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husbandohunter · 3 years ago

Note

Your Stardew Impact has given me a serious brainrot and I couldn’t sleep on it so here

Imagine the boys getting Isekai to Stardew and meeting their (soon-to-be) s/o a.k.a the farmer who found them in the mines and dragged them out.

It’s basically the same as the original but the reader lives in Stardew universe from the beginning.

The Outlanders who trespassed the Stars [Stardew Valley + Genshin Impact]

Synopsis: You were a simple farmer who lived a simple life before crossing paths with these outlanders. A tale of greetings and farewells tells a story that loving someone was like looking at the stars in the sky; a sense of warmth amidst darkness, where the dots connect no matter what distance it was. But just like stars, they were meant to be unobtainable.

(Basically what happens if the boys get Isekai'd)

Genre: fluff, angst (faceapalm didn't mean to)

Characters: Childe, Xiao, Zhongli

(A/n): Hi anon, haha I didn't think the Stardew Impact series would be this enjoyable. Allow me to serve your brainrot. But just for future references there is a character limit! Also it long, a pro tip to use ctrl+F and type in the name :>

======================

~Childe's Story~

The day you met Childe was perhaps during the most fortunate yet unfortunate hour of your life.

Winter comes by, your fields were left dry, what else was there to do other than mining? You were aiming to build a new Barnhouse before summer comes, fishing only made average income thus you decided to take your pickaxe and hope to run into some diamonds, gold or even better: prismatic shards. However, expensive items could only be found in the deepest parts of the mountains, where dangerous monsters lurk by.

When peeking over the abandoned minecart you so carefully shielded yourself with, you began contemplating whether you've just dug yourself a grave instead. The whole area became infested, you weren't in the best condition and on top of all that, you were out of food.

You decided to make a run for it, with the treasures and goodies at hand, you couldn't give up. However, things only got worse when purple mist began taking over your vision, signaling a lava bat wave drawing nigh. It was thanks to your greed that you ended in such a predicament but it was also your greed that brought you to him.

"W-Woah!!"

You tripped with your toe pointing downwards into a pile of wooden crates. The bats swarmed in shortly after, daunting around the area above but you couldn't afford to look. Your face was down to the ground and you could only rely on your ears regarding their whereabouts. As if Yoba heard your prayers, the lava bats could not seem to find you, confusing them to think you've escaped. And so, they flew away.

"I'm never doing that again," The sudden impact was excruciating, you were sure that your lip bled due to biting too hard. At least the floor felt somewhat soft, cotton-like and warm enough to be comforting. Yet, for some reason it was also a little…bony?

"…Mn…."

Your body jerks up like a springboard when you felt something shifting. A man, no older than his twenties, no older than you, lays sprawled out under your form. He was beginning to stir and you panicked when a pair of blue cerulean eyes pointed into your seemingly shocked ones within the close parameter.

Too close.

The man gives a cheerfully wry chuckle, you could practically feel his breath almost, "Well this is quite unexpected, didn't think I'd end up in this position," he jests, soon his expression began to tighten into a grimace, "Mind getting off me though? With all due respect miss, you're a little-…heavy."

You scrambled to the side while still kneeling, "What the hell, who are you?!"

"Hm," The man didn't answer, instead he pushed himself upright and turned his attention to examine the surroundings, "Where are we?" He paused when he noticed how the ceiling was made of rocks, "Wait, is this a cave?"

"Ninety two floors deep and surrounded by monsters," you sighed in frustration while rubbing your head with your palm, "Seriously, whoever you are you shouldn't be here, especially if you're not even carrying the necessary supplies."

"Hey, I just got here. I'm just as confused as you," he puts his hands up in a defensive gesture, "But how strange," he mutters to himself, lowering his arms ever so slightly before pinching his chin in deep thought, "I swear it was the right portal…or maybe it was the other one? Hmmm, could it be the effect of the hidden seal?"

I have so many questions. You sweatdropped nervously. Here you were, hours spent to get to the deepest parts of the earth and looking like a cavewoman while his clothes were practically untouched, nor did they seem to be a recognizable fashion. You've seen many odd events within Stardew Valley but not to this extent, "Alright you know what, let's forget about it for now. We need to get out of here before those lava bats come back for us again. Otherwise we're toast," you gestured to the lava pool, "Literally."

He gave another one of his gleeful smiles, you wondered if he was afraid at all, "Sounds like a solid plan to me. Judging by the equipment you're wearing, you seem to have been here for a while. You know your way around?"

Figures that he doesn't know, you thought, "I'll lead."

"Glad we're on the same page. Though, we've only just met and yet you're still willing to help a stranger like me," he mentions in an off-handed manner, perhaps he wasn't used to generosity ever since being recruited as a harbinger, "But not that I'm complaining. You have my thanks, comrade."

"(Y/n)," you tell him, "That's my name. I'm a farmer that resides in this town."

"I see. A town it is then," he inquires, "Call me Childe, as where I'm from, not sure how to answer that anymore."

"What do you-"

But before you were able to question him further, a hoard of lava crabs were spotted crawling it's way towards where Childe sat. He shot you a confused look and turned to the direction, amusement sparks in his eyes,

"Lava crabs? You've got to be kidding me," your arms have already grown tired long ago, at this rate, you figured it may be best to pay a visit to Harvey's doctor office and check up for any muscle strains that have occured during the process. You most likely have considered how heavy your items felt now. Partaking in another battle would only make it worse.

"Ah an opponent, to think this place wouldn't have a set of new monsters to fight. I was growing tired of beating up hilichurls all the time."

His casual reaction caused you to scrunch up your nose in disbelief, "We're being ganged up on and your first response was that???"

Childe paid no mind, instead he propelled himself back to his feet using his trained reflexes and swaggered towards the crowd, "Relax girlie," Stopping just after a few steps, he turns his head ajar over his shoulder with a floppy smirk spreading his lips, "I've got this."

You held in your breath, wondering if you could trust this man. For now all you could do was sit back and hopefully regain some of your strength while observing by the stacks of crates that were abandoned years ago. The lava crabs formed a straight line in front of him, they were smart creatures, cornering their prey in a very well strategized form so that trespassing was out of the question. Childe wasn't intimidated in the slightest, he merely looked down at them with hooded eyes, flexing his fingers for preparation.

"Lava crab…in other words you're of the pyro element," the harbinger holds out his hand in front of him, trying to cultivate the shape of his bow, "A shame. This fight would end much shorter than I anticipated."

However, when he expected his element to manifest, nothing came out. Childe was left dumbfounded.

"Don't just stand there," you screeched, "Do something!!!"

"Wait," he halts you and tries to summon his bow again. Once, twice, as the crabs grew closer still there was nothing, "My powers…they're gone?!"

"Take this," left without a choice, you pushed yourself towards him and shoved Neptune's glaive into his grasp. He examines it with curiosity, but you knew this was also your own well-being you were entrusting him, "It's really easy to use, just-"

When a crab leapt forward, you ran back to create some manageable space for Childe to move in. He delivers a powerful slice using one arm, hitting the crab's weak spot while tossing it toward the side until a dent was formed in the wall. Your mouth parts, fast, he was fast, you didn't even have the time to blink. It was as if he knew the glaive more than you did. Though, the assumption wasn't that far from the truth. Childe was well adept with swordsmanship as he was an expert with many other melee weapons. Which is precisely the reason why he chose the bow as his main, a ranged device, the challenge to keep him on his toes. Just like he was now.

"He wasn't lying when he said he could fight," you watched in mesmerization, each single blow he delivered deemed equivalent to three hits on your part. Childe was both powerful and swift. He was formidable. The way he effortlessly deflected his opponents despite not having an enchantment ring made you forget how much of an idiot he was earlier before. Soon, the lava crabs began to lessen, leaving what remained of their dusted corpse while some retreated back into the depths of the cave.

"Not bad, it was kind of fun!" Childe laughs exasperatedly, glancing at his blue reflection upon the marred blade, "It's been a while since I last used a sword, and still haven't gone rusty either," he hands you the hilt, "Thanks for letting me use it by the way. You seriously got yourself a sick weapon."

"Keep using it for now, I think I'm a little too worn out to handle it," you say regretfully and pointed your nose towards the ceiling, "The mist hasn't disappeared so there's probably gonna be more monsters we'll encounter soon."

Childe looks up as well, "Huh I was wondering what that meant."

"By the way I've never seen anyone fight like that. Exactly what kind of place are you from?" You finally ask, "You somehow ended up in a cave, without anything to defend yourself with and it's not like you know your way out either. Are you...from another world?"

"Huh didn't think you'd draw that conclusion so quick," he comments jokingly, "Guess there's no reason to hide it anymore. Indeed I am from another world, at least, that's what I can tell so far. I've never encountered these types of monsters either."

You couldn't help but be taken aback by his honesty, "That was strangely easier than I thought...."

After escaping the cave, you introduced Childe to the wizard who lived in Cindersap forest, M. Rasmodius. He was extremely intrigued by the concept of an outlander and seemed happy to be of assistance. Since helping others was the culture of Pelican Town, you commissioned Robin to build a small cabin for him to live in temporarily. In return, Childe must accompany you back to the caves and make up for your losses. It was a mutual benefit since he had the opportunity to fight as well.

Childe befriended the townsfolk rather easily. On friday nights where everyone goes to the Saloon to enjoy their time, he would be found in the other room playing pool with the gang (Sam, Abigail and Sebastian)-- you as well when he managed to drag you along with him.

Crashes at your place when you were busy with the farm. You can bet that he would pop up suddenly midday through your window, “Can you use the door like a normal person???” But despite how much you get irritated by this habit, all bygones are bygones the moment he starts a conversation.

He sticks around as you carry your hay batches, sharing his stories. How the organization he worked in was a powerful militaristic force that had authority over many countries. But you didn't see him as a brute since he only joined for the sake of his parents, for the sake of his siblings and their dreams.

You thought of your grandfather who also once told you to pursue your dreams: live a peaceful life away from urban society. However, as long as the harbinger was with you, there wasn't much option for 'peace'.

"Tell me again why you dragged me out here? You know thatI still have a lot of work to finish back in the farm," you trekked your feet through the thick icy sheets with one hand clutching the zipper near your collarbone. It was incredibly windy in Cindersap forest and Childe happened to have convinced you to leave the comfort of your home for 'a surprise favour'. He purposely made a vague statement to draw in your curiosity but if you had refused-- well, that would have led to constant nagging on his part.

"You'll see," is what he said, it was what he told you through this whole ordeal. He lifted his chin to feel the frosty air against his face, "There's this one activity I wanted to try out. Back in Snezhnaya, I used to bring my brother to go skating out on the lakes. It's deadly freezing there so the ice is pretty thick to work on. Haven't done any of that since I joined the Fatui."

You shot him a deadpan glare, "That's why you brought me out here? Why didn't you just go by yourself?"

"Now that's cold (Y/n),” you rolled your eyes at the pun, “Can't you loosen up instead of throwing yourself in a pile of work all day?"

"It's not that I don't want to...I'm just very busy with the farm since it's the last day of the month. At least I want to do as much as I can before Spring comes."

"Haha you're right but you only live once y'know?" Childe noted happily despite your protest, "And like I said before, seize the opportunity when you see it. You never know when it will be your last."

You cocked your head to the side, "What do you mean?"

"Now let's get started shall we?" As you both reach the edge of the frozen lake, Childe takes a step forward ahead of you, "Have you ever gone ice skating before?"

"Yeah but..." You glanced at the glassy surface with skepticism, suddenly struck by hesitance. The thought of drowning made you retreat your steps right away, "I don't know Childe, it doesn't seem that safe."

"That's true if you're not careful enough," he pointed out, "Luckily you have me to help you with that."

"How does that work?"

He placed one foot onto the hardened lake and parts his mouth into a grin, "Watch."

In contrast to your cautious personality, Childe was considered to be more of a wildcard if anything. He loved adventure, just like you except his side often included bloodshed and the thrill that danger carries. You weren't sure if it was worth putting up with his antics or entertaining his idea of skating on thin ice, but you complied regardless. He had a way of delivering his words through that cheery voice you couldn't deny.

Prior to meeting him, life was boring. The corporate world was boring. You moved into your grandfather's farm in order to search for some form of fulfillment that Zuzu city couldn't give and you thought you did now that you had your very own farm, but slowly you began to pile more responsibilities than you could even count.

Everything you did, you did alone.

If it weren't for Childe, you wouldn't have learned the art of surfing on ocean waters. You never would have known the taste of mixing three different ice-cream flavours together despite what strange names they all had. Or what it felt like to mingle with the townspeople rather than mingling for the sake of business. Suddenly, everything became...fun.

Childe wanted to go far and wide. He was always running, so far ahead, somewhere beyond the stars as he could conquer the world to the point you might no longer reach him.

No longer reach him, huh. Curling your fingers into your palm, you renewed your courage and took a step onto the ice.

At the sound of boots tapping behind him, Childe spins around to see you wobble in your stance, nearly tipping over. He slid across to where you were and grasped your arm before you fell.

"Gotcha."

"Thanks," You sighed in relief, "Jeez, this is harder than I thought."

"Guess this is your first time then," he commented with a bit of jest, "Don't stress yourself over it too much, you'll be okay. I got you."

He carefully led you to the center, staying close in case you were to fall sideways again. You awkwardly tried to keep your legs straight, balancing on your own yet the fact that there was still water underneath struck fear into your nerve. It caused you to tremble and eventually skittered backwards.

"Haha ice skating isn't your forte isn't it?"

"I'm just getting started!"

He takes your hand in his before you could even protest, it was one of his many aspects that you found endearing-- the fact his impulse stems from genuine intentions, feelings, not giving them a second thought. The two of you glide using the soles of your shoes, he speeds up ever so slightly and the adrenaline begins to increase until there comes a rush of excitement, freedom. The stress you once had already forgotten once taking flight upon the ice.

"Look Childe! I'm actually doing it!" You couldn't help mentioning with a bit of youthful playfulness in your voice, "It's so smooth and fast! Almost like I'm flying!"

He smiles quietly from a distance, “See? I told you that you'll be fine.”

It was clear to many that the two of you were much closer than what meets the eye.

Childe began to notice the change in your aura. You were happier and much more soulful. Before you were always on the edge, cautious in contrast to his sanguine approach, he couldn't help but be caught off guard whenever you teased him. Or the sudden honesty that causes him to be flustered. By your side, he was no longer a Fatui Harbinger rather more of a puppy, adorable almost.

But when he saw that the reason you changed was because of him, it brought fear into his bones. Why? How did things get to this point? You were lost in a wonderland, ignorant to the blossom that had sprung inside of your chest.

Maybe it was better to be ignorant. Just live in the moment while it can still last.

"You're leaving?"

Standing at the gateway between the mountain cliffside and the starry sky, you call out to the man you've known in a way that carries more than what words could say. Because he left a mark in your years that could never be erased and here he was, trying to erase his existence completely.

Childe lets out a bitter chuckle, he didn't dare to face you, "I didn't expect you to catch up so quickly. You're quick-witted, comrade."

"It's (Y/n)," you corrected, trying to steady your voice so that he couldn't tell the expression you were making, "Why didn't you say anything? What makes you think that I'll just stay silent and let you go on your own way? This isn't a joke Childe! Don't act as if none of it matters to you because it sure as hell did to me."

His lips that held his usual smirk flattens into a straight line, "Even if I did, would it make a difference?"

The world stills. You knew the answer, he knew the answer, you just refused to admit it. One by one, the stars begin to collect themselves until a bridge was formed in front of him, on another day he would be enjoying the scenery alongside you. But today they would be for you alone to witness. The man who you spent your time with had slowly, regretfully, inevitably became a stranger. He was right. It wouldn't make a difference. You were already aware since the day you met him that he belonged to another world and you willingly offered to help him find a way home.

