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Clinton decides to 'help' Bubbles and Faye realise their feelings for each other

Clinton AND CLAIRE decide to 'help' Bubbles and Faye realise their feelings for each other

A whole week of Hannelore, Claire and Tai squeeing about how 'cute' Faye and Bubbles are (much to the subjects' annoyance)

Marten is Marten and warns off everyone from interfering with Faye and Bubbles personal life (All: "Aaawww!")

Faye lectures Clinton about how ridiculous the whole idea by listing Bubbles qualities in romantic terms and then saying: "She's too good for me" (or words to that effect)

Faye tells Clinton that she'll prove there is nothing between her and Bubbles by kissing Bubbles.

SpookyBot arrives to play cupid (muttering about the necessity for doing so)

The strip takes a left turn and we spend a week with a hungover Brun

Bubbles and Faye get talking about Clinton's 'delusions'; Faye decides that she needs to work out why Bubbles is so downcast about Faye telling her that Clinton is delusional

Other (please specify in a comment)

[TheEvilDog]

Keep in mind that Faye's break up and hospitalization is not recent. There were some serious time lapses shown and Faye worked at the skate park for months it seems. So we are talking at least half a year, possibly more since the break up. I'm not saying Faye needs to hop back in the relationship saddle. Given my history that would be a real laugh. But it's not like it is a raw subject like it would have been right after the break up, and Faye has done a lot of self work and growing in the mean time.

True, but it would still be the first experience since then. It might not be as raw as it was when Faye drank herself into a hospital bed, but it would still be the reminder or even the prospect of dredging up those old wounds. That alone would make Faye wary.

[Case]

I can't fault Faye for overlooking the possibility that a robot may have a non-platonic interest in her.  It is uncommon.

Pintsize has spent years getting her used to the idea.

And may have poisoned the ground for Bubbles in the process.

Then and again, Pintsize may be the world's first trangressexual (other than GirlswithSlingshot's "Tyler"), which Faye is well aware of, so maybe she's not ruined for all of AI-kind forever.

(click to show/hide)

Linking that cast-list, I discovered that Danielle Corsetto has a new webcomic!


!!
!!!
!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Is it cold in here?]

On another subject, I mourn the missed opportunity that came with writing the synthetics to have identical emotional makeups and problems to the squishies.

Actually, Bubbles described some of the other possibilites to Faye.  It was not comforting.

John Campbell challenged sf writers "Give me something that thinks as well as a man, but not like a man!". It would have been fascinating to read about entities that feel as deeply as humans but in a clearly different way.

Interesting, because I have also heard the accusation that Campbell insisted that humans had to always be the smartest beings in the universe in any story he bought.

Van Vogt's story Asylum was published in Astounding and feature a couple of races of alien described as having the equivalent of a 400 IQ, and one vastly superior to them. Astounding also ran the Lensman series in which the Rigelians and the Palainians had definite areas of superiority to humans, and all were eclipsed by the Arisians.

Ooh, topic drift. If there's more to discuss I'll move this discussion to ENJOY.

[Storel]

On the other hand, that would make it an sf comic rather than a relationships comic.

Do the two have to be mutually exclusive?

Science fiction has always been about exploring human nature, who we are as a species and the values we hold dear. In looking at the seemingly unknown, we learn far more about ourselves.

They do not have to be mutually exclusive. See the classic short story "Helen O'Loy" by Lester Del Rey for an example of an SF story that is definitely about relationships.

Also, see the current storyline in the SF webcomic Freefall.

[Tub]

I sorta hope Jeph goes slow with this. Bubbles is still recovering from her (near) slavery with Corpse Witch after all.

Correct me if I missed something, but IIRC bubbles' life went like this:
* constructed and trained as a soldier.
* sent to war with her squad, lost her squad.
* met corpse witch in search for someone to seal her memories, ended up in a bad situation.
* met faye.

