#AI-Driven Magic

[bysumex]

Revolutionize Your Photo Editing with AI | LUMINAR NEO

Hey! Can AI improve your pictures? Revolutionize Your Photo Editing with AI. Today's video: Luminar Neo. It's an AI-powered photo editing software from Skylum. Let's go with Luminar! Luminar Neo is likely to be an advanced photo editing software developed by Skylum. It is expected to offer a wide range of powerful editing tools and features, including AI-based enhancements, to help photographers and creative professionals enhance and transform their photos with ease. Luminar software has gained popularity for its user-friendly interface and innovative editing capabilities, so Luminar Neo may continue this tradition and provide even more advanced tools for editing images. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, I recommend visiting the official Skylum website or checking for any recent announcements about Luminar Neo.

GET A: "AI-Powered Photo Editing: Transforming Your Images with Ease" "Revolutionize Your Photo Editing with AI Technology" "Unlocking the Potential of AI in Photo Editing" "Supercharge Your Photos with AI-Enhanced Editing" "Effortless Photo Editing with AI: Create Stunning Images" "AI-Driven Magic: Elevating Your Photo Editing Game" "Mastering Photo Editing with AI: Tips and Techniques" "AI Algorithms Unleashed: The Future of Photo Editing" "AI-Assisted Creativity: Redefining Photo Editing" "Next-Level Photo Editing: Harnessing the Power of AI" AI Technology,AI-Powered Photo Editing,AI in Photo Editing,AI-Enhanced Editing,Photo Editing with AI,AI-Driven Magic,AI Tips and Techniques,Future of Photo Editing,Next Level Photo Editing,Revolutionize Your Photo Editing with AI,Luminar Neo AI,Photo editing luminar neo,how to edit in luminar neo,luminar neo tutorial for beginners,artificial intelligence photo editing,luminar neo tutorial,photo editing tutorial,ai photo editor,luminar neo vs luminar ai,AI

MORE info: https://bysumex.com/revolutionize-your-photo-editing-with-ai-luminar-neo/

Jesus Gomez - bysumex

[cats2019forthenintendoswitch]

Early Adventure Time episodes: Ice King "kidnaps" Wire Princess, a vaguely humanoid heap of scrap with a smiley face painted on its "head" which he obviously made. Finn wants to stop him on the principle of kidnapping being bad, while Jake argues that since his "victim" is an inanimate piece of junk, no one's getting hurt and it might even quell his kidnapping thirst. After a series of shenanigans, Ice King attacks Jake, at which point Wire Princess speaks, revealing that not only was she alive, but consenting to the kidnapping as well, because of Ice King's fluffy beard. But now that she has seen him attack Jake, another fluffy thing, her heart is wavering and she must journey alone to find the true meaning of fluff. The end gag is Ice King screaming "She was alive?"

Middle Adventure Time episode: Raggedy Princess' kingdom is being attacked, and the assailant is revealed to be none other than Wire Princess, whose quest for fluff has turned destructive. PB appears excessively distraught by this, and it's revealed that she created Wire and Raggedy Princess (then known as cloth princess) in a recreation of the monkey experiment to best gauge her approach to ruling, in the early days of the Candy Kingdom. However, when the Wire Princess AI realized the candy people were more driven to Cloth Princess' caring nature, it logically concluded the only biological need of candy people is "fluff", and so tried her best to imitate Cloth's behavior, while Cloth Princess' deeply ingrained love for her citizens caused her to attempt to physically care for them. Declaring the experiment a failure, PB mind-wiped them both, gave Cloth Princess a new kingdom and name, and put WP in sleep mode, as well as left her in Ice King's junk pile. Jake, who has been listening, says "PB, that's messed up, man". Although they deliberate whether to reboot her again, she ends up being smashed by a gumball guardian or something. While everyone staress in shock, Raggedy Princess says "That's messed up, man. Also I didn't have time to say this earlier but I'm fine with either Raggedy Princess or Cloth Princess. So, um, yeah. Anyway, I'm going to call the cleanup crew"

Late Adventure Time episode: A strange techno-magical maze appears out of the blue in the Ice Kingdom. Finn and Jake explore it and find imagery of both softness and some sort of pre-apocalypse university, ultimately discovering it was created by Magic Woman/Betty mind-melding with Wire Princes, who was trying to reverse engineer an AI with love magic infused through Simon or whatever. She inadvertently mind-melded then, accidentally creating the semi-physical maze with her magic powers, and in turn realized that WP was, in fact, not only functional and aware this whole time, but she also had a slowed down perception of time. Finn and Jake sever the link after fighting some techno-nightmares. Magic Woman, despite only having been mind-melded for a day, has experienced a whole year, and appears distraught. But this is only momentary, as she declares that her accelerated madness means that her magic will grow exponentially stronger, and runs off appearing to have a plan. Finn and Jake are worried about Wire Princess going haywire (the pun is pointed out), but she clarifies (her voicebox is working now, but not much else) that actually, since she didn't have or understand emotions for most of her aware existence, she was just fine then. She then goes on a beautiful monologue about how, since she's now bonded to one, she finally, truly understands emotional beings and their complex needs. She renames herself "wire knight", and downloads her consciousnesses onto Finn's arm. A later episode has BMO and Wire Knight debating the trolley problem

[itsclydebitches]

Still thinking about "Dot and Bubble."

Specifically, I'm thinking about how the racists of FineTime aren't just written to be cruel and entitled, but downright childish too. Lindy - in a move that dovetails nicely into the episode's commentary on social media - has the attention span of a toddler, going on and on about how boring work is even though, from what we're shown, she doesn't have to do anything other than sit there and socialize, which is presumably what she'd be doing if she didn't have to work, right? But since this is something she has to do per orders of the gross old people, she complains. "You're no fun!" she yells at Gothic Paul, the only one in her group taking a mature stance on this issue (and, notably, the only one with a very small number of subscribers).

Lindy lacks the maturity and critical thinking skills we would expect from someone her age. Again, this is definitely a layer of the social media side of the episode's thesis, but she nevertheless demonstrates a kind of emotional dysregulation that's usually only seen in younger, developing children. Lindy does not think for herself and cannot adapt to changes in routine/the way things are "supposed" to be. When told a fact - the police are unavailable - Lindy repeats, "but I really need the police" over and over as if her need is going to magic up a change in reality. She parrots rules and rejects them in equal measure, driven solely by her current desires: "We don't do that [lower the bubble]."/"I can do whatever I want!" She moves from disgusted to infatuated to angry in the blink of an eye, with her anger characterized by childish outbursts and language: "Now shut up I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" When faced with something life-threatening, Lindy's response is to a) distract herself (by watching Ricky) and b) find a hiding place. Even taking her terror into account, she responds to these situations like someone far younger would. If I cover my eyes the bad thing disappears. If I hide under the bed, I'm safe.

And of course, Lindy's body is monitored in the way you would a child's. She's constantly watched by others, both her peers and, presumably, by the Homeworld. She's told when she needs to use the restroom which for me was VERY evocative of a parent speaking to their potty training child, trying to get them to articulate when they need to go by informing them of when it's most likely. Hell, Lindy literally can't walk without the assistance of this AI parent.

Yes, there are plenty of moments that evoke the very stereotypical, entitled teenager - talk of "partying," bragging about clothes, being obsessed with the guy online - but even more, I think, evoke the child. When Lindy plays the recording of "Mummy," smiling shyly at the praise before throwing out the kind of insults you'd expect to hear on an elementary school playground - "You're stupid" - she reads like she's a kid. Which is a hell of a commentary on her racism. The episode doesn't say that Lindy is literally a child (she's not, she even snaps as much). The episode also doesn't try to claim that being childlike equals harmless (quite the opposite). But equating racism with a childish, dangerously inept, can't-even-walk-or-use-the-bathroom-by-herself white woman... damn if that's not a statement.

[ventique18]

Book 7, Chapter 7, Episode 103

Malleus made a zombieland lmao

Ok so remember last episode that mom mentioned that Ortho has a time limit of 20 minutes? Yeah, Malleus' magic is so complicated that it takes a super computer like Ortho 17 minutes to gather data. He's pressed on time, so he gets to work... UNTIL

???: "My my... And I was wondering what anomaly might be happening in my domain..."

Malleus: "You... Your appearance has changed, but you are the Littler Shroud, are you not?"

Ortho: "Malleus Draconia..! I knew it... So you did overblot."

Doggy 1: "GRRRR..."

Malleus wonders what Ortho was doing there, because he was quite sure the boy's sleeping soundly at Diasomnia. Ortho explains that it's too bad for Malleus because that body's already empty. He's escaped through the school's wireless LAN.

