Line #110 Headscratchers/QuestionableContent


1	[[foldercontrol]]
2
3	[[folder:Not-That-Alternate Universe]]
4	* It amuses me how nobody's mentioned the ''little talking sentient AI robots'' yet.
5	** That's because there's an explanation for that provided by Jeph. The world of QC ''isn't the same as our world''. As he said, "You think that'd be ''obvious'' with the little robot computers running around, but..."
6	** Given the little 'bots seem to be the only regular use of super science it sort of seems like ReedRichardsIsUseless.
7	** The only one that we see, because the story is about the Marten & co. Perhaps the power stations run on cold fusion and there are colonies on Mars. That doesn't impact the characters' day-to-day lives; the lights work when you switch them on, however they're powered.
8	** Uh, robots are used for other purposes. Hannelore's dad lives on a space station (where she was raised), there are robot TRUCKS, a sufficiently human body has been created, and that's just top of my head.
9	** I seem to recall Hanners saying "I will move to the moon" at one point in response to somebody's creepy joke or something. We assume she is using a hyperbole, but maybe there really are colonies on the moon! It's like saying she'll move to China, it's silly but still possible.
10	** Hanner's also made a comment in one of the strips how her father neglecting her was a reasonable price for bringing cancer-killing nanobots into the world, so it's safe to assume that the QC world is rather advanced. Mostly due to Hanner's dad.
11	** Wait, it's an AlternateUniverse? I always figured it was just set TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture.
12	** Given the very contemporary band references, not possible.
13	** According to in-comic information the only person doing Alternate Universe science is Hanner's dad, hence the only reason we see anything science-y it's in small amounts. Yes they have bionic robot arms, [=AnthroPC's=], lasers and things but only those things he bothered to make because they were awesome. In the most recent storyline we've encountered a space plane. Surely if space planes were commonplace or known very well the reactions everyone has had towards the space plane would've been different.... No. this was their first time seeing a plane that could fly into space. Clearly this means that all the cool science is being done by this one man and everyone just sorta follows.
14	** [[FridgeBrilliance This also explains why nearly all the super-science is things like sentient AI, space stations, and robot hamsters]]--it's the kind of thing [[MadScientist Hannelore's dad]] is interested in.
15	** It seems odd to me that we've seen robot [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1999 toasters]], [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2001 humidifiers]], and ''[[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2131 garbage cans]]'' but not more obviously useful robot appliances like stoves and fridges. Given [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1957 how]] [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3643 many]] [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3842 times]] we've seen stove related mishaps, I would have thought robot stoves in particular would be mentioned at least once. Also, how is it we've seen a [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=745 robot scooter]] and been informed of the existence of [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=147 robot trucks]], [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1997 forklifts and submarines]] but there's no sign of a single robot taxi. Even considering it being an AlternateUniverse where ReedRichardsIsUseless, these seem like weird gaps in tech given the context. It's like all advanced tech in QC is there either becase of RuleOfCool or RuleOfFunny instead of LikeRealityUnlessNoted like with almost everything else in the comic.
16	*** Considering [[AIIsACrapshoot how scatterbrained some of the AIs we've seen are]], do you really think an [=AI=] stove is a [[IncendiaryExponent good idea]]?
17
18	[[/folder]]
19
20	[[folder:Couch Condoms]]
21	* [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=647 Who put those condoms in their apartment couch?!?]]
22	** Almost certainly Pintsize.
23	** Definitely Pintsize. Confirmed [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=573 here]].
24	** Not Pintsize, they're lambskin (and he must not be lying. That wouldn't be weird enough).
25	** [[WildMassGuessing The couch excretes them.]]
26	[[/folder]]
27
28	[[folder:Toto]]
29	* Wait, Toto wrote songs other then Africa?
30	** ...yes?
31	** ... since when?!?
32	** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toto_discography Well...]]
33	** In all seriousness, it's a bit silly to use "Africa" in that scene, given it's far and away Toto's biggest hit. "You like this band's biggest hit?!? ME TOO!"
34	** Well remember these are music geeks saying that if it was just regular people then yeah it'd be kind of stupid but it can be assumed that they have heard a decent number of Toto songs that are not Africa
35	[[/folder]]
36
37	[[folder:Marigold's Finances]]
38
39	* How can Marigold afford a [=WoW=] account?
40	** She doesn't have a job or visible means of support.
41	** She could have some kind of online employment.
42	** It's actually mentioned in some of the initial "Marigold visits [=CoD=]" comics that she's the webmaster for her dad's website. Not much other detail is given, but assuming that her dad has a popular/lucrative website it's not unreasonable to believe that he'd be able to pay her a living wage without it being nepotism or her leeching off of him.
43	** Also, a couple of times it was mentioned she does other freelance website work.
44	** It's also possible to make real-world money off of World of Warcraft, if you play it right. Another thing to keep in mind is that, even with her shabby personal hygiene and near-indifference to her own health, a [=WoW=] subscription would probably be only a fraction of Marigold's total living expenses.
45	** Marigold has given her [=WoW=] name as "[=MariGoldFarmer=]" which would seem to support that hypothesis....
46	[[/folder]]
47
48	[[folder:Unique Names]]
49
50	* Are the unique names part of the AlternateUniverse thing? The names of characters are far from common: Hannelore, Sven, Marigold, Angus, Penelope, Wil (with one L)... we might even be able to count Dora, since that's antiquated enough. Marten and Faye are the closest to "normal" names out of the main characters, as is Steve, although his appearances are not nearly as frequent as they used to be. What are the chances that so many uniquely-named people would cross paths and become a cohort of friends in our universe?
