THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: Zebediah on 11 Mar 2018, 14:54
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We've been seeing a lot of robot hijinks lately. So who's your favorite among the very diverse AI crowd in QC?
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May; she's growing on me, that's all I can say. Yeah, she's crude, loud and tactless but there is depth to her and I can't help but wonder if there are secrets untold about her pre-first appearance life.
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Bubbles. I find the combo of her being a TANK yet having such a soft squishy center very charming....
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Spookybot for me, just the right mix of eldritch abomination and trickster god.
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This wasn't so easy, as I don't really have a stand-out favourite. Decided to vote alongside BenRG for May (flaws on display, hides her best instincts), marginally over Bubbles (best instincts on display, hides her insecurities). Bottom of the list is Spookybot (their ideas of morality interesting, but it's hard in general, I think, to have interesting stories featuring omnipotent characters - YMMV).
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Will this be "Officer Basilisk: Trials of Love"?
Cause I am so down.
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New comic.
This ship needs torpedoed before :claireface: sees it.
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The Clin-ton seems to have a predilection for finding
the most interesting unique people to bump into as possible love interests.
Now all I'm getting is a flashback to a cyber-hand going into autonomous mode and doing things that get Clin-ton slapped ... or was it tasered?
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No votes for the original to the comic yet. Are we following the motto that "New is Always Better"?
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Clinton.
Clinton, run.
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Ha ha, yes. Those short people. They sure are comically undesirable. That joke never gets old!
It's funny, I'd imagine that if Jeph had written "YOU'RE LATE! ALSO FATTER THAN I'D LIKE!" everyone would be up in arms, despite the fact that an individual can change their weight but can't really change their height.
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So is "Clinton helps out wacky troubled females near bars" a running theme now?
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Oh dear. This is likely to turn out to be quite the storyline, full of trouble, strange romance and sisterly shipping. I'll get an extra large tub of popcorn for this one.
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I didn’t mention it before in order to avoid the anti-shipping rule, but: I totally saw this coming. Because Clinton is the other character who’s been looking for love in all the wrong places.
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Will this be "Officer Basilisk: Trials of Love"?
Cause I am so down.
Actually, since she works for the Mass State Police, it's Trooper Basilisk. But I very much agree, they'll make a most, ah, interesting pair. (I still hope Mrs. Punchbot turns out to be a high level human academic.)
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Roko hit the face planted against the concrete. Clinton may be escorting her to Union Robotics next.
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And then we get all the hot and sweaty human-robo sexings.
At which point, Roko wakes up from having concussed herself on the pavement. There’s your week long story. It was all a dream.
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Whu buh muh nooooooooooo.
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I REALLY can't see this ending well :-D :laugh: :lol:
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I REALLY can't see this ending well :-D :laugh: :lol:
I can see it going well enough until Clinton takes her to meet his friends. Then Roko will probably start beating her head against the nearest wall.
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Well, this ought to be fun.
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But I'm busy shipping Clinton and Elliot! :psyduck:
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Here we have episode 1, scene 1 of Clinton's new tale: "How I Met Your Robo-Mother".
Seriously, though, it seems to be Clinton's luck through-and-through to end up in the position of having to act the white knight to yet another troubled and pretty woman with whom he probably would be better advised not to want a relationship. I've got a horrible feeling that Jeph is going to enjoy having weeks and weeks worth of strips where Clinton has to puzzle through Roko's mixed messages, possibly whilst she is dating someone else.
As for this week, I'm expecting Clinton to be a gentleman and help Roko get home. As her coordination is all shot, he has to plug her into her charger and, unfortunately, she grabs hold of him for balance (whilst lying down - her balance is that shot thanks to the electro-booze) and slips into 'sleep' mode with Clinton still held in a death-grip. With her short-term memory also shot, this leads to some comedic misunderstanding next morning. Clinton is, again, going to be accused of taking advantage, this time with this clear implication that the alleged victim is sort of disappointed when she realises that he didn't take advantage.
Long-term, I'm expecting Clinton and Roko to become 'heterosexual platonic best buddies' - A man and a woman who hang out together and have a sometimes-salty and sometimes-emotionally intimate friendship but who are always skirting around going the next step to the point of dating other people (and being sure that the other's Significant Other is 'not good enough for them'). In other words, as I indicated with my opening remarks, this is going to turn into a long, drawn-out romantic comedy.
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No votes for the original to the comic yet. Are we following the motto that "New is Always Better"?
No. Bubbles, Momo and May are the front runners right now, and Bubbles is the newest of those with only some 3 years since her introduction (#3003 in 2015). Even May has been around for 5 years (#2491 in 2013). Pintsize on the other hand was always a way of bringing comic relief into the story but with an expanded cast there is so much story to tell that his comic relief has become the only thing we see of him whereas almost all other AIs have had storylines where their respective characters are explored giving us insight into their lives. We haven't seen anything like that with Pintsize. Ever.
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It's kind of sad, though, that even Spaceship gets more votes than Pintsize.
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Poor Pintsize, seems seniority means nothing. He has even tried moving on from his one-trick pony shenanigans, but to no avail.
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So... How would I like to see this week go? Well, something like this (https://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,30674.msg1400966.html#msg1400966)!
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Uhm hum.... considering today's strip... If this was an Anime this'd make me suspect there's a harem upcoming. Now this is QC, so I doubt Jeph would go that way. All the same though, Clinton really fits the mold of harem protagonist.
Whaddya think people?
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You have to admit Roko-Clinton is far far better than Pintsize-Roko
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Isn't it a firing infraction for most law enforcement agencies for officers to go out drinking (and getting drunk) while still wearing their uniforms?
(Like, I get in a Doylist way that we need to see that Roko is with her friend from work, and that they're both cops, but what's the Watsonian explanation for how this is even remotely permitted?)
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Clintoko? :-\
Now there's a ship I would never expect to set sail...
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Isn't it a firing infraction for most law enforcement agencies for officers to go out drinking (and getting drunk) while still wearing their uniforms?
O'Malley and Roko aren't wearing their badges. They're in partial uniform but could argued to not be on duty as they don't have their badges or weapons. It's the way actors and actresses get around it - So long as they're not wearing a badge off-set or off-lot, then they're not 'impersonating a police officer'.
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You have to admit Roko-Clinton is far far better than Pintsize-Roko
Anything is far far better than Pintsize-anyone (except maybe Pintsize-Tugboat; the little guy deserves a chance to be happy).
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Favorite robot: Bubbles. All the others are smaller than humans, mostly literally so. They are charmingly comic figures in the way that dogs seem charmingly comic when you only see them trying to fit in with humans. Bubbles is larger than life and only occasionally comic.
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I have no idea how this encounter will bounce, but I am getting to seriously like Clinton. He is a dweeb from dweebsville, but he always tries to help, first his sister, then Brun, and now the officer. There is a scene in Don Quixote where they try to shake him out of his delusion by having a young guy dress up as a knight too and try to defeat him in battle, not realizing that though the Don is really terrible, he has been really terrible for a long time now. The Don kicks the kid's ass. Clinton is kind of shaping up like that: not at all qualified to be the guy who helps, but willing, and getting experienced. That's a good way to be. Not as good as being qualified, but you work with what you got.
