#are you the lead programmer or are you the CEO

[cushfuddled]

Current Digital Circus theory: Yes, Pomni worked for a company which figured out how to translate the human consciousness into video game code. My roommate speculates that some quirk of the job exposes all workers to this new tech, copying each person's consciousness and uploading it into the digital world (perhaps without said workers' knowledge or consent)...thus, a new version of that person is born with no memories of their prior life as a programmer/PR director/resident IT guy.

My first thought was, "Oh, so Caine's the CEO." As in, the boss was also exposed to the tech (whether on purpose or as a side effect) and is now a trapped amnesiac alongside everyone else. But Caine's described as an AI, and after tonight's episode...If the boss is trapped in this world with their employees, I'm crossing my fingers that they turn out to be Jax or Ragatha. Jax would make the most sense to me, since he seems like a silicon valley "move fast and break things" type—the sort of person who would throw money at the first unhinged indie tech startup to claim they've unlocked (digital) immortality.

If I'm right about this trapped-amnesiac-boss scenario, Ragatha probably isn't the boss—though I think it would be a more shocking reveal, considering her compassion. I'm curious if I'm wandering into a conversation that's been going on for a year already.

[azsazz]

Hiii 👋 just wanted to say I adore your writing ☺️ I always get so happy when I see you’ve written something new 😁

I was curious to ask, what are some of your favourite modern AU jobs/roles for the bat boys (whether you’ve written about them or not)? Or just any ACOTAR characters?

CEO Rhys has been done a lot, but for good reason, it’s so perfect. He almost has to be effortlessly rich and/or in some position of power, like a prince, or a mafia boss.💰 I also kinda like to imagine him as a nepo baby set to take over his father’s company, but he breaks away or gets cut off, so with his very little actual job experience (as he was all set to inherit), he gets a barista job at a lil coffee shop. ☕️

Cass would definitely suit something physical, like an ice hockey player, or a firefighter, or a personal trainer. I could so see him being a gym teacher as well, imagine him coaching a kids ice hockey team. 💪🏽 He would SO volunteer to be a nude model in life drawing classes in his free time 😆 Though I hadn’t considered it before I read your stuff, I think he really fits a small town rancher too. I can so picture him in jeans, boots, and a flannel shirt, driving around in an old rusty faded red truck 👨‍🌾

Az could easily be in the FBI or something, but choosing something further away from his canon role, I seriously think he’d be an awkward computer programmer / software engineer nerd, or a twitch gamer, 👨🏻‍💻 with a secret anonymous OnlyFans or erotic audio patreon on the side. 😏 And I reckon he’d ride a motorcycle and tinker with it in his spare time, so might also enjoy working at a garage. 🏍️ I really love him in Midnight Muse, and think he suits a shy amateur artist / tattoo artist as well.

I also love the bat boy band idea I’ve seen a lot recently, where Rhys is the charismatic lead singer and guitarist, Az is the quiet songwriting bassist, and Cass is the energetic drummer. 🎶

Sorry it’s so long, I just love thinking about this stuff 😄

Hiiii!! Thank you so so much! I saw this message this morning but wanted to wait until I could give it my full attention and have my computer around, so thank you for your patience! 💙

Okay, some of my favorite AUs for the batboys? This is a wonderful question!

Rhys: Normally, I just think of Rhys as always having some sort of money/job inherited. So CEO, mafia, anything that puts him in a position of power, really, but i think it's mostly because those just reflect the books.

I do, however, love love love art school rhys. painter rhys. working at the local art supply degenerate rhys who still has wealthy parents but is trying to stick it to the man rhys. steals erasers and petty things from the art supply rhys. love him so much.

There's also something to be said about young adult rhys who's messing around with his little sister's best friend rhys. he gets me going too.

also captain of the hockey team rhys is a solid choice for him as well.

Cass: LOVE ME SOME RANCHER/COWBOY/SMALL TOWN CASSIAN. but, these are all very different. small town cass doesn't trust women, heart broken at a young age with the girl he thought was his forever. doesn't want to leave town, likes the ranch because its safe and its what he knows. cowboy cass or bull rider cassian, famous for breaking horses and backs. grumpy, gruff rancher cassian always gets me going tbh he's fucking hot as shit

i also always see him in a blue collar role like a mechanic or welder are the two i mostly attribute to him.

def something physical as well, we love hockey cass, rugby cass, wrestler (wwe lol) cass, dang i had another on my mind for sports cass but i forgot. sad. OH surfer cassian. jock type tho i can see him as. love the firefighter vibe for him too, he'd fill out the tight fire department t-shirt WELL LADIES and also volunteers for wet t-shirt contests. omg gym teach cass would be adorable as hell! oof another thought, contractor cassian ffs that would be so yummy

Az: Az i agree fits the FBI (stalker) vibes. i also like to think of him in finance or computer science too. omfg the erotic audio that's iconic and i'd def subscribe to that. hmmm what else could i see azzy doing...maybe something with music or writing...i could see him being a ghost writer of some sort and then one day his song plays on the radio and he's like hey i wrote that and literally no one believes him. something behind the scenes or where he can go unnoticed is mostly where i place him, tbh. honestly maybe even something military because he takes comfort in having a set schedule and people telling him what to do at every minute of the day. he'd fare well i think. perfect. operative because if the mission goes south and he gets captured he's not telling a soul anything.

Eris: idk why this thought came to my head but i was thinking about architecture but i think eris would be a fantastic interior designer lol. like i could see it. maybe i was just thinking about him furnishing az's new place and having a lil sparky. i could also see him as a lawyer too or something like that, something where he can be the know-it-all, smirking at them and looking down his nose at them...

Lucien: Architecture for sure. or professor. I could see him doing either of these. maybe even lawyer tbh, he would be good at that too, though i know he's immaculate at twisting stories and words so you gotta be careful of that.

Tamlin: poet? lol. professional gaslighter? jk i love tammy. maybe he installs security systems? haha just kidding just kidding. he's a tough one tho. idk why i added him but i guess also a musician but low-key soothing music, instrumental for sure...prob has a podcast where he just bullshits all day

hopefully i didn't rant for too long about this 🤭💙 this was so much fun though thank you for asking!

[indigosabyss]

"My name is Ishigami Senku." The voice over the transmission announced to the gaping crowd of NASA's finest, "And I'm calling from three thousand, seven hundred and forty one years in the future."

"You think he's being legit?" Someone asked.

"Sure seems like it." Another agreed, "It would explain how the transmission doesn't seem to be coming from anywhere at all."

"Say we believe you." Their chosen spokesperson said into the transceiver, "Why would you call us?"

"To stop a crisis that will lead to the death of 99.975% of the human population. Time is of the essence, so tell me: have you seen stone swallows lying around?"

----

The initial call sent the international scientific community into crisis mode.

Day in and day out, they conversed with these scientists of the future. Even ones who weren't Senku. After the initial shock of finding out that people from their age were still alive four thousand years ago, they adjusted quickly.

Of course, it wasn't all diligent work and apocalypse thwarting.

"Ha-HA!" A voice they had never heard before echoed over the Time Call, which was open almost 24/7, "So, this is our way to the past? I desire it!"

"The hell...?" Luke whispered, looking at Mandy, who shrugged wordlessly.

"Listen up, anyone who's there. I know you're taking orders from Senku and the others, so I need you to do a favor for me."

Their spokesperson hesitantly put her hand down to activate the transceiver, "Uh, okay? What's the favor?"

The boy on the other side called excitedly, becoming more ecstatic with every word, "I want you to go to the CEO of the Nanami Conglomerate. And tell him that his bastard children did what he never could, and have taken control of the entire world's capital. And it's just us two featured in the official family portraits! And then, tell him to go fuck hi-" He was cut off by someone bodily dragging him away from the mic.

