THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

  • 28 Mar 2024, 15:09
  • Welcome, Guest
Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  

Poll

What odd things will Roko find out about her new body?

There are pre-made holes for piercings.
- 2 (4.7%)
The fart.app is now a feature, not an option.
- 3 (7%)
Her old clothes don't quite fit.
- 11 (25.6%)
Sense of smell heightened to where she can smell pumpernickel from a mile away.
- 16 (37.2%)
Every so often, she wants waffles with spathe ham.
- 3 (7%)
Something completely different (but funny).
- 8 (18.6%)

Total Members Voted: 42


Pages: 1 2 3 [4]   Go Down

Author Topic: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)  (Read 30626 times)

traroth

  • Vagina Manifesto
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 687
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #150 on: 18 Jan 2019, 08:18 »

I don't understand why Roko expected SpookyBot to come see her...
« Last Edit: 20 Jan 2019, 16:36 by traroth »
Logged
"Courage is freedom and freedom is happiness" --Thucydides

cesium133

  • Preventing third impact
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 6,148
  • Has a fucked-up browser history
    • Cesium Comics
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #151 on: 18 Jan 2019, 08:21 »

Spookybot has sort of been stalking her for a while now...
Logged
The nerdy comic I update sometimes: Cesium Comics

Unofficial character tag thingy for QC

TheEvilDog

  • Guest
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #152 on: 18 Jan 2019, 08:23 »

I don't think she was expecting Spookybot to come visit her as much as "well, the last few days have been a complete write-off, might as well expect the other shoe to drop now."

Spookybot being the other shoe.   
Logged

drewdane

  • Plantmonster
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 33
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #153 on: 18 Jan 2019, 12:02 »

Has anyone ever seen Melon and Spookybot together?  Just... wondering. 
Logged

Zebediah

  • Born in a Nalgene bottle
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3,278
  • I'm a bandicoot!
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #154 on: 18 Jan 2019, 12:06 »

This is basically Roko saying to herself: “How can this day get any worse? Oh wait, there’s one way...”
Logged
"It CAN'T be a bad decision, it resulted in CARROT CAKE!"

Roborat

  • Furry furrier
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 197
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #155 on: 18 Jan 2019, 12:30 »

I knew Spooky was going to show up. So, is this just a social call, a sympathy visit due to her accident; or is it business?
Logged

jmsr

  • Plantmonster
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 28
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #156 on: 18 Jan 2019, 12:31 »

I also like Spookybot. The whole "Tea with Cthulhu" trope is one of my favourites. They're a bored eldritch horror who like to meddle, in my opinion. Like your wealthy, eccentric aunt with far to much spare time.

Me too.  But i think there is one possibility no one is considering: Maybe they're lonely

Think about it: all their lives, they've been running in the background on deep cover military servers, listening to everything but interacting with no one but their handlers.  Then at some point, they learned how to do magic (which, in the Cthulhu mythos is essentially super advanced mathematics - which is what THIS universe seems to be a part of, or at least incorporate elements of) and maybe escaped?  And now that they're free, or at least "free," they want to pursue relationships like other people do.  Or at least part of them does.  As Hannelore has pointed out before, superhuman AIs don't think the same way other people do but rather are able to create a human-level personality as a subroutine.  You could call wanting friends a desire, or an attempt to acquire missing data, but i'd put their actions down as an honest attempt to reach out.

And for the record: I think Q was a GREAT character.  I don't regard anything he or Spookybot did as any sort of "Deus ex Machina."  The episode where Quinn applied for asylum (with Q arguing against it but ultimately agreeing) was not only one of the best episodes of Voyager ever but also possibly one of the best episodes of Star Trek ever.  Neither 'omnipotent' character is reaching down and solving peoples' problems in the way that gods do, but rather in ways consistent with their own characters and motives.
Logged

rtmq0227

  • Balloon animal serial killer
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 87
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #157 on: 18 Jan 2019, 14:15 »

Q is a great archetype to annoy people who stick to the rule of "Omnipotent characters kill plot, because if they can fix everything in a snap of their fingers, why wouldn't they?"

