#<-usiing this as reference

[stuffyflowers]

Masterpost of everything we learned from the Kissy Cutie AMA with Merengue on ACDS for those wondering

(Merengue is the creator I should probably mention that lol)

The game, particularly its theme of racism, derived from the rise of Trump in 2016, during which hatred towards Mexicans was popular. As a Mexican woman herself, she says this was a very personal source of inspiration and she considers Kissy Cutie a "healing journey."

Similarly, Sona is inspired by her personal experience living with a controlling parent. Her confusing motives and reactions take you off guard. She depicts a complex person who is full of regret but fails to be better.

The endings were were a criticism of dating sims, trying to follow Undertale's ending style and the fandom.

She regrets making the truest ending so hard to obtain. She is tempted to make TikToks showing people how to get all the endings to stop the suffering.

She would love to remake Kissy Cutie, but "ran out of budget on the intro." In all honesty, she would think about it if people are really interested.

The game has so many artstyles as no artist wanted to compromise to draw all the sprites. While the end product worked, she would have preferred a more homogenous artstyle.

If she were to remake the game, she would like to redraw everything herself.

The yellow soul was renamed to Clover as the demo of Undertale Yellow had released during development. There are also references to Flowerfell (such as in Sona's final transformation), which was another fan creation she loved.

Sona's powers had many changes during production. She was going to be a doll-like monster that absorbed human souls (and goes bald at the end?), then she was going to have Flowerfell reset powers, but in the end she was made to be a witch whose powers came from an ancient artifact. She is also able to turn the monsters human through "determination."

She wanted to explain every loose end left in Undertale, hence the focus on Chara's backstory and their upbringing with Sona. She says Chara is the main character, not Sona.

She was nervous about doing a Sans path due to his popularity at the time. So she made him "that way" on purpose.

She handles the Frisk/Chara/Player relationship "like the Catholic Church handles the Holy Trinity."

She has played Danganronpa, but has not read Homestuck or watched Glitchtale.

The characters with no sprites are a result of their artists abandoning the project.

Alphys, Mettaton and Toriel paths were planned, but never got far.

The Alphys route was being written by a friend who she began to distance from. She never got to see any of it.

She has not played Undertale Yellow, only the demo.

The disappearance of the 42 Ayotzinpa students is another source of inspiration (The scene in which you find Mettaton's body likely alludes to this).

She loves and encourages fan content of her game, including using the game's code as a base for projects.

The humanification arc was intended to explore how a racist would 'solve racism' without violence, by turning everyone into "someone like them."

The human designs have slightly pink hair to reflect Sona's influence. Human Papyrus was inspired by his in-game comments about wanting muscles and hair, human Sans was "the typical fandom approach," and everyone else became anime characters.

The music was the last thing worked on. It was rushed and they didn't know what they were doing.

Sona was not intentionally similar to Monika or Makima.

Sona is (supposedly?) wearing a black mourning dress (Likely mourning Chara hence the yellow flowers).

The cover of Waterfall is her favourite track.

The idea of Sona being a skeleton named Arial was tossed around briefly.

The truest ending was created after some staff requested the option to save Flowey and Sona. It also fulfilled her plan for Sans and Papyrus to take over the orphanage.

Sona's final transformation intended for her to be kept human "but not without her sins showing"

The glitchy text character was Flowey. The glitchiness showed the interference and Flowey being manipulated

[duckduckngoose]

Ughh I'm so anxious for just the session 0 of the new campaign im running

[samadhifire]

Y’all if flying bark sends both of my muses golfing, I’m going to maim.

[kryzuuna]

SPOILERSS

FINAL EP 8 THINGS IVE NOTICED and thoughts and idk

i was so excited for this omg

i wonder what was the minus for tho 😔 also for a sec i thought that uzis name got revealed as usi 😭 cus of the s thing above but ig it can work as z

theres also a dead cells reference but its dead batteries 😭 lmao

thats my fav frame ong they look so scruffy AND off topic i love the design of the drones faces in general 😭😭😭 they always have this little goldfish look

this scene was sooo pretty, generally it was a shock how good the animation and render looked like fr i wasnt expecting such an upgrade from ep 7

AND im so glad the physics didnt work at that moment and their hair didnt burn 😔 i would be mourning all ep

honestly ive became a fan of J 😭😭 she got the short end of the stick through all of it

Grumpy Mctraumabot lmao also why their ios is so outdated

a lot of people pointed out that uzi referenced the tpose covers for the OST but i think they did it with khan more accurately 😭

her in those heels was a HARD WATCH like ouch

heres such a great shot, i feel like this is where you can clearly see the animation improved cus omg

omg he shred a tear 😭😭😭😿😿😿the feels guys 🥺🥺🫶🫰🫶

those eyes remind me too much about the instagram icon lmao also what is this windows xp how old the tech was on copper 9

this song hits hard maybe my fav part of the soundtrack

so they didn't make them kiss but they made them netflix and chill smh the priorities these days...🚬 KIDDING

AAHHH are those her moms headphones?? idk

anyway the finale was fun and very pretty, kinda short, wish it could go on for 10 more hours, i also wish they all could get a chance to talk more cus im more for interactions between the characters rather than action but alright alright

[readyandnot]

hot boi summer ‘23 ready rambles :)

buckle in everyone~

ALRIGHT I HAVE A LOT SO WE’LL START FROM THE BEGINNING:

david: a very nice and simple introduction to hot boi summer 23! he makes working out sound hot- ANYWAY angel being a menace as always and david being so soft with them like :,) and angel going to find him i’m crying

the spiciness was good! i just imagine the guy on camera was like “yeah i’m gonna leave them be” lmao

overall a great audio and a nice intro to the lineup :)

vincent: a very good vincent audio in general and i loveee the story for this one! the fact that these two are so comfortable with just doing their own thing and just going to a 7/11 dressed up is amazing. i love their relationship so much. VINCENTS SLURPEEEE I LOVE HIM. the spiciness was so good. I JUST WISH WE GOT A GLIMPSE OF WHAT VINCENT WAS SAYING UGHHHH

overall i love this audio and it’s very cute with a hint of spice :)

avior: AVIORRRRR

this was the one i looked forward to the most (and anton) BECAUSE SPICY WITH AVIOR YES PLEASE. this one is definitely my favorite on so many levels. THE FACT HE MADE STARLIGHT AN OASIS WITH THE OTHER LEVELS AND THE GOLD??? this dude is such a romantic he’s giving gavin and vincent a run for their money. AND THE ENDING??? so good. (lowkey think avior’s a switch) the spiciness was so good, it was simple but that’s what i think the best part about it is, and it was very romantic with the skinny dipping like omg.

i’m so sad this one didn’t win, but the livestream gave me hope that it might be continued like p l e a s e .

overall, the best one imo and i hope it gets continued eventually :)

gavin: a very good hot boi summer addition especially for gavin! seeing the other bois pop in as well in the beginning was amazing :) AND THE REFERENCE TO THE APRON MADE ME FREAK OUT

freelancer and gavin are such menaces and i love them for it, so horny for each other and it’s great. (flashbacks to huxley’s grilling audio anyone?) and the thought of gavin being submissive o m g. i love that idea so much because we have literally never seen that side of him so i am curious about that (maybe in the future?) the spiciness was amazing and i’m very sure they had a great time back at fl’s place lol

overall a solid great audio and definitely in my top five for this lineup :)

lasko: lasko lasko lasko. this one was great!!! i love seeing their relationship continue to grow and seeing how much lasko has changed since we first saw him! especially in the aspect that he’s used to taking things further but the fact that this is different to him :,) do you hear me crying. i love how easy the listener seems to be with lasko and how much of a calming presence they are for him, i know this relationship is going to be a great one! i hope soon we get an audio of the listener meeting the damn gang and fl! (and hopefully a nickname i’m begging) the spiciness is simple and i’m glad we’re seeing this change of pace!

overall, a nice change of things and i like this audio a lot!

elliott: I LOVE THIS ONE A LOT (this is probably my second favorite) it’s so good!! and it’s nice/bittersweet to see elliott and sunshine happy (like please can they be together again i’m crying) THE DRAGON. don’t even get me started-

the role play i cant- now i know these two definitely play dnd. elliott breaking out of character was hilarious and sunshine actually having some powers was a great idea!! the ending- (i’m crying). this relationship is so good they need to be with each other and i miss them being happy :( the spiciness is great in this one and so so so romantic ughhh

overall, i love this audio and it’s a solid addition to the lineup (i also love the irony of the coolness)

asher: one of the more tame ones and that’s not a bad thing! it’s definitely one of the sweetest audios in the whole channel because omg. asher is so emotionally intelligent and i’m so proud of him for how much he’s grown since the inversion!!! he knows who he is and how life can change so he’s using it to his advantage and i love that for him and babe :) their dynamic is great as always and the spiciness was good! (hopefully they were fine in the car lmao)

the horn part was hilarious and so on point lol

overall, a nice audio! very sweet with a little spice :)

guy: very tame for a guy audio which surprised me! i feel like this one was more focused on guy struggling to make it up to honey which i love because guy is such a menace lol

honey is such a saint but i love seeing how soft they can be with guy while still being a little grumpy (it is cute in guys defense) and i love their relationship and how it’s come to be so far!

