#I've only gotten a paragraph into actually typing

[evolutionsbedingt]

Which language is the most beautiful and which one has odd, arresting glory?

Oh wow, what a question dear friend! Your time was impeccable too because I had just had four hours of language classes when I read your question and my brain basically went into overdrive. Thank you for rolling this particular apple of discord into my hands, I hope I did it justice! 💚💚💚

My immediate response was that Chinese indubitably is the most beautiful language and odd, arresting glory should belong to Old English.

But then I questioned my own assessment, because of course I would. I tried not to get lost in the 'well, it's not like you speak all languages, so how can you really say which one is the most beautiful - you know but a fraction of them!' But it also made me think about the languages I do know and whether they can even stand up to comparison.

You see, I know at least two languages only by their bible translations (Gothic and Old Church Slavonic), three only by short inscriptions and religious texts (Hittite, Old Persian and Avestan) and they, together with a number of others, are languages I speak only through the definitions offered to me by the dictionary. This also includes Chinese and Old English.

Then again, Chinese and Old English are the ones I've gotten most up close and personal with outside of English and German. I have translated a chunk of the Beowulf epos and read books translated from Chinese in a way that preserved the original language as much as possible, as well as trying my hand at translating a few of the Tang dynasty poems myself. Old English feels familiar because it's very closely related to German; something that is definitely reflected in my translation of it as well because sometimes I didn't bother translating at all - just adjusted the spelling or conjugation a little and we were good to go.

And Chinese despite it's often purported title of the most difficult language to learn is a language that makes terrible amounts of sense in my brain - so much so that I started picking it up simply by watching series and reading books and translation commentary. It has no declension of nouns or adjectives, it has no conjugation and tense and aspect are simply expressed through classifiers. Does one have to learn at minimum one thousand characters to be reasonably fluent? Yes. But how many words do you think I had to learn to be reasonably fluent in English and French? The only thing that differentiates characters from words in the grand scheme of things is that we are not familiar with a writing system like this. If I can learn to read and write Ancient Greek well enough to get a Graecum in 1.5yrs (with considerable effort) the same will be true for Chinese.

And yet I wouldn't be able to actually, fully understand either language because that would only come with practice, with seeing it used in real life and learning the many, many ways it can be and is used - both colloquially and in elevated contexts.

So how can I dare to declare it a beautiful language if - at the moment - the only access I have to it is through translation? How can I compare any language that I'm not fully (or at least almost) fluent in? How can I compare languages that I only know from translated, religious texts (and we know they chose to translate closely to the original, making it an imperfect reflection of the language) with a languages I know mostly from poetry and fantasy novels?

I can't. But I can say that, knowing as many languages as I do, not one does poetry quite like Classical Chinese and Old English. They are similar in their economy of words and simultaneously strong imagery. There's a playfulness to both languages that makes them incredibly well-suited for the type of poetry I like and which thus makes them my choices for 'most beautiful language'.

You will notice that this leaves the category of 'odd, arresting glory' open again (and I promise it won't take me another- let's not check how many paragraphs -to answer this). The description of odd and arresting glory made me first think of Old English, because to me as a German speaker Old English certainly odd and having translated a bit of Beowulf it's certainly glorious.

But I think the language most likely to leave me to stop and stare (at least in translation) is Russian in 19th century prose. It's the very opposite of the minimalistic Old English and Classical Chinese, with its long and elaborate descriptions but closer to German prose (and even poetry) of the time and I really admire the imagery wrought there - it's one of the reasons why I still would rather like to learn modern Russian instead of 'just' Old Church Slavonic which is often bound by the Ancient Greek and biblical writing conventions. I want to be able to see that beauty for myself, instead of through the thick lense of others' translations.

Phew.

That became a very long answer and I'll definitely have to put a read more but I thank you very much for making me think about this and subsequently put my thoughts into words! A delightful way to spend my time while cooking the stew for tomorrow! I hope you enjoyed reading this 💚

#answered #language geekery

[ourdramaqueen]

Fic Tag Game

I was tagged by @suchaladyy 🌸

20 questions:

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

55, divided into fandoms as follows: Wednesday (TV 2022) (24) The Boys (TV 2019) (21) The Lord of the Rings (8) Sin City - All Media Types (1) Almost Human (TV) (1)

2. What’s your AO3 word count?

368,862

3. What fandoms do you write for?

See #1. Currently only Wednesday, though I do hope to get back into The Boys soon, and I still have some unpublished LotR WIPs that I'd like to actually finish sometime...

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Private Tutor

Kinktober Day 8: Shaving (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie)

Kinktober Day 2: See-through (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie)

Kinktober Day 18: Rough Sex (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie)

How do I passive-agressively say ‘fuck you’ in flower?

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes! I really appreciate when readers take the time to post a comment, so I always answer at least with a brief "thank you".

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Defintiely the whole Closer series (LotR, Frodo/Éomer) because it is mostly canon compliant, so it ends with Frodo going into the West. 😭My Rough Sex series (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie) is also fairly angsty by its nature as a series of mildly canon divergent gap filler fics following through the episodes of S1 and S2 (so far).

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I think pretty much anything apart from the above two series? Well, apart from the Struck by a Bolt series (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie), which has the potential to go either way.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I haven't gotten outright hate, but certainly a few rude/entitled/"clearly hasn't read the tags or the end note despite me recommending to in the a/n at the beginning" comments.

9. Do you write smut? What kind?

LOL! All kinds. Soft, kinky (probably more kinky), some a bit dark. I seem to enjoy my ships a little fucked up.

10. Do you write cross-overs?

I don't have a proper crossover on my AO3 (see #12 for the reason why I specify it like this), though I'd love to write one sometime since I love reading them. The closest I've come is Kinktober Day 15: Monster Fucking (The Boys, Butcher/Hughie), which is heavily Beauty and the Beast inspired.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Little Brother was translating Private Tutor into Russian, though they haven't updated it in a while.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Oh yes! In fact, the first fics I posted online were cowritten with two (originally three, but one of then dropped out shortly after we'd started) friends, though under a different pen name and in a crossover of two small fandoms (with additional ones sneaking in here and there). I haven't written for that series in at least 15 years, though I still have fairly extensive notes for a trilogy of stories centered around my OC and I'd love to get back to that eventually.

But more recently, I've cowritten Line Without a Hook with erraticallyinspired (holyfudgemonkeys), who afaik isn't on Tumblr, and An Addams Family Guide to Kidnapping with @nonamemanga. I'm currently working on something with @suchaladyy, and who knows what and who will be next? It's a lot of fun!

