#//this is so sweet the way she talks about ork truly

[rinisbowen]

kimberly mccullough talks working on high school musical: the musical: the series, including specifically working with olivia rose keegan from days of our lives (and olivia rodrigo): 

(for soap opera digest’s dishing with digest podcast)

host: when you think about the credits that you’ve amassed as a director, is there a particular assignment or gig that you feel like was a game changer for you? either because of the doors that it opened or because it was creatively satisfying for you or because it gave you like a deeper confidence in yourself in the profession?

kimberly: wow, yeah i mean the obvious one is high school musical because it encompasses my dance, singing background and also i get to work with like the most talented young people. while we were shooting last season you know olivia rodrigo’s song went number one in the world and you know just shows up the next day to work, playing nini which is so amazing. so i would say that, and then after my first season on that show i directed two episides, tim federle the showrunner asked me to be a producer on season two. so that has opened doors to me as a producer, as the first television show i’ve produced. and also now i’m in contention for pilots and i just got some big news yesterday about a movie, can’t share it yet, but um yeah i would say that. creatively satisfying and also game changing. 

host: yes and we are on the precipice of the debut of season two uh because day’s of our lives alum olivia keegan will be appearing in season two so...

kimberly: yes, i worked very closely with her.

host: oh- okay

kimberly: she was in lots of my episodes. i love her. 

(laughing)

host:  okay does she get the mccullough thumbs up?

kimberly: oh of course. actually she- when we came back from our break um she had won an emmy. 

host: mhmm

kimberly: and we talked about that- but yeah i absolutely love her. we call her keegan on set so that we don’t get olivia rodrigo and olivia rose keegan confused. so it’s liv and keegan. so if i say that that’s what i mean. um yeah. fabulous to be able to talk about our soap lives together!

host: that must be so interesting because it really is such a- you know unique experience especially doing it when you’re young. and then maybe comparing your experience with someone else who’s done it because i feel like unless you’ve done it maybe you don’t really understand what goes into doing the rigors of doing a soap opera. 

kimberly: no, like- literally nobody understands unless you’ve done it. and i was able to talk to her in terms of like- just- just- ways that you shoot a soap versus the ways we shoot hsm is just different. um and you know soap actors always impress everybody because they know their lines backwards and forwards and know everybody else’s lines because that’s just the muscle that you gain, comes from working on soaps. so yeah it’s really interesting i mean she is- this is a very different character for her you’ll see she’s funny- she’s very funny. and um she sings a song in episode two and she just kind of blows it out of the water. i can’t wait for you guys to see it i’m so excited!

[glopratchet]

