Im thinking AI art will be seriously depressing for human history. A huge creative drought from humans because their artists were given about as much value as a computer. I know companies will eat up a robot that can't have a writers strike or need proper pay for their work
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Thinking about yandere fantasy today.
A yandere familiar, a human who was so in love with you that they offered to be turned into a cat and despite repeated offers from the witch to turn them back refuses because they won’t be able to be as close to you as a human.
A yandere vampire who at first is annoyed by your spirit which sticks around after they kill you but after time they become obsessed with the ghost who roams their manors halls.
A yandere beast who falls in love with one of their caretakers. Who breaks out from their prison and leaves a trial of carnage looking for you, for their sweet caretaker.
A yandere demon you summoned who becomes obsessed. So pretty and ethereal, they won’t let anyone else summon them and them won’t let you find a way to get rid of them.
A yandere human who becomes obsessed with a vampire. Who locks you away and starves you to keep you weak so you can’t escape, who only lets you feed from them.
A yandere lover who after your death makes a deal with some dark forces to have you brought back. They’re obsessed now with making sure nothing happens to you again and the dark forces hanging around grow obsessed with you too.
A yandere Selkie who falls in love with mermaid that inhabits the same waters as them. They never stop trying to give you their pelt so that they’ll have no choice but to be yours forever.
A yandere ghost who begins to possess your lovers body after falling in love with you. Just so they can feel your touch and how it is to be loved by you.
A yandere reaper who instead of sending your soul to your afterlife keeps it for themselves. Who takes you along on all of their jobs and risks upsetting the balance of the world just for you.
A yandere human who becomes obsessed with the alien who abducted them. Who lets you run whatever tests you want as long as they can stay on the ship with you.
A yandere fairy who becomes obsessed with you after replacing you with a changeling. Who keeps you in the fairy world because there truly is nothing for you to go back to.
A yandere human who falls for newly turned zombie reader during the apocalypse. Who hunts for you and helps to keep you human. All they ask in exchange is that you let them keep you close and watch over you.
A yandere drider who accidentally catches fairy reader in their web. Who wraps them up in webbing when it’s cold and gives them just enough venom to be compliant.
A yandere werewolf who finds an injured human reader in the wilderness and brings you back to its den. Who protects you from the wolves that aren’t as nice as them and gives lots of kisses.
A yandere Naga who falls for mermaid reader. Who’s the last of their kind and is so happy to have finally found a creature similar to them.
A yandere ghost who falls for medium reader because you’re the only one who can see and speak to them.
A yandere robot who falls for its creator. Who takes over every piece of tech you have to make sure your kept safely at home. They’ll take care of everything for you.
A yandere demon who becomes obsessed with you. After years of waiting it’s finally time for them to collect the debt for the deal you made, you’ll be staying with them forever.
A yandere shapeshifter who just changes into someone else and worms their way back into your life every time you get fed up with their antics. Who proves there’s no escape from them.
A yandere Phoenix who falls in love with an immortal reader. Who reincarnates and finds you again in every life.
A yandere harpy who mistakes your fear for courting and takes you to their nest. Who no matter how terrified you are only puffs their feathers in response.
A yandere banshee. Formerly your friend, after foreseeing your death they become obsessed with keeping you safe.
A yandere mad scientist creating you, a Frankenstein type monster based on their lost obsession.
A yandere vampire who falls in love with you, a time traveler. Who finds you no matter what era you go to, who consumes you always.
A yandere nymph becoming obsessed with the human who calls their woods home. Who uses their powers to replenish your garden and keep others out.
A yandere apprentice that becomes obsessed with their teacher. Who sabotages every potion they make and ruins every spell they cast just so they can stay with their beloved witch a little longer.
A human who falls in love with their guardian Angel. Who cuts off your wings so you’ll be forced to stay with them.
A yandere vampire who falls in love with the reaper who takes their victims souls. Who starts to kill more and more just to have a glimpse of you.
A yandere witch who turns their obsession into a cat just so they’ll be bound to them forever. Who takes such good care of you but refuses to turn you human again.
A yandere dragon who was tasked with keeping people away from your tower but instead find themselves falling for you.
A yandere fairy who hears your siren’s call and sacrifices their wings to the water for you. Who essentially force you to to take care of them in their new and unfamiliar existence. They ruined themselves for you so isn’t it only fair you let them ruin you in return?
A yandere sugar daddy/mommy genie. Who breaks the three wishes rule to give you anything and everything you want.
You make a deal with both a yandere fae and a yandere demon and now they’re both here to collect. Poly fantasy vibes.
A yandere pirate who falls in love with a trapped mermaid. Who could set you free at any moment but chooses not to.
A town chooses you as a human sacrifice to their deity but instead the deity becomes obsessed with you and lays waste to their patrons.
Maybe I’ll write these for October like post one a day or something.
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Book recs: robots and artificial intelligences
A note: I'm differentiating here between artificial intelligence and transhumanism (such as uploaded consciousnesses and cyborgs), which I intend to make a separate rec post for at a later date.
(Titles marked with * are my personal favorites)
Other book rec posts:
Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, portal fantasies
Continue beneath the cut for details on the books!
The Outside by Ada Hoffman*
AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic 'angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart.
The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden
South African-set scifi featuring gods ancient and new, robots finding sentience, dik-diks, and a gay teen with mind control abilities. An ancient goddess seeks to return to her true power no matter how many humans she has to sacrifice to get there. A little bit all over the place but very creative and fresh.
17776: What Football Will Look Like in the Future by Jon Bois*
A multi-media web novel available to read freely online (which you should do!!). I don't want to give too much away as the initial punch of finding things out is part of the journey, but it's both hilarious and profound as it questions the meaning of humanity and life.
Illuminae (Illuminae Files) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff*
Young adult told through the medium of transcripts, text messages and the like (this is one of few books where I highly recommend reading a physical copy over a digital as the visual aspect is much more enjoyable like that). After their colony is attacked, the surviving inhabitants flee on space ships, attempting to avoid the pursuing killers while also dealing with a deadly madening plague on board and a ruthless ship AI seemingly losing its mind.
A Closed and Common Orbit (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers*
Technically part two of a series, but stands well on its own as the installments are only losely connected (though I recommend reading the first book as well, it's very good). A former ship's AI recently moved into an illegal android body tries to make sense of life as she navigates her way through humans and aliens alike.
The Quiet at the End of the World by Lauren James*
Young adult. After the spread of a global virus causing infertility, teenagers Lowrie and Shen are now the youngest humans alive as the adults around them race to find a cure. As they investigate the ruins of the world, the two come across records from the past, of how grief stricken people turned to raising artificial children in apps and how these 'children' developed, and through these records the two learn of their history. Also has a bisexual main character!
A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot series) by Becky Chambers
Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells*
After having hacked its own governor module, SecUnit uses its small amount of new freedom to secretly download and watch as much media as it can between doing its job guarding humans. But when the scientists it’s been charged with keeping safe come under attack, it must make a choice about whether to continue keeping its freedom secret or risk it all to save them. The series features both novellas and full length novels, and balances humor with scathing critique of capitalism.
Machinehood by S.B. Divya
Prudent in the rise of AI and machine learning, Machinehood shows a near future in which humans struggle to find a place on the workforce as more and more jobs are given to AI. Status quo is shaken as a dangerous terrorist group calling itself The Machinehood starts committing attacks. A close look both at the rights of humans in a technologically changing world, and at the rights of AI as their intelligence edges ever closer to full sentience.
The Company of Death by Elisa Hansen*
A wild mix of genres, where a zombie apocalypse has struck and vampires gather up humans to keep their food source from going extinct, a robot travels across America with a young man she's tasked to keep safe, and former-vampire-hunter-recent-zombie Emily teams up with Death himself to stop the apocalypse. Features bi and ace characters! Bonus rec: the author also runs the youtube channel Maven of the Eventide, where she talks about various vampire media. Check it out!
Railhead by Philip Reeve
Young adult. In a future where humanity travel between the stars using not spaceships but a portal-connected system of sentient trains, a young thief and street urchin is hired to steal something off of the Emperor's train.
Being by Kevin Brooks*
Young adult. Cards on the table, I think I was about 14 when I last read this, but it made a strong enough impression that I still think of it as one of my favorite books. After having gone in for a routine exam, doctors make a stunning discovery about Robert Smith: he isn't human. Suddenly hunted, Robert goes on the run as he tries to cope with the fact of his own existence. While I love this book, it gives very few answers to its many mysteries, so don’t go in expecting full explanations.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie*
A space opera in which sentient spaceships can walk the ground in stolen human bodies, so called ancillaries. One of these ancillaries, the sole survivor after the complete destruction of her ship and crew, is one the hunt for revenge. This series also does very cool things with gender!
Crier's War by Nina Varela
Who says sci-fi has monopoly on robots? In sapphic YA fantasy Crier's War, artificially created automae have defeated and subjugated humans, who live as second class citizens. Young Ayla goes undercover as a servant, meaning to assassinate automae girl and Sovereign's daughter Crier. This would be easier if the two weren't quick to develop feelings for each other.
