Print

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

Marten & Claire - Claire wants Marten to be more proactive

11 (8.7%)

Faye & Bubbles - Is there anything more than friendship?

20 (15.9%)

Marten, Veronica and the Beans - Is Marten jealous of what a good stepmom she is to Sam?

8 (6.3%)

Faye, Bubbles & Sam - The further adventures of Union Robotics

20 (15.9%)

Dale and Marigold - A meditation on DLC and Micro-transactions

7 (5.6%)

Momo & May - We were teenage robots at large!

10 (7.9%)

Hannelore & Sven - The're clearly friends but what do they do together?

11 (8.7%)

Dora and Emily - A double-act making double-lattes!

6 (4.8%)

MOAR TILLY! - Let's see what they can do beyond their relationship with Hannelore!

6 (4.8%)

Brun, Elliott & Clinton - Lives collide at The Horrible Revelation

21 (16.7%)

Other (Please specify in your comment)

6 (4.8%)

Total Members Voted: 66

[BenRG]

Okay, I do think that I'm not presuming by saying that most people feel that a month of the Tilly and Hanners Show is probably as much as the characters can support and possibly more. However, what other options could Jeph use to write his strips? Well, I have given some options and I'd like to see what everyone thinks of them. Some of them could be shippy, some could be comedic, some could all be about character growth and all of them are potentially combinations of all the other options.

Personally, I'd like to see Claire pushing Marten out of his comfort zone. He is, as has been noted before, very reluctant to go beyond his current status quo unless there are some pretty strong emotional or interpersonal demands upon him. I, personally, think that Claire is in an ideal position to at least encourage him to look forwards and actually pursue his dreams.

I really would also like to catch up with Dale and Marigold. Having the strip's resident gamers reflecting on the RL debate on micro-transactions and post-sale monetisation of AAA-level games. As well as letting us catch up with the characters, it would also be looking back to QC's earlier habit of commenting on popular culture (especially music) and Jeph using the strip to comment on his own views on various matters.

What do you think?

[Case]

Personally, I'd like to see Claire pushing Marten out of his comfort zone. He is, as has been noted before, very reluctant to go beyond his current status quo unless there are some pretty strong emotional or interpersonal demands upon him. I, personally, think that Claire is in an ideal position to at least encourage him to look forwards and actually pursue his dreams.

Looking forward to the return of the good old "Does Marten have goooooooooooaaaaalz?"-threads about as much as I would to the prospect of pushing needles into my eyes ...

[TheEvilDog]

Ah, the prospect of Marten's goals being discussed. Apparently I have logged on into the year 2010....Quick! We have to warn people about elections and referendums around the world! And we have to treasure various actors and musicians before the year 2016!

[shanejayell]

More robots in general, obviously focused on Union Robotics.

It'd be interesting also to see more of the robot community center.

[Thrudd]

It would be a twist if Gabby or one of the other interns,  came by during Marten's shift with the binder of college postings.
[ I don't know about your college but mine still puts all internal postings on paper and only on paper - bureaucratic inertia supersedes the laws of physics  or logic ]

begin fantasy story arc

(click to show/hide)

They show him a part time instructor position in the music program that he would qualify for and tell him he should apply for it.
They mention that they are applying for a number of different tutorial positions and playing job posting roulette.

Then we have our facilitating pixie telling him a professor want to speak with him about the alternative band scene.
They have an introduction of sorts followed by an animated discussion over coffee in the student center.
Latter the next day/week Marten gets called to the administration office where ye bespectacled HR personage [you know the one - used to work at monsters inc] goes over with him regarding his position, qualifications and work hours.
Marten is of course beginning to sweat and wondering if he will be fired.
Bit more of the paperwork, review of his employment record and Marten squirming in his seat.
They hand him a piece of paper - so here is your updated work schedule and the CV for the course.
The Dean has seen fit to allow you free reign on reference materials as long as you have it vetted with him first.
Dean? asks Marten.
They give him the name of the professor he spoke with earlier.
Marten - a study in the juxtaposition of excitement, annoyance and terror. 

Even if it happens not much else will really change in the day to day though there will be plenty of opprotunity for new story hooks and characters.

