#just everyone saying hi to me when I joined Hal’s stream
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Nature's Flower
A/N: hi so this is a real thing that happened to me a couple years ago and i've been meaning to write about it for closure. please do not read if a bad high triggers you.
Ao3: here
Pairing: astarion x tav/manona(oc) x halsin
Rating/Warning(s): MATURE/tw bad high, tw drugged, comfort, fluff?, not proof read
Words: 1,108
Summary: Manona was out with the girls and was offered a free drink. The drink was not something she was ready for. She has a bad high and Astarion and Halsin help her through it. (can be read as x reader since manona is only described by name)
[bg3 masterlist]
The women of the party had just got back from a great time at the tavern. Everyone was giggling and having a good time still when the arrived back at camp. Manona was starting to feel extra lightheaded and giggly. Astarion looked at her with concern. He knew how she was when she was drinking and he knew something was wrong. He quickly got Halsin while Manona made her way to her bedroll. She was still giggling and fighting back tears as she realized she was alone. She sat on the hay stack, tears streaming down her face and giggle escaping from her lips. Manona glanced around and saw it was getting dark around her and more tears started to fall.
“Oh my gods,” she whimpered, “oh my gods.”
“My love?” Astarion whispered. He and Halsin looked at Manona, seeing tears streaming down her face, her lips twisting from a smile to a frown. Her eyes were glazed over. Astarion recognized this right away, someone drugged her but he didn’t know which drug. He went and kneeled in front of her. Her eyes slowly made their way to him.
“Sta-starry?” She choked out, “oh my gods.”
“I’m here, what do you need?” Astarion asked. Manona just stared at him whispering the same three words over and over.
“I think I know what’s wrong with her,” Halsin said gently.
“Someone drugged her, we need to heal her,” Astarion said.
“Not this drug. This is a nature flower. Only time will heal her,” Halsin explained.
“Hal-sin?” Manona said, her eyes were still on Astarion. He motioned for the druid to come over and kneel.
“We’re here,” Halsin said as he kneeled in front of her.
“Oh my gods, oh my gods,” she cried.
“Please talk to us,” Halsin said.
Manona slowly looked between them and to the firepit. She knew what to say but she couldn’t get the words out and this made her cry more. Astarion took her hand in his hands and held her close to his chest. Halsin did the same. Manona then looked at her lap. She felt so stupid. She knew she shouldn’t have accepted that free drink at the tavern.
“Stupid,” she said, her voice still watery.
Then, the visions came. Gale had lit a fire at Halsin and Astarion’s request. Manona stared at the fire and started seeing nightmares in the flames. She started to hyperventilate. Halsin acted quickly.
“Manona, love, calm down,” he said. She looked at him, still scared. He kept his voice gentle, “deep breaths, do it with me.”
Astarion joined Halsin in breathing slowly and deep for her. She slowly started to mimic them. She sniffled and looked at the fire again, the nightmares were gone. She was starting to shake.
“How long?” She asked.
“Until this is over?” Astarion asked. Manona looked at him and nodded.
“It could be a while, but we’ll be here with you the whole time,” Halsin said.
“Oh my gods,” she said. Panic started to set in again. She became aware of her heart rate and she started to think that she was dying. She started to cry again.
“It’s okay, my love,” Astarion said.
“I’m dying?” She asked.
“You’re not going to,” Halsin reassured.
“I’m sick,” she said. Halsin knew what was coming next.
“She’s going to throw up,” Halsin said. Halsin grabbed the bucket her brought with him and gave it her. Astarion reluctantly let got of her hand. She took the bucket and stared. The men got on either side of her and geld back her hair, waiting for the inevitable.
Shortly, she did throw up. She cried into the bucket and kept apologizing. Slowly, she started to feel better. Her head had the tiniest bit of clarity before being replaced by a fit of giggles.
“She’s better now,” Halsin said. He took the bucket from her and set it away from them.
“Hal-sin,” she sang while touching his face. She looked at Astarion and set her hand on his cheek. She smiled and sang, “Star-ry Night!”
“Oh, yes, she’s much better now,” Astarion agreed.
“Let’s go swim-ing!” She giggled out.
“How about we go tomorrow?” Halsin offered. Manona pouted and looked at Astarion as if he would give her a different answer.
“He’s right, love. Tomorrow,” Astarion said. Manona then leaned back and laid on the haystack with another giggle fit.
“Where’s sky?” She asked, “No stars.”
“Would you like to see the stars?” Astarion asked. Manona gasped.
“Yes,” she dragged out.
Halsin and Astarion helped her stand and took her to Halsin’s tent where she could see the stars. They all laid down and stargazed. Halsin and Astarion laid on either side of Manona. She gazed at the stars.
“Wow,” Manona whispered.
She adjusted to lay her head on Astarion’s chest. He adjusted so that he was holding her better and Halsin wrapped his arms around both of them. Then, there were giggles from Manona. They both looked at her with a confused look.
“Two boyfriends,” she whispered before laughing. She sighed, “Lucky.”
Eventually, she finally fell asleep nestled her both of her lover’s arms. She slept really well that night. She felt it was the best sleep she had ever gotten. When she woke, she was still in the arms of Astarion and Halsin. Then, memories of last night started to flood her mind. She quietly groaned to herself and hid her face in Astarion’s chest. She felt so stupid for everything.
“How are you feeling, love?” Astarion asked. Manona looked up from his chest to his eyes.
“Stupid, like really stupid,” Manona said.
“Don’t feel stupid for partaking in one of nature’s gifts,” Halsin said.
“But I didn’t know! I thought it was a normal drink,” she said as she felt tears pricking at her eyes.
“Manona, you can’t know everything,” Astarion said.
“But I should’ve known better than to drink it. I know someone bought for me but still,” she said.
“If I’m not mistaken, if someone buys you a drink, you drink it?” Halsin asked.
“Yes, that is the idea,” Astarion said.
“Fine. You two have a point. But I was so ridiculous last night. I’m sorry you had to see that,” she said.
“I’d rather us see it than all of Baldur’s Gate,” Halsin said.
“You didn’t do anything stupid if that’s what you wondering,” Astarion said.
“Thank you, both of you,” she smiled.
They stayed like that for a few more hours. The sun started to rise above the horizon, casting blues across the sky. Manona felt safe in their arms. She was grateful it was them who took care of her.
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Dark Matter Alternate Ending #1
Not after Aya said goodbye to Razer's tombstone, Hal and Kilowog go to comfort her. "Hey kid, how are you holding up so far?" Kilowog ventured. "My processors aren't firing at optimal levels Green Lantern Kilowog." "I think what Kilowog means is..." "I am aware what Green Lantern Kilowog means Green Lantern Hal Jordan. If you are looking for a more direct answer, then it is I am not holding up at all. The memory of his demise plays repeatedly in my memory banks on an endless loop." "That'll happen to you." Hal sighed. "Back on the Interceptor, before I shut down my emotions, I asked you how does one make the pain go away. You never answered my question Green Lantern Hal Jordan."
Hal scratches the back of his head, unsure of what to say to her. But without a universal threat to distract him, he can only give her a direct and honest answer. "Aya, the truth is...pain like this doesn't go away overnight. It never does. The best thing you can do now is try to work through it and move on with your life. That's what forges experience and it has been said that experience is the best teacher." "So what you are saying Green Lantern Hal is that I must find a way to...live with the pain and not let it bother me in future." "Exactly! On my planet, it's called coping. Doing so ain't easy, but it's the sensible way to go about things." "How does one cope with pain?" asked Aya. "There are a lot of methods of coping. You just have to find one that works best for you." "You've given me plenty to think about Green Lantern Hal Jordan. Thank you." "Any time Aya,"
Without saying anything else, she hugs Hal tight to which he kindly reciprocates. After the hug, he looks at her and says, "Take care of yourself Aya." She smiles and nods knowingly. Hal then leaves with Carol, discussing the future. Kilowog looks over at Aya and says, "If you ever decide you want to come back to Oa, you know where to find me." "Affirmative Green Lantern Kilowog." "Like Jordan said, take care of yourself kid." He then gives Aya another hug before disembarking back to Oa.
Long after the two Green Lanterns went their separate ways, Aya continued to stay where she was; kneeling over Razer's tombstone. Ganthet floats over to her. "You must have truly cared for Razer didn't you." "Affirmative." "It's a shame, he would have made an excellent blue lantern. From what Hal Jordan told me, Razer never gave up on you, even when everyone else did." Aya's eyes begin to well up again. "You know Aya. There is another to honor Razer's memory." Aya looked at Ganthet, perplexed. "How so?" "By continuing Razer's training; picking up where he left off." "Do you think that would suffice?" "Only time will tell my child." Aya looked at Razer's grave and then back at Ganthet. "I will need more time to analyze." "Take as much time as you need. We'll be at Battery Temple whenever you are ready." Ganthet floated off to rejoin his blue lanterns.
Since Aya never needed sleep, she spent the entire night pondering what Hal Jordan had said about needing to cope with her pain. She continued to analyze Razer's grave and reflect on the moments leading up to his demise. How Razer could never bring himself to kill her and how that lead to his own downfall. She also thought back to their last conversation, "I was a threat to all life. In that one moment, you could have struck me down. Why didn't you?" "How could I kill you? My Red Lantern constructs are powered solely by hate. And there is no hate in my heart for you Aya. Only love." The memory replayed itself throughout her memory banks. Tears streaming down her face as they did so. She almost couldn't bear it. But that was when she reached a decision.
The next morning, Aya flew over to Battery Temple. Ganthet was already there, inspecting the battery. "Ganthet?" "Yes?" "I have reached a conclusive decision. I will join the Blue Lanterns in Razer's place. If nothing else but to honor his memory and what he later stood for." Ganthet smiled. So from that day on, Aya stayed on Odym to train with the Blue Lanterns. They taught her everything she needed to know about holding onto hope, even in the darkest of times. As the Corps continued to grow, so did Aya. Yes, she was still saddened by Razer's death, but she didn't let herself be consumed by it.
Five years had passed until one day a lone figure stood over Razer's tombstone and placed a familiar blueish-purple lily like flower beside it. The figure is revealed to be Aya but different. In place of her usual green components, she is now a shimmering blue color with the blue lantern corps logo on her chest. She has fulfilled her training and found peace with Razer's passing. As it turns out, she stops by his grave every year on the anniversary of his death to tell him all about her progress and the adventures she's had since then. "Life hasn't been the same without you Razer." She sighs mournfully. "Hopefully, you have peace with Ilana at last." Just then, her ring goes off requesting her presence back at Battery Temple. She smiles to herself as she turns to Razer's tombstone saying, "Rest well beloved." Aya kisses the tombstone before flying off into the sky.
On Razer's tombstone, a new oath has been written : "With Lantern lights, be it blue or red; may they lead your soul away from dread. As it heals the deepest, darkest wounds of hate; let no-one else decide your fate."
