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The Reed/Bean family vacation (Marten, Claire (and Pintsize?) along for the ride; lots of coincidental background characters returning)

27 (16.2%)

The Fairy Girl ropes the ladies into some weird Summer Solstice festival

12 (7.2%)

Dora decides to add iced teas and iced coffees to CoD's repetoire; there are teething troubles

6 (3.6%)

Northampton's medieval-themed Summer Faire (Bubbles mentors Sam to win the Tournament)

30 (18%)

Claire's final exams looms; later the graduation is a significant thing

27 (16.2%)

Angus's show is on hiatus; he comes back to try to make peace with Faye

23 (13.8%)

Pintsize, having cleaned up at the poker game, goes on tour to several world casinos with Melon as his sidekick/assistant

8 (4.8%)

For the first time, Bubbles is able to face the annual reunion of the survivors of her unit

22 (13.2%)

Sven is going on tour to the summer Country festivals; somehow, May gets a Roadie job

8 (4.8%)

Other (please specify in a comment)

4 (2.4%)

Total Members Voted: 60

Voting closed: 26 Jun 2018, 15:18

[A small perverse otter]

Should we discuss the question of Faye and Bubbles in bed without talking about the details of the process in the "real world"? Whatever the dynamics of sex between humans are or are not, we're talking about a human and an AI here in an imaginary world. There's no real reason to believe that their experience is in any way related to human-human experience.

Before anybody thinks this is a criticism aimed at anyone, it's not. This is intended as an opening for discussion. I'm trying to get the participants in this thread -- including me -- to make a guess about what the limits should be. We've had a couple of threads shut down by the admins in the last couple of weeks, and I don't want to see that happen again.

[Neko_Ali]

Moderator Comment

The limits are simple. We don't discuss such intimate details. There is a stickied thread right here in the Comic Discussion sub forum about the discussion of private parts. That applies in this case, entirely.

[Dandi Andi]

Should we discuss the question of Faye and Bubbles in bed without talking about the details of the process in the "real world"? Whatever the dynamics of sex between humans are or are not, we're talking about a human and an AI here in an imaginary world. There's no real reason to believe that their experience is in any way related to human-human experience.

Before anybody thinks this is a criticism aimed at anyone, it's not. This is intended as an opening for discussion. I'm trying to get the participants in this thread -- including me -- to make a guess about what the limits should be. We've had a couple of threads shut down by the admins in the last couple of weeks, and I don't want to see that happen again.

The boundaries aren't terribly ambiguous. Don't talk about anybody's sexual anatomy (whether inherently sexual or culturally sexualized, commonly called 'private parts' or 'bathing suit areas') and don't talk explicitly about physical intimacy.

The problem with discussing these things, even in the context of fictional characters, is that the conversation can quickly escalate to the point where very real people in the forum are made to feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in the forum. The current discussion about whether or not two hours is a long time for sex is pretty close to my own boundaries. While it isn't crossing any lines for me personally right now, it doesn't take too much imagination to see how it could easily become a conversation about just what they're doing that takes so long. And that conversation could very easily cross a lot of lines for people. It is enough to say that,  whatever they were doing, they enjoyed it enough to keep doing it for two hours.

[Is it cold in here?]

If Bubbles never proposes it will be contrary to all her character development.

If Faye accepts it will be character growth.

[Inconsequential]

It took me a little while to remember that Roko has a last name, Basilisk. Wonder why more AIs don't seem to use last names? ("Corpse Witch" just seems like a first name to me, but I dunno.)

...
As far as why Roko has two names, her name is based on Roko's Basilisk people have pointed out. The name of a theory or thought experiment about the dangers of developing AI intelligence. Interesting that someone who chose the profession of police officer has that name as an AI cop.

Thanks! I didn't know Roko's name was a philisophical reference that would be known to people doing Deep Thinking about AI. Went right over my head with nary a whoosh.

Innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnteresting...


P.S. Wonder where Faye's glasses are? 

[A small perverse otter]

The boundaries aren't terribly ambiguous. Don't talk about anybody's sexual anatomy (whether inherently sexual or culturally sexualized, commonly called 'private parts' or 'bathing suit areas') and don't talk explicitly about physical intimacy.

