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More Clinton-Elliot-Brun manoeuvrings and angst

21 (23.3%)

Melon tries to help Roko with her problems

26 (28.9%)

The Adventures of Hannelore and Winslow

8 (8.9%)

Marten and Claire go on a formal date

4 (4.4%)

Faye wakes up after having some curious dreams about Bubbles

12 (13.3%)

Health inspection time at Coffee of Doom - Bureacratic hijinx ensue

6 (6.7%)

May and Momo talk morality, ethics and being a good person

3 (3.3%)

The Bean family holiday; can Veronica hack it as a stepmom for a teenage Sam?

5 (5.6%)

Brun decides that it is time to hook up Renee and Elliot

2 (2.2%)

Other (please specify in a comment)

3 (3.3%)

Total Members Voted: 48

[BenRG]

This is such a quintessentially romcom moment: The protagonist's crush goes off with the other crush, both safely and serenely ignorant of his feelings. Elliott, you really are going to have to get around to actually telling them both, even if it makes things awkward. Otherwise, they're going to make their own arrangements and you may lose out!

I'm wondering if the owner of The Horrible Revelation has sent Brun home early because of 'good work' or if it is because she's smelly? Or, perhaps, because she's working so hard that everyone else is complaining that she's making them look bad!

Finally: 'Farewelliott' is officially the cutest thing any character has said in this strip for a while. No doubt, if asked, Brun would explain that it was 'efficient to leave out a redundant syllable'.

[Tova]

I feel bad for Elliot, but I still think we're seeing all the materials we need to ship him and Roko so there's hope.

There are some materials missing, but it's probably within the rules to hope that they meet.

[Case]

This is such a quintessentially romcom moment: The protagonist's crush goes off with the other crush, both safely and serenely ignorant of his feelings.

Those'd be the many romcoms with bi and potentially poly protagonists, I wager?

Yeah, they do that, do they not? Bloody tearjerks ...

[oeoek]

Farewelliot...

[BenRG]

This is such a quintessentially romcom moment: The protagonist's crush goes off with the other crush, both safely and serenely ignorant of his feelings.

Those'd be the many romcoms with bi and potentially poly protagonists, I wager?

Yeah, they do that, do they not? Bloody tearjerks ...

No, smarty-pants, it follows the general conceptual and thematic concepts of romccoms.

[Case]

This is such a quintessentially romcom moment: The protagonist's crush goes off with the other crush, both safely and serenely ignorant of his feelings.

Those'd be the many romcoms with bi and potentially poly protagonists, I wager?

Yeah, they do that, do they not? Bloody tearjerks ...

No, smarty-pants, it follows the general conceptual and thematic concepts of romccoms.

Mmmmmh 'conceptual concepts' ?

Oh Ben ... all this time, and you still know all the right words, mon chér...

[Zebediah]

If this was a romantic comedy, then Brun would kiss Clinton good-night when they got to her door.

If this was a psychological thriller, then Roko would go out for a walk, see Clinton innocently walking Brun home, and then something in her brain would snap and she would start stalking them both.

But this is Questionable Content, so neither of these things will happen. Instead something incredibly awkward will happen and Clinton will walk away very confused.

[BlueFatima]

I feel bad for Elliot, but I still think we're seeing all the materials we need to ship him and Roko so there's hope.

Seriously? You're shipping Elliot & Roko — two people we have never even seen speak to each other?

Oh, I totally see it. These two arcs are playing together back and forth, we know Roko has a thing for buff men (they are always buff in her fantasies at least), Elliot body builds, and the last we saw of Roko she was telling Melon she has a bread fetish. I think the pairing would be a good way to explore human-AI relationships versus using central characters—as much as we've been teased by Faybles (and that it could be a cute pairing). Roko has decent communication skills and she is assertive but afraid of being vulnerable. Elliot can look intimidating, but his personality is actually very laid back and sweet, and it he seems like he enjoys listening to other people talk. 

I still would love to see Clinton-Elliot-Brun trio, but they seem to be such newbies at relationships that being poly may be kind of unrealistic, and Clinton seems to be either unaware of his biness or is straight as an arrow (though beautifully open-minded). It's felt like since we met him and Brun they were destined for something special together—be it super friendship or a relationship or something else. The fact he said to Elliot he didn't want to betray Brun's trust shows a gigantic amount of character growth from the oblivious stalkery guy we first met creeping out Hanners. 

[Timemaster]

Some people tend to show their real feelings when they are banged enough. If Clinton is unsure about his feelings for Brun, maybe the next episodes will bring clarity for him (and us).

TM

[OldGoat]

Hey, I can't recall, is there anythining canonical in how AI's get their names? It occurrs to me that without a family history something like "O'Malley" would not likely be inherited, so where did it come from?

