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Momo

May

Bubbles

Faye

Pintsize

Station

Spookybot

Spathe Ham and Waffles

Purple Monkey Dishwashers

Mods, help me!

[jwhouk]

New week, new comic, new poll... well, kinda.

It's going to be "Winslow Meets World" week at QC!

[Method of Madness]

I hope Momo and Winslow get to hang out later!

[ChipNoir]

That's unfair, because ANY interaction with Spookybot is gonna be fascinating by default. Spookybot could talk with Arthur and we'd all be riveted.

So for fairness, I'ma go with Pintsize. Because yes, I wanna see Pintsize taken down a peg for some of the earlier bullying.

[SomeCanadianWeirdo]

Someone should tell Momo her outfit makes her look like a waitress, not a library employee.

[Is it cold in here?]

Now there's a thought. Why is she still working at the library? The chassis loan may have been paid off by now. Does she feel an obligation to serve humanity (non-ironically)? Does she just like having money or having co-workers?

[Method of Madness]

Paying off the chassis might be done, but a job still lets her get things she likes.

[Torlek]

Not sure if Momo's response should be read as:

A.) Ok, that's nice. Now I have to get back to work.
B.) Seriously? You're disrupting my workday for THIS?
C.) Um, good for you. But, I feel like you're lording it over me and that makes me uncomfortable.
D.) Oh god I want to reenact some of that Victorian porn with him so bad, I gotta run, BYE.

[hedgie]

Now there's a thought. Why is she still working at the library? The chassis loan may have been paid off by now. Does she feel an obligation to serve humanity (non-ironically)? Does she just like having money or having co-workers?

I'm not sure how much money she has.  Marigold may have forgiven the chassis debt, but Momo still has to pay her half of the rent (she moved into the room Angus formerly occupied).  I suspect that half the electric bill is on her as well.

[SmilingCat]

Not sure if Momo's response should be read as:

A.) Ok, that's nice. Now I have to get back to work.
B.) Seriously? You're disrupting my workday for THIS?
C.) Um, good for you. But, I feel like you're lording it over me and that makes me uncomfortable.
D.) Oh god I want to reenact some of that Victorian porn with him so bad, I gotta run, BYE.

I assume A. Being humanoid and seeing humanoid robots is pretty much normalized for her, and she probably doesn't realize that this is all new and exciting for him.

[shanejayell]

I think Winslow was expecting more.

More WHAT even he probably doesn't know.

When he meets May I expect her to yank his pants down and check if he's anatomically correct.... 

[QuestionableIntentions]

When he meets May I expect her to yank his pants down and check if he's anatomically correct.... 

I'm sure sexual assault would violate her parole

[truestatic]

I think he just expected a friend who had been through a similar change to share with him in his excitement for what a big deal this is to him. It reads like he may have overestimated that friendship.

[Neko_Ali]

Mostly I think it was A). But there seems to be an undertone of nervousness to how she said it. Kind of a 'I want to get away but I don't want to hurt his feelings' thing maybe.  I think Winslow is a little socially inept. Which is not surprising since he pretty much didn't leave the building, and the only people he interacts with on a regular basis are Hanners and Pintsize.

[MrNumbers]

The fading smile between panels five and six made me really sad.

[DaiJB]

The fading smile between panels five and six made me really sad.

Yeah, he seems slightly - disappointed? Like something's missing, like he expected more?

Calling it - after a day (or a few days) of not getting what he expected, he returns the Winslow 2.0 body and goes back to Winslow 1.1*

*That's with an automatic self-righting mechanism   

[Storel]

The fading smile between panels five and six made me really sad.

Yeah, it's like he's trying to convince himself that he's having fun -- and not completely succeeding.

I can't remember Momo and Winslow ever interacting very much, so they may not be very close friends. To me that conversation reads as neither of them being able to think of something else to say, so Momo makes an awkward excuse to leave.

