#i may try a traffic light trio interaction

[lazilybeinglassie]

Gosh, I really wanna write for this AU again, it was so fun. That one shot gets some love here and there, and I still adore it.

Hmmmmmmmm, temptations as to what I may do . . .

Hiii!!!

Saw some fanart of your AYS AU, and wanted to ask if it’s only here on tumblr or if it’s a fic anywhere? Sorry if this has been asked already lol

currently i don’t plan on writing a fic of it atm so it’s only on tumblr rn. HOWEVER @lazilybeinglassie wrote a oneshot of my au a while back. it’s really good and i highly recommend giving it a read!!

[editrevue]

some wild cards for the ask game- elle and/or suzu since it was her birthday recently!! love you guys 🩷

OH MY GOSH MOLLY THIS IS LIKE WHAT 2 MONTHS LATE IM SORRYYYYY. [ask] THANK YOU FOR SENDING THIS IN. GENUINELY ❤️🙏 I'll just do a general opinion for Elle because she is just a little guy but Suzu will be under the read more! we love you too!

ELLE NISHINO

General Opinion over said character: so much unending love in my heart!!! I did not know what to expect going into the game. she was so mysterious and had so very little to her name at the start but the more we learned the more I got attached and both of us have this funny little thing with kuromaya that they're her self inserted stage parents because of how much she loves maya. it's so cute. she's so cute!! her entire story with frontier tugged on my heart like crazy and was just so special to me. she's a fantastic character too i love the dreamscape and the trope of her stories coming to life, it's such a shame that's all they did with her, left her to the main story and there she stays. i hope in the future they at least give us another card or two with her in it, maybe like a memoir or something. i felt like what she set up for everyone was really important given everything, so it's a little sad to see that arc over already!! i'm rambling but all in all i think she's a wonderful addition to the stage girl roster and I thought what they did with her story was incredibly fun and new, albeit a bit strange at first going into everything especially with all the changes after the anime but I really think she deserving of more love from the dev team and people in general ! Elle is like the brooke page of revue starlight

SUZU MINASE

Sexuality Headcanon: this may very well be me projecting my bestie friends onto their kins teehee but Suzu is pansexual in my heart of hearts. they are a total lover

Gender Headcanon: transgender!! transmasc or transfem, it could literally go either way to me, it changes daily because both make sense. any pronouns or simply a he/her or a she/him!

A ship I have with said character: loving attachments to suzu / mahiru and "traffic light trio" (suzu/hisame/koharu) you honestly cannot make me choose ♡

A BROTP I have with said character: Suzu and Sakura!! Suzu and Mahiru!! Suzu and Hisame/Koharu!! Suzu and Karen/Hikari!! Suzu and Claudine, Suzu and Futaba, Suzu and the siegfeld juniors !!! the list goes on and on for sure she's so lovable and tries to befriend everyone, she has an infectious laugh and a charismatic personality. those by name stand out to me the most given their bond stories or interactions in the stage plays :3

A NOTP I have with said character: Suzu and Sakura is a personal one, and obviously pairings that are gross to ship (juniors or teachers). otherwise I don't think any of them would be inherently weird or "bad" to ship! haven't given it much thought!

A random headcanon: I think that while suzu loooves giving nicknames she's absolutely abysmal at terms of endearment and pet names. she's not necessarily bad at romance and compliments, she's very charismatic, kind, and even a bit touchy by nature, but she can be veeerrrryyy unserious and it definitely comes out when she's flustered, backed into a corner, or nervous (ie; flirting with someone she has feelings for or having embarrassed herself in front of them). she has a lot of humility though and bounces back very quickly, able to try again whether or not it was successful! and anyone she's pining after definitely has a soft spot for it, and wouldn't change it for the world.

General Opinion over said character: oh. my. gosh! i love all 3 of the seiran girls so so so much Blue Glitter literally changed me as a person fundamentally i think. Live #2 did as well obviously and of course, but Blue Glitter and Delight........ ough. all 3 of them get the short end of the stick in the game and that's okay. they get a whole manga adapt and multiple stage performances, so I can let it slide. though I'm glad suzu was able to get some well deserved attention in Rebellion! both on the stage *and* in the game! another fantastic story btw, read it when you have the chance if you haven't! but yes yes, suzu. she's so silly, earnest and innocent, she's such a people person and someone i truly think everyone needs in their life! i've been thinking about her (and hisame) more recently, more than usual, and idk! idk i get sentimental, don't tell anyone. but I love them both a lot, suzu is no exception, and I genuinely think the kind of character she is and her dynamics with the others is so good. she's such a good character!!!!!!!!!!!!! everything with mahiru is just!!!! augh!!!! um waiter, more seiran please .

[krystaldeath]

Hmm…how about the Traffic Light Trio having a sleep over? Like, what would they do, who’s house would they stay in and how would the parents feel about it (depending on where they are of course)?

I’m gonna assume this was meant for my BBU au and if it wasn’t I hope you don’t mind I’m going with that (Also this got… way longer than it shouldve so I’m gonna put it under a read more)

I imagine Mei and Red had sleepovers with just the two of them growing up, usually at Red’s place bc Mei’s parents didn’t want two children running around their priceless artifacts and such. When MK joins its especially not happening at Mei’s place, and since I don’t think MK, Pigsy & Tang have a very big living space (probably an apartment that just barely fits the three of them), they’d probably still be at Red’s.

Mei’s parents don’t exactly care much about what happens since they’re not gonna be there, but they do give Mei tons of rules and give her lectures on how to act when she’s staying over at a non-family members house (which she only half listens to).

PIF, while a bit wary of Mei (her great xhowever many times it’s takes to be correct grandfather was friends to the guy who imprisoned her husband, and while that’s a rather remote connection, still stings a bit) at first, and then MK later on, the two grow on her and so she’s happy to host them. It also gives her the opportunity to tell embarrassing baby stories about Red to his two closest friends!

Pigsy is always nervous about letting his boy be out of his sight and being unable to immediately check on him, but Tang soothes his worries. Their son may be a tad but reckless at times, but he can handle himself! He’s got two dependable friends with him as well! And that mom of Red’s would never let any harm come to any children in her presence (supposedly) so there’s really nothing to worry about! (MK doesn’t get to have any sleepovers for a while after the day he came home with a choppy new haircut courtesy of Mei, and then Red who insisted they could fix it/make it better)

As for what they’d do, probably play a ton of video games! MK would want to watch Monkey Cop and other such Monkey King franchises, but since they normally have sleepovers at Red’s… yeah that’s not happening. It’s okay though they just watch a Power Rangers-like show (that ends up having a arc based off of JTTW that they almost break the tv trying to hide from PIF; she knows and feels conflicted about it, though if she leaves the room quickly so the kids can fully enjoy themselves, no one would have to know).

Bonus: When they get closer to Bai He they have her join them too (which terrifies her monkey dads bc 1. She’s only ever been out of their reach for 9 hours tops before and 2. It’s gonna be at PIF’s place and she is BOUND to figure something out). When Wukong (Macaque had to do something idk maybe he has a job) comes by in a human disguise to pick her up the next morning, PIF gives him a knowing look, then tells the teens to watch the girl as she has a “private talk” with him and has him walk with her through the house. He’s terrified she’s gonna try and fight him and that it’ll somehow get the kids caught up in the crossfire and that he’ll have to reveal he’s the Monkey King and have Bai He never interact with any of them again, but instead the unthinkable happens. She tells him she doesn’t hate him, not anymore. She figured it was the right thing to do, DBK was terrorizing citizens and he is expected to protect mankind; it also couldn’t have been an easy decision for him, considering he and her husband once considered each other brothers. Plus, holding a grudge for centuries can be rather exhausting when you’re a single mother. So, until she finds some way to free her love, they will have a truce. ———— Help the “Bonus” is longer than the actual answers so sorry lol

[thebrochtuarachs]

Something in the Rain - “Interruptions”

A/N: I hope you like it. As always, your comments and suggestions are very much welcome.

