#2020-2021 killed my desire to be nice to people anymore my

[seek--rest]

Just out of curiosity, do you still write any irondad fics?

I think the better way to phrase your question is, would I still write irondad fics?

Which is yes, if an idea moves me or is interesting. But as a blanket statement, the answer would be no.

For several reasons.

To anyone who’s been around here for a minute, it’s no secret that I got my start in fandom writing more IronDad. I have never once considered myself an IronDad writer but a Peter writer, specifically within the MCU and using the relationships that mattered most to him at that time period. I showed up here around 2019, right before EG and FFH so naturally the outgrowth of what I wrote revolved more about where Peter canonically was at the time. I used to rant and rave at how annoying it was to love Peter because I never felt like either “fandom” (irondad and spideychelle in this instant) ever really cared about him as a central point; it was either Tony being the center of his universe or MJ, neither of which vibed with what I was feeling nor fit what actually felt important to Peter at the time.

I have my own misgivings and Experience with IronDad fandom from 2020-2021 that doesn’t need to be listed in detail here (tl;dr white irondad writers hate to be forced to contend with how racist and sexist they are) but that, along with being further removed from Tony being relevant to Peter (as he is dead) felt less interesting to me. Now, a whole year after NWH where Tony is NOT relevant or important to Peter in any capacity (except in ways and meta that would make huge subsets of irondad angry to think about), I am WHOLLY uninterested in creating some kind of canon adjacent story that ties him into it as a general role. NWH satisfied me as a media and if I don’t write the kind of fluffy fix it’s that spideychelle wants (from someone who has loved Peter and MJ for decades), than I certainly don’t want to do that for IronDad.

I don’t care about living in the “imaginary beautiful period” post HOCO pre IW for the possibility of IronDad because 1) I think too much of fandom uses that as an excuse to completely eliminate both Ned, MJ and May as vital components of Peter’s life which was sexist and racist then and is even WORSE now considering where canon is and 2) i don’t care to rehash the same derivative tropes of living within a set time period. Not to be a bitch but I like to see characters Grow and Change and Adapt and there is only so much that I’m creatively interested in them creating more “Peter and Tony work in the lab” kind of fics that I hardly created even when I wrote irondad regularly.

That being said, it’s not like I don’t currently write Tony in stories or haven’t. Tony is still a fascinating character to me but he’s also 1) dead and 2) not the person I care about re: IronDad. Peter is. If he’s being included in a story, especially at this juncture, it’s how he can serve Peter’s narrative and growth— which I’d like to think I always wrote it in this way, I just use the tag less and don’t make an active effort to think of ideas to write irondad because of the fandom’s refusal to move forward.

And the racism and sexism of 80% of the fandom who still, to this day, refuse to acknowledge it and/or get irritated when anyone brings up canon vs fanon.

tl;dr sure, if i have an idea. I have 3 WIPs with Tony + IronDad I’m actively working on / being published.

However, the fandom is rancid and filled with so much unchecked racism and sexism— along with a refusal to let go of the past— that even if I did actively tried to create, I don’t feel welcomed anymore.

#seek speaks #irondad #fandom racism #fandom sexism #I’ve been wanting to talk more about this #without being accused—again— of starting bullshit #2020-2021 killed my desire to be nice to people anymore my #I WAS nice #I refuse to play nice anymore #but this was a nicely worded ask so it deserves a nicely worded response

[gaslightgallows]

September 2023 Writing Round-Up

I just checked my tags, and I haven't done one of these since… three years ago. Exactly three years ago yesterday (9/29/20), to be precise. Which was pretty much when my mental health and my personal life started to crumble in earnest, and it took my desire to write for public consumption along with it.

Most of what I did for the rest of 2020/2021 were either struggling to finish works in progress (and largely failing) or archiving stuff from my LJ days. I didn't post anything in 2022. I was still writing (a lot) but it was either for Patreon (…fuck, right, I have a Patreon) or it was personal, not meant to be shared.

And then Good Omens came back and ended up being really fucking relevant to my life, and @meldanya44 was there urging me to get back into writing for other people besides her. I think it was a good idea, over all. ♥

So… yeah. Thanks, Good Omens fandom, for reminding me that writing is meant to be shared, and that I am a prompt-based lifeform. (I'll be putting up a new prompt list tomorrow, if anyone wants an artisanally crafted bespoke ficlet of their very own.)

Anyway, here's what I did in September:

Authorial Intent (G, one-shot): Michael’s plan to erase Aziraphale from the Book of Life has certain… flaws. A revision of the final season of S2 Ep6, where the Metatron does not make an appearance. (Actually posted at the end of August but this is my list and it counts. Written very shortly after I finished S2 for the first time. Effervescing with joy.)

Put Out the Stars (T, currently a one-shot, planning to continue): Crowley stole the photo of himself and Aziraphale from the shop a long time ago. (Inspired by one of @fellshish's asks. Angst angst angst… with more to come!)

An Invisible Wound (T, one-shot): “I almost killed you tonight.” “I almost got you killed tonight.” Their first kiss, soft and futile, is in 1941. (Bittersweet canon-compliant 1941 truthers unite.)

