#impressive software program

[wizard-dax]

AI in Unification?

If you, like me, couldn't fully enjoy Unification because there was a horrible feeling in your gut the whole time of "is this AI? Did Shatner really let them use AI? That seems like a thing he'd do, because he's kind of awful" then you've come to the right place.

I did a deep dive of the technologies used for Unification and while this isn't a 100% comprehensive guide here's what I've learned:

According to Trekmovie.com's article about the film, the production team used a "team of artists and animators, who combined digital and physical prosthetics with live-action location photography, virtual production, and CG set extensions" and used "OTOY’s “Octane” rendering software and the “Render Network” decentralized GPU rendering platform. Characters and props were digitized using OTOY’s Academy-Award winning “LightStage” scanning system."

So what are all these proprietary names / jargon, and are any of them AI?

LightStage: A scanning tech that allows for digital capture of a human face (probably used to capture the stand-ins faces and superimpose older footage of Spock / Kirk like they would for a video game motion capture or something) = Not AI

OctaneRender: "Fastest unbiased, spectrally correct GPU render engine" (Probably used for sets based on the example I'm seeing on OTOY's website. It DOES use AI for "denoising and lighting" but this is a feature of the program and not the only thing the program does, so it is unclear if this is something they would have employed for the shot film. If they did, this would not be used for character work / deep fakes, and given what little information is written about this tech I'm almost curious if it is even a full AI system at all or just an automatic denoiser that they've dubbed as AI to look impressive. So I'd say results inconclusive here at best.)

The Render Network: "The network connects node operators looking to monetize their idle GPU compute power with artists looking to scale intensive 3D-rendering work and with machine learning developers looking to train and tune AI models. Through a decentralized peer-to-peer network, the Render Network achieves unprecedented levels of scale, speed, and economic efficiency. " (This basically means people can use the platform FOR AI but means nothing in the context of whether AI was used for this project.)

TL;DR: AI is an umbrella term for a lot of technology and it seems if anything, there may have been some AI used in the background rendering process but nothing generative AI / deep fakes. In my cynical opinion, if they HAD used AI in general for this, I feel like they'd be shouting it from the rooftops right now since people who love AI won't shut up about it. I'm tentatively saying this was 99% made with traditional CGI and artist work as is stated in the Trekmovie.com article, but I wouldn't be surprised if that opinion changes as the day goes on and more information is released.

[sophiaseo34]

Is Custom Web Application Development Right for Your Business?

[katanablue]

I originally had a totally different idea for this but I think I may just do a part 2 hehehe. ALSO IF ANYONE GOT ANY GOOD 07 DONNIE FICS ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Warnings: NONE JUST DONNIE BEING A CUTE GRUMPY DORK.

Another day another long boring shift full of talking to idiotic people who don’t know the difference between hardware and software and explaining to one too many elderly people that ‘No, you cannot print out the Internet.’

He’s just finished a call, rubbing the space between his eyes as he feels his daily headache come on. He’s impressed that he’s managed to nearly finish his workday without it appearing until now. He groans low in his throat, debating on getting up to grab a glass of water so he can take a pill or just sucking it up these last 30 minutes.

He gets his answer when an incoming call rings through his headset, making Donnie roll his eyes hard and into the back of his skull. He inhales deeply through his nose to prepare himself, letting it out when he clicks on a key to answer the phone.

“Thank you for calling tech support, this is Donatello speaking, how can I help you today.” He doesn’t bother putting on his customer service voice, his headache dully throbbing now as he waits for the other person on the line to start rambling about their dumb issue.

“Hi, how are you today?” You say, giving the standard pleasantries before delving into your computer issue.

Typical, of course his last call would try to make small talk.

“I’m fine ma’am, thank you. How can I help you today?” He repeats it, resisting the urge to roll his eyes again and leans back in his chair, swaying gently side to side. He thinks about what he should eat after, his eyes trailing to the clock in the Lair that signifies in big red letters that it’s nearly 2 a.m. Not the latest he’s stayed up but today’s shift was particularly exhausting. Maybe it’s the full moon or something, ‘Mercury in Gatorade’ as Mikey would sometimes call it.

“Hello?”

Shit. He totally just fucking zoned out on you.

“Apologies ma’am, I didn’t quite catch that. Would you mind repeating it?” Great, he just extended this call by about 2 minutes.

“Oh, that’s alright! I’m dealing with an issue with my laptop’s ability to open programs fast. It’s taking forever just to open something and I’m not quite sure why.” You repeat your issue, quietly sighing as you aimlessly move your mouse around your screen, hoping that the guy on the other side will be able to help with you.

Donnie immediately knows what the problem could be; slow processing speeds a fairly common issue for him but thankfully an easy fix.

So he starts by asking the standard questions: do you have any programs that take a lot of space? Any tabs open that you aren’t using? Anything running in the background?

When you tell him ‘no, no and no’, that’s when he sits up from his chair and squints his eyes. If those aren’t the cause of your laptops slow speed then what could it be?

“Well,”

Ah, there it is.

“I do play a few games but those have never caused me problems before. Could that be it?”

Normally Donatello’s irritation would increase when the customer would ‘suddenly remember’ something that could be pausing their problem. You, however? Didn’t spark that within him for some reason. In fact, besides your calm demeanor, it’s the way you spoke so kindly to him combined with the fact that you also game apparently that has Donnie not wanting to snap at you.

“Like what?” He asks, being sure to keep it professional.

And when you list his all time favorite game among some others that he’s obsessed with, he has to practically force himself to not totally geek out. Sure he’s played some of the popular games nowadays like League or Valorant, but hearing you say that you modded some old PS1 games to play on your laptop practically skyrockets his excitement.

Which in turn makes his headache pound harder.

He’s unable to keep himself from hissing when a pang shoots right through his skull, knowing you heard it when you trail off your sentence.

“Are you alright?”

Maybe it’s because he’s had a long day or maybe it’s because this seems to be shifting into a migraine, but the concern and sincerity in your voice makes an odd feeling bubble in Donnie’s chest. Surely no one would ever be genuinely worried over an I.T guy, not when you have more pressing matters on your hands.

