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Punch Faye's head off of her shoulders and use it as a basketball

2 (4.3%)

Have a nervous breakdown and sob (or the Synthetic equivalent) on Faye's shoulder

0 (0%)

Observe a chilly silence and be happy to have that

7 (15.2%)

Deliver a monologue to Faye about how dangerous she is and how she understands Faye wants nothing to do with her

2 (4.3%)

Act like a scolded puppy-dog and hover around Faye, being sour and biting but hoping for Faye to talk to her

3 (6.5%)

Act like an adult and apologise for losing her temper (Yeah, I know, unlikely)

15 (32.6%)

Avoid Faye like the plague, going so far as to lock herself in the supply closet whenever Faye is in their work-space

1 (2.2%)

Quit and apply for a new, peaceful gig as a DORD

5 (10.9%)

None of the above.

0 (0%)

Install herself in a Firefly-class transport ship and become a big damn hero

11 (23.9%)

Total Members Voted: 44

Voting closed: 15 Nov 2015, 12:28

[BenRG]

So, how will Bubbles handle having to deal with Faye still working with her at the fighting arena?

Personally, I'm thinking my option 5 in the poll above. Bubbles will start the day by saying that she hopes Faye has learned her lesson about how she wants to be left alone. She'll then spend the day (or as long as it takes) staying in close proximity to Faye and doing everything she possibly can to provoke her into interacting with her because. damn it, she wants this but can't admit it to herself, let alone say it out loud!

That aside, I am saying that strip 3085 occurred the evening after the party and that Faye works a night shift now. Because of this, she sees a lot less of Marten and everyone in her circle than she did before. Agree, disagree or discuss?

[Zebediah]

Bubbles wants to be more social. Bubbles also does not want to be more social. She is aware of the contradiction. She is mad at Faye for trying to force the issue, and also mad at herself for being irrationally mad at Faye, and also mad at herself for being so screwed up, and on top of that she's mad at the people who got her into the circumstances that broke her so badly. She's emotionally overloading, and she's not equipped to handle it. In her current state, any reaction is possible.

Unless you've been in a similar state, you can't imagine what it's like.

[Reaver]

I still think it's in Faye's best interest to leave well enough alone, don't poke the sleeping bear, and don't aggravate her further,  the person with severe issues should not be trying to teach the AI with severe issues about what they should do

[Kugai]

Whatever it is, I would be surprised if one of the Poll Options isn't it.

[Method of Madness]

(click to show/hide)

SHE WOKE UP LIKE THIS

[chaospersonified]

For what it's worth, I felt obligated to vote that she install herself in a Firefly-class transport. I don't think it likely, but I had to vote that way.

[Is it cold in here?]

Hey wow, they're being adults about it! I'm glad, though it makes it harder for Jeph to keep it funny if the characters do reasonable things.

[TheCollector]

Hehe, Bubbles blush. Me thinks she does have a thing for Faye. Going to a party she didn't want to. Punching the bag till it burst while calling herself stupid over and over. Fixing up her hair while lying that she woke up like that. All signs point to one thing. lol

[Is it cold in here?]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

It's almost as though it were a joke and I'm over-analyzing it

[Thrudd]

Not so much blush per se but have the full facial response repertoire to enable non-verbal communication with their human squad mates or other humans who they may have to interact with.
You really don't want an uncanny valley AI out there creeping out the GI or terrifying the local populace.

[Magniras]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

It's almost as though it were a joke and I'm over-analyzing it

Lets take that over-analyzing and run with it!

It could be for a number of reasons, but the one I would be willing to put money on is anthropomorphization.  Bubbles is a very large, scary looking combat droid who in the past would have had to rely on and be trusted by her fellow squad mates.  If she can't be approached on a human level, the squad she is assigned to would most likely only see her as a tool to be used, and this would make a full AI very sad.

Conversely, if she displays human traits, like losing control of her emotions, this makes her relatable and approachable, which is very good for team building.

[Thrudd]

I just noticed that as Bubbles  was bending that bar that not only did she kink it she crushed it in her hands.
This is a confirmation of her being nervous about the conversation and its possible outcome.

[chaospersonified]

I just saw the sketch in the description and it made me so very happy

[electromgneticDstroyosaur]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

It's almost as though it were a joke and I'm over-analyzing it

Lets take that over-analyzing and run with it!

