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Clinton and Elliot getting to know each other

19 (37.3%)

Tall bread tales

3 (5.9%)

Sentient orbs of light

3 (5.9%)

Brun's happiness

11 (21.6%)

Brun's amusing obliviousness to Clinton's and Elliot's feelings

10 (19.6%)

I can't believe that you didn't mention ....

5 (9.8%)

Total Members Voted: 48

[Tova]

It's time to kick off another week of wacky hi-jinks with a new poll.

[SpanielBear]

On the subject of sentient orbs of light- Shame Orb? Does this mean Yelling Bird and co were visions of QC's future? Sentient minds occupying a myriad of different forms, a life without death or pain, initially proposed as a cure to all ills but in practice so stifling to the spirit that lashing out with extreme behaviour is a desperate cry for connection and meaning?

I for one appreciate the foreshadowing.

[shanejayell]

No mention of poor Roko in the poll?

[cesium133]

No mention of poor Roko in the poll?

Indeed. A toast to Roko! 

[shanejayell]

*randomly chucks a bagel*

[Penquin47]

Aw, Melon is adorable.

[shanejayell]

Apparently I was precognative. *lol*

(I'm not on the Patreon)

Melon IS cute. Poor Roko tho.

[MrNumbers]

It's a very cute comic on its own, but I'm not a fan of mashing Melon and Roko together or the larger implications. It makes the world smaller, and like... I guess I'll have to return to my most recurring criticism: I think Jeph makes bad decisions when he likes a character too much, and he really likes Melon right now.

[shanejayell]

He had already had a pic with Melon and Roko together, so it's not like it wasn't foreshadowed... 

[SpanielBear]

I dunno, Jeph can't really win here. Too few characters and people say his world's too small, too many and people complain that characters fall out of the loop. He can aim for a balance, whether he hits it is always going to be a matter of personal taste.

For my part, a Roko and Melon focussed week sounds great, though I imagine we will be switching between them and the Revelation. Shenanigans ahoy!

I wonder if "socially appropriate greeting" is just their thing, or if it's a fashionable ironic "meta-human signalling" affectation that hipster AI's are doing, and Roko is humouring Melon by indulging/can't be bothered to fight about it.

[efindumb]

Call me crazy, but I'm seeing Melon as the Emily to Roko's Marten. They are friendly, but Melon is oblivious to how annoying and cringeworthy she can be while also giving you a sense of cuteness and caring when you deeply need it.

[Is it cold in here?]

I wonder how they met.

[brasca]

This just screams buddy cop show and/or movie.  Perhaps Mellon is in a special unit.  It would explain how she could enter Steve's house without there being legal problems. 

[jesslc]

He had already had a pic with Melon and Roko together, so it's not like it wasn't foreshadowed... 

Rereading part of the archives last week, I found this strip: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3566
I thought nothing of it at the time but in light of today's comic as well as the photo last week, I find it interesting that Roko referred to Melon as "some girl" - is she reluctant to admit she actually knows Melon?

[St.Clair]

This just screams buddy cop show and/or movie.  Perhaps Mellon is in a special unit.  It would explain how she could enter Steve's house without there being legal problems.

We've already seen Melon's day job.  Then again, she had a different roommate.  Perhaps both have changed in the interim.

[BenRG]

Jeph seems to love creating 'odd couple' friendships in this strip. In this case, it's Melon, the eccentric and joy-filled weirdo, and Roko, the serious and socially-frustrated cop.

I love so much about this strip. Melon's completely unselfconscious love for Roko really feeds into my idea that they were crèche-sisters (compiled at the same time and were BFF's during their pre-embodiment phase). That these feelings are mutual to some extent is shown by Roko's lack of overt annoyance and the simple fact that there is a photo of her and Melon on the wall by the door. This is someone she's used to and that, despite everything, someone whose company she enjoys.

Oddly enough, this strip reminds me of Hannelore in her 'stalk Marten and Faye' phase, when she was repeatedly breaking into the apartment and demonstrating total unawareness as to why this is inappropriate. Just as I got the impression that Marten felt a certain reluctance to possibly trigger worse behaviour in Hanners by pushing back hard, I think that Roko finds it easier to indulge Melon rather than arrest her for trespass or something like that. Then, much to her shock (once again, like Marten with Hanners), she found everyone's favourite crazy synthetic was growing on her!

[Penquin47]

This just screams buddy cop show and/or movie.  Perhaps Mellon is in a special unit.  It would explain how she could enter Steve's house without there being legal problems.

We've already seen Melon's day job.  Then again, she had a different roommate.  Perhaps both have changed in the interim.

