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Where Secret Menus Come From

🕑 Added 2025-02-11 01:11:27 +0000 UTC

Comments

legobil

What I take from this comment: You have a secret menu with Hot Cocoa on and felt the vibe was right to serve one for yourself.

Mark

I suspect that that is the problem with Brun, too. She's in a frictionlessly happy and innocent relationship with Millefeuille. Perhaps Jeph feels that it would be too mean to rock their boat for the sake of drama, whereas Roko is a lead contender for the position of strip pinata.

Maximum Turtle

That really sucks to hear, because in retrospect she’s still a relatively new character with a lot of build-up. It kinda sucks that we’ve hopped from her figuring out her living situation, to Ayo figuring out her living situation, into marten and Clair figuring out THEIR living situation (albeit in a different sorta way).

Maximum Turtle

That’s a good point, and I feel like I’ve seen some page like that with how long it’s been since they were in a comic.

Phillip

I have a meeting at 9:30 pm tonight so I made myself hot cocoa for it before I read this comic. It made me particularly happy.

ValdVin

----Mood Coffee---- "It's Actually Good"* (*Warning: Not peer reviewed)

Daryl Sawyer

Marten fits right in in Cubetown.

Miyaa

Three cups one Moray?

Cal

@Hugh Eckert I considered this frequently 🤣 the food was also really inexpensive which absolutely incentivized me to keep coming back regardless of how shady it was. There was a room that always had a lot of large mysterious items in it. One time the worker was telling me incredulously about someone ordering a latte (they had an espresso machine.)

Hugh Eckert

Claire taught him how before they left Northampton...

Hugh Eckert

Exactly.

Hugh Eckert

Hammer time!

Hugh Eckert

I am extremely happy the "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!" has an official Vibe Curator on their staff.

Hugh Eckert

His dad, along with the "aging well" gene.

Hugh Eckert

There used to be an Ethiopian place in Arlington VA that seemed to mainly exist in order to allow cab drivers a place to drink coffee, hobnob, and smoke (outside). The food was excellent, but they always seemed to be mildly gobsmacked that we wanted to order, and generally had only about half the menu items available.

Hugh Eckert

Cal... have you considered it was a money-laundering operation?

David Durant

Somewhere there's a secret spreadsheet with the list of characters and how long since they've been in the comic... There's many folks I'd like to see (Will and Penny, Renee and Dan, etc) but I'm guessing it's harder to write scrips for mostly happy people.

Melissa Wilson

Dammit, Magic Chopstick! Grab a seat next to Sean in the sin bin. 😂

Melissa Wilson

What? No fried green tomatoes?!?

Michael Voorhis

Hannelore is so powerful she doesn't need much screen time. Some situation develops in the comic and frequently Hanners will fix/resolve it in three or four words, or with a gesture &c. From a comic POV her zen doesn't really build the story, perhaps? We need small levels of conflict/chaos/misunderstanding to keep up the character interplay. If all was peace and contentment what would Jeph have left to write about?

Michael Steamweed

Martin? Oblivious?? Why, Shirley, you jest!

Michael Steamweed

His innate charm? :D

Dave, Duke of Fridges

Holy shit I need this

William Burns

Back about forty years ago, I used to ask around to find out where 'The BBQ place' was. Brief explanation: The owner/cook moved whenever the rent was raised. Wherever he went, there was no signage, except for a small piece of paper in the window that said "BBQ." So if you found him (from 10 am to 1 pm only), you'd go in and sit at one of the picnic benches inside. A dour woman would come up to you, and say, "Fi' dollah, please." You would hand it to her. She would be back in five minutes with a platter of brisket, sausage, and a big piece of chicken, all done Tennessee barbeque style, with corn on the cob, collard greens, and white bread. It was amazing food. One day, he disappeared, with no one having any idea what happened.

Mark

"Mousebender: Well, how about a little Red Leicester. Wensleydale: I'm, afraid we're fresh out of Red Leicester, sir. Mousebender: Oh, never mind. How are you on Tilsit? Wensleydale: Never at the end of the week, sir. Always get it fresh first thing on Monday. Mousebender: Tish tish. No matter. Well, four ounces of Caerphilly, then, if you please, stout yeoman. Wensleydale: Ah well, it's been on order for two weeks, sir, I was expecting it this morning. ... Mousebender: Venezuelan Beaver Cheese? Wensleydale: Not today sir, no."

Mark

The other ones are possible but apparently Jeph has run out of inspiration for Brun plots.

