Questionable Content XVI: Yes, Butt

[Felius]

I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say she was pressuring him, but in context it at least sounds like he's said 'no' and she won't take that for his answer.

So, new page, she's literally pressuring him and refusing to take a no for an answer...

[Keltest]

So, new page, she's literally pressuring him and refusing to take a no for an answer...

Uh, this looks a lot like changing the topic to me. Not really "refusing to take no for an answer."

Also, I respect Martin for caving into that peer pressure. It took me months to convince one of my friends to play D&D. Now he's out there spreading our homebrew world to his friends in the NSA. No, seriously.

[Felius]

Uh, this looks a lot like changing the topic to me. Not really "refusing to take no for an answer."

That it got to the "C'monnn, be one of the cool kids." bit is already far too far for just respecting his choice in the first place.

Again, like before, I'm not saying she's the absolute worst or pressuring Martin like a drug dealer in a bad PSA from the 80's, but she's not coming as respectful of Martin's choice of not smoking pot.

[Wraith]

So, new page, she's literally pressuring him and refusing to take a no for an answer...

Eh, I dunno; "Be one of the cool kids" amongst 25+ year olds is enough of a cliche that we could very easily interpret that as a joke. Tai might even be directly referencing one of those Just Say No PSA videos, it sounds kind of like the sort of thing she'd do with a joint in her mouth.
As for people not being respectful of Marten... Well, yeah. It's Marten. That's what happens when you're a walking, sentient doormat.

Also, I respect Martin for caving into that peer pressure. It took me months to convince one of my friends to play D&D. Now he's out there spreading our homebrew world to his friends in the NSA. No, seriously.

At least he stayed on the soft stuff. My D&D habit quickly turned into Magic cards and then wargame miniatures; I'd have probably spent less money on crack by now, if only because I'd have died at 30 and thus found a way to stop spending money on the stuff.

[Eldan]

No no, the peer pressure is clearly "You have to play a cleric, because we need a healer", the oldest peer pressure of all.

Friends don't let friends play healbots.

[georgie_leech]

No no, the peer pressure is clearly "You have to play a cleric, because we need a healer", the oldest peer pressure of all.

Friends don't let friends play healbots.

See also: why Martin is no longer playing D&D

[Felius]

Eh, I dunno; "Be one of the cool kids" amongst 25+ year olds is enough of a cliche that we could very easily interpret that as a joke. Tai might even be directly referencing one of those Just Say No PSA videos, it sounds kind of like the sort of thing she'd do with a joint in her mouth.
As for people not being respectful of Marten... Well, yeah. It's Marten. That's what happens when you're a walking, sentient doormat.

The problem with the first statement is exactly the second statement: Against someone who doesn't have a well documented history of being spineless and easily pushed around the "be one of the cool kids" might be just a joke. For Martin? I wouldn't have been surprised if it had actually worked.

[Max_Killjoy]

Not cool, Tai.

I'm pretty sure they've known each other long enough that Tai knows better at this point.

[Willie the Duck]

...Or it's just a throwaway bit because some rando on twitter asked if maybe it was okay, and Jeph has decided to make a statement in the comic just in case anyone else was wondering. That could be it too.

I suspect Jeph got asked by more than a few people what's going on. 'Let's not do this in a bar because of Faye, but then have a bunch of weed-smoking at the coffee shop party' seems like all sorts of mixed messaging. My initial thought was that it was author-blinders (for which he's now putting in an explanation), as for him alcoholism is serious business while weed seemed to be wacky plotline fuel. However, four strips in on the subject and I'm starting to suspect that this is actually a real plot thread being developed.

Eh, I dunno; "Be one of the cool kids" amongst 25+ year olds is enough of a cliche that we could very easily interpret that as a joke. Tai might even be directly referencing one of those Just Say No PSA videos, it sounds kind of like the sort of thing she'd do with a joint in her mouth.
As for people not being respectful of Marten... Well, yeah. It's Marten. That's what happens when you're a walking, sentient doormat.