I guess my problem is that I'm not sure what 'talk[ing] explicitly about physical intimacy' means. When we get to discussing how vagina-having persons experience sex as opposed to penis-having persons, and then delve into the details of cis- versus trans- gendered experiences, I feel like we're talking about genitalia pretty explicitly, and, yes, that makes me very uncomfortable.

Frankly, that's my problem: the community disagrees with me. But it does leave me asking what talking explicitly about physical intimacy actually means. I genuinely don't know.

[Zebediah]

Here’s one possible definition: While people were talking about having sex for varying lengths of time, nobody got explicit about the precise details of exactly which body parts came into contact with what other body parts. That would unquestionably be over the line.

Instead, people kept it to the level of “Yeah, sex happened, for X amount of time”, which isn’t really any more detail than today’s comic went into.

[Dandi Andi]

...I feel like we're talking about genitalia pretty explicitly, and, yes, that makes me very uncomfortable.
Frankly, that's my problem: the community disagrees with me. ...

If a conversation is making you uncomfortable, then by all means speak up. If you feel comfortable doing so, say so in the thread and explain why it makes you uncomfortable. The forumites will probably be respectful and try to dial it back a bit. If you don't feel comfortable with that, message someone on the mod team. Tell them why you're uncomfortable and they'll generally step in on your behalf. IICIH has made it pretty clear that the guidelines exist to make as many people feel comfortable contributing to the discussion as possible. The mods seem to be a rather amicable lot. As long as you have a fairly reasonable case, they will probably try to accommodate you. Even if your concerns are a bit... odd... (like you're very uncomfortable discussing oranges), they'll still listen and take you seriously, even if the results aren't as strong as you'd like.

[A small perverse otter]

If a conversation is making you uncomfortable, then by all means speak up. If you feel comfortable doing so, say so in the thread and explain why it makes you uncomfortable. The forumites will probably be respectful and try to dial it back a bit.

I'm sorry; I wasn't clear. I don't think that my finding a conversation uncomfortable is relevant: the community polices itself and sets its own rules through the behavior it tolerates. I want to understand what those rules are. I don't want to impose my own standards, and complaining about the content of a discussion because it makes me uncomfortable is an attempt to impose those standards.

[awgiedawgie]

“Rules” are one thing. That’s pretty well defined in the sticky. But common courtesy is something else. Even if the conversation isn’t technically violating any of the forum rules, if the general tone or anything else is making anyone uncomfortable, I for one am more than content to change the subject.


Since the mods have already had to step in a couple times in recent threads, it probably wouldn’t hurt for people to rein in their enthusiasm a little bit. Just because you’re thinking something doesn’t mean you have to say it.

[St.Clair]

If it helps, I believe the distinction is that talking about posters' personal RL experiences of sex, their bits, etc is okay; detailed discussion or speculation about the characters' bits is not.

[Thrillho]

Yes. Me talking about my own sex life is not the same thing as talking about Bubbles' sex life.

[Undrneath]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

[SpanielBear]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

Kanu, asatta kashi dugnamtar.

[awgiedawgie]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

[A small perverse otter]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

How about talking about someone's dead sex life in the language of the Great Old Ones? Would that serve?

[Undrneath]

Lord Cthulhu?

[SpanielBear]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

How about talking about someone's dead sex life in the language of the Great Old Ones? Would that serve?

I tried searching for that on google translate, and my laptop assumed a non-Euclidean geometry while my mouse turned Cyclopean. Writing this on my iPhone.

[A small perverse otter]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

How about talking about someone's dead sex life in the language of the Great Old Ones? Would that serve?

I tried searching for that on google translate, and my laptop assumed a non-Euclidean geometry while my mouse turned Cyclopean. Writing this on my iPhone.

Lucky you. I tried looking it up on Bing, and my laptop grew tentacles and is now chasing me around the house.

[fayelovesbubbles]

I admit that I do not have a sex life (and have never had one), so maybe that's the source of my curiosity. I apologize if sharing this information about myself makes anyone uncomfortable.

[Is it cold in here?]

