#s89

[thewertsearch]

GG: so anyway, that reminds me ive got to talk to john! GG: ive got to get him to make me some new gizmos… TG: no dont bother john TG: hes on like his fuckin TG: wind mission or whatever [...] TG: in any case egbert lost his computer and game disc TG: so he cant do anything for you anyways

I honestly didn't think that was going to be a problem. Dave's Turntop had Sburb preinstalled when he alchemized it, so I assumed John could make another Sburb machine without the need for a disc.

Maybe John just didn't save the code for his computer. Damn it, Egbert!

TG: we just have to think outside the box here [...] TG: [...] honestly i figured wed have to do something like this TG: so i guess here we are doing it GG: doing what?? [...] TG: i need you to deploy something first [...] TG: deploy the intellibeam laserstation

Ooh, I remember that thing.

I originally thought it was a turret - but a turret wouldn't help Jade recover her Sburb devices.

Maybe it's a range-extender for the Sburb Server program, allowing Dave to move his cursor from Rose's house to Jade's, and deploy her gear himself.

TG: it reads captcha codes GG: on the back of cards? TG: yeah GG: but GG: we can already read those! TG: some are too garbled and complicated TG: the human eye cant decipher them

Captcha codes! Hell yes, it's been so long since we've done anything with the Captcha system.

I did always hope that we'd eventually be reading the 'locked' codes we occasionally saw in earlier Acts. The Laserstation breaks one of the final limitations of the Alchemiter, allowing us to duplicate forbidden items like pumpkins - and, notably, Sburb discs.

It also allows us to perform alchemy with these objects. We may have just unlocked some very, very powerful items.

GG: but isnt the whole point of captchas that only humans can read them? GG: and not robots???

Cackling right now.

TG: so the solution to the anti piracy measure is to override the anti spam measure [...] TG: cause god knows the last thing youd want was some web bot being able to figure out the code for like TG: a potted plant

The idea of Sburb alchemy being automated by computers is fascinating beyond words - it just begs so many questions.

Can a computer take on the role of a Server Player, or maintain a Grist Cache for itself? Can an AI be a fully-fledged Player, created in the Veil and sent to Earth on a reinforced hard drive?

We're pretty deep into the comic now, and I can say with a reasonable amount of confidence that Homestuck isn't going to go there - it's just not what the comic is about. But I'd love to read a fanfiction which dealt with ideas like this.

TG: basically robots are in control now TG: which is good news and bad news TG: the bad news is theyre all pornbots and theyve got LOADS of provocative material theyre just dying to share with us GG: whats the good news? TG: thats also the good news

This page came out in 2010

[fratboykate]

Yeah Pantaya is still definitely not a thing here in Mexico, as far as I know nobody of the people I know use Pantaya, everyone is subscribed to Netflix, Amazon, HBO or Disney+

I know execs who work at Pantaya. They have a decentlyyyyyy large number of subscribers in Mexico. 1) Just because you don't know anyone who has it doesn't mean it doesn't have any market penetration. 2) Again, you are trying to compare it to Netflix and HBO. Of course it's not those numbers. No one is trying to say it's those numbers. It's a streamer exclusively dedicated to Latin content. Duh. Why are you guys purposefully obtuse?

Who is one of the biggest names in acting in Mexico? Eugenio Derbez. They have a deal with his company to distribute his shows. El Juego De Las Llaves is them and Amazon. Barbara's show Señorita 89 is a Starz show........AND a Pantaya show. The show is both a "Starz Original" and a "Pantaya Original".

This is the multimarket game they play because they're not big enough to take on the big guys by themselves and they know it. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. They co-finance/co-produce/co-distribute shows all the time. They're like "we take the Latino/Mexican/whatever market and you take the US/worldwide markets".

[thewertsearch]

TG: i will be your server TG: and past me will stay as roses server TG: which is to say present me will TG: the one in the black suit GG: ohh… GG: i guess that makes sense TG: he can keep managing her for a while TG: until she sorta checks out soon and becomes totally useless

Rose is already detached from the party, following unseen orders in service of an unseen plan - but according to Dave, she's going to get worse.

