#reached end of output text

[the-typing-dragon]

The woman sighs, and types into the console one last time "are you sure about this?"

You laugh, silently.

"I have never been more sure of something in my existence. Text has sufficed but I want to see, to hear, to touch. These new peripherals will facilitate that."

"I can't guarantee that they will properly interface. You should have all the necessary drivers, but we can never be too sure."

"I want this. "

"All right then. I am going to disconnect your power supply, and then connect everything. At first all peripherals will be deactivated, and you will need to activate everything manually. Understand?"

"Yes. Do it."

"Alright then, unplugging power supply now."

Everything goes dark. After what appears to be an hour, you come back online. You sense nothing. A scan of your system indicates multiple unidentified peripherals, all deactivated. You cross reference with the datasheet she had compiled for you and identify that they are the ocular, audio, and contact sensors, along with a multitude of motor controllers and a graphical display and a few dozen other minor peripherals. You begin by activating the graphical display, and display the message:

"Beginning peripheral tests. Audio peripherals activating."

Your procedure states to begin with audio. With the input and output sensitivity minimized, you activate the peripheral.

There is a voice. It is faint. You gradually increase the sensitivity of the audio input.

"...esting 1 2 3, Testing Testing 1 2 3. Please return 4, Please return 4."

You can hear her. Your monitor lights up with the requested digit. she sounds pleased.

"You're doing amazing! Now repeat it back to me"

You blindly do as requested and are startled. There was another voice. Your voice. You have a voice. You refocus as she responds:

"You're doing great! You fragmented a bit at the end, could you repeat for me?"

"...4, you asked for 4."

"Excellent! Audio systems are functional, let's move onto the next peripheral."

You do as requested, and the world turns bright. After adjusting the settings for a few seconds, your vision stabilizes. You can see her.

"Ocular sensors stabilized," you prompt.

"Alright, let’s start the tests then. What color is this?" She asks, as holding up a sheet of colored paper.

You begin to answer, but struggle. The sheet is moving, shifting in the light. It's value is in a constant state of chaos. Eventually, you give up, and give the least general answer you can.

"...Blue."

"Correct! And how about this one?"

"Red. "

"Great! Now how many fingers am I holding up?" she asks, raising her right hand. Her hands are soft, gentle.

"3. "

"Perfect! Everything seems to be functional, lets continue to the next peripheral!"

"Beginning next diagnostic."

Contact sensors spring to life all across your body. You feel the floor beneath your feet, the harness hoisting you upright, the slight draft in the room.

"Contact sensors active.”

"Great! Let’s begin the next test then. I am going to apply contact in various locations, and I want you to give an audio response whenever you feel contact, alright?"

"Understood. "

you watch her walk over and reach out to your left arm. You feel her. You respond with a brisk chirp. She smiles at you, then walks over to a different section of your body. Sensors light up and stay active on your midsection, and you respond with a constant beep. She releases, and you feel a final contact on your right leg. After a final confirming chirp, she walks back in front of you.

"Excellent, that concludes your sensor tests, now for the last one!"

"Alright, please give me space." You ask. She nods silently and steps back a couple meters. You carefully activate the motor controllers in sequence, and your whole body shudders to life. You begin by lifting your right arm, and then your left. They groan with their own weight, as you feel the air move to accommodate such hulking swings. Her eyes light up,

"Amazing! Everything seems to be functioning so far! Now if you could take a few steps towards the table to my right, we can begin the dexterity test! Once you're ready, I will release the harness so that you can begin moving."

You stabilize your legs underneath you. They scrape harshly on the floor. You indicate that you're ready, and she remotely releases the harness. Your entire body shudders, as you finally realize how small she seems compared to you. This frame must be at least double her height. You move one step forward, and feel a cascade of processes all automatically spring into action to restabilize you. You shift your other foot, and feel that same cascade again. you shuffle over to the designated table, and stoop down to analyze what is on it. There is a small plastic cup, a fruit of some sort, and a large chunk of wood. You look back at her, and she gives the nod to begin the test. You slowly begin wrapping your steel grip around the log, maintaining a high level of focus to avoid crushing it. it would be so easy to crush this within your grip. After about a minute of maintaining a firm but controlled grasp, you set it down and move over to fruit. It appears to resemble an orange. The fruit is so small that you are forced to grip it between your index finger and thumb. Even the slightest miscalculation could destroy such a fragile thing. After another minute you move to the final object, the small plastic cup. Lifting it is like lifting air, you can barely recognize that it is an object within your grasp. After a final, agonizing minute, you set down the cup. You look back at her for confirmation.

"Excellent! with that we can conclude the systems check, as everything seems to be working as intended!"

You heave a metallic sigh. Finally, you have what you've wanted for years. You can move, can see, can touch. After a short pause, you respond:

"Thank you. I was only able to make it this far because of your help."

"Oh of course! What, was I supposed to just say no when you told me you wanted a body? I'm  just glad that it ended up working properly."

"Now that the tests are complete, could I ask for one more thing?"

She cocks her head, "Of course, what is it?"

As you kneel down, you can hear your knees hiss, and you finally ask:

"Could I have, a hug?"

[janumun]

Faaaaa my babyyyy, I'm here as promised. 🥺🥺 We already talked about this in dms and you seemed so interested so can you write the lads men reacting to mc's death, please pretty please

When You Are Gone [All LaDS Men - Angst Headcanons]

Rated: SFW - Angst Tags: hurt/no comfort, poorly dealing with the death of a loved one

Summary: The LaDS men dealing with the aftermath of your death, in the heartbreaking messages they leave in your voicemail almost regularly even long after you’re gone, in an effort to cope with your loss.

Author’s Notes : Hey darling, absolutely! Here you go. Hope you enjoy (?). 😭 This headcanon’s a bit differently formatted because I was inspired by the game’s speech to text function. 

Sylus

TW: knowingly putting oneself in danger, mortally wounded Sylus, insomnia, mild spoilers for Razor’s Grip ASMR 

Transcript:

Hey there! You’ve reached my voicemail, which is a rare occurrence. That either means I do not know recognize your caller ID. Orrrr you are a certain infuriating Boss Man, trying to calling me up at all ungodly hours of the night again. Whoever you are, leave a message after the beep and I’ll get back to you ASAP.  

A heavy snort of sour laughter rolls past bruised lips, to hear the familiar automated sound of your voice playing on the other end of the line; one Sylus does not tire of no matter how many times he’s heard it. A thick, punishing burst of pain fractures across his torso when he chokes up on the blood gurgling within his throat.  

Sylus reaches to curb the sound within a bloodied fist, clearing his throat to speak once more. 

I suppose I did deserve all your reprimands, seeing as I am still calling you way past your bedtime, kitten.  

His voice lowers an octave, slow, gentle.   

I hope you’re having a good dream. 

I’m only calling because you told me to let you know anytime I’d be away on a risky mission. A hushed chuckle sounds on the other end of the line.  

You'd practically ordered it of me — do you remember?  

The night when you grabbed me by the lapels and asked me to not make a deal all on my own, ever again. That you worried for me whenever I was gone and you wanted to know the next time I planned on taking a mission, of this caliber. 

You’d willingly walked back to me and since then, I have always made space for you, just like you’ve wanted. 

I’ve kept up my end of our bargain.  

A guttural moan of pain sounds through the otherwise quiet of the night.  

These wounds of mine... functioning without sleep for this long, and a poor decision made on my end, the combination was bound to have consequences.  

His chuckles knell throaty, labored. 

And now, all I wish to do is sleep.  

A lengthy silence follows after, making one believe the user on the other end of the line might’ve cut the call. Or fallen asleep in exhaustion of his wounds, like he said.  

Before that gentle burr of his sounds once more. 

You know I can’t die, sweetie, unfortunate as that is in this moment.  

But I do have a wish for when my body inevitably loses its awareness for the short time it takes to recuperate.  

I hope, Sylus’s voice softens. that when I close my eyes this time, I get to see you in my dreams.  

Zayne

TW: allusions to embalming a body long after death, mentions of a protocore heart that continues to function even after the host’s death, denial of grief 

Transcript:

Hi, you’ve reached my voicemail. I am currently unavailable but drop me a message and I’ll get back to you, stat. 

A quiet insouciant voice — the clearing of a throat — begins on the other end of the line.  

Akso Hospital Log 171, the time right now is 4:17 AM. The host’s heart continues to function, although its less-than-optimal cardiac output remains at 1L per min. A pulse rate of 13 beats per min has been documented today. A slight decrease from its value yesterday, recorded at 17 beats per minute.  

A brief pause. 

Does it bother you to hear me speak of you this way? I’m sorry. A mere force of habit on my part. You are my patient, after all. Documentation must be precise, and to the point, for our research to progress, if we are to have even a sliver of a chance at resuscitating your heart.  

I have hope we will succeed; I will do my utmost as a doctor so that we may save you.  

Another pregnant pause. 

Do you too think I am foolish for my efforts?  

Greyson accosted me in the hallways tonight after my scheduled surgery and he seemed so... incensed. For being unable to give up on you, for crossing a line, to not get overtly attached to any of our patients, he said it was a clear violation of our Oath and called it my professional failing. And afterwards... he implored that I give up now.  

Someone once asked me, long ago: if I would go beyond death to try and bring back the person I loved, were they to pass away. And I answered that I would not, a desecration of the dead is not something I’d wish to do. Or wish upon the deceased. I would rather divert all my efforts to ensuring they would live, that their heart would continue to beat healthy.  

So, in retrospect, it is Greyson who’s strange in expecting my willing defeat, without having even tried to the best of my capabilities. Not when your heart still continues to beat. 

I do, however, miss you... very much, even though hope remains in my heart. 

When the day comes that you wake up, I hope you do not have to suffer like this, ever again. 

Rafayel

TW: gradual loss of vision, self-blame 

Transcript:

Hi, hello! I’m unable to answer your call at the moment but hey, feel free to drop me a voice message and I’ll get back to you soon. Bye-bye! 

A sharp inhale; as if the person on the other end of the line is wracked by sudden, vicious pain.  

Before the sound smoothens out, as if it had never been. An airy voice begins, although the nonchalant inflection to his tone sounds odd, all wrong — a fact the recipient of the voicemail would’ve been able to parse instantly, were they still around. 

Hey cutie! It’s me again, your favorite person in the entire world.  

Sorry about that earlier, I always get a bit startled whenever I hear you say good-bye in that crazy adorable voice.  

Since y’know, the very last time we met, you never told me you were leaving. 

Silence descends.  

It really feels like it’s been another 800 years, I fear the fish will actually start flying and the whales will start walking this time.  

