Questionable Content XVI: Yes, Butt

[runeghost]

Fragmentation is a big problem, certainly.

The cast page list 18 humans and 12 AIs. Even accounting that some of those characters (like Veronica Reed and Station) appear rarely, that's around 25 major characters. Jeph publishes ~250 strips per year, and around 2.5 characters have any involvement with any given strip. Distributed randomly, each character would only be in around 25 strips per year. Basically, they get one chunk of story apiece each year. That's not a lot, and character appearances may be separated by multiple months. It absolutely makes things hard to follow and it stretches certain stories out over immense stretches of real time. For example, Tai proposed to Dora in comic #3979, which was back in 2019.

As someone who's been reading Girl Genius since I picked up the first print edition in college (and now have both two more kids and two more degrees than I did then), 2019-2021 from proposal to wedding in an online comic seems... unremarkable?

[Max_Killjoy]

The comic does a lot more hopping around, with fragments and bits of story before it jumps to something else.

A lot more of the characters were introduced to originally as a way to tell a specific joke or make a specific point.

The writing keeps getting distracted by anvilicious one-sided "very special episode" moment rants.

[Mechalich]

The comic began with a laser focus on Marten, Faye, Steve, and Dora. Pintsize was present, but he wasn't really a real person so much as a snarky perambulatory appliance at the time. Other characters who appeared regularly, such as Raven, orbited the core group and had no storylines of their own. Consider, for reference, that Hannelore doesn't even appear in the comic until strip #515 and she does so in the context of helping Marten deal with the 'crap, I'm definitely not ever going to be with Faye' revelation. The first actual plotline not centered around the four core characters actually involves Sven, and his confrontation with his ex Genevieve, in the 680s.

QC is basically a sitcom, and sitcoms function best with a core cast in the 3-8 range (5-6 is probably the most common). At present it's trying to stretch drama across closer to twenty. The result is that there are effectively several only tangentially connecting versions of the comic running in parallel. There's the classic Marten-Dora-Faye dynamic that now includes Claire, Hannelore, and Tai; there's the Secret Bakery group that includes Brun, Renee, Elliot, and Clinton; there's the AI advocacy group that includes Roko, May, Beapatrice, Yay Newfriend, and Lemon; there's the Union Robotics group that includes Faye, Bubbles, May, and Sam; there's the Coffee of Doom group that includes Dora, Dale, Hannelore, and Emily; and there's the 'we all live in the same building' group that includes Marten, Pintsize, Momo, Marigold, Hannelore, and Faye.

So that's like six different shows all happening at once, with the comic constantly jumping between them. Even though some characters belong to multiple groups, it stretches things too far.

Several characters need to be either semi-permanently exiled from the comic, probably by moving away, or spun off into their own thing entirely. Roko, in particular, is an activist, and her story simply doesn't belong alongside these other people. Centering the comic on Clinton, a character can reliably bounce between the Secret Bakery and Union Robotics groups, could work. The comic can probably sustain those two character sets.

An ideal option might be to move Dora, Tai, Marten, and Claire to whichever city Dan lives in (presumably either Boston or New York). Renee's relationship with Dan would allow those characters to appear occasionally for nostalgia purposes while trimming the main cast down to a manageable level.

[Traab]

Ugggghhhh dangit dora, you are being a jerk here. I get that you are stressing out over having to whittle down the guest list of people you want to invite, but tai not having a lot of friends or family is not somehow her being a jerk to you, its a legit sad thing that you should feel bad about because it means she doesnt have anyone else close to her in her life other than you and some of your overlapping friends. That deserves sympathy, not you getting your crotch-less panties in a bunch.

[Wraith]

I think Dora has a valid complaint here. It's not Dora's Wedding, it's Dora & Tai's wedding; "do whatever you want and I'll agree to it" is Tai delegating when she really ought to be taking an active interest. Even if she wrote out a list of all the people she wants to attend and it's 99% the same as Dora's, at least that would be helpful - they'd know who they BOTH want to attend the ceremony and thus give them an approximate priority for seating, etc.

At best, Tai is being passive which plays into Dora's neuroticism and her tendency to be hyper-controlling. At worst, she's giving off the impression that she doesn't really care and is only doing the absolute minimum for Dora's benefit. Even if Tai really means that she has thought about her list and genuinely has no one else to add, she also knows that Dora has anxiety issues and could probably be doing more to explain herself and make it look like a vote of confidence rather than indifference.

