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eroselless · 3 months

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MOTH TO A FLAME

Chapter One: The invitation

Chapter Summary: After starting a new job at a prestigious museum in London, you form a close friendship with Helaena Targaryen. You're surprised when she invites you to stay at her family's estate for the summer holidays. [1.4k]

[aegon targaryen x reader, modern!HOTD AU ]

masterlist

Warnings: 18+ for explicit language, smut in future chapters, and talk of bugs. If there's any I missed let me know!

note: this is my first story in a really long time, I hope y'all like it! also, I actually have no idea how curating a museum works, this is just a general idea of what I thought it might look like lol

You're running out of breath when you reach the back doors of the museum. Your skin feels moist from a mixture of light rain and sweat beading on your skin from your run from the station. You quickly plug in the code to the door and step through, quickly shaking off your jacket and putting your things in your assigned locker. You check your watch and wince at the time, making your way out of the employees-only area into the lobby of the museum. The museum always has a scent of dried paint mingled with a faint aroma of coffee emanating from the café at the entrance of the museum.

You spot Helaena from a distance. She’s leaning against a pillar, fiddling with her key card that hangs around her neck. As soon as she sets her eyes on you, her eyes light up. She straightens up and moves to meet you halfway, pulling you into a hug.

“I thought you weren’t going to make it.” she laughs. You roll your eyes, fixing stray hairs. You can’t help the smile that makes its way onto your face.

“I swear Ari has it out for me” you sigh. Ariadne was your Australian shepherd puppy. She was the cheekiest little thing, taking socks, shoes and now apparently your keys to play with. “I swear I’m always putting the keys in the key bowl when I get home but she manages to take them and hide them.”

“Sure,” Helaena says, leading you into the Entomology department. “Blame it on the dog.”

You met Helaena when you started working at the museum three months ago. You had been job searching for ages and finally came across a job that happened to be in a country completely different than the one you resided in. You packed your bags and took a leap of faith, moving to London on your own, only accompanied by your trusty puppy.

You had always loved the idea of working in a museum and hadn’t thought it all the way through so where you arrived you were placed in the entomology department alongside Helaena. Together, you carefully managed the ever-growing collection of beetles, butterflies and moths, dragonflies and damselflies.

You settled into your respective desks, papers stacked high and your computer buzzing with incoming research articles and showcase preparations. Helaena sits across from you, fiddling at her own desk, pulling up her email.

“Oh shit, did you see the new collection of dragonflies we have coming in?” she asked, fingers suddenly dancing over her keyboard. “It looks like they’re butterfly dragonflies.” She enthuses and you both gradually get lost in your screens.

After a couple of hours, the day slows down and starts to go by agonizingly slow. There was only so much excitement a small batch of dragonflies could provide and you found yourself mindlessly combing through different online stores.

After lunch, you hadn’t much left to do anyway. Showcases were mostly set up and you had already sifted through and organized a set of potato beetles you hadn’t done last week. Your eyes flicker over to Helaena as walks back to her desk, sliding her chair from one point of her L-shaped desk to another. She’s holding her phone up to her ear, listening fervently to the person on the other side. She nods every now and then, letting out small mhms. Her eyebrows are furrowed in concentration, her lips in a tight line as she uses her free hand to jot down notes on a pad. She nods one last time before bidding the person on the line goodbye and placing her phone down on her desk.

You watch her with your hands tucked under your chin, eyebrows raised as if to say sooo. She leans back in her reclining desk chair, stretching her feet out in front of her. She lets out a whistle and taps her fingers on the wood of her desk.

“You got anything planned for the holidays?” she asked, squinting at you, lips pursed out. You pretend to think for a second, eyes floating up to the ceiling before answering.

“I don’t think so. I don't have the funds to fly back home just yet so I’m gonna be here.” You state. A smile breaks out on Helaena’s face and she claps her hands.

“Great,” she begins, sauntering over to your desk and leaning over it. “Then you can come with me to the family estate.”

You blink, caught off guard at the invitation. “Your family’s estate? You’re sure I wouldn’t be impeding?”

“Babe, no!” she says, shaking her head. “It’ll be a blast, the property is huge and I think my mom is even holding a gala or some shit.” Your mind races at the thought of spending the holidays with Helaena, surrounded by the English countryside and the hospitality of her family. You knew very little about her family, having only heard of her brothers in fleeting comments. You had briefly met her mother over the phone, having been at Helaena’s apartment one night when she face-timed her.

“Okay,” you say, a smile growing on your lips. “I’d love to come.” Helaena’s smile only widens, her arms going around your shoulders in a tight hug.

“I’ll let Mum know!”

The sun streamed through your apartment window as you pull clothes out of your wardrobe, tossing them at Helaena. She sits perched on the edge of your bed, gingerly folding t-shirts and pants into your bag. There were tops strewn across your bed, shoes littered all over the floor and small bags of toiletries and makeup set next to your nearly empty suitcase. You can hear Ariadne chewing on a shoe you gave up trying to get her to stop playing with. At this point, she only really played with household items instead of the actual toys you bought her. Helaena winces as you pull out a dress and hold it up to your chest.

“What about this?” you ask, swaying slightly. Her face stays in a slight grimace, shaking her head and laughing.

“We need to get you some new dresses, these look like they were taken off of a raggedy Anne Doll.” You let out a boisterous laugh, shoving her shoulder and you tuck the dress back into the wardrobe. She pulls a knitted sweater from the edge of your bed and tucks it tightly into your bag.

Once your outfits seem coordinated enough, Helaena begins to place them carefully in your suitcase, making sure you have enough to last you all the days you’re there. She speaks up once you flip your suitcase closed, struggling slightly with the zipper.

“So I know you sorta met Mum but I know you’ll love her now that you’ll be staying for a few weeks.” She states. “She’s been planning this gala for my father, for his retirement, for months. It’s going to be huge, my sister is even coming in from out of town with her children, everyone and their mother is going to be there.”

You let out a chuckle and bounce slightly on your suitcase, climbing over it, trying to press it shut with your knees. Helaena climbs on with you, raving about life at the estate, describing the sprawling gardens, her mother’s immense library of rare books and the little town that lies nearby.

“You know we could even get you a fancy dress from one of the shops in town, it's a tiny town but it has loads of shops.” you struggle but finally manage to zip up the bag, and you sit on top of it a little breathless.

“Oh! Aemond and Daeron are going to be there too, though I’m not too sure about Aegon” she states, a thoughtful look on her face. It almost seems like she wants to say something more but waves her hand in the air dismissively. “But never mind that.”

You can't help but feel a flutter of excitement bloom in your chest at the thought of all that you’ll be doing. “I can’t wait for it all,” you say with a soft sigh, eyes shining with anticipation.

a/n: soo no Aegon quite yet but he’ll be appearing in the next chapter fo sho. I’m currently working on it but it’s hell week at uni right now so I won’t have too much time to sit down. If you guys are enjoying it, do not hesitate to reblog and let me know if you want to be tagged for the next chapter!

#aegon ii targaryen x reader #aegon ii smut #modern aegon #hotd fanfic #tom glynn carney x reader #moth to a flame #eroselless

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leonaquitaine · 7 months

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On the subject of generative AI

Let me start with an apology for deviating from the usual content, and for the wall of text ahead of you. Hopefully, it'll be informative, instructive, and thought-provoking. A couple days ago I released a hastily put-together preset collection as an experiment in 3 aspects of ReShade and virtual photography: MultiLUT to provide a fast, consistent tone to the rendered image, StageDepth for layered textures at different distances, and tone-matching (something that I discussed recently).

For the frames themselves, I used generative AI to create mood boards and provide the visual elements that I later post-processed to create the transparent layers, and worked on creating cohesive LUTs to match the overall tone. As a result, some expressed disappointment and disgust. So let's talk about it.

The concerns of anti-AI groups are significant and must not be overlooked. Fear, which is often justified, serves as a palpable common denominator. While technology is involved, my opinion is that our main concern should be on how companies could misuse it and exclude those most directly affected by decision-making processes.

Throughout history, concerns about technological disruption have been recurring themes, as I can attest from personal experience. Every innovation wave, from typewriters to microcomputers to the shift from analog to digital photography, caused worries about job security and creative control. Astonishingly, even the concept of “Control+Z” (undo) in digital art once drew criticism, with some artists lamenting, “Now you can’t own your mistakes.” Yet, despite initial misgivings and hurdles, these technological advancements have ultimately democratized creative tools, facilitating the widespread adoption of digital photography and design, among other fields.

The history of technology’s disruptive impact is paralleled by its evolution into a democratizing force. Take, for instance, the personal computer: a once-tremendous disruptor that now resides in our pockets, bags, and homes. These devices have empowered modern-day professionals to participate in a global economy and transformed the way we conduct business, pursue education, access entertainment, and communicate with one another.

Labor resistance to technological change has often culminated in defeat. An illustrative example brought up in this NYT article unfolded in 1986 when Rupert Murdoch relocated newspaper production from Fleet Street to a modern facility, leading to the abrupt dismissal of 6,000 workers. Instead of negotiating a gradual transition with worker support, the union’s absolute resistance to the technological change resulted in a loss with no compensation, underscoring the importance of strategic adaptation.

Surprisingly, the Writers Guild of America (W.G.A.) took a different approach when confronted with AI tools like ChatGPT. Rather than seeking an outright ban, they aimed to ensure that if AI was used to enhance writers’ productivity or quality, then guild members would receive a fair share of the benefits. Their efforts bore fruit, providing a promising model for other professional associations.

The crucial insight from these historical instances is that a thorough understanding of technology and strategic action can empower professionals to shape their future. In the current context, addressing AI-related concerns necessitates embracing knowledge, dispelling unwarranted fears, and arriving at negotiation tables equipped with informed decisions.

It's essential to develop and use AI in a responsible and ethical manner; developing safeguards against potential harm is necessary. It is important to have open and transparent conversations about the potential benefits and risks of AI.

Involving workers and other stakeholders in the decision-making process around AI development and deployment is a way to do this. The goal is to make sure AI benefits everyone and not just a chosen few.

While advocates for an outright ban on AI may have the best interests of fellow creatives in mind, unity and informed collaboration among those affected hold the key to ensuring a meaningful future where professionals are fairly compensated for their work. By excluding themselves from the discussion and ostracizing others who share most of their values and goals, they end up weakening chances of meaningful change; we need to understand the technology, its possibilities, and how it can be steered toward benefitting those they source from. And that involves practical experimentation, too. Carl Sagan, in his book 'The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark', said:

"I have a foreboding […] when the United States is a service and information economy; when nearly all the manufacturing industries have slipped away to other countries; when awesome technological powers are in the hands of a very few, and no one representing the public interest can even grasp the issues; when the people have lost the ability to set their own agendas or knowledgeably question those in authority; when, clutching our crystals and nervously consulting our horoscopes, our critical faculties in decline, unable to distinguish between what feels good and what's true, we slide, almost without noticing, back into superstition and darkness."

In a more personal tone, I'm proud to be married to a wonderful woman - an artist who has her physical artwork in all 50 US states, and several pieces sold around the world. For the last few years she has been studying and adapting her knowledge from analog to digital art, a fact that deeply inspired me to translate real photography practices to the virtual world of Eorzea. In the last months, she has been digging deep into generative AI in order to understand not only how it'll impact her professional life, but also how it can merge with her knowledge so it can enrich and benefit her art; this effort gives her the necessary clarity to voice her concerns, make her own choices and set her own agenda. I wish more people could see how useful her willingness and courage to dive into new technologies in order to understand their impact could be to help shape their own futures.

