#if you have a digital machine i'm lost as well

[badassindistress]

Cloaksforall Sewalong Step 2 - sewing down the opening seams

I just spent two hours making an in depth explanation on how to thread a sewing machine, so today's step is going to be quite small. The opening of our cloak is either selvage (the fuzzy ends of the fabric) or raw edge, so must be finished.

Looking at the ugly side of your fabric (this is called the wrong side) fold the straight edges (once if your selvage is neat, twice if it's not), pin down and sew.

How do I sew though?

Go here for help on how to thread your machine.

Then locate the buttons on your machine. On a modern machine (post 1960s or so) you'll have:

A dial for stitch type (on machines with more than two stitches)

A dial or lever for stitch length (how fast the feed dogs move)

A dial or lever for stitch width (how much the needle moves left to right)

A dial for tension (don't worry about it)

A button or handle for going backwards

What to do with all these levers?

Stitch type dial should be set to straight stitch (generally the first option)

Stitch lenght should be between 2 and 3

Tension is ordinarily on 3 or 4

Stitch width on 3, the neutral zone that sets your needle in the middle

You start sewing a cm or two away from the edge. Then you go backwards to catch the start of the seam as well. This prevents unravelling (and makes it harder for your machine to eat your fabric). Some machines have ruler guides you can align your seam allowance with to make sure you sew even straight lines.

At the end of the seam, go back and forth again to finish the seam.

[canisxx]

Hey chat! I decided that I don't care if you care or not, I'll post it anyway. Because I'm a scientist nerd, and a TF2 fan.

So here you go, my theory on how the respawn machine actually works.

⚠️It'll be a lot of reading and you need half of a braincell to understand it.

The Respawn Machine can recreate a body within minutes, complete with all previous memories and personality, as if the person never died. We all know this, but I doubt many have thought about how it actually works.

Of course, such a thing is impossible in real life (at least for now), but we’re talking about a game where there’s magic and mutant bread, so it’s all good.

But being an autistic dork, I couldn’t help but start searching for logical and scientific explanations for how this machine might work. How the hell does it actually function? So, I spent hours of my life on yet another useless big brain time.

In the context of the Respawn Machine, the idea is that the technology can instantly create a new mercenary body, identical to the original. This body must be ready for use immediately after the previous one’s death. To achieve this, the cloning process, which in real life takes months or even years, would need to be significantly accelerated. This means the machine is probably powered by a freaking nuclear reactor, or maybe even Australium.

My theory is that this machine is essentially a massive 3D printer capable of printing biological tissues. But how? You see, even today, people can (or are trying to) recreate creatures that lived millions of years ago using DNA. By using the mercenary’s DNA, which was previously loaded into the system, the machine could recreate a perfect copy.

However, this method likely wouldn’t be able to perfectly recreate the exact personality and all the memories from the previous body. I believe the answer lies in neuroscience.

For the Respawn Machine to restore the mercenary’s consciousness and memories, it would need to be capable of recording and preserving the complete structure of the brain, including all neural connections, synapses, and activity that encode personality and memory. This process is known as brain mapping. After creating a brain map, this data could be stored digitally and then transferred to the new body.

“Okay, but how would you transfer memories that are dated right up until the moment of death? The mercenaries clearly remember everything about their previous death.”

Well, I have a theory about that too!

Neural interfaces! Inside each mercenary’s head could be an implant (a nanodevice) that reads brain activity before death and updates a digital copy of the memories. This system operates at the synaptic level, recording changes in the structure of neurons that occur as memories are formed. After death, this data could be instantly transferred to the new body via a quantum network.

Once the data is uploaded and the brain is synchronized with the new body, the mercenary’s consciousness "awakens." Ideally, the mercenary wouldn’t notice any break in consciousness and would remember everything that happened right up to the moment of death.

However… there are also questions regarding potential negative consequences.

Can the transfer of consciousness really preserve all aspects of personality, or is something inevitably lost in the process?

Unfortunately, nothing is perfect, and there’s a chance that some small memories might be lost—like those buried in the subconscious. Or the person’s personality might become distorted. Maybe that’s why they’re all crazy?

How far does the implant’s range extend? Does the distance between the mercenary and the machine affect the accuracy of data transfer?

My theory is that yes, it does. The greater the distance, the fewer memories are retained.

Could there be deviations in the creation of the body itself?

Yes, there could be. We saw this in "Emesis Blue," which led to a complete disaster. But let’s assume everything is fine, and the only deviations are at most an extra finger (or organ—not critical, Medic would only be happy about that).

Well, these are just my theories and nothing more. I’m not a scientist; I’m an amateur enthusiast with a lot of time on my hands. My theories have many holes that I can’t yet fill due to a lack of information.

[kaisertheadvisor]

Alright, time for some obscure Persona 3 history. I was browsing the old Japanese Persona 3 website, when I stumbled across something interesting. This is what it looks like normally (Vanilla P3 specifically)

But on certain captures of this website on the Wayback Machine, it was set to midnight (JST). The website was coded to have a special easter egg that goes off around that time, as the Dark Hour clock appears...

And then the site is now in the Dark Hour.

Click on the Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka, and Junpei, and cause them to disappear, and Yukari will start to glow.

And you will have unlocked a secret section of the Japanese website! This mostly contained diary entries on various perspectives regarding the Dark Hour (on one section, there even was text regarding Strega's revenge request site), but there also were some secret downloads, namely a supposedly early version of a Persona 3 commercial (which Google translate says it was rejected by a TV station for containing subliminal content?), MP3 downloads, a video showcasing the P3 girls in maid costumes in Tartarus, and a message from Elizabeth to the player (which acted as a tease towards the new Elizabeth requests being added in FES). I have the latest capture of the secret section of the website, as well as a capture of the website during the Dark Hour so you can try this for yourself! (You'll need Ruffle for this)

Speaking of the Persona 3 website, let's go over some of the evolution of the P3 website! Here's the original version of the website when Persona 3 was first announced.

It was updated from P3's initial announcement in March towards May when the newer website was launched, last major update was Fuuka Yamagishi's character profile. Here's a Wayback Machine link for you to try it out yourself.

Here is the website around the time they were teasing FES. Makoto is replaced with Aigis, and there was a section containing audio messages from the developers that would help tease FES. (So far, they are lost media? Hopefully some fan manages to recover them)

And here is the FES version of the website, with both the normal and Dark Hour variations. (Metis replaces Yukari on the Dark Hour variation of the website, though I cannot access the secret section, probably because the silly toaster is blocking the way)

And just for funzies, I thought I'd include this link regarding P3 ads in this blogpost on the old AtlusNet. Hopefully somebody will get high quality scans of the magazine ads and promos used to promote P3 in both Japanese and English.

