Aftermath-machine1984 - A Calm Abode...

Do you think Shadow is a reader, and if so, what kind of books do you think he finds interesting?

Y'know, I bet he's the opposite of Sonic. I bet he's not a reader at all. Sonic's able to take the time to lounge and get cozy and stuff, which is perfect for book-reading, but Shadow? You think that guy's gonna settle down for a moment to read trivial nonsense written by people he doesn't personally care about? He'd maybe attempt, get impatient, and then just skip to the end to find out what happens (and then scoff when he gets no satisfaction from that).

This guy didn't even do his homework in space school!

He's got better things to do. Like gazing angrily into the distance.

or watching tv.

As part of her social media detox this girl on YouTube made herself do one hour of understimulating tasks every day and she just counted rice for 60 minutes straight because its no different from doomscrolling in terms of wasted time

On this day, 7 December 1928, Avram Noam Chomsky, legendary activist, linguist and author was born to a Jewish immigrant family in Philadelphia. Chomsky came to prominence as an activist as an outspoken critic of the Vietnam war, for which he was arrested several times and placed on President Richard Nixon’s official list of enemies. He has since become one of the world’s leading critics of US foreign-policy, and one of the most cited scholars alive. Politically Chomsky usually identifies with currents including libertarian socialism and anarchism, stating: “I was attracted to anarchism as a young teenager, as soon I began to think about the world beyond a pretty narrow range, and haven’t seen much reason to revise those early attitudes since.” And despite dark times, Chomsky believes that we have to face our challenges with optimism: “Optimism is a strategy for making a better future. Because unless you believe that the future can be better, it’s unlikely you will step up and take responsibility for making it so. If you assume that there’s no hope, you guarantee that there will be no hope. If you assume that there is an instinct for freedom, there are opportunities to change things, there’s a chance you may contribute to making a better world. The choice is yours.” Yesterday, WCH was very happy to host the launch of Chomsky’s new book with author James Kelman, Between Thought and Expression Lies a Lifetime: Why Ideas Matter. You can get it, along with our book for which Chomsky contributed the foreword, in our online store: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/all/noam-chomsky https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1871057279746080/?type=3

ethics of making AI images aside, I do find a bit amusing the kinds of sob stories and mental gymnastics people make up to pretend like drawing is this super technical skill with an impossibly high barrier of entry when its like one of the first hobbies toddlers pick up

suddenly a lot of people think they got the next Lord of the Rings in their head but they were never able to turn their stories into anything tangible because the evil elitist artists are hogging all the talent and skill and they need a bajilion years of training or something as if one of the most popular manga and anime of the past decade wasn't made by a guy that draws like this

there’s just some fics... they never leave u bro. i’ll be sitting on the toilet four years later thinking about the 94k enemies to lovers fic that captured my soul

You Can Now Play the First LGBTQ Computer Game, For the First Time

‘Caper in the Castro’ was thought to be long lost.

Caper in the Castro is a legendary video game, not because legions of die-hard fans continue to play it, but because it was thought to be lost forever. Now, what is largely considered to be the first LGBTQ-focused video game (it was released in 1989) is on the Internet Archive for anybody to play.

The game is a noir point-and-click that puts the player in the (gum)shoes of a private detective named Tracker McDyke who is, in case you couldn’t guess by the name, a lesbian. McDyke must unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Tessy LaFemme, a transgender woman, in San Francisco’s Castro district, an historically gay neighbourhood.

OOOOOHhh!

The game was released as charityware – freely, with a strong request to give a donation an AIDS Charity of their choice. I’d like to push towards still following that and donating, if you’re able.

(And you might also want to donate to the Internet Archive, who is hosting it now, while you’re at it – they’re in the middle of a donation drive, and could use your support.)

*Waves in greeting from across the Internet*

(Don't know if you've gotten questions like this before but wanted to see what you'd think, considering how much you seem to like Shadow.)

Q: Concerning Shadow's title of Ultimate Life Form, do you think that it is something empowering he should wear with pride, or a curse/burden to be freed of which, among other things, shackles him to horrific and unrealistic expectations?

I feel like this question is kinda like a litmus test for why a person may like Shadow.

Personally, I think there's nuance to be found here. To me, Shadow feels both those ways about being "The Ultimate Lifeform," but how he feels about it bounces between one or the other depending on his mood. He is The Ultimate Lifeform, a being of great power that demands respect when he's trying to intimidate someone or achieving his goals -- Goals only he is capable of achieving, with what he is and all that. Obviously. He's the Ultimate Lifeform, so of course he should be the one to step in and solve the problem. He was designed to be an unstoppable force...

... So when he fails, he has to mentally come to grips with that failure in a way that, I feel, is more difficult for him than, say, if Sonic fails. Sonic is natural. His failures are natural. Shadow is unnatural. His failures. Are. Unnatural. They are not meant to happen. It's arrogance until it's not. His status is just as much a rope he holds to climb a mountain as it is a noose around his neck. A source of confidence, and Gerald Robotnik's judgemental gaze.

He's proud. He's an achiever. He's a pillar of strength. Until he slips.

So, how he (may) feel is how I feel. Depending on his mood, Shadow's Ultimate Lifeform title is both a boon to him and a great and terrible weight. He draws strength and self-loathing from it in equal amounts. That's simply how I interpret it, anyway.

So, uh... I tried making a trope page for my Golden Bat fanfic to help get the word out, but said tropes page sucks, so if anyone would like me out I'd be very grateful:

TV Tropes

The Secret Of The Golden Bat - TV Tropes

"The Secret of the Golden Bat" is a fanfic based on the Japanese cult classic kamishibai character Golden Bat, who tends to be rather obscur

full disclosure I orig wanted to make part 2 of the wolf hall brat edit (feat Thomas More as Lorde) but I scrapped it cos i didn't really have enough footage BUT the overwhelmingly lovely response from you guys to part 1 has enabled me I fear. Watch this space

Ogon Bat/Fantaman  redesign Why am I only finding out about the guy now!!!!??