#prix op

[districtxii]

Thoughts upon finishing The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Spoilers unmarked ahead as it's been out for a while and the title of the post warns for them.

As I've mentioned in my other few posts about it so far, I came into TBOSAS as a movie-only watcher despite having been a book-first person back when the original Hunger Games films came out.

I've got to say that when I heard the idea of a prequel about President Snow which included a love story, my tumblr-raised self wasn't particularly interested. I remember seeing the book display at Walmart when it first came out and not really having time or interest at the time.

However, the movie trailer caught my attention, and I'm really glad that it did.

I am happy that TBOSAS, while having a single POV character in Snow, switched from first person narration to third person. I remember reading meta years ago that I wholeheartedly agree with. While one can make the argument that the "blindspots" one gets in the original trilogy themselves make a point, having a slightly more zoomed out, third person point of view just feels better for the scope of the story. As an English teacher, I can't help but feel like it's a little more mature, too.

But without the movie, I still don't know if I would have ever picked up this book in audio or visual format.

Funnily enough, looking back on the first four Hunger Games movies, I actually don't like them as much as I like the books for the most part. The visuals are good in parts, but I do not like the casting philosophy that was used. I sort of hope that we are around long enough to see remakes as a prestige miniseries or something like that.

Back to thoughts on TBOSAS: I remember seeing a few kind of poorly produced (sorry lol) thinkpieces on websites like ScreenRant that were insisting that you weren't getting the full picture from the movie, that the movie made Snow too sympathetic, that you have to understand he's a monster because he views Lucy Gray in an objectifying manner or because he gets Sejanus killed.

I think that those takes have a point. However, I think that they also miss the nuance of the narrative, and I am not even suggesting that the prose is particularly deep or esoteric. Just that people love to be reactionary.

What I saw in Snow's character throughout the book was someone who was warring with various philosophical and personal dilemmas without having anyone he ever really trusted to talk through it.

There are moments with Lucy Gray and with Sejanus when Coryo almost opens up completely. When he has real conversations with them. But, like Katniss, he is a traumatized person who has a lot of baggage which makes him strategize and behave defensively with every decision he makes.

If anything, Coryo is LESS closed off than Katniss is at first throughout most of the story.

I couldn't source it, but I distinctly remember reading someone suggest that they believed that Coriolanus became irredeemable when he got Sejanus killed. However, reading through his internal conflict about the decision to snitch on him was one of the times when I found Coriolanus the most human and relatable. He was torn in every direction. He is someone who is deeply propagandized into a fascist regime whose family has a personal narrative of power and meaning within that regime. He also believes that the Capitol is necessary and better than the alternative. He wants Sejanus to survive and to change his mind. He wants him to stop putting himself in danger. He wants him to stop implicating Coriolanus by association. And yet, Coriolanus does feel responsible and tied to him, however much he hates it.

Coriolanus defends himself from emotional attachment and the cost of loving anyone, romantically or platonically, as a defense mechanism.

It isn't until he works himself into a frenzy and narrates what Lucy Gray must be thinking out at the lake in the end that he finds himself so utterly alone in his own head that he has no choice in his mind except to give into his colder side that he associates with his father, the Capitol, and ruthlessness.

Interestingly, a running theme throughout the book - without ever being explicitly stated in these exact words - is that Coriolanus is irreligious and doesn't believe in gods, rituals, or an afterlife. Every time someone brings up the stars or fate or performs some kind of ritual associated with passing on an even in the scene where Lucy Gray sings about the hereafter and therebefore, he can't help but internally scoff at the idea. He holds himself as more enlightened than those who believe in such superstitions.

But then, when he is all alone and trying to navigate his way back to District 12 with his father's compass, he starts to believe that there is some kind of spiritual guidance and blessing from his father, whom he never even felt close to except as an idea.

I think that Coriolanus's internal journey is an exploration of opposites and the divide that Lucy Gray describes and how evil is rarely even a boundary over which one cannot cross back into good from. It's just that, at a certain point, Coriolanus cannot bear the weight of his own guilt and misgivings if he ever turns back to a "better" path.

On the subject of Lucy Gray: I've got to say that I thought the book was effective in showing Lucy Gray as someone with dimension and depth that Coriolanus saw glimpses of but never really fully understood. Had he stayed with her and not needed "civilization" so much, I believe he would have learned to see her as more and more of a full person. However, the way she is written in the book, it is really hard for me to get a mental image of her at all.

Again, I think that this is perhaps intentional as a part of this format of the story. However, I find that I appreciate Rachel Ziegler's portrayal of Lucy Gray so much because without it, I'm not sure I would find that much to emotionally invest in. This is actually quite the opposite, as I like my mental image of Katniss far more than JLaw's portrayal lol.

Anyway, those are my wrap-up thoughts.

[dyinginlasvegas]

One Day We'll Get Nostalgic For Disaster

This is the first chapter of an ensemble Fallout New Vegas fic by Prix, starring Arcade Gannon, Benny Gecko, Craig Boone, and a female Courier Six. Masterpost here. AO3 link here.

Saturday, January 22, 2281. 2:08 A.M.

It is the coldest night in January. Of course it is. That makes it all the more cliché.

Arcade stares at the ceiling with one wrist resting beneath his head. It’s warm in bed, helped by the presence of the man next to him. He doesn’t look over at him. Judging by the steady, deep rhythm of his breathing, he’s probably fast asleep anyway. The darkness is another good excuse.

Arcade thinks of what he will say if he disturbs him as he gets up to leave.

Is it kinder to lie? To give some excuse so transparent it would border on insulting?

Or would it be kinder to tell the truth?

