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Steve and Cossette eating cereal together and smiling in the last panel

7 (14.9%)

Wil declaming romantic prose to a blushing Penny in the middle of Coffee of Doom

3 (6.4%)

Faye, Bubbles, Renee, Clinton and Elliott having a defiant 'Content in our Singleness' party

10 (21.3%)

Jim and Veronica on a formal dinner date at which they can't stop fretting about Sam

3 (6.4%)

Dale and Marigold sharing pizza and soda whlist Momo complains about the lack of romance in their souls

4 (8.5%)

Henry and Maurice sitting on the patio of their house

3 (6.4%)

Arthur and Melon discussing romantic puns and missing that they're a couple too

5 (10.6%)

Jeremy and Seven doing 'biped with hands' things and finding that fascinating

2 (4.3%)

Marten and Claire discuss the ethics of shipping friends before closing a door with a sock on the handle

5 (10.6%)

Other (please specify in a comment)

5 (10.6%)

Total Members Voted: 44

[TV4Fun]

Wow, Marten and Claire have really been Demoted to Extra.

[BenRG]

Today we are reminded of something about which it is easy to forget: Claire's hair is a distinct if symbiotic life-form and it is HUNGRY. It nearly bit off Marten's tongue the first time he kissed the top of Claire's head and we all remember how Emily nearly lost her hands to this creature! What Pintsize thought he was doing tempting the beast is beyond my imagination!

Seriously, though I actually think that there was a message to Faye and Bubbles in today's strip: Neither of you live a normal life; don't expect any present or future part of it to be normal and/or predictable!

SHENANIGANS

Actually, 'Noodle Incident'.

I like the mirrored body language in panel one.

That was deliberate, IMHO. Either Bubbles is unconsciously imprinting 'normal behaviour' from Faye or Jeph is playing around with the 'they're already acting like a couple' concept.

[oeoek]

The floof files, part one.

[JoeCovenant]

Personally, I just want to see Sara happy with the allosaur.

They are obviously meant for one another.

Some might argue that Faye and Bubbles are obliviously meant for one another...

[Sullivan]

Off the top of MY head, they should either disassemble Pintsize, or call Hanners. Off the top of Claire's head, go with the scissors.

Disassembling Pintsize: Marigold knows how to do that. A good ploy for getting her back into the story!

[Zebediah]

We don’t need Marigold to disassemble Pintsize any more. There are two experienced robot repair technicians living in that apartment.

[Sullivan]

Pfah. "Need" is such a strict criterion.

Anyway, Marigold has recent experience at the job!

[Cornelius]

I distinctly remember Marten having disassembled Pintsize due to  the cake mix incident, early on. But perhaps that was before his current chassis.

[Is it cold in here?]

"Contained-field magnetics" is apparently easy to take apart and put back together.

[shanejayell]

 

On one hand I'd suggest em-pulsing Pintsize to pop him apart and get him loose.

On the other, might PTSD Bubbles...

[jwhouk]

"poor decision-making skills"

… on WHOSE part?

Yes.

[brasca]

Today we are reminded of something about which it is easy to forget: Claire's hair is a distinct if symbiotic life-form and it is HUNGRY. It nearly bit off Marten's tongue the first time he kissed the top of Claire's head and we all remember how Emily nearly lost her hands to this creature! What Pintsize thought he was doing tempting the beast is beyond my imagination!

Seriously, though I actually think that there was a message to Faye and Bubbles in today's strip: Neither of you live a normal life; don't expect any present or future part of it to be normal and/or predictable!

Agreed.  Although it’s nice to come home to old familiar irritations.

[swapna]

Long time reader (since 2008 I think), new poster because there's an angle here I'm not sure people are considering. This relationship between Faye and Bubbles is the first intimate, asexual, non-romantic partnership between any characters in this strip, the first queerplatonic relationship. While some people are calling for a resolution to perceived romantic tension, and other's just want Jeph to change focus for a while, I find their relationship refreshing. All too often in literature the very important friendships in people's lives, the sorts of friendships that are true partnerships, are treated as second-string to romantic and sexual relationships. Even though Bubbles may be interested in romance to some extent, she's clearly happy with the partnership she has, and may be willing to leave behind her romantic interest forever to sustain that relationship. Even romantically inclined people can be perfectly happy without romance in their lives. There doesn't need to be a resolution. And I'm happy to continue watching their friendship as they feel out their personal boundaries. This is what queerplatonic relationships are all about, that personal definition of what works and what doesn't for the people involved.

