Topic: WCDT Strips 3650-3655 (8th to 12th January 2018) (Read 23694 times)

Shjade · « **Reply #50 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 13:05 »

Or she could have taken Faye's non-response to her DMs as a sign of Faye being somehow uncomfortable/disapproving and therefore didn't bring it up again.

It ISN'T, obviously, but people can think funny things sometimes.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #51 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 13:38 »

Quote from: cucumber error on 09 Jan 2018, 13:23

Side note: has no one commented on the text at the bottom of the comic yet?

I have a student who neglected to tell her siblings she was pregnant until too late.

Sort of.

She didn't neglect to tell them so much as she couldn't tell them what she wasn't aware of. First she knew she had a baby on the way, she... had a baby rather *immediately* on the way.

Welu · « **Reply #52 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 14:35 »

When I was a child, I didn't know my aunt was pregnant till the baby was born. Although I deliberately wasn't told because she had multiple miscarriages and my parents wanted to avoid having the, "A baby was on the way but now they're not for reasons." conversation with me. As an adult, I've told and learned about other big life events long after they happened with friends who live far away (or nearby but don't meet in person often) but we constantly have casual conversations through social media. During the event you're experiencing it and after you're dealing with possible aftermath or processing it yourself. By the time you're ready or think of telling a specific person, it can feel weird to be like, "Hey, this big positive/negative thing happened to me days/weeks/months ago."

~~~~

On the comic, I like Evie. I also like how Amanda turning up spontaneously echoes the first time she showed up just as Faye was going to work.

War Sparrow · « **Reply #53 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 19:24 »

I am acquainted with those moments. I wish it was easier to donate my uterus to a woman who actually wants the thing.

SomeCanadianWeirdo · « **Reply #54 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 20:08 »

Comic! Reading this makes me wonder how much older Evie is than Amanda. It's really hard to tell in the QCverse how much time has passed, but I'm pretty sure Amanda was 18 when we last saw her. So, if two years have passed she's 20 or 21.

jwhouk · « **Reply #55 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 20:12 »

Quote from: SomeCanadianWeirdo on 09 Jan 2018, 20:08

Comic! Reading this makes me wonder how much older Evie is than Amanda. It's really hard to tell in the QCverse how much time has passed, but I'm pretty sure Amanda was 18 when we last saw her. So, if two years have passed she's 20 or 21.

That'd mean Evie is probably somewhere around 24-25. Older than Claire, younger than Dora.

shanejayell · « **Reply #56 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 20:27 »

Amanda, you just probably upset your girlfriend...

Penquin47 · « **Reply #57 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 20:44 »

I LOVE EVIE. PLEASE SAY WE CAN KEEP HER!!!

SmilingCat · « **Reply #58 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 21:16 »

Quote from: shanejayell on 09 Jan 2018, 20:27

Amanda, you just probably upset your girlfriend...

Or her girlfriend knows that Amanda isn't thinking about marriage right now and isn't being serious.

brasca · « **Reply #59 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 21:29 »

Careful Faye. I can see the inevitable tour of Union Robotics a chance for Amanda to get some payback.

citizenfive · « **Reply #60 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 21:37 »

And with that, there goes one poll option! I think?

Tova · « **Reply #61 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 21:42 »

All of them are ruled out I think, decent guesses though they were.

cesium133 · « **Reply #62 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 21:49 »

Quote from: citizenfive on 09 Jan 2018, 21:37

And with that, there goes one poll option! I think?

Alternate possibility* is that Amanda is upset because she did intend to propose and Faye spoiled the surprise.

*not really

Shjade · « **Reply #63 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 22:18 »

Damn, Evie took that set-up and RAN with it.

BenRG · « **Reply #64 on:** 09 Jan 2018, 23:09 »

Bit of a Freudian moment there in panel 3. No, no-one is talking about marriage and Faye probably had meant 'part of the family' in a broader sense than that. However, it's obvious that Evie has been thinking of it and would welcome it. It is also very obvious that Amanda has been thinking about it and has been wrong-footed by the realisation that he wasn't the only one who was doing so!

It's sweet in a way, when you think about it: In essence, Faye has just told Evie that being in a relationship with Amanda is enough for her to be 'part of the family'. I think it tells you a lot about how warm-hearted Faye is under the armour plating and broken glass in which she shrouds her psyche to avoid being hurt.

Gyrre · « **Reply #65 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 03:26 »

Quote from: War Sparrow on 09 Jan 2018, 19:24

I am acquainted with those moments. I wish it was easier to donate my uterus to a woman who actually wants the thing.

Not sure we've made the medical advances required for that quite yet. I'd have to do some research, but I'm guessing it's mostly due to the stress of childbirth on the scarring sites where the donated tissue is attached to the native tissue.

