Psyops
O_o
Comments (102)
By the way I love Claire in panel 2.
This is the best burn in the history of this comic. I love Bubbles so much right now!
As a very wise man once said to me of my rather dramatic behavior, I think she's reading too much into this.
If what Bubbles says is true, Marten should try to help his friend manage his fear and anxiety. A new chassis might help, though Pintsize likes robots and it is not at all clear that robots care about physical appearance, or, if some do, they have any consistent preferences. Possibly software might help. Therapy of some sort might help. The problem is that this is nothing so simple as Momo or Winslow wanting a new chassis. It is easy to help people get what they think will help when they think something will help. It is not clear that Pintsize does. May would be the person to ask. She has a clear eye for the underside of things.
Marten did ask Pintsize if he wanted a new chassis, though... after Winslow got his. He asserted that he liked his current one and didn't want to change.
DAMN, Bubs. Bringing in the tactical nukes!
Well, she IS trained to go for the vulnerables :)
And the look on Marten's face....
Bubbles is the greatest
Justice.
Also notice her dropping her reserve. Bubbles used to hold herself in check. “That was rude. Apologize.” was the old Bubbles - afraid of her own power and anger. She is now free to be herself and it’s WONDERFUL!
Clearly that time Bubbles destroyed the helicopter, it was with her words. Just, damn.
She convinced the helicopter that it was aerodynamically unstable and it crashed from self-doubt.
Jesus Christ, Bubbles... I mean I get it, he spoiled the moment, but fucking hell.
Some of you pointed out that this could all be part of Pintsize's master plan. I hadn't thought of that. On the one hand, there are limits to the "Pintsize as Master Manipilator" theory. It only works if you believe Pintsize has no intrinsic personality—that *everything* we see from him is artifice. So in this case I think the theory overdrawn, in no small part because I have a hard time believing Jeph is creating a world *that* cold. If you buy into it, it means Pintsize is, for some reason, orders of magnitude smarter than other AI's, and that no one else in his world has agency. On the other hand, I'm thinking of a year and a half ago, when I started my current job. There was this guy who was an absolute dick to me, and no fewer than three people came to me afterward and said essentially "Yeah, that guy's a dick. Don't let him get to you." And I realized that not only did that guy deplete his own social currency by being a dick, he did more for my acceptance into the social group than I did! So the thought of Pintsize placing himself in the position of Mr. Dick, knowing that this would increase Bubbles's social currency, does resonate.
Interesting. Though I don't see why the "Pintsize has depth" theory requires that he has no personality, or that no one else has agency. I fail to see the connection. I think Pintsize likes occasionally helping his friends, but he also likes porn and butts and being lazy and generally having no responsibility whatsoever. So when the opportunity arises, he helps his friends in these weird, roundabout ways, where they don't realize they're being helped. He never gets any credit for it, but then no one ever comes to rely on him or give him any responsibility either. Just the way he likes it. That doesn't make him part of a master race of AI or something. It just means he's self-aware of the role he's playing in others' lives, and how that role can sometimes be leveraged for the benefit of others.
All of Faye's attempts to crush Pintsize, and Bubbles did it in one try!
It has long been established that LOOM is more effective on Pintsize than physical abuse.
Now for the pint size development arc!!!!!
At first I thought: Oh, Pintsize's getting the birdseeds again. But this is hard stuff! Finally, he needs this.
Looks like they left in the phycological warfare unit in when she was decommissioned.
That's going to leave psychological scars.
FWIW, there does seem to be an element of projection in what Bubbles says. The big difference is, of course, she was never as extrovert as Pintsize in her attempts to drive people away. I am also of the opinion that Pintsize's behaviour is a camouflage to stop people trying to assess what he really is about. All that said, Bubbles' opinion is a good shot at what Pintsize lets himself appear to be but I'm not sure if it is what he REALLY is.
I'm 100% sure you are right
Oh come on, Bubbles! That's just being CRUEL!
Bubbles can not only destroy you with ordnance (or her fists), she can also destroy you with UNDERSTANDING. Truly, she is Faye's perfect match.
This actually makes sense because I think they all know violence really isn't going to deter him so fun alternatives are the only way.
Worse than a beating. Kinda deserved it though.
You made Bubbles scarier! Why would you do that?
I love that Bubbles is wearing Fayes shirt!
Daaaaaaaang. They can as well reformat Pintisze now, that's how defragmented he got
Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang
What she said.
I was going to comment on how cute Claire looks but then Bubbles fucking disarmed every single slur I hear directed at me in my daily life. Holy shit!
I feel bad for Pintsize because he actually was a good roommate and left to go play cards and exercise that "common decency" thing. While it probably won't happen, I hope he mentions that in the next strip while he's breaking down XD
Why do I feel it was more likely they kicked him out, and Claire opening the door is the only reason he got back in? XD
I actually feel sorry for the lil perv
Personally, I don't think there is anything anyone could do to Pintsize that would make me pity him or feel sorry for him.
I have not felt a speck of pity for that little robotic asshole until this moment.