A modern day meet cute instance between Jamie and Claire. 

AO3  / C1: A Day In June : C2: Definitely, Maybe : C3: So We Meet Again : C4: Friday Lunch : C5: Finding Solid Ground : C6: Situations

XXXXX

“What should I wear tomorrow?” Claire texted Jamie on the eve of their first official date. She wanted to have an extra time to shop should the need there be. 

“What do ye mean?” he replied. 

“I want to dress appropriately to wherever you’re taking me, James Fraser.”

“I see. Smart casual would do. :) Sorry, I dinna thought of informing ye earlier but wouldn’t it be hilarious if you dressed to the nines and we’re going to some sort of cattle farm”

“Exactly.” Claire replied with the eye roll and laughing emoji. “Can I know where we’re going?”

“Don’t ye want to be surprised?” Jamie messaged back and saw three dots typing afterwards. 

“Hmm, thinking about it, yes. I’m excited to see the Jamie Fraser Date Experience.” 

“Hope it doesna disappoint. I, too, am excited to see the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience. ;)” he replied, knowing the use of emoji will make her smile as he rarely uses one.

“I hope it doesn’t disappoint, too.” she replied with a winky face too. “Are you back in Edinburgh?” 

“Just about to arrive home. I might just wash and then hit the sack.” 

“Rest then, Jamie. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Thanks, Sassenach. I’ll message ye tomorrow when I’m on my way” 

----

It has been four weeks since their accidental meeting at the sidewalk. After countless run-ins, lunches, and an absurd amount of consumed soy chicken, the day of their date has arrived. 

When Claire accepted his invitation three days earlier, Jamie went into a slight overdrive trying to plan what to do. He meant to ask her out when he got back - but when he found out that she met Laoghaire, something pushed him to go for it before Claire had any wrong idea about his connection with Mrs. Fitz's granddaughter. 

His first idea was to go all out - book the fanciest rooftop restaurant in the city, get the best chef he knew, and plan a private dinner for them. Fancy and exclusive seemed like a safe choice and a sure hit. 

Then he thought about Claire and all their interactions so far - hole in the wall kitchens, asian street food, very light and casual. Jamie pondered on the idea and realized that jumping from that to an uber private dinner might not be the best, so he kept that card to play for later. 

It was then he decided to just take their casual lunch to a casual dinner. He’ll just exchange one-hour savory chicken meetings for a comfortable, popular city restaurant and longer conversations. He also decided on wearing more casual clothes, opting out of his office suits that she’d seen him often in for a navy turtleneck, khaki pants and white sneakers. 

Arriving at her front door, Jamie took one last stock of himself, suddenly feeling a wave of nervousness, and knocked on her door. 

What he saw next knocked him out. 

Claire opened the door wearing a burgundy sleeveless jumpsuit that was both modest and sexy, yet casual enough. Pairing the ensemble with black heels, the garment hugged Claire’s curves in just the right places that left Jamie staring for a hot minute. 

“Hi” Claire broke through his thoughts and he remembered his manners.

“Hi, Claire. Wow, ye look beautiful” 

“Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. Going to stop traffic pairing blue on blue like that” 

“Ye ready to go?” 

“Yeah. Are we going to walk?” She asked as she locked the door to her place. 

“Yes, I hope ye dinna mind. Ye live close by all the nice places to eat.” 

“No, I don’t mind and also, very true.” 

It was a short 10-minute walk before they arrived at Howie’s Restaurant. 

“Howie’s. Interesting choice.” Claire commented as they walked to the hostess. 

“We can go somewhere if ye dinna like it here.” Jamie offered. 

“No, I actually quite like it here” she had to stifle a laugh at how adorable she found his tenseness was.

The hostess pointed them to the bar to wait for their table. Claire excused herself to the bathroom and Jamie ordered a light whisky for some liquid courage. 

When the bartender served his drink, a familiar bloke sat beside him and greeted him. 

“Jamie Fraser, hello!” 

Jamie gulped the drink and turned to the man beside him. “Joe! It’s good to see ye, man!” 

The two shook hands and exchanged more pleasantries. 

“I’m actually meeting my wife.” He looked at his watch and then to the front door. “Oh, good, she just arrived!” Joe quickly waved her in and introduced her. 

“Jamie Fraser, meet Gail Abernathy. Gail, Jamie.” he paused when Jamie extended a hand to her. “He was the guy who volunteered at our center two weeks ago. All the kids were just drawn to him.” 

“No wonder.” Gail observed, her comment earning a jokey sigh from her husband. “So, Jamie, what brings you to this side of town on a Saturday evening?” 

Jamie was about to share that he was on a date, but then right on cue, Claire arrives to greet the trio. 

“Hello, everyone!” 

“Claire!” Gail squealed as she gave her friend a tight hug. 

“Lady Jane, you clean up good!” Joe remarked. 

As they finished their greetings, Jamie quietly whispered to Claire to order any drink she’d like. The husband-and-wife duo caught on and couldn’t resist to pry. 

“You guys on a date?” Joe asked frankly. 

“First one, actually.” Jamie replied as Gail raised an eyebrow while Claire returned to his side, drink in tow. 

Joe leaned closer to Jamie and pretended to whisper in his ear, “My date advice is don’t challenge her or don’t allow her to challenge you to a drinking game. You will lose” 

Claire groaned while the rest laughed at her expense. 

Just then, the hostess approached the pairs and told them their tables were ready. They exchanged their goodbyes and were led to their areas. 

 ---

Jamie had been a perfect gentleman. 

He opened her seat, allowed her to order and choose whatever she wanted from the menu (They both went to the steak and fries!), and is making just the right amount of banter. 

Claire actually liked this dining choice - Howie’s comfort food really brought out the easy ambiance and conversation to their date. She didn’t mind going to a fancier place but she knew that if they were there, things would be too formal, delicate and shy. This was much better and she’d Jamie props for this. 

Moreover, what made this official first date a little bit more fun is much of the first date awkwardness is gone. They’ve covered much of the basics about their life during their lunches - their families (both their parents are alive and have retired away from the city, Claire’s an only child while Jamie had an older sister), how they chose their careers and where they went to school (Jamie is Oxford Law while Claire is Cambridge Med, the school rivalry something they joke about), their current or main interests (horses for Jamie, herbs for Claire) and many other things.

So the evening was more or less less a continuation on what they’ve normally done - catching up on their days, sharing an interesting story at work or a photo they found on the web, asking more random questions - the only difference now is, there’s a more clear and intentional purpose for knowing these things and whole lot of shameless flirting in between.  

Forty-five minutes in and halfway through their steak, a man approached their table. “Dr. Beauchamp, it’s nice to see you here!” 

Jamie and Claire looked up and saw a slender man, not much older than they are with grey eyes. 

“Tom, hi!” Claire swallowed a fry and grabbed a cloth to clean her mouth. 

“I’m sorry to interrupt your evening but I saw you from the bar and just had to pass by and greet you. I mean at least, this time, not at the hospital or during check ups” 

Claire smiled and made the introductions. “Oh, I’m sorry. Tom Christie, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, Tom. He is a teacher at the public elementary school. We met when I did the annual medical checkup for the kids. Also, I’m the peds of his kids, Allan and Malva.” 

