#Nexus: You may stay in the Beyond until this gets sorted out | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

keevansixx · 7 years ago

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Et Tu...Elohim?

Ahh, welcome welcome...do have a seat...I'm so very pleased you accepted my humble invitation, and i'm quite certain you have millions of questions floating around in you head that will be answered in the course of time, but for the interim, I will start by saying this....

Someone, glancing up at the heavens in distant longing, once penned the phrase "We are all made of stars.." never realizing how close to the ancient truth they truly were. And if they were ever privy to what really happened those many tragic millennia ago, the burden of that knowledge would surely drive anyone to madness. and a slow debilitating self inflicted death.

That's why human rationalization came up with all the stories, tales, myth, and legends. Not as an entertaining tool to while away a long winter's frigid spell, or frighten young children into eating their sprouts and greens, but as a way to remember those old truths long since dead and buried...

Sadly, the old ways have been filtered down throughout the ages by untold countless orators, each handing a story down from eldest to youngest through the passages of time, until the original truths, that were such basis of those stories, were buried under the fanciful machinations of each speakers time, or frame of reference to such a degree, that any such ancient wisdom to be gleaned was long since altered from it's original intent, into fanciful flights of creative imagination that serve now more as a guide to future humans, a bit of entertaining fluff with moral lessons, than as a warning of things to come, or what has been, and ever shall be again.

What I am about to tell you is of utmost importance to prepare you for what is yet to come. You may call them prophesies, soothsaying, mad unhinged ramblings, or whatever terminology you may deem fit to interpret as you see best, and to create a frame of reference that your mind can somewhat comprehend (or at least reasonably accept to some degree) and hopefully, somewhere in this exchange, you will find the resolve to see the great work fulfilled, and finally close the last chapter of this story for good.

Ahh, I see your puzzled expression, and assure you everything is quite alright for the moment, be at peace...no need to fret just so yet...all is well...but first, as all ancient decorum dictates, needs must come an introduction, followed by an explanation, a choice, and finally...if all goes swimmingly...hope.

Who am I?, you ask. Well...lets just say, for simplicities sake, that I have existed for a very very long time. Far longer than you've known recorded history to exist, and if I were to divulge the actual truth of the matter, you would think me insane, and most likely storm off in a flurry of self righteous indignation, then report me to the nearest psychological institution as a raving lunatic who needs saving from itself afore someone gets hurt. Let me assure you, I'm neither insane, going insane, nor inclined to prance naked through the gardens at midnight during a full moon (though, I would highly recommend trying the latter exercise at least once or twice in your lifetime as it is highly a soul cleansing liberating experience to free oneself from the constraints of polite society every now and then.) and am most astoundingly sane, given my personal knowledge of events that have transpired before, and one day, shall be again.

If I had to place a label on my existence (as the human animal is often want to do) I would say that I am a watcher....the last man on the wall, the keeper of the arcane, the wise old bastard in the shadows, that old person sitting on the street corner with the little small dog...with the hat on the pavement and the tiny sign begging for change, the alchemist, the weaver, the dreamer, the wordsmith, the alpha, the bard, the Sassenach, Oracle, doomsayer, destroyer of dreams, the original nightmare, the balance, the harlequin, or any number of descriptive titles they've used to understand the knowledge I possess down through the ages....but for simplicities sake, for the time being....you can call me Adam....

Now that the introductions are formally met, it is high time I explain to you the nature of why you are here, how you came to find me, and hopefully....a choice.

It all starts with a simple phrase told throughout history from the oldest to youngest with the magical incantation...."Once upon a time...."

Once upon a time, before things became written down, and the stories altered beyond what was true, there was a little blue gem of a world orbiting a small star. Nestled in the outer regions of a young galaxy at war with itself, this tiny world became the nexus of a great conflict.

Oh, it never started out as such...for a long time, it simply existed. Turning from a fiery amalgamation of dust and stone, to a lush living world capable of supporting life in all it's splendor. As time passed, the young world was visited by beings from afar, and as each one came and went, they left their small marks upon the young earth, leaving behind traces of themselves everywhere they touched down. As I said, war had come to the little blue gem in the middle of nowhere, as it had for billions of years on countless other worlds. Those races in conflict had used the earth as a waystation many times on their way to other parts of the galaxy. Sometimes they fought, many times they died, and every trace of them crumbled to the dust and ash of a young planet as if they had never been.

I could go on, recounting all the little changes their petty wars wrought upon the earth, but quite frankly, that would take more years in the telling than you have left upon this plane of existence, and I'm a little pressed for time this century, so I'll gloss over the boring bits, and try to keep it as simple as I can for you to understand....now where was I?

Ahhh, yes....a great cosmic war, and in the center of this region of the galaxy, the earth. now, at this point in time, I must point out that at the height of this great war, many races existed upon the surface of the earth.....not because they wanted to, mind you...but because this planet offered much in the way of rest and recovery (not to mention basic resources) from an endless pointless war. Think of it as somewhat of a truce...a sort of cold war pact between races that they would not try to annihilate each other while stopping on their way to the next big battle. Of course, sometimes things don't always go according to plan, and accidents do happen from time to time, but I digress...The earth became a sort of neutral ground for conflicting species. They, somewhat begrudgingly, existed upon this planet, before your ancestors learned to walk erect, and pick up sticks to dig grubs out of the ground.

That's where I sort of come into our little tale, you see, an accident of sorts, not out of spite nor malice, but a simple miscalculation that set me upon my current path. And the reason I say it is "our tale" is because sometimes... things happen for no reason at all other than sheer chance. It was sheer chance that humans encountered pathogens that altered their DNA, It was blind luck that out of the myriad billions of pathogens carried from distant worlds to ours, humans encountered the ones that started them on the path to sentience. You could call it fate, or destiny, or divine order......whatever gives you comfort and helps you to sleep soundly at night. But the harsh truth of humanity is.... we were an accident created by hands not our own, and when the other races learned of our existence, believe me, there was hell to pay. Some of the races wished to exterminate the entire species strain, for they saw us not as new lifeforms worthy of preservation, but a perversion of their own genetics, blaming each other for the "accident" and wishing to reconcile the matter before the contamination was irreversible. Other races saw us as a potential, or means to an end, wishing to nurture the new species like a proud parent holding a newborn for the first time, and then there were races ambivalent to humanity in general, wishing to neither help, nor harm, the new flesh whatsoever. They sort of tolerated humanity much like an elderly couple shaking their canes and telling children to "keep off their lawn".

This went on for quite a very long time, relatively speaking, humans existing underfoot of stellar beings, all the while learning from each new experience, from the stone age, to antiquity. I like to remember that early age as the age of myth and legend. You see, that's where many of our oldest stories started from...humans seeing things they cannot explain, and trying to place into words the things they seen while walking hand in hand with life not of this world.

I could tell you of the fair folk.....I think your stories called them "the Fey" or "the Aes Sidhe" such creative license you lot prescribed to them, when in all truthfulness, yes... they were beautiful (at least by human reckoning), yes... they were powerful (of course, back then it was easy to misinterpret all technology as a form of magic.) but they were also arrogant, cruel, spiteful, and clever....when they finally left earth in their stern viewports to pursue other targets, I breathed a slight sigh of relief....and wished they never to return. For all they did, and didn't do, humans still worship them like some misguided child, never knowing the horrors that could have been inflicted on them in those early days. Though, to be fair, there were a few that I had wished stayed behind, they were not like their counterparts, and viewed humanity with whimsy, bringing laughter and joy wherever they roamed....I miss those moments.

I could tell you of the Asir, but then again, I assume you are familiar with all the scandanavian myth and legends surrounding them. Warlike, fierce, proud....when they fought amongst the stars, worlds broke and shattered, stars dimmed with their passing. As with all things, they too, moved on to greener pastures and different wars, yet leaving their marks upon an impressionable young race called humanity.

Or the beings whom inhabited what you know as south America....I feared for humanity then, for those masters were not partial to us in any way, shape, or form. And when they left for their home worlds, those humans left behind in their shadow worshiped them with blood and fire, begging them to return, I hope they never do...

The Vatara, and their vimanna...I assume you are well versed in Hindu mythology? good....when their race landed upon the earth, the wars were mostly over with, with a few skirmishes over the skies that made it into folklore. For the most part, their race was benevolent towards humanity, with a few notable exceptions, but then again....all those early interstellar races had their quirks, but the Vatara....well, they did it with style.

Asian mythology? The Yi's. Yes...they too were beings from another world who came by for a visit. And like all powerful races, they came and went as they pleased. But for the most part, they were pretty neutral about the whole "humanity" thing, and they did give a few tidbits off their table to the new race on the block. I mean, paper...come on! that was sheer brilliance...without it, the humans would be still scratching away on stone walls and clay tablets. thank the Yi's for that one.

Egyptian mythology....astronauts.

Hebrew mythology.....astronauts.

every mythology.....yep....astronauts. (I know...I know....right at this moment you've got that weird crazy haired guy pic in your minds eye holding up two hands and saying "Aliens"...and I know it sounds far fetched, and that maybe you need a strong drink and some tin foil to swaddle your head in, but they are not all wrong in their assumptions. I'm not saying they are all absolutely right either, but the shades of truth are still there within the periphery of that narrative should you choose to chase that rabbit down the hole, so to speak.)

Let me tell you about dragons for a moment....don't laugh! you think they are all children's stories, but I've seen the real thing. beautiful, graceful, deadly...the perfect weapon for fighting a protracted aerial assault in atmosphere. They were loyal to a fault, tough as hell, and when they flew in formation it was perfection achieved. What's the difference? Well, different races...different aesthetics, for one. the beings who inhabited Asia preferred sinuous curves, and graceful lines than those of their nemesis across the continent. Asian dragons were known for their fluidity in battle, forming complex aerial patterns that were hard to beat in a dogfight. Their European counterparts were gene crafted to be stocky, hardier, more of a short term strike brawler than the long protracted aerial siege engines of the Asians. The Fey crafted thousands of their brawlers for every 10 of Yi's dragons....you think I am kidding? Kid, I've seen carnage across the skies the likes of beyond description when the Fey and the Yi had a squabble over a little patch of land that separated their regions from each other. Rivers burned, and mountains crumbled till all that remained was ash and ruin. I've seen millions dead, and smelled the stench of decay for thousands of years.

Heh, why are there no remains of dragons in fossil record, you ask? Yeah, you'd think there would be something left, wouldn't you? You'd be dead wrong...see, the thing with a bio-weapon, is that once you start leaving stuff behind on the battlefield, your enemies could easily take that knowledge, and theoretically turn it against you, eventually. That's why they put genetic failsafe's in the code of those great beasts. Many simply burned to ash, or exploded into massive fireballs, or rotted away to nothing where they landed. Their DNA forever lost to the ravages of time. But it was something to see...way back then. Of course, after everyone left, there were a few holdout remnants of those once great beasts, making their way into mythology and folklore, and as with all things, passed away into dreams and legend....but they did exist here once upon a time. Who knows, somewhere out there beyond the stars, they may still be gliding on the thermals of distant worlds, doing what they were designed to do. I wish you could have seen them.

Look, I could tell you every interstellar race that ever came to this planet, but to make this story more concise, let's just say that every pantheon you have ever heard of, every religion you've ever seen, every story you've ever heard in your lifetime, all had a glimmer of truth buried deep within that has been altered with the passing years by human hearts telling the oldest of stories in the newest of ways. And that sliver of truth is this: they all came from the stars....and left their marks upon the human race.