Ortho: "I'm just a self-driven AI program data... But even if I say that, you wouldn't really understand right."

Malleus: "In other words, your consciousness is that of a ghost that left its body to settle into another vessel... Did I get that right?"

Ortho: "Oh~! So that's how fairies would interpret data transmission!"

(HELP? WHAT KIND OF CONVERSATION IS THIS)

Ortho confirms that yeaaaah, that's basically how it works. So he can move through electronic waves to basically anywhere, even outer space! He also explains that he probed through underwater cables too, but everything was blocked by magic... but through his desperation he realized that wireless waves were accessible to him because

"Magic is the power of one's imagination. You need to understand something to conjure it... So naturally, you can't do something about things "you don't know about"."

Ortho found Malleus' weakness and exploited it! Malleus knows what cables are, but he doesn't know about the concept of wifi. He got outsmarted because of his ignorance omfg.

Ortho: "Aren't your cybersecurity awareness a bit dull? I recommend setting up a UTM in your magic domain."

LITTLE BOY'S DISSING THE OLD MAN OMFG!! FUCKING BURNED SDAKNJSDAKLAS

Malleus: "Yuuteeehm... Is that some sort of abbreviation for a technique?"

(He's actually talking to him in a civil manner??? Malleus is surprisingly in control of the clarity of his intellect...)

Ortho: "Ehh~ you don't know what that is? That's why you're getting tricked by a junior like me. You're one of the top 5 mages in the realm and a master of unknown ancient magic but... It doesn't matter."

HE'S SO MEAN??

"I WON'T FALL ASLEEP UNDER YOUR SPELL!"

Malleus: "Hm... I see. Well, then..."

Malleus: "An unsleeping, noisy mechanical doll can be silenced by shattering it to pieces."

HE'S SUDDENLY SO MORBID

Ortho: "If you try to do that, then... "I'll show you STYX's... Humanity's greatest technological power!"

Ortho notes to himself that Malleus seems to be ignoring the data-collecting machines he's brought with him. He has 13 minutes left before the data gathering completes, so he MUST buy time until then!

Malleus: "May I ask all uninvited guests to leave at once."

[vyriadurav]

(Edit: using this as a pinned post about all my books for now in lieu of another one. This was formerly for International Lesbian Day but now is a one stop shop for all my books) For starters, consider checking out

Catnip Amazon | Itch.io | Alternative Ebook Sellers | Audiobook For all his life, Sol has believed he's only worthy of affection as long as he's useful--and he intends to prove his ultimate use by restoring a colony on Venus as a new home for his friends and lovers. But upon arriving, he realizes there's more here than he bargained for. For one, the resident artificial intelligence wants to make friends with him. For another, the nanites want to completely change his body... and in the process reveal her true self. Stuck (or perhaps blessed?) with a new form, she must find out what it means to live, to be loved for who she is rather than her work. Catnip is a cozy space exploration novel about a trans woman's journey to find herself and what it means to be loved for who she is, with the help of her polycule and a lesbian AI. If Sci-fi isn't quite your speed, you can also check out

The Hatchling Amazon | Itch.io | Alternative Ebook Sellers

Sarric dreamed of dragons all his life; such flights of fancy captured his imagination at a young age and sustained him through the cruelty of the hunters that ruled the isolated mountain town of Rivermist. One day, a real dragon appears before him, dazzling him with her beauty and an answer to the unease that's afflicted him for as long as he remembers. He's eager to take what she offers--but the greedy hunters, driven by tales of treasure hoards, will do everything in their power to destroy her. The Hatchling is a fantasy about a trans woman's journey of accepting her identity and her new found family.

If you want something a little spicier, consider reading Wyrmheart Itch.io exclusive

A mage without home or family seeks to establish a legacy for herself so that her name might ring out through the ages.

An assassin is charged with striking at the heart of a draconic cult that surely hides some greater evil.

Wyrmheart is a story set in Maria Ying's Those Who Break Chains universe and tells the story of trans women making their way through life in this fantastical world.

You can also take a look at my Patreon where I am currently writing several things, but primarily

Forged in the Light of New Stars

Forged is a t4t lesbian isekai story about a closeted trans woman and a repressed, rotten egg (in the trans sense) who find themselves transported to a vibrant, magical world filled with advanced technology, mysteries to discover, and most importantly: a place where they can their truest selves. Follow Gwen as she strives to take control of her life, to be the woman she's always known she could be, and find true happiness.

Follow Brian as he struggles to cast off the chains that his family has bound him in, to undo the bigoted messages they poured into him constantly, and find out, deep down, who she truly is.

Watch them fall in love with each other and with the mystical world of Tellara and all the new friends they make along the way. See them uncover secrets about the connection between Earth and Tellara and their purpose as travelers between worlds. Magic, alchemy, and queerness collide in this otherworldly journey.

[malavoie1]

Aurora Borealis May 10 2024

Last night, something truly magical unfolded right from my backyard. As I gazed northward, the night sky transformed into a breathtaking canvas of vibrant colors. Thanks to a series of potent solar storms, the Northern Lights were visible much farther south than usual, and I was lucky enough to capture this stunning phenomenon.

The colors were extraordinary. Swirls of green and purple danced across the starlit sky, a display supercharged by recent solar activity. This year, the sun is at a solar maximum, brimming with sunspots that lead to coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These CMEs have been hurling charged particles towards Earth, enhancing the auroras and making them visible across vast regions—including here in Ontario.

The NOAA had issued a G4 geomagnetic storm watch, indicating strong auroras driven by the second-strongest level of solar storm. Although these events can affect power grids and communication networks, last night’s event was purely a visual treat with no reported disruptions.

Witnessing this natural wonder was a reminder of the beauty and mystery of our cosmos. For those who missed it, keep your eyes on the sky; the current solar cycle promises more such displays.

Processed with Affinity Photo v2 and Topaz Photo AI.

Camera: Pentax K-3

Lens: Tamron SP 10-24mm f/3.5 DI II

10mm / ƒ/3.5 / 30s / ISO 400

Taken: May 10, 2024

[brynthewriter]

Masterpost

Hi everyone! If you don't know me, my main blog is @op-sys-chaos and I write both original content and fanfiction. I wanted to have a blog specifically to talk about the things I'm writing, so that's this!

If you'd like to quickly recieve updates for any of my works, please subscribe to the individual post I'll be making for each of these that are incomplete! (I'll make a subscription post and a discussions post so people can have a place to follow for updates and a place to talk about it for each without spamming the subscribed people.) Updates will not be consistent for any of these.

Without further ado, here's the masterlist of everything I've created or am working on, with links attached to the titles and lists for the associated posts below:

Fics:

The Pit Made Me Do It (And I'm So Sorry)

Would you sacrifice someone’s life for the sake of your own sanity? What if it wasn’t your choice? Recovering from the Madness induced by the Pit now giving way to the second stage of revival. Pit Rage. A primal state numb to the world and driven only by the desire of one goal. Said goal once complete, would give Jason his emotions, his sanity, his life back. It should be easy, at least it would be if his goal was anything else. But the Pits cost is steep, and so is the burden of a mind set on watching the light drain from the eyes of Timothy Drake.

Chapters: 9/12

Words: 24,409

Fandom: DC

Beta reader: @batfambrainrotbeloved (they also wrote the summary for the fic!)

An AU where the Lazarus Pit effects work differently and it affects Jason Todd's journey.

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When You Break The Universe, The Universe Breaks You

Tim fractured the universe with a magical spell to swap his place with the place of Jason Todd moments before his death. What will happen?

Works Total in Series: 3

The Fragmentation (completed, chapters: 2/2, words: 2,376, written together but mostly by @brucewaynehater101)

Fragmented Universe: the Hope of a Wraith (chapters: 3/?, words: 6,246, written by me)

Fragmented Universe: It Simply Ends (completed, chapters: 1/1, words: 5,032, written by @brucewaynehater101)

Words Total: 13,654

Fandom: DC

Beta reader: @brucewaynehater101 and I are beta reading each others' fics in this series! @batfambrainrotbeloved is also helping to beta for the Hope of a Wraith.

A massive series of many AUs based off of that description! I’m writing this in collaboration with @brucewaynehater101 so go check them out!

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A Message From the Dead

Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne are long-lost twins. Damian thinks Danny died at 6. Danny thinks Damian is still in the League of Assassins. When a video message informing him of Danny's existence arrives in Bruce Wayne's inbox, having been auto-sent after 3 days of Danny being away from his computer, can he find his son in time?

