Heartwarming / Questionable Content

Note: examples are sorted in numerical order — please insert new examples in their corresponding places. Exceptions may be made when a sequence of strips is nominated collectively.

Moments pages are Spoilers Off. All spoilers should be unmarked.

• Pintsize giving Faye $400 in donations after an AnthroPC Housewarming Party in order to help her decorate her room. Faye is speechless, while Marten resists making the obvious remark.
• Strip 509. Simple and effective:
  Faye: Why would you want me to get better if you weren't planning on waiting for me so we could date?
  Marten: Because I CARE about you, dammit.
• Dora finally kissing Marten in If You Need Me I Can Always Be Found?
• One for Hanners. Sven and Faye go out to a karaoke bar, and take Hannelore with them. She works up the courage to get up on stage and perform the only song she knows.... "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." The entire audience sang along.
• Faye and Dora making up after the fallout of Faye sleeping with Sven.
• Hannelore comments on how she's gone from having no friends to being part of an active social circle, thanks to Marten. It's offset by her likening it to how diseases spread, but the sentiment's there.
  Hannelore: As far as pathogens go, friendship is pretty okay.
• After Faye got a concussion and then made an ass of herself in front of him, Sven comes to the coffee shop to give her a "Get Well" card.
• Marten passes his "Worry Hat" on to Hannelore.
  • Hanners giving Marten the hat back in I'll Be By Your Side.
• This Speed Beer strip. Goddamn, it's about time something good happened to Hanners.
• Shut up and kiss me, you dolt.
• The shut-in Marigold gets one in these three strips, when Marten invites her for an evening of hanging out.
  • "Marigold... is pretty." "I see a smiiiiillllle"
  • Marigold feels bad about the fact that the guys in her WoW guild tend to ignore her to flirt with the other two girls in it who she feels are prettier (and who post slutty pictures of themselves). Angus points out how the other two are using deceptive camera angles and editing to make themselves look more attractive in those photos.
  • Hannelore is a good friend. Good enough that she can overcome her OCD enough to comfort.
• They came back to visit!
• Hannelore is such an adorable Woobie that not even Faye's status as a Deadpan Snarker ruins this strip about being poked.
  • On her date with Sven, when she is cold, he lends her his hoodie.
  • And the growth of Hannelore continues: we go from "Hugging Hannelore Heralds Heavy Hyperventilation" to, well, huggles. One can even see the exact moment of transition in this strip, panels 3 and 4.
  • And now we have this hug. It's the first time she's ever hugged her father
• Marten is a true friend.
• It may lead into a poop joke, but Hanners waiting happily to start her first day of real work, replete with adorable happy kitty lunchbag, is instant Cuteness Proximity.
• The strip I Bless the Rains where a discussion about guilty pleasures turns into a kiss between Faye and Angus.
  • The one immediately after is pretty damn cute too.
• In Ustream, Jeph was drawing Hanners giving a Sven a hug. It was basically d'awwww inducing. Made even better when it appeared in the comic. Aww.
• Faye hugs Dora while bluring the line between empathy and rage, and offers to get Dora some help.
• Veronica Reed finally drawing a smile out of her son. Because, sometimes, you need to know it's going to be alright.
• As odd as this comic is, it's sweet that Pintsize is concerned about Marten in his own weird way.
  • As disturbing and bizarre as it is, the sentiment behind this is weirdly touching, too. Pintsize really is trying to help in a...misguided way.
• Only 'cause I know you like it.
• Strip 1889. You just walked in on the guy your roommate hooked up with dancing around your apartment with nothing on but a condom? Yes, the proper reaction is to put up a banner, get some party hats, and throw confetti.
• Dora and Marten finally reconnecting.
• Momo's new chassis. Judging by the nosebleed, Marigold is going to be eating ramen for longer than she lets on to pay it off. It establishes Momo is more than some kind of surrogate pet/comic relief character (the way Pintsize or Winslow are usually portrayed); Marigold cares for her pretty deeply.
  I LOVE YOU MARIGOLD!
  • Fridge Heartwarming: With those twin ponytails the chassis she chose looks a lot like Marigold.
  • In fact, that is shaping up to be an entire crowning arc of Heartwarming, combined with a straight-played Become A Real Girl for Momo.
• "The least we could do is invite them to the party, and perhaps offer them some champagne."
  • Not only was this just in time for Christmas, but Jeph actually wrote the entire fictional speech, of which he only used an excerpt in the comic, which somehow makes it even more heartwarming. It can be found here.