"What is wrong with you?" Sai, the future's best computer programmer, yelled, barely in range of the microphone.

"Should we be listening to this?" Mandy asked.

"I desire vengeance!" The rambunctious boy insisted. There was a sound of a scuffle, and then Sai spoke again, closer to the mic and clearly addressing them.

"Sorry about that. My little brother is... a bit out there. It was probably the family ostracization."

They all clearly wanted to know more. This wasn't the first shred of juicy gossip from the future they'd gotten, but the spokesperson was nothing if not professional.

"Let's just get back to work, yeah?"

Boo.

[Part of a larger DCST time travel fic I really don't have the time to write, so I just put in the two snippets that obsessed me the most. Tell me if I should continue this into a proper fic!]

[juni-ravenhall]

If you take over SSE, what would be your first changes that you make? Like immediate things you want to do?

And what’d be your long term goal, how would you achieve it?

- ro-sso

this is the best ask ever thank u but u might not be prepared for this essay........ sorry :3

first off id need to find out exactly who are the current ppl for game director, art director, etc direction positions, and who of them are making the crazy decisions. is it directors and managers, is it the CEO, etc. ofc there might be many parts in this chain from an uncaring CEO down to a confused director down to a struggling game designer down to a coder/writer/artist that doesnt get enough time and resources, like, i understand its a complex chain but that doesnt change the fact that someone (or several) have been fucking shit up for all of sse's history. so i would do a lot of talking to staff respectfully and finding out whats really been going on in the chain, and who is not working in the best interest of the game's quality and the company's stability. map out where in the company theres the most and least problems.

(this to me is easy, im analytical and resistant to lies and manipulation as a person. i see through shit very easily and i have a long history of self-studying and analysing stuff related to running companies and making games, since thats my life goal... so to some ppl it might sound like "thats harder than you think" bc theyre just not me. some ppl arent passionate about running good healthy ethical game companies - i am!)

sse clearly has basically never had good directors with good direction, or if they did, those werent given enough power and resources. they shouldnt have been changing artstyle several times, they shouldnt have been abandoning storylines and areas, they shouldnt have been ignoring bugs in general, they shouldnt have been ignoring bugs and cheats in racing and champs, etc. so, its very important to get a good game director, art director, and so on, in place, whether its an existing staff member who just needs more power and resources, or its someone new who is a good fit.

then ofc take a look at all staff hired and see what everyone is there for. after the layoffs im not sure if they have many passive workers left but id get an overview and do some interviews w staff to find out how the efficiency situation is and if more/less ppl are needed in diff areas to actually pay ppl to work on the game itself. (as an example mb u need one less social media person and one more programmer, one less team manager consultant or other middleclass word salad jobs... etc.)

then overview of salary differences. this is a huge point to me. was the CEO that im assumably taking the job from, earning a lot more than everyone else a month? then thats not happening anymore. all salaries within the company would become more balanced, setting in place a system where the minimum salary and max salary at the company are tied together in a ratio so that to raise the top u must also raise the bottom. this will instantly lower much of the top and assumably raise some at the bottom (how much, i dont know from the outside). this ratio system would be clearly outlined and from now on a pillar of the company's structure. also, check that skilled senior staff has appropriate pay for their experience, etc, make sure salaries seem fair.

along with this ofc a good overview of costs, loans, earnings, the current office and all of this to know the situation. i think thats obvious but ill say it anyway to be clear. have a complete grasp of the economic situation, talk to the economics staff.

with staff interviews and salary checkups it would also be relevant to see if theres any gold star workers who should shift up in positions, for example a very good animator could become lead animator, stuff like this. sse has already done things like this fairly often (sometimes maybe not with the right people) so im not too worried about it but i would do another check. also just general talk w staff to find out who has hidden potential that might not be getting used. (i want to know my workers and be able to help them shine, this is good both for the workers, the work environment, and the company results.)

at this point, we should have balanced out some of the leaking money at the top (and hopefully made a few leeches jump ship while at it), boosted the happiness within the company (balanced salaries etc), and have a great overview of whats going on from the more economic and hierarchy standpoint. we should have gotten rid of some potential leeching staff that didnt actually help create a good product and run a healthy, ethical company, and we might have gotten new people in positions where we needed more skills (direction, programming, whatnot). compared to sse's 10+ years of being a chaotic mess, the company structure should look pretty good now, even if not perfect.

i would have a lot of talk with the directors and team leaders and senior staff to make sure everyone is on the same page from now on: we are making a good quality game, we are being consistent, we are not adding new random shit just bc ooh shiny or cashgrabs, we are going to impress the players and make them feel "oh god, finally sso is consistent and living up to its potential". everyone at the company needs to understand this goal and why the loyal players are disappointed with the game. there will still be new horses and item recolors etc ofc, we do need a certain degree of "ooh shiny" from the player side of things (hopefully good gameplay and good stories would also be ooh shiny though), but there needs to be a new focus on the Actual core and Actual pillars of the game, which sse failed to do bc they have bad direction.

most likely, we would change the weekly update into bi-weekly or monthly, maybe starting with bi-weekly to test the waters. in order to deliver a good quality main storyline and also good quality stories and updates to tie up loose ends, there needs to be enough time to do that. there would be very solid goals on the cadence at which major updates are released and no long stretches of time without main story, and no long stretches without other significant updates.

an important part of that is also the seasonal events - i think the 4 seasons of events is a good thing, but they need to be properly bug fixed and have some design and writing improvements, one new fun (more challenging) race for each of them, etc. so hopefully we can afford enough staff that we have a few ppl working on updating and finalising the 4 seasonal events to their more or less final form.

each seasonal event needs to have a cool and challenging race (similar to cloud kingdom rainbow race or some other recent races) that HAS A HIGHSCORE BOARD. this is a key thing to me. all event races should have highscore boards (and some crappy event races may be removed, or combined into a better version of all of them together). *everyone* playing would be able to just better their own score for a generic gold/silver/bronze score, which gives specific rewards for reaching the medal score on the event race(s), and those who are at the top of the leaderboard among everyone, would get a non-exclusive prize, like 1000js. its not a huge win - not to encourage cheating to get to the top - and mostly based in the existing "daily best" system. it would still encourage players to actually try their best at the event races and feel like there's some stakes in it. (active human moderation of suspicious race results is also necessary - we should be able to afford that now.) i also think, if someone has won the daily best, they should then not be able to get the daily best for at least another week, leaving place for other people... but this becomes a problem with alt accounts, so it needs more consideration, i dont have the full answer to that yet.

also, all the tack and clothes need a stats overhaul. the random top stats we currently have are stupid and they seem like they just didnt think about this at all. this is partially a dress up game, so you need to be able to dress up cute and still have top stats and be able to win champs. if possible, i would set staff to work on letting you upgrade any piece of equipment to max stats (which would be something like 5-10 in each stat i guess). this system might require starcoins to upgrade - a way for the company to earn money from cosmetic changes, that seems fair enough to me. (maybe there would be a way to pay with shillings and collectables, but just an easier way to pay with sc, it would be considered.)

we'd also need to sit down and take a good look at what all horses stats are, which horses seem to be boosted or nerfed in races for no reason, and make sure all horses at least function fairly and as intended. after that, to consider whether you should be able to train all horses to have the same max stats, or if we want to keep breeds unique and different, then those differences should also be well thought out and actually matter. right now, and for a long time, some horses are just better at races than others (pintabian, etc), and some (ardennes) seem to be shit for no real reason (other draft horses dont necessarily have the same problem). so it needs to be properly looked at and fixed so all horses at least have good reasons to be different, if they are different at all, and no bugs or unintended boosts and nerfs. horse stats should make sense for gameplay.

