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Faye and Bubbles get into a fight; Marten arrives to see Bubbles frantically giving Faye CPR (Damn you Willis!);

Bubbles nearly snaps something of Faye's and ends up having a nervous break-down;

A week of random guest strips just to troll us all;

Bubbles storms off and Faye starts doing detective work with Hannelore and Station's help;

Bubbles has a breakdown when Faye tells her that she wants "to help my new friend" and tells the whole terrible story;

Faye says 'screw you' and we never see Bubbles in the strip again;

Bubbles comes across as a whiny child; we realise she's not PTSD at all, just antisocial and self-pitying;

Inexplicably, the arc turns into a kind of alt-rock musical on the subject of Bubbles wanting "to be a real girl".

[BenRG]

Okay, tried to cover as many bases as possible with this week's poll. Realistically, there are only a few likely options but I know that some of you guys have strong opinions on Bubbles and/or odd senses of humour and one should always try to keep the customer satisfied.

Personally, I'm voting that Faye refuses to be frightened off and Bubbles snaps, starts screaming at her to hate her already, possibly physically attacks her and finally ends up blubbering onto her Converses, begging her late squad-mates (and Faye) for forgiveness for being a worthless friend, an even less worthy team-mate and an utterly worthless person. There follows a significant moment when we learn just how badly Bubbles and the other Generation-Zero AIs (the ones that pre-dated decent AI civil rights legislation) were treated by some corporations and the military.

It's possible that the week may end on a light note. Probably a little joke by Faye at her own expense in an attempt to lighten the mood. The alternative is that Bubbles says she has to go home and Faye goes with her because she doesn't want to be on her own. The last panel on Friday is Bubbles sitting in her recharge chair in the corner of the repair bay with Faye sleeping on her lap as if she were the Warbot's very own teddy-bear.

[Is it cold in here?]

I wonder if the Vulcan boob squish works on robots.

[War Sparrow]

I wonder if Jeph will be celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving(Monday) and the comic will be late? i hope he does a turkey comic..I love turkey comics.

I think Bubbles will tell Faye to back off, and go home to zen. A conversation regarding feelings and boundaries should probably occur when both parties are less angry.

[Kugai]

A Bubbles Flashback in which we find out she had two Combat AI sisters named Blossom and Buttercup - and the horrible tale of what happened to them

[mustang6172]

"Bubbles comes across as a whiny child; we realise she's not PTSD at all, just antisocial and self-pitying;"

I find this option more off putting than the "Bubbles must have PTSD because healthy people aren't supposed to feel this way" attitude.

[jheartney]

In a conventional narrative, we'd eventually get the Bubbles backstory as she opens up to Faye about why she's so broken. Given how expected that is, Jeph may well go in another direction. This might be the end of our Bubbles interaction, as Faye learns some people are best let be, particularly in her new work milieu.

I'm still a little curious about what was going on with Momo and "My queen!"  Could there be a whole hidden side to AI society? Someone should ask Momo about it.

[mustang6172]

Could there be a whole hidden side to AI society? Someone should ask Momo about it.

Yes, but humans aren't allowed to know about it.  See also:  Marten and Doradad speaking in Dude Code.

[geekd]

I've been trying to hold off judging Bubbles too harshly, but I can't any more.  She's a huge bitch, and I would not be her friend.

[TheCollector]

I've been trying to hold off judging Bubbles too harshly, but I can't any more.  She's a huge bitch, and I would not be her friend.

Yeah no. Did you not see her call herself broken? It's pretty much clear to me after that that she has whatever the AI form of PTSD is. Don't forget, all the humans on her squad were killed. That's bound to do something to you.

[Tova]

I've been trying to hold off judging Bubbles too harshly, but I can't any more.  She's a huge bitch, and I would not be her friend.

That would be a win-win from her perspective.

[neurocase]

If she was that broken, why did she go to the party in the first place and make an obvious effort in the form of at least putting on lipstick? If she honestly thought there was no chance of it going well, she wouldn't have bothered. All she's doing is acting out after threatening very real physical violence against someone, and implying that there was never any chance it could have worked when clearly she thought it might have. To me, those aren't the actions of a broken person, or robot in this case. They're the actions of someone unwilling to make any allowances or give any lenience toward ingratiating herself into society.

