Questionable Content XIX: Give Jeph Just A *Little* Credit, Here

[Durazno]

Are you willing to risk taking her along on the vacation?

[Delicious Taffy]

I mean, we're probably gonna see her anyway, so they may as well.

[Wraith]

If Claire and Marten grab Moray, tear out her brain-box, shove it into their suitcase, fly to Northampton, and then cram it into Hannelore's robot boyfriends' body (Or Momo's old body, or buy a cheap, second-hand runner for a couple of hundred dollars with absolutely no down-sides....)

...Is that even a crime? Would it be if Moray doesn't exist legally separate from the Director? How? Does that even matter if AI don't technically have civil rights like bodily autonomy in the first place? Is there a difference between Bubbles (an individual), Moray (an off-shoot of an individual), and Pintsize (an Anthro-PC who has co-opted a new body despite once having an 'owner') in the eyes of the law?

This isn't just a daydream about decapitating the awful jello-monster, stuffing her head in a bag and consigning it to the briny deep as they cross the bay back to Canada, I promise. I do kinda want to know why an arguably-sentient, non-biological object needs a passport to cross an international border, but not... y'know... clothes.

[Mechalich]

If Claire and Marten grab Moray, tear out her brain-box, shove it into their suitcase, fly to Northampton, and then cram it into Hannelore's robot boyfriends' body (Or Momo's old body, or buy a cheap, second-hand runner for a couple of hundred dollars with absolutely no down-sides....)

...Is that even a crime? Would it be if Moray doesn't exist legally separate from the Director? How? Does that even matter if AI don't technically have civil rights like bodily autonomy in the first place? Is there a difference between Bubbles (an individual), Moray (an off-shoot of an individual), and Pintsize (an Anthro-PC who has co-opted a new body despite once having an 'owner') in the eyes of the law?

This isn't just a daydream about decapitating the awful jello-monster, stuffing her head in a bag and consigning it to the briny deep as they cross the bay back to Canada, I promise. I do kinda want to know why an arguably-sentient, non-biological object needs a passport to cross an international border, but not... y'know... clothes.

Canada, like the US, has birthright citizenship, which simplifies matters considerably, since any AI 'born' in either of those nations, meaning presumably inside a server located within their legal bounds, which includes Cubetown, immediately acquires citizenship upon realizing their sentience (this is different from most other nations on the planet that do not have this very generous status arrangement in which case an AI would have to prove 'descent' from somehow who has citizenship, which is...complicated). Hopefully most AI sentience comes with some kind of unique network hash signature or something (not a programmer, I'm sure others on this board have a better understanding) that can serve as a substitute for biometrics.

Now, since the various Morays are technically sapient beings - however annoying stupid they can be, they'd register as mentally competent on any cognitive test you chose to give one - the Director is either a serial killer or a being who pre-progams his creations to willfully embrace suicide. Gah, forking is an ethical abyss and I hate that it's in this comic, which is not even close to equipped to handle it.

[Cikomyr2]

If Claire and Marten grab Moray, tear out her brain-box, shove it into their suitcase, fly to Northampton, and then cram it into Hannelore's robot boyfriends' body (Or Momo's old body, or buy a cheap, second-hand runner for a couple of hundred dollars with absolutely no down-sides....)

...Is that even a crime? Would it be if Moray doesn't exist legally separate from the Director? How? Does that even matter if AI don't technically have civil rights like bodily autonomy in the first place? Is there a difference between Bubbles (an individual), Moray (an off-shoot of an individual), and Pintsize (an Anthro-PC who has co-opted a new body despite once having an 'owner') in the eyes of the law?

This isn't just a daydream about decapitating the awful jello-monster, stuffing her head in a bag and consigning it to the briny deep as they cross the bay back to Canada, I promise. I do kinda want to know why an arguably-sentient, non-biological object needs a passport to cross an international border, but not... y'know... clothes.

I do not think Moray has a brainbox. She is a liquid bot spawned at will by her creator, not manufactured.

[Manga Shoggoth]

Sigh... My first thought on this comic was "Robot horses serve drinks".

[Daywalker1983]

This whole Ayomide Business feels like something from the first few Pages of a New webcomic. More like a spinoff than a New Character.

[Beelzebub1111]

I feel like I'm getting wiplash from this comic. I understand depicting adhd or whatever disorder you are going for, but the comic just switched topics three times in four panels. Remember to consider your audience when writing. We aren't lingering on a single topic long enought to understand anything about who these people are or what they feel about anything. A discussion between a hypersexual and a hyposexual could be interesting, but no they are bouncing to getting her stuff back, no wait talking to her parents. Next page we're back to Nova Sotia.

[Scarlet Manuka]

We aren't lingering on a single topic long enought to understand anything about who these people are or what they feel about anything. A discussion between a hypersexual and a hyposexual could be interesting, but no they are bouncing to getting her stuff back, no wait talking to her parents. Next page we're back to Nova Sotia.

