blessedfuneral

[grapecaseschoices]

what form of love do you embody?

quiz here, tagging: @sustainably-du-mortain @ava-du-mortain @mt07131 @sunshineandviolets @serenpedac @queerdetectiveblue @galpal95 @writerray @icanmakewords @thee-morrigan @quinnorion

Aleena:

love as violence

[ love as bloodshed, crimson as a knife slipped between your ribs ] when ocean vuong said "to arrive at love, then, is to arrive through obliteration" and when franz kafka said "you are the knife i turn inside myself; that is love" and when ada limon said "how do you love? like a fist. like a knife" and when richard siken said "sorry about the blood in your mouth. i wish it was mine"

love as hunger [I think this is better]

[ love as ravenous desire, love as something fragrant and home-built ] when florence welch said "we all have a hunger" and when jenny slate asked "who will come into my kitchen and be hungry for me?" and when violet trefusis wrote "I want you hungrily, frenziedly. passionately. I am starving for you..." and when anne carson asked "what are we made of but hunger and rage?

---

Tristan:

love as tenderness

[ love as gentleness after a lifetime of cruelty ] when ocean vuong said "sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you've been ruined" and when pablo neruda said "like a jar you housed the infinite tenderness and the infinite oblivion shattered you like a jar" and when anais mitchell wrote "all i've ever known is how to hold my own, and now i wanna hold you, too”

[xe also got love as being known, which as a concept does fit but the qoutes don't strike me as hard for xyr ships. But it MIGHT fit xyr friendships--- hrm..]

----

Richard:

love as being known

[ love is knowing all of someone and loving them anyway ] when tim kreider said "if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the mortifying ordeal of being known" and when joe wright said "The idea that these two people know each other, knew each other when they first saw each other. That they recognized each other from their future" and when micah nemerever said "it was a relief and a horror to be known so perfectly"

love as light [this works best]

[ love as a luminous force—warm, radiant, and golden ] when mary oliver wrote "light of the world hold me” and when charles bukowski said “I look at her and light goes all through me” and when david viscott said “to love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides”and when e. e. cummings said “lovers alone wear sunlight”

[grunge-mermaid]

"I didn't know he was Turkish"

about someone with a very overtly Turkish name who (as far as I'm aware) has never tried to hide his Turkish heritage

I'm done.

[satureja13]

Jack is disenchanted and disappointed. As exciting as it was to talk to Tiny Can, he'd expected more of the AI Therapist.

Sai went back to sleep again, he's exhaused from crying and reliving his worst memories. And Ji Ho and Jack decided to play a bit. But the only 'game' available is a boring puzzle... Jack: "Oh my, I don't know what's more boring. This puzzle or our therapy... Have they never heard about gamification? Or fun? Or to make it a bit more interesting?" Ji Ho agreed. Though the insight about Vlad and his own locked away feelings was interesting. Maybe he should follow and explore these thoughts a bit deeper.

Suddenly Saiwa was wide awake: "What did you just say, Jack?"

Jack: "Uh - probably something wrong? You finish the puzzle, Ji Ho, I go and run."

Saiwa: "No! That's actually brilliant!

Gamification! The Game!!!

We combine the AI with our game and make it a Therapy Game!" Jack and Ji Ho: "..." (Haha you can see how Jack and Ji Ho's brains are working ^^') Saiwa: "And not just for us - for other creatures too! This would have been so helpful when we'd been so scared and alone! And who knows? This could be a sucess and we'd make money to pay Rubyn and the others back!" We barely get to see Saiwa this excited ^^' But here some of his main interests meet, his love for games and computers - and being there for others and help them.

Vlad went back home to grab Saiwa, Jack and Ji Ho's content they'd already had created for their game over the last months and then they started their epic gathering to develop the:

For the computer game they'd planned, Jack already made the concept art and design, Vlad wrote and Ji Ho composed the music and soundscapes. They are going to feed all this to Tiny Can and see what kind of 'gamification therapy' he'll create. How exciting! (For me it really is! Imagine this: a game that also is a therapy - supported by an AI! How amazing would that be if you could see the things that make you suffer from a distance and you'd find solutions for them by doing insightful AND funny AND interesting quests! You'd gain helpful new habits and get rid of unhealthy ones by playing a game! Where I live it's so hard to find a therapy place. We have to wait up to a year -.- I do have high hopes in AI. You could go by your own pace. And you wouldn't even have to leave the house!)

After a very long gathering, Ji Ho and Jack relaxed in the hot tub. Jack's pain is thanking him. They sat silent for quite a while, lost in their thoughts. Very unusual for Jack, but his brain is running on hyper speed now. He's so excited :3 And Ji Ho was pondering about his locked down feelings. The Bond made it easy for him to love Luci. They had a whole different approach to each other. While his relationship with Vlad was doomed from the beginning (their story in (kind of ^^') short -> here).

The only ocassions where Ji Ho was really comfortable with Vlad was, when they touched and made love. And this is also a benefit of the Bond and Luci because Ji Ho hated being touched in the beginning. After all he'd seen at the House of the rising Sun in the slums of Sulani. But Luci had approached him slowly and tenderly. Ji Ho shared his thoughts with Jack: "Do you think this might be a way to become more comfortable with Vlad and finally be able to love him? And to find my buried down feelings?" Jack: "I think that's brilliant! At least one of us learned something in that therapy. When you charge the Bond later, just try a bit more and we'll see how it goes."

A little later Vlad came down: "Uhm, I'm leaving now. The Bond..."

Ji Ho left the hot tub and went over to Vlad to charge the Bond - and try his new theory... They embraced each other as usual and then Ji Ho tried to kiss Vlad.

But Vlad moved his head aside and whispered: "I want nothing more than you - but not like this." Vlad's breath ghosted over Ji Ho's still wet skin and made him shiver.

