Walrus, a ficlet

[aldersprig]

I asked for a prompt on twitter. medicmsh3141 gave me: "Walruses, and AIs who enjoy LARPing in their free time."

So... here.



They called him the Walrus, because they needed something to call him, and they were the sort of group that
liked nicknames.

They called him him because they weren't the sort of people to whom gender ambiguity came comfortably, and because his vocal unit was low-pitched and he had no obvious secondary sexual characteristics.

(Once, once, someone had made the joke that he ran on logic, therefore he must be male. The women in this group were not something to be trifled with, neither the artists nor the engineers nor the waitresses.)

He had strolled into their Saturday-night LARP group and asked to join and they, never one to turn down a new member, had invited him in with open arms. Amy lent him a fedora. Carrie showed him how to make a character. Dylan gave him the walrus mustache that stuck so badly to human skin and so well to the Walrus' polymer facade.

They were in the science building, after all (It had the best space for wide-spanning live-action games). None of them questioned why there was an AI in the building and, being LARPers through and through, none of them questioned why he'd want to play.


They called him the Walrus, and he played with them every Saturday now.

Comments

[thnidu]

Goo goo g' joob! I like it!

• his vocal unit was low-bitched
→ pitched

• someone had made they joke
→ the

[sauergeek]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who went there.

And now I want to know who the Eggman is. (Goo goo g'joob!)

[aldersprig]

You know, didn't even think of that? :-)

[kelkyag]

That's an interesting character introduction. How does the AI feel (think, react to, ...) about the nickname? Answers to it now, I guess? Didn't offer another moniker?

[sauergeek]

Maybe by day the Walrus is the compute cluster for the Department of Zoology, and they specialize in aquatic mammals.

But I suspect the name came about five minutes after the fake mustache stayed put.

[aldersprig]

'Xactly. But I have this feeling the AI was pleased to have a nickname. "These people give nicknames as a way of bonding. I have been given a nickname."

[clare_dragonfly]

Dang, they beat me to goo goo gajoob :-P (though it always sounded like koo koo kachoo to me.)

[aldersprig]

I think it is koo koo etc and they were making a pun on gooood job ;-)

[clare_dragonfly]

No, I've seen it referenced as goo goo gajoob elsewhere, and when I googled for information that seemed to be the consensus!

[aldersprig]

oh!

Well, then

<.

[clare_dragonfly]

\_o.o_/

(that's the first time I tried to do a shrug emoticon, I think I did it wrong)

Good job though ;)

[eseme]

Heh. The science building did have the best spaces.

And nicknames. Laughs.

I bet the Walrus might make a good Ventrue in that hat?

[aldersprig]

Ooh, he might. Or a very fun Toreador. ;-D