#garner gen 2

[anneliesembsims]

A burglar was foolish enough to come to our house.

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

IN PRAISE OF THE SO-CALLED "MALE GAZE" -- BACK WHEN AMERICAN COMICS COULD DO NO WRONG.

PIC(S) INFO: Spotlight on one of the most well-recognized covers in the history of Image (and of independent American comics in general) -- Spotlight on textless & published cover art to "Gen 13" Vol. 2 #12. August, 1996. Image Comics. Artwork by J. Scott Campbell & Alex Garner.

Resolution from largest to smallest: 1008x1555, 743x1117, & 600x933.

Sources: https://dc.fandom.com/wiki/Gen_13_Vol_2_12 & eBay.

[zvaigzdelasas]

A North Korean propaganda song extolling Kim Jong Un as “a great leader and a friendly parent” has gone viral on TikTok, with mashups and dances racking up millions of views, leading to South Korea banning the tune due to “psychological warfare.”

Seoul’s media regulator on Monday announced it was blocking access to versions of “Friendly Father,” the cheery propaganda hit that became an unlikely social media sensation.

The song was unveiled in April during a nighttime concert to mark the completion of a housing project in the capital Pyongyang, according to North Korean state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Its lyrics praise Kim [...] as “a great leader and a friendly parent,” and the music video depicts North Koreans enthusiastically belting out the orchestral song proclaiming that Kim “takes care of us with affection.”[...]

The song went viral after content creators around the world used it to make their own edits of the music video adding dances and unserious captions to their own short one-minute clips on the platform, garnering over 2 million views.

“This isn’t Gen Z suddenly declaring allegiance for the regime,” said Alexandra Leonzini, a Cambridge University scholar conducting research on North Korean music.

“They’re laughing at the regime not with the regime.”

Nonetheless, South Korean security officials came down on the parodies. The Korea Communications Standards Commission decided to block 29 videos of the song, following a request from Seoul’s National Intelligence Service. But some versions of the song on YouTube were still accessible to users in South Korea as of Wednesday.[...]

The ban was not a surprise, as the country’s National Security Act blocks access to North Korean government websites and media, restricting exposure to Kim’s autocratic regime and penalizing behaviors promoting its authoritarian and nuclear-armed neighbor.

22 May 24

[mariacallous]

On a sunny April afternoon in 2006, thousands of people flocked to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for a rally with celebrities, Olympic athletes, and rising political stars. Their cause: garner international support to halt a genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.

“If we care, the world will care. If we act, then the world will follow,” Barack Obama, then the junior Illinois senator, told the crowd, speaking alongside future House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. That same week, then-Sen. Joe Biden introduced a bill in Congress calling on NATO to intervene to halt the genocide in Sudan. “We need to take action on both a military and diplomatic front to end the conflict,” he said.

Flash-forward 18 years, and the prospect of genocide again looms in Sudan amid an explosive new civil war. But this time, there are no rallies, no A-list celebrities, no calls for outside military intervention. Few world leaders pay anything more than lip service to condemning the atrocities.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced some 9 million since the conflict began in April 2023. The United States accused both sides of committing war crimes and atrocities and concluded that the RSF and its allied militias have committed ethnic cleansing.

Western officials and aid workers working on Sudan say they are vexed, and horrified, by the lack of international attention and resources the conflict is receiving—particularly compared to the global response to the conflict in 2006, which was the progenitor of the current conflagration.

If this trend continues and there is no forceful international crisis response, they warn, Sudan will likely collapse into a failed state and could face full-fledged genocide once again.

“You can’t help but watch the level of focus on crises like Gaza and Ukraine and wonder what just 5 percent of that energy could have done in a context like Sudan and how many thousands, tens of thousands of lives it could’ve saved,” said Alan Boswell, an expert on the region at the International Crisis Group.

The top general of the SAF, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the head of the RSF, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo, jointly seized power from a transitional government in a coup in 2021. Tensions between the rival sides escalated and finally erupted into war in April 2023.

In the 13 months since, the RSF has entrenched its positions around the national capital of Khartoum, forcing the SAF to relocate its headquarters to the coastal city of Port Sudan. The RSF has made steady gains in seizing control of Darfur and advancing southward and eastward against SAF forces. The SAF still controls territories around Khartoum and up the Nile River, a vital strategic route to Egypt; along the Red Sea coast; and the eastern borders with Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The conflict has also expanded into a full-fledged regional proxy war. Egypt and Saudi Arabia, as well as Riyadh’s arch regional rival Iran, back the SAF, while the United Arab Emirates is reportedly funneling arms and military supplies to the RSF. The RSF also reportedly receives support from Chad and from Russia through its affiliated mercenary groups.

The focal point of the conflict now is on El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the center of fighting. The RSF has taken control of vast swaths of western and southern Sudan in its war against the SAF. El Fasher is the last SAF stronghold in Darfur, occupying a strategically important position for trade routes from neighboring Libya and Chad.

The RSF recently began its advance on El Fasher where an estimated 2 million to 2.8 million civilians have sought to take refuge from the fighting. (Precise figures are hard to come by.)

“The risk of genocide exists in Sudan. It is real, and it is growing every single day,” Alice Nderitu, the U.N. special advisor on the prevention of genocide, warned in a U.N. Security Council meeting last week.

A lengthy report from Human Rights Watch documented how the RSF and allied militias committed widespread atrocities, including mass rape, child murder, and massacres of civilians when it captured the Sudanese city of El Geneina last year. U.S. and U.N. officials and human rights experts warn that the same will likely happen if the RSF takes control of El Fasher, but on a much wider scale. The United States and aid groups have accused the SAF of blocking vital food aid from entering the country and RSF forces of looting humanitarian stocks, exacerbating the crisis and pushing regions of the country closer to famine.

“The potential fatality generation here is off the charts,” said Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at Yale’s School of Public Health who runs a research project that monitors the conflict in Sudan. “What will happen when the RSF takes El Fasher? Exactly what is happening in every other place they control.”

“There is Hiroshima- and Nagasaki-level casualty potential,” he added, referring to the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Japan in World War II that killed up to 225,000 people.

Aid organizations and officials who work on Sudan have long decried the relative inattention the conflict in Sudan gets compared to Ukraine or the war in Gaza. Some 20 million people—or 10 times the population of Gaza—are at risk of famine in various regions of Sudan. “Very few people who don’t work on Sudan know that Darfur is on the brink of famine,” Boswell said. “Obviously, everyone knows about the risk of famine in Gaza.”

U.S. President Joe Biden’s own social media posts about Gaza versus Sudan provide another, albeit imperfect, window into the attention each conflict receives. Biden tweeted about Israel or Gaza at least 107 times in the six months since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks that started the Israel-Hamas war. Since the war in Sudan began over a year ago, he has tweeted about Sudan four times—three of which were about the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum right after fighting broke out.

Aid groups are strained for resources to tackle the humanitarian crisis caused by the war. In February, Doctors Without Borders warned that in one refugee camp alone in North Darfur, one child was dying every two hours of malnutrition. In April, on the conflict’s first anniversary, aid groups said the international humanitarian response plan to aid the Sudanese was only 6 percent funded. At a donor conference that month in Paris, countries pledged $2 billion more—though that is still only about half of what aid groups estimate the country needs.

