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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".

[Is it cold in here?]

Insightful Marten is insightful.

Yes, Faye, just because someone is named Bubbles that doesn't mean they will float.

[plusorminus]

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.

Wrong. Not everyone.

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

What do you care, though? I was raped twice by the same man. I suffer from extreme social anxiety and agoraphobia as a result. Good for you that you can go to parties and interact. How dare you act as if those of us who find that sort of activity scary as hell to be be some sort of of social defectives that are reflecting badly on you. (mod edit: removed a statement of supreme exasperation that went personal)

[Is it cold in here?]

I took a second look and it still sounds to me like his irritation is with pop psychology articles and not with you or others like you.

Agoraphobia is a different ball game from introversion, we should all be able to agree on that.

I cringe trying to imagine your experiences. I bet you have more in common with Bubbles than most of us do.

[Reaver]

I think this is one battle Faye needs to not get involved in, she's too pushy  and Bubbles seems like she needs a lighter touch, someone with tact, and compassion...

[Tova]

I apologise for the part I've played in escalating this whole introvert/extrovert thing. It wasn't my best post. The whole thing, if it's anything at all, is of course a sliding scale, not a black and white thing. And not necessarily what people (including myself) think it is.

The part I was objecting to was the idea that if you don't regularly make friends at parties, then you're going to the "wrong parties." My response to it was a complete blunder, but my policy at parties is to employ one of two "party strategies." I either to stick with people I know like glue, or find one person I make a connection with and monopolise them for the entire time I'm there. Neither strategy has ever ended with me making a new friend, you may be surprised to learn. It's a purely short-term strategy. Point being, it really has nothing to do with the parties, and everything to do with me.

There are a number of places where I do make new friends - parties somehow will never be one of them. I really can't explain why.

Back to the comic - I'm now wondering what Faye is going to do from here. I can't quite imagine her simply leaving well enough alone.

[BenRG]

One thing that you can always be sure of in QC - In the end, Marten understands people better than Faye can. Faye, after all, has spent most of her post-college life trying to avoid making connections, on a subconscious level at least.

Here's a thought about Bubbles - Why did her squadmates give her that nickname? I'm thinking that, way back when, her personality would have seemed more like Emily than anyone else. Just imagine what a naive, enthusiastic, intelligent and friendly personality would go through in war and you get some idea of how she became the being she is today.

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

It could be interesting. Bubbles might refuse to talk to Faye; she may even request that Corpse Witch fire one of them because she refuses to be in the same room as her "For her safety and mine".

[TheEvilDog]

One thing that you can always be sure of in QC - In the end, Marten understands people better than Faye can. Faye, after all, has spent most of her post-college life trying to avoid making connections, on a subconscious level at least.

That right there is a rather excellent point.
Good to see he picked up at least one thing from being a world famous dominatrix' son (other than the rope binding of course).

But seriously, Marten has always been more clued into people than Faye ever has and he is more than likely the most emotionally stable of the cast. As it looks at the moment, Faye focussing on Bubbles and "fixing" her problems means that Faye doesn't have to look at her own life and wondering how the hell she bollixed everything up.

[pwhodges]

it isn't an all or nothing thing.

It's the human urge to classify vs the natural way that things fall along a continuum.

[anahata]

Meanwhile...
I got nervous when Faye came up with that "I need a drink!" line yesterday after Bubbles left.
I wasn't sure if she really meant to find a bottle, or whether it was an ironic moment of self-awareness where that thought was immediately replaced by "NO I DON'T!"
But now she's talking the Bubbles incident through with Marten, hopefully that moment will pass/has passed.
Hopefully...

[Zebediah]

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

Agreed, wouldn't miss Faye at all.

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

[War Sparrow]

Here's a thought about Bubbles - Why did her squadmates give her that nickname? I'm thinking that, way back when, her personality would have seemed more like Emily than anyone else. Just imagine what a naive, enthusiastic, intelligent and friendly personality would go through in war and you get some idea of how she became the being she is today.

Eh, somehow I doubt it. She probably got called "Bubbles" because she isn't cheerful and effervescent, and it amused them to call her something so opposite of her personality. It was probably something that came up during their specialization training (and is a lot kinder than some of the ones I've heard.)

[Radium_Coyote]

Bubbles' nick was surely meant to be ironic.  And this is really Jeph hitting the nail on the head: Bubbles is broken, knows why, and has sort of accepted it, and WILL NOT be fixed.

