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Talking To A Friend

🕑 Added 2024-11-17 02:12:50 +0000 UTC

Comments

Ash

Seeing that last panel reminds me of when Roko and Aurelia asked Yay to flicker the lights if they were listening.

enchantedsleeper

Yay seemed pretty philosophical about the idea of becoming one self when they talked to Roko specifically about it. But I always imagined it to be a sort of merger; not a split, but Yay's plural bodies joining so that they would be physically one, still with a huge amount of knowledge and intelligence.

Katrina Urmson

Oh Roko... :( :( :(

Clifton Royston

I didn't even know what to say to this. Poor Roko.

Doctor Islands

legobil

Yeah, I agree. Unfortunately I think the ball is entirely in Yays court. And that court is on a high ledge which requires rocket propellant to reach.

legobil

Yep. That sounds like some kind of behavior. The “oof” kind of behavior.

Hugh Eckert

Aww, Roko...

Matt Grayson

Yell! Gripe! Rage! Rant! Who is following this chant? Yaaaaay!

Stephen Wells

I wouldn't say it was a worst fear - they brought it up as an option if they were exposed - that they could consolidate themselves to one entity and live a quiet life with their dogs and their friends. In 4591 they tell Aurelia it's unacceptable that they be "functionally hobbled as a matter of security" if captured/exposed, but then in 4596 they tell Roko that they would choose either to vanish, or to consolidate. And since Yay is uniquely capable of being in two (or more) minds on any given topic, I think it would make sense that the collective would choose to vanish but the one that Roko knows best would choose to return to her and become an individual, "just another AI"; "if we must be hobbled it will be on our own terms". I may have thought about this an unhealthy amount.

Garra Wolfdog

Any good plural representation of any sort is always a good. We've not had a lot of it, historically.

Pejo

Love this community. Thanks all.

Pejo

It's always DNS, amirite web programmers

lazymagpie

With Roko on this one, please be ok, Yay

Axl Angulo

Mark

Roko my darling, I hope things work out, and Yay reappears from inside their own posterior.

Mitsuki Ayane

Marigold! she has amazing melon, and peach! ~<3

Elf Sternberg

We were talking about how we'd like to see more of Marigold: https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3688

Shannon Woodbury

Yeah, site's been down for me for three days now.

Ursus Ridens

With Pintsize? Have a heart, or at least a coolant pump, dude!

Ursus Ridens

If it's the invisible emu, how will we know??

Ursus Ridens

Just amazing. Yay is a jerk but they manage to fill a need for the somewhat leathery soul of Roko.

Clarence the Liar

I thought that was intended to show how long Roko had been sitting there in despair, but that would make total sense. Let's hope it's the case!

Clarence the Liar

I assume Jeph just got bored with writing it all out. I definitely read it in my head with the accent.

Clarence the Liar

I'm sure Claire already has.

Clarence the Liar

I'm so sorry ♥️ At the risk of sounding cliché, please drink some water/electrolytes and try to have a bath or shower. It may not make you feel much better about what's happening, but at least you won't be dirty or dehydrated. ♥️

Clarence the Liar

This is fiction. People always come back unless they're dead, and then there's always having faked it or necromancy in the worst case. Unless they're really dead. Even then, writers reserve the right to make changes without notice. Tricky beasts, writers.

Clarence the Liar

While I am not a part of a system, I love the positive representation of people who are. You may not be endowed with Yay's uncanny abilities (pretty odd if you were!), but the concept of processing an environment through multiple consciousnesses being treated as a generally positive thing should get a lot more airtime IMO.

Clarence the Liar

"Consolidation" is stated to be one of their worst fears. Yay would be cutting off a part of themselves that makes them who and what they are. I can't think of a worse fate than living without a huge part of yourself and your consciousness. I'm sure Roko would not want that for Yay unless there was literally no other option.

alphanor

I think you're right, and the fact that we have returned to this topic with Roko makes me think the new arc will get Yay back in the comic. I look forward to seeing what they were up to during their away time!

