#and some other smaller ones it’s cool what people can do with the medium and what not

[sinnamon-wade]

i like horror, i really do! recently i’ve been getting into more online and analog horror, the story telling can truly be impeccable but sometimes the horror and imagery can be too much for me. i literally can’t watch these videos unless it’s through these explanation videos like i need some kind of barrier between me and the actual horror. even though i like horror my anxiety has me feeling like the monsters are going get me now oof. i’ve been spooked out trying to sleep after watching videos before bed and i have the compulsion to check behind the shower curtain when i use the bathroom and at night i hate looking down the hallway.

i like horror too much to stop so i’m watching all these videos diving deep in these stories i’m just doing my best not keep creepy images in my mind because the second i get a nightmare with some kinda otherworldly monster it’s gonna be it for me 🫣

[syndrossi]

Meanwhile, over in main story land, I'm trying to figure out how I want to approach the broader/longer story.

My original plan was to keep everything in a single fic that just grows absurdly long, where there are arcs, then lulls/timeskips between.

But increasingly I've been thinking about having a hard cut-off for Resonant and having the next story live in its own fic.

Pros of splitting it up:

It's easier to understand what the self-contained arcs are. For Resonant, this would be from the day the twins woke up, until either the end of the Stepstones conclusion, or just before (in which case the Stepstones arc would be its own story). My guess is that this takes us to something between 300-400K words, not sure exactly.

It provides natural breathing room. I can spend some time exploring other AU concepts, or take a break to write the next thing for 2-3 months so that I have a massive buffer like when I first started posting Resonant. (I believe I was midway through ch13 when I started posting it.)

It lets me mark Resonant as complete, which means people who have been putting off reading it because it's a WIP can read it, knowing they're getting a self-contained story.

I can sprinkle in some short stories between the larger stories, which unlocks some interesting POVs or events.

I can write Rhaegar POV for the "next" long story without it being weird to suddenly introduce it after around 200K words.

Cons of splitting it up:

Inevitably gonna lose people when posting something new. Sequels are never as popular as the original.

The timeskips are more delineated, meaning it may be harder to incorporate smaller, meaningful moments in between. For example, Daemon and the twins going on a winter retreat in the Riverlands. Granted, this could be a short/medium story instead, but I always feel weird doing that for things that don't have much of an action plot.

It can be harder to follow/find everything if there are many smaller stories in between the longer ones.

It's really cool to get a work to 500K-1Mil words, and this doesn't allow that.

I have to come up with new titles 😱

Curious if anyone has a strong preference one way or another, and if so, why?

[oh-no-its-bird]

I would love to read founders konoha from the kids, teens and adults based on their interactions so much.

I just want the kids to be 'huh. Not what I was expecting' and just all the horror stories heard

Give the teens so much 'oh no, that's hot' and it's worse bc you were previously enemies so you could pine over an enemy that wasn't available but now it's a chance.

Adults just bonding over their kids antics. Yes I know it would be more but let them bond over than just fighting, though they can be like 'it was cool/difficult move you pulled'

I THINK THAT IT JUST HAS SO MUCH POTENTIAL !!!

Obviously, we see very little of early Konoha as is. And what we do see is all from the perspective of like, those at the very, very top of it, in charge of it all, planning, all that.

THE AMOUNT OF FUCKING "FORBIDDEN ROMANCES" THAT ARE HAPPENING IN THE VILLAGE IS SO REAL THO. LIKE. Ok so u have all these shiobi kids, (many of which are probably wired to be attracted to deadly things, just by virtue of how theyre raised) going from isolated communities where the dating pool consists of arranged marriages and the same guys youve known since u were 5, suddenly thrust into a setting with so many other shinobi kids and clans that it takes actual effort to keep track of. And also you have pre set sterotypes and relationships to go off of just based off of their clan alignment, and all this melodrama about becoming friends (or more) with the people who, a year ago, you were expected to KILL.

And you also have the exact same thing but playing out with allied clans, where some kids are coming to the "rescue" of their allies. I bet some of them like look forward to seeing their allied clan counterparts in whatever monthly or even yearly trips they no doubt beg to be let to go on. Just for the opportunity to see their friends or crushes that one single time a year-- BUT NOW THEY LIVE IN THE SAME VILLAGE !!!

These guys are losing their MINDS

The parents have the most genuine beef between them, even while the children may be louder about it-- but the children's antics are pulling the parents together. Maybe because they need to at least try to set a good example, maybe because they just need someone to be able to share a glance with and go "can you believe this shit?"

I just love thinking ab specifically not even how messy the Uchiha and Senju kids would be living in proximity, but like just tossing in all these different clans from all over.

Bc at first, when its just Senju and Uchiha, its at least straight forward. But then you start mixing in other major clans-- Hyuuga, Nara, and it gets messier. And then the smaller clans are also getting mixed in, Orochi, Hatake, Shiranui, etc. And then more big clans arrive, and even more smaller, and now there are civilians here, and a lot of the younger clan members have never even interacted with a civilian outside of their jobs, and it's just so messy.

What do you do when a battlefield crush is suddenly living only a few minutes away? When you're suddenly seeing them daily? Even potentially going on missions with them? There's going to be so much pigtail pulling and just awful idiot shinobi flirting via mutual harassment

Anyways I firmly believe that there was a major baby boom in the first couple of years of Konoha being founded, many of which were probably idiot teenagers fooling around bc they couldnt manage to go on a mission with an enemy clan member without the crazy tension getting to them, send tweet.

ALSO !!! It would be such a great medium to tackle writing fun clan rumors and stereotypes about clans and also people! I want to see random people gossip about the founders !!!

[spacedustpan]

I wanted to make my own separate post as opposed to commenting on the other one.

I get that sometimes when you see a bunch of people laughing and having fun with the funny part of something important it can sometimes feel like they missed the point of the important thing.

But just because people are talking to each other about the funny part on tumblr and Facebook and Twitter doesn't mean that they didn't pay attention to the important part.

It means that they probably didn't have anything substantial to say or add about the important part.

And in the case of the hbomberguy video where the important part is properly giving credit and payment to researchers, writers, and artists whose material is used for creation of youtube videos and other paid creations:

He stated it pretty clearly and provided a great playlist for people to take immediate action with by checking out those creators and subscribing to anyone they vibe with.

There are 4 obvious actions in response to the video:

Dunk on the bad actors listed in the video - easy, funny, low effort, and it gets more people to watch the videos by Harris and Todd that not only inform on who is plagiarizing but what it is and why it's bad

Subscribe to smaller creators whose work is good and is often jacked by larger creators - easy, fun, low effort but medium time investment

Provide information about another plagiarizer/someone that doesn't give meaningful credit - high effort, requires time to research and compile evidence, has a risk of backlash

Put together a post highlighting writers or artists whose work could be used as a resource for youtube videos or written essays - could be low or high effort, takes time to compile and link examples of the work you'd like to highlight, likely may not be seen by anyone that would actually use those resources and may end up as wasted effort

You're going to see a lot of #1 because it's normal to joke about things and discuss things on social media. And #1 does have the benefit of exposing a larger audience to the videos and informing them on the topic.

