And since he’s madly in love with Virginia, he truly is bewildered about how he should be feeling about being smooshed into the boobs of a different woman.
He was an adult human then, too. He was missing most of his biological body, but the thing that makes you a human is your human genome, and he never lost that.
He’s always been fully human, even when he was a cyborg. Just like how Unity has never been even a little human, even when inhabiting human corpses.
And before anyone misunderstands my intent here, humanity and personhood are different things – and humanity’s not all it’s cracked up to be. We assign a whole bunch of values to “humanity” that in reality aren’t at all related. Being human is simply a matter of having certain genetic coding. Everything else is negotiable.
The difference being that you are describing the human genotype, and I was referring to the human phenotype.
And yes, Unity is part human. She has a human brain (even though it’s cloned, it is still genetically human). She might be able to exist as a bottle of black goo, but the brain is still part of her, and alive, and without it, she wouldn’t be the same Unity.
Speaking as a guy of the male gender, it’s honestly not that complicated. What he SHOULD feel is whatever the hugger intended, likely platonic affection in this case. What he likely DOES feel (unless “liking girls” was an act all this time) is the rush of cortisol rapidly converting to dopamine that is the start of the male sexual response cycle.
Downregulating that shit so you don’t do something that you know will be received poorly is a big part of being a dude, just in general. It is not fun. But it’s honestly pretty typical. And it’s a big part of why a reluctant male protagonist staring down the barrel of a harem of available women can be taken seriously as a trope. It’s a slightly over-the-top exaggeration of standard operating procedure. However little sense it makes as a plot, the feels parse.
That’s not to say this is a universal male experience, just that it’s a surprisingly common male experience. If you have the self-esteem to try and get laid, you generally do try and get laid. If you DON’T have the self-esteem to try and get laid… this happens.
Unrequitted (as far as he can tell) crush on Ginny and (as far as he can tell) mixed signals from Nera? Oh, yeah, this is great. This is living. This is what life is all about. Hating yourself for having hormones that constantly scream at you to do the wrong thing.
What kind of mixed signals from Nera? She’s clearly enthusiastically greeting a friend, and I think that’s how Nick’s taking it. I think the bewildering part is just NOISE TOUCH AACK but social bonds good maybe? (which is roughly my reaction when my cousins greet me this way, no hormones involved)
By “mixed signals” I didn’t mean he thinks she wants him. I meant (back when I assumed they weren’t related) that he assumes she doesn’t want him, is just being friends, etc, but his hormones don’t know that. So said hormones are all “Boob smoosh? Sweet dude! I’ll start prepping the meat for sexytimes!” and he has to mentally berate himself for having unacceptable thoughts/desires/impulses.
You know. Standard guy stuff.
It’s either this or embrace the rape culture wholeheartedly. Beating yourself up is the lesser of two evils. It’s not pretty, but it’s a fact of life, and it’s why things like Tenchi Muyo parse as relatable.
Uninvited intimate physical contact is not necessarily “good”. I don’t get the impression that Nick is the touchy-feely type, and he probably finds it decidedly uncomfortable.
Extraverts really don’t understand introverts.
Depends on how long Nick has to adapt to his current body before running into the Baron. Right now he’s obviously overwhelmed, and might fail to react as expected.
Is it just me, or does Nick seem physically slighter in the past few strips than he did in the previous chapter?
I mean, weren’t people noting that his clone body seemed more robust — not necessarily taller, but with better muscle tone — than the avatars of his original body?
Well, his clone body might be bigger and more muscular than his original body, but he’s still obviously shorter and slighter than most other people, so I would say it’s all relative. Dr. Lee is probably more petite than average, so he doesn’t look so small compared to her. He did appear to be a bit taller than Marcie, who is obviously very petite.
Candace: Virginia seems to be around as tall as Unity in http://skin-horse.com/comic/being-tippi-recently/, which would make her taller than Nick even in flat heels. I don’t know how tall anyone here is actually supposed to be, though.
While polydactyly is not impossible, I suspect that it may be another coloring error. That is, I think some of the extra “fingers” are actually intended to be bunched-up fabric from Nick’s shirt (or cardigan, or whatever he’s wearing), and should have been colored the same dark gray as that fabric.
Well, let’s face it – Bubbles is more personable. Nick’s antisocial tendencies make him a bit difficult to warm up to. And she was lucky to end up in the Violet Bee drone – it is in many ways very well-made.
