#i hate this tech consumption culture so much

[thefailureartist]

I HATE this tech rat race we're all stuck in. Want to access your bank account? You need an app for that. You need a PHONE for that. And fuck your perfectly functioning phone, only new tech allowed. Access to all your apps will be straight up denied if you don't participate in the ever increasing unethical consumption.

#i hate banking #i hate that they dont give a shit #they can pull whatever they want because who's gonna stop them at this point #i really don't want to buy a new phone #especially given the whole cobalt situation #but this is the second super important app that's just stopped updating for older operating systems #i hate that if you're not on trend always you get left behind #fuck #i hate this tech consumption culture so much #what happened to user friendliness #to wanting to service as many different users as possible #everyones expected to have the newest iphone now #i hate it here

[mariacallous]

In the early weeks of 2023, as worry about ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools was ratcheting up dramatically in the public conversation, a tweet passed through the many interlocking corners of Book Twitter. “Imagine if every Book is converted into an Animated Book and made 10x more engaging,” it read. “AI will do this. Huge opportunity here to disrupt Kindle and Audible.”

The tweet’s author, Gaurav Munjal, cofounded Unacademy, which bills itself as “India’s largest learning platform”—and within the edtech context, where digitally animated books can be effective teaching tools, his suggestion might read a certain way. But to a broader audience, the sweeping proclamation that AI will make “every” book “10x more engaging” seemed absurd, a solution in search of a problem, and one predicated on the idea that people who choose to read narrative prose (instead of, say, watching a film or playing a game) were somehow bored or not engaged with their unanimated tomes. As those who shared the tweet observed, it seems like a lot of book industry “disruptors” just don’t like reading.

Munjal is one of many tech entrepreneurs to ping the book world’s radar—and raise its collective hackles—in recent months. Many were hawking AI “solutions” they promised would transform the act of writing, the most derided among them Sudowrite’s Story Engine (dubbed in a relatively ambivalent review by The Verge’s Adi Robertson as “the AI novel-writing tool everyone hates”). Story Engine raised frustrations by treating writers as an afterthought and, by its very existence, suggesting that the problems it was trying to bypass weren’t integral to the act of writing itself.

Last month, Justine Moore, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, provided a sort of bookend to Munjal’s “AI-animated books” proposal. “The three largest fanfic sites—[Archive of Our Own], Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad—get 3 billion-plus annual visits in the US alone,” she wrote. “Imagine how much bigger this market could be if you could chat with characters vs. reading static stories?” The thread was likely a reference to Character.ai, a startup that lets users chat with fictional heroes and villains; Andreessen Horowitz led a $150 million funding round for the company in March. The comment also came after the revelation that large language models (LLMs) may have scraped fanfiction writers’ work—which is largely written and shared for free—causing an (understandable) uproar in many fan communities.

Setting aside the fact that fandom role-playing has been a popular practice for decades, Moore’s statements felt like a distillation of tech’s tortured relationship with narrative prose. There are many kinds of fanfiction—including an entire subgenre in which “you” are a character in the story. But those are still stories, sentences deliberately written and arranged in a way that lets you lose yourself in an authored narrative. “Imagine having such a fundamental misunderstanding of the appeal of reading fanfiction—let alone reading fiction more broadly,” I wrote in response to her thread. What’s so wrong with people enjoying reading plain old words on a page?

The tech world has long been convinced that it understands the desires of readers better than they do themselves. For years, VCs have promised to upend books and the structures around their creation and consumption. Some came from within the publishing industry, but like their counterparts “disrupting” other sectors, including film and TV, many more did not. And for the most part, despite tech’s sometimes drastic (and often negative) effects on other industries, book- and reading-related startups failed to alter much at all. People are still buying books—in fact, they’re buying more than ever. Pandemic lockdowns brought a perhaps unsurprising boom in sales, and even though numbers slipped as restrictions lifted, print sales were still nearly 12 percent higher in 2022 than they were in 2019, and sales of audio books continue to increase dramatically year over year.

One reason books haven’t been particularly disruptable might be that many of the people looking to “fix” things couldn’t actually articulate what was broken—whether through their failure to see the real problems facing the industry (namely, Amazon’s stranglehold), or their insistence that books are not particularly enjoyable as a medium. “It’s that arrogance, to come into a community you know nothing about, that you might have studied as you study for an MBA, and think that you can revolutionize anything,” says writer and longtime book-industry observer Maris Kreizman. “There were so many false problems that tech guys created that we didn’t actually have.”

Take, for example, the long string of pitches for a “Netflix for books”—ideas that retrofitted Netflix’s original DVDs-by-mail model for a different medium under the presumption that readers would pay to borrow books when the public library was right there. Publisher’s Weekly keeps a database of book startups that now numbers more than 1,300; many of them are marked “Closed,” alongside a graveyard of broken URLs. There were plenty of practical ideas—targeting specific demographics or genres or pegged to more technical aspects, like metadata or production workflows. But many more proposed ways to alter books themselves—most of which made zero sense to people who actually enjoy reading.

“I don’t think they’re coming to that with a love of fiction or an understanding of why people read fiction,” Kreizman says. “If they were, they wouldn’t make these suggestions that nobody wants.”

The “10x more engaging” crowd has come in waves over the past two decades, washed ashore via broader tech trends, like social media, tablets, virtual reality, NFTs, and AI. These tech enthusiasts promised a vast, untapped market full of people just waiting for technology to make books more “fun” and delivered pronouncements with a grifting sort of energy that urged you to seize on the newest trend while it was hot—even as everyone could see that previous hyped ventures had not, in fact, utterly transformed the way people read. Interactive books could have sound effects or music that hits at certain story beats. NFTs could let readers “own” a character. AI could allow readers to endlessly generate their own books, or to eschew—to borrow one particular framing—“static stories” entirely and put themselves directly into a fictional world.

AI isn’t remotely a new player in the book world. Electronic literature artists and scholars have worked with various forms of virtual and artificial intelligence for decades, and National Novel Generation Month, a collaborative challenge modeled after NaNoWriMo, has been around since 2013. Even now, as much of the book world loudly rejects AI-powered writing tools, some authors are still experimenting, with a wide range of results. But these bespoke, usually one-off projects are a far cry from the tech industry’s proposals to revolutionize reading at scale—not least because the projects were never intended to replace traditional books.

“A lot of interactive storytelling has gone on for a very long time,” says Jeremy Douglass, an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, citing everything from his early career work on hypertext fiction to the class he’ll teach next year on the long history of the pop-up book to centuries-old marginalia like the footnote and the concordance. “These fields are almost always very old, they’re almost always talked about as if they’re brand-new, and there haven’t really been a lot of moments of inventing a new modality.”

To VC claims that AI will totally alter books, Douglass takes what he calls a “yes, and” stance. “What people are actually doing is creating a new medium. They’re not actually replacing the novel; they created a new thing that was like the novel but different, and the old forms carried on. I’m still listening to the radio, despite the film and game industries’ efforts.”

Tech entrepreneurs rarely pitch “yes, and” ideas. In their view, new technologies will improve on—and eventually supplant—what exists now. For all of his interest in the many forms of interactive fiction, Douglass doubts that most books would benefit from an AI treatment.

“There are extremely pleasurable aesthetic systems that aren’t intentional,” he says. “But how often when I’m reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X or The Joy of Cooking do I think, ‘If only a chatbot could augment this on the fly’? And it’s partly the fact that some communication is deeply intentional, and that’s part of the pleasure. It’s handcrafted, it’s specific, there’s a vision.”

That isn’t to say that Douglass thinks there’s zero appetite for AI in literature—but it’s “probably a very small slice of the pie. So when you say ‘all books’? Almost certainly not. For the same reason that we’re not reading 100 percent pop-up books, or watching all of our books on YouTube, or anything else you can imagine. People are doing that too, but it’s extra.”

The exact size of that small pie slice remains to be seen, as does the general public’s appetite for instant novels, or chatting with characters, or hitting a button that will animate any book in your digital library. But those desires will likely need to come from readers themselves—not from the top down. “If you just give the tools to everybody, which is happening in spite of venture capital, as well as because of it, people will figure out what they want it for—and it’s usually not what the inventors and the investors think,” Douglass says. “It’s not even in their top-10 list of guesses, most of the time. It’s incredibly specific to the person and genre.”

The recent history of publishing has plenty of examples in which digital tools let people create things we couldn’t have predicted in the analog days: the massive range of extremely niche self-published romance, for example, or the structural variation and formal innovation within the almost entirely online world of fanfiction.

But when the tech industry approaches readers with ways to “fix” what isn’t broken, their proposals will always ring hollow—and right now, plain old reading still works for huge numbers of people, many of whom pick up books because they want to escape and not be the main character for a while. “That’s a good thing,” Kreizman says. And as AI true believers sweep through with promises that this technology will change everything, it helps to remember just how many disruptors have come and gone. “In the meantime, tech bros will still find VCs to wine and dine and spend more money on bullshit,” Kreizman predicts. But for the rest of us? We’ll just keep on reading.

[kamreadsandrecs]

By Elizabeth Minkel

In the early weeks of 2023, as worry about ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools was ratcheting up dramatically in the public conversation, a tweet passed through the many interlocking corners of Book Twitter. “Imagine if every Book is converted into an Animated Book and made 10x more engaging,” it read. “AI will do this. Huge opportunity here to disrupt Kindle and Audible.”

The tweet’s author, Gaurav Munjal, cofounded Unacademy, which bills itself as “India’s largest learning platform”—and within the edtech context, where digitally animated books can be effective teaching tools, his suggestion might read a certain way. But to a broader audience, the sweeping proclamation that AI will make “every” book “10x more engaging” seemed absurd, a solution in search of a problem, and one predicated on the idea that people who choose to read narrative prose (instead of, say, watching a film or playing a game) were somehow bored or not engaged with their unanimated tomes. As those who shared the tweet observed, it seems like a lot of book industry “disruptors” just don’t like reading.

Munjal is one of many tech entrepreneurs to ping the book world’s radar—and raise its collective hackles—in recent months. Many were hawking AI “solutions” they promised would transform the act of writing, the most derided among them Sudowrite’s Story Engine (dubbed in a relatively ambivalent review by The Verge’s Adi Robertson as “the AI novel-writing tool everyone hates”). Story Engine raised frustrations by treating writers as an afterthought and, by its very existence, suggesting that the problems it was trying to bypass weren’t integral to the act of writing itself.

Last month, Justine Moore, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, provided a sort of bookend to Munjal’s “AI-animated books” proposal. “The three largest fanfic sites—[Archive of Our Own], Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad—get 3 billion-plus annual visits in the US alone,” she wrote. “Imagine how much bigger this market could be if you could chat with characters vs. reading static stories?” The thread was likely a reference to Character.ai, a startup that lets users chat with fictional heroes and villains; Andreessen Horowitz led a $150 million funding round for the company in March. The comment also came after the revelation that large language models (LLMs) may have scraped fanfiction writers’ work—which is largely written and shared for free—causing an (understandable) uproar in many fan communities.

Setting aside the fact that fandom role-playing has been a popular practice for decades, Moore’s statements felt like a distillation of tech’s tortured relationship with narrative prose. There are many kinds of fanfiction—including an entire subgenre in which “you” are a character in the story. But those are still stories, sentences deliberately written and arranged in a way that lets you lose yourself in an authored narrative. “Imagine having such a fundamental misunderstanding of the appeal of reading fanfiction—let alone reading fiction more broadly,” I wrote in response to her thread. What’s so wrong with people enjoying reading plain old words on a page?

The tech world has long been convinced that it understands the desires of readers better than they do themselves. For years, VCs have promised to upend books and the structures around their creation and consumption. Some came from within the publishing industry, but like their counterparts “disrupting” other sectors, including film and TV, many more did not. And for the most part, despite tech’s sometimes drastic (and often negative) effects on other industries, book- and reading-related startups failed to alter much at all. People are still buying books—in fact, they’re buying more than ever. Pandemic lockdowns brought a perhaps unsurprising boom in sales, and even though numbers slipped as restrictions lifted, print sales were still nearly 12 percent higher in 2022 than they were in 2019, and sales of audio books continue to increase dramatically year over year.

One reason books haven’t been particularly disruptable might be that many of the people looking to “fix” things couldn’t actually articulate what was broken—whether through their failure to see the real problems facing the industry (namely, Amazon’s stranglehold), or their insistence that books are not particularly enjoyable as a medium. “It’s that arrogance, to come into a community you know nothing about, that you might have studied as you study for an MBA, and think that you can revolutionize anything,” says writer and longtime book-industry observer Maris Kreizman. “There were so many false problems that tech guys created that we didn’t actually have.”

Take, for example, the long string of pitches for a “Netflix for books”—ideas that retrofitted Netflix’s original DVDs-by-mail model for a different medium under the presumption that readers would pay to borrow books when the public library was right there. Publisher’s Weekly keeps a database of book startups that now numbers more than 1,300; many of them are marked “Closed,” alongside a graveyard of broken URLs. There were plenty of practical ideas—targeting specific demographics or genres or pegged to more technical aspects, like metadata or production workflows. But many more proposed ways to alter books themselves—most of which made zero sense to people who actually enjoy reading.

“I don’t think they’re coming to that with a love of fiction or an understanding of why people read fiction,” Kreizman says. “If they were, they wouldn’t make these suggestions that nobody wants.”

The “10x more engaging” crowd has come in waves over the past two decades, washed ashore via broader tech trends, like social media, tablets, virtual reality, NFTs, and AI. These tech enthusiasts promised a vast, untapped market full of people just waiting for technology to make books more “fun” and delivered pronouncements with a grifting sort of energy that urged you to seize on the newest trend while it was hot—even as everyone could see that previous hyped ventures had not, in fact, utterly transformed the way people read. Interactive books could have sound effects or music that hits at certain story beats. NFTs could let readers “own” a character. AI could allow readers to endlessly generate their own books, or to eschew—to borrow one particular framing—“static stories” entirely and put themselves directly into a fictional world.

AI isn’t remotely a new player in the book world. Electronic literature artists and scholars have worked with various forms of virtual and artificial intelligence for decades, and National Novel Generation Month, a collaborative challenge modeled after NaNoWriMo, has been around since 2013. Even now, as much of the book world loudly rejects AI-powered writing tools, some authors are still experimenting, with a wide range of results. But these bespoke, usually one-off projects are a far cry from the tech industry’s proposals to revolutionize reading at scale—not least because the projects were never intended to replace traditional books.

“A lot of interactive storytelling has gone on for a very long time,” says Jeremy Douglass, an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, citing everything from his early career work on hypertext fiction to the class he’ll teach next year on the long history of the pop-up book to centuries-old marginalia like the footnote and the concordance. “These fields are almost always very old, they’re almost always talked about as if they’re brand-new, and there haven’t really been a lot of moments of inventing a new modality.”

To VC claims that AI will totally alter books, Douglass takes what he calls a “yes, and” stance. “What people are actually doing is creating a new medium. They’re not actually replacing the novel; they created a new thing that was like the novel but different, and the old forms carried on. I’m still listening to the radio, despite the film and game industries’ efforts.”

Tech entrepreneurs rarely pitch “yes, and” ideas. In their view, new technologies will improve on—and eventually supplant—what exists now. For all of his interest in the many forms of interactive fiction, Douglass doubts that most books would benefit from an AI treatment.

“There are extremely pleasurable aesthetic systems that aren’t intentional,” he says. “But how often when I’m reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X or The Joy of Cooking do I think, ‘If only a chatbot could augment this on the fly’? And it’s partly the fact that some communication is deeply intentional, and that’s part of the pleasure. It’s handcrafted, it’s specific, there’s a vision.”

That isn’t to say that Douglass thinks there’s zero appetite for AI in literature—but it’s “probably a very small slice of the pie. So when you say ‘all books’? Almost certainly not. For the same reason that we’re not reading 100 percent pop-up books, or watching all of our books on YouTube, or anything else you can imagine. People are doing that too, but it’s extra.”

The exact size of that small pie slice remains to be seen, as does the general public’s appetite for instant novels, or chatting with characters, or hitting a button that will animate any book in your digital library. But those desires will likely need to come from readers themselves—not from the top down. “If you just give the tools to everybody, which is happening in spite of venture capital, as well as because of it, people will figure out what they want it for—and it’s usually not what the inventors and the investors think,” Douglass says. “It’s not even in their top-10 list of guesses, most of the time. It’s incredibly specific to the person and genre.”

The recent history of publishing has plenty of examples in which digital tools let people create things we couldn’t have predicted in the analog days: the massive range of extremely niche self-published romance, for example, or the structural variation and formal innovation within the almost entirely online world of fanfiction.

But when the tech industry approaches readers with ways to “fix” what isn’t broken, their proposals will always ring hollow—and right now, plain old reading still works for huge numbers of people, many of whom pick up books because they want to escape and not be the main character for a while. “That’s a good thing,” Kreizman says. And as AI true believers sweep through with promises that this technology will change everything, it helps to remember just how many disruptors have come and gone. “In the meantime, tech bros will still find VCs to wine and dine and spend more money on bullshit,” Kreizman predicts. But for the rest of us? We’ll just keep on reading.

#books #writing #publishing #leechware #artificial intelligence #ai #technolog

[redd956]

4 of my favorite worlds

For as much as I worldbuild, I don't show off a lot of my stuff because of ✨️ anxiety ✨️ and ✨️ paranoia ✨️ . So I have decided to give you guys synopses of my favorite worlds, because yes I have many, and I mean over 15+.

