....
This may be me but I'm getting the feeling that Jeph has decided that Faye and Bubbles are his new main characters, much how Marten and Dora (and later Marten and Claire) were for a huge while.
I'm pretty sure that Bubbles next job will be something really menial and casual. I'm not sure if this would reflect lack of ambition on her part, the feeling that she needs something now or whether, on a certain level, it will be a sort of penance thing.
That said, yeah, I'm pretty sure that, in the long run, Jeph is planning for Faye and Bubbles to open a charity repair shop, possibly funded through some kind of foundation operated by Hanelore's parents.
Meanwhile, I have only one thing to say about today's strip at this point. It's Bubbles' inner monologue right now: "Faye, please stop trying to make a potentially bad situation bad for real by cheeking an officer of the law. Thank you." Faye really need to know when she's in trouble and shut up. Of course, we all know that her flirty mockery is her defence mechanism but this is a bad time to let it happen.
....
This may be me but I'm getting the feeling that Jeph has decided that Faye and Bubbles are his new main characters, much how Marten and Dora (and later Marten and Claire) were for a huge while.
Bring it on, I say.
The Bubbles and Faye arc has been a far more interesting character story than Marten and Claire ever was (that one just seemed to twist down a dead end street.)
I've little interest in Marten and Claire at all.
The Bubbles and Faye arc has been a far more interesting character story than Marten and Claire ever was (that one just seemed to twist down a dead end street.)
I've little interest in Marten and Claire at all.
Now... getting back to Marten and Faye... far more interesting dynamic. :laugh:
Martin and Claire were wish-fulfilment/Fan-service par excellence. Mind you they have been together so long now that the initial joy is well gone, maybe time for tedium-induced drama.
"STFU Faye."
The Bubbles and Faye arc has been a far more interesting character story than Marten and Claire ever was (that one just seemed to twist down a dead end street.)
I've little interest in Marten and Claire at all.
Now... getting back to Marten and Faye... far more interesting dynamic. :laugh:
There it is in a nutshell. Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
Perhaps Faye feels a certain sense of over confidence because of the smug dickhead who favors Bubbles. And considering all that Creepybot is capable of it would be in Officer Basilisk's interest to drop the matter.
"STFU Faye."
The Bubbles and Faye arc has been a far more interesting character story than Marten and Claire ever was (that one just seemed to twist down a dead end street.)
I've little interest in Marten and Claire at all.
Now... getting back to Marten and Faye... far more interesting dynamic. :laugh:
There it is in a nutshell. Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
Marten and Claire are like Dora and Tai or Dale and Marigold It was the getting to their relationship that was the interesting story bits. Now both couples have settled down into them, there just isn't a lot to drive a story unless something changes. In the end the comic is mostly about the various characters interpersonal relationships with each other, and those six are pretty settled now. So it's not to surprising that Jeph would turn to other characters, and introduce new ones so that he has something to write about. And honestly, I would prefer that than what some serialized works do and have something bad happen every time it seems the main character has a good thing going. Consider long running comic heroes like Spider Man or Batman who can never have a stable relationship without someone getting kidnapped constantly, dying or turning evil. I'd rather see characters rotating in and out of circulation than Marten being the eternal punching bag.
Purely FWIW, I can't see Marten and Claire taking on responsibility for a kid until after Claire graduates her Masters' course. I could excuse Jeph not wanting to deal with it though. There would be a huge level of Tumblr anger if the process is too smooth and people feel that he is 'glossing over' the problems RL trans* people have with adoption. Of course, there would be just as much anger if too many thought he was trying to 'milk the problem' for clicks. It is a can of worms that he would be entirely justified to refuse to open.
I can only see it happening with Dora and Tai as an incredibly strong impulse decision (possibly related to a secondary character pairing like Wil and Penny starting a family). In the latter scenario, part of the story would centre around a sense of inadequacy and lots of second thoughts.
Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
"Mature" and "stable" mean wise management of conflict. Conflict still happens.
Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
"Mature" and "stable" mean wise management of conflict. Conflict still happens.
Bingo. Being mature and stable just means you handle the conflicts better, not that conflicts don't happen.