The boundaries aren't terribly ambiguous. Don't talk about anybody's sexual anatomy (whether inherently sexual or culturally sexualized, commonly called 'private parts' or 'bathing suit areas') and don't talk explicitly about physical intimacy.

I guess my problem is that I'm not sure what 'talk[ing] explicitly about physical intimacy' means. When we get to discussing how vagina-having persons experience sex as opposed to penis-having persons, and then delve into the details of cis- versus trans- gendered experiences, I feel like we're talking about genitalia pretty explicitly, and, yes, that makes me very uncomfortable.

Frankly, that's my problem: the community disagrees with me. But it does leave me asking what talking explicitly about physical intimacy actually means. I genuinely don't know.

Global Moderator Comment

Certainly it would include posting about how Faye and Bubbles pleasure each other.

[Neko_Ali]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

How about talking about someone's dead sex life in the language of the Great Old Ones? Would that serve?

I'm pretty sure there is anime about that....

[awgiedawgie]

My talking about my sex life would be like talking in Sumerian. It's dead and very few understand it.

How about talking about my sex life in Sumerian? Would using a dead language to talk about something dead somehow make it alive? Like using a double negative? No, actually I think it would just make it deader. And people still wouldn’t understand.

How about talking about someone's dead sex life in the language of the Great Old Ones? Would that serve?

I'm pretty sure there is anime about that....

I think Anime is like the Quantum Fetish Mechanics that Dora talked about a long time ago. Simply mentioning it means that it already exists somewhere, and there’s probably a website or two dedicated to it by now.

[Meander]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

[zisraelsen]

Comic!
Looks like the arbor day banner has been forgotten.

[fayelovesbubbles]

NO! Jeph, this is NOT a good time for a pause! Dammit!

*waits*

[fayelovesbubbles]

Faye is worried about how her mama will take it...and we have to wait even longer to see. Faye's mom did not deal with Amanda coming out well, I really hope she's not shitty to Bubbles. That will make me mad.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

More beautiful than ...?

[SubaruStephen]

Office supply store, Tai, thats where the colored paper and paper shredders are. 10 minutes and you’ll have a lifetime supply of confetti.

[Is it cold in here?]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

Welcome, new person!

[Dandi Andi]

Office supply store, Tai, thats where the colored paper and paper shredders are. 10 minutes and you’ll have a lifetime supply of confetti.

I'm quite sure Smif Library has both of those things at no cost to Tai.

[Is it cold in here?]

Faye is worried about how her mama will take it...and we have to wait even longer to see. Faye's mom did not deal with Amanda coming out well, I really hope she's not shitty to Bubbles. That will make me mad.

Would you say anything insulting to Bubbles to her face?

Fayemom eventually made peace with Amanda. I hope the process is quicker with Faye.

Bubbles has excellent manners. That counts a lot in the South.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

... gets her squeeing done before seeing them.
Claire is so considerate!

[snufflebottoms]

Is it just me or is Jeph drawing Faye to be prettier than she was a bit ago? In today's comic she looks absolutely adorable. Not that she looked bad before but there's a marked improvement in her design. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I noticed the same with Bubbles and Dora as well.   

[Greymoon]

Faye is worried about how her mama will take it...and we have to wait even longer to see. Faye's mom did not deal with Amanda coming out well, I really hope she's not shitty to Bubbles. That will make me mad.

Would you say anything insulting to Bubbles to her face?

Fayemom eventually made peace with Amanda. I hope the process is quicker with Faye.

Bubbles has excellent manners. That counts a lot in the South.

Wasn't her mom's biggest "gripe" about her sister more that she seems to believe it means no grandchildren? And didn't she also say something akin to pretty much having no hope for a "broken" Faye? I am still super bad at looking up things.

[SpanielBear]

Is it just me or is Jeph drawing Faye to be prettier than she was a bit ago? In today's comic she looks absolutely adorable. Not that she looked bad before but there's a marked improvement in her design. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I noticed the same with Bubbles and Dora as well.

No glasses, which changes the perceived shape of the face, and being portrayed next to Bubbles for an extended length of time, making her seem smaller. Whether those things make her distinctly prettier is on you. 

