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electronickingdomfox · 5 months

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"The New Voyages 2" review

Another collection of short stories submitted by fans, similar to the first volume (which I reviewed here). This one was published in 1978, and was also edited by Marshak and Culbreath. More uneven than the first volume, but there are still some solid tales in here. It would have been better if Marshak and Culbreath had chosen other stories (ANY stories) to replace the ones written by themselves. But I guess that's the privilege of being the editors...

Some spoilers under the cut:

Surprise! (by Nichelle Nichols, Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath). Nichelle is credited as one of the authors, though judging by the info in the introduction, as well as the unmistakable style, I'd guess that most of it was written by the dreaded couple, while Nichols just provided the general idea and the ending. It's Kirk's birthday, and Uhura, together with the rest of the crew, try hard to keep the party a surprise, while Kirk gets more and more annoyed in the process. The story drags too much, since the plot doesn't really have all that meat to begin with. And everyone behaves weirdly out-of-character, supposedly because it's a comedic story. I found the whole thing more silly than funny, to be honest.

Snake Pit! (by Connie Faddis) is much better. Chapel and Kirk are abducted by an alien tribe who has recently turned hostile, and ceased commerce with a nearby scientific station. The tribe has also started to kill people in sadistic rituals involving snakes. Kirk is tortured in truly Kirk-style, and put naked inside a pit full of snakes, that bite him. He'll die if he isn't given an antidote soon. Then Chapel offers the natives a bet: if she can rescue Kirk from the pit without being bitten once, they'll have to release both of them. If she fails, well... you get the idea. So Chapel jumps also naked into the pit, armed just with a knife, and battles the snakes in glorious cavewoman fashion. There's action and tension, and the opportunity to see Chapel's most badass side.

The Patient Parasites (by Russell Bates). This author wrote the TAS episode "How Sharper than a Serpent's Tooth", and this story is actually the script for another TAS episode, which got rejected. Thus, it's presented in TV script form, not as a narrative. Some crewmembers are captured by a strange machine, whose mission is to retrieve knowledge from any species out there, and bring it to its masters. Kirk and co. must find a way to weaken the machine's force field and rescue the crew, before their allotted time expires. It ends with Kirk making the machine self-destruct through the power of logic. Pretty "meh!" and generic argument. It's no surprise it was rejected as an episode, given the static scenery and lack of action.

In the Maze (by Jennifer Guttridge) turned out to be my favorite story. This is the same author of the also great "The Winged Dreamers", in the first collection. Kirk, Spock and McCoy are investigating a strange cube building, which doesn't fit that planet's culture, when Kirk disappears through a portal. Spock and McCoy follow him, but end up in a total different place of the maze. Kirk is being held in a cage by a disgusting alien, with whom he's unable to communicate, while Spock and McCoy must brave the maze and several dangers to rescue him. All part of an intelligence test by the alien. Spock and McCoy suffer a lot (specially McCoy) and embrace a lot. And they even have to fight a tentacle monster, similar to that one in the lake before Moria (from "Lord of the Rings"). It's dark, it bears a resemblance to "The Empath", and it would have made for a great episode of the series.

Cave-In (by Jane Peyton) is a strange "free texture" poem, so it's up to interpretation, and it's not entirely clear what's going on. The dialogue seems to happen between Spock and McCoy while they're trapped inside a cave, and McCoy is prodding the Vulcan about his mixed heritage. Not much to comment. I don't get this stuff.

Marginal Existence (also by Connie Faddis) has the crew investigating an eerie planet, where all the inhabitants have been placed in "sleeper chambers" and pumped up with drugs. Most of them have been dead for centuries, anyway. It all turns very sinister once automated robots, which respond to the sound of voices, start putting crewmembers inside the chambers, and piercing them with needles and tubes filled with drugs, which causes them great pain. As it's discovered later, this hedonistic society chose to live permanently under the effect of drugs, but it all backfired once the pleasure turned into pain. Poor McCoy also suffers a lot in this one, this time from too painful pleasure. Yeah. It's an interesting, a bit macabre story.

The Procrustean Petard (by Sondra Marshak and Myrna Culbreath). This one gave me actual brain damage. The awkward prose is mostly gone, at least, and replaced with supposedly witty banter (it isn't), and repetitions of the same bad pun that gives the story its title. It also takes a similar plot as "Turnabout Intruder", but turning the misogyny up to eleven. Let me explain. In the TOS episode, Lester can't be a starship captain because a law (described as "unfair") doesn't allow women to be captains. However, Lester doesn't become any better once she gets Kirk's body. She's just as deranged and tyrannical as before, no matter that she has now Kirk's muscles and hormones; that doesn't make her a better leader. And similarly, Kirk doesn't become a hysterical crybaby simply because he's now in a female body. In the end, what counts is the attitude, what is inside, and not the body in particular. This is completely subverted in this story. The Enterprise approaches a planet, which has the stupid quality of luring spaceships just to reverse the sex of everyone on-board, whether they want it or not (the point being what??). As soon as Kirk is turned into a female (not just any female; he's the same James Kirk, just with one chromosome changed), he becomes the most useless being in the universe. Nobody believes him capable of being a leader anymore, and the story proves this point time and time again. He faints in the bridge just because the ship is shaking a bit. He can't go alone anywhere. He distracts all men because he's too beautiful now. Starfleet wants to take away his command and give him a desk job. He can't even drive a shuttlecraft anymore because "oh! the controls are too big". This is a world where aliens of all shapes and sizes are accepted, but it seems that human females are still the most pathetic things in existence... Is Spock also turned into a woman? Hell no. The authors are Spock supremacists, so they spare him that indignity. Instead, the planet gives Spock an extra Y chromosome (because it does that to the strongest male on-board, of course) and this turns Spock into a super-macho, and an insufferable asshole. At once, he stops calling Kirk "Captain", since he's no longer worthy of the rank. Needless to say, everyone reverts back to their usual selves at the end, save Spock. Because super-macho Spock = good. There's also an appearance of the Klingon Kang (from "Day of the Dove"), which has lost his whole crew because they're all now useless women. No matter that in the series, Kang was married to a very capable female Science Officer... Sigh. The only one who remains more or less the same is McCoy, who doesn't see so much difference, save the purely biological, in being a woman. But I think I know what's the logic behind this. As McCoy is the most emotional of the triumvirate, the authors probably saw him as "less of a man" to begin with. Or, in their own rhetoric, as a "beta male".

The Sleeping God (by Jesco von Puttkamer). This author is an interesting case, since he's a NASA scientist, who later would help with technical details for TMP. (He's also, by his own admittance, one of the victims of Shatner's "habit of kissing men on the mouth"). This story is a bit longer than the others, and separated by chapters. A massive super-computer intelligence, called the Nagha, has conquered her own universe after millions of years, destroying every living being in her strive to become the only, supreme intelligence that exists. She's a malevolent counterpart to V'ger, even referenced as a "child" too. Which is curious since TMP wouldn't be released until 1979. Unless it's purely coincidental, it could be that Jesco knew something about the movie script beforehand, and took inspiration from it. Or it was Roddenberry who was inspired by this story instead. Anyway, the Nagha has found out how to invade the normal universe too, and is destroying planets. So Starfleet decides to wake up their ultimate weapon: a mutant with extraordinary mental powers, put in a sleeping chamber years ago. Of course, it's the Enterprise's task to carry the sleeping god and confront the Nagha. But it soon becomes apparent that the mental powers of the mutant are interfering with the crew. The plot isn't terribly original, but it's well-written and keeps the interest. A bit heavy on the technical details (as expected, given the author's background), but not to the point of being boring. McCoy keeps bitching about all the bullshit that's going on, which is fun.

After this come two short poems (Elegy for Charlie, by Antonia Vallario, and Soliloquy by Marguerite B. Thompson). I can't comment much on them, since poetry isn't my thing, sorry.

Spirk Meter: 9/10*. Not evenly distributed, but very much there.

Surprise! has Spock offering to tuck Kirk in bed, and after Kirk accepts, he becomes flustered. Spock also carries him in his arms for a minor injury (though there's a reason for it, since he's preventing him to enter the room with the surprise party). Both of them also share a chess room between their two bathrooms, and it's obvious they're going into there after taking a shower or such.

