#using audio from ATLA

[toonzxy]

TMNT 2003 Seaon 7 Donatello’s Arc is something I will never recover from

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Kickstarting a book to end enshittification, because Amazon will not carry it

My next book is The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation: it’s a Big Tech disassembly manual that explains how to disenshittify the web and bring back the old good internet. The hardcover comes from Verso on Sept 5, but the audiobook comes from me — because Amazon refuses to sell my audio:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

Amazon owns Audible, the monopoly audiobook platform that controls >90% of the audio market. They require mandatory DRM for every book sold, locking those books forever to Amazon’s monopoly platform. If you break up with Amazon, you have to throw away your entire audiobook library.

That’s a hell of a lot of leverage to hand to any company, let alone a rapacious monopoly that ran a program targeting small publishers called “Project Gazelle,” where execs were ordered to attack indie publishers “the way a cheetah would pursue a sickly gazelle”:

https://www.businessinsider.com/sadistic-amazon-treated-book-sellers-the-way-a-cheetah-would-pursue-a-sickly-gazelle-2013-10

[Image ID: Journalist and novelist Doctorow (Red Team Blues) details a plan for how to break up Big Tech in this impassioned and perceptive manifesto….Doctorow’s sense of urgency is contagious -Publishers Weekly]

I won’t sell my work with DRM, because DRM is key to the enshittification of the internet. Enshittification is why the old, good internet died and became “five giant websites filled with screenshots of the other four” (h/t Tom Eastman). When a tech company can lock in its users and suppliers, it can drain value from both sides, using DRM and other lock-in gimmicks to keep their business even as they grow ever more miserable on the platform.

Here is how platforms die: first, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys

[Image ID: A brilliant barn burner of a book. Cory is one of the sharpest tech critics, and he shows with fierce clarity how our computational future could be otherwise -Kate Crawford, author of The Atlas of AI”]

The Internet Con isn’t just an analysis of where enshittification comes from: it’s a detailed, shovel-ready policy prescription for halting enshittification, throwing it into reverse and bringing back the old, good internet.

How do we do that? With interoperability: the ability to plug new technology into those crapulent, decaying platform. Interop lets you choose which parts of the service you want and block the parts you don’t (think of how an adblocker lets you take the take-it-or-leave “offer” from a website and reply with “How about nah?”):

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/07/adblocking-how-about-nah

But interop isn’t just about making platforms less terrible — it’s an explosive charge that demolishes walled gardens. With interop, you can leave a social media service, but keep talking to the people who stay. With interop, you can leave your mobile platform, but bring your apps and media with you to a rival’s service. With interop, you can break up with Amazon, and still keep your audiobooks.

So, if interop is so great, why isn’t it everywhere?

Well, it used to be. Interop is how Microsoft became the dominant operating system:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

[Image ID: Nobody gets the internet-both the nuts and bolts that make it hum and the laws that shaped it into the mess it is-quite like Cory, and no one’s better qualified to deliver us a user manual for fixing it. That’s The Internet Con: a rousing, imaginative, and accessible treatise for correcting our curdled online world. If you care about the internet, get ready to dedicate yourself to making interoperability a reality. -Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine]

It’s how Apple saved itself from Microsoft’s vicious campaign to destroy it:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/06/adversarial-interoperability-reviving-elegant-weapon-more-civilized-age-slay

Every tech giant used interop to grow, and then every tech giant promptly turned around and attacked interoperators. Every pirate wants to be an admiral. When Big Tech did it, that was progress; when you do it back to Big Tech, that’s piracy. The tech giants used their monopoly power to make interop without permission illegal, creating a kind of “felony contempt of business model” (h/t Jay Freeman).

The Internet Con describes how this came to pass, but, more importantly, it tells us how to fix it. It lays out how we can combine different kinds of interop requirements (like the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Massachusetts’s Right to Repair law) with protections for reverse-engineering and other guerrilla tactics to create a system that is strong without being brittle, hard to cheat on and easy to enforce.

What’s more, this book explains how to get these policies: what existing legislative, regulatory and judicial powers can be invoked to make them a reality. Because we are living through the Great Enshittification, and crises erupt every ten seconds, and when those crises occur, the “good ideas lying around” can move from the fringes to the center in an eyeblink:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/12/only-a-crisis/#lets-gooooo

[Image ID: Thoughtfully written and patiently presented, The Internet Con explains how the promise of a free and open internet was lost to predatory business practices and the rush to commodify every aspect of our lives. An essential read for anyone that wants to understand how we lost control of our digital spaces and infrastructure to Silicon Valley’s tech giants, and how we can start fighting to get it back. -Tim Maughan, author of INFINITE DETAIL]

After all, we’ve known Big Tech was rotten for years, but we had no idea what to do about it. Every time a Big Tech colossus did something ghastly to millions or billions of people, we tried to fix the tech company. There’s no fixing the tech companies. They need to burn. The way to make users safe from Big Tech predators isn’t to make those predators behave better — it’s to evacuate those users:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/18/urban-wildlife-interface/#combustible-walled-gardens

I’ve been campaigning for human rights in the digital world for more than 20 years; I’ve been EFF’s European Director, representing the public interest at the EU, the UN, Westminster, Ottawa and DC. This is the subject I’ve devoted my life to, and I live my principles. I won’t let my books be sold with DRM, which means that Audible won’t carry my audiobooks. My agent tells me that this decision has cost me enough money to pay off my mortgage and put my kid through college. That’s a price I’m willing to pay if it means that my books aren’t enshittification bait.

But not selling on Audible has another cost, one that’s more important to me: a lot of readers prefer audiobooks and 9 out of 10 of those readers start and end their searches on Audible. When they don’t find an author there, they assume no audiobook exists, period. It got so bad I put up an audiobook on Amazon — me, reading an essay, explaining how Audible rips off writers and readers. It’s called “Why None of My Audiobooks Are For Sale on Audible”:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/07/25/can-you-hear-me-now/#acx-ripoff

[Image ID: Doctorow has been thinking longer and smarter than anyone else I know about how we create and exchange value in a digital age. -Douglas Rushkoff, author of Present Shock]

To get my audiobooks into readers’ ears, I pre-sell them on Kickstarter. This has been wildly successful, both financially and as a means of getting other prominent authors to break up with Amazon and use crowdfunding to fill the gap. Writers like Brandon Sanderson are doing heroic work, smashing Amazon’s monopoly:

https://www.brandonsanderson.com/guest-editorial-cory-doctorow-is-a-bestselling-author-but-audible-wont-carry-his-audiobooks/

And to be frank, I love audiobooks, too. I swim every day as physio for a chronic pain condition, and I listen to 2–3 books/month on my underwater MP3 player, disappearing into an imaginary world as I scull back and forth in my public pool. I’m able to get those audiobooks on my MP3 player thanks to Libro.fm, a DRM-free store that supports indie booksellers all over the world:

https://blog.libro.fm/a-qa-with-mark-pearson-libro-fm-ceo-and-co-founder/

Producing my own audiobooks has been a dream. Working with Skyboat Media, I’ve gotten narrators like @wilwheaton​, Amber Benson, @neil-gaiman​ and Stefan Rudnicki for my work:

https://craphound.com/shop/

[Image ID: “This book is the instruction manual Big Tech doesn’t want you to read. It deconstructs their crummy products, undemocratic business models, rigged legal regimes, and lies. Crack this book and help build something better. -Astra Taylor, author of Democracy May Not Exist, but We’ll Miss It When Its Gone”]

But for this title, I decided that I would read it myself. After all, I’ve been podcasting since 2006, reading my own work aloud every week or so, even as I traveled the world and gave thousands of speeches about the subject of this book. I was excited (and a little trepedatious) at the prospect, but how could I pass up a chance to work with director Gabrielle de Cuir, who has directed everyone from Anne Hathaway to LeVar Burton to Eric Idle?

Reader, I fucking nailed it. I went back to those daily recordings fully prepared to hate them, but they were good — even great (especially after my engineer John Taylor Williams mastered them). Listen for yourself!

https://archive.org/details/cory_doctorow_internet_con_chapter_01

I hope you’ll consider backing this Kickstarter. If you’ve ever read my free, open access, CC-licensed blog posts and novels, or listened to my podcasts, or come to one of my talks and wished there was a way to say thank you, this is it. These crowdfunders make my DRM-free publishing program viable, even as audiobooks grow more central to a writer’s income and even as a single company takes over nearly the entire audiobook market.