I'd actually be disappointed if Jeph decided to quickly veer this off into romance or sex. It's interesting as it is.

@ckridge already pointed out that this kind of relationship is the norm between AnthroPCs and their companions. There are a lot of best friend pairs that don't have any kind of romance in between (Marigold/Hanners, for example). The best example might be Faye/Marten: even though it started out with romance, they have been best friends through several relationships, through really ugly times and the good. Exactly the kind of relationship you were describing - intimate, meaningful and committed.

What we didn't already have are people who are questioning their sexuality. The only person who came out later in life is Marten's dad, and we only meet him when all that's said and done.
Faye may be bi but hasn't figured it out yet, and it would be fun to see her explore that.

[Is it cold in here?]

All true but Bubbles and Faye strike me as showing a kind of intimacy that Marigold and Hannelore did not.

[BillGuy]

"Contained-field magnetics" is apparently easy to take apart and put back together.

Comic 464-465 for those playing at home.

[A small perverse otter]

We don’t need Marigold to disassemble Pintsize any more. There are two experienced robot repair technicians living in that apartment.

Yes, but would they take him apart in such a way that he could be put back together again? And, if so, would they actually do so?

I think that waiting for Marigold might be a better choice, after all.

[Penquin47]

Oh no, poor Bubbles!  I'm surprised we didn't see the fweeeeeeeeeeeeee again!

[SpanielBear]

Oh no, poor Bubbles!  I'm surprised we didn't see the fweeeeeeeeeeeeee again!

She may need to reload.

[ImVeryAngryItsNotButter]

I am torturing Bubbles

No, you're torturing your fanbase.

[brasca]

I know Bubbles lost a lot of her memories, but I'd think she'd remember enough communal living in basic training to not be embarrassed by this. 

[Loki]

We don’t need Marigold to disassemble Pintsize any more. There are two experienced robot repair technicians living in that apartment.

Yes, but would they take him apart in such a way that he could be put back together again? And, if so, would they actually do so?

Would you need all of the King's knights to put him back together again?

Okay, discussion point.

It is incumbent upon Bubbles in this situation to say something along the lines of "seeing you half-naked is not a strictly platonic experience for me, as you seem to assume"? (Sorry for the awkward wording, I just woke up.)

[Somebody]

I know Bubbles lost a lot of her memories, but I'd think she'd remember enough communal living in basic training to not be embarrassed by this.

Also, she & her two-tone skin walk around naked all the time. Double standards...

[Shjade]

I know Bubbles lost a lot of her memories, but I'd think she'd remember enough communal living in basic training to not be embarrassed by this. 

I don't think the skin exposure is, itself, the cause for her reaction here, brasca, but rather the person to whom said skin belongs.

[Is it cold in here?]

It's an open question why synthetics care about human nudity.

[BenRG]

That was a surprisingly innocent chuckle of a strip. It is something that I could have imagined seeing in a comedic-themed comic book.

What I think we are seeing here is that Bubbles is discovering the nature of sexual attraction. What we also see (and I think this is interesting) is that Faye isn't oblivious, rather she is actively in denial about Bubbles's reaction to her. She hasn't yet worked out that Bubbles is attracted to her and is assuming that her reaction is prudishness rather than anything else.

Oh, and now we know that Bubbles is into Faye's legs in a big way!

Oh no, poor Bubbles!  I'm surprised we didn't see the fweeeeeeeeeeeeee again!

We have. Look carefully around Bubbles' neck on panel 3!

It's an open question why synthetics care about human nudity.

It's partially social normalisation for those residing in anthropomimetic chassis, I think. Humans have a nudity taboo and they mimic it. However, in Bubbles' specific case, it's because she finds the body in question attractive and she's struggling against lots of weird reactions and urges.