51	** Dora, Penelope, Sven, and Angus all sound more "normal" than "Faye" to me, and Wil with one L is less strange than Marten with an E.
52	** I always thought Wil was a shortening of something, like Wilhelm or something. Eh. Also, Angus is a pretty popular name, as are Dora, Penelope, and Marigold (though the last two might be a little old-fashioned). Sven is a pretty reasonable name, if not necessarily for someone of Italian descent. Also, he was born in the U.S. (and so, probably, were his parents) so that's not really a factor.
53	** Sven's family is also of Swedish descent, making his name a lot more logical.
54	** That part's even stated outright in the comic: Mom Bianchi is of Swedish descent and stated that since she was pregnant and had to go through childbirth, she got to decide the name, and Dad Bianchi didn't contest it.
55	** In our universe we have people named stuff like Willow, Parker, Jazzmin, and Stefani. I really don't see the problem with Penelope or Sven.
56	** What's wrong with the name [[Creator/WilWheaton Wil?]]
57	** Hannelore's parents (especially [[MadScientist her father]]) are weird. Hardly surprising that she got an unconventional name, especially given that her father would more than likely have named her.
58	** This may be jossed: As well as Claire, the intern in the library, there's also [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1716 Claire the witch here.]]
59	** Unusual names are possibly just AuthorAppeal since Jeph Jacques himself has a pretty unique name.
60	** Sven is a normal name in Sweden, Angus is normal in Scotland, Penelope is a fairly common name too... This headscratcher honestly seems more like confirmation bias. I get that "unique" isn't meant to be taken completely literally in the question, but still, these are fairly common names. It'd be different if they had literally unique names like Svenkel, Klarto or Skrunk.
61
62	[[/folder]]
63
64	[[folder:Hannelor's dad and his AI]]
65
66	* Two things:
67	## Why would Hannelore's dad's name be Ellicott-Chatham at all? I'm not entirely familiar with the American legal system, but from what I know it's the wife who adopts her husband's surname. If he's John Ellicott, then his wife would be either Mrs. Ellicott or Mrs. Chatham-Ellicott. If there's something that says you can hyphenate it however the hell you want it, that'd answer the question.
68	## Why does an AI even have shares in a company, let alone over half a billion dollars?
69	** Two answers:
70	## From what I've heard, the married couple may choose who takes whose name.
71	** To expand on this, [[TheMaidenNameDebate the wife taking her husband's last name is a standard social convention]], but it's not a legal requirement in any American jurisdiction. Also, in most American jurisdictions, even a single person can go by any name they want, as long as they're not doing it for fraudulant purposes.
72	** Different troper here, just wanted to give a personal example. I'm American, and both my parents kept their last names upon marrying, then decided to give me a hyphenated last name (with my mother's surname coming before my father's; it's often the other way around). Then they up and decided to give my little sister my mother's surname only. So yeah, you can pretty much do whatever you want, I'm just so used to it I never even realized other people might be confused by it. Maybe Jacques thought the same way when he named the characters?
73	** Considering that Hannelore's father seems to be more than a little scatterbrained or silly at times, it's understandable that he'd have trouble figuring out what was what. Or he just wouldn't care to figure it out when there is science to be done.
74	** He flat out confirms that he doesn't know what his own name is and has been confused since the divorce. It is possible that they both double-barreled their names whilst married and upon their divorce, Hannelore's mother (the savvy woman with a huge interest in her public appearance) instantly reverted to her maiden name whilst her father (intelligent but not worldly and not at all interested in what other people think of him) never bothered to update all the forms and so was still officially Ellicot-Chatham. It probably never occured to him to ever change his name (he has cancer fighting nano-bots to build!) and his wife will have organised it the first time (she is the type to get an idea and have the world re-organised over breakfast) and she wouldn't have cared in the end. Hannelore herself, of course, will have kept the name because she doesn't want to upset either parent.
75	## AI have been granted civil rights long before this scene happens. A whole [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2085 strip]] was dedicated to making this clear. As for why he'd ''want'' them, presumably for some of the same reasons as why a human would want them.
76	## As for Station owning shares in the company? [[CrazyPrepared What if he had to bribe someone who took over the place or something?]]
77	** Or it's part of a ploy to keep Station in line. According to my calculations, based the numbers in strip 2119, Station holds over ''600 million dollars'' of EC-Tech stock. Since Station is linked into everything and could vent the station to space with a thought if he thinks "Meh, my boss sucks", the station staff have every reason to keep it happy. By making sure Station has a financial stake in keeping the station running, EC-Tech has neatly avoided any issues of the robots taking over. If Station tries any funny business, its stock plummets. Of course, what Station actually ''does'' with the money is anyone's guess...
78	** Momo getting a 'real' job in order to pay for her own brand new chassis is the first time we see a regular character AI getting money. But it seems like it's pretty normal for AIs to have their own money and financial control over it. Pintsize buys stuff all the time (heirloom knives, various costume props, condoms) and Marten's reaction is usually surprise at the strangeness of the items and not anger that his credit card has been stolen (Pintsize is still producing new props when Marten is unemployed, whilst we don't know if he bought it then or earlier it suggests that he has his own funds). Then, as more AI characters are introduced it appears that NOT having a job and your own money is the strange thing.
