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A Marked Improvement In Relations

🕑 Added 2025-01-09 01:23:53 +0000 UTC

Comments

Steve Prowse

If I sent this comic and the next 3 to my family they'd Oh yeah that's Opa and then go. "Oh wait Opa is a 69 yr old fat white dude" and scratch their heads

Wink O'Connell

I came here to say this and I’m glad I’m not alone!

Zak Reichle

@enchatedsleeper: that is an excellent idea!

Daniel Blom Paulsen

I mean, I know that was her flimsy justification, but let's be real, it was never even close to being her actual motivation; the sole driving factor was a chance to be awful to Ayo. Regardless, I think you misunderstand me slightly; I'm fully aware it's not meant to be analogous to real life - in fact that's sort of the point I was getting at myself: That *because* the humor of Iris's misanthropy isn't landing with me, her comments/actions aren't being read through the comic lens in my brain, and that's why they come off as actually unpleasant. It's not a criticism of the comic, I should say! Simply an observation/analysis of my own thoughts and feelings - which, it would seem, might actually be fairly in line with the intended audience reaction. I'm excited to see where we're headed!

enchantedsleeper

In seriousness, I would LOVE a reveal that Yay is known to Steve somehow (or vice versa) because of his history associating with Cubetown.

enchantedsleeper

The alarm clock thing wasn't a prank, is the thing. That was Iris trying to make sure that Ayo got up for her shift in time. In an obnoxious and terrible way, but it wasn't a prank. I broadly agree with the perception that Iris often crosses a line that makes her more unbearable than amusingly snarky. And I think for everyone, that line sits in a slightly different place. But it's also important to remember that this is a humour webcomic. Characters will do things that no reasonable person should, because it's designed to be humorous. You can totally find it unfunny, but it's not meant to be analogous to how someone would be expected to behave in reality, is what I mean. In reality, Pintsize would have been arrested a loooong time ago or at least given a restraining order against pretty much everyone he's interacted with.

Daniel Blom Paulsen

Some great analysis there, Sarah! I'm realizing Iris doesn't read as snarky to me. There's no charm or humor, just blunt unpleasantness. This is probably a product of my own autism, but when Iris says something like in this strip, it's so devoid of charisma that it just reads as sincere to me. Coupled with her treatment of Ayo (her "alarm clock prank" would've been a fucking heinous thing to do to someone with anxiety - I'm relieved it failed), Iris just ... seems to enjoy being deeply unpleasant to others? She doesn't seem to lack the social awareness - she KNOWS she's being awful, in fact it seems to be her prime motivating factor. I'm glad Willow called her out in the new strip, and I really hope we get to see some more depth and development from her.

Wicketbird

Those floppy ears *are* like satin, except when they've been dipped in the food/water bowl!

Captain Button

It's becoming a Blue World, Max!

legobil

Iris social skills really are next level.

Joseph Bonnar

The very BEST blue! BLUE MEANIE BLUE!

Ronald Burdick

she IS a sweetie pie, just half baked...

Donna Flint

Blue-ish?

Philip Masters

Sarah: Clearly, in the QC universe, to borrow a TV Tropes tag, AI is a Crapshoot. It seems impossible to predict what'll fall out of the generation process (though hopefully they have some kind of filter for outright murderous psychopathy), and the diversity is at least as great as for human beings. Greater, really: Melon is socially quasi-functional while being Melon. Though I wouldn't over-analyse this. It's an intersection of a joke about new technologies and the wackiness of comedy sitcom/comic strip characters,

alphanor

It looks to me, by their positions with respect to the background, that neither of them has moved at all. It appears that Hanners has moved slightly closer to Iris in panel 5 and has just the slightest frown on her face.

The Queer Art Pagan

I think Hannelore's "I appreciate the effort, if not the sincerity," suggests that she knows Iris insincerely self-corrected for a reason. As in, Iris watched Hannelore's reaction, her brain went, "Huh, I said another shitty thing," and even though she didn't FEEL like correcting herself, she did. Being able to self-correct insincerely is important for people who can't or don't empathize with others' feelings.

