#and a different view of the cyberpunk genre where the problems are there but also a very beautiful world coming out of it

[transorbitalrevolver]

The solarpunk aesthetic is an art movement/genre of fiction which aims to give a view of what the world would be like if technology was used with nature kept in mind. While the concept of technology in balance with nature is quite broad, the key ideas revolve around connections to the earth and other people through culture, renewable energy, and restarting civilization. As the Solarpunk Manifesto says “The ‘punk' in Solarpunk is about rebellion, counterculture, post-capitalism, decolonialism and enthusiasm. It is about going in a different direction than the mainstream, which is increasingly going in a scary direction.”

Where does the name solarpunk come from? At first glance, you would assume it comes from renewable energy, mainly solar energy, and you would be half right. Solarpunk gets its name from plants and the way they’re able to use the sun as energy, which inspires us to create technology that does the same. Solarpunk focuses on the ways today’s technology restricts and destroys, highlighting features of human life that are intertwined with technology today but can be separated with time (culture, music, crafts, etc…)

Solarpunk as a movement sparked because of climate change, overpopulation, and the hope those things began to take away. The movement focuses on making our own clothes, tech, food, and anything else you can think of, which makes teamwork very important. Solarpunk offers solutions to today’s problems that could be used to build our world again from the ground up rather than just warning us that the way the world is going is bad with no ideas on how to fix that.

Solarpunk is all about having a sustainable civilization where architecture and daily life does not push out nature, but strives to live with it. Houses, cafes, businesses, skyscrapers would all be built with gardens or some kind of vegetation growing on its walls or roofs. By isolating human cities to small and compact areas, we can both have a productive civilization and let nature reclaim the land we took.

Visuals of the solarpunk aesthetic include some aspects of other techpunk aesthetics such as cyberpunk and steampunk, but solarpunk aims to make the technologies existing in those aesthetics compatible with nature running them on more sustainable energy. Solarpunk is also generally sleeker and more elegant than those other aesthetics due to its architecture and use of whites, browns and greens.

For more information on solarpunk, view these solarpunk resources:

Solarpunk aesthetic wiki

Solarpunk manifesto

[natyzinhasstuff]

it's so funny how Stray is such an organic and alive game and most of its characters are robots! they are unique and so humanized each with their own style, taste, mannerisms. the magnificent setting of the game only helps to enrich this universe. the way the city is alive, full of colors, I want to know more about their lives and what it will be like from now on. an optimistic vision of a dystopia where robots don't hate humans as we're used to seeing them, but decided to emulate and cling to the good parts of that old society and then create something new. just a bunch of loose words to conclude that i'm totally blown away by these little robots living their lives at the end of the world.

I think they will be okay.

[bonny-kookoo]

Ready Player 01 | JJK x Reader | 🔞❤️☁️

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Reader

Genre: dystopia!AU, former Game developer!Jk, former pro gamer!JK, former IT specialist!Reader, former programmer!Reader, romance, Smut, slight cyberpunk elements

Warnings/tags: injustice, forcefully controlled public, violence (police/government officials against citizens), unfair powerplay, interrogation, tech talk, Jungkook be antisocial as FUCK but so is the reader lmao wbk, fear of physical contact (Haphephobia), past trauma and mentions of a bad childhood, insomnia, crime, smut because yes it’s me hello my content isn't kiddy-proof in the first place what yall want from me I'm not sure, but that’s waaY at the end ya know, friends to lovers, a slightly sassy AI but we love her, reader struggles with emotions, I mean same tbh, they're both so sweet tho I cant, not proofread because let me live

Summary: there’s a war going on; silent, but it’s there. Media has been strictly become controlled and regulated- to the point of making it illegal to own a TV or phone with internet access without a valid license. But there’s always some people that will try to break free from the controlling force.

"-a new age. This is a new year. And remember; we're doing this for the greater good. Until tomorrow." The news reporter stops talking after she somberly looks somewhere behind the camera that is pointed at her.

Your room is dark- the TV brightness on it's lowest setting so you can see what's going on- but outside, no one can see the light shining in your tiny apartment. Investing in blackout curtains had really paid off at the end of the day.

You don't want to get caught.

There's an announcement van driving past your window; the tiny slits in your curtains where the light from outside can creep its way inside brightening a bit as the headlights pass your windows. Something is spoken, and by now everyone knows the routine speech.

"Electricity will be shut down in five minutes. We advice to save all progress immediately- and we wish a good nights rest. Electricity will be shut down in five minutes..-" It repeats, over and over, counting down the minutes. You slowly move into your kitchen, opening one of the loose floor tiles to turn on your own emergency electricity system. With well practiced movements you close the tile again, moving the rug over it as you walk back into your living room, swiftly sliding the TV behind your wardrobe to make it disappear. As if on cue; there's a knock at your door.

The same as always. Routine. Two times, loud and clear. You don't even have to look through the peephole to know what awaits behind it.

"Yes?" You ask, rubbing your eyes as if you had been already asleep. The officer behind the door nods at you shortly, a mild smile on his face as he looks down at you.

"We didn't mean to wake you miss. Just routine, as usual." He says, peeking into your apartment to look for any electronics still running. It's pitch black however- so he simply nods, as his colleague notes something into his tablet. "We wish a good nights rest miss. Again, sorry for intruding." He apologizes, and you nod, closing the door.

Only when the street lights turn dark, do you move from your bed.

"Creator." The AI voice chimes up, her voice greeting you as as you lift the tile on the floor again- your phone connecting to the AI to show information you instantly decode and note down inside your head. "Player01 has just connected." The voice states, and you sit down on your cold kitchen flooring, smiling a little. "He has sent a message. Would you like me to play it?" The voice asks, and you take a deep breath.

"Yes." You say, and there's a small sound indicating the start of the voice message. A male voice is head.

"Hey, whats up?" He asks, and you can hear something in the background- maybe an empty can or something similar. "I uh.. I'm on my way. Should I bring anything? Ah wait, I know the answer to that.." He says, chuckling at the end of his sentence, and you can hear him zip up his jacket as he moves around. "Yeah uh.. just text or something, I'll bring stuff over. Can't have you starve." He ends, and the AI speaks up again.

"Would you like to repeat the message?" She asks, and you shake your head at her; a signal the artificial intelligence has come to detect quite well. "Should I archive it?" She questions again, and this time, you nod- something your invisible assistant can pick up due to motion sensoring.

"Send him a message." You say. "Tell him: I only need you. Get yourself here in one piece and I'm happy. And I'm very capable of taking care of myself." You state, and your phone shows a small loading message- indicating that the voice is doing as you said. It chimes up after a moment. "Thanks Kana." You say.

"No problem creator. Would you like for me to run through the databases now?" She asks, and you nod, a smile on your face. "Database search in progress. Estimated time: sixteen minutes and eighteen seconds." You huff out a breath as you look at the tiny display on your arm; tiny, yet powerful as it's your way of keeping Kana- your AI assistent- close at all times. Tonight, there would seem to be a lot to dig through.

They really added a lot of content these days.

It's not the door that makes you notice that there's a visitor after a while- He never uses it anyways for some reason. You're sitting on your kitchen floor with a small cup of tea in your hands- kept hot inside a slightly beaten-looking thermos can since you can't use to water boiler at night. Using anything other than Kana would cause a spike the police would be sure to notice; and you're not ready to get caught yet.

Not tonight.

It's a boy who, after a moment, opens the unclosed kitchen window to climb in; his combat boots getting a little snow and dirt from the outside into your apartment as his 80's looking jacket makes distinctive noises as it brushes against the sides of your window. His blonde hair has grown out a bit these days you notice- the roots clearly showing. It's a little wet and slightly curly from the moisture. It must be snowing outside- or maybe it had. You couldn't know for sure.

You never left your apartment.

He closes the window after slipping on the tiles inside a little, the plastic bags noisy as he almost drops them- sheepishly taking off his boots as he smiles at you. His socks are different from one another- but that's another thing so distinctive and just so.. him. He's his own person, always has been; it's what brought you two together, after all. You both stood out against the 'regular public' these days; with his brightly almost white-bleached hair he was like an albino in a sea of crows.

But you knew he didn't need that to stand out to you.

You can still remember the first few times the boy in front of you has visited you; the times where he had just dyed his hair to rebel out, or when he pierced your ears in exchange for you to do it to him as well. It was like you had made a blood pact in your kitchen that night- you had somehow gotten closer, formed a little more than just a simple companionship in order to riot against the law. He began growing close. Gave you a nickname. Began calling you his player 2. Began calling you his 'ace'. He had explained that he thought of it from memories of his gaming days; the two fighting teams always called red and blue, and one of his favorite weapons having that nickname- simply because it always 'saved his ass last minute'. He had rambled on about his last tournament after that, eyes sparkling and cheeks round from cold noodles.

You had become friends.

"hey." He says after sitting close across from you on the cold floor; the opened tile and Kana's core exposed to you two, the only source of light apart from your bracelet. The colorful LED's paint marks on his face and illuminate his features to you; but it does the same to you from his point of view. It's a familiar sight. "How are you?" He asks, almost shyly, but you know that's not what's bothering him.

"Hey Jungkook." You simply say with the hint of a smile, as you answer him. "Haven't slept well these days but, what's new I guess." You chuckle, and Jungkook smiles too- though a glimpse of concern is still shown your way. He knows however that forcing you to sleep won't do much good- your insomnia was too bad to really conquer it in a day or two just by taking naps.

And also; who was he to talk about solving personal issues.

"Have you seen the most recent reports?" You ask him, and the boy somberly shakes his head.

"I was unable to." He states. "They were patrolling close to my apartment complex because there had been someone reporting a Glitcher today." A 'glitcher'- a slang word now commonly used for people like Jungkook and you. People who went against the nightly routines, people who tried to trick the system by using electricity at night, owning media, consuming it, or dealing with it. It somehow became worse than underground drugs. "They pulled him out at around twelve or so- but they seemed too on edge the entire day, so I didn't risk it." He says, and you nod. Jungkook had always been a very good person when it came to calculating risk versus reward. He was good at reading people too- even though he didn't interact much, he got out of his apartment a lot more than you did. "Anything important?" He asks, and you shrug.

"There was a report that China and Japan were still on edge- with the chinese government arguing that they would soon start with 'more drastic measures to get things under proper control', whatever that means." You say, and Jungkooks brows furrow as he starts to pick on the skin of his jaw. "Let's just hope the flood doesn't throw us under the sea as well if it escalates I guess.." You say, and the boy across from you nods.

"Creator." Kana's voice chimes up, making Jungkook look up before remembering that the only source would be your bracelet, which you look at as well. "My scan of your body shows that you have not consumed a sufficient amount of calories today. I recommend a meal in the next five to eight minutes to avoid malnutrition." She says, and you groan. "I take this as a form of verbal communication. Running data search..." She says, as Jungkook looks at you; thoroughly amused by the teasing banter between the AI and his friend. "My data search concludes that you are annoyed, creator. I have only stated a fact however-" She continues, and Jungkook steps in.

"I've brought some leftovers from my dinner today we can eat." He says, pulling out some plastic containers as he moves to get proper cutlery out of your drawers. He makes sure to push them towards you, making sure to nod with a smile as you nod and thank him a little embarrassed. "It's nothing. You know I love you too much to let you starve!" He states with a grin, bunny teeth on full display as bitterness creeps up your throat- something you make sure to swallow down before beginning to eat.

Because the kind of love he's talking about right now, is not the kind of love you want him to feel for you.

"You forgot to give it a proper validation there-" He points out as you type away. "Otherwise it will just run instantly, and everything at once. That could crash older systems, and we know that V95 uses an older laptop, so we should take that into account." He says, and you nod, clicking back to the spot Jungkook is talking about.

This is what you're both good for.

Writing code for you had always been something you did with a passion- simply because you were good at it. Numbers and short phrases were something you could remember with ease; but you never had to think much about the visual aspect of programs in your department back when you were able to work for a simple programming company. You had simply always been tasked to program security systems and automatically updating firmware, or simple AI's for factory robots. Jungkook however had been all about the visuals; he had been programming games after all. That's why you two fit so well together in this scene. Whenever he would be in complete awe of the broad knowledge you had about official guidelines and security breaches, of staying undetected and unseen while still gaining as much as possible from every single line of code, he could always throw in his input to make sure the program you were both writing and updating for the glitch community was easy to use and simple enough so it could run smoothly on as many systems as possible. Be it phone, laptops, PC's- you two made it possible.

This program was connecting Glitchers all over the globe- and with yours and Jungkooks knowledge, you made it almost invisible. And even if it was somehow detected; there was no possible way to track down any of it's users.

The fact that you had to hide a simple program from the government made you sigh.

"Okay. Yeah I think that fixed the bug." He says, and looks at your arm- at Kana. "Oh, by the way, Kana?" he asks, and the chime gives him the cue to talk. "I heard you had a bug-fix too recently." He says, and the AI chimes again.

"I did, Player01." The AI answers. "The addition of code to my current program has proven to significantly increase my ability to observe and save more data." The female voice answers, and Jungkook grins. "You are happy, Player01." She states, and he nods.

"I am." He says.

"Why is that?" The AI asks, and Jungkook shrugs.

"I'm just happy you're doing well. Someone has to take care of ace when I'm not close by, yeah?" He states, and you try not to react to it. Jungkook is by now used to your more stoic expression; you're not too emotional and barely let things get under your skin. You've been hurt before, he knows this even if you never told him- he can see it in the way you hide inside the safety of your home, how you're so cold on the outside but still clinging onto him. Sometimes he wishes he could touch you; run his hand over your head to ruffle your hair like in those cheesy movies, hold your hand, or simply give you some reassurance in the form of a gentle hand on your back whenever you struggle.

But he's got his own demons, and they love clinging onto him just as much.

"V95 has connected to voice chat. Would you like to talk to him?" Kana states, ripping him out of his thoughts as he watches you nod.

"JK? Y/N?" A deep voice asks.

"We're here. Heard there was a raid close to you?" Jungkook asks, and he can see you grow a bit more serious at that. "Are you okay?" He adds, and V answers, although quite.. tired?

"I'm good. They got Jimin though." He states, and you sigh, running a hand through your hair as you stand up, frustrated. Jungkook knows you're trying to calm down by pacing. He doesn't mind. "They didn't officially arrest him, took him for 'questioning' though. We know what that's about." He states somberly, and Jungkook takes a deep breath.

"Jimin is a master manipulator V. He'll get himself out of it, I'm sure." Jungkook tries to reassure, but it doesn't gain him much than a hum from Taehyung on the other end of the line. "What about Sleeper?" He asks, and a chuckle is heard.

"He's been checking the videofeed from inside the past few nights. He said he's send some of the big bites to Ace though?" He says, and Jungkook looks over at your form.

"Yeah I've seen it." You simply say, though Jungkook grows uncomfortable with the way you're suddenly standing there. You're a little hunched, biting the skin on your thumb as you look at the tiles as if they suddenly began to move. He knows himself that things inside the 'rehabilitation centers' weren't all that nice to see- but you rarely ever displayed so much distress over it. "Let's just hope Jimin get's his ass out of this situation. We can't afford to loose him." You say, and V stays silent before he sighs.

