#watching factory machines is so satisfying

[uncultureddoubloon]

"there's virtually no limit to the info a compact disc can hold"

Ah this was made in 2005

[violetrainbow412-blog]

Howdy! It's me again

How are you? I hope you are fine, and if not, then I encourage you from here!

Well, I would like to order something in which our dear Willy gets a little jealous because someone entered the factory and started flirting with his partner (reader) And that leads to a very affectionate moment between reader and Willy

Por cierto, qué le pones a los pedidos que escribes? Los siento muy emocionantes y me ponen a chillar a veces SJSGGWUW

(By the way, what do you put in the orders you write? I find them very exciting and they make me scream sometimes)

.—🌻

Tensions in the Factory [W. W]

Willy Wonka x fem!reader

word count: 1.7k

nota: ¡me hace muy feliz que te guste lo que escribo! creo que sólo se trata de hacerlo con amor (¿o algo así? jaja) Lamento haber tardado, entré a un trabajo durante vacaciones y apenas me queda tiempo, pero espero que sea de tu agrado, girasol:)

[ENG: It makes me very happy that you like what I write! I think it's just about doing it with love (or something like that? haha) I'm sorry it took me so long, I started a job during vacation and I barely have time left, but I hope you like it, sunflower:)]

taglist: @dyieying @reallysparklychaos [Timothée masterlist]

“Your factory is impressive, Mr. Wonka,” said the man next to the boy, with a satisfied smile on his face after the tour he had given him.

Willy was pleased with the investor's recognition that he intended to finance a new branch for Wonka chocolates and if everything continued as expected, he knew that that same afternoon they would be signing a contract.

“I'm glad you like it. This is where all the magic happens, so I hope that with that new store things are even more promising for us.”

He wanted to add something else when, suddenly, he was interrupted by the vision of a person; it was you, beckoning to him from the other side of the factory with a board holding papers. He knew it had to be something important or else you would have waited, so he apologized to the young man at his side and walked quickly until he reached you.

“Oh, I'm sorry to bother you, but one of the machines that churns the chocolate is jammed and making a mess in there, do you think you can check it?” you murmured, sounding slightly worried about the situation.

“Yes, I'll go right away. While you will talk to Mr. Salt? Tell him to excuse me for a moment”

"Yes, I will do it"

“You're an angel, thank you for letting me know,” he said goodbye, gently caressing the side of your face and practically running to solve the problem you had just told him about.

The man looking at you curiously from the other side couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Willy and he was handsome, dressed in a gray formal suit that was worthy of a businessman. You had heard that he had a lot of money and although at first the chocolatier was not very convinced, after thinking about it better he believed that it was a good time to expand his horizons; that included having more stores to sell more chocolates. He had told you about the idea and you had been excited about it, so you motivated him to contact interested businessmen.

Although you didn't really enjoy talking to strangers, you took a deep breath and walked over to where the man was to greet him.

“Mr. Salt?” you said timidly, to get his attention. He watched you for a moment and when he got a better look at you, then he smiled hugely.

“Just call me Henry, Henry Salt. It's my pleasure," he replied, reaching out to shake your hand a little longer than expected. "Are you Mr. Wonka's secretary?"

It wasn't the first time a guy thought that about you, after all you were always behind your boyfriend with that board in your hand, writing things down, checking the operation, and reminding him of everything, however, Willy had always said that you were his partner and he wouldn't expect anyone to disparage your position: this factory belongs to both of us, he always said. 

But it was easier to say yes than to explain all that.

“Something like that. He asked me to tell you that he had to attend to an emergency, but that he will be right back.”

"Oh, sure. There is no problem with it as long as you keep me company” he said happily.

The man was looking at you up and down, as if you were the most interesting thing he had seen in the factory so far, but you didn't notice it, because you were too focused on the thought of how Willy was handling the machinery.

“Did you like the factory?” you exclaimed, trying to get a topic of conversation that would kill the silence that had enveloped you.

You could tell that he was an educated man, because he immediately started talking to you about the structure of the building, finances, what a good investment it would be to open a branch and also about how much he loved chocolate.

“I have a daughter named Veruca. She is just a baby, but I hope to be able to give her everything she wants in the future. I only plan to work to fulfill her whims”

“Ow, that's sweet,” you tried to flatter. At least his motives were noble.

“She looks a little like you, actually. You are very beautiful"

You had to admit that the comment threw you off, but you still laughed nervously. Maybe he was just trying to be nice to you, so you could persuade Willy to close the deal with that man.

“Huh, I appreciate it, Mr. Salt.”

“What are your favorite chocolates? I imagine that being here you eat them in droves, right?” he murmured.

You hoped that with that the conversation would take a different direction, so you started talking to him about all the types of chocolates that Willy prepared for you: the sweet ones, some salty ones, the magical ones, the strange ones...

“But I think my favorites are definitely the mint chocolates. They may be simple, but Mr. Wonka prepares them in an exceptional way," you said dreamily, remembering that upon discovering it he had prepared an entire jar just for you.

“When the branch is open, you can stop by to eat all the mint chocolates you want. At a special price for special ladies”

You laughed at that, not so much out of desire but out of commitment to the potential client. Suddenly a hand was placed on your waist and when you turned in the direction of the body that had approached you, you noticed that it was who it could only be. You frowned slightly when you noticed that he was frowning, as if something had bothered him.

“I'm sorry I was late. Everything is in order now, would you like to accompany me inside, Mr. Salt?” he said. His voice sounded calm and stern, without that cheerful tone he always had, and he still had one hand planted firmly on your body.

“Of course,” the chocolatier made a sign for the opponent to start walking and he did not take his eyes off him at any time, noticing that Mr. Salt was looking at you with the same interest.

If he was unhappy with something, he didn't say it, and he just left a gentle kiss on your head.

“See you in a bit, okay?” You nodded and pushed him just a little, inviting him to follow the businessman you had just spoken to. He got lost down the hallway and you returned to your tasks, not imagining the feeling that was bubbling in your partner's chest.

“That man is a complete idiot.”

You were surprised to hear the boy use those words and, above all, by the furious tone with which he had expressed himself. You interrupted your tasks of making dinner to pay attention to him.

“Who are you talking about?

“From Mr. Salt, of course! I didn't sign the contract with him. Don't even think about it, he's a… a complete nutcase”

"What are you talking about? What happened?" you asked, completely surprised by what he was telling you. You put everything aside to approach him and held his face to analyze his expression: it was extremely strange to see him this upset “Honey?”

“He was flirting with you! Don't think I didn't notice, when I left, he... he started talking to you that way. And not satisfied with that, he called you my assistant and then he hinted that he wanted a romance with you. He said punctually: I hope that, if I open this new branch, you will send your pretty assistant to help me with everything necessary” he was red with anger as he said that and he had to breathe for a moment to compose himself. "So I told him immediately that there was no deal if he dared to talk about my wife like that.”

There was too much to process at once. You felt disgusted at the idea that another man had shown interest in you, but at the same time you were surprised by how he had reacted. Willy wasn't a possessive husband, but right now you were feeling something strange about this side of him.

“You don't have to worry about that…”

“Of course I have to. You're beautiful and I'm sure everyone realizes that, but I won't let anyone look at you like he was looking at you. It is my job to protect you and that includes not entering into relationships with those who want to take advantage of you.”

He sounded sincere and passionate when he spoke, convincing you that he was very serious about the matter. Contrary to what he expected, you smiled and cupped his cheeks again to kiss him on the lips. He melted at the touch, you knew it by the way his shoulders completely relaxed and his hands came up to hold your elbows during the seconds you were kissing him.

Once he was more relaxed, you spoke.

“It's all right, love. Can you calm down?” you asked him. Your hand began to gently caress his cheeks and your eyes looked pleading, something he couldn't resist. “You shouldn't have wasted such an opportunity, but... I appreciate that you rejected it. For me"

“I would do anything for you,” he said immediately. Suddenly he felt the urge to kiss you again and he did, deeply and lovingly. You didn't resist.

“You're my only boy, you know that? No one in the world could take me from your arms” 

“That's not my fear, I know that nothing can separate us” he assured you, smiling from ear to ear. That's how sure he was about yours, that agreed with the pair of rings on your fingers “Besides, there will be more opportunities, you don't have to feel guilty about anything.”

“I don’t,” you exclaimed, to reassure him. You knew he had done the right thing and you loved him for it “Are you hungry? I'm making you something for dinner” you confessed and then he nodded.

He could smell what you were cooking and when you reached out to stir the contents of the saucepan with a stick, he hugged you from behind, starting to talk about something more trivial than that failed business and feeling clearly relaxed, now that he knew he was and he would always be the only owner of your heart.

