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Claireten pillow talk

38 (33.3%)

The Morning After the Night Before

20 (17.5%)

Faye's Long Dark Breakfast of the Soul

28 (24.6%)

What next for Dora?

15 (13.2%)

Robot Hijinx (possibly involving May or Pintsize)

7 (6.1%)

The Stevette Wedding! (Because we need a random option)

6 (5.3%)

Total Members Voted: 101

Voting closed: 11 Feb 2015, 06:30

[Endellion]

Well, I guess whatever Faye did to Pintsize (presumably Faye anyway) wasn't serious and he just needed to be turned on/rebooted. On the other hand... I've never seen Pintsize intimidated before.

Dora's (sorta) intimidated him before.

...and if that's a borrowed shirt it's probably best that she didn't wear (one of) the THE shirts Marten has*, that might be worse than sharing the same plumage

*And before you get the nitpicking hats on I'm fully aware that Claire has one already.

[AprilArcus]

Y'know, funny thing is, I can't actually imagine Pintsize doing anything to deserve whatever happened to him. He's a little troll, sure, but he always tried to help Marten when the guy felt down.

Mind, he wasn't good at it, but he always tried, and I can't imagine him (Deliberately) angering Faye, given the current circumstances.

I think he tried to get Faye to stop drinking before she hurt herself, and she turned him off when he wouldn't leave her alone.

[Neko_Ali]

... even really chilled out guys have their look of death. 

Especially the chill guys.  We store intimidation points for later use.  All humans naturally generate intimidation points, and while some people increase the generation rate, some of us make use of the fact that there is no cap on your reserves.  Nerd Rage uses a similar mechanic.

You know, I can identify... While never precisely a guy I've been told that at times when I get really angry I can be really, really scary without meaning to. I've apparently cut of a few fights from happening back in high school just by giving people the cold stare. Of course, then there is what happen when I go right past 'really angry' and into full on 'hulk rage' mode....

[Aziraphale]

I don't think that it's a matter of him being intimidated. Instead I think it's a matter of him understanding just how grave a violation of trust and personal space it would be for him to pursue that particular topic. I mean the little guy might be a bit of a sadist who enjoys messing with people, but he's not without decency, and he does actually care about Marten and his friends, albeit in his own strange way sometimes.

Plus there's the fact that Marten rarely draws a line with Pintsize. Because of that, on the rare occasion that Marten does put his foot down, Pintsize probably understands that he's super duper serious, and he'd better not push it. lol

Does Pintsize even know Claire is transgendered? Aside from the paddling (the only known instance that Claire has met Pinysize), has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

Pintsize likely doesn't know, and I seriously doubt if Marten would've said anything. It's usually a pretty serious breach of trust to out someone who's not out already.

Friends don't break friends.

It's a good thing that he doesn't seem to be broken, then. Or affected at all, for that matter.

I get the feeling that Faye probably shut Pintsize off, not wanting to be talked out of drinking herself into oblivion.

IDK, I guess I miss sassy Claire. In my head canon, Claire's had to develop a barbed tongue to defend herself and her brother, because of her gender identity, his general weirdness, and whatever family dynamics led to her instant judgment of Tai. The meekness is weird to me, because it doesn't match her age in my head (she's in an MA program) or her earlier personality. Playing the ingenue doesn't suit her.

It doesn't feel that out of character to me. I feel like Claire has always had both a sassy, snarky side and a more shy, vulnerable side, which come out in different situations. That's part of what I relate to about her character, because I also tend to swing between those types of behavior depending on the situation I'm in.

I'm with Dark Matter on this one. The snark is a defense mechanism. She's able to trust Marten, and so she's able to show a side of her personality that'd normally be encased in snark. She's not playing the ingenue so much as just letting her hair down. If she is, or feels, threatened, that barbed tongue will come back in a heartbeat.

I could be projecting, to a degree -- when I have a mind to, I can be opaque to people I don't know or trust. But the way she's acting now isn't so much out of character as another facet of the person she already is, and has been.

[mustang6172]

I don't think that it's a matter of him being intimidated. Instead I think it's a matter of him understanding just how grave a violation of trust and personal space it would be for him to pursue that particular topic. I mean the little guy might be a bit of a sadist who enjoys messing with people, but he's not without decency, and he does actually care about Marten and his friends, albeit in his own strange way sometimes.