The mention of the word kids made Jamie release the tight fist he didn’t know he held beneath the table. He didna like the way the man eyed Claire but it was not his place - not yet at least.

Jamie gave the man a nod but ultimately wished he’d go. When neither said or did anything, Tom said his farewells and confirmed his kids check-up schedule in two weeks. 

---

They decided to share a slice of chocolate cake and one last glass of wine each to cap off their dinner. 

As they waited for their order to arrive, they got startled with a loud noise. 

“Jamie, is that ye?!” one man said.

“Oh, heavens, tis!” another man replied. 

Jamie could not hide the embarrassment he felt as the two blokes approached their table. Once they noticed Claire, they did not waste time introducing themselves. 

“Hello, I havena seen ye before. My name is Angus” the thin, beardly man extended his hand. “And ye are?” 

“Hi, I’m Claire.” she reached out but eyeing Jamie for confirmation that he knew these people. 

“I’m Rupert.” the other man said. “We’re Jamie’s cousins” 

“Distant cousins” Jamie retorted back. “What brings ye here?” he asked while glaring at them to leave. 

“We have a double date” Angus shared, pointing to the table where two ladies were indeed waiting for them. 

“Then I suggest you return to your dates then.” Jamie replied then proceeded to converse with the two men in Gaelic. 

When the conversation was apparently over, Rupert sighed and turned to Claire. “It was nice meeting ye, lass. Please ask Jamie here to bring around one of our office events and meet the rest of the clan. I’m sure they’d love to get to know ye as well.” 

Jamie stood up quickly and had to push the two back to their table before they said anything else that may ruin the evening. 

“I’m sorry about them, Claire. They are quite the more, erm, rowdy members of my family.” he said as he sat down again. 

“It’s alright. They seem really nice” Claire said, smiling. “So, clan huh? Just how big is that family of yours really?” She brought the conversation back up again hoping it would ease his discomfort.

Jamie visibly relaxed and then, they were back in their bubble, “How many generations back?” 

---

Desert went by swimmingly with the chocolate cake and red wine proving to be a winning combo. After an almost three-hour dinner, Jamie asked for the check and insisted on paying for the meal. 

 They were one their way out of the restaurant then Claire was greeted by incoming guests. 

“Dr. Beauchamp!” 

Claire turned to look who called her. “Oh, please call me Claire. It’s nice seeing you here” 

“Likewise. Please call me Meredith.” she quickly signaled to the man beside her. “This is my husband, Derek.” 

“Of course, Dr. Shepherd.” Claire politely acknowledged him with the man insisting to be called casually as well. 

“Anyway, I’d just like to say that I just read your latest paper in the Journal of Pediatrics. I look forward to hearing all about it in your visit to Seattle.”

Claire graciously accepted the complement with a smile and bow. “Thank you. We’ll catch up in Seattle in a few weeks, then.” Remembering her companion, she turned to her back where Jamie was patiently waiting for her. “Oh my, where are my manners. Meredith, Derek, this is Jamie Fraser. Jamie, this is Meredith and Derek Shepherd. They’re visiting doctors from Grey Sloan Memorial in Seattle.” 

Jamie returned the pleasantries and shook hands with the doctors. 

“Alright, I’ll let you guys go on with your evening. Sorry for the sudden call out” Meredith said. 

“It’s no problem at all. A good night to you both as well.” Claire replied as she looked at Jamie and motioned for them to head out. 

--

Once they we're out of the restaurant, Jamie lets out a light laugh. 

“What’s so funny?” she asked. 

“I was just thinking that I’d never unexpectedly run into that many acquaintances in one evening, let alone in a date!” he shared, chuckling more as the thought further sank in his mind and Claire joined him in his mood. “It isna exactly part of the Jamie Fraser Date Experience” 

“I’m really sorry.” 

“Don’t be, there’s nothing to apologize for. I mean, who would’ve thought, right?” Jamie retorted, his humor infectious. 

She was touched by his honesty, not just with the situation but the entire night. He was caring, makes great conversation, and is always authentic with who and how he carries himself. She cannot make a full judgement of his character yet, as that is something she is still getting to know, but she likes what she is seeing so far. 

Taking a bold step, she wrapped her arm around his as they started walking side by side back to her place. 

Jamie looked at her hand, smiled and hoped it conveyed to Claire the joy he felt at the moment. “Is this part of the Claire Beauchamp Date Experience?” he asked nonchalantly. 

“Only to a rare few” she said as she slightly tugged him closer. 

The walk back seemed shorter than the one they did earlier. Before they knew it, they were already standing in front of Claire’s building. 

“Oh, before I forget!” Jamie exclaimed as he fished out his car keys and a grey miata lit up open beside them. He pulled out an exquisite posey bouquet of red roses and handed it to her. “These are for you.” 

Claire took them and smelt it, “The flowers are beautiful” 

“I hope ye had a good time, Sassenach” 

“I had a great time, Jamie. Thank you” 

After a beat, Jamie took a deep breath, gathering strength to what he was about to say next. “Claire, we’ve known each other for about a month now, became unexpected friends in a short amount of time, had our lunches and now, our first date. I hope ye dinna think this is too forward of me but...I like you and I would like to see you again or keep seeing you, I guess.“ They we’re holding each other’s gazes as he laid out his intentions and waited for her reply. 

Claire sighed and was just amazed by him. Her previous encounters are usually with male friends who constantly hang out with her then a few months down, asks her “what they are” as if she had to know or feel that something was happening from the get go. So, Jamie's forthrightness and old-fashionedness was truly refreshing and she was more than willing to give it a go. 

As a final check to their chemistry, she stepped closer, tilted her head and leaned in to him. Quickly responding to her actions, he held her face on one hand and placed the other on her hips to pull her closer. He followed her lead until their lips crashed into each other in a single deep kiss.

In that moment, both Jamie and Claire knew something big shifted in the dynamic of their relationship. 

This was not usual. 

This is different.

And oh so good.

They felt each other smile against their lips just as they pulled apart for air. 

“I like you too, Jamie and yes”

--

A/N: Maybe not the first date you might've thought of but hope you liked it! As always, thank you for reading! Your comments, suggestions, and questions are always welcome. If there's a story or scene you'd like to know, feel free to drop it! :)This was my original idea for the date but as I was writing it, I was going back and forth about scraping the entire thing and think about something else. But the original thought kept developing in my mind so I went back and stuck with it and cross-fingers, hoped it worked and made sense. I knew she had doctor friends but adding the Greys Anatomy characters just came about since I've been binging the show and thought it'd be fun to crossover. Hope you're keeping safe and in line to get vaccinated for the COVID-19 shot! See you all in the next one!

[writerdragon4]

Wait for the Train

She sat down on the bench, setting her bag on the ground at her feet.. The bench rested on a platform raised an inch off the ground. In front of her stretched a small train track that disappeared deeper into the woods. The teen checked her clock necklace. The train wouldn’t be there for another seventeen minutes. There were footsteps on the platform. She looked over to the direction of steps when they stopped. A tall man wearing a hat that covered the top of his ears had stopped to stare at her.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Waiting for the train,” the teen responded.

“Aren’t you a bit too human to be waiting for this train?” he pestered.

“Aren’t you a bit too elven to be in the human world?” the girl asked in return. The elf studied her suspiciously as he sat down on the far end of the bench. Sixteen minutes later a small train that came up to the teen’s knee pulled up. It had a few closed  carts with small people walking around. Pulled behind them were two carts that were entirely benches large enough for two or three people to sit on. The man sat down in the second cart. The girl took a seat on the first one, tucking her bag under the bench. The train waited five minutes at the stop before chugging forward again. The track twisted through the trees. Light streamed through the branches arching overhead. There wasn’t a sound except for the sound of the train.