13. What WIP would you like to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oof! I only have unpublished WIPs which I'm not sure if I'll ever get to finish them. Mostly for LotR.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

I really can't choose. Go look at my bookmarks on AO3, LOL!

15. What are your writing strengths?

Oh boy. Um. I think I've figured out quite well how to show character through smut, as well as to distinguish characters from one another by how they behave and talk.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Hmm... Sometimes I get bogged down in details, though I've gotten much better at catching myself now. Oh, paragraphs of really long sentences, but again, I've improved a lot there. 😆

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Absolutely, as long as I'm confident in the language or have someone who's a native/fluent speaker to help me with it.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Are we talking wrote for myself, or published? Because I started as a teenager in the 80s, writing your typical Mary Sue self-inserts starring my favorite celebs, like Nick Rhodes from Duran Duran, by hand on notepads...

19. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Nope, still can't choose, sorry!

20. What fic would you want to rewrite one day?

There's one story from my first cowriting experience I mentioned in #12 that I would dearly love to rewrite because the constant POV changes are driving me nuts when I read it now! I don't think there's anything that's currently on my AO3 that I feel the need to rewrite.

I don't know who's been tagged or not, so if you haven't been but want to participate, consider yourself tagged!

#fic tag game

[altschmerzes]

do you have any tips for how to get yourself to write, and more importantly, how to like your writing? i used to be so confident and sure of my skills in writing but recently it seems like i can never put down actual words, and when i do they just come out flat. it’s the worst possible time for this to be happening too 😭 i really look up to you as a writer and admire your dedication and your ability to write consistently so if you can, help please!! 🙏

first of all thank you so much for your lovely words!!! i'm beyond flattered that i'm someone you look up to in writing, you're so kind to say so, and i've been pleased with my own consistency recently tbh. it's not always like that, i go through long stretches not being able to get myself to write, which is always frustrating and upsetting.

anyways in terms of getting yourself to write and, more importantly, to like what you're writing, here's what i've got for you my friend!

telling yourself that you're not going to care about it being perfect is the only way to get through it, i think. i do what i call 'flashdrafting' which is the fastest and shittiest version of something. i don't even pay attention to punctuation and full sentences, i just slam through stream of consciousness as much as possible without thinking about it. i get really into the groove doing that and then i move that text to the bottom half of my screen and type at the top, just retyping what i wrote into full sentences and paragraphs, adding details, etc. it helps me not overthink things too much.

i also do sprints in discord! i'm in a couple of servers with people i write with and doing those timed writing exercises helps me not only get a couple sentences out at least, it engages a communal aspect that is really helpful to me. of course this only works if you have like. a server to write with people in, but similar effects can be achieved setting a timer for five, ten, fifteen minutes etc. or just telling yourself fuck it, i'm adding 100 words to this story.

writing the parts you're excited about first can also help, i think. of course then it's a pain in the ass to go back and lay the groundwork for them or connect the scenes but sometimes that helps you realize that maybe you didn't need the parts you weren't excited about in the first place, or it'll give you motivation to get through those parts.

if you feel like you really hate what you're writing, switch to something else. that's what i do. i think it's really easy to get n one's own head with any creative endeavour, especially writing. you probably hate it mostly bc you wrote it. i end up hating a lot of the stuff i write and even if i'm lying to myself when i say it, i get through that by telling myself 'you hate it bc you wrote it, it's not that bad'

and, finally, having people to write with/get excited about writing with/hype your writing up. i cannot emphasize how critical this is. i would not have gotten anywhere in any of my projects if it weren't for the wonderful people - here, on anon or with a name attached, or in my dms, or otherwise - who are cheering me on and hyping me up and getting excited with me. it's hard to feel like your writing is garbage when someone you respect and enjoy talking to is telling you it rules, yknow? and it can be hard to build that kind of community but honestly, it's just about showing up i think. join a server if one exists, start messaging with writers you like, just start posting about your writing. building that community is like. i wouldn't be writing nearly as much as i do as often as i do if i didn't know it mattered to other people too.

#gav gab #gav answers #long post #h my gd im sorry that's so long but. there you have it. #writing

[weebsinstash]

"If you're so successful and happy why do you feel the need to do this"

I'll throw you a bone bestie

Because it's genuinely hilarious and cathartic

I don't feel the "need" to do it, I just think it's funny to dunk on people who suck in various ways. Like yourself. Like ngl when I stumbled across your blog at first, seeing how horrible and loserish of a person you were simultaneously disgusted me so much and made me laugh so much. If someone is a loser but a good person, you feel bad for them and want to leave them alone or even help them. If someone is a bad person but isn't a loser, you have nothing to cringe at or look down on them for since they're doing better than you. But being a loser AND a bad person is like, you're the funniest person ever to get a rise out of and also you set off a disgust response that makes people want to give you shit. People don't pity you for your loserish life because you're an asshole, so we view you as undeserving of pity. That's why people like you, i.e. loser + a bad person, get shit online. Look at boogie2988, Chris Chan, Yandere Dev etc. for other examples of people like you. You'd get along with Yandere dev btw he's also a creep who likes rape porn :)

You've given me SO many laughs over the past year after I was stressed from studying for a tough exam, a busy week at work or other things in my life. This whole experience has been nothing but positive for me tbh. Sounds weird but my life and mental health have actually gotten a lot better. I can be resilient now for people who need me to be strong for them without getting stressed myself and people appreciate that. I've helped people through tough times because my stress level is lower and I can be zen about things I normally wouldn't be

All of this is literally just entertaining. I'm not trying to do anything or fight for a cause. It's just funny and cathartic to me. Seeing everyone in your degenerate rape porn community get bent out of shape over ridiculous and hilarious spam like "bitch lasagna" and shitty photoshopped porn. Maybe I have a weird sense of humor or something but whoever told you people only troll others if they have miserable unsuccessful lonely lives lied to you to make you feel better. It's genuinely just fun especially for people like you who give big dramatic reactions to things most of the time. Like this whole calling the police thing over me "going to your house" and being so goddamned confident I'm about to get arrested 😂 this type of shit is why I continue and you constantly insulting me makes me want to do it more and also not feel bad about it because you deserve it. I can troll people who suck and it's guilt-free fun. Like trolling a child predator, you don't feel bad about it yknow, it's just funny. It's just for kicks.