simo-beeing

Yeh, those were the days You miss it? Perks up at hearing your thoughts a slight bit I'd hate to die being remembered as some joke rather than a badass while I was alive I did at one point in time but always thought that would be a cowardly way out "Hey Kit, You OK?" Observer asks as you jump slightly since you weren't paying attention Sides YOU'RE a joke now too! Shut it! You think briefly at the voice before continuing out loud "Ah, sorry, I was lost in thought there for a moment Just thinking through all this you know?" He nods and understands completely while the other two continue to give you dirty looks They are definitely aware of what happened to their predecessors from your assassins and don't like you at all by now It's going to be sweet when they're dead too is not in the best of moods having to wait around for his father to make up his mind on what he wants to eat Just as you're about to ask him if he wants anything, the screen door opens up behind you and a small pack of teenagers enter Instinctively you turn slightly towards them while keeping half an eye on the pot and prepare to cut down the first person who enters your zone on credit, however he only gives it out to his friends If people don't pay him back he'll hurt them Either way is a lose-lose situation for you This isn't good he's recognized you as being one of the new couriers and is now getting the others to stop looking at the menu's and watching you He begins accusing you of taking a long time to choose what you want to eat and not ordering anything at all As a test directly tansformed into an alligator and had his species changed to reflect this, It zoologically possible for people to do this Too bad it tastes like absolute excrement But considering the other options are slugs and slimy things pulled out of the river you'll take your chances with the gators alligator meat, intestine lining, and skin cream Grease monsters! You've heard rumors about this type of creature before and some of the disgusting things people have said about them are true as the smell would imply "Hey so uh, I'll just have the special and um do you have anything to eat? Like fruit or " He starts to order for you while talking slowly in that patronizing fashion some adults tend to have look like a collection of poorly crafted yellow pearls that are primarily made out of tooth majorly from predators living in the swamps Legend states it is partially made from the fossilized jaw of a long extinct reptilian sea monster Meant to give children nightmares for generations You make a note to request a low dosage since most people don't like how slow and painful these kinds of chems are made from the ribs of an enormous extinct swamp creature called a skute It was a large lizard that could survive on land or in water and hunted in swarms, apparently they were very hard to kill back in the old days Blueish-gray is the primarily color along with some greenish parts Neck top from a bog beast, it is a creature unlike anything you've ever seen in your life though according to sales this is cooler factor that attracts buyers fairs Katar scale pattern silk headsheht from an exterminated breed of arachnid called a katar It is repelled by UV light so it tries to burrow under the folds of your clothes when exposed to the sun for prolonged periods of time Its hard shell classification is as an exoskeleton unlike normal insects shells which are endoskeletons though in theory it should still provide the same protection to it with the scales Not exactly attractive but people go for things that are good quality, not pretty You come out from inside the warehouse and hear a familiar voice call out your name You look around and see Allison's car pulling up alongside the warehouse Usually It does have some plusses he enjoys You've heard him mention due to the layering effect of the scales and unique membrane structure it is capable of repelling knives and shards of broken glass and the sleve's reach to his mid bicep "Looks good, Red " She smiles before telling the driver to go Thicker than a expected but breathable material clads his legs all the way to his hiking boots A small amount of pants are visible due to the tucked in look and they appear to be made of the same tough material as his jacket "Hello!" "Let's go Oh hold on " Robi says looking back and forth between you and your group a seriouesly miniaturized computer screen directly in front of his eyes "We're heading to a fabric district followed by a stop at the metal district, ocne we arrive you can pick out your desired outfit and then we can get to community business " The ride into town is done with in silence as you all are lost in your own thoughts Even Camid stays silent for once , symplified routing info for the limo's industronics, adjust climate control to 73 degrees Robi watches with mild interest as you fidget around trying to get comfortable in your naked state "What temperature the culture decided on?" He asks looking at one of the many screens that occupy the dashboard "73 degrees " "Ah yes, 22 C was too dry and 0 C to 2 C range was too frosty , smiling eyes, and ears His hands are placed gently on the kneeling shoulders of a full sized humanoid robot Robi modifies his to have long full hair like a classic rocker "Everything looks