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Hanners descending into Looney Tunes-esque attempts to get rid of Tilly

13 (29.5%)

Tilly turns out to be worse than Cosette and burns down Coffee of Doom

5 (11.4%)

Tilly sits in the corner of the coffeeshop for the day and sniffs tea

6 (13.6%)

The non-continuing adventures to buy Hanners new phone

2 (4.5%)

The story switches to Brun browsing for clocks.

4 (9.1%)

The QC version of Single White Female, but plays out like Home Alone

3 (6.8%)

Hanners breaks out the ultimate weapon. Tilly has to spend 15 minutes with...Pintsize!

8 (18.2%)

Pintsize eating birdseed

3 (6.8%)

Total Members Voted: 42

Voting closed: 25 Nov 2017, 11:03

[TheEvilDog]

Shall we continue seeing the adventures of the Inspector Closeau of Personal Assistants?

Perhaps a healthy discourse on the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the way our parents influence our lives well into adulthood?

Or maybe more butt jokes. We haven't see a flare up in a while.

Let's find out, shall we?

[BenRG]

My guess is that Tilly, having received a Direct Order (Asimov's Second Law is effective on suitably-conditioned humans, as we all know) to sit in the corner and not bother anyone, spends the week's strips interacting with some of Hannelore's friends, possibly Faye and Bubbles. I wonder if she is going to find out that the person that she wants to work for is very different from the person that her very academic research suggested that she would be.

She also sees the whole 'Tea' thing at work and seriously proposes a recreational narcotic business to Hannelore. Her mother wouldn't hesitate, after all!

[brasca]

Shall we continue seeing the adventures of the Inspector Closeau of Personal Assistants?

Perhaps a healthy discourse on the intricacies of interpersonal relationships and the way our parents influence our lives well into adulthood?

Or maybe more butt jokes. We haven't see a flare up in a while.

Let's find out, shall we?

There’s no evidence she’s clumsy, but it would be cool if Hannelore ordered Tilly to surprise attack her.

[Tova]

I guess we will see at least a little more Clouseau bumbling, though hopefully not too much more, or the forums will die laughing.

[snufflebottoms]

God I hate Tilly. I can't wait until the comic updates so I don't have to see her on the counter like that. It's so .... annoying lol

[OldGoat]

My growing dislike for Ms Birch makes the idea of an encounter with Faye very appealing, especially if the latter is in a sour mood.

[Case]

My growing dislike for Ms Birch makes the idea of an encounter with Faye very appealing, especially if the latter is in a sour mood.

Doesn't Dora keep a longsword under the counter? (Or did they move that one to Marten's & Faye's place - i.e. is that the one that Marten threatened Clinton with when he went creepy on Hanners?)

Longswords are handy & efficient when you've bodies to hide and not much space to hide 'em in - I'm sure Tilly would approve! (Whelp ... maybe not for very long, but ...)

[Zebediah]

There’s no evidence she’s clumsy, but it would be cool if Hannelore ordered Tilly to surprise attack her.

If Tilly attacked Hannelore while Bubbles was in the shop, it would activate her Hannelore Protection Protocol. This would end badly.

[snufflebottoms]

There’s no evidence she’s clumsy, but it would be cool if Hannelore ordered Tilly to surprise attack her.

If Tilly attacked Hannelore while Bubbles was in the shop, it would activate her Hannelore Protection Protocol. This would end badly.

you mean well lol

[Zebediah]

Badly for Tilly (who would need a closed casket), badly for Bubbles (who would wind up in Robot Jail), badly for Hannelore (it’s her turn to clean up the blood).

[TRenn]

Shall we continue seeing the adventures of the Inspector Closeau of Personal Assistants?

That's hardly a fair comparison.

For all his incompetence and bumbling, Clouseau usually managed to stumble onto the correct solution. (Usually in the most literal of senses.) I don't see Tilly managing to accidentally stumble into proving Hannelore needs any personal assistant, much less herself.

[Zebediah]

Comic’s up. This is bad: Tilly is sitting in Bubbles’ chair.

[War Sparrow]

The more I see of Tilly, combined with the 13/10 at the bottom of the comic, makes me wonder if Jeph is trying to write a humanoid golden retriever.

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Product placement in QC.  Of course when it's your own product it's not bad.  We'll know the end is near when every scene includes a Coke product or something.