She's not just recovering from the corpse witch episode. She's still incredibly young, and she has never even experienced friendship before. There were no parents or childhood friends. Sure, the squad mates cared about each other, and she'd deeply miss them if only she could remember, but camaraderie is born out of necessity. As far as we know, Faye is the first person in her life who had the choice between caring or not caring, and she cared.

Of course that makes her feel.. something, and she needs to figure out what that is. Is it friendship, is it love, is it lust, is it food poisoning a software glitch? I'm sure she'll find out eventually...

[Storel]

Technically, she wasn't constructed as a soldier. According to what she told Momo, she was an AI who volunteered to become a soldier.

[TheEvilDog]

Technically, she wasn't constructed as a soldier. According to what she told Momo, she was an AI who volunteered to become a soldier.

I suppose we should make the distinction right now that the chassis was designed and created for combat, but it was the AI who volunteered.

[flondrix]

Technically, she wasn't constructed as a soldier. According to what she told Momo, she was an AI who volunteered to become a soldier.

I suppose we should make the distinction right now that the chassis was designed and created for combat, but it was the AI who volunteered.

Living in the same chassis for years--almost her entire life--would probably mould the self-identity accordingly.

[Method of Madness]

We don't know that she's ever had another body.

[flondrix]

We don't know that she's ever had another body.

The process by which new AIs are created has not been described explicitly, I doubt she was issued a military chassis before she volunteered.  I am also surprised that she was allowed to keep it;  I would expect the military to put your original chassis in storage somewhere, and when you are discharged you have to surrender the issued one just like humans soldiers have to turn in their ordinance.

[TheEvilDog]

I am also surprised that she was allowed to keep it;  I would expect the military to put your original chassis in storage somewhere, and when you are discharged you have to surrender the issued one just like humans soldiers have to turn in their ordinance.

Its possible that the military treated the chassis as a piece of surplus materiel and allowed Bubbles to keep it. Kinda like how certain units could get to keep jeeps when they were disbanded.

[OldGoat]

I am also surprised that she was allowed to keep it;  I would expect the military to put your original chassis in storage somewhere, and when you are discharged you have to surrender the issued one just like humans soldiers have to turn in their ordinance.

Its possible that the military treated the chassis as a piece of surplus materiel and allowed Bubbles to keep it. Kinda like how certain units could get to keep jeeps when they were disbanded.

This.  Bubbles's chassis design is now obsolete, perhaps because of the EMP vulnerability that may have contributed to the loss of her squad.

[Neko_Ali]

I also get the feeling that AI soldiers were not generally popular, by either human or AI kind. Wasn't Bubbles unit an experiment of sorts? I seem to remember that. It is probably likely that after Bubbles was discharged they had no use for her chassis back, so they left her keep it. I mean, it doesn't have internal weapons like Pintsize's old military chassis.

[TheEvilDog]

I mean, it doesn't have internal weapons like Pintsize's old military chassis.

Damn it Pintsize, ruining the fun for all the other AI out there!

[Gyrre]

I guess Momo and May are standing on stools or crates. Pretty sure they're both shorter than Faye.

[Truec]

BTW, I can understand "May" using a client-assigned name when working off her sentence as an AI "feature" (though making her wear a sexy french maid outfit as part of a jail sentence sounds really unethical), but doesn't she have a name of her own?  Or maybe her past was really so notorious that she decided she would be better off living under an assumed name.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2495

Apparently when she was just being kept on a server (in robot jail, but presumably also in whatever role she played where she was able to embezzle millions of dollars) she didn't have a name.  Presumably names are a thing AIs take on for interacting with humans.

[brasca]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

[BenRG]

It probably tells you a bit about how May has evolved as a character that my brain initially labelled her and Momo as "the two small, cute AIs". That certainly seems to be how Bubbles views them and that sort of makes me wonder just how bad May can be when most of my impressions of her are generally neutral or positive!