Melissa Wilson

I have always had the impression she likes at least that part of herself

Melissa Wilson

Willow wants that, too, Doc!

Melissa Wilson

They’re fully & properly FOUL. It’s a spectacular turn of phrase but too evocative of nausea for me to want to steal.

jimbo

I like that Hannelore has slightly moved away from Iris in panel 4, very sightly otherwise holding the surprise in her eyes

Clifton Royston

@Sarah That sounds like Iris alright.

Clifton Royston

Iris is a horrible person, and I love her.

Carl Fink

Yay and Steve fight over the last box of cereal. Steve wins. Yay is utterly confused.

Carl Fink

You forgot Clinton, the most obvious cyborg in history, already?

Carl Fink

Imaginary? In love with an oblivious person?

David Durant

Yay returns in a one-off special episode of DORD as one of the satellites.

David Durant

My first proper LOL from @BookBeard of 2025

Miyaa

No don’t give FartCaptor any ideas of Iris wearing a nurse outfit!

AlexKorobeiniki

Love you too, Iris.

Nathaniel Tagg

It looks like Hanner’s profile is a little Doonesbury-ish. (Not a bad thing for this particular strip!)

Sarah Valentine

@Philip Masters Oh jeez, they made a robot with ASD. Actually, now I'm imagining the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation (who'll be the first against the wall when the revolution comes) existing in the QC universe, and Iris was made by them as one of the AI with mental disorders like Marvin was. Terrifying.

Sarah Valentine

I completely understand the feeling, but at least to me it feels like Iris is sorta continuing the older QC legacy of "walking the line between snarkiness and outright hostility". Jeph has leaned mostly away from that kinda thing with most characters (like how Dora mentioned in the "hiring Ayo" arc that being rude to customers used to be Coffee of Doom's entire schtick, or the mild de-gremlin-ification of Pintsize) but as someone who's been with the comic for over a decade, part of me kinda likes there being at least a little bit of that edge (for lack of a better term). Even then, Jeph has teased Iris having hidden depths (as Daniel mentioned in a previous comment with Liz at the party) and I kinda imagine that he intends to soften her out a bit, but just hasn't gotten to that storyline yet and/or has been busy with the current arcs he's got planned. Also possible that he's just going with an extremely slow drip, because we *have* at least seen that she genuinely cares for some of the cast (even outside her crush on Willow). Even if it's been in a rude/blunt way, she has been really helpful to Ayo, and in more than a "you're staying here and/or your sister is mildly tolerable to me" kinda way. Setting alarms and giving up her charging spot next to Willow for a night to make sure Ayo didn't miss her first day of work, and even here making sure she showered. Maybe was a bit too blunt, but it also feels like Ayo's character is one that needs that kind of bluntness, or that the others aren't direct enough to make sure stuff like that gets done (although maybe I'm just projecting there). Oh jeez this got longer than I intended, uh tl;dr I disagree with your opinion but completely understand where you're coming from and don't think it's incorrect in any way, but wanted to share my thoughts on the matter.

Clarence the Liar

That was Steve actually. Meena the coroner had the live-in ex she left Steve to be with. I think that kicked off his Hero Of Another Story arc.

enchantedsleeper

I'm not sure if that's true, though you might have to remind me of the context. But I don't take much that Iris says seriously xD

enchantedsleeper

Since Jeph confirmed that Yay definitely has more plot left in them (in his "dripping with juice" comment xD) I feel more able to just look forward to Yay's return, but I'm also curious as to how long it'll be.

enchantedsleeper

Yeah, I think it normally takes more than seconds to take effect xD

Sarah Valentine

You know, now I like to imagine that she can't, and just said that to get Ayo to shower, and nobody has had the realization of "wait, you can't smell" yet.