Fifthteen minutes into the trip there was a semi-translucent barrier that the train passed through with ease. It rattled the key chains on the girls bag. As the train moved forward the elf nearly lost his hat to the barrier. Having passed to the other side the elf stuffed his hat into his sachtle. It was another 15 minutes before they pulled into a station. It was roughly the size of the other station, just with a roof covering it. At the end of the station the tracks dipped down into a hole in the earth. Both the girl and the elf got off and headed their separate directions.

The young girl sat down once again on the bench on the platform in the middle of the woods. Once again it was her Friday wait for the train. The elf came a few minutes later.

“Oh, you again. You didn’t get lost or killed or anything last weekend?” the elf asked.

“Most people greet me with hey Em not ‘oh, you again’,” the girl informed him.

“Exchanging names already?” the elf questioned. So many creatures could use your name against you.

“Nicknames for now,” Em replied. The elf studied the teen for a moment.

“Smart. I guess you can call me Andy,” he finally said. He sat down and the pair didn’t exchange another word the whole time. They remained silent even as they got off the train.

Andy actually arrived first next Friday. There was no sign of Em. He looked down the path to see if he could catch a glimpse of the girl. He checked his watch, the train was nearly here. He spotted her running up to the platform. Andy stood up to better see the teen. At that moment the train pulled up. He waited for her to get onto the platform before getting on the train. Em took her seat without even taking off her backpack.

“Traffic?” Andy questioned.

“My mom, she thinks I take the bus,” the teen panted. She shifted her bag off while the train started. A charm around her neck sparkled in the sun. “She dropped me off at the stop and stuck around for a while.”

“She doesn’t know?” Andy asked.

“You are aware of how much work it takes to get permission to just tell someone right? Like when they don’t stumble onto it themselves?” Em asked in reply.

“Is it difficult?” Andy responded.

“The council in charge can only be reached by flight and takes five months to get back to you, six if you didn’t give your request in person,” Em explained. Andy leaned back. He had lived there his entire life and he hadn’t known that. He spent all the time on the train trying to figure out this girl. As far as he could tell Em was human, yet she came to the realm every Friday since school had started. Based on her familiarity with the train it was likely that she had been taking the train longer than he had been attending college in the human world.

When the train pulled into the station Em and Andy parted ways without another world. He had wished he had asked the high schooler some questions but he felt like it wasn’t his place.

Andy walked up to the train station the following Friday with a plan on how to question the girl he had basically insulted the first time they had met. As usual Em was already at the train stop. This time however she was not alone. There was a woman next to her talking very intently. He couldn’t make out the woman’s face since she was facing away from him. Em on the other hand had her lips straightened into a tight line. Her eyes were trained on her hands as she fussed with something. The teen was perched on the very end of the bench.

“Good afternoon ladies,” Andy interrupted. Now that he was closer Andy could tell that the woman was clearly a forest nymph. He was a little amazed that he didn’t notice earlier. Her face was pinched and her eyebrows were drawn together.

“You were at the rally weren’t you?” the nymph demanded. It took Andy a minute to realize what she was referring to.

“No, I’m attending classes at the local human college and I had class during that time. Besides, I heard the rally got a bit out of control,” Andy said.

“Human’s damage to the environment is out of control and humans are fooling themselves if they think their dungeons will hold me,” the nymph declared coldy. Okay, so she had been arrested and had escaped. And she really didn’t like humans. It was probably best to get in between her and what she perceived to be the problem.

“May I sit next to my friend?” Andy asked. The nymph stiffened, and scooted over. Em just looked relieved as he took the seat next to her. Andy pulled the girl into meaningless conversation about her day at school until the train arrived. The nymph sat down on the bench in front and Em joined Andy on the second cart. Silence descended on them as the train started moving forward.

The nymph left swiftly after the train pulled into the station.

“Thanks for the rescue,” Em said.

“It was no trouble,” Andy replied.

“See you next week,” Em told him before dashing down the path she always took.

“See you next week,” Andy echoed. He watched the young girl run down her path before heading down his own.

Over the next week fall started to shine through. The temperature had dipped enough for sweaters to become commonplace. Andy was trudging through fallen leaves that Friday. When he got to the stop Em was doing something on her phone.

“You do know that won’t work in the realm, right?” Andy asked.

“I know, my mom just won’t stop texting me,” the teen whined.

“When we leave the human world it’s going to be as useful as a hunk of plastic,” Andy pointed out.

“I know,” Em whined.

“How do you plan on explaining that?” Andy asked. Em tilted her head back until she was facing the sky.

“Probably just tell her that the phone towers were down,” Em huffed.

“Is this normally a problem? Your mother interfering with your trips to the realm?” Andy asked.

“At least once a month.” Em sighed. Andy hummed and looked over the forest. The train pulled up to the station.

“Well, in a short while she won’t be able to contact you,” Andy said sitting down on one cart.

“That’s not reassuring,” the teen muttered, taking a seat on the other cart. Andy shook his head at the young girl’s dramatics.

Andy and Em continued to meet up at the train station every Friday. Andy often wondered what Em was doing but never asked. He and his brothers would throw around theories when he is at home. He found himself sharing these, often outlandish, theories with Em. Em would laugh at them, but she didn’t confirm or deny any of them.

Andy didn’t have problems with his peers at college, usually. That was probably because he didn’t interact with them if he could help it. There were times some of the other students decided to harass him. It was only really ever these three from his history class that he couldn’t be bothered to remember the names of. It was never anything Andy couldn’t brush off, until it was. The stretch of hallway was empty except for Andy and the trio of trouble. They were just tossing around rude insults while Andy ignored them. Then the girl of the group grabbed his hat and yanked it off. Everyone froze for when Andy’s pointed ears were revealed. Andy was the first to react.

“Give me back my hat!” he growled. The girl held the hat behind her.

“Nu-uh,” she said.

“What kind of freak are you?” one of the boys asked.

“Give it back!”Andy demanded, trying to reach around the girl. She twisted out of his reach.

“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you aren’t from around here,” the other boy said. He tugged on one of Andy’s ears. Andy reacted by slapping the hand away.

“Come on don’t be like that,” the girl cooed.

“Just give me back my hat and leave me alone!” Andy shouted. He tried to grab it from the girl but she tossed it to one of her friends. A game of keep away was quickly started.

“Hey! Leave him alone,” a voice shouted. Standing at the end of the hall was Em.

“This isn’t your business kid,” one of the trouble makers said. The other two passed the hat again.

“I said leave him alone,” Em growled.

“Oh yeah, make us,” challenged the scrawniest of the three. Even if he was scrawnier than the average college student it wouldn’t be hard for him to get rid of a fourteen year old. Em didn’t respond. Her body shifted, too fast for the eye to track. Where Em had been standing was a small dragon. Now dragons are large creatures so even though the dragon was small she was still the size of a horse. She spread her wings as far as they would go in the hallway and spat fire in their direction. It wasn’t anywhere near the strength it could be, just sparks that would only cause real problems if they landed in something very flammable. The sight of a dragon breathing fire was enough to send his classmates running. Andy didn’t really blame them, he may live where magic is commonplace and he knew Em but the sight of a snarling dragon, no matter how small, still scared him. When they turned the corner Em shifted back into human.

“A dragon,” Andy said.

“Yep,” Em replied.

“You’re a dragon,” Andy repeated.

“Yes,” Em said.

“And your mom doesn’t know,” Andy remembered.

“You should put your hat back on,” Em suggested.

