#tech world things

[xiaq]

At a corporate team building event at a water park/resort and you can tell everyone has been drinking because one of my account executives just said “I’m always a slut for a water slide” and everyone nodded along gravely in agreement before going to seek out said water slide.

[hum--hallelujah]

man I mean just. the SMFS album lettering is made of clay. the cover art is an actual physical painting. there's a lot less fx on the album as a whole than Mania (which is NOT a knock on my bbg Mania btw, just pointing out the different approach) or even SRAR and ABAP. the songs sound basically the same live as they do on the record because the production is so minimal. they have a huge vinyl dog head onstage with them, that they touch and interact with and talk to (and, in Pete's case, get eaten by). the attic scene is made by lowering a piece of rigging to literally make the stage smaller. there's actually a LOT of sets especially comparatively to their previous tours, the rigging around the stage is done up almost as a physical frame for it. they only have one screen onstage and it's small, its purpose is to be the 8-ball and to add a little bit of texture to the wider design. the backdrops, even the new desert scene for 2ourdust, are physical backdrops — one of which was made by one of Pete's kids — not LED or projections. the album title is made of clay. it's about existing in the world, making things so you feel alive, making the world a little more fuckin weird! do you get it yet?

[s0fter-sin]

one of my favourite aspects of supernatural that you very rarely see in paranormal shows is that sam and dean are already versed in the world they live in. there’s no sudden discovery of ghosts and demons and now they have to learn about them along with the audience; they are born into it and already know all about it. it allows the audience to follow their personal story instead of also trying to figure out this new world and its rules

the first season is full of knowledge we never see them learn; “w*ndigoes are in the minnesota woods or- or northern michigan. i’ve never even heard of one this far west.” […] “great. well then this [his gun] is useless.” (1x02), “you don’t break a curse. you get the hell out of its way.” (1x08), d: “it’s a god. a pagan god, anyway.” […] “the annual cycle of its killings? and the fact that the victims are always a man and a woman. like some kind of fertility right.” […] s: “the last meal. given to sacrificial victims. d: “yeah, i’m thinking a ritual sacrifice to appease some pagan god.” (1x11)

almost every episode in the first season is a monster they’ve faced before that they then explain to the audience in a way that should feel patronising; like it’s the same speech given over and over again but instead, the audience almost feels included in the knowledge. it’s stated with such an innate confidence and comfort in said knowledge that it feels like we already knew it too; “spirits and demons don't have to unlock doors. if they want inside, they just go through the walls.” […] “the claws, the speed that it moves; could be a skinwalker, maybe a black dog.” (1x02), “it's biblical numerology. you know noah's ark, it rained for forty days. the number means death.” (1x04), “no no no, not the reaper, a reaper. there's reaper lore in pretty much every culture on earth, it goes by 100 different names.” […] “you said it yourself that the clock stopped, right? reapers stop time. and you can only see 'em when they're coming at you which is why i could see it and you couldn't.” (1x12)

they already know and, at least in the first season, already have what they need to kill whatever they’re hunting; already know to salt and burn bones for spirits, fire for a w*ndigo, exorcisms for demons, a silver bullet to the heart for shapeshifters. there’s only three times in the entire first season that they run into something new to them; 1x14 when sam gets his first vision that leads him to another psychic, 1x16 when dean calls caleb for help on the sigil he put together and he tells him about daevas, and 1x20 when they find out vampires are real- and they only don’t know that bc john thought they were hunted to extinction and not worth mentioning