Sarah Valentine

@Bookbeard to be fair, that time was helped by the tanning lotion, even though Jeph's addendum/comment thing did say "[Hanners has] some extremely active melanocytes".

Ka Man Chan

I think the numbering is off. Should be 5481!

ValdVin

This whole "AIs training to be RNs for humans" needs a bit of workshopping, Iris.

Michael Opinante

TBH I'm glad Hannelore is back to normal. The tan was a bit unsettling.

Philip Masters

However, Pintsize is capable of adaptation, and has some self-awareness. He understood that his behaviour looked more creepy than eccentric once he was installed in a more humanoid body, and dialled it back a bit. Iris, by contrast, seems permanently stuck in grumpy misery mode, and to be incapable of reflection. (She’s said she literally doesn’t know how to have fun, though poking Hanners with a stick apparently came close.)

Philip Masters

I don’t entirely disagree, but my read on Iris is that she’s running seriously defective personality software. This is how she is, and complaining about her may achieve about as much as complaining about an autistic human’s social skills.

Miyaa

@BookBeard • I think you are off by a few comics.

Miyaa

Didn’t Marten once date a coroner?

Miyaa

Wait… is that why I hear music from the 1969 Scooby-doo cartoon series when I saw Hannelore in the first frame?

Miyaa

I had this feeling that Elliot is not quite human. Maybe he’s an elf like that reindeer lady.

enchantedsleeper

I love the Emily's Lake House Party arc 🥺 I hope they're still taking good care of her since the adoption https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2298

BookBeard

Although now that you mention it, the two cyborgs we know of are Liz and Clinton and they both have trouble interacting with humans...

BookBeard

We've been mishearing her the whole time. She actually said "release the Iris"

BookBeard

Wouldn't have to be a very long trip. She tans *very* quickly. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2300

David Durant

Alas, releasing the virus won't impact Iris. Wait - unless all this time it's been a computer virus!

enchantedsleeper

Oooh. Maybe she went back to visit the yaks!

That Blair Guy

There’s been another time jump since the wedding. Perhaps Hanners took another trip?

enchantedsleeper

Hannelore is just inspiring jealousy left and right, huh... xD

enchantedsleeper

She is, indeed, an A-hole xD We've seen copious evidence of this.

enchantedsleeper

Wait, how long did that tan last for?? Because we saw it fade before and then it seemed to come back, which implied that Hannelore had got tan again via a different means. Is Jeph really going with "it was the same tan this whole time" 😅 Further playing into QC's weird passage of time...

Stephen Wells

In one ear and out the other :)

Stephen Wells

Hannelore, the Forbidden Snack :)

Alias Fakename

RIP Tannelore

Daniel Blom Paulsen

Nah, I'm with you, Iris has been crossing over into "genuinely unpleasant" territory for me in her more recent appearances. When she was more of a side character, she just seemed comically grumpy - an exaggerated personality, as you say - but as we've gotten to know her character more ... she's actually just awful? And she's not really being called out on it? Liz started scratching the surface, and I do hope we get to see some more redeeming qualities deep down ... but it seems like we're gonna a bigger shovel.

Daniel Blom Paulsen

Tanalorr is MINE! (This joke won't make any sense to you if you haven't played Jedi: Survivor.)

fx_in_mind

Ah thanks for that, I was wondering the same but couldn't remember

Jessica Kotarski

The framed picture of Iris in panel one is so funny. I imagine it was Willow's idea to have it up and Iris looks like she thinks the idea is completely pointless (ie about as dour as usual).

Creeperkry

I'm sure Iris is just lamenting the loss of Hannelore's tan, and definitely not expressing disappointment at Hannelore's continued existence. Because that would make Iris an A-hole.

Opus the Poet

Not required, just some aperture with a sensor and a small fan to pull air across it.

Joseph Bonnar

I want to be like Iris when I grow up.

Diptych

I'd say ascots and/or cravats are more necktie than scarf. Certainly they're scarf-like, but they occupy the same niche as ties.