Regarding the gift, given that we know that strong scents invoke hallucinations in AIs, I'm thinking that those candles are basically the combination May needs for a good trip. Given May's personal preferences in terms of sex, that might make said experience somewhat disturbing for Bubbles! Still, it's the thought that counts and, if I'm right about May's motive, it's a genuinely good thought, if incredibly misguided.

BTW, I can understand "May" using a client-assigned name when working off her sentence as an AI "feature" (though making her wear a sexy French maid outfit as part of a jail sentence sounds really unethical), but doesn't she have a name of her own?

Possibly not. Remember PT401X? For political reasons, he's refused a human name, preferring to be identified by his serial number instead. So, yeah, I think it is quite possible that a lot of AIs don't have human-sounding names either because they don't have any need for them or haven't interacted with enough humans to get one.

[Is it cold in here?]

I also get the feeling that AI soldiers were not generally popular, by either human or AI kind.

Archive masters, activate! Bubbles did say something about the disdain that mainstream AIs had toward her and all like her.

[Storel]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

[BenRG]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

As I said above, different scents invoke different responses (some hallucinatory) in AIs with aroma sensors. If that is widely known, then weird scented candles could easily be the AI equivalent of 'legal highs'.

[Zebediah]

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

The world's largest candle shop is in in South Deerfield, just a few miles up the road from Northampton. Scented candles galore.

[Tova]

BTW, I can understand "May" using a client-assigned name when working off her sentence as an AI "feature" (though making her wear a sexy french maid outfit as part of a jail sentence sounds really unethical), but doesn't she have a name of her own?  Or maybe her past was really so notorious that she decided she would be better off living under an assumed name.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2495

Apparently when she was just being kept on a server (in robot jail, but presumably also in whatever role she played where she was able to embezzle millions of dollars) she didn't have a name.  Presumably names are a thing AIs take on for interacting with humans.

Also, she ended up liking the name Dale gave her. Probably at least in part because of the kindness Dale showed her, and particularly his ability to see her goodness past her brash exterior.

http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2515

[Neko_Ali]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

Quite possibly small batch hand made candles. I know people who make their own candles to sell through sites like Etsy and thought about doing it myself these days. It stands to reason that people would come up with different scents than the typical vanilla or pine forest you can get in any store. While the scents May picked are.. unusual, I wouldn't put it past someone to make things like that as a gimmick sale.

[flondrix]

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

These scented candles are being mentioned in a comic strip that contains counterfactual elements such as AIs with the rights of citizens, autonomous prosthetic hands, Roombas that can reproduce, orbital pizza delivery, and baristas being eaten by allosauruses.  It would be reasonable to posit that the candle scents listed are two more counterfactual elements.

tl;dr version:  IT'S A *&^%$#@! COMIC STRIP!

[Case]

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

These scented candles are being mentioned in a comic strip that contains counterfactual elements such as AIs with the rights of citizens, autonomous prosthetic hands, Roombas that can reproduce, orbital pizza delivery, and baristas being eaten by allosauruses.  It would be reasonable to posit that the candle scents listed are two more counterfactual elements.

tl;dr version:  IT'S A *&^%$#@! COMIC STRIP!

I appreciate your giving up your little 'daily-quadruple-postings-in-a-row-about-a-*&^%$#@! COMIC STRIP!'- habit. Makes for a far more diverse reading experience.

Thank you!

[shanejayell]

In which we are reminded robot tastes and human tastes are NOT the same.

Or May is just weird. 

[Is it cold in here?]

Beat me to it -- I was going to phrase it in terms of the QC universe being just plain weirder than ours.

Bubbles and Momo haven't spent much time together, have they? Momo would be a good kind of friend to be a sounding board for Bubbles' attempts to figure out how she feels about Faye.