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Ha ha, yes. Those short people. They sure are comically undesirable. That joke never gets old!
It's funny, I'd imagine that if Jeph had written "YOU'RE LATE! ALSO FATTER THAN I'D LIKE!" everyone would be up in arms, despite the fact that an individual can change their weight but can't really change their height.
That, too, would have been a "Roko has absurd prejudices" joke. Absurdity is funny, prejudice is not.
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I occasionally process the things I read in an unusual order, and it happened with this strip. Instead of equating Clinton with the "handsome stranger" Roko predicted would catch her, I saw Clinton (a) calling Roku "ma'am," (b) being told he was late by Roku, and (c) wearing clothing similar in colouration and style to Roku's uniform, and immediately jumped to the conclusion that Clinton had somehow joined the police force since we saw him last.
I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we saw Clinton in an unexpected situation (http://"http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2931"); I was starting to suspect we were getting another "how did Clinton get here?" flashback story before I finally fully processed the strip and realized my mistake.
The unfortunate thing is that, no matter where Jeph goes with the story now, I don't know if it can compete with the crazy ride I thought we were in for for a moment there.
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I occasionally process the things I read in an unusual order, and it happened with this strip. Instead of equating Clinton with the "handsome stranger" Roko predicted would catch her, I saw Clinton (a) calling Roku "ma'am," (b) being told he was late by Roku, and (c) wearing clothing similar in colouration and style to Roku's uniform, and immediately jumped to the conclusion that Clinton had somehow joined the police force since we saw him last.
I mean, it wouldn't be the first time we saw Clinton in an unexpected situation (http://"http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2931"); I was starting to suspect we were getting another "how did Clinton get here?" flashback story before I finally fully processed the strip and realized my mistake.
The unfortunate thing is that, no matter where Jeph goes with the story now, I don't know if it can compete with the crazy ride I thought we were in for for a moment there.
Me too, I think it's cause his clothes are quite dark but I was also thinking "Huh, Clinton's a cop now?" and had to double check.
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C'mon shippers, y'all know Clinton is getting none of that; he never does, and likely never will. There'll just be the usual wacky hijinks, involving Clinton maybe getting close, but then circumstances or his own dweebness will torpedo his chances and he'll end up home alone as usual.
Clinton's going to be one of those people who watches others hook up while he simply can't. And will never be able to figure out why.
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C'mon shippers, y'all know Clinton is getting none of that; he never does, and likely never will.
I don't know about that. Karma is a silly idea, except in personal relations. If you are a right guy long enough, it begins to show on you, and if someone looking for a right guy happens along, they pick up on it. There is no guarantee that someone will come along who wants a right guy bad enough to overlook dweebishness, and if they do, it isn't really karma, but if they do, there you are getting some.
The first rule of helping is that you can't do it with the intent of getting some, though, so it is unlikely that anything will happen here. I don't think the officer has herself anywhere near organized enough to initiate anything. She seems to be somewhere in the early stages of unfocused polymorphous perversity.
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C'mon shippers, y'all know Clinton is getting none of that; he never does, and likely never will. There'll just be the usual wacky hijinks, involving Clinton maybe getting close, but then circumstances or his own dweebness will torpedo his chances and he'll end up home alone as usual.
Clinton's going to be one of those people who watches others hook up while he simply can't. And will never be able to figure out why.
The thing about that is the simple fact it will stop being funny after a while. Its the sign of a lazy storyteller who just tells the same "joke" over and over again, and for all Jeph's faults, he isn't a lazy storyteller.
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So is "Clinton helps out wacky troubled females near bars" a running theme now?
NO - I am pretty sure he was at a brisk walk at most though more likely at a leisurely stroll.
Just had a brain blast - now I am not sure if anyone has mentioned it before as yet - I remember that there was an action movie pop icon playing the part of a police officer that ended up knitting as a stress releiver - rats were involved in the story at some point but no trash pandas as far as I can recall.
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Will this be "Officer Basilisk: Trials of Love"?
Cause I am so down.
Actually, since she works for the Mass State Police, it's Trooper Basilisk. But I very much agree, they'll make a most, ah, interesting pair. (I still hope Mrs. Punchbot turns out to be a high level human academic.)
Interesting. That's one way to put it.
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Just had a brain blast - now I am not sure if anyone has mentioned it before as yet - I remember that there was an action movie pop icon playing the part of a police officer that ended up knitting as a stress releiver - rats were involved in the story at some point but no trash pandas as far as I can recall.
You're thinking of Demolition Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_Man_(film)). Sylvester Stallone's character had been subliminally programmed to knit as a 'peaceful release of violent impulses' whilst in a cryogenic suspension pod. Other features of the film world were non-contact sex through brain-to-brain wireless networking (which is something I could see happening in QC), printers everywhere spitting out fines for public cussing and toilets that need a BSc in electronics to figure out how they work.
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Isn't it a firing infraction for most law enforcement agencies for officers to go out drinking (and getting drunk) while still wearing their uniforms?
O'Malley and Roko aren't wearing their badges. They're in partial uniform but could argued to not be on duty as they don't have their badges or weapons. It's the way actors and actresses get around it - So long as they're not wearing a badge off-set or off-lot, then they're not 'impersonating a police officer'.
I am far from an expert, but if it's against the rules to drink in uniform, then I very seriously doubt that you could get around it this way.
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That's the point: Without the badges, they're not in uniform. The uniform includes the badge; without it, you're just wearing blue clothing.
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Do you know whether police are allowed to drink in partial uniform?
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I see Roko and Clinton tacitly agreeing to forget it happened, and denying any romantic attraction but none the less striking up a friendship centering on their mutual interest in 'droid/cyborg technology. At some point a blunt, somewhat clinical discussion of AI sexuality ensues and Roko says something like, "Of course, since robot "sex' is accomplished via data transfer, it wouldn't be impossible to involve a human, but it would require his neuromuscular system be fitted with a compatible interface devic..." tapering off as both their eyes land on Clinton's right hand.
Android versus human blushing contest ensues.
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Do you know whether police are allowed to drink in partial uniform?
I looked it up. It seems that the State Police have a regulation against drinking on duty (which makes sense), but I saw no rule about drinking in uniform while off-duty.
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Just had a brain blast - now I am not sure if anyone has mentioned it before as yet - I remember that there was an action movie pop icon playing the part of a police officer that ended up knitting as a stress releiver - rats were involved in the story at some point but no trash pandas as far as I can recall.
You're thinking of Demolition Man (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_Man_(film)). Sylvester Stallone's character had been subliminally programmed to knit as a 'peaceful release of violent impulses' whilst in a cryogenic suspension pod. Other features of the film world were non-contact sex through brain-to-brain wireless networking (which is something I could see happening in QC), printers everywhere spitting out fines for public cussing and toilets that need a BSc in electronics to figure out how they work.
The film in question is Demolition Man, but the "cop knitting" thing goes at least back to Monty Python: https://youtu.be/hcCuBWXd-hc?t=252
EDIT: The "rat thing" is that Stallone's character had some rat burgers when they got in touch with the (literal) underground resistance, and found them delicious.
