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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: Farideh on 06 Sep 2020, 18:03

Title: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 06 Sep 2020, 18:03
Sorry, no poll.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: beeawwb on 06 Sep 2020, 18:07
How long until somebody else registers soft.men as a joke / not actually as a joke?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 06 Sep 2020, 18:35
Poor Renee, I feel sorry for her. It is quite frustrating if it seems that people aren't trying to help themselves.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 06 Sep 2020, 18:37
So, no Monday body for May  :-\ 
Oh well, it's probably to be expected - I think someone forecast last week, something about two weeks of alternative strips and evil laughter from Jeph?  :wink:

Re the new strip - does anyone else get the impression that Renee is being uncharacteristically whiny? It's understandable, of course - Renee is kinda stuck in a loop of unsatisfying one-date hookups, while she helps out Elliot (who is the subject of her own unrequited crush!) - but does it strike anyone else as being a bit out of character?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Theta9 on 06 Sep 2020, 18:48
Before he embarked on his long solo career, Robyn Hitchcock fronted a band called The Soft Boys.

The Soft Boys - "Give It to the Soft Boys"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 06 Sep 2020, 18:52
It doesn't strike me as being 'out of character', but more like 'Jeph fleshing out Renee's personality'.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 06 Sep 2020, 18:55
Nothing wrong with giving side characters depth. :D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 06 Sep 2020, 19:05
What strikes me is that the interruption/resumption of this conversation happened in a weird spot. Why couldn't this strip have been posted before we cut away? It feels like this would have been a natural conclusion. I can barely remember what they had been discussing now.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 06 Sep 2020, 19:10
I get that Renee's frustrations are sort of peaking and that character development is a good thing, but could she have phrased that a little more kindly? I know if I were in Elliot's shoes right now, I would be feeling uncomfortable and very guilty.

Then again, maybe he does need to feel a little guilty. He relies on Renee for kind of a lot when it comes to relationships. He could stand to be more independent.

But, original point--Renee could have been a little less blunt about it.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: chris73 on 06 Sep 2020, 19:24
Ok so this came out of nowhere. The impression I got of Renee is that she likes inserting herself into her friends issues and at the risk of sounding old fashioned maybe hook ups organised on line isn't the best way of getting a spark with someone, if thats what you really want

This strip is about as subtle as a sledgehammer
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: chris73 on 06 Sep 2020, 19:27
Quote
I get that Renee's frustrations are sort of peaking and that character development is a good thing, but could she have phrased that a little more kindly? I know if I were in Elliot's shoes right now, I would be feeling uncomfortable and very guilty.

Yes well thinking back to when Renee had Elliot take his shirt off kind of puts this into perspective for me
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 06 Sep 2020, 19:33
I get that Renee's frustrations are sort of peaking and that character development is a good thing, but could she have phrased that a little more kindly?

Wait, is this a complaint about Renee or about the writing?

Whenever I see this confusion of in-universe and out-of-universe considerations, I feel like I am reading DM of the Rings or Darths and Droids.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 06 Sep 2020, 19:34
Sorry, no poll.

The only one I could think of was based on May's "Sweetie. Honey. Baby darling."
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 06 Sep 2020, 19:36
I get that Renee's frustrations are sort of peaking and that character development is a good thing, but could she have phrased that a little more kindly? I know if I were in Elliot's shoes right now, I would be feeling uncomfortable and very guilty.

Then again, maybe he does need to feel a little guilty. He relies on Renee for kind of a lot when it comes to relationships. He could stand to be more independent.

But, original point--Renee could have been a little less blunt about it.

It's Renee. It's in character.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 06 Sep 2020, 19:37
Well, Renee isn't subtle, so this response fits in well with her character. She'll probably feel guilty about it later.


Also: what they said  ^^^^

Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Oenone on 06 Sep 2020, 19:44
I do think it’s got to feel awkward to give romantic advice to the person you’ve got a crush on, who’s got a crush on your best friend and your best friend’s new friend, all the while knowing they don’t like/ feel a spark with you. That she’s not being MORE blunt about boundaries is actually what’s strange to me, not that she’s being blunt.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 06 Sep 2020, 19:55
I get that Renee's frustrations are sort of peaking and that character development is a good thing, but could she have phrased that a little more kindly?

Wait, is this a complaint about Renee or about the writing?

Whenever I see this confusion of in-universe and out-of-universe considerations, I feel like I am reading DM of the Rings or Darths and Droids.
I have no problem with the writing. I just don't like Renee that much. She speaks bluntly and almost aggressively in most situations, which is often not a good thing and results in hurt feelings. It's definitely in character--I just don't agree with said character.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 06 Sep 2020, 23:11
I'd suspected for a while that Renee's life is pretty unfulfilling for her. She's been trying to cure her sense of loneliness and lack of intimate connections by way of random hook ups and found (really unsurprisingly - the hit rate must be very low for this outcome) that it wasn't happening and, indeed, most of her partners were only interested in the next hook-up.

Then she finally and unequivocally opens up to Elliot only to learn that her feelings aren't reciprocated. Right now, she must feel more than a little hopeless about her emotional future. Will she always be the bridesmaid and the reliable friend?

I now find myself wondering if Elliot will recruit Clinton and Brun to help Renee. That could go well or it could go badly. It will most probably be both!

How long until somebody else registers soft.men as a joke / not actually as a joke?

I'm expecting one of Jeph's friends to persuade him to make that one of his alternate URLs and soon.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 06 Sep 2020, 23:32
Sorry, no poll.
Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!!!!! :-o

(I tend to ignore those)


The only one I could think of was based on May's "Sweetie. Honey. Baby darling."
But that was just a hint at the next romance ! :wink: :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Reaver on 06 Sep 2020, 23:53
Seems odd to see her complaining about being” the mom friend” While she is very quick to insert herself into Elliots issues.

Also yeah, knowing she has a crush on him and told him to take his shirt offnis kinda icky
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 07 Sep 2020, 00:02
Also yeah, knowing she has a crush on him and told him to take his shirt offnis kinda icky

I think that people do miss the context that, prior to this, Renee never really had acknowledged to herself that she found Elliot attractive. So, whatever negative motivations she had weren't in her conscious mind. As soon as she realised what she'd done, her reaction was flight and denial.

What was also interesting was Elliot's confused initial reaction. It literally never occurred to him that going half-naked in front of Renee could have any kind of sexual element to it. That was the 'torpedoed at launch' thing for Renelliot from the Elliot side - He literally could not mentally interpret the incident as any form of intimacy.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: chris73 on 07 Sep 2020, 05:03
Quote
Seems odd to see her complaining about being” the mom friend” While she is very quick to insert herself into Elliots issues.

Or Bruns for that matter
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: MrNumbers on 07 Sep 2020, 06:35
This kind of came out of nowhere to me tbh

Like on the one hand I get how it could make sense for the character, but we've established her still having a lot of hookups and throwing herself as matchmaker at her friends. She hasn't given Mum-Friend vibes off at all to me - which is less a factor of what she's been doing and more how she's been shown to be doing it.

I think there are elements of the character here that'd be interesting to bring more to the fore - being unsatisfied in her flings, wanting a more traditional courtship relationship - but the "I am the mum friend" thing is... weird. Because it's undoing the parts of her character that have been very pro-active until now. It undoes a lot of her agency to say that instead of being a person who throws herself into being that, it's something she feels is being pushed on her, or a burden.

So, instead of revealing more depth to her, it's kind of undone what I previously understood about her in a way that makes her less interesting to me.

Elliott being on Soft Boy forums is top notch though.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 07 Sep 2020, 11:05
This kind of came out of nowhere to me tbh

Like on the one hand I get how it could make sense for the character, but we've established her still having a lot of hookups and throwing herself as matchmaker at her friends. She hasn't given Mum-Friend vibes off at all to me - which is less a factor of what she's been doing and more how she's been shown to be doing it.

I think there are elements of the character here that'd be interesting to bring more to the fore - being unsatisfied in her flings, wanting a more traditional courtship relationship - but the "I am the mum friend" thing is... weird. Because it's undoing the parts of her character that have been very pro-active until now. It undoes a lot of her agency to say that instead of being a person who throws herself into being that, it's something she feels is being pushed on her, or a burden.

So, instead of revealing more depth to her, it's kind of undone what I previously understood about her in a way that makes her less interesting to me.

Elliott being on Soft Boy forums is top notch though.

You never saw a pushy mom? 


I think Renee's self image is the mom who's always trying to "make things right" for her... offspring.  Maybe a little tiger-ish, but definitely the type who's going to ask, "So why aren't you seeing anyone right now?" 


To her, that's what a mom does. 



Which may explain a lot, actually...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 07 Sep 2020, 11:41
I can see why Renee feels this way.  I don’t think there’s anyone to ship her with.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr Intrepid on 07 Sep 2020, 13:23
My take on this particular strip is that its setting us up for a new arc.  Adding on to the current Clinton/Elliot  situation, perhaps inserting her or Brun into the
Mix.  One we get May situated and her story branches into the AI Healthcare issue, with Roko, with more Sven action.  Eventually we'll move on to other arcs.
When you think about it, the large cast of characters affords Jeph the time to write and fine tune his storylines.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Oenone on 07 Sep 2020, 13:51
I think some points for her being the mom friend would be making sure Brun has a place to stay, being someone who has had to help Brun navigate social situations, organizing her and Brun’s housing search, and being the person who gets Elliot out of his inactive romantic rut.

I know a lot of forumites don’t like Renee, but at least in my opinion, she does a lot of mental/emotional labor for other characters and they don’t seem to do the same for her.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Oenone on 07 Sep 2020, 13:56
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Reaver on 07 Sep 2020, 16:42
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.

Seems to me she should be having this "Yeah yeah I'm the MOM FRIEND" mild outburst with Brun and not Elliot then???
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 07 Sep 2020, 16:52
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.

Seems to me she should be having this "Yeah yeah I'm the MOM FRIEND" mild outburst with Brun and not Elliot then???
One; she actually likes being Brun’s “mom” and two; Brun probably would not understand exasperated venting as rhetorical and might leave to spare her the trouble.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Reaver on 07 Sep 2020, 16:54
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.

Seems to me she should be having this "Yeah yeah I'm the MOM FRIEND" mild outburst with Brun and not Elliot then???
One; she actually likes being Brun’s “mom” and two; Brun probably would not understand exasperated venting as rhetorical and might leave to spare her the trouble.

So since she helped Elliot with this one thing he gets to be the vent punching bag?????

IDK I just feel like this was a bit too soon of a mood change, where she went from jokingly helping Elliot and pepping him on/making unwanted jokes about Basalisk's bread fetish to suddenly " >8C Yes I'm the mom friend"

I feel like I got a bit of emotional whiplash.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 07 Sep 2020, 17:03
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.

Seems to me she should be having this "Yeah yeah I'm the MOM FRIEND" mild outburst with Brun and not Elliot then???
One; she actually likes being Brun’s “mom” and two; Brun probably would not understand exasperated venting as rhetorical and might leave to spare her the trouble.

So since she helped Elliot with this one thing he gets to be the vent punching bag?????