• Double CMoH; The AI on Hannelore's Dad's space station apologizes to someone he played a cruel prank on by giving her some shares in Ellicott-Chatham Technologies. The fact that he owns shares in the first place reminds us that A.I.s really are humanity's equals. The second part comes when he says the shares she now owns are worth 4.6 Million US Dollars. Her ponytail comes undone from the shock.
  Station: Blink once for "go fuck yourself", twice for "apology accepted."
• Hannelore's words of encouragement to Marigold. They become even more touching in retrospect as the next few strips show how much Hannelore is speaking from her own heart about having come through to the other side of that day herself.
  Someday, everything is going to go right for you, and it will be so wonderful you won't even know what to do.
  • On that note, Hannelore admitting that she loves Station.
• Nevermind it took 2213 strips, but finally, for the first time ever since the first strip, the "I hate my job" topic comes full circle.
• Claire already trusting Marten enough to tell him she is transgender.
  • And in connection to the above, Clinton is really protective of Claire. Not just protective, but SUPPORTIVE.
  • And later, after getting an email about how QC has an "agenda" now,
    Jeph's Twitter: Also got literally 1500+ emails expressing happiness about recent QC events so I guess PROJECT AGENDA is working.
• Pintsize tells Momo that he was Marten's only friend for two years before he met Steve and Faye, and that he's happy that Marten has friends and a life now. He even tells Momo that there are different ways for them to do their jobs. Of course, he won't tell Marten that, as he defaults to his normal behavior when Marten asks what's up.
• What started as a throwaway gag earlier on in the story evolved into a rather touching moment. Marten's dads' (yes, plural) wedding arc culminated in Martin's Mom delivering a rather heartwarming speech during the dinner showing that there is no love lost between them.
• Words cannot express how cute this is. Marten wakes up in the night to Claire cuddling him, and he simply accepts it, with no fuss.
• Despite her Cloud Cuckoo Lander tendencies, when Emily catches what she thinks is a fairy, she immediately wishes for world peace. Sure, it's Played for Laughs, but the point stands.
• Blogpost for comic 2510: Jeph links to his first kickstarter for a Deathmøle album with a goal for $9,500 in one month. Blogpost for comic 2511: goal has already made its goal and then some: 38,911
  Jeph's: Holy CRAP you guys, the response to the Deathmøle Kickstarter has been WAY bigger than I had ever dared hope! We're over 300% funded 24 hours in, which is AMAZING. Thank you so much! But it is not over yet! We are hammering out some extremely cool stretch goals and should be posting them in the next day or two, so keep your eyes peeled. Thank you, again, for your support. I am tremendously thankful.
• Dale and Marigold become friends.
• May wants to watch the stars.
• Emily went and got her ears pierced after Claire did. Why? Because she looks up to Claire. Little more mild than some other examples on this page, but still great.
  • What makes it more special is that it helps build up to this moment since it gives structure to this relationship. Emily doesn't care that Claire is transgender either and thinks she's so cool.
• Specials: You are very special. It's more subtle, but subtle does the trick.
• "Good luck, mom. I love you." followed by "Stop talking and let me be happy for you."
• Since Sam considers Marten family now she brings him a frog as a friendship offering. Martin returns the favor by offering to take her out for a gathering excursion, much to her delight.
• May is all too familiar with a lack of privacy, and would never sell out someone else's.
• Marten and Claire are adorable.
  • Bizarre as the circumstances are for this comic, it definitely counts because for someone who is transgender to have a supportive parent, IS actually a huge thing.
  • The last panel of this strip.
  • And the entire following strip. ["I like you, and I think you like me, and I want to see where this takes us."
  • And the one after that. "So I think we can take it as it comes. And we'll talk to each other, and figure out what needs figuring out."
• Strip 2832. Veronica's reaction to seeing that her son Marten is dating again is hilariously smile-inducing.
• Strip 2837. Marten and Claire making puns. I can't help but find this little bit to be hilariously adorable.
  • Pretty much their entire first date is a crowning moment of heartwarming.
  • Like strip 2839. It's like Jeph Jacques, after years of using Marten as his (and our) chew toy, is delighting in giving him a positive update in life.
• "I got you a bear at the gift shop. I don't know if that's appropriate in this situation, but that's what I did." Poor Hanners is clearly out of her element in dealing with this, but goddamn is she trying.