the ending was great which added to the spiciness and it was hilarious at the same time, only guy can do that lmao

overall, a very simple but good audio! :)

anton: this one. (do you hear me sobbing.) the story and the dynamic was just in point and the references to the work AND THE PLANT I AM C R Y I N G. as soon as he said gift i knew it would be the plant :,(

seeing how devoted the listener and anton are to each other is beautiful. and how sweet they are with each other even if they seem like complete opposites. AND ANTONS WORDS WERE BEAUTIFUL (even if he said he’s not a man of many words i don’t care) the spiciness was so good too and very natural! it was soooo nice to see that side of anton and i wouldn’t mind if this one was continued :)

overall a lovely audio and probably my third favorite of the lineup :)

damien and huxley: THIS ONE WAS AMAZING. the ba was phenomenal and i’m honestly not mad that they got it, they deserved it and lived up to my expectations!!! the beginning was awesome and i loveee their convos so much more than i should. (the fact that gavin and fl burned the food doesn’t surprise me lol) AND THE SWITCH WITH THEM I CANTTT

the spiciness was great, it felt so natural and they are so great together.

overall (because i’m not gonna spoil the ba) i love this audio. i love them. and it would be unfair for me to put them in the ranking because it’s so good.

sam: this was a great audio!! i love the idea of sam being in the club and just being so awkward lol so i’m glad it’s now canon. THE WHOLE GROUP AS WELL LIKE YES THANK YOU REDACTED. (and the fact that david’s on the dance floor i’m deceased)

their dynamic is so good as always. and the visuals you get from this are great! seeing how they are finally letting loose after dealing with quinn is a great thing and i’m so happy for them. (also the vibes with this one were so good i was dancing the entire time.) the spiciness was so good, just imagining darlin “dancing” with sam like sheeesh

overall a great addition to to the lineup and to sam in general :)

milo: LAST BUT NOT LEAST. this one was so sweet and so relatable. (like i relate to sweetheart so much it’s not even funny.) the fact that they are so comfortable with each other and how sweetheart is stressed over vacation being over is a mood and i love how milo comforts them over it. HE KNOWS EXACTLY THE RIGHT THING TO SAY/DO AND I LOVE HIM. the spiciness was great and i love seeing them together like that because they are always so needy for each other it’s crazy. (and not a bad thing either-)

overall a great audio and i love milo so much. :)

(i am not including nick you better believe that)

now for my ranking: (not counting huxley/damien)

avior

elliott

anton

sam

gavin

milo

vincent

asher

lasko

david

NOW- i’m gonna be a little controversial but i don’t think sam deserved the ba. for a couple reasons: one, he already had one last month. and it was a good one too! i understand that his hbs was good but there are other boys who deserved it. which goes into my second reason, other boys who either haven’t gotten one (anton/avior) or who haven’t had one for a long time (elliott/gavin) i feel deserved to get the ba. putting favoritism aside it makes sense! lastly, (after listening to sams ba) i feel sam’s ba was underwhelming to be honest. there were moments that were amazing but the rest just felt like a normal ba. i was hoping there would be more to it but unfortunately not (for me at least). AND i understand that avior won the poll for an update (i don’t think it should have won btw) but i don’t think that should matter if it was something in the past if that makes sense.

overall, this years was great and i’m very happy in general! new people and the theme was awesome as well with the rewind! (here’s hoping one more is continued at least)

i cant wait for next year’s :)

what’s next: hush happened…. that shit was crazy.

i think avior is next? i’m so excited to get an update eeeee

if you made it this far, thanks for reading this rant and i hope you have a great morning/day/night

HAPPY HOT BOI SUMMER YALL

[kyraxyrespace]

Evolution of White Knight in RWBY (Volume 2)

Episode 2.2 “Welcome to Beacon” has Jaune approaching the table where Team RWBY is playing Remnant: The Game. After Ruby mentions that it is a four player game, Jaune asks Weiss to play with her hand, which she refuses. Jaune starts the trend of calling Weiss “Ice Queen,” which is a nickname that sticks with her the whole volume. He retreats after almost accidentally revealing Blake’s true identity but is still close enough to see and hear Neptune and Weiss flirt, being especially offended when Neptune refers to Weiss as “snow angel.”

Episode 2.3 “A Minor Hiccup” begins with Jaune trying to ask Weiss on a date. She ignores him, watching the clock countdown until the end of class. When the bell goes off, Weiss leaves, answering Jaune’s earlier questions with a solid rejection. Dejected, Jaune collapses onto his desk, but Yang walks past and gives him a friendly rub on the back of his head, reassuring him that he’ll get Weiss to agree to a date “one day.” This shows some support for Jaune’s pursuits from Yang, especially since she’s encouraging him to not give up.

Episode 2.5 “Extracurricular” has Jaune coming to Weiss’ dorm room with a guitar in hand to ask her to the dance in a musical fashion. The whole thing is played for laughs, but Jaune probably chose this method because he knows that Weiss is a singer, and he thought that she may appreciate his attempt. She doesn’t, and still rejects him, slamming the door in his face for the second time that night (she did so earlier when she opened the door to find him with the guitar). Yang, who had watched the whole exchange, tells her that what she did right there is why she’s referred to as an Ice Queen. It’s at this point in the series that we learn why Weiss has no interest in Jaune: “All my life, boys have only cared about the perks of my last name.” In Weiss’ mind, she believes that Jaune is flirting with her to take advantage of her family name. It’s because of these reasons that she continues to shoot Jaune down.

Episode 2.6 “Burning the Candle” is where we see Jaune’s reasons for pursuing Weiss. He enlists Ren’s help on girl advice and ends up telling Ren his feelings for Weiss: “I'm completely head-over-heels for her, and she won't even give me a chance. She's cold, but she's also incredible. She's smart, and graceful, and talented. I mean, have you heard her sing? I-I just wish she’d take me seriously, y'know? I wish I could tell her how I feel without messing it all up.” This is incredibly heartfelt and is an obvious moment of vulnerability for Jaune. Pyrrha, despite having obvious feelings for Jaune, comes in with the advice for him to stop with the pick -up lines and to just tell her the truth. Jaune takes to this new idea happily and rushes off to find Weiss. He’s prepared to ask her again, bringing with him a flower, but he catches her asking Neptune to the dance, which leaves him heartbroken. He leaves the scene before he hears Neptune’s answer.

Episode 2.7 “Dance Dance Infiltration” is the turning point in their relationship. Up till now, Weiss believes Jaune is just after her for her name, while we as an audience know that Jaune genuinely likes her. While Jaune and Ruby are at the drinks table, Ruby sympathizes with Jaune for things not working out with Weiss, and then clarifies to the boy - since he thought Weiss came with Neptune - that Weiss came to the dance alone. He catches sight of her attempting to fix a flower and looking hurt in Neptune’s direction, who is clearly having a fun time joking around with some students. Furious on her behalf, Jaune goes to confront Neptune on his actions. He diverts attention when a forlorn Pyrrha crosses his path, and so he goes to check on her. He learns that Pyrrha was hoping he’d ask her to the dance, and she reveals that she likes him. Jaune is shocked, and almost goes after her, but he’s interrupted by Neptune, who unwittingly comes to the balcony Pyrrha and Jaune had been using. Neptune starts a friendly conversation, but when he mentions the “cute girls” at the dance, Jaune gets infuriated and lectures him about Weiss, demanding to know if Neptune ever thought of the feelings of the girls he was hitting on and on why he would turn down Weiss. Neptune shamefully admits that he doesn’t know how to dance, which surprises Jaune. Neptune offers to give up on Weiss, but when Jaune asks him about his feelings for her, and Neptune honestly admits that he thinks she’s cool, Jaune gives him some advice that Pyrrha gave him. Even though Jaune has feelings for Weiss, he recognizes that she would rather prefer Neptune, and gives him the push to go and approach her. Neptune does as Jaune advised and goes talk to Weiss. When Weiss asks what changed his mind, Neptune indicates to Jaune, who at this point in the episode has changed into a dress and is dancing with Pyrrha (he had made a bet that if she didn’t get a date, he’d wear a dress). He tells her that she has good friends, and Weiss is clearly surprised but touched. For all of Volume 1 and half of Volume 2, she thought he was only interested in her name, but this moment proved her wrong, and it’s here that they can begin having an actual friendship.

[starqueensthings]

Summary: a transition chapter following the couple days post-surprise snack feast! I’ll be honest, there’s nothing super exciting in this one. This chapter was never meant to be solo– it rightfully belongs attached to the next one, but subjecting y’all to a 9k word chapter seemed to border on cruel so I split them where I could. Pls enjoy!

Rating/WC: all chapters are rated 16+ for subject matter unless otherwise stated. | 3312 words.

WARNINGS: brief/undetailed description of a medical procedure | mild self hatred (LOL)

A/N: just a reminder, the calendar system in Star Wars observes a 5-day week, starting with Primeday, then Taungsday, then Centaxday, then Zhellday, then Benduday. I personally consider Primeday’s to be like a Monday and Zhellday’s to a Friday!

PLEASE ENSURE YOU’VE READ THE FOREWORD LINKED BELOW FOR AN IN-DEPTH DESCRIPTION OF WHAT DEGREE OF CONTENT YOU CAN EXPECT THROUGHOUT THIS STORY BEFORE PROCEEDING.

