#investing approach

[theoldkyokodied]

The Allegiance of the Ascended Vampire and the New God of Magic

#bloodweave #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 #gale x astarion #astarion x gale #gale dekarios #astarion ancunin #yes this is about astarion helping gale defeat mystra and take her place with the crown in exchange for gale helping him with the ritual #the ‘they can make each other worse’ part of their relationship turned to the max #I enjoy them being reluctantly soft for each other more but from time to time I just think about how powerful they could get together #toxic evil boyfriends. take love and twist it up until it’s unrecognisable #I like to think that astarion approached gale with that offer after realising no one else in camp is gonna help him #and that he can use gales own hunger for power which backfired when astarion actually became emotionally invested in gale #and after gale kept his word despite everyone’s concerns astarion changed his plan from not fullfilling his end of the bargain to actually #helping gale kill mystra (mostly so that gale could belong to him and him alone. and letting him take the place as a god bc having a god #at you beck and call is definitely appealing. especially one as eager to please as gale) #anyway what I want to say with this is please please please let me kill mystra i don’t even care if the weave gets destroyed again

[aavishkaarcapital]

#investing #aavsishkaar capital #investing approach

[gilbirda]

DPxDC Prompt: Wrong Number Jazz edition

Based on this amazing post I saw

"Danny, it's been a week. Sam said you took the phone with this number. Everything alright?"

"Please. It's been a month now. I just want to know if you are alive."

"I won't look for you. I know I promised. But you promised to check in."

"The funeral was today. They didn't attend, forgot what day it was."

"I miss you."

Jason came back from a Outlaw out-of-the-grid mission finding messages from an Unknown number. A quick check gave him a name and address, and also news about a missing little brother. The more he searched the fishier it all looked.

Good thing he didn't unpack his things yet.

#dpxdc #dpxdc prompt #the approach here is that he gets so invested on finding this brother that is missing and there are so many red flags #the boy ran away and the sister is clearly lying about the events up to it and the last time she saw him #anger management or not up to the customer #i thought this would be a much angstier approach since danny is missing #what happened to him? dealers choice #gil's prompts

[messiahzzz]

the IGN article has already been addressed by several users, but imo the points of critique raised by others were still often misinterpreted, or ignored entirely.

— so i’d like to talk about it.

beforehand, it is important to mention that it remains everyone’s respective responsibility to curate their own online experience. you shouldn’t purposefully expose yourself to topics that cause you distress or trigger you. however, general discussion should always be valid and welcomed. you have every right to voice your opinion on the matter and to be upset about this. please don’t feel guilty about venting and expressing your emotional response.

we also need to differentiate this specific interview from the fandom’s overall treatment and interpretation of gale. several of the posts i’ve seen on the subject tend to derail into the latter, without addressing the valid points many have raised or glossing over them entirely. this isn’t about the usual “haha gale eats shoes” joke or whatever new meme fandom comes up with. this is solely about the developer’s treatment of gale, the character, and about a specific, internal bias that has been prevalent throughout the entirety of the game, as well as their social media. this particular interview merely adding to the amalgamation of points mentioned.

yes, it is certainly unrealistic to expect larian to address every single companion in detail and to touch on every nuance possible, in an interview that broadly focuses on the game’s narrative and gameplay. there are, however, specific character sections. each companion received a headline that was reflective of their overall character archetype or provided quick insight into their development.

Karlach: 'The Labrador of the Party'

Lae'zel: 'She's So Young'

Halsin: 'A Creative Risk'

Shadowheart: 'The Jason Bourne'

Wyll: 'We Lost a Little Bit of Narrative Room'

Astarion: 'Much of What He Does Is Out of Fear'

Minthara: 'It's Not a Redemption Arc...But She's Got a Lot of Love'

and last but not least:

Gale: 'The Guy Who Starts Off Annoying Everyone'

what followed was a brief discussion about their respective storylines, each being addressed with a certain level of respect, empathy, and consideration. except for gale. all that was mentioned in regard to his character was the narrative impact of gale’s suicide. talking about the overall logistics of this ending, the visuals of the cutscene, and how, to them, his sacrifice felt like the right ending and how in many ways, it is.