Backers can choose from the DRM-free audiobook, DRM-free ebook (EPUB and MOBI) and a hardcover — including a signed, personalized option, fulfilled through the great LA indie bookstore Book Soup:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-internet-con-how-to-seize-the-means-of-computation

What’s more, these ebooks and audiobooks are unlike any you’ll get anywhere else because they are sold without any terms of service or license agreements. As has been the case since time immemorial, when you buy these books, they’re yours, and you are allowed to do anything with them that copyright law permits — give them away, lend them to friends, or simply read them with any technology you choose.

As with my previous Kickstarters, backers can get their audiobooks delivered with an app (from libro.fm) or as a folder of MP3s. That helps people who struggle with “sideloading,” a process that Apple and Google have made progressively harder, even as they force audiobook and ebook sellers to hand over a 30% app tax on every dollar they make:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell/posts/3788112

Enshittification is rotting every layer of the tech stack: mobile, payments, hosting, social, delivery, playback. Every tech company is pulling the rug out from under us, using the chokepoints they built between audiences and speakers, artists and fans, to pick all of our pockets.

The Internet Con isn’t just a lament for the internet we lost — it’s a plan to get it back. I hope you’ll get a copy and share it with the people you love, even as the tech platforms choke off your communities to pad their quarterly numbers.

Next weekend (Aug 4-6), I'll be in Austin for Armadillocon, a science fiction convention, where I'm the Guest of Honor:

https://armadillocon.org/d45/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/31/seize-the-means-of-computation/#the-internet-con

[Image ID: My forthcoming book 'The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation' in various editions: Verso hardcover, audiobook displayed on a phone, and ebook displayed on an e-ink reader.]

[yurozo]

what could have been (chris redfield oneshot)

description: chris made the biggest mistake of his life letting you walk out of it, and he's determined to make it right this time.

a/n: there really isn't enough fanfic about chris redfield and i am more than determined to change that. this man is sooo underappreciated. about: gn!reader/little physical description/no use of y/n. fluff, with very minor angsts, and a few mentions of in-canon violence.

it was an unsettling thing to walk away from you. but that was the way it always worked— you went one way while he went the other. a research laboratory on the other side of the city beckoned you over, studying accessible cures to viruses that chris had dedicated his life to eradicating. ever intertwined, despite the miles between you at all times.

on the other hand, chris spent his time travelling from place to place, never truly settling in washington due to the unbidden fear of having to leave it again. familiarity was a privilege unbeknownst to him, the mortal atlas condemned to carrying the world on his shoulders. he could at least enjoy knowing that if you ever needed a place, you would know where it was. and despite everything, he was rather proud of the way he matured. he was more fit than he was back in s.t.a.r.s- not entirely of his own accord, mind you- and eons more responsible.

watching every person you've ever cared about lose that twinkle in their eye did that to people.

and he didn't hate his job, contrary to popular belief. founding the b.s.a.a is among his crowning achievements, and allowed him to enact some real change. along with paying him a decent salary.

he supposed, bioweapons notwithstanding, that adulthood had changed him. long gone is the foul-mouthed air force pilot, and in its place stood a true soldier. safe and solid, protecting and proud. it was more so the person he imagined you would be into, someone dependable that could protect you if the need arose. truth be told, everything he did back in the s.t.a.r.s was with a side glance in your direction, desperately hoping you were watching him the same way he was secretly watching you.

the two of you kept minimal contact throughout the years, limited to the occasional 'how are you' and 'work's been good'. you always let him know of any major life changes, and he always contacted you after a mission, however brief, to sate your anxieties of whether or not to look for his name in an obituary. you pointedly never mentioned your dating life, but the very thought of someone vying for your attention made chris a little sick to his stomach.

call him possessive, call him crazy, for helplessly pining for a girl who was just slightly nicer to him than everyone else at the police department. what he did know is that the only suppression to that boiling feeling in his gut was the unbridled joy that filled him whenever he saw your contact name show up in his notifications. an indicator that you thought of him, however briefly.

in some parallel universe, he would be standing outside your balcony playing some queen song with terrible audio on an even shittier boombox, and you would be awed and wooed by his grand romantic gesture. you would run down from the balcony and plant one on him, and he would swing you around in his arms and there would be nothing but the two of you. no bioweapons, no blood staining his hands, no nightmares about finding you dead in the middle of a ruined city. but he lived in this world, where he was too old and too tired to indulge in those fantasies.

he was a man. he was also a soldier, and therefore, a realist.

so, when you texted him about being in the washington area and wanting to meet up for a day, chris had spent two days drawing three viable conclusions.

1.) this was an elaborate dream made up by a combat-addled mind to live out some younger, unbridled fantasy of his,

2.) this was a cruel prank by some twisted fuck that somehow knew how much he clung to you over the years,

3.) the final, and least likely conclusion: that there was some part of you that missed him as much as he missed you.

he wants to cross the third one off by instinct, but something in his heart adamantly refuses. that sparkling hope in his chest is something he's not particularly looking to stamp out just yet, so he chooses to simply let it burn until it probably would just consume him entirely. by the time he reaches the bar you both agreed on meeting at, he's been so wrapped up in determining your motivations that he's caught entirely unprepared by the sight of you.

you were sitting there, chin in your hands as you mindlessly tapped on the glass in front of you. probably waiting for a while, given your propensity for being unbearably early to social gatherings. you always did have a distaste for tardiness, even if chris was technically five minutes early. the same endearing furrow in your brow makes chris falter in his steps, taking a moment to truly absorb you for the first time in years.

fuck, you were gorgeous. the kind that had other tripping over themselves just to bask in your presence. hell, chris was one of them. always had been.

that same simmering boil of jealousy that used to arise every time that he watched some civilian lean over the reception desk, speaking to you in hushed tones as they preened in your attention, sparks to a roaring fire. he has to remind himself that things are different now; you had lived a whole other life without him, and he's had to learn to survive without you.

he briefly entertains the thought that his absence affected you in the same way. this gnawing feeling that something vital to his very being was lost somewhere in the wreckage of raccoon city.

your face had matured over the years too— jaw set a little sharper, eyes a little duller, the faint lines of age beginning to appear on your skin. you're still gazing somewhere far away by the time he musters up the courage to approach the table, hesitant like you'll reach over the table and sink your teeth into his arm like a-

no. bad chris. no talking shop here.

you don't seem to notice him as he approaches, still staring down at the table like it will speak to you if you glare at it long enough.

"seem lost in thought." chris gives you the most dazzling smile he can muster, full of charm eased by age. while his body language is casual as he slides into the booth next to you, his mind has gone blissfully blank.

your thigh is touching his. oh god, you're wrapping your arms around him before he can think of something suave to say. your action is immediately reciprocated by strong arms pulling you closer, tucking you into his chest like he wants you to live in it forever.

god, he fucking missed this. seeing you, touching you with a familiarity he thought was long lost.

"i missed you," you murmur, letting your cheek smush into his collarbone.

"missed you too," he laughs, bright and warm. all the tension from his job immediately eases in your hold, and he lets himself squeeze you tighter and tighter, like a serpent desperately trying to stay out of the damnation of hell.

"jesus, chris. you got huge."

chris frowns as you pull back from him and start squeezing his arms appreciatively. he has no choice but to let you manhandle him, silently relishing in the way your eyes trace across the contours of his body. he is proud of it, even if he hates the reason why he felt the need to train this much in the first place.

the only way to stop wesker, to try and make the fight on level terms. he never told you about that either, keeping the details concise, knowing that you would have gotten on the first place to washington if you heard his plans of hunting their former boss. you had once admired the captain the same way chris did, and the knowledge of what had to happen would have crushed you.

that shoulder of burden can lay squarely on him.

"you know how it is," he answers instead, taking a sip from your glass. something sugary and way too sweet for his taste. "work never stops."

"tell me about it." the glass is then swapped to your hands. "i'm pretty sure i've huffed enough chemicals to send me to an early grave."

if anyone is going to rot eight feet below the earth soon, he thinks, it's most definitely not going to be you. he's been running from that ticking clock for far too many years.

"but you do good work." he grins, waving down a bartender and ordering a simple whiskey. on the rocks, top shelf, because he's a classy guy.

"we do good work." you remind him.