• It's a mix between this and a tearjerker, but Dora is willing to have the insurance company pay for Faye's alcohol-related breakdown. Why is it still a tearjerker? Because Dora is still firing her, and is still too upset from their last encounter to tell Faye in person. So she leaves it to Hannelore.
• "You're beautiful." Even more so considering how often the bodies of transgender people and the reaction to them are used as a cheap punchline/source of disgust.
• "Nice to meet y'all."
• "Dude, your girlfriend is a dork." "I know!" Marten's adorably pleased face is just PERFECT.
• The cap on Momo's day, in which she reflects on AI's history and future.
• Marten may be pretty passive sometimes, but he will stand up to his friends if they need it.
• "But I'm making a choice. Fuck this. I'm not giving up."
• Zach Weinersmith's contribution to the Butt Rocket arc, in a very Weinersmithian way.
• In the wake of Faye getting fired, Pintsize helps her get a job completely unasked for. Sure, it's a job fixing contestants in a semi-illegal robot fighting ring, but the fact that he cares enough to offer his help without any of his usual joking around is remarkably reminiscent of the first example on this page.
• Dora finally makes some amends with Sven. Doubles as an awesome moment for Dora because it's a change in her attitude: She realizes that you can't just give so many strikes to throw somebody out, so she's resolved to have them work together to become better people.
• Thank you - Sven.
• Faye and Dora silently reconciling.
• Faye's entire relationship with Bubbles is very sweet: a chronically sarcastic Recovered Addict with intimacy problems goes all out to make friends with the only character in the strip with a darker and more troubled past than her own.
  • 'Screw that. I'm goin' to check on my friend.'
  • Bubbles describing the terrifying consequences of zombie AI and then reassuring Faye that she's on the good guys's side.
    Bubbles: And if it comes down to it, you may count on me to stand on the front line to protect you. ...That is, to protect "you" in the sense of all humanity. Although you are small enough that you could probably shelter behind me. There would be a risk of flanking attacks, but with adequate defilade–
    Faye: I getcha, buddy. I getcha.
• Veronica being a good stepmom - or, rather, a nice and scary one.
• Bubbles' second trip to Coffee of Doom:
  • I'm goin' to the coffee shop. You wanna come with? "Yes."
  • Hanners' favorite customer
    Bubbles: I ought to be livid. And yet, somehow, I cannot be angry with you.
    Hanners: I am very powerful.
• Bubbles won't fuck off.
• While their introduction is creepy and dramatic, Spookybot takes a quick moment to compliment Bubbles' name, which is especially sweet because she keeps it in honor of her squad members.
• Bubbles and Faye have a hug after Bubbles has admitted "your friendship was the sole source of joy in the final part of my existence". Faye is actually crying. Immediately downplayed:
  Spookybot: [frowning] How touching. We have never vomited before, but this may inspire us.
  Emily: You should try it sometimes! It's a very intense experience.
• Although it's in the wake of the tragic revelation that Bubbles' memories have been lost for good, the mysterious AI gets some for encouraging the gang to support Bubbles and reminding her that she has friends who care for and love her.
• When Bubbles is discussing the idea of Spookybot with Station, the latter mentions that they might be able to eavesdrop on any AI communication. So Bubbles takes the chance that they are to thank them through Station. It works.
• Jeremy has a crush. It's reciprocated.
• Dora puts her own credit on the line to co-sign a lease with Faye and Bubbles. Shows just how much faith she has in her former employee.
• While helping Claire move a chest of drawers to Martin's apartment, Bubbles meets a child who is impressed by her strength. She is pleased that she had "delighted a child", and then shows how she's beginning to open herself up more when she asks Faye to help her remove her armor. Bubbles' faint but very legitimate smile sells the moment.
• After a Crushing Handshake turns literal, Clinton covers for Elliot, remembering how Elliot saved him previously.
• Elliot and Bubbles bonding over the accidental destruction they've caused.
• Elliot and Renee's conversation after he tells her that he thinks Clinton is attractive. After she goes a bit Yaoi Fangirl, she calms down and...
  Elliot: I'm sorry. I know you, uh, said you were attracted to me, and here I am talking about other people I'm interested in...
  Renee: Oh, buddy! Don't you worry about that! I wanna see you happy, that's all!
• Winslow's reaction to getting his new body. He gives a big hug and his heartfelt thanks to Hannelore, and to the salesgirl.
  Salesgirl: This is why I like selling humanoid bodies. You get hugs!