By comprehending AI and adopting a collective approach, we can transform the current challenges into opportunities. The democratization and responsible utilization of AI can herald a brighter future, where technology becomes a tool for empowerment and unity prevails over division. And now, let's go back to posting about pretty things.

#stream of consciousness #ai #ai art

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hanlimz · 1 year

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JUNGWONSPIDERMANAU

cass. pls dont say that and just. LEAVE. expand. i would like to hear your thoughts 🎤

bc truly spider-man/peter parker was my first love and personally i have had the idea for a jake as spider-man au for quiet a bit now but it has never really taken off but now i NEED to hear all your thoughts.

(also if u have any good spider-man au fic recs pls send them my way thnx 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩)

PLSSS I COULD TALK FOREVER!!!! BUT OKAY—here are some bullet points plus a small blurb/summary/idk? i literally am going to write so much im so SORRY??? (this has convinced me n i will be writing a fic LMAOO)

(+ two vvvv good spiderman fic recs!!)

it’s safe here (with me) by @enhypenandpaper !! | very cute story, well-written, i love when writers can put their own unique spin on scenes that inspire them it’s rly motivating and wonderful (i need to rb this on my fic rec blog asap) (jake x reader)

i’ll save you (again) by @jayflrt !! | amazing stupendous wonderful show-stopping ,, literally one of my Favorite reads on this app .. this author manages to encapsulate both spiderman And jake sosososo well .. they also make it a point to rly flesh out the other friendships mentioned and I Love That (jake x reader)

general hcs (?):

won is the dorkiest spiderman ever .. stutters over his quips, never has anything cool to say to the villains he fights, doesn’t know how to respond to ppl thanking him

one time someone he saved tried to ask for his number and he panicked and said he was banned from both t-mobile and verizon (he’s not btw)??

another time he just got done saving a group of ppl n said “no thneeds necessary” ?? bc he was trying to say “no need to thank me” n “no thanks necessary” at the same time

but he’s also the sweetest .. any time someone asks to “repay him” he’s a double it n give it to the next person kinda guy .. he always tells them to stop by the soup kitchen or donate old clothes to thrift stores or just be kind to someone else

also ,, on another note ,, won has the Biggest crush on u and knows u like to help out at the local preschool, so he always tells ppl to buy and donate extra school supplies

sometimes when he’s out patrolling late at night, he’ll see u on ur way home from the library n quietly follow u to make sure u get home safe

tries to talk to u once after seeing a spiderman article open on ur computer and u indulge him for a moment, saying how bad u felt abt the daily bugle’s tabloid pieces .. won’s p sure his heart exploded

but overall, he’s very gentle and kind .. ever the king of duality tho .. he can beat a bitch up when need be, but most of the time—won’s just a high school senior trying to get into MIT and make the person he’s been in love with since the beginning of fall semester feel the same way abt him

ANYWAYS in a high school!au setting i see a lot of ppl like to hc jungwon as class/stuco president, but i think he’s definitely more on the quiet side .. he’s popular, yes, but not too popular if that makes sense. for him, though, this is perfect ... he flies under the radar, and him missing school a couple days in a row every month or so goes virtually unnoticed. HOWEVER, you’ve always had a sneaking suspicion .. it’s not like you and won are Rivals—there would be no merit in picking an unnecessary fight with the boy who volunteers at the soup kitchen on the weekends and feeds the stray cats near the gym and asks the lunch ladies how their days are going—but, there’s something strange going on. you’re sure of it.

jungwon comes into school one day w a busted lip and a black eye. everyone is fawning over him, asking him what happened—did he get mugged, did his face hurt, did he give the other person a run for their money? you don’t bother checking in on him when he takes his seat next to you. you just hand him his calculus test (he did better than you again n it’s infuriating) and clench your jaw, willing yourself to disappear. that familiar, green monster hangs in the shadows behind you, and its breath fans across your neck as it attempts to coax a physical manifestation of jealously from your lips. eventually, you excuse yourself to the nurse’s office and skip the rest of the day.

later that night, you’re trying to study in your room, but you keep getting distracted by the daily bugle’s twitter updates. spiderman is out and about again, and they won’t let the poor guy’s good reputation rest. it’s all “spiderman fights villain and knocks over streetlight onto local man’s car” and “spiderman forgoes saving lady’s churro to destroy half of grand central station”—and, honestly, you feel a bit bad. he’s trying his best. but, as rain patters against your window, the sound threatens to lull you to sleep. exhaustion overtakes your body, your eyes are drooping, and your head keeps falling from your hands. and then BOOM—the loudest noise you’ve ever heard startles you from your fatigue-induced trance. with a look of fear in your eyes, you glance over your shoulder to look at the window and the sight that greets you is enough to freeze every molecule in your body.

the aforementioned hero is clinging to the side of your building, banging his fist on the glass and practically begging to be let in. his movements are frantic and a bit scary. you open the window as quick as you can and let him slide through the small gap you’ve created. there are copious tears in his suit, blood flows from a nasty gash on his shoulder. rushing around on some crude form of auto pilot, you grab a clean shirt from your closet and press it into his wound. you tell him to hold it there and instruct him to sit in your desk chair. he's sopping wet from head to toe, and all you manage to think about is how glad you are that your parents are away for the weekend.

eventually, after only almost vomiting once, the cut is clean and bandaged up. "you're so lucky that i've been trying to get rid of this shirt forever, mr. spiderman," you scoff as he perches on the sill of your window, preparing to swing away into the night. "if i had grabbed one of my favorite outfits, i would've killed you before that wound could have."

a giggle escapes from his lips, and for a moment, you find yourself taken aback. he sounds like a high schooler—young, lively, and everything but the twenty-something year old man you thought he would be. "sorry about that ... i'll have to swing by and drop off some laundry detergent one of these days," he laughs. his voice sounds so familiar, but your mind is still reeling from your recent discovery. the hero offers you a wave and gestures toward his previous seat. "sleep well—and, good luck on that calculus homework."

the next day at school, jungwon is nowhere to be seen. you thank whatever happens to reside in the sky that he can't see the bright red 67 at the top of your most recent calculus test. the next next day, however, jungwon comes in with his arm in a sling. as his seatmate, you're the one that has to help him out for the rest of the week. but, when you're sitting in free period, you happen to take another glance at the bandages around his shoulder as jungwon naps next to you. a sharp column of ice pierces through your lower abdomen; under jungwon's sling, the lowest layer of bandages are covered with dried blood and sweat.

they look eerily familiar. almost like the ones you used to patch spiderman up over the weekend.

but, jungwon couldn't be spiderman. he couldn't be—he's too sweet, too gentle, too kind. peeking over at his backpack, you note that it seems a bit bulkier today; a recognizable purple cap winks at you from the unzipped main pocket. a chill tickles the length of your spine as you register what happened to be resting against his class notebooks.

laundry detergent?

you pause for a moment.

oh.

oh god.

#ੈ.faves #ੈ.nyx 🌌#enhypen #enhypen fluff #enhypen headcanons #enhypen reactions #jungwon fluff #jungwon x reader #enha fluff #enha reactions #enha headcanons #enha imagines #jungwon reactions #jungwon headcanons #jungwon imagines #LMAOOO i did too much honestly #the whole blurb is so messy im so SORRY #but when i have more time (prob my spring break ㅠㅠ) ill Definitely be fleshing this out n writing a full fledged spiderwon fic

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years

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Porn on Tumblr is a complicated subject

In 2018, Tumblr announced a ban on “adult content.” That call was made by Verizon, Tumblr’s erstwhile owner, and to call the resulting mess “a shitshow” is an insult to good, hardworking shitshows all over the world.

Verizon enforced this policy with an automated filter, which was charged with analyzing images and categorizing them as “sexual” or “nonsexual.” This is risible enough, like asking a computer to sort videos into “virtuous” or “sinful” but that was just for starters.

Verizon’s ban included a ban on “female-presenting nipples” — a canonically hard-to-define category — but included exceptions for non-sexual nipple images. Hard to imagine that any serious, disinterested computer scientist promising that an algorithm could cleave “female-presenting nipples” from “male-presenting” ones, let alone decide which ones were “sexual” or not.

The filters were…not good. Verizon posted a selection of images that were explicitly permitted under its policies. That post was blocked by Tumblr’s filter.

https://gizmodo.com/tumblrs-porn-filter-flags-its-own-examples-of-permitted-1831151178

It wasn’t just that Tumblr’s AI couldn’t turn its unblinking eye upon the nipples casting their shadows upon the wall of Plato’s Cave and divine their true nature. Tumblr’s AI thought everything was a nipple — or some other potentially “adult” body-part.

[Image ID: A series of nested Tumblr posts marveling at the foolishness of Tumblr’s filter.]

I posted an image of a hand producing a fingerprint. Tumblr’s filter blocked it. I posted a followup about Tumblr’s idiotic filter. Tumblr’s filter blocked that. I did it again. The filter did, too.

https://boingboing.net/2018/12/11/recursive-neural-nets.html

Verizon was not good at running Tumblr, which isn’t a surprise, because Verizon’s core competencies are lobbying and union-busting. Eventually the company wrote down its online media assets, taking a $4.6B loss:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-11/verizon-writes-down-4-6-billion-of-value-of-aol-yahoo-business

Tumblrites didn’t know what to make of the writedown. There was a lot of trepedation, sure, because even after years of mismanagement by Yahoo and then Verizon, Tumblr was still a community that mattered to its members.

What’s more, with the writedown, there was the possibility that someone else — someone less Verizony — would buy the company. That happened! Automattic, creators of Wordpress, announced that they would buy Tumblr. Tumblr’s filter blocked the announcement:

https://brucesterling.tumblr.com/post/187053987273/yeah-that-news-is-looking-mighty-adult-there

When Automattic took over Tumblr, there was a lot of hope that the adult content ban would be reversed. Tumblr’s adult communities had been hugely important in creating and promulgating a sex-positive, queer-positive, sex-worker-respecting platform, utterly unlike anything else online.

The impact of contributing to and participating in these adult communities can’t be overstated. In Tumblr Porn, Ana Valens offers a memoir of how profoundly Tumblr’s sex-positive spaces (“vanguard of a user-generated sexual revolution”) affected her life:

https://www.instarbooks.com/books/tumblr-porn.html

Verizon’s sex ban didn’t just shut those communities down — it consigned them to the memory-hole, blocking the archivists who scrambled to preserve them:

https://www.vice.com/en/article/d3bekm/archivists-say-tumblr-ip-banned-them-for-trying-to-preserve-adult-content

But despite the importance of sex to Tumblr’s success and the manifest idiocy of Verizon’s ban, Automattic did not bring back the adult content, and made it clear they had no immediate plans to change that position.

Now, five years later, Tumblr has made its first tentative moves to open the platform to NSFW materials, with a new dashboard that lets views opt into adult content and a labeling system that lets posters flag their uploads:

https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/696578252906659840/staff-introducing-community-labels-as-you

This is a far cry from Tumblr’s original full-throated, wide-open NSFW policy, and there’s a reason for that. In a new post, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg describes why Tumblr’s old “go nuts, show nuts” policy can’t work today:

https://photomatt.tumblr.com/post/696629352701493248/why-go-nuts-show-nuts-doesnt-work-in-2022

It all comes down to chokepoints and liability. It’s an open secret that Verizon’s Tumblr porn ban was triggered by Apple’s threat to block the Tumblr app for iOS users, in the name of preserving the App Store’s “child friendly” policy. Remember when Steve Jobs announced that “Folks who want porn can buy an Android phone?”

https://techcrunch.com/2010/04/19/steve-jobs-android-porn/

Google Play — the Android version of the App Store — is only slightly less adamant about blocking adult material. With the mobile duopoly dead set against adult content, an NSFW-friendly Tumblr would have to be web-only. Mullenweg explains why that’s not viable: “40% of our signups and 85% of our page views come from mobile apps.”