Oh oh oh,....I almost forgot to tell you....the Great Experiment. Well, that's what I call it at any rate, but human mythology simply refers it by another word....Atlantis. Oh, don't roll you eyes as me young one....the great experiment came at great cost, and even greater sacrifice than you could ever imagine.

Let me just say this....by the time of the great experiment, the wars that were raged across the cosmos were mostly over. I say mostly, because no matter how warm and fuzzy it makes you feel to think that everyone just one day dropped their armaments eventually, and shook hands, turning swords into plowshares, and singing KumBiYah around a campfire, the real history is just this....old animosities never die, they just get buried underneath diplomacy, bureaucracy, and routine, till both sides eventually forget what ever the hell they went to war for in the first place, moving on with their existences as best they can, while remaining largely distant to their neighbors in the great cosmic 'hood. Distance...makes the best fences, they always say, and so the other races tried to put as much distance between themselves as imaginatively possible, while maintaining a modicum of respectable decorum between themselves. Hence the great experiment.

Now, you must understand that during this time, the human race had developed sufficiently, both mentally and socially, to start writing stuff down, and when ol' Plato recorded his story of Atlantis in Timaeus and Critias all those years ago, he just wasn't giving lip service to an analogy of state versus outside influences. He was 3rd partying events that actually happened, but in his own biased human way.

Atlantis was a jewel, filled with the remnants of all those interstellar races (humans included...think of us early humans as party crashers. We weren't exactly invited, but we showed up anyway, and well, they tolerated our presence without too much pretext....that's how we sort of wormed our way into their company...blind endearing curiosity, eagerness, helpfulness, all those traits that didn't annoy our interstellar visitors...so they basically let us hang and learn) whom had, as yet, to flee back to the stars or return home. It was a lovely place, filled with the kind of people you'd really love to party with given the chance, and everyone got along for the most part. There were comings and goings of a dozen or more races, as they zipped to and fro between their outposts, knowledge was exchanged freely....think of it as coin of the realm, with vast libraries cataloging the wealth of knowledge into great halls for everyone to share. There was peace and prosperity for a time, and it looked like humanity was on the fast track to join their interstellar neighbors soon, as the human race in Atlantis was like kids in a candy store, going respectfully buck wild, and soaking up the knowledge faster than a sponge, or like a kid whipping down pixie sticks with a jolt cola chaser. Damn, it was good to be alive in those days...there was peace, stability, prosperity for the human race. I could spend years perusing the stacks at the great library, and I tried to every chance I got. learning the histories of hundreds of worlds, seeing all the different technology up close and personal, meeting different races over drinks and nibbles, while dreaming of a bright and glorious future that lay before us. It was the closest thing to heaven for me, than I would ever see again.

That's when the troubles started. Seemed innocent enough at first, we were learning how to harness the atom, bending space/time to our whims, almost about to make that breakthough with fusion technology, when things went all tits up, and ended with a massive explosion and drowning beneath the waves.

Now, for the record, please don't hold humanity accountable for all that had transpired there, we were curious.....maybe a little too curious for our own good, and the other interstellar races were mostly amused at our endeavors, and for the most part helpful when they deemed it necessary to intervene on our behalf, lest we do something incredibly stupid, and accidentally crack the earth in twain from a misaligned core. But those damn Athenians! jealous bastards the lot of them...couldn't wait and play nice like the rest of humanity...nooooOOOOOoooo, they just had to be the ultimate buzzkill. *sigh* lets just say, a small party of them felt threatened at all we had accomplished there, going on about sovereignty and states rights, the rights of man, and how we Atlanteans were threatening their very existence, when all we wanted to do was party and learn, trying to be good little humans, and not step on the daffy Athenian buggerers like all the other star races had done before to humanity. When they raided the research centers and literally axed (i'm not kidding, they took an axe...a stupid bronze axe) and fractured a fusion core setting off a fatal chain reaction....the mantle moved...not rumbled, not a tremor, nor an earthquake....moved, as in Hebrew biblical Armageddon moved. Many of us made it out, but not enough for my tastes, so many lost...all that knowledge....poof....gone in one night. A lifetimes work gone in a blue/green flash because a bunch of stupid humans felt threatened. but that's life for you.....you make it to the top, only to have the proverbial rug yanked out from under you when you least expected it. The Athenians cheered, we wept, buried what remained of our dead, and moved on with our lives as best we could given the circumstances.

The party was over as far as the space faring races were concerned. and over the course of a couple of thousand years, they eventually left taking all their toys with them in the process....so much lost...

The saddest departure was of the Vatara, they championed the cause of humanity the most, as I saw the last of their beautiful vimanna exit the skies, I shed tears at their passing. The Yi's with their dragons, The Asir astride their giant war horses, their beautiful Valkyrie singing songs of old celestial battles, Yahweh and his amazing sciences. Even those beings of the central Americas....they may have been cruel, but some of them were kind, as with all the star races, and I like to think I was their friend, in some small measure, and hope they remember me fondly wherever they ended up in the cosmos. They were my friends and teachers, and I miss them....

The remnants of the Fey were the last to go. I spat on the ground, at the sight of their ships leaving the atmosphere, good riddance, they were the cruelest to humanity after Atlantis's fall. They blamed humanity for everything. The cruelest blow is when a beautiful friendship turns sour, and all that was once joyous and good turns to naught but ash in your mouth...To those Fey who were kind at the end, I beg forgiveness for the human race. We were still young then, and will make mistakes from time to time, hold not the future of our species in ill regards going forward...I cherish the fond memories we made together in the Mediterranean.

we tried again, you know...we humans....to uphold those ideals the others instilled into humanity all those centuries ago, in our own limited way of course. As each age passed, we tried again and again and again. The Babylonians, who worshiped an aerial sand skiff one of the races used to cross the desert, and left busted down outside a goat herders tent, I gave it a once over, and figured out it was a simple misalignment of the grav core due to sand fouling in the intake manifold. A couple of swift kicks to free the fouling, and the thing worked good as new...that is until that moment when that fool Marduk crashed landed it in the town square. *sigh* they thought he was a deity, and spun one hell of a yarn about the whole affair, I just shook my head and walked away.....once human get their minds wrapped around something it's almost impossible to change.

The library at Alexandria, now that was a tragic loss....we tried so hard to reclaim a 10th of the knowledge we lost when Atlantis fell, but the human race had grown stubborn in our isolation, and everything burned....again. The wonders...monuments and structures built to honor those whom departed using ancient knowledge to craft....so much lost.

Ah, Egypt....that was a funny time....they actually thought they could build a giant radio transmitter to contact those beings out there who once occupied their lands, using geometric stone to build a transmitter...some nonsense about stellar alignment, harmonic resonance, and ridiculously huge funky radio tubes they fashioned out of silica glass, meteorite filaments,and powered by vinegar in a makeshift battery....I told them it would never work, as the power output necessary to accomplish such a task was well beyond their technological capabilities...still, had to give them points for trying (three more times, to be exact, each one crazier and bigger than the one before it).

The hanging gardens....I am sad for their passing, we tried to save every remnant of the other races unintended "gifts" to humanity. So many plants lost to time, there were even genuine cures there. The visitors genetically modified domestic plant species to meet their needs... medicines, foods the likes of which will never be seen again. At one time, whole fields of plants that served unique purposes, could be harvested, refined, turned into raw materials to fashion the most astounding things.......what...you think I got to be this old with a wave of a magic wand, and a few mumbo jumbo words? When I say cures, I mean CURES with a capital C. They made this one concoction with the roots, bark, and leaves of a beautiful heart shaped plant that was bitterly destroyed when the gardens fell. I remember at the beginning being offered a cup by the Yi's...they called it "elixir vitae" a battlefield medicine used to treat serious wounds. Humans would later go on to give it more fanciful nomenclatures as time progressed, but to most interstellar visitors, it was go go juice to keep the troops alive and fighting. It was bittersweet, burned with a pleasant warmth, and got you slightly high the more you consumed it (as Pink Floyd would later go on to sing...quite comfortably numb). I loved it, it kept me going through decades of research, and more than one close scrape or two....unfortunately, for all species involved, it had the unforeseen curious side effect of completely arresting the aging process in the human animal, saturating the cells in a chemical cocktail of cellular metabolic arresting clusterfeck that left the unfortunate human bereft of death, disease, and decay, and no longer craving normal biological sustenance. Fairy food, humans would later mythologize it, a cursed substance to be avoided lest your soul rot in damnation, and all that other superstitious nonsense. Oh, I could eat regular food if I wanted to, don't misunderstand, it's just after having consumed a substantial quantity over decades, the body no longer needed sustenance to maintain itself, just a little water now and then to keep things fresh, and everything moving in all the right ways. You may laugh, but all those stupid stories of ancient mummies were only slightly right, they weren't exactly cursed per say (depending on your point of view)....more like they were saturated with battle meds, and through their own choices decided to take a long nap in the hopes they would desiccate, wither, and disintegrate back into the dust from whence they were proverbially spawned. Tired souls who no longer wished to go on, but were too afraid to self immolate, and end it quickly. The dragon wars ended many of my fellow comrades, as they chose to go out with a blaze of glory instead of the long slow path of time. My partner and I...my partner....my.....

*pauses for a moment to wipe away an errant tear*

So....much.....lost......

Excuse me for a moment, will you? I know this seems like a fairy tale to you, the fanciful tall tale of an old dotering mad fool, but for me it only seems like yesterday. The memories fresh and vibrant like a well spring. I try to keep them in check, but sometimes my resolve wavers for a moment, and all the grief and joy, heartache and bliss, wistful longing, and humanist curiosity overwhelms me....forgive me. Just a moment longer, if you please....

*pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to massage the eons of grief from old and tired eyes. Removes an old threadbare handkerchief from a well worn pocket, and proceeds to loudly blow nose, with a slight sniffle at the end *

Thank you....Ahem, yes....now where were we? Oh? Aliens...Absolutely, they all departed in their own ways over time, leaving humanity to it's own devices. Where they are now, I haven't a clue. You see, that's the funny thing about mythology, no matter whose you happen to research on this small planet, they all share some similarity, a common thread of continuity that unites almost every one of them. Oh, the stories may change, and the characters a little different with each and every generation and in the telling, but the common denominator is still there all the same. That same warning over and over and over again....."we will return".....

You were invited here. That's the reason why we are now having this unique conversation. Humanity is entering into a new phase of it's existence, and I need fresh eyes out there watching, waiting, detailing all the little things humanity is doing. We've become noisy....sending calling cards out into the cosmos practically screaming "HERE WE ARE!!! SUPRISE!!" and I'm still not to entirely sure that whomever is out there has forgotten us completely.

It's all the little things....strange sightings, odd random flyby's that cannot be rationally explained, sightings over south America, crop circles popping up randomly across the globe, all that tin foil crap humans scoff at, and dismiss as flights of fancy, or delusional paranoia. We tend to overlook such things as we go about oblivious to what's going on in the greater cosmos around us...but I suspect that we've slightly got the attention of things not of this world, and if we're not careful, humanity might just end up on the cosmic chopping block after all. We weren't meant to exist, yet here we are....and maybe some beings out there are still carrying a grudge after all this time. Better safe than tragically sorry, I always say... That's why you are here...