Castellite

Part of SOA worldbuilding line

Castellite is a large cold planet where the nights are long, and days are short. That doesn't bother the magical populous nation within it, as their cultures are mostly nocturnal, and they have much bigger problems to worry about.

As an industrial and military powerhouse Castellite cannot help but find it's many nations constantly engaging in war with other, many of the popular religions incorporating imperialism as the righteous everyday way of life. Since every individual in the Arethia Galaxy is born with magic from the 8 branches, it finds its use in Castellite primarily in battle.

Nomahria

Part of NMA worldbuilding line

Nomahria is a large planet that is plagued by constant conflict between the two major demographics of people in their world. The magics and humans for their entire history have had off and on good relationships, but mostly a relationship that stems in pure prejudice and hatred.

Their conflict is at one of its worst right now as hate has formed the hundreds of different societies on Nomahria. Humans wield technology making them on par with magics, meanwhile the tech adverse magics don't need electronics to change the playing field. Something is going on behind the scenes though once an organization advocating for peace and unification is ruthlessly vanquished.

Ahnseth

Part of the A worldbuilding line

The people of Ahnseth never learned the dangers of greedy human consumption, before it was far too late. After digging up and unleashing an ancient religious pillar said to bring about apocalypse, the people of Ahnseth put their fears aside and instead focused on the rare resources the pillar brought them. Despite the rumors of apocalyspe nothing seemed to happen anyway.

This lead more excavation and archeology teams to hunt down other pillars shown in the hieroglyphics of the first discovered. Little do the inhabitants of Ahnseth know that the pillars really were going to bring about many plagues, and total apocalypse across the planet. They just didn't appear in the way traditional religious predictions claimed they would. A century past, the people of Ahnseth are still living a total nightmare.

Ocatia

Part of the P worldbuilding line

In a planet mostly consisting of ocean merfolk and humans try their damnest to live in harmony. However their lives are constantly disrupted by the real apex predators, the oceanic giants, known as Ocatians. The Ocatians have no understanding of tiny life, people are just simply other strange living creatures that are nothing under their own influence. Yet the planet's weather, ecosystems, oceans, and more relies the ocean giants.

People view the creatures as cruel gods. However everything is going wrong when the protective Ocatian of the most populous nation passes away from illness, and their viewed god of war wakes up from his slumber.

#my worldbuilding #worldbuilding #my favorite four planets #worldbuilding worlds #worldbuilding planets #writing #my writing #castellite #ahnseth #ocatia #nomahria

[kammartinez]

By Elizabeth Minkel

In the early weeks of 2023, as worry about ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools was ratcheting up dramatically in the public conversation, a tweet passed through the many interlocking corners of Book Twitter. “Imagine if every Book is converted into an Animated Book and made 10x more engaging,” it read. “AI will do this. Huge opportunity here to disrupt Kindle and Audible.”

The tweet’s author, Gaurav Munjal, cofounded Unacademy, which bills itself as “India’s largest learning platform”—and within the edtech context, where digitally animated books can be effective teaching tools, his suggestion might read a certain way. But to a broader audience, the sweeping proclamation that AI will make “every” book “10x more engaging” seemed absurd, a solution in search of a problem, and one predicated on the idea that people who choose to read narrative prose (instead of, say, watching a film or playing a game) were somehow bored or not engaged with their unanimated tomes. As those who shared the tweet observed, it seems like a lot of book industry “disruptors” just don’t like reading.

Munjal is one of many tech entrepreneurs to ping the book world’s radar—and raise its collective hackles—in recent months. Many were hawking AI “solutions” they promised would transform the act of writing, the most derided among them Sudowrite’s Story Engine (dubbed in a relatively ambivalent review by The Verge’s Adi Robertson as “the AI novel-writing tool everyone hates”). Story Engine raised frustrations by treating writers as an afterthought and, by its very existence, suggesting that the problems it was trying to bypass weren’t integral to the act of writing itself.

Last month, Justine Moore, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz, provided a sort of bookend to Munjal’s “AI-animated books” proposal. “The three largest fanfic sites—[Archive of Our Own], Fanfiction.net, and Wattpad—get 3 billion-plus annual visits in the US alone,” she wrote. “Imagine how much bigger this market could be if you could chat with characters vs. reading static stories?” The thread was likely a reference to Character.ai, a startup that lets users chat with fictional heroes and villains; Andreessen Horowitz led a $150 million funding round for the company in March. The comment also came after the revelation that large language models (LLMs) may have scraped fanfiction writers’ work—which is largely written and shared for free—causing an (understandable) uproar in many fan communities.

Setting aside the fact that fandom role-playing has been a popular practice for decades, Moore’s statements felt like a distillation of tech’s tortured relationship with narrative prose. There are many kinds of fanfiction—including an entire subgenre in which “you” are a character in the story. But those are still stories, sentences deliberately written and arranged in a way that lets you lose yourself in an authored narrative. “Imagine having such a fundamental misunderstanding of the appeal of reading fanfiction—let alone reading fiction more broadly,” I wrote in response to her thread. What’s so wrong with people enjoying reading plain old words on a page?

The tech world has long been convinced that it understands the desires of readers better than they do themselves. For years, VCs have promised to upend books and the structures around their creation and consumption. Some came from within the publishing industry, but like their counterparts “disrupting” other sectors, including film and TV, many more did not. And for the most part, despite tech’s sometimes drastic (and often negative) effects on other industries, book- and reading-related startups failed to alter much at all. People are still buying books—in fact, they’re buying more than ever. Pandemic lockdowns brought a perhaps unsurprising boom in sales, and even though numbers slipped as restrictions lifted, print sales were still nearly 12 percent higher in 2022 than they were in 2019, and sales of audio books continue to increase dramatically year over year.

One reason books haven’t been particularly disruptable might be that many of the people looking to “fix” things couldn’t actually articulate what was broken—whether through their failure to see the real problems facing the industry (namely, Amazon’s stranglehold), or their insistence that books are not particularly enjoyable as a medium. “It’s that arrogance, to come into a community you know nothing about, that you might have studied as you study for an MBA, and think that you can revolutionize anything,” says writer and longtime book-industry observer Maris Kreizman. “There were so many false problems that tech guys created that we didn’t actually have.”

Take, for example, the long string of pitches for a “Netflix for books”—ideas that retrofitted Netflix’s original DVDs-by-mail model for a different medium under the presumption that readers would pay to borrow books when the public library was right there. Publisher’s Weekly keeps a database of book startups that now numbers more than 1,300; many of them are marked “Closed,” alongside a graveyard of broken URLs. There were plenty of practical ideas—targeting specific demographics or genres or pegged to more technical aspects, like metadata or production workflows. But many more proposed ways to alter books themselves—most of which made zero sense to people who actually enjoy reading.

“I don’t think they’re coming to that with a love of fiction or an understanding of why people read fiction,” Kreizman says. “If they were, they wouldn’t make these suggestions that nobody wants.”

The “10x more engaging” crowd has come in waves over the past two decades, washed ashore via broader tech trends, like social media, tablets, virtual reality, NFTs, and AI. These tech enthusiasts promised a vast, untapped market full of people just waiting for technology to make books more “fun” and delivered pronouncements with a grifting sort of energy that urged you to seize on the newest trend while it was hot—even as everyone could see that previous hyped ventures had not, in fact, utterly transformed the way people read. Interactive books could have sound effects or music that hits at certain story beats. NFTs could let readers “own” a character. AI could allow readers to endlessly generate their own books, or to eschew—to borrow one particular framing—“static stories” entirely and put themselves directly into a fictional world.

AI isn’t remotely a new player in the book world. Electronic literature artists and scholars have worked with various forms of virtual and artificial intelligence for decades, and National Novel Generation Month, a collaborative challenge modeled after NaNoWriMo, has been around since 2013. Even now, as much of the book world loudly rejects AI-powered writing tools, some authors are still experimenting, with a wide range of results. But these bespoke, usually one-off projects are a far cry from the tech industry’s proposals to revolutionize reading at scale—not least because the projects were never intended to replace traditional books.

“A lot of interactive storytelling has gone on for a very long time,” says Jeremy Douglass, an assistant professor of English at the University of California, Santa Barbara, citing everything from his early career work on hypertext fiction to the class he’ll teach next year on the long history of the pop-up book to centuries-old marginalia like the footnote and the concordance. “These fields are almost always very old, they’re almost always talked about as if they’re brand-new, and there haven’t really been a lot of moments of inventing a new modality.”

To VC claims that AI will totally alter books, Douglass takes what he calls a “yes, and” stance. “What people are actually doing is creating a new medium. They’re not actually replacing the novel; they created a new thing that was like the novel but different, and the old forms carried on. I’m still listening to the radio, despite the film and game industries’ efforts.”

Tech entrepreneurs rarely pitch “yes, and” ideas. In their view, new technologies will improve on—and eventually supplant—what exists now. For all of his interest in the many forms of interactive fiction, Douglass doubts that most books would benefit from an AI treatment.

“There are extremely pleasurable aesthetic systems that aren’t intentional,” he says. “But how often when I’m reading The Autobiography of Malcolm X or The Joy of Cooking do I think, ‘If only a chatbot could augment this on the fly’? And it’s partly the fact that some communication is deeply intentional, and that’s part of the pleasure. It’s handcrafted, it’s specific, there’s a vision.”

That isn’t to say that Douglass thinks there’s zero appetite for AI in literature—but it’s “probably a very small slice of the pie. So when you say ‘all books’? Almost certainly not. For the same reason that we’re not reading 100 percent pop-up books, or watching all of our books on YouTube, or anything else you can imagine. People are doing that too, but it’s extra.”

The exact size of that small pie slice remains to be seen, as does the general public’s appetite for instant novels, or chatting with characters, or hitting a button that will animate any book in your digital library. But those desires will likely need to come from readers themselves—not from the top down. “If you just give the tools to everybody, which is happening in spite of venture capital, as well as because of it, people will figure out what they want it for—and it’s usually not what the inventors and the investors think,” Douglass says. “It’s not even in their top-10 list of guesses, most of the time. It’s incredibly specific to the person and genre.”

The recent history of publishing has plenty of examples in which digital tools let people create things we couldn’t have predicted in the analog days: the massive range of extremely niche self-published romance, for example, or the structural variation and formal innovation within the almost entirely online world of fanfiction.

But when the tech industry approaches readers with ways to “fix” what isn’t broken, their proposals will always ring hollow—and right now, plain old reading still works for huge numbers of people, many of whom pick up books because they want to escape and not be the main character for a while. “That’s a good thing,” Kreizman says. And as AI true believers sweep through with promises that this technology will change everything, it helps to remember just how many disruptors have come and gone. “In the meantime, tech bros will still find VCs to wine and dine and spend more money on bullshit,” Kreizman predicts. But for the rest of us? We’ll just keep on reading.

#books #writing #publishing #technology #leechware #artificial intelligence #ai

[wehavebiggerproblems]

Fallout 4 Random Companion Headcanons

Wrote these a few years ago, too nervous then to share them.

Ada

-Ada was built in 2268. She's about 21 years old.

-Her first memory is of seeing The Mechanist in front of her. Then she watched as The Mechanist removed their head and smiled.

-She's Isabel's first project. 

-Her voice was originally supposed to be more synthesized and robotic, but the more human sound was easier for Isabel to work with.

-Ada prefers to travels in groups with 3-4 people, knowing fully well a robot is a higher target for scavvers.

- Her base body was constructed from many different trial runs of the "ADA" project.

-She's programmed to remain indifferent but the nagging voice in her programming says to do good things in order to to aid other people.

-Ada appreciates the effort Sole goes through to upgrade her body. She doesn't think it's necessary and she's somewhat sentimental about her original form.

-She finds Codsworth's attachment to Sole strange. Almost too human, those Mr. Handy's.

Cait

-Cait loves baths. Bubble baths with bath bombs and even a little rubber ducky. Only Sole knows this.

-The rubber ducky's name is Codsworth. Will not explain why.

-Can fire a rifle over her shoulder behind her. (Annie Oakley style)

-Hates Jazz music. Says it's too slow and calm. Really dislikes it because she's uncomfortable slow dancing with anyone.

-Allergic to feathers. Rad chickens make her sick to be around.

-But once the feathers are removed, the chicken has been cut up, and cooked with some veggies and a loaf of bread, loves it.

-Chicken soup is her favourite dish. Only likes Sole's chicken soup though. Will not eat anyone else’s.

-Shot put would be her favourite sport. Throwing a heavy metal sphere a very long distance is goals.

Codsworth

-Codsworth can speak 8 languages. Including: English, Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Polish, and Swedish.

-Can recognize almost every written language and translate but lacks the programming to speak every one.

-Nate/Nora got him two years before Shaun was born.

-Sole did minimal repair work on him, and offered to polish him every time he got a dent or scratch.

-He always accepted the polish offer. Very wary of Sole doing factory repairs on him. Would prefer professionals doing the delicate work.

-Always celebrated Nate/Nora and Sole’s respective birthdays. For 200 years.

-When Sole called him "Family", he felt an odd electric pulse through his core processor. He decided to call it a skipped heart beat.

-Calls synth Shaun "Sonny", and "Young Master Shaun".

-Makes Sole's favourite meal when they come back home from Vault 111.

-Will ask to take over if he catches Sole doing chores.

-Hesitates when he has to bring up Sole's spouse knowing it's a touchy subject.

-His favourite friend of Sole's is Nick. Thinks Nick is a good role model for synth Shaun.

Curie

-Curie, like Codsworth can speak 8 languages. However, after becoming a synth, she can only speak about 4.

-Curie loves the feeling of velvet. Collects pieces of velvet clothing. 

-Once wore a velvet cape around because she loved the way it draped over her shoulders and fluttered when she walked.

-Has sensory phases. Music, nice noises, soft materials, different foods, perfumes, etc. Collects whatever makes her senses happy.

-During the "feeling phase" her favourite feeling was holding Sole's hand. Loved running her hand over the surface of water. And velvet.

-Talks out what her feelings are with Piper. Piper explains to her what the "spin spin spin" in her head meant.

-Favourite smell is fresh baked bread. Bakes bread with Mama Murphy every weekend.

-Favourite sweet food is mutfruit pie. Will badger Piper to make it with her.

-Curie's motor functions are still new. Sometimes she misses what she was trying to grab and fumbles.

Danse

-Danse is a horrid mechanic. You'd think spending time in the BoS and dedicating time to auto repair with Ingram. Can't put a toaster together.

-But Power Armor is a piece of cake. Can't do much with pre-war tech, yet fixing power armor is as easy as making breakfast.

-Like all gen 3 synths, he loves Fancy Lad snack cakes. He'd share whatever box he'd find with the squires around the Prydwen.

-Scribe Haylen would volunteer to work alongside Danse on all his scouting missions.

-Danse found out Deacon was the one who stuck the dildo to his power armor. He made sure Deacon's wigs were the same bright purple color the very next day.

-Loves country music. When a traveling courier stops by and shares their western/country music, he actually dances. 

-Has a heart for kids. Even Billy. 

-Leg bouncing habit. Can't bounce his leg in power armor but as soon as he's out, his leg's jittering.

Deacon

-Deacon is in his late 40's. 

-Did not lie about his wife and the University Point Deathclaws.

-Enjoys learning about Pre-war culture, spends free time with ghouls asking them about the past.

-Sole can fool him easily about prewar facts though. 

-Has incredible luck with the pie claw game. Has won 8 times while traveling with Sole.

-Loves making silly bets. "I bet I can skip this plate across the lake at least 1 time." Proceeds to throw the plate at the water horizontally. 

-Doesn't hate Danse. He will pull pranks on him though. Once stuck a dildo on the back of Danse's power armour. 

-His hair grows quickly so he has to shave every day.

-Shaves his head, isn't bald. Shaved head works better with his pompadour wig. 

-Doesn't like mutfruit. Says it's too acidic and hurts his gums.

-Has a rifle-shaped scar on his forearm. Will tell a different story for it every time.

-Once drank a dozen Nuka Cola Quantums on a dare. His pee glowed for a week.

-Tried going vegetarian once. ONCE. Found out being vegetarian means eating no meat or dairy products. Had to have Sole explain that, while gross, radroach could technically be  considered meat.

-Is kinda clumsy. Always bumps into counter edges and stubs his toes on bits of debris.

-Doesn't lie about his family. And when Sole calls him family, promises to never lie about family again.

Gage

-Gage juggled skii balls to entertain the last Overboss, Colter.

-He enjoys small shooting competitions with MacCready, Sole, and X6. All four are sharp shooters.

-Fastest learner. Spent an entire week learning how to cook Sole's old recipes. He can cook them better than anyone with the exception of Codsworth.

-Hums when he works. 

-Had a one night stand with Nisha. Ended so bad, he avoids that area of the park at all costs.

-Hates cats. Had an awful run in with a rad lion. Radiated Mountain Lion that tore a scar deep down his back. 

-Does routine maintenance on the rides in the park. He knows how everything works there. From social hierarchy - to the intricacies of the Vault Tec: Among the Stars ride.

-His favourite flavour of Nuka Cola is Nuka Cola Victory. Rare to find but easily the best.

-Record farthest shot is a bean can from 410 meters. 

-He's a lightweight. Only two beers and he's buzzed enough to sing along with Red-Eye.

-Will tell a different story every time if anyone asks about the eye patch.

Hancock

-Hancock is a history buff. Loves learning about colonial era civilization. 

-Has spent days with Kent Connolly researching Silver Shroud information. He knows more about the Silver Shroud than any other companion.

-Has had a fling with every person in Goodneighbor at least once. Even Kleo. 