Eh, this strip and other sci-fi scenarios have a ridiculous divergence between phenotype and genotype, to the point where the phenotype of the sapient’s full body has almost no resemblence to the genotype. So saying that Nick is human because genes is to miss the point if 90% of what those genes code for is luncheon meet a thousand miles away from Nick. At some point, we have to admit that the body influences the mind, a point men only understand when they are horny and try to forget othertimes. So your definition of “human” is rather problematic, trying to pin it down to an arbitrary-but-precise chemical test rather than a socio-psychological profile, which is less precise but more accurate.
For instance, consider Narbonic and the hijinks with brain transplants and gender switches. Is Dave in Helen’s body still male if said body contains his actual brain? It might have XY, but the hormones, plumbing, and wiring will tell said brain that he is XX. Genetic tests can be precise, but utterly misleading, at least in this universe.
Basically, “human” is what most humans will perceive as such, after extended interaction. Which is why Osprey-nick is a person, but not human, both at a glance and in depth, while Unity is human until she talks or draws attention, and only 50-85% human afterwards, depending on how disturbing she is being that day.
I’d say rather that “human” is a social construct, defined by who’s acceptable to the people who have the authority and weaponry to enforce the standard. This is highlighted in an SF/F environment like this one, but even in our own world, we’ve had some unfortunate disagreements about who counts as human (and, e.g., warrants protection of law).
Also note that in our own history, the Royal Society For The Protection of Animals was founded *before* the corresponding Society For The Protection of Children.
Exploring the definition of “humanity,” (i.e. personhood, not biological Homo sapiens status) is underlying Skin Horse theme. What makes you “real” is not just sentience, but the perception of your “reality” by others. As a psychologist, Tip would note that children learn their sense of self in a social setting, and develop their identities by experiencing how they are treated by others. How others treat them is based on both the needs of these others and how others perceive them. Having avoided social contact, and then presenting himself as an Osprey helicopter (well-armed and untouchable, with strong sensory filters) he would have trouble incorporating “cute, huggable, and creating joy just by being alive” into his existing self-construct.
…and then, there’s that boob-smoosh.
We all seem to be forgetting that if Nick doesnt do something pretty soon Dr. Lee is going to start thinking she’s some kind of dead fish. I was brought up to be a nice guy and keep my hands to myself and ending up insulting several of the female race (and getting a reputation as gay) by trying to be “proper”
If a woman is “insulted” by your being proper, you wouldn’t have been happy with her anyway. Never feel bad about right behaviour just because someone thinks they deserve worse. If someone wants to be treated as anything less than a lady, that’s their problem.
I once held open a door for a nice older couple. Once they were inside the store, the husband asked his wife, “Why were we going in here again?” The reply: “I don’t know, that nice man was holding the door open for us.”
It’s my estimate that Nick is just shy of 30, and Jonah & Nera might not even be 21 yet.
But then what’s a few years? My oldest brother and his wife are 15 years apart. My other brother and his wife are 12 years apart. And before anyone thinks that’s creepy, both my brothers were in their 40s, and their brides were in their 30s when they got married.
And no, I’m not implying anything about Nick being attracted to Nera, so don’t anyone read anything into it.
Sure, Nick… “bewildering.”
Well, it’s very likely his first boob smoosh as an adult.
Well, as an adult human, that is.
And since he’s madly in love with Virginia, he truly is bewildered about how he should be feeling about being smooshed into the boobs of a different woman.
He was an adult human then, too. He was missing most of his biological body, but the thing that makes you a human is your human genome, and he never lost that.
He’s always been fully human, even when he was a cyborg. Just like how Unity has never been even a little human, even when inhabiting human corpses.
And before anyone misunderstands my intent here, humanity and personhood are different things – and humanity’s not all it’s cracked up to be. We assign a whole bunch of values to “humanity” that in reality aren’t at all related. Being human is simply a matter of having certain genetic coding. Everything else is negotiable.
The difference being that you are describing the human genotype, and I was referring to the human phenotype.
And yes, Unity is part human. She has a human brain (even though it’s cloned, it is still genetically human). She might be able to exist as a bottle of black goo, but the brain is still part of her, and alive, and without it, she wouldn’t be the same Unity.
Funnily enough, isn’t her brain a clone of YOURS (your avatar’s)?
Don’t know how I missed your comment back in February, but yes, that is correct.