Now, it’s true that there are other apps for platforms with a lot of adult content that both app stores welcome (Reddit, Twitter). Mullenweg says “My guess is that Twitter and Reddit are too big for Apple to block so they decided to make an example out of Tumblr, which has ‘only’ 102 million monthly visitors.”

Though, he adds, “Maybe Twitter gets blocked by Apple sometimes too but can’t talk about it because they’re a public company and it would scare investors.”

Playing chicken with Apple’s App Store censors is a losing proposition. As Mullenweg describes, the interpretation of the App Store rules varies from day to day, depending on which person is evaluating your app. If you submit an app update, Apple might arbitrarily change its position on whether you’re crossing a line and block your app instead. When that happens, it’s a big deal. Mullenweg: “If Apple permanently banned Tumblr from the App Store, we’d probably have to shut the service down.”

But it’s not just the mobile duopoly that holds Tumblr’s future in its hands. Mullenweg actually ranks payment processors as more powerful than mobile companies. Credit-card companies hate porn. Adding adult content back to Tumblr threatens Automattic’s ability to process payments for all its services, from Wordpress hosting to ad-free Tumblr subscriptions. Without money, the company couldn’t last long, and its 2,000+ employees would be out of a job.

At this stage, Mullenweg anticipates a chorous of cryptocurrency enthusiasts claiming that the solution to this is to accept payment in cryptos. He heads them off. No matter whether you think crypto might solve this problem tomorrow, “today if you are blocked from banks, credit card processing, and financial services, you’re blocked from the modern economy.”

But even if you bypass the mobile dupology and find a way to live without payment processing, setting up an adult-content-friendly site is still fraught. New rules (including SESTA/FOSTA) create civil and criminal liability for adult content hosting; as do rules against nonconsensual pornography (AKA “revenge porn”).

Mullenweg doesn’t want to host illegal adult content, not just because he doesn’t want to go to jail, but because he decries the odious trade in sexual material made without consent, featuring children, or other unsavory circumstances.

But today’s environment, filled as it is with networked pocket cameras, is fertile ground for the production of those materials. When anyone can produce sexual images, it becomes extremely difficult to establish whether everyone pictured is of age and consenting.

But even if Tumblr could hire the moderators it needed to make those determinations, it still wouldn’t be in the clear, because market concentration elsewhere in the stack makes operating an “adult content business” far harder than it was in Tumblr’s heyday.

Today, hosting adult content means finding specialized network connections, hosting, DDoS mitigation and more, because every layer of the “stack” of services other kinds of sites can rely on has been turning into an oligopoly with uniform anti-sex policies.

Paying for those specialized services is a problem, too, and not just because you will struggle to find a bank and credit-card company that will serve your business. Many investment funds are prohibited from investing in “vice” related businesses due to agreements with their own backers, and even the ones that can fund such a business choose not to.

Mullenweg sums up:

If you wanted to start an adult social network in 2022, you’d need to be web-only on iOS and side load on Android, take payment in crypto, have a way to convert crypto to fiat for business operations without being blocked, do a ton of work in age and identity verification and compliance so you don’t go to jail, protect all of that identity information so you don’t dox your users, and make a ton of money.

That’s a sobering conclusion, but even more striking is Mullenweg’s back-of-the-envelope calculations for what this would take:

> I estimate you’d need at least $7 million a year for every 1 million daily active users to support server storage and bandwidth in addition to hosting, moderation, compliance, and developer costs.

Mullenweg closes with his hope that someone else will figure out how to “replace what people used to get from porn on Tumblr,” but implies that for Tumblr itself, the best we can hope for are more baby-steps.

[Image ID: A Victorian pornographic illustration of a man in coat and neck cloth touching the exposed bottom of a grinning woman who is face down on a fainting-couch. The image forms the backdrop for an animation in which a grinning Tumblr logo bounces up and down over her bum.]

#pluralistic

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kaylinalexanderbooks · 1 month

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Find the Word

Thanks @sleepywriter00 for the tag!

Rules: find the given words in your WIP(s), then tag others with new words

My words: psycho, pranked, soil, grave

Your words: new, clean, decide, system

Tagging with zero pressure @theeccentricraven @mysticstarlightduck @little-peril-stories @blind-the-winds @buffythevampirelover @mk-writes-stuff @eccaiia @cowboybrunch @addicted2coke-theothercoke @gottestod-writes @chauceryfairytales @frostedlemonwriter @talesofsorrowandofruin @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @theprissythumbelina or anyone else who wants to hop on

TSP intro

TSP tag list (ask to be +/-): @thepeculiarbird @illarian-rambling @televisionjester @fairy-tales-of-yesterday per usual you can hop on

Keep reading for:

Liam and Maddie discuss the science of shapeshifting

George X Liam is a thing now

Beau creates a beanstalk

Noelle's research finds an article

Psycho Insane (closest synonym) - from The Secret Portal Part Two (Maddie POV)

“Thanks for researching all of this,” I said. “I mean, not being an animal morphian, you didn’t have to.” Liam leaned against the wall. “I always wanted to be an animal morphian. When I realized I got to train one, I just did a bunch of research. To both benefit your learning and just to learn a few things myself. Shapeshifting is just fascinating in general. Like, you can change your mass, like, that shouldn’t be a thing! But it is, and that’s, like, insane.” “Wow,” I breathed. “So what happens to the mass that you lose?” “No idea,” said Liam, smiling. “What if we took the mass from something?” I asked. “Great, but where would that something come from?” “I dunno,” I said. “Matter can’t be created or destroyed. We’ve learned that in science class.” “You’d be right,” said Liam. “But we’re in another dimension.” “So you’re saying matter can be created or destroyed in this dimension?” “Perhaps,” said Liam, pressing his hands together in deep thought. “But what if instead we’re borrowing mass from another pocket dimension? Like, there’s a pocket universe of just mass, and we put our mass there if we’re lessening our mass, or borrowing mass from there if we increase our mass?” “Hm,” I said. “That could work, but isn’t it complicated?” “Who knows?” said Liam. “We’re in another dimension. Anything is possible. The rules of this universe are different than the rules of Ceteri.” “That’s cool.” “Glad you agree, kiddo.”

Actually, matter can be created or destroyed but only with an anti-matter particle :)

Pranked Trick (closest synonym...) - from The Secret Portal Part One

Maddie gave Kelsey a small punch in the arm. She looked past Kelsey’s shoulder. “Hey, Liam, what are you dressed as?” Liam, who was talking with George, wore a black full-piece covering his whole body with glow sticks along his arms, legs, and torso. Upon Maddie’s query, he put a hood over his head, then zipped it shut over his face, glow sticks forming a circle. “A stick figure.” Maddie burst out laughing. Kelsey smirked, clapping slowly. “You win. You win.” Unzipping the hood, Liam smiled at George. “See? This is hilarious. It’s simple, but it’s super clever. I barely put any more effort than Gabe, yet everyone I’ve encountered says this is the best costume here. That’s the trick of Halloween. You either need to go all out or you need to be very, very clever about what you decide to be and what materials you use.” George, now eating what Ceters called a “cupcake,” nodded, very entertained by his new friend. While George loved sharing all of his speedster-induced hours research, Liam always managed to make a good argument out of seemingly everything. It was one of the fascinating things about him. He was glad Liam approached him working on one of the computers about a month ago, otherwise George wasn't sure he would’ve been able to work up to potential rejection from the only boy his age he’d interacted with in a decade.

Soil - from School of the Legends Year One

Beau widened his stance, holding his arm out, palm aimed at where he’d planted the beans. Jack glanced at Jill, both sharing a confused expression. Jack looked at his cousin. “Beau, what are we supposed to see?” “Just watch the soil,” Beau said, his brow clenching together. Jack obeyed, looking at where the beans were. A sprout suddenly poked its head above the ground. Jack’s eyebrows rose, and a glance at his sister told him she had the same reaction. The sprout began growing, now at Jack’s knee. “Beau, you’re...you’re gifted.” Beau’s smile stretched across his face. “Yeah, isn’t it amazing?” He glanced at Jack, his eyes shining. The sprout now shot up faster, and Beau flicked his eyes back to the stalk. “Merde,” he muttered as he tried to regain his concentration. He, Jack, and Jill grunted as the stalk broke the ground at such a force they were knocked to their feet. Beau scrambled up as fast as he could, holding his palms out toward the beanstalk. It slowed first, then stopped. Jack tilted his head back, squinting to see the top of the beanstalk--which didn’t help. “O...kay…,” Jill soon said, breaking the silence. “That just happened.” “What are we going to do with this?” Jack asked, now standing. “There’s now a giant beanstalk in the middle of the yard! How are we going to explain to Da?” “You won’t need to.” Jack whirled around to see his dad leaning against a post on the porch. “I saw the whole thing.” “I’m sorry, Oncle Erskine.” “Don’t be,” he said. “D’ya know how much that would sell for?” He laughed.

Grave - from The Secret Portal Part Two (article Noelle is reading)

One thing I must make clear is that I AM Inutilia. I did not quit because I no longer believe in equality for my people. Quite the opposite. I still am a firm believer that we should get as much equal rights as those with powers. However, Raissa Kamanzi is NOT the way to do it. Ms. Kamanzi is obsessed with power. She does not truly believe in the equal rights of Inutilia, rather the dominance. She wants to oppress the system just as much as the old one oppressed us. A taste of their own medicine, she would say. This is not the answer. All Raissa has given us is a harder time to be accepted by society around us. It gave an excuse for bigots to become even louder, people who considered themselves neutral to become bigoted. It gave those in power a reason to persecute us from a genetic standpoint. We lost access to the portal last year because of her. We can no longer be with Ceters, in a world where WE are the norm. One thing I will say about Raissa is that she is a complicated woman with many heavy burdens and regrets. She holds tight to her morals, and will never cross a line that others would. However, that does not make her morals right. That does not make her policies right. I did not join the Refugae initially because I wanted control of the world. I did not join so others would suffer just so I would not. I joined because I was sick of the lynching, the riots, the massacres, the genetic engineering to attempt to erase the gene. I was sick of the suffering. But I see Raissa’s tactics are only going to deflect the suffering from herself to others. That it is causing people to flee to Ceteri, and those who cannot cross the portal to stay, suffering. Raissa is digging the grave of her own people. The arrival of the Aequales was the first sign. I do not believe the Aequales is the savior we need, for many other reasons, but its preaching of equality and peace is dragging more and more people away from equality. They can still hate us, but if they support Atsila McLain, suddenly, they can wipe their hands clean of their bigotry. Inutilia are still suffering under Raissa, and we have no escape. I ask you to support social reforms and to engage in political action. We must stop this violence. We must in order to survive. For all Inutilia. For all Alii.

I wrote two articles in this chapter - one of someone who worked with Atsila but left, the other who worked with Raissa but left. I really ended up being proud of the articles themselves even though I'm revising Noelle's research purposes later.

It is funny. She's like "hm maybe other perspectives would be nice to read about to form an opinion that seems logical" but then she does that and is like "nevermind these are both biased what a waste of time"

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ziezie13 · 2 years

Text

My first completed fanbinding! There were so many fun typesetting elements I had trouble narrowing the photos down but I didn't include everything. My favorites are definitely the music QR codes and the meta AO3 fics.