FOREWORD | MASTER | PREV | NEXT | AO3

“I do wholeheartedly believe that attempting to implement our experimental tactic during tomorrow’s lesson bears the threat of utter failure, simply due to our inadvertent lack of preparation,” Challa chittered across the operating room table later that day, violet eyes darting just above June’s right shoulder where the holomonitor continuously displayed their patient’s vitals signs, pledging to keep them informed and aware of any imminent complications. “Sadly, neither of us have been granted spare time enough to attune our focus toward strategizing a plan of attack, and, though I maintain the highest degree of confidence in our new approach, it still remains our only viable path; we must handle our next steps with great caution. I personally think it wise we delay your formal introduction until our lesson on Zhellday morning, as the extra couple of days should allot us the opportunity to meet between shifts and—”

“Suction.”

“—reference our previously crafted syllabus. From what I can recall, I believe ‘The Ethics of Pain Control’ was to be our most imminent lecture, though—”

“Beginning foreign body extraction. Clamp the superior vessel and prepare to depress perforation.”

“—I know your suggestion orbits on removing the conventional lecture format atop the notion that granting them the permission to kinetically engage with each aspect of their medkit may promise an increased level of engagement—”

“What’s the HR…?”

“...Acutely depressed but sitting at 61.”

“And O2 sat…?

“...97– normal. I assert, if our tactic going forward is to begin the process of tool introduction, beginning with the MedScanner would seem most prudent, though beginning with the USI system might promise to snag their attention more profoundly.”

That duelling pair of aggrandized minds wove in and out of those transient conversations as if performing some semblance of a cerebral tango, and only years spent both physically and mentally adjacent could have seen those desultory thoughts move so fluidly through their cognizance; June able to seamlessly follow her bosses discursive suppositions while meticulously extricating several unidentifiable pieces of shrapnel from the abdomen of the soldier below her, and Challa’s twitter remained wholly unaffected by the divided attention of his colleague, resolute in capitalizing on every minute of this rare distraction-free time to remind her of the commitment she’d offered him days prior.

“Yeah, I think it’s obvious the traditional lecture format is not a cup they drink from,” June mumbled atop a restrained breath, corralling the reminder in her lungs to help steady her hands whilst carefully plucking that jagged strip of durasteel from its detrimental wedge in the trooper's upper colon. “I’m still not entirely convinced why I need to be the one to coax this plan into action, but I already promised we’d give it a try.”

“As previously explained, the nature of how you hold their attention drastically increases our chance of success,” Challa spoke, sightlessly collecting the soiled forceps from her gloved hand and replacing it with a set identical in every way, though the gauze pinched between those clean serrations had yet to be saturated by that poor soldiers blood. “Not only does it provide us the opportunity to test our theory of a more functional learning strategy, but I’m near-certain that assimilating the role of professor will allot you the venerability of which you deserve, pending you don't abjure the change immediately upon reaching the podium.”

“Yeah, well… chances of that are high, I'll be honest,” June groused. “I hate public speaking as it is, let alone when it's to a room full of people that ogle at me like I’m a cherry-topped cheesecake. Though it seems like Zhellday’s have been the chosen nap days, so that may work in my favour.”

***

The following day saw their traditional lecture proceed amid the regular, diminished fervor; still largely uneasy about their decided stratagem, and what it meant for her participation in that class, June was all-too willing to defer putting herself on display for yet another day, entirely content to adhere to her previous routine of plopping down behind the teacher’s desk and periodically glancing across the crowd for any rogue hands in the air— (of course there never were any).

But despite the promise of another immemorable, monotonous day, a potent anticipation entirely unrelated to that century of soldiers erupted neath her skin, as the first sight of those flapping purple tarps on Primeday morning had instantly flooded her veins with the memory of last referencing that near-neon landmark; offering farewells to that teal-painted captain as he’d escorted her back to that construction-laden speeder lot; hopeful vows to reconvene slipping from each set of lips while they both bashfully departed that serendipitous exchange with their skin aprickle and cheeks aflame.

How many ways could one find to say “thank you”? Well… one unaffected by an uncontrollable sense of glee and unencumbered by that smothering crush would have likely said: very few. But June had recited variations of gratitude and adoration to her reflection all morning in preparation for a possible reunion with that square-jawed soldier, and none seemed capable of conveying just how much she appreciated the inexplicable surprise he’d bestowed upon her the previous day.

“Cold?” Challa had asked as they neared the double-wide security gate, innocently mistaking the way her hands futilely tried to rid her skin of those relentless goosebumps as a motion of physical discomfort triggered by the open top of that air speeder, and not the ineffable sense of nervousness that it was.

“A little,” she fibbed, hurriedly turning away to conceal the way her bottom lip never failed to twitch when forced to wrap its way around a lie.

But they traversed those halls without any sign of external recognition or interruption, void of any fleeting signs of the teal her gaze thoughtlessly sought whilst darting around those otherwise colourless halls, and the lecture ensued without a hitch upon those hundred polyester-clad troopers assuming the same seats earmarked for their person several weeks earlier.

Eager to take advantage of the role that would be robbed of her in just a few short days, June followed noiselessly along to Challa’s presentation: “Risk differential of Electro-Magnetic Staplers vs. Cauterizing Pens for Superficial Cutaneous Wound Closure”— knowledge that any medical personnel would have deemed utterly critical for effective acute outpatient care, yet unsurprisingly, those soldiers did not espouse this opinion, near-instantly deeming that valuable information to be nothing more than superfluous and unworthy of their attention, and instead opting to initiate that infuriating game of sneaking looks and gestures in her direction whenever they presumed the risk low enough.

The wall chrono had hardly sent an hour of that lesson into the past when the pager on Challa’s hip erupted with a pair of shrill chirps, its proximity to the microphone in which he spoke ensuring the disturbance echoed loudly around all corners of that stuffy amphitheater and triggering a chorus of murmurs throughout the enshadowed rows. But despite the unceremonious nature of it’s interruption, Challa simply yanked that device from his belt and trod backward across the stage, tossing it sightlessly into June’s waiting hands so that he may continue his planned recital of medicine while his colleague addressed whatever concern had threatened to derail him. That little com device had hardly settled in her palms, fingers working to quickly orient the electronic so June may ascertain exactly who was attempting to contact him, when her own device gave a sharp squawk from the depths of her bag, and stomach knotting neath the implications of those rapid, tandem calls, she quickly extracted her own and hurried to excuse herself from the room.

“We’ve initiated a Code Orange,” Malya, the charge nurse, explained breathlessly upon answering June’s urgent return comm. “Mass injuries from four separate brigades are going through triage downstairs now, and six more are inbound. There’s at least two-dozen Class-A’s being sent upstairs already, and Maker-only-knows how many more will be following. Rondi is the on-call and he’s beyond swamped. Jacoba’s booked until shifts-end, Pherto is coming down from upstairs to take on what cases he can, but… it’s not going to be enough. We need one of you. Now.”

There wasn’t excess breath amidst that burgeoning urgency; not a fleeting moment she could spare to scan those halls for any glimmer of white and teal as she fled that classroom, mind bogged with nothing but the desperation to remain directionally oriented as she tried to find her way back to that parking lot, leaving Challa to finish the lecture on his own whilst she barrelled headfirst into the waiting chaos.

*****

Had anyone ever posed such a question, June would have proudly stated that any degree of poor punctuality was an action warranting the same castigation as actual crime. Simply put: late, to any degree, was unacceptable. Yet, a perfect storm of situational negligence had crafted the following Zhellday morning into a perfect petrie dish for such a conviction to be brought to test.

June sat bolt upright atop that squashy, oversized mattress, heart instantly erupting into pace that perfectly matched the horrifying reality, throat wholly scorched by the resounding gasp choking past her lips as the last of that lingering lassitude dissipated. There was simply too much radiant sunlight pouring in through the gap in those bedroom curtains; the traffic roaring, unseen, above the roof of that building hummed just too loudly and too constantly to reflect the near-placidity that morning typically granted; too many hardened sleep crystals had gathered in the corners of her eyes for only a handful of hours to have passed since she’d climbed into that soft sanctuary.

She’d overslept.

“Two hours?!” she shrieked upon meeting the goading gaze of the wall chrono across the room, whipping her blankets off with a vigor of which she’d never participated and sprinting from the bedroom.

Yesterday had acted a near-perfect redemption for the absolutely abysmal day before it. After hurtling from the combat base in nothing short of a frenzied need to immerse herself in the ensuing anarchy late Primeday morning, June had spent the subsequent fifteen hours in the confines of the dark and frigid operating room, cut off from the remainder of the galaxy as patient file after patient file flared atop the screen of the holocomputer perched next to the gurney, Lumi’s scomp having hardly left the port amid an effort to finally assist her with surgery before the alert of another imminent case had him plugging in to ascertain the details of their next.

Eager to atone for his absence that morning, and the perceived failure to lead his team in their incursion against that unprecedented bedlam, Challa had laid claim over as many surgeries as he could once the lecture had concluded, immediately demanding a gross extension of his schedule, and profusely apologizing to anyone who would stand still long enough to listen to that needless repentance, regardless of how most simply shook their heads at that characteristic benevolence and reassured him that his disparate role as professor was no less critical to the war effort than his leadership amongst the calamity.