Biden appointed a special envoy for Sudan in February—Tom Perriello, a former U.S. representative from Virginia and State Department veteran. Most experts have cheered Perriello’s new push to hold cease-fire talks in the months since and engage U.S. lawmakers on Capitol Hill to bring more levers of U.S. power and financing to bear on Sudan, but they also fear his efforts may be too little, too late for the civilians trapped in El Fasher.

“It will be very hard to deescalate the situation, though everyone should try. But there is an aura of inevitability that this is all going to blow up,” Boswell said. “The degree of mobilization from all sides is hard to walk down.”

Diplomatic and aid officials working on Sudan have some theories on why the atrocities in Darfur and across the country are receiving such little attention now compared to the 2000s, but none gives a full answer.

In 2006, the United States was still reaching the heights of its post-9/11 “war on terror” campaign. Sudan, under former dictator Omar al-Bashir, had given safe haven to Osama bin Laden as he built up al Qaeda’s global terror network, and “bashing Bashir and his genocide in Darfur couched nicely with [counterterrorism] priorities” of the U.S. government at the time, said Nicole Widdersheim, a former senior National Security Council official now with Human Rights Watch.

The memories of failed and successful international interventions to halt genocide—Rwanda in 1994 and the Balkans later that decade, respectively—were still relatively fresh in the minds of policymakers. The costly Western campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya that later exposed the shortcomings and blowback of military interventions were still underway.

It also preceded the current era of great-power competition, where Washington is intensely focused on countering Russia and China. Sudan also competes with the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine for international attention and humanitarian resources. Others suggested racism built into Western foreign policy played a part. “It’s seen as yet ‘another war in Africa like all the others,’” said one official dryly. Not one single factor can explain it all, experts concluded.

“Gaza is taking up the always limited American public interest and activism on a foreign crisis, but to be fair, there was nearly no public activism or engagement on the Sudan war before” the Israel-Hamas war, Widdersheim said.

Experts say the relative inattention Sudan has gotten from the top echelons of the White House and other Western powers that could have influence in pressuring the warring sides in Sudan to sit for peace talks has led to the current protracted state of the war.

Biden hosted Kenyan President William Ruto for a state visit this week, where the two called on “the warring parties in Sudan to facilitate unhindered humanitarian access and immediately commit to a ceasefire” toward the end of a lengthy joint statement but did not elaborate further. U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator Samantha Power and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield have also been outspoken about urging an end to the conflict in Sudan.

Successive cease-fire talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, over the past year, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, failed to clinch any lasting deal. Those talks were led on the U.S. side not by a top White House official or Secretary of State Antony Blinken, but by the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Molly Phee.

Behind-the-scenes efforts by some members of Congress in December 2023 to appoint a special presidential envoy on Sudan—one who would report directly to the White House, rather than an envoy reporting to the assistant secretary of state—were unsuccessful, multiple officials and congressional aides said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration dynamics. Perriello was appointed two months later.

Perriello in mid-April said that cease-fire talks would resume in Jeddah “within the next three weeks,” but so far those talks have yet to materialize. Several current and former officials familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity to speak candidly, said the talks in Jeddah could resume in June, by which point the RSF could have already captured El Fasher from the mostly cutoff SAF forces.

“The need to start formal peace talks in Jeddah is absolutely urgent, and the United States is working exhaustively with partners to make that happen,” said a State Department spokesperson. “But we are not waiting for formal talks to begin—rather, we have accelerated our diplomatic engagements to align international efforts to end this war, mitigate the humanitarian crisis, and prevent future atrocities.”

Cease-fire talks have worked in limited ways in the past, such as when the United States got both sides to briefly stop fighting in Khartoum so it could evacuate its embassy in April 2023. “When the right leverage is put on the table at the right time to get the RSF and SAF to stop fighting, it can be done,” said Kholood Khair, a Sudanese policy analyst and founding director of Confluence Advisory, a Sudan-focused think tank. “The international community has just chosen not to deploy that same leverage this time around.”

Khair added that the Jeddah talks format has failed before, and it will likely fail again. “The concern is that because of the laziness and complicity of the international community at this point, you don’t have any diplomats who are looking for a new way of doing things. Jeddah in many ways is blocking the start of any new diplomatic efforts or other good ideas that could be effective.”

“Diplomats are fixated on Jeddah now, simply because it’s already there,” Khair said.

As Perriello engaged in frenetic diplomacy, he has also publicly marveled at how little attention the scale of the conflict and death in Sudan is receiving on the international stage.

“One of the things that to me captures just how invisible and horrific this war is, is that we don’t have a credible death count,” Perriello said during a congressional hearing in front of the 21-member Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month. “We literally don’t know how many people have died—possibly to a factor of 10 or 15. The number was earlier 15,000 to 30,000. Some think it’s at 150,000,” he said. During the course of Perriello’s hearing, senators cycled out of the room due to scheduling conflicts, often leaving only one senator in the room and 20 empty seats.

[heejinkwan]

[ STELLARS — a guide to astella’s fandom . ]

WHAT ARE STELLARS ? ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ stellars is the name given to the fanbase of kpop idol astella , the name was given to fans on january 10th , 2022 – three months after her debut . the fanbase is known for being fairly nice to get along with , only getting rowdy when it’s time to ‘ defend heejin ‘ . they’re very loyal , quite literally known for getting astella out of ‘ nugudom ‘ , convinced her company to have her perform at coachella , although she didn’t headline , it was still an amazing achievement for her . they even have their own community on twitter (x) , called stellars!

THE OFFICIAL STELLARS COLOURS ! ... the official colours for stellar are the swan ( #FCD417 ) , the sun ( #FF709C ) &&. the cyclop ( #FE8650 ) . each color is meant to represent astella’s growth ; her time in promise being the swan , first year as a soloist being the sun , and the cyclop being her revenge (reputation) era , the one she’s currently in .

THE OFFICIAL STELLAR LIGHTSTICK ( insp. venusvity ) ! ... THE FIRST lightstick , also known as the stellabong , was the very first light stick that dropped 2 months after astella’s initial debut in 2021 and came free with the physical album copy . stellars absolutely loved the design of the lightstick , it’s chargeable and can change into three different colors when you press the button , it is still available on astella’s website to this day .

THE ORIGINAL lightstick was released a month after the stellabong , it’s the only lightstick that stellars have where there is a handle. it’s known to be the least favorite light stick out of the the generations , although it is still used when astella performs on inkigayo or music bank , this really played into the mermaid feel a little bit , her international fans aren’t very fond of it , but her korean fans like it . the current retail price is $34 USD ( ₩45,307 ) , although as of 2024 it isn’t bought as much . however , at concerts astella still uses it whenever she can!

THE LATEST stellabong was release early june 2022 , just in time for astella’s performance at lollapalooza paris , replacing the previous one after a year run to mark the start of the ‘ revenge era ’ . simply being a modified version of the first gen stellabong , fans enjoyed improved shaping and quality , they definitely think this one is the best lightstick out of all three , it looks pretty , and just like the first one can change colors! the current retail price is 65$ USD ( ₩86,617 ) , astella likes to keep the prices of the lightstick’s in range so that most of her fans are able to afford it . but , there are still resellers in the fandom who either sell the lightstick for more or a cheaper price .