Also in the first panel she's blushing, which is noteworthy if nothing else.

[Nigel]

I've been reading the comic for 8-9 years (just did the math and was a bit surprised!), not much of a forum person (so I can't even call myself an actual lurker), but I had to finally make the plunge to say "Thank you!" for bringing some peace and (hopefully) happiness into Faye's life. I'm a cynical old dude, but I've shed tears on her behalf more times than I can remember.

So thank you, Jeph. I know they aren't real people, but you've made them come alive and made a lot of people care - this old fart included. Nice work!

[awgiedawgie]

Faye is worried about how her mama will take it...and we have to wait even longer to see. Faye's mom did not deal with Amanda coming out well, I really hope she's not shitty to Bubbles. That will make me mad.

Would you say anything insulting to Bubbles to her face?

Fayemom eventually made peace with Amanda. I hope the process is quicker with Faye.

Bubbles has excellent manners. That counts a lot in the South.

Wasn't her mom's biggest "gripe" about her sister more that she seems to believe it means no grandchildren? And didn't she also say something akin to pretty much having no hope for a "broken" Faye? I am still super bad at looking up things.

She still doesn't approve of Amanda being lesbian, but she has resigned herself to the fact that she can't do anything about it.

Faye is worried about how her mama will take it...and we have to wait even longer to see. Faye's mom did not deal with Amanda coming out well, I really hope she's not shitty to Bubbles. That will make me mad.

I just want to say that I called this way back on Sunday evening. I wouldn't be surprised if someone else called it even earlier, but I don't recall seeing anything about it.

Hmmm.... Faye may want to approach that carefully. Her mom freaked out enough when Amanda fell out of the closet (or when her mom walked into the closet and found her). Learning that Faye is not only into ladies, but robot ladies, might send her over the edge.

[snufflebottoms]

Is it just me or is Jeph drawing Faye to be prettier than she was a bit ago? In today's comic she looks absolutely adorable. Not that she looked bad before but there's a marked improvement in her design. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I noticed the same with Bubbles and Dora as well.

No glasses, which changes the perceived shape of the face, and being portrayed next to Bubbles for an extended length of time, making her seem smaller. Whether those things make her distinctly prettier is on you. 


Also in the first panel she's blushing, which is noteworthy if nothing else.

Yeah, the blush is what made me notice. It'd odd since I usually like glasses but I think that might be it because the best thing about her design imo is her eye shape which gets eclipsed by the glasses. Her face shape also looks more heart-shaped and maybe that's the glasses too.

[Dandi Andi]

Wasn't her mom's biggest "gripe" about her sister more that she seems to believe it means no grandchildren? And didn't she also say something akin to pretty much having no hope for a "broken" Faye? I am still super bad at looking up things.

Yes. She described her as crazier than a mule on a Ferris wheel, implying that Faye's emotional baggage made her unlikely to have children.

[fayelovesbubbles]

When you really think about it, Faye seemed like the last person on earth to coax Bubbles out of her icy tower, but somehow, she did it...maybe because she understood, somewhat, how Bubbles felt, better than most.

[awgiedawgie]

When you really think about it, Faye seemed like the last person on earth to coax Bubbles out of her icy tower, but somehow, she did it...maybe because she understood, somewhat, how Bubbles felt, better than most.

Even though at the beginning, she didn't even know why she understood how Bubbles felt. She just saw something of herself hiding in there... crouched in a corner... and she couldn't bear to let anyone else stay in that place where she had kept herself hidden for so long.

[fayelovesbubbles]

And look what she found when she took the time and effort to get Bubbles to open up! Wow!

[analias]

Is it just me or is Jeph drawing Faye to be prettier than she was a bit ago? In today's comic she looks absolutely adorable. Not that she looked bad before but there's a marked improvement in her design. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I noticed the same with Bubbles and Dora as well.

No glasses, which changes the perceived shape of the face, and being portrayed next to Bubbles for an extended length of time, making her seem smaller. Whether those things make her distinctly prettier is on you. 

Also in the first panel she's blushing, which is noteworthy if nothing else.