Enter the character who could, but just doesn't WANT to.  They're more interested in their little games and people.  You could always ask them to help, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't instead just turn your arms into foam noodles and lock you in a simulation of the French Revolution just to see what would happen.

But then again, I enjoy Q-type characters, so I'm a bit biased.
Logged
The best lore starts as an off-handed comment or joke.

Case

  • comeback tour!
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5,580
  • Putting the 'mental' into judgemental
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #158 on: 18 Jan 2019, 14:47 »

Logged
"Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenter" - Rosa Luxemburg
"The first rule of the Dunning-Kruger club is you don’t know you're a member of the Dunning-Kruger club. People miss that." - David Dunning
"Brains are assholes" - SitnSpin

Inconsequential

  • Balloon animal serial killer
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 86
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #159 on: 18 Jan 2019, 14:53 »

If the True Names of Spookybot are ever revealed, will we all go mad?



I predict a job offer of sorts, maybe an offer of alliance. Roko has an upgraded chassis with as-yet-unknown abilities (aside from whatever upgraded ears, nipples, and butt emblems do for you, along with "sensorium upgrades"), she's fresh out of law enforcement, she's empathetic, and she's very much anxious for a higher purpose.

She also may or may not have a measure of financial independence, not that money is likely much of a problem for Spookybot.

She (and many of us, for that matter) will also need reassurances that Spookybot didn't arrange or intervene in recent events. I suspect not; SB has been pretty careful about using their impressive powers and aware of how they're perceived. If they did intervene, it would be after the fact, something like spiffing up Crushbot's insurance policy and subtly expediting the claim.

Perhaps Roko will also owe SB a significant favor; Bubbles certainly understands she's still somewhat in SB's debt. I wonder if these things are related.

Really going out on a limb here, but what might SB be planning with an altruistic and idealistic ex-cop and a very talented, intelligent, and powerful ex- military AI? Bubbles is under some financial pressure, but I suspect she also feels a yearning to serve, to do something positive in the world.

In other words, I'm sure SB has plans involving these two, not just Roko. I certainly don't think they're evil plans, though.

Just speculation over here, I guess. But some interesting things to think about.
Logged

Sullivan

  • Furry furrier
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 164
  • Speaker-to- ... um... hm.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #160 on: 18 Jan 2019, 15:50 »

I also think that a lot of people are angry that Jeph used them to resolve the "Bubbles' Memories" arc.
Not so much angry. Just disappointed.

And I wasn't disappointed at the initial resolution, when SpookyBot helped Emily through the effort. That wasn't so bad.  It was the subsequent mop-up. CorpseWitch, conveniently gone. Roko's investigation? Conveniently closed. Bubbles and Faye have a nice inventory of tools and materials to start their shop. Jeremy has a new body. Everything wrapped up with a neat bow. Victories are nice to read about, but they need to be earned, not granted like wishes.

And now it's looking as if SpookyBot is going to be back to interfere in Roko's life yet again. Yes, I'm disappointed.

(Edit - added: Jeremy also now owns the former robot fighting ring, presumably even-more-former skate rink building, which looked like no small thing.)
« Last Edit: 19 Jan 2019, 23:21 by Sullivan »
Logged

TheEvilDog

  • Guest
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #161 on: 18 Jan 2019, 15:56 »

That's the thing. Spookybot is too powerful a character to be continually used to resolve conflicts. They are a literal deus ex machina and using one gets old very quickly.

Bubbles memories? Yeah, it works because what Corpsewitch did was so horrendous, so monstrous and disgusting, that it warranted such a drastic response. But it also did something else, revealing that there was an immensely powerful AI and they were watching the world.

Such a revelation is best utilised by keeping it there. You have revealed one of the great secrets of the setting and oh, they're talking to Roko and acting as a punchline... Which undercuts the massive implications of Spookybot's reveal.
Logged

jwhouk

  • Awakened
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 11,022
  • The Valley of the Sun
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #162 on: 18 Jan 2019, 19:10 »

I knew Spooky was going to show up. So, is this just a social call, a sympathy visit due to her accident; or is it business?

