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Follow-up to Sven's Thank-You Note to Hannelore

Sven trying to think of some way to say thank you to Tai

Faye and Bubbles addressing the differences in perception that they have about the robot fighting

Hannelore decides that she has a talent for solving her friends' personal problems... unfortunately!

Marten and Claire are moving to Canada?!? (because Marten is Jeph's occasoinal SI)

The Day Veronica Gave Sam a Bath!

Another evening at the Support Group: Arthur misses 'Abyssinia'

Pintsize and Corpse Witch, a partnership made in Robot Hell!

Seriously though, what about Penelope and Raven? Or Steve and his cereal?

[BenRG]

I feel like actually doing a poll that talks about the coming week's strips today. Maybe it was coming so close to predicting the outcome of the recent Alice Grove cliffhanger... Or maybe I was just struck by the creative bug; I don't know.

Guessing where Jeph goes is always a dangerous endeavour. He has a talent for grabbing tiny things that most of us missed even happened and then expanding them into a plot arc with their own unique characters and jokes. I think that's why I put the 'Veronica gives Sam a bath' option in the poll. It's the sort of mad, unexpected thing that he is good at pulling out of his hat.

Let's talk about 'Marten and Claire moving to Canada' thing for a moment. This is mostly just me referencing Jeph's own upcoming move but, oddly enough, I don't think that it is entirely random. Marten was seriously annoyed at Northampton throwing him a curve ball in the form of Faye's new job. Maybe Claire has got an offer just over the border if she graduates and Marten has heard good things about the sanity level of Canada in general. Maybe he can have a life based on actual logic and plausible reality there? Claire is still at least a year from graduation, so you could easily spend a thousand strips building up the tension as to whether they're going to go through with it or even if Marten will still be with Claire when the time comes!

It's highly unlikely but it is the sort of strange out-of-left-field plot twist that occasionally hits home in QC.

I've ended up voting for 'Hannelore the Problem Solver' option; it has the most potential for immediate humour and character development as well as not opening a can of plot worms.

[Mr_Rose]

I went with the bath option for several reasons, including that we haven't seen Sam or VV in a while but mostly because I'm not certain that domme voice will work on a teenager that seems to be more stubborn by reflex than than Marten ever was on purpose… and, either way, it will be hilarious.

[Rghfrgl]

I'll call romance for this week.

Next week, back to Robot Death Battles.

[wlewisiii]

I like the idea of Sam's end of summer bath. Could be a good bit of slapstick.

[chaospersonified]

I voted for the follow-up to Sven's gift because I think it's most likely, though now you mention it I really want to see whether VV's domme voice works on Sam. I kinda think it maybe might, if only because that could lead to wacky hijinks if Sam realizes what's happened and wishes to gain this power.

The problem with this now is that we've got the more pressing arc of the robot fight club and Dora/Faye issues that could be worked out. I think Faye's in a good place now. She likes her job for the first time in QC history. She's sober now. If she ever had reason to let the past go, it's now.

[chaospersonified]

Hey, that could be where Hanners, Problem-solver comes in! She's still in contact with Faye as best we know, and maybe she misses Faye being around so much. I think she'd talk to Faye this time instead of Dora, though, because Faye's the one who fucked up and broke basically the only rule in CoD's handbook. If Faye's up to it, I think Dora would be amenable to a mending of fences. Not a re-hiring, because duh, but that's not why she's there! Faye's got a job, which we would get to see her try to explain in public without outing an illegal underground fighting ring

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I'd prefer it if the Dora/Faye thing wasn't resolved just yet. Not saying that it needs to drag on as long as the Dora/Sven thing, but I think there's room for growth.

Storywise, Faye's drinking problem may be "resolved" but considering that the idea that she has a problem has been percolating for 2000+ strips, I wouldn't put past Jeph to call it less than finished. (Also, of course, once you have a drinking problem, you always have a drinking problem).

Dora's had some growth with Sven, but the Faye thing, as much as Tai gave her shit and tried to make it out to be the same, is different. Faye did betray her trust. While there may be a case for a certain artistic inconsistency in the way drinking at Coffee of Doom has been handled, you can still boil it down thus:

In all cases where Dora was aware of alcohol consumption by her staff, Dora specifically approved of it. In the case that got Faye fired, Dora specifically forbid it, and Faye did it anyway. This isn't laying blame. That's over and done. But Dora's best friend did something very bad, and ALL Dora did was fire her.

I think we still need to see Faye grow a bit because this one is on her. Dora could forgive her as a form of taking the high road, but I've known too many alcoholics. It's best for your own sanity to let them get straight on their terms when they've breached a trust.

[Kugai]

I'm still waiting for Dora and Faye to finally come together for the long awaited conversation.