Is it just me or does Faye look like Tai in the first panel of 3754?  Part of it is comparing Faye's stature next to Bubbles to Tai's stature next to just about everyone else.  It is also the shape of the eyes without her glasses and the haircut.

[BenRG]

I'm pretty sure that Bubbles would have been cool with any suggestion Faye made here so long as it involved publicly admitting that they are a couple. I would say that in doing so, Faye has probably fulfilled a number of Bubbles' personal dreams!

Meanwhile, poor Marten has found himself, once again, in the position of umpire and straight man amongst the more excitable ladies of his acquaintance. I'm already seeing Faye's attempt to hold in her laughter as he explains to her that he needs to go through a checklist of stuff to satisfy Claire and Tai and thus ensure that she and Bubbles are not bothered by excessive 'SQUEEEE' in the near future.

Now, panel 3... I've thought for a while that Bubbles is an introvert and I think that her desire to avoid loud social interactions and parties, spontaneous or otherwise, is a plank supporting that view.

Speaking of parties: Tai, you've made confetti out of copy paper before; don't start getting all 'professional party girl' on us and acting as if you've become to good for handcrafted confetti!

Finally; panel 2: Am I the only one who thinks that Jeph is warning us that Faye's mother is going to be a problem. One interpretation of some stuff she said was that she was okay with Amanda being homosexual only because she expected Faye to give her grandkids? There's no reason why Faye and Bubbles couldn't adopt or do something really exotic using Spookybot's jak headset but I'm not sure if Mrs W will be entirely okay with this.

[Dandi Andi]

My statement arises from Brun's seeming lack of interest in a more intimate relationship. Should she want one, and be willing to face the difficulties and changes to her routines? Then sure. I'm not implying she's "bad" or "damaged". She's one of the most interesting characters, and that's a high bar!

OK. That explanation makes much more sense to me. Thank you for clearing that up.

I do think we should consider the possibility that Brun isn't responding to their interest because she might be ace or aro or just not interested in them or just not interested right now. There are lots of reasons why she might be aware that Clinton and Elliot are interested in a romantic relationship with her and she simply doesn't want to respond to that interest. In that case, they certainly would do well to move on.

But I also think that Brun, if she's interested, would make an excellent partner. She doesn't assume she knows what someone is thinking or feeling unless they tell her. She doesn't  assume anyone knows what she's thinking or feeling unless she tells them. She is very direct and honest about her communication. Even in the middle of a catastrophic event, she had the presence of mind to explain to Clinton that she would probably become non verbal and explain what she would need from him when that happened. As long as she has a partner willing to be similarly direct and honest with her, I think they'd be great together.

And I think Clinton has been learning to do that. It started with him talking to Emily about feeling awkward around her after she turned him down and how much better they both felt about it after that short conversation. Brun nudged him in that direction again when she said "[that] usually means 'I don't want to explain it to you'" after Elliot walked in on them smelling each other.

So even if it doesn't turn romantic, I think they'll have a great relationship.

[oeoek]

Aarrrgh! Cursed interludes! No 'Happy Arbour Day 2003' banner?!?

[awgiedawgie]

Finally; panel 2: Am I the only one who thinks that Jeph is warning us that Faye's mother is going to be a problem. One interpretation of some stuff she said was that she was okay with Amanda being homosexual only because she expected Faye to give her grandkids? There's no reason why Faye and Bubbles couldn't adopt or do something really exotic using Spookybot's jak headset but I'm not sure if Mrs W will be entirely okay with this.

You’re not the only one who is concerned about Faye’s mother (since I already mentioned it). I’m not sure who made that interpretation of Mrs. W’s words or how they arrived at it, but she made it fairly clear that she is not OK with Amanda being homosexual, but she also knows she isn’t going to change it. She also made it clear in the same strip that she does not expect Faye to give her any grandkids.

[fayelovesbubbles]

From the moment Faye asked Bubbles to rub her shoulder, to the two of them getting dressed and discussing how their friends will react...what a beautiful storyline.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Yeah, I think Faye’s mom is going to be less than okay. Blegh.

I need to ask the important questions: when are we going to see Bubbles' kickass purple lipstick again?