THE END
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hi not to be insane on main but I just started crying because it’s like . holy fuck I’m actually loved yknow? like 98% of the time I overthink things and make myself believe I’m not but like wow. I feel loved rn and I’m crying cuz I’m so lucky to have people who care about me and I can’t express enough how much that means to me
#just everyone saying hi to me when I joined Hal’s stream#made me soft like holy fuck people care about me?????????????
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Could I request Prince Hal with prompts 84 & 85 “There’s people here” / “I know” for kinktober? 🥰
Wordless
Summary: You and Hal end up doing the dirty in the tavern.
Pairing: Prince Hal x fem!Reader
Warnings: semi public sex
A/N: My very first Prince Hal fic for Day 17 of Kinktober! I'm so excited for this one. A special thank you to my good friend @shiningloki for... pretty much invading my dash with Prince Hal gifs and inspiring me to write for this wonderful character.
Heavy laughter rumbles through the tavern, almost in a never ending stream.
In the hallway upstairs, you look down by the railings.
Most of the people here are gathered around the fireplace, listening intently to Falstaff, the white haired, fat, drunk. He slurs his words, guffawing loudly at whatever the friends and customers are saying.
A hand brushes past yours, drawing you from your thoughts, and you smile when you see who it is.
Everyone in the tavern knows him, you and Falstaff most of all. Prince Harry of England, but everyone just calls him Hal. A golden haired boy of a Prince, wearing his regular red leather jacket and long, black pants. His eyes shine with glee and mischief and merriment, as they so often do when he is not around his father or the royal courts.
Every time you look at him you think to yourself, It’s too good to be true. Prince Hal of England, in love with a common tavern whore.
“Hal,” you greet, curtseying a little. He laughs at that, though not at you. It might be amusing for him to have a whore curtsey to him, but then again, he’s not one for public displays of his royalty. So, it’s really nervous laughter.
“Evening,” he greets. “How are you faring, sweet?”
“Well,” you say. “As well as any whore can be.”
His face saddens a little. “How many times do I have to ask you to stop calling yourself that? Yes, you are here, at your...er, job... but you are not a whore. Not to me. You know that.”
“And how many times do I have to ask you,” you giggle, pointing at him, “to stop with the sentimental talk? At least, while we’re here...”
“Ah,” he whispers, leaning in close so that no one else but you can hear, “that’s where I’ll have to decline.”
His eyes widen suddenly, and he grins. You can see the gears turning in his head. He’s gotten an idea. Oh, spare me this mischief.
Hal giggles, almost as if keeping his thoughts inside is too much for his childish mind to handle. “Come on,” he whispers excitedly. “Follow me.”
He backs both himself and you into a vacant room and shuts the door. He does not lock it.
There’s a chair in the middle of the floor, and he sits down on it. He looks at you expectantly. “Well? Are you coming?”
You blink, and he playfully rolls his eyes when he gets no response. “Just rest with me for a moment,” he pleads. “Come on, love.”
It doesn’t take any more of his convincing. You practically jump on him, and he wraps his arms around you - one around your back and the other on your thigh, exploring down your ass.
If there’s one thing you like about getting cuddly with Hal, it is that his hands are huge. They practically cover your whole back and your whole ass, respectively, and they are warm and rough and absolutely wonderful.
When you bring your lips to his, it’s like a switch has been flipped. Hal suddenly becomes protective, drawing you closer to him - which, really, can’t be done, but he tries.
He breaks away to smile at you again. This time, it’s full and brilliantly white. “Let’s make love,” he says.
“Wait, right — right here?”
Never mind the fact that you’ve never actually made love to Hal. You don’t even feel nervous about that. You’re a bitch, a tavern wench... Hal’s lover... and he’s asking to make love to you.
Would they all snicker and throw you out onto the streets if they found out? Is Hal himself playing a game on you? Or would they be content, and simply say, Oh, he’s the prince of Denmark, he can have as many whores as he wants.
You shift nervously, looking back at the closed door. "There's people here!"
He shushes you gently. "Shh, shh, I know. Don’t think of them. Don’t pay any attention to them.” He senses your discomfort, and brings a calloused, rough hand up to gently bring your chin down, so that your eyes are locked.
He smiles. “Don’t worry. Look at me. Just look at me, my bird. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear it.”
He’s been keeping your back to the door. He doesn’t even bother to properly undress you, or himself. He brings his cock out of his trousers, hikes your skirt up and your undergarments to the side, and sinks you down onto his cock. Neither of you hide your moans, there’s no need to. This is a tavern, an inn, and a whore’s den. Moans can go unrecognized, or unnoticed.
“Ride me,” he whispers breathlessly, “please. I know you haven’t done this before. Just go up and down... whatever feels best. God above, just looking at you would be enough for me. You’re ethereal. God’s greatest achievement.”
Your eyes well up with tears, happy ones, at his words. To think that there’s even the possibility of God Himself being proud of his work on you... that’s a story for another time, but it strikes a chord in you.
“Thank you,” you whisper.
He sighs as you, a little clumsily, begin to move. His doe eyes remain on you, wide and stunned, transfixed. His golden cheeks have become pink with blush.
A man who normally seems to overflow with words has become mostly wordless, and can only offer the natural sighs and moans of one that is in sheer bliss. And you smile back at him, kissing the top of his head tenderly.
His praise is tender, and soft and gentle, and nothing at all what you’re used to, and you welcome it. When have you ever been called beautiful or lovely or sweetheart in bed? Never. Those words are scarce, said only by drunk men who don’t know what they’re saying.
But Harry, you Hal, your dear Henry... he’s completely sober. And head over heels in love with you.
A couple of minutes more of this slow, sensual pace, and you’re not even worried if a drunk Falstaff could burst in, joyously singing some nonsense song and collapse, in a drunken haze, onto the bed beside you. If he did some in, you think, he probably wouldn’t even notice.
It’s normal how long it takes the both of you to reach your ends, but when you both do, your releases are extremely strong. You come, shuddering, on him, and he moans and grits his teeth at the feeling.
He comes inside of you, and then you rest. His come trails down your thighs and onto his own pants, but he doesn’t seem to notice. The tavern laughter has not subsided. It’s as if nothing has happened.
When you both muster up the energy to walk downstairs, you join the crowd flawlessly, as does Hal. You separate for a while, but hover close to each other.
“My boy!” greets Falstaff as he catches Hal’s eye. “Leaving so soon?”
“Nay,” Hal giggles. “I plan to join this wonderous party soon enough. I have stories from my father that I’d like to share with you and the rest of them. But... for now...”
He looks over at you, but continue speaking to Falstaff quietly. “Tell the others with a quiet tongue: treat her with respect, and love and caring. She is more than what she seems. More than what she’s been taught. More than her occupation. Give her everything she might need. And tell her, kindly, to leave this place and to come to the castle gates at midnight. I will be waiting for her then, to bring her in.”
“What — ” splutters Falstaff, “what are you saying?”
“I am saying,” says Hal, “that I’d like to be with her. But she is uncomfortable here, when she is with me. I feel that she’d be much better in a private bedchamber with me, for she is for my eyes only now, and I am likewise for her eyes only.
“She is no queen, not for England or Wales or for any other place. But she is one to me, and I would like to treat her as such.”
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with enough will and enough might
Summary: “Friends don’t let friends fly home drunk, rookie.” Or Kyle Rayner gets drunk and calls Guy Gardner for a ride home.
AO3
Guy’s bleary, sleep riddled eyes stared at his phone for a few seconds before he even registered that it had been the thing that woke him up. His brain finally kicked in, but didn’t help to clear anything up because he didn’t know the number and there was no name popping up. The screen faded to black as the called ended, but something in the back of his mind was trying to convince him that the 818 area code was, heh, ringing a bell.
California? Maybe? It wasn’t Hal though. Not that he and Hal were really on speaking terms right now and they were more texters than phone calls at bullshit o’clock in the morning. There were a few others but he couldn’t think of anyone who would call him out of the blue like that, not if it wasn’t work related. Stewart’s contact would have popped up, and even so Jon and Hal would have contacted him through the rings if it was a real emergency. No one else would be bothering him this early except...
Shit. The new kid? Kirk? No. Kyle. Kyle Rayner. New Lantern who he had only met once with less than a month under his belt straight out of Kilowog’s boot camp. Jon had said something about giving him Guy’s number but he didn’t think that the kid would actually use it.
“Kyle?”
There was some fumbling with the phone on the other end, and it was a terrible connection, all hollow and echoing. “Mr. Gardner? Is that you?”
“Yeah. Call me Guy, rookie.”
“Thanks for calling me back.” The kid chirped, sounding way too chipper for being so late or early depending on which side of the bed you found yourself on. “I need… Damn it. This is embarrassing.”
“Dude, it’s 4:30 in the morning here. Spit it out.”
“You’re on the east coast? Fuck.” There was an awkward silence before the kid giggled. Was he drunk? “Sorry, I didn’t think about that. I wouldn’t hav-”
“But you did. Spit it out. You said something about embarrassing?”
“Yeah.” Kyle shuffled around again on his end, the echoing getting louder before tapering off. “I need a ride. I sort of need an adult.”
“Did you mistake me for Uber?” Guy sighed, because Kyle definitely sounded drunk and he already knew that he was going to have to get up and deal with this problem. “I��m pretty sure you are an adult.” He was, wasn’t he? He knew Kyle was young, but as far as he was aware he was an adult. Or at least adult enough to know how to call a cab.
“I can’t.” His voice got loud, the type of loud that only happens when someone is trying so desperately to be quiet and failing miserably. “I’m naked and in a playground and I’m not sure but tv shows have taught me that is illegal so I need help now and I definitely can’t call my mom or Alex. I need an adultier adult than me right now.”
“What kind of night are you having?”
“One where things escalate quickly. I was at a buddy’s for poker night and it went downhill from there. There was some karaoke involved.”
“Where’s your ring?”
“Out of juice and at home?”
“You are such a poozer, kid.” That got a snort out of the other end of the line and Guy sat up and swung his leg over the side of the bed, using the light from his ring to figure out where he had put his sweats. “Text me your address and give me ten minutes.”
“Thank you, Guy.” Kyle sounded relieved and before Guy had a chance to hang up, he quickly threw in, “and can you bring me some clothes?”
Eleven minutes later, Guy was suited up, across the country and floating on top of an unremarkable lonely playground in North Hollywood, with no sign of Kyle anywhere. He checked his phone to double check the pin drop that Kyle had sent him and he was in the right place. He did not have the patience to track down a tipsy nude acquaintance in the middle of the night so he was hoping that Rayner hadn’t just wandered off.
“Ring, find Kyle.”
“Green Lantern Kyle Rayner is hiding in the curly slide.”
“What? Why?”
