Commonality

Panel 1 might as well be official confirmation that Sam has ADHD.

Ohh Crap Guy

Being in my 50s is no picnic, but I wouldn't want to be 14 again. Emmett is quite right - 14 was horrible.

awgiedawgie

Can I get a creaky hellyeah for us olduns? Class of '76 here. Triple session HS and no lunch break if you were on the morning or afternoon session. Mid-session was for sports and band and such. Not it.

Ruth Merriam

Y'know -- I think that Emmet has a nose that we haven't seen in this comic, Just sayin'.

Ursus Ridens

I'd go back to being 55 in a minute. Fourteen, not so much.

Ursus Ridens

Sam is a Warrior Queen. Emmett is just one of her subjects at this point

Rooty-Toot-Toot

"Being 14 is Horrible" Tell ya what, Emmett, sweetie... We'll trade places. You can try being 55 for awhile and see how you like that. I'd go back to being 14 in a minute

Churchill (formerly TeaBear)

That's just how you get Skynet to design better Terminators...

Leak

when i was in school, having a free period instead of being required to go to the cafeteria was a truly elite privilege, and the only reason anyone cared about making the honor roll. this was particularly aggravating because most of those cafeterias were barely supervised (so, not safe to read, draw, nap, or get a jump on homework, and if you were stupid enough to bring your Game Boy to the cafeteria you sure wouldn't be leaving with it) and i never had money for lunch anyway. with a free period you could actually get something done

Ashe C. Addams

This is an absolutely perfect strip. So. Perfect.

Rooty-Toot-Toot

EMMETT MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS

Daniel Blom Paulsen

Growing up in rural western Pennsylvania in the 90's, I never knew there was only other option than to eat lunch in the school cafeteria. It blew my mind when I learned in college that other schools just had like a free period to just go wherever you wanted for lunch.

It seems weird to me too but that's because where I grew up in southern California we just had picnic tables outside. Eating indoors was only allowed on the rare occasions when it rained… which usually meant eating at your desk while the teachers were (illegally) deprived of their lunch break.

tim1724

I graduated from HS 40 years ago this coming June, so I'm in the same age band...

Hugh Eckert

14 was probably the nadir for me in the period 10-17... not that any of my middle/high school years were what I would call "good".

Hugh Eckert

My schools did, but that was back in the Neolithic. I've also seen plenty that have table that fold out of the walls in the gym. It's also weird to note that the memory is 50 years old at this point. I'm probably one of the older residents here.

Jim Feldman

I know there are robots and stuff, but the fact that PVPA (where sam goes to school) has a dedicated cafeteria with lunch tables, instead of just eating in whatever hallway or classroom you want, is somehow the weirdest part so far about the universe

School started to go really badly starting in the 13/14 timeframe when everybody got into puberty and stopped being tolerant of my neurodivergent oddness, so I very much agree.

Atashkada

For me at least, 14 was an island in the midst of the dark sea of 11-13 and the murky waters of 15-17. Thank goodness for all the insightful, kind, awesome teachers I encountered along the way.

Mad Marie

Welp, I guess I have a new reason to like Sam, and another character I now feel the intense need to protect. I will fight Emmett's whole school now

now i just want to cuddle them forever.

ezazel

So say we all!

William Cole

*Oh person

Mad Marie

Curious - how do you infer that from what we've seen so far? As opposed to them just being shy.

David Durant

13-14 was the absolute worst. Aside from perhaps now but that's different

Pejo

I love Sam's level of drama in panel 1

Bagge

Actually, no. Magic Chopstick Games managed to cover that nicely. So, no worries, somebody got it covered. That said, that actually looks fairly late into the eleventh hour. Which I think was pretty typical for me back then. I'm not sure why. We sometimes only had one working bathroom, and a couple times had one fewer working bathroom than that. When the bathroom count is that low, using the facilities at ones earliest opportunity is important. Past me was an idiot. Of course, this is not the first time that I've realized that bit. Also, I've needed to use the facilities the entire time I've been writing this comment, so current me is apparently not much more clever. Sigh.

Some Ed

not til you mentioned it

*thinks back to when I was 14* ...yeah, yeah, this is accurate

Waffliesinyoface

What, *nobody* is gonna comment on the perfectly executed “failed to register the acute pee-need until the eleventh hour” bit? I’m mad *and* disappointed

Magic Chopstick Games

14 was wretched, but the several years before that were worse.

Clifton Royston

14 was fine. 10-12 was hideous.

Am Queue

When I was 14 years old I was forbidden from using the dialup internet indefinitely as punishment for some failing or other, and almost perfected the art of sneaking online when my parents weren't home. I got caught at 15, and sent to a military academy, so I definitely didn't perfect it.

Thomas Halpin

You WERE starting a great new age. 15. Turns out "great" was relative, and could be considered by some to be far from ideal.

Thomas Halpin

Some of them are like that, especially those that sit at the outcasts table. Oh, sorry, I mean the unpopular kids' table. I know I was, as were all of the other 14 year olds who sat at the unpopular kids' table in my high school when I did.

Some Ed

When she first appeared she was already old enough that her father was OK with leaving her home alone. Which may not have been the best decision... https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1957

Captain Button

Man when I was 14 I was really into Gun's and Roses and was yelling "14 years that are gone forever" all the time... I though I was staring a great new age. So naive

🫂

Carrie

Raising hackles from all the criterion abuse signs. Seriously

Todd Ellner

When Faye was 14, her dad was alive. I wonder how much, if any, of the intensity of her flashback is related to a memory with him in it.