Andy’s hat was back on by the time the three came back with a staff member. They were talking over each other about dragons bigger than the hallway scorching everything in sight. The staff member just kept sending them odd looks. Concerned and half-way suspicious looks were shot his way. Then he noted Em.

“What are you doing down here?” the staff member asked. He wasn’t irritated, there was amusement coloring his voice.

“She’s turned into a dragon!” the girl said.

“I was looking for the bathroom,” Em answered.

“Likely answer,” the staff member replied. He turned to Andy. “Could you make sure this trouble maker gets to Dr.Ocean’s office?”

“Sure,” Andy said, still stunned.

The pair left, Em practically dragging Andy, while the staff member explained to the three that had dragged him to this corridor.

“Why are we going to Dr.Ocean’s office?” Andy asked while they turned down the staircase.

“She’s my mom,” Em replied.

“Oh,” Andy replied. Dr.Ocean noticed the moment that they arrived at the chairs outside a cluster of offices.

“Can I help you?” she asked. She reached over and pulled Em into her side.

“Mom, this is my friend Andy. We ride the same bus on Friday,” Em said very pointedly.

“Oh, nice to meet you,” Dr.Ocean said. It was a very awkward conversation until Andy managed to excuse himself.

That Friday Em was waiting at the train station.

“I never did thank you for helping me earlier this week, did I?” Andy asked.

“You didn’t,” Em hummed.

“Thank-you for helping to preserve my secret at the risk of exposing your own,” Andy said.

“You’re welcome,” Em replied. They sat in comfortable silence until the train could be seen.

“Do you wanna come meet my dad?” Em asked.

“That does not sound like my idea of a good time” Andy laughed.

[mechanon]

Fandom 5k

General DNWs: Underage (sexual activity that would be Explicit/Mature rated under 16, any sexual/romantic interaction under 13), snakes, m/f or m/m unless otherwise requested*, AUs other than canon divergence, kid fic.

Smut DNWs: Scat, Vore, Watersports, Bestiality

General dislikes: Fluff, incest, infidelity, sexual/romantic relationships between teachers and pupils, significant power or knowledge imbalances in romantic relationships

Smut dislikes: Use of safewords or the traffic light system in vanilla sex or where no/stop have not been established to not mean no/stop, penetration as necessary for sex to be real or intimate, 

General likes:  Unhappy endings, major character death where appropriate, character studies, POV change scene rewrites,  casefic, gen, femslash, works focused on women and their relationships with other women whether those be romantic, antagonistic or friendly, similar levels of respect and affection between people in romantic relationships (if they both hate or disrespect each other it’s awesome but when one party respects/likes the other and other party disrespects/dislikes them it’s squicky to me)

I’m honestly open to every kink that isn’t mentioned in my DNW list including noncon/dubcon but a few things I really like are listed below

Smut likes: Tentacles (animal, alien or plant), interesting anatomy and detailed descriptions of that anatomy in xeno or monster sex, scars/wrinkles/stretch marks/the evidence of life lived on women’s bodies, imperfect bodies, sex that is awkward or not perfect but is enjoyable and fun

*Canon background m/f and m/m ships are fine provided I haven’t explicitly DNW that relationship.

Crazyhead

Characters/Groups: Group: Amy/Susanne, Group: Amy & Raquel & Susanne, Group: Amy & Susanne, Group: Amy & Raquel

Genres: Mystery/Procedural, Humor, Worldbuilding

Fandoms Likes: My favourite thing about this canon is that it is the relationships between Amy, Raquel and Susanne that drive the entire show and would love to see this continued. I got very tired of the constant no homo but I did love how awkward they all were in their relationships with men and would love to see this explored either as coming to terms with not being heterosexual or in becoming comfortable with themselves and their sexuality. I didn’t request Amy/Raquel or Amy/Raquel/Susanne but would be open to it as an option. I love the absurd sense of humour and the way it’s used to address very serious topics and diffuse the tension.

Prompts:

What is going on with Susanne in the final scene?

How are they going to deal with the that were demons released?

To be honest anything that continues on from the final scene and explores the relationships between Amy, Susanne, and Raquel is going to make me happy.

Rivers of London

Character/Groups: Sahra Guleed (Rivers of London), Lesley May (Rivers of London)

Genres: Mystery/Procedural, Canon-Style Plot - Freeform, Worldbuilding

Fandom Specific DNWs: Thomas Nightingale/Peter Grant, Thomas Nightingale as a main character

Prompts:

How did the Faceless man convince Lesley to his side? Is she a true believer or does have any doubts? I find Lesley far more interesting as a villain than as a possible double agent.

I love to see Sahra dealing with Falcon or Falcon adjacent cases without Peter or Nightingale. Or how her awareness of the supernatural is affecting her home life.

Anything that explores Lesley’s experiences with the Demi-Monde particularly her experiences sine defecting would be amazing. The comics show areas controlled by the Demi-Monde as being the only places she is comfortable not wearing her mask.

Harry Potter

Fandom Specific DNWs: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, References to Cursed Child or Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Film references where they contradict the books

Characters/Groups: Group: Hermione Granger & Ron Weasley, Group: Hermione Granger/Luna Lovegood, Group: Minerva McGonagall/Amelia Bones, Ron Weasley (Harry Potter)

Genres: Character Development, Mystery/Procedural, Canon Style - Plot - Freeform

Fandoms Likes: Ron and Hermione are my favourite members of the trio and Minerva is my favourite adult character. Hermione/Luna is my all time favourite Hermione ship.  While I ship Harry/Ron and would be fine with it as a background ship I would prefer the fic to focus on characters other than Harry.

Prompts:

I would love to see what Hermione and Ron get up to while they aren’t with Harry at Hogwarts or post-Hogwarts. 

I find Ron and Hermione’s relationship fascinating and while I could never see a marriage working out for them I would be interested to see one failing and them rediscovering their friendship out of the ruins of a failed attempt at a romantic relationship. 

Ron centred fix-it time-travel fic is one of my all time loves.

I would love to see Ron coming in to himself separate from Harry especially in the aftermath of the Second Voldemort War. 

Minerva and Amelia working together would be fantastic. I would absolutely love something pre-canon for them or something that explored their relationship from before the first Voldemore War through to Amelia’s death in the second. I would be more interested in them as adult women than looking back at their time in Hogwarts.

I would love to see Hermione and Luna have to work together post-Hogwarts. I prefer it when neither Luna or Hermione are correct in their world views and have to come of a middle ground but I would enjoy something where they try and fail to do so.

Original Work

Character/Group: Group: Blind Adventuress/Woman Under a Medusa Curse, Group: Confused Gardener/Earth Goddess Who Is Flirting By Making Her Garden Grow Like Crazy

Genres: Sci-fi/fantasy, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Procedural

Fandom Specific DNW Clarification: I’m phobic of snakes and graphic descriptions or realistic depictions written descriptions will trigger that phobia. I’ve never had an issue with written descriptions of Medsuas except where the snakes have been a significant or sapient character.

Prompts:

Blind Adventuress/Woman Under a Medusa Curse - I would love to know how the woman came to be under a medusa curse and whether they would continue their relationship if it was possible to remove the curse. Why is the blind adventuress an adventuress? Is she blind from birth or was she injured in her adventures? Tonally I love everything from campy fantasy like Xena through to Warhammer grim dark.

Confused Gardener/Earth Goddess Who Is Flirting By Making Her Garden Grow Like Crazy - I love this idea and would want a happy ending. I would love to have the Earth Goddess use the garden to have sex with the Gardener. I imprinted hard on Rosethorn as a pre-teen and would love for the Gardener not to be a young or insecure woman but instead woman confident in herself and her abilities.