[theminecraftbee]

Hi, here with a vault hunters question — what's the best way to start with the big tech mods if i never played with any of them before (or, haven't played with three of them and lowkey hated Botania)? I'm not *quite* at that point yet, but i want to try them and don't want to get too overwhelmed to play.

it depends on what you’re looking for! first, let me say that none of the big tech mods will become required at any point; production mods probably define your farm-building capabilities way more than your big mods in most cases, and unless you’re playing in skyblock or with grindy crystals you can normally last well into the late levels without needing absurd farms for much (although most people identify a specific pain point they want modded farm for eventually, and this can be a good reason to go into a specific mod). choose a specific thing you want to be the First Task you do with a big tech mod, and focus on getting the steps done to do That Specific Task; that often gives you the path to learn everything you need!

from there, if you’re a beginner with no preferences, my advice is that you will probably want to watch or read tutorials! all four big mods have wikis/guides of varying qualities; botania also has the botania lexicon in-game, and create has the “ponder” feature. these will help you figure out how to play one of the big tech mods, once you’ve decided which interest you!

as for how each mod plays: thermal expansion is less powerful than its cousins, but is far, far simpler. almost everything thermal expansion does is a one-block solution, and I’ve never had to chain more than maybe two machines together to do any given task. you will craft a machine using all components you can craft at a crafting table, provide that machine power, and you’re off to the races! so if you like simple solutions, this is probably the mod, especially since it doesn’t require any mod-specific crafting.

mekanism is all about chaining machines together. it can do a lot of things thermal expansion can do much more powerfully thanks to the ability to upgrade many of those basic blocks into factories, but boy do some processes in mekanism require a LOT of pipe spaghetti, machinery, and steps to get things done. luckily, determining what these steps ARE tends to be fairly simple, as you can just follow backwards in JEI from your intended endpoint to the eventual one or many starting points you need, and there are a lot of video guides, plus a wiki. if you LIKE some of the most powerful ore processing and tech and eventually power production in the game this is for you, but it can be complicated or intimidating at first glance.

botania also, from what I’ve seen, requires chaining multiple machines together, this time in order to send mana from place to place. the hard part of botania, at least for me, is wrapping my head around how to move mana around; once you understand that, I suspect it’s a bit simpler than late-game mekanism, but its logic can feel VERY different from the other three mods due to that mana abstraction. it and create also make the coolest decorative blocks in my opinion, with botania having a lot of cool “natural” blocks.

create is the mod that requires the most “thinking” in my experience to get things to work, but is often the most capable of being cheaply powerful. you will need to use spatial reasoning to figure out how to connect gears together in order to make anything work, and you’ll likely need to use create’s conveyor belts to move items around. this can make doing anything in create feel very complicated if you don’t like it, but extremely satisfying if you do like it, since in create you will often feel like you can use your own, special solution for things, instead of a set chain of machines set up the way anyone else would. a lot of players who otherwise dislike tech mods also tend to really like create, despite it being that deep down! it also has by far the best in-game documentation, with the ponder system on every single mechanical part letting you see what they do in-game, with animations to demonstrate, and it’s probably the most useful all-in-one package of the big mods for the most things, even if not necessarily the best at each of those jack of all trades things it does.

so yes! hopefully this helps you out! all of the big mods have sort of their own playstyle, and maybe this helps you figure out where to start!

[angel---eater]

im smilin so much cause not only is that 'embuing random objects with souls' post dirk-the-character in a literal sense to canon but its also so deeply my splittwin with his fuckin.... adorable ass object personalization autism. we watched one of those satisfying factory machine compilation vids w/ our partner system to visual stim together and he kept muttering in his deep ass voice ''Omigod... No way... I love robots with jobs. Look at them go, they're doing such a good job wrapping that metal sheet. You go robot'' like jesus dude is cute. if its gay to call your headmate cute then im guilty as charged

[missamyrisa2]

I love edging to your machine tickles 😵‍💫 the way you write is soo sensual 🙈

It flatterssss me to no end when someone edges themselves to my words ooh my gosssssh~

And you're just the sort of naughtyyyyy self teaser that is going to find themselves in a world of tingless when the Tauntress tosses you into her latest machine ~ this particularly snide factory operator lovess to watch and smirk as you struggle against the fuzzy claw apparatus, aided by a swarm of graspy hands which begin stripping away your clothes and poking n stroking at your exposed skin so that you'll wiggle over towards the waiting mechanical minion ~ the claw opens and closes threateningly, it's fuzz-lined extensions waiting to clamp down on your naked body ~ "Struggling is pointlessss~" she remarks, hands on her hips as she strolls around and casually activates more routines on this wicked tease engine. The claw surges forth and gently closes on your midsection, the soft fuzzies trembling as you're lifted like a prize high into the air and waved around proudly before the scanning pods zip out from their portals. The claw positions and repositions you, catching and tossing you so that the tingly scanning beams can coat over every part of your body from toes to knees to thighs and royal area over you belly up your chest and arms and face ~ then back down and across and criss-cross, all while displays far below pile up with data on your hot spots, sensitive spots, death spots, sour spots, and erogenous spots~

"Oooh my my my myyyy so many spots detected. How pray tell do you even get through the day without falling apart my gooodnessss~" she muses, studying your results and sending them into a handheld tablet as the crane whirls you over like a ragdoll to a conveyor belt. With a whoosh you are rushed into the next room as the Tauntress casually strides by, watching your progress through the glass down the hall as she passes her colleagues. Your body is processed thoroughly ~ mechanical hands lift your feet so orbital buffers can descend and spin along your soles and under your toes ~ dusting brushes drop from the sides to caress at your sides and over your belly ~ while gloved exam hands float over to probe and teasingly stroke your royal areas, stimulating you as you're tickled. The Tauntress gives you a big thumbs up through your gasping struggles when the machines light up and buzz for a new protocol, flipping you over and holding you taut to the moving belt ~ which goes from smooth to softly bumpy~ the material changing out for a feathery lined surface which begins gliding along your frontside. A soft clamp drops from above to catch you at your natural waist and lift you so that your frontside is continuously teased by the moving belt as it slowly drags you forward to the exit.

With your body thoroughly teased up by the conveyor, you are at last brought to the room for processed products and tossed onto a packaging table. Your body is snared at the wrists and ankles by the mechanical table ~ slowly restrained as the ratchets crank and hold you snug with click click clicks. The Tauntress studies her electronic chart and twirls the feathery tip of her digital pen over your tingly body. "Hmm hmm. Nice pinkening hereee. Ooh yes, and right here tooo on the belly and thighs. Our clients are going to be very satisfied with you~" She taps a button on the wall and steps back, grinning wickedly as slats from the table begin sliding away exposing various strips of your body's underside. "Be sure to giggle and gasp for me real good okay? I'm taking voice samples toooo~" she activates recording equipment for your product page and smiles as the machinery starts bringing out long strips of silky material. The wide strands first glide under your legs behind your knees, the entire length easily sixty feet as it spools from one side of the room to the other, every bit of the soft deep green material tickling and teasing at your skin. Another roll is tugged behind your back, then brought over your belly and pulled through the table, caressing in an endless sensation around your body. The next silk goes across your chest, kissing continuously at your royal buttons and upper ribs and outer armpits. Then the machine adds strips from the perpendicular direction, rolling over your underarms and up your soles. A very slowly growing meter on the wall for "packaging preparation" increases with each silky roll brought over your writhing helpless body while the machine whirls and buzzes. An array of microphones and lenses are trained on you as the machine works, capturing every sound and visual for the operator which she merrily posts for her clients ~ particularly as the central silk is now being draped and tugged over your royal area incessantly, uncaring at how aroused and edged you've become~

Should you ticklegasm, the gigglecum alert blares and the cleaning routine begins with buffer brushes and gentle jets of cleansing water whooshing from all corners of the table ~ and following the scans for cleanliness, you may be cleansed again should that treatment inspire more gigglycums~

As the preparation nears completion, the silks begin wrapping over your spots in layers. The tickly tingles bind over your knees, thighs, belly, chest, royal area, soles, neck, and underarms. You are decorated with the soft packaging and endlessly tingly~ with your product page fully completed by the Tauntress, you are whisked out into the display room, silken wrapped and standing in your clear case ~ all for the swarm of electric toothbrushes to begin buzzing and trilling over your body to keep you dancing and giggling for the excited bunch of clients who have just entered the building~

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground episode 40: Virtual Danger

AKA: THE FINAL EPISODE

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The Plot (for want of a better word): Sonic and Manic have been training their piloting skills with a virtual reality game, but it turns out their online friend is Robotnik in disguise! Can they escape the trap he’s set for them, or will they be trapped in cyberspace forever?

An interesting factoid, before we begin. The creators of Batman Beyond and The Justice League mentioned that they learned a lot from doing Batman Beyond, and one of the important things was that it doesn’t matter what your series is doing or how well it’s going (or not), the season finale should ALWAYS feel important. It should wrap up a storyline, it should set a full stop on a sentence. That way, no matter what happens, your fans will be satisfied with it.

As we all know, this series was not intended to be viewed in any particular order, so you can't expect this episode to wrap anything up properly.

However! This episode does KIND of wrap up a storyline that’s been running throughout the series, about the Resistance skimming supplies. It shows up in most Cyrus episodes. You probably wouldn’t have noticed it, but hey! Credit where due!

We open on the boys playing a VR game. They are just about to defeat their 'online friend' when Sonia walks in and pulls the plug on their game console. They’re late to a meeting.

CYRUS.

If you remember episode 12, you will remember the zombie robot, which allows a pilot to take remote control of a machine. It’s back. Yay. The boys apparently want to prove their skills have improved, because they’ve been playing video games. And they do pass the test, so it turns out video games ARE good for you, any parents who may be watching and still doubting whether their kids should be allowed to buy a Sega Saturn/Dreamcast in a couple of years.