Until My Feet Bleed and My Heart Aches by @kazliin

‘…Of all the rivalries in the world of sports over the years, perhaps none has become so legendary as that of Russian figure skater Viktor Nikiforov and his rival, Japanese Yuuri Katsuki…’

A single event changes the course of Yuuri’s life, throwing him into a bitter rivalry with Viktor Nikiforov that spans across his entire skating career. But as the years go on, rivalry and hatred begin to develop into something very different and Yuuri doesn’t seem to be able to stay away, no matter how hard he tries.

Hatred and love are two sides of the same coin and even though everything changes, some things are still meant to be.

Technical stuff and bonus photos below the cut.

General

197,692 Words / 11 x 8.5 Paper / 500 pgs

Title Font & Chapter Number Font: Just Signature

Chapter Title & Body Font: Adobe Caslon Pro

Misc Fonts: Georgia, Lucida Sans, Zilla Slab, PT Serif, Segoe UI

Designed, typeset, and bound by me.

Programs used: InDesign and BookletCreator.

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for enemies to lovers and this fic executes the trope beautifully. It was one of my very first fics on AO3 and since then I have read it countless times. The fic diverges from canon in a single moment and what proceeds is one of the best Victuuri fics of all time.

Materials

This was the first ficbinding project that made it off of my computer. The original plan was to keep the book thinner by scaling the page size up to 11 x 8.5, but obviously that didn't work. I ordered short grain 11 x 17 sheets from Nicole Nikolas Modern Paper Goods and printed with my large-format inkjet printer (which used more cyan and magenta than I would have expected).

Once my signatures were printed I realized just how massive this thing was, and in that moment I decided the casing was going to be leather. I ordered Royal Blue leathers from Peggy Sue Also Leather's Dutchess Collection. And while I waited for that to come in I hand-painted the chapter numbers using Dreamland Watercolor's Beta and a fluid writer. The color changing effect wasn't as dramatic as I hoped but it still turned out gorgeous.

I decided not to complicate things too much and left the spine flat and the edges deckled. I used the basic method of sewing tapes and spaced five of them out across the spine. The headbands are actually Vintage Petersham Grosgrain Magenta ribbons from Fini Ribbon that I folded over some string I had laying around. I also made my own endpapers from Strathmore drawing sheets and more of the Beta watercolor which I sprayed over the sheets using a cheap paintbrush.

I created an embossed frame on the cover by layering chipboard on top of the 0.098" Davey Binder's Board I ordered from Talas. Then I cut out a window so that I could do the title out of watercolor. I didn't have a pairing knife for the leather so I tried sanding down the edges to help minimize the thickness of the folds. I am actually not sure if this helped or not but the leather turned out better than I thought. The only issue was that I didn't have enough of an overlap at the top and bottom on the inside of the book board, and the endpapers couldn't cover the seam properly. I came up with the solution of adding a second layer of chipboard that I covered in light blue construction paper. I made it to the same dimensions as the Davey Board and then glued everything together with pva. I really like the effect it has and it also worked out as a base to paint the title onto.

Typesetting

Typesetting this fic was a lot of fun because of all the social media aspects included in the fic. This included articles, Reddit threads, Twitter posts, Instagram posts, Youtube videos, Tumblr posts, and even meta AO3 fic summaries. I did my best to match the real-life counterparts as best as I could. I ended up using Segoe UI for most of the social media typesetting. The articles used Zilla Slab for the title and PT Serif for the body. The AO3 summaries were the most complicated as they used Georgia and Lucida Sans fonts and jpeg graphics.

The other really exciting element I incorporated was the music. Kaz used music throughout the fic as a very imporvictant part of the storytelling. Yuuri and Victor communicate through their skating and their routines and the music is what brings those routines to life. I placed QR codes in the margins at the start of each routine. It is so cool to hold your camera up and suddenly have the music playing from your phone as you read! I also included an appendix of the music so that when QR codes become obsolete the music is still accessible.

#bookbinding #ficbinding #yoi #victuuri #my work #first fic bound

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yukidragon · 1 year

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Okay so uh. I know I mentioned in the comments of a post of yours a couple days ago that I had an idea, except idk where to go with it other than I just have a "what if" thought. So I'm figuring I'd throw it back at ya to get your thoughts on it, because you are incredibly good at this, like holy carp, I am in awe.

The "what if" thought I had, was since we're pretty sure Jack some times hangs around the apt while MC is at work, what if MC had a computer at home and taught him how to use, say, more anonymous based forum sites as well as maybe more basic games like solitaire or point-n-click adventure games. Do you think he would actually feel compelled to use the tech at all, and if he did join a forum site, what would he do on it and how well do you think he'd do to keep his identity hidden? (He reinvented himself once and yet he still had an untimely demise- no need to make anyone think he survived somehow and put his Sunshine in any actual danger...)

Gosh, you really flatter me with such kind praise. Thank you! 💖

Given how quickly Jack managed to pick up how to behave as Sunny Day Jack despite his concerns towards doing the part justice, I think he is pretty good at adapting and learning new things. While the modern technology is going to be pretty shocking - practically the stuff of science fiction in his eyes - I’m sure he’ll start to get the hang of it, with his sunshine’s help at the start of course.

Once Jack starts getting used to learning the internet, I can see him using it as a tool to help him out. After all, he needs to understand the modern day society and technology in order to be of any use to MC and take care of them. It would be useful to look up all the references that MC might make that seem like moon speak to someone who hasn’t experienced pop culture for 40 years.

At first, Jack will no doubt be clumsy on the internet, not quite getting how dangerous it can be. MC is going to need to teach him about the importance of anonymity online, as well as the general climate of the online space. After that though, I’m sure he’ll catch on pretty quickly.

When MC is around, I can see Jack mostly looking up innocent things, like recipes, news articles, or cute animal videos. Totally wholesome things that don’t ruin his brand safe image as Sunny Day Jack.

When MC isn’t around... the more Jack learns, the more he’s going to snoop. I can imagine he’ll figure out how the search history works and look into MC’s search history for what they like looking up and what interests them. The more he knows about them, the better he can take care of them after all!

Then, Jack can advance to learning how to use private internet searches and erase traces of his activities if it’s something a bit... questionable. Not that he would have reason to do it that often of course. At least... as long as nothing is threatening him and his sunshine...

Given how clever Jack is, I can see him learning pretty fast how to hide his online presence. That’s not even going into the possibility that his ghost(?) powers might allow him to do things normal humans can. While he is an analog-based supernatural entity, his existence is attached to a piece of technology that affects video screens, and computers still require monitors to see what’s going on...

I think it’s possible Jack could make an online alias for himself and join a forum or social media, but I think it would be with some particular goal in mind. He didn’t grow up in the internet age, and he’s more physically active. Spending hours wandering around the internet would be a relatively new thing, and the dopamine hits he might get online would be nothing compared to the rush of love he feels from his sunshine... especially when he’s showing them his love~

Though if Jack does have plans of making a big public return as Sunny Day Jack, then perhaps the internet could be useful to that end...

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask

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sinful-decaf · 7 months

Text

Hackers and Nyte Blade

Warnings: sfw, all characters aged up, post-SR3 Matt, canon divergence, privacy invasion, illegal hacking

Characters: Matt Miller, gn reader

Author's Note: This is for the slice of life collab but boy. I struggled so much with this and I don't actually like it but dhdnkdd. Its here, it's eh, but writers block.

Word Count: 1.1k

Curiosity drove you. A morbid curiosity about the place you once called home. Now, of course, you had found your home in a small town just west of Stilwater and farther still was Steelport itself but your home and loyalties still lay with Steelport. Even if it had been engulfed by a gang war when you had moved away. You, of course, kept an eye on it. You noticed a few details, but something wasn't adding up and hadn't in the two years since. Sure, the Luchodores died. You understood why.The Morningstar, led by Viola DeWynter, merged with the Saints. Yet… Why had the Deckers simply vanished? More specifically, why was there no word on their leader? You tapped your foot in the break room, reading article after article. Interviews with Killbane, the DeWynter sisters and Loren had extensive business ventures all signed under their specific names, alongside the prostitute game that required a more personal touch, the Saint's boss was around too. All documented. Normally by one Jane Valderamma. Yet it frustrated you. There was not a single mention as to who the Deckers ever listened to. Nothing!

"Can you work the closing shift again?"

You perked up, hearing your boss speak. The kind old lady had picked you up out of the street, comforted you when gang life took over your life, and would lament you going back.

"Ah… I can, yes." Responded your coworker.

You looked over, he seemed less than fond of the bright green work shirt every time. You liked him. Matt Miller. A fine employee, a lackluster conservationist (unless you count the topic of Nyte Blade), and a generally reserved man. You always wondered why he seemed so… Odd. Yet, he wasn't your type. You had caught yourself drifting towards harsher types. People like Loren, Viola, and Killbane. Those with skewed morality and something to lord over. Fighting rings, hookers, even other gangs all joined together under one flag. Something. Matt, of course, was kind and while he was hot… Something was off.

If only you knew how wrong you were.

You wanted to look him up too, look into his past. Yet… wasn't that crossing lines you promised you wouldn't again after surviving a city takeover, two actually, back in the day. It was an invasion of privacy too! Yet you were stuck on your research and… He didn't have to know what you would find. First, you needed to find out where he was from. Matt Miller, after all, was quite close lipped regarding anything and everything about where he came from. There had to be something there! A reason. So, you began. In that little coffee shop, growing steadily more defensive as you went from harmlessly looking up just his name to pulling up his records. That was the first thing you thought of and it brought forth interesting results.

"... Expunged?" You softly muttered to yourself, "Lets get that unsealed."

You really did just want to know! You weren't going to do a thing with what inevitably boring thing Matt cared so much about as to seek out it getting expunged. Yet when you got access, the list of crimes made your eyes widen.

".... What the-"

And then it crashed. The site, a remarkably secure government site, had crashed. In fact, your entire computer's screen went black. You jumped up, startled with your blood running cold. After a few seconds, one symbol sat in the center of your screen. It had been one you grew quite familiar with in your research. The Decker logo, a blue skull with a pink star in an eye socket. You whipped around, Matt stood a little too close for comfort, black bangs in his face as he stared down at you.

"You really didn't seem like much before." He remarked, his accent thick.

You stepped back, "You…"

"That all got sealed, expunged, yet you found a way. Well, where there's a will." Matt tilted his head, "I really didn't think much of you. Perhaps I should've learned my lesson from before as to underestimating people. Especially those who also have expunged records."

"How'd you even get that expunged!" You huffed.

Matt shrugged, "Where there's a will." He repeated, narrowing his eyes, "Although… What to do now? You could tell either one of them. You could be working for either of them."

"Wh- you paranoid little-" you cleared your throat, "I'm not working for anyone, Miller." You raised a brow, "Yet clearly you have someone working for you. I mean it, how did you get all your crimes from being in a gang all expunged as if it were nothing!"

"I don't have to answer the likes of you." Matt scoffed.

You pushed him back, "I'm still your supervisor!" You hissed, "I've been here longer, I've-"

"You're a has been." Matt simply retorted.

"I'm a- excuse me!" You grabbed that bright green shirt, dragging him forward.

"You're excused." Matt smirked.

It was a game of cat and mouse, whoever stopped was the loser and to the victor go the spoils. You groaned, pushing him back with all your strength, the taller hacker fell on his ass with nothing but a perked brow, as if asking if that was all you could do. With him no longer pretending to be a meek, reserved and polite worker, he was just sassing you and frustrating you with every word that left his mouth.

"Listen here, you little-" You began.

"You should get your eyes checked. I'm bigger than you are."