After the Rain (T, one-shot; for @meldanya44): The Second Coming has come and gone, and Crowley was calling him ‘angel’ again. (Wonderful quiet post-series fluff.)

Like Petals in a Storm (M, currently a standalone but working on a sequel; for @meldanya44): Between the discorporation and the almost-execution, Aziraphale’s having a bit of trouble keeping body and soul together. (My reputation-mandated 'one partner helps another bathe' fic.)

The Taste of Salt (G, one-shot; for @iamhisgloriouspurpose): The lingering taste of ox ribs are bitter and rich in Aziraphale's mouth, and he isn't sure what he believes anymore. (Continues the 'I'm not taking you to Hell, angel' scene in the Ep2 minisode. Nice and angsty. No one seems to like this one and I'm not sure why.)

Pipe Dream (G, one-shot; for @unwholesome-gay): All Aziraphale has ever wanted is to give heaven back to Crowley. (Domestic fluff about Aziraphale buying the South Downs cottage for Crowley. Fun fact: I struggled to write this and finally posted it in dismay and tried to forget about it. And then my inbox exploded with HEARTS, so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought.)

The Patience of Angels, Chs 1-4 (M, multi-chapter WIP): An old enemy is on the hunt for the demon known as Crowley, and it will take all the powers of one very protective angel to save him. But in keeping Crowley safe, Aziraphale will uncover more of the terrible truths of Heaven than he ever wanted to know. (The longfic I first conceived of in 2019 and then never got around to finishing enough to post, and am now trying to revise the HELL out of in real-time because the original version doesn't work anymore. I love this fic with a burning passion and hope it finds an audience someday… which it probably will if I can update it, y'know, more often than once a month…)

Fics Posted: 8 Word Count: 28,182

I'm never going to be as prolific as I was when I was in the MCU fandom and had a much less-hectic job, but I'd call that a decent comeback. Thanks, everyone. ♥

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens fandom #good omens fanfiction #good omens fic #ineffable husbands #aziracrow #aziraphale #crowley #prompt fills #monthly round-up #meldanya44

[randomoranges]

i’ve had the stupid initial scene in my head for like a week. also thoughts on tattoos and such and significance and the magnitude of things unsaid in the past that get to finally be aired out in the present and such. 

more rambly thoughts hahahaha. 

Ricochet

Winter 2020? Early 2021???? Idk. 

 Edward ghosts his fingers over the petals of the rose before him and lets them dance over the lines that compose the patterns and colours of the flower. He’s always been fascinated by the combination of flowers and leaves that overlap and twine over Étienne’s vine tattoo, ever since he had first seen it, what now feels like ages ago. It’s always been his favourite, for some reason, even before the extra additions. He lets his fingers go on their own quiet exploration, re-appropriating the feel and contrast of colours and shapes, until they come to rest by one of the few flowers that differ from all the others.

 He remembers the first time he had taken notice of it, late one summer night in the early nineties. He had thought it a trick from the light or some clever projection of his mind, and so, he’d never really mentioned anything. With time, he’d check, to make sure that the one different rose was still there and he had tried not to think about what it could mean – what it could represent. The possibilities. Étienne had offered no clarification and he hadn’t asked questions about it. Instead, he had let his fingers trace the contour and the petals, had memorized the different shades of colour of it and had dared to hope.

 Now, he knows better.

 Edward lets his fingers shift direction and land on the latest addition to Étienne’s vine tattoo. It’s a little over a year old and a little brighter than some of the other flowers. He traces over the curves of the petals and he might be imagining it, but he swears he feels his boyfriend’s heart rate pick up ever so beneath his fingers. He smiles softly, before he places a tender kiss to the spot where his fingers had just been – to the flower right over Étienne’s heart and then looks up to find green-hazel eyes quietly observing him.

 He resettles against Étienne and lets out a content sigh, happy to be here with him – despite everything.

 “What would you have done?” He starts to ask as he resumes tracing the different flowers and leaves that twine and twist over Étienne’s torso, “If I – if I didn’t feel the same – about you?” He finally asks, breaking the comfortable silence they’d been resting in. It’s a question he’s been thinking over for a little over a year now and it’s mostly curiosity and a sense of comfort around Étienne that brings him to ask it. He no longer needs to wonder and hope and fear for his relationship with Étienne; he gets to let his guard down and enjoy the hugs and kisses and special attentions without second guessing himself or what it could mean.

 Étienne shifts and slides down so that they can be at level and offers him a quizzical look. Edward shrugs; he’s genuinely intrigued. He obviously knows how he felt then. However, it had taken him a while to acknowledge the fact that he still felt something for Étienne and the whole thing had turned even more complicated with Calvin in the picture. How could he still have feelings for Étienne when he had Calvin? Calvin who kept trying. Calvin who didn’t give up on him. Calvin who was patient and gave him space and kept circling back when he was being obtuse and afraid. How ungrateful was he being to Calvin by still liking Étienne? After so long. After everything they had gone through.