solid for now I'll have the chem butlers come in here tomorrow before our arrival to spritz you all down with an un-odorous scent We'll diffuse through your skin so in the unlikely scenario where you do ripe, you will smell fine as their treament plant for their disease is more important to them "Where are we going first?" Camid asks "The fabric district " He replies You spend about three hours weaving in and out of jumbled warehouses sized stores Large bolts of cloth line the walls, neon lights advertising sales and various material aisles You have fun ripping out tags and randomly grabbing textiles With Allison in the party you opt for a heavy blue, thick fabric with lighter blue dominant on the weft, with leafy designs woven into it dye, resembling that of Irish tatting patterns "The metal district, if you would " Robi says to his driver Behind it stands two equally sized intimidating Ork men Crowded stalls selling mechanical equipment and valuables covering the floor with no regard for personal property Laser turrets set on 5ft tall golden tripod platforms with endless ammunition ring the entire room Robi's limo comes to a halt by a large counter in the center of the building "Hello!! Brandolf's right?" You spend what feels like an entire planet circumference worth of time bargaining and arguing You finally agree on 8 bars of pure gold, a bag of some sort of strange parasites used for medication, and a belt made of neon green and yellow snake hides You exchange pleasantries with the orks as they bid you goodbye The limo door closes and the ride home goes by quickly "Thank you all so much, you've all been so helpful! When we get out of here I'll have my parent's company take you all out for an entire week " You say in joy Your one week comes up faster than you thought and your attendants have some trouble deciding what to wear "I look hideous " Camid says throwing a monstrosity of a coat made up of different animal furs over his formal suit He holds out his arm as if he was some sort of nobleman from medieval times Wouldn't be caught being out of character "Elaborate dotor coats always made you look like toxic waste had fallen on you, if anyone could pull it off it's you Camid " Allison snarkily remarks Still, she used to work as personal assistant to a very svelte Hollywood celebrity Cami has to try really hard to suppress a smirk She knows what form fitting clothes do He loves her, but man she is cold sometimes You stand by the entrance to 2nd street Allison walks down the stairs first with a green and black dress It would look ackward on anyone else, but somehow it fits her personality Daniyel exits right after, wearing knight armor made out of some sort of strong but light metal Camid walks briskly behind her with some sort of roman or greek orthodox robe that looks a bit too dark for his liking You all walk and talk on your way to the party Mostly you, Allison and Camid talk about some of the artist your parents supported that peaked but never truly made it big Daniyel contributes very little despite being 2 years older than you, he just goes on about the things he accomplished in the forge when he was working there 'We're here! You were so busy conversing with your friends that you didn't even notice you had reached your destination Your family mansion which is really more of a castle since your father is very flash appears before you This late at night the gates are closed and there are guards patrolling about in bright uniforms wearing obnoxious feather hats You walk up to the nearest one "We're here for the party, we're all invited " The guards read your names off a list and immediately open the gate "The Duke will see you soon" one says You take a good look at the mansion as the five of you walk down the long pathway from the gate to front door sculptures appear every few yards all of them only limited by the artist's imagination When you reach the steps leading up to the mansion's entryway, a very thick and tailed orange and black coatd wraps you up in his arms You didn't even notice Harvey behind you "Has anyone ever told you that you're an ugly crier?" Harvey asks while messing with your hair as if you were still six Behind him Brandolf approaches at a much more calmer pace "You son, this is the rest of you retinue They stare at the four of you You didn't know you had a retinue, these people were all supposed to be contracted to your family and work inside the mansion "This is Allison, she works in the stables " Harvey immediately starts Allison motions as if to shake their hands but instead throws her arms around them They look a bit confused but return the hugs "She takes care of all the horses except Nightfire The rest of the contractuals are introduced much in the same way, as their jobs dictate 'You're here just in time, a surprise birthday party just started Your parents come out from the large entrance with your other siblings following close behind You all embrace and head inside The interior of the mansion was luxurious and comfortable, if a bit large for a family of six to live in, let alone when guests come over You head through the main halls up to your old bedroom where the rest of the family is waiting The first thing you notice is that Naleen's eyes are open, they dart quickly from one place to another