[BenRG]

In today's strip, we learn that changing bodies isn't as automatic a conversation hook as you think, especially if your life is otherwise uninteresting. It's probably the single most awkward strip I've seen for a long while, with Momo clearly unable to think of anything to say and Winslow clearly expecting something to happen that doesn't. It many ways, it's almost painful to watch.

Now there's a thought. Why is she still working at the library? The chassis loan may have been paid off by now. Does she feel an obligation to serve humanity (non-ironically)? Does she just like having money or having co-workers?

Maybe she likes the job?

[Zebediah]

I read this as the geeky kid finally working up the nerve to talk to that cute girl at school he's had a crush on forever, and discovering the crush isn't quite reciprocated.

This just might be colored a bit by my own romantic history.

[ZoeB]

How old is Winslow?

Now think of this.

He has never had fun before. He's not even sure what it means.

I'm torn between feeling ineffably sad because of that, and wanting him to grow and experience fun joy, happiness ,fulfilment in ways not possible for him before.

Maybe I should mention - a lot of Trans people have similar issues before and after transition. Jeff may possibly know that.Ą

[JoeCovenant]

Note to Winslow: be careful of what you wish for...

[brasca]

I think people might be reading more into this than just an AI being as awkward as any human interacting with someone and doesn't know what cues to follow or end a conversation smoothly.

[ChipNoir]

I think people might be reading more into this than just an AI being as awkward as any human interacting with someone and doesn't know what cues to follow or end a conversation smoothly.

Yeah, after looking at it without being half asleep, I'm gonna go with the whole awkward conversation ejection button for Momo.

I think the next thing for Winslow is suddenly having a crisis of "Well, now what do I do with the fact that I have no life to make use of this body with?"

[Neko_Ali]

Which is true enough. Momo is the closest we've seen to Winslow's situation before. Someone going from a chibi chassis to one with a lot more independance. The sheer physical nature of the smaller chassis means that a world built for humans is not suited well for them. So far we've only seen them as companion AIs and background filler. But they seem to spend most of their time with their companions in their homes. When they do associated with others it was pretty much with those of similar chassis. In a very real sense they are physically like children who need someone to look after them and  have limited opportunities.

When Momo moved to her new chassis she spent a little time at a loss, leading to uncomfortable moments like staring at Marigold while she slept. But she had a goal, to find a job and make her own way. So she quickly filled her life with things beyond being a companion AI. Winslow on the other hand just switched and apparently hadn't given much thought to it. He knew he wanted a body with more mobility, but hadn't thought what he wanted to do with it. So right now he's just going 'I got everything I wanted! ..... Now what?' He'll find his niche soon enough I'm sure.

[Kugai]

At least he's having fun

[Sullivan]

Note to Winslow: be careful of what you wish for...

"After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing after all as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true."
 - Commander Spock in "Amok Time", written by Theodore Sturgeon

[UmberGryphon]

Does anyone have an opinion as to why the miscellaneous test in the upper left corner is "De Vermis Mysteriis", or "Mysteries of the Worm" in Latin?  Wikipedia has a page on the subject, where it's the title of a fictional book in the Cthulhuverse, but I don't see what that has to do with this comic.

[zisraelsen]

I assume it's supposed to be the book momo is holding. Maybe the reason she cut the conversation short is that she had Eldritch horrors to summon?
Edit: Momo was the one holding the book, autocorrect. Mono doesn't even have hands.

[comicalArchitect]

New comic is up! I wonder where this May thing will go. Mayhaps (eh?) we'll see Winslow organize a fundraiser or something to get her a new body.

[MrNumbers]

New comic.

May's reaction is a little... unwarranted. Winslow is being grateful and excited by a body. Yesterday he was more analogous to a pet, and now he's been promoted to 'actual human being'.

Knowing May, she's going to feel pretty garbage about this and apologize later, but it doesn't help Winslow now.

[St.Clair]

At least he's having fun

Yeah, about that...

Poor little guy.

[War Sparrow]

Someone hug him!

[ChipNoir]

New comic.