Out of the billions of souls on the planet, you and others like you, have shown that spark of human curiosity that goes beyond the pale of human normality. You dream, you seek, you create. All those things I seek in a recruit to assist me in the great work ahead. It was by no mere coincidence that you happen to have found my calling card. In the words of my dear departed friend Tolkien, "Not idly do the leaves of Lorien fall..." you were chosen...as others were before you, and others still, after I am long since gone. You will become the new watchers on the wall, the patient, the dreamers, the do'ers, the makers.... you will forge new paths, and be called many new names in return. A new legacy, for a new generation of humans. They are coming...and you will be ready for the day they finally arrive.

So, it's at this juncture I offer you an opportunity....a doorway, if you so please, into a different life than the one you knew before. Oh, I could make some witty remark at this juncture about Orpheus, and be all cryptic with the whole red pill/blue pill spiel, wake up neo! bullshite, Or I could just simply offer you a drink, and a handshake.... the choice is ultimately up to you.

Before you on the table is a tome, handmade. you will find it's leaves blank. This is your book now. You will record your observations in as you see fit. Customize it as you see fit. There is no rhyme nor reason to it, just simply write....the knowledge will flow freely once you begin. It's not magic....just a higher form of technology than what you may be currently acquainted with, and will serve you well in the times ahead. I would recommend a lovely pen that would suit your needs adequately, but I surmise that you'll find something on your own in due time...

Now, to your right, on the small side table you will notice a petite glass. Within that glass is a liquid, and if you were paying attention this whole time, I surmise that you have a question to the legitimacy of that claim, as the source was long ago since lost. Let me assure you, that it is true....every word of it. The source is indeed gone. The caveat emptor being that I did manage to squirrel away a few bottles for a rainy day...I may be old, but never unwise....as I foresaw the future a millennia before you were born. I won't bore you with all the tedious details, but that brief stint on the British isles almost brought everything to wreck and ruin....I fancied myself a bit of a hand wizard in those days, foolish me. Suffice to say, wars have been fought over a single drop, and mighty civilizations toppled in their haste to acquire it. It is a dangerous gift, and should be respected as such. Don't look so apprehensive.... It's been diluted on purpose, and you shall live a long and fulfilling life, full of the stuff of myths and legends, then you will eventually pass away, as all good things must finally come to bare when the time comes, but not before passing on what you have learned to the next watcher you choose. That is the gift I am offering. A brief pause of mortality with the freedom to explore all that was, is, and might shall be again.

*A brief pause. Fingers tapping on the armrests of the worn leather high back chair in contemplation. The pop and gentle crackle of the fire in the mantle place....a sense of self confirmation followed by an audible gulp and a smile*

Excellent! Welcome to the society *hearty handshake*, on the table to your left you will find your credentials, watch, badge, and communicator. The communicator doubles as a homing signal with GPS, all the current lovely technology and apps humans are so fond of, in case of trouble, alerting all nearby members of your location. I trust everything else is satisfactory for now, any further information can be gleaned from your tome as needed. Keep a weather eye on the horizon, and good luck.

*soft footsteps on the old carpet, as the newest explorer makes their way to the door, and a much bigger world than they knew before.*

Oh...I almost forgot...one last thing...above all else, have fun with it, and welcome to the Elohim...

*the door closes with a soft click, leaving the tired ancient watcher alone again with his contemplation, waiting for the next soul willing to step into the unknown to cross the threshold...*

#dreams #humans are weird #fiction #scifi

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manjuhitorie · 7 years ago

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Hitorie nexUs Tour 2018 comment translations

source: https://twitter.com/hitorieJP/status/1001070624226263040 A new two-man tour with Hitorie has begun! With, androp, go!go!vanillas, FIVE NEW OLD, a flood of circle, Frederic, Buzz Mothers, Village Man's Store, THE ORAL CIGARETTES, ... there's much curating and much music curing to be had, If you're interested in any of those bands' relationships with Hitorie members, please read their comments to each other below! thank you abababa,

Osaka Umeda CLUB QUATTRO w/ androp One day, the bassist, Mae-kun, messaged me asking “Where do you often go to get pizza?”, and that gave me the courage to invite him to a crossover.

Back in the year 2011, androp’s music probably gave me strength, for me to become Hitorie, I admired them to become the person I am today,

And I’ve become a fan again, in seeing their determination to perform with us.

-ygarshy (Hitorie)

When did I first meet igarashi-kun anyway… I can’t even remember exactly but, I think our auras just clicked or something.

At some point he just became a good friend.

Personally there’s not many other musicians I can send private messages to, so I’m really happy that one of my few friends, igarashi-kun, invited me.

I look forward to what kind of show him and Hitorie will give.

-Maeda Kyousuke (androp)

Tokyo Mynavi BLITZ Akasaka w/ go!go!vanillas The first time I ever talked to Maki-kun was during a new year’s party last year I think.

I have a vivid memory about how happy I was that there’s no difference between the music he performs and his person himself.

I was having such fun that I just drank until I ended up knocked out asleep but…

I had gone out drinking with him again, just the two of us, to ask him to join us for this performance, but,

We ended up talking to each other about music for a straight four hours and a half.

Just as I thought, from his attitude to his core, he was the epitome of man.

I felt it from the first time I listened to him, the lucidity of his voice, how I can almost smell the earth and it’s charm, and then his physical form which strongly reinforces all of that. Even though our means are differed, the goals that we aim for seem to be something similar, I feel.

They’re an amazing band. Already I want to see what they’re capable of.

-wowaka (Hitorie)

When I drank with wowaka-san and the more and more we talked,

I started to see Hitorie’s music from the depths out, and I came to love it.

They’re so rock. Yeah.

From their tasteful performances to their rough humanness, Hitorie are the like the spitting image of Dio from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure.

Let us both put on shows that surpass humanity.

Please join us!

-Maki Tatusya (go!go!vanillas)

Gunma, Takasaki club FLEEZ w/ FIVE NEW OLD I played a gig with HIROSHI-kun (Vo.) at a convention once,

and that was when I first saw the appeal in his beautiful voice,

I hope we can have a battle of the bands that’s like a match of mixed martial arts.

They’re a band that I’ve personally been listening to for 2 years,

So to have a joint concert with FIVE NEW OLD makes me feel emotional.

I can’t wait to bask my body in their pop music.

-Yumao (Hitorie)

Yumao-kun and I had met for a gig session at Shimokitazawa,

and as we played music together, we immediately came to understand a lot about each other.

From there did this crossover take form.

As one musician there’s no other person I’d be happier to be invited by.

Even if the sounds we release are different, our love for music is the same.

I’ll show off the sounds of FIVE NEW OLD as best as I can!

-HIROSHI (FIVE NEW OLD)

Miyagi, Sendai darwin w/ a flood of circle He’s my senior and my friend, Kazutaka-san, I always have many chances to meet him, so when we meet we chat a lot,.

As long as we have a short amount of time to talk we’ll always just be sharing new information on drums and music.

So if we have this close of a relationship

then it’s about time I challenge him to a serious match,

Or such was my thought process, when after we had drank through the night, right before the south ticket gate of JR Shinjuku Station was where I invited him.

I’m sincerely happy to be able to do a joint concert with them again.

-Yumao (Hitorie)

I thankfully accept this challenge.

Yumao and I share the same principles, between the things we like to the things we’re moved by,

He’s a valuable person to me but,

As a performer, his output and his means are extremely different from mine.

Yet maybe that’s just the reason why, he’s someone who can I seriously respect, to the point of delight do we have such a special relationship.

I think that’s reflective of the band, Hitorie, and us, a flood of circle, our relationship as well.

I want to fight this special opponent with all my strength and more.

Their last tour final at EX THEATER was spectacular.

So I look forward to this.

-Watanabe Kazutaka (a flood of circle)

Niigata LOTS w/ Frederic I think it’s been about 3 years since we first met and started talking to each other…

Except about 6 years ago, I coincidentally found “The Ghost on the Pass” on Youtube,

Ever since then, I’ve always been a fan of theirs. A while after that, “oddloop” was released and I had listened to it literally immediately but, the happiness and the frustration I felt then was beyond belief, really.

I vividly remember how the other members and staff of Hitorie were going around the studio hyping over how sick of a song it was.

Then after that was when we came into contact and started talking.

I’ve shared a drink with Kooji-kun in a hotel room we were staying at while touring, I’ve gone to the aquarium early in the new year with Ken-chan.

The personalities of these people are the appeal of Frederic. I like music of which I can see their faces.

Their music and their will are super high-dimensional, like they’re firmly holding it all in their hand.

They’re such a strong band.

I’ve been hearing that their concerts are amazing these days, so us too have to start training.

-wowaka (Hitorie)

‘A two-man show with Hitorie’, I’m so honored.

Back in our indies era, before I moved up to Tokyo,

when I was riding the night bus back down to Osaka alone, the music that fired up my fighting spirit was Hitorie’s.

This is a two-man with Hitorie, the band who brings a new wave, who pushed me forward, who influenced me like hell. This is crazy.

I’m going to enjoy this more than anyone.

-Mihara Kenji (Frederic)

Aichi Nagoya JAMMIN’ w/ Buzz Mothers May I have your attention everyone. Buzz Mothers have joined nexUs.

They were the ones who invited us to take apart in their joint concert projects in the past,

and last December we had discussed how “We should do continue to do this once a year~”.

But I feel bad making them wait until winter so,

This time I thought maybe I should be the one who starts our third fight.

First was Tokyo then was Osaka, and now it’s the town where my and Buzz Mothers relationship all began: Nagoya. So, the third times the charm huh.

It’s about time we settled this eh Ryou-chan.

That said, I’m not sure why I have such belligerence for these guys but

Buzz Mothers are a band that strangely make me feel this way.

-Shinoda (Hitorie)

The first time I went to a love-hotel was when I was a high-schooler.

I was the one who had asked my partner back then to go,

Still in our school uniforms, I held her hand as we went. When I think about it now it was a pretty radical sight,

The lady at the front dest, she admitted us a room like it was nothing, surely she had something wrong with her morals.

The second time we went to a love-hotel, of course again, I was the one who asked.

We were both wearing our casual clothes. I was wearing a Nirvana T-shirt, and she in a lovely one-piece dress.

Only after many dates from then, for the first time, with an embarrassed look on her face did she ask me, “Why don’t we go somewhere where we can be alone?”

I felt like I actually lost my virginity for the first time that day.

When Hitorie invited me to join them for a concert, I just sort of remembered that time.

This is the first time I’ve ever happily accepted a fight.

The third times the charm, you say? Don’t you mean everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time eh, poor Shinoda?

I look forward to this.

-Yamada Ryouichi (Buzz Mothers)

Hokkaido Sapporo DUCE w/ Village Man's Store May I have your attention everyone. Welcome, Village Man's Store.

“When are you going to do a joint concert with Village? Why haven’t you done one with Village? Where are Village?” I’ve heard all of your voices but,

But please! I’m the one who wanted to do this the most y’know!!

Village and I have known each other for a long time, ever since we both had booths at Nagoya and were both swindled out of our high sales quota by the most fishy event organizer,

It’s been 10 years, more, since then,,, You gotta be kidding,,, It’s been so long,,,.

Then I joined Hitorie, and even after I left Nagoya these guys continued to overcome various trials,

They haven’t thrown away their hot sweaty looking bright red suits,

And they’re even, they’ve even grown even more hot and sweaty.

I finally get to face these guys head-on, I honestly feel so happy about this.