[Case]

Feel like an idiot for asking: What's the 13/10 supposed to mean?

[War Sparrow]

I think it's a reference to Dog Rates on Twitter, where a dude rates dogs, but they are all higher than 10. "They're good dogs, Brent" comes from that.

[TheEvilDog]

Product placement in QC.  Of course when it's your own product it's not bad.  We'll know the end is near when every scene includes a Coke product or something.

Technically it's advertising

Feel like an idiot for asking: What's the 13/10 supposed to mean?

If someone gives their all, that's 10/10. Tilly's constantly in overdrive, trying to impress her employers. And that's a good way to suffer burnout, fast.

[Tova]

Very true. It's dangerous to go beyond 11.

[Case]

I think it's a reference to Dog Rates on Twitter, where a dude rates dogs, but they are all higher than 10. "They're good dogs, Brent" comes from that.

Thanks! But ... Jeph got this wrong. No way is Tilly a 13/10. This is a 13/10:

[tweet]807106840509214720[/tweet]

[Tova]

Re-reading panel 3, I've just realised that Hannelore got an amazing staff discount on that good advice.

[Storel]

My growing dislike for Ms Birch makes the idea of an encounter with Faye very appealing, especially if the latter is in a sour mood.

Doesn't Dora keep a longsword under the counter? (Or did they move that one to Marten's & Faye's place - i.e. is that the one that Marten threatened Clinton with when he went creepy on Hanners?)

Technically, I believe the one at CoD was a broadsword, not a longsword. And I thought Clinton met Hanners at CoD, not at Marten's & Faye's place, so I would guess that was the same sword.

[brasca]

Comic’s up. This is bad: Tilly is sitting in Bubbles’ chair.

She's Bubbles not Archie Bunker.  She appreciates that Coffee of Doom got a chair for her, but she won't kill anyone over it especially if Hannelore told Tilly to sit there.

And it's good to see Hannelore remembers that she didn't recognize boundaries when she first befriended Marten and is extending the same patience with Tilly.  It's possible Beatrice's HR department pulled someone with a similar psychological profile.   

Tilly reminds me of Star Trek DS9's Vorta species with how subservient she is.  And if she's anything like them killing her won't make a difference.  They'll just make another and for all we know this might not even be the original Tilly Birch. 

[BenRG]

I think that Hannelore is being to passive and defeatist here which may be the whole point Jeph is making. Hannelore doesn't want a confrontation, especially with Tilly who, as the footer text points out, is like a strangely and insanely cute but troublesome puppy-dog. However, she's going to have to lay down some boundaries at some point.

Then, in panel 4, we get the big revelation: Tilly is a fangirl and will do anything that her idols ask of her. So, the 'stalker' label starts sticking a bit better because this sort of obsessive focus motivating basically selfish action is what stalking tends to be about.

FWIW, if asked, I'm sure that Tilly would surrender the chair, especially if the asker can prove that she is the person whose name it bears. Frankly, a conversation between Bubbles and the 'strange, frantically helpful small human' would probably be more than a little funny!

[Carl-E]

Comic’s up. This is bad: Tilly is sitting in Bubbles’ chair.

What bothers me more is that she seems to fit in Bubbles' chair.  Tilly is tiny, she seems smaller than Tai.  Bubbles fits well in that chair - Tilly's feet should be dangling in the air, and she certainly should not have her head up higher than the top of the chair back! 


Perhaps the only chair that fit Bubbles was an intelligent adaptive chair that fits the sitter.  The would be one boring job for an AI...

[BenRG]

Perhaps the only chair that fit Bubbles was an intelligent adaptive chair that fits the sitter.  The would be one boring job for an AI...

That very much depends on the AI. I mean, there are intelligent machines out there for whom making toast is the height of personal fulfilment!

[traroth]

Saffy is just becoming tilly, now. I mean Taffy...

Will she keep that coffee in a display case forever?

[DaiJB]

So - Tilly is just as obsessed with Hanners as Clinton was! (via Hannelore's connection to Beatrice, rather than her Dad)

Tilly meets Clinton to compare notes? 

[Tova]

Yes, that's an interesting observation because, thinking back to that Clinton incident, you realise just how much Hanners is being provoked here. She's uncomfortable enough with the idea of a PA, and this attitude akin to hero worship will make her even more profoundly uncomfortable.