Robotnik is going to be doing an audit on his supply ships, which means he’s definitely going to notice that the Resistance have been taking them. So they’re onto plan B: steal ALL the supply ships before Robotnik can change strategy.

There are three left to take over, and Cyrus assigns Sonic the last one. Sonia objects, because the last one is the riskiest, and she’s the best pilot. The way it’s framed, this isn’t arrogance so much as her being worried about Sonic. Combined with looks she was giving him a few episodes ago, it makes me wonder if they wanted a mini storyline of Sonia worrying about Sonic taking too much of the risks… could’ve been a good one!

Sonic does indeed get caught, but turns it into a kamikaze flight, turning his ship back on Robotnik’s palace for a crash. He barely misses Robotnik himself by like a half-metre. But the point is, all the supply ships are now out of Robotnik’s reach and he has to re-orient his factories to rebuild. Successful mission all round, and the triplets are given a few days off.

Manic dozes off to have a dream about playing more video games, but this time, Sonia has decided to play too. And of course she is immediately better at it than them. Whether this is just how the show functions or a sign of Manic's low self esteem, we will never know.

The Song: Don’t let your guard down. A very strange 80s/early 90s pop song, running a bit light on lyrics – mostly just “Don’t let your guard down. Keep your shield up, you gotta be ready”. Which, again, propaganda sure, but… not much for a good song, guys. Perhaps this is just proof of why Manic isn't the band's lyricist.

In the ACTUAL game, their 'online friend' offers them a mod, and promises a better one later. Because cyber security is not yet a common thing, the boys do not think twice about downloading and installing both files, no questions asked.

But once they’re in the new mod, their online friend is revealed to be Robotnik, and this has all been a trap! Now the… Okay, I’m not entirely sure how this happens, but they get zapped into the game. And apparently, if you die in the game, you die in real life. And… Look. Shadow the Hedgehog did this too, so I have to accept it as a thing that can happen in the sonic universe, but I will never not think it’s a little silly.

The point is: the boys are trapped and Sonia sees it happen.

Sonia calls Cyrus, who creates a program to allow Sonia into the game virtually, and pull Robotnik in physically. Don’t question it. While Sonia’s trying to rescue her brothers, Cyrus is going to try to hack Robotnik’s satellite to disrupt his connection, which will apparently win the game for the hedgehogs. Seriously, don’t question. Just accept.

Surprisingly, Sonia’s amazing piloting skills do not actually save the day. Cyrus cutting off the satellite dish does. I am legitimately surprised.

The episode ends with the triplets sending the now unloaded cargo ships back to Robotnik’s palace, further damaging it. Sonic declares it “Game over, Buttnik!”

And that’s it. That’s the end of Sonic Underground.

Sure was an episode, huh?

Look, it was incredibly underwhelming and very much Just An Episode, but on a meta level, it was actually a pretty good culmination of the series. There was the weirdly fluid animation that was absolutely not quality checked. There was the random disjointed plot that barely hung together. There was the odd character relationships and motivations that were generally fine but also kind of illfitting. There was the conflict and resolution in the final five minutes of the episode.

There was no Sleet or Dingo, and the song was barely an attempt, but OTHERWISE.

This was Sonic Underground, for all its faults and wonders.

Come back tomorrow for final thoughts, if you’re interested!

[ariapmdeol]

Alright. I'll bite. What's COE? I assume it's a game? And where would I be able to watch a playthrough(?) of it?

細胞神曲 - Cell of Empireo is an RPGMaker horror game by Sharktale Factory! You can find an English Translation on YouTube here!! It has the full game with all of the endings, and the first five Records of the DLC! The game itself is playable in both Japanese and Korean.

If you'd like to play it with Machine Translation yourself, I have a tutorial here! Please be aware that MTL is hard to work with, and can be confusing. IF you choose to do this, there is a walkthrough on how to get the best ending here!

TLDR: You play as Haruki Atou, 28 year old detective! When his coworker, Eiji Shinano, goes missing, Atou tracks his last known location to the mysterious cult called the Empyrean Heaven Research Institute. Atou finds himself wrapped up in a situation far larger than expected, and discovers a lot about both the Institute and himself along the way!

This game has everything: it has gay people. It has religious imagery. There is a headless rat. There's a mad scientist who asks to hold hands. The Divine Comedy is everywhere. There is foreshadowing and lore EVERYWHERE and it is sooooo fascinating!!! Genuinely I love this game so so so much!! There is a reason I have been drawing it for (checks watch) almost a year nonstop.

Cell of Empireo play order:

Cell of Empireo DLC: Records of Sanemitsu Isoi [YT tl stops here, after record 5 Hermit's Room Interlude Cell of Mirage (unreleased, fukao-San is working on it)

If you want to go in completely blind, I'll leave it there, but I'll add some of my own rambles under the cut! I'll also post the content warnings there as well o7 This game is recommended for people 17 and up, but I think you should be fine! The rating is for violence mostly. There are some flashing lights and shaking screen moments.

CONTENT WARNINGS (by me)

religious themes, human and animal experimentation/death, gore, hallucinations, suicide, murder, familial abuse, body horror, attempted SA (brief, nothing happens, i can tell you when it happens if you need a warning for this)

aaand some ramblings

There are soooo many different variations based on what ending you're on track for. It is FASCINATING to see lines change in really subtle ways because of Atou's actions.

the lore MAKES SENSE and adds things SYMBOLICALLY and there are LAYERS and you can theorize about stuff!!! This game is so good!!!

the boss fights are SO MUCH FUN. For an RPGMaker game there are so many different mechanics??? There's a RHYTHM GAME SECTION??? it's FANTASTIC

this is a game and a series about love in all its forms. There is platonic love, familial, romantic, whatever the hell flowerpot trio has going on, and more!

There are so many terrible dads that I was able to run a 'Worst Dads' Poll and people had genuine debates, it was fantastic!!

METAFICTION. IT'S METAFICTION (i am very normal)

Sanemitsu <3 Sanemitsu isoi <3 Sanemitsu Isoi my beloved <3

I have written so many theory and analysis essays. there is so much lore i go so insane it's so fun (LORE ANALYSIS NOT REQUIRED FOR A SATISFYING WATCH/PLAYTHROUGH. I AM JUST INSANE)

The information you learn along the way recontextualizes earlier parts so you want to watch Through it again to catch the details that you missed the first time around!!

Also every character has reasons and motivations for what they’re doing, even if atou doesn’t know it. They are all so so painfully human…. Emotionally devastating

[motorhearted]

Brad.

(he/him, sexuality unlabeled)

“I’d rather take freedom… than smoking arenas.”

ABOUT.

Set up as an emotionless brute on the track, Brad has a very small and meek personality, despite his looks. He holds a lot of shame for what he has had to do to survive the derbies. He doesn't speak much unless spoken to, and talks with a very stunted approach; hesitant and unsure and anxious above all else. He's terrified of being percieved as a threat and dislikes how other cars percieve him.

His hesitancy and self-doubt leads to a lot of second guessing and gullability. This causes him to take a submissive route in conflicts outside of the derbies, desperate to not take up any more space than he already does. Brad is a rather lost soul, relying on the guidance of vehicles more experienced than him to form opinions and make decisions for himself.

BACKGROUND.

Brad lived a rather regular life for a car; rolled out of a factory, presented at a dealership, lived with a loving human household that depended on him for transport. He didn't want anything more than he was given, he was satisfied, and never would've expected the events that would transpire.

On one early summer night, while parked outside a restaurant a group of men kidnapped him, detaching parts of his engine and putting him on the back of a truck. He was taken far into the country into priarieland, where an abandoned race track lie. This arena was used for illegal demolition derbies by an on-the-run group of humans who feared and hated the animate vehicles. Brad was stripped of his shining green paint and modified with a powerful engine; so powerful that it took weeks to get used to. The lost family car was turned into a killing machine.

Brad was subjected to the derbies for months, forced to kill other cars in the ring with the same lost autonomy. He watched as others of his kind became hopeless or crazed, tearing each other apart and hoping that they would be the one to make it out in one piece. There was a point where even he lost all hope.

A mysterious vehicle named Sergio came to his aid, claiming that she was a ghost that haunted the arena. She promised to help him win, to help him eventually escape the derbies. But all she did was manipulate him into destroying more cars, furthering his reputation as what the kidnappers called the world's best derby car. Sergio started with praise, but it eventually devolved into harsh criticism of his every move. Still, Brad held onto the hope that something would free him-- if he survived and did well enough, Sergio would save him, right?

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

TOMORROW (May 17), I'm at the INTERNET ARCHIVE in SAN FRANCISCO to keynote the 10th anniversary of the AUTHORS ALLIANCE.