IDK I just feel like this was a bit too soon of a mood change, where she went from jokingly helping Elliot and pepping him on/making unwanted jokes about Basalisk's bread fetish to suddenly " >8C Yes I'm the mom friend"

I feel like I got a bit of emotional whiplash.
Elliot’s been her emotional punching bag for years; he either likes it or doesn’t know how to get her to stop.
As for the other thing, moods can totally whiplash like that. I’m not sure that makes it good storytelling but it’s definitely realistic under the right circumstances.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: badbum61 on 07 Sep 2020, 17:12
Why couldn't this strip have been posted before we cut away?

Because then Jeph wouldn't have been able to use it to forestall revealing May 3.0 and frustrate the crap out of us, bwahahaha!

Although personally, I did want to know what cereal Steve was eating this morning...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: chris73 on 07 Sep 2020, 18:06
And I forgot she makes sure Brun eats more than just day old baked goods.

Is Brun incapable of making these decisions for herself (is she "useless") or has Renee decided that Brun can't function without her help (has Brun moved on from school)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 07 Sep 2020, 18:23
As far as I can tell, Brun is more than capable of taking care of herself. She lived on her own up until the moment the bar burned down (which was where she lived). She stayed with Renee for a while, who helped her settle into a new routine. Brun needs her routine, after all. They started living together permanently after Brun told Renee that she likes being around someone who understands her, so while Brun can live alone, she doesn't want to at the moment.

Brun isn't useless, and Renee isn't pushy (in this respect). They just found an arrangement that works for both of them at this point in their lives.


EDIT TO PREVENT DOUBLE POST:


May 3.0 is here! Seems like the transfer went off without a hitch. She'll be able to reach the top shelves now :D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 07 Sep 2020, 18:54
Tall May will take some getting used to. Nice looking tho.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: MrNumbers on 07 Sep 2020, 19:15
I for one welcome our new May overlord
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Rincewind on 07 Sep 2020, 19:16
Man, I need more caffine! I could have sworn May said "I have an office managment utility now!"  It took me a good 20 seconds to re-boot and re-read. I thought for a moment that she'd decided she wanted to work in an office!? :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 07 Sep 2020, 19:17
I like how her hair and skin tone changes in the first couple of panels - May has customized herself.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 07 Sep 2020, 19:35
Tall May ...

Subtext yeaaaaah
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 07 Sep 2020, 19:53
Man, I need more caffine! I could have sworn May said "I have an office managment utility now!"  It took me a good 20 seconds to re-boot and re-read. I thought for a moment that she'd decided she wanted to work in an office!? :psyduck:

I saw that too, then went, 'Orifice?!'  :lol: :laugh: :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: beeawwb on 07 Sep 2020, 20:01
Well, at least we now know May's favourite sitcom.

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Oenone on 07 Sep 2020, 20:02
I mean, she’s probably having the discussion because she wanted/wants to date Elliot, but she feels like he only sees her as an advice giving maternal figure. That’s the role she played for him when he was pining over Padmé and it’s the role she’s playing for him now. I don’t know that he’s a good friend for her to have until she sorts this out tbh.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Baz_Yat on 07 Sep 2020, 20:05
I like how her hair and skin tone changes in the first couple of panels - May has customized herself.

For some reason, the old Windows boot-up music played in my head...

https://youtu.be/qnuTAa8LQiA
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 07 Sep 2020, 20:12
Oh, not this one?

Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Alexander Krizak on 07 Sep 2020, 20:15
May's longer "whoa" as she looks around for the first time makes me realize that her old chassis was probably substandard in ways other than its durability. Her sensory suite was probably also low quality, and this may well be May's first time seeing the world with senses the same or better than those of an average human.

Oh, not this one?


Oh, no, that's the sound May is going to assign using her new management utility for when something is inserted into the frontmost one.

Sven's in for a surprise.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: jmsr on 07 Sep 2020, 21:28
Am I the only one who wanted May to keep her face?  I'm OK with the hair (because people change their hairstyles all the time) but even a person with a nose job still looks the same.   She looks like a different person now.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 07 Sep 2020, 21:48
Add me to the list of people who read that as "office management" 3 times. I wasn't getting the joke. Why would May care about office management? Hasn't she had enough of offices? Why would she want to manage them? And then, well, "never mind." </Emily Litella>
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 07 Sep 2020, 21:58
I like how her hair and skin tone changes in the first couple of panels - May has customized herself.

I take it, May's new body has the same set of chromatophores as Roko's. But I wonder whether that color change was subconscious because embodied May has always been a "blue robot chick", or because she actually changed it to what she's used to..



Am I the only one who wanted May to keep her face?  I'm OK with the hair (because people change their hairstyles all the time) but even a person with a nose job still looks the same.   She looks like a different person now.

Comes with the territory of a different model of chassis. Maybe Union Robotics can change it a little bit, but that probably would void the warranty.
Now I'm curious how a substantially better quality body feels to May, and whether she'll ever get any dissociative issues because unlike Roko she hasn't been born into a body.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Sorflakne on 07 Sep 2020, 22:27
May seems to be taking the new body well.  And door frames are now her enemy.

As to chromatics, it might be a thing with AI bodies as to whether or not they're "inhabited", as Momo's original chassis was also a washed out color after she'd transferred out of it.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: TRenn on 07 Sep 2020, 22:54
Man, I need more caffine! I could have sworn May said "I have an office managment utility now!"  It took me a good 20 seconds to re-boot and re-read. I thought for a moment that she'd decided she wanted to work in an office!? :psyduck:

I saw that too, then went, 'Orifice?!'  :lol: :laugh: :-D

I was wondering for the first six panels if May had been properly transferred.

Then came panel seven, and the most "May" sentence she has spoken in weeks.  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 07 Sep 2020, 23:26
Whilst May's appearance has definitely changed, it's good to see that she's still got the same body language and expressions. I have no doubt that Jeph spent a lot of time agonising about how he was going to fit them onto May's new form!

Well, Lemon, in answer to your question, I think that, right now, May feels overwhelmed and more than a little euphoric with her new living experience. She's got a body that feels sort-of-like how her humans feel, she's added about 30cm to the level of her eyes and it has a list of capabilities that she never even imagined having!

I wonder if part of Lemon's job right now is to stay with May and keep her distracted until her euphoria wears off? Otherwise, she may go running around wanting to test out all of her new functions a bit too quickly. We don't want her damaging her nice, shiny new chassis by going wild on us, do we?

Regarding 'orifice management', I suspect that she's finding that, much to her surprise, they have functions other than sexual and I wonder if she's looking forward to try those out too!

May's longer "whoa" as she looks around for the first time makes me realize that her old chassis was probably substandard in ways other than its durability. Her sensory suite was probably also low quality, and this may well be May's first time seeing the world with senses the same or better than those of an average human.

I hadn't thought of that but, yes, especially her olfactory and tactile senses are likely much better. Additionally, the sensors on old chassis were likely as defective as the rest of it and she may have had colour and sound glitches. So, this may be the first time she's really experienced the world from a humanoid perspective without problems.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 07 Sep 2020, 23:26
Well, at least we now know May's favourite sitcom.

(click to show/hide)
........And now we all nlknow the name of the "adult parody" tbat probably exists but we didn't want to know about.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 08 Sep 2020, 00:23
By the last panel she’s starting to resemble the old May.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 08 Sep 2020, 00:35
"Whooaaa" is right!
I can foresee a whole range of new challenges for New May - and for those around her:

Comparing her height with Lemon, I estimate she'll be looking eye-to-eye with Dale - poor Marigold will have yet another reason to feel insecure - Sven won't know what hit him - she's going to have to find a whole new wardrobe - her job at the convenience store is going to attract all of the perverts who hover around the adult magazine section down to the counter to drool over the "new" server...

...And I just pictured her striding into CoD and imagined Dora and Tai's expressions...   :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Boxer on 08 Sep 2020, 01:30
Man, I need more caffine! I could have sworn May said "I have an office managment utility now!"  It took me a good 20 seconds to re-boot and re-read. I thought for a moment that she'd decided she wanted to work in an office!? :psyduck:
I saw that too, then went, 'Orifice?!'  :lol: :laugh: :-D
Sorry I can't stop thinking about how serious a mix up would be if you bought the wrong program cause of one letter name difference.

You think in this world there has to be an IT procurement officer who is in serious trouble with his boss when they find out he bought 10,000+ licences of something NOT quite Microsoft "Office"...
and then finding out Office Excel and Orifice Expel are similar sounding too. :P
and Edge and Stream would have different meanings below the robot waist too.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Boxer on 08 Sep 2020, 01:34
Im tall, be-titted and have an orifice management utility... and then she realises there is a mirror on the wall.
Lemon is going to be seeing some weird behaviour :P
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 08 Sep 2020, 02:44
Considering that AIs dont sweat, I would assume they can go with the same clothing for very long times.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Meander on 08 Sep 2020, 02:54
Did anyone else go back a couple of pages for one last look at May's old face?

Just me? *Sigh* OK...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Baz_Yat on 08 Sep 2020, 03:04
Oh, not this one?

Naw, my old 3.1 system never had a speaker for the longest time...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Baz_Yat on 08 Sep 2020, 03:51
Did anyone else go back a couple of pages for one last look at May's old face?

Just me? *Sigh* OK...

That last panel looks like May's face to me...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 08 Sep 2020, 04:36
"be-titted" shall be word of the week ...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 08 Sep 2020, 04:40
May’s voice sounds different to me now.

I know that’s weird, because May’s voice is just something I imagine in my head. But I just can’t map my old “May voice” onto her new body.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tyr on 08 Sep 2020, 04:45
@Zebediah I think that's personally reasonable. We've seen how May's voice was previously generated. Even if it's just a speaker, it's probably going to sound slightly different resonating in the new throat and chest.

As for my personal comment: What's the over/under on Roko discreetly mentioning that May might want to turn off Oopsie-Guard™ and May looking at Roko like she just grew a second through fourth head?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Sep 2020, 04:51
As for my personal comment: What's the over/under on Roko discreetly mentioning that May might want to turn off Oopsie-Guard™ and May looking at Roko like she just grew a second through fourth head?

MAY: "Roko, everyone knows to turn off that piece of crap insurance company mandated micromanagement hijackware the moment they're embodied. The earlier versions were basically tolerable but ever since version 21 went live...?"

ROKO: "Am I literally the only AI ever compiled who'd never heard of that utilty?!?"

LEMON: "There's a reason why I advise all my patients to read the manual!"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 08 Sep 2020, 05:12
"clench.exe not responding" - Magnesium is your friend.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tyr on 08 Sep 2020, 05:22
As for my personal comment: What's the over/under on Roko discreetly mentioning that May might want to turn off Oopsie-Guard™ and May looking at Roko like she just grew a second through fourth head?

MAY: "Roko, everyone knows to turn off that piece of crap insurance company mandated micromanagement hijackware the moment they're embodied. The earlier versions were basically tolerable but ever since version 21 went live...?"

ROKO: "Am I literally the only AI ever compiled who'd never heard of that utilty?!?"

