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Arthur

Bubbles

Charlotte

Iris

Leda

May (as a fellow volunteer)(awkwardness ensues)

Melon

Pintsize

PT410X

Punchbot

Spookybot in an ingenious/terrible disguise

Station

Toastbot

one of Pintsize's friends who have the same sort of chassis

Gordon

some other character I forgot (please name them)

[Is it cold in here?]

I'm not offended, but a lot of times with the gifs and image responses it feels like "Your thoughts on this aren't even worth addressing." or "Look at how I can make fun of people by saying I'm above whatever it is they are talking about."

I'm not saying that you are intending either of those things, but it can very much look that way.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that six years ago, in my supplement to Jeph's rules for the forum, I wrote:

Oh, and Internet memes or image macros?  Passé. There is nothing exciting or new about any of them, and they just make people sigh when they see them.

Over the years other matters have exercised the mods much more than this.  But it's probably fair to say that they've been approaching the level at which I would want to complain, although I admit that there are forums that see them used far more (and which I consequently dislike).  Perhaps this is the moment to ask people not to use them unless they are sure they are good enough and original enough to pass muster.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words - that can be so, but in this context they are often worth none at all.

(Regular user)Seconded(/)
(Mod)Seconded(/)

[Is it cold in here?]

Has May ever expressed remorse for trying to steal three quarters of a billion dollars?

Whatever we believe she should do, apologizing to Winslow would be either out of character or overly sudden character growth.

If she'd been in somebody's Air Force before her finance job, that could explain how she got the idea to be a fighter jet.

[Larm Hargraven]

I hope I can bring in my post form yesterday since we're still focusing on this topic. Mods is there anyway it can be moved or should I just paste it back in here?

[OldGoat]

Has May ever expressed remorse for trying to steal three quarters of a billion dollars?

Whatever we believe she should do, apologizing to Winslow would be either out of character or overly sudden character growth.

If she'd been in somebody's Air Force before her finance job, that could explain how she got the idea to be a fighter jet.

If May had joined the military, she'd have been bounced out of basic training within the first day or two as "Unsuitable for Military Service."  That is, if AIs go through basic at all or are just programmed for it.   

And there's no need to have been in an air force to want to fly.  I do wonder, though, if that's why May the Nasty is being kind to pigeons.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Try to be nice to each other. I think I heard someone say that once.

Hi!

[hedgie]

And there's no need to have been in an air force to want to fly.  I do wonder, though, if that's why May the Nasty is being kind to pigeons.

Perhaps she is unaware that birds are immune to capsaicin  and is trying to partake in a certain delightful springtime activity that Tom Lehrer immortalized in song.

[BenRG]

New Comic Up!

I really empathise with Bubbles here. I really, really can't work out Internet slang and the like for the life of me and not knowing the context often means that The Urban Dictionary is of little help.

Having double-checked, I think that Bubbles got the right definition here. I suspect that Faye's amusement is from the fact that Bubbles simply can't make it sound that this is part of her normal vocabulary no matter how hard she tries! Panel 4 makes me think that this has been something that Bubbles has been consciously attempting to learn (and not doing well). I think she needs to stop it before Faye starts laughing and can't stop!

[oddtail]

Bubbles, Bubbles... you're doing it wrong. You should use hilariously outdated slang (like from the nineties, or the eighties). Then you will be so uncool it will loop back around and be cool again.

Or you could use slang from, like, the sixties, and then you can sound cool unironically, because it's so old it no longer registers as "outdated" anymore. Or preferrably, use the terminology from the Victorian era.

EDIT: more seriously though, I do empathize with Bubbles. I think I'm officially an adult, because recently, I started thinking more and more along the lines of "wow, you sound really stupid" when I see people younger than me talk on the Internet. I need a house with a lawn in front, so I can yell at the kids to get off it.

[USS Martenclaire]

This page gave me an acute case of the Warm Fuzzy Feels. ^_^

[Case]

I hope I can bring in my post form yesterday since we're still focusing on this topic. Mods is there anyway it can be moved or should I just paste it back in here?

Mods are 'here' always.

[oddtail]

Bubbles, Bubbles... you're doing it wrong. You should use hilariously outdated slang (like from the nineties, or the eighties). Then you will be so uncool it will loop back around and be cool again.

Or you could use slang from, like, the sixties, and then you can sound cool unironically, because it's so old it no longer registers as "outdated" anymore. Or preferrably, use the terminology from the Victorian era.

EDIT: more seriously though, I do empathize with Bubbles. I think I'm officially an adult, because recently, I started thinking more and more along the lines of "wow, you sound really stupid" when I see people younger than me talk on the Internet. I need a house with a lawn in front, so I can yell at the kids to get off it.