 And then – and then did he really still like Étienne that way? Or did he simply miss having him as a friend? (Had he ever even liked Étienne? Had it been mere infatuation? Or a desire to be like Étienne?) Would he be content with having his best friend back or did he still want more?

 The questions and the anxieties had done a number on him; had kept him tossing and turning and had eaten away at him. He would have loved to share these thoughts with Calvin, but he’d been afraid his boyfriend would have taken it the wrong way – would have called him cruel and would have called him terrible things for potentially being in love with two people – would have asked him to choose.

 He’d kept his mouth shut.

 He was lucky enough as it was.

 He needn’t be greedy.

 There was no sense in rocking the boat when he and Étienne barely even talked anymore. He could keep his wayward thoughts to himself and try to focus on not messing up his relationship with Calvin in the meantime. He had done a poor enough job in the first leg of it anyways. A damn near miracle Calvin hadn’t gotten up and left him there to rot, really.

 So he’d done that. Done his best to put those thoughts away and move on – properly – silently, but every time he heard Étienne’s name mentioned his ears had perked up and he’d tried to find out how his former-friend-former-lover was doing. He’d dropped questions here and there, asking sometimes Élyse, sometimes another of Étienne’s friends how he was doing if he came up in a conversation and he most certainly never did try looking him up on social media.

 Eventually, somehow, they did end up reconnecting. Miraculously. He’s still unsure as to how that happened, but he’s thankful they did. Their tentative new friendship had been welcomed, even if it had oftentimes felt like one-step forward and eight steps back, but – it had been good, nice even. A welcomed surprise.

 Edward had just been glad that he could speak to Étienne again.

 But, reconnecting with him, even in all its tentative steps, had brought forth the feelings he thought he had buried deep inside. They resurfaced, stronger than ever, and even when he’d tried to suppress them, again, they’d only just lingered more, ever so insistent and demanding of his attention.

 He’d felt like a monster. For still wanting Étienne. For feeling like he was betraying Calvin and everything they had been carefully building for the past few years. He – hated himself. For still being in love with Étienne. So he tried harder. To hide it. To bury it and kill it off once and for all.

 It, naturally, hadn’t worked.

 Eventually, he’d admitted to it. He’d told Calvin about all of it, unable to keep it to himself any longer. Everything from the past up until this point, no glossing over, no hidden parts, just the ugly truth of it all and the shame of his heart.

 Edward had braced and prepared himself for all the terrible ways Calvin would most likely react. He wouldn’t blame him for it, really. It was already a miracle that Calvin had come around from his initial reaction to his coming out decades ago and had actually developed feelings for him; Edward didn’t expect any more. Calvin had done his share, it was his problem if he was fucking it up, again. (And what did that say, when everything good he ever had in his life he managed to screw up?)

 However, somehow, miraculously, Calvin had been – really good about it, considering. There hadn’t been any major outbursts, no fights, no breakups and no broken hearts. Edward clearly hadn’t given him his just credit.

 They’d talked it over. Calvin had expressed his own fears and concerns, mostly that Edward would end up leaving him, but Edward had been quick to clarify that this wasn’t the case. He still loved him, but he also – still felt something for Étienne. He just – didn’t want to have to chose. He didn’t want to settle and he didn’t want to give up, but – he’d do his best if – if Calvin asked him to. Calvin deserved that much. It wouldn’t be fair to Calvin to jeopardize everything they had for an old flame.

 Luckily, Calvin had been kind to him. A little uncertain, a little afraid, but kind.

 Edward had – hesitated, in his next step. Hadn’t wanted to rush in. Had carefully waited and observed, for a while, unsure how to really proceed anyways. There were still many unknown variables, notably,  had Étienne ever felt anything for him, and if so, had he managed to move on or not and if not – was he still – did he still want to – try?

 But that’s in the past now. He gets to enjoy his relationship; no questions asked and finally be without needing to worry. He’s glad and relieved it worked out. He’s content – happy, really. It finally feels like he’s got it together – that all the important pieces have been gathered.

 “Not gotten a marigold tattooed on me, for starters,” Étienne answers and laughs. Edward rolls his eyes, but it’s fond, even if a little exasperated. Étienne grins at him before he reaches over for his hand and places it back on his chest. It’s warm, even if Étienne always complains about being cold, and he feels the constant beat of his heart. It’s reassuring.

 “Be serious,” He chides and Étienne sighs and twines their legs together, growing silent for a moment as he thinks it over.

 “Well, I suppose I would have made a better effort to move on,” He shrugs, figuring it’s a simple enough answer, but – there’s more. If he’s being honest with himself, there is more. Edward waits patiently and keeps tracing over the flowers on Étienne’s tattoo, again. An old habit he’d been fond of, one he’s thankful he can rejoice in again.  