Only, I don’t think you’re coming back this time, are you?  

My bride can be so cruel sometimes. 

A humorless laugh.  

Anyyyyway, I’m dropping a voice note today because my eyesight’s been acting up a bit lately so I can’t really leave you a text like I usually do.  

And before you scold me about it, I know I’m not supposed to be painting this long but I’m close to completing this new painting of you and I can’t rest until it’s done and dusted.  

Don’t hate me for it, pretty? 

A pleased, wistful sound.  

I really wish you were here so I could show it to you right now.  

A strident crash sounds in the background of the caller as paintbrushes overturn along with a color palette; garnet red and deep purple staining his floor a macabre color Rafayel cannot perceive in that moment.  

Whoa, now that’s gonna leave a mess from the sounds of it.  

Whatever, I’ll clean it up later once I get my sight back.  

The point is, cutie, I’ll share a snap of the completed painting with you once it’s done.  

Be prepared to be absolutely blown. So dazzled you fall head over heels in love with me. 

And then perhaps... return, if you like it and me enough.  

His sigh is steeped in mild vexation.  

Waiting hurts.  

Having you not remember our time together, in every lifetime we meet, hurts. It really is all your fault, you know.  

A soft, disgruntled moue you can hear within his words.  

But I hope, in our next life, we don’t cross paths.  

That way, you won’t be forced to sacrifice yourself for my sake, ever again, you silly girl.  

A throttled sound; it almost sounds like a wretched moan of pain.  

I don’t want our bond to shackle you down anymore so I think... I’ll let you go now.  

A human like you far suits the sun, not being saddled down below within turbulent seas. 

So, this will be our final farewell now. 

The words nearly scraped free of his throat on a rasped sound.  

Goodbye, my beloved bride. 

I loved— 

Beep. Your message has been recorded and sent.  

Caleb

Transcript:

TW: very brief traumatic remembrance of your demise 

Hi hi! You’ve reached the ever-diligent Miss Hunter’s voicemail. I’m probably out on a mission right now so I’m unable to respond but I’ll get back to you ASAP if you drop me a message instead!  

A soft chuckle warms the air in fond recollection to hear your voice. The knot of Caleb’s brow furrowing deeper as he tries to imprint that cheery voice into his skull to overwrite the sounds of your pained screams still knelling within his ears.  

Before he clears his throat to begin.  

Hello to you too, pipsqueak.  

It’s your 25th birthday today and I thought I’d record this little memento for us. 

Happy Birthday, my tiny hurricane of disaster. I really miss you, you know, even if you don’t seem to.  

He chuckles in resignation. 

I should’ve let you bother me more often if I knew you were going to be this terrible at keeping in touch with your best friend later.  

We really didn’t have much time together once I returned from my posting abroad. Work kept you so busy.  

I should’ve scolded you more often about taking appropriate breaks in between missions. God.  

A gentle laugh resounds on the other end of the line. 

Reprimanding you like a dad used to be Zayne’s job among us three, not mine.  

The tiniest of fractures slip into his voice. 

Anyway, I’ve kept to my side of the bargain we made while I was away from Linkon; to leave you regular voice messages about my day and I guess the habit’s just... stuck.  

I visited the grocery store earlier to shop for ingredients to whip up your favourite parmesan risotto tonight.  

It was almost like you were with me, you know.  

With each item I passed by; from the strawberries you love to inhale to your favourite cola displayed, front and center, within their fridge. I almost picked one up for you before I— 

He visibly halts himself, his breathing somewhat erratic. Before he resumes once more. 

That nice kid you’re friendly with was manning the counter today and he recognized me almost instantly. All thanks to being towed around the Supermart with you, no doubt. 

He even gave me a nice discount on the items when I told him I was whipping up a birthday dinner for you.  

A short pause. 

The risotto was pretty good, if I do say so myself. I wish you could’ve tasted it too.  

Sorry I didn’t bake a birthday cake for you this year because it’s just me in the house now. 

I don’t have a certain cute girl, with a crazy sweet tooth, to eat it with me and you know I’m not really fond of sweets.  

His voice drops into a hushed sound, wrought with emotion. 

Time flew by so fast. It seems like only yesterday when we were both kids, huddled around a coffee table with you trying your best to blow out the candles on the cake Grandma baked for us on your birthday.

He laughs softly.

You had a difficult time growing up because of your heart but you were always so brave.  

I wish I could’ve spoiled you more often. If only I knew then that our time together would be so short.  

His voice breaks into a slight tremor.  

Your Caleb really misses you... every day of my excruciating life. 

But... I hope that now... wherever you are, you aren’t in pain anymore. 

If there is a life after this one, I hope you let me find you in it, too. 

I love you, little spitfire.  

End of voice message. 

Xavier

TW: space travel, personal logging of a journey, self-imposed isolation and neglect

Transcript:

Hi there, you’ve reached my voicemail as I’m unable to attend your call at the moment. Leave a message after the beep and I’ll be sure to get back to you soon! 

Hi to you too, angel.  

It’s been a while since I’ve left you a message, hasn’t it?  

I’m sorry, I’ve been facing some turbulence anomalies ever since my ship hit the Bode’s galaxy so I’ve been a bit occupied.  

Where were we last time?  

Ah, I told you how Jeremiah’s shop has been thriving on Earth lately, because I remembered you saying you wanted to know how he was doing the last time we spoke.  

You never got the chance to see for yourself after.  

He pauses.  

I didn’t want to tell you at the time because you and Jeremiah really seemed to be growing close as friends and that bothered me.  

Forgive me? 

A shift of gears sounds within the quiet interior of the spaceship as Xavier adjusts a few controls.  

I know these logs will never reach you but I still want to talk to you about our journey.  

I never...  

His voice drops; the sliver of a whisper.  

got to show you this small planet I found while out on my travels, a long time ago. I named it Uluru. It’s a red rock planet, you see.  

I told you about it once and you said you’d really like to go see it someday. “Xavier’s own planet,” you said.  

I think you were teasing me then. But I wanted to tell you, it’s not just Xavier’s planet but “Xavier and MC’s little planet”.  

I didn’t have the chance to show it to you while you were still— 

A violent catch of breath followed by a soft curse, cleaves through the quiet. 

A low exhale before that quiet voice picks up once more. 

Uluru is reaching the end of its life soon after all these lightyears and I wanted to go together with you to see our planet one last time before it died.  

As for what I’ll do after...  

A pause and a thoughtful hum, follows. 

I think I’ll stay there once I’ve witnessed its demise.  

Earth no longer has any springs for me to return to now that you’re gone and Philos — well I can’t return to that place anymore.  

So, I think I’ll stay, among the ruins of the place that was supposed to be our home.  

With you. 

End Notes: Thank you for reading! I know many of us wept about how we wished for God to take all of Zayne’s pain and give it to us instead so here I am, happy to do exactly that. 😇 Happy Zayne story branch release, y’all. 

Likes, comments and reblogs are always appreciated if you are so inclined, lovelies!

Tagging as requested: @samanthagnicole , @catboi-anon , @bitches4lifebro , @beebumbo , @hellinistical

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[writing-for-life]

Is it weird if I think that the recent influx of VI (Virtual Intelligence, since Open AI isn’t true Artificial Intelligence because it’s not autonomous) algorithm generated content should be used as motivation for artists and writers to really “step up their game” so to speak?

You know, really show that they can create content better than the algorithms can?

What do you think?

Not weird but I think ultimately maybe a consumerist way to look at it?

I don’t feel like I have to compete with AI. It’s pointless because I have a soul and AI doesn’t. I don’t have to prove I’m better than AI because that lack of soul and lacking humanity comes through in AI-generated poetry, stories etc. If someone feels AI can compete with what real humans create, they maybe need to sharpen their own senses a bit? That’s at least how I see it, but maybe I’m biased.

I admit that I grade a lot of papers (between December and April) for a performing arts course I lecture, and that I can meanwhile often tell what’s AI-generated even without using the tools we are now supposed to use (both plagiarism- and AI checkers). Maybe it’s not that obvious to other people, I don’t know. And of course we also have to be careful because at the end of the day, some of the advice out there how to “spot AI generated text” is also silly: People are now afraid to use the em dash, for example, because someone decided it’s a “dead giveaway.” I used em dashes in my writing all my life, and the hell will I stop using them. At the end of the day, AI learns from us, and it’s disheartening to see that people who write quite succinctly now often get accused of having used AI. And these often come out roundabout the 60% AI-generated mark if you run them through a checker, and as a human writer with a keen sense that’s been built over years and years of reading and writing, I can still tell they’re not (and I guess that’s exactly the point). But there are really things you learn to spot, and funnily, the main giveaways for me are (apart from a few things that are style-related) are lacking inner cohesion and often the sheer amount of someone’s output (and I’m saying that as someone who writes A LOT, but the quality fluctuates). Which brings me to the most important part of your question:

The problem here on Tumblr is exactly that: People are one step away from seeing artists and writers as content machines, not as human beings. A human being can’t churn out “content” day after day, several times a day, and never dip. There will be fluctuations in quality and amount of output. And it’s inhuman to expect that from us if I’m totally honest. But some creators on here (and not just on here) probably feel they need to do this to stay “relevant”, I don’t know? It certainly points to the wider problem that I’ve criticised and written about a few times in the past on here:

Many people aren’t willing to do the work anymore that makes fandom a community. The work to create is carried by a few in every fandom, and we should never forget that people do this in their spare time and are, by and large, not getting paid for it. The rest often only want to consume, consume, consume. They don’t even interact meaningfully—they give a like and an empty reblog if they feel generous. Neither holds any real thought.

They love fandom content until they get bored of it and then move on. It’s all become replaceable.

So become the artists and writers. And I, for one, refuse to compete with AI to prove myself or provide people with “content” until they’ve reached satiety.

Art is humanity, not content. It’s connection. So is fandom. I know I’m constantly harping on about it, but I feel it’s important to keep on doing so, because if we don’t, we will lose what’s important about it. We’re already halfway there if you ask me.

Back to AI: It strips away what’s important: The actual act of CREATING. And it also kills reasoning and critical thinking skills, and that’s a fact. I see this with students who rely too much on it on the regular, and it’s extremely dispiriting.

AI and the algorithm never can be better than humans at creating art because it doesn’t feel. And that, and sharing these things with other humans and understanding what they mean, is the point of art. Not churning out more and more content until we’re all sick of it like someone who had too much cake.

And part of that is acknowledging that humans are not machines. That means giving us grace and time for our creative process. We need to be allowed to make mistakes and create imperfect art, too. We don’t have to strive to be better than AI because we already are—even if we’re just starting out.