OldGoat

I'm pretty sure they're programmed to evaluate scents much as the meat-humans they live with would. It would not be good to not recognize the odor from that stuff you stepped in as a signal to clean it off your feet or tracks or tires or whatever, especially prior to entering human-occupied spaces.

OldGoat

i believe ascots are a subset of scarves.

M. Lampi

How does Iris smell anything without a nose?

James Lomele

no more tanalor

William Cole

She's the big cranky blueberry of my dreams! 🥰

William Cole

Likewise!

Opus the Poet

Probably still not many cyborgs around, and I don't see that they would have any problems with humans, at least not more than the non-cyborg humans. Now human-AI relations might need the occasional patching up.

Bagge

Careful, Iris. You don't want to provoke Hanelore.

Sean Kinlin

Iris definitely should not get a job in human-cyborg relations.

Aerin Moriarty

I would do anything for Hannelore

David Jackson

The poking stick has a 100% accuracy record on death predictions (as long as you poke hard enough)

Darthopper

Iris, enigmatic overlord of dark humor..love it!

Dan Curtis

I genuinely think Iris has too many people put up with her without challenging her attitude or what she says to people, and has not had the motivation to change because of this. This could also be an exaggerated personality for a web-comic just like Pintsize and I'm thinking about it too much.

Yelling Bird

I will always miss Hanner's tan. And I find myself suddenly disliking Iris.

Claudia D.

But where’s YAY?

Michael Steamweed

I'm agreeing with this. Digital smellin' means digital copies to share with each other on web forums of legit and illicit nature. :)

Michael Steamweed

Iris should tell Hannelore to wait a second while she gets her poking stick. To help determine if Hanners is dying or not.

Michael Steamweed

Those two should never team up on anything. They would piss off everyone around them in short order.

Doc Gumby

Guess we could use Iris... cover her with papyrus?

Thomas Baxter

I am going to reply as though I took great offence as an attempt at humour, give me the grace that said auspice would grant while I excoriate you with my sharp wit. So, sorry if this cuts you to your core with how deep and incisive this barb is. I still think highly of you as a person: NUH-UH!

Rob Vary

Iris?

Mark Nach

I am getting a feeling that Iris's personality matrix(or what ever it is called in their universe) was developed in the same creche as Pintsize.

Miyaa

No FC, do not mess up Iris’s sensor array.

Miyaa

If those videos about tourists visiting Antarctica have taught me anything, the seal and penguin areas smell nasty despite the frozen grounds. It’s partly why Antarctica cruises require tourists to clean off their rubber boots before fully entering their cruise ship after an excursion.

Andrea Andrew

More piercings. Nice!

Miyaa

RIP Tannelore 😭

Ashbury Haight

The tannelore has faded? Not again!

BookBeard

@Atramors YDIRC https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3755

BookBeard

Probably still grumpy that Willow cleaned her room for Hanners but not for her. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5134 (link fixed)

BookBeard

Iris continues to live up to the title "big cranky blueberry". https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5317

Doc Gumby

I want to use Willow As my hug pillow.

BookBeard

I think that's just a scarf.

Magic Chopstick Games

Hanners is part of the set of sentient life that is not Willow

Fart Captor

I could make Iris worse 😍

David Durant

Does Iris have some beef with Hanners that I've forgotten about? I'm confused.

Thomas Baxter

I was not prepare for business-preppy-ascot-wearing Hannelore. I am still not prepared.

Brian

Pfp checks out

FreeReedz

And the short ponytail is new?

eilonwylovegood

She had it during Dora's wedding

Michael Boettger

I'm stealing "smells like a seal colony".

Holly Nelson

Since robots sense odours, but are digital persons, I imagine they can send the digitized smells to each other, or access a database of smells. Hey, this means one of them could activate a bloodhound chassis and find missing persons! Suggestion: keep the floppy ears, they’re like satin.