[dhpdaedalus]

Hansel, Gretel, and the Consumer Military Complex

Ai Weiwei’s collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron’s Hansel and Gretel at the Park Ave Armory (June 7–August 6, 2017) raises unintended questions about surveillance, it’s limits, applications and interrelation with consumerism. Justifiably, we anticipate the merger of an infamous political dissident and big-budget cultural complex architects to forge an insight into one of Western society’s most prescient questions, and be able to inhabit that insight and see it from the perspective of dissident on whom surveillance has been exercised. But instead we encounter an obtuse approach to the predictable power structures of observation laid in a path to techno-aesthetics that feel as dated as the Patriot Act I. But there’s more. (If only it were intentional.)  

The two part installation buttresses an archimedean point–a door–at which the visitor occupies the role of the prison guard in Bentham’s panopticon model, on a staircase landing, a peeping-hole. I’m starting at the end of the journey, rather than the entrance. Performing the critique we expect from the designers, we look back at the prior point of the installation in the Wade Thomson Drill hall, see our past selves in the innocent and unaware visitors, experiencing the previous stage of the journey. We had entered the dark room with hovering drones and projections of image-capture and one part control-station part research-space. We had walked from Lexington Avenue, down a dim, black velvet corridor, the exit of which into the Drill hall felt expansive: the unlit void located gray rectangles lain over the subtle arc of the floor. We had looked. Seen. Moved around. Exited. Re-entering on Park Ave, we had paused at the camera, then journey up the staircase and from the peeping hole, the those places of contemplation and play, look to float in an ether. Platforms of light with shadow dancers. I saw people sort of dancing, walking, pausing, contemplation. Each area within this nowhere space varied by intensity of brightness; some were entirely dark. Red rectangles within these platforms of light freeze images of your movement. This became a choreography of surveillance, an exchange of image for movement, interacting with your own captured, flattened representation.

There’s a level of theatricality in the installation at the Park Ave. Amory. Like a Grotowski play in which even the audience has been removed, visitors move around dimly lit rectangles, gazing at their own image projection that is being captured and encapsulated with an enigmatic red box as drones hover above creating a refreshing current of cool air amidst the otherwise stagnant darkness.

But on the floor of the drill hall, the buzzing of drones swaying on cables like an invisible chandelier, stirring up a cooling summer breeze vertiginously against the gaze to the floor onto which one’s image captured from above is projected, seems partial, incomplete, wanting. There was the persistent sense that this wasn’t all there was supposed to be, and, in fact one was under surveillance. Upon entering, a text printed in large, bold typeface was pasted on the wall, bracketed by a partially-hidden but obviously working camera above and below the paper set up a, “Ok, when are you going to show me enjoying this moment that I’ve almost forgot is about surveillance.” Exit through the blue light in the corner, walk around the building. Re-enter on Park Ave, have your ticket scanned, pause in front of a red light as instructed and see your face in nightvision displayed on the wall. The hallway diverts right and left. To the right, sure enough, you see those cameras of the entrance on Lexington, streaming on a wall. Boring. A series of tables with iPad invites you to find your face, i.e. the accuracy of facial recognition, and look over a website showing (one) history of surveillance. Ok, but why am I here? I mean, I can see the website anywhere, right? (Why pay $17 to look at an iPad webpage?). Conjoining these two spaces is a flight of stairs up to the peeping hole. Next to the hole is a symbol of a eye printed on 8.5 x 11” paper, calling those below to come, peer. Please.

When you’re interacting with the drones, you know you’re being watched–that’s the point–but you don’t know you’re being watched from the staircase. And as you enter at Lexington Avenue, and read the blunt text that’s been Flex Taped® on, you see the small camera’s recording you. When you re-enter on Park Avenue, you’re asked to stop at the camera.

From the peep hole, the supposed end of the route of surveillance. The title alludes to the trail of breadcrumbs left by the children as they were led into the woods to die, the trail which leads them back home. In the digital world, particularly online but increasingly in the physical world, we leave sorts of breadcrumbs that can be traced back to our individual, our person, our identity. The second section is demonstrates the basic facial recognition technology by capturing visitors’ upon entrance, pushing their image onto large wall monitors and inviting one to search their own face through the aid of an iPad. Your face, like a fingerprint, can be a breadcrumb.

The immediate recollection of Laura Poitras’s installation in Astro Noise at the Whitney Museum in which the visitors are invited to lay down and gaze at ceiling projection of stars and later, upon exiting, have the curtain pulled off their head to reveal, ta-da! You were being surveilled! Thematically, Poitras’s surveillance work, specifically the mobile phone scraping piece in the same show, recalled Trevor Paglen’s show at Metro pictures in 2015, in which he presented Autonomy Cube (2015), which is a wi-fi hotspot that sends all traffic through Tor browser relays. The gesture offers a semi-anonymous browsing experience, lacking only a VPN for further anonymity, but really smartly conveys the existence of Tor to the fine art world crowd, as Poitras’s mobile scraper displayed the technology of capturing telecommunications data, as Weiwei, Herzog and de Meuron demonstrated the surveillance application in the consumer grade drones. But again, surveillance technologies within the safe space of art institutions are distinct from how those same technologies are implemented by a government on a campaign against “terror” and  with the exception of a few art world players like Ai Weiwei, Poitras, and Paglen, the governmental surveillance largely omits members of our socioeconomic class, occasionally deviating along racial and religious lines. And its in this elision and inconsistency that the facade of surveillance comes to light. The technology and infrastructure may reach all, but is applied directly to few. A simple test is to search how to make a bomb on Google. Go ahead, do it. You won’t be folded into the NSA nor FBI nor CIA database to have a sting operation rendered. You won’t be stopped at an airport. Practically speaking, it’s this inconsistency through which we as a majority continue to allow the Patriot Act’s sunset to extend and parts of the expired act to be reinstated USA Freedom Act. Most don’t feel the direct consequences of being surveilled because the demonstration of power has a preconceived recipient in mind. As a predominantly white, middle to upper class crowd, the art world are more like voyeurs of surveillance than subjects of its protocol.

Weiwei, Herzog & de Meuron aren’t trying to trick you indefinitely. They want to give you the experience of switching roles, being the children who ultimately shoves the old hag in the oven and escape from her dinner clutches. They seem bound by the unspoken ethical chains that dictate in order to critique surveillance one can’t recapitulate its hierarchy upon the artworld visitors to the show. Here, the question of how to persuade us of the existence of tools of surveillance is answered by a strategy of deference, role switching. But there’s a lack of control in this shape shifting when one realizes surveillance with a capital S doesn’t apply in the world of art as it does outside the rarified walls of the museum. In fact, the art world–its patrons, artifacts–have been using tools of surveillance not only since the beginning of photography when subjects we aligned with the exceptionality of the artistic class—the proprietors of art, the creators, portraits and art reproductions—which weren’t surveilled in the sense of be disempowered or controlled by image conveyance but empowered by it. The art world has willingly adapted CCTV systems in museums, galleries and fairs.

Surveillance tools in the museums are not constructing the criminal from the social body of members of the artworld, as in the criminal is constructed in the social body more widely, through the aid of cameras that offer “proof” to the person’s criminality. Surveillance is not a person in relation to a technology, but a relationship of power whose reach is extended through the confluence of lens glass and sensor and screen and imputed into a judicial system. And so here in the armory of Park Avenue, one of the wealthiest streets in North America, we can’t say that these cameras are subjugating us in the prisoners in the Panopticon. These are not peering for the minority who’s jumped the subway turnstyle, or shoplifted. These are not police body cams. No one is using the footage or purview to exorcise their domination over us; we, the good patrons of the artworld, self monitor and self regulate. We play all roles here. Sure, we’ll switch, but it’s weightless. And it is this tradition of near-horizontal power that informs the ethics of this space.