He was lacking any sensory apparatus then to even know he was getting boob smooshed.
Speaking as a guy of the male gender, it’s honestly not that complicated. What he SHOULD feel is whatever the hugger intended, likely platonic affection in this case. What he likely DOES feel (unless “liking girls” was an act all this time) is the rush of cortisol rapidly converting to dopamine that is the start of the male sexual response cycle.
Downregulating that shit so you don’t do something that you know will be received poorly is a big part of being a dude, just in general. It is not fun. But it’s honestly pretty typical. And it’s a big part of why a reluctant male protagonist staring down the barrel of a harem of available women can be taken seriously as a trope. It’s a slightly over-the-top exaggeration of standard operating procedure. However little sense it makes as a plot, the feels parse.
That’s not to say this is a universal male experience, just that it’s a surprisingly common male experience. If you have the self-esteem to try and get laid, you generally do try and get laid. If you DON’T have the self-esteem to try and get laid… this happens.
I’m glad Nick is being shown the good side of being human. ^_^
Unrequitted (as far as he can tell) crush on Ginny and (as far as he can tell) mixed signals from Nera? Oh, yeah, this is great. This is living. This is what life is all about. Hating yourself for having hormones that constantly scream at you to do the wrong thing.
What kind of mixed signals from Nera? She’s clearly enthusiastically greeting a friend, and I think that’s how Nick’s taking it. I think the bewildering part is just NOISE TOUCH AACK but social bonds good maybe? (which is roughly my reaction when my cousins greet me this way, no hormones involved)
Nera and Nick are cousins? Interesting. I didn’t know that. Yeah, that changes things.
By “mixed signals” I didn’t mean he thinks she wants him. I meant (back when I assumed they weren’t related) that he assumes she doesn’t want him, is just being friends, etc, but his hormones don’t know that. So said hormones are all “Boob smoosh? Sweet dude! I’ll start prepping the meat for sexytimes!” and he has to mentally berate himself for having unacceptable thoughts/desires/impulses.
You know. Standard guy stuff.
It’s either this or embrace the rape culture wholeheartedly. Beating yourself up is the lesser of two evils. It’s not pretty, but it’s a fact of life, and it’s why things like Tenchi Muyo parse as relatable.
Uninvited intimate physical contact is not necessarily “good”. I don’t get the impression that Nick is the touchy-feely type, and he probably finds it decidedly uncomfortable.
Extraverts really don’t understand introverts.
I wondered where those two had wandered off to.
Which two? Oh THOSE two.
I figured they had holed up somewhere to binge watch “Russian Doll”.
Can he just opt out of looking at the futures in which somebody mentions spoilers, or…?
I hope Baron Mistycorn doesn’t react this way.
I hope he does. It would be fun to see how far Nick could drop-kick him.
Depends on how long Nick has to adapt to his current body before running into the Baron. Right now he’s obviously overwhelmed, and might fail to react as expected.
Nick, someone’s eagerly showing how happy they are to see you.
Time to run away.
Is it just me, or does Nick seem physically slighter in the past few strips than he did in the previous chapter?
I mean, weren’t people noting that his clone body seemed more robust — not necessarily taller, but with better muscle tone — than the avatars of his original body?
I tried to tell people that his looking more muscular was just an optical illusion, but no one ever listens to me.
Well, his clone body might be bigger and more muscular than his original body, but he’s still obviously shorter and slighter than most other people, so I would say it’s all relative. Dr. Lee is probably more petite than average, so he doesn’t look so small compared to her. He did appear to be a bit taller than Marcie, who is obviously very petite.
Candace: Virginia seems to be around as tall as Unity in http://skin-horse.com/comic/being-tippi-recently/, which would make her taller than Nick even in flat heels. I don’t know how tall anyone here is actually supposed to be, though.
How many fingers does she have in the second panel?
While polydactyly is not impossible, I suspect that it may be another coloring error. That is, I think some of the extra “fingers” are actually intended to be bunched-up fabric from Nick’s shirt (or cardigan, or whatever he’s wearing), and should have been colored the same dark gray as that fabric.
I hate it when someone beats me to a comment by just a few seconds.
Or she’s simply moving her hand up and down very fast, and the background is too dark for “movels”.
Um… a lot. If she were a cat, the term for that is “polydactyl”. Like Queen Elena’s cats they rescued down in Florida.
you’ve been mentally unwrapping the packages again, haven’t you? Maybe it’s
time for another road trip….(*remember?)