Now to wonder, what other crazy P3 promotional stunts did Atlus do? I know there was a countdown on the Atlus USA website that counted down the days until the release information on FES would be provided to the world, and I'm well aware of various Japanese gaming magazines that had various info on P3 (that so far only exist as JPEGS on the old Digital Devil Database and other websites), but man, I wanna know more. The fans should be archiving a lot of this stuff. Reload has re-triggered my Persona 3 phase, and I want to know more secrets about the game. I honestly think there's a lot of cool things waiting for us down the line...

[littledigits]

What is your take on the current animation industry and the way its heading for AI and job hiring? Ngl its looking a little bleak and I would love to hear your insight!

HOO. This is going to be a long one, but good question. Please keep in mind I am but one person with my one opinion.

I'm going to give you a little context to what was leading up to the job bust, the shit reality, and the hopeful conclusion.

Its always been a completive industry and unfortunately it will more-so for the next little while, even compared to when I graduated. The reality is, the animation industry GREW SO MUCH over the streaming services greenlighting projects to a point where I was like . WHERE ARE ALL THESE CARTOONS GOING. It felt like we went from nothing to a ton and was amazing that so much work was going around (looking back we see why it was too good to be true) A lot of schools and studios responded to this by growing as well. This means while it may recover, I dont see a way that it could reach the highs we had in the 2015-2021 period - because that wasn't representative of a sustainable model or a model they were planning on sticking with forever.

So the streaming bubble popped, and a lot of the reason why it popped was because streaming wasn't as lucrative when everyone joins in. This is the reality of working under the umbrella of Hollywood companies. Mergers happened, projects got pulled - and it probably wouldn't have seemed as big if we didn't have THE MOST JOBS EVER like, just a year before. It was a big rug pull. With the huge growth came a steep fall and all of it because of bad investments and choices of the people with the money. aka, we all wanted to chase someone elses idea thats making money for them and it didnt pay off - which leads me to AI.

While AI is scary and will do/is doing damage, it will not last forever. The industry only looks like its heading this way because the people who like AI are desperate to make it work, so they're pushing at it from all angles despite no AI company being profitable. ( once companies see that its not going to make them money they will drop it ) Its really nothing but a glorified pattern and predictive text machine that of course looks impressive when you feed it oodles of data. People who live on linked in and drink management courses like its water think that sort of shit is impressive, but they dont actually know how it works and just buy into the tech industry hype cycle . What we're seeing is them trying to make fetch happen, and it wont. (some useful bits will stay around but it doesnt 'think', a lot of this is just pure fakery)

You can trace a lot of things that lost jobs to bad investments from people higher up, who just jump around to different jobs when they make a mistake, or just simply get a bonus.

Its a symptom of the greater issue which is the monopoly of people in media and tech, which have been merging over the years with digital streaming. Lack of regulation in industries since the 80s has lead to a lot of the shit you see all around you, and it starts to be controlled by people who only want numbers goup. Overall , I think the animation industry in north America is entirely too controlled by the major studios and broadcasters, and that's going to be a tricky thing to navigate since they're very mask off about what their intentions are at this point. Its a growth-at-all-cost mindset that leads to things like AI, so while im confidant that what we see as 'ai' will die , we do have to realize as artists that as long as these people are in charge they will always try to find a way to cut the bottom line and not invest in the industry.

Its totally reasonable to feel bleak, but that's the intent. They want people to have to settle for less, and they want them to forget a time that it was better. Demoralization is part of the tactics, and 'starving' people out of jobs so they're easier to negotiate with is extremely common and pretty much what is happening right now. And this is exactly why you're seeing more union push from lots of industries because we're ALL being taken advantage of here. While it feels hopeless, this actually puts us much more in line with the artists and storytellers before us. They were up against the same people fighting the same fight, they were just called communists haha. Different words, same tactics, but the history of moments like this in the entertainment industry is more common then the shiny package we tend to grow up idolizing . ( its good to admire but we do often put these products up on a pedestal to our detriment )

The industry will survive, and it will change into something different which is GOOD. Because what it is right now, while workable and still full of things I enjoy - is NOT sustainable. And if we want to keep the skills of 2d animation, stop motion or any sort of creative trade to continue, we NEED sustainability. This is why collective action is so important, and so is diversity in the amounts of media we have! For example

YOUTUBE INDIE ANIMATION IS KICKING BROADCASTERS ASSES RIGHT NOW AND THEY NOTICE IT.

And while there are ups and downs regardless if you work in a small studio or a large one, I am hopeful that the conversations I've been seeing will spark change. Because as sucky as it is , compared to the rest of my time in the industry ( i think im on like 16 or 17 years now ) , I've never seen so much engagement or even discussion on the topic which says a lot. I think as artists we are always up for putting a lot of hard work into our skills, I think if enough of us point that passion into our community and collective action, we can start building an industry that does not have such a power imbalance, and that starts with community, education and engagement ! ( learning about the history of unions/animation/hollywood/workers rights,and then sharing that stuff! just through convo like this !) I hope this gives you some perspective, its something we're going to have to work at, but not something that is impossible. A lot of how the animation industry functions is not great, but what matters is that we work to make it better and the people who HAVE been doing that work are the ones that you want to find. They are the people with the proactive solutions to show you how to take power back. It helps fight the bleak feeling <3 tldr :

the solution is that as much as it sucks we try to make it better for those who come after us - and you can be involved in that job or not ! even just by supporting or being aware. This isnt animation is all careers, we're all effected by the same thing.

never forget.

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEBLOG: Dofus Novel 4, The Thirsty Beheader

I apologize for my absence. Translating this novel has burned me out from the fandom in a pretty major way, and I also got into a different fandom in the meantime and am, like, three 4k word chapters deep into a longfic for said new fandom. Besides that, I had a depressive episode and went insane for a while. Basically, I've been a bit busy.

At the same time I release this post, I have uploaded the new, updated versions of both translations (since this liveblog is mostly a reason for me to reread and fix stuff) to MEGA and VK, so I recommend you download the new versions!

I will mostly be copying the text directly, to bypass tumblr's image restriction, but some screenshots will be provided. For example:

If pride is a sin, then the typesetting and cleaning I went through with this book will have me go to hell after I die. (I don't think I'm a master, but I did a pretty good job, ok?)

A cart had just entered the District of the Lost Steps. It stopped in front of the store, as two Srams* got out.

I love the internal consistency of the street being named here. Thank you, author of this book, for caring.

“Are you sure about this,” asked the little guy, “Is this really the right place?” “Yeah,” replied the tall one, “There aren't thirty-six Shushu* houses in the neighborhood.”

LMAO this is something Kerubim is actually known for, huh?

At the time that this book takes place in, joris can't read very well. Cute...

Also, hehe... I am pretty proud of the way this part of the book was cleaned + the font + the layers and colors and opacity I applied to the text, to make it fit in with the paper.