"You know, you could come with me."

Your eyes jolt open. His voice was so free of care. As if he was commenting on something so minor on a casual Sunday afternoon while accompanying you to the beach. But when you came face to face with the harbinger, his expression lackluster, you knew that he meant every word.

"Just you and me, we can travel across the world to our heart's content. I always thought you were an adventurer just like me and you know what, the farm life just doesn't suit you," Childe slowly extends his hand as an offer, for you it was a temptation, "So what do you think? Care to join me?

Your lip quivers. What he said sounded like a sweet dream that you so desperately wanted to take a bite out of. But even so, you thought about the townsfolk, your farm, your grandfather. Their images flashed in as if holding you back, chaining you to the ground, "I can't."

The answer pained you more than it did to him.

"Figures, this is your home after all," he huffs out, " Now do you understand? I can't leave my home either. If I did, heh, I think my siblings would despise me until the very end and I just don't want that. So no hard feelings, okay?"

You didn't reply.

"Don't worry. I won't pressure you if you don't want to," Childe turns back to the bridge, it was almost time, "Do what you have to do (Y/n), hate me if it makes you feel any better. You can even forget about me," he paused, renewing his resolve, "But I know I won't."

"Childe-"

You ran to grab his scarf only to have it ghost through your hands. He was relieved that he couldn't hear your voice, as he returned to Teyvat, Childe wonders what kind of expression did you have before he left? He'll never know.

---

~Xiao's Story~

The day you met Xiao...well, you weren't in the best of the best positions.

This was probably your sixth attempt trying to make it through all levels of the cave and reach the last floor. The quest had been sitting in your drawer for months.

Of course you didn't expect things to be easy, the fortune teller channel you watched every morning had yet to inform you with any good fortune and you would often bump into obstacles that would halt your progress.

But to be fair, sometimes the colourful ore would attract your attention and before you knew it, it was time to go.

So close yet so far. You dragged your feet tiredly against the ground. What time was it? Who knows. Judging by your state, you assumed it had already struck past 12 a.m.

However, today luck seems to have taken pity on you, just...slightly.

You puffed air into your cupped hands for the nth time, huddling deeper into the touch of your coat while trudging into the cave's cold climate. A little longer, any time soon, you kept telling yourself over and over but as if time was frozen, the wait felt like an eternity. Ah how much you wish to be in the comfort of your soft, fluffy bed right now. Though, merely visualizing the image only reminded how achingly freezing it was so you decided it was best to spare yourself from the details.

"I can't do this anymore..." leaning your head against the ice covered cavern, you whimpered, "I should have stayed home."

As you were about to shut your eyelids, something flashed by your peripheral vision. You darted towards the direction it came from, the light was a bright green hue against blue, could it be, "Warmth!"

It seems you jumped to conclusions too quickly. With impatience, you swung around the corner, expecting to find a heat source, only to meet something much more horrifying.

"KYAH!"

They stared straight into your eyes, those demonic eyes tainted by black and fangs that stuck out of the mouth like tusks on an elephant.

However, when the light evaporated you were able to have a better sense of sight, slowly revealing the monster's true form and the body of a human boy. He fell onto his back with a thud and you used this chance to calm yourself from the frightful encounter.

"He's...unconscious?"

You meekly crawled to where he lay and examined closely. Aside from the mask, there were various distinct features that stood out in his attire, his tattoo being one of them, imprinted in what looked like an eagle. You then realized how unsuitable his clothes were in this current situation. At least there were no injuries so far. But was that a good thing? This man practically came out of thin air as if some sorcery had been committed. Witches never left a good impression ever since they cursed your chicken coop. You were hesitant whether to help a stranger who could potentially be one of them or a creation they cultivated. What other explanation could there be?

"I can't leave him here, it's too cold."

Your gaze suddenly falls upon his covered face. The design, although intimidating at first, upon closer look was very alluring in it’s own way. You haven't stumbled upon anything like what the merchants had to offer in Pelican Town and the mask almost looked too foreign. Was he from the east? Curiosity eventually takes over and you gingerly reach for the mask, sliding it off his face.

"Eh...?" You gasp, taken aback by his striking appearance. A part of it made you feel this was no ordinary boy but that didn't mean he should be abandoned in this environment. It would be immoral to let him die in a place like this.

Before you could even make a noise, his eyes bursted awake, grabbing your wrist in a harsh grip. He used his other hand to push against your shoulder until you were instantly pinned on your back with no opening to escape. You choked a sharp sound as you stared with wide eyes. The man was akin to a beast, he had the expression to match it, like the glaring sharp gaze of wolves that roam at the mountain cliffside near Zuzu city and the ferocity of the demonic mask he once wore. You were breath taken but in a more fearful way as he continued to grip onto you tighter with the possible intent to harm.

"Speak!” He demanded, “What have you done to my powers and where have you brought me?"

In Xiao’s case, he was thrown into another world under the circumstances of fighting against one of Liyue’s unknown beasts. He was on high alert, thinking the fight was still ongoing.

You may look human but you could still be a threat. Xiao is the type to act upon instinct in the moment when something feels out of place. Like the spear he wields, he was trained to behave like one: to strike, strike down his foes without hesitation. Don't leave an opening for them to take the advantage. Xiao is a weapon and violence was what he knew best. He couldn't afford to lower his guard even for a minute.

You could say he left a pretty strong first impression to the point you were paralyzed. As he looked at your face, petrified and tense, he wavered and began to reevaluate things. Large doe-like eyes stare into his feline ones. They didn't seem to hold any sort of malice, was it possible for you to be the one who cursed him?

"Eeeeeek! I-I have no idea what you're talking about, let me go let me go!" you cried, "Please don't hurt me!"

Perhaps he shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions.

Xiao feels your struggle and eventually gets off to give you some space. Your reaction was understandable, he was used to it anyways. Xiao scoffed to himself, why are mortals so weak? Their strength, if compared to the adepti, was separated by a large gap (Like it always should be). Xiao kept his gaze averted to the side as you rubbed your wrist, focusing his attention elsewhere. He glanced at the vastness of the cave in front of him.

Why was he sent here? For what reason did it serve? Ever since he sealed the contract with Rex Lapis, the guardian Yaksha had never entertained the thought of leaving his country nor did he act upon it; he was far too loyal to his god to do so. But here he was, against his own will yet free from his karmic binds, stripped of his divine powers in the return of endless questions about this new found mortal-like form.

What should I do now?

Choosing not to dwell in any longer, Xiao rises to his feet and proceeds to walk the other way.

"Ah u-uhm sir, where are you going?"

If the universe wanted to test him then he'll find his own answers.

"Wait! Please wait up!"

"Tch."

Although he intended to keep going, Xiao heard you running to his direction and slowed to a halt, some mortals surely do not know their boundaries, "Hmph there's nothing timid about you. Leave me be," he demands without turning around, "Don't forget what I'm capable of."

Stay away.

"I-I know that," you retaliate weakly. Just by hearing his tone made you want to melt away and become one with the ice. He was a scary man indeed, the same one who attacked you earlier. But even so, "That doesn't mean I want you dead! If you go that way, you might freeze to death. Aren't you cold? You don't even have a coat on."

"..." Upon the mention of his predicament, his senses started to kick in. As a yaksha, Xiao wasn't able to be affected by temperature but now he felt his hands beginning to sting, trembling from it’s impact. Ah, so this is what it feels like to be cold. Still Xiao was stubborn and continued to push you away, "What happens to me has nothing to do with you. Now leave, or else."

"I-I can't do that!"

Xiao clicks his tongue in frustration. How annoying. This is why he dislikes meddling with meddlesome humans. But quite frankly, he wasn't sure how to handle your type of forwardness since most tend to back away. And so, Xiao does what he usually does, he ignores you and continues walking, eventually you'll give up on him anyway. However he hears a loud thump and whips around to see your body laying in the snow. The hours of travelling in the cave have seemed to caught up that you inevitably collapsed from exhaustion.

Knitting his evergreen brows together, Xiao lets out an irritable sigh.

...

You wake up to find the sky above your head and your coat draped over your shoulders like a blanket. Dawn was slowly rising above the distance valley, you figured it was around 4a.m in the morning. Rubbing your eyes, you eventually noticed a figure sitting across, admiring the sunrise.

"Ah it's you!"

Xiao jolts ever so slightly, peeking over his bare shoulders until you could see the sun's light casted against his golden irises. Did he stay here while you were asleep? Then, that would also mean he was also the one who carried you all the way up from sixty floors below.

“You're awake,” he noted flatly, “If that's the case, then I have no reason to stay here."

Of course, that wouldn't be the last time you saw him.

You were a tenacious human being, always so insistent in dragging him away from his lonesome personality. He resides in the forest and camps there for the time being (similar to Linus since they’re both homeless lol). But you’d always run in, DAILY and sometimes for the most stupid and mundane reasons. It could either be giving him the snacks you snatched off the table since Xiao refused to participate in parties, or fancy seashells you found on the beach. You didn’t want him to miss out on all those things of course! Although he responds with irritation, it was as if his words went through your ear and then out the other. His efforts were futile (however, he was slowly warming up without realizing).

He learns how easily his body reacts in the presence of food purely because he was hungry. You bring an extra set of blankets and pillows to his campsite when the ones you gave him wore out (he didn’t ask by the way). Xiao needed help whether he liked it or not since he no longer has his powers, hence he couldn't run away. He somehow ends up moving in to live on the small islands near your farm.

Xiao doesn't understand humans very much. Just as he was unable to understand how human emotions work. He was the almighty yaksha, Adeptus Xiao and a formidable beast that killed thousands in thousands of years, at least that's what he used to be. Even now he still has yet to figure out what he was or who he was exactly without a weapon to define his existence. He was made for battle but nowadays, he found himself watering plants, chopping down trees and throwing seeds to the chickens living in your coop. How did everything escalate to this? It baffles him, how much his life changed so drastically.

Haha, you’re Xiao of course! The greatest farming assistant I could ever have.

But above all else, the one thing Xiao couldn't understand among those universal questions, is you.

"Why are you doing all this?" Finally he asked. The urging thought had been persisting at the back of his mind ever since.

You stopped on your tracks and turned to look at him, tilting your head with a complexion made curious, "What do you mean? Ah, did I do something to bother you?"

"I didn't say that," Xiao interrupts abruptly, he folded his arms across his chest and shot you a deep contemplating gaze, " You're...incomprehensible. All I did was drag you out of that cave yet why are you so kind to me? Don't you think you're extending yourself too much just because of one little deed?"

Because to him, saving a life was the norm. He does it unconditionally just like you helped him with those same intentions. Except, Xiao had been pursuing corrupted souls behind the scenes all this time and expected nothing in return. Experiencing someone's gratitude was rather new.

You shook your head, "It wasn't small to me," a satisfactory smile melting onto your face, "I'm here at this very moment, feeling the wind against my skin and smelling the scent that nature carries, these are just the few things I cherish. It's thanks to you that I can still watch over grandpa's farm, that's why I don't feel like I'm overextending myself in any way," suddenly you beam at him, "At first I thought you were a scary person. Haha. Time flies so fast, it's amazing how much can happen in between."

"Hn, you're a simpleton. But that's not a bad thing..." he points out curtly yet softly, "Do as you wish, I won't stop you so feel free to call my name whenever you need my help. I'll be there."

Xiao also finds you to be very clumsy. He couldn't leave your side even for a minute. But that was a lie. He just grew very attached to you.

When you tell him that you've been going into the mines for a quest, he tells you that you're far from capable. So he teaches you how to wield a weapon properly. Xiao was a strict teacher and he intends to keep it that way, he wouldn’t even allow you to set foot in the mines until he finds you capable enough.

You were a meek yet optimistic person, yet you were also strong-willed.

For a place that wasn't his home, he felt it was. And he found that it was all in your presence. Those peaceful hours hiding inside the barn while a storm rages outside, you sit beside him while hugging a sheep close to your chest. Xiao learns how to feed some of them, he even brings seeds for your hen house too. If you were ever short on materials, Xiao would travel to the enchanted forest behind the wizard's tower and get them for you, no matter how late it was. Though if you went by yourself, he'd deliberately go with you despite your protest.

The minute Xiao realized how much he was attached to you, it was devastating. As if the claws of his karmic debt had come back, pulling him into the shadows once more. He was an adeptus with a contract and bound by his duty, he must choose between his god who saved him from a nightmare and you, the girl he fell for, showed him that the world was indeed a beautiful place, he was stuck in an equilibrium and he felt that the binds may even tear him apart if he kept resisting.

But when did he ever have a choice?

"Where are you going Xiao?"

When he heard your voice calling his name, the yaksha willingly pulled himself to a halt. His sunset eyes narrowing from guilt before it shuts with a trembling sigh out of his mouth. Why is it that you always appear during the moments where he desperately needs to get away from you? He planned to sneak out the door, making sure his footsteps were unheard while you slept. And by the time you woke up, he didn't have to face you, he wouldn't have to say goodbye. He won't. Even if what he was currently doing said otherwise. He will never hear himself say those words.

"Xiao?"

Yet, he cannot refuse you. Not now, not ever. You were breathtaken to see a type of expression that you never thought was possible for him to make. The creases that once formed between his slender brows, the heaviness he always carried in his expression was replaced by a sense of sentimentality. Before you could register what was happening, Xiao took his step towards the porch of your house, not once did he tear away from your attention. He slides his hand beneath your jaw and affectionately against your cheek, the fondness evident in his gaze that you almost felt imprisoned by it.

"You never fail to appear in the most inconvenient of times," He gives a weak smile, a smile that makes your heart swell. Despite how much you could drown in his honesty, you couldn’t help but feel there was something wrong, “No matter how many times I’ve tried to push you away.”

You don't know him. You don't know his history and what things he committed in the past. But as if you've known this whole time, Xiao couldn't picture you leaving him for those reasons.

“You’re gentle but you don’t let others put you down. You’re kind but you don’t allow it to be your weakness. I sometimes wonder how it is possible for anyone to be so forgiving?”

"I-I don’t understand why you’re this Xiao. Is something happening?”

He won’t tell you. He doesn’t see the reason why you need to know.

You wince when something poked the side of your neck and you realized it was a tranquilizer. You looked at Xiao with dismay, his face becoming hazier until your vision darkened and could no longer hold your own weight. Xiao caught you around the waist with one arm as you fell unconscious.

"How can you be so stupid...?"

But he speaks as if those words were meant for him.

Pulling your body closer to him, Xiao chains you down into a desperate embrace. A silent scream of desperation. His forehead pressed against the bent of your shoulder and the other arm rested his hand at the center of your back. He will relish in the shape of your body, memorizing every curve both perfections and flaws. The way you fit into his arms and the pleasant smell of nature that you taught him to love, this was the only remnant he was allowed to take. Every detail, he will remember it as if clinging to the last moments of his whole world.

If he was allowed to have a desire, let him meet you again. He prayed to a god, any god-- even if it meant damaging his oath, he will accept his punishment. He prayed to each star in the sky and if he must he'll pray to the devil himself, whatever it is, he will do it for you.

As he painfully lets go, Xiao lets his hand slide off your body until the last thing he felt was the very tips of your fingers. He settles you down gently into your bed. You belong here in this peaceful world, not the one riddled with monsters.

---

~Zhongli's Story~

The Skull Cavern was considered to be the most dangerous mine of Stardew Valley. It wasn't your intention to run into any trouble, all you wanted was to test your cool new galaxy sword on some easy monsters and then be on your merry way. At first.

Just one more floor. You say, before catching an arm sticking out a pile of rocks.

"I-Is that a person?!!!"