Oh, come *ON* people! They're playing to Pintsize's STRENGTHS! Pintsize is a master manipulator with a thorough understanding of both the human and AI psyches. He knows Bubbles' emotional maturity and difficulties to the NANOMETER. The fact that he's a total fuck-off and whack-job is because it's HIS CHOICE, and Marten acquiesces, with occasional disassembly being the ONLY means of control. No, Pintsize is playing to the crowd, and is about to gladly be disassembled so he can rip Bubbles a new one. Not because he's evil or offensive, but BECAUSE HE CAN! If all AIs in existence, including Spookybot, were locked in Thunderdome, the one walking out would be Pintsize. Bet on it.
That said, Pintsize also knows when to get real. He simply avoids it to the greatest extent possible. But when there's no way out, he's there for Marten, even if it means gluing on a stroker and painting flames on his butt.
Wait! He’s a paying customer!
Sweet fucking cthulu. This is gonna be interesting
Holy Shit is right!
oh shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
I think I heard the MechRomancer's voice saying, "Critical Killll!" at the end of that strip!
Good fucking lord, and I thought I was the immortal evil of the coffee grounds, but if bubbles didn't just fucking coming in like a corrupted robot Valkyrie and show me how you truly "destroy" your enemy....
Was he military? Or just his chassis?
Just his chassis.
Begin Pintsize relationship arc
I felt an ominous sense of dread come over me even reading this.
Spoilers.....We’ve known Pintsize for fifteen years. He’s always been preemptively warped. He was chosen to befriend Marten, and now it’s clear this was for his benefit, not Marten's. Marten, far from being a marshmallow wuss, is a healer, kind of a radiating stupa of healing. I will be interested to discover what on earth trauma Pintsize is carrying around, and curious with a kind of a dreadful fascination to see what Pintsize's next life stage might encompass.
Well, in fairness, it was speculated rather strongly that Pintsize was a mistake due to the fact Marten has arachnophobia and the spider AI that was literally groping his head meat while doing the readings for the best AI companion were very very likely TERRIBLY skewed due to the overwhelming terror poor Marty was feeling at the time.
Holy shit, is Bubbles going to FIX PINTSIZE? (Note: choose whichever meaning of "fix" you'd like).
This has been the absolute verbal smackdown I've been wanting Pintsize to receive ever since the first comic.
! Is that your actual name? I'm a Yeman!
Somebody update TV Tropes. <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreakThemByTalking" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BreakThemByTalking</a>
but I don't have thirty hours to waste on tvtropes right now...
Oddly, I kept waiting for her final statement at the end of her analysis to be something like, "So seek help or next time I'll pinch you in half", but alas, Bubbles is sincere in her compassion.
Alas poor Pintsize, we hardly knew him.
Why do I get the feeling this is part of the setup for the bonus comic later this month (the topic of which has already been decided by last month's poll)?
I'd say 'no' only because, as a rule, bonus comics are narratively separate from the main strip so as to not deprive non-subscribers of parts of the story.
Is he CRYING? Or did she MELT HIS FACE?
Yes.
I think she is right about Pintsize, by the way.
Of course she's right, And everyone in that room knows it. Including and especially Pintsize.
How can this not be a tectonic event in Pintsize's life? I mean, his behavior has got to change after this weaponized monologue.
No, it won't and Bubbles knows it won't. She's just telling him that he's not going to get to her so keeping at her is just going to be a waste of time.
She is cradling his head gently in her palm, his neck between two of her fingers. She undoubtedly learned this line of talk on rowdy soldiers who wanted to comment on her body and speculate aloud about what it would be like to have sex with her. I wonder if she picked them up by the head, too.
On another note, uh...yay! Claire’s back! And she’s cute! Yay!
wow. way to burst his Bubbles.
Uh, wow. There’s clearly more than one way to break Pintsize...
Tactical Empathy
lol, it's been a long time coming!
Do AI cry electric tears?
Shieeeeeeeeeeeeet
Even Jeph is like "holy shit what", look at the alt text
This is like a guy afraid of dogs getting a gentle “woof” from a Great Pyrenees. Pintsize had better change chassis.
Fuck it's never gonna stop being weird seeing Pintsize walk around on the floor like he's a person
For years Station has been looking for an excuse to perform orbital bombardment. Bubbles just stole that thunder.
Wait, does Pintsize even *have* tear ducts?
He does now...
Claire/Pintsize Good Cop - Bad Cop routine Defeated!
This is a WONDERFUL story run in one of my favourite webcomics. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I love that as lethal as I'm sure Bubbles can be, words are her strongest weapons. Having her up in my face like that getting into my psyche would be terrifying.
Hooooooo boy SHOTS FIRED. BOOOOOOM :HEADSHOT:
Headshot, a double tap to center mass, and one for each limb! Gorram, Bubbles, that's cold!
Best QC strip ever. Seriously, this run is monumental.
Physical damage just means that she has to fix him, mental/emotional damage however...
Oh my god, I cannot stop laughing. I love this.
She made Pintsize cry!!!
Jesus that cuts me deep
Do not mess with!
O-oh..
pintsize is roasted... done
Oh my.
Exactly how many types of warfare has Bubbles been trained in?
ALL OF THEM
Wrecked...
REKT
This is the most brutal thing you've ever written, Jeph
Dude, Bubs is scary AF