That's pretty much how conversations work though. If one of the conversants is uncomfortable with the topic, they're not going to explore every last nuance of it for the audience's satisfaction; they're going to shut it down and talk about something else, as happened here.
In my experience most casual conversations pivot rapidly and semi-randomly anyway, whenever somebody says something that someone else wants to follow up on. The only times you really explore a topic in full before moving on are in a formal context (and often not even then), or in a very serious discussion. Which this could have been, but I don't think Ayomide's capable of that level of focus.
At least the next page was indeed the phone call in question, so hopefully your feeling of whiplash is lessened.

[VoxRationis]

I find all these scenes with Ayomide and Yemisi standing together to be kind of jarring from an art perspective. Ayo is much more cartoony than Yemisi, to the point where it seems like the two are coming from different comics with different art styles, and it's even weirder considering that they're supposed to be siblings. (Although it is possible that they aren't biologically related.) I think what probably happened is that the author neglected to update a character design after a prolonged absence in which the art shifted, but having a hypothesis as to how it happened doesn't make it look less weird.

[Durazno]

I think part of it is a shot at making Ayo look younger.

[Wraith]

Quick question; What time is it?

Claire and Marten woke up at 11:30, immediately chatted with Liz, Evan and the new pink assistant person, signed a contract, and have just been hanging around looking up flights for Liz.

Meanwhile, Bubbles and Faye closed up shop to wander over to Coffee of Doom where Hannelore was in the middle of a shift, hired Ayomide, spent the day training her and then closed up shop to walk over to Yemise's place and bimble around for a while. It's even dark outside.

Claire has spent 8 hours taking a shower? Or Cubetown is stuck in a null-time vortex that is sucking the 4th dimension into an infinite loop?

...That would at least explain the pacing of the last ~100 comics....

[Cikomyr2]

Sigh.

Dora is bit of an imbecile when she's impulsive.

"Ill hire the first person through the door just because i dont want to have to handle happy-bubbly candidate"

[Beelzebub1111]

Okay this the start of something intriguing. I know Jeph doesn't have the guts to do it, but what if Ayo's dad was killed in the accident? Like her being honest with her parents killed her dad? Truthfully it would just be terrible timing, but the melodrama would be hilarious to see unfold.

Only hilarious because barely know anything about who these people are having this dumped on us and expecting to take it seriously. Like imagine Hannelore right now. She met Ayo a few hours ago. At what point do you say "I am not equipped to handle this. I am stepping away and washing my hands."?

[Wraith]

I mean, yell all you like Willow, but Iris is right. Just because she doesn't have a nose, doesn't mean she expects to have to clean up after random teenagers who show up and barf on all her stuff.

She met Ayo a few hours ago. At what point do you say "I am not equipped to handle this. I am stepping away and washing my hands."?

A few hours ago, unfortunately.

[DavidSh]

I mean, yell all you like Willow, but Iris is right. Just because she doesn't have a nose, doesn't mean she expects to have to clean up after random teenagers who show up and barf on all her stuff.

Willow could be interpreting Iris's "do it in the tub" as referring to Ayo's "and die". In other words, "if you are going to die on us, be considerate and leave the body where it is easier to clean up."

[KillianHawkeye]

I'm just excited that something potentially interesting finally happened!

[Wraith]

Willow could be interpreting Iris's "do it in the tub" as referring to Ayo's "and die". In other words, "if you are going to die on us, be considerate and leave the body where it is easier to clean up."

Let's be honest... She still isn't wrong about that, either...

[Radar]

Okay this the start of something intriguing. I know Jeph doesn't have the guts to do it, but what if Ayo's dad was killed in the accident? Like her being honest with her parents killed her dad? Truthfully it would just be terrible timing, but the melodrama would be hilarious to see unfold.

Only hilarious because barely know anything about who these people are having this dumped on us and expecting to take it seriously. Like imagine Hannelore right now. She met Ayo a few hours ago. At what point do you say "I am not equipped to handle this. I am stepping away and washing my hands."?

There is no need for her dad to die for things to be serious for once. Just Ayo's reactions to the call tell a whole tale of why she had such a severe problem with school to begin with. I can bet Ayo was pretty much forced to be a great student and the school was chosen for her because "it is a good career" or some other rationalization for her mother to live her ambitions through her daughter. Bullying done at home.

[Beelzebub1111]

There is no need for her dad to die for things to be serious for once. Just Ayo's reactions to the call tell a whole tale of why she had such a severe problem with school to begin with. I can bet Ayo was pretty much forced to be a great student and the school was chosen for her because "it is a good career" or some other rationalization for her mother to live her ambitions through her daughter. Bullying done at home.

I'm not saying he needs to. I think it would be funny. in a cosmic sense.

As far as your "bullying done at home", I think you may be reading too much into her situation that hasn't been shown. Her yelling might have to do with the adrenaline of getting into a fender bender after receiving bad news.

