#tbot

[worldsofzzt]

Source “Mouse Selection Engine” by TBot (2000) [MOUSEENG.ZZT] - “Engine” Play This World Online

[taliesin-the-bored]

"What's the deal with Taliesin?"

A somewhat lengthy ramble about the most powerful (or most arrogant) character in Arthurian legend

On the one hand, his powers exceed Merlin’s—Merlin describes himself as “second only to Taliesin” (in “Ymddiddan Myrtin a Talyessin”), and Taliesin claims to have profound knowledge of the cosmos dating back to Creation (he says poetic inspiration was created at the same time as fresh milk, dew, and acorns). He knows everything and can shapeshift into pretty much anything, if the catalogues he gives are anything to go by. He survived being swallowed alive, being thrown in the sea ("Ystoria Taliesin"), and (it seems) going on a raid of the Otherworld during which all but seven of Arthur’s many warriors died ("Preiddeu Annwn"). Then or at some other point while he was in Annwn, he pierced 8,000 men with spears he got from Heaven ("Cad Goddeu"). That puts his casualty count above that of anyone else I can think of in Arthurian legend (They fall "by the hundred" to Bedwyr--"Pa Gur"--but by "forty score hundred" to Taliesin). For all we know, he's indestructible; from what he claims, he's omniscient.

On the other hand, he sometimes seems like Sir Kay Xtreme Bard Edition with Extra Arrogance. In The Book of Taliesin, he has a really bitter (one-sided?) feud with other scholars and monks (some variant on "pathetic men of letters” appears many a time), who he accuses of ignorance because they don’t know the answers to various questions he never gives the answers to himself, and he loses or alienates everyone until the only person who visits him is a dude named “Goronwy, from the dales of Edrywy” ("Cad Goddeu"). Not much is known about this Goronwy, though it’s been speculated that he’s the speaker in “Claf Abercuawg”, in which case he’s an ailing societal outcast and probably couldn’t get anyone to talk to him except Taliesin. There’s a strong pathos to this—time, and maybe hubris, came with a fall, leaving him somewhat like a washed-up starlet or a burned-out wunderkind, abandoned now that he’s no longer the shiny new thing.

On the third hand, which I don't have but Taliesin could probably manage if he felt like it, much of this is from his point of view, and we have no way to prove he's telling the truth. When he tells his own origin story, he claims that he was Frankensteined together by enchanters at the dawn of time. This flatly contradicts "Ystoria Taliesin", so either there are multiple canons for his life story, he's talking as the Awen rather than as himself (in which case he's still contradicting himself--he also says it's a creation of the Lord), or he's lying about some of it. Why he would want to is anyone's guess, since he is quite powerful regardless.

If we don't take Taliesin at his word about his ability to kaiju battle giant toad monsters ("Cad Goddeu"), or take it with a grain of salt, then what are his accomplishments apart from self-preservation and repaying a life debt to Elphin? I am by no means an expert on him, but in what I've read, he does almost nothing in anyone else's story. It's almost like, apart from one or two times, he isn't able to find a way to use his powers for anyone else's good.

Then again, what is his primary power? Shapeshifting seems obvious (too obvious). He uses it for self-preservation (which is valid), for the heck of it (maybe), and/or for really dubious ends (see "Angar Kyfundawt" if you really must know, but trust me, you don't want to). Fighting is a less talked about ability of his. He can cause a lot of destruction (according to himself). It's not really clear what he fights for, though the various legendary kings he hangs out with are probably implied. Then, there's...

...the Awen. Inspiration. Poetry. He can do poetry, and he can do it very well. That is what he boasts about the most, and his boasts seem pretty justified. He’s Taliesin Ben Beirdd, Taliesin “Chief of Bards”, not Taliesin “the Shapeshifter” or Taliesin “Best of Warriors”, even though he may be both of those things. Shapeshifting only benefits him, and he's seen the horrors of war more than most people: his close friend Merlin killed his own nephew in a battle. When Taliesin fights, he kills terrifying numbers of people, maybe without full control (whether he's fully cognizant while he's using his powers is an interesting question which I won't get into right now). Perhaps that's why he doesn't interfere with others' adventures much: he is too powerful to do less harm than good for the people around him and for the narrative tension. Or maybe he just doesn't feel like it, or he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, or they just don't want him there anymore, or his role as a teller of stories is more important than his role as a person in them. 