WHAT IS STELLARS FAVORITE ERA? ... NOBODY KNOWS is the most popular era out of all of astella’s comebacks so far , she gained tons of fans during this era and going viral almost every day thanks to her beauty . in a fan vote , 50.5% of stellars said they liked this era the best . ever since this era started , stellars started to get the ‘ stellars are so toxic ‘ treatment , they don’t care , they obviously act the way they do because of all the things heejin has been through . she also is active a lot on bubble and instagram threads , where she talks abiht things behind the scenes .

SUGARCOAT comes second in terms of popularity , having been voted by 45.1% of fans . most of this popularity stems from the fact that she just got out of her contract with her old company , almost getting blacklisted , and her name being infamous for the amount of months she was gone , a lot of the streams from this song , which garnered over 70 million views , came from people hate watching , wanting to see what’s all the hype about , but they ended up loving the song . before nobody knows became the best era in stellars eyes , sugarcoat was their roman empire .

QUEENDOM , is in third place , with a whopping 5.05% , queendom was the era of heejin being in promise , stellars don’t even want to talk about astella being the group . a lot of them like to pretend she was never in the group and was always a soloist after finding out in the lawsuit she made against her old company of the way she was treated , stellars don’t hold anything against the girls! a lot of them are still fans of them , they just won’t hesistate to hate on the company , a lot of ‘ toxic stellars ‘ would berate the members , saying they should’ve said something about her mistreatment but seeing how they really had no power stellars understand why the girls didn’t say anything . but it is thought to be known that the members still support her and astella does the same .

very much inspired by @mvneaten btw! it’s this post!

[justafriend-ql]

2024 gmmtv bl + gl predictions/wishlist

okay okay, i know it's only july. but i'm a little crazy, so i'm already thinking about the 2024 lineup. some general observations that are informing my predictions:

the 2023 lineup features 9 bls and 1 gl (out of 22 total series). 2 of the bls are ensemble casts (our skyy 2, only friends). so we can probably expect ~10 ql series next year.

as a general rule, it seems like gmmtv's main pairs will get a series every other year or so, although some popular pairings may be mains two years in a row.

they also seem to give lead roles to one or two new main pairings per year - usually pairs that have been floated as side couples in series that aired the year prior (e.g., milklove, perthchimon)

*please note that this is entirely speculation and i don't intend to start any wars in the notes. also: i will be talking about the pairs from an analytical/business perspective; if that makes you uncomfortable, i recommend you just keep scrolling*

bl predictions (in no particular order)

winny x satang series

rationale: given the success of their pairing in my school president and the many fanmeets/brand sponsorship events they've had together this year (including some solo events abroad), this is almost a guarantee. genre prediction: i'm guessing it will be a romcom with a bit of a darker/angstier edge to it, since winny and satang are great at the enemies to lovers trope and are talented dramatic actors.

2. pond x phuwin series

rationale: since fish upon the sky, these two have been a very popular pairing (particularly in thailand, it seems). along with joongdunk and geminifourth, they're part of the 'new gen' group that gmmtv has do a lot of fanmeets/brand sponsorship events (which means $$$ for gmmtv). their last series, never let me go, aired mostly in 2023 but was scheduled for 2022, so a 2024 series would be in keeping with the every-other-year rule. genre prediction: i think their next series will lean more towards the romcom end of the spectrum, given that never let me go was a lakorn and (regrettably, in my opinion) wasn't as popular as fish upon the sky.

3. gemini x fourth series

rationale: this is another no-brainer, really. this pair is so wildly popular that they're already having a solo concert together. both are very good actors (and performers) despite their young age. gmmtv would be stupid not to capitalize on their popularity and skill. genre prediction: probably still romcom, but with a little more "maturity" than my school president. they're young, but that hasn't ever stopped gmmtv from upping the intensity of the physical intimacy, in particular (e.g., phuwin was 19, about the same age as gemini and fourth, when never let me go was filmed).

4. first x khaotung series

rationale: though these two certainly aren't bound to the branded pair model, they excel when they act opposite to each other. the eclipse garnered a lot of popularity for them, and that's only going to grow after only friends. genre prediction: these two can carry heavy, emotional scenes and dark themes extremely well, so it'd be great to see them in a darker genre (the eclipse, while dealing with heavy topics, still had a lot of lighter romcom moments). personally, i'd love to see them lead a p'aof production, which might be likely since p'aof worked with (and was impressed with) the two of them on moonlight chicken. a period drama with these two would be super interesting.

5. neo x mark series

rationale: these two are the wildcard pairing in only friends and were originally the side couple in cooking crush (before they switched out mark due to overbooking him). this is consistent with gmmtv's tendency to float a couple in a series or two before giving them a series of their own. they're both in the same boat, having been relegated to the "funny side character" role for a while, but they have tremendous potential to do more, and gmmtv seems to recognize that now with their decision of casting them in only friends. genre prediction: hmm this one is tricky, since these two can do romcom and drama equally well. if i had to guess, they'll give neo and mark an "edgy"/"sexy" sereies because they're willing to go there and they can execute it well, which isn't necessarily true of all other gmmtv pairs.

6. force x book series

rationale: okay, i know i said gmmtv usually doesn't give pairs a main series two years in a row. but in forcebook's case, i think it's likely. for some reason that i don't personally understand, enchante didn't seem to resonate with a lot of people, but their popularity has skyrocketed since a boss and a babe and will only grow more when only friends airs. i think gmmtv will go with the momentum and give them another series in 2024. genre prediction: forcebook have done two romcoms already, so hopefully they'll get to branch out into another genre. personally, i think a mafia-type series led by these two would be really sick.

gl predictions (in no particular order)

gmmtv is testing the gl waters with milklove-led 23.5 this year. given the popularity of idol factory's gap the series (which surpassed 2gether's viewing stats by a wide margin), gmmtv will need to invest in the gl market in order to remain competitive. that's why i think there will be at least 2 gls in 2024, rather than just one.

view x june series

rationale: view and june will star in dangerous romance and 23.5 this year, indicating that gmmtv is looking to brand them or at least give them main roles in 2024. they're both talented actresses who have a lot of experience and can easily handle heavier material. it's just a matter of how well they're received as a pair in the series that air in 2023. genre prediction: we don't know what their dynamic will be like in their 2023 series, but i think a lakorn-style, enemies to lovers narrative would suit view and june well and give them a chance to showcase their great acting skills. a sci-fi series would also be really neat!

2. sizzy girl group series

rationale: this one might be more of a personal wish than a likely prediction, since gmmtv hardly gives sizzy the time of day. but! jan and aye have played queer characters before, and ciize has repeatedly expressed interest in doing a gl (even talking to jane about being paired together). they're all great actresses and performers (sizzy concert when??), so it really would be amazing if they got their own series. genre prediction: i'm feeling a rom-com for them. my personal dream is a series about a literal girl group of performers (like sizzy itself) so that there can be original music for each episode like in my school president. bonus points if nanon can guest star as their slaytastic manager (i'm never getting over their love score collab).

ensemble predictions (in no particular order)

given the growing number of branded and un-branded pairs within gmmtv, gmmtv will have to lean more into ensemble series (like only friends) in order to give everyone screen-time.

a light-hearted romcom (like our skyy 2)

rationale: this would be an opportunity to give airtime to any branded pairs that don't have their own series, or more work for popular pairs. a light-hearted romcom with a stacked ensemble cast would be a huge moneymaker for gmmtv with lots of fanmeet/concert opportunities (like my school president). cast predictions: we could see many members of the my school president gang (geminifourth, markford, potentially also aun and prom) here. this could also be a chance to float new gl pairings!

