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Marten & Claire?

Back to Sam?

Faye and Bubbles?

Hannelore?

Dora and Tai?

More with Pintsize and May?

Surprise pairing (if so, who)?

Jim and Veronica?

[jwhouk]

On a different note: Would it be weird if Faye walks into CoD - and no one recognizes her?

[Zebediah]

Comic's up.

I was right about the black trenchcoat.

Also, "You look like a big muscular person in a coat. 'Cause that's what you are." Bravo, Faye.

[Kugai]

I think red would have suited her better

But she doesn't look half bad in that one either

[Perfectly Reasonable]

"But I wanted to look like Carmen Miranda!"

[Kugai]

Ayeayeaye

[jheartney]

Bubbles looks like she's about to execute a Mafia hit. If she's trying to be less intimidating, I think she missed the mark a little.

She could humanize it a bit with a long scarf. Or she could go the full badass and do a fedora and a black leather duster. She'd look magnificent.

[Undrneath]

She's Chiquita Banana and she's here to say bananas need to ripen in a certain way.

[Somebody]

Y'know Bubbs, if the coats didn't fit over yer armour, there's a way round that...

[Is it cold in here?]

Comic's up.

I was right about the black trenchcoat.

Also, "You look like a big muscular person in a coat. 'Cause that's what you are." Bravo, Faye.

That line is progress for Faye as well as a great example of acceptance in its own right.

[Akima]

Also, "You look like a big muscular person in a coat. 'Cause that's what you are." Bravo, Faye.

Just so. Maybe it's the colour of Bubbles' chassis (body?), but my first reaction was that she was rocking the "Kremlin guard" look. So an ushanka rather than a hat made of fruit would be the thing.

[Storel]

If Bubbles' coat isn't bright pink with fluffy bunnies on it, I'm going to be crushingly disappointed. 

So sorry for your disappointment. But wouldn't pink would have clashed horribly with her coloring, anyway?


Faye: Now if you were wearin' a hat made of fruit, that would look ridiculous.

Yeah, because everybody knows fruit hats look... um...

(click to show/hide)

Oh, dear... um... how do we tell him? 

[BenRG]

This strip teaches us just one thing: That, somewhere, Jeph has a picture of Bubbles in said fruit hat. Don't ask why, I just know that he does!

Now, I wonder how long Fay e has been Bubbles' social courage?

[J]

While not ridiculous, neither is that coat particularly flattering. I think she needs something in a color that'll contrast better against her paintjob.

[Tova]

While not ridiculous, neither is that coat particularly flattering. I think she needs something in a color that'll contrast better against her paintjob.

Olive maybe. I have zero ability to visualise colours on people, though.

I imagine she went for grey because of a desire to fly under the radar (even though that's next to impossible for her).

[MrNumbers]

That shade of red is screaming to have a navy blue colour scheme. Or a dark olive. Grey is so... bleugh here.

[Tova]

It just occurred to me that she probably didn't have much of a choice.

[jwhouk]

It just occurred to me that she probably didn't have much of a choice.

I think Big & Tall shops on the internet would have more of a choice - even if this is about 10-11 years ago.

[osaka]

This strip teaches us just one thing: That, somewhere, Jeph has a picture of Bubbles in said fruit hat. Don't ask why, I just know that he does!

Now, I wonder how long Fay e has been Bubbles' social courage?

As Jeph was doing doodles on the progress of the time skip in Faye's side of the story, he made a costume party on the URFL for the halloween extravaganza. Bubbles appeared with said fruit hat. Nobody else knows exactly how she looks, but Jeph knows.

Now back to topic, I like Faye's attitude here. First off, there's nothing negative (or at least outrageously negative, I know some of you don't like the color) about Bubbles' outfit, so why would she comment on it. There's also nothing outrageously positive. It's just a casual outfit that would've been approached without much fuzz by anyone. The fact that Bubbles sees this as an attack to her appearance implies that she's felt ridiculous on several occasions, which is a bit sad.

[BenRG]

Here's a thought though: We know that Bubbles can remove her armour if she wants to, yet she doesn't. She even has to go to the trouble of buying an outsize coat to fit over it. Something tells me that Bubbles has many, many fears from which she needs the psychological protection that armour plate give her.

Poor Bubbles is still so defensive though; so easily feeling out-of-place, or being judged, even when she isn't. It's a sad thing that she assumes Faye's surprise means that she hates the coat and is embarrassed by Bubbles' presence next to her. I suppose it will be a long time before such an affliction can be cured, if it ever can.

[sitnspin]

Bubbles' only real social connections before this were with her military unit. All she really knows of socializing comes from that. I imagine anything outside that context is uncomfortable and confusing for her. The armor also serves as a reminder/connection to her dead family.

[Jakk Frost]

I'm curious, and not that I want to give Bubbles any more reason to be neurotic about how she's perceived by others, but has she always walked that way?  And by that I mean, right foot and right hand forward, then (presumably) left foot and left hand forward?

I mean she's not doing it in panel 3, but by then she's upset and focused on going home, and not actually overthinking about how she appears to others.

[Method of Madness]

So I know the armor is removable, but once she puts the coat on you realize she's kind of naked underneath it.

[BenRG]

Personally, I think that she might look good in a muscle shirt, jeans and combat boots.

[Method of Madness]

Indeed.

[Zebediah]

Also, I suspect removing the armor requires a fair amount of time and the assistance of someone with a pneumatic wrench. It's not something one does lightly.

[Is it cold in here?]

But ... military. It would be designed for quick field repairs if possible. Not to mention that all she needs is a data cable to get out of her armor and into a less intimidating body.

[War Sparrow]

But maybe she likes her body, just not how others react to it. Or she had to jump through hoops to keep it after retiring from military service, and perhaps she would have to sign a bundle of paperwork if she stopped using it. Armies like knowing where their high grade equipment is and how it's being used.

