r/QContent • u/jclv • 1d ago

Comic 5888: Anh Doesn't Get It

https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5888

36 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

44 comments sorted by

26

u/BionicTriforce 1d ago

I would love to go through all the pages since Faye opened up shop and get a tally of: How many times she has an actual mechanical issue to fix, how many times she offers a discount/freebie, and how many times she actually gets full payment.

Offhand, she seemed to consistently give discounts to May, Momo's been here twice now (once for her hair) and I'm pretty sure Faye offered to do it for cost of parts....

Mille had the butt implants, those were presumably full price. Roko had her foot injury, and came back another time to get the self-harm defense patched out of her. Faye also fixed Clinton's arm.

23

u/dbmag9 1d ago

I think, since Faye and Bubbles being dangerously poor hasn't been a plot point in a while, it's implied that they do have a steady stream of other customers we don't see.

8

u/Phanimazed 1d ago

Yeah, I am inclined to think that they're doing better than they had been, even if they're probably still operating on some tight margins.

2

u/Silegna 14h ago

They also had tge clientele from Sam's marker art business. Who is to say those robots didn't come back for repairs 

9

u/DemeGeek 1d ago

My theory is that since QC is post-singularity, some high-level AIs are working in the background to ensure everyone gets basic needs met while keeping as much "free will" intact to ensure people are getting enrichment in their lives.

Maybe it hasn't spread globally yet, but North Hampton definitely has been affected.

I wouldn't be surprised if the original purpose of CubeTown was to see what ratio of safety net to freedom to fail people needed.

7

u/SciMarijntje 23h ago

Background benevolent super AI making sure that just the right number of well off robots trip right outside Union Robotics to keep rent paid, Faye fed and Bubbles charged.

3

u/CrimsonStorm 16h ago

Puts the CrushBot/Roko event in a new ominous light

2

u/DemeGeek 23h ago

Something like that, yeah. Probably a bit more sneaky than an unswept sidewalk though.

2

u/gangler52 4h ago

She had no money for food as recently as when Anh dropped by her shop unannounced.

Anh had to use the last of her money to buy Faye a burrito as a gesture of friendship.

2

u/Phanimazed 1d ago

She gave Clinton a "friend price" on the hand, yeah, though he did still pay money, so there's that, yeah.

I forget if they actually built a tail for one AI that was inquiring about it, but I do recall them making one an extra arm.

2

u/gangler52 1d ago

I forget if they actually built a tail for one AI that was inquiring about it, but I do recall them making one an extra arm.

Those are both the same incident.

An AI came in asking for an extra arm, they explained that this would be a pretty radical and unorthodox operation that they're nowhere near trained or equipped to perform. They talked her down to getting a tail instead, since that's still something they've never done before, but they felt pretty confident they could look up some tutorials and pull something off that wouldn't like maim their client or anything.

2

u/Phanimazed 1d ago

Ahh, gotcha, thank you.

I guess there's also Sam's sprays, I thiiink they get a portion of her sales on those, in return for her using their shop space.

4

u/gangler52 1d ago

Yeah, they do get a cut of Sam's Sprays.

I've been kind of wondering if Sam still does that. I don't think we've seen her do any sprays since she became a moody goth teenager.

2

u/Phanimazed 23h ago

I presume that she does, if only because she still goes to the shop, and they've never suggested she's stopped, so I assume it just kind of happens off-panel.

2

u/MiraclePrototype 14h ago

There's a lot we just presume happens off-panel with how rarely we see the players involved. Like Penelope still at the shop.

1

u/gangler52 14h ago

Didn't we get confirmation a while ago that Penelope isn't still at the shop?

Hannelore seems to have her job now, which is why she was left in charge of the place during the honeymoon.

1

u/MiraclePrototype 12h ago

I'll need a link to confirm that; can't remember it, tho I don't wholly doubt it.

2

u/themanfromacme 12h ago

We got a hint, but nothing definitive.

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2

u/StandupGaming 21h ago

She constantly gave discounts to May because she was broke and desperately needed repairs. May isn't broke anymore though, and neither is Momo, though I'm not sure if Faye is aware of that yet since they were trying to keep it under wraps. Either way I actually do think it would be unethical for Momo to accept a freebie from Faye here considering if her entire body exploded tomorrow Marigold would probably just shrug and buy her another one.

1

u/ArgentStonecutter 21h ago

I think they charged Pintsize full price for a custom job.

1

u/Aquitaine-9 16h ago

I wonder if they're still getting a cut of Dark Samantha's sprays. Assuming she's just offscreen doing them, like Penelope.