You wanted to rip your own hair out but settled for groaning and kicking his leg as you stormed past him. Yet, you froze when he hummed, "Wouldn't it be terrible if your bank lost all your money, love? Maybe hacking to know who I am was a mistake, no?" He chuckled, "How about you do something for me and we'll forget this."

And that's how you got here. A simple bout of curiosity, evidently you both had regrets and mistakes under your belts. You just couldn't imagine this was the favor. Your eyes laid on the TV before you in the hacker's living room. He sat beside you, leaning forward and his entire posture was absolute hell yet Matt didn't seem to care.

"I think you'll like this! Just watch!" He promised.

".... You threatened me so I'd watch…. Nyte Blade with you?" You asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Of course!" He seemed almost insulted that you'd ask, "Its one of the best things created for God's sake!"

"Its sure… Something, alright." You sighed yet it was charming.

You didn't know when that realization hit. That in all his awkward, gawk nerd-ness, Matt Miller was charming. Endearing, even. You sighed, leaning back and letting your eyes focus on whatever Nyte Blade was doing, mourning his wife you think. You paid some attention, it seemed to make Matt happier. Asking him about Steelport could wait. You just wanted to exist here for a moment, let your curiosity die out for just a little while.

#decafstories #caffeinatedsin #matt miller #matt miller x reader #matt miller x you #saints row #saints row x reader #saints row x you #slice of life collab

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cherriesrae · 2 years

Text

The List

word count: 2k

At first, he played it off like it was her getting herself comfortable, but Y/N just kept squirming too much to "just be getting comfortable". And at the risk of embarrassing her, he didn't say anything, till he got the dry humping on the list of filth. | or Harry owns a nightclub and Y/N has a list of filth

This story contains mentions of drinking, self-hate, intrusive thoughts, trauma, and sexual acts. If any of this could or would trigger you, or are under 18 I recommend you stay away from this fic and DNI with this post.{masterlist}{taglist}{carrd}

Growing up in a religious household, Y/N never really had the room to experience anything normal. Y/N never got to stay the night at people's houses, because her parents didn't believe her friends' parents could take care of her properly. The conversation usually followed the same, "Stephens parents are raising a prostitute, did you see her dress she wore to the Easter comuniuion? Spaghetti strapped, Heather is letting her grow up to be a whore.", " Riley? She's going to end up selling drugs, did you hear what her so-called therapist said? They said she had ADHD, and gave her meth. METH, Y/N!"

Y/N wasn't allowed to wear makeup, her father used to say that she had nobody to look pretty for, and if she did she was going to end up pregnant and abandon. Still, at 19, living on her own she can't look in a mirror without hearing one of their voices first. Nothing was ever good enough for her mother, and her father usually just followed.

When she was 17, she went to the library to study with her older brother- her brother was only there because he had to watch her, like a chaperone- she was doing an essay on how bad her generation had gotten for her government class. She sat there, with gel pens and everything, using the computer to research the bad qualities she herself never had the chance to experience,

TEEN PREGNANCY

One of the subtitles in the article read in big, bold Aerial letters. Yes, she knew of teen pregnancy and pregnancy in general, but that was it. Part of her still believed that her God was the only way to get pregnant. Like The Virgin Mary, but that couldn't be the end of it, could it?

So out of her own curiosity, and with the promise to herself that it was research for the paper, she googled it.

Getting pregnant

And when an X-rated video came up as a part of the top website recommendations, she clicked it. And oh the things she saw. And from there on she had a list, a bucket list sort of thing. It lists things she wanted to try, sexually, of course. Not all of them were as bad as the Doggy Style or Bondage that she listed, which she still doesn't really know what they mean-they were in recommended porn titles once or twice-, some of them were things like French kiss and Get a hickey. She was just a sheltered girl trying to see what she was missing in that aspect.

The day after graduation, she left. Pretty quick too, her aunt Sabrina bought her a plane ticket and she left with a duffle bag on her hip. Sabrina had started sending her letters with stamps and cash, and from then on the game plan was to send as much of her stuff to her New York City with for her aunt before graduation so she could leave immediately.

And it was a lot of culture shock from the rural suburb in Minnesota she was raised in. She tried Chinese food for the first time, she ordered it for herself at a Starbucks, and she even got a job and a driver's license. She was studying Coding and Design at NYU with a full scholarship and had male friends! Y/N was becoming the person she wanted to be.

Then she met Harry.

Y/N got a job at an IT-type shop, she spent her days fixing people's wifi and repairing electronics. It was a niche topic to work, but she loved it. Next door to the shop was 17BLACK, a nightclub owned by the beloved British brunet. Y/N had heard of him, sure. He'd been in Gossip Magazines for dating a couple models, for being hot, for being young and rich, but never in a million years did she expect to see him in her shop.

" Excuse me, I can't get my system to boot, like at all. It's as if someone cut the cord, I was told you could help?" With a meek nod, she did, and from there they were acquaintances, then friends, then she caught Harry sketching her and they started dating shortly after.

This leads us to our current predicament: with Harry holding her list in her hand, only a month after she officially became his girlfriend.

" Y/N? What is this?" He called from her bed, a pair of gel under-eye patches resting upon his face, hair being held back with a scrunchie.

" I can't see what you're looking at, hold on!" She answered, walking down the hallway with her toothbrush still in her mouth.

" Orgasm Detail? Handcuffs?" At the sound of his voice, she started moving faster down the hallway. " Oral? Y/N?" Jumping to grab the list before he could read another word, she cut him off.

" It's nothing! Just give it to me." The worry in her voice, was not only of the embarrassment of him knowing she had a list but of him thinking she was some kind of slutty Carter Chambers. “ Please Harry!”

By this point, crocodile tears were escaping her eyes and broken sobs were racking her diaphragm. Harry can’t say he wasn’t surprised that his grown embodiment of a Power Puff Girl of a girlfriend would have such filth listed down in a random college-ruled spiral notebook, but he never expected it to cause this kind of reaction from her.

“ Y/N, breath,” he had requested as he handed her the list. “ Can I ask what the list is for?” Harry obviously was oblivious to the big bold letters at the top of the paper which read “Things To Try”.

“ No,” Y/N had stated, starting to come down from the install scare. Now she was more focused on the fact that Harry was going to leave her before she could celebrate a year of knowing him. “ I understand if you don’t want to be with me anymore, someone like me.”

Y/N had opened up to Harry about her past traumas with her parents and forced religion before. They had spent late nights working through Y/N allowing herself to dress the way she wanted, try spicy foods, and other stuff that might have seemed silly to everyone else but was a big no-go for her growing up. So to hear this coming from his lovebug put the blues on not only his heart, but his soul that he wholeheartedly believed he shared with her- this came up in conversation often, being polar opposites but soulmates at the same time-.

“ Lovey? What do you mean by ‘ someone like you ’? There is nothing wrong with having sexual desires, we’ve talked about this.” But his words did little to penetrate the woman who was standing in front of him, starting her 7 stages of grief early.

“ No, I’m a whore. A dirty rotten slut, Harry doesn’t need this in his life.” She continues speaking the direct thoughts in her head.” He’s going to leave you, nobody wants someone like that, stupid, stupid, stupid.” Harry could see where this was going and grabbed the other of her arms, pulling her into his chest to try and soothe the impending panic attack.

“ Listen to my voice Lovey, listen to my heartbeat.” He’s just barely over a whisper while trying to console the now quiet but still hyperventilating lovebug. “ Listen to my breathing, can you try to match it? I am Harry, and I am not going to leave you.” At this, she finally starts to calm down completely. “ There is nothing wrong with having things you want to try, my love. I’ll even try them with you, yeah? Help ya’ explore them?”

“ You don’t think I’m gross?” She murmurs into the crease of his neck.

“ I don’t think you know what some of these mean but I don’t think you're gross.” He squeezes her tighter.

“ I don’t know what half of them mean,” Y/N’s small airy chuckles bring such relief to him that he too has to laugh a little.

“ Doesn’t mean I can’t explain them, or do them, or help you enjoy them.” Harry rasps into Y/N’s ear, knowing what got her going the fastest without even having to cross the line with her. And from his perspective, it was working. Her breathing was beginning to get heavy and her thighs were starting to squeeze. “ How about we go down some of it and cross off what you already have done, yeah? I’m meaning what we’ve done but I think you’ve got the gist of that.” She nods her head, and he lets it slide for right now, knowing they were going to have a talk on verbal communication.

He reaches down and grabs the blue spiral-bound book. Flipping it to the front of the page he was originally looking at. “ Okay let's start here, we have kissed.” He reaches for a pen on the nightstand. “ French kisses, okay those are off of the to-do list.” She turns her head to see the same thing he is.

“ We’ve cuddled, and you gave me a hickey,” she points to the lines to cross off. They go on the list for about 45 minutes, crossing things off and Harry explaining what some of them mean. Through his explanations, he could feel the material of her sleep shorts against his jeans start to move against him.

" Do you know what dry humping is?" Harry leaned into her ear to ask, the feel of his lips on the shell making her shiver.

“ I-Is it where you hump things while being d-dry?” She pushed her hips down a little harder, breaking the rhythm she had set.

“ It’s where you’d rub your cunt on something while having clothes on.” This was the first time he had used vulgar language on purpose while explaining it to her, and god did it light her on fire. “ This can include using a pillow to grid your clit on,” she pushed down hard again. “ Or on someone's cock,” she started to move faster. “ Or on someone's thigh, like you’re doing now.” As soon as the words left his mouth part of him wished he could gobble them back up, but they had already left and he was ready to deal with the consequences.

Almost as quick as her hips picked up the pace, they stopped. “ O-Oh, I’m sorry!” Harry could already feel the embarrassment radiating off her cheeks.

“ I didn’t say stop Y/N.” This made the woman in Harry’s lap pick up her head to question him but before she could speak Harry bounced his knee to bring a slight pressure back onto her clit, making her gasp.” Do you know what that was?” She started to grind her waist down again, all the while shaking her head no at the question.

“ Dry humping?” She squeaks out.

“ Well- yes. But I was referring to why,” his lips curled around her ear just right enough for her to limp her head down closer. “ Because your clitoris is getting pressure put on it, the nerve endings send shock waves that feel like the most pleasurable pain you can imagine.” And she can’t help but wordlessly agree.

Harry’s hands go to her hips to guide her through what is about to be her first orgasm ever, “ can you feel it, my love? The pressure starts to build up inside? Like a sink beginning to overflow, just begging for the water tension to break?” She moans a yes! and Harry can see the need for release in her eyes. “ Y/N, I want you to let go for me.”

“ O-Okay,” it comes out in a raspy grabbing tone that makes her own back arch. The feeling of letting the flood gates open and the orgasmic hold Harry still has on her hips become all she can think of.

Letting her come down Harry begins to speak, “ And that was your first orgasm lovebug. I’m so proud of you, you did so well f’me.”

“ Harry?” He hums for her to continue. “ Can we do more stuff like that? I like it.” Harry lets out a giggle and nods.

“ Of course lovebug, you have a whole list for us to go through.” Her head shoots up with worry. “ Not tonight though, in time.”

-----

Honestly don't know how I feel ab this, like I like the concept, and when I reread it I liked it but it is one of the first pieces I didn't have edited so.....

ALSO, don't be a stranger!! Leave in my inbox things you'd like them to do or see!! Inspo is one thing that helps writers keep going, and your feedback is a huge one to me!