[sitnspin]

But maybe she likes her body, just not how others react to it.

I like this notion. Even for mechanical people capable of switching chassis, the body you are currently occupying makes up part of your self identity. She likes her body, she should not have to change it to gain acceptance.

[anahata]

all she needs is a data cable to get out of her armor and into a less intimidating body.

I can't help thinking that if it was that easy, the AnthroPCs would all be swapping chassis on a daily basis like a change of clothing, and collecting several chassis of their own  if they could afford it.

[BenRG]

It isn't that easy. Remember when Momo changed her chassis, there were lots of software conflicts that a technician at the shop had to rectify. I suppose it's like when you do significant component swaps on your PC - The drivers have to be changed and updated; some software has to be reinstalled because the settings required for the new hardware are different.

[Neko_Ali]

Who is to say that some of them don't? I don't think that is the way it works though. Momo was able to test out her new body by having it connected to her old body via cable, but that's different than copying her mind over. Chassis are not cheap either, and job opportunities for AIs may not be that great yet, so those able to afford multiple bodies seem like a limited group. And finally there is the point that having multiple bodies is problematic from a personal and a legal aspect. People can get mixed up and not recognize others if they've changed their hairstyle. Imagine if you could change everything about yourself. Different color, shape, size, gender everything... all on a whim? And imagine an AI criminal. A robot robs a bank, steals a bunch of money. Leaves no DNA or fingerprints obviously, so people get a physical description. To bad that body's already been discarded three blocks away and Pintsize is toddling back to the apartment to give a vague and sexually explicit comment about how he spends his time when he's out...

[Kugai]

Indeed

I can't remember if it was mentioned how much it cost for Marigold to pay for Momo's Body Upgrade when she got it for Momo, but I'm guessing it wasn't cheap. 

[Method of Madness]

I think it was mentioned that it was comparable to a car.

[cesium133]

The price of Momo's upgrade wasn't mentioned, but the PX-3500 is $30,000.

[Method of Madness]

Oh, that's why I thought "price of a car", because it's made by fucking Mitsubishi.

[DonInKansas]

Bubbles is a pair of sunglasses away from being an excellent Matrix or Bond villain.

[Kugai]

The price of Momo's upgrade wasn't mentioned, but the PX-3500 is $30,000.

I'm thinking that that's a 'Top Of The Range' model body, kinda like the Ferrari or Lamborghini of AnthroPC body models.  The one Momo has is probably mid range, which, though probably still expensive, would probably fall into a lower range of pricing more in line with a mid range cheaper model car price.

[Is it cold in here?]

We know it was enough to give Marigold a nosebleed.

[wlewisiii]

Bubbles' only real social connections before this were with her military unit. All she really knows of socializing comes from that. I imagine anything outside that context is uncomfortable and confusing for her. The armor also serves as a reminder/connection to her dead family.

In her way, it's like the traditional military toast: "To absent friends"

[Oenone]

I wonder if Faye's told Bubbles why she and Dora aren't friends.

Also I'm wondering if Faye's on the "make amends" step of her 12 step program.

[DSL]

... it's made by fucking Mitsubishi.

... so biological and mechanical processes are involved, then?

[hedgie]

Much like Hanners' Roomba, and the mating habits thereof.

[Kugai]

I wonder if Faye's told Bubbles why she and Dora aren't friends.

Also I'm wondering if Faye's on the "make amends" step of her 12 step program.

I don't think it's a case of them no longer being friends, it's more a case of both of them avoiding each other since things went down and Faye left CoD.  Faye wasn't ready to have 'The Talk' with Dora, and Dora felt, and sitll probably does feel, bad about having to fire Faye, especially after Faye wound up in Hospital after hitting rock bottom.

It will be interesting to see what happens now that Faye has decided to return to CoD after all these months.

[Morituri]

I'd been marking out that Bubbles never removes her armor too; in fact I was surprised when it came out in-story that she could.

Since then I've been wondering if she's hiding some unrepaired combat damage under it. And whether she has been, for years.

Survivor's guilt is a hell of a thing.  I know some guys who didn't seek medical treatment because they felt that they'd betrayed the dead and needed to suffer for it.  Not that they understood that until they'd been going to therapy at the VA for a while.

[Omega Entity]

I wonder if Faye's told Bubbles why she and Dora aren't friends.

Also I'm wondering if Faye's on the "make amends" step of her 12 step program.

As I recall, Faye purposely avoided AA, which is what is usually known for its 12-step program. Therefore, her therapy group likely doesn't have that program.

[Carl-E]

I'd been marking out that Bubbles never removes her armor too; in fact I was surprised when it came out in-story that she could.

Since then I've been wondering if she's hiding some unrepaired combat damage under it. And whether she has been, for years.

Survivor's guilt is a hell of a thing.  I know some guys who didn't seek medical treatment because they felt that they'd betrayed the dead and needed to suffer for it.  Not that they understood that until they'd been going to therapy at the VA for a while.

The damage doesn't need to be physical.  I think Bubbles may be dealing with an AI's version of PTSD.  Her coping mechanisms are strikingly similar to many vets; wearing bits of the uniform, avoiding social interactions with "civilians", working in the underground economy... if she could self-medicate, she probably would. 

[Is it cold in here?]

It was back in the early days of the strip and may no longer be canon, but Pintsize and friends used mind-altering software. More recently, May's underclocking seemed to have a similar effect.

[osaka]

It was back in the early days of the strip and may no longer be canon, but Pintsize and friends used mind-altering software. More recently, May's underclocking seemed to have a similar effect.

Actually those were just new video drivers, if it's the same strip I'm thinking of.