May's reaction is a little... unwarranted. Winslow is being grateful and excited by a body. Yesterday he was more analogous to a pet, and now he's been promoted to 'actual human being'.

Knowing May, she's going to feel pretty garbage about this and apologize later, but it doesn't help Winslow now.

Honestly, it kinda makes sense in hindsight in a way I don't think any of us thought about: Winslow was just handed his body on a silver platter. Yes, Marigold also gave Momo her new body as a gift, but she insisted on earning it anyways. May's body is government issued, and was falling apart less than a year after getting it. Then you have Jeremy who was a single goddamn arm despite being both incredibly smart and compassionate. I'm sure many other AI's are taking bodies right now that are based only on what they or their partners can afford.

Winslow is about to learn the meaning of privilege. May's delivery was typical Foot-in-Mouth May, but she has her own feelings, and she's not obligated to feel happy for someone who to her seems to be taking for granted something that she is likely never going to have. To her, that probably feels like a rich kid showing their brand new car that theiir parents got them  to someone whose stuck riding in a second hand lemon they worked three summers just to afford a new engine for.

[TheEvilDog]

May's reaction is a little... unwarranted. Winslow is being grateful and excited by a body. Yesterday he was more analogous to a pet, and now he's been promoted to 'actual human being'.

Knowing May, she's going to feel pretty garbage about this and apologize later, but it doesn't help Winslow now.

Is it unwarranted though?

Consider this.

- May is still a parolee from Robot Jail.
- May is stuck in a government chassis that is literally falling apart.
- Due to being a parolee and stuck in a dead end job, she's unable to buy a new chassis.
- Winslow has never wanted for anything, at least from May's perspective. He's essentially been a kept AI.
- Winslow comes in and, again from May's perspective, gloating over his new body, a reminder of what she can't have.

So again, is it an unwarranted reaction?

This is completely in line with May and further proof that maybe, just maybe, Winslow isn't suited to being humanoid and might have been better off as a Companion AI.

[Method of Madness]

How does his new chassis make him no longer a companion AI?

[ChipNoir]

May's reaction is a little... unwarranted. Winslow is being grateful and excited by a body. Yesterday he was more analogous to a pet, and now he's been promoted to 'actual human being'.

Knowing May, she's going to feel pretty garbage about this and apologize later, but it doesn't help Winslow now.

Is it unwarranted though?

Consider this.

- May is still a parolee from Robot Jail.
- May is stuck in a government chassis that is literally falling apart.
- Due to being a parolee and stuck in a dead end job, she's unable to buy a new chassis.
- Winslow has never wanted for anything, at least from May's perspective. He's essentially been a kept AI.
- Winslow comes in and, again from May's perspective, gloating over his new body, a reminder of what she can't have.

So again, is it an unwarranted reaction?

This is completely in line with May and further proof that maybe, just maybe, Winslow isn't suited to being humanoid and might have been better off as a Companion AI.

Given the way Jeph tends tends to handle development, I'd like to say that he's probably going to more likely put Winslow through a hard lesson about the fact that he's been so sheltered to the point where he hasn't ever considered other people's problems. Ideally, he'll learn and grow from this. I certainly want to see him do that. There's always been at least one character that needs serious growth, and right now there isn't...really one. I'd classify Faye and Bubbles as more of a romantic drama situation versus a personal growth. Clinton as plateud, and until he can flag Brun down from the atmosphere, those two aren't really gonna go anywhere any time soon.

Meanwhile Winslow is the perfect character to expand and nurture into someone better for a while till new stories for the others are ready to continue.  How that'll happen I'm not entirely sure.

[Method of Madness]

Moderator Comment

Friendly mod reminder: it's Jeph, not Jeff

[ChipNoir]

How does his new chassis make him no longer a companion AI?

