#Week 11 pool results

[mostlysignssomeportents]

The future of Amazon coders is the present of Amazon warehouse workers

I'm on a 20+ city book tour for my new novel PICKS AND SHOVELS. Catch me in BURBANK with WIL WHEATON TONIGHT (Mar 13), and in SAN DIEGO at MYSTERIOUS GALAXY on Mar 24. More tour dates here.

My theory of the "shitty technology adoption curve" holds that you can predict the future impact of abusive technologies on you by observing the way these are deployed against people who have less social power than you:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/11/the-shitty-tech-adoption-curve-has-a-business-model/

When you have a new, abusive technology, you can't just aim it at rich, powerful people, because when they complain, they get results. To successfully deploy that abusive tech, you need to work your way up the privilege gradient, starting with people with no power, like prisoners, refugees, and mental patients. This starts the process of normalization, even as it sands down some of the technology's rough edges against their tender bodies. Once that's done, you can move on to people with more social power – immigrants, blue collar workers, school children. Step by step, you normalize and smooth out the abusive tech, until you can apply it to everyone – even rich and powerful people. Think of the deployment of CCTV, facial recognition, location tracking, and web surveillance.

All this means that blue collar workers are the pioneering early adopters of the bossware that will shortly be tormenting their white-collar colleagues elsewhere in the business. It's as William Gibson prophesied: "The future is here, it's just not evenly distributed" (it's pooled up thick and noxious around the ankles of blue-collar workers, refugees, mental patients, etc).

Nowhere is this rule more salient than in Big Tech firms. Tech companies have thoroughly segregated workforces. Delivery drivers, customer service reps, data-labelers, warehouse workers and other "green badge," low-status workers are the testing ground for their employer's own disciplinary technology, which monitors them down to the keystroke, the eye-movement, and the pee break. Meanwhile, the "blue badge" white-collar coders get stock options, gourmet cafeterias, free massages, day care and complimentary egg-freezing so they can delay fertility. Companies like Google not only use separate entrance for their different classes of workers – they stagger their shifts so that the elite workers don't even see their lower-status counterparts.

Importantly, almost none of these workers – whether low-status or high – are unionized. Tech union density is so thin, it's almost nonexistent. It's easy to see why elite tech workers wouldn't bother with unionizing: with such fantastic wages and so many perks, why endure the tedium of meetings and memos? But then there's the rest of the workers, who are subjected to endless "electronic whipping" by bossware and who take home wages that look like pocket change when compared to the tech division's compensation. These workers have every reason to unionize, living as they do in the dystopian future of labor.

At Amazon warehouses, workers are injured at three times the rate of warehouse workers at competing firms. They are penalized for "time off task" (like taking a piss break). They are made to stand in long, humiliating body-search lines when they go on- and off-shift, hours every week, without compensation. Variations on this theme play out in other blue-collar sectors of the Amazon empire, like Amazon delivery drivers and Whole Food shelf-stockers.

Those workers have every reason to unionize, and they have done their damndest, but Amazon has defeated worker union drives, again and again. How does Amazon win these battles? Simple: they cheat. They illegally fire union organizers:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/31/reality-endorses-sanders/#instacart-wholefoods-amazon

And then they smear unions to the press and to their own workers with lies (that subsequently leak):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/03/socially-useless-parasite/#christian-smalls

They spend millions on anti-union tech, spying on workers and creating "heatmaps" that let them direct their anti-union efforts to specific stores and facilities:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#guard-labor-v-redistribution

They make workers use an official chat app, and then block any messages containing forbidden words, like "fairness," "grievance" and "diversity":

https://pluralistic.net/2022/04/05/doubleplusrelentless/#quackspeak

That's just the tip of the iceberg. A new investigation by Northwestern University's Teke Wiggin draws on worker interviews and FOIA requests to the NLRB to assemble a first-of-its-kind catalog of Amazon's labor-disciplining, union-busting tactics:

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23780231251318389

Disciplining labor and busting unions go hand in hand. It's a simple equation: the harder it is for your workers to form a union, the worse you can treat them without facing labor reprisals, because individual workers' options are limited to a) quitting or b) sucking it up, while unionized workers can grieve, sue, and strike.

At the core of Amazon's labor discipline technology is "algorithmic management," which is exactly what it sounds like: replacing middle managers with software that counts your keystrokes, watches your eyeballs, or applies a virtual caliper to some other metric to decide whether you're a good worker or a rotten apple:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/11/26/hawtch-hawtch/#you-treasure-what-you-measure

Automation theory describes two poles of workplace automation: centaurs (in which workers are assisted by technology) and "reverse-centaurs" (in which workers provide assistance to technology):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/03/19/the-shakedown/#weird-flex

Amazon is a reverse-centaurism pioneer. Take the delivery drivers whose every maneuver, eyeball movement, and turn signal is analyzed and inevitably, found wanting, as workers seek to satisfy impossible quotas that can't even be met if you pee in a bottle instead of taking toilet breaks:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/20/release-energy/#the-bitterest-lemon

Then there's the warehouse workers who are also tormented with impossible, pisscall-annihilating quotas. Some of these workers are fitted with haptic wristbands that buzz to tell them they're being too slow at picking up an item and dropping it into a box, pushing them to faster, joint-destroying paces that account for Amazon's enduring position as the most worker-maiming warehouse employer in the nation:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/05/la-bookseller-royalty/#megacycle

In his paper, Wiggin does important work connecting these "electronic whips" to Amazon's arsenal of traditional union-busting weapons, like "captive audience" meetings where workers are forced to sit through hours of anti-union indoctrination. For Wiggin, bossware tools aren't just a stick to beat workers with – they're also a carrot that can be used to diffuse a worker's outrage ahead of a key union vote.

Algorithmic management isn't just software that wrings more work out of workers – it's software that replaces managers. By surveilling workers – both on the job and in social media spaces (like subreddits) where workers gather to talk, Amazon can tune the "electronic whip," reducing quotas and easing the pace of work so that workers view their jobs more favorably and are more receptive to anti-union propaganda.

This is "twiddling" – exploiting the digital flexibility of a system to "twiddle the knobs" governing its business logic, changing everything from prices to wages, search rankings to recommendations, in realtime, for every customer and worker:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/19/twiddler/

Twiddling combines surveillance data with flexible business logic to create an unbeatable house advantage. If you're an Amazon shopper, you get twiddled all the time, as Amazon replaces the best matches for your searches with paid results. If you buy that first product result, you'll pay an average of 29% more than the best match for your search:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/06/attention-rents/#consumer-welfare-queens

Worker-side twiddling is even more dystopian. When a nurse is assigned a shift by an "Uber for nurses" app, the app checks whether the worker has overdue credit card bills, which trigger lower wages (on the theory that an indebted worker is a desperate worker):

https://pluralistic.net/2024/12/18/loose-flapping-ends/#luigi-has-a-point

When it comes to union-busting, Amazon's found a new use for twiddling: lessening the pace of work, which Wiggin calls "algorithmic slack-cutting." The important thing about algorithmic slack-cutting is that it's only temporary. The algorithm that reduces your work-load in the runup to a union vote can then dial the pace of work up afterward, by small, random increments that are below the threshold at which they register on the human sensory apparatus. They're not so much boiling the frog as poaching it.

Meanwhile, Amazon gets to flood the zone with anti-union messages, including mandatory messages on the app that assigns your shifts – a captive audience meeting in every pocket.

Between social media surveillance and on-the-job surveillance, Amazon has built a powerful training set for algorithms designed to crush workplace democracy. That's how things go for Amazon's warehouse workers and delivery drivers, and the shelf-stockers at Whole Foods.

But of course, the picture is very different for Amazon's techies, who enjoy the industry standard of high wages and lavish perks.

For now.

The tech industry is in the midst of three years' worth of mass layoffs: 260K in 2023, 150k in 2024, tens of thousands this year. None of this is due to a shortfall in profits, mind: Google laid off 12,000 workers just weeks after staging a stock buyback that would have funded their salaries for 27 years. Meta just announced a 5% across-the-board headcount cut and that it was doubling its executive bonuses.

In other words, tech is firing workers not because it must, but because it can. When workers depend on scarcity – instead of unions – as a source of power, they dig their own graves. For well-paid, scarcity-based coders, every new computer science graduate is the enemy, eroding the scarcity that your wages depend on.

Amazon coders get to come to work with pink mohawks, facial piercings, and black t-shirts that say things their bosses don't understand. They get to pee whenever they want to. That's not because Jeff Bezos is sentimentally attached to techies and bears personal animus toward warehouse workers. Jeff Bezos wants to pay his workforce as little as he can. He treats his tech workers with respect because he's afraid of them, because if they quit, he can't replace them, and without their work, he can't make money.

Once there's an army of unemployed coders who'll take your job, Jeff Bezos doesn't have to fear you anymore. He can fire you and replace you the next day.

Bezos is obviously incredibly horny for this. Like most tech bosses, he dreams of a world in which entitled hackers can't call their bosses dumbshits and decline to frog when they shout "jump!" That's why Amazon PR puts so much energy into trumpeting the business's use of AI to replace coders:

https://www.hrgrapevine.com/us/content/article/2024-08-22-amazon-cloud-ceo-warns-software-engineers-ai-could-replace-your-coding-work-within-2-years

It's not just that they're excited about firing coders and saving money – they're even more excited about transforming the job of "Amazon coder," from someone who solves complex technical problems to someone who performs tedious code review on automatically generated code barfed up by a chatbot:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/01/human-in-the-loop/#monkey-in-the-middle

"Code reviewer" is a much less fulfilling job than "programmer." Code reviewers are also easier to replace than programmers. A code reviewer is a reverse-centaur, a servant to the machine. Every time you hear "AI-assisted programmer," you should substitute "programmer-assisted AI."

Programming is even more bossware-ready than working in a warehouse. The machines coders use are much easier to fit with surveillance technology that monitors their performance – and spies on their communications, looking for dissenting chatter – than a warehouse floor. The only thing that stopped Jeff Bezos from treating his programmers like his warehouse workers is their scarcity. That scarcity is now going away.

That's bad news for Amazon customers, too. Tech workers often feel a sense of duty to their users, a "vocational awe" that drives them to put in long hours to make things their users will enjoy. The labor power of tech workers has long served as a check on the impulse to enshittify those products:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/25/moral-injury/#enshittification

As tech workers' power wanes, they don't just lose the ability to protect themselves from their bosses' greediest, most sadistic urges – they also lose the power to defend all of us. Smart tech workers know this. That's why Amazon tech workers walked out in support of Amazon warehouse workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/19/deastroturfing/#real-power

Which led to their prompt dismissal:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/14/abolish-silicon-valley/#hang-together-hang-separately

Tech worker/gig worker solidarity is the only way workers can win against tech bosses and defeat the shitty technology adoption curve:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/13/solidarity-forever/#tech-unions

Wiggin's report isn't just a snapshot of Amazon warehouse workers' dystopian present – it's a promise of Amazon tech workers' future. The future is here, in Amazon warehouses, and every day, it's getting closer to Amazon's technical offices.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/03/13/electronic-whipping/#youre-next

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[thediaryofaurora]

𖦹Kinktober Lineup𖦹

CW: NSFW, f!reader

A/N: I’ve never done Kinktober before, but in honor of my account’s first October I thought it would be a nice treat. At the bottom of this post is an end of Kinktober poll, if you’d like to cast your vote please do!

⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙

Week 1

Day 1 - Bondage / knife play - Jeff the Killer

Day 2 - Virginity loss / gentle fucking - Homicidal Liu

Day 3 - Car sex / stranded - Ticci Toby

Day 4 - Sex tape / double penetration - Tim Wright & Brian Thomas

Day 5 - Dry humping / hot boxing - BEN drowned

Day 6 - Breeding / monster fucking - Eyeless Jack

Day 7 - Pillow princess / praise - Bloody Painter

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Week 2

Day 8 - Sneaking out / rebelling - Ticci Toby

Day 9 - Face sitting / scissoring - Clockwork

Day 10 - Sensory deprivation - Jane the Killer

Day 11 - Cockwarming / Public sex - Jeff the Killer

Day 12 - Secret admirer / voyeurism - Hoodie

Day 13 - Pool party / mutual masturbation - Nina the Killer

Day 14 - Corruption / mentor - Masky

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Week 3

Day 15 - Shower sex / handjob - Homicidal Liu

Day 16 - Controlled vibrator / public - BEN drowned

Day 17 - Seven minutes in heaven - Kate the Chaser

Day 18 - Medical play / marking - Eyeless Jack

Day 19 - Hate sex / rough - Jeff the Killer

Day 20 - Stress relief / assistant - X Virus

Day 21 - Party / roof sex - Bloody Painter

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Week 4

Day 22 - Threesome / setup - Ticci Toby & Jeff the Killer

Day 23 - Sleepover / experimenting - Nina the Killer

Day 24 - Overstimulation / toy use - Brian Thomas

Day 25 - Orgasm denial / gentle praise - Jane the Killer

Day 26 - Rebound / 69 - Clockwork

Day 27 - Sneaking in / forbidden love - Kate the Chaser

Day 28 - Tentacles / choking - Slenderman

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Week 5

For the finale (Oct. 29 - Oct. 31) I will be posting a miniseries rather than the usual one shots! The poll below determines what the mini series will be about/ who it will be with. The results will be in after a week!

⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙⦿៙

[prokopetz]

Code Green

A game for 3–7 players, about being where you're not supposed to be.

Last night, you were suspended in a tube of brightly coloured goo in an underground research facility, operated by an organisation whose three-letter initialism's meaning is strictly need-to-know. This morning, someone noticed your tube was empty. Nobody has determined how that happened yet, and you're not inclined to stick around until they figure it out!

Or, in other words, it's been nearly a whole week since I got that massive revision to Space Gerbils out the door, and apparently my brain has decided that's enough of a break. This thing was written start to finish in under 12 hours, so let the circumstances of its authorship guide your expectations. Special thanks go once again to Caro Asercion, whose micro-RPG Dwindle introduced me to the design space I'm fucking around with here. Go buy their stuff.

Anyway:

What You'll Need

Code Green is a tabletop RPG for one game moderator (GM) and up to six players. Each player will need a copy of the Profile Grid, below, as well as three tokens of some sort: dice, coins, beads, etc. You'll also need at least five six-sided dice (for the whole group, not per player, though it's fine if each player has their own set). If you're using dice for tokens, it's recommended that the dice you plan to roll be visually distinguishable in case they land on someone's Profile Grid.

Rolling Dice

There are two ways you'll be asked to roll dice in this game: rolling d66, and rolling a dice pool.

To roll d66, roll a six-side die twice, reading the first roll as the "tens" place and the second roll as the "ones" place, yielding a number in the range from 11 to 66. For example, if you rolled a 3 and then a 5, your result is 35. You may also be asked to flip a d66 roll; to do this, take your result and swap the digits without re-rolling. In the preceding example, if you flipped your roll of 35, your new result would be 53.

To roll a dice pool, pick up the indicated number of six-side dice, roll them, and take the highest individual result. Duplicates have no special significance. For example, if you rolled a pool of three dice and got a 2, a 4, and a 4, your result would be 4. If you would ever roll a pool of zero or fewer dice, roll two dice and take the lowest instead.

Character Creation

Each player should create their own character. There are three things about your character which are always true:

You are newly born into the world. You may know things about the world (e.g., from your programming, having read them on a computer terminal, etc.), but you haven't experienced them.

You are implausibly good at remaining inconspicuous; unless you're deliberately drawing attention or doing something which requires a dice roll, humans will almost always fail to spot you.

You are not human. You can decide what that means.

To find out what else is true about your character, roll or choose three times from the Form table, and three times from the Function table, placing your results into the correspondingly labelled slots on the Profile Grid, below, in any order you please. Your three results from each table should be different; if you elected to roll and get the same entry multiple times, flip your result, and re-roll if it's still a duplicate.

Think about what your three Form traits and three Function traits imply about your character's physical makeup, but don't set anything in stone just yet – you'll see why not in a moment.

Finally, roll a six-sided die five times, and record the results in the order in which they're received. The resulting five-digit number is the only name your character has when play begins.

Table 1: Form (d66)

11–12. Blood 13–14. Bones 15–16. Brain 21–22. Claws 23–24. Ears 25–26. Eyes 31–32. Guts 33–34. Hands 35–36. Heart 41–42. Hair 43–44. Legs 45–46. Lungs 51–52. Nose 53–54. Skin 55–56. Tail 61–62. Teeth 63–64. Tongue 65–66. Wings

Table 2: Function (d66)

11–12. Accelerated 13–14. Autonomous 15–16. Auxiliary 21–22. Cryogenic 23–24. Cryptic 25–26. Elastic 31–32. Electric 33–34. Entropic 35–36. Invasive 41–42. Invulnerable 43–44. Kinetic 45–46. Magnetic 51–52. Phasing 53–54. Polymorphic 55–56. Projectile 61–62. Pyrogenic 63–64. Telescopic 65–66. Toxic

Playing the Game

Play proceeds in a series of scenes. In each scene, the GM will set the stage: a challenge to overcome, a peril to escape, a mystery to investigate, etc. Given the nature of your characters, most things will be mysteries to you!

Initial Token Placement

Once the stage has been set, place each of your three tokens on a different square on your Profile Grid. If you have no preference, you can roll d66 for each token and place it in the square whose marked numeric range contains the number you rolled, flipping or re-rolling your result if you get a square which already contains a token. The placement of these tokens represents your initial state when the scene opens. Depending on the nature of your character, this may be reflected by a shifting of internal focus, or by a physical transformation.

Participation

To participate in the scene, simply tell the GM what your character does; the GM will describe how the world responds, and ask what you do next. Whenever you wish – or are forced – to do something more than lurk and observe, you are obliged to make a test.

Making Tests

To make a test, first choose a pair of traits – one Form trait, and one Function trait – with which to face the challenge. For example, if your Form traits are Legs, Tail and Teeth, and your Function traits are Cryptic, Invulnerable and Phasing, you might test your Invulnerable Legs against the trouble at hand.

Next, count the number of tokens present in the rows extending from each of the chosen traits. The illustration below shows which squares would be consulted in the preceding example:

Next, roll a dice pool containing a number of dice equal to the number of tokens present on squares extending from the chosen traits. Do not count a token twice if it's on the square where the two traits intersect (e.g., the green square in the illustration above). In the event that no tokens fall on squares extending from appropriate traits, remember that you are allowed to roll a pool of zero dice by rolling two dice and taking the lowest rather than the highest.

Finally, compare your result to the following table:

1–3. Less than human. Whatever you'd intended to try still happens, but it cannot overcome human opposition (or adversity which would challenge a typical human), and any lasting effects are transitory and easily explained away. 4–5. Mostly human. Your effort can contend with human opposition (or circumstances which would challenge a competent human), and its lasting effects make it obvious that someone (or something) has been interfering with matters. 6. More than human. Your effort easily brushes aside any human opposition, and its lasting effects are impossible to rationalise as anything other than the intervention of inhuman forces.

Without Applicable Traits

In the event that you're forced to make a test and no possible pairing of your traits is applicable, you don't get to roll anything, not even with a pool of zero dice; simply resolve the outcome as though you'd rolled a result of 1–3. Other characters may attempt to preserve you from this fate by assisting you, in which case you roll one die per assisting friend; see below for more details.

Assistance

If you wish to assist another character in making a test, consult your own Profile Grid, considering only those squares which contain tokens. Only the specific pairs of traits represented by the squares on which your tokens fall are eligible for assistance; for example, if one of your tokens falls on the intersection of Cryptic and Teeth, you may assist with Cryptic Teeth, but not any other pair of traits involving Cryptic or Teeth unless those squares also have tokens on them.

If you're able to identify an eligible pair of traits that seems applicable to the test at hand, explain how you're using it to help, and hand the player making the test one extra die. Any number of characters may assist on a given test.

Providing assistance neither requires nor permits your character to adapt (see below) – it needs to be your own test for that!

Adapting

After resolving a test, your character adapts, shifting focus or form to reflect what they've learned. Take one token of your choice from your character sheet, and move it to a different square which doesn't already contain one. You can move any token you wish, but it must end up on a different square than the one it started on unless no valid destinations are available. Adapting is not optional, and must be carried out after every test.

Suffering Strain

If whatever you're making a test against is particularly strenuous or dangerous, you might suffer strain as a consequence. Strain will often be incurred on a result of 1–3, and rarely on a result of 4–5; only the most foolhardy efforts will incur strain even on a result of 6!

To incur strain, roll d66, and place a small X on the square on your Profile Grid whose indicated numeric range contains the number you rolled. If there's a token on that square, immediately move it to an empty square of your choice, unless fewer than three unmarked squares now remain; in that case, simply remove the token entirely.

For the remainder of the scene, tokens may not be moved to any marked square. In addition, if you suffer further strain, and the square indicated by your d66 roll is already marked, your character is incapacitated, and may not participate in tests at all until they recover.

All strain is cleared – and any discarded tokens restored – at the end of each scene. Incapacitated characters also recover at this time.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Getting hot under the collar and in the kitchen and on the pool table and...

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Aug 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) eps 3-4 of 12 - one of the things I'm enjoying about this show is the fact that the introverted super shy uke is having hot fantasies, and the extroverted seme is having the sweet fantasies. It's another way this show is highlighting God being the world's greenest flagged seme BL has ever produced. (And he's being given stiff competition this year - trend alert.)

Anygay: God is so cute and so not cool and so in love and all the consent asking word salad coming out of this boy. I LOVE him. 

Diew: It’s ep 4 so I’ve decided we can talk face-to-face.  God: So how many children do you want? 

The teaching him to play basketball bit, where God politely asks to hold his hand, is so freaking adorable I can’t.

I'm thinking of calling this show the anti-Mame pill.

Blue pill? Red pill? GREEN pill!