A lot of #2 IS happening, but most people don't post to Twitter, Facebook, and Tumblr when they subscribe to a new youtube channel or follow a new writer on social media.

Most people don't have the time or energy to create something for #3 or #4 and the ones that do might be drowned out in the circulation of the easiest one which is #1.

Because #1 is easiest there's going to be a lot more of it.

I get the gut urge to assume that people are missing the point because they're not shouting out artists and writers they like.

But realistically that's not the only action to be taken and the easiest actions with positive effects have likely already been taken, in that the actual creators of the stolen content have gotten more traffic and hopefully will get more credit and pay in the future and other creators that needed a spotlight have been spotlighted not only by Harris but by other creators as well.

For example I recently followed La'Ron Readus by reccomendation of FD Signifier who likes La'Ron's content and gave the shoutout in his community tab in reference to Harris's video in order to get La'Ron some more subscribers.

If you have someone cool to show off in your back pocket and you have either an audience that will take a quick link and click it with just a simple "they're cool check them out" or if you don't have an audience but do have the skills to make a convincing pitch about why someone should check them out as a resource for their business or paid creative endeavor please do so! Now is a great time!

TLDR

People at large/the crowd are gonna have some fun with this, but the positive actions that are easiest to take are personal and private so you likely won't see them other than in follower counts --- or (hopefully) a greater shift in youtube etiquette to better credit, pay, and direct an audience and other creators (as potential employers) to the people that made the resources used in videos.

Shout out posts that hype up an artist or writer are great but not everyone is equipped to make them. Not everyone is a hype person or sales person.

If you aren't, then no sweat. It's fine to just bring attention to Harris and Todd's videos through jokes so that more people check them out and get informed.

[ultimateaclrecovery]

Japan Day 11 (from my trip last November, but this is the last one!)

Last day in Tokyo and travel home!

Started the day with some more temple and some cute bridges with a bunch of koi

And then it was mostly shopping for last minute souvenirs and things that are cheaper in Japan. So here are some more fun Disney pictures!

Ended the trip by finally getting the panda cream puffs from stand right by our hotel transit stop, and then it was homeward bound! I celebrated being home by using my new bear shaped pancake maker to keep the cute food going.

What a wonderful trip!

Overly long travel diary (read if bored)

Day 11

Started our day fairly early with free hotel breakfast and then took the train to see tokyos temple. It had a cool pagado and a garden with a bunch of koi but I admit to being a little templed out at this point. We spend the rest of our morning time before the airport shopping. We start at the little stall market by the temple that is just starting to open. I get a bird shaped custard to eat right then 80 yen. And a box set of fun ct character custards to eat later. And a little lantern that I will make a Christmas ornament, best part I get a 500 yen coin so now I have the full set.

We then go to a grocery for snacks and then a don Quito for more snacks and weird things. I get some snacks and some socks for my brothers girlfriend.

Then we go look at fancy tea and dish ware for my bf. He gets a sake set and a tea set and a get a little heart shaped mold for making rice balls. We then go to Tokyo station for ramen and back to the character store so I can get the penguin in a Christmas tree that I’ve been thinking about all week. It’s smaller than I had built it up in my head but it’s still so cute so I get it even tho it is over priced and silly. It’s cute and makes me happy. I look for other things I might want but don’t really find anything.

We then head back out to do more shopping and whatnot at a normal mall. Anthony gets normal things like socks and underwear because they are cheaper here and we find our dads matching Japanese shirts. They are nicer than ones we’ve seen at the souvenir shops. I really want a womens cut shirt but I don’t think they have any. They have some fun womens graphics and I find one I really like but it’s only in large. We realize you can print the designs on different shirts or design your own but can’t quite figure it out. I try asking the guy working there if I can get the one I like in a medium and luckily he knows enough English to figure what I’m asking and sets it all up. I then have to go buy the medium shirt and then get it to printing people. I manage to do it successfully but only because the workers know some English. Although they keep trying to explain things to me in Japanese before giving up and pointing at their English signs or trying use what English they know. I worry as I get printed that maybe I should’ve gotten a small but it’s cotton so it will shrink a little so it should be fine.

We head back to towards the hotel and get vending machine drinks on the way, can’t believe I made it this far without using a vending machine. I use some of what’s left of my ic card for a 180 yen grape Fanta. I love me some things that are purple even tho I don’t normally like pop. I got my ic card down to like 200 yen so I did pretty good job there.

And then it’s off to buy panda custards! They’ve been selling them at the train station nearest our hotel and I’ve wanted them since we’ve got here.

Then collect our bags from the hotel and head to the bigger train station to get tickets for the train to the airport. It’s a special one so can’t just use your ic card.

At the airport we mostly breeze through security except I forgot a tiny water bottle in my backpack from the flight out here oops. And then we go to the liquor store so my bf can get fun liquor and I buy one of the bottle for him since the us it’s only one tax free per person.

We stop by at another store just to see and I find the cutest howls moving castle tote bag. It’s a little over priced (ghibli plus airport) but it’s the cutest tote bag I’ve seen here so I get it.

I then get ice cream with my remaining, non souvenir coins.

The flight is uneventful and then his parents give us a ride back to his place my first time meeting them which is a little overwhelming after traveling for so long. I take a 20 dollar lyft back from his place and then it’s home sweet. I crank my heat back up to normal and start to unpack.

General thoughts.

The toilets here can be so fancy. Minus the one public restroom one just in the street that was just the hole in the ground. But any western toilets have bidets and a lot of them are fancy enough to lift up their kids when you walk into the room. My favorite tho is the public restrooms with little speakers that can play water music at the push of a button. Anthony thinks this is to cover the sounds of peeing or pooping but I think the rushing water is also to help you go.

[antimony-medusa]

*Climbs up on my soap box again, flipchart presentation in hand*

Hello. I promise this is the last time I'll do this (for this exchange). But let's do ONE MORE TIME.

Fic in a Box! Really cool 18+ fandom exchange that's running now, and I am here to lure you into signing up. You can sign up to until the end of the 3rd (midnight EDT).

What makes this fandom special is four things things

it's a 10k exhange, which is why you have until mid-october to get it done.

you can opt into WILD mediums for your fic— dress up game! poetry! fanvid! in-world reddit posts! spreadsheets! Check out the tag set for the full list, it's honestly hundreds of medium options. You're not guaranteed to get any of the mediums you opt into, but it's a possibility! You can even contact the mods to ask to match on a specific medium if you really want to make a ship schematic, or write a triple drabble, or draw a propaganda poster.