Chrystal Ding, Lead Writer: On a very human level, you have the guy who starts off annoying everyone, he's constantly asking you to give him your most treasured possessions to eat, otherwise he's in trouble, and at the end, he gives himself for the world. Sven Vincke, Founder: And he had the choice already once before where he wasn't ready for it. So it's a very powerful ending, and it comes in different permutations.

gale is the character who is initially annoying companions and players alike. he is verbose, enthusiastic and has a tendency to break out in long-winded rants. he repeatedly asks for your assistance, to help him manage his condition. to spare himself and his surroundings from an untimely, explosive death, he must consume items that you’ve carefully collected. gale is, essentially, a liability. a ticking time bomb. he already had the option to have his life be a meaningful sacrifice, but he wasn’t ready to die yet. now, that the party has reached the end, he has another chance to give himself up for the world.

short after, gale’s section of the interview quickly diverts into a more general discussion about the difficulties of playing as a wizard and other classes.

larian claiming that there is a universal “right ending” in a game with many branching paths and choices very much contradicts the definition of a role-playing game. where it is solely in the player’s hands to decide what direction to take and what outcome they deem to be the right one. moreover, it is important to remember that the interviewees weren’t just any developers, but consisted of two lead writers and larian’s founder himself. some of them industry veterans who are, to an extent, pr-trained. we all know that fandom often sees statements from developers synonymous with word of god. as such, the implications and impact are truly unfortunate.

if larian was referring the SA survivor and stated that “the right ending” for him was to return him to enslavement or to hand him over to the gur. that for all the death and misery he (involuntarily) assisted, his sacrifice would at least grand them a slither of justice.

astarion caused death, perpetuated racism, and now that you have handed him over to the gur hunter, he is offered a chance to give himself back to the world.

it is then deemed the right choice for him because it is the most narratively satisfying/impactful/powerful outcome in the context of the overall story. the majority of us would agree that such would be a rather tactless statement, no? not specifically for mentioning it in relation to astarion as a character or his influence on the narrative — he is fictional, after all, but because of the real-life implications and the very real stigma the affected face. we can't deny that it would be hurtful to irl victims. maybe we would even fault the writing altogether for such biases. after all, why should astarion be the only character whose redemption and healing are considered to be significantly less important in the grand scheme of things?

fiction functions as an abstraction and simulation of our social experience. we are supposed to get invested, to explore the meaning, examine the parallels, or maybe just to enjoy stories for the sole purpose of indulging in the occasional escapism. perhaps a way to temporarily forget about one’s limitations and the prejudices we face. in many ways, chronic pain/impairment, suicidal ideation, and autistic traits appear to be disorders & symptoms that are perhaps less relatable to some, and that they are maybe not as sympathetic to.

it truly would’ve been nice to see larian approach this interview with more professionalism. opting for a simple, diplomatic “actually, there is no right ending. the sheer variation in choices makes such a distinction impossible” would’ve more than sufficed.

this isn’t asking for larian to touch on every nuance possible, in an interview that largely resembled the flow of a regular conversation. it’s about asking for the same level of consideration and care that was granted to the rest of the companions. it’s about addressing gale’s particular brand of trauma with the same level of basic human decency. maybe we even could’ve received some new bits and pieces of insight on gale’s development, rather than the regurgitation of every shallow reddit/tiktok take we’ve seen up to this point. alas..

#gale dekarios #gale of waterdeep #baldurs gate 3 #bg3 #fandom discourse #at first i didn't even want to make a post about this but here we are #reducing the discussion to “blorbo trauma” feels like a very condescending/belittling approach #ultimately invalidating a lot of thoughtful points that were raised #this is tumblr. getting invested in fictional people and overanalysing every little scrap of content is what we do. #so to mention it once more: you have every right to be upset #it speaks #sa mention #suicide mention

[thepoisonroom]

'I flirted with the idea that instead of being trans that I was just a cross-dresser (a quirk, I thought, that could be quietly folded into an otherwise average life) and that my dysphoria was sexual in nature, and sexual only. And if my feelings were only sexual, then, I wondered, perhaps I wasn’t actually trans.

I had read about a book called The Man Who Would Be Queen, by a Northwestern University professor who believed that transwomen who were attracted to women were really confused fetishists, they wanted to be women to satisfy an autogynephilia. And though I first read about this book in the context of its debunkment and disparagement, I thought about the electricity of slipping on those tights, zipping up those boots, and a stream of guilt followed. Maybe this professor was right, and maybe I was only a fetishist. Not trans, just a misguided boy.

