Questionable Content XVII: "My Brain Is Trash And I Live On The Internet"

[Cikomyr2]

Yay... Yay... for all your faults, we know you're smarter than that.

They are petty, and they want what they want

[Gez]

There's been so much building up for Elliott and Clinton banging that it'd be an anticlimax (heh) if it actually happened. Some sort of wacky hijinx is gonna c-block them.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I see a Melon in their future...

[Max_Killjoy]

Never release animals into the wild until you know they're not an invasive species.

[Keltest]

Are we just going to gloss over the fact that their light is actively hazardous?

[Agi Hammerthief]

Are we just going to gloss over the fact that their light is actively hazardous?

yes, because: comedy.

[Mechalich]

Are we just going to gloss over the fact that their light is actively hazardous?

Large beetles (the insect in question appears to be a very large longhorn beetle, which is plausibly the largest insect you'd find in Mass) are actually strong enough, in some cases, to charge lightbulbs and break them, resulting in the death of the beetle and a repair bill despite no initial hazard. This is more common with tropical rhinoceros beetles, but it's not too much of a stretch into the temperate zone.

[Wraith]

That multi-thousand dollar charity drive for May looking like a pretty big waste of time right now.

[Ialdabaoth]

That multi-thousand dollar charity drive for May looking like a pretty big waste of time right now.

I dont think so? Knowing Pintsize, this chassis was probably obtained in thr sketchiest way possible; May attemppting to acquire a body the same way would probably result in a return to Robot Jail.

Its definitely unfair that Pintsize gets to get away with harmful and illegal actions while May doesnt, but thems the breaks.

[Wraith]

I dont think so? Knowing Pintsize, this chassis was probably obtained in the sketchiest way possible; May attempting to acquire a body the same way would probably result in a return to Robot Jail.

If any of that were stated in the comic then I would agree with you, but so far it's looking like everything is fine. Pintsize bought his chassis second-hand from what might as well have been "a guy on Craigslist" and it's turned out to be a perfectly functional without any problems, and he did all that on $2 bills and 'Canadian Tire Money'.

At this point I'm almost hoping that something DOES go wrong, just to close the plot hole. Maybe Pintsize gets stopped by Police and they search him to find out that his new chassis' serial number has been reported as stolen, so Pintsize has to give up his new body and go back to the old one having learned what he is missing? Maybe someone walks down the street wearing Google Glasses like Dale and their disembodied AI friend demands that Pintsize him them their body back after it was stolen.

Just... pretty much anything apart from "Pintsize bought a new body, it looked sketchy but turned out to be alright", y'know?

[Traab]

Yeah at this point I swear jeph is going out of his way to make the plot hole as big and gaping as possible. I was honestly expecting something to happen, either the body is wrecked with malware, or it was a temp body unable to last very long which is why it was so cheap. Like a paper cup instead of a tea cup. SOMETHING to justify it further than mysterious pintsize money. Had it been a paper cup body it would have made sense for may not to buy it as she would have been trading one easily broken wreck for another. It would have made sense for pintsize as he bought it for a freaking gag. Then realized he liked it. That could have triggered an entirely different storyline as he realizes he doesnt want to be a chibi anymore and has to get a real body that wont break down every time he bumps into the coffee table.

[Rodin]

Anyone else feel like Jeph is talking to the audience with today's comic? There's only one person who was upset by the change in-comic - Marten. And even he was more surprised than condemning.

So why then the conversation about Faye accepting Pintsize's new body?

[Manga Shoggoth]

If any of that were stated in the comic then I would agree with you, but so far it's looking like everything is fine. Pintsize bought his chassis second-hand from what might as well have been "a guy on Craigslist" and it's turned out to be a perfectly functional without any problems, and he did all that on $2 bills and 'Canadian Tire Money'.

Except we've had a "Pintsize gets a new body that appears to be OK, but turns out to have issues" story before. It seemed like an improvement (60), apart (depending on who you talk to) from the laser; and turned out to be a wee bit questionable around 100 strips later (147). And Marten brought that one from a supposedly reputable source.

[Yuki Akuma]

Y'know, it's odd that in the early days it was Dora who knew how to remove a military laser from a robot chassis, but now Faye is the one who's a robot doctor.

[Willie the Duck]

Anyone else feel like Jeph is talking to the audience with today's comic? There's only one person who was upset by the change in-comic - Marten. And even he was more surprised than condemning.
So why then the conversation about Faye accepting Pintsize's new body?

Well, she semi-forcibly dragged him to the shop for a checkup. After that, I'd want to test the waters to see where things stood. Regardless, he's thanking her for being cool with it, when she easily could not be, and is generally looking to see where their relationship (previously defined by him saying crummy things and her inflicting cartoon violence upon him that his new body cannot withstand). Overall, I do think Jeph is reinforcing certain themes with the decision to have this particular strip exist, but it also seems reasonable for the character to act this way in this situation.

Y'know, it's odd that in the early days it was Dora who knew how to remove a military laser from a robot chassis, but now Faye is the one who's a robot doctor.