79	** there is a whole issue here, regarding the actual FUNCTION of AIs generally. If an AI has sentience and civil rights, and can manifest in almost any physical form, who or what performs the various functions they were originally (presumably) created for? Why would anyone WANT a sentient assembly arm (Jeremy)?
80	** Simplest answer to #1, Hannelore's father was named Ellicot-Chatham at birth, and passed the whole name to Hannelore. He married a Chatham; let's hope they weren't too closely related.
81	** My guess: They hyphenated their names when they married. When they split up, she reverted to her original name, while he kept the hyphenated form.
82
83	[[/folder]]
84
85	[[folder:Hannelore's medication]]
86
87	* Why did Dr. Corrine take Hannelore ''off'' whatever she was on back in the 500s? She seemed to be doing a lot better!
88	** I have three possibilities:
89	## The meds were causing weird side effects that we (the readers) weren't shown. Hannelore was taken off them for her own health.
90	## Hannelore was (seemingly) capable of handling herself fine, rendering the meds unnecessary. Perhaps Dr. Corrine figured she'd been on them long enough.
91	## Hannelore asked to be taken off the meds. I just got off some heavy-duty anti-anxiety stuff myself, and the reasons is that I wanted to try living without what I felt to be some kind of crutch. Or Hanners just didn't like some of the things she wound up doing while medicated.
92	** "Doing a lot better" is kind of up for debate. Compared to what we know of her now, she was actually acting pretty out-of-character back then. She might have been handling the OCD better, but if it led to her having wild personality changes, that's not necessarily a good thing.
93	** Hannelore was stalking her neighbors and making poor/dangerous choices such as smoking. Doesn't sound like a good outcome to me.
94	*** To elaborate: She'd been stalking Marten and Faye for some time, and the reason she actually met Marten is because she was smoking in the bar bathroom after being up for four days counting the hairs on her head. Even if those meds were helping her anxiety the effects were...uneven, at best.
95	*** Actually she was stalking them for longer than that, she knew Martens full name by the end of the night.
96
97	[[/folder]]
98
99	[[folder:Slash]]
100
101	* Does Jeph not know what "slash fic" means? Because there are a couple points in the comics where characters seem to use it to refer to straight pairings.
102	** Slash used to mean any sexual pairing regardless of gender, however it has evolved to mean two guys.
103	** I think it's the other way around. It started off meaning two guys, as in the ur-example Kirk/Spock, but has evolved to mean any pairing.
104	** Slash originally meant unconventional (particularly non-canon) pairings, the sort of thing that nowadays would be called a CrackPairing. The use of it to refer to homosexual pairings in particular has shifted the meaning in that direction, but there are still people who use it to refer to crack pairs regardless of gender-combination.
105
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:Retcon]]
109
110	* Read [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=10 this]] strip and then explain why the word "hump" has been underlined. Is it a replacement of some other word that used to be there? And does anyone remember what the old word was, if that's the case?
111	** I think it was ravish. Last I remember it was.
112	** Actually, it was "rape" originally. Apparently Jeph realized the UnfortunateImplications of saying that being raped by a woman is "the fantasy of every shy, submissive boy on the planet."
113
114	[[/folder]]
115
116	[[folder:Dora and Tai and Awkwardness]]
117
118	* What was up with [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2471 this]] moment of awkwardness? I mean, he got Dora to babysit his kid when he went on a date with another lady, it's not like he's hung up on her, he shouldn't get all exasperated and need "tacos and beer" when he finds out Dora's got a ladyfriend. And why does Dora feel the need to run out and explain in the next strip, for the same reason? I can't find the strip where she hears he's dating someone, but I don't seem to recall her being all that upset about it. It really seems like it should be a non-issue.
119	** The reason she gave him for not wanting to enter a relationship was that she was struggling with emotional issues (i.e., the ones that led to her breakup with Marten) and that she shouldn't be dating anyone at all at that time. I was under the impression that he was a bit miffed to see her with someone so soon after she had told him that, and seemed to be okay with it once he got past the initial shock.
120	** I recall that, but I thought that was a long while ago. I guess in-comic time has not progressed very much since then?
121	** I thought it may have also been the fact that it was a girl. He's not homophobic, but she rejected him, and then ended up with a girl.
122	** I can speak from experience to say that this happens. If you see a woman a few times, there is that chemistry, and they claim to want to wait due to personal issues, and turn a round and start seeing g someone else... Well, it's a bummer. Makes you feel inadequate, or something. Now I need a beer.
123	** Also, in a "been there, done that" sense, knowing something and seeing something are two very different things. At this point, Dora is in what appears to be a successful relationship, and he is still single; that's gonna sting a little bit.
124	** Also pride is a factor, Straight people like homosexual goings on "in concept" (I.E: Porn) but if we lose out to it, it stings due to a flash of thought being "well not only did I put myself out there and lose, but also I was wasting my time anyway" but that's just a moment thing, as the later strips show, he did get over it pretty quickly, [[spoiler: plus he is banging Martens mother, who everyone barring Marten obviously thinks is super hot, can't get much much more "Got a gutterball in the nads but now I'v hit a strike" than that.]]
125	[[/folder]]
126
127	[[folder:Hannelore's period]]
128
129	* If Hannelore's OCD is so bad, how does she deal with having her period? I seem to recall this being mentioned at some point in the strip, but I can't remember what the answer was (if there is one) nor can I find the strip in question.
130	** The answer was "we don't talk about that day." Plus she's on the birth control pill, which can help reduce the number of periods.