The Sleeping God has Kirk finding a naked Spock tied to a lab table, immediately running to him, and then being stripped himself and put on another table next to him. Spock keeps calling him "Jim" all the time, even when discussing mission details. Before the whole complex self-destructs, Kirk's last thoughts are for Spock to be safe.

And Soliloquy, a first-person poem about Spock, ends with the bold words: "I love you, Captain, written on my heart". Maybe I should give this book a higher score based in this line alone, but the poem is such a little thing in the scope of the book, that I don't know...

Spones also deserves an honorary mention. Cave-In has Spock and McCoy trapped in a cave and McCoy is really hot ("Hotter than you know"). Presumably because of the stuffy air inside the cave, but this is during an intense banter between both and... well, you get the idea. In the Maze has lots of love between the two, as they're both badly injured and keep comforting and healing each other. So yeah, it's like one of those episodes.

And Kirk is a bit touchy-feely with McCoy in The Patient Parasites.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

#star trek tos #star trek #spirk #k/s #novel review #star trek novels #spones

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rainbowsky · 5 months

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Hi RBS,

Hope you are doind good !

I saw a lot of discussion on the bird app about the editor on the boat being a creep with WYB.

He looked really comfortable and happy to me. I have not seen him smile so much at an event in recent times…

So, wanted to know if I am reading the situation wrong ..

Hi Choko! I'm doing well, thanks - hope you are too! 💛.

Rocco Liu was not weird in any way with DD. They have known each other for years, and seem to have a normal relationship. DD does not look even remotely ill at ease, so if people think that he was being a creeper, then it only follows that DD was okay with it. Is that what people are trying to put out into the world? 🤔

One thing that I find frustrating about the fandom is that there seem to be quite a few people who try to look for something negative or melodramatic in everything that happens.

This is especially true when it comes to DD. People are constantly trying to make it out like he's crying or sad or unhappy or angry or even hostile or 'rude'. It seems like some people do not know how to read his demeanor at all.

There was a hot search on Weibo during that boat ride, something like "GQ awkward boat ride" or something along those lines. I think it's understandable that people found the boat ride a little bit awkward. I think the whole boat concept in general was awkward, not just with DD but all of the stars. But at least all of the other stars only took a minute or two to get across the water. They seemed to intentionally drag the final boat ride out and it ended up two or three times as long as the rest of them.

EDIT: If you're wondering why there was some tension at times, here's what their view was from the boat:

Awkwardness is one thing. I think anyone with a million spotlights on them taking a weird boat ride that was two or three times longer than necessary could be forgiven for appearing to look forward to the thing being over. 😅😅😅 But to start trying to create all these other kinds of melodramas around it... it doesn't serve any useful purpose besides pointless negative gossip.

During the boat ride both of them looked like I think you or I would have looked; at moments relaxed and laughing, and at moments feeling a little bit 'deer in the headlights'. But toward each other they seemed overall pretty at ease.

In fact DD looked more relaxed than he would have with a lot of other people. He didn't behave in a formal way at all, and I think we all know how formal he can be with people he's uncomfortable with.

Rocco is rumored to be gay, which makes sense because he reads to me as a very queer guy. He reminds me so much of certain kinds of queer guys I've been close with. Sort of a Nie Huiasang meets Jesse Tyler Ferguson, if I can put it that way. 😅

Gay or not, he seems like the kind of guy I think DD would be comfortable around at times, and other times vaguely annoyed by, just given Rocco's social exuberance and how different it is from DD's quiet, calm personality. But every time I've seen him and DD together they've looked mostly relaxed - even in the clips where people are claiming DD looks uncomfortable - and Rocco has behaved respectfully and professionally toward him.

And I have to say it because it really stands out in this situation: I hope to hell this 'creeper' take isn't motivated by homophobia. There are a lot of people who assume the worst of any overtly queer person, or assume that all homosexuals are always on the prowl.

It's one thing to read a relative stranger weirdly, though, it's another thing entirely to read DD in negative ways.

This type of thing is really nothing new. Every time DD appears in public my inbox fills with claims DD looked sad, or lonely, or upset, or uncomfortable, or even angry or rude. This is one of the hazards of being a pretty calm guy like DD is.

I know this all too well as an autistic person who doesn't have a lot the kinds of facial expressions I'm apparently expected to have. My face is almost always pretty neutral.

Throughout my life I've had to deal with people thinking I'm mad at them, upset, unhappy, sad, and on and on and on. I've had people come to me with entire stories in their head about what I'm thinking and feeling, and why - stories they've cooked up around their own insecurities and expectations, which are totally inaccurate.

And it's always struck me as odd that people would think such things. I don't hide my feelings. I'm pretty direct and forthright, and I don't deal in hints or subtext or try to lead people down a psychological path or play mind games. I don't have any time or patience for that kind of thing - not from either side of the situation.

DD is the same way. He doesn't mess around or perform social behavior the way he's expected to. He doesn't make himself out to be fakely exuberant or cheerful, nor does he hold back his honest feelings when something bothers him. He doesn't conform to expectations or put on a show for people. He's just himself.

Most of his fans have come to understand this about him and have grown to love his honest, authentic, straighforward personality and accept that with DD, 'what you see is what you get'. But there are some people who still seem to read things negatively and expect him to be someone he isn't.

That's my take on it, anyway. Everyone will have to make up their own minds about how to interpret things.

Edit: If you are wondering whether DD is comfortable with Rocco, you might want to take a look at this clip.

For those who missed the event posts:

My GQ MOTY posts

Boat ride

Brick red carpet

#gq moty 2023 #ggdd entertainment circle #bxg perspectives #ask #personal #autism is my botox

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igme470 · 2 years

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Final Project

For this project, my goal was at first to create a robot that would get angry when the user bumped its nose. When I read through the project requirements thoroughly and saw that I needed to relate my project to the pandemic, I realized that my idea would still work quite well with some minor adjustments. An object easy to associate with both my idea and the pandemic is a mask, so the obvious direction to take my project was to make the robot get angry when the user took off its mask and bumped its nose. My project seeks to inspire humor in the viewer, both through the slightly cheesy look of the robot and the idea of a robot being worried about catching covid.

My project consists of a robot made primarily of cardboard and duct tape, with a mask made from paper, rubber bands, and duct tape. There is also a simple Unity app that the Arduino communicates with. To interact with my project, the user can take off the robot’s mask and bump its nose. After this, the robot’s eyes will glow red, and the background in the Unity app will turn red and display a message about the robot getting angry at the user.

For this project, I had a few issues. First, I didn’t have very many alligator clips from the materials I had. I may have been able to replace them by doing something like wrapping a wire to an led leg and duct taping it there, but I was somewhat worried that that would become a fire hazard, so I refrained from doing that. This wound up limiting the complexity of the circuit within the robot’s head: I had wanted to make both eyes LEDs, instead of just making 1 LED shine out through both eyes. I think that it was inherently a bit hard to be complex with my project idea, though, since the space within the robot’s head was very limited.

Another issue I had was connecting my Arduino and Unity. At first, Unity was throwing an error, saying that the System.IO.Ports name did not exist in the System namespace. I searched for solutions to this, and the most common one was to change Unity’s API compatibility level to .NET 2.0. However, this is the default in new versions of Unity - that advice was old. Other comments said the same thing was happening with .NET 2.0, like it was with mine, and that it could work to change it to the other option within Unity, .NET 4.x. This also did not work at first, but once I restarted Unity, it ran (although it still showed errors for the same thing in the compiler - but it worked, so I’ll take it). A final error with Unity was that the port input was functioning weirdly when I actually built the project; in the Unity editor, the port input was extremely responsive, but when I built it, it was lagging seconds behind and not behaving properly. Ultimately, I didn’t find a fix for this, so I just wound up using the Unity editor to display my final app.