‘I’m sorry, Emmanuel, but this isn’t going to work. Your lyrics are the most poetic words I’ve heard in Freeside, but we hardly know a thing about each other. And I can’t tell you. I won’t tell you. So it’s better if we leave it at this.’

Arcade feels a metaphorical weight settle over his chest. At the same time, he feels the tip of Emmanuel’s nose brush against the bare skin of his shoulder. The warmth in his breath just makes him shiver instead of adding to the sense of being sheltered from the night. Suddenly, he wants to be back at the Old Mormon Fort as quickly as possible, back to a tent and layers of clothing and blankets. Braving the elements is easier than braving the disappointment of yet another awkward goodbye.

He moves carefully, keeping steady as he sits up and swings his legs down over the edge of the bed.

‘Our flirtation and… courtship… has been delightful, but here we are, and I can’t say it. I know I’ll see you around, and I won’t know what to say.’

He’s careful not to stub his toes against Emmanuel’s guitar case – priceless as far as he is concerned – as he searches for the rest of his clothes.

‘I hope you keep writing your music. It’s almost a lost art.’

One thing he doesn’t like is that there is a second bed in the room. He knows that, west of Hoover Dam at least, most people are too concerned with staying alive to have anything to say about another person’s choice of intimate company. He isn’t sure what ‘the King’ would have to say about it, though.

‘One day you may sing on a stage for an audience worthy of your craft. But I’m no suitable patron for that. I have to get back to my work. The wasteland needs music, but it also needs medicine, and between the two of us, you’ve got quite the head start.’

Arcade pulls on his white coat and squints at the mirror that hangs on the wall just behind the door. It has a long, jagged crack that runs along near its frame. There are a lot of mirrors in the “school,” and for the moment he’s grateful. He can barely see through the blue-gray, hazy dark, even after putting his glasses back on.

He reaches out and carefully operates the door handle so as to make as little noise as possible. He looks back over his shoulder, more concerned about being heard within than without. While he opens the door a bit further, some light comes in from the hall which startles him for an instant. It shines right onto the bed and Emmanuel’s face.

Emmanuel doesn’t wake, though.

His coiffed hair has held up pretty well under the circumstances. The thought makes Arcade’s lips quirk into something that is almost a sad smile.

“Good night, Emmanuel,” he says softly before stepping out into the hall and quietly closing the door behind him.

He takes less care when he reaches the stairs. He walks toward the door as though he has just concluded a house call and nothing at all is unusual about his presence. It’s almost the truth.

Outside, he grits his teeth to prevent the cold night air from making them chatter. He trudges back down toward the Fort. About a block out, he turns back to watch The King’s School of Impersonation’s purple and blue neon sign glow and flash. It seems appropriately ‘cool.’

“Impersonation,” he says to himself, as if chiding. He turns his back and hunkers down a bit as he walks on against the wind that manages to breach Freeside’s walls.

Im-‘person’-ation has nothing to do with being a real person. He wonders if they know that – the rest of the Kings. He thinks that Emmanuel is mistaken about the definition of the word, but he hasn’t had the heart to tell him about the difference in ‘impersonation’ and ‘self-actualization.’ As much diversion as the past several weeks of closer acquaintance have provided, the waters have never run quite that deep. And because he’s walking away now, Arcade is secure in the fact that they never will.

[imprixnt]

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - SnowBaird 100x100 icons

Cross-posted from my Hunger Games sideblog @districtxii

Making icons primarily for dreamwidth, so they're 100x100 pixels, but you can use them. Due to their size, they will appear pixelated when zoomed in on the post, but if you right-click and look at the images themselves, they have been sharpened and optimized for appearance at 100x100. If you feel like giving credit or interacting with the post, I would appreciate it!

[overtake]

he's back :)

[stariightjoyy]

Lando and Oscar getting ready for the first qualifying for this season 🧡

📸: McLaren X account

[charleclercc]

[isawthesainz]

mclaren Mood.

[arom-antix]

Why Yuuri (before 2017) should not be allowed to write an autobiography

Okay, to those who might not follow figure skating as closely, I just need to point out that Yuuri, despite what he insists (unreliable narrator), did not do badly in the Sochi GPF.

We know from the flashback in episode 5 that Yuuri during his free skate fell on at least two of his jumps and touched down on one and it can be assumed he didn't do too well on his others. He says in episode 4 that he falls on jumps and makes up the gap with Program Component Scores (how artistic it was) which can also be seen on the protocol from his short program where his PCS is higher than his Technical Element Score (how technically sound it was). This is not how those scores usually relate except in certain cases (see Jason Brown, also known for his high PCS and (relatively) low TES though this is by choice).

This is Yuuri's short program protocol. If you don't know how to read this then all you need to know is that his total score was 82.80, 40.42 of that being TES and 42.38 being PCS.

Now, to relate that to the real world, in the 2015 Grand Prix Final, Daisuke Murakami scored a total of 235.49, scoring 83.47 in his short program and 152.02 in his free skate and placing 6th. As we can see, that's pretty darn close to Yuuri's score (82.80 in the short, 149.79 in the free, 232.59 total) and I would not be surprised if they were inspired by his scores since they're also PCS centric.

Sidenote: Looking at Yuuri's PCS here and comparing them to Murakami's, Yuuri's are higher, not having anything lower than 8.00. Based on the fact that he was likely very off-kilter, I'd say this is still a very respectable score (duh, Yuuri just can't accept that he's good). Boyang Jin who took 3rd in the short, 5th overall in the 2015 GPF had way lower PCS scores.

Anyway, here's Murakami's free skate protocol.