We don’t get to do it in Nagoya but.

Shinoda (Hitorie)

Hitorie, when I met Shinoda-san I was in my teenage years.

Whenever I would hang out at a certain music club, for concerts I didn’t really understand the points of, put together by a certain crooked event organizer,, for some reason Shinoda-san would always be there. Even though I was young and still faintly smelled something fishy, I couldn’t help but enjoy those concerts.

Well, because I got to see Dr. Right (the old band Shinoda-san used to be in).

Thinking about it now, as the shitty country brat I was, for me Shinoda-san was the first “guitar hero” I ever met in my life.

The guy who was ridiculously skilled at guitar even since then, Shinoda-san, the Shinoda who would always praise other people like crazy, the Shinoda who somehow 100% of the time would always perform at the same shows we would, the Shinoda who would always be kicking the other performers or be the one getting kicked around on stage, the Shinoda who would at a 60% chance have sound issues mid-show, or break his guitar mid-show, for one of my support members to lend him their guitar only for him to just break that one too, the Shinoda who looks like an unhealthy Dave Grohl, the Shinoda who used to be the butt of nonsensical rumors about how the air conditioner in his room made air that smelled like shit, the Shinoda who performed a street show on Christmas and then somehow was never able to get home… No matter how you look at him he’s a guitar hero.

If Shinoda-san was in a part of the music industry that never let him see the light of day, I probably would have stopped playing music.

I’m always behind Shinoda-san’s back chasing him, buying his CDs,

I’ve completely turned into a Hitorie fan, and now my wish of a joint concert is finally coming true.

It’s even a two-man show, it’s the day of my dreams. I’m glad I’ve continued to play music.

-Mizuno Gui (Village Man's Store)

Fukuoka DRUM LOGOS w/ THE ORAL CIGARETTES To have another crossover with THE ORAL CIGARETTES,

That has always been one of the biggest motivations for me to continue on with Hitorie.

3 years ago,

You summoned us to your “Kuchibiru Taiban TOUR 2015 ~ORAL’s indebted repayment and mixed martial arts selfish greedy volume~”. This time we summon you.

Thanks for your consent. I love you on and off the stage.

-ygarshy (Hitorie)

We respect Hitorie’s music so much, for that reason we want to continue fighting with them forever.

This joint concert is based on those emotions alone!

There’s definitely things we’ve both forgotten, or never noticed about each other,

So we’d be happy if this could be a concert of discovery, to aim for higher and higher places.

We look forward to working with everyone!

THE ORAL CIGARETTES

#ヒトリエ #Hitorie #Interview #the shinoda ones are the best ones #otherwise everyone else is very sweet

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commandershepardvasfuckit · 8 years ago

Text

I finally have some Ryder/Kandros stuff posted!

So the link to the first chapter on AO3 is on my writing page (link in blog description)

Chapter 2

This is likely going to be 5-6 chapters, so nothing too long, though I might extend it if need be.

And yes, there will be eventual smut.

Under a cut for length

“Kandros, can you authorize me so I can use the security terminal again?”

Tiran looked up from the datapad he was mulling over to find the Pathfinder standing a few feet in front of him. She looked exhausted, though in all honesty she looked exhausted from the first time they met. Admittedly the first time he saw her it was not under the best circumstances, Ryder was still reeling from her father’s death and becoming Pathfinder, however even now she looked even more sleep deprived and distraught if possible.

“I gave you permanent authorization last time, remember? And you can just call me Tiran, last names are for people like Tann” he said gently.

“Yeah, it’s ringing a bell. And People like Tann? I thought you and Tann got along?” asked Sara.

“We play nice for the most part, and as a person I don't have anything against him, but he's not the sort of person I'd ever put in charge of anything”. Tiran shook his head, how a bookkeeper was deemed competent enough to lead the Initiative was beyond him, even if Tann was seventh in line for the position.

“Yeah, he can be a bit abrasive sometimes” Sara forced a smile before making a move to the security terminal across the way, “Thanks Tiran”.

“Stay safe, Pathfinder” called Tiran after Sara as she walked off.

“And you can call me Sara! Titles are for people like Tann!” Sara called back over her shoulder to Tiran.

Tiran could not help but smile, at least Sara was feeling alright enough to still make jokes.

“Back so soon, Sara?” Tiran asked as he watched Sara approach the little cubby of an ‘office’ Tann had given him with the promise he would move Tiran into a real office once the Nexus was up and running. That was seeming more and more like an empty promise with every day that passed.

“Yeah, just wanted to check on some things with the strike teams” she said, she looked like she had not slept in days.

Tiran felt his heart sink a bit seeing her looking so rundown. All of this Pathfinder business was too much to put on to someone so young. Too much for someone who inherited it after the death of a family member, someone who never received any formal training and was thrown into the chaos from the moment they woke up in Heleus.

“You know you can check the teams from the Tempest, right?” he asked. Did I remember to tell her that? He wondered, second guessing himself.

“I know, but you know the teams better so I'd rather get your opinion on this stuff since you're the military guy” she said.

“Always glad to help. Anything in particular?” asked Tiran.

“There's a kett base on Voeld with some angaran prisoners, I was hoping you'd know which APEX team would be best for that” Sara was fidgeting with her nails. Her hands looked terrible, the nails were bitten down until they bled and the skin around her nails was torn up and mutilated from picking at it.

“Got any information besides ‘kett base’ for me to work with?” asked Tiran.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry. I've got the data downloaded to my omni tool, I'll upload it to the database here” she apologized. She seemed so far away, lost in whatever was going through her mind.

“Sara,” Tiran began, unsure whether he should be asking questions, “are you alright?”

“I'm fine, just a lot going on” she responded weakly.

“Just don't push yourself too hard” Tiran said, knowing Sara probably heard that from everyone but feeling the need to say it to her anyways.

“There'll be time to rest after all this is done, just let me know what team would be able to rescue those angaran prisoners” said Sara blankly.

“Of course, Pathfinder”.

“Pathfinder” nodded Tiran as Sara approached.

“Just ‘Sara’ is fine, I’d really rather just be Sara” she said.

She was looking worse if possible. She had dark rings under her eyes, something Tiran learned that meant humans were exhausted. She was leaning on the table heavily, as if she could not support her weight on her own and her entire being just seemed so far removed from the situation.

“What can I do for you today?” asked Tiran.

“Nothing, I just got done talking with Tann and Addison and I needed somewhere to think and cool down” said Sara.

“Why not head back to the Tempest then?” asked Tiran.

“Because then I'd actually have to do something about what Tann and Addison said and there's just so many things going on without them adding more” Sara said.

“They wouldn't ask for you to do things if they didn't think you could handle it” Tiran tried to reassure her.

“They can have all the fucking faith in me they want, it doesn't mean I can just magically do everything” Sara snapped.

“I know,” Tiran began gently. He had dealt with Tann and Addison piling things on from the moment he became militia leader, it was downright overwhelming when you were still figuring out your job. “One person can only do so much, but if there's anything I can do just let me know, alright?”

“Yeah,” Sara said, “thanks. Sorry for snapping at you. It's not your fault things are like this”.

“You're stressed, but you need to do something about that before you hit a breaking point” Tiran said, taking a step to close the gap between himself and Sara. “You need to find time to destress at least a bit, or just mull over things”.

“You're probably right” Sara admitted reluctantly.

“I am right”. Tiran look a deep breath, “How do you think I deal with everything without going crazy? I'm in a position that was made up after we realized the kett were here. I signed on to be Nexus security, not some sort of military commander. I'm just winging 80 percent of what I'm doing and trying to keep people safe and trying to stay sane”.

“It's sort of comforting to know that I'm not the only one stumbling through all this”. Sara smiled.

It was a real genuine smile, Tiran could not help but smile back. There was something beautiful in her smile, from her odd flat teeth to the way her lips curled upwards and her eyes got squinty, humans were an odd species though there was something charming in how expressive their faces were. “Hey, you know if you ever need anyone to just talk with you can always come talk to me. I may not be part of a Pathfinder team or anything, but maybe talking to someone outside of all that it what you need” Tiran offered.

“Thanks, but I don’t need to drag you into all this nonsense also” Sara said.

“Everyone needs someone to talk to, I know you’re probably talking about all this with your crew but sometimes it helps to talk to someone who isn’t involved in everything” said Tiran.

“Yeah, I know, but I’d feel bad dumping all my problems on everyone else, there’s no need to trouble my crew with everything that’s going on. They have enough going on without adding to the pile” admitted Sara.

She wasn’t talking to people about any of this, Tiran realized. No wonder she always looked so stressed and rundown.

“Then why not talk about things that aren’t going wrong. You made first contact with the angara and they didn’t shoot you, that’s pretty big” Tiran smiled, hoping to cheer Sara up.

“It could have gone better though” she mumbled.

“But all things considered, I think you did pretty well” Tiran said.

Sara flushed a bit, embarrassed from Tiran’s praise. “I mean not being eaten by a new alien species is pretty decent I guess. Maybe it would be nice just to talk with someone”.

“Well, I should be done here in about an hour. I was planning on swinging by the Vortex to grab a drink, join me?” Tiran asked.

“Sure, it’s on the way to the Tempest anyways” Sara said.

Tiran laughed, “ ‘It’s on the way to the Tempest anyways’ I’m inviting you to take a moment to breathe and chat, not turning you over to Tann, you don't have to sound so reluctant. If you don't want to, you don't have to, I'm not going to be offended”.

“I just feel like I don't have the time to be spending it just hanging out, there's so much to do still” she said.

“That's why I offered. You don't have to come, but I thought maybe it might help for you just to have some down time”.

“Yeah, I probably need that” Sara said.

“Well, if you want to go meet me here in an hour. No hard feelings if you don't show, I promise” Tiran smiled.

Sara did not stray far from the militia HQ, busying herself looking over the APEX missions and data pads of intel on kett movements for the next hour. Tiran noticed Sara watching him several times, or maybe moreso staring out into space in his general direction, or maybe trying to figure out what caused him to reach out and try to help. In all honestly, he saw something familiar in her situation: waking up in a new galaxy, realizing everything had gone wrong, and then being thrown into a position without any training. He sympathized with her and just did not want her to deal with everything alone like he had been, no one should be dealing with that alone.

Tiran was able work quickly and finish compiling the data they have on kett movements near outposts and send the information to the outpost leaders so they could change patrol routes and make the necessary fortifications. He looked over to where Sara was sitting, her face bathed in the glow from her omni tool as she flipped through screens on the interface.

“All set to go?” asked Tiran.

Sara dismissed the interface before moving to get up, “Whenever you are” she answered.

The two started on their way to the shuttle. Operations was relatively quiet and the lights had started to dim to signal the beginning of the night cycle for the station, casting shadows along Sara’s face and making her look even more exhausted.

“So, I heard you’ve got an angara on your crew now. How’s that?” he asked trying to break up the silence.

“Interesting to say the least. Jaal’s nice enough, though I’ve seen more of him than I ever cared to” she answered.

“That sounds like it wasn’t intentional” how do you accidentally do that? Tiran wondered to himself as they boarded the shuttle to the loading docks.

“Oh believe me it wasn’t and boy was it a surprise. I’m the first human to see angaran dick for sure” Sara smirked.

“Sounds like there’s a story behind this” Tiran said.