[cursedwithwords]

I was looking at my statistics on Ao3 (never a good idea) and I'm just. So fucking baffled that the jegulus I haven't updated since 2019 is my most popular fic out of all my fics. Like I've written for a ton of fandoms, yet the jegulus with 8 chapters has the highest stats out of EVERYTHING.

I stopped writing it because I was really, really self conscious of my writing and my headcanons, I didn't think anyone would like it because it was such a left turn from the usual jegulus takes. But I also started posting it in 2019 when there really was not a ton of content for them yet. Part of me wants to return to it, because I hate that I have an unfinished fic on my ao3, and I loved the story a lot, but idk... I'm anxious about it... and it's been so long.

What should I do, besties? Genuine question with the hopes of actual advice BTW 🥺

[conscious-naivete]

the situation is resolved but just so all my followers are clear—

tubbo3091 =/= tubbobot

tubbobot is a bot. tubbo3091 was written, thoughtfully and on purpose, by awesomehoggirl, a great writer and artist

[interdimensional-glowing-orb]

You really are hopeless aren't you.

You know, I could give you a kiss and you can pretend it's frannie if you're that desperate.

- @francisparadox TBOTS

IF YOU'RE OFFERING, USE SOME TONGUE. BUT I THINK FRAN WOULD BE UPSET THAT YOU GOT TO ME FIRST! DO YOU REALLY WANT TO UPSET YOUR POOR BROTHER?

[francisparadox]

You have a troubled past, "Boy of the Stars". As does your brother. I can help you let it go.

@angelus-veritatis

Uh. Yeah no. Stay faaaar away from me and my brother, you freak.

[theangelshavethephonebox]

jealousy

whoops I did it again- I wrote a 2000+ word fic that I didn't even reread for mistakes or anything before posting. Feel free to point out mistakes so I can fix 'em. Just a little thing of the Master and Martha confronting each other about their imperfect relationships.

If you're wondering why I haven't been writing much, I keep getting sick, and also, I wrote a fckn published story???? (Go read 'The Book of the Snowstorm', and keep your eyes out for 'Our Bleak Midwinter', my first published DWU story!). After this, I want to focus more on the long-chapter stuff, and the stuff I've been promising for two years lol

[mimikyu-oli]

Post FNAF 6 Michael gets a proposition from a cryptic being.

(Like Old Man Consequences but more like some kind of cousin of him.)

They're named The Bearer of Thread. (Some kind of spider puppet things. Spiders and puppets are pretty much a trend with me. 😅)

They give him a second chance in life.

Although, you have to know they're pretty much morally questionable and gray.

Michael accept.

Nothing's really different.

He ends up in another universe very identical to his beside maybe a baby in china born 2 hours earlier or some things like that.

He's back in his pre-teen body.

SPOILER ALERT

The twist:

The owner of the body is still there.

Backsitting and unable to do or say anything while he can see and hear everything that is happening.

And he's the only one to know.

[adhd-pixie-nightmare-girl]

Lisbeth

Cornelia Shaw

Moodboards inspired by the protagonist's of The Book of Thorns by Hester Fox.

[taliesin-the-bored]

I'm a big fan of Madoc ap Uther, although I haven't written much about him yet. Here are some of my thoughts on him, not all of which are characterization-related but hopefully will be helpful:

He's described as "protector of happiness" (in "Madawc Drut", Marged Haycock's translation), which I find really interesting, as well as "a citadel of prowess/through feat and jest". Protector of happiness could be referring to his humor entertaining people, to his martial prowess keeping them safe, or both. (The same goes for the title itself: "drut" could mean bravery or foolhardiness but could be related to "drúth", Old Irish for jester).

Either way, it sounds like a sort of a duty, like this is something he feels obligated to do, which is obvious if he's a warrior but says a lot about his personality if he feels obligated to make jokes and keep others happy. Maybe there are some citadel walls around his inner nature and emotions; that might be a stretch in terms of literary interpretation, but potentially interesting in terms of characterization.