For the time being, you can donate your eggs and/or have a hysterectomy if you so choose.

Zebediah · « **Reply #66 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 04:33 »

It can and has been done: http://time.com/5044565/exclusive-first-u-s-baby-born-after-a-uterus-transplant/

Welu · « **Reply #67 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 08:45 »

Quote from: Gyrre on 10 Jan 2018, 03:26

For the time being, you can donate your eggs and/or have a hysterectomy if you so choose.

Theoretically. I'm not familiar with egg donation but you need to fit a lot of criteria to be able to do it and it's very hard to find a doctor that will assist you through the process, of any kind of elective sterilisation, if you're not looking for a vasectomy specifically. Especially if you're under 35ish and haven't already had multiple children.

Edit to add that people with penises do get refused vasectomies, but to my knowledge it's nowhere on the scale for people with uteruses getting refused equivalent procedures.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #68 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 08:53 »

In some cases, it can even be difficult to find a doctor to assist you with necessary procedures that would result in sterilization of a person with a uterus/ovaries! "Sure, your periods are so heavy they're causing you to be severely anemic and your PCOS makes it unlikely for you to be able to have a healthy pregnancy, but are you *sure* you don't want BABIES!???!!?!? What if you get married and your husband wants (more) kids?"

Pennepasta · « **Reply #69 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 11:40 »

Quote from: Welu on 10 Jan 2018, 08:45

Theoretically. I'm not familiar with egg donation but you need to fit a lot of criteria to be able to do it and it's very hard to find a doctor that will assist you through the process, of any kind of elective sterilisation, if you're not looking for a vasectomy specifically. Especially if you're under 35ish and haven't already had multiple children.

Edit to add that people with penises do get refused vasectomies, but to my knowledge it's nowhere on the scale for people with uteruses getting refused equivalent procedures.

The entire furore regarding sterilization is nuts. We looked into it, realized that it would be much, much easier for me to get sterilized than my partner (more reliable and cheaper, as they refuse to do actual sterilization on women on the NHS, just going with the worst method because it's easier to undo), and we were amazed at how easy it was, particularly with us both being under 30. Probably just the doctor we ended up seeing, but no "are you SURE?" or "But you might break up!" Or "You'll change your minds!!", just a check that our reasons were sensible from the first doctor, then the standard spiel about it being irreversible from the actual doctor at the clinic. The latter of which he had to go through with me both times I was in, despite doing it the first time

On the flip side, I've got a friend with severe (genetic based, afaik) Arthritis who can't get a Vasectomy, though I don't know if they just said the wrong things to their doctor or what. Quite often, it makes me glad that I've got some parts of life on easymode due to having a penis (though, of course, it's only some), though I then get annoyed at how crappy it is that others don't get similar treatment.

But it's MUCH healthier for women to be perpetually on medication with a list of side effects longer than most peoples' arms - half of which, such as MH ones, don't get mentioned at all, even when people on said medication have MH illnesses - than to lose out on even a miniscule chance of having kids, even if it kills them. The entire culture around contraception, sterilization, and having babies needs to flipping well change. Would any other medication with such a list of side effects as the pill get through any kind of screening? I severely doubt it, but it's a given that the majority of women will be on one of the many types of hormonal contraception at some point, and many will be on it for, what, 30 years? More? Even disregarding the contraception issue, people are put on it for regulating periods to some extent, and people are criminally underinformed regarding the side effects. Then we get to the fact that many NHS trusts don't offer any female sterilization at all now. If they do, it's stupid clips, not actual sterilization. "Not cost effective" - but it's a damn sight cheaper than even one kid's child maintenance for sixteen years!

DaiJB · « **Reply #70 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 17:47 »

Quote from: Shjade on 09 Jan 2018, 22:18

Damn, Evie took that set-up and RAN with it.

Yep, that was such a classy response - I said I liked this Evie before, and I see no reason to change my opinion

SmilingCat · « **Reply #71 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 19:15 »

Quote from: Welu on 10 Jan 2018, 08:45

Quote from: Gyrre on 10 Jan 2018, 03:26
For the time being, you can donate your eggs and/or have a hysterectomy if you so choose.

Theoretically. I'm not familiar with egg donation but you need to fit a lot of criteria to be able to do it and it's very hard to find a doctor that will assist you through the process, of any kind of elective sterilisation, if you're not looking for a vasectomy specifically. Especially if you're under 35ish and haven't already had multiple children.

