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Turns up and tells Faye she'll fight her to protect Marten from her!

At the Library, insists on routing all conversation with Marten through Faye

Toe-curling unconvincing attempt at persuading Marten she has a 'more important' person too

Writes depressing music about abandonment that is later a hit for Deathmole

Pretends it never happened and then bursts into tears at random intervals

Turns up and is mean to Faye who (surprisingly) bursts into tears and confesses all her dark history

[BenRG]

What has Claire's involvement brought except to remind as that Claireton is a thing?

This is only a guess but I think that it was mostly to progress the relationship between Faye and Claire. Specifically: No matter how little Faye likes Claire's sassy attitude, she is okay with her being Marten's girlfriend and, indeed, will make a personal investment in the relationship herself.

Personally, I find that interesting to consider. It means that, when she's too drunk to hide her real feelings and attitudes, Faye would prefer Marten and Claire's relationship to succeed, at least at this stage.

[pwhodges]

Also (and to answer rfrank as well), QC is a story about a small community; and the comings and goings of the members of the group, and their passing interactions, are as much part of it as concentrating on one single theme to the exclusion of others.  Helps keep it real, for one thing; provides variety for another.

[Akima]

I agree there was no need for claire to be involved in this weeks strips

How about acting to remind us that a problem in one part of the cast does not mean the rest of the universe disappears. Kind of like real life, actually.

[Schwungrad]

[Note: MrNumbers does not and never will endorse "Punch To The Head" as an effective alternative to psychiatry. Unless it's, like, really good fruit punch.]

But what about a boot to the head?

Whats that? You should have quoted the original instead of the animated ripoff of The Frantics - Last Will and Temperment

Only Hipsters value originals. The true essence of a work of art is only revealed by stripping it from the trappings of its implementation.

[Tova]

Another one of those irregular verbs? I stand up for myself; you are prone to complaint; they are a sook.

[BenRG]

I stand up for myself; you are prone to complaint; they are a sook.

Should I be worried that I don't know what this sentence means?

[Tova]

It's a little joke that I first heard on the BBC comedy series Yes Minister.

This link may explain it better: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotive_conjugation

[jwhouk]

"I am firm. You are obstinate. He is a pig-headed fool." - Katherine Whitehorn.

[Timemaster]

Hi everyone,

Claire looks very adorable in panels one and three. Nice artwork today.
Apart from that Jeph is still clearing the ground for the things to come, whatever that will be. He has taken a great effort to make sure that everyone is accouted for. I suppose tomorrow we will see Claire saying goodbye again and friday...
... well, something else. Maybe a cliffhanger for the weekend. Next week we´ll get to the heavy stuff.

But Claire shows a good amount of insight today. She has understood that there is nothing to fear about in his situation and that there are things that are more important than the date with her boyfriend. She has gained some sympathy-points in my book today. And I like Fayes mug too. 

TM

[CaptainFish]

Hey, so, good Claire, but...

From a narrative standpoint, Claire's involvement in the scene at all has brought this to a standstill.

What has Claire's involvement brought except to remind as that Claireton is a thing?

I'd have much preferred Claire never made that phone call, and we spent a few more panels of just Marten and Faye hashing this out. The phone call, Faye calling back, Claire arriving and now her unceremonious departure... four of five strips Claire's arrival has done nothing to advance the plot, the characters, nothing.

The argument that this is a thing that would happen in real life is irrelevant, because this isn't a real life, it's a narrative. Introducing and then sweeping off a character using this much "screentime" without a real... significance at such a dramatic moment is very poor form.

Yeah, this is how I feel. I also don't appreciate Claire's tact, because her initial reaction was myopic and selfish.  The date-cancelling-phone-call felt like a relationship speedbump that was pretty lame and predictable (and reminiscent of Marten and Dora's spats), but it was avoided by everyone caring more about each other than themselves. There were totally interesting aspects, like Marten vehemently respecting Faye's privacy about her alcohol problem and Faye using her violent reputation for good, but I can't help but want to get to the actual Marten-Faye discussion.

[Tova]

Patience is a virtue, you know. 

[Is it cold in here?]

One well worth waiting for.