Plus there's the fact that Marten rarely draws a line with Pintsize. Because of that, on the rare occasion that Marten does put his foot down, Pintsize probably understands that he's super duper serious, and he'd better not push it. lol

Does Pintsize even know Claire is transgendered? Aside from the paddling (the only known instance that Claire has met Pinysize), has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

Claire has only come out to Marten and Emily.  Of course all the main characters will be nothing less than accepting of Claire, because Jeph can't write a character whom doesn't reflect his own worldview without turning that character into a strawman.

[swapna]

I'm with Dark Matter on this one. The snark is a defense mechanism. She's able to trust Marten, and so she's able to show a side of her personality that'd normally be encased in snark. She's not playing the ingenue so much as just letting her hair down. If she is, or feels, threatened, that barbed tongue will come back in a heartbeat.

I could be projecting, to a degree -- when I have a mind to, I can be opaque to people I don't know or trust. But the way she's acting now isn't so much out of character as another facet of the person she already is, and has been.

I think a lot of us can relate - we're snarky when defending ourselves. But the comment to Faye was mean - not snarky, but clearly mean, and not as answer to something Faye said to attack her, but in relation to Faye's personal life.
And this after Faye was more than nice - she invited her over for beer and pizza! Someone she barely knows. I don't think Claire felt threatened at all, it was just part of her personality until it was decided that she should be all cute and moe and squee all the time.

[cesariojpn]

Claire has only come out to Marten and Emily.  Of course all the main characters will be nothing less than accepting of Claire, because Jeph can't write a character whom doesn't reflect his own worldview without turning that character into a strawman.

Are you advocating Pintsize can't be the "dirty joke troll" just to serve as a morality pet about why you shouldn't be trans-phobic/offensive?

[Is it cold in here?]

has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

Would you?

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

Answers just about every Pintsize question we were making except how long he was powered down and how far along the situation was when that happened. Marten's look is the visual equivalent of "choose your next words wisely".

[Vulture051]

Jeph sure does make a lot of comics talking about that thing we're not allowed to talk about...   

[slydon]

Are you advocating Pintsize can't be the "dirty joke troll" just to serve as a morality pet about why you shouldn't be trans-phobic/offensive?

Pintsize is basically 4chan with a heart.

[BenRG]

Given that, as long as their offline storage is intact, AIs are effectively immortal, I'm not surprised to see that Pintsize is okay. That said, being hard to kill doesn't make you hard to hurt and Pintsize has been dented, duct-taped to the wall and locked away enough times before to know when he is on thin ice. Those self-preservation protocols are rarely used but they clearly work!

Key learning for today:

• Claire's reaction indicates that Marten hasn't told/warned her about Pintsize yet;
• Pintsize may be Marten's friend but there are limits and Claire is one of them;
• What Pintsize does is a conscious activity, not just the result of bad coding.

What was Pintsize about to say? He's probably got recordings of Dora and Padma and was going to ask if Marten made Claire make any of those noises. It's a comparative study; all in the name of Science, you know!

[edit]
Fix'd typo

[valkygrrl]

What was Pintsize about to say? He's probably got recodings of Dora and Padma and was going to ask if Marten made Claire make any of those noises. It's a comparative study; all in the name of Science, you know!

Tell me, what- about a three way.

That's my head-canon anyway.

[Lubricus]

It was probably just: Tell me, what- do you want for breakfast? 

Of course, Pintsize got the message from Marten: Don't mess with his girlfriend's diet! 

[explicit]

Jeph sure does make a lot of comics talking about that thing we're not allowed to talk about...   

BECAUSE REASONS.

Ahem. Because, reasons.

[AprilArcus]

Jeph sure does make a lot of comics talking about that thing we're not allowed to talk about...   

BECAUSE REASONS.

Ahem. Because, reasons.

[pwhodges]

Is there enough interest to justify starting a thread in Discuss about alcoholism treatment?

Shafting important issues elsewhere on a forum smacks more of ignoring it/sweeping it under the rug rather than actively trying to foster discussion. If an issue is brought up by a strip, it should be discussed in a place where people will commonly flock to afterwards (i.e. the WCDT threads).

Basically, this thread, and this part of the forum, is for discussing the comic.  Once a particular discussion takes on a life of its own, separate from the specific story in the strip, it is appropriate that it moves to the part of the forum made for such discussions.  The rest of the forum is not "under the rug"; indeed it's far easier to find a thread on "Alcoholism" than discover where in which "WCDT" such a matter might be talked about.

