Questionable Content 10: La Li Lu Le Lo

[eee]

Does she wear body armor, or is she just covered in it?

Wears it. She's indicated she CAN remove her armor, the heavy stuff over her chest and extremities, and the secondary, lighter armor on her abdomen, hips, and joints. But it makes her extremely uncomfortable to be that exposed, so she stays in iron constantly.

If she ever DOES start removing it, that will probably be a sign of increasing mental health.

[Mith]

I had read that her current body is covered in armour and that she could get a civilian chassis if she so chose. She is probably a registered owner of her current chassis. More so than others because of the military grade hardware.

[stsasser]

Wears it. She's indicated she CAN remove her armor, the heavy stuff over her chest and extremities, and the secondary, lighter armor on her abdomen, hips, and joints. But it makes her extremely uncomfortable to be that exposed, so she stays in iron constantly.

If she ever DOES start removing it, that will probably be a sign of increasing mental health.

It would be nice just to see her smile one time.

[Eldan]

Ah, the angel approach.

[eee]

Someone should tally what makes Bubbles blush. It seems to me like her interactions with Faye are causing them more and more.

[John Cribati]

Butts Disease claims yet another comic.

[eee]

I wonder what her abs feel like. I wonder how you can feel anything through her armor. I wonder what a slinky full of ball bearings WOULD feel like.

[Beelzebub1111]

Remember, kids, even if comics are a visual medium, telling us things is pretty much the same as showing us. Just as good, if not better. Think of all the time you save not learning how to draw anatomy, or risk defiling your eyes looking at references.

[PhantomFox]

Ok but tactile sensation is a bit harder to convey.

[AvatarVecna]

Remember, kids, even if comics are a visual medium, telling us things is pretty much the same as showing us. Just as good, if not better. Think of all the time you save not learning how to draw anatomy, or risk defiling your eyes looking at references.

Ugh, I know right? Don't these people know we read webcomics for their stunning visuals, not all this stupid characterization dialogue, or the wacky scenarios?! And it's more common than you think: there's two long-running webcomic that are--I swear by the Nine--freaking stick figure comics! I mean, who the hell do these hacks think they are, focusing more on communicating complex philosophies, sea-deep characterization, and funny jokes at the expense of the art, when we all know that the visuals are the only thing that matters?!! One of those comics has even had a couple "art upgrades", not that it really changed all that much!

[Beelzebub1111]

We work within the confines of our medium. And for a stick figure comic, Rich manages to convey a lot with action, motion, and expression. We don't really have to "take the character's word for it" like we do in this page, as a blatant example.

[Lethologica]

Are you asking for a shared thought bubble of a slinky full of ball bearings to convey what Bubbles' abs don't feel like? IDGI.

[Yana]

I think that we're just all baffled by the incredibly awkward simile that's been brought up.

[AvatarVecna]

A container full of ball bearings is a weird tactile description regardless, but especially so in this case where the "container" is a slinky...which is not, in fact, a container.

[stsasser]

A container full of ball bearings is a weird tactile description regardless, but especially so in this case where the "container" is a slinky...which is not, in fact, a container.

Can not a coil of wire contain a row of ball bearings?

[AvatarVecna]

Can not a coil of wire contain a row of ball bearings?

Sure, as long as you don't move it. Slinkies don't exactly have a a base capable of keeping balls from slipping. Plus, you'd think a military killbot would have abs a little tougher than a slinkie. And yet that's what Marten was apparently expecting

[Beelzebub1111]

A thought occurs: If it's armor, how can he feel her abs through it? The logistics of how he can feel abs through...whatever it is that covers her stomach, the way he is feeling them baffles me. In order for him to feel abs through it, but not show them, it would have to be made of a loose thin fabric like a t-shirt, but it clearly doesn't move like that, and you could hardly call such a thing armor. I'm also trying to visualize what she looks like under the armor in the third panel, and I'm even more confused. She must lie somewhere between Liefeldian and Lovecraftian proportions.

[Keltest]

A thought occurs: If it's armor, how can he feel her abs through it? The logistics of how he can feel abs through...whatever it is that covers her stomach, the way he is feeling them baffles me. In order for him to feel abs through it, but not show them, it would have to be made of a loose thin fabric like a t-shirt, but it clearly doesn't move like that, and you could hardly call such a thing armor. I'm also trying to visualize what she looks like under the armor in the third panel, and I'm even more confused. She must lie somewhere between Liefeldian and Lovecraftian proportions.

It wouldn't surprise me if her abs are her armor there. I mean yeah, technically she needs them to move, but chances are if her armor was to get busted there her abs would be pretty hosed anyway.