About a year later, on the Internet, I come across a transwoman who added a unique message to the crowd refuting this professor. Oh, I wish I remember who this woman was, and I wish even more that I could do better than paraphrase her, but I remember her saying something like this: “Well, of course I feel sexy putting on women’s clothing and having a woman’s body. If you feel comfortable in your body for the first time, won’t that probably mean it’ll be the first time you feel comfortable, too, with delighting in your body as a sexual thing?”'

-Casey Plett, Consciousness

#this quote always moves me almost to tears when i remember it #i'm not a trans woman and i don't share the author's specific experiences with transition #but it really moves me that she frame transition as joyfully giving yourself permission to approach your body #not as something that has to be disciplined and deprived and made small in all these various ways #but as a means for experiencing pleasure and joy and delight and for insisting that our feelings and desires are worth #valuing and exploring and treasuring #i always used to think of prioritizing those things for myself as selfish and irresponsible #but who does it harm to want to experience pleasure in your own body? #it's such a beautifully simple and powerful switch to have flip in your head #and equally why are we forced to deny our own pleasure in transition and anything else related to our bodies in the name of moral rectitude #this is why i get so confused and pissed off when other trans people are fatphobic for example #like why are you so invested in politics of shame and disgust that never had any purpose other than #violently disciplining people as if they've violated moral codes by existing in a body #to say nothing of white people being racist in gay and trans communities #like again this system of violence is foundational to homophobia and transphobia #so why are you acting like it has nothing to do with you #even if you are unmoved by the urgency of other people's suffering which btw you should be moved by #what do you hope to gain by acting a collaborator and handmaiden to those systems #Casey Plett #she really is one of my favorite authors i wish more non-canadians read her #this quote is from a series of columns she did ont transition and every single one is a banger #i love when she talks about the people-pleasing elements of dysphoria and transition denial #she's so sharp about noting how many of us deny our own dysphoria on the grounds that others like and validate our bodies #that's how i always felt during my cis conventionally feminine era #it pleased other people so much and also that reception felt so hollow and joyless to me because i hated it #i get less of that positive feedback but that feels so unimportant next to the joy and pleasure i get to experience #said with the understanding that i'm very privileged in being able to prioritize those things without fear. but it was a switch flip #personal nonsense

[5hrignold]

this

#💝 #HE SCREAMED AT YOU??? #hbhhnfhhbbggggggfgggg i know it was said in shock at what the boss was doing #rather than in shock that the boss did that TO PIM but hhfvrvgghgfghgggggfrf #i love this entire beginning scene just with them so much………. the contrast between this and their first interaction in the pilot #charlie is so clearly invested in what pim is saying and he 100% believes him and agrees with him #not to say he’s EVER been an outward jerk toward him cuz he hasn’t but Man. this is. yeah #i know this is like the episode where they split for this season im guessing #as in just for this one episode and then they’re together again for the rest #but this and the way charlie seemed to like. get More stressed out and afraid when he noticed pim approaching the boss at the end #man is that more than enough for me #literally this could be it for the next 2 years like what happened with season 1 and id be literally fine #Sigh #god i’m So Excited #also the little jazz hands pim does to signal screaming.. I love you I love you I love you i love love love you ilove you so muc pim pimlin

[brookheimer]

just love hearing kieran culkin talk about succession/roman because he always talks about, like, the process of it and it’s so interesting — the scenes that are kept, the scenes that are taken out, the choices writers made he didn’t agree with, the choices he made that the writers (originally) didn’t agree with…. always really hammers in not only how collaborative the show is in that input from the actors is taken very seriously but also just how much culkin cares about roman like as a character? which i mean ya know all actors do. but culkin always talks about being a fan of the show first and an actor in it second and i think that’s such a huge thing. like, the way he cares about roman isn’t just as the actor playing him, it’s as a fan of the show — he’s approaching it not just from, like, a This Is My Job angle but also from the perspective of a fan who is just genuinely invested in the character of roman and would feel frustrated if they saw him do something that didn’t feel in-line with his character! kc would hate tumblr just like he hates all social media but he would indeed kill it on here