[pwhodges]

...and if that's a borrowed shirt it's probably best that she didn't wear (one of) the THE shirts Marten has*, that might be worse than sharing the same plumage

She has, you may recall, a TEH shirt of her own which she rejected wearing on a previous occasion.

[explicit]

Everyone has one though, go ahead, open your closet, it's in there.

[neurocase]

My favorite takeaway from this strip, even above Marten's LOOOOM, is that Pintsize, even with his lack of appendages, can do some approximation of shaking someone's hand. The earnest "double-hand shake" no less.

[Lubricus]

Well, he's a natural at shaking things... 

[hakko504]

Jeph sure does make a lot of comics talking about that thing we're not allowed to talk about...   

BECAUSE REASONS.

Ahem. Because, reasons.

That looks like a very thin book

Sent from my Xperia Z3

[BenRG]

I'm wondering if we're going into a new Claire arc. Prevously, Claire was a secondary supporting character - one of Marten's co-workers and a friend who got about as much on-screen attention as Tai, Marigold and Dale and mostly for the same reason (to introduce the character).

However, Claire's circumstances have changed. She's now a primary character's (Marten's) girlfriend and, IMO at least, on a fast track to becoming his life partner in the way Dora was for a while. So, Claire now has to develop links within the 'Marten' circle as well as the extant ones in the 'Library' circle. Because of this, Jeph has some character building to do. He has to iron out some of Claire's relationships by introducing her to the rest of Marten's inner circle (Dora, Faye, Pintsize, Hannelore and possibly Steve) who, previously, only knew her through Marten and through low-level interaction at parties.

I can see this 'getting to know Marten's new girlfriend' arc extending for a few months IRL as Jeph sorts out both the serious and silly aspects of Claire's interactions with Marten's closest friends.

Or, alternately, he could do what we're possibly seeing now and just literally give a single strip for every new character with whom Claire needs to have an established contact.

[Lubricus]

Or let those interactions happen along the way, somewhat in the background of whatever constitutes the "real" action. We'll see.

[BenRG]

Does Pintsize even know Claire is transgendered? Aside from the paddling (the only known instance that Claire has met Pinysize), has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

That's an interesting question and I think that the answer is 'it depends'. Marten has certainly never told him. However, he may have means of determining this sort of thing that humans don't have and that I can see Pintsize flagrantly abusing. For example, what if he has an ultrasound sonar sense, intended to let him find lost stuff that's fallen down the back of sofas or are buried at the bottom of drawers? Such might let him see through clothes and skin and detect any signs of surgical reconstruction or other anatomical anomalies.

Of course, having the ability and lack of personal boundaries to find out doesn't mean that he would tactlessly reveal. We know that Pintsize has more of a social conscience than to which he publicly will confesses; he would be more than aware that trans people face prejudice and I think he would have hard-coded behavioural red lines (similar to Asimov's First Law) that would prevent him from talking about her status in mixed company without her permission.

However, I wonder if the same hard-coded safety protocol would impel Pintsize to discuss this matter privately with Claire to get her instructions and ensure she is being honest with Marten. Because he would be impelled to protect Marten from possible harm too.

[pwhodges]

Everyone has one though, go ahead, open your closet, it's in there.

Oh, indeed, I have one - and a Pintsize hoody, too.

[bhtooefr]

I'm gonna say that Pintsize doesn't have any such senses. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been trying so hard to get a direct optical wavelength look at Faye's breasts in various comics, or require Marten to describe them to him after the one incident where he saw them.

[Akima]

If Marten ever becomes a fighter pilot, his code-name should be Weaver.

(click to show/hide)

Because he has a powerful loom. 

[ZoeB]

..and if that's a borrowed shirt it's probably best that she didn't wear (one of) the THE shirts Marten has*, that might be worse than sharing the same plumage

*And before you get the nitpicking hats on I'm fully aware that Claire has one already.

It's obvious what kind of shirt he wears on occasions like this.

(click to show/hide)

[pwhodges]

The first TEH shirt I bought was indeed that make (but the smaller one I bought later was another).

[TheCaffeinatedPanda]

Does Pintsize even know Claire is transgendered? Aside from the paddling (the only known instance that Claire has met Pinysize), has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

course, having the ability and lack of personal boundaries to find out doesn't mean that he would tactlessly reveal. We know that Pintsize has more of a social conscience than to which he publicly will confesses; he would be more than aware that trans people face prejudice and I think he would have hard-coded behavioural red lines (similar to Asimov's First Law) that would prevent him from talking about her status in mixed company without her permission.