Edit to add that people with penises do get refused vasectomies, but to my knowledge it's nowhere on the scale for people with uteruses getting refused equivalent procedures.

Excuse me if I'm wrong, but isn't that partially because a vasectomy is minor surgery that is much easier to reverse while a tubal ligation is major surgery, more expensive, requires more recovery time, is harder to reverse, has forty times the risk of mortality (4 out of 100,000 instead of 1 out of 1,000,000) and in every way more drastic?

Maybe things will change if non-surgical sterilization clears FDA trials.

War Sparrow · « **Reply #72 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 20:13 »

Nobody wants my eggs. My genetics are a crime scene.
It is riskier-any surgery is-but I have no intention of using it (People nagging about kids? Tell them you hate the sound of a child's laughter. They'll never ask again).

Re:Comic. I, uh, kind of want to read Evie's thesis on Post Singularity Psychology.

St.Clair · « **Reply #73 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 21:48 »

Comic's up.

Do a littel dnace
Maek a littel lvoe
Get dwon tonigt

BenRG · « **Reply #74 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 23:14 »

I've read through today's strip twice and have stuck on a single thing in Faye's 'voice-over' in panel 3. She said 'we' have better things to do than look for a new relationship. Who is 'we', I wonder and why is Faye automatically including them in her personal priorities? Those who know my posting history will know that I have a preference in my answer to this but I'm interested to see if this turns out to be significance of if it is just a typo on Jeph's part!

Now, I also find myself wondering just what the first face-to-face between Amanda and Evie was like. I'm foreseeing a lot of stuttering, random subject-changes and failure to make eye contact on Amanda's part.

Prediction for next week: Evie takes Bubbles to one side to talk about her feelings for Faye. When Bubbles tries to wave it off, Evie will say something like: "As I haven't got my doctorate yet, I'm legally restrained from calling this 'classic denial'."

sitnspin · « **Reply #75 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 23:15 »

See, Amanda? This is why I skip straight to the point rather than taking months to get there.

MrNumbers · « **Reply #76 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 23:32 »

This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

I'm a compromised writer here. I officially can't tell between whether this is effective telegraphing -- the explicit lack of interest in male partners being emphasized, the sister being brought back explicitly to show new relationships as a theme for Faye to echo -- or just my shipping goggles on overdrive trying to justify what I hope it is. This sucks.

WoaLG · « **Reply #77 on:** 10 Jan 2018, 23:49 »

Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32

This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

I'm a compromised writer here. I officially can't tell between whether this is effective telegraphing -- the explicit lack of interest in male partners being emphasized, the sister being brought back explicitly to show new relationships as a theme for Faye to echo -- or just my shipping goggles on overdrive trying to justify what I hope it is. This sucks.

I suspect it's probably a setup to resolve the issue between Bubbles and Faye, but I can see it going in a direction I haven't seen anybody talking about. What if they figure out that they don't really want to try a relationship? There are lots of reasons that it might not be a good idea. Risking a friendship, risking their business, the social issues of the AI/Human relationship, and simple differences in life experiences, for example.

pwhodges · « **Reply #78 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 00:11 »

Quote from: BenRG on 10 Jan 2018, 23:14

She said 'we' have better things to do than look for a new relationship. Who is 'we', I wonder and why is Faye automatically including them in her personal priorities?

Royal we, or if you prefer: "me and my libido".

OldGoat · « **Reply #79 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 00:46 »

They're gonna get along just fine as sisters-in-law. But poor Mandy - both her sister and her girlfriend tag-teaming her to wind her up.

gopher · « **Reply #80 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 00:49 »

Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32

This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

I'm a compromised writer here. I officially can't tell between whether this is effective telegraphing -- the explicit lack of interest in male partners being emphasized, the sister being brought back explicitly to show new relationships as a theme for Faye to echo -- or just my shipping goggles on overdrive trying to justify what I hope it is. This sucks.

I think it is, but I hope it is not. Feels far too much like the author just putting together two single characters to tidy things up. Faye and Bubbles are great friends and work partners, I don't see them as great romantic partners. Faye is quite broken that way and Bubbles is Bubbles.

BenRG · « **Reply #81 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 01:23 »

Quote from: OldGoat on 11 Jan 2018, 00:46

They're gonna get along just fine as sisters-in-law. But poor Mandy - both her sister and her girlfriend tag-teaming her to wind her up.