Vlad still has his principles - not to forget his foolish pride. No way he's going to have a plain physical relationship with Ji Ho - without love. There is no 'two out of three ain't bad' or 'it's better than nothing' in Vlad's world ^^' Only 'it's all or nothing'. He would do anything for Ji Ho, but he won't - and can't do that. It would break him apart. That does not mean it was easy for him to not give in and leave. Vlad really is the master of self control ö.ö

And then Vlad left. Ji Ho seems a bit piqued after Vlad's rejection ^^'

'I can't stop this feeling Deep inside of me Girl, you just don't realize What you do to me

When you hold me In your arms so tight You let me know Everything's all right

I'm hooked on a feeling I'm high on believing That you're in love with me'

Hooked on a Feeling - Blue Swede from the OST of Guardians of the Galaxy I

Outtakes

He will be mine, oh yes, he will be mine.

Yang Mal: "Can we grill our corncobs now?" 🌽 Saiwa: "Uhm - sure ö.Ö'"

Ji Ho checking the mail... 📬 Who might have sent that letter when Ji Ho looks like that?

Tyalindo watching the sun set 🌅

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest 🕹️ 'Therapy Game' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[talonabraxas]

Hyperdimensional Space Portal Talon Abraxas

Hyperspace theory (also called Superstring or Supergravity theory) begins with Einstein's General Relativity. In 1919, Theodr Kaluza, building upon relativity, made an astounding discovery: light and gravity can be unified and expressed with identical mathematics. This was the beginning of the unification of all physical laws, which is the ultimate goal of physics. There was only one catch. He needed an extra dimension. This fifth dimension, long recognized as mathematically plausible, had never before been seriously proposed as an actual component of reality. The usefulness of his theory was hard to deny; in five dimensions, there is "enough room" to accomplish the unification of gravity and light, which simply cannot be accomplished when trapped in four dimensional spacetime.

There is an obvious question to be asked at this point. "Where is the fifth dimension?" Kaluza's answer is clever, though suspiciously hard to test. He said that the fifth dimension is too small to see. The fifth dimension is contiguous with our four, but it is curled up, while the others are extended. To understand curled-up dimensions, imagine an ant living on a string (or a Linelander). For all its life, it is only aware of two directions: forward and backward. It lives in a one-dimensional universe. However, if you examine the string very closely, you find that it has a circumference; an extra dimension, curled up and wrapped back onto itself into a circle. If you could stretch this dimension, that is, make the circumference very large, the ant would be living on the two-dimensional surface of a cylinder. But when it's curled up, it effectively is undetectable by the ant, though it may serve as a medium for vibrations or other physical effects.

This Kaluza-Klein Theory (named after Kaluza and one of his students) was a curiosity for a while until people became disenchanted with its bizarre hypotheses and lack of concrete predictions. A common criticism was to ask why, if there could be one extra dimension, why not many? Just how many dimensions did this wacky theory have? For many years, people were content to leave gravity behind and work on examining the nature of subatomic matter via Quantum Mechanics.

Fortunately, in the 1980's, Kaluza-Klein came back with a vengence. The new wave of physicists supporting Hyperspace ("higher"-space) theories had an important element which was missing in the thirties: an exact prediction of the number of dimensions in our universe. By manipulating the formulae of Einstein, Riemann, and the like, they managed to unify all the forces of nature (gravity, the strong and weak nuclear forces, and the electromagnetic force, which includes light) in a single theory. How many dimensions did they need? Ten.

According to Hyperspace theory, each point in our four-dimensional universe conceals an additional six curled-up dimensions. The image at left provides insight on how this might be possible. Here we have a two-dimensional plane viewed at great magnification. At each point in the plane, there are the two curled-up dimensions of a sphere. In our universe, each point contains not a sphere, but a higher-dimensional object: a six-dimensional "Calabi-Yau Manifold." There is a very simple reason why we can't see these manifolds: they are less than 10^-33 centimeters across, much smaller than our most powerful microscopes can detect. Nonetheless, the movement of vibrating "strings" through these manifolds may be the source of all of physics.

[doyou000me]

Chapter 8 is here~!

For this one, I did a whole lot of reading here on Tumblr, and so I'd like to give special thanks to @the-wayside, @befuddledcinnamonroll, @mikuni14, @burnsuncomet, @respectthepetty, @heretherebedork, @negrowhat, @disenchanted-youth and probably a whole lot of other people whose posts I couldn't find my way back to. Thank you all, for the wisdom and insight and perspectives!

Read their wise thoughts here:

the-wayside

befuddledcinnamonroll

mikuni14

burnsuncomet

respectthepetty

heretherebedork

negrowhat

disenchanted-youth

Also, I got just a smidge obsessed with the art performance and had to write a little thing about it to just to get it out of my system. If you're curious, you can read it here.

[dcviated]

mun meme

𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐔𝐍!

★  NAME:  Bear/Will

★  PRONOUNS:  hee/hoo him

★  BEST EXPERIENCE: I think you can get a variety of experiences at a variety of places and each of them will be 'good' or 'cool' in some way. Most of my writing at this point is related to stuff I've done in tumblr, but I don't resent or detest the platforms I used of yore. Avatar games were cool. Discord/IM isn't the worst thing. But I think the best part of writing here is the shared experience for those invested? Easier to see things go down? 

★  PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord, easily. I mean I'm definitely reachable on tumblr IM but once we start getting into plotting I'd really rather move to something... functional. Searchable! And palatable. Tumblr IM is none of these things... it just kinda(kinda) works. So y'know.

Now that said, with the communication... I don't need a ton? You don't have to message me every day? I know I sure as hell don't message everyone everyday... I'm more of a reactive sort. Once you hit me up I'll chat away. But I can be silent for days or weeks on end otherwise. Trying to fix that...

★  MOST ACTIVE MUSE: Wylan is always able to come out and shitpost a little bit here and there. But writing his long posts can actually be a little more taxing. I'd say... Raguna and Eira are definitely the ones buzzing around more? I did a whole variety of drafts today, if you noticed. That said my roster isn't exactly the largest. And most of my public muses aren't the hardest to start a fire under outside of say... Armstrong. He's usually my weakest muse.