Interestingly, the moment of insight bordering on compassion displayed in panel 3 may well give her the confidence to properly assert herself.

[Netherdan]

FWIW, if asked, I'm sure that Tilly would surrender the chair, especially if the asker can prove that she is the person whose name it bears. Frankly, a conversation between Bubbles and the 'strange, frantically helpful small human' would probably be more than a little funny!

I'm imagining how this conversation would go:

"Hi. My name is Bubbles"

"Hi! I'm Tilly Birch!"

*awkwadly looks at each other*

*Tilly looks behind her*

*Tilly silently stand up and move aside, gesturing for Bubbles to sit down*

"Thank you Tilly Birch"

And from that point on Bubbles is the only person to call her Tilly and that makes her want to become besties with her

[Gyrre]

My growing dislike for Ms Birch makes the idea of an encounter with Faye very appealing, especially if the latter is in a sour mood.

Doesn't Dora keep a longsword under the counter? (Or did they move that one to Marten's & Faye's place - i.e. is that the one that Marten threatened Clinton with when he went creepy on Hanners?)

Longswords are handy & efficient when you've bodies to hide and not much space to hide 'em in - I'm sure Tilly would approve! (Whelp ... maybe not for very long, but ...)

What kind of long sword? Was it a English long sword, claymore, or zweihander?

EDIT: got some of my sword terms mixed up. Basket-hilted claymore refers to what used to be called a broad sword not a long sword.

[Gyrre]

I think it's a reference to Dog Rates on Twitter, where a dude rates dogs, but they are all higher than 10. "They're good dogs, Brent" comes from that.

Ah. I was going to suggest The Mad Hatter, but then I remembered October 6th was Mad Hatter Day (10/6).

[Case]

My growing dislike for Ms Birch makes the idea of an encounter with Faye very appealing, especially if the latter is in a sour mood.

Doesn't Dora keep a longsword under the counter? (Or did they move that one to Marten's & Faye's place - i.e. is that the one that Marten threatened Clinton with when he went creepy on Hanners?)

Technically, I believe the one at CoD was a broadsword, not a longsword. And I thought Clinton met Hanners at CoD, not at Marten's & Faye's place, so I would guess that was the same sword.

Hmmmh - Wiki equates Broadsword with basket-hilted sword (like the Scottish Claymore - the short Claymore, not the one that looks like the Witcher's silver swords ). "Longsword" is an ambiguous term whose modern use appears to refer more to the fencing styles it supports-, specifically the grip-options the hilt permits (two-handed grip, or hand-and-a-half grip on a "Bastard Sword"), rather than only the length of the blade - in other contexts, even the short, single-handed Roman Spatha is sometimes referred to as a 'longsword'.

"Oakeshot Type 13" is what I meant (Though it could be that I misremember the hilt length of CoD's blade and it was really a single-handed "Knightly Sword")

What kind of long sword? Was it a basket-hilted long sword, English long sword, claymore, or zweihander?

a) Nope, b) not familiar with the term, c) which Claymore (there's two)? and d) a Zweihänder's hilt is far too long for what Dora has (not to mention the blade ...).

I remembered it to be something like a "Oakeshot Type 13" - at longest, something with a hand-and-a-half grip hilt, i.e. neither a single-handed knightly sword, nor a Zweihänder.
(We've tons of the "Gassenhauer"-type Zweihänder lying around here. I've seen specimens that stood taller than my 1.82m when stood on the tip - 'Gassenhauer' means 'alley-hewer', and they were used against pike-formations, wielded by exceptionally tall and strong 'double-mercenaries')

I use "Langes Schwert" for types that allow two-handed fencing styles (i.e. including the "hand-and¹/₂" Bastard-swords), but I'd use 'Zweihänder' for something like Oakeshott type XV or the 'Gassenhauer'.



Edit: Found a reference (1323) - that's clearly a ... somethingsomething sword?  (long-ish hilt without pommel, sooooh ... a Chinese Jian with a European cruciform cross-guard? A Bastard-sword that's shrunk in the wash?)

[cesium133]

FWIW, if asked, I'm sure that Tilly would surrender the chair, especially if the asker can prove that she is the person whose name it bears. Frankly, a conversation between Bubbles and the 'strange, frantically helpful small human' would probably be more than a little funny!

