#but also i somewhat value my sanity

[natsmagi]

#i normally dont go for 5 copies bc i value my sanity somewhat #So basically what im saying is if i end up not drawing for like 3 weeks after this u know why #but this is a special occassion i have to #good luck comrades........ #ill be sure to post sora pics when i get him #nat rambles #i cant believe i actually have to play this goddamn game now #Also i tend to use 6bp instead of 10 so dont listen to the estimate time theyre lying

[soxcietyy]

Temptation

Chapter 4 -> Chapter 5

Your dad is tired of you bringing home these unworthy men. None of them being fit to take care of you or to be given the family business since you are the only daughter. He decides to find you someone fit to be your husband and receive help from the father of the church. That’s when you meet Yuta, though just because he goes to church doesn’t mean he’s much of a saint

Mafia, murder, violence, mentions of religion, (will contain other things in the next chapters)

" Yu!! You won’t believe what I got at the store today!" You shout as you look for him around the house.

He could believe what you got because he was right there with you! He would have sent a guard to watch you but he couldn’t have you thinking something was wrong right off the bat. He had to pretend to live a normal like for the meantime. At least when you guys are married you wouldn’t be able to run so easily.

The second he got in the house he sped walk into his office. It seemed to be his only safe spot from you because you knew you weren’t allowed in there. He couldn’t handle another "what I got for my wedding haul". You did this every day and he felt like he was about to start throwing things. He didn’t know having a woman in his home would be this hard.

The other girl before you was more quiet, scared, and did everything he asked of her but you were the opposite. Every time you entered a room it’s as if the dark and lonely atmosphere vanished and transformed into happiness. He wasn’t used to this type of thing. He just slept with woman and threw them onto the streets right after. He never thought about marriage until now because his cousin talked him into this.

"Yuta, this business is all about family. About caring for one another and helping each other out. You’re too harsh on our people. You don’t even consider them family, it always more like "your men"" Gojo holds a cigar in his finger as he admired the fat object. He sat in his abnormally big office with a huge grin on his face. He never failed to wear it no matter the situation.

"I’m just not a family type of guy." Yuta leans back into the chair he sat in.

Gojo has been nagging him about the same thing over and over. All of this because Yuta always decides to resolve situations with violence instead of terms. His cousin swears up and down that getting a woman would soften him up more and if he got kids it would be even better.

So he sent him down south to a middle class area. He gave him the address to a church so he could find himself a good girl with morals and values.

"Yuta dinner is almost ready! Hurry up so we can say grace before the food gets cold!" You yell to grab his attention.

Unfortunately it seems like he got a girl with too strong of morals and values. Letting a heavy sigh out he stands up to leave. How do normal people do this? How does his cousin get with so many girls if they all act somewhat like this?

Maybe asking for advice wouldn’t hurt but his ego would be scratched. Would he rather get help from his lovely friend Hakari who will most likely make fun of him? Or should he just learn how to deal with you. He contemplated last week to call him after the bathroom situation but he thought it was too soon. Now though he felt like it was needed so he could keep his sanity.

Grabbing the phone he drags the rotary dial to the numbers. He waited a few minutes as it rang, immediately being connected his his friend.

"Hello?" Hakari speaks.

"Come over for dinner, also bring Kirara."

"What? Is there an emergency?!" He ask concerned.

"No, but I need to drink and I can’t even leave the house unless it’s an emergency. I just can’t be alone right now with her." Yuta says before hanging up.

He’s been around women a good amount of times but seeing you walk around in your tiny tight clothes made him feel a type of way.

"Sweetheart we’re having guest over for dinner." Yuta says as he turns the corner to see you in a small slim dress. Your behind and breast protruding beautifully under those cloths.

Yes you were annoying time by time but he couldn’t resist looking at you when you dressed that way. He found himself turning around to avoid looking at you so he could control himself. He just wanted to rip that dress off and have his way with you. He wanted you under him so he could see if that smile you always wore would fall off. Fuck, why was he acting like a horny teenage boy? He’s slept around with a dozen girls so why were you so different? What made him want you this bad when he basically already had you? Was is because you were playing hard to get? Because he was restricted to only look at you?

"Visitors at this hour?" You say

Turning around to look at you he sees you taking something out the oven. Though when you did you bent over and he could see everything you had under there. Quickly turning back around he grips onto the chair in front of him. He must wait a two more weeks.

"Yes darling, why don’t you go upstairs and get dressed into something more modest." Yuta says as he takes the chicken out of your hands.

Running up stairs you scurry to get ready leaving him to his thoughts once again.

He needed to talk to Hakari about the recent negotiations with the police. They’ve been acting a bit weird lately. It might be time to give them a new bribe. The only reason they been able to get away with lots of things was because they were in good terms with the police. They couldn’t just let their relationship collapse like that. Maybe it was time to work the the Zenin too. They had a huge influence with the police and own half of the station somehow. The Gojo family was in tight cahoots with them because of past situations. They might have to put differences aside if Satoru wanted this mission to get done.

Hakari got here in no time. He arrived in a casual suite and his lovely significant other in a casual dress. Letting them inside he grabbed Hakari by the arm pulling him back. He needed to talk to him before dinner so he wouldn’t throw it up later.

"We need to have a serious discussion about Heart." Yuta whispered in his ear.

Hakari rolled his eyes and waved Kirara off.

"Can it be after dinner? I can already smell the food from here and I’m starving." Hakari said with a long face.

Yuta glares at him for saying such a thing. He nodded him to the direction of his office. With a loud sigh Hakari began walking towards the double door. He wasn’t much of a thinker but he knew how to get the job done. If you ever need to get on someone, always bet on him.

"Boys arnt you guys going to eat?! The food is going to get cold!" You say stopping them from taking a further step.

Hakari turn around with a smile on his face. "Of course Ms-"

"Darling we’re kind of in the middle of something. How about later?" Yuta tried to shoo you away.

You stood by the entrance of the dinning room with your arms crossed. "Absolutely not Yu, Hakari is it? You must be hungry. Come on and eat I made such a delicious roasted chicken."

"Sorry Okkotsu but I won’t deny the your soon to be bride." Hakari laughed as he walked into the other room.

Yutas left eye twitched in what he didn’t know was anger or annoyance. He dragged his hand down his face before walking into the dinning room. As he entered he could see that the guest had made them selfs comfortable. Their eyes glued to all the dishes you were setting down. The chicken, bread, corn, mashed potatoes, and more. Ever since you got here you liked to spend most of your time cooking. You liked to try new recipes and make them all at once.

Yuta sat down at his usual seat and watched you serve his food for him. He couldn’t lie your cooking was so good. Sometimes when you irritate him really badly you’ll serve him dessert and his mood would change entirely.

Putting his plate infront of him you serve everyone else and finally take your seat. Yuta watched as Hakari grabbed his fork and was about to dig in. Yuta gave him a harsh kick in the shin making his friend drop his fork back down. He did this for revenge and because he knew what you were about to do.

"Alright guys let’s give grace!" You say as you hold your hands out.

Kirara gladly accepts your hands and gets ahold of Hakari. Yuta hesitate but grabbed Hakaris because why I’m the world would he want to hold his hand.

"Alright Yu it’s your turn." You say smiling at him.

"Lord god, heavily father, bless us and these thy gifts-" when Yuta finished he quickly lets go of Hakari’s hand. Though he planted a kiss on yours and thanked you for making such a wonderful meal for everyone.

As everyone ate Yutas temper seemed to have vanished. Maybe he was just hungry and needed to eat a bit. Everytime he took a bite of his food he was reminded why he hasn’t made his men kill you. He could always make it seem like a accident and look for a new bride. But you were special some how.

When everyone was done Yuta excuses his self and dragged Hakari into his office. He made sure the door was shut before grabbing two glass cups and a bottle of whiskey. Setting them down In front of Hakari, he took his seat and rested his elbows on the desk.

"You know about the Heart situation, it’s getting more dangerous." Yuta says. "Ever since he’s been all friendly with the mayor things have gotten harder for us to transport. Iv gotten reports about him being in my territory. Not only that but he’s been in yours multiple times." Yuta continues. "Why do you think he’s snooping around?"

"It’s kind of obvious he’s going to rob some of our production. Wait why don’t I know anything about him being in my area?" Hakari raises his brow.

If Yuta had to differentiate the two groups he would simply put it on the perspective of professionalism. Hakari was more in the underground side of the mafia. He hired hooligans and people with bad reputation. He didn’t care much about getting caught because nobody knows how he looks. Not even his own men knew unless they were his right side but that would have to be Kirara. Yuta on the other hand was the face of the organization. Also he had a role in the Gojo franchise. He had to keep his image clean but be good at his job at the same time. His people were made up of big politicians, lawyers, and anyone who owed the company even a penny. All they had to do was sign a contract saying that they’ll be given what they want but in return they will need to present their loyalty to them.