"fine." he concedes, hunching slightly over the table. "we're both patron saints."

a bright smile is what he gets in response, one that has his heart stuttering and tripping over in his chest. he can't help but give you a slightly goofy one in return. everything feels like as it should be. you're here, alive, and he is here, slightly less alive but feeling like he's finally able to breathe.

—

in retrospect, three-drink chris was probably not the best choice for tonight. one-drink chris is a little chattier than usual, but still relatively normal. two-drink chris loves music, always tapping his feet or bobbing his head to whatever song is playing. and three-drink chris might just be the most impulsive person on the planet.

the entire time you drive him home, which you insist on, chris has his head turned to you with the most obviously love-struck look in his eyes. the entire world around him seems to dull to a faint hum, instead focusing on that frustrating smile of yours as you recount some time that a coworker of yours accidentally put whatever chemical in something solution, causing a lab-wide evacuation.

like he said, impulsive. no more little voice in his head warning him to be subtle.

no more voices in his head screaming the songs of the damned.

he's honestly only half-listening. and only half-paying attention it seems, because you give him a questioning look when the car pulls into his driveway and he makes no move to get out. a nervous laugh escapes him then, breaking the awkward silence in your car like a clap of thunder.

"this was nice," you say eventually, lips upturned in a sort of half-smile. endearing, even cute.

"it was," he nods, trying desperately to keep this moment going as long as it can. just the thought of leaving you again after spending years drowning in the emptiness gives him a headache. chris spent enough time dawdling around like an idiot, going so far as to refuse to change phone numbers in the small chance you would never contact him again.

you're picking at your nails during his internal monologue, that same worried pinch forming between your brows. you're, once again, the one to break the silence. "chris, i-"

his lips are on yours then. thick hands curled around your neck, keeping you in place for one second, then two, then three.

his eyes are still squeezed shut when he pulls away.

"fuck," he whispers, jolting back like you had slapped him. "i'm sorry, i just have wanted to do that for a while, and i couldn't let you go away again without doing something."

"chris."

"i know it was stupid, and impulsive," he keeps going, purposefully avoiding eye contact. "i didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, i just-

"chris," the stern tone of your voice is enough to make him stop mid-ramble, peering up at you hopefully. you only laugh in response, before raising your hand to the nape of his neck. his hair is longer than you remember it being. just another way he's changed.

"yeah." he sighs, defeated. just another part of his life that he's royally fucked up. another friend he's going to lose, and this time it's not to circumstances out of his control. not because of bloodshed or shitty calls. this one is purely on him, because he really does lose all sense around you.

instead of slapping him, or yelling at him, like he expects you to— you take pity on him. "are you going to shut the hell up and kiss me?"

there's another long stretch of silence then, the only sign that chris even heard you is the glimmer of hope twinkling in his eye.

"fuck yeah, i am." he smiles, before pulling you into him again.

[an-spideog]

haigh a chara tá siúl agam go bhfuil tú ceart go leor! i was wondering do you know any resources for learning Gaelainn? despite being from munster, in school we just learnt standard irish, but id really love to learn more munster irish. is breá liom do bhlag btw tá sé an-cabhrach <3

Míle baochas :) I do indeed know several resources, I made use of a lot of them lol, there's kind of two categories - Stuff about the dialect and stuff in the dialect. I'll start with 'about'.

Info about West Munster Irish

There's only 1 modern textbook I know of which teaches munster Irish, and it's kind of a rough read lol. This is Teach Yourself Irish (1961) (audio). The book is really really dense, one paragraph will contain a lot of information, and that can make it pretty easy to miss things, but it's still a very useful book - and much easier to use if you already have some Irish. It teaches Cork Irish but Cork and Kerry are quite similar (Kerry has a stronger Gaeltacht though so you're more likely to hear Kerry Irish). This book also has a weird transcription system for how to pronounce words, ignore it, learn the sounds of the language separately, and listen to the recordings that come with the book. Their system is buckwild and nobody else uses it.

You should also skip the sections labeled "rules for aspiration" and "rules for eclipsis", rather than reading them right at the start and use them as a reference if you ever need to.

An Teanga Bheo - Corca Dhuibhne is a great book to get some knowledge on Kerry Irish as long as you can read Irish pretty well, since it describes lots of the important features. But it's a reference text and an overview, not a textbook. If you don't feel that comfortable reading in Irish or want to be able to search, you can use this online translation

Shameless plug, I talk about Munster Irish on my youtube channel, and I try and share info which people wouldn't find easily otherwise, new video maybe out this weekend maybe. An Loingseach on youtube - He sometimes gets bogged down in the linguistic weeds and doesn't edit his videos at all lol, but he knows his stuff.

There's a blog called corkirish.com and it has some useful info on it but the guy who used to run it is an awful shitter, I'm hoping that with more other people sharing resources we can make that blog irrelevant.

If you're at all interested in linguistics, there's more technical books describing the dialect which can be useful as references.

The Irish of West Muskerry - This is a book talking about the pronunciation of Cork Irish, in English, but using a lot of phonetic terms and symbols. Quite useful if you know how to read them.

Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne - This is a book talking about the pronunciation and structure of Kerry Irish, in Irish, again using a lot of linguistic terminology. This one will be getting an updated English version at some point soon, hopefully.

The Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects (LASID) is a series of books showing the results of surveys where they went around to different Irish speaking regions and asked them what words they'd use for specific things, it gives you really cool maps like this: (Showing you how "Gaeilic" is used in donegal, "Gaeilge" is used in Galway, and "Gaelainn" is used in Kerry)

This map is actually from a web version of the first book which is quite handy. The second book isn't available as a site but there are pdfs and it only focuses on munster so you can see some differences with in munster.

Stuff in the Dialect

Things to Read

We're probably the luckiest in terms of things to read when studying the Munster Dialect because there have been so many authors, and so many authors who write very dialectally. So a lot of munster features you see very prominently in writing.

Books by Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé (a lot of fiction as well as one autobiography)

Books by Peig Sayers (There's school editions of at least her main book (Peig), try to avoid those and find the dialectal version in a library (Peig - a scéal féin), and she has written other books)

Books by Pádraig Ó Cíobháin (I haven't read any of these yet personally and I've heard they can be quite hard by nature of being very poetic and sometimes abstract)

Fiche Blian ag Fás by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin (similar to Peig, this is autobiographical)

Books by Tomás Ó Criomhthain (similar to Peig and MÓS these are autobiographical)

Books by Peadar Ua Laoghaire (Fiction, these are quite old - 100 years - and that can make them more difficult, but they can be pretty good)

Béaloideas and Dúchas.ie - these ones are harder to read than the others for various reasons but can often be a lot more interesting. Béaloideas is a journal of Irish folklore which you can find on JSTOR for free, and dúchas.ie has typed and handwritten stories collected in ireland, overlapping with Béaloideas to some extent. They can be harder to understand since sometimes the writing is intentionally over-dialectal to preserve the traits, but it's often more interesting since you can find fun little stories about different things. Stories from these collections are also sometimes put into smaller books or collections. (Béaloideas ó Chléire, an Seanchaidhe Muimhneach) you can usually find those books on Archive.org

Things to Listen To

Beo ar Éigean - Chatty podcast, one of the hosts has kerry Irish

Saol Ó Dheas - Munster Gaeltacht news show, not the most interesting if you don't live in the munster gaeltacht but there's a lot of it and the host has really good Irish, so you can focus on that even if the stories aren't gripping lol

Cartlann Bhóthar na Léinsí - Munster Archive show, they pull out older recordings of even more traditional speakers, and the host has very good Irish too, the older recordings are quite challenging to understand, but can be good.

Things to Watch

Seal le Dáithí - Talk show on TG4, host has Kerry Irish

Ros na Rún - Some of the characters have Munster Irish, it's a minority though

What did I do?

This isn't necessarily a guide, it's just what I did specifically.

After learning standardy Irish at school, I started talking to people on discord (Craic le Gaeilge and Celtic Languages), this was really helpful because I got to talk to a lot of knowledgeable people and get conversation practice even without being near to Irish speaking areas or events.

