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[shanejayell]

New comic up!

That's kinda... distressing. Yay is at least considering what might be functionally lobotimizing themself.

[Farideh]

Ugh, I hope that never happens. I'd love for the comics to delve deeper into Yay's intricacies, rather than them becoming a 'generic AI'.

I do wonder, if that happens, will Yay then become 'I' rather than 'we'? They did mention that sharing consciousness across multiple chassis is supposed to be impossible, so if they make themselves generic, then that sharing would cease to be.

[BenRG]

Yeah, it looks Jeph has decided to do an extended Yay arc. Arguably it started when Yay jumped out at Roko and started trying to convince her that they aren't so bad (giving billions of dollars to random charities to do so).

The problem, as so many have pointed out before, is that Yay is a literal Deus ex Machina. Whilst this could be strongly disruptive to the strip (and not in a good way), it is also hard to write characters like that without them becoming either repetitive or imbalanced (if they don't act, why?). On the other hand, Yay simply doesn't work as 'just another AI'; there is literally nothing really interesting about them. I just wonder where this is all going and am concerned that there may be no 'good' outcome.

[Tova]

I wouldn't be surprised if that were the end of the arc, in fact.

[_Islanio]

It'd be rather disappointing.  I hope it doesn't happen, it would be like saying "it's okay to stop being what you are in favour of being accepted as something other than who you really are".

[Mr_Rose]

Or it turns out their stealth was not as good as they thought and Station (or someone similar) shows up next and is all “we were worried about you for a while there but you got here on your own. Welcome to the club!”

[David F]

I don't think Yay will go the lobotomization route.  All the characters have softened and changed in various ways, but none so abruptly and completely as that.  Bubbles is still a warrior, she just expresses it differently now.  May is still May, despite (because of?) her new body.  Momo and Winslow got new bodies, and yet are still very much who they were, perhaps even more so.

What I suspect we will see is some degree of restraint on Yay's capabilities.  We've seen this already, with their choice not to hack Mrs. Augustus' network.  Yay *can* do certain things, but out of moral choice they will not do them (most of the time, anyway).  They've already given away their other axis of power -- wealth, though not remotely on the scale Hannelore has access to.  Station's shares in EC-Tech are worth $600M, so EC-Tech seems likely to be an order or two of magnitude more than that.  Then there's her Mom's side.

If Hannelore can be the heir to two hugely rich empires and is still within the scope of the comic, Yay's puissance can do so as well.

[Farideh]

New comic!

Seems like the Yay arc has ended, for now. Back to May we go.

Marigold might want to buy a new bed with her oodles of money. Trust me, a good mattress pays for itself anyway.

[shanejayell]

Ah, Marigold has learned the downsides of having a robot manager.

(One wonders if Momo used to taser her out of bed...)

[Farideh]

Nah, Momo's too sweet for that. I can just imagine her waking Marigold up with a cup of coffee and a bowl of high fiber cereal.

[DaiJB]

I don't think that bed actually gets slept on very much hur hur hur

Seriously, two people trying to sleep on a single bed? Particularly when one is as long as Dale and the other is as - ahem - bountiful as Marigold? Time to spend some of that profit, for the sake of better sleep!

[BenRG]

First day on the job for Business Manager May and it is very clear that she has spent the last night creating, editing and microscopically fine-tuning a business plan, 'to do' list and schedule to make Marigold a runaway business success.

Meanwhile, yes, I think it's time for Marigold to spend some of that money. A double-sized bed might be good for Dale's health.

I wouldn't be surprised if that were the end of the arc, in fact.

No, it's an intermission; possibly a long one. That's characteristic of Jeph's writing.

[Tova]

You're very confident as is your wont, but I'm not convinced that this specific story will be picked up again. But hey, it's entirely possible. I wouldn't bet either way myself.

[BenRG]

When you think about it, the job description May was given was very vague. "Business Manager" could reasonably also include marketing, licensing and expansion of the product line to increase the revenue of the enterprise.