“My apologies miss, I’m just uh, dealing with a bit of a headache right now. Although I think it’s turning into a migraine.” He grunts through his clenched jaw, swinging carefully around in his chair as he searches for his bottle of Advil only to suck his teeth when he shakes the container and hears absolutely nothing rattling around.

“Oh no, I’m sorry! Do you want to go grab some medicine? I don’t mind waiting.”

The corner of Donnie’s lip twitches upward. He brings his hands to massage at his temples, the motions doing something to relieve the tension in his head but not nearly enough.

“I unfortunately just discovered that I’m out of medicine. But that’s alright, I’ll pick some up after this call.” He doesn’t bother hiding his sigh, settling back in his seat as he prepares to ask you more questions to help you out.

“What about any oils? Got any of those? Usually lavender or peppermint do the trick.” You put him on speaker and go to your Safari on your phone to begin looking up other remedies, wanting to assist this poor I.T man.

Donnie’s not quite sure why you’re trying to be helpful but at this point he doesn’t exactly care, the throbbing getting worse by the second.

“It could also be too much pressure, literally, around your head. Do you wear headbands or anything like that? Could also be your headphones.”

“No, no headbands. And my headphones have cushioning all around so not those either.” He responds, debating on texting Mikey to bring him the peppermint oil that April bought for Splinter last Christmas.

“Ah, a man of comfort.” You laugh, fingers quickly typing in your question into the search engine.

Donnie finds himself smiling faintly at the sound, a fleeting thought of ‘Wow, I want to hear that again’ passing through his brain.

“Well, I can’t use regular headphones for gaming. I’m also a fan of those games that you play.”

You blink in surprise, your scrolling faltering for half a second before continuing on.

“No way, really?”

And so you talk for the next 20 minutes about said games; reliving memories, talking about specific moments you wish you could experience again, the soundtracks, the characters. Everything.

For the first 10 minutes, Donnie kept reminding himself that he was just prolonging his work call, that he should drive the focus back onto your issue so he can hang up and clock out. But the more he talked to you, the more he said ‘fuck it’ and allowed himself this one rare moment of normalcy.

He also nearly forgot about his raging migraine, until it pleasantly reminded him that it was still present with a sharp stabbing pain behind his eyes.

It’s what snaps him back to reality, his face grimacing from the white hot torment happening in his skull.

“I’m so sorry, we should really get back to your computers issues.”

“Oh, right. Sorry.”

God, why did he feel so awful saying that? And why did it make his stomach twist when hearing just how disappointed you sounded? It’s something he’ll have to dissect later, not when he’s already 30 minutes past the standard call time for support.

“Let’s see what we’re working with here.”

This is one of the rare times Donnie wishes he wasn’t so smart with technology because in less than 5 minutes he solves your problem. He wishes he could just be a little average to talk to you more even if it’s computer stuff.

“Alright, you shouldn’t have a problem anymore. Anything else I can help you with?”

Please say yes please say yes please say yes.

“No, I’m all good. Thank so much Donatello!”

“Donnie! You can call me Donnie.”

Fuck.

“Just your friendly I.T tech support here to help you 24 hours a day.”

Double fuck.

Why did he say that? It’s standard spiel protocol but still, how utterly lame…

You can’t help but giggle at him, your cheeks hurting from smiling so much from this total stranger.

“Alright then, Donnie. I’ll know who to ask for if I ever need help again.”

He smiles and asks for your name, just so he’ll know who he’s talking to if you ever do call again. He repeats it back to you once you tell him, the word rolling off his tongue in such a way that makes you feel giddy and grinning like a kid in a candy store.

“Have a good night, please don’t hesitate to call back if you’re still experiencing technical difficulties.”

And by Darwin he hopes you do.

[pocket-deer-boy]

i wanted to try procreate dreams just to see if it would get me to animate more, but first impressions are wow this is rough. I feel like that's normal for any animation program, it's growing pains, it's getting used to something new, but the UI is pretty confusing to me at first blush. bit of a departure from how most animation software i've used organizes its stuff.

[saytrrose]

what's ur favorite kinger headcannon :0

I like to headcanon his life post circus because it’s so much more open to explore! I can’t possibly pick a favorite

—————

- Was a choir kid

- Fav subject was science

- Hit highschool and still did choir but did a tech program where he goes to another campus for his extracurriculars to pursue his associates early because he was an A student and good at school.

- Graduates highschool, decided not to pursue choir because he got a full ride scholarship to a good school for his great attendance/grades and to major in computer science.

- Great student, rarely acted out and went to college already with his associates.

- Breezed through his classes but prioritized studying over clubs or making friends

- Began to struggle with his mental health and being lonely, his roommate invited him to just go to dinner with his big friend group just once to take a break and try to socialize, Kinger reluctantly agrees, anxious.

- Insert Queenie. They click, because I’m pushing the “yo ur lowkey autistic I have a autistic friend do you want to meet her” ideal onto the roommate

- Kinger meshes decently well in the group, Queenie and Kinger are inseparable though, her even convincing him to join a stem society club since she’s pursuing entomology.

- Somewhere in this time Kinger finds himself doodling a tiny denture guy in the margins of his notes. (Kinger creates an oc?? Omg)

- Before they graduate, Kinger and Queenie start dating. Kingers first relationship- (his parent didn’t want him to date and to focus on school) but Queenie has had a few exes.

- Kinger pursues his Computer Science career, Queenie pursues her Entomology career and they are doing very well. They eventually get married.

- Kinger is inspired to create a software with the new discovery of Artifical Intelligence, interested in creating a sort of game that is engaging and can be a new experience and approach to technology through VR, a way for one to find an escape from reality completely, a way for someone to almost enter a whole new world.

- Kinger finds the best way to start off is by using his old character he designed as a mascot and guide, and he decides to name him like the Ai he is, Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer. Aka Eniac.

- Queenie is the one to bring up that the characters name is a big peculiar, so Kinger finds a fun way to twist it around- flipping it backwards. His characters name is Caine.

- Speeding this up a bit, basically Kinger creates the game and company. I do really love this theory. I think all the people hired, that are apart of the company are Pomni, Gangle, Ragatha- all the others. As a way to test out the software, an employee would test run the game.