I think that my project turned out quite well - the robot looks quite good in my opinion, and the circuit and app work the way I envisioned them.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jtE4jXHAu8

Circuit Diagram:

(The black wire leading to nowhere actually leads to the copper cloth in the robot’s nose)

Sources:

Nano 33 IoT Documentation: https://docs.arduino.cc/hardware/nano-33-iot

Unity with Arduino Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD3iUnLNjY0

Robot image: https://www.hiclipart.com/free-transparent-background-png-clipart-mngra

System.IO.Ports debugging: https://forum.arduino.cc/t/arduino-to-unity-system-io-ports-does-not-exist/381272

Code:

Arduino code -

#include <CapacitiveSensor.h>

int ledPin = 4; CapacitiveSensor cs_10_8 = CapacitiveSensor(10,8); void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); } void loop() { long total1 = cs_10_8.capacitiveSensor(30); delay(10); // arbitrary delay to limit data to serial port int scaled = map(total1, 0, 90000, 0, 255); //analogWrite(ledPin, scaled); Serial.println(total1); if(total1 > 5000) { digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); } else { digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); } }Unity code -

using System.Collections; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.IO.Ports; using UnityEngine;public class Communicate : MonoBehaviour { public SpriteRenderer background; public GameObject text; SerialPort data_stream = new SerialPort("COM3", 9600); public string receivedString; // Start is called before the first frame update void Start() { data_stream.Open(); //Initiate the serial stream } // Update is called once per frame void Update() { receivedString = data_stream.ReadLine(); int receivedInt = int.Parse(receivedString); if (receivedInt > 5000) { int alphaValue = (int)(255.0 / 15000.0 * (receivedInt - 5000)); Debug.Log("Value: " + alphaValue); background.color = new Color(background.color.r, background.color.g, background.color.b, alphaValue); text.SetActive(true); } else { background.color = new Color(background.color.r, background.color.g, background.color.b, 0); text.SetActive(false); } } }

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slugtranslation-hypmic · 4 years

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same anon as the headcanons one! maybe some “this is something I think would be nice but has nothing to do with canon” and “this has absolutely no relation to canon and doesn’t make sense within the Hypmic universe but I have fun thinking about it anyway" ones? 👀👀

I swear, I have tons of them, but the moment someone asks... Poof, they’re all gone.

Put under a cut because I suddenly got embarrassed and also wrote way too much again.

This is something I think would be nice but has nothing to do with canon

I feel like Hifumi and Doppo enjoy gossiping with one another. Doppo probably denies it, but he’s actually really invested when it includes someone he knows. Considering how persistent Hifumi is in asking Jakurai about Ramuda, I have a feeling they spend a lot of time speculating about what went down with TDD. Hifumi probably suggests really wild ideas like, “Ramuda is secretly an alien!” and consequently has probably hit upon the truth at this point.

I think Hitoya wants his team to be better than Matenrou so he can show Jakurai who’s boss. Juushi, being Juushi, supports Hitoya in this 100% and tries his hardest. Kuukou, being Kuukou, just wants an excuse to throw down at the slightest provocation, so he’s really enthusiastic about it too.

This is so far out of left-field, but for some reason, I imagine Sasara’s apartment smells like cigarette smoke.

I am convinced - and will be unless canon says otherwise - that Hitoya was Jakurai’s gay awakening circa eighth grade or thereabouts. There is nothing anyone can do to change my mind. The only way Evil Line Records can possibly invalidate this if they explicitly say, “No, Jakurai’s gay awakening was [insert a different scenario here]” but will they ever do so? Nah. (Note the “explicitly” because a few of the mangakas appear to have much to implicitly say on this subject.)

I think Hifumi probably didn’t do very well in school.

I think Saburou is probably a little bit jealous of how easily Jirou gets along with people.

I think Gentarou’s editors must actually all hate him because he handwrites his manuscripts.

This has absolutely no relation to canon and doesn’t make sense within the Hypmic universe but I have fun thinking about it anyway

Okay, I was really thinking of one thing when I wrote this, and I guess it’s a little bit personal but oh well. I have an AU where everything is the same but everyone in Fling Posse has psychosis of some kind.

This is probably not going to make sense to most people, but there’s a special feeling you find in a psychotic community you don’t find anywhere else. A lot of people with psychosis who are aware that they have psychosis feel a need to hide it for lots and lots of reasons - shame, concern of being judged, fear of losing their job or loved ones if their illness is discovered, etc. Psychosis is also really embarrassing. You don’t want to be doing what you’re doing, you’re often aware that what you’re doing or what you’re thinking is irrational, but you have no control over it anyway. Even around very close non-psychotic friends, I feel ashamed whenever I exhibit too irrational behavior. They’re all used to it, and I know they don’t particularly care (outside of concern for my well-being), but I resent the fact that I can’t act the way they do at all times.

However, when you’re within a psychotic community, there’s none of that. Everyone in the group has the understanding that at some point, everyone’s going to be off the shits, and that’s okay. We’ve literally all been there. Even though psychosis manifests differently in different people, large enough groups make it so that everyone can find someone else who understands them and has been through a similar experience. This is everything. I cannot stress enough how important this is. Psychosis is by nature alienating because it gives you a different reality than everyone else around you. Having someone else say, “My reality is similar to your reality” and offer genuine understanding and empathy means the world. Psychotic communities also tend to be more understanding of trauma (because psychosis itself is traumatic and can manifest in absolutely horrifying ways that the average person will fortunately never experience. Additionally, psychosis can manifest because of trauma, and people with psychosis tend to be preyed on more because we’re often more emotionally vulnerable. So we’ve all been there) and can have free discussions about it without feeling the need to shelter others from it. You can also discuss very real problems that are utterly foreign to the rest of the world, like the issue of falling in love with a hallucination and dealing with the grief of its passing. It’s freeing. It’s freeing and accepting on an unreal level. I’m a member of a community for people with schizophrenia which is somehow the kindest, most well-behaved community of people I’ve ever met. The rest of the Internet could learn a thing or two from that.

I think Fling Posse has that same general feeling, especially post-DRB Fling Posse. They all have the understanding that they have shit going on, really serious shit, and they’re accepting of one another even though their serious shit may not be the same as anyone else’s. They have all seen each other blow up and act weirdly, but their concern is less about “Whoah, you’re being weird” and more “Hey, you’re not feeling well. Let’s get you away from other people and take care of you.” (I’m thinking in particular of the Gentarou and Dice bit in Chapter 10 of FP/M, although there are other examples of this elsewhere.)

I’d like to write a fanfic about this someday, although it’s probably just going to devolve into shameful amounts of projecting. Oh well. I think it’s important to talk about these things anyway, even if they do necessitate shameful amounts of projection. There needs to be a lot less “shame” in the statement of, “My life is different than yours, and I want you to be able to understand it.”

If anyone out there reading this has psychosis or one of the many disorders that manifests with this particular symptom, know that you are important and that I love you.

#not a translation #asks

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irhinoceri · 2 years

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finally watched the Greta Gerwig version of Little Women. It was.... interesting.

In many ways it was very good. I particularly liked Saoirse Ronan’s acting (the last shot of Jo’s face going from proud happy shining smile to fighting back tears back to a bittersweet faraway look and stiff-upper lip smile was... really good. On point. I felt that face journey.)

It did a good job of making me agree that Jo and Laurie were a bad match which I’ll give it props for because I was always one of those annoying people as a child who thought they should be together. But in doing so it made Laurie unlikeable? Which I’m not sure I recall being the case in the book or other adaptations I’ve seen. I don’t remember him being categorized as a ne’r do well whom Amy had to whip into line. I did like how it projected the eventual Laurie/Amy relationship throughout the movie though, which I don’t feel like any other version of the story has done. It made it feel less like an afterthought because it didn’t focus so heavily on Jo/Laurie. So in that sense I did like how the story went between the “present day” of them being grown up and the “past” memories of them being children.