I also started listening to Beo Ar Éigean to practice my listening. I stuck to standard for a little while here and got to grips with basic grammar stuff because I was focusing on exams and stuff, but eventually I was taken with Munster Irish because some of the people I talked to a lot used it and because I liked synthetic forms. So I started working through Teach Yourself Irish with the help of people on discord, and that gave me a good basis in munster specific grammar and forms. From there I asked lots of questions (v important) and read the Irish of West Muskerry because I'm a nerd, wouldn't really recommend this if you're not that interested but it is kind of fun if you are. That helped me get a better understanding of Irish pronunciation (and spelling as a result of that). (I also read Peig at some point here) After that I started listening to a lot of Irish, trying to do at least 2 hours a day over one summer. An Saol Ó Dheas every day on my commute to work, and other stuff too, just trying to get as much exposure as I could. I use the host, Helen Ní Shé as my "language parent" - that is, I try to model my speech after hers. And currently I'm still focusing on just getting more and more exposure, and I've been reading more books in Irish.

[theinquisitxor]

January 2024 Reading Wrap

First wrap up of the new year! I read 8 books this month, and I'd say it was a strong reading month overall. I read some new releases, caught up or finished series, and read some good stuff! I read 6 fantasy books, 1 nonfiction, and 1 regular fiction. 6 books I read physical copies, and 2 audiobooks.

1.A Winter's Promise (Mirror Visitor Quartet 1) by Christelle Dabos. 3/5 stars. This is a book I've been wanting to read since before it was translated into English. This book didn't quite live up to the expectations I had of it, but I still overall enjoyed it. I plan to continue the series, possibly quarterly. Young adult fantasy.

2. A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft. 4.5/5 stars. Another great Allison Saft book, and this one is possibly my favorite so far. This is exactly my type of fantasy romance and I was very invested in reading this. It's about a young magical seamstress who is commissioned to make the royal wedding clothes for the kingdom's prince. Young adult fantasy.

3.Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard. 3/5 stars. This was a fun read, but not the most exciting or great as it had the potential to be. The story has a fun cast of characters, and enjoyable world, but not a whole lot happened in this book. I can def see Aveyard's LOTR inspirations in this. I plan on continuing this series soon.

4.The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake. 2/5 stars. This was a disappointing end to a series and was very lackluster and fell apart at the end. Disappointing because of how much I loved book 2. There were some redeeming moments, but much of this book felt unnecessary or frustrating. Adult fantasy.

5.Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. 5/5 stars. This is a collection of essays by the author about the world around us, life, nature, and the way we interact with the world. Absolutely my new favorite thing and much of Kimmerer's teachings in the book resonate with me very deeply. Read on audio- which I highly recommend. Nature/essays.

6.Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde 2) by Heather Fawcett. 5/5 stars. This was just as good as book 1, and I loved the new adventure and learning more about fairies. Emily and Wendall are my favorite, and I can't wait to see how this series concludes.

7.Beartown (Beartown 1) by Fredrik Backman 4.5/5 stars. I read this book in less than 24 hours and it emotionally abused me throughout. I'm late to the game in regards to this book (no pun intended) but I'm glad I finally read it. Backman never disappoints, and I plan to continue the series soon. Fiction.

8. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known (Wayward Children 9) by Seanan McGuire. 4/5 stars. This felt like the continuation of Antsy's story from book 8, but with some of our main cast of characters on a new quest. Very enjoyable and another solid installment in the series. Is the last time we see the "main cast?". Read on audio. Fantasy.

That's it for January! I am currently reading my TBR Pick of the Month, The Throne of the Five Winds, but I am only still in the first half of the book, so I will have to finish it up for Feb. I also started a new nonfiction audiobook, but am still in the first half of that as well.

February TBR:

finish The Throne of the Five Winds by SC Emmett

Crescent City 3

Nonfiction Audiobook (finish)

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

What Feasts at Night by T Kingfisher

TBR Pick of the month

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (?)

[madamudeeaaarr]

astroboy 2003 the ramblings

So i convinced two of my friends to watch astroboy 2003 with me and here are some of my highlights and ramblings.

we saw the dub version of our country (brasil) which unfortunately lacks a lot of original context and scenes from the original anime, with that said we still had a lot of fun despite the lack of content in some places, mostly thanks to the voice acting and the adaptation done with the material that the voice actors had.

Note : currently I'm still watching the subtitled version and the extra materials so I can catch most of the content that I might be missing.

The voice acting is quite aggressive and ironic at some moments and we love every second of it.

We are all pinning for tenma. (Ochanomizu too)

We want to give Atom some clothes because he looks adorable with them.

My friend gave Uran a gun.

We actually really liked some of the secondary or episode only characters and some of my friend's complaints were about wanting to see more from them,especially Atom's friends which i agree and i did want to see more from tamao and Shibugaki individually in a similar way to what we got from the microbear episode.

we didn´t saw the denko episode thanks to it not being avaliable in the dub version, i have no idea why is that and this also created a problem while viewing the intro & backstory for atlas/daishi, the translation changed too much of the dialogue and this combined with the editing mad everything really unclear for us.

Pluto's arc probably has the same problem.

“He has a pimp's car.” - me seeing tenma's car

“Tenma is kind of a chad.” My friend.

We stan tawashi.

i have a unreasonoble love for tamao and i want the best for the lil guy.

“Please don't kill off atlas again.” my friend seeing Atlas about to be kill for the 3° time.

“2000s anime girl.” Friend about Epsilon.

"i don't blame the blue knight." friend about blue knight.

At some point the dubious website we are using was out of air so we watched the 2009 movie with an audio modifier.

For context this movie is still remember was some random pirate DVD movie most of us 2000 kids saw that for some reason has a tv host providing the voice for atom, is really bizarre but at least is very hilarious thanks to the memes we count use during our watch which included bass boosting the audio when tobio dies.

"noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" friends seeing the robot on the volcano flashback.

we finish our watch with a made up amv because one of us was playing linkin park on twitter and he decided to play it over the opening of the show, it sycronizes for whatever reason and is funny af because the op is too happy.

end of ramble

art from Luna

[rokuweek]

Rules, Guidelines, (pretty much anything you need to know) for Roku Week 2024!

Prompts ✦ AO3 Collection ✦ Asks/FAQ

As Roku Week 2024 comes closer and closer, here are some rules, guidelines, and everything you need to know for this event!

Don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns that may not be addressed under the cut!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Just create something about Roku! Whether it's fanart, fanfic, edits, headcanons, meta, poetry, analysis, gifs (gifsets if you're feeling fancy) - anything and everything you can think of is welcome! Following the prompts is encouraged, but if you're really inspired by something outside of the prompt list, that's cool too!

Please use the tags #rokuweek and #rokuweek2024, as they will be tracked! You can also mention this tumblr, rokuweek, in your submissions if you want to be extra sure it gets reblogged!

All submissions will be reblogged here by the end of the day. While the tags above won’t be as closely monitored as they will during Roku Week, late submissions are allowed and encouraged! :)

You can also add your submission to the Roku Week 2024 Collection on AO3!

RULES & GUIDELINES:

1. Follow general fandom etiquette. The principles of being kind and respectful of others' works and don't like, don't read apply (for the latter, where applicable). Ship/character bashing will not be tolerated, and most importantly: tag your work properly!

2. Works that have been plagiarized or generated using generative AI will not be allowed.

3. NSFW works will be allowed - provided that any characters involved are consenting adults, and you follow Tumblr's guidelines regarding explicit content. Worst case scenario, you can post your submission elsewhere and just link it here so it can be shared :)

4. Whitewashing, racism, transphobia, homophobia, ableism, sexism and any other forms of bigotry will not be tolerated. However, works that explore these themes (i.e, internalized homophobia) will be accepted, provided they are tagged with the appropriate warnings.

5. All works should primarily be about Roku, but other characters and relationships from the ATLA-verse that may not be from his era are welcome.

6. When posting a work with either visual or audio media, please try to include a description of said work in the post itself or in the ALT text. If you're not sure how to do that, here is a helpful guide all about image descriptions!

7. Have fun! This is supposed to be a fun event celebrating Avatar Roku, not to tear down anyone or anything.

[charlataninred]

Forgetmenauts Intro Post

Heya y’all! Since there have been a few posts/asks about the Forgetmenauts, I figured I’d make a introductory masterpost! If you think anything should be added, just lmk (ask, dm, in the replies, whatever ur comfortable with). All helpful links are attached to the end of the post <3

Created: 12/1/22

Last Edited: 11/30/23

FAQ

Is there a right way to start listening? Nope! You can jump in anywhere and anyway you want. If you really want advice on where to start, the general consensus seems to be a) listen to Gay Werewolf Murder Ballad or The Marriage of Bigfoot and Mothman first to get the vibes, then listen to the songs in album order, or b) go straight to listening to the songs in order. The main reason this is recommended is because some songs are explicitly connected to each other, so listening to them out of order first may be a bit confusing. Still, if that isn’t your speed, let me reiterate that there is no wrong way to listen.