 “I mean – I never even thought you’d still like me that way, considering you were with Calvin. And – I didn’t care – well, not really. You could’ve had a full harem of men at your disposal. I just – wanted to be your friend again. I wanted to hang out with you and go out on the town without it being loaded. I didn’t want to second guess whether you’d flinch away from a hug or if you’d read too much into swinging my arm around your shoulders and such. I missed being friends with you. Wanted to pick up the phone and gab away for hours and hours about the stupid crap we’d done, seen, heard and such. Watch a movie or a game and unwind together. Have fun, go out, have you over and not have you think it meant anything more than just being your friend. I wanted that more than the sex and the relationship.” He sighs as he tries to form the right words to shed light on his own feelings. It’s still not his forte – talking about his feelings, but for Edward’s sake he tries. “So, yeah, woulda been okay with it, I guess. I mean – there would’ve been disappointment, but – that would’ve been on me. We fell out ages ago, you moved on, time I did the same, and such.” He shrugs and looks away from kind hazel eyes. He feels inadequate as he tries to give Edward a coherent answer, but he finds solace in knowing that it’s at least the truth.

 Edward chuckles and pokes his boyfriend’s chest. He thinks it’s endearing how Étienne’s cheeks have coloured dark red and how his blush trails down his neck and to his chest. He presses a kiss to it for good measure and then another.  

 “M’glad it worked out though – that you still like me as well and all. Didn’t completely toss me out of your life. That we’re trying to make it work and that we can still also be friends.” He admits in a quick rush of air, blush growing even more.

 Edward gathers him in his arms and holds him close, before he places another kiss, this time to his cheek. Étienne wraps himself around him and hides his face away in the crook of Edward’s neck, where it’s nice and warm and safe,  and this, at least, is easy and less – complicated.

 “For what it’s worth, I’m also really glad and – relieved.”

 Étienne chances a glance back to Edward’s face and, maybe, Edward looks a little as to how he feels. Still surprised by this outcome, thankful obviously, and maybe just a little overwhelmed and in awe that this is real – that they get to have this and try not to mess it up. He resettles, the ricocheting thrum of his heart beating underneath Edward’s fingers, but he doesn’t mind. “’Love you,” Étienne murmurs and Edward tightens his hold on him for a second. He has this now. He gets to have this, somehow, and he swears he’ll do his best – that they’ll do their best not to mess it up.

 FIN

#pc: montreal #pc: edmonton #edward murphy #étienne maisonneuve #fic #projocanondoko

[teaandgames]

The Tea Times - May 2020

Normally, I’d use this little intro box to joke about the events in the news in a lighthearted we’re-all-gonna-die kind of a way, but that doesn’t really feel right at the moment. It’s been a very charged month, with the virus and injustice making the rounds. I hope everyone is keeping safe while they fight for what’s right.

On the games side of things, it's been a little threadbare on the news front, as tends to be the way as we move into summer. Things should hopefully pick up next month with things like the IGN Summer of Gaming kicking in. Oh and if you’re wondering what happened to April’s news, then I forgot. Simple as that. Whoops.

At a Glance

Mafia II and III: Definitive Editions, Maneater, Minecraft Dungeons and Shantae and the Seven Sirens released.

Paper Mario: The Origami King, Sherlock Holmes Chapter One, Blue Fire announced.

Yakuza: Like A Dragon is coming to PC!

Pyramid Head breaks his way into Dead by Daylight!

Rumour mill: The Simpsons: Hit and Run!

Blizzcon officially cancelled!

Ubisoft taking on Apple and Google!

The Releases

A big chunk of the releases in May were remasters or games that had otherwise been packaged together. I wouldn’t normally talk about them but there has been quite a lot of buzz about the definitive editions of Mafia II and Mafia III. I’ve played Mafia II and enjoyed my time with it but I wouldn’t say it was due a definitive edition ten years later but here we are. Unfortunately, the definitive editions have been plagued with performance issues. If you want to wade in yourself, then the Definitive Editions hit Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox on the 19th May.

From the mobsters of the real world to the mobsters (probably) of the sea: sharks. If you’ve ever felt you have too few teeth and wondered how human beings taste, then give Maneater a whirl and possibly seek therapy. Maneater pits you as a shark in a vicious battle of revenge against the hunter who killed your mother. A lot of innocent people will die in the process but that’s nature, baby. It was released on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on the 22nd May and will release on the Switch later this year.

One of more highly anticipated releases this month was Minecraft Dungeons, the isometric hack’n’slash set in the Minecraft world. Honestly, I didn’t really believe it was an actual game up until release but it is. It seems to be as fun and chill as Minecraft is but with less crafting and more hitting things. One to break out with friends, methinks. If it’s your bag, it was released on PC, Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on May 26th.

I never had much to do with the Shantae series but it clearly struck a note with people because we’re now on to the fifth game in the series, Shantae and the Seven Sirens. Technically it’s been out since last year but on mobile devices and in parts by the look of it. Bit odd, but the whole package is now out if you fancy some more platforming, transforming and… dancing I guess. It came to PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and the Switch on May 28th 2020.

The Announcements

In a fairly shocking turn of events, Nintendo announced Paper Mario: The Origami King, which was surprising enough but more than that, it’s coming as early as July 17th. Funnily enough, it features an origami twist as Mario characters are folded into new and interesting shapes.  It’s not that unusual for Nintendo to pull this kind of move but I wouldn’t have thought that Paper Mario would have that kind of draw anymore. Still, my fingers are crossed that this is going to be a return to form following the failure lacklustre Sticker Star and (reportedly) Colour Splash. The trailer maybe hints at some turn based stuff! Here’s hoping!