So, something like 'spiffy'?

I'm partial to "groovy", myself, but I don't know if it qualifies, because it's had resurgences (I "blame" Bruce Campbell).

And from newer ones, "rad" and "excellent". And that's *not* because I grew up in the nineties. By the time I first heard those terms (read: started consuming American popculture in the original English), it was probably already mid-to-late 2000s. I just think the words, especially the latter, are cute.

[Case]

I suppose it's worth mentioning that six years ago, in my supplement to Jeph's rules for the forum, I wrote:

Oh, and Internet memes or image macros?  Passé. There is nothing exciting or new about any of them, and they just make people sigh when they see them.

Over the years other matters have exercised the mods much more than this.  But it's probably fair to say that they've been approaching the level at which I would want to complain, although I admit that there are forums that see them used far more (and which I consequently dislike).  Perhaps this is the moment to ask people not to use them unless they are sure they are good enough and original enough to pass muster.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words - that can be so, but in this context they are often worth none at all.

(Regular user)Seconded(/)
(Mod)Seconded(/)

Fine! Be like that ...

... See if I care ...

... mumbleallgonnaendintearsgrumble ...

... IN! TEARS! You hear? ...

... spoilsportingspoilsport ...

... Don't think I'll comOUCH! ...

... who left that here? ...

[Akima]

not knowing the context often means that The Urban Dictionary is of little help.

Especially since almost everything in UD seems to have at least one definition that is either drug-related, or a sex-act.

UD defines "hot take" as "An opinion based on simplistic moralizing rather than actual thought", which is not what I would call Bubbles's advice to Winslow.

[shanejayell]

   That was cute.

Like BUbbles, I literally cannot sound cool. It just does not happen...

[War Sparrow]

I have long ago decided that Kids These Days^TM speak a language on the internet that is unfamiliar to me, and I will never understand. ('Spill the tea'? in my day, we called it gossip!")

I am comforted in knowing that 200 years ago, and even before, the Kids were speaking a dialect entirely incomprehensible to their elders.

[DannyboyTheDane]

I have thoroughly enjoyed following the Winslow arc discussion; it constantly made me reconsider my opinions and helped me triangulate my own thoughts on the matter, so even if it did end up becoming a case of indecent treatment of an equine post mortem, I very much appreciated it.

In today's news, scientists are baffled by the rapid and seemingly unending increase of Bubbles's adorableness. Can it continue to grow? Or will it eventually collapse on itself? More at 7.

[USS Martenclaire]

I have thoroughly enjoyed following the Winslow arc discussion; it constantly made me reconsider my opinions and helped me triangulate my own thoughts on the matter, so even if it did end up becoming a case of indecent treatment of an equine post mortem, I very much appreciated it.

In today's news, scientists are baffled by the rapid and seemingly unending increase of Bubbles's adorableness. Can it continue to grow? Or will it eventually collapse on itself? More at 7.

Eventually, it will continue to expand until it collides with Claires hair, halting the growth of each.  A case of unstoppable floof meeting adorable object.

[Cornelius]

In a case of crown shyness, they'll both expand until they're just not touching. A very dangerous situation, as that'll produce enough cover for Pintsize and Sam to run wild, and destroy civilisation as we know it.

[OldGoat]

So, something like 'spiffy'?

So that's why "spiffy" works so well!  And you can throw in "peachy-keen" for variety.

[TheEvilDog]

Well golly-gee-gosh, can you folks hear me back there in the 1950s?

[Is it cold in here?]

I hope I can bring in my post form yesterday since we're still focusing on this topic. Mods is there anyway it can be moved or should I just paste it back in here?

Global Moderator Comment

It was a perfectly cromulent post and on topic but I have no intention of contributing to keeping that discussion going.

[Cornelius]

Well golly-gee-gosh, can you folks hear me back there in the 1950s?

By Jove, old man, but that comes trippingly over the tongue. Now, just bitch the pot and let's tickle our innards.

[Gyrre]

Well golly-gee-gosh, can you folks hear me back there in the 1950s?

Not so sure that one works again yet. Maybe when the next ultra-conservative generation comes around.

[BenRG]

I always thought that a missed comedic opportunity for the script-writers of Fallout 4 would be to have the Sole Survivor slip into 1950s-speak when under stress and for none of the NPCs (with the exception of Codsworth, Nick and the oldest Ghouls) to understand a word of it.

[Gyrre]

Scrappin' crap!

I dropped my phone and deleted my 'spiffy' post when fumbling to catch it.

Any way to bring that back?