It could be for a number of reasons, but the one I would be willing to put money on is anthropomorphization.  Bubbles is a very large, scary looking combat droid who in the past would have had to rely on and be trusted by her fellow squad mates.  If she can't be approached on a human level, the squad she is assigned to would most likely only see her as a tool to be used, and this would make a full AI very sad.

Conversely, if she displays human traits, like losing control of her emotions, this makes her relatable and approachable, which is very good for team building.

Losing control of one's emotions can also result in violent outbursts, which are decidedly bad for team building.

[chaospersonified]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

It's almost as though it were a joke and I'm over-analyzing it

Lets take that over-analyzing and run with it!

It could be for a number of reasons, but the one I would be willing to put money on is anthropomorphization.  Bubbles is a very large, scary looking combat droid who in the past would have had to rely on and be trusted by her fellow squad mates.  If she can't be approached on a human level, the squad she is assigned to would most likely only see her as a tool to be used, and this would make a full AI very sad.

Conversely, if she displays human traits, like losing control of her emotions, this makes her relatable and approachable, which is very good for team building.

Losing control of one's emotions can also result in violent outbursts, which are decidedly bad for team building.

And yet, today's comic, wherein Faye and Bubbles, post-violent outburst, appear to have gotten closer. I think it comes down to having control enough not to murder a person, knowing when to apologize, and them having the ability to forgive.

[Tova]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

She's an AI, and her emotions will be there whether the designers wanted them there or not.

Presumably, the advantages of implementing hardware supporting their visibility outweigh the disadvantages.

Losing control of one's emotions can also result in violent outbursts, which are decidedly bad for team building.

That sounds like a good enough reason to build hardware that allows those emotions to be visible. It would be dangerous for them not to be.
Having said that, I think that electromgneticDstroyosaur meant to refer to "losing control of the ability to hide the emotions" rather than losing control over the emotions themselves, going from the context.

[Kugai]

Nice to see them being totally adult about it.  I was a bit worried how it would go between these two after things went pear shaped at the party, but I think there's going to be a few more half crumbled walls between Faye and Bubbles before we get to her backstory


And her hair does look cute like that.

[Detachable Felix]

For what it's worth, I felt obligated to vote that she install herself in a Firefly-class transport. I don't think it likely, but I had to vote that way.

"She's not in the ship, she is the gorram ship!"

[BenRG]

Well, as others said, it's good to see that Jeph actually believes that his characters can act like sensible adults! I agree that it's sort of cute how Bubbles was so nervous about the conversation that she had to crumple a metal bar like that to handle her tension.

The hair and blush are nice little touches. Regarding the hair, maybe she's made a conscious decision to try to look less... intimidating as a sort of way of meeting the world half-way. As for the blush...? Well, it's obvious that her personality algorithm is human enough that she reacts to compliments. Besides... she wouldn't be the first person who, upon starting to peek out of their social shell, gets a crush on the first person to show them any kind of friendship. Whether there is anything else to it we'll just have to see.

[osaka]

Meanwhile, at some convenience store...

MAY: "NOW KISS"

[Case]

Hairdo spontaneously broke the SU_2(10) symmetry of the prevalent WZNW Lagrangian, rendering the topological Wess-Zumino term asymptotically massive, which lead to an overnight Kosterlitz-Thouless-type quantum phase transition into the Hipster-state at energy-scales close to the vacuum.

"I dunno, it was like this when I woke up ..."

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Lets take that over-analyzing and run with it!

It could be for a number of reasons, but the one I would be willing to put money on is anthropomorphization.  Bubbles is a very large, scary looking combat droid who in the past would have had to rely on and be trusted by her fellow squad mates.  If she can't be approached on a human level, the squad she is assigned to would most likely only see her as a tool to be used, and this would make a full AI very sad.

Conversely, if she displays human traits, like losing control of her emotions, this makes her relatable and approachable, which is very good for team building.

Partying with your team mates is good for building esprit de corps! Perhaps Bubbles feels guilty that she was not able to properly appreciate this... And so responded to Faye's challenge.

[MrNumbers]

The more I see it, the more the nose piercing bugs me.

It just makes her face look messy for some reason.

[Lioness]

That teardrop in the last panel...poor Pintsize!

[cesium133]

That's not a teardrop...

[Undrneath]

That teardrop in the last panel...poor Pintsize!

I don't think that's a teardrop, methinks that is the aforementioned bird poop.

Edit; darn you cesium.

[mustang6172]

I always imagined the robot mouths didn't have depth.