His ring didn’t answer, apparently not very interested in Kyle’s rationale for being in the slide. Instead, Guy landed beside the play structure and pounded twice on the roof of the slide. “Wakey, wakey, Rayner.” There was some shuffling in the tube, a bit of groaning and then a topless Kyle Rayner popped out the top of the slide and shot Guy a goofy grin.
“Mr. Gardner!”
“Guy.” He leaned against the slide and looked up at the kid, drunk as a skunk, though nothing dangerous. He could see why he didn’t want to call his mom or girlfriend, but surely he had better options than a random work colleague who he didn’t even know at all. “Why’d you call me?”
“Something the other guys said.”
“They all think I’m a jerk.” That wasn’t exactly true. Hal definitely did, though the feeling was mutual so it didn’t bother Guy too much. “They aren’t exactly wrong.”
“Maybe.” Kyle shrugged, and Guy wondered what else they had said, though it couldn’t have been too bad if Kyle had still called him over them. Jon was off planet, but Hal was around. “But they all said that you were the guy to call if you needed help with something crazy, no questions asked.”
“I think that they may have been referring to something more life or death.”
“You haven’t met my mom. She’d kill me if she found out about this.” Kyle frowned, looking at Guy’s hands. “Did you bring clothes?”
“Nope.”
“What? You flew out here from the other side of the country in the middle of the night and didn’t bring any clothes? You are meeeeeean.” He dropped his forehead onto the slide entrance with a loud whump and moaned. Guy winced. The hangover tomorrow would not be pretty. “I regret every single one of my life choices.”
“Consider it a chance to learn a valuable lesson.”
“Don’t drink sambuca shots after midnight? I think I learned that one, thanks.”
“Rayner.” Kyle lifted his head to look at Guy with unsteady eyes. “Did you ever consider asking your ring to find you?”
“I can do that?”
“Maybe. It doesn’t work for everyone and they don’t teach you it on Oa because they aren’t big with work-life balance.” It varied from species to species. There were some, like the Earth Lanterns who had personal lives and other things going on, and then there were others who never took the rings off, a sacred calling until they die in battle. “Does your ring like you?”
“Yeah, I mean, I guess so.” Kyle’s face scrunched up as he thought about it before shrugging, eyes looking confused with the question. “How would I know?”
“You’d definitely know if it didn’t, so let’s assume that it does.” Guy’s ring had a tendency to be a jerk if he wasn’t focused enough on what he was doing and his wasn’t the worst that he had seen by far. “Picture it clearly in your mind where you left it and call it.”
“Ummm. Okay.” Kyle looked around the park, and then threw both arms in the air and yelled “RING!” at the top of his lungs, looking around as if he expected it to just magically appear in front of him.
Guy bent over laughing, big belly laughs until tears were streaming down his face, and he had to hold himself up on the slide until the fit subsided. “I meant in your head, but sure.” He wiped the moisture from his eyes, and caught his breath. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had laughed that hard. “Try again. Will it to come to you. Focus on it. Track its journey from here to here.”
“How do I know if its working?”
“You’ll feel it.” He raised an eyebrow and looked up at Kyle in the tube. “How badly do you want to not be naked right now?”
“I have never wanted anything more in my life.”
“Should be easy then. Will it to come to you.” he repeated. It wasn’t something everyone could do, but it was an easy enough concept. If he could wield the ring well enough to pass training, he understood what Guy was saying.
Kyle closed his eyes, breathing in slow and deep several times, before reaching out his hand to the east and waited.
And waited, nothing but some creaky swings moving in the playground.
“Kyle, I think you have to try again.”
“Shh. It’s coming.” As soon as he said it, Guy could see a green glow whip around the corner and join them in the playground, flying up the slide and settling on the new kid’s finger, uniform settling over his skin. Kyle whooped in glee in and slid down the slide to meet Guy at the bottom.
“Awesome! Thanks!” He held out a fist to Guy, who laughed and bumped it. “Aren’t you going to ask about why I was in the slide?”
“Nah. You were right I’m the guy you call when you need a no questions asked favour.” Guy didn’t really care why he was in the playground or where his clothes were gone; it was none of his business. “And now, you just have to remember that you owe me one. Let’s get you home, kid.” Guy pointed his ring at Kyle, green bubble surrounding him and they took off into the air.
“Take a left on Sunset.” Kyle said and then placed a hand on the construct around him. “Why am I in a bubble?”
“Because friends don’t let friends fly home drunk, rookie.”
#whumptober2019#no.25#guy gardner#kyle rayner#I make up my own green lantern timelines and relationships#because i can#i do what i want
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23, 32, 63 and 63 :) THANK YOU!! (Bughead pls)
23 “Just pretend to be my date.”
32 “This is, by far, the dumbest thing you’ve ever done.”
63 “What do you mean? It’s exciting!”
Inspired by this comic strip I saw floating around my dashboard for a while.
For @sprousehart-x I hope you like it! :D ( Also tagging @itllbeyou :D )
AO3 Link here
“This is, by far the dumbest thing you’ve ever done!” Betty mutters to herself as she struggles with the zipper of her mermaid costume.
It’s Riverdale’s Summer Festival, and she had made the mistake of agreeing too quickly when her mother had suggested that she joined the annual summer costume contest during one of their family dinners a couple of weeks prior. It’s almost a given, really, for Betty has been joining the costume contest since she was seven, and it’s only right that she caps her tradition by winning five years in a row. (For reasons unknown to Betty, the mayor only allows children up to twelve years of age to join the costume contest, and that doesn’t really make sense to Betty. What if Polly—who’s fourteen by now—wants to join the contest too? Thankfully, Polly had seemed less excited about the costume contest than she had been a few years back.)
Betty has been looking forward to the contest, and she even employed the help of her mother in acquiring the best material for the mermaid costume that will allow her to swim in Sweetwater River after the contest. After many nights of working on the costume, she had managed to create what she had thought was the best costume that she (with the help of her entire household) had ever made. She had no doubt about bagging this year’s trophy and cash prize—which had always been donated to the town’s animal shelter.
Now half an hour after said contest, and after the endorphins about winning had waned, Betty is keen on getting out of the hot and heavy material. She can feel her thighs sweltering from prolonged entrapment in the costume, and she wants nothing but to liberate her legs and walk on land again.
She’s been wrestling with the zipper for too long, and Betty still can’t get the zipper to budge. She looks around the bank of Sweetwater River where most of the town’s people have gathered, but everyone’s either busy taking down the remnants of the event or swimming in the river. Polly, who’s supposed to be by her side is nowhere in sight, and her mother is probably busy covering the festival for tomorrow’s issue of The Register.
A couple of failed attempts later, she lets out an exasperated groan, and she attempts to crawl toward the edge of the river. The distance between her current position and her target location is about ten yards give or take. If she can’t free her legs from her costume, she might as well dip them in the water so she could at least alleviate the heat that has gathered inside the thick material.
Halfway through her journey, she catches a glimpse of a familiar gray wool beanie poking out of a canoe that’s currently gliding across the river. The owner has his back to her, so he probably hasn’t seen her in her current situation.
“Jug!” Betty calls out as the canoe passes in front of her. “Juggie! Over here!” she bellows even louder, and she frantically waves both arms in the air, hoping that the hot and humid air carries her voice to the boy paddling with great difficulty over the steady stream of the river.
Jughead straightens his back at her voice, his head darting in every direction before his eyes landed on her, his expression a mix of curiosity and surprise. He starts rowing towards her.
“Betty? What are you doing wriggling on the bank? Aren’t you supposed to be swimming in the water?” he muses when he reached her position. His eyes glistening with amusement probably from the absurdity of her predicament.
“Ugh, please don’t start. This is the million dollar costume that gave me the title of Riverdale’s Summer Princess. Only it chose to entrap me long after it’s served its purpose,” she replies as she gestures to her zipper. “The zipper’s stuck, and I’m stuck, and I can’t find my mom or my sister.” She heaves out a sigh.
Jughead’s brows knit together—something that happens when he is in deep concentration. He glances around them, and his lips pucker a little as he mulls over the situation. He’s clearly debating something with himself, Betty notes.
“I am on my way to the other side to bring fish bait to my dad. If you could wait a little, I can get back to you, and probably help you get home, or—”
“I can come with you!” Betty exclaims before Jughead can finish his sentence. She has always wanted to try fishing, and she has brought the subject up to her own father more than once, but unfortunately, Hal Cooper has very little interest in spending idle mornings (or afternoons) throwing fish baits in the river. He would rather spend his free times oiling old cars and smearing grease all over his jumpsuit—not that Betty complains, but she also likes to try something new this summer.
Jughead appears to be a little taken aback by her gleeful suggestion, and he doesn’t seem to be quite convinced, so he clarifies, “You want to go fishing with me and my dad?”
“Yes, why not?” Betty tries to sound as convincing as possible. Jughead has always been very skeptical about a lot of things, and she wants to let him know that she’s as excited about fishing as he is. (He usually lightens up at the mention of fishing, because as far as Betty knows, it’s one of the things that his father does regularly with him since the time that he taught him in the summer before the start of their third grade.)
“I don’t know, Betty. You may not find it very exciting,” he says tentatively as he crouches down on the ground beside her, and then he taps one of his shoulders, offering his body to support her weight.
Betty slings one arm over his shoulder, and he places one hand carefully on her hip, and before Betty can prepare herself, he’s dragging her upright.
She doesn’t quite understand the sudden quickening of her heartbeat or the shallow depth at which her breathing is currently capable of. She glances at Jughead and she thinks that the color of his face has turned a couple of shades redder—surely an effect of the smothering heat that’s also making blood rush to her face.
Jughead removes his hand from her hip as quickly as he had put it there, and Betty swallows down the hint of disappointment at the loss of contact.
“What do you mean? It’s exciting! I’ve always thought fishing’s exciting, Jug! It always made you relaxed. I wanna be able to try it too!” She declares as she shuffles awkwardly on her feet, trying to balance herself while her thighs are unbelievably squashed together. She lets her arm stay a little longer on Jughead’s shoulder, not wanting to fall over the moment she lets go.
Jughead must have sensed her struggle for balance because she feels an arm snake around her waist, supporting her weight. Betty thinks that it’s the first time she’s been in that kind of position with anyone, much less with someone from the opposite gender, and the thought conjures a couple of sensations that are completely new to her. For example, she thinks that a thousand little butterflies must have been unleashed inside her stomach, and she’s trying very hard to compose herself.
“… don’t think I can paddle us both to the other bank,” she hears him say through the haze in her mind.
She blinks twice and looks to her side and mumbles, “What?”
A few seconds pass, her heartbeat loud in her ears. The Sweetwater River disappears, and all Betty notices are Jughead’s hand on her waist, and the way he’s standing so close to her. Has he always been this tall? He kind of smells… good?
“Um, there’s only one life jacket in the boat—” Jughead says, and there’s a slight hitch in his voice. He clears his throat once, twice, and then, “—and I may not be able paddle us both to the other side, I don’t think.”