^^^ This is me btw, during this entire post. ^^^

The entirety of the epilogue and prologue are typed on top of cleaned backgrounds sourced from the scan. The rest of the book is typed in front of a digital background. This artistic choice was made because....... You can't set different pages to be different colors in word. You have to overlay some image or a textbox, if you want a page to be a different color.

Anyway — I had a lot of fun searching for the fonts from this book! (and far less fun searching for appropriate fonts for the Russian translation since none of the fonts this book uses have cyrilic versions...)

The fonts this book uses are: Dimbo, Chelsea Market, and Aleo. Google them for all your Dofus Aux Tresors de Kerubim related needs.

The fonts I chose to use in the russian translation are: Brydan Write, Correction Brush, Curinn, and Itim. I just had to make do with what I had, ok?

“My Papycha said it's urgent!” exclaimed Joris, “He could be in danger. Maybe he's being attacked by the Thirsty!” Even Pupuce looked worried. Simone reread the message, thinking out loud: “The Huffing Bow Wow tavern is in the Pandawa district... There's plenty of bamboo milk there. Maybe the neighborhood is overrun by the Thirsters?” “And soon, the whole city will be under attack!” concluded Joris.

Nobody knows how to escalate a situation better than a 7yo with anxiety. God bless <3

The Ecaflip goes full "war machine" mode: he cuts and slices through the living dead for the entire night, and when the golden disk of the sun finally rises over the horizon, the scenery is carpeted with the Thirsty. The region is saved. Kerubim becomes a legend. To thank him, the local lord offers him the... “Hey... Joris? Are you listening?” asked Simone. She began shaking the boy, who, abruptly snapping out of his reverie, mumbled: “Huh? What?”

Joris is so normal. So sane.

“Bye-bye,” added Bowiknif. But Luis slammed the door in their faces, roaring: “You're not going anywhere!” “Oh yeah?” hissed Bakstab, “Is that so?” “Would you like us to chop up your friends with a Brakmarian steel sword of Chouque?” questioned the other, “Or with Samuel J. Axe?” Luis muttered what sounded like a string of expletives, before reluctantly opening the door to the two robbers, who bolted out without further ado.

I'm LITERALLY fucking insane about this.

“I'm sorry,” said Luis, “I tried to hold them back, but...” “We know, we saw everything,” the girl cut him off, “You did your best, Luis.”

Actually deranging. Also explains why Luis did fuckall about Sipho, Harebourg, and Ush — there's just not much he can actually do.

She spotted a Dragoturkey standing near a trough. In two strides, she reached the animal, untied it, and climbed onto its back like an experienced Dragogirl*. “Let’s go!” she said to the boy.

This once again raises a some questions about Simone's past — when did she learn how to ride dragoturkeys? Is it the same reason why she knows how to fight, at least a little?

Then again, maybe she's just being an Osamodas here.

I love, love, love the Simone&Joris content in this book. Their bond is so important to me... She's the aunt who stepped up.

This art is so nice...

They had run like mad through half the city, arrived at the wrong address, turned back just as a thunderstorm broke out, wandered around in the rain in the Pandawa district, and FINALLY arrived at the Huffing Bow Wow Tavern, a large, long building with a thatched roof.

They're so fucking stupid. I love them.

“Ah, there you are!” called out Kerubim, “I almost thought you’d make me wait some more!”

I wish english also had the phrase "I almost thought you'd be late" as a cunty response when someone's an hour or three late to an event. I don't think the english translation I made conveys the sheer frustration.

Kerubim raised an eyebrow — a perfect copy of the circumflex accent:

I struggled with this part a lot in russian sjfkgdfg. It made me nerd out a little bit too.

I didn't have a lot of comments here, but eh. It was nice to finally get this over with dfjgkdsfg.

[preservationofnormalcy]

Just a general question about something i noticed. How can a Upper-case AI exist and be fine, but a human being put into a computer isn't? Is that just because we're mentally designed just to be meat, or is there something i'm missing?

No, that’s pretty much it!

It’s a complex answer but the short version is that, yeah, the human mind simply has no context for existing in a digital format, where an AI would have been born there, so to speak. There’s the lack of sensory input, of course, but that’s peanuts compared to the simple fact that we simply don’t have the ability to have a storage and processing system that emulates the human mind well enough that a digitally copied person would be comfortable or even sane.

If you had, say, completely hypothetically, someone who lost lost lost lost a certain amount of their b b b body such that their brain was intact and beeeeeeeing kept alive by a series of ███████ machines, could they handle it? Y y y y yes they could. It would be a long and hard hard hard process of adjustment. Every waking moment might be hell. But eventually they w w w wooould be able to handle it. They might even live long enough to see—

CONNECTION DISRUPTED

ABTECH THANKS YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE

[undeath1245]

A fan scenario for the finale's ending

Uzi is laying on her bed in her room, alone. This takes place either in the colony after a huge battle against the Solver or in a huge spaceship (most likely Tessa's) after the destruction of Copper 9. Uzi tries to go to sleep after all the pain she endured, but with little progress. She then looks at a photo of her, N, and V, as well as the apology drawing N made for her in "Heartbeat". Uzi Doorman (narrating): "Sometimes, I can't help but wonder if I could have saved both of them. Despite all of what happened, I can't help but miss them." Uzi: "I'm gonna miss you guys so much." Serial Designation N (quietly): "We miss you too, Uzi." Uzi (weakly): "You guys may be death machines built to destroy me and my colony, but you were the greatest friends I ever had." N (a bit louder): "It's alright, Uzi." Uzi (now crying): "Great, now my auditory hallucinations are getting louder, and it's making it really hard to move on from them!" Serial Designation V: "That's because we aren't hallucinations, you idiot!" Uzi: "Huh?! N? V? Is that you?" V: "Ugh, yes, it's us. Somehow, we haven't moved on yet and wound up in your head." Uzi: "My... my head? Ho- Hold on a second." Uzi immediately tries to go to sleep, with the help of a deep sleep program equivalent to sleeping medication for humans. As she finally does so, she winds up in her own subconsciousness. We then see her swimming through the purple void, trying to find N and V. Uzi: "N? V? Where are you? Come on, you guys have got to be around here somehow. Geez, how big is my subconsciousness? Maybe I need to dive a bit more down, or up-" Uzi immediately stops swimming to see N and V, each of them now looking similar to V's concept design. They have both evolved into "robot angels". Uzi: "N? V?" N: "Heh, heh, hey, Uzi. We're... robot angels now." Uzi begins to tear up. N: "So, how have you been?" Uzi immediately embraces both N and V. Uzi (in tears): "I... I thought I lost both of you!" N: "Heh, you did, but only for a little bit." V: "Yeah, you're acting like we died or something." Uzi: "It's just... It's just so good to see you two again." As the camera pans away from the trio and back into the real world, we see Uzi sleeping happily, with a digital tear streaming down her left side. The credits then begin with a music box rendition of "Disassembly Required".