-At least in a sexual way, he is extremely open minded. Welcomes new experiences and new information given anywhere anytime.

-Had a decent childhood with his brother. He remembers tending to the mutfruit trees with him and eating every other piece they picked.

-Adores pickles. Would sit and eat an entire jar of pickles just because he loves the cronch so much.

-All time favourite chem is Mentats. Loves making intellectual jokes while high as a kite.

-Does not know what a lot of pre-war expressions mean, but enjoys saying them and hearing them from Sole.

-Is a master at repairing clothing. How else does the frock stay in such good condition? He tends to it every night.

-As far as euphemisms for ghouls go, he likes "beef jerky".

Longfellow

-Longfellow met Hannah while out hunting. She blasted a trapper's head clean off, and he fell harder than the trapper's body.

-He spent his youth training, hoping to become a Brotherhood soldier one day.

-And then he met a vertibird full of them. They called Far Harbor a dump while gathering supplies there. Officially decided to cease all training.

-Managed to take down 17 Mirelurks in 3 minutes. 

-Holds the record in Acadia for alcohol consumption. All records involving alcohol consumption.

-He's really fit? Longfellow could and has bench pressed Sole. 

-He only did so because Hancock and MacCready wouldn't shut up about it.

-Loves singing old shanty songs and dancing with Sole. Only when no one else is around though.

-After the events at Far Harbor, he decides to go sailing along the coast. Wants to see the world more.

MacCready

-MacCready does brush his teeth. He brushes his teeth regularly. He started brushing after he left Little Lamplight. By that point the damage was already done.

-Lucy was the one to convince him to brush his teeth.

-He can't stand the smell of lavender. Lavender candles, lavender lotion, etc...makes him feel  nauseous.

-He named his sniper rifle, "Lucy"

-Won't drink brahmin milk with cereal even to Sole's encouragement.

-Is very well read. Vault 87 had many educational textbooks hidden among the super mutants.

-MacCready was the longest lasting mayor in L.L. He was mayor for 6 years.

-He has no idea what television is and is afraid to ask any pre-wars about it.

-Wary of all ghouls, both feral and normal. He's not bias to non-ferals, but he is a little uncomfortable.

-Had a crush on Lone Wanderer when they first visited L.L. Mac told Joseph and he made fun of him.

Nick

-Nick has an oral fixation. Smokes out of habit and having the familiar feeling of a cigarette between his lips feeds into human nostalgia.

-His right hand is missing skin because he fidgets only his right. Whether it was picking at the fraying plastic or rubbing the fake skin raw.

-He lost the chunk of neck skin after Myrna accused him of working for the Institute. Tore off a chunk to prove he wasn't a perfect person or an infiltrator synth.

-Ellie was the first person in Diamond City to wholly accept Nick as he is. She asked to work with him as soon as he decided to stay.

-Piper and Nick have jam sessions where they have heavy debates about Diamond City law enforcement and criminal misuse of power in the capitalistic society of pre-war USA.

-Met Dogmeat under an overpass. He handed the dog a snack cake and scratched his head. They've been close pals ever since.

-Will "sleep" around Sole. He'll lay down and manually put himself into "sleep mode". Any unnecessary functions will shut down. He lets his thoughts take over. All Sole hears is the faintest fan whir.

Piper

-Piper plans Sole's 211th birthday. She goes all out, collects balloons, bakes several cakes with Codsworth, makes everyone attend and threatens anyone who would act up. "It's Blue's first birthday out here, you WILL behave!"

-Knows how to make mutfruit preserves, mutfruit pie, mutfruit jam and jelly. Makes it for Nat constantly.

-Has a notebook dedicated to little tidbits of info about Sole.

-Nat is exactly 8 years, 5 months, and 25 days younger than Piper. 

-Piper has interviewed every person in Diamond City. Made a game of it with Nat at first, then she just kept going with it.

-Piper has awful shorthand. Almost as bad as Curie's shorthand. Still illegible. 

-Piper's handwriting is so bad, Nat does the writing for the paper. Piper writes the final draft and Nat copies it, and sends it through the printing press.

-Despite bad handwriting, Piper is very eloquent. Can make a super mutant sound like good date idea or convince anyone how the mayor might actually be a synth.

-Her favourite of Sole's friends is Kent Connolly. Would gladly dress up and act out Silver Shroud episodes with him and Sole.

Preston

-Preston has insomnia. Cannot sleep well. Has had insomnia since Quincy. 

-Can sleep well if he's sleeping beside someone.

-Has a box under his bed of little knick-knacks children have given him over the years. Can't bear to get rid of the kid's gifts.

-He actually likes all of Sole's friends. Even Strong.

-Hates coconut. Once found an Almond-Joy while scaving and couldn't finish it to save his life.

-All time favourite candy is Peanut Brittle. Hard to find but gnawing on the hard chunks is somewhat soothing to him.

-Loves back rubs. Giving and receiving but only from close friends or lovers.

-Once accidently drank a bottle of perfume. MacCready told him it was a bottle of fancy expensive wine. 

-Sturges and Preston are the closest of friends, no less maybe more.

Strong

-Strong knows how to jump rope.

-But double dutch is a mystery.

-Before Sole, he only ate meat raw. Sole taught him how to cook it.

-Also lacks patience to cook, but slowly learning.

-Strong was created in Vault 87 after the bombs dropped but remembers nothing from being human.

-Doesn't understand bubblegum. Will always swallow it after a few seconds of chewing.

-Likes having poetry and plays read to him. 

-Sleeps holding Sole or having Sole laying across his stomach. 

-Loves fire. The smell, the feeling of heat against his hardened skin, the taste of charred meat, and watching the embers fly up and turn to ash.

-Strong can read, but chooses not to because super mutants discourage any educational behavior. 

-Likes the sound of clacking keys on a terminal. He'll turn one on and mess around with the keyboard just to hear the different sounds each key makes.

-He can't decide if hand-to-hand combat is better than using guns.

X6-88

-X6 doesn't like using plasma. He thinks the plasma is less accurate. 

-But laser weapons are his jam.

-Spends excessive amount of time augmenting his weapon. 

-If Sole helped, he would be "happy". Would never say it, but a tiny smirk would pop up on his face for half a second.

-Will collect Fancy Lad Snack Cakes. Hoards them in his bedroom in Sanctuary and in the Institute. 

-Sole found his stash and X6 blushed for the first time when they confronted him. 

-He called Sole "Mom" instead of Ma'am once. She won't let him live it down.

-He called Sole "Dad" after hearing Shaun call him "Dad" all day. He won't let him live it down.

-Actually likes kids. Won't show emotions, get down to their level, or speak to kids. But he doesn't hate children. 

-Especially likes synth Shaun. He taught synth Shaun how to use a laser pistol. Shaun found out and put X6 on probation for a month.

Bonus Vault Tec Rep and Kent Connolly under the cut.

Vault Tec Rep

-Rep spent a couple decades learning how to draw. Loves drawing from life. Mostly draws people. Occasionally draws ferals, mutants, and various animals.

-Was engaged before the war, lasted about 2 years before she died of cancer.

-His favorite food was and still is a well grilled medium rare steak.

-A total neat freak. Every space he uses as a homestead has to be thoroughly cleaned of any bacteria, ticks, dust, dirt, radiation residue, etc

-Teased in school for his red hair. "Rusty" was his least favorite nickname.

-He's extremely susceptible to pet names. Doesn't have to be anything sexual or romantic, just pet names. He blushes like a starstruck starlet.

-Loves love. Romance and old-timey corny love stories. He like to woo his partner. Flowers, chocolate, dancing, movie dates, hand written poems, you name it. 

-He misses his old red hair. Years of being a brunette and he's a little bitter about his hair.

-Least favourite part of The Wasteland is amount of bodies he sees on a daily basis. He saw about zero bodies a day on average before the war. Even in Goodneighbor, the average has risen to about 4 bodies a week. 

-Favourite part of The Wasteland is the ability to just go anywhere. After realizing he didn't have any obligation to stay any specific place, he just traveled around for a few decades.

-His father worked for Vault-Tec, and when he graduated high school, he was given a job immediately. 

-Didn't hate it. Didn't love it at first, but he had a real knack for selling.

-He never had an office in Boston HQ. He got the van, and got a sweet bonus for being top salesman, but never his own office. 

-Despite being top salesman, he was only allowed on the first and second floors. He didn't find out till after the bombs dropped that the basement and third floor up had the plans for the various vaults in the area.

-He can't apologize enough to Sole. After thinking on it and checking out vault 111 by himself, he truly feels sorry for what happened.

-Sole gets him a set of steak knives for Christmas. They're homemade by Sole. They tell him he's earned far more than a knife set, but if that's what he's pining for...

-He treasures it so much, he rarely uses them. Just before he leaves for work in the morning, he checks them over and admires them.

-He and Sole have spent days just telling each other pre war stories. He almost knows more about Sole than Piper does. And he's a little proud of that fact.

-He gets along best with, of all people, Deacon. Good sense of humour and always interested in pre-war info.

-Second best is Piper. A nice lady who snoops too much, but does treat everyone with respect and tries to remain unbiased.

Kent Connolly

-Kent was 23 when the bombs dropped.

-He was sleeping in on the Saturday morning when he heard the air raid sirens.

-Hid in his house's basement till the sirens stopped. 

-And then the radiation sickness took over. 

-It took him about 3 months to turn ghoulish. Quicker than most. 

-He dislikes Goodneighbor - the town as a whole. The people are fine, the resources are serviceable, and the safety assured is nice. But he hates how back alley it feels.

-Misses his family the most. They weren't the best, but they made him feel loved and important.

-Speaking of which, Kent had a huge family. I'm talking brothers, sisters, cousins for days, aunts, uncles...he remembers family reunions as huge gatherings chock full of food and kids running amuck.

-Maybe, just maybe, he enjoys seeing Sole all dressed like Shroud a little too much. He's a big fan.

-Once spent 4 grand on a mint condition Issue no. 3 Silver Shroud comic just to find out it was a forgery. Never got that refund. :(

-Writes really well. But only writes Silver Shroud fanfiction. Piper almost convinced him to help write an article about how crime differed before the war and after the war. But he turned her down.

-Nick has agreed to dress up as Shroud if Sole dresses up like Grognak or Mistress of Mystery. But only if Sole dresses up too.

-Irma refers to him as her son. Amari will not say the same, but she also doesn't protest.

-He used to work in comic book shop. (Of course he did.) 

-He writes self insert Silver Shroud fanfiction all the time. After the events at the hospital with Sinjin, the Shroud in his fanfictions suddenly start using Sole's pronouns and is described as physically similar as Sole.

#Fallout 4 #Fallout 4 headcanons #Fallout #Ada #Cait #Codsworth #Curie #Danse #Deacon #Gage #Hancock #Longfellow #MacCready #Nick Valentine #Piper Wright #Preston Garvery #Strong #X6-88 #Vault Tec Rep #Kent Connolly #my writing #Sole Survivor

[infearandfaith777]

lil thang i wrote

Long post ahead y’all but who knows maybe you’re getting a preview to what will someday be a successful blogging or writing career and you’ll be glad that you knew me before i blew up the internet with my offensive views 🤪 lol just kidding i know I’m not that important haha!!

Over the course of the next few days I’m going to be posting all the photos that im always forgetting to post bc im deactivating my Facebook for the foreseeable future, and i would like to have my mass amount of backed up photos on here. Social media is a huge time sucking vortex for me in this stage of my life. It always has been (I’ve been in big tech’s clutches since i was in the 6th grade, i consider us all to be little lab rats of the ongoing social media experiment) I’ve been making a real effort to work on it the last few years. I’ve made progress, I’m just not seeing the full fruit and i know that it’s because I’m 1) stubborn and sinful 2) i choose my wants over what I know is right. I guess those are the same thing 🤪 My oh my, it’s so easy to slip. My biggest step for this year was deleting my Instagram a few months ago. i lied to myself when i said that it wouldn’t be a big deal to have the Facebook app on my phone since I’m not a fan of the layout/platform anyways. but what I’ve found is that slowly but surely, the time that i would’ve spent on Instagram is now being spent on here 🤷‍♀️ oy vey.

I know myself well enough to know that my self control when it comes to social media is an absolute mess, it doesn’t matter how hard i try. I keep failing at meeting my goal for how to spend my time online and I’m over it. for some people their social media usage/consumption isn’t a big deal because they know their limits and they’re mature enough to handle it but I’m not and it’s okay to admit that. we’ve built an attractive idol in the shape of a little square box of light and quite frankly I’m sick of mine. I don’t want to miss any of the beautiful season of life that I’m in. Socials aren’t adding to anything for me right now, as much as I’d like for them to and try for them to. They’re taking from me. Who knows, they’re likely taking from some of you too but we don’t usually question it because our culture is so addicted and it seems unrealistic to think of real life without an online life on the side.

time is God given, and short, and i want to steward mine well. Now, I have to clarify that I’m not bashing social media or it’s users. It might not seem like it from everything I’ve said thus far but I love social media. Really, truly i do. & that’s the heart of the problem, is that sometimes i fear that i love it more than i love God. It’s hard for me to be in the word sometimes, yet i have no problem hopping online and seeing what’s poppin. That’s messed up. I love the brilliance of everything at our fingertips. I love what it can be. But I hate what it often and usually is. it’s designed to keep you scrolling & i of all people understand the incredible difficulty in finding balance. They feed on our sinful desire for constant and instant gratification. Despite the coding, the use of the tool itself is a neutral party. It’s up to us how we use it, whether that be good or bad lies in our hands. Literally, your phone lies in your hands.

So what do you choose to do with it?

If you could see God sitting beside you watching what you’re looking at (which He IS but you know what i mean, if He was literally visible to your eye staring at the screen) would you at any point be ashamed of what you’re doing on your phone? I know there’s times that i would be.

How much time do you spend on it?

Can you answer those questions honestly and be at peace with the answer? If you can, great! 🤠

But if you’re like most of us and maybe less than pleased with your time usage or what you’re doing/looking at online, then what are some real changes you can make?

Is there something else could you be dedicating your time to? Something you always say you “don’t have enough time” for even though you have plenty of time to be online??? 🤔

Do you think you could limit your consumption if you tried or is the urge to scroll too powerful?

We could all stand to ask ourselves these things from time to time..

Im cutting off what I know is a sin for me. It might not be for you and that’s awesome. Either way we should be talking more about how social media has affected our society.

Maybe with a long hiatus, and a lot of prayer, God will help me to learn how to use my social media the way that i know i should. wisely, with MUCH greater self control, and always for His glory. 🤍

Colossians 3:17, ESV: "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do EVERYTHING in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

(emphasis added)

Proverbs 15:3

The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

Watching the evil and the good.

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil (Proverbs 4:23-27)

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

Matthew 6:22-23

“Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways.”

Psalm 119:37

“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:27

[transhitman]

Nobody asked but I wanna talk about my OC universe. Specifically the biology of the human species because I think it’s cool as fuck. Basically, homo sapiens is extinct after nuclear winter and all the fantasy races are the different evolutions of the human species with adaptations that allowed them to survive. There are 6 total and they’re all sort of like combinations of two or more more traditional fantasy races so yeah.

H. magus -- HUMANS -- Only named as such because they’re the only ones that don’t have a major outward change in physiology. They look pretty much the same but are a little bit taller on average and can have gold or purple eyes. They survived via the magic of invention and Literal Magic, and mostly stayed in one spot. They sat on resources and created pretty capitalist-leaning societies, and thus didn’t have to undergo any major changes. However, there are still enough small differences to qualify them as a different species than H. sapiens, namely that their bodies conduct magic really REALLY well.

H. bucerus -- OGRES -- Sort of like a mix between tieflings and orcs. They’re descendants of the people who were ostracized from the Human communities for whatever reason, and had to deal with radiation, harsh weather, and GIANT FREAKING SHADOW MOSTERS. Since the Human ancestors were sitting on all the resources, the proto-Ogres were forced to become nomadic. In order to survive the Badlands, their muscles became much more dense, granting them super strength. However, they also weigh twice as much as a Human of the same volume and require twice as much food. They also developed methods of dealing with cancer caused by the radiation of the world. They basically integrate tumors into their bodies as horns. They have a special type of white blood cell that specifically targets cancerous growths and forces them to the surface of the skin, where they can be removed. They also have tails, which suit their environment. There are different variants depending on the global region they’re from, each with different horn and tail types. Probably the sexiest species. They’re tall ^__^ But their size is limited to like 7ft since being too big and dense would be DISASTEROUS in the food-scarce Badlands.

H. gurges -- DWARVES -- Ok so they’re honestly more mermaid-like, but I’m trying to fit a theme with the names here. They are short, though. And most of them live in cities that are below the surface, just not a solid surface. The Dwarves are descendants of the seafaring survivors of the Pacific Ocean. There is actually a wide variety that could count as dozens and dozens of separate species, but for function’s sake they’re all under the same category. They have convergently evolved with different types of fish, getting less and less human-looking the deeper in the ocean they live. On the surface, they’re just people with fluorescent skin tones. In the Abyss, they’re barely even human. They are able to withstand enormous pressure, and notably can form symbiotic relationships with sessile sea life. Sponges and barnacles and the like often grow on their bodies, sometimes in a very stunning, very beautiful way. Though the people closer to the surface are short, those deeper in the water grow to be gigantic. One of their subspecies includes the Extremophiles, who live in the deepest part of the ocean. They can reach about 20ft in length when counting their tails. It’s unknown weather these Extremophiles age, or what they really do down there. The Dwarves outside of the deepest Abyss usually live in underwater cities, on the coast, or on floating oil rig-type things. They’re all normal.