I'm pretty sure I remember Bubbles saying that Bubbles was a nickname her squad gave her, and she kept it to honor them.  Other than that, I don't think we know.  It's possible O'Malley took the name in tribute to a mentor or friend, or maybe he wanted to be a cop and decided that O'Malley sounded like a good Cop Name.

We've speculated on this before WRT Trooper Roko Basilisk.  Off the top of my head, she and Bartholomew Punchbot CPA are the only AIs we've met who unquestionably use surnames.  Since AIs presumably know each other by their MAC addresses, chassis serial numbers, and OS build numbers, given names are only necessary to interact with us meat persons.  They take surnames when necessary to interact with courts and government agencies.

For Roko to be known professionally only as "Roko" would also reduce her to the level of police canine units ("patrol dog Fluffy"), and she needs to be recognized by the humans she deals with as a sentient entity with the full authority of the State of Massachusetts behind her, not just another barking, flea chewing, uniform hairing, lunch room raiding sandwich thief police dog.  Until she went to work for MSP, she was probably just "Roko."

Since they are sentient entities with free agency, there are potentially as many sources of AI surnames as there are AIs wanting to take them.  As for Trooper (presuming he, too, works for the State Police) O'Malley, we'll have to wait for his backstory to be revealed to find out where and how he came by his name.  (I get the feeling it may be Francis Xavier O'Malley, just 'cause it'd be so damn Boston.)

[Milayna]

Basilisk surely came with Roko, since that's based on an actual thing https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Roko's_basilisk .

[jesslc]

If this was a romantic comedy, then Brun would kiss Clinton good-night when they got to her door.

If this was a psychological thriller, then Roko would go out for a walk, see Clinton innocently walking Brun home, and then something in her brain would snap and she would start stalking them both.

But this is Questionable Content, so neither of these things will happen. Instead something incredibly awkward will happen and Clinton will walk away very confused.

Truth!

I am holding out hope for Brun, with her usual bluntness, saying something along the lines of "I saw you hugging Elliot - are you going to date him?"   

[daphne]

I feel so bad for Elliot. But let's see what follows.

[Roborat]

"farewelliot" Snerk, I love it.

[rtmq0227]

The discussion of AI naming conventions, it reminds me of the time I played an Eclipse Phase campaign with an AI character, albeit in a universe where one of the motifs is that physical forms are disposable.  The character took the position that as their name was the most physical thing about them, it was also the truest physical manifestation of their identity.  As any physical form was assigned to them (rather than born with them), those forms became tools of self-expression and utility rather than identity.  The only physicality to their identity was their name, and so the selection of one's name became a glimpse into one's true self and how they see themselves, rather than a marker of one's lineage (being that AIs largely don't have one outside of their developers).

This would make Roko's selection somewhat concerning...

[Thrudd]

But this is Questionable Content, so neither of these things will happen. Instead something incredibly awkward will happen and Clinton will walk away very confused.

Either his key doesn't work or mum has a "guest" or "guests" over for the evening - super awkward plus no place to sleep and not able to drive home ..... Oh My ....

[awgiedawgie]

But this is Questionable Content, so neither of these things will happen. Instead something incredibly awkward will happen and Clinton will walk away very confused.

Either his key doesn't work or mum has a "guest" or "guests" over for the evening - super awkward plus no place to sleep and not able to drive home ..... Oh My ....

TBH I don't think his mom having company would be as big a deal as it was before. I think talking to Claire about it helped him to see that it's not worth freaking out. It would still surely be awkward, but then that might only prompt him to invite Brun to stay for a while so he'd have someone to talk to. Whatever will he do?

[awgiedawgie]

Actually, O'Malley's question "Where am I?" makes me wonder...


Exactly where did Brun drag him to?

[BenRG]

Actually, O'Malley's question "Where am I?" makes me wonder...

Exactly where did Brun drag him to?

Based on where Elliott had been talking to Brun and Clinton, I'm thinking that it was a nice, discreet corner just outside the front door of the bar, traditionally known as the 'sleeping it off corner'.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I am pleased that Clinton respects Brün's trust in him and does not want to betray it.
Looking forward to their conversation. (Now that Clinton no longer needs to pee.)

(not buying coffee for anyone who is mean to Elliot)

[cesium133]

New comic...

And Clinton, the answer to that question is probably this.

[Wombat]

Sometimes grown-ups get to do random shit at 1am, Clinton. It's the only part of being an adult I like so far.

[zisraelsen]

I support the "Promise of fresh-baked cookies as falling cherry blossoms" metaphor.

