She has been for quite some time.

[sluthy]

If she was blackout, how the hell did she punch him? I'm not saying you're wrong, but when most people black out they stay asleep for quite a bit of time.

She was drifting in and out of consciousness, as per the alternating black panels and action panels.

I hope she's restrained in that bed now. I suspect this will result in a group talk with Faye while she's still in the bed.

[explicit]

All I can say is that I hope to god she's alright. She isn't just some secondary character. She's THE main character (besides Marty that is). I couldn't breathe from this strip. I am at a loss for words right now.
Note* This is my first time posting in a weekly discussion thread... be kind please?

NO, FUCK THAT. I mean hi!

This one didn't actually make me that emotional, but I think it's because I expected this to happen. Same with the one where Faye got fired.

and OHHHH that makes sense then sluthy.

[TRVA123]

If she was blackout, how the hell did she punch him? I'm not saying you're wrong, but when most people black out they stay asleep for quite a bit of time.

There's being so drunk that you "blackout" which, at least where I live, means that you do things, but have no memory of them later, or a disjointed memory.

Then there is blacking out, where you go unconscious. related, but used in different ways.

[Omega Entity]

If she was blackout, how the hell did she punch him? I'm not saying you're wrong, but when most people black out they stay asleep for quite a bit of time.

The silent narrative quite clearly indicates her fading in and out of consciousness. Having personally been in an unconscious state before and riding in an ambulance, I was completely out, but came to long enough to recall one of the EMTs yelling at me (likely to try and get through to me in my half-awake state) to raise my hand if I felt like I was going to throw up. I got my hand probably an inch off the stretcher, then went out again. I remember nothing until waking up at night in the hospital, which was probably another 7 or so hours later, completely unconscious. I will note that I was also vomiting while unconscious, which I gather is a symptom of a pretty serious head injury. Granted, it was for a closed-head injury and not being drunk, but I think the principal still applies.

Also, she has a -lot- of booze in her, and if something triggered a burst of adrenaline in her in a brief moment of consciousness, I can totally see her being capable of lashing out before going under again.

[wdfarmer]

Oh wow.  This strip.

For another interpretation of the title. "Close to Home" doesn't have to be close to home to Jeph.  This is also close to home for Faye.  I can't find the strip(s) in question, but I recall Faye talking about how she fell in and out of consciousness after ramming her car into that tree, and it's been heavily implied that Faye was trying to kill herself when she did that.  The title may be evoking the tree episode and how Faye has been here before. 

Keep in mind too that Angus is the first real relationship that Faye has had since her dad killed himself (her thing with Sven was never a relationship) and losing Angus probably tore off alot of those band-aids from wounds she had convinced herself weren't still bleeding. 

I think you've got it.  "Close to home" is referring to her father's suicide, which was really traumatic for Faye.  Whether she intended to do so or not, Faye's just come very close to committing suicide herself.

[Natswash]

If she was blackout, how the hell did she punch him? I'm not saying you're wrong, but when most people black out they stay asleep for quite a bit of time.

Not necessarily, the times my roomates have not remembered they've switched between passed out and briefly lucid. As far as I can tell getting blacked out means you don't remember it later.

All I can say is that I hope to god she's alright. She isn't just some secondary character. She's THE main character (besides Marty that is). I couldn't breathe from this strip. I am at a loss for words right now.
Note* This is my first time posting in a weekly discussion thread... be kind please?

Welcome to the weekly thread! Not only is she central (being Marten's roomate and all) but she's second listed on the wiki and Jeph's second-favorite. Unless Jeph is channeling G.R.R. Martin I doubt he'll kill her off (and he doesn't really kill people off anyway ever (Except Sarah who was eaten by an allosaurus (but she's an outlier and should not be counted)))

Warning - while you were looking up how to spell "Allosaurus" 6 new replies have been posted. You may wish to visit your 7 year old self and apologize.

[CasAttack]

(First time commenter, ahoy!)

Man, some rough stuff lately. I've seen some people interpret this differently but I assume the order of things is that Marten tried to wake her up and figured she has been drinking a loooong time now, called 911, Faye has a brief freak out when realizing vaguely what is happening, punches Marten and then is nap city the rest of the time.