131	** More importantly, birth-control pills regulate ''when'' your period happens. No surprises and plenty of time to prepare for it.
132
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Dale's schedule]]
136
137	* Is Dale working [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2498 four different jobs]] in the same day? How could he possibly have time for that?
138	** I- you know, I have no clue. Maybe he has something special worked out with his bosses to give him four or less hours for each job. Maybe he's a temp guy until the normal guy comes in to work.
139	** In some cities, it's perfectly common for each shift to be only four hours, with more being the exception rather than the rule. If all his jobs are in the same shopping center (or otherwise nearby), that would help too.
140	** It could also help that the scheduled days are done differently; like he works at coffee of doom three days a week and then works dish-washing jobs late at night, stuff like that. He works multiple swingshifts.
141	** The scheduling thing is probably a large part of the reason he's got AR glasses that we very rarely see turned off. To keep a copy of his calendar up at all times so he knows when the hell he's working where.
142
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Beer Sledding]]
146
147	* The [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1387 Speedbeer]] storyline. Where did they get the trays?
148	** Marten works at a college campus. They probably raided the cafeteria.
149	** Plus, half the cast run or work in hospitality businesses. If they didn't have a stock of their own, they'd know where to beg, buy or borrow some.
150
151	[[/folder]]
152
153
154	[[folder:[=AI=] Military Ban]]
155
156	* I get that the AIs don't want to feared but why did the activists get AI soldiers banned? How is taking away rights from AIs at all helpful? That makes as much sense as LGBT activists getting the military to reenact Don't Ask, Don't Tell. It seems like the AI activist are taking two steps forward, one step back with their legislation. This is especially confusing to me because it denies several AIs their rights to choose their own career path AND this doesn't seem to exclude non-combative AIs.
157	** Besides the simple 'They didn't ask the AIs"...they presumably thought of it as AIs being put in military 'slavery', especially AIs who got combat bodies and had to pay for them, or AIs 'made' for combat. The idea of an AI choosing to become a soldier was foreign to them. Civil rights activists are anti-military? Who knew?!
158	** In addition, while in theory [=AIs=] were serving voluntarily, as we see from [[https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4175 Roko's experience]] [=AIs=] can be limited in their actions and many [=AIs=] like May have [[https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4009 propriety chargers]] both of which would make leaving the miltary difficult. In addition, there was a clear indication that [=AIs=] were drafted with little or no other life experience, making them in many ways {{Child Soldiers}}. In addition, Bubble was part of an early trial program, which from her own admission did not go well. It seems like the intent was to test [=AIs=] in the military, and when the program failed a ban was put into place for the time being.
159	** There is no mention anywhere, of AIs paying for work-related bodies. One of the AIs was an ATM, one was a forklift truck, I doubt they paid for those bodies. Bubbles has never mentioned paying for HER body, and Pintsize’s “military chassis” appears to have been “surplus”. We don’t know anything about the status of the shop AIs at Idoru; Iris knows about the cost/benefit structure, but that’s part of her job. I don’t doubt that an AI COULD, if they saw fit, buy a body for the purpose of some business venture, but that’s nothing new.
160	*** Jossed by May who [[spoiler: stole money to save up and become a fighter jet]], and May's later experiences; [=AIs=] are generally giving a body fitting their first job, and have to make money themselves if they want to change or upgrade bodies.
161	** It's a commentary on activists who mean well but don't bother to talk to the group they're trying to help or think through the consequences of their actions. Given Jeph hasn't ever been shy about broaching more serious topics when appropriate it shouldn't really come as a surprise, especially given the current relevance of such groups.
162	* An [=AI=] can be programmed to be a perfect marksman, and can be constructed to be as physcially able as (or even moreso than) the most athletic and strongest possible human at peak health, and can have instant access to the entirety of human knowledge about strategy and tactics with perfect recall and to be able to apply it faster than any human could, and if equipped with armour like Bubbles' they are also about as durable as a tank. Knowing that, might not it be reasonable to assume that [=AIs=] were banned from military service along the same lines as to why [[FantasticNuke nuclear]] [[OneManArmy weapons]] are banned in warfare?
163	[[/folder]]
164
165
166	[[folder:I've had a bad time, you must obey!]]
167
168	* This is something alot of people porbably wonder, but why? why? WHY do people put up with Faye at all? I mean all the shit she does can only be excused for so long, and even then theres pushing your' luck, in fact, the same argument could be applied for Dora but she doesn't have the "excuse" Faye has. personally those two are toxic trainwrecks, but Faye in particular irks me, like when she was with Angus and he had an awesoome super day, getting his dream job and being cool with trying out a LDR (though he made it there and back inside a day so "the city" can't be that far) and she has been supportive up front, but doubtful in the head, then when he breaks the news that "YAY i got my dream job, she RUINS it, by going "see how i was cool with it, I actually super wasn't cool with it, so we are done" basically completely shattering what was probably one of that guys happiest days ever, then she has the utter gall to go get hammered like he did the dumping, why would anyone even want to be near her?
169	** This is actually why a lot of alcoholics end up alone; you become stone-ass jerk to hide you own insecurities, depression, et cetera. If you pay attention, you see that Faye doesn't actually have a lot of friends outside of Dora, Hanners and Marten. Essentially, there are some people, often somewhat damaged themselves, who can see the real person behind the facade.