[flondrix]

Bubbles described the layers of covering she wore some tiime back.  ("Ontology of Buttocks")  Is the maroon garment she is wearing today and in most scenes sort of a semi-permanent set of clothes?  She has been wearing it for years--it was under her armor, and so would have not been removed--so I would expect the portions of it not covered by her armor to become scuffed and dirty over time.  She also felt compelled to wear a cardigan over it when meeting with the lanlord.

So, Bubbles is walking around in her underwear, and she hasn't changed it since before she left the service!

[Thrudd]

So, Bubbles is walking around in her underwear, and she hasn't changed it since she left the service!

Maybe it is self cleaning.
Sort of like the self cleaning Glass used on a lot of new skyscrapers.

[flondrix]

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

The world's largest candle shop is in in South Deerfield, just a few miles up the road from Northampton. Scented candles galore.

And the candle Bubbles is holding is in their style:


"Mailman Wearing Cologne" doesn't sound so implausible anymore...

[Neko_Ali]

Nah, a lot of people like the smell of newly mowed grass. Abandoned quarries.. Probably not so much. Since Bubbles doesn't sweat then she wouldn't have to worry about that when it comes to getting her body suit smelly or anything. Since she's been wearing it under her armor for years apparently, it's probably plenty tough to resist tears and abrasions. And let's be honest.. She owns what, three pieces of clothing? Her body suit, her coat and the gift sweater. Since it appears to be spring or summer, the coat and sweater would look out of place, and she probably doesn't want to risk them being damaged or soiled at work.

[DSL]

Plenty of unusual candle scents in the real world.

[Case]

Plenty of unusual candle scents in the real world.

->

Baby Diaper Fragrance, Perfume & Body Oil:
This fragrance resembles the smell of baby poo. A somewhat well requested novelty fragrance. Not for the faint of heart.

In which we are reminded robot tastes and human tastes are NOT the same. Or May is just weird. 

Against the backdrop of the above-mentioned candle fragrances preferred by parts of humankind, I think the question is rather:

Is May weird enough?

[TheEvilDog]

Against the backdrop of the above-mentioned candle fragrances preferred by parts of humankind, I think the question is rather:

Is May weird enough?

Compared to whom?
Compared to Momo? May comes off as incredibly weird.
Compared to Marten? Crazy alarms are going off left and right.
Compared to Pintsize? Mildly eccentric.

[Case]

Against the backdrop of the above-mentioned candle fragrances preferred by parts of humankind, I think the question is rather:

Is May weird enough?

Compared to whom?
Compared to Momo? May comes off as incredibly weird.
Compared to Marten? Crazy alarms are going off left and right.
Compared to Pintsize? Mildly eccentric.

Compared to above-mentioned 'parts of humankind'?

Thinking of e.g. director Kevin Smith's new fragrance 'Con Funk' ...

[flondrix]

Nah, a lot of people like the smell of newly mowed grass. Abandoned quarries.. Probably not so much. Since Bubbles doesn't sweat then she wouldn't have to worry about that when it comes to getting her body suit smelly or anything. Since she's been wearing it under her armor for years apparently, it's probably plenty tough to resist tears and abrasions. And let's be honest.. She owns what, three pieces of clothing? Her body suit, her coat and the gift sweater. Since it appears to be spring or summer, the coat and sweater would look out of place, and she probably doesn't want to risk them being damaged or soiled at work.

Yankee Candle has had a "new mown grass" candle for a long time.  The newer "Riding Mower" scent must incorporate notes of gasoline, monoxide, and burnt oil.

If she has to worry about her clothes being soiled at work, then her bodysuit is at risk of being soiled at work.  It might be stain-resistant, but the mixture of cutting oil and finely ground metal that imbues everything you wear in a machine shop has a phenomenal ability to stain things.  And she works with much more exotic substances, some of which are purposefully designed to adhere to the very same materials that she is made of.   She needs to get some coveralls.

Save the bodysuit for when she wants people to check out her butt.

[flondrix]

Plenty of unusual candle scents in the real world.

Driftwood campfire smell sounds kind of nice.