"Maybe you need to keep your men in check. Do you know how many things slip under your radar? You need to keep an eye out or we’ll be fucked. What’s going to happen when you’re dead? Who’s going to run your group? You don’t even have a heir for down the line." Yuta says trying to help his friend open his eyes.

"You don’t have one either? Trust me I have this all under control. Hey let’s just invite the don’ Zenin to your wedding. Let’s shape a good friendship with him." Hakari takes the top off the glass bottle.

"I’m getting married to have a heir and because Saturo told me to get one. Also don’t let that name slip out if your mouth again. He doesn’t go by Zenin, it’s don Fushiguro." Yuta watches as Hakari pours an even amount of liquid into both glasses.

"Your stressing too much man, I know your nervous about your wedding. You’ll do great trust me. Speaking of it seems you have found someone who won’t back down easily." Hakari snickers.

"Nothing a little teaching and discipline can’t do. I’ll have her acting like she should be in no time. The only reason I’m letting it slide for now is so she’ll have no problem getting married."

The phone starting ringing making them both turn towards that direction. Picking up the phone Yuta waits for them to speak first.

"Hello? Is the Yuta Okkotsu?" A woman spoke.

"Yes, who is this?" Yuta shrugs at Hakari who was trying to listen in.

"I need a favor from you and was wondering if I could make an appointment with you?" She said.

"Why of course you can, how about tomorrow morning."

"No I need to do it now please, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it tomorrow." Her voice cracked at the end.

"Yea come on over, my address is-"

Hakari sat in the chair with his arms folded. "Wasn’t this supposed to be a guys night? We’re talking about business here. You need to keep ya clients in check, they walking over you."

Yuta put the phone down and took a sip of his drink. He could feel it running down his throat. "Don’t tell me how to run my business. Get your gun ready."

Usually the ones that run in late come looking for trouble. Last time someone tried to ambush him but luckily his men were on stand by. Tonight he was on his own with Hakari. The house would usually be buzzing. People running in and out and guards would be posted up. They had to go away for the time being. The second the wedding was over they would be back in business. He saw how you acted when he had his men in the back of the car, couldn’t have that again.

Walking out the office Hakari pulled Kirara to the side and whispered into their ear. She gave him a firm nod and ran to grab you from the living room. From the looks of it you seemed to be showing her the wedding plans.

"Girls why don’t you go upstairs in the room. I’ll bring you some tea and …" he turns to look at Hakari who looks at him confused. "Some pastries?"

"Oh Yu that would be wonderful!" You look at him with thoes big doe eyes.

Yuta smiled as you and Kirara walked upstairs. He waited till he saw you guys shut the door to drop the act. Walking to a table that held a big vase he reached his hand under it and pulled a gun out. Hakari pulled his out from his fat coat and loaded it up. The both of them sat in the living room watching the time go by until there was a nock at the door.

Hakari informed Yuta that he made sure Kirara would keep you in no matter what. That lifted some sort of pressure he had on his chest.

The both of them walked to the door and opened it. Outside stood a petite woman with blonde hair in a bob. Her green eyes glistened with tears and her pink lips quivered. Yuta couldn’t believe his eyes, the person who stood in front of them was no other than Ms.Heart.

This had to be done sick joke. Pulling his gun up he aimed it at her head. He wasn’t a fool to fall for something like this. Hakari jumped seeing Yutas action. Usually men would hesitate to kill a woman but Yuta was different.

The woman back up slowly trying to avoid the gun. "Please Don Yuta listen to me, I have an urgent request." She said with a pleading look.

Yuta looked at her dead in the eye, trying to make sure this woman wasn’t deceiving him. When he had finished evaluating her he put him gun down and let her into her office. Hakari followed along pretending to be one of Yutas workers.

"How may I help you today." Yuta said dryly.

"I need you to kill my husband." She said immediately.

If Yuta were drinking he would have spat everything out. That was such a wild request especially coming from his wife. He was confused on why she would want that if she lived such a perfect life because of him. He had so many quest but kept his cool.

"Why is that?"

"He’s a stone cold murderer. Don I just connected the dots to everything. I know who he really is, I know who you are. You guys arnt just ordinary business men, you guys are people who kill for what they want."

Hakari looked nervous. He could see his forehead beginning to damp. If this is how she reacted about the truth then how were you going to react?

"Okay but I don’t understand why you want to set a hit on Hearts."

"Last night I overheard him talking in a meeting. He killed my family because my father didn’t want me to be with him. I thought they got into a freak accident! I also overheard his plans and he’s up to no good Don." She said as she started to breath heavily. "Yuta he’s going to come for you. On your wedding day he’s going t-"

With a blink of the eye she went from talking to having a bullet in the middle of her head. Her jaw went slack as her body became limp. Yuta snapped his head towards Hakari who had his hands up.

"It wasn’t me man, look." Hakari pointed at the window that now had a hole in it.

Yuta ran his hand through his hair. This was starting to get too exhausting. Just when he was about to find out everything but at least he knew were to start. "Get the girls." Grabbing the phone he dialed a number. It rung once, twice, three times until someone picked up the phone.

"Father, I hate asking for favors but you need to move the date to this week."

It didn’t take him much convincing to get everything in line. He then called a group of men by to clean up this mess. He needed to dispose of this body quickly without you seeing but he also needed you near by. Someone had just easily shot a bullet into his house. He had to keep you by his side no matter what. Walking out he finds you sitting in the living room with a concerned look.

"Oh Yu, did you hear that loud gun shot?" You said standing up.

He quickly approached you and sat you right back down. He rubbed you back trying to ease you. "It’s okay, it was just near by." He whispers.

It was absolutely not fine. It was embarrassing knowing that a fool could get so close to his property to do that. That means that people always had the opportunity to kill him in one shot. He would have to build a concrete wall rather than the bar one he had. Maybe some more plants so they could cover the house a bit. More guards on stand by to keep watch.

"I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep on my own tonight. Do you think you can sleep with me?" You say squeezing his right arm.

Maybe this situation was not so bad after all…

Yuta had sent you to help prepare the guest bedroom. Yuta had offered his friend to stay over if they like and well they were scared of getting shot at on their way home. While you occupied yourself with that he let the cleaners in. He also told them to stand guard tonight and they would receive a bonus. Since he had offered his men a month off work and managed to interrupt it.

Leaving the work to them Yuta went upstairs to find you laying in bed already. A genuine smile spread across his face when he say you laying there with an empty spot next to him. If people would of witnessed this they would of thought it was because of you he would say it was because he finally get to sleep in his bed.

#yuta okkotsu #yuta okkotsu x you #yuta okkotsu x reader #jjk second years #jujutsu kaisen #jjk x y/n #yuta okkotsu x y/n #yuta okkotsu smut #yuuta x you #yuuta x y/n #yuuta headcanons #jjk yuuta #yuuta smut #yuuta okkotsu #okkotsu yuuta x reader #okkotsu yuuta #yuuta x reader #yuta x y/n #yuta x reader #yuta jjk #jjk yuta #jujustsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu sorcerer

[indignantlemur]

In need of knowledge: Andorian money systems? How do they work? What is the split (like a dollar being 100 cents)? Do they have banks? Interest (compounded/uncompounded)? What is the conversion rate to other currencies?

-Horta-in-Charge

Hey, Horta! Sorry about the delay, but I wanted to spend some time thinking about your question and bouncing a few ideas off of folks.

I'm going to come right out and say that I am not an economics major. It's not something I ever studied, and the one lecture I was compelled to attend on the subject was the first and only lecture I ever fell asleep during. Partly because the presenter was speaking in a flat monotone the entire time.

So, at this point, Emigre is taking place roughly 10-ish years after the last episode of ST:ENT, which means the Federation has had about that long to try to get on the same page. We know from later canon that the Federation uses credits, but Starfleet will also pay their members in latinum or latinum-adjacent currency if they're posted somewhere where credits are functionally worthless. That's way off in the future, however. Right now, the world of Emigre is one in which four wildly different species with wildly different economies are trying to agree on something that works for all of them.

It is, to put it bluntly, very slow-going. Humans and Vulcans are already functioning on the same credit-based system, since their development became closely intertwined early on, but the Tellarites and the Andorians use vastly different systems and are reluctant to change their ways without cause.

Historically, Pre-Unification Andorians used trade and barter systems between Clans, and each Clan had their own kind of currency. It was a mess, and more than one feud started up as a result of one Clan feeling that another shorted them on what was supposed to be a fair deal because they valued the two currency-forms differently. The only thing that was universally valued more-or-less equally across the Clans were metal ores and especially refined metals, and this ultimately expanded to include precious metals as well.