Faye started a new career and picked up skills directly related to said task in the meantime. Dora knowing how to do so back then seems the odd bit (although that certainly was more in the wacky era of the strip).

[Max_Killjoy]

Well, she semi-forcibly dragged him to the shop for a checkup. After that, I'd want to test the waters to see where things stood. Regardless, he's thanking her for being cool with it, when she easily could not be, and is generally looking to see where their relationship (previously defined by him saying crummy things and her inflicting cartoon violence upon him that his new body cannot withstand). Overall, I do think Jeph is reinforcing certain themes with the decision to have this particular strip exist, but it also seems reasonable for the character to act this way in this situation.


Faye started a new career and picked up skills directly related to said task in the meantime. Dora knowing how to do so back then seems the odd bit (although that certainly was more in the wacky era of the strip).

Back then, in the strip, the bots were much more "mobile PC chassis" than full-on "AI robots".

Dora had some PC repair skills, and used them to modify Pintsize by removing the offending part and wiping the drivers for that part.

Given the context at the time, it's something I could do to a "PC".

[Ionathus]

Honestly I'm still reeling from the discovery that his cartoonishly massive googly eyes weren't a permanent fixture of the chassis. That felt like such a fun feature that gave it some Pintsize flair, instead of "Generic Short-haired AI Chassis Template #4 (but this one is wearing pink underpants so it's DIFFERENT)."

[Vinyadan]

Besides the spotty world building (what is a robot chassis, from a non-material point of view?), I think that the reason why PS can get a body from iffy sources without repercussions (well, as for now) is that the comic is more jokes- and feelings-driven than event-driven. I mean, if we look at the fighting ring, we have PS coming up with a ludicrous idea -- "you could work for an illegal robot fighting ring!". But can Faye work in a place of exploitation? No! So everything is totally safe, the fighters have daytime jobs, it's just like playing in a band, with adoring fans and everything! Except some have become unemployable, and, as disadvantaged May observes, fighting is how they get by! It's a social service!
Except Corpse Witch (joke name) is a dink who doesn't want employees to offer free services to May, so she's probably evil. And Bubbles can't come out of her shell, which means that she's traumatised, like Faye at the start of the comic. Then CW is a superdink to May, so Faye, who is May's friend, punches CW and leaves. Bubbles still can't come out of her shell, so she stays with CW, who is evil and has shaken down May, so she's also shaking down Bubbles.

Here it's something like "Pintsize is a gremlin, but isn't actually evil", and there isn't enough room dedicated to the acquirement of the chassis to make the sellers evil as it happened with the fighting ring.

Also, a funny find from 3009, with Pintsize expressing distress about how people see his body: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3009

To be honest, I'm happy that this storyline is bringing some of the older characters back in the spotlight.

Back then, in the strip, the bots were much more "mobile PC chassis" than full-on "AI robots".

Dora had some PC repair skills, and used them to modify Pintsize by removing the offending part and wiping the drivers for that part.

Given the context at the time, it's something I could do to a "PC".

Yep, Dora, Marten, and Faye all came with some knowledge/hobbies besides their jobs: some informatics, playing a guitar, and metalworking.

[Wraith]

Having trouble with scale, Jeph? Or did Clinton actually step into a pot-hole in panel 2? And go full Oompa-Loompa in panel 4?

At least he remembered Clinton's robot hand, and didn't forget about it like he did Faye's scar for the past ~week.

[Max_Killjoy]

Besides the spotty world building (what is a robot chassis, from a non-material point of view?), I think that the reason why PS can get a body from iffy sources without repercussions (well, as for now) is that the comic is more jokes- and feelings-driven than event-driven. I mean, if we look at the fighting ring, we have PS coming up with a ludicrous idea -- "you could work for an illegal robot fighting ring!". But can Faye work in a place of exploitation? No! So everything is totally safe, the fighters have daytime jobs, it's just like playing in a band, with adoring fans and everything! Except some have become unemployable, and, as disadvantaged May observes, fighting is how they get by! It's a social service!
Except Corpse Witch (joke name) is a dink who doesn't want employees to offer free services to May, so she's probably evil. And Bubbles can't come out of her shell, which means that she's traumatised, like Faye at the start of the comic. Then CW is a superdink to May, so Faye, who is May's friend, punches CW and leaves. Bubbles still can't come out of her shell, so she stays with CW, who is evil and has shaken down May, so she's also shaking down Bubbles.

Here it's something like "Pintsize is a gremlin, but isn't actually evil", and there isn't enough room dedicated to the acquirement of the chassis to make the sellers evil as it happened with the fighting ring.

The accumulation of jokes-and-feelings has reached the point where they're contradicting each other, and causing some jokes and most of the "social commentary" (eyeroll) to fall completely flat.