★  EXPERIENCE / HOW MANY YEARS: I first got into RP as a result of an ex, but I spring boarded from there into way more things than I started with. I'd say my first writing came about... 2005 or 2006? Hard to pinpoint exactly. So yeah it's been a good 18 years at this point. That said, I was on a huge writing sabbatical between 2009 and 2015, so I can't technically count it all. 2009 is when I dropped WoW (and writing in there) and 2015 is when I gave tumblr rp a shot out of a need to do more creative writing. 😩

★  RP PET PEEVES:  

So here's a few ... I'm grumpy. And specific with my hobby time.

Not meeting halfway with plotting. I get it, sometimes ideas are hard to come by. But if you're coming to someone wanting interactions you can't treat your RP partner like a vending machine rolling out thing after thing for you to clap over. It's important to share the burden (as plotting can sometimes be) and provide some insight. The best plots are a back and forth of "yes, and-" or "no, but-".

Sub-point to this one, but I think most of the onus does fall on you if you're dropping threads to kick off ideas for new ones. Even after a hiatus! It's what I've been doing!

Excessive commentary blogging. Before it was just a lot of dash commentary that had me going 'eh'. But in recent years it's gone past that. I've become disenchanted with blogs that become largely commentary for whatever it is they're doing on discord. All power to those discord groups doing what they do! But it reaches a point for me that I don't really see them as indie, and it can feel insurmountable trying to interact with them if you're not entangled with their zig-zagging plotlines.

And of course~!!!

Blog hoppers. Because for a slow burner and long hauler like myself, they're the most impossible people to write with! Which is a shame, because a lot of the hoppers I come across do seem to have some writing talent to them!!!

★   PLOTS OR MEMES: I.... really don't mind either at this point! It swells my soul when people approach me for plotting or interactions to begin with. I sometimes lament how flexible I can be because it makes getting some things off the ground difficult, but that's beyond inspiring to get something going that someone else made the effort. Just... as long as they keep it going past the greetings. :') See pet peeve point 1.

But anyone wanting to randomly jump into my inbox? More than welcome too!

★  ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S)?: I put a little bit of myself in all of my muses, and find some traits to relate to in all the canons I've added to my roster. But at this point most of the character writing I do comes from some degree of misdirection of my emotion or mindset. Wylan has a lot of my humor, is about all I can really pin down now for my OCs... I may have planted the seeds with facets of my personality but at this point they've all grown far past all that.

tagged by: @more-than-a-princess the old guard need to stick together!!! thanks for the tag <: tagging: @seawrought @darksails @pastballads @mielmoto @psychcdelica and whoever else or nobody whatever!

[continuations]

Thinking About AI

I am writing this post to organize and share my thoughts about the extraordinary progress in artificial intelligence over the last years and especially the last few months (link to a lot of my prior writing). First, I want to come right out and say that anyone still dismissing what we are now seeing as a "parlor trick" or a "statistical parrot" is engaging in the most epic goal post moving ever. We are not talking a few extra yards here, the goal posts are not in the stadium anymore, they are in a far away city.

Growing up I was extremely fortunate that my parents supported my interest in computers by buying an Apple II for me and that a local computer science student took me under his wing. Through him I found two early AI books: one in German by Stoyan and Goerz (I don't recall the title) and Winston and Horn's "Artifical Intelligence." I still have both of these although locating them among the thousand or more books in our home will require a lot of time or hopefully soon a highly intelligent robot (ideally running the VIAM operating system -- shameless plug for a USV portfolio company). I am bringing this up here as a way of saying that I have spent a lot of time not just thinking about AI but also coding on early versions and have been following closely ever since.

I also pretty early on developed a conviction that computers would be better than humans at a great many things. For example, I told my Dad right after I first learned about programming around age 13 that I didn't really want to spend a lot of time learning how to play chess because computers would certainly beat us at this hands down. This was long before a chess program was actually good enough to beat the best human players. As an aside, I have changed my mind on this as follows: Chess is an incredible board game and if you want to learn it to play other humans (or machines) by all means do so as it can be a lot of fun (although I still suck at it). Much of my writing both here on Continuations and in my book is also based on the insight that much of what humans do is a type of computation and hence computers will eventually do it better than humans. Despite that there will still be many situations where we want a human instead exactly because they are a human. Sort of the way we still go to concerts instead of just listening to recorded music.

As I studied computer science both as an undergraduate and graduate student, one of the things that fascinated me was the history of trying to use brain like structures to compute. I don't want to rehash all of it here, but to understand where we are today, it is useful to understand where we have come from. The idea of modeling neurons in a computer as a way to build intelligence is quite old. Early electromechanical and electrical computers started getting built in the 1940s (e.g. ENIAC was completed in 1946) and the early papers on modeling neurons can be found from the same time in work by McCulloch and Pitts.

But almost as soon as people started working on neural networks more seriously, the naysayers emerged also. Famously Marvin Minsky and Seymour Paper wrote a book titled "Perceptrons" that showed that certain types of relatively simple neural networks had severe limitations, e.g. in expressing the XOR function. This was taken by many at the time as evidence that neural networks would never amount to much, when it came to building computer intelligence, helping to usher in the first artificial intelligence winter.

And so it went for several cycles. People would build bigger networks and make progress and others would point out the limitations of these networks. At one time people were so disenchanted that very few researchers were left in the field altogether. The most notable of these was Geoffrey Hinton who kept plugging away at finding new training algorithms and building bigger networks.

But then a funny thing happened. Computation kept getting cheaper and faster and memory became unfathomably large (my Apple II for reference had 48KB of storage on the motherboard and an extra 16KB in an extension card). That made it possible to build and train much larger networks. And all of a sudden some tasks that had seemed out of reach, such as deciphering handwriting or recognizing faces started to work pretty well. Of course immediately the goal post moving set in with people arguing that those are not examples of intelligence. I am not trying to repeat any of the arguments here because they were basically silly. We had taken a task that previously only humans could do and built machines that could do them. To me that's, well, artificial intelligence.