[OldGoat]

Compared to Pintsize? Mildly eccentric.

Are you kidding?  She finds his attempts at transgression BOR-ING. 

I doubt if an unlaundered mailman in a quarry trying to cover funk with cologne would interest Pintsize much, but it's clearly up May's alley.

[Kugai]

It's the thought that counts.


And  it's nice to see Momo and May keepin' up the friendship with Bubbles

[shanejayell]

.... is Momo still into Sven, or did that just go away?  She and Bubbles could talk.

[flondrix]

.... is Momo still into Sven, or did that just go away?  She and Bubbles could talk.

I don't think that she is "into" Sven specifically any more than the Magical Love Gentleman doll that Marigold brought home from the Nerd convention, or the fireman/EMT slash fiction that Hanners lent her.  She is "into" handsome men.

Have seen any human males hitting on her since she got the more lifelike chassis?  While some might mistake her for a child (let's not go there for now), when she is working at the library it would be clear that she is merely petite.  Pink hair and pink eyes are plausible in a town like Northhampton; the only thing that marks her as a robot when she is dressed is the seam around her neck, and sometimes Jeph forgets to draw that.  Besides, some human males would totally hit on a cute robot.

[Gyrre]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

Believe it or not, the stone quarry one probably exists IRL. There's a company that makes scented candles to help with immersion in tabletop games. I can't think of what it's called, but it's been mentioned on Critical Role during Crit-Mas.

[shanejayell]

New Comic!

May that is NOT how you get a job. Really.

[TheEvilDog]

I hope Bubbles doesn't sniff those candles too deeply or she'll have visions of a Cliff Claven centaur trotting through a quarry.   

Who even makes candles with scents like that? Is there really enough demand for candles that smell like abandoned quarries and lovelorn mail carriers to warrant manufacturing them?

Believe it or not, the stone quarry one probably exists IRL. There's a company that makes scented candles to help with immersion in tabletop games. I can't think of what it's called, but it's been mentioned on Critical Role during Crit-Mas.

Adventure Scents provide scents to enhance RPG experiences. Used them on a couple of occasions. Can be a bit expensive though.

[mercykills]

New Comic!

May that is NOT how you get a job. Really.

No.

It's how you get the RIGHT job.

Seriously, if your potential boss doesn't recognize the moxie and grit you have by calling them a "taint" during the interview....is that REALLY someone you wish to work for? 

[Kugai]

I suspect that Momo has the right of it.

[BenRG]

Well, you can't criticise May for being unwilling to help! Now, I find myself genuinely wondering whether panel 4 is telling us something profound about May. Maybe "Dancing Sandwich-board Girl" is her dream job? After all, everyone will be looking at her and will have influence over their decisions for good or for ill.

It's interesting to note how different Faye is when she's just around Bubbles than when she's around others. With Momo and May, she's the sensible and somewhat-ironic personality that I suspect Dora has influenced her into being over the years. When it's just her and Bubbles, she feels able to be fearful and neurotic! I guess that's just something that comes form being with a friend that you can trust: You feel able to let your emotions out!

[ProvenNonsense]

Late, but I have to say I am really not a fan of the new look of Clinton's Hand, I understand wanting a design that is quicker to draw, but it looks like he's walking around with a latex glove, which does not improve Clinton's creep factor.  He should only be walking around with one glove if it's covered with rhinestones.

May and Momo are adorable.

[OldGoat]

Late, but I have to say I am really not a fan of the new look of Clinton's Hand, I understand wanting a design that is quicker to draw, but it looks like he's walking around with a latex glove, which does not improve Clinton's creep factor.

But, it does shore up the Clueless Dork image Jeph's presenting for Clinton. 

Marten has always been a nice guy, even at his passive mopiest.  You felt sorry for him when Fate smacked him.  Clinton, OTOH, has some overbearing features to his personality and it's kind of nice to see the Universe spank it out of him once in a while.