Roko's not her roommate.  Melon just wanted to sit on Roko's couch instead of on her own floor.

[Bollthorn]

"Socially appropriate greeting!" ^_^

Melon is adorable <3

[awgiedawgie]

No mention of poor Roko in the poll?

Roko wasn’t in any of last week’s strips.


My favourite part was Clinton acting normal. Not being all wishy-washy and second guessing himself every other sentence. He’s made a lot of progress recently.


As for today’s strip, Melon really reminds me of U.N.I.T.Y. over on Skin Horse. Her first instinct is to break down the door. She’s probably really smart in one area, but no one is quite sure what area that could be. Maybe Melon’s one area is breaking and entering.

[awgiedawgie]

He had already had a pic with Melon and Roko together, so it's not like it wasn't foreshadowed... 

Rereading part of the archives last week, I found this strip: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3566
I thought nothing of it at the time but in light of today's comic as well as the photo last week, I find it interesting that Roko referred to Melon as "some girl" - is she reluctant to admit she actually knows Melon?

The picture on Roko’s wall makes me kinda wonder if maybe they’re sisters. Obviously, it couldn’t be a biological relation, but it could be a software construct, much like their gender.

[BenRG]

He had already had a pic with Melon and Roko together, so it's not like it wasn't foreshadowed... 

Rereading part of the archives last week, I found this strip: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3566
I thought nothing of it at the time but in light of today's comic as well as the photo last week, I find it interesting that Roko referred to Melon as "some girl" - is she reluctant to admit she actually knows Melon?

The picture on Roko’s wall makes me kinda wonder if maybe they’re sisters. Obviously, it couldn’t be a biological relation, but it could be a software construct, much like their gender.

I think that Roko and Melon are from the same production batch and, prior to embodiment, were in the 'crèche' servers at ECI together. In this virtual school life, they became BFFs with Melon as the wild and crazy one and Roko as the sensible and probably more-bookish girl who kept Melon from accidentally decompiling herself because she wanted to know what happened if she enabled that option in her settings menu and then restored her processes.

They've gone in different directions now. If one Patreon strip (shown over Christmas last year) is correct, I suspest that Melon is a bit-part actress in theatre and/or amusement parks whilst Roko is a dedicated law-enforcement officer, confronting both gender and species prejudices as well as sexual frustration and loneliness.

[DaiJB]

Now I'm really looking forward to Melon and Emily meeting! 
You know, there are certain similarities between our resident weirdo
and our new weirdo AI :

Melon: "Ms. Azuma? Is that you??"

Emily: "Yes, I'm Emily Azuma!...Who are you?"

Melon: "Remember the experimental AI you designed?
The one in which you used your own brain as a template?"

Emily: "You mean - the third time the government shut down
my research??"

Melon: "Yes! That's me!"

Emily and Melon: (Hugs and Squees)


Hmmm - is there a fanfic section of this forum? This probably belongs there... 

[Tova]

Official Fanfiction Thread

[MrNumbers]

If nobody else is going to make the joke...

Rokomelon, anyone?

[jwhouk]

Rereading part of the archives last week, I found this strip: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3566
I thought nothing of it at the time but in light of today's comic as well as the photo last week, I find it interesting that Roko referred to Melon as "some girl" - is she reluctant to admit she actually knows Melon?

Wouldn't you?

[Mr_Rose]

Or she heard about the incident through the grapevine (with names redacted of course) and never connected it to Melon because Melon forgot to mention it, or mentioned she had to get some repair work done but never got around to naming the company or the nature of the damage.

[aliensporebomb]

She's known as Melon but would that be Carnegie-Melon?  I kid. 

[ckridge]

No one in this strip will ever get laid again because the author has lost his ADHD meds and can't find them again till he takes some.

[OldGoat]

The picture on Roko’s wall makes me kinda wonder if maybe they’re sisters. Obviously, it couldn’t be a biological relation, but it could be a software construct, much like their gender.

I'm thinking more akin to cousins in terms of social distance (eg, not very far at all, almost but not quite siblings), but something on BenRG's model none the less.  Melon's impulse to break the door down rather than keying in the code fits with her solution to the Steve's box of Cereal Challenge (gnawing it open with her teeth or whatever they are).

Or Melon may just be someone Roko came into contact with on the job, connected with, and took her under her wing.  She is, after all, a particularly strange model that seems to attract similarly strange inhabitants.  O'Malley, no doubt, told Roko "No good deed goes unpunished" and probably isn't shy about saying, "I told ya so," when Melon does something interesting.

(Is that Roko's hip flask equivalent thumb drive on the coffee table?  And who's the glass of water (assuming it is water) for, the cactus?)