[EDIT - Fix'd typo]

[Bollthorn]

Stop torturing poor Bubbles you meanie.

Also daaaaayum Faye be thicc :3

[Gyrre]

I know Bubbles lost a lot of her memories, but I'd think she'd remember enough communal living in basic training to not be embarrassed by this.

Also, she & her two-tone skin walk around naked all the time. Double standards...

The darker portion is confirmed by Jeph to be a sort of unitard.

[Aenno]

it's because she finds the body in question attractive and she's struggling against lots of weird reactions and urges.

I _do_ wonder which weird reactions and, especially, urges AI has here. Do somebody installed hormonal system in her body and made a setup to link AI core to said system?

[Near Lurker]

The darker portion is confirmed by Jeph to be a sort of unitard.

Speaking of which, I'm now pretty sure Faye's wearing panties, but my first thought (especially with Bubbles' line leading me to think she wasn't) was that we were seeing a bit of mons.  Did anyone else get that impression?

[anahata]

It is incumbent upon Bubbles in this situation to say something along the lines of "seeing you half-naked is not a strictly platonic experience for me, as you seem to assume"? (Sorry for the awkward wording, I just woke up.)

Awkward wording is typical of Bubbles, so that looks quite authentic.

But would Bubbles give away that much about her feelings? She's usually quite cautious about what she says.

[WoaLG]

So what's the betting pool that this ship will either sail or sink on February 14th?

(I hate that word, but I'm not sure what else to call it in this case.)

[BenRG]

it's because she finds the body in question attractive and she's struggling against lots of weird reactions and urges.

I _do_ wonder which weird reactions and, especially, urges AI has here. Do somebody installed hormonal system in her body and made a setup to link AI core to said system?

It is clear that there is some characteristic of Chatham-type AIs (much like Smart AIs in the Halo universe) that they mimic human brain-patterns in the development of friendships, personal emotional bonds and even sexual attraction. This is not hormonal as they don't have a hormonal system or even an analogue thereof. Rather, it seems to be some aspect of their personality algorithms that makes them seek emotional connections with others and, possibly through mimicry of humans around them, this sometimes expresses itself as sexual attraction.

Whilst it is unlikely that they have an instinctual reproductive drive, they do seem to subconsciously understand that sex is one of the deepest expressions of intimacy possible and that seems to manifest itself as reacting strongly to the appropriate imagery or experiences that match their attraction preferences.

So what's the betting pool that this ship will either sail or sink on February 14th?

I don't think so; my feeling is that Jeph is moving the arc forward to the point where Faye recognises that there is some kind of thing happening between her and Bubbles and going no further than that immediately. I'm wondering if we'll reach that point this Friday, actually. From what he's said on Twitter, the next arc will be Emily-centric and I expect that next week.

[Aenno]

It is clear that there is some characteristic of Chatham-type AIs (much like Smart AIs in the Halo universe) that they mimic human brain-patterns in the development of friendships, personal emotional bonds and even sexual attraction. This is not hormonal as they don't have a hormonal system or even an analogue thereof. Rather, it seems to be some aspect of their personality algorithms that makes them seek emotional connections with others and, possibly through mimicry of humans around them, this sometimes expresses itself as sexual attraction.

Sure. But it's a very complicated problem. Sorry for overanalysing the joke, by the way.

(click to show/hide)

Humans became sexually aroused (not to be equaled with "romantically attracted"!) by hormonal working, normally non-controllable through conscious thought, and it's essentially body thing, not mind thing (so I can't see it as fundamental option of sentient mind of any type). I belive it's quite obvious that AIs here lack correct hardware system to reproduce it, and AI personalities is separate from their bodies anyway, so very concept of sexual arousing, especially human sexual arousing, is alien for them. It should be software emulation. Question is, how exactly mechanism of emulating sexual attraction works.

It can be concious action from AI side, "acting" if I can use this word, when AI decides that he wants to create this kind of bond, to "feel human" for example. I doubt it's Bubbles' case. It is possible, for sure, but can't imagine pre-romance Bubbles to actually decide to act this way. Also even if we believes that AIs think faster that humans, this kind of system would be limited by AI personal experience, and by this kinda weird until it's AI perfectly socialized into human society in question (I mean, if we have AI who ever was socialized in one social structure, he wouldn't adequate in another).