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Do you know whether police are allowed to drink in partial uniform?
I looked it up. It seems that the State Police have a regulation against drinking on duty (which makes sense), but I saw no rule about drinking in uniform while off-duty.
That settles that, then! Good. :police:
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Partying with your mates is how you build esprit de corps. It's a key element in Silent Möbius, and the reason my SM based character has 'carousing'.
As for 'getting crunked', see Martian packet, Christmas-tree packet.
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Comic!
Gods... Clinton and Rocko combined is like a black hole of awkwardness. Panache is drawn into their orbit, cannot escape and is utterly obliterated.
That they both have really good intentions most of the time just makes them more tragic.
Loving this arc!
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You know, I'm starting to wonder about the bars that AI visit.
Do they go to specialised bars, catering to their tastes? Or do they go to already established bars that have adapted to the new potential clientele?
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Good lord I just cycled back a few strips and their beers were just USB drives am I the only one that didn't notice that
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Good lord I just cycled back a few strips and their beers were just USB drives am I the only one that didn't notice that
Okay, has anyone noticed that they aren’t drinking from glasses, those are USB ports.
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I've been a fool
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That was awkward. ;)
Comic!
Gods... Clinton and Rocko combined is like a black hole of awkwardness. Panache is drawn into their orbit, cannot escape and is utterly obliterated.
That they both have really good intentions most of the time just makes them more tragic.
Loving this arc!
Don't even need software for awkwardness. 100% natural product. :mrgreen:
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Roko is like the AI equivalent of Cosette.
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I can't help thinking that the friends that Clinton mentions are Claire/Marten/Faye and he's on his way over to their place. And that somehow Roko will end up coming along too with very entertaining results.
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And Clint continues rescuing the ladies.
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Tripping twice within 20 seconds? What's in this "booze software"??
And is there any way of downloading it? :-P
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I just want to say, if you're embarassed about how drunk you are?
The worst possible thing you can do is 'be on duty'. That's the difference between being awkward and being fired, Roko.
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Purely IMO, I think that we're getting an insight into Roko's personality here. She has her weaknesses and troubles (loneliness being one of the most significant) and, I think, is rather defensive about having any at all. That's what today's all about by the way: "I'm not vulnerable! I'm tough! I'm in charge! GRRR!" It sort of makes sense of her every appearance when I think about it.
So, was the booze software harder to close and stop all processes than Roko thought or is she simply not used to her new ankle joint yet? The curious want to know!
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I think she was simply distracted and flustered this time. Due, as you say, to the defensiveness she has just put up.
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At least try to catch the poor women, Clin-ton!
Well, lloks like we can postpone upgrading the love-triangle to a love square/llove little dipper.
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I'm sure there will be loads of speculation in the meantime!
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I'm sure there will be loads of speculation in the meantime!
If there's one thing this forum is good at, it's speculating wildly using fragments of maybe-truths and assumptions based on very little information.
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Shame Clinton is not a Constitutionalist. He is under no obligation to give his name or explain his presence unless Officer Roko can articulate reasonable suspicion he has/is/will commit a crime.
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Just curious - why is it a shame that Clinton feels no reason to hide his identity or what he's doing? Is a world with less suspicion and paranoia a bad thing for some reason?
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Good lord I just cycled back a few strips and their beers were just USB drives am I the only one that didn't notice that
I missed that one too; this is my main reason for reading this forum! Thank you!
As for the poll: I voted Momo, with the old 'chibi' frame in mind. I am glad for her she has a more useful frame now, but she won me over as the little chibi AnthroPC. Handing Marigold the requested squirrel (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1483) when asked, after an unseen but epic battle (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1485) was the stuff of legends...
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Good lord I just cycled back a few strips and their beers were just USB drives am I the only one that didn't notice that
Well thank you for pointing that out. I had originally thought that to be a hip flask.
A Theroy:
In a previous comic Pintsize or May emulated drunkenness by down cycling their processors (no idea how to search for that specific comic). Maybe robot booze is junk instructions so that their processors get clogged up and the AI "simulation" slows down?
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Presumably the intoxication software has some sort of time limit built in; probably even a series of steps in which it has less effect as the limit is approached. Human intoxication has an effect which varies according to adaptation to the amount of its use; I wonder if the robots go that far in simulating it.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
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Presumably the intoxication software has some sort of time limit built in; probably even a series of steps in which it has less effect as the limit is approached. Human intoxication has an effect which varies according to adaptation to the amount of its use; I wonder if the robots go that far in simulating it.
I'm not sure. It looks to me that the AI can actually consciously terminate the 'drunk' process although 'terminate after x clock cycles' would be a reasonable second-level fail-safe.
I'm wondering if, for synthetics, intoxication has the same basic motivation as it has in humans - Wanting to suppress inhibitions and disrupt cognition so that you don't have to think so much about your problems.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Alternatively, they could view as something akin to an organ transplant.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Given that the hand has an autonomous mode, the slavery option seems a bit more plausible to me.
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Poor Roko. :D
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Or they might view it the opposite way, and accept Clinton as being one of them. Or at least closer to them than the average human.
Given the diversity of AI thought and behavior, there's room for both extremes in the QCverse.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Given that the hand has an autonomous mode, the slavery option seems a bit more plausible to me.
Autonomous doesn't necessarily mean sentient. It's very unlikely that the designers of the prosthetic trapped a full AI inside that would only be utilised in rare cases at it's owners behest. That seems overcomplicated and expensive, along with being morally reprehensible. The autonomous mode seems to behave more like a pet.
So probably not robo-slavery, but he may want to watch out for robo-PETA. SETR maybe? Sentients for the Ethical Treatment of Robots?
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Just to be clear, I wasn't claiming an accusation of robo-slavery was plausible, but that the idea of someone making that accusation was plausible.
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An extreme radical robot freedom group would argue that robots' own limbs were slaves and should be emancipated. This would in turn inspire a human right-brain liberation movement, members of which would have their corpus callosum severed and insist that each side of their bodies was now a distinct person with its own rights. They would, however be limited in their proselytization efforts by their belief that language is an ideological tool of the ruling left-brain hegemony.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Or they might view it the opposite way, and accept Clinton as being one of them. Or at least closer to them than the average human.
Given the diversity of AI thought and behavior, there's room for both extremes in the QCverse.
I had hoped AIs were above all the over sensitivity and knee jerk reactions currently affecting humanity, but seeing how Bubbles reacted to Evie’s thesis I fear they’re just as bad as us.
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Early comic is early. Sorry.
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I don't follow - how does losing power make the comic early?
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He mentioned on his twitter that he posted it from his cell phone, which still had power (at least until the battery runs out).
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Well, the comic answered my question about AI bars.
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Clinton's hand... So, it's reminding me of either a) Michael Jackson's glove, b) a clown costume or c) surgical gloves.
I can see why he left it uncovered.
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Hey, we’re at the Horrible Rev. If memory serves Brun works there now. Haven’t seen her in a while. The whole Clinton-Brun-Elliot love tesseract thing got dropped rather abruptly last time, so maybe we’ll get back to it for a while.