[Bad Superman]

Damn, that's a though one…

As much as I'd like to jump  to the Faye+Bubbles option, there are many others that I would like to see more of. Dale and Marigold would be a nice change. We haven't seen or heard of them in a while now. I wonder how their WoW Guild is doing…

But my vote goes to Marten and Claire. I’m curious how their relationship is developing, and also I would like to see Marten in a more supportive role. If the QC wiki is correct, this IS Claires first real relationship after all. I’m sure there is still much to work out for her, many emotions and fears to tackle. This would also be a great chance in my opinion to show Marten becoming more active in order to be there for Claire when she needs him. After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

[cloudatlatl]

Clinton/Brun/Elliot currently at #1 in the polls... I am clearly not alone in wanting to see that play out.

Speaking of Marigold and Dale, though... they're both pretty good with computers, yeah? All these AIs walking around probably need software engineers to develop firmware updates (like the one that gave Pintsize giant thumbs) and maybe even tech doctors to 'cure' 'viruses'? This is entering unexplored territory in the QC universe, but what if Marigold and/or Dale decided to get into AI development, or joined Faye and Bubbles as a software support team for Union Robotics?

[hakko504]

Clinton/Brun/Elliot currently at #1 in the polls... I am clearly not alone in wanting to see that play out.

As of my posting they share the #1 with Faye & Bubbles. At least I think it's safe to say that the forum would like a break from Tilly, though I must admit that I'd like Hanners to blow up and throw Tilly out before we continue to the others.

(monday strip not online yet when I post this)

[Timemaster]

There are few of us, but some still like to see more of Tilly and Hanners. Me too. So that's number one.
And I'd really like to see more of Marten and Claire. The last strip with the two could have been a hint in what direction Jeph will take their relationship.
And more Dora is always a good idea for me, but I only had two votes.

TM

[traroth]

There are few of us, but some still like to see more of Tilly and Hanners.

It's not Hanners we don't want to see anymore...

[BenRG]

New Comic Up
Now, even Jeph is being very clear about the degree to which Tilly is sucking the joy out of Hannelore's life to the point where I'm now convinced that this the whole point of the arc.

[oeoek]

A moment of growth for Hanners: Get away from me, I like my lfie as it is, fear, stress and all! Oh, err, uhm...
(oops day late edit: not lie, Life! she likes her life...)

On the other hand, I do like Winslow meeting a soul mate in chipperness! If these two ever meet those two, Ragnarok is upon us, and will be nothing we expected!

[gopher]

Again Tilly adds nowt, Winslow could have done all this and developed as a character.

[shanejayell]

Tilly is more likable with no dialog. 

[Cornelius]

The Tilly-Winslow combo looks very tiring.

[mercykills]

Alright, let's see if I'm keeping all this straight. So, Character B comes into Character A's life and says, "I'm your new assistant". Character A says, "Uhh...no, I don't need an assistant. Please, leave." Character B goes, "Nope, I'm not going anywhere. You need me. There'll be no more discussion on the subject. Deal with it." Character A finally gets it into her spine to say something about, "Her life. Her choice." and "Agency". Character B has an epiphany, realizes they've bullied themselves into Character A's life, feels justifiably bad and proves they've learned their lesson byyyyy...what? Continuing to make Character A miserable with their presence?

I thought the whole point was to move AWAY from the creepy, "I'm here whether you want me to be or not" Tilly intro and yet, the last few comics have brought us back to where we were in the beginning: Tilly butting in despite Hanners' objections, Hanner's being shown to be miserable but her and Tilly both knowing that Hannelore is too nice to forcibly say, "GTFO of here!", and BONUS POINTS: Winslow being little to negative help. Seriously, think I'm kidding? Go comparison check. We have, quite literally, gone full circle back to the stalker/miserable-silent victim dynamic(if we ever left it to begin with).

/siiiiiiigh

Just burn it down. Just burn it allll the way the fuck down.

[Cornelius]

Hannelore had given them 48 hours to try and prove their usefulness. Going back on that would be dishonest. At least We seem to be going through day 2 a whole lot quicker than day one.

I think it also shows Winslow hasn't exactly adjusted yet to his new chassis. The dance number may be cute in the I-pad frame, but at full size... I think he still needs to rethink his mode of interaction.

[cloudatlatl]

Has Jeph ever killed off a character in the present day? I can think of at least one obvious example of a character dying during a flashback, but...
And not that I'm condoning murder or anything.  But Tilly is such an eager and curious individual, the sort to get oneself into trouble... and if such a person were to poke one's nose where it didn't belong, say into the private affairs of one Beatrice Ellicott-Chatham... it would be a shame if such a person were to meet with an unfortunate accident...
I'll say again that I really don't hate Tilly, I'm just looking for any way possible out of this story.  I may also be looking for excuses to practice my indirectly threatening mafia-speak.

