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The Reed/Bean family vacation (Marten, Claire (and Pintsize?) along for the ride; lots of coincidental background characters returning)

27 (16.2%)

The Fairy Girl ropes the ladies into some weird Summer Solstice festival

12 (7.2%)

Dora decides to add iced teas and iced coffees to CoD's repetoire; there are teething troubles

6 (3.6%)

Northampton's medieval-themed Summer Faire (Bubbles mentors Sam to win the Tournament)

30 (18%)

Claire's final exams looms; later the graduation is a significant thing

27 (16.2%)

Angus's show is on hiatus; he comes back to try to make peace with Faye

23 (13.8%)

Pintsize, having cleaned up at the poker game, goes on tour to several world casinos with Melon as his sidekick/assistant

8 (4.8%)

For the first time, Bubbles is able to face the annual reunion of the survivors of her unit

22 (13.2%)

Sven is going on tour to the summer Country festivals; somehow, May gets a Roadie job

8 (4.8%)

Other (please specify in a comment)

4 (2.4%)

Total Members Voted: 60

Voting closed: 26 Jun 2018, 15:18

[Is it cold in here?]

From the moment Faye risked her life walking in to comfort someone who'd made a brick wall explode next to her head, through the moment that still has an impact on me when Bubbles said "Faye, will you help me take off my armor?", to now, it's fully drawn me in.

[Undrneath]

From the moment Faye risked her life walking in to comfort someone who'd made a brick wall explode next to her head, through the moment that still has an impact on me when Bubbles said "Faye, will you help me take off my armor?", to now, it's fully drawn me in.

That's what I love about QC, realistic feeling progression. I haven't felt like anything has been rushed, sure from the moment Faye realized her feelings it has been whirlwind but because of the set up it is completely acceptable.

[shanejayell]

Awww.

Good place to take a break I suppose...

[mgrayson3]

As thrilled as I am by the whole sequence, I desperately want to see Bubbles' mood rebound. It seems to take a huge dive from panels 1 to 3. I assume her inner state is still pegged at panel 1's "happier than I ever expected to be in my life", and hope that her last facial expression is ironic. I just want to see her relaxed and happy with her friends.

[Meander]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

More beautiful than ...?

It's a hard call, but I'm going to stick with what I said.  Of course, there was always...



Daaaaaaang.

[Meander]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

Welcome, new person!

Many thanks!

[mgrayson3]

Just here to say that Bubbles bringing her arms up to tie her hairband is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen in any webcomic, ever.

Welcome, new person!

Many thanks!

I agree on the tying her hair back - gorgeous image. Her facial expression while saying "Yes, I am cool with that." is perhaps the most satisfying, and the armor request the most moving. Fabulous character! (Yes, I could have said Faybulous....)

[Milayna]

But I also think that Brun, if she's interested, would make an excellent partner. She doesn't assume she knows what someone is thinking or feeling unless they tell her. She doesn't  assume anyone knows what she's thinking or feeling unless she tells them.

ahahahahahah...if only it actually worked like that. I never know what people want from me unless they find me and tell me what they want, and it pisses people off. People generally expect to have their needs met without prompting (ESPECIALLY if they have some sort of authority or leverage). And there are so many layers to communication...

In a related note it was mentioned earlier in the thread how Brun likes puns, and that's all about wordplay and isn't related to the vast majority of humor. That's true, but it's the same for interacting in general. Normal conversation are kayfabe, like in wrestling. Wrestling is about...wrestling. The show itself, not something external. It's not like one wrestler pretending to be a knight and another a dragon; there's not an external scenario thematically unrelated being performed - the performance is ABOUT the performance. Interactions are like that too. Nobody wants to hear me talk about about entomology or astronomy or video game bugs and the programming behind them - when people talk, it's not about exchanging external information, it's about just...talking. It's about the interaction itself for its own sake.

And if one doesn't have the empathy or nonverbal cue recognition to easily understand the FLOW of the conversation, you get...someone trying to awkwardly inject themselves into a conversation that wasn't REALLY about bread, by saying they like bread. Which can than get anything from a dismissive "we know, dear" to an awkward, annoyed silence cause you just Did A Dumb. (And no, doing lots of dumbs doesn't make one endearing, either; it just makes people think one's a retarded asshole).