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What's that thing about Canadians & apologizing? :psyduck:
My Boss is Canadian and I never noticed him apologizing unusually often. Simply a normal, polite, agreeable person uber-nerd.
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I'm starting to wonder about that ankle joint. Maybe Roko isn't used to it yet?
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YASSS CLINTON AND ELLIOT YASSSSS
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Does trying to be more inclusive mean they've done away with the old time dress code? Or maybe it's casual Friday.
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Shame Clinton is not a Constitutionalist. He is under no obligation to give his name or explain his presence unless Officer Roko can articulate reasonable suspicion he has/is/will commit a crime.
- Whats your name, citizen?
- I do not wish to give you my name unless I am being detained.
- What are you doing out so late?
- Am I being detained?
-Hm. Right. Well. Carry on then.
- I don't need your permission.
Purely IMO, I think that we're getting an insight into Roko's personality here. She has her weaknesses and troubles (loneliness being one of the most significant) and, I think, is rather defensive about having any at all. That's what today's all about by the way: "I'm not vulnerable! I'm tough! I'm in charge! GRRR!" It sort of makes sense of her every appearance when I think about it.
An attitude far too common among police officers today, seemingly.
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Is that what constitutionalist means? Strikes me as a touch churlish, to be frank.
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You know, every time I see the character of Elliott, it's fascinating how Jeph contrasts his huge physical size with his gentle and retiring nature. He's just a genuinely sweet guy and the fact that he can't stop apologising for wrongs (real or imaginary - remember that Clinton originally started the confrontation that led to Robohand Mk1's fate) just adds to it.
I can imagine there being a funny arc in store where Clinton and Brun (with Renee along to provide acidic commentary) try to get Elliott to be less unnecessarily apologetic; it won't go well, I think.
So, this is the Horrible Revelation as others have pointed out and I feel foolish for not having realised that the moment that I saw the Picasso-style print on the wall.
Shame Clinton is not a Constitutionalist. He is under no obligation to give his name or explain his presence unless Officer Roko can articulate reasonable suspicion he has/is/will commit a crime.
- Whats your name, citizen?
- I do not wish to give you my name unless I am being detained.
- What are you doing out so late?
- Am I being detained?
-Hm. Right. Well. Carry on then.
- I don't need your permission.
Safety Note: Following this method is a quick and easy way of turning a routine and only slightly irksome police interaction into a serious confrontation that may lose you a big chunk of your day.
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You know, every time I see the character of Elliott, it's fascinating how Jeph contrasts his huge physical size with his gentle and retiring nature. He's just a genuinely sweet guy and the fact that he can't stop apologising for wrongs (real or imaginary - remember that Clinton originally started the confrontation that led to Robohand Mk1's fate) just adds to it.
I think that that kind of representation is becoming common enough in fiction that you almost expect it before the "I'm big so I'm mean and gruff" personality. Take Rubeus Hagrid for example. There's a whole Trope page dedicated to them.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GentleGiant
(Good luck brave adventurers who venture into TV Tropes.)
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Just curious - why is it a shame that Clinton feels no reason to hide his identity or what he's doing? Is a world with less suspicion and paranoia a bad thing for some reason?
Depends on if any conspiracies (as in the crime) are afoot and what their aim is.
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Random thought spurred by the last two comics; I wonder if there's some radical group of robots/AI's who would view Clinton's robotic hand as a form of "cultural appropriation", or perhaps even as a form of slavery?
I'm not saying Roko would be like that, just that the circumstances made me think of that.
Given that the hand has an autonomous mode, the slavery option seems a bit more plausible to me.
Does the QCverse have an equivalent to tumblr?
[Said both seriously and in jest since I have a tumblr.]
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Just curious - why is it a shame that Clinton feels no reason to hide his identity or what he's doing? Is a world with less suspicion and paranoia a bad thing for some reason?
The Founding Fathers fought a war to establish rights and freedoms. The 4th and 5th Amendments protect people from being unlawfully detained or giving their names without due course. All you need to do is stop enforcing your freedoms to lose them.
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Just curious - why is it a shame that Clinton feels no reason to hide his identity or what he's doing? Is a world with less suspicion and paranoia a bad thing for some reason?
The Founding Fathers fought a war to establish rights and freedoms. The 4th and 5th Amendments protect people from being unlawfully detained or giving their names without due cause. All you need to do is stop enforcing your freedoms to lose them.
Hiding oneself is not freedom. Especially, feeling the need to hide oneself is not freedom.
Being unlawfully detained is another matter, of course.
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If you are a middle-class old white guy, as I am, police are public servants. It is in bad taste to be rude to servants. You say "Can I help you, officer?" and cooperate so far as is moral and prudent. Only if they ask you do do something wrong or dangerous do you bring up what you are legally obliged to do.
If you used to be a little ragged thug of no consequence to anyone, as I did, and police let you off a couple of times when they didn't have to, as they did, this is even more the case.
Not everyone is middle-class, white, old, or a guy, and not everyone stands in this relation to the police. If you do, though, it is foolish to pretend otherwise. If you do pretend otherwise, you are making a service worker's day harder to make yourself feel important.
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You know, every time I see the character of Elliott, it's fascinating how Jeph contrasts his huge physical size with his gentle and retiring nature. He's just a genuinely sweet guy and the fact that he can't stop apologising for wrongs (real or imaginary - remember that Clinton originally started the confrontation that led to Robohand Mk1's fate) just adds to it.
I think that that kind of representation is becoming common enough in fiction that you almost expect it before the "I'm big so I'm mean and gruff" personality. Take Rubeus Hagrid for example. There's a whole Trope page dedicated to them.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GentleGiant
(Good luck brave adventurers who venture into TV Tropes.)
Great big quiet gentle guys are common in real life, too. They get tired of scaring people, and so mute themselves way down so as to avoid it. It is a shame that they have to do that, but the greater the power, the greater the responsibility.
What is particularly pleasing about Elliott is that he is a quiet, gentle badass. He has an excellent "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," and an even better "Friend, you have a lot to learn about interpersonal behavior. Come outside with me, and I'll educate you."
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You know, every time I see the character of Elliott, it's fascinating how Jeph contrasts his huge physical size with his gentle and retiring nature. He's just a genuinely sweet guy and the fact that he can't stop apologising for wrongs (real or imaginary - remember that Clinton originally started the confrontation that led to Robohand Mk1's fate) just adds to it.
I think that that kind of representation is becoming common enough in fiction that you almost expect it before the "I'm big so I'm mean and gruff" personality. Take Rubeus Hagrid for example. There's a whole Trope page dedicated to them.
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GentleGiant
(Good luck brave adventurers who venture into TV Tropes.)
I have been accused of being an example of this trope myself.
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Awww. :D
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Roko was acting aggressively and alarmingly. General policy aside, Clinton might have been prudent to clam up. As general policy, one recommended course of action toward police you don't trust is to bore them.
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Roko didn't have her badge. Not sure what that means exactly in the US, but I'm pretty sure it'd matter.