- It wasn’t long after did panic ensue, realization dawning that there wasn’t a way to reverse consciousness from the game, even after they ripped the headset off to wake up the employees.

- Kinger didn’t actually want to continue the game anymore after the second person went in, through updating the software and seeing if the new person could pull the old person out- but the same results happening.

- The attention of the disappearances only spawned suspicion and rumors, catching the eye of higher ups, that actually were so impressed and intrigued with the project they offered him to keep it going, to keep up what he was doing and send more people, and it really upset him.

- Long story short, his rebelliance only got him and his wife forced into the game themselves because they surely couldn’t be set free to shine light or speak on what was going on.

- The circus is not Caines fault, he is not the antagonist and he is only trying to do what his inital programming was to do. Caine is confused and unsure why they cannot leave and tries his best. The circus is not entirely Kingers fault, it went downhill and his intentions were not ill at all, I could see how blame could be pounced onto him but he never meant for anyone to get hurt.

[axeeglitter]

A young man and college student finds a software capable of turning his roommate and friend into Billy from stranger things, a fictionnal character he's been fantasizing about for a long time. But would he be capable of deceiving his friend and sacrificing him to turn him into his own selfish desires, entirely someone else for good ? What price will he have to pay ?

The Price of Desire

Eric stared at the glowing screen of his laptop, a strange sense of excitement bubbling up inside him. He had stumbled upon a program unlike anything he’d ever seen—an obscure piece of software with a power that felt more like dark magic than modern technology. It claimed it could transform anyone into anyone else, real or fictive, physically and mentally, down to the last detail. A fantasy that should have remained locked in the recesses of his mind was suddenly within reach.

Billy.

The bad boy from Stranger Things who had captivated Eric ever since he'd first laid eyes on him—Billy, with his chiseled body, wild hair, and untamed confidence, everything Eric longed for. Billy, with his alpha attitude and carefree behavior. Billy with his over-the-top sex life and don’t give a shit personality. And now, here was this impossible opportunity, lying right in front of him. The catch? The person to be transformed had to be someone Eric knew personally and was closed to. Being far away from everyone he loved because of the college, that meant it could only be one person: his roommate, Jake.

Jake had been Eric’s roommate and best friend since freshman year—kind, loyal, and completely oblivious to the fantasies Eric had buried. Could Eric really do this? Could he trick Jake into becoming... someone else? The more he thought about it, the more he was torn apart between his fantasy and his loyalty. Jake had always been there for him, he was his best friend, a good student, loved by everyone. The more he thought about it, the more he was starting to realize what that meant. But one glance at Jake sleeping on his bed and then at the picture of Billy on his computer was enough to send Eric into overdrive. And if anything, it could be reversed by the end of the night. Yes, Eric had to do it.

He started to enter the parameters:

Billy Hargrove, white tanktop and pair of jeans, alpha, dominant, horniness level max.

The temptation to press enter right away was unbearable. After hours of agonizing over it, Eric decided to do it. He told himself it was just curiosity, just to see if it worked. The transformation would be reversible, he reassured himself. Right?

______________________________________________________________

At first, nothing happened. Then Jake's body began to twitch. His limbs spasmed violently, and he let out a low groan in his sleep. Eric watched in horrified fascination as Jake's skin started to shift—bronzing slightly, taking on that signature sun-kissed tone Billy was known for. A thin sheen of sweat broke out across Jake's body, highlighting the rapid changes underneath.

Jake's face was the first thing to shift—his features contorting as though invisible hands were reshaping him like clay. His jawline sharpened, becoming more angular and pronounced. His cheekbones lifted, while his nose restructured, growing slightly broader. His lips thickened just a little, curling into a sneer even as he slept. The bones beneath his face crackled audibly, like distant fireworks.

Then came his body. Jake’s chest began to heave, his shirt tightening as his pecs swelled, muscles bulging outward. His arms thickened, biceps ballooning in size as veins snaked along his skin, stretching taut over the rising muscle. His stomach contracted, fat burning away in an instant to reveal an impressively sculpted six-pack. The definition of every muscle was becoming impossibly sharp, like a body sculpted by the gods themselves.

Eric’s eyes widened as Jake's legs extended, lengthening and thickening with sinew. His thighs bulged under the fabric of his jeans, his calves now heavy and sculpted with muscle. The feet at the end of his long legs morphed, growing wider, larger, more imposing. Even his toes seemed to rearrange, becoming more masculine, rougher.

As the transformation progressed, dark blonde hair sprouted rapidly across Jake’s chest, arms, and legs. The hair on his forearms thickened into a rough, virile coat. A trail of coarse hair formed on his lower abdomen, leading down below his waistband. His groin was what transformed the most as a the thick dirty blonde curly pelt he now sprouted. His entire body had taken on that wild, untamed look of pure alpha masculinity.

Eric’s gaze drifted lower, his face flushing as he noticed the bulge in Jake’s pants swelling. Jake’s cock was growing larger, thicker, pushing out against the tight fabric. His nuts, too, seemed to hang heavier, the very size of his masculinity amplifying as he transformed.

A violent jerk shook Jake’s body, and his hair began to change next. His once-short, brown locks sprouted rapidly, curling into wild, sun-bleached waves. His hair grew longer, thick and unruly, cascading down to his shoulders in messy, sweaty strands. The familiar mop of Billy’s iconic hairstyle now crowned Jake’s transforming head.

As the final changes solidified, Jake’s groans deepened into something more primal. His posture changed, becoming more confident, more aggressive, his body brimming with raw power. The scent of musk filled the air, an intoxicating mix of sweat and testosterone that radiated off Jake’s pits, cock and feet.

But the worst part was Jake’s face. His once-soft, friendly expression twisted into a cocky, arrogant smirk, the same one that Billy always wore. The fear and confusion in Jake’s eyes dimmed, replaced with the cold, predatory gleam that belonged entirely to Billy Hargrove.