The lesson? When someone can probably work 21 hours in 24 and has a direct link to communications and information networks, be precise with the description of what you want done. Don't rely on their perception of your intent. Yes, Marigold intended May to just manage her money but May is taking the initiative to do all the other things that the job could also entail!

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Calling it now: May has consulted with Beepatrice about the fine points of business management.

[Marco]

Calling it now: May has consulted with Beepatrice about the fine points of business management.

She might as well consult with Melon...

[baronvonfritz]

A double-sized bed might be good for Dale's health.

DOUBLE?! NO WAY!! California King baby! Why waste all that empty floor space when you can have hanky-panky spathe! With Bubbles and Elliot as friends, they would never have to worry about lifting that heavy monstrosity if they ever have to move!

FOR THE LOVE OF HAIR AND ALL THAT IS FLOWEY JEPH! PLEASE DON'T TAKE MARIGOLDS HAIR!!!

[baronvonfritz]

I wonder what Steve is up to? I think its time for a Steve interlude.

[Mr_Rose]

Steve is eating cardboard flakes out of a bowl made of milk. There is no spoon.

[Farideh]

New comic.

I'm loving Marigold's eyes in the last panel


May is being quite efficient. Probably terrified she's going to mess it up and she has to go back to working in the convenience store.

[shanejayell]

"Don't goblin at me."  *lol* 

[TRenn]

Wow, May is a very different person when she has a job she's actually interested in doing properly. Not that we had a ghost of a chance to see this May before; obviously Robot Jail isn't going to inspire anyone, except to get out, and the soul-crushing Hell on Earth that is the convenience store business is little better.

If she continues at this pace, though, her friends might end up staging an intervention to remind her that porn exists. 😂

[sitnspin]

It's easy to forget that May's background is in business and finance. This job  is right in her wheelhouse.

[badbum61]

It was only natural to assume that Marbear would be fluent in Goblin, but who knew that May's new chassis came with the plug-in pre-installed?
Sure, it's a premium chassis, but is there really that much call for Goblin Translate™ in Northampton these days? Not since 1693, I would've thought...

[Gyrre]

I don't think that bed actually gets slept on very much hur hur hur

Seriously, two people trying to sleep on a single bed? Particularly when one is as long as Dale and the other is as - ahem - bountiful as Marigold? Time to spend some of that profit, for the sake of better sleep!

I'm broad shouldered and stocky and one of my ex gf's had swimmer's shoulders. We both managed to sleep in a single bed just fine. Having it up against the wall (like in the comic) probably helped, too.

[BenRG]

As I predicted yesterday, May has lots of work for Marigold to do. As I also sarcastically noted yesterday, Marigold is not happy with that fact.

[ihaveavoice]

I want a May. I would only internally goblin, I swear!

[derris_kharlan]

Marigoblin is the best 😆

[Marco]

If she continues at this pace, though, her friends might end up staging an intervention to remind her that porn exists. 😂

With a built-in internet connection, she can look at porn while doing all the paperwork.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

"... so I don't come off like too much of an asshole."

Wait, what?

( bleah is a word we swiped from goblin )

[BenRG]

"... so I don't come off like too much of an asshole."

Wait, what?

May doesn't really care what people think of her. However, she's now acting on behalf of Marigold and her employer is entry number one on NICE.TXT, so she has to be careful about how she and, by extension Marigold, is seen.

[shanejayell]

I liked May explaining why she's pushing a bit.

[Farideh]

I think that May will do Marigold a world of good once they've settled into their new roles.

[BenRG]

Please, oh please don't let this be the start of a "Oh, woe is Jeph" arc about just how much being a professional internet content creator sucks!

[Tova]

Panel three is definitely true though. And that is definitely not a "woe is me" comment. It is just a thing that is true. If you're passionate about doing something and getting good at it, there will be days when it feels like a job. Lots of 'em. That doesn't mean it sucks, far from it.

[Meander]

If Hannelore can be the heir to two hugely rich empires and is still within the scope of the comic, Yay's puissance can do so as well.

Agreed.