“Oh, okay,” she says, only mildly disappointed, but also kind of relieved because she hasn’t really accounted the hazard of two middle schoolers canoeing through the river, no matter how short the distance is.
“But I can sit with you here until Polly or your parents arrive,” Jughead offers.
“You would do that?” Betty asks, excitement seeping through her voice.
“Sure, why not? I don’t think my dad would mind.”
“That’s wonderful, Juggie. You can pretend to be my date while you’re at it then,” she blurts out before she could think otherwise. There must be something in the heat today. She glances back at Jughead in time to see how his ears turn impossibly red.
He scratches the back of his neck before saying, “Well, yeah. I could do that… If you want.”
She doesn’t know why his answer makes her infinitely happy, maybe she’ll think about it later, but for now, she marvels at the beauty of early summer and the sound of the river as it steadily moves, and the company of this boy she’s known since she can remember, and she thinks that getting stuck in a mermaid costume may not be too bad afterall.
“Maybe tomorrow we can go fishing on this bank when there aren’t too many people,” Jughead says after a while, and she only hums her agreement, the thought already making her feel lighter than she already does.
#bughead#bugheadfamily#bughead prompts#writing prompts#jughead jones#betty cooper#my writing#bughead fanfiction#sprousehart-x#tumblr asks#my-writing
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ooc; You know, I never thought anyone would like Thoth other than my group of friends who gave him a chance. I was so nervous with him, that I tried to make him a weaker character and I just couldn’t do that haha. I’m still nervous about him, but I want you all to know...
Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, I really am thankful. From the fan art, to the threads, to meeting so many wonderful people, I think it’s time to shine a light on those who I’ve chatted with, and gotten to know as well! Even if it’s just a simple hello, it makes my day. You guys are all wonderful, and I’m beyond happy over this. I was going to make a 100 follower and then the followers skyrocketed before I could haaa... ^^;;;
Anyway, these people below the cut? They really are cool.
But so are all my followers, even if we don’t talk!
@avoiided,
Preshie mun! You’re Gaster terrifies me, not like bad dreams terrifying but he is a really well developed villain! He just is so wonderful to interact with, and I love our threads, no matter the blog! Let’s not forget how you’re a sweetheart either! I feel like I spam ya too much haha, anxiety man- BUT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! Keep being you :D <3
(I still can’t believe Thoth had a mini crush on Gaster and they could have been nerdy friends if the judgement ever happened aaaaaaa)
@curioosity, @snackiies
Azura mun! I am still vastly scared to chat with you, but I want you to know, I do mean the words I say ^^ You may be feeling down right now, but... I think you’re a great person. I really mean that, you’re oc is very well fleshed out and very engaging! I adore seeing you on the dash, and your art- and your posts! I hope things brighten up for you! You need a good day, and I hope you get it!
@sixfingersixtails,
I really adore your concept and I’m glad you’re one of my friends! Sixer is adorable, and Thoth absolutely wants to spoil him! And pet him, seriously how many times have they ended up curled up together haaa. But the depth of your stories and fanfic are amazing and I love reading every chapter! Keep up the amazing work! <3
@softashfuck, @goodster,
I hope you had a good birthday kiddo! I love ya, you’re the son I wish that was here for I could spoil you some more. Seriously, anyway, I love your character and your interpretations and the fact you spam me with such lovely art ;w; so nice. I swear I’m going to keep spamming you right on back! <3
Okay but I mean it, I do care a lot about you and I do see you as my kid. Seriously, if I could scoop you up I would. <3
@all-seeing-all-knowing-eye, @br00kie-draws
BROOOOOKIE! Okay, first off. When I first met you, I was highly nervous and scared, I met you through an ex-friend that showed me your art and since then I am so glad I met you. Our ships are adorable, they have bumpy roads and that’s what makes them enjoyable, they arent perfect, and that’s just how a good ship should be. Not to mention your art?! Like DAYUM GIRL. Such a good, best friend too, always listening to me ramble! Love ya! <3
OUR SHIPS ARE ALSO A BLESSING thoug so yea!
OH AND ALSO HOW DARE YOU GIVE ME ICONS ON RANDOM LIKE THE SANS ONES, ;w; I cry, I cry with joy
@s-k-e-t-c-h-y-m-e-s-s,
I know we don’t talk as much these days, I know you’re busy but I still check up on your art! (I really should finish that gif I made omgosh) But you are also a very nice person, and a wonderful artist!
@splinter-sister,
Rach.... I gotta be honest. I love you, and I think without you these last years or so, I don’t think I’d be around. I was in a really bad patch, and thinking things I shouldn’t. I let my thoughts almost win but you pulled me out of there. You helped me in so many ways, you even sent money through the mail cuz of my situation. I feel like I can never thank you enough because you really are my best friend and I honestly don’t know what I’d do if you suddenly disappeared one day. I know work is hard on you, but you’re such a great person and you know what, I’m proud of you. <3
AND THEN THERE’S THE SHIPS OKAY
Thoth and Rachael, Rachael and Rich/Neal, Rachael and--- Wait no that’s it. I think, maybe. We ship a lot, I blame our shipness. lmao Love it all!
@buy-gold-bye,
Lye! I’m still vastly nervous to chat you up and that’s why I go silent cuz my nerves kick my ass but you are such a cool person! And your art? A++++
@derse-agent, @wd-blaster,
Heya! I like your stuff! It’s really cool, and I know I owe you some things, don’t worry I didn’t forget! I just want you to know, you’re a really cool blog and thank you for joining the streams at times! LAOS YOUR GASTER IS ADORABLE OKAY
@scientistofthevoid,
AAAAAAH?! For one I totally ship Tenny and Lotus now, I love how Tenny turns to mush at the very sight of my pretty boi. Not to mention t’s us so sugar sweet~! With some deviousness in there. Okay but on top of that, I love your characters, and the art, the fact you have put a lot of effort in your things and you’re a great friend! <3
@xenoasks,
Okay so, I love your art and the fact your Gaster is different fom others and you put time and effort into your creations and just YESSSSS. It’s amazing, and I love it and you’re really cool!
@stealthnerd
your art is realy cool and you are officially a senpai. I love the way you draw man, and I enjoy seeing you on the dash!
@of2814,
Apaaaattthhhyyyyyy, I miss ya, and I should deff mesage you more! Omgosh,and always drag you to more streams for you can succumb to the siliiness again! I love your Parallax! Hal and nomal Hal and the one time we rp’d where Venom was also Hal sdsfgb All the good stuff and I STILL REMEBER OUR SHIP OF SIOBHAN AND HAL <3
@theirmercy,
Okay so we’re still getting to know each other but you are an absolute delight!? AND YOU HAVE AN AMAZING SANS AND I LOVE HOW YOU WRITE AND I’M GOING TO KEEP RAMBLING IN CAPS FOR YOU UNDERSTAND HOW YOU ARE AN IDOL HUN. <3
@ask-mystery-shack-cipher,
FOXIE AND HEALER!!! Healer, I love the way you write and Foxie? Hun, I wish I could draw like you. You two are really good friends and I’m sorry I haven’t een overly chatty? But I watch your content all the time! <3 You guys also helped me get rid of a toxic ex-friend and I’m grateful for that, you have no idea! Thank you for giving me strength!
@lastinggaster,
YOU ARE SUCH A SWEET PERSON!? You drew my boi, you chat with me, we rp- You are a delight! I want to invite you to all the streams and groups and let everyone marvel at your amazingness!
@lackadaisicaldenial,
Okay we don’t chat as I do with others but I’d love to? I’d love to also thread with you and I’m sorry if I didn’t answer that meme! It’s there staring at me like a deer in the middle of the road omg! But we should plot, on any of my blogs!
@evilgsanchez,
Okay so I loved our interactions with your Evil Rick and my Rick, I’m sorry that hes inactive right now, I’m trying to rile him back up but it’s just hard for me idk why- (been on an undertale kick tbh, aaaaa) BUT YOU WRITE AMAZINGLY AND BLOW MY FUCKING MIND LIKE OMG, HELLO SENPAI
@elooplvfklhiflskhu,
We just recently started talking but hey! I love your art from what I’ve seen keep up the amazing work okay? And don’t worry about messaging me, It’s all okay fi you want to :D I dont bite
@rubentheruler,
**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, screeching**
Your art is still amazing and I am highly nervous to talk with you but you are a sweety and I aspire to be like you!
@unspeakablyevil,
I would really like to chat with ya! And plot, and write! You seem to have an amazing Aku and it’s wonderful to see you on my dash!
@void-dad,
I love Trashy and I would really like to thread with ya. Your character is cute and well rounded, and I enjoy his story. Plus you’re a good person :D
@purplepimpryda,
BROTHER OF MINE I LOVE YA. I enjoy how hard you work on everything, even back when you wrote Joker. How we shipped, I still remember every moment despite my shit for brains memory hahaha. It’s wonderful and so are you and I’m glad you got out of your bad situation and are doing better and got things going for ya now! I love you, and I am very proud.
@pinkheartmelodi,
I LOVE YOUR BLOG OKAY? I read everything ^^;;; Haaa, I do, and it’s great. I’m kind of a side liner and I need to change that becuause Melodi is a cutie and I should totally spam you with more asks!
@paitakoyaki,
PAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII *SCREECHING INT THE SUNSET*
I miss our clown days, but I love how you draw still and I should message you more often, I miss ya buddy. You were and still are an amazing fiend and I aspire to draw how soft you do, those lines man mmmf, good stuff right there. Also Penance and Sorrow should hang out again.
@blackhxt,
SILVER HOW DARE YOU SINK ME THIS DEEP INTO VILLAINOUS
YOU MADE ME LOVE SO MANY DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE SHIPS, THE LORE, AND I’M SCREECHING AT YOU NOW. Oka but White Hat and Slug yessss, Flug and Black Hat, yesss, but my favorite...
Is the one I never expected. My fanfic’s Bill Cipher, dubbed ‘Glitch’ and Black Hat. I can’t believe they have two kids now and they recently hatched and are going to destroy the world. Cute little guys.
But you’re also a great friend! Seriously, amazing! <3
@cubicscubedemon,
Okay so I didn’t know anything of your muses but I saw you on the dash and I followed and I DO NOT REGRET THAT BECAUSE I LOVE THE WAY YOU TAKE YOUR CHARACTERS AND HOW MUCH STORY YOU PUT INTO THEM AND HOW MUCH WORK AND XKSHJBDCSFVGFMBH YOU ARE AMAZING <3
@storyteller-arc/ @smol-goop,
*inhale* B O I. Okay but on a serious note I love your Gaster, I love your oc. Storyteller, Gaster Grim likes them but not only that they managed to get Thoth to like them, he also likes smol as well. You have a really good character set it just attracts my characters like a magnet hahaha
Not to mention you are a adelight! Absolute delight!
@hannah-the-small,
*takes a deep breath* HOW CAN I EVEN BEGIN TO WRITE ON YOU!?