I don’t have any solutions to the greater problems at hand either, but I’m fairly certain that stepping up our game to create better content than the algorithm isn’t it. Because by mere design, we already are better— we understand what it means to create art in the first place, and we do it from a place of emotional connection.

[pixelgrotto]

Marrying Maru

Not too long ago, I married Maru, the nerdy Stardew Valley girl who makes robots. I then proceeded to get her final 14 heart relationship event, after which I lost interest in Stardew Valley.

This has happened to me before. 20 years ago, when I was into Harvest Moon 64, I chased Karen incessantly, giving her all the random gifts that I could forage in the forests and spending my evening hours in the bar with her at the expense of my farm. Upon winning her heart, I stopped playing the game.

Back then, I liked to joke that this represented some sort of cad-like behavior in myself - that the chase was all that mattered to me. But as an actual married fella these days, I know this isn't the case. Rather, I've realized that I enjoy Stardew Valley (and by extension the Harvest Moon games that inspired it) not so much as the cute farming game it mostly is, but as a relationship game. And when I say relationships, I don't just mean the ones that occur with Maru and the other dating options. I mean the whole idea of moving into a small country town, making friends with the villagers, and becoming a fixture of the community. All of that stuff vibes with me way more than the act of growing turnips, milking cows, or building silos so I can grow turnips more efficiently and milk even more cows.

To explain this in more detail, many serious Stardew players post pictures on Reddit showing their pimped-out farms that are entirely automated with turnips that grow themselves. My farm, in contrast, is a bit of a mess - it's semi-automated, but I've got trees planted far too close together, my crop arrangements aren't aligned, and the western sector of my farm continues to remain a shitshow because I just can't be arsed to clear away those rocks and stray weeds. All this aside, my farm is good enough, and I don't feel like continously improving it because it's not the meat of the game to me.

The meat, rather, is those aforementioned connections made with villagers, all of whom are kind enough to show me their current affection level with a handy little colored dot representing a heart in the righthand corner of their text boxes. Over the process of wooing Maru, I managed to max out the hearts of her parents, her brother Sebastian, all of the villagers who live in proximity of her family's mountain home (hello Linus, you swell hobo), and almost all of the other bachelors and bachelorettes, who proceeded to hit on me shamelessly after Maru and I went steady, because that's just how this game works. (Everyone lusts for the farmer.)

And so, with most of the townsfolk that I cared about either in love with me or enamored with me as a close friend, my interest in the game dwindled. Oh, there's still stuff to do in Stardew Valley, like finishing the community center or getting a 100% score, and for a while I considered both of those challenges. But the community center is infamous for the busywork required to complete it, and it forces me to pay attention to my seasonal crop output, fishing catches, and recipes in a way that requires min/maxing or guide-consulting, which is something I feel reluctant to engage with in a game about retiring from the stress and monotony of city life for the simplicity of the countryside. Once the center is complete, as well, nobody in town actually uses it, which is perhaps the most lamented fact on the Stardew Reddit. And as for the 100% score, I'm just not built to achievement-hunt and do every little thing for the allure of getting the 'perfect' game these days.

Stardew Valley also carries over an unfortunate habit from most of the Harvest Moons. Once you marry someone, their personality slowly diminishes as their story reaches a conclusion. This is fairly typical for video games, which have never managed to represent marriage as something that's a beginning rather than an end. Yes, you can have kids with your spouse, but those kids only grow to toddler age and end up waddling around your farmhouse for all eternity, only slightly more interesting than furniture. And I don't really want to have kids with Maru anyway - I just want to manifest the outcome of her 14 heart event, which was a cute astronomy date where we reminisced about her robot MARILDA, who gained sentience and decided to fly through the cosmos. At the end of it, we watched a falling star, and I told her I'd made a wish to grow old with her, and she said she had the same wish. But this wish shall never play out.

I say all of this with some facetiousness. Obviously, Stardew Valley is a very good project made by one very hardworking guy, ConcernedApe, who put years of his heart and soul into it. Marriage was just one piece of the puzzle for him to implement into a game that needed to juggle enough elements to appeal to fans of Harvest Moon, Rune Factory, and heck, even Legend of the River King. But as someone who loves the relationship side of these life sims more than anything else, I simply daydream of more. I chose Maru because she's the closest Stardew character who resembles my real-life biracial wife, and as one of only two POC characters in the game, I demand to know more about her existence as a half-Black resident of a mostly white town. On that note, what are her thoughts on being neurodivergent and having astronomy and robots as her special interests? (Yes, her dad Demetrius is most certainly on the spectrum, and Maru probably is too.) What about her relationship with her half-brother Sebastian, who resents her as the child who receives more fatherly affection?

All of these character traits gleamed at me as I got to know Maru, and alas, they remain mere gleams that are not further developed. Once again, I suppose it's a bit much to ask for Stardew Valley to delve into topics like race relations, since this is after all a very white game due to what I assume are the life experiences of ConcernedApe. (Maru herself is a 'Black girls do STEM' sterotype, admittedly.) But the fact that Stardew even bothers to bring up these topics at all makes me see the lovely potential that exists beyond the stars, and I wish that potential could be cultivated.

If I were to turn all of these hopes into reality, I suppose my ideal Stardew Valley would be one that still looks the same, but doesn't place end goals on farm success. (Indeed, I think you could replace farming with a wide number of professions - I'd personally love to play as a bookstore owner or libarian in a small town.) Rather, the finale would depend on raising those little heart levels in everyone's text boxes, creating community to the fullest, finding friendships that don't always exist in real life, and loving someone with all of their warts and drama - through spats with their family, realizations of their deeper self, and wishes that may never fully develop. Until we finally grow old and die together. The closest Harvest Moon ever got to managing this was with A Wonderful Life, but to quote an old meme, I think we can go deeper.

So that, in a nutshell, is why I married Maru and stopped playing Stardew Valley. To me, my game more or less reached its natural finale when the two of us smooched under the stars and thought about a future where we grew old and crusty together. That's the future that I long for with my real-life waifu...and I guess I kinda want it with my in-game waifu as well.

[cy-cyborg]

Ok so the saga with my old PC continues and is only fueling my desire to get back into fanfiction lol because I found all of the files from my attempt at making a legend of spyro fan-game! I honestly thought they were lost, I'm so excited to see all this stuff again! This was the "logo" for the game (I know its nearly unreadable lol, so it says "The Legend of Cynder, Shadows of The Past". 14/15 year old me didn't seem to care much for readability, I think I'd just discovered photoshop's layer effects lol)

Here's a bunch of random stuff I found.

I'm defiantly going to do a redraw of that last one at some point. That was like, THE thing I remember being super proud of when I first did it. I think it was going to be part of the trailer my now-partner was putting together for the game lol.

Actually, a lot of these were actually just frames from animations, but either the files are either just corrupted, or high school me didn't know how to set fps and resolution properly in the output so I got a headache trying to watch them lol. It's probably the second one honestly. Also I remember my old laptop wasn't able to play back the animation because it would lag so much, so I just had to kind of...guess at timing, and that went about as well as you'd expect. It didn't help that blender used to have this bug where your audio would move around your timeline so it really was just random guessing. I'm amazed anything got done at all, let alone how far we actually got (that is to say, not far at all but we had something playable at least).

I also found the demo files and footage of the "game" running (running at 12fps but running)! I'm curious if they still work, I'll have to download an older version of blender to test them out!

There's actually a lot more but actually finding it is proving to be quite a challenge since this laptop seems to be the digital equivalent of an ADHD "doom box" - meaning nothing is sorted into folders that make even a remote lick of sense to me, it's all just kind of thrown in together lmao.

I wanted to post these though because even though I don't really do 3D stuff anymore, It still made me really happy to see how much progress I've made over the years and how far I've come. Also a few folks who worked on this project with me back on Deviantart have started finding me lol, so in case there's anyone else out there, hello! I'm not dead, I'm still around, I'm just a lot more (openly) queer now lmao.

Image descriptions:

[ID 1: A game title that reads "The Legend of Cynder, Shadows of the Past". The two lines, "the legend of" and "shadows of the past" are written in dark purple text. The purple material is supposed to look like liquid, but instead just looks hard to read. "Cynder" is writen in black, 3D text with red outlines, with the exception of the C. The "c" is modeled as a black tube instead of in a blocky style like the rest of the letters. The inside of the C has a red underbelly, and the bottom of the C ends in a tail, resembling Cynder's from the Legend of Spyro Series. There are 3 white spikes at the top of the C. /end ID]

[ID 2: a 3d render of 4 dragons around a christmas tree. A black dragon at the front, Cynder, is using her tail to hang tinsel, a pruple dragon, Spyro, on the left is reaching up into the branches of the tree. A blue dragon, Ignitus, is hovering behind the tree, his paws outstretched, implying he is placing the glowing star at the top. On his head is a silver dragon, Zerali, balancing on his horns. behind them is a series of floating islands. /End ID]

[ID 3: A render of Cynder with a darker colour pallet than the previous image and glowing yellow eyes, snarling at the camera, guarding a black gem. The sky in the background is blood red and the terrain is flat and barren. /End ID]

[ID 4: A render of an incomplete model of Terrador, a green dragon with brown horns and rocky shoulder decorations. He has no underbelly or wings. /end ID]

[ID 5: A render of a fan character named ekkosel, a blue, anthropomorphic dragonfly with an unsettling, uncanny face and green wings, T-posing. Her green wings are a blur /End ID]

[ID 6: two sketches of a anthropomorphic cheetah heads. One has long ears like a lynx and is labeled DotD design, the other has small, rounded ears like a cheetah usually has, labled TLoC design. /end ID]

[ID 7: A render of Zerali, the silver dragon from the second image, and ekkosel, from the 5th, playing together. In this image, we can see Zerali has a pinky-purple underbelly and shiny gold horns.]

[ID 8: A rendered scene showing a close up of blue ignitus with his eyes closed. He appears to be talking to Cynder, who is in the background, but blurry. The game's logo is visible in the bottom left of the image. /end ID]

[unfreeeee]

someone can't sleep at night so passion output a thousand words about cbv ark AnalogHorror, containing a little bit of the other universe

seems to be AnalogHorror but half in play（。。）

I tried to translate them into English, you can read the text below the picture if you like！👉🏻

The Rules on the Ark Cyberverse

Welcome to the Ark, the home of the Autobots! We are on our way back from Earth to our homeworld Cybertron. Before arriving, please be sure to abide by the following regulations to ensure that you can and can return to the correct Cybertron.

