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Hannelore (Because two strange girls make for plenty of interesting stories)

17 (16.7%)

Dora and Tai (Why not?)

0 (0%)

ClaireMom (She has rooms free now, after all, and she thinks having a roommate will make Chad more circumspect)

18 (17.6%)

Veronica (Because it turns out she has lots of savings and can easily afford the lease when VV moves out)

3 (2.9%)

Dale (Because he needs a house-sitter when he's at Marigold's place)

8 (7.8%)

Marten and Faye (Because who needs living space anyway?)

5 (4.9%)

Steve and Cossette (Surprise!)

4 (3.9%)

One of Brun's out-of-town friends (Because 'out of town' doesn't mean 'out of reach')

14 (13.7%)

Corpse Witch ("I'm always here for you, Little Miss!")

7 (6.9%)

The other new character from Jeph's development sketches (Because he really is rejigging the cast)

17 (16.7%)

Elliot from the Secret Bakery. Everybody loves Elliot, right?

9 (8.8%)

Total Members Voted: 58

[JimC]

Presumably Renee will have Clinton's number on her call log.

[BenRG]

I suspect that Brun may have a difficult time persuading Renee to give her the number. Not out of malice but out of protectiveness; as Brun said, she doesn't trust Clinton!

I think it's awesome that I could actually feel the bewildering number of possibilities and complexities that simple number scribbled on a piece of paper represented to Brun, and I completely understood how she could go about undressing, turning on the water and stepping under the shower head while staring at that piece of paper and trying to sort them all out.

I agree that this must be the strangest mental place that Brun has ever been too. I suspect that it will be a long time (with many false starts) before she can fully come to grips with her emotions, her thoughts and the various social stimuli that she's experienced associated in some way with Clinton. I can see her sitting down next to him, grabbing his hand and just closing her eyes and going non-verbal as she tries to process everything.

[pwhodges]

Brun could probably manage to ask for Clinton's number at CoD if she hasn't memorised it.

[katsmeat]

I suspect that Brun may have a difficult time persuading Renee to give her the number. Not out of malice but out of protectiveness; as Brun said, she doesn't trust Clinton!

If Renee withheld or deleted the number, it'd  be a shitty move regardless of her motivation.  Renee is entitled to express her opinion on anybody Brun meets, she's entitled to offer Brun any advice Brun is willing to listen to. She sure as hell isn't entitled to a veto on who Brun spends time with.

[BenRG]

She wouldn't be the first person who assumes that they have the right and duty to manage the lives of a friend with mental health or other behavioural issues and then tell themselves that it's 'for their own good' and that they 'need to be protected from themselves'.

[brasca]

I suspect that Brun may have a difficult time persuading Renee to give her the number. Not out of malice but out of protectiveness; as Brun said, she doesn't trust Clinton!

If Renee withheld or deleted the number, it'd  be a shitty move regardless of her motivation.  Renee is entitled to express her opinion on anybody Brun meets, she's entitled to offer Brun any advice Brun is willing to listen to. She sure as hell isn't entitled to a veto on who Brun spends time with.

Perhaps Renee will give Brun the number on condition that she gets to meet him.  That's got all kinds of potential right there.   

[Gyrre]

In my opinion, this is an inappropriate reaction to someone helping your friend when her apartment burnt down. It isn't ironic, because in the situation some of you called back to, Clinton did not yell at or threaten Marten, and while Clinton wasn't nice , it is in no way the equivalent of this scene. In addition, I also do not find it funny, because pointless harassment isn't funny to me.

That's the way some people, mostly women, think; a male stranger (or even acquaintance) is automatically a threat, a potential stalker/rapist/serial killer until proven otherwise beyond the shadow of a doubt. And if Brun (or Renee) had a bad experience with such a person in her past, this would make Renee extra-suspicious of men she doesn't know well. I've been acquainted with such women myself in my life, and they tend to be generally unpleasant to be around, so I avoided them as much as I could.

EDIT: On the other hand, since there's no way to know a helpful stranger's true intentions ahead of time, some degree of caution is warranted when dealing with such strangers. We the readers know Clinton's harmless, but Renee doesn't.

Unfortunately, there's good reason and precedence for such assumptions and precautions. It's enough to want to deck any guy who says "not all men".  I know that. Women know that. But it's too much of a risk right now for women not to take precautions.
Change is slow, but possible.