The next thing that we discovered is that while humans have big brains with lots of neurons in them, we can use only a tiny subset of our brain on highly specific tasks, such as playing the game of Go. With another turn of size and some further algorithmic breakthroughs all of a sudden we were able to build networks large enough to beat the best human player at Go. And not just beat the player but do so by making moves that were entirely novel. Or as we would have said if a human had made those moves "creative." Let me stay with this point of brain and network size for moment as it will turn out to be crucial shortly. A human Go player not only can only use a small part of their brain to play the game but the rest of their brain is actually a hindrance. It comes up with pesky thoughts at just the wrong time "Did I leave the stove on at home?" or "What is wrong with me that I didn't see this move coming, I am really bad at this" and all sorts of other interference that a neural network just trained to play Go does not have to contend with. The same is true for many other tasks such as reading radiology images to detect signs of cancer.

The other thing that should have probably occurred to us by then is that there is a lot of structure in the world. This is of course a good thing. Without structure, such as DNA, life wouldn't exist and you wouldn't be reading this text right now. Structure is an emergent property of systems and that's true for all systems, so structure is everywhere we look including in language. A string of random letters means nothing. The strings that mean something are a tiny subset of all the possible letter strings and so unsurprisingly that tiny subset contains a lot of structure. As we make neural networks bigger and train them better they uncover that structure. And of course that's exactly what that big brain of ours does too.

So I was not all that surprised when large language models were able to produce text that sounded highly credible (even when it was hallucinated). Conversely I found the criticism from some people that making language models larger would simply be a waste of time confounding. After all, it seems pretty obvious that more intelligent species have, larger brains than less intelligent ones (this is obviously not perfectly correlated). I am using the word intelligence here loosely in a way that I think is accessible but also hides the fact that we don't actually have a good definition of what intelligence is, which is what has made the goal post moving possible.

Now we find ourselves confronted with the clear reality that our big brains are using only a fraction of their neurons for most language interactions. The word "most" is doing a lot of work here but bear with me. The biggest language models today are still a lot smaller than our brain but damn are they good at language. So the latest refuge of the goal post movers is the "but they don't understand what the language means." But is that really true?

As is often the case with complex material, Sabine Hossenfelder, has a great video that helps us think about what it means to "understand" something. Disclosure: I have been supporting Sabine for some time via Patreon. Further disclosure: Brilliant, which is a major advertiser on Sabine's channel, is a USV portfolio company. With this out of the way I encourage you to watch the following video.

So where do I think we are? At a place where for fields where language and/or two dimensional images let you build a good model, AI is rapidly performing at a level that exceeds that of many humans. That's because the structure it uncovers from the language is the model. We can see this simply by looking at tests in those domains. I really liked Bryan Caplan's post where he was first skeptical based on an earlier version performing poorly on his exams but the latest version did better than many of his students. But when building the model requires input that goes beyond language and two dimensional images, such as understanding three dimensional shapes from three dimensional images (instead of inferring them from two dimensional ones) then the currently inferred models are still weak or incomplete. It seems pretty clear though that progress in filling in those will happen at a breathtaking pace from here.

Since this is getting rather long, I will separate out my thoughts on where we are going next into more posts. As a preview, I believe we are now at the threshold to artificial general intelligence, or what I call "neohumans" in my book The World After Capital. And even if that takes a bit longer, artificial domain specific intelligence will be outperforming humans in a great many fields, especially ones that do not require manipulating the world with that other magic piece of equipment we have: hands with opposable thumbs. No matter what the stakes are now extremely high and we have to get our act together quickly on the implications of artificial intelligence.

[transdruid]

Reading for @psychicbyspirituality

Asking about first impressions on their future spouse, done with The Enchanted Forest Tarot

Eight of Visions (Cups) Ace of Challenges (Swords)

When you first meet them, they may be grieving for someone or something, or they may be feeling disenchanted and depressed with life. You will think they are sad, perhaps even too self-pitying and dramatic. However when you get to know them, you will realize they are direct and truthful. They express their grief loudly, but they also express other feelings without hesitation. They will be insightful; they will know when to speak, and when to listen. You will feel draw to their truthfulness, they will be a good communicator.

[anti-katsuki-lounge]

marunalu recently noted in their blog post that the reality that MHA will never be allowed to have a gay MC, major LGBT+ characters(only allusions and minor characters that don't take much action) or make any non-straight pairing for the characters due to Japanese laws, culture and tradition that will take decades before its even allowed in Shounen(9-13). So it's actually sad that non-Japanese shippers who obsess with shipping to the point that its their own character that they issue death threats and harassments to other people who might treat it like a hobby or don't care about it at all. They even harass and authors and VAs who do the work as a job and might disenchant them from finishing anything.

Yes, it does suck that the Japanese government and older people don't support LGBT+ rights like the West, but it takes decades for some Western countries to stop treating being gay like a mental illness and even more to allow gay marriage. And we're still dealing with the fact that the older folks in government that really shouldn't be leading anymore don't truly want to support LGBT+ rights.

Shipping should be a hobby with a fantasy element. You can do whatever you what with it but it shouldn't affect other people. It's likely that shipping is corrupted by the fact that people might use it to cope with the realities of relationships and dating that it becomes the identity. Honestly it's sad as many places have bad or no mental help services that allows people to acknowledge the situation and coping with it better. They're so entitled that they rather unintentionally destroy everything and wonder what happened to it when its remains are gutter instead of using it as a fantasy that shouldn't affect reality.

Just for background: I am a Bisexual Hispanic/Latino.

Do I think representation is important? Yes. However no one should harass someone to include it, for several reasons. Storytelling wise, you can tell if someone’s including a character that is a minority because they want to tell a story surrounding said character or that they included such a character just to win Twitter points. The former produces some of the most well written characters, offering insight into the lives of minority communities and their struggles while also allowing a character to thrive as an individual. Movies/shows/characters like Coco, Enchanto, The Owl House, Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes), Persona 4, Moon Knight, and Black Panther showcase this. The latter, well, is more of a token than an actual character, done to say “hey, look, we included diversity. Now give me your money”! To me this feels disingenuous and scummy since to me it comes off as a means of making money rather than caring about diversity in it of itself.