For those that like a mystery, then you may like Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One. It seems that the biggest mystery of all, Sherlock himself, is about to be unravelled. Presumably anyway, I never really had much of a dalliance with the deerstalker detective. Still, the Sherlock Holmes series has gained a firm reputation over the years and Chapter One is still in the reliable hands of Frogware. It will be out in 2021.

On the prettier side of things, there’s Blue Fire. It’s a heavily Zelda inspired game about trekking across a desolated kingdom, poking your nose into all of its secrets. It has a nice clean artstyle, reminiscent of something like A Hat in Time, with some slashy combat on top. It looks pretty good, though I’m less keen on the shadow monster enemy design. It should be coming out this summer.

Dragon Itself To PC!

The Yakuza series has been unfortunately tied to the PlayStation for quite some time now. While the first few in the series have been remastered for PC, entries three to seven are still PlayStation exclusive. My ways of knocking people out with bowls of noodles are severely limited. Hopefully, however, there’s now a bit more light at the end of the tunnel.

The latest in the series, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, will now be coming to PC. It specified Windows 10 but it should hopefully be supported by all operating systems. Like A Dragon is peculiar in that it is turn based, unlike the action focus the rest of the series has, but seems to maintain the madcap vibe. I’m hoping it sells like hotcakes, so SEGA will have more incentive to release the rest of the Yakuza series on PC. It should be out later this year either way.

Unexpected Pyramid Head

If I made a news piece about everyone that got added to Dead by Daylight then you would get mighty sick of it. In this case though, someone notable has been added: Pyramid Head from the Silent Hill series. The physical representation of the protagonist from Silent Hill 2’s irrepressible sexual desires. He’s evolved beyond that nowadays though, arguably being the face (of sorts) of the survival horror genre. Maybe it was only a matter of time until he was absorbed into Dead by Daylight’s roster.

What is notable about this is that the Silent Hill series has been pretty firmly closed. After the much anticipated Silent Hills fell through, so Konami could focus on making pachinko machines and burning money, the series has been stagnant. Let's be honest, it was pretty rough times before that with games like Silent Hill: Homecoming but PT gave us all hope. Having Pyramid Head suddenly appear in the public eye is a bit odd.

He’ll be released next month. His skillset seems to be around map manipulation as he drags his big old sword along the ground. He can also put people in the Cage of Atonement, which is a special hook. Sounds nice.

Rumour Mill: Hitting and Running

Originally there were two rumours this month but then Like A Dragon got confirmed so that leaves us with just the one: The Simpsons: Hit and Run may be getting a remaster. It’s a much beloved game, for good reason as it allows people to Grand Theft Auto their way across The Simpsons world. A remaster for PC and modern day consoles would go down a treat, seeing as The Simpsons still seems to be going strong.

Of course, this should be taken with a grain of salt. Actually, seeing as the rumour came from just a reddit post you can take it with a giant truckload of salt. Still, it would be nice. The same post also comments on a new entry in the Sleeping Dogs series (which would be fantastic), the Far Cry series, Tomb Raider and, rather unfortunately, Just Cause 5. Hopefully they’ve learned a few things on that one.

Oh and Mad Max II, which would be pretty sweet given how the first one was kind of swept under the rug.

Blizzcon Is Blizz-gone

Blizzard’s big convention, Blizzcon, will not be happening this year. As news goes, it’s not particularly revolutionary but it is still sad to see. I know a lot of people would have been looking forward to getting together with likeminded people and playing some games together as well as seeing what’s going on inside the Blizzard skunkworks.

They’re looking into online ways of contacting people, so at least something of the convention can carry on but I’m afraid you’ll likely have to wait until next year if you were hoping to meet up with some friends.

A Legal Assissination

Here’s something that I wasn’t expecting. Ubisoft, purveyors of the finest assassinations and less than fine game clients, are taking on the twin giants of Apple and Google. Sounds like a bit of a self-assassination to me but you’ve got to protect your IP somehow I suppose. The issue surrounds Rainbow Six Siege, Ubisoft’s immensely popular online tactical shooter. A group called Alibaba created a game called “Area F2” which seems to be a straight rip-off of Rainbow Six Siege. Right down to the menu icons by the look of it.

Ubisoft’s lawsuit is therefore directed at Apple and Google for allowing Area F2 to be sold in their stores. It looks like a pretty legitimate claim to be honest, as that’s plagiarism to a laughable degree. Ubisoft did notify them by the sounds of it but they haven’t done anything about it. Best keep an eye on this storm as it develops.

That’s all for May, see you in June!

#Paper Mario #The Origami King #Simpsons Hit And Run #far Cry #Tomb Raider #Mad Max II #Minecraft Dungeons #Mafia II #Mafia III #Just Cause 5 #Sherlock Holmes #Shantae #Maneater #Yakuza Like A Dragon #Gaming #The Tea Times #Tea And Video Games

[componentplanet]

The Best Cars, Car Tech, and Trends of CES 2020

LAS VEGAS – CES 2020 cemented its role as the most important show for automotive technology, with a handful of new car introductions (and re-introductions) plus lots of standalone technologies this week. Most US auto shows other than perhaps LA don’t generate a critical mass of tech-oriented auto company people, analysts, and journalists. CES certainly did.