(there’s also technically two half instances if you count one of them knowing something the other doesn’t - sam figuring out the tulpa in 1x17 and dean already knowing about the shtriga in 1x18 - but those still rely on sam and dean having prior knowledge)

even when they’re uncertain about facing something, it’s not bc they don’t know what it is; it’s precisely bc they know what it is and acknowledge that it’ll be a difficult hunt (“i don't know, man. this isn't our normal gig. i mean, demons, they don't want anything, just death and destruction for its own sake. this is big. and i wish dad was here.” 1x04)

so much of the tension in paranormal shows typically comes from the main character(s) not knowing what is happening to them/the people around them and having to find out how to resolve it. supernatural is unique in that it operates more like a police procedural. the tension comes from solving the clues and identifying patterns to figure out who (what) the killer is and intercepting before they can take another victim

it’s such a different tone to go for when compared to other shows that came both before, during, and after its run. it sets sam and dean on even footing with each other since they both have the same knowledge going in, and it puts them in a place of authority usually reserved for an outside character

the shows i compare spn to most is charmed, buffy and teen wolf; every main character in those shows are brought into the paranormal world knowing nothing, putting them on the same level as the audience, and they have their mc interact with others already knowledgeable about that world in order to overcome their problem/monster of the week. the audience organically learns about this new world as the characters learn about it. it’s a sound writing strategy that prevents “as we already know”-style exposition but something that complicates it is if your world building isn’t unique or intriguing enough, this slow introduction can become boring

we’ve seen shows like these before; sitting through the same tropes of characters learning to use their powers, struggling with no longer feeling normal/relating to the regular world around them, and not knowing how much they can trust the people already involved in this new world gets repetitive. all three shows eventually reach the same level of comfort with their new world that spn starts with but if the characters aren’t enough to draw you in, you can end up dropping it before they reach that point (and often, before the overarching plot can really kick in and evolve the show beyond the villain of the week format)

it’s the superhero origin movie in tv format; dragged out and overplayed. dropping the audience into an established world of course comes with its own problems but you also have the benefit of pre-existing established character dynamics that let the audience slot in like they’ve always been there instead of just getting to know all the characters while the characters also get to know each other

sam and dean already knowing about the supernatural lets the audience immediately get to the core of the story; the conflict between sam and dean, the search for their father, and the mystery of what killed their mother

[chaoticke-rambles]

Barring a course correction like Crystal and/or Niko trying to introduce the pair of them to modern technology, I’m like 80% convinced that someday in the not-so-distant future Edwin will be better with technology than Charles.  Edwin spent 70 years in hell and then got thrown into what, to him, must have bordered on a sci-fi techscape that was radically different from the world he knew.  When confronted with something new he probably just falls somewhere between “okay” and “this might as well happen” and then incorporates it into his worldview.  Charles, however, probably just keeps going “I’m more modern than Edwin :D” and technology changes slow enough that he just keeps leaning on his knowledge from the 80s until one day he looks at a computer and realizes technology has evolved so much it’s unrecognizable

[eelfuneral]

[Omega]: The Empire's not the only threat.

[Tech]: Unfortunately, yes. However, there are many like us out there as well. And that is something.

[vynnyal]

OK, fair warning to the few people I actually managed to convince to try the game??

Rain world does NOT play like hollow knight, and you'll get your butt kicked if you approach it like that.

It's really hard. Like, really hard. Instead of the game literally giving you abilities in the form of power-ups and damage buffs, the only abilities you gain is from what you learn and your own ingenuity. You're a rat from beginning to end. If you just beef your way through it, it's gonna suck and you're gonna be confused and frustrated all the time. But if you pay attention, take it slow, and learn how the ai works and how everything interacts with each other, you can consistently get through and dominate situations you thought were impossible to do so when you first began. Now get out there, kill some lizards, and bully some old computers!

[bambiraptorx]

[I.D. Digital three panel comic using Baxter Stockman from TMNT 2003 and Flora Chau from Jentry Chau vs the Underworld. The first panel shows them from behind, staring at a building currently in flames. The light from the flames reflects onto Stockman as he stands slouched forward slightly, while Flora, as a ghost, hovers in midair. Unlike Stockman, the light does not reflect on her. The second panel shows them both from the front, eyes wide in matching stressed and shocked expressions. In the last panel they make eye contact, Stockman raising his arms in a helpless shrug and Flora putting her palms together to gesture forward. Stockman says "Minor setback?" and Flora answers "Minor setback." End I.D.]