H. hiems -- ELVES -- Elves are sort of a combination between elves, giants, and general undead creatures (skeletons lol). They’re fucking massive, and live in only the coldest areas. Their skin is usually a shade of grey, tinted by the type of mineral that is the main staple of their diet. They eat rocks. Yeah. In fact, their bodies are so fucked up and adapted to their barren environment that normal food can easily kill them. Sugar specifically is HIGHLY toxic. Because they don’t process food the same way, they’re skeletal. And 12ft tall. Basically, slenderman. Though they aren’t bald. They have pale down-like hair on their heads. They also have another strange diet habit, which developed as a result of food scarcity during the beginning of the apocalypse. They have a very different culture surrounding cannibalism. Though the consumption of entire bodies is Not A Thing anymore, having your loved ones consume small parts of your body after your death is a very important ritual. It is an acknowledgement that the soul has gone, and the body has become empty matter. The other big thing about them is their special Suit Magic, in which a symbol of one of the playing card suits appears somewhere on their body when they go though puberty. The different suits grant them different abilities, and the four suits have divided into factions which were once at war with each other. (Blood (hearts) is healing. Edges (diamonds) creates shield constructs. Blades (spades) is bolts of energy. And Fists (clubs) is bludgeoning-type weapon constructs.) However, Elves are now extremely isolated up in their mountains and tundras. Very territorial. People honestly sort of hate them cause they’re also a little bit specist.

H. invictus -- MONOS -- Mono stands for monochrome. Predictably, Monos are monochrome. Arcane albinism overwrites their natural skin tone, and instead turns them a sickly white color, tinted by their subspecies hue. Everything else on them is jet black, including their blood and organs. Or, it’s that same hue color. They’re really fucked up, honestly. They’re sort of supposed to be a mix between vampires and orcs. They’re an artificially created species, made via eugenics and dark magic. Their creators were aiming to make an unkillable army, and they sort of succeeded, but at the cost of prevalent genetic defects. Around 70% of the Mono population has some sort of disability, which really isn’t a huge problem. They’re more than capable of providing medical care and creating accessibility deceives like prosthetics and magic medicine. You can do crazy shit with technology these days! In fact Monos were engineered to be compatible with tech- oh their creators were fascist eugenicists who abused them and treated them like disposable garbage specifically because of the disabilities they themselves caused though carelessness and forced inbreeding? Well. Alright. Not how I would have done it but... Anyway, long story short, the Monos pulled a 180 at some point and broke free of all that shit. Because they’re sort of a genetic mess, they have really great healthcare out of necessity. They’re the most technologically advanced species on the planet rn, but all of their scientists are engineers and doctors, not warriors, so they’re at constant risk of being annexed by Humans. Monos also have a very low fertility rate, so the percentage of whole-blooded Monos is going way down. They’re close to being endangered at this point. Luckily, some guy figured out how to grow babies in tubes but that’s a story for another day.

H. unicus -- DOWNDEEPERS -- Ok, Downdeepers are just all the miscellaneous designs I came up with that didn’t make sense as one of the other species lol. They’re the decedents of the people who fled to the newly-formed Downdeeps cave system, which is a global system of caverns that goes really fucking deep underground. The high concentrations of magic there cause Downdeepers to mutate rapidly. No two of them are the same. They all just live in tha caves... hell yeah...

The last human species are the CHIMERAS, which are really just the people who are a cross between two or more species. They were rare at first, but they had a population boom after global travel was reestablished (somewhat, anyway).

There are a couple other inorganic races I could talk about but I’m gonna leave it there. Yeah nobody asked for this but I hope you thought it was neat. I am honestly really proud of this world I think it’s cool as hell : ) yeah. And if you’re wondering how all the species can be cohesive despite their ancestors being isolated in different parts of the world (specifically Ogres, who live on every continent and don’t have a common ancestor), that’s because of some meta shit that has to do with how magic and human will interact. Collective subconscious shit. And that would take like 3 pages to explain so like. Just go with it for now lol.

#worldbuilding #cannibalism // #eugenics //

[warsofasoiaf]

What is your opinion of KOTOR 2? Favorite things about it, least favorite things about it, characters, etc.

Alright, it’s time for another video game review, so an early reminder, spoilers abound for both KOTOR1 and KOTOR2. There’s a cut of course. Overall, I thought it was a phenomenally well-written game and one of the greatest pieces of media to exist in the Stars Wars universe (although I haven’t read any of the Expanded Universe books so keep that in mind), and as is the usual case for Obsidian particularly in this era, developer constraints created a beautiful mess.

Before we can talk about KOTOR we need to talk a little bit about Star Wars and what it meant as a film. The original Star Wars isn’t a very creative story, it’s largely a conventional Hero’s Journey. It’s a pastiche of early adventure stories in a science fiction setting, but with the added benefit of video and sound effects to really make it come to life in a way that was only possible in the imagination of readers. This gave the series a wide deal of appeal. Folks who grew up on the 1950′s Flash Gordon serials or WW2 dogfight films could see a film with those things they loved from their childhood with a high budget to bring those things to life. Science fiction fans could visually see elements of their favorite books brought to life on the silver screen. Fans of movies can appreciate the cutting-edge (for the time, although I love me some practical effects in film) effects and the unfamiliar elements of science fiction with the familiar trappings of an adventure tale. 

KOTOR was something similar for the video game industry, particularly for the fans of Baldur’s Gate. The ability to create a Jedi character and go on a journey like the Bhaalspawn did in Baldur’s Gate was something that appealed to a significant number of RPG fans, and the critical success of the Baldur’s Gate series brought a lot of money and prestige to Bioware. Fans of RPGs and Star Wars got to see their medium and interact with it in a whole new light. Much like A New Hope, KOTOR1 was largely a traditional story where Darth Malak is an evil guy without much in the way of redemptive qualities. The two major wrinkles were that you could play as a Sith and have some moments of true player cruelty like ordering Zaalbar to kill Mission, but this makes sense for an RPG, having no player choice in a game really makes you lose the lightside/darkside dynamic. Of course, the bigger and more interesting drift from a traditional Star Wars story was the Revan twist. This took advantage of both the slower pace of games to spend time with your PC and form a connection, and the nature of Western RPG’s where the player envisions themselves partially as their avatar onscreen to make the reveal hit home. Ultimately though, the Star Wars morality was upheld. The Jedi were the unequivocal good guys, the Sith were the unequivocal bad guys. 

KOTOR2 decided to put the Force under the microscope. It had started in 2003, so Episode II had already come out, and this idea of the prophecy of Anakin bringing balance to the Force, and what we knew of the Jedi in the original Star Wars trilogy who were reduced to hermits hiding on the fringes of society, really gave the impetus to examine this idea of the balance of the Force as not necessarily benevolent. It’s not evil, per say, it’s just indifferent to the people that die to make it happen. So the game became a self-critical examination of the core structures of the Star Wars universe. The Sith are usually thought of as the bad guys, and a lot of that holds true, domination, subjugation, power, betrayal, all that nasty stuff aren’t really conducive to most conceptions of goodness, but are the Jedi good? Does their passivity lead to injustice and terror being wrought on others because the Jedi failed to act. That was the question behind the Jedi involvement in the Mandalorian Wars, was the Exile correct in going off to fight them or were the Jedi Council who forbade them correct? As befits the folks who wrote Planescape: Torment, the game has two journeys, one through the game world and the plot that unfolds and another more deeply introspective.

I’ll put the things I don’t like about KOTOR2 first because the list is small but it is worth noting. The game is very clearly a rushed product and it shows. The cut content shows a great deal of lost potential, and the bugs could make the game at times completely unplayable. The game suffered from the accelerated development, having barely half the development time, and you can see where the seams show. The UI is clunky and gets cluttered when you have to manage items. Level design is similarly a nuisance, as they are big sprawling expanses without a lot of content in them. Part of that is a necessity to the mechanics, smaller levels would have other encounter designs being agro’d into it, but the levels are still expansive, empty, and a slog to get through. The Peragus mining facility is too large by half, and there’s a lot of backtracking in these levels. Since side quests encourage finding a doodad or killing a few key figures scattered around a map, that means a lot of trekking through these big levels to find one particular item or enemy locked in a corner somewhere. That can be very tedious, particularly on repeat playthroughs. At times, it feels like legging your way through a swamp to get to the next piece of delicious content.

Which is a good segue into talking what I like about the game, because its writing and characters are superb. The character companions are twists of classic Star Wars archetypes. Atton is the scoundrel Han Solo non-Force user type, but ends up having a disturbingly dark backstory where he was a Sith interrogator and feared his own Force-sensitive nature. Bao-Dur is a man haunted by the weapon of mass destruction he created, a tech-head who ends up hating his most momentous creation but feels the need to use it yet again. Canderous has become the new Mandalore and is desperately trying to revitalize his dying culture because he’s been so broken by Revan’s departure. The Wookie life-debt is so toxic that it breaks Hanharr and Mira in their own ways. Visas is a Sith whose will is shattered. Each of these characters are fundamentally broken (save for the droids, unless you count the physical need to reassemble HK-47 as broken), and the Exile draws them to him or her. Through discovering more about them and resolving it, the Exile awakens the characters’ connection to the Force, oddly ironic since the Exile is cut off from the Force and is only rediscovering it. Like most Bioware RPG’s, you the player through your character guide the growth of these characters and form a relationship with them, or use them for your own ends.

Kreia, of course, deserves her own paragraph. Kreia is the Star Wars Ravel Puzzlewell, an embittered woman who wants to destroy the cosmic chains of the universe and loves the player character in a deeply obsessive way, one that’s played completely straight in how it makes the player uncomfortable. She is deeply resentful of the Force and wants to destroy it, and through the Exile, who managed to cut themselves off so utterly completely in a unique way, she sees the path. Of course, the reason why the Exile cut themselves off was the mass death at Malachor V was so overwhelming that he or she would have otherwise died. Of course, her obsession and overriding mission cares little for the Exile’s own pain, and so the manipulations begin, using you to lure out and destroy the Jedi and the Sith, and in the end, you disappoint her, either because you don’t learn her lessons or she discovers that the only reason you were the way you were was because you were afraid. She still is obsessed over you, though, and so when you finally confront her, she obliges that affection to explain everything, unusually honest for a woman whose Sith name is evocative of the word betrayal. And fortunately, she allows something that most monologue villains don’t allow, a means by which to tell her she’s full of shit. Certainly, it’s a little weaker coming from her as an option to you rather than the player character saying it themselves, but I think it’s stronger, since so much of the ending had to be cut anyway it reinforces the ambiguity of it, that the ending is what you believe. Personal belief has always been important for the Exile and Kreia/Traya, and letting that transfer to the player is, while perhaps not the most ideal, completely valid given how rushed the development was. 

The other Sith Lords are fascinating concepts of evil and personal belief as well as well, and really show the Dark Side of the force in a parasitic, corrupt sense and the horrible ends of taking belief to its extreme. Darth Sion is the Lord of Pain. He cannot die but he feels pain constantly, making eternal life not a blessing but a torture, though in it he found a twisted source of enlightenment. His pain fuels his anger and hatred (key ingredients of the Dark Side) and so he persists solely through the Dark Side. Darth Nihilus, on the other hand, had his body obliterated by the Mass Shadow Generator, and so persisted as a wound in the Force, consuming Force energy to feed his relentless hunger. He is not a human anymore but a force of endless consumption that cannot be satiated, this hunger pain pushes him past his own mortal existence but which can only consume, not live. This perfectly illustrates the Dark Side concept of pursuit of power even past the point of sustainability, for Nihilus will continue consuming until all existence has been eaten.

The game is dark and moody, as you explore a shattered galaxy. In the original game, the search led to the Star Forge and the revelation that you the player was Revan. The sequel shows that there was no grand conspiracy; the act of Malachor built Nihilus and Sion and the player themselves was something that you did. It was not a conspiracy of Jedi but rather the after-effects of a particular action, much the way Lonesome Road had the Courier’s delivery of the package to Hopeville to be something that destroyed Ulysses even though you never met him. The Mass Shadow Generator was meant to save the galaxy from the Mandalorians but birthed a new, more powerful tragedy. Bao-Dur even wonders if the subjugation of the people under the Mandalorians was better than the power of the Mass Shadow Generator, a powerful moment ordered by just a mere single Jedi, built by a mere tech specialist. In true Planescape fashion, a personal apocalypse is a galactic apocalypse and vice-versa. Torment lingers over this game, in the broken characters, in a parallel journey both outward and inward. In many ways KOTOR2 was Planescape: Torment in the Star Wars universe, albeit with its own personal flair.

Alright, that’s a good review. I can do character analyses of some of the major characters if you want.

Thanks for the question, Messanger.

#star wars #knights of the old republic 2 #video game reviews

[visualssometimesetc]

Ready Player One: A Review

(channeling my inner geek once again after a really long hiatus; will comment mainly on the book)

After almost a year, I picked up this dusty, slightly yellow paperback from my drawer of untouched reads to ease myself into the habit of perusing pages again.

Considering this to be Cline’s debut novel, and one aimed at teenagers/young adults, I must say I was skeptical. Especially due to the latter fact. Growing up, I devoured many worlds conjured and targeted at the T/YA base that when I grew older and tried getting back into them again, many storylines couldn’t sustain my interest. But this was different. 

It is America, 2045. The world at its peak of crumbling shambles, virtual reality pivots the new normal. Young and old alike can be any avatar they choose in the OASIS, a world created by the highly-worshipped game genius James Donovan Halliday. A literal “escape from reality,” OASIS provides so many possibilities one can only dream of when they log out and peel off their visors and haptic suits, devices required to access the simulation.

Reality and online simulation becomes so intertwined, many don’t leave it. Students are schooled online. Credits earned in the OASIS pays for your mortgage in real life. People dress up their avatars instead, leaving their actual selves in deep abandon. After the death of Halliday, a worldwide Easter Egg hunt commences. Starting all users out with a slew of clues to unlock the First Gate, Gunters (egg hunter = gunter) would have to get past a total of three gates and find the Egg to eventually be awarded James’ entire multibillion fortune and infinite reign over the OASIS. Only one would stand to inherit it all.

We follow Wade Watts, your average teenager who studies Halliday’s facts, interests and life to a T in a bid to clear Gates, win the prize money and get out of The Stacks (think Slumdog Millionaire, but Americanised).

Maybe it was the many references to 80s pop culture, where James grew up in and with which the clues centred around, that drew me in. Though unrelatable, its vibes was always something I dig, especially the music. The book covered almost every aspect you could think of that encapsulated the 80s: movies, music, games. I’m no gamer, but it did spur an impulse to hunt down old-school arcades I would occasionally sneak into during secondary school (or high school) days. I remember wearing a sweater/shirt over my school gear to avoid those shopkeepers from snooping about as my friends and I play and got hammered by the games. Oh, fun times. 

Each chapter was short with no more than ten pages long, something I appreciated greatly because I usually read on public transport and I absolutely hated starting a chapter and not finish it by the time I reached my destination. I would rather not start on it and instead, phub. Cline’s understanding of his target audience (short attention span people like myself) was on point. It won me over within the first few chapters. 

Ready Player One is also highly realistic, what with VR assimilating itself in our current day and age, contrasting with real issues like world hunger and excessive energy consumption, it sure is a dog-eat-dog life on paper and in real time. There’s no escaping it, really. But this also made it relatable, subtly (maybe not Cline’s intention) pushing the message of doing more than just mindless consuming to his readers. Art3mis, Wade’s love interest, is one such character, doing her best to outbid Parzival (Wade’s avatar in the OASIS) and find the Egg to end the world’s problems.

All novels typically have this in common - character development. While not very significant, I felt that it was not needed, because Cline had already established their personas well enough when he introduced them to us. Clans who worked together to crack clues and advance on quests together were aplenty but the rare few mentioned by Cline. These gunters in particular, all had distinct personalities, their own agendas for wanting the Egg, which was something I dug as well. Different people, varying characters, vying for the same prize in healthy competition. 

And what’s a good story without the antagonist? A popular clan, the Sixers, controlled by infamous tech company Innovative Online Industries (IOI), which vows to gain full access to the OASIS and ‘revolutionise’ the world tries getting its hands on recruiting Parzival after he clears the First Gate on his own. Do you think he accedes to their request? What happens after that? Read it on your own... 

After finishing the novel, I was hyped up, though just as much as I dreaded watching the film. I ignored my urge to Netflix as I was still thumbing through the book. You know how many film adaptations would let you go “Oh no no no... (shakes head),” and I would be lying if I said I didn't feel the same after watching this film adaptation. I would say though, The Stacks, the casting of Aech and the OASIS, were ON POINT. EXACTLY how I pictured it. But of course, it’s Steven Spielberg. The soundtrack too, 💯. All things considered however, I am a sucker for following things to a T, or almost to it. You can most definitely hear my inner monologue as I viewed the movie. About 40% of the screenplay was re-adapted. 

But as I researched deeper into the whys’ of the re-adaptation, I understood and put most of my case to rest. Apart from copyrights issues, some parts would be too draggy if re-enacted. My only two complaints would be: 1. I wished they wrote Art3mis, Daito and Shoto to be more like what was conveyed in the book. I felt that their personas did get diluted. 2. The Gates aren’t actually that easy to open. Yet, I understand that as this is a movie, there was only so much that can be done within the stipulated time frame and budget. I did appreciate however, that the storyline was logical (not gonna point fingers here) and the actors’ performances were pretty solid in the movie. 