You are an idol to me. You are someone who has developed their entire set of ocs so much that I wish I could put that much effort without feeling nervous like hot dayum. You have suhc a good thing going, and I ust wanna punch Dick, hug him as well, punch him again- and also adopt ames and Hannah, and Eight- and the heroes, and Black Hat, and Dave, and all of them and HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME LOVE ALL THESE BBIES
@glitchster404,
GLITCHSTER IS ADORABLE!
I really do love how sweet they are and also the thread on Sans how he was commanded and i ended up being really cute and I just lve it all. You also have wonderful art and you are really dang sweet, <3 <3
@billrick,
okay....okay... I love your entire thing going on with ER, and I would love to write with you. I don’t even care what blog omgosh because you are an absoute steklar star on here, and Imma call you senpai til you perish cuz DAMN. Look at those headcanons, DAYUM look at those posts and stories and AUs and the past and 70 years worht of stuff and AAAAAAAA
A M A Z I N G
@a-vf-vi-tf-ti, @deep-black-dreaming
AAAAAA? I love your ocs, I love our rps and ideas on discord but we should deff rp here on tumblr again! Lemme drag you down with me on here muhahahahah, ALSO YOU’RE ANOTHER CULPRIT FOR GETTING ME DEEP INTO VILLAINIOUS AND I LOVE IT
@omnituent,
*stares at you deeply, squints*
Imma kick your Black Hats ass again just you watch. BUT ON A SIDE NOTE! OMG CAN WE THREAD ON HERE TOO? Discord is wonderful man man, I’d love to take it to tumblr, if you’re okay with that! I’ll even dust off my WH just for that reason :D
@igxitixn
You’re character seems swet and we should send some asks to each other ore often! I hope you’re having a wonderful day and I would love to get to know you more!
@dalearmitage
I know you thanks to Brookie and your character is amazing but I’m highly nervous to bug you nad for that I am very sory and I hope that we can chat more!
@an-ordinary-roach,
You have such a cute oc and I want to know all about them! We thread here on Tthoth and Grim but man I’d spam you with even Eddie Gluskin if you’d want :D Or Jack, but Jack scares everyone and so I keep him in th corner hahaha. But the point is, I love your concept and I wanna pet th roachie
@gothamsbruja
I remember when you were still developing your oc and it was on skype, and she had blue skin but now she covers up the blue skin and she is really great. I think you did amazing with her!
@hsheaddogs
Hey I just met you and aI think you guys are great. Sans and you, really cool! Thanks for joining the stream the other day and I hope to thread with you more! I mean it, and I should say hi to you more often on discord ^^ You seem great!
@gummypeculiar
YOUR CHARACTER IS SUPER CUTE AND I LOVE THEM AND I WOULD LOVE TO WRITE WITH YOU SO MUCH MORE EVEN THOUGH WE ALREADY WRITE ON sANS AND I JUST LOVE THEM AND WANNA KNOW ALL I CAN!
#I feel like I missed a few people but if I did#let me know#I hink you all are great#this took days for me#and thats another reason ive been so slow but im glad I did this#I appreciate all of you#I would have given up on all my characters if it weren't for al of you!
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31 Stories in 31 Days: Gossip
What is this? As part of celebrating Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), I am writing a story a day about my experiences as a Chinese Malaysian immigrant in America. My friends and family have provided numerous one-word prompts to help me create these stories. Today’s word prompt was contributed by J K. and the word is “Gossip”. Thank you J for your contribution and thank you everyone who stopped by to read my story today.
In Standard 6 (or 6th Grade equivalent in America) primary school, my mom enrolled me in math tuition — additional tutoring outside of school — with one of the primary school teachers who was running a side hustle to earn extra money by proving tuition. In my tuition class, there were two other boys — Ken and Joe. They were the same age as I wasn’t and we went to the same school but we were in different classes. Within a few months, I started to do better in math and learned ahead of what was being taught in class.
Our math tuition teacher was the designated teacher for one of the Standard 6 classes and she was also pregnant. When her baby was due, the students in her class had to be reassigned to other classes to maintain consistency in following the syllabus. The couldn’t afford to hire a temporary teacher to cover the rest of her time out of school. Ken ended up in my class with several of his friends and sat on the opposite side of the classroom. I started to hear a lot of gossip amongst the Malay girls in our class about some boy who just joined our class has a crush on a girl in our class and how he hasn’t had the guts to tell her that he liked her. Being nosy, I asked them who it is and are they planning on helping this boy. They laughed and one of the Malay girls moved their chair closer to me, whispering into my ear that the girl is me and the boy is Ken. I blushed and was embarrassed that a boy liked me, especially a boy that I saw only at math tuition classes.
The next few days, the Malay girls decided to write a note on my behalf to Ken inquiring if we should exchange phone numbers so that we could talk more. I don’t remember if I consented to this, but it was nice being part of a group girls giggling and being teased. It was a different kind of attention from classmates that I haven’t experience before. So I went along with the note passing from one side of the classroom to the other, where Ken and a bunch of guys were teasing him about getting a note from a girl. We exchanged phone numbers and he started calling me. I was very proficient in English and he was proficient in Cantonese, so we compromised and spoke in Malay on the phone. Whenever he called, I would always say “Apa hal?” (What’s up?) and soon my mother caught on that I was talking to a boy and this became my mother’s nickname for him.
After several calls in the evenings after dinner for what seemed like a month, we decided to start writing letters to one another because he was trying to improve his English composition and thought it might be helpful for him to learn from me. We exchanged mailing addresses and I remember using special stationary for our correspondences. On his 12th birthday, he invited me to his birthday party and I was too shy to show up. I bought him a birthday present because I felt bad for not going to his party and I asked my mother to drive me to his house so that I can drop off the present. It was a fancy ballpoint pen with a case of its own. I remember when I walked up to the gates of his house, his mom came out to greet me and I said I was looking for Ken. She called for him and he came out of the house with a cast on his arm. I didn’t know he had a pretty bad fall while playing badminton and broke his arm because he was didn’t come to school for several days and he didn’t say anything on the phone about it. He was smiling from ear to ear when he saw me and I handed the box to him saying, “Happy Birthday!” He opened the present in front of me and said he will use it every day. I said I had to go, my mother is waiting for me in the car and off I left.
Towards the end of the year, I decided that this was inappropriate for me to continue. I think I knew I didn’t like him romantically and the boy I was crushing on at the time was Joe, the other math tuition classmate. So I wrote my last letter to him saying that I can’t continue this “relationship” because I needed to focus on my studies when we move to secondary school. I think I might have mentioned that I liked Joe and it wouldn’t be fair for me to continue being his “girlfriend”. After that I forgot about the whole thing and secondary school was a new chapter for me. Little did I know, Ken’s two best friends Chong and Yang were assigned to my class in secondary school.
Chong and Yang had found out from Ken that I broke his heart and they were out for revenge on his behalf. In class, they were extremely mean to me by berating me, putting me down at every opportunity and making fun of me when the teacher made a mistake on total points of who had first place in class. Initially the teacher said I had scored first place in class and I went home to tell my mom, she was so proud of me. The next day the teacher apologized and said I was third place and Yang was first. Yang relished that moment and refused to let it go by reminding me everyday in school that I will never be first or smarter than him. This was the beginning of when I started to deteriorate in my academic performance because I didn’t want to be first in class. It didn’t motivate to do better, I just decided to disengage and hopefully someday he will stop pestering me. Eventually when we reached Form 3 (or 9th Grade equivalent), students were reshuffled into new classes based on the points they earned on their final exam in Form 2. Chong and Yang were no longer in my class and that ended the bullying.
During our final year in secondary school, I noticed Ken had a girlfriend from one of the Science stream classes. He was friends with one of my good friends from primary school and I remember asking her if he would consider being friends again. I wasn’t interested in becoming boyfriend-girlfriend or anything like that, I just thought we had something in common at one point and perhaps we could be friends. She shared with me his ICQ account name and I decided to message him directly instead of passing notes like we were 12. I crossed my fingers while I waited for his response. It was a short reply of no. Followed by how he just recently burned all our “love letters” and the pen I gave him for his 12th birthday. He described it as a way of getting over me and he wasn’t interested in revisiting and of those feelings or even considering friendship. I said I understand and said I was sorry for how things ended and left the ICQ conversation.
I remember thinking to myself at the time, why did Ken have such strong feelings for me at 12 and all the way through senior year of secondary school? I didn’t think much of it at the time and it felt like puppy love, just like how my mother described it. I assumed we were young and didn’t understand what love is anyway and I didn’t think I left such a strong impression on him. What I know of love today is so different from when I was 12 or even 17 and I know what I felt then wasn’t physical attraction nor romantic love. It was my own fantasies of trying what being “in love” was like and in the process I hurt someone.
At the end of day, I knew it was the right thing to do at age 12 however I could have done better in my delivery of the message instead of writing a letter. It’s almost as bad as text messaging someone to break up. In reflection of the few relationships I have had over the years, I have been on both sides - the one breaking up with someone or the one being dumped. Either position is terrible and awkward to be in. In the long run, I know the relationships that have ended for me were meant to end. I may not have received it quite that way at the time, but today I know those individuals are in much better places and happily married or single partnered. The best thing anyone could do when relationships end is to continue living your life to the fullest. No one should ever prevent you from pursuing happiness, not even the shadow of them lingering in the dark corners of your mind.
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I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
Big tech and the government have a responsibility to stop the advent of machines that can kill without human oversight.
When I joined the artificial intelligence company Clarifai in early 2017, you could practically taste the promise in the air. My colleagues were brilliant, dedicated, and committed to making the world a better place.
We founded Clarifai 4 Good where we helped students and charities, and we donated our software to researchers around the world whose projects had a socially beneficial goal. We were determined to be the one AI company that took our social responsibility seriously.
I never could have predicted that two years later, I would have to quit this job on moral grounds. And I certainly never thought it would happen over building weapons that escalate and shift the paradigm of war.
Some background: In 2014, Steven Hawking and Elon Musk led an effort with thousands of AI researchers to collectively pledge never to contribute research to the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems — weapons that could seek out a target and end a life without a human in the decision-making loop. The researchers argued that the technology to create such weapons was just around the corner and would be disastrous for humanity.
I signed that pledge, and in January of this year, I wrote a letter to the CEO of Clarifai, Matt Zeiler, asking him to sign it, too. I was not at all expecting his response. As The New York Times reported on Friday, Matt called a companywide meeting and announced that he was totally willing to sell autonomous weapons technology to our government.
I could not abide being part of that, so I quit. My objections were not based just on a fear that killer robots are “just around the corner.” They already exist and are used in combat today.
Now, don’t go running for the underground bunker just yet. We’re not talking about something like the Terminator or Hal from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A scenario like that would require something like artificial general intelligence, or AGI — basically, a sentient being.