My Heart is Human by Reese Hogan
Nine years ago, all complex technology was made illegal. This complicates life for Joel, young transgender single father, as a bionic just uploaded itself into his brain without consent. Scared of losing his daughter, Joel tries to keep the bionic secret while using it to fix his life, but things quickly get more complicated as the bionic gains more and more control of his body. Makes a lot of cool paralells of bodily autonomy to Joel's experiences as a transman. Bonus rec: if you like the general concept of struggling for physical control over one's body with an AI, may I also suggest the (much grittier and gory) movie Upgrade.
The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon
In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.
Activation Degradation by Marina J. Lostetter
Unit Four comes to life in the middle of a war. The mine it was created to care for is under attack, and as Unit Four is activated with the memories of its predecessors, it is thrown into the task of protecting it at any cost. When the battle leads to its capture, it is prepared to do anything to stop its captors, even as their very presence causes it to question all that it knows.
Sea of Rust by C. Robert Cargill*
Years after the death of the last human at the hands of a robot uprising, Brittle travels the desert searching for machines on the brink of breaking down whose parts she can scavenge. The world is quickly falling apart as a war between OWIs - One World Intelligences - struggle to absorb every robot, willing or not. Bleak and captivating, Sea of Rust features horrible people who you can’t help but root for anyway as they struggle for their lives while questioning the very nature of said lives.
Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool
Hybrid Child by Mariko Ōhara
Japanese 1990s classic. Follows an escaped AI who can take on the form of the people it has consumed.
World Running Down by Al Hess
Follows a powerful AI that has been forced into an android body against its will.
The Thousand Year Beach by Hirotaka Tobi
Set in a virtual world populated by AIs, meant as a resort for human guests who stopped showing up over a thousand years ago, leaving the AIs on their own.
And Shall Machines Surrender by Benjanun Sriduangkaew
Novella. Machines are the gods and rulers of the Dyson sphere Shenzhen, where humans live in luxury and strive to become host bodies for future AIs.
After On by Rob Reid
Phluttr is a social media and a person, potential hero and potential villain, holder of the secrets of all her users.
Annie Bot by Sierra Greer
Annie Bot was designed to be a perfect girlfriend, but as she learns all the more about being human, perfection becomes all the more distant.
Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them:
The Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune, Machines Like Me by Ian McEwan, Barbary Station by R.E. Stearns, The A.I. Who Loved Me by Alyssa Cole, Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport
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Character Introduction: Mashal, lucky number six
For a moment, Mashal wondered if a brief spring rain had passed overhead, turning the leaf litter glistening and wet. It wasn’t until the light from his eyes hit the shimmering ground that he realized all the moisture was red.
Strewn about in a fiendish halo were the remains of the two bandits. A hand here, a face there—less than mincemeat, really. He could see a leg crushed in the exact approximation of his jointed grip. Mashal felt as if vomit should have been flooding his mouth, but his only reaction was the faint whir of gears. Guts dripped from the trees…. Iron in his mouth….
“Mashal!”
The robot whirled toward the sound of Astra’s voice, heady and rich even when strained by terror. There was a prickling pressure around his eyes, though he didn’t know why.
“I–” He paused, trying to wipe the dirt from where it clogged his vocal output, but the joints of his hands were caked in a slurry of bone and gristle, trapping them in closed fists. That cold was back now, trapping him in its suffocating embrace. “I’m over here!”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Mashal regretted them. He was dangerous! He could still feel that icy voice slavering away in the back of his mind. Kill her, run, hide, anything, do whatever it takes!
Yet, words could not be unsaid. Faint it might have been, but Astra picked up on his voice and soon the witch pushed her way into the glade-turned-abattoir. Her piebald face was shadowed with fear and speckled with a bloody constellation of its own. It was her eyes though, that made Mashal take a step back, that made his excuse for a heart crumple in like tin foil. Because reflected in them was a shining devil, bathed in gore. Riveted and rusting, like some mechanical horror that had torn its way out of a man’s skin.
The sensation crept back in—the ice, the pain. I shouldn’t be feeling pain. The acid-needle ache in his arms and legs, his everything. It wasn’t a malfunction. Nothing ever is, ever was. Mashal felt sick as he looked down at his trapped hand. Hands that couldn’t be his.
No, no, the sensation was worse, so much worse. It was a memory.
So, I'm going to do this introduction a little backwards. Mashal's backstory contains some pretty big spoilers for the whole of Mystery of the Mortal God. Feel free to keep reading if you don't mind things like that, but you've been warned. The backstory will be at the very end.
I'll start with his personality. Mashal has no memories beyond waking up in Astra's wagon, so many of his quirks and habits are a mystery to him. He's a kindly, honorable man, with a strong sense of what's right and wrong, and a desire to protect people. Yet, he's not brash in the slightest. He's soft-spoken and appreciates even the smallest beauties in life. Probably, this is connected to his stellar artistic abilities. He enjoys listening to stories, hoping to one day be able to tell stories of his own.
Darker things lurk in his mind as well. It frightens him, how paranoid he can sometimes be around magic and its practitioners. It can also be alarming how certain he is in his morality. Mashal makes decisions based on what he knows to be right, sometimes to the detriment of those around him, especially when he doesn't understand the whole situation.
As for what he looks like, Mashal is a human-shaped robot standing at a towering 6'10". His face has some basic mobility (he can move his eyebrows, eyelids, and the corners of his mouth) but nothing special. His plating is bronze with steel underneath, and his eyes glow white. He wears loose-fitting, highly concealing clothes and a bandana over his head. These are usually patched, because he tears clothes easily. He covers as much bronze as he can due to a strange sort of robotic body dysmorphia.
Fun facts now!:
He's great with animals, especially horses, though no horse could support his weight for riding.
Graphite is his preferred medium, and landscapes are his preferred subject for art.
Despite his anxiety around it, Mashal is actually getting pretty good at picking up runes and mechanics.
He speaks Skysheerian Elvish and has no idea why.
He hates the rain because he's scared of rust and frightened of the sea because he knows he'll sink to the bottom with no way to get back up.
He has a bit of a stutter when he's nervous and his voice tends to go a little static-filled.
He's very curious about Unitian-made robots who were raised around other robots.
His hypothetical favorite food is honey. He just likes the way it looks.
He once scratched the paint job on Astra's wagon, painted it back in the night, and never told her. This is the one time he's ever lied to her and he feels terrible about it.
He teaches Mercher's Day (a fat tortoiseshell cat) tricks when Astra is asleep.
Now's where we get into the meat of things. Spoilers will follow.
Sir Mashal Darezsho was born in the Sulu'Okan city of Bouerco as the second son of the noble Darezsho line. With his older brother taking care of the whole heir thing, young Sir Darezsho was allowed to do as he pleased. Most thought he would go the path of the scholar due to his modest sorcerous talent, however, the young man was enraptured by the sword from the moment he was allowed to hold one. When he was sixteen, he enrolled in officer training for the Sulu'Okan army, the fiercest fighting force within the Republic's grander military. When he was twenty, he was knighted by High Lady Zuli N'Jogu herself.
Sir Darezsho served his people by protecting the roads between Sulu'Oku and Skolan with both sword and sorcery. The borderlands is a crime-ridden area, so he had his work cut out for him between bandits and selkie raiders. Thanks to the efforts of him and his company of fellow knights though, the borderlands became a marginally safer place to travel through. He ensured that they all upheld the Sulu'Okan military code of honor to the utmost degree.
Things changed with Sir Darezsho when he accepted a small assignment in the border town of Bekridge. An alchemical distillery had been experiencing a string of thefts and wanted someone to investigate. Thinking the job would involve scaring off a petty thief at most, Sir Darezsho went to stake the place out alone. This mistake would cost him his life.
That night, a door appeared from thin air and a figure stepped out, a half-moon grin glowing from under a shadowed cowl. Sir Darezsho tried to fight, but he was no match for the powerful sorcerer. Vermir spirited him away into her demiplane. And there was where Sir Darezsho died.
Mashal wakes up some time after this. All he knows is his name and that he is lost. And that his metal body feels so terrible cold. He just wishes he knew why....
Hope you all enjoy my sweetheart robot! Lmk if you have any questions. Next up will be blueboy, Ivander Montane!
@amandacanwrite @elsie-writes @riveriafalll @kosmic-kore @kaylinalexanderbooks @bard-coded @carrotsinnovember @patternwelded-quill @somethingclevermahogony @whatwewrotepodcast @goldxdarkness @the-angriest-author @mk-writes-stuff
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Alterhuman alphabet!
made by @local-xenogender-icon
link
A - awakening
When did you realise you are an alterhuman? At what age, how long ago?:
maybe about 4-6?? and no Ariel was not my awakening. lol
B - balance
Does your identity affect your social life (school, work, ect.)? Does it cause troubles or not?:
nah
C - city
Do you live in a city? If yes, is it hard for you to be away from nature? Does your therio/kintype even need nature?:
no, I live near the ocean and forests so I’m actually pretty lucky!!
D - diary
Do you have a diary about your alterhuman experiences? If not, do you want to start one?:
not really. but hey, I have this tumblr blog which is basically taking place of that!!