I suspect we may or may not see the final fate of Corpse Witch.(https://pmcvariety.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/its-a-small-world.jpg?w=670&h=377&crop=1)
'course in the real world the characters would be starting to hit kid o'clock...
The age they're at would be kid o'clock for some people, but I don't think any of the QC characters are ready for kids (even if Jeph wanted babies in the comic). Marten and Claire are in a good place as of their last appearance, but not married or living together yet. Not sure about Tai but Dora doesn't want kids. Marigold and Dale are in their first ever relationship, and she at least is fairly immature. (Come to think of it, Claire is in her first relationship, too). Faye is the only character who has mentioned possibly wanting kids someday iirc, and she is currently single and jobless. The unemployment probably won't last long at all, but as OldGoat pointed out, she's also a well of personal turmoil.
Which leaves...Will and Penelope? Calling it now, next arc is those two suddenly having a very blonde, very well-read baby :-P
Really any strong person jobs (mover, bouncer, knee breaker...)
Agreed, but as fodder for a writer working in an entertainment medium, it only sells well as comedy.Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
"Mature" and "stable" mean wise management of conflict. Conflict still happens.
Bingo. Being mature and stable just means you handle the conflicts better, not that conflicts don't happen.
Why doesn't an eldritch superpowered AI ever randomly decide to help me out?
(wonders Officer Basilisk to herself)
Strong, highly intelligent, thoughtful, highly developed sense of ethics and integrity, wise, has knowledge of the seamier side of life, tactical experience, lots of empathy, loath to employ violence but very adept at it when she needs to be. Bubbles would make an excellent cop.
This may be me but I'm getting the feeling that Jeph has decided that Faye and Bubbles are his new main characters, much how Marten and Dora (and later Marten and Claire) were for a huge while.Why isn't there a "don't like" button?
Why doesn't an eldritch superpowered AI ever randomly decide to help me out?Bubbles official uniform shall be… a can of chrome spray paint and an octagonal badge.
(wonders Officer Basilisk to herself)
I like the idea of Bubbles becoming a police officer. Bulletproof and an appearance that commands instant respect.
Am I the only one who thinks Bubbles with the flames and spoiler looks like Hot Rod?
Really any strong person jobs (mover, bouncer, knee breaker...)
Then again, they may kindly suggest to Officer B that she show her a bit of leniency because of the coercion involved.
We really could have used a spoiler alert.
We really could have used a spoiler alert.
I think part of the problem with any repair shop is getting the money, neither of them has any "legitimate" experience. Realistically, a bank would never loan out to them; doubt any of their friends have enough capital to put up; and you couldn't just run the business out of the apartment or on the street as that would be breaking a decent amount of laws as well. Guess someone could give them a job, but now we're going back into that "legitimate" experience thing.Maybe. Marten's mom is not destitute. And Hannelore's parents might be interested in supporting such a business.
I prefer my police officers to not be militarized battlebots.
-Claire's mom gone wild (See 2, but opposite direction)
Bubbles official uniform shall be… a can of chrome spray paint and an octagonal badge."Come quietly or there will be....trouble!"I don't think Northampton, MA quite requires the law-enforcement approach of Old Detroit.
Finally, I think I know what the rest of this week is going to be: It's the old Questionable Content tradition of two characters walking through Northampton and talking with some kind of quip in the last panel. I suspect that Bubbles and Faye are going to want to come to some kind of grip on what has happened to them and what they're going to do next. I think that we're also going to get an insight into their differing mindsets and approaches to the problems they face.
"Big-ol spoiler and some flame decals."
Nah. Go subtle. Put a "Type R" sticker on it and call it a day.
I think part of the problem with any repair shop is getting the money, neither of them has any "legitimate" experience. Realistically, a bank would never loan out to them; doubt any of their friends have enough capital to put up; and you couldn't just run the business out of the apartment or on the street as that would be breaking a decent amount of laws as well. Guess someone could give them a job, but now we're going back into that "legitimate" experience thing.I don't see it that way. If you're going to start a business, you need to identify a market. May already did that (see panel 2 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3360)) for them. As for funding, Punchbot & Punchbot are no strangers to investing, and it's a business they know. Hanners has already been mentioned as a potential investor as well.