As far as this page goes, I like it. good use of panel space, each panel has a different framing. good angles. Nice job Jeph. I hope he keeps it up and we don't devolve back into Ctrl+V

[Radar]

I'm not saying he needs to. I think it would be funny. in a cosmic sense.

As far as your "bullying done at home", I think you may be reading too much into her situation that hasn't been shown. Her yelling might have to do with the adrenaline of getting into a fender bender after receiving bad news.

As far as this page goes, I like it. good use of panel space, each panel has a different framing. good angles. Nice job Jeph. I hope he keeps it up and we don't devolve back into Ctrl+V

Yelling maybe yes, but Ayo's reaction to that tells me far more. You do not get into this kind of panic meltdown over yelling if you have a healthy relationship with your parents. There is far too much pressure and clear trauma. It really explain the earlier irrational behavior.

[Mechalich]

Yelling maybe yes, but Ayo's reaction to that tells me far more. You do not get into this kind of panic meltdown over yelling if you have a healthy relationship with your parents. There is far too much pressure and clear trauma. It really explain the earlier irrational behavior.

Agreed. The entire Ayo situation, given what we know about Jeph's tendency to match characters with some kind of buzzword he recently uncovered somewhere, strongly suggests a poor rendered critique of either 1. Helicopter Parenting or 2. Tiger Moms or 3. Both.

[Beelzebub1111]

Yelling maybe yes, but Ayo's reaction to that tells me far more. You do not get into this kind of panic meltdown over yelling if you have a healthy relationship with your parents. There is far too much pressure and clear trauma. It really explain the earlier irrational behavior.

I don't think it's necessarily true. An alternative read is that she has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder, and the parents are just normal people doing the best they know how. A parent who is normally calm and patient suddenly yelling at you would also a lot of stress that could invoke a panic attack. We don't have enough information to suddenly say "Clearly her parents are abusive and have been her whole life."

I think at this point it's unreasonable to jump to any conclusion about her familial situation. Assuming this is some kind of trauma flashback at this point is a stretch. I could be wrong and the next page she could say "every time she yells it brings me back to when I was 5 and she yelled at me for getting a B- on a spelling test and I always had to be perfect" but it could also be "With all this stuff about dropping out and being homeless and my life is changing so fast, knowing I disappointed my mom, who loved and supported me and me causing them to get in a car wreck just put me over the edge". We don't have enough clear information in the text to go one way or the other.

[Traab]

She just told her parents she dropped out, they got into an accident, everyone is yelling, so she is panicking. That doesnt mean she has some evil abusive hyper controlling mom. It doesnt mean she DOESNT of course, but that wasnt the vibe being given off leading up to this. Her sister wasnt going "Omg, mom will reach through the phone to strangle you for ruining her grand plans for your life!" This was just about hyperventilator girl and her need to face the music.

[DavidSh]

On the other hand, maybe the Eschaton is coming. But softly and slowly, like the Singularity seems to have come.

[Traab]

On the other hand, maybe the Eschaton is coming. But softly and slowly, like the Singularity seems to have come.

The rapture has been ongoing for years now. Randomly one of those missing person reports that never gets solved? Rapture. God wants to surprise us by handling that part quietly. /nod

[Wraith]

On the other hand, maybe the Eschaton is coming. But softly and slowly, like the Singularity seems to have come.

Having live crickets inside their brains would certainly explain most characters in this comic.

[Durazno]

Another thing to consider is that rejection sensitivity and difficulty controlling emotions are other possible symptoms of ADHD. We don't know if that's what's going on with Ayo, but it's another data point against "we know the parents are abusive and controlling." As Beelzebub pointed out, this situation would be A Lot for anyone to deal with, on all sides.

[Beelzebub1111]

I wonder why he bothered redrawing the same panel 6 times.

In response to the page title, maybe the federal reserve should have considered that before backing your loan.

[Wraith]

That "you did the right thing" feels like it should have a HUGE asterisk next to it, leading the reader to a note that reads "Eventually". And "Reluctantly".

Or possibly even "against your will" - the only reason that Ayo called her parents was because Yemisi cornered her into a choice between calling her parents and the bus company, and even then only after she had gone for a wander around the apartment to eavesdrop of Hannelore and Willow, and ask Iris about her sex life.

And then she compulsively lied to them the first time and had to try again.

It's just... Jeph. Jeph-o. JJ. Jepporama. Sweetie. You can't keep showing us someone being selfish, irresponsible and insane, then doing a bunch of really unpleasant things to other people, and wave it off with "but she's cute and everyone forgives her uwu"; or worse, by just waving your hands vaguely and invoking "non-specific mental illness" and letting the audience fill in the blanks to somehow excuse their behaviour.
At some point, SOMEONE is going to have to commit to a definitive fact or demonstrate a personality trait of their very own that isn't "mentally 8 years younger than their body would suggest".

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