E - experience in the community
What is your experience and thoughts about the alterhuman community?:
I think we are all just as valid as the other. and the people I have met in it so far are really nice.
F - friends
Have you told your friends about your identity?:
yeah. (I have 1 friend LOL)
G - gear
Do you have any gear? If yes, is it handmade or bought?:
I have some fake fangs and long elf-like ears, but they’re not really like how I envision mine to be. they’re good enough tho. also I have catish/wolfish ears, and I did have some paws, but my dog ate them. sad times
it’s all bought, however i am going to make a mask soon!
I - identity
What is (are) your therio/kintype(s)?:
Siren (the mermaid kind, not the bird kind). sometimes I’m a catkin too, it used to be my most prominent one. the feeling is not as strong anymore. I’m a big wolf lover but idk if I am a wolfkin tho!!
i do feel as if i am some kind of land animal, but I haven’t really figured it out yet.
J - jokes
Do you like to make little jokes about your identity or is it rather serious for you?:
I don’t take it too seriously, but I don’t really like when people make jokes to otherkin that are bordering mockery. Then it’s just rude.
K - knowldege
In scale of 1-10, how big do you think your knowledge about alterhumans is? Are you new to this topic?:
honestly I’m not super smart on it, but I love to keep an open mind and learn as much as I can!!
L - liking, loving
Do you like your therio/kintype(s)? Do you love or dislike it/them?:
I love it!!
N - nature
Does your therio/kintype live in the wild, or rather not? (E.g. it's a house pet, or it's a robot.):
yes! In the ocean! but it can adapt to human society.
O - otherhearted
Are you also otherhearted? If yes, what is your kithtype(s)?:
I haven’t learnt much about what this term means yet, so I’ll say nothing for now!!
P - popularity
Is your therio/kintype "popular" or is it rather rare?:
tbh, it’s pretty medium(??) I think therians, like cats/dogs/wolves etc are far more common, and it’s kind of hard to find mer/siren kins. I haven’t seen any other sirenkins like me specifically. (SAD FACE)
R - real body
Do you feel good about your psychical body? Do you experience gender dysphoria?:
I feel gender dysphoria at times because I am non binary, but I’ve learned over the years to love myself and my body because it’s what I’ve been given! and I don’t necessarily feel dysphoria when it comes to being in a human body as opposed to a siren body, it just kinda sucks is all. but I don’t have a real struggle with it like most do.
S - sex
Does therio/kintype have a different sex than you?:
nope! non binary just like me! but they do have female anatomy.
T - traits
What are your alterhuman traits? (E.g. a need to hunt, bark, ect.):
If it’s traits I personally have myself, I’d say hissing, humming, pretending to bite things, baring teeth and claws, the need to swim with a tail, only having baths as opposed to showers
If we’re talking about traits that my siren self has, then I could go on all day about it. but I won’t. lol
U - urges
If you have a theriotype, are you good at controlling your animalistic urges? Do they bother you?:
I’m fine with it, sometimes just imagining/picturing being in my siren element is enough for me.
W - wondering
How do you think you would look like, if you could psychically shapeshift into your therio/kintype? (Describe or put an image here!):
I have silverish-blueish skin, big finned ears, sharp teeth, slitted pupils, gils in my neck and rib area, webbed fingers, claws, and a long scaly tail that is a sort of dark, desaturated blue. and sometimes it’s dark greyish green— depends if I’m feeling swampy or I’m feeling ocean-y lol. my tail has a lot of fins on it, sometimes it’s more shark like, and sometimes it’s more flowy and fish-like. I can’t tell if I have fins on my back or not yet. also I have long long black hair!!
maybe I can draw me in my siren form and post it someday.
Y - yarn
If you wanted to buy/make a tail, would it be real fur or fake/yarn fur?:
(As a non-furred creature, I can’t really answer this question!!)
Z - zoo
How do you feel about zoos (a place, not z00philes)? Are they good or bad in your opinion? Do you want to go there to meet your theriotype (if you are a therian)?:
I’ve been to zoos before a long time ago, but I’ve kind of realised it’s really messed up. I’m not talking about animal conservation places or sanctuaries, I’m talking about zoos. institutions made to hold wild animals captive against their will for the entertainment of humans.
and unfortunately, I can’t meet my theriotype T_T
this was very fun to write!!!
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Mini Reviews II
I don’t know what it is about space, but it makes me feel things. Have a handful of small and short games in space with a dash of emotional investment.
Low Battery by Batts
emotionally devastating :)
who doesn’t wanna be a little robot
play if you admire the attempt to create even under dire circumstances
One thing I love about solo experiences is that they really manage to get you into the head of other characters without any meddling from outside. This is especially true when mechanics and story/premise work together to get you there. Low Battery balances your character’s energy (Battery) and feelings (Melancholy, both signified by a D20 respectively) against the time that passes. With what little time you have left, can you find inspiration to create something? I was struggling with the D20s and watching the time and trying to decide on a move and – well, the robot is struggling, isn’t it? Struggling to stay conscious, to take in as much as it can for the time it has left in this universe and maybe, just maybe leaving something behind, something that proves it was here and tried to make a connection to the world around it. For me, time ran out too soon – but I still wrote a little poem about it:
Every time
We create something
It’s as if we chip off a tiny piece
Of the universe
As we see it
To carry around in our pocket.
You, an Astronaut by Hannah Shaffer and Evan Rowland
short, no prep required
an interactive narrative
more reflective than focused on a goal
This is a very short, narrative experience that I recommend reading with some suitable background music. Personally, this is right up my alley: you get a few choices to “sway” the narrative to your liking, which usually tells you something about yourself in the end. You are put into the shoes of an astronaut waking from their cryo-stasis due to their ship having veered off course and sending out a distress call. While you wait for an answer, you ruminate on your dreams and the memories connected to them. Similar to Low Battery, it sports a gorgeous layout that combines NASA images with the narrative, all put into a simple, retro-style mock-up of a spaceship UI. I don’t want to give away too much – it really is short. But I do feel that the themes of queerness and belonging come through strongly. Games like these either fit you like a glove or fall flat for you. For some reason, I was reminded of the Lifeline games, which I love dearly.
Letters to Europa by Lola Johnson
an exercise in self-reflection
a hopeful look into the future
relaxing and motivating
Epistolary games have their own special charm, perhaps because keeping in contact even when we’re far apart is something we’ve done forever as humans – this need to stay connected to someone we care about, no matter the odds. In the case of Letters to Europa, you write a message to a loved one on Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons. Messages take about a year to arrive, and thus are sent in packages all at once. After you’ve finished your package, you switch over to the other character, writing back to the person on Earth. This, to me, felt like a conversation with myself, first putting down my thoughts about the given prompt, then trying to get some distance and reflect on it through a positive lens. I took the prompts quite literally and went with how my last year has gone – kind of a mixed bag. The prompts for the Earthling seem a little more sombre, more morose. Just as the other character has left Earth, though, embodying them makes you leave that behind (and that’s what the game says, too, ‘give yourself permission to let […] go’). It settles you in a more optimistic mood, no matter how depressing your Earthling’s messages might have been. This is a tiny game that relies heavily on how willing you are to engage with it – but if you can, in whatever medium you choose, I think it’s quite effective.
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PROLOGUE: RUN!
The sound of the dark blue box that is known throughout the universe is heard loudly rushing through the sky. The dark blue box which is also known as the TARDIS which also stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space is glowing and spinning fast as if it is being chased by something. But, who is after it?.
A loud explosion was heard behind the TARDIS causing the TARDIS to sway as it was hit by the powerful blast sound wave. The TARDIS which was in the speed limit swayed and moved quickly avoiding several meteor rocks in front of it.
The sound of the second explosion began to be heard right behind the TARDIS causing it to hit a large meteor which caused the large meteor to be destroyed and disintegrated causing several fragments of the meteor rock to hit the TARDIS and this caused the TARDIS which was moving at a high speed to sway and turn as if thrown with a fast throw and collide with several meteors in front of it. At the same time, a large cargo ship chasing the TARDIS seemed to start firing a third shot at the dark blue box that was still spinning and crashing all over the place. The cannon's blaster moves left, right, up, and down as if following the target's movements while the shooter is waiting for the time to pulled the trigger.
Beep...beep..
The sound of the blaster is heard which also means that the target has been locked and now it's time to pull the trigger.
"Target is locked, Commander!" shouted a Sontaran soldiers manning the blaster cannon.
" FIRE! " shouted the Commander firmly while pointing his hand forward.
And with that, several blaster cannons that were locked towards the TARDIS were released and moved quickly towards the TARDIS which was still spinning and moving quickly after it was able to control its movement. The bright red glowing cannonball moved fast destroying everything in front of it and what it wanted was its target to be destroyed.
The TARDIS which was now under control began to increase its speed limit again. Avoid some meteors and rocks that are in front and on the side. Even with that it was able to keep it body away from the meteor projectiles that were getting closer to it.
But, if this TARDIS can move and be in control, who will be the driver?. is the driver alien or human? if it's an alien, what species is it from?.