EDIT: spelling hurrdurr

[mustang6172]

Don't you mean installing lipstick? 

[MrNumbers]

It's interesting. I get the idea Bubbles is supposed to be sympathetic, but-

What motivates her? We don't know. What does she like? We don't know. Why should we like her?

I don't know.

Maybe if I had more of a reason to pity her? But I don't. She's obviously capable of making her own choices, and she's actively choosing to make terrible ones. If we had more interactions with her that were like the first time she met Pintsize, if we had more awareness of why she might be worth exploring as a character, sure.

I don't like her. I don't empathize with her. I don't pity her. I don't relate to her.

I feel I have the same problems with her that I do with Marigold: Jeph wants to play up this likable but flawed introvert, but plays too heavy on the flawed introvert angle so anything good that comes out of them just starts feeling disingenuous.

And while I'm not a combat veteran, I'm a PTSD riddled agoraphobic, so it's not like I simply don't understand.  I just simply find her reactions and interactions abhorrable. She's doing everything she can to validate her self loathing at the expense of the people around her, people like Marten. Why should I want to see more of her? What does QC get from her inclusion?

At this point, I think any redemption arc she goes through will either have to be really well done, or come across as trite and twee and false-feeling.

[Method of Madness]

Did you not see her call herself broken?

Did we read the same comic? She explicitly states that she is not broken. She's probably either lying or wrong, but still.

[Omega Entity]

Did you not see her call herself broken?

Did we read the same comic? She explicitly states that she is not broken. She's probably either lying or wrong, but still.

I was wondering if I was alone in reading it that way.

[Kugai]

She is not broken in the sense that you probably mean it, but she definitely has some issues.

Something tells me she gotten herself into such a rut, she can't see she's her own worst enemy at times.  I'm hoping that Faye doesn't give up on her, her history has led her to this point and it would be interesting to see just WHY she is like she is.

[Is it cold in here?]

I've been trying to hold off judging Bubbles too harshly, but I can't any more.  She's a huge bitch, and I would not be her friend.

I wouldn't want anyone that prickly or volatile for a friend either. She's had bad experiences, but is still accountable for bad behavior.

Oh BTW gender-specific insults like "bitch" or "cunt" have made people feel unwelcome, careful there. "Fuckhead" is forceful but gender-neutral.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a really interesting thing. The Pugnacious Peach is leaning backward. It took more than one attempt but Bubbles has intimidated her.

[ZoeB]

"Better minds than yours have tried"

But were they doing it professionally, or out of friendship?

Bubbles just pushed one of my buttons there. I'd take that as a challenge.... Broken machine? No. Hurt person? Yes.

Momo seems pretty cluey. I'd talk to her first.

And while we're at it - Faye could do with a bit of support now too. Like about a gigaton of it.

[downtowneddie]

I think what might be more worthwhile to observe is how Faye will deal with all of this.

[Stoon]

Maybe it's because I'm socially incompetent, but I don't understand what Faye was trying to do. 

[Neko_Ali]

See, I can understand where Bubbles is coming from, in part. I know what it's like to be in a group or at a party and feel like everyone hates me, and are making fun of me no matter what they are actually saying. Any attempt to be polite must just be a fake and a lie. It's a matter of self worth, and the lack there of. That you think so little of yourself that the idea that anybody might like you is absolutely alien and can't be true. And yes, it's easy to get caught up in that cycle and think it's better for you and everyone else if you just aren't around.

I can't speak to Bubble's possible PTSD, but I see those signs of self loathing that I do identify with so strongly. It's an incredibly hard thing to break because you actively avoid the things that might help and seek out solitude and the company of your own thoughts, which are very much your worst enemy in this case.

[Blackjoker]

Maybe it's because I'm socially incompetent, but I don't understand what Faye was trying to do.

She was trying to offer friendship and a bit of socialization to someone she thought might need it. Faye might have seen some of herself in her darker moments in Bubbles and thought that she could help, or at the very least offer her a chance to make some friends or meet some people.

[BenRG]

There is only one thing that Bubbles doesn't seem to have thought about: Why did she come to the party? If she's that worried about Faye calling her a 'chicken', then she has behavioural problems that probably go beyond the dreams of analysis!