Here's a thought (a variant of one that I had before I got a decent handle on Evie and Amanda's relationship): Maybe the professors at Smif will be so impressed with Evie that, dependent on the outcome of her PhD, they'll offer her tenure at the college. The assessors are so positive that Evie feels that she can start with the assumption that she's going to get her degree immediately. After they take a brief look at Northampton's dire housing market, Faye approaches Hanners, who is more than willing to transfer her tenancy over to the newcomers as she doesn't know when she'll be back and, when she returns, whether she will still want to live in a place so strongly tied to her past.

So, Amanda and Evie become the new next-door neighbours. This stirs up the dynamic in Marten and Faye's apartment, giving Marten the support of Evie as a fellow Token Sane One as well as giving us endless Whitaker Sisters hi-jinks.

Cornelius · « **Reply #82 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 01:33 »

I like the sound of that.

Also, Hanners leaving, means that the band is out of a drummer again.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #83 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 02:17 »

Quote from: gopher on 11 Jan 2018, 00:49

Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32
This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

I'm a compromised writer here. I officially can't tell between whether this is effective telegraphing -- the explicit lack of interest in male partners being emphasized, the sister being brought back explicitly to show new relationships as a theme for Faye to echo -- or just my shipping goggles on overdrive trying to justify what I hope it is. This sucks.

I think it is, but I hope it is not. Feels far too much like the author just putting together two single characters to tidy things up. Faye and Bubbles are great friends and work partners, I don't see them as great romantic partners. Faye is quite broken that way and Bubbles is Bubbles.

Dora is quite broken in similar ways as well. That's what caused the break up between her and Marten after all. But she and Tai have been happily together for some time now. People can heal. Faye has healed and grown quite a bit since the days of Angus and drinking herself into the hospital. And Bubbles has grown tremendously since she was introduced. Jeph has been dropping hints like a 50 pound weight about Bubbles' attraction to Faye for a while now. And the set up for Amanda or Evie to make a comment that will bring it all out in the open is clearly here. You can only drag out the 'will they, won't they' thing so long before it becomes boring. So yeah, I absolutely see something happening on Friday and next week dealing with the aftermath. What the thing is we don't know yet, but there are a lot of options.

BenRG · « **Reply #84 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 02:33 »

Quote from: gopher on 11 Jan 2018, 00:49

I think it is, but I hope it is not. Feels far too much like the author just putting together two single characters to tidy things up. Faye and Bubbles are great friends and work partners, I don't see them as great romantic partners. Faye is quite broken that way and Bubbles is Bubbles.

I'm not sure myself but I have the feeling that Jeph decided to make Bubbles a romantic foil for Faye fairly early on in the Fighting Arena character arc. It's just that we're just approaching a major event in that arc and that the growth of Faye and Bubbles' emotional bond and mutual intimacy has been going on for so long on slow-burn that it's sometimes hard to remember that this didn't just start suddenly since Bubbles moved in with Faye, Marten and Claire.

TinPenguin · « **Reply #85 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 02:34 »

Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32

This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

What, Faye directly demonstrating that she doesn't even contemplate the idea of a female partner as a remote possibility?

Zebediah · « **Reply #86 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 04:39 »

Quote from: BenRG on 11 Jan 2018, 01:23

Here's a thought (a variant of one that I had before I got a decent handle on Evie and Amanda's relationship): Maybe the professors at Smif will be so impressed with Evie that, dependent on the outcome of her PhD, they'll offer her tenure at the college.

No offense Ben, but it’s clear you have never worked in an academic environment, if only from your misuse of the word “tenure” as it is used in the academic world. It is just barely conceivable that Smif might invite Evie to interview for a postdoctoral fellowship based on a well-received paper. But tenure is typically only given to someone who has been employed in a department for years and has risen through the ranks from lowly adjunct to full professor. Tenure means complete academic freedom and guaranteed lifetime employment - typically tenured professors can only be dismissed for severe misconduct or illegal activity (and sometimes not even for that.) It’s a long term career goal, not something anyone is given right out of the starting gate.

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #87 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 05:03 »

I Love Faye.

I Love Bubbles.

I just don't wanna see "Faybles"...

cesium133 · « **Reply #88 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 05:48 »

Quote from: Zebediah on 11 Jan 2018, 04:39

Quote from: BenRG on 11 Jan 2018, 01:23
Here's a thought (a variant of one that I had before I got a decent handle on Evie and Amanda's relationship): Maybe the professors at Smif will be so impressed with Evie that, dependent on the outcome of her PhD, they'll offer her tenure at the college.