LEMON: "There's a reason why I advise all my patients to read the manual!"
I was thinking the other direction: (pretend I can actually write in May's 'voice'.) "Roko. Why would the first thing I do after getting a body that actually has a warranty be immediately invalidating that warranty? especially given that I might not be able to pay for repairs out of pocket given my current job."
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: beeawwb on 08 Sep 2020, 06:02
........And now we all nlknow the name of the "adult parody" tbat probably exists but we didn't want to know about.

I promise I didn't google it before posting, but I make no promises about what I do after hitting Post.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 08 Sep 2020, 06:06
"clench.exe not responding" - Magnesium is your friend.

Are you telling me, something may have gotten demagnetised?
OK, that's a stretch if I've ever seen one.


Now I wonder what happens to May's old body? Does it get returned to the authorities that gave it to her?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Marco on 08 Sep 2020, 06:55
........And now we all nlknow the name of the "adult parody" tbat probably exists but we didn't want to know about.

I promise I didn't google it before posting, but I make no promises about what I do after hitting Post.

Not so bad as I thought it would be:

https://thewalrus.ca/orifice-space/ (https://thewalrus.ca/orifice-space/)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 08 Sep 2020, 07:09
"clench.exe not responding" - Magnesium is your friend.

Are you telling me, something may have gotten demagnetised?

Errrrhnope - magnesium deficiency can cause muscle cramps. And circular muscles cramping is ... particularly unpleasant (Circular muscles would be those you'd have a 'clench.exe' for)

P.S.: Magnesium is paramagnetic, not ferromagnetic.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 08 Sep 2020, 07:21
And when she brooms those pesky kids, they'll stay broomed.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tormuse on 08 Sep 2020, 07:56
So many things to explore here, so many different directions this can go...

I imagine May will get a whole lot of extra attention, both from people in the street, and her customers at the convenience store.  I sort of wonder whether she'll be weirded out, in the sense that she's not used to thinking of herself as attractive, or if she'll welcome it in the sense of, "f*** yeah, I'm hot now!"

I also wonder how she'll deal with her inevitable feelings of guilt about having received this upgrade in the first place.  It goes without saying that this is way better than she was expecting, and I get the definite feeling that she really struggles with feelings of self-worth and feelings of "deserving" what people gave her.  Will she feel some obligation to "give back" in some way, or double down on the sentiment of "I didn't ask for this," to avoid dealing with the guilt.

I also find myself imagining how her first meeting with Sven will go.  I can picture her playing it all coy, just to see what kind of reaction she'll get, before dropping a "Clown Boy" reference to let him know it's her...  or I can also picture her just abruptly dragging him off somewhere, saying something like, "we're testing this out right now."  (And it's very sexy)  :D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 08 Sep 2020, 08:57
Errrrhnope - magnesium deficiency can cause muscle cramps. And circular muscles cramping is ... particularly unpleasant (Circular muscles would be those you'd have a 'clench.exe' for)

P.S.: Magnesium is paramagnetic, not ferromagnetic.

That joke of mine was so bad it went straight over your head.




Comparing her height with Lemon, I estimate she'll be looking eye-to-eye with Dale - poor Marigold will have yet another reason to feel insecure - [snip]


Since I think Melon and lemon are the same chassis model with a different colour option, they should be the same size. I looked at some sizes comparisons of Bubbles and Melon, and Bibbles and Dale, coming to the conclusion New May is somewhere between Dale and Bubbles, tallness wise.
Also, may now has some fruits of her own, with appropriate squishyness. If Marigold ain't insecure, she'll probably be jealous.

...And I just pictured her striding into CoD and imagined Dora and Tai's expressions...   :-D

CoD will have no idea until May takes a shot at Dale.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Cornelius on 08 Sep 2020, 09:30
Now I wonder what happens to May's old body? Does it get returned to the authorities that gave it to her?

If it's consistent with the principle that upon embodiment, AI become legal owner of their chassis, it's hers to do with what she likes.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tyr on 08 Sep 2020, 14:11
Now I wonder what happens to May's old body? Does it get returned to the authorities that gave it to her?

If it's consistent with the principle that upon embodiment, AI become legal owner of their chassis, it's hers to do with what she likes.
I expect she's supposed to return it. The body was falling apart because it's USED. If it was falling apart just because it was old, that would have been a different angle of attack for Roko: "Why are you giving people bodies that weren't stored properly?"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 08 Sep 2020, 14:19
Since I think Melon and lemon are the same chassis model with a different colour option, they should be the same size. I looked at some sizes comparisons of Bubbles and Melon, and Bibbles and Dale, coming to the conclusion New May is somewhere between Dale and Bubbles, tallness wise.
Odd.  I mentally picture "New May" as somewhere between Hanners and Emily.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tormuse on 08 Sep 2020, 14:56
Now I wonder what happens to May's old body? Does it get returned to the authorities that gave it to her?

If it's consistent with the principle that upon embodiment, AI become legal owner of their chassis, it's hers to do with what she likes.

If that's the case, I wouldn't put it past her to trash her old body for fun.  (Or spite?)  Or would she find that too weird?  She doesn't strike me as the sentimental type who would keep it around, and it would probably amuse her to smash it or something.

May's longer "whoa" as she looks around for the first time makes me realize that her old chassis was probably substandard in ways other than its durability. Her sensory suite was probably also low quality, and this may well be May's first time seeing the world with senses the same or better than those of an average human.

I don't know if Jeph will go in that direction, but I like this headcanon.  :)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 08 Sep 2020, 15:01
Errrrhnope - magnesium deficiency can cause muscle cramps. And circular muscles cramping is ... particularly unpleasant (Circular muscles would be those you'd have a 'clench.exe' for)

P.S.: Magnesium is paramagnetic, not ferromagnetic.

That joke of mine was so bad it went straight over your head.

That joke of yours is the Panavia Tornado of puns ...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 08 Sep 2020, 15:02
Oh, shit.  I just realised that now, she's going to tower over Momo.  She probably can't get all zappy, but it might be a new dynamic in that relationship.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: SmilingCat on 08 Sep 2020, 17:22
Okay, am I the only one who is kinda disappointed that Jeph didn't drag out not revealing new May longer?

And what does that say about me?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 08 Sep 2020, 17:38
It's kind of like not wanting to finish a new book, because you enjoyed reading it so much :)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: badbum61 on 08 Sep 2020, 17:53
Am I the only one who wanted May to keep her face?  I'm OK with the hair (because people change their hairstyles all the time) but even a person with a nose job still looks the same.   She looks like a different person now.

I was worried at first that I wouldn't be able to reconcile that new face with the smart-arse attitude we associate with May, it looked too ... nice - but the facial expression in the final panel captures it nicely.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: badbum61 on 08 Sep 2020, 18:07
COMIC!

Sven's lucky he went for the hip joint and not the "foomph" joint...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: MrNumbers on 08 Sep 2020, 18:09
God, I love May
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 08 Sep 2020, 18:18
May got out of her body just in time 😮
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: jwhouk on 08 Sep 2020, 18:31
Welp, there went the trade-in value.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 08 Sep 2020, 18:32
That's...some kind of a sense of closure.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 08 Sep 2020, 18:33
I was a little bit worried that with such a major change in appearance, it wouldn't seem like May anymore.

But - yep, that's May  :laugh:

...And yes, it looks like May changed up just in time!  Imagine if old May had bumped her head on something - and it fell off... Picture the scene :
Uncontrolled robot body blundering around (cue the headless chicken jokes), traumatized people screaming, while May's head is lying on the floor in a corner, cursing a blue streak...

Come to think of it, that would have been hilarious  :evil:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 08 Sep 2020, 18:44
Jeph's comment:

(https://i.redd.it/7q7r9tzo0yu31.png)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 08 Sep 2020, 18:56
May got out of that body JUST in time.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 08 Sep 2020, 18:59
Lemon: “This is NOT fine! Not! Not!”
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Penquin47 on 08 Sep 2020, 19:52
I wonder... could May have a case against the government that they left her in a literal death trap?  If that fire had started while she was still in there... I'm guessing she wouldn't have any kind of fancy reinforcement or protection for her core programming storage the way Roko did or the fighters at the club did.  The handler had been made aware of the way May's body was literally fallen apart and dismissed the concerns with "we don't have the budget"... would they be liable if she had died as a result of the lack of maintenance/replacement?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BarGamer on 08 Sep 2020, 20:15
Bravo, Jeph. I haven't laughed that hard at comedically-timed spontaneous combustion since that one Simpsons episode.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Sorflakne on 08 Sep 2020, 20:20
May is taking her new body very well.

And not a moment too soon...

As a random aside, if I ever have too much money to know what to do with, I want to have my body scanned and a model of my skeleton 3D printed. It would enjoy a good life as everything from a party prop to freaking out guests with strategic placement.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Skewbrow on 08 Sep 2020, 20:30
The fire within.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 08 Sep 2020, 20:37
May is taking her new body very well.

And not a moment too soon...

As a random aside, if I ever have too much money to know what to do with, I want to have my body scanned and a model of my skeleton 3D printed. It would enjoy a good life as everything from a party prop to freaking out guests with strategic placement.

Even without that much money, I've been tempted to get an inflatable love sheep, and put it on my coffee table with a half-emptied bottle of lube.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BarGamer on 08 Sep 2020, 20:46
May’s voice sounds different to me now.

Is her new voice... higher? XD
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 08 Sep 2020, 21:20
May is taking her new body very well.

And not a moment too soon...

As a random aside, if I ever have too much money to know what to do with, I want to have my body scanned and a model of my skeleton 3D printed. It would enjoy a good life as everything from a party prop to freaking out guests with strategic placement.

3D printing costs strongly depend on the material used - you can upload a model to craftcloud (https://craftcloud3d.com/?utm_source=all3dp&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=%2F2%2F3d-printed-skeleton-best-curated-models%2F%3Fcritical%3D1) and they find the cheapest printing service according to your specifications. One example would be "Mr Bones" (https://all3dp.com/2/3d-printed-skeleton-best-curated-models/) - you could download the files here (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1543880/files), upload them to craftcloud (https://craftcloud3d.com/?utm_source=all3dp&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=%2F2%2F3d-printed-skeleton-best-curated-models%2F%3Fcritical%3D1) & get a rough estimate of what the printing would cost you.

Scanning you, otoh ... dunno how one would get a 3D scan of a living person's skeleton 'just for the lulz' (radiation doses from CT scans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_scan#Adverse_effects) aren't nothing). 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 08 Sep 2020, 21:28
Since May has more hair to work with she’s putting hers into ponytails. Strange that she should imitate Momo.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: St.Clair on 08 Sep 2020, 21:58
is that the wiring?  the battery?
this could get bad real quick.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Cheetaur on 08 Sep 2020, 22:22
Seems May's body is a literal fire sale item. Get it while its hot. LOL
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 08 Sep 2020, 22:44
I hate it when my head falls off.

That actually reminds me of a bit in a novel about an early artificial intelligence. For a while it's housed in a fairly dodgy body, and it stops in a barn to try and repair a knee joint. As part of that, it loosens its neck-joint so as to get a better look at the knee. While it's doing this, a human comes in and surprises it. The AI turns around a bit too quickly and its head falls off.

