Would Watch

“You’d rather be what now?” The machine turned it’s single intense eye upon the figure leaned against the wall of the seaside cave that made up a passably survivable oasis in this desert. “My processors may have degraded from long decades spent patrolling this stretch of dirt and sand, and my aural processors though as sharp as ever have a certain static to them, I cannot reach agreement over what you have told me.”

The figure against the wall stared the cyclopean mechanism dead on, looking for all it’s viewing g pleasure like a firm-led military officer who’d gotten lost at a dress party and wandered out into the dunes , perhaps holding a wineglass. That caused it’s internal core to cool pleasantly.

“If you can understand me, then you understand what I said.” The woman in dress uniform tiredly tossed her silver speckled hair as if to dismiss the subject.

“Repeat it for me, if you’d lease.” Poilte for a lonely robot out by the sea.

“The part of me that’s a machine doesn’t know how to function without what my biological parts consider extreme anger, I want to stay as furious as possible to optimize my performance.” Despite the bags under her eyes she just gave the mechanical soldier crusted with sand and a tattered paint job a look. A special look, like you’d reserve for someone to whom you have explain the shape of the Earth.

“I understood what you said, I didn't understand the logic of it, even with repair functions going as hast as possible, the wear and tear on software would eventually cripple an active unit. Your desire is born out of an dangerous imbalance. Have you even checked for any malware affecting your organic psychology..?” It then did an uncharacteristic thing, and placed it’s hands about where it’s child would be and settled down into what looked like a thinkers pose. “I am wondering if you came here for a reason, or were pulled here by what I’ve been patrolling.”

Despite the officers admittedly superior (??) processing power, she had no answer for the monolith of hardware. Just a non committal ‘unpmffph!’ like she thought the question would go away on it’s own, like so many in her life had by simply focusing directly ahead when the  e**** became too difficult to compartmentalize.

“You are not operating at maximum capacity, tell me, what’s wrong.” The Ruby light of it’s casual sensor made the scene more threatening than it probably had to be.

“Even if I told you, I doubt I’d know myself.”

The optic of the mocha gazed at this overworked woman. It considered how best to phrase this.

“Have you tried not constantly slamming the reset button on your love life because you feel the need to punish yourself for the slightest perceived flaw?”

If the facial expression could be described in the flurry of actions that took place after that, the best POSSIBLE descriptor would be that someone had just gently taken this persons headphones off, thrown them on the ground without looking and beeped them on the nose before slapping their ass.

“Say that....again.” “You need to explain to yourself why you hold silent standards that only you seem to understand the worth of, or else you’ll always hit a delay when you’re about to do something. Some people consider encouragement to be painful if the one doing it only has doubts about them if they don’t perform.” She narrowed her eyes. “What’s the problem then.” The great frame of the machine stood up and assumed a slightly overbearing pose. “Don’t try to tell people you know are prone to panic what they’ll do before they do it, it’s a zero out of fifty chance that you’ll get them to listen, be gentle. Not everyone dreams only of wars.”

The officer almost sighed and returned to looking at the walls of the grotto. “I knew a man who’d taken the sum total of our calculations and become a machine, a battle computer. He didn’t end up very excited by life or that good at conversation with the opposite sex. Try a human perspective, instead of a manipulation tactic, you could just be turning them away when you want them most.”

She grew annoyed. “THEN... if they can’t do what I say without being told, how will they know when I’m ready for them.” “Stop attacking them where they feel connected to you and you’ll understand, little model.”

*he turned to look at the audience*  Then instead of waiting, tell me, right now, how to get your attention TODAY. Not 30 days from now, not 720 hours from now, not in the bewitching of your inner ears rythm, if you have a command line, put it where my eyes can focus on it, and you’ll get what you need. That is the absolute fastest way without going in reverse. 

when the season’s grain yield is good and your family can afford a loaf of bread this week

The Humanization of Superman

What Zack Snyder did for the character of Superman is equivocal to the evolution his character went through in the 1980s. Superman had become far too powerful to be of any interest as a character. Through a series of deaths, resurrections, soft reboots, and revitalizations of the character, Superman became weaker and more vulnerable. This forced his characterization to change slightly, as he became more relatable and interesting.

What Zack Snyder did with Man of Steel and Batman vs Superman was add a new layer to this character that contained all of the weight and expectation placed upon Superman, as a character that had to be handled carefully and perfectly, and placed it upon the man. You can hear this very burden in the criticisms of Snyder’s characterization with lines like, “Superman is supposed to smile,” or “ Superman is supposed to be a ‘boy scout’ not gloomy.” The anxiety and introverted personality Snyder gave to the character almost serves as a counter to this. He made Superman carry these expectations and even face them head on in Batman vs Superman. 

One the author and creator of One Punch Man did something similar with his protagonists by realizing that in order to make an all powerful character interesting you have to give them weaknesses that we can relate too, and he does this by making them bad at communication or giving them feelings of loneliness and isolation, as no one is able to be their equal or understand their pain. This leads his characters to often push others away or accept a burden they do not want in pursuit of doing what is right even if they know no one will ever understand or know what they did, but it also allows his character to act unheroic and selfish as they struggle to feel normal.

If future creators were to embrace what Snyder has given to the character of Superman, we might gain a character that can not only be what we all strive to be but also give us a way of delving into the complex nature and burden of expectation and power. Their is a reason “human nature” is always a reference to how we see or interact with the world rather than our physical strength. What makes a character human is their feelings, desires, and relationships, and superhero stories are the perfect chance to delve into these concepts in a significant and interesting way. 

For these amazing movies and a hopeful future for the character, Zack, we thank you. 

This goes out to everyone, but forgive an obvious attention to China; several million or a billion of these ,at least and internationally, and the correct plant choice and it’s only a matter of sweat and effort from citizenry and coordi(hui)nated effort of direction and climate change is punched hard in a metaphorical weak spot. No muss, no fuss, no wasted petrol fossil fuels. Hybridize the correct plants for the job or pick from my or a better tumblrs choice on this and reenact a scene from the best Shia Lebouf prison movie. This shouldn’t be difficult should it? Hey White House lawn staff………..! And talk to the Netherlands please!!!!

"Verily this doth make very little sense, like vacuum cleaning along a paved road in a sprawling forest."

Link… The time has come to test thy courage…

I have been cursed… I need you to break the curse with your wisdom and courage. Dost thou have courage enough to undertake this task?

Mary Ross: A Hidden Figure : Who was Mary Ross? Another ‘hidden figure,’ a mathematician and engineer. (via NASA)

It's almost as if you hear... "Buy the planeticket to get to him and don't do any stupid buckshot bullshit"...clearly your mindscape has a talent for rumors in forest oasis', that it does. Oh, what sort of squirrel is that??!!

everything I know about Metal Gear Solid