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Roko didn't have her badge. Not sure what that means exactly in the US, but I'm pretty sure it'd matter.
Generally, it won't, although some judges may have a thing for it, like they did for uniform hats 30 years ago ("He was in uniform but I didn't know he was a cop because he didn't have his hat on" was popular in the '80s. It isn't anymore.) Introducing it as a defense will at best get you an eye-roll and you'll probably annoy the court for wasting time.
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Roko didn't have her badge. Not sure what that means exactly in the US, but I'm pretty sure it'd matter.
Generally, it won't, although some judges may have a thing for it, like they did for uniform hats 30 years ago ("He was in uniform but I didn't know he was a cop because he didn't have his hat on" was popular in the '80s. It isn't anymore.) Introducing it as a defense will at best get you an eye-roll and you'll probably annoy the court for wasting time.
Yeah, these days, most things happening in court implying simple citizens could have some sort of... rights, I think it was called, get them an eye-roll from the annoyed judge. Choosing between career and justice seems to get easier everyday.
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I'm pretty sure people not standing up for their rights is what allows "stop and frisk" laws to be enacted, among other things.
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I am equally sure, Jakk Frost, that displaying common courtesy to officers of the law will not lead to "stop and frisk" laws. Telling someone your name is not a capitulation of your rights, and if you think it is, you must be a lot of fun at parties. Freedom to withhold your name is also freedom to give it if you so choose.
If you have genuine cause to believe that handing over your name will disadvantage you or injure you in some way, then of course you should stand up for your rights.
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Nice to see Jeph enjoying a beverage.
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What did she do with her harpoon- use it to take down O'Malley?
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What did she do with her harpoon- use it to take down O'Malley?
Good question. I'm kind of surpised she was allowed to keep it. I wonder if she's got an outfit similar to that of Captain Ahab?
I am equally sure, Jakk Frost, that displaying common courtesy to officers of the law will not lead to "stop and frisk" laws. Telling someone your name is not a capitulation of your rights, and if you think it is, you must be a lot of fun at parties. Freedom to withhold your name is also freedom to give it if you so choose.
If you have genuine cause to believe that handing over your name will disadvantage you or injure you in some way, then of course you should stand up for your rights.
Unfortunately it's not a simple matter. Some cops really are just trying to help and protect folks, and some are there solely to get a power trip. And that's only part of it from what I understand. I'm sure some other forumite can articulate the issue in a nuanced manner and in greater depth.
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What did she do with her harpoon- use it to take down O'Malley?
It wouldn't have survived the fire intact. And I doubt that her new employer would welcome its business end in the bar.
Edit: My bad. I missed seeing it in panel 5. Unless it's a new harpoon?
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I am equally sure, Jakk Frost, that displaying common courtesy to officers of the law will not lead to "stop and frisk" laws. Telling someone your name is not a capitulation of your rights, and if you think it is, you must be a lot of fun at parties. Freedom to withhold your name is also freedom to give it if you so choose.
If you have genuine cause to believe that handing over your name will disadvantage you or injure you in some way, then of course you should stand up for your rights.
Unfortunately it's not a simple matter. Some cops really are just trying to help and protect folks, and some are there solely to get a power trip. And that's only part of it from what I understand. I'm sure some other forumite can articulate the issue in a nuanced manner and in greater depth.
Please do elaborate on how giving attitude to a cop on a power trip will produce a good outcome. I'm genuinely all ears.
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I just want to go on the record that this is my favourite Brun-featuring strip to date. It reminds us of all the good things about her - Her work ethic, her unflappable approach to reality and her amazing organisational ability that lets her stretch a single sentence out over 10 or more minutes with it still being comprehensible.
I really love Clinton's reaction to it all. He's just sitting back and watching the show in a way that mixes puzzlement and amazement. Whether or not he is attracted to Brun, he surely can't help but be interested in watching her go!
What did she do with her harpoon- use it to take down O'Malley?
No, if you look at Clinton's glass, he has had a refill between Brun walking by with her harpoon and her dragging a passed-out O'Malley to the door, so several minutes have passed. I'm thinking that, after panel 5 we had something like this happen in another part of the bar: "Good evening, patron. We have noticed that you have enjoyed six expensive cocktails without settling the tab. The manager has send me and my harpoon over to encourage you to settle up before you order another round."
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Shouldn’t Elliot, as the security guy, be the one handling O’Malley?
Or maybe he’s busy dealing with the half-dozen other drunk robots in the place...
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It's a shame Clinton didn't try to talk to the tall handsome stranger who was sitting next to him. I bet that would have been a fascinating discussion! :lol:
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This is a very good strip. It reveals Brun's character without exposition, entirely by showing her in action, and it is funny. Also, Jeph has a knack for drawing unconventionally pretty women pretty. This educates one's eye for when one meets them out in the world and thereby makes the whole world more beautiful.
I think that Brun mostly shows them the harpoon and explains its use, like a torturer showing a heretic the instruments. It is a fair warning, and when Elliot sees the harpoon going by he knows there is a developing situation. It's always good if the belligerent drunk sees the bouncer as someone who might save him from this crazy bar back.
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I also like the subtle disappointment coming from Elliot on the fact that Clinton is just there to see Brun.
Nice 180, first to Elliot, Clinton was competition in the 'fight' for Brun's interest,
now he's an interest himself, either romantically or as a friend, and suddenly Brun is the one to be envious off.
(Oh hi btw, Long time lurker, first time poster, avid reader of QC)
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(Oh hi btw, Long time lurker, first time poster, avid reader of QC)
Welcome new person. Now run while you still can. The forum addiction is real.
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Like I said, Clinton gets none of that. Same with Brun - that could change later of course, but I'll believe it when I see it.
There's always that one guy at the edge of a social circle who couldn't get romantic/sexual attention unless he straight up paid for it, and maybe not even then. He's generally the lovable loser, though the ladies tend to find him likable at best ("he's like a brother to me..."). Clinton may be that guy.
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Maybe. I'm betting that Brun winds up with a little harem of two, who play nicely together when she is otherwise occupied, but, tell you the truth, I am not very good at predicting the behavior of people like me around here. I am likely even worse with little tiny flat people in alternate universes.
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What did she do with her harpoon- use it to take down O'Malley?
No, if you look at Clinton's glass, he has had a refill between Brun walking by with her harpoon and her dragging a passed-out O'Malley to the door, so several minutes have passed. I'm thinking that, after panel 5 we had something like this happen in another part of the bar: "Good evening, patron. We have noticed that you have enjoyed six expensive cocktails without settling the tab. The manager has send me and my harpoon over to encourage you to settle up before you order another round."
I completely missed the glasses, then again I also missed Jeph's cameo as well.
I can see Brun doing just that with harpoon especially as she would be underestimated. Perhaps a little show of her skill with throwing it was involved as well just to bring the point across..
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It's a shame Clinton didn't try to talk to the tall handsome stranger who was sitting next to him. I bet that would have been a fascinating discussion! :lol:
Meh. All he'd talk about is guitars and this crappy webcomic he draws.
</sarcasm_mode>
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Please do elaborate on how giving attitude to a cop on a power trip will produce a good outcome. I'm genuinely all ears.