• DROID 06 INVITE YOU TO ENTER THE HUGZONE
• As squeamish as Hannelore is about body fluids, it says a lot that she considers comforting Tilly more important.
• After Hannelore's confrontation with her mom, she decides to leave and travel the world, to get her head together. Hanners starts a group chat to inform her friends, and they're completely supportive, wishing her the best.
• FRIGGIN FINALLY
  • Related, but Pintsize exercising basic decorum and leaving the house when Faye and Bubbles get home so they can make love in peace.
• Pintsize, of all people, giving Claire a talking to about how she's freaking out over her upcoming exams. He tries to be gentle at first, but eventually reverts to being...well, Pintsize, but his lack of tact turns out to be what Claire needs to hear. The little guy might be depraved, but he's still a Robot Buddy.
• squeak!
• Melon, of all people, holds an Unbroken Vigil for Roko after her body is completely destroyed. Singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" to the tune of "Bohemian Rhapsody".
• It turns out that this whole time, the reason Spookybot has been constantly bothering Roko? They want to be friends, and they've never made a friend before.
• Melon's response to Roko's dissociative episodes with her new body: "It feels like something is wrong but I don't understand why. Could you maybe come out here and help me figure it out?"
• Brun's reasoning for wanting to room with Renee, and the ensuing storyline.
• oh my god
• Roko taking on May as her first client and going the extra mile to make sure that May gets a new body. May actually hugs her, but being May she does so with one eye cocked over her shoulder to make sure nobody's watching. And, being May, she caps the whole mood seconds later.
  Roko: [serenely] You're a horrible little goblin, but horrible little goblins need friends too.
  May: I jacked off a dude with a watermelon last night.
• After 450 comics (and admittedly only a few months in comic time), Faye and Bubbles are still crazy in love.
  • Reinforced later when a passing question from Clinton makes Faye and Bubbles both realise that because of Bubbles' memory loss, she could have been in love with someone else and not remember it. Faye freaks out about it but is brought down to earth after a conversation with Yay makes her realise that she's probably always been bi and has just been in denial about it, but Bubbles' attitude is that if things hadn't worked out the way they did, she and Faye wouldn't be together, and she wouldn't trade that for anything.
  • And again in the following strip, where Faye reflects that if giving up her relationship with Bubbles would bring back her dead father... she wouldn't do it. Doubles as a Tear Jerker, as well as bringing to the end a character arc that started in Strip #500.
• Faye's mom's reaction to finding out that Faye is going out with Bubbles.
  Mrs. Whittaker: My point is, if people're livin' in different ways than they was when I was young, it's on me to accept that, long as they're happy and they ain't hurtin' no one. This's a big surprise, but I'll get used to it, same as I did with your sister. All I want is for my girls to be safe and happy and livin' their best lives. That make sense?
• May's body is hitting critical mass with mechanical failures, so they set up a donation drive. Everyone chips in, to the point that May is completely shocked when she finds out how much has been raised.
  May: Who coded this website, a fucking macaque? There's no way that number's right.
  (after the reality sinks in)
  I can't deal with this.
• After consummating his sexual tension with Clinton, Elliot has a full-blown panic attack. Clinton demonstrates his Character Development by helping him through it with compassion and patience.
  Clinton: I'm not "putting up with you." I'm taking care of you.
• Emmett running up and hugging their mom when they hear Sam talk about her rocky relationship with her mom.
• When Marten is confronted with the possibility of moving away from the town, because Claire's considering a job that would mean moving to Canada, Dora asks him if he's cool with it, assuring him that she won't tell anyone else what he says. As you would expect from Marten, he says that he is, and that he assumed that something like this would happen eventually. But what actually sells it is the quietly content expression on his face in the fourth frame. He just wants to be with Claire.
  • What's especially nice is that he says this to Dora, who hundreds of strips earlier expressed exactly the same sentiment to Tai (i.e. that if Tai got a good job somewhere else, she'd sell the coffee shop and move with her), which is what prompted Tai to propose marriage to her.
• Claire decides to take the job in Cubetown after finding out Appleboom was basically left to her own devices for two years with no outside help. She even has empathy for Moray and vows to help refine her position instead of the vague directives she's been given so far. "You're bad at your job because it barely is a job."
• Clinton and Elizabeth bonding over their shared experiences with their artificial limbs, with Clinton getting a rare smile from her when he expresses admiration for her. Both of them frequently struggle with a lack of social skills, so it's sweet to see them connecting and getting along (after a slightly bumpy start).

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