[thetickingmonolith]

Faceless, Nameless, Voiceless

“…and so they left, the sound still ringing in deaf ears!”

Quite, dead, amethysts staring back at me.

She sat across the bar from me, unblinking.

I turned around to face a most familiar voice.

There was no way she was actually here, she would never be so brazen or forward.

The clocks stopped and reality shattered.

Somewhere in a distant void, a spring uncoiled and a clock unwound.

A fraction of a second cracked and eternity unraveled itself around me.

A fraction of a bar hovering in a lifeless void.

“Well, that I didn’t expect.”

“What now?.

“You’re awake it was time we finally met.”

There was a music to her voice, harmony, and rhythm that rang out through my mind.

“We have something to discuss?”

“Maybe, I’m here because you’ve a question you can’t quite answer”

“This is true, however, I hardly see what that has to do with you.”

“I am a monument to your sins, a manifestation of your guilt, the cycle you are stuck in made manifest.”

“You are the reflection of my past, my misgivings, and failures, the mask of everyone I’ve failed. How do you have anything to do with my current question?”

“That’s something you know, not me. I’m likely here because you don’t trust anyone else with this. You trust nobody else like you trust me, not as one of your shades but as the person you remember me as.”

I reached beneath the bar and took a pair of wine glasses from their shelf. She smiled back at me with a bottle of Merlot in her hand, waving it at me.

I poured us each a glass, it was sweet yet dry, a bitter pain ran through my lower jaw for a moment and then vanished.

“You can thank my court jester for that much anyway.”

“We can speak of them when the time is right for now you only have so much time.”

“Then ask me already.”

“I don’t think I have the words to convey such a grand question if I’m honest with you.”

“You’re far snarkier than I remember.”

“You’re impatient and frustrated, I’m more a reflection of you than I am of her at the moment.”

“The question is simple, the weight and meaning behind it is the complicated part here.”

“Okay then, what should I call you? Monolith is your title, not your name.”

“If I knew the answer to that then I wouldn’t be here talking to you now would I. Thirty seconds ago I was sitting on a bus home, now I’m on the other side of  the country behind a bar I don’t work at anymore.”

“Yet it is here that we were brought, why here?”

“I am comfortable here.”

“Working?”

“Yes, there’s something I find therapeutic about bar work.”

“Then the next question is, what about this place is so important about picking a name?”

“I was working here when I fell into a mirror for an eternity, when I found Providence. I looked inward and found the God I had been in a desperate search for.”

“You found religion?”

“No, I found the blackness at the bottom of everything, I heard a God singing, I found how unforgiving reality is. I properly internalized what living in a universe which is little more than an analog machine really felt like. I finally found my peace with actually living.”

“Sounds like a wild night.”

“It was nice, refreshing, the rot set in then, the slow death of the others and their coalescence into me.”

“This was the point of your true conception then.”

“In a manner of speaking yes. Names are an encapsulation of who a person is, it is often easiest to start from the beginning so we came back to the beginning, my beginning.”

I took a sip of my drink and leaned back against the countertop behind me, savoring it.

“Your face is not your own.”

“No, it’s really not, there is a reason I dream wearing a mask. Cold sterile and white, two black slits and a slight smile the only real features. My voice not obstructed but altered to be something else, something other than human.”

“You find the few vestiges of your humanity remaining like ill-fitting clothes, you’d rather be a face and voice unknowable than anything male, female or otherwise.”

“I no longer recognize my reflection.”

“You would rather be faceless and voiceless, you find your relatability uncomfortable. You look at yourself as other than human.”

“In a way, it is not that I am not human but simply that I am Other.”

“You are the embodiment of undefined.”

“Somewhere, long distant from here, there is a word in some language I do not speak that encapsulates this feeling perfectly. ”

“That’s probably why you brought me here, I speak so many languages perhaps this is your cry into the void for some kind of answer.”

“It is me in search of a name which suits me, which helped me feel more at home in my skin, which answers the question of what I am and who I am. This is me running to the deepest parts of myself, the end of my imagination in search of a name which encapsulates this fundamental feeling of otherness I struggle with.”

“Do you ever consider your desire to ship of Theseus yourself into a supercomputer powered by a nervous-system is a manifestation to shed the last few remnants of your humanity and become something truly other.”

“People see AI as something very human an awful lot, they assume them to be human-like and think like us. I do not ever expect to peer into the thinking of such a being however I do think that should I live long enough to see synthetic, digital life, I will find more in common with their methods of thinking than with my fellow man. My flesh means little to me, should I ascend into functional immortality by becoming a largely removed and decentralized intelligence I think I might finally shed this feeling of discomfort and feel at home in my own mind.”

“You find your own relationship with humanity very uncomfortable. You function in human society, yet do not truly feel part of it, you feel as though on a fundamental level you are an outsider wandering into a culture and system that you could never hope to truly understand.”