Works Total in Series: 4

A Message From the Dead (completed, chapters: 1/1, words: 459, written by me)

A Message From the Dead: Looking for a Ghost (chapters: 2/?, words: 1,759, written by me)

A Message From the Dead: Biggest Regret (chapters: 1/?, words: 1,877, written by @rin-may-1103)

A Message From the Dead: A Sister's Love (chapters: 1/?, words: 686, written by me)

Words Total: 4,781

Fandom: DC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Based off a prompt I posted on my main blog, @op-sys-chaos, I decided to write this out as a full fic. Other people also wrote their own versions, so I offered for them to join me in posting them together on AO3! So far, @thevoidstaredback and @rin-may-1103 are the only two people involved in the series, but if anyone else wants to be involved, let me know!

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Not So Artificial Intelligence

Technus traps Danny in the Batcomputer. For his own safety, he pretends to be a new AI system on their computer. This has consequences.

Chapters: 3/?

Words: 3,077

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

DPxDC fic based on this prompt by @corkinavoid!!

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Weirdly Competent

Danny Fenton studied medicine under Frostbite. Because of this, he has a lot of medical expertise when it comes to working with a lot of different species, including Kryptonians and Martians. The doctors on the Watchtower who hired him did not know that he had experience and thought he was just talking back, so they fired him on day one. A few days later they tried one of his suggestions. To their surprise, it worked. The Justice League now has questions about Danny, starting with "Why the hell did you fire him??"

Chapters: 5/?

Words: 3,017

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: @soupteeth

DPxDC Doctor!Danny fic based on this prompt by @bet-on-me-13!!

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A King, a Demon, and a Cult Walk Into a Summoning Circle

Danny is sacrificed by a cult to a demon as the batfamily rushes to save him. The terrifying demon demands that they put him back where they found him immediately.

Chapters: 2/?

Words: 2,030

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Danny being a casual badass without lifting a finger, based on this prompt I wrote!

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Twins, or What It Takes to be Resurrected

Danny Fenton and Damian Wayne were twins, separated at 7 years old when Talia saw Danny's hesitation to kill and let him choose a normal life. Now, Damian Wayne has found his brother, and has come to him for help. Because Damian is dead, and his long lost twin is his only hope for resurrection. All Danny has to do to bring Damian back is to convincingly pretend to be his brother, who he hasn't seen for the better part of a decade, at a fancy gala. Can he do it, or will the twins be caught?

Chapters: 7/10

Words: 12,329

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

A demon twins au based on this prompt I wrote where Damian is dead and Danny has to pretend to be his long lost brother in order to bring him back.

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In Another Life

Danny Fenton died young. Wanting another chance at life, he reincarnated as Dick Grayson, not realizing that he would keep his powers when he did so. How does this affect the timeline? You'll see :)

Chapters: 13/22

Words: 25,919

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Based on this prompt by by @indingojazz, @stealingyourbones, and me! Danny Fenton dies at 16 and, after dying so young, decides he wants another chance at life. So he reincarnates, becoming a young boy named Dick Grayson. Surely, his past won't ever become relevant. ...Right?

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Goodbye. Love, Tim

If you want pure angst, only read chapter one. The first line of this summary is for you. If you're like me and you want angst to have a happy ending, read the whole thing! The whole summary is for you. Tim's had enough. Enough of the murder attempts. Enough of his siblings doubting him. So he calls them to say he's leaving. Or, at least, that's what Dick hears Tim say over the phone. But is that really what he feels?

Chapters: 5/5

Words: 3,986

Fandom: DC

Beta reader: no beta reader, though I did give two people a sneak peek before posting it!

Obligatory "Tim's had enough and leaves the batfamily fic" but with a twist. If you just want the angst of him leaving, read chapter 1. But if you want the twist and the happy ending, read the whole thing! I promise it gets better. I also tried to use only canon content for this rather than making the batfamily treat Tim worse like most of these fics do.

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Watching Waynes

Dick Grayson has a great idea. Bruce has been acting like an idiot in public for a long time, and no one takes him seriously enough to think he's Batman. So what if the whole family did that? And what better way to do it than together? Taking inspiration from Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Dick convinces his family to create a reality TV show with him, centered around their lives. One which they would use to show the public that they're just too ridiculous to ever be superheroes. This story will follow a different format from the rest of my fics, since I'm actually describing the episodes. I'll mention things like camera angles and cuts between camera shots in the story. It may be a bit of a weird format to read it in, but I hope you enjoy it anyway! I'll also include people reflecting on the episodes at the end, whether it's the Waynes looking at what they've done or their superhero friends laughing at their nonsense. I hope you all enjoy!!

Chapters: 1/?

Words: 6,274

Fandom: DC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Based on this prompt by @fckbatmanhiskidsareminenow, the Waynes create a reality show called Watching Waynes. It's based on the concept of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, where a film crew follows these celebrities around and films all of their nonsense.

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What Did He Do to Save Me?

Danny Fenton was reincarnated as Bruce Wayne's oldest biological child. This wouldn't be an issue for anyone, except Damian was born with a hole in his heart that could only be fixed by Danny splitting his core in half. Now, Danny is perpetually exhausted and barely able to move. But despite all of that, he still loves his siblings. And he's about to find out how much they love him back, when Damian finds out the lengths Danny went to to save him as a baby and decides to return the favor.

Chapters: 3/?

Words: 7,114

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Based on this prompt by @hyperfixationherewecome and me! Danny Fenton as Danny Wayne sickfic, where the very person he became sick saving fights to save him in return!

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To Be a Parent

(title is a work in progress, I'd love suggestions!)

Jazz and Jason’s one night stand was just that, as far as Jason knew: a one night stand. They hadn’t exchanged numbers or last names, so he never expected to see her again. But to his surprise, he ran into her nearly six years later with a five year old girl named Ellie who, judging by the timing, is almost certainly his. Jason is a father. And he’s not sure he’s ready for it. Now, Jason is involved in Jazz’s life, trying to help raise his daughter and bonding with the woman he once fell for. But will it become something more? Or will Jason’s life as the Red Hood drag everything down? Jazz’s little sister Ellie, Danny’s clone, was dying. The only way to save her was to de-age her and put her core into the body of an unborn baby, allowing her to be born and live her life again. Jazz always wanted a kid anyway, so she volunteered to be the one to have the kid and raise Ellie. For the next five years, she raised her daughter as a single mother in college,. But now, the man she hooked up with is back in her life, and Jazz can’t say she’s upset about it. But can he handle her family’s weirdness? Or will he run before Jazz can get to know him better?

Chapters: 4/?

Words: 4,151 (910 written by @sistertotheknowitall)

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Based on this prompt by @sistertotheknowitall, Jazz and Jason raise their daughter, a reborn Ellie. I'm also going to make this be an eventual Jazz/Jason/Roy fic because why not. I'm starting out with just Jazz/Jason though.

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Clones and Their Consequences

Danny Fenton is Bruce Wayne's clone, and the people who cloned him activated and then brainwashed Zur En Arrh to be a killer. Specifically, to kill Batman. Danny managed to regain control of his body and get away, being adopted by the Fentons. But while taking down a GIW base with Dani, he finds his creators, who activate Zur En Arrh once more. Will Danny ever be free of Zur En Arrh? Can Dani save her clone template's clone template from her clone template? ...And how on earth are they going to figure out that complicated dynamic? Will Batman learn about his clone? How will he react?

Chapters: 1/?

Words: 1,053

Fandom: DPxDC

Beta reader: n/a, message me if you want to!

Danny is a clone of Bruce Wayne, whose Zur En Arrh alternate personality was brainwashed to kill Bruce. He spent a lone time free. But when he gets rebrainwashed, Dani must free him before Danny can kill Bruce. And after that, they must find a way to get rid of Zur En Arrh.

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Original Works:

(I've posted all of these on StoryForge, so the links all redirect there. If you don't have an account, you should make one; it's free, and the platform is helping small writers get published!)

Aegis

When one of the leaders of the world's top hero team crashes back to the ground after a fight, everyone assumes he's dead. There was no way he survived at the speed he was falling. Except he did. And he woke up in a crater, no memory of his past and one of the leaders of the world's most infamous villain team standing over him, reaching out a hand. What happens when an amnesiac hero whose friends think he's dead is found by a group of supervillains? Especially when those supervillains have more to their story than meets the eye...

Chapters: Prologue only, on hiatus

Words: 657

Beta read by people in the discord server for it, message me if you want the link!