My Love Mix-Up Th (Fri YT) ep 11 of 12 - We gotta talk. I do like this version, but it’s starting to feel lackluster. Perhaps it always was by comparison to the bright sparkle uniqueness of the original. Perhaps I didn't notice because I was distracted by G4. But now I gotta say it's become a bit disappointing and even my love for G4 can’t seem to bind me to this. Frankly, this show is making me want to watch either the Japanese version, or My School President. It’s never a good sign when a currently airing BL makes me want to stop that and go rewatch an old one I’ve already seen.

NO SINGING.

Meanwhile, the "locked on the rooftop" trope! I haven’t seen that one in years. Cool. Also cute kisses. They learning. 

This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans (Fri iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - I can’t believe this is ending next week. But also I can. And I have thoughts.

I really love SailubPon. They might be one of my favorite newer pairs on the scene right now. But I just don’t believe in these characters or this couple. I don’t feel like they are going to have a lasting relationship. It feels like they’re just using each other for sex and distraction, and that’s how the script to set it up, and as a result they’re never gonna make it as a couple. As soon as the sexual fire between them burns out, what do they have to build a relationship on? Frankly? That would be fine if this were a modern love drama, and not a BL. But this IS a BL.

Putting the health code violators aside, I really do believe in the secondary pair, but they haven’t been given enough bandwidth to develop as a couple. There’s no way they’re going to adequately resolve Methas and JJ in the final episode.

At this juncture, I’m mostly finding this show annoying. Which in itself is annoying, because I wanted to love it.

Why is it that Thailand, the land of the best food in the world, king of BLs, struggles so hard to produce the restaurant set BL of my dreams? I’m really pissed about this.

That said, the Methas & JJ stuff is killer. Loved JJ running away. So good. Plus the age old decision - love or money? 

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 2-3 of 12 - The issue was me and I've managed to get hold of this show again. The story within the story is so ridiculously badly written I'm going spare. I’m not sure if the outside show is not ALSO badly written. That said, I do love how the 3 writer friends are all shipping our leads. It’s VERY silly. Meanwhile, cohabitation trope is a go. 

I like the side couple too. Stern Daddy + lost puppy is a very cute dynamic, I hope we get more than just crumbs. I actually am enjoying this show now. Ep 3 kinda derailed into this weird chimera novel that they’re all writing together and I’m finding that bit the least interesting, but I adore the domestic components which I think may turn out to be TutorYim's strength (if they're allowed to lean into it). 

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - Man I hope this gets some kind of distribution at some point. It was a pain to find and watch. But I enjoyed it. The focus is more on the seme in Thailand’s version. Which I don’t mind since that's rare in BL, and it’s more August on my screen. It’s all round softer than China’s version but still feels very familiar. I know some fans are struggling with it, but not me.

Sunset X Vibes (Sat iQIYI) ep 10 of 12 - I like that Sam’s crafty business espionage has paid off. Them teasing Sam & Yo really had me belly laughing. It was so funny.

Legitimate question. Would one put perfume on one’s cheeks in Thailand, as one does on wrist or sternum? Because of the sniff cheek thing? Scented face powders?

I do feel like with MosBank & SailubPon scorching up our screens, we’re being spoiled by some of Thailand‘s best high heat pairs at the moment.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 5 of 12 - It remains kind of sweet and cute. It's also calm and slow moving. Oddly it reminds me of La Cuisine in its style and execution (if not content). I’m enjoying it more than I thought I would.

The Trainee (Sun YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - I don’t know. I’m getting bored.

Love Sea (Sun iQIYI) ep 10fin - Fort’s acting during the break-up was truly great. But I feel for Rak. It’s rough to learn that someone else is playing a long game with feelings while you were playing a short game with d**k.

Ultimately this is probably a solid 8/10 show but I’m mad I wasn’t madder at it, and I'm mad I was so bored throughout. So it gets a 7/10 and let us not speak of this again. I’d like to simply forget about it. Trash watch.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 1-2 of 10 - OMG a uni student who looks young and a... COP! GAH. The subversion and kink of it all. I had to go grey to get it and I hate everything about what I had to do. But ya know what? Fucking worth every single repeated crash-causing advertisement.

I love it. The grumpy lonely little student cook and the cheerful mature police officer. What a fabulous dynamic. Is the cook looking for a boyfriend or a Daddy, and do we care if it has the same result? It is filmed VERY manga style camp. I’m a little nervous about that, but this means it’s also very fluffy and so damn sweet. It made me squeak with the cute. I’m gutted this didn’t get distribution.

Ironic that Tawada Hideya is in a new BL while Sunspot is re-airing.

Cosmetic Playlover (Japan Tues Gaga) eps 3-4 of 8 - Ah, the gays are doubting the bisexual again. How familiar. I like how this one is paced and moving through time, even if the relationship seems to be going comparatively slowly by contrast. I love the way Sahashi is always looking at Natsume, even when they’re in conversation with someone else. Ah yearning. I think the conflict was kind of inevitable, given the two personalities of the protagonists, and I like that. (No manufactured angst here.) But I still hope they can repair the breach and I’m still interested. Frankly this is so classically Japan - I don’t know what story beats it’s following and I’m not entirely sure where it’s going, but I kinda like that unpredictability. Makes me think it could go into "must you, Japan?" territory but fingers crossed.

I Hear the Sunspot AKA Hidamari ga Kikoeru (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - I'm enjoying it very much. I could do without the girl character. I know she’s more interesting than most (this is Japan after all), but she’s not really for me. It’s the complexity of the connection between the leads (and why they like each other) that’s being executed so brilliantly in this show (and in the manga, FYI). Both actors are so on point with their roles and the nuanced emotions required of these characters that every time it’s only them interacting I'm riveted. I could do without the rest of the cast tho.

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 1 of 8 - I have a confession to make, I’ve been watching this whole series as it goes along. But this is the pair I absolutely like the most. I’m not sure I would necessarily recommend any of the installments, and I’m not sure how this one is going to go, but I’m VERY invested in this particular couple. They are so pretty!!!! This is a true friends-to-lovers struggle. I like that a lot. (Reminds me of I Cannot Reach You but a different dynamic.) Did I mention how pretty they are? And we already know they gonna kiss well. I bet the uncut version is stellar.

Meet You at the Blossom (China) - It's no one's funeral, turns out! Reports are in - not only are there kisses but it ends happily with wedding plans. So I'm eating crow, binging the fucker, and live blogging. I'm enjoying it. Ya'll know I adored Chinese BL before censorship. It has a certain unhinged quality I very much apreciate (and is the reason I'm so tolerant of the Thai pulps) that I think will marry well with Wuxia's effervescent and ever-present tropes. Watch me suffer here.

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) eps 1-2 of 12 - About a singer with stage fright and his timid fan starring Charles (H4 the puppy one) and Michael Chang (the youngster in My Tooth Your Love), plus side couple featuring a Thai actor Jame (Koh in Gen Y) and Liu Min Ting (of Guardian fame). What a damn team. With their powers combined they are...

fine.

This is a fine BL. The fight scene was fun and I like the meet cute. I’m not sure about the chemistry of the leads, but I think they’ll probably do okay. I admit I’m struggling a bit with a singing and the music. Are you surprised? I think I like it enough, but I’m not wowed.

Takara's Treasure AKA Takara No Vidro (Japan Mon Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Oh! Out of the blue attack kiss. What IS this show? I don’t get it at all. Bah. I guess they’re dating now. It’s… so odd...

It's airing but...

4 Minutes (Thai Netflix/Grey) - A rich boy at uni suddenly gains the supernatural power to see four minutes into the future. I have a source, but I've decided to hold off and binge if it ends okay, since it's only 8 eps. I depend upon y'all to tell me if it's safe.

8/16 The Last Time (Thai Fri YT) ? eps - Convoluted story of loss and possible reincarnation or something. Again delayed? Not sure what's going on with this one but the continued push-backs do not bode well.

In case you missed it

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer IS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!!!! (Yeah this is gonna sit here until then).

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming This Month!

8/22 The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) 12 eps - announced in 2023 this one has a high school set stepbrothers trope and is reputed to be high heat. From Taiwan! It's made for me. Based on a novel Mou Mou from the Your Name Engraved Herein folks, so it could go dark. Still, I'm very excited.

8/22 The Paradise of Thorns (Thai movie) theater release - Jeff Satur is back but this does not look like a BL (the gay lover's death is the inciting event). More in Goodbye Mother vein. Looks dark and dramatic. He opposite and extremely well known actor Toey Pongsakorn who has never done gay before.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

WHY IS HE SO FINE?

I truly belly laughed. Sam & Yo did not go in the direction I expected, but this scene alone made me not mind that they curtailed the suffering Sam was rightfully due. (SunsetXVibes)

Tall boyfriend armpit, anyone? (Monster Next Door)

The two extremes of BL in one show (Long Beans indeed).

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

[suzuran777]

BL game magazine Cool-B will be ceasing publication this month

After 20 years, BL visual novel magazine Cool-B is publishing its final issue at the end of this month. As someone who was always looking forward to the new information featured in the magazine, I'm sad to see it go, though I do understand the reasoning behind it. Due to rising manufacturing costs, in 2024 Cool-B was re-branded to Cool-B Kiwami, and the publishing schedule was changed to quarterly instead of bi-monthly. So for some time, it seemed like the magazine would continue with this new schedule. However, unfortunately in October 2024, another announcement was made on their social media in which they mentioned that the magazine would end publication in January 2025, as the contract with their publisher was also coming to an end.

Compared to 20 or even 10 years ago, the BL visual novel market has changed a lot and the number of newly released games is much smaller nowadays. Despite that, Cool-B continued publishing information, working closely with BL visual novel writers and artists to publish short stories and illustrations. The opinions of fans were important to them too, as they would organize yearly popularity polls and included game sales statistics and information about which new games people were looking forward to the most. The magazine's editors always seemed passionate about their work and even in their final statement, they mentioned that they want to find a way to continue, though right now they are unsure how.

Cool-B started publication in 2005, though its predecessor Binetsu Ouji released its first issue in 2002. Around this time, there were several other magazines which published information about BL visual novels, which I've written about in this blog post. All of them were eventually discontinued, which resulted in Cool-B becoming the only BL visual novel magazine. The other day the official Twitter/X account revealed the cover of the final issue, and instead of featuring a single game on the cover, they decided to include all of the previous covers. The text "最終号:BLゲームは不滅です" roughly translates to ''Final issue: BL games are immortal" implying that there will always be BL game creators who are passionate about their projects who will continue making new games in the future. And I think they're right, as earlier this week Parade (known for NO, THANK YOU!!!, Room No.9 and Lkyt.) announced their fourth game "lesson" which is scheduled to be released this year. The cover of the final Cool-B issue also teases a completely new project by Yura from Tennenouji (known for Miracle No-ton, Luckydog1 and Friendly Lab) as well as a completely voiced remake of a BL visual novel that was released in 2001 called Seraphim Spiral. Carnelian's new project Tokyo Gentou (or Tokyo Phantasmagoria) is also scheduled to be released this year, as well as the second part of Ooe which many BL fans are looking forward to, as part 1 was incredibly well received.