all the champs need to get their updated forms, so i also hope we could afford enough staff to have a few ppl working on updating the champs consistently until thats done. i do think a lot of sso's races also should be overhauled, because racing is the main gameplay we actually have (collecting light in hollow woods is not challenging and not really gameplay) and it should be satisfying, fun, and challenging, like playing a mariokart race (that doesnt mean it should play *like* a mariokart race, just that it needs to be fun). the highscore boards and the gold/silver/bronze medal systems are really, really neglected assets of sso's player motivation. if getting a gold medal score on a race was consistently actually difficult and required practice, and getting that gold medal also gave you a good reward (shillings, items) that motivated you to aim for it, then players might actually have fun challenging themselves for higher scores! the same goes for daily best / etc scores that should be looked into, what rewards they give, etc.

also, there should be a ban on adding any new npcs to the game if theyre not extremely necessary. sse has been adding new npcs left and right all the time, and it just clogs the game with random irrelevant characters that dont add anything to the game, it takes time and resources to make their model, give them a name, write their dialogue, and so on. instead, focus all that energy on actual relevant npcs and ones that players want to talk to and find out more about, hear their storylines, etc, and let races be handled with either existing npcs or with new and improved highscore board objects (make it obvious you click them to start the race).

of course, the art style of sso should never again change. art direction from now on is consistent and solid with an art director who understands their job, lead artists and lead animators who 100% understand what the goals are. directors who make sure that the quality of art, design, animation are up to the standards of the style we are using, that things fit together in the game. new models should not actually be "better" than the old ones - you end up in a destructive cycle where the art keeps changing. the style should be consistent with only relatively minor refinements over time. so, the art directors and leads need to make sure the style continues to be consistent, and update things that need to be. (im not sure how many areas of sso should really get the complete overhauls like silverglade village anymore - at some point you're also wasting resources on something less important than the gameplay and story, but some areas also look really outdated, so careful consideration needs to go into which areas to update and *how* to update them. maybe jarlaheim doesnt need a complete overhaul but a partial one. etc.)

the gen 4 horse needs to have very solid planning before release, which seems to have been the case so far from the little ive heard about it. if players can finally get a more custom horse with custom markings, mane and tail styles (preferrably available across breeds), and ability to pick coat, mane and tail colours separately, i think this would be great. it also relates to the whole thing with horse stats and just making sure that horses function properly and have reasons to actually have different stats and such, if theyre going to have that.

there also needs to be a decision made about sso's future - specifically, should we keep developing this game on this crappy messy engine for another decade, or should we eventually say, "this is sso 1, and we're finished with it (the story is finished, game isnt buggy, etc)" - and then go on to create a new game (while still keeping sso 1 running!) on a new, modern engine, where there is good direction and good planning from the very beginning? i dont know how far they got with project curie before cancelling it, whether theres much work to salvage, but i think that creating a new horse mmo set in jorvik (curie was supposedly not a horse game) as a more or less "sso 2" is a fair idea. the potential of customisable gen 4 horses might not really be that relevant for sso 1, or customisable player character faces and bodies like the sims. maybe this is stuff that should be in sso 2 from the very beginning, rather than patches trying to fix the mess that is the current sso? i think a lot of players wouldve been happier to see the old avatars and stuff remain in sso 1 and see the new, current artstyle we have be a separate game as sso 2 instead. (runescape classic etc.)

so, i would want to very carefully consider what really should be in sso 1 versus if we should be making sso 2. its possible to decide, actually we do want to just keep updating sso 1 and make it the best it can be, to basically keep adding expansions to it. but even if we decide that, the thing is, its hard to save the original story at this point due to the careless updates that have already been made for years. my question is, is it possible to give the loyal, old players a satisfying ending to this story and these characters' stories and this world's lore, within the current state of sso? or is it just too far gone off the track? so this needs to be carefully considered. maybe sso 2 could be a sort of remake of the story, starting with elements based on SSL, rather than the haphazard "uh these girls saved the world a while ago and now youre here i guess" that sso did start with. maybe its not too late to give the loyal long term players a satisfying end to the story. but its a complex issue that needs a lot of thought. (which should never have happened! the story shouldnt have changed the way it did, things shouldnt have been abandoned randomly, added randomly, changed randomly, all of this is just bad shitty direction and management without respect to the players, which is especially frustrating bc it goes right into "girl gamers dont matter, girl games dont matter,".)

there are more things, like a weather system, that i would have loved to see in sso but ultimately might be better to save for sso 2. or maybe sso keeps going with major updates and major expansions and then it would be relevant to consider for sso. the same thing for customising our home stable, getting a player home to customise, there are lots of fun ideas like this that i could talk about but that ultimately im not sure how much time and resources should be sunk into when sse have chosen to fuck themselves over for this long and caused this many problems with the game that need immediate attention to make it playable and enjoyable. so in this... essay... i focused mostly on solving problems and making the game a solid and fun experience, and what to prioritise to keep it that way, while these bonus new content like weather or customisable horses or customisable player faces/bodies and all that, would be great updates (or sso 2) but have to come as a bonus when everything else is under control.

so yeah thats covering both a lot of immediate stuff and long term considerations. this is like, a fraction of the stuff i've thought about. i have a lot more to say about a lot of things to fix in sso and other things that have to do with running companies too. and ofc theres a lot of things i just cant know from the outside, and so on, im not a perfect person who knows everything and never pretend to be (i have to say this bc ppl like projecting things on me just for being confident in my skills). getting to take over sse would still be a learning curve with finding out exactly where the problems are and how to solve them. i view this realistically. there are always unknown variables and things i'll have to figure out when i get to it, but you can do that if you have a strong core and strong direction that wont be swayed by capitalism or ooh shiny. i just know a lot about prioritising and directing and about ways to run healthier, better companies, and ways to be ethical and create good products instead of cash grabs - and i also value the skills and knowledge of others, which matters in finding the right people to work in the right positions. these are specific interests i have and spend a lot of time thinking about, analysing, studying, practising, etc.

if you or anyone else actually read all of this (im shocked) and want to discuss more about it or have questions about it, im all ears :D

[aftercamlann]

ACBB 10th Anniversary Recs: Rule Number Four

This ACBB was recced by lavender_spice:

Title: Rule Number Four Writer: orphan_account Artist: riththewarluid Ship(s): Merlin/Arthur, Gwen/Lancelot Rating: Explicit Word Count: 47,732

Summary: Pendragon Enterprise is the world's leading computer security company and ruthless when it comes to taking down malicious programmers. It's the perfect place for a skilled hacker like Merlin Ambrosius (codename: Emrys) to work undercover and gain a tactical advantage. But being the personal assistant for vice-CEO Arthur Pendragon is more complicated than Merlin expects. The female Pendragon threatens castration, Arthur apparently sleeps with all his PAs, and it only gets more complicated when the Kilgharrah virus causes a panic. Merlin might just have a solution though, because Anonymous...Anonymous is legion.

Link: FIC: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2282970/chapters/5018043 | ART: https://riththewarluid.tumblr.com/post/97285315310/passions-realized-an-art-piece-for-a-big-bang

Why lavender_spice recommends this ACBB: It truly has everything; identity shenanigans, misunderstandings, and all the banter. It's such an incredibly fun experience There’s still time for you to rec an ACBB fic yourself that you feel deserves some more love? So feel free to send us your rec through our 10th Anniversary Rec form!