Thus ensues a comedic dialog, in which the human talks about how he's alarmed by "you and your trick head."
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: ihaveavoice on 08 Sep 2020, 22:54
I was a little bit worried that with such a major change in appearance, it wouldn't seem like May anymore.

But - yep, that's May  :laugh:

...And yes, it looks like May changed up just in time!  Imagine if old May had bumped her head on something - and it fell off... Picture the scene :
Uncontrolled robot body blundering around (cue the headless chicken jokes), traumatized people screaming, while May's head is lying on the floor in a corner, cursing a blue streak...

Come to think of it, that would have been hilarious  :evil:

Imagine if she'd bumped her head while she and Sven were having their adventures, and THEN her internal workings CAUGHT FIRE. The instant panic of that moment :psyduck:


This really does seem like it could've been fatal to her (surely not well reinforced) core if it had happened before she was transferred, though. That's so disturbing to think about. How many AI ex-cons have hit that kind of random fatal hardware snag? If their internal workings just randomly fried, how many of them would have someone who'd think to report anything about finding their trash heap used body lying on the floor in a permanent powered down state?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 08 Sep 2020, 23:07
Since May has more hair to work with she’s putting hers into ponytails. Strange that she should imitate Momo.

I think Momo is the AI she hangs out with the most, so that probably was the first hair style that came to her mind. But I still think it's sweet she does it that way.


As the body apparently is supposed to be recycled, I take it it belonged to May. Kinda would explain why it is THAT crappy. Kind of like "I need a humanoid body. What's the cheapest we can get, but still working?"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Sep 2020, 23:26
This strip really reminds us the degree that May hated  that old body; the degree to which it was a second prison to her. Whilst I doubt she experienced 'pain' in the way a human did, she likely booted up after every recharge with a long list of serious impending or ongoing system failures and the knowledge that she had no way to address them. She had to deal with being effectively crippled and no-one who imposed it on her seemed to care very much.

So, yeah, she hated that chassis. You can see it in panel 4 in today's strip. She's practically lapsing into mania! She doesn't know whether to start laughing hysterically or screaming in fury!

FWIW, the reason why the head came off and what I presume to be either coolant or lubricant almost immediately caught fire is that May was no longer around micromanaging the systems to prevent catastrophic failures. Without that close supervision, it was just a matter of time before the damn thing just succumbed to entropy!

is that the wiring?  the battery?
this could get bad real quick.

Yeah, whether or not that's an electrical fire, they'll need to smother the thing in AFF foam pretty quickly if the batteries are lithium-ion!

I wonder... could May have a case against the government that they left her in a literal death trap?

I would say 'no'. The defence would be that that chassis was perfectly safe if properly maintained. The fact that she didn't have the resources to carry out the required maintenance is not the government's problem. She knows and insisted on frittering away her money on clothing, housing, consumables like coolant and power to keep the (defective) batteries topped up. What were the government supposed to do if her priorities were so skewed towards trivia?

Oh, if she has a decent lawyer who is willing to spend the time fighting through the bureaucratic quagmire, she'll probably get a nice cheque after a decade or so, which will pay out after she and everyone who knows about her case signs an NDA. The decision-makers will be reassigned upwards, the actual pen-pushers (like the guy who dissed Roko) will be dismissed for 'failing to resolve the issue' by making it go away without cost and all records of the affair will be consigned to the deepest and most inaccessible archives if not destroyed outright.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: the silent firefly on 08 Sep 2020, 23:42
double ponytail... didn't see that coming. i was worried at first but i think i really like my favorite character's new body.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 08 Sep 2020, 23:44
May’s voice sounds different to me now.

I know that’s weird, because May’s voice is just something I imagine in my head. But I just can’t map my old “May voice” onto her new body.
No no. That's totally fair. For they longest time, my brain had Allison Keith's voice assigned to May's old chassis.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Cornelius on 09 Sep 2020, 00:34
I wonder... could May have a case against the government that they left her in a literal death trap?

If we're still standing by the principle that it becomes their legal property on embodiment, I'd say that the tricky thing would be to prove that it was a death trap at time of issue. Then you get to delve into the specifics of the procurement process, and if it has been followed correctly, or has someone been (deliberately/corruptly) sloppy with it. With hers being a niche case, as we've learned, it might be hard to get much traction. Either way, it's going to be a long process. And even then, she's only had an appraisal of the state, some time after she was issued it. (Though, how much time, it's a bit difficult to gauge.)

I don't think we can really argue on the basis of what exists in our world very much, as issuing a body is not something that happens. The closest you might get, is suing over deficient health care. But even there, the specifics will be different, I should think.

If, on the other hand, the chassis were to be, and remain, property of the department of corrections/justice/what have you, it might be easier. Though, again, depending on the specifics in the arrangement - on loan, lease...- there might be the risk that she's responsible for maintenance.

Edited to add back in what I accidentally deleted.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 09 Sep 2020, 00:49
May is taking her new body very well.

And not a moment too soon...

As a random aside, if I ever have too much money to know what to do with, I want to have my body scanned and a model of my skeleton 3D printed. It would enjoy a good life as everything from a party prop to freaking out guests with strategic placement.
I'd get quite a bit of dental, nasal and sinus work done along with something experimental to treat my CTS. Maybe a silicone support tunnel?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 09 Sep 2020, 00:59
Scanning you, otoh ... dunno how one would get a 3D scan of a living person's skeleton 'just for the lulz' (radiation doses from CT scans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_scan#Adverse_effects) aren't nothing).
Thats why we have MRI scans for such a thing ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Potato Farmer on 09 Sep 2020, 01:25
I'm going to have to get used to May having such heavy eyebrows.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Annemoon on 09 Sep 2020, 02:34
May’s voice sounds different to me now.

Is her new voice... higher? XD

Body size and structure generally has an effect on the voice. Just like testosterone levels and - to lesser extend - estrogen levels.
I think you can generally 'hear' these differences, meaning your mind has subconsciously learned that differently sized people sound different etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if in females, the ratio of female to male sex-hormone levels have a noticeable enough effect on pitch (or timbre) that we would be able to pick up on that too.

May is suddenly both taller and more 'fem' in her appearance. Which we may both associate with subtle differences in voice appearance, causing the inner voice which our brain chooses to change.
Not saying that the base rules of a 'tall voice' or 'fem voice' always hold up, there are plenty of exceptions. But I think they hold up enough for our brains to set certain expectations. -- The same expectations that cause you to be 'surprised' if someone suddenly has a difference voice than you'd expect for their appearance.


On another note, Lemon is not really good at reading the room and adjusting her counsel to the person present is she?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 09 Sep 2020, 02:42
Well, at least we now know May's favourite sitcom.

(click to show/hide)
Given the magazines (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2960) we've (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3135) seen (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4015) her (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4015) reading (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4180) in (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4190) odd moments, she'd definitely be into that show.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 09 Sep 2020, 02:55
May’s voice sounds different to me now.

Is her new voice... higher? XD

Body size and structure generally has an effect on the voice. Just like testosterone levels and - to lesser extend - estrogen levels.
I think you can generally 'hear' these differences, meaning your mind has subconsciously learned that differently sized people sound different etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if in females, the ratio of female to male sex-hormone levels have a noticeable enough effect on pitch (or timbre) that we would be able to pick up on that too.

May is suddenly both taller and more 'fem' in her appearance. Which we may both associate with subtle differences in voice appearance, causing the inner voice which our brain chooses to change.
Not saying that the base rules of a 'tall voice' or 'fem voice' always hold up, there are plenty of exceptions. But I think they hold up enough for our brains to set certain expectations. -- The same expectations that cause you to be 'surprised' if someone suddenly has a difference voice than you'd expect for their appearance.


On another note, Lemon is not really good at reading the room and adjusting her counsel to the person present is she?
On body structure and voice; if robots use a simulated voice box, a taller model would likely have a deeper voice because of the larger resonance volume. But if they use a purely synthesised voice it may not change at all.
Personally I suspect May just switched from synthesised to simulated and everyone is going to notice something a little “off” eventually.

As for Lemon, I sort of got the impression that she believes May is deflecting, for which the standard tactic is to continue on the original track regardless.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 09 Sep 2020, 03:23
Scanning you, otoh ... dunno how one would get a 3D scan of a living person's skeleton 'just for the lulz' (radiation doses from CT scans (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CT_scan#Adverse_effects) aren't nothing).
Thats why we have MRI scans for such a thing ?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_resonance_imaging

Not really. Conventional MRI is insensitive to bone - though it's possible with special techniques to get imagery usable for medical diagnostics. But for a high-res scan of a skeleton that you'd feed to a 3D printer?

Quote
"One of the unusual features of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the musculoskeletal system is the fact that many of the tissues of most interest such as tendons, ligaments, menisci, periosteum, and cortical bone have short T2s and produce no signal when imaged with conventional pulse sequences. They have been described as MR “invisible.”"

https://rd.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00256-008-0592-7

And I'd like to see you persuade a clinic to use their expensive diagnostics on you so you can have a nice 3D-print of your skeleton.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 09 Sep 2020, 05:32
And I'd like to see you persuade a clinic to use their expensive diagnostics on you so you can have a nice 3D-print of your skeleton.
I dont get why thats not also a problem with CT scans though.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tormuse on 09 Sep 2020, 10:24
Sven's lucky he went for the hip joint and not the "foomph" joint...

Then he could stick it in the head side of the neck joint instead.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 09 Sep 2020, 10:44
Honestly, I'm just surprised May's lemon of a chassis didn't ignite sooner.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 09 Sep 2020, 11:09
Yet the chassis of a Lemon seems to be holding up quite well.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Roborat on 09 Sep 2020, 11:30
I wasn't sure how I was going to like May in this new body, but she is making it hers, and her personality is starting to come through.  I look forward to how her life goes now, particularly how she handles the attention she is going to get, that is a pretty hot looking body. Maybe it can lead to a better job, so she can afford to maintain herself properly.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Killspree on 09 Sep 2020, 11:34
Curious to how long before she has some form of buyers remorse.

I can kinda imagine her wanting her old face again, if I squint really hard.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 09 Sep 2020, 14:10
My guess is that May will get really tired, really quickly, of continually telling others: "Yes, it's really <expletive> me".
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: MrNumbers on 09 Sep 2020, 18:16
She just went from disability to super-ability in the span of thirty seconds, I don't know how else she could possibly react to this.

Give her like forty eight hours to chill out.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 09 Sep 2020, 18:30
Well... At least we know for sure that May still has the same personality.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Somebody on 09 Sep 2020, 19:13
Meanwhile, Roko is trying to leave reality to escape from the situation.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: beeawwb on 09 Sep 2020, 19:26
REPRESENT!

(You can decide for yourself which club or clubs that may refer to. Pun intended.)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 09 Sep 2020, 19:32
I didn’t realise we had a robot with buttholes among the forumites. Nice.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 09 Sep 2020, 19:37
Plural? 





What happened to human standard?  I know, some people have an extra they talk out of, but...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 09 Sep 2020, 19:47
Yep - still May   :roll:

Clothes shopping sometime soon? I notice she can't do up her shorts...or is that on purpose? 