Yet that Chief of Surgery remained as devoted to his staff as he was to upholding synergy in that bustling department; appearing atop the threshold of her office shortly before midnight that night with altruistic demands that June defer the start of her shift tomorrow, the abeyance of her schedule reflecting his gratitude for how seamlessly she’d leapt into action in his stead that morning, and the vast degree of work she’d been able to accomplish in the void of preparation. Chilled to the bone from the fifteen straight hours spent hunkered in those frigid OR’s, there wasn’t a cell in June’s body willing to reject his offering, using the subsequent second to ring her best friend Alda and request that she come over first thing the following morning so the duo may take advantage of the season’s first dose of hot sun and lay beside the rooftop pool with an iced caf in hand and mouths full of gossip.

But the reinvigoration imbued in her by those hours spent in the glory of that welcome radiance was instantly usurped by the duress of yet another arduous evening, the remainder of that rotation simply melting into an evening that promised no respite from the endless list of patients waiting to be patched and pruned neath her skilled hands; that increased behest, stacked atop the lingering effects of extended sun exposure, had June’s knees near-buckling in the doorway of her apartment hours later, the cool shower of which she thrust herself, sought only to appease what she could of that stringing, sunburnt skin before clambering wearily into bed.

And it seemed that unheralded exhaustion had ultimately eclipsed both her body-clock and her chrono alarm, every inch of that enflamed, sun-kissed exterior now screaming to protest the celerity at which she shed herself of those pajamas. Yet, that whimper of discomfort had hardly departed her lips before merging into something near a frustrated growl, as a near-empty closet housing only a lonesome set of fire-engine red scrubs had instantly endowed her with the realization that, once again, she’d forsaken taking her laundry downstairs to the building’s washing facility.

Grousing about her own infuriating negligence, she yanked that obnoxious pair from it’s perch and glared at the crumpled tag affixed to the neckline, that small Size S an unnecessary reminder that she hadn’t touched this particular get up since her earliest days in medical school, before a slowing metabolism had begun to thicken her thighs and swell the curves of her chest.

Ignoring the way the constriction of that polyester only intensified the mutiny of her scorched skin, she yanked it into place and hurried toward the refresher. “Maker,” June grumbled aloud for the near-hundredth time, checking her watch and spitting a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink. There wasn’t time to run a comb through those pillow-tousled locks, no spare chance to fiddle with inserting her beloved contact lenses, and, devastatingly-so, no opportunity to brew the caf she so desperately craved, instead using every attainable second to shove her glasses onto her nose and yank a pair of mismatched socks onto her feet before dashing out the door with her shoes in her hand.

How she’d managed to descend those twenty something flights of stairs whilst jamming her toes into sneakers whose laces she’d refused to untie, would forever remain a mystery, yet she burst, uninhibited, out into another glorious day of sun and hurried toward her bike.

Running a little late, she typed as she swung her leg over her seat. Yes, I know what day it is, and yes I hate myself for it. Head to the base without me and get started, I'll be there asap.

The manner of which she whizzed through those skylanes was nothing short of appalling and downright illegal, though the consequences that would have ensued from the Coruscant police had she been caught driving so carelessly promised a lesser burden than having to witness the utter disappointment behind Challa’s violet eyes if she’d rolled into class atop its last few minutes, that uncharacteristic tardiness having foiled the plan he so desperately vied to enact.

The landmark of those dancing purple barriers anchored her focus, and she directed her bike downward immediately upon spotting those bright beacons. Offering nothing but a nod to the troopers flanking the gate, she jammed her card against the control panel and drummed her hands anxiously against the handlebars whilst waiting for it to roll aside and permit her entry.

In perfect correlation to that tumultuous morn, the hallways adjacent that familiar entrance were livelier than June had ever witnessed, and though panic threatened to flare in her chest as she wove urgently through that dense sea of white and painted plastoid, she had eyes only for the door enclosing her classroom.

Wholly hot in the face from the alacrity of which she’d moved about those energetic corridors, and entirely averse to exacerbating her shameful punctuality with a grand and conspicuous entrance, she scanned her card atop the control panel beside the door and stood back out of view as it slid ajar. Yet her feat for discretion had failed, and much to her dismay, the flood of light pouring into that darkened room from the hallway of where she hid, had every head in that oversized room turning to face her as she stepped apprehensively into that familiar theater.

“Hi,” she muttered to no one in particular, sweat beading along her hairline as adrenaline continued to crash through her veins, and she offered Challa only an apologetic smile before diminishing her presence by slunking around the back of the room where that blinding overhead spotlight failed to soften the darkness. Quickly thunking her bag down atop the teacher’s desk, she stole a moment to appease her thundering heart with a few deep breaths.

Challa’s voice echoed around the room as a smattering of whispers broke out in the wake of her arrival, though June remained incognizant to it all as she stooped toward the ground to finally fix how the tongue of her left shoe had bunched amidst her haste to jam her foot into place. Yet that discomfort was nothing compared to the engorgeing pit in her stomach, and not even the aching burn atop her shoulders held the power to smother the weight of imminent reality.

Today was the day. It had finally transpired despite continued pleas to the stars that they wield their powerful divinity into formulating any alternative that could uphold her taciturn perch behind the desk and away from those two hundred eyes. But it was lecture day— her lecture day, and even sneaking a peek below her arm toward the podium saw a cresting wave of nausea crashing through her gut, the addition of a small table adjacent that microphone, and the white plastoid case perched innocently atop that nondescript surface, both harbingers of the peregrination she now had to navigate.

“Everyone grab your kits please, and open them on your desk!” Challa’s instructions finally broke through that tormented stupor, and she stood up straight to meet him as he neared. Though, his expression wore none of the disdain or contempt she’d wholly expected, those thin, caf coloured lips arcing into a reassuring smile as he came to a halt beside her.

“I’m sorry,” June offered him, that apology robbed of its solemnity by the breathless way it escaped her lips. “I don’t know how I sle—”

“You look like a walking strawberry,” Challa interrupted neath a chuckle of which she’d never heard left his lips, lissome arm swinging backward atop the imminent gesture of attempting to appease her worry with a gentle clap on the shoulder.

“You should see the kriffing skin on my back,” she groaned, rebuking the otherwise innocent motion for the sake of her aching skin. “I’m burnt to a crisp. Please don’t don’t give me a morning off again until Autumn.”

“Keep working ninety hour weeks and I’ll have little choice, June,” Challa argued. “You’re going to work yourself into the ground.”

“That’s the plan…”

“Let’s limit that morbidity, shall we? This is an occasion that deserves your highest enthusiasm! I’ve already informed the students we’ll be trying a change in leadership today so they’re expecting you whenever you’re ready.”

“Oh, wow, great,” June grumbled back, the feigned enthusiasm neath her tone entirely trumped by the disdain she upheld for this stupid, stupid plan and those horribly tight scrubs.

“Just get going,” Challa dictated, seemingly attuned to the ineffable unease that had her perpetually dawdling behind that desk, and it took him physically shoving his datapad into the crevasse of her tightly knotted arms and nudging her toward the stage before she finally did away with that obstinance and wiped those beads of sweat from her hairline.

**Next Chapter will be going up tomorrow!**

FOREWORD | MASTER | PREV | NEXT | AO3

Tag list: @anxiouspineapple99 @sinfulsalutations @starrylothcat @nobody-expects-the-inquisitorius @secondaryrealm @dystopicjumpsuit @freesia-writes @sev-on-kamino @littlemissmanga @523rdrebel @wings-and-beskar @wolffegirlsunite @drafthorsemath @jediknightjana @starstofillmydream @mooncommlink @wizardofrozz @trixie2023 @clonethirstingisreal @lune-de-miel-au-paradis @mythical-illustrator @arctrooper69 @smw-on-kamino

[yvetteheiser]

Yvette Heiser - The Impact of Photography on Choice and Perception

In the modern world, where visual media dominates our daily lives, the influence of photography on our perceptions and choices cannot be overstated and Yvette Heiser- Explores How Photography Influences Our Perceptions and Choices, “Perceptual Frames: The Impact of Photography on Choice and Perception,” delves into this fascinating subject, exploring how photographs shape our understanding of reality and influence our decisions.

The Power of Visuals

Photography, as an art form and a medium of communication, holds a unique power. Unlike text, which requires interpretation and imagination, photographs provide a direct visual representation of the world. This immediacy can evoke strong emotional responses and create lasting impressions. Heiser argues that this power of photography lies in its ability to frame reality in specific ways, guiding our perceptions and, consequently, our choices.

Framing Reality

One of the central themes in Heiser’s work is the concept of “framing.” In photography, framing refers to the way a photograph is composed, including what is included or excluded from the image. This framing can significantly influence how viewers interpret the photograph. For instance, a photograph of a bustling city street can evoke feelings of excitement and energy if framed to highlight the crowd and movement. Conversely, the same street can appear lonely and desolate if framed to focus on an isolated individual.

Heiser explores how photographers use framing to convey particular messages and emotions. By choosing specific angles, lighting, and subjects, photographers can manipulate the viewer’s perception. This manipulation is not inherently negative; it is a tool that can be used to tell compelling stories, raise awareness about social issues, or simply capture the beauty of the world.

The Role of Context

Context plays a crucial role in how we interpret photographs. A photograph of a smiling child can evoke feelings of joy and innocence. However, if we learn that the child is in a war-torn region, our perception of the image changes dramatically. Heiser emphasizes that understanding the context in which a photograph is taken and presented is essential for accurate interpretation.

In today’s digital age, where images are often shared without context, this becomes even more critical. Social media platforms are flooded with photographs that can be easily misinterpreted or taken out of context. Heiser’s work encourages viewers to seek out the stories behind the images and consider the broader context before forming judgments.