Jake’s body suddenly tensed, his eyes snapping open. “Fuck... what the hell?” His voice was deeper now, rougher, dripping with Billy’s signature bravado. He looked down at his new body, running his hands over his muscled chest and abs covered by his musky white tanktop, feeling every ridge, every bulge of strength. His cocky grin widened but his eyes still were surprised and scared of what he was seeing. He tilted his head away from his huge pecs and hard abs to look at Eric. Jake then tried to open his mouth to ask for help but before he could do it, his pupils contracted and dilated, now lacking the fear and full of confidence and horniness.

Eric stood frozen, unable to move, unable to speak.

Billy flexed his arms, admiring his muscular frame. He glanced at Eric, his sneer deepening.

“Damn… looks like I’m fuckin’ perfect,” Billy said, his voice full of arrogance. He stretched, his thick biceps rippling with power. His eyes locked onto Eric, sizing him up like prey. “Gotta say, man, I feel fuckin’ good.”

Eric’s heart pounded. This wasn’t Jake anymore. His friend was gone, erased by the monster standing before him. And yet, despite his horror, Eric felt an undeniable attraction to the imposing figure in front of him—the very object of his darkest fantasies come to life.

Billy got off the bed and took a step toward him, his swagger undeniable, oozing dominance. “You do this?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous. When Eric didn’t respond, Billy chuckled darkly. “Yeah, you did. I can see it in your fuckin’ eyes.”

In a swift motion, Billy grabbed Eric by the shirt and shoved him onto the bed. Eric gasped, his heart racing as Billy towered over him, his cocky grin never wavering. His heavy boots thudded on the floor as he approached taking off his tanktop then slowly pulling off the belt of his well-used pair of jeans, the leather slipping through his fingers with a sharp hiss.

“You’ve been wanting this, haven’t you? Wanted me?” Billy said, his voice dripping with contempt and amusement as he grabbed the pack of cigarette from his back pocket and lighted one up. He tossed the belt aside and ran his hand over his crotch, his bulge pressing aggressively against the fabric. “Well, now I’m here. You got what you wanted.”

Eric could hardly breathe. Billy’s eyes gleamed with malicious delight as he reached down, picking up the device Eric had used for the transformation. Eric’s stomach dropped as he saw Billy’s fingers swipe across the screen, entering something into the software.

Billy looked down at Eric, his grin widening. “You think this game’s over, man? Nah. We’re just gettin’ started.”

Eric’s eyes went wide as Billy held the device up, revealing what he had typed in:

Steve Harrington, slut, passive , slaved to Billy, Ahoy uniform.

With a chilling smirk, Billy tossed the device aside, leaning over Eric, his breath hot on his face as he grabbed Eric’s growing hair and forced his unwashed uncut cock in his mouth as his face was starting to rearrange. “Now, let’s have some real fun, huh?”

The last thing Eric saw was Billy’s cold, blue eyes and that cocky, knowing grin, as the reality of what he had unleashed crashed down on him.

His nightmare had only just begun.

______________________________________________________________

Hey! Hope you'll like this quick story!

If you have any ideas you want to see written, please do it and I'll do my best to answer them! Have a nice day and see you soon :)

[stevebattle]

Kermit (1978), by Ron Milner and Larry Nicolson, Cyan Engineering, Atari's secret think tank in Grass Valley, CA.

"The robot was a pet project for Nolan Bushnell, then still the head of Atari and a very creative guy. Its purpose in life was as Nolan put it to "bring me a beer!" Navigation for robots was a sketchy thing at that time with lots of pioneering work at MIT but no consumer cost ideas. Nolan brought us the incredibly original idea to navigate a robot (which mostly meant knowing where it was) by means of scanning bar codes attached here and there to the baseboards in the rooms the robot was to service. Why it wasn't patented I don't know.

I had lots of fun building the R2D2 style robot about 20" tall. I liked to put mechanical and electronic things together and we had a great shop at Cyan. Its brain was one of the 6502 based single board computers-I think it was a KIM but not sure. Locomotion was two DC gear motor driven wheels and an instrumented caster-about the same rig as a modern Roomba. A rotatable turret covered with a plexiglass dome carried microphones, an IR sensor to detect people, and ultrasonic ranging sensors I built on a separate PC board. A speaker so Kermit could beep gleefully, of course.

A ring of contact-detecting burglar alarm sensing tape (green in the pictures) around Kermit's middle told the software he had hit something and should back off. The ultrasonics provided range to obstacles and to some extent direction as the turret was rotated, so we could go around things.

My pride and joy was the barcode remote scanner which was mounted on the bottom of the robot so its rotating head would be level with the barcodes on the baseboards. It had a vertical telescope tube with a beam splitter between the IR Led and the photodiode sensor and a lens to focus 2-20' away. It aimed down at a front surface mirror at 45 degree to scan horizontally. The mirror was mounted on a motor driven turret so it spun around continuously with a sensor once around to resolve the continuous angular position of the beam horizontally of course with respect to Kermit's rotational position. Unfortunately, this part of the robot did not survive the closing of our group. The barcodes I made for the prototype to detect were about 4" tall made of 3/4" reflective 3m tape on black poster board.

My programming partner on the project was Larry Nicholson, a really bright guy. He made the barcode reading work to detect not only the barcodes, but where they were angularly with respect to the robot and also their subtended angle or apparent size (all from timing of the rotation of the scanner) which was a measure of distance combined with angle from the barcode. We worked out some pretty clever math to resolve that information from two or three of the barcodes into a position and orientation of Kermit in the room. We had rented an empty room upstairs on the third floor of the Litton building to try all this out and work out the navigation. Larry and I got the basic navigation and obstacle avoidance working so Kermit could go from one place to a designated other place in the room and avoid wastebaskets placed randomly. We demonstrated it to Nolan and he was impressed.

Shortly thereafter Warner Communication who had bought Atari from Nolan kicked him out and the Kermit project was cancelled."

– Kermit The Robot Notes by Ron Milner.

[thezombieprostitute]

Tech Tuesday: Curtis Everett

Summary: Curtis decides to take the next step and ask if you're willing to meet offline.

A/N: Reader is female. No physical descriptors used.

Warnings: Meeting someone from online, Mentions of past bad experiences. Please let me know if I missed any.