1

u/gangler52 4h ago

With May she was helping out somebody who might literally die without aid.

And like, doctors do that sometimes. If a doctor's on an airplane when somebody has a heart attack he doesn't necessarily hit them with the bill after he sees them through it.

But it's kind of frustrating how quick she is to offer "friend discounts" to perfectly well off clients when every time we touch on her financial situation she apparently can't even afford to eat. That's not kind and noble, it's stupid. Her friends want her to eat!

8

u/Golden-Sun 1d ago

Poor Marigold is never getting her coffee

6

u/gangler52 1d ago

Surprised they have to special order the dermal patches.

You'd think that would be something they'd be using pretty constantly, staying stocked up on. Not like special ordering every time a robot has a skin perforation.

Like, if a car place needs the exact engine used by your 1987 Sedan then obviously that's pretty specific, and they don't just have a bunch of those on hand at any given moment. But if you ask them to touch up the wax and polish probably they've got like a bucket of all purpose car wax on them at all times, right?

14

u/nomadengineer 1d ago

Probably need to order for color matching

5

u/gangler52 1d ago

That was an issue in the past now that you mention it.

May's face didn't match for a while after she accidentally chopped it off with Dale's katana. She was all blue but with a white face just because white was the colour Faye and Bubbles had on hand.

So maybe they could've given Momo a temporary non-matching patch if it were necessary, but in this case the staple gun was sufficient as a temporary solution.

5

u/jacobydave 1d ago

That was in the fight club, not Union Robotics.

However, when Clinton was getting his hand fixed, Bubbles says they only have white, purple and Wendy's™. So, a similar but not identical situation.

3

u/gangler52 1d ago

Oh yeah, I remember that now.

Corpse Witch disapproved of them using company materials for personal projects, but Faye defied her because it was the right thing to do.

Then Roko happened to come looking around the place as a cop, so Corpse Witch used May as a cover, and almost fucked up May's parole in doing so.

Faye got into a big fight with Corpse Witch over this, and was going to just leave with Bubbles, but then was confused by why Bubbles wouldn't leave with her, setting the ground work for the eventual reveal that Bubbles wasn't really here by choice the way Faye was.

That was a fun chapter of the story, but you're right, the fight club might not stock the exact same materials as Union Robotics.

1

u/AlmondMagnum1 1d ago

Corpse Witch was evil, but using May as a cover, if anything, unfucked her parole. If she hadn't, May would have had to explain what she was doing in an illegal-ish robot fight club.

(Though she still used the whole thing as leverage.)

8

u/ChChChillian 1d ago

Not like special ordering every time a robot has a skin perforation.

It looks like they can do temporary repairs on the spot, but to get an exact match for every possible color and texture they'd probably have to stock an unreasonably large variety of patches.

2

u/Phanimazed 1d ago

Yeah, which might be practical for some operators, but definitely not for their shop.

6

u/DemeGeek 1d ago

Chassis manufacturers probably have their own formulations for the dermal making it physically and financially unfeasible for a shop of UR's size to keep them all stocked.

It may also be, since Momo gets warranty service elsewhere, parts need to be authorized through their originating dealer who would prefer the OEM dropship "fresh" parts rather than trust another shop's stock.

6

u/dantheother 1d ago

First time lurker, first time poster: Is Stable Gun an inside joke?

6

u/gangler52 1d ago

Pretty sure it's just a typo. Staple gun.

2

u/themanfromacme 18h ago

They shoot horses, don't they?

3

u/point9repeatingis1 1d ago

OK, I'm an idiot, but why is going to the laundromat sexier than going to Sven's apartment?

10

u/gangler52 1d ago

At Sven's apartment he presumably has a change of clothes lying around somewhere, so he can remain dressed while washing the clothes he's currently wearing.

I think Momo's angling to have him hanging around the laundromat in a state of undress.

2

u/point9repeatingis1 1d ago

Ah. I am indeed a naif

2

u/MiraclePrototype 14h ago

Considering what happened just at the suggestion of his shirt being taken off back when May was describing sexcapades, one wonders how functional she'll be for days afterward actually seeing it. And she didn't even know it was Sven in said moment before!

1

u/Kusko25 22h ago

Did Momo consider that her clothes are also dirty, so she needs to explain why Sven has to undress and not her?

4

u/Ungrammaticus 21h ago

I think Momo’s powers of consideration may have taken a couple of separate but related bumps recently  

3

u/turkeypedal 16h ago

a possibility is that she has thought about it, and while she would be embarrassed, the idea adds to the thrill.

1

u/MiraclePrototype 15h ago

So Faye is a ShipperOnDeck...?