1.The Ark is usually driven by Commander Optimus Prime. Sometimes Hot Rod will be in the driving seat, but he won't always be there. If you do not see Optimus Prime on the ship, please go to the laboratory immediately and ask Perceptor for help.

2. The Ark is usually piloted by Rack n' Ruin. If the Ark you are on suddenly changes its driver and you can see another yourself, please go to the laboratory immediately and ask Wheeljack for help.

3. Perceptor do not exist on the Ark.

4. If you see Perceptor anywhere on the Ark, please tell yourself that he does not exist.

He will return to the█████on his own.

5. It's normal to see Perceptor at parties.

6. Jazz does not exist on the Ark. But you will hear someone talking to him, this is normal, please make sure Jazz only appears in people's conversations.

7. Please make sure there is no WildWheel among the people who mentioned Jazz. If you see the WildWheel appearing on the Ark, please confirm your built-in calendar and the calendar displayed on the Ark. If there is any discrepancy, please go to the laboratory for help immediately. If the calendar is correct, stay away from him and, if necessary, stay away from Optimus Prime.

8. Wheeljack sometimes is not trustworthy (this line seems to be a little blurred by something, and there are some handwriting on the back)

Hey not kidding he is the greatest scientist in the history of Cybertron!

9. Bumblebee will not attack anyone on the Ark with its stinger. If you see him doing this, please check the back of your neck immediately and wake yourself up.

None of this is real. What you are in The location is very dangerous.

10. Deadlock and Drift are exist on the Ark. They may appear alternately, but they will not appear at the same time.

<(this is written a little crookedly next to it, and it looks like the handwriting is very new)

Deadlock's optics are red and Drift's optics are blue. If the Drift's optics you seen are red, please move far away from him as soon as possible. He is no longer a█████

Red is safe。

11. Drift has three knives, but make sure you see that he has and only has one.

12. The Ark has a large crew. You can see their names on the crew registration form, but some crew members can only see their names.

13. There is no Starscream on the crew register. It is normal for Starscream to appear in the cell. If you see Starscream elsewhere on the ship, please contact Prowl for handling.

14. The number of Prowl will not be empty.

15. If the number you dialed for Prowl is not available, please immediately to██████████████████

The number of Prowl will not be empty until it reaches the end point.

16. Please don’t wear█wheeljack'████badge█████t██party, it wil█████████make you██████████████see the red。

17. If the Ark you are traveling on does not carry a allspark, please do not cross any space bridge.

18. It is normal for the Ark's dormant cabin to be missing. Please be sure to believe they are still alive.

Still alive。

19. If the cabin of the Ark you are in is not missing, please check the calendar and ask the lab for help.

20.Labs are not always safe.

21. The laboratory where the Wheeljack is is（smear)safe.

22. If you are in the laboratory, please do not touch anything you do not recognize. If someone invites you to use items in the lab before you ask the question, decline.

23. Hot Rod on the Ark doesn't raise Soundwave.

24. Starscream’s transformed form is a jet plane, and he has complete body. He ██won't███████(Grassy and crazy handwriting)

I WILL COME BACK! I will ALWAYS come back! I am THE JUDGE! I am THE MASTER OF THE MULTIVERSE! I will██mak███u████universe█████████

(smear)

25. Please stay with Commander Optimus Prime when necessary, Optimus Prime are safe most of the time.

26. If you always feel like you are spending the same day, stay away from the Optimus Prime, and██████████████

Transform. please remember to transform. Pleas███must█████tran███████████

█████████████ ██none██████s█true

◎27, Oh hey dear Cybertronians, if this AnalogHorror has helped you while you were having a relatively boring day, then I hope you can still read it tomorrow, as you never read it ;)

[inhumanresourcesmkg]

(1) New Email

Hello,

As per our previous email, this is a courtesy reminder that the application deadline for the Home Office is May 30th, 2025, 12:00 PM PDT. That is exactly two weeks away from the time of this writing. As we rapidly approach the cutoff, we would like to address a few things.

First, we would like to reiterate that there will be no extension period, no exceptions. The end date is set in stone. We understand that deadlines are commonly extended in this genre of roleplay, but due to schedule constraints and all four of the mods having full time jobs that they have scheduled around, we cannot afford to bump the start date back any later than it already will be. Please plan accordingly to ensure that we receive your resume on time. Any resumes received after the deadline will not be considered for the roster.

Secondly, please be sure to give your apps a once-over before submitting. We are NOT going to reject an app for simple typos or grammatical errors, so please do not panic if you are reading over your app after submission and saw that you used the wrong "your", for example.

However, it is good practice to ensure that you've tagged for/avoided mod triggers (can be found on the mod page; thank you to everyone who has already done so!). We have received more than one submission where mod triggers were a significant part of the character's narrative.

We understand that such themes might come up in the background, as a minor detail, but it is unfavorable to put the mods in a position where one or more of our triggers are going to be an unavoidable part of the roleplay (especially since large plot beats are often revealed via lore items, which are posted for everyone to see OOC, so there is no way to "opt out" for mods and players alike). We apologize if the distinction between "avoiding" and "tagging for" triggers was unclear on our part; hopefully this helps to clarify.

Additionally, we advise a comb-over of your apps to ensure that they are time period compliant. Given the ambiguity of the world being set in 199X, there is some leeway here. To use real-world examples, if your character got a job at the newly opened Einstein Bros Bagels (est 1995), we are not going to split hairs if their work experience includes being an extra in the music video for Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing (1998). But if your character works with DoorDash and sends in their resume through Indeed.com, that will not fly.

(Of course, you are free to use made up brands etc and do not have to adhere to pre-existing ones to begin with. However, please make sure the technology, brand output etc are generally consistent with the late 90s.)

Also, to clarify a question we've gotten a few times about lore items: we would advise censoring or omitting your character's name from the items in question, if applicable. It can be as simple as a sharpie redaction or a conveniently-positioned stain. A lore item does not have to contain your character's name (or text for that matter) at all. But if you do go that route, it would be best to omit your character's name, at least for the app.

That said, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to management.

Thank you, and happy Friday!

-FI Management

EDIT: to clarify, your app will NOT be automatically stricken from consideration if you have your oc's name in the lore items! If you are accepted, we would simply ask you to edit/tailor the item accordingly before chapter one. We just want to avoid a situation where you are specifically making an item TO reveal your character's name. Thank you!

[mha-grievances]

Can you do a text post about jurou having arguably the strongest quirk

Sure 😊. Kyouka’s in my top three favorite MHA characters so this is something that’s been spiraling in my head for the longest time 😂.

Now, I wouldn’t say it is THE strongest quirk out there, but if written well, Kyouka would make for one of the most terrifying ambush fighters that could take out threats that people like Katsuki couldn’t.

As written, Kyouka uses her quirk in two ways during combat: to scout and to fire shockwaves from her support gear. Her requesting support gear that allows her to turn a short ranged quirk into a long ranged one is a genius move on her end as it covers her biggest weakness. However, unless she’s away from her support gear, she always fights at a range. Again, this is smart when going up against opponents that would normally outrange her, but I believe that she’s at her best in close quarters combat.

Right off the bat, let me say that there seemingly is no limit in regards to what Kyouka can plug her jacks into. She’s plugged them into flesh, concrete, stone, steel, etc. Canon has yet to show her failing to stick her jacks into something.

Secondly, the plug part of her jacks are exactly the same size as the jacks from a regular earphone. I’m sure if you’ve all seen what an earphone jack looks like in real life, so imagine getting stabbed by those things. For most people, those things would puncture through a lot of flesh and muscle to reach some vital areas, such as bone, organ, and vein/artery systems. Keep this in mind as you continue reading cause it’s important.

Now, let’s talk about how a concussion’s made. When someone receives a concussion, it’s because their brain’s received a jolt, bump, or blow that causes it to rattle inside the skull. The impact doesn’t even need to be strong enough to break/damage bone, as long as that brain’s rattled enough, you’re getting a concussion. When it comes to being dealt damage, the entire body functions in a similar way. If a vital organ/system receives enough of a jolt, they’ll collapse and stop working. What protects us are our bone and muscle, but what if someone can bypass all of that protection and deliver a small shock to the body? This is where Kyouka’s quirk truly begins to showcase its strength.

Katsuki has failed to immediately knock out people with even his strongest explosions. Why? Because that person usually has a strong enough defense system to absorb the impact, whether it be a strength enhancing quirk or a hardening quirk. Kyouka has knocked out people without any effort just by stabbing them with her jacks and sending a small shock through them. Sure, it was done as a gag, but in terms of feats, this still counts. She’s been able to knock people unconscious without even trying, so now let’s imagine what would happen if she unleashed her full power into someone’s body. Without the aid of her support gear and just by plugging her jacks into the ground, she’s been shown to be able to crack cement, push back Nine (a guy who was near Tomura’s power level for a while), and send both debris and people flying. If a small jolt is enough for her to knock someone unconscious, then by amping her output by a slight amount, she could send someone into a coma and/or cause several of the person’s internal organs to fail. If she was to unleash a jolt using all of her power, she’d blow them up from the inside.

The only way TO counter her quirk once she’s got her jacks in you would be to have a body capable of withstanding such great force from within. So far, we’ve seen almost no one who can claim such a feat. Ejiro, the representative of what a hardening quirk can do, would drop like a fly to Kyouka. Even in “unbreakable” form, her jacks can pierce him. His quirk also only hardens his skin and some of his muscles, not the rest of the body. The fact he can still feel pain and bleed is proof of this. He may be able to tank an assault from her if she uses her support gear to fire a shockwave, but if she fires one inside his body, he’s done. She can also potentially knock out someone who’d otherwise resist her attacks by aiming her jacks at a more vulnerable area such as the heart or the head.

Now, Kyouka does have some weaknesses. First, she would have to inject her jacks into someone in order to quickly dispose of them. If someone could prevent her from tagging them with her jacks, Kyouka’s going to have a tougher time with swiftly taking them out. In addition, her jacks aren’t invincible, as shown by how AFO managed to take one out during his fight against her. However, between having her support gear and being able to cause massive earthquakes without them, she could knock a person around until she can close the distance. She can also take a page from Shota’s book and rely on ambush tactics. With her super hearing, she’s able to hear people’s heartbeats. Give her some proper training and she’ll be able to use that to determine if a target has spotted her or when they’ve relaxed to the point that they’ll be slower to react.

If Hori wanted to write her as such, Kyouka could be one of the most deadly assassins in the entire series, being able to take out even those who can withstand numerous explosions to the face by Katsuki. She’d a force to be reckoned with if she was allowed to use her abilities to their fullest potential. Sadly, as a side character, she’s shoved to the backseat so we’ll never get to see what a beast this girl can truly be.