#15yrsago How kids use the net now, from danah boyd https://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2009/05/16/answers_to_ques.html

#15yrsago Danger Mouse’s EMI-killed CD will be released as a blank CD-R, just add download https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8053471.stm

#15yrsago Chicago Alderman vandalizes public art depicting CCTVs https://web.archive.org/web/20090520083519/http://www.chicagopublicradio.org/Content.aspx?audioID=34234

#10yrsago Cloud computers are computers you can only use with someone else’s permission https://memex.craphound.com/2014/05/16/cloud-computers-are-computers-you-can-only-use-with-someone-elses-permission/

#10yrsago Photo of NSA technicians sabotaging Cisco router prior to export https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2014/05/photos-of-an-nsa-upgrade-factory-show-cisco-router-getting-implant/

#5yrsago Watch: Tim Wu debates trustbusting with Tyler Cowen, who just wrote “a love letter” to Big Business https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_Jp-GJ9LM0

#5yrsago A report from the Christchurch Call, where the future of “anti-extremist” moderation was debated at the highest levels https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/05/christchurch-call-good-not-so-good-and-ugly

#5yrsago Lent: Jo Walton’s new novel is Dante’s Groundhog Day https://www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-review-jo-walton-lent-20190516-story.html

#5yrsago EPA Inspector General Report finds massive waste from Trump’s Pruitt flying business class, staying in swanky hotels https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2019-05/documents/_epaoig_20190516-19-p-0155.pdf

#5yrsago Under Trump, immigrants who serve in the armed forces are finding it harder to attain citizenship than those who do not serve https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article230269884.html

#5yrsago California set to legalize eating roadkill https://www.kqed.org/science/1941435/eating-roadkill-is-illegal-in-california-but-maybe-not-for-long

#5yrsago Florida Governor says the FBI told him how the Russians hacked Florida voting machines, but swore him to secrecy https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2019/05/14/which-florida-counties-had-election-hacks-russians-fbi-and-now-gov-ron-desantis-all-know-but-we-dont/

#5yrsago Grifty “information security” companies promised they could decrypt ransomware-locked computers, but they were just quietly paying the ransoms https://memex.craphound.com/2019/05/16/grifty-information-security-companies-promised-they-could-decrypt-ransomware-locked-computers-but-they-were-just-quietly-paying-the-ransoms/

#5yrsago Luna: Moon Rising, in which Ian McDonald brings the trilogy to an astounding, intricate, exciting and satisfying climax https://memex.craphound.com/2019/05/16/luna-moon-rising-in-which-ian-mcdonald-brings-the-trilogy-to-an-astounding-intricate-exciting-and-satisfying-climax/

#1yrsago Rent control works https://pluralistic.net/2023/05/16/mortgages-are-rent-control/#housing-is-a-human-right-not-an-asset

[laupiehouppette]

Nothing last forever - To Lose Yourself To Find Yourself - Chapter 7: An echo from...?

---------------------------------------------------------------

{ Chapter index }

In the factory, everyone is at their task. In the first stations, all the parts for assembly are prepared and repaired: glass, wooden crates, components. Everything is loaded onto carts and dispatched to the various stations, where the different parts of the precious devices are assembled on a conveyor belt. Once completed, they are sent to the calibration station, the last stage before passing under the watchful eye of quality control.

Those in charge of this station also manage the site and make all the major decisions in the factory. Although they manage almost everything, no one has ever seen who they are. No one has ever left or entered the mysterious room. No one knows who, or how many, work there.

He's been in the factory for almost a month. When he arrived, the floor manager, who everyone calls Jo, and who works at the calibration station and manages the teams, assigned him to the disassembly station, where the devices rejected by quality control end up. This is where everyone starts, to familiarize themselves with the different parts of the machine. Devices that simply need adjusting are sent back to the calibration station, while the others are recycled: the components are sent back to their starting point to be corrected if necessary, or recycled to make new ones. A fine organization.

But lately, many televisions are being rejected, either because they were not sufficiently calibrated, or because defective.

Defective or completely blown up.

For some strange reason, some sets come back from quality control in an absolutely deplorable state: carbonized sets, exploded screens, broken casings. This is the case with the TV he is currently disassembling. Like others, in addition to having obviously exploded, it also as, as strange as it may seem, to have melted, given the odd shapes it has taken. In such cases, there is not much to retrieve. He wonders what could have possibly caused such a thing. What would cause a TV to melt or bend like that? Something tells him he rather not know. In any case, he saves what little he can.

The end-of-day alarm sounds. At last! Tomorrow, he has the day off and can return to his real home if he wishes, and he's counting on it. Although the factory offers dormitories and even lunches to employees who live far away, there's no place like home. Like the others, he takes his things and heads for the tramway, but before he leaves, stops by to say bye to Jo, who's busy at the calibration station.

A few employees are finishing calibrating their last TVs, and once they are satisfied, they push them onto the conveyor belt to be sent to the quality control room. He spots Jo also adjusting his last TV set. He notices him immediately, despite his concentration. At the same time, he's pretty hard to miss, he's so tall.

"Ah, Morlin, how are you?"

"Fine, I can't wait to get home, I couldn't last week, with all this work. " he sighed tiredly.

"Yeah, they are picky lately. "He adds. He shares that the number of TVs exploding inexplicably also baffles him. Occasionally, he even hears one explode with a bang, which never fails to startle him and others.

"This TV's giving me a hard time, I can't adjust it". Using special screwdrivers, he calibrates the receiver and transmitter, both hidden behind the two dial knobs. Jo carefully checks the sound and picture, but no matter how hard he tries, the image struggles to remain stable. He finally removes his headset in exasperation. "It's no use, the receiver-transmitters are probably defective. "he said, digging into his pockets. He took out a pencil and went to mark a cross on the screen, but the pencil was obviously out of ink. "Arrh, dry. Can you take it straight to the disassembly station? No need to send it to the test bench, they hate it when you send them defective TVs." He asked as he left. "And get home well rested, you've got two days this time!" Jo declared before heading off to the changing rooms to collect his things.

Two days? That is perfect.

Morlin was about to fetch a cart to take the recalcitrant TV to the disassembly station, when an idea crossed his mind. What if... What if he tried to calibrate this TV. It's good for recycling anyway. He would like to see it up close, it would familiarize him more with the device, and he could just do it for a bit of fun. He puts the helmet on his head, and like his colleague, starts to turn the dimmers back and forth, hidden in the little holes that are inaccessible without the proper tools. He gives it a try, but nothing but a distorted image and a cacophonous sound. He's about to give up, when he hears a peculiar sound, like a chant. Could he have found it? He listens carefully, but the sound is terribly garbled.

He pushes one of the dials a little further and the sound becomes louder and more defined, an image even begins to appear on the screen, but it's still garbled.

As he fine-tunes, he begins to feel something exhilarating. Nervousness? Excitement? He couldn't say.

In addition to the sound, the image begins to take shape: several circles with a black triangle at their center, topped by a symbol representing an eye, and in the four corners, black circles with a negative triangle with the same eye in each. With the gradations of grey, and all those lines, this is undoubtedly the test image. But just like the sound, the image is covered in a fog of static and oscillates constantly. Indeed, the quality doesn't come close to what he's seen on other TVs, especially at home.

...

Home! He should get home instead of wasting his time on this defective TV. It's been two weeks since he's been home, and his wife must miss him as much as he does, especially since she's home alone. He got rid of the headphones and turned off the TV before going out to find a cart. He's had trouble finding a vacant one with all these rejects and scraps. He hurried back when he noticed the TV was gone. Ah, did someone take care of it? He spots the night watchman and asks him where the TV is.

"The TV that was here? Yes, someone had forgotten to push it onto the conveyor." he indicated banally.

" It shouldn't have been, it was defective! "Ah great, it's too late now.

"Well, they'll send it to the scrap-". The watchman was interrupted by a short, loud alarm resounding throughout the factory. All machines that were still running came to a halt. Morlin and the guard exchanged dismayed glances, without saying a word to each other.

As the machines came to a halt, a calm invaded the factory and the voices of workers could be heard, wondering about the change in atmosphere. "Hey, we can't get out! "exclaimed a voice in the distance.

The ceiling lights went out and were replaced by the emergency lights. The building was plunged into shadow. He had a very bad feeling. He could feel the anguish building up, and the dead calm of the machinery didn't help. After what seemed like an eternity, a crackling sound was heard from all the factory's loudspeakers. He and the guard gasped at the sudden noise.

"Whoever configured this device, report immediately. " A voice of neutral tone and timbre came from the intercoms. On the wall of the quality control room, a light came on a little further along the wall, illuminating a door in the factory's dim light.

A few curious workers had returned to the workshop. Murmurs began to rise. Morlin looked apprehensively at the door. Why do they want to see him? Is it that serious to send a defective TV? He keeps in mind that they seem more exigent than usual. Will he just get a warning?

He can only hope that those behind this door will understand that this was a simple accident, that this TV was obviously defective and would have been sent straight to disassembly, had it not been for a small mistake on everyone's part. He doesn't want to blame his two colleagues, but he's not the only one responsible in this situation. Dismayed, he shuffled towards the waiting door.

 "What's going on?" Jo asked, striding in. He spotted Morlin, looking grim, at the foot of the illuminated door, but didn't immediately understand. That's when he noticed that the recalcitrant TV that had been at the calibration station earlier, was no longer there, but it wasn't on the cart either.

***

Morlin entered the room. He expected to see other workers, in a room equipped with special tools to ensure the quality of TV sets, but to his greatest surprise, no one. The room is surprisingly empty and minimally equipped, plunged into darkness.

He can make out a few televisions on the paused conveyor, which splits in two, guiding them with the aid of divider either to packaging or recycling. Among them, a TV on a workbench, in front of another TV. He approaches, his stomach churning. A TV, on a separate workbench, is connected to a multitude of cables disappearing into the darkness above, and a strange pinkish glow form the device.