[blt]

Well if they're not helping (plural, incl Winslow), there's always the second half of the tattoo to fall back on.

[BenRG]

Has Jeph ever killed off a character in the present day?

Not explicitly killed, no. However, there was a barista at CoD named Sara who was abruptly 'put on the bus' during the first 100 or so strips and was never seen again. To this day, Jeph insists that she was eaten by a dinosaur.

[mercykills]

Hannelore had given them 48 hours to try and prove their usefulness. Going back on that would be dishonest. At least We seem to be going through day 2 a whole lot quicker than day one.

I think it also shows Winslow hasn't exactly adjusted yet to his new chassis. The dance number may be cute in the I-pad frame, but at full size... I think he still needs to rethink his mode of interaction.

If that's what this is: Us "montaging" past the second day leading us to a Tuesday "Goodbye, forever" comic for Tilly? I will eat my words, STFU, grit my teeth, and let it happen. If not.....

*narrows eyes* Get the matches.

ETA: Just to be clear, I have not given up on my assessment of Tilly or this garbage situation. If Hanners told them to leave, "right now"(she won't, we're stuck), the stalker does not get to go, "but you said I had 48 hours to prove myself. You're being dishonest." That's NOT how this works. You don't get to badger your victim into letting you stick around then whine about them not letting you stay for the full amount of time you pushed them into giving you.

[Is it cold in here?]

OK, I can see panel 4 as spider combat. The first four times I looked at it I thought it was a duel.

Memory is hazy -- were the spiders Dora's secret flavor ingredient?

[mercykills]

OK, I can see panel 4 as spider combat. The first four times I looked at it I thought it was a duel.

Memory is hazy -- were the spiders Dora's secret flavor ingredient?

I remember what you're talking about, vaguely. It was the comic where she was showing Hanner's the roaster, for the first time, right? And I think she was joking when she said the spiders were her secret ingredient.

...I hope she was joking. :S

[TheEvilDog]

Memory is hazy -- were the spiders Dora's secret flavor ingredient?

Well its not a secret any more!

[dutchrvl]

One theme that has not really been explored yet is possible conflict between a human and AI companion. We know that the companionship is voluntary from both sides, and as such conflict with possible ‘breakup’ is bound to happen from time to time.
Especially with the ongoing transition we’ve seen from Un-humanlike AI appearances (chibi chassis, virtual, iPod-like) to very humanlike, their personalities are likely to change somewhat too, or in some cases certain personality traits will start surfacing after getting a humanlike chassis.
That makes it likely for some human-AI companionship’s to simply not work anymore at some point.

I’d like to see these themes explored more, and I wonder if the Tilly arc is (partially) a setup for exploring these themes in Hannelore and Winslow’s relationship.

[dutchrvl]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

[maneyan]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

[TinPenguin]

Well, the first interesting thing in the Tilly arc has nothing to do with Tilly...

...do robots now work most of the low-paid service jobs in QCverse? Are AIs the social equivalent of immigrants?

[Cornelius]

... but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. ...

Thing is, he was making things work with Claire as well - if we're detecting cracks now, it might just be becaus they've been given the spotlight. Who knows how things are with Dora and Tai now?

I do agree that Marten should learn to set his own boundaries, and be somewhat more proactive in dealing with possible crossing of said boundaries.

One theme that has not really been explored yet is possible conflict between a human and AI companion.

You've got to wonder how it keeps working with Pintsize.

The change of chassis, and the added independence that comes with it, are factors that may heavily influence their relationship - and I shouldn't wonder that it takes some time to adapt for them as well. Momo seemed to take to it very swiftly - but then for her it was more a change of scale.

[mercykills]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

A lack of set boundaries weren't the issue, though. It was Dora's irrational jealousy and insecurities. Which she worked on and thus, why she's making it work with Tai.

I mean, hell, Martin could have been the most proactive boyfriend ever. Short of him breaking off his friendship with Faye and every other female from then until perpetuity AND blinding himself so, he couldn't even look at another woman in passing, yea...there was ZIP he could have done to have salvaged that one. As I said, you can't set boundaries there because boundaries are logic and logic and irrational fears don't mix.

Look, I love Dora and it pissed me off when people tried to put ANY part of Faye's self-destruction on her. But, just like Faye had to own her bullsh*t, Dora has to own hers.