However, I wonder if the same hard-coded safety protocol would impel Pintsize to discuss this matter privately with Claire to get her instructions and ensure she is being honest with Marten. Because he would be impelled to protect Marten from possible harm too.

Jeph said in a QA dump ages ago that AI in the QCverse has full autonomy, which means that Asimov's laws of robotics don't apply.
That said, Pintsize had that discussion with Momo in which he actually seriously discussed being a companion AI, so I should imagine he has the sense to leave it alone. I think it's been mentioned before, but with the way AnthroPC gender works, I doubt it'd really even cross his mind as something to be insensitive about.

(Hi everyone, new to the forum, long time reader, etc)

[ZoeB]

(Hi everyone, new to the forum, long time reader, etc)

Greetings and Salutations!

[bhtooefr]

It is worth noting that there's a paradigm shift in how QC handles issues like that, and the discussion of how AI gender works may well have been invalidated by that shift, considering that it's an owner-adjustable setting, and Jeph appears to have conflated sex and gender at that time to an extent: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=347

If I had to guess, the AI civil rights laws most likely made it illegal for an owner to change an AI's gender setting against the AI's express consent. (And, based on other QC comics that were also pre-AI civil rights, that setting change most likely comes with the attendant personality changes. Or, is the gender setting actually a "kinda sorta sex" setting, that basically sets the AI's "hormonal balance"? If that's the case, it's very possible for a trans AI to exist, and changing a "gender" setting against an AI's will would be sheer torture I'd guess, not just an involuntary mindswap, essentially.)

[Endellion]

...and if that's a borrowed shirt it's probably best that she didn't wear (one of) the THE shirts Marten has*, that might be worse than sharing the same plumage

She has, you may recall, a TEH shirt of her own which she rejected wearing on a previous occasion.

Well aware of that . I'm a bit of a whore for linking old strips to my comments, but I thought that adding a third to a relatively short post was a bit much. Hence the nitpick comment in the small text at the bottom of my last response.

[dexeron]

LOOM!

Loom loom loom loom loom!

Looooooom!

Loom loom LOOM!

loom

[Zebediah]

Great. Now I'm hearing "loom" repeated as the lyrics to the Imperial March from Star Wars.

And now you are too. You're welcome. 

[TheEvilDog]

Pintsize is basically 4chan with a heart.

It's not his heart, he doesn't need it and it came postage due, but still!

[ronbo]

I just started reading Questionable Content.  I started with the last few hundred strips and then went back to the beginning.  I still have about 1,000 strips to go.  I just got to the point where Dora moved in with Marten and Faye.

The one thing the strikes me about today's strip is that Marten has never felt the need to do anything other than warn people about Pintsize.  Even Hanners, with all of her problems, didn't provoke such a protective reaction from Marten.

Dora never needed Marten's protection.  She is a strong, independent woman that is more than capable of defending herself from anything.

Does Marten somehow see Claire as more delicate?  That he needs to intervene with Pintsize?  I'm not sure that is a particularly good thing.

Every relationship is different.  Marten has clearly shown that he is more confident and assertive in this relationship, and that's a nice development, but this has me wondering that he may feel that Claire is not up to certain challenges.  That she is something less than a loving and equal partner.

[Martok]

LOOM!

Loom loom loom loom loom!

Looooooom!

Loom loom LOOM!

loom

LOL!  Couldn't have said it better myself. 

[BenRG]

The one thing the strikes me about today's strip is that Marten has never felt the need to do anything other than warn people about Pintsize.  Even Hanners, with all of her problems, didn't provoke such a protective reaction from Marten.

Dora never needed Marten's protection.  She is a strong, independent woman that is more than capable of defending herself from anything.

Does Marten somehow see Claire as more delicate?  That he needs to intervene with Pintsize?  I'm not sure that is a particularly good thing.

I'm not sure if it's seeing Claire as 'delicate' as such (although Marten might be worried that Pintsize might accidentally strike some delicate and only recently-healed scars).

I think that you're right about 'every relationship being different'. Possibly it is because Marten himself has been changing since the time he dated and later lived with Dora. In any case, he does seem to be investing a lot more, emotionally, in his relationship with Claire and is being generally more proactive in most areas.