Healing from such a traumatic event takes time. And interacting with someone trying to recover from such an experience takes  patience and understanding.  Communication is key, as is knowing when to give them space.

[Nepiophage]

She wouldn't be the first person who assumes that they have the right and duty to manage the lives of a friend with mental health or other behavioural issues and then tell themselves that it's 'for their own good' and that they 'need to be protected from themselves'.

Amen. AMEN.  AMEN!!!!!

[Gyrre]

Would it be funny if Brun was related to Padma?

I know this isn't Asterix and not everyone is drawn as an ethnic caricature. But Padma definitely looks Indian, and Brun looks, if anything, Persian.

My older brother looks like a Brit, my younger brother looks like a Swede, and I look half German half ambigous ethnicity (I've gotten guesses ranging from Jewish to Pacific Islander).

[Case]

Well this has been a fun ride.
Clinton's had a real chance to shine in this arc. Good character development.

You notice that before the fire he' s mostly resolved the social & emotional fallout from the mornings events?
He starts the day getting shot down by Emily, yelling at his sister, and getting harassed at the bar when he'd rather ruminate.
But then he gets over Emily, makes peace with Claire via text, and starts to make friends with Brun, all before the sparky sparky boom.

After the fire happens he's not the hyperventilating robot dweeb we met two thousand strips ago, he keeps cool head, gets Brun and Barry out, and provides a pillar of support to Brun during her no-good-very-bad day. Does this new confident Clinton's birth trace to Emily's influence? or to him standing up for himself at the bar between the harpoon and the lemon wedge?

Chad/ClaireMom does throw him for a loop, but we can't expect him to resolve all his neuroses in one traumatic day.

[\begin{pontification}]
Well, this is the best part of how that 'growing up'-thingy happens IRL - just when you think you have your course set/everything is FUBAR foreverandever, something happens and throws you onto a completely new course.
And afterwards, the stuff that was so hugely important before ... is put into perspective.
And if you're really lucky, you've learned more about that person you call "me".

The thing you do get to decide is whether you let life 'form' you in that way, or whether you hurt yourself clinging to your pain and disappointments, or the dreams of a person that is no longer you.
(Yes, I'm a big fan of Herman Hesse.)


[\end{pontification}]

Wisdom from the 80s:
"Life is what happens while you were making plans"

[retrosteve]

Since everyone (including Jeph, I guess) seems all excited about the possible Brun-ton ship, I don't want to rain on that parade.

But yeah, I do. Just because they're both single and they went through a hard time together this week doesn't mean they're all that well-suited to each other. I have trouble really thinking of anything they'd do together for fun, or any way they'd complement each other. Fine, he's a boy, and she's a girl, and he's less awkward around her than with Emily, mostly because she's so awkward he looks normal by comparison.

But is that really enough?

[Gyrre]

Is it just me, or does Dora look wildly different each time we see her. When the PoV leaves CoD for a time and them comes back to Dora I can never be sure that it is her.

Often I have to go "is that Dora or Emily?"

Which... no, they have very different body types.

Does anyone else have this problem?

I actually thought it was Cosette on first glance.

Looking at her jawline (and the cast page), I think it is Cosette.

Dora has a sharper upswing to her jawline.

[Gyrre]

I'm not dyslexic,  but for some reason when I read the aabbreviation 'TSB' my brain goes "tablespoon" instead of "The Secret Bakery".

[ankhtahr]

It's definitely Dora, with her new hairstyle, as shown on Jeph's Tumblr:

Dora Rae Jepsen

[Gyrre]

It's definitely Dora, with her new hairstyle, as shown on Jeph's Tumblr:

Dora Rae Jepsen

Oh.

She is slightly taller than Clinton. I guess Cosette would be shorter than him by an inch or three. I should have thought of that first.

EDIT: I wonder if she visited Cosette's stylist

[themacnut]

I can see her sitting down next to him, grabbing his hand and just closing her eyes and going non-verbal as she tries to process everything.

And Clinton misinterpreting that as an invitation to kiss (especially if Brun is facing him when she closes her eyes); he goes for it, and hilarity ensures. Hilarity for us, that is; not so much for him. Bonus points if Renee happens to be nearby at the time, sees Brun push Clinton back, and goes into overprotective pit bull mode all over him.

It would be interesting to see how Clinton responds after he picks himself up off the floor, and wipes the blood off his mouth or nose (from Renee's punches; yes I can see her punching him to the floor in such a situation, at the very least. She may also kick him a few times while he's down).