Also, this is an interesting development. Clinton's mom may provide him with some useful perspective regarding his relationship with Brun (and potentially Elliot). This also marks the second time she's invited a potential love interest of one of her children in for homemade foodstuffs, and it seems to have worked out pretty well last time.

[Near Lurker]

...in my experience, there is exactly one reason people bake cookies at 1 am.  Let's hope Brun's not too much a novice.

[Penquin47]

...in my experience, there is exactly one reason people bake cookies at 1 am.  Let's hope Brun's not too much a novice.

Because they like cookies?  I've done the 1 am cookie bake before because that's when I know I won't be in anyone's way and I like baking.

[awgiedawgie]

...in my experience, there is exactly one reason people bake cookies at 1 am.  Let's hope Brun's not too much a novice.

I can't speak for Clinton's mother, but I am a night owl, so I've done a great many different things at 1 am - including baking cookies - and for a great many different reasons.

[Tova]

I haven't baked at 1am.

Yet.

[SmilingCat]

Sadly, I can't speak to the getting wired as a result of sexy times, but sometimes I want cookies and there aren't any in the house, and the closest store that's opened is several blocks away and my cripple-scooter has a crappy headlight.

[jesslc]

Hmm... like mother, like daughter?
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3206

[awgiedawgie]

Hmm... like mother, like daughter?
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3206

If she's anything like my own mother, she just likes inviting her children's friends over. Particularly when there's fresh-made food to be had.


Claire, on the other hand, was just being a typical sibling - being all up in her brother's business when she should just let nature take its course.

[Is it cold in here?]

Hey, I can't recall, is there anythining canonical in how AI's get their names? It occurrs to me that without a family history something like "O'Malley" would not likely be inherited, so where did it come from?

Long ago, I forget where, and I'm not certain, Jeph said they choose their own names.

On the other hand PT410X certainly acted like names were imposed on them by humans.

[Is it cold in here?]

<snip>TBH I don't think his mom having company would be as big a deal as it was before. <snip>

It's funny how we cringe about our parents having sex lives. There's a book entitled "My Parents Never had Sex".

[awgiedawgie]

On the other hand PT410X certainly acted like names were imposed on them by humans.

Perhaps not names themselves, but PT410X seemed particularly opposed to the arbitrary need to have a "name". Of course, there are certainly some AIs who have allowed themselves to be named by a human (May, for example).


On the other hand... and I hesitate to use the word "conform", but I'll do it anyway... By conforming to the human convention of carrying a name, an AI makes it easier for many humans to think of them as equals. If we only have their serial number to call them by, it's too easy to think of them as just a machine. A name makes it easier to think of them as alive.


Even though humans and AIs were legally made equals, the everyday practice of treating each other as equals requires some compromise on both sides.

[BenRG]

In panel 3, you can literally read Brun's thoughts: "Cookies? Did she say cookies?!?" Whatever plans Brun had to go back to Renee's place were set aside then. It also seems that the Augustus family home also has something Brun treasures - a rare and/or unusual time-piece! So, for her, it's a win-win.

What's she doing up baking at 1am? Well, jokes about her infallible 'mom-sense' telling her that Clinton was on the way with a girl he needed to impress, I suppose that I'm a little concerned that maybe Mrs A is losing it a little whilst casting around to find something to do with her life now that Claire has moved out.

[Cornelius]

On the other hand PT410X certainly acted like names were imposed on them by humans.

Perhaps not names themselves, but PT410X seemed particularly opposed to the arbitrary need to have a "name". Of course, there are certainly some AIs who have allowed themselves to be named by a human (May, for example).

His stand was certainly that one's serial number should suffice. To me, that puts him on the other side of the spectrum as Roko, as far as assimilating human behaviour goes. But then it was, if i remember correctly, also a part of his os being looked based, and making a point of his independence.

[Gyrre]

...in my experience, there is exactly one reason people bake cookies at 1 am.  Let's hope Brun's not too much a novice.

I can't speak for Clinton's mother, but I am a night owl, so I've done a great many different things at 1 am - including baking cookies - and for a great many different reasons.

Ditto to 1am baking as a night owl.

Hmm... like mother, like daughter?
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3206

If so, their mom has a much more subtle methodology.

[efindumb]

I know several dozen firefighters who will gladly tell you about people baking at 1AM...then again all of those were "culinary incinerations" as they like to call burning food but even so it's not uncommon.

Any idea what she does with her life? Perhaps volunteer work where something like that would be appreciated?

[Storel]

Never mind the cookies, how did she know to open the door when Clinton was still at least ten feet away from the doorbell? 

[WoaLG]

Never mind the cookies, how did she know to open the door when Clinton was still at least ten feet away from the doorbell? 