“Well, a short story, I’m still not entirely sure what happened. Liam asked me to make some armor for him, I left Liam alone for a few minutes to go requisition it and I come back and Liam is shirtless, which was surprising in and of itself, then Jaal just walks in absolutely naked. That man stripped down in his room and then waltzed naked across my ship, then just left like that! I turned around when I heard Liam’s door open and there’s Jaal naked as could be right there! And neither Jaal nor Liam cared!” Sara giggled.

“Well, that’s um… surprising” Tiran stifled a laugh. “And you still don’t know what it was about?”

“Nope. The most I got from either of them was that they were trying to get to the bottom of things and get answers to the real questions. I haven’t asked why Liam needed to be shirtless and why Jaal was naked. There’s some things I just honestly don’t need answers to”.

The shuttle arrived at the loading dock. The lights had already been dimmed there too, bathing everything in a yellow glow from guide lights recessed in the floor.

“You know, I envy that you have a ship. When Tann gets annoying you can just fly off and ignore his calls. When I ignore him he just shows up in my office and makes a scene” Tiran said. “‘Kandros, you can’t just ignore my calls’ ‘Kandros, you need to submit every strike mission to me for approval’ ‘Kandros, I love making your job absolutely miserable’” Tiran mocked.

Sara hid a her giggle behind her hand, starting to relax as she just enjoyed chatting with someone.

“And here we are, the only place where Tann doesn’t bother me” Tiran said as they walked into the Vortex.

“Kandros!” called the asari bartender, “Not drinking alone this time?”

“Nope, I have the great honor of the Pathfinder joining me” he called back to her as he and Sara slid into a booth off to the side of the room.

“They seem to know you here” Sara said.

“Not to sound too cocky, but I think most people know me. I haven’t reached your level of fame yet though” Tiran said with a bit of a smile.

“Or maybe you just drink a lot” Sara teased.

“I only drink on days where Tann annoys me” he said.

“So everyday?” she asked.

“Most days” he admitted.

The bartender approached them carrying a drink, “I already know what you want” she said sitting the drink down in front Tiran, “And what’ll it be for the Pathfinder?”

“Um, what do you have?” asked Sara.

“It’s a bar, so most things. Though you’re the ‘I drink what someone hands me’ type aren’t you?” the bartender asked.

“Mostly, never really spent any times in bars or anything” Sara said.

“That’s alright, I’ve got you” the bartender said with a smile.

“Hey!” Tiran called to the bartender as she made her way back to the bar, “How do you know I didn’t want something different?”

“Because you’re the biggest creature of habit that I’ve ever seen. Except the one time you got dared to drink ryncol, now that was something” said the bartender.

“You drank ryncol?”asked Sara in disbelief. Why anyone who was not a krogan would drink it was entirely beyond her unless they had a death wish.

“Yeah, there was a krogan in here complaining and saying there was nothing good, everything here was too weak for him. He had a flask of ryncol with him and he was going on telling everyone that they couldn’t handle it and daring someone to try it, so I took a shot” Tiran said with a shrug.

“And you didn’t just pass out on the spot or anything?” asked Sara.

“No. It tasted terrible, don’t get me wrong I have no desire to drink it again, but I think krogans just like to hype it up” said Tiran.

Sara was smirking, something about that gave Tiran a warm feeling in his chest. He was thrilled to see her happy for even just a moment, just to be able to take a little of the stress off her for now felt so much more fulfilling than anything else he had done since waking up on the Nexus.

“And a drink for you” the bartender said as she returned, drink in hand. “Asari liquor and fruit juices, with a surprise”.

“Thanks” Sara said, taking the drink from her. The drink looked nice enough, it was a pink color and smelled like something between cranberry and mango, the surprise part concerned Sara though.

“Cheers” said Tiran, raising his glass.

Sara raised her own, clinking it against his before cautiously raising it to her lips to sip on it. It was sweet, almost sickeningly sweet, but that was not the surprise. Something in the drink had a menthol like quality, cooling her mouth and throat, which caused her to cough a bit in surprise.

“Any good?” Tiran asked.

“It’s different, but not bad” said Sara taking another sip of the drink.

“So” began Tiran, “what’s it like being able to travel and be able to see all these new planets?”

“It’s actually pretty cool,” Sara smiled, “when things aren’t shooting at you”.

Tiran snorted into his drink, “I think I miss things shooting at me. I’ve been cooped up here on the Nexus for too long. I signed up to guard colonists and expeditions, not to be buried under paperwork”.

“Couldn’t you have turned down the position?” asked Sara.

“Maybe, the Hierarchy always told us there was no shame on not taking a promotion if you feel like you couldn’t do it” Tiran paused, taking a drink and gathering his thoughts, “but I felt like I could do this and it turns out I can. Now I realize I just don’t want to do it. I know I’m doing what’s best, this is where I can help the most. Service over self, you know?”

A silence settled between them as they both sipped on their drinks. Sara never realized that Tiran had felt backed into his position too. That for as confident and at ease as he always seemed that he was sort of just floundering through everything doing a job that he did not want to do either.

“Hey Tiran, can I tell you something? And promise that you won’t be offended.” asked Sara.

“Of course” Tiran said.

“I always thought you were some old military lieutenant or something. Like you had all sorts of experience and you knew exactly what you were doing” Sara said.

“Old? I’m only a few years older than you” Tiran groaned, “Why does everyone think I’m like 40?”

“Probably because you act like like some old military commander” Sara grinned.

Tiran felt the same warmth in his chest from Sara grinning, even if it was at his expense. It was worth it to see her smile and relax.

“So if you’re not some grizzled old war vet, how old are you? If that’s not rude to ask” Sara asked.

“Twenty-six. I don’t even think Tann realizes that” Tiran answered.

“Look at us, a couple of kids put in charge of keeping people safe” Sara said between between sips of her drink.

“That’s alright, we’re figuring it out” Tiran said. He wanted to reach out and grab her hand, or at least a pat her on the shoulder, anything to reassure her that he had faith in her and would be there for her to talk to. Instead he resigned himself to a smile, hoping it carried the same sentiment.

The rest of their time was filled with idle chitchat, an equal mix of complaining about Tann and the bureaucracy of the Nexus, and the excitement of being in a new galaxy. Every time Sara talked about something new or interesting in Heleus that she found her face lit up in a wide smile, something Tiran was sure he could never be tired of seeing.

“Thanks for this Tiran” said Sara as she finished her drink.

“Anytime. Anytime you just want to talk let me know” Tiran felt the pleasant buzz from his drink start to set in, a low alcohol tolerance had its ups and downs. At least the bartender knowing what he liked to drink meant that Sara had not realized that he just had drank a double pour of straight up alcohol in thirty minutes.

“I should head back to the Tempest” Sara said a little disappointedly.

“I��ll walk with you” Tiran offered.

There were a few people watching them as they left the bar, but the Pathfinder and the militia leader talking was not particularly out of the ordinary. Had any of them been paying attention they would have noticed the slight way Tiran stumbled as he walked or the blue flush that had crept up his neck, but luckily the militia leader leaving a bit tipsy was also pretty unremarkable.

The walk to the Tempest dock was short and filled with a comfortable silence. Tiran did not know the last time he recalled feeling so calm. Maybe it was how quickly he finished his drink, maybe it was feeling like he made a difference in Sara’s day, either way he felt himself smiling the entire walk to the Tempest .

“I had a good time” Sara began as they reached the doors leading to the dock, “Maybe the next time I’m on the Nexus we can do it again”.

Tiran melted a bit seeing her smile wanting to chat with him again causing the blood rush to his face, making him incredibly happy that his plates would hide any blushing. “Of course, let me know when you’re free next”.

“And I’ve got the drinks next time” Sara grinned.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s on my tab, which links to the Initiative accounts, which Tann pays technically” Tiran said.

“Well, in that case we’ll let Tann pick up the drinks” Said Sara.

Tiran wanted to reach out and touch her, a hug or placing his hand on her shoulder, anything to show some closeness. He did not necessarily know why all of a sudden he wanted to close the gap between them, why after a few weeks of just seeing her as the Pathfinder somehow turned into him wanting to comfort her and get to know her. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was having the chance to talk to Sara instead of the Pathfinder, either way he was glad that Sara came with him tonight.

He reached out and gently placed his hand on Sara’s shoulder, hoping it would not be too intrusive on human standards. “Stay safe out there, Sara. I’m looking forward to the next time we can talk”.

“Hey, the kett haven’t killed me yet, have a little faith in me” Said said with a smile, “I’ll see you soon, I promise”.

Tiran smiled as he watched Sara disappear through the doors to the Tempest dock. ‘She looked happy’ he thought to himself. He felt lighter than air as he strolled back to his apartment, thrilled the Sara felt comfortable enough to want to meet up with him and talk again.

“SAM?” Sara called out from where she had flopped onto her bed on the Tempest, “Any thoughts on Tiran?”

“What do you mean Pathfinder?” Came SAM’s voice echoing in her head, something Sara did not think she would ever get completely used to.

“I don’t know, did you pick up anything weird about him tonight? I mean we’ve talked a lot, but he’s never really shown any interest in getting to know me before tonight. Is that weird?” Sara asked SAM.

“I detected above normal heart rate and dilated pupils during your meeting with him, common signs of interest or distress in all known organic species. His actions seemed motivated by a concern for your well being and his physical reactions were a response each time you spoke, and when he touched your shoulder” Answered SAM.

“Okay, but what does that mean? Was he flirting with me?” asked Sara.

“Unknown. More information is needed before I can make a judgement” Said SAM.

“That was rhetorical, SAM” Said Sara.

“Very well Pathfinder. Would you like me to monitor Kandros’s responses to you for future reference?” asked SAM.

“That’s not necessary SAM” she said.

“Very well Pathfinder”.

There’s no way he was flirting with me, Sara thought to herself, he worried because I’m Pathfinder, he’s worried because he knows I’m dealing with the same sort of things he’s dealt with, just worse.

Regardless of rather Tiran was flirting or not it gave Sara a warm feeling in her chest knowing someone was concerned about her. In the back of her mind she knew the crew worried about her and was there for her too, that she could go to anyone on the Tempest and they would let her vent, but she could not bring herself to unload her fears on them. They were going through all of this with her, the last thing she wanted was to put more stress on them. Tiran felt different though, more like an anchor or rock that she might be able to really talk to.

#MEAfics #ryder/kandros #tiran kandros #mass effect andromeda

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hxbibibeats · 5 years ago

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Novel Assignment 2

"I can’t dial a setting that stimulates my cerebral cortex into wanting to dial! If I don’t want to dial, I don’t want to dial that most of all, because then I will want to dial, and wanting to dial is right now the most alien drive I can imagine…..So I put it on my schedule for twice a month; I think that’s a reasonable amount of time to feel hopeless about everything". This quote shows the mindset of Iran Deckard. She does not enjoy having to artificially induce her emotions and knows the only way to help herself is by artificially inducing emotions. She feels hollow/empty despite her inability to feel negative emotions. To make herself feel “normal” and less hollow, she forcefully uses a machine to create negative emotions twice a month. Iran knows that having artificial positive emotions is no better than being an android herself and this is a way to keep her as “human” as possible.

"So although I heard the emptiness intellectually, I didn’t feel it. My first reaction consisted of being grateful that we could afford a Penfield mood organ. But then I realized how unhealthy it was, sensing the absence of life, not just in this building but everywhere, and not reacting—do you see?". People in this novel depend on a machine to control their emotions but Iran realizes how hollow it really is. They do not feel a certain emotion because they want to but they artificially induce emotional responses that would best suit specific scenarios. This quote is meant to show that people can be emotionally artificial just like robots.