You know whats actually so embarrassing

When I initially said the whole karma works in reverse for you, I was talking about being ditched by your family, and your hysterical ass thought I was talking about your assault. You misinterpreted what I even said and used it as your excuse to act like a histrionic freak for almost a full year

You have literally done nothing but prove my point that you are an objectively shit person, and anyone who would be friends with you is probably a subhuman enabler and also a compulsive liar much like yourself. You use your alleged assault to cry victim and use it to harass other people. You cry victim blaming but then spout blatant ableism, misogyny, transphobia, and racism more than once. You have typical White Woman Feminism, screaming and whining that you aren't a slut but calling everyone else whores for having kinks you don't like

You're sitting here further incriminating yourself, writing so many paragraphs I'm not even reading them all, spending hours and hours and hours. I'm at work making a living supporting my family and you're at home, on your phone, for hours. When do you even sleep lmao. Homie you literally lied pretending to be a teenager, you could lie about anything. Does writing fanfiction about having a partner help heal the wounds from knowing you did something stupid and got thrown away like a used tissue

It was something with a dog, wasn't it? I know your types. You need attention from literally wherever you can get it. That's why you don't even care if everyone is screaming at you, you just need acknowledgment. This is such stereotypical neglected child behavior and you're so bitter and angry you're barely even coherent

Go dye your hair blue and attend a republican rally since you share their politics. I'll at least have the peace knowing I've never been so obsessed with a complete stranger I have to obsessively keep checking if they've replied to me. That's shit MIDDLE SCHOOLERS DO, but oh no, you're allegedly so successful and intelligent 😂 so successful and intelligent you're acting like a QAnon 4channer for entertainment on Christmas. Hey guys the person who spent literally hours and hours on both Chrisrmas Eve and Christmas wants us to believe they have a partner. Who wants to call cap?

#doxxingdrama

[sesshy380]

OKAY

🌵🥑🍬 🔪 🥐 🏜️ 🧩

ಠ‿ಠ

🌵 ⇢ share the link to a playlist you love

I actually created a Spotify account and added my main work commute playlist (I've never had a reason to create a Spotify account since I got me rum and me parrot and me VLC 🏴‍☠️)

Daily Commute (yes, I actually named it that because I could no brain a better title)

🥑 ⇢ you accidentally killed somebody, which mutual(s) do you text for help?

So I 'accidentally' killed somebody? And I gotta rely on the moots for help? Hypothetically speaking...I won't need help.

Now if it's a character that I've accidently killed...I'll cry. Then both you and @resuri-art are going to hear all about it.

🍬 ⇢ post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

This one is more for entertainment purposes (and it even gets mentioned in longfic).

It's been pointed out that Marik likes books. He probably got tired of looking over scrolls, but he actually loves to read. During the early stages of creating his criminal organization, he would go to bookstores and libraries to get a basic grasp of common languages. One of those being English. In his stubbornness to try and do things for himself (without needing to rely on Odion or the Rod), he attempted to ask for such a book on his own. Cue him becoming the owner of the complete works of William Shakespeare.

I think you can see where this is going.

So my uncommon HC for him is that he is fluent in Shakespearian English.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Common highschool chemistry lab accidents and how to make certain deadly chemicals.

Please note: I had two teens in school at the time. They walked past while I was making my search. They both seemed to know the answer, as they were giving me a list of sites to visit that had complete 'how to make at home' lists. No, it was not that surprising coming from them.

🥐 ⇢ name one internet reference that will always make you laugh

I'm a sucker for Rick Rolls that I actually get me. I will laugh while hanging my head lol.

🏜️ ⇢ what's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

Honestly, I get so few that I love them all, but if I had to pick a type that's my favorite...the ones that point out that little subtle detail (whether intended or not). I love throwing little hints in my longer fics, and when someone spots it and asks questions, I just wanna scream and word vomit spoilers (but I am good about not doing that last part). I think I've only gotten maybe 1 or 2 that pointed out something I hinted at.

A close tie for favorite is getting good comments about writing something that is relatable to the reader, like this one from TKB 2nd chance:

🧩 ⇢ what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

WALL OF TEXT WITH NO PUNCTUATION

If I open and see wall of text, no paragraph breaks, I hit the back button. I just...cannot. I can do all lowercase. I can suffer through typo hell (within reason). I can even avoid eye-twitching inaccuracies (there are a few that make my brain scream, but I just carry on).

I CANNOT ignore someone writing a wall of text without a single break for changed PoV, dialogue, or basic punctuation. If I am forced to read that I will cry.

Ask Game here

#ask game #answered asks #sowideasea

[sablewing]

AI - Solving the Wrong Problems Because It's Cheaper - 325 - 15 February 2024

I've been reading the various opinion pieces on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and I definitely have opinions about what I've read. Here is a short list of some of the highlights of items I've found

AI is a public relations (PR) term for a predictive pattern generator, i.e. a text completion tool. The better term to use is Large Language Model (LLM) for language processing, and image generator for image generation.

AI is the latest attempt by the software industry to automate software development work and other jobs viewed as excessively expensive and easy to automate for businesses

The current models of AI available to the public are meant to present as pleasing eye candy to those who are inexperienced with different questions. When technical experts use the tools, the reports are about the lack of detail and deficiencies in the answers. The answers provide a starting place but not a complete solution for the questions.

AI is being used to solve the wrong problems It's being used this way because it is cheaper and easier than using it to solve the right problems

There are benefits to the current set of AI software models, if they are viewed as tools that need to be mastered instead of replacements for employees

AI is a public relations (PR) term for a fancy search engine

As I've gotten older and perhaps somewhat wiser, I've finally realized that the latest and greatest tech is often referred to using terms that are a good fit for marketing and may or may not be a good fit for the actual technology described. With the latest hullabaloo about AI I have found the same type of hype, that seems meant to better generate buzz and eyeballs on companies instead of describing the technology.

After reading a bit about AI and trying out one of the engines, here is how I would describe this new technology, which isn't all that new. The actual name of the technology, as used in the industry, is Large Language Model (LLM). A LLM is software that is used to predict what the next word, paragraph or other content based on a very large collection of data that has been organized. The software is used to process many various inputs and it is trained to emulate human behavior and write new content based on the information it has organized. For example, if someone asks the question, "What could I eat for breakfast?", the LLM might answer 'cereal', 'bacon and eggs', or 'fruit and roll', based on the dataset it has gathered.

There are problems that can occur when trying to use an LLM to write something like a blog article or a short story. At the current state of the software, it is creating a work based on the probability of the words and without a context that is tied to the real world. The only input is text and guidance from the LLM developers. A human has additional inputs through their senses, and their experiences in addition to information they have read or heard. A human also receives inputs from multiple humans of varying ages and backgrounds, while an LLM would receive limited input from a select set of humans, software developers specializing in the creation of neural networks.