2. a more mature, jojo-style series (like only friends)

rationale: other production companies are ratcheting up the heat of their series; gmmtv will do so too in order to stay competitive. for better or for worse, sex sells, and like only friends, a series like this would attract a lot of attention and excitement on social media. cast predictions: this is where some of their older, more established pairs come into play. we could see jimmysea or offgun here. or even joongdunk or pondphuwin, since these two pairs are being pushed in the direction of higher heat. this could look like a mafia or gang-war style series, or maybe something with paranormal/horror themes.

bonus: things that probably won't happen but i would desperately like to see

namtan, tu, ploypach and/or prim gl (please i'm begging i would DIE; can you imagine a period piece with these four?? the costumes alone would have me on my knees)

joongdunk/pondphuwin vampire series (i don't care if it's cringe; did you see joongdunk's dumdum performance??)

breaking up branded pairs (imagine, for example, if joongdunk/pondphuwin switched partners; or winnysatang/markford; or jimmysea/forcebook)

fluke pusit main series (i mean, come on)

midnight museum season 2 khathadome canon (not brothers, please be serious)

okay, that's it. feel free to add your own predictions/wishlist. remember: these are just my own ideas and opinions! don't take anything i say too seriously haha

[emersonfreepress]

You previously mentioned that we will be able to play as the child of immigrant parents. But how will you handle where the family comes from? Because let's be real: a kid whose parents come from Sweden or Germany won't get the same type of reactions as one whose family come from Mexico or Iran.

And that's even assuming the family are ethnically from those countries and not, say, people who went from one country to another to escape civil war or poverty or whatever, then came to the USA. Which is very detailed and nitpicking, I know, but I am very curious about this particular route.

Would it be right to assume MC's whose family have immigrant backgrounds would have it set, like how MC's family in non-immigrant route have certain set characteristics (upper middle class, how they came to their vices that caused current economic issues etc.)?

I haven't decided on exactly how I want to do it as far as accommodating backgrounds; as in, the choice scene isn't written or coded yet. But I really love what C.C. Hill @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if did in Insert Rich Family Name when it comes to customizing the family's background and plan to do something similar. (I highly recommend that game btw; and anything else CC writes tbh) Opening up a country of origin choice for immigrant MCs, however, means that I'm definitely reversing my decision to exclude skin tone customization. The game doesn't delve into things like colorism and or specific ethnic perspectives because I'm one person and just can't write all that 😅 but continent and country of origin will be a separate choice from things like appearance customization.

There are set characteristics of the second-gen MC's past but they don't differ wildly from the local background. Since the parents are characters with set personalities that I actually feature in scenes and dialogue, though, the immigrant backstory still needs to follow roughly the same beats as the local one. Your parents still lucked into money and spent it quickly and unwisely.

I know what you mean by the reactions that different migrant groups garner from people in real life, especially as the kid of African immigrants, but the setting I'm writing isn't like that. That's super unrealistic for a town like Emerson in real life — but it's a fiction and the story I'm telling isn't about facing or overcoming discrimination. If I was writing a version of Emerson that had a historical past actually typical of the United States, so many things, so many, would not exist as they are and I'd be writing a completely different story. The story I have written is just like... inappropriate honestly, for a setting like a realistic Emerson. I would not care to write about some high school kids at the prep school, I would much rather explore the politics and criminal underbelly of the adult world -- if I was writing this realistically.

To some degree, there are darker, more realistic aspects of Emerson as a setting (like blacklisting and what discrimination in Emerson even looks like) but that won't be explored until Book 2 because the MC will be an adult finally navigating life with the other adults. But this Book and this story are about the very insular perspective of a privileged kid from a weird fictional town. You could almost call a teenage MC an unreliable narrator, regardless of background, because they have lucked out in not experiencing much personal hardship. It doesn't mean my world doesn't acknowledge or have these things; literal case and points being Gabe and Kile. The MC is ignorant to a lot of what they haven't experienced and is written that way — and the characters who have had vastly different and harsher experiences also have their own limitations in perspective.

What you're describing just isn't what I'm exploring and xenophobia is not the sort of thing I'd want to inject half-assed for realism's sake or drop as some form of flavor text. I used to have a variable that let players choose if their last name gets frequently mispronounced because to me it's a funny thing that I relate to my immigrant experience. But I scrapped It because at the end of the day, it's just coding a micro-aggression that does literally nothing for the story or character development. Realistic discrimination doesn't enhance the story because I didn't create a story based in a realistic world. ...I think that sentence might sum it up, yeah.

I get that people don't have access to my notes or unpublished work and I don't presume that you know my background! But I'm confident I know what I'm doing with the option — and if it sucks, y'all better tell me (!!) and I'll have the whole rest of development to improve it.

[absolutebl]

Hi ABL!! This is more of a data question then anything but it might not actually be answerable.

How does the world of BL define a successful show? Is it money made on ads revenue? Streams? Trending hashtags??

Granted in North American media I also couldn’t answer this question, but I could gage based on…article reviews or critical acclaim. Or something.

I see soooooo many people saying something flopped or was massively successful, but truly. How on earth are we making those benchmarks?

I figure you might have at least a tiny sliver of insight into how this works! Or at least a key word I can take to google LOL. Thanks as always!!!!!

Hum.

Well for GMMTV et al, it's YT views. So that's easy. We can see those eyeballs outright.

The streaming platforms obfuscate data (that is one of the reasons SAG is still on strike) but we can see things like where it's ranked on their internal leader boards (what's "popular on Viki" for example). How many reviews something has. How many collections and lists it's on. How many people on MDL have it listed as "currently watching"

More key is how much chatter a show is getting. How many comments. But also...

Literally when you do a Google search for that IP:

How are the hit returns?

How many top spots does it hold above the fold on Google main (using private or incognito mode).

Are people blogging about it? Think pieces?

Are there reaction vids?

FMVs?

Reddit chatter?

BTS's?

Interviews with actors?

The amount of fan content generated around an IP tells you a lot about the number of viewers - since it is all a numbers game. Commenters (those who visibly/trackably react to content) are more common than (content) creators. Ghosts (passive consumers) are more common than commenters.

There are those in EntDA working on formulas for predictive fan base numbers sourced in the ratios of these.

Lemme try to explain...

In other words, the fans who create content for IPs (fanfic, art, meta analysis, FMVs, etc...) are the rarest. Those who interact with the content, leave star reviews, comment on the above fan-made content, engage in discourse, leave YT comments, are the second rarest. Those who tend to do nothing more than ... well, ghost (maybe have a subscription, maybe save the vid to a playlist or on MDL, maybe read this on Tumblr but don't react to it). They are the largest contingent but hardest to track.

If we could get a good handle on the first 2, there's usually a predictable ratio that can be drawn for the fan base as a whole, the largest number 3 - ghosts.