Judging by the picture quality and impeccable sound, this is undoubtedly the reference model. Nothing to do with the one in front, his own, which seems to scream in agony at times. He can see what standard the devices are supposed to meet. Is that why they called him? To show him the reference standard? It wouldn't be too bad. He doesn't want to go home and announce that he's been fired after barely a month.

That is all well and good, but where are the people who called him? How does this sector work if there is no one there?

"Mr. Morlin Hiroichi. We suspected that it was you who calibrated this television. "The same voice from earlier appeared out of nowhere. Morlin gasped, searching for the source. He was surprised that they knew his full name, but even more surprised: how did they know he was probably the one responsible? He was tempted to ask them what they meant by that, but this wasn't really the time to ask such questions.

 "Yes..." He paused, looking for the best way to simply explain the cause of this incident before they drew any conclusions, but it was he who was caught off guard.

" That is not your attribution, is it? " they questioned. He knows he should have minded his own business, but he just wanted to try. "Indeed, that TV should never have gotten there. Sorry... it was just -." He was abruptly interrupted in his mea-culpa.

" Oh but there is no need to be sorry." the voice cut in. What do they mean, there's nothing to be sorry about? He... They did screw up a bit, though, they must have wasted time inspecting a worthless TV. "It would have been unfortunate if that device had not come here." Morlin can't tell if a bad joke is being played on him. Better still, with whom has he been conversing so far? But for the moment, whoever it is who's talking, it seems they're not upset; on the contrary, they even seem pleased.

"I don't understand, this TV is far from meeting the standard. According to my colleague, the receiver-transmitter, or whatever it is, is defective." He tried to explain in his confusion.

" This is correct. The component is defective. But you still managed to get a usable signal out of it. " They remarked.

" It was... It was just luck, an accident! " He protested. There's no way it was anything but luck. Even Jo couldn't get anything out of it. He wouldn't and couldn't let on that he'd done it deliberately. He went on a whim, instinctively, just to see.

"Really?" They really didn't seem convinced. " Go and get one of the devices on the conveyor and install it in place of your 'accident'. " Well, since they insist... As requested, Morlin fetched one of the validated devices and installed it in place of the device responsible for his misfortune.

" Good, you should find the necessary tools on one of the workbenches. No need for a headset. " they indicated. Morlin looked around the room and quickly located the workbench. He headed for it and among the tools he found the two specialized screwdrivers. There was no mistaking them for ordinary screwdrivers, with the same symbol of an eye in a triangle as the tip, identical to those seen in the test image. He returned to the device, unsure of how he was going to get out of this mess.

"Now remove the covers and do what you have to do. " What a shame, he was going to ruin a perfectly calibrated TV, but if he didn't want to upset them, he'd have to try.

He switched on the TV and the test screen appeared, accompanied by a melodic note. He began by scrambling the calibration, to start from scratch. Good. Now he had to find the right tuning. Nervously, he began by trying a few random positions, as he had done earlier, but to no avail. After a few unsuccessful attempts, he begins to move from one position to the next rapidly. The device hiccups as it swings from one setting to the next. No matter how many positions he tries, he just can't seem to find the right one. He starts to panic. He turns back and forth, but nothing happens... Nothing! Nothing! Nothing! He's got to find it, or else.

" Calm down, take your time." intervenes the voice, still as calm as usual.

They're... They're right, he's just being stupid. He's got to calm down and concentrate. He took a deep breath and breathed a long sigh. He paused, taking the time to regain his composure.

He picked up the screwdrivers again, and this time slowly turned the dials, just turning and listening.

" Do not think about anything... Do not think about anything except tuning the transmission..." the voice instructed him slowly.

All right. Tune the transmission... Tune the transmission...

Without realizing it, he closed his eyes, no longer looking at the screen. He continues to turn the dials slowly, instinctively.

As he turns the screwdrivers, a strange sensation runs through his body, as it did earlier. Yes, he feels something. Something... He couldn't say. Something... familiar? He felt his heart racing again, but this time it was not from panic. It was something much more intrinsic, visceral. He couldn't understand the source of the feeling, the only thing he knew was that he wanted to reach it.

The feeling grows stronger and stronger. Everything around him disappears, it's just him and this strange feeling. The tone becomes louder and louder, but not only that: a melody, a chant seems to come into focus. A song with a voice he thinks is familiar, but he can't remember who or what it might be.

He's almost there.

A metallic noise snapped him out of his trance. He suddenly regained his senses, disorientated. What had happened? He took a few steps back, struggling to regain full awareness of his surroundings. What was all that about? He rubbed his head, trying to clear the fog from his mind. What was he doing again? His foot caught on something. How clumsy, he'd dropped his tools. But now he remembered what he was doing. He was calibrating this TV. He shook his head, clearing the haze from his mind, then picked up his tools to continue. But when he returned to the TV, he found that it was displaying the test image with impeccable sharpness, and the sound... not the slightest interference. He did this?

Behind him, the TV control emitted various sounds and images, which the freshly calibrated TV replicated to perfection. So this is how they test. The scrolling of images and sounds continued, until they returned with the default image and sound.

So, what's the verdict?

"Excellent! Absolutely excellent!" rejoices the voice on the intercom.

He takes a deep breath, sitting on the TV that got him into this situation. He can't believe what he's managed to do. He wonders how they can see and hear him, but it doesn't matter, they're satisfied and that's what counts.

"Congratulations, you have been promoted to the post of calibrator! "they declare.

Did he hear right? Promoted to calibrator? He must be dreaming. After such a short time and so easily? He's been working too much and he's delirious. The calibrator's job is one of the most important jobs; even the most impeccably assembled TV isn't worth much without a good calibration, being nothing but a noisy box.

"I don't know what to say... are you sure?" Rubbing his head.

"It would give us great pleasure to have your talent in this position ." They enrich.

They seem sure of themselves. A promotion like this, so quickly, can't be refused.

"Well... it would be a pleasure. Thank you very much." He replies confused, hoping he'll stay up to their expectations.

"Wonderful. You can now dismiss." They continued.

"Thank you" Morlin saluted, not sure if he'd been seen, and headed for the door by which he'd entered.

"Wait!" intervened the voice again. "Bring your television home. We would like to know it in your home."

A promotion AND a reward? What an evening.

***

In the workshop, Jo is pacing back and forth.

"What are they doing? What are they doing?" he repeated.

The other employees had already left a while ago. Shortly after Morlin entered the quality control room, the doors unlocked, allowing the workers to leave. But only Jo and the night watchman remained.

"You'd better get going. The next train arrives in a few minutes." Tried to reason the guard.

"If I had marked that junk, he wouldn't have been called out!" He raged against himself.

The night watchman sighed. "I understand... And I also should have minded my own busi- ." He stopped when a noise was heard behind the door. When the door opened, Morlin emerged from the room and, on a cart, a brand-new television.

 "Morlin! What did they say? What did they say?" Rushed his colleague. "What's with the TV? It's..." He questioned uneasily.

Morlin, still a little stunned by the news, struggled to answer. "Promotion..."

 " Sorry?" Jo replied incredulously.

Bells of the next train could be heard in the distance.

 " I'll explain on the train. Will you help me carry this thing to the delivery center? "

***

"Well well. For a moment, I thought they'd fired you and given you the crappy TV as a bad joke." Joked Jo.

"I wasn't expecting that this tonight either... When I tell Marly..."

The rest of the trip home was in good spirits. Jo suggested celebrating this promotion with his wife. It really wouldn't be a bad idea. Even if she liked cooking, she wont  have to prepare a last-minute meal for this special evening.

***

In the apartment, Mme Marly watches her favorite show, Chef Radish, a specialist in small dishes made from very little. With the weekly food delivery now nearly 3 weeks overdue, she's as out of ideas as she is out of ingredients.

The show drew to a conclusion when there was a knock on the door. Could this be the long-awaited food delivery? The timing would be perfect. When she opened the door, it wasn't the old delivery man, it was a much better visitor. She was delighted to see her husband again; two weeks without seeing each other is a long time.

He entered and embraced his wife. It's good to see each other again. She asked him how things were going over back at work. He wasn't going to lie, it was going very well. Before telling her the good new, he should get changed. Besides, he wanted to look around the house a bit. Nothing had changed, or hardly anything, but it seemed a bit more light. He went to the end of the corridor. The room next to the bathroom had always been a mystery to him. It's a bedroom, all right, but he doesn't understand the reason for another bedroom, if they've already got one for themselves and bed's too small for a guest. Meh, his head's not in that, he'd better go and change; they must not linger too long here if they want to have a seat at the restaurant.

After changing, Morlin joined Marly. She was wondering what she could do for dinner. She already didn't expect her man to come home tonight, there wasn't much left but rice and some powdered soup.

"'Forget about that, how about going to the Gallina?" He asked with a smile.

"Oh, it's been so long. But it's rather costly, isn't it?" It's true that this restaurant, while not being gastronomic, isn't for everyone's budget. It's probably the only restaurant in town to propose something else than soups and meat stews of questionable freshness (and origin). Gallina's specialty, not to say exclusivity, is poultry and its by-products, and fresh please. She asked him the reason for such a proposal.

"I've got something to tell you, but it's a surprise".

***

Approaching the house, it's very quiet in the early evening, it's time to eat... for most. Since food was running out in the apartment, Mono went in search of food. Unfortunately, his search was unsuccessful, and he came back with empty hands and an empty stomach.