[Gyrre]

sweet but not-entirely-worldly friend Brun

Sweet? She berated him and threatened him with a harpoon. In most jurisdictions, that's a misdemeanor, at least.

No, Brun's just another horribly, horribly broken character, the kind that this comic accumulates. Sigh.

Yep, that's a recurring theme of the comic, as are their difficult and partially successful efforts to get better.

As Thomas Blackwell once said, "Life is what happens between failures".


(If it wasn't Thomas, then it was Carol Graves.)

[pwhodges]

I prefer the John Lennon version above.

[Gyrre]

Today's strip is still not proof Brun is on the autism spectrum but it does fit that idea.

In the words of any good scientist, "the evidence strongly supports this hypothesis."

"Scientists should never use the word 'proove'. ... Their hand should shake and their brow should drip with sweat if they ever start to write 'proove'." -- Dr. Dwight Moore, PhD.

True - Though I have to admit that I am curious as to how much water the 'I have a routine'-thingy holds in reality, should the resident experts wish to share.

That's part of where the 'spectrum' in 'autism spectrum disorder' comes from. Different  techniques and therapies work to varying degrees for different people. Though, establishing a routine helps a lot of autistic folks out. Especially if they're dealing with a low-function period in their life.

EDIT: alanari explains this far better on page 5 of this thread.

[Kugai]

Dang

One can only hope she memorised the number or will look for Clinton later on, otherwise I think that the Brun arc will end right here.  I hope Renee, wherever she is has kept the number in her Call List.

[McFace]

But yeah, I do. Just because they're both single and they went through a hard time together this week doesn't mean they're all that well-suited to each other. I have trouble really thinking of anything they'd do together for fun, or any way they'd complement each other. Fine, he's a boy, and she's a girl, and he's less awkward around her than with Emily, mostly because she's so awkward he looks normal by comparison.

But is that really enough?

For a first step? Absolutely.

[Nepiophage]

Dang

One can only hope she memorised the number or will look for Clinton later on, otherwise I think that the Brun arc will end right here.  I hope Renee, wherever she is has kept the number in her Call List.

No, I think that's it. JJ has grown tird of Brun and we will never see her again.

[meowmix]

Hi, just wanted to step in from lurking to say that I love Brun and that I can totally relate to her. I have done similar things like stare at something forever, just turning over in my head ALL the different scenarios that could happen if I took a certain action. "If I call him, then..." or "If I don't call him, then..." or "He's just being nice, he doesn't want me to really call him." or "When is the right moment to call him?" Definitely analysis paralysis, IMO.

[DonInKansas]

That's so unusual. 

It's not unusual to be loved by anyone.

[Pendryn]

So been wi5h this forever. Recently reread the entirety of it. So good! But todays. Beun with the paper in the shower. Best one to date. Not a lot of words. Just perfect.

[Y]

ALL the different scenarios that could happen if I took a certain action

Sounds familiar. Do you prepare your questions too? Usually I get to ask them one thing (if I'm lucky) as I don't come up with any follow up question easily, especially if they ask me something in return. But recently I'm going over entire dialogue trees as well, and figured out you can force a certain dialogue path if you ask things you already know. After all I can't reveal that I remember what I overheard them talking, as that would reveal I might be invested in them. Also for things not to look 'weird' I should also chat with other people.

[Morituri]

Unfortunately, there's good reason and precedence for such assumptions and precautions. It's enough to want to deck any guy who says "not all men". 

A thing I try to remember is "more than one percent."

It's this simple.  If somebody is physically stronger than someone else, and lusts after them sexually, then that person behaving like an ass is more BAD than 99 others in the same situation behaving like kind and decent people is GOOD.

Since this is the situation a lot of women are in W/R/T a lot of men, caution is justified even if 99/100 of all men are respectful and would never attempt coercion or manipulation.

And unfortunately as far as i can see it's more like 1 in 15 than it is like 1 in 100. 

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, pendryn and meowmix!

[hedgie]

Unfortunately, there's good reason and precedence for such assumptions and precautions. It's enough to want to deck any guy who says "not all men". 

A thing I try to remember is "more than one percent."

It's this simple.  If somebody is physically stronger than someone else, and lusts after them sexually, then that person behaving like an ass is more BAD than 99 others in the same situation behaving like kind and decent people is GOOD.