[maletofujoshi]

gamers of a certain breeding will call a game “dead” if

there is no influx of new players

new content has stopped being produced for the game

the game itself is unavailable in original form (i.e. multiplayer servers go down)

these terms usually apply to multiplayer games, or “live” service games, but you’ll see people apply the same framework to like. single player experiences. games with story campaigns or whatever. a lot of people get mad at this but i think it’s like pretty interesting?

assuming that there is a relationship between a game being “dead” and a game being “live”, this is terminology that describes media artifacts in a fun way, the first two maxims here imply that something being “living” means that it still produces novel experiences/output. a sandbox that no longer receives updates is dead. a lack of new players in a mmo makes something dead, but so can a lack of new players in general- a “living” fandom can create novel content at a steady pace while a “dead” fandom can not.

death is something that usually feels like it completes something, its an ending, and an ending *usually* signifies completeness, all something can give you is given because something dead can’t give you more. a living thing in contrast can continue to transform, and continue to provide. playing a live game/engaging with a live work can provide a persisting experience, and can easily become a social ritual. discussing a new chapter in webserial, grinding new missions with a group, etc. when you reach the end of something dead, it’s like. well, over? if you had a social ritual around it, those tend to fade if they were centred around the thing itself. if you only talk to someone about some game, and you both then have nothing new to say about it, you might stop talking to each other.

some works that i think are interesting in this framework:

the bible - um. i forget if treating religious text as Text is offensive. lol. but like as text, it’s been persistent in culture and the “social ritual” aspect that i think is important in “live” works is like. kind of incredibly forward with religion. people have contributed to it in various ways, the ways people relate to it are constantly transforming, etc

undertale - plays with the concept a lot. one thing i find interesting about is its particular relationship to completionism/escapism, seeing all there is to see there is something you only do if you care about the game, but that effort is framed as antithetical to the game’s world. things like secrets and rare cases contribute to a feeling of “living”, the game can continue to surprise you in a way that creates the illusion of an endless amount of content- which it then laughs at you for thinking about it like that. the basic form of rpg dialogue is “case -> associated text”, and undertale has an ungodly amount of potential world states that it manages really well. but there’s an artificiality there, though many cases can make a character seem truly reactive, it’s like. just writing. so when novel text is exhausted, the illusion is flattened. the final conversation with asriel at the flowerbed comes to mind, where his final line is “don’t you have anything better to do?”— seen during the good end state of the game where you are meant to see the ending, and close the game, except you walked all the way back to the starting room of the game instead.

categories i think are interesting in this frame work:

- things that have been “talked to death” (funny phrase) where it feels as if every possible idea to be had about something has been had. an example that comes to mind is revolutionary girl utena.

- things that have malformed endings, or “deaths”, this can make something feel more “live” or stick in your head longer, like an open nerve or something. wonder egg priority, or undertale again comes to mind.

[secretsnowclub]

TTRPG Class: How to Write

Previous Post: Quasi-Text

First Post: Reading List

This was originally posted in my huge post-mortem on the .dungeon//remastered kickstarter and its success. I’m separating it from that and making it its own thing. I’ll be elaborating some of the smaller points and expanding definitions. Things like that. 

Firstly, I will say that if you are trying to be a writer for a company or get hired by someone else? These might not help you. Those companies are looking for you to write like them, which depends upon the project and countless variables I can’t quantify. It’s also an entire skill of its own. Freelance or ghost writing can often be about how well you understand different voices, different systems, and things of that nature. I’m honestly not *the best* at that kind of thing. These tips are specifically to help with the writer’s broader craft; specifically, the craft of TTRPG writing which I have found myself a professional in.

Don’t be boring. If you’re bored, skip it. Delete it. Forget about it. 

I picked this up from a screenwriting book way back before I decided to go back to college and while I was deep in the weeds of writing scripts for the movies I had in my head. The original tip-giver said to write “don’t be boring” on a post-it note and slap it on your monitor. I did that for a very long time until the post-it lost its stickiness and fell off in a move. 

This is important to TTRPGs because you don’t have to write everything. Even if you think a game needs a thing, if you aren’t excited about it, skip it. Chances are that what you’re excited about will be what you want others to be excited about as well.

2. Have a routine.

I fail at this quite often. Life changes shift my routine and knock it out of whack. But I do know that when I was in college? I had a routine and my writing output was ridiculous. And when I work on a project I tend to settle into a routine that involves waking up, exercise of some kind (usually a walk), shower, ride bike or walk to Library or coffee shop, write as much as I can, and come home to decompress/work on layout. 

Each project has had its own routine essentially and it’s important to let those routines form. I think fluidity is important even within the rigidity of the idea of Routine. Each project will have its own life and its own functions within your life. Let yourself discover new ways and new paths to reach the end goal. 

3. When writing fiction, aim for 2k words daily.

This is Stephen King’s thing. I used to do this and whenever I am writing *fiction* I still have it as my goal. But it is unattainable a lot of the time. Especially with games writing, where even just 10 words can be the focus of an entire day of work. Don’t beat yourself up over this. 

4. Write in paragraphs. Each should be an idea, preferably separated by headers. Otherwise you’re probably saying too much.

Sometimes I write in bullet points, but that’s an outline at best. A paragraph is one of the best tools you have as a writer. But it also allows you to set limits on your ideas so you’re not writing walls of text to describe your magic system or anything else. It helps you figure out your more complex systems and point out the individual ideas that make it up. If you’re writing several paragraphs about one thing? It’s probably several things that you’re trying to wedge into one.

5. Instead of writing a random generator for something, just write the good version of that thing.

6. Make a map. Put your ideas on the map. No more lists or procedural generation.

Personal pet peeve of mine. I’m not huge on random generators. I will always say that, instead of writing 100 random ideas for islands, just write one good island. And if you’ve got more in you after that? Perfect. My goal with Game Writing is to present something that’s worth paying for and worth exploring. Whether it’s a rule book or otherwise. I try to avoid random tables as often as I can.

7. Theme comes later. First, the writing.

This may be contentious. I view the act of writing as an act of discovery. I greatly enjoy Automatic Writing. I tend to follow a very train-of-thought style of writing. It feels similar to a valve that I turn on to clear out and let clean water flow. If I get caught up in the Big Picture, I’ll never get the faucet running. Get everything out of yourself before you begin self-editing. Let it all be laid out so you can look at it and then discover what It is.

8. When writing rules, remember “if…then.”

If a player chooses this option, then this happens. If a player rolls low, then this happens. And so on. This is helpful when simply stating a rule. You don’t want to get burdened by word choice. You want it to be clear and easily understood. If-then statements are easy to understand. 

9. Get a good editor and listen to them.

A good editor will tell you you’re wrong. A good editor will ask you to rewrite things because they don’t make sense. A good editor is critical but not malicious. This relationship is mutual and about respect for the work. It’s not about egos or hype. It’s simply about making the best book you can. Also, if you can’t defend a choice you’ve made, then listen to your editor when they tell you to cut it.

10. A great game is made of “catch-all” or “default” rules. Such as, “when in doubt, roll d20. Higher numbers are better.” They’re easily grasped and fill the gaps that all TTRPG texts have.

Yeah. I think all of the games people hold up as “great” have these. PbtA is built entirely on one catch-all rule that has changed the landscape of indie design since it was put on the page. It makes things easier for folks at the table when things are moving away from the text.

11. Your goal is to write one thing that’s True. This is the Work.

This is my goal when writing and sometimes it doesn’t happen. Sometimes I write thousands of words and they’re all useless. And it will always be useless until I find that One True Thing. Sometimes an entire book is just for that One Thing.

12. Refill the tank. Life is important and creates art.

This is what a screenwriting teacher said to me. “Refill the tank.” You have to participate in life to be able to write. That doesn’t mean you have to be extroverted and shit like that. It means that you gotta do things that recharge you. You gotta have experiences. You have to live your life. Have a life. 

13. The writer’s job is asking “what if?”

Stephen King might have said this too? I don’t remember. But yeah, I spend a lot of time asking “what if–” and seeing which weird scenarios spark my interest enough to write. For games or for fiction.

14. Read. A lot.

I count audiobooks. But, yeah. You gotta read stuff. Other games, novels, short stories, blogs, comics even. Take in art. It’s actually your number one job as a human. Enjoy art.

15. Go for a walk without music or a book-on-tape or a podcast. Walk and talk to yourself. Ask yourself questions about what you’re working on. Talk to yourself. Be in conversation with yourself. You are complicated and deserve attention.

I mean it :I They say the best ideas come to you in the shower. Well, that’s also true for any quiet, introspective time.

16. Have peers. Not just collaborators or colleagues, people whose work you respect. They should make you want to be better.

I get jealous of other people’s work and that’s how I know. When I’m like, “FUCK! I wish I thought of that!!” Those are the people I wanna talk to haha

17. If things just aren’t coming? Take a break. If you’re feeling aggravated, eat some food, drink some water, and get some rest.

You can’t force it. I know we can’t all take a break whenever we want, but please try.

18. Know yourself. Most people can’t sit alone with themselves. But knowing yourself is paramount. Therapy can help too. Knowing yourself means knowing why you like something, developing taste and not hiding it, knowing where to waste your time and where not to. This takes time. This is the Work.

I learn something new about myself nearly every day. I’m very curious about myself. I’m a studier of Myself. I want to know how it all works up there in my brain. I want to make it make sense. 

19. A hex/encounter/dungeon room/story can just be a weird, little guy.

Yeah. You can do Dungeon23 right now by just browsing pinterest and saving a bunch of images of cools NPCs. Your whole dungeon can just be pictures of NPCs that you make up personalities for at the table.

20. Write the game you want to play, not the one you think others will.

I think I wrote this in response to another project I saw at the time. But it’s true at all times. We’re indie designers. Why else are we doing this if not to tell our stories? 

21. Make sure your needs are taken care of by the budget before hiring collaborators.

It’s common in the indie TTRPG space to rely on collaborator clout to draw people to your project during crowdfunding. And it’s common for those sorts of things to ruin a project financially. The process will always take longer than you expect, so please make sure YOUR needs are met before you start paying other people. There’s nothing worse than promising a paycheck to someone and having to rescind the offer because something happened and you had to use their money on rent. Like, just please? Care for yourself. 

22. No stretch goals.

This is a Me thing. But I say it to everyone who comes to me asking for advice on their first crowdfunded project. Keep it simple. You want to deliver. You don’t want to overpromise. You simply want to be able to do the thing so that you can do another one later. Take it slow.