Reality can change, and Bubbles will be unchanging.  You sort of cement yourself into a role.

[marsman57]

I wonder if AI in QC-verse can have memories removed and if so if Bubbles considered it.

[BenRG]

There's a good reason for believing that memory erasure either wouldn't work or would actually cause worse trauma to Bubbles.

Our memories aren't like tape recordings. They're a framework of multi-linked data points and I suspect that the AIs memories work in very much the same way. So, the first thing Bubbles would have is a lot of de-contextualised personality quirks and other memories floating around. Imagine how traumatised amnesiacs get when they have skills and reactions whose basis they can't remember; it would be the same for Bubbles.

Secondly, Bubbles will have a huge gap in her mind between certain clock points. She knows its there and she knows that it's something bad or they wouldn't have erased it. What is it? She might drive herself into a psychotic episode trying to find out or perhaps being afraid to find out (c.f. the original Total Recall).

[Method of Madness]

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

Agreed, wouldn't miss Faye at all.

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

People probably complain more about Marten than they do about Winslow.

[Is it cold in here?]

Life is tough all over.

Especially if you don't like to be around people.

Those critters are just everywhere.

That made me think of Bubbles.

Would Raven be the right kind of company for Bubbles? She could fire up any curiosity Bubbles has left. She might be hard to intimidate.

[Kugai]

It was a nice try Faye, but with Bubbles it may have been too much too soon with the issues she has.

[Tova]

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

That was a lot better than I was expecting.

Garfield Minus Garfield may have a new rival.

[Detachable Felix]

That was actually pretty hilarious

I wonder what other strips could work with that theme?

[TRVA123]

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.

Wrong. Not everyone.

Then you don't need to. rock on.

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

What do you care, though? I was raped twice by the same man. I suffer from extreme social anxiety and agoraphobia as a result. Good for you that you can go to parties and interact. How dare you act as if those of us who find that sort of activity scary as hell to be be some sort of of social defectives that are reflecting badly on you. (mod edit: removed a statement of supreme exasperation that went personal)

I care because it does reflect on me. Because I am an introvert, and we can come in many flavors. And for some reason there are all of these articles and posts talking about introverts as though we are more fragile than others, as though we are incapable of interacting "normally". Not that there is any such thing as normal. These also tend to paint extroverts as airheads that only care about partying and are incapable of any intellectual thoughts.

I'm so sorry that you had to go through those terrible experiences, and I can completely understand why/how they have shaped your worldview and changed how you interact with others. However, you wouldn't say that your way of interacting is solely due to the fact that you are an introvert, would you?

However, this is a bit off topic. If other people are interested, I would love to discuss this further in either Discuss or Relate.

[Zebediah]

Comic's up.

Faye is doing the right thing.

[Rghfrgl]

A crushing blow to the Flairten ship.

I just like mixing names.

Clayeten

[improvnerd]

What is Momo reacting to in the first panel?

[Zebediah]

Probably something outrageously crude that May said.

[mustang6172]

Meanwhile at that same time and location...
Hanners:  Check out this device my dad sent me.  You press a button and a space pizza lands at your exact location.
Clin-ton:  (dies)

[Tova]

What is Momo reacting to in the first panel?

Rghfrgl's post.

[Neko_Ali]

Could be something May's doing. But she doesn't have that 'put on, but resigned to it' look. She's not disgusted enough for it to be Pintsize. I'm guessing... Open mouth tongue wrestling between Dale and Marigold?

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Back to the comic - I'm now wondering what Faye is going to do from here. I can't quite imagine her simply leaving well enough alone.

No, she won't. I note that Faye doesn't have an "ass-" nickname for Bubbles yet. "Ass-bot" would be too easy. "Ass-muddle" maybe?

[downtowneddie]

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

That was a lot better than I was expecting.

Garfield Minus Garfield may have a new rival.

My Photoshop skills aren't really there, yet, but this one seemed worthwhile:

(click to show/hide)

Perhaps a new thread was born?

[Is it cold in here?]

Comic's up.

Faye is doing the right thing.

I am deeply relieved to see it.

[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.

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

That's a mighty nice strawman you got there.

[Tova]

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

Agreed, wouldn't miss Faye at all.

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

That's a mighty nice strawman you got there.

But the comic with no characters at all wouldn't have been nearly as amusing.