[pinkcarsupremacy]

i completely agree with you about esteban, despite being alpine's first winner and literally being born and raised in normandy, never actually being embraced by the higher ups and have actually felt that way for a long time. here's how i see things:

cyril - dickmatized by daniel

otmar - accepts bribes and hates the working classs (jk jk...unless? but also this)

rossi - whatever the fuck this was about

bruno - ...do i even have to say anything?

...and is it really a coincidence that marcin, the only team principal/ceo i didn't mention above, was leading when alpine was at their peak? i think not!

Yeah it's a bizzare state of affairs over there... it probably doesn't help that the team is already run in a weirdass way (controlled by ceo board & work being split between 2 countries) before even getting into whoever the team principal of the day is.

I've always assumed the team's higher up dislike of Ocon came from the fact they're not even in charge of their own driver because Mercedes manage him. He's in a very unique situation where he's being managed by a team that has absolutely no connection to the team he races for and is in fact one of their competitors. Like when George was at Williams or if Bearman goes to Haas you can point at them and explain that yes they are part of other teams' junior programmes but they are racing for a team that uses their junior team as an engine supplier so they have that existing relationship to be sharing drivers.

Alpine on the other hand are a works team and make their own admittedly godawful engine so it's a bit strange for them to sort of be beholden to Mercedes in this way by virtue of them telling Ocon where to go. Compare his situation to Alonso who wasn't tied down to any other teams by contract or to Piastri who was Alpine's own junior driver or Gasly who Alpine spent a lot of money on buying his contract out from Red Bull so he wouldn't have any connection to them anymore and you can see why Ocon would be a less favourable option than all 3 of them management wise.

As for TPs well Cyril sort of pretended Ocon didn't exist at all which arguably is better than whatever is happening now. Otmar was too busy trying to show the media that they treat both drivers equally (him on Sky Sports F1 broadcast in Monaco last year was so funny... they asked him about Ocon's podium and he just started talking about Pierre). I've never been able to pin Otmar's thoughts on Ocon down actually despite the fact they worked together for 2 years in Force India as well. What I will say is he was a relatively calm team principal who wouldn't have reacted the way Famin did on live TV in Monaco this year. Rossi wasn't the team principal but he was the CEO which is why he was happy to slander the team to the press because like all upper management he has no idea how the job actually gets done. That being said I think admittedly he did like Esteban which might explain - with him gone - why the team have suddenly decided Ocon's their number one enemy now.

Marcin of course led Alpine's only good season and was kicked in favour of Otmar for some nonsensical reason. Jokes on Alpine because that 2021 season was and is the best they're ever gonna achieve.

Famin I actually liked at the end of last year believe it or not lmao. Not sure what happened to him over the winter break but he seems to have woken up one day and decided Ocon is the root of all evil at Alpine despite the fact both of the drivers there are the only positive thing the team has going for them atm.

[w0rmdahl]

extracurriculars — CH

gif ©: w0rmdahl, theseulgis

film: chappie (2015)

synopsis: in anticipation of tech developer deon wilson’s ‘scout’ production, weapons corporation tetravaal hires a new graphic artist to head the designs, unwittingly bringing together the two forces that will lead to the company’s downfall.

word count: 1.4k

featuring: deon wilson, (oc) malia bryant

warnings: innuendos?

a/n: working thru writers block i think bc i hit a lot of ruts during this piece can you tell 😫 how do we feel about her idk

it wasn't a shocker (or shouldn't be, at the very least) to say that deon — prior to meeting lia — was a complete and utter virgin nerd. growing up a computer geek didn't exactly put him in with the popular crowd during his school years so growing into an even bigger loser didn't help much, either. and while tetravaal was somewhat a dream of his, work or tech typically came before socialization, meaning interaction with anyone other than his 40-something-year-old coworkers was scarce. so, when a new coworker joined the company in addition to the upcoming 'scouts' being produced by the genius dork, guess what deon did?

absolutely nothing, of course. not when his new coworker turned out to be a girl around his age with tiny bangs, not when she moved into the desk directly behind him, not even when she made eye contact with him on her way to their CEO. instead, deon simply stared as she offered a friendly, coworker-ly smile in passing that faded soon upon his lack of response. he'd return home that first day with a grimace etched into his cheeks before going straight to bed in hopes of waking up to find it had all been some hazy, sleep-deprivation-induced hallucination.

of course, it wasn't; she was already working dutifully at her desk by the time deon sat at his own with a coffee containing enough espresso shots to kill a non-programmer. he'd spent the entire first hour of work subconsciously preparing for the next time she'd make eye contact with him, deciding whether to act cool or kind or charming, all the while fixing any loose ends on his scout program whose deadline was looming closer now that she'd arrived. and then the time came for him to present his charms, their eyes meeting as she passed by his cubicle, and deon found himself utterly frozen under the piercing pupils of tetravaal's newest addition.

for a brief moment that seemed like an eternity to the wide-eyed tech designer, her brows furrowed — less like she was angry and more like she was studying a specimen — before exhibiting a tight-lipped smile that seemed like a restrained laugh to eagle-eyed deon. he was left nearly gasping for breath by the time she turned away to let him marinate in the cringe of his own actions.

how they'd manage to grow past this initial stage — he had no idea — but what he did know was; being paired on a project together was their boss's best proposition yet.

it took them a few days to really, truly converse despite working collaboratively on scout blueprints but, coincidentally, both parties would finally warm up to one another quite well by the time the final drafts were ready for ms. bradley's eyes. so much so, in fact, that after only a few weeks of swapping life stories and 'working overtime' to secretly chat for just a little bit longer, the two would begin dating. they had to be quiet about it as employee-on-employee action was strictly prohibited at tetravaal (some security bullshit, as deon says,) so while fellow coworkers saw them as nothing more than business partners in the robocop department, their carefully constructed facade always came to a close every time they clocked out.

the pairs' extracurricular activities after work started out solely at her apartment due to deon's complete and utter aversion to his (first) girlfriend witnessing the crime that was his living space — especially after seeing hers. on its own, deon's 'typically-barren-other-than-garbage-too-high-for-his-bots-to-reach' apartment was cold and dull but serviceable as a place to call home. compared to her apartment, however? barely met HOA standards.

so he always went to her place instead, always welcomed with open arms into her cozy little loft filled to the brim with decorations despite the fact that she'd only been there for a few months by that point. and as they always did, lia and deon would sit on her blue corduroy couch with cheap wine in hand to 'watch a movie,' paying it entirely no mind in favor of learning about the other flushed face on the cushion.

deon had learned quite quickly that, in stark contrast to his lifetime of being a loser computer nerd, malia (lia when they weren't at work) bryant was and had always been the pretty art girl. originally from the states, lia attended the top university in south africa on a scholarship for graphic design and had recently graduated with a multitude of cords on her shoulders, as seen in the silly photo on the mantle with all of her collegiate friends.

he inferred from the numerous paintbrush-style awards on the bookshelves just how many successful art projects she'd claimed previously and, upon inquiring about this passion leading her to a weapons corporation, found that lia honestly had no care in the world for robots or tech at all! what she cared about was digital art and illustrations and 3d models; tetravaal was simply a job that offered the slightest bit of creativity for a fresh graduate with a degree in an under-paying and under-hiring profession. that was how she came to work as the rendering artist for scout prototypes — and soon all prototypes.

only after learning enough about lia's life to name her long-lost childhood best friend did deon finally invite her over to his place, making sure to clean and fluff every tiny detail of his apartment, programming his bots to greet her once she entered the doorway and saw the anxious developer white-knuckling a bundle of flowers still soiled from the dirt he'd plucked them. malia responded graciously (as per usual) and sat on his bland couch all night with wandering eyes and grimy carnations in her hands, asking a horde of her own questions before eventually prodding him on to infodump about the bulky computer system in the corner of the room.

