Skin Horse

By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
By Shaenon K. Garrity & Jeffrey C. Wells
Color by Pancha Diaz
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2017-11-04
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2017-11-04

by shaenon on November 4, 2017 at 12:01 am
Chapter: Unsinkable
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Discussion (49) ¬

  1. awgiedawgie
    November 4, 2017, 5:31 am | # | Reply

    So everyone gets a complimentary parka. Except, of course, for Miss Factory-Installed Parka.

  2. Suzanne Barnes
    November 4, 2017, 5:37 am | # | Reply

    “NOT.” Oh my freaking gods! I was *wondering* when the sixth word was going to make an appearance! **dies of laughter** You go, Bubbles! –excuse me, Captain Waters!

    • Suzanne Barnes
      November 4, 2017, 5:41 am | # | Reply

      …..gotta say, though, I’ll remember Sweetheart’s response. My dad, who worked both as a government employee and as a random Jazz musician at varying (and occasionally simultaneous) times throughout his life, would be hugely amused.

    • awgiedawgie
      November 4, 2017, 6:36 am | # | Reply

      “Not” actually made its appearance quite some time ago. As did the seventh word, “destroy”.

      • Daibhid C
        November 4, 2017, 7:49 am | # | Reply

        I think Suzanne knows that – “the” sixth word, not “a” sixth word – but this is the first time she’s used it in this storyline. And it’s a perfect use – using her sixth word to negate the claim she only knows five words.

        • awgiedawgie
          November 4, 2017, 12:00 pm | # | Reply

          Could be. I admit I was pretty tired when I wrote that, so I may have misread her.

          • theysabet
            November 4, 2017, 4:11 pm | #

            Actually yes, you did misread me; I was aware, and waiting for the sixth or seventh to show up. Better the sixth than the seventh, I suppose, considering Bubbles’ current level of payback if she gets piqued.

      • Candace
        November 5, 2017, 1:17 am | # | Reply

        Oh, I forgot she had also learned “destroy.” I suppose she probably uses that one very sparingly.

        • Dark
          November 5, 2017, 12:18 pm | # | Reply

          When did that one happen?

          • awgiedawgie
            November 5, 2017, 1:10 pm | #

            At the Jersey safehouse.

            http://skin-horse.com/comic/swiveled-in/

  3. Frank
    November 4, 2017, 6:01 am | # | Reply

    I just had a terrifying thought: Where’s Bubbles’s brain?

    • awgiedawgie
      November 4, 2017, 6:40 am | # | Reply

      As an AI, she doesn’t actually have a brain. But whatever she does have was installed into the drone’s body by Dr. Lee.

    • awgiedawgie
      November 4, 2017, 6:44 am | # | Reply

      Bugger. The comments keep discarding the link. One more try.

      http://skin-horse.com/comic/tracking-enemy/

      • matt w
        November 4, 2017, 8:20 am | # | Reply

        So… I guess someone must have told Nick about it eventually.
        http://skin-horse.com/comic/soldiers-and-stuff/

        (That’s probably explicitly in the canon somewhere.)

        • Foradain
          November 4, 2017, 9:33 pm | # | Reply

          If so, I missed it, and I was watching for it, as I mentioned http://skin-horse.com/comic/soldiers-and-stuff/

        • awgiedawgie
          November 4, 2017, 10:22 pm | # | Reply

          So, I went back through and checked. Even checked Nick’s blog just in case. But I didn’t find any mention of anyone telling him about Bubbles. He did hear her on the intercom at Annex One once, but he wasn’t there when Sweetheart suggested that Bubbles loan her the drone for the undercover mission at the Institute. And Bubbles was back at the safehouse when Nick picked up Dr. Lee and Shelby and Moustachio and Hitty on the Jersey Devil op. So this is indeed the first confirmed meeting between them.

          Of course, Nick’s got sensors up the posthole, so I have no doubt he already figured it out, even if no one did tell him.

  4. DDDragoni
    November 4, 2017, 6:23 am | # | Reply

    I love how much Bubbles can get across with her limited vocab.

    • awgiedawgie
      November 4, 2017, 11:46 am | # | Reply

      I love that Unity – of all people – can understand what Bubbles means when she talks.

      http://skin-horse.com/comic/stuff/

  5. awgiedawgie
    November 4, 2017, 6:48 am | # | Reply

    I love how, even though she’s the ship’s Captain, she still has the mind of a water cooler, so she’s the one pouring the champagne.

    • 5-tons-of-flax
      November 4, 2017, 8:13 am | # | Reply

      Wine service is her only joy.

  6. Hoodiecrow
    November 4, 2017, 8:16 am | # | Reply

    Let’s use it as a writing challenge. She’s an appliance, her vocabulary is limited to 5 (6, 7) words, make her an interesting and lovable character with a distinct personality and memorable interactions, GO!

    When they say it can’t be done, just point them to SH.

    Come to think of it, “visit Skin Horse” could be the answer to most assertions that some kind of comic writing can’t be done.

    • thejoemoose
      November 4, 2017, 10:05 am | # | Reply

      Y’know, that could be a very good Nanowrimo Dare.

      I accept!

    • Daniel Barkalow
      November 5, 2017, 1:09 am | # | Reply

      First, say: ‘”Impossible”? There’s an imagination-sucking parasite on your head and it’s starving!’

      Then point them to the rest of SH.

  7. Hoodiecrow
    November 4, 2017, 8:28 am | # | Reply

    Also, I like how two of my favorite web comic characters from two of my favorite web comics are called Bubbles and are artificial beings that are very human in a good sense. Still, Bubbles from Questionable Content is cool, but this Bubbles is cooler.