In other words, on a certain level, she wanted to be humiliated or 'fixed'. Both options are a total can of worms in terms of her mental stability.

[Mr. Doctor]

That is indeed a very interesting point. Thanks for bringing it up ben!

Damn, at this point I wouldn't even bother coming to work. I said it in a previous thread: I just don't do aggressive behaviour. I'm having trouble having the slightest amount of sympathy to Bubbles but deep down all I can think of is a simple " Fuuuuuuuuuuuck it". I'd be searching for a new place immediately if I were Faye.

[Wildroses]

I'm glad Bubbles stormed out of the party instead of having a great time. It's less clichéd.

I've read the story about how the emotionally damaged person was dragged reluctantly to a party, made connections, had a great time and either was instantly fixed to embark on life as an extrovert or took steps on the path to becoming fixed and an extrovert many times before.

To quote the great Ben Yahtzee Croshaw, not every introvert is waiting for the day somebody kicks down their door and forcibly drags them to a roller rink. I think Faye just learnt that.

[Drunken Old Man]

I just hope we're finally finished with this deathly dull, one-note, thoroughly unpleasant character. 

[TheEvilDog]

Just going to step in here for a few minutes to offer my €0.02.

Let's review, shall we?

Faye invites Bubbles to a party. Bubbles says she'd rather not.
Faye, through pretty obvious and simple psychological manipulation, gets Bubbles to go to the party.
Faye throws party together at the last minute. Though that's par for the course with this crowd.
Faye, despite inviting Bubbles to the party, has the barest interaction with her work colleague other than introducing Bubbles to three people and leaves. Even when Bubbles says to Faye that she felt uncomfortable, Faye herself made no effort to put her at ease or to help her relax, instead sending a rather awkward Marten to try and talk to the antisocial combat android.

The onus here is on Faye, not on Bubbles.

Faye invited her to the party, despite the fact that Bubbles has through some subtle and not-so-subtle dialogue revealing that she is not a social person. And yet Bubbles made the effort to go to the party, yes, she was somewhat standoffish, but that's besides the point. If you get invited to a party by a work colleague, its not on you to try and talk to people, its on your colleague to introduce you and stick around for a while. Faye probably said somewhere along the lines of five sentences to Bubbles, leaving the android to the likes of Marten, Dale, Marigold and Pintsize. (A nervous and awkward Marten does not a good first impression make)

If I was treated like that at a party, I'd want to punch a wall too!

Both parties are in the wrong here, but it's Faye who let the situation get to that point.

[Mr. Doctor]

I hope you are not blaming Marten for acting the way he did. Because the average joe WILL be scared if anyone took him/her by the collar and lift him/her up that way.

[TheEvilDog]

I hope you are not blaming Marten for acting the way he did. Because the average joe WILL be scared if anyone took him/her by the collar and lift him/her up that way.

No, of course not. I'm merely saying that Faye and Bubbles did not act in the most appropriate manner given the situation. In Marten's case, Faye gave him no warning that her guest was going to be a seven foot tall combat android with an attitude problem. Of course Marten is not going to give the best impression and given Bubble's attitude, his continued nervousness wouldn't have helped matters.

All I'm saying is that there are two parties at fault here, Faye and Bubbles. Or Fubbles. Or Baye(blade). (I have no idea why I did that)

[Mr. Doctor]

Or Baye(blade)

Their first opening is so fucking metal. Thanks for reminding me of it.

[jheartney]

Faye probably said somewhere along the lines of five sentences to Bubbles, leaving the android to the likes of Marten, Dale, Marigold and Pintsize.

I put that down to the compression of dramatic storytelling. IRL, there'd have to be more than that said. Still, everybody seems to give up on communicating a bit quickly.

Not sure what Bubbles is after when it comes to social interaction. She makes no effort to reach out to anyone, and gets offended by everybody else's initial efforts to reach out to her. Yes, she's a broken personality (notwithstanding her protests that she's not). Inviting her to a party without a plan to ease her into opening up was probably unwise, whatever Faye's intentions.