(I'm writing out character backstories in full before I write out any more of Aegis, so the novel itself is on hiatus. Please note, I will likely be making an audiobook version of it myself once it’s done and posting it on like YouTube or something. But you’re still welcome to do your own version of it if you want! Ik some people love making podfics and some people read exclusively audio content so I wanted to clarify.)

Feather: Hero of Old

Feather was a well-known hero 60 years ago. So how did they end up on a modern-day superhero team? This is Feather's journey that led up to them joining the Order of Aegis.

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 3,758

Beta read by people in the discord server for it, message me if you want the link!

Backstory for Aegis character Feather

Aberration and Maximum Security... House Arrest?

Before he joined the Order of Aegis, Aberration had a... complicated past. Although, after living for over 2000 years, who wouldn't? However, the most complicated part of his past was the part where he got stuck in jail for 400 years and how that sentence got downgraded to maximum security house arrest after some time. This is the story of how that happened. Trigger warnings: serial killer, jail, graphic descriptions of murder, miscellaneous violence. See story description for ways to avoid the triggering parts

Chapters: 8/8

Words: 20,056

Beta read by people in the discord server for it, message me if you want the link!

Backstory for Aegis character Aberration

The Queens of Saveria

So, I got inspired by @theactorbat on TikTok and wrote a short story. It's a story about two women who are pulled away from their girlfriends and into an arranged marriage with each other. They come up with a creative solution to make sure everyone's happy (and no, the solution is not them mutually running away with the one they love), and they get to have a happy ending. If you like fluffy romance stories, give it a read!

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 4,293

Not beta read, and finished already, but if you have edits let me know! It's basically a first draft since I barely edited it.

This is a short story I wrote in response to a writing prompt. It's very much a rough draft but if you want a short cute queer story, enjoy!

Gavin Song and The Hunted

Based on this writing prompt: "The leader of a group of vigilantes" [note: I completely ignored the "leader" part of this prompt] "has to reveal who they were before they put on the mask to save their crew. But they know their crew will never see them the same way once they know..." (Writing prompt by @your_local_writer_friend on TikTok/Instagram.) A team of vigilantes known as The Hunted lost a friend of theirs, Gavin Song, a long time ago. But when they get their first lead on him in a decade, their most mysterious team member starts freaking out. Why, and how is he connected to Gavin?

Chapters: 1/1

Words: 9,419

Not beta read, and finished already, but if you have edits let me know! It's basically a first draft since I barely edited it.

A short one-shot vigilante superhero story based on a writing prompt!

Works in Progress:

Level Clear

Doomed time loop, kind of. Not finished yet, but I’m in the editing stage now!

Narrators Inc.

Work in progress (by which I mean I have maybe half a chapter and a vague direction for the rest of the story). Basically, it's a story where the narrator showed up late and is desperately trying to figure out what's happening while attempting to narrate the story

Vegaciel Academy

Magic school murder mystery. Credit to my high school friend group for helping create this story; we were all going to write it together and outlined the characters and plot together. The project ended up being abandoned, but I got everyone else's permission to write it myself because I like the idea so much. It's been a while since I worked on it but I think I finished a chapter? I'm not sure if I'll post the chapters one at a time or wait until I finish the whole thing

The Helmund Labs Incident

A massive, interconnected 4-person backstory for Aegis! To be posted soon.

Other Notable Things:

I'm beta-reading @batfambrainrotbeloved's fic The Drake's Spoiled Brat and I highly recommend it!! It's really good :)

I hope y'all enjoy the stories I have created/am creating! If you want to see the writing prompts that interest me that I might work on in the future, I'll keep reblogging those on my main blog, but I'm mostly planning to keep this blog for stories I'm actually in the process of writing.

[pumpkinsplots]

Writeblr Intro

Hello, writeblr! I finally caved and got tumblr, mostly because I love rambling about my wips and hearing other people ramble about theirs and all of that lovely stuff, so this seemed like a great platform to do that. With that being said, I plan on posting about my wips and ocs, as well as art related to those things, so if that interests you at all, I’d love to see you stick around. Also feel free to call me either Pumpkin or Maria, it’s entirely up to you!

About my writing

I’ve found that I really enjoy writing in a variety of genres, so hopefully at least one of my wips will tickle your fancy. Though I’d say a common thing for me is that I really like to world build, so my wips tend to be sci-fi, fantasy, or magical realism of some variety. Anything where I can put my own spin on the setting is something I’m bound to enjoy writing about.

I write in third person, usually with multiple povs, and I really enjoy character driven stories.

I often like to have a wide variety of ages in the cast, and if I had to pick a favorite trope it would be found family, so that’s usually present to some degree in my stuff.

Tonally, I always include light-hearted moments here and there, even if the wip is very bleak. It provides some levity, and I think it makes the painful stuff hit a lot harder. This is probably partially why I put some thought into each character’s sense of humor.

Most of my wips are geared towards older teens and adults, but I’ll get more into content warnings when I talk about each individually, because it really varies.

I’m one of those writers that kills off a lot of characters, so this is your warning not to get attached /j

I’m demisexual, so at least one character being on the ace spectrum is like a requirement for me at this point.

I’m a plantser, and pretty bad at staying motivated to actually finish first drafts.

About my wips

Falling Up

Falling Up is a sci-if story set in the future where Earth is a utopia where inhabitants experience little to no hardships throughout their lives. The deceased are replaced with AI created to replicate them, and everything is automated to the point where people no longer need to work to make a living. This lack of struggle results in dull, perfect lives and skewed morals. The people crave entertainment, even if it means making others suffer for it. Quasdom, a miniature man made planet initially intended to be used to separate deviants from the rest of the perfect society, is used as a catalyst for entertainment. The people of Quasdom believe that those on Earth are superior to them, and that Earth is a place where any wish can come true. This leads to the tourney, a death game between groups of ten on Quasdom, being viewed similarly to winning the lottery. The winning team gets to go to Earth, after all. Being chosen for the tourney is the luckiest thing that can happen to you. There’s no hard feelings between participants, death is completely painless, and the afterlife will welcome any participants to a better life than they previously had. There’s nothing to fear, so smile and put on a show.

A large cast and lots of character deaths

An exploration of why we get so attached to fictional characters, and how fiction can have an impact on reality

Probably going to be a trilogy

Content warnings include language, some unsettling themes, depictions of mental health issues, and generally things that are more psychological. Despite it being a death game, there’s no gore, like at all. The people on Earth may be desensitized, but they aren’t accustomed to seeing blood, so the tourney is designed with that in mind

Facade

Facade is set in a world where the living world and the spirit world coexist. Due to some actions by the main antagonist, about 20 years prior to the current story, spirits started getting aggressive and sort of going haywire. They possess any person they can, turning the individual into an uncontrollable killing machine. The best defense to this was the invention of a certain kind of mask that prevents possession, and masks quickly became widespread. Since there’s no known way to reverse spiritual possession, the only solution is to kill those that are unfortunate enough to meet that fate. A group led by an anonymous vigilante known as K9 seek to find a way to reverse possession. Many enemies are made along the way, and there are countless obstacles to face.

Its setting is based on Singapore and set in the 90s, though there are many creative liberties taken

The wip is currently pretty no plot just vibes

Themes about individuality vs equality

Content warnings include language and some sexual content

Facade: After Dark

While Facade is currently no plot just vibes, developing the characters led to me thinking of the plot for a prequel. Is it a self-indulgent novella about two of the characters I love? Yes, absolutely. In summary, it’s a romance novella about the the relationship of Leijing and Iris, and their struggles in navigating the wild world of Facade. They have vastly different upbringings and experiences, but their differences bring them together in more ways than one.

I have so much backstory for this pre-established couple and I couldn’t think of a good way to incorporate it into the main story without cutting a bunch of it, so boom it’s a prequel now

I’ve found that working on a wip that’s more low stakes and simple is really fun—I tend to get stressed about my more ambitious plots, so this wip is a great change of pace

Leijing is demisexual with little interest in anything sex related and Iris is an omnisexual sex worker, and the story explores how a world obsessed with all things sex can effect both more sex-negative and sex-positive people

Content warnings include language, explicit sexual content, and potentially triggering subject matters. This is my only wip where it’s strictly 18+!

Lights Out

Sunlight is the essence of life. Without it, the world would wither away. However, a dangerous new life form of unknown origin festers in the light. With long, elegant glimmering limbs, high intelligence, picturesque precision, and a craving for flesh, these organisms pose a major threat to humanity. But for some odd reason, these creatures refuse to step into any area where the sun doesn’t touch. Much of humanity takes to the shadows, building elaborate underground tunnels for civilizations and doing what humans do best—using their resources and ingenuity to adapt.