When the Imperial Clan dragged everyone kicking and screaming into a modern era, they imposed a new currency - the Imperial toog. Toog coins were thin strips of metal, rectangular and roughly the size of a small USB stick, imprinted with the Imperial Clan's insignia. The value of the toog was worked out to be the average value of a set amount of pure, refined precious metals based on traditional measurements. A single toog would weigh approximately 3.75g in Terran units, equivalent roughly in value to that of the same weight in silver. Smaller demarcations of toog, such as the zuu'toog (bit-coin) was worth 1/10th of the value of a toog, while larger demarcations such as the dol'toog (heavy coin) were worth 100 toog strips.

Given that Andorian and Terran engineering is at least somewhat compatible, it made sense to me that they use base-10 mathematics like we do. Otherwise, I can't imagine the Imperial Guard's Kumari and her crew's efforts to help repair the Enterprise during ST:ENT would have resulted in anything but shouting matches and possibly bloodshed. Ergo, their currency also functions on a base 10 model.

I'm going to be honest, this is largely for my own sanity at this point. Sometimes I look at numbers and they swim around a bit, and I'd really rather not. Just in general. No thank you.

As for banks, Andorians do have banks and interest, simple and compounded, and even some very interesting investment opportunities... but their paperwork is notoriously byzantine. Most outsiders and off-worlders prefer to stay with their own financial institutions wherever possible, rather than deal with the nightmare of trying to open an account with an Andorian bank.

In current-day Emigre 'verse, the Andorian people have begun to switch over to Federation credits. Credits aren't universally accepted everywhere on Andoria and quite a few folks would rather barter goods directly than take credits, but the transition is progressing reasonably well. The Federation credit-Andorian toog exchange rate is surprisingly decent, with the toog having slightly more economic weight at the moment and slowly, steadily dropping as credits become more predominant. Andorians rarely convert their currency to anything else but latinum otherwise, but they will deign to change Imperial toog for other Federation currencies upon special request - assuming you've filed the proper paperwork. The currency rate varies wildly, however, which the Andorian banks wash their hands of once the paperwork is completed. If you didn't like what you got for your toogs, why'd you go any change them to Tellarite marqs in the first place?

Side tidbit: Dagmar gets paid in credits, since she's a Federation citizen of Terran origin. Unfortunately, this means an extremely overworked finance specialist has to manually convert and transfer her paycheques, navigating the minefield that is interplanetary financial laws and regulations every month. Poor man.

Thanks for the ask! <3

#star trek #emigre by indignantlemur #andorian #andorians #headcanon #Andorians and currency

[crawley-fell]

For the brainrot series - as though you don't have enough requests, but I heard this song again today and the resulting assault on my imagination has irrevocably damaged my sanity, and I had to say something because I will not be suffering alone.

Okay, so, picture this:

Crowley is tired of the way things have been weird in this vague post-S3 world I'm picturing, and he's decided he's gonna Do Something About It (mostly because he's already about 'if I'm not a bush I'm not no one' levels of drunk). Naturally, he decides that what he's gonna do is woo his angel.

Easy enough. Humans do this shit all the time, and without the benefit of 6000 years of mutual pining and some slinky hips. In fact, thanks to his extensive knowledge of romcoms (a must for any demon if they want to learn inventive ways to sow discord among couple, etc, and for no other reason), he's decided that the perfect course of action is to serenade Aziraphale with a song that perfectly encapsulates his squishy, kind of embarrassingly soft feelings that the angel just has to give in and accept his expertly plighted troth (probably not a euphemism).

He is, at this point, at the 'I'm washing me and my clothes' stage of his drinking binge, but he's nervous, so sue him.

It takes him foreeeeever to pick a song (he only knows "bebop" won't do, but unfortunately that covers such a wide and sometimes contradictory swath of all music made since the 1940s, it's pretty impossible), and he keeps second guessing himself, so he makes it to the 'Kiefer Sutherland tackling a Christmas tree' stage of blitzed and hits shuffle on his 'Embarrassing Angelfeels I Can Never Admit To Even Under Pain Of Total Annihilation' Spotify playlist et VOILA! The perfect song! Crowley can't believe his luck, and he sets his plan into motion before he can do something stupid, like sober up.

So, it's about 3 in the morning at this point, and Crowley has set up his speaker system in the middle of the street facing Aziraphale's bookshop, and as you do, he climbs onto a stolen crate (containing an order of dildos the adult entertainment shop three streets over is going to be looking for in about five hours) and shouts for Aziraphale until the angel, and anyone else unfortunate enough to be hanging around at 3am on a Wednesday (mostly Mrs. Sandwich and her girls and poor Nina, who has unwisely chosen to arrive extra early to wait on a delivery of hazelnut syrup), pops their heads out to see what the deuce is going on.

Once he sees his darling angel, Crowley takes another swig of frankly embarrassingly cheap vodka for a demon of his tastes, hefts hus microphone, and starts to sing (for a given value of sing).

It starts off soft, all chimes and romantic piano, full of joy and longing, and Aziraphale's face does that thing where he's definitely embarrassed, but also pleased, so Crowley shuts his eyes, and that's when the disco beat drops.

Oh yes. Crowley is about to fucking boogie down for the love of his life.

He busts out all the moves, wiggling those slinky hips (because he's never been one not to use every weapon at his disposal), belting out mostly the right lyrics in somewhat the right key, generally on time and everything.

Aziraphale's face, if Crowley would open his eyes and look, is now crossing over into horrified, yet hopelessly enamored, with a dash of down bad. His tastes are varied and interesting, okay?

The music fades out before Crowley does, still belting for a good thirty seconds after the track changes to 'The Edge of Glory', which isn't as perfect for his purposes, but Aziraphale hasn't fallen to his knees in besotted supplication (also not a euphemism, probably), so Crowley figures he may as well, and the whole street is both glad and a little disappointed that this is when Aziraphale steps away from the shop door, reaches up for Crowley's hand, and drags him off the box of dildos and towards the shop.

"That's lovely, dear. Why don't we go inside so you can sleep this off before we talk about it."

Crowley, of course, follows along happily, about 80% sure that is a euphemism, and decides send a little blessing to Barbra Streisand in gratitude. He knew 'The Main Event/Fight' had been the right song to choose.

(It was not, in fact, a euphemism, and Crowley thinks the squirming agony of having to listen to Aziraphale somehow turn a love confession into a lecture about proper methods of courtship and being considerate of human sleep cycles while suffering the worst hangover of his entire existence is possibly the best worst thing he's ever experienced. Hell should take notes.)

(They spend the rest of the day getting to know each other, and that is a euphemism.)

Now.

Did I fail to peel this mental image off the surface of my brain for the last 24 hours and decide to share the agony and the ecstasy of it? Oh yes.

Is it the perfect song to confess your love to your ineffable crush with? Debatable, but it has good results of one (1) success and no failures so far, so we can't really say no.

Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.

The level of detail in this is unmatched. The creativity? Inspired. When I started th brainrot series never did I think I would receive something of this gravitas. Bravo my dear, I'm in the palm of your hand. And the specificity of the playlist turning to Edge Of Glory? Delicious. This is truly, marvellously unhinged. God bless the Babs and to you for the gift you have bestowed upon me. I will treat it with love and care.

#i encourage you all to read this it really is an outstanding image that i look forward to brining to life #thank u so much for dropping this into my inbox u icon #ask #brainrot series requests

[fragile-practice]

Week in Review

October 23rd-29th

Welcome to Fragile Practice, where I attempt to make something of value out of stuff I have to read.

My future plan is to do longer-form original pieces on interesting topics or trends. For now, I'm going to make the weekly reviews habitual and see if I have any time left.

Technology

OpenAI forms team to study ‘catastrophic’ AI risks, including nuclear threats - Tech Crunch; Kyle Wiggers

OpenAI launched a new research team called AI Safety and Security to investigate the potential harms of artificial intelligence focused on AI alignment, AI robustness, AI governance, and AI ethics.

Note: Same energy as “cigarette company funds medical research into smoking risks”.

Artists Allege Meta’s AI Data Deletion Request Process Is a ‘Fake PR Stunt’ - Wired; Kate Knibbs

Artists who participated in Meta’s Artificial Intelligence Artist Residency Program accused the company of failing to honor their data deletion requests and claim that Meta used their personal data to train its AI models without their consent.

Note: Someday we will stop being surprised that corporate activities without obvious profit motive are all fake PR stunts.

GM and Honda ditch plan to build cheaper electric vehicles - The Verge; Andrew J. Hawkins

General Motors and Honda cancel their joint venture to develop and produce cheaper electric vehicles for the US market, citing the chip shortage, rising costs of battery materials, and the changing market conditions.

Note: What are the odds this isn’t related to the 7 billion dollars the US government announced to create hydrogen hubs.