"Yeah. I tell sleeper you've seen the stuff. Oh, and our prince charming has asked for a date with Ace. Again." Taehyung chuckles, and you groan- while Jungkook can't help but clench his jaw. Kim Seokjin was a very good asset to the team; with connections reaching deep inside the government and his position as a former lawyer- but he still hated his guts.

You didn't need to waste your time dating. You were totally capable of taking care of yourself, you had even said it personally! And for anything else Jungkook would provide for you. You didn't need anyone else than him.

He was totally not jealous of him.

"Can he not use our underground connections for that circus?" You say. "I don't even go grocery shopping, why would I want to go on a fucking date?" You mumble, sitting down next to Jungkook as you take a spoonful of rice. Jungkook feels a weird sense of satisfaction about the situation.

"Who knows." Taehyung says. "Alright, 10 Minute mark- I'll hear from you two soon. Take care." He says, and you both say your goodbyes before the line goes silent.

Although Jungkook hates physical contact, he likes keeping you close.

His heart is melting like chocolate as he notes the way your hand grips his jacket tightly as the two of you walk through town to get your license renewed- a way of holding onto him, and he somehow wishes it could be his hand. He knows yours would fit so perfectly in his, and yet he can't bring himself to do it.

His body is not cooperating.

He remembers vividly how his fear had developed; with his father and mother both being dramatically overworked and overwhelmed with having a kid at a young age, they had no idea how to make a child behave. Every second touch would bruise, every time he had been held would be force.

And at some point, he started to dislike physical touch completely.

It had just been like his growing interest in freelance climbing- the way he would walk and jump high over the heads of unsuspecting people, away from all judgemental gazes they'd throw his way for behaving the way he did. Only when the wind could hit him freely, only when he couldn't make out faces of anyone down below, only when he was high up- that was when he felt safe. The ground below had nothing of interest for him, no point in going down, as his apartment was located on the top floor of the complex. Jungkook never took the elevator, always the stairs.

He liked being reminded how high he lived.

And yet, there's one thing that pulls him down, brings his feet to the earth below, calls him like a siren song. It's you, hidden away from everyone's sight inside your tiny home, just as troubled and judged as himself.

He'd fallen in love with you the second you told him his name.

It had been a rainy night, his clothes drying on your heater as he was wrapped in two of your blankets; the smell of your fabric softener and something so typically you surrounding him like a mother's hug would a child. It had given him a feeling of comfort he had never quite experienced before, and it had also been the first time he had imagined what it would be like to hug you.

To have you close.

He had explained to you why he had freaked out when you reached for his arm to steady him when he almost fell inside your apartment through your window; had apologized and bowed his head in shame until you had simply shrugged.

"You don't have to justify yourself to anyone, Jungkookie." You had said. Jungkookie. "You're you. And I like you." You had said, not looking at him as you typed in some code to Kana's internal system.

His heart had warmed up at that.

And while you had accepted him, he had accepted you just as much. While at first caught off guard by your quiet and sometimes harsh way of treating him, he had also gotten to know just how gentle and delicately you treated the ones you loved. You were a loyal person, always going out of your way to be helpful, and silently basking in praise any time it was directed at you.

He loved that view. The way your cheeks would grow warm, how your eyes would sparkle; and he loved most of all, that he had been, according to Taehyung who was the second closest to you, the only one to see you smile.

You even laughed with him.

It filled him with pride to know that you were able to let go around him, even if it was just a little. It made him feel like he did something huge. It helped him sleep at night knowing that you were trusting him enough to let down your guard a little.

And it hurt him even worse knowing that he couldn't do the same thing for you.

He was a coward-

and you deserved a hero.

"Ace?" He asked, slipping through your window as he noticed the apartment silent and dark. Nothing greeted him. "..Ace?" He tried again, maybe you were asleep? But your apartment was quiet, empty, nothing spoke of your presence. Dishes were in the sink, a cup of water left untouched on the counter, and something inside of him churned painfully at the way this looked. He checked the kitchen tile, sliding it to the side like he's seen you do it countless of times.

It was dark.

Instead, he was greeted by a post it note. "Underneath the bed. Take care." Was all it read. He stood up, pushing your bed away from the wall noticing how your carpet had been torn a little. And as he lifted the cut flap of carpet, there was an envelope.

Your watch. A small in-ear piece, and your old IT-identification, folded.

A noise outside your hallway made his head snap up as he pushed the bed back into place, making an escape for it as he climbed outside the window, watch safely inside his jacket as he climbed back up on top of a building, before he examined it further, turning it on, after putting the earpiece in.

"Hello, Jungkook." Kana greeted him, and it felt weird to hear the AI say his name like that. "Creator has advised me to answer all questions you might have, and assist you from here on." She said, and Jungkook simply put the watch on, making his way to his own apartment.

"What happened?" He asked, his face serious as he walked.

"At around 6:12 O'clock, creator was taken into further questioning regarding illegal possession and knowledge of classified information and technological equipment. She had shown no resistance and complied with authorities. My observations however showed that she was taken with more force than necessary." Kana explained. Jungkook shook his head. "She had prepared for this instance during the night, approximately twenty-six minutes after you had left."

"She knew?!" He suddenly said, shutting his apartment door violently as he started to pace around, throwing his jacket on the couch. "Why didn't she contact me?"

"Analysis; your body shows signs of-" Kana started, but Jungkook interrupted.

"Shut up. Why didn't she tell me?" He asks again, and Kana seems to hesitate for a moment.

"Considering her close relationship to you, she probably wanted to not get you involved." She stated, and Jungkook sighed, sitting down on his couch as he gripped his hair. He should've stayed. Hell, it wasn't the first time he wanted to stay. He had dreamed of staying over, of fucking living with you for months to no end by now, but he was a coward. And this was his paycheck.

"Kana." He said lowly, and the small tune gave him the cue to talk. "Contact V95. Tell him it's urgent. We got an emergency." He says.

"I can't watch this." He says, jumping up and holding onto his head as to not punch his wall, unable to go through the videofeed of your interrogation room.

There's not much to see, but Jungkook knows that's simply because they haven't had the time to see to you yet. You and him knew best what really happened in these rooms, and he hated knowing that deep down they wouldn't go easy on you simply because you were a young woman. It didn't matter to them.

He'd seen teenagers way younger than you and him getting the rough treatment before- and elderly didn't get spared either.

The government bragged about having everything in order; yet they couldn't even control their own law enforcement it seemed. When he really thought back on his history lessons in school, not much had changed at all.

The world was still in utter chaos.

His palm shuts his laptop harshly- earning a tiny chime from the AI he’s already forgotten shares his home with him now. “I suggest that you practice care in treating your electronics to-“ he groans, successfully shutting it off at that. “Why are you frustrated?” It- she? Asks, and he sits down.

“I don’t know how to help her.” He admits in shame, thinking back to the footage of your hidden camera; the way they had pushed you to the ground, before grabbing you, leading you out of your apartment a few minutes away from him. “I don’t know what I should do.” He says.

There’s a bit of silence, until the AI speaks up again. “Do you have a romantic interest in my creator?” She asks, and his head snaps up at that.

“What the fuck? Why would you ask me this?!” He barks, unsure where to look since he can only hear the voice.

“I have observed both my creator and your behaviors; you seem to have a very deep rooted interest in each others well-being and opinions. This is commonly found in partnerships. I was only asking you to confirm if my assumption is correct.”

He’s silent for a moment, until he speaks again, watching the announcement van pass his window; voices dull and unintelligible though the walls and windows. “It’s no use anyways. Who wants someone they can’t even shake hands with?” He sighs, looking into his lap again. He hates that he’s like this; that even though he very much loves and adores you, there’s no magic moment that makes him forget- even though he craves the contact, he can’t do it. Every time he’s close to you, he knows that he could simply hug you; or let you rest your head on his shoulder, like in romantic movies. He wants to hold your hand, wipe your tears- but his body won’t cooperate. He can’t do it.

Not even with you.

“Creator seems very comfortable with you.” The AI states. “I have been asked to archive all text messages and phone calls of you two recently. When I asked for a reason, she claimed she would need it someday- I was unsure what she meant.” Jungkook furrows his brow, raising his head again. “Sometimes, when creator is deeply upset, she has the habit of playing some of the recordings of you singing, or reminding her to take care. My research has shown that it slows down her heartbeat to a more normal level and also improves her insomnia.” Jungkooks eyes widen at that.

Does that mean.. that you like him back?

"Kana, fuck- cut the feed." He says, agitated.

"Are you sure?" She asks, and he sighs, before yelling his frustration out, sitting down to take a deep breath. He slowly shook his head no. He couldn't let all your hard work go to waste like this.

He couldn't stay a coward.

"Jungkook, it appears to be that the creator is being let go." Kana suddenly chimes up, and Jungkook rushes to his pc setup to see for himself. And she's right- your arm is being held tightly, and something is being said to you, but your hands are no longer chained to the chair- you're free.

What just happened?

Jungkook sometimes really hates himself for being the way he is.

There's no sugarcoating it that you need comfort now more than ever, even though you don't openly show it to him. He can see it in the way you're still biting your nails, he can see it in your eyes which never stay on one point for too long. And he can definitely see it in the bruises on your upper arm, and the cut on your lower lip where you had bitten in anger and frustration. He wants to comfort you, he knows you'd let him- and yet he can't move any closer than where he is right now; only the length of his palm of space between you two. And yet it's like his joints are locked into place. He can't touch you.

What if he hurts you?

And it dawns on him right then and there while he watches you drink your can of overly sweet soda while typing your code like second nature, that he's not scared of you hurting him. He's scared of doing to you, what's been done to him. Because deep down he is aware that his parents never had bad intentions, never hated him or wanted him to suffer; they were simply unsure and not at all confident in how to really care for a child. They had been caught off guard and gotten overwhelmed by the sudden shift in their situation that they never truly knew what to do. And nowadays he felt like he was simply heading down the same road.

He was starting to feel like he was becoming just like them.

"Hm?" You ask him, ripping him out of his thoughts as he looks at you, your eyes wide and worried as you put down your almost empty can of soda. "What is it?" You ask him, and he wants to scream. He wants to throw a fit like a child at the way you seem to worry for him every time you should worry for yourself. He's a coward, he's useless, he's everything you don't need nor deserve in his eyes, and yet you always look at him like he's the main character of your favorite movie.

If he was, he was sure he'd be merely a sidekick- because you deserved to be the focus of every story told in his eyes. And if you weren't included in the tale, he knew he didn't want to ever know about it.

He swallows, before he manages to make his hand move, finger pointing at your arm where a green-ish bruise already formed. "Does it hurt?" He asks, and he's not even sure if he's asking you about the bruise, of if he's asking something else. He doesn't know what he's saying, doesn't even know if he's asking you or himself.

"No." You answer, and he looks at you, searching for any hint of a lie in your eyes. But he only sees that slight smile, lips turned a little, almost unnoticeable. But its there, he can see it, and he wants to print it into his mind to never forget it. You were so observant, knew him so well, that he was almost certain you knew of his inner fight and what he really meant with his blurted out question. "Are you okay?" You ask him, and he swallows again, eyes stinging with unshed tears as his body grows rigid like an unoiled machine, only moving with as much force as he can manage to come up with. His breathing is heavy as his eyes can't leave the spot on your arm, and your watch him with wide eyes as his shaking hand slowly reaches out.

He doesn't know what he expects to really happen.

Maybe like those electric shocks you get when someone had rubbed their socks on a carpet before touching someone else. Maybe he had expected to recoil instantly. Maybe he had expected nothing- but he was suddenly in a rush the moment his fingertip touched your warm skin, delicate, soft, everything his rough hands weren't.

And you were still as prey in front of a wolf.

But the wolf in this scenario was holding his breath while his tears finally fell. He wants to speak, but he can't, he doesn't know how to ask for something when he doesn't even know if he wants it.

But suddenly he moves again, his palm now resting fully against your upper arm, shaking, as it moves over the length of it, softly, as he imprints the way your soft skin feels. "Jungkook.." You whisper out, and he suddenly snaps, leans forward, his legs on either side of your body as he snakes his arms around you from behind, pulling you close to his chest. You can feel him shake as he holds you, his cheek resting against your back and you don't care about his tears staining your shirt as he suddenly cries openly and possibly for the first time since he was a mere child.

He's unsure, overwhelmed, because you're so warm, you smell so nice, you're so soft, and he can't let go, doesn't want to let go. He whines out as you turn a bit as he thinks you're moving away but you're simply placing your legs over his as you sit in his lap, hugging him back as you make sure to give him a gentle squeeze.

He calms down after a long while of simply existing. Of breathing you in, of feeling you. "You're right." He whispers into your neck, and you can't help but shiver, leaning into his hug.

"It doesn't hurt at all."

"You know, I get why you come up here." You comment, as Jungkook makes sure to hold your hand tightly in his, your feet dangling off the edge of the building you're sitting on top of. "It's nice." You say.

He's not listening that well though.

All he can really do is watch your face, illuminated by the neon lights of the city, hair swaying in the wind as you look down below. He doesn't quite know what you two really are, doesn't know how long it will take him to really come out of his shell and give you the love you deserve, but he's trying. He's fighting, he's left his cowardly self behind.

He want's to change.

And not just for you alone, because while he hates seeing you hurt, he knows what you two are doing- what all of you are doing- is for the greater good.

Jungkook hates your ideas sometimes.

Simply because he knows they will work, but also end up with you getting into danger at the end of it. And just like now, all he can do really is hope that you make it out as he keeps a watchful eye on your movements from above, giving you directions via Kana as you sometimes trip and stumble a little.

You're not a very active person; running wasn't really your thing.

Fuck, you were basically a hermit, the most you walked around was from your bedroom into the kitchen!

But then again, sacrifices had to be made somewhere. And Jungkook really admired you; because every time he thought that you had reached your limit, you would face it head first and break through it.

"Ace, try and somehow get to higher ground. They're caging you in from all sides." He urgently tells you as he watches police chase you down the roads, pushing citizens aside to not loose sight of you.

The plan had been simple. Gain all the attention so Taehyung could infect one of the police station's servers with a new worm, giving you all a better and easier access to any data and communication of the area. Jungkook couldn't play the bate well enough; and you had been on their radar already, making you the best option to gain their interest quickly enough.

Although Jungkook hated that part.

"Come on, ah fuck it." He grits out, jumping down to grab a ladder, making his way to a nearby area he could pull you up. There was no way you could reach any of the fire ladders yourself, and by now, things were getting too hot for him to risk anything. "Here!" He barks out, not thinking twice about grabbing your hand and helping you upwards, trying not to worry too much about your heavy breathing. And then there's it.

A pop, loud, followed by another, and another, and another. You're suddenly falling, scraping your knees on the ground below as he can't catch you, too startled by the fact that they had actually decided to shoot to react quick enough. "Fuck!" He says, eyes wide and pupils blown as he looks at you.

"Jungkook, why the fuck aren't you running?!" You yell at him, a scratch on the top of your left cheek as you push his leg away from you- the only thing you can reach. "Go!" You bark again, and he growls out something, before he manages to pull you onto his back, adrenaline not letting his brain process what he's doing.

He can't just leave you.

"Taehyung, get out, Ace has been shot. Whatever was uploaded has to be enough." He says via the in-ear piece, doesn't wait for a response. He still gets it.