There is someone they know who does have the money to front for a repair shop. Hannelore. It was long established that she has no lack of money, being the sole heiress of two large fortunes. She only works to give herself something to do and work on her anxiety issues. And it's even likely that if she found out there were AI out there who needed repairs but can't afford to go to more established shop that she would immediately want to help them out. Setting up and funding a low cost or charity repair shop and getting all the needed permits and licenses would be easy for her. Now if only she knew some people who could do the actual repair work.... hmmmm.
We really could have used a spoiler alert.
You should be flamed for that.
Three immediately come to mind, Moon Stone (NSFW), Between Failures (http://http:www.betweenfailures.com) (though there's other characters), and a third which I've forgotten the name of (it's been on hiatus for a year)."STFU Faye."
The Bubbles and Faye arc has been a far more interesting character story than Marten and Claire ever was (that one just seemed to twist down a dead end street.)
I've little interest in Marten and Claire at all.
Now... getting back to Marten and Faye... far more interesting dynamic. :laugh:
There it is in a nutshell. Mature people's stable relationships with each other don't provide much conflict to write about. Relationships involving Faye stay interesting because she's a well of emotional turmoil.
Marten and Claire are like Dora and Tai or Dale and Marigold It was the getting to their relationship that was the interesting story bits. Now both couples have settled down into them, there just isn't a lot to drive a story unless something changes. In the end the comic is mostly about the various characters interpersonal relationships with each other, and those six are pretty settled now. So it's not to surprising that Jeph would turn to other characters, and introduce new ones so that he has something to write about. And honestly, I would prefer that than what some serialized works do and have something bad happen every time it seems the main character has a good thing going. Consider long running comic heroes like Spider Man or Batman who can never have a stable relationship without someone getting kidnapped constantly, dying or turning evil. I'd rather see characters rotating in and out of circulation than Marten being the eternal punching bag.
I get where you're coming from.
But surely it's possible to have a long running strip with two people-in a stable relationship-that actually invokes some kind of funny/dramatic/emotional content that holds the attention?
Flame detailing worked much better in "My Life as a Teenage Robot".It'd work better if Bubbles were a transformer.
(http://i.imgur.com/X8732b9.jpg)
Flame detailing worked much better in "My Life as a Teenage Robot".
(http://i.imgur.com/X8732b9.jpg)
I suppose having four bodies would enable one (if that's the right word?) to get a lot done in a day. And these four may be just a representative sample....
What makes you think they weren't all the same body?
What makes you think they aren't separate? Perhaps the plural is more appropriate than we think!
I envision a veritable army of dapper little gray-I's dressed in black, running around North Hampton getting things done...
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?Eyes and hands for certain. Not sure if that's a brain or not. It could be, as brains shrink when suspended in formaldehyde. The shrinkage depends on how long it's been in there.
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?
Does anybody have any guesses as to what breed of dogs those are?
That's interesting. I wonder how long Spookybot has been working under the radar like this? The fact that they were willing to 'come out' and clearly don't fear the consequences of Station and the other Elders being informed suggests that they're already too powerful and (because of their distributed nature) probably largely invulnerable to any consequences.
Meanwhile, Bubbles is phlegmatic enough to just roll with the fact that they've compromised Station's comms network without him being aware of it. She obviously trusts them not to be too obviously destructive or she'd be more worried by this realisation.
You know what I learned from panel 4? That Spookybot's primary characteristic is narcissism. There is nothing that they like more than to admire themselves...
... Apart from cooking really elaborate food for their dogs!
Meanwhile, Jeph: Thank you for putting in Station's hover-projector this time!
Does anybody have any guesses as to what breed of dogs those are?
I'm guessing greyhound mix or windhounds of some variety.
... Spookybot has little interest or regard for humans. At best, they're things to get out of the way so that they don't interfere with their agenda
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?The brain and eyes are for the skull, the hand, of course, is for Clinton.
I think the eye, hand, and brain are a reference to the first & second Terminator movies. Those were the 3 parts of the T-800 that survived, and Cyberdyne unwittingly used them to complete the time loop and create Skynet.