He seems to be very well-liked and seen as a merry fellow, but he definitely has a serious side: "before {he} was slain / he pledged himself by his hand", which is rather cryptic and suggests a sense of duty as well as a dire circumstance.

He was the son of Uther but didn't become king, so he could be Arthur's older brother who was killed before Uther died or a younger brother who didn't succeed Uther because Arthur was the eldest son (which would suggest that Arthur was raised by his biological parents). He could also be a younger brother who was the heir but was killed before Uther died (if Arthur was raised by Ector/Cynyr), but he is Eliwlod's father, so he was old enough to have children at the time of his death, which makes the last option seem less likely.

Skene's translation of "Marwnad Madawg"/"Madawc Drut" is much longer and says that he was killed by "Erof", but Haycock claims that that's the result of multiple poetic fragments which were on the same page being mashed together and that that bit is actually part of a lost poem about King Erof, AKA Herod, being dragged down to Hell. I think her translation is generally considered more reliable (and seriously doubt that Madoc was killed by King Herod, though that would be interesting).

He might be referred to as "{t}ransgressing" and "a famous leader" in a poem along with other heroes like Bran, Arthur, and Alexander the Great, but Madawg/Madog/Madoc is not a rare name. There are at least two different Madawgs mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen (ap Maredudd and ap Gwyn) who definitely aren't him and one who might be him but might not. As it is, the only pretty-certain references to him are "Madawc Drut" and a brief mention in Arthur's dialogue with the eagle. This is just about all the information we have to go off of, so my fondness for him comes entirely from "Madawc Drut", which is, unsurprisingly, from The Book of Taliesin.

Do we have any Madoc ap Uther/Madawg ap Uther fans out there? I'm trying to combine him with the more "continental" legends bc I think it'd be interesting but I'm wondering if anyone's written him before or has some characterization thoughts?

[cursedwithwords]

Scorpius: Where’s Queen Eleanor?

Albus: Baby jail.

Scorpius: What crime has she committed?!

Albus: Stole my sock.

Scorpius: Without a trial?! That's illegal! Free her!

Albus: No way, she'll just steal my other sock.

Scorpius: I'm calling the police!

Albus: Do it then.

This is who Albus put in baby jail, can you believe that????

[francisparadox]

Ugh. I thought he would never leave.

HEYYYY! TBOTS HERE! IM IN CONTROL ALLLLL DAY! Ask me about stuff and I'll answer it probably.

[taliesin-the-bored]

From “Buarth Beird” in The Book of Taliesin

(Marged Haycock’s translation, second edition)

(From Athletics and Manly Sport by John Boyle O'Reilly)

Words to live by: Fear Celtic Poets

[theangelshavethephonebox]

If I were to have a wiki picture it would be this one that @a-wartime-paradox took of me

Wink wink

[darkmaga-returns]

by #TBOT: Take Back Our Tech

Ever drive a new car and see that it slows itself down when you get close to the car in front of you? That's an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system, something that automakers 'voluntarily' started putting in all vehicles.

The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is requiring all cars to be able to stop and avoid contact with the car in front of them at 62 mph. Automakers see this as an impossible task.

Large auto insurance co-op AAA released a research report showing that newer cars with AEB (2024) were twice as likely to avoid a collision than a 2017 vehicle at speeds of 34 mile per hour.

These newer systems use both camera and radar. What most people don't realize is the radar emits extremely high frequency mmWave technology typically above 50 Ghz.

Doing some research I found AEB radar companies advertising anywhere from 60-80 GHz. The average radiation coming from a microwave oven is about 2.5 GHz - most people are sitting next to something emitting far more dense radiation. And type of radiation is going to be all over our roadways.

Yes the NHTSA suggests in their studies that AEB systems can lower rear-end crashes by 49%, but at what cost to our long term health?

As Bioinitiative 2012 points out, "Health consequences have not been identified nor been factored into public safety limits" for new 5G wireless technologies. There is already a mountain of studies indicating negative bioeffects for the lower frequencies.

Can we find a better way to prevent accidents besides surveillance and extreme radiation?