If she wanted to be someone's partner, she'd have to put it a lot of effort to be attentive to their needs, or at least learn the major ones as part of her routine. She wouldn't be able to get away with just trundling along doing her own thing and making other people figure out how to put up with her. That's tolerable enough for casual encounters as long as she's careful to avoid stepping on toes TOO much, but relationships take more than that.

Caveat, as usual: This is speaking from my own observations "from afar", and from extrapolation from general interactions. Despite (inexplicably) being in a relationship now, I have no authority on which to speak to the specifics of relationships.

[Cattus]

I'm curious how Bubbles' AI friends will take this relationship.  Especially Punchbot who I suspect had a bit of a 'thing' for Bubbles.  But likely he will be very happy.  It will be fun to see though.  Also, does a human/AI relationship break any AI behavior "rules"?  I forget the AI cop's name but I await her reaction.  Overall, I love this new storyline.  In so many ways it's a metaphor for human relationships that are outside the mainstream, either by gender, culture, or race or all at the same time.  I am always in wonder as to how Jeph can create such empathy towards his characters.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Roko will say “well well well...two ex felons in love.” Lol.

Had no idea Punchbot had a crush on Bubs.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Meander, I think Bubbles has given you butts disease!

[brasca]

If Hannelore senses all this from far away she’ll probably contact Station to fire the confetti bomb.

Roko will say “well well well...two ex felons in love.” Lol.

They were suspects in Corpse Witch’s operation, but never convicted of anything so how are they felons?

[Spider]

Hey has anyone pointed out Bubbles feet/toes in panel 1 of 3753 (also noticed while grabbing that number that today's strip has the wrong number on it)?

Like are her toes the same color as her hair? is she wearing weird socks that only cover half her feet? Have we seen this before? I don't remember it. I'ts an interesting design.

[fayelovesbubbles]

They aren’t felons, but she’d call them that. She has before. I’d never call them that!

[jwhouk]

Jeph routinely misnumbers his strips, and I don't fault him for it.

[Storel]

Technically, isn't someone a felon as soon as they commit a felony, even if they're never convicted or even arrested for it? I believe that's why the phrase "convicted felon" exists, to distinguish those felons who have been convicted from those who haven't.

[Pennepasta]

Technically, isn't someone a felon as soon as they commit a felony, even if they're never convicted or even arrested for it? I believe that's why the phrase "convicted felon" exists, to distinguish those felons who have been convicted from those who haven't.

Google claims it's convicted only. I'd guess that term exists to differentiate from suspected or accused felons, which I presume are also terms? I don't really know. It's not a term that's really used here, so...

[Is it cold in here?]

Officer Basilisk said the fight club was only just barely illegal, so even with conspiracy charges it might not have risen to a felony level.

On the other hand there were the bigger fish Roko was after. She hinted they were doing some seriously bad things. Get involved with someone like that in any capacity and the law can cause you so much trouble that you'll plead guilty to a felony to avoid it.

One example is Alice Johnson, who passed phone messages along to a drug dealer, and as a member of the conspiracy got sentenced based on the total amount of drugs that the dealer moved. There's no parole in the Federal system, so her life sentence means exactly that -- when she leaves it will be in a pine box.

Roko has not been acting as if she considers Faye and Bubbles to be felons though.

[A small perverse otter]

Officer Basilisk said the fight club was only just barely illegal, so even with conspiracy charges it might not have risen to a felony level.

On the other hand there were the bigger fish Roko was after. She hinted they were doing some seriously bad things. Get involved with someone like that in any capacity and the law can cause you so much trouble that you'll plead guilty to a felony to avoid it.

Roko has not been acting as if she considers Faye and Bubbles to be felons though.

Roko's turn-around in her behavior towards them has always puzzled me. Yeah, I'm dead certain that the files she got from CW show that Bubbles was working at the fight club under 'extreme duress,' and I'm pretty sure that Roko takes a very, very dim view of slavery, so I don't have a lot of doubt that she looked at that evidence and decided that Bubbles was actually reasonably good people. Faye, though? I mean, yes, she was desperate and needed that job, but that only goes so far.