Including the final issue, Cool-B published 118 issues of the magazine between 2005 and 2025. They also had their own otome game magazines, Sweet Princess and Bitter Princess. As it's a bit difficult to see what's on each cover in the image above, I uploaded another image which should make it a bit easier to see. I also compiled a list of all the games/game franchises featured on each cover which you can check below. Some official game titles are rather long, so sometimes I wrote the name fans typically use when they refer to these games, but I think you should still be able to find it on vndb (visual novel database) if you want to learn more about these games.

1) Gakuen Heaven. 2) White Shadow. 3) Hanamachi Monogatari. 4) Torus Zero. 5) Lamento. 6) Messiah. 7) Gakuen Heaven. 8) Laughter Land. 9) Messiah. 10) Lamento. 11) Lamento. 12) Kichiku Megane. 13) Magia Mystica. 14) Ore no Shita de Agake. 15) Square na Kankei. 16) Maid★Hajimemashita. 17) Messiah. 18) Fanatica. 19) Togainu no Chi. 20) sweet pool. 21) Messiah. 22) sweet pool. 23) Kichiku Megane. 24) Luckydog1. 25) Hanakage. 26) Luckydog1. 27) Gakuen Heaven. 28) Hanakage. 29) Luckydog1. 30) STEAL! 31) sweet pool/Lamento/Togainu no Chi. 32) Luckydog 1. 33) Gakuen Heaven. 34) Togainu no Chi. 35) DRAMAtical Murder. 36) Gakuen Heaven.

37) Luckydog1. 38) Shingakkou. 39) Luckydog1. 40) Taishou Mebiusline. 41) Luckydog1. 42) DRAMAtical Murder. 43) Luckydog1. 44) DRAMAtical Murder. 45) DRAMAtical Murder. 46) Luckydog1. 47) DRAMAtical Murder. 48) Omertà. 49) DRAMAtical Murder. 50) Gakuen Heaven. 51) Luckydog1. 52) Si-Nis-Kanto. 53) Omertà. 54) Taishou Mebiusline. 55) Luckydog1. 56) DRAMAtical Murder. 57) DRAMAtical Murder. 58) Luckydog1. 59) Tsumi naru Rasen no Ori. 60) Togainu no Chi. 61) Gakuen Heaven. 62) Tokyo Onmyouji. 63) Luckydog1. 64) Luckydog1. 65) Taishou Mebiusline. 66) Luckydog1. 67) Togainu no Chi/Lamento/sweet pool/DRAMAtical Murder. 68) New World Order. 69) Luckydog1. 70) Luckydog1. 71) Taishou Mebiusline. 72) Omega Vampire.

73) Luckydog1. 74) Togainu no Chi/Lamento/sweet pool/DRAMAtical Murder. 75) Taishou Mebiusline. 76) Luckydog1. 77) Hashihime. 78) Paradise. 79) Luckydog1. 80) Luckydog1. 81) Paradise. 82) Nie no Machi. 83) Luckydog1. 84) Omega Vampire. 85) Luckydog1. 86) Nie no Machi. 87) Luckydog1. 88) Luckydog1. 89) Uuultra C. 90) Tokyo 24-ku. 91) Friendly Lab. 92) Lkyt. 93) Uuultra C. 94) Dystopia no Ou. 95) Uuultra C. 96) Slow Damage. 97) Luckydog1. 98) Tokyo 24-ku. 99) Hashihime. 100) Luckydog1. 101) Luckydog1. 102) Hashihime. 103) Friendly Lab. 104) Suito wa Hakumei. 105) Haiiro no Arcadia. 106) Hashihime. 107) Hashihime. 108) Hashihime. 109) NU:Carnival. 110) Tokyo Satsujinki. 111) Friendly Lab. 112) Luckydog1. 113) Hashihime. 114) Psychic Eclipse. 115) Luckydog1. 116) Ooe. 117) Luckydog1/Friendly Lab/Miracle Noton.

Some additional information which I thought was interesting -There are three games featured on the cover of the magazine that were never actually released and cancelled, which are White Shadow (2), Torus Zero (4) and New World Order (68), so you won't be able to find these on vndb as it unfortunately deletes these entries. I did include all three of them in a previous post about cancelled/unreleased BL visual novels if you want to check them out! (I just noticed all the typos in these older blog posts…please bear with me). Two of these game developers are still around, as Core recently returned as Procyon, and Holicworks still releases games, so perhaps some of their ideas were re-purposed, or scrapped for other ideas. There's actually a fourth game which hasn't been released yet which is Suito wa Hakumei featured on issue 104, though its status is currently unknown.

-In total, 31 of the covers feature characters from the Luckydog1 games, therefore Tennenouji is also the creator that was featured the most on the covers. Friendly Lab also has 3 covers (4 if you include the one with all of the Tennenouji game characters), therefore the total number of Tennenouji covers is 34, which is almost 40% of the covers. I'm assuming that Cool-B staff always worked closely with Yura, but Luckydog1 does have many different games, with the covers featuring Luckydog1, Gian-carlo's LUCKY HAPPY LIFE, Gian no Tame Nara Sekai o Kowasu, Luckydog1 + Badegg, Mr. Giancarlo and the Vita and Nintendo Switch ports of the first game. In the 117th issue, Yura did mention that the series was finished now with the release of the PC version of Mr. Giancarlo, and that she wants to focus on a completely different series now.

-The company with the second largest number of covers is Nitro+CHiRAL, with a total of 20 covers (about 23%). Among the Nitro+CHiRAL, games, DRAMAtical Murder has the most covers, advertising the first game, fandisc, anime and vita port. Of course, Nitro+Chiral is also known for its crossovers between their own games, so there are multiple covers which feature characters from different games together, promoting events such as the Chiral Night. Some of these feature the Chiral Night's mascot Naito-kun as well.

By the way, the magazine would always come with different postcards if you pre-ordered it from a specific website, and these postcards would feature new art from even more games, so fans had a lot of things they could collect. These were limited-edition, but you can still find people selling them second-hand on websites like Surugaya, Yahoo auctions, Mercari and more. Other than publishing magazines, Cool-B also released several artbooks, such as the Hashihime, Uuultra C, and Taishou Mebiusline official artbooks. I'm not quite sure what will happen to the sales of this as other stores like Stellaworth also sell them and they're often out of stock, but only time will tell.

To conclude this, I do hope they will be able to continue publishing information as they're clearly passionate about what they do. I always had a lot of fun guessing what kind of game would be on the next cover, as well as collecting postcards of games I liked. It's kind of sad that any future games won't have this, as the magazine would often publish original short stories and promotional material about these new games too. Even if the development of some games took a long time, it never really felt long as we would usually get updates every two months when Cool-B was released. Cool-B would often publish new chapters of manga too, such as the Paradise and Hashihime manga, so I do wonder what will happen to these and if they will be published somewhere else.

[kaidanworkshop]

Workshop Update: January Update

Howdy Workshop Spectators! This is a pretty thick update, so please read through it carefully.

It's been a little over a month since our initial release; excluding a few minor bugs, it's gone exceedingly smooth. We'll be rolling out our first round of bug fixes soon; we thank you for your continued patience!

To that end, we're incredibly thrilled to have clinched a spot for Nexus's January Mod of the Month! The reception from the community at large has been overwhelmingly positive, and the Staff is humbled by your praise.

Speaking of the Staff; for those of you who have applied to join the Workshop staff, all candidates have received their respective set of follow-up questions. You have until February 10th to respond with your answers, or you will be removed from the candidacy pool.

Moving right along, the Workshop's Two Year Anniversary is coming up on February 27th! We'll be hosting a celebration on the server on both the 27th & 28th -- the event invite will be shared next week, so look forward to it.

We'll be going over the 2024-2025 End of Year budget report, presenting our new budget proposal for the next leg of our project, and showing off some of the new Workshop Original scripts we have cooking behind the scenes. Additionally, we'll be going over the results of the newest community poll.

As we focus in on creating new Kaidan content, one of the core problems our Writing Team has run into is how to handle his morality with regards to certain choices the player can make. In short, the moral compass of the original iteration of Kaidan is effectively centered around the Player; there aren't any quests or objectives that are too 'evil' to deter his support of the Player.

While functionally this does allow for players to keep him throughout their playthrough, regardless of their actions, it also makes Kaidan's existing narrative regarding redemption and carving his own path fall flat (kind of hard to say you're a changed man if you're only mildly miffed that the Player blotted out the sun). Our writers feel that there are certain 'points of no return' that Kaidan would narratively have; where if a Player insisted on engaging in certain questlines or decisions (e.g. blotting out the sun), Kaidan would refuse to be morally complicit.

Therefore, we bring this query to you all: should Kaidan's moral compass be player-centric, or should it be narrative-centric?

A narrative-centric Kaidan would have questlines that he would refuse to participate in, scaling all the way up to possibly leaving your employ (or worse if you're married - the betrayal! the angst!). A player-centric Kaidan might complain about your evil ways, but will never leave the player.

Besides that doozy of a question, we're also seeking some feedback regarding the inclusion of the legacy wedding clothing (do you use it? can we overhaul them into something nicer?), as well as what to do with our beloved Autumnwatch (how would you feel about us moving the location? what about a full design overhaul?).

You can find the poll here -- voting ends on February 14th, 11:59PM CST.

As always, we thank you for your continued support!

[cacti-cuddles]

(Credit to @ costcochurros on X for the Google Sheet template)

This is what Sylus mains mean when we say that he's basically a P2W character. I could already tell that certain name wasn't appearing as much when cataloguing my whole wish history, but seeing the result layed out like this is really depressing. Other people have been comparing their rates and 11% seems to be the magic number.

Majority of those pulls are just 3 stars. This is what my 4 star pulls look like between LIs

If you want to clear content as a Sylus main or level up his affinity, you have to basically get every single one of his limited cards. With Caleb's upcoming release and no news of Sylus getting his missing content (and it looks like Caleb will be in the same boat of having 50% less than OG3), the drop pool is going to be even more diluted. The chances of pulling either of their cards are going to drop even lower.

Players have every right to be angry and disapointed. We're not asking for Sylus to have more content than other LIs, we just want him to have what others had at launch. We've heard all the excuses for why this is happening. "You'll just have to be patient, he'll get them eventually", "He's new so of course he has less content", "They couldn't make them due to production issues", "His release was rushed because of leaks". Paper doesn't seem to have any trouble pumping out limited cards every few weeks and Sylus isn't exactly new anymore. And the leak one is just blatantly false: it was only his teaser that was leaked, Sylus was always going to be released in July. People can glaze the company all they want, but Paper has had six months to fix this issue.

On a side note: can we also talk about how unfair bounty hunt is for Sylus. In order to get materials to level up those few memories you manage to scrounge up, you'll have to farm all three different crystal hunts. There's not enough exp bottles and gold to "waste" them on other LIs and all the yellow, purple and red crystals are collecting dust on your account.

[wileys-russo]

If Arsenal want to compete with Chelsea next season and attract big name players in the summer as well as keeping some of our big name players then we’re gonna need some big performances, the rest of the champions league run has to be spectacular none of this underestimating teams.