with a shaky breath and sweaty palms, an apprehensive smile flashing on his face, deon would share (for the first time) about his recent secret project — about the real artificial intelligence program he was working on — and in turn offer malia the first real piece of himself with substance. he'd started out slowly — generalizing this and that to make it short and sweet for the 'likely disinterested' artist — but he found that the more he rattled on, the more space she created for him to talk, nodding along and asking clarifying questions. it appeared (at least to him) that her intrigue with the subject grew the longer he went on, her fond smile growing as he continued rambling about bandwidth. needless to say, neither party got much sleep that night and lia in particular had to go to work the next morning with terabytes of computer jargon in her brain, but the pros from this long night heavily outweighed the cons.

at least on the surface.

the couple's after-work routine adjusted to better maximize their time spent together, enjoying various records at lia's place while pushing work to the back of their minds or sitting in the others' comfortable company while finishing up some personal projects at his place. the awaited launch of his scouts, which had been designed completely by lia, would be commemorated with a fancy dinner outing that ended in a sweaty tangled mess of limbs under the pastel comforter of her mattress. coworkers continued to be oblivious, malia had been promoted to head graphic designer, deon was well-respected by others and close to cracking the code for his AI project; things were going great!

so, when malia caught him sprinting past her office in the warehouse with dark circles and bloodshot eyes, she had an inkling as to what was up. "hey!"

still running, deon whipped his head back to look at her, stopping cartoonishly in his tracks to turn back around. "hey!" he panted, pressing a hand to the doorway as he caught his breath, "could you do me a huge favor?"

"of course."

deon pushed up his glasses slipping down his nose, "there was a scout scheduled for demolition yesterday — twenty-two — can you have the guys hold it for me?"

"yeah — yeah, course, i'll let them know." malia's lips curl into a hopeful smile "did you...?" she trailed off once his own grin appeared, already backtracking to fervently run somewhere else.

"i'll be right back, love. don't go anywhere!"

[bloomdigital]

MJ Tumblr Takeover

Hey there tumblies, it's me, ya boi!

I’m MJ (he/him), a queer, overcaffeinated, perpetually exhausted, chronically online, cat- and TTRPG-obsessed, BL-loving, shameless weeb, memelord (wannabe), raging anti-capitalist chaotic word goblin and aspiring cryptid, and I AM TAKING OVER THE LONGSTORY TUMBLR! (At least for a bit.)

Born: 08/09 Height: 182 cm Blood Type: [redacted] Type: Tsundere

I’ve been working on LongStory (on and off) since 2015, but I actually started as a fan! Once upon a time I blogged about queer nerd stuff for Xtra, Canada’s longtime LGBTQ+ publication, and I stumbled on the first episode of this adorable little romantic visual novel through Twitter (RIP). I was absolutely charmed, an instant fan, this gorgeous little game that let me relive the trials and tribulations of grade school life but in a more queer and trans friendly world. It was exactly the kind of game I wanted when I was growing up in a VERY small town in the Canadian Maritimes. So when they did a call for writers I think I was physically vibrating from excitement putting together my resume and sample scene—I actually remember exactly where I was, it was one of those weird, stars-aligned, stranger than fiction moments, but that’s a story for another time!

When I joined the team, we were basically a few writers, the producer/CEO and the programmer sitting around in a room figuring stuff out. I VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY wrote a single VERY LONG episode which—instead of making me cut it down—the project leads generously cut in two and became Episode 4: Drama and Episode 5: Make Up, and I’ve been working with the company as a writer and narrative designer since then!

LongStory’s the first game project I ever got to work on, it’s near and dear to my heart, so when I got asked to join the team on a follow-up I was once again vibrating with excitement. The company is no longer a few people sitting around in a room, it’s basically doubled to a dozen actual employees and then a bunch of part-time contributors like me, and we’re working on not one, not two, but three—okay, one of them is in very early development, but still—games, with more coming down the line! It’s like we’re a real game company or something?!

YOU MAY HAVE HEARD WE’RE DOING A KICKSTARTER! We’re taking preorders through a crowdfunding campaign to finish development on seven shiny new episodes. We would ABSOLUTELY love if you supported the campaign, with just under two weeks and little over half way to our goal we really want to make it happen!

But, long story short (har har har), we wanted to make sure you know that there is a free Steam demo that you can very much play if you haven’t already! The team, including our narrative lead and I, put so much love into this demo which, let’s be honest, is the first full episode of LongStory 2. If you play it and like it, let us know what you think! In the meantime, I’m going to be here writing about what it’s like to work on LongStory, maybe take a look at some fun new additions to LS2, share some of our favourite fanart, answer some asks… talk about the music I’m listening to… uh… share cat pictures… SO YEAH! I hope to hear from some of you over the next couple of weeks! Otherwise I’ll just be here… you know, doing my thang?

Before I go… I’m just gonna leave this here…

[ldso-tron]

My interview with the Lead Programmer of TRON 2.0 and Designer of the Light Cycles experience, Kevin Lambert, for the 20th Anniversary of TRON 2.0.

You'll have to pardon me for constantly stumbling over my words, I was nervous during the entire interview.

Also did my best to clean up the audio. I don't have professional recording equipment, just a cheap headset with a microphone. Removed as much as I could of clicks, pops, hiss, breathing, clipping, and so on. But there was only so much I could do, and the final result definitely isn't perfect. You can still expect some distracting noise.

I can't thank Kevin enough for agreeing to do this. I'd like to try interviewing other Monolith Productions staff – who worked on TRON 2.0 – in the future, too.

I also want to thank @thedavetron (Senior Manager of Quality Assurance at Buena Vista Interactive, at the time TRON 2.0 was released) and Andrew Borman (Digital Games Curator at the Museum of Play).

Here's a link to the written version. It's not a word-for-word transcript, but rather summarizes the interview.

-TronFAQ

0:00:00 Intro

0:00:10 Greetings Programs

0:03:35 How Kevin started making games and his full resume

0:09:58 Work at Monolith Productions prior to TRON 2.0

0:13:41 Was Kevin a fan of TRON before working on TRON 2.0?

0:16:30 When did development of TRON 2.0 start?

0:17:38 TRON Killer App was the original name for TRON 2.0

0:18:59 Was the game delayed because of LAN/Online Light Cycle Multiplayer? ➜ TRON 2.0 Lead Designer Frank Rooke states no Online Light Cycle gameplay at 14:03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRc9Omencs4 ➜ TRON 2.0 Lead Artist Matt Allen on additional Light Cycle gameplay at 16:19: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhgbmm3F2u4

0:22:56 Content cut from TRON 2.0 ➜ Former Monolith Productions CEO Jace Hall on Firewall level at 9:30: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C-f99FyOY0 ➜ Jace on ENCOM systems being geometrically primitive at 12:58: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C-f99FyOY0 ➜ Jace mentioning later systems were meant to be more sophisticated at 16:04: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C-f99FyOY0 ➜ My interview with TRON 2.0 Disc Arena Designer Dan Miller: http://tronfaq.blogspot.com/2010/05/interview-with-tron-20-team-member-dan.html

0:56:46 Why no free-roaming driveable Light Cycles, Tanks, Recognizers, or Solar Sailers?

0:59:07 Easter eggs in TRON 2.0

1:04:48 How Monolith's earlier games scale on more modern display resolutions

1:06:47 What were all the sources Monolith drew inspiration from when designing TRON 2.0?

1:08:16 Did you incorporate anything into the game that resembled yourself, or Monolith Productions as an organization?