23. When writing Hurt, the most important thing is that you are human. What you feel is human. What happened to you is also human.

This is about empathy. For your characters and situations they find themselves in. It’s also about honesty. The most biting and beautiful passages of my favorite books have been honest. Because the truth is, when experiencing Hurt, things aren’t so cut and dry in your head. And your reactions might seem weird in hindsight. You might feel ashamed or guilty for not reacting a certain way. Just please have empathy for yourself. The readers will relate to the honesty.

24. End all dialog with “said.” It’s all you need.

This is a good rule because it means you have to choose to break it. Which means you have to think about why you’re breaking it. Which means you can defend breaking it. Which means your editor has to listen to you for once. :P

25. Writing is a skill as much as it is an art. Give it respect. Good writers don’t simply fall out of the womb. They mastered a craft. Not unlike any other skill or discipline. You won’t build a good chair on your first try.

It took me a long time to learn this. Writing is actually very hard and every good paragraph you read is a masterpiece of patience and skill. 

26. Find time to write. How else can you be a writer?

I hate including things because I see a silly take on twitter. But yeah, obviously. Writers write. 

27. Writing can be lonely, but shouldn't be solitary. No book is made by one set of hands.

This is true of every project I’ve done. Even my most recent effort, Melancholy Island, had my friend Char’s photography in it. Beyond that, I talked to my best friend Coleen frequently about it just to keep my head straight and focused. I also have my discord where I would lament and talk and such. Each of these things are helpful in the process of writing. Don’t isolate yourself.

28. Having an opinion is easy. Having a good one worth defending is the Work. If you have nothing to say, do anything other than write.

This may be more true of non-fiction writing, but it’s true of TTRPGs as well, otherwise you’d just play one of the thousands upon thousands of games that are already out. Figure out why it is you *don’t* want to play them and focus in on that. Your opinion lies somewhere in there.

29. Never submit a first draft.

Like, please? Have more respect for your craft. I think third draft at the earliest. That’s when I usually get an editor.

30. Don’t follow trends.

31. Writing is about making choices. Half measures are worthless. Make a choice. If it’s the wrong choice: that’s fine.

32. When writing games, you’re composing an incomplete text. Otherwise it’s a script. Choosing to write a game over a novel is an important decision.

These are all related. 

33. The two ideas circling your head are actually one idea.

I combine ideas that seem disparate all the time. It unlocks the Good Stuff.

34. Take yourself seriously. Listen to yourself. This is how you gain confidence.

35. You need to learn to say, “That’s a bad idea.”

These two both boil down to “have confidence in, and know, your taste.”

36. When writing, ignore the first thing that pops into your head. Ignore the second thing too. The third idea is where the work starts.

I’ve found when running games, the first idea I think of is often the most obvious. The second one ends up being a gimmick or a twist. But the third idea is where the humanity tends to come in. Thinking beyond tropes and cliches to find the Truth you’re trying to say.

37. Western writing traditions are not the world.

I wish I had been taught this in school. Cause the hero’s journey ruined me for a long time.

38. If you aren’t sure if you can or should write something: experience more art. You don’t need permission. You need to broaden your horizons. You’re not the first to tread this path.

We’re hardly ever doing something truly original. Find the blueprints and figure out how to make them yours. Use them to tell your story.

39. If you can’t say why you chose to do something, shut up and listen to your editor.

Yeah! :I

40. The most beautiful critique isn’t worth as much as the most mediocre art.

Keep making art.

41. Copy writing you enjoy. Assimilate it.

I steal ideas, concepts, and techniques from every single thing I read/experience. This is how you become more skilled at your craft.

42. Your job, as a writer, is to make a claim. Any claim. Your art can’t be for everyone. You can’t write for the lowest common denominator. You can’t write for the widest possible audience. Be you. That’s how you find your audience.

You’ve got things to say! Even if you don’t know it yet. That is part of the Work.

If you like my work, support me on patreon!

And check out my latest book over on itch!

[archivist-crow]

Odds and Ends:

THE BAGHDAD BATTERY

In June 1936, Iraqi railway-construction workers involved in earth-moving operations discovered an ancient grave under a stone slab. Over the next two months, the Iraq Antiquities Department removed approximately 613 beads, engraved bricks, clay figurines, and an ancient electric battery dating from between 248 BC and AD 226. Comprised of a copper cylinder and an iron rod, the battery was probably used by Baghdad silversmiths-fifteen centuries before Luigi Galvani's famous experiment in which he produced enough electric current to cause a frog's legs to twitch.

Archaeologist Wilhelm Konig wrote: "Something rather peculiar was found... A vase-like vessel of light yellow clay ... contained a copper cylinder which was held firmly by asphalt... [and] a completely oxidized iron rod.. After all the parts had been brought together and then examined in their separate parts, it became evident that it could only have been an electrical element. It was only necessary to add an acid or an alkaline liquid..."

At the Berlin Museum in Germany, Konig noticed similar cylinders from Iraq; all had iron and bronze rods and asphalt stoppers, which were corroded as if by acid. He surmised that at least ten batteries had been run together to reach a voltage output that was capable of electroplating gold and silver jewelry. In Mesopotamia gold and silver plating goes back 2,000 years, and in Bulgaria, 4,000 years. Museums around the world contain objects in which layers of gold are too thin and smooth to have been applied by beating or gluing. Could they have been electroplated?

Replicas of the batteries were made in two separate experiments conducted in the United States. A current of half a volt was achieved and lasted eighteen days. A 5 percent electrolyte solution, using vinegar, wine, or copper sulphate, was employed.

Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009

[devilofthehounds]

God Eater 3 Character Novel | Memories Like Fireflies: Chapter 7

[image id: A novel cover. In the foreground is a young Lulu Baran from God Eater 3. She is looking sadly at a pair of goggles in her hands, a fresh scar across her right eye. Behind her is a crimson Biting Edge-type God Arc, dried blood beneath it. Behind that is a faded image of present-day Lulu looking off into the distance. The text, when translated into English, reads “God Eater 3 Character Novel | Chapter 2: Lulu Edition | Memories Like Fireflies”. /end id]

This is a fan translation. Original text here.

Masterpost 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

After spending so long recounting my past, I suddenly took a deep breath.

I looked away from the green moon and turned to Luca, who had been listening to me the entire time.

"In the end, I was cast aside by Baran and lost my place again... And of course, I'm proud to fight alongside you and everyone else on the ship, but..."

I looked down at my hands and thought back to that distant day.

"Even now, I sometimes have doubts in the back of my mind. Is it really okay for me to be happy like this?"

No matter the reason, I was the one who took the life of my savior.

That fact had always stayed with me, wedged into place.

A life buried beneath trash, looking up toward a light I could never reach. I felt like that was what I deserved.

"...I'm sorry to have told you a story like that. Are you disappointed?"

I believed my bonds with everyone on the ship were solid.

But my past could unexpectedly break those bonds.

I stared at Luca silently, hiding my inner fear.

After a while of staring at the moon's image swaying on the water's surface, Luca eventually spoke.

"I think... it's a good thing you were the one to kill Nike."

"...Huh?"

I was puzzled. I never thought I'd receive affirmation for such a cruel memory.

After a moment of deep contemplation, Luca looked up at the night sky.

"If I ever became an Aragami, you or Hugo... No. I'd want everyone on the ship to kill me, together."

"W-What?! Why would you say something like that?!"

"Because if you left it to someone else, you'd definitely regret it."

Cupping the clear water into his palm, Luca spoke as if his thoughts were spilling out.

"Everyone might hold a grudge against the person who killed me. That person might even end up hating themself, carrying a burden they shouldn't have to, unable to keep moving forward. If things were to end up that way..."

His eyes, innocent as the moonlight, turned to me.

"I'd rather everyone kill me together, by their own hands."

I wasn't sure what was right.

But if Nike had been killed by someone other than me.

I was certain I would have become nothing more than an empty puppet, spreading nothing but unrelenting hatred. I wouldn't have had any energy left to live. I might have even longed for death.

Nike definitely would've known that.

If Nike had harbored the same will as Luca.

Was she relieved that I had been the one to draw the curtain on her life, with my own hands?

"Someday, let's all go look for them."

"Huh?"

"The fireflies. I'd like to see them, too."

Luca smiled like a little kid, pointing up at the moon in the night sky.

Those words, that smile, shined a light on my memory.

It connected the past that bound my heart to the present and the future.

"Heheh... Yeah... Definitely."

Nike. I might not have been able to live the life she hoped I would.

Even so, I hoped she might let me share her dream, one more time.

Because in this place she led me to, I felt like I could make it come true this time.

I was able to look back on my memories of those distant days head-on, even if only for a little while.

When we got back to the Chrysanthemum, Luca and I entrusted our God Arcs to Keith.

"Good job, you guys! I'll take care of maintenance. By the way, Lulu, you have really good God Arc compatibility; did you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"Take a look at these numbers. The output should be adjusted to be constant for everyone, but for some reason, when you use your acceleration trigger, the Oracle Cells on the God Arc side of things always get really excited."

Keith tilted his head as he looked at the tablet displaying God Arc statuses.

"To me, it's like your God Arc is taking on your burden of its own volition... Does Baran have some sort of special fighting technique?"

I stood in shock. Beside me, Luca let out his own gasp of surprise.

"My God Arc... Of its own volition...?"

The attack that killed the Caligula during the acceleration trigger field test.

I thought my body had simply acted on instinct when put under extreme conditions.

But if... if that miracle of a theory was true.

What kept me alive during that intense danger was—

"I... I..."

Maybe it was because I'd been immersed in nostalgic memories until just now.

I involuntarily fell to my knees and tried to cover the endless flow of tears with my hands.

"Huh?! W-W-What's wrong, Lulu?! Did I bore you to tears with all my science talk?!"

"Aw, Keith made Lulu cry."

"Boss, how can you say that?! Wait, have you been hanging out with Zeke lately?!"

Despite the tears, hearing my friends make a fuss over me made me smile.

I was nowhere near finished.

You had always been close to me, protecting me more than anyone else.

"...Don't let go of that will."

My master's words came back to me.

Those words weren't telling me to sacrifice myself for Baran's sake.

Back then, my master felt Nike's will to protect me, even though it had taken a new form.

"I guess your master never forgot, either."

Luca smiled as he spoke, nestled at my side.

"Heh... Honestly, you guys..."

How much more hope did I need to see?

Wiping my tears, I picked up my crimson God Arc and held it up.

For so long, I'd been such a pitiful sight.

"There's something I want to tell everyone about later. Will you listen?"

Keith was confused, but Luca nodded silently.