You dug as fast as you could, any time soon the mummies would wake up and start attacking. Quick quick! Moving the last rock, you saw the face of a young man, he was asleep but alive! and undeniably attractive oh wow *lip bite*. But despite your attempts of shaking him awake, it was fruitless and the monsters weren't waiting.

Taking out two warp totems, you raised it to the ceiling and chanted a teleportation spell.

It wasn't everyday that you brought a man to your house.

But when you did, he wouldn't be from a cave, six floors down and buried in a place filled with monsters.

"And this small black device you say is some form of communicator? That certainly is intriguing, never in my years have I heard of something so advanced."

However you were beginning to think otherwise. That this man would have been from the prehistoric ages who you managed to unbury after his thousand year slumber. Zhongli sits on the couch across from you while examining your smartphone, a term he claimed had been completely foreign. You were contemplating whether you should bother Harvey despite being past his work hour and book an emergency appointment to see if this man had a special case of amnesia.

You brushed the idea away. There was so much going on and nothing made sense, for now, you decided to settle this on your own.

"Uhm Zhongli is it?" you asked nervously, "Maybe you can try giving the name of a relative or someone you know. I can use the phonebook to see if I can find their number."

“Number?” He parroted.

You blinked a few times, making sure if you heard him correctly, “Yes, number. You know? To communicate?”

"I appreciate your kind gesture," Zhongli acknowledges in a polite manner, "But that won't be necessary. This device doesn’t seem to be at a level where it can communicate with the people from my homeland."

If he was travelling then how the hell did he end up in THE Skull Cavern is what I wanna know!

“T-Then if you don't mind me asking, where are you from?"

Zhongli takes this moment to think of an answer, aware that if he blurted something out it would not have translated in the way he wanted. But you so kindly invited him to your humble household that he felt it would only be proper to owe you an explanation, "I suppose a land from afar."

You sweatdropped, "Suppose?"

"Yes. Although I won't spare you the details since this is not your burden to bear, it’s quite difficult for me to try and remember exactly what happened," Zhongli took his chin into his hand, fingers almost covering his mouth, "Perhaps I would need search for clues in order to refresh my memory."

Oh no he really does have amnesia!!

"A-Actually why don't I just call the local doctor, I'm sure he wouldn't mind giving you a hand," you say while taking your iPhone.

"A doctor? There's no need," dismissed Zhongli, "My condition is only a minor one and I do not think I'm in a position to afford medical assistance. Besides, you have done more than enough. May you find great fortune in your years Miss (Y/n), I shall be on my way."

He pushes himself up from the couch and you watch him cross towards the door. But just when he was about to reach the space of your carpet, Zhongli pulled to an abrupt stop.

"Ah yes,” He began as if remembering something, “ Do you happen to know where the nearest Inn is located? I would need to find a place to shelter for the time being."

"..."

This was how the former god ended up being your roommate. Like Xiao, Zhongli also takes upon a human form. He needed to eat, drink and a place to sleep. He insisted that he would take the couch as well as help you with any tasks that needed to be completed during the day.

You question if Zhongli was even aware of what situation he was currently in. Answer: HE WASN'T because Zhongli is an extremely dense man. To feel embarrassed was not part of his dictionary when living with a woman.

The type to take long showers. You always find the bathroom steaming because he doesn't turn on the fan to get rid of it (but maybe you should've taught him). So when it was your turn to use the shower, the water was either lukewarm or worst case scenario, cold.

Also he somehow finds your old kettle (that your grandfather used) to brew tea even though you told him you already had a water boiler. He stated that he liked doing things the old-fashioned way, it brings him a sense of nostalgia. You couldn't understand what he meant (unless you considered that he was older than he seemed....no that can’t be it!)

Despite it all, Zhongli was incredibly polite and considerate. Tending the farm was not an easy job and you often came home with sore muscles, fatigued from running so many errands. He's knowledgeable in terms of making the best herbal mix for a soothing remedy.

You would see a warm cup, every morning before going to work and every time you come home, it was sitting on the kitchen table (if his drink had potion effects, they would be regeneration).

Gentle he was but it wasn't good for your heart.

Ever since Zhongli moved in, it became difficult to live in your own house.

There were many situations where he caused trouble despite not intending to cause disruption to your daily routine. And when he did, the repairs came out of your own pocket. One time you opened your microwave to find thick ash and burnt cinders stuck upon the walls.The entire space was a hazard and needed to be dispensed immediately since Zhongli thought that plastic-wrapped items were allowed to be microwaved. Another incident, as bizarre as it sounded, was when your vacuum cleaner zoomed out of your house...and never came back. You remembered the awkward cough he gave when you shot him a deathly glare, hence why Zhongli was not allowed to touch your high-tech devices (if you considered them high-tech) without your permission.

Even so, you couldn’t bring yourself to hate him. It was the opposite in fact. One day, all the flaws you counted suddenly became his charms. You came to find them endearing almost.

Zhongli was a handsome man. He carried himself with a distinct aura that could only be found in the rarest geodes; revealing orestones mined from the depths of a forgotten cave, sometimes in the shape of exquisite artifacts-- a type of ancient charm. Perhaps that was why people were willing to obey his every command without hesitation. Whenever Zhongli spoke, it was full of firmness and authority yet somehow deprived of arrogance. He was polite to all and does not indulge in conflict despite how tempting gossip can be in modern society. Always patient during your temperamental moments and considerate to the point you wonder if he even had any desires. He was so kind that soon enough, you couldn't help but be flustered by his presence. Forget about having a conversation, maintaining his leveled gaze was already enough of a challenge. Like staring into the sun after the morning dew. So gentle and so very comforting. But the more you linger onto the sun, it's rays will continue to set ablaze, eventually bringing you pain.

And you feared that you have grown addicted to those feelings.

Why can't he understand?

Stopping at the center of the bridge, you kept your head low while letting the anger take form into your tightened fists. The town was empty with only the sound of water flowing beneath your feet, filling the heavy air. They rippled and swayed, peaceful amongst your inner turmoil. The fact that such a miniscule attribute was able to make your blood rise was hilariously pitiful. How did you stoop to a point that even nature, the very being you've tended for a living, could bring you bitterness? Were your feelings this uncontrollable? The answer was obvious. It spiraled, violently and mercilessly as if commanded by another. There was a wave of emotions filling your heart and you could almost feel yourself drowning from the inside. If only they were as tranquil as the ones you stood upon.

"I thought I would find you here."

The voice you dreaded calls from across and you fight to keep yourself from gasping. Oblivious to it all, Zhongli proceeds to close the distance until he towered over you, looking down to your bowed head, "When you hadn't returned home without a notice, I was getting worried if something had happened. But I'm glad that wasn't the case."

Your whole face clenches.

"Is something bothering you? If you would like, we can discuss it after eating dinner. Come, I have already prepared our meal while you were gone as well as turning off the rice cooker once finished. I hope it can ease your stress since I know it can be difficult maintaining a farm like this."

"Zhongli."

He blinks hard when the sound of his name falls out of your lips. Zhongli was an experienced observer and listener, he was able to catch the glimpse of frustration that dripped from the tone you used. Relaxing his poised shoulders, Zhongli carefully asked in a reserved manner, "Have I...done something to make you upset?"

A trembled breath escaped when you breathed out. Dense. He was so dense that sometimes it made you want to crack him open.

"Tell me..." you began, "Are you also like this with other women?"

The former god sets a brief sharp pause, "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm talking about the way you act, they're...giving me all these mixed signals. We've been living together for months, we even share meals together! And sometimes you would help me with the farm and when I didn't ask, you still insisted on tending to my needs when I felt sick. I just…” you trailed off, trembling ever so slightly, "It's all perfectly normal. You’re nice to everyone. I know that. I know that!"

"(Y/n)," Zhongli whispered. They sounded like a thousand needles to your heart.

"I doubt you have the intention to put me in this situation. You're a really great person Zhongli but I sometimes can't help feeling this isn't just some roommate thing you know?" closing your eyes, you thought of your past relationships, how they started and ended, "Do any of your actions mean anything to you? Do you know how it makes me feel? Or am I just overthinking this, that it was all one-sided this whole time?"

Alas the truth spills and the air stills, bringing the waves to a halt. Peace, tranquility, nothingness. That was all you wanted. That was all you heard. It was deafening.

"I see, so that's why," Zhongli mutters to himself with eyes narrowed, "There's...something I need to confess."

After several months, he tells you everything. How his memories returned, some of them were already intact. He told you about his homeland and his true identity, that he was a god that once ruled over Liyue for six centuries before giving away the gnosis.

The reason why he hadn't said anything until now was because there will be a day where Zhongli must depart and return to Teyvat. He was a god with a contract, the circumstance didn't matter, he must stay with it until the very end of time.

Through his years, Zhongli learned to cherish his finite moments. He didn't want to taint them with troubles to come. Thinking too far ahead into the future would only bring strain.

But what he didn't tell you was his true feelings. You were a sweet woman, tender and enthusiastic about agriculture, the way your feelings extend to the earth with grace whereas many others chose to trample over without hesitation, he fell deeply in love with that side of yours. You taught him many things and showed him many sides of humanity that he had never seen before. He even discovered an aspect of himself. Like breaking a geode, revealing the beauties held inside.

Zhongli couldn't look you in the eye when your expression was covered in disbelief. He thought he hid his feelings well but it seemed that he was expressing his love in subtle and subconscious ways that eventually drove you to fall for him as well. You didn't stop him when he left the bridge. He wasn't even in your house. He chose this, he chose to set you free from his heavy presence.

And as the weight started to lift from your shoulder, you sank to your knees and wept. It was cruel of him. To give you these emotions yet he could not bring himself to stay by your side. But your heart would not allow you to hate the man you love.

Things couldn't end this way. You had to say goodbye to him, see him one last time because if you didn't, these burdens will haunt you forever.

When Zhongli looked up to the sky he saw his ending drawing near.

Three days had passed since he last spoke with you and he had no plans in seeing you again. Soon, the former god will return to his rightful place. Even though he had already given his gnosis to the Cryo Archon as Liyue already began to enter a new era, it seems that his decisions weren't his to make as he was born in a world where stars ruled above the archons. Fate-- they won't allow it. He does not belong here. If there was one thing Zhongli regretted during his time in your world, it was that he couldn't leave you a good memory before taking his departure. The sight of your large glassy eyes and quivering lips when he crushed you with the truth, he sincerely believed that they would haunt him much more than it probably did to you. But perhaps things would be easier if you despised him. Because if he had stayed and you came to forgive him, he would no longer have the strength to let go.

Despite it all love was indeed a selfish creature. He couldn't help but feel resentment towards the stars for bringing you into his life in such a mockingly sweet manner. They tied him with a contract, made him vow to his own beliefs and tested them by using you-- a bystander struck between the crossfire, eventually bringing you down into the depths of his battlefield and he thought that maybe...maybe there was hope that he could bring you with him as well.

How disgraceful for a god to let the devil tempt him so.

Zhongli was thankful that you weren't beside him. Otherwise he would dance with the ugly hope of a slim chance for you to come along. This was the best choice. It was for his-- your own good.

"Zhongli!"

The arch of his lined eyes shot upwards. As if fate had decided to give him one final test, he felt your small figure crash into him from behind and your arms coming to hug around his waist, tightly and fearfully that he felt like you would be the one who would slip away instead.

"I...I made it time," you panted, burying your nose into his clothed back, "I’m so glad...I'm so glad you're still here…!"

Your cry of relief was a thunder to his ears, a reminder that he was the main cause. Zhongli, casted by solemn smile, lifts his hand to cover over yours and grasped onto them, I'm here, he wishes to say. Yet he knew they were only temporary promises, "To come all this way despite everything that has happened. You foolish girl..."

"It's your fault Zhongli, I'm a fool because I love you! It's all your fault that I have to say goodbye," You grit your teeth as the tears fell down your face until it blended into his clothes, "Take me with you. Please. Don't leave me all alone…!"

The words he wanted to say melted into a silent gasp through parted lips. Zhongli merely clenched them back together and his hand on your hand, even tighter. He won't lie to you. At the very least, let his actions speak for him where he himself could not.

Take me with you.

Don't leave me alone.

Goodbye.

If it is fated Morax...we will meet again.

"I see," letting his thoughts echo in his mind from the distant memories, the former god begins to take a new perspective upon his wisdom, "For many years, I have experienced countless farewells from the people I've come to known," Zhongli reminisced, tilting his head back with his golden eyes against night, as if searching for some sort of answer, "And yet I never thought what it must have felt like being in their position."

"Zhongli…" you trailed off, "Then don't! I may not know everything about you but it doesn't have to be this way. At least, just answer me this, will I ever see you again?"

"I'm sorry (Y/n)," he apologized and you knew the answer. He gently pries your arms off him, turning around so he could swipe the corner of your eyes dry. There was a glowing reverence in his countenance, one that he reserved for you and only you, it was the only way for him to express the feelings that run deep in his heart, "I cannot thank you enough for coming into my life. If there will be a day when I erode from your memories, I truly hope that you will find someone more suitable than I."

"That's ridiculous," defiantly, refusedly, you protest, "No one can replace you."

Zhongli laughs sadly as the white halo outlines his whole figure, signaling that there wasn't much time left. He wonders if there was anything he could do in his last moments, a small token, something, it could even be as small as a single star in the sky, "If it is fated...we will meet again."

You watch him turn transparent until he slipped from your grasp. No longer was the man, only the dust being one with the sky. They shone brilliantly but you were left in the darkness.

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moecartoons · 4 years ago

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Day 4 - OCs and I’m only thirty minutes late!

Meet Chip (they/them|23) and CV (she/her|11).

Chip is a borg from Happily Ever After. They live alone in a cottage in the middle of the Enchanted Forest just outside of the main kingdom. They spend their time helping whoever may need it, rescuing damsels in distress, helping heroes find their way, and fixing fairytale creatures’ fallen homes. When they met the Cybersquad, they were more than willing to aid in a quest for Motherboard.

The children and Digit were grateful for Chip, who may have been one the most helpful residents of Cyberspace they’d ever ran into. Akin to Lucky or Slider, Chip became an honorary member of the team. However, with as close as they become to others, there’s obviously a past they’re hiding. No one in Happily Ever After seems to know who exactly Chip is nor where they came from. The Trio believe Chip is a prince, due to their mannerisms and attire, however dirty and patched up it may be.

Chip denies everything easily.

They keep any and all pain to themselves, especially from the children. They never cry, never express sorrow nor pain. Almost like a supernatural ability, when their body is torn or cut, it can repair itself. The process and of course initial injury is incredibly painful and tiring.

Chip’s biggest weaknesses are their right hand, their exposed knee joints, their poor memory, and, quite frankly, their lack of skill. Though they carry a sword and know the basics of wielding it, it’s obvious their adventures have been won through heart and luck alone.

Extra Facts: Hacker is the only one who seems to know about Chip’s past and constantly mocks them for it. Chip is an excellent storyteller and lorekeeper if their memory’s on their side. They frequently break out into a song as if their life is a musical. Chip can play dumb hilariously well and uses their seemingly naive and polite nature to their advantage. They also seem to have a thing for Wicked, sharing a flirty albeit dangerous relationship with her.

CV, full name Control Copy and Paste.(Ctrl+C+V) is a borg from Discardia, the Cybersite of trash. She lives with her brother Talos after the two were abandoned by their parents on the site. Her brother is wheel-chair bound from birth. Sadly, he also has, to put it in Earthly terms, deteriorating lungs. He does his best to still provide for CV while also having one foot in a grave.

Desperate to help her brother, CV searches for a job. Unfortunately, the stigma around her being from Discardia prevents her from finding one. Those who have been left on such a cybersite are seen as truly unwanted and useless. Having no one else to turn to, CV takes up the Hacker’s offer almost immediately.