Assuming we don't see a Bubbles redemption arc, then this is a demonstration to Faye that trying to shut down your problems without dealing with them (i.e. being a dry drunk) is a bad idea. Maybe we'll see Faye at another meeting soon.

[anahata]

Not sure what Bubbles is after when it comes to social interaction.

It doesn't look like she wants social interaction at all. She's only come to the party because her distaste for social interaction has been eclipsed by an irrational urge to prove that she's "not chicken".

[Pilchard123]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTDCEiBeVAY

[Stoon]

Maybe it's because I'm socially incompetent, but I don't understand what Faye was trying to do.

She was trying to offer friendship and a bit of socialization to someone she thought might need it. Faye might have seen some of herself in her darker moments in Bubbles and thought that she could help, or at the very least offer her a chance to make some friends or meet some people.

It doesn't work that way in real life.  I've never made any friends at a party.

[Stoon]

I'm glad Bubbles stormed out of the party instead of having a great time. It's less clichéd.

I've read the story about how the emotionally damaged person was dragged reluctantly to a party, made connections, had a great time and either was instantly fixed to embark on life as an extrovert or took steps on the path to becoming fixed and an extrovert many times before.

To quote the great Ben Yahtzee Croshaw, not every introvert is waiting for the day somebody kicks down their door and forcibly drags them to a roller rink. I think Faye just learnt that.

In my case it was the socially incompetent person was reluctantly dragged out to the bar.  At the bar literally nobody said one word to me.  So I got up, put on my jacket, and left.  Nobody noticed.  Nobody the next day asked where I had disappeared to. 

[Omega Entity]

Kind of on topic, my new-found theme song fits this situation quite nicely.

[themacnut]

Hopefully Faye learns from this not to invite Bubbles to any more social gatherings. Some people, whatever their reasons, just aren't the socializing type.

[geekd]

Maybe it's because I'm socially incompetent, but I don't understand what Faye was trying to do.

She was trying to offer friendship and a bit of socialization to someone she thought might need it. Faye might have seen some of herself in her darker moments in Bubbles and thought that she could help, or at the very least offer her a chance to make some friends or meet some people.

It doesn't work that way in real life.  I've never made any friends at a party.

I think you are going to the wrong parties.  I've made lots of friends at parties.  I met my wife at a party.  Married 20 years, now.

[gopher]

I just hope we're finally finished with this deathly dull, one-note, thoroughly unpleasant character.

Agreed, wouldn't miss Faye at all.

[Morituri]

I identify with Bubbles.  As an excessively large and obviously strong person, I deal with a fair amount of people being scared of me, and that strains personal interaction, particularly with strangers who haven't learned yet that I can be trusted.  And as someone who grew up in outer boondock, who expects the worst of small-town gossip  and isn't all that socialized to deal with crowds, especially crowds of strangers, I do have a powerful instinct to be ALONE when I've got emotional stuff I need to sort out.  People's constant insistence on "talking about it" is completely irrelevant as far as I can see; it's my insight I need, not theirs. 

Finally, while I didn't get the worst of it myself, I'm like Faye in having gotten enough HorribleCrap(TM) in my life to understand some of the issues that face people who've gotten much worse.   There's a point beyond which "normal" people are just not willing to consider dealing with, and once you're out past it, like Faye dealing with her Dad's suicide, you're dealing with the same USELESS responses from society at large that people who've dealt with stuff a whole lot worse are dealing with, and you know exactly how and why those responses are useless and you're in a unique position of being able to understand at least that kind of frustration.

I have a number of people in my life who have various degrees of PTSD from experiences that a benevolent God would have spared them.  I have a lot of sympathy for that, and I've learned a bit about when they need a lot of space and when they need a little bit of boundary-pushing.  It's always a balancing act, and sometimes it's hard to know how to be a good friend and emotionally hard to carry through on it once I've figured out what I need to do for them. But problems aside, they are among the best people and most powerful friendships I have ever known, and knowing them has been worth every second of it.

The kick is that Bubbles, who has serious PTSD issues, needs someone like Faye, who's dealing with / dealt with her own ration of HorribleCrap(TM) and knows exactly how useless are all the prior attempts at "helping" Bubbles undertaken by people who don't have that insight.