Why are we called the Coven? Back in September 2022, the fmns found our little fandom here on Tumblr. In the notes of this post, mountaingnomes (one of the fmns) called us a “tiny coven” and the name stuck! I’ll link some other posts from that very eventful day bc it was quite a fun time.

Miscellaneous Info

They have a YouTube channel (linked below)! There are a LOT of gems there, including live recordings of songs, some recorded shows (Musical D&D is a fun one), and two music videos: one for Dancing Plague, one for Summer King. Highly recommend checking it out.

Also on YouTube but on a different channel is a radio show done on KXSF! This is where the songs Cottonwood and Rusulka & the Shepherd Girl where first introduced (to the Coven, at least). There's also a lil Coven shoutout there :3

They have a segment in volume 3 of the queer horror zine The Quiet Ones. It starts on page 47, but I highly recommend reading the short stories and poems before and after! There’s also a mini interview with each member that includes their pronouns <3

The fmns have an insta where they post announcements/updates. If you have insta, go follow and support them!

Helpful Links

FMNs Youtube

KXSF Show (Cottonwood at 0:00, Rusalka at 27:00, our shoutout at 37:50)

FMNs Insta

FMNs BandCamp

FMNs Genius Page

The Quiet Ones [Vol 3]

Approximate Coven/FMNs Timeline (done by the lovely Rio)

Fan creations!

I’m not above plugging my mutuals’ or my own work, so here’s some fanworks for your enjoyment

Atlas’ skull embroidery

Casper’s Rusalka facts

Kitt’s short story

Mina’s fabulous Fox fanart

Mina’s Guide to Listening

Marlene’s Rusalka embroidery

Marlene’s skull embroidery

Rua’s choreography

Rio’s audio crimes (34 seconds of the word “run”)

Rio’s audio crimes (the entire fmns discography in 2 minutes)

Rio’s (confirmed!) Hawker theory

Rio’s vampire quiz (audio on!)

Aegis’ color picked pride flags

Aegis’ trans interpretation of CiR

Aegis’ skull embroidery

The Coven Compels You (to listen to the fmns)

The Day the FMNs Found us

Breaking News

Coven origins

[dianapocalypse]

Hello!! I very rarely use my Tumblr to actually talk about my work, but I figured it was time to make a new pinned post and maybe do a little self plugging.

WHO THE HECK IS DIANAPOCALYPSE?

Owner/Operator of Dianapocalypse Art!

Check out my Art tag!

Co-owner of Nerdification.Media! We're a nerdy production company making nerdy things!

A few of those things include...

Turnabout: An Ace Attorney Musical (Co-producer, Audio Mixer, Key Art, Casting, IndieGoGo campaign management)

Turnabout Musical LIVE (Co-producer, Co-director, Casting)

The ATLA Musical: Book 1 (Composer, additional audio mixing)

Highlights of Songs from the Wild (Co-producer, key art, additional lyrics, casting, Urbosa)

Elisabeth in English (Key art, demo vocals, demo mixing, additional lyrics)

Podcasts such as Masks & Martyrs and It Coulda Been Great which each ran for a full season (Mixing, production, music and sound design, host)

Nice to meet you! Hit me up if you want to make nerdy stuff together that we will never see a cent from!

[goldenamaranthe-blog]

The Evolution of Team RWBY

How each member of team RWBY would react when *NSYNC  or Backstreet Boys plays over the radio. Buckle up, Buttercups. This is a long one.

Volumes 1 & 2: Think RWBY Chibi roadtrip

Yang: (totally singing and dancing while driving. Not quite full sending yet, but still dancing with at least one hand on the wheel)

Blake: (reading and trying to ignore Yang’s shenanigans, but is lip syncing the words behind her book)

Weiss: (mortified) “Ugh! Seriously? Ruby, do something about your sister!”

Ruby: “Aw, c’mon, Weiss. It isn’t that ba- OH MY GOD!!! THIS IS THE BEST PART!!!” (copies Yang singing and dancing to the chorus)

Volume 3: pt. 1

Yang: same as 1&2 but purposely serenading Blake as much as possible

Blake: smiling and doing little shoulder bobs with her book in her lap

Ruby: Full send! Dancing like a maniac. Seatbelt is unbuckled and she’s shaking the car at stoplights

Weiss: rolling her eyes but smiling

Volume 3 pt. 2 & 4:

Radio silence

Volume 5: post Weiss and Yang finding each other. 

Weiss: (on Bumblebee - notices the song first and smiles before pretending to be mortified) “Oh, no! Not this song! Whatever will I do?”

Yang: (finally listens and beams) “You can join in some of the fun!” (drives bumblebee in a way that makes it look like the motorcycle is dancing)

Blake: (hears song over Sun’s scroll as he plays it for Kali, and smiles)

Volume 6: While the party is being pulled on a trailer behind bumblebee

Yang: (plugs scroll into bumblebee audio slot) “Alright! Time to shake off that apathy!” (sings and bobs while driving)

Ruby: “Yes!” (stands up in the trailer and dances like a goon)

Maria: “Would you sit down before you throw us all overboard?”

Blake & Weiss: (roll eyes before laughing and doing a synchronized shoulder shake left and right)

Oscar: (clinging to the trailer for dear life as it bounces) “Are they always like this?”

Volume 7: Fun Atlas Montage 

Ruby: Full Send! Jumping up on bunks and dancing like an idiot and singing horribly off-key.

Weiss: Actually dancing along to the music.

Blake: Trying to dance but is only solidifying that she has no rhythm.

Yang: Full dance machine and singing along with the choreography.

Volume 8: 

Radio Silence

Volume 9:

Blake: (plays song on scroll to lighten the mood and pulls Yang to her feet) “Still have a dance for me?

Yang: (gay disaster extraordinaire) “Always!”

Weiss: (rolls eyes fondly) “Brothers, you two definitely went from one end of the spectrum to the other, didn’t you? (joins in the dance party after grabbing Rusted Knight Jaune)

Ruby: (sulking in the corner)

Volume 10: Please Greenlight

Bonus!

After The War: Everyone is back in the car. Yang is driving. Blake is shotgun. Weiss and Ruby are in the back.

Yang: Completely losing her mind as she sings and dances in the driver’s seat. Hands aren’t even on the wheel consistently. Serenading Blake at every chance while holding imaginary microphones to Weiss and Ruby in the back.

Blake: Seatbelt? What seatbelt? Girl actually found some rhythm and is doing full body rolls in her seat while singing and winking back at Yang

Weiss: Singing a perfect harmony to the song while dancing. Her window is rolled down and her arm is waving out in the air like she absolutely does not care.

Ruby: Standing on the backseat so she can stand in the open sunroof and hit that choreographic combo 100%. She still can’t carry a tune in a bucket, but she’s doing her best. 

Team ORNJ parked next to them at the red light doing the exact thing with Nora in the sunroof, Jaune driving, Ren sitting shotgun calmly, and Oscar flopping around like a chicken having a stroke in an attempt to dance.

[sacredechoes]

Valentia Side Material and Translations: Resource Masterpost

This post is to organize links to side material for Gaiden/Shadows of Valentia, much of which Sacred Echoes has drawn upon for additional story and characterization details. In the case of translated material, I will link to the main translator's site; if you worked on these translations and have a Tumblr handle you'd like to be credited under as well, please message me and I'll update the post.

Art Book, Valentia Accordion

Includes concept art, full character biographies, and an official timeline. Information here is considered a primary source.

Character bios and concept art translations are hosted on Kantopia's translations blog. Additional translators assisted with individual pages and are credited therein by their Twitter handles.

Lyrics translations of the songs with vocals are available at the above link and were contributed by @mystletainn.

The official timeline was translated by @vincentasm on Serenes Forest.

Drama CD - "Foreign Skies, Daybreak Forest"

Taking place in Act 4 soon after the Deliverance crosses the Rigel border, this drama CD features Alm, Faye, Silque, Tobin, Kliff, Lukas, Forsyth, and Python, as well as three Rigelian characters not used elsewhere. Information here is considered a primary source, and this is the only quasi-official source of information about Alm's mother.