Has two protagonists that butt heads but start to develop a father daughter dynamic. A young adult girl who’s from the underground and unknowingly part of a cult, and an older man with one leg who’s so stubborn he’d rather fight and die than flee to the darkness

Lots of creepy cult imagery and themes about religious trauma

So much banter of course

Content warnings include language, disturbing imagery, and gore

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading! Asks, comments, tag games, and messages are always appreciated, and I’d love to hear about your wips as well!

[lifes-line]

another digital circus post dont mind me-

Just an overview for myself and others - but here is both proof for and against the idea that jax might be the NPC hidden amongst the group organized by each ep we have so far

JAX IS AN NPC:

Ep1

Jax supposedly knows Kinger has been here the longest, either he was told this or he is all knowing, same reason goes for why he says "We've been trapped here for years" how does he know how long its been?

This one is such a reach but Caine says he doesnt have control over ppls minds here and earlier Jax mentions having an adventure for the newbie, while this could be jax fucking around it is plausible he and caine have influence on eachother's ideas when it comes to the humans of this world

pt1 of Jax breaking the forth wall and no one understanding what hes looking at ("She still thinks this is a dream")

"Ow" Jax getting hurt by the gloinks. Aren't their senses cut off for the most part? How come he got hurt?

"I got a key to his room" "You shouldn't have a key to anyone's room!" Jax somehow has keys everywhere with no explicit hiding spot and simply pulls this key out of thin air randomly

Jax breaks the "Spare" sign idk if this is reaching too far but thats weird

Jax seems to be the only one who gets hungry

Ep 2

Jax is the only one who acknowledges a new ai

another fourth wall break

Once again Jax grabs something out of thin air or magically has it without it being handed to him

Can is both unaffected(Mostly) by the fidgeting car and also able to defy gravity?

But Jax is also pretty good at convincing the npcs of things while also yapping with them

Caine mentions if he loses track of whose a human and whose an npc he doesnt know what could happen, but gumigoo's temporary presence in the circus affects nothing so far

WE COULD SEE ANOTHER JAX???

Ep 3

Jax breaks forthwall

wants to see what everyone can do

Doesnt share what he does when he holds his breath

Pulls a shotgun out of nowhere again

impecable memory for what everyone can do?

kills the ghost-

JAX IS NOT AN NPC

Ep 1

Jax says "Just keep pulling on it, that worked for all of us" when Pomni tries to remove this digital headset. This is proof against because unless he is all knowing like ai tends to be in this world he wouldnt know what shes doing unless hes experienced it himself

"Kinger has spposedly been here the longest" Someone had to of told him this, this necessarily doesnt prove he isnt ai but yknow,,

"If there was an exit I'm pretty sure we'd all have left by now" implying he can leave

Caine likes to reuse npcs, we would see another jax

Ep 2

Caine is testing out a new ai which seemingly made gumigoo self aware, if this is brand new it is unlikely there is a self aware npc in the midst

jax seems to have driven a car before

Jax is NOT in the npcs list

Jax knows modern references like his movie ref

Jax has the fascination of harming npcs like a teenage gamer

Jax seemed genuinely upset over someone's abstraction

Ep 3

"We cant die"

deadass tied up for most of the adventure

"Zooble turns straight"

"Her and everyone else" in ref to pomni having a few bad days

"Dont ever quote brainrot again"

[mistress-of-malevolence]

For this year's Mer-may (which I definitely didn't almost forget about) I present Angler Fish N & Octopus Uzi~ just the sketches though.

◀◁Possible AU details below? ▷▶ Warning: Long.

Ok, so I've never really made an AU before. Still, While I was designing these I was trying to figure out how the sea/ocean creatures would work good not just with their respective species (worker, disassembly) and abilities but also how I could integrate their pre-existing designs so that they would look nice and make sense.

First, I decided I didn't want them to be robotic for this since I like working with organic creatures a bit more. Having flesh eliminates most movement restrictions when posing since the body material is malleable. while the idea of robot mermaids is cool, I didn't feel like drawing a bunch of joints and stuff like that. Second, If they were organic then I needed to figure out why they were fighting if it wasn't for a huge human plot to destroy rouge AI. And finally, how was I going to incorporate their powers like absolute solver and other such stuff without necessarily using technology. Having all these things in the back of my head while I was drawing led to the following, so without further ado, here's that ↓. This gonna be long, I can already feel it...

_______

◇Story stuff.

A long time ago, merpeople ruled the water in peace. Humans kept to the land and the only thing they had to worry about were the sirens: Natural predators to the merpeople.

In the eyes of the merfolk, sirens were dangerous. Mindless, bloodthirsty monsters that couldn't be reasoned with. fortunately, their naturally heightened senses left them sensitive to sunlight. This kept them mostly contained to deeper, darker waters than the merpeople usually inhabited.

During the day it was safe to hunt, play and generally flourish as a species and at night they would hide in sea caves and other small spaces that a siren would have trouble fitting into.

That's how it was for many peaceful years. Occasionally one or two would die a victim to the monsters of the deep, but that was just nature.

But slowly as time moved forward and Humanity continued to develop, the merpeople were driven to deeper waters to escape pollution and being hunted.

Uzi's mother, Nori began having visions of a terrible fate that awaited her kind if things continued as they were and after weeks of pleading with her people and her husband to heed the warnings, she went to the sirens alone. for what reason? No one really knows. It's a mystery that only she knew the answer to.

After getting stung by the sirens paralyzing venom, her husband Khan made the heartbreaking decision to put Nori out of her misery before the sirens could do any worse, leaving him to raise their infant daughter Uzi by himself.

The incident resulted in a lot of deaths and many of the families of those that had passed blamed Nori. Saying that she was a mad woman and rumouring that she was a witch who had been meddling in dark magic that caused her to lose her mind and wander towards her death.

Seventeen years later, Uzi had grown up to be an unstable and particularly angsty teenager with a strained relationship with her colony and her father. Uzi believed that the ever-looming threat of the sirens was not something to hide from, but to confront head-on. Such notions labelled her as her mother's daughter in the worst ways possible: Crazy, an incident waiting to happen, most likely going to get eaten by a siren for reasons they will never understand.

Khan had kept the colony safe since Nori's death by having everyone hide away in a cavern big enough to house them but with an entrance so well hidden that everyone believed that the sirens would never find a way in.

Inevitably, Uzi grew tired of cowering and after fashioning the first semi-modern weapon her people had seen out of sea trash and other things humans had chosen to toss into their waters, she snuck out to confront the enemy.

The siren's lair was decorated rather grimly, with the nest seemingly fashioned out of the bones of long-dead mermaids, skulls stacked up together to make the walls of the lair. Inside the dimly lit den was a single male siren who was in the middle of feasting on a mummified corpse which looked to have been drained of all its blood.

As soon as he noticed her, he rushed toward her with killing intent. Uzi's fight or flight kicked in as she brandished her weapon, but it failed to deter the monster in his bloodthirsty craze. He grabbed her by the shoulders, stinging her with the paralyzing toxin in his Claws. Uzi barely managed to break free from his grip by slashing his face with her weapon, sending him reeling back from shock.

Uzi immediately felt her limbs growing heavier but ignored it in favour of taking the opportunity to take the Siren by surprise. While he was distracted she threw her weapon to the ceiling causing an avalanche of skulls to come crashing down on top of him. Uzi had only a moment to breathe, thinking her enemy was buried and dead before a clawed hand burst through the top of the pile like a zombie about to dig itself out of the grave.

Panic surged through her and with as much strength she could muster she pushed away the darkening of her vision and forced the few tentacles that didn't refuse to move to propel her forward with enough force to hopefully finish the job.

The siren's head burst through the pile of death with a groan of pain, but before he could do anything else, he was knocked unconscious as rock made contact with his already aching head.

All was silent for a moment, Uzi fighting for consciousness as her vision continued to darken, whether she was just crashing from the adrenaline or if the toxin was shutting her brain down she wasn't sure. but then the monster woke up, a confused look on his face as he pulled himself out of the skeletons. he blinked and turned his attention to the little creature before him.

"Did you just hit me with that rock?"

"Holy crap it talks."

_______

◈Extra details.

-The sirens and Humans have a deal with each other that if the humans drive the Mer-people deeper into siren territory the sirens will kill the species off in exchange for making them more powerful.

-Apparently, the humans want them dead because they are considered a threat, and can't be reasoned with.