Dear FSM how did we drift so far that exercising a civil right is "giving attitude"?
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I believe the right is not to identify yourself if you don't want to. There seems to be a suggestion here that because you needn't, you shouldn't, even when there's no reason not to.
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Please do elaborate on how giving attitude to a cop on a power trip will produce a good outcome. I'm genuinely all ears.
Dear FSM how did we drift so far that exercising a civil right is "giving attitude"?
I am specifically referring to the script produced earlier in the thread. I am certainly not implying that exercising a civil right is giving attitude, and I'm a little put out that you thought so.
Edit: anticipating the question, "What attitude, Tova?"
- Whats your name, citizen?
- I do not wish to give you my name unless I am being detained.
- What are you doing out so late?
- Am I being detained?
-Hm. Right. Well. Carry on then.
- I don't need your permission. <--- this attitude, right here
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Maybe the whole police/civil rights/yada yada discussion could be taken elsewhere? Cause it IS kinda off topic.
Nice seeing Brun again. Poor Elliot tho.
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Yes, in particular, if we want to drift from the specific scenario in the comic to the more general topic of civil rights and whatnot, I'd be happy to converse and be educated in a separate thread.
Back to the strip, I hope that we stick with these cast members for a little while, rather than having a short interlude and then back to the current main cast.
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New comic...
I'll note that Roko's mental version of Clinton doesn't seem to have a robot hand.
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Brün's harpoon has been edited for comic convenience. An actual harpoon is much longer.
Also I discovered that there is a place on the Jersey shore, not too far from Philly, called "Harpoon Willy's". Wonder if it resembles Brün's original place?
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New comic...
I'll note that Roko's mental version of Clinton doesn't seem to have a robot hand.
He still seems to be slightly shorter than Roko, judging from the door frame. Maybe she's not so good at fantasizing....
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Or maybe what she thinks she wants is one thing, and what she actually finds attractive is something else.
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Given her emerging attraction to Clinton and apparent bread fetish, I can imagine Roko getting a bit flustered if the two of them happened to visit The Secret Bakery at the same time.
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It's weird that Clinton started out as just the unsympathetic creeper who scared Hannelore, and now he's had FOUR love interests (five if you count Purple-Haired Waitress).
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I empathize so much with Roko. She has the problem I do of acting completely weird around guys and not knowing what to do. I'm guessing that she is also pretty inexperienced in relationships, similar to myself.
It's difficult! And unfortunately Clinton is already interested (very interested) in someone else. He's not really available.
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Poor Roko. Girl's got an itch that's not being scratched, emotionally or otherwise.
It's difficult! And unfortunately Clinton is already interested (very interested) in someone else. He's not really available.
And if that interest isn't Elliot, I will flip this table!
(I kid, I kid.)
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Definitely. She needs to get laid, badly.
And to paraphrase Jason Stackhouse from True Blood, I don't think that dog (Clinton) barks that way. I wonder how Elliot will handle that. I hope they can at least be good friends?
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Given her emerging attraction to Clinton and apparent bread fetish, I can imagine Roko getting a bit flustered if the two of them happened to visit The Secret Bakery at the same time.
That's too logical, so of course it'll never happen. Maybe at Coffee of Doom? That sounds about right, especially with a Dora/Emily squee-fest afterward
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Definitely. She needs to get laid, badly.
And to paraphrase Jason Stackhouse from True Blood, I don't think that dog (Clinton) barks that way. I wonder how Elliot will handle that. I hope they can at least be good friends?
Perhaps the right AI just hasn't come along. If anything Clinton's fascination with robotic appendages and Dr. Ellicot-Chatman's work makes him seem the most likely person to pursue a relationship with an AI. Roko might just be the best love connection because I'm not sure if Brun will ever go beyond friendship with Clinton and I don't think he's into men so that eliminates Elliot as an option.
That being said Roko seems to have fetish for baked goods and tall men so that could work out for Elliot... if he's interested.
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So... that appears to be a picture of Roko and Melon. Are they, perhaps, the AI equivalent of siblings?
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I also like the subtle disappointment coming from Elliot on the fact that Clinton is just there to see Brun.
Yeah - I just want to give Elliot a big hug. He was happily talking to Clinton and then he gets a reminder that this guy he is crushing on is only/mainly here to see the woman they're both crushing on. Ouch.
I want good things to happen to Elliot.
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So... that appears to be a picture of Roko and Melon. Are they, perhaps, the AI equivalent of siblings?
Maybe roommates? She seems to be pretty low in the state police, she might need to have a roommate if only to split the cost of rent.
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So... that appears to be a picture of Roko and Melon. Are they, perhaps, the AI equivalent of siblings?
Maybe roommates? She seems to be pretty low in the state police, she might need to have a roommate if only to split the cost of rent.
Is it common to take formal(-ish) pictures with your roommate and frame them on your wall? I try to avoid my roommates whenever possible.
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It seems to be Clinton's fate to either attract or be attracted to girls with whom a relationship would probably be a high-stress and high-maintenance endeavour. I know that some people would regard having Emily, Brun and Roko as 'possibles' as a good thing but I suspect Clinton wouldn't.
Meanwhile, I feel the need to give poor, lonely Roko a hug. However, based on her fantasy, she doesn't want a hug. She wants to have bread products applied to her naked chassis! Well, each to their own. However, I still find it interesting that she told O'Malley that sex isn't enough and she also wants companionship. I find myself wondering just where Jeph may be planning to take her story.
Anyway, the soundtrack of panel 3 sounds like this:
♫I believe in miracles
Where you from♪
♫You sexy thing, sexy thing you
I believe in miracles♪
♫Since you came along
You sexy thing♪
So... that appears to be a picture of Roko and Melon. Are they, perhaps, the AI equivalent of siblings?
I'm sort of hoping that she and Melon were from the same batch of AIs all compiled together and were initially settled in the physical world together. Maybe we can have 'Mel' and 'Ro' meeting up at some point in the future and we realise that silly Melon is actually more clear-thinking about certain things than the outwardly more 'normal' Roko.
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Roko is still falling over... :lol:
Roko does have a bread fetish...
Roko has pastel-pink fantasies, just how those of humans are often described....(Does that mean someone deliberately programmed AI brains to think like that?)
But seriously - Clinton??...
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Can some people oriented toward guys tell me whether Clinton is even attractive?
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So... that appears to be a picture of Roko and Melon. Are they, perhaps, the AI equivalent of siblings?
Good eye - I hadn't even noticed it. The AI equivalent of cousins, or, Gods help us, from their days together at the State Police academy and Melon is an under cover cop?
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Roko is still falling over... :lol:
Roko does have a bread fetish...
Roko has pastel-pink fantasies, just how those of humans are often described....(Does that mean someone deliberately programmed AI brains to think like that?)
But seriously - Clinton??...
She's still drunk enough for Clinton to seem attractive. (Note that her mental version of him is noticeably better looking than the real thing.)
Can some people oriented toward guys tell me whether Clinton is even attractive?