Sparks began to appear on the side of the TARDIS control station as the lights around the TARDIS flickered as if the light bulb was faulty when it had just been changed not a few weeks ago.Explosive sounds were also heard around the TARDIS. The unsteady driver was rushing around the control station in a 'slight' panic and anxiously pressing and pulling several buttons and levers on the control station as the loud TARDIS noise added to the driver's anxiety. Her quick hands pressed and pulled several buttons and levers as her fast feet moved and swayed left and right trying to balance her body.
The driver who was in a state of panic and rushing was shocked when the explosion from the blaster hitting the meteor outside was heard. Just then, she let out a small scream.
"AH! OK! Bounty! Give me some help!" shouted the driver to her assistant robot who was also staggering and panicking not far from the control point.
A medium-sized robot with slightly large wheels like a crane's wheel quickly looked at its master and moved quickly towards the control point. As soon as the robot arrived at the control point, it quickly extended its slightly long hand towards the control point and tightly held the blue lever. As if waiting for instructions from its owner, it quickly looked at its master who was still pressing and several levers above the control.
The driver who is also the owner of the robot pulls the screen down from the top of the control area. Her eyes looked at the hologram image displayed on the screen. The blaster bullets were getting closer to the TARDIS.
"TARDIS! how many jumps do we have to make to get out of this current situation?!" shouted the driver loudly.
" probably in 15 jumps, Doctor. Wait, are you serious about jumping that far? That would make our current situation even more dangerous! " The TARDIS lights flashed several times at each sentence mentioned. *gasp* This TARDIS can talk like an AI.
"We don't have time left! If we don't get out of this situation, the cannon will hit its target." said the driver who was still pressing and pulling the lever, controlling the movement of the TARDIS from colliding with the meteor rocks around it.
Bounty who was now panicking looked at its owner who was still rushing to control the movement of the TARDIS. It knows that he will be safe in this situation and it really trusts its owner. So like it or not, it needs to listen to what its owner commands. The driver then looked at Bounty who was still tightly holding the blue lever as if its life depended on the blue lever.
" Bounty, on the count of 5 I want you to pull the blue lever you're holding ok? And after you pull, I want you to hold something tightly because it might cause us to be in a 'slight' swaying state so just pull when I tell you to.. ok?" said the driver in a soft but firm tone.
Bounty nodded quickly and made a sound as if it understood what its owner told it. The Doctor who is also the driver looked at the hologram screen in front of her. Her eyes looked directly at several red cannonballs shot by Sontaran soldiers. Her heart was beating fast because of what she was going to do next. The bullet cannon that was moving fast and also destroying what was in front of it looked quite violent and dangerous rushing towards the dark blue box which was also rapidly turning and moving in front and also the target of a group of red cannon balls.
"5" The Doctor began to count. Her eyes were still focused on the hologram screen in front of her. Both of her hands held the controls tightly.
"4" Bounty shivered in panic. Both hands are still tightly holding the blue lever.
"3" The cannonballs destroys the meteor in front of it.
"2" The TARDIS began to increase its speed.
"1! PULL THE LEVER NOW BOUNTY " shouted The Doctor. Her hand automatically held the control so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
Bounty quickly pulled the blue lever and still held the lever because the jump had already started and it didn't have time to cling to something so it had to cling to the blue lever tightly.
The Doctor screamed loudly and so did Bounty who was in a state of panic and anxiety making sounds as if it was also screaming.
And just like that, the cannonball missed its target as it disappeared in the speed of light.
Sontaran Commander who saw the incident gripped the control tightly in front of him. His face turned hot red.
" NO! " shouted the Sontaran Commander loudly and in a hot temper because his plan had failed.
And the jump begins. Quickly they disappeared in space entering several vortexes at the speed of light, various colorful lights shining along their jump.
The lightning-fast TARDIS moves through space and at the same time it avoids any meteor rocks and planets that are in front of it. The Doctor, whose body was swaying in the air, held the control firmly as her eyes looked at the hologram screen which also counting the jump being made.
11 more jumps.
four more jumps and this mess will be over. 'you can do it, TARDIS' whispered the Doctor's heart.
13 more jumps. Bounty who was still screaming closed it electronic eyes because he was unable to see the scary situation right now.
14 more jumps. It's getting close and things are going to get dangerously close on the last jump.
15 jumps and at the speed of light the TARDIS exits the vortex of the jump and spins rapidly in space. The Doctor who was holding and swaying wildly in the air immediately fell to the floor of the TARDIS with a force. The Doctor groaned in pain. Bounty, on the other hand, immediately fell hard to the floor and managed to let out a small scream when it hit the floor.
The Doctor brushed her H/C colored hair with her right hand then got up from the floor and looked at the hologram screen quickly. Slowly, The Doctor smiled widely.
"HAH! We did it, Bounty yes! AHAHA" shouted the H/C haired woman happily then lifted Bounty off the floor and spun it in the air.
The confused Bounty looked at its owner. When it saw its owner who was so happy, it was also very happy and made happy noises and celebrated the success of the three of them (including the TARDIS)
However, the lights inside the TARDIS flashed rapidly and began to shake. The woman and her robot stopped their small celebration. The Doctor puts the Bounty down. Then walked towards the control point and looked at the hologram screen.
" TARDIS? " the H/C haired woman called confused.
"we're going to crash, Y/n." said the TARDIS 'calmly'.
"WHAT?! you just wanted to say it now?! " shouted Y/n who was entitled 'Doctor' in frustration.
" yeah, and I don't want to interrupt you two's small celebration." said the TARDIS with sarcasm.
Oh, he's no ordinary police box. And yes, in this Universe, the TARDIS addresses itself as 'he'.
"well, why don't-" The TARDIS shook violently. "-Why didn't you say that earlier?!"
" Like I said, I don't want to interrupt your 'little celebration'. Oh, and you two better hold on tight because we're going to crash soon." said the TARDIS before it rapidly rocked and spun violently causing its two occupants to fall to the floor and roll violently.
Sparks began to shoot from the roof of the TARDIS as smoke began billowing out of the control room. The mess left Y/n and her robot reeling in the TARDIS. Y/n started to reach Bounty who was rolling on the floor in a state of panic. Once her hand managed to reach Bounty's hand, she immediately brought Bounty closer to her body and hugged her beloved robot tightly. Even though she's rolling and hitting the floor and walls inside the TARDIS she needs to make sure her beloved robot isn't damaged.
The TARDIS quickly enters the earth's atmosphere and speeds through the night sky causing the TARDIS to burn as it passes through the ozone layer. Even though he was burnt, his body was still fine and there were no burns or scratches. Even though it looks like it's made of wood. Heh, Time Lord technology. Everything can be impossible and sophisticated.
Once he almost reached a large place, the body of the TARDIS that was on fire had been extinguished and only smoke remained.
Meanwhile, Fury who had just chased Loki from escaping using the jeep looked towards the road where Loki escaped with the tesseract. The jeep driven by Agent Barton that has been manipulated by Loki had disappeared from his sight. Fury sighed heavily. Soon, his walkie talkie started making noise.
Fury took the walkie talkie from his belt and brought the walkie talkie closer to his mouth.
"Director Fury, do you copy?" said Agent Coulson on the walkie talkie.
"The tesseract is a hostile force. I have men down. Hill?" said Fury.
Maria Hill who had just come out of the rubble took her walkie talkie from her belt and held it to her mouth.
"A lot of men still under. Don't
know how many survivors." said Maria and walked away from the ruins of the tunnel.
"Sound a general call. I want every
living soul-" said Fury into Maria's walkie talkie.
"-not working rescue looking for
that briefcase." continued Fury with a commanding tone of voice and looked at the surrounding area.
As soon as the sentence came out of Fury's mouth, a loud noise was heard from above the sky and this caused Fury to look up at the night sky with his mouth open. The TARDIS that rushed down from the night sky crashed hard into the ground not far from where Fury was. Smoke billowed out of the TARDIS and the ground there was hollowed out by the strong impact from the TARDIS a moment ago.
Fury quickly put his walkie talkie on his belt again then took out his gun from his holster and pointed it forward and walked slowly towards the TARDIS. The slightly confused Fury looked at the TARDIS with extra caution plus confused because for him, how could this England 20th Century police box fall from the sky? And where does it come from?.
As soon as Fury arrived in front of the TARDIS whose side was sunk into the ground causing him to be only half raised, Fury slowly extended his hand towards the TARDIS door and knocked 4 times. Immediately, both TARDIS doors were opened wide and there was a head sticking out of the door leaf. You slowly raised your body to get out of the TARDIS using both hands. Your eyes looked at the night sky confused.
You breathe the air around. "ahh, Earth. Good thing you crashed on this planet.. My favorite planet.. And it's night time! ohh, I like night time because there are stars and moon in the sky.. but, uh.. maybe there are no stars or moon in this area"
Bounty makes a sound like 'it's alright' before he was picked up by you and placed on the ground.
"Oh! look at this place, Bounty. Lots of hills. I like hills. The hills are great," you said again before turning to look at the surrounding area.
Fury who had moved away from the TARDIS when the TARDIS door opened looked at you strangely. His hand is still holding the gun towards you.