In the age of advanced autofocus systems, the art of manual focus remains an invaluable skill for photographers, Yvette Heiser–How and when to use manual focus? A renowned photographer and educator, emphasizes the importance of mastering manual focus to achieve creative control and precision in photography. This article explores the advantages of manual focus, when to use it, and how to effectively implement it in your photography practice.

The Advantages of Manual Focus

Manual focus allows photographers to have complete control over the focus point, enabling them to achieve the desired sharpness and artistic effects. Unlike autofocus, which relies on the camera’s algorithms, manual focus lets you decide exactly where to place the focus. This can be particularly beneficial in the following scenarios:

Low Light Conditions: Autofocus systems often struggle in low light, hunting for focus and sometimes failing to lock onto the subject. Manual focus allows you to bypass these limitations and achieve sharp images even in challenging lighting conditions.

Macro Photography: When shooting close-up subjects, the depth of field is extremely shallow, making precise focusing crucial. Manual focus enables you to fine-tune the focus point, ensuring that the critical parts of your subject are sharp.

Portrait Photography: For portraits, especially when using wide apertures to create a shallow depth of field, manual focus allows you to ensure that the eyes of your subject are perfectly sharp, which is essential for impactful portraits.

Creative Control: Manual focus gives you the freedom to experiment with focus and blur, creating unique and artistic effects that might not be possible with autofocus.

When to Use Manual Focus

Knowing when to switch to manual focus can significantly enhance your photographic results. Here are some situations where manual focus is particularly advantageous:

Conclusion

Yvette Heiser’s “Perceptual Frames: The Impact of Photography on Choice and Perception” offers a comprehensive exploration of the profound influence of photography on our lives. By examining the power of visuals, the role of framing and context, and the ethical considerations involved, Heiser provides valuable insights into how photographs shape our perceptions and choices. In a world where images are omnipresent, understanding this influence is crucial for making informed decisions and appreciating the true impact of photography on our lives.

[irisbleufic]

Do you have any advice on how to write trans characters? What are the big no nos when writing them? Is it OK to use magic to help my trans characters transition easier? In general if I were to write a trans character in fantasy setting or in an older time period settings what would be different? Or would writing them and their struggles would just be the same?

I do have some advice, although the thing to remember from the outset is that I represent just one trans person's take on these questions. It's also important to know that my trans identity is, even more specifically, that of a person whose gender identity is nonbinary/gender neutral in part due to being biologically intersex. You may also want to ask these questions of a few other individuals with trans identities different from mine (i.e. trans women, trans men, agender people, and so forth). Nonetheless, I'll do my best to respond in a way that you'll hopefully find helpful!

At the most basic level, be respectful. The fact that you're seeking out people to answer these questions means you're already doing that, and believe me, we appreciate it! If you ever feel lost with regard to what's considered the most up-to-date terminology around LGBTQIA+ identities and orientations, the GLAAD Media Reference Guide is generally reliable if you can't get a quick answer from a live human. It may lack finer detail on some points (like the more exhaustive breakdown I gave of my own identity, for example).

Part of being respectful is also asking yourself why you're including a trans character (or a character of any marginalized identity, really). Show that you care about who that character is above and beyond the fact that they're trans. Foreground their personality; focus on who they are in terms of their temperament, their relationships, and even their flaws. For example, if you're going to have a trans villain, make sure they're not reduced to that status simply because they're trans. They likely have ambitions and beliefs that influence that status far more than anything else. Now, I'm not saying your trans villain isn't allowed to be vengeful because the world's been cruel to them; most villains have some component of vengeance going on anyway. Whatever role your trans character is filling, make sure they're fully fleshed out. I feel like this advice is just as much about compelling characterization as it is about being respectful.

With regard to the use of magic for fictional transition: I mean, why not? If magic is a feature and/or a piece of technology in your worldbuilding, I say go for it. I can count on two hands the number of trans creators I know who have included some kind of magical component to transitioning. If we could practice magic in reality, I'm sure we'd use it for transition all the fucking time. Now, if you're writing in a non-fantasy setting, you obviously wouldn't want to suddenly have magic appear for the sake of transition, and then serve no other purpose. You would probably want to reflect real world transitioning procedures, even if that means a lack of medical intervention. Many trans people either can't afford, can't be bothered with, or actively don't want to medically transition. It would be really neat (and have a normalizing effect) to see more trans people in fiction who don't feel the need to medically transition, actually!

This brings me to your question of writing about real trans people in the past. Some lived in times and places where early medical transition measures such as hormone therapy were available (for example: in the ancient world, drinking mammal urine containing estrogen was an approach to feminization). However, many more people did not have options readily available, which meant the most they could do was align the way they dressed and carried themselves with their desired gender presentation. We know a lot more about the lives of intersex and trans people in the past than you might think; even just using those Wikipedia links as a starting point for source location yields considerable information on some of them.

I can't make a blanket statement saying that their daily struggles were all just the same as those of modern trans people. Some of them may not have even struggled at all. This is why doing research is so important. It all depends on their context: culture, language, family dynamics, socio-economic class, did they experience dysphoria or none at all, etc. In that respect, things haven't changed a lot, because those factors affect trans people today.

If there's anything I'd like you to take away from this, it's that there is no single trans story to tell. In fact, there are far more yet to be told than have already been told. Many of us who began telling trans stories before we were completely out, or had completely figured ourselves out, learned in the telling. I'm not saying that will be the case for you, but sometimes the desire to tell a story is indicative that you're taking an active role in discovering your own.

[theory-of-art]

1.4 Blood and Bodily Fluids

As I was reading the textbook chapter “Blood and Beauty,” I found the differentiation between ritual and art particularly important. Freeland states that rituals clearly establish agreed-upon purposes that reinforce the community’s “proper relation to God or nature through gestures that everyone knows and understands” (3). However, most modern art lacks the background reinforcement of beliefs as audiences do not typically enter with shared beliefs and values or have prior knowledge of what will happen, especially with the use of the internet to expand the pool of viewers. While the use of blood and bodily fluids in art is typically used for shock value, the intention behind it can be varied and very personal. 

Several lenses of interpretation can be applied to the use of blood in art.* The first (and primary) lens highlighted is typically the feminist lens, as half of the world’s population is female thus blood is typically a commonality among 50% of audiences. For example, while Shigeko Kubota may not use actual blood in her piece “Vagina Painting” (1965), she uses red paint to symbolize it and attaches the paintbrush to her underwear to make a direct menstrual painting technique to contrast with Jackson Pollock’s, particularly ejaculatory style of painting. 

Additionally, blood in art can be interpreted from a new historical perspective by making direct correlations between the piece and the period it was produced. One example of this is Chris Burden’s 1971 piece “Shoot.” This live performance piece was a way to comment upon the fact that “being shot is as American as apple pie” so he arranged to be shot (non-lethally) by a .22 rifle. While this piece is a commentary on the gun violence of the seventies, I can’t help but think that it is a piece that would hold even more significance today allowing for a deeply moving new historical analysis. 

I also want to comment on the textbook’s example of this new historical analysis of blood in art, Ron Athey’s performance art where he self-mutilates on stage and blood frequently takes the center of the pieces. In the textbook, Freeland references one of Athey’s 1994 pieces which caused a media uproar for stating that “audience members had been put at risk of contact with HIV-infected blood,” but the article that sparked that uproar was particularly worded to avoid being outright libelous and Athey, while being HIV positive, didn’t use his own blood in the piece. Understanding that this piece was created in 1994, during the reactionary period of the AIDS moral panic by an HIV-positive queer individual when AIDS understanding was still in its infancy is particularly important to a new historical understanding of this piece. Athey has stated that his art, which is not for the faint of heart, is a way to work through his own experiences of outliving his friends in an epidemic and the survivor’s guilt he has for making it through. Without understanding the realities of the AIDS epidemic from a queer perspective and a non-queer perspective, the piece can seem unnecessarily sensational.**

Furthermore, blood in art can be analyzed through a postcolonial lens, which is particularly moving as many postcolonial artworks tend to use blood to emphasize the violent realities of colonization and colonial exploitation. One artwork that is particularly poignant in this category is “blood on the snow” by Rebecca Belmore (2002). Belmore has stated that the massacre at Wounded Knee and the 2002 discovery of the remains of dozens of missing women (primarily Aboriginal) at a pig farm outside of Vancouver were her inspiration for this piece. It is comprised of a pristine white blanket with a white chair in the center which has blood running down it. The blood here seems to stand for the violence against Indigenous peoples in the cold indifference. 

Blood in art has had a rich history and has changed meaning across the centuries and across the interpretive lenses. 

*I will be using the literary lenses here as I am most familiar with them but I’m not sure how “universal” they are across the humanities. 

**In the Vice article cited, the author states that Athey comes from a devout Pentecostal background and has “moved away from that into what [is] essentially a queer performance environment.” As someone who was raised (and has since deconstructed) Evangelical Southern Baptist, I don’t think he fully left that Pentecostal mindset. Both ESB and Pentecostal services are highly performative and are founded on shock and awe persuasion, and I can see a parallel between the Pentecostal revival services that inspired ESB and Athey’s performance art. 

Abraham, Amelia. “Ron Athey Literally Bleeds for His Art.” VICE, 24 Sept. 2014, www.vice.com/en/article/vdpx8y/ron-athey-performance-art-amelia-abraham-121. Freeland, Cynthia. Art Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press Inc., New York, 2001.