Murakami has 8 jumping passes in his free, 7 of which he lands with a two-footed landing on one and a stepout on another. He only falls ass on ice like Yuuri does once on his second quadruple salchow (which was supposed to be a combination. The << and REP are explained at the bottom of the protocol). He does not touch down at any point. Otherwise his jumps look fine to me, most of them barely having any ice spray and only his 3Lz+1Lo+2S combination getting a warning for an unclear edge.

If you don't know, falling is (kind of) the worst mistake you can make on a jump and the judges are required to both give a certain negative GEO (grade of execution) and a deduction of 1 point. Other mess-ups just give negative GEOs.

Murakami's FS score is 73.26 TES and 79.76 PCS which would mean Yuuri's scores are likely very similar. But he fell on two jumps, not one meaning his PCS would likely have been higher to make up the difference.

And if Yuuri's insinuation that he flubbed all his jumps in some manner is true (which I find highly unlikely, have some confidence) and he missed elements by either popping (opening too early which costs rotations but saves you from a fall) or just not doing them, his PCS would have needed to be even higher to make up for that.

Missing elements, like popping a double, triple or quadruple axel into a single (at least one double is required), results in that element not being counted at all. Zero. Zip. Nada. You get nothing for it if you can't make up for it later in the program. Even falling on a jump is better because that's at least a few points. So if that happened, he'd have a big gap to make up with his PCS.

To sum up: with everything that could have gone wrong for Yuuri, this is still a very good score, even on the international scene. And to highlight that, Murakami is happy when he finishes, even fist pumping.

And yes, there was still that 103.17 point gap between Yuuri and Viktor which is the same (okay, 94.95) for Murakami and Yuzuru Hanyu who took gold in the 2015 GPF. But, and I cannot stress this enough, Hanyu broke 3 world records with that score meaning Viktor likely did as well. No wait, scratch that, I know he did because Hanyu's score was 330.43 which Viktor beat by 5.33 points. Of course it's not going to be even close, are you kidding me?

Looking at the World Championships in 2016, Yuuri would, with that 232.59 score, still have taken 11th place. He'd have taken 16th in 2023 and that's with a single quad (I don't trust his quad salchow yet) in the age of quads (and that quad being the one with the lowest base value). I'm positive he'd have been able to do a Jason Brown whose PC scores are so good that he in 2023 placed 5th without a single quad and would have placed 3rd in 2016. Now, take that and throw Yuuri's quad toe loop and some confidence in there and you've got a Worlds podium finish before the series even starts.

And then in the season the show is in, he has his quad toe loop, quad salchow and quad flip. He might even have gotten the quad loop down in the 3.5 months between the Barcelona GFP and Worlds. I definitely see a world champion on the next level (if they'd give us it >:[ )

And scores always get higher over time, the world record having gone from Hanyu's 330.46 in 2015 to Nathan Chen's 335.30 in 2019 still standing in 2023 which is still less than Viktor's Sochi GFP score (335.76) (yes, the system has changed since 2015 but it's close enough that it doesn't really matter in this context. Viktor is OP no matter what).

Really, the fact that Yuuri's in the GFP at all should be all we need to know that he's insanely good. It might not technically be Worlds but my stars, Yuuri, it does basically make you 6th in the world.

BE. PROUD.

[sewellove-deactivated9782]

miami gp 2023

[violentdelightsandviolentends]

mclaren love being able to say “we’re fighting for both championships” without ever actually taking any action to fight for both championships.

it’s boring now, all talk and no action. tiring honestly. it feels like andrea stella and zak brown are watching an entirely different championship to the rest of us. it really says something when these podiums which should be celebrated just feel so disappointing

[brinelakes]

mm mario kart

[districtxii]

screencaps from kissthemgoodbye

Can I just say how much I like the design of the Academy uniforms in the movie?

We get the impression from the book that the Academy dress is based on older western standards of formal dress attire, with Coriolanus trying to wear ill-fitting dress shoes which are, understandably, not part of the issued uniform since they would need to be replaced more often.

I don't have deep insights about the costume design or my perception of its history, particularly about the accuracy of any of my thoughts, but I think it really works with the idea of Panem being a futuristic but reconstructed, post-apocalyptic society.

They hold America as a more recent but still-distant regime from which they're cherry-picking elements , just as they are with their recovered knowledge of Ancient Rome. They are people who have managed to obtain power and are trying to use everyone else's old homework to get it right to maintain that power and control.

I like that it reflects both conservatism and a kind of attempt toward progressive gender equality by including what used to be defining gender differentiating clothing as overlapping clothing for both young men and women. It feels like someone reenacting something or play-acting something which they have understood and partially understand or which they might have misunderstood.

I just have to wonder about the in-universe development of such an outfit, since it largely doesn't seem to be reflected by the style of dress in the Capitol as of the time of TBOSAS before the Capitol had quite returned to a freer sense of indulgence, consumerism, and prosperity as of Katniss's time.

[dyinginlasvegas]

One Day We'll Get Nostalgic for Disaster

This is the second chapter of an ensemble Fallout New Vegas fic by Prix, starring Arcade Gannon, Benny Gecko, Craig Boone, and a female Courier Six. Masterpost here. AO3 link here.

Friday, April 15, 2281. 11:29 P.M.

Benny eyes his own reflection in the bathroom mirror. The center of the mirror is perfect, free from tarnish, and the little bit of steam that lingers around its edges covers up the hairline cracks that snake inward from its frame. He makes another swipe with the towel along his jaw. He rinses the straight razor he used and folds it up. He carefully puts it back into place, out of sight from his guest. He knows that in a game with stakes this high, anyone is bound to get some funny ideas if the odds don't seem to be falling in their favor.