170	** Faye is an alcoholic, and Dora has depression -- both conditions that lead to things like selfish, "it's all about me and my feelings" behavior. In fact, one of the big signs of depression is an extreme self-focus and obsession about ones' own problems over those of others. This doesn't make their behavior any ''better'', but at least explains some of it. Both girls end up losing relationships because of these issues, as happens to many people in real life (Jeph, for instance).
171	** This is exactly why she gets hammered after breaking up with Angus. Remember, [[http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=508 her reason for not dating Marten]] was her inability to rationally deal with the possibility, however remote, of him abandoning her. She's doing better by the time she starts dating Angus, but the prospect of a long-distance relationship inflames those doubts, and she bails. So she's ''fully'' aware that her choice to break up with him was because of her own insecurities. It's her self-loathing about her self-sabotaging behavior that she's trying to escape by drinking.
172	** OP here, my problem isn't with her symptoms (heavy drinking, depression) its her actions that bother me, early days she was downright threatening to people, regularly actually hitting marten for percived little petty problems, and her big excuse basically amounts to "my dad died and it ruined me" throughout most of the comic, as a sufferer of actual depression, if i pulled any of the crap she pulls, I would downright get my ass beaten or thrown in jail for abuse, which is what she done to marten early days, just marten is too much of spinless git for most of it to actually d anything, and when you are in a group of self centered knobends, nobody notices.
173	*** Marten ''is'' a spineless git (for most of it), and most of the rest ''are'' too self-centered to really do anything about it. And even then, they only put up with it for so long: Dora fired Faye, Marten (and others, I can't remember) called her out, and Angus didn't even try salvaging their relationship. That being said, it isn't unrealistic for people to not abandon Faye despite her behavior: I have a cousin who refused to leave her emotionally abusive and controlling boyfriend because whenever she tried he'd play a "I'm depressed and have family problems and had a rough childhood" card. People are dumb like that.
174	*** This played itself to its natural psychological conclusion: Faye's selfishness led to her drinking on the job, getting caught doing so, getting fired and being hospitalised with an alcohol overdose. Since then she has fallen off the wagon exactly once (she almost fell off more than once, but she ended up not drinking) and her newfound sobriety and new job has led to a major change in her behaviour: she's much less selfish and much more empathetic. She goes out of her way to make friends with Bubbles, who she correctly recognises as being lonely and isolated, even though Bubbles initially does everything she can to dissuade her. It could be that her robot repair job means that she has an outlet for her aggression other than being personally unpleasant, but whatever the reason, she becomes so close to Bubbles that they end up falling in love. Alcohol makes people more selfish; ever since Faye stopped drinking, she's been a lot more attentive to other people.
175	[[/folder]]
176
177	[[folder:Momo flipping off Angus for rejecting Marigold]]
178
179	* This is something that's just bugged me ever since the comic was first posted. In [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1631 this]] comic, Marigold tries to force herself on Angus, Angus tells her they're just friends, Marigold runs off crying, and Momo flips off Angus! So, it's okay if Marigold does it to Angus, but I presume not the other way around?
180	** I think it's just a case of Momo being 100% on Marigold's side and therefore being angry at the guy who rejected and upset her, no matter his reason or intent. In the strips that follow, no other character says anything negative about Angus for turning her down, and there's a couple who specifically say that Angus did the right thing. So it's just one character with a considerable bias against the guy, not the whole strip upholding a double standard about men and women (in this case, at least). Angus is at least, being consistent; he didn’t lead her on, didn’t take advantage of her, and most characters recognise this.
181
182	[[/folder]]
183
184	[[folder:who pays for the AI chassis?]]
185
186	* Momo’s replacement chassis was bought by Marigold, apparently for around the price of a car. Marigold clearly couldn’t afford this, from her reaction. Momo (who has no real economic function, in her present incarnation) claims to be paying Marigold back from her earnings as a librarian, but ALSO pays rent AND splurges her paychecks like a kid with pocket money..
187	** Marigold clearly was able to afford it, given that she didn't have to noticeably alter her lifestyle after the purchase. It's possible she actually had more than enough money, but was just freaked at the thought of spending so much in one go - remember, her life at that point was pretty much video games and junk food. Momo could still be repaying her with a part of her salary: she doesn't spend on food or other consumables, so even if she paid a portion of rent and splurged once in a while (in fact, IIRC, she's only done that once), there's still probably some left over to repay Marigold.
188	* May’s chassis is clearly pretty much at the end of its economic usefulness, but there are no funds to replace it
189	** May was probably originally covered by the government given that her previous job allowed her access to military hardware, but they stopped funding her when she got thrown in jail. And given that governments go for the cheapest stuff, it isn't hard to believe they bought a chassis that would just barely do the job it needed to do.
190	*** Jossed. Prior to going to jail May didn't have a chassis at all since she was a software-only AI. After leaving jail she was provided with her crappy body through an underfunded government program.
191	** May now has a new chassis, quite high-spec at that, bought out of what amounts to a whip-round and a kickstarter within a matter of days. Make what you will of that.
192	* Bubbles appears to inhabit a military-surplus chassis which she has retained, presumably as some sort of GI Benefit. However Corpse Witch implies, and Bubbles appears to believe her, that the government could reclaim it at will. Droid-06 and Deathbot9000 could be similar cases.
193	** That is heavily implied to be a controlling lie Corpse Witch used on Bubbles to keep control, as shown with Pintsize, he got a military hardware chassis, and after the laser was removed he was allowed to keep it, Bubbles may have went through the same thing, most of her military functions may have been removed, she is probably allowed to keep her armor for the same reason most retired vets were allowed to keep their uniforms, because that is what she is, a vet, Corpse Witch was, unsurprisingly, talking out of her ass.