See above reply. 8-)
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It's weird that Clinton started out as just the unsympathetic creeper who scared Hannelore, and now he's had FOUR love interests (five if you count Purple-Haired Waitress).
The change was noticed 'in comic' (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3236)...
(and I missed the Mellon picture until mentioned here, thanks again, dear Forumites!)
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Can some people oriented toward guys tell me whether Clinton is even attractive?
I wasn't aware that you had to be oriented towards guys to comment objectively on a guy's attractiveness or why you think someone might fall for him. I disagree with that notion.
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Can some people oriented toward guys tell me whether Clinton is even attractive?
I wasn't aware that you had to be oriented towards guys to comment objectively on a guy's attractiveness or why you think someone might fall for him. I disagree with that notion.
Excellent post.
For what it's worth, I can see being attracted to Clinton. He'd certainly appeal to those who are into twinks, for example.
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Can anyone read that tattoo on his belly? :psyduck:
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Can anyone read that tattoo on his belly? :psyduck:
"Human Abs"
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Yes, for some reason, human abs are an unknown quantity so her imagination had to fill it in. Unfortunately it couldn't so, instead, she has an HTML 'missing image' graphic titled 'Human Abs'.
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Can some people oriented toward guys tell me whether Clinton is even attractive?
I wasn't aware that you had to be oriented towards guys to comment objectively on a guy's attractiveness or why you think someone might fall for him. I disagree with that notion.
Excellent post.
For what it's worth, I can see being attracted to Clinton. He'd certainly appeal to those who are into twinks, for example.
Public service announcement (learn from my mistakes) - consulting google to find out the meaning of "twink" may lead to NSFW results, particularly in the image search.
Also for what it's worth, I think Clinton is attractive. I didn't think so in his earlier appearances but now that he has 1) stopped being a jerk, and 2) found a style that suits him (glasses, clothes, etc) - yep, I would say he's attractive. Guys like Elliot are maybe more my preferred type - the gentle giant thing, I love that - but Clinton is cute too. I have no problem believing that he's currently featuring in Roko's fantasies.
I think Clinton would appeal to people who like cute nerdy guys - and based on my experience there's a significant proportion of people who find that type attractive.
ETA: Attractiveness is very subjective. A personal example:
I've never understood why Brad Pitt or Matt Damon were considered extremely attractive yet clearly other people thought differently to me because both of them were chosen for People magazine's "sexiest man alive" thing.
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The other thing is that canonically, in-comic, he became attractive to women who are attracted to men: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3236
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The other thing is that canonically, in-comic, he became attractive to women who are attracted to men: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3236
And Jeph's comment along the bottom edge indicates that this particular comic was inspired by readers comments via Twitter or email.
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New comic...
I'll note that Roko's mental version of Clinton doesn't seem to have a robot hand.
He still seems to be slightly shorter than Roko, judging from the door frame. Maybe she's not so good at fantasizing....
Actually if 3697 is to be trusted, Roko is one of the few characters that Clinton is actually taller than. It's not by much but he does apear taller.
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ETA: Attractiveness is very subjective.
My use of the word objectively was indeed wrong. What I meant to say was that you don't have to be attracted to a person's gender in order to comment on how attractive you think they look.
I relate to your celebrity comparison though. I never understood the appeal of say Angelina Jolie.
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It is notable that Clinton looks weirdly hot when thinking about something other than himself. I suspect that he will always come off as awkward and off-key when self-conscious, and as attractive when concerned about someone else.
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Would someone please hook Roku up with the little guy in the second panel here?
http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1999
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It's Roko, BTW.
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:-D :lol: :lol:
I'm sorta wondering HOW her bread fetish works.
Tho I'm not sure I wanna know...
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It's Roko, BTW.
Whup, sorry.
Warm, freshly-baked bread is enough of a primal experience of comfort and sustenance that I could imagine it being eroticized, particularly by a creature with an acute sense of smell, but dry toast? I could even see eroticizing buttered toast. There is that passage from The Wind in the Willows.
When the girl returned, some hours later, she carried a tray, with a cup of fragrant tea steaming on it; and a plate piled up with very hot buttered toast, cut thick, very brown on both sides, with the butter running through the holes in it in great golden drops, like honey from the honeycomb. The smell of that buttered toast simply talked to Toad, and with no uncertain voice; talked of warm kitchens, of breakfasts on bright frosty mornings, of cosy parlour firesides on winter evenings, when one’s ramble was over and slippered feet were propped on the fender; of the purring of contented cats, and the twitter of sleepy canaries.
But dry toast, flung at one? It is a mystery. The world is larger than my imagination.
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Warm, freshly-baked bread is enough of a primal experience of comfort and sustenance that I could imagine it being eroticized, particularly by a creature with an acute sense of smell, but dry toast?
I'm reminded of a song from the late 80's called "Toast", which extoled the virtues of having a slice of toast . Lovely little ditty, that one :lol: :-D
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It is dry, and they even throw it at the viewer. Clearly this video must have played some crucial part in Roko's psychosexual development.
Funny, too.
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Maybe it's a texture thing.
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Rokton anyone?
Clinko?
Basilton?
Clintilisk?
Take your pick xD
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Rokton anyone?- A large amount of hard candy bought at the seaside
Clinko?- A substance used to clean metal toilets
Basilton?- A town named in honour of a mid-70's British comedy classic. Grudgingly twinned with the Spanish town of Manuelvilla.
Clintilisk?- A monster from the Harry Potter universe which has adapted to modern life and works in accounting.
Take your pick xD
For all these reasons, I declare the ship sunk before she ever set to sea.
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Clinko: a Pachinko-like game played in a prison, where the top prize is $50,000 worth of cigarettes.
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Clintilisk?- A monster from the Harry Potter universe which has adapted to modern life and works in accounting.
I can totally imagine a long slithering thing that's kind of like a snake but not quite wandering through the lobby of the ministry of magic. "Good morning Weasley"
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I have not read any of the previous posts in this thread. I just came here to say the following regarding Roko and Clinton: I SHIP IT.
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Well, I don't find Clinton attractive, and wondered whether my orientation was interfering with my esthetic judgement.
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Clinton is quite cute.
Roko is pretty cute too.
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Well, I don't find Clinton attractive, and wondered whether my orientation was interfering with my esthetic judgement.
Nah. Personally, Clinton is not that attractive; to me, anyway. Others do disagree.
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Clinton is reasonably handsome; certainly guys homelier than he aren't romantically handicapped by their looks if they're reasonably confident and have some empathy for their partners. And he's a decent guy, although he's a tendency to be a "rescuer" which sometimes covers a tendency against relationships based on a presumption of equality. I wouldn't expect him to be dateless for more than a few weeks longer than he continues to agonize and self-sabotage his own confidence about being dateless. It's stopping that dynamic that's the tricky part.
Roko scores a big ol' question mark. Physically she's reasonably pretty, but I see several personality traits I would consider fairly off-putting. She's prickly and tends to want to pre-emptively make problems for other people instead of allowing them to notice she's making problems for herself. And that covers a crippling lack of self-confidence coupled with a need to prove herself that I would frankly find scary enough to stay the hell away from. I mean, I empathize with her, I feel for her, I hope the best for her, but I doubt that being her romantic partner is going to contribute to someone's happiness.