Her job is simple. To distract the Cybersquad. It’s a perfect job for her. CV is able to shapeshift, altering her appearance through the use of holograms created by her antennae. This combined with her naturally energetic and theatrical personality, she makes an amazing fake villain.

Several things go wrong, however. Firstly, she falls in love almost immediately with Jackie of the Cybersquad. Secondly, her tricks quickly go too far and she has to wrestle with the inner turmoil of causing such absolute misery to the Good Guys that one of them, Matthew, actually attacks her. The need for snelfus, however, is something she can’t resist. No matter what the Cybersquad promise, they can’t convince her that they can help her after finding out her predicament.

Unfortunately, CV does have an end. Hacker’s need for her to distract stems from him building a machine to create a portal to the Real World that can take him and the Grim Wreaker. As everything looks bleak, with the portal open, the squad captured and CV finally given payment, she finally puts an end to the havoc.

CV breaks the machine by allowing it to overload her circuits, causing her antennae to shatter. Where she’s knocked out cold or dies from surge of electricity doesn’t matter, she falls into the portal and it collapses into itself. The squad try to take the briefcase full of snelfus to her brother only to find the Hacker left nothing napkins in it for her.

... BUT that’s what AUs are for so CV runs around being a jerk and trying to learn to be a friend with the Cybersquad, lmao.

Extra Facts: Coop has met CV during his time on Discardia. He didn’t allow her close to him given his condition at the time. Later, if CV survives, she and her brother Talos go to live with him and his son, Slider. Cv’s long hair is due to her wanting to stay pretty for her mother when she returns for them. Eventually she realizes this will never happen and frees herself by cutting her hair.

There is honestly a lot I could talk about and share about these two but I’ve been writing this for an hour now and my shoulder hurts more than when I was drawing!!! XD Hope you guys like em, truly <3

Oh, here’s their like card things. Haha

#Cyberchase #OCs #Original Characters #My Ocs #My Art #Cyberweek2021

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oculusius · 5 years ago

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Desk Jockey

“I want that report on my desk at 6 AM tomorrow or your ass is on the street.”

I look up from my keyboard, from the sickeningly modern, blank desk to the even worse face of my branch manager. Picture what you’d expect the person saying this to look like, and you’re probably right. Tall, dark hair combed back, slicked back with just enough gel to not be disgusting. Attractive, but only conventionally, because it hides his fetid interior. The rotten, wriggling insides of the kind of guy who relishes other’s misery, especially when he’s snorting high grade blow on the weekends. Though he’d probably prefer orphan’s tears (But that’s a story for another time).

I’ll do my best, you fucking cretin.

I mumble out some garbled excuse. I won’t even tell you what I said because I forget, or rather, it was so insignificant that I never committed it to memory in the first place. “Sorry Eric,” (He’s one of the ‘hip’ bosses that makes us call him by his first name), “Won’t happen again”, Please don’t take my healthcare away I will literally suck your dick to keep it. He shakes his head and walks away. We’re the last ones in the office, one of the tallest buildings in our shitty, Midwestern town; all glass and steel like some gaudy San Francisco startup. The only lights still on are in the lobby; besides that the only other illumination is from the sickeningly crisp glow emanating from my monitor. As soon as the elevator doors close behind Eric, I grasp my hair in my hands; it’s drenched in sweat and I’m balding already, despite being in my late twenties. Flakes of dandruff are appearing on my scalp, but by the time I get home from work I’m too damn tired to remember to get that special shampoo. Stress related? Probably. Did I have time to fix it? Fuck no.

I swear to God you motherfucker I’ll name you when I eat a fucking bullet you shit fuck…

Stop. The more rational voice in my head. Finish this shit in the next—5 hours? Shit, it’s already 1 AM! I’ll smash bottles and get proper wasted when I’m finished. And when the following day is over, seeing as I’d probably be pulling an all-nighter. Fuck. I take two caffeine pills from the nondescript tin in my top drawer.

Alright. I need to get the excel sheet from that old email inbox the intern left when he quit (not that I blame him). To do that, I need to go through my inbox and find that time I CC’ed him about scheduling that conference call. But to get into my inbox, I need to reset my password because company policy is to change passwords every 3 weeks, and it can’t be a past password…

Alright. One step at a time.

It’s two hours later. I found the file, finally. I feel like I crossed the fucking Rubicon with no limbs to get here. Now, to get the shit I need from it and send it to Eric. I hope he chokes on it. While bleeding. From every orifice, and then some. I open the file, and I’ve never been so goddamn happy to see the sickening green of excel. Document recovery—what’s that? Fuck it, I’ll deal with it later. I ctrl f the account name. Beads of sweat are dripping off my forehead. Outside, it’s still the vaguely pinkish black of night in any big city. I might actually get some sleep tonight…

WHY IS THERE A FUCKING HYPERLINK HERE?

Oh boy, this better not cost me my job. I get sent to a greyish webpage, the kind of soulless portal that screams ‘high finance’. A nondescript login page for “Kleene-Rosser Accounts Management LLC”. I roll my eyes. Management occasionally threw us these shitty platforms because their friends from way back developed them, and they wanted to help them out. Because God forbid we use Citibank.

There’s no login, but there’s a support number on the bottom of the page. Maybe if I call, they can help me? It’s worth a shot. I mean, I had nothing but time, and if it actually worked and saved my job, I would fly all the way to India or some shit to kiss that phone technician on the lips. Alright. God, when I was an undergrad did I ever imagine this would be my waking life (or lack thereof?) I should’ve joined the military. Better to be blown up overseas then mentally scarred over here.

4-887-612-393: 24/7 Live Support

I call from my office phone, in the hopes that it’ll lend credence to the claim that I fucking need this login. The phone rings for what seems like half an hour, but I can tell from the clock on the wall that it hasn’t been a single, godforsaken minute. Maybe I’d died and gone to purgatory? Seemed believable enough—although, I wasn’t sure what I’d done in a past life to deserve this. Maybe I was a Mongol slavedriver, and…

“Hello, this is ZenDesk, my name is Robert. How may I help you today?” My crisis of existential spiraling instantly, mercifully, shatters. I put on a cheery voice.

“Hi, I work at [company name]. I really need to find something for my boss, and in this accounts payable excel file, it says that I’m supposed to login to a ‘Kleene-Rosser Accounts Management?’ I have all my company info if you need it, I was just never told we used this firm before.”

A beat passes. I hope he heard the desperation in my voice, because if I had a guardian angel, it’d be on the other end of that phone line. Why did I tell him I never heard of this place? He doesn’t care! He isn’t paid to care!

“Of course, sir. Just a moment please. What’s your name sir?”

That thin veneer of politeness again.

“Uh, Keith Sanders. I also have my company email, if you can send the password there…”

“OK sir, what’s the address?”

I spell it out for him. My fingers are digging into the faux-leather of the chair. I’m starting to sweat. If this doesn’t work, I’m fucking hosed…

I tell him the address, and soon I have the URL to reset the Kleene-Rosser password. Surprisingly, my company email works for the username. Lucky guess I suppose? I thank him, truly from the bottom of my heart, and wait for the page to load.

According to the web page, the site was some kind of file storage service. Besides a few nondescript tabs on the top leading to “Home”, “Support”, etc. there’s nothing but a grey background set behind a very basic file directory.

[company_name]/Accounts/Accounts_Payable/2019/May/.

There it is! So deceptively close. 05.19.19.xcl

When I try to open it, I hear the most awful of noises: the Windows 10 error sound, impossibly loud. File corrupted. WHAT THE FUCK? HOW DO YOU CORRUPT A FUCKING EXCEL FILE? SHOVE IT UP YOUR ASS SIDEWAYS?

I dig my fingertips into my temples. I can feel the faint outline of an engorged vein on the side of my head. I imagine it, an angry, vibrant purple, the shooting representation of my immense, earth-shattering frustration.

It was as if every cog in the infernal machine that was my work place was designed specifically to drive me fucking bananas. Like my life was some cosmic joke to see how much I would endure before going postal, or at least smashing my monitor. Jump out an office window, strapped with speakers blaring “FUCK THIS PLACE” over and over again, even when they’re scraping me off the pavement with a comically large spatula. Every little thing piled atop one another to form the worst shit tsunami eternally suspended above my head. Every wriggling, squealing fucking cell in my brain…

Alright, let’s think of solutions. Eric wanted the file, and if it was corrupted, I’d just tell him the truth: that it’s how I found it. Man, why did I drive myself up the wall earlier? So stupid… I log into my email. Actually, I don’t. As soon as I hit enter in the URL bar, I get that fucking google “no internet” error dinosaur. At this point, I try to keep rolling with the punches. Alright, network diagnostics, here we go. After what feels like centuries, after windows resets the router, etc. I finally get an answer. Sort of. An error code. I had two hours left before I was unemployed. I take another caffeine pill and keep going, determined to see this shit through to the end.

Hidden on the fifth page of the search results is my answer. It’s on an obscure, early 2000s web forum that had a grand total of 2 users online, probably bots. A post from a literal decade ago has my same issue, and one of the commenters mentions he had the same thing. Apparently, it’s a hardware issue with the router. Despite being woefully underqualified to deal with IT issues, I have no other choice. No fucking way Eric will believe that the internet cut out 2 hours before my deadline. I find the tech support number, and pray that the information is up to date and that they won’t have to send a technician out to fix it.

As the phone rings, I ponder my situation. I was unlucky enough to find what I needed right as the Wi-Fi died, and it was probably one of those issues that fixes itself in an hour anyway. There it is again; I can almost see the shadowy gears of the universe working against me, trying to crush my psyche beneath their teeth into bits of mental scrap. When I finally get a response, I’m caught off guard. This guy seems American. His voice is a bit hoarse, and I picture him as the fat comic book guy from the Simpsons, gut and all.

“----- tech support. How can I help you?”

I don’t like the way his voice trails off every word, leaving a breathy wisp behind like the tail of a comet. It makes me want to shudder.

“Yeah, uh—“

My mind blanks for a minute. I’ve been derailed, and it takes an agonizing few seconds for me to decide what I want to say.

“I was trying to email my boss, and—“again with the unnecessary details “I got this error code, and I saw online that it was an issue with the router.”

“Uh huh.” He sounds skeptical. And disapproving. I imagine he’s wrinkled that gob of cartilage clinging to his face he calls a nose. “What’s the model number?” He finally asks.

I read off the name, and he laughs. He fucking laughs. Is my suffering amusing him? Arousing him?

I have a clearer image of this guy now. Pervading my mind, filling the gaps in my brain, covering my synaptic gaps with fucking cement. He’s grossly overweight, in some dark room somewhere. He smells like BO and he is sweaty milky beads off his forehead that are landing into his keyboard and congealing. The scent is odious, like a corpse coated in mayonnaise and left in a tomb for five millennia, except it’s still wet.

“Sir?” That subtle tone of annoyance again. “Do you understand me, sir?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. Would you mind repeating that? I was just—talking to someone.” Idiot he can tell you weren’t.

I write down his instructions, but first he pontificates about some issue with a chip in the router or some shit. Apparently I have to call the manufacturer? And they can help me dust it off or some such?

He’s fleshy and sickeningly soft, like a malformed, hairless puppy. That shirt’s been pasted to his damp stomach longer than you’ve been on Earth. It’s just a crude impersonation of the kind of people that run this industry. And you’re just his plaything, to be antagonized and fucked with until…

As soon as my attention is re-centered, I say “Alright thanks bye” without even knowing what he was rambling about before. He laughs. No, cackles. I can practically smell the stale coffee and tobacco on his breath. I slam the receiver down. It was starting to stick to my face with sweat and I really wanted to switch to my cell anyway. Peeling it away was orgasmic.

I examine the napkin I had scribbled on. I’d written it down in a haze, and it almost felt like I was reading someone else’s handwriting. Was that a 5, or a 6, or what? Doesn’t matter. I plug in the numbers, to some obscure fucking company I know nothing about. There’s like 12 digits, not like any number I’ve ever dialed. Unbeknownst to me, I was about to make the worst fucking mistake of my life, worse than taking on that debt to go to college or that time I puked on grandma’s casket at the funeral. Light years away, I imagine, some metaphysical blade was eagerly, sexually, preparing to scoop out my insides and flay them across time and space, flicking its imaginary tongue back and forth in anticipation.

I had expected that infuriating error code, but instead, I feel it. All of it. The other side is cold, and every hair on my body stands right on edge.

“Hello?”

The phone’s definitely connected.

“Hello?!”

This time it seems to echo. I’d opened a door, a beaming ray of light into a place that hasn’t been graced by it in eons.

“Is this Infolink appliances?” I gulp suddenly. My throat is impossibly dry. Everything that made me me, my identity, my memories, my interests… were spilling out into space, into an impossible void far blacker than even the darkest of nights. Please. Like my brain was a plastic bag full of air, but now it’s been punctured. It’s getting sucked out like a breached spaceship, and my body is curling around the now torturous void. I am a husk.

I drop the phone on the ground, and the screen cracks. But I’m far beyond caring about that screen now. The spiritual, inky black is billowing out of the phone like an endless wave going out in every direction. And there’s something else. A raucous laughter, and sneering, they’re laughing so hard somewhere backstage that their mouths, or whatever they call those fucking gullets, are overflowing with sickening white foam with streaks of yellow bile. Dark silhouettes that have been eagerly waiting this whole time for this horrible climax. I’d played my part. Everything else was out of my hands now.

#horror #writing #lovecraft

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catgirlliker-blog · 5 years ago

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open source flv editor

Video Editing Tools title> From chroma keying to 3D compositing and many other special effects that you've probably seen on TV. After completion, video projects can only be exported in a resolution of 1080p. For more detailed content, please turn on our English website. Ideal video editor editing is easy and fun and offers an optimized user interface, which makes an intuitive user interface for your creative process. A powerful freeware video editor with many functions, including a selection of codecs, splitting, adding audio tracks. To post on YouTube, use the integrated YouTube uploader. However, the user cannot simply create tracks at the beginning. This version also includes the function of automatically creating a backup copy of the project for each recording. You can track whether the last project was saved correctly. If the project is damaged, it can be restored. The effect of increasing the volume has been revised. Hotkeys - Ctrl + F12 to take a screenshot, Ctrl + R to rotate an object; 'Edit selected sprite' option in the wizard key; Add motion in a loop, i.e. In this section you will find programs with which you can cut and mix music or video. Among other things, you will find Virtual DJ, Virtual Dub, Wavepad, AV Music Morpher, Avidemux VJDirector here. Well-produced films need skill and practice - but with the right tool you can get started editing much better. With us you have the choice, because unlike other portals, no additional software is selected by default. If you are looking for a sophisticated video editing program with extensive file support, Shotcut is a good companion.

by WIDEO

With large amounts of data (hard disk copies) the program makes me because of the missing display Too nervous, so that I had to cancel the backup myself before the end.

As with other programs, Magix comes with fades and effects in its software and, in addition to direct export to the web, also offers burning on DVD, for which many menu templates are included.

Providers can bid for placement in our product lists.

In addition, the parameters can not only have their values linear, but also according to the Change the curve and create complicated and beautiful effects.

2K and 4K videos are supported and it is now possible to open files with H265 / HEVC codecs and live photo images created on iPhone. The SWF and GIF files can now be compressed. This enables the size to be reduced. for those marked with or green underline. FLV Editor Pro Download FLV Editor Pro is a flash video editor with some interesting features for editing the videos. Vidiot is the only program in this test field for which we currently have no recommendation. Basically, it offers hardly any noteworthy advantages, is the worse choice for beginners compared to the clear Windows Movie Maker. Only the large variety of formats in both import and export speaks for Vidiot. In our view, cutting and adapting clips is a bit cumbersome compared to OpenShot, but it also leads to the goal after a short training period. To create a transition between two videos, they can overlap, causing Shotcut to create a transition itself. You can still adjust the type of transition in the properties. With the "Export Video" button, you can choose from an abundance of output profiles, including for Blu-Ray, DVD, devices or the web, or alternatively manually define the target format, resolution and quality.

