Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

May asks for employment at Union Robotics, is laughed out the door

Pintsize + espresso machine love plot, with added metal phallus

Clinton is living on the streets after failing to make rent

Elliot plucks up the courage to ask Brun out

More sartorial delights from Bubbles

Steve eats cereal

Hannelore learns she's actually a human-AI hybrid experiment

Something else!

[Case]

Judgemental and a gossip - clearly, Renee's talents are manifold and endearing!

[Sullivan]

If Clinton gets together with Brun, Elliot is going to be SO pissed. First Marten and Padma, and now this.

[Storel]

Why do I get the feeling that this storyline is going to end in tears for someone? Secondhand info is never good! Always get your information directly from the source!

All together now:

I'm wearing second-hand hats
Second-hand clothes
That's why they call me
Second-hand Rose...

[Jazzmaster]

Judgemental and a gossip - clearly, Renee's talents are manifold and endearing!

Not only does it seem like Padma may have told a different story, but I'm starting to think Marten dodged a bullet.  Though we don't know how much time has passed in QC-land, it couldn't have been that long since Padma left, and she was pretty quick to engage with somebody already.  She clearly wasn't invested in the relationship with Marten that much and just thought it was a fling, unless I read/remember it wrong.

I really hope Claire does not take Renee's word on this bullshit.  Her initial reaction is kind of disappointing, if I'm honest.

[bhtooefr]

I really hope Claire does not take Renee's word on this bullshit.  Her initial reaction is kind of disappointing, if I'm honest.

Keep in mind that Marten was having a panicked reaction to the mere mention of that incident, and Claire picked up on it. That's something that she might want to know about.

[Gyrre]

Why do I get the feeling that this storyline is going to end in tears for someone? Secondhand info is never good! Always get your information directly from the source!

Also, comic's up

Especially when it comes to proposed bills from administration(s) one doesn't like. If someone can't be bothered to cite sources, then they probably couldn't be bothered to fact-check.
*glares at Republicans over Obamacare*
*glares at Democrats over Trumpcare*

[normanstresskopf]

Have you noticed the ingenious typesetting of Claire's intonation
in panel 4 of 3508? Also, the layout is impressively original!

Claire digging for dirt on Marten:
girls will be girls, including trans.

Also, in 3507, men will remain cavemen
- robot hand or not.

[MrNumbers]

Being super uncool here Claire.

EDIT: There are a ton of reasons Marten could feel super awkward about this which are totally benign, but still very uncomfortable. Listening to second-hand gossip instead of asking about this first in private seems like such a super dodgy move to me.

I get that bad decisions, made in-character, is good writing, I understand that well, but goddamn am I getting bitter, especially after the $100 exchange and its lack of resolution in any way.

[brasca]

Well this isn't all surprising for Renee, but what's Claire's game?  Maybe she's digging for information or maybe she's going to defend her boyfriend after finding enough holes in Renee's account of things.

[QuestionableIntentions]

Let me take a guess how this will go: Oh no poor, Renee! She was really trying her best, but we must be understanding!

And that idiot Marten! Why are all men such loosers?

[BenRG]

Yeah, tonight's going to be awkward for Martin. I was expecting Renee to pull this stunt but what I wasn't expecting was it to be motivated by social obliviousness rather than malice or a sense of duty towards Padma.

I think I know where Claire is coming from though. I'm pretty sure that Padma is a sore spot for Marten. He's embarrassed and more than a little ashamed of every single aspect of how he handled that relationship; consequently he probably talks very little about it and all Claire knows is likely the small hints that have been dropped by Faye and maybe Hannelore. Being who she is, I can more than see her wanting to know what the big secret is and why Marten was (and still is) keen to drop the subject. It will say a lot about Claire the person to see how she responds to the story of what was beyond any shadow of a doubt far from Marten's most shining moment.

Meanwhile, Brun is sulking due to her failure at 'small talk'. I do hope that Clinton is able to cheer her up.

[swapna]

Being super uncool here Claire.

EDIT: There are a ton of reasons Marten could feel super awkward about this which are totally benign, but still very uncomfortable. Listening to second-hand gossip instead of asking about this first in private seems like such a super dodgy move to me.