In my opinion, that won’t happen in my lifetime. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some people who describe things like landmines or homing missiles as “semiautonomous.” That’s not what I’m talking about either.
The core issue is whether a robot should be able to select and acquire its own target from a list of potential ones and attack that target without a human approving each kill. One example of a fully autonomous weapon that’s in use today is the Israeli Harpy 2 drone (or Harop), which seeks out enemy radar signals on its own. If it finds a signal, the drone goes into a kamikaze dive and blows up its target.
Fortunately, there are only a few of these kinds of machines in operation today, and as of right now, they usually operate with a human as the one who decides whether to pull the trigger. Those supporting the creation of autonomous weapons systems would prefer that human to be not “in the loop but “on the loop” — supervising the quick work of the robot in selecting and destroying targets, but not having to approve every last kill.
When presented with the Harop, a lot of people look at it and say, “It’s scary, but it’s not genuinely freaking me out.” But imagine a drone acquiring a target with a technology like face recognition. Imagine this: You’re walking down the street when a drone pops into your field of vision, scans your face, and makes a decision about whether you get to live or die.
Suddenly, the question — “Where in the decision loop does the human belong?” — becomes a deadly serious one.
What the generals are thinking
On the battlefield, human-controlled drones already play a critical role in surveillance and target location. If you add machine learning to the mix, you’re looking at a system that can sift through exponentially increasing numbers of potential threats over a vast area.
But there are vast technical challenges with streaming high definition video halfway around the world. Say you’re a remote drone pilot and you’ve just found a terrorist about to do something bad. You’re authorized to stop them, and all of a sudden, you lose your video feed. Even if it’s just for a few seconds, by the time the drone recovers, it might be too late.
What if you can’t stream at all? Signal jamming is pretty common in warfare today. Your person in the loop is now completely useless.
That’s where generals get to thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to depend on a video link at all? What if you could program your drone to be self-contained? Give it clear instructions, and just press Go.
That’s the argument for autonomous weapons: Machine learning will make war more efficient. Plus there's the fact that Russia and China are already working on this technology, so we might as well do the same.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Okay, here are six reasons why killer robots are genuinely terrifying
There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t accept these arguments:
1. Accidents. Predictive technologies like face recognition or object localization are guaranteed to have error rates, meaning a case of mistaken identity can be deadly. Often these technologies fail disproportionately on people with darker skin tones or certain facial features, meaning their lives would be doubly subject to this threat.
Also, drones go rogue sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but software always has bugs. Imagine a self-contained, solar-powered drone that has instructions to find a certain individual whose face is programmed into its memory. Now imagine it rejecting your command to shut it down.
2. Hacking. If your killer robot has a way to receive commands at all (for example, by executing a “kill switch” to turn it off), it is vulnerable to hacking. That means a powerful swarm of drone weapons could be turned off — or turned against us.
3. The “black box” problem. AI has an “explainability” problem. Your algorithm did XYZ, and everyone wants to know why, but because of the way that machine learning works, even its programmers often can’t know why an algorithm reached the outcome that it did. It’s a black box. Now, when you enter the realm of autonomous weapons, and ask, “Why did you kill that person,” the complete lack of an answer simply will not do — morally, legally, or practically.
4. Morality & Context. A robot doesn’t have moral context to prioritize one kind of life over another. A robot will only see that you’re carrying a weapon and “know” that its mission is to shoot with deadly force. It should not be news that terrorists often exploit locals and innocents. In such scenarios, a soldier will be able to use their human, moral judgment in deciding how to react — and can be held accountable for those decisions. The best object localization software today is able to look at a video and say, “I found a person.” That’s all. It can’t tell whether that person was somehow coerced into doing work for the enemy.
5. War at Machine Speed. How long does it take you to multiply 35 by 12? A machine can do thousands of such calculations in the time it takes us to blink. If a machine is programmed to make quick decisions about how and when to fire a weapon, it’s going to do it in ways we humans can’t even anticipate. Early experiments with swarm technology have shown that no matter how you structure the inter-drone communications, the outcomes are different every time. The humans simply press the button, watch the fight, and wait for it to be over so that they can try to understand the what, when, and why of it.
Add 3D printing to the mix, and now it’s cheap and easy to create an army of millions of tiny (but lethal) robots, each one thousands of times faster than a human being. Such a swarm could overwhelm a city in minutes. There will be no way for a human to defend themselves against an enemy of that scale or speed — or even understand what’s happening.
6. Escalation. Autonomous drones would further distance the trigger-pullers from the violence itself and generally make killing more cost-free for governments. If you don’t have to put your soldiers in harm’s way, it becomes that much easier to decide to take lives. This distance also puts up a psychological barrier between the humans dispatching the drones and their targets.
Humans actually find it very difficult to kill, even in military combat. In his book “Men Against Fire,” S.L.A. Marshall reports that over 70 percent of bullets fired in WWII were not aimed with the intent to kill. Think about firing squads. Why would you have seven people line up to shoot a single person? It’s to protect the shooters’ psychological safety, of course. No one will know whose bullet it truly was that did the deed.
If you turn your robot on and it decides to kill a child, was it really you who destroyed that life?
There is still time to ask our government to agree to ban this technology outright
In the end, there are many companies out there working to “democratize” powerful technology like face recognition and object localization. But these technologies are “dual-use,” meaning they can be used not only for everyday civilian purposes but also for targeting people with killer drones.
Project Maven, for instance, is a Defense Department contract that’s currently being worked on at Microsoft and Amazon (as well as in startups like Clarifai). Google employees were successful in persuading the company to walk away from the contract because they feared it would be used to this end. Project Maven might just be about “counting things” as the Pentagon claims. It might also be a targeting system for autonomous killer drones, and there is absolutely no way for a tech worker to tell.
With so many tech companies participating in work that contributes to the reality of killer robots in our future, it’s important to remember that major powers won’t be the only ones to have autonomous drones. Even if killer robots won’t be the Gatling gun of World War III, they will do a lot of damage to populations living in countries all around the world.
We must remind our government that humanity has been successful in instituting international norms that condemn the use of chemical and biological weapons. When the stakes are this high and the people of the world object, there are steps that governments can take to prevent mass killings. We can do the same thing with autonomous weapons systems, but the time to act is now.
Official Defense Department policy states currently that there must be a “human in the loop” for every kill decision, but that is under debate right now, and there’s a loophole in the policy that would allow for an autonomous weapon to be approved. We must work together to ensure this loophole is closed.
That’s why I refuse to work for any company that participates in Project Maven, or who otherwise contributes dual-use research to the Pentagon. Policymakers need to promise us that they will stop the pursuit of autonomous lethal weapons systems once and for all.
I don’t regret my time at Clarifai. I do miss everyone I left behind. I truly hope that the industry changes course and agrees to take responsibility for its work to ensure that the things we build in the private sector won’t be used for killing people. More importantly, I hope our government begins working internationally to ensure that autonomous weapons are banned to the same degree as biological ones.
Published March 6, 2019 at 08:30PM
via ACLU https://ift.tt/2HiMDZ5
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I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
Big tech and the government have a responsibility to stop the advent of machines that can kill without human oversight.
When I joined the artificial intelligence company Clarifai in early 2017, you could practically taste the promise in the air. My colleagues were brilliant, dedicated, and committed to making the world a better place.
We founded Clarifai 4 Good where we helped students and charities, and we donated our software to researchers around the world whose projects had a socially beneficial goal. We were determined to be the one AI company that took our social responsibility seriously.
I never could have predicted that two years later, I would have to quit this job on moral grounds. And I certainly never thought it would happen over building weapons that escalate and shift the paradigm of war.
Some background: In 2014, Steven Hawking and Elon Musk led an effort with thousands of AI researchers to collectively pledge never to contribute research to the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems — weapons that could seek out a target and end a life without a human in the decision-making loop. The researchers argued that the technology to create such weapons was just around the corner and would be disastrous for humanity.
I signed that pledge, and in January of this year, I wrote a letter to the CEO of Clarifai, Matt Zeiler, asking him to sign it, too. I was not at all expecting his response. As The New York Times reported on Friday, Matt called a companywide meeting and announced that he was totally willing to sell autonomous weapons technology to our government.
I could not abide being part of that, so I quit. My objections were not based just on a fear that killer robots are “just around the corner.” They already exist and are used in combat today.
Now, don’t go running for the underground bunker just yet. We’re not talking about something like the Terminator or Hal from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A scenario like that would require something like artificial general intelligence, or AGI — basically, a sentient being.
In my opinion, that won’t happen in my lifetime. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some people who describe things like landmines or homing missiles as “semiautonomous.” That’s not what I’m talking about either.
The core issue is whether a robot should be able to select and acquire its own target from a list of potential ones and attack that target without a human approving each kill. One example of a fully autonomous weapon that’s in use today is the Israeli Harpy 2 drone (or Harop), which seeks out enemy radar signals on its own. If it finds a signal, the drone goes into a kamikaze dive and blows up its target.
Fortunately, there are only a few of these kinds of machines in operation today, and as of right now, they usually operate with a human as the one who decides whether to pull the trigger. Those supporting the creation of autonomous weapons systems would prefer that human to be not “in the loop but “on the loop” — supervising the quick work of the robot in selecting and destroying targets, but not having to approve every last kill.
When presented with the Harop, a lot of people look at it and say, “It’s scary, but it’s not genuinely freaking me out.” But imagine a drone acquiring a target with a technology like face recognition. Imagine this: You’re walking down the street when a drone pops into your field of vision, scans your face, and makes a decision about whether you get to live or die.
Suddenly, the question — “Where in the decision loop does the human belong?” — becomes a deadly serious one.
What the generals are thinking
On the battlefield, human-controlled drones already play a critical role in surveillance and target location. If you add machine learning to the mix, you’re looking at a system that can sift through exponentially increasing numbers of potential threats over a vast area.
But there are vast technical challenges with streaming high definition video halfway around the world. Say you’re a remote drone pilot and you’ve just found a terrorist about to do something bad. You’re authorized to stop them, and all of a sudden, you lose your video feed. Even if it’s just for a few seconds, by the time the drone recovers, it might be too late.
What if you can’t stream at all? Signal jamming is pretty common in warfare today. Your person in the loop is now completely useless.
That’s where generals get to thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to depend on a video link at all? What if you could program your drone to be self-contained? Give it clear instructions, and just press Go.
That’s the argument for autonomous weapons: Machine learning will make war more efficient. Plus there's the fact that Russia and China are already working on this technology, so we might as well do the same.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Okay, here are six reasons why killer robots are genuinely terrifying
There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t accept these arguments:
1. Accidents. Predictive technologies like face recognition or object localization are guaranteed to have error rates, meaning a case of mistaken identity can be deadly. Often these technologies fail disproportionately on people with darker skin tones or certain facial features, meaning their lives would be doubly subject to this threat.