While Clive and Mathilda return to Zofia to quell dissent among the nobility in the wake of Desaix's defeat, the Deliverance are attacked by Rigelian child soldiers armed with cursed weapons. Alm's compassion and sense of justice lead him to try and reach out to these children rather than attack them with military force, and he discovers that they are orphans marginalized by brutal Rigelian customs and being used as pawns by the Duma Faithful. Alm reckons with the reality that Rigelians are not his enemies, but the systemic oppression they face from the empire and death-cult that rules over them, and through his compassion he meets some kindred spirits. Contains some really great characterizations of the Lukas/Python/Forsyth trio as well.

Text translation was done by @garmmy on their translations blog. A subtitled video playlist was created using garmmy's translations with the original audio by @fudgenomnomnom.

Valentia Comic Anthology

Includes over 100 4koma (4-panel, half-page) comics, as well as longer-form one-shots of 8 or more pages. Material here is more akin to fan comics and is thus considered a secondary source.

The 4koma have all been translated and hosted by Kantopia on their blog.

The one-shots are not all in the same place, and not all have been translated yet. Four have been done by @mystletainn a few years ago, while @hypergammaspaces is picking up the remaining chapters:

As Comrades, by Itagaki Hako - TL: mystletainn. Faye resolves to do whatever she can to help carry Alm's burdens, and brings the Ram boys along. Alm proves he loves his friends as much as they love him.

Sweet Delivery, by Watarizora Tsubamemaru - TL: mystletainn. Atlas fails to guard Mae and Leon's fresh-baked cookies, so he, Saber, and Jesse agree to gather the ingredients to replace them.

Fieldwork in Zofia, by Shiroishi Kotoni - TL: mystletainn. Taking place shortly before Act 3, Kliff ventures out to survey the lands north of Zofia Castle and encounters a certain masked knight who has more in common with him than either of them expect.

Only My Big Brother, by Kirai Yuu - TL: mystletainn. Tired of being ignored by Valbar, Leon ropes Kamui into helping him find the perfect boyfriend.

Know Your Enemy and Know Yourself, by Temo Uchida - TL: hypergammaspaces. Lukas and Forsyth try to encourage Kliff to take his combat duties seriously.

Future Wife, by Reku Hayase - TL: hypergammaspaces. Mathilda navigates her thoughts about her future with Clive as she reconciles Clair's expectations of her. Lukas is there too.

Let's Go To Ram Village, by Kazuomi Mochizuki - TL: hypergammaspaces. Translation is in-progress. Clair, having just met the Deliverance, asks to see what life in Ram Village is like, and Alm agrees to show her. Faye isn't too happy about this, but finds common ground with Clair by the end.

There are at least three more chapters yet untranslated which will be linked here as they are completed.

Rise of the Deliverance DLC

This was a set of four story maps set in the year-and-a-half or so before the events of Act 1. Focused around Clive, Fernand, Mathilda, Clair, Lukas, Forsyth, and Python, this added supports and memory prisms between these characters as well as story map dialogue. Scripts, memory prisms, and additional support transcriptions were found on a Serenes Forest forum post by user godzillahomer.

Gaiden manga

One-volume manga by Masaki Sano and Kyo Watanabe, published by Asuka Comics DX. Partial scans have been found on the Fire Emblem (Fandom) Wiki, but no complete scans or translations have been found as of this post. This is the one where Desaix stabs Kliff to death (hence Kliff joking about "maybe we can all get impaled on the same lance" in SoV). Many characters are entirely absent, while both Deen and Sonya appear in Celica's party.

Gaiden novelization

A light novel with a few illustrations throughout. Based heavily on the author's personal playthrough, Silque thus features prominently as she basically hard-carried Alm's party. Neither English FE wiki has a page about this adaptation. I have an acquaintance who owns it but I'm not aware of any full scans/translations available as of this post. This is the one where Kliff and Silque are half-siblings with the same father.

[nobodysdaydreams]

THE WOLF359 CAST IS INCREDIBLY TALENTED AND I LOVE THIS! (or my reaction to the Wolf359 Live Show)

"Another Wolf359 reaction already? But Bods, I thought you said you were busy?" Yes indeed I am my friends, if I wasn't busy, I would have finished the podcast by now. In my younger days, I did all of ATLA in a weekend. Sadly at this age, I can't be doing that kind of bingeing. I'm also tired, because I've been studying all day and figured why not take a little break and watch the Wolf359 Live Show?

I firstly wanted to give a shoutout to @commsroom for not only telling me about when to watch the live show (after episode 26), but also telling me that it is on youtube where you can watch it live so thank you so much!

Tagging the mutuals who got me invested in this, and if you want to be tagged or untagged from these posts, lmk, or you can follow my blog or simply follow the tag "#bods wolf359 reactions". Anyone who has followed me for a while knows my updates are inconsistent, so I apologize in advance for that and for any spelling/grammar mistakes in my posts. Especially in this one because it is late, and I am tired.

@sophieswundergarten @oflightningandstars @acollectionofcuriousreblogs @herawell

Wolf359 Live Show Reaction:

"First ever life show" - are there other live shows?

Oh okay this is very helpful. So it's in the middle of Episode 26, so right in the middle of what I just listened to, that makes a lot more sense.

I honestly don't care about the audio quality difference this is amazing.

Uh...pretty sure Cutter is not the forces of good... see Doug this is why you always read the fine print! It's like that ominous song...the one that was a tik tok audio? The one about an evil corporation in space? I think it might have been video game music? You guys know what I'm talking about please tell me I didn't imagine this.

YES THE ONE COPY OF HOME ALONE 2 COMES BACK!

PLEASE- the way Doug is telling the story is the way I tell stories "Hilbert strikes back: specifically Doug's circulatory system" 😂

"Palpatine MD" 😂

I love how they enter in as their characters are introduced.

I love Hera though it is weird to hear her voice clear without coming through the intercoms.

Zach is doing a fantastic job I love how he's moving around Minkowski to play both Hilbert and Doug 😂 and he's doing a great job switch characters.

Lovelace!

I love how he crosses over to whisper to Hera, I can just see Doug's character whispering into her intercom or in the general direction of the computer even though it doesn't make a difference to her.

I also like Hera's character position on stage away from the others, it's kind of symbolic.

"Team Eiffel's on the case" I have literally used the phrase "Detective Bods is on the case" multiple times on this blog, why do I relate so strongly to every ADHD character I come across sasjdkfjsl;kdfj;slk. Not the talking to himself too... NOT THEM LOOKING AT HIM IN THE BACKGROUND...oh no...

I love how Hera says "yeah we're all here" when she's always there.

17 months Doug? Oh dear...

"No one told me it was my job" Valid Doug, valid, what you're told when you're spaced out doesn't count. ADHD rule #1. Oh she told him multiple times? Well maybe they could have written it down for him. Would that have been too much trouble?

Hilbert shut up.

Poor Hera. The way she shuts them down 😂

SHUT UP HILBERT. THANK YOU.

Oh not the Pyrce and Carter thing again. Do we ever get to meet Pryce and Carter? Do they work for Goddard Futuristics? Is this a NASA textbook? At first I thought she said something about a price and then "Cutter", and I was like "PLOT TWIST" but never mind it's just the tips book.

Minkowski's Lovelace impression 😂 HIS HERA IMPRESSION IS JUST A HIGH PITCHED VOICE. Hahaha...his Hilbert is hilarious. Her Doug impression. 😂

"No no she's Eiffel, that's impossible" This is perfect, and then the switch back to Hilbert. Comedic perfection. I love it so so much.

"Hilbert you're fine try to be less fine" I love Hera.

"Can I ask you to act like an adult?" "That's not my thing" the comedic timing of this is excellent.

"What do you even do here?" Hold Hilbert's Decima virus of course.

Comms line? With who?

PLEASE 😂OH MY GOODNESS CUTTER. The way he stands up from the audience with his smug little smile...

You just know he's been waiting his entire life to play a role like that. Honestly me too, so good for him for getting to live the dream. DID HE JUST PAT THE HEAD OF A RANDOM PERSON IN THE AUDIENCE. HE DID. HE EVEN HAS A SUIT.