More importantly, there’s the personal reasons why someone might not have much diversity. Like you’ve mentioned, due to the Japanese Government, LGBTQ+ centric stories can be difficult to write depending on the genre. It’s no fault of the author, so people shouldn’t bully and harass them because of this. Some authors might not feel comfortable writing about the struggles of a community they’re not a part of and don’t have experience with, and that’s fine too. At the end of the day, people shouldn’t be harassed due to not including diversity. Now if things like whitewashing minority characters happens and/or the like happens, then it’s completely understandable to get pissed. Same thing with someone simply being a bigot.

In conclusion, diversity is great and a very important thing to have, but no one should be harassed if they don’t include diversity. Society also looks different in Japan than it does in the west.

[grapecaseschoices]

what color character are you?

These are SO long. So I aint tagging no one, but if you do this please let me know!! Quiz is here: QUIZ!!

Tristan [maybe-ish; some of this perfect but some of it is completely off]

light blue character

Light Blue characters are laidback and creative, often with a good sense of humor that ranges from sarcastic to straight up puns. They are good at community building because of their chill and funny nature, and they are expert planners. They normally aren’t very uptight, but can become so when they feel there is something that needs to be done, or feels that their authority is being undermined. They have a very strong sense of responsibility, mainly for people in their care, often an older sibling figure to many of those close to them. They can get paranoid and overbearing when they are worried about those that they are caring for. They can also act childish and have fun but they like having people around who can see their maturity and treat them accordingly. They use a lot of humor to get around dealing with their internal problems, and tend to complain about surface level issues in order to ignore their more vulnerable feelings. Because of their tendency to make jokes and try to get people to laugh, they aren’t often recognized for their intelligence. Sometimes they lack common sense and it plays out in humorous ways, but when it really counts they are quite perceptive and intelligent, brilliant inventors and strategists. Their decisions may seem impulsive, but are usually quite thought out and purposeful. They aren’t the type of person who really wants to be the sole lead, but they want to have a say in the decision making, and they need their input to be taken seriously. They often feel inferior to others and can become defensive when their ideas or sense is questioned because of it. They don’t generally get things handed to them, but have to work for what they want. This can make them feel out of place in a space with others who people praise as “exceptional”, and being the “ordinary” one is a bit of a sore spot. They can tend to act cocky and confident to disguise their insecurities, again often using humor to help them along. Light blue characters need people who ask for their opinion often, give them proper recognition for their positive traits, and don’t leave them out of important decisions, but also don’t let them take on too much. They need people who will see past their witty barrier and allow them to try and figure out and come to terms with their feelings.

------

Richard [ehhhhhhhhhh - I think what I saw of yellow might fit better, but I keep getting pink, SO!]

pink character

Pink characters are generally sweet and nice people who care about their friends deeply. They don’t often chose to be a part of the action, but instead get swept up in it almost against their will. They often aren’t fully equipped for the situations that are thrown at them, and can have a lot of feelings of inadequacy as a result. They don’t tend to be fighters, often preferring learning and discovery to anything else. They will go along with risky plans in order to help their group of friends or organization that they’re close to, but they’re generally terrified of whatever they’re doing. They are lighthearted and have a good sense of humor, fun to banter with but finding it hard to be genuinely mean to others. They are pretty emotional and sensitive, which turns out to be one of their greatest strengths. They have a lot of emotional maturity and are good at recognizing others’ needs. They are one of the voices of reason amongst a group of often impulsive people, which manifests itself in ways that others might dismiss as paranoia. (It is in some ways, but their fear of what might go wrong is also a crucial step to making the planning process so sound.) Even around people who care about them, they can tend to be the butt of the joke, and don’t have healthy boundaries to stop it. As they grow, they don’t necessarily become less fearful, but they do have a stronger sense of courage to get through their fears. They are compassionate friends and often do small things to show that they are thinking of the people are around them. They are dependable and trustworthy and a good ally to have. Pink characters need people around them who won’t mock them for being sensitive or having fears, but will validate their feelings and encourage them to overcome their doubts about themselves. They need their boundaries to be encouraged and respected, and for others not to pressure them into doing something they’ve said no to. [Not that he doesn't need people like that, but he isn't bad at doing it himself]

-----

Aleena:

orange character [maaaybe]

Orange characters are charismatic and talented. They push themselves to be the best at everything they put their mind to, and get upset when they can’t meet their own standards. They tend to be prodigies, seeming almost superhuman in their genius or abilities, but they often base their self-worth off of how well they can perform, making them feel isolated from the others around them. While most people see orange characters as cocky and self-absorbed, they are actually quite insecure in themselves. They want attention and validation from others, but because of their faux confidence and the constant (and often somewhat empty) praise from the people around them, the people that are truly closest to them often withhold it from them. This often leads them to push themselves beyond their limits to succeed and/or act out in unhealthy and self-destructive ways, in an effort to get some kind of recognition. These characters seek to impress, and have a hard time telling praise from love. They have a constant need to be the hero, in whatever context that means for them. These characters usually have a sense of humor and wit that can tend to flatter themselves (although much of what they say is rooted in truth), but it’s contrasting to some of their more self-deprecating natures. They can be serious loners, since they isolate themselves from others in an attempt to protect themselves. Although they would never admit it, they crave acceptance and belonging. Others generally don’t see this, because orange characters are loathe to admit weakness and build up defenses by making it clear that they don’t care what others think, although they do. In childhood, it is likely that their parental figures were either absent or abusive, often holding them up to high standards while not providing enough positive reinforcement. Other characters need to treat orange characters not as an annoyance, or give up on them quickly, but to make it clear that they are willing to love and support them regardless of how useful they can be, and to voice compliments where they are due.

[dcwnthercbbithcle]

i hope this isn't dumb to ask but what does exclusive/closed shipping exactly entail?

That’s not a dumb question at all! It always means a ton to me when you guys reach out and ask questions! It gives me a lot of insight on where I can be clearer and to explain myself! So thank you for the question!