If they want to keep the fan base growing and keep with the stadium sell outs then they need to play with a bit of fire. There was no consistency or drive to really win that game everything just seemed far too slow - passes, reactions and speed there were too many loose balls.

Arsenal seemed like they were still rattled from the West Ham game. I’m seeing a lot of hate on specific players calling for them to leave as soon as possible as if these weren’t the same players being praised just a week ago for the West Ham result.

Im all for criticising players/teams performance but not to the point where it’s one player taking the brunt of it when it was the whole team that had a poor game. I will say that Renee got the subs all wrong and that had a factor in the loss as well but the damage had already been done by then, half the players didn’t even seem like they wanted to be there.

It’s simple you win AS A TEAM and you lose AS A TEAM.

Anyway rant over.

the way the only trophy we're still in contention for is the champions league makes me giggle, fumbled the subway cup and the league and people are still shouting we can beat the likes of lyon and barcelona please have you been watching??

unfortunately we have a lot of work to do in terms of recruiting and cementing subs that have both trust in themseles and trust from the coaching staff that they're on the same level of reliability as RS's preferred starting 11

we also need to kick wheatleys old tired ass to the curb and get a manager who actually see's the flaws in the club and not just bandaid solutions, such as our diversity issue, lack of injury covering and players who play week in and week out like they want to be there and want to win

we lost so many strong potential signings in the last window and though theres still a very viable pool of options for the next transfer period, that pool gets more and more shallow the less favourable a club we seem to move to with poor results and a dissapointing lack of silverware for the season

we move for the 25-26 season and cross fingers and toes we don't bottle it from the get go again!

[leomitchellart]

This month’s prompt lead me on a journey of discovery, let me tell you...

I was down to the last week, the last two and a half days, with so many concepts but no idea which thumbnail I wanted to use. After hitting a brick wall and getting so frustrated I nearly chucked something, I had one option left: Just do the most basic lines, then let the paint do all the work. No careful planning or structure, just keep putting paint to paper until something appears. What happened next was not only one of my most interesting pieces yet, but a much needed detox. ‘Stress finally leaving my body, feeling like a whole new artist as I took the pressure off to try something new. My entire mood did a whole 180 in 24 hours.

When I did different studies and textures for the pool water, I had one with pink lines mixed in and thought it was a pity I couldn’t use it. Then I had an idea, with my previous dragon egg pieces still on the brain, I bought these wooden ones, ready to paint. There was some trial and error on medium; inks ran off, oils were okay but I forgot how long they took to dry, then some acrylic paints I had squirrelled away proved to be just right. It was elating! Playing with acrylics again took me back to when I was a little girl, doing Art Attack pape mâché projects at my grandmother’s house.

Since the paints are quick-drying, I did another, going for the billiards meaning for Pool. First was the 11-ball, since this was our 11th prompt. Then the 8-ball would be another fun experience, because I had a packet of 6 paints that were gifted to me - black wasn’t among them. So I had to make my own black using the three primary colours. ❤️💙💛 It blew my mind that it worked, and it just made the result so much satisfying Now I feel a whole new creative side woke-up, and I’m so excited to do more! It’s true what they say, “Creativity is a response to limitation”.

[torchship-rpg]

Dev Diary 11 - Special Checks

Welcome back, Cosmonauts!

Today, we’re going to be talking more about some of the systems in Torchship. As mentioned previously, Torchship uses systems of telescoping complexity to regulate how many mechanics you’re bringing in at a time. At one end is the core system of rolling dice for Checks and investigating things, which can be used in a pinch for just about anything. On the other are the specific costs, penalties, and conditions of hazards, tool making, repairs, and combat, all the detail we could possibly pack in and everything we could think of that might be relevant, if you wanted it. 

In between we have a set of intermediate mechanics called Special Checks. Special Checks are variations on the regular Check with a bit more detail specific to what you’re doing with them. The Medical Checks from last week are an example of Special Checks; they are ways for your specialist in that area to feel like they are engaging in their job specifically when it matters.

Many Special Checks have further associated mechanics in their own chapters (the same way Hazards will lead directly into the kinds of Harm players experience), but we define them up front with broader terms because we know we can’t possibly cover everything, and you don’t always want to bring play to a halt to look up how much a repair might cost if it's not the central beat of your episode’s story. 

So, let’s talk Special Checks, and all the weird ways you might roll dice.

Leadership & Institutions

While Star Patrol doesn’t have formal ranks, it still has leaders. The Admin Department is tasked with organisation and management, keeping everyone on task and coordinating between groups, and when emergencies strike it’s helpful to know who to listen to if you don’t know what you should be doing. 

When you’re leading a work team of characters, PCs or NPCs, you build your dice pool the way you usually do, but with a few modifiers depending on the availability of tools, the relevant expertise, and if you actually have enough people to do the job. Otherwise, it’s a pretty straightforward roll, treated like any other.

The other thing an Admin character might find themselves doing is coordinating with, leading, or relying on an institution bigger than a work team, like trying to coordinate the healthcare system of a planet fighting a deadly plague. In this case, you roll your Check like you normally would, but you’re using the institution as a tool, building it with the same tool level system as everything else. The 5d6 computer-coordinated government agency of an industrial world is going to make running a census much easier and more accurate than doing it with the 3d6 bureaucracy that has to do everything with styluses and clay.

Of course, while ‘specialised’ makes sense for institutions-as-tools, ‘emplaced’ doesn’t. That’s why, instead, that extra +1d6 is gated behind if the institution you’re using is legitimate, which is to say, if the people the institution is working with see it as The Proper Doers Of The Thing. If you’re tracking down a person fleeing from justice, you’re a lot more likely to get results if people view the local law enforcement as having real claim to being the law of the land, rather than simply being occupiers.

Negotiation

Gee Administration, why does mum let you have two Special Checks?

One of the things Star Patrol ends up doing a lot is negotiations, both as a participant and as an arbitrator. In both cases we use the same system, but in one it’s you rolling against the person you’re negotiating with, and in the other its you trying to get two squabbling sides to compromise.

In either case, negotiation takes place as a series of Opposed Checks over a central issue; if you’re a participant, this is the thing you’re arguing over, while if you’re a mediator, Star Patrol’s demands are “Talk about this like adults” and the participants’ demands are “Don’t wanna!!” Winning the Opposed Check also strengthens your position as your rhetoric and posturing gives you an increasing advantage; eventually one side will have to either concede the central issue or quit in a huff and be seen as the one who made negotiations break down.

Negotiation is accompanied by the offering of Concessions, promises by one side or the other that, if a deal is eventually agreed on, will be honoured. Having a concession accepted means you take a die from their pool and add it to your own; if you’re making good-faith offers, it strengthens your position. When you’re arbitrating, you’re the one proposing concessions between the two parties, dragging them kicking and screaming towards making some kind of deal.

Hacking

Signals is the Cert for using computers and communication equipment, but because we don’t just want you to be the one who informs the captain there’s a new message coming in, you have some modern tricks up your sleeve in the form of hacking. 

Hacking Checks are made against a different difficulty than usual, a sort of Opposed Check where the system has already rolled the dice. This difficulty is the Security Rating, determined by what kind of system you’re infiltrating and how advanced it is. Oh, right, ‘hacking’ doesn’t just apply to electronic computer systems; you can one hundred percent hack any kind of decision-making system. If you forge the King’s wax seal and slip orders in his handwriting into the mailbag heading to his vassal? That’s hacking, baby!

Your excess Successes above the Security Rating earn you Actions, stuff you can do once you’re in the system before you get noticed and booted out. You can use this to subvert the systems on an enemy rocket, shut down incoming missiles, steal or insert information, spy through cameras, open doors… you know, hacking stuff. You can also add backdoors to make it easier to come back next time.

Because the Security Rating on many important systems will be somewhat insurmountable, there’s a special kind of Investigation Checklist for computers where you can gather edges. This is where you can engage in the fun social engineering and physical theft that, in real life, makes up a large amount of real hacking, acquiring passwords or inserting devices into computers to make them easier to subvert.

We also have some guidelines for how you might hack systems in unusual situations; you can hack any computer that takes in any information from the outside world (as data sanitation is not always practised with nearly the thoroughness it should), and if you’re dealing with a device that runs on machine learning and takes natural language input, you can use prompt injection. Thanks, real life, for making ‘Kirk talks the computer to death’ into hard science fiction!

You also get to roll to oppose hacking if somebody else does it to you, even if the Signals character isn’t actually aware the hacking is happening; after all, as the admin, you’d be responsible for setting up the defences.

Invention & Repairs

We’ll go into this more in the specific chapters where it’s most relevant, but Engineering characters are often going to be making tools, fixing things, and making tools for the purposes of fixing things. These special Checks handle those situations; they use most of the normal Check mechanics, but with an added framework for costs and time.

So when you’re faced with something broken, the GM lays out what it’ll cost to fix it, in Supply or otherwise. You then choose the ‘level’ of repair you’re attempting. A ‘patch fix’ is fast and cheap, but you can’t ever get a full success doing it, meaning that it’s never perfect; you’re just getting the system online, even if the results are unsafe or use resources you could have used elsewhere. Jury rigging a solution will fix the problem, but never permanently, so it’ll do for now. A proper repair takes the longest amount of time, but you can reroll it over and over for a small amount of additional Supply until you get it right; it’s what you do if there’s no time or cost pressure.

Invention is a bit more complicated, but in summary, you take the tools you have to build a new tool with them, where a full success gets you the new device at the cost of time and resources, of equal tech level to the tool you used to make it. The more complex the device, the more Disadvantage you face, and insufficient successes mean you need to make compromises that might reduce its tech level or place limitations on the results.

When we talk about tools in more detail, we’ll go into the specifics; tool-building is one of the game’s major complex systems, with the ability to make almost anything!

Attacks & Defence

If you’re Security or Tactical, Astrogation during space combat, or stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might end up making attacks and defence rolls. While there are combat subsystems in the game to handle the details, you don’t always need to interact with the full set to roll attack and defence; sometimes it’s just a shooting gallery, sometimes you’re using your weapons as demolition devices, sometimes you’re just resolving an attack quickly because the story is happening elsewhere.

Attacks & Defence are always rolled as Opposed Checks, but with very specific dice pools. Your Attack is determined by your weapon and the Certs relevant to it, which is pretty straightforward, while Defence is more complicated and situationally dependent. In space or other vehicles, you’ll often be rolling the vehicle’s Evade stat, a dice pool which is derived from how nimble it is. If you’re facing incoming missiles, though, you might try to shoot them down with point defence instead. Sometimes you don’t even get a roll; there’s nothing you can do about a laser beam except pray the screens hold.

On foot, you often have to make a decision between dodging the attack, trying to block it with an object, or taking cover behind something. Dodging faces the problem that your body is only a 2d6 tool, so once people start using things more dangerous than fists, that’s not going to work very well. Blocking isn’t always viable, and you’ll take penalties (or simply not be able to use it at all) if the object isn’t designed for it. When you take cover, you treat the cover itself as a tool. 