#i specifically love it bc that’s the exact way i am as an actor. i’m not a bitch to directors bc ultimately it is their project but if my #character does something that just feels unlike them then i say something #which maybe feels obvious but idk in my experience i’m usually one of the only actors to kind of approach it from that kind of angle idk #and to each their own!!! i just get invested in my roles and it feels like a betrayal when i’m made to do something they wouldn’t do like i #just feels Wrong #and i’ve never really heard any professional tv etc actor openly talk ab doing the same thing #like it’s always just oh the directors/writers are great they give lots of lee way but i do what they say etc etc etc but kc’s answers r so #interesting and just really emphasize how like. invested he is in roman. in the same way so many of us losers are #idk not working this well i’m tired #succession #kieran culkin #and also like. how he openly admits when he was making the wrong choice and realized it eventually and it played better doing #it a different way! idk. i just feel like i never see actors talking this candidly about how episodes are actually MADE #like you never hear about the arguments offscreen about what a character should or should not do #but it's so fucking interesting like i could listen to him talk about it all day and night!!!! i wanna know more!!!

[mantisgodsdomain]

Finally, we get the opportunity to put our Spy Cards worldbuilding in a work. Though there are many questions about such things as "regulation" "how these cards are printed" "who approves a single spy card", and so on, we are here to present a bold new take: this game is based like 60% on obscure roach memory-reading tech that got turned into a card game with absolutely No card-game-related intentions included in the original tech and most of the card vetting is just from the fact that there aren't too many card printers out there and most of them make cards that need to be translated from Roach.

Strictly speaking, as a card game, it is not a terribly good or well-balanced one. It's popular primarily because of a mix of the difficulty involved in getting the data for high-level cards, the fun of seeing the variety of monsters that can be brought to the table, and the incredible amounts of ham and drama that goes into specifically the professional scene.

#we speak #bug fables #bold and new because we think that only maybe three people have even asked questions about the semantics ofc #notable points: professional spy cards is an entirely different thing from competitive spy cards #and the overlap between fanbases means that there is occasionally some REALLY incomprehensible beef about deck composition #also every time that carmina uses astotheles' card in one of her decks she has to pay him royalties #this is because he approached her personally about it. it was an Experience. #the roach tech thing also means that like a decent chunk of high level spy cards players know like. a handful of words in roach #competitive spy cards is generally smaller than professional and involves shit like actual deck composition and like #trying to get ahold of That One OP Card so that you can utterly crush people at the local tournament. actual card geek shit. #professional spy cards is basically wrestling in card game form and does NOT optimize the decks very well #because 99% of the draw of PROFESSIONAL spy cards is that youre gonna watch a whole bunch of people roleplay elaborate storylines #while also playing a game where most professional venues will invest in tech to read card crystals and summon appropriate effects #its a spectacle sport. specifically a spectacle sport where the actual game is mostly framework for Cool Monsters and Interpersonal Drama #carmina is a heel #this might be slightly incoherent but we'll clean it up later maybe. we are taking a break from sketching comms to write rn

[sjofn-lofnsdottr]

Which OCs that are not yours do you most admire? What is it about that character that you find impressive or engaging?

This question is difficult. There's a lot of OCs I really enjoy, and I am terrified of forgetting some of them, so I won't name anyone specifically ... except for @petitfarron because that can't possibly be a surprise to anyone. I love RPing with him, and have had a lot of fun watching him get more confident in what makes Farron tick as time goes by.

In a general sense, what will leave me feeling impressed is when it's clear someone's put a lot of thought into their OC, even if their OC would not normally be my thing. I tend to value internal consistency when it comes to a character, so even though I am very much a 'gently bend the canon, if it must be bent at all' person myself, if the character that's shattered canon is still consistent within that person's version of the setting, I might not be super into it from a taste standpoint, but I will absolutely admire the work put into it, and be glad they're doing something that brings them such obvious joy.

Thank you for the ask!