The cons... the offhand efforts to make the Marches abolitionists felt weak... even if Alcott’s actual father was an abolitionist, she didn’t put any of that into the novel, so adding it into the movie still felt like shoehorning just to make us feel like it’s ok to like the movie because the Marches are not racists. The feminism felt too weirdly modern: while it tried to at least acknowledge the economic reality of women’s lives rather than looking down on Meg and Amy for wanting to marry while Jo did not, it felt like historians commenting on the past rather than characters experiencing society in the present. Perhaps it’s because, unlike a Jane Austen novel, where characters do not have to explain to each other the importance of a good match even though it is often a topic of discussion, characters in Little Women kept stopping to monologue to each other about the economic and societal facts. Also, towards the end the obvious nods to the real life writing process behind the novels took me out of the story. Having read a little about Alcott’s life I recognize that Little Women was highly autobiographical and she based Jo on herself (and she herself never married) but I was still left confused about whether we’re supposed to believe that Jo March actually married Professor Bhaer, because those end scenes have a different, less realistic tone to them. The actors behave in more showy, “false” way, like we’re meant not to take it at face value, but rather as Jo writing something overly romantic and sentimental for her editor. And having it cut between scenes of her negotiating the ending with her editor added to that feeling. Like I get that it’s a nod to Alcott marrying Jo off just to appease fans who didn’t want her to be a spinster, but to have Jo herself say that... about her own marriage... it’s weird mmmmkay.

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saintsforsakencity · 5 years

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Professor Fahey

Dudes, I was scrolling through my drafts and I found the best post I’ve ever written. It’s really long and all over the place in terms of tone and topic (I think I was planning to break it up into smaller posts, but who has time for that). Here it is:

I’ve seen a couple people floating a headcanon that Jesper becomes a professor at the Ketterdam University. The idea startled me at first—didn’t he hate school?—but the more I’ve thought about it, I realized that Jesper would be the best professor the University has ever seen. Think about it:

He gets bored easily. His lectures will be full of group problem sets, games, simulations, discussions, fantasy!Kahoot.

There’s a professor at my college (who probably has ADHD) who builds stretch breaks into the middle of his lectures. Everyone loves him. Jesper would totally do that.

Not to mention, he’s a good speaker!

And he tried to sell himself as “the funny friend” as an unhealthy coping mechanism, sure, and in this future time he’s over that, but he still knows how to drop in a well-placed joke to wake up the class.

His homework assignments will be project-based, along the lines of “visit the Exchange and take notes on how people behave,” and “build a model out of bread cubes and toothpicks.”

I’m imagining him as primarily an Economics and Politics professor, because I think that’s where his experiences would lead him, but he’s all about alternative models and interpretations and once called neoliberalism “a load of naive horse dung” in front of a lecture hall of 300 freshmen.

His published research, articles letters-to-the-editor has made him enemies in academia, government, the international community, and the press—not to mention a few more Barrel enemies. He thrives on it.

He’ll also just teach seminars on whatever interests him because if you think he’s going to teach the same topics year after year, you are dead wrong.

Most importantly, he’d also be the professor ready to throw down for his students. He likes risk. He cares about people. He will fight the administration on anything that’s unfair to his kids.

He almost singlehandedly invents the concept of a disability accommodations policy and is responsible for its enforcement.

He built the wheelchair ramp into his building himself—without telling the administration beforehand.

The University tried to fire him once and the entire student body lobbied to get him rehired.

He’s the faculty advisor for international students and helps them navigate Ketterdam culture, find resources, and practice Kerch.

He cooks for them sometimes. They start having monthly potluck dinners and he learns dishes from everywhere from Southern Shu Han to the Fjerdan branch of the Suli. Eventually, when a new student joins, no matter where they’re from, he or another student can cook them something from somewhere close to home.

In middle school, I had a teacher who we all believed was in the Illuminati because he would casually drop into his lectures references to jobs he’d held and places he’d visited. There were many of them and they all seemed very improbable. He was weirdly willing to spend large amounts of money taking his classes out for lunch as a reward for perfect attendance, implying that he was rich beyond what you would expect from a middle school teacher. That’s Jesper.

“Thanks for the holiday cookies! They remind me of some I tried years ago, when I was in Fjerda” “what were you doing in Fjerda?”(expecting to learn a bit about his research projects) “Trying to prevent a war. It was a bit of a disaster but it worked out in the end and I got paid.”

“Hey I got the class tickets to the opening night of *fancy opera* let’s go analyze some themes!”

“So a friend of mine, she—you all know about the Crow Club? It’s run by a gang, of course—she’s the assistant manager and she has this great analogy...” (that’s Anika, btw)

If you catch him after class, he might tell you some juicy stories that the statute of limitations has run out on.

Wylan tries to hide it, but he gets a bit angsty thinking about the University because of his bad experiences with education, and doesn’t visit Jesper at work much.

So Jesper puts together a class on the emerging technologies of photography, projection, and film. Grading is on sketches, darkroom labs, film screenings, class discussions, and oral presentations. No reading required.

He wheedles Wylan into enrolling. He doesn’t tell anyone he and Wylan are married and gets a TA to grade all Wylan’s assignments so no one can’t say his good grades are out of pity.

Wylan, obviously, does fantastically (it’s art plus technology, are you kidding?!), and he delivers his final presentation so confidently that Jesper teases him about how cocky he looked for hours afterwards to keep from crying. Wylan can tell.

Next year, Jesper pulls some strings to get Wylan hired part-time so he can take over the class. (He doesn’t have to pull a lot of strings; Wylan is a rich merchant and the administration is happy for the chance to suck up to him).

Jesper does not stop carrying guns. The administration would not like this if they found out but who’s going to tell them?

There is a rumor among the students about a parallel, faculty-only party circuit. This is true and Jesper started it.

I love professor!Jesper so much; there’s so much potential here.

I want to be in his class.

Please nitpick the quality of these headcanons and add your own!

#arin chat #six of crows #grishaverse #crooked kingdom #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #wesper

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the-crippled-god · 3 years

Text

Steam Next Fest, October 2021

Here’s a few sentences on the demos I’ve played thus far. We’ll see if I get to more...

A=B: Of the genre of 'Esolang programming games' (of which there are many), this might be one of the easiest to get into. However, nearly all the fun is going to come out of weird tricks you can pull off with the new instructions added in each section, which kinda defeats the premise. That being said, I was pleasantly surprised at how clever the game let me be with the the base 'one instruction'. It's not really programming, it's pattern matching and replacing (that being said, folks are starting to work out that well implemented pattern matching is one of the most powerful tools a programming language can have), and a condition that if a rule matches, the instructions start over, rather than continue. I wonder if there's any real world langs that behave like this, but support regex patterns (including capture groups), it might actually be a neat way of building things like custom file renaming rules... Games like this always feel like I'm doing work while not at work, but the simplicity of the base instruction makes this feel more like a puzzle game than something like TIS-100 or Shenzen IO, so provided the extra instructions don't make it feel more like programming (avoid adding branching, don't let me loop beyond the base loop, etc.), I'll probably enjoy this. Verdict: interesting, I'll probably buy it if it's cheap.

Galaxy's Extreme: This is another "Nintendo won't make a new F-Zero game so we'll do it ourselves", and it's... fine. Momentum feels good, and the controls feel good, it's just, too simplistic. I really feel like a spiritual successor to F-Zero needs the strafe and slide turning of GX (or some equivalent), without absurd goofy snaking, it's just, not the same, let alone an escalation of the style. You also only seem to leave the ground and prescribed points, rather than behaving like a hover craft, which doesn't quite feel right. Verdict: I'll probably pass on this one, if it gets rave reviews on release, and has online multiplayer, I could see grabbing it to play casually with friends.

Rayze: There's a good idea here, this isn't a good implementation of it. Momentum feels weird, and the game doesn't use raw mouse input, for some reason. An 'Aim racer' feels like a good idea, but this is more of a puzzle game where you're trying to work out how the level designer wants you to click things. Verdict: pass, absolutely not for me.

Dread Delusion: Open world immersive sim, focused on being weird. Seems alright, demo is a little too limited to tell, and I allocated my stats wrong to be able to see all of it (you seem to need high Lore to get to a few areas), but I enjoyed what was here, and will probably pick it up as just a weird thing to explore. Verdict: neat, be interested to see how the full version is.

Titanium Hound: This one looked cool, but it's really not good. Sounds in the menus are ear piercing, control scheme makes no sense on either the keyboard or controller. None of the attacks feel like they have impact. Controls are floaty and weird, like everything is on ice. Enemy sounds are muted, music is boring. Verdict: Really disappointed in this one, hard pass.