Xaphania

Jeph said on his bsky that the site was having some DNS issues or something, should be fixed soon (it's working for me but it can take time for DNS stuff to spread out across the internet)

Vrie Kirkwood

Me too!

Dustin

same - I see some similar comments on the previous Patreon post as well, so you are definitely not alone.

dcy665 .

Thanks, that was a great little diversion I do miss Brun though

enchantedsleeper

Hey, youfriend Come back right now :(

enchantedsleeper

So say we all...

enchantedsleeper

We need a strip of Melon and Crushbot hanging out. As a mood lifter xD

enchantedsleeper

I do think that Yay is still either in hiding or in a not-good place emotionally, and so can't return. I hope that Roko can figure out a way to get to them.

enchantedsleeper

Yeah, if Yay were just chilling somewhere that would be extremely callous to Roko. The fact that they haven't even sent word to say they're okay means they're not okay.

enchantedsleeper

I don't think that Yay would split their selves apart. They've mentioned potentially consolidating as a strategy for if they got discovered, but what's unusual is that they don't seem to have gone that route, otherwise we would still see them around.

Ian MacLean

Am I the only one for whom the website is down? I just got the old Forum page.

chili sunrise

I’m mad at Yay irl

Brian

Thanks, mb

Tamara Temple

😢

Stephen Wells

Still rooting for the idea that *one* of Yay leaves the collective and comes back to Roko, contrite and no longer plural. They can admit their feelings and hug it out, and by "hug it out" I mean "do unspeakable things to Roko with a baguette". For now, though: this is very sad :(

Miyaa

If door Number 3 turns out to be that invisible emu flying Wonder Woman’s jet, we are going to have words.

Caleb Martin

I'M NOT CRYING! YOU'RE CRYING!

Andrew L Butula

I'd say it's more likely that Yay is currently at Defcon 1 with their bodies distributed among various bunkers around the world, seriously considering firing one of them into orbit around Jupiter, and will remain that way until someone coaxes them out like a kitten in a tree.

allanfranta

@mark nach: You can "stalk" them online these days.

allanfranta

Job in the old testament: god's busy, but has time to give old Job an earful. Oldest book in the bible, I read somewhere. Now THAT is depressing.

allanfranta

Embrace the memories while you have them. Heal, embrace your friends while you have them.

allanfranta

@Grace Kieser: Does life works like that? Hasn't been my experience.

allanfranta

Another option is that Yah is currently on the island, having a nice cuppa tea with The Director and Moray, discussing security measures. The Director wants to know how Yah compromised their security, of course, and Moray is making the tea.

allanfranta

I'm betting on door #3, which Jeph will reveal in his own sweet damn time.

Duncan

You can't prove she hasn't...

SilverbackRon

I am glad you came back to address this. Even if we don't get an answer today, the pain is felt IRL and in the QC world.

legobil

Yeah, at first glance I thought it was a response from Yay, but it was way… Darker than that. 😢

legobil

But you forget the actual trauma Yay experienced. Also, once you have done something to hurt that bad, it can be hard to return, shameful.

legobil

You forget Melon.

Charlie Rose

This is heartbreaking 😭

enchantedsleeper

Yessssssssss

enchantedsleeper

And maybe Roko didn't notice because she had her hands over her eyes...?

enchantedsleeper

What for? You can't be intimate friends with everyone. There are always going to be people you're just on acquaintance terms with. And Dora and Tai are just a coffee shop owner and her wife to Roko.

Garra Wolfdog

Please let Yay be ok! Of all the characters we relate to them to most.

Clarence the Liar

Now Jeph needs to re-post every Roko/Yay comic sans Yay. Or I need to use my imagination, read them again, and giggle to myself like a PSYCHOPATH

Sparky

We all worry

David Paul

Take care, Pejo 😢

Daniel Blom Paulsen

😭

David Paul

🎶TwiNkle tWinKlE litTle StaR🎶 https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3919

Todd Ellner

She needs to listen to the Blues, because only the Blues can make you feel good about feeling bad

Todd Ellner

When your partner abandons you...