David Paul

The temporal espresso machine that Raven "fixed" appears in Cubetown first at this point in time, before returning back to CoD back then at some unspecified point in the future.

Abhayakara

I love the blush in the second frame. #gremlin

Sleepy John

Tell Marten that you want your hot cocoa animal-style.

legobil

Marten learned from The Secret Bakery to have secret menu. It contains cold brewed coffee (made or not made by/of Moray) and Hot Cocoa.

legobil

The process is near instantaneous.

Solomon Garland

I'd love to see Moray three cups deep. I bet her psyche is fascinating

Maximum Turtle

Man I feel like it’s been a million years since we’ve seen a comic about Brun, Marigold, Dale, or Elliot.

Carrie

Yes. 😼🥳

Bagge

The stuff legends are made of

Finvaara

I'm still driving one, it's nearly 20 years old and going strong.

Some Ed

If I wasn't in a rush and I'd visit, I'd play their game once. If the sandwich was sensational, I'd play it more times. Otherwise, I'd cut my losses and go somewhere else. And yes, I did just take a nested if statement and provide a single else for both of them. Sometimes, that is the desired behavior.

Zak Reichle

Hammer Smashed Smoothie 🥤

Davus Otho

Actually, I think that they don't mind. There's already enough insane geniuses that one more couldn't hurt.

Magic Chopstick Games

Ok,ok, let’s nib this in the bud here

Cal

This was Portland, land of the supremely high and disinterested in helping, rarely due to malice, so I was somewhat enured to it although not to that level 🤣

Ursus Ridens

Hah. My wife keeps buying Callebaut dark chocolate to make bark (orange, peppermint) but this year, it never stays around long enough to make anything except nosherei of it.

Captain Button

I'd assume that either someone there was grossly incompetent, grossly dishonest, or they just didn't want my business for some reason, so I would leave and not go back. In fact I just did that the other month with the new deli that would be convenient for me if their staff had read the menu. You're just lucky it was one of the first two reasons, so they didn't have to start escalating to get rid of you.

Holly Nelson

Benign obliviousness?

BookBeard

Preemptively failing in fact, since according to the internet the straight line distance between Northampton and Halifax is 480 miles.

Egos

The small blush on Liz face is adorable

William Cole

A real big…

Clarence the Liar

"Kept boyfriend" can be a job description, don't judge.

Joseph Bonnar

Byron Wright has just explained all of Cubetown in one sentence. Bow before this genius. :)

Miyaa

And failing to do so. Fortunately, Emily doesn’t like Cubetown.

BobC

My sister OWNS the Vibe! A Pontiac Vibe (AKA Toyota Matrix), but still.

Fart Captor

There are probably multiple governments going to great lengths making sure Emily doesn't get within 500 miles of Cubetown

Pejo

Sassy Marten hell yeah

alphanor

...or beaver?

Carl Fink

Shouldn't Emily be desperately interested in Cubetown? For that matter, couldn't Hanners' dad give a guest lecture (virtual or in person)?

BookBeard

Yep, that was Dale's first appearance.

Miyaa

This is a five minute major pun. Get in the box.

Carl Fink

He'll age gracefully.

jonesnori

Handsomeness, of course!

Miyaa

Was this the first time we learned about Dale?

Cal

The weirdest place I ever regularly bought food from was this cafe down the street from where I worked. It was the closest place to get food so I went there regularly. They had a menu but you basically could never get anything on the menu. You could either go through each item on the menu and receive an explanation of why you couldn't have that item, or you could ask what they had and they would verbally tell you what they were willing to make for you. There were also so many employees. I watched many people get annoyed and also saw plenty of regulars just come in and accept whatever fate decided they were eating.

Miyaa

Wonder what he inherited from his dad?

alphanor

I can only speculate that Veronica is the opposite of chill, at least when she is working.

William Cole

Legitimate fear.

Byron Wright

The Department of Hallucinogens existed for one weekend and it was simultaneously the most and least productive in Cubetown history.

William Cole

Yes, and Moray has the paperwork to prove it!

Doc Gumby

I was thinking more along the lines of edibles or microdosing his coffee or summat.

Mark Eichin

And since it's cubetown, the time-travelling part https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1978 wouldn't even be that weird :-)

Michael Steamweed

It's okay. They already re-evaluated their relationship.

Michael Steamweed

It IS CubeTown we're talking here. I'm not sure they've got a standard economy.