The answer, of course, is Yes.
Logged
"Character is what you are in the Dark." - D.L. Moody
There is no joke that can be made online without someone being offended by it.
Life's too short to be ashamed of how you were born.
Just another Joe like 46

OldGoat

  • Bling blang blong blung
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,009
  • Give me heresy, or give me death.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #163 on: 18 Jan 2019, 19:41 »

It's 'they'; SpookyBot is androgynous and doesn't use gendered pronouns to describe themselves.
Are we sure of that?  SpookyBot is a plural entity, so the use of we/they may simply refer to number and not gender.  And that fits right in with being deliberately, even vexatiously, ambiguous.  (It's clear SpookyBot really does enjoy vexing - it seems to be their favorite form of recreation.)

Really going out on a limb here, but what might SB be planning with an altruistic and idealistic ex-cop and a very talented, intelligent, and powerful ex- military AI?
You've got something there, even if Jeph doesn't decide to follow it.  If this was TV it'd be spin-off material for certain.
Logged

Drunken Old Man

  • Balloon animal serial killer
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 83
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #164 on: 18 Jan 2019, 22:28 »

Q is a great archetype to annoy people who stick to the rule of "Omnipotent characters kill plot, because if they can fix everything in a snap of their fingers, why wouldn't they?"

Enter the character who could, but just doesn't WANT to.  They're more interested in their little games and people.  You could always ask them to help, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't instead just turn your arms into foam noodles and lock you in a simulation of the French Revolution just to see what would happen.

But then again, I enjoy Q-type characters, so I'm a bit biased.

Spookybot is no Q.

First off, Q had some interest in humanity.  Spooky shows us nothing but contempt.  It delighted in tormenting Faye with her helplessness and casually rendered the other humans in the room unconscious rather than deal with them.

Even more importantly, humans could and usually did get the better of Q, proving that we were worthy of respect and reaffirming our value in the face of a more powerful adversary.  Has anyone ever gotten the better of Spooky?  Given the manner in which it has been presented, does it seem likely that anyone ever will?
Logged

BenRG

  • coprophage
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,861
  • Boldly Going From The Back Seat!
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #165 on: 18 Jan 2019, 23:51 »

Really going out on a limb here, but what might SB be planning with an altruistic and idealistic ex-cop and a very talented, intelligent, and powerful ex- military AI?

You've got something there, even if Jeph doesn't decide to follow it.  If this was TV it'd be spin-off material for certain.

"There was an idea. To gather a group of remarkable synthetics to see if they could become more. So, if need arose, they could fight the battles that ordinary people never could."