[chaospersonified]

Reindeer, like I said, if Hanners WERE to try and fix things between her friend and her boss, she'd need to talk to Faye. Faye needs to be the one to reach out. The question of whether Faye is WILLING to reach out can only be answered by Jeph, but remember, there wasn't much time in comic between Dora's annulling her sibling relation and her firing Faye for rightful reasons. You say it maybe shouldn't stretch as long as the Dora/Sven arc, but that still would mean they begin mending bridges in the next two weeks.

It wouldn't be a quick fix, but it does need to happen, in my opinion. Resolution could be a long road, but I'm anxious to see the sights along the way.

Definitely don't see Marten moving to Canada and abandoning Faye, Dora and Hanners for the sake of Claire. He did that once, remember, and I believe he assured Faye at some point that he'd never do it again.

[electromgneticDstroyosaur]

So, Bubbles seems to have a, erm, utilitarian mindset about her.  I want to hear about her obvious military past now.

[mustang6172]

I think I'm going to like Bubbles.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I don't mean as long in comic, so much as I mean as long in the real world.

So, I'm just saying not another 104 comics before something happens. On the other hand, the next 4 comics seems a bit soon.

[Is it cold in here?]

Now that's good writing. I'm itching to hear more about Bubbles.

[chaospersonified]

I don't mean as long in comic, so much as I mean as long in the real world.

So, I'm just saying not another 104 comics before something happens. On the other hand, the next 4 comics seems a bit soon.

Like I said, the Sven/Dora rift happened within a week or two of Faye being fired. As long as it's been with the Sven/Dora issue, it's not been much longer with Faye/Dora.


It doesn't matter. We're dealing with BUBBLES! Bubbles is a chill robot. I'm a fan of Bubbles*

*is a sentence I never thought I'd say seriously as an adult man

[ReindeerFlotilla]

I don't mean as long in comic, so much as I mean as long in the real world.

So, I'm just saying not another 104 comics before something happens. On the other hand, the next 4 comics seems a bit soon.

Like I said, the Sven/Dora rift happened within a week or two of Faye being fired. As long as it's been with the Sven/Dora issue, it's not been much longer with Faye/Dora.


It doesn't matter. We're dealing with BUBBLES! Bubbles is a chill robot. I'm a fan of Bubbles*

*is a sentence I never thought I'd say seriously as an adult man

You are right, and I acknowledged that the time in comic is a thing.

I'm talking about the pacing of the storytelling. Jeph could time skip ahead 4 years if he felt the need to establish a time gap, though I'm not saying that would be optimal.

And there have been time gaps. Between Pintsize telling Marten where Faye was and Maten asking Faye, "all week" happened. That's cool.

While it has been 151 comics since Faye was fired, in terms of the story development, it feels rushed to have a heart to heart at this moment. On the other hand, a hundred strips from now (20 weeks) seems like it might be dragging it out (which would give it the same amount of time between  the Svenectomy and the resolution. It has been 30 weeks since Faye was fired, but it doesn't feel like Faye's faced enough of Faye.

To reframe it, the time from Sven's return to the make up feels rushed, too. But I'm not bothered by that because the Svenectomy wasn't going anywhere. It wasn't much of challenge for Dora as a person. Faye's issues are big challenges, and come with a host of complications. Her arc from rock bottom to robot welder has been twisty, windy and interrelated. I'd like to see the same applied to the arc to mending fences. So, I wouldn't mind if Faye's nascent relationship with Bubbles is the catalyst to her mending fences (in the same way as Hannelore's bloody mole was the catalyst to Faye: Robot Welder. But I'd like it to expand over more strips than the Sven resolution, without waiting another 100 strips to actually kick off.

This is certainly not a TRUTH. It's simply my preference and the reason for it. 250 total strips feels too long. 150 feels too short (not because of numbers, but because it feels as if more character development is needed).

[Storel]

"Once a year I allow myself to wink"?? 

Okay, who else thinks Bubbles started pulling Faye's leg in this panel?

[BenRG]

In many ways, Bubbles has a similar view of the human interaction with AIs as Momo. She doesn't want to cause  a fuss and maybe cause difficulty for herself and others. Momo's way of handling this is to do the best to fit in. Bubbles' way of handling this is to hide away. I'm not sure if she's bothered by this and has learnt not to fret about it or if she really is that stoic.

Additionally, I'm really unsure if panel 6's monologue is meant to be serious. She really does strike me as the sort who would consider excess stoicism to be a virtue but, on the other hand, she may just be trying to deflect Faye's attention on her personal life by way of sarcasm.

I'm getting more and more sure that Faye is going to end up doing something for Bubbles to free her from her self-imposed confinement.

[QuestionableIntentions]

Poor Bubbles

[osaka]

Having Bubbles become the prettiest murderbot by way of Faye seems like it could be interesting for wacky shenanigans indeed.