Instead of requesting your fic focus on a relationship, there are also Worldbuilding tags you can request. For QSMP, the WB tags are WB: Any (QSMP | Quackity SMP), WB: Egg Revivals (QSMP), WB: Egg/Code Connection (QSMP), WB: Federation Kidnappings & Cryosleep (QSMP). You could request or offer a fic (or art!) that focuses on any of those!

This part is optional, but you can take your 10k, and go to the mods, and request that you Swap some of your assignment, so instead of 10k for UsernameWaterglass, you have 4k for UsernameWaterglass, 3k for UsernameTissueBox, and 3k for UsernameCinnamonRoll. (Really creative usernames there, drawn from the items around me.) And then you still hit 10k on your gift, but in the form of multiple smaller gifts!

The mods don't promise that you'll definitely get a swap, but the more people in the exchange requesting swaps, the more likely it gets. So that is why I'm here now, looking at you with pleading eyes! I want to do some QSMP swaps, but we only have 4 people signed up for QSMP, and we don't have a huge amount of overlap in characters, so some people are still not matchable. I want us to drop some banger fics into the tag and make everybody go OOOOOOO that looks fun why didn't I sign up for FIAB, and then they weep and wail with joy while reading our fics.

Y'know, normal things to want.

Anyways, you can see the tagset for all the possible tags you can offer and request here (hence why there's ship tags on this post), and you can see all the QSMP sign-ups here, and the event blog and rules are here, and you can sign up yourself here! If you are a multi-mcyt fan, we also have DSMP, Hermitcraft, Life Series, SMPEarth in the tag set, and there are literally over a thosuand other fandoms. We even have a MCYT FIAB discord where you can ask questions and compare notes!

I leave you with some highlights from the QSMP requests so far.

*locks onto you with with a powerful magnet to drag you into exchange* JOIN US.

[zahroreadsthings]

Darts...

Question: What do you do with your afternoon?

Response: Play darts with strangers. I still hardly know anyone.

Check notes for previous instalments

'Do I get to kick you out if I bring friends over?'

'Who would you invite?' Deema asks bluntly.

'... Yeah, okay, point taken. When do I need to go?'

'Soon.'

--

Deema waves you off when Isla arrives. You stroll into town and wonder what you should do. There are a lot of places you haven't been to yet - the local library, for one - but it's true that barring Lex and Deema you don't have friends around here.

It's not like you were the most social person back home, but who's going to stop you from trying something new? You hope it's not too early to join a game of cards or darts. You're much more familiar with cards but considering how empty places along the main street are looking, you'll happily settle for darts.

You're further into the north side of town than you've ever been and are about to give up when you decide to give The Barnacle a chance. You push the heavy door open to reveal a room with low ceilings and torches burning despite the time of day. It's smaller than the other places you've seen today but you can see four people bickering around a dartboard, which is four more people than you've seen elsewhere.

What's the worst that can happen? you think. You raise your voice. 'Room for one more?'

A man with his back to you looks over his shoulder and yells, 'Another one!' The others turn and cheer.

You take that as a yes and join them.

'You know 501?' he asks.

'Uh... rundown?'

He walks you through the rules while fending off interruptions. Everyone starts with 501 points and points scored on the board are reduced from the total. The first person to reach zero wins. Simple enough.

'We're about to draw straws for the scorekeeper. Here, get -' he cuts himself off to look for another straw.

'It's cool, I'll do it.'

'You sure? It's boring.'

'Keeping numbers and I are boring in the same direction. Really, it's cool.' A table's already been drawn up on the scoreboard, anyway. The hardest part's done.

'You're cool, Scorekeeper.' He slings his arm around your shoulders. 'Calix, Cal for short, Callie for medium.

You're about to introduce yourself when another person steps forward.

'I'm first!' She writes 'Ruby' on the scoreboard, picks out her darts, and throws. While you write out and subtract the numbers she calls out Callie continues talking.

'How many people have asked how you're finding it here?'

'Conservative estimates say three hundred.' You give your chalk to the next player who writes 'Rowan' then continue writing out scores under zir name.

'You've done this before?'

'Used to be a bookkeeper.'

'Oof. Fancy.'

'Hardly.'

Callie and the last player, Ash, take their turns. You rock on your heels. It'll be your turn in a moment.

You write out Ash's score (scarily accurate aim, you note) and put your name down. You're up.

Playing with the only way I could figure out how to incorporate some level of risk a la dice rolls. I'll randomly decide which of these will make the player not flop at darts and use the votes distribution as a kind of sliding scale. (If, say, 'bad at darts' gets two thirds of the vote the player will be worse off than if it gets half etc)

[spentimental]

I’m doing the Alphabet Superset challenge by Struthless on Youtube. It’s roughly 30 weeks long, with a week dedicated to each letter of the alphabet. The point is to share your art for other people to see. The challenge involves setting parameters and restrictions for yourself so you end up with a cohesive group of works. I really like the way Struthless designed the challenge. It’s actually a lot easier to make art when you put yourself in a stylish box instead of saying, “Just make something! Anything!” Plus it gives you room to try out a medium or style for a while with a clear end date so you can say, “I tried it and it’s not for me, but it was fun” or “I want to do this forever! I’m so glad I tried it!” I found the style constraint section of the worksheet to be the easiest part. I love clear rules and expectations and have some aesthetics I’ve been wanting to try out. As for the theme (this is where you get your words for each letter of the alphabet)… In high school, I scoured wikipedia for every species of animal that had an article with a picture. I collected roughly 3000 images to use as references for a world building project I was ravenous about at the time. I also considered doing plants (desert plants in particular) because I’ve “collected” a bunch of those as well. Really, I just wanted an excuse to reference sea slugs. Picking the medium was a whole other matter. It took me nearly the whole week to decide what the heck I was going to make. The challenge is very flexible on the definition of art. It’s not just drawing or painting. There will be people baking, making podcasts… Yesterday I saw a wooden automaton/kinetic sculpture! So cool! I’m what is known as a “hobby hopper,” although I’d like to stick to one long enough to master it or at least finish something. I whittled my options down to “something I am comfortable doing/know how to do-” enough to know that I could do one a week. Basically, digital illustration or 3D modeling. I almost chose to do 3D modeling to make renders of collectible figurines. Thing is, I don’t know jack about lighting or textures in Blender. I went to the bookstore to find my mom a birthday present and saw a pack of Alice in Wonderland playing cards. Thank goodness! Turns out I like putting myself into smaller and smaller boxes until I can fit into a pack of cards. So that’s what I’m doing. Each week, I’m going to illustrate a character based on an animal. The format will resemble a playing card. They will be rendered in a frutiger aero style, wearing 1960s inspired fashion. The guide I’m using to pick my palette is actually for home decor. I’m so excited about this challenge! I’m looking forward to April so I can start all over again with something completely different.