Michael Steamweed

'Twas prophetic, 'twas. Those two didn't last as a thing. :O

Michael Steamweed

I think you're on to something there....

Creeperkry

I kinda want Marten to introduce the scented tea for AIs, but I think Cubetown would accidentally weaponize scent-induced hallucinations for AIs.

Clifton Royston

GDI Sean

Michael Steamweed

His parents? Veronica Reed is his Mom. :)

Michael Steamweed

People, you must remember one thing: Marten is the son of Veronica Reed. He's got to have inherited some good social perceptions from her.

Mark Eichin

We usually call those "money laundering operations", in the "That was a great steakhouse, too bad it got shut down by the Feds" sense

Carl

One year I got a solid chocolate bunny for Easter. This led to me getting in trouble for bringing an ice pick to school. 🤣

Cathal Mc Ginley

I was about to say, I find him really attractive in this comic and it's because he has a more mature vibe. Also that long-sleeved top looks good on him.

ValdVin

Dammit, now I want a 5kg block of Callebaut dark chocolate. What? It's for baking. Well, mostly.

Doc Gumby

Marten has to get that chill vibe from somewhere, it makes me suspicious...

Jason Zions

That's a deep cut.

Jonathan Marinaro

VIBE CHECK

Jason Zions

This Is The Way.

Sean Kinlin

She goes from elfin to gremlin.

Sean Kinlin

As Marten doesn't have any idea how much demand there will be, he decides to play it safe in stocking the shop: he has a giant block of chocolate delivered, and keeps it in the cooler so he can just chip some off to melt in steamed milk whenever needed.

Thisguy

Wait. You’re telling me that bartenders and baristas don’t develop a sense of what people want?

Rich Holmes

[goes and makes hot cocoa]

chili sunrise

Tired: Marten is lazy. Wired: Marten is vibes-oriented.

LH

no this is firmly in "dad lovingly bullying his daughter" territory

Mad Marie

choculastic

Doug DeJulio

I'm getting the notion that someone who's decent at cold reading could have *fun* with her…

Captain Button

You Are Not Of The Body!

Alcaria Swain

Hannelore never gets enough screen time these days. I'm not complaining; she certainly gets more time than a bunch of other characters, but for her impact on the comic, she feels on the back burner. Much like Marigold. But I'm okay with this because the cast is huge and I'm always wanting to see the new characters develop.

ValdVin

The little blush! Such a tour of Liz faces today.

Sean Kinlin

Marten has precocoagnition.

Timothy Roller

ANECDOTAL *sip* EVIDENCE

BookBeard

What menu?

Magic Beans

I assumed vibe reading was a fundamental skill for indie baristas.

Dave, Duke of Fridges

God I hope so

BookBeard

I've still got my fingers crossed for Faye building him an espresso-pooping moose sculpture.

Alcaria Swain

This feels really hokey, but I feel like I've gone through my twenties with Marten now. I started reading QC in 2012. I think around the Space Station arc? And I had just moved out of my parent's house. And I'm in my early thirties now and my life is still wildly unstable, but I feel more capable and unflappable. And it's funny recognizing my twenties in Liz now and my current thirties in Marten. Now if only I could find some free real estate to open a coffee shop I'd be set.

A Dark Planet, Lit By No Sun

Imagine if the world ran that way. How lovely it would be

Yelling Bird

Is he going to add "Faye's Special Banana Smoothie" to the secret menu?

Captain Button

Only truly worthy and virtuous people can see the secret menu.

Michael Voorhis

I like the new characters, but Faye, Bubs, and Hannelore are like the QC Trinity for me, not always seen but there nonetheless & lending inspiration. I enjoy the Zen which seems to be gathering around Marten.

Andrew

No need to even tell people the shop is open then, people with the right vibe will know the door is unlocked

John

Liz is the little sister that Marten never wanted...

BookBeard

Just don't forget to tell Claire about the secret menu. That's some serious reevaluate-the-relationship type shit. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1640

Joel Bateman

Yep, he's adopted her.

Alcaria Swain

Marten is so much cooler now. He's definitely got a "grown up" feel to him, rather than too old manchild

Bill Silvia

If I ever visit, I will just ask for a pumpkin mocha every day until one materializes.

Rob Vary

Marten, you dink.

D.J. Trindle

Marten is running his coffee shop in exactly the way you might expect a proprietor to behave if he were — for instance, to choose a completely random example — utterly uninterested in the shop’s economic feasibility because he has an unlimited amount of support available from another avenue, and was just entertaining himself during the day.