[Kugai]

There will be conversation



Lasting until next Wednesday

[Tova]

I was thinking that it might last until #3000... 

[cesium133]

Nah, #3000 is just going to be a bunch of naked old dudes (to balance out the naked old ladies in #1000)

[Coffee_Kaioken]

This strip really hits close to home right now, especially on coping with stress.

[A Duck]

Whoa, that was unexpected...

[Is it cold in here?]

I said "oh dear" out loud.

[chaospersonified]

H'oh damn. Was my response.

[FayeDouble]

Poor Faye. In a way, she now understands. But in another way, it means she's walking his path and now has reached the point where a choice needs to be made. I think, since Marten was smart and insisted on talking with her, that she won't walk her father's path.
I think this will lead to a trip home for Faye, temporarily.

[ASB84]

Looks like we might be learning a bit more about David Whitaker. If it's going in the direction it seems to be, I think a lot of us picked what's coming. Not that that's a bad thing; it's logical, and the story's being told very well.

[chaospersonified]

I think this will lead to a trip home for Faye, temporarily.

I hope not.

I feel like Faye's mom and sister wouldn't be so helpful to her mental state. Faye's in a delicate place, she needs friends like Marten to help her right now. I'd only support her visiting home if Marten and Hanners came with. That could be interesting, maybe, but I don't know.

A visit from Faye's mom would be better, and it could help with getting information

[iasthai]

It's like there's a word missing from the script and context fills it up.

[Radium_Coyote]

Marten has to be Marten.  He has to get Faye PAST this point, and it probably won't be easy.   but it is an achievable goal.

[Method of Madness]

Oh, fuck. Maybe it was more than the one milkshake a week for her dad after all

[wlewisiii]

Oh, fuck. Maybe it was more than the one milkshake a week for her dad after all

Maybe or maybe not. Suicidal depression =/= alcoholism; she may well simply be referring to that sense of helplessness that points to a final exit stage left.

[SubaruStephen]

"Oh shit." -me reading that last panel.

That one line coming out of Faye's mouth could either mean she knows how her dad felt, or (and this one worries me) she's FEELING what her dad felt right before his suicide.

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to damn the torpedoes and type faster.

[Kugai]

Dang

Just ........ DANG!








Not to inject humor for humors sake or to take away from Fayes emotional revelation, but I just ran across some of Yelling Birds relatives

http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2015/06/09/guide-birds-might-see-garden-summer/

[CaptainFish]

Well, that was heavy and abrupt. At least it's out in the open so it can be discussed.

[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]

Not sure how it is for Faye (or Jeph) but for me the withdrawal induced anxiety was the worst part of drying out from my last Big Bender.  The first month was just miserable, basically a running chorus of panel 4 all day.

So I'm wondering how much of this is an alcohol induced funk and how much is "genuine".  Faye has a lot more problems than I did but just removing alcohol from my brain for a while made it work better with no change in circumstances.  Eagerly looking forward to the next week's strips more than I have in years.

[electromgneticDstroyosaur]

Only Hipsters value originals. The true essence of a work of art is only revealed by stripping it from the trappings of its implementation.

Those "trappings" are the very existence which gives art meaning. I understand the importance of things outside the spacetime of a given artwork's inception, but you're throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

Yes, I'm purposely avoiding today's comic because DANG, that was depressing. It seems Jeph remains unafraid to strip the concept of "comic" from the trappings of its etymological root in comedy.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

P.S.: Where did Faye get that mug? Not just the size but the smiley kitty decoration! I'd really like to have something like that!

Looks to me like a Neko Bus grin from 'My Neighbor Totoro'. Though I don't know if Studio Ghibli does mugs.

[Stoutfellow]

That one line coming out of Faye's mouth could either mean she knows how her dad felt, or (and this one worries me) she's FEELING what her dad felt right before his suicide.

What it looks like to me is that she sees the road he took in front of her, and the end of that road is off on the horizon - not close, but visible.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Yes, I'm purposely avoiding today's comic because DANG, that was depressing. It seems Jeph remains unafraid to strip the concept of "comic" from the trappings of its etymological root in comedy.

He's exactly like Batman that way.


Wait a minute...