In summary, LLMs are used to predict a probably outcome, not to use knowledge to generate an outcome. This means that the outcome is not original content but a result based on sifting through multiple sources to come up with what appears to be the best fit. As such, an LLM can at best emulate human intelligence in a very limited way. And if it receives new input in the form of questions, it will have limited context to process to find an answer. For example, for the question about breakfast, I asked what it would recommend, I got a fairly complete list of breakfast foods that seem centered on United States cuisine. I had to ask for breakfast and specify a different location in order to get different lists. A human might first ask, "Where do you want to eat breakfast?" before answering so they could have a context for the question. There are factors that we perceive, such as clothing, skin tone, gender and other physical characteristics that might change our answer. With a test LLM, it seems very sure of itself and if it can find an answer, it will provide one, even if it might be wrong.

Which to be fair, humans will also do this. People want to be helpful and it feels better to provide information instead of saying "I don't know." In the end, my assessment is that LLM's or AI as they might be called, are fancier search engines that can find existing data to answer questions, even if the information they provide is incorrect.

AI is the latest attempt by the software industry to automate software development work

Another feature I've seen recommended for AI is writing software. People are worried they might lose their software development job to an AI as they continue to improve in functionality. Based on trends I've seen in my career, I wouldn't be too worried about this as a problem. Here are some examples of attempts to automate software development that are no longer used or only used as a tool by software developers.

Have a few software architects design and write pseudo code that can be implemented by developers. The pseudo code will work perfectly so people with minimal skills can be used at a cheaper cost to implement the software.

Object oriented code will be added to libraries and create a foundation that only a few developers will need to use to develop software programs

Code will be designed to work in modules that do not require integration testing before they are deployed

A high level language will be used that will remove all possibility of errors introduced by developers. (This is a popular theme and based on articles about a new language, seems like it still occurs.

Eventually each language settles down into its niche usage or fades away from lack of use due to complexity/still requires debugging that outweighs its features.

App creation tools for phones will open up programming to anyone who is interested.

I've seen each of these trends come and go, and each one of them was supposed to reduce the number of developers required or reduce the skill level required to create good quality software programs. I'm still waiting for this to work and I don't think software development as a profession is going away any time soon.

AI is being used to solve the wrong problems and It's being used this way because it is cheaper and easier than using it to solve the right problems

Right now AI is used to reduce the time required to search large amounts of stored data. The search results are based on answers that are guessed due to the quantity and context of possible answers. The data itself is not organized, it is left as is and the AI builds a model to use when searching it.

These searches are based on the assumptions that The data is complete

The data is of high quality and covers the majority real world use cases

This model can be used to find data with accuracy approaching 100%

When looking at data that is not clean, it becomes easy to find examples where these assumptions fail. While this sounds like a worthwhile problem, it is also an easy problem for computers to solve, compared to other real world problems. Computers are very good at repetitive functions and searching for matches in an optimized matter is a core part of software development. But these searches are not generating new information, they are only allowing people to be somewhat more efficient at finding data. And if a person does not have skill or experience in generating good questions for AI, even this function is questionable.

There is a lot of money getting spent on this development so it sounds like it is a very expensive pursuit. However, there are other real world problems that would be of greater benefit, in my opinion, that are making little or no progress. Two examples of very hard problems to solve are sewing clothes and harvesting crops. Both activities are low paying and considered to require very little skill. It seems like they would be fields ripe for disruption and replacement by automation.

The reality is that both activities require things that automation does not have, such as

Vision

Manual dexterity

Ability to work in very bad conditions

Judgment

Current automation techniques are building machines that do have a type of vision and which can manipulate objects in the real world. Those machines are not paired with software that can also make quick and correct judgments and work in very bad conditions. If a machine is set to work in a wet, dirty and unsafe environment, it will eventually shut down or possibly break down. The machines have to operate in a very specific set of conditions and require monitoring to ensure they continue functioning. This monitoring is less labor intensive than the labor but it still requires human input. Sadly, a machine has to work in better conditions than a human or it will break down and lose the investment dollars. There are reports that describe the difficulty of generating profit when using technology to farm indoors.

In my opinion, the current efforts of AI are focused on the following goals:

Scrape existing data from as many on-line sources as possible Store the data in a database that is easily searchable Pair it with software that parses questions to search the data for the most populated result which may not be the correct result

This set of goals can easily make use of existing infrastructure and does not require any great innovation to gather data or organize the data for the search results. By great innovation, I am looking at discoveries like the creation of HTML, the microcomputer and other inventions that were a unique combination of existing technology that required insight and experience to develop. AI engines appear to be, in my opinion, simply refinement of existing search methods that is assembled in a user friendlier format to reach a broader audience.

If I were going to develop new tools that I think might be useful, here are a couple of my suggestions

Human reviewed data that is organized by categories. The categories are used to provide context for performing a search. For example, if searching for the word 'tile', there is a context of buying tiles for the kitchen, gaming tiles, historical tile work, or the manufacturing process for kitchen tile. Current search engines will provide the most asked for searches and depend on the user to come up with the correct context to find the term they want. There could be multiple filters selected, such as business versus educational, to help narrow down the results. AI might be used to search and suggest organization, humans would use this as a tool to review and approve/change the suggested categories. I think of this as a role for a type of librarian, one who manages on-line data instead of physical books.

Building algorithms that parse real world data based on input from various sensors. The algorithms would gather data and have self-modifying algorithms to organize the data in some method. Humans would be involved in guiding the algorithms towards societally and morally acceptable methods of parsing the data. The algorithms would have attachments that could interact with the environment that it is gathering data in. If this seems complicated, human children are performing these same activities from birth. Yet we seem to have a lot of difficulty training machines to do the same things that human children learn in the first five years of their life. I would not attach this type of software to the internet, it would be too easy for it to devolve and revert to the current level of AI algorithms that simply search and repeat back what they find. The intent is to have a machine experience parts of the world in the same way as living beings to see if they can respond back in a similar way.

Summary

The latest artificial intelligence algorithms are simply the latest of a set of tools that high level managers and investors see as a way to make money in the short term and not necessarily as tools for long term use. There are long term uses for this type of software, if in my opinion it is viewed as a tool and not a replacement for people and their experience. There are harder problems that if solved could be of great benefit. However, these uses of software would not yield returns as quickly as the current set of short term goals. Even with this short turnaround of return for investment, the software is advertised in ways designed to engage emotions and short circuit rational thought about the use of AI. My recommendation is to wait and see what companies survive the current advertising and pump cycle before investing or predicting how AI will change the world.

References for this article, including opinions from others who write more concisely than I do about AI and its possible impacts.

#messageinabottle #technology #computing #artificial intelligence

[amadwinter]

Making of Monday - the thrill of the fall

On Making of Monday, we share behind the scenes of one of our works past, present, or future. All the little things that would fit into a DVD bonus content section: cut scenes, outlines, director's writer's commentary, or basically any thing that didn't make it into the final version. Send me an ask if you're interested in knowing little details about any particular fic!