[dutchrvl]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

I don't disagree that Marten's passiveness is sometimes an issue for him, for sure, especially in his career. However, in his relationship with Dora that passiveness was not a big reason for the failure at all. That Dora and Tai is working well has more to do with the lack of any Faye/Marten-type history in combination with Dora working on her issues vis-a-vis insecurities/control. Which is great btw, because I love Dora as a character:)

As for Marten and boundaries, he was in fact very clear about his boundary with regards to his porn preference. Dora completely ignoring that immediately had nothing to do with Marten not setting any boundaries.

[Shjade]

As for Marten and boundaries, he was in fact very clear about his boundary with regards to his porn preference. Dora completely ignoring that immediately had nothing to do with Marten not setting any boundaries.

Yeah, Marten's apathetic at times, but he's told people how he wants things to be on several occasions. Often followed by having those preferences immediately ignored. Definitely not the issue in the Dora relationship case.

[TheEvilDog]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

A lack of set boundaries weren't the issue, though. It was Dora's irrational jealousy and insecurities. Which she worked on and thus, why she's making it work with Tai.

I mean, hell, Martin could have been the most proactive boyfriend ever. Short of him breaking off his friendship with Faye and every other female from then until perpetuity AND blinding himself so, he couldn't even look at another woman in passing, yea...there was ZIP he could have done to have salvaged that one. As I said, you can't set boundaries there because boundaries are logic and logic and irrational fears don't mix.

Look, I love Dora and it pissed me off when people tried to put ANY part of Faye's self-destruction on her. But, just like Faye had to own her bullsh*t, Dora has to own hers.

Oh god, I really have gone back in time to 2010...

[dutchrvl]

New Comic Up
Now, even Jeph is being very clear about the degree to which Tilly is sucking the joy out of Hannelore's life to the point where I'm now convinced that this the whole point of the arc.

Let's get back on track here and not devolve into 2010-era discussions then.

Curious what the main point is going to be. May be Hanners asserting herself and making very clear that Tilly is not a good addition to her life, or maybe a setup for conflict between Hanners and Winslow and a potential parting in their companionship?

I'd be interested in the latter.

[gopher]

Maybe re-hashing Marten/Dora YET again reflects how unengaged some posters are with the current arc.

[maneyan]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

A lack of set boundaries weren't the issue, though. It was Dora's irrational jealousy and insecurities. Which she worked on and thus, why she's making it work with Tai.

I mean, hell, Martin could have been the most proactive boyfriend ever. Short of him breaking off his friendship with Faye and every other female from then until perpetuity AND blinding himself so, he couldn't even look at another woman in passing, yea...there was ZIP he could have done to have salvaged that one. As I said, you can't set boundaries there because boundaries are logic and logic and irrational fears don't mix.

Look, I love Dora and it pissed me off when people tried to put ANY part of Faye's self-destruction on her. But, just like Faye had to own her bullsh*t, Dora has to own hers.

I don't quite know if I agree on that one: I still feel like greater clarity and less waffling would have served Marten well. Still as said, Dora does bear the greatest responsibility.

[dutchrvl]

It looks more and more like this is going to be an arc that will continue until the end of this calendar year, I don't expect JJ to switch back to anything else before Jauary.

[dutchrvl]

I don't quite know if I agree on that one: I still feel like greater clarity and less waffling would have served Marten well. Still as said, Dora does bear the greatest responsibility.

I'm curious to know where during their relationship he was unclear or waffling in your opinion? I mean, he was clear about his boundaries wrt privacy, very clear about his feelings about Dora and about Faye, so I don't see much passiveness during their relationship with regards to the latter. Towards his career, sure, but towards their relationship, not really (prior to their relationship, yes, absolutely). Even when they decided to live together he was reasonably honest and forthcoming about what he wanted and did not want.

[Bad Superman]

After all, his general lethargy has cost Marten his relationship with Dora (well, that, and her own issues) and maybe this was kind of a wake-up-call for him not to screw up with Claire…

It still surprises me when people seem to place a lot (or even most) of the blame on Marten for that breakup.
While he could’ve done things better in that relationship, for sure, his passiveness had very little, if anything , to do with it failing, IMO.