[TheCollector]

So, does it seem to anyone else like Bubbles is gonna be the new acclimate to normal outgoing life project of the comic.

Cause I just kinda realized that's happened with Marigold and Hannelore before her. lol :3

[BenRG]

Having Bubbles become the prettiest murderbot by way of Faye seems like it could be interesting for wacky shenanigans indeed.

I can see Faye taking a nervous Bubbles into some public location, maybe The Secret Bakery and someone hits on Faye's 'pretty Amazonian friend'. There follows much confusion in the Shakespearean mold.

[improvnerd]

Having Bubbles become the prettiest murderbot by way of Faye seems like it could be interesting for wacky shenanigans indeed.

Yay! Murderbot makeover!

[osaka]

Having Bubbles become the prettiest murderbot by way of Faye seems like it could be interesting for wacky shenanigans indeed.

I can see Faye taking a nervous Bubbles into some public location, maybe The Secret Bakery and someone hits on Faye's 'pretty Amazonian friend'. There follows much confusion in the Shakespearean mold.

BUBBLES: "Can nobody see that I'm a mil-spec robot?"
FAYE: "They can. They're just messin' with you. Also, if you see a dude with a robotic hand, RUN"

[ZoeB]

"Once a year I allow myself to wink"?? 

Okay, who else thinks Bubbles started pulling Faye's leg in this panel?

Nope. Not in the slightest. I can grok this in fullness. About once every 5 or 10 years I buy myself a cup of tea at a teashop, or even see a film.

[ZoeB]

I'm getting more and more sure that Faye is going to end up doing something for Bubbles to free her from her self-imposed confinement.

Ah, but you see - if it's self-imposed, she may not want to be "freed". It should be her choice, not a behaviour that is imposed on her by others.
By circumstances, yes. Just ask Gordon. A considerate person, while acknowledging that they do not have to do something irksome to please others, may of their own free will choose to make a trivial (to them) sacrifice in order to increase general happiness.

It may be that such asceticism is natural to her, no great burden, if it be any burden at all. She may be most comfortable like that.

Or it could be a reaction to deep trauma, so not really a choice. Or a reaction she's aware of, but on intellectual or ethical grounds, has decided not to do anything about, as it's objectively useful. The cage might have been locked originally, but she may have unlocked it - then decided to stay.

By all means give her choices - but deciding what is best for her is arrogant, and oppressive. Not that she'd take offense.

[Zebediah]

Or is Bubbles serving a self-imposed penance for her past sins? I'm picking up a vibe of deep self-loathing from Bubbles. It would explain a lot - why she chooses to isolate herself, and why she continues to work at a job she hates. She's her own judge, jury and prison warden.

[Neko_Ali]

It all seems self limiting though. To never venture outside of the building. Sure AIs are different, and may not need the same sorts of comforts that humans do. A lot of AIs do seek to emulate human interaction though. Consider the AI cafe, and the robot support group. That may be a difference between AthroPCs and other AIs with a lot of direct human interaction vs more purpose built AIs like Bubbles or Murderbot. Assuming someone can design AIs for a purpose. Some indications exist that they are emergent personalities and need to find their own purpose in life.

In any case with AIs they may not feel isolation from being limited to a single location, either by choice or by being forced, like with Robojail. Many or possibly most have always on connections to the internet. Since at least some AIs don't seem to have physical bodies they control themselves and aren't human, they experience online interaction quite differently.

I am seeing some interesting parallels between Bubbles and Alice though. I'm not sure if it was intentional or unconscious on Jeph's part. Both have mysterious backgrounds, designed or rebuilt as weapon systems. Both seem to have experienced trauma related to battle in their past that they don't talk about. Both have isolated themselves from society as a whole, but made it their mission to aid and assist others.

[Earin]

Or is Bubbles serving a self-imposed penance for her past sins? I'm picking up a vibe of deep self-loathing from Bubbles. It would explain a lot - why she chooses to isolate herself, and why she continues to work at a job she hates. She's her own judge, jury and prison warden.

Ever since her squad-mates Blossom and Buttercup were killed.

[Thrudd]

Ever since her squad-mates Blossom and Buttercup were killed.

Not killed - disassembled

[Nepiophage]

It seems most likely to me that Bubbles has embraced some pacifist/quietist philosophy as a reaction to having seen (or even done) terrible things while in her previous career a a combat droid. We may learn about it this week.

[DSL]

She's ... seen things ... you people wouldn't believe.

[Pilchard123]

Alice? Who's Alice? I don't know anyone with that name.

[Is it cold in here?]

Context switch: Jeph's other comic, Alice Grove.

[Nepiophage]

She's ... seen things ... you people wouldn't believe.