~If you see what I make and like it, I will be posting on Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, and the Struthless Discord under Spentimental. Follow me wherever you like to spend time.

[roboska-lv]

Important notice about how long it's going to take

A while. It's going to take years. My plan is to hopefully finish it by the end of college (year 13) max, and considering I'm currently in my final year of high school (year 11) I think that's a reasonable time as I have 4 acts planned and I'm not sure how long the other 3 acts are play time wise as I've only focused on act 1, and that's going to be around 1/2 hour play time for a single route. In total the game will be around 2 and a bit hours for the pacifist route (the neutral and merciless route only have 3 acts and the 4th act is all 3D). The main reasons why it's going to take so long is that:

Like I said earlier, I'm in school and have to do GCSEs and A-Levels (which are a really big deal).

I have rushed games before and I'm dissatisfied with their quality. I refuse to rush games ever since (Sci-Fi RaiRoboska!? looking at youuuu).

Drawing all the assets takes time. That's my biggest road block. This isn't a pixel art typical 2D RPG where I could just make tiles and reuse them, all the backgrounds and objects have to be drawn for that place and nowhere else for it to look right in that style. Take for example this road:

Sure, the style is quite simple, but even this took a good couple hours. All the layout planning, lineart, colour, lighting adds up. Don't get me started on the animations.

4. I have 2 medium sized games planned to make in-between as well as a few small game jam games. This variety also helps with point 5 while making myself more well known in the indie game industry.

5. I don't want to spend every minute of my free time working on it as I'm terrified of burning myself out and losing motivation. I also don't want to end up like Yandere Dev by working on this for almost a decade only to produce a demo, but I don't think "The Sapphic Princess" is going to be too long of a game and considering there's just me, I think I can handle it. Speaking of which...

I don't trust people enough to hire others to help me. I'm very controlling and I want it to be exactly how I in-vision it. Also I find doing it all fun but if it gets too overwhelming then I may consider it but only as a last resort.

The 2 medium sized games that I have planned is a visual novel DDLC fangame that won't take too long to make (most of the time will be in writing as Dialogic is a great godot plugin and would make all the coding a breeze), and a Yandere Simulator "fangame" (more like a different interpretation from a horror game fan who actually knows how to write and design characters). I've gone into more detail about these on my main blog as linked above. The second one is quite big but not as big as my current plan of LV. Essentially this is my main project and those are short term projects, if that makes sense.

My plan is to release this on itch.io and Steam for around £3. I don't want to make it too high as it can be beaten in about 2 hours on the neutral route (ignoring the other 2 routes) but I also don't want to make it too low as I want to feel compensated for all the work I've put into, putting into and will put into. I may also make a Playstation version but don't count on it as I only have a PS4 and I don't feel like it's worthy due to it's short run time (but physical copies would be cool...maybe as a game compilation though). I'll get some people to beta test it in the future and ask what they think would be a good price.

I made this blog when I had a smaller idea for this game. Now that is not the case. I'll post updates whenever I feel like I have something worth updating about but I don't want to spoil it too much.

That's all for now. - PearlHikara

[evwritesgames]

AI Thoughts

A few years ago, I wrote a small piece I thought I might publish on Medium back when I had an account. It was about this story I saw regarding an "AI composer" and a challenge from a human composer about the limits of its capability.

The story was framed as a Doubting Thomas narrative in which the human composer was defeated by the AI creating some music, which we would now regard as an obvious pastiche of training data just a few short years later, that fooled a general audience that was brought together for the bet. At the time, I thought I understood what was really going on there. To me, it seemed the real takeaway was that humans can be and often are gullible idiots who don't actually know that much about classical music anyway. They probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference, broadly, about a lot of "high culture" shit. Perfect vector for convincing people something cool is happening when it isn't. But the takeaway I was supposed to have was something quieter, even then, than the fever pitch we're seeing now. That would be: AI is coming, real AI, and it's gonna make humans redundant! Even the the most complex, creative things humans do!

Honestly, I wonder if they used classical music because a lot of it is public domain or because they knew it was more likely to fool people give the niche interest. I wrote that this was a parlor trick, not real AI. For obvious reasons. And I really think the merit of that piece, the idea that I really wanted to get across, is exactly that idea of a trick. The tech sector aren't gods or wizards, they are magicians who thought that, by now, they'd be turning lead into gold for real. Instead, they are simply selling gold-plated lead and barely having to do much selling. The market has changed such that the selling is done by an increasingly gullible crop of digital foot soldiers who do it for free while hoovering any bit of loose validation "important people" give them. Watch 'em tweet at Musk or whatever smaller "big name AI disruptor" is getting people riled up on Twitter this week. All while ignoring the obvious:

Lead is toxic, y'all.

More than this, it might be worth noting that a better analogue for these guys (than magicians) would be medieval Christian priests who simply speak an unpopular, difficult language and can leverage that for power so long as people believe that what's said in that language matters. It's not that coding doesn't matter, or is fanciful like some religious beliefs are. It's that cabal shit, that elitism, and how eager people have become (hilariously) to believe a guy with a cell phone holster knows something they don't. Something that matters profoundly as opposed to trivially, like how a product works matters trivially in almost all cases. It's no stretch and difficult to refute that the tech sector has become THE elite for at least this generation.

Machine learning algorithms, even impressive ones, do not pass the smell test of even basic, foothill AI as we have long imagined it and as the breathless marketing campaigns are telling us is now here. Campaigns paid for by companies, like Google and Microsoft, who fire or dismiss their ethics teams when they hear how dangerous this tech is, the way they're misusing it, for regular mundane human activities. Self-driving cars already have a body count to say nothing of machine-assisted algorithmic misinformation leading to political violence and the kinds of trade and big business fuckery that gets impoverished people around the world dead one way or another.

AI, in this sense, is a marketing term that means just about nothing. It's similar to all the other contemporary tech names and brand names ripped from the pages of Science Fiction or lifted from the dialogue and world-building of decades-old movies. It's always a cheap, shitty, or dysfunctional facsimile that is named thus in tribute to the real thing. The move to do that isn't out of some humble wish to pay tribute. It's pure cynicism, meant to create easy recognition and familiarity for branding purposes.

If you're not convinced, consider this punchline: we live in a world where Skynet exists. Look it up. It isn't building any Terminators anytime soon.

Last year, Crypto, Blockchain, and NFTs were the big grifts that exploited millions, made already rich people money while impoverishing regular people who bought the hype, and ended up collapsing in on themselves when the hype cleared and people started getting indicted for fraud. Now we've mostly stopped listening to the goons who wouldn't shut up about it. They've been largely laughed off the stage to go lick their wounds in quieter, darker, more lead-lined corners of the net.