'AI divide' across the US leaves economists concerned - The Register; Thomas Claburn

A new study by economists from Harvard University and MIT reveals a significant gap in AI adoption and innovation across different regions in the US.

The study finds that AI usage is highest in California's Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, but was also noted in Nashville, San Antonio, Las Vegas, New Orleans, San Diego, and Tampa, as well as Riverside, Louisville, Columbus, Austin, and Atlanta.

Nvidia to Challenge Intel With Arm-Based Processors for PCs - Bloomberg; Ian King

Nvidia is using Arm technology to develop CPUs that would challenge Intel processors in PCs, and which could go on sale as soon as 2025.

Note: I am far from an NVIDIA fan, but I’m stoked for any amount of new competition in the CPU space.

New tool lets artists fight AI image bots by hiding corrupt data in plain sight - Engadget; Sarah Fielding

A team at the University of Chicago created Nightshade, a tool that lets artists fight AI image bots by adding undetectable pixels into an image that can alter how a machine-learning model produces content and what that finished product looks like.

Nightshade is intended to protect artists work and has been tested on both Stable Diffusion and an in-house AI built by the researchers.

IBM's NorthPole chip runs AI-based image recognition 22 times faster than current chips - Tech Xplore; Bob Yirka

NorthPole combines the processing module and the data it uses in a two-dimensional array of memory blocks and interconnected CPUs, and is reportedly inspired by the human brain.

NorthPole can currently only run specialized AI processes and not training processes or large language models, but the researchers plan to test connecting multiple chips together to overcome this limitation.

Apple’s $130 Thunderbolt 4 cable could be worth it, as seen in X-ray CT scans - Ars Technica; Kevin Purdy

Note: These scans are super cool. And make me feel somewhat better about insisting on quality cables. A+.

The Shifting Web

On-by-default video calls come to X, disable to retain your sanity - The Register; Brandon Vigliarolo

Video and audio calling is limited to anyone you follow or who is in your address book, if you granted X permission to comb through it.

Calling other users also requires that they’ve sent at least one direct message to you before.

Only premium users can place calls, but everyone can receive them.

Google Search Boss Says Company Invests to Avoid Becoming ‘Roadkill’ - The New York Times; Nico Grant

Google’s senior vice president overseeing search said that he sees a world of threats that could humble his company at any moment.

Google Maps is getting new AI-powered search updates, an enhanced navigation interface and more - Tech Crunch; Aisha Malik

Note: These AI recommender systems are going to be incredibly valuable advertising space. It is interesting that Apple decided to compete with Google in maps but not in basic search, but has so far not placed ads in the search results.

Reddit finally takes its API war where it belongs: to AI companies - Ars Technica; Scharon Harding

Reddit met with generative AI companies to negotiate a deal for being paid for its data, and may block crawlers if no deal is made soon.

Note: Google searches for info on Reddit often seem more effective than searching Reddit itself.  If they are unable to make a deal, and Reddit follows through, it will be a legitimate loss for discoverability but also an incredibly interesting experiment to see what Reddit is like without Google.

Bandcamp’s Entire Union Bargaining Team Was Laid Off - 404 Media; Emanuel Maiberg

Bandcamp’s new owner (Songtradr) offered jobs to just half of existing employees, with cuts disproportionately hitting union leaders. Every member of the union’s eight-person bargaining team was laid off, and 40 of the union's 67 members lost their jobs.

Songtradr spokesperson Lindsay Nahmiache claimed that the firm didn’t have access to union membership information.

Note: This just sucks. Bandcamp is rad, and it’s hard to imagine it continuing to be rad after this. I wonder if Epic had ideas for BC that didn’t work out.

Surveillance & Digital Privacy

Mozilla Launches Annual Digital Privacy 'Creep-o-Meter'. This Year's Status:  'Very Creepy' - Slashdot

Mozilla gave the current state of digital privacy a 75.6/100, with 100 being the creepiest.

They measured security features, data collection, and data sharing practices of over 500 gadgets, apps, and cars to come up with their score.

Every car Mozilla tested failed to meet their privacy and security standards.

Note: It would be great if even one auto brand would take privacy seriously.

EPIC Testifies in Support of Massachusetts Data Privacy and Protection Act -Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)

Massachusetts version of ADPPA.

Note: While it may warm my dead heart to see any online privacy protections in law, scrambling to do so in response to generative AI is unlikely to protect Americans in any meaningful way from the surveillance driven form of capitalism we’ve all been living under for decades.

Complex Spy Platform StripedFly Bites 1M Victims - Dark Reading

StripedFly is a complex platform disguised as a cryptominer and evaded detection for six years by using a custom version of EternalBlue exploit, a built-in Tor network tunnel, and trusted services like GitLab, GitHub, and Bitbucket to communicate with C2 servers and update its functionality.

iPhones have been exposing your unique MAC despite Apple's promises otherwise - Ars Technica

A privacy feature which claimed to hide the Wi-Fi MAC address of iOS devices when joining a network was broken since iOS 14, and was finally patched in 17.1, released on Wednesday.

Note: I imagine this bug was reported a while ago, but wasn’t publically reported until the fix was released as a term of apple’s bug bounty program.

What the !#@% is a Passkey? - Electronic Frontier Foundation

Note: I welcome our passkey overlords.

#surveillance #tech #technology #news #ai #generative ai #machine vision #electric vehicles #evs #hydrogen #futurism #Apple #iphone #twitter #bandcamp #labor unions #digital privacy #data privacy #espionage #passkeys

[voxofthevoid]

I would love to get a closer look at your thoughts about choso's characterization with #09. (That is the correct title, right?) The pieces you've given us of your viewpoint of him are very chewy.

It is! I'm delighted you remembered the name 💜 And it's great to know you find those bits chewy.

The thing with characterization is that I tend to figure it out via writing. My first JJK fic helped me nail Gojou, the second Yuuji, and prophetic self-destruction is how I dug into Chōsō. IIRC, I started writing this shortly after everyone regrouped after the Megumikuna incident to unseal Gojou. In addition to Chōsō's...everything regarding Yuuji, something that really caught my eye was the implication that Yuuji ate (or will eat) the remaining Death Paintings and that Chōsō was alright, even glad in a roundabout way, with it:

(Side note: That last panel, sweet jesus. Gege can't draw Chōsō looking at Yuuji with that expression and not expect me to go feral about it.)

Between these scenes and the ones at Shibuya, there's a lot to bite into. Chōsō exhibits an immense degree of devotion toward Yuuji, and brocon jokes aside, it isn't a healthy attitude. This isn't a complaint; no one in JJK is sane, and the ones who are don't seem very interesting. Chōsō seems to have made his brothers his raison d'etre; it's there from the first scenes with Esō and Kechizu, and it only becomes more obvious when you see how quickly and intensely he latches onto Yuuji. And fair enough! The guy spent 150 years as a sentient shrunken fetus. There are worse coping mechanisms. I also like that his attachment and adoration toward Yuuji don't manifest as over-protectiveness or possessiveness. Like I said above, it's devotion that characterizes Chōsō—but it's also somewhat one-sided.

Yuuji seems fond of Chōsō at the current point in canon, but there's still a clear imbalance there. Despite telling the others to think of Chōsō as his big brother, I don't think Yuuji has quite processed that himself. That also makes sense because he went from having no living family to a villainous mother and some very strange brothers, two of whom he killed, in the span of six fucking months (I'm assuming here that the near-death memory he has of Jin and Kaori is something he does remember now, as that scene and its aftermath heavily imply). Frankly, I don't think Yuuji's had time to sit down and think about half the shit that's happened to him during and after Shibuya. It might even be best for his sanity that he doesn't bother just yet. Point is, you get the sense that Yuuji values Chōsō as an ally and genuinely likes him as a person, but those feelings are nowhere near as intense as Chōsō's utter devotion. To quote myself from another ask I answered about chosoita, "that contrast of complete, immediate devotion and cautious, burgeoning affection makes me want to do unholy things to them both."

To situate all this in the context of prophetic self-destruction via some examples—

The narrative starts when Yuuji doesn't think Chōsō is his brother but knows that Chōsō believes it. When he initiates sex (as a sort of reciprocation for Chōsō letting Yuuji eat him), incest isn't even on his mind except as a "this might be weird to this guy" way. And when he later realizes they are blood relations, one of the first things he asks Chōsō is why he let Yuuji fuck him. This is the response:

“You…” Chōsō shrugs. “You asked.”

Later, once Gojou enters the picture, you have this exchange:

“Is that all it takes to get in your good books? Someone...caring about me?” “Gojou Satoru will never be in my good books,” Chōsō says, staring off into space with a dead-eyed expression that softens the next second as he refocuses on Yuuji.  “But I’m not a complicated person at all. I want my brothers happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I don’t know or trust that man, but I do trust you. And if he makes you happy, I want that for you.”