I get that bad decisions, made in-character, is good writing, I understand that well, but goddamn am I getting bitter, especially after the $100 exchange and its lack of resolution in any way.

agreed on the dodgy move. And I know it's par for course for Claire (and sadly for Marten to be in the receiving end), but she's seriously lacking empathy here by putting him in that position -  remember what happened the last time someone put Claire on the spot?

I know she knows the story at least partly, since Marten told her about it when he broke up with Padma.

[anahata]

Let me take a guess how this will go: Oh no poor, Renee! She was really trying her best, but we must be understanding!

That certainly wouldn't be my line on Renee...

And that idiot Marten! Why are all men such losers?

All men?
Sven seems to be more successful, but I'm not sure he's setting a shining example of how men should be either.

[thedevilissix]

Let me take a guess how this will go: Oh no poor, Renee! She was really trying her best, but we must be understanding!

And that idiot Marten! Why are all men such loosers?

Haha, I was just about to type a post saying "This comic was brought to you by the phrase "FOR FUCK'S SAKE, RENÉE""

[thedevilissix]

Seriously though, it's not Renée's business to go running her mouth like that in front of Claire. If anyone is ever tempted to do that, they should just avoid the couple in question, I think.

[pwhodges]

And that idiot Marten! Why are all men such losers?

All men?
Sven seems to be more successful, but I'm not sure he's setting a shining example of how men should be either.

...all good men.

[mikmaxs]

I get that bad decisions, made in-character, is good writing, I understand that well, but goddamn am I getting bitter, especially after the $100 exchange and its lack of resolution in any way.

Sorry, which exchange was that? I'm completely spacing here.

[gopher]

Renee continues to be a terrible human being and Claire is enjoying upsetting her boyfriend. A great day.

[pwhodges]

I get that bad decisions, made in-character, is good writing, I understand that well, but goddamn am I getting bitter, especially after the $100 exchange and its lack of resolution in any way.

Sorry, which exchange was that? I'm completely spacing here.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3499

[MrNumbers]

^ What PWHodges linked. The whole interaction still feels real bad in my gut, in a very similar way to the old comic of Clinton meeting Brun for the first time, the original version having Brun pull a shotgun on him before it was replaced with a harpoon in an edit.

If it's being played off as a joke, it's a shitty joke. If it's not being played off as a joke, it's a shitty circumstance.
And I mean that as a meta level, as in "I don't like Jeph doing this, it feels outlandish and cruel in a way that doesn't gel with the tone of the rest of the comic" and not "This is a reasonable thing for a bad character to do that makes me uncomfortable".

Following up so soon after it with this Renee and Claire interaction is filling me with a deep and pervading sense of 'bleugh' overall.

As an addendum: Steve's a pretty great, solid male character. It's a shame we don't see much of him anymore.

[BLT with rings]

Claire's stock is dropping rapidly for me.  It appears she and Marten went to a bar to have a few drinks and enjoy each other's company.  Now Claire is ditching the original plan and instead looking to dig up ammunition to use on Marten.  WTF?!?   This is how lovers treat each other?

 If Marten had linked up with a guy who had past dirt on Claire would she have meekly gone off to a table by herself?   I doubt it.

I hope Marten tells Claire to enjoy her evening and that when she gets home be ready to sleep on the couch, as she is not getting into the bedroom, let alone the bed.   

[truestatic]

I really hope that this doesn't end with Claire raking Marten over the coals for telling Padma to go fly a kite. I don't blame her for her interest in and concern over his apparent past error in judgement, but I hate that canonically speaking, Marten seems to have been a douchebag and an asshole for not wanting to go see Padma on her last night in town. She may not have been happy with his choice, but the onus was at least as much on her to treat him with some... I don't know... compassion, understanding? As it was on him to forgive her ghosting him. Turning down a booty call from somebody who couldn't give you the time of day otherwise doesn't make you an asshole. Not even if it was your last chance to get together.