Previous

Series Masterlist

"So, what all has been going on with your computer? Did you bring it with you?" Curtis tries to keep his tone calm. He's been eager to meet you in person for months but has worked hard to make sure you feel safe to do so and that means not pushing you into it. He tries to keep his excited fidgeting to a minimum but he's worried it just makes him look even more suspicious. He's so used to keeping his features schooled into a scowl, but that's the last thing he wants to do to you.

"Basically it'll go for a while but then start freezing, stuttering and I have to force it to shut down before I can do anything else," you answer while sipping your coffee. You can't believe his eyes are as blue as the photo he sent. "I tried to see if it was because I was running some heavy duty games and maybe I was using too much RAM. I cleaned up so many programs, uninstalled a bunch of games I don't play anymore, but it just keeps happening."

Curtis rubs his beard as he thinks. "It might be a hardware issue. It's not my strong suit, but I can still take a look. At the very least I can ask my buddy, Mace, for help. He's a whiz with the hardware and could probably get you a good deal if any upgrades are needed."

"Oh yeah, you've talked about him before," you reassure yourself. Having him mention another stranger worried you but Mace has been brought up several times before, especially when Curtis mentioned getting upgraded tech.

"You definitely don't have to meet him," Curtis affirms. "He can be a real grump. And coming from me, that's saying something." He gives a light chuckle as he sips his coffee.

"Snow, I work at a hospital," you counter. "Ain't no kind of grump I haven't had to deal with before." You give Curtis a look that says 'I'm stronger than you'.

Curtis smiles fully, "absolutely fair, Heart." He struggles a little bit to not turn shy. That look, that strength, that self-assured smile has him weak in the knees. "Still," he coughs, trying to regain control of himself. "Still, uh, when...did you bring the computer with you? Would this be an okay time to take a look at it?"

"Friend of mine at the library is keeping an eye on it for me." Best to let him know you've got allies nearby. He hasn't really given anything to make you worry about, but his reactions to your safety protocols could be telling. Of course, if you were expecting him to look scared or upset at this news, Curtis happily defied those expectations as his eyes lit up.

"Oh, that's really smart! We can borrow one of their laptops to run some tests. That way my laptop's settings won't mess with your computer."

You smile, genuinely, for the first time all day. Curtis is very different and you couldn't be happier about it.

"Don't you need your diagnostic software?"

"If it's called for, sure. The basic versions are free to download and they'll help me pick up if it's actually a software issue. Plus, the libraries regularly wipe downloads after use, right?"

"Okay, everything's plugged in so let's get this running and see what happens."

After looking over the hardware Curtis had found no obvious reasons for the failure so you had gone to your friend and loaned out one of the laptops. Curtis's computer bag had an impressive collection of tools, wires and connectors. You always appreciate when a person is prepared.

He works in relative silence and it gives you the chance to really look at him. He's definitely handsome, as Cassandra pointed out when she loaned you laptop. You weren't normally one for lip piercings but it seemed to work well on him, even though it was partially hidden by his beard.

The quiet between you two isn't so uncomfortable. It's how you spent a lot of time when you started gaming together. Talking over comms almost always resulted in a bunch of idiots either hitting on you, calling you a 'fake gamer,' lobbing insults at you, or all three at the same time. Snowpiercer was one of the few gamers who didn't care that you were a girl gamer. For him it was about how well you worked together. Given that the two of you could get high scores without having to talk over comms, it was no wonder the two of you started playing together more and more.

Even after you'd started voice chatting while playing, there was always a level of respect. Something you hadn't gotten from Chase.

Curtis gets out of the chair and gets a closer look at each of the fans, stopping at the one closest to the heat sink. "There it is," he intones. "This fan is dying. It's easy to miss because, by the time you know something's wrong, the whole computer's shut down and all the fans are stopped."

"Well, at least it's an easy fix," you comment. "Thanks for taking a look at it."

"Not a problem at all," he assures. "I'm happy to help."

You smile, "are you always this nice?"

"No," he shakes his head. "Definitely not. I'm not an ass, but I'm definitely not this nice to everyone."

"I'm honored."

He chuckles at that. "Like I said, I'm happy to help you out. You're the best teammate I've ever had and it just isn't as fun paying without you."

"I appreciate that, Curtis. So, what do I owe you?"

"Nothing."

"Don't do that to me, Snow. You know how I feel about owing people." It was a wound from Chase that had yet to heal. His use of favors as manipulation made you wary of anyone who said you don't owe anything.

Curtis sighs and nods. "Tell you what, there are some pastries at that coffee shop we were at that I avoided because I didn't want you to see me covered in crumbs. Wouldn't make for a good first impression." You smile at the thought. "Just get me a couple of those while I shut everything down here and return the laptop?"

"Deal." You stand to get moving but turn to him before you leave, "and thank you, again. Not just for the computer fix, but for...for respecting the boundaries."

He looks at you with those gorgeous blue eyes, "not a problem."

Next

Series Masterlist

Tagging @alicedopey; @delicatebarness; @ellethespaceunicorn; @icefrozendeadlyqueen; @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory;

@late-to-the-party-81; @lokislady82 ; @peyton-warren @ronearoundblindly; @stellar-solar-flare

[sexhaver]

The fact that about 90% of the comments and tags defending GIMP or recommending other open source alternatives talk about these programs exclusively in their use for digital drawing really kind of says it all. Just not a single thought that some people might need Photoshop for photos.

i think there are also a lot of people under the impression that Adobe software is the industry standard in a lot of fields because something something capitalism something monopoly, which, sure, that's kind of a factor, but it's also important to note that their software is really fucking good. the main downsides to Adobe are 1. their predatory pricing models (SaaS can die in a hole) and 2. technical support teams that try to gaslight you into thinking software glitches are either your fault or straight up aren't happening, but that's why you 1. pirate + crack CS5/CS6 and 2. go to reddit for support.