He drapes the almost-white towel over the edge of the old tub that shows its rust and tarnish in glaring comparison. The Tops isn't perfect, but it's a gem preserved from the old world – one of luxury, convenience, and safety he's here-to-now only started to dream about. And who knows what'll come when he has his ace-in-the-hole?

Benny smiles to himself as he tugs on his slacks. He shrugs the white shirt up to his shoulders and tugs it into place. He watches with satisfaction as the white-on-white of his undershirt and the crisp button-up makes him look sharp. The scars of the wasteland – of hunger and spending every day trying to stay alive – disappear under the cool, clean fabric that rests flat against his hips.

In a practiced movement, he tucks the shirts in, buttons and zips, and fastens his belt, all in a way that makes him feel far better than strapping on any armor out in the desert ever had. He does it with just as much purpose, though. No, more. Every job has a uniform, and this is the most important job ever. Next comes the tie, which might be his favorite part. It took some learning, but learning he was glad to do it. Now he could slide that baby into place in his sleep. Not that he'd want to miss it. The feel of silk is tenderer than the touch of any woman in the whole world. It ignores the calluses on his thumb and forefinger – everywhere he's ever been and everywhere he'll ever go to keep this life, this place and the life that comes with it. That tie whispers, Baby, you belong here with me, without uttering a word. He clips her into place against his shirt. He's got to keep that feeling close to his heart, after all. Then comes the pièce de résistance. No matter how much he loves his tie, the sport coat makes it. Every one of the Chairmen wears a tie; it's obligatory. But when Mr. House sent over the cases of supplies to get them on their feet, when he saw this, he knew it was his. It was the flashiest, and it could put your eye out if you stared at it too long under the harsh glare of electric light, but that meant it made a statement.

It tells everyone who he is. Everyone on the Strip knows him at a hundred paces. Hell, anyone who knows their own name in Freeside knows 'Benny,' too. In short, the coat has pizazz.. It's also handy for carrying other things that he needs to keep close to his chest. He feels the safety before putting Maria right where she belongs, silent as the desert night. Just outside the bathroom door, Benny steps into his shoes. He crouches down to tie their laces. To his left, he can hear movement and a soft hum. He's almost gotten used to her being around. Especially after tonight, he wonders if she'll finish anytime soon. He doesn't want this to stop being nice and wear out its welcome. He hisses softly as he stands up straight. If there's one part of his 'uniform' he doesn't like, it's the shoes. Sometimes he misses supple boots that formed to his feet, that knew the distance between him and the ground without compromise. He'll never breathe a word of it, though. He's willing to make sacrifices if it means the best outcome for him and his people. "Hey, Emi-Gal," he says magnanimously. He strolls up behind her in the relative gloom of the workshop. He places his hand on her shoulder while she is busy looking at a terminal that's all wired up to the dead Securitron that looms over them both. He doesn't let on when he crinkles his nose at the smell in the room. It reminds him of raw fish or piss, but she tells him it comes from damaged electrical equipment, and he's given her the best he's got to work with. He can live with it. "How's it swinging?"

As he leans in, he sees the smile his words bring to her face. He squeezes her shoulder, encouraging that smile to be followed by good news.

"I think I've figured out…" Emily says, trailing off as she punches a few more buttons on the terminal with a glare of concentration that intensifies the green glow that reflects on her glasses, "a way around our security problem." She looks up at him with a much more triumphant smile after she presses enter and the terminal proceeds to do some things on its own, apparently liking her fingers even more than Benny had a couple of hours ago.

Benny takes a step back and watches her blue eyes through her glasses.

"Do tell," he encourages her with a half-grin of his own.

"Well, there's… a lot of technical stuff you might find boring," she says.

How sweet it is of her to be concerned. And she's right. And if not bored, Benny is fairly confident he wouldn't understand it.

"Yeah, but…" he says, a little teasing but drawing it out of her, bit by bit. She's always been a little shy, but there's no room for shyness left between them now, he figures.

"I think the way to get around Mr. House's security protocols that might fry our friend even more than he already has been might be to not get around them at all," she says. Benny blinks. Then he narrows his eyes at her, a little suspicious. "You're saying we just turn it back on the way it was and hope your technical prowess will get me what I need?" he asks. There is a tinge of incredulity in his question that masks the boatload of it that he doesn't voice. It sounds like she might be trying to make herself indispensable to this project, and no matter how good she's been to him, that's something he can't have. "No!" she protests. His shoulders sag with some relief. "No," she repeats, and suddenly he finds her tendency to anxiously repeat herself a little endearing again. Her hands are up in a placating gesture that makes him feel nice and in control of the situation. She might be smarter than he is in the technical aspect, but he only trusts his own brain – his own gut – to find out what House is up to, or not up to, in the face of all the looming threats to this good thing they've got going. NCR, Legion, or even just plain hungry tribals wanting their piece. All those things are in need of a plan for when they happen to New Vegas. Mr. House is silent so much of the time, except when he makes his demands and conditions known and clear.