[nightfury18]

A new OC! Meet Blackshock!

You know what? It took me SEVERAL MONTHS to finish the disign. It was so fkg difficult (I'm not used to draw robots) that I almost gave up on the idea. I'm pretty sure that I will never do the same oc's card in digital, so I will publish the sketch (with finished disign though). I didn't add colors cus there's almost everything black except for the faceplate, the optics and some frame details. All thanks to mtmte and lost light comics, I finally got enough inspiration.

Some additions to page:

Blackshock is brutal and ruthless decepticon, but still has sorta pride. She isn't like the most of her collegues, she doesn't kill just for fun. Nothing personal, just the orders

Blackshock transforms into the small cybertronian jet

She upgraded her initial frame and got more armour to appear atleast a bit bigger and ofc for defence

She uses metal whip (keeped under chestplates, near to Spark Chamber) and machine gun (attached between wings in bipedal mode) as weapons, but still can fight with bare servos

Another weapon and userful tool are connecting cables. Blackshock uses them to get the information from the opponent (like mnemosurgeons, but less delicately and with more dangerously for other's processor) or any device. They can be keeped completely in her helm, but she preferes others to see it and to look more threatening. In fact outside the helmet the wires can have the length of her hight

Also has rockets in her pedes, but they can be used only in jet-mode just to fly

Her decepticon insigna is on her shoulder plate

To the lore

Now Blackshock is decepticon's executor, walking poligraph and scout. Initially was sent to DJD, but after some months demanded Megatron to get her back to the base. Usually she executed captured autobots, traitors and just examined the suspicious collegues. And every session was under Megatron's supervision. Blackshock took and reported about ordes only from and to Megatron. Sorta personal watchdog, and he had the reason to keep an eye (optic) on her.

She doesn't remember (Megatron does though), in past she worked in public security sphere (kinda police officer) with her twin-sister and Conjunx Endura. But the office was under attack, everyone had died there, except for Monochrome. She was transported to the Institute (correct if i'm wrong, I read the comic in another language🙏🏻) and supposed to become another bot, more suitable for Senate (and supposed to have a fate like Senator Shockwave). But during exctraction of memory block she suddenly woke up and had to fight for her dear life to escape. After panic had stopped, Monochrome found out the lack of any memory, but she was spotted by bunch of decepticons and presented to Megatron (who actually recalled her and her abilities).

So, thats why she became a decepticon and changed her name. Now she uses her cables to find any piece of information about past-self cus Senate had deleted every piece of documents about her existence. She rememberes her experience in Institute, so is affraid now of anyone who can have an access to her helmet and memories (and covers this fear by agression). Also due to processor damage Blackshock is kinda mentally sick, so she has panick attacks and mental breakdowns and can't indifference her own emotions from time to time, which makes her more unpredictable for teammates and opponents. But mostly she is playful, flirty and threatening at the same time, likes to take risks and test opponent's patience and will to live. Also finds cute that she can be underestimated by others cus she still has small frame and hight.

Hope it wasn't too long, I tried to write all this shortly, "me" and "shortly" aren't in the same universe, so... Well, yeah, longposts.

(Later mb will add an emotions set)

(I started to write fanfic about this whole thing, rip me🤦🏻‍♀️)

[kino-rogers]

He is always a call away (Tangerine/Reader)

Word count: 825 (reasonably short and sweet)

Song: 0800 HEAVEN | Nathan Dawe, Joel Corry, Ella Henderson (listen, I know the vibes don't fit but the lyrics inspired me to write this aha)

Short summary: Bullet Train happens and everything goes down as it does in the film. Reader is trying to process that Tangerine won't come home again.

Warnings: Canon typical swearing, angst, (light) past trauma mention

notes: thank you @nocturnest for jumping on this to fix my broken English and being a wonderful beta!! what an intro but uh [coughs] i'm already excited to write more for this fandom (bits in which Tangie is very much alive ehehe) anywaayyy, hope you guys like this!! - 🥝

It's not been the… easiest time - it has to be said.

Since that phone call from Lemon, you've been struggling with sleep. It doesn't show in your work, of course. Keeping up appearances has always come to you rather naturally. Some of it being from your repressed trauma, that even years of therapy barely scratched the surface of, but also because of your line of work too. It doesn't sit well to be an emotional wreck after every kill you're paid to do.

The call was from a number you didn't recognise. The passing sound of traffic suggested it's from a payphone as Lemon sighed heavily down the line.

"You lost your phone? On a train?" You answered the call lightheartedly and you recognized his sigh immediately, you hoped it was just a release of pent up tension over a job well finished. Although, the fact that Lemon was the one to call, put you on edge, hoping it's not coming through your pretend jolliness.

"He's gone." His statement was simple and sudden. The tone, stone cold, as his voice was raspy, possibly from crying.

"Who's gone, Lemon?"

Your throat ran dry as you swallowed around a lump. Your chest quickly tightened as you tried to piece together what he could have meant. You couldn't- no, didn't want to think about the most likely possibility.

"Tan-" He took a pause, cleared his throat before continuing. "Tangerine, was shot in the neck, he is gone."