He's so hungry that he's tempted to eat one of the plants growing between the cracks in the concrete, but the last time he ate something from a plant, one of the little things in a hard shell that fell from the big tree in the park, he got a stomachache and regurgitated what little he had eaten that day... Yet he saw some strange striped mice eating those. He had also tried to eat the leaves from the trees, but the taste was awful, bitter.

...

Yes, he's starving, but if he gets sicker than last time, how's he going to look for food? He might get sick, which is unforgiving, and still be hungry, but if he doesn't eat soon, he will be too weak to go for food hunt, or too slow to escape danger (and the same if he gets sick). A complicated dilemma.

Maybe he could try just one bite, just to see if one of these plants is at least edible, for next time.

Mono observes the few greens emerging from the concrete. There are grass tufts, serrated-edged leaves, all sorts of other plants with different leaves and appearances. He sets his mind on a large-leafed plant, with stems covered in tiny sprouts. The leaves look tough and hard to eat, but the stems look softer (and more edible). He chews a piece, to test it, and the taste is quite peculiar, almost tasting like mushrooms, but greener. Not bad, not bad at all, it could be even better... if he had something to go with it. He takes some small bites and, with a bit of luck, this plant will be able to sustain him in the future, if it doesn't give him a stomachache.

Now, home. Staying with adult 'parents' has the advantage of providing a (very) relative security and stability, especially at night. Nevertheless, these adults always represent a threat, with their unpredictable reactions to 'disturbances', when they don't happen to step or sit, even inadvertently, on a child who hasn't moved out of the way in time. Also, to be able to return to the shelter every nights, it's best not to stray too far, and so restrict the foraging area. And sooner or later, the local adults no longer tolerate their little squatters, and it's best to have left before that happens. But for the moment, regarding his situation, there are more advantages than disadvantages.

Once inside the residential building, Mono goes through the ventilation ducts as usual. On the way, he comes across a friendly face. A boy a little taller than him, dressed in a red sweater and hat.

"Hey Tomah!" He whispers, waving. The boy, happy to see his friend, responds with a wave as well and joins him.

"Mono! How you doing?" He asked in a low voice.

Mono shrugged, it could be better, but it could be worse. Mono asked for some news about Olivie, if she was better. Tomah didn't hide his sorrow. She was still recovering from her sister's brutal death. Seeing her sister eaten alive before her eyes, and being unable to do anything but hide so she wouldn't be next... There are more pleasant experiences. Tomah did try to change her mind, by taking her with him food hunt, but she didn't dare go with him, still believing it was her fault that her sister had died. Mono could only sympathize, he knows exactly how it feels ; He's already had the unfortunate opportunity to witness a similar scene. He shudders just remembering it. 

The two boys exchanged a sullen silence. Better to talk about something else.

They asked each other how the search for food was going, and like Mono, Tomah was no doing any better. He too depended on the leftovers of his adults, who in turn depended in part on the old deliveryman. Speaking of which...

"You seen them? "Mono asks,

"No, not even his coughing wheeler." Tomah laments.

That's too bad. It means that the man and his old wheeler might not even be around. For all they know, one or both of them are too sick to come and distribute food to the adults and monsters in town. Both of them were coughing a lot the last time he saw them. If this keeps up, he will have to go much farther than usual, leaving for more than one or several days, and at that point, he might as well leave for good.

" You wanna look with me next time? "Tomah suggests. Mono nods without hesitation. Usually, everyone goes their own way when the need presents itself; it's rare for needs to correspond at the same time. But here, yes. Together, they will have a little more mobility, strength to overcome obstacles and, above all, more eyes and ears, to look for danger. It would be even better if Olivie came along, she's so agile, but she still needs a little time. They will manage without her.

"To the big tree tomorrow?" Mono asks.

"At cloudrise." confirmed the other boy. With that, they said good-bye to each other and headed back to their shelters.

When Mono arrives home, he notices that the atmosphere is different: he finds the place very quiet, even too quiet. Usually, at this time, the TV's  on, even in the background. But here, not a sound, not a noise in the whole place. He goes to the living room, and as he might have expected, the TV is off. He's struck by doubt. He hopes it's not what he thinks it is, it can't be, she's far from being ravaged by that screen, not as much as the other adults he's seen sucked away, leaving only their clothes behind.

Clothes! If he doesn't find the empty clothes... He looks around and finds her neither in the kitchen nor in the big bedroom where she sleeps, nowhere. Not the slightest trace of his mother, not even empty clothes. Phew... It's apparently not for tonight…

So she is out? Maybe she too couldn't wait for the food delivery any more. If so, he'd better wait for her return. When the man came to bring food, she put the food in the high cupboards, and the rest in the big cold cabinet, which was far too hard to open for him. So, as soon as she comes in, he'll have to hurry up and take whatever he can grab without too much difficulty and hide it in his room. He would have liked to ask Tomah for help, but it's far too dangerous. Unlike him, if they were spotted, his friend could be killed, kicked or squashed with a broom. Just the thought of his friend's barely recognizable body in a blood pool, froze him with horror. No piece of bread is worth losing a friend like that.

He'll have to fend for himself, but that won't stop him from sharing whatever can he finds with Tomah and Olivie. Maybe they won't even have to go out tomorrow.

In the meantime, he'll go to his room and pass the time, doodle a little, maybe it will take his mind off his hunger for a while and keep him awake.

***

It was quite a walk to get to the Gallina, but it's always worth it. The establishment is easy to recognize with its proud rooster sign. It's already a little crowded at this hour, but it's not yet rush hour.

At one of the tables on the terrace, two men are seated, and judging by their outfits, they're here to talk business. One of them seems to have a purse as large as his belly, given the mountain of dishes next to him (and the mountain that he is) that a waiter has just cleared away, while another brings the rest: a large bowl of rice with a mixture of eggs and poultry. Maybe they could have the same thing? It looks delicious, with the yolk still runny.

Once settled, an aperitif soup was served. A delicate poultry broth and a few herbs. Nothing better to warm up the appetite. For the rest, they didn't have to wait long The dish he had seen earlier looked even better up close. It looked like a mix of all the best things Gallina has to offer: rice, egg, poultry and vegetables. There's even a little broth at the bottom.

Once the dinner had started, Marly asked Morlin what made such a meal worthwhile. He could hardly believe it himself, but he had to face the facts. He explained that he'd been promoted from disassembler to calibrator. An unprecedented promotion.

"Oh, that's wonderful! How did you do it?" She couldn't believe her ears.

Ah, yes, how did he do it, that's the question he still asking himself, he explained. Describing the feeling he had when he was looking for the right frequency was difficult, he'd never felt anything like it. The best way he could explain it is "familiar". Maybe he'll understand it better when he adjusts others TVs.

For the rest of the meal, they discussed what was happening on their side. Marly recounted how she and Genna, the cleaning lady, had become good friends after the latter had a good fright after seeing a so call vermin in a bedroom. She's never seen what kind of vermin it might be, but it would explain some strangeness in the house.

Morlin, meanwhile, shares the radio program he discovered and now listens to after work. It is the story about a detective investigating on strange events and disappearances in the city. The direction, dialogue and characters are so convincing, they feel real.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was dark. They should get home.

***

By the time they got home, it was later than he'd expected, but what did it matter? Tomorrow and the day after, he'd be able to rest and relax at last.

On the way home, he hesitated to tell her that the device that had earned him this promotion was on its way, but he preferred to keep it a surprise. Who knows for how long he wouldn't be able to go home with this new job.

He went to the bathroom to freshen up, when light from a bedroom caught his eye. How's that? Wasn't everything off when he left? He entered the room and saw a bedside light on a small table. Bah... He'd simply missed it in his haste.

He approached to switch off the lamp when he saw something on the table move a little, something rather small. Once closer, he struggles to make sense of what he sees. It looks like a small being, apparently dozing, among sheets and pencils. He continues to observe the little being. After a moment, a strange sensation invaded his mind. Slowly, he unconsciously moved his hand closer. The little creature slowly turned over in its apparent torpor, and suddenly seemed to jolt.

Without knowing why, he had the impulse to seize the little thing before it ran away. The little creature began to struggle and make whimpering noises, but he couldn't make sense of them (if they made any sense at all.) The little thing's agitation grew so great that he had to tighten his grip a little more, to prevent it slipping out of his grasp. The little thing began to pull on his sleeve, moaning louder and louder.

The strange sensation grew stronger and stronger. It's the same as at the factory. How can this be? Unconsciously, he tightened his grip and moved his other hand closer to get a better look at the little being, when a sharp noise and pinch on his thumb made him let go. Did it bite him?! The little creature fell heavily onto the table and, before he could react, had already jumped up and disappeared under the bed.

Oh no, too bad.

He would have liked to take a closer look. Maybe he can still take a look at it? But before he could investigate further, a voice called to him in the distance, and just like that, it drove the idea of the little being from his mind. What had he come to do again? Yes, the lamp. He turned it off and left the room.

All the same, he left the room feeling as if he'd forgotten something.

Something important.

{ Chapter index }

--<O>-- ------------------------------------------------

But what could be the source of that strange feeling that dear Morlin felt through screens and through that little thing that was sleeping in his house… Mmmmhh…Boh, it's probably not important. Poor Mono though, I think there are slightly nicer ways to be woken up. Not all adults in this world are necessarily ill-intentioned towards children, but they tend to forget, or rather, don't think about being gentle with those little things. So sometimes there are…unfortunate accidents. Fortunately, our boy managed to get his inquisitive father to let go.