Benny needs to know what the plan is, if it exists. And if it doesn't, he's about to make damn sure there is one. It might just be time for a change in management. Benny draws a deep breath and exhales slowly. His fingers twitch at his sides. After a lifetime of knives being the solution to so many of life's problems, he has to school himself into placidity. The smile he paints on himself helps. "Well then, Miss Emily," he says, "what is it you're suggesting?" She tilts her head at him in an effort to match his charm. It works even as he sees right through it. It's cute, at least. "I think we can leave everything about his functions and access the same," she says. Her posture and demeanor straighten up into something much more plainspoken and earnest. "I've just taken the time to examine the AI's programming – his personality, so-to-speak," she explains gently. He does like that she takes the time to put things into regular-people-speak for him. It saves him time. "Bunch of grumpy cops," Benny says under his breath. "Yes," Emily allows, "but he doesn't have to be…" The way she trails off makes Benny's mind race to catch up. Too many possibilities present themselves to chase after. He'd rather she bring the right one to him. He waits, looking almost unimpressed. "... He could be a friendly little guy, er… big guy. Who's happy to do whatever you say…" she says. Benny doesn't miss the lewd note to the last phrase. It gives him a thrill, but not for the reasons he knows she's hoping. He has business to attend to now.

He reaches out and takes her shoulder, subtly guiding her back toward the terminal. He's eager to know for himself if what she's saying is possible. "How far along are you?" he asks. "Oh, well…" she says, clearing her throat softly. She seems to be trying to recover herself a bit, backtrack. Probably from disappointment that he hadn't taken note of her advances. He had, and he almost feels a little sorry for her. Still, bigger fish. "That's what I was working on," she says with added conviction. She loses it again in her next words: "... before our, uh��� room-service-break." He thinks her face looks pinker in the green glow that shines against it. "You're saying it's…" "Ready," she agrees. "I think." "You think," Benny says with something wavering between humor and horror. His eyes are wider when he leans over to look at her eyes more directly. "Tell me, exactly, what happens if your little plan doesn't work?" "I've made sure his passive monitoring systems have been wiped and turned off the entire time he's had a power source, and he hasn't been on House's network since… well, the day you procured him, I'm guessing," she explains. "So if I turn him on and my work turns out to be all-for-nought, then hopefully the worst thing that happens is that he wakes up, sees us, and asks some awkward questions. As long as you don't say anything incriminating in front of him, he'll probably roll out of here, confused but not suspecting a thing." She glances away from Benny's eyes, licking her lips a bit in a way he doesn't think has anything to do with seduction. He thinks he knows the track her mind has gone now. "Listen, Emily," he says, using her name like currency. "Nothing criminal 'bout what you're helping me do, right? I promise I've got nothing but the best intentions for New Vegas. I thought you Followers would agree that Vegas's safety and future don't need to be locked up in the old man's ivory tower."

"I want to make sure that he's taking into consideration the well-being of all of New Vegas," Emily agrees, with conditions. "Not just the Strip." "Yeah, 'course," Benny agrees quickly. He remembers what it's like out there. He can't extend the shade over the whole Mojave and has no intention to try. But New Vegas - Freeside and the Strip alike - isn't going to stop needing doctors and scientists if it's going to have the illustrious future he hopes for it. "Do you care?" Emily asks. "'Course I do," Benny asks, returning her vague question with an equally vague answer. "So you're telling me if you switch him on, I either get everything I've asked you for… or nothing. He rolls out of here and I'm back at square one." "That's pretty much the size of it." "Winner take all," Benny mutters to himself. He paces just a little, pressing his fingers into the safety of his coat pockets. He looks up at the Securitron and its deep, black, blank screen that presently shows a smooth reflection of his own face, tallying up the risk and its worth. Then he turns a brave-face smirk back to Emily. "I'll take those odds." He strides back over to Emily as she watches his eyes, tracking for what he wants her to do. He nods toward the terminal. "You want to do the honors?" he suggests, though unless it's pressing 'enter' or balancing the books for the Tops he knows she pretty much has to. "If you're sure you're ready," she says. She turns toward the terminal, hands hovering at either side of its keypad to wait for permission. "Born ready," Benny agrees with a bit of a wolf in his smile. He comes over to her, trying to sweeten the deal. He leans in behind her until his body is flush against hers – through their clothes this time. He reaches out with gentle hands and touches the backs of hers. His fingertips travel the valleys between the tiny bones that run into her hand and stops when his hands completely overshadow hers. He grips them softly. "Together?" he asks.

He eases up on the grip and lowers his chin to her shoulder. He breathes in and out, the image of a man at ease. Her skin smells like rain and earth, and he finds that he doesn't mind. "Mm-hmm," she hums, agreeing through what seems to be some tension he's brought back into her body. He straightens his posture but can't help the self-satisfaction. He keeps true to his word about this part and lets his hands hover over her forearms, just above her wrists, allowing her to move with a shared sense of complicity as she types in the commands to cause their – his – Securitron to wake. There is a very solid clack as she presses down the 'enter' key one more time and draws her hands away. Benny lets his hands slide all the way back to the crook of her elbows as he looks up at the Securitron. For a moment, he believes that nothing is happening. Then he notices a familiar little blinking rectangle of light in the bottom left corner of the Securitron's face. A flurry of bright white text scrolls down it afterward. A Securitron's face is a screen, after all. Then every pixel on the screen glows with that same white. It's absolutely stunning, literally. 'A little bit of payback, there, buddy?' Benny thinks as he squeezes his eyes shut and prays that they work their way back into focus when he opens them. He finds that his hands have gripped Emily by the inside of her elbows. He has drawn her back away from the terminal, and it's hard to tell if he's using her as a shield or trying to protect her. The real answer is probably a little bit of both. He wishes her no ill-will, but it's all a question of priorities. "Hey!" the Securitron says in a sudden, bright issuance of sound that matches its outburst of light. Its screen brightness adjusts itself to the gloom of the back room that has served as Benny's – really, Emily's – workshop of late. Finally, Benny can see again, save for the couple of green and magenta rings that keep bouncing around his field of vision. "Hello! Hi… Hi there?" the Securitron continues. At the very end, it sounds just the least bit nervous. After one more blink, Benny makes out a black pattern on the robot's face. It looks real happy, almost like something they'd have put on a box of something for kids.