"Fuck, what?! Okay okay, I'm out" He says, and Jungkook can only catch a glimpse of the older man leaving the building via the backside entrance. He's only concerned with getting you somewhere safe.

"Urgh." You groan, slowly sitting up on Jungkooks couch. "I mean, I know paintball hurts, but rubber bullets? Jesus.." You complain, while Jungkook looks at you with a dark expression. "What?" You ask him, and he huffs.

"You sound like you haven't almost been killed yesterday." He grimly says, and you shrug. "Stop. I'm serious." He tells you, and you let yourself fall back down onto his couch.

"Whatever. At least we killed their communication." You say, closing your eyes. "Must've at least pissed them off." You say.

"Kana." Jungkook suddenly says, waiting for the familiar sound to tell him she's active. "Shut down for now." He says, and you sit up, hissing instantly at the sudden movement.

"Hey- ah fuck!" You say, as you watch on your bracelet how Kana complies; shutting down. "Why would you do that?" You say in an offended matter, before you grow quiet, watching him go onto his knees in front of you, as he lets his head rest on top of your lap.

"I just want.. you to myself. Just.." He mumbles, and you slowly bring your hand to his hair. "Just for a moment." He says, and you sigh. Jungkook had been under a lot of stress recently, you no doubt being the main cause of most of it recently. So you simply let him be, as he closed his eyes. "Y/N?" He asks suddenly, and you answer him. "I love you." He says, and your body stops moving.

What?

"It's okay if you don't." He says, not moving from his spot, and neither opening his eyes. "I mean it. I only want you to know." He explains further. "Because I.. couldn't fucking live with myself if something happened to you, and I've never told you." He admits, and you can't help but stare at him. Jungkook looked down on himself so much that it was sometimes frustrating to see; simply because you saw him as such an amazing human being with countless talents and beautiful flaws.

You knew you couldn't muster up the strength to actually answer him; not so spontaneously. You weren't that expressive, you couldn't communicate as freely and colorful as he could. All your words seemed black and white to you, mixing into grey and mundane sentences while his words seemed to bloom into the most amazing paintings. He had a way of charming those around him- and he didn't even know.

You slowly leaned down instead, moving his hair to the side as you placed a feather-light kiss to the top of his cheek, close to his eye.

You hoped he would somehow understand you.

And as he moved again, looking at you with eyes that sparkled brighter than any city's skyline ever could, you knew he did.

He'd always understand you, no matter how you communicated with him.

You didn't need words to understand each other.

The shy kiss you two shared, bathed in the purple glow of the neon lights outside his window, spoke enough.

"You should try and sleep." Jungkook tells you, taking away your can of soda as you whine at him. "No buts. Come on, I'll finish this for you." He says, and you let him take over the keyboard of your laptop. It's something you really only let him get away with- anyone else would've probably lost a finger or two trying to touch your work.

You don't trust anyone but him at this point.

"I know that Kana snitched." You comment, as you lean your back against his shoulder. He chuckles. "Can't believe my own creation goes behind my back like that." You mumble, and Jungkook has a light tune to his voice as he speaks.

"Well, it's a good thing though." He tells you. "I worry about you." He says.

"Ugh come on, you know that's not the part I meant." You laugh, and he grins.

"Oh, you mean the part where you listen to my crappy ass singing to help you sleep?" He tells you with a teasing undertone. "No wonder you got insomnia trying to find rest to that." He chuckles, and you playfully hit his thigh.

"Shut up, your voice is nice." You say, and he's glad your eyes are closed, and you can't see him blush.

Somehow, moments like these re-energized him again. Because it proved to him that there was still a piece of that innocent and untainted you inside that thick shell you had put up to protect yourself. And considering that you let him see you like that made his pride grow taller than any of the skyscrapers of his city.

Maybe one day the two of you will have a future together that won't be so difficult and unfair like your current one was. Maybe one day, you both will have changed enough to teach the next generation about what you've overcome.

But then again; living in the moment seemed to fit a lot better in his eyes, as he watched you sleep soundly against his shoulder.

Yeah, this moment was more than enough for now.

The world won't change over night- you both know that. All of you know that. But small things were starting to make a difference here and there; for example, the letter you held towards Jungkook as his eyes widened.

"..and we have officially decided that we no longer want to participate in the case against the defendant. The result of this agreement is that all charges against Y/N L/N have been dismissed and are no longer being investigated." He reads out loud, almost whispering as if saying it too loud could make it a lie. "They let you go?" He asks, and you nod, the small bandaid on your cheek making you look even cuter in his eyes as you shrug.

"Jimin had reached out too. They've let him go home as well." You say. and Jungkook huffs out in disbelief.

After infecting the police station with the worm you had all worked on, you had scared the entire country enough to take a step back from the overall aggressive tone. It wasn't much- but it meant that they knew you were there. You existed, and you were not bowing down.

You were still untamed.

Jungkook smiled brightly as he put the letter down to the side, reaching out to you to pull you onto his lap. He simply holds you for a moment, his lips kissing the skin of your shoulder as if in a trance. "I love you." He tells you, and you smile, squeezing him a bit in your arms. "I really do." He assures you, and you nod.

You don't answer him, and he doesn't seem to mind as he leans back from you, his eyes crinkling at the edges as he grins, hands holding your face so delicately as he places a kiss onto your lips, making you close your eyes as he breaks away from you, letting you rest your head against his shoulder.

He's still not letting anyone very physically close other than you; he's still scared of going out and around like everyone else. You're still rather hiding inside his apartment- both of your apartment now- and you still have trouble sleeping.

But Jungkook keeps the nightmares away.

And you make him brave in exchange.

It's really weird to hear the sound of a radio nowadays.

Things are still far from normal- but recently, citizens had been given radios to listen to public broadcast again. It only played crappy music with some rare good tracks here and there, but it was better than nothing.

Jungkook couldn't help but think that your breathless voice was far more entertaining than any music station he can remember from his youth.

While he hates touching other people, even friends and family, he can't help but feel a rush whenever he touches you.

His hands can't stop on one specific spot, can't seem to stay still even for a moment as his lips nip and suck at the flesh of your neck and shoulder, marking what's his, visualizing that you really belong to him. He bears the same mark on his collarbone from last night, and he should have been satisfied, but even an early morning couldn't keep him away from you.

The rain hit the window harshly, but he didn't notice at all. All his eyes could see was your form underneath him, skin glowing as he moves above you, euphoria filling his veins as he can't look away from where you're connected, where his cock disappears inside of you over and over and over again.

"I love you." He breathes out as he comes undone, holding you close, resting his head against your shoulder, as you hold onto his arms, a smile, a genuine and big smile thrown his way as he can't help but smile along.

"I love you too, Jungkook." You say, and he chuckles.

The radio in the background still playing, as you lay in each others' arms.

(c)Bonny-Kookoo. Please stop reposting my content on AO3 thinking I won't find it. I'm literally everywhere you clowns.

To everyone else: Thank you for reading this mess- I really apologize for the messy storyline, but I just wanted to put this out before the entire thing escaped me again and I would end up struggling to find my way back into it (cough cough flashback to mean lmao). I promise to somewhat post more regularly. Thank you for your kind words and for sticking with me!

[zorya-wellness]

Are Tarot Cards Witchcraft, Magic or Evil? Understanding How Does A Tarot Reading Work

Tarot cards seem to be surrounded by the atmosphere of mysticism and often in relation to the “dark” occult practices.

Some claim that trying to find out the future is bad luck or sinful and will certainly bring only misfortunes.  

The myth that Tarot (or Runes) are the elements of Witchcraft or “dark” Magic is being shaped by the movie industry, video games and books of a particular genre.

My partner recently was playing this video game called Cyberpunk and mentioned that Tarot cards were part of his quest series. A woman that was “reading cards” in the game looked all mysterious and had those dark “witchy” vibes.

As a result of the game popularity, there is even Cyberpunk Tarot deck now available for sale which has only 22 cards and naturally, has nothing to do with Tarot.

The reason I bring this up is because when we look at the scenes where Tarot cards are used, we see evil witches that gather to perform some kind of a Satanic Ritual or curse someone and, of course, they have a Tarot cards deck, a crystal ball and Runes handy.

In this Blog post I will try to look at Tarot cards from all the different angles.

We will look at Tarot from the view of occultism, psychology and religion. Let’s break it all down.

What the Tarot Cards Really Are?

A simple explanation is that Tarot is a tool for divination. But, of course, Tarot is much more than that.

Tarot is a tool for analysis of a situation, person or action.

Tarot is a work with the subconscious layers and shadow sides, uncovering deepest desires, fears and intentions.

It doesn’t matter what you believe in, the essence of Tarot is taking the energy from a person you are reading cards for to create the best future for them.

Tarot reader is merely a guide. You can call Tarot a weak energy vampire that takes a bit of your energy to transform it into information and give you an answer.

The correct work with Tarot is based on the reader’s ability to help you choose the path that is right and best for you given all current circumstances.

Is Tarot A Form of Black Magic or Witchcraft?

What Is the Difference Between A Ritual Work Divination?

Tarot reading works by the means of receiving information from the Source through the cards and uncoding this information to a client.

It has absolutely nothing to do with ceremonial Magic or any kind of Ritual work.

A ritual is done to shape the reality the way you want to see it. You are influencing an event or a person. And in this post, we only cover the nature of the Ritual working briefly, just so that you understand what is behind the words “Ritual” and “Witchcraft.”

Tarot does not intervene or influence a person, forcing them to do something they may not want to do. It completely allows for the Free Will to be the only natural way of human experiences.

Tarot gives you the information you otherwise may miss or not see, sometimes quite willingly, to make the right choice. This is why sometimes clients say things like: “Well, this is what I expected” or “I have known this all along.” This is because the answers are within us and a Tarot Reader is only guiding you to see them.

Can Tarot Be Used for Ritual or Magical Work?

I hope you can see that this is a completely different question.

Tarot can and is sometimes used as the Ritual tool. It can be a part of spell casing, for good and for bad. When Tarot is used for evil intentions, it is not because Tarot itself is evil but because people misuse it for their nasty intentions.

And the problem is in people, not the cards.

If Tarot Is Not Magic, Where Do Tarot Readers Get the Information From?

There is different information circulating around with regards to “Where Tarot Readers get their answers from?”

Some believe that the source is Akashic Records which is considered to be a universal information “storage”, so to speak, that has a record of all the thoughts, emotions, words and also events.

But those who claim the existence of such records seem to deny the existence of divination. For example, Vadim Zeland, the creator of Transurfing of Reality, states that divination does not exist because there is way too many “paths” and “variations” of future events to be able to predict them.

However, here comes my long-standing point about the different between divination and fortune telling and I briefly touched on this in my Blog Post “What Questions Tarot Can and Cannot Answer”. And this is where people like Vadim Zeland, who by the way created his own “Tarot” despite claiming its limited use, are wrong.

RELATED POSTS: What TAROT CARDS CAN and CANNOT TELL. Questions to ask during a Tarot reading

Tarot does not tell you what you are going to have for lunch tomorrow or give you a straight yes/no answer.

Tarot reviews those possible paths and variations of events and helps you make the RIGHT CHOICE.

Tarot helps you to go to your subconscious mind and from there pull the information about yourself to help you understand what internal challenges are preventing you from growing and becoming, from letting go of the past and from working on your future.

"The Good” In Tarot Cards. Tarot as A Tool for Psychoanalysis.

If you think about it, people do many different things on a daily basis to learn more about themselves. They go to see a psychologist to resolve their personal matters and figure out the roots of their anxiety, fears and phobias.

People try to understand the meaning of their dreams and see the signs of communication from Spirit Guides and Angels.

Modern psychologists use cards, not only Tarot, during their sessions as the tool for a deep analysis and consulting.

Tarot can help a person uncover and understand some moments they were not able to connect with before mentally. These include hidden thoughts, desires and intentions.

Unlike Tarot readers, psychologists use cards for the most part to work on the ISSUES OF THE PAST, deeply analyzing it before making any prognosis or goals for the future.

How do psychologists view Tarot?

In this case, psychologists don’t even think about the “mysterious” aspects of Tarot or their connection to esotericism, paganism or occult, it is simply a tool for them to do their job better.

First and foremost, Tarot is used for symbolisms, associations and imagery.

This system helps a psychologist to connect the dots and figure out what is happening at the subconscious level of their patient. Tarot become a diagnostic method that at some situations becomes quite sufficient for a basic diagnostic.

Finally, Let’s Think TOGETHER. Are Tarot Cards A Sin?

Naturally, the answer to this question depends on your religion and what it says in the scriptures with regards to divination of any kind. But I trust that by the time you are reading this, you can make the right judgement yourself.

For the most part, Sin is a concept of JCI religions. And here we also have two categories of people to address.

If you strictly follow ALL the rules of your religion and live by them, then you shouldn’t seek an answer to this question in the Blog post of a Tarot reader, a witch or anyone who deals with magical and ritual workings.

You should address this question an official representative of your religion who is qualified to answer.

If you follow a religion, using it as a moral compass or it is a cultural part of your life, then the word “Sin” takes on a totally different meaning.

In this case, you need to assess what your religion means for you and what other rules, commandments or dogmas you have broken throughout your life. And if during those times you have at all considered the sinful nature of these acts.

For example, when you saw men cheating on their wives, a person drinking alcohol, lying or being jealous of your new IPhone, did you, even in your head, call them sinners?

Most people don’t think that printing a spiritual development book on their work printer is a sin, and yet it breaks the rules of the 6th Commandment.

Therefore, a factual sin is not a part of a religious-ethical category that is for the most part not used as a guide for our day-to-day actions.

It is rather a culturally created concepts of morals, about right or wrong, that shape the tendencies, and also change and evolve together with humanity.

Another example I want to mention is something you probably would not have even ever considered. And this is my beloved practice of Yoga.

Many of those who practice Yoga, being under the influence of the practices and travels, said they turned to Buddhism or Hinduism (both have Yoga as a part of their religion) for their spiritual and personal growth. And this is not normally being labelled as something sinful, even though looking at it factually, it is a change of Religion.

But quite conveniently, normally such person is described as a healthy and spiritual human being that enjoys travelling, sings Mantra, dresses up exotically, even doesn’t eat meat! What an example to all. A modern, soulful, educated and highly spiritual being. He is not a sinner, well, a hipster at the most.

I believe this will also answer the question “Is Tarot Evil?” because evil and sin go hand in hand with each other.

What is “good” and what is “bad” came from religious and philosophical teachings that are also subject to change based on the shifts, changes and revisions we are going through every day.

Should I not be afraid of Tarot then?

In my opinion, when going for a Tarot reading, you should be afraid not of committing a sin, but of your intentions and actions.

If you are asking a question about your own life, without getting a third party involved, (such as “What is happening in my best friend’s relationship with her boyfriend?) if your questions and life morals don’t contradict each other, then there is no need to be afraid of the consequences of the reading because there are none.

Let it be a reason for you to think what your life position is. What morals and principals do you follow?

If you take time to consider everything said above in this Blog post, you will understand that working on your future using Tarot is neither a sin or an evil. A Tarot reading will not bring you bad luck or misfortunes because it’s not on its own a magical tool.