For me, Exclusive/Closed shipping means I’m not open to accepting new ships for characters under most circumstances. They’re on the cusp of not being available for shipping, unless the person who I’m shipping with is a good friend/a longtime mutual/just generally someone I’m really comfortable with!

Now, the reasons from character to character on why I feel this way vary!

Sometimes a character is REALLY REALLY encumbered with emotional baggage. Making romance something that would need to be navigated around all the hurdles in play! Which would in turn need a lot of communication, which I would only feel comfortable doing with people I’ve known for a while and are willing to play out the journey with me. Y’know?

Other times I have a lot of feelings surrounding how often a character is sexualized and reduced down to a trope for shipping reasons, which has left me feeling pretty disenchanted towards shipping them! Like, are you looking for my character or the guy from 50 shades, y’know??

And some times I just don’t see a character being shippable under 99% of circumstances until you get me on board with your ship!

Either way, it’s just my way of saying I won’t ship straight out of the gate without some plotting/discussion/trust established ooc. But the simple and easy solution to that is just to chat with me! Shoot me a message! Send me a meme! Do the interest check! Any of the above are easy ways to start a convo with me and I’m always glad to chat people up!

[onlinemarketingjuice]

Leveraging the Power of Reddit for Genuine Search Results: A Better Way to Find Real Experiences

Over the last couple of decades, the internet has transformed from a frontier filled with random homepages and discussion forums to a realm dominated by large corporate entities. One of these giants, Google, has become the go-to resource for anyone seeking answers to any question imaginable. It’s a powerful tool, but its omnipresence has led to some unintended consequences. An increasing number of users have grown disenchanted with the search results, which are often filled with sponsored content and sites that have mastered the art of ‘gaming the system’.

In this era of search engine optimization (SEO), many websites are prioritizing keywords, meta tags, and link-building strategies above actual content. This, combined with Google’s paid advertisement model, often places such content prominently on the search result pages, pushing down the genuine experiences and wisdom shared by real people.

Enter Reddit, an online community often termed ‘the front page of the internet’. Could appending “Reddit” to the end of your Google search query offer a viable alternative? Could this route allow you to tap into real experiences rather than marketing-speak? Let’s delve into this further.

A Community of Real Experiences

Reddit is home to a vast array of user-created communities called ‘subreddits’, each catering to specific topics, niches, and interests. The magic of Reddit lies in its focus on actual user experiences, discussions, and insights. Each post and comment represents a slice of someone’s life, offering genuine and often unique insights that traditional search results may not provide.

When you append “Reddit” to your Google search query, the search engine will prioritize results from Reddit’s numerous subreddits. In doing so, you’re more likely to encounter answers and discussions from real individuals who’ve experienced or studied your topic of interest.

Why This Works

Unlike many sites aiming to optimize for Google’s algorithm, the content on Reddit is organic and user-generated. The voting system allows quality content and helpful responses to rise to the top, meaning you’ll likely encounter genuine insights before corporate-sponsored content.

Top 10 technical bullet points comparing the top 10 search results when “Reddit” is appended versus a standard Google search:

Nature of Content: -Standard Google Search: Dominated by commercial websites, blogs, news, and sponsored content. -Reddit-appended Search: Dominated by user-generated content, discussions, and firsthand experiences. Authenticity of Information: -Standard Google Search: Information often tailored to fit SEO practices, potentially compromising authenticity. -Reddit-appended Search: Information derived from real-world experiences, making it more genuine. User Engagement: -Standard Google Search: Less direct user engagement. Most sites allow limited user comments, if at all. -Reddit-appended Search: High user engagement. Users contribute to the content through upvotes, comments, and discussions. Presence of Sponsored Content: -Standard Google Search: High likelihood of encountering sponsored content and ads. -Reddit-appended Search: Minimal to no sponsored content in the search results. SEO Optimization: -Standard Google Search: Content is often heavily SEO-optimized, potentially affecting the quality of information. -Reddit-appended Search: User-generated content with less emphasis on SEO, leading to more natural language and genuine insights. Real-time Updates and Trends: -Standard Google Search: Content may not always reflect recent trends or real-time events. -Reddit-appended Search: Due to the community-driven nature, content is frequently updated and reflects current trends and events. Depth of Discussion: -Standard Google Search: Limited depth of discussion, as content is often one-sided from the author’s perspective. -Reddit-appended Search: Provides depth of discussion, with multiple perspectives offered by various users. Subjectivity vs. Objectivity: -Standard Google Search: May lean towards objectivity, as most content is generated with a broad audience in mind. -Reddit-appended Search: May contain both subjective (personal experiences) and objective (fact-based) content, providing a more holistic view. Link Diversity: -Standard Google Search: Results often include multiple pages from the same domain. -Reddit-appended Search: Each result is usually a unique discussion thread, providing various information sources. Easily Identifiable Bias: -Standard Google Search: Bias in content can be concealed or difficult to identify. -Reddit-appended Search: Other users often openly address or challenge any potential bias in the discussion.

Bridging the Gap

A typical concern about relying on Reddit for information is the potential for misinformation or lack of authority. However, many subreddits enforce strict moderation policies and have experienced users who can quickly correct false information. Furthermore, it’s important to note that the answers found on Reddit are not a substitute for professional advice but rather a complement, providing diverse perspectives and real-world experiences.

Here are some critical aspects that ensure the reliability of the information obtained from Reddit:

Community Moderation: Many subreddits enforce strict moderation policies, ensuring the information shared is relevant and accurate.

User Corrections: Experienced Reddit users are quick to correct false information, promoting the accuracy of discussions.

Diverse Perspectives: Reddit’s user base is incredibly diverse, bringing a broad range of insights to any given topic.

Upvote System: The upvoting system on Reddit ensures the most helpful and popular content rises to the top, making it more visible in search results.

Remember, while Reddit can provide real-world experiences and diverse perspectives, it should complement, not replace, professional advice.