I'm pretty sure they've known each other long enough that Tai knows better at this point.

I think it is both. Even Marten is too self-confident to be swayed by a line everyone present would recognize as something straight out of a D.A.R.E. skit. However, #4263 pretty much states that Tai really wants him to say yes. My take is that Tai is pushing too much, so much that it is noticeable to that characters in-comic, and that that is part of the plot Jeph is trying to explore. Yes, Tai does know better at this point, and she is screwing it up. That, if I'm right, is the point.

Of all the main cast from the old crew era, I feel that Tai is one that has had some of the least serious development (I'm probably forgetting some plot thread that completely negates this). She's Marten's slacker boss who notes how much of a joke their job is, gets high and watches cartoons while on the clock, and randomly took off her top in front of people in hopes that Dora (pre-them-dating) would do the same. She is more part of the wacky-hijinks version of the strip and hasn't really gotten drawn into the personal growth part of the strip as much as some of the others (barring a few non-sexy pillow talk conversations with Dora, most of which was just her as a sounding board for Dora's growth. If this is her screwing up and getting some consequences, my take is that Jeph is moving her over into the seriousness camp.

[Vinyadan]

Could it be that smokeweed → loss of inhibition → becoming too insistent?

[Felius]

On my "find-problems-with-everything" mood, the latest comic raised a question that I would like an answer: Has Claire ever shown herself straightforward and supportive of her brother (I forget his name) on screen? Her behavior is fine as sibling bantering, but only so long Anne also behave in less (fake) acerbic ways when the situation calls for it.

Which is to say, is it my memory that's failing or has she really never treated him nicely in any page so far?

[Keltest]

On my "find-problems-with-everything" mood, the latest comic raised a question that I would like an answer: Has Claire ever shown herself straightforward and supportive of her brother (I forget his name) on screen? Her behavior is fine as sibling bantering, but only so long Anne also behave in less (fake) acerbic ways when the situation calls for it.

Which is to say, is it my memory that's failing or has she really never treated him nicely in any page so far?

Clinton. And they have some heart to heart moments occasionally that indicate they have mutual love and respect, if not understanding.

[Rodin]

I think it's partly down to the "big brother" dynamic between them. Claire has always been the one that needed protecting and Clinton has acted on that. It may not even occur to her that Clinton needs reciprocation - he's the protective older younger brother and he's perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Claire has tried to help him in the one area he's obviously lacking - a love life.

[Wraith]

It's just one of the lazy stereotypes that Jeph has always used. High School in ~2015 was exclusively full of Jocks, Preps and Nerds; siblings are petty and annoy each other; alcoholics are sad and desperate but weed is hilarious....

I'm not saying this to rag on the guy, but it's always been pretty clear to me that QC is just a fairly typical late-90's-early-00's sitcom, but with swearing and robots. Apart from the Very Special Episodes about suicide and alcoholism, it's not meant to subvert the genre or anything.

[Keltest]

It's just one of the lazy stereotypes that Jeph has always used. High School in ~2015 was exclusively full of Jocks, Preps and Nerds; siblings are petty and annoy each other; alcoholics are sad and desperate but weed is hilarious....

I'm not saying this to rag on the guy, but it's always been pretty clear to me that QC is just a fairly typical late-90's-early-00's sitcom, but with swearing and robots. Apart from the Very Special Episodes about suicide and alcoholism, it's not meant to subvert the genre or anything.

You say that like siblings aren't petty and don't annoy each other.

[Wraith]

You say that like siblings aren't petty and don't annoy each other.

I have a brother - we've had our fun at each others' expense, no doubt about that. Constantly, consistently, and in front of friends and acquaintances in the same way that Dora/Sven and Claire/Clinton are portrayed? I'd really hope that isn't typical of real life for most people.

[Keltest]

I have a brother - we've had our fun at each others' expense, no doubt about that. Constantly, consistently, and in front of friends and acquaintances in the same way that Dora/Sven and Claire/Clinton are portrayed? I'd really hope that isn't typical of real life for most people.