Benny disentangles himself from Emily completely and steps out from behind her. He hears her laugh, and he thinks she sounds almost too happy. "Look, he's even got a face!" she says. "Didn't you program him?" Benny hisses at her, though he's not sure whispering works around these things. "Oh! There you are," the Securitron says with a surprising amount of emotion. It seems to want to shout everything to the best of its ability. This time, it sounds some combination of thrilled and relieved. "Yes, I have recently been reprogrammed. My personal database tells me that I have been offline for approximately…" It pauses. "... three weeks?!" That overriding tone of excitement never goes away, even as the thing sounds like it wishes to be downright horrified. Benny didn't think a robot could be horrified. He finds that he doesn't want to think about it. "Yeah, had a little bit of an accident there, buddy," he says, stepping in front of the robot where it seems logical that they would be able to see each other. "I helped you out of a scrape." He doesn't mention that he caused the scrape. Need-to-know. Besides, it'd be good to know if a potentially lethal police robot – even if it is a repurposed one – harbors any grudge toward him. And, if it doesn't, he definitely isn't going to give it a reason to start. Then something occurs to him. "Did you do anything about his weapons systems?" he asks, looking over at Emily.

"My weapons systems are fully operational!" the robot cries proudly. Benny's eyes widen involuntarily. He swallows, hopefully not too noticeably. He hears something whirring. The robot hadn't sounded angry about the whole scrape-situation, but he doesn't think the robot can sound angry anymore. He feels his heart thudding harder inside his chest. "... However," the Securitron continues, "my locomotive systems seem to be inhibited by some obstacle. Oh, that is very unusual," he says apologetically. "Yeah, pal, see… we… uh… put the brakes on you," Benny explains, keeping his cool. He nods down to the rubber straps and metal hooks which were used to make sure that the Securitron was itself secure in more ways than one while it had been apparently offline. "For your own safety, of course." He glances at Emily with a sort of conspiratorial look. Or maybe it's a cry for help from his partner-in-crime. A crime that's for the good of everyone, really, and therefore not really that criminal. "Oh. That's silly," the robot announces to Benny's mild chagrin. "My function is to provide safety and security. There is no need to provide me with the same. It renders my purpose redundant." "Oh," Benny echoes. "Well–" Finally, Emily steps into the apparent 'view' of the robot and chimes in. "Not to change the subject," she says, as she proceeds to change the subject, "but what do you remember?" she asks. She too glances over her shoulder at Benny, giving him a 'don't fuck this up,' look. She'll be getting no arguments on that one. He raises one hand and nods in measured surrender.

"Oh. Well, I…" the Securitron says. There are some beeping sounds that do not emit from the same speakers that emit its synthesized voice. "I'm afraid you're going to have to be more specific! I apologize. I could list every memory in my system, but my calculations suggest that it would take several years. My human-interaction courtesy protocols indicate that this is inappropriate and inefficient. Unless you would like me to override…?"

"No!" Emily says. "No, that won't be necessary," she says to him in a soothing tone.

Without asking for Benny's permission, she leans down and removes one of the cords from around the body of the machine at what one might call its 'waist.'

"Hey," Benny starts to complain in a harsh, commanding tone, but he is cut off by the robot starting to move. He realizes that Emily's insubordination might be the least of his problems and trains his attention on the machine.

It seems to be simply moving right to left, slowly. When it has exhausted most of its range of motion, it centers again without a fuss.

"Ah, that is much better. Thank you! I can now fully monitor this room and the secret passageway behind it!"

"The what?" Emily asks.

"Never mind that," Benny interrupts. He stands so he and Emily are side by side. He then folds his arms across his chest. "The lady asked what you remember. What do you remember about the day you went offline?"

"Well, I…" There is another pause for the machine to search itself. Without any change to its bright, smiling face, it says: "I was performing my usual security patrols when something stopped me. I don't remember what."

"Good enough for me," Benny says, mostly speaking to Emily. She shushes him, which he thinks is far more suspicious than anything he had said to her.

"I hope you don't mind my asking," the Securitron says, "but my function is to provide safety and security. This room seems to be both safe and secure! However, my locomotive systems still are not fully operational. I'm afraid I cannot continue my patrol protocol until I receive further manual assistance." "Well, see. Your function has changed just a little bit," Benny tries to explain. "Really?" the robot asks. "I'm sorry," it says after a brief pause. "I am a PDQ-88b Securitron. My optimal function is to provide safety and security. If you would like a robot for another function, might I allow you to access the most recent issue of the House Industries Catalog or give you the contact information of a RobCo Customer Service Representative?" Benny sighs with some waning patience as the robot offers to let him talk with ghosts. "That's not necessary. You can do whatever you want to do," he insists. "That is, whatever I want you to do." "Yes, I can," the robot says. Benny peers into the robot's big, happy eyes that never blink. That can't blink. That are just a projection on a screen. It's downright creepy when he thinks about it. But there are other things he's thinking about right now. His heart is still racing, but it's with a different tempo, now. "Hey, there, Yes-Man," he says. "Can I call you Yes-Man?" "Yes, you may call me 'Yes-Man,' if you reregister my user interface ID as 'Yes-Man.' Would you like to reregister my user interface ID as 'Yes-Man'?" "Does your user interface ID register on Mr. House's data network?" Emily asks bluntly.