[Rodin]

I never had a problem with the robot fighting ring. It made Corpse Witch an interesting character. She was slightly shady and flying under the law, but her concern for other robots was genuine and she did her best to make sure the robots at the ring were both safe and not being exploited. Her two hangups were that she was a serious boss instead of the laissez-faire ones in the rest of the comic, and that she actively disliked humans. She came across as an antagonist because she was opposed to Faye using company equipment without permission - especially when Faye's activities drew the attention of a cop. Her concern for Bubbles was not unfounded, as seen when Bubbles got racist slurs thrown at her.

But then Jeph needed a way to get Faye and Bubbles out of the fighting ring, and Corpse Witch was a handy antagonist to force the issue. So Corpse Witch becomes a cackling evil villain instead of the nuanced character she was before. Sigh.

[Manga Shoggoth]

And I wonder which person gave Clinton that piece of relationship advice...

[Vinyadan]

I never had a problem with the robot fighting ring. It made Corpse Witch an interesting character. She was slightly shady and flying under the law, but her concern for other robots was genuine and she did her best to make sure the robots at the ring were both safe and not being exploited. Her two hangups were that she was a serious boss instead of the laissez-faire ones in the rest of the comic, and that she actively disliked humans. She came across as an antagonist because she was opposed to Faye using company equipment without permission - especially when Faye's activities drew the attention of a cop. Her concern for Bubbles was not unfounded, as seen when Bubbles got racist slurs thrown at her.

But then Jeph needed a way to get Faye and Bubbles out of the fighting ring, and Corpse Witch was a handy antagonist to force the issue. So Corpse Witch becomes a cackling evil villain instead of the nuanced character she was before. Sigh.

I think CW's evolution was foreseeable: if you look through the comic, not enforcing rules means that you're chill, and that's good. People are happy when rules aren't being enforced. See the librarians or faculty chiefs banging in the workplace, or Dora allowing absurd amounts of freedom to her employees. Those who enforce rules are either incompetent and overreaching (early cops), evil (Corpse Witch), or so unhappy about what they do that they give up, because they're part of the problem (Roko).

A more tone-dependent vision instead is simply that QC is (used to be) mostly about friends grooving, and what breaks the groove, be it alcoholism or hard power, is bad.

In general, I assume that there are no pre-made plots in QC, and that everything is written on a day-by-day basis. I think that things simply went the way they had to given the characters and conditions: the ring was illegal, so the cops had to take an interest; May needed help and was in a vulnerable position; and so on. The point where it all broke down for me was making Bubble's problem insolvable and the fighting ring essential, causing the introduction of the extraneous element of Squidbot as the omnipotent solver (about which I gripe every few weeks), capable of solving Bubble's problem, saving the ring, making it legal, and both defanging and punishing CW while rewarding an empathetic character (Jeremy).

There's a very odd page that seems very significant, but maybe should be read as reaching unintentional territories by going day-by-day. When Dora has already fired Faye for breaking her one stated rule (don't show up drunk), in 3354-55 Dora herself gets drunk on the workplace, going "who cares? I'm the boss!"; one could see it as codifying QC's antipathy for the enforcers, showing them as arbitrary and self-serving. At the same time, it could be just a throw-in gag (sudden escalation: Dora and Emily do weird things because they're drunk), whose components must then be considered by the characters in a way consistent with themselves and what has happened earlier.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Well, I'll admit. The last couple of strips went faster than I was expecting.

[Delicious Taffy]

Well, I'll admit. The last couple of strips went faster than I was expecting.

Everybody wants to write about two gay dudes totally doin' it, but nobody wants to write the preamble. It's always all steak, no seasoning.

[Wraith]

Day 3 of it being exhaustively explained that Elliot probably has some kind of non-specific anxiety disorder. And as a punchline, on more than one occasion.

Clinton has undergone severe and rapid personality re-writes to get this far into a relationship for which Elliot is in no way ready, emotionally. This is just all sorts of unpleasant, and I want it to be anywhere else.

[Max_Killjoy]

Day 3 of it being exhaustively explained that Elliot probably has some kind of non-specific anxiety disorder. And as a punchline, on more than one occasion.

Clinton has undergone severe and rapid personality re-writes to get this far into a relationship for which Elliot is in no way ready, emotionally. This is just all sorts of unpleasant, and I want it to be anywhere else.

Yeah.

Like some other characters Clinton has changed to suit the story that Jeph wants to tell.

[Max_Killjoy]

I wonder if Jeph decided to switch to more and more bot characters so he can rely on color schemes to differentiate them... /s

[Rodin]

Clinton is the weirdest character in the strip because he's always whipsawed wildly between personalities. Compare him between the guy who interviewed Marten, the reveal he's Claire's brother, his date with Emily, his interactions with Brun, his relationship in the love triangle, and now his relationship with Elliot. Are any of those the same character?

Most of the characters I'm pretty forgiving of changes. They evolve from a basic template when Jeph creates them into a more stable character over time. They also change with Jeph's writing style, to the point that you can pinpoint where in the story you are by how the characters act. I broadly don't have a problem with that, as he generally does a pretty good job of keeping the characters recognizable as they evolve.

Clinton though...wow.

[Cazero]

Yay's reasoning has a lot of "it's not adulterous if they're married to someone else" vibe going on.