Some might snicker when Byton CEO Daniel Kircher called the M-Byte EV “the first smart device on wheels,” but not the people attending this show. Of the vehicle introductions and concept cars, all were electrified – EVs or plug-in hybrids – with no gas-engine-only vehicles introduced.

Here are some highlights from the car and car tech part of CES 2020.

Nissan Ariya EV: Bigger than the Leaf, more range, and an SUV, not a sedan.

Best Debut: Nissan Turns Over a New Leaf

The biggest car debut – of a real car, or one that will be a real car – of CES was the Nissan Ariya. It’s a crossover / SUV intended to replace or (more likely) supplant the 10-year-old Nissan Leaf. The Ariya is bigger than the Leaf, offers two motors where the Leaf has one, and gets up to 300 miles on a charge versus 225 for the Leaf. With even more of the market headed toward SUVs, that’s how the Ariya is styled. The Leaf is a four-door sedan.

All this came down at the same time showgoers got news of how former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn made good his, ah, departure from Japan, in a shipping box punched full of air holes, on a private jet, and heard Ghosn rail against the accused-is-presumed-guilty system of justice, as he described it. (He also dissed Nissan, his former employer.) The two events had nothing to do with each other, beyond the company being Nissan in both cases.

The Jeep Wrangler gets a PHEV variant. Not many chargers in the Moab Desert, but the e-motor still provides torque for rock-crawling.

Jeep Gets 3 Electrified Vehicles

Fiat Centoventi concept.

FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobile) plans to electrify its entire iconic Jeep line by 2022. That doesn’t mean EV-only vehicles but plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models with up to 30 miles of battery-power driving before the gas engine kicks in. They’ll have vehicle badges marked “4xe” and include the traditional (Jeep-looking) Wrangler, the tiny Renegade, and Compass SUV. In Europe, Jeep said the vehicles will have an electric motor and 1.3-liter turbo-four engine producing 240 hp. “Electrification … will modernize the Jeep brand as it strives to become the leader in green eco-friendly premium technology,” the company says.

FCA also showed the Fiat Centoventi, a 145-inch, four-seater with suicide doors, and room for one to four batteries (they slide in), allowing 100-500 km of range, or 62-311 miles. An upscale model would get a 20-inch display in addition to the standard 10-incher. The late Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said Fiat was losing $10,000 a car making the Fiat 500e; hopefully, this has better margins.

Sony Vision-S concept with a wall of LCDs across the dashboard.

Front Seat Displays Get Bigger

The Byton M-Byte is the winner with a 48-inch LCD (one single panel) that includes SPF-30 in the glove box. The display in the Sony Vision-S concept car was only slightly smaller. The tiny Fiat Centoventi concept EV can be had with an optional 20-inch panel. Byton even has an LCD panel in the steering wheel. Pimp-my-ride tuners did that years ago. The difference is Byton’s is legal because the airbag is still there in the lower third of the wheel hub. For Byton, it was a re-introduction of the M-Byte as a production-ready vehicle (first cars, late 2020, US 2021) after a CES 2018 unveiling.

Sony shocked CES  – that is, advance word didn’t leak out – with its Vision-S concept car that also had a width of the cockpit array of LCDs, including side mirror / blind spot LCDs on the left and right edges. Not that Sony will build an EV and compete with Tesla; this was a car to remind the automakers that Sony, too, makes a lot of car electronics beyond in-dash radios.

Displays are getting bigger in general. A 7-inch display doesn’t cut it anymore except on the very cheapest cars where navigation is your phone, not a $500-$1,000 navigation package. More instrument panels are now 12 inches and some higher-end vendors pair it with a second 12-inch in the center stack. Mercedes made the small seam between the two fall in with your line of vision and the steering wheel, so it appears as a single panel to the driver. Midsize and bigger cars will need 10-inch center stack displays to remain competitive. The Mustang Mach-E EV gets a 15-inch portrait display.

At the same time, the perceived image size of head-up displays is increasing. This allows for augmented reality HUDs, in this case meaning the car tracks the position of your eyes relative to the HUD, and overlays where-to-turn arrows in your line of sight so it appears to be floating over the actual turn. For this who say “too distracting, too dangerous,” it helps to drive a head-up-display car to see how HUDs reduce distraction.

BMW i Interaction Ease seats: recycled materials, embedded touch surfaces, embedded LED lighting.

BMW Car Seats Become Lounge Chairs

As cars become self-driven cars and the driving controls go away, automakers are imagining big, spacious, amorphous-shape seats for the passengers. BMW fleshed out the concept with not just one but three variants. All three are currently unobtainable; two because they’re concepts, and the third because it will be on the BMW X7 SUV and others in a couple of years and only to those comfortable with a $1,500 lease payment.