Transiruby: C...Cute... This seems like a fun light hearted metroidvania. Dialogue is witty, Siruby and pals are cute. Music is charming. Controls are tight. Graphics lean a little to simple for my tastes, but otherwise no complaints. Verdict: I'll probably buy this, seems like a good coping game for me.

Gastova: The Witches of Arkana: Meh. Some of the cutscene and character detail art is cute. Writing feels like it has a good premise, but could use an editor to punch up the jokes and quips a bit, since they don't quite land. It's almost like English isn't the writers first language, they have a good grasp of how to put words together so they're coherent, but they're not great at pacing dialogue so it feels natural. Gameplay is, bland? This feels aggressively like a 3rd party SNES platformer, like a Super Adventure Island or something. This is in all respects. It eats inputs randomly, attacks have no impact, enemies take too many hits, basic platoforming requires you stand on the very edge of the platforms, etc. I'm sure there are people who will get a kick out of this, but it's not for me. Verdict: pass.

Ex-Zodiac: It's a Starfox clone! Kinda halfway between SNES and 64. It's pretty good, not really doing anything original, but it plays well. Only weird issue I noticed is that enemies behind you can shoot at you, and there's not really a way to avoid it. Other than that my main complaint is the camera feels a little tight, definitely more like Starfox SNES, and it's a bit annoying. Verdict: I'll wishlist it, purchase is going to depend on the length and price of the full game.

Exo One: Interesting, likely not for me. I dig the movement scheme, though certain aspects of it suffer from the minimal UI/HUD. Manoeuvring through big wide open Unity terrain maps is not really compelling to me, I think I'd really like this if it was a more concentrated experience. Verdict: Pass, but I'll keep an eye on it.

POSTAL Brain Damaged: Hell yeah, this seems good. Think I like it more than Postal 4, at least in its current state. Writing is very Postal, except weirdly more subtle than usual? Dunno, this I like it more than Postal's usual crassness. Weapons are all versatile and cool (in the demo the rocket launcher weirdly feels the worst), and level design and aesthetics are on point. Didn't finish the demo cause I'd kinda rather play this on release, but really liked what I played. Verdict: Wishlisted, to pick up next time I'm in the mood for a boomer shooter.

Hypnagogia: Boundless Dreams: I was expecting something different. This seems to be a mostly linear 1st person platformer set in a childish dreamscape. It's fine for what it is, but at least as a demo, it didn't grab me. I think Anodyne 2 did this aesthetic better, this kinda feels like someone looked at Spyro the Dragon, and decided that's what dreams looked like. Maybe it gets weirder later, but I'm not sure I want to wait around to find out. Verdict: Pass for now, but I'll check the reviews when it comes out.

Cleo: A Pirate's Tale: It's alright, for a one person game, it seems pretty dang good. But, I don't think I'll play it. Everything about it is just a little off. Writing isn't quite funny, voice acting has weird intonation and direction, controls don't quite work intuitively, art style feels a touch unrealized, etc. Definitely give this one a try, especially if you liked old LucasArts games, you might love this, but I didn't. Verdict: Pass, but I have a few friends I'll probably recommend this to.

Hunt the Night: There's a good (potentially great) game here, but it leans just a little too into being difficult/punishing for my taste. You can animation cancel into a dash, except when there's hit stun from contacting an enemy with your sword, so you can't dodge ranged attacks while you're engaged in melee? Sometimes enemies are hit stunned by your attacks, sometimes the same enemies can attack through your hits? There's no stamina bar, but there's like 4 different meters to manage, and they work pretty well at forcing you to use all the options available to you. The weapons I found seemed to only differ in attack speed, melee combos did not change meaningfully, which is disappointing, but I didn't experiment much. Otherwise, for a 'bloodborne but as top-down zelda' it seems pretty great. Story seems interesting enough, if predictable, gameplay has a lot of good ideas, but it maybe needs another round of polish. A range indicator on the dash, and a solid explanation of if I'm suppose to be using it to dodge (and when I can cancel into a dodge and when I can't), along with a clear timer on how long I need to hold the heal button, would go a long way into making the game feel more fair. Verdict: On wishlist for now, because the trailer makes it look really fun, but I'll likely take a look at the reviews on release.

Anuchard: I swear I've seen this main character design before, I think they were a cameo design in CrossCode? Oh wow is English not the writer's first language, grammar issues all over the place. Thankfully, not so bad as to be incomprehensible, but I really hope they get an editor fluent in English before release. Gameplay wise, this seems a little too simple? Combat is satisfying, but you can stun lock the boss? And while the shield/heavy attack system seems like a good idea, it doesn't add much depth. Puzzle solving by bouncing the gems around feels bad. You can't aim in more than the 8 cardinal directions, and even that's inconsistent, and hit detection requires you to be really precise. Art is cute, writing seems like it has potential, if it gets a good proof read, music was interesting to good. Verdict: I think I'll pass, but I'll look into it after release.

Marmoreal: Can you tell this game wanted to be a Touhou fangame, but the art was worse than even ZUNs so they couldn't get the license? Joking aside, ignoring every art asset in this game (except the animation, but we'll get to that), this game is great. Gameplay feels really good, though I feel I need to re-map the abilities buttons a bit, I kept hitting them at inopportune times. And, the animation in cutscenes, along with the writing, make this a stupid ridiculous romp that nearly had me falling off my chair in laughter. This game knows exactly what it is, and I'm here for it. Verdict: Wishlisted, and I'll probably play more of the demo, since it's pretty substantial.

Transmute: A very clearly inspired by Axiom Verge (and maybe Environmental Station Alpha) metroidvania. My biggest complaint is the writing falls flat. Crazy shit is happening to and around the protag, and she hardly reacts (the writing puts more emphasis on her being 'anti-colonialist' than it does on the fact that she'd been in stasis for several years). Game plays well, though not being able to shoot at an angle, or downwards feels weird. Has an augment and retrieval system like Hollow Knight. the augment system even let me combine 2 things I didn't think it would allow me to. Difficulty spikes up after the 2nd boss, so I peaked my head into the 2 areas that open up, but wasn't really interested in banging my head against them when I know I'll have to start over when the game comes out. Verdict: Seems pretty well put together for a metroidvania, I'll wishlist it.

Tunic: This seems so close to brilliance, but it's just not there. The game looks adorable, but here's the issue: There's a massive amount of latency to the controls, you constantly feel like you're manoeuvring through muck. Even the most basic enemy can react to you faster than you can to it, enemies do a lot of damage, healing is very limited, and it has retrieval mechanics on death. This game feels really difficult for no reason. It's clearly trying to look like zelda, why does it play like a wannabe took-all-the-wrong-lessons-from-dark-souls game? If this game played closer to a 2d zelda game, it'd be a lot of fun, but as it plays right now, I have no interest. Verdict: Pass.

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booksncoffee · 7 years

Text

under my skin - two

two || it starts with a picture

“Wait, you’re not disgusted?” Niall asks, brows furrowing. This is a first, he thinks. He’s gotten used to her telling him that she’s not interested, but that phrase hasn't left her mouth yet.

“No,” Brooklyn answers with a shrug – Niall has an odd look on his face when she says that as if that’s not the answer he’s expected to hear – before quickly adding, “I mean, why should I? He’s cute.”

read below || story page

Much to her dismay, Brooklyn finds herself going to the pub with Niall and Harry almost every day after work. Harry hasn't behaved weirdly since that evening and things are now back to normal. By normal, she means Niall is back to teasing her at every chance he gets and Harry is back to supporting his best friend no matter what. She can’t believe that’s her normal.

Brooklyn takes a sip of her beer as she sneaks a peek at the screen of Harry’s mobile phone. She doesn't mean to be nosy, but the light of his screen is so bright – he needs to lower the brightness or he might have to wear glasses soon – that it catches her eyes. So, Brooklyn looks at his phone and oh my God.

“You’re stalking Suki,” she blurts out.

Harry immediately locks his phone and turns to look at her, horrified. If she weren’t as shocked as he is, she would’ve laughed at the look on his face when he realises that he’s just been caught doing something he probably should have done in private.