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 2: Test Subject

Narrated by Caprico.

~Content Warning: human experimentation, pain/torture~

Narrator: I pick her up with one hand and toss her out expressionless.

Girl: Please... Please help me!

Narrator: Her face is twisted in excruciating pain. Her lower limbs are practically gone, yet she still clings onto me desperately.

Narrator: Even the electric currents from my prosthetic arm can’t get her to let go.

Narrator: She whines and whines, the sound grating on my poor ears.

Narrator: Still... perhaps this is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for.

Narrator: I’ve performed tons of modifications on myself, but it’s been a while since I’ve had another living body to experiment on.

Narrator: I pick her up and carry her into the factory. She hesitates, then thanks me in a feeble voice, eyes full of gratitude.

Girl: Thank you...

Caprico: No, you really shouldn’t be.

Narrator: I shove her onto the cold, glinting operation table and switch on the surgical lamp. She immediately squeezes her eyes shut.

Narrator: I connect dozens of wires to a pair of the newest, mechanical prototype legs with ease, then chain her in place on the table.

Girl: Is this... for me? You’re giving me new legs?

Caprico: It’s an experiment.

Narrator: I don’t bother to elaborate and simply press the button to turn the electricity on.

Girl: Aaaaaaahhh!

Narrator: She screams, but I’m too focused to care. The thrilling moment when machine and human nerves connect... it’s epic.

Choose either “You couldn’t even apply anesthetics properly?!” or “Hope you’re doing it for her.”

If “properly,” ...

You: You’re heartless! You didn’t even use anesthetics on her!

Narrator: It’s just an experiment. Why waste my meds?

If “for her,” ...

You: I hope you’re doing this for her sake.

Narrator: I don’t take her feelings into consideration. My machines are all I care about.

--

Narrator: With the final wire connected, my test subject falls unconscious. Her vital signs tell me that my operation was successful.

Narrator: I nod, satisfied, and move her from the table to where my past robotic inventions are stacked by the wall.

Narrator: The operation has taken a huge toll on me. I decide it’s time to take a rest.

Narrator: On the monitor screen, the phantom-like, dark figures surrounding the factory silently slip away.

Narrator: I awaken the next day to the sound of intermittent whirring as if someone’s testing out machines for fun.

Caprico: ...Ugh, what...

Narrator: I get up to find my test subject already up and hopping about, exploring the factory and even arguing with my roomba.

Girl: You’re not doing your job correctly! Look! There’s dust here... Here... Here, too.

Cleaning Robot: Warning! Warning! Obstacle in the way!

Girl: I’m not an obstacle! I’m Phyllis.

Narrator: She keeps glancing at her brand-new prosthetic legs. She seems to have gotten used to them in no time.

Narrator: And then she spots me.

Girl: Oh, you’re up!

Narrator: She comes sprinting towards me, legs clacking. She’s grinning like a blooming flower.

Girl: Thank you so much! I love my new legs. It’s like magic! How did you manage to do it?

Narrator: She doesn’t seem scared of me at all, as if she’s already put the memories of the painful operation yesterday behind her.

Caprico: Is it working alright? Feeling pain or awkward anywhere?

Girl: It feels great! Like I’ve just sprouted new ones. I can walk freely... even dance. I’ll show you!

Narrator: Her body doesn’t seem to be rejecting the new appendages. It moves in accordance with each leg.

Narrator: Her body is taking quite well to the new alloys. Perhaps I should stick a robotic arm on her, too...

Narrator: I watch as she scampers around, exploring while I make plans in my head. Suddenly, she pops up in front of me.

Girl: Thank you for helping me, kind sir. This is for you.

Narrator: In her dirty little hand is a shiny golden coin.

Narrator: It’s got a thorny rose pattern engraved on it. Exquisite, and... familiar.

Narrator: I frown.

Caprico: Where did you get this from?

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

[omega-tech]

how was my weekend shift at my job!!! (incoming rant)

Ok, where to start. Well for the past three days, I was on quality until saturday. Let me start by saying that I was only trained to do quality work for an hour, then a whole day. And I did quality in the worst way ever, even when trying to ask for help. I get pushed away while they would do my work for me then try to teach me and what I made a mistake on. So that night I just threw my hands up and gave up. I never thought they would train someone to do quality work for one hour and then hope for the best after that. I didn't learn shit from that training personal or my team leader who was working with me. I mean I was trained to do the stables lines, gluers inlet box, paper work, labeling and etc. but where I am now is the execution area where I made the film to make trash bags out of. I had to learn everything by myself when no one wanted to train me the proper then a fucking so call “hack” or “trick”. Yet these muther fucker blame me when shit goes down when they didn’t give me the proper training or skills i needed to know and learn about. Also I don’t have no one to supervise the help and training I need. Do ya think an hour of training is enough to do quality, which is the biggest thing to do before it gets run into a line to make trash bags outta of. Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am already thinking about looking for another job but I don't know if I wanna jump right back where I was last year when no one wanted to hire me or give me a chance with these skills set I have in hand. Hell i didn’t ask to go to fucking execution when i was trying to advance up to B1 level and get the two dollars rise. But the fucking team leaders didn’t think i couldn’t do the fucking job even through i was already learning how to put chip carts, glue pebbles in the hopper hot tub, fix minor issue to the stable box machine, and all source of shit i was doing on the floor as a material handler then a operator B1 when working with two of my operators C1. Yet it wasn’t good enough to work that position and get thrown in the back. 

I should just calm down and try to process the bullshit I was dealt with by the people who didn’t give me the right training all while they were thinking of the output production number if we made it and satisfied  their customer to our consumers. I think just next time I would ask if I will have someone with me training me and watching me for more than an hour. If not, I will gently ask to step down until I am given a person to work with. 

At my old job, when someone gets trained on the first day or moving up a position, they train with that person within the eights outta five days or two weeks to get everything down and skill level up so much that they can work on their own without my help. I trained people for the whole eight to twelve hours for seven to two weeks before they do their test to see if they can make it on their own then with assistance from me or others. Well at this job, you do get the proper training as a material handler, but! As for trying to advance up to a B1 like I was trying to do. I had to prove to my cell leaders and team leaders if I was good enough, which in most of the cell leaders' eyes I was good as long as I got the training but the damn cold hearted team leaders don’t see that way at all. I am busting my ass off to try to move up in this company yet I am faced with multiple challenges on a daily basis when someone on this shift doesn’t want to do their job but yet they get rewarded. Yeah, award the lazy workers then the hard working person. 

If things don’t turn out to be good, I will try to work as much overtime as possible before I quit this job, to save enough money before i quit. I might not even put in my two weeks notice since it might not be worth it since this company alone goes through employees like toilet paper like my old job at pactiv. I am just done working at these factory jobs but that is what temples have in this town. Fucking factory jobs then good jobs that could push this town a better place then what it is now. I just hope I can make it at the end of the year so I can start going to school for my CNC OPERATOR or fall back on my back up plan as a CDL license driver and work a Monday thru Friday kindle deal then a rotation shift of twelve hours shifts. That my little rant of what happened on my saturday night shift at reynolds.

[linuxgamenews]

Get Ready for the Release of Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory

Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory is a brilliant open ended puzzle game with a Demo for Linux and Windows PC. Hats off to the team at Pill Bug Interactive for making this happen. Available to try out now on Steam. I’ve got some exciting news, Pill Bug Interactive, an indie studio from Wales, has just announced the release date for their newest title, Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory. Mark your calendars for July 18, 2024, since that’s when it’s hitting Steam. What’s it all about? It’s a brilliant open ended puzzle title that takes place in a post-apocalyptic chocolate factory. One where you get to play around with creating your own machines. Such as launching nuts into melted chocolate or smashing caramel into bite-size pieces. That’s the kind of fun stuff you’ll be doing. Your task in Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory is to automate chocolate production. But doing so using different components to make some amazing machines. And the best part? It’s satisfying to watch and even more fun to tweak and optimize. The game uses physics to simulate everything, so it’s pretty easy to see how your creations are doing. But trust me, once you start, it’s hard to stop! You’ll probably want to keep improving your designs or maybe even show them off to friends.

Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory Demo Launch Trailer

Pill Bug Interactive is also giving Linux gamers the tools to create your challenges with the same level editor they use. And with Steam Workshop support from day one, you can share your brilliant puzzles with the community. There’s even a leaderboard for each level to see how your designs stack up against others. If Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory is something you’d enjoy, you can help support the title by adding it to your Wishlist on Steam and following the store page. This lets the developers know you're keen and helps push it closer to launch. Plus, the demo is available right now on Steam, with support for Linux and Windows PC. Remember, Pill Bug Interactive is an award-nominated studio with innovative and fun games. And Captain Contraption’s Chocolate Factory is their fourth release. So, why not add the title to your wishlist, try out the demo, and tell us your thoughts? Let’s get ready to build some amazing chocolate-making machines!

[fujoreads]

The Mother // Spoiler-free Review

This one took me a long time to read. Not because it was difficult or dense, I just have a hard time picking it up back again if I pause my readings for whatever reason.