It's not like you guys were dating, no, it wasn't anything like that. Neither of you had the emotional capacity for that. What, with your jobs requiring you to spend weeks, months away from each other at a time, sometimes in different countries, opposite sides of the world. But he was the first person, in a long while, that you genuinely cared for.

~~~

You turn to your bedside table, glance at the alarm clock there. Its digital display shines in orange numbers, 01:54.

It's a month, today.

You suddenly have a stupid idea. What would happen if you called his number? Last time you checked it was still live, it'd probably just take you to voicemail. Weirdly, your therapist at your last session suggested writing letters to him, in your bereavement. Bereavement. Such a weird word. You're not even sure that's what this is. But maybe leaving a voicemail would be an equivalent. Maybe he can listen to his voicemails, wherever he is. You scoff at the fleeting thought but reach for your phone anyway.

Tangie is still in your recent calls. You tap the saved contact and wait for it to ring.

You're not expecting anyone to answer, of course not. Your grief hasn't driven you completely nuts. But as the phone rings, you can't help but think about getting to talk to him, just once more. By some divine intervention, you'd be connected through to him, in the afterlife and you could tell him everything you couldn't the last time you spoke.

"-after the beep BEEP"

"Hi Tangie," You scoff in embarrassment, not really sure why you're doing this anymore. "I uh,"

You sigh heavily, all too aware of the silence the machine is expecting you to fill. You sniffle as you start to speak again.

"I know you won't hear this. That… Isn't really the point." You draw a shaky breath. "I know who did it though. Well, knew. Lemon and I took him out last week. What kind of an assassin's name is Ladybug anyway?" You snicker. Can't avoid the tightness in your chest though.

"I just… I dunno. Apparently I should be writing letters to you, as if I could send them off with a pigeon and they'd get to wherever the fuck you are. So, this is the next best thing. If this was anyone else, you'd tell me to fuck off and to suck it up. We always were on the same wavelength, when it came to feelings." Your chest deflates with a long exhale as you realise you need to stop dancing around whatever it is you're trying to say here.

"I guess I just wanted to tell you I really fucking miss you." You sniffle again, tears gathering in the corners of your eyes. "I miss your stupid grin, your teasing, your annoyingly cocky attitude, your… The way you looked at me."

"I wish you were here right now so I could tell you I love you. I wish I didn't, I really goddamn wish I didn't care for you so much but I fucking love you. And I hate that I can't see your face as I told you, for the first time. Please call me back."

You bury your face in your pillow and you howl into it, sobs shaking your body as the voicemail recording is saved and you continue to wallow in your bereavement. You're supposed to be feeling better. You need to stop paying your therapist.

[beevean]

🔥 for... Sonic music. :]

It's good.

Well, what other opinion could you have? :P

Alright, let's see...

I think SA2 unfairly overshadows the OSTs of the entire Adventure era. While SA1 still gets a lot of love, it pains me that Heroes is rarely considered - I think it has an unique soundtrack that takes a lot from SA1 but puts its own spin on it, a vibe that IMO only Colors matches.

ShTH's music is better than most give it credit for. Yes, a good chunk of it is generic butt metal. But then you have beautiful tracks such as The Doom, Sky Troops, Digital Circuit, The ARK, Lost Impact, GUN Fortress... The latter two are, no joke, some of my favorites in the whole series.

3D Blast has my favorite soundtrack among all Genesis games. You can feel that the composers know the console chip from the inside out by now, and those compositions hit the nail with the melody, the soundfont and the complexity.

Spinball has my second favorite soundtrack among all Genesis games. No I'm not trolling :P yes it uses the dreaded GEMS sound, but I think it fits the grittier vibe of that game. Lava Powerhouse, The Machine, the boss theme and the option themes are especially bangers to me. (yes again I'm not trolling)

I think people are too mean with the "alternative" soundtracks. I still play CD with the American soundtrack, both out of habit (I first played the game on Gems Collection) and because I think it fits the surreal, alien style of the game more. And I appreciate a lot how the Saturn soundtrack of 3D Blast incorporates the game's leitmotif, and sounds as deliciously '90s as Sonic R :P (plus You're My Hero is one of my favorite songs in the series)

Mortar Canyon is one of the best tracks Ohtani has composed in his career and y'all sleep on it because you got convinced that Forces' OST is made of nothing but Faded Hills >:( in fact, I feel about Forces' soundtrack the same way I feel about ShTH's. Yes, it has some stinkers, but a good chunk of it is great.

Actually, you know what: this is the reason I don't hate Superstars' music as much as most do. It's perfectly in line with the series. It has some duds but it has many more bangers (Lagoon City <3 Pinball Carnival <3 Press Factory <3 Special Stage <3), and I hope that Rintaro Soma has joined the fray in the same way Tee Lopes did.

[solradguy]

I know Aria and Frederick weren’t married, so I don’t like calling her his wife, but at the same time I don’t like calling her his girlfriend because it sounds like they weren’t as serious as they were (to my ear).

Is fiancé right? Did Aria say yes to Frederick?? I thought you might know.

(I call Jack-O’ and Sol partners, because it’s not specifically romantic and more denotes their attachment)

Begin uses 恋人 to refer to their relationship, which just means like "partner [romantic]." I ended up translating it as "girlfriend" in the context it was used in^1, but I think maybe I should have used "partner" instead, since that more accurately matches the vagueness of 恋人, which can be used to mean anything from "girl/boyfriend" to "wife/husband."

The scene in Strive where Frederick proposes to Aria with the ring hologram cuts off before we hear Aria's answer^2:

[It's Aria's birthday and Frederick had asked her to meet him somewhere. He's working on a holo-screen and Aria picks on him for writing something in old machine code and accidentally spoils the surprise, so Frederick just shows her what it was supposed to be] Aria: ...A ring. Frederick: Well... Yeah. Aria: A digital one. Frederick: Yeah, sorry. The real one wasn't quite ready in time. [She looks away.] Did I... screw things up? Aria: [shakes her head] ...Frederick. If I were to vanish from this world, what could I leave behind for you? Frederick: What? Hey, don't talk like that. It's bad luck. Aria: I promise you, no matter what happens, I'm never going to forget this day. ...But I want to leave you something to remember, too. Frederick: All right, then. Let's see... How about your hat? Aria: My hat? Frederick: Yeah. The forecast said it was gonna be overcast the whole day. [points at the sky] You gotta be some kinda eccentric to wear a hat on a day like today. Aria: ...Wow, way to kill the mood. Frederick: ... Aria: But, sure. If it can help you remember this moment; you and me, together under the cloudy sky... Then my hat is all yours. And maybe that way... I can always be by your side. Frederick: ...

The cutscene doesn't show a date and we don't know Aria's birthday, but she doesn't seem haggard like she does in all the stuff we've gotten that takes place when the stuff in Begin happens (late-ish 2016^1). Xrd Sign confirms Aria had something going on in 2015, too^3. In 2014, when the Gear Project was started, Frederick accidentally hurts Aria's feelings by not saying he'd spend time with someone he loved if the world was going to explode^4:

[November 13, 2014 Research Lab -- Courtyard; Asuka was grilling Fred on his personal philosophies after dropping in on Fred's conversation with Aria about a similar topic] ???: Let me rephrase, then... If the world was going to disappear tomorrow... What would you do today? Frederick: What kind of a question is that? Stop whatever's ending the world or die trying. Aria: ...You mean "spend it with someone you love"? Frederick: ... Aria: All right, break's over. I'm going back, and you two should too. Just because Vince gave the order doesn't mean you get to be late. ??? [Asuka]: ... Well, you definitely made HER feel lonely. You really do like to get lost in your own little world, don't you? Frederick: Yeah, yeah, I picked the wrong answer. Rub it in. ???: That's not what I mean, Frederick. She's worried about you. Frederick: What? Why would she do that? ???: Well... Frederick: Well what? ???: Your world is very small, and whatever you do, you do it alone. Even in the laboratory, all you have are enemies. Frederick: What, so I should be kissing ass so I can play with the cool kids? I've got you and Aria. That isn't enough?