Today on this Making of Monday, I'm going to talk about my much neglected longfic the thrill of the fall. I've started going through what I've already posted and editing it in hopes it will get me back to writing, even if it may not look quite like this.

(fairly long post under the cut with photos included)

While most of my recent fics have been relatively short, this one is not so much. Almost 30k posted, and with another 30k that has yet to be finished, this fic absolutely counts as a long fic. My process for writing these is a little different than shorter fics. And I'm going to take you through the process of how a chapter gets done (or at least how they have gotten done in the past and how I hope to continue in the future)

To begin with, I have my outline. Each of these are divided into an approximate chapter, although this can change by the time it's actually written. Then, I print it out.

This is from chapter 4 (helpfully numbered up top), which is extremely similar to the end result. Some chapters have major structural differences in between drafts, but not this one.

As you can see, I write notes in the margins, cross out things I don't like, bold things I want to emphasize, etc. etc. Some parts are moved to another point in the fic, some are tossed in a bin in hopes I might use them later. I even keep track of my word count as I go along, but that comes a little later.

From this outline, I handwrite my first draft in pen. Now, since it's been over a year since I worked on this fic, I have misplaced the yellow legal pad I was using to write it (or maybe I was using loose paper, I can't remember). However, it looks a little something like this:

Ignore the fact that this is a Star Trek fic

Cursive, mostly no paragraph breaks (=> signifies a paragraph break, who knows why I chose that symbol. I've been doing it like this for more than a decade). Sometimes my writing turns into more chickenscratch than cursive, but it's mostly legible to me (... mostly).

Then I type it all up, and I get something like this:

That's just the first page of it.

And then after a few rounds of editing, I have this (again only the first page):

Full chapter here, but I recommend reading it in order if you're interested.

And that's how the chapters get made!

... well, okay. With Chapter 4, I worked and reworked and reworked the smut scene to death to make it good. But other than that, it's usually just a couple rounds of editing and then it's posted.

A notable exception to this was Chapter 2, where I had a lovely lovely friend who I met at an in-person writing class look over to get some of the pacing right. I never did that again because even though this friend does read and write fic, they are also the Dungeon Master for our weekly Dungeons and Dragons game, and I don't think I could look them in the eye for a while if I asked them to proofread my smut.

... but that's a little off topic. Anyway, one day in the future, I might tell the story of how I came up with the idea for this fic, and trust me, it's not straightforward in the slightest.

#writing things #making of monday #my writing #writing process

[pastelitey]

5, 11, 13 for the mcytblr ask game ?

thank you so much for the ask!!

5. How do you translate the world of Minecraft to fit into your fanfics when you keep the original setting?

this one is always a toughie for me when i keep the og setting. i do my best to implement the mc mechanics that are important to the plot, but the highest extent you'll ever see me going to to replicate the vibe of a mc setting is giving the characters pocket communicators. other than that they're just vaguely fantasy-based settings with vague mc inspirations, like the mobs and such.

11.Are you more of a planner or an improviser?

definitely a planner, at least for the most part! for lengthy fics i outline everything to the best of my ability and occasionally throw in a little detail or scene i thought of on the spot, so 95% of everything i write is planned. but if it's a one-shot, i usually start by writing a little paragraph on where i want to go with the piece and then just run with the idea!

13.Any segment of your work that made you cry while writing it? (because it moved you deeply)

due to how excessively planned out most of my writing is, i've never actually cried while writing. yeah, i've made myself a little emotional, but never to the point of tears. the only time i've really gotten teary-eyed while writing was when i was typing up the final endnotes for homesick, because i'd loved working on that fic so much and was sad to say goodbye to it. other than that, i don't think so!

thank you again for sending an ask!! here's the link to the ask game, hint hint :]

#elodie speaks #ask game #mine #my writing

[lesbian-boo-radley]

Suuuupppppeeeerrrrr random question but do emma and regina play dnd together? Bc i the chill vs gory video game scene is just fantastic and i can see something similar for dnd

If yes, who plays what and whats their style of play? Who is the dice collector? Do they like to play or dm more? Are they super extra with minifigs and map creation?

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃😃 They do!!! As you can tell I'm excited about this ask. You see, the thing is, I want to do a one-shot where it's a big group of them playing dnd at Regina's house, but I have never actually gotten to play dnd before myself, so when I start writing it I am planning on coming on here to beg for some advice lol. Like I only understood the first half of your first question in the second paragraph and none of the rest. 😅😅 Oh and I understand the DM part and I think that will probably be Belle. I've watched it be played before but that was SEVERAL years ago. I was also fucking around with the idea of coming up with some kind of bracket-type poll to help me decide who plays what? Kind of like a way for me as a writer to randomize their stats if that makes sense?

#bringing down the houses #thisisapseudonym

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

I was having a conversation with a friend about this and was curious if you had a similar opinion…

Say you developed romantic feelings for a person (and they feel the same way) but the person tells you that they do not wish to have sex, whether that’s just a choice they made or they physically can’t because of some other reason… would you end the relationship and step away? Or would you be capable having a romantic relationship with someone you can’t be physically intimate with?

personally, i'm a very sexual person so sex is very important to me in a relationship. however, it is not the only important thing, and i would absolutely be in a relationship with an asexual person who didn't want to have sex (i have been and am currently in a relationship with an asexual person, however we DO have sex, as some asexual people do so that's not really a good example for this particular scenario). bonus points if that person was also kinky (so like... i'm thinking no actual sex, but like. impact play, or non-sexual kink for example. and yes, this is a thing. if you wanna learn more about it, i recommend you watch evie lupine's videos on youtube! she's an asexual person who is very active in the kink community and has been for a long time. her videos are very educational and well-made).