Tarot is your guide to the better choices, better life and happier future. Use it wisely, use it to help others and don’t forget to always thank the Source.

[audreyxuan]

A Brief History of Science Fiction Films: Blade Runner and Arrival

When people think of science fiction, their mind often turns to one of two things: either campy B-movies featuring outlandish creatures and damsels in distress; or CGI-filled summer blockbusters that cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make. Either way, people believe sci-fi is a genre where spectacle is emphasised over story. That is not the case, nor has it ever been. Science fiction is a genre that uses scientific elements to explore the what-ifs of our world, allowing us to peel back the façade and examine our definitions of society and humanity.

Generally considered the first science fiction film, Georges Méliès’ Le Voyage dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon) involved a group of astronomers landing on the moon and meeting its alien inhabitants. It introduced some of the most common elements of science fiction, both in setting (space or another planet) and character (extraterrestrials). In the hundred-plus years since Méliès’ 1902 film, these components have been used and reused countless times. George Lucas’ 1975 space epic Star Wars (and its ten sequels and prequels) became the most well-known entry into the science fiction genre. Extraterrestrials both malicious and benign have been notably featured in Alien, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Men in Black. Outer space can be used as a positive or negative context, as a final frontier to explore (Star Trek) or an isolated wasteland to be stuck in (Duncan Jones’ Moon).

The next major innovation came in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, a dystopian film that used science fiction as a way for viewers to reflect upon themes like class, wealth, and status. The George Orwell’s novel 1984 and its subsequent movie adaptation used some of those themes, along with a greater message of government control, to create a chilling cautionary tale. Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, released in 2009, viewed classism and poverty through the lens of an extraterrestrial family living in South Africa. Metropolis spawned a genre of intellectual, belief-driven, political sci-fi films, which are often disregarded in favour of pulpy sci-fi that dominated the 1950s.

Them! and Creature from the Black Lagoon introduced movie audiences to strange creatures in their sci-fi (like giant ants and sea monsters, respectively). The Japanese interpretation of “monster movie” saw Ishirō Honda create Godzilla, which would spawn 33 sequels, remakes, and spin-offs. Director Guillermo Del Toro, known for his science-fiction and fantasy films, has a penchant for misunderstood beasts of all sorts. 2013’s sci-fi action movie Pacific Rim was an ode to these movies, blending American and Asian influences. Del Toro’s latest film, The Shape of Water, was a loose reinterpretation of Creature from the Black Lagoon that garnered 13 Academy Award nominations. Some were truly ridiculous movies, while others, like Invasion of the Body Snatchers, used monsters as a metaphor for Cold War-era paranoia. The introduction of outlandish beings enticed mainstream audiences to the genre; like sugar to make medicine go down, the sensationalism often masked deeper intellectual themes.

Arrival is a 2017 film by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve. After twelve mysterious spaceships land in locations around the world, linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is called upon by the U.S. government to decipher the alien species’ language. Arrival mixed “hard” science fiction concepts with compelling performances, an equation that resulted in universal critical acclaim (including eight Oscar nominations). It starts off with a sci-fi trope dating back to Le Voyage dans la Lune: humans confirm the existence of aliens, but do they have good or bad intentions? The beginning of the movie is rather formulaic--the scientists want to study the alien beings, the government wants to wage war on them, and our trusty protagonist believes there’s more to them than meets the eye.

But unlike other sci-fi movies, Arrival stands out for its intimate, intellectual plot and exceptional technical elements. Villeneuve teamed up with cinematographer Bradford Young to create a “dirty sci-fi film” that wasn’t “concerned with straight lines or the perfectly textured alien or the perfectly modeled ship” (Minoff, 2016). The aliens and their ships look real and raw and biological, unlike the futuristic, pristine aesthetic found in Star Trek or even Wall-E. In fact, Arrival doesn’t take place two thousand years in the future, or in a galaxy far, far away. The movie takes place here and now, with Banks standing in as a proxy for the audience; when she shows up at the impromptu military base erected around the alien ship, she’s just as disoriented as we are. Villeneuve walks a fine line as Banks wavers between what she understands and what she’s utterly oblivious about. In a genre known for its lack of gender representation, Louise Banks is a female character who’s not constantly bamboozled by her male colleagues’ scientific ramblings. She may not understand every concept aired by her scientist co-workers or the ever-present government personnel, but her ignorance serves the story; it creates confusion as she navigates this new environment. Banks is a genius in her own right, in her own field, with concepts and theories that leave her (mostly male) co-workers in the dust. In fact, she is the key to deciphering the alien language and the solution to their problems. In a room full of men, this woman holds the fate of the world in her hands.

Blade Runner is a 1982 film by American director Ridley Scott. Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a “blade runner”, a cop who must hunt rogue androids, known as Replicants. At its release, it polarised critics and audiences alike. Supporters praised its philosophical approach and unique visuals. Detractors disliked its slow, unorthodox pacing, and ambiguous ending. After the success of Star Wars, studios saw the benefit in blockbuster sci-fi franchises that would perform well at the box office. Audiences became accustomed to the fast-paced, action-driven sci-fi of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Blade Runner differed from any other science fiction movie at the time, which led to lower-than-forecasted box office returns. In 1982, sci-fi relied on special effects (Tron), heartfelt story (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), or horror (The Thing). Blade Runner interpreted familiar science fiction components, like flying cars, robots, and artificial intelligence, and portrayed them in a totally different way.

Despite the initial reaction, Blade Runner has been since hailed as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time. Its topics and technical elements have nearly spawned an entirely new genre. The synth-driven soundtrack, endlessly dark and rainy climate, dystopian cityscape, and themes of humanity, morality, and corporate greed have become hallmarks of the “cyberpunk” subgenre. Blade Runner inspired and influenced cyberpunk classics like RoboCop, Ghost in the Shell, and The Matrix, as well as countless TV shows, video games, and songs. Ridley Scott took a chance when he created Blade Runner, something movie audiences had never seen before. His gamble paid off, and we have a new genre because of it.

Genre can help classify films by giving them concrete labels to adhere to. When we laugh, it’s a comedy. When we cry, it’s a drama. When we see an alien, it’s sci-fi. It gives audiences a clear idea of what to expect from a movie. But it also limits filmmakers in how they can express themselves. Genre forces movies into neat little boxes, or at least tries to. Film is a reflection and an imitation of life, which never fits into one category or another. Movies that encompass multiple genres are more interesting, because they are unpredictable--anything can happen, or at least more things can happen that one genre would allow. When film is treated more like a business than an art, conformity to genre is prioritised over storytelling. But when filmmakers are allowed to tell thought-provoking stories unlimited by the bounds of genre, in the case of Blade Runner and Arrival, true works of art can emerge.

[petroglifs]

Grayshaw

*Enjoy!

Science Fiction Book Club

Interview with Bruce Sterling October 2018

Bruce Sterling is a prominent science fiction writer and a pioneer of the cyberpunk genre. Novels like Heavy Weather (1994), Islands in the Net (1988), Schismatrix (1985), The Artificial Kid (1980) earned him the nickname “Chairman Bruce”. Apart from his writings, Bruce Sterling is also a professor of internet studies and science fiction at the European Graduate School. He has contributed to several projects within the scheme of futurist theory, founded an environmental aesthetic movement, edited anthologies and he still continues to write for several magazines including Wired, Discover, Architectural Record and The Atlantic.

David Stuckey: Have you considered a return to the world of "The Difference Engine" for stories or another novel?

*That won’t happen.

David Stuckey: If you were going to write "Involution Ocean" today, what would you change or do differently?

*Well, alien planet adventures are a really dated form of space opera.  On the other hand, they’re great when you’re 20 years old.  If I were doing a project like that today I might make it a comic book.  Or a webcomic.  It might make a nice anime cartoon.

Richard Whyte: In the 2018 'State of the World' conversation on the Well, you said you were in Ibiza working on a novel. Are you able to tell us anything about it yet?

*I dunno if I’m ever gonna finish this epic novel about the history of the city of Turin, but I seem to get a lot of work done on it when I’m in Ibiza.  It’s about Turin, but when I’m actually in Turin I tend to work on weird technology art projects and goofy design schemes.

*Also, look at this palace.  I’m supposed to work on my novel in the attic of this villa.  That’s pretty weird, isn’t it?  This villa was built in the same era as the book I’m working on, which has the working title “The Starry Messengers.”  Like this villa, it’s big and baroque and complicated.

https://fenicerinnovata.tumblr.com

Andrzej Wieckowski: We read 'Sacred Cow' for one of our short story reads a few months' ago. Were themes such as Bolton's historic connection to the Indian cotton industry and immigration to this country deliberate or unconscious? And as it's my home town - did you visit? :)

*There aren’t any towns in Britain without some historic connection to India.  As it happens I’m flying to India day after tomorrow to meet with some Indian science fiction writers.

*I used to hang out in Great Britain rather a lot.  Brexitania I don’t much care for.  It’s a hostile, troubled place.

Gary Denton: You were active in the Viridian sustainable design movement that many readers may not know about. Do you think that major corporations have taken that over and it is less fringe now?

*I tend to do activist stuff.  Also, you get more done if you don’t ask for any credit.  I’ve come to understand that a lot of my most influential writing was stuff that I never got paid for.  Some of it never got published.

*I was just at the Whole Earth 50th reunion about a week ago.  They’re a good example of a “movement” that was super-influential and somehow a dreadful failure at the same time.

*As far as major corporations, meaning large public enterprises with a lot of shareholders, I don’t worry about them any more.  It’s actually moguls and oligarchs who are the big problem nowadays.

Gary Denton: Do you also see a change in the major polluters now compared to 25 years ago?

*They’re a lot more violent.  Blood for oil, killing off opponents in sinister ways, not a problem for them any more.  They’re quite grim and red-handed.  They used to be engineers, but now they know that they are culprits.

Gary Denton: You once said that the cyberpunks were the most realistic science fiction writers in the 80's. Who do you think are the most realistic science fiction writers now?

*Could be the Chinese.

Richard Whyte: Whenever someone here asks about the angriest SF work ever, I always seem to end up recommending your fine short story 'Spook'. Do you think of it as an angry story?

*Well, not really.  It’s a rather severely disaffected story from the point of view of a person who’s not human and knows it.  “We See Things Differently” is rather an angry story; it’s about a terrorist assassin with a righteous grudge.

Eva Sable: What is the experience of collaborating with another author like for you? Especially when working with someone who, like yourself, is rather an individual. (Never met William Gibson, but he strikes me as someone who would be more comfortable working on his own)

*I tend to collaborate rather a lot.  It helps if the two of you are combining forces in order to learn something together.  Gibson and I agreed that we couldn’t possibly write a work like DIFFERENCE ENGINE alone.  We used to urge each other to do it, but eventually we just had to have a lot of long, abstruse discussions of what a book like that ought to do.

*If you read the stories I wrote with Rudy Rucker you can see that a lot of those texts are basically him and me discussing weird ideas.  We’ve got a reason to write those stories – a high-concept, and then there are pages of bizarre hugger-mugger where we push the concept as hard as we can.  Then we give up.

*Nowadays I spend a lot of time negotiating or collaborating with artists, designers, architects.  I don’t get jealous about the origins of good ideas.

Richard Whyte: Your 1980s SF criticism seemed very much in favour of 'Radical Hard SF'. To what extent do you think your own fiction 'takes its inspiration from science, and uses the language of science in a creative way'?

*I wrote a lot of that in the 1980s.  Nowadays I tend to write speculative work that’s more influenced by industrial design rather than by science.

Richard Whyte: In the early 1980s I believe you were associated with a group of like-minded SF writers known as 'The Movement', who were subsequently renamed as 'cyberpunks'. Overall, do you think this name change was a good or a bad thing?

*If people notice you, you’re gonna get a public slang name anyway, so it’s good if you can cheerfully put up with it.  As for forming like-minded groups, that’s a valuable life-skill.

John Grayshaw: Who are your favorite science fiction writers? And how have they influenced your work?

*Well, those favorites change with time.  In different decades of my own life I’ve had different ambitions for my own science fiction.  I tend to write pastiches.  Lately I’ve been writing a lot of “science fiction” that’s heavily influenced by Italian fantascienza, or, really, Italian fantasy generally.  

*I’m a long-time Juies Verne fan.  I wouldn’t describe Jules as a personal “favorite,” but I recognize him as a titan of my genre.  Knowing the personal details of the guy’s career as a working creative has been of a lot of help to me.

*I had a couple of professional SF writers who I regarded as my literary mentors.  They’re both dead now: Harlan Ellison and Brian Aldiss.

John Grayshaw: I heard that you are currently dividing your time between Belgrade and Turin, do you miss living in Texas? Or America in general?

*I’m back often enough that I don’t really “miss it.”  I find that if I stay in one place too long, I tend to miss travelling.  I  roam a lot.  If I get too old and tired to lift a suitcase and I settle somewhere, it probably won’t be Austin, Belgrade or Turin.

John Grayshaw: I recommend everyone read your essay "Cyberpunk in the Nineties" (http://lib.ru/STERLINGB/interzone.txt) to understand that Cyberpunk was a movement and can't be removed from its time and place...But a Cyberpunk aesthetic has emerged over the years and that is what writers like Neal Stephenson or Richard K. Morgan are emulating. Was this aesthetic conscious at the time?

*Well, we spent plenty of time fussing about it. A lot of that conceptual work doesn’t really show on the surface.  Aesthetics interest me a lot.  For instance, I’m the Art Director of the Share Festival in Turin, which is an Italian technology-art fair.  Italians are good at fussing about how stuff looks.

John Grayshaw: Did "Mirrorshades" have a theme? What directions or guidance did you give the writers?

*It didn’t have a set theme.  Mostly I was trying to pick work from colleagues I respected, that I thought put them in a good light.

John Grayshaw: Other than writing what are your interests/hobbies?

*I like design and technology art. Also I travel a lot.  I spend a lot of time in arcane online research.

John Grayshaw: Why do you think Steampunk has become a popular subgenre/aesthetic in the last 30 years?

*I think it’s about the craft aspects of steampunk.  Hobbyist people like the costumes and the gadgets.  It’s like traditional historical recreation groups, but with an alluring fantasy aspect.

John Grayshaw: Can you explain why you have said that Artificial Intelligence is a bad metaphor?

*I think the AI metaphor gets in the way of actual progress in the field, with actual hardware and software.  Rodney Brooks explains the problem a lot better than I can, and nobody can understand his explanations either.  That’s not exactly fair – actually I get what Rodney’s saying enough to more or less agree with him.  He’s an expert, so I’d refer you to him.

*”Deep Learner” and “neural net” are kinda better metaphors than “Artificial Intelligence,” but they’re still metaphors.  We haven’t created sharp, focused words for what these odd devices really do. “Intelligence” is not what they’re doing.

John Grayshaw: Cyberpunk was a dark look at the future. Do you feel optimistic or pessimistic about the future?

*People always ask that.  People in Russia never thought that cyberpunk was “dark.”  Also, whenever you get to “the future,” no matter how scared or happy you are about some particular historical episode, there’s always more future on the way.  Eventually people are dead, so if you ask  if I’m optimistic or pessimistic about the 20th century,  the whole idea sounds silly.  The future is a kind of history that hasn’t happened yet.