[AvatarVecna]

A thought occurs: If it's armor, how can he feel her abs through it? The logistics of how he can feel abs through...whatever it is that covers her stomach, the way he is feeling them baffles me. In order for him to feel abs through it, but not show them, it would have to be made of a loose thin fabric like a t-shirt, but it clearly doesn't move like that, and you could hardly call such a thing armor. I'm also trying to visualize what she looks like under the armor in the third panel, and I'm even more confused. She must lie somewhere between Liefeldian and Lovecraftian proportions.

Only explanation I can think of is maybe it's graphine armor? I don't know how the progress on that is going, but supposedly it's super-lightweight, super-thin, super-flexible, and is extremely effective armor. Of course, it begs the question of why they're using a super-material like that for her stomach armor when the rest of her armor appears to be more traditional plating and the like, meaning that the only reason to have that particular armor in that particular location is to have her stomach be armored while still letting you feel her sick abs.

[Cazero]

Mobile parts have always been harder to armor up to keep the mobility intact. Sometimes you even have to give up armoring them entirely.
Abs is a mobile part important in crawling, crouching and bending over. Of course the abs aren't heavily plated with rigid materials like the pectorals are.

[Yuki Akuma]

Bubbles has stated that the darker parts of her armour are flexible to allow for a fuller range of motion. It stands to reason that flexible armour would let you feel stuff under it, if it's thin enough.

[Mith]

I would have used the phrase "flexitube full of ball bearings" personally. My thought with using slinky is that Bubble's lower torso does not look like a slinking, since a vertical slinky is smooth, while her lower torso has ridges.

Granted I am not sure if "flexitube" gives the same mental image to everyone else.

[Rodin]

I would have used the phrase "flexitube full of ball bearings" personally. My thought with using slinky is that Bubble's lower torso does not look like a slinking, since a vertical slinky is smooth, while her lower torso has ridges.

Granted I am not sure if "flexitube" gives the same mental image to everyone else.

I don't even know what a flexitube is, so it's really hard to say. My immediate thought is something like a pool noodle.

[Morquard]

I'm just wondering how you can feel anything, abs or ball bearing through what is supposed to be armor. Yes it's more flexible armor, but it's still armor, it's still supposed to stop bullets and whatnot. And to feel through it, it got to be pretty thin, so those two don't work well with each other. If he can feel whats under it just by touching it, then a bullet fired at it can seriously harm those parts.

[John Cribati]

I'm just wondering how you can feel anything, abs or ball bearing through what is supposed to be armor. Yes it's more flexible armor, but it's still armor, it's still supposed to stop bullets and whatnot. And to feel through it, it got to be pretty thin, so those two don't work well with each other. If he can feel whats under it just by touching it, then a bullet fired at it can seriously harm those parts.

Occam's Razor answer: some kind of Nonsense Future Metal^TM that's thin enough to feel things through bit can still stop a bullet.

[AvatarVecna]

Occam's Razor answer: some kind of Nonsense Future Metal^TM that's thin enough to feel things through bit can still stop a bullet.

Perhaps something similar to impact gel?

[Beelzebub1111]

I'm just wondering how you can feel anything, abs or ball bearing through what is supposed to be armor. Yes it's more flexible armor, but it's still armor, it's still supposed to stop bullets and whatnot. And to feel through it, it got to be pretty thin, so those two don't work well with each other. If he can feel whats under it just by touching it, then a bullet fired at it can seriously harm those parts.

Also if it were thin enough to feel we should also be able to see them. At least with a better outline than a vague tube.

[Yuki Akuma]

I'm just wondering how you can feel anything, abs or ball bearing through what is supposed to be armor. Yes it's more flexible armor, but it's still armor, it's still supposed to stop bullets and whatnot. And to feel through it, it got to be pretty thin, so those two don't work well with each other. If he can feel whats under it just by touching it, then a bullet fired at it can seriously harm those parts.

Materials that harden in response to hard, quick impacts but are soft in response to gentle, slow impacts already exist. You may be familiar with kevlar. And cotton.

Not that I expect Bubbles' flexible armour pieces are made of either of those, but it's probably some sort of fabric or metallic thread. Or it's filled with corn starch and water.

[Morquard]

I wasn't saying flexible armor doesn't exist. Kevlar might be relatively flexible, but I don't think you can actually feel abs through it, and still expect it to protect you.

[Mith]

It could be that it formed impact gel, sort of a military equivalent to Soft Robotics.

I don't even know what a flexitube is, so it's really hard to say. My immediate thought is something like a pool noodle.

This is what I was thinking in terms of "flexitube". Basically like the flexible portion of a drinking straw.