"He wished to god he had a horse, in fact, any animal. Owning and maintaining a fraud had a way of gradually demoralizing one." Within the novel, there is a social hierarchy of the people who live on earth. Nature is almost completely destroyed on earth, so animals are very expensive. Those who own animals are seen as wealthy and have a high place within their social hierarchy. Those who cannot afford a real animal get robotic replicas of real animals, but they are looked down on by those with real animals. This is meant to show how people inherently have a love for nature and how people can take things such as nature and manipulate them to represent power, wealth etc.

"In addition, no one today remembered why the war had come about or who, if anyone, had won." This quote describes how the war that had destroyed most of the earth with nuclear war had no significant reason to happen or a reason that people have wilfully ignored throughout the years. People do not care why the war had happened but they only focus on what it has done to the earth. This may be showing that the cycle of war and bloodshed may happen again because people do not remember why it had happened.

"That had been the ultimate incentive of emigration: the android servant as carrot, the radioactive fallout as the stick. The U.N. had made it easy to emigrate, difficult if not impossible to stay. Loitering on Earth potentially meant finding oneself abruptly classed as biologically unacceptable, a menace to the pristine heredity of the race." This quote describes how most people had moved onto another colonized planet because of the UN’s incentive, but those who are suffering from radiation sickness have been left behind by the majority of the human population. This shows that most people did not want to leave earth but due to how bad the earth had become, the government needed to offer sentient robots for free, practically making them slaves for humankind.

"Once pegged as special, a citizen, even if accepting sterilization, dropped out of history. He ceased, in effect, to be part of mankind." Those who have radiation sickness or mental illness are cast out and left to rot on earth by the UN. Humanity wants to seem perfect as they want to leave behind all of their flaws back on earth. This shows how even in the aftermath of nuclear war, people will still be pretentious and will look down on those who are inferior to them.

"By then, naturally, he himself would be dead, another interesting event to anticipate as he stood here in his stricken living room alone with the lungless, all-penetrating, masterful world-silence." This quote emphasizes emptiness present throughout the novel and throughout the earth. There are barely any people left on earth, most people have artificially induced emotions and those with mental illness are left in isolation and considered the lowest within the social hierarchy. The author is trying to portray a desolate, lonely environment on earth.

"The visual image congealed; he saw at once a famous landscape, the old, brown, barren ascent, with tufts of dried-out bonelike weeds poking slantedly into a dim and sunless sky. One single figure, more or less human in form, toiled its way up the hillside: an elderly man wearing a dull, featureless robe, covering as meager as if it had been snatched from the hostile emptiness of the sky." This quote is meant to show how one man, Wilbur Mercer, is a large religious figure throughout the novel. He is the leader of a religion called Mercerism that believes humanity’s defining quality is empathy and it is what separates us from animals. This is meant to juxtapose how even though Mercer is preaching empathy, he and his followers all keep sentient androids as servants as if they are inferior to human beings with no regard for how they might feel.

"What do you do when a new resident moves in? Drop by and borrow something, is that how it’s done? He could not remember; this had never happened to him before, here or anywhere else: people moved out, people emigrated, but nobody ever moved in. You take them something, he decided. Like a cup of water or rather milk; yes, it’s milk or flour or maybe an egg—or, specifically, their ersatz substitutes." This quote is meant to show how the character, John Isidore, is suffering from some type of mental illness. He cannot properly interact with other people and has been cast out of fo society. His excitement for human interaction is very apparent because he is forced to live in isolation without any human contact.

“Holden,” he continued as he started off, “is in Mount Zion Hospital with a laser track through his spine. He’ll be there for a month at least. Until they can get one of those new organic plastic spinal sections to take hold.” This quote is meant to show how there are signs of some sort of android uprising/revolution against humans as they become increasingly hostile towards people, putting one police officer in the hospital. It shows that they do not want to be forcefully kept as servants and they want to be recognized as sentient beings.

"The Nexus-6 android types, Rick reflected, surpassed several classes of human specials in terms of intelligence. In other words, androids equipped with the new Nexus-6 brain unit had from a sort of rough, pragmatic, no-nonsense standpoint evolved beyond a major—but inferior—segment of mankind. For better or worse. The servant had in some cases become more adroit than its master" This quote shows that android technology has evolved to the point where they are more intelligent than some humans. This is significant as it shows that people with mental illness/disabilities are not seen as a part of mankind and even though androids are intelligent enough to be seen as their own sentient species etc. they are seen as nothing more than tools for humans to use.

"Empathy, evidently, existed only within the human community, whereas intelligence to some degree could be found throughout every phylum and order including the Arachnida…..As long as some creature experienced joy, then the condition for all other creatures included a fragment of joy. However, if any living being suffered, then for all the rest the shadow could not be entirely cast off." This quote is significant as it is the justification for the poor treatment of mentally ill people and the way to differentiate androids from humans. The world believes that empathy is what separates humans from animals and that androids are not capable of empathy. Humans are the only species that consider what other living creatures feel. Since many mentally ill people cannot feel empathy, they are not seen as human and since androids are not capable of empathy, they are not considered human or living either.

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mealha · 6 years ago

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Make your own Instagram filter

Blink, smize, pout, post. (Apostolos Vamvouras via Usplash/)

Ah, Instagram—my life, my love, my doom. Lusting over other people's vacations and brunch outings is an official hobby of mine, but as much as I love scrolling endlessly through the beautiful lives of people I mostly don't know, I love Stories more. They're quick, they're easy, and their limited lifespan allows me to be as silly as I want without ruining my whole grid aesthetic.

Plus, Stories allow you to add a filter to your photos—one of the most versatile features on social media nowadays. Want to horse around looking like a cute rodent? There’s a filter for that. Want to have silky smooth skin and try on lipsticks you can’t afford? There’s a filter for that. Want to look like the cover of a Pink Floyd album? Well, you get the gist.

For years, Instagram filters were only made by the platform itself or by a handful of studios and creators with access to Spark AR Studio, a tool Facebook designed specifically to create filters for their platforms. But that changed in early August, when Spark AR's closed beta version ended and the software became available to anyone dreaming of making their own filters.

So, as the Instagram addict I am, I volunteered as tribute and set about learning how to make my own filters—and then write about it so you can do it, too.

But before we start, there are some things you need to know:

It's not that hard (if you don't want it to be)

Building a filter can be complicated, but the difficulty depends on how elaborate your idea is. If you want to stick to something easy, you can create a lot of 2D effects in Spark AR that won’t require you to animate anything or spend hours on end trying to figure things out.

Experience is not required, but it makes things easier

If you’re already familiar with graphic editing programs such as Cinema 3D or even Adobe Photoshop, you may find it easier to navigate Spark AR. If this is your first encounter with such a tool, make sure to explore and experiment with the platform first. It’ll help you get to know it a little bit better.

Spark AR already did most of the work for you

When Facebook opened Spark AR to the public, it created a community of creators to help, inform, and inspire its members on the new art of filter-making. There's also a rich platform of content, materials, and tutorials to educate people on all things filter. In fact, when you download Spark AR, the first thing you'll see is a menu with preset projects such as an animated bunny face mask, a light streak, and floating particles. These will give you a pretty good idea of how the main types of filters work behind the scenes, but you'll also be able to play around with them until you've achieved something completely new and yours.

If you’re more adventurous and want to try animating 3D objects, there’s an entire library of preset elements for you to put in your filters, including all sorts of skulls, Pokeballs, anime characters, and even a realistic dancing crab, for whatever reason.

Since I have absolutely no animation experience and prefer minimalist effects anyway, I’ll build a simple 2D filter. Doing so is easy enough and a perfect initiation to making filters. You can combine 2D elements, use them separately, or even multiply them within a single project to create a richer effect.

Lesson No. 1—Know thy surroundings

Spark AR has a lot of elements. Knowing your way around is crucial. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

Start by downloading Spark AR Studio. It's free, easy to install, and available for Windows 10 and macOS Mojave 10.14 and higher. Once it's installed, you can choose to work with various presets or start your own filter from scratch by clicking on the Create Project button in the bottom right.

Spark AR will open to the default workspace, which is divided into four areas. In the top left, there’s the “Scene” panel, which will show the basic structure of the objects in your filter. By default, you’ll see “ambientLight0” and “directionalLight0,” which are lighting elements.

Below the Scene panel is the “Assets” panel, which will contain all the materials that describe the objects in the Scene panel. For example, if you add a red rectangle to the Scene panel, the color element will show up in the Assets panel.

The space in the middle is the viewport. This will be your main workspace, offering two perspectives of your project. The bigger one in the center shows all the objects in your filter within the range of your device’s camera. This will help you create effects in camera space—which move with the camera—or world space—which stay put regardless of where the camera moves.

That little rectangle is your device, and the lines that connect it to the image show the range of your camera. (screenshot of viewport in spark ar/)

In the top right of the viewport, there’s another viewer called “the simulator” that shows how your filter will look as a final product. By default, you’ll see your work as it would appear on an iPhone 8, but if you hover over the viewer and click on the name of the device, you can change it. Options span a number of iOS devices (including the iPad) and Android smartphones (including some versions of the Samsung Galaxy, the Google Pixel, and the Google Nexus).

You can choose the specific device you want to build your filter for, or test how it looks on different screens. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

Finally, on the far right of your workspace, there’s the “Inspector” panel, which will show the properties of the elements in your scene and allow you to edit color, texture, position, rotation, and other details.

Spark AR includes several test faces for you to try your filters on. You'll be able to see how they look on people of different genders and ethnicities, a blank canvas, and even yourself. You can play with your options by clicking on the camera icon to the left of the Scene panel and choosing the face you want to use from the pop-up menu. If you want to try it on yourself, choose Facetime HD Camera and you'll be able to build a filter on your own face.

Oh, hi there! Greetings from behind the red square. (screenshot of spark ar showing the live camera/)

At any point in the process, you can test your work on the Instagram app. Just click on the Send to Device button (second to the left of the Assets panel) and choose Send to App. You can test it on both Facebook and Instagram by clicking the Send button next to each one.

If you've never ventured beyond Microsoft Office, you may find this a little nerve-wracking, but don't worry—it'll all start making sense once you're actually working. If you'd like a little extra help, check out Spark AR's interface walk through.

Lesson No. 2—Teleport by changing the background

Let’s start with something simple. Swapping your background is technically called “segmentation” and is a basic, but fun, effect that offers tons of possibilities.

1. Choose an image to use as your background. You can select a proper photograph or create something new by playing with colors and effects in Photoshop or any other image-editing software. I chose one of the Hubble Space Telescope's pictures of the Bubble Nebula in the constellation Cassiopeia. Look how cool it is—of course you'd want to teleport there. Even its name is rad.

2. Add two rectangles. One will be the background (like a green screen) and the other one will display your face while erasing your real-world background. Head to the bottom right of the Scene panel, click on Add Object, scroll down the pop-up menu, and choose Rectangle. Do this twice. By default, your rectangles will appear as "Rectangle0" and "Rectangle1", but it's a good idea to change the names so you don't get lost. I changed "Rectangle0" to "Background" and "Rectangle1" to "Foreground, for example." To do so, double-click the name and a field will appear. Make sure both rectangles are nested under canvas0. This means both will be "children" of that element and will be subjected to any changes you make to their "parent."