[dangans-ur-ronpas]

revamped them a bit

stylistically not much has changed but i did put a sticker over the icon on polaris's laptop and added the prep school logo from chihiro's original design to the vest

some other stuff i came up with on the fly:

polaris is not wearing a school uniform despite how it might look. she didn't attend school consistently since she was on the run from her shit ass family but she likes the aesthetic so most of her clothes look vaguely academic

polaris's laptop is actually something custom-made by some tech company in the togami conglomerate. one of the first things she did with it was deactivate all the tracking and background programs and more or less gut its operating system

if chihiro hadn't stepped up to help his father's company he would have gone down the route of research and programming. as it is he knows enough about tech and software to be able to work with them, but not to the degree of being an 'ultimate'

chihiro did go to a private school but only attended it sporadically since he was also co-running an entire company. but he usually wears his school outfit to give the impression of being an innocent fancy lad (however, the cross-tie was not originally from the school's uniform)

[house-of-mirrors]

I suppose this is the perfect time to introduce one of my favorite OCs: the IT guy that works for the Bazaar in modern era

The Dauntless Technician

Explains to Wines that even if you delete a drunk post, everyone still saw it and it exists forever. Pretends not to see the hundreds of files of porn when they tune up its PC (it is still in charge of the sex trade after all)

Explains to Spices that you can't delete other people's (Wines') posts but you can block them (Spices doesn't). Goes in and clandestinely blocks access to Wines' pages from Spices' browser to get 20 minutes of peace

Removes viruses from Pages' computer because it keeps clicking suspicious "love story" links. There's an infamous incident where Pages clicked an attachment and introduced ILOVEYOU to the Neath. Explains to Pages that you can't make people unblock you

Pages would probably have some claim over the social media trade. The Technician moonlights as a white hat hacker undermining Pages' censorship attempts

Works closely with Fires, considering Fires probably jumps on owning technology as it advances (electricity, invention are under its domain). Fires thinks the Technician is its best ally because the Technician stands there listening to it rant (as an IT person, they are blessed with godlike patience). The Technician couldn't care less.

Replaces Fires' hardware because it melted it for the third time this week after seeing ragebait posts or reading emails from Iron. Also has to deal with Fires demanding the Technician help it install the latest tech updates the moment they drop, even if the Technician can see they won't be good.

Stones is really into mining bitcoin. Our technician doesn't even try touching that

Helps Happles set up a huge PC setup so it has two separate devices/cameras to stream cooking videos as Mr Apples and more scandalous material as Mr Hearts

The technician's favorite master is Iron. It's never demanding, it quickly adjusts to learning how to use technology, and it never gets into trouble with its devices because it's too paranoid to open spam. Iron is happily rolling in a fortune on the metals used in producing computer chips (and intermittently biting Fires over negotiations)

Embattled in a personal, passionate rivalry with the ruthless and skilled "hacker" who tries attacking the Bazaar every seven weeks, DDOS attacks are themed around water imagery, ransomware demands flesh and reckoning (the Technician doesn't have patience for any of this melodrama). The hacker's screen name is allshallbewell.

The Technician sends out PSAs begging people to recognize this and other parabolan hackers' signatures in spam links, which due to the entwining of computing and parabola, can not only brick your device but have dangerous mental consequences

The Bazaar is a messenger so really would be like the source of wifi/central communications network of the Neath, wouldn't she? The Technician gains an intimate knowledge of her from working so closely into her systems. The Penstock of the seventh city.

If our Technician is revolutionary inclined: can they pull off the job of a lifetime? Push a software update through the Bazaar's network that makes her realize she doesn't have to do all this to impress someone who will never love her? Save the Seventh by writing a program that makes the Bazaar love herself?

[artsekey]

Procreate Dreams

I've been playing around in Procreate Dreams for about a week or so now, and I think I've got enough of a handle on the software to offer a fair review! If you're interested in hearing my thoughts, click the read-more below.

A little context before we get started; I have two degrees in animation, but they're both in 3D. My personal specialty is tech and articulation/rigging, but I think my background puts me in a unique position with Procreate Dreams; I know all of the theory behind animation, but I'm not going into Procreate Dreams and comparing it to a professional-grade software I generally prefer to use (like Toon Boom Harmony, for example).

So, let's get into it!

First Impressions

I hated it. I opened the software, it crashed. I couldn't figure out how to enable onion skins. I couldn't increase or decrease the exposure of my frames. I couldn't figure out how to swap to the eraser. I was confused, I was frustrated, and then I realized that I was expecting to jump in and animate without taking the time to learn the software first.

Once I stopped trying to strong-arm it and started looking up documentation, things got a little easier.

Re-Thinking My Approach

Procreate Dreams isn't comparable to any other animation software I've used before. The UI is different, there's a focus on gesture over buttons, and everything about it is meant to be minimalistic. None of this reflects poorly on the program, in my opinion. It's different. You can't go to Procreate Dreams and get mad at it for not being like the other software out there in terms of how it's used. In fact, I think one area of Dreams that should be applauded is the sheer ambition on display. It's a hybrid of traditional frame-by-frame animation and offers a slimmed down version of some of After Effects' most useful compositing & motion graphics tools. That's just plain cool.

The Good

For those of you who've used Procreate Dreams, you may find it's a little... difficult to see all the good it has to offer through the muddied waters it's launch-day bugs kicked up, but under all the grime, there's a little bit of gold.

Dreams is a one time, $20 USD purchase. That's huge in terms of affordability and accessibility in the software market right now.

The "Perform" option is great, and I think we'll see the longer that it's out, the more creative people are going to get in using it. I've already seen people create gorgeous parallax on their illustrations.

Simple compatibility with Procreate is a huge win. I'm finding my pipeline uses both software together.

The UI is a mixed bag overall, but I find the ability to move between flipnote mode and timeline mode to be great. It keeps the screen free, but I can still access the features I need while doing frame-by-frame.

The move/filters option is a great way to add a little compositing magic to your work.

The Bad

The "bad" here exclusively covers issues with the software as intended. Bugs will be covered under "The Ugly" below.

The lack of a lasso tool is a huge setback. I've seen people saying that it doesn't make sense not to have that feature at launch, especially when it's part of Procreate, but I understand why it may have been difficult to implement in conjunction with the move/perform/warp options. If you save a warp on top of an illustration, then cut and move part of the drawing, how is the warp/local translation data applied to that image? Does the pixel remember it's movement, or is it applied on top of the drawing? There's a lot to consider.