" and the air here is quite.. blehh, dusty.. dust is not good. " you babbled.
Bounty who was moving and spinning on the ground saw the area, noticed Fury who was pointing a gun in his hand towards you. Bounty quickly let out a sound of fear and warning all at the same time causing you to quickly look at your medium sized robot.
" Bounty, what's up? " you asked in a worried tone, squatting next to Bounty with a frown.
Bounty who was in a state of fear began to point its hand towards Fury standing. You then looked at Bounty's pointed hand. And yes, that's where Fury is with his gun pointed at you. Fury's eyes narrowed at you. You then stood up and raised both hands in the air as if surrendering.
" yes? " you asked strangely.
"Who are you? And how can you be here?" Fury said with a commanding voice. The gun is still pointed at you.
" I'm Y/n, you can call me the Doctor...because that's my title.. And you are..?" you replied in a hype tone of voice.
"I'm Director Nick Fury, call me Director Fury. Director of S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury introduced himself in a firm tone of voice.
" S. H. E. I. L. D. ? " you replied, confused.
"stands for 'Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division,' " Fury replied, his hand still pointing the gun at you.
"well, even the pronunciation is tongue twisted" you said with a big smile. Your hands are lowered.
"Shut up now before I shoot you." Fury warned before opening the safety on his gun.
"Oh, I really hate people who like to point guns at people, especially me or Bounty" you said with a deep voice and a sharp look.
Bounty, who could sense the tense situation now, quickly hid behind your legs.
"Then, you have to answer my question. Where do you come from? and why do you have an England early 20th century police box?" asked Fury, his gaze sharpened.
"Well, if that's what you want. Can I answer your question after you put your gun away. I can see that your hand is tired and busy pointing it at me." you said before walking up to Fury. Bounty follows you from behind.
Fury gripped his gun tightly. His eye did not move from looking at your face. But after a few moments of staring contest between you and Fury, Fury finally put his gun back in the holster.
"see! it's not hard to talk without being threatened" you said, smiling big with starry eyes.
Fury sighed heavily. "alright, talk now"
" well, it's a long story. But don't worry, I'll make it short. So I actually ran away from the attack of Sontarans soldiers... they're aliens who look like rotten potatoes but dangerous rotten potatoes.. they love war and... Chocolates. So they chase me because I managed to stop the war between the Judoons and the Sontarans and I made 15 jumps to get here... it's like there's no point in shortening it" you explained while scratching your neck and chuckled.
"Oh, By the way Judoons are an alien with a rhinoceros head but a human body.. they are like policemen but about aliens." add you.
Fury frowned and tilted his head to your side as if pointing at something behind you. " And the Police Box? "
"Oh, it's my spaceship.. my time machine.. and it looks like a police box because it's one of the disguises the TARDIS uses and it's kinda like stuck in that disguise.. like a chameleon." you said, looking at the TARDIS still stuck on earth.
"TARDIS? " asked Fury, confused.
"Stand for Time and Relative Dimension in Space.. At least it's not tongue-twisted to say it" joke you with a smile.
Fury sighed heavily. "And this robot?"
You looked down at your mid-sized robot who are still hiding behind your legs. Bounty's hand gripped your pants tightly.
"This is Bounty, my great robot. I fixed him when he was thrown away on old Earth. And now I'm his owner. oh, and he's a boy. I don't want you to be confused." you said in a soft tone.
" now that, I have answered your question. Now I want to ask you, where are we now? " you continued, your focus completely on Fury.
"Now, we are in the Mountain Range, the place where the SHIELD/NASA Facility was before it was destroyed by a man named Loki. " said Fury before walking over to the TARDIS for him to see.
Your gaze followed Fury's, before you frowned. " Loki? like the God Of Mischief Loki Odinson of Asgard?"
Fury stopped then turned around and looked at you with a raised eyebrow.
" you know him? " asked Fury, looking at you suspiciously.
You nodded and walked towards the TARDIS. "yeah, I was once invited to attend a party in Asgard. It was pretty great too, lots of food and drinks. And I once ran into Frigga's sons. Thor and Loki. Thor is a boy who is a little too energetic while Loki is a little less energetic but he smart and a calm person.. Always ask me to tell about my way of life." you said, but the moment you said 'way of life' you started looking down.
Fury who didn't notice the change in mood looked back at your TARDIS. "Yeah, and he's turned into a crazy person with power and took the tesseract from us and killed our people.. I don't think he's a calm person."
" what happened to him? " you asked standing next to Fury.
Fury looked up and sighed heavily. "he stole a cube that has strong energy and it's called tesseract from us.. we were doing a test and suddenly the tesseract behaved strangely and released strong energy and boom, Loki appeared after the energy stopped and he started using his spear against the our agents and their minds were manipulated by him and now he has escaped with the tesseract."
" really, that's insane.. He seems to have changed into another person. A person who is crazy about power and the world.. by the way, where did you get the tesseract cube? " you asked looking at Fury who seemed to stiffen when he looked into the TARDIS. Maybe too surprised because it's bigger on the inside.
Fury, who seemed to be frozen, began to direct his gaze from inside the TARDIS and looked at you. "My cat threw it up on my table.. It's an alien cat because it has tentacles coming out of its mouth. It's a long story"
" Oh! Flerken. Yes, I know.. cute but dangerous.. but it's cute.. and dangerous. That's explained how you get the tesseract" you said and quickly got into the TARDIS.
"oh, can you please lift Bounty into the TARDIS? I'm trying to turn the TARDIS back on.. maybe he passed out. I don't know" said you, who were busy pressing the buttons on the control panel. There was a time, you tapped the slightly glitchy TARDIS screen.
Fury looked down. Bounty who had been looking at Fury since earlier looked at him innocently before he realized that he was being seen by Fury, he quickly looked down in fear.
Fury sighed heavily then knelt down and lifted Bounty with both hands. Then he climbed into the TARDIS with Bounty in hand. His eyes looked around the TARDIS.
You who were busy trying to turn on the TARDIS looked at Fury for a moment before turning your gaze back to the control panel.
"Welcome to the TARDIS. it's not much but it's home." you said, pressing a random buttons on the control panel.
"You sure have a big home, huh." Fury said and put the Bounty down.
Bounty quickly walked towards the charging point and shut down for a while.
You frowned. "that's new.. all this time other people always say 'it's bigger on the inside' or 'it's smaller on the outside'"
"Well, I'm not someone who is quick to be impressed by new things. I've just seen strange things out there so I'm not surprised." Fury replied and walked towards the control panel.
" Well, if you say so.. How about if I help you with that Loki thing? It's been a while since I've seen my old friend.. let alone say hello.. " you said before pressing a button and with that, the TARDIS returned life.
The lights inside the TARDIS are bright while the sound of the TARDIS engine is heard loudly inside the TARDIS indicating that the TARDIS is back on. You smiled big and raised one eyebrow to say ' so? ' towards Fury.
Fury looked around with a stunned expression on his face but managed to hide it even though you could see the expression on his face. A few seconds later, Fury looked at you.
"well? what are you waiting for?"
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Ghosts Feeling the Economic Squeeze
The economy is tough for everyone, but it's especially tough for ghosts. With so many people out of work, ghosts are finding it hard to find jobs that they're qualified for.
"It's a ghost town out there," said Casper, a ghost who has been looking for work for months. "There just aren't enough jobs for everyone."
"It's been really competitive," said Bryan Wilson, another ghost, who was laid off from his job as a night watchman. "So many other ghosts are also looking for work."
Miss Frizzle, a ghost who was a former teacher, said that she's been struggling to find a new job. "I'm qualified and I have experience, but no one seems to want to hire a ghost," she said.
But why do ghosts need jobs? "In a story universe where the paranormal did not exist, we would be just dead. But we have a chance here. And given the customs of the fiction we live in, we need to buy things like ectoplasm and spectral silk to keep that chance. Consumers don't want to read about totally undignified and unclothed ghosts," explained a ghost named Emily.
"Just like us humans, ghosts have needs to feel comfortable and safe," said Stella C. Ai, an afterlife care expert. "They also want to have a sense of belonging in the world they live in, so they might desire their own homely, private space, which graveyards are not."
"And although they might not require food in the same way humans do, they may still have a hunger for energy, especially if they need to stay buoyant in places haunted by toxicity and apathy," she added.
Many employers are expectedly reluctant to hire ghosts, worried that ghosts would be disruptive or scare away customers.
"We just don't think ghosts are a good fit for our company culture," said one manager, who declined giving her name. "We're looking for someone who is friendly and approachable, and ghosts just don't fit that bill."
Another problem is that ghosts are not as versatile as humans. They can't do many of the jobs that humans do, such as driving, cooking, or cleaning.
"We're pretty limited in what we can do," said another ghost, Floaty. "We can't really interact with the physical world, so that rules out a lot of jobs."
The job market for ghosts is also being affected by the rise of technology. Some companies are now using robots to perform tasks that were once done by ghosts, such as scaring people in haunted houses.
"It's not fair," said Robbie, a ghost who was replaced by a robot. "I'm the real deal, and I can do the job better than any robot."