"We'll break bread, we'll dance, we'll kiss-" Cutter man, I'm pretty sure you can't say that. I know that you're an evil corporation that murders people on the regular and unethically experiments on people in space so the law can't get you, but you don't even have one HR rep?

Another call Cutter? What deployment?

"He remotely destroys station, then goes on lunch break" Yep sounds like Cutter.

The way Cutters reenters... it's so dramatic I love it.

They are really gonna have to make sure their stories match.

Huh. "Communication problem of our own." I wonder what that could be Cutter? A little issue at Command?

"Alone at last" That sounds creepy Cutter.

Oh so Cutter worships at the alter of the Pryce and Carter manual too. Maybe he forced them to write the book and killed them. Maybe he wrote it under two pen names to make it sound more legit. Either way I can't imagine him memorizing anyone's book but his own.

CUTTER'S ASKING ABOUT HER FAMILY? oh he's threatening her. IS HE THREATENING HER FAMILY?

They are very low on toothpaste.

"I want to help in every way I can, but I can only do that if I know what's going on" Cutter I hope you die. Painfully. Very slowly and very painfully, and if it doesn't happen in the show, I'll write it into a fic.

Oh he's speaking to Hera now because of what she said... that's interesting. Cutter didn't think of Hera as a person or member of the crew before he realized that Minkowski did.

Doug is me cramming for my exams. DOUG IF ITS NOT A VIDEO CALL YOU CAN WRITE STUFF DOWN.

Or fake an illness.

Oh dear poor Hera.

"Manufacturing errors." I hope that doesn't mean anything bad for those robots, otherwise that has to be sad for Hera to hear.

Okay...I love how Hera and some of the other actors look straight at the audience like they can't see Cutter, but Cutter looks directly at them as if he can see them. It adds so much to the creep factor.

Oh my gosh that manual again. Why is he obsessed with it?

"You'd be shocked at how much I know about the Hephaestus" Cutter knows everything.

AND DO NOT CALL HERA PATHETIC.

Oh my gosh Hera talked back to him for a second. I think she's the only one who ever does thus far, which is odd considering all her code that stops her from doing that.

"A real person" THAT CROSSES A LINE CUTTER.

"I don't know if someone like you can understand this. We're trying to change everyone's lives" CUTTER SHUT UP. YOU ARE THE ONE WITHOUT A SOUL YOU HAVE NO ROOM TO TALK.

YES HERA TALK BACK TO HIM.

Hera's memory files? Personality setting? oh never mind...this is awful that he can just go in like that. Maybe that's why he programmed her with the ability and personality that would talk back to him. So that he can get the truth from someone he can easily destroy.

"The people who made you decided you were a mistake, and you were so desperate to rise above who- what you are" Who made Hera? Are they important? Or did Cutter just scrape her up from a tech company that didn't want her? And Cutter "correcting" himself on that line I hope he's blown into space.

"Don't you dare" wow Hera's still talking back. "You have no idea." DID SHE JUST CONFESS THAT HILBERT IS STILL ALIVE. Oh Hera...

"To err is human" oh dear...

Doug looks terrified. Me too buddy.

It's okay Hera. You deserve better.

"I'm sick!" I love that.

Cutter's like wow, I should have started with him.

The way he puts his hand on Doug's shoulder as if they are in the room together, like he has a way to reach them even if they can't get back to earth, I love the choices the actor's are making.

He knows that Doug doesn't know Pryce and Carter. He's been listening in on him. For sure. Bro. Not everyone has read your manifesto that you by this point probably ghost wrote under two fake names and declared the best book of all time. It's like when a professor uses their own text book, I've heard this song and dance before.

Cutter. Doug should have memorized it but YOU HIRED HIM. He is CLEARLY in no way qualified for this line of work. YOU know that. YOU'RE using him as a science experiment. If I knew my professor was using me for lab science that could kill me at any second, do you think I'd waste time studying for their pop quiz on silly tips?

"How did Renee stop him?" Just say that it was all a blur Doug.

"Getting around security protocols, tricking a multiple PhD...stellar Doug" "Thank you?" Doug that's not a good thing. A target is on your back right now.

Not the arm on his shoulder again. Cutter for SURE killed their HR rep and their IRB rep, and ethics department.

"I would have had to skin you alive" There is no "had to" here Cutter.

3 seconds or incredibly painful things will start happening. WHAT THINGS?

DOUG HOW DID YOU FUMBLE THAT? YOU COULD HAVE JUST PRETENDED YOU WERE NERVOUS BECAUSE YOU FAILED. YOU HAD THE PERFECT OUT RIGHT THERE.

"I got the feeling that I would be the same convo you and I just had" I love the fourth wall break.

Oh dear. LOVELACE YOU BETTER BE QUIET. NO NOT ALL THE STUFF DOUG YOU AT LEAST KEPT LOVELACE QUIET. DON'T BLOW THAT TOO.

"Is there anything I can do for you? I want to help you?" Get. Them. Back. To. Earth.

Cutter's little schoolboy laugh. Oh yikes. He's mad now.

Good job Doug, take the fall. Good solider. No, what are you doing, just say you forgot, don't say you kept information from him intentionally. Faking incompetence is so much easier when you actually are incompetent.

The ultimate sacrifice. He will memorize Cutter's stupid textbook.

"If you keep anything from me again, holiday's over..." I don't like it.

"I want to know the second anything new happens with those transmissions".

Haha...well as a matter a fact, after that last episode...

Exactly. Shut up Hilbert.

Yeah the book is unusually dark. Pryce and Carter have clearly been through some stuff, or it's Cutter being ominous with his ghost written book. At this point, he either wrote it under fake names, or he's a Pryce and Carter fanboy. (Is it spelled Pryce or Price, I just realized I have no idea. I've heard of the last name Pryce, so I'd assume that's how it's spelled?).

"Did I mention that I'm sick"

Careful what you wish for.

Well that was amazing. I loved the way the cast used the space to make the characters come alive, the way they moved, the choices they made, it all fit really well. I really enjoyed watching this. It brought me back to when I used to do high school theater. I kinda of miss it. Hilbert, Cutter, and Doug are exactly the kind of overdramatic and unhinged roles I always loved playing (that is if I was lucky enough to have a director who went for gender bent casting, we as a society really need more comedic relief and unhinged women roles with crazy accents). Although I did once win a medal at state in middle school for a 10 minute monologue that was very much in the tone of Minkowski. I was playing a babysitter.

And ask the show said: back to work. Thanks everyone for listening, I hope you enjoyed my reaction. Only two more episodes left in season two so we should be done soon. Excited to see what comes next!

[etruatcaelum]

On Watts’ Semblance.

To elaborate on he considers this to be a colossal waste of time:

Arthur has an ability that he’s willing to consider, in the privacy of his own thoughts, might be a semblance. His undeniably real genius as a codicier is not enough, on its own, to explain what distinguishes him even from those rare individuals—like Pietro Polendina or Eileen Goshawk—whose technical skill is an equal match for his own.

Before he left Atlas, Arthur did believe that he was simply better than all his colleagues—the best konurgic engineer in the world.

Then he met Salem.

Then he learnt about the way grimm think.

Salem, he found, despite her lack of expertise, despite having—when he arrived in Evernight—only a rudimentary layperson’s grasp of the technical jargon, despite being physically incapable of using a scroll… Salem seemed to understand everything Arthur told her, everything he did for her, with an ease and clarity that he had always found frustratingly lacking in his colleagues.

It made him wonder: might he have some sort of innate advantage? Some perception, some unconscious awareness of the imperceptible realm of motion and particle in which codexes acted and the grimm, apparently, spoke?—and if he did, well, he didn’t know what else a skill like that could be, if not a semblance.

But what, he thought, did it really matter?

If he had a semblance which imbued him with a kind of instinctive sixth sense, it was clearly a passive ability over which he had no control; and if he didn’t, well, he was simply that good. Arthur could think of no way to determine for certain whether it was or was not, and no particular reason he should care.

Besides—his time in the Atlas military had left a bad taste in his mouth where semblances were concerned. So many times, he had seen excellent candidates for this or that position passed over in favor of someone less qualified whose semblance had been deemed a “perfect fit” for the job. It didn’t escape his notice, either, that his gifted colleagues were, by and large, the alumni of ritzy Atlesian preparatory schools; or else, like Eileen, they had attended combat schools in Mantle as children.

He did not care for that one bit.