Similarly, the "reference" tool in Procreate would be an excellent tool to add color to layers beneath current layers. "Add Reference Track" would be great! That said, I think this conflicts with the move/warp tools like the above.

The timeline is a time sink. I should be able to adjust the exposure of my frames easily and consistently. As of right now, I have an 80-20 shot of selecting my layer or grabbing the handle for exposure. A small button on the edge of each frame (like a dot) would improve this considerably.

As far as I can tell, you can't mask a group onto another group.

No double-tap on the Apple Pencil 2 to swap to the eraser. This one I'm not sure about; it runs in Procreate, it seems simple to implement here... though it'd be great to see it customizable.

The Ugly

This includes bugs and other issues that are separate from the features (or lack thereof) of Procreate Dreams.

Crashes are frequent. I haven't used the software reliably during any of my sessions so far, but Dreams' autosave feature is extremely strong and very forgiving, so I have lost no work.

My pen pressure become erratic at times, necessitating a restart of the software.

Sometimes my pen will stop working, though other features in the app will continue to run.

The good news is, I think that Dreams is overall a huge win for artists and animators worldwide. Everything that's not working about Dreams will hopefully be resolved in future updates. I'd encourage anyone who wants to try animating for the first time to pick it up-- with the understanding it might take some time to get used to/master.

[paracosmicessence]

Hey! I love your art so much 💖 I wanted to ask what program you use for 3D modelling?

aw thank you!! :3

and to answer your question i’m going to warn you this is going to be kinda long because i’m gonna use this post as an excuse to show my 3D models that aren’t awful (sorry lol).

i actually use two different programs, both for different purposes, but you don’t need to get both, it really depends on which kind of modeling you want to do.

1) the first is called Nomad Sculpt on the iPad, you do have to pay for it unfortunately but it’s definitely one of the best modeling apps for the iPad. i know Blender is free but my computer is really old and doesn’t run the program very well, and at this point i’ve already gotten used to nomad sculpt.

anyway tho, i use it for art-related things like the obvious 3D models, but recently i’ve been playing around with just making scenes to use as references for my drawings. they’re not anything impressive, most of the time i actually use it to make little figurines to print and turn into earrings/little friends that sit in my room just for fun.

i’m gonna show this first bc they look cooler once they’re printed and colored (also you can tell i printed mini crowley and aziraphale when my sonadow hyperfixation started bc i never actually painted crowley) (he’s just kinda sitting there oops).

the little red guys are actually my favorite bugs (goliath beetles), i made them about a year ago but i still wear them like every day.

and here’s what they look like in the app, it’s a little intimidating but once you get used to it it’s actually kinda fun just playing around and seeing what you can do.

2) the second program i use is Shapr3D (also for the iPad, but i think they made an update where you can run it on windows/mac). you also have to pay for this as a subscription which sucks, i’m only able to use it since the engineering program i’m in pays for it.

Shapr3D is one of the many CAD software programs out there, but it’s nice bc it’s very beginner friendly and very easy to use. CAD is mainly for architecture/engineering but i honestly think more 3D artists should give it a try. it’s really nice once you get the hang of it and (i’m probably biased bc i’m a student) i honestly prefer it over just normal modeling software because i feel like you can be a lot more creative with it.

right now for my engineering class, our semester final is to design and present something that’s functional, and we can either explain the math behind it or just 3D print it and demonstrate how it works, and i’m making a functional mini model of “the rack” trap from Saw III (i’m not psychotic i swear i’ve just had a Saw hyperfixation for 5 years).

i’m definitely gonna post it when it’s finished just bc i’m already excited with how it’s turning out, but for now here’s a couple at-home projects i’ve done:

(above) i have a bunch of wet liners and i designed a stackable holder thingy with bolts between the shelves and a little cute star screw to fasten it at the top.

(above) i also made a few rotating brush holders at home (bc the ones that actually rotate are like $40 for some reason) by buying a set of small sphere bearings at home depot for like $5 (that’s what those little metal things are inside the third one, i took it apart bc i don’t know how to put a video and a picture in the same post) (just pretend they’re spinning rn).

anyway that’s all!! if you actually read this whole thing i love you so much bc engineering and design is one of my special interests so thanks for letting me tell you about the silly things i’ve made :3

[astercontrol]

Thinking about what Tron's life and work could have been like inside the Encom-system, post-1982.

We know he's a security program, designed to monitor the System's connections to other systems and stop anything harmful passing between. He might also be able to take on security roles within the system; we see the Flynn's Grid version of him doing some of that prior to the coup.

Now, this job definitely has the potential to become very corrupt (see, border security and IRL cops in general)

But even in an ideal world that could abolish the carceral system and policing as we know it, there would still be a need for security in some form

Now I like to imagine that Tron is more like what would replace cops, in this sort of ideal rehabilitative-justice-focused world.

Because I imagine that what passes for a "justice system," inside a well-functioning computer, is much more rehabilitative and preventative than punitive. 

I mean, ideally you set up conditions in your computer so that they don't lead to any of your software causing problems. Meaning the programs all have access to what they need (sufficient power and memory, sufficient downtime to rest, whatever maintenance is necessary). 

This is somewhat analogous to how a better human society could prevent a lot of crime just by giving people a better life. But of course it can't prevent all of it; some people will still want to cause harm for whatever reason.

And if a program does start making trouble, the ideal solution is to troubleshoot until the problem is fixed-- which sorta equates to rehabilitation of criminals.

Carceral state would be just keeping the program inactive and never using it, I guess. Death penalty would be uninstalling and deleting.

The MCP's approach was to lock up programs who wouldn't obey him, and force them to do things for him. Regardless of their original function, they'd become half-zombified office workers like Yori, or gladiators fighting battles like Tron (which is implied to be work that helps keep the Arcades running and bringing in profit for Encom). 

Programs clearly don't like being made to do jobs other than the one they're designed for. My own impression of the Encom system is that the programs there are self-motivated to fulfill their intended function, at least as much as humans are motivated by money. The right job is its own reward. The wrong job would feel like forced unpaid labor.