[awgiedawgie]

Melon’s impulse to break down the door rather than keying in the code fits with her solution to the Steve's box of Cereal Challenge (gnawing it open with her teeth or whatever they are).

Steve’s box of cereal was already open. And empty. Melon was eating the box. But yes, it still fits. Also fits with her getting into Steve’s place via a tunnel in the basement (a tunnel which – based on Steve’s remark – wasn’t there before) instead of just knocking on the door.

(Is that Roko's hip flask equivalent thumb drive on the coffee table?  And who's the glass of water (assuming it is water) for, the cactus?)

My first thought was that it was a remote control or keyless entry device of some sort. I think the water is probably Roko’s. It is, I suspect, psychosomatic. She doesn’t need to drink it... she just needs to have it.

[Cattus]

Is it only me or does anybody else think that Melon is a robot Hanners but with physical contact?  She's got the same bubbliness and positive outlook on everything and loves everybody.

[awgiedawgie]

Is it only me or does anybody else think that Melon is a robot Hanners but with physical contact?  She's got the same bubbliness and positive outlook on everything and loves everybody.

I wouldn’t have picked Hanners to compare her to. The bubbliness, etc. is the only thing they have in common. I’m more inclined to agree with DaiJB’s idea that Melon’s “mind” is based on Emily’s, but something went wrong, because she seems to be lacking Emily’s intelligence.

[Storel]

Yup, it figures -- we ended last week with Clinton, Brun, and Elliott in an embarrassing situation, so of course we start this week off somewhere else entirely. And when (if) we do cut back to the Revelation, the three of them will be in a completely different situation and we'll never find out how the embarrassing situation got resolved. Jeph is good at this "frustration"  thing! 

[JJCalem]

Yup, it figures -- we ended last week with Clinton, Brun, and Elliott in an embarrassing situation, so of course we start this week off somewhere else entirely. And when (if) we do cut back to the Revelation, the three of them will be in a completely different situation and we'll never find out how the embarrassing situation got resolved. Jeph is good at this "frustration"  thing! 

New comic is up, just in time to prove you wrong xD

[Perfectly Reasonable]

"So how's the new butt working out for you?"

[Storel]

Yup, it figures -- we ended last week with Clinton, Brun, and Elliott in an embarrassing situation, so of course we start this week off somewhere else entirely. And when (if) we do cut back to the Revelation, the three of them will be in a completely different situation and we'll never find out how the embarrassing situation got resolved. Jeph is good at this "frustration"  thing! 

New comic is up, just in time to prove you wrong xD

Nice to be proved wrong about that!

[Penquin47]

Brun. <3  She's right about the "don't worry about it" thing, too!  Yay for calling that out!

[snufflebottoms]

I'm actually getting annoyed with Brun at this point.

[DaiJB]

Brun's reaction... 

[Neko_Ali]

Brun... Brun.. No dear, you were not reading the situation right. Starting with leaning in close to the guy and smelling each other. That sends all kinds of signals you were ignoring.

[MrNumbers]

I think she was explicitly referring to her interpretation of Clinton's "Don't worry about it"

[Milayna]

Heh, relatable. But nah, Brun wasn't reading the social cues right. As general rules, you don't get into peoples' personal space and you don't make them smell you. It's weird enough to even ask that, but she didn't even think to get permission first, and that's a social cue that should always be assumed first. And second, Clinton was clearly uncomfortable and trying to escape the situation and she didn't read that at all.

Tbh that "I thought you were making out " thing is such a trope I'm a bit surprised that she didn't recognize it at all. Though I've never been in that situation so I don't know for certain I would either.

[jesslc]

Brun is me whenever I successfully interpret a social cue

Me too, Jeph. Me too.

[BenRG]

I think that Brun earns a hug today just for sheer adorableness. Actually not being the only person in any given space who doesn't know what's actually going on in social terms is a huge moment and achievement for her. I've no doubt that she'll be going on about it to Renee for hours tonight!

Here's an interesting thing to focus on here: For Brun the thought that Elliott believed she and Clinton were making out apparently doesn't affect her at all; she focusses instead on him not reading the situation correctly. I'm guessing that this means that she doesn't find it such an unthinkable scenario although, her being her, someone will likely have to express that fact aloud for her to realise the path down which her subconscious is skipping.

Now jump to panel 3 and, you know, there is a lot of pain there. I wonder how often Brun has to handle someone essentially say to her: "Poor little autistic girl; you'd never get it. Sit in the corner and look at your clocks whilst 'normal' people deal with the important stuff"? It's to Clinton's credit that, when she points this out, he explains rather than brush her off. He achieves this even though, from his reaction, he doesn't want to address his own feelings on the issue of making out with Brun!