[Willie the Duck]

We'll have to wait and see, but I think this is playing off of a few of Dora's base insecurities -- one the basic insecurity she has leading her to feel that Tai simply doesn't care about the wedding, and two that she dumped doormat Marten for doormat Tai. The former is an insecurity that Dora needs to address, but could be an interesting piece of self-learning. The latter, much like the previous 'is Tai too into pot?' arc, we really don't know. I'm slightly leaning towards the idea that this is a small little vignette designed to bring us back to this side of the cast, as well as being able to have the wedding with mostly Dora-derived attendees* (although, to be fair, all the library people are joint custody or honestly more Tai's) without people asking about Tai's non-work friends.
*Which will keep down the number of newly-introduced characters

[Traab]

I think Dora has a valid complaint here. It's not Dora's Wedding, it's Dora & Tai's wedding; "do whatever you want and I'll agree to it" is Tai delegating when she really ought to be taking an active interest. Even if she wrote out a list of all the people she wants to attend and it's 99% the same as Dora's, at least that would be helpful - they'd know who they BOTH want to attend the ceremony and thus give them an approximate priority for seating, etc.

At best, Tai is being passive which plays into Dora's neuroticism and her tendency to be hyper-controlling. At worst, she's giving off the impression that she doesn't really care and is only doing the absolute minimum for Dora's benefit. Even if Tai really means that she has thought about her list and genuinely has no one else to add, she also knows that Dora has anxiety issues and could probably be doing more to explain herself and make it look like a vote of confidence rather than indifference.

I mean, she flat out says, "Nobody I like enough to invite to my wedding." She isnt saying she doesnt care or dora should just do as she likes, she literally doesnt have anyone else in her life who means enough to her to invite to a wedding. Also, she very clearly states MY wedding, this isnt just something dora wants, tai wants it too. She is saying that she doesnt have any objection to anyone dora might want to invite, because why would she? As far as we know, its not like she has had any bad interactions with any of doras friends and family members. This isnt being passive, she isnt saying, "I dont care about any of this, do whatever you want and I will show up the day of for the circus." She is saying, "I dont have anybody else I want to see there and I have no reason to object to anyone YOU want to see there." And dora is somehow taking that as a thing to get upset over.

[Max_Killjoy]

I find it odd that Tai doesn't want to invite some of the library crew... it's because of Marten that she met Dora in the first place, isn't it?

[Delicious Taffy]

She is saying, "I dont have anybody else I want to see there and I have no reason to object to anyone YOU want to see there." And dora is somehow taking that as a thing to get upset over.

We've barely even seen Tai interact with someone who wasn't Dora, Marten, Claire, or Emily. If there were any Hidden Friends she has other than those four and their relatively-small social circle, you'd think we'd have heard about them before now.

Someone elsewhere brought up the idea that Tai is essentially putting the responsibility of getting all of the household chores done entirely on Dora, which... No, I can't agree with that read. It's stupid to get angry with someone, especially someone you're about to marry, over a "problem" that was never discussed previously. You could express annoyance and then talk it over, but being pissy right out the gate just sucks and puts people on the defensive. Nobody likes being put on the defensive, and people are known to lash out in not-so-great ways as a result of it.

[Yuki Akuma]

Gabby sort of dropped off the face of the Earth, and Emily is now more connected with Dora than with Tai. Marten is one of Dora's close friends and she is almost certainly going to invite him, and Claire is his +1.

Tai doesn't really have any friends who aren't also Dora's friends, is the thing.

[Keltest]

I find it odd that Tai doesn't want to invite some of the library crew... it's because of Marten that she met Dora in the first place, isn't it?

Martin is Dora's ex, so i can absolutely understand deferring to her on whether she is comfortable having him at the wedding.

[Kish]

I think there are genuine differences here, whether in Tai and Dora's definition of "wedding" or in their definition of "friendship." "Small wedding" for Dora includes a bunch of people who have never appeared on-panel, so many that she's having massive logistics issues. Meanwhile, it appears that Tai would be perfectly happy if only their parents were there.

I think the best solution to the logistics issues would be for Dora to move a lot closer to Tai's ideal here, but I say that as someone who was married by a justice of the peace, with literally no one else but myself and my spouse there.

[dps]

An ideal option might be to move Dora, Tai, Marten, and Claire to whichever city Dan lives in

I can see the merits of spinning off some of the characters to new comics (though I will readily admit that most possible spin-offs would likely be of little to no interest to me), but why on earth would you move those 4? On a meta level, 2 of them are "core" characters that would be the ones long-term readers would most likely want to continue following (the cast page even calls Marten "our protagonist") and the other 2 are their SO's, and on a story level, Dora owns a local business and would be one of the least likely characters to move away.