“Shit,” the word slips past his lips. His ears turn bright red and soon enough, his face does too. “I, uh, I wasn't stalking. Her picture came up and I, uh-“

“Clicked on her profile and looked at all of her pictures even the ones from years ago?” Brooklyn finishes Harry’s sentence for him with a raised eyebrow. When he doesn't say anything, she laughs and shakes her head. “I have a lot of question for you but first, have you ever accidentally liked her picture?”

Instead of answering her question, he swigs at his beer, avoiding eye contact with her. Brooklyn doesn't have to push him to know that yes, he’s accidentally liked her picture before. But for his sake, she’s just going to think that he immediately disliked the picture so Suki wouldn't get the notification. She knows how embarrassing it is to be caught stalking someone’s Instagram profile. She’s been through it a lot of times, which is why she is very careful when it comes to this matter.

“Next question, do you have a crush on her?” Brooklyn asks out of pure curiosity. She can’t help herself. Suki is one of her closest friends so if someone has a crush on her, Brooklyn feels like she needs to know about it. Maybe she is nosy.

She could’ve sworn Harry goes rigid for a couple of seconds before he slumps his shoulders. He’s still avoiding her eyes, but there’s a hint of a smile on the edges of his mouth. She’s pretty certain that the smile is a result of his drunkenness because otherwise, Harry wouldn't have given away his answer that easily. He could be a little bit of a sillyhead sometimes, but when it comes to secrets especially his, he’s very good at keeping them. So, it surprises her when she sees him smiling, confirming her suspicion.

But before she can taunt Harry about it, Niall appears from the men’s room. “What’re we talking ‘bout here?” He asks as he throws an arm over Harry’s shoulder.

Brooklyn glances at Harry, whose face has turned bright red now. He’s giving her a look that probably says ‘don’t you dare…’ but she ignores it. She looks at Niall and says, “We’re talking about Harry’s crush.”

Niall doesn't look surprised at all, which makes Brooklyn believe that he’s known about it all along. Of course he knows, she realises, he’s his best friend after all. “Harry’s crush on Suki?” Niall quizzes with a raised eyebrow. Harry lets out a groan and mutters something under his breath, something that sounds like wanting to be swallowed by the ground. “I can’t believe you’ve never noticed that. You’d make a terrible detective, Cooper.”

Brooklyn rolls her eyes. How’s she supposed to notice it when Harry walks away as soon as Suki comes around, or when Harry becomes so quiet when Suki joins them, or when he- oh. Oh.

“Speaking of crush-” Niall pauses as he pulls a chair and places it between Brooklyn and Harry’s chair. Harry drags his own chair away from Niall’s, giving him some space. Niall thanks him before finally continuing his sentence, “-I know someone who has a crush on you.”

As soon as those words leave Niall’s mouth, Harry’s curiosity piques so he leans forward and waits – only to have Niall looking at him all confused. Between him and Brooklyn, he’s the one who looks far more eager to hear Niall spill the beans.

Brooklyn feels her cheeks heating up even though there’s a big possibility that Niall’s just messing with her. It’s not something new – him teasing her. Besides, the thought of someone having a crush on her is so weird. She’s pretty sure no one has ever had a crush on her since high school. But, now that Niall has mentioned it, she feels curiosity creeping under her skin. “Who?” She blurts out the question before she can stop herself.

Niall grins, happy that he manages to catch Brooklyn’s interest, which isn’t easy. She almost never wants to hear what he has to say. “Louis,” he answers. Brooklyn’s brows shoot up in surprise. “Louis has a crush on you.”

“Really?” Brooklyn asks, immediately clearing her throat when she hears how different her voice sounds like. She hopes to God that Niall doesn't notice that and she hopes that he doesn't see her fighting a smile.

“Yeah,” Niall answers with a nod.

Louis did tell Niall once that he thinks Brooklyn is pretty when he met her at Niall’s New Year Eve’s party last year. In fact, most of Niall’s friends who have met her would tell him that they thought she’s beautiful or that she’s fit – Niall would gag when he hears that, of course, because he’s never seen her like that – or that they thought they’ve fallen in love with her.

Anyway, each time he spills his friends’ thoughts to her, she’d give him a disgusted look, quickly shaking her head like she hates the idea of someone liking her. Which is odd because most girls would be flattered to know that. But then again, Brooklyn isn’t like other girls that Niall knows.

So, he finds it weird when he catches her smiling to herself now that he’s told her that Louis has a crush on her.

He is. He really is.

Which is why when she found out that Louis got hired by Adidas to be one of their models, she wasn't surprised at all – he deserves it. His face is now on most Adidas stores and although those pictures don’t really do him justice, Brooklyn would still catch herself staring at it a bit longer than appropriate each time she sees it.

“Well good thing that you think he’s cute cos he’s coming over,” Niall mentions few seconds before Louis makes his way to their table, clasping Niall on the back. The two of them exchange a hug whilst Brooklyn remains immobile in her chair. How dare Niall spring the news on her merely seconds before Louis come up to them? She needs at least fifteen seconds to compose herself, but now she doesn't get the chance to do so.

And that explains why she finds it difficult to look at him in the eyes. When they do land on him, though, her face turns red. It’s truly embarrassing because there’s still a possibility that Niall lied. Alas, that doesn't stop her from replaying his words in her head: Louis has a crush on you, Louis has a crush on you, Louis has a crush on you.

Get over it, Brooklyn scolds herself. She’s pretty sure she’s having an out-of-body experience. It’s the most plausible explanation she can think of as to why she’s behaving like a teenage girl.

“Hi, Brooklyn.” Louis shoots her a smile.

As though his smile is contagious, her lips curve upwards. “Hi.”

From the corner of her eyes, she can see both Niall and Harry looking at her intently and if Louis weren’t sitting in front of them, she would’ve told them to mind their own businesses. But he’s there, his eyes on her, so she settles on kicking their shins under the table. They wince and a smug grin touches her lips. Good.

“So Niall told me that you two have a bet going on,” he brings up as he rests his elbow on the table. His blue eyes – they’re slightly darker than Niall’s, she notices – are fixed on her face and she struggles to keep eye contact with him, which has never been a problem for her when it comes to everyone else. It’s her strong suit, after all. “I’m rooting for you, just so you know.”

Niall’s eyes widen and he nudges his friend. “I thought you’re rooting for me.”

“And let her go on a date with you?” Louis looks at Niall, an incredulous look on his face. He chuckles when Niall doesn't say anything else and shakes his head. “Nah, mate – no offence.”

“Well, aren’t ya a good friend,” Niall mutters under his breath as he picks up his beer and takes a few sips of it. Harry pats Niall’s back and assures him that he’s on his side – no one is surprised to hear that. Niall points a finger at Louis then at Brooklyn and says, “Just so you know, I’m definitely winning this bet.”

“Not a chance,” Brooklyn counters with a shake of her head as she slaps his finger away from her. The annoyed expression on her face elicits laughter from him, so she adds, “You’re not gonna win this one.”

Niall might have gotten an approval from Mr Storm a couple of weeks ago, but when she submitted her article to their editor-in-chief last week, he expressed his approval with a smile on his lips. Unfortunately, Niall wasn't around to witness that so he didn't believe her when she told him what happened.

Regardless, Brooklyn has a good feeling about this bet.

“Have you seen me lose a bet?” Niall asks. His raised eyebrow and the smug smile that Brooklyn has grown accustomed to seeing suggest that he’s proud of the fact that he’s never lost a bet. Or probably never will.

“I’m about to,” Brooklyn remarks, wiping the smug grin off of his face and smearing it across her face instead. Niall continues to tell her that he’s going to win whilst she pretends not to pay any attention to him.

“This is entertaining to watch,” Louis says with a chuckle. Beside him, Harry agrees. Louis’ eyes dart from Niall to Brooklyn. They linger on Brooklyn for a little longer, though, and when she catches Louis’ eyes, her cheeks turn red and that puts a smile on his face.

“Did you lose a bet?” – that’s the first thing Brooklyn asks when Niall comes to work wearing a hat that covers his dark brown hair. It makes him look like a folk singer, which isn’t the kind of look he would usually go for.

Niall shakes his head as he takes off his denim jacket. “Nope.”

Brooklyn points at his head and asks, “Then what’s that on your head?”

“A hat,” he answers. She rolls her eyes at him; he knows that’s not the answer she’s looking for. Shrugging, he says, “Just thought I should try something new.”

