Questionable Content XIX: Give Jeph Just A *Little* Credit, Here

[Ionathus]

Is anyone else confused about how we're supposed to view what's-her-name? Is she a toddler who needs to be adopted by a 32-year-old, or an adult who can drink alcohol and be drawn pantsless without the FBI knockin' on Jeph's door? I'm getting mixed signals here. Bypassing all the weird directions that conversation could go, I'm just not sure what sort of character she's supposed to be, other than "funnyface derp derp derp gremlin".

She exists in a quantum state, simultaneously both childlike & needing protection and a fully-grown adult with relatable job problems, depending on the story he wants to tell.

Just like how almost all QC's AI have slowly morphed from entertaining and interesting "goofy little chaos bastard"-style AnthroPCs into pastel humans who are simultaneously oppressed daily & denied basic civil rights, but also qUiRKy weirdos with a near-suicidal lack of common sense who basically have to be babysat by the humans.

Jeph isn't interested in consistency, he just wants to tell the stories that interest him. That means sometimes the AI stuff is treated seriously and sometimes it's played extremely opposite for laughs. And I don't even necessarily begrudge him that: you've gotta write what you care about or you'll burn out fast. But it does make reading the comic confusing and makes it hard to maintain immersion if you're the kind of reader (I know I am) who needs consistent characterization.