The Future of Online Search

The practice of appending “Reddit” to Google searches signals a shift in how we approach online search. It’s an open rebellion against the corporatization of information and a return to the internet’s early ethos: a place where real people share real experiences and wisdom.

This strategy is not an end-all solution to the issues plaguing online search, but it is a step toward prioritizing genuine, user-generated content over commercialized content. The hope is that this practice encourages a broader conversation about the future of online search and promotes a more people-centric, authentic internet.

In conclusion, appending “Reddit” to your Google search term offers an alternative way to find better, genuine, actual answers to your search results. It serves as a refreshing reminder that there are real people with real experiences waiting to be discovered behind every search query.

[subbyfoxelf]

[book review] star trek: discovery: drastic measures by dayton ward (2018)

this novel places both of star trek: discovery’s[1] first two captains (georgiou and lorca) as up-and-coming lieutenant commanders in the thick of the tarsus iv massacre referred to in the tos episode “the conscience of the king.” lorca is in charge of a federation outpost on tarsus iv, and georgiou is in charge of field operations for the first wave of relief efforts to the beleaguered colony world.

i kind of didn’t need this backstory, and i’m not really sure anyone else did? was anyone really hoping for more on this when they saw that tos episode?[2] and having so many principle players from discovery as well as captain april’s enterprise involved conspired to make the universe feel way smaller, which is pretty much always a pet peeve of mine.

one interesting thing to wrap my head around, though, is that this is probably the only depiction we’ve ever gotten of prime universe gabriel lorca? like, i was ready to say that i kind of didn’t buy lorca as a guy who had served planetside for any length of time, but then i realized that at the end of the day i actually don’t know anything about prime universe lorca, so i had no basis to say that. kind of a head trip.

given that, it feels a bit weird that the book kind of brings lorca to a place where he has a reason to be disenchanted about the federation’s ideals and misanthropic in general. and there wasn’t a lot done to depict him as substantially different than his mirror universe counterpart. he even has the weird quirk about fortune cookies.

my original, unresearched guess was that the author didn’t know lorca was going to be revealed to be from the mirror universe until he had already finished the book and he tacked on the epilogue to account for that but didn’t change anything in the main body of the text.[3] but after doing some digging[4] i’m actually pretty convinced that isn’t the case. so at the end of the day i’m not too sure what happened there, actually.[5]

although i didn’t really necessarily feel like this story super needed to be told, i did like the overall structure of the book with the excerpts from one of the survivors’ books about the massacre interspersed among the narrative. the excerpts tend to be interviews with a character that’s just been introduced or done something important in the story, and it’s a nice way to get exposition dumps about those characters in a form that feels more natural and memorable than just having it forced in awkwardly in narration or dialogue.

georgiou being in charge of the relief effort doesn’t feel like it was super necessary and didn’t really give us any new insights into her or anything, but it did give us a few good character moments that reinforced things i already liked about her. we get to see her maintaining her faith in people and the federation’s ideals in the face of unspeakable tragedy, which really squares with the kind of dedication she displays to those ideals in “the vulcan hello.” she also gets great character moments with a young jim kirk[6] and the little girl who grows up to write the aforementioned in-universe nonfiction book

i think my biggest issue with the book, aside from it feeling like a somewhat unnecessary prequel, is that it at times it reads like a first draft. either that or it was edited very sloppily? there are just several moments where dialogue and narration seem redundantly similar to something that was said a paragraph or two ago, sometimes in extremely similar words. most egregiously, there were even one or two instances of the exact same sentence being repeated a few sentences later? just really sloppy stuff, imo.

basically, the main thing saving this is that there’s a pretty stable floor of “i will enjoy it at least this much” with star trek books unless they are truly atrociously written, and this one wasn’t. aside from the sloppy editing, it was fine. like, it didn’t put me to sleep or get hard to follow or anything, it just felt kind of meandering and like it was happening just because.

c-rank

notes

1. before you get ready to type that “well, actually” comment–i mean the show, not the ship!

2. for that matter, how many people even remember that tos episode?

3. the structure of the book also seemed suggestive to me because the epilogue actually comes after the acknowledgements and about the author sections, by the way, which i don’t think i’ve ever seen in another book before? it almost makes it feel like a “post-credits” scene. also this book was published in february of 2018 and lorca was revealed to be from the mirror universe in a january 2018 episode, so at first glance the timing would seem to line up, too.

4. my understanding after looking into it a bit is that the discovery writer’s room is actually unusually involved in the production of the tertiary materials like comics and novels, so that would seem to discount this explanation.

5. another possibility that probably occurs to some people here is that lorca being from the mirror universe was decided late in the show’s run, and i kind of wondered that too given the production chaos and high turnover of top-level show creatives, but, again, nope! jason isaacs has confirmed in multiple interviews that this was always the intention for the character.

6. this cameo was basically mandatory, so it’s not one of the “making the universe feel smaller” deals i was complaining about earlier.

[silverchainbee]

Ok so idk if this is controversial or not and i dont people are interested but I think it's an absolute tragedy that the best song from Disenchanted (2022) was cut and relegated to a demo track on the album. 'Something Different this Year' is a total bop and would have been adorable to see filmed. Not only is it a really cute 'getting to know you' song but it gives us the insight into the male love interests character which is sorely lacking in the film. And actually shows them interacting and conversing and more of a reason to route for them! Idk if it was just me or the fact that I watched it agesss ago now but I do remember it feeling very 'instalove' between the two characters, and this song really fleshes them out more and has us understand what these characters see in eachother. And to me that's important and adorable.

Plus it's just really catchy and cute - even if you haven't seen the movie I'd give the song a listen, it really satisfies the inner disney musical cravings.

Justice for this song! Give me the scene! If they recorded it maybe they filmed it?

Rant over.