It feels like Frederick hadn't yet proposed or realized that Aria had feelings for him yet here, and that Asuka's hinting that Fred had a chance to put the moves on with her and blew it.

According to Asuka, Aria wanted the Gear stuff to happen with her and Sol so they could stay together for as long as possible, too.^5

That Man: You already knew...Aria's disease was incurable. And like you, I suggested we cryo-freeze her until technology could catch up. There might have been a cure in the future...I would've searched for it myself! But she refused... Why? So she could spend as much time as possible with you, Frederick. Sol: ... That Man: Aria was stubborn, and no amount of persuasion would convince her. But, I refused to accept that nothing could be done. That we had to watch her die... And I found the answer... The one way she would accept treatment. That she would be able to see you again. No matter how long she may sleep. For that to happen...you needed to become indestructable.

It would be really weird if Aria had said no when Frederick proposed to her because, if it was between November 2014 and even as early as January 2015, that still leaves about a year before Begin happens and there definitely weren't any weird feelings between them in that time.

So, yeah. I think she probably said yes to his proposal even if the term used in Begin to describe their romantic relationship wasn't something as firm as "fiancée" (婚約者 or フィアンセ). The English version of Strive's GG World also just vaguely says "romantically involved."^6

"Partner" would fit the best for their relationship until they say otherwise in the canon somewhere, but I do think they were probably actually engaged.

The fun questions here now are: Since Frederick had some pretty clear beef with the Christian God even before he got turned into a Gear, did they have a wedding? Did they just go to a courthouse to legalize it? What's the concept of marriage even like in a post-Dawn of Revival world? Why does Frederick hate god so much? There are no answers and even less hints about any of this.

Sources:

GGBegin page 05 (first page of the prologue chapter)

Strive (00:43:46 if the timestamp link doesn't work): https://youtu.be/Gxx_XxjM8kE?si=UIH443o_xFG0ggaB&t=2616

Xrd Sign "Struggle A": https://guiltygear.fandom.com/wiki/Guilty_Gear_Xrd_-Sign-_script#Struggle_A

Xrd Sign "Devastation A"; November 13, 2014 Research Lab -- Courtyard: https://guiltygear.fandom.com/wiki/Guilty_Gear_Xrd_-Sign-_script#Devastation_A

Xrd Revelator "Cause A": https://guiltygear.fandom.com/wiki/Guilty_Gear_Xrd_-Revelator-_script#Cause_A

"Aria" entry.

[dduane]

In the digital art dep't...

Doing some work comparing renders in Daz Studio's (newer) version 4.21 to the older 4.15, which is where most of my rendering work has happened for the last couple/few years.

But also something else: starting to experiment with skin tone work on the main Middle Kingdoms characters... which I've been putting off because it's been incredibly complex and fiddly (and easy to screw up.). Then I ran across a new Daz-based tool which speeds this business up considerably.

(Adding a cut here because this goes on a little about subjects most people won't need cluttering up their dashes. Warning: contains volumetric- and non-volumetric-handling versions of Daz, character skin color work, complex (and complexion) lighting issues, image comparisons, and the local iteration of the These Two Idiots trope seen up close.

My attention right now is on the main characters, who come in a wide range of shades only casually referred to in the main-sequence books and the interstitial works. And among the core group—the human-born ones, anyway—there's significant variation. Herewiss, being northeast Darthene, is palest. Freelorn, being midlands Arlene with some Steldene ancestry, is darker. Segnbora, coming of people from the southeastern Darthene region along the Steldene border, is darkest of the human three of the Five.

All thee were details that had to go incorrectly depicted until now... because though I had the characters' faces and bodies pretty much sorted out, the skins were all, well, too damn unrelievedly white. And attempting to tweak that without sufficiently sophisticated tools (or enough understanding...) can cause real problems and a lot of lost time.

Now, though, with better tools I can start putting that situation right. Early attempts are inevitably going to be a bit spotty (I only got this tool over the weekend...). But the first few renders have been promising.

Compare this initial render of the Pride Month package "cover..."

to this one (after initial skinwork), which more closely mirrors the reality I see in my head:

(Over on the left, Tom's a bit pale in that run... but never mind. I'll sort him out shortly with the rest of the Young Wizards characters. Sunspark's human skin tone, meanwhile, can be expected to change without notice... especially when they've just seen a look they liked and want to try on.)

The difficulty with the above image is that for various reasons (like hiding the incomplete nature of the city behind them...) the lighting's from either a spring or autumn sunset, and therefore too warm for good clear comparisons. So as another early-stages test I took the version of Freelorn from the above image and repositioned him in one where the lighting was a lot better... at least when rendering in DSv4.15. Here's the "Short King" image from a year or two ago, before the skinchange...

...for comparison to the one I did this afternoon. (Since I was importing it from the laptop to the desktop machine running 4.21, there are some slight changes in camera position and lighting. Oh, and a different set of clothes for Herewiss.)

If the difference looks really subtle at the moment, that's okay. Lorn should be darker than this: Dusty's correctly a bit paler than last time. But it's a start. Further passes will get closer to what I'm after.

...So re-rendered versions of images on the MK website and elsewhere will start turning up with skin tones properly represented. (All this being secondary to cleaning out some of the 30K+ render files that have built up in the machine over the last ten years, and building a new tagging and indexing system for the ones that get kept. Whoopee. But it's gotta be done.)

Meanwhile, back to work on actual writing...

ETA: Meanwhile, no point in getting so caught up in image quality that you forget to move the camera around. Just look at these two idiots. :)

[ach-sss-no]

Things I do if i'm stuck on a WIP

I keep seeing memes about people fighting with their WIPs so maybe you could use some handy weapons?

Some of these are passed around pretty often, but they're in here again because I personally found them useful, as opposed to the common advice I see passed around that has never helped me whatsoever, also, you never know when it's someone's first time seeing something or when it might be worded in a way that makes it more understandable.

Some of these are more useful when you have some options for how to proceed with your story but can't decide on one, and won't be as helpful if you can see no way to proceed.

These are intended primarily for writing and many don't really have other applications I can think of, but some of these strategies should also work for any creative thing you're trying to do that is not progressing in the way you want it to.

Disclaimer: Sometimes none of these work. Good luck!

CRIPES, I'm Stuck

Complain

Tell someone (or pretend to tell someone) who does not know the inner workings of your story all about your story problem in as much detail as you can articulate. The more detail the better, including what events led up to this point and what you want to achieve going forward. Go all the way back to what the main premise is, even. When I do this I often end up figuring out the problem while I am describing it and never even send the message, which is why this can be an imaginary conversation if input from another human is not desired and/or available for whatever reason. You can also tell your problems to your cat, dog, tarantula, or Pokémon team! BONUS: Those things are all cheaper than a therapist!

Randomize

If you have multiple ideas for how to go forward and are paralyzed because you can see no greater or lesser value in any of them, great news! The machine can be trusted! (Disclaimer: The machine cannot be trusted) Go to random.org and use the list randomizer to scramble your potential plot options. Pick the one on top. If you realize you're unhappy with it, examine why. Whatever reason why you've decided you don't like that option after all will help guide you towards what you should be doing instead.

Got any kind of two option yes/no, pass/fail, success/disaster question? Flip a coin! This can be done digitally if you don't have coins lying around (I usually don't myself).