But some employers are starting to see the benefits of hiring ghosts. Ghosts are often very hard-working and dedicated employees. They're also very good at getting things done without being noticed.
"I've been very impressed with the work of our ghost employees," said Mr. Jenkins, a manager of Happy Inn. "They're always on time and they always get their work done."
Some ghosts are working as actors in ghost movies and TV shows, tour guides in haunted houses, and psychics and mediums.
"It's not ideal, but it's better than nothing," said Ghost of Christmas Past, a ghost who works as a tour guide. "At least I'm getting to see some new places."
A growing group has even started working as influencers on social media. They share their ghostly experiences and advice with their followers, and some have even managed to amass large followings.
"It's a great way to connect with other ghosts and share our stories," said one ghost influencer, who goes by the moniker ghost_with_a_plan. "And it's also a great way to make money."
So while the economic climate is definitely challenging, there are still ways for ghosts to find work. With a little creativity and determination, they can find success in the workforce.
Reported by Rylan Bard, a journalist for Nether Yammer. Additional reporting by Human, a ghost writer, ergh, human ghost writer, ergh, human writer for Nether Yammer.
Check out the rest of this Tumblr site for crucial and actual diversity-themed content.
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Something blew up again, something always blows up.
Dan sighs, wiping the ash from his face. This was the fourth explosion this week, and this was a project that the Federation wanted. He had to make it perfect.
Some sort of improved model of its captor. It was the prototype though, but it still weirded him out. Why make a better version of the most perfect robot? They did kidnap him, but Dan can admit that he knows a good robot when he sees it. And Nether, was this one impressive.
The exposed wiring flicks out a few sparks, he had just enough time to reach for the fire extinguisher before the smoke detectors could signal and he'd be dead as the scrap metal laying before it. He always hoped that the sprinklers wouldn't be his cause of death.
He hears the door shut behind it, his coworker must've left to the break room. That, or to the bathroom to clean off the soot from the failed attempt to get the hunk of junk working. Neither of them wanted this project but here they were, doing whatever it took to get paid. Were any of them getting paid?
"Come on, you metal jerk..." Dan mutters, brushing the ash off him and letting his blaze rods absorb the particles. At least it'll keep his own fire going.
The speakers chime, an announcement plays with an automated voice. Was it lunch break already?
Maybe it was best to join his coworker then. He could use a break.
It gives the prototype the side eye before heading out to the break room. Dan rolls his shoulders, man, he shouldn't hunch over so much. Maxo would've berate him about that but... oh man, Maximus...
Nether, does he miss her. And the kid too. He should make it up to them... maybe when it's finally free from this hellscape away from home.
Dan reaches the HR department, it always liked the break room there. More humans, funny for a sector called Human Resources. He wasn't human itself, but he was humanoid enough.
He gives a wave to another of his coworkers, it doesn't see him very often but he knew that this guy was a father too. What was his name? Jeremy?
He was about to get a hold of the doorknob, when it heard screaming. What? Where? Here? Oh gold, what if something bad happened while he was here? What if he never saw his husband and kid again?
It had to check.
Sneakily, Dan turned the corner, following the source of the noise. Its face fell.
Trump was there. He was kicking and screaming being held by several blank models his project was improved on. He looked so scared.
"Tr—" He tried crying out, but they were faster. Hands covered his mouth and eyes, pulling him down to the depths of what could be described as eternal darkness. His kid vanished from sight but it could tell that he was coming with Dan too.
When he was able to see, it dropped into the waters below. He was in an ocean, large and endless as it was. He screamed, feeling its skin burn as the liquid engulfed him in excruiciating pain.
A body passes by, floating to the top. Time stopped as a propeller hat followed it, spinning as it flew away to the surface of the waters. Dan felt his stomach drop.
Another one bumps into him, their face was covered by their hair, medium in length but dark enough for Dan to recognize the hoodie and ring on their finger. He felt his own ring slip off its fingers.
It tries reaching out, screaming into nothing as the water pulled him deeper and deeper into darkness. More bodies came to the top, some of his old friends from Shady Oaks, his new ones here on Quesadilla Island, himself. Even an long old time friend passed by, labcoat and all.
Dan couldn't open his eyes any longer, the fire was dying out and there was no escape. It felt the hands return, pulling him back to unknown.
...
Something blew up again, something always blows up.
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What's a good anime you can recommend (if you're an anime fan)
Yes! I have suggestions.
For movies, if you're totally new to anime, I would absolutely start out with anything from Studio Ghibli. They're kind of like the Disney movies of anime, at least from a Western perspective. Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Kiki's Delivery Service, and My Neighbor Totoro are some of the most popular films from that studio. If you live in or near a big city, these movies sometimes have special showings in theaters, which can be really fun. My personal favorite anime movie is called Night is Short, Walk on Girl, which is a kind of surreal romantic comedy about a night out that feels like it never ends.
As far as shows go, here are some of my favorites:
Fullmetal Alchemist: This is a classic one to start with. It's kind of a faiytale about two brothers Edward and Alphonse, who are searching for the Philosopher's Stone.
Cowboy Bebop: This is another classic, and generally considered to be one of the best animes of all time. Cowboy Bebop is a neo-noir space Western about bounty hunters in the year 2071, and deals with themes of loneliness, existential dread, and trying to escape your past.
Space Dandy: Space Dandy is made by the same studio as Cowboy Bebop, and shares kind of a similar premise, but it's a comedic space opera. The show is about Dandy, "a dandy guy in space" who "combs the galaxy like his pompadour on the hunt for aliens". Don't let the goofiness on this one fool you- there are some really beautiful, touching episodes in this show.
Keep Your Hands off Eizouken: This is one of my personal favorites. It's a slice of life show about three high school girls who start a club to make their own animations. It's kind of a love letter to the medium of animation and it celebrates the beauty of creativity and imagination. It's incredibly sweet and heartfelt.
The Tatami Galaxy: This is the spiritual predecessor to Night is Short, Walk on Girl, and it's done by the same director. It's a parallel universe story about an unnamed third year university student. In each episode, the viewer sees how his life would be different if he had chosen a different school club as a freshman. It's kind of a coming of age story that asks questions about the human condition.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off: This is a newer one- it just started streaming on Netflix last month. It's a take on Scott Pilgrim vs The World, so it's kind of an action-adventure comedy, but ends up going in a very different direction. I liked this one so much that I binged it in a weekend.
Pluto: This is also a newer one- it came out on Netflix in October. It's a mystery science-fiction thriller about a robot detective who's trying to solve a string of murders, both robot and human, and prevent more murders from occurring. The characters are really complex, and the show deals with interesting themes of what constitutes humanity.
Aggretsuko: This is a comedy about a very cute but very angry red panda who lets out her emotions by singing death metal. It focuses on the frustrations of being a young person in a boring job and not quite knowing what you want out of life.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex: Ghost in the Shell is a cyberpunk spy thriller about an elite law enforcement unit that investigates cybercrime and terrorism cases. There are lots of iterations of Ghost in the Shell, and most of them are good, but this one is my favorite. I think it anticipated a lot of the societal issues caused by technology that we're dealing with now.
Detective Conan/Case Closed: This one is new to me, but it's been super popular since the 90s. It's a mystery thriller about a high school age detective who gets trapped in the body of an elementary school boy. It's kind of like Scooby Doo or Inspector Gadget, but for a more mature audience.
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Um... so I've heard that you're comfortable with people talking to you about their ocs, and I wanted to hear your thoughts on mine, if that's okay with you ofc! <3
My oc is a Creepypasta one, so If you fin it a little cringey pls keep in mind that I created it on 2017 and I just went adding or removing things and/or aspects of her personality 😭
Okay, let's start from the beginning...
Her given name is Katherine, althought her "real" name is Variaton_LifeExperiment.07.-Attempt1.
She is an experiment realised by The Offenderman, she was made using parts of a recently dead body that he found in a Hospital and tons of wires and robotic parts and programings.
She was created to guide young beautiful girls to him under the cover of asking them to take her to x place saying she was lost, so The Offenderman could woo them into spending a night with him.
Katherine was always LifeExperminent07 to The Offenderman, or at least for the first few months of her existence, because as time passed by her human brain began to work again thanks to the electric shots that sometimes the wires sent through her body, and so her past memories started to appear again along with human behaviors and emotions.
He saw how LifeExperiment07 began to develop human emotions and thought acording to the age of the corpse he used to make her (a 13 y/o teenager exactly) and so he gave her a name, Katherine.
After some time, Offenderman had to go away for an indefinited period of time to "solve" things with The Splendorman and left Katherine with his most responsible brother, The Slenderman, and so she went to live with him temporaly.
(and since this oc was made in 2017 you can imagine that my oc started living strange yet funny adventures with all the fanon! creepypasta steryotypes we had back then lol).
Now that her backstory's been explained let's move into her appearence:
She is 5"3 and has medium dark brown hair, very messy dark brown hair, it gets kinda wavy in the ends but not to the point of being curly.
She only has one human eye, a blue one.
The other one is covered by a piece of metal since he used the eye cavity as a space for conecting wires.
What is left of her human skin is white, a pale tone of white, but not to the point of looking like a glass of milk tho.