The general acceptance that Marten was the bad actor in this thread rubbed me wrong the first time we went through it. I am curious to see what we'll learn about Padma's side of the story, but I really hope that Claire can see both... which will be hard, because Marten can hardly be expected to stand up for himself.

[BenRG]

I am curious to see what we'll learn about Padma's side of the story

From what Renee said in panel 6, I'm not entirely sure that she knows Padma's side of the story herself... or is interested in relaying it accurately!

As I said in my first post above, this is basically a Claire character arc. We'll learn a lot about her by how she reacts to Renee's more-or-less malicious gossip.

[truestatic]

I am curious to see what we'll learn about Padma's side of the story

From what Renee said in panel 6, I'm not entirely sure that she knows Padma's side of the story herself... or is interested in relaying it accurately!

As I said in my first post above, this is basically a Claire character arc. We'll learn a lot about her by how she reacts to Renee's more-or-less malicious gossip.

... You're right. Shit. 

Well maybe we'll hear Padma's second hand side of the story? 

[JoeCovenant]

Go on Claire!
Act all unreasonable about something that doesn't actually concern you in the slightest!

Go on Renee!
Dish that dirt!

Go on Marten... Dump her!

(Is my 'I just don't like Claire's character' showing too much?)   

[oddtail]

OK, I gotta say, I like Claire as a character overall, but sometimes watching her is just... tedious. Not necessarily because what she does is wrong - nothing wrong with a flawed character, I liked watching Faye's shenanigans when she was decidedly less reasonable and stable than she is now. It's just, I can't put my finger on why, but I feel like the obviously BAD things Claire does are framed by the narrative in a way that downplays how shitty her actions can be.

Claire seems like "creator's pet character" to me, increasingly so. That's not entertaining, that makes me dislike her more and more.

[neurocase]

Welp, Claire is kind of being a dick about this. Don't know when she turned into the kind of person who digs for negative gossip about someone she cares about without a second thought, who gets suspicious when someone she doesn't or barely knows says something about that same person without any real basis, who--

Wait, hang on, hang on, am I the only one feeling Dora vibes, here? Maybe it's just me, but Claire is acting somewhat similarly to how Dora used to with Marten at some points.

Also, ah, Renee. Is there anything you could possibly do to make me like you less? I begrudgingly admitted y'all might have a point about her controlling behavior with Brun, and shrugged with indifferent agreement when you said that her callous nature was reminiscent of Faye; but where's the excuse for her cheerfully wanting to pass on personal gossip that she, herself, admits is second-hand? Now she's just being an asshole for the sake of it, and I gotta say, I am really over her character.

In any case, if this is an attempt to bring Marten and Claire back into focus (which is fine) just in an attempt to stir up drama in a way that doesn't even seem in character, it's coming across as reeaaally ham-fisted.

[Case]

Go on Claire!
Act all unreasonable about something that doesn't actually concern you in the slightest!

Go on Renee!
Dish that dirt!

Go on Marten... Dump her!

(Is my 'I just don't like Claire's character' showing too much?)   

[Zebediah]

Yeah, this thread is going about how I thought it would after I read the comic.

Yes, Martin was an idiot with Padma. Padma was also an idiot with Marten. And if you've never been an idiot about a relationship, you've never been in a relationship; either way you have no room to throw stones.

Yes, Claire is being an idiot. And her cruel streak is showing. However, her behavior so far falls a bit short of making her history's greatest monster. And this is her first relationship, so she has a lot to learn.

[pwhodges]

I think this forum and Marten are both over-reacting.  Jeph enjoyed the opportunity to do a variety of more-than-usually extreme Marten faces (and different Claire faces, come to that).  In my view Marten has little to be really ashamed of.  Padma called off a date, then didn't respond to Marten's texts for a week, then called at the last moment to get together on the last possible night - which he blocked.  Although it would have been better if he'd not done that, his own feelings are understandable even though Jeph wrote it in such a way as to make him seem completely in the wrong (2101).

[TheBiscuit]

Everybody has a past, Claire. Most of us had past relationships that didn't end the way we would like, and sometimes we were even at fault. How long should we suffer for that? These decisions are made in the emotional heat of the moment, and the immediate consequences are enough, in most cases.