For example:

For every 1 creator there are 100 commenters and 1000 ghosts. Something like that. However the nature of this ratio is dependent on venue and vocality of the fan base (often a generational thing). So like, most Kpop stans are vocal, but 4th gen stans tend to be more noisy online, even though 3rd gen groups tend to have bigger overall fan bases. (Superstars, like super hits, are non-viable non-predictive outliers. There can never be another KP, or 2g, and we can't use their numbers to predict anything. Just like Taylor Swift or BTS can't be used to predict/estimate the success of a new pop venture).

back to the BL fandom

Here on Tumblr you can tell what's popular by which ones are getting the most gifsets.

That's how we know Only Friends is out performing Dangerous Romance. (I mean I could check the numbers on YT but I don't really have to.)

Also, I bet you good money Kiseki is garnering more eyeballs than You Are Mine. Again, I can say that with confidence just based on the content that's being created for that IP in this one venue.

On a practical level, in the ET industry, if there is chatter about a BL outside of BL circles (as happened with KP) you know it's gotten HUGE (by BL standards).

The moral of this story, incidentally, is if you like a thing, doesn't matter how shy you are, if you want it to continue, get a second season, whatever, you gotta NOT JUST WATCH IT BUT TALK about it. Online, where careers are made and broken. Squeaky wheel and all that.

Entertainment is about attention. More money is always thrown at the thing getting the most attention.

Just like politics.

Okay, I done now.

[cosmica-galaxy]

If Grunts saw flowers from the players world they’d freak out because what are those and why do they smell good and why are they so colorful

I think a lot of plants would garner that reaction. Especially since the only ones that actually remember the sunlight and how Nevada USED to look like would be the Gen 1's and early Gen 2's. Deimos would be the only one that would find everything new and enthralling while Hank is reminded of the world of before. Depending on who is looking at the foliage, they will either feel a sense of wonder or a sense of nostalgia. As for the sheer amount of flowers, you take these bois to a meadow or a flower shop and they stare for minutes at a time at all of the living plantlife. Sniffing, licking, probably eating all of them in curiosity. Trees of various types, bushes of all backgrounds, and the amount of times all the nature changes...the Player's world is fascinating and the grunts seem to find all of the life so alien compared to their own world. They like them for the most part... Until they run into poison ivy, oak, or thorny bushes. Then they understand that not ALL plant life is safe and fit for traveling through. Poor Deimos gets stuck with a bad rash after romping around through some poison oak. XD

[the-orion-scribe]

Breaking the Fourth Wall – A gift fic in a special format

Fandom: Gravity Falls

Rating: G

Summary: Something sinister lurks for the girls and Pacifica, and Audrey steps up to face the threat.

Dedicated to @mercedesaria, for her love of a 90s-2000s sitcom.

Thanks to @bonpocalypse for giving an initial read and vetting through this story!

Notes: Audrey, who is more on the forefront here, makes her first appearance in Six and Seven, in which she bullied young Nilam until Great Grunkle Ford mediates the situation. Aria wrote a review saying how she was “very partial to that name”, given she writes a series featuring Audrey whom Jonathan (rather reluctantly) takes under his wing as a teacher-student. The two grow closer over time as the events unfold. Truthfully the name was taken from Pau’s next-gen comic which features a similar flashback of Cedric being bullied by a girl of the same name. Nevertheless, I decided to flesh out Audrey more, particularly in Episode IV: Death and the Maiden, and also in this gift fic.

For this work, I took a look over a few episodes of Boy Meets World, which is a sitcom Aria based her fanfiction series Autumn in Philadelphia from, and decided to write this story in a screenplay format. Canned laughter, recorded applause… those are something you can find from a 90s/2000s sitcom, while the sitcoms of the 50s were filmed before a live audience. Other inspirations also include DuckTales 2017 episode Quack Pack (although that's more of an 80s sitcom) and Wandavision.

I had an idea of the four friends doing a social studies project on the 90s/2000s and hence they reenacted a few scenes. The one they are reenacting at the beginning is from Boy Meets World Season 2 Episode 20 Pop Quiz, as the headmaster admonishes the two students for their appalling grades. Something unsettling happens, and it turns out to be a glitchy showman from Zoe’s video app that decides to take control of this show. I debated various ways on how to deal with him before deciding upon a game show. The scene featured at the end is transcribed right from Mercedes Aria’s Autumn in Philadelphia Trilogy – Squirrelly Funerals and Nutty Neighbors.

To Aria, you’re a dear friend, and I’d like to thank you for your incredible support and the valuable feedback you’ve provided on several of my writings. As of late, I had the opportunity to delve into your own stories, which are nothing short of extraordinary especially since I garner deeper insights from watching the show. I love how you integrate your OC into the canon – how Audrey becomes a mother figure for Shawn and is a close partner of Jonathan. It’s a pleasure to have you not only as a writing friend but also as someone whose work I admire wholeheartedly. I look forward to many more exchanges of creativity in the future.

I hope you'll enjoy this gift fic. And Happy New Year!

[anneliesembsims]

Lucia did an unsuccessful private reading on her husband.

[thelensofyashunews]

CENTRAL CEE UNVEILS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW SINGLE "gen z luv"

Chart-topping British rapper and songwriter Central Cee is set to take over once again with the release of his new single, "gen z luv". With his distinctive style and lyrical prowess, Central Cee continues to push boundaries and capture the hearts of a global audience.

Last week, Central Cee dropped a snippet of "gen z luv" on his Instagram, igniting a frenzy among fans before swiftly removing it. Despite its brief availability, the snippet continued to circulate, garnering a plethora of support on TikTok and making it an undeniable next step for the West London rapper. The single lands alongside a ground-breaking music video, all recorded on Cench’s phone via screen record.

The romantic single is set to be another smash love song for Central Cee, landing in the wake of singles such as “Let Go” and “Doja”, the latter of which is the second UK Rap Song ever to hit 700 million + streams on Spotify. (The first is “Sprinter”.)

Following the massive success of his previous single, "BAND4BAND," a groundbreaking collaboration with American hip-hop titan Lil Baby, which has been named as the highest charting UK Rap song of the year so far, "gen z luv" explores the complexities of modern relationships in the digital age. Central Cee delves into themes of love, identity, and the impact of social media on Gen Z, blending hard-hitting beats with poignant lyrics to create a track that is sure to resonate with fans of all ages, many of whom are familiar with his dating life.

Central Cee has rapidly ascended to stardom with his unique sound and authentic storytelling. His collaboration with Lil Baby, "BAND4BAND," showcased his global reach, seamlessly merging his UK influences with Lil Baby's Atlanta trap sound. The single was a powerful testament to their artistry, delivering razor-sharp lyrics and infectious beats. It has spent 9 weeks in the UK Chart so far, accumulating 300K UK Chart sales and already being certified as Silver, with 260m + global streams.

Known for being incredibly selective with who he creates music with, Central Cee currently features on a collaborative single titled “Did It First” with Ice Spice, which is yet another Top 20 record for the ever-growing artist. The track follows on from the aforementioned Lil Baby collab and of course, last year’s critically acclaimed collaborative project "Split Decision" with Dave, featuring the notable stand-out single "Sprinter."

Earlier this year, Central Cee won two more MOBO Awards, for Best Male and Song Of The Year for "Sprinter," bringing his total to six MOBO Awards. He was also nominated for four Brit Awards at this year’s 2024 ceremony: ‘Artist of the Year,’ ‘Song of the Year’ for both "Sprinter" and "Let Go," and ‘Best HipHop/Rap/Grime Act.’