Also, drones go rogue sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but software always has bugs. Imagine a self-contained, solar-powered drone that has instructions to find a certain individual whose face is programmed into its memory. Now imagine it rejecting your command to shut it down.
2. Hacking. If your killer robot has a way to receive commands at all (for example, by executing a “kill switch” to turn it off), it is vulnerable to hacking. That means a powerful swarm of drone weapons could be turned off — or turned against us.
3. The “black box” problem. AI has an “explainability” problem. Your algorithm did XYZ, and everyone wants to know why, but because of the way that machine learning works, even its programmers often can’t know why an algorithm reached the outcome that it did. It’s a black box. Now, when you enter the realm of autonomous weapons, and ask, “Why did you kill that person,” the complete lack of an answer simply will not do — morally, legally, or practically.
4. Morality & Context. A robot doesn’t have moral context to prioritize one kind of life over another. A robot will only see that you’re carrying a weapon and “know” that its mission is to shoot with deadly force. It should not be news that terrorists often exploit locals and innocents. In such scenarios, a soldier will be able to use their human, moral judgment in deciding how to react — and can be held accountable for those decisions. The best object localization software today is able to look at a video and say, “I found a person.” That’s all. It can’t tell whether that person was somehow coerced into doing work for the enemy.
5. War at Machine Speed. How long does it take you to multiply 35 by 12? A machine can do thousands of such calculations in the time it takes us to blink. If a machine is programmed to make quick decisions about how and when to fire a weapon, it’s going to do it in ways we humans can’t even anticipate. Early experiments with swarm technology have shown that no matter how you structure the inter-drone communications, the outcomes are different every time. The humans simply press the button, watch the fight, and wait for it to be over so that they can try to understand the what, when, and why of it.
Add 3D printing to the mix, and now it’s cheap and easy to create an army of millions of tiny (but lethal) robots, each one thousands of times faster than a human being. Such a swarm could overwhelm a city in minutes. There will be no way for a human to defend themselves against an enemy of that scale or speed — or even understand what’s happening.
6. Escalation. Autonomous drones would further distance the trigger-pullers from the violence itself and generally make killing more cost-free for governments. If you don’t have to put your soldiers in harm’s way, it becomes that much easier to decide to take lives. This distance also puts up a psychological barrier between the humans dispatching the drones and their targets.
Humans actually find it very difficult to kill, even in military combat. In his book “Men Against Fire,” S.L.A. Marshall reports that over 70 percent of bullets fired in WWII were not aimed with the intent to kill. Think about firing squads. Why would you have seven people line up to shoot a single person? It’s to protect the shooters’ psychological safety, of course. No one will know whose bullet it truly was that did the deed.
If you turn your robot on and it decides to kill a child, was it really you who destroyed that life?
There is still time to ask our government to agree to ban this technology outright
In the end, there are many companies out there working to “democratize” powerful technology like face recognition and object localization. But these technologies are “dual-use,” meaning they can be used not only for everyday civilian purposes but also for targeting people with killer drones.
Project Maven, for instance, is a Defense Department contract that’s currently being worked on at Microsoft and Amazon (as well as in startups like Clarifai). Google employees were successful in persuading the company to walk away from the contract because they feared it would be used to this end. Project Maven might just be about “counting things” as the Pentagon claims. It might also be a targeting system for autonomous killer drones, and there is absolutely no way for a tech worker to tell.
With so many tech companies participating in work that contributes to the reality of killer robots in our future, it’s important to remember that major powers won’t be the only ones to have autonomous drones. Even if killer robots won’t be the Gatling gun of World War III, they will do a lot of damage to populations living in countries all around the world.
We must remind our government that humanity has been successful in instituting international norms that condemn the use of chemical and biological weapons. When the stakes are this high and the people of the world object, there are steps that governments can take to prevent mass killings. We can do the same thing with autonomous weapons systems, but the time to act is now.
Official Defense Department policy states currently that there must be a “human in the loop” for every kill decision, but that is under debate right now, and there’s a loophole in the policy that would allow for an autonomous weapon to be approved. We must work together to ensure this loophole is closed.
That’s why I refuse to work for any company that participates in Project Maven, or who otherwise contributes dual-use research to the Pentagon. Policymakers need to promise us that they will stop the pursuit of autonomous lethal weapons systems once and for all.
I don’t regret my time at Clarifai. I do miss everyone I left behind. I truly hope that the industry changes course and agrees to take responsibility for its work to ensure that the things we build in the private sector won’t be used for killing people. More importantly, I hope our government begins working internationally to ensure that autonomous weapons are banned to the same degree as biological ones.
Published March 7, 2019 at 02:00AM
via ACLU https://ift.tt/2HiMDZ5
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ACLU: I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
Big tech and the government have a responsibility to stop the advent of machines that can kill without human oversight.
When I joined the artificial intelligence company Clarifai in early 2017, you could practically taste the promise in the air. My colleagues were brilliant, dedicated, and committed to making the world a better place.
We founded Clarifai 4 Good where we helped students and charities, and we donated our software to researchers around the world whose projects had a socially beneficial goal. We were determined to be the one AI company that took our social responsibility seriously.
I never could have predicted that two years later, I would have to quit this job on moral grounds. And I certainly never thought it would happen over building weapons that escalate and shift the paradigm of war.
Some background: In 2014, Steven Hawking and Elon Musk led an effort with thousands of AI researchers to collectively pledge never to contribute research to the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems — weapons that could seek out a target and end a life without a human in the decision-making loop. The researchers argued that the technology to create such weapons was just around the corner and would be disastrous for humanity.
I signed that pledge, and in January of this year, I wrote a letter to the CEO of Clarifai, Matt Zeiler, asking him to sign it, too. I was not at all expecting his response. As The New York Times reported on Friday, Matt called a companywide meeting and announced that he was totally willing to sell autonomous weapons technology to our government.
I could not abide being part of that, so I quit. My objections were not based just on a fear that killer robots are “just around the corner.” They already exist and are used in combat today.
Now, don’t go running for the underground bunker just yet. We’re not talking about something like the Terminator or Hal from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A scenario like that would require something like artificial general intelligence, or AGI — basically, a sentient being.
In my opinion, that won’t happen in my lifetime. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some people who describe things like landmines or homing missiles as “semiautonomous.” That’s not what I’m talking about either.
The core issue is whether a robot should be able to select and acquire its own target from a list of potential ones and attack that target without a human approving each kill. One example of a fully autonomous weapon that’s in use today is the Israeli Harpy 2 drone (or Harop), which seeks out enemy radar signals on its own. If it finds a signal, the drone goes into a kamikaze dive and blows up its target.
Fortunately, there are only a few of these kinds of machines in operation today, and as of right now, they usually operate with a human as the one who decides whether to pull the trigger. Those supporting the creation of autonomous weapons systems would prefer that human to be not “in the loop but “on the loop” — supervising the quick work of the robot in selecting and destroying targets, but not having to approve every last kill.
When presented with the Harop, a lot of people look at it and say, “It’s scary, but it’s not genuinely freaking me out.” But imagine a drone acquiring a target with a technology like face recognition. Imagine this: You’re walking down the street when a drone pops into your field of vision, scans your face, and makes a decision about whether you get to live or die.
Suddenly, the question — “Where in the decision loop does the human belong?” — becomes a deadly serious one.
What the generals are thinking
On the battlefield, human-controlled drones already play a critical role in surveillance and target location. If you add machine learning to the mix, you’re looking at a system that can sift through exponentially increasing numbers of potential threats over a vast area.
But there are vast technical challenges with streaming high definition video halfway around the world. Say you’re a remote drone pilot and you’ve just found a terrorist about to do something bad. You’re authorized to stop them, and all of a sudden, you lose your video feed. Even if it’s just for a few seconds, by the time the drone recovers, it might be too late.
What if you can’t stream at all? Signal jamming is pretty common in warfare today. Your person in the loop is now completely useless.
That’s where generals get to thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to depend on a video link at all? What if you could program your drone to be self-contained? Give it clear instructions, and just press Go.
That’s the argument for autonomous weapons: Machine learning will make war more efficient. Plus there's the fact that Russia and China are already working on this technology, so we might as well do the same.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Okay, here are six reasons why killer robots are genuinely terrifying
There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t accept these arguments:
1. Accidents. Predictive technologies like face recognition or object localization are guaranteed to have error rates, meaning a case of mistaken identity can be deadly. Often these technologies fail disproportionately on people with darker skin tones or certain facial features, meaning their lives would be doubly subject to this threat.
Also, drones go rogue sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but software always has bugs. Imagine a self-contained, solar-powered drone that has instructions to find a certain individual whose face is programmed into its memory. Now imagine it rejecting your command to shut it down.
2. Hacking. If your killer robot has a way to receive commands at all (for example, by executing a “kill switch” to turn it off), it is vulnerable to hacking. That means a powerful swarm of drone weapons could be turned off — or turned against us.
3. The “black box” problem. AI has an “explainability” problem. Your algorithm did XYZ, and everyone wants to know why, but because of the way that machine learning works, even its programmers often can’t know why an algorithm reached the outcome that it did. It’s a black box. Now, when you enter the realm of autonomous weapons, and ask, “Why did you kill that person,” the complete lack of an answer simply will not do — morally, legally, or practically.
4. Morality & Context. A robot doesn’t have moral context to prioritize one kind of life over another. A robot will only see that you’re carrying a weapon and “know” that its mission is to shoot with deadly force. It should not be news that terrorists often exploit locals and innocents. In such scenarios, a soldier will be able to use their human, moral judgment in deciding how to react — and can be held accountable for those decisions. The best object localization software today is able to look at a video and say, “I found a person.” That’s all. It can’t tell whether that person was somehow coerced into doing work for the enemy.
5. War at Machine Speed. How long does it take you to multiply 35 by 12? A machine can do thousands of such calculations in the time it takes us to blink. If a machine is programmed to make quick decisions about how and when to fire a weapon, it’s going to do it in ways we humans can’t even anticipate. Early experiments with swarm technology have shown that no matter how you structure the inter-drone communications, the outcomes are different every time. The humans simply press the button, watch the fight, and wait for it to be over so that they can try to understand the what, when, and why of it.
Add 3D printing to the mix, and now it’s cheap and easy to create an army of millions of tiny (but lethal) robots, each one thousands of times faster than a human being. Such a swarm could overwhelm a city in minutes. There will be no way for a human to defend themselves against an enemy of that scale or speed — or even understand what’s happening.
6. Escalation. Autonomous drones would further distance the trigger-pullers from the violence itself and generally make killing more cost-free for governments. If you don’t have to put your soldiers in harm’s way, it becomes that much easier to decide to take lives. This distance also puts up a psychological barrier between the humans dispatching the drones and their targets.
Humans actually find it very difficult to kill, even in military combat. In his book “Men Against Fire,” S.L.A. Marshall reports that over 70 percent of bullets fired in WWII were not aimed with the intent to kill. Think about firing squads. Why would you have seven people line up to shoot a single person? It’s to protect the shooters’ psychological safety, of course. No one will know whose bullet it truly was that did the deed.
