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

[Delicious Taffy]

I forgot how they interacted in the past

Last time Quinton and Roko met, he slapped her in the face with a baguette and she's had a crush ever since.

[Mechalich]

Stereotypical though it might have been, I still feel like the hypothetical Clinton/Roko relationship would have been far more interesting to explore than the Clinton/Elliot one. For one thing, it would present a Human/AI relationship with a human willing to actually delve into the nitty-gritty of the daily life of AIs. And it would offer a relationship between two intelligent people who have opinions on well, stuff who could actually talk to each other instead of having the conversation come to a half every other sentence when the topic is anything other than bread (and they could still talk about bread anyway).

[Wraith]

I think that Yay spoke for us all in yesterday's comic - Words to the effect of "We know already! Just get on with it!".

At this point its hard to tell if that was Jeph making light of his own glacial pacing, or if he was deliberately aiming it at the fandom. One of the Reddit subs certainly seemed to think it was the latter, given how tired they are they are of the interminably endless, anime-esque Will They/Won't They teasing and the amount of lampshades they think they have seen being hung.

[Mordokai]

Last time Quinton and Roko met, he slapped her in the face with a baguette and she's had a crush ever since.

Where did *that* happen?

[Delicious Taffy]

Where did *that* happen?

It didn't, at least not the way I said. I remembered there was something to do with the two of them and bread, because Roko is a pervert and Clinton is weird about the robot people, but the fine details slipped my mind.

[Morquard]

She has a weird dream here. They met about 4 strips earlier. EDIT: And again a bit later too

[Vinyadan]

I think that the last pages were a good scene, the best in a long time. We even got some overdue theoretical discussion of AIs, contrasting high filosophy (or self-aggrandisment) with how people act; and there also was probably the artistically best single panel in QC history (panel 4). But it's true that Elliot mostly worked as a crutch for having Clinton there in a certain situation, and it's a pity that this meetup required a difficult-to-replicate cause (the transformer).

In general, I liked seeing many different characters interact outside in a relaxed manner.

[DaveOTN]

She has a weird dream here. They met about 4 strips earlier. EDIT: And again a bit later too

Yeesh, this whole Brun/Elliot/Clinton(/Roko?) thing has been going on for almost 900 strips by this point. That's over three years once you take weekends into account. On the plus side, it let me look back at this strip and the next where we actually see some entertaining conversation between Elliot and Clinton that's not just umming and ahh-ing.

[Max_Killjoy]

Yeesh, this whole Brun/Elliot/Clinton(/Roko?) thing has been going on for almost 900 strips by this point. That's over three years once you take weekends into account. On the plus side, it let me look back at this strip and the next where we actually see some entertaining conversation between Elliot and Clinton that's not just umming and ahh-ing.

It's funny how the pairing lost any chemistry once it became even potentially romantic, and turn into two people desperate to not "do a bad".

[Cazero]

It's like that nebulous "chemistry" thing y'all keep blabbering about is a social construct or something.

[Yuki Akuma]

It's like that nebulous "chemistry" thing y'all keep blabbering about is a social construct or something.

So is language, what's your point?

[Cazero]

My point is nobody has chemistry. It's not a thing. Stop complaining it's missing.

[Willie the Duck]

My point is nobody has chemistry. It's not a thing. Stop complaining it's missing.

That's an interesting take. I mean, I certainly think we find people that get on well together or have a naturally compatible... existing-next-to-each-other-easily capacity and retroactively declare it chemistry, but that doesn't say to me that the thing doesn't exist.

[Yuki Akuma]

My point is nobody has chemistry. It's not a thing. Stop complaining it's missing.

But people... do? It's a name for a thing that happens.

Have you never seen characters in a story that mesh well together and play off each other well??

I don't actually agree that Clinton and Elliot don't have any chemistry, as an aside, but claiming chemistry doesn't exist is absurd.

[Cazero]

Have you never seen characters in a story that mesh well together and play off each other well??

People good with zingers are romanticaly involved with everyone now?

If chemistry is a thing at all, it's all hormones. It's invisible, and it's going to cause the sort of flustering we see now.
It's not going to make them have good conversations. That's the happenstance of spending more time together.

[Yuki Akuma]

People good with zingers are romanticaly involved with everyone now?

Okay if you're just going to intentionally misconstrue what I'm saying I'm done here.

[Cazero]

Okay if you're just going to intentionally misconstrue what I'm saying I'm done here.

Fine, to answer your question, no, I've never, ever seen any kind of "playing off each other" that was in any way indicative of potential romance rather than actual friendship (or a script). The thought is alien to me. I don't understand the very idea, and it sounds rather silly to me to jump to conclusions like that.

[Willie the Duck]

Fine, to answer your question, no, I've never, ever seen any kind of "playing off each other" that was in any way indicative of potential romance rather than actual friendship (or a script). The thought is alien to me. I don't understand the very idea, and it sounds rather silly to me to jump to conclusions like that.

It sounds alien to you personally, therefore it must not exist?

[Cazero]

It sounds alien to me, therefore instead of taking it at face value I've thought about it and came to a different conclusion.
What y'all call romantic chemistry looks like regular friendship to me. I understand that most people are in friendly terms with their romantic partners, but from my perspective you're confusing yourselves for no reason by mixing up the two.

[Max_Killjoy]

The first line of your sig kinda spells out the problem here.

You don't see it, so you just assume that everyone else is "confused".

[Cazero]

My sig is a joke, thank you very much.

When I look at Elliot and Clinton being all flustered and stuff when they interact with each other, I see chemistry. Then y'all say that there is no chemistry and I get confused. So I realign my understanding of the words on your references... and now chemistry is not about romance anymore. By the same metrics, I have chemistry with my brothers, and that thing is missing from a romantic relationship.
Why am I the one confused here again?