Last year, Central Cee became the first UK rapper to hit 2 billion streams on Spotify alone. With over 7 billion worldwide global streams, Central Cee’s inimitable trajectory shows he is truly unstoppable.

[superloves4]

In your eyes the mirror of mercy

Characters: Maglor & (ROP)Galadriel, Gen Chapters: 1 of (hopefully) 3 Summary: While searching for Sauron after following a lead to the Southlands, Galadriel stumbles onto the last person she expected to ever see again: her cousin, the kinslayer Maglor Fëanorion. TW: None I think? Some violence and reference to it at most. Song recommendation: Mercy Mirror - Within Temptation A/N: Not my best work but I had to share the vision!

Ch.2 Ch.3

Also on AO3

The Song beckoned him, it had done so in the past and he followed it, well acquainted with its ways, these had been small reminders, food, drink, bed, as if trying to keep him alive for as long as possible. He didn’t question the Song.

He’d always come back to the shores then, just strong enough to continue. And he’d walk  and walk  and walk

The Song he’d sing and the Song was within him carrying his words on the wind and through water. He didn’t question why.

And so, Maglor continued.

And he’d walk and walk and walk

At times he wasn’t truly... there. He didn’t feel quite the same when he Sang now. But if he dared to slip into numbness and just forget, the Light would be there again, shining onto him and reminding him who Maglor was and what he had done, that nothing he’d ever do would be enough to make up for it.

And he’d walk

Maglor followed the Song to a village in the Southlands. He’d camped a little way outside the village and observed it long enough to discover there was an elven settlement in those parts but with so many years of peace the keepers had dwindled to barely more than two, it made avoiding them much easier, the villagers didn’t like elves but it didn’t matter anyway, he always made sure to go undetected.

When the sun had risen he’d sung a little and garnered the money necessary for a meal as was his usual whenever he wanted more than a fish or nearby vegetation, that was, whenever he actually had food at all. He probably looked nothing like the prince he’d once been, maybe it was better that way.

He bit into his bread.

Whenever she closed her eyes it felt like she was back in that room, staring at Finrod’s corpse. She knew she had to move on and her body begged her to let it go, that the further she went the easiest it would be for her to crumble, Galadriel didn’t have to do this, it wasn’t her burden but she took it anyway, because no one else would otherwise.

Even if it meant watching as Gil-Galad and Elrond’s looks of concern turned to suspicion, because no talk of healing or memory of the blissfulness of Valinor and her childhood could help her now.

And so she’d walk.

Keep the path, keep the search, keep the fight.

And if it wasn’t enough for anyone else, if they truly believed that if she just sought the Valar’s forgiveness she’d be welcomed back, that she’d be healed, because leaving was all she had now, still she’d thread on.

She’d walk and she’d keep the anger.

Galadriel had left at night, as soon as she could gather her things, and left no letters, it didn’t matter if she was alone, if Gil-Galad was truly worried he’d have helped, he would’ve given her more than words trying to lead her to take the next ship, she didn’t care.

In her last search, she had received a new lead and she wasn’t about to give it up, the group of orcs spotted in the Southlands could be everything she was searching for, she’d take anything at this point.

When she arrived, several days later, with little rest in between, there were many things Galadriel had imagined to find in the Southlands.

Sauron had been the preferable choice but hardly a reasonable one, she knew as much. The orc commander leading the group she’d heard about and getting everything she needed from him had been the next best thing. And of course, getting rid of a group of orcs had always been a good idea regardless of whether it progressed her quest or not.

What she never would’ve thought was that she’d hear his voice.

Of course she’d remember his voice, Makalaurë had never been shy of hiding his voice, be it in their grandfather’s halls or in the battlefield, he’d long been defined by it, how could she ever forget.

But he was dead. Everyone said he was dead.

Jumped into the ocean, the last of the silmarils clutched in his hand so no one could have it.

Makalaurë was dead.

But when their eyes met, the reflected light they shared was impossible to hide especially with that ratty cloak he was wearing. So many emotions she saw on his face but she was too stunned to try and decipher them, she did, however, see him recoil. And she saw as he ran away.

In her stupefied state she didn’t even truly react, she noticed the small crowd that had gathered to listen was now dispersing with some curses thrown her way.

She ran.

The boiling anger resurfaced and she dedicated all of herself to the pursuit, the absolute gall he had, running away! Maglor clearly recognized her and knew what she’d do. And he thought he could just run away??

After all that he’d done...

She drove any thought away and continued, it may not be the evil she’d come to capture but it meant the mission in the Southlands had not been a waste, the last of the Fëanorions would be finally brought to justice.

She pursued her cousin to the edges of the town, Maglor didn’t seem interested in blocking her path, and all his efforts were placed on speed and avoiding objects, something she, in her armour, had more trouble doing. Yet, despite his head start Galadriel had overtaken him far easier than she thought.

And when she tackled him to the ground she realized why, she could feel her cousin’s bones stretched onto flimsy skin, gone were the muscles of a fighter, and when she turned his face around to look she saw how sunken his cheeks were. Maglor looked like was barely holding himself together!

“What happened to you?” she asked in horror, none of her previous, more important questions crossed her mind.

“Well, a she-elf, as beautiful as the last orc I fought, decided to throw her whole body weight on me right after lunch!”

Galadriel bashed his head on the ground.

“As nice as ever, Artanis!” he complained but couldn’t even do anything as his words had thrown her back to the moment and she remembered to tie his hands.

Only when she was sure he would not be able to do anything did she allow herself to get up and truly confront him.

“How are you alive?” she asked her most pressing question.

He stared at her befuddled “I’d have to have died in the first place for you to ask me that”

“Do you have any idea of the situation you are in? Or have you finally gone truly mad?” she spat out, her desire was to hit him again but she still needed to interrogate him “Answer my questions or you will regret it”

“Forgive me, Artanis” he answered with a saccharine smile and an overly flippant tone “I’m not in the habit of taking seriously the threats of toddlers!”

She paced the area, reminding herself that she needed him alive for punishment, before replying “It’s Galadriel and you know it”

“Ah, yes, right, Galadriel,” he shrugged, Galadriel made the mental note to tighten up the ropes and make it impossible, and in the same tone as before asked her “On that note, where’s good, ol’ Celeborn, I don’t see him with you, thought he might have wanted a cheap shot as well”

Galadriel’s insults died in her mouth and her body flinched, but she continued, it was better to focus on the task at hand than indulge Maglor’s stupidity.

“Is Maedhros alive as well?” she asked and he looked away, the smile finally falling from his face, Galadriel rejoiced that at least something seemed to affect this strange new version of her cousin.

“Only if you believe one of us could survive falling into a fiery chasm”

“What have you done with the silmarils?”

He gave her a scathing smile and his tone turned back to insolent “Nelyo had his when he died and I threw mine into the sea and have been wandering the shores ever since, of course!”

She violently grabbed him by the hair “TELL ME THE TRUTH!”

“Oh my, little Artanis doesn’t believe me, why might that be?” he had the audacity to laugh at that.

And watching him bend from the weight of his own laughter, fey and deranged, Galadriel decide that questioning Maglor would bring her nowhere, he deserved any horror the Valar deigned to inflict upon him. There barely was any of the cousin she had known in that body anymore.