#open source flv editor

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theyuugenmagan-blog · 6 years ago

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How to find pnr number using transaction id?

Wondering about how to find pnr number using transaction id? Well, it is very simple to do and you will get your answer here. First of all login to the site first of all, by giving a visit to irctc. Make sure that the user id and password you have been entering is authentic. Once it is done, go to print E ticket column, or cancelled history all depending on the journey status or the booked history. Once it is open, press ctrl + f and enter there your transaction ID and click on the enter button. It not only depicts your exact and current transaction status but also you can check out and know about your pnr number from there easily. Isn’t it that simple and easy to do? Well, it is pivotal and very much significant to keep a check of your pnr status so that you know exactly about the status of your reservation and so. It could be done via different ways like by online, mobile, or by asking at railway stations. The important thing is to do check your pnr status and know about every minute detail related to the status of your ticket reservation and whether it gets confirmed or not or is in waitlisted status or in RAC status or so. Along with in the travel, it is important for you to carry a valid ID proof along with for the verification purpose. There are even many dedicated platforms available that will help you to check out your pnr status, so make use of them and have a safe travel.

Can I change the boarding station ?

Want to know whether it is possible for a user if he or she is wondering that - can I change the boarding station? Here, you will get the answer. Yes, it could be possible to change the boarding station of your travel. In case you have booked your e-ticket using IRCTC platform, you can edit or change it to any of the other station name that falls in between the source and destination junctions. It could be changed only and only prior to 24 hours of the scheduled departure time of the train. This service could only and only be possible with e-ticket reservation and is not at all possible with i-tickets at all. Adding to this, the change of boarding station could only be done via IRCTC site and in case of e-tickets for only once. And in case, a user has changed the boarding station once, he or she will definitely lose all the rights related to boarding the train from the original station/boarding junction. Hope this information is helpful. Also, make sure to keep an eye and do check out the pnr status before heading out to station and be sure whether your ticket is in confirmation state or not. It could be done either via web or through SMS or by asking at the railway personnel at station and it will hardly take few minutes to check out the same and be sure whether the ticket is in confirmation state or in waitlisted status.

How to get pnr status alerts on mobile

Want to know about how to get pnr status alerts on mobile? Here, you will come to know about the same. First of all, visit the site mypnrstatus.com, enter the respective pnr number along with the mobile number where users want to know about the status and click on submit button. Don’t you think it is so simple to do and hardly takes a few minutes to do that? People can also send their pnr number to the toll free number that is 139 and within minutes, they will get the information related to their pnr status on the same number with which the message is been sent. It is very important to check out pnr status online and be sure about the status that your rail ticket is been holding, whether it is in confirmed state, or in RAC status or is in waitlisted criteria. So, know about the same online using different ways like via online or via SMS or via asking at the railway stations. There are many professional sites and portals where people can go through the pnr status check and once they feed in there the pnr number and click on submit button, they will get to know all about the status within minutes and without any hassle. Checking up on pnr status and grabbing an idea about the latest check on the same helps people to be clear of the confirmation and reservation status of their ticket and making sure they are going to have a trouble free journey.

The PNR status of my train ticket is CNF/B1/16/NC. Does that mean my ticket is confirmed or not?

The PNR status of my train ticket is CNF/B1/16/NC. Does that mean my ticket is confirmed or not? Are you looking for the answer of the same? If yes, you will definitely get your answer here. First of all, do understand that the train ticket number as CNF/B1/16/NC means that the rail ticket is been confirmed and there is no need to worry about anything else. As per this number, the coach number is B1 along with the seat number as 16. NC depicts for ‘No Choice’ and that means that at the time when you are booking tickets in order to get reservation, there is no preference been provided for the seats in particular. It could be anything including the side lower berth, side upper berth, middle berth, upper berth or lower berth. Hope there is no confusion now and the information mentioned related to the concern is been clear and informative too. Aside from this, it is vital and must to do check out the pnr status of a ticket to make sure in case the seat is been reserved or confirmed or is in waitlisted criteria or in RAC status. The PNR status could be checked through different ways including online, web or by asking queries from the personnel at the railway junction and people can confirm whether their tickets got confirmed or not. Do the same for sure before leaving out for station and have a safe and fuss free travel.

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tmrrwppl · 3 years ago

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Hi, I don't mean to bug you, but I was just looking into Second Life and you showed up on my dash as suggested, do you have any advice for joining it? How do you play?

Hi friend!

So I actually own and operate a region dedicated to new players in SL (but make it Adult frickle frack flavored ;D)

There is a 30% chance when you leave the intro zone (social island) and head into the "Adult" portal, you will land on my region as it is one of the "approved" adult rated regions for new residents! (if you don't, it's fine, you can always find it through the search function or message me in world once you get there!)

Short version: SL isn't really a game but more in the sense of a Virtual Social Media. Basically everything Zuck is saying is an original concept with his weeble wobble bodies in metav/erse, SL has been doing since the 2000s. So if you can enter this virtual world with the idea that pretty much every avatar you encounter is a real person, and that you should, understandably, treat everyone with respect as you would like to be treated, 10/10 you will find your niche and have a GREAT time.

Long version under the cut with more specifics!:

What you will want to do is make an account on the Secondlife.com website, and then it will instruct you to download the native SL viewer, but that does not have to be the only viewer (plenty of safe 3rd party options depending on what you are looking for!). Personally, the native SL viewer is very... chill playing. The casual user, so if it ends up being the best for you, then it's the best for you :)

I personally use the Firestorm viewer for capabilities I require, and one of my friends uses one called Black Dragon I believe which is REALLY high end graphics for photography. So it's all up to preference. Changing from the native viewer to a 3rd party is not too difficult, just the layouts are slightly different.

When you log in the first time, you will enter a tutorial. This would be the time to adjust your graphics through CTRL P. Your viewer WILL set to what it think is best, but the viewer will take in the specs of the computer without reading what OTHER programs you may have downloaded or open. So you may need to adjust the settings. Just do yourself a favor, unless you're using a high end gaming PC, absolutely take out ALL THE SHADERS and water and shit that will just make you go lag city (I run a gaming laptop on 'default' so I'm relatively good FPS).

Complete the tutorial stuff. There will also be a section that you can earn some free 'lindens' (our in world currency), to purchase from a small store section at the end before you move on. I always advise doing this, it's easy stuff like camming and clicking a highlighted box and a maze challenge to help you adjust to the camera controls. You can go blow this money here as it won't leave with you once you leave this area.

Next will be social island, that will send you to a big gathering area. Be mindful not to accept items from *ANYONE* or any requests the pop up. There are a LOT of good people in SL, and a lot of bad. And a lot of things you won't immediately understand.

From Social island, you can choose a portal to travel through to begin your exploration of SL!

And despite my region being Adult Rated, it is a safe area for learning for those over the age of 18 IRL. We also do not allow underage appearing avatars (defined as Age Play by Linden Labs TOS). We also have dear friends at a general region who are happy to help as well and we consider them our less lewd affiliates :)

My region:

Passion Bay: Adult Welcome, Learning, and Meeting Center

Adult Rated: Passion Bay: Newcomer Friendly area with Learning Center & social hangout. S*x, RLV, Feature Area, Sandbox, Freebies, Nudity, Temple Club, S*xbot, BD/SM, D/s. SSC-enforced sim. NO Bloodlines/Progeny/A&D/etc type gaming systems. NO child avs. +18 ONLY!

Our Affiliate friends:

Caledon Oxbridge Gateway - New Resident Help

G-Rated: Help. Lessons. Tutorials. Assistance. Helpers. New. Support. People Helping People. Free Clothes. Building Area. Mentors. Guide. Guides. New Residents. Learning. Learn. Fun. Activities. The Independent State of Caledon Community Gateway.

If you do need any help, feel free to reach out off anon and we can message in IM, or in world if you sign up. I'm always happy to help new residents learn about this awesome world we have. And plus, I am 100% a mama tiger and will protect our sweet new friends with everything I got :)

#secondlife adult #<3 #it won't let me edit the post but also:#DON'T SPEND ANY MONEY UNTIL YOU KNOW YOU WANNA COMMIT #I KNOW ALL THE FREEBIE SPOTS AND WILL TAKE YOU SHOPPING #DON'T SPEND REAL MONEY!!!!#also tbh avoid adult areas if you don't like p*nis.#the amount of pixel d*cks I see on the daily is more than I have ever seen real ones IRL #zeke.txt | ooc

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ifyoureoverme · 6 years ago

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Stories from Palo Santo [1/?]

Life as a human in the wild ruins has left Olly hungry for something new, something dangerous.

So, I finally found the courage to post my Palo Santo fanfiction... This story works on its own, but I do plan on continuing it. Feedback, suggestions or thoughts welcomed. Thank you to the anon who encouraged me before!

Stories from Palo Santo Characters: Olly Alexander, the Showman (Version 10) Word count: 2,400 Rating: Gen Disclaimer: This story is not based on the real Olly Alexander but the character he plays in the Palo Santo music videos. The concept of Palo Santo and the characters in the music videos are copyright to the creators. I’m writing this for fun and do not claim ownership of anything.

NOTE: I apologise if my theme’s font size is too small. You can try pressing ‘Ctrl’ and ‘+’ to increase the size.

-----

No one smiles. The fire crackles in crisp, damp air, offering barely enough heat to warm the pairs of hands reaching out around it. There’s food in their bellies, and that’s something to be grateful for, but it’s a cold night—too cold even for stories.

Since before the revolution, the weather has been unpredictable. Even the oracle hadn’t foreseen this miserable cold’s approach; she’d mentioned something on the horizon in that ambiguous way of hers, her prophecy half-riddle, half-poetry. Olly knows it isn’t a storm or some other natural disaster to shake the ruin’s foundations, mere stacks of rubble these days. Her eyes said it all when she’d wrapped one gnarled hand around both of his: the something approaching was for him.

He leaves the fireside, sneaking light-footed through the tall trees framing the clearing. The others wouldn’t notice his absence until next headcount, where they’ll make sure no one’s gone missing since last sunrise, spirited away by an android or lost in the expanse of green Olly was now traversing by moonlight.

Striding through the jungle’s thick undergrowth, he feels for tree trunks he knows by touch. Their bark guides him, almost blind in the darkness but trusting the textures against his palms. Tangled roots compress underfoot; clusters of wet fern part as he passes through. The air feels thinner the further he ventures. Colder somehow, too.

Crickets chirp, their shrill sound echoing through the mist clinging to the trees. There’s one sound he follows, though, and that’s the gentle flow of the streamlet at his side, its fluid melody trickling down the incline, leading him to his destination.

The trees and vegetation thin out, opening into a clearing surrounding a natural pond. In the moon’s glow, the water is an oval mirror upon the soil, glowing, and as beautiful as the reflected heavens above. This isn’t a secret place—the pack fetches fresh water here daily—but Olly likes visiting alone. It’s always serene at night, the thick cover of trees and foliage on the neighbouring valley deadening all sound; it even seems to halt the breeze whispering through the leaves.

He sits cross-legged at the water’s edge. Closing his eyes, he inhales deep, the scent of wild water and uncontaminated air filling his lungs; he tastes it. The scene’s tranquillity seeps into his restless muscles, softens the tension in his shoulders. His hands relax against his thighs, fingers loose, palms bare to the stars. There’s something about this place that soothes his body and soul, reminds him he’s alive.

Humans aren’t supposed to leave their packs, especially at night—even the hunters go out in pairs, and never without arrows—but Olly feels safe amongst the trees, hidden away in an idyllic pocket of silence south of the loud, bright city.

After checking no one followed, he retrieves a square of paper from his pocket. Unfolding it against the soil, he flattens it with a palm, wincing at the tattered edges—he must take better care of it. The print is worn, but he can still make it out in the twilight. Once, this precious paper was mere litter, blown into the ruins from the android city where it may have adorned a wall. Olly doesn’t know its provenance. All he knows is it contains the android’s language, so he treats it with the utmost care, sharing it only with the stars above and this secret, almost holy place.

The pack are superstitious and consider Palo Santo’s runic symbols bad omens. It’s best they don’t know one of their own kind is attempting to learn the enemy’s language. They’d never consider this innocent fascination anything but reckless.

Around the fire, tales of androids consist of two categories, one: androids harm humans, torture them, kill them; and two: androids make humans like them—lifeless. Could there be a third category? It’s doubtful any member of his pack has ever held a conversation with an android. Even the elders have spent their lives running, passing down stories of death and destruction from the revolution, of the city of human slaves masquerading as paradise.

In the moon’s cool light, he studies the crumpled page. These are symbols he knows by heart, but there’s something hypnotic about them, something magic. Perhaps the elders were right—his secret attraction to these mysterious runes could be dangerous, bringing with it a curse of bad luck, bad weather, sickness, hunger, and all the evil things one could imagine. Tracing them onto the cold ground with a fingertip doesn’t feel dangerous, though. It’s so familiar a practise it’s almost therapeutic.

Without a clue to what he writes, he copies three of the symbols into the soil, one beside the other. They’re beautiful. He doesn’t need to understand.

The water mirrors the sky, a luminous dark blue stretched over the ground, studded with another set of blinking stars, a second waning moon in the centre; it’s almost a portal to some distant place. Olly wonders if another version of himself exists on the other side, a parallel soul, but in a world without the revolution, where humans saw the error of their clever meddling before it was too late. His palm skims the water and he dips a fingertip into that second sky. A ring of ripples spread to the edges. The reflection warps, shuddering. In that other universe, his touch might have an effect. It might become waves in another ocean, lapping at a sandy shore scattered with shells, far from a rubbish-strewn jungle at the edge of a robotic city.

A white bloom falls from above, breaking Olly from his trance with a jolt—a gardenia. It hits the water and glides towards him, disrupting the sky’s mirrored image. He watches it sail through the blue like a great ship, cutting a path through a vast ocean, waves crashing in its wake. Reaching out to grab it, he notices his own rippling reflection in the water. It’s surprising. He sees his own image so rarely. A bit thin, he thinks. Lost. The water settles after a while. Olly distracts himself by pulling the flower petals off one by one as his mind wanders.

He realises he’s shivering. Time to return to the fireside, then.

As he pulls the final petal from the gardenia, he casts one last look up to the stars. Hopefully, whoever might be up there, farther than the dark side of the moon, will notice his loneliness.

A shooting star paints a brief streak through the sky as he stands. He smiles, smudging the symbols in the soil with his foot, and throws the loose petals into the water.

Hands shake him from a dreamless sleep. Panic is thick in the air, almost palpable, lodged at the front of his senses and pulled taut across his chest. The fire’s been extinguished, water thrown over it. Everyone is scattering, collecting their meagre belongings in a frantic rush.

An android wanders the ruins, they say. There could be more than one. They could be surrounding the pack now, waiting to pounce and take whatever they pleased.

The youngest are crying, their mothers trying desperately to pacify them. There must be no emotion in this situation.

Olly follows the others through the undergrowth. They hurry him silently, coaxing and pointing which way to turn. The hunters know the paths to take, how to confuse the older models. The whole pack had climbed trees to escape before, waited the androids out until it was safe to return to terra firma, exhausted and hungry but free. There are dug-outs closer to the city, hidden beneath nets made from vines and mud, but there’s no time to reach them. Instead, they must disguise themselves in nature. Most importantly, they must remain detached, for that’s how the androids discover them: emotion. Any will do. In these moments, they’d sense terror in the air, track it the way a predator stalks the scent of its prey.