And done . . . . questionable things

[Kugai]

Ever since her squad-mates Blossom and Buttercup were killed.

Not killed - disassembled

NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!


I get the feeling there's more to Bubbles story than she's letting on here.  I can see Faye slowly 'Adopting' Bubbles and bringing her out of her shell (so to speak) and in the course of that, funding her own balance after the disaster of her nearly drinking herself to death and getting herself fired from CoD in the process.

[Pilchard123]

[Neko_Ali]

Technically disassembly wouldn't be that bad. I mean that's what they do at the robot fighting arena, disassemble each other for the entertainment of people. And then Faye and Bubbles put them back together again. Erasure of their hard drives would be real death for an AI. I'm sure that those military grade drives their minds are stored on include hardening... but one rule of armor is no matter how tough you make it, someone will always find a bigger and better bullet to get through. EMP weapons would be the most effective against AI soldiers. Possibly against Geneva Convention style rules on warfare for much the same reasons that chemical weapons are forbidden against humans.... But things like that tend only to happen only after we see the horrible aftermath of those weapons being used. Watching your comrades in arms and code being nailed by a pulse gun and having half their code scrambled permanently would I think be enough to turn someone from a combat AI into a pacifist.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

We don't know if AI are people outside the US, though.

Admittedly, the US stopped leading on human rights a long, long time ago, but the US is still hovering in the top 10 to 15 % on that score. That means there could be a good 150, 160 countries that might not recognize AI as anything more than tools.

[Is it cold in here?]

Wow, BenRG could keep busy for weeks writing fanfic about how AIs are treated in different countries.

Even in the QC USA, the equal rights amendment for AIs is quite a recent accomplishment.

[mustang6172]

I wouldn't take off armor in there.  Some busted up robot might have sticky fingers.

[grez]

after some reflection, realized i'm not ready for svennelore OR fubbles

 

 

[Granitefish]

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

[Neko_Ali]

That was kind of what I was thinking. I mean I know this is the US. But even here you have to have licenses and such to own military grade hardware.. for the most part I think.

[ReindeerFlotilla]

Seemed sarcastic to me. But I've never really looked into the details of firearms laws.

[Omega Entity]

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

That was kind of what I was thinking. I mean I know this is the US. But even here you have to have licenses and such to own military grade hardware.. for the most part I think.

Texas. If it'd be anywhere, it'd be Texas.

[Truec]

Depends on the rifle in question.  I recall anything over 20mm is considered a "destructive device", which are subject to different regulations and paperwork.  I think anything smaller is legally t he same as any other longarm, with legality depending on state.

[wlewisiii]

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

Actually, it depends on the AT Rifle. The British Boys Rifle is easy to purchase if converted to .50 BMG. In it's original form it is considered a destructive device and requires a tax stamp from BATFE to own - if your state allows. The Mauser 1918 Tank Gewehr  in 13.2mm caliber is specifically exempted from the NFA and if you can own any rifle you can own it. If you really want to...

Should you care, there is much more info here: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/

[BenRG]

I did suspect that Bubbles' armour plate was an external addition. There are several good engineering reasons for this. By putting a space in between her armour and her actual chassis external shell, she has a little bit more protection for her systems. Additionally, it makes repairing damaged armour quick and easy rather than requiring whole limbs be replaced.

However, I suspect that what Jeph is working towards is that, underneath her armour, Bubbles is as humanoid as Momo or May. It's just that I think that Bubbles doesn't want to look more human. Nonetheless, yeah, take off the stand-off armour plate and stick her in a tee shirt and jeans and she'd look fairly human. Why does she choose to look more like a tank than people? Well, the details are to be revealed but my guess is that armour protects more than her critical components. It also protects some vulnerable parts of her soul.

I think that Bubbles is starting to get annoyed with Faye. The problem is that Faye is one of those personalities who can't take a hint that she's annoying people. This is at least partly because she likes annoying people. Whilst I think, on a certain level, she's motivated by concern and an honest desire to help Bubbles, she's also being bratty and annoying and this may end up with an argument or a demonstration of just how dangerous Bubbles can be if she loses her temper.

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

It depends what Faye means by an 'anti-tank rifle'. If she means a heavy-calibre sniper rifle, like a high-power thirty-calibre or one of those fifty-calibre monsters, yes I think that they are 'street legal' in some parts of the world.

[jwhouk]

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

What she's implicitly saying is, "Those are some guns (biceps) you have."

[Truec]

"Anti-tank rifles are illegal in this state."

Is this implying there are states where they are legal?

What she's implicitly saying is, "Those are some guns (biceps) you have."

I took it at face value, as the suggestion that the armor isn't useful because anyone who wants to kill her would just use an, apparently legal,anti-tank rifle.