Or it can be special software, "sexual DLLs", with instructions to mind to load and behave some way beyond rational command. It is nice emulation for instinctive reations like sexual arose, but this DLLs should be installed first time. I can totally believe that kind of libraries is created by AIs in QC world (to integrate them in society better, for example, or to improve "human experience" AIs have), and put into net for free downloading (I believe something like that was described in earlier comics, with Pintsize and gender description), but then Bubbles needed to download and install them.

So essentially as sexual arousing is alien for AIs by design, it should be conscious action by AI to emulate them, and if so Bubbles looks quite masochistic here, don't you think? I mean she looks like situation kinda unpleasant and unexpected to her.

[BenRG]

I think that you're getting too deep into the whys and wherefores Aenno. All Jeph has to do is be internally consistent to his own universe. He is not obliged to make what he portrays in his work consistent to how real work AI would work.

FWIW, in the Halo universe, because they are directly derived from real human synaptic patterns, AIs subconsciously 'fill in the gaps' by creating in themselves reaction patterns that are analogous to attraction. So, they don't need any biological basis for it, they are 'psychosomatically' responding to what their intelligence algorithm insists ought to be there.

[jwhouk]

It is suggested that this is the case with Officer Basilik, at least with her feet.

Sent from my NXA8QC116 using Tapatalk

[Near Lurker]

Also, someone has to say it:

"I am decent.  I also happen to be naked."

[Aenno]

It is suggested that this is the case with Officer Basilik, at least with her feet.

Thing is, upload technology was directly declared as noexistent in QC (at least yet). This AIs aren't copies of humans.
At least if there is no some kind of spooky conspiracy.

I think that you're getting too deep into the whys and wherefores Aenno. All Jeph has to do is be internally consistent to his own universe. He is not obliged to make what he portrays in his work consistent to how real work AI would work.

FWIW, in the Halo universe, because they are directly derived from real human synaptic patterns, AIs subconsciously 'fill in the gaps' by creating in themselves reaction patterns that are analogous to attraction. So, they don't need any biological basis for it, they are 'psychosomatically' responding to what their intelligence algorithm insists ought to be there.

That's why I said sorry for overanalyzing the joke. I still believe it's intresting question, but I don't want to derail thread.

[JoeCovenant]

Also, someone has to say it:

"I am decent.  I also happen to be naked."

"Decent? I'm gorram SPLENDID!"

[Case]

Negligent flash-boobery in the first degree - the problem society dare not name ...

[SinusPi]

Negligent... or negligeent? C'mon, surely that was coming.

[Marco]

...so very concept of sexual arousing, especially human sexual arousing, is alien for them.

Try to explain this to May or Pintsize.

[yaksaregreat]

On the latest strip, 3673, Bubbles is freaking out about Faye's butt, but I can see her underwear peeking out???

[Is it cold in here?]

Faye isn't oblivious, rather she is actively in denial about Bubbles's reaction to her.

I believe this.

Do you think Faye is also in denial about her own budding and unclear feelings toward Bubbles?

[ckridge]

This is probably funnier if it hasn't happened to you. It did to me once, with a girl I was crushing on and had no business to be crushing on, and I would see her every time I blinked for a week or so. It was better than repeatedly dropping a hammer on your toe but worse than tinnitus. The terrible thing is that it can mean utterly nothing more than that the woman in question feels comfortable around you because you don't register as a sexual object at all.

Bubbles is brave when it comes to enduring pain, though a coward when it comes to speaking her heart, so she will probably just suck it up. I would be so out of there. "No, I'm fine, I just feel like sleeping on the sidewalk tonight and every night forever. I can jury-rig a plug out of the base of a lamp-post. My dosimeter has gone black. A couple of more doses of butt-rays, and valentine-shaped tumors will seed themselves all through my body."

[shanejayell]

 

Jeph ids ADMITTING he's torturing poor Bubbles. Ha.

[TheBiscuit]

On the latest strip, 3673, Bubbles is freaking out about Faye's butt, but I can see her underwear peeking out???