Since this is the situation a lot of women are in W/R/T a lot of men, caution is justified even if 99/100 of all men are respectful and would never attempt coercion or manipulation.

And unfortunately as far as i can see it's more like 1 in 15 than it is like 1 in 100.

Sadly true.  My ex even got roofied, but thankfully she was able to make it home to sleep it off.  There are times when I hate my own gender just seeing what kind of shite that other men do.

[meowmix]

Do you prepare your questions too? Usually I get to ask them one thing (if I'm lucky) as I don't come up with any follow up question easily, especially if they ask me something in return. But recently I'm going over entire dialogue trees as well, and figured out you can force a certain dialogue path if you ask things you already know.

I do try to predict where a conversation could go and have some answers ready. It can get extremely quiet around me and I have to remind myself to keep giving and asking for information even though I don't really need that data. Small talk was very difficult but it's gotten easier because of the repetitive dialogue.

[alanari]

Sounds familiar. Do you prepare your questions too?

Yes. I'm planning whole conversations in my head, trying to imagine every thing that the other might say and find an answer. Time-consuming but still easier that having to react spontaneously.
I don't try to steer the conversation to certain topics though, I just try to stay within the range of possibilities I anticipated.

[katsmeat]

I'm not dyslexic,  but for some reason when I read the aabbreviation 'TSB' my brain goes "tablespoon" instead of "The Secret Bakery".

No, you've just spent more time reading recipes than forum discussions about The Secret Bakery.

[lawoot]

Meanwhile, it looks like Raven's submacopter is getting closer to reality.

[Case]

It's definitely Dora, with her new hairstyle, as shown on Jeph's Tumblr:

Dora Rae Jepsen

I thought her surname was Bianchi?

Or was that one more of a nickname of her father's?

[bhtooefr]

Jeph is referencing Carly Rae Jepsen, as she was the inspiration for Dora's hair style, as seen in 3200.

[Method of Madness]

Don't ask her. She'll never tell.

[retrosteve]

Don't ask her. She'll never tell.

...only her hairdresser knows for sure!

[Nepiophage]

It's definitely Dora, with her new hairstyle, as shown on Jeph's Tumblr:

Dora Rae Jepsen

I thought her surname was Bianchi?

Or was that one more of a nickname of her father's?

It reflects great credit on you that you have never heard of her

[comicalArchitect]

It's definitely Dora, with her new hairstyle, as shown on Jeph's Tumblr:

Dora Rae Jepsen

I thought her surname was Bianchi?

Or was that one more of a nickname of her father's?

It reflects great credit on you that you have never heard of her

Oh, come on, it's just cheesy pop music.

[Method of Madness]

So I've already seen Monday's comic because of Patreon and I can't talk about it. I wonder if there's a feasible way to make a thread for patrons to talk about it.

[bhtooefr]

There's a comments section attached to the comic over on Patreon...

[Method of Madness]

Comments sections are comments sections, I want to talk about it with my friends.

[mustang6172]

So I've already seen Monday's comic because of Patreon and I can't talk about it. I wonder if there's a feasible way to make a thread for patrons to talk about it.

You can always copy/paste onto the regular forums and ruin it for everyone.

[Method of Madness]

What, the comic itself? I'm pretty sure that's frowned upon.

[mustang6172]

Hence, ruining it for everyone.

[jwhouk]

As a Patreon backer, I would think it is bad play in announcing to everyone what will happen in the next comic before it's posted. I've put up "placeholder" posts because I had to head off to bed or work, but never revealing what happens in the comic.

It's not a rule, but I'd say it should follow the "If you're nice, people will be nice you to in return" mantra.

However: Mr. Hodges or IICIH, it might be time to update the "read first" stuff about this situation.

[Is it cold in here?]

It is technically possible to set up a subforum that only Patreon subscribers could see, except for the problem of knowing who they are.

How much use would it get?

[Method of Madness]

Is it necessary for only Patreon subscribers to see it? Why not just a separate thread? As long as there's a rule of not posting the comic itself, there'd only be discussion of it which would be worthless unless you can see the comic. Maybe a new thread for each comic instead of a weekly, so people can look at that discussion once that comic is publicly released.

[jwhouk]

Since there's a comments area on each Patreon post, akin to Tumblr, I'd say we don't need one on here.

[Method of Madness]

Comments sections are comments sections, I want to talk about it with my friends.

If that can't be done here, fine. But I figured I'd at least ask now that the Patreon comics are more than a couple hours before the public ones.