Have Jeph and Batman ever been seen together?

[mustang6172]

My reaction to that last panel:  FUCK YEAH!  WE'RE GETTING BACK TO THIS!

Now that I think of it, Faye might not have shared that if Claire hadn't left.

[MrNumbers]

*Snip*

I concede the points made here. With what it did, it did well. Since Faye/Claire was a bit rockier not-too-long ago, this was a more subtle step in a good direction, and I must admit I hadn't considered that angle.

I still stand by that I'd have much preferred today's scene coming five strips ago, and working from that, but I also concede that's a purely subjective gripe, not an objective one.

I agree there was no need for claire to be involved in this weeks strips

How about acting to remind us that a problem in one part of the cast does not mean the rest of the universe disappears. Kind of like real life, actually.

Fiction is Like Real Life But. That argument holds very little sway to me* on its own. Especially when we consider there might have been a different character to show that point while still moving the plot further forward. Immediately coming to mind are Marten's Mom and Dora.

The feeling that there is a larger universe outside this problem is a very valid point, but I think I'd like it more if - as Claire herself said - this scene was just between Marten and Faye. Just for the moment. The bigger world can come creeping in around the edges, or be shown in a simultaneous cut-to, or-

Anyway.

*Emphasis on "To me". This is where I start arguing purely subjectively.

[chaospersonified]

Dora showing up would have sent the scene into a tailspin, and is less likely than the person Marten is dating at the moment.

As for Veronica moving the plot along further, I'm not sure I see how that figures.

[MrNumbers]

Also, I know it's bad etiquette to double post, but the message I want to leave here varies so wildly in tone I couldn't in good conscience tack it on to an argument about the nature of fiction niceties.

Warning - while you were typing a new reply has been posted. You may wish to celebrate the buffer.

Here is to everyone who has had to talk a friend off the edge. The horror that you might fail. The misery of being in that position.

Here is to everyone who has had to be talked off the edge by a friend. The guilt that they might fail. The shame of putting them in that position.

Here is to those who have stared into the void, and felt the void stare back, pulsating with the beat of your thrumming heart but never, not once, blinking.

Here is to those who have dragged others out of the event horizon.

Here is to you, the lonely and the alone on the precipice of the nadir.

Here is to you, who nodded at that last sentence, because you know that sometimes the normal words don't encapsulate the feelings of that unnormal situation. That situation that should be the very antithesis of normal. Fuck abnormal, it's too normal a word, we're using the wrong prefixes.

Tomorrow I meet a friend for lunch to talk them out of suicide. They are the last friend of mine who have comparable levels of brain cooties that has not given up, to use a literal euphemism. Five will get you ten that this will just end on a final goodbye. I imagine I'm feeling a lot like Marten must be right now.

In strip and in life, tomorrow's going to be a big punch in the gut, isn't it? I hope not.

[Is it cold in here?]

Would you like to post a copy of that in Pessimism and Depression? May I?

[Neko_Ali]

I don't find today's comic surprising. This is a talk Faye has needed to have with someone for a while now. You can only push this back and forth in your own head for so long before the thought itself becomes poison, which is where she has been since the Angus interview arc started. And really, there are only three people she could have gone to for this talk. Marten, obviously. Dora, who she couldn't go to right now. Once she's in a better place then yes. But talking with Dora would be it's own source of stress now. And finally Dr Corrine. Because you know, therapist. Of the three, she could probably help the most but is the least likely for Faye to go to without some external prompting, or after a revelation on her own. And of course, she gets paid to listen and help. Normally it's probably covered by her insurance, but the status of that is kind of up in the air now. Though I do think Friend Dora wouldn't mind keeping her on the insurance for that either.

Hanners is a good friend, and good to help out going to meetings and keeping busy so Faye doesn't drink. But she would actually probably be bad to have this talk to. Hanners has her own problems and a different way of dealing with life. The best advice she could give would probably be 'go talk to your therapist about this'. As a friend, sometimes that's a hard things to say when you want to help. But it can be the best thing you can tell them.