1:09:50 What did you do to get the feel of Disc combat right in TRON 2.0?

1:10:52 How difficult was it to implement RPG elements, such as Subroutines?

1:12:13 How much of a technical challenge was the TRON glow effect lighting in TRON 2.0?

1:13:35 How long did TRON 2.0 take to develop, and how much testing did you personally do yourself? ➜ Post-mortem by Frank Rooke that adds insight to length of development: https://web.archive.org/web/20090509175547/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/2810/postmortem_monoliths_tron_20.php?print=1

1:14:57 Was there going to be an expansion for TRON 2.0? Would any cut content have been in it?

1:19:29 Did anyone at Monolith meet the cast and crew that worked on the original TRON film?

1:20:40 Did TRON himself appear in the game?

1:21:41 Why was there no TRON 2.0 Soundtrack CD? ➜ LDSO Unofficial TRON 2.0 Soundtrack download: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/release_tron_20_4769a/post108

1:23:25 How many copies of TRON 2.0 were sold? ➜ My Twitter thread, estimating number of TRON 2.0 copies sold: https://twitter.com/LDSO/status/1563016442949165056

1:25:54 How much did it cost to develop TRON 2.0?

1:27:34 Was there a sequel planned to TRON 2.0 at the time? In game or film form? ➜ Free .PDF version of The CRPG Book, with my review of TRON 2.0 on page 336: https://crpgbook.wordpress.com/

1:30:47 Thoughts about a remaster/remake with VR support?

1:33:01 What are Kevin's thoughts about entries in the TRON franchise that followed TRON 2.0?

1:34:48 If you could make another official TRON title, or even an unofficial TRON-like game, what would it be like?

1:36:20 What does Kevin think about fan-made content for games, and TRON 2.0 in particular?

1:43:33 Myself and fans thank Kevin

1:45:52 Killer App Mod news for 20th Anniversary ➜ https://mastodon.social/@LDSO/110959566656685334

1:46:12 What do Thorne's initials "J.D." stand for?

1:47:02 End Of Line

1:47:58 Outro

[xitty]

Famitsu has an interview with the Enstars staff members who came up with the idea of Ensemble Training and it has a lot of fun information. Here are some things from the interview summarized:

It was an idea from the lead illustrator and graphic designer who at first talked about a dietary app featuring Knights but it later changed to exercise because they felt diet app was too complex and not easy to add a concept of working together to be more healthy to. The lead illustrator made a proposal of it and found other staff members who were interested in helping her. At some point there was also talk of adding some romancing aspect into the game but that was discarded. (Phew!!)

They talked about it in late 2020 but the work began in March 2022. Originally they wanted to release it with Butou-kai shuffle but it was not ready yet at that point. It also wasn't originally meant as April Fool's content but then they thought it'd get a lot of attention that way. And they were right! They got more downloads than they anticipated when the app launched.

Also, it was kept approachable to everyone not only by keeping it completely free (and it'll stay without any paid content they promised) but also making sure everyone could do the exercises. The staff members who came up with the idea aren't athletic, so they tested the exercises could be done by non-trained people. They had both a professional gym trainer and Enstars staff who did muscle training to help with planning the exercises and programmes.

And lolol, the reason the day in-app changes at 4 am is because many staff members are nightowls so daily reset at 12 midnight felt too tough. Haha, I feel you. (But wait, does that mean some of them are exercising in the middle of the night??)

They had been thinking it's boring and hard to stay motivated to do exercises if you just watch videos or have to go somewhere to exercise. And that you want to be praised and encouraged. So they wrote idols giving you a lot of positive feedback. And that's why for example Izumi who's usually quite rude, sounds kinder in the app. They wanted them to tell you you're doing a good job and give you little cheers during exercises (so no demon instructor Yuzuru dlc, sorry everyone). They also wrote the characters as they would be acting in interviews or promotional settings, so even those who do not normally speak very politely, are using more keigo. Kanata got specially edited lines because he talks so slow haha.

It's so true the idols telling you good job and to keep up helps. <3

Also, they thought that maybe the voice actors would be a little bit confused about suddenly asked to be gym instructors, so they filmed an example video for the VAs to explain/show it since the game animation was still in progress. Awww!

The characters got more lines and animations than they originally planned. At first there was no instructors introducing themselves before exercises but as they created animations and lines for the four trainers (Ibara, Adonis, Izumi and Mitsuru), they thought it'd be fun to see the other characters animated and talking more too. Originally there would've just been the chibi character screen. I'm glad they decided to expand it! They were first warned that they can't have too many special animations but in the end they included all they asked for (for example Ibara's salute). And they put a lot of care into Wataru's ponytail animation!! <3

Such a passion project. I'm glad HappyEle supported their idea and let them make it into a real app. I'm again thinking that HappyEle/Cacalia CEO interview where he said he's letting the employees do what they love and want to do.

[rmu-vincent]

Top 5 reasons to apply to Myers Corporation

Due to bad-faith discourse going around recently regarding the practices of Myers Corporation, I would like to highlight a few reasons for applying there.

Myers Corporation is the leading company in the field of mechanical and bio engineering as well as body modification, successfully holding a monopoly on the industry for a conciderable amount of time. After all these years, it is impossible to deny that Myers Corporation with its innovative technologies has every opportunity to shape our future and adjust the fate of humanity as a whole, and being a part of such cause is an honour any individual should treasure.

Design, create, enhance. At Myers Corporation, creativity, open-midedness, and ambitious aspirations are valued and encouraged. Any input is taken into account, and the management is praised for their responsiveness and responsibility. Furthermore, as far as I am concerned, the employees are fond of their job which is a pretty rare thing to hear nowadays.

Being accepted into Myers Corporation means gaining new valuable connections and achieving a social status that is worthy of respect. Getting a positive response to your CV is a task that is more than challenging, if not an impossible one for some people. However, effort and hard work is appreciated, so the more you put into your goal of getting into Myers Corporation, the more rewards you reap.

As was mentioned in the second paragraph, the rapport and community spirit is one of the mains strenghths and appeals of Myers Corporation. The management frequently hosts corporate parties and ensures people are remunerated approprietly for their achievements, and members of Myers Corporation have been talking about their close-knit, almost family-like team ever since the estblishment of the company.

Employee benefits exceed any other companies on the market. Not only does Myers corporation provide their workers with insurance, healthcare programmes, amazing extended leave opportunities and legal protection, but also some exclusive, industry-specific benefits, such as early access to the latest inventions, discounts on products produced by Myers Corporation, and more.

No discussion of Myers Corporation can be complete without mentioning th CEO, Mr Myers. His contribution to the company's success cannot be credited enough, and I consider him an extremely admirable person.

[overobsessedfanboy23]

I am not exaggerating when I say that every character, every single solitary one in Arc V and VRAINS are the wrong fucking age.

The other series I can make some concessions for or they at least look their age but these two? There is no excuse.

Yuya, Yuzu, Yugo, Shun, everyone in the lancers really should have been at least 18 if you wanted them to be drafted into war and ride fucking motorcycles in a major tournament, both of which you need to be 18 to do. Even going by YGO logic, everyone in 5Ds that rode motorcycles in tournaments were at least 18.

And Declan? He's a fucking CEO of a company, principal of a school, and general in a war yet the Wiki is trying to convince me he's 16. If he's not at least 18, he shouldn't be running a company like some seasoned adult when his mother is alive and perfectly capable of running the fucking company and s chool herself. Declan should still be in school studying if you want me to believe he's that young. 16 isn't old enough to drop out dammit. Declan should be in his twenties considering how much taller and just older looking he is than the main cast.