They all know how to adopt the vacancy, a technique taught from birth in the ruins. The vacancy makes them invisible. Making themselves void of emotion, they become of no interest to the synthetic, soulless beings desperately seeking the only thing humans have that they don’t.

Branches crack nearby. Everyone freezes.

It’s time.

The pack members back up against the closest trees, lowering their heads to stare at the ground. Olly echoes their movements, swallowing down his fear, clasping his hands together so they don’t tremble, remembering the mantra.

Don’t be afraid.

Think only of nothing.

Breathe shallow and slow.

Ignore and be ignored.

The vacancy takes time to perfect. There are weaker pack members, those more likely to be taken because they’re unable to control a natural anxiety. As a child, Olly was one of those weaklings. He’d experienced the cold glare of an android straight in front of him, when he was too young to truly understand the danger. Miraculously, he’d managed to stand his ground, stare back with breath held, eyes wide and body shuddering. It took another that day, but Olly had always wondered how different his life would’ve been if it hadn’t.

As he looks up from his feet, Olly notices a narrow pathway between nearby trees, beyond his camouflage of crawling vines and lofty shrubbery. It runs parallel to his hiding place, undergrowth flattened by frequent footfall, its edges littered with the same white flowers he’d seen the night before. Movement at the end of the path distracts him: the android.

Hypnotised, Olly watches the figure walk the path. His heart slams hard against his breastbone, blood pumping loud in his ears. It’s hard to breathe. A dizzying sensation washes over him, like being pulled underwater. The android keeps walking at its steady pace, closer and closer.

It’s almost like someone else controls Olly now. Invisible hands usher him forwards, pushing his back from the tree with warm, comforting fingers. Without resistance, he takes a step forward, letting them guide him.

Glancing at the others, their expressions alone tell him this is pure stupidity. They remain still, warning with only their eyes: do not do this. But it’s a wild compulsion that carries him now, lifting his feet as he takes instinctive yet trembling steps towards the path of flowers. He recalls how it felt as a child to come face to face with what he was told should be his greatest fear, how long he’s been wondering about the direction his life could’ve taken.

He must do this now or he never will.

Inhaling deeply, he walks into the android’s path and turns to face it.

The android stops. Their eyes meet, gazes locked for what feels like minutes. Fear chains Olly to his spot, body stock-still besides the accelerating pulse of his heart thrumming through him.

The android’s appearance is human—modelled on a male. It wears a suit, pristine from head to toe, and carries a briefcase. Its overcoat is littered with the same runes Olly has collected in his mind for as long as he can remember. Finally, it—or he, he supposes—bows its head a small degree, almost in greeting. Olly swallows. He’s too scared to do anything in return.

The android’s eyes move, jerking in small increments to regard Olly from his feet to his crown and back again. Seemingly satisfied, he lowers his dark briefcase to the ground in one smooth motion, leaving the flowers on the pathway undisturbed. Keeping his eyes on Olly, he squats slowly, moves slowly, as though the human might spook like a frightened deer if he moves any faster. The case clicks open. Olly’s pushes his toes into the dirt, lifting himself a little to peer inside. Illuminated by the morning’s sunlight, he sees a band of gold glisten within the case’s blood-red interior—a collar.

The android lifts it from the case with that same deliberately slow speed until he’s standing once more. When he takes a small step, Olly sets his jaw, breathing hard through his nose. The android moves closer, studying him throughout his approach.

Twitching with nervous energy, Olly lowers his head in submission, eyes on the ground, making no attempt to block his emotions this time. He’s terrified. But allowing himself to feel it is electrifying, intoxicating. Sweat prickles under his arms when the android’s polished shoes stop on the ground before his bare feet. He brings the collar to Olly’s neck with the same steady cautiousness as a human trying to catch a butterfly. Unlike a butterfly, though, Olly knows it’s likely he won’t be released after he’s been captured.

The first touch of cold metal against his skin forces him to look up. The android still stares, watching his every movement with curiosity. In such proximity, the glass spheres of his eyes look inhuman, as void as the vacancy. Olly sees his own reflection within them, a vision of himself submitting, allowing his capture. It startles him, makes him jerk back. Surprisingly, the android makes no attempt to grab him. So, this was his decision, then? If he fled, would the android not give chase? He’s not sure he wants to find out.

The collar’s clasp clicks into place, locking around Olly’s neck. It’s heavy but not uncomfortable as it settles on his collar bones. His reflection in the android’s eyes has changed now: it’s strong, almost proud. He feels light-headed again, but that might just be the relief, for this is the first time in his life he’s felt like he has a destiny, that he isn’t wandering the jungles merely surviving.

This android might take him to Palo Santo, a city he’s been warned about for as long as he can remember. Then again, he might not. He might kill him. He might suck all the emotion from him and leave him craving death. Then again, he might not. It’s a risk he’ll have to take.

He turns to the others. Their eyes remain down, chests rising and falling as they keep hidden in the greenery. A few of them look up, worry painting their features. Olly hopes they’ll understand from his expression alone: this is his choice, not a surrender.

The android says nothing. Turning on the path, he collects his suitcase and begins to walk back from the direction he came. Olly follows.

#android noises #stories from palo santo #i'm not tagging this any more than that because i'm terrified #my posts

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turgidtangentimagines · 7 years ago

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Fuckin. Sollux talking to a human about code. bonding over java or c# or something.

I made this into a semi-pesterlog situation because I was thinking back to a time sollux could talk to humans and, well, see code and alll the way back on the meteor seemed the most plausible and probable to me. Kinda came out a little less bond-y and a little more first-meeting sort of thing but i think it’s still pretty solid.

Also- I know nothing of those two code languages- I am most familiar with javascript. And then there’s this whole sburb situation… soo… yeah, bare with me.

If you just move that function here… and make that server call there… then you might just be able to shrink down this massive ui system. You’ve just. You gotta get this game running on your phone. You have to stop being so tethered to the portal system just to be sure your client player won’t die on you.

There’s just been too much of that recently, death. And simultaneously the lack of death. This game- it’s just too strange. Between John’s ordeal with Terezi and the Davesprite-dead-timeline situation, you’ve been a little on edge to say the least. Between these trolls and this game, death could be lurking around any corner. Hopefully, with any luck at all, this app would keep it off your friends’ doorsteps.

With a jolt- pesterchum pings with the presumption that you’ll answer its chattery call. All it really does is make you aware of the trail of semi-colons you’ve left on the end of your code, nulling your command- and annoying you to no end. Finicky, finicky language. Being this drowsy isn’t exactly the most conducive thing to coding, but maybe you can get some muse flowing by trolling one of these dorks back. They never really seemed to expect that from you- the push-back. Your friends, even back on earth, seemed to humor and then evade their jests, your technique was simply to ignore their trolling till they were idle an ample about of time, say your piece, and- goddamnit.

–[[TA] TwinArmageddons began trolling [PC] PesterChum at 04:12]–

TA: hey. a22hole. what the hell are you doiing?

A quick Alt + tab and you’re back to your code. It’s important that you stay on- goddamned pop-up notifications.

TA: ye2. we’re talkiing. iit'2 happeniing.

TA: ii’ll a2k agaiin.

TA: what’re you doiing, a22hole?

Ctrl + Alt+ Delete, annd… he’s gone again. Guess you’re just going to have to lay off pestering your chums for a- oh god-with the phone-and the vibrating on ya leg-

PC: What do you want, I’m very busy.

TA: obviiou2ly.

TA: ii repeat a 2econd tiime:

TA: what are you doiing?

You put the phone down a moment to think. Only one other troll thus far had been so annoyingly hard to ignore, and even then it was because of your own need to communicate and not the fault of any of the technology around you. There were a few ways this could be happening, most of which are coincidental, but if you humor this troll for a few moments perhaps they’ll show their cards long enough to discern if there are any flaws in your impenetrable wall of troll ignorance. That, or, you’re so tired that that wall crumbled the 6 hours ago when you were supposed to be asleep. Whatever. You were coding on fumes anyway. Might as well look at something that’s not the editor for a min- aannd that dude isn’t shutting up.

TA: 2eriiou2ly, ii’m 2en2iing all 2ort2 of doomed tiimeliine2 waftiing through the viiewport2 and the wor2t ii2 comiing from none other than your2elf.

TA: miight a2 well 2ee what 2hiit your 2peciie2 ii2 gettiing iinto.

PC: Alright.

PC: I’m reconfiguring a copy of the game to allow me to run my client’s client editor on my phone in real time while continuing to run the game from my computer for my server player.

PC: Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.

PC: Except not.

PC: This is tedious.

PC: It’s like it was coded with the game equivalent of Dreamweaver.

A lapse in your conversation allows you a chance to delete all of those semicolons. Just how out of it were you, you must’ve added like 100 lines worth- ping!

TA: oh my gog. you’re fuckiing iin2ane.

PC: ???

TA: what the 2hiit do you thiink you’re doiing- diid you even code your game?

TA: no, you diidn’t.

TA: you’re readiing off gog know2 what developed by one of your iinferiior human grub de2iigner2 who couldn’t code the wiide 2iide of a moobea2t contaiinment faciiliity.

TA: 2top fuckiing wiith your game'2 code before you doom a miilliion tiimeliine2 iin the mo2t excruciiatiing way po22iible.

Okay, there was a lot you could take in life, insults normally being one of them. But an insult to your skill is simply a challenge in your book.

PC: I can read it.

PC: I can code it.

PC: And it’s happening.

You press the power button on your phone, but it just glitches right back to the conversation as soon as ya do. Fuckin glitchy ass last-gen smartphones, hardly able to run pesterchum anyway.

TA: okay look, ii diidn’t even want two troll you 2hiit2- ii ju2t wanted two leave you alone becau2e ii thought your 2peciie2 wa2 2tupiid enough two fiizzle out by iit2elf- but thii2 cro22e2 a liine.

TA: ii’ve 2uddenly caught a ca2e of giiviing a fuck.

Yeesh, this guy crosses all sort of lines. First with the technological illiteracy comments and now with the whole slandering your specie- man this guy gets wordy when he’s spooked.

TA: the game2 code ii2 not two be tampered wiith, iif runniing iit off of tho2e two 2hiitty human game grub2 de2troyed your uniiver2e- what the hell do you thiink you’d do ju2t fuckiing wiith iit for conveniience?

PC: Gain any semblance of agency I have left in this hellscape of a game.

PC: Keep my friends alive, and not be bogged down by all the shit of the universe while doing it.

PC: etc.

TA: …

TA: look.

TA: ii don’t know what iit ii2 about the code you’re wriitiing but ii know for a fact that nothiing good come2 of iit waay more than anythiing you’re actually tryiing two do doe2.

TA: ju2t. plea2e. don’t run that code.

TA: you’ll do more harm than good

TA: then your friiend2 wiill diie

TA: and then on top of that KK wiill nag me about iit.

At this point, this dude’s just becoming a drag. A pause and you come to realize that you are waay too tired to comb through this heap of code. You need some sort of break, a reprieve from thinking like a computer and a moment to think like a human being. Preferably a human who wasn’t coding or talking right now and slept for the next week. You gotta get this guy off your back, and only one way comes to your sleep-deprived mind.

PC: Fine then.

TA: what.

TA: really?

TA: you’re giiviing iit up that ea2iily?

PC: No.

TA: waiit. then what’re you doiing?

PC: Look.

PC: Dude.

PC: It’s waaay past midnight.

PC: I’m going to level with you:

PC: My code right now?

PC: Probably not my best work.

TA: no 2hiit.

PC: Not done.

PC: So this is either going one of two ways: you withdraw from this pestering- by force or by your own will- and I test my code like any developer would. Or- you actually help me, we test it, and I go the fuck to sleep.

PC: Your call.

You hold the phone like you’re waiting for a reply when in actuality you’ve closed your eyes and can feel the sweet sweet relief of no blue light forcing your eyes into a semi-alert hell. Your phone almost jiggles out of your hand with enough force to actually wake you up a little bit. You reluctantly open your eyes to see more dijon text in dual i’s.

TA: iin a biilliion alternate uniiver2e2 ii 2aiid fuck iit and let you run a code that'2 bugged two 2hiit whiile your 2e22iion cra2hed and burned.

TA: two be hone2t, kiinda wii2hiing thii2 wa2 one of tho2e, becau2e you’ve been nothiing but a paiin about liittle more than an alpha te2t for an acce22ory app.

TA: that you don’t even fuckiing need.

TA: you’re ju2t codiing for the 2hiit of iit.

TA: ju2t. what the hell.

PC: Well?

PC: What’s your answer troll dude, gonna help me debug this shit?

PC: Hack a game that’s fucked up our lives for just the slightest bit more control over it?

PC: Eh?

PC:…

PC: Yeah, that’s about as enticing as I can make that sound right now.

TA:…

TA: you know what?

TA: 2ure. you iin2ane apebea2t.

PC:…

PC: Call me y/n.

TA:…

TA: Sollux.

TA: Sollux Captor.

#sollux captor #sollux #homestuck sollux #homestuck imagines #imagine homestuck #homestuck #homestuck scenarios #god man that was my first fic-esque thing in almost a decade #I might've done it in pester-format. which i hate. but still.#I kinda like this au i think #I might just keep it

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diversemymedia · 7 years ago

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Why I Liked SZA’s “Supermodel” MV

Before her debut studio album, Ctrl, was released, I first heard SZA featured on the ‘Consideration’ track from Rihanna’s ANTI (2016) album. My honest first impression of SZA was that she was a West Indian singer. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure if it was done purposely because she was collaborating with the Bajan singer, or if it was because of her plain vocal ability. Maybe I was hearing it before that, but since then, SZA was a name I heard come out of people’s mouth every now and then. I thought nothing of it. Once her studio album was released, I was told by a very close (and young) relative of mine to give her a listen. Now, before I gave SZA any of my money, I downloaded one of her free mixtapes and I was a bit surprised. I never got much exposure to music growing up in a household that moderated whatever I watched and listened to, but [neo]soul and [PB]RnB were genres I fell in love with in college. Again, I thought she was an okay singer but after a couple of more listens, I decided to on a whim and give Ctrl a shot—after ‘Supermodel’, the first track on the album, played, I knew Ctrl would be one of those rare albums that I listened to for at least two years. Despite her average vocal range, I fell in love with SZA’s songwriting ability and scarce rhyming technique in verses.

Unable to get over the time a favored song of mine was ruined by a terrible music video, I haven’t watched many music videos. This included any of SZA’s music videos, other than ‘Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott)’ and it wasn’t worth an encore. So when the ‘Supermodel’ video came out, I was worried because it was a song that took time to grow on me. However, when I saw it, ‘Supermodel’ was a bizarre music video that I enjoyed watching over and over again. For those who don’t know, ‘Supermodel’ tells a story about a young woman in an unhealthy relationship with a boy who literally treats her like a joke. She vows to not want anything to do with him…but throughout the span of their relationship, she has developed insecurities and believes she can’t feel as confident as a “supermodel” without him.

The video starts off with SZA basically dismissing her boyfriend, who uncontrollably laughs at the sight of her. While dressing in the front of a mirror, she changes into an all black wardrobe consisting of a t-shirt, mesh robe, black heels and a thong with the letters “CTRL” on it. Suddenly, A young group of adorable, magical black girls call SZA from her bedroom closet. It acts as a portal to a fantasy-like forest with gleams of glitter floating in the atmosphere. Joyfully, she follows them and struts the path like a model on a runway and is appreciative of the magical girls encouraging her with kisses and smiles from the sidelines. However, she runs into her laughing boyfriend once again and he ruins her moment. She sprints through a cloud of smoke and emerges from the forest, joining a group of playful children in a neighborhood. The children play and laugh hysterically as they light firecrackers and throw them over a cross wire fence so they can land at the feet of SZA’s boyfriend, whose hands are tied to a pole in a random lot. She soon joins in and shoots firecrackers from her fingertips. Her boyfriend miserably leaps around to avoid the firecrackers and eventually falls to the ground. She gets the last laugh and returns to the forest where she can be a supermodel without interruptions.