3. Set the rectangles' sizes. Click on the Background rectangle (formerly known as "Rectangle0") and you'll see its properties in the Inspector panel on the right. Click on the Size fields and then the Fill Width and Fill Height drop-downs that appear. This will make the rectangle change size no matter which device a person uses it with. Do this for the second rectangle as well. Your viewport will be completely covered by the rectangles, which will be displayed as a checkered pattern called "alpha." This means they're transparent, but they're still there.

In this step, we aim to expand both rectangles to cover the entire filter. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

4. Separate the layers. By default, any object you add will join the layer you last worked in. If you don't want it there, you'll have to move it to a different layer. For the segmentation effect to work, you'll need the rectangles in different layers so the background renders after the foreground. To do this, click on the Background rectangle in the Scene panel. On the Inspector panel to the right, click on the Layer field and choose Create New Layer. If you want to, you can rename the layers by clicking the Layers tab in the top right of the Scene panel, and double-clicking the name each layer in turn.

5. Create new materials. Time to give those transparent rectangles a solid form. That's what "Materials" are for. You'll assign each rectangle its own material by selecting each one in the Scene panel and then, in the Inspector panel on the right, clicking the plus sign next to Materials. When you do it for the second time, you'll see a drop-down menu offering existing materials or the option to create a new one. Choose the latter.

Once you’ve chosen your materials, they’ll show up in the Assets panel and it’s also a good idea to rename them to keep track. When you select your materials in the Assets panel, you’ll see a bunch of new options in the Inspector panel. You can change color, texture, opacity, blend, etc. If you want to experiment with your filters, play around with these options and see what you can come up with.

Materials are one of the main elements in Spark AR—they can be a picture or a block of color. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

6. Create a segmentation texture. This will turn any video captured by your camera into a texture, which means it'll separate you (or whoever you're pointing your camera at) from the background. In the Scene panel, click on Camera, and in the Inspector panel, click the plus sign next to Segmentation. A new asset will appear in the Assets panel called, by default, "personSegmentationMaskTexture0".

7. Add "texture extraction" to the foreground material. First, click on Camera in the Scene panel, and in the Inspector panel, click the plus sign next to Texture Extraction. Another asset will appear in the Assets panel, named "cameraTexture0."

To use it as a new texture, click on the foreground material in the Assets panel. In the Inspector panel, change the Shader Type (first item on top) to Flat, which will give this material the properties of a flat, 2D element. If you want to give it a volume effect (ideal for 3D), the Physically-Based option is a good choice. You can also play around with these to see what types of effects you can come up with on your own.

Under Diffuse (the second item in the Inspector panel), find Texture and choose cameraTexture0 from the drop-down menu. Lower, check the box next to Alpha (it will look like it's "off" but clicking the box to the right will make it appear) and in the Texture field, open the drop-down menu and choose personSegmentationMaskTexture0.

8. Change the background. It might look like nothing happened, but you're almost there. You've set the foundation for your filter and now all you have to do is change the background. Click on the Background_Material and on the Inspector panel, under Diffuse, change the color to something that contrasts with the subject in the camera. This will help you adjust the edges of the segmentation by changing the Mask Size and the Edge Softness. You'll find these options in the Inspector panel when you click personSegmentationMaskTexture0.

If you like blocks of colors, you can stop there and play around with different background colors. But why do that when you can get a constellation? Let’s change that background.

Select your Background_material, and under Diffuse, reset the color to white. Lower, under Texture, click on Choose file from computer and upload the picture you want to use as a background. Keep in mind that large photo files may be too big for Instagram or Facebook to process seamlessly, so keep it as light as you can. I used a 720-by-734-pixel image weighing around 86KB, and the program was a little sluggish.

9. Add a little sparkle. As cool as teleporting yourself to Cassiopeia may seem, it's not cool enough. Not unless you have some shiny bits of flair floating around you. This is known as the floating particle effect, and it's a common feature in Instagram filters. Applying one to your filter will be quite easy and highly customizable.

Having the emitter as an independent object allows you to create a “world” effect. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

First, in the Scene panel, click on Add Object and scroll all the way down to the end of the list to choose a Particle System. You'll notice a new element in the viewport emitting alpha squares in the middle of your viewer. This is your emitter, and the alpha squares are the particles.

When you create your emitter, it will appear in the Scene panel under your foreground rectangle, which means it will be subjected to the Focal Distance element (second under Camera) by default. If you want to create a "world" effect, click on the name of the emitter ("emitter0," by default), drag it down and drop it below Microphone. This will make the emitter an independent object.

You’ll notice three arrows coming out of the emitter. They represent the X (red), Y (green) and Z (blue) axis, and you can drag them around to change the emitter’s position. Also, when you click on the name of the emitter, you’ll find a list of every possible customizable option. We’ll go through a few of them.

The checkered pattern is called “alpha.” it means something's there, but it’s transparent. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

Position, scale, and rotation: These all have X, Y and Z fields that will help you move the emitter around in relation to the camera (position), how far in each direction the particles will go (scale) and at what angle (rotation). You can play with the values of these fields (positive and negative numbers) to create the effect you want.

Emitter: You can choose what type of emitter you want to use. Since I have a fixed background—it will not move if we move the camera—I'll use the Ring emitter, which will spray particles in a spherical radius. This will create a "world" effect that will make some particles appear closer and others further from the camera.

Customizing particles: The Birthrate determines the number of particles the emitter will release. The more particles you want, the higher this number will be. Speed, Scale and Lifespan, are self-explanatory—the first one determines how fast your particles move; the second: how big your particles are; and the third: how long your particle will last before it fades.

Force: This is like gravity. If you play with the values in the Y axis, you'll notice your particles will appear lighter or heavier. A value of 0.05 will slow your particles down—the lower the value, the heavier particles will be.

10. Add a material. Until now, you've only have the idea of particles; simple alpha squares floating around your filter. Now, it's time to add a material. With the emitter selected in the Scene panel, go to the Inspection panel, scroll down, and click on the plus sign next to Materials and choose Create New. A new element will appear on the Assets panel. Double-click on it and rename it "Particle_material."

You'll notice your particles will have changed. Mine turned yellow, but yours might've turned some other color (if that is the case, don't worry). Select Particle_material in the Assets panel, and then in the Inspector panel, click on the Shader Type drop-down and choose Flat. All this works if you're using a 2D particle effect, but if you're using something with a 3D effect, you can use Physically-Based, instead. Further down, under Shader properties, next to Texture, click on the Choose file from computer option. An explorer window will open and you'll be able to select any file you like.

No, Spark AR guy, those are not fireflies. (Sandra Gutierrez G./)

Whatever image you end up using for your particles will have to have a transparent background. Most of the time, you’ll find these types of files in PNG format with a simple Google Image search. I looked for “spark, filetype:.png” on Google Images and chose the one I liked the most. Once you have a particle with its own texture, you might want to readjust your emitter. I went back and made the particles bigger (from 0.01 to 0.05).

Congratulations! You made your first Instagram filter. Now what?

11. Share your new filter. To do so, you'll have to upload it to the Spark AR hub, where it will be reviewed by Instagram's support team. Once they've seen it and have determined that your filter complies with the platform's community guidelines, your filter will be available in the Instagram gallery, on your profile, within Stories, and through a sharing link. The process takes about five business days.

Start by clicking the Export button to the left of the Assets panel (it's an upward arrow). Once there, save your project in an arexport file, which you will have to upload to the Spark AR hub. The program will automatically direct you there once the export is done.

Spark AR is a versatile tool that’s not that user-friendly, but stands out because of the vast possibilities it offers those who want to create filters. With a little imagination and tweaking, the segmentation and particle emitter effects alone can launch a myriad of experiences. There’s a lot of content out there for you to learn and experiment with, so it’s just a matter of investing the time and playing with it.

Now, if you excuse me, I have some stories to post.

I can see the view count going through the roof. (screenshot of woman with instagram filter/) from Popular Photography | RSS https://ift.tt/31fVmBM

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grazhir · 6 years ago

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Skyrim SE

Because I'm just that much of a masochist. Ran a test today (late last night/early this morning?) regarding the Skill Uncapper. The spreadsheet said it didn't work with 1.5.80 if you let SKSE64 load the DLL, which made me not upgrade (and in fact, downgraded after the reinstall, back to 1.5.62). Because really, I hate having to legendary skills. Anyway, I grabbed a DLL Loader people were talking about, dumped it into place, shuffled shit around in my MO2 setup, and eventually got a copy of the Uncapper DLL (plus my copy of the INI which handles all the skill caps and gains). Started a new game, immediately hit R to accept the idiot on my screen, let the MCM stuff do its thing, and picked a Riverwood start. Opened the console, typed in player.advskill destruction 4000 and kept doing it (working my way up to like 20 or 40000), and yes, Destruction leveled beyond 100. Did it again with Alteration. Awesome. So fine, I'll update! Cue several hours of tracking down all mods which are version dependant, downloading, installing... (And forgetting some, naturally.) Swearing while trying to remember what part of the ENB binary update I needed to copy, muttering over what to copy over from the update to Silent Horizons... Remembering that I do kinda have to update SKSE64 both manually and in MO2... Ran LOOT to see what errors it would throw at me. Well gosh, I never cleaned my masters when I rebuilt the machine and reinstalled the game. Also, several of the mods in my list need cleaning. Fine, done. LOOT again to get the sort. Run Mator Smash. It launched, let me hit OK on that first screen, but every time I tried to rebuild the Smashed Patch, it just disappeared somewhere. It was running, but I couldn't see it. All I could do was end the task. Fuck. I've come full circle, folks. I downloaded a fresh copy of Wrye Bash off Nexus, installed that, set it up in MO2, and wow, it fucking works suddenly. So that's covered. Though it did point out a handful of mods in my setup that were never updated to form 44. Got that sorted in the CK. Now back to using a Bashed Patch instead of a Smashed Patch. Whatev. Ran the damn game. Immediately realized, on seeing the T-pose on my girl, that I forgot to run FNIS. Got that sorted. MO2 was reporting three issues. Two mods I forgot to update (from a certain site), and one mod where a DLL it contained could safely be hidden. Got that sorted. The updated version of Yundao hair once again correctly (?) pulls the PC's actual hair colour (it wasn't working during the test game I played recently to check out Hunterborn and two other mods I added). Went into the CK long enough to slap the appropriate keyword on every wig. (If only someone would properly animate KS Hairdos "Reprise" with SMP...) Now, I did crash twice, which scared me. I'm almost used to not crashing at this point, you know? I will continue to play this test game (which may not stay a test—at least until Legacy v5 is released, because that requires a new game) and see if the crashes keep happening (please god no). And see if the latest three mods I added function and if I need to revert, either because they don't or because I don't like them. I have yet to add that armor I like back in, but I'll get around to it. Yeah, I heard that the most recent versions of HDT-SMP fixed some of the prevailing issues, but... Yeah, no. I'm still seeing the SMP stuff (hair, skirt) spazzing out on a fast travel, and her hair keeps doing the equivalent of a three-tailed split and being rather floaty... Whatev. Sometimes it all acts beautifully. Either way, it's not enough of an issue for me to forgo SMP's cloth physics. I did ditch CBPC this time, though. Found an XML that made things less ... jello-y.

#skyrim se #skyrim se modding

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nganburdge12-blog · 7 years ago

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the-short-stouts-tavern · 8 years ago

Text

Firestartem PART 1

Elune’s grace has given us a chance to move forward. It is what the Dreamer would want.

