Their True Nature

The body they keep in this building may be closer to a "consumer" model to avoid too much attention. In appearance at least.

Alan Wiggs

Spookybot's neck seam seems to come and go https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4374

Alan Wiggs

OTOH, Yay doesn't really care.

Michael Boettger

My thought is that AIs in the QC universe are very aware of the concept of "the uncanny valley" and take care not to be too similar to humans. Hence the non-human pallettes, facial details and voice. Kind of like " we're like you, but not you" in a non threatening manner.

Michael Boettger

*they

Danya Michael

There's been a lot of discussion about this over time. Occasionally Yay does have square text bubbles, which kicks it up even more. Edit: I don't think it's ever been established 100% whether Yay *is* a networked AI (probably, they hint at it) or Something Else. They've been very tight about giving out any real information about themselves. Bubbles referred to them metaphorically as a giant squid outside the coral reef of AI life. (#3407)

Clifton Royston

This one looks like a T shirt to me, with the crease lines under the neckline, and in panel 3 it's shaded a slightly tone.

Clifton Royston

Yay doesn't have square text bubbles because their voice isn't 'robot' like the other AIs. Any AI can sound fully human but don't for some reason (to stop mistakes being made, perhaps). Yay, being who they are, doesn't see any reason to abide by this rule.

Ben Russell-Gough

Wait -- is Yay wearing a tshirt, or has she suddenly sprouted a neck seam?

Tim Keating

Silly question that maybe I missed an answer to; shouldn't Yay have square text bubbles? I looked back on various comics and they never have. Is it because they are way more advanced than any other AI (even Station?)

George Passantino

Yay is the shiniest egg and would grow into the shiniest wasp. Also, I love how they just followed Elliot in to his bedroom and sat on his bed...

Hugh Eckert

Yay is a good egg. A Kinder egg, with a surprise inside that will choke you if you aren’t careful.

Sleepy John

shiny!!

Joe

Yay hasn't tried anything to intimidate him (apart from the face-plant fail at creepyface). Faye was touch-stunned and Roko has watched Yay casually nearly destroy the global economy on a whim.

Ben Russell-Gough

Elliot, I don't want to make your problems worse but you're doing a better job at flirting with Yay than you ever have with Clinton.

Ben Russell-Gough

Also, he might be the least intimidated by Yay of them all.

Onyx

God I love Elliot

Onyx

And yet, back in the day, it was used as proof of a benevolent Creator. As the sufis say "When you pray for safety in the wilderness remember that God must feed His lions."

Todd Ellner

Former Shady Mastermind In Denial About Their Character Growth, More At 7pm!

lazymagpie

I've heard the reproductive cycle of the jewel wasp described as proof of the non-existence of a loving God.

Dean Reilly

Actually we have. Remember when Renee had him take his shirt off to see if she was attracted to him? (Not so much, no)

Michael Boettger

Camping. A tarantula wasp decided to buzz our campsite. We decided to let it have it and all hid in the tent.

Joseph Bonnar

I had a caterpillar once. I was three. It did NOT survive. :(

Joseph Bonnar

I said yesterday that I was unsure if I wanted to date Yay, or BE Yay. I stand by my statement. 🖤

GodsInTheCogs

I love that Yay actually looks a bit flustered in the last panel. Big scary ai doesn't take compliments well

Bagge

Elliot has no idea who Yay actually is, does he? Does he even know about Yay's previous interactions with Bubbles?

Paul Zagieboylo

fair

It is what we ask of all of us

I'd read that

Interesting... would you recommend the Culture series as a good sci-fi reading?

Dimitar Bounov

I may be misremembering, but I recall an Iain M. Banks novel from his Culture series in which a superpowerful AI Mind suggests that beings such as itself are as unlikely to wantonly kill humans for similar reasons as those for which we’re unlikely to glibly kill butterflies, both because we’re curiosities and because we’re nearly beneath their notice. Trying to figure out a grand unified theory of AI-human-insectoid metaphors.

Alex Kosnett

I saw it as a white shirt under their black one.

Stephen Ray

I was expecting a deviled egg joke and was caught unprepared for the punchline, which is awesome!

Granite

That 3rd panel look

You should be exceedingly proud. It’s a good metaphor. ^_^

Katrina Urmson

I feel this comic is super dark.... if you’re a caterpillar. Or if you can emphasize with a caterpillar.

Matthew Van Gangelen

I personally think Elliot is more right than Yay wants to admit.

Rich Holmes

Ooooh, is this a different Yay body? I feel like the previous one I remember didn't have a seam for the neck

dirtknight

Is it weird that I can only hear Brent Spiner's voice when I read Yay's lines?

Dylan T

Yay tries, and that's all we can ask of them.

Joel Bateman

Since we're on this metaphor.. I say if we had to choose a specific kind of parasitic wasp, Yay is DEFINITELY a tarantula hawk wasp IMHO. They're pretty -- and if they sting you, you're in for a *world* of pain. :)

Sero

The pants line up with the bed pillow, so it almost looks like part of her arm. I had to zoom in because it was a little confusing.

Spazzzen

So um whats going on with Yay's arm in the first panel? Eta I just realized that they were leaning back. Lmao

Stuart Welch II

You are an embodied AI, too? Cool! I do wish I’d been apportioned a better body, though. This one is not ideal. :-/

Tom wilson

By coincidence, the scenario Yay describes in the last panel is the beginning of the "The Very Hungry Caterpilar" fanfiction that I wrote at the age of 10.

Rob McBobson

I approve.

Tom wilson

A marshmallow iced cinnamon bun. Available with an insulin shot as a side.

Michael Boettger

That's actually a pretty good metaphor. Disturbing as hell, but good.

Michael Boettger

That's a scary statement, knowing what Yay is and that we are the caterpillar.

David S

D'awww

Fart Captor

Hey hey hey I thought we all agreed he was a cinnamon bun!

Michael

I’m shipping Hercules and Yay. Fight me.

Miyaa

I can’t believe we’re doing an Eliot’s wardrobe mini arc and we haven’t seen him shirtless yet

Jono Hayward