This about sums my review on this great book! I’m not too sure if I’d be keen to take up Ready Player Two soon however, after having read the synopsis. Some stories are best told and finished in just a single novel, just like some series should just end on a good-enough note of just a few seasons. But who knows, Cline might just prove me wrong yet again. 

Book: A surprising 10/10! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Film: 7/10 (still worth your time, perhaps watch before reading the book for an unspoiled, unbiased, higher rating)

Thanks for braving this lengthy review, I hope this review encourages you to pick up this book 😊😊 

#ready player one #ready player 1 #ready player two #book review #bookblr #bookaddict #read a book #movie review #book recommendations

[megacanadianwebhostingservi-blog]

Picking the Right Web Host: 10 Important Questions To Ask Your Web Hosting Provider

Choosing a Web Hosting Provider

Choosing a web host isn't hard, though sifting through the good and not-so-good options can be a head-twisting experience - especially if you're taking the plunge and building a web site or blog for the first time.

For example, FREE web hosting companies place ads on YOUR web site. That's how they make their money, and you've got no idea what ads will appear on your site. So, if you're a medical doctor looking to build trust among site visitors, an ad for a "weekend" dating service isn't going to make you shine. Avoid free hosts.

That means it's going to cost you something every month. You may have to pay a sign-up fee, a maintenance fee, and a bunch of other fees that nibble away at your margins. No, choosing a web host isn't rocket science but you should at least know what questions to ask.

Here they are.

1. How do I ask questions?

Whoa, good question right off the bat. You can't ask questions of a web host if there's no contact information, no help desk, no tech support. Some hosts manage client care via email and when your web site has disappeared and you're wondering about that 404 error message appearing on your computer screen, an e-mail response 28 hours after you e-mailed the host means you're effectively invisible for 28 hours.

And if your site is spidered when it's off line, you'll get slammed. SEOs (search engine optimizers) point to "Lack of accessibility to the site" as the number one negative ranking factor among search engines. Google isn't going to send visitors to an inaccessible site so you need a quick fix quick.

Make sure the web host displays a variety of means of contact - especially a toll-free telephone number. E-mails are fine for billing questions and other matters that aren't time sensitive. A down web site needs fixing now.

2. Where is customer care and tech support located.

Start here during your "interview" with prospective hosts. (See #1. If no telephone number is provided, you can't ask questions 2-10 so move on.)

First, you want customer care and tech support based in the U.S. A lot of web hosting companies outsource this task so you're talking to someone 12 time zones away trying to "figure out" where you web site went.

Tech support should be right down the hall from the server room so when a problem arises, someone can fix it fast.

3. What do I get with my web site?

You should get everything you need to build whatever kind of website you want and whatever kind of website is in the budget. Your web host should provide web site templates for beginners (use them if you're just starting out) to simple integration of a blog, a checkout, and the ability to hand code the site with a blank-slate option.

No tool kit, no bag of goodies, keep looking.

4. How much experience do you have?

Look for a company that has a long lineage on the web. Experience in handling a large client base, dozens of servers and running a collaborative business with clients. A college kid can rent server space and become a hosting reseller. So you think you're working with Bob's Hosting Company, when in fact, you site's on a server in the earthquake zone .

Oh, and when Bob graduates, he can just unplug his laptop and move on to greener pastures, leaving you trying to figure out where you web business went to.

5. What kind of server side security do you use?

Look for hard-wired fire walls, firewall software, anti-spyware and anti-virus protection on the server side. A reputable host has multiple layers of security so ask about security redundancy. Your host's rep will be proud to explain, assuming you're talking to a quality hosting company.

6. What happens when my web-business grows?

Well, for one thing, you start making money. But you may want to expand. Look for a flexible host with a flexible plan that allows you to expand incrementally as you add more products, more services, archives and other site features.

7. What if I hate it?

The W3 isn't for everyone, though there are more than 122 million web sites and 6,000 new launches every day. But you may find that it's too complicated, too unproductive or just too something.

Quality hosts don't want to lock you in to some long-term contract. They don't want unhappy clients, they want happy clients. So, a quality web host will offer a 30-day trial period so you can take your new web site out for a test drive. BTW, using templates, building and maintaining a web site is pretty automated and, therefore, simple and it doesn't take a lot of time.

But if a web site isn't your cup of tea, look for a host that offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

8. Can I register my domain through you?

Any hosting company is equipped to register a domain name - your URL or web address. But, if you register your domain with host B and then choose host A, you have to redirect your domain or migrate it to the new host. You get the idea.

Register your domain name with the hosting company that will rent you that disk space each month. Simplifies life on the web.

9. What can I learn from the host's web site?

A lot, if you read between the lines.

The web site identifies the hosts "brand" - its corporate culture. Some use funny logos and radical type fonts, targeting a "younger" demographic. Other hosts have a more professional appearance and take the time to explain its corporate values, i.e. commitment to client satisfaction, tech support, fair prices and good value. If you're serious about your web site, go with a host that is serious about hosting.

Everything from the company logo to the site text language defines the company brand. Which would you choose? The wild techno-geek or the clean design and quality information provided by a host with a different take on its own corporate culture.

10. Does the host employ green technology?

The web grows exponentially, expanding from business novelty to business necessity in just a few years. From the spare-room entrepreneur to multi-national conglomerates, a web presence is almost a requirement.

That means more energy consumption, expanded infrastructure and a lot of out-dated servers, loaded with toxins, ending up in our landfills, and it's a problem that will only expand.

Green hosting isn't some passing fad or some 60s hippie thing. It's the future of hosting. It has to be. So, look for a host that employs wind power to generate the juice to run the servers to host the web site - yours.

Look for water-cooled servers that use recycled water instead of energy gobbling blowers to cool off those racks of servers, one of which is where your website resides. Read more here best Canadian web Hosting Services in Canada.

[pcy-babygirl]

Pairings: Lee Taeyong x Female!Reader, NCT x Female!Reader (platonic) Genre: Dark!AU, Criminal/Gang!AU, Superhuman!AU // angst, slow burn, smut Series Warnings: dark themes (experimentation/human enhancement, kidnapping, thievery, murder), blood, sex, alcohol consumption, (more will be added if needed)

Chapter Warnings: alcohol consumption, angst if you squint (i think that’s it)

Word Count: 3.2k

Notes: Hey, so this is my first fanfic so I hope it isn’t terrible. I spent a long time writing this first chapter, trying to perfect it. I don’t make it super clear in this chapter, but this story takes place sometime in the near future or maybe in an alternative universe that has advanced technology than what we have today. I had cyberpunk aesthetic in mind when writing (i.e blade runner, cyberpunk 2077, etc.). This story won’t have humaniods or cyber enhanced people, but their will be biological and chemical experimentation involved. If you are uncomfortable with this then I suggest not reading. Anyway, happy reading! ♡

Heathens Masterlist

- Synopsis -

Heathens; this was what they called each other. People who didn’t fit into society nor were like other humans. A group of outsiders who had a plan, one that involved a naive and confused girl.

They were given numbers as names, but she knew them as NCT.

“We are the used and forgotten; you babygirl, are the innocent and brainwashed. In the end we’re both heathens to this unacknowledged dystopia.”

     Neon lights, holographic billboards, and heavy traffic was all that you could see from the high level your room was on. Days were dull and desolate, while nights like tonight glowed fluorescent by technology and culture. Seoul had become the center for all advancing technology. The world calls it the future; where cures for fatal diseases would be discovered and life moved twenty times faster, it seemed. They call it: Neo City. 

The alarm on the glass screen brings you back from your absent mindedness, alerting that it was time to leave for the fundraiser dinner. Walking away from the window and to the object mounted to the wall, you tap the glass and dismiss the reminder. You slip your uncomfortable heels on and check your appearance in the mirror. The sleeveless, cut-out dress was minimal yet elegant. The black material complimenting your skin tone nicely. 

“You look stunning Y/N-ssi.”

“Thank you, Athena.” You reply back to the artificial intelligence system. Something the movies predicted, eventually the high class started living like Tony Stark with their own personal Jarvis. It was something that you found unnecessary.

Satisfied after smoothing your hair another time, you take the elevator down to the ground floor. A car was waiting for you when you stepped outside the apartment building. Rolling your eyes as you get in; you thought, “how typical of him”. 

The fundraiser dinner was a get together for investors who were interested in your father's corporation, a research organization for cancer. Dinners like tonight were important, so you were told. It was to bring in new investors while also encouraging current investors to donate more based off of the newest research found. They were nothing compared to the annual gala your father holds for the corporation, which was his form of gratitude for his employees. As the founder's daughter, you were expected to attend all formal events.

The self-driving car pulls up to your destination and the backseat door opens automatically. You step out of the sleek vehicle and onto smooth, city concrete. Staring up at the tall building you get the feeling of déjà vu. 

Always on the ground floor but never exploring what was above. Curiosity eats at you every time you go to one of these events. The opportunity to go next door and take a look upstairs in the labs was so close to you, yet so far away. You would get caught by security immediately.

You enter the reception hall that your father added next to the research center a few years ago. It was modern and expensive looking like everything else in the Gangnam District. The room was filled with round dining tables, all decorated with silverware, wine glasses, and floral centerpieces. Men and women were all dressed in formal cocktail attire, some being the company's staff but most were investors. You spotted your friend Yuri, a biochemistry research assistant, who worked at the lab. She smiles cheerfully when you step in front of her.

“Hey, are you excited for your trip to Japan?”

Remembering my planned trip abroad, my smile widens. “Very excited, it's going to be the first time I leave the country, the city even.”

It was true, you never left Seoul. Ever since you can remember, you were always sheltered from most of the world. Your father never allowed you to go past city boundaries; but you were an adult now, he couldn't stop you. So when the opportunity to go on a two week, college trip to Japan was available you took it. Your father was furious with you but settled. 

“I'm surprised Minjun Choi-ssi is even letting you go. You're barely allowed to go to school, let alone out of the country.” Yuri huffed in annoyance. You two have known each since your first day of college. It was just a coincidence that she was getting her research experience time at your father's lab.

“He's just very protective,” you explain. Yuri's focus on your conversation was diminished and was now centered on someone else. He couldn't have been much older than you, maybe a year or two younger. He stands tall in his grey suit, brunette locks styled up and away from his pale face. He's stunning, you think.

Yuri must of thought the same thing because she turns her eyes back to you. This time they are filled with curiosity. “Do you know who that is?”

I shake my head; “No-” I turn my head back in his direction to see him walking our way, “-but he's coming over here.”

Before Yuri can do anything more than take in an anxious breath, the mysterious man is in front of us with a charming smile.

He bows to us in greetings. “Hello ladies, who do I owe the pleasure of meeting this evening?”

You grin, knowing your friend is probably too busy malfunctioning to answer him. “I'm Y/N, and this is my friend Yuri.”

He gently takes her hand and bends down to place a kiss on her knuckles. “It's lovely meeting you two. Yuri, a beautiful name for an even more beautiful girl. It means ‘lily’, yes?”

Yuri stands in a daze of fascination and a bloom of dark blush on her cheeks. Amongst it all though, she nods her head and smiles. 

This makes the man's smirk widened. “Their beauty couldn't even compare. I'm Yoonoh.”

You quickly made an attempt to leave knowing you've became the third wheel. “I think I'm gonna get a drink at the bar.”

Yoonoh looks over at you, with his hypnotic smile still present. “I'll keep Yuri company in the meantime. I suggest getting the red wine, it's a special one tonight.” 

He gives you a final wink before taking Yuri off to his table. Walking to the bar, your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why did he say it like that? Shaking your head from your thoughts, you make it to the bar and order the wine suggested. You take small sips while looking at the large crowd of people; spotting your father talking to a young man with silver hair. He was shorter than most and currently laughing at, what you presume, was a joke your father just made. There's more young men here than usual, you thought. Were these men new staff or are they possibly chaebols? Your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a deep voice next to you.

“Isn't it ironic that these people pour money into this organization even though they don't know half of what's actually being researched in the labs?”

You turn your head to the right to see the owner of the voice. Your eyes meet glimmering yet sharp, brown ones. The man in front of you is dressed in a black suit, the first few buttons of the white shirt underneath unbuttoned to reveal a silver chain underneath. His jaw could cut glass and his lips resembled the color of cherry blossoms in spring. His hair was stained bright red like blood, something that made you want to know who the hell this man was.

Not fully knowing how to comment; you stutter out, “I-I guess it's their blind faith. They believe this organization is going to cure cancer. If they see progress then, why stop?”

He scoffs before finishing his glass of soju. “It's easy to believe in a lie, little one. These days people want something to believe in. The promise of cures, tech innovation, the end of poverty and war are all just weapons used against us to keep the cycle of corruption going. Neo City is supposed to be the world's savior, but what if the people in it are the cause of our destruction?”

His words took you back by surprise but also made you curious. You've never known someone who speaks the way he does. He didn't view the world through rose colored glasses like everyone else. Who the fuck was this guy? Why was he here if he, seemingly, hates your father’s company? 

“I have to go.” 

You grab hold of the mysterious man’s jacket sleeve before he could leave, to his and your own surprise. “Wait…”

The red haired man gives me a warning glare, making me loosen my grip on him. “Sorry but, you never told me your name.”

His gaze drops from mine to the ground and he lets out a dry laugh. It was barely noticeable, because within seconds his eyes are back on you and he smirks.

“Taeyong.” 

He was gone immediately after, vanishing through the crowd of who he called the naive and hypocritical. You couldn’t even spot his wine colored hair anymore. You turn back around to the bar and look down at the glass filled with red, smooth liquid. A reflection of yourself could be seen, one that was glazed over in tones of crimson. All the drink did was remind you of his words. Of the veil of lies he talked about. He couldn’t of been right. Your father runs a good company, your father is good. He adopted you as a child and raised you up, without a wife. Your father’s company makes cures, nothing else.

Not being able to stomach seeing red anymore, you step away from your wine glass and go to sit down at your reserved table. You wished your father had enough time for you to ask about Taeyong. Maybe he doesn’t even know who Taeyong is. Questions spun in your mind like a whirlpool, going over the same questions just to come up with another possibility. Your thoughts are put on halt by the tapping of a microphone. On the stage, behind the podium, in the center was the director of research for the Neo City's branch and company headquarters: Dr. Oh Daewon. He has been you father’s right hand man for as long as you can remember. There was something about the man that was always off putting to you. You could never figure out what it was, but you tried keeping as much distance from him as you could.

The doctor cleared his throat before giving the guests a forced smile. “Hello and thank you everyone for attending the investors’ dinner this evening. It is nights like tonight that aid our progress for the future. I would like to thank all the newcomers who are now joining us on this groundbreaking quest for a better human society. With the help of our international branches, the Seoul Mutations Division is just a few steps closer to a cure for cancer and alzheimer's. By creating mutations of different stem cells, we have discovered a revolutionary change in our trials. This could be the start of a healthier, stronger, human race. We are happy to announce that at this year’s gala, in two weeks, we will be presenting the final product that has been in the works for the past seventeen years.”

The audience applauded his influential speech, everyone except the young man with silver hair you noticed. Instead of a praising smile, he gave a stone cold glare at the doctor. He was unmoved compared to the people around him. He painted on the same expression on his face as Taeyong. Turning back to the front, you see your father replacing Dr. Oh at the podium. You only can take it bits and pieces of what he's saying, your mind was too distracted thinking about the list of questions you'd have for your father if he knew who Taeyong is. 

Finally, your father's speech was over and everyone was welcomed to their entrees. You waited until your father was settled in his seat next to you to ask about the handsome red haired man.

"So, I met someone tonight I had never seen at one of these dinners before."

Your father hummed while chewing his kobe steak before swallowing. "He must be a new investor then."

You continue, "His name is Taeyong. He didn't give me his surname though, just 'Taeyong'."

"Ah", Father beamed. "That is probably Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul-ssi's associate. He mentioned that his associate would join the dinner at some point."

"Who is Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul?" You ask, the name being completely foreign on your tongue. 

“He’s an investor, a very young one at that. He runs a business specializing in medical technology in Thailand. He’s interested in contributing to our Thai branch.”

You nod your head and continue to pick around your food, not having much of an appetite tonight. After a pregnant pause, your father sighs. "I think it would be best if maybe one of my men go with you on your trip tomorrow. For your safety."

You roll your eyes at this repetitive argument being brought up, of all places as well. "Father, I'm twenty-one years old. I don't need a babysitter."

"It's for your protection Y/N, you still need to know more about the world. I intend to give you a protected lifestyle for as long as I can. You are valuable to bad people."

Shaking your head, you throw your dining napkin on the table. "You've given me a secluded and sheltered life. I'm just now getting to experience things people my age do. I'm a grown adult now, I need to start making decisions for myself. I'm going without your security."

You could see your father physically holding back his anger, his ears started to turn red and his hand was balled up into a fist. You almost recanted, fearful of this side of him. When his eyes would grow darker and his mouth would turn into an ugly sneer. His expression took an unexpected turn though when he spotted Dr. Oh and his assistant approaching. It was like you could actually see the lightbulb flicker on in his head. 

“How about you take Dr. Oh’s assistant with you?”

It seemed like you were never going to get out of this without him winning in some way. Your father gives the scientist the smile he gives when he wants something from his staff, already knowing he will get it because he’s their superior.  

You move sideways to see the young assistant behind Dr. Oh. He was about the same height as the latter, his jet black hair styled up making him look more mature than what his actual age probably was. To you, he barely looked out of high school.