Weeeell.... that's the thing about being lethargic or passive, it NEVER is something you did, because you never do anything. It's true Dora had a large part of it, but considering she could make things work with Tai pretty briefly afterwards implies that she isn't just some monster who can never be happy. Like Hanners, Marten needed to learn to set boundaries. He didn't really do that and simply got mad when Dora overstepped them. Again, Dora was the main reason it all came crashing down, but Marten did pretty much nothing proactively to try to help it either, and I believe that's the point.

A lack of set boundaries weren't the issue, though. It was Dora's irrational jealousy and insecurities. Which she worked on and thus, why she's making it work with Tai.

I mean, hell, Martin could have been the most proactive boyfriend ever. Short of him breaking off his friendship with Faye and every other female from then until perpetuity AND blinding himself so, he couldn't even look at another woman in passing, yea...there was ZIP he could have done to have salvaged that one. As I said, you can't set boundaries there because boundaries are logic and logic and irrational fears don't mix.

Look, I love Dora and it pissed me off when people tried to put ANY part of Faye's self-destruction on her. But, just like Faye had to own her bullsh*t, Dora has to own hers.

I don't quite know if I agree on that one: I still feel like greater clarity and less waffling would have served Marten well. Still as said, Dora does bear the greatest responsibility.

Okay, so, I don't want to derail this thread any further, but just allow me the closing remarks, before we get back on track.

The point I was trying to make was, that in the current Marten/Claire situation he is the more experienced one. Back when Dora broke up with him (and yes, I too put most of the blame of their relationship failing on her!) he just accepted it. He didn't protest or fight for them to stay together. And neither of them really did try to make things work again, when their relationship had just hit it's first mayor crisis. Because that's what you do if you actually DO love your partner. You fight for them. You show them that you really care about them and try to strengthen them. That is the lesson I hope Marten has learned from all this.


PS: I just wanted to remind you guys that english isn't my first language. So, if my writing is a little off, or if some sentences don't seem to make much sense, please feel free to ask, or to correct me on that.

[JoeCovenant]

Looking back, I do wonder if Marten and Dora were split-up simply to make way for Claire.

Mainly because I thought Marten and Dora's relationship was very well written, with the right amount of 'problems' to keep it ticking along nicely, and remain a subject for comics (For as we all know, perfect relationships are boring to read about.) And, dammit, I thought they went WELL together!

And hey, I haven't dwelt on it (just thought about it actually) but maybe this is part of my reason for disliking Marten/Claire(?)

A really good foil for both drama and comedy were taken away, and in return we get a trans character whom Marten has no real concerns with dating - besides it never really having been explored in any way at all, at any point - the realisation the Marten / Claire hook-up was (to me) WAY too easy... Unless, of course,  Marten just doesn't care much about anything... It was just too easy.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2801

This was the last time Claire seemed a half-way decent character...
Since she and Marten hooked up... I dunno.. went from a half way decent support cast to a totally bland main-caster. (And the nose ring was a bad mve IMO)

My only hope is that as this is Claire's first ever relationship, it will soon end.
Given Jeph's talent for deep-seated emotional writing (Bubbles!) I think there could be an amazing arc breaking up Marten and Claire...
(But maybe my own personal tastes in what does and doesn't work for ME is colouring my desires!)
Because truthfully, how many First Ever Relationships last *that* long?
Especially ones which came out of nowhere - and started due to a drunkern hook-up - where they start to live together so quickly.

One might be tempted to say Jeph is making the relationship-al life of a Male and a Trans-Woman look too easy.

I seem to have strayed from the point of the original brief...

Umm...

"Tilly sucks!"

(There we go! Back on topic!    )

[TinPenguin]

A really good foil for both drama and comedy were taken away, and in return we get a trans character whom Marten has no real concerns with dating - besides it never really having been explored in any way at all, at any point - the realisation the Marten / Claire hook-up was (to me) WAY too easy... Unless, of course,  Marten just doesn't care much about anything... It was just too easy.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2801

This was the last time Claire seemed a half-way decent character...
Since she and Marten hooked up... I dunno.. went from a half way decent support cast to a totally bland main-caster. (And the nose ring was a bad mve IMO)

See also #2808. "We'll talk to each other, and we'll figure out what needs figuring out."

I don't recall any of that figuring out ever happening.

I can understand why Jeph didn't want to delve too deeply into that aspect of Marten and Claire's relationship. However, dating someone who does not fit into the normal boxes is never easy (see also: dating anyone is never easy). No matter how accepting, or indeed passive, you are, there is so much space for drama and conflict. Because such relationships are often built upon an inherent conflict or incompatibility from the start, and the relative ability of both partners to look past it. Muddy waters when it comes to writing comics, though.