Various kinds of panties exist which show off large amounts of butt. Thong style, for example. Bubbles may still be seeing enough to drive her a little crazy, even if it isn't quite the 'full moon'.

All that said, I would have expected Bubbles to enjoy the view and remain silent.

[BenRG]

All that said, I would have expected Bubbles to enjoy the view and remain silent.

That's not Bubbles, though, is it? She's a full-on lawful-good paladin-type personality. If Faye appeared before her naked, her most likely reaction would be to grab a towel, cover her up and usher her into her bedroom so she could get dressed whilst Bubbles guarded the door!

[ckridge]

I don't think it possible to over-analyze how AIs can desire humans. (Or anything else, for that matter. There is no over-thinking, only sometimes under-acting.) What we are really doing when we do that is trying to imagine what Bubbles is feeling.

First off, we have to keep in mind that AIs who consort with humans are a self-selected group who like to talk and make friends. We know, from a throwaway joke, that some tried to consort with dolphins, and that this did not work as well. There are likely a great many AIs for whom humans are a peripheral concern. Bubbles, by contrast, is naturally inclined toward friendship.

Second, Bubbles is bereaved, bereft of her memory of bereavement, and trying to make friends again anyway. She is risking much more than any of the other AIs, and so is bringing a much more intense mixture of fear, desire, and determination to the table.

Third, Bubbles has grown up immersed in our culture, in which sex and romance are continually upheld as heaven on earth, because they just about are, and because they can be used to sell you just about anything.

Fourth, Bubbles in particular must have some way of gearing up suddenly from everyday life into combat mode. It would be absurdly wasteful to have her continually able to knock down walls and overturn armored vehicles, and would lead to accidents every time she got distracted. She must have some set of systems that do the same work that adrenaline and the related stress hormones do in humans, and arouse her body to its full capacities.

Much has been made of how close human fear-and-flight arousal is to human sexual arousal, particularly in the shy and inexperienced. The mouth goes dry, the hands get shaky, the skin flushes or grows pale, the heart stumbles and pounds, one feels hot, and so on. We have seen something like this happen when Bubbles vents coolant.

So, I suspect that what is happening here is that Bubbles is being slain by Faye's beauty, just as one of us might be slain by beauty, because we all learned how to do that from the same books and movies. At the same time, I think, her body is furiously preparing itself for some emergency, with utterly no notion of what the emergency might be. We can't know just what that feels like, because we don't have bodies anything like hers, but it is likely profoundly moving and neither entirely pleasant nor entirely unpleasant.

[Aenno]

Try to explain this to May or Pintsize.

None of them had an arc based on being sexualy aroused by a human and trying to deal with it. Also Pintsize or May are exactly that kind of persons who would emulate sexual arousing (or, even more likely, just declaring they have sexual arousing) to pester people around.

So, I suspect that what is happening here is that Bubbles is being slain by Faye's beauty, just as one of us might be slain by beauty, because we all learned how to do that from the same books and movies. At the same time, I think, her body is furiously preparing itself for some emergency, with utterly no notion of what the emergency might be. We can't know just what that feels like, because we don't have bodies anything like hers, but it is likely profoundly moving and neither entirely pleasant nor entirely unpleasant.

So you're saying about scenario like this: Bubbles feels attraction from, let's say, platonic reasons, as AI persons are modeled after humans culturally; her body detecting such attraction as a generic stress and activating generic mobilisation protocols.
That's entirely plausible when we're speaking about animal, who have body reactions created evolutionary, and before concious minds. But why on Earth Bubbles' chassis would do (and even allowed to do) this kind of things autonomously without Bubbles control?

[Neko_Ali]

Because antropc bodies have specifically been designed to simulate human reactions. Or at least passing similarities. The in universe reasoning probably  has something to do with allowing them to closely interact with humans in a way that humans are used to, to better foster human-android relations. The real reason is because Jeph wants them to react in ways similar to humans to better telegraph their emotions to us. Someone like Pintsize or Jeremy, either his old assembly arm or current more humanoid form lack these sorts of reactions so it's harder at a glance for use to identify their emotional state, meaning it has to be spelled out.