Obviously I'm not including examples of really nasty behaviour in this, but Marten's time with Padme ended with just the kind of unhappiness I'm talking about, rather than anything truly awful.

I'm not even sure that Marten was at fault, despite Faye's reaction. It was an unfortunate situation, but what would he have changed by going to see her, that last time? If it were me in that position I might think that seeing her love last time would just make the inevitable separation harder. Then there's the fact that she didn't want to see him for about a week before that.

Of course, Jeph himself seems to disagree with me. He wrote his opinions in the little notes below the comic. Just because he wrote this story doesn't make him the authority on relationships, though.

[Tova]

The comparison with Dora is interesting, because I'd say that if anyone is now acting insecure, it's Marten. Does he think that Claire will decide to dump him based on his past mistakes or something?

Own your mistakes, Marten, as well as what you've learned from them. We've all made mistakes. The only thing that will make you look bad is the way you're attempting to run away from them now.

[BenRG]

I think that the point here is that Martin considered himself at fault and probably still does. Padma happened in what was the lowest point of his life in many ways and he spent the entire relationship second-guessing himself and Padma at every possible opportunity. FWIW, I wouldn't be surprised if Claire later tells him that she doesn't get why he was treating what was, after all, something very much like a teenage summer romance as such a terrible dark secret. "I thought that you, like, had got her pregnant or something!"

[Mr. Doctor]

Oh well, most of you said the same thing I wanted to express. I'm disappointed in Claire and don't use the "never had a relationship" card on me because it's a basic matter of decency and loyalty.
I know it's impossible considering Marten's character but dear lord would you please grow a spine for once and tell Renee to f*** off? She has no right to go and run her mouth that way. What a poor type of person.

Man, this comic upset me... Kudos to Jeph to shake my posture with just a comic strip. Hats off to you.

[Thrudd]

I am holding my judgement of Claire on this for the moment.

This is pure speculation and the author may just go off on a total "Steve eating cereal" side-quest instead.

My guess she is reacting to what Renee has said to get Renee to elaborate on the subject. Once Renee gets going I am pretty sure Claire will determine just how crappy a person Renee really is. Once done she will join Marten and hopefully get him to open up about the subject followed by a in Renee's direction.

(click to show/hide)

Maybe even a "You are a bad person" after the gossip runs its course, with Brun agreeing in the background.

[Stoutfellow]

Actually, I'd like to see Brun reminding Renee: "Have you considered not making terrible decisions?"

[TheEvilDog]

Okay, I do think that the forum is overreacting a little bit, and yes, I am aware I was the one who said someone was going to end up in tears.

But let's break down what's happening.
- Marten hasn't seen Renee since Padma left, indicating that either Marten hasn't returned to the Secret Bakery since Padma left, or more likely, Renee's hours have changed so that her and Marten's paths no longer cross.
- Padma has apparently moved on, but then so has Marten. What they had was a fling and it was flung, end of.
- Marten is still a decent enough kind of bloke to ask how his ex is doing.
- More importantly, Renee and Padma don't really seem to be in contact much, just "an email a while back". Which probably indicates that Padma has pretty much forgotten about Northampton.
- Lets also remember that Renee is still the same Renee that used to date Angus and when he broke up with her, his friends threw a party. (Even with the head transplant)
- Claire has shown on a couple of occasions that she is the jealous type, but she's also shown that she looks before she leaps and that has backfired on Claire repeatedly.
- She and the Augustus family have also shown that they have the social subtlety skills of a brick through a window.

So who knows what might happen. But chances are we're going to see the ugly side of someone, which will be pointed out by Brun and make the offending party to re-examine themselves. Along with some hasty apologies along the way.

[brasca]

I think all of these judgments on Claire are premature.  We don't know how she'll react to the information.  She may come to the conclusion that Marten could've ended things better, but things like this happen when you feel strongly about someone and what's done is done.  Ultimately, she'll conclude that Renee is someone Clinton should be careful about only to find out he already knows.   

And I don't see how this will end with anyone getting dumped.  Claire just moved into the apartment and Faye is likely to take his side and I think Marten has enough maturity not to dump her just because she chose to fish for information. 