As a demonstration of the technologies that can be used for surveillance like drones with motion tracking, face recognition, and pinhole cameras, the trio of Weiwei, Herzog & de Meuron show us what they found at last year’s Black Friday sale. All of this is pretty tepid until you enter the gift shop. In fact, the gift shop really explodes what’s absent in this turgid critique of surveillance, which is not a demonstration of a technology, but how these socioscientific principals are weaving their way through a consumer society. The gift shop has the expected memorabilia of books and posters of the show, but the cell phone case, thermal signature blocking cape and blankets, glasses with reflective lenses that block face recognition, Faraday bags and RFID wallet to protect your financial data from being maliciously intercepted. There are shield hats that block all the electromagnetic frequencies that are bombarding us. Aluminum helmets, anyone? At first glance, all this seems to hint at a subtle acceptance of daily, integrated paranoia. But we should be more attentive to why a consumer product is a solution legal reality. Nothing is new, novel, nor interesting. In fact, it’s banal. It’s banal, literally. It’s banal to the extent that all the technologies that are exhibited have consumer-grade products that can foil them, all for sale, right there in the gift shop. What’s more banal than a technology that’s already reached a level of having mass consumer-level defense? Inadvertently, the gift shop is the most interesting aspect of the exhibition because it shows us the relationship between surveillance at consumerism.

Although unintended, this is the real conclusion to the exhibition journey. You’ve descended down the stairs from the peephole, you’ve checked out the iPads, you’ve seen your facial recognition, you’ve seen people entering on Lexington and like hungover, hungry Sunday morning you start rummaging through the remaining doors of the Armory, looking for something to justify your $17 entrance ticket. The gift shop. Holy shit.

Ai Weiwei. (Is there on Hello Kitty-esque Ai Weiwei shirt? I get the monographs, sure, but the throw pillows? Seriously? Remember, this exhibition isn’t a critique of consumer society. It’s about drones. Wait. And architecture? The website’s good, check out the website. On Herzog & de Meuron’s site there’s a sort of promo video that aligns the project to closed circuit TV tradition by dividing the screen area into four separate feeds, which at once show the armory’s programming and decoration. It’s okay. ) In the wake of Edward Snowden messing up all the NSA Thanksgiving plans in 2013, we saw Silent Circle’s Blackphone roll out, Protonmail, with servers based in Switzerland, addressed the problem of email un-encryption, and the list continues. Go on Amazon and search “encrypted” to see the plethora of consumer electronics that are responding to the inculcated sense of privacy invaded. The gift shop brings us all these "necessities" to one place, situating them in the context of a political dissident who needs privacy. Compared with the website that shows the history of surveillance, this gift shop with its spiced up aluminum foil hats, now with a fashionable bill so you can blend it at the game, is much more meaningful in the history people watching out about being watched. Yet the nefarious reality is that consumer goods occupy an important role in surveillance, and military technologies more generally. In a hypothetical situation in which the developer of the IR-blocking wallet is the same person at MIT who developed the IR-reading technology that the wallet aims to block, we see the game that the defense industry plays, even if the biographical data of the developers isn't accurate.

So many modern luxuries and worthless junk lying around, all of which makes our lives as easy as they are come from military developments. GPS. Telegraphs. Wristwatches. Computers. Camouflage. Fully-automatic machine guns. But what was once a trickle-down to consumer goods have now become a subsidy by consumer to trickle up. The amount of consumer electronic spending far surpasses the amount of the Defense budget that’s earmarked for development. A billion smartphones sell per year, a staggering ledger on how much these companies can poor in R&D. Soldiers in Iraq are using Apple devices for translation, rather than wading through years of bureaucracy for bespoke design. How about a supercomputer made of PlayStation 3? Financially, many of these technologies could not maintain the pace of development without a consumer-base of street versions of these military grade defense weapons. The flow of tools between consumer and soldier is troubling not only because it appears that civilians are subsidizing killing that we may not condone through the use of technologies wrapped in gadget that we deeply covet, but also because our gadgets are getting imbued with tools that don’t necessarily reflect our needs. In the world of software, this is called “bloatware,” the apps included on a device, apps you didn't ask for, don't use, and don't need. The facial recognition capabilities of the iPhone and iPad, as seen in the Hansel and Gretel has nothing to do with a smartphone. We have 4-digit encryption, we have 7-digit encryption. We have fingerprint recognition, now facial recognition? How about scrotal recognition? How about test my DNA to make sure it’s really me and whether the user is biologically predisposed to drop this fucking phone in the toilet. VPN, NFC, most accessibility features have little use to consumers but readily align with the State Department needs.

Perhaps the most relevant of techno-trash that shines light on this incestuous holiday at the Park Ave Armory are drones themselves. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAVs, those friendly consumer-grade gadgets that guys are using to make every crane shot in every indie movie, or fly around on the beach or park, are ramping up. They're reaching commercial grade, now able to carry and deliver goods. Meanwhile, UAS, unmanned Aerial Systems, like the Reaper, which were used by the military for first surveillance and now to drop bombs, are  getting smaller. 2.8 million UAVs have been sold already, while more and more militaries around the world are buying UAS. LOCUST, Low-cost UAV Swarming Technology says it all: they're taking the consumer scaled UAVs and making them useful in the battlefield, a hybrid between UAV and UAS.

Weaponry wouldn't be complete without defense. Police and hired defense contractors are putting UAVs to use in crowd surveillance. Then there's the weapon against UAVs: The Dronegun, used to scramble the communication between the UAV and controller. Developed by John M. Franklin and Dr. Brian P. Hearing at Johns Hopkins Air and Missile Defense Sector, the technology is framed as protection for politicians, the military and the rich and famous. Dronegun's technology reveals growing use of UAVs by insurgency, fringe consumers who may want to assassinate someone, and technologically-endowed perverts.  

UAS are a testament for the casualization of conflict, both in terms of policy and mortalities. Termed as "targeted killings" by the U.S., the questionable exodus from traditional realm of warfare dodges into a civilian context. The Authorization for the Use of Military Force, passed after September 11, 2001, is a carte blanche to kill anyone really anywhere at basically anytime. 93,547 bombs have been dropped as of August 23, 2017.  Hypothetically limited to al-Qaeda, the Taliban and their buddies, the open door is whoever these buddies turn out to be, become, emerge or evolve. ISIS. ISIL. And anyone who lives in the neighborhood, city, country, or region where they may be found, or thought to be. (Death by Drone, pp. 27) Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Pakistan, Somalia. Let's not forget that killing civilians is a war crime.

Drone strikes have increased under Trump, which increased under Obama. Civilian casualties have also increased. And it's not just the U.S. Saudi Arabia continues drone strikes on Yemeni rebels, as unmanned hunt and kill missions increasingly become the lingua franca of absentee diplomacy. Blocked by an international Arms Trade Treaty, Saudi Arabia has turned to Chinese military technology to continue their campaign against the Houthis, while Iranian produced drones given the rebels fire to return to Saudi Arabia, ostensibly turning Yemen into the stage for testing international weapon capabilities, a role Spain played prior to World War II.