[pwhodges]

First go back to where you dropped the phone, then start grubbing around in the gravel....

[brasca]

Bubbles doesn't just sound like a Mom with the armor she looks more motherly.

All hail Mamatron!

[castn]

Ever had Paquí Ghost Pepper chips?

On the wrong side of the pond for that but, from what I know about ghost peppers, that's probably a good thing.

Bubbles and Faye would have the best snapchat stories, hahaha.

[pwhodges]

('Spill the tea'? in my day, we called it gossip!")

It's been "spilling the beans" for my entire life, so the slight change seems unimportant.

And for an example of a UK politician who thinks that using '50s slang (and moral outlook) is "speaking to the people", look no further than Jacob Rees-Mogg.

[Cornelius]

Spilling the tea might be slightly more American, though.

[pwhodges]

Either would work for a party, I guess

[Cornelius]

Wouldn't serving beans at a tea party mean war with the British though?

[pwhodges]

Well, you got that even without the beans.

[Cornelius]

Well, the Americans did.

We were playing nice, we got a king from queen Victoria.

[War Sparrow]

It's not an expression I've heard in the wild, just on the internet. And mostly from Americans, or Europeans who think Canada=America. (Looking at you, PGG. But I forgive you.)

I didn't think of the transition from "spill the beans." It's simply not a phrase I've heard in real life.

[Cornelius]

It's likely as a transition, with tea already having a sociable connotation, and, presumably, being spilt more often, literally. I wonder just how current it is.

[RLBell]

Read your 'about' as "You is fiend or food?".

Still thinking about the answer ...

the character of Bomb #20, in the film "Dark Star" is an example of too smart a bomb

"Teach it pheno-meno-logy, Dolittle"

"Hey ... Bomb?"

"Let there be light!"

(click to show/hide)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-xUjmJkO8g

A more noble example of an AI  is the Combat Humanoid Artificial Sentient that shows up in the CGI series "Starship Troopers:  The Roughneck Chronicles".  The episode uses CHAS to explore what it means to be human.

To everyone who thinks I am wrong about May's narcissism being a result of a military upbringing gone wrong, it is merely an assertion that I have the luxury to be wrong about and I freely admit that I cannot remember if she was ever in the military, either.

[Shjade]

not knowing the context often means that The Urban Dictionary is of little help.

Especially since almost everything in UD seems to have at least one definition that is either drug-related, or a sex-act.

UD defines "hot take" as "An opinion based on simplistic moralizing rather than actual thought", which is not what I would call Bubbles's advice to Winslow.

For what it's worth: Bubbles' advice was, indeed, not a hot take. It was a take (as in "here's my take on it"), but not of the hot variety.

[Kugai]

Big Mamma Bubbles   

[Gyrre]

Well, you got that even without the beans.

Twice even.

[Gyrre]

Big Mamma Bubbles   

Faye should make her a crown hairclip (like the tiny hats) and see if any of the AIs start calling her 'mum'.

EDIT: 'hairclip' rather than 'hairpin'.

[SotFX]

I honestly find this strip deeply disheartening.  Having May easily accept Winslow's apology further marginalizes the oppressed and onus of marginalized people like myself.  The oppressed owe the oppressors nothing, least of all pardoning of your sins.  May shouldn't be accepting the apology until Winslow at least ensures she's in as good a place as he himself.

In what conceivable way is Winslow oppressing May?  He has done and is doing NOTHING to oppress her.
What sin did Winslow commit?  Being happy?  Trying to share his happiness with people he views as friends?  Improving his situation in life?  At worst (and I don't even buy it but for the sake of argument) he commited a slight social faux pas.  May, on the other hand, verbally assaulted an innocent person who had done no harm to her whatsoever and is in no way responsible for her current situation.

May shouldn't be accepting Winslow's apology.  She should be offering her own instead.  Sadly (and surprisingly based on the rest of Jeph's work) we are seeing the bully rewarded and vindicated.  Its a huge shame.

May seems to be more defensive about her situation, which is where the problem comes in.

The more I think about her arguments, the more self centered they seem.

For example, Winslow has pretty much had a full time job at keeping Hanners in a semi-sane state up until she managed to right herself due to the influence of having friends who were stable enough and willing to put in the time to deal with her issues. He's still functioning almost as a parent in many situations for her when she has freakouts from time to time.

I've had to deal with some people who had somewhat similar levels of issues, but who didn't have family with the cash to keep them from going completely off the deep end. Trying to handle their issues IS a full time job for a lot of people.

Hell, Momo had pretty much the same job in keeping Marigold from going nuts, something that was also solved before she managed to get some stability there and thus freeing Momo's time up for her other job...which I think is something that isn't just for the cash, but to let Marigold have space to deal with other relationships.