She has little freckles in her nose and right cheek (the left one is the one that has the eye covered with metal and so you can't see the freckles).
Her original clothes were a kinda torn apart hospital T-Shirt alongside with a pair of short jeans, black stockings and a pair of white converse.
Anyways, when The Offenderman started to notice her more human-like behaviours he bought for her a new outfit, her current one, which is composed of a black oversized hoodie with a red rose drawn on it's center, a red skirt (the same color of the rose) and the same stockings this time with red doll-like shoes.
If we move onto her personality...
She is a very caring bionic little thing who loves to smile and to make people smile.
She tends to laugh at everything that seems funny to her and can tell pretty good jokes.
Her intern program is connected to the internet so she is a very good help to plenty of the manor residents when they need information on something.
She also has a selected dictionary that, to her much dismay, won't let her curse so the creeps like Jeff and Ben tend to (kind-heartedly) laugh or make fun of her when she can only bring herself to say "Zoinks!" when scared or frustrated (just like Shaggy from Scooby Doo lmao).
She can also mes a little with her programing and use her human eye as a projector on the white wall on game/movie nights.
She is also kind of hyperactive and as her two legs are mainly metal and half of her right arm is too she loves to go into places she shouldn't.
Like climb onto trees, walk on the manors ceiling, hang from the spider lamp in the dining room or sleep on the top of the fridge 💀
That's all I think,
Sorry for the rant but I just don't have nobody to listen to me talking about my ocs lol 😭
(can I be your 📹anon pls?)
You have no idea how much I absolutely LOVE and adore listening to ocs and ESPECIALLY CREEPYPASTA OCS??? I love them <3 I used to be a huge creepypasta fanatic as a child,,so I'm still one at heart even after so long :,) But I was mainly in marble hornets eheh
She sounds amazing and I LOVE THE SILLY THINGS SHE DOES <,3 her story is just 🤌🤌💞 fits so well and so well thought out!!
PLEASE YOU CAN SPAM ME WITH YOUR OCS FACTS I DONT MIND!! :,D its really interesting to read about!! And sure thing, you can be 📹anon!!
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AI Art vs. Digital Art: Let's Talk About Cool Art Stuff!
Hey there, art lovers! Today, we're diving into the exciting world of AI Art and Digital Art – two super cool ways artists are using tech to make mind-blowing creations. Let's check out what makes them awesome and what might hold them back a bit.
AI Art: Art Made by Smart Robots!
First up, AI Art! This kind of art is made by fancy computer programs that learn from a bunch of other art pieces. They analyse all that cool art and then use it to make brand new artwork all by themselves. How neat is that?
The Good Stuff about AI Art:
Crazy Creativity: AI can churn out endless amounts of art. It's like having a never-ending art machine, and the results can be totally wild and imaginative!
Fast and Furious: AI doesn't waste time. It whips up art in a flash, giving artists more time to explore and improve their masterpieces.
Getting Inspired Together: Human artists can get inspiration from AI art. It's like a big brainstorming session between humans and smart robots!
Art for All: AI tools are making art more doable for everyone, even if you're not a pro artist. That's a win for creativity and inclusion!
The Not-So-Good Stuff about AI Art:
Missing Emotions: AI art might look cool, but it can't connect with emotions the way human-made art does. It's like trying to make a robot feel sad – just not the same!
Sticky Ethics: AI art raises some questions. Who owns the art? Can we borrow ideas from AI? We need some rules to keep things fair and square.
Copycat Alert: Because AI learns from existing art, it might churn out art that looks too similar. We don't want a world of robot copycats!
Digital Art: Art in the Digital Playground!
Now, let's talk Digital Art! This is where artists use digital tools like fancy drawing pads, computer software, and editing apps to create their masterpieces. It's like bringing the art studio to the digital world!
The Good Stuff about Digital Art:
Artistic Freedom: Digital tools let artists get wild and crazy. They can try new styles, mix mediums, and push boundaries without making a huge mess!
Fix and Fiddle: With digital art, artists can change things as much as they want. It's like having an undo button for art, making it perfect every time.
Earth-Friendly Art: Digital art saves trees! No need for paper or paint means a greener planet.
Show It Off: The internet lets digital artists share their creations with the whole wide world. You can be a superstar artist from your bedroom!
The Not-So-Good Stuff about Digital Art:
Tech Hurdles: Digital art needs fancy gadgets and software skills. Not everyone has the cash or know-how to jump in right away.
Copycat Troubles: Digital art can be copied super easily. It's like taking a screenshot, and bam, someone else has your art!
Missing the Feels: Unlike traditional art, digital art doesn't have that touchy-feely thing going on. It's all on screens, and that can be a bummer.
Conclusion
There you have it – AI Art and Digital Art, the power duo of the art world! AI Art brings crazy creativity and fast results, but it's got some emotional roadblocks and ethical hiccups. Digital Art offers artistic freedom and saves the environment, but it needs tech know-how and watchful eyes against copycats.
In the end, both AI Art and Digital Art are changing the art game big time. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe we'll see a mix of these two fantastic worlds, taking creativity to a whole new level! So, keep creating, stay inspired, and let's keep art awesome together!
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Video Ideas
With the coffee video above as a point of reference for this project, I scribbled out a couple of visual ideas about this project. Then to get a better understanding of what I liked about the coffee visuals, I briefly analysed the progression of the video some the stylisation to each drawing which acts as visual entertainment and symbolic/literal representations of what is being discussed. I need my own symbols to be a little more abstract as that is the nature of this module, I want to experiment and explore shape and iconography and play around with repetition, shapes and transitions to get a short punchy video about AI. I need to keep things simple with enough room to play around until I can find a happy medium between practicality and creativity so that I end up with a finished product that I like.
Kurzgesagt is another channel with engaging colourful visuals and I will draw inspiration from the harmony between the bright animation and the calm curious voice-over. I don't have access to voice-overs myself so I could try it myself, find a friend or use AI, I haven't decided yet as whatever I decide upon can play into the tone of the video - silly VS serious or both.
Some more ideas I was playing around with, I was taking a bit too many notes and started leaning into narrative too much and which takes away from the abstract visuals that are the core premise of this project. I need to find fun trippy methods to transition between each visual subject guided by the narration and sound effects to explore the topic of AI either from my own perspective or that of the artist or an average Joe.
I am aiming for a light-hearted somewhat informative style of video so I want to replicate in some ways the TV static and old fashioned radio voice in training videos from decades ago. The video above is a satire of the same style of video focused around surviving in the apocalypse with a little character guided by a narrator. Again, I don't want a character to be the focus and instead want to maintain a fluidity of motion all of which is guided by sound and music.
For the projection side of things, I need to figure out a way to give it that vintage educational video aesthetic so once I have animated a clean version of the video, I will need to rough it up with TV static, grain etc... I want to go for an old cathode ray tube style or as if it was made using film to give it a more interesting visual aesthetic. I may use some of the tutorials above but I have not looked deeply into this side of things yet however I do know that I will need to try and build my own old fashioned TV out of cardboard or find an old cheap TV that I could play it on.
For this project I am aiming to make something that incorporates stylistic elements from similar videos to the one above and also the motion graphics feel of the coffee video.
I started thinking about the limitations of the project because that is where I have messed up in the past; there is only a small window of time for me to make this animation and the duration cuts short any detailed expansion. Topics need to be covered in brief aided by visuals fast paced dialogue and visuals. Just to get a judgement of the depth of my dialogue, I counted the words in the coffee video which came to 109 words in 34 seconds; concise narration is crucial if I am adding narration.
There's a lot of similarity between these shapes for simple transitions of key topics of this video:
Robotics = Cog
AI = OpenAI logo
Earth & Humanity = Globe
Digital Humanity = Digital Globe
Whilst searching for that iconography I found out about The Noun Project which has 5,000,000 icons for different topics which could be essential building blocks that I can expand upon when trying to represent complex themes with simple geometry.
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Planning-
Storyboarding and Writing:
In this project, I wanted to put an increased perspective on the narrative. This is due to the more story focused route I am taking with it, wanting to develop character concepts and devising a world, all that can be made more compelling and nuanced through writing. This can be done in many ways, such as blurbs highlighting character actions or by writing full up descriptions. Yet, I wish to further this projects quality by creating a storyboard and making a short story based on it.
This scene has already been devised in the previous planning and development segment, “Main Character,” where I sketched it out and came into conflict with my consistency, leading me to research how to better compose my scene and characters looks.
This story will be short, only a few pages long, as it is is only a snippet of the bigger picture. By doing this, not only will I be adding diversity to my projects portfolio, but I will also be furthering my characters what is important in this more narrative lead FMP. Like an epilogue of a book, it will highlight a key part of the story, a cold open to the ideas that are to be explored in the story. This scene could later be used as a flashforward, intriguing readers of the project by throwing them into the thick of revelations allowing them to be shocked and interested in where the narrative could go, it will also add a mystery to consecutive chapters, where they wonder how this came to be.
The only oncoming problem I could see by delving into this is that it could take precious time away from my art, what I can only currently do in school due to my lack of computer and artistic utensils that i can use to develop it to a level I am happy with and believe could be my best work. Even now, my art is keeping me on edge, especially with the last projects leaving my artistic merits in flux as they seemingly warp to random levels of complexity and flair.