194	** Bubbles’ armour probably qualified as “surplus”, it’s not as though any human soldier could use it.
195	* Idoru, in some respects, appears to operate as a quasi-charity, exercising discretion over the allocation of AI to AnthroPC chassis
196	** now we are shown BodyHub, which seems a much more up-market, commercial operation.
197	* Jeremy and possibly, Seven and Punchbot appear to inhabit some sort of industrial cast-off chassis
198
199	[[/folder]]
200
201	[[folder: AI chassis construction]]
202
203	* AI chassis construction seems to vary wildly. Some, like Punchbot, have “tin can” style construction with rotating joints, gears etc. If Punchbot has any sort of wrapping or dermis, we haven’t seen it
204	** I don't remember Punchbot's background ever being explored, but non-anthropomimetic robots with no external dermis or covering seem to be fairly common.
205	* May clearly has numerous, visible external articulations (including some sort of race her shoulder runs on) indicating a semi-rigid outer casing, but her face and head seem to be composed of some sort of Mylar covering over synthetic muscle fibres. She also has no visible sexual characteristics - when she appears topless during the “face repair” arc, her “breasts” are just indicative shaping of her torso. The “Sven” scene also shows her topless and nude with no “parts”. Various “service” AIs (such as the Idoru staff) and secondary cast like Melon, appear to be similar.
206	* Momo has a covering of some sort of Mylar, with a visible seam around her neck. No other joints are visible. She is implied to be “anatomically correct” but we haven’t seen any of this.
207	** Momo's new body is probably specifically designed to interact more easily with others. So it looks as human as they could reasonably manage without being mindblowingly expensive.
208	* Bubbles wears a short-sleeved unitard which appears to be part of her dermis, not a garment. She occasionally has hip seams, but this isn’t consistently shown and her general movement and art style suggests that she has synthetic muscles over a skeletal armature. She has a “neck seam” which doesn’t coincide with her unitard neckline. Her generally statuesque design is considered erotic by some, and she's anatomically correct enough for her and Faye to have banged repeatedly for several hours at a stretch. Which raises other questions, but take it as it is.
209	** Also, the post-banging scene, and various subsequent appearances wearing athleisure tops proves that Bubbles' unitard is indeed a garment.
210	* higher-status AIs like Roko appear to be generally similar to Momo, but no details whether they are “anatomically correct”. Roko has been shown to have a three-toed foot armature with quasi musculature, wrapped in a dermal covering akin to a sock with no visible toes. Bubbles has similar details.
211	* Roko’s new chassis is specifically paid for by an insurance claim against Crushbot, which begs the question of whether ALL robots have similar insurance?
212	** The insurance in question is probably similar to personal liability insurance in that it pays for damages the policy holder is legally liable for. For most people in real life it's rolled into renters or homeowners insurance so there's a good chance that AIs use a similar system although thye may take it out seperately. The main difference is that since AIs have a much broader range of capabilities than humans do they would have more variation in risk based on how much strength their chassis has which would be reflected in the premiums. Crushbot is noted as having a very robust insurance policy due to the fact that Crushbot's name and job description are both Crushbot.
213	* What does a Synthetic weigh? Seems to vary as the plot requires, although generally more than a comparable human
214	** they mostly appear to use normal human furniture, although Bubbles has a special chair at Coffee of Doom, and broke the bed at the apartment.
215	** Momo appears to be heavy enough to walk on the lake bed during the “Emily’s Party” scene, but then Marten hoists her out of the water with one arm
216	*** A.I bodies seem to be more solid than human ones, our bodies aren't exactly light, but we are not that much denser than water, which is why we float, A.I bodies seem to be made up of carbon fibre "bones" and polymer muscles, with no organs save their HDD brain and Battery heart, let's put it this way you take a lump of meat with bone in it and a lump of plastic with a carbon metal rod in it, the lump of meat will float, the lump of plastic will sink even if they are the same weight generally, so Momo probably weights a little more than the average teen girl, but is dense enough that she sinks.
217	** Roko “faints” at Union Robotics, and Faye (who is depicted as “buff” and presumably, quite strong from her manual job) remarks on Roko’s weight - but the latest robot brought in, is carried on the shoulders of a human office worker with no apparent effort
218	*** As a police unit Roko might be made sturdier in order to help with crime, alternatively Millefeuille might just be lighter and be designed more for a chassis then purpose.
219	*** Confirmed when she has to go to Union Robotics after getting kicked by an emu. There is a specific comment about how composite bones are lighter, at the cost of being more fragile. So, yes, Millefeuille has a lighter chassis (or at least a lighter skeletal structure).
220
221
222	[[/folder]]
223
224	[[folder: Military presence on the station]]
225	* The orbital facility has military presence despite it being a research vessel, why?
226	** Hannelore has mentioned that her father has the ability to drop tungsten rods on Earth-based targets with a few minutes' notice. That alone merits a military presence: no way the U.s. government isn't going to want their own people in a place like that. There's also the possibility that some of their projects are government-funded, military presence therefore being a possible caveat.