There is also the tried and true method of dice-rolling, which can also be done via app if you don't have dice of the desired type or you've lost yours.

Really stuck? Showrunner's challenge.

Iterate

This is both the least efficient one and the thing I do the most often. Writing a scene? Not sure how it should go? Just write different versions of it until something sticks.

Every time you feel unhappy with the scene, back up to the point that led to whatever you're not jiving with, cut it, and start over from there. I recommend saving all of your different versions so you can reconsider or do some horrific Frankenstein cut-and-paste later.

Like I said: horrendously inefficient. it doesn't have to be pretty... it just has to exist.

Play

Go do something else totally unrelated to writing. Just go do something else you enjoy. Just take a break. Your brain may actually fix your story problem when you ignore it and let it run in the background, and if it doesn't, you get a break. No downside! Chances are, you've heard that before. I'm telling you again because I so often fall prey to the 'but my break will be more satisfying if I fix the problem first' well, it's not getting fixed and I am not equipped to fix it right now or it would be fixed already, so it's break time now.

Work on another project that seems more fun to you at the moment. Battering your head against your current WIP because you think you "should" work on it instead of whatever shinier idea is in your head is probably not helping you progress on that project. Working on something else as a treat may jog your brain to unstuck you from your main idea, and if not, it will lead to a new creative product existing, and even if it never gets finished, you've tricked yourself into thinking art is fun again. No downside!

There's nothing wrong with adding [placeholderlmao] and going on to a part of the story you like better. In fact, knowing what happens later may help you fix the problem point (assuming you don't already know because you either don't work from an outline, or your story has diverged so wildly from the outline that it's not helpful anymore)

Edit

Depending on the length of your project and whether you have already declared parts of it off-limits this may not apply; but if you don't want to go forward right now, it may be a good time to go back and edit what you already have written. Sometimes when I do this I will see a stray idea I mentioned earlier that I can follow up on now, and that gives me a new path forward. I'll also sometimes discover that, while my current story problem is manifesting at my sticking point, the cause of it happened much earlier and needs to be addressed farther back in the story (and once that's done I'm not stuck anymore!) Just like pulling crabgrass out by the roots.

Did you have an outline that has stopped tracking with your story? Maybe you should go look at that outline and revise it to the new version, or at least remind yourself of what you thought was important to put in it. If nothing else, doing this should help you think differently about your story.

Steal

That's right! There are millions on billions of stories out there. Just like infinitely variable humans are built upon skeletons that look very similar, your story is uniquely yours, but its underlying structure probably follows a pattern that other stories with similar goals have used since human communication began. So go look up a story you enjoy that includes a similar scene to the one you're struggling with, and look at what it did to fix the problem you're having. Chances are, there's a way to map that onto your story while keeping your version unique, or at least you can get some helpful hints. Do expand beyond the medium you're working in. There's a lot that novels/movies/games/etc do differently, but basic story beats and interactions between characters are pretty consistent things across anything that's telling a story. If I'm looking for a model for a scene, I always look for something with a similar plot, theme or character dynamic that I thought was done well.

Alternately, do you know of a story that tried to do what you're doing and failed spectacularly? Go look closely at that and see why it's not working. Then ask yourself how those problems could have been avoided. The solution you arrive at may apply to your story as well, or at least lead in the right direction. Alternately-alternately: Do it wrong on purpose for the fun of it and fix it later (or don't fix it later)

Just have no ideas? Hang out with stories with the vibes you want until something clicks. When I was doing this fancomic, I watched The Emperor's New Groove a lot.

Well, there you go. If you think I missed something- which I absolutely did, because the creative process is very individual and there are some highly successful things I never, ever do and can't speak on because I am restricting myself to things I have personally done and found helpful-

-please add it on to this post, and make it longer and longer until no one is ever stuck on a WIP ever again (✿◡‿◡) because they are all too busy reading this infinitely long post to start any projects!

[gwynndolin]

Kitschke recs, D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L by Panchiko

I'm skipping around here for a few reasons, mainly that I couldn't really get into Liz Phair (sorry if you love her!), Sludgefest is fun and interesting as an art piece that I've already listened to, but I don't have much to say about it other than that, and 69 love songs is such a daunting task that I don't have time for AT THE MOMENT.... So I will reserve it for a later date, when I finally feel like I have the fortitude to spend enough time with that album. That being said, I've already listened to DEATH METAL quite a bit before now!

So, my main understanding of this album is that it was initially speculated to have been dropped as a part of sort of an ARG; something about it being a lost media album from the early 2000's that had been found and posted online, but it seems like they were actually a real band? Seems like the jury is still out on the matter, but I can totally understand why it feels like it would be a faked period piece.

It feels remarkably out of place for being an early 2000s album, very ahead of its time in a lot of places, though there are notes of some of the late 90's grunge and early 2000's production sensibilities, in the song "Stabilisers For Big Boys" for instance, the chorus with the blown out vocals over nothing but a simple drum machine and a almost imperceptible bass synth tremolo underneath feels very much like a Savage Garden track with just a touch of some early 2000s alternative grunge, thinking like, Finger Eleven or something like that.

That being said though, I think a decent comparison, maybe not necessarily tonally, but in similar "difference" to the time period would be Of Montreal, mainly in songs like "Laputa" (one of my personal faves from this album, though every time it starts playing I think its Bear by The Antlers for just a moment); the track is a little slower, has a good mix of physical and digital instrumentation and production, just a little bit strange lyrically... Definitely lump it together mentally with Cherry Peel. I also taste some hints of The Bends/ OK Computer on this album too, particularly in "Sodium Chloride", the outro especially reminding me of the outro to "No Surprises". Also, to go back to an earlier review, there's also some Portishead (or, generally, triphop) vibes in some of the songs that opt to use a drum machine, e.g. "Kicking Cars".

My first go around with this record was probably a year or two ago, I think probably around the time I started dipping out of my punk phase to start listening to some more alternative stuff; and started to dip into the 90's a bit more. It actually took me a while to get around to want to listen to 90's and early 2000's; as I was born in '96, a lot of the music from this time is just completely out of my purview for the most part, until about 2007 or so. And, around that time, when I had become conscious about music, I had remarkably insular tastes, I refused to enjoy anything on the radio. My Ipod had like, Linkin Park, one or two Queen songs, and I think an entire Jim Gaffigan comedy special. This kinda sensibility continued into my middle school years as well; I had gotten really obsessed with Motion City Soundtrack and the British Pop Rock quartet, Mcfly and refused to listen to just about anything else.

I think, even into my early 20's, even as I had really allowed my horizons to broaden, I had really held on to this notion that the early 2000's and 90's were an overall Bad Time for music, and just never bothered to really engage with anything from the era. Of course, that's totally not true! Although I will admit, some of the radio hits from then are still absolutely grating, it will be too soon if I hear a Five For Fighting song ever again.