Yes, my lady. You are correct. I will move forward.

Days had turned into weeks as the small laboratory nestled in Dalaran became its own sort of daycare. A tiny tauren baby that consumed the Tears of Elune, one of the Pillars of Creation that held the key to Azeroth’s salvation, had begun to accept that this must be home now. It helped that the lab occupants were not mean to the child.

Sareva walked in with her clipboard, filled to the brim with notes she had taken on the child. Although she heard from Kegoc about the child’s sudden ability to fly across the world, it certainly did not show this to her. No matter how many times she had tried to replicate the scenario, there was no flying tauren to be had.

In the corner of the room sat Nysian, tinkering with another small device nestled into a tree. His eyes glimmered lightly as he concentrated on his task. It was always interesting to see...any of these three actively work on something.

“What are you up to, Nys?” Sareva asked, walking over with a mug in her hand.

“Mm?” Nysian’s eyes brightened in glow as he turned his focus to Sareva. “Oh, I apologize. I was focused on my pet project.” He put down his arclight spanner. “I had to remake it after the tavern...you know.”

“Was destroyed by a dreadlord driven by spite after you three pissed him off? Yeah, I know.” Sareva took a sip of her drink. “So what is it supposed to do?”

“I was looking into ways of integrating some sort of sun-powered device that fed the plants out of direct sunlight. You know, in case a demon destroys the sun or something.”

“Ah, like a portable sunwell?”

Nysian scoffed. “If you want to call it that. I’d prefer not calling it after a high elf bathtub.” He coughed, then spoke louder. “No offense, Sotoris!”

“None taken, hairy tree-hugger!” Shouted a voice from the other room.

Nysian smirked, then looked at Sareva’s frowning face. “...what? We have a thing.”

“Hm.” Sareva shook her head and turned around, walking back to the child on the table. She began to look over her notes and took out a small vial. Coaxing the child to drink it, the contents were almost immediately spat out. The child did not like this.

She sighed. She knew this wasn’t going to work. She had attempted to expel the fluid from the child weeks ago. She hoped making a potion that would cause magical effects to be expelled from the body in some sort of fluid form would work, but her attempts have all been met with failure.

"You know, we could have locked the Tomb of Sargeras away by now.” Nysian leaned back in his chair. “Attempt to absorb the magic out of the child and find a new vessel. Be done with it.”

“Off the table, remember?” Sareva looked over at the druid. “Kegoc’s orders.”

“Kegoc says a lot of things. I’ve known the dwarf for a long time, but his insistence in trying to uphold a righteous and virtuous path is, annoying.” Nysian stood up from his chair, stepping to the table. “He’s too focused on absolutes, like a paladin usually is.”

Sareva looked at the druid, frowning. “The absolutes that he follows are his own moral foundations. Killing a child is a last resort and you know it.”

“A ‘chance’ at killing a child. Regardless,” Nysian looked at the child, who proceeded to stare at the druid with a look of annoyance. He frowned and looked back at Sareva. “How long before we have to discuss that ‘last resort’?”

“Nysian...” Sareva looked at the child for a moment. “The last resort is the Legion at our doorstep.”

“Shall I get the welcome mat out, then?” Nysian asked with a biting tone.

Sareva’s expression turned to anger as she stepped forward, looking the druid right in the eye. “I understand your frustration. I really do. But your tone is not appreciated in the slightest. I’m not going to give up trying to figure out how to handle this like you have. We can’t do this unless we work together.”

“Sorry if I don’t think we’ll be getting anywhere with our team. A paladin who knows nothing about the arcane and a mage who knows....nothing.”

Sareva frowned. “Hey, don’t talk about Nittenook like that...are you still upset at him?”

“I mean, he did kidnap the problem child over there.” Nysian looked over at the table. “Even beyond that, his...eccentricities may have cost us a chance to make quick work of this situation.”

“Look, Nys...I know this isn’t really a great situation all-around, but it’s especially not good for the baby. He didn’t know better. He didn’t choose to obtain this.....this...”

Her expression shifted back very suddenly, her eyes brightening. “Wait......wait, wait, I think I may have an idea.”

“Oh?”

“Yes! But first, get out of my laboratory.”

It wasn’t until the next day that Sareva had finally called in for everyone to meet in the lounge of A Hero’s Welcome, famed tavern of the Silver Enclave district of Dalaran. There sat Kegoc, Nysian, Nittenook, and Liteena, the latter two of which were kept about 25 feet away from each other as per Nittenook’s request...and Kegoc’s insistence.

Soon, Sareva walked up the stairs, the baby tauren in tow. The four stopped their conversations and looked over.

“Ah, good. You’re all here.” Sareva smiled. “I may have a solution to our little child problem.

“Aye, lass?” Kegoc looked at her. “Did ye finally find a potion wot can get the magic out of ‘em?”

“No, unfortunately. I’ve tried every ingredient and potential potion I can think of and some that I looked into from some alchemists in town.” This brought Kegoc’s eyebrow to a peak and was looking to say something before she stopped him. “Don’t worry, Kegoc. The only ones who know of the child’s...condition is the Council of Six and my close companions in the lab. Some higher-ups in the Horde were concerned about it, but Archmage Sotoris was quick to stifle them.”

“So what are you wanting us to do about the little guy?” Liteena looked over at the mage. “We’re not.......are we?”

“No, we’re not going to do that.” Sareva reached into her bag and took out a small journal, handing it to the dwarf. “However, I believe the solution may be more direct than I once thought. Despite its divine and natural origin, magic is still magic. It should operate under the same sort of concepts of magic that we all know of.”

“What is this?” Kegoc asked, looking at the journal. “It looks very worn-out.”

“That is an old journal of Aegwynn, former Guardian.”

“Ah! I have heard of her!” Nittenook grabbed the journal and looked through it. “It was said she held Sargeras within her! That would have been quite painful birth.”

“That’s not how...well, close enough.” Sareva sighed. “Point is, I was looking through what was possibly done from there. The idea of passing power along to an heir like she did with Medivh is certainly an option. The tauren may lose any possibility of magic power inside of him, but a tauren doesn’t operate with the arcane anyway.”

“The problem with that, is assuming the baby can even do that.” Nysian looked at the child. “I don’t think it even knows how to sleep.”

“She knows how to sleep when I am with her!” Nittenook smirked confidently. “Maybe you’re not good with children!”

“I’m sooo glad you are, Nookie.” Liteena interrupted the two, leaning over a chair and looking at the draenei. “It helps to know that for the future.” She grinned. Nittenook visibly shook and recoiled, putting an extra 5 feet away from them.

Sareva looked at the three and looked annoyed. “Look, the point...the tauren’s a boy, Nit...the POINT is that I believe we could coax the magic out of the child without draining its life essence.”

“And how do we do that?” Kegoc looked at the mage.

“That...is something I can’t answer personally.”

“Then why are we here?” Nysian looked annoyed, which bothered Sareva.

“As I was saying, magic is still magic. I don’t have anything yet, but I think I know of a place that may.” She sat down and took out a small crystal key. “The Nexus Vault.”

There was a stillness in the air as the four took notice of the key. That key was once used by Sareva to enter the Eye of Eternity and, with the assistance of a few other adventurers of various noteworthiness, took out Malygos, the Dragon Aspect of Magic itself.

“...so you want us to break into one of the Blue Dragonflight’s vaults?”

“What? No. I have a contact in the Nexus. I worked it out with Archmage Kalec.” She smiled. “He’ll help you find anything that could possibly be there, provided you assist them with a certain errand.”

“Great. Errands.” Nysian sighed. “Well, with the five of us, I guess we-”

“Ah-ah.” Sareva moved her hand up. “I didn’t finish. The dragons have splintered out, and I believe it’s not wise to put all of our dragon eggs in one basket, as it were.” She took out another dusty tome. “Therefore I propose we split up. Two of us will go to the Nexus, and the other two will go to Azsuna to speak with Senegos, one of the oldest members of the flight.”

“Ah! I call Nookie!” Liteena grinned, pointing over to Nittenook, who almost immediately began shaking his head and waving his hands desperately.

Sareva looked over to Liteena. “’Tina, I need you stay here. You need to take care of the baby.”

“Wha-...wha?” Liteena frowned heavily. “But it hates me! It loves you!”

“I feel as though it would be wise to have me come along this time.” Sareva smiled. “Besides, you can consider this as an opportunity to learn child-rearing. For me?”

Liteena still frowned, but looked at the child. “Hrm....I....I guess so...sure.”

“Good.” Sareva smiled and moved the child over to Liteena, who struggled for a moment to handle a tauren baby that looked close to half her own size.

“So I assume ye’ll be goin’ to the Nexus, lass?” Kegoc looked over to Sareva.

She shook her head. “No, I think it would be more prudent if I went to Senegos. In fact, I would like you to come with me, Kegoc.” She smiled. “If that would be alright.”

“Aye.” Kegoc smiled back at her. “It’d been quite a while since we last went on an adventure together. But that would mean...”

Nysian and Nittenook looked at each other. Nysian looked back at Sareva. “So...you want us to go to the Nexus?”

“Yes.” Sareva nodded.

“I....I don’t know i-”

“Ahah!” Nittenook smirked, punching his fist into his hand. “What a trifle. I will properly singe the dragon without problem!”

“Nit, you’re going to be helping the dragon.” Sareva amended.

“I’m sure there will be singeing.” The draenei nodded, which brought the night elf’s hand to his face.

“So you’re making me go so I can fix the mess. You know, Kegoc can heal.” Nysian pointed at the paladin.

“I mean, in times of emergency, aye...” Kegoc shrugged.

“Regardless.” Sareva walked over and motioned the key over to Nysian. “I want you two to do it.”

Nysian stood up, walking over to Sareva. “I don’t know what you’re planning, but I don’t want part of it. Let Liteena go with Nittenook and let me stay with the child. I would probably prefer sitting with a child that hates me.”

“I could go with that!” Liteena shouted.

“Never! Your devious machinations would destroy our relationship with dragons! All of them!” Nittenook pointed at the gnome.

Sareva frowned, looking at the druid. “Think of it as a chance to relax. I am sure my contact won’t work you to the bone for the information we need to save the world.”

“But-”

Sareva stood up, grabbing the druid’s hand quite forcefully, staring up at the tall druid with a determined glare. “Nysian, before we pull out the welcome mat, let’s try opening all the doors we can instead of closing them.” She placed the key into the druid’s hand and stepped back.

An uncomfortable silence grew through the air before Sareva walked over to Kegoc. “Alright, everyone. We know our jobs. Let’s get going. Nittenook and Nysian, the portal in the bottom of the main tower should take you to Dragonblight. From there, talk with a flight master and you should get to Borean Tundra. Ask to go to Coldarra and you’ll get there in no time.”

She then snapped her finger. “’Tina, I have milk that can be warmed in the lab for the baby. Any more issues, just talk to Sotoris and he’ll help.”

“Right!” Liteena moved the baby up and began to walk down the stairs, clumsily. “I’ll...get there soon!”

Sareva looked at the draenei and night elf, smiling. “Remember...think of it as a chance to relax.”

“I’m always ready for relaxing!” Nittenook smiled.

Nysian frowned. This was going to be terrible.

To Be Continued

#the-short-stouts-tavern #alliance-side #Kegoc #Nysian #Nittenook #Sareva #Liteena

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