I'm imagining how this conversation would go:

"Hi. My name is Bubbles"

"Hi! I'm Tilly Birch!"

*awkwadly looks at each other*

*Tilly looks behind her*

*Tilly silently stand up and move aside, gesturing for Bubbles to sit down*

"Thank you Tilly Birch"

And from that point on Bubbles is the only person to call her Tilly and that makes her want to become besties with her

Later:
Hannelore: *talking about Taffy*
Bubbles: You mean Tilly?
...and then Hannelore never uses the wrong name ever again.

[Case]

Also, yeah Tilly is reminiscent of Clinton when he first started.

Yes in terms of "violating boundaries in an unsettling manner", no in terms of "creepy persistence in violating boundaries". IMO, Clinton raised an alarm or two, whereas what Tilly raises is more like this:

Maybe she'll become likeable.

That'd be nice, but I'm not so optimistic. I find especially unsettling her efforts at trying to negotiate conditions on a decision that is Hanner's and hers alone - there's nothing to negotiate when it comes to another person's boundaries. You accept their decision about their boundaries, unconditionally, and you f**k the hell off when they show discomfort with your presence. I don't expect Tilly to be true to her word of leaving Hanners alone should she decide not to want her services after the two days are over. Wouldn't be surprised if she'd try to invalidate Hanner's decision e.g. by trying to retroactively insert an additional condition she declares hasn't been satisfied, but was never talked about.

Another red flag is that wherever Tilly is, everything quickly becomes about her in one way or another. This is Dora's café and Hanner's workplace. In Dora's place, today's comic would mark the point where I'd kick Tilly out of my café because she's disrupting the workflow of my business.

Doesn't matter that she's kind of adorkable and horribly, pityfully messed-up, or why she does what she does - the first and only thing that matters is that she stops her creepy shit immediately. Everything else comes second-, and is secondary to that.

[JoeCovenant]

I foresee Bubbles shenanigans...

Of all the places for her to be sitting - she's sitting there?

(Oh! Oh! More flimsy evidence for Nexus 9.0 !) 

ALSO!

The name "misconstruing"-
Taffy. Tilly.
What's the problem?
The letters  "A" and "I"
"A & I"
"AI" !!

We're through the looking glass here, people!!!!
 

[maneyan]

Welp, new week and Tilly is still weird and creepy. I honestly wonder if I'll warm up to her, but right now I just hope Jeph has her leave and then we never get to see her again. Barring some really strange shift in how this comic goes, I don't really see any position for her in it. Guess time will tell though.

[tustin2121]

I really doubt that Bubbles would get upset over someone sitting in her chair. This is Bubbles we're talking about.

What about Faye? Would Faye be angry at Tilly for sitting in Bubbles' chair? (Actually, I'm just really hoping to see an epic clash between Faye and Tilly's personalities. They seem almost opposite each other.)

[JimC]

IMO, Clinton raised an alarm or two,

An alarm or two? or two??

Lets go back and review the early Clinton, most especially 1908

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1900
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1902

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1908
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1909

To my mind the Clinton stuff was on a way higher level of creepiness to the hapless Tilfy...

[BenRG]

I'm going to go on a limb here: IMO, one reason Emily became a barista because Jeph wanted Raven back in some way but without having to find an excuse for her to return from her dream career in bleeding-edge physics. So, using an already-established brilliant cloud-cuckoolander was an obvious alternative choice.

Similarly, it is possible that Tilly is a direct replacement for Clinton in his brief but quickly-cancelled role as a driver for conflict and development in Hannelore's life. Because of this, her personality and introduction will be broadly similar and we can expect a similar attempt to make her sympathetic as we saw with Clinton in Strip 1909.

[Neko_Ali]

The difference here is Clinton became star struck and had to be sat down (tied down) and explained he was being a super creep. Tilly deliberately forced her way into Hanner's life and is refusing to leave even when she's being told she's been creepy and needs to go away. Clinton reacted to this by saying 'I screwed up, I'm sorry' and did better. Tilly reacted by saying 'Oh, I know better than you what you need, and you'll get used to me.'