[oddtail]

Panel three is definitely true though. And that is definitely not a "woe is me" comment. It is just a thing that is true. If you're passionate about doing something and getting good at it, there will be days when it feels like a job. Lots of 'em. That doesn't mean it sucks, far from it.

Yeah, I didn't read it as "woe is me" at all. Shit just sometimes sucks, and things that you do for a living are not just things you can always immediately drop when shit sucks.

[Gyrre]

Panel three is definitely true though. And that is definitely not a "woe is me" comment. It is just a thing that is true. If you're passionate about doing something and getting good at it, there will be days when it feels like a job. Lots of 'em. That doesn't mean it sucks, far from it.

Yeah, I didn't read it as "woe is me" at all. Shit just sometimes sucks, and things that you do for a living are not just things you can always immediately drop when shit sucks.

Depends on the situation, but usually yes.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

May's top has gone from a mustard color (4533) to a grating magenta recently. Jeph chooses his colors very carefully so this must mean something.

( it means lookit my tijubas )

[cesium133]

It’s morning, so she’s probably changed since then. Robots may not be as disgusting as humans, but they probably still change their clothes regularly.

[DaiJB]

Panel three is definitely true though. And that is definitely not a "woe is me" comment. It is just a thing that is true. If you're passionate about doing something and getting good at it, there will be days when it feels like a job. Lots of 'em. That doesn't mean it sucks, far from it.

Yeah, I didn't read it as "woe is me" at all. Shit just sometimes sucks, and things that you do for a living are not just things you can always immediately drop when shit sucks.

  My first take on Jeph's comment about Panel 3 was "What, you've never had a blue-skinned robot girl lean on your head and press her boobies into the back of your neck??"

[Farideh]

New comic.

Oof, my back hurts just looking at Marigold! May has a good point about yoga, but she should go further and recommend physiotherapy as well.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

The aggressive magenta of May's current top is exactly the same RGB value as Pintsize's recent shorts. (255,46,139)

( this should surprise no one )

[Potato Farmer]

One of the (many) reasons why I wouldn't want to have a job which consists of directly delivering creative content to an attentive audience. Of course, nearly every job requires you to drag yourself out of bed even on days where you really couldn't be arsed, but for entertainers it must be even more jarring because those generally start doing it because they like doing it, and then they find that their hobby has been tainted and it's no longer something they do just because it's fun.

And then you have to keep producing entertaining content because that's what you get paid for. Unless you've got an extremely generous audience you can't just go through the motions even on days where your personal motivation is at zero. Sure, you can have the occasional bad day, but if you consistently start churning out lazy content it's going to have consequences.

It's an important lesson to learn for anyone who is interested in or has begun a career in entertainment, and it's good to hear it from an artist who's kept a webcomic going for almost two decades since that means he's got a wealth of experience that's relevant to the topic.

[Sorflakne]

I've seen my fair share of memes about bad joints and stiff joints and the "Me at 10: sleep on rocks and wake up feeling fine, Me at 30: sleep slightly askew on mattress one night and can't stand up straight for a week" macros and whatnot, and it leaves me wondering what I've done/didn't do to not have bad joints as I approach my late 30s.

[Gnabberwocky]

Glad May clarified, because I got the same impression about what she was suggesting last comic as Marigold did.

[Tova]

I've seen my fair share of memes about bad joints and stiff joints and the "Me at 10: sleep on rocks and wake up feeling fine, Me at 30: sleep slightly askew on mattress one night and can't stand up straight for a week" macros and whatnot, and it leaves me wondering what I've done/didn't do to not have bad joints as I approach my late 30s.

Every body is different. So, let me assure you -- don't worry, you've still got plenty of time.

[Gyrre]

The point.
NYOOM!

Marigold's head.



Also, this comic really drives home how much taller May is than Marigold now.

[St.Clair]

[Carl-E]

St. Clair, which one are you?   


I recall being surprised by May's eyebrows when she first got the new body, but I have to say that they really work in that last panel...




...in a Groucho sort of way.