Tbh that "I thought you were making out " thing is such a trope I'm a bit surprised that she didn't recognize it at all. Though I've never been in that situation so I don't know for certain I would either.

Of all the cast, Brun is the one least likely to be Genre Savvy, IMO.

[Milayna]

For Brun the thought that Elliott believed she and Clinton were making out apparently doesn't affect her at all; she focusses instead on him not reading the situation correctly. I'm guessing that this means that she doesn't find it such an unthinkable scenario although, her being her, someone will likely have to express that fact aloud for her to realise the path down which her subconscious is skipping.

Or she could see it as so unthinkable that she literally doesn't think of it. It'd be too ridiculous to even cross her mind. That's quite a lot of projection on my part though so take that as speculation. And the genre savvy remark too - I think her personality is pretty close to what mine would be had I not spent 3 decades learning to be genre savvy to the point of paranoia. I should try not to project so much tbh, though that's really hard not to do for a character like Brun.

[Gyrre]

I'm actually getting annoyed with Brun at this point.

You don't know what it's like to be on the spectrum, do you?

I may be "high functioning" but the social stuff can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Especially when nobody wants to be direct or open about things. So, it's pretty exciting when I'm pretty sure I interpreted a situation correctly in spite of that. Though like Brun, sometimes I'm dead wrong in my conclusion(s).


EDIT: Awkward and unintentionally antagonistic phrasing corrected.

[Emperor Norton]

Idk, I get that she is probably on the spectrum somewhere, but at some point, someone has to have told her about personal space. Seriously, she functions with a job, she should be able to learn basic human interaction. Autistic people may have TROUBLE reading social cues, but that doesn't prevent them from learning basic etiquette.

I don't like people being close to me. It makes me very uncomfortable. Sometimes even romantic partners being too close to me for too long is difficult for me. I'm also incredibly sensitive to smells.

Everything she has done would have been incredibly frustrating to me, and just using her being on the spectrum as defense for her being annoying just feels off to me.

(Not to mention that the whole time Clinton has had to pee.)

[Pennepasta]

I'm actually getting annoyed with Brun at this point.

You don't know what it's like to be on the spectrum, do you?

I may be "high functioning" but the social stuff can be a pain in the ass sometimes. Especially when nobody wants to be direct or open about things. So, it's pretty exciting when I'm pretty sure I interpreted a situation correctly in spite of that. Though like Brun, sometimes I'm dead wrong in my conclusion(s).


EDIT: Awkward and unintentionally antagonistic phrasing corrected.

I read this strip as brun saying that she got the social cues right when someone else got them wrong, thus referring to the same situation, i.e. that they were making out. Brun is saying that she is knowingly leading the pair of them on, and that is annoying. I presume that that's snufflebottom's annoyance.

[oeoek]

Manometer in the red zone, bulging pipes, poor Clinton must be so ready to enter the bathroom by now...

[BlueFatima]

Idk, I get that she is probably on the spectrum somewhere, but at some point, someone has to have told her about personal space. Seriously, she functions with a job, she should be able to learn basic human interaction. Autistic people may have TROUBLE reading social cues, but that doesn't prevent them from learning basic etiquette.

I don't like people being close to me. It makes me very uncomfortable. Sometimes even romantic partners being too close to me for too long is difficult for me. I'm also incredibly sensitive to smells.

Everything she has done would have been incredibly frustrating to me, and just using her being on the spectrum as defense for her being annoying just feels off to me.

(Not to mention that the whole time Clinton has had to pee.)

Has it been confirmed that she is on the spectrum? There could be many, many other reasons she is the way she is.

Her personal space issues remind me of some kids and adults I've met who had ADHD. They were amazingly functional when given tasks to focus on and having had time to heal, but seemed to have more difficult times with social behavior when they were stressed or tired out.

She could possibly have a number of other things going on from a strange/difficult upbringing to a number of conditions beyond being on the spectrum or a mix of this and that. At the end of the day, does it matter? Yeah, her behavior is unexpected (though it does seem to have a pattern), but as long as she's in character that's what matters most. Part of me kind of hopes she never gets a label. There are many people in RL who behave outside the norm who don't carry one (or keep it private).

I find her very relatable myself even though I kind of have the opposite problems with personal space. I used to joke with some friends that I was learning to be a person. I love her self reflectiveness and attempts to fit and be good to the people she is close with. It is obvious she takes a lot of time to work on changing her behavior, and that takes courage as it can be an uphill battle to change—even when it is to your own benefit.