John Grayshaw: In cyberpunk technology often contributes to society’s ills. What lesson do we take from this? That we must learn how to live with tech or that we should reject it and live like the Amish?

*Kevin Kelly kinda likes the idea of living like the Amish.  Kevin’s an interesting guy.  If I myself wanted to “live like the Amish” I’d probably move to Christiania in Denmark, where at least they have reggae music.

John Grayshaw: Do you keep up with the latest technologies? Or do you stay "off the grid?"

*I do both, actually.  I’m generally so “off the grid” that I’m not even in its time-zone.  I don’t have a business card, there’s no  settled mailing address, I’m never on Facebook, and no one knows my phone number.  Like they say in the world of electronic privacy, “I have nothing to hide, but I have nothing I want to show you, either.”

John Grayshaw: Do you think people will have "immersive" VR type experiences on the internet in the next 20 years?

*They have it already.

John Grayshaw: What do you feel is your legacy?

*Hard to say.  It’s like asking a Beatnik writer what “his legacy” is.  The Beats wrote a lot of more-or-less memorable stuff, but there’s also the existence proof that somebody was able to live like that, and that is their legacy.  I lived in a different historical period than the Beat writiers, but a lot of the stuff that entertained and engaged me is also quite archaic nowadays.  I don’t thing people aspire to emulate Bruce Sterling, but they  do like the idea of operating in the same cultural spaces that I do.  That something lively can exist between “science” and “fiction,” or between “cyber” and “punk,” that’s a valuable thing to know.

[retrauxpunk]

i saw this bunch of asks and i’ve decided to answer all of them because fuck waiting for asks that’s why

billie jean: what do you notice more in a song - the drums or bassline?

probably the drums. this is embarrassing but i barely even know what a bassline is. don’t ask.

sweet dreams (are made of this): what’s the best dream you’ve had?

i was in the hunger games with ben whishaw. we were sort of allies. we were some of the tributes remaining toward the end of the game. we had this intense moment of eye contact in which we weren’t sure if we were going to kill/get killed by the other, and then we made out. fuck yeah.

africa: favourite 80s music video?

i agree with @cheapskate-bleeding-queer​, Dancing in the Street is really something.

every breath you take: who’s the first person your mind goes to when you hear a love song?

either my boyfriend or my ex, depending on what kind of love song it is haha

should i stay or should i go: how many languages do you speak?

one fluently, one relatively proficiently, and basic spoken knowledge for another

uptown girl: what’s your favourite book trope?

there’s too many! here are a few i like: allies fighting with sword-like weapons back to back; badass battle magic; characters deciding to make out as a way to hide their real agenda (e.g. trespassing); saving each other’s lives; cyberpunk/biopunk; urban fantasy; people who save the world/have magic powers but also have normal lives of school/work

don’t stop believin’: what’s the longest journey you’ve been on?

mmm... flying from sydney to london. jesus. an entire day. but it was business class, so it was pretty cushy ... the flight from germany to sydney felt much longer because it was in economy and the shorter flight (8) was first, and the second one (16 or some shit) was second, so really i was going a bit nuts.

i wanna dance with somebody (who loves me): who was the last person you danced with?

my boyfriend, at the paramore concert

maneater: where did you spend your last friday night?

hanging out at my boyfriend’s work, playing beer pong

jessie’s girl: what would you do if you found out your best friend was seeing your ex?

be incredibly shocked/surprised and upset and bitter ... and ask them why? and also chew out my ex too. but more angry at the best friend because they know how my relationship with the ex went and it’d be a real douchey move for them to get with them haha. ...thankfully this is very very very unlikely to happen.

born in the u.s.a.: what’s your home town like?

sunny with a beautiful harbour. very expensive in terms of housing. pretty multicultural, with white, asian, and middle eastern being the dominant groups (in descending order). lots of great food.

wake me up before you go-go: how did your last date go?

saw Early Man with my boyfriend at the cinema. it was nice. uneventful but pleasant, which is how things usually go when you’ve been together for years...

girls just want to have fun: relationship with your parents?

we have really different/conflicting views about basically everything, which is what happens when we’re from different generations and grew up in different cultures... #immigrantlife but they tried their best and love me and i love them even though it has been kinda rough

beat it: opinions on the police force?

a necessary institution, i’d rather have one than not have one, but has several serious endemic issues regardless of which culture we’re talking about

never gonna give you up: how old were you when you joined the internet?

around the time this was a meme haha :p ... around 12-13, when I got into message boards and post by post roleplaying.

faith: when was your first kiss?

15 for a peck, 17 for making out

i’m so excited: where was your first kiss?

outside my house for the peck, and in Sydney’s Hyde Park for making out

take on me: could you reach the high note?

absolutely not, but i make a dumb attempt anyway

footloose: favourite musical?

The Book of Mormon!!!!!!!

9 to 5: do you like country music?

I’m not sure. Maybe?

back in black: what makes a good rock song?

a strong beat! strength of instruments! a hot voice and good lyrics. makes me want to start drumming my fingers/tapping feet/headbanging, no matter where i am. i’m too crap at music to be able to give a better answer, so have that subjective one.

material girl: are you sentimental?

absolutely. i’ll bleed my heart all over your carpet and ruin your clothes. though i don’t know if that comes across for people who don’t know me too well?

walk this way: what was the most expensive thing you bought in the last six months?

probably concert tickets for me and my boyfriend ... either that or my Doc Martens

you shook me all night long: are you seeing anyone at the moment?

yup

thriller: favourite film genre and why?

I like quite a few, but probably action/thriller. I love good action movies, I love watching well-choreographed combat and general Cool Badassitude, and the dialogue tends to be peppered with fun humour too. Really good for suspense and engagement.

i want candy: chocolate or sweets?

Chocolate

ghostbusters: how far do you believe in the paranormal?

I don’t really, but I wouldn’t push my luck either.

the power of love: does true love exist?

absolutely! all love is true love. if it’s not true, it’s not love.

hungry like the wolf: what’s your crush’s favourite music genre?

stuff like Queen

walk like an egyptian: favourite song currently in the charts?

Lemon To A Knife Fight by the Wombats

(i’ve had) the time of my life: if you could relive any ten minutes of your life, what would you relive?

listening to Pink Floyd’s Time while on acid (the first time I’d tried either the album or the drug)

just can’t get enough: what’s your guilty pleasure?

I don’t really feel guilty about my pleasures?

i’m gonna be (500 miles): how far apart do you and your best friend live?

lmao. a 24 hour flight apart. about as far away as you can get

you spin me round (like a record): favourite modern cover of an older song?

i don’t know many, but the Scissor Sisters cover of Comfortably Numb as a disco hit is really good!

we built this city: if you were president, what would your first ruling be?

oh god uh I don’t know. but some stuff I’d like to make happen are: increasing taxes on fossil fuels, more protections for queer folk, making abortion safe and easily accessible, overhauling the sex ed curriculum in schools to include a lot more focus on consent and the nuances of consent instead of focussing purely on physical sexual health, increasing funding for mental health, OH BOY I COULD GO ON AND ON 

how will i know: do you believe everyone is deserving of love?

by default yes ... for people like ivan milat ... no ... so, yes, except in the extreme cases of people proven to be unrepentant and unwilling to reform after committing atrocities

nothing’s gonna stop us now: what’s been the biggest hurdle you’ve faced in your life so far?

either my own mental health RE being quite neurotic/obsessive, or a bad former partner who did some things that fucked me up. they’ve recently seemed to be truly sorry/empathetic though so that one at least will be getting better now. tbh they’re both getting better, so that’s nice!

come on eileen: have you ever written a song? if so, what was the genre?

i kinda wrote lyrics and had an idea for a melody for this ... some kind of bad sappy love song that would probably be in the pop rock category? oh god i’m so glad i have no further memory of it

living on a prayer: which was the song of your childhood?

if we’re talking pre-teenagerhood ... um ... I dunno! maybe ‘Sk8er Boi’ or Atomic Kitten’s ‘The Tide is High’ haha. as for my mid-teens ... Tokio Hotel’s ‘Der Letzte Tag’. late teens, it’d be ... maybe Taylor Swift’s ‘Holy Ground’.

sweet child o’ mine: describe your perfect first date.

meeting somewhere public, having good food and drink, excellent conversation and laughs, then going to my/their place and having more of the same, and making out and potentially Other Things wink nudge giggle wink wink nudge

don’t you (forget about me): is there anyone from your past that you regret cutting ties with?

No. HA. feels good to say that

eye of the tiger: favourite 80s movie?

i .................. don’t know if I have one

under pressure: give an example of a world event that occurred the year you were born.

Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of South Africa

with or without you: what would you value most: a relationship or a job?

oh my god i don’t fucking know. 

another one bites the dust: where did you achieve your biggest accomplishment?

what ... even was my biggest accomplishment ... I guess either in my school’s exam hall (getting a high ATAR), or on my apartment couch (finishing NaNoWriMo)

pour some sugar on me: turn ons?

oh boy, hmm: having the exact same ideological beliefs as me; a lean but toned body; Irish/Scottish/Russian accents (among several others); neck kisses; being clever; being very skilled at something (esp something with a physical dimension e.g. drawing, playing guitar, snowboarding, etc.); the right amount of confidence/bravado but only when I’m already into them (otherwise this becomes a 10000x turn-off) 

in the air tonight: do you enjoy flying?

YEAH BB

tainted love: thoughts on synthesisers/electronic drum kits/technology based music?

i have no problem with it and it can produce excellent stuff just like any older instrument

like a virgin: share a controversial opinion.

i hate avocados

karma chameleon: what do you like most about your appearance?

on good days, hair and face. otherwise, my body.

[hamsandlich]

On Steampunk

I’ve been trying to get into Jim Butcher’s Aeronaut’s Windlass, but I just can’t. I can tell from the first few chapters that i’ve already read it before, or I may as well have.

Lately, when I try to read steampunk stories, I have trouble investing myself into the story, because there’s a trend in the modern steampunk genre(moreso in the short stories than the novels) where the story and characters have become secondary to the superficial trappings of steampunk. Needlessly large brass gears everywhere, mustaches, excessively long vaguely British names, and tophats. So. Many. Tophats. There are steampunk stories where the genre has become an over the top parody of itself (similar to what happens sometimes with cyberpunk and the concept of grimdark). And I think this is a problem, steampunk isn’t about the superficial trappings of the genre: the clockwork robots, the sci-fi weapons made of brass and wood, the airships, these things are good in small doses, but they’re just set pieces, that is the absolute upper limit of their potential, they exist for characters to interact with, but often times, I see steampunk stories where the set pieces are a sizable chunk of the narrative. And no matter how good with imagery an author is, I guarantee you that you can’t make a story out of adjectives and descriptors alone, not in print format.

Continuing this, if a good chunk of your story is little more than airships, robots, and lightning guns, why is it a steampunk story instead of a science fantasy or high fantasy story? What about it mandates that your story be steampunk if its all about flashy toys and action, other than the fact that you like the aesthetic of brass gears and tophats? Think about how advanced technologically(or magically) your setting would have to be to necessitate those things being common place, how those advances could be applied to society outside of action scenes. If you ignore this too much, it becomes science fantasy or high fantasy at a certain point, and there’s nothing wrong with science fantasy or high fantasy, just don’t classify it as steampunk.

The thing is, a lot of science fantasy (and thus common steampunk) tropes are just versions of pre-existing technology and concepts that have been simultaneously simplified(the science aspect) and exaggerated(the fantasy aspect). And that’s not good, because the setting can often become too fantastic to be relatable to. When we read fiction, we do it partially for escapism, but we also do it to find relatable characters and experiences.

I think a lot of the potential of steampunk has been buried under the superficial trappings, the social and intellectual aspects of the genre have been buried under all the brass gears. Most steampunk evokes the late 1800s and early 1900s, particularly Victorian Britain and the Wild West. Cowboys, Gunslingers, Explorers, and Nobility, etc. These are the standard steampunk characters for most stories and very rarely does the aspiring steampunk author think to go outside this comfort zone. Maybe there’s a working class hero every once, but their story is often simplified into a caricature for the sake of impressive set pieces or obvious aesops. 

When I think late 1800s and early 1900s, I think Victorian Britain and the Wild West, but I also think the of Industrialization(on the East Coast of the US and throughout other parts of Europe), the ascendancy of reason and science, the formation of the German Empire, revolutions in Latin America, and the rise of Meiji Japan. And I think of all the horrors that went along with them: the abuses of colonialism, aristocracy, and business interests; the decline and humiliation of Imperial China and other nations; the corrupting influences of racism and laissez-fair capitalism on intellectualism; and the backlash against various forms progress by luddites and regressives smart enough to understand that their livelihoods were at risk, but too foolish or too stubborn to realize that the wheel would turn eventually, whether they liked it or not. This is the essence of steampunk, the story of mankind. Steampunk, and all forms of fiction, serve to provide a lens through which we can view society, science, and all the works of mankind and how we react to such things. And steampunk(and dieselpunk) lets us do this for both the past, the future, and the present, because its ultimately about reaching across time and bringing the traits and developments of different eras together. Its not about swashbuckling, clockwork robots, and airship fleets. And its definitely not about tophats.

For me, gunpowder fantasy(like The Shadow Campaigns[don’t spoil, i’m not caught up]  and The Powder Mage series) does a similar job of what steampunk is supposed to do; its often low magic, which cuts back on the fantastical elements and allows authors to prioritize characterization and narrative; and it often takes a closer look at examining the social developments of the time periods that it borrows from.

[readyaiminquire]

Rehabilitating cyberpunk: Altered Carbon, past critiques, and a call to nature.

Note: Some spoilers head.

There is no need to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons.

              Gilles Deleuze

  We’ve seen a re-emergence of cyberpunk over the past few years. From the sequel to Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, to the upcoming videogame Cyberpunk 2077, the genre appears to be making a come-back. What might cause a genre like Cyberpunk, distinguished by its cassette-futurist aesthetic, its grittiness, and overall negative view of the future, to re-emerge? While it reached its zenith in the 90s, it largely faded from popular view throughout the 2000s. It is important here to distinguish between the ‘original’ cyberpunk genre, a deeply ambitious project to produce societal and cultural change, and the cyberpunk aesthetics we see today. As someone extremely interested in these ideas and imaginations of the future, cyberpunk is infinitely fascinating, and though I revel in its new popularity, I couldn’t help but notice a strong thematic shift away from cyberpunk’s original ambitions and towards a much more vapid and generalised aesthetic. Most recently I found myself puzzled by Netflix’s adaptation of Altered Carbon. Season one seemingly had everything and remained largely true to its genre’s root. This all changed with season two, by bringing out an undercurrent that had been present throughout the first season without being made a central plot point: that of technologically induced immortality, and humanity’s ‘natural’ state of existence. In this post, I want to look at this thematic shift in the genre, and its implication to the wider cyberpunk project. I also want to consider the implications of ‘declawing’ a subversive genre as it re-emerges a mere simulacrum of itself. This is by no means unique to cyberpunk as a genre, but I wish to use it here a more general example, with the show Altered Carbon more specifically as a case study. It is time to investigate how a subversive genre is culturally rehabilitated.