Since our pale companions wouldn't appear to have biological needs, I also wonder if that kitchen really only exists to make dog food... or does it have some other, more suspect purpose?
Since our pale companions wouldn't appear to have biological needs, I also wonder if that kitchen really only exists to make dog food... or does it have some other, more suspect purpose?
Also just to point out but who the heck puts a spoiler on the hood?
It goes on the back end with the Type R sticker.
Also just to point out but who the heck puts a spoiler on the hood?
It goes on the back end with the Type R sticker.(click to show/hide)
Nah. Go subtle. Put a "Type R" sticker on it and call it a day.
They're just renting an apartment, and almost all apartments in the Northampton area are equipped with a kitchen. Assuming this is in Northampton, which it doesn't necessarily have to be given Creepy's distributed nature. Could be Los Angeles. Or Tokyo. Or Fargo. (It's probably not Fargo.)
Also just to point out but who the heck puts a spoiler on the hood?
It goes on the back end with the Type R sticker.(click to show/hide)
Pun jar.
I'm starting to think that greybots are all "Gary." Maybe "Gary" is an acronym for a hive-mind collective, or perhaps simply an organization of cloned intelligences, or even simply like-minded AIs who have adopted a specific unique uniform chassis.
Um... those jars on the shelf in the Dei ex Machina apartment? Would that be a brain, two eyes, and a hand, by any chance?
I'm starting to think that greybots are all "Gary." Maybe "Gary" is an acronym for a hive-mind collective, or perhaps simply an organization of cloned intelligences, or even simply like-minded AIs who have adopted a specific unique uniform chassis.
Coincidence is an anagram of Coccidienne.And 'coin den CICE'
I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking forward to Faye and Bubbles' reaction to Spider-Jeremy. You see, I can't see him just stopping at four limbs. The more the merrier, yeah? If he hasn't got a full set of manipulators and movement limbs (most of them mismatched) I'd be surprised. Faye and Bubbles are probably going to spend the rest of the day fixing that mess.
(I never know how to pluralize "chassis". :roll:)
There's been very little comment on the spare CreepyBot bodies that are racked in the closet, like Borgs in their regeneration pods. Apparently they're being supplied in some way from overhead tanks. What's the stuff in the tanks for, and why don't the CBs need it when they're out and about?
I'd been sort of assuming that the CBs were somehow self-assembling/materializing on site, when and as needed. This would explain how one just appeared next to Bubbles and friends in CoD, without anyone noticing the approach. And how they got into Officer Lilac's apartment.
No, Chassis is one of those words, like sheep, where the plural is the same as the singular.Like I mentioned earlier, it's spelled the same, but the s is only silent in the singular.
You know, given the stupendous advantage in energy density that liquid fossil fuels like gasoline have over batteries of any sort, that's not an unreasonable idea at all. Maybe the CBs carry gasoline-to-electricity fuel cells.There's been very little comment on the spare CreepyBot bodies that are racked in the closet, like Borgs in their regeneration pods. Apparently they're being supplied in some way from overhead tanks. What's the stuff in the tanks for, and why don't the CBs need it when they're out and about?
A high-power AI probably needs high-power recharging facilities. My guess would be that the "tanks" are actually some sort of fancy recharging devices.
You know, given the stupendous advantage in energy density that liquid fossil fuels like gasoline have over batteries of any sort, that's not an unreasonable idea at all. Maybe the CBs carry gasoline-to-electricity fuel cells.There's been very little comment on the spare CreepyBot bodies that are racked in the closet, like Borgs in their regeneration pods. Apparently they're being supplied in some way from overhead tanks. What's the stuff in the tanks for, and why don't the CBs need it when they're out and about?
A high-power AI probably needs high-power recharging facilities. My guess would be that the "tanks" are actually some sort of fancy recharging devices.
No foul. Raccoons, cute as they are, are nasty little critters.Fun fact: Both the German and Japanese words for 'raccoon' loosely translate to English as "wash bear".
But, damn. No Jeremy until next week.