The fact that they both refer to events where a building is destroyed and people almost die as 'minor setbacks' is so funny to me lol

Also full disclosure I drew ghost Flora because she's short as heck and it worked better for putting these characters in the same frame to have her hovering, but the implications of Stockman just being able to see ghosts for some reason are also very entertaining to me

[the-northern-continent]

It’s hard to talk about this without it sounding like a Mass Effect crossover (which is not what I’m suggesting), but I genuinely think that some/all of the evanuris have been to outer space.

Evidence:

A very straightforward interpretation of “the Void” is space. Like the only reason we don’t instantly think it’s space is because we’re in high fantasy.

Ditto for “Forgotten Ones”.

The astrarium sidequest encourages us to connect old gods with the stars.

Falon’Din walks the night, where the People cannot live, through “airless skies”.

He’s also associated with uthenera, aka cryosleep.

Some very alien monsters are now appearing in Thedas, and also in Ghilan’nain’s workshop(s), which seems to have some connection to the Blight (darkspawn and wardens are the ones being “treated”).

Where does the Blight come from? Oh yeah, that’s right, the Void. A place so hostile Andruil had to don armor of the Void to enter it. 🧑‍🚀

tl;dr the reason the elves lost control of the Blight is because it’s alien terraforming tech. Yes it can injure the titans; yes it may grant you power. But there will be a couple very unwanted side effects.

BTW I know not everyone is a huge fan of sci-fi crashing into fantasy stories, but I think it can be fun if everything is through the eyes of the fantasy characters. You get very poetic interpretations of what’s happening, which is a different angle than what you usually see in sci-fi. If this theory turns out to be true, I imagine everything will still be treated largely as magic, with the sci-fi elements remaining slightly ambiguous.

[xiaq]

Nothing quite like the corporate joy of adding a man’s boss to a Teams chat and sharing the entire history in which the man has been an unmitigated ass for the past several days, and then watching that man desperately trip over himself trying to edit prior messages and make up for poor behavior before the boss even says a word.

Glorious. My favorite power move.

[puppetmaster13u]

I just had a thought, fueled by the fact I have a fever probably.

Bruce, Batman, is very mom-coded.

Tony, Iron Man, is very dad-coded.

They should platonically co-parent.

[messing-with-my-zen-thing]

Another Ares thought. I know the Dillingers and Flynns are very different, and this strategy will probably (hopefully) be condemned in the movie itself. But the way Flynn planned to use the Grid as a way to reshape medicine and art and philosophy, and this new system is basically just being used to create weapons and an army… idk. Considering everything going on in the world right now, that shift isn’t lost on me and it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.

[here-comes-the-moose]

When I’m writing my Modern AU but then try to figure out and calculate how the life I gave the Batch is financially possible:

[ganondoodle]

did you hear about that the zelda notes finally explained what happened to the sheikah tech in totk? a voice memory describes that after the events of botw and link defeating calamity ganon, all the sheikah technology and divine beasts started to crumble and turn to dust, and that the first one to break down was Vah Ruta as seen in the secret ending of botw, the only thing of sheikah tech that remains are replicas made by robbie and purah, it also implies the guardian on top of robbies lab is a replica.

im sure you mean well anon but, risking sounding like i am negativity in person and wont take any answer as an answer- i think that 1. doesnt change anything 2. was clearly an afterthought or ... them scrambling to try and sound like they totally planned it all from the start after, to them unexpectedly apparently, realizing people actually cared about things (its still bad even if they did plan that ..)