I guess we can assume she had her stomach pumped and is on a drip for fluid replacement, or at least the latter? Either way, I know things are getting quite serious but I don't see MORE drama between folks. 'Close to home' strikes me as something Faye will recognize in herself, as will Marten to some degree. I just hope Dora doesn't, in an act of impulsive selfishness, decides to still hold something against Faye and rub salt in a wound still too fresh. It's more important to just be there and care in the moment; the rest can certainly be hashed out later.

[SubaruStephen]

Damn.

DID JEPH JUST KILL FAYE?

[LilBlueSky]

Okay. I've had time to digest this strip.

My thoughts are that she's either dead (plausible, but not as likely) or is in serious trouble and may well be on her way there if she doesn't get help NOW. This is a serious strip and a turning point for Faye and for her friends because now they MUST help see her through recovery by putting a stop to the enabling on their part. I feel that Dora is going to blame herself for whatever happens next and Marty may well have to be a support for Faye and for Dora, which will complicate things with Claire. 

I for one hope that Faye pulls through but has to deal with the reprocussions of her serious drinking problem.

In any case, we will all be on the edge of our seats until this arc is finished.

[LilBlueSky]

Damn.

DID JEPH JUST KILL FAYE?

That's almost exactly what I did while reading today's strip.

[CasAttack]

I'd be extremely surprised if she was dead or THAT close to death. I'd assume Marten saw she was breathing, she was conscious off and on, and probably had a moment of "is this more than just being drunk" before he called. It's certainly a possibility, but I think the "beeps" are more an indicator of the only sound Faye can process in her state.

[HiFranc]

Blackbird, she tells Marten about her father's suicide and about the aftermath in strips 500-510.

[Zalder]

I just hope Dora doesn't, in an act of impulsive selfishness, decides to still hold something against Faye and rub salt in a wound still too fresh. It's more important to just be there and care in the moment; the rest can certainly be hashed out later.

I see the opposite as far more likely.  Dora will feel super guilty for her perceived role in Faye's self destruction and will become super depressed and self critical of herself.  The anger we saw when she fired Faye was a reaction to what she felt was a threat to her business and Faye's disrespect of her as a boss and a friend.  As strong as that anger was I think it doesn't compare to the emotions that Dora will be feeling as soon as she finds out what happens.  She's known Faye a long time, she's one of her best friends, I think we'll see all that pouring out in the coming strips.  Also tears, lots and lots of tears. 

[hedgie]

Also, Dora does tend to lash-out sometimes.

I also wonder if Jeph isn't just going to do tomorrows strip without dialogue, but the whole week.  He's already shown he can do a story visually, and sometimes words aren't needed.

[Is it cold in here?]

Somehow, I believe Sven will take the blame.  After all, the unhinging really started to roll after his ill-timed confession of adoration.

Or, as LilBlueSky (welcome!) suggested, Dora will blame herself.

No matter what I trust Dora to misplace the blame.

[BenRG]

Well, that was a brilliant strip in all technical and artistic terms! The use of silence and alternating black panels did a great job of communicating Faye's condition. Panels 2 and 4 also establish just how serious the situation is for Faye and how worried Marten is.

Marten tried to wake Faye and failed (comprehensible, given the group's hard-drinking ways - He wouldn't automatically think that it was an emergency); he then called the EMTs, who took her to hospital. Intoxicated and disoriented, Faye lashed out and hit Marten, although it looks like there was little strength in it. The last two panels are her slipping into deeper unconsciousness, although the EKG sounds steady, so no worries there.

She's going to be in the hospital for at least a day, IMHO. The doctors will want to be sure her vitals are steady and she hasn't suffered any damage. Faye's out of the direct story for now; the rest of the week will be the repercussions for her friends. As I said last week, Dora is going to have a serious guilt trip and her friends will need to stop her doing anything stupid.

[HiFranc]

Dora may try to resolve her guilt by lashing out at Sven.

[cesariojpn]

At what point does a person consuming mass quantities of alcohol require medical attention?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_intoxication#Acute_alcohol_poisoning

[Aimless]

Poor Faye didn't even get to enjoy any cute EMT butts.

Ah yes Jeph's "skewed heads" period... I don't miss it, but hope the soundtrack for Wednesday's comic is "kiss on my bump"

[cesariojpn]

I thought it was a Doctor Who joke.

Nope, Monty Python Joke.