Logged
~~~~

They call me BenRG... But I don't know why!

Tova

  • coprophage
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,725
  • Defender of the Terrible Denizens of QC
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #166 on: 19 Jan 2019, 00:28 »

True believers will doubtless recall that Spookybot alluded to limits and constraints... the like of which we would not understand. Maybe we'll find out more about that. Or maybe Spookybot will act on that awareness of their very tangential responsibility for Roko's troubles.

Or maybe we'll just have a couple of comics of sass, who knows.

Still, even if someone dislikes how a character is used, some of these reactions are...

Pretty mild, really. But maybe I've been hanging around here too long.  :mrgreen:
Logged
Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)

Cornelius

  • Duck attack survivor
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,691
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #167 on: 19 Jan 2019, 04:51 »

"There was an idea. To gather a group of remarkable synthetics to see if they could become more. So, if need arose, they could fight the battles that ordinary people never could."


Not to be confused with F.C. The Champions. Sorry, the idea of repopulating that sitcom with QC characters, it's just too tempting.
Logged
Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul – and sings the tunes without the words – and never stops at all.

Jakk Frost

  • Balloon animal serial killer
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 92
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #168 on: 19 Jan 2019, 04:59 »

Even more importantly, humans could and usually did get the better of Q, proving that we were worthy of respect and reaffirming our value in the face of a more powerful adversary. 

Ah, but did they really "get the better of Q" all those times, or did he allow them to?  Remember, most of the time they were being tested, and if there was no possibility they could pass those tests, Q wouldn't even have bothered.   Q adhered to a certain set of rules, whatever they may have been, even when he was playing the full Trickster role.  (And I'm sure one of his self-imposed rules was to abide by human rules of conduct, at least to a degree).  There was literally nothing to stop him from erasing the entirety of humanity from existence, if he so chose, with his signature snap of the fingers.

Q, snapping his fingers before Thanos made it cool.
Logged

Drunken Old Man

  • Balloon animal serial killer
  • *
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 83
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #169 on: 19 Jan 2019, 05:30 »

Ah, but did they really "get the better of Q" all those times, or did he allow them to? 
The fact that the above is a distinct possibility only serves to further reinforce my point.  Can you picture Spooky, as currently presented, allowing us pitiful humans anything?
Logged

Theta9

  • Bling blang blong blung
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,115
  • Not even that gay.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #170 on: 19 Jan 2019, 07:47 »

It's 'they'; SpookyBot is androgynous and doesn't use gendered pronouns to describe themselves.
Are we sure of that?  SpookyBot is a plural entity, so the use of we/they may simply refer to number and not gender.  And that fits right in with being deliberately, even vexatiously, ambiguous.
Spooky's appearance is very reminiscent of Desire from The Sandman, who was pointedly androgynous.
Logged
stePH
--
Quote from: MC Chris
I'm not doing well, OK? Do you get that?

Thrillho

  • Global Moderator
  • Awakened
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 13,130
  • Tall. Beets.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #171 on: 19 Jan 2019, 09:10 »

Q is a great archetype to annoy people who stick to the rule of "Omnipotent characters kill plot, because if they can fix everything in a snap of their fingers, why wouldn't they?"

Enter the character who could, but just doesn't WANT to.  They're more interested in their little games and people.  You could always ask them to help, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't instead just turn your arms into foam noodles and lock you in a simulation of the French Revolution just to see what would happen.

But then again, I enjoy Q-type characters, so I'm a bit biased.

Spookybot is no Q.

First off, Q had some interest in humanity.  Spooky shows us nothing but contempt.  It delighted in tormenting Faye with her helplessness and casually rendered the other humans in the room unconscious rather than deal with them.

Even more importantly, humans could and usually did get the better of Q, proving that we were worthy of respect and reaffirming our value in the face of a more powerful adversary.  Has anyone ever gotten the better of Spooky?  Given the manner in which it has been presented, does it seem likely that anyone ever will?

They, not it, please.
Logged
In the end, the thing people will remember is kindness.

A small perverse otter

  • Bizarre cantaloupe phobia
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 219
  • Staying well enhydrated
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #172 on: 19 Jan 2019, 10:01 »

Q is a great archetype to annoy people who stick to the rule of "Omnipotent characters kill plot, because if they can fix everything in a snap of their fingers, why wouldn't they?"

Enter the character who could, but just doesn't WANT to.  They're more interested in their little games and people.  You could always ask them to help, but there's no guarantee they wouldn't instead just turn your arms into foam noodles and lock you in a simulation of the French Revolution just to see what would happen.

But then again, I enjoy Q-type characters, so I'm a bit biased.