-this is a giant lie on the human part, as they have made no attempt to talk with the merpeople and plan to kill all the sirens after the mermaids are dead.

-Rather than absolute solver being a program I'm changing it to being some form of magic that the humans discovered mermaids had after analyzing corpses that had washed ashore.

-In order to gain this power plan on reverse engineering it from the merpeople's remains while eliminating the prospective threat to humanity at the same time.

-The humans claim that they will make the sirens more powerful by implementing them with tech that will supposedly allow them to live and hunt during the day.

-This tech would actually be something of a remote detonator that once activated would be used to kill all the sirens off at once.

-I haven't decided if all sirens are angler fish, but probably not because that would be boring for me to design.

-Not all merpeople are Octopi though, that's for sure.

-I'd say that since merpeople can be the same species without necessarily being based around the same sea creature, the babies would simply take after one parent entirely.

-This would make sense in this as to why Uzi looks like the spitting image of her mom.

-While trying to figure out Absolute Solver I was really channelling Ursula for Uzi with the skull and the octopus stuff and it all just kinda resulted in sea-witch.

-Both mermaids and Sirens got bioluminescence as a default so that we don't gotta stifle that glow they got in canon.

-Since it wouldn't make sense for fish to have screens and stuff of their faces and bodies, those dark areas where the face-screen would be are just body markings now.

-Uzi's hat is now a sea anemone that just kinda chills on top of her head, kinda like how they do with crabs in real life.

________

I know this was really fucking long but if you made it to the end, thank you very much for reading❤️

Im still workshopping this and I don't even know if anyone has already done something like this. I wouldn't be too surprised if they had since it's May and Mermaids are pretty popular... idk, if I make a fic I'll let you know.

[ralfmaximus]

McDonald’s is ditching its drive-through AI ordering system after too many customers wound up with hilarious, wonky orders from the artificial intelligence tech. The fast food giant, which had been testing voice-automated ordering systems at about 100 restaurant drive-throughs since 2021, is now booting it from the menu. It seems to be because AI, at least when it comes to taking orders as people shout them from their car windows, turns out not to be a very good listener.

Gee, who coulda predicted this?

LLM making stupid mistakes as they do their word prediction magic on busy consumers yelling at drive thru menus. Remember when we were threatened with AI taking away everyone's jobs if we raised the minimum wage? Huh. Guess it's not ready yet.

Also, this gem buried in the article:

Wendy’s has begun using AI to adapt their menu, too, by implementing AI menu changes and suggestive selling based on things like the weather. Not only will it suggest items based on the weather, but the AI-driven menu could also change prices of more in-demand items—like boosting the price of ice cream on a hot day.

Drinks too, I imagine. Fuck you, Wendy's. Just fuck you.

We are moments away from an AI scanning your vehicle and deciding what a Baconator costs based on your credit report.

[intersexbookclub]

Book review: Cattywampus

Our pick for July 2024 was Cattywampus, a children’s novel featuring a main character with AIS. The story focuses on two young witches, Katybird (intersex) and Delpha (perisex) as they come of age and develop their magic powers. Katybird being intersex is relevant to the plot as the magic system in the book has a gendered component.

Overall impressions:

Elizabeth: it was a fun little adventure that handled the AIS part very well. I was underwhelmed about it turning into a zombie story, but I still enjoyed the book and felt it advanced intersex representation.

Bnuuy: I thought it was pretty good, could imagine myself reading and liking it when young. It was a fast read and I think it would be a great book for school libraries.

Emily: I didn’t finish it, but middle grades aren’t my cup of tea. But I think I also would have liked it if I’d read it when I was that age. 

Michelle: the AIS felt a little shoehorned in terms of terminology, but lots of great casual representation. Very charming, loved the dialect and representation particularly. The class and socioeconomic issues were depicted particularly well. Great, strong characters.

Remy: I liked how much more chill this book was about AIS compared to Across the Green Grass Fields! It also has me thinking about two other stories. Demon Copperhead by Barbara kingsolver for Appalachian rep, and Muted (a webtoons comic), about magic families that magic also gets passed down matriarchally.

The intersex representation

Emily found it jarring that there was medical jargon in a book whose tone tries to be very folksy, and Michelle agreed that it stuck out. However, Elizabeth felt the language is realistic: people who are diagnosed young often understand ourselves through medicalized language at that age. 

We talked about how the book had to explain so much about intersex because of how little the general public knows, and it would be nice if not so much exposition is necessary - but we all understood the need for it.

Elizabeth liked how the book teaches people that intersex (and disabled) people do not generally want pity. The book highlights how Katybird was uncomfortable with people at school praying for her, how it was unwanted and actually hurt her. 

Bnuuy liked how the book included intersex representation in a way that mattered to the story, but it wasn’t a book specifically about being intersex. The intersex themes integrated well with the other themes (coming of age, disability, etc). 

Bnuuy pointed out out that when Katy gets control of her magic, she is identifying with poison ivy. Other books we’ve read in this book club have drawn a connection between being intersex and plants, and it was neat to see that theme emerge here!

Remy liked how Katy was more chill about having AIS than the character Regan from Across the Green Grass Fields. Cattywampus was just a whole lot more chill about AIS. Bnuuy pointed out that it was unusual how chill Katy’s family was about her having AIS, but that it’s important for children who are intersex to have this frame of reference of how they should be treated.

Elizabeth added that it’s also a good example for parents. The book mentions how Katy’s mom was described as doing her own research on AIS and speaking to people from intersex organizations at length before telling doctors: “no surgery for my child”. 

Early in the book, Katy remembers going to a “moon party” where girls were talking about their first period stories. Katy casually shared that doesn’t happen for her, not seeing anything wrong with it. And it became a negative experience because of how the others reacted with horror and pity. Elizabeth could relate - not to this specific experience but to the sort of experiential disconnect.

What else we liked

The plot is driven by a spell which goes wrong, and Remy liked that the solution to the spell problem was not “try harder” as that is a common trope in stories where magic is tied to emotions.

Bnuuy liked how Katy’s family and Delpha’s family had different approaches to deal with the social ban on doing magic in public. Katy’s family did magic in secret, whereas Delpha’s mother had a policy of “we never do magic”. Both characters felt shame about their magical abilities: Katy faces deep anxiety about her magic puberty powers awakening not happening the way it is "supposed" to, whereas Delpha feels shame for wanting to use the powers at all. While Delpha’s mother meant well, the total ban on magic created stigma for Delpha that actively contributed to her not asking for help.

Elizabeth appreciated how the book reminded zer the extent to which children do what they think adults want them to do. A reason the main characters’ problems escalated was every time they tried to ask for help from adults, the adults implied they didn’t want the kids doing magic, and so the girls each lied and told the adults what they thought the adults wanted to hear.

Bnuuy liked how the preacher’s wife was actually cool with magic/difference and a useful ally to the kids - nice to see a positive Christian representation. Bnuuy also liked how the geographic location felt connected to the spell that the preacher’s wife helped the kids with.

Bnuuy pointed out the Deaf representation was also good. We all liked seeing an example of a family putting in the effort to learn ASL for their Deaf child. (We then wound up on a tangent about Plains Indian Sign Language, the lingua franca of most of North America before European hegemony.)

What we struggled with

Elizabeth felt uneasy about how the Appalachian history was presented as “a bunch of Celtic people were here for hundreds of years” and wanted the bare minimum of acknowledgement that this is Native land and these families were not the only people in the area who had roots there. Ze didn’t feel a Native character was necessary, just that the depiction of the regional history included the relevant Nation(s) for the setting (Muscogee? Cherokee? Shawnee?). 

Remy was concerned the (audio)book presented a classist/racist depiction of Appalachian people in the audiobook. The author of the book is from Appalachia, so most of us are inclined to believe this is done with sensitivity. Most of us are not from (or live in) the USA, and most folks felt unable to assess this. Elizabeth found some of the dialectal choices to be confusing, but accepted that ze was not necessarily the audience and there is value in books featuring dialects/registers other than Standard English.

The character Delpha starts the book without a father in her life, and yearns for one. Michelle was disappointed that Delpha’s biological dad came back. Xe had hoped that the Dad character would be a father figure, and she’d build a new family. Xe felt it would be more productive to have a positive representation of healthy step-parents and/or non-nuclear families than how the book instead resolved Delpha’s desire for a father by having her biological father return.

We all agreed that it was weird that Katy’s 6-year-old Deaf brother was so comfortable with an unplanned sleep over at a new house with an adult that they seemed only vaguely acquainted with. 