[snarkyone]

I'm going with BenRG on this.   I don't think Marten thinks Claire is more delicate.   I think he cares more than he has in the past.   I think many of us could say we've been in relationships we just sort of fell into, rather than built.   In that aspect I think Marten recognizes that what he is building with Claire seems much more important than those of the past.   

That said there's quite possibly some part of him that wants to be more protective, understanding that Claire has likely been through a lot.   I don't think it has so much to do with thinking one is unequal in the relationship, but more like, since he cares so much, being protective and mindful of her feelings and knowing Pintsize, he wanted to stem that before it happened.    Frankly I think it's sweet, and I'm immensely jealous of a fictional character (who I swear is not me only cause I don't know Jeph).

Does Pintsize even know Claire is transgendered? Aside from the paddling (the only known instance that Claire has met Pinysize), has Marten even told Pintsize this fact?

I don't think he does, so not sure what he was going to say.   

FYI, "transgendered" isn't really a word.   Transgender is an adjective, not a verb.   That'd be kinda like saying "Did you know Dora was Femaled".    I know that might seem picky and I'm not upset at all, but I figure you'd rather know. 

[wlewisiii]

Another vote for BenRG on this matter.

Marten realizes he's got a keeper this time, possibly lifelong, and that changes your perspective on what is and isn't acceptable around your better half. He's grown and changed over nearly 3000 strips; it's about time is all I can say.  Then add to this the whole idea that Pintsize's mission really is almost over...   ?

[Isyrion]

cause I don't know Jeph).

FYI, "transgendered" isn't really a word.   Transgender is an adjective, not a verb.   That'd be kinda like saying "Did you know Dora was Femaled".    I know that might seem picky and I'm not upset at all, but I figure you'd rather know. 

Ok Weird Al's "World Crimes" just came to mind on that one.

Anyways, good to see no lasting ill effects on Pintsize from the Night of the Drunken Faye.  Second it great to see Marten get into Pintsize's robotic ass a bit on how he treats people, even if its to preempt a comment on Claire.  Three its also nice to see Marten willing to stand up for Claire (even if its to a robot that he could easily dismantle and be done with it).  Can't wait until next weeks strips.

Now what would I like to see in next couple of week strips. 
1.  Faye apologizing to Dora (yes Dora deserves one) after she has come to terms with what happened and only after seeing the Doc again.
2.  Dora reciprocating (reluctantly) then talking about what happened and then asking what Faye plans to do (keeping Faye fired however)
3.  Faye then asking to use the welding space in the back (maybe with the added bonus of giving Dora a small bit of cash from each project for using the space) and also asking if Dora knows of places where she can get a steady job (Dora being a business owner should at least know a few places, any owner with his or her salt would have networked a bit with other local businesses in order to help and or establish partnerships).
4. Pintsize starting to help Faye a bit with her issues (in his own chaotic way).  It has been established that Pintsize does care a bit about her (holding a party to get donations so she can get a dresser and other stuff comes to mind).

Any my two cents, back to lurking.
 

[snarkyone]

Ok Weird Al's "World Crimes" just came to mind on that one.

Anyone that is inspired to think of Al needs to do more than lurk....    TY! (It's actually in my head all the time now when people use that)

[dilbert719]

Jeph sure does make a lot of comics talking about that thing we're not allowed to talk about...   

BECAUSE REASONS.

Ahem. Because, reasons.

That looks like a very thin book

Sent from my Xperia Z3

It's a 500 page long book. Every page is just the word "HANNERS" typed over and over again.

[Fig]

Thanks, now that song is stuck in my head.  Not that that's a bad thing, mind you, it just means I have to blare the CD when I get off of work now.

[Kona]

FYI, "transgendered" isn't really a word.   Transgender is an adjective, not a verb.   That'd be kinda like saying "Did you know Dora was Femaled".    I know that might seem picky and I'm not upset at all, but I figure you'd rather know. 

I feel you on this and a lot of other language issues, being something of a prescriptivist myself.  However, I think the ship has pretty much sailed on stopping this type of perversity.

Edit:  Not a prescriptionist, dammit.  Thanks, autocorrect!

[snarkyone]

I feel you on this and a lot of other language issues, being something of a prescriptionist myself.  However, I think the ship has pretty much sailed on stopping this type of perversity.

You know, I'd be happy if people stopped using "are" when they mean "our".   That makes me want to gouge my eyes out with an olive fork.

[Half Empty Coffee Cup]

People who swap "lose" and "loose" make me want to loose them into the wild so I can lose them.

[K1dmor]