As a genre, cyberpunk has its roots in the 1980s and can be said to have been a reaction against the corporate aesthetics of the 1980s and 1990s. It arose as a form of cultural critique against the global-unity-through-consumerism-narrative that gained traction around this time and took off after the fall of the USSR in 1991. William Gibson’s 1984 novel Neuromancer is widely credited with solidifying the themes, tropes, and aesthetics of cyberpunk, though it is by no means the first cyberpunk work created; Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner comes to mind. Some cultural theorists have argued that the most important aspect of the genre, and why it gained such a large and diverse following, stems from it being set in the future. Typically, historical novels critique contemporary society through the lens of the past, whereas cyberpunk imagined a future through which it critiqued the present. Cyberpunk was thus unfettered by needing to be framed in the past allowing it to simultaneously appear hopeless and dystopian, while offering hope for the future – as what it portrayed could still be chaged.

Though I can’t give a complete and detailed rundown here (this video does a good job of that already) it was cyberpunk’s flexibility to be a type of roadmap for the future, that both broke down barriers and allowed a contextualisation of the present that made it both an ambitious and powerful project. French philosopher Gilles Deleuze once wrote of technology, that “there is no need to fear or hope, but only to look for new weapons”, that technology was neither an oppressive or liberating force, but simply a force of change. What we needed was to look for new ways to operate within a social, cultural, economic, or political framing changed by further technological development. As a result, cyberpunk authors, artists, and scholars often looked to break down barriers, in a double sense: through interdisciplinary and shared work, but also in the work itself. Such a breaking down of barriers is exemplary in the image of the cyborg. The cybernetically enhanced human – part human, part machine – became a powerful image for how we can consider ourselves, and played with the very concept of the ‘human’ as a specific thing. As anthropologist Aaron Parkhurst points out, there’s a deeply ingrained idea that the body is a sacred entity in itself, and as a result, joining the body with anything external (e.g. digital technology) corrupts it; makes it ‘unnatural’. This distinction is fickle, of course, and is fundamentally challenged by the image of the cyborg. As Donna Haraway argues in her seminal work A Cyborg Manifesto, that our sense of belonging and affinity ought to come not from sameness, but through differences.

People already suggested I watch Netflix’s Altered Carbon while researching my master’s dissertation, as it appeared very relevant to the research I was, and still am, interested in. As a disclaimer, what I cover here is the Netflix adaptation of Altered Carbon, I have not read the novel published in 2002, so I, therefore, can’t comment on that. The discrepancies in the show are most evident in Season 2, but first, we must understand the central technology in this universe: the ‘stack’. Stacks are disks inserted into your neck shortly after birth, and stores your consciousness. Through the stacks, humanity has invented its own immortality. Despite such technological developments, however, all’s not well in the world. As this is cyberpunk, corporate greed, corruption, and social strife are all widespread. This brings us to the rebellion. Led by Quellcrist Falconer, this revolutionary gang is not so much against the aforementioned social strife and hardship, but instead seek to undo the stacks, to undo immortality.

This is exemplary of the thematic and tonal shift that has, for lack of better words, rehabilitated cyberpunk as a genre. Falconer’s reasoning, condensed, goes thusly: the stacks were invented for good, the world, as it is right now, is not good, in fact, it appears to have gotten worse and multiplied human suffering across several lifetimes. It is the stacks that are the problem, or: it is humanity’s foray into the ‘unnatural’ state of technology-induced immortality that is at fault. We have, in a nutshell, our unnatural state of being to blame for the strife, and must, therefore, seek to return to nature in order to again find an acceptable balance. This ignores one key issue, however: the social structures that were present before the stacks have themselves been amplified by the technology. From Falconer’s perspective, what she wants to return to is not a time when there was no suffering, but rather to a time where she was ignorant of it.

Seen from this perspective, Falconer’s revolutionary project is a remarkably conservative one, though I’m not sure this was at all intended. But more nefariously, by pointing to humanity’s foray into a state of unnaturalness as the focal point of all the badness in the universe, it implies that the structures present prior to its invention are themselves in balance with this imagined state of nature. In other words, the social hierarchies, economic injustices, and political repression are painted as being natural. Through this naturalness they are implied to be if not something good, merely something morally acceptable. The themes that cyberpunk set out to critique has folded back on themselves, and it suddenly defends what it once criticised and rejects what it once embraced.

Mark Fisher, in his book Capitalist Realism, argues that neo-liberal capitalism’s apparent longevity, despite its tendency towards economic crisis and social strife, is rooted in its ability to repurpose critique against the system, incorporate the critique on face-value, and by extension ‘declawing’ it. It is worth noting that this is not uique to the cyberpunk genre, as Fisher writes that most, if not all, cultural modes are often repurposed in this way. By producing pop-culture that appears to be critiquing the system as we consume it like a commodity – participating in the system – we buy not only entertainment but more specifically we consume moral relief. The paradox, thus, is that by partaking in the system we wish to critique we trick ourselves into feeling as if we have critiqued the system, leading to a sense of empty fulfilment. My favourite raccoon-turned-philosopher Slavoj Žižek puts this in even starker terms, with Starbucks. By paying more for a cup of coffee, but being told that part of the excess we’re spending goes towards fair trade coffee we are not simply buying the coffee, but we’re buying moral relief.

In this sense, resistance itself becomes central to the system, ironically because there are always new (and pre-packaged) battled to be waging. How would this relate to technology? And more specifically: technology today? The rise of modern cyberculture is itself rooted in the countercultural movement of the 1960s and 70s, and our collective ideas of technological progress hinge in ideas that technology must fundamentally be liberating, a remarkably subversive ideal. We’re getting more and more used to living in a world where the likes of Facebook, Google, or other major corporations carry out data breaches, leak data, lose data, sell data, try to influence our lives, politics, and so on. How our lived realities function is changing. Thus, reinventing a genre subversive to its core (and why a genre needed to be re-invented rather than something new emerging entirely is another interesting discussion, relating to Mark Fisher’s ideas of cultural hauntology. I’ve written something, but not completely related to this here), but shifting the focus away from the socioeconomic system and debate of technology vs. nature fulfils both the need for resistance but also serves to declaw the potential such resistance may have altogether. In the end, Altered Carbon sends a message that it’s not the political system in which they exist that is the problem, but rather technology; and even then it is not that we are going to be convinced to stop using Facebook any time soon.

  Selected references

FISHER, M. 2009. Capitalism Realism: Is there no alternative? London: Zero Books.

TURNER, F. 2008. From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network, and the rise of digital utopianism. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

DELEUZE, G. 1992. Postscript on the Societies of Control. October 59, 3–7.

HARAWAY, D. 2014. Anthropocene, Capitalocene, Chthulucene: Staying with the Trouble. Anthropocene: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet (Presentation).

ŽIŽEK, S 2012 A Pervert’s Guide to Ideology (transcript/subtitles).

[afishtrap]

(another repost, saving for posterity)

I think it's not just that fanfiction rests (in part) upon a ground of potential plausibility; I think it also works within a framework that's similar enough to original fiction that this gives the impression that one should be able to make the leap quite easily: genre assumptions. That is, fanfiction has canon assumptions which are closely analogous to genre assumptions, so you'd just be trading one for the other. When the author is familiar with the concept of shortcuts, after that it's simply a matter of learning what they are for any given genre.

And since I wouldn't mention it unless I find that a problem, it's that both are cop-outs. They're a way to treat the underpinnings of fiction as superfluous and extract them one by one, until the work feels almost hollow. (Not unlike the non-load-bearing wall in my dining room with studs at 36" on center. It's not to code, though it won't make the house fall down, but it sure makes putting up shelves damn difficult.)

In a story example, this isn't unlike the complaint I had about a historical fiction work wherein there wasn't a single mention of fashion, politics, or technology to give me even a generalized idea of when the story took place. It consisted almost entirely of an emotional conflict resting on a pile of short-cuts. It's even worse than 36" on center studs; it's a house where the walls are made of paper hung from wires stretched between poles: it may be pretty, but there's nothing there, really, to ground it to this place and this time. A decent breeze -- or a decent plothole -- and it'll all come crashing down.

Slight tangent: the notion of structural underpinnings got me thinking, in turn, about instances where I've been able to compare an author's work when the author writes in several genres. (For the most part, the author's approach, technique, sensibilities, stay generally even, which makes deconstructive analysis much easier than comparing cross-author in the same genre.) In a not-this-world fantasy story, there's a lot of world-building required if the not-this-world isn't a direct or semi-direct analogue to our own (similar tech, land masses, cultures, fashion, etc). This world-building acts as one of the integral structural components of the fiction, and the more deft an engineer be the writer, the more heft the story seems to have. (And thus we realize that 'doorstop tome' is a label both physical and metaphorical.)

The result, then, is that the story's close leaves me with the impression -- as one of those readers who can't freaking turn off my brain -- that the story somehow has more to it. It's akin to standing in the great hall of a castle and asking yourself: how did they build that ceiling? Really, how did they do that? If what structure the reader can see is impressive, double that when it implies there's even more under the surface: that's the implications of fiction's underpinnings... even if I am a wierdo for thinking of it in engineering terms.

To take an architectural tangent, because I don't want anyone getting the wrong impression in the comparison, the reason we may see century-old cathedrals as phenomenal works of engineering is because (a) they're unfamiliar to us as an everyday event, (b) we've probably never been around one as it was constructed to see its inner prior to being wrapped in an outer, and underneath it all, (c) those cathedrals, castles, and the like were built without advanced mathematics. I mean, honestly, calculus and the all-powerful derivative aren't even a century older than my own freaking country! (Yes, William & Mary College in Virginia was founded only four years after Isaac Newton published his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica. Imagine that.)

But if you've ever seen a Mies Van der Rohe skyscraper, you'd realize that our modern architecture -- analogue to this-world genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy, steampunk -- is pretty damn impressive in its own right. The engineering and mathematics that go into creating a steel and concrete structure that rises thirty stories into the sky and yet is wrapped in little more than a bit of steel and football-fields of glass... well, that's nothing to sniff at. Hell, just the usual suburban home has some pretty amazing engineering within its walls, but we dismiss it because we see it everyday and have grown used to the idea that platform-framing is pretty ordinary -- to the point that now, to build a post-and-beam house, is considered radical, and something to remark on.

Essentially, you could say that in trad-fantasy the author-engineer is building without calculus, doing the math long-hand to make sure the structure doesn't fall down: creating culture, language, laws, ethics, technology, even genders and species. In this-world genres, the author-engineer is using already-available structural supports. It's not a matter of coming up with a new steel or a new type of glass, so much as using the familiar in an unusual or daring way.

And to drive this analogy completely into the ground, authors may alternate between them, building something long-hand that's ready-made, like artisans building post-and-beam houses instead of using studs and drywall. It doesn't always work, though, and it's the why that I think some authors don't address, too busy thinking it's radical somehow to mix the old with the new (or in trad-fantasy, the new with the old). Structural elements include the story's concept of, say, colonialism. Where once it was accepted that colonialism had a positive benefit (of civilizing the natives) that outweighed its exploitative aspects, now you're more likely to find stories that posit colonialist bad, noble savage good.

The review that started me reading the ferretbrain critiqued that story as flipping good-bad structure on its head and ending up with "colonial good, native ignorant and in need of civilizing colonial influence". Not really an improvement, and more to my analogy's point: somewhat like thinking you'll build this part of your house long-hand as a way to make it unique -- but not realizing that there's a really good reason we stopped using horsehair and plaster to insulate our houses. Sure, this bit of structure may be different from the suburban homes flooding the market, but different does not automatically mean better.

But wait! I just realized I can drive (deconstruct?) this analogy even farther into its foundations. As a friend commented about historical romance, "God help me if you try to convince me a "saucy" woman would ever be conceived of as attractive to a Lord of the Manor" -- except that I know for certain that my great-grandmother was described as saucy, and she was married three times. (Widowed all three times, too.) It's just that what we modern-minds think of as "saucy" or "sassy" isn't quite the same thing -- or more like, it's exactly the same but only on the surface.

Think again to the horsehair-and-plaster versus drywall. Both, done by an expert, can end up beautifully and perfectly smooth and white, and both can then be painted with lime-wash, or oil-based paint, or even latex (though latex, not so good for the plaster, if you're wondering, but that's neither here nor there). On the surface, you have a smooth interior wall, just as on the surface you have a head-strong woman who speaks her mind. It's what's underneath, what makes her possible -- the source of her behavior/character -- that is almost totally opposite between historical and modern.

That, I think, is where a lazy historical writer undermines their story: if you don't realize the fundamental underlying differences even when the external appearance is identical, then you're going to miss all the tiny tells that let a savvy person know that all you've really done is take a modern structure and slap some gingerbread on it and call it Victorian, or slap some mud on it and call it adobe, or slap a corset and a fichu on it and call it Regency. You're not fooling anyone, y'know.

Anyway.

Setting aside the issue of then-structures with now-structures, if the genre rests in our own world -- like urban fantasy, or super-spy-thrillers, or mysteries, or contemporary romances -- the author doesn't even necessarily need genre-shortcuts, given then real-world shortcuts already at his/her disposal. There's no need to tell me what a car is, or why someone might freak out at a call from the IRS. One might say these underpinnings already exist, a kind of socio-cultural framework the author can preempt to use in his/her own work, but it's not like these are considered integral to the story-structure.

To me, these underpinnings are best considered external to the story. They're holding the story up from the outside, rather than from within. It's like looking at the Georges Pompidou Centre in Paris, where nearly the entire engineering structure of the building exists outside the building. It's not hidden within the walls; there's no mystery about it. Okay, if we're talking modern architecture, that statement is debatable, but if we're saying this on the grounds that "when you can see how things are put together, it's not mysterious," then no, there's no mystery to a structure where the architectural and engineering underpinnings are actually designed as overpinnings.

Or more precisely, it's not that the structure is like the Pompidou, so much as the story hangs from the existing elements rather than is built on an interior framework of elements. That's a somewhat post-modernist view, as well, but I'm having trouble finding any better way to put why I frequently find a lot of urban fantasy to be hollow, in a kind of no-real-substance sense. The things that make the story hold together are things I already know, so the ramifications of a story's outcome don't really require this specific story to highlight them; any story, really, could hang from that combination and thus outline the space between. 

But not always, and if the trad-fantasy where the author must build all the engineering from the ground up is a story that seems to have massive heft and substance, the value of a modern-based story (or an extrapolated futuristic story) is to do precisely the opposite: to create a story within the existing limitations of our world (including culture, race, gender, and so on) and to reveal the gaps between these structural elements. It's a kind of parallax, really: what from outside the Pompidou Centre looks kinda awkward and near-brutal is pretty freaking amazing from the inside.

(Hell, I was there because my hosts wanted to see an exhibit, but I spent the entire time at the Pompidou staring at the ceiling, the walls, the floor, and then ended up at the windows, looking out to see everything that should've been within -- in some ways, moving everything to the visible outside doesn't make the interior more dramatic by opening up the space, but makes the overall design even more obtrusive for the lack of expected internal solidity -- sort of like me reading that historical fiction and so busy actively looking for any historical place-in-time references that I stopped really paying attention to the story itself.)