But hey, I finished it in the first week of the year! The score...? I LOVED IT!

I have this habit of going through my parents’ attic once in a while and I always manage to find more books that interest me. This time, I found a very old version of Mother, gifted to my late grandfather back in 1971 (though the book itself was probably published around the 50s). It’s really fun to go through their shelves, because I’m able to find so many socialist authors.

It’s been a day since I’ve finished it, and I still feel kind of empty inside. It was such a good read.

Mother is a tale of Pelageya, a mother of a revolutionary, and how her worries for her son turned into love for all Humanity.

I’ve always loved Russian literature, but I had only read the big classics mostly before the Russian Revolution. It’s really interesting to see how Gorky approaches the miserable living conditions people had in Tsar times after the first attempt of the Russian Revolution and the struggle for the truth and justice.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone talk about Gorky around me or any post-revolution Soviet (or Russian, after the USSR’ end) work. It’s sad, the way you have to really search for them to even find something. I’ve never regretted reading them. Even Tolstoy’ Anna Karénina, which I didn’t love: I still managed to take something from it and enjoy a good story.

That said, I didn’t know what I was getting into. I only knew the author lived during the early years of the USSR and this was one of his works. Nothing more, nothing less.

This might become one of my favorites. Even if the ending destroyed me from the inside, it also filled my heart with a never-extinguishing love and passion for my way of praxis. For me, that is translating works I find important for other people to read/watch; this book managed to make me feel more accepted for not being able to do “more” than my local communist youth. Crazy.

Writing

For reference, I’m reading the Portuguese translation, not the Russian original nor the English translation (I did look for the English quotes in the review).

The writing is simple but burning with passion. It makes sense, since the focus here isn’t a noble or aristocratic family, but the working class as a whole.

The day was swallowed up by the factory; the machine sucked out of men’s muscles as much vigor as it needed. The day was blotted out from life, not a trace of it left. Man made another imperceptible step toward his grave; but he saw close before him the delights of rest, the joys of the odorous tavern, and he was satisfied.

While the description of the senses isn’t anything praise-worthy, the prose is. I teared up at times from the inner thoughts of Pelageya or the dialogue between comrades.

”Why, this is like a new god that’s born to us, the people. Everything for all; all for everything; the whole of life in one, and the whole of life for everyone, and everyone for the whole of life! Thus I understand all of you; it is for this that you are on this earth, I see. You are in truth comrades all, kinsmen all, for you are all children of one mother, of truth. Truth has brought you forth; and by her power you live!”

Plot

First things first: this is a semi-biographical work. If you can’t stand literary fiction or any work without the typical “beginning-middle-end” structure, you might not like this.

This is mostly a walk through Pelageya’s approach to life through her son Pavel, who becomes a revolutionary against the Tsarist power. It also deals with things which surprised me for the times this was written in—the 1900s—like domestic violence, how (Christian) faith interacts with socialism, and how comradery can make one be truly reborn.

The entire book is very heart-warming and full of love for people, so the ending got me by surprise. I had almost forgotten this was Russian literature. While its original purpose was to get people to recover from the defeatist mood they were in after the failure of the first attempt at a Russian revolution, I’m not sure I’d recommend this to absolutely anyone. If you need a light in your life, this is a 50/50 read. Overall though, I’d give it a shot. If you can take a medium-paced story without much super exciting happening, it’s a great read.

Characters

While I talked a lot about Pelageya’s character growth in the Plot section (since she is the true protagonist), The Mother has a vast cast, and many great characters.

The main characters here are obviously Pelageya, but also her son Pavel. We also have other characters, like the anarchist Rybin, the Ukrainian Andrey Nakhodka, and Anna, a revolutionary girl.

How we come to know these characters is mostly through dialogue and Pelageya’s perception of them. It’s really endearing how being a “mother” begins to change and morph into a more universal meaning—that being her motherly love and care for all her comrades.

While I enjoyed the cast as a whole, I will have to say that for the exception of Pelageya, all of them felt very one-dimensional and I didn’t feel any growth or change. It’s not too bad, considering the focus is almost always on Pelageya’s growth, but once you finish the book, it makes you think about those little factors.

Maybe I just enjoyed Pelageya so much because I too am a motherly person towards the people I care for and would probably be like her if I ever become a parent. Plus, the “found family” fits perfectly in here.

Worldbuilding

This book is set in our world—Sormovo, Russia. However, if it weren’t for the characters’ names and the constant mentions of the cold, I wouldn’t have known better. I did enjoy how grey and smokey the factory scenes are.

This might be the weakest aspect of the book. I do not have anything else to add.

Themes

I’ve talked about this a bit in the plot section, but I really see this as a hope manifesto: something to make you fired up and full of passion to change—yourself and the world.

That aside, there are also other themes: Pelageya’s love as a mother [figure]; how religion can chain you down if you have nothing else; and the importance of comradery in life, political or not.

Pelageya’s relationship with Christianism was one of the most interesting aspects of the book, even if it wasn’t a main focus over its entirety, but snipets showing how she was feeling and evolving.

Just like Marx said, Religion is the opium of the masses. No one blames the working class for being so dependant on religion for their life meaning, as we live a life devoid of true meaning, where we only work so we can survive, not thrive.

I’m not Christian but I deeply respect Jesus and what he stands for (personally, I believe all religious and divine entities exist, I just don’t worship him.) He was a comrade, and I believe being a Christian and fighting for the working class is not contradictory at all. In fact, it should be expected.

It was such a captivating book, and I found Pelageya’s development truly lovely. She inspired me: I can only hope I am as good as her in my future.

Conclusion

In summary: great themes, a wonderful protagonist with constant growth and in general, an uplifting story. The cast can feel a bit one-dimensional at times, but the focus is on the protagonist, Pelageya.

If you can’t stand stories where there’s nothing super exciting happening, then this is NOT for you.

However, if you want a heartwarming tale of a mother-son relationship blooming after a cold winter, do give this one a try!

After this, I’m very much wanting to read more of his works—and I do have another one somewhere in my shelf!

Overall, I will give this one a 8/10, or 4 stars!

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧ ✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

Thank you for reading it all to the end! Hey, kind stranger! Would you be so kind and consider giving me a little tip? It can be as low as 3 bucks and it’d make a huuuuuge difference!! If you tip 10€ (or higher), you can dictate my next read and be credited (if you’d like) on that review! Have a nice day!!

[meaninglessgaythoughts]

On the Body

You only see the outside. Clothes. Hair. However much skin I have decided to reveal today. A face, hands, arms and lower legs if it’s warm. Maybe just a face if it’s cold. Less, even, than that if I’m sick, or don’t feel like sharing that part of myself today. You see the backpack, the phone in hand, headphones in; you see the eyes, observing, watching. But that is all.

If you could go deeper you’d see muscle. Intricate webs of tendon and sinew that work in perfect harmony, one that I myself could never hope to coordinate consciously, slide over and under and make me move. Every day I tear down this muscle, and every day it repairs itself for the next. I get stronger. Maybe you, outside, see the muscle under my clothes. Maybe you don’t. Either way I am proud of it. I’ve worked hard to be able to see myself as strong. I don’t know if you’ll ever see the same.

Past that are the important bits. The heart lies central, beating always, relentlessly. It alone keeps everything else alive, supplied with the fresh air my lungs pump in and out, in and out. My heartbeat, my breath, are my signs of life. Then there are the parts you can’t directly see working. The stomach and intestines, taking all the shit I put in it and trying to extract something usable. They never sit quite right. They are never satisfied. The kidneys and liver do other important things; it’s been a while since I cared about biology class. If you go lower, you might see the primary sex organs, which exist purely to help me pass on the tiny stuff in my cells called deoxyribonucleic acid. I don’t think it knows it’s called that, and I don’t think it cares. Regardless, I don’t ever plan on putting those reproductive organs to their intended use.

Look at all these systems, all these tubes; an infinitely complex machine, one that never stops- at least, until the day it does. Do you see the intricacy? Do you see past an unassuming exterior?

See my bones. I know they’re there, because someone told me so. They hold me together, a framework, stable, strong. Someday everything else will rot away, and they will be all that’s left. A skull. A femur. Will I exist too, then?

Now look closer. Everything I’ve described so far is composed of countless, microscopic cells. They operate independently, and yet dependently; each one a sort of life within itself, and none able to survive without the others. They are the factories, the defenses, the carriers. They work themselves to death and further, for one purpose: keeping the amalgam known as Me alive and standing.

And if you see past the face which perhaps contains as much of me as you will know, the two eyes, nose, and mouth that together symbolize everything you take me for; see past that into the brain; if you see that, maybe you will understand. Finite neurons birth infinite thought. Electrical impulses nurture personality, idea, belief, emotion. Maybe if you see this you’ll understand me. Seeing as I don’t even understand me, probably not. This is my quest, to understand, but I don’t know if this quest is possible. I will find the limits of my limitless mind and live there, next to them.

Is there anything deeper?

Somewhere, past the skin and muscle, within the bones, heart, and lungs, hidden between cells or perhaps behind a lobe; there must be something else. However infinite I am, there is more. What that is, I will probably never know. You will never know. Call it a soul, perhaps. Life.

Call it Me.

Call it everything you see, and everything you don’t, and everything you think you see, and everything else at the same time. I am that and more. Much, much more.

Will you ever understand this?

[greysgenius]

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