While You Were Sleeping

When I saw the handholding, I laughed out loud. My wife asked, "What's so funny?" I have a hard time explaining how I care so much about the emotions of robot characters in a comic. Jeph is a creative genius!

Andy Sleeper

Depends what you mean to "fix." Here's the thing: in a safe environment, among people who accept us as we are, and particularly among others who share our cognitive eccentricities, a mild form of what people call "autism" (not sure of it "actually" is autism) can be fun. The world is a fascinating place, but at times I feel like most people are so busy worrying about things like money and relationships and status and power and sex and stuff they can't see it, and certainly aren't interested in talking about anything else. It was bothersome when I was younger ( and my difficulties in relationships were painful due to having a young man's libido), but at my current age, having made peace with the limitations oy social disabilities have placed upon me, I thoroughly enjoy a world of studying history and economics, watching anime, playing video games, and so on... things that others would regard as pathetic wastes of time, but that I regard as the things that bring me joy, the point of being alive. I get sufficient social interaction by staying close to my birth family, and the fact that for some reason I'm pretty good with kids and animals makes my current job, bus driving for disabled kids, incredibly fulfilling (if not terribly high paying). In my opinion, the proper "cure" for people like me is a form of code switching. In public, we need to be able to interact with people in a fashion they can understand. But in private, we need to be as we are, to live in a fashion that brings us happiness. There are others who want to see our condition "cured", driven out of us entirely, to become "normal" even in private, sometimes going so far as to use some pretty brutal Skinnerian conditioning tactics on children to achieve this outcome. If it actually *worked*, that would be one thing, but I've known some of the anxious messes that come out of this kind of treatment.

Daryl Sawyer

This is the same kind of question we ask when someone has depression, or autism. Is "fixing" or "curing" a good thing, or does it in some way "erase" the person as they are? I used to feel strongly that a fix was a fix, but I've known people who are living through these things that feel the other way and I must respect that, too. Way to tackle the tough stuff, Jeph.

Firefly Jelly

Depends on the model I believe, plus, Yay probably has some special body type that doesn't need to vent cause they might not stress out enough to get over heated.

Shawn K. Younkin

Don't all the robots have a neck-seam, for emergency venting? Yay doesn't seem to have one.

Sleepy John

There is always something to relieve boredom, if the threshold is low enough.

Sleepy John

Should have been a picture of some nice buns ...

Peter Jensen

Erotic art in panel 2

So lewd!

Dean Reilly

Guests? Or for keeping thing other than food cold? Or maybe it was just a furnished property.

Why is there a fridge in a robots-only household?

Jan Gampe

It's like Q is really a considerate robot.

SpookyPenguin

“Geez now I can’t sleep while you’re both staring at me”

Andrew

Melon's "I don't understand but I care a lot" is so powerful

Bagge

Provided by Spooks for her sortie into Bubbles' mind. I don't see Yay letting a device like that out of their own control.

OldGoat

I was wondering that too. Maybe it’s for ease of ready considering that we’re reading the rest of the bubbles in that order?

Daniel Burnett

i can ship em

runrin

Not to pick nits, but shouldn’t the word balloons in the first panel be reversed, based on where they’re standing?

awgiedawgie

I have no doubt that Melon reached for Yay. Because of course she would. Whether Yay reached simultaneously is another question altogether.

awgiedawgie

the two holding hands is a beautiful touch, Jeph. best of luck to Roko. hang in there. it can get better. I hope it will for you.

Joe

Have we seen that steaming bread "pin-up" before? LOL

Interesting that they've chosen to use the "we" rather than "I" pronouns for this part of the conversation, too. Presumably because this is a thing that is an opinion of all of them, rather than just one of them.

Brooks Moses

But who reached for who?! Ugh this is awesome torture

Jackie Meyer

Melon is pure and wonderfully sweet.

Absynthe

Lol, when is it not ship time in this fandom!? 😂🙈

Julienne Ignace

"Not in this car you don't, mister! This is a Mercedes!"

Elf Sternberg

I said this out loud before I scrolled down.

Ted Van Roekel

Typo in the bottom line. "Is name is waltholemew" should be, "His" unless there's a new pronoun I need to learn.

William Davy

Yes, that started out as a QC-Haiku, but it refused to scan, so I went to free-verse. Go ahead, down-vote me.

BobC

Melon is always wide-eyed. I wish I knew what it was like to be continuously amazed by the world around me. I mean, I'm often amazed, but being so continuously would toast my AI module. No wonder the worms get fried.

BobC

Like Scarecrow and Tin Woodman standing all night awake by Dorothy sleeping on the ground. Though probably they didn't hold hands . And though Yay is likely many other places doing many other things at the same time.

Awwwwww,,,,, the hand holding is adorable!!!!

Shawn K. Younkin

Doesn't raven have a minddive jazzercize headband?

Grant Swire

I think Melon is just looking for reassurance here. And Yay is very willing to provide it. And again, Yay reiterates their stand against interference in the mind of another sentient being. They've already demonstrated the ability to render someone unconscious when they dealt with Bubble's conundrum.

Michael Boettger

That mouse must be living the life, living in an apartment that has no cat and all the food is for the mouse.

Miyaa

Inb4 Roko-Melon-Spookybot poly shipping commences. Hell, who am I kidding? It already has.

Samantha Yeaman

To drink or to smash?

R L

FWeeeeeeeeee....

Matt Grayson

*squeak*

Tamara Macadam

Welp. Another ship has just been christened. Someone get me a champagne bottle.

Miyaa

Ok, Roko has two of the greatest friends. Melon is so sweet!!

Joel Bateman

Omg their holding hands

Lord Crusade

Ship time? Maybe.

Bailey Tighe

They're holding haaaaaaannnnddddsssssss

Alexander W Couzens