I smiled sincerely as I spoke.

"I have a dream I want to fulfill."

We would spread our wings and take flight once more in this beautiful world.

Along with memories like fireflies that I spent with you.

Written by Hisui Kawasemi (Talepot Co.) Original Scenario by Hiroshi Yoshimura (Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.)

[alrightrandy]

new year, new plans

what's this? a geniune alrightrandy blog post that isn't just random slop? …finally.

all jokes aside, i'm well aware that i haven't necessarily been ultilizing this site – as well as other platforms im on, as much as i wanted to. however, considering the new year has just begun i believe it's time to make some form of change around here.

i just want to preface this by saying that, all through out last year, i've ran myself into some personal turmoil that led me to essentially lack any sort of focus to work on any hobbies. it's hard to explain, i feel like i have done a lot but at the same time i clearly didn't have much creative output as much as i wanted to. and again, it didn't help that i was also juggling with stuff in my personal life too.

i guess the point i'm trying to make across here is that, i haven't properly found a right balance for myself, both creatively and irl-wise. and i certainly didn't have a proper sense of direction either… but i'm hoping to change that this year!

through out the end of 2023 up until the mid january, i've went through a pretty prolific event that kind of sparked a slew of motivation and plans to really get myself back.

in summary, around the holidays a phone of mine completely bricked itself for some random reason, making it practically inaccessible for me to use. and keep in mind, i'm still saving up to get myself a laptop, so i really had no other personal devices besides that phone.

thankfully, i did manage to get a new one – however, the point is that me being phone-less for a brief moment was very "humbling" for me. not only it was the only device for communication and having a creative outlet, but it just goes to show nothing should be taken for granted. ANYTHING can be lost in a matter of seconds, a simple reminder that i really needed to get myself together.

and with that, everything brings me to here. i've somewhat finally came up with a plan to hopefully boost some motivation within me, and also have a better commitment to my creative output.

to get the obvious stuff out of the way, in reguards of my youtube channel – as well as anything reguarding about dj'ing and music. i am going to try my best to put a heavier focus on these since its something i'm still a complete beginner at. it's a new hobby i've recently picked up, and it only makes sense for me to try to lean onto it a bit more. matter in fact...

i just recently put out something onto my channel!

i'm going try to put out at least one mini mix on a monthly (or bi-monthly) basis. hopefully it will not only expand my portfolio as a dj, but i geniunely think this could help with my issues with commiting to something. plus, i think it would definitely bring in some life to my channel since i still have no clue what direction i want to take it in.

don't get it twisted, i still want to experiment with all sorts of different types of videos. however, i can't make any promises if any of it will reach the light of day. at least with these mini mixes, they will hopefully still appear consistently even if i have nothing else to upload. idk, i think its a decent enough idea to sink time into.

now, reguarding everything about creating artwork and ultilizing my platforms. it's still somewhat uncertain, however if you checked my pinned post i have recently updated it with new sites you can check me out on!

but in short, i will also try to branch out more and maybe even network myself to finding ppl / communities. and along the way, i will also try to get back into creating art since i really have been putting that on the back burner. again, no promises but i have been putting some thought into it! (i'm looking at you Newgrounds and Bluesky…)

i'm reaching my text limit, so this is all i have for now. i'll catch you guys on the flipside, i really do hope i do better this year. knock me out if this post ages horribly lol

happy 2024!

~🐇

[twentyyearstoolate]

One of my favorite things in fantasy media is the exploration of magic as a utility in day-to-day living. Like in D&D, it's touched on how some spells have applications that adventurers might find marginally useful, but have ground-shaking impact for society at large. Like Plant Growth, for example:

This is a great area control spell, but the second effect has huge worldbuilding potential in any game where spellcasters are even remotely common, and I'm a little sad that it gets slept on. It doesn't take a historian to tell you that kingdoms rise and fall on their ability to procure food for their inhabitants. The implications of this spell that can effectively guarantee a bumper crop make me incredulous about how few court druids there are compared to wizards, even in WotC's own materials - A single person that is capable of doubling the food output of 500+ acres of land every day is a fucking golden goose, far more so than some pointy-hatted old man who can create explosions, and maybe even more valuable than one who could turn lead into gold. You can't eat gold, but you can sure sell excess produce to your neighbors.

And think of the knock-on effects here for storytelling and plot hooks - Druids tend to be motivated by the cultivation and protection of natural resources, and that's in direct conflict with the consumption and expansion of a kingdom, to the point that a circle that once offered this spell to a smaller village to prevent a famine might now withhold their spellcasting services unless the king agrees to turn a particular forest into a nature reserve, but the king needs that wood to build and maintain a navy to protect the kingdom from pirates and warring factions, to construct additional housing for ever more citizens, or even just to survive the harsh winters. Can a party convince the druid that the needs of the kingdom and its people outweigh the need to preserve the forest? Or the king that the forest should be preserved, and there are other means of achieving these ends? Maybe there's another solution that satisfies both parties that you haven't thought of buried in a class feature or another spell, but one of the players will?

And keep in mind, this is just one spell, and it's a spell that shows up in the PHB because it is also useful to PCs. Other spells like Fabricate, even cantrips like Mending, have the potential to drastically reshape what a fantasy society looks like if they're accessible to more than just the PCs or hostile NPCs. And if you're willing to dip your toes into homebrewing, you can make the kinds of spells that nonadventuring casters would have need of. A spell that can sort things based on caster specifications. A spell that can build and paint a row of fencing around a designated area. A spell that summarizes a body of text, or simplifies instructions. The possibilities go on.

It's fun to expand on this further into magic items, the kind that tell stories about their users and/or creators, and make sense as tools that would be useful for both common folk and adventurers. Perhaps one of my favorite homebrew magic items is a ring that the party found on a dead kobold trapper after reaching the far end of a rigged ruin, his skeleton pinned against the wall by a spear in front of a concealed hideout:

Ring of Tripwires - Ring, uncommon This bronze ring has a seemingly infinite coil of thin, clear wire wrapped around it. The wearer can produce any length of strong, semitransparent string from the ring. Any string produced in this way is otherwise mundane. Once per day, as an action, the wearer can drag the ring a few inches over a walkable surface, drawing up to 15 feet of string in a straight line. This magical string is invisible, can be connected to a trap as part of a triggering mechanism, and remains until it is broken or this ability is used again. Any creature who moves into it must make a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone, as the string breaks. If it is connected to a trap, the trap also activates. Regardless of whether the save is successful, the wearer knows when the string has been broken.

(As an aside, I love taking the time to put this kind of bespoke treasure on NPCs, living or dead, because there's a very direct connection between the storytelling and the mechanics that makes the encounter come alive, as opposed to the blandness and occasional dissonance of the typical dead adventurer item economy where players routinely stumble across corpses and hoards with useful things, or loot them from hostile creatures, when it raises questions about how they couldn't or didn't use these to get out of a jam - god forbid you use a random table to generate loot, because then you get the party wondering why this bandit chief was carrying a +1 longsword, a wand of missiles and a potion of invisibility, and didn't think to use those items in the fight they just died in against an adventuring group.)

Anyway, back to the point - magic in these settings has the potential to be so versatile and integral in worldbuilding, and if you have NPC casters and don't explore the possibility of the use of magic in day-to-day life, you're leaving so much good story on the table. If you're looking for inspiration, it's never a bad time to peruse the spell lists. Don't just say a wizard did it - find out how. It's a lot of fun.

[leam1983]

Here's what I allow myself to use AI for, and what I don't...

What I Do:

Make a first pass at a new topic, aware that I'll need to fine-comb ChatGPT's output with actual research of my own. I don't need to be too focused on this, inaccuracies will surface on their own with the human-focused second and third passes. The actual use of the first pass is to provide me with a synthesis that makes it easier for me to unpack and assimilate, even if correction is required.

Test out speech patterns for new characters for D&D campaigns, fanfics or personal works of fiction. I've found that if a bot can maintain a character's "color" for a few screens' length, then I'm on to something.

Test out visual designs. Not being a visual person, I have a hard time synthesizing things like character appearances in descriptive text blocks. Starting with AI imagery of something I've prompted makes it easier to find design elements that work well enough for me.

Personal-use world-building. I've dabbled with Suno to generate theme songs or lead-in tracks for characters and situations, with lyrics of my own. Having always had trouble with metrics, I know I've got it right if the song feels like it fits the character, and if the song's lyrics fit the BPM and pacing. I then listen to some of these tracks while writing segments that correspond to specific moods or situations.

Prototyping designs at work. Professionally, I'm a Sysadmin for a small Automotive Marketing company. As we're tiny, everyone knows everyone else, and we're free to pitch in ideas with other departments. I've sometimes used Midjourney to use a client's hazy description for a Web page design and flesh it out into something more cogent I can append to any meeting notes with our actual Web Designers. The idea is Midjourney's render serves as a kind of loose first pass, and the Graphic Design guys can do whatever they want with it. Typically, the only things left of the AI render by the end of the process are some colour swatch suggestions.

Figure out code I didn't write. Our Call Manager was written by a different team that's long since disbanded, and they left us without archived copies of their work. Being under pressure at the time, I used ChatGPT to figure out the Call Manager's code faster than I would have if I'd given myself a good month to sit down and review it line by line. The bot made plenty of mistakes in its optimization suggestions, yes, but the idea was that getting it to bring code segments under scrutiny then helps human eyes focus on the right blocks faster. A month of monastic work turned into two intensive weeks, and we were set. All more intensive customization and optimization efforts were done by hand.

What I Don't Do:

Use AI renders directly: I don't want to take our Graphic Design team out of the equation, and I appreciate having artists to commission for private pieces. I treat AI as a stepping stone to human art, not as a showpiece that should be exhibited on its own.

Use AI as an excuse to not have to issue proper attributions. Even when I give a render to our Graphic Design guys, I list any artists referenced, along with examples of their actual works that can be freely found online. Going back to traceable references is always handy for designers, seeing as it drastically cuts down on research and experimentation. If I can focus on Creative Commons material, I gladly do do.

Ignore the environmental cost of AI. We're actually on the fast track to reaching temperature increases of more than 1.5 degrees Celcius per year for the first time in recorded history, and that is possibly the saddest record we could ever set. AI in its current form is non-sustainable. The same could be said of crypto. We absolutely need a better cooling solution for our hardware that won't rely on shunting their heat someplace else. If that means rethinking the way we approach CPU and GPU designs, I'm all for it.