Nor did he appreciate the way his superiors, and sometimes even his peers, had picked at him not only for lacking a semblance but also for his disinterest in this fact: Arthur never felt… incomplete, or inferior, and that made him rather the black sheep of the cybernetics team. Of the whole Atlesian military, really.

In contrast, Salem’s indifference to the matter is one of several things that endeared her to him, during those first few months he lived in Evernight. When he presented himself to her, she did not even ask if he had a semblance; in Arthur’s view, this was one of the earliest and clearest signs that she would be an employer for whom he wanted to work.

If he’s asked, these days, Arthur still says he doesn’t have one. Even if he felt absolutely certain that his theoretical sixth sense was indeed real, he would claim not to have a semblance at all. As far as he’s concerned, it’s his business; no one else needs to know.

He also just doesn’t think about it often—although he is keenly interested in the horde’s communication, and fascinated by what Salem can do with grimm. During his years in her employ, Arthur has achieved a phenomenal number of technological breakthroughs by applying what he’s learnt about grimm to his work. The seers—which Salem created after Beacon fell—are also partially his work: he developed the ‘program’ that these highly specialized grimm use to encode and transmit audio and visual data.

[gcu-sovereign]

One of the things I'm trying to get better at is noticing discomfort and taking action about it.

Just because I have a tolerance for heat, or pain, or standing for long periods doesn't mean I should bear all of these like Atlas.

And sometimes it means noticing that something is actually not worth the value over the average competitor for that use of time.

Through a string of job-hunt flubs, I've found myself with loads of on-the-job time to spend on listening to podcasts. My rotation at this point is yuge. And for several months this podcast figured into it! Now, as a straight, cis guy, I'm definitely NOT the target audience for this, even though as the host often says, she gets a large autistic following for her comedy shows. But for reasons I'm trying to chew through by writing this, I don't think that an average or even queer autist should go out of their way to listen to 'We've Having Gay Sex'.

In short: comedian Ashley Gavin leads a life that is [just barely?] too exciting to be related to, but also too fragile to be the subject of fantastic wish fulfillment.

The latter part of that summation is much easier to explain than the former, so I'll start there. Being in the public eye as a standup comic, having to self-promote tenaciously, and network continuously is really hard! You do NOT envy her lot for having to do so much of that with the current structure of entertainment. But she's also very much living at the mercy of internet egregores that might cancel her. She says as much pretty frequently, if not talking around the time when she apparently WAS CANCELLED! She mimes suicide whenever her (very excellent!) crowdwork takes her to participants that are much more sympathetic than she is.

But the former is something I just can't stop noticing and internally flinching at. You can tell in each of her episodes where she recounts something from tour or her NYC shows that she is actively digesting her various escapades on mic with her producer and guest. The riffing process is real and if you're interested in comedy qua comedy as a Form, then what I'm about to say is not relevant to you. BUT-

Unless your life is so full of PULL, and CHARMING [verb], and WEIRD SEX STORIES, and DATING SUCCESS [restrictions may apply], I posit that you, dear reader, will tire of this audio programming too! Imagine that you were a cobbler for some high-falutin' French aristocrat, and that while you were doing your work for these customers you were hearing these nobles talk effusively about the banquets they just ate. On the one hand, wow that all sounds delicious! But OTOH, these people are just vastly, hugely richer than you in easily explicable ways.

[all that said, @chaosroid should still go to an Ashley Gavin show to find a date or at least come back with a fun story]

[dumbass-duo-showdown]

No dammit

Uhhh

Why bioshock peak game

SPOILER FREE!

1: what even is bioshock

Bioshock is a narrative driven FPS horror adjacent shooter franchise with 3 games (1,2 and bioshock infinite) All exploring themes of different ideologies. The first two games, the dlc of the 3rd game, and the tie in prequel novel takes place in the same underwater city, Rapture, meanwhile the 3rd game takes place in the sky city of Columbia (no, not the capital of the USA), it explores mainly ideas of free choice, basically roasts Atlas Shrugged for the first game, 2 focuses more on collectivism, and infinite more on religious extremism.

2; setting

Not talking about bioshock’s settings is like talking about fire emblem and ignoring how it’s basically chess but with anime character. The first two games are in a dystopia. An art deco dystopia where the world has been turned upside. Meanwhile Columbia, unlike its previous counterpart is all bright and sunny, you can sense that something is wrong. Each part of Rapture showcases the minds of the great (medicine, botany, entertainment) but twisted, you’re shown the remains of what’s left. It’s even shown more in 2 because it’s 10 years after the original game.

3: gameplay

Now bioshock uses both “magic” called plasmids (and vigors in infinite) and regular weapons like a wrench, a machine gun, a chemical blower, and crossbow. It also got a hacking system in one you will either love or hate. Now one way you learn about the lore about bioshock is via audio tapes, which makes you want to explore the parts of the game more.

Also the themes of choice, this will go down into the next part

4. Enemies

This is mainly about the big daddies! Basically, they’re the icon of bioshock, even more than Ryan, Elizabeth, and Atlas. They’re 7ft tall men in a diving suit. In the second game you even play as one! Then there’s also other enemies like the splicers (aka the people who remain after rapture who isn’t a main character you can’t kill), the handymen (from infinite, are men “cured” of their illness only for them to be extremely sensitive to everything and stuck in a metal suit), and of course. The little sisters, present in bioshock 1&2, they’re What the big daddies protect.

That’s all I can say before I go so far.

Part 5: voice acting

Now for a game where most of the dialogue is via audio logs, bioshock sure has amazing voice acting. Everything from the speech at the start of the game to the speech at the end. Every characters voice is memorable. But I warn you, if you’re a persona fan, playing infinite is just “kanji is morally not as good and has a gun”

Part 6: characters

It has some really great characters, not like you will like them, rather that they’re just well written. Everyone from the main antagonist to the character with 3 audio logs. Even background characters in infinite. You get a sense that they were people.

Part 7: conclusion

It’s great! Just, have a strong graphics card if you’re playing on pc

[joseopher]

GUYS, I FOUND A BROOKLYN 99 AUDIO THAT IS PERFECT FOR THE ATLAS SIX

[This takes place sometime early in book 1]

[We open scene in the library, Dalton is standing there prepared to start his lecture, but no one is paying any attention. They're all looking at the clock. Or rather Nico sitting on top of one of the tables staring at the clock more intently than everything he's ever stared at anything in his entire life]

Nico: Wait for it...Wait for it...

[The clock's hand moves]

Nico: 9:01, Libby Rhodes is officially late for the first time ever!

[Nico smiles, perhaps it's meant to look sinister, instead, he looks like a child that just stole an extra cookie]

Nico: Alright, let's do this! Who's go theories?

Tristan: Uh, alarm didn't go off?

Nico: All three alarms? All with battery backup? Come on, who wants to take this seriously?

Reina: She was taken in her sleep.

Nico: That's what I'm talking about! Super dark Reina, but way more possible than Tristan's ridiculous alarm clock theory.

Parisa, with a slow seductive voice: I bet she touched herself in bed too tight and got stuck.

[Callum inspects imagery dirt from underneath his nail]

Callum: Hmm, maybe she fell into another dimension where she's interesting.

[The door opens and Atlas enters the library]

Atlas, sounding monotone: It's 9:00 AM, why hasn't the lecture started?

Nico: Libby Rhodes is a few minutes late and we're all trying to guess why.

Atlas: Well, I can play.

[The others exchange glances]

Atlas: Hmm I'd say she's in line at the bank.

[The room is silent]

Atlas: This is fun.

Nico: It is fun, but you're all wrong! She clearly slipped through a subway grade and is having terrible sex with a mole man.

[The door is thrown open and Libby runs in]

Nico: There she is!

[Nico's face turns into a mockery of serious]

Nico: Rhodes where have you been we've been worried sick!

[Nico gestures at them all, Parisa has started reading the book in front of her, Reina is glaring at a fern in the corner, Callum and Tristan have started whispering judgments about the whole situation to each other and Dalton is staring at Parisa's breasts. Atlas, however, seems engaged]

Nico, at Libby: Do you care to explain yourself?!

Libby, flustered: I'm just seventy seconds late, it's not a big deal, don't worry about it!

Atlas, sternly: Miss. Rhodes, you will tell us and you will tell us now.

Rhodes: There...was a problem at the bank.

Atlas: HOT DAMN!

[Atlas begins to perform a victory dance]