(Don't worry, this fic still has chosoita and goyuu both as the endgame; the relationships just have different developments and dynamics.)

...I might have gotten a little carried away, but it comes down to the appeal of Chōsō's and Yuuji's starkly different feelings for each other and the differing degrees of their respective attachment.

#thearchaticarchitect #i love my anons #chosoita #cw: incest #fic: prophetic self destruction #wip open season

[greenerteacups]

Dear GTC!!

Having finished my reread of your Book/Year 3, I’ve been thinking about what lessons the remaining Marauders might have to teach the Harry-Ron-Hermione-Draco foursome (whose lack of a covert group name makes them much less pretentious, but leaves open the option for us readers to suggest our own name ideas; i am partial to the “troll-toppling foursome”). In many ways, they are inheritors and foils of the Marauder legacy, not only its members, but also Snape, Lily, and the Black siblings. I’m certain this inheritance stand a chance to transmute itself into the later generation’s respective magical signatures and talents. Lupin taught Harry how to cast a Patronus; Draco recieved Snape’s old potions textbook. I think it stands to reason that Hermione and Ron individually, and the second generation foursome collectively, have magic to inherit and learn from the surviving marauders. Namely, Animagi magic, at which I think Hermione would be particularly talented, Draco and Ron would appreciate the strategic and tactical value of possessing, and which Harry might relate to on account of his being a Parseltongue. Do you think the four of them as a unit would be strong enough in magic and self-mastery to become underage illegal Animagi together? Do do you think Sirius would have any interest in teaching them, or do you think it’s something they might initiate on their own?

The phrase "Harry-Ron-Hermione-Draco foursome" is, while on the one hand a perfectly accurate and uncontroversial way to describe their group of friends, also the unique combination of words most likely to make Draco wake up screaming in a cold sweat;

The parallels you draw out between the Golden Quartet (trademark pending, someone in the comments gave them this name and I think it's cute) are really lovely, and I spent a while thinking about them! The dynamic parallels between Draco and Sirius vs. Draco and Snape are in particular things that I spend a lot of time thinking about. Chapter 29 is a sort of love letter to the Marauders, in that way.

I'm intrigued that you think Hermione would be a good Animagus; is it because she's a Transfiguration nerd? I'm not saying you're wrong, it's just not something I'd thought of before, so I'm interested by the thought. There's a brief discussion of this prospect in Book 4, before the Second Task, where Harry raises the possibility and suggests that Sirius could teach him (albeit somewhat in jest); Hermione shuts it down for safety and legal reasons, which are probably straight from McGonagall's lips. So that's why they haven't considered it seriously: animagus magic is a unique combination of dangerous and time-consuming that means it's very rarely a solution to whatever the Quartet are dealing with, and the Marauders pulling it off is kind of a small miracle made possible by the fact that, unlike the Quartet, they basically had nothing else to do.

I also slid in a reference to McGonagall giving everyone a lecture on the dangers of fucking up animagus transformations, complete with pictures. It's my headcanon that this lecture started after a Certain Three Individuals graduated, for reasons related to her sanity and blood pressure. (She does offer an elective on it to seventh years, however, so... I mean, if it were me, I'd much rather learn from her than from Sirius, who strikes me as a "straight into the deep end" kind of teacher. Come to think of it, that might be the answer to your question.)

#greenteacup asks #lionheart #lionheart spoilers

[ingek73]

After taking my daughter to the paediatrician, I was left wondering if I want to raise her in a country obsessed with the right to own deadly weapons

Tue 31 May 2022 14.50 (CEST)

Activists and Senate Democrats demanding action on gun control outside the US Capitol last week.

A couple of weeks ago, my wife and I took my daughter to a paediatrician in Philadelphia for her one-year checkup. It was all very routine until, squeezed between a discussion about weaning and a question about baby gates, the paediatrician asked if we had a gun in the house. I was so taken aback by the idea that I might casually keep a glock in my knicker drawer that I burst out laughing. “She’s from England,” my wife, also somewhat taken aback, explained. “They’re not used to guns.” The paediatrician gave a sad smile. “I know it’s terrible, but I do have to ask,” she said. “This is America.”

Once we got home from the appointment, I looked up whether it really was normal for paediatricians to ask about guns, or if we just had a very vigilant doctor. It turns out that, yes, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that firearm safety is discussed with patients and families. Which makes sense in a country where there are more guns than people and where people get accidentally shot by toddlers on a weekly basis. This is the US – where guns are the leading cause of death for children age one and older, and where the state of Texas restricts dildo ownership (it’s illegal to own more than six dildos) but lets people carry a handgun without licensing or training.

Also, uniquely American? The fact that some people seem to think that paediatricians asking about guns isn’t an indictment of American values, but an infringement of their liberties. In 2010, a woman in Florida was outraged over her kids’ doctor asking this “invasive” question, and helped set into motion a years-long legal saga known as “the docs versus the glocks”. The National Rifle Association (NRA) lobbied to get Florida to pass a law called the Firearm Owners’ Privacy Act, which prevented doctors from asking about gun ownership except in certain circumstances. If a doctor did raise the gun question, they risked losing their licence, and a $10,000 fine. This turned into a protracted lawsuit (the only thing the US loves as much as its guns is lawsuits), and, eventually, a court ruled that preventing doctors from discussing guns violated their freedom of speech. Which was a small win for sanity: now doctors don’t have to worry about losing their jobs if they tell their patients that keeping automatic weapons in their coat closet might be dangerous.

My trip to the paediatrician was obviously not the first time I realised that the US has a dysfunctional relationship with firearms. However, talking about shooting while your toddler is getting their shots made the gun situation suddenly feel a lot more personal; I left that doctors appointment feeling very sick indeed. Did I really want to raise my kid in a country obsessed with the right to own deadly weapons? Was it irresponsible to voluntarily bring a child up in a place where 95% of public (state) schools carry out active shooter drills? A country where kids as young as three rehearse what to do if a gunman bursts into their classroom? The UK isn’t perfect by any means, but at least kids aren’t taught to prepare for the very real possibility their classroom might become a killing field.

Because this is the US, those questions didn’t have a chance to recede. Shortly after the appointment, 10 people were murdered at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket, allegedly by an 18-year-old white supremacist. About a week later, 19 little children and two teachers were murdered in their Texas classroom by another 18-year-old. On Sunday, six minors were shot in Chattanooga, Tennessee. On Monday, a 10-year-old boy in Florida was arrested after threatening to shoot up a school. It never stops. And there seems to be no hope that it’s going to stop any time soon, either. The US supreme court is about to issue its first major ruling on gun rights in over a decade – but the conservative court is widely expected to expand gun rights and make it harder for cities and states to restrict the concealed carry of firearms. For the rest of the world, looking on in horror after the Texas massacre, this is insanity. For conservatives, this is the US.

Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist

#arwa mahdawi #the guardian #us #gun control #gun control now

[yletylyf]

Hi! Your fic “an inconvenient path” is becoming one of my all time faves. Snape and voldemort developing a somewhat healthy relationship is almost inconceivable to read, and your writing makes it spectacular! I just have one BURNING question- burning like a California wildfire- does voldemort have his nose?? Not to be ableist to this dark lord or anything, but as this point I feel that I’ve placed deep symbolic value on his nose as a parallel to his sanity so please, author, how ‘bout dat nose?

Have a nice (Algerian Independence) day!

Oh my gosh thank you! This is the sweetest ask ever. 💖 Snape and Voldemort's relationship is one of my favorite parts of the fic, although they have a ways to go if they're actually going to be healthy about it 😂

I was a bit surprised when I pulled up my draft of the fic and did a ctrl+F for "nose" and not once did I write about Voldemort's nose in the fic so far. So, fair question (and note to self for a later scene, I guess). He has a nose, but it is flat-ish. Also, as JKR managed to say nearly every time she referred to his physical appearance (seriously why?), the nostrils are slit-like. I will re-blog my favorite fanart of him by @phantomato right after I publish this ask, for reference in terms of what I'm thinking when I write him!