[amarhis]

𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞  …  the  temple  under  the  mountain  𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡  …  elysia  arantes  (  @ofwrxth  )

the  mazhar  family  was  not  one  known  for  their  unflinching  devotion  to  the  mother  as  some  of  the  other  high  families  were  ─  they  did  what  was  necessary  when  it  came  to  the  traditional  days  of  ceremony  but  as  the  mantle  of  high  lord  had  passed  from  father  to  son,  the  temples  in  the  night  court  were  not  often  darkened  with  the  presence  of  either  mazhar  sibling.  amaris  knew  that  her  brother  had  his  own  reasons  for  scorning  the  concept  of  blind  faith  and  suspecting  the  worst  of  almost  every  high  priestess  but  her  own  reasons,  while  similar,  were  perhaps  more  personal  than  his  own.  she  had  always  held  a  fascination  for  the  priestesses  that  had  dwelled  in  the  night  court,  both  in  hewn  city  and  in  velaris,  hoping  that  one  of  their  scholars  might  be  able  to  shed  some  insight  into  her  cauldron - blessed  abilities  but  then  her  mother  had  been  killed  and  her  brother  had  been  imprisoned  and  amaris,  who  had  been  a  skeptic  at  most  as  a  child,  had  become  entirely  disenchanted  with  the  thought  of  priestesses,  temples  and  the  mother  herself.  (  if  the  mother  truly  watched  over  them,  then  why  had  she  allowed  such  atrocities  to  happen  to  their  family  ?  )  it  was  unfair,  perhaps,  to  blame  the  priestesses  for  what  had  happened  to  her  mother  but  it  had  been  a  high  priestess  whispering  in  the  ear  of  her  father  and  azrael  believed  that  those  whispers  had  led  to  the  death  of  their  mother,  so  amaris  had  not  been  inclined  to  disagree  but  as  she  sat  before  the  statue  of  the  mother,  candle  in  her  hand,  she  wondered  if  she  had  not  been  remiss  in  her  education.

she  could  not  even  be  certain  if  emira  had  been  a  devoted  follower  or  if  her  little  sister  had  been  similarly  disinterested  in  the  idea  of  religion  but  she  felt  compelled  to  do  something  for  her  sister  ─  a  prayer  or  a  ritual  to  mourn  her  lost  and  to  ask  for  forgiveness  for  not  being  there  to  protect  her.  the  guilt  threatened  to  consume  her  in  the  hours  that  she  was  not  unravelling  the  mess  that  had  happened  in  the  throne  room  or  standing  guard  over  her  brother's  beside  and  amaris  had  been  eager  to  keep  herself  busy  to  avoid  thinking  of  her  regrets  but  in  the  silence  of  the  temple,  she  only  had  her  thoughts  for  company.  with  a  trembling  hand,  she  tried  to  remember  the  words  that  had  been  said  for  the  dead,  lighting  the  candle  as  she  muttered  a  half - prayer  before  the  sound  of  feet  shuffling  behind  her  had  her  going  silent  in  embarrassment,  gaze  darting  from  the  statue  to  the  woman  that  approached,  clad  in  the  robes  of  a  priestess.  ❝  if  you're  here  to  tell  me  that  i  am  doing  it  wrong,  i  know.  i  ...  it  is  for  my  sister.  ❞

[elen-000]

Clannad: The 2007 Animated Film Adaptation

Regular edition DVD cover.

Clannad, the beloved visual novel by Key, made a memorable leap to the big screen with its 2007 animated film adaptation. Directed by the legendary Osamu Dezaki, this reinterpretation of the Clannad story focuses on the heartfelt journey of Nagisa Furukawa. Announced by Toei Animation at the Tokyo Anime Fair on March 23, 2006, the film premiered on September 15, 2007, marking Dezaki's final directorial work before his passing in April 2011.

Promotional Blitz

The promotional campaign for Clannad was as vibrant as the film itself. On March 10, 2007, Akihabara saw a large black bus emblazoned with "Film Version Clannad" (劇場版CLANNAD) cruising through the streets. A group of enthusiastic young women, dressed in the high school uniforms from the film, distributed flyers and colorful thundersticks to passersby, creating buzz for the film's release.

Plot Summary

The story follows Tomoya Okazaki, a disenchanted third-year high school student who feels disconnected from his surroundings. His mundane life takes a turn when he meets Nagisa Furukawa, a determined girl who is repeating her final year due to health issues. Nagisa dreams of reviving the Drama Club, and despite facing opposition from the student council, she persuades Tomoya and his friend Youhei Sunohara to help her.

Nagisa's dedication to the club and her personal dream of performing a soliloquy from her childhood culminate in a touching performance at the school festival. It’s here that Tomoya realizes his and Nagisa's shared dream, and he confesses his love for her.

However, the joy is short-lived as Nagisa’s health deteriorates, leading to a bittersweet conclusion. After a brief period of living together, Nagisa becomes pregnant and, despite warnings, insists on giving birth. Tragically, she dies giving birth to their daughter, Ushio, plunging Tomoya into a deep depression.

The narrative takes a hopeful turn when Tomoya’s friends intervene, helping him reconnect with his daughter. The film concludes with Tomoya finding solace and a sense of continuity through his daughter, seeing his deceased wife Nagisa’s spirit under the Tree of Promises from his recurring dream.

Production Insights

The film adaptation was a collaboration of talented individuals. The original character designs by Itaru Hinoue were adapted by Megumi Kadonosono for the film. The screenplay, crafted by Makoto Nakamura, who had previously worked on adaptations of Key’s visual novels, and the direction by Osamu Dezaki brought the story to life with a touch of nostalgia and emotion.

Media Releases

Clannad was released on DVD in three editions: the Collector's Edition, the Special Edition, and the Regular Edition. The Collector's Edition came with a special illustrated jacket and a deluxe booklet, while the Special Edition included additional bonus content like a drama CD and a bonus DVD. The film was also available in English-subtitled and dubbed formats, thanks to Sentai Filmworks.

The film’s soundtrack, featuring the maxi single "Mag Mell (frequency⇒e Ver.)" and an image song single by Lia, was released in tandem with the film, adding a musical touch to its emotional depth.

Clannad remains a poignant and powerful adaptation of the beloved visual novel, capturing the essence of its story while offering a unique cinematic experience.