While the dice pool for cover isn’t determined by tech level, we are very proud of the fact that hiding in a foxhole is, in a sense, taking cover behind the collective energy of an entire planet, so it’s 6d6.

Psychic Checks

Psychic Powers are a big topic, and we’ll need to save it for another day.

In short, though, psychic powers are largely freeform, with some specific limitations and guidelines, and you can always attempt to use psychic powers; you don’t need to tick a special checkbox to make you a psychic. There are four special Psychic Certs (right now they’re ESP, Psychokinesis, Telepathy, and Precognition, though this is subject to change as we work the details out), but like any Cert, you can still roll them untrained. So while you can always try to use your latent mind powers, it’s unlikely you’ll get very far to start.

Which is why you can train your psychic abilities! Nobody gets to start their Star Patrol career as a qualified psychic, but you can become one as you explore the galaxy. It’s a difficult road, and one that’ll cut into your professional development, but you can do it. Further details will be confined to a dedicated dev diary; it’s a big complex topic!

That’s it for this Dev Diary. Next time, we talk the weird branch of the human family as we take a look at the Proxies and Archivists of humanity’s first extrasolar colony.

[aerialworms-art]

I've been wanting to do hourly comic day for ages, finally remembered (at 00:01 on 2nd feb), and here we are! I had a lot of fun with this!

Featuring (in order of appearance) my child Fluffy, Narcissus the brachycephalic cat, Prince the sentient mop dog, and Cassie the-not-so-fluffy-but-also-black cat. And @salty-lich-queen makes an appearance from 19:00-23:00!

I've put a transcript of all the text under the cut cause I was focused on sticking to the hourly thing and forgot about nice lettering 😅

Transcript:

[Page 1]

02/02/2024 (definitely hourly comics day)

00:00-01:00

Me: Ooh, look, hourly comics! There's a lot of these. When is it again?

Search bar: When is hourly comics day? Search results: 1st Feb hourly comics day Me: Aw, fuck.

Me, thinking: No-one will mind if I do it today instead, right? Arrow pointing at me: Going to get snack Arrow pointing at tinsel: Tinsel from 4 Xmas ago Arrow pointing at toy snakes: Snakes from Halloween

Caption: [Int. - Bedroom]

Sweet packet: SWEETS

Me: Oh! Fluffy, thinking: For me? Caption: A surprise kitty!

01:00-02:00

Me, thinking: WTF is wrong with this guy? Caption: Watching Dungeon Meshi for the first time!

Arrow pointing at me: Brushing teeth

Fluffy, thinking: I CRAVE WOTER

02:00-??:??

Caption: Thinkin' bout those old men <3

11:00-12:00

Me: UUUUUUUUGH

12:00-13:00

Me: come... closer...

Me: Time to get up! Fluffy, thinking: Bye!

Me: Actually, I'll just draw some comics first Fluffy, thinking: Oh?

Caption: A few minutes later... Me: Thank you for keeping my foot warm Fluffy, thinking: It's free real estate

Arrow pointing at my dad: My dad My dad: I keep losing books... My dad: Like this Ian Banks one - Me: Oh! The one that's been in the loo for a week?

My dad: AHA! Caption: (yes, it was that one)

13:00-14:00

Caption: Watching more Dungeon Meshi Me/my tea: sluuurp

Me, singing: VOULEZ VOUS! AHA! TAKE ME NOW OR LEAVE Caption: shower ABBA time!

Caption: Back in the bedroom... Me, singing: -DANCE WITH YOU HONEY! IF YOU THINK IT'S FUNNY! DOES YA MOTHER KNOW THAT

Fluffy, thinking: I'm out.

14:00-15:00

Title: The Exciting Adventures of Artie and Fluffy: Leaving the house!

Me: C'mon then! Fluffy: Mow! Mrow! Cat count: 1

Neighbour: Oh! Hello! Cat count: 1

[Page 2]

Me and the neighbour: Small talk Cat count: 1 Dog count: 1

Me: Here, I'll hold her, you go past Fluffy, thinking: DIE Arrow pointing at dog: Oblivious Cat count: 1 Dog count: 1

Me: Hi buddy! Cat count: 2 Dog count: 1

Narcissus, thinking: Friend or Foe? Arrow pointing at Fluffy: Oblivious Cat count: 2 Dog count: 1

Caption: We carried on... Me: Oh! Hello! Cat count: 2 Dog count: 1

Cat count: 2 Dog count: 2!

Fancy lettering: PRINCE! Cat count: 2 Dog count: AWWW

Cat count: 2 Dog count: 2

Cat count: ? Dog count: 2

Cat count: 3! Dog count: 2

Me: Uh oh

Fluffy, thinking: BOO!

Cassie, landing on Prince's head: DONK!

Me: Dude, you ok? Prince, thinking: Look! I can catch my tail!

14:30-15:30

Fluffy, thinking: That's not how I look. Caption: Whoops, spent an hour on this! Cat counter: 3 Dog counter: 3 (one went past while drawing)

15:30-16:00

Me, thinking: Alas, we must part, my love! Fluffy, thinking: What was that noise? Cat counter: 3 Dog counter: 3

Arrow pointing at Prince: Prince again! coming back from school Cat count: 3 Dog count: 7

Me: At last! Arrow pointing at people in the bushes: Three shady people in the bushes (I didn't ask)

Library: Library

16:00-17:00

PLOTTING A GRAPHIC NOVEL

17:00-19:00

Whatsapp contact name: Mum Me, texting: (15:35) Swim after work? Me: (16:54) Missed call Me: (16:59) Heading to pool now come join me! Mum: On my way! (17:04) Cat count: 3 Dog count: 10+??

Police car: POLICE ILOP Me: oo er...

Arrow pointing at a cop: Was saying something about a break-in :S Arrow pointing at cop holding a bag: Stolen goods? Drugs? Arrow pointing at fence behind them: My old infant school

[Page 3]

17:00-19:00 cont.

Scribbled out drawing: IGNORE THIS

Me, thinking: I'm no ordinary girl~

(action) Mum: WAVE! (action) Me: WAVE!

19:00-23:00

My laptop screen: UPERNATURAL

23:00-00:00

Arrow pointing at my chair: Ergonomic chair for back pain Me, thinking: What am I doing?

Me, thinking: Ah, yes. Tumblr logo: t Tumblr post: ~~~~~~DC COMICS Me, thinking: Thinkin' bout those old men again <3

Me: Time for bed!

Fluffy, thinking: Time for FOOD.

[rabbitcruiser]

International Country Music Day

International Country Music Day, on September 17, is a day of festivals, concerts, dances, and all kinds of other events that celebrate country music, to honor this distinctly American genre. Today is about the music. It’s popular to joke about country songs being all about losing your dog, your truck, your job, and your girlfriend, but in reality, the breadth and depth of the genre offer something for everyone, from Williams’ ‘Hey Good Lookin’,’ to New Country songs like Toby Keith’s ‘Red Solo Cup.’ On International Country Music Day, dip into the wellspring and take a sip.

History of INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC DAY

Though International Country Music Day has only been a worldwide phenomenon since 2003, country music itself evolved during the 1920s in the U.S. The music form is the result of a mix of Delta blues, Appalachian folk, Cajun music, Creole Zydeco, and others. Today, people often think of the genre as “Old Country,” which has been wildly popular since the 1950s.

Artists during this golden period such as Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and of course Hank Williams, gave fans unforgettable stories and glimpses into the struggles of a hardscrabble life. Speaking of Hank Williams, the day chosen for this holiday, September 17, is Williams’ birthday. It’s easy to guess the country music icon left a wealth of quality country songs as his legacy, such as ‘Cold Cold Heart’ and ‘Lost Highway.’

As a matter of fact, all 35 of the singles Williams recorded made the top ten on the Billboard Country & Western Bestsellers chart, with 11 of them reaching the number one spot. Mention the phrase country music, and don’t be surprised if the name Hank Williams is in the first sentence of the response. We believe he’d be honored at the association of his birth date with International Country Music Day.

New country, on the other hand, is a subgenre represented by a similarly talented pool of singers and songwriters, including Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban, and many more, with a younger generation of country musicians taking up the mantle more and more as time goes by. Country music shows no signs of slowing down or going away, so take International Country Music Day as a chance to discover why so many people around the world love country music.

INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC DAY timeline

1923

Birth of a legend

Hank Williams is born, eventually to personify country music for millions of fans.

1963

Can you name three other songs by him?

Johnny Cash records “Ring of Fire,” capturing the attention of a huge number of radio listeners who may not have ventured into the world of country music.

2003

Synchronicity

The first official International Country Music Day is kicked off, coordinating hundreds of concerts and festivals worldwide to occur on the same day, September 17.

2017

Hard to knockdown

Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Back Road” spends 34 weeks at number one on the country charts.

INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC DAY FAQs

Is country music popular outside the US?

While the bulk of country listening takes place in the U.S., there has been a 21% increase in the share of country music streaming outside America since 2015.

What does country music represent?

Country music is defined as “a style and genre of largely string-accompanied American popular music having roots in the folk music of the Southeast and cowboy music of the West, usually vocalized, generally simple in form and harmony, and typified by romantic or melancholy ballads accompanied by acoustic or electric.

Outside the States, where is country music the most popular?

Perhaps partly because of the shared language, the U.K, Australia, and Canada boast the largest numbers of faithful country music fans outside the U.S.

INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC DAY Activities

Attend a concert or festival: After 2020’s pandemic, you’ll once again be able to join the crowd at a country music performance, have an adult beverage, and give line dancing a shot. If you want to get to the heart of country music and really experience it first-hand, a trip to Nashville, Tennessee — considered the epicenter of country music — wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Pick up a musical instrument: There are many to choose from other than the usual guitar. Decide to learn a new skill and try out the fiddle, the dobro, the steel guitar, the banjo, the harmonica — the list goes on. There’s no better way to show you love country music than to play some yourself.

Listen at homeIf you’re like us, the accessibility of all types of music at a click is one of our favorite reasons to love the internet. On International Country Music Day, go on a surfing journey and listen to the old country standards and the new country hits. If you’re normally a listener of “everything except country,” make an exception. We’ll bet you do find something you like.

5 Amazing Facts About Johnny Cash

Put it on “shuffle”: Asked what albums he’d have with him if stranded on a desert island, Cash listed a roster that includes Emmylou Harris, Beethoven, and Bob Dylan.

Lucky seven?: Despite having been arrested a total of seven times — some of them on drug charges — Cash only ever spent one night behind bars.

An apt alias: Before reaching his fame, Cash only ever went by the first name “J.R.” with the initials remaining ambiguous in terms of what they stood for, and only adopted the name “John” when an Air Force recruiter would not accept initials for a first name.

“You may now kiss …”: In the 1970s, Cash spent two years studying divinity and became an ordained minister in time to preside over his daughter’s marriage.

Not just a songwriter: In 1986, Cash published a novel called “Man In White,” a fictional account of a period in the life of the apostle Paul.