And Riley's age is never said but she's said to be in the youngest duelling league, so potentially as young as 8. The fact that anyone ever considered making Riley ride a fucking motorcycle is psychotic.

And if that sounded bad well.

VRAINS might just be even worse.

You're telling me Yusaku, who only occasionally goes to school and even more occasionally works at a hot dog truck, and has been defending the VR world from hackers vigilante superhero style for years and lives alone in his own apartment (so paying all the rent himself) is a SIXTEEN YEAR OLD IN HIGH SCHOOL?! HOW MUCH WERE THESE WRITERS SMOKING TO COME UP WITH THIS SHIT?!

And this problem persists for every Lost Incident and Lost Incident adjacent kid, many of which are key players in the plot, since they're all supposed to be the same age even though the narrative wants us to side with Aoi when she says "No, big brother. I'm not a child, I'm an adult and can take care of myself" even though she's A MINOR WHO'S FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON HIM! Or Takeru fucking off from his grandparents with no say of when or if he'll come back and not being reported a missing child to the police?! Or Spectre's pre Lost Incident memories being so young that it sounds like he's lying out of his ass about remembering anything from that age when he gives his tragic backstory that we're supposed to take seriously?!

And don't even get me started on Revolver. You mean to tell me this clearly very experienced programmer and hacker leading a massive cyberterrorist organization is only EIGHTEEN?! And thus looked exactly the same as he did five years ago when he was THIRTEEN AND ATTACKED AN ENTIRE NATION'S PEOPLE?! WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?!

[katewillaert]

Carmen Sandiego Dossiers

One of my biggest video projects currently is an epic, lengthy deep dive into the making of the original 1985 version of Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? I've corresponded with everyone involved in the game, from the CEO to the guy who designed the box art.

In the interest of being thorough, I decided to ask around about the identities of the Broderbund employees who posed as the "suspects" in the original manual (back before dossiers were included right in the game). Here's what I found:

Carmen Sandiego was played by Marsha Bell (née Goodman) whose job title was Advertising / Marketing Secretary. She also appeared on the cover of the sequel, but she is not the woman on the cover of the first game. The cover model's identity is still unknown.

Merey LaRoc was an anagram for Carol Emery, who was the Product Acquisitions Secretary or "Acquisitions Eminence Grise" depending on who you asked.

Dazzle Annie Nonker was a partial anagram for Ann Kronen, Product Manager on such programs as Dazzle Draw and The Print Shop.

Lady Agatha Wayland was Kay Wayland, who was an Admin Assistant in Product Development before becoming a Product Manager for programs like Fantavision.

Len "Red" Bulk was Ken Bull, who'd become the lead programmer on the Carmen sequels after Dane Bigham left.

Scar Graynolt was Carmen co-creator Lauren Elliott. It's a shame Gene Portwood and Dane Bigham don't also appear as crooks, seems like it would've been an obvious thing to do? The name is an anagram for company co-founder Gary Carlston.

Nick Brunch was Dane's roommate Scott Shumway, who programmed various ports (including Carmen C64).

Fast Eddie B. was Ed Bernstein, Editorial Director of Product Development who oversaw all the Product Managers. He later founded Palladium Interactive, who published the MYST parody PYST.

Ihor Ihoravich was Alick Dziabczenko, a programmer who worked on The Toy Shop. If this is an anagram, I can't figure it out.

Katherine "Boom-Boom" Drib was Katherine "Cricket" Bird, who was one of two Product Managers on this very game, taking over for the previous Product Manager halfway through development. More on that in the eventual video.

[yandere-plague]

This is a semi-au that I randomly thought up, should I make a part 2?

[Yandere Handsome Jack]

(Story)

Hyperion Stooge

Tw // mentions of kidnapping , betrayal , blackmail , implied Lilith relationship

"Hey kiddos, I'm offering a bounty of a million dollars for whoever brings me my good friend (y/n). I've had some reports that she's hiding somewhere near Sanctuary. Oh, and before I leave, if there is even a single scratch on her I'll kill each and every single one of you! chao."

His voice rung across Pandora, the many a radio's and other miscellaneous methods of communication leads everyone to hear his fucking voice.

Handsome Jack, ever since I met him he's been looking for me. I fled to Pandora short after he had his run-in with the Firehawk on Elpis.

We all know Jack though, he doesn't take no for an answer, and will kill anyone who disagrees.

I know nobody will turn me in inside sanctuary, but I can't help but feel somewhat blamefull for everything Jack has done here.

He's killed, manipulated thousands of people.

For one thing only, me.

Its like a game to him, every second he gets a centimetre closer to me.

"Dont worry (y/n). none of us will turn you in, I promise." Lilith the Firehawk stood beside me, the new leader of the Crimson Raiders.

I have no idea how she manages to stay composed, even after the death of Roland.

"Why does Jack want you though, you've never left sanctuary from what I've seen..."

I tensed up, if she knew the fact that all of this is going on just because Jack wants me. She would kill me.

"Well, I guess he's going to try and use you to get to me. If Jack tries to ECHO you, tell me immediately." She got up, stretched and walked off.

She doesn't suspect anything, it feels wierd saying that even though I'm on her side...

-----------------------------------

Jack has a hunch on this planet, called Pandora.

Its funny, you look at one word of any description of the planet and you will already be distained of wanting to visit.

So why has it interested Jack? He's just a low level programmer, non of the higher ups would batt an eye of his ludicrous idea.

But of course he was right about that hunch, otherwise non of us would be here... - and that's when I shortly met him.

I was even lower then him, working in IT support. Which is contradicting for me to call Jack low.

But of course that doesn't matter at all now, he's the big shot CEO of Hyperion, and I'm just a rando in Sanctuary I guess...

I wonder what my life would be like if I hadn't have left him there.

Probably being forced to be his "pet".

Though I guess we are both somewhat working towards the same goal.

Jack wants to look for the Vault still, but he refuses until he has me.

I don't know whats in a Vault, but I sure as hell know I'll be using it against jack.

-----

I walked into HQ, going up the stairs past Tannis's lab.

Lilith, Brick and Mordicai stood round the Table in the middle of the room. The hologram in the center displaying a map of Pandora.

"Hey guys." I waved, seeing what they were looking at. They had mapped out the locations that the Vault Hunters have been, trying to guess where the Warrior could be buried.

Nothing really interesting was being said so I said my goodbyes and headed out to Moxxi's.

My ECHO device rang, Paranoia hitting me like a hyperion train.

With a sharp breath I answered the call.

And then I wish I didn't.

"Nice ECHO encryption (y/n)! Certainly a tough one, hmm. I wonder where you got the coding skills from..." it's Jack.

"Enough about that, so... How's Pandora? Or should I say... Sanctuary?"

That bitch.

"Go to hell John." Short but sweet.

"Its... Jack, sweetie." Great, nicknames.

I'm not too worried, he can't destroy Sanctuary now that it's in the air.

"Yeah, like I care." Hes still being an asshole, but a calm asshole, that's unlike him.

"Soo, I assume you've seen those bounties I put on you? Its probably scary right? I mean, I wouldn't know I'm not running for my life right now. I'm in my office, like you could, and still can, have been. Ruling the entire Galaxy one planet at a time."

"I don't care what you threatening me with, I am not going with you Jack! The Crimson Raiders are practically family to me!"

"Oh really? How about I tell everyone about you? The Crimson Raiders won't want to work with an Hyperion worker will they?"

"Are you seriously trying to blackmail me right now?! Go on then, tell them. They won't care!"

"And for the record, I'm not even working for you. Haven't been for years."

"...Your wish is my command (y/n)."

He hung up, I laughed myself to the ground. This just did not happen.