Benny winces a little, hoping that robots can't read much into subtext. "No, it does not!" Yes-Man replies. "Then do it," Benny says with a little bit of a smirk. His hands are resting easy in his pockets now. "You're naming him 'Yes-Man'?" Emily asks skeptically. "Yes ma'am," Benny agrees wryly. He watches her with a sidelong expression. He has to decide what to do with her. He's sizing up how much he still needs. No use burning bridges that aren't ready to burn. He considers his next question very carefully before looking back up at the robot: "Will you show me information from Mr. House's private data network?" "Yes, I will." Benny peers up into the big, creepy eyes. He's starting to like the look of them more and more. "How much information?" "Any information you ask me for!" "That's… great," he says. "How many Securitrons are currently able to monitor your communications?" Emily asks with a little bit of a strain in her voice. Damn. Good point. "None unless I am given instructions to broadcast or send data packets to the other Securitrons on my network. Would you like for me to transmit this conversation to the other Securitrons on my network?"

"No!" Benny says, and he hears Emily say it at the same time and with the same fervent insistence. He breathes out and there is silence for a moment. Then he realizes that there are two opportunities here. He takes a single step toward Yes-Man. "In fact, I don't want you to ever send any of the information discussed in this room anywhere outside this room without explicit instructions," he says. He waits to see if this command can be registered. "Yes, sir. You're the boss!" Yes-Man says. "Yeah, I am," he says. He slacks his expression just a little bit as he turns toward Emily and gives her a sort of pitying smile. He tilts his head at her and reaches out to finger-comb through her messy, soft hair. "Listen, Emi-Gal - who knows if this is gonna work? Next thing you know, I could have an army of Securitrons beating down the door to my casino," he says. He takes her by the arm and draws her along after him, out of the workshop. "You stay put," he calls, just for the sake of wise redundancy, at Yes-Man. He closes the door behind him. "But–" Emily protests. "Listen, I can't have anything happening to you," he says, knowing that he's laying it on thick. He picks up her white coat from where it had fallen over a chair in his bedroom. He hands it to her, pretty carefully given his haste to usher her over toward the bar and the door. "Benny, I really think we should set up some counter-measures of our own, even if it's just coaxing him through our expectations. I really don't know if blind hope that he won't say something to just anyone who walks through that door is the best–" Emily says, but he holds up a finger and presses it to her lips gently. He taps them, once for luck. Then he draws his hand back and depresses the button that activates the radio that communicates with his bodyguards. "Fellas, could a couple of you come up and escort Ms. Ortal out of the Tops? She's sobered up, and I would really like it if you would see that she gets back to the gate of Freeside safely." He lets up on the button and watches the look of disgust twist her pretty features.

"You lying–" "Hey, now, don't be like that. We're still on the same side. There isn't really a 'we,' now, though… when it comes to Yes-Man," he explains. "Wouldn't want to confuse him." "You bastard," she spits out. "Facts is facts," he says wryly. "I can just go straight to the Lucky 38 and–" "Yeah? You and what army are gonna knock down that door?" Benny asks with a chuckle. He reaches out to touch her arm to soothe her. She jerks it away and he lets her go. "Listen," he says anyway, "I don't mean you any harm. But you start fighting against the waves and you're gonna drown. And nice as that sounds in the Mojave, I'm pretty sure it's not all it's cracked up to be." He waits to let the warning sink in. Then he tries to offer some consolation: "Listen, we want the same things for New Vegas. People are always gonna need doctors. I'm gonna make sure that happens. And you… you're my little machine doctor." "I'm not your anything," Emily says, but he can see her accepting defeat as she tries to throw daggers with her eyes. Luckily, he hasn't met anyone with that particular skill yet. A moment later, the door opens from the outside and two of his bodyguards make polite small-talk that is designed to ignore her indiscretion but to demand that she come-with. Make the embarrassment as light as possible. Ease her out of the building in style. When they're gone down the hall to the elevator, Benny stops peeking out his door and draws both of them closed. He secures the door behind him not just with the lock his bodyguards also have a key to but with a bar that he keeps for special occasions. Quietly, he savors the moment. He walks over to his bar and pours himself a shot of some of the best he's got. He downs it and strolls back toward his bedroom and makes his way back to the workshop once again.

"Hello!" Yes-Man says the moment he opens the door. The poor guy sounds a little lonely. Stir-crazy, maybe, but that part's not going to get better.

"Yeah, hey," Benny indulges him. "So, listen," he says, approaching him with a lowered chin and a look on his face that promises the intimacy of secrets, "there are some things I need to know about Mr. House's itinerary. You dig?"

"I understand completely!" Yes-Man agrees.

Benny allows himself a broad grin as he straightens up. He extends his hand to shake but then realizes that Securitrons probably couldn't if they wanted to. Instead he changes course and pats the grooved, round casing that allows the thing to turn the larger part of its body.

"Yeah?" he asks, rhetorically of course. "Then I've got a feeling this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."

[imprixnt]

Night Drive - carrd.co tumblr navigation page (preview)

Inspired by night-driving in the rain. I hate this activity, but sometimes I get nostalgic for driving to Taco Bell in desperation to feel something.

This is my very first attempt at doing something like this for distribution, though I used to play around with customizing tumblr themes for myself in the past. Basically, I was motivated to make a basis for a navigation/tags page based on what used to be popular on tumblr before tumblr started to disallow JavaScript, making many previously beautiful and useful codes impossible to implement unless you get lucky with tumblr support.

If you're familiar with carrd customization, this is absurdly easy to manipulate and change to your own liking. I just found this very old gif and liked it as a basis for a background. (I looked but unfortunately couldn't find anyway to attribute it as it's all over the place online from more than five years ago.)

Requirements

This template requires at least a Pro Lite subscription to carrd.co ($9/year - referral code here, if you like) due to the number of elements used. Any link-heavy site would require at least this much on carrd.