{masterlist}{taglist}{carrd}

#harry x reader #harry styles x reader #famous!styles x reader #famous!styles #famous!styles AU #famous!harry #famous!harry x reader #THE LIST TAG #cherriesrae #harry styles reader #harry #styles #harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles one shots #harry styles fanfiction

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ante--meridiem · 1 month

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it's my first few days of using the zettelkasten and oh my gods. it is a gamechanger. the connections lead me to deeper understanding and making sure i have all the concepts i am learning about clear. and because i am learning computer science (sic...) there are so many connections? like i am reading on sth new and making a zettel and i am like "oh and that was also covered in [[another topic]] and its the same concept actually" and idk! excitng. it's really a good way to take notes when learning!

I guess one question about your previous post and the usage itself - can you elaborate more about how you use tags? I think what you described in your post differs from what the person from the "official" website mentioned?

!!!! yesss I have successfully spread the good word of zettelkasten (genuinely, very glad that it's helping you)

So on a basic level I'd say my tagging system isn't actually that complicated, I just tag things with topics they're relevant to in the same way I would on tumblr, but to elaborate on some of the things I said about tags in my previous answer -

The main thing is that tags have different levels of usefulness depending on their level of specificity. On one end of the specificity scale I have zettels tagged with a code for a specific article I've been using a lot for my thesis, which is useful for finding exactly what I need from that article reasonably quickly. On the other end of the scale, I have tags like "mathematics" which... are basically functionally folders once I decided to follow the website's advice that everything should be thrown in together and you shouldn't have actual folders because that's too rigid. (edit: thought to add, if you're wondering why not just stick to actual folders then if it's the same function: the difference is that with tags you can have overlaps in categories without one strictly fitting inside another). These are useless for searching because of how many results they'd bring up, but sometimes I want to keep track of how much of my zettelkasten is dedicated to a specific topic.

The other thing I mentioned using tags for is when there's a common theme emerging but I don't have enough to say about it to justify making it its own zettel and linking to that, so having zettels share the tag functions as its own form of "linking" since I can click on the tag to find other relevant zettels. In practice this type of tagging works the same as any other high-specificity tags, except the topic they all fit under is less obvious. I don't have that many of these because usually I do end up just making an actual zettel for the common theme but an example I could give is, I have a "structural-symmetry" tag where I don't feel the need to make a note defining what structural symmetry means but I do feel like collecting examples of it; if I get enough examples to have something to say on the topic beyond a basic definition I could end up making a zettel for it though.

I generally try to give each zettel tags of multiple levels of specificity because high specificity tags help me find it and group it with other worthwhile concepts, and making sure every zettel gets a low specificity tag helps me keep track of how the info I have in my zettelkasten divvies up. And medium specificity tags do a little of both.

#ask #ilokilok #emotional support zettelkasten

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skylarmoon71 · 10 months

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Leonardo (TMNT 2014-2016)- Chapter 2

He didn’t tell Vincent about the encounter, or his brothers. He wasn’t sure what to tell. That you had him right where you wanted him for the second time and you just walked away. That even though he knew he should have apprehended you and alerted the police, that some part of him was a bit relieved that you’d gotten away.

He was conflicted.

Patrols after that made him weary. Like he would see you at some point, and his feelings of uncertainty would return. He knew deep down that you weren’t a bad person. But his head wouldn’t let him justify the killings you were doing. Because it was wrong.

So he waited. At that same point every other day in hopes that he could see you again. He’d run there around the same time after. Just waiting. Staring at the sky and wondering what mayhem you were probably causing.

For months he kept it up, but there was no sign of you.

He was beginning to wonder if you’d gotten way over your head.

Then one day Donnie had asked that you all meet at April’s.

There was a set up much like in the lair just like Donnie’s. She was a reporter after all. This particular room was strictly for solving cases and stopping crime. All the while getting the main scope.

Donnie was busy clicking on the keys. Vincent stood with her arms crossed and when Leo saw your picture on the screen his eyes widened.

“That’s her!!”

He could never forget your face.

“I’ve been putting together a collective profile on her ever since that day. I generated an artificial facial recognition scan and compared it to the case we dealt with. The way she moved, I thought it might not have been the first time.” Donnie stuck a flash drive into the computer, and when the file popped up, they stared at the information. Or lack thereof.

“Why is it blank?” April asked.

“Because according to my search, this woman does not exist.” Leo was speechless.

“I aint like the sound of that. We all saw her. Ya saying she’s some type of ghost?” Raph looked annoyed.

“Not exactly.” Donnie continued swiping files. This time when your image appeared, it was in a crowded area. It wasn’t the only one either. A number of different images were present. All from different angles and cities. Possibly countries.

“This is a lot bigger than any of us realize. We thought she was just operating on a local scale. “ Donnie pulled a news article.

“June 25th, 2015.Tokyo Japan. The Yakuza organization responsible for the trafficking ring was demolished.” Donnie pulled a photo as he spoke. You were completely blended in with the other group.

“Look at the time stamp.” Donnie instructs.

They all lean closer.

“June 24th..She was there a day before it happened. “ Leo mumbles. Donnie nods.

“December 6th 2015, Sochi, Russia. Assassination attempt on a civil rights activist is disrupted by an unknown vigilante. “

“January 12th 2016, Bristol, United Kingdom. Supremacy group disbanded, responsible for over two dozen deaths.”

Each country that he crossed off was followed by an image of you in that location.

“She’s targeting crime on a global scale..” Vincent states. Donnie nods, leaning back in his chair.

“Whoever this is, she’s not just stopping crime. She’s completely eliminating it. She’s been doing this a lot longer than we even realized. Her prints are somehow untraceable. I have no idea how she’s traveling. It’s possible that her tech skills go beyond even what I am capable of. “ Even Donnie knew when he’d met his match.

“Whoever she is, catching her is near impossible. This woman is unstoppable. “ Donnie explained.