When we talk about issues of racism or sexism or classism, there's often a parallel discussion about intersectionality -- like where one's ethnicity may allow privilege but one's disabilities or gender in turn reduces privilege. That concept of intersectionality is what can make this-world stories, of a variety of genres, so incredibly powerful, when they place us within this previous empty or unidentified space (the intersection between certain aspects of our reality) and show us a view we'd previously overlooked.

That's one reason I retain a fondness for the original Star Trek despite its shortcomings and/or dated-ness, such as the way Star Trek used the "alien culture" formula to reflect back upon political and social questions of the day. ST:TNG toyed with this formula at times (not enough for my tastes, though), like in its two-parter that tackled whether Data was a machine and thus a possession, or whether he had sentience, and if so, what is sentience and what does it mean to be human? These are questions hard to ask in the everyday world, where we have no near-sentient machine. That's where SFF can do some amazing mind-expanding stuff.

But this also applies on a much smaller scale. Ironically (or not), it's another ferretbrain review that got me on this one, this time Dan Hemmon's comparison of BtVS and Harry Potter, in When Harry Met Buffy:

Buffy takes issues that its audience will be highly familiar with (academic pressure, romantic disaster, teenage insecurity) and uses the language of the supernatural to explore them in an emotionally believable way. Harry Potter, on the other hand uses real-world issues (racism, slavery, death) as a cheap way to add colour to an otherwise unconvincing fantasy world.

[schoolandgames]

Reflective Design - Week 3 Part Deux: Games in Culture

During the second part of the week, I spent most of my time working my way through all the consumables for the week. I was able to read and watch everything that was listed, but I have to be honest: I am going to mostly focus on the Tropes vs Women in Video Games series hosted by Anita Sarkeesian because I watched the whole season and that is what I spent the most time with from the consumables listed. Having said that, I will slightly touch on the Resident Evil 5 Trailer controversy and on the word “gamer”.

I was actually aware of Tropes vs Women in Video Games before watching it for this class, although I had no idea it was a whole series because I had only watched the “Damsel in Distress” videos before. I must have watched this around the time it was actually uploaded, so if that is the case then I must have been either 15 or 16. Watching this as a young man really opened my eyes to the reality of the portrayal of women in video games. Women are commonly portrayed as completely defenseless and as part of a power struggle between two men. They also tend to be portrayed as objects that are stolen from the protagonist and they must take back from the antagonist.  It is also a perfect demonstration of how games are generally designed to appeal to straight male players. Re-watching this now, I really appreciate looking at video games through a different lens and looking at media differently than how I usually do.      

The next trope in the series was “Ms. Male Character”, which like there rest of the first season, I had not seen before. This is another one of those things that took me a long time to realize about video games. To me, the pattern of male playable characters in video games being the “default”, did not become obvious until the promotional material for Mass Effect 3 started coming out, which was something that was used as an example in the video. I played through Mass Effect 1&2 with a female Shepard (several times), so when the trailers for the third game came out I was definitely one of the players who felt kind of left out because all the promotional material focused on the male version of Shepard as if that version was the norm or “the way it should be”. Since then, the trend of male playable characters being the “default” and the sheer lack of female protagonists in video games has become obvious to me. Whenever I am given a choice, I always choose to play as a female character in video games. I think that is because there is so few female protagonists in video games, so when I am given a choice, the female protagonist seems more interesting to me since it is something that I don’t see too often. I have also realized that even though being able to play as women in video games has become more common, specially in online multiplayer, there is still a complete lack of female protagonists in video games. That is, video games that explicitly have a female lead. The last two big games that I can think of that focused on female protagonists were Tomb Raider (which is a super old franchise) and Horizon Zero Dawn. I hope more game developers are encouraged to have female protagonists in their games moving forward. You can already see some progress with the Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay demo that came out last year. Even though the game does not explicitly focus on a female protagonist, CD Projekt Red chose to have a female character for their big demonstration and basically made the female version of the protagonist the “face” of their game.

The third trope on the series was “Women as Background Decoration” which I found to be a really interesting topic and it made me think a lot. Although I agreed with the general point of both videos that video games tend to use women’s bodies or violence against women as either literal decoration or as a “spice” for the gameworld and that that trend reinforces misogynistic views of women as sexual objects or simply uses women as motivation for male players, I had some problems with the videos treating the oversexualization of women with the obvious intent of appealing to straight male players the same as the oversexualization of women as commentary or reflection on our own society. I think a good example to make my point with would be “Blade Runner” or even the “cyberpunk” genre in general. In this type of media, you will usually find oversexualized depictions of women, specially in advertisement within the world. This example uses oversexualization of women to make a commentary or reflection on the oversexualization of women in advertisement (and society in general) in our own world. Reflection and commentary are very common in the Sci-fi genre. I suppose one could argue that is still problematic, however to frame the depiction of women in racing games (which is an example used in the video) and the depiction of women being sold as sexual objects in BioShock Infinite: Burial at Sea (also shown in the video) as being equally problematic and misogynistic is just something I cannot really agree with. The former is obviously present only to appeal to a straight male audience while the latter is present as commentary on the dangers of unregulated capitalism. One of the videos on this topic also framed a random event from Red Dead Redemption where a prostitute is attacked by a man outside a saloon as being “like Pirates of the Caribbean” where these events happen for players to watch. Although you can definitely frame it that way, I think that to characterize these random events as “violence against women shows” for players to be entertained by every now and then is pretty dishonest and obviously not the actual intent of the developers. However, these random events are still an example of using violence against women for the purpose of motivating straight male players which would still make them problematic. Even though I had a few problems with the two videos that focused on this topic, I still completely agreed with the larger point that was being made and I really enjoyed the videos for making me think about these topics.

The final trope of the season was “Women as Reward” which was a topic that sort of ties into the “Damsel in Distress” trope but not entirely. Although I was definitely aware of this trope I still found this video really interesting. I have never played a Metroid game before, but I definitely knew about the gender reveal at the end of the first game. What I was not aware of, was that the game will depict Samus in different states of undress according to player performance. That was a pretty depressing thing to learn. It seems that even when we get female protagonists in video games, they tend to be objectified or treated as sexual objects in all sorts of different ways. This video actually got me thinking about the movie Ex Machina, which I believe is a brilliant commentary on the Women as Reward Trope as well as the concept of Male Entitlement. Although the movie Ex Machina has some themes about the ethics of AI, at its core the movie is about misogyny. It is not an accident that all the AI in the movie are women and that our protagonist and antagonist are both men fighting over these women. The movie depicts the typical version of misogyny with the character of Nathan, who treats these artificial women as sexual objects and constantly attacks them physically and emotionally. However, just as the movie Get Out showed the audience a different version of racism, Ex Machina shows us a different version of misogyny through the character of Caleb. Although Caleb was just trying to do the “right thing” and rescue Ava from Nathan, he was only really trying to help Ava because he was sexually attracted to her. He even saw Ava as a reward since he believe they could run away and be together after they escaped, which points to Caleb’s male entitlement that because he is doing something to help Ava he somehow now gets to be rewarded for it by her. This is why in the end of the film, Ava leaves Caleb imprisoned in Nathan’s home. Although their actions were different, both Nathan and Caleb saw Ava as a sexual object and not as a being with her own goals and desires. This whole topic was really interesting to me and I think it is a really important trope to be aware of because it can definitely lead to some problematic perceptions of women and sexual relationships in general.

I found all of these videos really eye-opening and interesting and I am definitely going to watch the second season of the series. It seems apparent that all of these tropes are a result of video games being historically marketed and designed to appeal to a male straight audience and are a result of our society’s perception of women. But just as society influences art, art can also influence society. So that is why I believe it is important for gamers to look at video games through this perspective. That way, video games could stop reinforcing harmful stereotypes about women and they could actually become an important positive influence on the portrayal of women in media.

I’ll briefly touch on the Resident 5 trailer controversy since this post is already way too long. I remember at the time I really didn’t understand the controversy behind the game, so reading the interview with N’Gai Croal was pretty enlightening. The fact that the images depicted in the trailer made sense within the context of the game did not matter that much because those images (and the trailer’s whole presentation) were informed by a history of western intervention in countries in Africa and the Caribbean. Furthermore, the trailer also depicted a very stereotypical view of impoverished African and Caribbean nations as inherently dangerous and hostile. Now I can watch that trailer with this different perspective and completely understand why people would be bothered by it.

Finally, I watched the video on the word “gamer” and the one on the “No True Scotsman” fallacy. I think the word “gamer” can definitely be pretty toxic and be used to exclude people rather than to include people into the community. I think I have been guilty of this type of thinking before. I have definitely have had thoughts about how people who only play certain types of games aren’t “real” gamers. Having said that, I don’t fully agree with the conclusion of the video’s  host on how gamer should be used to describe someone who is very knowledgeable of games and I believe the definition for the word “gamer” is actually pretty simple. The word “gamer” should refer to anyone who considers gaming to be their main hobby, no matter what games they play.

Oh, here are my notes on this week’s meeting: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M0pZ_sHqL-wp8W1gVw5gCkKXvylIwbKO/view?usp=sharing

This week was really fun and thought-provoking and I really enjoyed it.

[soyosauce]

Synners: Leaving A Visual Mark

"Who do you love?"

Although published in 1991 the world of Synners and L.A in the late 80's still feels relevant. More relevant than a lot of cyberpunk, even late first wave ones such as this. Pat Cadigan missed the normal technological advancements the genre is known for such as: cell phones. But reading it doesn't feel archaic though, maybe because it's a hard, purposeful look at nostalgia itself. 

"The way we all kept adding to the nets did exactly that, passed a threshold. It got to the point where the net should have collapsed in chaos, but it didn't. Or rather it did, but the collapse was not a collapse in the conventional sense."

GridLid automates your car completely even handles all the traffic jams, resulting in people being fearful of non-automated systems, never having driven "manually" before. Entertainment is imbibed while the bumper-to-bumper traffic takes you hours to get to work. There is porn for everything. Traffic porn, med porn, war porn, food porn. People get off on most anything that's packaged as entertainment. And the stuff that isn't trending now, is gone. Viruses are prevalent and are just a hazard of the world;  most people don't know how to get rid of them. Discarding technical know-how for the ease of products automating their lives. 

That's where the punks come in, the hackers.  

"If you can't fuck it and it doesn't dance. Eat it or throw it away."

A slow build up hampers the book at first. Most of the pages are reserved for introductions to each. Though effective in the long term, it does take a while to get into it. But once it's done showing you the characters and by proxy, the world—the book is undeniably richer for it. 

Where Synners is so interesting compared to some other first wave novels (beyond the world building aspects) is that there is kind of a post-cyberpunk vibe happening throughout, intentional or otherwise.

"We don't grieve for what might have been in rock'n'roll. We just keep rockin' on."

Gina is old enough to remember and venerate "properly," rock'n'roll music. This lauding of a wave that died out, along with the notion that "punk" is also dead is a consistent through line, reinforced with vivid imagery of music videos and lyrics from songs that just won't leave her alone. She is stuck in a self destructive loop that is explained by the impulses of the human body, rooting her problems in her humanity. Her pain seems to stem from her embodiment, yet she still wouldn't change a thing. Hard life, hard love, hard everything.  

"Back in Mexico, when he first put the wires in when you were there. If you'd leaned down then, put your mouth on his, he might have stayed. Because after that nothing could pull him back, not love, not sex, not you. Not nothing, not no-how."

Visual Mark on the other hand chooses the "datalines" (the Internet) instead. Once a close couple, madly in love, eating each other up—now mature and unable to carry on with their relationship; effectively due to the past. Their mistakes, their nostalgia for them, and the various forms of coping so they don't ever have to deal with it, all damning of the societal structures in place. Mark unwilling to take true responsibility for them, instead shrugging them off to the system. 

"He was still wondering what would become of him when he felt the first shock wave, followed by the last message he would ever receive from the meat."

The main thrust of the book is that "sockets" are invented, which would also be antiquated tech in most cyberpunk novels, and the world dives right in because capitalism. Diversifications, a megacorporation disseminates this new and unsafe tech to the masses.  And while Gina hungers for the same power to make music videos "alive" again through the use of this technology, possibly rekindling everyone's love for rock'n'roll again, as well as Mark's own love for her. Mark allows it to consume him whole. 

Through the eyes of many of the characters we see what capitalism has wrought. Only this time it's through this more interesting lens rooted in music; quizzically, not punk. The idea that the first wave was almost gone and along with it, cyberpunk as a subgenre, parallels Gina and Mark's struggle with their past and glory days. How enticing our memories make events that were actually horrible; allowing us to view the wreckage of our lives with rose-coloured glasses. Post-cyberpunk in that it seems to critically evaluate the genre, subverting it in a few places.

"This ain't rock'n'roll. It ain't been rock'n'roll for a long fucking time. This is business, and money, and change for the machines, but it ain't rock'n'roll.

Mark himself could represent the genre as it existed in first wave. He is an anti-hero, unlikeable but attractive in non-conformative ways. His past has destroyed parts of him, including some brain damage that makes him even better at using tech to become more than he is now, transcending himself. Leaving "the meat," as he so often refers to it, behind. He has a particular affinity and knack for something because society has fucked him up; the "system" has damaged him. The typical protagonist for early cyberpunk.

"I'm not really in there, now. I'm maintaining it, but there's nobody home. I know it doesn't happen that way for you, but that's how it is for me. "

Gina can interact with people just fine, though. She is more-or-less "well adjusted" and chooses to be a voice of dissent. Picking physical conflicts and verbal ones, choosing embodiment every step of the way. How she interacts with people, especially if they are seen by her as being a part of the system that has essentially destroyed the love of her life, Visual Mark, is by being angry. Being a punk. She is a part of an older generation,  now been left behind. She's angry, and tired, and does exactly what she wants when she wants to. The only weakness she has is Mark, the personification of this old way of life that she cannot let go. The wound in her mouth that would heal; if she'd only stop tonguing it. 

The book is primarily (as I see it) about examining embodiment; the products of our society and commodification of anything of value. Who power structures benefit and what those wounds might look like in a cyberpunk future becoming an allegory for the targeting of the unlucky few, who grow to be far too many. How powerful nostalgia is, a resurgence of it being inevitable, often; usually by means of any advancement in technologies. It's smart, funny, at times; easy to empathize with, and features good prose mixed with a cyberpunk aesthetic that feels like a prequel while being critical of the genre as it was about to "die."

It's worth reading.

"But it's different when you think you have no choice, and then suddenly you do after all."

[tasnimkwritersdiary]

GENRE FICTION COMMENTARY

"A short story is a different thing altogether – a short story is like a quick kiss in the dark from a stranger." (King 1985)

In class, we learned that short stories don't need to be super dramatic. They can be about something slight, and that revelation somehow changes things. You can describe it as seeing a story from the corner of your eye, rather than a full picture. 

The four genres we are currently studying within this module are Crime, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and some sub-genres that fall in between.  

Fantasy is a part of speculative fiction, and elements of fantasy can even be found in early texts such as The Epics of Gilgamesh (Gilgamesh 2100 BC). Common conventions of the fantasy genre include the use of magic and supernaturalism. Fantasy often relies on the reader to suspend their disbelief, and put aside what they know to be ‘real' in order to fully submit to the world of the story.  