just vanishing and crumbling to dust are really the same thing if you ask me, its just like describing something exploding as an "unexpected rapid dismembering" (or however they called spacex rockets blowing up lol), vah ruta stopping to work after the end of botw was, imo, much more logical to mean, well their pilot is gone (as the champions spirit disappear supposedly permanently (though you cant be sure now about that either now i guess huh RAURU??HMM??? mister uuuh aaahh totoally goneeeee much tragiqué woops wait i need to deus ex machina your girlfriend and take back my arm)) and with them the one .. to pilot them plus possibly their power source as well (that 'theory' just makes too much sense)

if you think about it it still doesnt make it any better, the stuff in totk being replicas? welll ... obviously they were newly built stuff (off the little there is left...), and replica sounds like a copy when none of the stuff they have there is an actual copy aside from maybe the terminals to get into a tower? also how and when did they do that?? the knowledge about the tech was largely lost and i dont think alot of time passed between the end of botw and the extra scene- why wouldnt they copy guardians or anythign else more useful? the guardian on top of the hateno institute was extremely clearly a super old one, it was unfunctional and overgrown strapped to the roof in botw already- purahs stone thingy and all lanterns and sources of energy went poof too (WHERE DO THEY GET THE POWER FROM NOW?????????????????????????????????????????????), idk if the easter egg prototype titan is still there but that and cherry would be the only thing i can think of that they might have built during the 100 years they had to built stuff in botw (AND CHERRY IS GONE TOO instead a tiny version of her that what, is a shop to get your photos at????????? what?????), and now they just suddendly can built massive things? did they also find out what powers it and how and managed to built a secret replica of a fireborn (idk the english name, the flaming source) that you cant ever find (i cant check i dont have the game anymore but i dont remember a flame or otherwise sourcing thingy in the spypost- not that it would matter, its shiekah tech after all, bleurgh, we got sonau "tech" nowww) and then choose to built pretty useless stuff at that? wouldnt it have been more sensical to preserve the lasers and automations of guardians or something isntead of ... a tower that flings link, and only link mind you, into the air? to scan the ground in an very dangerous manner that is also just miles more stupid and inefficient than the previous towers????? like couldnt add to a tower to scan upwards also??????

the old problems remain! why the hell would everythign crumble or vanish? it lasted for over 10 thousand fucking years with no power either exposed to the elements or dug underground and now it just goes up in flames withtin what, a day? it remains a "woah didnt think anyone would care to ask that lol just uuuuh *makes up shit on the spot*" answer

the ooooh clamgan was defeated excuse doesnt work any better with this as it did before, if ganondorf was not connected to clamgan (which is stupid) and it 'crumbles to dust' when clamgan is defeated it should have done so in the og battle 10k years ago! if he IS connected to it why the fuck would it go away now?????? he is still there???????

and im also asking why would all of shiekah tech just crumble away into literally nothing when the stupid sonau(zonai) shit is like, largely in prime condition even though that is supposedly even OLDER (i guess the sonau are jsut that much cooler uwu their stuff lasts forever or until its timer runs out lmao and is much better anywayyyy)

this is not an attack against you anon, but i dont believe this bullshit, they are trying to stitch up holes they dug themselves and you cant get out of anymore no matter how much they roll around in it bc they didnt account for people to actually fukcing care, or, if they did plan this (which i do not believe) it STILL SUCKS and makes no sense and really .. jsut means that it really was this stupid and meaningless as it feels now from the start. they dont want you to think about it, they can say whatever they want and expect you to swallow it. they dont care.

i suppose the jokes on us, the shiekah were able to see the future and knew they would be replaced by a totally always there and also totally better version of all their stuff thats actually worse but with a totally no overused new paint job so they thoughtfully added a best before date on all botw relevant shiekah things and we all know that a day over it means it molds and dissolves in your very hands before you can even put it in the trashcan.

uwu.

[imagionationstation]

Okay, yes, if you let 2018Donnie loose in a 2012Kraang base with his brothers, chances are, he will cause immediate chaos.

But have you considered the fact that if you let 2012Donnie loose in the 2012Kraang base without his brothers, it would be far worse.

[vynnyal]

Some stranger and I explored all over rw again in meadow 🥰.

(Funny thing is, this happened literal hours before meadow officially released on the workshop)

[thepoisonroom]

honestly continually taken aback at how squeamish citizens get if you're honest about the practical calculus of immigrating, even the ones who think of themselves as pro-immigration! like why are you suddenly stumping for The Good Immigrant archetype bc i promise the immigration bureau is NOT going to fuck you!!!