In my social group, most of us don't even restrict it to our siblings. We know its all in good fun.

[Willie the Duck]

You're both right. Siblings absolutely snipe at each other in public in ways we'd never forgive other people, and QC is steeped heavily in 90s* sitcom aesthetics.
*I'd say early-mid 90s vibe, really. A live-action QC could have readily ran alongside Friends or Spin City or Third Rock from the Sun.

[hungrycrow]

Claire was right, Clinton has no chill.

[Cikomyr2]

Claire was right, Clinton has no chill.

Obi-Wan voice
He will learn to chill

[otakuryoga]

well, that got dark in a hurry..
(and i don't mean the shading)
(though it can apply to that too)

[Wraith]

Wait... Is the implication here that Faye is suddenly worried that she is Bubbles' first girl/boyfriend? And that's bummed her out so incredibly hard that she's immediately left the party to go and sulk at home?

That seems pretty selfish of her. I get that it might require a careful conversation about boundaries, experience and such later, but to drop everything and disappear? I can't see how that will help Bubbles feel like opening up to her later.

Then again, it's reminiscent of her relationship with Angus - running instead of talking. Hopefully she'll have learned from her mistakes this time around.

[georgie_leech]

Wait... Is the implication here that Faye is suddenly worried that she is Bubbles' first girl/boyfriend? And that's bummed her out so incredibly hard that she's immediately left the party to go and sulk at home?

That seems pretty selfish of her. I get that it might require a careful conversation about boundaries, experience and such later, but to drop everything and disappear? I can't see how that will help Bubbles feel like opening up to her later.

Then again, it's reminiscent of her relationship with Angus - running instead of talking. Hopefully she'll have learned from her mistakes this time around.

I think she's worried that Spooky-Bot may have manipulated her into being a test-case for Human-AI relations.

[Vinyadan]

I see it the exact opposite way: that there might have been others before her. That's something she had never thought of.

And Bubbles lacks some memories, so who knows if those people are still around, or they ever left each other?

[Wraith]

I think she's worried that Spooky-Bot may have manipulated her into being a test-case for Human-AI relations.

I honestly don't see where Spookybot is implied by Faye. It's more like, Faye just never thought to ask whether or not Bubbles has had other boy/girlfriends before and now that she's realised that there is the possibility that she might have, it's upset Faye.

Which would be somewhat hypocritical, given that Faye has had other boyfriends and booty-calls that she probably hasn't gone into detail about with Bubbles. Maybe she thought she was Bubbles' first, which made her feel like she was the more dominant member of the couple, and now realises that may not be true?

Or possibly the opposite is true; That Bubbles hasn't had previous romantic relationships, and now Faye is suddenly self-conscious that she might be... inadequate? A bad role-model to the 'virgin'? Hard to say without further context, but as usual it's a situation that can be resolved with a short conversation but is instead being treated as a huge moral conundrum.

[Traab]

I figured this was another of her "Oh man this is making me want a drink, I need to get out of here" moments. And seeing spookybot again isnt helping that feeling.

[Kish]

I think Faye wants to have been some kind of first for Bubbles--not necessarily first romantic relationship ever, but something comparable to "first robot and first same-sex relationship," as Bubbles is for her.

[Willie the Duck]

I'm not sure she knows what she wants. I bet she did think that she and Bubbles were both new to this type of relationship (and didn't need to compare her self-viewed-as-damaged self to any exes), and that's where the insecurity comes in.

Frankly she was very good about not melting down or wallowing in front of people who should be having a good time, but all the reassurances she could give to Bubbles won't make her not worry.

[Agi Hammerthief]

Faye‘s been skipping her therapy.

[hungrycrow]

I only vaguely recall the Bubble's memory arc. All I remember is that Yay Newfriend was creepy but super helpful. Did she do something in that arc that makes Faye hate her this much?