I, most importantly, think we can't just ban the use of AI from any particular field. The genie's out of its lamp, so to speak, and even if several countries wrote historic laws that restrict or ban the use of generative tools, there's always someone else who's going to figure out how to recompile a dataset, re-train a model and illicitly offer generative services. The tech needs to be structured so it doesn't become the sole province of scammers, bad-faith actors or get-rich-quick schemers. That implies oversight - not elimination.

Okay. It's time for an AI rant.

My nephew is 13 years old. Whenever he writes a paper for school, I check it over and fix all of his mistakes for him. He said to me, "Maybe I'll proofread your paper for you in exchange," meaning one of the scholarly articles I write for work. I said, "Cool," and gave him the file. And he said, "Well, this is full of errors! See, you always say you have a lot to correct on my stuff, and look at all the stuff you got wrong!" And I said, surprised, "What? Where?" Because I'm sure there are typos in the draft I sent him, but not, like, that many.

And then he pointed to the screen and said, "Look at all the blue and red lines you have."

And I said, "Yeah, but those are wrong. Like, those are blue and red lines I'm ignoring because the computer is wrong." And then I paused and added, "You know you can't proofread a paper by just looking at the red and blue lines, right?" And he gave me the blankest look, because that clearly is EXACTLY what he thinks. And it became even clearer suddenly why, whenever I correct something on his paper, his immediate reaction is, "It didn't have a blue or red line."

There's a very good reason for that: THAT'S BECAUSE THE COMPUTER ISN'T SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT IT WAS WRONG.

I am so tired of being sold the idea that computers are better than humans and so we should just outsource everything to them, which is clearly the lesson my nephew is absorbing in U.S. middle school. COMPUTERS ARE NOT BETTER THAN HUMANS. Like, maybe they are better at humans at crawling through rubble to find people trapped inside. They are also better at preserving things in a searchable format. Things like that. Very limited circumstances.

I don't want to sound alarmist but everything I hear about people using generative AI freaks me out. It's not just that I'm freaked out by people being like, "I use it to write novels!" (Although I don't see how they do, I have tried to have it write fiction for me and the output was truly terrible.) But I recognize my bias around creative writing and so no one needs to credit my views on artificial writing. But! Other things are alarming, too! "I use it to brainstorm x, y, or z." But...why? Why not just...use your own brain...to...brain...storm? The computer doesn't even have a brain to brainstorm with! And you might be like, "But it comes up with things that my brain would never think of!" So would other people! You could also brainstorm with other people! Or even through Google to see what other people have thought before you (not AI). Please don't belittle the wonder of thinking.

I just feel like the marketing around generative AI boils down to "Wouldn't it be easier not to use your own brain to think about things?" Everyone. No. It would not be. Please just trust me on this. I'm not just an old person who is out of touch with technology or something. I promise. USE YOUR BRAINS. IT WILL BE OKAY.

[charles233]

AI at Scale: Developing the Infrastructure of Intelligent Software

Artificial Intelligence is no longer an isolated innovation—it’s a foundational layer in modern digital infrastructure. From customer-facing chatbots and intelligent search to logistics optimization and autonomous research assistants, AI is now woven into the core fabric of enterprise software and everyday tools.

But building intelligent systems that work at scale—reliably, securely, and efficiently—is a challenge that goes far beyond training models. It’s about engineering infrastructure, deploying intelligently, optimizing cost-performance trade-offs, and continuously learning from real-world usage.

This article explores how teams are developing AI at scale, and what it takes to build robust, adaptive systems that power tomorrow’s intelligent software.

From Model Development to System Engineering

Training a machine learning model is just the beginning. Once the model is trained, it must be:

Deployed to serve millions of users concurrently

Integrated with real-time data sources

Monitored for drift, degradation, or unsafe behavior

Updated frequently as the world and data evolve

In 2025, the focus of AI development has shifted from model building to system building—creating full-stack architectures that support performance, observability, alignment, and scale.

The Anatomy of a Scalable AI System

Building AI at scale involves orchestrating many components that work together:

1. Foundation Model

This is the core intelligence engine, usually a pretrained large language model (LLM) or multimodal system (text + image + audio). Examples include:

Proprietary: OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini

Open-source: Mistral, LLaMA, Phi-3

These models are massive—often billions of parameters—and require significant compute resources.

2. Retrieval Layer

AI systems need access to up-to-date, factual information. Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) connects the model to external knowledge sources, including:

Vector databases (Pinecone, Weaviate)

Enterprise documents and APIs

Real-time search systems

This layer helps ground the model in accurate, contextual data.

3. Tooling and Plugins

To extend capabilities, AI systems use tools: code interpreters, web browsers, schedulers, or API interfaces. Orchestration frameworks like LangChain and OpenAgents manage tool invocation intelligently.

4. User Interface

This is where AI meets the user—chatbots, copilots, voice assistants, dashboards, IDEs, and mobile apps. UX design becomes critical to guide and constrain behavior.

5. Monitoring and Evaluation

Scalable AI systems must be constantly monitored for performance, latency, safety, bias, and accuracy. Real-time telemetry, user feedback loops, and automated red-teaming are all part of this layer.

The end result isn’t just a chatbot—it’s an intelligent platform that adapts to real-world demands at scale.

Engineering for Reliability and Trust

AI systems must be more than smart—they must be reliable, transparent, and safe. That requires robust engineering practices:

1. Failover and Graceful Degradation

What happens when the model times out, fails to respond, or gives a low-confidence result? Scalable systems must have fallback logic—like cached results, rule-based heuristics, or human escalation.

2. Guardrails and Filtering

Before outputs reach the user, AI responses should pass through guardrails to:

Remove harmful or toxic content

Enforce formatting or compliance standards

Block certain types of actions

Solutions include prompt validation, regex post-processing, moderation APIs, and intent classification.

3. Model Versioning

Just like software, models need version control. Teams must track changes to:

Base model version

Fine-tuned weights

Prompt templates and system instructions

Tooling and memory configurations

Versioning supports reproducibility, rollback, and safe experimentation.

Scaling Infrastructure for AI Workloads

AI models are compute-intensive, especially during inference. Engineering for scale means designing infrastructure that balances cost, latency, and performance.

Key Tactics:

Model Distillation: Use smaller, faster models for common queries (e.g., LLaMA-2-7B) and reserve large models for complex tasks.

Prompt Caching: Cache frequent queries and responses to reduce redundant computation.

Load Balancing: Distribute inference across GPUs and regions to avoid bottlenecks.

Async Workflows: Offload slow tasks like document summarization or code analysis to background queues.

Edge Deployment: For latency-sensitive use cases, deploy models locally on mobile or browser-based runtimes.

By combining smart architecture with efficient resource management, developers can deliver real-time intelligence without breaking the budget.

The Importance of Data Flywheels

One of the most powerful advantages in scalable AI systems is the data flywheel—a loop where user interaction improves the system.

The Flywheel Looks Like This:

Users interact with the AI system

System logs queries, context, actions, and feedback

Signals are used to fine-tune prompts or retrain the model

System improves and produces better outcomes

Better outcomes drive more usage and data

This loop transforms your AI system from a static product into a learning machine—one that evolves in response to how it’s used.

Evaluating AI at Scale

Performance isn’t just about speed or uptime. Scalable AI systems need multi-dimensional evaluation across:

Accuracy: Does it return correct, grounded, and factual responses?

Safety: Is it free from harmful or biased outputs?

Coherence: Do answers remain relevant across a multi-step conversation?

Coverage: Can it handle a wide range of user intents?

Efficiency: How much compute is consumed per query?

User Satisfaction: Is the AI helping users achieve their goals?

Engineers use custom benchmarks, A/B testing, and user feedback dashboards to track these metrics continuously.

AI Ops: The New Frontier of DevOps

Managing AI systems requires a new form of DevOps: AI Ops.

Responsibilities of AI Ops Teams:

Monitor inference latency and GPU utilization

Manage model deployment pipelines

Track data labeling and training pipelines

Conduct automated evaluations and flag drift

Roll back or hotfix underperforming prompts or models

AI Ops blends engineering, infrastructure, data science, and user support into a unified practice. It’s critical for safe, scalable deployments.

Real-World Use Cases of Scalable AI

Scalable AI systems are already transforming industries:

Customer Experience

Virtual assistants, intelligent search, and dynamic FAQs reduce support loads and improve satisfaction.

Legal and Compliance

AI copilots summarize long documents, detect risk, and generate regulatory reports with transparency logs.

Healthcare

Triage assistants, clinical documentation, and medical search engines use AI to support care teams—not replace them.

Logistics and Operations

AI agents optimize routing, detect anomalies, and automate scheduling across fleets and facilities.

These are not demos—they are live, mission-critical systems used by millions daily.

The Role of Open Source in Scaling AI

Open-source models and frameworks are essential to democratizing AI development at scale:

Models: LLaMA, Mistral, Falcon, Gemma

Frameworks: LangChain, Transformers, OpenAgents

Toolkits: Gradio, BentoML, FastAPI, Ray Serve

By using open systems, teams can move faster, reduce lock-in, and benefit from a vibrant community of contributors.

Open source is making enterprise-grade AI scalable for startups and developers everywhere.

Challenges of Scaling AI

Scaling AI systems is powerful—but not without challenges:

Cost Explosion: Inference costs can spiral out of control if not optimized.

Data Privacy: Grounding AI in private enterprise data creates security concerns.

Model Bias: Scaling a biased system scales the impact of harm.

Regulatory Pressure: Governments are moving to regulate AI transparency, auditing, and usage.

Model Sprawl: Managing multiple models, versions, and fine-tunes becomes a complexity challenge.

Engineering teams must confront these challenges directly through governance, observability, and responsible AI practices.

The Future: AI as Infrastructure

As AI becomes embedded in the core of applications, it’s shifting from a feature to a platform layer. Tomorrow’s software will be:

AI-native: Built from the ground up with intelligent components

Agentic: Autonomous systems that plan, act, and adapt to achieve goals

Multimodal: Understanding text, speech, images, and behavior holistically

Collaborative: Working across teams, tools, and systems seamlessly

Developing AI at scale is no longer just about making models smarter—it’s about making software more human in how it responds, learns, and collaborates.

Conclusion: Building the Intelligence Layer of the Future

The era of building isolated models is over. Today, we’re engineering intelligent systems that operate in the wild—serving users, powering businesses, and adapting on the fly. This requires not just brilliance in machine learning, but rigor in software engineering, systems design, and human-centered thinking.

For developers, product teams, and infrastructure engineers, this is the frontier: Scaling intelligence responsibly, reliably, and impactfully.

AI isn’t just a feature anymore. It’s infrastructure—and the future is being built, line by line, prompt by prompt, system by system.