BUT -- and there is a BIG but (hehe big butt sorry i'm twelve) -- this works for me bc i'm polyamorous and i can satisfy my sexual needs in other ways. if i was monogamous and in love with a person who absolutely, for any reason, didn't want to/couldn't have sex, that just wouldn't work for me. i know what i want and need. and personally, i think that if your needs and desires don't align with your partner's in an area that is important to you, including sex, it just isn't a good match and ultimately you'll both be unhappy.

what i'm about to say might be Controversial but...... when i was younger i thought loving someone was the end all be all. oh But I Love You. and therefore i must Endure things for you and that Means Something etc. as i've gotten older, i've realised that no one is that special that i should sacrifice my needs and wants for them (yes, relationships require compromise and a certain amount of 'sacrifice' but not to your detriment -- and personally, sex is important enough to me that this would make me very unhappy). people come and go. someone more compatible will show up. and you can remain friends with the person you are not compatible with. people, esp young people, tend to be like, oh but what if they are my One True Love and i must Endure this and i will Never Find Someone Else etc etc. and lemme tell ya. 1. sex is no different than any other thing that could be important to you in a relationship and it is not dirty or shameful or shallow to break up with someone or choose not to date them bc they cannot satisfy you sexually 2. if they truly were your One True Love, if you believe in such things, they would be compatible with you in areas that are important to you. if they are not, that just means you have a different type of connection. 3. i promise there are people out there you'll vibe with. there isn't like. just One Person out there for you.

to all the asexual/celibate/sex-repulsed people out there reading this: please don't take this as a sign you are Unlovable and that you'll never find someone. there are plenty of people out there who also don't want to have sex and don't need to have it to be happy in a relationship. don't settle. the same thing i wrote in the previous paragraph applies to you -> there is no need to sacrifice your needs and desires for someone else. there's plenty of people in the world. you'll find someone you actually and truly can vibe with and be happy with without feeling like this person is "doing you a favour" or making a "great sacrifice" for you and therefore you should be "grateful" to them. you deserve love and there is love out there for you. some types people just don't vibe together and that's no one's fault.

people develop romantic feelings and then 'undevelop' them all the time, so personally, i'd say it's irrelevant how you feel about them if ultimately that relationship wouldn't be satisfying to you. so, if you develop romantic feelings for someone you're not compatible with, i'd say just wait it out, distance yourself if needed, and try to find other people you'd be more compatible with.

however, if you personally feel sex isn't that important to you, go for it!

hope this answers your question :) i am curious about what your friend said, though!

#i got an ask!

[caesarflickermans]

If you can only read 1 non-fiction and 1 fiction book for the rest of your life, what would it be? Why do you pick these books?

Do you have book or author recs to read?

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

honestly, i don't really re-read books often, because it usually is a one and done.

i guess for fiction book i'd pick hunger games simply because i've actually re-read it several times (mostly for specific purposes, such as my thesis or the fanfiction). but at least i know i won't get bored rip.

non-fiction is really difficult because i read books about a specific issue that i expect to educate myself about but not you know, go back to it like you would with e.g. a self help novel. i've had some books i went back to just to check out some paragraphs (in order to live by park or on totalitarianism by arendt), but i would never go back to a non-fiction book--or at least i haven't found one yet.

that said, since i've gotten a kindle i also started a goodreads. i've mostly only noted down books i've read since the start of the year (plus some i typed in because goodreads forced me to so i could receive recommendations), so it's not ya know, a whole library of all i read, but it's there ig.

#inbox #anon #curiousnonny

[fritextramole]

Oh my God Jenny kissing Dan during the season 4 masquerade would have been soooo fucked up given that she and Juliette would knowingly and voluntarily have chosen which of the boys they were kissing that night lmao. At least if it happened in season one it’d just be a Ross & Monica-esque gross but honest misunderstanding, but the season 4 kiss would have to have been A Choice on Jenny’s end. (To be fair, these are the same showrunners who included an oral sex scene between siblings on the actual HBO Gossip Girl reboot so… 🤢)

I mean, I could see a universe where Juliet either forced Jenny's hand/tricked her into kissing Dan (why exactly she would do that is beyond me but I'm sure the showrunners could come up with something) (I could also see a universe where it's a case of mistaken identity on Dan's end as they flee similar to in season 1)

but given your later point about the oc and dynasty who's to say the showrunners didn't love incest and hate Jenny enough to have her make that choice 🤢🤢. they already had her do along with William giving Lily fake cancer and try to get Nate drunk so she could sleep with him last season who knows what she'll do

Also on a related note a part of me genuinely wondered if the showrunners weren’t toying with the idea of having Eric be Rufus’s secret love child, rather than Scott. Obviously the timeline would have to be different, but then they played pretty fast and loose with the Rufly timeline to begin with so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There were just enough jokes/throwaway lines throughout the first couple of seasons that it felt like kind of a “haha just kidding…. unless?” type of thing to me.

Anon, your mind!!! I'm obsessed with this idea I wanna hear more about it!!!! I remember Jenny's line at Thanksgiving about how Eric's roots are "pretty Rufus-like" but do you have any other examples I wanna read a multi paragraph breakdown of this theory!!!!!!

when do you think they would've found out? in the season 2 brunch episode where GG sent out the blast that Dan and Serena share a sibling? at the beginning of season 3 when Scott was around in the show? at the end of season 3 when William showed up???

I'm sure there would've been a little hand wringing about the affair but the show had stopped caring about Alison at this point so they would've moved on. Eric and Jenny probably would settled on being happy about it but it's hard to say for Dan and Serena given how they never moved on from each other (do you think they still would've gotten married in the finale or would rufly be allowed to stay together?)

I could see a universe where Lily didn't know (or at least wasn't sure) that Eric was Rufus's son but I think narratively it's more dramatic if she did. how would Rufus have reacted to the fact that she's been keeping their son from him? (she didn't even tell him after she and William got divorced! is that why she and William got divorced? Serena would hate that it could be interesting)

anon I want you to know I'm going to be turning this over in my head for the next like week please tell me more

(I've said before that I think early on they were planting foreshadowing for Jenny and Eric to date and I am going to combine these 2 possibilities into one au if only to torture these fictional characters in my head)

Also, there WAS actually a similar near incest plot in The OC (which the GG showrunners Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage made before Gossip Girl), and the CW Dynasty reboot they did after had a major romantic pairing that turned out to be cousins, in addition to a bunch of other pseudo-incestuous pairings. I have no idea WHY they keep inserting different variations of this same plot-line into their shows (at least Dynasty has the excuse of being a reboot of a soap opera that had some of the same relationships in it), but it’s kind of a recurring theme.

I mean... I think it's because incest is the universal taboo so it's guaranteed to scandalize no matter what. like rewatching the early gossip girl episodes it's like. "Blair had sex with Chuck and Nate in the same week! what a whore!" which feels like small potatoes knowing about the Princess-Diana-esque-Royal-Wedding-Unplanned-Pregnancy-Car-Crash-Deal-With-God plot she's got in a few seasons but the near incest still feels gross. (but I mean. given how the show dresses and looks at its female characters I would bet there's also some level of poorly disguised fetish at play)

#gg #gossip girl #ggrw #jenny humphrey #eric van der woodsen

[astral-from-afar]

Ooh nice to see a fellow Kamen Rider type of person

Personally, out of the three main tokusatsu, I think I watched Kamen Rider more than anything. I did watch all 3 equally at first but my interest went from Ultraman and Super Sentai (from when I was little) to more of Kamen Rider as I grew older.