None of them knew how to process the information.

~~~

When their little group meeting ended, Leo was alone with his thoughts. He’d completely underestimated you. As he ventured to the building to clear his head, his eyes lifted at the figure standing in his spot.

He stopped, and you turned.

“Long time no see.”

You sound so casual. This time you don’t have your weapon drawn.

“Why do you do it?”

He doesn’t need to explain, you understand what he’s asking.

“For the same reason you do. “

“You don’t have to kill. You’re strong. Powerful. Strategic. We can stop people without the casualties.”

His eyes look almost like a cry for you to take his hand and join him.

You just smile.

“I’m not going to change my ideology just because you flash those baby blues.” Leo was disheartened at the statement.

“You stand for justice, so do I. We just have different views. I’ve seen the work that you have done, and you do make a difference. But your faith in others, especially the human race, that’s your biggest weakness. You protect and serve, just like the police. But you aren’t one of them. They will never see you as one of them.”

“I don’t want to be seen as anyone. I’m me.”

You respect that.

“You’re a unique case. A part of me really wishes that I could be like that.”

“You can!” You shake your head.

“That’s the difference between me and you. You’re hopeful and just. You’re the very definition of a hero. I’m a killer. And as long as there are people out there that take pleasure in causing pain to others, then I’ll be there to stop them. Permanently. “

Leo’s expression fell, and he watched as you moved closer to the ledge.

“Never lose that spark baby blue.”

It was a teasing nickname. But he couldn’t help but feel comforted by it. You leap right off the building, and Leo’s eyes followed.

He’d never stop trying.

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neurodivergent-uni-support-group · 1 year

Text

UK Learning Support Plan Part 2 – Disabled Students Allowance

(I'm sorry in advance for how long this ended up being, but hopefully that means it's as helpful as possible.)

I wrote the first part of this with general information about how UK universities can support disabled students back in September, when I’d just submitted my DSA form and was waiting to hear back from them. Quite a lot has happened since then, so it’s probably time to talk about my experience!

I’ve been accepted for DSA! What now?

Thankfully I didn’t need to get denied and reapply at any point – they just accepted my application first time! It was around a month’s wait time though, so better to apply sooner rather than later. The first thing they asked me to do was choose an assessment centre I wanted to go to for my assessment. There’s a webpage on the government website where you can write in your postcode and it comes up with all of the different options in your area. I had a few different companies to choose from both near where I live and on campus, so it’s whatever suits you best! And if you really hate the idea of doing an appointment face-to-face, there’s options for remote assessments.

Once you’ve picked who you want to conduct the appointment and when you want it to happen, you need to submit your letter from the DSA confirming eligibility and any medical evidence you had to submit initially. It’s also important that, if your assessment company hasn’t asked you already, you make a note of the specific types of technology you have (laptop, phone, home printer, etc.) and particularly how old they are.

The DSA Assessment

Despite being called an assessment, you don’t have to prove you’re disabled enough to get DSA or anything! The hard part’s over, this is now to assess what kind of support you need. The person who conducted my appointment was lovely and we ended up going slightly over the time we’d planned, so take that possibility into consideration when you’re figuring out your plan for the day.

In the appointment, there was a really long form on the computer, already mostly written. This is because we went through each section one-by-one with me talking about my experiences and needs and the assessor going through and deleting things that weren’t needed and adding extra details that were. It started off with talking about my course, how long I’d be studying, my disability - all basic information. Then we went through the options of things that could help in those specific areas, the assessor demonstrating various different software so I could choose which I thought would help the most and carried on.

It’s okay to feel slightly overwhelmed by it all! The assessor’s there to help and anything you feel afterwards you want to add or take away can be done so really easily! It’s all trial and error.

I will go through the different sections we looked at in my appointment in a minute, but once the main assessing was done, my assessor generated a list of the things we’d agreed would help me, expected costs of things that needed buying, and then general recommendations on how the university should be supporting me personally.

Once the report was generated, I was told that I’d probably get a draft report. Once I read through it and made sure it looked right, I approved it and it was officially submitted to the funding body!

What kind of things can DSA help with?

1. Research and reading

Pretty much does what it says on the tin, this was around how I processed information and utilised it in lessons and assessments. For me they recommended the text-to-voice programme ClaroRead. I have been using the mobile app @Voice for a few years now and it’s still excellent as a free option for text-to-voice, but with ClaroRead, I’ve been able to use it on my laptop, only read small sections of articles at a time, and also download full audio files of the article being read out.

They also recommended a subscription to an article summarising website, to make it easier for me to pick out only the most important parts of articles rather than just assuming everything was important and writing it down. The subscription I got was for Scholarcy which has been extremely helpful, but I have since also been using a free version of WordTune Read. They both do similar things, but the free version of the second one means that I can only use it on two article a month, and Scholarcy lets me put things in folders.

2. Writing and Reviewing Academic Work

This one kind of blends in with the last one, especially if you study in the School of English like I do. The only official recommendation they made here was ClaroRead again, since I could use it to review my own writing as well. However, I will quickly go through some of the options that were offered but I refused, as well as free ones I’d been using anyway.

I’ve got methods of planning that worked well enough for me already, so I didn’t need anything to help with that. But, there was a programme that came in the general Claro bundle I got called ClaroIdeas. It’s a mindmap programme and if you’ve currently got a free alternative that’s frustrating you slightly, it might be something useful to have a go with. I haven’t really used it though, so can’t speak too much on its behalf.

I’m pretty confident with punctuation, spelling and grammar so didn’t really need anything to help with that. However, one of the options they did offer was a paid subscription for Grammarly. If you’ve been on the internet at any point in the last five years, you’ve probably heard more about Grammarly than you’ve ever wanted to, so you don’t really need me explaining it. But if you have the free version and want to upgrade while you’re at uni, this is a pretty good way of doing it.

This is one I’ve been using for quite a while (though have had to bookmark everywhere because I do keep forgetting the name ironically) – One Look Thesaurus. I think I found it through tumblr initially but this thing’s amazing. If you can’t remember a word, you just type in whatever words you can to describe it, and with luck it turns up on the list! I use it for everything, from essays to emails to normal conversations.

Another one I was using already, though this one was actually recommended to me as well – Zotero. This is a free referencing programme, where you put details of anything you read in a database and, when the time comes to reference them, you have them on hand! You can put things in folders, have group folders with other people for group projects, and tag items with keywords so you can find them easily again.

3. Note-taking in lectures and seminars

This was the big one for me. Since I struggle with figuring out on the spot what’s important enough to take notes on and what isn’t as important, I needed a way of recording sessions so I could go back to them easily. Some universities are supposed to offer this universally through lecture capture technology – my university is supposed to offer it but argues that it only records lectures and all of mine are seminars so it doesn’t count.

There were a few different options suggested to me for doing this and your individual circumstances will help you decide whether you want something that plugs into your computer, something connected to your phone or something else. I was worried about battery life and prefer to hand write, so in the end we went for a Livescribe pen. This is a smart pen that records your handwriting, records audio around you and pairs them together, so you can click on a specific part of your notes and get the audio that was happening as you were writing. Because I’m only studying for a year, I received a bundle which included the pen, four A4 notebooks and a pack of refills, a bundle which has been more than enough to cover me for the whole year. If you’re doing it longer I believe you can get top-ups each year, but if you want to continue using it outside of university, it’s not overly expensive to get notebooks and ink independently.

4. Managing time and organising work

This is partly a day-to-day thing. I was recommended a few apps and programmes for this with varying success. One task manager they recommended to me was Global Tasks, which comes as a mobile app and a website. I’ll be honest, I don’t think I’ve used this one since I first got training for it. It’s meant to make things easier when you’re overwhelmed with different things that need doing and want to prioritise some over others, but it’s a bit bulky and there aren’t any widgets for it, so I just forget to use it. If you think that’s something that may be useful for you though, feel free to look into it more! Other people may have had more success with it than I.

One thing that I do use a bit more that was recommended is Brain in Hand. While this also lets you put down tasks, it’s a lot more catered to emotional struggles and executive functioning. It’s also both an app and a website, and annoyingly you can only change the diary on the website, but it’s the other functions that really make it shine. Once you have the app on your phone, it can send you pop-ups regularly throughout the day asking how you’re feeling out of green, amber and red. You can adjust this to appear at whatever rate helps you best (I currently get one every two hours from 9am to Midnight) and if you hit red or if you press three ambers in a row (that part can be turned off), it will contact a 24/7 response service who will text or phone you (whichever you prefer) to check that you’re alright. You also get a mentor who meets with you regularly throughout your time using the service, so they can help you adjust your problem solution packs, be there with you when you test the emergency service to see if it works, or just generally help with whatever you’re struggling with! I’ve personally found it particularly helpful to meet with my mentor once a month, since then it gives me a deadline to be regularly updating the app.

On the less helpful side of things, my assessor also recommended I get 30 hours with a specialist mentor to go through time management techniques. That would’ve been great, but the uni didn’t have room for me and there was a long process to get a private company to mentor me, so I kind of just gave up on that end. If that’s something that would really help you though, push for it!

5. Access to and use of technology

This is probably one more for people with mobility-related disabilities, but it was still really useful to go through! If you end up with new computer programmes you’re being recommended, chances are this is where they will recommend time with an Assistive Technology Trainer, who will take you through all of the software and help with anything you’re struggling with. They may also recommend a Microsoft 360 subscription, but those are usually provided by the university anyway.

The main thing I received through here is a laptop. This goes back to the point about making notes of what technology you have and its age in advance, but my laptop at the time wasn’t powerful enough to run the programmes that were being recommended. I was recommended a laptop, but the caveat here was that I had to pay the first £200 for it and if I wanted a laptop that was more powerful than the one I was being recommended, I would also have to pay the difference. If you would struggle financially to cover £200 for one, there is a chance the university might be able to help with that part, but I just wanted to get everything before December so was happy to pay. There was a specific website I had to order this through and it gave me the option of a windows laptop or a macbook, as well as a bag or case to come with it. The company I had to go through also put all of the programmes on there before sending it, so I didn’t have to deal with all of the installation.

6. Placements, field trips, examinations and timed assessments

This was two separate sections in my assessment, but since I don’t have any of these things on my course, we mostly just deleted everything and carried on. But it’s important to note that there are things in place to help with all of these!

7. Social interaction and communication

This section was mainly about how I interact with people around me, especially in lectures and seminars. We also talked a bit about presentations, since there was at least one I was aware of that I would be assessed on. For presentations, I was recommended Present Pal. This is a mobile app and can be used as an add-in on Microsoft Powerpoint and Google Slides. Admittedly, when I tried to do this on Google Slides it wasn’t very successful, so I sort of gave up trying to connect it to the presentation, but it still works without being specifically connected! You can create flashcards to go through on your phone throughout the presentation and add a timer so you know whether you need to speed up or slow down at any point.

In addition to this, we talked about Brain in Hand again, since it helps you prepare for things you’re worried might go wrong and how to deal with them if they happen.

8. Travel and access to higher education environment

Again, this was aimed more at physical disabilities and potential issues with mobility, though immunocompromised people may also be helped in this section. I live at home and get the train in, but when I have a routine and get blast music through my headphones, it’s pretty alright. So, beyond talking about adding any potential anxiety around travel to Brain in Hand, there wasn’t a huge amount to talk about here.

One thing my assessor did say is that if it got to the point where train travel was too overwhelming and I couldn’t get into uni that way anymore, there may be opportunity for DSA to fund taxis to get to uni. There probably would’ve been stipulations around this, but that may be useful for some people.

What comes after the assessment?

As I said, once I’d confirmed the report looked good, it was sent off to the official funding body. They approved it after three weeks and sent me instructions on how to put all of the support in place. There were a few different companies I needed to contact for this and it was all online, so if you think executing dysfunction is going to get in the way of that, please get a friend or family member to nag you to do it or go through it with you!

If you’re just receiving software, it should be fairly quick to receive everything. I just needed to download the mobile apps from the store and wait to receive the login info to use.

If you need some kind of mentoring, they may be fairly quick to book up, so it’s probably best to do this sooner rather than later.

If you’re getting physical supports items, naturally these will take longer so any software that comes with these physical items will too.

And it’s probably best to wait until you have received all of your items to start an Assistive Technology training.

I think all in all it took about a month for everything to arrive for me, but that will probably vary depending on your specific recommendations and circumstances. So yeah, hopefully this helps with anyone wanting to go through the DSA process! If there’s anything else anyone wants to ask about or something that needs clarifying, just let me know!

#starting university #actually autistic #actually neurodivergent #university #university life #disabled students allowance

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eerilyiridescent · 3 months

Text

yesterday my coworker informed me that the average attention span of gen z lasts about 8 seconds now, 4 seconds less than that of millenials. this wasn't that surprising to me, though. I've been really self-conscious of my phone usage lately, especially now that I've been constantly observing how bad it is for the general public

I'm not gonna magically heal this, but I know I'm guilty of seeking instant gratification via social media.

I've done this several times over the course of the last few years, but a couple days ago, I decided to delete most social media off of my phone. I realized every time I do this that I don't actively seek out using instagram. I do, however, impulsively tap the icon when it's on my home screen. that being said, I'm not entirely restricting my access to it. If I wanted to, I can go on my computer to do so. thing is, if I'm at my computer, I don't want to just scroll through social media for long. it feels almost wrong to do so, it isn't as "easy" or intuitive as swiping your thumb up and down.

before I deleted some apps, I tried simply monitoring the time I spend on them. I'd think, "okay, I've got time to kill doing nothing. let's look at what's going on for like 10 minutes!" but it's never just 10 minutes.

in this Business Insider article, researcher Lazaros Gonidis from the University of Kent's School of Psychology explains the obvious: "If someone is playing football for an hour every week, Gonidis said, their brain gets pretty good at estimating that duration and will send signals to indicate tiredness and that the game is finishing soon. With TikTok, people rarely put those kinds of boundaries in place. When they first start using the app, they may watch five videos. But over time, those five videos will no longer be enough to get the same dopamine hit."

I read that and thought "yeah, sure. that makes sense, but why can I set that boundary when I'm doing literally anything else??" although I still easily lose track, I'm somewhat mindful (albeit significantly more than when I'm on social media) of the time passing when I'm watching tv, painting, journaling or anything else.