[BenRG]

This, oddly enough, is turning into a potential 'The Talk part 2.5' scenario. Faye hanging out with Claire and Marten and, possibly, getting to know Claire better (and maybe the two of them confronting their mutual low-level antagonism).

BTW - You can tell Faye is under pressure; her native Georgian accent has started to come out

A crushing blow to the Flairten ship.

I'm pretty sure that this subject is many readers' secret poison about which they will never openly confess!

[SubaruStephen]

Meanwhile at that same time and location...
Hanners:  Check out this device my dad sent me.  You press a button and a space pizza lands at your exact location.
Clin-ton:  (dies)

Pizza landed on him.

[BenRG]

I have to agree with the the guy on the Subreddit who said that, out of sight of us, Claire stepped on Martin's foot when, in panel 3, he said: "But you're always welcome!", making him hurriedly add: "I mean, not for the smooching part!"

[Zebediah]

Fine, we'll simply delete all the characters that people complain about and be done with it. QC then won't have any characters except Marten.

(click to show/hide)

That was a lot better than I was expecting.

Garfield Minus Garfield may have a new rival.

My Photoshop skills aren't really there, yet, but this one seemed worthwhile:

(click to show/hide)

Perhaps a new thread was born?

Nice one! QC's backgrounds are way, way more complex  than Garfield's, so removing characters is a challenge. You found a great workaround. I got lucky - a recent strip with a relatively simple background that made the absolutely perfect joke when all the other characters were removed. (Hardest part of mine was removing May from the background of the first panel - she was standing in front of a door.)

That's a mighty nice strawman you got there.

Didn't get the joke, huh?

[Method of Madness]

Subreddit

I don't know why, but I always think it's strange that you frequent both the subreddit and here. I'm not saying stop, and you're probably not the only one, but I think you're the only one I've ever heard mention it.

[Is it cold in here?]

I do too. Can't get enough QC discussion. I sometimes drop in on the tvtropes QC thread too.

[Kugai]

At least Faye had the sense to ask for help this time.

And there goes Marten torpedoing all those ships.  :-G

[geekd]

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

Really?  People like that actually exist?  I though that was just a Reddit myth.

[Tova]

I have to agree with the the guy on the Subreddit who said that, out of sight of us, Claire stepped on Martin's foot when, in panel 3, he said: "But you're always welcome!", making him hurriedly add: "I mean, not for the smooching part!"

I'm quite tickled by the idea that there are readers who saw that last panel and thought to themselves, "Marten is being quite awkward - there must be some explanation."

[Method of Madness]

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

Really?  People like that actually exist?  I though that was just a Reddit myth.

People who feel that the use of gender-specific insults is more important than the comfort of others? Probably, but not here.

[Akima]

Faye being self-aware and sensible? Into what parallel universe have I fallen?

BTW - You can tell Faye is under pressure; her native Georgian accent has started to come out

Every time someone refers to Faye's "Georgian" accent, I imagine her sounding vaguely Russian (even though I know that Georgian is a different language, unrelated to Russian, and so presumably producing a different accent when speaking English).

What is Momo reacting to in the first panel?

Someone just told her that Bubbles left the party before she could get her phone-number, MAC address or whatever.

[Zebediah]

Comic's up.

Go, Clairemom, go!

[Omega Entity]

dord

Yelling Bird replacement? If so, I really like this.

[Pintman]

Not to be the "hur hur, typo" guy, but it's now my headcannon that "impresonal" is the Canadian spelling of "impersonal".

BTW - You can tell Faye is under pressure; her native Georgian accent has started to come out

Every time someone refers to Faye's "Georgian" accent, I imagine her sounding vaguely Russian (even though I know that Georgian is a different language, unrelated to Russian, and so presumably producing a different accent when speaking English).

One time I was staying at a hotel in Atlanta and the girl at the desk was from Russia. She had a combination Russian and Georgian (the state, not the country) accent, and it was the cutest thing evar!

Okay, I'll go back to lurking now.

[chaospersonified]

I find this funny and relatable.

[Rghfrgl]

Isn't a were-jaguar just a transformer? 

[SubaruStephen]

Isn't a were-jaguar just a transformer? 

People will write fan-fiction about the strangest things.

[Is it cold in here?]

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

Really?  People like that actually exist?  I though that was just a Reddit myth.

The moderators heard the same thing from enough people, and from people we've learned to respect for their level-headedness, to take the issue seriously.