(BTW, I wouldn't make the whappawhappawhap on Momo's head a habit, May - not unless you want to see Momo lose her cool, in a zappy kinda way!)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: jesslc on 09 Sep 2020, 19:57
Uh oh, is Roko starting to dissociate again? Her appearance in the last panel reminds me a lot of the last time that happened - a shift in hue, blurred edges... (see panel 3 here - https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4110)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 09 Sep 2020, 20:04
May is still May. *lol*
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: the silent firefly on 09 Sep 2020, 20:11
that first panel is absolutely quintessential May. love it!

i wonder if we'll get to see a change in May's style. she's gonna need new clothes and maybe she'll be more willing to put a little more $$ into it now that she is learning to accept her own value. plus she'll probably want to make that new body look good.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 09 Sep 2020, 20:35
Uh oh, is Roko starting to dissociate again? Her appearance in the last panel reminds me a lot of the last time that happened - a shift in hue, blurred edges... (see panel 3 here - https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4110)
At first I thought May was just shaking her really fast, but I actually think you might be right. Being in the presence of 1) so many unused robot bodies and 2) an AI who immediately felt at home in her new chassis and is shouting about all her bodily features could be a little traumatic.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: jesslc on 09 Sep 2020, 20:47
Also, surely it must have been more than a few days since this conversation: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3914

Did Roko never come back to discuss further therapeutic options because she thought Lemon was bad at her job? But futher therapeutic options might not just involve "therapy" with Lemon... and surely it's worth exploring all the possibilities.

Well, from a meta perspective, perhaps that's why Lemon is present now - so that she can remind Roko there are other therapeutic options that may help her.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 09 Sep 2020, 20:58
I didn’t realise we had a robot with buttholes among the forumites. Nice.
Oh shoot, did I leave that out of my personal information again?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: SeattleCrochetWoman on 09 Sep 2020, 21:36
that first panel is absolutely quintessential May. love it!

i wonder if we'll get to see a change in May's style. she's gonna need new clothes and maybe she'll be more willing to put a little more $$ into it now that she is learning to accept her own value. plus she'll probably want to make that new body look good.

If she has much money to spare, considering she works in a convenience store.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: St.Clair on 09 Sep 2020, 21:49
My guess is that May will get really tired, really quickly, of continually telling others: "Yes, it's really <expletive> me".
[four hours later, new comic is posted]

... actually, I don't think that will be a problem.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: St.Clair on 09 Sep 2020, 22:23
also, I'm not sure if Roko is dissociating again or just disapproving so strongly that she's vibrating.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: TRenn on 09 Sep 2020, 22:26
May got out of her body just in time 😮

Apparently May's old body had at least ONE thing in common with the Bluesmobile from "The Blues Brothers" movie. During that final police chase through downtown Chicago, it held together barely as long as the brothers needed it, then collapsed into parts the moment they arrived at their destination.

And in retrospect, I'm shocked the filmmakers didn't have the parts spontaneously combust at that point.  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 09 Sep 2020, 22:38
Honestly, if it weren't a biological necessity, I wouldn't want a butthole. They're gross. Even if you're a robot and no poop comes out of the butthole, they're still pretty gnarly.

Apparently, panel 1, we learn that May isn't too clear on how to use a zipper.

I really didn't have quite a grasp on how tall May is in her new body until seeing her in the same panel as Dale. That seems... bad.

Despite my knee-jerk reaction, on further reflection I think her ragging on Momo for being short is the only truly awful thing. Yeah, tit-hug is crossing boundaries, but that particular boundry-crossing is pretty common in QC land. Marigold has done it herself a few times, if not quite so aggressively. And clearly Roko is really pissed that May is telling the world that she has a butthole, but honestly, buttholes are pretty much part of life.

I suspect it will be a while before Roko stops regretting helping May, though. In particular helping her to the extent she could afford the Josefine MX, with the height and butthole.

Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 09 Sep 2020, 22:40
I think that May just doesn't fit into her old clothes anymore, so she CAN'T zip up her pants 🙂
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 09 Sep 2020, 23:25
Oof! Remember what I said on Tuesday about managing euphoria? Well, I'd say that over 2/3 of what we're seeing in today's strip is just that. Especially her reaction to Momo. I couldn't ever see her having the guts to do that normally (she's been shocked at least once)!

FWIW, I would ask Marigold if May's hug-plllows have the same narcotic properties as her own!

It's pretty obvious that May is going to need a new wardrobe. Even heavily modified, her existing clothes are barely holding on!

that first panel is absolutely quintessential May. love it!

i wonder if we'll get to see a change in May's style. she's gonna need new clothes and maybe she'll be more willing to put a little more $$ into it now that she is learning to accept her own value. plus she'll probably want to make that new body look good.

I'm not sure that we will. Body change or no, May is still May and I suspect that she'll still have the same basic tastes. That said, I do wonder if she'll get some 'show off' clothes for when she particularly wants to impress someone.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Bollthorn on 09 Sep 2020, 23:47
Dem pigtails tho ^w^
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 10 Sep 2020, 02:00
...wondering if May is being set up for a fall...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 10 Sep 2020, 02:05
She’s got a long way to fall now.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 10 Sep 2020, 02:08
...wondering if May is being set up for a fall...

I do wonder if Jeph, with his experience with mood swings, is working towards a big 'down' (either internal or external) to balance out May's current euphoria.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 10 Sep 2020, 02:12
She’s got a long way to fall now.

(https://thumbs.gfycat.com/ContentWildArmyworm-small.gif)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: jwhouk on 10 Sep 2020, 04:18
Dissociative episode incoming....
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 10 Sep 2020, 04:47
I dunno if she will have a dissociative episode, but there's every chance that at least she will need to come to terms with the idea that having a new chassis won't solve all of her life's problems.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 10 Sep 2020, 05:10
I think that May just doesn't fit into her old clothes anymore, so she CAN'T zip up her pants 🙂

I noticed that her t-shirt is now a tank top. Not sure, but I suspect a little more fabric might have needed to be removed to accommodate for the larger volume (not a euphemism) of her new chassis's torso. I'd have to go back a few pages to before the switch to get a better idea though.

May’s voice sounds different to me now.

Is her new voice... higher? XD

Body size and structure generally has an effect on the voice. Just like testosterone levels and - to lesser extend - estrogen levels.
I think you can generally 'hear' these differences, meaning your mind has subconsciously learned that differently sized people sound different etc.
I wouldn't be surprised if in females, the ratio of female to male sex-hormone levels have a noticeable enough effect on pitch (or timbre) that we would be able to pick up on that too.

May is suddenly both taller and more 'fem' in her appearance. Which we may both associate with subtle differences in voice appearance, causing the inner voice which our brain chooses to change.
Not saying that the base rules of a 'tall voice' or 'fem voice' always hold up, there are plenty of exceptions. But I think they hold up enough for our brains to set certain expectations. -- The same expectations that cause you to be 'surprised' if someone suddenly has a difference voice than you'd expect for their appearance.


On another note, Lemon is not really good at reading the room and adjusting her counsel to the person present is she?
On body structure and voice; if robots use a simulated voice box, a taller model would likely have a deeper voice because of the larger resonance volume. But if they use a purely synthesised voice it may not change at all.
Personally I suspect May just switched from synthesised to simulated and everyone is going to notice something a little “off” eventually.

As for Lemon, I sort of got the impression that she believes May is deflecting, for which the standard tactic is to continue on the original track regardless.

And remember, body size isn't just in reference to height.

I'm 5'5" and my natural voice[1] is a baritone bordering on bass. Mostly thanks having a large frame (not a euphemism) despite my height. Honestly, it's a wonder my voice isn't deeper thanks to my barrel-chest and particularly broad shoulders[2]. To put things in perspective, I have to wear an American 2XL labcoat at work so I can actually move my arms forward beyond a ~10° angle without ripping the seams[3]. I can pull the front of the labcoat forward ~10 inches (~25.5cm) from my chest.

[1] I tend to up-pitch slightly because many people misinterpret my natural voice as sounding angry, aggressive, annoyed, or sarcastic. Most of my coworkers have blown out their lower and mid-range hearing, so I often have to up-pitch even further when on the factory floor.
[2]Yes, clothes shopping is a pain. Shoe shopping is worse.
[3] I've ripped out the shoulder seems on a shirt once in high school (grade 11) and once in college. Hopefully never again.

EDI: removing some overshare.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 10 Sep 2020, 05:45
I get the vague notion that May likes her new body...  :meh:



I'm 5'5" and my natural voice[1] is a baritone bordering on bass.
That depends mainly upon the length of your vocal cords, and not much else.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 10 Sep 2020, 06:20
I dunno if she will have a dissociative episode, but there's every chance that at least she will need to come to terms with the idea that having a new chassis won't solve all of her life's problems.
I don't think it's May that will have the dissociative episode... take a close look at the last panel.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 10 Sep 2020, 07:26
...wondering if May is being set up for a fall...

If she pulls these antics with Bubbles it could be a literal fall.  May is bigger, but not Bubbles size.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 10 Sep 2020, 14:17
I get the vague notion that May likes her new body...  :meh:



I'm 5'5" and my natural voice[1] is a baritone bordering on bass.
That depends mainly upon the length of your vocal cords, and not much else.
So my barrel chest doesn't factor in?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 10 Sep 2020, 14:58
In the QC 'verse, an AI could have a chest made from an actual barrel.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 10 Sep 2020, 17:19
In the QC 'verse, an AI could have a chest made from an actual barrel.
Caskidy
Caskper
Barrelomew
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 10 Sep 2020, 18:04
Comic's up.

I hope someone has a paperclip that they can use to reset Roko.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 10 Sep 2020, 18:08
Good call, jesslc.

What happens now? Roko's dissociation problems clearly aren't getting any better. Does she go to Yay? Does she find a therapy group? Does she get another body? How's she even going to get out of the store if she can barely stand?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 10 Sep 2020, 18:28
I noticed that the effect initiated with the may Hug and the mention of butt holes.
Is that feature something new to her chassis that wasn't available on the old one?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: MrNumbers on 10 Sep 2020, 18:41
I think she's just having a crisis over the fact that May immediately had no problems with getting a new body, no angst, just got super happy about it. Which wasn't her experience.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Drunken Old Man on 10 Sep 2020, 18:46
I need to hug Roko now and I am physically incapable of doing so.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Somebody on 10 Sep 2020, 19:01
The big problem for me with this Roko plot is that this should be fixable - if the level of access to the AI's software existed for human consciousness, treating most IRL mental health issues would be like setting a bone in plaster (at worst).

However, the stuff it's a metaphor for IRL can't be fixed IRL, so it can't be fixed in-plot lest the IRL problems get trivialised. It's a plot wall.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 10 Sep 2020, 19:22
But the AI mind is constantly changing, just like the human mind. This means that any given fix may not be permanent. Also, if Yay is refusing to help Roko even though they know she's having trouble, it must be a HUGE sanctity-of-mind violation. Would you get a bone set in plaster if the doctor gained knowledge of all of your deepest secrets, desires, and fears? Even if you agreed, would the doctor be okay with that?