There's been very little comment on the spare CreepyBot bodies that are racked in the closet, like Borgs in their regeneration pods. Apparently they're being supplied in some way from overhead tanks. What's the stuff in the tanks for, and why don't the CBs need it when they're out and about?
No foul. Raccoons, cute as they are, are nasty little critters.Fun fact: Both the German and Japanese words for 'raccoon' loosely translate to English as "wash bear".
But, damn. No Jeremy until next week.
Fun fact: Both the German and Japanese words for 'raccoon' loosely translate to English as "wash bear".It's the same in Chinese, but it isn't really a translation as such. The two characters in 浣熊 (huànxióng) can be read, in isolation, as meaning, among other things, "wash bear", but reading like that is why machine translation of Chinese is not very good. I've written before about how Chinese characters are not isolated "bricks" of meaning, but are more like syllables in words. (https://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,25025.msg961775/topicseen.html#msg961775)
Wonder if there is any significance in there being 7 Creepybots in that scene. There could be more, but 7 has a lot of religious significance. Perhaps the seven deadly sins although they all seem to be the embodiment of pride.
When do you think we'll get to see Bubbles out of her armor?
As a friend of mine from southern Indiana (AKA northern Kentucky) used to say,
"Them's good eatin'!"
Usually about roadkill, but the idea's the same.
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8c/dc/97/8cdc971ef41fd9f3e8deb6023f862977.jpg)Yeah. Those cute little ones grow up to be big nasty ones. If you'd ever had a couple of them get into your house and then create thousands of dollars' worth of damage (mostly to drywall), or had a pack of them attack a cat colony and rend a few kittens limb from limb...
(https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8c/dc/97/8cdc971ef41fd9f3e8deb6023f862977.jpg)Yeah. Those cute little ones grow up to be big nasty ones. If you'd ever had a couple of them get into your house and then create thousands of dollars' worth of damage (mostly to drywall), or had a pack of them attack a cat colony and rend a few kittens limb from limb...
That reminds me I had to get rid of a dead possum this past year. It was not a fun job.
The fact is not so fun, because it's the same in nearly every language, including Latin. :-P Though the French call it "washer rat" because everything is a rat in France.No foul. Raccoons, cute as they are, are nasty little critters.Fun fact: Both the German and Japanese words for 'raccoon' loosely translate to English as "wash bear".
But, damn. No Jeremy until next week.
"The word "raccoon" was adopted into English from the native Powhatan term, as used in the Virginia Colony. It was recorded on Captain John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of William Strachey as arathkone.[10] It has also been identified as a Proto-Algonquian root *ahrah-koon-em, meaning "[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands"" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon
The only bar I could see Bubbles working security at would be "The Mended Drum" in another universe, and that would be more as a splatter (they throw harder).
Fun fact: Both the German and Japanese words for 'raccoon' loosely translate to English as "wash bear".It's the same in Chinese, but it isn't really a translation as such. The two characters in 浣熊 (huànxióng) can be read, in isolation, as meaning, among other things, "wash bear", but reading like that is why machine translation of Chinese is not very good. I've written before about how Chinese characters are not isolated "bricks" of meaning, but are more like syllables in words. (https://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,25025.msg961775/topicseen.html#msg961775)
Though the French call it "washer rat" because everything is a rat in France.And if it's not a rat, it's an apple.
Wonder if there is any significance in there being 7 Creepybots in that scene. There could be more, but 7 has a lot of religious significance. Perhaps the seven deadly sins although they all seem to be the embodiment of pride.Seven can also be used to mean "enough".
The only bar I could see Bubbles working security at would be "The Mended Drum" in another universe, and that would be more as a splatter (they throw harder).
Nah - she'd end up in the Watch. And what an opportunity for crossover fan fiction that would present!
(large German animal thing)My favorite was "threatening chicken" for turkey. Threatening chicken for Thanksgiving dinner!
The only bar I could see Bubbles working security at would be "The Mended Drum" in another universe, and that would be more as a splatter (they throw harder).
Nah - she'd end up in the Watch. And what an opportunity for crossover fan fiction that would present!
I bet she and Constable Dorfl would get along famously.