Mixed reactions

Remy felt the small town attempt didn’t land: everyone knows everyone but they’re also big enough for tourists? Elizabeth has spent time in small towns that are tourist destinations so that felt plausible to zem. The actual geography of the area was confusing for a lot of us, and how long it took for various characters to arrive at different destinations. A map would have probably helped a lot.

Michelle would have liked Katy and Delpha to couple up because they had good chemistry, and would add to the queer rep. Elizabeth disagreed, and personally wants less romance and coupling in children’s literature - feels like there’s already too much cultural pressure for kids to form romantic bonds.

The maturity of the characters prompted mixed thoughts. Remy brought up a feeling that the main characters didn’t act like they were 12. We talked about how maturity in kids isn’t so much a consistent thing: development doesn’t mean somebody is always “acting 12” but might act like they’re 6 at one thing and act 14 at another. It’s a challenge for writers to pull off realistic children.

Elizabeth had mixed feelings about how neither family had done basic magic safety training, which seemed like a kind of obvious thing to have done. But the plot required that to not happen, so was resigned that it was a suspension of disbelief thing. Elizabeth was confused that the kids didn’t go to the preacher’s wife for more help after she was established as a trustworthy adult.

Delpha is revealed to be part Yow. Remy hoped that the Yow thing isn’t a male-specific thing, and was concerned this would undermine the intersex rep.

What we would want in a sequel

Bnuuy posed a fun and constructive question: what would we want to see in a sequel? 

Remy would like a character who is both Yow and Witch

Elizabeth wants to see if Delpha’s mother has had character development

Bnuuy suggested one or more Native characters

Remy suggested a third magic family that finds it odd that Katy’s family and Delpha’s family have a gendered pattern to who is magical. 

Elizabeth thinks it would be fun if it turns out all genders had magic ability and just nobody thought to train the men. Remy added: “ooh yes and they just repressed it with their feelings!”

Michelle pointed out there was already a hint of that in the text. Bnuuy pointed out the possibility that the magic maybe wasn’t genetic so much as the sharing of knowledge and training, and this aspect of how it works just got lost over the generations.

Remy would like adopted character(s) who can do magic.

Overall, this was a fun romp suitable for the middle grade (age 8-12) audience that may be enjoyable for folks of older ages. The book handles the AIS representation in a way that is productive and educational while also feeling integrated with the plot. We’d definitely recommend this one for parents reading to their kids!

[estcaligo]

I wonder...

In Briar Valley they depend on magic even for some mundane tasks.

But what about arts? Can one paint with magic? Would painting with magic be considered a form of AI 'art'? And what about music? It is possible to manipulate a bow or 'press' keys with magic, I presume?

I believe that in the realm of the arts, the use of magic might be unnecessary as...art is magic itself in a way already.

One could cast a spell to set a brush in motion along a canvas, but those strokes would lack the genuine creativity driven by passion and inspiration. They would merely be imitations of what a true artist's authentic expression would do. Same for music, sculpture, etc.

Or no? Because imagination plays a significant role in using magic, and it is an inherent part of the user? So?...

I am not sure...

But my personal headcanon is that the People of Art hold a highly respected status in Briar Valley, and perhaps even in Twisted Wonderland as a whole.

Because even in a world where magic exists, it can’t replace the combination of hard work, experience, and the burning passion of a soul aspiring to Create.

[mi-i-zori]

A Cold Meeting

COD Fae!AU - Fae!Ghost x F!reader

SYNOPSIS : The Winter is a dangerous place, filled with creatures driven by hunger and greed. But the Hunter doesn’t fear them, for she was forged to face them, and eliminate the nuisances plaguing the frozen land. And It always lets her go unscathed - a favor in exchange of another. She always knows how to stay safe ; until a peculiar spirit of the Frost proves her otherwise.

WARNINGS : Gore, body horror, death, weapons, violence, blood, wounds, predator behavior (Fae VS Human)...

Author’s note : I was extremely inspired to write again after binge-reading @ghouljams ‘ work on COD. If you’re reading this, Friend, I can’t thank you enough for this.

I do not give anyone permission to re-publish and/or translate my work, be it here or on any other platform, including AI.

CoD AUs - Masterlist

Main Masterlist

A Wild Hunt - Masterlist - I - II - III - IV

She should know where she is. But she doesn’t.

And it’s quite normal, she thinks, for the Winter is always changing, never being quite the same each time she steps past its borders. The magic in its soil is made to confuse outsiders, trap them within its jaws to whisk them away into its depths, their souls ready to feed whatever beings that ends up finding them.

After realizing this, anyone would be terrified.

But she is not.

In the eyes of all who know of her, she is the worst nightmare of those who dare disrupting the balance of the environment they decide to settle in. She’s been relieving this cold territory of the nuisances haunting it for as long as she can remember, and it always let her keep her freedom in exchange of each successful hunt. She has no reason to fear the Frost.

And yet, the creatures roaming the frozen grounds are a threat she can’t afford to ignore, and nothing will go out of its way to protect her. Her eyes are sharp as they scan the surrounding trees, silently daring any hidden predators to get a taste of the iron adorning her clothes. She can feel them watching her from behind the naked trunks, their magic hungrily licking at her feet, only to be burned by the ashen wards engraved into her skin.

The spell she cast a few moments earlier pulls at her fingertips, slowly guiding her towards her target. The sickening darkness licking at her own magic is familiar, yet she can’t seem to properly concentrate on it ; an unsettling feeling is tingling her spine, getting more insistent with every step, and that’s how she knows a powerful threat has focused its eyes on her, following her every move. It takes her a moment to realize that her surroundings have been filled with a peculiar fog, one born from a rare, powerful kind of magic.

The air gets colder as she treads further into the Frost. The woods are getting darker now, and, for some reason, it feels like she’s actually never been here before. The environment has barely changed, yet every single detail seems new, devoid of the usual familiarity that never ceases to follow her during each and every hunt. The mist grows thicker with each step, her wards trembling as they work against the magic dancing within its swirls. She somehow can’t seem to find its source, her senses fighting to keep their focus on her current task. She can’t allow herself to be distracted ; not with the obvious danger grappling at her guiding spell - and the one gliding against her reddening cheeks.

She doesn’t really know how long she’s been walking ; a terrible thing to forget in such a dangerous place. But, despite the growing confusion threatening to swallow her mind, her perseverance leads her to a frozen river. There, the guiding spells shatters, revealing the eerie presence of her prey.

On top of the cracking ice, standing on broken limbs, a deer focuses its gaze on her steady form. Its body, covered in wounds oozing with thick, oily blood, trembles slightly as the cold pierces its corrupted flesh, tainting the snow-covered ice at its feet. A white, glassy eye hangs from the abyss of its socket, tugging at the nerves as the creature’s nearly severed head jerks slightly. Munching on its own fallen antlers, it breathes in her scent, shuddering at the idea of making her its next meal.

The unsettling sight doesn’t faze her. After all, the Stolen all have a very similar aura.

Within the next second, the twisted silhouette launches itself at her, a rough, otherworldly screech tearing through its rotten lungs. The Hunter swiftly dodges to the side, the miasma coming from the deer licking at her skin. Thousands of screams of despair fill her mind, coming from the raging souls trapped in the creature’s essence ; but she pays them no mind as razor-sharp teeth try to dig through her flesh. Despite its broken limbs and stumbling form, the creature looms over her, oily blood dripping from its dangling head and onto her clothes. If it weren’t for her wards burning the evil emanating from the corrupted substance, her skin would have been eaten away by its acidic magic.

A tremor in the beast’s body gives her the moment she needs to pull out the dagger hiding in her boot. The iron blade slashes through blistering skin, filling the air with a putrid and overwhelming smell. The souls in the deer’s body let out a series of deafening screams that have the earth quaking under her feet, disrupting her balance. The massive head suddenly comes colliding with her shoulder, and the Hunter can’t restrain the cry that leaves her lips as she goes rolling on the ground. She’s quick to get back on her feet, but not without cursing the freezing water breaking the warmth of her clothes.

She glances at her opponent, only to see it struggle to stay stable on its own feet. The Stolen’s decaying corpse is reaching its limit, and it will soon be forced to go look for another puppet to control.

It’s now or never.

Her dagger sings as it tears through the thickening fog, severing the last tendrils holding the beast’s head. She is quick to draw a sealing rune into the snow as the body collapses next to her, its wails soon fading to nothing. The writing serves as a mold to bind the remnants of the corrupted magic, the natural power of the Frost wasting no time in hardening it just enough for the young woman to place it into a special sealed container ; her priority is now to bring it to one of her acquaintances, who will use her expertise to cleanse it thoroughly. Offering one last thought to the stolen soul that finally got the rest it deserved, she turns around, ready to find her way back to a safer territory.