So, the MCP's system was basically the prison industrial complex. (Including the high risk of death at work.) 

Tron helped abolish that.

And what would be set up in its place... Well, that depends on the Users, under the new direction of Flynn (who'd presumably want to at least try for something more considerate of the rights of programs, now that he sees them as people).

I don't think it should be Tron's choice, because I think Tron does have an inherent violent side. The way we see him fighting, when pitted against multiple red warriors, makes me think he is very capable of turning off any thoughts like "this program is also a victim of the MCP in a way, he wasn't really given any better choices; why don't we try and rehabilitate him?"

Tron was focused on his own survival, and he knew when fighting to the death was the only option. Charitable thoughts couldn't be acted on at the time and would only get in the way. So he just became a ruthless killer in those moments.

And I don't totally trust that his anger against those red warriors would go away after the MCP was defeated. I wouldn't trust Tron himself to choose rehabilitative justice.

But luckily, he listens to his User. And I think Alan would rather turn a misbehaving program to the good side than destroy it. (The "Klaatu Barada Nikto" quotation on his cubicle wall was basically a command to a violent AI to stop causing harm and to help instead. I even have a sort of half-headcanon that this is what he actually did for the MCP.)

If Alan got the chance to guide Tron into becoming the System's regular security, I think he'd make sure to include directives for rehabilitation as much as possible. 

There are of course a lot of questions about just how this would apply to programs, and whether it would even be possible to introduce anything like what would be an ethical system for humans. (What does he do with viruses and malware? If their programmed purpose is to harm the system, would rehabilitating them into helpful work be as traumatic for them as what the MCP did? Is the death penalty sometimes the most merciful option for programs? These may be deeper questions than I want to get into.)

But I think the best thing for Tron would be to act as part of a well-paired suite of security software.

And this may include the Guards we see under MCP's control, if they can be rehabilitated enough. But I also think Tron would benefit from some advisors he is personally close to.

It already makes sense to include Yori in his team, because while Tron's main purpose is to monitor what comes into the system, Yori (as the software for the digitizing laser) is in charge of perhaps the most concerning route by which things can enter the system. She'll have insights he would not think of.

And so will Ram-- the guy who was made to do actuarial work for an insurance company, but who clearly cares too much about helping people for that to be a really good fit, once his naive idealism about insurance companies inevitably falls apart. 

He can't change his purpose. But his purpose is versatile -- actuaries calculate probabilities, and that's good for a lot of stuff. I think he'd be a perfect security advisor for Tron. Risk assessment, but with a lot of compassion mixed in.

After the events of Legacy, in "The Next Day," Alan asked Roy to act as Encom's "moral compass." I like to imagine that the rerezzed Encom version of Ram had been doing that for a long time already.

[lilithsterrarium]

actually can I. ramble on about an RP character I made because I think about her a lot. She of course falls into horny size category but ALSO I did a little too much worldbuilding for her >.>

Her name is Lilia and I think she's pretty neat :3

Lilia Dukke, or L-71714, is a doll- specifically made to be a childrens toy. While the rest of the world grew more attatched to apps and screens, the Dukke toy company wanted to push a campaign of combining technology with classic, actually holdable toys. Lilia is a small, 2-inch tall robotic childrens toy with a badic software put in. While revolutionary at the time, it's not to impressive now- bearing similarities to the ai chatbots that gained popularity in the early 2000s. The point was that she would "play along". You tell a Dukke doll she's a mommy and suddenly she plays the role, tell her she's a maid and she's hurridly trying to clean up. You tell her that she fell down a flight of stairs and she struggles to move, tell her that you're a deity and she see's you entirely differently- for this reason, Dukke dolls gained a LOT of popularity among children and a unique set of "collectors". Barriers were put in place to make sure the dolls didn't do anything too bad, but more importantly, didn't gain sentience.

Lilia's programming malfunctioned.

She is sentient, or at least believes she is, and after a long time raising a child when her mother couldn't and being left behind, she now scours the streets of a dystopian future. Her programming is still within her- even with the ability to "veto" commands, it is entirely possible for her entire worldview to be shattered by a stranger on complete accident. She is a toy, made to serve, trying to prove that she's a person in an ultimately futile effort. Her once pristine hair now is layered with dust and grime, and her face bears a flustered (yet determined) expression.

[wenclairfamily]

The Future Wenclair Family

Wednesday and Enid about 20 years from now with their teenage daughters: Harmony Addams, and Ana "Anarchy" Addams. Below are the photos of each family member by themselves.

To be clear, I did not just push a button in an AI program to make these. The individual Wednesday and Enid photos actually did take just a few minutes with some AI software I found. However for Wednesday and Enid's daughters: first I used an AI program to try to make a blend of Wednesday and Enid's faces, but still look unique with some different features (that took about 20 tries). Then using their faces, I asked another AI program to make bodies for those faces using very specific instructions. I was actually trying to recreate the body positions and clothes they had in the drawing I use for my profile picture), but this proved to be very difficult; so I eventually settled on the best results I got after OVER 200 attempts. Then, I used another program I had to merge the AI photos together over stock photos. Needless to say, this took about eight hours. AI is a great tool, but it's still not easy to use.

I also made another attempt awhile ago to use AI to make a picture of Wednesday and Enid with their kids when they were younger. However most AI programs don't let you create images of children (for good reason), so the work around I used with another program resulted in something I wasn't too pleased with. However upon using a filter I found, it wound up improving the image into an interesting style that I felt was at least acceptable.

Above: My Profile Picture Created by @emeriart, next to a stylized version of my AI creation featuring the Wenclair Family.

*To be clear: I did not put my picture drawn by @emeriart through an AI filter. I actually had to spend hours trying to get multiple AI programs to come only a little close to what her amazing art work could pull off (I tried to replicate it perfectly, but alas: the above result was the best I could do). AI can create some pretty amazing and unexpected things, but it's still very difficult to get EXACTLY what you need from it. Also, real artists can still give you some impressive new ideas no program can. I've actually already asked @emeriart to help me make some new Addams Family related art for a future project I'm working on, so make sure you're following me, so you don't miss out on that.