[Keltest]

My sig is a joke, thank you very much.

When I look at Elliot and Clinton being all flustered and stuff when they interact with each other, I see chemistry. Then y'all say that there is no chemistry and I get confused. So I realign my understanding of the words on your references... and now chemistry is not about romance anymore. By the same metrics, I have chemistry with my brothers, and that thing is missing from a romantic relationship.
Why am I the one confused here again?

They dont have chemistry because they really struggle to talk to each other like completely normal human beings. Their personalities arent interacting at all, theyre just deflecting off each other by being uncomfortable until the readers are also uncomfortable, and then the scene moves on and somehow theyve both decided that even though theyre clearly not ready or equipped for a relationship, theyll go the next step.

[Cazero]

They dont have chemistry because they really struggle to talk to each other like completely normal human beings.

Yes ! That's how you know they're attracted to each other ! Feelings are weird like that !

Their personalities arent interacting at all, theyre just deflecting off each other by being uncomfortable until the readers are also uncomfortable,

That's an interaction, right there. Caused by the specifics of their respective personalities, no less.

and then the scene moves on and somehow theyve both decided that even though theyre clearly not ready or equipped for a relationship, theyll go the next step.

As if romance arcs cared about rational things like "being ready for the next step".

[Manga Shoggoth]

It's not so much that they don't have chemistry, but that they only seem to have biology...

I really don't care for the current Elliot/Clinton relationship - almost uniquely for the comic it had almost no setup, is awkward and feels as if it was one of those relationships that is stuffed in for the sake of it - either on a whim or to spite the fanbase (or sections thereof). It feels like one of the one-night-stand situations that won't sit down.

[Willie the Duck]

When I look at Elliot and Clinton being all flustered and stuff when they interact with each other, I see chemistry. Then y'all say that there is no chemistry and I get confused. So I realign my understanding of the words on your references... and now chemistry is not about romance anymore. By the same metrics, I have chemistry with my brothers, and that thing is missing from a romantic relationship.
Why am I the one confused here again?

Because you literally stated that you were three sentences earlier (and were the only one to suggest so, given that MaxK had actually implied that you thought that other people were confused, not that you were)?

Anyways, Elliot and Clinton have a form of chemistry -- they have sexual and romantic attraction to each other. Where the chemistry breaks down is where they socialize with each other where they both know it is a date-like event and things just get awkward. Yes it is in the talking and conversation or as Yuki put it "mesh[ing] well together and play[ing] off each other well" (and thus something you do with your brothers, or anyone else) rather than direct smooching or boning, but part of romance is where stuff you'd do with others takes on different meaning.

It's not so much that they don't have chemistry, but that they only seem to have biology...

I really don't care for the current Elliot/Clinton relationship - almost uniquely for the comic it had almost no setup, is awkward and feels as if it was one of those relationships that is stuffed in for the sake of it - either on a whim or to spite the fanbase (or sections thereof). It feels like one of the one-night-stand situations that won't sit down.

I like it fine in the intent that I see (not whim or spite). I think Jeph is trying to pull off a 'look at the adorkable dorks be adorably awkward until they finally figure it out' storyline, but it just isn't working. Instead of being adorable, it is slow, cringe-y, and... well, just plain awkward (that's really the best word, IMO, no need to grab the thesaurus).

[Ibrinar]

It's like that nebulous "chemistry" thing y'all keep blabbering about is a social construct or something.

My point is nobody has chemistry. It's not a thing. Stop complaining it's missing.

I wish people would stop using the silly "social construct=> doesn't exist" argument. Like take music. Music is a construct. The noises exist of course but declaring certain noise arrangements music is something people did. But few would try to make that argument with music. Because it is a bad argument.

[Thufir]

I really don't care for the current Elliot/Clinton relationship - almost uniquely for the comic it had almost no setup,

Yeesh, this whole Brun/Elliot/Clinton(/Roko?) thing has been going on for almost 900 strips by this point.

The juxtaposition of these two quotes separated by only about 4 hours really is something.

When I look at Elliot and Clinton being all flustered and stuff when they interact with each other, I see chemistry. Then y'all say that there is no chemistry and I get confused. So I realign my understanding of the words on your references...

Personally, I would recommend that instead of doing that, you conclude that the people saying they don't have chemistry are just wrong. You see they have chemistry because they do. I also see it.

[Manga Shoggoth]

The juxtaposition of these two quotes separated by only about 4 hours really is something.

...Which is why I specifically used the phrase "the current Elliot/Clinton relationship"

Yes, there has been interaction between Clinton and Elliot, but the current relationship has only existed since 4330, and as far as I can tell the relationship is built up in the following manner:

• Elliot thinks he has feelings for Clinton (I can't even find the strip, and I've checked back to 3989)
• He has a brief talk with Padme
• The confession is around 4330 and the actual relationship starts shortly after that.

There are a large number of pages betweentimes, but the vast, vast majority have nothing to do with Elliot, Slightly more have to do with Clinton and virtually none appear to deal with the relationship at all. It all appeared to come out of nowhere.

Every other relationship, and even a few of the one-night stands, seem to have had a better build-up.

[Keltest]

Heres a quick test. Can anybody identify anything that either member of the relationship actually likes about the other besides a physical attraction to their body?

[Delicious Taffy]

Heres a quick test. Can anybody identify anything that either member of the relationship actually likes about the other besides a physical attraction to their body?

Clinton likes that Elliot can supply him with much bread and defend their future children from jaguars?