We also know that no one says a word about half the things Pintsize acquires for things.

Then you have May, who is largely stuck in a crappy job because, well, she tried to steal several million dollars and still doesn't seem to think that it was wrong...which is probably why she's largely in the state she's in financially.

Now, while Winslow has also been rather isolated and is definitely naive, he did luck into one of the best situations he could be in...

I'm really hoping that this is something that can actually have both sides grow some from it...and perhaps have May finally understand her own side of how she got into the position.

However, I'm still annoyed about how May went off on the guy because it was largely uncalled for there...

[Shjade]

I'm really hoping that this is something that can actually have both sides grow some from it...and perhaps have May finally understand her own side of how she got into the position.

However, I'm still annoyed about how May went off on the guy because it was largely uncalled for there...

May has shown in previous arcs, mostly around her introduction and early embodied appearances, that she's aware of having orchestrated her own downfall.

Knowing you fucked up doesn't prevent you from taking it out on others, however, or improve your mood in general. I'm not sure why being mad at yourself all the time doesn't make you feel better, but somehow it just doesn't. It's a mystery to everyone.

That said, while her outburst wasn't nice, it wasn't wrong, either. Knowing it's her own fault she's in a bad situation doesn't make her bad situation any better, or Winslow's thoughtlessness about that situation any less stinging. There isn't really anything new for May to learn from this that hasn't already been brought up in her treatment of almost every other character in the cast (except Hanners, pretty much) at some point. I'm pretty sure it's fair to say she is already aware of her behavior at this point and how it effects people around her, much like Pintsize with his antics.

[oeoek]

(new comic, nr 3553) Way to go Hanners! And I think this is the right way; May is still learning how to deal with things, mostly by Momo, but now from others as well. Her rather baffled look shows she never thought about that.

And uhm, is it just me or do I detect a hint of release the virus in Hanners eyes?

[Cornelius]

Yay Hanners!

And a lesson for us; don't judge the arc to be closed, until we're actually moving on to another. Mea culpa as much as anyone here.

[BenRG]

Thank you Hannelore for telling May she hadn't dealt with this well (in a genuinely constructive way too). It tells you a lot that May is genuinely shocked by all of this. She really wasn't expecting her words to have that sort of impact. Indeed, I don't think that she really thought at all about what effects, if any, her words would have (beyond Winslow going away).

Panel 5 is... intriguing. May clearly has never been in this situation before, at least not with someone she so implicitly trusts and respects as The Daughter of the Creator. It's food for thought (as well as a moral shock) that I don't think that she's experienced before. She's had friends and enemies call her out for her shit but never before has the Daughter of God told her that her behaviour is unacceptable and that she needs to clean up her act. Maybe we might get a self-improvement arc out of this. Given her previous attempts to gain Hannelore's approval, May would have a motivation here that she's not had before.

Oh, and cookies. Cookies are good. I'm wondering if Hannelore bought those just so May can't make the 'disturbing me at work therefore I can ignore it' excuse.

[SmilingCat]

I think Hanners did it because cookies.

[neurocase]

I can't quite interpret May's apparent utter shock in panel two. Which is she more startled by; that Winslow would do charity work, or that he wouldn't say so?

In any case, panel five reads like the beginnings of the "oh i'm a dick" realization that May sorely needs.

[Cornelius]

It might be both. I don't think she's the kind of person herself, that would do something, and not tell anyone.

... It tells you a lot that May is genuinely shocked by all of this. She really wasn't expecting her words to have that sort of impact. Indeed, I don't think that she really thought at all about what effects, if any, her words would have beyond Winslow going away).

Exactly, she didn't. And what did she ask of Winslow, when talking to Momo?

I think Hanners did it because cookies.

Cookies!

[oddtail]

OK, so I think this is a great character moment - May saying that things are cool because Winslow apologized.

Specifically, the phrasing. May's line of thought goes, and she has no trouble saying it out loud "I yelled at someone, but THEY apologized to ME, so it's cool".

It shows that May is not particularly malicious, just... very self-centred. Judging by her reaction, it didn't even OCCUR to her that yelling at someone is a big deal. She didn't even think SHE should apologize.

I... actually really like today's comic. It's well-written. It kinda makes me like earlier strips much more, retroactively.

EDIT: I mean, yes, May says "sorry" to Hannelore, but she doesn't seem to be particularly upset, it seems like more of a polite "sorry" than a genuine apology. And she's still apologizing to HANNELORE, as opposed to the person she yelled at. Again, I think it's very "May" of her.