“Father, I’m sure Dr. Oh’s intern is my younger. How can he look after me if it will feel like I have to look after him?” You argue. 

"Think of it as bringing along a friend, you two don't even have to talk to each other on the trip. It will be educational for him as well. If I remember right, Jeno is a first year at your school. I will ask a favor of the dean to add him to the list of students traveling." Father exclaimed with a triumph smile.

“What if Jeno doesn’t want to go? You can’t just send him to Japan without his consent first!”

“I’ll go…” All three heads, including yours, snap to the young man behind the scientist. He seemed unbothered by the situation, like this request was to go get coffee for everyone.

“Wonderful!” You silently glare at the younger you barely knew as your father spoke.  “You will both leave at eight tomorrow.”

This was unbelievable, you thought. You were officially going to be babysat by someone who’s barely an adult. You didn’t blame Jeno, your father was to blame, but he didn’t help the situation by agreeing. You could of won the argument and would be flying with just your classmates tomorrow. Shaking your head, you lurch up from your dining chair and grab your clutch.

“I think it's time for me to return home.” You announce, bidding everyone a short bow before walking out of the banquet hall. The sharp, night, Seoul air brushes up your bare arms, sending uncomfortable chills down your spine. You shiver as you wait for valet to bring your car to the front. The wind is cut off suddenly by what you realized was a blazer suit jacket. Shocked, you look around for the owner of the jacket only to find silver hair and a dazzling smile.

“You should bring a jacket if you’re going to wear that beautiful dress, baby. It doesn’t accommodate the cold.” 

His voice was sweet sounding, reminding you of lollipops. Something sweet and syrupy; if lollipops were melted down, they would be his voice. Although, behind the sugar there was a hint of mischief and seduction. Too much of him is an addiction, you think, he has the ability to rot your insides if you let him.

Shaking out of your thoughts, you stutter and hold back from a blush rushing to your already rosy cheeks. “Uh, thank you-” then you notice the invitation in the inside pocket of the jacket, “Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul-ssi?”

He gives you an impish smirk, “You can call me Ten.”

Confused, you question why he wanted to be called a number but never ask. The name oddly suited him well, better than his real name even. Ten was smaller than most men, his figure almost feminine in a way. Everything, from his nose to the fingertips of his hands were slender. He was somehow pretty and handsome at the same time. Elegant yet a sense of edge. Something though that Ten, Taeyong, had in common was that they were mysterious and obscure.

“Thank you, Ten.” 

“You seem distressed,” he comments.

You instantly lie, not wanting your problems to be someone else’s. Especially a complete stranger’s. “I’m not.”

He hums soothly, “You’re lying, sweetheart.”

Looking up at him with anxiety, you knew you were caught red handed. You laugh lightly, just wanting to move on from the subject already. "Am I that bad of a liar?"

He moves closer to you, enough to reach out and tuck the blowing strand of hair from your face. "No, I'm just really good at detecting lies from the truth. Although, I myself would be lying if I said you didn't have stress written all over your face."

You return his smile slightly, not fully mirroring though. Looking behind you at the building next door again, it only clouds your mind up more.

"Do you ever feel like your life isn't in your control? That it's in someone else's hands? Just playing you like a puppet? And you're wishing to be released from their grasp, from their watchful eyes?" You look back at the unique man whose brown eyes have never left your own.

"All the time, Y/N."

There's a silent but not uncomfortable pause between you two. Nothing more than starting at each other and the black sky that's lit with neon. 

Finally the valet brings around your car, apologizing for the wait and opens your back door. You hand the jacket back to Ten.

"Thank you for letting me borrow this. It was nice meeting you, Ten."

He folds the blazer jacket over his arm and gives you a warm smile. "We'll see each other soon sweetheart."

Give one last wave, you step into the vehicle, and tell the automated system you home coordinates. Soon enough you're rolling away from the silver haired man and towards your apartment. It wasn't until you were blocks away did you start to question.

How did Ten know my name?

#nct #NCT 127 #nct u #nct dream #wayv #nct fanfic #lee taeyong #nct series #lee taeyong series #lee taeyong x reader #dark!au #gang!au #taeil #johnny #yuta #kun #doyoung #ten #jaehyun #winwin #jungwoo #lucas #mark #xiaojun #hendery #renjun #jeno #haechan #jaemin #yangyang

[blacker-lotus-blog1]

Communications 10 (Philippine Edition 1st Sem 2019): Ass. for the Intellectuals

The digitization of media can imply positive and negative matters to manufacturers and customers. On one hand, the digitization can offer work for folks that are learned inside the digital enterprise, but can disrupt people who are inside the print industry. clients have to also collect updated versions of their devices so one can access the statistics supplied by means of the producers. To reap quicker and greater convenient ways to connect, humans must compromise and get the trendy update of the generation.  a. What are the differences between primary oral cultures and literary cultures? How are they related with each other?

The differences between oral and literary cultures includes the primacy of words. In literary cultures, the words are represented as an interpretation in whatever form of written language it is, simply put they are now symbols or letters on the material it is encoded. In oral cultures, they are the very definition of the culture itself, they deliver unto the audience in how you delivered them and they are at the center in understanding the memory and traits of culture. In similarities, both are forms in which cultures record their achievements and memories and both are considered as literature.

b. What does Walter Ong mean by the intersubjectivity of communication? How does this differentiate communication from media?

What Walter Ong, a man of many things, meant by the intersubjectivity of communication is that communication is a two-way process where both the receiver and the sender will almost always have opportunity to exchange their of thoughts. Both can hear the other’s thoughts and think about it. It is intersubjective because both subjects interact with one another. This is different in communication with the media because it is almost always the case that the receiver doesn’t have the usual intersubjectivity of communication with the sender merely because it is actually designed that way.

c. How does the ‘media’ model of communication show chirographic (i.e. writing) conditioning?

The ‘media’ model of communication shows chirographic conditioning by showing that speech focuses to provide information when conveying a message. A characteristic of the media model of communication is that it is one-sided because there is actually no definitive, clear audience, or receiver that has to accept the message. Also, the media model strongly enforces chirographic conditioning, this is because written or printed material is used hence which is why it is one-sided. So, as a result in order to rectify or correct things, it would not be easily done.

d. What are the industrial or economic factors in the evolution of media from print to radio to television?

The quick and modern way of life of people have shaped the industry of making and sharing news. As gadgets and equipment are continuously being updated and upgraded, the sharing of info has also modified its route. The once dominant newspaper brands are taking to the net to share their headlines. The evolution of media is driven by way of the converting landscape of conversation. Radio and tv stations are actually also uploading their recorded packages online.  People are seeking for quicker and more convenient approaches to get records and so groups are urged to comply to their needs.

e. What does the digitization of videos mean for information producers and consumers?

The digitization of media can imply positive and negative matters to manufacturers and customers. On one hand, the digitization can offer work for folks that are learned inside the digital enterprise, but can disrupt people who are inside the print industry. clients have to also collect updated versions of their devices so one can access the statistics supplied by means of the producers. To reap quicker and greater convenient ways to connect, humans must compromise and get the trendy update of the generation.

 f. What are the pros and cons of media accessibility?

There are a lot of pros to media accessibility. People become a lot more informed about current affairs, it is easier to study and carry out a lot of research work, boosts self esteem, helps teens with disabilities and helps teens informed with the current tech and many more. There are also lots of cons and these include empowering the already powerful, it can be used for fake news, disinformation, hate and propagandas, it can homogenize multiple cultures and it can overtake and/or destroy personal connections and lives.

g. What constitutes a convergent media? How is it differentiated from traditional media? Would you consider convergent media under the categories of new media? Explain your answer.

Burnett and Marshall said that, convergence is the “blending of the media, telecommunications, and computer industries.” In a way, traditional media is defined as a separate type of media, like consisting of television and newspaper. Media convergence blurs the boundaries between media platforms. Convergent media have to be taken into consideration to be in the categories of latest media as it is the up to date and more on hand form of media, spanning specific structures, from radios, televisions and newspapers to the notably new types like newsletters, websites and commercials.

h. How does convergent media empower individuals to assert themselves in the bigger society? Think of the metaphor of David and Goliath.

Convergent media can help small and struggling people via making their memories and hardships part of a larger whole. It is easy to find an unlikely and supportive institution for depressed people online net if one tried enough. Or one can find fetish/furry groups if degenerate enough. As convergent media surpasses almost every kind of conventional media, a person can assert his presence in a greater magnified manner. However, just as David can be empowered, Goliath can be empowered to even greater proportions. Which is why us Davids should bring the one the tyrannical Goliaths if it gets that far.

i. Compare and contrast the evolution of communication from orality to literacy and the evolution of media from traditional media to convergent media. Reflecting on how these developments came about, what could be assumed (or predicted) for the future of media production and consumption and/or mass communication?

Orality and literacy have a complete differences. Orally, one may be a speaker and a listener, while in a writing context, the author is just, in a manner, a speaker. In relation, conventional media uses a one-way way of sharing data, even as convergent media encourages interaction from its clients. Considering this, businesses in the near future would strive to better interactive and, if possible, more insistent, with their audiences.

j. What is Bitzer’s definition of a rhetorical situation?

Bitzer’s definition of a rhetorical definition is that and I quote: “ Rhetorical situation may be defined as a complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence.”

k. What are the different aspects of a rhetorical situation?

For Bitzer, there different aspects for something to be a rhetorical situation, according to aresearchguide.com: “the sender (or the rhetor), the receiver (or the audience), the message (or the delivered language) and the purpose and the exigence (or the specific need and setting for a rhetorical transaction).”

l. Which of the issues you encounter today do you think warrant rhetorical discourse?

Issues? I can’t even begin to count the issues that more than warrants the need of a rhetorical discourse. Priorities should be subjects that can affect humanity as a whole, either to lead us to the path of salvation or to the road of destruction (climate change, civil unrest, cultural upheaval). Next would probably be the more interconnective ones that concern family, friends and relationships. The last would be that of that of the inner self, who you really are. These are just suggestions and you can prioritize one over the other, I mean go crazy, take hold of life .

m. Read pages 276-282 of Condor et al.’s (2013) chapter on political rhetoric (the link to the chapter is in the syllabus), and answer the following questions:

m.i. What were the different persuasive strategies mentioned in the chapter?

The first strategy was the taking and avoiding sides. It's also stated that some politicians deal with the target market as an undecided choice, in which there is no concrete rhetorical in-group within the narrative. A few politicians claim club to a sure category or social identities and addressing himself as even though he's one in every of them. Ultimately, politicians use a strategy wherein their words have a sure kind of flexibility that would be applied to distinctive in-organizations in a combined audience.

m.ii. Of these strategies, which have you encountered during political campaigns?

Of these strategies, one that was encountered was the “help the masses strategy”. They say that this politician has helped by improving various parts of government etc. Another one were the promises: promise to build this, promise to build that, promise to do this with the plan in mind to help as much people as possible as to not bias one side and instead help everyone. Another more recent one was identifying with minorities. Like damn, you just had to sell your dignity did you?

m.iii. Were these strategies effective for you? Why or why not?

Actually, I’m not even sure if any of these strategies were effective simply because my thought is that present me your public records and achievements and then we’ll see if you will still do good when you’re elected and then some. If not, into the recycle bin you go I guess

[monolid-monologues]

Wtf is going on - Part I.

#12.

READY OR NOT..............

The next three weeks feel impossible. 

My KNEES are KNOCKING.

TOO MUCH IS HAPPENING

Fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’m losing my mind lol. I’m going to take myself through this week by week. Breaking up my next 3 blog posts into a Three part series, and i’m going to slowly tread wtf is going on.

1.) MY JOB, MY LIFE

Karina and i drove LA >> Oakland >> LA in one day to audition for 5 minutes. LoL. We’re crazy and we know that. The troubling fact is this job means quitting my current one and moving to Oakland.

In February at the festival in Oregon, we were invited to audition for Kaiser Permanente’s Educational Theatre. They employ actors to perform shows for kids.

It pays more than my current job. It is less stable than my current job.

I’m TERRIFIED of having *that* conversation with my dad, and my office.

Desperate to avoid a serving job (having worked them since i was 16), i approached my dad for a job at his company. He knows about me and theater. He knew to be cautious. He asked me commit 2 years. I promised my dad 2 years; it’s only been 6 months. There’s a voice in my head chiding me for even considering this new opportunity.

And part of me is very very resistant to the reality of this new opportunity. Moving to Oakland means moving away from Robin, from Heather, from my studio, from all the work i’ve been doing in L.A to lay down some roots. Working full time at a corporate theater. Suffering bay area rent. Potentially losing my dad’s support (he is helping me with car and insurance payments). And pouring so much time into someone else’s theater. And potentially neglecting my own dreams -- risk of being too burnt, busy and broke to manifest my own theater projects. Not to mention all my fears around the importance of artistic freedom to me and needing to comply with a higher authority for paycheck’s sake (literal nightmare). And i just, might, very well, possibly, end up hating the job. 

I fear breaking my promise. Going back on my word. Owning up to the fact that i am not the loyal bitch we hoped i was. I fear these feelings of betrayal. I fear upsetting my dad and losing his support. I fear the disrespect i am slamming on my director & cecillia’s time and energy and trust in me. I fear that there is no “good” decision, but i can see Regret sitting atop my worst case scenario and i’m afraid that it doesn’t even really matter how things go, whether i stay or go, it’s all a sticky situation. 

If i get the job, but don’t go, i am still at the office. Sitting. So much sitting............clutching my small studio time like the life jacket it is...

If i get the job and want go, well, fuck, that’s a lot of, fuck. Can i put my independent theater dreams on hold? Is this experience worth pursuing? Is it worth upsetting my entire life here? Wow. Since when did i get so attached to my life here? I’ve worked so hard since i’ve been here, to seek, and seek, and plan, and build. I’ve been planning for my life here in L.A. I NeVER imagined relocating this soon. Turning my life upside down when i’ve literally JUST managed to get it looking right-side-up. f$&%@#$!

OKAY Normally, i’d wait to see if i got called back to start worrying. But this opportunity requiring 600 mile drives, requiring me and karina to rearrange chunks of our lives, to even be considered for the job, makes every step in the audition process so costly o_o.  We’re asking ourselves “if we do get called back, how are we even going to get there?”  We’re investing and sacrificing for a huge Maybe. Even pursuing the possibility is TOO MUCH!!!! yet here we are. Why? Why am i this crazy about a maybe?

L.A.’S BEEN GROWING ON ME. AND I MIGHT NOT GET THE JOB. LET’S KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID -- 

Tomorrow, we will find out if we’re called back. If we’re called back, the one thing i need to do (the scariest fkn thing ok) is ask for another day off (to secretly attend). If god blesses me with a Yes and my director is NOT fed up with my bullshit, the next thing is figuring out how tf to get there.  And that’s it. That’s it. That’s it. For now.

* * *

An interlude.)

What changes when i decide i’m tired of doubting myself? Staying off social media is a great relief. I stepped back because i was starting to carry some duty to entertain or cater to the tastes of the people who engage with what i post. The anxiety that begins to stir between myself and thoughts of people far away -- with heavy social media comes this baggage we pick up and hold nearly voluntarily. 

Just as we are curious how someone else’s life is going, we imagine other people are curious about ours. 

We second-guess what we want to post.  When it’s about what we want to share in the first place. How anybody receives it is their business. Leave them tf ALONE, LOL. Leave YOURSELF alone!

If it’s your career, you chase one of few formulas. If it’s your hobby, you draw from these formulas and mix in your personal flavor of “idgaf”. And if it’s mostly irrelevant to what you do/what you want, you’re not even bothered. *shrug* 

Every fuckin body will tell you, people who don’t frequent social media are happier. 

Do you think so? Do we think so?  I’m skeptical.  It’s easy to believe, given how much (admit it) time and attention social media sucks. But actually? Let’s be clear: who can know? Lol. The very point around people who don’t use social media is they are beyond the reach of our prying eyes. They are safe, much less susceptible to the wandering imagination of a distant relationship. They are out of bounds. 

Sometimes i wish i was that kind of person. Whoever that means.

I’m not. 

There’s something about getting to show something to hundreds of people. There’s something about connections waiting to be made. Paths that could cross. Click-holes where we lean outside of our usual environments. We are open to exposure and being exposed. We are creative with our public image. We narrate our own lives. We seek others’. ThaT PART. That part. “I will engage!!!!!!!!!!” 

Is it possible to have a healthy relationship with social media?

What does that look like?

There’s so much in our culture that discourages social media use - from mental health to physical health - we are told every day what the pitfalls are. We know it ourselves in living our lives. The common denominator to these warnings is usually over-consumption. Too much. Much too much.

If we are using social media, we are at risk. We know the risks. We live with the risks. ALAS -  we believe we can manage the time/space distortion that the social media universe rips into our lives. 

With social media comes this massive gravitational pull sucking us into a manufactured world. This tech, as far as i’m concerned, insanely complicates our lives - adding data to bodies, instant X long distance everything, and a level of productivity concerning online metrics that is often inversely proportional to our productivity offline. 

The most estranged relationships continue to fizzle quietly with mutual following. Our brains buzz “To post or not to post”. And our eyes are getting tired, our thumbs sore; our time and attention sinks and slips away from us. Like retribution for the discontent, disinterest, and laziness we risk habituating with social media.

We give access and have access and the ride is crippling or energizing depending on whatever people or time in your life. 

Do the rewards outweigh the risks?

* * *

II. SHOWTIME

IT’S GO TIME.

While i’m floundering in the dark about my job, my life, March is ending soon and come April comes the premiere and one-month-run of my new production, 1-800-PERFECTION. 