227
228	[[/folder]]
229
230	[[folder: informed poverty and employment generally]]
231	* the main cast, and the background cast as far as can be determined, appear to live comfortable lives - renting apartments, driving (and presumably owning) cars in some cases, going to bars, patronising coffee shops at $4 a cup, owning guitars and other expensive recreational equipment. Yet, none of them seem to have meaningful employment or at best, work in minimum-wage jobs. The only ones with significant incomes are Marten’s parents (a sex worker and bar owner, respectively) and Hannelore’s parents, a senior corporate executive and scientific genius respectively. Tai’s circumstances make no real sense. Fay’s mother appears to be retired, as does Mrs Augustus (although she presumably also has alimony?)
232
233	Yet robots appear to be increasingly prevalent, occupying and colonising low-wage jobs like Shop assistants and bank tellers.
234
235	This is hand-waved in that Northampton is a college town, where probably most inhabitants are dependent upon debt and parents; but what do the population of Planet QC do for a living?
236
237	** Between the full cast about 80-90% of them work, most of them are in couples, also, Faye, Marten, Claire and Bubbles all live together, and in another apartment, Dale, Marigold, May and Momo all live together, Tai and Dora apparently have their own place, Hannelore has mentioned she does number crunching on the side as a job (very well paid job usually), even at a relativly low but decent wage (both Marten and Tai work at the college library, Faye and Bubbles own a robot repair shop, Dora owns a coffee shop that is apparently successful) four people sharing an apartment and still having some spare cash isnt completely out the relm of impossible.
238
239
240	[[/folder]]
241
242	[[folder:How is Sam's Fingore Faye's fault?]]
243	* Why is it considered Faye's fault that Sam ''put her finger on a moving power tool''? Yes, Faye left for a little while, but if she'd been standing next to Sam she couldn't have prevented it either. Even Sam says it's her fault.
244	** because the power tool in question belongs to Faye’s business, and is on her business premises. Sam is a minor, isn’t trained to use the tool and generally has no business being on the premises at all, until the “sprays” plot
245	[[/folder]]
246
247	[[folder: Winslow is privileged?]]
248	* So Hannelore is wealthy, and decides after years of friendship, that, if winslow wants, he can have a fullsize body, remember he was in a weird Ipod body for ages, and Hannelore just wanted to do something nice for the AI who has been her buddy for apparently years, so ecstatic about it he goes to show May (who he considers a good friend), dude doesn't have a mean carbon rod in his body, May explodes at him about it, because she is stuck in a clearly less functional body, despite that being her own damn fault, this immediately goes onto an arc about how Winslow is "Privileged" and they go on about it for abit, now the arc ends with Winslow doing a kind thing and helping with a support group for AIs, but, how on earth is Winslow privileged for having a decent friend who wanted to do something nice, why did May, like an ass, make him feel guilty about getting a damn present? Whoopdeedoo, your body sucks, but that was entirely her own fault, it does seem to be trend that anyone does something even slightly nice, or get something nice, they immediatly get called out for, god help them, having good things happen to them.
249	** First of all, May is a bit of a dick, so she hardly deals with people using sweetness and kindness. But the idea that it's her ''fault'' that she's actually '''stuck''' in a useless body ignores the fact that she has served her time in robot jail and, if there is any such thing as justice in the world, shouldn't go on being eternally punished for her crimes. She can't get a better body because she can't get a better job; she can't get a better job because she can't get a better body (and because of her criminal record.) People who think that May ought to go on suffering forever because of her crimes are being excessively vindictive. If crime and punishment are to have meanings at all, punishment has to end at some point, otherwise it's just stamping on people for the sake of feeling morally superior to them, which is incidentally a very good way to create a criminal underclass that assumes that it will never be allowed to achieve legitimate success so it may as well be criminal. Yes, a kinder, less selfish friend than May would have been happy that Winslow had a new body, but May isn't that sort of person; on the other hand, she is justifiably pissed off that the system has condemned her to go on being punished for a crime which, technically speaking, she has at this point more than paid for. May should perhaps have been less grumpy, but she can hardly be expected to be selflessly delighted that Winslow's so much luckier than she is.[[note]]This comment assumes the existence of a thing called "luck", and assumes furthermore that not everyone gets exactly what they deserve and no more or less.[[/note]]
250	** May hasn't finished her punishment for her crime, she is on parole, and remember her crime was attempting to rob a large amount of money in order to upload herself onto a ''fighter jet'' basically she wanted to illegally turn herself into a vvery powerful and deadly weapon.
251	*** This is so: however, if May is to become a useful member of society again, she should be entitled to a body that actually enables her to be one. The fact that the law is fine with her having such a useless body that she's condemned to a soul-crushing dead-end job, means that she can never improve her situation. It is excessively vindictive to insist that punishment must continue indefinitely.
252	** there’s no getting away from the fact that May has a conviction for theft. That tends to go on causing problems for a LONG time afterwards, until the Statute of Limitations takes effect and it becomes a Spent Conviction and need not be declared.
253	[[/folder]]
254
255	[[folder: AI clothing and modesty, and Union Robotics]]
256	* any AIs with anthropomimetic chassis so far seen, seem to wear clothing as humans would. They are clearly programmed to do this, whereas “tin-can” robots of the Punchbot type don’t find this necessary.