However, a foreign feeling in the back of her mind forces her body to abruptly come to a halt, her eyes locking on a shadowy figure leaning against a nearby tree. The silhouette of a man watches her, silent and unmoving. The Hunter lets one of her hands hover above the throwing knives hanging at her waist, the tension in her arm almost making her fingers twitch. The aura he exudes is the same as the mist surrounding her, she realises, and it doesn’t take long for her to understand that he used it to conceal his presence.

He has been following her since the very beginning of this hunt.

Gritting her teeth, she keeps her gaze sharp as the man slowly pushes himself from the tree. The fog seems to synchronize with his movements, and she wonders if he is not just an illusion made to divert her attention from a real predator. But as his skull-masked face becomes clearer the closer he gets and her body refuses to obey her own will to take a step back, something tells her that he is the real danger ; a threat far greater than the one she just dealt with.

Her memory is filled with the intimidating beings she once crossed paths with ; yet, somehow, none of them seems to compare with the man now towering over her.

There’s a pause before his gloved hand rises to cup her chin, only to be viciously burned by the power of the wards running along her skin. Despite the obvious sizzling of his skin under the fraying fabric, the fae doesn’t let out a single noise, his ice-blue eyes calmly gauging her through the bone covering his face.

He leans in, his covered nose grazing her neck just enough to avoid triggering her protections, and inhales deeply. She tries to hide the pain shooting up her arm as she manages to point a knife to his throat, her mind fighting relentlessly against the numbing in her limbs. The fog is now dense enough to isolate them from the rest of the world, the fae’s presence slowly, but surely filling her senses. Her wards struggle against his magic, sending a terrifying chill down her spine. She can feel an overwhelming warmth and hunger radiating off of him.

She has to get out of here before her protections shatter.

But she barely has the time to prepare herself to dig her knife into his shoulder that the man takes a few steps back, his eyes still locked on her smaller form. The mist rolling off of him loses its intensity as he then turns his back to her, retreating deeper into the frozen land, his steps slow and confident. Just before disappearing into the darkness of the trees, he glances back to give her a single, unsettling wave ; and she swears she can see his eyes glow in the shadows.

It’s only when her mind clears that she finally releases a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Around her, the forest is dark ; filled with an eerie silence. The cold seeps through her clothes, shutting down the many questions dancing in her head. She makes sure all her weapons are back in their place before darting off towards the end of Winter, shoving her own vulnerability back down her throat to avoid attracting any other threat. When she finally steps into the warmth of the human world, her mind keeps replaying everything she just went through.

One last line of ash fades from her skin. The fae’s magic clings to her like tree sap on wandering hands.

She needs to be cleansed. Now.

[eyedoeluhn]

BCF’s author has a lot of questionable word of god statements. A personal favorite of mine to whip out every so often is this one.

What. the fuck?

this one is a lot.

Okay, before I even break this down let’s engage with the contrast of Saint and The Dragonslayers compared to Cauldron. I don’t think they’re Cauldron in miniature, I think they’re an inversion of them. Cauldron knows that Scion is an entity but not much about his behavior, while the Dragonslayers know Dragon is an AI she is communicative. Dragon, as she is in Worm, isn’t malicious nor a major risk of becoming so, Scion snapping is an inevitable event. The Dragonslayers are run by a man with a tattoo addicted to artificial powers while Cauldron by a woman without any to her name who gives others artificial powers and tattoos. And of course the Dragon Slayers are ineffectual and ego-paranoia driven, while Cauldron keeps the world running and is coldly utilitarian facing down the apocalypse. The compare contrast between the groups is actually fairly interesting.

Now the actual comment. Jesus Christ. The most problematic line in all of this is obviously “at no point does either group step back and ask if they are really the best people to deal with the problem in front of them.”

How this is a valid critique of Cauldron, a group made of some of the most powerful capes on the planet including Contessa I’m not sure. I don’t think Congressman Terry is a valid perspective especially since they prop up the government. I don’t think random scientist seven is a great pick since once, Doctor Mother, two, Manton. I don’t see how even if they opened their doors they could find someone more competent than they already have found in the likes of their own. I just….what? Who? Josef isn’t a real worm character and no I would not put him on the list personally anyways even though cauldron would because they don’t care about their egos they care about the end of the fucking world. They don’t like their jobs.

I don’t see the first paragraph of criticisms towards the dragon slayers even applying. Cauldron naturally can’t act earlier. Telling people about the nature of Scion is a massive infosec risk as well as just dangerous to the public and capes at large and frankly it wouldn’t be productive either. Cauldron isn’t a friend group like the Dragon Slayers are it is experts and then their many vassals. The dragon slayers are with outside help barely able to manage dragon tech. Cauldron is the leading shard understanders in the setting. They are the most qualified people in the setting and are a major reason scion died. Cauldron won, folks. They wanted to kill Scion any means necessary and they successfully created the scenario. Saying it was a pure chance thing isn’t a valid detraction considering 1 they were aware of that and doing their best to inflate that chance 2 no one would have done better. Their plan was not to personally kill Scion but arrange the highest possible chance that the dies. Dragon survives, Scion doesn’t, says something about the two groups.

The “wider perspective” on Cauldron and Scion edges into meta territory and again I don’t think your oc/si is superior for having magic knowledge inserted into his brain for free that no one else can get. I think that’s a pretty simple stance but hey I’ve seen it a thousand times. Also on a moral standpoint if we’re going to judge Cauldron harshly that’s a different discussion and also again Jozef is far from moral anyways which is not intentional. But you know whatever cauldron bad case fifty three sad are there any more children Joe can make too nebulously mature to date their own age and then dump his trauma onto

[commsroom]

to me, the question of whether hera would want a body is first and foremost a question of autonomy and ability. she has an internal self-image, i think it's meaningful that the most pivotal moments in her character arc take place in spaces where she can be perceived the way she perceives herself and interact with others in a (relatively) equal and physical capacity, and that's worth considering. but i don't think it's about how she looks, or even who she is - and i think she's the same person either way; she's equally human without a body, and having a body wouldn't make her lived experience as an AI magically disappear - so much as it's about how she would want to live.

like most things with hera, i'm looking at this through a dual lens of disability and transness, both perspectives from which the body - and particularly disconnect from the body - is a concern. the body as the mechanism by which she's able to interact with the world; understanding her physical isolation as a product of her disability, the body as a disability aid. the body as it relates to disability, in constant negotiation. the body as an expression of medical transition, of self-determination, of choice. as a statement of how she wants to be seen, how she wants to navigate the world, and at the same time reckoning with the inevitable gap between an idealized self-image and a lived reality, especially after a long time spent believing that self-image could never be visible to anyone else.

it's critical to me that it should never imply hera's disability is 'fixed' by having a body, only that it enables her to interact with the world in ways she otherwise couldn't. her fears about returning to earth are about safety and ability; the form she exists in dictates the life she's allowed to lead and has allowed people to invade her privacy and make choices for her. dysphoria and disability both contribute to disembodiment - in an increasingly digitized world, the type of alienation that feels like your life can only exist in a virtual space... maybe there's something about the concept of AI embodiment, in particular as it relates to hera, that appeals to me because of what it challenges about what makes a 'real woman.' when it's about perception, about how others see her and how she might observe / be impacted by how she's treated differently, even subconsciously. it's about feeling more present in her life and interfacing with the world. but it's not in itself a becoming; it doesn't change how she's been shaped by her history or who she is as a person.

i think it comes back to the 'big picture' as a central antagonistic force in wolf 359, and how - in that context, in this story - it adds a weight to this hypothetical choice. hera is everywhere, and she's never really anywhere. she's got access to more knowledge than most people could imagine, but it's all theoretical or highly situational; she doesn't have the same life experiences as her peers. she has the capacity to understand that 'big picture' better than most people, but whatever greater portion of the universe she understands is nothing next to infinity and meaningless without connection and context. it's interesting to me that hera is one of the most self-focused and introspective people on the show. her loyalties and decisions are absolute, personal, emotionally driven. she's lonely; she always feels physically away from the others. she misremembers herself sitting at the table with the rest of the crew. she imagines what the ocean is like. there's nothing to say that hera having a body is the only solution for that, but i like what it represents, and i honestly believe it'd make her happier than the alternatives. if there's something to a symbolically narrowed focus that allows for a more solid sense of self... that maybe the way to make something of such a big, big universe is to find a tiny portion of it that's yours and hold onto it tight.