[USS Martenclaire]

If anything, Renee's the one in my crosshairs atm. Given that she's only met Marten briefly a few times, suddenly unloading a bunch of unsubstantiated gossip onto his partner is a nasty thing to do. She must be aware that nothing positive or helpful for either Claire or Marten will come from spouting all of this - meaning the reason has to be one of provocation or enjoying the resulting drama.

[A Duck]

I don't see Claire using this against Marten, if only because that would be a bit TOO similar to how things were with Dora

Maybe this whole situation will blow up on RENEE's face. We've repeatedly heard about how she's not exactly a good person (specially from Angus), but I think we still haven't seen anyone other than Jim call her out on it.

[Case]

Yeah, tonight's going to be awkward for Martin.

Can't ... resist ... sigh, OK:

His name is still MARTEN!

Marten with an 'e'!

MAAAAAAAR-TEN!


You were waiting for this, weren't you? Well, there you go - hope you're happy now. 

[A Duck]

I always wondered about that. Is the fact everyone apparently calls him "Martin" some sort of in-joke?

It's like anywhere I see any sort of QC discussion some people always repeatedly call him Martin.

[BenRG]

I always wondered about that. Is the fact everyone apparently calls him "Martin" some sort of in-joke?

No, it's just a case of misspelling due to your brain auto-completing the name with the more common spelling in your experience.

Then pendants like Case decide to make a huge thing of it because... Well, I've given up getting what that's supposed to achieve by this point.

[Case]

Then pendants like Case decide to make a huge thing of it because... Well, I've given up getting what that's supposed to achieve by this point.

Hoisted by our own pendant, were we?

[think_tomorrow]

I agree with Zebediah - I didn't see anything from Marten's end that was any less or any more immature than what Padma pulled herself.  I mean, if we accept that she was feeling distraught or uncertain over where the relationship was going - how was ghosting Marten for a week and avoiding a serious conversation any better than him rejecting her last-minute offer to "hang out"?  It was a little odd that 2101 was written to basically lay the blame at Marten's feet.  His action was petty, but no more so than Padma's.  And he took the step of writing to her afterward.

Seriously, 1400 strips later at this point this is a non-issue, and if there is some blow-up drama over this I'm just going to end up feeling disgusted with everyone involved.

[retrosteve]

I am curious to see what we'll learn about Padma's side of the story

From what Renee said in panel 6, I'm not entirely sure that she knows Padma's side of the story herself... or is interested in relaying it accurately!

Adding this bit of clueless malice to Renee's previous warnings about Clinton when Brun first came to stay with her, I think Renee is pretty much suspicious of all men, and happy to assume the worst of them. In real life I would avoid her and any of her friends.

[A Duck]

Adding this bit of clueless malice to Renee's previous warnings about Clinton when Brun first came to stay with her, I think Renee is pretty much suspicious of all men, and happy to assume the worst of them. In real life I would avoid her and any of her friends.

This makes me wonder more and more about Renee herself. We know her relationship with Angus didn't end well and we know she's very suspicious, if not openly aggressive, towards most men. She probably has had some pretty bad relationships in her past.

[TheEvilDog]

We also know that she can be very controlling, given how she almost took over Brun's life when the bar burned down.

For all we know, Renee is just a very prickly person.

[A Duck]

Has Renee ever decently interacted with Faye? She was introduced as an one-off "Anti-Faye" joke, sure, but I don't think they ever actually met.

It would be interesting to see her interact with someone who doesn't put up with her crap.

[themacnut]

Marten tried to contact her.  She ignored him and flaked out.  He responded in kind.  But he's the idiot here?  Bit odd to blame your own insecurities and hangups on a dude like that.

The general narrative tends to be "The man is always wrong". That was how it was played in the strip where Marten tried explaining things to Faye post-Padma and I suspect that narrative will be rubbed in Marten's face like a dog's nose in it's own poop.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope that Claire actually realizes that Renee is trying to start drama between her and Marten. Upcoming strips will show whether I'm giving Claire too much credit.