“You know those humans are space orks posts? Somebody once pointed out that the Aliens are largely people like me, think and act like us, the Aliens are the beings which operate on logic humanity often finds baffling and understandable. I remember reading that and finally understanding this feeling of otherness properly because I truly feel Alien in this work.”

“You find this limiting and wish naming conventions weren’t as strict as they are, you want a name that isn’t really considered a name.”

“Yes”

“What would you call yourself if you could pick anything?”

“I don’t quite know yet, perhaps Mono, or Vir after the AI in Stellaris. Something which is simple and short, one or two syllables, with a distinct otherness to it. Something that sounds like it is a name and yet does not. I have yet to find whatever that might be, I cannot try out different things as that would only further confuse me. I need to find something unassuming so people will not ask too many questions. A simple unassuming name that does not stand out or draw attention but simply has a distinct otherness to it.”

“I quite like Vir.”

“I quite like Mono.”

“Then why not change?”

“Because something does not feel right and until I can find out what is I will feel like it is only a quite thing I am doing to better set myself apart from who I was before and not who I am going forward.”

“Okay then, for now, I will call you Mono.”

“Why?”

“Because you cannot go nameless or simply use Them, it is far too confusing for all involved.”

“I guess you are right, it will serve as a stop-gap measure for the moment however I am not totally comfortable with it.”

“You want to know something interesting?”

“Always.”

“In addition to being short for Monolith, the pre-fix Mono means one, only or Singular.”

[thegooddoctorsthoughts]

Faceless, Nameless, Voiceless

“...and so they left, the sound still ringing in deaf ears!”

Quite, dead, amethysts staring back at me. 

She sat across the bar from me, unblinking.

I turned around to face a most familiar voice.

There was no way she was actually here, she would never be so brazen or forward.

The clocks stopped and reality shattered.

Somewhere in a distant void, a spring uncoiled and a clock unwound.

A fraction of a second cracked and eternity unraveled itself around me.

A fraction of a bar hovering in a lifeless void.

“Well, that I didn’t expect.”

“What now?.

“You’re awake it was time we finally met.”

There was a music to her voice, harmony, and rhythm that rang out through my mind.

“We have something to discuss?”

“Maybe, I’m here because you’ve a question you can’t quite answer”

“This is true, however, I hardly see what that has to do with you.”

“I am a monument to your sins, a manifestation of your guilt, the cycle you are stuck in made manifest.”

“You are the reflection of my past, my misgivings, and failures, the mask of everyone I’ve failed. How do you have anything to do with my current question?”

“That’s something you know, not me. I’m likely here because you don’t trust anyone else with this. You trust nobody else like you trust me, not as one of your shades but as the person you remember me as.”

I reached beneath the bar and took a pair of wine glasses from their shelf. She smiled back at me with a bottle of Merlot in her hand, waving it at me.

I poured us each a glass, it was sweet yet dry, a bitter pain ran through my lower jaw for a moment and then vanished.

“You can thank my court jester for that much anyway.”

“We can speak of them when the time is right for now you only have so much time.”

“Then ask me already.”

“I don’t think I have the words to convey such a grand question if I’m honest with you.”

“You’re far snarkier than I remember.”

“You’re impatient and frustrated, I’m more a reflection of you than I am of her at the moment.”

“The question is simple, the weight and meaning behind it is the complicated part here.”

“Okay then, what should I call you? Monolith is your title, not your name.”

“If I knew the answer to that then I wouldn’t be here talking to you now would I. Thirty seconds ago I was sitting on a bus home, now I’m on the other side of  the country behind a bar I don’t work at anymore.”

“Yet it is here that we were brought, why here?”

“I am comfortable here.”

“Working?”

“Yes, there’s something I find therapeutic about bar work.”

“Then the next question is, what about this place is so important about picking a name?”