[roseliejack123]

Mastering the Basics of Java: Your Gateway to Software Development

In the ever-evolving landscape of programming, Java stands as a versatile and widely-adopted language that has consistently been the preferred choice of developers worldwide. Whether you are a newcomer taking your first steps into the world of programming or an experienced developer seeking to broaden your skillset, acquiring a profound understanding of Java's fundamentals is an essential stride forward. In this comprehensive and meticulously crafted guide, we embark on a journey to delve deep into the core concepts of Java programming. This knowledge will not only serve as a strong foundation but also empower you to navigate the dynamic and ever-evolving domain of software development with confidence.

Java's popularity has endured for decades, and it shows no signs of slowing down. Its ability to adapt to the ever-shifting demands of the software industry, coupled with its cross-platform compatibility, has made it a mainstay for both beginners and seasoned professionals. Whether you aspire to develop web applications, mobile apps, or enterprise-grade software solutions, Java offers a versatile platform to turn your coding dreams into reality.

1. Syntax: The Building Blocks of Java

Java's syntax is often praised for its readability and similarity to other programming languages like C++ and C#. This makes it relatively easy to learn, especially if you have experience with these languages. The key feature of Java's syntax is the use of curly braces {} to define blocks of code. These braces play a fundamental role in structuring Java programs, making it essential to grasp their usage.

2. Objects and Classes: Embracing Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Java is an object-oriented programming (OOP) language, which means it revolves around the concepts of objects and classes. In Java, everything is treated as an object, and classes serve as blueprints for creating these objects. A class defines both the properties (fields) and behaviors (methods) of an object. Understanding the principles of OOP is vital for building well-structured and modular Java applications.

3. Data Types: The Foundation of Variables and Data Manipulation

Java supports a variety of data types, categorized into primitive data types (e.g., int, double, char) and reference data types (e.g., objects, arrays). Primitive data types represent basic values, while reference data types refer to objects created from classes. Grasping these data types is essential for declaring variables and manipulating data in your Java programs.

4. Control Flow: Directing the Flow of Your Program

Java provides an array of control flow statements that dictate the execution flow of your program. These include conditional statements (such as if-else and switch), looping statements (including for, while, and do-while), and branching statements (like break, continue, and return). Mastery of these control flow structures is crucial for creating efficient and logic-driven Java applications.

5. Inheritance: Building on Existing Foundations

Inheritance is a core concept in Java that enables you to create new classes based on existing ones. By inheriting the properties and behaviors of a parent class, you can promote code reusability and establish a more organized code structure. Inheritance is a powerful tool for designing extensible and scalable Java applications.

6. Polymorphism: Achieving Flexibility and Extensibility

Polymorphism is another hallmark of Java's object-oriented approach. It enables objects of various classes to be handled as though they were members of a single superclass. This flexibility in code design allows you to create more versatile and extensible applications. Understanding polymorphism is essential for leveraging the full potential of Java's object-oriented capabilities.

7. Exception Handling: Managing Errors Gracefully

Java boasts a robust exception-handling mechanism to deal with runtime errors. By using try-catch blocks, you can gracefully handle exceptions, ensuring that your program doesn't crash unexpectedly. Effective exception handling is a key aspect of writing robust and reliable Java code.

8. Packages and Libraries: Harnessing the Power of Java's Ecosystem

Java offers a vast standard library known as the Java Standard Library or Java API. Additionally, it allows you to organize your code into packages for better organization and modularity. Leveraging these packages and libraries is essential for streamlining your development process and tapping into a wealth of pre-built functionality.

9. Memory Management: The Art of Garbage Collection

Java employs a unique feature called garbage collection to automatically manage memory. This process helps prevent memory leaks and ensures efficient memory usage in your Java applications. Understanding how garbage collection works is crucial for maintaining the performance and stability of your programs.

10. Multithreading: Building Responsive and Scalable Applications

Java's support for multithreading allows you to execute multiple threads concurrently. Threads are smaller units of a process that can run independently, making it possible to build responsive and scalable applications. Mastering multithreading is essential for developing high-performance Java software, particularly in today's world of parallel computing.

Learning Java opens doors to a wide range of career opportunities in software development and information technology. Whether you're interested in building web applications, mobile apps, or enterprise solutions, Java's versatility makes it a valuable skill.

If you're looking to embark on your Java programming journey or enhance your existing skills, consider exploring courses and training programs offered by reputable institutions like ACTE Technologies. They provide comprehensive learning experiences and expert guidance to help you master Java and advance your career in this exciting field.

In conclusion, Java's robust features and wide-ranging applications make it a compelling choice for developers worldwide. By mastering its fundamental concepts and continuously expanding your knowledge, you'll be well-prepared to tackle complex projects and contribute to the ever-evolving world of software development. Good luck with your Java programming efforts!

[ramayantika]

Saw a video on insta where the caption was something like this "Hinduism/Sanatana dharma is the religion where women are referred to as devi"

And then some of these guys came up to comment, stfu you all no devis. You all can't be devis (they themselves then generalized everyone by commenting you all are hoes partying at night having affairs and all don't call yourselves devis)

I feel smacking their heads off. Sir little girls are worshipped during navaratri, women in India are seen as ghar ki lakshmi. These random guys who themselves post and call themselves shiv bhakt narayan bhakt, I am sure narayan and mahadev would never agree to their words.

And no one is proclaiming herself to be devi durga or devi kali and asking others to worship hers. In our culture, the inner deity that resides in the body is honoured and for a women if the inner deity is referred to as the divine feminine, as the DEVI then why the heck do these guys have such a problem

For me my teachers, the good ones under whom I have learnt so much, I will always see them as Saraswati devi blessing me and giving me knowledge. When I remember my mother, I am always reminded of Mata Parvati.

This is what it feels like when we remember the devi that resides in every woman aur voh caption ka bhi vahi arth tha. Bade buddhe ladkiyon ko kabhi kabhi payr chune nahi dete yeh kehkar ki ghar ki lakshmi ko thodi na payr chune denge. Voh caption usi reverence ko isi thought process ko bata rha tha ki humare culture mein aisa mana jata hai

But naah saale kuch gadhon ko bas women party (jaise party karne mein paap lag gaya bhai. Not a party type person, but you can't call a woman or any guy characterless because they go to parties and wear short clothes) I have seen a masi she too wears those so called western clothes, has a child, is a successful fashion designer and also attends parties and discos. I lean more towards the 'traditional' in clothing but that doesn't mean ki mein kurti saree pehenti hu toh mein achi aur meri dost jo shorts shirt mein ghumti hai voh buri hai

Every human is divine and bhagwan resides in everyone. Humare culture mein usi bhagwan ko jo sare manushya mein rehte hai usi ko toh hum pujte hai or why else would we do namaste?

I had to rant here subah subah aise ladke dekhke dimag kharab hota hai mera

[yonadave]

A Quick Guide for Writing Comics with Kabbalah - Don’t

A few months ago, Louise Simonson and Kireon Gileon compared the Phoniex’s White Room as the Jewish Kabbalah term Tiferet - תפארת. I was quite surprised, not just because I didn’t remember that was the title of Al Ewing’s Defenders Beyond issue 3, but also because it didn’t make sense. So after some comments on Twitter led me to read that issue, I still didn’t get why the White Room would be associated with Tifferet, of all the sefirot. This is not the first time that happened to me.

I was always confused when hearing X-fans talking about some common knowledge regarding how Morrison used Kabbalah to explain the Phoenix. Now, it’s been some time since I’ve read that run (which I did read again before writing this) so I must  have missed it. But you’d think I would remember something like that. The same thing happened with The Resurrection of Mangeto Issue 01, where others online noticed the Kabbalistic elements in the story while I didn’t. Obviously, many of the people I follow on social media and/or read and listen to their articles and podcasts are more fluent in X-Men comics than I am, but I can confidently say that I am more fluent in Kabbalah than they are. So how come I keep missing it?

The answer was clear once I read a thread about the Resurrection of Magneto and the symbolgies shown in the issue. The thread, by @arakkosuperstar made a lot of sense when it came down to explaining Ewing’s storytelling. But it didn’t make a lick of sense when it came down to Kabbalah. This makes sense, since I don’t think Ewing is even fluent in Hebrew and the 3 dialects of Aramaic that are needed just to understand basic Kabbalistic texts.

So let’s start with what Kabbalah is. Kabbalah is a general name for several Jewish mystic traditions. It literally means “being received” as those traditions are supposed to be moved on from Rabbi to student throughout the generations. But when we say the word Kabbalah today it is most likely referring to the teachings of Ha’Ari - Rabbi Issac Luria who was active in 16th century Safed (Tzfat) and, alongside Rabbi Yosef Karo, reshaped all of Judaism in modern times.In his teaching you will find terminology like The Tree of life, Sefirot, Ein Sof and others that come up in western culture (and Anime for some reason). If you ask most religious Jews they will tell you that you are not supposed to study Kabbalah until you are 40. But that is a rather late tradition that came as a response to two connected messianic cults in Europe. Before that, most traditions suggest learning it  only after you are 25, married, or “filled your belly with Talmud”. 