The most far-out is the BMW i Interaction Ease concept interior that BMW’s head of development Klaus Froelich described as a “supreme luxury experience …  The merger of advanced technology and design creates an almost human bond with the car.” The two seats are joined together (no room for cupholders! Oh, the humanity!), with integrated leg rests. They embed touch surfaces for selecting, say, infotainment, and in this concept, areas light up in order to confirm a selection or provide ambiance. The concepts also provide immense legroom. BMW says the abstract interior of the i Interation Ease interior “underscores the potential of intuitive, almost human-like interaction between passenger and vehicle.”

Got that? In the real world, we wonder if the extra length that adds to the car is compatible with the desire for shorter vehicles in urban areas. But if they’re self-driving, they can just go somewhere else after you dismiss the car for the evening, and parking is not your problem.

ZeroG Lounger in BMW X7.

The ZeroG Lounger is close to production. Fitted in three BMW X7s for CES, the seat tips back 60 degrees, including the seat pan. An entertainment screen drops down from the sunshade location. An integrated seat belt and cocoon airbag protect a reclined passenger. Most cars with recliners today warn you not to use the feature while driving. (Right.) BMW says the “ZeroG Lounger … will be ready for series production vehicles in just a few years in a similar form.” We can hardly wait. (Seriously, for once.) This is the kind of feature that makes a long trip comfortable for the passenger. It would be nice if BMW could fit one in an X5, a more attainable BMW.

Lastly, the BMW i3 Urban Suite: BMW ripped out the interior of the outgoing i3 carbon-fiber EV and turned the right rear passenger space into a sloped back lounging seat (if you want to sit upright, the driver’s seat is off the stock vehicle). The right front seat is a sliding footrest. The left rear seat is a wood table with a securely fastened lamp. It’s cool, it’s impractical, and it keeps our attention while waiting for the 2021 BMW i4 EV with, we hear, a 530-hp motor, 300 miles of range, and the ability to go head to head with the Tesla Model 3.

The Visteon domain controller (lower left) encapsulates dozens of microprocessors; variants scale for more displays or processing power.

Fewer Control Modules Do More Work

This is geeky, so feel free to skip down to the snow-in-Detroit photo. [But isn’t this ExtremeTech? -Ed] As cars do more things electronically, the number of microprocessors is up around 100. Tier 1 suppliers, the big boys such as Visteon, Continental, Bosch, Magna, and Aptiv, are integrating lots of small modules into a couple of uber-modules, or domain controllers: one for safety, one for infotainment, one for the engine room. That reduces the amount of wiring in the car. There are still connections, but only sharing as much data as necessary, between say infotainment and the safety modules. The telematics modem has to provide in-car Wi-Fi and also has to call for help in an accident, which are separate domains.

Visteon advanced tech director Upton Bowden says a supplier can scale up the microprocessor within a domain controller for more or less performance. or to drive additional displays, all as needed. That means the unit doesn’t have to be certified and tested multiple times for slightly different applications. And the Tier 1 supplier takes responsibility for vetting all the parts inside, giving the automaker, in quaint parlance, just one throat to choke if there’s a development issue.

Detroit’s North American Auto Show. It snows there in January. NAIAS never had a chance against CES on the tech front. Or the weather front. The LA show moved to November and also stole Detroit’s thunder. Detroit reboots as a spring/summer show this June.

CES Did Not Kill the Detroit Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) gave up its January slot for one in June. Some believe CES blew Detroit out of the water. Actually, the shows are different. Every major auto show (LA, New York, Detroit, Chicago, DC) is more about 10 days of showing cars to customers; the press/analysts days tacked on for 2-3 days beforehand are just a way to get the automakers to build fancy booths and then turn them over to the local dealer associations. Meanwhile, the high-end European automakers realized their market share in Michigan rounded off to zero percent and bailed.

And the LA Auto Show, which had been in January a week away from NAIAS, moved to late November, where it has cemented its role as the show for green vehicles (it is in California) with its press days branded AutoMobility LA. Plus, LA has a goodly number of new car intros, and the Audi-BMW-Jaguar-Infiniti-Lexus-Mercedes-Porsche companies know SoCal is fertile hunting ground. NAIAS took a half-hearted stab at being a tech show with something called Automobili-D, but it was too little, too late, and stuck it down in the basement of Cobo Hall (now called TCF Center).

Anyway, CES is way bigger than Detroit or any other US auto show for media and industry participation. The SEMA show in Las Vegas in early November is more of a tuner/parts show. Comdex, the computer show, could have been an auto tech show but it didn’t survive much past Y2K. And Detroit gets to reinvent itself as an auto show / outdoor festival in June. All that’s left of the January show is the freestanding North American Car and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) at TCF Center Monday. Beyond Detroit, auto shows face an uncertain future as automakers question how much money to invest. Mercedes-Benz also pulled out of the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) for 2020 even though it’s the company’s most lucrative sales turf. That is a bad sign for auto shows.