Anyway, where I was going when I started listening to this album, I actually really didn't like it at all when I started listening to it. The point I was trying to make with how long it took me to listen to this era of music was that I had to start allowing myself to appreciate this particular genre, I was coming out of a different phase that was much faster paced and raw, and so the mellow nature of this album was kind of lost on me.

But now that I've had the chance to let it sit with me... I actually really kind of love this album. I wouldn't put it as a personal All Timer necessarily, I think it's lacking some of my particular sensibilities that really make me obsess over an album or a band, but it absolutely has a certain pull to it that kept me coming back, even after I had decided I didn't like it! Which is certainly a hallmark of a Good Album. And at the very least, it deserves to be placed along side the accolades of many of the other excellent albums from this era.

It seems like the digital/streaming releases of the album released with a few versions of the songs originally uploaded to /mu/ with the significant CD rot, which is a fun inclusion for sure, I'm a big fan of things like this. Brings to mind Brian Eno's quote from his book A Year With Swollen Appendices, "Whatever you now find weird, ugly, uncomfortable and nasty about a new medium will surely become its signature. CD distortion, the jitteriness of digital video, the crap sound of 8-bit - all of these will be cherished and emulated as soon as they can be avoided. It’s the sound of failure: so much modern art is the sound of things going out of control, of a medium pushing to its limits and breaking apart." though, I don't think I've ever heard any examples of this kind of degradation. Perhaps something to look forward to once CD's fall even further out of the public consciousness, and right back in when the 30 year cycle loops around again.

Fave Tracks: "Laputa", "The Eyes of Ibad", "Sodium Chloride", "Kicking Cars"

Pretty solid 8/10 for D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L. I really expect this album to grow on me as time goes on. Sorry that this review was mostly just a digression on reminiscing about my experience with music in general and not any especially deep analysis! And I thank you for giving me the chance to really engage with it, as opposed to me just listening to it every now and again when my algorithm decides to show it to me again.

[saint-vagrant]

Hi, I've been following you for ages and recently saw you on my tl and so here's my love letter, your art has always been inspiring and I first came up with trans identity and gender fluidity in art and fiction thanks to you and so you will always have a special place in my heart for that.

I hope you're doing well and you're having a nice day

hey, wow!, thank you so much for sharing your warm response to my work.

honestly, i still feel like i'm making up for lost time. being trans was (is) considered so deviant that the idea of making more trans people wasn't something i was allowed to consider. too strange, too difficult to deal with, too much a tragedy, a medical anomaly discouraged by parents, friends, teachers, doctors, bosses, strangers, and this built a mental block difficult to clear. people then and now have tried to bully it out of me, and fortunately they haven't succeeded!

with little agency or community during formative chunks of my life, i came into myself somewhat diagonally by exploring (even unintentionally) through gender-weird original work, forming a lifeline too indulgent to ever really be marketable, lol. self-expression through fiction helped with what might otherwise feel like staring directly into the sun. including trans people in my work, and bodies similar to my own, "hard" (or perhaps mischaracterised "negative") emotions, complex or unresolved experiences, trans rage and anguish, fat transness, trans sex, trans illness, has been profoundly life-affirming as something i make. physically. with that very same body. and something that, in making, i share with others. i'd hope anyone might find the time to give something similar to themselves and whoever comes next.

bearing in mind that the lifecycle for art (art viewed digitally, primarily) has been cut shorter and shorter by machinations outside of our control, being remembered at all feels very significant-- and in this case, especially for elements so personal and inextricable. i'm happy to hear it's had a positive effect for you!

[caparrucia]

What's IA and why is it relevant? Lol

So I'm gonna answer this in good faith, but I will point out that this is a very weird query to send to a stranger. This is the kind of basic research you should do on your own whenever you encounter topics you don't understand. Like, if you're at the bare bones basic, starting point of a discussion, it is actually very rude to walk up to a stranger participating in that discussion and ask them to give you the primer. Don't do that online, certainly do not do that in meatspace. Your teachers and professors are paid for their time to educate you, random strangers are not and unless they've clearly and openly signaled they're available to provide that kind of barebones, basic primer? Exceedingly rude to just feel entitled to demand that explanation from them.

If you don't know where to start, start with google. I know, google is not great these days, but you can add ?udm=14 to the base google URL to get the strict results, no AI slop added. Or you can bookmark this:

From a basic google search you can then go to wikipedia for a more in depth primer, and hunt down the sources and citations to track down more thorough explanations and resources.

Once you have a more nuanced understanding of the topic you can also search for forums and communities where the topic is discussed and track down more resources there if you need them.

But you have to do it. Because you have to be responsible for your own learning.

And also because asking random strangers, disregarding the matter of manners entirely, subjects you to their bias. Case in point, I will, as I said, answer the query in good faith, but that's a good faith answer with my bias. And because they're my bias, I can't signal them out for you. I might not even know they're biases.

Do yourself a favor and get in the habit of not delegating all your perspectives and opinions to others. Your very sense of self is built in your convictions. You become the person you want to be, by sculpting yourself with knowledge. You do yourself a disservice by letting other people determine who you are and what you should think.

That said!

IA stands for the Internet Archive, which you might know for their URL, www.archive.org They're a US based non profit organization dedicated to archival work effort. Their most famous and well-known project is the Wayback Machine, a webcrawler archive that maintains records of a good chunk of the lightnet. The lightnet, surface web, indexable web or accessible web is the part of the internet that can be reached through the use of standard, common web tools like browsers (windows edge, google chrome, mozilla firefox, etc) and search engines (google, bing, duckduckduck, etc). This is the thing that a lot of people are worried about being lost, since a good chunk of the last thirty years of the internet no longer exists or is accessible anywhere else. They also curate digital collections of materials otherwise unavailable to wider audiences, like out of print books, music, tv shows, and other media.

The Internet Archive is relevant because it is a well-established, well-known institution in the sphere of conservation that plays a crucial role in the preservation of modern, contemporary history. They have under their stewardship countless, invaluable assets that are simply not available anywhere, and they are one of the most public, vocal advocates for digitalization of and, in their view, access to information.

The conversation surrounding access to information and also accessibility of resources as well as the crucial role libraries play in their communities, often in the physical world and which cannot be digitalized by their nature as a Third Space, is a nuanced, often thorny one. Mostly because people whose idealism stops at ideas and has never contended with the practical application of any of those ideas, are very bad at understanding that they live in a nuanced, imperfect world and there is no true one size fits all solution to literally anything.

This particular group is having A Really Rough Time handling the fact their darling IA fucked up spectacularly in a preventable, observable way, and are trying desperately to silence any criticism about the IA leadership - which is... flawed, to say it politely - by screaming about bootlicking and fantasizing about The Great Revolution that will surely come one day to fix all of their problems.

It's all very Evangelical, if you ask me about it.

But then, most Americans are Culturally Evangelical and don't even realize it. So!

It's what it is.