"It appears as that some ex-hyperion troops has been hiding in sewers, and they have a insatiable lust for Pizza. Go get some from Moxxi's and head to the location I sent you."

Why did I have to remember this.

I had overheard it as I was taking a jog around Sanctuary.

Listening to other people's conversations was a nasty habit I got from Hyperion, after all secrets and blackmail are your only way to get up to the top without physically hurting anyone.

Tannis had sent a Vault Hunter to kill the Hyperion personnel, claiming that not even they can be 'redeemed'.

I had brushed it off though, I wasn't apart of them during Jacks reign. So, maybe there is a chance they will spare me.

I hope to god...

----

I headed to HQ, feeling sick to my stomach-

"Sup (y/n), you feeling okay?" Lilith said as she rested on a table, her faces smile turning concerned.

"I- you trust me, dont you Lilith?"

She was taken aback by that, that was out of character even for you.

"Of course we- I do. Why? What has Jack said to you?" She walked towards me.

"I dont have time to explain, he's going to tell everyone! Just... Promise me, this won't change anything between us right? I'm not-"

"Bandits of Sanctuary!" His voice stung, like it was poison to even speak those words.

So... you might be wondering why I'm after (y/n). Well, ya see. We worked together during the first vault opening, and during the second vault... she left me. Shes still Hyperion, no matter what she says."

"I'll leave you to talk things out. Oh and one thing! (Y/n)? You can come back any time baby. I'm waiting with open arms!"

I suddenly realised everyone was in HQ, I couldn't stop shaking.

"... its true, I did work for Hyperion. But I promise I left soon after Lilith did the thing in the vault. He's insane." I never thought i would have to reveal this to anyone.

"Are you going to kill me?" The overwhelming sense of dread filled me.

"Why... why would you say such a thing?! You arn't working for Hyperion now, so why should we care?" She answered for everyone, except Tannis, probably.

"But- But Tannis-" this doesn't make any sense.

"I know Tannis asked the Vault Hunters to kill some Hyperion workers but, I just- couldn't do it to you. Okay?" Before I could even process what was going on she hugged me.

"Though this does give me an idea, and you're not going to like it..."

I gulped, what's it going to be?

-

Should I do a part 2?

[viscountessevie]

ARC/Reviews Masterlist

ARCs

Reviews can also be found on my StoryGraph

COMING SOON: Unladylike Rules of Attractions by Amita Murray In the highly anticipated sequel for Unladylike Lessons, comes Anya Marleigh's book! Anya is Lila Marleigh's second sister and the musically inclined heroine of this book. She is a court singer and sitar player in Queen Charlotte's royal court. Anya soon comes into a large inheritance which has her involved with the executor of her new fortune, Lord Damian Ashton. Lord Ashton's banter with her is the least of her problems when she becomes embroiled in a murder case.

2023 ARCs

Unladylike Lessons in Love by Amita Murray Release Date: 30th May 2023 A realistic historical women's fiction centred on a really cool Indian heroine who runs a gambling hall. The book gives a deep dive into the working class and immigrants of the Regency era with a side of romance

Clytemnestra's Bind by Susan C. Wilson Release Date: 15th June 2023 A Greek Tragedy in every sense of the word that will have you sobbing - a prequel to Clytemnestra's story in the Trojan War.

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales Release Date: 27th June 2023 A murder mystery set in the Regency era that's a parody of itself and the Austen-universe, so much so that you can match each character to their Austen counterpart. It has a side of romance with a dashing Indian detective.

An Upper West Side Story by Rachel Cullen Release Date: 6th July 2023 A modern chick-lit/coming of age for 20-somethings set in 2004 and follows a group of four neighbours whose lives intersect together in various ways.

I Do, I Don't by Joy Argento Release Date: 11th July 2023 A contemporary sapphic romance novel about a reality show producer and her programmer for the show who unexpectedly has to step in as a lead.

The Wrong Family by Ellery Kane Release Date: 30th August 2023 A mystery novel a 30-something orphan woman gets involved with a rich family in Lake Tahoe after trying to find her father. Things start to go awry as soon as she arrives and the family's fingers start pointing to her.

Roomates by Ola Tundun Release Date: 20th September 2023 A debut novel about a roommates to lovers pairing with a seemingly perfect girl whose life is really a mess and a playboy who has to change his ways when the perfect girl comes crashing into his apartment with an offer he can't refuse.

Hunt on Dark Water by Katee Robert Release Date: 7th November 2023 A contemporary romance novel set in the fantasy world of Threshold. Tensions rise between a witch named Evelyn and sea Captain Bowen as they journey across realms and find out secrets that have them questioning everything.

2024 ARCs

The Boyfriend Subscription by Steven Salvatore Release Date: 26th March 2024 A contemporary queer retelling of Pretty Woman involving Cole Vivien, the CEO of their version of OnlyFans and Teddy Hughes, a botanist who has lost both his husband and his business. The two meet on a fateful night in New York and come up with a proposition to be a faux couple to satisfy what they each need.

Reviews

Paused: The Dark Olympus by Katee Robert [Edited: 28th Dec 2023 - Paused indefinitely for the time being]

Stone Heart - Medusa/Calypso Neon Gods - Persephone/Hades Electric Idol - Psyche/Eros Wicked Beauty - Helen/Patroclus/Achilles Radiant Sin - Cassandra/Apollo

[needlesscontrarian]

Saw a post about media analysis and the concept of "when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" and how certain kinds of media train you to approach them in a certain way, which can make approaching media which is radically different challenging and lead to misinterpretation.

It reminded me of a class I took a little while ago on crisis communications. This is a brand of corporate communications based on... well crises. What corporations should say/do after something big and bad happens to/because of them. Could be anything from a terrorist attack to a sexual harassment scandal.

I had a lot of trouble in this class. Not academically. I got all my work done just fine. I just thought that the concept was a bit dodgy. Like we talked about an oil company really fucking up their communication after a big spill and how the CEO didn't talk to the press and public well. And my first thought when I heard this was "well maybe they shouldn't have been transporting all that oil given what we know about the environmental hazard" and my second thought was "it doesn't really matter how they talk to the public afterward because our society is built around needing oil and no matter how shitty they are we still need to buy their product."

Our final paper was to analyze how hospitals approached the covid pandemic from a communications standpoint, where they went wrong, and design a crisis communications plan for future pandemics. And I wrote mine about how the covid pandemic didn't get out of control because healthcare providers failed to communicate the nature of the pandemic in an accurate and useful way, but because of a systemic failure at every level for the government to adequately address it. My "crisis communication plan" was that hospitals needed to become politically engaged with the public and tell them that in order to adequately address future pandemics, we need publically-funded hospitals where medical professionals are empowered to directly help their communities instead of expecting a system of elected bureaucrats to know exactly how to deal with complicated social and medical issues. Because the problem is not what hospitals say, it is what hospitals are even allowed to do.

My professor's grading notes were "not what I was looking for but good points." I think I got a B on that paper.

This also makes me think of cryptocurrency. How there are all of these issues with our economy, and instead of fixing those problems, a bunch of computer programmers decided they had the solutions and designed a currency that doesn't fundamentally change the nature of money but sure does involve a lot of programming. We've been talking about this in my class on digital media and I just keep saying "These problems aren't about whether the technology is good enough, it's about what we are asking the technology to do. We cannot have a decentralized and democratically controlled currency because capitalism is not democratic or decentralized." (My digital media professor has been much more receptive to these criticisms and has joked that I should be teaching this section.)

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When all you know how to do is write a press release, every problem is the result of not writing a good enough press release. When all you know how to do is program computers, everything is a problem of not listening to the people who know how to program computers.