Brooklyn drags her chair to his desk as she squints her eyes at him. For some reasons, she doesn't believe his explanation. Instead of looking away, he keeps his eyes on her whilst she scans his face as though she can find an answer somewhere on his face.

“Oh my God,” she gasps all of sudden as a thought pops into her head. Niall shifts in his seat and glances over his shoulder. When he realises that her shock is actually directed at him, he frowns. “Did you dye your hair blond again?”

Brooklyn has nothing against his blond hair because it looks great on him, but she secretly prefers his brown hair – it brings out his eyes more.

“What?” Niall frowns. “No.” He takes his hat off briefly to show to her that the colour of his hair hasn't changed, but the way he styles it certainly has changed. In fact, he doesn't style it at all, she notices, as the quiff isn’t there.

“Oh.” She nods. “So you suddenly decided to look like a folk singer?”

He raises his eyebrows, a smile tugging at his lips. “I look like a folk singer?” He quizzes. She shrugs. “Oh Cooper, that’s probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Shut up,” she rolls his eyes. She’s about to roll her chair back to her desk when he hooks his foot on her chair’s leg, dragging her back to his desk. “What’re you doing?”

He leans forward all of sudden and begins to speak in a hushed tone. “D’you think we should do something about Harry’s crush?”

“Do what?”

“Wait, does Suki have a boyfriend?” He asks instead of answering her question.

“Not that I know of.” She shakes her head. She’s never talked about a boyfriend before so Brooklyn assumes that she doesn't have one.

“Great, great,” he replies, nodding his head. “That’d make our plan easier.”

“Our plan?” She repeats. She doesn't know that they have a plan. “What plan?”

“Easy.” He grins, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “Our plan is to get them to go on a date. I’ll make a reservation for them and I’ll tell Harry to meet ‘me’ there. All you have to do is tell Suki to go to the restaurant at 8.”

Whilst she thinks it would be cute to see Harry and Suki go on a date, there’s one question that is bugging her: “Don’t you think that’d be weird?”

Niall stops going through a list of restaurants on his mobile phone and looks at her. “What would be weird?”

“Dunno,” she shrugs. Niall gives her a pointed look. He knows she has something to say. “Co-workers going out on a date.”

Niall runs his tongue across his bottom lip as he mulls over what she’s just said. “You think it’s weird?”

She’s never gone out on a date with her co-worker before so she believes that she doesn't have the right answer for that question. What she does know is that if she were to go on a date with someone and it doesn't go well, she wouldn't want to see that person again. So she can only imagine how awkward it would be if she has to see her date the next morning after a horrible night out with said person.

“I-“ she’s about to tell him that no, she doesn't know if it’s weird when she remembers that two of their ex co-workers went on a few dates before. When things didn't work out, one of them resigned – everyone thinks he’s being a bit dramatic but then again no one really knows what happened to them – before another one did too six months later. Ever since then, everyone seems to be opposed to the idea of dating a co-worker. “Remember Ray and Eva?”

Niall is quiet for a moment and Brooklyn waits for him to remember them. Although they weren’t close to both Ray and Eva, they did hang out with them in the break room a few times before. Brooklyn thought they’re cute together but apparently, looking cute as a couple isn’t enough.

“Oh.” Finally.

“Yeah.” Brooklyn sighs. Niall runs his fingers through his hair. His shoulders slump forward slightly and knowing him, he’s probably quite disappointed that he doesn't get to execute his plan. So, she tries to make him feel better. “For what it’s worth, I think they’d make a beautiful couple and your plan would’ve worked out.”

“Ha,” Niall chuckles dryly as he shakes his head. The disappointment is still there in his eyes. She doesn't know this could upset him this much. “Well, don't let Harry know that I tried to set him up with Suki or he won’t talk to me for weeks. ”

The thought of Harry not talking to Niall for weeks doesn't sound realistic at all. The longest the two of them have gone without talking to each other is two hours.

“I doubt that but-“ Brooklyn holds her pinkie finger up and smiles, “-I won’t.” He stares at it before he curls his pinkie around hers. When she squeezes it, laughter slips past his throat and a smile curves her lips. She taps his desk once, twice before she rolls her chair back to her desk. “Alright, folk singer Niall, I gotta work on my article so I can win the bet.”

“Good luck trying,” he replies. His laughter reverberates around the office when she gives him the middle finger.

Louis has just followed her on Instagram. Louis has just followed her on Instagram.

He must have seen the picture of her laughing whilst driving her car that Niall posted on his Instagram fifteen minutes ago. She told him not to tag her because it isn’t exactly a flattering picture of her, but he did anyway. She’s learned a while ago that embarrassing her on social media is one of his hobbies.

Instead of straightaway clicking the follow button on Louis’ profile, she waits a few more minutes because she doesn't want to seem too eager. So as she tries to kill the time, she checks out some pictures that he recently posted – most of them are pictures of him for Adidas.

Brooklyn finally follows Louis on Instagram five minutes later. She puts her mobile phone down and tries to focus on her article, but when the screen of her phone lights up, she quickly picks it up. Louis has just sent her a direct message on Instagram.

Hey there, stranger!

She rolls her eyes at the overused phrase even though there’s a hint of a smile at the edges of her mouth as she types her reply: Hey there, supermodel.

Brooklyn doesn't get to put her phone down as the reply comes in a couple of seconds later.

Please, I’m hardly a ‘supermodel’.

She scoffs. Your pictures disagree with you.

Have you been stalking me? He includes two side eyes emojis along with his reply and her face flushes in embarrassment. Good thing he can’t see that. Before she can type her response, he sends another message: Anyway, I was wondering if you’d like to go out for a drink or two after work? And then he adds another one: On me, of course.

She doesn't freak out often, but as soon as she reads that, she feels her heart thumping against her chest. Brooklyn has never been asked out for a drink through direct message on Instagram before and she certainly has never been asked out by a model.

“Are you okay?” Niall asks as he stands up from his chair so he can see her face. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”

Brooklyn looks up. “I have?”

“Yeah,” he nods. “I didn't hear any of that awfully loud typing noises you usually make.”

She crinkles her nose at him. “I don't make awfully loud noises when I type.”

He rolls his eyes and scoffs. “Yes, you do.” She shakes her head, disagreeing. “Anyway, are you okay?”

“Mhmm,” she hums, nodding. He squints his eyes at her as though he doesn't believe her. So, she assures him. “I’m okay, I swear. Just taking a break from writing one of the articles that’s going to kick your arse.”

At that, he ignores her and returns to his seat.

Brooklyn reads Louis’ message once more before she types her reply: Sure. Where?

He gives her the name of the bar – she’s heard of it, but never been there – along with a picture of the place. So you won’t get lost, he adds.

She thanks him and tells him that she’ll meet him there. When no reply comes after that, she finally puts her mobile phone down. She makes sure that the screen isn’t facing her so she won’t get distracted anymore.

Brooklyn works on her article until eventually it’s time for them to leave work. Niall is putting on his jacket when he walks up to her desk and asks, “You’re coming with us?”

“No,” she answers with a pout, to which Niall questions why. “I, uh, I’m going out with Louis.”

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Louis as in my mate, Louis?”

“Yeah,” she nods. A part of her thought that Niall knows Louis is going to ask her out, but the surprised look on his face says the otherwise.

“Oh.”

Before either Niall or Brooklyn can say anything else, Harry makes his way to her desk. “I was thinking that maybe instead of beer, we could go for something stronger today.” His eyes land on Brooklyn, then, and when he notices that she still hasn't cleared her desk, a frown takes over his face. “Wait, you’re not coming with us?”

She shakes her head. “Nah, I’ve got a plan.”

Harry looks at Niall then looks at Brooklyn. “A plan with...?”

“Louis,” she answers.

“S’it a date?”

Is it a date? Brooklyn doesn't know, but for the sake of not wanting to be disappointed, she makes herself believe that it isn’t. “Don’t think so,” she says.

“Huh,” Harry breathes. A smile stretches his lips when a thought pops into his head, “If it’s not a date, then let us come with you.”

“What?” the question slips past Brooklyn’s mouth before she can stop it. “I mean, sure – I guess?”