[Zebediah]

Technically what Faye and Bubbles were doing wasn’t illegal - they were repairing damaged robots, not taking part in the fights. Granted, the larger enterprise they were involved in was illegal, so it’s in a gray area. But I strongly suspect that the folder that Spookybot dropped in Roko’s lap contained enough evidence to convict Corpse Witch while clearing everyone else.

[Tova]

I don't think Roko has had that much of a turn-around in behaviour towards them. She knows that they are highly competent at their jobs, but still refers to them as "former criminals" (gray area or otherwise).

[Thrillho]

Technically what Faye and Bubbles were doing wasn’t illegal - they were repairing damaged robots, not taking part in the fights. Granted, the larger enterprise they were involved in was illegal, so it’s in a gray area. But I strongly suspect that the folder that Spookybot dropped in Roko’s lap contained enough evidence to convict Corpse Witch while clearing everyone else.

Is there not a crime there from being paid with the profits of an illegal enterprise?

[Zebediah]

I’m not a lawyer, so take what I say with a grain of salt. But if there was such a law, it would probably be found unconstitutionally broad and vague. I mean, are you going to arrest the kid who cuts the mob boss’ lawn because he was paid with proceeds from crime? Where do you draw that line?

[Undrneath]

Is there not a crime there from being paid with the profits of an illegal enterprise?

Being paid by an illegal enterprise, not necessarily, being paid "under the table" and not paying taxes definitely is.

[Is it cold in here?]

I don't understand money laundering law but it might apply to depositing illegally obtained money into a bank.  Faye probably didn't do that.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Oh right. She said former criminals, not felons. I apparently make up words!

[A small perverse otter]

I don't understand money laundering law but it might apply to depositing illegally obtained money into a bank.  Faye probably didn't do that.

Yeah, unfortunately, I do understand money laundering. (I do data science in the financial industry.)

Depositing illegally obtained money in a bank is not money laundering. In fact, I'm not even sure it is a crime: obtaining the money? Yes. Spending it? Nope. Stupid, sometimes, but I can't think of a way that's illegal in and of itself.

Now, ship it out of the country as cash and then try to return it in a form which doesn't look like it was obtained criminally? Yeah, now that is money laundering.  Trust me, you don't want to go there.

[fayelovesbubbles]

Sooo I just need to vent. Apparently ignorance towards AIs does exist in the real world. I shared the Faye/Bubbles storyline with an online friend and he said some pretty closed minded stuff.

Jeez!

Sorry if this is against the rules to share. I'm just mad. Apparently this kind of ignorance would exist if the QC world was real.

[Is it cold in here?]

I think it's interesting and relevant.

Global Moderator Comment

I agree.

[Is it cold in here?]

I don't understand money laundering law but it might apply to depositing illegally obtained money into a bank.  Faye probably didn't do that.

Yeah, unfortunately, I do understand money laundering. (I do data science in the financial industry.)

Depositing illegally obtained money in a bank is not money laundering. In fact, I'm not even sure it is a crime: obtaining the money? Yes. Spending it? Nope. Stupid, sometimes, but I can't think of a way that's illegal in and of itself.

Now, ship it out of the country as cash and then try to return it in a form which doesn't look like it was obtained criminally? Yeah, now that is money laundering.  Trust me, you don't want to go there.

Not my field, I don't claim knowledge.

How is what Faye did (if she used her bank account) different from what Piper Kerman did?

[A small perverse otter]

Sooo I just need to vent. Apparently ignorance towards AIs does exist in the real world. I shared the Faye/Bubbles storyline with an online friend and he said some pretty closed minded stuff.

Jeez!

Sorry if this is against the rules to share. I'm just mad. Apparently this kind of ignorance would exist if the QC world was real.

Bigotry is always here. It would be nice to believe that AIs would be accepted, but I expect instead that there would be a huge backlash against them (They'll take our jobs and do them better! It isn't fair that they don't need food -- that means that they can do our work for lower pay! etc.)

And I'm sorry your online friend was a jerk. That sucks.

[A small perverse otter]

I don't understand money laundering law but it might apply to depositing illegally obtained money into a bank.  Faye probably didn't do that.

Yeah, unfortunately, I do understand money laundering. (I do data science in the financial industry.)