I haven't watched much from Reiwa since I stopped watching Tokusatsu maybe 3 years ago. But growing up, my parents were into tokusatsu, so I was naturally shown a lot of it, lmaoo. I kinda stopped being open about it after some kid in third grade made fun of me for it 💀

After that, I became self-conscious about it as I grew up, so I told myself I had to stop watching it. My parents still watch it though, and they tell me it's good, but I don't have the courage to start watching again 😭 Lately I wish I didn't do that cause now I feel like I'm missing out on the fun lmao- it was really fun to watch because they tend to have a deeper/darker meaning to them, even if it seems to be for younger audiences at first glance, which I find neat.

I don't really remember much from W, since I watched it way back when I was younger, but I remember the acting was great (I think the actor for Philip was only 15 at that time? I've seen that guy in other J-dramas and his acting is amazing). I remember liking W but I just don't really remember what it was about. Maybe I should revisit it sometime.

I think my favorite was Den-O. I'm pretty sure I've watched all of the heisei ones but I can't recall all of the good ones that I liked. I do remember liking the 3 last Heisei ones which I believe were Ghost, Exaid, and Build, but out of those 3, I think Ghost was the best.

ALSO YOU ARE SO RIGHT the kamen rider soundtracks tend to be bangers

Oops I kinda talked too much about myself LMAOA (I tried to shorten this the best I could. i really did. I DELETED 3 PARAGRAPHS LMAO)

No way you used to be a fan AS WELL. Now I feel a bit embarrassed for recommending stuff. Also Den-o is top tier. Deneb is probably one of my favourite kamen rider characters just for how funny he is.

To be fair I was more of a Power Rangers kid growing up. I started off watching mega force when it was still airing and religiously watched the reruns of older stuff like Dino Thunder, which was my favourite.

I stopped watching after a bit because man are kids RUTHLESS. Some of them made fun of me so I stopped watching for a bit. Luckily I have younger siblings who were watching the show up on it so I became a casual viewer, mostly watching for my siblings and then lying at school the next day.

The reason I got into Toku was actually because of a YouTuber that I was subscribed to. I had 0 clue what kamen rider was and they were praising fourze so I thought ‘I’ve seen jojo part 4, this is practically that with superheroes’ and then proceeded to watch the series. I then moved onto the other series like ooo, build,gaim,W,Den-o,ex-aid and blade.

Funny story about my watch through of blade is that I had no context for where most of the memes in the fanbase came from so I watched Blade to mainly understand everything. I had gotten up to the final arc but had to take a break since mock season was going on. When I finished I remember that I rushed home and decided to watch the last arc, despite being very tired. Yeah big mistake. Who knew a bench could make Astral cry but it did

I’m wondering right now what series to watch now. The smartest decision is to probably catch up to the latest season but I’m probably going to wait until it finishes to binge it. I’m torn on watching a late heisei era show or trying to see more early heisei works. I’ll do what I do best which is spin a wheel and decide what to watch lol.

Nooo man you don’t need to shorten down your thoughts. It’s fun reading this stuff and believe me I’ve been holding back from spamming the dashboard with my random Toku thoughts so you shouldn’t worry about if you’re saying too much. If you want to get back into it the newest season of kamen rider is around the corner so you could start getting back into it from there.

#astra writes #i am no way shape or form intelligent about this topic #but it did give me severe brainrot during 2021 #luckily TR was able to get me to speak about something different #ask has been answered #ren 🗡️

[sunsetofdoom]

SUNSET!!! ❤️🎨👑

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

Favorite line always feels like a daunting question- so many of my favorite bits are conversations or paragraphs. But lemme look.

Oh! I really like this bit in the second chapter of all my life:

When they’d finally made it up to the Solarium during the Liberation, journeying through secret passages that Avad had had memorized since childhood, Ersa took one look at the throne wrapped in bronze bars and told him, it looks like a cage. One of those fancy ones, to keep a songbird in.

Ever since, the image blazed in his mind whenever he sat down. He felt like a bird now, battering against the bars.

... this has nothing to do with my love of boys in cages. No further questions.

Or some of the descriptions from one safe place, just one safe place, like this one:

He closed his eyes, and the thick golden light of the ranch house appeared, the smell of his mama’s kitchen and the swish of her skirts. “I remember that I ran home crying, once, ‘cause… We argued, and he hit me? Must’ve been it.” He could feel the miserable memory in his face and hands: six years old and full of more sadness than a body could hold, burying his face in his mama’s lap as he cried.

I remember @miss-spooky-eyes in particular pointed this line out as Making Her Feel Things, a capitol crime. I looove writing Corso's intertwined grief and nostalgia, it's so juicy.

Or my new Owl House WIP, in which Willow gets her glasses broken in a fight right before she meets Hunter for the first time-

Willow turned and shut the enormous doors of the school she was never going to see again, not really caring if the Golden Guard got in after her or not. A few hours ago, she’d have been full of awe for the famous warrior who’d stood at the Emperor’s right hand for decades; right now, he was just a big shiny blob, which kind of killed the reverence.

I just think this is funny for some reason.

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

Fic that exists: I've always kind of wanted art for all my life I've been running towards the fight, that beginning section where Aloy and Ersa are awkwardly talking in Dervahl's workshop and Aloy very much doesn't know how to look or not look at a freshly-tortured woman with her tits out. (Doubly funny if one headcanons Aloy as a lesbian.) And one safe place, just one safe place is one of my favorite fics I've ever written, but I've never gotten much art of Teo and Corso, mostly because I hate commissioning people; I can take screenshots of the game, but it's not the same. I also had ambitions of paying @sleepswithvillains to draw a tasteful (if thirsty) nude of Nan, to get her body type straight in my head, because Sleeps is the only one who Really Gets It.

Fic I have in my head: later in all my life, Ersa was supposed to get hybrid Carja-Oseram tattoos over the scars on her chest; my gf designed them, but I've always wanted to commission art of them actually on her. Ended up booted out of the HZD fandom before I could get around to it, lmao.

And I'm working on a piece about my OC Yehlise and @pineaberry's Rend, both of which I'd love to get art of. Yehlise in particular is pretty un-make-able in the SWTOR engine, lmao.

👑 Do you like writing short fics or long fics?

I enjoy writing short fics. I aspire to write long ones, and unfortunately at the moment that's all my brain wants to give me.

(fanfic ask post here)

#i want so much art in fact that it would be way more convenient #if i either got over my fear of commissions or learned to draw #unfortunately im incapable #i tried to focus on Horizon stuff for foibles' sake lmao #i miss it a little

[solarishashernoseinabook]

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)

Thank you! Answering them all as one as per usual :3

1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?) Hmmmmmmm that's a good question actually! I think maybe Richard Thompson Learns About Rangers, it's short, fluffy, has worldbuilding and a focus on found family :3

2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits? Whelp, we've got fluff (used 12 times), light angst (used 4 times), and angst, injury, and reminiscing (all used 3 times). That's, er, fairly accurate lol. I do be writing a lot of fluff.