Shipping her with Clinton is not wishing the best for Clinton. Or at least, it's not wishing Clinton an easy future where he simply steps into a happy relationship. Happiness if Roko reaches it with anyone is going to be hard won and long in the making. And perhaps wonderful in the long run for having been something achieved instead of something discovered, but it's just not going to be easy.
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Does anybody else get the impression that Jeph has just given up on the no shipping rule? Cause the last few arcs have basically opened a floodgate of them.
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Shipping her with Clinton is not wishing the best for Clinton. Or at least, it's not wishing Clinton an easy future where he simply steps into a happy relationship. Happiness if Roko reaches it with anyone is going to be hard won and long in the making. And perhaps wonderful in the long run for having been something achieved instead of something discovered, but it's just not going to be easy.
Who'd settle for an easy future? Some people enjoy looking after others; some simply would not be happy stepping into a happy, low effort relationship.
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When the rule limiting shipping was introduced, people were making inappropriate ships and being creepy. We made it clear that discussing what Jeph sets up is (naturally) permitted. But I still hugely dislike the use of shipping language and ridiculous portmanteaus to describe what is, for now no more than a passing acquaintance - which may or may not develop into friendship and subsequently a bit more.
So please - if you want to talk about the possibility of friendship developing between Clinton and Roko, do just that, in plain English.
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Rokton anyone?
Clinko?
Basilton?
Clintilisk?
Take your pick xD
They could form a secret agent team and call themselves Basilton Bond.
(And if you get the joke it means you are very old . . . )
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are. Clinton's father made two babies with a sexy, charming, serene woman. Clinton will be fine.
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are. Clinton's father made two babies with a sexy, charming, serene woman. Clinton will be fine.
Clinton's father no longer has any contact with the family, and both children speak of him with disdain.
There's a debate to be had whether our personality is shaped more by nature or nurture, but I suspect Clinton would much rather it be the latter- that way he has the chance to not be as good a man as his father, but a better one.
Either way, the Clinton we see now is a whole lot more mature than his original appearance- not surprising as he's going through university where one grows up *a lot*. He still has flaws and always will, but he's showing progress. I'm happy to see what he'll grow into.
(He's not my orientation, but I've seen many people Like him be happily partnered up. I certainly wouldn't say he was undesirable.)
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are. Clinton's father made two babies with a sexy, charming, serene woman. Clinton will be fine.
Clinton’s mom is at least a couple of decades older than her children, and so has had time to find herself. I imagine that she was quite a bit like Claire when she was younger.
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are.
It does not follow at all. Seriously. Kids are frequently unlike their parents. Sometimes profoundly so.
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are.
It does not follow at all. Seriously. Kids are frequently unlike their parents. Sometimes profoundly so.
More often than not they are, at least in some respects. Genealogists always say, "Mother's baby. Fathers? Maybe." That would explain a lot.
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Who's your favorite robot/artificial intelligence?
Bubbles - 26 (32.1%)
May - 12 (14.8%)
Momo - 12 (14.8%)
Spookybot - 6 (7.4%)
Roko - 5 (6.2%)
Gordon - 3 (3.7%)
Jeremy - 3 (3.7%)
Melon - 3 (3.7%)
Station - 3 (3.7%)
Pintsize - 2 (2.5%)
Punchbot - 2 (2.5%)
Winslow - 2 (2.5%)
Punkbot - 1 (1.2%)
Spaceship - 1 (1.2%)
Arthur - 0 (0%)
Corpse Witch - 0 (0%)
Droid 06 - 0 (0%)
O'Malley - 0 (0%)
PT410x - 0 (0%)
Seven - 0 (0%)
Not really surprised by the top three. Moderately surprised by Spookybot's good performance. And there's some love for a lot of the other AIs also.
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Clinton's mother is sexy, charming, and serene. Clinton and Claire are skinny, anxious, helpy, and, though reasonably good-looking, unfashionably so. It follows that their father was even more skinny, anxious, helpy, and unfashionable than they are.
It does not follow at all. Seriously. Kids are frequently unlike their parents. Sometimes profoundly so.
Offspring are invariably different from their parents in some respects, but very seldom in most respects. Providing all the genetic material, early socialization, and elementary education has substantial effect. Apparent large differences between parents and offspring are most often the effect of age. The appropriate times to make the comparison are after offspring have reached the age their parents were when raising them, and after offspring have their own children.
It is possible Ms. Augustus was like Claire and Clinton when young and that raising children made her less anxious and helpy, but I have not found this to be the usual course of events.
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Why would a robot want or need to flop on a couch?
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Why would a robot want or need to have bread thrown at her by a man with HUMAN ABS?
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Why would a robot want or need to flop on a couch?
To express emotional fatigue and existential angst.
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Why would a robot want or need to flop on a couch?
Emotions, man. They’re exhausting. Even if you’re a machine and therefore incapable of physical exhaustion, you apparently can still experience emotional exhaustion.
Roko is desperately lonely and wants a little companionship. Her search for a suitable companion has so far gotten her a spectacularly unsuccessful date with Pintsize. She’s tried dulling the pain with alcohol-equivalent software, but it’s not working. And her friends at work aren’t helping. It’s wearing her down. Sometimes all you can do is flop.
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Why would a robot want or need to flop on a couch?
AI see, AI do.
I was wondering why a robot needs an apartment that large.
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Possibly the same reason why my single friend has opted to purchase a four bedroom, two story house plus a basement when a little bungalow would be cheaper and better suited for his needs. Sometimes you want enough space to stretch, have friends over, put things in.
Comic: Poor Elliot. Somebody hug him.
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:-D :lol: :lol:
I'm sorta wondering HOW her bread fetish works.
Tho I'm not sure I wanna know...
I am wondering how Jeph came up with the idea.
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It was probably just “What’s the weirdest fetish I could come up with? I know, BREAD!”
And, you know what, I am not going to google “bread fetish”. I know it’s almost certainly a real thing and I don’t need to see pictures of it.
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It was probably just “What’s the weirdest fetish I could come up with? I know, BREAD!”
And, you know what, I am not going to google “bread fetish”. I know it’s almost certainly a real thing and I don’t need to see pictures of it.
"Yeastophilia?"
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I guess there are weirder things than bread face.
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It was probably just “What’s the weirdest fetish I could come up with? I know, BREAD!”
And, you know what, I am not going to google “bread fetish”. I know it’s almost certainly a real thing and I don’t need to see pictures of it.
Or yeastiality maybe.
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Hah, I say!
If you think croissants are hard, try making Challah Bread. On the surface it seems soooooo easy, but then you taste it and it's all wrong. So you do it again...and again...and again, actually weighing the ingredients and testing the relative versus the specific humidity of your oven/rising area. You begin slamming crazily expensive single malt scotch because it's usually kosher. If you are lucky, more of it ends up inside you instead of inside your wet ingredients. You put on a walter white cleanroom suit and start looking for evil flies.
The next day you remember you aren't even Jewish, so you toss it all out and go buy some from the local bakery.
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NSFW.