Depositing illegally obtained money in a bank is not money laundering. In fact, I'm not even sure it is a crime: obtaining the money? Yes. Spending it? Nope. Stupid, sometimes, but I can't think of a way that's illegal in and of itself.

Now, ship it out of the country as cash and then try to return it in a form which doesn't look like it was obtained criminally? Yeah, now that is money laundering.  Trust me, you don't want to go there.

Not my field, I don't claim knowledge.

How is what Faye did (if she used her bank account) different from what Piper Kerman did?

I don't know the details of Kerman's behavior, so I can't speak to that.

(Also, be glad you don't have to know about money laundering. It's extremely important, and incredibly boring. To give you a sense: one of the compliance training suites I had to go through used crates of runner duckies as a key part of describing a hypothetical money laundering scheme. That was the high point of the module.)

[awgiedawgie]

As thrilled as I am by the whole sequence, I desperately want to see Bubbles' mood rebound. It seems to take a huge dive from panels 1 to 3. I assume her inner state is still pegged at panel 1's "happier than I ever expected to be in my life", and hope that her last facial expression is ironic. I just want to see her relaxed and happy with her friends.

I don't think it's her mood. Her expression in the 3rd panel seems to be her envisioning the "screaming and confetti", and how much she wouldn't like it. She doesn't seem to be too keen on loud parties and celebrations. I can relate... I've made that same expression myself, because I'm not a fan of such things either. I allowed my family to throw me a party when I turned 40 (it's quite an elaborate tradition on every tenth birthday, so I really didn't have much choice), but for the most part, I prefer sitting quietly in the shadows.

[fayelovesbubbles]

I'm trying to decide who's worse, Tai or Claire.

[awgiedawgie]

I'm trying to decide who's worse, Tai or Claire.

Not sure who's worse. Tai may be more of a danger to herself. I'm not sure how Bubbles would react if Tai did this to her. Claire is probably a little safer, since Bubbles has a "Claire Threat Evaluation Protocol".

[Is it cold in here?]

Faye's mom formed her impressions of synthetics when they were still property. That may take some time and unpleasantness before she can overcome it.

Anti-AI bigotry has shown up here a few times, perhaps because people didn't want to wait until robots start walking around town to start being bigoted.

[Is it cold in here?]

If depositing your girlfriend's heroin sales proceeds in the bank is a felony then how could Faye be in the clear?  I can guess but shouldn't.

Hang on. Is this one of those things where what-it-is and what-you-can-get-imprisoned-for are two different things?

[awgiedawgie]

Faye's mom formed her impressions of synthetics when they were still property. That may take some time and unpleasantness before she can overcome it.

Anti-AI bigotry has shown up here a few times, perhaps because people didn't want to wait until robots start walking around town to start being bigoted.

I like Momo's outlook on it. There's always hope.

[Undrneath]

Has Faye's mom actually shown any opinion of AI's? I know she didn't exactly like that Faye's sister was gay but is Faye worried it will be worse because Bubbles is non organic?

[Tova]

Claire is probably a little safer, since Bubbles has a "Claire Threat Evaluation Protocol".

Thanks for linking my all-time favourite QC strip. Cracks me up every time.

Has Faye's mom actually shown any opinion of AI's? I know she didn't exactly like that Faye's sister was gay but is Faye worried it will be worse because Bubbles is non organic?

Probably. On the other hand, maybe she'll be happy that Faye won't be producing kids (the technology isn't quite there yet, I assume). Who knows.

Edit: Just realised that's not really right, but I'm still in the air as to how she'll react.

[Milayna]

I noticed in the Claire Threat comic tat bubbles has the foot construction that was noted by Spider, but that her toes are a different color. I'm guessing that it was coloring error, though maybe Bubbles has detachable toes like Melon has a detachable ass.

[Is it cold in here?]

I like Momo's outlook on it. There's always hope.

ZoeB absolutely loves number 2201.

Faye's mom has never said anything about robots one way or the other. Until she's interacted with Bubbles enough to internalize "This is a person who loves my daughter and can make a happy marriage with her", I expect shock and resistance.

Oh dear. I hope she doesn't say anything that triggers Bubbles.