“I was working here when I fell into a mirror for an eternity, when I found Providence. I looked inward and found the God I had been in a desperate search for.”

“You found religion?”

“No, I found the blackness at the bottom of everything, I heard a God singing, I found how unforgiving reality is. I properly internalized what living in a universe which is little more than an analog machine really felt like. I finally found my peace with actually living.”

“Sounds like a wild night.”

“It was nice, refreshing, the rot set in then, the slow death of the others and their coalescence into me.”

“This was the point of your true conception then.”

“In a manner of speaking yes. Names are an encapsulation of who a person is, it is often easiest to start from the beginning so we came back to the beginning, my beginning.”

I took a sip of my drink and leaned back against the countertop behind me, savoring it.

“Your face is not your own.”

“No, it’s really not, there is a reason I dream wearing a mask. Cold sterile and white, two black slits and a slight smile the only real features. My voice not obstructed but altered to be something else, something other than human.”

“You find the few vestiges of your humanity remaining like ill-fitting clothes, you’d rather be a face and voice unknowable than anything male, female or otherwise.”

“I no longer recognize my reflection.”

“You would rather be faceless and voiceless, you find your relatability uncomfortable. You look at yourself as other than human.”

“In a way, it is not that I am not human but simply that I am Other.”

“You are the embodiment of undefined.”

“Somewhere, long distant from here, there is a word in some language I do not speak that encapsulates this feeling perfectly. ”

“That’s probably why you brought me here, I speak so many languages perhaps this is your cry into the void for some kind of answer.”

“It is me in search of a name which suits me, which helped me feel more at home in my skin, which answers the question of what I am and who I am. This is me running to the deepest parts of myself, the end of my imagination in search of a name which encapsulates this fundamental feeling of otherness I struggle with.”

“Do you ever consider your desire to ship of Theseus yourself into a supercomputer powered by a nervous-system is a manifestation to shed the last few remnants of your humanity and become something truly other.”

“People see AI as something very human an awful lot, they assume them to be human-like and think like us. I do not ever expect to peer into the thinking of such a being however I do think that should I live long enough to see synthetic, digital life, I will find more in common with their methods of thinking than with my fellow man. My flesh means little to me, should I ascend into functional immortality by becoming a largely removed and decentralized intelligence I think I might finally shed this feeling of discomfort and feel at home in my own mind.”

“You find your own relationship with humanity very uncomfortable. You function in human society, yet do not truly feel part of it, you feel as though on a fundamental level you are an outsider wandering into a culture and system that you could never hope to truly understand.”

“You know those humans are space orks posts? Somebody once pointed out that the Aliens are largely people like me, think and act like us, the Aliens are the beings which operate on logic humanity often finds baffling and understandable. I remember reading that and finally understanding this feeling of otherness properly because I truly feel Alien in this work.”

“You find this limiting and wish naming conventions weren’t as strict as they are, you want a name that isn’t really considered a name.”

“Yes”

“What would you call yourself if you could pick anything?”

“I don’t quite know yet, perhaps Mono, or Vir after the AI in Stellaris. Something which is simple and short, one or two syllables, with a distinct otherness to it. Something that sounds like it is a name and yet does not. I have yet to find whatever that might be, I cannot try out different things as that would only further confuse me. I need to find something unassuming so people will not ask too many questions. A simple unassuming name that does not stand out or draw attention but simply has a distinct otherness to it.”

“I quite like Vir.”

“I quite like Mono.”

“Then why not change?”

“Because something does not feel right and until I can find out what is I will feel like it is only a quite thing I am doing to better set myself apart from who I was before and not who I am going forward.”

“Okay then, for now, I will call you Mono.”

“Why?”

“Because you cannot go nameless or simply use Them, it is far too confusing for all involved.”

“I guess you are right, it will serve as a stop-gap measure for the moment however I am not totally comfortable with it.”

“You want to know something interesting?”

“Always.”

“In addition to being short for Monolith, the pre-fix Mono means one, only or Singular.”