#ask and i will answer #honestly if anything i occasionally worry i am too stodgy in how i approach my own characters #but i get over it pretty quick #i LIKE FFXIV's setting and rules it sets #that's the whole reason i'm invested at all! #it's nice there's space for both approaches though

[kirnet]

hmm i wonder what yall's opinion of this is but i'm not entirely sure of how i feel when it comes to gender selected/ gender variable ROs in IF games? like on one hand these games are very much geared towards wish fulfillment and personal fun (a good thing!) so choosing makes that easier, and it also makes it so that more underrepresented dynamics (like an all female RO cast for a lesbian character) are able to be played out, which are all very good.

but on the other hand i feel like it takes the teeth out of some of the character decisions? Adam and Nate wayhavenchronicles being a knight and sailor respectively is all well and fun, but Ava and Nat?? that's crazy. a woman knight and a woman sailor?? there's such an interesting story and implied history that would inform their personalities. Like yes, A is the same character no matter what, but a lot of character information is lost in that changeover (information that was probably unintentional but, yk). A butch knight who lives through 900 years of western history has a very different reasoning for being the way she is than a noble blond man lol.

like both are valid approaches to take, both serve their functions, and in certain settings the gender difference is not going to be an issue, but when it does have a real world historical basis it tends to take me out of it a bit lol. idk!

#also i do appreciate the wc/mb way of choosing a sexuality and then that determines the ro genders rather than manually picking them bc that #always makes me feel kind of icky?? anyways #but i also appreciate the golden rose approach 'here are your cast of characters there are who they are' #which does cut into appreciation if you know you're looking to romance just one gender but it also makes me more #invested in them as actual characters and their sexualities have actual weight. if that makes sense #mostly im just curious but also i have a supernatural pi noir visual novel i would love to make at some point #and the genders of the characters are all gonna be set. #ramblings

[traitorsinsalem]

i sound like the youngest boomer on earth whenever i say this but it really was a mistake for baby gays to learn about the term fruit. idk what it is about the internet that makes kids see a derogatory term for a marginalized group they’re part of, or even just adjacent to, which they’ve never been targeted with and decide it’s just their new Special Inside Joke Swear Word. some 16 y/o online calling a picture of a celebrity wearing a gaudy sweater fruity or faggy isn’t “reclamation” it’s just parroting homophobia and not funny in the slightest.

speaking among onesself or close friends is one thing but when it gets to the point (and it has) where people are calling real life people they barely (or don’t) know homophobic terms, it doesn’t matter if the person saying it is gay or not.

#succ speaks #also i thought people were only like this online but being at a lac. people really just do this to people they know irl. #like they actually just say things. having to listen to a girl call ross gay 'fruity' in a poetry class and then like a week later... #...a guy who i was kinda friends with but also hung out with a total of like 5 times decided yeah sure i can call the group chat faggots #just......wow. people really live like this. and not even 8th grade gsa attendees who are still learning. young adults in the workforce. #i also think this sort of faux solidarity is why this same demographic desperately tries to express personal parallels to experiences... #...they have never gone through and/or cannot possibly go through. something about slowly losing the ability to listen and needing to talk. #<- also sorry to sound like a psych major but egocentric approaches to social media has done irreversible damage to so many young ppl... #...but at the same time we (young ppl on social media) are to blame because social media platforms are egocentric by design. #being invested in onesself isn't a cause of shitheadedry but a lot of people have really just gotten so dismissive of others it's insane. #also idk pretend i made a solid link between this and The Lost Art Of The Sincere Apology And Taking Accountability #this is just me parroting a convo i had w some friends at lunch 2day btw. posting it online bc someone probably needs to see this. #<- AS IN. ppl have definitely thought the same thing and need to see it articulated not that someone needs to feel called out by it #feeling called out by this would be like. a personal problem to sort out

[dare-to-dm]

World building is fun when you start with a weird “What if [X]?” premise because the more you go down the rabbit hole the weirder it gets.

All this to say that the campaign I’m prepping for is turning out even more messed up than I originally intended!  Here’s hoping it’s actually fun to play!

#I'm being intentionally vague about the premise in case any of my players is reading #because the initial mystery is part of what I'm hoping will get them intrigued and invested #it's turning into more of a horror thing than I intended #which is daunting because I don't think Pathfinder is a good system for horror #but I'm going to lean into it and approach it as a creative challenge #Dare Original

[mistyunmoored]

LOOVEEDDD this ep of adventuring party, i feel like they covered everything i hoped they would. it’s nice to hear them talking about how truly ambiguous and yet also UNDERSTANDABLE everything about the princess’s perspectives are, and it was nice to hear them talk about what truly went wrong in the conversations they had and how much was just following where it was already going. i felt almost kinda down after ep 15 so this made me feel much better