This is my first show in socal. My first show outside of Davis. My first full solo work. My first script-based PLAY in YEARS.

March Timeline:

meeting with studio manager to settle performance dates (today)

last full rehearsal (3/24 SAT)

tech rehearsal with Heather (3/30 SAT)

preview performance w/ talk back (3/31 SUN) YOU’RE INVITED. [email protected] | please come! TIME: 1-3pm LOCATION: 1183 Kraemer Blvd, Anaheim, CA

April Timeline:

Dress Rehearsal  (week 1, TBD)

1st Show (week 2, TBD)

2nd show (week 3, TBD)

3rd Show (week 4, TBD) Tickets: $12 venmo  (seat reserved) or $10 cash at door (exact change!!!)

My radical marketing plan is to do it in person.  I wanna shit my pants thinking about it, but i’m determined to go out there into public places and invite people to my show face 2 face. I will certainly let you know how it goes. The experience may turn up a giant dumpster fire. :-)

Common questions when opening a new work include: what if ppl hate it? what if i hate it? what if no one comes? what if this is the end of my reputation as an artist as we know it? as i know it? what if i’m not ready? 

What if i didn’t rehearse enough? THIS ONE’S BEEN HAUNTING ME.

My best friend asks me how long i’ve been working on this play. I tell her i can afford 20 hours of studio time a month. It’s been almost 4 months now. And then she’s like, isn’t 20 hours...less than a day?  *brain explodes* Have i only worked on my show for LESS THAN 4 DAYS? IS IT LIKE THAT? 

It has been living, growing, changing with me day to day. But of course, 20 hours is really it of dedicated work time/space. 5 hours a week. 

I am used to working 30 hours per weeeeeek on a show.  that’s what i’m used to.

....................................................

I remember when i first found this studio offering exactly what i was looking for and could afford, i was ELATED to get 20 hours a month. Considering the ZERO work i was doing my first 2 months back in LA -- Getting 1 step closer to where i would be today - on the cusp of running a whole original ass show - was mooooreee than enough. 

But this is honestly one worry out of SO MANY, literally so many, that it’s all looking - sounding - and feeling increasingly ridiculous. because there’s just so much. *laugh cry emoji* * * * I’m never going to forget what i signed up for. Everything on my plate, i set up for myself.

Was i ready for all of this? No. Did i dream this up and seek its fruition? Hell yes. Even i know that only time will tell me What was What.  So, i will take it one fkn day at a time.

Maybe this is a lesson to follow your dreams no matter what, precisely BECAUSE you’ll never be ready for it. I can’t imagine being ready for what i’m going through these days. There’s no fucking way i could’ve known how stickyyyy things could get when i made my first studio payment in December, or asked my dad for a job in October.

But go through with it, we will, because we’ve reached the point where we must. I’m. Not. Looking. Back.

BUT I AM REALLY TRYING TO TAKE CARE OF MY HEALTH WHILE I’M WHIZZING ACROSS THE STATE AND PREPARING ALL THE SHOW THINGS. WISH ME SOME HONEST LUCK ON THAT.

So, I don’t have a dramatic poignant closer for you on this one. Let’s, uh, give that to Part 3, when we wrap this whole mess up. (ie. is Oakland rlly happening? how was canvassing the brea mall to advertise my show LMAO? did i lose my damn mind, or nah?)

Hi.  I just want to say, thank you for reading. Really. thank you.

I think my writing is suffering from the craziness atm.

* * *

i’ve committed to being vulnerable in writing every week.

previous letter: #11. detox,

drop me a line

http://monolid-monologues.tumblr.com/ask

#tinyletter #wtfisgoingon123 #rose kim

[sprnklersplashes]

I Can Be Your Hero (6/?)

Or... Captain Swan Supergirl AU.

AO3

The DEO’s training area was a large circular room with a white floor and walls that looked like they were made of steel. Bright white lights came on once Emma and her trainer, a tall, pretty brunette named Ruby, entered. The ceiling seemed to go on forever; when Emma looked up, she was just met with a bright white light that made her squint. The room was cold too, just enough to make the hairs on Emma’s arms prick up.

Ruby took off her jacket, revealing a red crop to with a toned set of abs, and flicked her dark ponytail over her shoulder. Emma’s tongue darted to the corner of her mouth at the sight. She remained in her Swan costume, deciding it was better for everyone involved if she trained in the same gear she fought in. Emma took a few quick test jumps to get ready. The DEO had made some modifications to the suit, all while Anna protested in the background. The material Anna had used was replaced by something stronger, far more resistant to tearing, fire and bullets. It was also designed to keep her from overheating in a fight and the boots were given some modifications; built in shin guards and new soles, not unlike a pair of sneakers. A really high-tech pair of sneakers. Made for battling aliens in the middle of the desert.

It was also, according to Mal, stain resistant. Which was a nice, if unusual, addition.

“Okay,” Ruby breathed, striding towards Emma. “Let’s start with some warm ups. Come at me.”

“Do we really need to do this?” Emma asked. “I told Elsa and Ingrid, I’m basically indestructible.”

“Maybe, but that won’t win you the fight,” Ruby said, flicking her hair out of her eyes and crouching low. “You need skill as well as strength. Technique. Now come at me.” Emma rolled her eyes slightly but did as instructed; she came at Ruby with full force, a small voice in the back of her mind telling her to slow down or she’d knock the poor girl over, but hey, that was what Ruby signed up for by agreeing to train her.

What actually happened was Ruby caught Emma in the stomach with one arm and grabbed Emma’s wrist with the other. Before Emma could even gasp, she was hurled over Ruby’s arm and landed with a painfully loud whack on the floor, leaving her winded and her head spinning.

“When Ingrid first joined she spent twelve hours a day in here for five months,” Ruby informed her, reaching down to help her up. Not that she needed the help, but it was nice. “If anything, it’s standard procedure. Not because I think you’re weak.” Ruby studied her as she regained her balance. “Although, your technique does need a bit of refining.”

“Oh?” Emma asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Your stance is too open,” Ruby explained with a grin. “Leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of attacks. And you think with your muscles.”

“Okay,” Emma said, thinking it over. “Come at me this time.”

“You sure?” Ruby asked. Emma nodded, holding her left arm across her chest. When Ruby swung at her, she blocked it, swung her around and made to kick her down. Until Ruby hooked her ankle around hers and in a split second, Emma felt herself once again colliding with the ground. “Basic rule of hand to hand combat, cover all your weak points. By just focussing on my arms, you left your lower body completely open.”

“First rule of fight club?” Emma asked dryly, getting up herself this time. Ruby at least chuckled at that.

“Here’s a good first rule,” she said. “Think of the people you’re protecting.”

“The whole city?” Emma responded. “I do. It’s a big ask.”

“Not them,” Ruby answered. “I mean yes, think about them, but think about the people who’d be hurt if something happened to you. The ones who wait up for you at home with one eye on the phone.” There was something in Ruby’s expression, a pain behind her eyes, biting the inside of her cheek, her shoulders straightening as she took in a deep breath.

“Sounds like you’re a little too familiar with this,” Emma said sympathetically.

“I’ve worked here for three years,” she said. She toyed with a red streak in her hair, apparently reading Emma’s face, seeing the question she was too shy to ask. “My grandmother. I’ve lived with her all my life. She’s the one waiting for me.” Another deep breath, a tug on the red streak, a set of her jaw. “And my girlfriend. Dorothy.”

“Oh,” was all Emma could say.

“Yeah um…. Bisexual,” Ruby said, pointing at herself, eyes on the floor. Emma smiles despite the tension in the air. If anyone can relate to this, it’s her. Awkwardly explaining to Ingrid that she’s bringing a girl to the dance even though six months ago she had a not so subtle crush on her maths tutor. Working up the courage to say it to Graham. Whispering it to Elsa in their shared bedroom.

“Me too,” she said, holding out a fist. With an amused, and shocked, smile, Ruby pumps her fist against hers. “Round three?”

“As many rounds as it takes,” Ruby said, getting into position again. “Remember, keep yourself guarded.” Emma swings another punch at her. Sometimes she could keep defending herself, sometimes she could even nearly get Ruby down, but every time Ruby had her back on the ground.

Until nearly four hours later, when the training and tips lock in her mind and she had Ruby on the floor, on her stomach, Emma’s foot on her back.

“Not bad, Swan,” Ruby panted, and Emma couldn’t help but feel proud.

                                                                                               *****

Almost every single day since she started working at West Co Emma hadn’t used the cafeteria. She had nothing against it; certainly not Elsa’s rants about how many calories were in a single bread roll. As far as she was concerned, calories were irrelevant. She could always burn them off doing laps of the city skyline. And it’s not like it tasted bad either; those chemicals and e-numbers her sister hated so much gave the food just a special something, a kind of magic that could only be captured in that white walled, brightly lit world of the cafeteria. What she was against was paying $10 for a sandwich. She didn’t have that kind of money. Well, she did, but the price was so ludicrous she wasn’t paying on a point of principle. She also preferred eating at her desk, shifting through files and sending emails and talking to Graham than searching for a table down there.

However, she happened to oversleep after a particularly rough training session with Ruby, she was lucky her super strength prevented bruising, which led to her rushing out the door, both skipping breakfast and leaving her pasta she made the night before in the fridge,

Which was how she ended up sitting at the one nearly empty table in the cafeteria, Will from accounts was there but he was hunched over his book, giving her nothing more than a nod, and she could enjoy her admittedly great chicken and fries in peace and have a mental argument with herself about why she shouldn’t be getting food from the cafeteria every damn day.

“Ahoy there,” Killian Jones greeted. She looked up to see the photographer with a small smile on his face, clutching a try with a salad, bread roll and carton of milk balanced on it, fingers tapping away at the bottom. “May I sit? Everywhere else is fairly full.”

“Of course,” she said, waving to the seat opposite her. He sat beside the one opposite her. She tried not to take it personally. It wasn’t her, it was him being a gentleman. So, she turned back and tried to lose herself in her Instagram feed. And yet she found herself glancing out of the corner of her eye at him.

And then she saw him pour the milk into a plastic cup and drink it as if it was water.

“Seriously?” she asked before she could stop herself. He looked up at her in surprise, surprised that she was speaking to him, or that she was speaking to him about his drinking habits. “You’re one of those people?”

“Those people?” he echoed.

“Those weirdos who drink milk on its own,” she said, gesturing to the cup on his tray. He frowned, looking from the cup to her and her look of disgust.

“Maybe it’s a cultural difference,” he offered. “Maybe what is strange to you Americans is perfectly acceptable to us Englishmen.”

“Nope, you’re just weird,” Will replied, not taking his eyes off his book. Emma and Killian exchanged an awkward look, their face almost identical; eyebrows raised and biting their lips to keep from laughing.

“Well, okay,” he breathed. “Although to be fair, I’m not technically English. My mother was Irish.”

“Oh, that kind of makes sense. Irish people do all kinds of weird stuff,” Emma said, popping another fry into her mouth.

“See, you judge me for my consumption habits, and yet your meal of choice looks like a heart attack on a plate,” he pointed out.

“Oh, bite me,” she said flatly. “I’d have to eat at least five of these in a row before being in danger of a heart attack. Just so you know.”

“Where did you learn that?”

“Googled it to prove a point to my sister,” she replied, taking a look at his chicken salad. “You’d like her. She eats rabbit food too.”

“I don’t eat ‘rabbit food’,” he said. “I’m just a healthy eater.”

“Is it because you’re Irish?” Emma giggled.

“I actually think it is,” he answered. He set his jaw, his fingers drumming on the table. “My mum was always one for maximum veggies and minimal chocolate. Suppose it came with the territory. But…” He held up a plastic-wrapped cookie that had sat on his tray. “I suppose I do have a sweet tooth.”

“My mom, Ingrid, was like that growing up,” Emma said, choosing her words carefully. She loved Ingrid with her heart and soul, but still struggled referring to her as “mom”. “Ingrid” worked just fine for the both of them. “She kept the rule about no candy on the weekends, no leaving the table until we finished all the greens. She didn’t know about the hidden candy bars in the floorboards in my room.”

He laughed, and Emma noticed how gorgeous his laugh was. Full, but also light and musical.

She adjusted her glasses slightly.

“So, you were a little rebel back in the day, Snow?” he asked, leaning back in his chair, one arm over the back seat.

“Oh, completely,” she deadpanned. “I was the trouble maker of the litter picking team.”

“You did not do litter picking as a child,” he said. Emma raised an eyebrow. “Aw, that’s cute.”

“I’d love to see what you were like as a kid,” she said. “Let me guess, the brooding loner with an affection for leather jackets and a penchant for rule breaking?” She finished off her statement by gesturing to his black leather jacket worn over his white shirt. That jacket, with the messy black hair and chain around his neck, did give him a bad of a bad boy vibe.

“Half right,” he said. “Loner, yes. Bad boy, no. I was the pinnacle of a law-abiding citizen. I was in the church choir and everything.”

“That’s adorable,” she teased. “Bet you were the most angelic voice in the choir.”

“Well, that’s what my nan said, and who am I to argue with my nan?” he asked while unwrapping the cookie. He broke it in half and handed the bigger half over to Emma.

“I can’t,” she protested, shaking her head.

“Yes, you can.” He placed it on her tray. “It’s your reward.” He huffed a laugh when she raised her eyebrows. “You got my child-self half right, you get half a cookie.”

“So, if I got the whole thing right, I’d have got the whole cookie?”

“Perhaps,” he said with a wink. The wink sent a shiver down her back, a pink blush creeping across her face that was identical to his.

Suddenly, a tremendous shake ran through the room, causing framed certificates off the walls, tables to nearly fall over, cracking a few windows, overhead lights to swing. It dragged on and did not show signs of slowing down, long enough for windows to shatter, one of the chords holding the overhead lights to snap and leave it swinging dangerously above their heads. The shock from the unexpected and vigorous movement had Emma’s head spinning and she felt as though her stomach was going to drop out from under her. Emma and Killian looked at each other, his mouth hanging open, her jaw clenched, both their eyes wide. Out of instinct, he grabbed her arm to steady her as a second shock went through the room. When she looked up, she saw cracks beginning to form in the ceiling. The whole roof would cave in if this didn’t stop.

She and Killian ran out of the cafeteria, swept up in the sea of people hurrying through the doors despite urges from security guards not to panic, that this had a normal explanation…

Yeah, right.

Killian and Emma stopped dead in their tracks when they passed the window and saw what the cause of the quake was. On the road outside West Co., blocking the traffic, there was a single man, dressed in an all-black ensemble, tight black trousers and shirt, but the flowing cape gave it away the most. He looked like he had stepped out of an anime that was Anna’s guilty pleasure. From there, Emma couldn’t see what he was holding, but he clapped his hands and another quake set the building shaking.

“Snow, come on,” Killian said, pulling her to away from the window and in the direction of the emergency exit. They could only just see the glow of the EXIT sign above the door with the sea of people filling the hallway.

It was a no-brainer, really. Emma looked at Killian, his attention entirely focussed on the crowd; his eyes wide and teeth clenched as he took quick, deep breaths. She slipped her hand out of his and crept away from the crowd and around the corner.

“Emma?” she heard his panicked voice call. “Emma?!” A pang of guilt hit her chest, as well as a fluttering in her stomach.

Still, Killian could wait. Right now, he, and the rest of the city, needed the Swan.

                                                                                                               ******

The Swan planted herself down on the road, mere feet from this new villain. Up close, she could see he was around her age, dark hair, dark stubble and a glint of insanity in his eyes. A wicked smirk flashed across his face at the sight of her.

“The Swan,” he laughed. “Well, I guess they are sending in their finest.”

“No one sends me anywhere,” she responded. “Now how about you put away your shiny new toys and we can forget this ever happened?” He laughed, but it was devoid of humour. Just a hollow, empty sound.

“I could do that,” he said. “Or I could do this.” He clapped his gloved hands and send another earthquake to shake the ground. Emma put all her focus into staying upright, her eyes darting to the shaking building of West Co. and then to the cars in front of and behind her, hearing the fearful screams of their owners. She could only imagine what it would be like inside and her gut churned.

“Nice gloves. Guessing you didn’t pick them up at the mall?” she asked, stepping closer again. He clenched his fist and she saw that the gloves must have been made of black metal, red lines surrounding the base of each finger. “Mind telling me who hooked you up with them?”

“Not today, Swan,” he said, moving to clap again.

Emma sent a stream of cold air from her mouth, aiming at his hands, trapping them, then going for his feet. When she stopped, she saw the string of ice she had made along his chest by mistake, frost along his collar bone, and how his feet were linked together by a thick strip of ice. Well, nobody’s perfect, but the job was done. His hands, and more importantly, the gloves, were encased in two ice cubes, and he had no way of fleeing.

“Oh, that’s cute,” he remarked bitterly.

“Now you can tell me who got you those?” she asked. “Or why you’re wearing a cape?”

“You’re wearing a cape,” he pointed out. She shrugged it off and kept staring at him, watching as his face changed; the narrowed eyes growing wider, mouth opening as he started gasping rapidly, his body tensing quickly. “God that’s cold.”

“And it’ll get colder,” she said. “So why don’t we make a deal. You tell me what I want to know, and I’ll melt those ice blocks a little.” He paused, thinking about her offer, all the time his body grew more tense and his gasps grew shorter in length and higher in pitch.

“Deal,” he panted. “I got them from some lady selling them near my place.”

“She was just selling alien gadgets off a street corner?” Emma scoffed.