#ask #voldemort #my fic

[vomitnest]

a total mental shift is happening for me now because i've decided that i was suffocating myself for nothing. my obsessive tunnel vision was completely counterproductive. not only was it not generating any positive results or moving me closer to the goal of living my values and contributing something meaningful to the world, but it was ruining my life and driving me nuts. so obviously i need to think less about certain things instead of trying to think harder about them. and there is a lot of stuff i would perhaps do well to never think about again. my general outlook and approach to life seem to have become the issue.

it's alright to focus more on yourself, on being more secure and being more of a normal social human being. it is a worthy goal to simply live your life and to enjoy it. i seem to have lost sight of that for some time, but it's true. especially when your mental health depends on it. for a long time i was pushing back against this idea because i've always tried to circumvent being absorbed into a culture where that's all people do is think about themselves. the fact that the world is in crisis, the class war, the long revolution of the global south, all of that fades into the background. and eventually they have careers and families and they're so busy with the demands of their personal lives that they just become happy cogs in the machine at best. i didn't want to become that. i wanted to live in creative tension with the system.

i wanted to rage against the machine, not play the game to win. a lot of people were able to accomplish this, i think. but it can't be my priority right now because what i'm doing isn't working. it's making everything slightly worse by ruining my sanity and distracting from what i need to do just to be a somewhat normal functioning, healthy human being. no more vainglorious martyrdom. no more self-important obsessing, brooding, ruminating in circles and getting nowhere. the inner work for me involves letting go and reorienting my focus. so it isn't about more thinking, more effort. it's about letting go of that and redirecting my life by reconnecting with my soul. retrieving lost parts of my natural self that got buried and stifled under the weight of all my narrow, anxious, obsessive, one-track thinking.

it's beside the point, but the way to have gotten somewhere, if the time was right and i was emotionally stable and mentally equipped for it, would have been to just link up with the people doing the work. social progress isn't designed to be accomplished by solitary means or by neurotic hermits trying to reinvent the wheel. so i would have had to have been able to communicate with people and be social and therefore be a fully functional person in order to do it. that would be an impractical goal for me to try to reach without first going through a transitional phase of intentionally replacing the attitudes, and mindsets, and sorts of thinking and obsessing that is negatively impacting my ability to connect with people and have a stable ego and some better social skills and experience. there was a window of time that i did link up with activists/organizers and then i went nuts and made it weird. so right now i'm not necessarily feeling ready to try to reconnect with those guys.

anyway. if i'm wounded i need to do something about the wound. it isn't helping anyone for me to ignore it when it has gotten so bad that i'm almost completely socially inept and even alienated to the point of suicidal ideation. not to mention the fact that people are in many ways interdependent as human beings in order to survive and to function. the more alienated and solitary and wounded you become, the less likely and more difficult it will be for you to help to not only create meaningful social and political change but to experience the richness of human relationships, which are sort of two sides of the same coin. also it will increase the likelihood that you've sacrificed the opportunity to fully live your life without gaining much of anything in return. you will have squandered your life in vain and wasted all of your precious time.

[sugarcherriess]

hello why did i not see this i’m so sorry 💔 please do not hit yourself in the head with a brick though my friend. you could achieve the same effect by letting jumil fuck you dumb though i think so there’s definitely an alternative! and i want to smooch eric so bad so so bad 😭 all over his face 😭 absolutely everywhere 😭 been thinking about his neck a lot recently 😵‍💫 and i will Not think about riding his abs actually because i do somewhat value my sanity. to an extent. 🐶

LETTING JUMIL DO WHAT NOW?????? Ma gawd you for real want me deceased and rotting in my grave

I think you should definitely think about riding his abs though? Can you imagine him documenting his ab workout progress through how quickly you cum while riding his abs? Because he would totally do that and also kissing on his neck while you spill all over his abs… yeah

#˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Adonis Speaks #˚₊·➴ My Lovely 🐶 #EHEHEHEHEH

[cullenmcculloch2]

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#loewe bag #loewe puzzle bag #loewe hammock bag #loewe basket bag #loewe straw bag

[interact-if]

Day 2 of A/PI Heritage Month featured authors interview is here! The lovely Mei, everyone!

Mei, author of God of the Red Mountain

A/PI Heritage Month Featured Author

You are a spirit born of the Red Mountain–though you’ve run away from it long ago. You’d be content to stay away, too, if not for the mountain god who suddenly comes looking for you. But what purpose do they have? And what exactly is your end goal?

Based on East Asian myths and folklore, you play as a powerful, nameless spirit in a shifting world. As a being caught between death and life, you are connected to a stream of limitless power, and the more you are known, the more powerful you become.

However, your journey will not be so smooth. You have been cursed by powerful, malignant beings known as Foxes, and it’s only a matter of time before you fall from sanity yourself.

Author's Ko-fi | Discord

(INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!)

Q1: First of all, introduce us to your project! What is it about?

God of the Red Mountain is an interactive novel made with ChoiceScript, and is heavily inspired by East-Asian, predominantly Chinese, mythology. Within, the reader plays as a spirit of chi, born within the gentle forests of the Red Mountain. Perhaps they were once meant for greatness, but then they find themselves driven away from their home in an event that leaves them wounded and cursed--leaving them doomed, rather than destined.

Time has since passed. Their wounds have turned into scars, but the curse still remains, and now at the very brink, they are presented with an opportunity to return home at last.

Though it is still very much a work in progress, I’m honored to be doing this interview for it, thank you for having me!

Q2: If it’s not too spoilery, what are you most excited about your project?

Hmm, well, GotRM branches primarily into two plot lines, each with a core secret that the main character is working to uncover. Rather than the reveal though, writing the buildup and fallout is something I’m really excited for, since I’ve planned a ton of branched pathways and unique scenes for the characters.

Aside from that, I’m also really excited to start writing the romance scenes! It has been a bit difficult coming up with a system that will efficiently track character approval and affection, but it will be entirely worth it once I get to the fluff (and angst).

Q3: What inspired the current project you’re working on?

I can’t remember anymore if there was one singular thing that inspired me to write GotRM, but I’ve always been a wuxia/xianxia fan, so I most likely sought to emulate themes that were in my favorite movies, like House of Flying Daggers or Reign of Assassins.

As time went on, I just continued to pull more influences from other types of media, particularly light novels, anime, and other Asian dramas, until I reached the setting and atmosphere that the Red Mountain has now!

Q4: Do you pull from your own identity for inspiration? How has that been reflected in your work?

GotRM is very much a testament to my identity as part of the Chinese diaspora, and everything from the food that the characters eat, to the philosophies that they hold are influenced from my own personal experiences and values. While I do often feel pressured by it, being able to share all of these things is a great source of pride for me, and I can only hope that my writing properly conveys the love and nostalgia that I have for the traditions that shape my life.

Q5: What’s been your experience so far? With writing, with the IF community...

It’s still somewhat surreal to be sharing this story with others, however the community has been nothing but encouraging towards myself and my project, and I am endlessly grateful towards them.

As a writer, feedback is such a precious thing, and the IF community is always so responsive that you really can’t help wanting to push out as many updates as possible. I really feel like my writing has improved tenfold thanks to the help of others, and GotRM would not be at the quality it is now without those comments pushing me in the right direction.

And of course, I have also found really good friends while here--friends who have picked me up when I doubted myself, and who have checked on me when I’ve gone quiet. I don’t think I can overstate how appreciative I am of their support and kindness, truly.

Q6: Do you have any future projects in the works?

Not currently! I am a very distracted writer, and if I were to even think about another project, it will probably take another 100 years before either gets finished. I do want to continue writing interactive fiction after GotRM though, so I suppose, stay tuned?

Q7: Finally, what piece of advice would you give to fellow authors?

I am not very good at coming up with general advice, but the one thing that has always helped me when I’m in a slump is to go back to my story outline and work on it until I’m motivated to start writing seriously again.

It’s a pretty methodical process of breaking down a scene from a very broad standpoint to a play-by-play--no fancy words, no worrying about coherent sentences, it’s just trying to figure out what exactly it is I want to convey in the most straightforward way I can with no embellishments.

More often than not, this will inspire me enough to finish the scene, and even if it doesn’t, at least I’ll have a very detailed explanation of what to do when I find my words!

#if: events #Asian/Pacific Islander Month 2021 #Asian/Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2021 #a/pi month #a/pi month 2021 #aapiheritagemonth #aapi month #interactive fiction #authors of color

[fairestwriting]

dorm sorting + matchup commissioned by an anonymous person! thanks so much for the support and i hope you like it ^_^

if you’re interested in getting one of these for yourself you can check out my guidelines here !

Any dorm is fine with me. -Female -5’8/173cm -Curly 3b/3c black/dark brown hair. Past shoulder length. (3b-3c is the curl type) -Tan/Light brown skin tone -Dark brown eyes -Body type is Athletic with curves - like styling their hair, but mainly has it down. -Will dress fashionable yet comfortable -Artist abilities(creative) -Enjoys to sing and dance -Likes sweets -Horror fan -MBTI personality type - ENFP/INFP -Doesn’t mind being alone or with people. Can adapt to their situation. -Technology field -Is a curious person and likes learning history and languages -Is honest but not blunt (meaning they consider the others feelings) -Is friendly but does not let people use them. Will be outgoing but be aware.

For dorms, I’d place you in Octavinelle !