Lisa

There is a lot of teenage Faye in comics 502 to 504 (CN sui.!! for 504), but of course those are from 2005, so Jeph would render her pretty differently today I guess.

Juni Huber

Puberty is HELL.

Ian Wolfe

I am feeling really sad. Kid has been completely beaten down to the point of comprehensively hiding and erasing every personal detail. Bullied openly and constantly AND BELIEVES IT'S DESERVED. Fixated like a newborn duckling on the first friendly face. More red flags than May Day 1946 in Moscow. we are in serious "Take this poor child to a good mental health professional" territory.

Todd Ellner

Well, when we use gendered pronouns it's not because we're actively trying to involve gender. It's just, if somebody wants "he/him" pronouns then I'm gonna respect that, you know? (That's not a diss, just to be clear)

Rob McBobson

One other thing: when did Sam turn 14? I thought she was 10? Did I miss a time skip?

Miyaa

I could see Marigold see a lot of herself in Emmett or Emmett & Marigold are actually Aunt/Nephew or Niece or whatever would be the gender neutral equivalent. And maybe Marigold has a hoodie big enough to perfectly fit Bubbles?

Miyaa

Everything about them screaming "some kinda trans" to me, and the consistent use of neutral pronouns seems to make it very clear Emmett is non-binary, imho

Fart Captor

14 sucked on toast

So at what Patreon tier do we get the “14 year old Faye” drawing?

Miyaa

My mom always told me to use they/them for people as a default for many reasons, including politeness, and there not really being a reason all the time for gender to be included in a sentence. Something about not defining people by their parts.

Katherine Prewitt

Awwwww yeah I 100% understand him

Brian

Anyone else finding the white patch on Faye's throat distracting?

Carl Fink

"New people"

Bill Silvia

Sam literally referred to only Emmett with "they're" in the previous comic

Kimberly Herman

I think there was some similar detail in Millefuille's leg.

Bill Silvia

Pretty sure we just got that.

Andrew L Butula

Everyone in these comments: Emmett is a non-binary bi person and this is definitive proof because no one has spoken about them and used a gender pronoun yet... Or at all. Me: Or they're an awkward binary and no one has had any need to use a pronoun and when referring to multiple people "they" is a valid thing. And awkward teens (especially guys) can fall in love *hard* with any girl that's just nice to them.

Technically there already is one cannon: Tilly. They were non-binary. Also maybe Yay, though they're more of a collective.

Jenea Ylinen Fredrickson

That panel 5 of Emmett is FANTASTIC. Well done Jeph.

Eeeee well now we all want an Emmett-confides-their-crush to Sam scene

Chelsea

14 was awful. Hope we get to see more of Emmett, they're adorable

Kajsa Anderson

The comic is adorable, but I'm kinda stuck on the AI pelvis cross- section. It's this the first time we've seen that level of detail on the internals of AIs?

Kenneth

I have to say, few fictional characters have ever sparked such an instant "must protect" feeling in me, so well done on that. And, uh ... also agreed on that last point ...

Peter Jensen

It wasn't weird until you made it weird.

Forgettable

Panel 2-3: fem vibes. Panel 3-4: masc vibes. Specifically only using they as a pronoun so far? Non-binary 14 year old incoming?

Andje Lewkowicz-Lalonde

I hope Sam reciprocates.

Andrea Andrew

Oh my god I must hug this child.

Tannerbot

No matter how Emmet's orientation shakes out. They are gonna fit right in. Next stop: Coffee of Doom. They'll need the Dora/Hanners/ Claire seal of approval. Momo will be easy. Marbear may adopt them as a little sibling. May?....May will have to be watched.

Michael Boettger

ADORBS. And as many as the disasters and wrong turns have been, I would not trade any of it for being a teenager. I am SO glad I don’t ever have to do THAT again.

James Roy

Emmett is adorable and I love them. Please make them permanent.

Forgettable

eye see what you did there.

It's official. They've been adopted.

Vilinda

Oh man. That intense infatuation. Been there

Dylan T

Being a 14-year-old cyclops is even worse.

Sean Kinlin

aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

æ

So horrible.

Adam Friedlander

That last line is 100% truth. Horrible, horrible, truth. Also, I notice the they pronoun. Are we maybe getting an enby character? I'm excited about that!

Ruben Smith-Zempel

Oddly self aware for a 14 yr old

Elberik

Adorkable

Todd Chaikin

Ooh, they have a crush on her. Took me a second to get it.

JD

EDIT: GODDAMMIT! THEY'RE TOO CUTE AND WHOLESOME FOR ME TO MAKE A NASTY COMMENT ABOUT... AAAAAUUUUGHHHHHH! DAMN YOU JEPH!

Yelling Bird

Emmett has THE BEST nose!

They 🥰

Drazi

C r u s h b o t a p p r o v e s .

Hakurei06

emett is adorable. so. fucking. adorable.

Dave, Duke of Fridges

Oh no… cute… they need to watch LotR together

Morgan Bauman

Go team.

W H Sparkman

*Melts from how adorable this is*

Fart Captor

Why is she so cute!?

Nicholas Lopez

Awww

Niskara