AND with that said! I will always feel a hundred times more satisfied with my day if I engage in my pastimes to pass time. scrolling through my phone is not and should not be a pastime, but it has definitely become one. a very popular and expected one. and it makes me feel terrible about a lot of things.

#ramble

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manonamora-if · 1 year

Text

A tradition with the French Comp is to interview the winner of every edition. Since I won Best Game, I got to partake in this tradition, and answer a bunch of fun questions about my entry and my creation process.

The interview is now available on the French IF community website:

Since it is in French, here is the translation, under the cut. Spoilers ahead. Note: the French article was over 2k words...

Interview with manonamora, winner of the contest 2023

This year, manonamora won the competition, with her entry, DOL-OS. We spoke with her to learn more about her creative process and her future projects!

Can you introduce yourself in a few words? How did you discover interactive fiction?

My name is Manon, a netizen under the pseudo manonamora for years.

I fell into the "cauldron" of interactive fiction in the spring of 2021, when a close friend had sent me the link to the game A Tale of Crowns. I liked this type of game, and it made me rediscover the pleasure of writing, so I stayed. It’s really nice in this pot, we’re having fun!

People appreciated the different levels of depth of your participation and the care taken at the interface, in particular. How long did it take you to design it?

It was a bit of a sprint… 😅

I think I started scribbling my ideas on pages about a month before the entry deadline.

I wanted to try to incorporate both themes (archives and trahison) into the game, just for fun. So I took the easiest path and went on to create an archive of different documents, all linked by the theme of betrayal. Of my list of documents that I wanted to include, I was only able to include half at the end (the other remained in draft, due to lack of time).

The idea of using a computer as a framework and interface for the game came up fairly quickly and organically, since the archive alone was not enough, to my liking. This led to the possibility of adding puzzles (something I didn’t necessarily do in my other games) that I could also link to the theme (like the hangman’s solution or opening Théophile’s account) and creating animated and pixelated visuals (like a fake virus downloaded). I even made a list of puzzles and minigames to add so that the computer looks like a real computer (that’s why there is a sudoku in the "games" folder, or the keypad to open one of the programs).

From there, I thought I would just do two blocks of archives: one on the guest’s account, where some of the documents would look corrupt, and another on Theophilus' account, where those missing documents would be. But by writing certain documents, such as the note in the trash and the journal entries (which were not separated from the archive initially), I had fun looking for the links between all the different parts and thinking more about the universe in which this old computer was. That’s how the Jupiter-Broker project became an artificial intelligence project, more than a virus.

What are the things that inspired you?

Other than a title I had written down in my drafts, I’m not sure which source inspired me to choose this genre or framework or use of the theme in this way. I’ve been a big fan of science fiction for as long as I can remember (I had swallowed Asimov in middle school/junior high… and now I’m stuck with the anthologies of short stories) and video games in general (especially the history and universe of these games). Everything that has to do with robots, the advancement of technology, futuristic stories, and human dilemmas that have to do with these first points, I’m passionate about it! I wouldn’t be surprised if, somewhere in my brain, I could pick up stuff from Portal or System Shock or Fallout or Asimov’s Robot Cycle, or even WALL-E and Alien, without really realizing it.

In my notes, the only concrete thing I could find was one of the entries of the Intertact-IF 2022 game jam: Logical Choices, especially in terms of its simplicity, and, finally, the newspaper too.

For the visual, I wanted from the start to have something simple, with the look of old computer in black and green, like my grandmother’s minitel. I really tried to search for minitel page images (I even found a page editor!). On the other hand, trying to code everything, it didn’t really go well with Twine, especially the animation of the blocks that appear one after the other. I was quickly tempted to create the game in minitel pages, but well, I only had 2 weeks left… It was a bit short to learn a new system. So I just took pictures of old computer screens.

Are there any secrets the players might have missed?

There are several little secrets in the game.

The first category concerns the names in the game: the title, «DOL-OS», is based on the Greek deity of the same name, Dolos, personifying treachery (and bam, the theme of the contest; and it sounded good as operating system name). The AI is named Janus, the deity with two faces. The program of Theodore’s diary, in which he was summoned by his organization to write his days, is named «Ind.ic», coming from the French word indic, a person who informs the police.

Something a little more fuzzy can be found in the writer’s draft, which is related to one of my other games, Exquisite Cadaver, where the player plays this writer, who has not been able to write for months. This is not the first time I have included a link to this game in my projects, like the "cocktail" Renaud’s Nightmare in The Thick Table Tavern.

Where do you get your ideas, generally speaking?

A bit everywhere. Sometimes, it comes organically enough looking at the theme or the constraints of a game jam (La Petite Mort, Goncharov Escapes!). Sometimes, it’s just the desire to push a kind of puzzle or a type of gameplay into a project (Exquisite Cadaver, well it was also the theme). Sometimes it’s typing “trope [genre]” in Google and taking the first thing that comes out (SPS Iron Hammer). Otherwise I have some ideas that have been inspired by books (P-RIX – SPACE TRUCKER, by Stanisław Lem’s Tales of Pirx the Pilot) or films (Meeting the Parents, inspired by Meet the Parents). Other projects or ideas for future projects are inspired by books on my nightstand, or conversations with loved ones, or even just random thoughts that come and go.

I’m not trying too hard to think. If it doesn’t inspire me or amuse me, I’ll move on. Creating interactive fiction is all about fun. And I already have a super long list of ideas I want to do…

You only use Twine. Is there a particular reason? Do you intend to try other creative systems in the future? Maybe some of the other entries gave you some ideas?

For the moment, yes. Twine remains my favourite, having been the first program I hooked up with when I started creating interactive games. The software was easy to navigate and rather playful to use (Harlowe has extra help to code in the program) and the program is open source. It was really important for me, who didn’t have any code or programming knowledge that went any further than that techno hour to the colleague where a substitute had taught us to create a basic HTML page. With Twine, it stuck from the start.

And then, personally, I love that the customisation aspect can be pushed as much. You can do hypertext or multi-choice games, dungeons, RPGs, etc. I created a cocktail bar for my participation in the IFComp last year, and there I did a puzzle. I have a friend who has recreated Minesweeper and another who has made Snake with his sauce. Almost anything is possible with Twine!

When I get tired of Twine, I think I’ll try other systems, especially those to create parsers (because making one with Twine is a bit of a mess… /did and done that). And then also test programs made in France. Already during the ECTOCOMP and the Feldo streams of the games of the old competitions, Donjon had intrigued me a lot. And also ink, to make stories that extend to infinity (it takes too much tinkering with Twine for it to work...).

But my Twine fling isn’t over yet. I’ve only been playing with the interface since last summer, and I don’t feel like I’ve discovered the bottom of the iceberg yet. There are still a lot of things I haven’t tested yet, whether it’s in different formats or gameplay. I would like to do some kind of escape room or RPG in the future. I still want to push the envelope a little further…

You participated in the IFComp (the largest English-language event) before participating in our contest. Are there any differences that particularly struck you between the two?

By missing the inclusion of a theme (which the IFComp does not), I think the biggest difference between the two contests is the attitude of the participants and the players. The atmosphere of the French competition is really relaxed and I noticed a lot of support in the Discord. Or even have a person stream all the games on Twitch (it’s very convenient for me who is a loser in parsers…). It’s really positive!

On the other side, there is the IFComp which is really considered the event of the year, where the authors exhibit their best creations, without any real constraints, some having been in development secretly for years. The atmosphere is more professional and harsh towards its participants. There is really a lot of expectation from the entire interactive fiction community. It’s supposed to be the crème of the crop in interactive fiction.

After that, even if the atmosphere of the French-language competition is more chill, I found the level of entries much more uniform in terms of quality. While the IFComp will often have very poor or even zero entries (the bottom of the ranking having an average of below 2.5 out of 10), the overall French competition had a very high level (a sentiment shared by one of the critics on intfiction.org). The attention to each game had a lot of merit, especially as regards writing.

Another thing that struck me as well was the diversity between the systems and formats used—it is possible that the competition, having three times fewer bids than the IFComp, may have influenced my perspective on the subject. But between the French programs (Moiki, and Donjon), the more popular ones (Twine, Inform, ink), or even made from scratch (like the participations of AZ and Narkhos), there were many choices and important differences between uses. It was a fascinating experience that really made me want to try something new.

Finally, I had a very different attitude towards the two competitions. After taking a little slap during the IFComp (arriving in the middle of the stack and having received fair but also severe feedback, read more here), the expectation I had with myself with the contest was less trying to get to a certain position in the standings, but no more fun creating something different. It was much easier to look a little more… healthy competition, with all the lessons learned during the IFComp and new knowledge and experiences between the two competitions.

And on top of that, you regularly participate in game jams like ECTOCOMP or Partim 500, you co-organize the SeedComp! , and you’re going to participate in the Spring Thing. Is there a secret to such productivity?

Delusion that all this is doable in the allotted time. Free time. And spite. But especially the first point. 😂

(this was the gif that came into my mind when I wrote my answer, not part of the actual interview)

Frankly, I’m not helping my cause either. As soon as I find a project that is a bit interesting, I can get all in on it quite quickly and put all my energy and free time into it. It’s not recommended, actually. Even if all these participations taught me a lot of things (and especially to learn quickly), it tires a lot in the end... I am often emptied at the end of each new jam/comp.

It’s probably a little psychological, too. The will to create a lot to leave a trace behind me, a trace that will represent everything I could accomplish, everything I could be able to do or try to do. The desire to prove to others and especially to myself that I can create stuff that I as a child could not have imagined; especially since before 2021, I really didn’t have any programming knowledge… Willingness, or perhaps duty, to prove that I can solve a challenge in a short time (for example: in 4 hours for ECTOCOMP, or two quiet afternoons for Partim 500), or with significant constraints (One-Button and Two-Buttons jams), or just because there’s a piece of spaghetti code that taunts me about unravelling it.

Anyway...

Do you have other projects underway or coming soon? Perhaps you plan to participate in the contest next year?

Of what happens soon, hopefully, The Roads not Taken, a parser made with Twine, will be finished in time for the Spring Thing. I really want to talk about it, but at the same time, it’s more fun if it’s still a little secret… [note: it is now out!]

Otherwise… Too many projects in progress. Between the demos not yet completed, the translations of my old games finished, the organization of game jams (SeedComp! will not be the only one this year…), and the hope of participating in the next IF competitions, I have given myself a lot of work (too much) to do.

Ha ha ha…

Thank you for answering these questions! Congratulations again, good luck and don’t forget to take care of yourself!

#dol-os #dol os #dolos #interview #winning game #competition game

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man-in-crisis999 · 3 months

Text

Questioning Friendship (Full Article)

FRIENDSHIP IN MIDLIFE?

I’ve started to think about the term ‘friendship’. If you are a man circumferencing middle age in the UK what does friendship actually mean to you? Men and women approach friendship in different ways, us men have misunderstood what friendship actually means.

Remembering back to my teenage years I had much closer friends. Before the times of regular pub dwelling, friends and I would meet often, play football, talk about girls, music, movies, computer games, fashion, popularity, sex and other limitless conversation topics. The conversation would inevitably lead to prospective talks on losing one's virginity to girls that were far beyond our attraction remit. Our bonds were much stronger in youth, we still teased each other and laughed at each other's shortcomings but that wasn’t the foundation of our friendships. If any of my friends were in trouble I would always have their back and defend them, in return they would have mine.

My experience in adulthood has been somewhat different. When alcohol and pubs entered the fray my male friendships started to change and deteriorate. No longer did we go to the movies or have outdoor excursions together, we didn’t camp or go fishing, we didn’t paddleboard or holiday together. Instead we developed a weekly meeting in the pub. These weekly public house meetings quickly grew into an array of group slander banter for a cheap laugh over a booze up. General conversation had left the building. And I was taking part and not really noticing how my friendships were changing.

I have always been quite a deep thinker which probably arises from the music, art and movies I am influenced by. As I matured as a man I began to understand the shallowness of the weekly pub meet. This meet was simply an excuse to go out and drink alcohol, to get away from the missus and enjoy that ‘Male Banter’. Now don’t misunderstand me, I like a good laugh just as much as the next person but at some point the banter (I detest this word) has to stop. Our relationships became less about friendship and more about convenience. We never phoned each other, we never met up for coffee or a chat, we never spoke much outside of the pub. I looked at my friends and eventually could only see empty people. I had absolutely no connection with them whatsoever, I didn’t even like them anymore.

It was only when I met my ex-partner did I start to enjoy another person's company again. We developed that bond that I was so desperate for. Subsequently we met other couples, shared dinners and house parties. We’d host Eurovision nights, family evenings and talk with our new friends about almost everything. I was happy. I firmly believe that happiness comes from good relationships with others. We are not designed to be alone. Which is why I felt so alone in my 20’s even though I had many many so called ‘friends’.

Inevitably in modern day society my romantic relationship faltered and my partner and I separated. The friends that we had made together I had to let go of. I tried to stay in touch with them but it phased out and I was back to the weekly pub meetup. This time it was even worse and I could hardly even stand listening to the crap they came out with. They would try the banter and teasing with me but I’d lost the capacity for it and just laughed it off whilst swallowing the vomit from my stomach. Why was I here again with these people? I had nothing else.

At this point I was approaching my 40th birthday. I had no real friends, no children and no partner. I was at a low point. I could see why so many men struggle after relationship breakdowns. Sometimes we are literally left with nothing. I am sure this is a huge contributing factor for the rise in male suicides we see across the country because I have been there, and have had thoughts about that at the time. I had lost my partner who I’d built my life around, lost all the friends we had together, lost the family bonds we had built. I was living alone. The weekly pub meet was never going to be enough for me and I quickly stopped and phased out those people from my life. I had to rebuild everything. During this time I had to be very strong and rely on my immediate family for support. For that I am so grateful.

As a middle aged man, making new male friends is extremely difficult. People usually, by this age, have made their family and friends and are comfortable in the life they have.

Fortunately I have found good friendships and have made one or two close friends. Those friendships are real and we regularly meet up for all sorts of different activities. The new friends I have now have all felt the way I was feeling after their own separation or divorce; completely alone. We now realise our mistake of not having built our own foundations/friendships to rely on. We understand what friendship is and how important it is. What we have to realise is that us men; are extremely vulnerable to loneliness. Imagine a man in his 50’s. He’s going through a divorce and has two children with his wife. His wife gains majority custody of the children and the man has to move out of the family home. He has to move somewhere new entirely. His life has been literally ripped from underneath his feet. He has to start again from scratch in his 50’s. His wife would usually keep the friends she has and the ones thay have made together and the man is left with absolutely nothing. How do you think he feels in his new life? Where are HIS friends? These are the building blocks of depression leading to suicide and men need to start supporting each other and being there for one and other like we did in our youth.

#midlife crisis #malehealth #mental health #men #my writing

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