TL;DR: I imagine it's much more than a simple software fix.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Sorflakne on 10 Sep 2020, 19:41
Normally I'm meh about cliffhangers, but now I really want to know what's up with Roku.

I think she's just having a crisis over the fact that May immediately had no problems with getting a new body, no angst, just got super happy about it. Which wasn't her experience.

Well, the two also had very different New Body experiences.  Roku's previous body was accidentally crushed out of nowhere, and she was forced into a new body for continued autonomy/survival.  Roku had formed a bond/sense of self with her previous body, and even though her current one is an upgrade of her previous body, it didn't (doesn't?) feel like her own, so there was/is adjustment going on.  May on the other hand was in a body she hated from Day 1 and was ready to do anything to get out of it.  She complained about its issues, had to do a lot of maintenance to keep it functioning, and is a safe bet that she never formed a sense of self around it.  Other than wanting to be a fighter jet, we don't know what May's former body was (or if she even had one), and it's entirely possible she only existed within a server, so never had a physical sense of self, hence why she's taking so quick to her new body.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 10 Sep 2020, 19:48
The big problem for me with this Roko plot is that this should be fixable - if the level of access to the AI's software existed for human consciousness, treating most IRL mental health issues would be like setting a bone in plaster (at worst).

What level of access to AI software are you imagining exists?

As a point of comparison, bugs in today's neural networks can in fact be difficult to diagnose and fix. This is because of the way this type of software is given data and learns how to classify it in order to give the right results. Precisely what decisions it makes after it is trained is opaque to the developer. If it goes wrong, troubleshooting can be very difficult. Especially when it could be the code, it could be the model, or it could be the quality of the data.

And this type of software is Lego (tm) compared to the level of intelligence displayed by QC AIs, which are emergent lifeforms, not designed software with well-understood algorithms.

(https://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/machine_learning.png)

This is accurate.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 10 Sep 2020, 20:18
My guess is that May will get really tired, really quickly, of continually telling others: "Yes, it's really <expletive> me".

My guess is that this will not be a problem at all.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Shremedy on 10 Sep 2020, 20:20

You think in this world there has to be an IT procurement officer who is in serious trouble with his boss when they find out he bought 10,000+ licences of something NOT quite Microsoft "Office"...
and then finding out Office Excel and Orifice Expel are similar sounding too. :P
and Edge and Stream would have different meanings below the robot waist too.

THANK YOU FOR REGISTERING MICRO$OPHT ORIFICE.  THIS EMAIL IS TO ADVISE YOU THAT AS OF DECEMBER 31ST OF THIS YEAR, ORIFICE WILL BE DEPRECATED IN FAVOR OF THE CLOUD-BASED @NALDRIVE365 APP.  PLEASE DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL THE APP FROM THE MICRO$OPHT STORE BEFORE THEN.  THANK YOU AGAIN FOR CHOOSING MICRO$OPHT.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Elder Sign on 10 Sep 2020, 20:20
What happens now? Roko's dissociation problems clearly aren't getting any better. Does she go to Yay? Does she find a therapy group? Does she get another body? How's she even going to get out of the store if she can barely stand?

"Hello, I.T.  Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

I need to hug Roko now and I am physically incapable of doing so.

I can only concur wholeheartedly.  Roko's been by far the most sympathy-prompting member of the cast for a long time now.  She deserves a lot more love than she's been receiving.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Shremedy on 10 Sep 2020, 20:33
My guess is that May will get really tired, really quickly, of continually telling others: "Yes, it's really <expletive> me".
Robot chassis seem to have wifi and/or Bluetooth enabled.  Her MAC address has changed, but her SSID  (probably) still reads "MAY" (unless it's FUCKING_MAY_YOU_FUCKER).  It's probably hard-wired to make robot ID's trackable.  So, other robots will be able to ID her as soon as they're in receiving range.  Humans, on the other hand...?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 10 Sep 2020, 20:36
Roko needs a lay down...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: the silent firefly on 10 Sep 2020, 20:39
If she has much money to spare, considering she works in a convenience store.

good point but i could see that changing.


I'm not sure that we will. Body change or no, May is still May and I suspect that she'll still have the same basic tastes. That said, I do wonder if she'll get some 'show off' clothes for when she particularly wants to impress someone.

another good point but i could see her enjoying the experience of showing off a bit.


this whole thing potentially opens up a lot of doors for May. we don't really know but can probably assume that a good portion of her income was previously spent keeping her body functioning. that money will be freed up now and she has the options of spending a bit more than usual or creating some savings... or perhaps a bit of both. May will still be May but it will be interesting to see how this new body affects her mental state and attitude. of course she'll still come off like a low brass player, dick and fart jokes and all, but maybe she'll be a bit less combative and overall a tad bit more positive.

she will still have her legal limitations on certain kinds of employment but a good-looking and fully functional body should definitely give her some better opportunities, particularly if it comes paired with a better attitude.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: the silent firefly on 10 Sep 2020, 20:43
ps  poor Roko

coming to terms with having a butthole can be traumatic
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 10 Sep 2020, 20:45
Here's the thing about all of this; Roko is having her dissociative episode in one of the best places possible. Another embodied AI who had issues with a previous chassis is there. And --for what it's worth-- so is Lemon. We may see what level of competency she truly has. Or May and Ana (I think it was 'Ana') could be a major help.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 10 Sep 2020, 20:54
Ama, I think. 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 10 Sep 2020, 20:55
Roko needs a lay down...

Do you mean she needs a lie down, or she needs someone to lay down some phat beats?  :claireface:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 10 Sep 2020, 21:11
Maybe she needs to get laid.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Farideh on 10 Sep 2020, 21:16
She tried, but Pintsize wasn't right for her
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 10 Sep 2020, 21:30
I doubt May will ever have dissociative issues. II4C, in contrast to Roko, she wasn't born embodied, so her "true self" isn't bound to a physical form. Or at least not to a humanoid form.
I wonder at what point she knew she was female: before, while or after being Dale's virtual companion. But bring a blue robot (chick) seems to stem from her old body.


Poor Roko though. Whether this episode has been triggered by May feeling right at home, putting spotlight on her (new) body wise, or the orifice talk remains yet to be seen.
Makes me wonder now whether the new Philomena model has some new hardware features Roko doesn't really care about or didn't yet get to look at in detail. If left uninitialized, that could lead to a constant "new smell", which could making feel at home hard.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 10 Sep 2020, 21:34
Maybe she needs to get laid.

Hopefully the right guy rolls along. Not someone who loafs around. Having a lot of dough probably helps.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: SeattleCrochetWoman on 10 Sep 2020, 21:36
I think that May just doesn't fit into her old clothes anymore, so she CAN'T zip up her pants 🙂

Yes, she must’ve had pants with zippers to clothe her old body. Of course she knows how to operate a zipper.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Case on 10 Sep 2020, 22:12
Maybe she needs to get laid.

Hopefully the right guy rolls along. Not someone who loafs around. Having a lot of dough probably helps.

Those are aweful puns and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Please do go on ...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 10 Sep 2020, 23:23
She just needs to find someone who can give her what she kneads.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 10 Sep 2020, 23:28
Oof, well, its a good thing this is happening with Lemon around. She may actually have previous experience of AIs going through this experience and either know the right therapy groups or (and this interests me) she may know the right software adjustments needed. Then it becomes a debate on whether Roko literally wants her mind changed in some ways so that she doesn't feel this disassociation anymore. Would she even be the same woman anymore? She's asked Yay to do it but probably knew they wouldn't do it. However, if the opportunity was offered with the actual likelihood of it happening? It could lead to an interesting parable about the effect of psychiatric medicines on the patient's personality.

I think she's just having a crisis over the fact that May immediately had no problems with getting a new body, no angst, just got super happy about it. Which wasn't her experience.

Interesting suggestion. Is she currently disassociating or is she having a different kind of breakdown over whether she's defective, given that May is completely okay but she is having side-effects from a much less radical chassis change? Oddly enough, I think that Lemon is going to find out that there are problems because the change was so subtle.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: wdfarmer on 11 Sep 2020, 00:18
Could May's new body have its own suite of nanobots that have just infected Roko?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr Intrepid on 11 Sep 2020, 00:34
I'm wondering if the root cause lies in the similarities  between Roko's old and new chassis.  There's just enough difference that conflicts arise between the two that conflicts arise and the disassociation kicks in.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Dinaverg on 11 Sep 2020, 01:16
I'm wondering if the root cause lies in the similarities  between Roko's old and new chassis.  There's just enough difference that conflicts arise between the two that conflicts arise and the disassociation kicks in.
other than the relative trauma of the process, mentioned earlier, it does seem like a possibility, from the outside. You could forget that whole thing happened, just occasionally.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 11 Sep 2020, 01:31
Could May's new body have its own suite of nanobots that have just infected Roko?
Lord willing, she's not the QC equivalent of Unity.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 11 Sep 2020, 02:02
So my barrel chest doesn't factor in?
Well, I dont know how much it factors in, but its definitely not decisive. The main factor is definitely the vocal cords.

The human voice works much more like a string instrument than a flute or trumpet. If you give a violin a larger body, but keep the strings at the same length, tension, material and diameter/weight, it will sound different but it wont change much in regards to tone height.

For example, in ages of old eunuchs have been sopranos and altists. Despite having the body of grown men, they still had high pitched voices like a woman or child.

Likewise tall women still have female voices.

Likewise short asian men still have male voices. I know a guy who is about 1.50m and he still has a male voice. Heck the actor Peter Dinklage is 1.32m and he still has a male voice.

Likewise when people get more fat, or get more muscular, or get larger lungs from living at higher altitudes, their voices dont get lower.

Likewise, when you expand your range of possible tones you can sing, a big part is making your vocal cords stronger through constant training, so you can raise their tension. The possibilities to expand your range downwards are much more limited; you can really only learn technique, but not train any muscles for that.

So yes, the vocal cords are the main factor for this.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: snubnose on 11 Sep 2020, 02:38
What level of access to AI software are you imagining exists?

As a point of comparison, bugs in today's neural networks can in fact be difficult to diagnose and fix. [...]
Well, you basically already explain why yourself, but the choice of words "difficult" is really incorrect. Its simply impossible, not merely difficult.

Unless your neural network is really tiny and the task trivial, they are completely impossible to actually diagnose, because you cannot possibly find out what the AI is really doing, and therefore you cannot actually fix anything.

All you can do is stuff like trying to train the AI more hoping it gets better at its job, add even more circutry to the AI so it gets more "intelligent", or train a completely new AI from scratch hoping it works better this time.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: traroth on 11 Sep 2020, 03:31
Maybe she needs to get laid.

Hopefully the right guy rolls along. Not someone who loafs around. Having a lot of dough probably helps.

Those are aweful puns and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Please do go on ...

More like awful buns...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tormuse on 11 Sep 2020, 03:49
Is Roko having a dissociative episode because May made her think of her butthole?  Oh, crap.  (Pun maybe intended)  :P
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: TinPenguin on 11 Sep 2020, 06:05
I think it's more triggered by May's casual comfort with (and to some extent disregard for) her new chassis. She is acting like she got a new car or a shiny piece of tech, treating it as a new plaything, and reminding Roko that the chassis is not truly part of the person. Thence stems her disassociative reaction.