[Case]

The difference here is Clinton became star struck and had to be sat down (tied down) and explained he was being a super creep. Tilly deliberately forced her way into Hanner's life and is refusing to leave even when she's being told she's been creepy and needs to go away. Clinton reacted to this by saying 'I screwed up, I'm sorry' and did better. Tilly reacted by saying 'Oh, I know better than you what you need, and you'll get used to me.'

^this

[JimC]

The difference here is...

The other difference is that Hannelore was frightened and upset by Clinton whereas she is merely exasperated by Tafly.

--------- Later -----------

Oh, I should add that if Tilly does not honour normal executive hours and intrudes on Hanners in the evening that would be a major issue, and of course not honouring the 48 hour agreement would be definitively creepy. Incidentally I get Tilly as being very young, several years younger than Hanners. A Tilly older than Hanners would come across to me as a much more sinister figure. I think Tilly engages the helpless kitten reflex for Hanners. After all this is someone who bursts into tears when made a cup of coffee by the boss...

[TheEvilDog]

The difference here is Clinton became star struck and had to be sat down (tied down) and explained he was being a super creep. Tilly deliberately forced her way into Hanner's life and is refusing to leave even when she's being told she's been creepy and needs to go away. Clinton reacted to this by saying 'I screwed up, I'm sorry' and did better. Tilly reacted by saying 'Oh, I know better than you what you need, and you'll get used to me.'

If only I could like posts more than once.

[blt]

The Clinton/Tilly comparison is something I thought about in last week's WCDT but I think I posted it on Saturday and it didn't go anywhere from there.

Another difference I question is Jeph's own reactions to the characters.  His posts and framing keyed off Clinton being a creep (and still are occasionally negative towards him even post-development), whereas Tilly seems to get more positive spin, like about how she's cute and helpful and her fault is just 13/10 enthusiasm.  All this while, like previous posts bring up, her behavior is way creepier.

Taffy. Tilly.
What's the problem?
The letters  "A" and "I"
"A & I"
"AI" !!

Well, that and the Fs...

[Tova]

The difference here is Clinton became star struck and had to be sat down (tied down) and explained he was being a super creep. Tilly deliberately forced her way into Hanner's life and is refusing to leave even when she's being told she's been creepy and needs to go away. Clinton reacted to this by saying 'I screwed up, I'm sorry' and did better. Tilly reacted by saying 'Oh, I know better than you what you need, and you'll get used to me.'

*Tova whistles to himself and continues to wait patiently*

[Cornelius]

I thought I had posted something this morning, but apparently it didn't come through. Ah well.

Another difference between Tilly and Clinton is that, while she does intrude, Tilly is not bent on publicising Hanners to the world (yet). I'll admit her enthusiasm and persistence are annoying, but I think she does genuinely want to help. And yes, she might be fangirling. On the other hand, from what we've seen of ECI, I can see how being made a cup of coffee by the boss is a big deal.

And when it comes to boundaries, let's not forget that Hanners herself was a bona fide stalker in the beginning. If I remember directly, she went as far s taking tissue samples. She does remember, and I think it's interesting how, as I read it, she does try to show some understanding.

Incidentally, this set up does remind me somewhat of the introduction of May.

[sitnspin]

I read it more as Tilly being a Beatrice fan girl. She seems to be fanning over the fact that Hanners is the heir to the empire more than actually being Hanners

[themacnut]

The difference here is Clinton became star struck and had to be sat down (tied down) and explained he was being a super creep. Tilly deliberately forced her way into Hanner's life and is refusing to leave even when she's being told she's been creepy and needs to go away. Clinton reacted to this by saying 'I screwed up, I'm sorry' and did better. Tilly reacted by saying 'Oh, I know better than you what you need, and you'll get used to me.'

Tl,DR version; Clinton didn't know he was being a creep, while Tilly doesn't care.

Another interpretation; in popular culture/media, a male creep is considered more threatening, especially towards a female, while female-on-female creepiness is considered more annoying than threatening.

[ChipNoir]

...Whoever suggested giving Tilly a sock may not have been too far off the mark. We're in full Doby territory here.  Now even I'm falling off of the Tilly Train. This is a little too much for me.

[sitnspin]

In popular culture/media, a male creep is considered more threatening, especially towards a female, while female-on-female creepiness is considered more annoying than threatening.

That's not just in media, that's real life. Statistically male creeps are significantly more dangerous.