    • Konrad
      November 4, 2017, 9:42 am | # | Reply

      Not just cooler, but water cooler.

    • Marisa Mockery
      November 4, 2017, 2:23 pm | # | Reply

      I wish they could meet. I bet Bubbles would LOVE access to a robotic community.

      • Marisa Mockery
        November 4, 2017, 2:24 pm | # | Reply

        Er, SH Bubbles.

  8. Robert Nowall
    November 4, 2017, 10:01 am | # | Reply

    It’s “Ms.” Waters? So what happened in her relationship with Killbot Number Two?

    • Smurfton
      November 4, 2017, 2:54 pm | # | Reply

      Ms. doesn’t mean she’s not married, you’re thinking of Miss.

      • Robert Nowall
        November 4, 2017, 5:30 pm | # | Reply

        With all Bubbles’s talk about “service” and “joy,” I kinda figured she would be Mrs. Two—that is, if they got married. What went on while she was offstage?

  9. darwinskeeper
    November 4, 2017, 11:02 am | # | Reply

    Shaenon and or Jeff,

    Was Ms. Waters’ speech habits inspired by “I am Groot”? I am aware that she has been doing this before the first Guardians movie came out, but I wonder if you got it from the comics. If not Groot, where did the idea come from?

    • Jeffrey C. Wells
      November 4, 2017, 9:33 pm | # | Reply

      Yeah, it well predates Groot’s entry onto the pop culture stage. It’s a classic gag that I’ve just always found funny. I may have first completely internalized it in my youth with the Librarian from the Discworld series.

      • Pooga
        November 5, 2017, 1:31 am | # | Reply

        Ook.

  10. Jon
    November 4, 2017, 11:41 am | # | Reply

    Geez, Sweetheart. Take the cattiness down a notch.

    • M. Alan Thomas II
      November 4, 2017, 2:32 pm | # | Reply

      Yeah, you’re a dog.

    • Bruce A Munro
      November 4, 2017, 6:08 pm | # | Reply

      She’s a romantic rival, even if Sweetheart won’t consciously admit it to herself.

      (But what of Killbot? Well, she wasn’t along on that trip, so she might not know that Bubbles is (possibly) spoken for).

      • awgiedawgie
        November 4, 2017, 10:32 pm | # | Reply

        But is she a romantic rival? Sweetheart knows that Bubbles dumped Unity, so I don’t think there’s any jealousy (but admittedly, I don’t understand women). Or is Sweetheart a little bitter because Bubbles hurt Unity’s feelings when they broke up?

        That seems to be more what Sweetheart won’t admit. She’s always been protective of her, and she doesn’t seem to take too kindly when anyone does something that hurts — or even could hurt — Unity.

    • Candace
      November 5, 2017, 1:41 am | # | Reply

      Sweetheart’s always been like this. It’s how she covers her underlying insecurities. She’s also always been very officious – I’m sure the mere thought of possible financial impropriety would set her on a witch hunt. When Tip defused the situation by getting Bubbles to confirm that she used her own money to purchase the ship, Sweetheart got defensive because she realized she had just embarrassed herself by implying impropriety where there was none.

      I suspect Sweetheart probably suffers to some extent from imposter syndrome. She totally freaked out when Gavotte put her in charge of the team way back when. Then, ultimately, with Gavotte’s apparent demise, and Sweetheart as the heir apparent, she found herself in charge of a lot more than just one team. This would be a natural outgrowth of her innate tendency toward insecurity.

      No doubt there was also some jealousy involved, since she knew Bubbles and Unity had dated for a little bit.

      • Candace
        November 5, 2017, 1:45 am | # | Reply

        Oops, I thought Tip was the one who mentioned the stock payouts, but it appears to have been Shelby. In any case, it was an obvious attempt to deflect Sweetheart before she could dig the hole for herself any deeper, and make the situation even more awkward that it already was.

  11. s854
    November 4, 2017, 2:20 pm | # | Reply

    Am I right in thinking that charities don’t actually make stock payouts? Perhaps Shelby meant something else.

    • Marisa Mockery
      November 4, 2017, 2:25 pm | # | Reply

      She was filthy rich beforehand, remember?

    • awgiedawgie
      November 4, 2017, 8:33 pm | # | Reply

      Right. I don’t think either the charities or Skin Horse (since AFAIK she does still work for SH — she just got transferred to the safehouse) have stock options. But she would have been wise to invest a healthy chunk of her winnings from Atlantic City, so I just assumed that was what Shelby was referring to.

  12. BrokenEye, the True False Prophet
    November 4, 2017, 4:55 pm | # | Reply

    Sick burn, Bubs

    • skyblueelite
      November 4, 2017, 8:30 pm | # | Reply

      The irony of a water cooler delivering a sick burn.

    • jdreyfuss
      January 30, 2020, 5:15 pm | # | Reply

      Scalding, if you will.

  13. Robert Nowall
    November 4, 2017, 11:49 pm | # | Reply

    *And* she’s drinking champagne. Can the drone handle it?

    • awgiedawgie
      November 5, 2017, 12:30 am | # | Reply

      Champagne? Sure. She (before she was Bubbles) was drinking wine at the Machine Union negotiations and in St. Charlie. Plus Bubbles had all those coffee dates with Unity. I know of at least once where we saw her with a cup in her hand.

      Nick found out the hard way that the drone can’t handle food so well.

  14. jdreyfuss
    January 30, 2020, 5:15 pm | # | Reply

    Heh, Bubbles is serving bubbly.

  15. Knuckles
    February 4, 2022, 1:33 pm | # | Reply

    Yeah that’s my reason too.

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