257	** Momo mostly dresses like a young teenage girl, although she has been seen walking around in a towel after a shower
258	** Bubbles was visibly uncomfortable about being seen without her armour at first (her unitard appeared to be regarded as underwear)
259	** May, aggressive and abrasive as she is, has never been seen undressed with humans (apart from the Sven sex scene, where it was appropriate); but she didn’t appear to be concerned about sitting around topless by other AIs during the Robot Fighting / face repair scene
260	** Melon first appeared nude from the waist down, and didn’t seem concerned by this, but she is an outlier by any definition
261	** Roko felt the need for clothes after getting her new body
262	** now the latest un-named robot brought into Union Robotics for repair, needs to take her trousers off, and seems embarrassed by it; Faye escorts the human colleague away.
263
264	So, if repairing robots who have these issues is part of their business, why don’t Union Robotics appear to have any sort of screens, and don’t appear to regard them as required?
265	** They either didn't think it would come up that often, or just can't budget it in on top of all the stuff that's absolutely necessary. Remember that they can't even order some parts unless their client confirms the work, i.e. ensures they'll be able to pay for it. If robots who come in are shy, they can always lock the door.
266
267	* AIs seem slightly clueless about the whole issue, at times. Millefeuille turned up for gluteal implementation, without apparently providing herself with trousers that would fit post-op, and Bubbles didn’t advise her of the requirement. Roko’s new body didn’t appear to automatically include clothing other than generic, minimum underwear(and she was asked if she required clothing, implying that at least SOME customers either saw that as sufficient, or made their own arrangements). Now May is shown with the same generic, minimum underwear and is walking about with her old clothes ripped up to sort-of fit her new body; you’d think Roko would know better, and Beeps just seems clueless all round.
268
269	[[/folder]]
270
271	[[folder: Hypocrisy between Tai and Faye]]
272	* Story-wise, why was Faye fired after one time of being drunk at work, while Tai had gotten high at her job multiple times before with no issue? It seems unfair for one to get away with it, and not the other. Imagine Dora coming home to tell Tai about firing Faye for drinking, and Tai meanwhile is talking about how Marten and Hanners looked like dragons because she was high on acid all day.
273	** Possibly because drunk Faye could do a lot more damage (to the customer's, the equipment and the shop's reputation) than Tai being spaced out in a library.
274	** Different employers, different rules. Dora had clearly communicated to her employees that drinking on the job was not permitted. Tai's bosses may not care as long as work gets done and she doesn't do any harm.
275	** Tai drops a little LSD, smokes some weed, at best someone used to these, like Tai, can remain relatively functional, and she was around a bunch of books most of the day, Faye was an alcholic, in a shop full of things that spray hot liquids, Dora would have been liable for any injuries Faye caused to herself or others being [=CoDs=] owner, she isn't liable if Tai knocks a book off the shelf onto someones head.
276	** In addition, Tai has always been shown to do a good job, so she probably gets some leeway. Faye, on the other hand, spent her entire time in [=CoD=] being a bitch to the costumers and to her colleagues. Showing up drunk at work was the last straw.
277
278	[[/folder]]
279
280	[[folder: AI voices]]
281
282	* AIs speak in speech bubbles shaped differently to humans. This presumably means that they have distinctively non-human voices?
283	** Presumably it does, but there are complications: Yay's speech bubbles are the same shape as those of humans, so Yay must not sound like other [=AIs=], and whereas almost all the characters have the same font, Bubbles has a subtly different one from everyone else, so presumably Bubbles doesn't sound like other [=AIs=] either.
284
285	[[/folder]]
286
287
288	[[folder: Brun’s ethnicity]]
289
290	* Brun has a German given name and an Arabic surname, arranged in a distinctly non-Arabic form. She appears to have a dark complexion and is presumably not a Muslim, being a bar tender and all. She tells one of Renee’s hook-ups that she is ethnically Lebanese, then contradicts this while Renee flies off the handle at the poor guy. This just doesn’t make sense. If Brun regards herself as American, which she presumably does, why claim to be ethnically Lebanese ?
291	** She's likely an Arab Christian (though I don't see her as very devout), of which there are many in Lebanon – like porn star Mia Khalifa, incidentally. As to her given name, maybe she was named after someone important to her parents; maybe they really like Django? Brun is ethnically Lebanese, and I don't see her contradicting that, but she doesn't see it as "exotic".
292
293	[[/folder]]
294
295	[[folder: AI skillsets]]
296
297	* it’s stated at various times that at least SOME AIs change careers from time to time. One of the Idoru staff was formerly a bank teller, another has been a forklift. How is this carried out? Do they get reprogrammed, or upload the skills? If so, why doesn’t May do this, in some occupation where her conviction wouldn’t be important (mining dump truck, say)? Come to that, why doesn’t the Federal authority operating Robot Jail have some sort of placement scheme?
298	** It seems like they get reassigned, though it can at least be requested. Even then, there will have to be a change in physical form to accomodate the new career and skillset. A big part of May's story is that there isn't any effort from the government (or whatever regulating body) to help once you're actually out of jail, so even if she wanted to try it, she wouldn't get anywhere.
299
300	[[/folder]]
301
302	[[folder: Faye and Claire]]
303
304	* Wait...Faye and Claire have lived under the same roof for how long now? And yet [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4187 Faye is just now learning that Claire is trans]]? Seriously, young women of that age don't share living space for long before the topic of menses comes up. Hard for me to believe that Faye would take that long to learn that Claire doesn't have periods.
305	** Claire seems to exist in a strange quantum state, in which even the embodiment of TheLadette that is Faye, who has no compunction bringing up disgusting (if completely normal) bodily functions, won't bring up anything around Claire, that could have revealed her status.
306	[[/folder]]
307
308

Context Headscratchers / QuestionableContent