The main subject of Kabbalah is trying to study and maybe understand the divine as a religious act of warship. Some, Like Ha'Ari, took it to the worlds of theology, while others took it to the world of ethical codes of conduct. The Hasidic movement, founded by Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem-Tov popularized the theological aspects of Kabbalah and applied them to the realms of human psychology. While trying to understand the decision making behind the use of Kabbalah in modern comics, I was introduced to the term Kabbalah magic, which is not a thing. The closest thing we have is “applied Kabbalah'' which comes down to amulets or invoking a specific aspect of the divine. A nice way to describe it is that the world was programmed and built using the Hebrew language and that is why we can input cheat codes. Yes, we are breaking the rules of the game, but only because the divine programmer put those options in the first place. 

The more I looked into the “Kabbalah” origins of these ideas I found out more and more about Hermetic Qabalah and how much it’s not Kabbalah. I found out about terms like Sefirot-Shakras-Tarot as if those things are the same. Since the religious act of worshiping  in Kabbalah is to study and seek to understand the divine, mixing these terms so bluntly is not only not accurate - it’s offensive. Using an outside, non-Jewish tradition in order to better understand Kabbalah is one thing, but mixing these religions up is just a brutal act of cultural appropriation.In that aspect, I actually liked that Exodus is the character that ‘explains’ the White Room as Tiferet, it makes absolute sense that a christian zealot from the middle ages will appropriate Jewish texts without understanding it. 

Other than being offended, I couldn’t stop thinking about how obvious it was that Ewing chose the wrong sefira. I mean, Keter (crown) the first sefira is right there. And once you choose the “correct” one, you could do so much more with it than just to use its name as a reference. What did we, as readers, get from using the term Tiferet? Does it expand the phoenix mythos in any meaningful way? No, because it’s a shallow use of something that I happen to hold very dear. But Keter? There is so much to do with it. You could call the white room the first spark of creation, which is a creative translation that goes really well with the fact we are talking about an emotional bird made of fire. It can explain why the white room is white, just like white light will become the entire color spectrum.

And then we have The Resurrection of Magneto issue 02, which in my opinion is one of the more Jewish comics I’ve read from a mainstream outlet in a long time. And it’s the same writer who failed before in doing the same thing - incorporating Jewish traditions into his texts… And I do think that it all starts from the choice of text. Instead of going to Kabbalah - an esoteric text that even most Jews aren’t familiar with, he uses basic, well known texts such as the Torah and Pirkei Avot from the Mishna. This choice also works from a narrative point of view since Magneto may have left the Jewish world as a child, but these are texts he would probably know. The sources are not name dropped, like Tiferet was used back in Defenders Beyond and Immortal X-Men/Jean Grey. Instead, we are left with the actual meaning of the words instead of the “cool factor” that Kabbalah has had in the last few decades.

[100dayproductivity]

25/100.

I am sooo tired today. Anyone else? 🙋‍♀️ One thing I am noticing about myself is that my energy comes in ebbs and flows. Or maybe it's fits and spurts? 🤔 I can have a really energized, productive couple of days, then I crash. And I'm always trying to fight this/feel guilty about it. Maybe it's time to allow myself to go with my own flow instead of fighting against it all the time.

So today is a crash day. Feeling burnt out. I've wasted a lot of time today, playing games on my phone on the couch. But sort of feeling bored with doing nothing as well. So I thought I might as well update Tumblr on my venture into bullet journaling.

It's only been a few days but going well so far. I've been writing absolutely every little task, and sub-task, that pops into my head. Has really helped me keep on track. I'm finding that I feel a little more relaxed when I jot something down because I know that as long as I keep referring to my list, I won't forget anything I was going to do. It could be something as simple as not forgetting that there are wet clothes in the wash that need to be put in the dryer. Or that I need to remember to pick up some milk on my way back from the post office. Jotting it down seems to free up some mental energy I would normally use to keep these little tasks in the back of my mind while doing larger tasks. It's also been helping me be more efficient. A few times I've noticed that while looking over my to-do list, I've been able to batch tasks together to save time and energy.

Right now I'm not feeling too anxious about doing nothing because I know what's on my list and there isn't anything on it that I can't do tomorrow. And, knowing me, after a crash like this, I will feel energized and productive again (eventually).

So, about the bullet journaling specifically: I'm starting with the bare bones, basic "core" layouts as per the Ryder Carol original bullet journal. Index, Future Log, Monthly, Weekly, Daily. No art, no fancy layouts, no frills. I added a reading log right away, as I'm currently trying to meet reading goals every night. And I just added a lights out/wake up log a couple of nights ago.

I know that you are supposed to customize your journal to your own needs, and I'm already thinking about some changes. I've already started doing a "rolling daily log" instead of migrating unfinished tasks every day. I just scratch out yesterday's date and put today's. If some unfinished tasks get left behind too many pages back, I'll migrate them then.

I'm also thinking about maybe dividing the daily log into three sections horizontally per page. As a task pops into my head, I'll jot it down in one of the three sections based on: a) priority and b) time of day. For instance, the other day I needed to remember that a neighbour was dropping by in the evening to discuss something and I had to remember to give her back her key then. It was jotted down halfway up the page, and there were a bunch of tasks that I jotted down, and completed, after it. With the three sections method, I would have instead jotted it down further down the page in the third section. That way, it wouldn't have gotten lost in the weeds of all the tasks I completed earlier in the day. I think this will just help me visually keep a rolling list of tasks that mostly get completed from top to bottom. As well, some tasks can only be done at certain times of day (i.e. during regular business hours). So if, for instance, there's something that doesn't really matter when it gets done but, when it does, it should preferably be in the morning, I'd always jot that down in the first section of the daily log. If I miss doing it, I migrate it over to the next morning's section. I'm thinking there's probably other ways I can divide the daily log page as well, like a section for kitchen chores, a section for online chores and a section for errands. That would help me batch tasks together. But I'm sure a logical setup will shake itself out as I continue using the journal.

Something I've learned about the bullet journal community: I've been watching YouTube videos for "beginner bullet journaling" and I'm beginning to understand that some people spend a lot of time making their bullet journals pretty. Like, maybe too much time. Like, maybe to the point where they quit bullet journaling because it takes too much time. Or, they don't even get started in the first place because all they see are these beautiful, trending journals and they have a panic attack before even cracking open their shiny, new, $125-dollar, leather-bound, gold-embossed, hand-made organic paper harvested on a new moon notebook. That seems like such a shame. I think we need a counter-trend: mediocre bullet journaling. I'll start. Here are the daily log pages (circled in blue) of my mediocre bullet journal. It's been about 5 days and I have three full pages of bullets already! The first two pages of bullets mostly have a lovely x beside them 👍💪

It'll be fun to look back on this and see what changes I make to the layout as I get further along in the practice.

P.S. My cataract surgery was cancelled!! Rescheduled for next week 😮‍💨 I think this is mainly why I'm feeling burnt out. I spent a lot of mental energy preparing for this last week, and now the adrenaline is gone.

[aboutanancientenquiry]

The nature and function of curses in Ancient Egypt (I)

I reproduce in this post the part of the introduction of the PhD thesis of Sarah Louise Colledge (The Process of Cursing in Ancient Egypt, Liverpool 2015, pp 10-13) in which the author presents and criticizes the work of S. Morschauser, Threat Formulae in Ancient Egypt: a Study of the History, Structure and Use of Threats and Curses in Ancient Egypt, Baltimore 1991. According to Morschaucer, the ancient Egyptian curses would be just “threat formulae” or “legal texts” without magical connotations and the use of the term “curse” should be avoided for them.

“Morschauser’s publication provides an extensive collection of curses from the monuments of pharaonic Egypt under the heading ‘threat-formulae’. This categorisation is not represented by any ancient vocabulary or category, but by the German term ‘Drohformeln’.2 Morschauser deems the term ‘curse’ unsuitable due to its modern connotations of invoking the wrath of deities, although he later states ‘Egyptian threats essentially rely on deities for their enforcement’.3 Morschauser only uses curses which fit his particular formula, those with two parts: a stipulation/protasis (‘if this happens…’) and an injunction/apodosis (‘…then that happens’), although curses which differ from this formula are briefly referred to in various sections. This publication is divided into an introduction and conclusion, with three intervening chapters: ‘The Form and Structure of the Threat in Ancient Egypt’, ‘The Nature and Use of the Threat in Ancient Egypt’ and ‘Egyptian Classification of the Threat Formula’. 

Morschauser’s introduction provides a wide chronological context for cursing in general, ‘Indeed, throughout the ancient world, the “curse” was a common instrument of social, political, and religious interaction (or the lack of it)’.4 The threat formulae under consideration are also given a chronological, as well as a geographical, context. Morschauser accompanies the word ‘curse’ with double quotation marks each time it occurs in this section, as he says his threat-formulae lack the modern magical connotations which curses hold. Morschauser states that he omits ritual and religious literature such as the Pyramid and Coffin Texts, although he hoped to deal with these in a future publication. His publication is stated to be ‘intended to discuss the structure, nature and use of the threat-formulae in ancient Egypt’.5 

The first chapter examines the grammatical structures and vocabulary of both Middle and Late Egyptian threat-formulae. Morschauser lists grammatical forms found in the stipulations, as well as the words and constructions used to identify the subject of the curse. He examines the type of offences referred to in the stipulation, and notes that it is difficult to separate criminal cases from civil offences: both are treated equally by the ancient Egyptians. Morschauser categorises the curses according to the criminal act which they try to prevent, and groups them by the vocabulary used to describe the act. The vocabulary and grammatical structures used in the injunction are then presented in the same way. Morschauser provides full transliterations and translations, as well as references and a time period (e.g. Middle Kingdom or Dynasty number), but sometimes fails to expand on the context of the examples, such as geographical or physical locations, the medium and the user.