Then how did Pintsize eat cake mix?

I never said I thought it through!

[chaospersonified]

Well, this IS what would happen if his head were filled with birdseed...

Hurrah for consistancy.

[Truec]

I always imagined the robot mouths didn't have depth.

Then how did Pintsize eat cake mix?

I never said I thought it through!

It's actually been stated that his mouth connects to a holding tank in his stomach with a spectrometer that he uses to taste things.

[Method of Madness]

He's crying poop.

[DashaBlade]

Suddenly having the entire Library of Congress in Pintsize's head doesn't seem so bad.

[Rghfrgl]

I'm disappointed that's a actual book and not just the cliffnotes for everything.

[Lioness]

That's not a teardrop...

That teardrop in the last panel...poor Pintsize!

I don't think that's a teardrop, methinks that is the aforementioned bird poop.

Edit; darn you cesium.

Oh god.

[hedgie]

Don't you mean "Oh shit"?

[haikupoet]

#fabbles

[BenRG]

I think that Jeph was inspired by that international commuter pigeon that he met at Newark airport.

That aside, we see that Claire isn't entirely immunised to the surreality of Marten's life just yet! Someone should tell her about the Roomba!

Just a P.S.: I'm actually wondering if Pintsize is just trolling Claire as an act of revenge. In any case, note that she is still at the apartment. Can moving in be far off?

[SubaruStephen]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

Adaptive camouflage, she can also blush in sand beige(desert), mottled green(forest), and shades of blue(sky/sea).

Now, why a combat chassis has brushable hair, that's what's got me confused.

[BenRG]

Now, why a combat chassis has brushable hair, that's what's got me confused.

I suspect that because of AI rights, the Department of Defence were never able to install military AIs in armour-plated bipedal killing machines that vaguely resemble Fallout-verse power armour. Instead, they gave them good-spec humanoid bodies that can wear armour far heavier, more constricting than any human could manage (that also lacked services like waste removal and ventilation). Consequently, Bubbles' chassis has a full selection of human non-verbal human interaction tools, most linked to respond automatically to her emotion algorithms. Additionally, she can customise some of her features when she wishes to do so for aesthetic or social needs.

[TheEvilDog]

You know, I almost feel sorry for Pintsize.

Keyword there being almost.

[Is it cold in here?]

I understand why anime-themed robot bodies are equipped for it, but why would a combat chassis be set up with the ability to blush?

Adaptive camouflage, she can also blush in sand beige(desert), mottled green(forest), and shades of blue(sky/sea).

Now, why a combat chassis has brushable hair, that's what's got me confused.

That makes sense.

She may have been integrated with a squad of carbon-based soldiers. Likely, even, given that she was the only survivor. Carbon-based humans pay a lot of attention to hair whether they think about it or not. What's one of the first things done at boot camp? A haircut.

Configurable hair makes sense for the same reason giving her a face made sense.

[dexeron]

I do not understand what a City Face is, and the link does not help me.

[BenRG]

@dexeron,
This link may help more.

Not being a reader of GC, I'm not sure if the eponymous pigeon is really sapient or if the author is anthropomorphising him. However, the idea of an intelligent pigeon punishing Pintsize for his notorious acts does appeal to me on a certain level.

[jheartney]

Just to point out an in-joke in the comic, Claire is reading "A Brief History of Time" by Stephen Hawking. Hawking, bird, geddit? Also, Pintsize is "hocking" up the bird. Ha ha. (Won't blame the moderators if they ban me due to this comment.)

[emilygrrl]

Ok, if I had known what was coming today, I would not have read this comic while eating breakfast. 

[Method of Madness]

(Won't blame the moderators if they ban me due to this comment.)

I've probably done far worse.

[Tova]

(Won't blame the moderators if they ban me due to this comment.)

I've probably done far worse.

I doubt this.

[Neko_Ali]

If we banned people for punning, half the mod team would be gone, at least...

[Detachable Felix]

Nah, like 90% of all puns on this forum are from Method.



[satanic voice]PUNS FOR THE PUN GOD[/satanic voice]

[chaospersonified]

Nah, like 90% of all puns on this forum are from Method.



[satanic voice]PUNS FOR THE PUN GOD[/satanic voice]

I'd argue, there was a time I had every other post in the 'puns' thread, but I've been slacking. That thread has pretty fully unraveled since I got busy with school again, and now, I am shame.

[Method of Madness]

I AM THE PUN GOD.