It does and it doesn't. Unless we accept the Cosmic Whale joke as an actual What-If scenario, all companion AI's we've seen have been small chassis. They take up no more space than a small console, they're not remotely threatening, and their 'cuteness' is a selling factor. I dare say the their dependence on humans is part of the selling point as an unspoken factor, as a way to prove that AI's are willing to put themselves at the mercy of humans, and trust that they will not be harmed, and thus will not harm them in turn if given normal bodies. Momo has state that companion AI's are basically diplomats.

But once you have a fully human sized chassis, that dependence and vulnerability is mostly gone. Aside from electricity to charge, a fully sized AI has little need of a human. They stay out of friendship, but the dynamic definitely changes.

[TheEvilDog]

Pretty much what ChipNoir said.

[Milayna]

My reaction to first panel: Yay May!

My reaction to second panel: OH SHIT

Yeah this is the kind of thing I've learned to be HYPER-COGNIZANT of. I knew what her reaction would be waaaaay before I saw it. Poor, naive, young Winslow isn't used to gauging how everything he says, does, or exists in can potentially pick at people's sticking points. =(

MrNumbers: "May's reaction is a little... unwarranted." Well, I'm sure it doesn't seem unwarranted to May, and hers is the opinion that counts. I think you're right about later, though - May's impulse control is terrible but she's self aware enough to know when she's being shitty, and apologize if she cares to.

[Method of Madness]

all companion AI's we've seen have been small chassis

They've been in small chassis. The body is not the AI...or is it? There's an interesting question. Is Winslow the same AI in a different body, or does the new body change who he fundamentally is?

[MrNumbers]

So again, is it an unwarranted reaction?

"Enjoy your new toy", as a line specifically, was, yes. That's not a value call Winnie didn't particular show he deserved; That's May projecting her own situation onto his.

If May was only interested in a working body, rather than a humanoid body, she'd ask if she could have Winslow's old one, which was pretty nice actually. I don't think she'd want a chibi body, though. No, she obviously sees the value in being humanoid, and Winslow didn't have that yesterday, and he was trying to find happiness in a shared experience. May got too pissed off at how he came into that experience to even consider that he might be genuinely grateful for it.

Which is fine. Her life situation is shit and Winslow's is easy, and it's hard for her to forget that. But that's not what this was about, and that's what she's made it into being, and for that it's unwarranted.

Well, I'm sure it doesn't seem unwarranted to May, and hers is the opinion that counts.

That's not how social works? Her feelings are legitimate, her reaction to them is not. You're always right about how you feel, but not always about how you act on them.

[Strawberrycocoa]

May's being a jackass here and it's NOT okay to treat someone that way just because she personally is having a rough time. That shit is fucking petty and I lose respect for people who do it.

"OH LOOK AT ME I HAVE A HARD LIFE SO YOU AREN'T ALLOWED TO BE HAPPY ABOUT GOOD THINGS HAPPENING TO YOU" Fuck that shit and fuck everyone who dos it. Winslow was just happy about a bit of good luck, he didn't deserve any of that treatment.

[fayelovesbubbles]

The way May feels is the way I feel when people tell me their parents paid for college and they have no debt. I have $50k in student loans.

So I get how May feels. Winslow is so sweet, though, it's hard to be mean to him. It would be hard for me, anyway. And maybe a bit spoiled, but that's not his fault.

[Gyrre]

Did anyone predict May's hostility?

[ChipNoir]

I think it goes a little deeper than "have and have not". The word "Decided" is bolded, and I think that's for an important reason now that I think about it.

Winslow could have asked for this chassis at any time, and Hanners would have likely said yes. He "Decided" that he wanted to be more humanoid, which to May may make it sound like a trivial whim. We have no idea what Anthro-PC jail is, but it probably involves having any form of physical form taken away from them. That means that to May, having even a dipsy little chibi form is a gift to be appreciated, and becoming a full sized humanoid with complete autonomy isn't something that should just be taken for granted.