Grace Kieser

No, she just needs her one friend back

legobil

Feeeeeeeels….!

Jonathan

*they

Ingrid Nordbø

It's okay, we can project together. Cause damn, that sounds too familiar.

Carl G Knoblock

Kind of like Hannelore's dad.

The World Famous Chocomerican

The feels...

William Cole

Yay shows up “disguised” as a waiter, just like in Sherlock.

Brian

That tagline is foreshadowing. She ABSOLUTELY went to Disney World.

Mark Nach

Way of life to some of us. When I entered my 50's I started to think about all the MIA people that are part of my life.

Carin Maja Brooks

How has Roko not made herself better known to them? She's had more than enough time

Carl G Knoblock

I had to wipe my eyes a couple of times. This has to be one of the saddest strips.

Risa Wolf

Thank you for this; I was thinking about Yay two nights and wondering when they would come up again. I knew you wouldn’t end their story with their disappearance being left unspoken, but still. So thank you.

Shawn Spencer

I dunno, the director seems kind of cloistered. Not to mention I doubt they actually care about the existence of Yay all that much. I think of the director like an eccentric genius, extremely capable in their own way, but in other ways, super naïve and childlike.

Orion Rhine

I think I might know how Yay is feeling right now. They've gone for too long without communicating with Roko and now they don't know how to start again. They're probably not listening deliberately because they're anxious and scared that Roko hates them now for being a bad friend. They want to come back, but they don't know what the proper protocol for re-engaging would be, or if there was one at all. They feel like the bridge that once connected them to Roko has fallen apart from neglect, or will break if they try to use it and drop them into a deep gorge. Or maybe I'm just projecting all my own insecurities and Yay is just busy making sure that their security is tight before checking back in.

Clifton Royston

I don't think either Dora or Tai knows Roko particularly or has had much contact with her. She's an occasional tea customer at CoD, but other than that?

Mitsuki Ayane

we need emergency Melon stat! or melons, melons would work, maybe a peach... sorry, what was I talking about? ~<3

Sean Rotter

Right in the feels...

Ed Marshall

Well shit. :(

Andrew L Butula

I think that's very unlikely since it would imply that The Director is at least as far beyond Yay as Yay is beyond Station and the other top-notch public AI, especially since Yay is distributed across multiple bodies presumably to avoid just such an eventuality.

kaseido

*sob*

Carin Maja Brooks

They didn't invite Roko?

Ragtime

Boo Gonefriend

SalsaBeard

I’ve actually been wondering about this whole thing a lot. I don’t think Yay just lost their shit and ran away. The director isn’t just some random AI bot, it’s extremely intelligent. When Moray was talking to Yay, she mentioned that the director was very specific about the wording for the question. I have this theory that the director basically pulled a power-move and initiated some safeguard protocol that quarantined Yay. They are probably in Cubetown sitting in timeout because of the risk they are posing for all of the AI beings out there.

Steven Heins

Thisguy

Oh. I feel so sorry for Roko! I don't think even she realized how much she depended on Yay. How much of a friend Yay was. ... MELON! GET OVER THERE AND CHEER UP ROKO! Elliot can help.

Gamera

The drama returns

Claudia D.

Taigan has pointed out something that might SUPER CORRECT (I hope)

Mad Marie

Reminds me of Garfield Minus Garfield

SpookyPenguin

Officially renaming Yay to Boo.

Sorastro

-t

Graydon Armstrong

Hugs for Roko.

Sarah

Well, that was depressing.

djellafine

Oh Jeph, how you toy with us

Daryk Zirkle

Roko needs more friends...

Jack Foy

:-(

Carl Fink

Crushbot turns out to be the stage of AI beyond the Director and Yay. Only those two and their very few peers can even comprehend how far beyond human cognition Crushbot is.

David Durant

Your father? Very funny. I mean it's not as if... DEAR GOD Friends ended 20 years ago! *turns to dust*

Ron Hamann

;(

Doc Gumby

Love the reference, VladVin.

Silver-OPs

p a i n

Alias Fakename

Knew we'd circle back to this sooner or later.