Your interest in technology, while something commonly associated with Ignihyde, would find a surprisingly good place somewhere like that. Octavinelle operates a lot like a business, and considering how it’s somewhat rare between them, your tech-savviness will definitely be appreciated properly, giving you a chance to work with what you’re interested in.

Octavinelle is generally a good place for intelligent people, but especially people with the sort of social awareness that you have. Being adaptable and friendly yet wary is pretty much a prerequisite, both for their value of benevolence and for the business-like mindset. While they certainly do have some students on the... shadier side, you’re sure to find people who understand these aspects of yours there.

And, the final, slightly obvious observation: Octavinelle is one of, if not the best dorm for someone who’s interested in music. Of course Mostro Lounge has their own wilder nights, allowing people to perform or putting a whole party together with plenty of space to dance, so whether you want more spotlight for your appreciation of music or not, you’ll find that there.

And for the matchup, I’d pair you with Floyd !

Might be a bit of an odd pair to people who don’t know either of you well. Some of your friends question your sanity getting close to someone like Floyd Leech, this volatile, eccentric guy, when you’re so much more grounded, but when you look at it some more, you’ll easily notice how you balance each other out.

You’re pretty much the only person beyond his brother who can really handle him, having just the right amount of energy but also the capacity to be firm when he’s going a little too crazy. Meanwhile, he’ll be there to help you loosen up if you’re seeming too high strung, pulling you away from your worries to dance around campus without a second thought.

The two of you share plenty of interests, in fact. Floyd isn’t very familiar with horror, but he’s definitely interested in the genre, and will gladly binge watch your favorite movies or hear about all your favorite stories. He might be a little too gleeful abou them, but he’ll have a great time. And whenever you’re both tired of that, he’ll love to check out your art or hear you sing, going on endlessly about how talented his Shrimpy is.

Your wariness was what got him interested at first, you’re outwardly someone so kind and friendly, he thought you’d be simple and easy to trick, but as it turned out, that wasn’t the case at all, and that’s the sort of contradiction that really gets Floyd curious. Despite all his goofiness, he really respects you and how you pick up on things most people don’t.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst matchups #twst x reader #floyd leech #floyd leech x reader #commissions tag #lis writing

[gamma-gal-24]

MORE "AN EXTREMELY GOOFY MOVIE" CHARACTER HEADCANONS!!

🍃CAMPING EDITION🍃

Max -

Lowkey, he and P.j are both pretty decent at camping, Max being slightly better.

Goofy taught him everything he knows, and for once, he's more than happy to show off what his father has shown him.

He somehow manages to make the most ✨PERFECT✨ s'mores EVRY. SINGLE. TIME.

He's also the only one that almost NEVER burns a hotdog on the fire. Goofy taught him well.

Oh, there's a lizard on that rock over there? He's already caught it.

Neither him OR his father are any good at putting up tents, though...😅

P.j -

Actually somewhat decent at the whole camping thing!

He's the one carrying a book around telling everyone what plants are safe to eat, a d which aren't. Bobby never listens, though.

He isn't a horrible fisher either! His dad was huge on it, and he actually picked up a trick or two from Pete and Goofy both!

He always looses something though. Be it his shoe or an entire box of granola bars, he's lost something.

He's not the best swimmer, so Max and Bobby have to keep and eye on him when they all hit the river/lake.

Constantly thinks he's being followed by bears.

Bobby -

UNPREPARED.

He never brings what he's supposed to, extra clothes included.

He only really remembers food, to be honest... But, if he's willing to share, he makes up for his incompetence with his fine snack choices.

Scary story MASTER.

He once made P.j and Max BOTH break out into fits of fear-induced hiccups.

He's a danger magnet, and yes, he HAS eaten a poisonous mushroom before ... He ended up sleeping outsode the tent that night.

Bradley -

If you value your sanity and/or his, do NOT take him camping.

The poor boy is (in my mind,at least)allergic to bees, so he spends half the time either spraying every insect he sees, or freaking out over them.

He also has an uncanny ability to injure himself while in the wild...

He REALLY likes water though! So if you have to occupy him, that's how you do it. Take the boy swimming while the bugspray fumes blow away.

He's also actually pretty decent with the grill, second best only to Tank. Even HE won't agrue about Tank being better.

Yes, he does birdwatch while he's there, fight me.

He also brings all the expensive camping stuff, just saying.

Tank -

As I said before, Tank is the 🍔GRILL MASTER!!🍔

He actually really like hiking, too! All the pretty trees, flowers and sounds calm him...😌

Self-appointed medic, and no one is complaining about that.

I can also picture him being the one fixing everyone's tents when they screw up.

He HAS thrown the others into the river, AND he has canonballed off of a waterfall with Bobby.

Mosquitoes love this poor boy, please help him.

And simply because I can...

Powerline -

Bless his heart, he TRIES.

He's just inexperienced, is all!!😢

Despite not knowing what he's doing, he genuinely likes being outside! It gives him a break from being a rockstar for a while.

That being said, he had a sing-off with a bird... And won. The bird flew away in shame.

He does NOT mess with snakes though, and if he sees one, he will RUN. He doesn't know if that's the SAFEST reaction... But it's all he's got.

Yes, he brings his hair products with him. Just because he's sleeping outside doesn't mean he can't look fly, right? Right.

And there you have it! I hope this at least made you smile!😁 Hope you have a lovely day!

#an extremely goofy movie #bradley uppercrust iii #tank #Max Goof #P.J #Bobby #Powerline #An Extremely Goofy Movie Headcanons

[benlaksana]

2021

It's been roughly a year and a half since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic here in Indonesia, and I've recently been trying to understand where I'm at. Not physically, as in physical space, but mentally and probably existentially. What is the state of my mind? I am aware that I've become somewhat bitter, my late nights are sometimes riddled with anxiety for what the next day may bring and reoccurring personal-collective grief has at times, and recently more often than I would like to admit, numbed me.

This may probably be my mind's automatic coping mechanism seeing all this death mainly as a result of how my government has failed us, its citizens, especially during a time of crises. And I really need to stress this point: how my government has failed us Indonesians during the times we need it the most and I very much believe that it is because of this why many of us Indonesians are in constant misery and haunted by that feeling of despair. If chronic physical pain causes constant daily anguish, I am not surprised if chronic physical and mental pain caused by structural violence causes persistent misery as well.

I'm somewhat fortunate in this regard, I'm grateful that I've learned ways to keep my sanity in check. My contemplative practice is key for me. Honestly, I wouldn't have gotten far in life without it. I have many people to thank, but Art Buehler especially, my former professor in esoteric contemplative/meditative practices who reminded me and pointed a certain possible direction of where I should head when I sense a lost in my life's direction, is one those I should thank the most. I know this seems like an individualized response to structural oppression, and I don't intend to paint such a picture, but I do believe we need some kind of mental stability to keep on going. To survive if not thrive.

Art sadly passed away in 2019. I received an email about his passing. And come to think of it I never really did allow myself to properly grieve for his passing. I don't know why. To be told through a short concise email that someone you cared for died, without having the opportunity to properly say goodbye feels like that person never really passed away. It is horrible way to end relationships. A sudden cut, nothing finalized, and since goodbyes are relational, now nothing can really ever be concluded. I have to make amends with myself and only with myself. If I said goodbye yesterday, or if I say goodbye today or perhaps tomorrow, will it ever be enough for me?

Life is individual yet also relational. It's good to have friends, family, people that care for you or the odd mix of all three to get you through life. So although I have these array of tools to possibly help get me through life but if the people whom you look for some kind direction is no longer present, I'm just not sure for how long I can maintain it if I'm doing all this by myself. Will a breaking point come to me?

The mind is a fickle thing, and the mind is as strong as its habits. Bad habits, bad mind. Good habits, good healthy mind (no habits, no mind?). They also say that things that might happen, will indeed happen. It is just a matter of time. If so, how will I break? To what extent? For how long? What will change? What will I lose? Will there be something renewed? Will I come out the same person? Will I come out changed but for the worst?

This is one of the things that worries me. That certainty of uncertainty. The certainty of breaking, the uncertainty of when and of its form. Will I explode in sudden exasperation, engulfed in madness? Will it be a quick balloon pop yet a slow descend into meaninglessness? An unabashed diatribe rant towards someone I care? Something that's just a twitter post away from me on actually doing it. Will this be an opening, an opportunity for 'satori', a sudden lift of the 'veil', bringing about comprehension and understanding of the true nature of things? Questions, questions, questions, not much when it comes to answers, is all I have for now. To be hopeful is hard these days and with the wavering hope, very much coming and going like waves, it has become incredibly hard to even retain any semblance of kindness. That is something I do not want to actively become a habit of. Without hope, comes the cold embrace of fatalism that many on the 'left' are guilty of. Clutched by fatalism, empathy becomes harder to come by. I've seen it, and I have felt it.