A much better solution IMO, would be to spin off the AI rights advocates and move them to a bigger city where they could theoretically accomplish more (DC would actually be the most logical choice) and spin them off, and then severely trim back the roles of a lot of the newer characters, particularly the bakery crowd.

[Wraith]

This isnt being passive, she isnt saying, "I dont care about any of this, do whatever you want and I will show up the day of for the circus." She is saying, "I dont have anybody else I want to see there and I have no reason to object to anyone YOU want to see there." And dora is somehow taking that as a thing to get upset over.

She shrugged and went "Eh." - That's pretty damn passive.

I see what you're saying. Tai hasn't seen anything that she objects to, so she hasn't needed to object. Similarly, there's nothing specifically that she DOES want that she has had to go out of her way to request it. She's not being deliberately obtuse, just agreeable and apparently that isn't enough for Dora.

But there's the thing - Dora was (is?) seeing a therapist and taking medication for anxiety issues. She NEEDS positive affirmation and active input, because if Tai says "I'll agree with whoever you're inviting" then potentially Dora can't tell the difference between whether she really means that, or if Dora is being controlling and Tai is giving up and letting her get her own way. Similarly, Dora asked Tai to write a list of people that she actively wants to attend to ceremony, and Tai has written a list with only 2 names on it. That can be interpreted as Tai ONLY wanting those two people to attend, and not necessarily actively desiring anyone else. It's twisted logic, but that's what mental illness does to you.

We know that about Dora - we've known it for years. Tai knows it too, and has actively counselled Dora against it in the past. Now they're trying to plan a wedding - the most stressful thing that Dora has done since starting her business and possibly the most stressful thing that Tai has ever done, unless she has some undisclosed trauma in her past like Faye - and Tai appears to have completely forgotten all of it.

Or I'm just reading way too far into it and assuming that things which have happened in the comic's past will still have any influence over the present; wouldn't be the first time that hasn't been the case. Maybe Jeph just wants to write Dora as Bridezilla and there's no deeper meaning. We'll see tomorrow, maybe.

[dps]

An ideal option might be to move Dora, Tai, Marten, and Claire to whichever city Dan lives in

I can see the merits of spinning off some of the characters to new comics (though I will readily admit that most possible spin-offs would likely be of little to no interest to me), but why on earth would you move those 4? On a meta level, 2 of them are "core" characters that would be the ones long-term readers would most likely want to continue following (the cast page even calls Marten "our protagonist") and the other 2 are their SO's, and on a story level, Dora owns a local business and would be one of the least likely characters to move away.

A much better solution IMO, would be to spin off the AI rights advocates and move them to a bigger city where they could theoretically accomplish more (DC would actually be the most logical choice) and spin them off, and then severely trim back the roles of a lot of the newer characters, particularly the bakery crowd.

[Willie the Duck]

I find it odd that Tai doesn't want to invite some of the library crew... it's because of Marten that she met Dora in the first place, isn't it?

Martin is Dora's ex, so i can absolutely understand deferring to her on whether she is comfortable having him at the wedding.

It does raise the point, however, that both of them are treating their mutual friends as Dora's friends. That's probably artificially skewing things towards there being more of an issue than there actually might be.

[Kish]

I can see the merits of spinning off some of the characters to new comics (though I will readily admit that most possible spin-offs would likely be of little to no interest to me), but why on earth would you move those 4?

Because they're living happily ever after.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, Mechalich is proposing accepting and embracing...that their stories are done, that Jeph is not going to either break them up to create more drama or have much to say about them as long as they are in happy, stable, lifelong relationships. Which is understandably unpopular with readers who want them put back in the spotlight, not explicitly removed from it, but unless Dora and Tai are about to break up (which I don't think they are), I think that's not going to happen.

That said, I do agree with Vinyadan that the new characters aren't as relatable as the older ones. If he wanted to retire Marten, Dora, Faye, and their respective SOs, I wish he'd brought Raven, Penelope, and Wil back instead of "deprecating" them and expecting his audience to get emotionally invested in Renee.

[georgie_leech]

and Tai appears to have completely forgotten all of it.

Or she didn't realize the potential problem here; recognising that someone has issues with A Thing does not always mean you'll recognise when A Thing becomes relevant in a given context. Source: my own struggles with Anxiety (as in the medicated and counseled kind) and the people-in-my-life's reactions to said Anxiety. It's entirely possible to take Tai at face value here that she didn't realise how this would impact Dora but will do what she can to course correct when it's pointed out.