Tamara Macadam

im sad :(

KSib

Yeah... I was worried about those two. Just leaving a note was not great :(

Jenea Ylinen Fredrickson

Wow, that was a fun wedding party! So good seeing everyone and everyone being so happy! I'm sure this high will totally continue. Let's check on Rok- oh... 😶😭

Pejo

As someone also dealing w/ loss rn, I find this a little more relatable than I'd like ❤

adrian koren

Poulenc's opera La Voix Humaine -- one person on a telephone, and you can't hear the person on the other end.

Thomas Baxter

... they've never forgotten they were once worshipped. I also do not forget it (as I love my toes)

Allan Widner

That's a cat. You've just described a cat.

The Fire Piper

Awww

ValdVin

"Bro, don't tell me to chill out, because I'm cranked up, bro. And I know where you live, bro*. And bro, I know where you work, bro.*" (*Well, Roko doesn't know now, but...)

Zeph

AUGH 😭

Sean Kinlin

Not even a ping, much less a traceroute.

Nexidava

Joe Bocanegra

Had me going in those two panels, sorry to say. Dammit, Yay. :(

Claudia D.

Hayley-is that pronounced "waiting for ‘row-bow’"? Asking for a friend.

Claudia D.

Yay, oh Yay…

BookBeard

CRUSHBOT IS WORRIED ABOUT MISS BASILISK BUT CRUSHBOT DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO HELP. BEING EMOTIONALLY CRUSHED DOES NOT FALL WITHIN CRUSHBOT'S AREA OF EXPERTISE.

Morgan Byrd

💔

Matt Grayson

DROID 06 VERY SAD.

Miyaa

Roko has half a mind to go to Cubetown and give the Director the riot act.

Nicholas S.

Super emotional and felt as stabbing as it should have.

Thomas Baxter

Like shouting at a god who doesn't care or can't hear.. and if they could hear and gave a damn they would just give you crap about bothering them.

Hayley Ash

Waiting For Robot

Calista Jarratt

So sad.

BookBeard

"Yay ya bettah come bahk right now I sweah ta goahd!"

Timothy Roller

Sorry, had my phone on mute.

Brittany Huckey

Carol Metzger

I'm worried about them. These people are real to me just like the people on Friends were real to my father. Jennifer Aniston? No such person. Rachel Green was absolutely real to him.

Uniquitous

Aw. 🙁

Elizabeth Rosenzweig

😭😭😭😭😭

Sleepy John

One Person Waiting for Godot.

Andrew

Career opportunity: Sitcom with a single character only

Doc Gumby

Has Roko conquered her Bahstan accent? It used to come out in stressful situations, like this.

Rhyon Ingalls

Well, that was a fun wedding, but now IT'S BACK ABOARD THE FEELS TRAIN, BOOO! HOOO!

Shawn Pedersen

Panel 6 is fucking heartbreaking

jonesnori

Except there's the added tension of not knowing.

Taigan

Yay turned off the lights in the last panel to show they’re listening.

Andrew

# Ping Yay.New.Fri.end: Request timed out.

Patrick McGuire

That last panel. Oof.

BookBeard

Prediction: In an attempt to distract herself and/or move on, Roko goes on a date. Yay returns and crashes the date in a fit of uncontrollable jealousy. ... bonus points if it's a second date with Pintsize. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3690

Lorelei

:( this one got me

Anthony Gaglianese

Dammit, Jeph, I was not prepared for a feels trip.

Tim Mitchell

🥺

Summer

Don't tell her to slow her roll. :p

Randall Norman Pick

Okay we jump from sexcapades to this feels like we shifted right from fourth to first...

Daniel Burnett

Why are you hurting me Jeph? I mean after all these years I shouldn’t be suprised but still

Aditya Rameshan

After all the nice wedding stuff, this feels like the equivalent of a brick wall at the end of a tunnel of love kind of ride....

Luis Padilla López

Yay is so used to being just them that they failed to take into account everyone they left behind... Roko in particular has grown and helped them grow so much that seeing her like this is just heart breaking...