“I live in Petersland,” he said. “Ever been there? You with your superpowers? Think they’ve ever been there in their silver Mercedes and high-up jobs? It’s a dump. Houses get set fire every other week and no one bothers to clean it up. Kids live on school dinners and adults live on cigarettes and stale bread. So yeah, lady comes up and starts selling new gadgets, I’ll check it out.”

“What did she look like?” Emma asked.

“I didn’t take a picture. Dark hair, dark eyes, kind of small, really pretty?”

“Did she tell you how they worked?”

“Yep. She told me that all I needed to do was c-clap my hands and I’d level a city block.”

“Okay,” Emma said. “Don’t say I never keep my word.” She shot her laser to his left foot and applied enough heat for the ice to begin melting on its own. She knew from experience that if she tried to melt it on her own she ran the risk of zapping him and she wasn’t spiteful enough to do that.

No matter how much it tempted her.

“Anything else I should know?” she asked as police showed up behind him. And of course, the black van of the DEO. “Think about your answer carefully or you could be getting hauled off to prison in a set of pre-prepared ice-cuffs.”

“She said… She said that she wanted to see me face off against you,” he said. “Wanted me to draw you out.”

“Me?” Emma asked. “Why?”

“Just the messenger, hon,” he said, a smirk flickering across his pale face.

Screw it, Emma thought. A laser to the foot was a worthy punishment for that comment.

The police began filing out of their cars, guns raised, and Mal jumped out from the DEO van, Ruby at her side. They casually strolled to the police, flashed a badge, and dodged around them to Emma and their soon-to-be newest prisoner. While Mal’s face remained stony, Ruby was smiling and slipped in a cheeky wink at Emma.

“Nice work,” she mouthed.

“Thank you, Swan,” Mal said. “We’ll take it from here.”

“No,” Emma protested. “I need to talk to him.” Mal frowned, turning from him to Emma. Emma took a step closer, pushed her hair behind her shoulder and lowered her voice. “He wasn’t working alone. He said someone sent him. And that someone wanted him to find me.”

“Come by when you can,” Mal whispered. “He’s under our jurisdiction now.”

Emma stood back and watched as he was loaded into the back of the DEO’s van and the van took off, getting smaller and smaller until it was out of sight entirely. The police climbed back into their cars, some casting her dirty looks, some smiling. Camera flashes went off around her. Ambulance sirens wailed in the distance.

Two things stuck in Emma’s mind from that encounter. The first was his message for Emma; someone wanted her to come out, to fight. To test her? To try to hurt her. She guessed all she could do was hope that he had answers and was willing to give them up.

The second was what he had said about his life. She had to admit that he had a point. Even on her own planet, which she had considered a paradise, there had been people living in the streets, but when her parents were in charge they cared. They tried to help. People weren’t as fortunate on this planet. The government was rarely competent at protecting its people, especially those who didn’t have enough money to matter.

Emma was back in the West Co. building before anyone could even notice she had been missing.

Almost anyone.

“Emma!” Killian exclaimed, eyes wide when he saw her through the crowd of West Co. employees who were scurrying back to their offices, some eager to start jotting down their notes, some desperate to call home. Killian ran up to her, stopping at the last minute, pulling his arms back. “What happened to you? I just turned around and you were gone!”

“I know, I’m sorry, I needed to call my sister,” she lied. “I had to let her know I was okay.” He nodded, but his eyes were still bright with panic. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“It’s okay,” he said, forcing a smile. “You’re safe now and that’s all that matters.” His smile didn’t quite meet his eyes though. His hand reached out and pulled her lopsided sweater up onto her shoulder. Seemed she wasn’t as quick changing as she thought.

“I should go to Miss West,” Emma said. “She’ll be going insane up there.”

“I should grab my camera,” he replied. “Get the best shots in before anyone else.”

She turned to go, adjusting her glasses as she ran off down the hall, still feeling his eyes on her.

                                                                                               ******

Emma ended up spending her night at the DEO, instead of her plans to send a few emails, take some Buzzfeed quizzes and watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine all while tucking into an overflowing bowl of pasta. She was leaning against the wall, watching their newest inmate, now ice free but his hands cuffed behind his back, sitting on a chair and scowling at Mal, giving her what looked like one-word answers, but she couldn’t hear through the one-way glass.

“Nice work out there today,” Ruby said as she approached, her hair pulled back into a bun, red streak neatly hidden away, wearing a tight black jacket and trousers, carrying a brown cardboard wallet. She looked different, un-Ruby like. If it weren’t for the slightly winged eyeliner, the grin and the spark in her eye, Emma didn’t think she’d have recognised her.

“Thanks,” she said, looking back to the interrogation. “Any info on who this guy is.”

“A Mr Nick Branson,” Ruby answered, opening the file. “Grew up in Petersland, had trouble in school shoplifted, ran into trouble with the police a few times. Kept a pretty low profile for the past ten years, worked in a drive through Starbucks.”

“How does a barista get his hands on tech like that?” Emma asked. Ruby shook her head and leaned against the wall, mirroring Emma. On the other side of the glass, Mal stood up and left Nick alone in the room, coming out to meet Emma.

“I’ve talked as much as I can to him. He doesn’t seem to be cracking. You’re welcome to try,” she offered. Emma gave her no more than a nod before going into the interrogation room and seating herself opposite him.

“Hi, Nick,” she greeted. He offered a raised eyebrow in response. “Okay I’m new at this so let’s just cut to the chase; who gave you the weapons?”

“And I already told you. Pretty lady was hanging around my neighbourhood selling stuff,” he responded. Emma decided to go old school, dig out a superpower she had had long before coming to Earth. Not laser eyes or strength or flying; her lie detector. Even back on Storybrooke she had been able to tell when someone was telling her a lie when she looked hard. Her parents and later on, Ingrid thought it impressive, others thought it spooky. Still, it was 99% effective, so it was worth a try.

And it told her Nick wasn’t lying. He had no idea who this woman was.

“Did she say why she wanted to fight me?” she asked. Another head shake, eyes on the floor. Again, the truth. “Okay,” she breathed.

She left the room with no more answers than she entered with.

“He’s in the dark,” she told Mal. “He doesn’t know who gave him those weapons or what she wants with me.” Mal nodded, her red lips pressed into a thin line.

“Come here,” she said, leading Emma away from the interrogation room, down a corridor and into another room with steel walls and a grey table. The gloves Nick had used sat on the table. “Do you recognise them.”

“Sure, I’ve seen a few planets with them,” Emma replied. “Approaching the table. “Some planets used them for war weapons, others to try to alter their eco systems.” She studied the gloves, looking for some familiarity, fingers tracing over the cold metal and into the ridges.

She found it. She found familiarity in the symbol on the back, no bigger than the palm of her own hand. The same symbol that she was wearing on her chest.

Her family’s coat of arms.

She wanted to throw up.

“Emma?” Ruby asked, noticing how tense she had suddenly become. “Emma are you okay?”

Her family, her planet, didn’t export weapons on an intergalactic level. They were only traded around Storybrooke itself. Meaning that this weapon can’t have come from any planet other than her home.

“This weapon,” she said, her voice hoarse. “It’s from Storybrooke.”

                                                                                               ******

Emma needed a donut. It may have seemed trivial after her realisation at the DEO that had cut right into her, but she was a comfort eater, and the sugar would provide some distraction for her if nothing else.

So, on her drive home, back in Emma-wear, she swung by the store a block from her place. Open 24 hours a day, it was convenient when she needed to grab bread or milk or some random household necessity. It was a god damn heaven send when she needed a sugar fix.

Elsa didn’t need know about the times she’s driven down at 11:30pm for a pastry.

She strolled into the near empty store; the only occupants seemed to be schoolkids coming back from a party and the clerks who looked vaguely zombie-like behind the counter. She gave a wave to one blonde clerk with whom she’d become slightly familiar with on her regular sugar runs and made her way to the bakery at the back of the store, where an array of baked treats was waiting for her. She poured over the selection before choosing the chocolate filled donut covered in white icing, a long-time favourite.

When she turned to go to the counter, she saw a familiar face sitting in the coffee shop, just a few feet from where she was standing. Killian Jones was reclining in one of the leather armchairs, cardboard cup of coffee in hand, in an easy conversation with someone she had never seen before; a tall woman with wavy dark hair with a denim jacket draped over the back of her seat and had a red and black backpack at her feet. Even from there, Emma could tell how pretty the woman was. And how she seemed to hang on to Killian’s every word, and vice versa.

She didn’t know why her face suddenly grew very warm. It wasn’t as though she had caught her boyfriend cheating on her. Killian wasn’t her anything. So logically, the sight of him laughing at something a good-looking woman had said shouldn’t cause her to feel anything at all.

And yet….

He noticed her when he took a glance up, acknowledged her with a wave, eyes lighting up. She gave a stiff, awkward wave back in reply. The other woman turned and looked at her. Not rudely, not coldly, she had a small, pleasant smile on her face, and she turned and asked Killian something. He nodded before getting up and coming over to her.

“Late night snack, Snow?” he asked.

“Could ask you the same thing,” she replied. “If coffee really a good idea at this time?”

“Probably not,” he admitted. “But you know, night out, nothing brings it to an end like a coffee.” Emma nodded, her eyes moving to Killian’s companion, who was checking something on her phone. Killian followed her line of sight.

“Yeah,” he chuckled awkwardly. “Milah. Old friend of mine. Ran into each other, completely by chance, I didn’t even know she was in town. So we met up, went to that little Italian restaurant near work.”

“Sounds nice,” Emma said. In her mind, she began working through the obvious signs. Killian was dressed significantly smarter than usual; a black suit jacket over his blue shirt, discarding his usual leather, top button undone, Milah was wearing a tight grey top that complimented her figure wonderfully, and they went to an Italian restaurant.

He was on a date.

And she didn’t care. Why would she care?

“Care to join us?” he asked.

“I can’t, I’ve got to get home, there’s some stuff I need to get done for Zelena. But… see you at work,” she said, trying to sound enthusiastic. “Enjoy your night.”

“Aye, you too, Snow,” he said, his face falling slightly. She didn’t want to fool herself, but she would have sworn he looked disappointed.

In the car, she took a generous bite out of her donut and rested her head on the steering wheel, letting out a long sigh before driving home.

                                                              *******

Above Earth, sitting just out of the range of Earth satellites, Regina looked down at the planet below her, sneering. She turned her attention to the screen on her wall; a wave of her hand brought it to life. The Swan-the name she chose to go by-freezing Mr Branson, stopping him from using the present she had given him. Another wave and the image changed to her facing off with Fiona, or rather, the Black Fairy, electricity coursing through her body, freezing Fiona. Even the footage of her first little adventure, holding that crumbling building up.

“Oh, little Emmarae,” she sighed. “You are a real hero, aren’t you?” She reclined back in her chair. “Let’s see how you do next time.”

#captain swan #cs ff #ouat ff #emma swan #killian jones #fic: i can be your hero #ouat

[samtheflamingomain]

remember when tik tok was a song?

A lot has changed in my short time on this planet. I grew up to the sound of the ole dial-up and now I can watch someone talk about why the Earth is flat for an hour from anywhere on the disc!

The way we create, consume and criticize media is one of the things whose recent evolution is probably what piques my interest the most. Not necessarily the content of the media, which is always changing, but trends in the structure behind it.

Tech has obviously improved exponentially. Health, science, education - all significantly changed in the past few decades. But same goes for the past few centuries.

Media has, necessarily, been slower to evolve. Can't have TV shows without a TV. It basically went from book to newspaper to radio to TV to Internet. There's at least a few decades between all those things, if not longer. However, from TV to today is what I'm most interested in.

For decades, for generations, TV was channel-surfing via an antenna or a satellite dish served by your cable provider. A lot of those words mean nothing to a teenager now.

I'm 26. I started with cable (10 channels), then we got satellite (500 channels), then by the time I was 16 or 17, Netflix the streaming service came out. So I'm in a very small window of people who were young enough for all of these things to happen in my childhood. 5 years older than me and you didn't get Netflix as a teen. 5 years younger and you didn't have cable as a teen. Maybe 10 years. You see the point.

Then realize that the 16 year-old of today hasn't grown up without Netflix being a household word. If the 16 year-old of today wanted to watch Peter Pan, he would boot up Disney+. I would've gone to Blockbuster and rented it for $3. If he wanted to see a kitten falling down stairs and then doing a backflip, that's probably somewhere on Youtube. If I wanted to see that as a kid, well, I'd better start looking for a very gymnastic cat with all its lives.

So to sum up so far, a lot has changed very quickly - about how we consume media. What about how it's formatted?

And how we consume it always necessarily comes before what it is we're consuming changes. Remember when "Netflix Originals" didn't exist? The platform was built, the people came, and then new media came from it.

We've seen TV shows go from the binary of "22 minutes or 44 minutes" to "however long we fucking want". The disintegration of the binary of "comedy or drama". When I was a kid, sitcoms had seasons of 22 episodes, once a week, in the fall. Drama shows usually had 16 episodes. Now Netflix puts out "Mike Tyson Mysteries", with any number of episodes in a season, with each only 11-13 minutes long, pretty much at random. Letterkenny puts out 6-episode seasons once a year on Christmas. Back in my day, we never knew if this season would be the last. Even if the last episode was a cliffhanger, there was no promise of a resolution. Sitcoms kissed the rings of the networks every year hoping to be renewed. The other day South Park announced it was making 6 more seasons and a bunch of movies.

There are a few TV formats that I consider "evolution proof" - game shows (not reality, game), soap operas, late night and standup. All of these date back to radio times and have rarely if ever changed format. I'm personally hoping that, within my lifetime, I'm able to see a change in the way standup is done. We've seen very few attempts to break the mold, and the only example I can think of right now is Mulaney's Sack Lunch Bunch, and to be honest I think it left a lot to be desired. But that's to be expected if media itself is going to change formats - it'll take a lot of trial-and-error.

Quick tangent: I'm not talking about comedy itself. Comedy is constantly changing formats. Vine made absolute stars out of SIX SECOND-LONG content creators. I mean standup. I'd like to see its definition change from "70 minutes of uncut, unedited, scripted jokes told in story form on a stage in front of an audience with a microphone and maybe a few props done by one person, with pauses for laughter and applause, sometimes with audience interaction" to "long-format comedic content delivered by one person to an audience", taking away the mic, the stage, the very structured format. With the exception of maybe Bo Burnham, even if you've never seen a specific comedian, you know what to expect and when to expect it. You can Just Tell when the last joke is about to begin. You're not going to be surprised when the guy picks someone out of the crowd to make a few jokes with. You probably even know the definition of a call-back by name because they're so common. I don't know how it would necessarily change, but I don't think it's impossible.

Back to the main post for one more point: fandom. We've talked about the evolution of the consumption of media and what format we're watching it in. We know the content has evolved. But I think one of the most interesting changes in this category is the way we interact with shows now.

I'm currently sitting in my Simpsons-character-covered tracksuit I bought for $15 on Wish, next to my closet which contains about 15-20 t-shirts. At least 8 of them are Simpsons-themed. When I started building this collection, it started about 5 years ago when I saw my very first Simpsons shirt in a Bluenotes, and it was the only one I had for a few years. I would buy any Simpsons shirt I saw for a while. Today I went to the mall, and if I still had that policy I'd have blown through my savings in one trip.

I actually consider myself lucky; The Simpsons isn't as popular on merch you'd find at the mall as say Rick and Morty, Adventure Time, or Spongebob. I've seen giant stuffed Pickle Ricks, but never an oversized Homer.

My point being, I'm a superfan, but of a slightly older show that isn't nearly as popular as it used to be. If you walk into a Hot Topic, you can probably find any pop culture property on a t-shirt, mug, keychain and temporary face tattoo. This was not the case 10 years ago.

And that's just fandom with regard to the physical world. Did you know that John Mulaney, who did 3 Netflix specials 4 years ago, has THREE subreddits? Every time I get into something new it used to cross my mind, "Hey, I wonder if there's a subreddit for this yet". Now it's "I wonder which of the several subreddits that surely exist for this show/movie/vague concept is best".

A lot of the time when I see the concept of fandom discussed in mainstream media, it's still a severely outdated depiction. Even documentaries tend to stop at "and then Comic-con was invented. The End". I hate to praise it for anything, but if it did anything good, The Big Bang Theory did properly define "fandom" for the world.

I remember when 99% of people polled would not have heard of "fan fiction". I started writing it at 12 when the category for Harry Potter fan fiction on fanfiction.net had but a few thousand entries. My show of choice, Death Note, had a few hundred. I got in on the ground floor and built my way to the top. I abandoned that account 6 years ago and I still get 10-20 story comments or favorites per week.

Now try finding someone who hasn't heard of fan fiction. Find someone who's too old to have written on AO3.

Finally, and I know it's been a long ramble but bear with me, I want to address the homicidal, drunk-driving, pregnant-wife-killing elephant in the room: stans.

If you don't get the reference I just made, please google "origin of the term stan". Caught up? Good, so now answer me this: how did we take a term that refers so very, very obviously to a very, very negative situation and turn it into something someone says casually or even proudly of themselves?

Obviously when I say I stan Green Day that doesn't mean I'm going to write Billie Joe threatening letters and kill my girlfriend, it means I consider myself one of their biggest fans. I think in all of English vocabulary, there's only one other word that's taken such a 180 in definition and it's one I can't say.

Anyway, that's me done. Now that there's more streaming platforms than people who've fucked your mom, I'm interested to see where we go from here.

Stay Greater, Flamingos.

#media #media consumption #evolution of media #tv #sam