“Great,” Harry grins.

Niall slaps Harry on the back and says, “I don’t think Cooper wants us to come with her.”

Her eyes widen and she immediately shakes her head. “What? No, that’s not true. Of course I want you two to be there.”

“Please,” Niall rolls his eyes, “it’s written all over your face. I know you.”

Brooklyn can’t argue with that logic. Niall does know her even though she wishes he didn’t. “Well, s’not that I don't want you there but-“

“S’fine,” Niall cuts her off. When she raises an eyebrow at him, he shoots her a smile and continues, “Besides, I don’t think you’d want to hang around Harry if he decides to drink something stronger.”

“Hey!” Harry shouts, offended. Niall gives him a pointed look. “Okay, maybe he’s right.”

“I’m always right,” Niall brags. At that, both Brooklyn and Harry roll their eyes and let out a scoff. “Anyway, have fun, Cooper. Tell Louis I said hi.”

“Okay,” Brooklyn nods.

“Oh and tell him you’re welcome.”

#1dff #ums #niall horan fanfiction #me: *sweats nervously*#i swear i still get nervous each time i post a new chapter #anyway i hope you'll like this!!#please let me know your thoughts!! :)

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batenchantingcollectorsong · 4 years

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The South Carolina debate was the final one before Super Tuesday. So who emerged as the victor? ‘Warren dominated the mic and Sanders held his ground’Oh yeah, man. Let’s get into it. Let’s dive into the issues that other debate moderators have not yet dared to approach so far. Let’s ask questions such as: “Would you, as president, support a ban on trans fats and large sodas?”Did everyone else get this push notification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warning that there was going to be a “disruption to everyday life” with the looming coronavirus pandemic? I don’t know if that was just Russia meddling in the election or whatever, but I am wondering why it took 90 minutes for the moderators to bring the virus up, and why their question was framed around whether the United States should completely freak out and shut down all the borders. Not, should we do something about the fact that the uninsured will often avoid doctors when they are ill because they are afraid of unpredictable medical bills, or how our rural hospitals are shutting down, or how we have sanctions on medical supplies against Iran, where a coronavirus outbreak is worsening. Look, I know Mercury is retrograde, but there is absolutely no excuse for this shameful performance.As for the candidates, for someone who doesn’t support the use of filibuster, Elizabeth Warren sure did dominate the microphone on Tuesday night. Pete Buttigieg tried to make everything about him by talking over everyone, Michael Bloomberg was absolutely adorable trying to explain the history of hostilities in the Middle East, and Tom Steyer somehow felt emboldened to talk about economic justice despite building part of his wealth on private prisons and mines. Amy Klobuchar was also there.The mood was chaotic, the audience paid a lot of money to behave like they were attending a Jerry Springer show, most of the candidates’ hair was weirdly terrible, and the only person to hold their ground was Bernie Sanders. He stayed on message, he refused to take easy bait, and he didn’t do what I would have done, which is when asked about his “controversial” remarks about thinking it was good that Cuba taught people how to read he did not yell “would all of you people grow up” and storm off the stage. This is the last time we’ll see probably about half of these candidates, after Super Tuesday annihilates their campaigns. Too bad. Sure gonna miss Pete and Amy fighting over who is the most midwestern candidate. * Jessa Crispin is the host of the Public Intellectual podcast. She is a Guardian US columnist ‘Donald Trump was the winner yet again’On Tuesday night, the Democrats held a prime-time steel cage match. Seven presidential aspirants repeatedly traded verbal blows. After two-plus hours, Donald Trump emerged victorious – and he wasn’t even in the ring.Even worse, many of the combatants appeared removed from reality. Coronavirus, a reeling stock market, and low unemployment now shape our landscape. Yet the potential pandemic drew no mention until Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s former mayor, raised the threat the virus poses.Medicare-for-All continued to receive outsized attention despite the fact that most Americans take a dim view of government being the be-all and end-all of individual healthcare. By the numbers, US adults reject socialism by better than two-to-one. Jeremy Corbyn’s fate is a cautionary tale.As the 2018 midterms remind us, control of the US House of Representatives and US Senate hinges on wooing and winning persuadable voters. Yet, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren posture as if they can impose their will upon a blank slate.As for the rest of the field, Pete Buttigieg delivered a crisp performance. Meanwhile, Joe Biden looked and sounded engaged. His sense of humor may yet get him to the finish line first in South Carolina’s upcoming Saturday primary. * Lloyd Green was opposition research counsel to George HW Bush’s 1988 campaign and served in the Department of Justice from 1990 to 1992 ‘The well-heeled audience booed Sanders and Warren and loved Bloomberg’Judging purely by the reaction of the crowd watching the Democratic primary debate live in South Carolina, you would think Bloomberg had a magnificent comeback – almost as if he had miraculously developed a personality that Americans could connect with.Elizabeth Warren quickly found herself on the receiving end of an angry crowd as she excoriated Bloomberg for his and his company’s past that is littered with sexual harassment accusations. It’s extraordinary that Warren’s attempt to champion the women who have been silenced by his non-disclosure agreements was met with furious booing.Bernie Sanders found himself on the receiving end of raucous booing, too, when he challenged Mayor Bloomberg throughout the night, including when he was criticizing Bloomberg’s relationship with China.It didn’t take long before rumors about Bloomberg purchasing the audience started spreading around. So much so that one of Bloomberg’s top staffers had to inform Josh Lederman of NBC news that the Bloomberg campaign “did not pay people to attend the debate and cheer for Bloomberg”.Perhaps not. Still, a few Google searches later we quickly discovered that the price of tickets to the South Carolina debate ranged between $1,750 and $3,200. And while this does not mean these individuals were paid by Bloomberg to cheer for him, it does mean that the audience members were most likely in a financial position to oppose candidates like Warren and Sanders, who would likely raise their taxes.So it may be the case that Bloomberg had no need to purchase support in the South Carolina debate when the system established by the Democratic party created the conditions under which only the wealthiest people in South Carolina could attend and, subsequently, cheer on the oligarch who would ensure their taxes would not go up. * Benjamin Dixon is the host of the Benjamin Dixon Show ‘Attempts to woo black voters sounded like virtue signalling’It’s hard to identify anything but losers of this debate. As expected, Bernie Sanders – who has won the popular vote in each of the primaries and caucuses thus far – was attacked at the onset with red scare-level fear mongering about basic social policies from both the moderators and most of the candidates.Virtually all the other candidates, except perhaps Elizabeth Warren, who exuded an air of calm, acted as if their chances would be blasted into oblivion unless they threw the kitchen sink at every answer.Ahead of the first primary that tests the candidates’ appeal to a significant black electorate in South Carolina, this came across as virtue signaling instead of meaningful engagement with the issues at hand. Candidates used Bloomberg’s stop-and-frisk policy, for instance, to discuss virtually every racial inequality under the sun and plug various race-centric plans they are running on. Will black voters buy it? We’ll soon find out. * Malaika Jabali is a public policy attorney, writer and activist ‘Sanders won an awful debate’What a wretched debate, two hours of shouting and interrupting and pandering from which it was hard to discern much sense. All that noise worked for Bernie Sanders. He remains the frontrunner because nobody else made a point. The others had their chance to bash him as a Fidel Castro sympathizer, but didn’t manage to pull it off.None took him down over healthcare, since it appears to be the issue that has driven him to the front. Elizabeth Warren would have ground Michael Bloomberg into dust over sexism (and failure to release his tax returns) if the moderators had allowed her. But the moderators had no control over candidates desperate to make a mark just before South Carolina and Super Tuesday. So none of them really made a mark.Biden did himself no harm but did not deliver the sort of performance that could propel him into Super Tuesday and stunt Sanders’s rise. Bloomberg looked bad enough that it should give African Americans serious doubts about whether to abandon Biden for him. Sanders won by not making any big mistakes and by offering a reasonable defense of his comments about Latin America, and Biden held his own on friendly ground in South Carolina. * Art Cullen is editor of The Storm Lake Times in northwest Iowa, where he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. He is a Guardian US columnist and author of the book Storm Lake: Change, Resilience, and Hope in America’s Heartland, just out in paperback

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