But, I mean, they'll always come back with some new bullshit to reapply the emotional imperatives that really drive these trends. Even as their victims and stooges claim it's all very rational and intelligent and you'd know that, implicitly and self-evidently, if YOU were rational and intelligent. Excuse me while I fucking yawn. These guys think stuff like an AI DJ is something new, let alone intelligent.

This year, it's this "generative AI" shit and I think we are, thankfully, wising up a lot faster. I wish I'd published that article about the AI composer, though, because I think it was a tad ahead of its time -- odd to say when it's only been a couple of years. Now, a small subset of the endless articles, videos, blogs, etc about ChatGPT are about how it's all bullshit as advertised. It gets compared, rightly, to the scams of yesteryear, including the outrageous and fatal scam that is self-driving cars. I used to really believe in that, by the way, ten years ago. I bought into that hype and was burned very gently by just being wrong. I didn't lose money and I was already wised up by the time bodies started dropping. The only suffering I faced was the embarrassment of mea culpa-ing a few people who had taken the opposite position in various discussions. They were right, I was wrong. But I learned from it.

I don't understand the people who get burned by these things every time, same as before, and never seem to learn. That said, doesn't it always seem like there's a fresh crop of gullible seniors and over-eager kids to exploit for these grifts? It does to me. Some day, maybe we'll actually address the fact that the online demographics have inexorably shifted, and most of the people with the free time to be here and doing what passes for culture online are literally underage children. Maybe!

Usually a given person commenting on this would, at this time, do some disclaiming about what actually does work or is cool about so-called AI. Just so they don't look too silly if AI tech, as we now know it, winds up doing something useful. It already does some useful things. The problem, and why I'm not gonna bother disclaiming really, is that the people peddling this shit do not care about it. They care about convincing you that ChatGPT might kill the world so we better change this law over there and offer this tax incentive over here. Wink wink, nudge nudge.

It's all just to make numbers go up in an account at this point, I swear to MetaJesus. Silly men competing with other silly men because they can't think of anything better to do than replay schoolyard rivalries and petty dominance hierarchies with all that time, wealth, power, and technology. Ain't that just the way.

[survey--s]

533.

What can you smell right now?    My scented candle, which apparently smells like “smoked roses”.

What was the last thing you bought online?   A cooling blanket and some air freshener for my car.

If you drink coffee, when was the last time you went a day without having one?   Whenever I had that horrendous flu/bug thing - it must have been back in February, I think?

Do you have any appointments coming up?   I have two jobs to do in a couple of hours. I have to go and feed Monty and then pop in on Charley the cat.

Do you put appointments in your phone’s calendar app to remember them?   Yeah.

Will you be visiting anyone’s house in the next week or so?   Yeah, my job involves going in/out of people’s houses lol. I also see my in-laws most days as they look after the dog for us while we work.

Have you ever been to a petting zoo? What animals did you pet?   Yeah, loads of times - goats, lambs, pigs, calves, hamsters, rabbits, guinea pigs, chicks, ducklings - all sorts.

What was the last movie you saw in theatres?   I haven’t been to the movies since before COVID lol.

Do you know anyone who has done a PhD?   Yeah, quite a few people.

How many unread emails are in your inbox right now?   Zero, I check/delete my e-mails as they come in.

What four apps do you keep on the home bar on your iPhone? (Sorry, I’m not sure if Android has an equivalent!) Phone, Spotify, Safari, Messages.

Have you ever used Tumblr? Do you still use it today?   No, this is all a figment of your imagination.

Are you tired right now?   A little bit, but not full-on exhausted or anything like that.

What’s your favourite day of the week and why?   It depends on the week and what I have planned, but generally weekends are the best for obvious reasons lol.

How far away is the nearest major city?   About two hours away.

Do you own an electric kettle?   Sure.

Are your eyebrows wispy or bushy?   Both lol.

Have you ever lost your wallet or purse? Did you have to replace a bunch of things?   I’ve lost my bank card a few times but I just froze it via the app and ordered a new one.

Where are you right now? Describe the room or place to me.   I’m in the living room as it’s bloody roasting outside. There are windows at each end - the front door is at one end, the kitchen door at the other and the upstairs door on far left as you come in. The walls are painted a mix of red and grey, the carpets are grey and so is the sofa, with red blankets/cushions to match the walls. All the furniture is white. There are fairylights all around the room and a scented candle burning above the fireplace.

Do you prefer big dogs or small dogs?   Medium sized dogs - around 15-25kg is perfect for me. Anything bigger and they’re generally too strong for me to handle safely, and any smaller and they’re just not really my thing, I guess.

Are you good at understanding heavy accents? Which accents would you say you’re the best at understanding?   For the most part I manage fine. I guess British accents.

Have you ever played on a real life pinball machine, or just on the computer?   Both.

Do you have a lot of word documents or notes on your computer?   No, I don’t think there any saved on here actually.

What’s your favourite Ben & Jerry’s flavour?   I’m not a fan of Ben & Jerry’s anymore. I loved it as a teenager but now it all tastes really sweet and artificial,.

Have you ever been to a school reunion? How was it?   No, and I have no interest in going to one.

How many nights a week do you generally cook at home?   I eat at home pretty much every night but I don’t always cook.

What colour are the street signs in your neighbourhood? Are they the same all over town or do they vary?   Like, the signs with street names on them? White with black lettering. That’s the same everywhere in the UK.

Do you have good grammar and punctuation skills?   Yes.

Have you ever tried vegan chicken? Did you like it? Yeah, I used to love Quorn stuff but now it makes me sick lol.

[saving-word-crawls]

Malory Towers Medium Crawl

By: NGWriter728

Welcome to the Malory Towers Medium Word Crawl, where I will release a crawl every five days. Each crawl is approximately one term of you in the all-girl’s boarding school Malory Towers. (this varies depending on the crawl)

You will need: a brain (hopefully you remembered it!), whatever you need to write on and with, a timer, a set of dice, and some time!

Helpful links:

4thewords 2 - This crawl is compatible with 4thewords (In each crawl, there is a blurred part which tells you what monster to defeat. There are a few parts where you don’t need to do this.)

Online dice (six-sided)

Fifty-head Hydra (writing challenge)

Online timer (if you go onto Projects, then Stats, there is a clock icon somewhere on that page. You can use that, or simply this link!)

My other Malory Towers Crawl 3 (this also explains what happens in the series by Enid Blyton)

Each year will be divided into two sections:

Main terms: Complete each task and make progress on your learning (and writing) journey.

Extra tasks: Optional tasks which are smaller and reward you but must be completed after the Main terms.

Choosing your character This is completely optional, so feel free to skip this part! If you skip it, please still have a look at the instructions below. Each character starts off with a certain amount of Money, OM (these are detention, or order marks that you will only get to use in Sixth Form), and EP (these are energy points that you use and earn.) If you are not choosing a character, be whatever you want, just start off with 4EP and 45p.