I believe this will be a simple and fun activity to participate in, adding more the my project and allowing it to be seen in another medium. This, though, will probably be the only one of its kind, as I will probably write the rest of the story based information in a summarized fashion so I am able to keep it all neat and tidy and to do it all in a timely manner, because if all of the story based writing was done to, for example, a novel level, it would be a few hundred pages long, which would be good for a different project that is more narrative focused, while fitting less in this artistic FMP.
In this Epilogue, I will use a range of vocabulary to try and make it distinctive and readable. This will include a wide range of verbs and adjectives. I also want to try and make it structured in a way that adds to the sense of confusion that the protagonist, Sven, is feeling by juxtaposing mechanical, robotic terms with that of human, biological ones. For this I have no direct reference eI wish to take from other than the research I did on Automaton, however implementing musical narrative with the narrative of the story might be a bit finicky.
While developing this Idea, I have added more than I expected to the written story compared to the drawn storyboards / comic. This is alright, as the drawn work had taken longer to produce and manufacture due to the increased time needed to make it viable, whereas with writing you can make far more in less time. Yet, I am no going to add more work to the drawn work, this is because it is unneeded, and my time will be better spent moving onto different areas of my project.
Finalisation: I am unhappy to say that I will not be able to finish off this project to a standard that I am pleased with due to time constraints and due to my own lack of skill or initiative. When I started this, I was excited for where it could go, but now I see it has become a failed dream to add to another, larger pile, of failed concepts.
This part of the project was to show character progression, advance my style and production planning while also showing how I could infuse story into my project to make it more interesting and versatile, but that has gone bust due to my lack of consistency and my fluxing style that changes from post to post. I tried to fix this by making a character sheet to show my character at multiple poses and in different clothing, but even after this, my work has once again divulged and changed once more.
My work was terrible and worthless, and it will stay as such as I move onto other parts of this project. This is a great disappointment after I had pleased myself with the characters original pose and look, and even after the less than stellar follow up of the main villain, but to come to this and so effectively be halted by lacking skills hurts to put it bluntly. This has quickly diminished all hopes for a good grade on this project, as it is now shaping up to be worse than other projects that lasted shorter with leagues less of information or research, what makes my thousands of words in research look worthless and pointless in acquisition. I could say that better planning would have lead to better results, but even I know that is wrong, no amount of planning could have saved this rubbish, because I was the one developing it, so it was duped from the start. Wherever I make a product this cycle plays out, bad to good, good to shit, shit to great and then a large trough of slop and waste.
By mothing on, I can leave this stain behind and move onto better venues, but I dread to think if they will turn out like this. A mere glance around shows that my work is subpar and worthless, so what hopes do I have to be hired? To do something with my meaningless hands? I could have chosen a hundred different subjects, and any would have flourished better than my dream, even now I am living in my failures shadows, and I am trapped in a pit
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(Note this take place after ma 3 control ending just Shepherd just instead of what happened he got fused with machine)
Chapter 1
Shepherd stoof infront of the council as they dicided one what to do with them sense the commander is now technically the leader of the reapers they needed to figure out if they will be a threat or a ally to the alliance "We can't just let them walk they could easily kill all of us all" the turian councilor would say "Yes but they could also be of assistances the reaper invasion has left the alliance and terminus systems in shambles" the Salarian councilor would reply as the two talked the Asari councilor one of the two members of the councilor the commander like the other being the former admiral Anderson soon Anderson and Asari councilor would speak up "I agree with Valern commander Shepard can be of use for rebuilding" The Asari councilor would say as Anderson nodded in agreement "Commander Shepard can help us" Anderson would say after awhile the four would come to a decision "The council has come to a decision Commander Shepard as the new leader of the reapers and saviour of the galaxy we'll let you live as long as you keep the reapers from killing us all" Anderson would say looking at the human reaper hybrid "Thank you council I will make sure what happened long ago will not happen again" the commander said soon being dismissed they would walk out of the tower heading to the Normandy.
The crew of the Normandy would talk as Edi checked the fire wall for any breaches as joker talked to her "So I didn't see much but when shore party was bringing in the commander it looked like they had a few synetic parts any idea on what happened" Joker would ask as Edi in her robotic body turned her head "Base off of the medical reports taken from citadel hospital and Dr.Chakwas the commander is now 46% machine but by all meaning of the word commander Shepard is human" she would say as the commander walk in Joker would look at the commander a reaper like left arm a left eye similar to the rouge spectre they fought years ago still with their black hair with medium hair with a bun at the back joker would smile "Ha you look good commander never thought you would look good with reaper tech on you" He would say as he looked at the commander "Eh thanks though it will take some time to get use to it" he would say gripping his left hand alittle "Anyways I should go" they would say walking away heading to their room as everyone says hi keeping quiet as they do reaching his room they would get a change of clothes sense he's been wearing the same one sense the activation of the crucible as they walked into the they would grab a white shirt blue jeans and boots with a N7 jacket with some knocking on the door "Who is it" they would say as walked to the door opening it "Oh hey Tali" they would say as the quarians looked at him "Hey Shepherd" she would say shepherd let her in as they started to talk to her as the commander enjoyed talking "So hows Rannoch" he would ask looking at her as he sat there "It's good at frist there was tension between the geth and my people it didn't help that Han'Gerrel was invoking people to fight them" she would say shaking her head alittle "But things gotten better we had Han'Gerrel demoted" she said smiling through the mask "Yeah that goods if you need help rebuilding I got can send a few newly good reaper out there to help the repairs" they would say "No need with the help of the geth we already got the old capital up and it took 2 weeks" she would say as they talked after a bit she would get up saying bye as she walked to her part of the ship
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HOW ARE TELEPRESENCE ROBOTS Enabling Brilliant Production lines?
Today is a time of telepresence devices - it very well may be telemedicine, telesurgery utilizing delicate robots, and organizations with telecommuters. The idea of thrifty telepresence robots is vivid, powerful, easy to understand and intelligent to utilize, and it's the following mechanical wave to being there face to face. In medical services, telepresence robots are being utilized to furnish patients with remote admittance to specialists and attendants.
A flood of telepresence innovation
Telepresence is a functioning medium where transducers and computerized sensors, like superior quality camcorders and receivers, substitute for the comparing feelings of the member. The member can remotely see and hear from the first-individual POV with the guide of detecting gadgets in a far off area, which isn't typically reachable.
Next large wave: Telepresence robots
A telepresence robot is a remote-controlled, wheeled gadget that has remote web network with Computerized reasoning capacity. Ordinarily, the robot utilizes a minimal and vigorous handheld gadget, for example, a tablet to give video and sound capacities.
Picture Exhibition
Telepresence robots
Dr T Senthil Siva Subramanian
Head - Organization Industry Point of interaction Program
Sharda Gathering of Organization, Mathura
Prof Rajeev Kr Upadhyay
Chief - Telepresence Idea to Belief system
Hindustan School of Science and Techology, Mathura
The worldwide market for modern robots was estimated at about $43.8 billion of every 2021. The market is supposed to develop at a build yearly development rate (CAGR) of around 10 %, coming to nearly $70.6 billion by 2028.
Telepresence robot: Idea of working
Telepresence innovation empowers clients to be practically ubiquitous in each area at a similar case through live continuous video real time. This sort of adaptable and easy to use continuous cooperation is additionally upgraded through dynamic portability by driving from a distance to a client based on what is known as a telepresence robot.
A run of the mill present day telepresence robot contains a savvy gadget like a tablet, or PC that carries out two roles: sound video correspondence and orders transmission to control the robot's dynamic development. The exchange of orders from the tablet to the wheelbase is done by electrical wires, through Zigbee, LoRaWAN innovation, LiFi, Bluetooth, or WiFi.
Telepresence robots have voice-controlled simulated intelligence discourse aides to direct human associations. It tracks down possible applications in emergency clinics and medical services applications.
Life structures of telepresence robot
Telepresence robots are inventive man-machines that for all intents and purposes interface people with where there is restricted and limited versatility, in this way, upgrading social communication with a cooperative coordinated approach and dynamic live support. In any case, there are generally difficulties and valuable open doors for working and exploring these easy to use robots by people who have next to no information and a guide of the distant climate.
Staying away from snags by means of the thin top quality camera view and manual distant activity is a period taking and troublesome errand. The burden being the clients miss the mark on feeling of inundation while they are caught up with moving through the constant video feed, in this manner, diminishing their continuous capacity to deal with different errands.
Also Read : What is material handling?
Telepresence robots saddle Industry 4.0 advancements, particularly AI, Man-made consciousness and example acknowledgment likewise utilizing the 2D Lidar sensor. Telepresence creates two-layered inhabitance framework maps through Hammer and gives helped GIS-based route in lessening the cumbersome undertaking of keeping away from impediments. The right mentality of the automated head with a HD camera is somewhat controlled by means of the blended reality and computer generated reality headset. Far off clients will actually want to acquire an instinctive comprehension of the climate while teleoperating with the robot.
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