[Dandi Andi]

If depositing your girlfriend's heroin sales proceeds in the bank is a felony then how could Faye be in the clear?  I can guess but shouldn't.

Hang on. Is this one of those things where what-it-is and what-you-can-get-imprisoned-for are two different things?

I suspect that it is a matter of "what-it-is and what-you-can-get-imprisoned-for [being] two different things". There are also elements of "What did you know and when did you know it?" and "What-you-did-wrong and what-I'm-willing-to-charge-you-with are two different things". I don't know the details of Piper Kerman's criminal involvement, but if the prosecution can make a reasonable case that she knew the money was obtained illegally and that her actions were intended to hide their illegal origin, then she was probably criminally liable. If she could make the case that she legitimately didn't know that the money was ill-gotten or that she had received the money legally, she probably would not have been culpable.

I suspect that Roko knows that Faye and Bubbles were doing honest work for a dishonest organization and simply doesn't see any benefit in bringing the hammer down on two people who just needed work, even if they knew that work was facilitating an illegal gambling operation.

*addendum*

I like Momo's outlook on it. There's always hope.

ZoeB absolutely loves number 2201.

I also love 2201. Marten saying "Yeah, I can understand that. Sorry." is a small but powerful statement from Marten. I cannot begin to count the number of times I have wanted to hear that after explaining that trans bigotry is still there and still real and still painful, even if people have convinced themselves that it's coming from the radical fringe.

[OldGoat]

I suspect that Roko knows that Faye and Bubbles were doing honest work for a dishonest organization and simply doesn't see any benefit in bringing the hammer down on two people who just needed work, even if they knew that work was facilitating an illegal gambling operation.

^^^^^^^^^THIS^^^^^^^^^^

Trust me on this - no one wants to live in a place where the police lay charges for every violation that comes to their attention.   It'd be like Catholic school all the time.  (I still have nightmares about Storm Troopers in nuns' habits, armed with yardsticks and wearing jackboots.)

[Akima]

Sooo I just need to vent. Apparently ignorance towards AIs does exist in the real world. I shared the Faye/Bubbles storyline with an online friend and he said some pretty closed minded stuff.

A long time ago, there was an episode of Star Trek:TNG where Tasha Yar (I think?) had sex with Data, and I remember reading some pretty ugly stuff on-line about it. About the most polite was "He's just a fancy dildo."

I was pleased to see that Hanners's tattooist/piercer did not display any of the thoroughly bogus (I would say fraudulent) "Chinese Alphabets" that bottom-feeding "artists" foist on the ignorant.

[pwhodges]

Gibberish should be real gibberish rather than pretending to be something else.  When the (Japanese) author of the manga Piano no mori wanted to portray someone speaking in Polish as incomprehensible to the protagonistr, they made sure it didn't look like anything real:

[Meander]

Meander, I think Bubbles has given you butts disease!

Oh, I had that LONG before meeting Miss Bubbles!

[BenRG]

I have long suspected that Hannelore had a 'bucket list' of things to do before the fatal illness that a part of her is convinced she has (but cannot be diagnosed) finally carries her off. I think that she's modified that list to act as a guide for her journey of self-discovery and I really want to know what else is on there.

To me, the biggest sign of progress for her is this: She has been willing to have an asymmetric piercing. That would have been enough to trigger a breakdown until even fairly recently!

[tsuma534]

Hello,

Does anybody know what kind of modification (if any) Hannelore did to her nose in the latest comic?
I'm unable to discern it from the panel and I'm not knowledgeable enough to just guess what it was. Here's a reference image:

[awgiedawgie]

I was pleased to see that Hanners's tattooist/piercer did not display any of the thoroughly bogus (I would say fraudulent) "Chinese Alphabets" that bottom-feeding "artists" foist on the ignorant.

I thought one of the comments on that post was interesting (and demonstrated the commenter’s own ignorance). It went something like “it is up to the customer not the artist to do their research ahead of time.”


Yeah, sure, that’s all well and good in their perfect little world, but when Joe Nobody comes in off the street and says “I want my name in Kanji”, it’s just plain irresponsible (and yes, I would agree, fraudulent) for the artist to just whip out a bunch of random (cuz basically, that’s what it is) characters, and say “here you go”, since they are not, in fact, giving the customer what they asked for.