3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics? I think I mainly focus on character relationships! Not just romantic ones, I take time to build up platonic and familial ones too. And when there's hurt, there's almost always comfort. In fics like The Ward Ghost I spend more time showing recovery from trauma and characters looking after each other than I spend showing the trauma itself, and this goes doubly so for The Royal Ranger - most of the trauma went through as an autistic child raised by unsupportive parents is implied or shown in brief flashbacks, and more of it is about Crowley giving him space to be autistic in an environment that won't punish him for it

11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is? Either Will/Horace or Will & Halt lol. I like both the dynamics. It's fun to write Will and Horace in love, and showing Halt being a father and mentor is just great, especially when contrasted with how gruff he is

15. What’s your favourite AU that you’ve written? You're gonna make me choose between my two largest AUs? You're a cruel, cruel person /j

Okay but seriously, I like both The Ward Ghost and The Royal Ranger equally for different reasons. The Ward Ghost asks one simple question - what if Will hadn't gotten his apprenticeship? - and continues on from there. I have to put a lot of thought into what the characters would be like after the six years that have elapsed since, and what canon events I can or can't include, and if I can include them, how. The Royal Ranger is really fun because I get to play with narrative conventions to show how Halt sees the world through an autistic lens. When we're following Halt's POV, for example, I typically barely describe other character's facial expressions or tones of voice, to indicate that he has trouble picking up on them.

23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to? I want to write an RA fic featuring predominantly - almost entirely - original characters. I've got it planned, sort of. Built With My Own Two Hands briefly features Will's last apprentices before he retires, identical twins named Joey and Roy, and I had a lot of fun writing them for the couple of paragraphs they appear in.

36. Do you visualize what you read/write? Yeah! A lot of scenes are ones I visualised beforehand so I could plan them out before writing them

50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about! Yay, a choice!

46. Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?

Okay, firstly, I never trust people who can type easily on phones /j

(in all seriousness tho modern phones are so uncomfortable to type on. No proper tactile feedback - and no, vibration doesn't count - and they're just too big and awkward to hold. The only phone I was able to type comfortably on was my old Blackberry Curve)

I actually most prefer writing by hand, with pen and paper! There's the obvious advantage of not having tumblr on hand to easily check, but it has other perks as well. Without the option to easily delete what I just wrote, I spend less time agonising over phrasing and just get the raw ideas down. If I realise I need to add something to what I've already written, instead of wondering where or thinking of how to transition to it, I just make a note to put it somewhere and continue on. There's a layer of portability to a notebook and pen that laptops don't have, and I don't have to worry about battery life or notifications breaking the flow of writing, and I can curl up more easily to write (which is a huge advantage when you're queer and autistic and can't sit in a chair without curling up). Finally, writing is a tactile stim for me (so's typing, but that depends heavily on the type of keyboard I'm using) so I feel motivated to do it just because! When I go to transcribe it to the computer later, that's when I do my editing.

I also regularly switch back and forth between handwriting and typing my fics - mainly if I get stuck. If I'm stuck typing something, I close my computer, pick up my notebook, and start writing from the last sentence I remember - even if it doesn't gel perfectly with what I already wrote, that's something I can fix later. If I'm well and truly stuck while handwriting, I go to my computer and transcribe what I wrote. Going over it and thinking about it often helps me realise what was causing the issue that stopped me writing - either I didn't set something up properly, or something was happening in the wrong spot in the story, or the character's POV doesn't fit the scene very well.

Link to the ask game if you want to play!

#asks #ask games #fic writer asks

[darkdoverpseeker]

character offered: Rogue

fandom: X-Men: original trilogy movieverse

rp you're offering for / rp type you'd wanna play in: Long-term PSL/1-on-1, though I'm always up for throwing in other characters as NPCs. And, for Marvel, I've got a good number of them.

I’m looking something either post-X3 or post-X2 (but still a bit into the future just eliminating the events of X3 -- let's be honest, no one liked that movie).

I'd be looking for a Pyro from this time period (probably putting them somewhere between the ages or 21-26). Preferably one that's been hardened by time with the Brotherhood, hates the hell out of humans, and who isn't afraid to commit to a ton of snark and antagonization between the two (along with the awful awkwardness that goes with them being on two completely opposite sides). I'd love for this to go into love/hate shipping territory. What their relationship actually was in previous movies (because X2 is vague on it) pre-X2 is up for discussion and brainstorming.

Generally, lots of clandestine meetings (being able to utilize the idea of emails and texts in RP is also a bonus) between the two, with a wide range of types of scenes. I'd love scenes with them arguing about morals and ideals as much as I would love more action-packed scenes. So, really, everything from fluff to angst to drama to slice-of-life to action to smut to… well, you get it. The potential for Rogue to switch sides and actually go to the Brotherhood is on the table, but that would be the result of character development and something that could played around with.

The current state of the world around them is completely open for brainstorming as well (DOFP-ish, various states of the Brotherhood’s influence on the world, various states of the X-Men’s influence on the world, how anti-mutant things are, etc.)

I have ideas for pretty much all of this that I'm happy to share, I'm just trying to avoid the dreaded wall of text (I've already failed at that). I'd love to hear from both seasoned-players of this character and people going "huh, I've never written this character but this sounds like something I might want to try". If you're in the latter category and you want a sounding board as you establish the character's voice, I'm more than happy to chat or do test scenes all you want.

preferences: 21+ writers only (I’d like this to go into NSFW territory so this is non-negotiable). I prefer third-person writing and past tense, but let me know if you prefer something else because I can adapt for a great line.

Tag length is really dependent on what needs to be gotten across in the tag. I generally like there to be a good mix of prose, actions, and thoughts so we both have something substantial to reply to. Plus, if I'm looking to write with a specific character, it's because I enjoy the character and want to know what's going on in their head. Basically, if you need five long paragraphs to get across what you need to in a tag, that's fine. If you need one paragraph that's fine. As long as it's not a series of one-liners.

If any of this sparks some other idea you want to pitch, contact me about that too. I’m easily enabled.

If you want more on the preferences/permissions front, I have a post https://gloves.dreamwidth.org/3728.html

I also have a shipping/kink/smut preferences post https://gloves.dreamwidth.org/28913.html

Please feel free to send a message if you’re interested:)

dm if interested!

#cc x cc #1x1 rp #rp ad #x men rp #x men roleplay #21+ #spicy #rp #roleplay