She tied him to her horse and made sure to ignore any word he said, be it a mumbling, a string of mockery towards her, or all of his strange new songs. The port city they arrived in was nothing like the Grey Heavens and its boats could not compare to Cirdan’s ships, but for her plans that would be all they would need.

Maglor stared at her as she got the boat ready, Galadriel had never felt unsettled by him before, although she had often felt a sense of desolation she had not been able to place until the end of the first age, at that moment, however, with this Maglor that was no more than a stranger, her inability to understand him unnerved her.

“So,” he finally said, his tone neutral “you have truly decided?”

“Yes,” she answered, avoiding looking at him “I’m taking you to Valinor and to the justice of the Valar”

He hummed and nodded.

Maglor looked at the sun setting, he wasn’t singing but music followed him anyway, he seemed to take one last deep breath of Middle-Earth before sitting near the edge, his still bound hands hugging his legs. They started moving, his eyes stared at the deck unseeing and he started quietly singing again.

After about an hour of that, Galadriel snapped “Is that all you can do now?!”

He turned his head to the side, looking at her unblinking “Mostly”

That made her pause, unlike any previous remark, this one seemed to be actually genuine and it made her re-evaluate what he’d said before.

“Maglor?” she asked slowly “Where have you been, truly, all this time?”

He smiled and any semblance of truth disappeared from him “You don’t seem to trust me very much, I’m rather short on answers that would satisfy the great Galadriel, which one would she prefer,” he continued enthusiastically “that I have been secretly plotting to destroy all the remaining Eldar? Or that I have been begging forgiveness to the stars of Varda?”

“What I know is that you are still impossible to deal with.” she growled and decided to leave him to his own devices, let him deal with his broken mind, she refused to care further.

“Aww! Thanks! I’m flattered!” he told her, she pretended not to hear it.

Silence filled the space once more, the stars were twinkling reflected on the sea and Galadriel stared ahead for sight of Valinor even if she knew it wouldn’t be for a while.

“What exactly is your plan for when we get there anyway?” Maglor spoke so suddenly that Galadriel didn’t even ignore him.

“I will tie you up the emergency raft and leave you to float down the rest of the way by courtesy of Ulmo” she gave him a mocking smile this time.

“Not your best plan,” he remarked but she said nothing, she knew that what she was doing had been impulsive but it had to be done, still he stared at her “I didn’t know you were a soldier now”

“When the host of Valinor arrived I refused to stand aside any longer” It wasn’t a question but she answered anyway, remembering the moment she became a commander “Everyone was dead then, my father was there and all I could think was that I was about to lose him too. And in the end, he had to leave anyway.”

She glared at Maglor “And the family I had left was too busy destroying everything they fought for, I was alone”

Maglor pulled up the cowl of his ratty cloak “Oh? You’re telling me we are family after you disappeared into Doriath?”

“After you killed my people!”

He was staring up at her with another sardonic smile, the shadows from the cowl making his eyes appear brighter in the darkness, and when he spoke, his voice held a shade of power.

“Are you threatening me with a dagger, Artanis?”

Every move or line of dialogue he did seemed devised to anger her, leading to their current predicament of Galadriel pointing her brother’s dagger at Maglor’s throat. Even the implicit accusation was maddening.

He couldn’t possibly believe their situations were in any way similar, that she was anything like him.

“Do you truly know what you’re doing, Galadriel?”

She wanted to answer, she was going to answer; when they were distracted by the call of a bird and their first sight of the blessed realm they were born into so long ago.

And it was beautiful.

From where she was standing she could see the white shores of her memory, of her days playing at the beach with her mother, her father braiding her hair so that it wouldn’t tangle in the water, and Angrod and Aegnor teasing her for getting it dirty anyway. Finrod had been there, laughing along but still helping her remove the algae stuck on her head.

Had her brother’s all been re-embodied yet? Would Celeborn be there?

If she just let the ship reach the harbour, would she be able to see them? They would be so surprised, no notice had reached them and yet there she was.

Would her mother still welcome her even after she left despite what had been done to the Teleri?

Her head swirled with possibilities and she felt a tear fall, Valinor was so close she could touch it.

“Galadriel?”

She turned the ship around.

Maglor hit the railings hard, Galadriel was only mildly conscious of that fact, hearing his groans of pain like distant noise as she put distance between them and the undying lands. She heard as he called her name but she couldn’t answer, it felt like her throat had closed and her body rushed to escape.

Dark clouds were beginning to close the sky, keeping the light of the stars away from them, the darkness was a heavy contrast to her memories of Aman but with the wind picking up it didn’t matter.

“Galadriel!”

She rushed from one part of the ship to another as the rain began to fall, she threw her armour to the ground so she could run better, Galadriel didn’t even know if Maglor was still there, he could’ve fallen in the water and be drowning right at moment and she wouldn’t know.

It quickly became evident that they were about to be caught in a storm, the rain felt like punches on her skin and the wind brought the sea upon them. Galadriel screamed when the ship lurched to the side and only her hard acquired quick reflexes kept her from seeing Ulmo’s realm.

The tempest raged, threatening to turn the ship and its passengers into the sea’s newest relics. Galadriel was holding on for dear life to some rope when she heard it.

When she heard his voice.

Maglor stood then on the prow by the figurehead, his voice drowning out the howling of the wind and cutting through the waves, after so many years it was easy to forget how powerful Makalaurë’s voice truly was. But the important thing was that it was working.

Her voice joined her cousin for the first time since before the destruction of the two trees, she may not have the natural inclination for Song as Makalaurë and Findaràto had but she could make up for it with Power.

Singing in unison the ship evened and the unforgiving sea didn’t touch them, even the wind seemed to vanish. In that moment Galadriel truly believed they could weather out the storm, perhaps it was that vanity that changed everything.

In the middle of that tempest, light shone upon them.

Maglor paled and screeched, the Song was broken and a wave hit them, causing the mast to break.

“Maglor!”

Watching as her cousin covered his head and thrashed around the breaking ship, shaking violently, evading the light of Gil-Estel.

“Maglor! Please!” she screamed at him, forced to hold on desperately to the railing, she tried to sing but even her words froze in the cold storm “Please! I can’t do this alone!”

But Maglor didn’t respond, still convulsing and begging the stars.

“MAGLOR!”

A wave enshrouded them.

[bluebelleisabelle]

1 2 & 3 for the G3 Ask game ^^

1. How did you feel about G3 when it was first announced/rolled out vs. now?

Oo so I’ve been a fan of Monster High since the 2010s, and i remember seeing hints at Monster High returning on their Instagram. My friends and I were really excited, and when the Nickelodeon billboard was released last year, I remember being super stoked! Not a ton could be garnered from it, but I remember seeing Frankie’s prosthetic, for example, and being like “woah, that’s such a cool detail!! Disabled Frankie canon??” And seeing the leaks just made me all the more excited for the show. I still remember watching Food Fight 15 million times JDJDJ I just couldn’t believe it had returned. It was so different, but it was never anything I struggled to adjust to. I embraced it. Now, I love it just as much, if not more. But it’s so weird, cause with the earlier episodes, I have this very particular feeling watching them (almost like nostalgia, but I feel like it’s too recent to call it that JDJD), and it brings me back to fall 2022 when I first watched the episodes. The first episodes hit different in that regard, but I also love the new ones!