Why We Love INTERNATIONAL COUNTRY MUSIC DAY

Lots of country songs are fun and funny: Stories are indeed at the heart of country songs, but not all of them are about heartbreak. Take a look at the song “Ticks” by Brad Paisley. “I’d like to see you out in the moonlight / I’d like to kiss you way back in the sticks / I’d like to walk you through a field of wildflowers / And I’d like to check you for ticks.” And that’s just one example. Listened to with an open mind, country music can often make you smile.

There’s nothing like a live concert: You can be the owner of an artist’s entire discography and have a dozen songs memorized to sing along with, but to truly experience a country musician’s personality and heart, at least one live concert is de rigueur. We love to feel that electric charge in the air!

It’s truly American: The U.S. may have the right to claim that rock and roll originated within its borders, but country & western, also quintessentially American, predates rock by some twenty years. To celebrate country music is to celebrate American history.

Source

[chelseafcwmemes]

Another one behind a paywall

https://www.sportherning.dk/artikel/b2936750-9100-4136-a391-fa72c10fb6e3/

Pernille Harder has fought back from her first long-term injury and feels that her body is strong again ahead of her first World Cup final round.

Pernille Harder has, among other things, won eight championships in a row - across three of Europe's strongest leagues.

Nine cup titles and three finals in the Champions League are also there. Along with an EC silver medal.

But the star player, who was born and raised in Tulstrup by Ikast, has never been a part of the World Cup in football.

- I am really looking forward to experiencing it and being part of the WC. Of course, we go out on the pitch to get the best possible result, and I give everything for that. But as I said, it's my first WC, so I'm just looking forward to soaking it up, says Pernille Harder.

She delivers the words to Herning Folkeblad before Tuesday's training on the hybrid track in Herning Fremad. This year, the national team has set up its big WC training camp in Herning with three training days this week and four next. The squad for the final round is announced the day after the last training session in Herning.

The injured thigh feels strong again

Of course, Pernille Harder does not have to worry about her place in the World Cup squad, even though she has not actually played a single international match this year.

She was injured in an international match against Switzerland on November 11 last year and subsequently underwent surgery for a thigh injury and was sidelined for five months.

- It was the first time I was out with an injury for a long time. But I worked really hard during my injury period to be in good physical shape when I came back.

And it also felt good when I returned, says Pernille Harder.

She got playing time in the last six games of the season in the English league for her club, Chelsea, and scored five goals in those games.

Now she is also back on the national team for the first time since the injury.

- It feels great to be back. Nice to see the girls and train with them and just be in the national team camp again, says the 30-year-old offensive ace.

The fact that the training session takes place in Herning with accommodation at Hotel Eyde is only a plus.

- It feels quite homely. After all, it's only 10 minutes to Ikast, smiles Pernille Harder, who still has her parents Annie and Mogens and older sister Louise in Ikast.

There are exactly 29 days until the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand begins. Denmark is in a pool with the European champions from England, China and Haiti.

- We have a month to train hard and make sure we are sharp.

- We are of course looking to progress from the pool. That's how it always is.

And then we'll have to see after that, points out Pernille Harder with a sense of humor.

New challenges in Germany

She also has a lot to look forward to at club level. Just three weeks ago, she and her boyfriend, the Swedish national team captain Magdalena Eriksson, were presented as new players in FC Bayern München.

It may seem surprising to some that one of the world's best players is saying goodbye to the up-and-coming and money-rich English league, but for Harder it makes good sense.

- I wanted to try something new. And I really like the German culture and German mentality, and I think that Bayern as a club is really interesting.

I like the values in the club, and I think it's a really good team that I hope I can help to become even stronger, says Pernille Harder.

She played three and a half years in the German Bundesliga before moving to Chelsea, and thrived enormously in the German back then.

It was in VfL Wolfsburg.

This time it is Bayern Munich, and this time it will be with Magdalena Eriksson. The Swede has been at Chelsea for six years.

- It is of course a big plus that the club wanted both of us and sees a good role for both of us in the team, she states.

They have both signed three-year contracts with the southern German big club, which has won five German championships on the women's side - including two within the past three years. In the past three seasons, Bayern have been in two quarter-finals and one semi-final in the Champions League - The aim is to play for the titles in Germany - both the championship and the cup - and try to chase the big one: the Champions League, says Pernille Harder, who has been to three Champions League finals without winning the major trophy.

I wanted to try something new. And I really like the German culture and German mentality, and I think that Bayern as a club is really interesting

[omegaremix]

25 Years Of Discovery.

January 1st, 2000 came with such underwhelming results. Didn’t help that last summer I had to permanently cut ties with a Judas sorority cousin after a public screaming match in front of family, neighbors, and strangers. I also pissed away the ones closest to me, my circle of “friends” from Brentwood. The liars, narcissists, victim-blamers, and the ones who left me out to dry all alone in parking lots because they were too awesome having fun in groups. Now you see why I had to spend New Year’s at the neighborhood church, pining away three hours until midnight arrived and even I couldn’t have that. A mother arrived with two screaming kids at 11:30 PM and all the while she’s running around the aisles between the seats, shuffling around like crazy catching them to stay put and she acted like a stereotypical soccer mom in the process. The most anti-climactic way to celebrate anything ever.

As my former friend Victoria said: “sometimes you have to go through the worst to get to the best.” Nice one, sweetheart. The best isn’t guaranteed no matter what people suffer through. The following Summer saw myself dealing with even more fallouts and the unpleasant surprises kept delivering.

What became of a Summer job working at the pool supply store with my friend Dede became a weekend bully convention. Dede, who got me the job, showed his true colors when he stood and laughed at me as two co-workers swung boxcutters at me. Store managers who heard my concerns nodded their heads and promised action, but in the end did zero. Showing up five minutes early for my shift wasn’t enough for Dede, however, and the Ever-Controlling One wanted me to work more days. "Who cares about your well-being?", he argued, because according to him it was all about him and his job. After daily dealings with his elitist prima-donna starfucker attitudes and half of the store talking about me behind my back, I no-showed him and shut him out for good. The next morning, he called my house while I was sleeping. “Why did you quit on me?” he asked. No “hello”, no “what’s wrong”, no “hey, everything OK?”. I answered by hanging up on him. Good-bye and good riddance to a self-important narcissistic asshole. But, I still had one out left in the deck. That out was Anna.

Anna and I had plans to meet up at Ocean City where she lived. Eight months of weekend online chats, pictures, cassette trades, hand-written letters (!), and Sunday night calls in the making. Here was a 5’8” pale Polish girl of straight neck-length brunette hair, green eyes, mid-cut shirts and tight jeans. Cute, flirtatious, charming. She came across so amorous and complimentary in such a way I never felt from anyone before. We’d trade notes about my struggles dealing with prima-donna underground musicians and egocentric writer-critics. She had her own drama with friends, co-workers, and exes- while recapping last night’s episode of Saturday Night Live. It was one of the few shining points of a dismal few semesters at community college. All fucking week I looked forward to those two hours talking to her on the phone. The time was right for me to come visit. She wanted it to happen. We made plans well in advance in what would be a unique event for me. To meet someone in a different state via Greyhound and experience something totally new would be exceptional.

Sunday night comes and I get a phone call from her to verify that it’s a go…it’s not happening. She broke the news to me in a sad let-down tone. Our plans were canceled. What was it? Was it because I was quiet about her mixtapes she sent me? Or was it because I saw no indication that she didn’t keep base with her folks that I was coming over and maybe her cover was blown? To this day I don’t even know. She never gave me a reason. They usually don’t. Real nice how some people show their interest in you, take it all back at the last minute and ultimately string you along for a few more miles before leaving you on the side of the road and drive away, never to be heard from again.

It’s June 19th and Summer was on life support. The only saving grace was spending 4th of July at a friend’s house. Then it finally died. I had close to nothing. No job, no pursuits, no movement, nada. Only a Playstation, bike rides to the library, and some trips to the bookstore to buy whatever music with what little money I still had. I was grateful in no longer having a selfish self-centered superstar for a friend, manager, and connection. On the other hand, Anna made me feel dejected because our plans were no more with no reason why. The season now became an excruciating waiting game for Autumn for a final unbearable semester at Suffolk Community.

I was already one year into listening to WUSB. They were the only game in town that played industrial and underground hip-hop. I tried hard to distract myself from recently losing the chance to see Anna, so radio was the drug of choice. I had plenty of blanks to run record on during my late-night shoot-’em-up sessions. Dubbing had been my weekly ritual since the Brentwood era. It was our way of capturing the moment. Downloading and streaming was in their infancy, and we didn’t have the permanence of online archives or YouTube. If you missed it, that’s it. Four, five, six tapes were lined up for the record button with one set aside to be transferred on. That was the beauty of dual tape decks, consolidation, and re-recording. Hit the red dot and let the chips fall as they may. Up on the itinerary: one of the four hip-hop slots our station had on the grid. Ghetto Radio, Street FM, The Basement, or Eminent Audio. Those slots never played the commercial -ish at the time, and they were four reasons why I returned to hip-hop after mostly abandoning it by senior year.

So, this happened: two of Eminent Audio’s dee-jays decided to play some short snippets of Seventies’ jazz, fusion, funk, and groove. Some late Seventies’ groove-line, and some Eighties’ R&B. The classics spun in short 20-30 second bursts, one after the other. It all started with Gang Starr’s “The Planet” which sampled Taj Mahal’s “The Cuckoo”, followed by Steve Davis’ “It’s All Because She’s Gone”, then Galt MacDermot’s First Natural Hair Band’s “Ripped Open By Metal Explosions”. Nas’ “It Ain’t Hard to Tell” and Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” were also thrown into the mix.

And then, the Ace in the deck: Les McCann’s “Vallarta” ('77).

It played in the tinniest quality, as if it was trying so hard to push itself out of a drive-in movie speakerbox. It hit. It fucking hit like no other. Those feelings of watching those big money shows and ginger'd moms from Indianapolis deal with divorced life and her two kids, as I remember seeing it in my Brooklyn youth. Richard ‘Groove’ Holmes’ “Onsaya Joy” hit in the exact same fashion, too. Then Bob James’ “Caribbean Nights”. I was absolutely stunned out of my fucking mind.

The following week, Asmar (The Basement), always one to keep it real and spit consciousness, played Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic Echoes’ “Expansions” (‘75). Then the comedown: “Aspirations” and finally “Colors Of The Rainbow”. None more accurate to describe the sounds and tonality of an isolated and introverted down summer. At that point that week’s Basement ended and it completely settled in.

It was all over for me.

The sampling parade and Lonnie Liston Smith songs tied into an era, a Borough Park childhood of spending days sitting at home playing with an Atari 2600, watching game shows (with surprise devils, computerized dragons, and lightning bolts), and late Fifties’ Looney Toons on a RGB-lens projector television. The days of my Brooklyn years continued on as an Eighties kid on the island when some of the most memorable moments, believe it or not, were these television station i.d.’s, opening and end credits, and production logos. 11 Alive, WGBH, WABC’s 4:30 Movie, WCBS’s The Late Show Intro, WPIX Channel 11 Film Festival, PBS, Magnetic Home Video, World-Northal, Viacom’s ‘V’ Of Doom, its sister Screen Gem's 'S' Of Doom, and chuckling pinball sounds with Peignot type…I can go on. They stayed with me the whole time. From that point on, I started staying in touch with myself. I always missed those obscure years living in Brooklyn. You miss them because you feel you haven’t had enough of them. Take all those moments, connect the dots, connect the stars, and get everything out of what you can that had everything to do with the era.