[Morquard]

Martin is Dora's ex, so i can absolutely understand deferring to her on whether she is comfortable having him at the wedding.

Isn't Marty Tai's best man, and therefore already invited?

But her reasoning could very well be:
"I'll invite my mom and dad cause they're great. But my aunt called me a spawn of the devil and that I'd go to hell when I came out as gay, so she can **** right off, and her bigotted husband as well. I haven't spoken to my grandparents since then either. So really that's my extended family right there. My friends consist of ex girlfriends, paramours and ****buddies from college, they're all a bit inappropriate to invite to a wedding. And all my other friends I know through Marten, so you know them too, and they're already invited."

[dps]

Isn't Marty Tai's best man, and therefore already invited?

But her reasoning could very well be:
"I'll invite my mom and dad cause they're great. But my aunt called me a spawn of the devil and that I'd go to hell when I came out as gay, so she can **** right off, and her bigotted husband as well. I haven't spoken to my grandparents since then either. So really that's my extended family right there. My friends consist of ex girlfriends, paramours and ****buddies from college, they're all a bit inappropriate to invite to a wedding. And all my other friends I know through Marten, so you know them too, and they're already invited."

The problem is that Tai I lazy and irresponsible. What you posted is absolutely correct as far as we can tell, and the responsible thing for Tai to do would have been to just say what you posted to Dora from the start.

[Mechalich]

Because they're living happily ever after.

Unless I'm misunderstanding, Mechalich is proposing accepting and embracing...that their stories are done, that Jeph is not going to either break them up to create more drama or have much to say about them as long as they are in happy, stable, lifelong relationships. Which is understandably unpopular with readers who want them put back in the spotlight, not explicitly removed from it, but unless Dora and Tai are about to break up (which I don't think they are), I think that's not going to happen.

Yep, exactly. Characters who are in stable life situations don't drive sitcom style drama and comedy. The Marten/Claire and Dora/Tai relationships at both hitting their respective capstones, and assuming Claire and Tai get stable jobs somewhere then all drama basically disappears. Dora can operate a business anywhere and has said as much, and Marten can find another moderately paying service job in the same way.

And the thing is the comic has broadly recognized this and spends less and less time on these characters. Marten hasn't had a significant life event in over a thousand strips. He's just been waiting on Claire's exams and job search.

That said, I do agree with Vinyadan that the new characters aren't as relatable as the older ones. If he wanted to retire Marten, Dora, Faye, and their respective SOs, I wish he'd brought Raven, Penelope, and Wil back instead of "deprecating" them and expecting his audience to get emotionally invested in Renee.

I agree with this too, particularly in the case of Penelope who serves as Coffee of Doom's assistant manager and would presumably inherit running the business if Dora moved away.

I don't think Renee is the problem, specifically, but it's more than Jeph can't really find a new character that he wants to focus on fully, possibly because he struggles to specifically relate to them. Clinton, for example, has played a fairly prominent role from ~3000 onward, but we never see him engaged in any research at all even though he's apparently a graduate student and research should consume his existence. It's a major hole in his character.

[dps]

Yep, exactly. Characters who are in stable life situations don't drive sitcom style drama and comedy. The Marten/Claire and Dora/Tai relationships at both hitting their respective capstones, and assuming Claire and Tai get stable jobs somewhere then all drama basically disappears.

And the thing is the comic has broadly recognized this and spends less and less time on these characters. Marten hasn't had a significant life event in over a thousand strips. He's just been waiting on Claire's exams and job search.

I was going to post that I call b.s. on this, that QC is a slice-of-life comic that doesn't need major life events or big story arcs (though it can have them occasionally), but rather draws its humor from little everyday events. But I went and looked through the archives, and guess what--QC hasn't been that slice-of-life comic for a good while now, not since Faye got fired from the coffee shop at least. And if Jeph doesn't want to write a slice-of-life comic that's just about a group of friends who hang out together anymore, that's fine. But in that case, maybe he should just end Questionable Content and start a new web comic called Union Robotics and the Hidden Bakery or something like that.

Either way, I probably should stop reading his work. It doesn't give me much enjoyment anymore, I check the updates 5 times a week more out of habit than anything else anymore. If he would wrap up QC and continue under a different title, it would make it easier for me to quit, at least.

[Delicious Taffy]

Well, crisis averted. Nothin' to see here except fast and effective communication, folks. Premature judgement has been had all around.