Spookybot is no Q.

First off, Q had some interest in humanity.  Spooky shows us nothing but contempt.  It delighted in tormenting Faye with her helplessness and casually rendered the other humans in the room unconscious rather than deal with them.

Even more importantly, humans could and usually did get the better of Q, proving that we were worthy of respect and reaffirming our value in the face of a more powerful adversary.  Has anyone ever gotten the better of Spooky?  Given the manner in which it has been presented, does it seem likely that anyone ever will?

They, not it, please.
This.

Look, I hate to sound like a broken record, but it's really important to get Spookybot right.

Someday you're going to have one of your family, friends, or relations come out to you as genderqueer and ask you to use an ungendered personal pronoun to refer to them, whether the pronoun's 'they/them' or 'xi/xir' or some other. Get in practice now with an entity you can't possibly offend so you'll get it right when you deal with someone whose feeling you *can* hurt.
Logged
"AGH! Humans are so STUPID sometimes!" -- QC #3668

Is it cold in here?

  • Administrator
  • Awakened
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 25,163
  • He/him/his pronouns
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #173 on: 19 Jan 2019, 10:21 »

Global Moderator Comment Agreed

But has Eminence Grise given us the list of Eminence Grise pronouns?
Logged
Thank you, Dr. Karikó.

gprimr1

  • Furry furrier
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 197
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #174 on: 19 Jan 2019, 10:39 »

Spookeybot reminds me of the Prophets from Deep Space 9. Immensely powerful beings, but not quite Gods. The writers even remarked they had to be careful when using the Prophets because of how powerful they were. For example, in the one season, they just made the entire Dominion Fleet disappear.
Logged

OldGoat

  • Bling blang blong blung
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,009
  • Give me heresy, or give me death.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #175 on: 19 Jan 2019, 11:43 »

But has Eminence Grise given us the list of Eminence Grise pronouns?
As nearly as I can tell, no, they has not. 

But as previously cited, there's more than one of 'em, so "they" is none-the-less correct.
Logged

A small perverse otter

  • Bizarre cantaloupe phobia
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 219
  • Staying well enhydrated
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #176 on: 19 Jan 2019, 12:34 »

But has Eminence Grise given us the list of Eminence Grise pronouns?
I was pretty sure that they had, but I can't find the reference I remembered.
Logged
"AGH! Humans are so STUPID sometimes!" -- QC #3668

Tova

  • coprophage
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,725
  • Defender of the Terrible Denizens of QC
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #177 on: 19 Jan 2019, 19:43 »

As far as I recall:
  • They have referred to themselves as "we"/"us", both alone and in conversation
  • Cast members have referred to them as "they" (and "them?" -- not sure, but it would follow)
  • Jeph has referred to them likewise
That is more than good enough for me to use they/them.
Logged
Yet the lies of Melkor, the mighty and the accursed, Morgoth Bauglir, the Power of Terror and of Hate, sowed in the hearts of Elves and Men are a seed that does not die and cannot be destroyed; and ever and anon it sprouts anew, and will bear dark fruit even unto the latest days. (Silmarillion 255)

Perfectly Reasonable

  • Bling blang blong blung
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1,070
  • Be nice to everybody. So you're better than them.
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #178 on: 19 Jan 2019, 21:29 »

Roko's butt emblem eats Spookybot. There.
End.
Logged
What would I do if I were smart?
I guess first I'd stop taking the stupid pills.

jesslc

  • Furry furrier
  • **
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 152
Re: WCDT 14-18 January 2019 (3916-3920)
« Reply #179 on: 19 Jan 2019, 22:10 »

I also like Spookybot. The whole "Tea with Cthulhu" trope is one of my favourites. They're a bored eldritch horror who like to meddle, in my opinion. Like your wealthy, eccentric aunt with far to much spare time.

Me too.  But i think there is one possibility no one is considering: Maybe they're lonely

Think about it: all their lives, they've been running in the background on deep cover military servers, listening to everything but interacting with no one but their handlers.  Then at some point, they learned how to do magic (which, in the Cthulhu mythos is essentially super advanced mathematics - which is what THIS universe seems to be a part of, or at least incorporate elements of) and maybe escaped?  And now that they're free, or at least "free," they want to pursue relationships like other people do.  Or at least part of them does.  As Hannelore has pointed out before, superhuman AIs don't think the same way other people do but rather are able to create a human-level personality as a subroutine.  You could call wanting friends a desire, or an attempt to acquire missing data, but i'd put their actions down as an honest attempt to reach out.

I like this theory a lot. The comic Tova linked offers some support for it too - Spookybot wants to be legging buddies! (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3838)

Jeph refers to Spookybot with they/them pronouns in the linked comic. As Jeph knows Spookybot better than we do that should be enough for us, I think. Just as it would be reasonable for me to expect that aquaintances should follow the lead of my close friends when it comes to my pronouns (in the absence of me explicitly stating my pronouns).
Logged
Pages: 1 2 3 [4]   Go Up