I started buying my own vinyl before the turn of the millennium, shortly after I started going to record stores. Only after WUSB’s Summer programming did I start pursuing the classics whenever and wherever I could. It was one way I had to keep up. A trip to what was Bay Shore’s Special Sauce, a skate and ski shop, once sold bins of vinyl records and was the first of many vinyl splurges. When I wasn’t crate-digging, I always referred to the-breaks.com, one of the first sampling sources on the net, way before WhoSampled took the lead it has now. Meanwhile, classic Seventies’ Saturday Night Live episodes followed and later discovered that my significant Yenny had GSN. You could imagine her level of tolerance to have her record these old shows for me on the regular. No, I lied. She was pretty cool about it.

YouTube came halfway into my stay at Stony Brook and I re-discovered those i.d.’s, credits, and logos. It was when I got deeper into collecting and finding those key artists that matched where I came from. John Tropea, Vic Juris, Chick Corea, and Esther Phillips. more Lonnie Liston Smith, Eric Gale, and Les McCann (again). Another very important kicker was my very first jump into library music. (Hello, KPM. Nice to meet you.) That's where I found Alan Hawkshaw, Brian Bennett, and Alan Parker. In fact, it was Parker’s “Unlimited Love” that was used for one of WABC’s movie intros-. Down the road towards the end of the Aughts, my vert first trip to High Fidelity’s old location in Amityville had me discover Phil Upchurch and Billy Cobham. That visit showed me to shop by year of release and gamble on artists I knew totally nothing about. That explains why I have two Karla Bonoff records, The Olympic Runners, Stuff, Maynard Ferguson, Urbie Green, and Ramsey Lewis.

I got re-acquainted with KPM after the turn of the decade, and made an entire mixtape / playlist dedicated to nothing but these sounds. Just so happened that I listened to nothing but Seventies, jazz / fusion, funk, groove line, and soul sounds for that entire Autumn and during Hurricane Sandy. The ultimate point of no return was when I found two very essential groups: Vinyl Archeologie and Reef Ali’s Vinyl Frontier. Could you imagine all these rare and obscure finds for samplers, crate-diggers, and producers they collectively unearthed? The sounds always featured on these groups (as well as Breaks & Samples and The Real Digging And Archeology) have shown me that it all goes to a whole new level.

These above groups are (all) the figurative time machine that takes me to places that no longer exist, ones which I’ve never experienced or been to, but felt like I have. They’ve extended my interest in jazz, soul, classic R&B, funk, groove, and fusion. To this day, they still do. This first-ever “jazz, fusion, rare groove, obscurity, resonance, vinyl finds, and sampling” showcase that aired on my radio show (Summer '13) not only made part of a personal summer mixtape, but symbolizes an all-too-important moment in my timeline with an addict ex-. Because of them, once-unknowns are now all-to-familiars to me. Gordon’s War, Starfire, Sass, Champaign, McNeal & Niles, and perhaps one of the most magical of them all, General Lee & The Space Army Band.

Since then, my affinity for these sounds have all but solidified. In the last few years, I discovered the Music DeWolfe, Patchwork, and Themes International library labels. Vinyl Archeologie and Vinyl Frontier have continued to unearth classics, resuscitate legacies, and renew interests in original artists. Omega is still doing bonus sampling / crate-digger broadcasts, and I’m always returning to find those classic programming moments for myself. With the help of Shazam and YouTube comments, I finally bullseye’d Otto Cesana & His Orchestra’s “Hi!”, Syd Dale’s “Cuban Presto”, and Reg Tilsley’s “Hold The Road”. I’m still unearthing new finds in the form of Emily Remler, Eddie Russ, Teddy Lasry, Tomorrow’s People, and Walt Barr. And, it seemed like only yesterday (Spring / Summer '18) that I once dropped $1,500 to all of the island’s record stores for post-surgery shopping therapy, and I did another record-store tour (Spring / Summer '22) in a winner-take-all fashion for double the price. If there was jazz, soul, fusion, whatever - it was mine.

I can’t say that the unreliables above (my former manager "friend" and the Jersey girl) made for vinyl music to happen. They’re isolated incidents. The sounds that our hip-hop dee-jays made possible happened regardless. I just happened to catch it. I still have the original recordings and digitized them last this year. How wild is it that the Summer has been salvaged from being a total bust for being in the right moment at the right time? How wild is it that one moment has carried on and still thrives to this day? It will continue to keep going because there’s always be something waiting to be discovered all over again. And as long as that does, the self-discovery continues, the broadcasts continue, the spending sprees continue, I continue. Here’s hoping you’ll do the same in your own right.

[convexicalcrow]

Our next installment in the Vex magic grimoire is a more obscure piece of magic, pre-Vex magic, that works to test the purify and legitimacy of diamonds and other items, a ritual created by Cub back in s4 to ensure Scar wasn't receiving any blood diamonds.

I Know the art is not finished, but it's 11:30pm, and I have work tomorrow, and so painting will happen later in the week when I have more time. I wanted to at least get the base colours down first in pencil so I can work on it later. And I need time to figure out how tf to paint water. o.o When I have the art finished, I'll replace the current photo of the last two pages with a new one.

Transcript under the cut as usual, and a link will be added to the Liber Vex archive site.

The Purity Pool

When you deal with diamonds and other precious resources, it is vitally important to have methods available to determine the legitimacy of the resources you're handling. ConCorp handles thousands of diamonds and other ores every day and using the ritual outlined below, we have been able to avoid handling illegitimate goods.

The is old, old magic, soething I cam eup with a long time ago, before the Vex, when Iw as doing all I could to stop Scar handling any of the blood diamonds that the logfellas were trying to pay him off with. It's a simple process, though not a quick one, and requires some precise timings in order to make sure you get the correct results.

The materials are vitally important. You need the purest quartz to make a 3x3 square floor, and then you surround that with diamond block walls to make the pool itself. The diamonds must be touching the water. Now, around the diamond blocks, add a layer of pillar quartz blocks, oriented in an east-west direction so that the carvings are facing and aligned with the sunset.

Now once you've got that all set up, you wait til sunset to test it with legitimate items first. Throw them in the water and if they're the real deal, they'll simply float in the centre of the pool. Any other result is proof of the illegitimacy of the items in question and those items should be discarded immediately.

Honestly, when the idea came to be in a dream, I was so sure it wouldn't work. Why on earth would throwing diamonds into a pool of water that's surrounded by quartz and diamonds work? I had always sensed some magic in diamonds but had never been able to tap into it. I only knew of quartz as a natural amplifier that improved the power of my magical experiments. But I thought it worth a try, and I was so surprised to discover it worked.

It wouldn't be until later, when I joined the Vex, that I finally began to understand the currents I was tapping into. It felt so good to know my methods had been sound, even if I didn't know why.

The ritual works a little differently now, of course. It doesn't need invocations to the Vex, offerings of cake, and a little Vex magic added to the water to work, but I find it adds some comfort to it. It isn't just me throwing diamonds into the water and hoping for the best. it's adding extra layers of magic to it.

Indeed, one of the most peaceful aspects of the ritual is waiting for the sunset, just watching and waiting in the dusk light, seeing how the sun is reflected in the water. I often feel the Vex very strongly in those moments.

The timing of sunset is one I'm still not sure I can explain though. I know the sunlight needs to be reflected in the water at a particular place, but what that does yet I still don't know. I just know it doens't work at any other time of the day. But I do know it works if you do it right, and that will save you from handling illegitimate diamonds. You're welcome.

[theofficersacademy]

           “The winds change their course                          and deliver letters from home.”

Preliminary sign-ups for the upcoming anniversary event are now live! This will run until 11:59PM EST on July 31st. No new signups will be accepted after this signup window closes.

Event Sign-up Instructions:

In an attempt to keep group numbers manageable this year, and to avoid the mod team making arbitrary decisions about an individual's past activity, we will be testing out a one muse limit restriction for everyone in the group. No matter if you're new to TOA or a veteran, you will only be allowed to sign up one muse this time. We hope it accomplishes the following:

Stronger engagement. Having one muse means only one group to pay attention to. We hope this allows everyone more energy and time to explore the settings we have established, as well as be more invested in optional paralogue threads or other investigations not prompted by the mod in charge of your group.

Less FOMO. Knowing that you're not the only person allowed to bring only one muse tends to decrease chances of feeling like you're missing out on something if you don't sign up all of your muses.

No mod judgments. We don't have to make subjective evaluations of past activity to determine an individual's limits.

Less chance of burnout. Lore events are a bit like running a marathon. It might seem manageable at the beginning, but many people who bring more than one muse to events tend to run out of steam around the third week. This causes the stories to suffer all around.

Better commitment. In the past, some members who wind up dissatisfied with their team have shifted their energy to a team that another one of their muses is on, which ends up undermining the team they had been unhappy with and causing everyone else in the group to lose energy as well. If you have only one muse, you'll have to make the best of your situation in any way that you can.

More activity from non-event muses during August. Part of the pressure to sign up all muses comes from the difficulty in meeting minimum IC requirements with muses who do not join the event. With more muses not participating this year, we hope this provides a larger pool of characters to thread with. However, you can also put your non-participating muses on hiatus during the month.

Smaller teams. This means mods are not stretched as thin and can read your threads and tailor the campaigns to the choices your muses make.

As with all of our anniversary events, you sign up with your muse by having them take a personality quiz. Please read the following instructions carefully:

Follow the above link and take the quiz in order to sign your muse up for the event. When answering the questions, do so as your muse.

Please only take the quiz once. Your results are automatically logged and visible from our end. We’re using a free account to host it, so we’re given only 100 submissions a month. We ask for your cooperation in only taking the quiz for the muse you are committed to writing for the event. After August 1st, we will allow the quiz to be taken by anyone for fun.

Though you may share your result, please refrain from publicly sharing which answers you gave. If you do so in private, make sure others have already taken the quiz on their own first to avoid influencing their choices. We want to ensure the truest outcome for each character!

This event will last the full month of August and will call for daily commitment (if not posting, then being present in your team’s Discord channel). Those who experienced Keras Kai Elephas in January or Unscripted last August should expect the same level of activity. For those who are new to TOA’s lore events, think of this like a month-long TTRPG campaign. Please consider this when deciding whether to sign up.

Inventories will be submitted after teams have been made.

Additional changes:

Canon lords can claim both their personal skill and their lord class at the same time for this event. More information about participation prizes will be posted when the event begins. It will help to begin brainstorming a personal skill in advance though.

The Snowglobe mission board will be extended until the end of August. Unaffiliated characters being part of the mission task board remains a requirement.

We hope to see many (or all!) of you there!

- House Leaders