Make no mistake, I feel her reaction is out of line, but I don't entirely blame her for it. This goes beyond material possession and kinda delves into the concept of liberty and freedom. I mean some serious "I have no mouth and I must scream" kinda shit. The idea of AnthroPC Prison kinda terrifies me on a new level. I'm getting thoughts of having your consciousness blocked off from all physical stimulus, and only having access to I dunno, the financial records of an accounting firm as my only form of stimulation. I'd say that'd be inhumane, but then again, we don't exactly know if 'humane' is applied to AIs.

Momo has spoken a lot about how it's been a struggle for AI's to get civil rights, and that from day one with the first AI has wanted to be treated as an sentient equal. So for Winslow to so casually get what others struggled for on a whim, rather than it be something he's wanted since day one? I can see how that can be a bit of an middle finger to both May and Momo, and most of AI kind.

[Milayna]

So again, is it an unwarranted reaction?

"Enjoy your new toy", as a line specifically, was, yes. That's not a value call Winnie didn't particular show he deserved; That's May projecting her own situation onto his.

If May was only interested in a working body, rather than a humanoid body, she'd ask if she could have Winslow's old one, which was pretty nice actually. I don't think she'd want a chibi body, though. No, she obviously sees the value in being humanoid, and Winslow didn't have that yesterday, and he was trying to find happiness in a shared experience. May got too pissed off at how he came into that experience to even consider that he might be genuinely grateful for it.

Which is fine. Her life situation is shit and Winslow's is easy, and it's hard for her to forget that. But that's not what this was about, and that's what she's made it into being, and for that it's unwarranted.

Well, I'm sure it doesn't seem unwarranted to May, and hers is the opinion that counts.

That's not how social works? Her feelings are legitimate, her reaction to them is not. You're always right about how you feel, but not always about how you act on them.

Eh, good luck ever trying to convince anyone of that. Everyone's always justified to themself. If they weren't, they wouldn't act like they do. /tautology. Better to be aware of what will hurt people and avoid doing that, or apologize for the transgression if you do screw up, than engage in a pointless, futile, and petty argument about their reaction...

To be clear, I'm not saying Winslow is wrong. What I'm saying is that I could see this coming from a mile away and was cringing in advance.

[MightionNY]

I would have been surprised if May had acted in any *other* way than how she did.

I did think Momo and Winslow's discussion would have been longer than it was, tbh.

Pintsize's reaction?  Tough call; but I'd going to say "Resentment, mitigated by the fact he knows what kind of havoc he could wreak, even if Marten could save up for a new chassis for him without spending it on a new guitar first."

[OldGoat]

I think I see where Jeph's going with this arc.

(click to show/hide)

Just making ends meet Marigold bought an Idoru Platinum Deluxe chassis, a very high end model with all kinds of spiffy bells and whistles if Clinton's response is any indicator.

Money to burn but not keyed into material culture and naturally frugal Hannelore got Winslow an adequate, mid-range, Consumer Reports best value recommended Deluxe Regular Boy.  Momo got a Lexus, Winslow got a Corolla.  Momo has better social skills than even most of the human characters and can see an awkward situation coming.

And it reminds May all the more of her own situation.

Please don't grind our feels too hard on this one, Jeph.

[Kugai]

May The Buzzkill

Ladies and Gentlemen, Major Grumpy is in da house.

[Milayna]

I would have been surprised if May had acted in any *other* way than how she did.

I did think Momo and Winslow's discussion would have been longer than it was, tbh.

Pintsize's reaction?  Tough call; but I'd going to say "Resentment, mitigated by the fact he knows what kind of havoc he could wreak, even if Marten could save up for a new chassis for him without spending it on a new guitar first."

Iirc Pintsize has stated on the record that he likes his body. He sees his purpose as being a purely Companion AI, and achieves sometimes directly and sometimes through circuitous and improvised shenanigans, but ultimately there is an overarching purpose to what he does, even if any specific thing is mostly pointless on its own.

Then again, Marten has a steady, much closer Companion now, and has largely moved on from the need that Pintsize felt he filled. So, maybe Pintsize will be looking toward the next stage of his life, as well. I can see the opportunity for some Real Talk on Pintisize's part.