Characters:

Felicity, the main character, is intelligent and hardworking. 5EP, Money 40p.

June, a cheeky girl who is also very bright. 7EP, Money 25p.

Freddie, June’s friend, loves being cheeky and doing tricks. 6EP, Money 30p.

Susan, Felicity’s friend, is sensible and hardworking. 4EP, Money 50p.

Bonnie, a girl who is annoying but has a few surprising tips and ideas up her sleeve. 4EP, Money 50p.

Amy, who is rich and has a strange family secret. 3EP, Money 60p.

Veronica, spiteful, not well liked. 3EP, Money 57p.

The School Shop

Sweets (small packet). A tantalizing snack. 16p. Cannot Sell

Tennis racket and tennis balls. Old, used ones are usually used, but these are better. 18p. Sell, 2p.

Sweets (large packet). Anyone up for a midnight snack? 20p. Sell, 2p.

Swimming Kit, which you might be using a lot. 30p. Sell, 3p.

More snacks. Mmmmm. 35p. Sell, 4p.

Pack of Manuscript paper. Why would you need this, tell me? 40p. Sell, 5p.

Set of textbooks, which you might need for lessons. 50p. Sell, 6p.

Box of tricks. Do not let the teachers near that! 60p. Sell, 7p.

Lacrosse Kit. Useful for PE lessons. 70p. Sell, 8p.

Handbag. Small, simple, handy. 90p. Sell,10p.

Saddles. For riding horses, clearly. £2.50 Sell, 30p.

Mirror. Cool reflection! £3.20 Sell, 40p.

Silk gloves. Very nice and pretty. £4.20 Sell, 55p.

Necklace. Ooh, that looks lovely on you. £5.10 Sell, 70p.

Your very own horse from the stables. £8 Sell, £1.20

If multiple people to share resources to pay for a smelly horse, then okay, go ahead! However, there is only one horse to share, and someone probably should pay for the saddles as well, so arguments may occur.

It is up to you whether you want to post your score or EP, but I am planning to make a scoreboard. This is just a friendly competition, so do not worry. It would be great if you posted the following:

Character Name

Name of the Crawl Completed

Current EP

The deadlines are always the same: at the end of the five days, or your ‘term’ at school. Feel free to complete each crawl over the course of one day, or several! If you update, or post your score late, it will be halved and still put on the leader-board. Well, that is it! Happy writing, learning, and boarding at your new school!

~

Crawl 1: New Term (Third Form)

Welcome to Malory Towers, fellow boarder! These crawls start with you in the Third Form, so things are a bit tough.

Main Term

Introduce yourself to the new girls. Post your character below.

Try to make some friends and chat with the people in your form. Write 100 words. Defeat a Xin – 100 words, 20 minutes

It is time to go upstairs and unpack your trunk, so write another 100 words as you take in your new dormitory. Defeat another Xin!

You hear some whispering and smile to yourself as you think of all the fun you will have playing tricks on the teachers. You write to the next page in excitement.

Time to meet your new mistress, Miss Peters. She tells you that Felicity Rivers will be head of form for this year! Sprint to 200 words in joy! Defeat a Reenu

Freddie plays a very clever trick and June is inclined to beat her! Write as much as you can in 5 minutes. Defeat a Vi

You go with your friends for some fresh country air and meet Mrs Dale, and after rescuing her cat, she invites you to tea. Write 200 words as you listen to her explain that she is in fact Amy’s grandmother! Defeat another Reenu!

Freddie then decides to pretend to be Amy and visit Mrs Dale from now and then. If you are not Freddie, write for 3 minutes with your eyes closed as you try to figure out what is happening. Defeat a Vanstra with your eyes closed, if you are still at Luciola forest, defeat a Vi (sorry!)

Time for sports! If you have bought any kit (tennis or swimming), simply take the amount of money you paid for the kit and write that many words. Otherwise, write to the nearest 100 words as you jump around happily.

June eventually lets Freddie take Amy with her to Mrs Dale, and she recognises Amy immediately! It turns out Mrs Dale received a photo of Amy at Malory Towers quite a while ago. You do a marathon of 500 words as your mind reels with all the information. What a surprise! Defeat a Pester. Tip: equip yourself with items before taking on this monster

Uh-oh! A few things start going missing and everyone thinks it is Veronica, and she thinks it is Amy! Write to 250 words as fast you can so that you can get it over! Phew! Now you can do some spying. Defeat a cute Wignow!

Oh my! It turns out to be the sickly Bonnie who did the stealing, to get her own back on Felicity for not wanting to be friends with her. Do a 10-minute word war to sort out your jumbled thoughts. (or simply write as much as you can in 10 minutes.) Defeat two Vi’s

At the same time, Veronica realises she should be kinder to her parents and becomes a better person. (And all this because of Felicity, the head girl!) Why not write to the next 200 words to celebrate!

It is the end of the term! (so quick!) Goodbye and look out for stuff on the threads for the next week or so. And do not forget to write for 15 minutes before you go! Defeat a Viyu

Reward: 3EP, 10p.

Extra tasks

Tidy the staff room, writing 400 words in 80 minutes. Defeat an Aracni Reward: 5p.

Do some sports training, writing 200 words. Defeat an Awa Reward: 1EP.

Play a trick on one of your classmates and write to the next chapter. Reward: 1EP.

Reward for doing all 3 tasks: Sweets! (small packet). Add this to your inventory.

Deadline for this Crawl: Thursday 5th November 2020 is the last day you can post your EP for your full score to be added to the scoreboard

[uvledchipmanufacturers]

Understanding UV LED Diodes: A Simple Guide

Have you ever wondered how certain devices, like those that help purify water or make things glow in the dark, work? A lot of these cool things use something called UV LED diodes. But what are UV LED diodes? Let’s dive in and learn about them in a way that’s easy to understand.

What is a UV LED Diode?

To start, let’s break down the name UV LED diode.

UV stands for ultraviolet. Ultraviolet light is a type of light that we can’t see with our eyes. It’s beyond the purple end of the rainbow, and it has more energy than the light we can see.

LED stands for light-emitting diode. An LED is a special kind of light bulb that’s small, uses very little electricity, and can last a long time.

Diode is a component in electronics that allows electricity to flow in one direction.

So, a UV LED diode is a small device that emits ultraviolet light when electricity flows through it.

How Do UV LED Diodes Work?

Imagine a tiny light bulb that only lights up when electricity moves through it in a certain way. When the electricity flows through the UV LED diode, it excites tiny particles inside the diode. These particles then release energy in the form of ultraviolet light. This is similar to how a regular light bulb works but in a much smaller, more efficient way.

Different Types of UV Light

Ultraviolet light comes in different types, based on its wavelength. The wavelength is like the distance between waves of light, and it affects what the light can do.