#adventuring party #i love hearing them talk about the nuances of it all #makes me so happy to see them as invested as we are #which like-obviously they are it's THEIR characters #but i feel like it isn't always a given in actual play shows #also like everything with cinderella and pinnochio and the stepmother #bc i feel like that was a huuuuge moment that im pumped they recognized #i wonder if that will change her perspective or approach at all to the world and the princess's plan #intrepid heroes my beloved #neverafter #neverafter spoilers

[isfjmel-phleg]

🥽

#random personal stuff #sometimes I think there can be an advantage to not having seen something for the first time as a kid but rather as an adult #less of the nostalgia goggles #but there are plenty of things that I'm glad I saw as a kid because rewatching them is like experiencing the joy you had in it at that age #critical/analytical skills in approaching media are very important and we should cultivate them of course #but retaining the way you engaged with stories as a kid - the excitement the wonder the investment the delight - #is maybe something worth doing #instead of going in looking for flaws and failures to meet sky-high standards...approach it as your younger self would have? #and you might enjoy it more? #anyway sorry this is incoherent #(this is about the weekly watch party and having to hear people criticize this show for doing things that were literally in the original? #and I am determined to look for the best partially out of sheer orneriness) #(I love the original show! but the pedestal is so very tall. too tall.)

[heretherebedork]

Kirk calling their relationship suffering when Sam cams it the best thing that ever happened to her and the way Kirk is so sure they would have been married when all Sam ever dish was turn him down... the way that he assumes that all they can do is suffer from their love for each other and that it cannot bring joy to either of them.

Ugh.

Truly disgusting. Honestly, it's awful. He's as bad as the grandmother and in the same way, that same way that assumes that anything different, that anything society even remotely disagrees with, must be bad for the people involved and incomprehensible to the people around them.

It's the assumption that queer love cannot be real love, that queer joy cannot be real joy, that love is not love unless it is on their terms.

#gap #gap the series #gap yuri #monsam #mon x sam #sammon #sam x mon #gl series #gl drama #thai gl #ql series #ql drama #thai ql #ugh i am invested in the tragedy and homophobia more than the relationship #which is bad #but it's infinitely more interesting to me #to see the cultural approaches to the argument

[inthecarpets]

Still remember the time i bought the GW2's Path of Fire expansion for the mounts and i was soo Peeved that the game forced me to play through the story to get the mounts (A game? Forcing a player to play through it to get what they want?? Wild. Absurd. Ridiculous. How- How dare they?!).

It was actually the first time i got to playing the GW2's story and at first i was just 'when do i get the mounts when do i get the mounts'. (Don't mind me. When it comes to open world games i just Never really done the story. MMOs? Skyrim? Oblivion? these were for jumping on fantasy buildings, exploring and tiniest sidequests. Plot whom? Laziness win. And from other MMOs i was used to the tagline of 'pay and you immediately get a mount')

But it turned out to be nice. And i actually remember the exact time i got hooked on the story. We just fought Balthazar and Rytlock ran to the side. The commander goes to him and asks what's up. And then it turns out Rytlock Brimstone is an idiot who freed some guy, who was actually an evil god, From Some Forsaken Shadow dimension. And only so said guy could lit up his firey swordie again. I facepalmed, i wheezed. "That guy would sell his soul for his firey sword". And i immediately at that moment knew, I loved that nasty rude grumpy cat with edgy armor and firey sword, and i could play through entire story just for him.

#Also liked how he immediately pulled himself up. done something awful. awful mistake. No time to cry over it. Got to fix this. #someone reading this could ponder 'wait you didn't care for the story in Elona?? What about 'XYZ'' and the answer would be simply no. #I actually kinda expected a standard mmo 'story's only background. not thaat important' approach from the game so i just went #'ehh world saving standard stuff. i'm listening in but not interested. especially with all the connections to stories i never played' #(just so you know i also played GW1 but never touched the plot either. fsdgfdsgk I reached other cities only bc someone would taxi me. #still love that game) #Rytlock #Someone might point at me and even think to themself 'that's shallow of a view of the game!' and guess what! It is!! But also it's ok!! #I only invested myself with time. but it doesn't make it any lesser of an experience :D #not every first playthrough or gamer has to be deep and sobbingly emotional #Rytlock Brimstone #gw2 #carpet talks