Now, after the video, I took away a few things from it. There were relatable messages about feeling insecure, wishing for vengeance, wanting solidarity, and regaining confidence. As a man, I have not the slightest idea what the average black woman experiences throughout their life, but as I watched the music video, I got a message that might have had something to do with it, plus SZA’s role in her relationship: Unlike the various girls and boys with the firecrackers—black girls were the ones specifically chosen to walk with SZA, through the fantasy forest. Meanwhile this is a song about a breakup from a struggling relationship, the forest scene gave me the impression that one of the reasons SZA lacked self-confidence was due to the lack of proper representation of [black] girls who looked like her in contemporary media. Needless to say, If there had been, she wouldn’t need a man’s approval to feel “prettier”, a word she uses in the chorus when referring to the type of women her boyfriend would leave her for. So, during the scene where she walks through the forest, she’s being the adored supermodel that other black girls can look up to, and she’d proud to do it because she’s helping them realize realize that they can feel beautiful too.

Overall, the music video was well put together and the cinematography did its part when it came to focusing. Although the forest was nothing but bushes and dirt, it was especially enticing when the earthy tones were complimented by the added effects of glitter and fairy dust. It truly felt like a fantasy world. The video was something a lot of people who have been in relationships (serious or not) could relate to. Additionally, the video was feminist altogether. There were elements of #blackgirlmagic and an empowering message that a lot of women [of color] share. The only thing that had me a little confused was SZA walking around in an exposed thong around underage children. I’m sure the parents were advised, though. Directing credit goes to Nabil Elderkin, who did a good job at considering the black girl aspect.

Rating: 4/5 stars.

Feel free to follow my blog for more posts and critiques on diversity & representation.

#SZA #solana rowe #music video #ctrl #supermodel #music #songs #poc in media #black women #black singers #female singers #woc #women of color #woc in media #poc blogs #black girls #black girl magic #my posts #review

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tessatechaitea · 7 years ago

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Dark Nights: Metal #2

I could tell this cover was by John Romita Jr. because of Batman's stupid batarang. I believe that's the specialized batarang used for attaching trees to super-villains¹.

This is just cruel. Stop manipulating Swamp Thing into doing your dirty work, Batman!

Now that I know the Batmen were all members of the Bat-family, I want to know which jerk was captured by Aquaman. So embarrassing! I bet it was Red Hood. It turns out Batman was in Robin's VW Minivan which is what they all should have guessed because I guessed it but forgot to mention it. Now you're probably thinking, "Oh right! I bet you did! What a liar!" But you should know I'm telling the truth because I could have just as easily (and more believably!) gone back and edited the review by saying what I was going to say before I got distracted! You know what? I'm going to do it anyway! Fuck your sense of reality! Anyway, Superman figures it out and swoops down to threaten Batman. He picks him up and flies him into the sky saying, "All I have to do is barely squeeze. You can't even imagine how little pressure I need to add to my grip before your torso just rips like wet toilet paper. I mean, it's difficult not to explode you! You realize how many mathematical calculations I'm doing every minute just so I don't destroy everything I touch?! Imagine walking around a world built out of tissue paper and trying to navigate it without destroying it completely?! To me, you Earthlings are less substantive than a jelly doughnut!" But Batman is all, "If you squash me, you'll die because I drank a gallon of Kryptonite after getting out of the shower this morning! I'm like a deadly piñata!" Fun Fact #1: To get the "n" with the tilde on it, I looked up "jalapeno" on Google so I could copy and paste the ñ. I don't know why I didn't just look up piñata!" Fun Fact #2: When I just went to past in the ñ in piñata in the previous sentence, instead of typing CTRL-V, I typed CTRL-N and just about shit myself when my entire review disappeared! Luckily I realized pretty quickly that I'd just opened a new browser page. Batman finally decides to explain everything to Superman instead of being killed by him. It's a simple choice, really. But it's not a simple explanation! On no! The explanation is going to go pretty deep into Scott Snyder's previous story arcs to try to explain the most glaring errors in each of them.

This is even more convoluted than I was expecting! Perfect!

Now it's time to speculate on the fifth element! I bet it's Plasticmannium! Or maybe whatever shit the Orb of Ra is made from. Oh! Maybe it's Kryptonite and Batman doesn't realize he's already become the doorway because he drank that gallon of it earlier! Wonder Woman arrives to make Superman doubt Batman is being honest with him. Only Superman would ever believe anything out of Batman's mouth! He's so credulous! Even Ma and Pa Kent were fond of saying, "That boy'll believe a sack of worms if they told him they were a vagina!" That is so a Midwestern saying. Since Batman is obviously lying, Superman takes a drastic measure.

Superman didn't do this to save the world. He just did it because he's fucking sick of Batman.

Before you start sucking your own dicks (both figurative and literal ones so that all genders are included!) everybody at Marvel thinking DC has just flushed itself down the drain by killing the only one of their characters anybody really cares about, it turns out it wasn't actually Batman. Superman just killed Clayface. Although Clayface can't really die, I don't think. He's like an Oompa Loompa: immortal and weary of life. Meanwhile in Antarctica (unless it's actually the Arctic, seeing as how DC has had some poor history with keeping the two places straight), the Legion of Doom's headquarters rises from a lava pit. The Legion of Doom is currently staffed by all of DC's immortal characters. There's Vandal Savage and The Phantom Stranger and the other immortal guy and that other one plus the one that's immortal and also Cain and Abel and Lady Blackhawk and Morgaine le Fey and Shazam's wizard and all the other ones I can't think of. Their plan is to shoot the astral brain of the Anti-Monitor through the Rock of Eternity and into the core of the Multiverse. I don't know if that will save the world or it's just something they want to do for the lulz. Superman and Wonder Woman finally track the real Batman to the tomb of Prince Khufu. Just before they get there, Dream gives Batman a little advice about how to find his way home when this shit all goes wrong. And it all goes wrong pretty quickly. After Batman pulls Baby Darkseid out of his backpack and threatens Superman with it, I think, "Wait. What?" Um, anyway, it's all a trap! Batman knows everything except where to find the tomb of Khufu because he actually entered the tomb of Hath Set! I know, right? What an idiot! Now the Strigydae are about to mantle the fuck out of him! It's not as confusing as I make it sound, I assure you! I mean, sure, the Court of Owls shows up and some black squiggles take out Superman and Wonder Woman after which the Court pours a substance called Batmanium all over Batman so that the doorway can open for Barbatos. But that's not technically confusing! It's just, um, ridiculous! Batman turns into a cosmic doorway through which steop out eight Dark Batmonsters. One is Aquabat. One is Doomsbat. One is Cybat. One is Wonder Bat. One is Flashbat. One is Green Lanterbat. One is Jokerbat. And the last one is probably BarBATos. Unless he's The Phantom Strangebat. In other words, the Earth is fucked. Because if the Justice League can't even beat one Batman, how are they going to beat however many I just said stepped through the gate? What was it? Seven? Eight? So that's the story of Metal! I bet you all wet your pants over it like I did, right? I mean, I think I just wet my pants because I took too long writing this and didn't get up to go to the bathroom. But I probably would have from the excitement and intrigue and Batman's ultimate failure! That part was really great! ________________________________________________________ ¹I didn't just make that up. See whichever stupid issue of All Star Batman had that bit in it.

#Batman #Dark Nights #Metal #DC Comics #Scott Snyder #Greg Capullo #Jonathan Glapion #Fco Plascencia

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therevaliir-blog · 7 years ago

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Announcements: 07-11-2017

Site Changes:

- It would appear that Photobucket has begun to charge people for linking their pictures 3rd party. I wasn't sure it was real until I loaded up our portal page and found this:

My recommendation is for all users to go save whatever pictures they want to save from Photobucket if they are using it and transfer them to a site like Imgur. Not only has Photobucket done this but recently they have begun to act up on browsers like Chrome. They don't even show up for me most of the time. If you guys don't want to sign up for another site feel free to pm me and I'll host your images for you on my imgur and pass you the link. You can also look up other image hosting websites (I think Tiny Pic is one?). A few changes for Revaliir as well: I've updated the front Forum page to list [Current Gods], [Map of Canelux], and [Map of Parvpora] as links under their designated places.

I'm going to be adding quick links for Alchemy/Synth in the Trading section as well so people can just click there. Or I might just quick link to the spreadsheet of the synth/alchemy instead. I'll leave it up to the users to decide what they think is better.

I've changed how the forums look a little bit no longer do areas have City/Town or Wilderness. To save space it should just be [City] or [Wilds] . Places with more than one tag will still have their tags. This will be used until I finish my icon project for them :) Eventually, I will make small icons that designate between City, Wilds, and Attraction. I figure that would make the forum look prettier. Also finally added the links for The Spirit Realm and Sinking Ruins to the front of the Parvpora Continent Index! :)

We are also going to look into more city maps like the one in Sularia but I'll be asking members what they think since that is a huge project. We're gonna focus on finishing up the City for Rialoch, Outpost in Bakulaw, and a better layout for other forums that have multiple areas like Feeorin Forest with it's Vila Lake/Vila City. I'm going to ask if people would like for more flavor as well such as Ayaito becoming The Ayaito Empire, and so on and so forth :) Remember that with the event, the items are now in the new Event Shop Namita's Relics (I feel so bad for pushing the announcement under this one sorry Whit!) I'll start the User Submitted Lore back up as well and hope people participate more in it so we can grow the lore of Revaliir together! I'm going to work with Darros/Telly to try and get the Registration more clear, finish up the Welcome Page (its been unfinished for too long), finish up Icons that need to be done, add the synth I promised, and do wiki articles that have been on the back burner. I'm also going to be trying to get more tutorials up for the lot of you and FAQS such as spell subs for racial features.

- Contents of this patch: -Forum boost rebalance: People only get the higher of the two multipliers now. If you are new, you will always get a minimum of x3 for your first month or however long your silver boost lasts. You will no longer get your multipliers multiplied. -Forum boost time element There is now a calendar setting for forum silver boosts. Admins can use this to accurately pinpoint a timeframe that they want. -Searching of items in admin panel of users It is now possible to use ctrl-f to search through a user's inventory. This change has drastically improved load times. -New item and item pack adding and removal tools for Admin Use -New Event shop called Namita's Relics. I've readded Naota's prizes so people can get them! Namita's Relics -Restart of Server has updated the Shop Index! :3 all the shops are up to date now! (fancy fancy!) Starting Soon: Area Spotlights - for those interested in a silver boost of x2 and don't have the x3 from advertising the site I will be doing a weekly thing where I spotlight an area! Changes for Silver Boosts: Events will now only get a x3 boost Anniversary Events will get a x5 boost

The Living World:

SOMETHING IS HAPPENING

Adeluna has become a hotbed of terror and death. Citizens are being terrorized by their neighbors, friends, and even their own families. People are beating one another viciously in the streets, seemingly without provocation. Angela Rose had originally deployed her team of Clerics and Healers to aid with the situation, but it has become so dangerous she has ordered them to withdraw - something nearly unheard of. Those attacking the innocent have a strange feature - eyes of deep crimson, very similar to the rumored appearance of the eyes of Dalanesca, the Reaper of Souls and Harbinger of Darkness… what could this mean?

Rules Update: -Solo tags have been removed. If you wish to post consecutively with the same account now, you will need to stick to your character's journal. -NEW RULE: Item Description Abuse Just because an item description sounds powerful doesn't mean a member can abuse potential "loopholes" about it. For example, say you are using an item that can increase the height of your character, but that item doesn't specify a size limit. You then proceed to use it to grow to the size of a city, because the item doesn't tell you that you can't. That is abuse of a description and the administration reserves the right to punish you for it. If you ever have any doubts about an item and what is within fair use, contact staff.

#fantasy #rp #rpg #roleplay #roleplaying #announcements

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enterinit · 8 years ago

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Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15025 for PC Fast Ring

What’s new in Build 15025 Announcing braille support in Narrator: We love getting feedback from our visually-impaired Insiders and implementing features to support your needs. It’s so important that we keep our diverse customers in mind as we co-create with you. Today, we are excited to announce braille support for Narrator . This experience is currently in beta. So try it out and give us feedback! In order to use braille with Narrator, you will need to do the following: Ensure Narrator is running. Then go to Settings > Ease of Access (WIN + U) and under the Narrator settings, activate the “Download Braille” button. You will be prompted to install braille support. Under Settings > Ease of Access, activate the “Enable braille” button and add a braille display. Note that USB and serial connections for the display are supported. Under Settings > Ease of Access, choose the language and braille table you want to use.

Note detailed documentation about braille display key mappings will be made available in the Narrator User Guide closer to when the Windows 10 Creators Update is released. NOTE: There are coexistence issues with braille support and third party screen readers. Until the documentation is available, we recommend that braille be enabled for Narrator only on PCs that do not also have a third-party screen reader configured to use a braille display. New mono audio option in Ease of Access settings: Visually impaired users use a screen reader application to read the PC screen content and information to them, and frequently use headphones or earbuds to hear the computer when in meetings or having conversations with others. When doing so, they generally use only one earbud to hear the PC in one ear so the other ear is free to hear conversations and sounds around them. That can cause them to not hear sounds that may be directed to the other earbud. In order to change the sound to be mono mode and so all audio is directed to both ears, they used to need a physical earphone adapter. You can now switch your audio to mono straight from the new Audio section under Settings > Ease of Access > Other options. Introducing Collections in Feedback Hub: A few months ago, we asked you what was one of your biggest pieces of feedback about the Feedback Hub. You said, “too many duplicate pieces of feedback!”. We love working with you to create a better experience for everyone using the Feedback Hub, so today we are so happy to announce Collections. Collections are now live in Feedback Hub starting with app version 1.1612.10251.0.

A Collection groups together feedback for similar problems and suggestions into single items that bring together all the voices who expressed that sentiment in one place. All of your individual voices will be amplified when your feedback and upvotes are joined together into collections, and you’ll be able to see just how big your voice can become. Same as with individual feedback, you’ll be able to upvote Collections, upload screenshots to show the engineering team a problem you’re seeing or a suggestion you have, and comment on the feedback with others. Thank you for your feedback, Insiders. Because of you, the Feedback Hub is becoming better for ALL customers. More night light improvements: The night light color temperature range has been extended to go down to very red (1200 K) and the entire range of the slider now works correctly.