UVA: This has the longest wavelength. It’s used in things like black lights that make certain colors glow.

UVB: This has a medium wavelength and is known for causing sunburns. However, in controlled amounts, it can help our bodies produce vitamin D.

UVC: This has the shortest wavelength and the most energy. It’s very powerful and can kill germs and bacteria. UVC light is often used for sterilizing water, air, and surfaces.

Where Are UV LED Diodes Used?

UV LED diodes are very useful and can be found in many everyday items and technologies.

Disinfection and Sterilization: UVC LEDs are used in devices that kill germs. For example, they can be found in special wands or boxes that you can use to sterilize your phone or other items.

Curing and Printing: UVA and UVB LEDs are used to quickly dry or "cure" certain inks, adhesives, and coatings. This is handy in printing and manufacturing processes.

Medical Treatments: UV light can help treat certain skin conditions. Special UV LED devices are used to help people with conditions like psoriasis or eczema.

Water Purification: UVC LEDs can help make water safe to drink by killing harmful bacteria and viruses.

Advantages of UV LED Diodes

UV LED diodes have many advantages compared to traditional light sources.

Energy Efficiency: They use less electricity, which makes them more environmentally friendly and cheaper to operate.

Long Lifespan: UV LEDs can last a long time, meaning you don’t have to replace them often.

Small Size: Because they are small, they can be used in compact devices.

No Harmful Chemicals: Unlike some other types of lights, UV LEDs don’t contain mercury, which is toxic.

UV LED Diodes at Zhuhai Tianhui Electronic Co., Ltd.

Zhuhai Tianhui Electronic Co., Ltd. has been making UV LED diode since 2002. They are experts in this field and produce a wide range of UV LED products. Let’s look at what makes their products special.

Full Range of UV LED Products

Tianhui offers a variety of UV LEDs, from those with short wavelengths to those with longer wavelengths. This means they have products that cover all types of UV light: UVA, UVB, and UVC.

Quality and Reliability

The company is known for making high-quality and reliable products. This means their UV LED diodes are dependable and perform well over a long time.

Competitive Prices

Even though their products are of high quality, they are also affordable. This makes it easier for people and businesses to use UV LED technology.

Different Types of Packaging

Tianhui provides UV LEDs in various packages to suit different needs. Some are small and perfect for tiny devices, while others are more powerful and used in larger applications. This variety includes:

Small Power SMD (Surface-Mounted Device): These are tiny and can be mounted directly onto a circuit board.

DIP (Dual In-line Package): These have two parallel rows of pins and are easy to handle and install.

High Power LEDs: These are more powerful and used for tasks that need more intense UV light.

Why Choose UV LED Technology?

UV LED technology is becoming more popular for many reasons.

Environmental Benefits

Because UV LEDs use less energy and don’t contain harmful chemicals, they are better for the environment. Using UV LEDs can help reduce our carbon footprint and limit pollution.

Versatility

The ability of UV LEDs to work in various applications, from medical treatments to industrial processes, makes them very versatile. This versatility means they can solve many problems efficiently.

Safety

With proper use, UV LEDs can be very safe. For example, UVC LEDs can disinfect surfaces and water without the need for harsh chemicals, making them a safer option for cleaning and sterilization.

Future of UV LED Diodes

The future looks bright for UV LED technology. As technology advances, UV LEDs are becoming more efficient, powerful, and affordable. This means we can expect to see even more innovative uses for UV LEDs in the future.

For example, there may be new ways to use UV LEDs in medicine, such as in more advanced treatments for diseases. We might also see more UV LED products in our homes, like in air purifiers or cleaning gadgets.

Conclusion

UV LED diodes are an exciting and important technology that makes many modern conveniences possible. From keeping our water clean to helping us stay healthy, UV LEDs play a vital role in our lives. Companies like Zhuhai Tianhui Electronic Co., Ltd. are at the forefront of this technology, providing high-quality and reliable UV LED products for various uses.

Understanding UV LED diodes can help us appreciate the technology behind some of the devices we use every day and inspire us to think about new ways they can be used to solve problems. As we continue to innovate, UV LED technology will likely become even more integral to our daily lives.

[the-firebird69]

We are experiencing some weather here in Charlotte county it's going to intensify is from the evacuation.

-there's a large amount of people evacuating from the Midwest it's from the cone the North at the wall and it is from the two rivers it's about a couple hundred miles down and then it goes up 50 miles and all of the areas on the sides the rivers to 4 miles on each side they're also four or five South Midwest cities and they're only one state up and a half and it's going like that progressing upwards and it's very strange it's almost backwards they're leaving to the South but they are not staying in the South they are just passing by it is odd in the South evacuated first which is also strange but psychologically it makes sense when the wrong side of that wall so we get that but those cities are pretty big out of the five cities three are medium and two are considered to be pretty much almost large and there's only around 25 others and five a large 10 or medium and 10 are small and it is beginning of a full evacuation the cities will be vacant and we are thinking of keeping them open but it is impossible they don't want to do anything it's ridiculous and they're gross and started their domestic intrigue and it's just terrible we can't stand it and they're very hated and they don't understand without horrendous everybody was they thought we liked OJ Simpson and everybody thought it was horrendous and wanted something else to be shown on TV. And it happened at a certain year so we're going forward and this is the case but the cone is not too much smaller but they did leave an area of factories it will start up shortly and we export most of it to the perimeter. There's also a fact that there are too many big mouse here and nobody's the leader of theirs and they're going to be shattered soon both sides in this war of theirs and the reaching low levels of personnel on both sides and will update it tomorrow morning and we anticipate the morlock to be around 6% and the pseudo empire possibly 4.5% off Island it's getting pretty hairy they were about four or five times that 2 years ago and some things are happening to them they have a rate of attrition due to regular people killing them and it is probably until it's 0.04% right about now and that is tremendously fast really in a few days and we can have to be gone that that continues they're evacuating areas and those areas are taking over anyone left is taken away and it is really bad they're evacuating to the West in South and the South and jobs they are waiting for them they have jobs there. And a large number of jobs they're building weaponry and they're trying to go after Stone ships and other such things and rapidly it's a huge effort giant giant Stone chips and other. They are cooling off by looking at the monsters believe it or not it's slow down going down at Black Rock and other such places and they don't feel they have to and they're not going there for some reason.

Father and mother have a comment to make

Hera

We see that they're not going there we understand why they are distracted they are also trying to focus on things and they are not to go there to disturb their own projects and defense systems then it occurred to me that they're fighting over it and we checked they are going there on occasion but they can't make it there for the force of significant kind and that's what they're up to they are checking and they don't see anything deep below like Max they say and they're checking up to 5,000 ft and Mac Daddy's to 6,000 women bill did some looking it up to 10,000 and they see troops of Max and they see them in the Continental caverns which are about that deep the more luck are going to ask them for information and they'll probably give it to them because they don't have a force they can do much against the Macs. And it is going on now that they're trying to get the information so we're going to print

Thor Freya

I insisted I was helping out at towards the end we need it and we're doing it now

Hera

Olympus

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

Hello! I hope everything is going well

May i request a bsd matchup

I go by all pronouns and im bisexual and genderqueer.