[Technoir]

Tilly is more likable with no dialog. 

Somewhat in agreement, but for me it's more towards "Marginally less irritating sans dialog."

[dutchrvl]

A really good foil for both drama and comedy were taken away, and in return we get a trans character whom Marten has no real concerns with dating - besides it never really having been explored in any way at all, at any point - the realisation the Marten / Claire hook-up was (to me) WAY too easy... Unless, of course,  Marten just doesn't care much about anything... It was just too easy.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2801

This was the last time Claire seemed a half-way decent character...
Since she and Marten hooked up... I dunno.. went from a half way decent support cast to a totally bland main-caster. (And the nose ring was a bad mve IMO)

See also #2808. "We'll talk to each other, and we'll figure out what needs figuring out."

I don't recall any of that figuring out ever happening.

I can understand why Jeph didn't want to delve too deeply into that aspect of Marten and Claire's relationship. However, dating someone who does not fit into the normal boxes is never easy (see also: dating anyone is never easy). No matter how accepting, or indeed passive, you are, there is so much space for drama and conflict. Because such relationships are often built upon an inherent conflict or incompatibility from the start, and the relative ability of both partners to look past it. Muddy waters when it comes to writing comics, though.

You probably are right that JJ simply didn't want to dive too much into all the, potentially extremely tense, emotional turmoil that could occur wrt Marten-Claire. Even with Marten being super-encouraging/understanding/accepting, there are still a lot of extraneous circumstances that are out of their control.

As for their relationship itself, I agree that it would normally be unlikely to succeed given the various circumstances. Personally, considering how good this comic has always been at being inclusive and treating any character as equal, I would find it interesting if conflict arises, Marten starts to have second-thoughts about their relationship, and he would find it hard to break up with her because of inner doubts about whether it's about her being trans, and/or outsiders judging him about breaking up with a trans-person.

That said, I don't have any problem with not going that direction with their relationship and just letting it go well and explore other aspects of Marten's live.

[brasca]

One scenario that might keep Tilly around after the 48 hours is up is Penelope giving her 2 weeks notice after her publishing career takes off.  Hannelore would be the logical choice for assistant manager, but if she can’t handle the stress then she could delegate it to Tilly.

[Puckish Rogue]

Yay more Tilly, shes just the best! No really, I'm not kidding, the more Tilly the better, honestly.

[dutchrvl]

One scenario that might keep Tilly around after the 48 hours is up is Penelope giving her 2 weeks notice after her publishing career takes off.  Hannelore would be the logical choice for assistant manager, but if she can’t handle the stress then she could delegate it to Tilly.

Assuming Cosette doesn't want it, ot assuming Cosette is even less suitable than Hanners? Wouldn't Cosette have seniority over Hanners?

[OldGoat]

Not explicitly killed, no. However, there was a barista at CoD named Sara who was abruptly 'put on the bus' during the first 100 or so strips and was never seen again. To this day, Jeph insists that she was eaten by a dinosaur.

An allosaurus, to be specific.  I do so hope it's getting hungry and is ready for another meal.

[Roborat]

Yay! A montage strip, fire up the rousing music soundtrack.  I love the last panel, although it looks like that poor spider is missing a limb, perhaps from previous combat?

[DesiArxxy]

One scenario that might keep Tilly around after the 48 hours is up is Penelope giving her 2 weeks notice after her publishing career takes off.  Hannelore would be the logical choice for assistant manager, but if she can’t handle the stress then she could delegate it to Tilly.

Assuming Cosette doesn't want it, ot assuming Cosette is even less suitable than Hanners? Wouldn't Cosette have seniority over Hanners?

Small businesses don't generally promote on a seniority basis.

[Penquin47]

One scenario that might keep Tilly around after the 48 hours is up is Penelope giving her 2 weeks notice after her publishing career takes off.  Hannelore would be the logical choice for assistant manager, but if she can’t handle the stress then she could delegate it to Tilly.

Assuming Cosette doesn't want it, ot assuming Cosette is even less suitable than Hanners? Wouldn't Cosette have seniority over Hanners?

Cosette has seniority, but she's also part-time working around school.  Hanners is part-time too, I believe, but that's more about Dora not having the budget to take on a full-time worker.  If Penelope leaves, Hanners can have her full-time position and they can hire a new part-time worker (or full-time if the business has grown enough for that).