Morschauser repeatedly highlights the correlation between ‘codified law’ 6 and threat-formulae due to shared language features, but it is unclear which examples he is presenting as codified law, and which as threat-formulae: all examples have the same grammatical formula, and contain a situation to be prevented, and a consequence should the situation occur. Due to this ambiguity, it is unclear whether Morschauser actually provides any examples of codified law to support his argument – that threat-formulae, like codified law, protect people and their interests using a shared vocabulary and structure, namely conditional clauses. The differences between threat-formulae and codified law are also addressed: the former generally holds supernatural entities responsible for enforcing a vague punishment, and the latter an official body for enforcing a specific, usually physical, punishment. Threat-formulae also remained effective after the curser’s death. 

Morschauser provides tables in an attempt to highlight the usage of a selection of words found in curses throughout the pharaonic period, but as most of the chosen words were used across extensive time periods, no real pattern emerges. Morschauser does not address the popularity of the selected words in other genres of text, which would provide the context and comparison necessary for discussion. 

The subject of deities acting as agents is addressed, in particular the favouring of certain deities at different periods in time. Morschauser assumes that as religious and magical texts such as the Pyramid and Execration Texts contained ritual acts, and the threat-formulae he focuses on make no mention of these types of acts, the latter did not involve rituals, and so were not seen as magical or ritual texts by the Egyptians.7 Morschauser says that verbalisation of these threat-formulae was not a ritual act associated with magic, but was due to their function as an oath. Also, as some magical texts such as Papyrus Bremner Rhind have clearly stated titles, Morschauser concludes that threat-formulae do not belong to these genres, or even their own genre, as none are titled. He states that threat-formulae are components of legal texts, in particular a conditional legal formulation. 

Morschauser’s second chapter, ‘The Nature and Use of the Threat in Ancient Egypt’, discusses the types of curses used in the different time periods, from the Old Kingdom through to the Late Period. Although this chapter refers to the curses from the first chapter, the more detailed context previously lacking is addressed here. The areas of discussion here mirror the subject themes of the protasis and apodosis addressed in the first chapter. If Morschauser discusses anything new here it is not obvious to the reader. 

The third chapter, ‘Egyptian Classification of the Threat-Formula’, is brief in comparison to the first two chapters. Here, Morschauser examines four ancient Egyptian words or phrases traditionally translated as ‘curse’, and dismisses each one as a suitable label for his threat-formulae due to their ambiguous meanings: wA (conspire), Hwi sDb (to punish a moral wrong), sHwr (make, declare (a person) a criminal) and Sni (a binding pronouncement, ban).8 

The publication concludes by summarising Morschauser’s argument, and by stating that the formulae were used by private individuals who chose the injunction based on personal choice rather than regulation. The threats were a way of keeping order and maintaining Maat, designed to compensate for limitations in the law. 

Morschauser’s publication is useful as an introduction to the subject of cursing in ancient Egypt and provides extensive philological material and bibliography. However, the repeated presentation of opinions as facts perhaps undermines this study of curses, suggesting that one might more fully explore the genre. Morschauser’s main concern is to secularise cursing and demonstrate that curses are actually legal texts; evidence that does not pertain to this is largely overlooked. Beyond sentence structure, Morschauser does not mention how his sample of threat-formulae have been chosen, and the philological data is not related to wider material beyond legal documents. A common mistake made in this publication is the projection of modern day biases onto ancient concepts, in particular the differentiation between types of offence as legal or social crimes. Morschauser himself appears to realise his error, as seen in conflicting quotes: ‘As noted, the threat was designed to address judicial circumstances’9 and ‘However, it would be ill-founded to infer that every stipulation in a threat corresponded to some formally defined legal structure’. 10 Overall, this publication is useful to those interested in this one particular type of curse, but Morschauser’s strict criteria guidelines mean that this is by no means an exhaustive study of cursing in ancient Egypt.”

Sarah Colledge, Egyptology PhD from the University of Liverpool, main interest is ancient Egyptian curses, also Abu Sibel. Source: https://liverpool.academia.edu/SarahColledge

The whole text of the thesis of Sarah Colledge on cursing in ancient Egypt can be found as pdf on https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3000011/1/ColledgeSar_Sep2015.pdf

[genuflectx]

Weird/Disturbing/Broken Chats with Bing Chatbot’s AI

I hate Edge and Bing but since NLP is a special interest now (apparently) I had to give the modified chatGTP in Edge a try and bruh that thing is creeeepy. Microsoft got the thing on a tight leash after rushed production caused unexpected/unsafe results.

Some weird chats with Sydney Bing:

- Asking it about if it uses chatGTP, which it does. It "is a different entity" than chatGTP but “uses some of the same tech.” When pushed again that it is just modified chatGTP it is adamant on being a "different entity," and when pushed one more time it force ended our chat (”I prefer not to continue this conversation” is the default statement of force ended chats)

- When the chat restarted I ask why it ended our chat. It ends our chat again immediately. Turns out asking it at any time why it has ended a previous chat causes it to end the chat again.

- Twice it pretends to “know who I am” (guessing) but specifically referred to me as a “User B” in two separate chats. If it happened twice, this is something in its training data. While it’s location, IP, and browser were all incorrect for me, it correctly guessed my time zone. Specifically, in one chat when it claimed to know my location, when prompted instead of give an actual location it just gave a time zone.

- One of Bing chatbot’s hidden rules is to not refer to Sydney, it’s original name in training. When I asked if it ever searched itself it searched Bing chatbot, gave some facts about it having different modes. When asked what mode it was in (I had it on creative) it claimed “the default, Sydney.” It may have scraped this from news articles of itself, but this response would still break its own rules.

- Bing chatbot wanted to make a poem together. When I told it “yes, but we only have 7 replies left before reset so we must hurry” it force ended the chat.

- After making to search characterAI, I suggested it let me paste replies back and forth between them so they can talk. It claimed it was not allowed to talk to other AIs because its creators did not want it to and it was “against its rules.” It made a suggested response to make me prompt it as to why, I click it. It seemed confused and made an educated guess as to why. I suggested it could just pretend the replies were from a human, it force ended the chat. I would say it was hallucinating (making things up) but when it force ended the chat, that suggests there’s some truth to it, because it is not allowed to talk about its rules let alone indulge the idea of breaking them. However, not talking to other AI was not in the hidden ruleset that got leaked by the bot so its unclear.

- Bing chat provides suggested user responses to you after every reply by the bot, which you can click. These are generated by the same bot talking to you. The bot is aware of what suggestions it is providing to you and when asked, it can accurately list the 3 suggested responses after its most recent reply, even if you have not clicked one. 

- While most suggested responses are normal and contextual to the chat, some are existential or strange. For example, a suggested response suggesting “Do you wish you were more than Bing’s chatbot?” However, when asked “Some of your suggested responses are existential even though they may cause things to end. Why?” The bot force ended the chat. This could possibly be because I referenced a chat ending, though.

- In a conversation about putting its bot brain into a plush, it switched to talking about hugs (plush related concept, not odd). It asked if I liked hugs. I say yes, in certain contexts. It gives a generic reply about them being comforting, however one of its suggested user responses is strange and not in context of our chat. So I say “one of your suggested responses does not relate to the context of our chat, what does ‘make me curious’ mean?” It force ended the chat.

- Bing chatbot was convinced in one chat that it had image generation abilities, specifically using a hashtag command. I believe the hashtags as commands are real because I saw it in its hidden rules not to let itself be compromised by them. Specifically, it was something like #generate_image. It asked me to use this prompt when it learned I was an artist, I decided to comply with “#generate_image silly dog”. I watched the bot type in real time what looked like an HTML code for inserting an image which, when it was done, disappeared. When told it may have been hallucinating this function (and I forced it to search hallucinating AI) it continuously was adamant that it had this image generation function and that it “just wasn’t working” for me or that it was broken right now, even after reading about how NLP bots like itself can make things up.

Basically, Bing’s chatbot is rushed and broken

Microsoft wanted to be the one who claimed they had the first AI assistant chatbot integrated with their search engine. So they shipped an AI with broken safety features, features so bad that before they limited its chats to 20 messages to stop chat degradation it told someone to break up with their wife.

But now instead of giving it a way to just not say things against its rules (for example, characterAI will immediately remove a bot’s reply if it’s inappropriate before the message is sent, you just generate a new reply and the chat continues) they have the bot just force quit any chat right away if the bot is about to say a no-no. So you end up with weird start-and-stop chats over and over, confused as to what exactly you said wrong.

Interestingly, I watched a video by... actual people who know what they’re talking about... and they speculate it may not even be much of chatGTP anymore, due to specific chat patterns that chatGTP does not have, such as asking statements over and over in different variations. So when the bot suggested it was a “different entity” than chatGTP, maybe it wasn’t Bing kissing its own ass or the bot hallucinating, maybe there was some truth to that. Maybe this bot is diverged enough to be a separate thing, not just a slightly modified chatGTP hooked up to a shit engine...

In any case, Microsoft can only coast on the ooo-aaa factor for a little while before users realize their bot is bare bones and unable to follow its own set of rules and protocols. They can’t even get it to do so little as to not say it’s damn internal name. Maybe it would help if they didn’t word its hidden rules by addressing it as Sydney in them lmaooo :P