Im a gemini and im an isfp 4w5.

I have black medium length hair that is very thick and a bit more wavy then straight and I usually have a messy smaller ponytail on the back like eren Yeager style but my hair is longer and its a ponytail not a bun i also have two strands of my hair dyed with a raccoon tail in the front. My features are softer and i have brown eyes. My chest and thigh area is a bit thicker and I’m actually quite strong and have noticeable muscle especially in my arms. My hair grows very fast and thick so my legs and arms are a bit more hairy because I’ve slightly given up on shaving all the time. I also have a lot of beauty marks and quite a few scars. I have a more grunge style but i do change my style alot and I usually wear more comfy clothes but occasionally i will dress up.

I tend to be a bit more nervous when i first meet people because if my social anxiety but once i get close to someone i get much louder and less nervous (showing my true self) i do have quite a few mental issues so they’ll have to be alright with that 💀 i get bored very easily and can be kinda lazy but i know when to be serious. I’m sarcastic and have a more teasing nature but if someone tells me to stop i will. My love language is definitely (receiving) words of affirmation and quality time and for giving its physical touch and quality time I’m not very good with words so i try to convey them through touch. I get nervous when getting compliments but i do enjoy them. I’m almost always off daydreaming. I’m a very protective person and almost always speak in my friend or s/o defense but have issues defending myself. I get nervous and uncomfortable when people try to take care of me but I’m ok with taking care of others.

Likes: Cold weather, music, reading, art, stormy weather(especially rain) sushi, coffee and sleeping in.

Dislikes: summer, being alone, injustice, people who are overly loud and overly sensitive people (nothing against them i just don’t know how to handle them even if i am kinda sensitive as well so dating someone sensitive isn’t necessarily a dealbreaker)

Hobbies: Playing guitar, listening to music, kickboxing and reading

For extra info if i had an ability it would be blood based like some type of blood manipulation.

Hi Anon! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took a while. I hope you like your matchup!

In Bungo Stray Dogs, I match you with...

You and Atsushi are pretty similar in that you’re both quieter people who open up around those you trust.

He doesn’t mind that you’ve got hairier arms and legs. He’s not exactly in the position to criticise that even if it did both him because of his ability. Regardless of that, he’s genuinely more of a “it’s what’s on the inside that matters” kind of person.

Loves running his fingers along your beauty marks and scars, assuming you’re comfortable with that.

Atsushi loves going on coffee dates with you. Café bookshops are his favourites since you can have a drink, read, and enjoy a quiet atmosphere all in one place.

He thinks your ability is pretty cool, if a bit scary at times. It's a bit dark but some part of him thinks you two make a good team in battle. He get's cut up pretty badly most of the time so you have access to a lot of blood and he can just regenerate afterwards.

He’s not a loud person by nature so you don’t have to worry about that. But he does hang out with loud people. He’ll do his best to keep them a bit quieter when you’re around.

But with people like Dazai and the rest of the Armed Detective Agency, there’s only so much he can do…

[cordelianewman]

You and I are very similar, it's almost scary sometimes. In a good way, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I'm borderline the female version of you. Good, but yes, I don't want to show up empty handed I would feel so bad, even if I know people say it isn't needed. One thing I kept from my parents, never show up empty handed -- guess they did have some good things. Gotta get those blueberries in shape! Which once they are let me know, I'm gonna need to send money to your brother to secure a weekly order for pancakes, muffins, breads, things of that nature. Rosalyn absolutely loves them, before we got back together or were really around each other I was getting my blueberry fix through Kellan. Cuddling sounds good, there's something about cuddling during the rain and with storms going on it's just -- maybe I can't fully explain it but it's like when you stay in a camper hearing the rain hit the roof, it cools down to just this almost cold temperature but enough to curl up together. I think I'm always going to love the rain. Well, I do miss your house, I love your house. Just as much as I love mine. Just means we need a balance between the both of them. Pretty much, I can't help that I like to make things pretty. They can all tease me about my pinterest worthy picnic and I'll still be proud. Did you try talking to her? Reasoning with her that this is someone's home, not just a stop on a list of tourist towns? Did you try and offer her other solutions like a bed and breakfast or something smaller that is less resort bases, more local based? Sometimes people need to just talk things through, and if she has spent her whole life having men tell her what she can and can't do -- you should know from dating me, a woman will always go to extreme lengths to prove them wrong. Sometimes it's about corporation, trying to find a happy medium that won't change our town but won't run out someone who obviously wants to make a home here too. I will leave the sparkly bath bombs for just me or Rosalyn, fair? Even if I think you can look just as hot with a little sparkle to you! Yeah no, no stuffed animals, Christmas, birthday... at this rate I'm gonna need a bigger house and I just moved in! Yes to lingerie, my wish is your command -- at least tonight. Fine, spoil sport, so we better make tonight count.

That's something that we have in common. Two things can motivate me pretty damn well, food, and I think you know the other one. I figured that you wouldn't have any qualms with that idea, I did ask her if she needs anything, but if I know Em, she'll probably tell us to just bring ourselves. And then we'll bring something, ayway. We do need the rain, it'll be good for the blueberries, and for the little garden I've got going on, at least. And like you said, the cuddling. Less time to work outdoors on my projects means more time to get home when I'm supposed to, so we shoud be able to fit in lots of the cuddling. I know, my house misses you a little bit, but I do like hanging out at your place, too. Although I think I'm just about running out of little odd jobs to work on, everything's pretty much perfect at this point. So it's going to end up the most organized, Pinterest-worthy picnic of all time, is what you're saying? You're going to spoil the guys rotten, you knowo that. That's kind of how I felt about it, not to mention the idea of trash being left all over the place, people disrespecting our landmarks, opening businesses that are going to be harmful to the businesses that already exist. I have no idea if she's going to go through with it, but I promised her a fight every step of the way… so I guess we'll have to wait and see. That's the only kind of lodging that we need, something sweet, simple, locally-owned. On the beach, or out in the countryside. Okay, fair, but I just want to make sure that you don't get any ideas about those bath bombs, that's the point. Okay… but Christmas is still coming up, and her birthday, she's going to want stuffed animals. Oh yeah, he did just climb over the hill, didn't he? See, I'm not that old! I just feel like I am. … yes. And I mean yes, you should wear the lingerie and yes, that would make it worse. Those two things can co-exist together. I don't want to start giving the guys ideas, let them think they can do the same thing, but we still have tonight.