The last panel actually fills me with hope, not dread. If she was thinking of suicide then she probably would not have brought up her father. What she is feeling now is empathy and understanding. It is my thinking that a huge part of the reason why Faye has been in this holding pattern for years is because she never did really accept her father's suicide. She didn't understand it, or why he would do it. She's been stuck in feelings of loss, hurt, abandonment and confusion over his death. And has hid and drowned those feelings for years. Now that she's had a near death experience because of her drinking and depression she is starting to understand what it is that can drive someone to that final step. To feel like everything is hopeless, nothing will improve. That going on is just to hard to do, with no improvement in sight. And eventually, that feeling that there is only one way to stop the pain. She gets that now that she's been there herself. And since she's survived, thanks to her friend, she can hopefully start to come to terms with both her pain, and an understanding of her father's death. Once she can let that go, then her healing can truly begin.

[CasAttack]

I really hope now we get back to the beginning where Faye's spiral began with handling her relationship with Angus. I don't mean to say her depression is caused only by that separation, but by the feelings it stirred for Faye. She went through a lot of self-doubt and wondering what she was hanging on to...I always felt like this break up made Faye feel inadequate. She took that raise from Dora and on the back of that Angus honestly and wrongly assumed that her job wasn't significant to her and she'd just up and go with him. I don't think she knows that the only regret she should shoulder is not the fact she didn't want to leave or be in a long distance relationship, but that Faye and Angus didn't communicate those feelings appropriately to provide any closure with the pain.

And of course now, the booze is not helping and the unfortunate Dora situation isn't helping. Poor Faye

[electromgneticDstroyosaur]

Would you like to post a copy of that in Pessimism and Depression? May I?

Took me just a bit too long to notice that this isn't snide sarcasm...

[MrNumbers]

Would you like to post a copy of that in Pessimism and Depression? May I?

Took me just a bit too long to notice that this isn't snide sarcasm...

Ha ha, this. It took me a moment to realize there was a thread called that in a section of the forum I hadn't looked at before.

You may absolutely post that with whatever commentary on it you might like. I'm flattered, truly.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I don't think Faye's feeling suicidal right now. Self-destructive, yes. Shitty? Certainly. I think the connection to her father is an epiphany to her.

I've been to that place. Once. A long time ago. It's a terrifying place. Most people live with the vague idea that there's a reason to live. Something objective. When you find yourself facing the possibility that there isn't, it's like everything becomes a threat.

Maybe it's just me, but suicidal comes when that feeling passes and you still can't think of reason to live. When you are just going forward because that's what you were just doing.

[badbum61]

THREE THOUSAND POSTS BY 4PM

[Is it cold in here?]

Would you like to post a copy of that in Pessimism and Depression? May I?

Took me just a bit too long to notice that this isn't snide sarcasm...

I wouldn't. Not about something like that.

[BenRG]

I'm wondering if Faye is suffering from true depression. The description of a 'hole' that she can only fill with alcohol and feeling that her mind is spinning out of control both sound like depressive symptoms. It could also be hereditary. This is the first time Jeph has clearly implied that David Whitaker's suicide may have had a basis in a distinct psychiatric condition.

If Faye really has some kind of depressive disorder, then there will be no easy solution. There will just be bad days. I'm not even sure what her friends can do because these symptoms are often immune to outside stimuli.

[Y]

If she was thinking of suicide then she probably would not have brought up her father.

How else would she have to tell it? If suicide is taboo, then it's tough to directly say it. Instead you can beat around the bush by saying it without actually saying it. But remember suicidal thoughts are not suicidal plans.

[Neko_Ali]

If she was thinking of suicide then she probably would not have brought up her father.

How else would she have to tell it? If suicide is taboo, then it's tough to directly say it. Instead you can beat around the bush by saying it without actually saying it. But remember suicidal thoughts are not suicidal plans.

That is what I was trying to say. By bringing up her father, I don't think she was planning suicide. I don't think she was thinking about it in regards to herself either. Not even in the questioning way she talked about when she wrecked her car after her father's death. But rather I think that since she is recognizing the symptoms of depression in herself, she now understands her father better, and how he may have felt.

[rfrank dodelijk]

I really hope the author doesn't have something awful in mind for 3000, hopefully the heavy handed foreshadowing rules out faye hurting herself.