I don't know the layout of the house, but if she was up baking and that kitchen window is one of the ones pointing out into the yard, she probably saw some people walking up. In the dark she might not have immediately known who it was which would be why she's still kind of surprised to see Clinton.

Or maybe she was baking those cookies for a visitor she was expecting (the kind that Clinton would squick about) and thought the people walking up might be that visitor.

[jesslc]

Hey, I can't recall, is there anythining canonical in how AI's get their names? It occurrs to me that without a family history something like "O'Malley" would not likely be inherited, so where did it come from?

Long ago, I forget where, and I'm not certain, Jeph said they choose their own names.

On the other hand PT410X certainly acted like names were imposed on them by humans.

Assuming they choose their own names, I have to wonder what Roko Basilisk was thinking when she chose hers... I didn't fully understand the link shared earlier but I understood enough to wonder why an AI would pick that for a name.

Never mind the cookies, how did she know to open the door when Clinton was still at least ten feet away from the doorbell? 

I don't know the layout of the house, but if she was up baking and that kitchen window is one of the ones pointing out into the yard, she probably saw some people walking up. In the dark she might not have immediately known who it was which would be why she's still kind of surprised to see Clinton.

Or maybe she was baking those cookies for a visitor she was expecting (the kind that Clinton would squick about) and thought the people walking up might be that visitor.

I also wondered if Mom Augustus was expecting a different visitor. Something about the way she says "O-oh! Clinton! ..."

[NemesisDancer]

Has anyone else noticed Mrs. Augustus doing the Claireface in the second panel? 

[Gyrre]

In panel 3, you can literally read Brun's thoughts: "Cookies? Did she say cookies?!?" Whatever plans Brun had to go back to Renee's place were set aside then. It also seems that the Augustus family home also has something Brun treasures - a rare and/or unusual time-piece! So, for her, it's a win-win.

What's she doing up baking at 1am? Well, jokes about her infallible 'mom-sense' telling her that Clinton was on the way with a girl he needed to impress, I suppose that I'm a little concerned that maybe Mrs A is losing it a little whilst casting around to find something to do with her life now that Claire has moved out.

Oh dear.

I hope Brun called Renée to let her know what's up. Clinton could wake up with quite the phone call (or needing to make one) otherwise.

[Zebediah]

Or maybe she was baking those cookies for a visitor she was expecting (the kind that Clinton would squick about) and thought the people walking up might be that visitor.

I also wondered if Mom Augustus was expecting a different visitor. Something about the way she says "O-oh! Clinton! ..."

If she was expecting that kind of visitor I imagine she might have been dressed... differently.

[DannyboyTheDane]

I interpreted it as her already having company over, like last time Clinton wanted to crash, but I guess not.

It really is curious to see how this love tesseract is going to unfold; great points have been made about the suitability of Elliot and Roko, but then those are the two parties who are not actually even aware of each other's presence at this point. THE PLOT THICKENS.

As for Melon, like all absurdly wacky comic relief characters she walks the fine line between lovably hilarious and frustratingly annoying. So far she falls into the former camp for me.

[heyjames4]

The forum's been over Claire 's predilection for well-intentioned interfering in Clinton's love-life, but we forgot all about Momma Augustus. I'm interested to see where this goes. Probably Ms. A gets one of them to open up to her about the other, then the other one overhears, classic rom-com stuff.

[BenRG]

Mrs A wants her kids to be settled and happy. I'm wondering if the important conversation will be the one she has with Brun, possibly whilst bonding over chronological family heirlooms. If Brun 'seems like a nice girl', we can expect Mrs A to not-so-unsubtly shove her and Clinton together.

[Tova]

She doesn't do anything so undignified as shove. She provides the deliciously tasty treats and lets nature take its course. 

[Jakk Frost]

Being a little pedantic, because that's just how I am, on the caption from yesterday's comic, that should be "drunk and disorderly". 

[awgiedawgie]

I was thinking that - rather than having a convo with Brun - Mrs A might have a little heart-to-heart with Clinton while Brun goes to admire the clock. Kind of get an idea of whether Clinton thinks of her as a friend, or as a "friend". The situation when she invited Marten over for pancakes was different, because Claire lived there, and was constantly talking about Marten, so her mom already had a pretty good idea how Claire felt. And as a parent myself, I don't think she invited Marten over to nudge them together (although it did provide the perfect occasion for that final move), but rather she just wanted to meet this guy that her daughter had been talking about so much.

[TheEvilDog]

To be fair, Mrs. Augustus' matchmaking style tends to be much more subtle, a gentle nudge to get things rolling.

Claire's matchmaking is more like taking two dolls together and mashing them together, going "And Kisssssssssssss".

One comes from experience (and being a Deus Ex Machina) and the other is about setting up a story where "And Kissssss" ends up with people hurt.