Drone strikes are more secretive than manned attacks, presumably because the threat of a depressed parent of an fallen American soldier is less likely. And because the domain of the War on Terror is not limited to national boundaries, the attack by drones doesn't require the usual Congressional approval that a military act of aggression requires. Drones are the casual way of killing. We can see that, like most military weaponry that is applied to the foreign domain, it's soon applied to the domestic market, often without the regulation of historical courts of war. Hollow-tipped bullets, introduced by the British during the colonial wars in India, were outlawed by the Hague due to their excessive brutality. They are still lawfully used by U.S. police against civilians. So while technology is now trickling from the consumer up to the military, weaponry continues to trickle back down.

Notes

Airwars.org https://airwars.org/

"Civilian Drones," The Economist, July 8, 2017 http://www.economist.com/technology-quarterly/2017-06-08/civilian-drones

"China's Saudi Drone Factory Compensates for US Ban," Middle East Eye, March 29, 2017 http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/china-build-factory-saudi-arabia-fill-drone-shortage-1200657135

Death by Drone, Open Society Foundations, New York, NY, 2015

"GPS, Drones, Microwaves and Other Everyday Technologies Born on the Battlefield," Les Shu, Digital Trends, May 26, 2014 https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/modern-civilian-tech-made-possible-wartime-research-development/

"Key Staff," Droneshield, August 23, 20217 https://www.droneshield.com/key-staff

"LOCUST: Autonomous, swarming UAVs fly into the future," David Smalley, Office of Naval Research,April 14, 2015 https://www.onr.navy.mil/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2015/LOCUST-low-cost-UAV-swarm-ONR.aspx

"The Military Consumer Complex," The Economist, December 10, 2009 http://www.economist.com/node/15065709

"Military Tech Versus Street Tech: Who's Got the Edge?" James Vlahos, Popular Science, August 15, 2004 http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2004-08/military-tech-versus-street-tech-whoacutes-got-edge

"The (Not-So) Peaceful Transition of Power: Trump's Drone Strikes Outpace Obama," Micah Zenko, Council on Foreign Affairs, March 2, 2017 https://www.cfr.org/blog/not-so-peaceful-transition-power-trumps-drone-strikes-outpace-obama

"US Air Force Connects 1,760 PlayStation 3's to Build Supercomputer," Lisa Zyga, Physics, December 2, 2010 https://phys.org/news/2010-12-air-playstation-3s-supercomputer.html

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First Hands-on With Mass Effect: Andromeda’s Cooperative Multiplayer

GameSpot  – ‎18 hours ago‎

According to the game’s exploration trailer, Mass Effect: Andromeda’s single-player campaign spans an entire galaxy, encompassing dozens of star systems and hundreds of planets.

BGR

Leak: Can the iPhone 8 compete with a Galaxy S8 that looks like this?

BGR  – ‎20 hours ago‎

Dozens of high-profile flagship smartphones will be released in 2017 but truth be told, there are really only a handful of upcoming new devices that consumers at large actually care about.

Forbes

‘Mario Kart 8 Deluxe’ Nintendo Switch Release Date, New Trailer And Details Revealed

Forbes  – ‎14 hours ago‎

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe will be the first game released on the Nintendo Switch featuring the company’s signature character. It is scheduled to hit stores on April 28.

Kotaku

Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Is Full Of Amazing Little Details

Kotaku  – ‎14 hours ago‎

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild manages to be both massive and unusually detailed. The sprawl of Hyrule will take weeks or even months for most of us to explore, not just because of its square mileage but because of how much there is to see and …

Forbes

It’s Impossible To Separate Out The Success Of The Nintendo Switch And ‘Zelda’ Right Now

Forbes  – ‎19 hours ago‎

In case you hadn’t heard the good news, the Nintendo Switch is selling well. Quite well, in fact. In many regions, it’s the fastest selling console since the Wii.

South Bend Tribune

California steers toward truly driverless cars

South Bend Tribune  – ‎41 minutes ago‎

A Google self-driving car is seen on display May 18, 2016, at Google’s I/O conference in Mountain View, Calif. Cars with no steering wheel, no pedals and nobody at all inside could be driving themselves on California roads by the end of 2017, under …

Windows Report

Ghost Recon: Wildlands Review

GameSpot  – ‎10 hours ago‎

Ghost Recon: Wildlands is a squad based Tom Clancy game that plays by the numbers. It stays true to the series’ Rainbow Six-inspired roots, emulating the cold and calculated nature of organized infiltration and coordinated stealth kills.

GameSpot

Quake Champions Is Free-To-Play With a For-Pay Option

GameSpot  – ‎16 hours ago‎

When Bethesda announced Quake Champions last summer, developer id Software said it was still evaluating what business model it would use.

Miami Herald

What the CIA WikiLeaks Dump Tells Us: Encryption Works

New York Times  – ‎6 hours ago‎

NEW YORK – If the tech industry is drawing one lesson from the latest WikiLeaks disclosures, it’s that data-scrambling encryption works, and the industry should use more of it.

Twinfinite

If You Hate FFXII, The Zodiac Age Could Convert You

Twinfinite  – ‎16 hours ago‎

So full disclosure going into this preview of Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age: I hated Final Fantasy XII. I’m pretty sure there is a disappointed user review somewhere on Metacritic written by pre-writer me, that clearly lays out my disdain for the game.

Tech Times

John Carmack Sues Former Employer ZeniMax For $22.5 Million

Tech Times  – ‎7 hours ago‎

John Carmack, the new CTO of Oculus has sued ZeniMax Media for not paying the remaining amount for id Software purchase. However, ZeniMax has stated that the claims made by Carmack are baseless.

Engadget

AT&T offers unlimited data with slow speeds for pre-paid plans

Engadget  – ‎15 hours ago‎

AT&T is upgrading two of its inexpensive pre-paid GoPhone plans today, but they come with some serious trade-offs. The first plan, with unlimited data for $60 per month, only offers 3Mbps of data, and the speed will drop even further after you’ve used …

VentureBeat

Microsoft releases new Windows 10 preview with Creators Update version number

VentureBeat  – ‎13 hours ago‎

Microsoft today released a new Windows 10 preview for PCs with no new features. This is the latest build of the company’s upcoming Windows 10 Creators Update, which is slated for release in “early 2017” (likely to arrive next month).

Android Police

[Update: It’s back] Google pulls March security update for Nexus 6, after it breaks SafetyNet and Android Pay

Android Police  – ‎18 hours ago‎

The Nexus 6 just recently reached the end of mainstream software support from Google, but it is still receiving monthly security updates.

BGR

Rare photos and video of a Tesla Model 3 prototype surface online

BGR  – ‎13 hours ago‎

When Elon Musk unveiled the Model 3 nearly a year ago, he made a point of noting that the final design was still a work in progress.

Tom’s Hardware

Zotac Unveils Its Huge, Acceptable, And Affordable GTX 1080 Ti Graphics Cards

Tom’s Hardware  – ‎12 hours ago‎

Zotac revealed a trio of top-tier GTX 1080 Ti graphics cards. The GeForce GTX 1080 Ti AMP and AMP Extreme come with Zotac’s own premium coolers installed, whereas the standard GTX 1080 Ti from Zotac without any extra nomenclature comes with a …

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Harley introduces new Street Rod

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel  – ‎Mar 9, 2017‎

Harley-Davidson’s new Street Rod is aimed at urban riders navigating their way through traffic. The bike’s revised chassis and improved suspension make it quick, light-handling and easy to ride, according to Harley.

ZDNet

Here’s why you must back up your iPhone and iPad before upgrading to iOS 10.3

ZDNet  – ‎22 hours ago‎

a-1-hero.jpg CNET/CBS Interactive. Apple is expected to release the iOS 10.3 update before the month is out, and it’s vital that you have an effective backup mechanism in place for your iPhone before you upgrade.

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