2. Which G3 character (new or rebooted) is your favorite?

Hmm… take an educated guess /lh :/ JDJDJ OF COURSE IT’S FRANKIE 💙⚡️ I just love their energy and humor! And the fact that they’re the first canon (technically), out and proud queer character made me love them even more! My top three favorites this gen would have to be Frankie, Cleo, and Deuce (with Cleo and Deuce being in no particular order). And this doesn’t even have to do with any dating/relationship dynamics (even though clankie is adorable). They’re just so wonderful, and I love the changes made to their characters this generation. Oh also, Heath is hilarious! He was one of my favorites in G1 (and in this gen). Even though a lot of people didn't like him in G1, I thought he was an icon (even if he was kind of a dick sometimes HSJS)

3. Which G3 doll is your favorite?

Ooo this is hard. The amped up Frankie sounds so cool!! They look awesome!! But I’m also a sucker for the core Frankie. And any of the Monster Ball dolls are wonderful! I adore Clawdeen’s suit! If we’re talking about dolls that I own, i really love my core Frankie <3 I’m not really a doll collector, so I only have core Frankie, monster ball Cleo, and the original skulltimate secrets Frankie (the last two being birthday presents). Core Frankie was my first doll that I snatched from Target the moment I found them hehe >:) I’ve owned them the longest, and idk, I just love them! They’re my most loved doll

[sanstropfremir]

Have you listened to Ay-Yo or the other new singles part of NCT 127’s repackaged album? I always enjoy diving into your perspective on groups artistic vision! I never really gave them much time but was sucked into their recent music (I think it’s because of Dem Jointz and Kenzie who helped produce some of the album??). The AY MV wasn’t as flashy as 2 Baddies but I do love a cunt moment and Taeyong delivered for me. I am now so curious about NCT!! You’ve mentioned before that they’re one of the backbones of 4th gen. What do you think it is about the group that has established them beyond others? I appreciate that the songs are experimental and unafraid. The music videos always feel like being sucked into an intense video game and I am here for it lol. Thanks for running such a thoughtful blog btw! Most times I feel like I’m in a little island with too many thoughts but it’s always a fun time checking out your posts.

yes! i love ay yo and the new songs on the repack! skyscraper is my fave of the three but i also really dig dj. dem jointz has actually produced quite a few of 127's title tracks, including cherry bomb, punch, kick it, sticker, and some bsides like right now, time lapse, designer, and nct dream's arcade! kenzie has also done a few 127 tracks including limitless, favourite, and several of my all time fave nct songs ok! and music dance.

sm obvs has big three privilege and for a reason, they have a really long history as one of the founding pillars of the industry since they pretty much invented it. bc of the company's status and their consistency with training their idols + the legacy of the popularity of their groups + the quality of their music, any new group that sm debuts automatically garners a lot of attention, both from the gp and from others in the industry. because of that, they tend to be imitated just by nature of having that much publicity, but nct made a splash with weird choreo and ''noise'' music. the seventh sense was a very unusual debut and no one's managed to level up to it since, even if nct wasn't exactly doing anything that new for the era they debuted in. they're spiritually continuing f(x)'s musical legacy, and the weird choreo + acrobatics of late third gen you can see in other groups that debuted in 2016, like knk and sf9. it's just that they had the higher visibility and outlasted a lot of other groups, so the combination of all those factors is what solidified them as being a significant influence on the subsequent generations.

[purple-slate]

Hallucinating LLMs — How to Prevent them?

As ChatGPT and enterprise applications with Gen AI see rapid adoption, one of the common downside or gotchas commonly expressed by the GenAI (Generative AI) practitioners is to do with the concerns around the LLMs or Large Language Models producing misleading results or what are commonly called as Hallucinations.

A simple example for hallucination is when GenAI responds back with reasonable confidence, an answer that doesn’t align much with reality. With their ability to generate diverse content in text, music and multi-media, the impact of the hallucinated responses can be quite stark based on where the Gen AI results are applied.

This manifestation of hallucinations has garnered substantial interest among the GenAI users due to its potential adverse implications. One good example is the fake citations in legal cases.

Two aspects related to hallucinations are very important.

1) Understanding the underlying causes on what contributes to these hallucinations and

2) How could we be safe and develop effective strategies to be aware, if not prevent them 100%

What causes the LLMs to hallucinate?

While it is a challenge to attribute to the hallucinations to one or few definite reasons, here are few reasons why it happens:

Sparsity of the data. What could be called as the primary reason, the lack of sufficient data causes the models to respond back with incorrect answers. GenAI is only as good as the dataset it is trained on and this limitation includes scope, quality, timeframe, biases and inaccuracies. For example, GPT-4 was trained with data only till 2021 and the model tended to generalize the answers from what it has learnt with that. Perhaps, this scenario could be easier to understand in a human context, where generalizing with half-baked knowledge is very common.

The way it learns. The base methodology used to train the models are ‘Unsupervised’ or datasets that are not labelled. The models tend to pick up random patterns from the diverse text data set that was used to train them, unlike supervised models that are carefully labelled and verified.

In this context, it is very important to know how GenAI models work, which are primarily probabilistic techniques that just predicts the next token or tokens. It just doesn’t use any rational thinking to produce the next token, it just predicts the next possible token or word.

Missing feedback loop. LLMs don’t have a real-time feedback loop to correct from mistakes or regenerate automatically. Also, the model architecture has a fixed-length context or to a very finite set of tokens at any point in time.

What could be some of the effective strategies against hallucinations?

While there is no easy way to guarantee that the LLMs will never hallucinate, you can adopt some effective techniques to reduce them to a major extent.

Domain specific knowledge base. Limit the content to a particular domain related to an industry or a knowledge space. Most of the enterprise implementations are this way and there is very little need to replicate or build something that is closer to a ChatGPT or BARD that can answer questions across any diverse topic on the planet. Keeping it domain-specific also helps us reduce the chances of hallucination by carefully refining the content.

Usage of RAG Models. This is a very common technique used in many enterprise implementations of GenAI. At purpleSlate we do this for all the use cases, starting with knowledge base sourced from PDFs, websites, share point or wikis or even documents. You are basically create content vectors, chunking them and passing it on to a selected LLM to generate the response.

In addition, we also follow a weighted approach to help the model pick topics of most relevance in the response generation process.

Pair them with humans. Always. As a principle AI and more specifically GenAI are here to augment human capabilities, improve productivity and provide efficiency gains. In scenarios where the AI response is customer or business critical, have a human validate or enhance the response.

While there are several easy ways to mitigate and almost completely remove hallucinations if you are working in the Enterprise context, the most profound method could be this.

Unlike a much desired human trait around humility, the GenAI models are not built to say ‘I don’t know’. Sometimes you feel it was as simple as that. Instead they produce the most likely response based on the training data, even if there is a chance of being factually incorrect.

Bottomline, the opportunities with Gen AI are real. And, given the way Gen AI is making its presence felt in diverse fields, it makes it even more important for us to understand the possible downsides.

Knowing that the Gen AI models can hallucinate, trying to understand the reasons for hallucination and some reasonable ways to mitigate those are key to derive success. Knowing the limitations and having sufficient guard rails is paramount to improve trust and reliability of the Gen AI results.

This blog was originally published in: https://www.purpleslate.com/hallucinating-llms-how-to-prevent-them/