No offense Ben, but it’s clear you have never worked in an academic environment, if only from your misuse of the word “tenure” as it is used in the academic world. It is just barely conceivable that Smif might invite Evie to interview for a postdoctoral fellowship based on a well-received paper. But tenure is typically only given to someone who has been employed in a department for years and has risen through the ranks from lowly adjunct to full professor. Tenure means complete academic freedom and guaranteed lifetime employment - typically tenured professors can only be dismissed for severe misconduct or illegal activity (and sometimes not even for that.) It’s a long term career goal, not something anyone is given right out of the starting gate.

I was going to respond, as an academic who is currently trying to escape academia, but you beat me to it. Little AIs running around everywhere and their inventor living on a space station, sure, but if Evie was offered tenure while still in grad school, that would be beyond suspension of disbelief.

Shjade · « **Reply #89 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 13:48 »

Quote from: JoeCovenant on 11 Jan 2018, 05:03

I Love Faye.

I Love Bubbles.

I just don't wanna see "Faybles"...

So you're more of a Bubblayé fan?

shanejayell · « **Reply #90 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 16:27 »

Looking forward to Amanda meeting Bubbles. Should be funny at least...

MrNumbers · « **Reply #91 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 20:48 »

Quote from: TinPenguin on 11 Jan 2018, 02:34

Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32
This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

What, Faye directly demonstrating that she doesn't even contemplate the idea of a female partner as a remote possibility?

No, just that she's only been dismissing the idea of male ones. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and all that.

St.Clair · « **Reply #92 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 22:22 »

Comic.

Well, so much for the marriage. They're both totally smitten with Bubbles now.

brasca · « **Reply #93 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 22:26 »

No fair! Bubbles blushes too easily. It was Amanda’s chance to make Faye squirm.

Bad Superman · « **Reply #94 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 22:43 »

Quote from: MrNumbers on 11 Jan 2018, 20:48

Quote from: TinPenguin on 11 Jan 2018, 02:34
Quote from: MrNumbers on 10 Jan 2018, 23:32
This is absolutely the start of an arc that gets Faye to ask Bubbles out isn't it? Like it just is.

What, Faye directly demonstrating that she doesn't even contemplate the idea of a female partner as a remote possibility?

No, just that she's only been dismissing the idea of male ones. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence and all that.

Has Faye at some point in the comic expressed a romantic interest in women?
As far as I'm aware all of her romantic/sexual encounters we know of were with men.

Cornelius · « **Reply #95 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 22:52 »

Well, I think Evie might need to stick around for a bit. For research purposes, naturally.

Also, regarding Faye's attraction or not: so far she's only been shown being attracted to guys, if we disregard anything that might be interpreted as attraction to Bubbles. But then, some people only realise it's an option for them, when the right person comes along.

BenRG · « **Reply #96 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 23:11 »

I would have thought that Bubbles would be used to random ladies in Faye's life reacting to her in this manner. Dora, Sam and Tai and now Amanda and Evie are all: "Ooh, wow! Cool giant AI lady!" At least in Evie's case, I've got the feeling that there is an animé fan aspect to this, just based on the stars in her eyes! Faye, at least, is used to it and, based on panel 4, it has started to be vaguely tiring for her!

So, we know that 'growing hair' for a synthetic involves dunking their hair in a solution that slowly grows out the polymers over time. Bubbles has definitely done it because her ponytail suggests that her hair is now beyond shoulder length. I wonder why she did it? The most logical reason is 'because she wanted to; she liked the look' but I can't help wonder if there may be other influences on Bubbles' sense of aesthetics. If nothing else, I think that she was inspired by Roko's 'do.

Just a little thought on panel 1: This is a sign that you're in a Questionable Content robotics workshop. You don't know if the machinery you're looking at is equipment or people; it's best to assume the latter just to avoid pointless arguments!

SmilingCat · « **Reply #97 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 23:15 »

"Booty like an Abrams". Booty so hot you'll burst into flames?

sitnspin · « **Reply #98 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 23:17 »

Large and made of steel? And will blow you away.

gopher · « **Reply #99 on:** 11 Jan 2018, 23:41 »

When May first met Bubbles Faye gave May crap for objecrifying Bubbles and particularly her bottom. Now Faye encourages every female who meets Bubble to do it and now Bubbles is written as enjoying it. Can't decide if it hypocrisy or just expediency on behalf of the author to establish Bubbles as a sexual being.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

Why is Amanda Here?

Author Topic: WCDT Strips 3650-3655 (8th to 12th January 2018) (Read 23694 times)