The term is “polydactyl” even if when the condition occurs in an animal that is not a cat (the term is not limited to one species, or even one genus).
Applies to humans, too. According to the Wikipedia entry (but lacking a citation) Drew Carey has six toes on his right foot.
His people face is okay. I prefer Bubbles’, but I’m a sucker for evolving AI resident in a humanoid drone.
Well, let’s face it – Bubbles is more personable. Nick’s antisocial tendencies make him a bit difficult to warm up to. And she was lucky to end up in the Violet Bee drone – it is in many ways very well-made.
Eh, this strip and other sci-fi scenarios have a ridiculous divergence between phenotype and genotype, to the point where the phenotype of the sapient’s full body has almost no resemblence to the genotype. So saying that Nick is human because genes is to miss the point if 90% of what those genes code for is luncheon meet a thousand miles away from Nick. At some point, we have to admit that the body influences the mind, a point men only understand when they are horny and try to forget othertimes. So your definition of “human” is rather problematic, trying to pin it down to an arbitrary-but-precise chemical test rather than a socio-psychological profile, which is less precise but more accurate.
For instance, consider Narbonic and the hijinks with brain transplants and gender switches. Is Dave in Helen’s body still male if said body contains his actual brain? It might have XY, but the hormones, plumbing, and wiring will tell said brain that he is XX. Genetic tests can be precise, but utterly misleading, at least in this universe.
Basically, “human” is what most humans will perceive as such, after extended interaction. Which is why Osprey-nick is a person, but not human, both at a glance and in depth, while Unity is human until she talks or draws attention, and only 50-85% human afterwards, depending on how disturbing she is being that day.
I’d say rather that “human” is a social construct, defined by who’s acceptable to the people who have the authority and weaponry to enforce the standard. This is highlighted in an SF/F environment like this one, but even in our own world, we’ve had some unfortunate disagreements about who counts as human (and, e.g., warrants protection of law).
Also note that in our own history, the Royal Society For The Protection of Animals was founded *before* the corresponding Society For The Protection of Children.
Ah luvs me some comments.
woah. déjà vu.
http://narbonic.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2005/07/050705.jpg
Exploring the definition of “humanity,” (i.e. personhood, not biological Homo sapiens status) is underlying Skin Horse theme. What makes you “real” is not just sentience, but the perception of your “reality” by others. As a psychologist, Tip would note that children learn their sense of self in a social setting, and develop their identities by experiencing how they are treated by others. How others treat them is based on both the needs of these others and how others perceive them. Having avoided social contact, and then presenting himself as an Osprey helicopter (well-armed and untouchable, with strong sensory filters) he would have trouble incorporating “cute, huggable, and creating joy just by being alive” into his existing self-construct.
…and then, there’s that boob-smoosh.
We all seem to be forgetting that if Nick doesnt do something pretty soon Dr. Lee is going to start thinking she’s some kind of dead fish. I was brought up to be a nice guy and keep my hands to myself and ending up insulting several of the female race (and getting a reputation as gay) by trying to be “proper”
If a woman is “insulted” by your being proper, you wouldn’t have been happy with her anyway. Never feel bad about right behaviour just because someone thinks they deserve worse. If someone wants to be treated as anything less than a lady, that’s their problem.
I had that problem once holding a door open for a feminist.
I once held open a door for a nice older couple. Once they were inside the store, the husband asked his wife, “Why were we going in here again?” The reply: “I don’t know, that nice man was holding the door open for us.”
Nick, ignore the bewilderment for five minutes, and just enjoy the moment and commit it to memory. Trust me on this.
You know, she might actually be his age
I think Nick’s older; Jonah and Nera were still in school when Nick lived alone in a crappy apartment and had nobody to miss him.
It’s my estimate that Nick is just shy of 30, and Jonah & Nera might not even be 21 yet.
But then what’s a few years? My oldest brother and his wife are 15 years apart. My other brother and his wife are 12 years apart. And before anyone thinks that’s creepy, both my brothers were in their 40s, and their brides were in their 30s when they got married.
And no, I’m not implying anything about Nick being attracted to Nera, so don’t anyone read anything into it.
In their last appearance Jonah said he was old enough to buy booze, so he’s right around 21. I think Nera is six months older than him.
I’d put Nick right around 30 as well.
I know Nick is kind of short, and his posture makes him shorter, but I never realized just how tall Vera is.