If you turn your robot on and it decides to kill a child, was it really you who destroyed that life?
There is still time to ask our government to agree to ban this technology outright
In the end, there are many companies out there working to “democratize” powerful technology like face recognition and object localization. But these technologies are “dual-use,” meaning they can be used not only for everyday civilian purposes but also for targeting people with killer drones.
Project Maven, for instance, is a Defense Department contract that’s currently being worked on at Microsoft and Amazon (as well as in startups like Clarifai). Google employees were successful in persuading the company to walk away from the contract because they feared it would be used to this end. Project Maven might just be about “counting things” as the Pentagon claims. It might also be a targeting system for autonomous killer drones, and there is absolutely no way for a tech worker to tell.
With so many tech companies participating in work that contributes to the reality of killer robots in our future, it’s important to remember that major powers won’t be the only ones to have autonomous drones. Even if killer robots won’t be the Gatling gun of World War III, they will do a lot of damage to populations living in countries all around the world.
We must remind our government that humanity has been successful in instituting international norms that condemn the use of chemical and biological weapons. When the stakes are this high and the people of the world object, there are steps that governments can take to prevent mass killings. We can do the same thing with autonomous weapons systems, but the time to act is now.
Official Defense Department policy states currently that there must be a “human in the loop” for every kill decision, but that is under debate right now, and there’s a loophole in the policy that would allow for an autonomous weapon to be approved. We must work together to ensure this loophole is closed.
That’s why I refuse to work for any company that participates in Project Maven, or who otherwise contributes dual-use research to the Pentagon. Policymakers need to promise us that they will stop the pursuit of autonomous lethal weapons systems once and for all.
I don’t regret my time at Clarifai. I do miss everyone I left behind. I truly hope that the industry changes course and agrees to take responsibility for its work to ensure that the things we build in the private sector won’t be used for killing people. More importantly, I hope our government begins working internationally to ensure that autonomous weapons are banned to the same degree as biological ones.
Published March 6, 2019 at 08:30PM
via ACLU https://ift.tt/2HiMDZ5
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ACLU: I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
I Quit My Job to Protest My Company’s Work on Building Killer Robots
Big tech and the government have a responsibility to stop the advent of machines that can kill without human oversight.
When I joined the artificial intelligence company Clarifai in early 2017, you could practically taste the promise in the air. My colleagues were brilliant, dedicated, and committed to making the world a better place.
We founded Clarifai 4 Good where we helped students and charities, and we donated our software to researchers around the world whose projects had a socially beneficial goal. We were determined to be the one AI company that took our social responsibility seriously.
I never could have predicted that two years later, I would have to quit this job on moral grounds. And I certainly never thought it would happen over building weapons that escalate and shift the paradigm of war.
Some background: In 2014, Steven Hawking and Elon Musk led an effort with thousands of AI researchers to collectively pledge never to contribute research to the development of lethal autonomous weapons systems — weapons that could seek out a target and end a life without a human in the decision-making loop. The researchers argued that the technology to create such weapons was just around the corner and would be disastrous for humanity.
I signed that pledge, and in January of this year, I wrote a letter to the CEO of Clarifai, Matt Zeiler, asking him to sign it, too. I was not at all expecting his response. As The New York Times reported on Friday, Matt called a companywide meeting and announced that he was totally willing to sell autonomous weapons technology to our government.
I could not abide being part of that, so I quit. My objections were not based just on a fear that killer robots are “just around the corner.” They already exist and are used in combat today.
Now, don’t go running for the underground bunker just yet. We’re not talking about something like the Terminator or Hal from “2001: A Space Odyssey.” A scenario like that would require something like artificial general intelligence, or AGI — basically, a sentient being.
In my opinion, that won’t happen in my lifetime. On the other end of the spectrum, there are some people who describe things like landmines or homing missiles as “semiautonomous.” That’s not what I’m talking about either.
The core issue is whether a robot should be able to select and acquire its own target from a list of potential ones and attack that target without a human approving each kill. One example of a fully autonomous weapon that’s in use today is the Israeli Harpy 2 drone (or Harop), which seeks out enemy radar signals on its own. If it finds a signal, the drone goes into a kamikaze dive and blows up its target.
Fortunately, there are only a few of these kinds of machines in operation today, and as of right now, they usually operate with a human as the one who decides whether to pull the trigger. Those supporting the creation of autonomous weapons systems would prefer that human to be not “in the loop but “on the loop” — supervising the quick work of the robot in selecting and destroying targets, but not having to approve every last kill.
When presented with the Harop, a lot of people look at it and say, “It’s scary, but it’s not genuinely freaking me out.” But imagine a drone acquiring a target with a technology like face recognition. Imagine this: You’re walking down the street when a drone pops into your field of vision, scans your face, and makes a decision about whether you get to live or die.
Suddenly, the question — “Where in the decision loop does the human belong?” — becomes a deadly serious one.
What the generals are thinking
On the battlefield, human-controlled drones already play a critical role in surveillance and target location. If you add machine learning to the mix, you’re looking at a system that can sift through exponentially increasing numbers of potential threats over a vast area.
But there are vast technical challenges with streaming high definition video halfway around the world. Say you’re a remote drone pilot and you’ve just found a terrorist about to do something bad. You’re authorized to stop them, and all of a sudden, you lose your video feed. Even if it’s just for a few seconds, by the time the drone recovers, it might be too late.
What if you can’t stream at all? Signal jamming is pretty common in warfare today. Your person in the loop is now completely useless.
That’s where generals get to thinking: Wouldn’t it be great if you didn’t have to depend on a video link at all? What if you could program your drone to be self-contained? Give it clear instructions, and just press Go.
That’s the argument for autonomous weapons: Machine learning will make war more efficient. Plus there's the fact that Russia and China are already working on this technology, so we might as well do the same.
Sounds reasonable, right?
Okay, here are six reasons why killer robots are genuinely terrifying
There are a number of reasons why we shouldn’t accept these arguments:
1. Accidents. Predictive technologies like face recognition or object localization are guaranteed to have error rates, meaning a case of mistaken identity can be deadly. Often these technologies fail disproportionately on people with darker skin tones or certain facial features, meaning their lives would be doubly subject to this threat.
Also, drones go rogue sometimes. It doesn’t happen often, but software always has bugs. Imagine a self-contained, solar-powered drone that has instructions to find a certain individual whose face is programmed into its memory. Now imagine it rejecting your command to shut it down.
2. Hacking. If your killer robot has a way to receive commands at all (for example, by executing a “kill switch” to turn it off), it is vulnerable to hacking. That means a powerful swarm of drone weapons could be turned off — or turned against us.
3. The “black box” problem. AI has an “explainability” problem. Your algorithm did XYZ, and everyone wants to know why, but because of the way that machine learning works, even its programmers often can’t know why an algorithm reached the outcome that it did. It’s a black box. Now, when you enter the realm of autonomous weapons, and ask, “Why did you kill that person,” the complete lack of an answer simply will not do — morally, legally, or practically.
4. Morality & Context. A robot doesn’t have moral context to prioritize one kind of life over another. A robot will only see that you’re carrying a weapon and “know” that its mission is to shoot with deadly force. It should not be news that terrorists often exploit locals and innocents. In such scenarios, a soldier will be able to use their human, moral judgment in deciding how to react — and can be held accountable for those decisions. The best object localization software today is able to look at a video and say, “I found a person.” That’s all. It can’t tell whether that person was somehow coerced into doing work for the enemy.
5. War at Machine Speed. How long does it take you to multiply 35 by 12? A machine can do thousands of such calculations in the time it takes us to blink. If a machine is programmed to make quick decisions about how and when to fire a weapon, it’s going to do it in ways we humans can’t even anticipate. Early experiments with swarm technology have shown that no matter how you structure the inter-drone communications, the outcomes are different every time. The humans simply press the button, watch the fight, and wait for it to be over so that they can try to understand the what, when, and why of it.
Add 3D printing to the mix, and now it’s cheap and easy to create an army of millions of tiny (but lethal) robots, each one thousands of times faster than a human being. Such a swarm could overwhelm a city in minutes. There will be no way for a human to defend themselves against an enemy of that scale or speed — or even understand what’s happening.
6. Escalation. Autonomous drones would further distance the trigger-pullers from the violence itself and generally make killing more cost-free for governments. If you don’t have to put your soldiers in harm’s way, it becomes that much easier to decide to take lives. This distance also puts up a psychological barrier between the humans dispatching the drones and their targets.
Humans actually find it very difficult to kill, even in military combat. In his book “Men Against Fire,” S.L.A. Marshall reports that over 70 percent of bullets fired in WWII were not aimed with the intent to kill. Think about firing squads. Why would you have seven people line up to shoot a single person? It’s to protect the shooters’ psychological safety, of course. No one will know whose bullet it truly was that did the deed.
If you turn your robot on and it decides to kill a child, was it really you who destroyed that life?
There is still time to ask our government to agree to ban this technology outright
In the end, there are many companies out there working to “democratize” powerful technology like face recognition and object localization. But these technologies are “dual-use,” meaning they can be used not only for everyday civilian purposes but also for targeting people with killer drones.
Project Maven, for instance, is a Defense Department contract that’s currently being worked on at Microsoft and Amazon (as well as in startups like Clarifai). Google employees were successful in persuading the company to walk away from the contract because they feared it would be used to this end. Project Maven might just be about “counting things” as the Pentagon claims. It might also be a targeting system for autonomous killer drones, and there is absolutely no way for a tech worker to tell.
With so many tech companies participating in work that contributes to the reality of killer robots in our future, it’s important to remember that major powers won’t be the only ones to have autonomous drones. Even if killer robots won’t be the Gatling gun of World War III, they will do a lot of damage to populations living in countries all around the world.
We must remind our government that humanity has been successful in instituting international norms that condemn the use of chemical and biological weapons. When the stakes are this high and the people of the world object, there are steps that governments can take to prevent mass killings. We can do the same thing with autonomous weapons systems, but the time to act is now.
Official Defense Department policy states currently that there must be a “human in the loop” for every kill decision, but that is under debate right now, and there’s a loophole in the policy that would allow for an autonomous weapon to be approved. We must work together to ensure this loophole is closed.
That’s why I refuse to work for any company that participates in Project Maven, or who otherwise contributes dual-use research to the Pentagon. Policymakers need to promise us that they will stop the pursuit of autonomous lethal weapons systems once and for all.
I don’t regret my time at Clarifai. I do miss everyone I left behind. I truly hope that the industry changes course and agrees to take responsibility for its work to ensure that the things we build in the private sector won’t be used for killing people. More importantly, I hope our government begins working internationally to ensure that autonomous weapons are banned to the same degree as biological ones.
Published March 7, 2019 at 02:00AM
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