In other words, she was reminded that her butthole is not her.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: artag on 11 Sep 2020, 06:43
I have no problem with the writing. I just don't like Renee that much. She speaks bluntly and almost aggressively in most situations, which is often not a good thing and results in hurt feelings. It's definitely in character--I just don't agree with said character.
[/quote]

Gotta say that I really like Renee. For much the same reasons :) Not the 'hurt' but perhaps, but I don't think that happens so often. I just like that she says how she sees it. And is actually a REALLY nice person - look at her tolerance of Brun's accomodation problems, and desire to help people (even if  they don't know how to use it).

Here's my yay for Renee :)
 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: artag on 11 Sep 2020, 07:07
In other words, she was reminded that her butthole is not her.

I was actually thinking maybe she's realised the butthole isn't just decorative (!) and is somewhat fazed by the idea. I'd forgotten about the disassociative stuff.

Remember that Roko was comfortable in her old body until it was crushed. May, on the other hand, hated hers. That would make it a lot easier to make the transiiton - Roko's was forced, May's was very much wanted.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 11 Sep 2020, 07:28
So my barrel chest doesn't factor in?
Well, I dont know how much it factors in, but its definitely not decisive. The main factor is definitely the vocal cords.

Barrel chestedness may contribute to resonance, although that comes more from the sinuses.  Its real contribution is to the volume of the lungs - this may contribute to volume in general, but also in sustained length of a phrase between breaths. 

Do you find yourself speaking in run-on sentences?  When singing, can you hold a long note for several measures without cheating a breath?  Or do you find people reminding you to use your "indoor voice"? 



No? 

Well, so much for that theory...  :roll:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Boxer on 11 Sep 2020, 08:12
... and now we know why Lemon is in the next room :P
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: sitnspin on 11 Sep 2020, 08:44
I've always had a deep voice for a woman. Enough so to cause some people confusion. I grew six inches between my mid to late teens and my early 20's.  I didn't notice much a change in the octave of my voice. So, anecdotally, I don't think size has much to do with it.

I mean, look at Mike Tyson.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 11 Sep 2020, 09:57
Is Roko having a dissociative episode because May made her think of her butthole?  Oh, crap.  (Pun maybe intended)  :P

Pun, or don't pun. There is no maybe. Own them. You're the pundit.


I'm wondering if the root cause lies in the similarities  between Roko's old and new chassis.  There's just enough difference that conflicts arise between the two that conflicts arise and the disassociation kicks in.

Definetly a strong work hypothesis. Depends though, some AIs may have it easier being closer to the one before, while other may have a harder time. Maybe Roko is susceptible to that in general, and "straying too far" from before makes it worse.



Maybe she needs to get laid.

Hopefully the right guy rolls along. Not someone who loafs around. Having a lot of dough probably helps.

Those are aweful puns and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Please do go on ...

More like awful buns...

Please, don't open Pundora's Box ...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 11 Sep 2020, 10:10
Did you hear the one about when Olive Garden added genitalia to bread? It was unlimited bread's dicks.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 11 Sep 2020, 10:26
In the QC 'verse, an AI could have a chest made from an actual barrel.
Caskidy
Caskper
Barrelomew

It’s actually the Tom Servo.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Raptorofwar on 11 Sep 2020, 10:43
Mmmm, yes, dissociation time go brrt.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 11 Sep 2020, 11:09
Did you hear the one about when Olive Garden added genitalia to bread? It was unlimited bread's dicks.

Pun, or don't pun. There is no maybe. Own them. You're the pundit.

--snip--

Please, don't open Pundora's Box ...
More like awful buns...
She just needs to find someone who can give her what she kneads.
Hopefully the right guy rolls along. Not someone who loafs around. Having a lot of dough probably helps.
PLEASE

SPARE ME

I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 11 Sep 2020, 11:54
Other than wanting to be a fighter jet, we don't know what May's former body was (or if she even had one), and it's entirely possible she only existed within a server, so never had a physical sense of self, hence why she's taking so quick to her new body.
Actually we definitely know she was not embodied before. We saw that when Roko went to talk with the body assignment guy (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4173), who explicitly calls May out as being in the niche group oif disembodied AIs who request a body upon release. The fact that this is such a small group is the reason that their hardware budget only allows them to acquire variously defective bodies.

And really, it's hard to blame the system for this. If any other AI wants a body, they have to go and pay for it themselves, or get someone else to buy it for them. Why should the correctional system be responsible for buying a body for an AI just because they decide on release that they want one now? It might make some sense as part of the overall rehabilitation effort, but they certainly don't seem to have any ethical obligation to do so.

If she has much money to spare, considering she works in a convenience store.
good point but i could see that changing.
[...]
she will still have her legal limitations on certain kinds of employment but a good-looking and fully functional body should definitely give her some better opportunities, particularly if it comes paired with a better attitude.
I don't know about that. Her problems previously stemmed from being a convicted felon, plus in one case simply being an AI, and neither of those things has changed. Previous prospective employers would not have known about her old body's issues so I don't see that having a reliable body will help in that area.

Now you're definitely right that if she develops a better attitude towards other people and life generally as a result of being in a good quality body, that will help in the job search. But that remains to be seen.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 11 Sep 2020, 11:55
Did you hear the one about when Olive Garden added genitalia to bread? It was unlimited bread's dicks.

I would ask how amd why I deserved this, but I know perfectly well myself.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Wingy on 11 Sep 2020, 13:20
Did you hear the one about when Olive Garden added genitalia to bread? It was unlimited bread's dicks.
That's why I thought Roko was having problems.  She'd gotten some bread earlier and now it's having some unexpected effect on her.  An allergy, or simply crumbs shorting out her processor, or ...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: immortalfrieza on 11 Sep 2020, 14:33
I doubt May will ever have dissociative issues. II4C, in contrast to Roko, she wasn't born embodied, so her "true self" isn't bound to a physical form. Or at least not to a humanoid form.
All AIs are born disembodied. They are created in a virtual environment with other AIs of their generation, are eventually bootstrapped to self awareness, and then given a choice of function which may or may not include possessing a body. Being disembodied is an AI's natural state, whatever that may mean for an artificial life form.

Roko's issues seem to be based on the fact that she spent years in a particular body only to have to change it against her will. It's unlikely even the exact same model of chassis with the exact same appearance would have prevented these dissociative episodes. I'm not surprised she's experiencing a dissociative episode right now, she's among empty chassis and witnessing other AIs changing their bodies which would remind her of the fact that she isn't in her original one. I doubt whether May was having issues with her own replacement body or not would have changed this.

I've been looking through the old archives lately and I would love to see a return of the Robot Anatomy comics detailing the specs of May and Roko's current Chassis, Melon/Lemon too.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Dinaverg on 11 Sep 2020, 16:26
Other than wanting to be a fighter jet, we don't know what May's former body was (or if she even had one), and it's entirely possible she only existed within a server, so never had a physical sense of self, hence why she's taking so quick to her new body.
Actually we definitely know she was not embodied before. We saw that when Roko went to talk with the body assignment guy (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4173), who explicitly calls May out as being in the niche group oif disembodied AIs who request a body upon release. The fact that this is such a small group is the reason that their hardware budget only allows them to acquire variously defective bodies.

And really, it's hard to blame the system for this. If any other AI wants a body, they have to go and pay for it themselves, or get someone else to buy it for them. Why should the correctional system be responsible for buying a body for an AI just because they decide on release that they want one now? It might make some sense as part of the overall rehabilitation effort, but they certainly don't seem to have any ethical obligation to do so.

If she has much money to spare, considering she works in a convenience store.
good point but i could see that changing.
[...]
she will still have her legal limitations on certain kinds of employment but a good-looking and fully functional body should definitely give her some better opportunities, particularly if it comes paired with a better attitude.
I don't know about that. Her problems previously stemmed from being a convicted felon, plus in one case simply being an AI, and neither of those things has changed. Previous prospective employers would not have known about her old body's issues so I don't see that having a reliable body will help in that area.

Now you're definitely right that if she develops a better attitude towards other people and life generally as a result of being in a good quality body, that will help in the job search. But that remains to be seen.

I mean, statistically, just being taller means more money. 1,000 p/inch, if I recall correctly.
that said though, attractiveness (which, it seems to be the consensus, may now has more of) can also mean opportunities opening up. Even without an actual change in personality, there are things a more attractive person will be able to...'get away with', so to speak. #HaloEffect
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Tova on 11 Sep 2020, 18:31
May is possibly used to being somewhat invisible... I wonder how she will cope with the sudden onslaught of attention from people.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: brasca on 11 Sep 2020, 20:58
It’s been noted that Roko bears a resemblance to Alice Grove’s, Alice, but now May looks like Sedna.  I know this takes place in a separate universe, but it’s still fun to speculate that Roko’s disassociation disorder will require an experimental chassis she won’t have a problem with possibly engineered by Spookybot, thus the Maxwell Demons were born.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 12 Sep 2020, 01:56
So my barrel chest doesn't factor in?
Well, I dont know how much it factors in, but its definitely not decisive. The main factor is definitely the vocal cords.

Barrel chestedness may contribute to resonance, although that comes more from the sinuses.  Its real contribution is to the volume of the lungs - this may contribute to volume in general, but also in sustained length of a phrase between breaths. 

Do you find yourself speaking in run-on sentences?  When singing, can you hold a long note for several measures without cheating a breath?  Or do you find people reminding you to use your "indoor voice"? 



No? 

Well, so much for that theory...  :roll:
I can sustain a note for about 20seconds 15 seconds with a normal breathe.

As for volume, I actually have this in my old Human Anatomy and Physiology lab notes (I'll have to dig for them later). I had the same total lung capacity as the linebacker (and only other male) who was in my lab class. He's 6'7 (~2.5m), over a foot taller than me.

EDIT: Actually used a stopwatch this time. I can sustain the note for 15 seconds at normal speaking volume before it falters. I can hold the note for 10 seconds with a normal breathe (caught myself taking a slightly deeper breathe the 3rd time for verification, then timed it with a normal one after that). So, probably not as impressive as it initially sounded.
EDIT2: I did make it to 18 seconds when trying after a yawn just now.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 12 Sep 2020, 07:02

I can sustain a note for about 20seconds with a normal breathe.

As for volume, I actually have this in my old Human Anatomy and Physiology lab notes (I'll have to dig for them later). I had the same total lung capacity as the linebacker (and only other male) who was in my lab class. He's 6'7 (~2.5m), over a foot taller than me.

Whoa, 20 seconds?  At moderate tempo, that's about 30 beats!  In 4/4 we're talking nearly 8 measures...


 Hypothesis...
(https://p.kindpng.com/picc/s/296-2967432_transparent-confirmed-png-calligraphy-png-download.png)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: no one special on 12 Sep 2020, 16:21
I notice she can't do up her shorts...or is that on purpose

It's because her new body has wider hips!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Sorflakne on 13 Sep 2020, 15:03
Thick hips...save ships?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 13 Sep 2020, 15:04
Thick hips...save ships?
Per Kancolle rules… yes, they do.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: somnolesence on 13 Sep 2020, 15:15
I know I'm a bit late to to conversation but I honestly have to the joke in the last panel of "low blood sugar.", "Wait whose blood" got me.