I know that my eroding sense of hope is connected to my personal dreams. Specifically how it has become very hard to actualize it. Rara and I never really planned on staying in Indonesia for long. I was confident enough, a bit too confident come to think of it, that we will be out of Indonesia by 2021 the latest. A mere 2 1/2 years after our last stay in New Zealand. The plan was for me to continue my studies, getting into a Ph.D. program and of course a scholarship. That was our ticket out. Hoping that we'll be back to our old routine in Wellington, in and out the university's library, my head in books, loving our 'flatwhites' while regretting having too much of it, the usual stint doing some university tutoring, community organizing stuff, lazy gardening, out and about on the weekends tramping around Wellington and if Covid did not happen or/and maybe if my government handled things much, much better I think that would've been the case. Or at least I constantly would like to imagine that would be the case.

Yet here we are still in Indonesia, me struggling to do my Ph.D. through this wretched distant learning, initially in the comfort of my home yet steadily devolving into cabin fever. And Rara with her own struggles trying her best to get back on her feet as an aspiring musician. None of it is going as well as we had hoped for. All this while juggling trying our best to keep ourselves safe and our families and friends safe. Both of us have become direct witnesses how challenging this has been, physically and mentally. Both of us slowly grappling with the continual kick in the gut, the never ending structural absurdity, violently absurd.

That slow grueling realization of how fragile our lives are. Not just existentially. It is existentially precarious yet at the same time understanding that precariousness in many of its aspects is structurally and politically maintained. It is this political construction of precarity, which Isabell Lorey elaborates in her book State of Insecurity: Government of the Precarious, that angers and saddens us the most.

Lorey provides a nuanced approach in unpacking and differentiating this thing called being 'precarious'. The three dimensions of being precarious: precariousness, precarity and then precarization. On precariousness, Lorey draw's on Judith Butler's conceptualization of precariousness which she sees as existential, relational and inevitable. I'll insert my existential philosophy and Buddhist values here, to help me see and more importantly accept the transient nature of life and that impermanence or change is the only constant. Our lives, our bodies are destined to die and wither away. We humans are fragile mortal beings. The loss of life, the loss of one's identity, the loss of everything that makes us, us is unavoidable. It's also a 'relational' thing, as in it is also a shared experience. Everyone will experience it. It is the great equalizer some say.

Then we have precarity. Yes everyone dies, but the process of dying or even the process of grieving someone's death is dependent on what Lorey see as the “effects of different political, social and legal compensations of a general precariousness”. Some die at young age due to starvation, riddled with poverty and disease and have nothing or no one to ease their pain, others die surrounded by family and friends in a well-cared for hospital. Some have days or weeks to grieve, others have to go back to work the next day as she or he have no luxury to stop working even just for a moment and simply grieve. To stop working even for a day draws some closer to the possibility of death for the person or those dependent on the person working. This is the inequality of dying and grieving due to our social hierarchies. How fragile we are, is dependent on those social hierarchies.

And last we have Lorey's third dimension, governmental precarization which is the instrumentalization of insecurity by the government. In other words, the government using the idea and the reality of insecurity as a tool or device to control its citizens. The calculated, deliberate attempt by the government in destabilizing our lives in order for us to be easily governed. Insecurity, be it real or due to perceived constructed fear of insecurity is an effective governing tool. The fear of being labeled "useless and lacking in contribution to the nation-state". The genuine insecurity of not being able to get a job due to the false understanding that it is simply a result of an individual's laziness rather than due to systematic government policies. The deliberate attempt in making our lives constantly insecure, constantly on the edge, without us initially knowing it and when we do come to understand, the blame is on us. It is normalized and it is internalized.

This is not simply a social issue, it is a deeply existential one as well. We Indonesians have very little to make us feel safe at the moment. Covid and the government's response to it has severely limited our movements and it's not simply physical immobility, but also an existential one, the inability to even have the imagination that our lives are actually "going somewhere", towards a forward direction. Perhaps some sort of minute incremental progress, but progress nonetheless. This imagined mobility is what Ghassan Hage calls as "existential mobility" and this immobility suffered by many of us is what he also calls as "stuckedness".

Turning an often momentary or the ephemeral nature of a crisis into something prolonged and perhaps even permanent is another part of the strategy of governmental precarization. Our lives or jobs are always on the line and again coupled with the sick prevailing idea that we only have ourselves to find the solution. The crisis is permanent, we don't know why but we've been told that way, if we fail to overcome it is because of our personal inabilities thus proliferating and intensifying this sense of stuckedness.

Forcing us to accept whatever solution the government-messiah presents us with in order to relieve us from this suffering. From labour laws that normalizes precariousness even more, to oppressive new laws that limits our desire and ability to dissent, to including who or how our enemies are defined, easily accepting who is to blame for all this insecurity we are all suffering.

Be it the long dead Indonesian communists, the Chinese Indonesians and the racist perception of them being "selfish and greedy", the Indonesian Islamists - the kadruns and their conservatism, the "foreign forces" whomever they may be constantly trying to take over Indonesia, anyone or anything is to blame. Anyone but the Indonesian government and its affluent patrons. Insecurity and the fear that rises from it renders many of us easily governable and compliant.

This governmental precarization and this 'stuckedness', which Hage sees no longer as a possibility that may or may not happen but an "inevitable pathological state which has to be endured" is how Rara and I feel at the moment.

Rara and I feel our lives are going nowhere. We feel that our lives are stuck, constantly rotating in a hamster wheel trying our best to overcome our precariousness. No progress, no forward movement, no growth, just trying our best to survive from this sustained uncertainty. It's an awful feeling, paving way to existential dread. We are very much looking forward to moving back to New Zealand as soon as possible but with the conditions right now, that is something I can't even dare to imagine.

And although I am grateful that the weave of our privilege with at many times just pure sheer luck has kept us alive and physically well for the time being, we both now realize that we have hit a proverbial concrete wall here. Adding to the already precarious nature of life here in Indonesia, our line of work as a fledgling social science academic and aspiring artist and what Rara and I aspire to do socially, what we aspire to become, easily ends in stagnation if we intend to continue to live our lives in Indonesia. (I want to direct you to Social Science and Power edited by Vedi Hadiz and Daniel Dhakkidae to get the gist of what I'm trying to get at here.)

This is a hard pill to swallow, harder to write and even more so to act upon. I am existentially tied to Indonesia, my family and friends are here, my father is buried here and so will my mother. Memories of the distant past, the colloquial language when shitposting on social media, my mind and body have been shaped by Indonesia in ways I possibly do not even fully realize. This is why I oscillate between guilt towards others and guilt towards the self. I feel guilty for simply having an exit strategy when many others don't, I have the luxury of choice. Yet I also I feel guilty for feeling guilty about this, as it means I am also neglecting the well-being of myself, now and in the future. I need to work on this and find my bearings, being stuck in a guilty limbo won't get me anywhere.

And the future is far from stable, I wonder what is on the other end of surviving this pandemic? There is so much collective grief, collective anger and of course personal anger. All this will amount to something, I'm sure of that. Although I don't know what exactly, I'm not entirely confident this something will be good. John Keane's new book 'The New Despotism' comes into mind.

What do I personally do with all this anger? I’ve noticed how anger, especially when it is on the verge of hatred, morphs itself and easily descends into madness, into aggression and often showing itself, unawaringly to us, when the act of expressing anger happens. Your mind becomes instantly clouded, ending in mindless action. This inability to have control over oneself terrifies me. I already have so very little semblance of control over life in general at the moment, if I truly have no control over myself whatsoever, what then do I have?

And I wonder if it is a waste of time asking these pseudo-intellectual questions? I don't know, yet I do know I live in a society where it hones aggression and hostility, whether it be in physical and digital spaces, and I would like to draw myself away from all this at the moment before I transform myself into something I do not wish to be. Anger I can fully understand, and it is needed and useful. Yet to actively transform it into deep blinding hatred and sustain it daily, is something I feel psychologically destructive for me and I'm trying my best not to go on that path.

I rarely update this blog I know, but this blog has always been used as a personal chronicle of how much I have progressed, digressed or both. And I needed to write all this, because I've never been this least sure of what my life should be like and where it should go. I know I am not alone at this. This pandemic has destroyed the lives of many, our futures, our dreams, our sources of love and I hope that anyone of you reading this finds a way to get through it, doing anything you can do day in, day out.

I'm not sure it if amounts to anything. Maybe it won't, maybe it will, or maybe it has but maybe we just can't see it. All I can personally do for now, is to hold on to these 'maybes', and maybe, just maybe I'll get through this too.

“Where must we go...

We who wonder this Wasteland

in search of our better selves?”

- The First History Man, George Miller