Consumer Technology Association president Gary Shapiro, left, interviews Counselor to the President Ivanka Trump Tuesday. (Photo: CES)

Ivanka Trump Speaks, World Did Not End

Much was made of the Consumer Technology Association (the CES organizer) inviting first daughter and counselor to the President Ivanka Trump to do a one-on-one keynote interview with CTA President / CEO Gary Shapiro. There was concern Shapiro and CTA were trying to tip the scales Trumpward in an election year. (Maybe. But it’s a long way from election day, and enough Democratic officeholders show up at CES to speak most years.) Some resistance formed around the hashtag #BoycottCES, but it meant giving up paid-for $500-a-night rooms, so if there was a boycott, it was of the one-on-one chat.

For the most part, Ivanka Trump didn’t say anything outlandish in her 40 minutes; she mostly restated the company line. For the most part, there are other more women in tech who would have been better role models. The best criticism was “Ivanka Trump Keynoting At CES Is All That Is Wrong For Women In Tech” by Carolina Milanesi in Forbes.

Nobody booed. Many agreed with Trump that “our immigration system is totally flawed,” although some of her related comments about making visa slots available for skilled workers may go beyond what the administration is doing. Tech and car companies are desperate for highly skilled engineers and computer scientists.

The bottom line is: Many CTA member companies do manufacturing in China. They’d rather not see their products tariffed. If a high-profile, softball interview for Ivanka makes the White House like consumer tech companies and go easy on tariffs, it’s the price you pay to make commerce run smoothly.

The odor of burning leaves in Vegas concentrated on overpasses on the Strip.

Mini-Trends and Gossip From CES Week in Vegas

On the Strip, Las Vegas Boulevard, the smell of weed was almost everywhere. Especially on the overpasses necessary to get you safely over the six-to-eight lanes of roadway. A friend from a software-development firm said, “With all our bio-engineering skills, you’d think someone could weed [yes, a pun] out the smell.”

There were multiple EVs,  people-haulers, and transporters of the future — some nicely rounded (Toyota’s concept, top image), others small-and-tall minibusses for a half-dozen commuters. Toyota even envisioned a future Woven City community it will begin building at the base of Mount Fuji in 2021. Mercedes-Benz showed a far-out, doorless AVTR (Avatar) linked to the James Cameron movie. It senses the heartbeat and pulse of the occupant and responds with a welcoming thump on the seatback.

Automotive Grade Linux (AGL) continues to make strides winning converts, especially from the QNX OS. QNX initially took down Microsoft Windows Embedded Automotive when it won over the Ford business to underpin Ford Sync back in 2014. Now it’s pretty much a fight among AGL, QNX, and Android. The AGL consortium announced a reference design to make it easier for automakers to port their cars over.

BMW said it would be the first automaker with 5G in-car telematics, working with telematics partner Samsung, in the 2021 BMW iNext EV. BMW has a long history with Samsung; its now-subsidiary Harman has produced BMW’s last four infotainment head units and BMW’s iDrive system is considered to be the most competent infotainment controller, nearly two decades after the first edition in 2001.

TriEye SWIR camera.

New kinds of sensors may improve driving and self-driving. TriEye showed SWIR, or short-wave infrared lidar, in a camera that improves visibility in dusty, snowy and rainy conditions, the company says. WaveSense talked up ground-penetrating radar for self-driving. Say what – you want to go forward, not down? CTO Byron Stanley says the soil composition, buried pipes, and cables create a unique fingerprint that, once mapped, lets the car know its location within a few inches. And it’s not affected by above-ground weather conditions.

If anything got people upset about CES, it wasn’t the monorail lines (better than in previous years), long waits in cab lines (Lyft and Uber solved that problem), or all the security checks (cursory; you could sneak in a cruise missile). It was paying $25-$50 a day for a “resort” fee. I came in early to see a college hockey tournament at the new T-Mobile Center on the strip when Vegas was still quiet in the days just after New Year’s Eve revelers departed. The first three nights, my $43 (with taxes) daily resort fee was more than the room. (By midweek, some rooms were offered by hoteliers at $2,000 a night.) The resort fee amounted to two bottles of water a day, use of the grandly named health center, and swimming pool access, which in the winter means you can walk out on the patio to admire the drained pool.

CES Las Vegas has always been an international show (and there are consumer electronics shows outside the US). There seemed to be more Asian participants this year, especially from high-level players, but ranging from parts-maker companies with two-person booths to larger companies from Korea (actually, South Korea; not much take coming out of the North), Japan, Taiwan, India, and especially China. Byton (China) had a huge press conference Sunday. Harman, a unit of Samsung (South Korea), took over most of the exhibit hall space at the Hard Rock Hotel (which was bought by Richard Branson and will be rebuilt for CES 2021 as the Virgin Hotel). Car tech, consumer tech, it’s a global business.

Now read:

For Self-Driving Cars, Lidar Amps Up at CES 2020

Behind the Scenes With Aptiv’s Self-Driving Car Nerve Center at CES 2020

In This ‘Avatar’-Themed Mercedes-Benz, Two Hearts Beat as One

from ExtremeTechExtremeTech https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/304585-the-best-cars-car-tech-and-trends-of-ces-2020 from Blogger http://componentplanet.blogspot.com/2020/01/the-best-cars-car-tech-and-trends-of.html

#The Best Cars #Car Tech #and Trends of CES 2020