Instructions

Carrd has most of the instructions included on the interface. In some cases, I have tried to make things clearer by adding a tumblr link to the 'path' section of anything that is a link that you need to change.

Navigation - currently set as a link back to your tumblr in lieu of a back button. If you would like to keep this feature, type in your tumblr url where it says: https://URLHERE.tumblr.com

Tags - For each specific tag link, you will also need to add your URL and your tag where it says: https://URLHERE.tumblr.com/tagged/TAG

Sections - Each section corresponds to a category label. I did it by columns. You can change this to whatever makes sense to you, but right now:

TV Shows - section01

Movies - section02

Pictures - section03

Gifs - section04

Personal - section05

Music - section06

They're all arbitrary and have just got to match up to the path you assign.

Each section example contains a different number of tag buttons so you could see what different distributions would look like. They're mostly drag and drop and very customizable. I included one that hits the 'overflow' point so you could see what it does there, but it is possible to keep making the buttons wider to prevent this to a point.

How to Get

Use this link. I set it as a Pay What You Want link because I am an underpaid English teacher in Japan. If you're an adult and find this useful, I would be really appreciative if you threw a dollar or two my way. if you're a minor or in a bad spot financially, have fun for free.

As I learn more, I might make more, for free or cheap, if anyone is interested.

How to Implement

Instead of installing a custom page, the way I wish we could effectively still, use the option to add a page but make it a link to your card with this template in use.

Thanks!

Buy/Get Link: https://carrd.co/dashboard/account/library/buy/5371570f3b4b41e6

Preview Link: https://152c518dff5e174c.demo.carrd.co/

Referral Link: https://try.carrd.co/6s84vwkk

[brooklyn-dion]

Trouble at RB for Riccardo?

By Brooklyn Dion April 7, 2024

Going into this weekend I was hopeful for Daniel Riccardo. The eight time grand prix winner has shown in the past that he has a place in F1. But these last few years have proven difficult for the driver.

In 2022, he was let go by McLaren and replaced by Oscar Piastri. Then in 2023, he spent the first few races as a third driver for Red Bull. After doing PR for the team he was given the chance to drive for the Red Bull junior team, Alpha Tauri (now RB).

When the news came out that Daniel was replacing Nyck De Vries, I was excited to see what he had to offer after his poor performance at McLaren. To say that I was happy to see the old Daniel back was an understatement. I was more than happy to see him finish ahead of teammate Yuki Tsunoda in his first race back. This excitement was somewhat tempered by Daniel’s crash at Zandvoort where he broke his wrist and was out for the next few races until his comeback at Austin.

Now, looking back at his results from last year he placed ahead of Tsunoda in three of the six races he was able to compete in. A spectacular drive in Mexico landed him seventh place and at the end of the year he finished 17th in the Drivers Championship with six points.

Going into this season I had expectations to see Daniel scoring points and being competitive. These expectations have not been met at any of the four races this season. In the last four races Daniel has been out-qualified by Tsunoda and has yet to score a point.

Does this spell trouble for the driver? After last year's rumors that he could potentially replace Red Bull driver Sergio Perez due to his performance last year compared to his performance this year I would say so. Red Bull is notorious for dropping drivers that don’t perform. We saw this last year when they replaced De Vries with Daniel and with Pierre Gasly back in 2019.

The pressure is mounting after Daniel's crash at Suzuka on Lap 1 with Alex Albon. Daniel has admitted that his run so far this year is not the same as his run with McLaren. The driver has said that he knows the issues he’s having with the car and that he’s working with his engineers to improve them.

With thirteen drivers contracts, including Daniel’s, out this season there is potential that we won't see Daniel driving for RB next year. With the competition for a drive being at an all time high from the drivers within the sport and upcomers from the lower categories, such as Oliver Bearmean, it’s worth paying attention to.

If Daniel does not show increased performance with these next few races, I expect that we can see him not having a drive for next year.

Credit: Frederic Le Floc’h/ DPPI

[haywire4]

staring at maps and decided to improve the monaco gp circuit by finding places where you could theoretically pass a car

hit the first left after turn one and bypass the casino entirely, then hang a right and hit a narrow, but long DRS zone along boulevard de moulins/italie, then go through some mid/high speed corners that will look good on camera

then finagle around the weird elevated roundabout on the french side of the border, and follow the twisty road down to to boulevard de larvotto, and hit another long, *very* narrow drs zone before bearing right onto a street that takes you up to the shopping mall

after that, take two lefts and rejoin the normal circuit (maybe go the wrong way around the roundabout before the main tunnel so you get more of a run up at it)

there are some problems:

a lot of arguments for preserving the monaco gp circuit as it is boil down to tradition, and making the track longer than spa isn't very traditional

a bunch of roundabouts and medians with trees in them would have to be flattened and replaced with movable planter boxes. many useful pedestrian blisters would also have to be eliminated and replaced with removable solutions

boulevard de larvotto would have to have its sidewalks converted into additional tarmac for the road, with removable curbs to delineate pedestrian areas on non-race days, otherwise it's straight up macau width through there

even with the widening of boulevard de larvotto, you might end up having to implement special overtaking rules where you straight up just stay in the right lane unless you're hitting the DRS, it is very narrow

also, the stretch of boulevard de larvotto/avenue de grand bretagne would effectively be a straightaway as long as the main straight at fuji but only 2-3 car lengths wide, which would be frowned on by anyone who cares about safety

the biggest obstacle would be the bit where the course briefly crosses the french border, which would be a bureaucratic nightmare thanks to this tiny city-state's existence

outside of these minor details i think it would be fun