Anyway, this is my reading of it.  I think Jeph is doing a hell of a job dealing with this. 

I understand all the people saying they hate Bubbles and wouldn't want to be her friend; in fact that's a pretty normal response to anyone who's going through the kind of things that PTSD-affected vets go through.  Not a helpful response, but realistically it's about what you learn to expect of people who haven't dealt with some kind of horror in their own lives.

[jwhouk]

Jeph has even gone as far as to say he wouldn't like Faye much if she was a real person.

[Stoon]

Maybe it's because I'm socially incompetent, but I don't understand what Faye was trying to do.

She was trying to offer friendship and a bit of socialization to someone she thought might need it. Faye might have seen some of herself in her darker moments in Bubbles and thought that she could help, or at the very least offer her a chance to make some friends or meet some people.

It doesn't work that way in real life.  I've never made any friends at a party.

I think you are going to the wrong parties.  I've made lots of friends at parties.  I met my wife at a party.  Married 20 years, now.

You're not an introvert.   Introverts find parties stressful, not fun.

[Zebediah]

I am an introvert. I find the right kind of parties, with the right kind of people, fun. And also stressful - they can be both at the same time.

[Welu]

For my group of friends, a party is less than ten people chatting with a movie on in the background and having a few drinks. A party-party with lots of people filling the house and loud music so we can't hear each other freaks me out and I just cling to the people I know, unless they start mingling, then I will attach myself to the wall and just count down the time till it's socially acceptable for me to leave.

[Tova]

It doesn't work that way in real life.  I've never made any friends at a party.

I think you are going to the wrong parties.  I've made lots of friends at parties.  I met my wife at a party.  Married 20 years, now.

Miscomprehension of the month, right there. Extroverts Are From Mars, Introverts Are From Pluto. Or something. 

Edit: You're an introvert? I guess it's just me that doesn't understand. Fascinating.

[Roxtar]

I'm betting most of you aren't combat vets (or don't know a lot of combat vets very well).
Bubbles is classic "I don't want to talk about it, and I can't relate to you people since you have no idea what I've been through".

My Bro-in-law did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm 99% sure he's killed people and often has trouble dealing with the mundane aspects of normal life in light of what he's had to do.
A guy i grew up with who might as well be my brother also did tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. I know He's killed people... and that he's watched his friends die in front of him.

I don't ask either of these men about what happened. I figure they'll tell me what they feel like talking about. I don't try to "help them" get over it, because I have no frame of reference.

Faye has no frame of reference.
Bubbles as indicated that the name was given to her by her brothers in arms.

Bubbles needs to find her own path through her issues... and some snarky hipster barista probably is only going to make her feel more isolated from "normal" society.

[Drunken Old Man]

I just hope we're finally finished with this deathly dull, one-note, thoroughly unpleasant character.

Agreed, wouldn't miss Faye at all.

I set that one up for you nicely, didn't I?  But, in all honesty, I'd have dropped Faye from my social circle years ago too.

[Is it cold in here?]

A friend of mine pointed out some simple logic.

According to the psychologists, extroverts gain energy from social interactions, but introverts have to spend energy on them.

According to the physicists, energy is neither created nor destroyed, but can only be moved around.

Social interaction, then, is a mechanism by which extroverts take energy from introverts.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I am very interested in seeing how AIs interact in the QCverse. They have human aspects, so we can identify with them. But we must also remember that they are -not human-. They are similar, yet different.
So I am kinda disappointed with Bubbles. She is all too human.

[TRVA123]

On topic: I am very interested to see what happens the next time Faye and Bubbles work together.

Off topic:

I'm so sick of this damn introvert/extrovert dichotomy.

Technically, I am an introvert. I need quiet time to recharge.

However, I can go to parties, interact with people, etc. I enjoy parties. You find what works for you, what you are comfortable with. If you need to, you can push your boundaries.

I'm just so tired of hearing people talk about introverts as though we are all social misanthropes who find parties (or social interaction in general) the most terrifying/unpleasant experience on earth. Maybe some people do find parties that way, but it isn't an all or nothing thing.

gah, I'm partly posting this out of an irritation that has been building for the last couple of years from all of the "introvert/extrovert" articles and I see plastered all over social media.
/rant