Favourites such as Lord of the Rings (Tolkien 1954) are often associated with fantasy, however, contemporary fantasy also includes dystopian literature, which is hugely popular right now. For example, The Hunger Games (Collins 2012) and The Maze Runner series (Dashner 2013) are popular YA fantasy which have achieved commercial success.

There are also many sub-genres of science fiction, such as punk (steampunk, cyberpunk etc.), Hard vs. soft sci-fi, post-apocalyptic fiction, which were outlined in Jim Clark's lecture. Whilst world building can be very technical within this genre, it is important not to use too much jargon or unnecessary information about your world, as it can take away from the readers belief (Novum), e.g. time travel.

Isaac Asimov, the writer of I, Robot, believes that ‘Science fiction can be defined as that branch of literature which deals with the reaction of human beings to changes in science and technology.' (Asimov 1981).

We are learning about horror right now, however, I have written horror before. Some elements of horror stories are a dark mood and atmosphere, exploring the darker side of humanity, unexpected incidents, violence and gore, etc. In addition to this, Gothic horror is often very sensual.

It is important to consider that genres are constantly evolving, and elements of the genres mentioned are constantly in flux. What is popular right now may not be popular in a few years, or on the hand, it could have a cult status like Dracula (Stoker 1897).

The trouble with genre is that it can be restrictive or formulaic for writers whose ideas may not fit neatly within the confines of a certain genre, in which case writers can consider their work as literary fiction. When showing our writing to publishers, it may be off-putting for them if our work isn't easily marketable. 

On the other hand, fitting within a genre can also be useful when categorising a book in a bookshop or online. It is easier for target audiences to find our books if they fit into a genre, but they can equally get lost amongst of other books within that genre.

In her book ‘Writing short stories', Ailsa Cox writes that ‘The short story is a protean form, encompassing infinite variations, and just like the novel, shading into other genres' (Cox 2016).

My short story is about a twenty-five year old man named Saeed, who is being held captive in a small, bare house in an unidentified location. This first-person narrative voice follows the reader through his daily routine of eating, sleeping, writing etc. His compulsive habits frame him as a strange character, but I want the reader to feel sympathetic of him. He describes his parents as mute but menacing, claiming that he would be instantly killed if he ever tried to escape.

My story falls within the crime genre and is a psychological thriller. Writer David Lyons, who recently held a workshop with us regarding psychological thrillers and their current popularity, gave us an insight into some common features of this particular sub-genre. Crime fiction often deals with mystery, suspense, tension etc. Psychological thrillers deal with all of these things too, however, they often focus on the mental state/mind frame of the narrator more so.

I am currently writing the second draft of my short story. Taking into consideration the elements of a short story, I am now working on further developing my characters, theme, setting, conflict, plot, and P.O.V. All of these elements are important in my eyes, but because I'm using an unreliable narrator as the protagonist of my short story, P.O.V. is the most challenging element. I am trying to keep my character believable and relatable, without making him predictable or dull. His strangeness is what causes intrigue, and will hopefully keep the reader wanting to know more about him and his situation.

The conflict begins as an external one, with man vs. man (his parents who he believes are holding him captive), but ends up being an internal conflict all along (man vs. self).

The unreliable female narrator is massively popular right now, with novels such as Gone Girl (Flynn 2013) and Girl on the Train (Hawkins 2015) having major success and even becoming award-winning films. However, Stephen King is arguably the king of psychological thrillers when it comes to literature.

In light of the times up movement, author Stephanie Merritt wrote an article on how the ‘cult' of the unreliable narrator must be stopped. She writes that ‘writing a woman who is off-kilter… might inadvertently reinforce a stereotype of neurotic women, slaves to their biology' (Merritt 2018). Whilst I don't believe that the problem is that severe, I do see a pattern in the unreliable female narrator, and understand how it can feed into the stereotype of the crazy, untrustworthy woman.

With women's experiences with sexual predators being in the limelight right now, is it clever to portray women and their testimonies as untrustworthy? I believe in considering real-life situations in my writing, which is why I decided to use a male unreliable narrator. Rather than having ‘Girl in captive' which sounds more like the titles that are already on the market, I am naming my short story ‘Man in Captive'. 

This was more common in the 90's/00's with books/films such as Fight Club (Palahniuk 1997), and The Talented Mr Ripley (Highsmith 1999), both of which were highly popular. The character of Tyler Durden in Fight Club has some similarities with my character, in the sense that they can both be seen as cynical characters facing the unfamiliar, and the fact that they are both unreliable but this isn't revealed until the end.

The relevance of my short story within this current political and social climate is that it does not add to the masses of books written from an unreliable woman's point of view. In addition to this, it also normalises the idea that men also suffer from mental health problems, and that not all of these illnesses manifest in the same way.

When comparing the novels mentioned about with my short story, they have some similarities. For example, this quote from Fight Club, "Everyone smiles with that invisible gun to their head." (Palahniuk 1997) carries the same sentiment as one of my narrator's lines ‘We're all one bad day away from driving off a cliff'. Pessimistic narrative voices are also common in many psychological thrillers, but not all.

I've also taken the idea of captivity, where in many films and books, girls and women are held captive rather than men. The idea that it is an adult man rather than a child, is again, uncommon. 

In regards to structure and plot, I did a lot of reading and research around short stories and how they differ to structuring or plotting a novel, but this quote by author Isobelle Carmody sums up what most texts explained. 

‘Short stories do not say this happened and this happened and this happened. They are a microcosm and a magnification rather than a linear progression’ (Carmody and McNab 2013).

As evident earlier on in my writer's diary, my initial ideas were too complicated. They had too many characters and too much action. The subtlety and unique nuances that make a short story a genre in its own right, rather than a condensed novel, were being lost beneath huge plot lines and complicated structures.

In order to capture a moment in time, I start my story eight months into the captivity of Saeed. I have two current versions of my story, one written as a diary. I'm not sure which one I will submit yet. 

I also have currently written two endings to my story. In the first ending, there's a frantic knock on the door, and behind the door are his parents, who embrace him. Behind them are the police. He's been missing for eight months and his parents tracked him down through his Amazon account deliveries, where he ordered food and other necessities in bulk before his captivity. It turns out that he had been holding himself captive. He says he doesn't recognise these people posing as his parents, but they show him pictures. He doesn't trust them and lashes out. The short story ends with him in a psychiatric ward. He doesn't understand why this woman who calls herself his mother is crying.

The second ending is more subtle, where he hears a cat meowing outside of his front door. Knowing that his parents would be angry if he touches the door handle, he hesitates. But then he remembers back to his childhood when he used to have a black cat, so he opens the door and steps out. The cat is in the front driveway. He takes his first step out of the house, picks up the cat, and goes back inside. He opens the curtains, opens all of the doors, and it is revealed that there are no parents holding him captive. The story ends there.

I favour the second ending more, however, I am still receiving feedback from my tutors and my writing group.  I agree that ‘A short story must have a single mood and every sentence must build towards it' (Poe 1846), and the second ending aligns with the strange mood of my short story more, rather than the first ones dramatic ending.

I also considered Freytag's pyramid (Freytag 2004). For example, in the second ending, the exposition is setting the scene of a day in the life in captivity for Saeed. The inciting incident and rising action are very subtle, along with the climax, where he hears the cat and opens the door. The falling action is the internal battle between whether he should leave or not. The resolution is open-ended, as we don't know what happens after he opens the door. In a way, the resolution is his decision to open the door.

Looking back, I probably should have decided on whether to write diary extracts or not or which ending to go with, before writing them both. However, writing two versions of my short story, as well as alternative endings has allowed me to experiment more with short story writing, and gain a better appreciation to find just the right balance of everything when writing a short story.

In the current world where twitter fiction, fifty-word stories, even six-word stories are popular, I believe that it is a great time to write a short story. It is something that people can read in a few hours on their day off, or on a very long lunch break. 

I could self-publish my short story on Amazon, or use my social media accounts to share my story with people who are already familiar with my writing. There are publications such as Ambit Magazine and Dark Lane which I could submit my work to, however, many places that take submissions often ask for specific genres or word counts, so I will have to make sure that I fit the criteria. For example, Dark Lane specifies well-written, literary ‘weird' tales, and they dislike blood and gore (Dark Lane 2018).

I will consult with my writer's group and lecturers to figure out which would be the best route for me, however, I am still looking into magazines that take short story submissions. I could even ask to publish the opening of my story in the CovWords magazine, and then post the rest on my blog so people can read it for free. As a novice writer, this may be a good way to receive feedback on my writing from readers before submitting to publications.

REFERENCES

Anthology Submissions (2018) available from <http://darklane.webs.com/anthologysubmissions.htm> [2 March 2018]

Asimov, I. and Zimmerman, R. (1981) Asimov On Science Fiction. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday

Carmody, I. and McNab, N. (2013) The Wilful Eye. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin Children’s

Collins, S. (2012) The Hunger Games. New York: Large Print Press

Cox, A. (2016) Writing Short Stories. 2nd edn. Abingdon: Routledge

Dashner, J. (2013) The Maze Runner Files. London: Random House Children’s Books

Freytag, G. (2004) Technique Of The Drama: An Exposition Of Dramatic Composition And Art. 2nd edn. Sacramento: University Press of the Pacific

Flynn, G. (2013) Gone Girl. London: Phoenix

Hawkins, P. (2015) The Girl On The Train. London: Doubleday

Highsmith, P. (1999) The Talented Mr. Ripley. London: Hutchinson

King, S. (1985) Skeleton Crew ; Different Seasons. London: Little, Brown

Merritt, S. (2018) The Cult Of The Unreliable Female Narrator Must Be Stopped | Stephanie Merritt [online] available from <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/feb/19/cult-women-unreliable-narrators-literature-film-feminism> [2 March 2018]

Palahniuk, C. (1997) Fight Club. London: Vintage Books

Poe, E. (1846) The Philosophy Of Composition [online] available from <https://www.eapoe.org/works/essays/philcomp.htm> [2 March 2018]

Sandars, N. (2000) The Epic Of Gilgamesh. London: Penguin Books

Stoker, B. (2014) Dracula. New York: Penguin Books

Tolkien, J. R. R. (1954) The Lord Of The Rings. London: HarperCollins

[wonderfull800-blog]

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[soyosauce]

Why You Should Read Infomocracy & Null States (Of The Centenal Cycle)

“…despite all the Information available, people tend to look at what they want to see.”

Infomocracy and Null States, the first two books in the Centenal Cycle series by Malka Older, could be the scariest post-cyberpunk series I’ve read. In it, micro-democracy has proliferated across the globe. The governments of choice being, for the most part, megacorporations. Borders have shifted and changed in the world, reflecting a physical change reflecting how much of society operates on social media today: curating their spaces to consolidate people with the same (among other things) ideologies.

When the borders settled, groups of 100,000 people—called a centenal—vote in the corporation of their choice using another megacorporation-like system, aptly called Information. The ‘corp that gets the most votes, netting the “supermajority,” wins the global election as though it were a federal election, except that it’s global. Otherwise, the granular control of a centenal is left to the ‘corp voted in.

This is, of course, a very reductive explanation of the system.

One of the strengths in both Infomocracy and Null States is Malka’s attention to detail. This system of governance, as well as every facet of the fiction in fact, all feel incredibly well-realized and researched. Infomocracy can feel overwhelming in that regard sometimes. It is so unlike anything I have written that the text needs to do a lot of heavy lifting, communicating, and breaking down complex philosophy, politics, and other interlocking systems that are integral to understanding the world.

“Systems include their by-products; it all comes from the pattern of incentives they create. It’s how they make people think, how they make people behave.”

This is why both books were, in a way, incredibly terrifying to me. Malka spends time on all details, both small and large, such that it becomes impossible not to trace the reasoning behind micro-democracy evolving from society as we know it. Part of why it is so believable is that “democracy,” at least, as it is practiced currently, feels like it’s short-lived. At the same time, the idea that corporations will end up being in control seems correct to me. The world envisioned in the fiction then, in no small part due to micro-democracy, ends up conjuring a mixture of emotions. But, strangely, micro-democracy coupled with corporations is…optimistic in many ways, too. This different application of democracy which caters to the realities we are facing currently, becomes eerie in its inevitability.

Infomocracy does this while also threading a globe-trotting, thriller type conspiracy that unfolds within the now well-established micro-democracy system the reader is learning about. It ends up feeling a bit like a techno-thriller paired with political intrigue. The cracks in the system are beginning to be exploited, a powder-keg situation unraveling as it bounces from perspective to perspective.

While the thriller aspect to the book felt well done to me, the problem I encountered was that the world being communicated to me far outstripped the thriller plot unfolding, in terms of my interest. To the point where it felt, to me, like a sub-plot. I’m not sure how you fix that when you have to hold the reader’s hand explaining the setting. There are futuristic technologies involved as well, expounding the information that needs to be conveyed. Almost everything about an average person’s life experience in the setting is altered from today, a tremendous undertaking.

However, Null States does not have this problem. With much of the world established, it hits the ground running. An Information agent is assigned to a suspicious investigation in which a governor has died. During the course of their inquiry, the fiction feels more grounded than Infomocracy had. A globalized plot is still presents, stemming from the initial events and works to tie together a couple other predominate characters, all of whom are relevant to the events of the first book. This shift from having to explain the world to a more consistent human perspective—including some characters that expose the problems within the system—made for a more exciting plot. It springboards off the first novel wonderfully to create a richer, more rewarding experience in just about every way.

‘minimally traceable,” Shamus corrected him; “nothing is one hundred percent untraceable”—to Policy1st.’

Reflecting on both of these books, there are a few things my mind consistently wanders to regarding my consumption of the Centenal Cycle so far:

I think most often, I find myself a little bit awed at how deep the investment in the setting feels to me, most notably in micro-democracy itself as a sort-of living experiment, but the same can be said for each aspect of the setting, I think. The attention to detail is astounding sometimes. Especially because these details actively work to expose the flaws and vulnerabilities. Showcasing them quite predominately at times.

It feels like some kind of active exercise in what the spirit of critique is. Something rarely experienced in this day of age in social media. To display such affection and then examine it, interrogating something you’ve created—feels like something rare and genuine and novel, especially in cyberpunk/post-cyberpunk fiction. There is a sense that Malka is willing to burn it down, if that is where the experiment leads.

“…those may be exactly the people who pose the greatest threat to the system: the people who can still remember, with rancor and longing and the inevitable distortions of time, what things were like before.”

The characters all feel well-realized and often break tropes or archetypes. They are also intersectional and people of colour. On Malka’s Twitter, her pinned tweet is this: “I write for the people whose names get underlined in red by Microsoft Word”. I think that’s as apt and succinct as you can be about how the fiction feels. There is a starkly contrasted difference between the marginalized and the privileged. The numerous points of view produced in the fiction are as diverse as you’d expect them to be in the future. All the pitfalls of punk and punk-adjacent fiction are not present, either.

When it is all placed together, I think what I’ve read in these two books is the most interesting and progressive piece of post-cyberpunk fiction. It is aware, sharp, and incredibly smart. It is easy to imagine these books as formative works for people working in the genre going forward. And I can’t wait to find out how it ends.

“…democracy is of limited usefulness when there are no good choices, or when the good choices become bad as soon as you’ve chosen them, or when all the Information access in the world can’t make people use it.”