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC We fixed the issue where clicking on certain elements in desktop (Win32) games causes the game to minimize and cannot be restored. Windows Insiders should no longer have trouble connecting to certain Google sites due to an implementation of a new security model being rolled out to further enhance user security. Extensions in Microsoft Edge are back to working as expected. App developers can now request to pin their primary tile, just like secondary tiles, allowing apps to highlight their awesome live tiles – see this blog post for more info. Quicken 2017 should launch and working normally again. Windows Insiders will no longer see a “Mixed Reality” entry on the main page of Settings. We fixed an issue Insiders may have experienced where the Network flyout would unexpectedly appear blank instead of listing available Wi-Fi networks. We fixed an issue where the custom color picker in Color Settings might stop working when selecting new colors. We fixed an issue where certain colors in the recent colors section of Colors Settings would unexpectedly not appear selected after being selected. We fixed an issue where if you downloaded a theme from the Store, deleted it, then downloaded it again, it wouldn’t appear in Themes Settings. We’ve improved the performance when using point erase to ease ink in Sketchpad. We’ve updated the Windows Ink Workspace so it will now remember your most recently selected stencil (ruler or protractor) and keep that choice the next time you open Sketchpad. We fixed an issue where, after upgrading, some Insiders were left with certain tiles that couldn’t be unpinned from Start. We also fixed an issue where pinning a tile might unexpectedly add it in the middle of an existing group of tiles. We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders using PCs with certain older chipsets seeing colored boxes in the place of text and various other UI in UWPs apps. We fixed an issue where desktop shortcuts pointing at URLs weren’t working for some Insiders. We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to tab over to Other Users section on the login screen using only the keyboard. We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge sometimes freezing for a short after using CTRL+C to copy selected text in the address bar. We fixed an issue resulting in the shadows behind the set aside tabs in Microsoft Edge not being as dark as expected – the thumbnails should pop more now. We fixed an issue with notification toast priority from recent flights where an alarm or skype call toast would not interrupt a reminder toast. We fixed an issue where some captive portal Wi-Fi networks might fail to connect during OOBE, and if a captive portal network was using DNS hijacking to redirect to a secure site, the captive portal app would crash and you wouldn’t be able to clear the portal. We fixed an issue where Yes/No voice commands in the Wi-Fi portion of OOBE weren’t working. We fixed an issue resulting in the screen flashing and explorer crashing in a loop for some Insiders if they entered Safe Mode on recent builds. We fixed an issue for devices with TPM chips on 15019 where the TPM was unexpectedly not able to start. We fixed an issue where a window might appear to get “stuck” on the mouse when releasing it after dragging to resize it – requiring an extra click to let go. We fixed an issue resulting in poor quality scaling of taskbar and task view thumbnail previews. We also fixed an issue where periodically when you moved your mouse to hover over a taskbar thumbnail preview, it might unexpectedly immediately dismiss. Known issues for PC IMPORTANT: You may see “Initializing…” when attempting to download this build and the download progress indicator shown when downloading this build may seem broken under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. It may look like you’re getting stuck at 0% or at other percentages. Ignore the indicator and be patient. The build should download fine, and the installation should kick off. See this forum post for more details. While we fixed the primary bug causing this issue, some Windows Insiders may still hit nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service causing their PC to lose audio, disk I/O usage to become very high, and apps like Microsoft Edge to become unresponsive when doing certain actions such as opening Settings. As a workaround to get out of this state, STOP the Spectrum.exe service and delete C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Spectrum\PersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot. For more details, see this forum post. Game Mode is enabled system wide by default, however, the ON/OFF toggle in Settings will incorrectly show it as being OFF until the user manually toggles the Setting to ON which will cause it to update and accurately display the status of Game Mode system wide. Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster. Microsoft Edge F12 tools may intermittently crash, hang, and fail to accept inputs. Microsoft Edge’s “Inspect Element” and “View Source” options don’t correctly launch to the DOM Explorer and Debugger, respectively. Dragging apps from the all apps list to pin on Start’s tile grid won’t work. For now, please right-click on the desired app in order to pin it. Some Tencent apps and games may crash or work incorrectly on this build. Under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update you might see the text “Some Settings are managed by your organization” even though your PC isn’t being managed by an organization. This is a bug caused by an updated flight configuration setting for Insider Preview builds and does not mean your PC is being managed by anyone. On some PCs, audio stops working sporadically with ‘device in use’ error”. We are investigating. Restarting the audio service may fix things for a bit. The Action Center may sometimes appear blank and transparent without color. If you encounter this, try moving the taskbar to a different location on screen. ADDED: The Desktop App Converter Preview (Project Centennial) will fail to run on the Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15025. If you are a developer utilizing the converter tool to convert your desktop app to UWP, we suggest skipping Build 15025 or switching to the Slow ring until we can fix this issue. ADDED: We’re aware of an issue due to a kernel change which may affect some games that use copy protection technologies. From blogs.windows. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || ).push({}); Click to Post

#Microsoft #Windows #Windows 10 #Windows Client #Windows Insider

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repwincoml4a0a5 · 8 years ago

Text

Announcing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15025 for PC

Hello Windows Insiders!

Today we are excited to be releasing Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 15025 for PC to Windows Insiders in the Fast ring as the primary build for the second Creator’s Update Bug Bash which starts on Friday. Please look for a detailed bug bash blog post on Friday morning PST. We have discovered a bug that impacts our ability to release this build to PCs running 32-bit (x86) versions of Windows 10 Insider Preview builds. Because the majority of Insiders in the Fast ring have PCs running 64-bit (x64) – we decided to go ahead and release this build with 32-bit PCs blocked until our next flight. We plan to release ISOs for this build by the end of the week and Insiders on 32-bit PCs will be able to update from the ISOs.

What’s new in Build 15025

Announcing braille support in Narrator: We love getting feedback from our visually-impaired Insiders and implementing features to support your needs. It’s so important that we keep our diverse customers in mind as we co-create with you. Today, we are excited to announce braille support for Narrator . This experience is currently in beta. So try it out and give us feedback! In order to use braille with Narrator, you will need to do the following:

Ensure Narrator is running. Then go to Settings > Ease of Access (WIN + U) and under the Narrator settings, activate the “Download Braille” button. You will be prompted to install braille support.

Under Settings > Ease of Access, activate the “Enable braille” button and add a braille display. Note that USB and serial connections for the display are supported.

Under Settings > Ease of Access, choose the language and braille table you want to use.

Note detailed documentation about braille display key mappings will be made available in the Narrator User Guide closer to when the Windows 10 Creators Update is released.

NOTE: There are coexistence issues with braille support and third party screen readers. Until the documentation is available, we recommend that braille be enabled for Narrator only on PCs that do not also have a third-party screen reader configured to use a braille display.

New mono audio option in Ease of Access settings: Visually impaired users use a screen reader application to read the PC screen content and information to them, and frequently use headphones or earbuds to hear the computer when in meetings or having conversations with others. When doing so, they generally use only one earbud to hear the PC in one ear so the other ear is free to hear conversations and sounds around them. That can cause them to not hear sounds that may be directed to the other earbud. In order to change the sound to be mono mode and so all audio is directed to both ears, they used to need a physical earphone adapter. You can now switch your audio to mono straight from the new Audio section under Settings > Ease of Access > Other options.

Introducing Collections in Feedback Hub: A few months ago, we asked you what was one of your biggest pieces of feedback about the Feedback Hub. You said, “too many duplicate pieces of feedback!”. We love working with you to create a better experience for everyone using the Feedback Hub, so today we are so happy to announce Collections. Collections are now live in Feedback Hub starting with app version 1.1612.10251.0.

Thank you for your feedback, Insiders. Because of you, the Feedback Hub is becoming better for ALL customers.

More night light improvements: The night light color temperature range has been extended to go down to very red (1200 K) and the entire range of the slider now works correctly.

Other changes, improvements, and fixes for PC

[GAMING] We fixed the issue where clicking on certain elements in desktop (Win32) games causes the game to minimize and cannot be restored.

Windows Insiders should no longer have trouble connecting to certain Google sites due to an implementation of a new security model being rolled out to further enhance user security.

Extensions in Microsoft Edge are back to working as expected.

App developers can now request to pin their primary tile, just like secondary tiles, allowing apps to highlight their awesome live tiles – see this blog post for more info.

Quicken 2017 should launch and working normally again.

Windows Insiders will no longer see a “Mixed Reality” entry on the main page of Settings.

We fixed an issue Insiders may have experienced where the Network flyout would unexpectedly appear blank instead of listing available Wi-Fi networks.

We fixed an issue where the custom color picker in Color Settings might stop working when selecting new colors.

We fixed an issue where certain colors in the recent colors section of Colors Settings would unexpectedly not appear selected after being selected.

We fixed an issue where if you downloaded a theme from the Store, deleted it, then downloaded it again, it wouldn’t appear in Themes Settings.

We’ve improved the performance when using point erase to ease ink in Sketchpad.

We’ve updated the Windows Ink Workspace so it will now remember your most recently selected stencil (ruler or protractor) and keep that choice the next time you open Sketchpad.

We fixed an issue where, after upgrading, some Insiders were left with certain tiles that couldn’t be unpinned from Start. We also fixed an issue where pinning a tile might unexpectedly add it in the middle of an existing group of tiles.

We fixed an issue resulting in some Insiders using PCs with certain older chipsets seeing colored boxes in the place of text and various other UI in UWPs apps.

We fixed an issue where desktop shortcuts pointing at URLs weren’t working for some Insiders.

We fixed an issue resulting in not being able to tab over to Other Users section on the login screen using only the keyboard.

We fixed an issue resulting in Microsoft Edge sometimes freezing for a short after using CTRL+C to copy selected text in the address bar.

We fixed an issue resulting in the shadows behind the set aside tabs in Microsoft Edge not being as dark as expected – the thumbnails should pop more now.

We fixed an issue with notification toast priority from recent flights where an alarm or skype call toast would not interrupt a reminder toast.

We fixed an issue where some captive portal Wi-Fi networks might fail to connect during OOBE, and if a captive portal network was using DNS hijacking to redirect to a secure site, the captive portal app would crash and you wouldn’t be able to clear the portal.

We fixed an issue where Yes/No voice commands in the Wi-Fi portion of OOBE weren’t working.

We fixed an issue resulting in the screen flashing and explorer crashing in a loop for some Insiders if they entered Safe Mode on recent builds.

We fixed an issue for devices with TPM chips on 15019 where the TPM was unexpectedly not able to start.

We fixed an issue where a window might appear to get “stuck” on the mouse when releasing it after dragging to resize it – requiring an extra click to let go.

We fixed an issue resulting in poor quality scaling of taskbar and task view thumbnail previews. We also fixed an issue where periodically when you moved your mouse to hover over a taskbar thumbnail preview, it might unexpectedly immediately dismiss.

Known issues for PC

[UPDATED] IMPORTANT: You may see “Initializing…” when attempting to download this build and the download progress indicator shown when downloading this build may seem broken under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update. It may look like you’re getting stuck at 0% or at other percentages. Ignore the indicator and be patient. The build should download fine, and the installation should kick off. See this forum post for more details.

While we fixed the primary bug causing this issue, some Windows Insiders may still hit nonstop exceptions in the Spectrum.exe service causing their PC to lose audio, disk I/O usage to become very high, and apps like Microsoft Edge to become unresponsive when doing certain actions such as opening Settings. As a workaround to get out of this state, STOP the Spectrum.exe service and delete C:ProgramDataMicrosoftSpectrumPersistedSpatialAnchors and reboot. For more details, see this forum post.

[GAMING] Popular games such as may experience crashes or black screens when trying to load due to a platform issue.

[GAMING] Game Mode is enabled system wide by default, however, the ON/OFF toggle in Settings will incorrectly show it as being OFF until the user manually toggles the Setting to ON which will cause it to update and accurately display the status of Game Mode system wide.

[GAMING] Certain hardware configurations may cause the broadcast live review window in the Game bar to flash Green while you are Broadcasting. This does not affect the quality of your broadcast and is only visible to the Broadcaster.

Microsoft Edge F12 tools may intermittently crash, hang, and fail to accept inputs.

Microsoft Edge’s “Inspect Element” and “View Source” options don’t correctly launch to the DOM Explorer and Debugger, respectively.

Dragging apps from the all apps list to pin on Start’s tile grid won’t work. For now, please right-click on the desired app in order to pin it.

Some Tencent apps and games may crash or work correctly on this build.

Under Settings > Update & security > Windows Update you might see the text “Some Settings are managed by your organization” even though your PC isn’t being managed by an organization. This is a bug caused by an updated flight configuration setting for Insider Preview builds and does not mean your PC is being managed by anyone.

On some PCs, audio stops working sporadically with ‘device in use’ error”. We are investigating. Restarting the audio service may fix things for a bit.

The Action Center may sometimes appear blank and transparent without color. If you encounter this, try moving the taskbar to a different location on screen.

Community Updates

This week, we are in Nairobi, Kenya at the NexTech Africa Conference (where we will be announcing an East Africa Fellowship as well as participating in sessions around Engineering at Scale and Digital Transformation at Scale.

You’ll recall that last September we gathered at the Co-Creation Hub in Lagos to kick off the very first #Insiders4Good Fellowship. After reviewing over 5,000 applications, in November we announced the first cohort of 25 diverse people with diverse ideas to change Nigeria, Africa, and the world. We are inspired by the ideas from those 25 entrepreneurs, and hopeful that their creativity and hard work can address decades-old problems like illiteracy, kidnapping, agricultural waste, healthcare access, and much more.

We started in Nigeria because of what we could learn from that market. 1 of every 7 Africans lives in Nigeria. 41 percent of working-age Nigerians were involved in an early-stage business in the preceding three and a half years. 81% of Nigerians value entrepreneurship as a career choice. As with other countries in Africa, we can also learn a lot from working alongside social entrepreneurs overcoming obstacles: regulations, processes, and custom; working around corruption; mitigating poor electricity, roads, and connectivity.

Over the next few months, our fellowship cohort has received support from Microsoft and from the Windows Insider community. They’ve received hardware, software, tailored mentorship and access to our global network of people and organizations spanning nearly every industry and geography. As we enter month three of the #Insiders4Good Nigeria fellowship, we’re honored to watch these 25 Fellows progress together from a group of strangers from all across Nigeria—to a cohesive community of creative leaders with promising ideas—into a group of friends, together growing those ideas into viable businesses to make Nigeria a better place to live.

In working with the Nigeria Fellows, we’ve learned so much. Literally every day we use their learnings to improve Windows, and improve the Microsoft tech stack. For example, this month back in Seattle we are focusing on improving the Windows experience in low-bandwidth regions. This is a HUGE focus in our bug bash and we are having “Nigeria Day” where we will encourage the whole Windows team to run quests on a 2G network we have set up.This focus area is a direct result of our time spent in Nigeria working with our Fellows, and hearing about their difficulties when the power goes out or the wireless is poor.

We’re not done learning yet. Not even close. In fact, we’re doubling down. Today, in partnership with GrowthAfrica, the Windows Insider Program is thrilled to expand our #Insiders4Good fellowship to East Africa. The #Insiders4Good East Africa Fellowship will be awarded to 25 entrepreneurs from Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda who have innovative social business ideas with the potential to improve their communities, the East African region, and the world. #Insiders4Good Fellows will receive a suite of Microsoft hardware and software, plus six months of tailored technical and strategic mentorship from local and international leaders.

Thousands in East Africa are creating extraordinary solutions that change the way communities and businesses solve problems and improve people’s lives. Innovation is in the DNA of all Windows Insiders. East Africa is a key region where exciting new ideas are growing. We’ve been impressed and heartened by the progress made already by the first 25 #Insiders4Good Fellows in Nigeria, and we’re thrilled to expand the #Insiders4Good Fellowship into East Africa. The region is well known as a hotbed of technological innovation.We look forward to deepening our relationships with these exceptional entrepreneurs across East Africa and to supporting their goals with this Fellowship.

The #Insiders4Good Fellowship aims to recognize visionary entrepreneurs, enable them with technology and expert support, and unlock opportunities for them through the global network of Windows Insiders, the world’s largest community of people using technology to solve problems. The Fellowship aims to accelerate their journeys toward achieving their goals.

The deadline to apply for the #Insiders4Good Fellowship is March 31, 2017, 23:59 p.m. East Africa Time. However, applicants are encouraged to apply well in advance of the deadline. Applicants should visit http://ift.tt/2da0yPz for full information and the application form.

Windows Insiders are the millions who represent the billions. Come join us today.

Keep hustling team, Dona <3

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2jwYgkq

#DIYS

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