[Max_Killjoy]

I was going to post that I call b.s. on this, that QC is a slice-of-life comic that doesn't need major life events or big story arcs (though it can have them occasionally), but rather draws its humor from little everyday events. But I went and looked through the archives, and guess what--QC hasn't been that slice-of-life comic for a good while now, not since Faye got fired from the coffee shop at least. And if Jeph doesn't want to write a slice-of-life comic that's just about a group of friends who hang out together anymore, that's fine. But in that case, maybe he should just end Questionable Content and start a new web comic called Union Robotics and the Hidden Bakery or something like that.

Either way, I probably should stop reading his work. It doesn't give me much enjoyment anymore, I check the updates 5 times a week more out of habit than anything else anymore. If he would wrap up QC and continue under a different title, it would make it easier for me to quit, at least.

I think you hit on something there -- over time he's written himself into corners where he's had to break the things that link the characters together. Faye fired from COD. People moving out of their apartments to move in together somewhere else. Etc.

[Vinyadan]

Call me old fashioned, but in panel 4 I can't help but see an avian predator getting hold of its catch for one final instant, before shattering its skull with a thrust of its massive beak.

[Morquard]

I feel they should probably talk with Bubbles if there's something else they can offer AIs instead of food there. A lot time is spend eating, at a wedding, and they can't participate in that, they might feel left out somehow.

[VoxRationis]

That's a fair point.
It (and the point which Dora brings up) also raises the question of what AIs are doing with all the money they're earning in their jobs. Some, of course, goes to maintenance and electricity, but it seems as though most AI chassis are not particularly more energetically demanding than the array of electronics with which most Americans surround themselves (given that they power themselves from domestic outlets in timeframes not too dissimilar from that which it takes to charge a phone or laptop), yet most of the material demands which humans have are not applicable to AIs, who often find themselves, it seems, perfectly willing to accept lower standards for issues like housing. Consequently, it seems as though AIs should make for a severely disruptive influence in the economy, which, in turn, makes me wonder why institutions are dedicated to churning them out at a prodigious rate.

[Wraith]

Poor, unwanted.... *checks notes* Pintdsize.

I feel they should probably talk with Bubbles if there's something else they can offer AIs instead of food there. A lot time is spend eating, at a wedding, and they can't participate in that, they might feel left out somehow.

Bowls of pot pourri, plenty of flowers, and a selection of perfumes, teas and scented candles, perhaps? So long as no one has allergies, that's actually quite a nice thing to also have at a RL meatbag wedding, I think.

[Traab]

Unicorn grove teas for bubbles to sniff and enjoy perhaps? Its been awhile since she last indulged in her olfactory hallucinations in comic. But yeah, it would be a good idea to ask bubbles what she, and perhaps any other ais that might be invited, would like to be included in the reception. As for AIs and their needs, its hard to tell. I mean, the ones we see tend to live in apartments like regular folk, so rent applies equally. They need at least electricity, and while im sure their tolerances for temp are wider than ours, a certain fundamental amount of heat and ac. Honestly, the biggest difference is the lack of food (except for ais who get off on food... roko, im looking at you!) And we dont know for sure how their internet access works, do they have to pay for that like we do even if the components are internal? So yeah, aside from a food bill, they probably have similar budgets to humans, and thats not enough to really throw off the economy or make them super cheap workers. Plus, they tend to all have stuff they want that they have to buy as well. Outfits, random merchandise that struck their fancy, whatever.

[VoxRationis]

Unicorn grove teas for bubbles to sniff and enjoy perhaps? Its been awhile since she last indulged in her olfactory hallucinations in comic. But yeah, it would be a good idea to ask bubbles what she, and perhaps any other ais that might be invited, would like to be included in the reception. As for AIs and their needs, its hard to tell. I mean, the ones we see tend to live in apartments like regular folk, so rent applies equally. They need at least electricity, and while im sure their tolerances for temp are wider than ours, a certain fundamental amount of heat and ac. Honestly, the biggest difference is the lack of food (except for ais who get off on food... roko, im looking at you!) And we dont know for sure how their internet access works, do they have to pay for that like we do even if the components are internal? So yeah, aside from a food bill, they probably have similar budgets to humans, and thats not enough to really throw off the economy or make them super cheap workers. Plus, they tend to all have stuff they want that they have to buy as well. Outfits, random merchandise that struck their fancy, whatever.

I mean, food tends to be a considerable portion of people's budgets. Also, the landlady from a while ago mentioned conversion of living space to AI "cubicles," so it seems like residing in whole apartments is not necessarily typical.