I just love the sort of off hand delivery and completely disassociated smile like Roko really isn't in there right now and that excuse being the first thing her mind came up with as reasonable.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 13 Sep 2020, 21:00
All AIs are born disembodied. They are created in a virtual environment with other AIs of their generation, are eventually bootstrapped to self awareness, and then given a choice of function which may or may not include possessing a body. Being disembodied is an AI's natural state, whatever that may mean for an artificial life form.
While you're essentially correct, note that Roko said previously that she'd had her original body ever since she was born (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3574). So the specific term "born" in relation to AIs seems to relate to the moment they graduate from the creche, in which they may be either embodied or not.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 14 Sep 2020, 14:13
May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?

Has there been any indication of him having this opinion in the comic? I have no idea, I just throw him under the bus at any opportunity.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 14 Sep 2020, 22:17
May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?

Has there been any indication of him having this opinion in the comic? I have no idea, I just throw him under the bus at any opportunity.
Ya know, I've never understood that. Maybe it's because I'm only 5'5" (165cm).
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 14 Sep 2020, 23:40
May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?


I don't know about New Reformed Sven, but I reckon Old Slimeball Sven would happily seduce anything with two X chromosomes, regardless of height, appearance or (I suspect) species...  :evil:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 15 Sep 2020, 07:16
May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?

Has there been any indication of him having this opinion in the comic? I have no idea, I just throw him under the bus at any opportunity.
Ya know, I've never understood that. Maybe it's because I'm only 5'5" (165cm).

Actually, those I have met with this issue have all been men of below average height for this country. As a tall man myself (6'3") I've not had that issue, I'm much more sensitive about my fading hairline - and indeed I particularly haven't worried about women being taller than me because I am typically attracted to powerful women and tallness is obviously an unconscious signifier of power.

May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?


I don't know about New Reformed Sven, but I reckon Old Slimeball Sven would happily seduce anything with two X chromosomes, regardless of height, appearance or (I suspect) species...  :evil:

You may have a point there.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 15 Sep 2020, 13:14
I'm 6'4", and the tallest gf I had was 5'6", but I haven't really been deliberately restricting my dating pool to those in the Shire.  Taller women have just always rejected me.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 15 Sep 2020, 18:25
Weird. I’m also 6’4”, and tall women usually sought me out.

That being said, I also dated a number of very petite women. The shortest was 4’6”.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Wingy on 15 Sep 2020, 18:51
Somehow I think May is about to learn that there are different expectations of her behavior now that she's tall.  Hopefully her new chassis comes through relatively unscathed.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 15 Sep 2020, 23:39
May seems tall now, wonder how tall she is compared to Sven

Will Sven be okay dating such a tall woman, or does he have an issue with it like many guys?

Has there been any indication of him having this opinion in the comic? I have no idea, I just throw him under the bus at any opportunity.
Ya know, I've never understood that. Maybe it's because I'm only 5'5" (165cm).

Actually, those I have met with this issue have all been men of below average height for this country. As a tall man myself (6'3") I've not had that issue, I'm much more sensitive about my fading hairline - and indeed I particularly haven't worried about women being taller than me because I am typically attracted to powerful women and tallness is obviously an unconscious signifier of power.

[snip]
*shrugs*

IDK then. Maybe because I've come to terms with my shortness? Or maybe it's because I know it wasn't just getting a pair of tt alleles (partially empty cella syndrome)? Maybe it's because I know I probably wouldn't have even made 5ft (152cm) if my folks hadn't fought to get their insurance to cover the [then] new artificial growth hormone meds I was on from 5th grade through freshman year of high school?
Probably all three.

Yes, 4 years of it got me 6 or 7 extra inches of height. I was projected to top out around 4'8" without the Humatrope.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Cornelius on 16 Sep 2020, 05:41
I don't know, at 6'2", I think petite women are cute, but never sought them out to date - I like to be able to easily look my date in the eyes. As it happens, my wife is just about an inch shorter than I am - though she tries to look a lot shorter in all our pictures.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 16 Sep 2020, 06:37
As long as we get along well and understand each other, and she's within 4 to 6 years of my age (up or down), I don't care if she's taller or shorter than me.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 16 Sep 2020, 14:31
So, I was 5' 6" (1.68 m for those playing along outside the US) and 150 lbs (68 kg) by the time I hit 6th grade, the second biggest kid in the school, and a good bit taller than most. 

Then I stopped growing, and watched nearly everyone pass me by through junior high and high school.  I wasn't the smallest kid, but definitely below the national average (which is a bit below 5' 10") and way below the average at my jock-filled all male private high school.  I remember only one guy shorter than me. 

At the age of 25, I picked up an inch over the course of about 4 months, apparently all in the leg (suddenly all my pants were too short). 


Oddly enough, when most people guess, they seem to think I'm about 5' 10" (1.78 m).  I think it has more to do with the way I carry myself and look people in the eye, probably a holdover from when I was younger and taller than others. 

The tallest girl I ever went out with?  Heidi L, at 5' 11" (1.8 m).  She wore a women's size 15 shoe.  OK, we didn't really date, but we were paired up in a ballroom dance course, and for the Viennese style waltz I had to actually leap over her leg to complete each turn.  It was very athletic and impressive, we wound up winning a local competition with it.  Although that may have been just for ballsiness and even attempting something so ridiculous. 





Sorry, the older I get, the more stories I seem to have, and the less people seem to care...   :-P
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: DaiJB on 16 Sep 2020, 22:05
Fascinating stuff - I am also tall (6' 3"...or I was before I started the middle-age-shrink), and all of the relationships I've had seem to last for a period of time in inverse proportion to the height of the girl.
My first girlfriend was 5' 2" (lasted a couple of years)
My wife was 5' (married for 30 years)
The tallest girl I ever dated was 5' 10" and liked high heels (two weeks)  :-\
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: cybersmurf on 17 Sep 2020, 01:02
Sorry, the older I get, the more stories I seem to have, and the less people seem to care...   :-P

You're old when you realise you keep telling the same stories.
You're old when you keep telling the same stories to the same people.
You're old when you don't even care whether anyone listens to the same stories you keep telling.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 17 Sep 2020, 02:05

So...
I decided to go to Morganville, which is what they called Shelbyville in those days, so I tied an onion to my belt (which was the style at the time).
Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel, and in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on 'em...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 17 Sep 2020, 08:14
Gimme five bees for a quarter, you'd say.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Carl-E on 17 Sep 2020, 21:30
Sorry, the older I get, the more stories I seem to have, and the less people seem to care...   :-P

You're old when you realise you keep telling the same stories.
You're old when you keep telling the same stories to the same people.
You're old when you don't even care whether anyone listens to the same stories you keep telling.

Working on it. 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Shremedy on 13 Oct 2020, 15:44
I'm wondering if the root cause lies in the similarities  between Roko's old and new chassis.  There's just enough difference that conflicts arise between the two that conflicts arise and the disassociation kicks in.
My sense it that it was the unexpectedness of the change, and the unwillingness of it, that fact that it was forced on her by actions not her own (draw your own real-life parallel there).  She wasn't mentally prepared, wasn't in the frame of mind "Okay, I'm getting a new body, let's do this!"  that May was.  Just *BLAM* "Hey, what happened?"  It's like waking up in a hospital with no memory of the accident that has caused you to become a quadruple amputee.  Except she still has all her limbs!  There was also a note that she had integrated particularly tightly with the old hardware...I forget the exact phrasing Jeph used.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: danilegg on 15 Oct 2020, 06:35
It’s been noted that Roko bears a resemblance to Alice Grove’s, Alice, but now May looks like Sedna.  I know this takes place in a separate universe, but it’s still fun to speculate that Roko’s disassociation disorder will require an experimental chassis she won’t have a problem with possibly engineered by Spookybot, thus the Maxwell Demons were born.

I'm wondering if maybe Spookybot isn't a Maxwell Demon based on her eye coloring in frames where she's trying to be intimidating (See Frame 5 of comic 4374 vs Alice 193 onwards)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: oddtail on 15 Oct 2020, 07:13
Sorry, the older I get, the more stories I seem to have, and the less people seem to care...   :-P

You're old when you realise you keep telling the same stories.
You're old when you keep telling the same stories to the same people.
You're old when you don't even care whether anyone listens to the same stories you keep telling.

I was born old, then.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 15 Oct 2020, 07:23
Sadly, due to a long-term medical need for benzodiazapines, my memory is erratic enough that I don't always know when I'm telling the same story.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: oddtail on 15 Oct 2020, 07:43
Sadly, due to a long-term medical need for benzodiazapines, my memory is erratic enough that I don't always know when I'm telling the same story.

I sometimes talk almost compulsively when I feel the need to share something. I know I repeat myself, but once I get going, it's difficult to stop.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gnabberwocky on 15 Oct 2020, 09:07
I'm wondering if maybe Spookybot isn't a Maxwell Demon based on her eye coloring in frames where she's trying to be intimidating (See Frame 5 of comic 4374 vs Alice 193 onwards)
It's possible the artwork for Yay's bodies was inspired by that, but Alice and QC are in separate universes. Even if they weren't, QC takes place long before Maxwell Demons were created.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Oct 2020, 10:07
Sadly, due to a long-term medical need for benzodiazapines, my memory is erratic enough that I don't always know when I'm telling the same story.

You said that last week.

I distinctly remember.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Oenone on 17 Oct 2020, 10:41
I think the reason May requested a body upon release is that she would no longer be able to get jobs like her previous one because of the type of crimes she committed. That type of theft would mean she couldn’t be trusted with anything security-related or anything that came with fiduciary responsibilities
Title: 418 I'm a toaster!
Post by: N.N. Marf on 17 Oct 2020, 15:36
I think the reason May requested a body upon release is that she would no longer be able to get jobs like her previous one because of the type of crimes she committed. That type of theft would mean she couldn’t be trusted with anything security-related or anything that came with fiduciary responsibilities
Why is it with cybrids and bread? Roko is pretty explicit with herself about her bread fetish. Pintsize maybe isn't so explicit with himself, but he does have a fixation on it; he seems to consider it a big joke, but that could be a manifestation of something sublimated. And in one of the `new body' parts of the story, it was explained that some are happy as sapient toasters. I think there was another reference to sapient toasters somewhere. Maybe it's some historical accident? Like early literature about cybrid sapience often referenced toasters for example, so it became part of their cultural heritage or otherwise made it's way into popular consciousness.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Dandi Andi on 17 Oct 2020, 16:15
An homage, perhaps, to this AI from the future?

Title: Re: WCDT strips 4346 to 4350 (7th September to 11th September 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 17 Oct 2020, 16:35
Sadly, due to a long-term medical need for benzodiazapines, my memory is erratic enough that I don't always know when I'm telling the same story.

I sometimes talk almost compulsively when I feel the need to share something. I know I repeat myself, but once I get going, it's difficult to stop.
Same