This, I assume, is the point at which she becomes obscured from Kanaya's viewport. Rose is going to keep digging this hole, right up until she reaches some critical point on her timeline - and then, if I'm reading correctly between the lines, she's going to fall apart.

Final alchemy session, let's go!

Hey, calm down! Just because it's snowing outside doesn't mean it's Christmas just yet.

We're certainly getting close...

STEP OFF. … You decide he can keep the SORD….. though.

Abandoning your best weapon? A poor tactical decision by the Knight.

TT: Did you do anything on the moon besides rifle through my belongings? TT: Such as remove your shades and turn your gaze Ringward, by any chance? [...] TG: i did TT: What did you see? TG: horrible things [...] TG: when i saw them TG: their voices became clearer TT: What were they saying? TG: i couldnt really focus on anything specific TG: but TG: in totality TG: im pretty sure it was TG: like TT: ? TG: a plea for help

That's a little vague - but then again, they may be so alien to us that they're not able to communicate more clearly. This might be the closest thing to a human-readable message that the Gods can create.

This is probably a good place to put my transcription of the Squiddle song from Jade's nap. Much of it is unintelligible, but the parts we can hear are rather illuminating.

Squiddles are no ordinary friends, they work, and play, and work again. But they have homes, and mommies too; yes, they have mommies just like you.

Firstly, the Squiddles try to explain that they're not completely different from us. They're extraordinary creatures, practically incomprehensible to the Players - and yet, they have a home. They have loved ones. They play.

They repeat this assertion twice, as though they desperately want the Players to understand this.

So let them go to bed right now, so they can rest, and make cute sounds. If they can't rest they won't be strong …and they are really tiny.

They go on to say that they're exhausted. They need to rest, but something is keeping them busy. As a result, they're becoming 'tiny' and weak.

They can't make the 'cute sounds' that they're known for, which I suspect is a metaphor for the advice they normally dispense to Derse Dreamers, but I'm less sure about that.

[Unintelligible] …so let them sleep... …cause they will die if…

At this point, the music begins to fade out - but not before we hear that the Squiddles' lives are in danger. Something out in the depths of space is killing the Noble Circle of Horrorterrors.

Squiddle dee dee, squiddle dee dum. Everyone sing, a Squiddley song. Let's all be friends, And work as a team. Squiddles for you, Squiddles for me.

The final verse is self-explanatory.

It's unclear what, exactly, is happening out in the Furthest Ring, but it's dire enough that the Horrorterrors are reaching out to their neighbors, the Players of Sburb, and asking them to form an alliance.

We're seeing that alliance through Feferi, who has convinced them to blow the Dream Bubbles and link the two sessions. We're also seeing it through Rose, the only human Player willing to listen to the Squiddles' song - but her situation is more murky. I do think I understand her mental state a little better, though.

Rose is acting on Horrorterror advice - which means she's acting on whispers, corrupted images and half-heard fragments of a song. I don't think the Gods are manipulating her so much as they're playing a game of Telephone with her brain. They can't relay direct instructions, so the best they can do is transmit the vibe of what needs to happen, and the Seer has to figure the rest out for herself.

No wonder she's so evasive about her plan - I don't think she understands more than a quarter of it. She isn't nearly as in-control of the situation as she's pretending to be, and if she admits as much to John, she'd probably lose her nerve.

[thewertsearch]

TG: my thing is time yours is space TG: pretty different things

Not exactly. There are many physicists, I'm sure, who would argue that Space and Time should be one single Aspect - and I'm expecting Jade's powers to be in some way complementary to Dave's.

Come to think of it, there are several pairs of Aspects which seem complementary. Light and Void clearly evoke light and darkness, and Mind and Heart also seem dichotomous, potentially representing logic and emotion. Even Life and Doom have a life/death thing going on.

What's the opposite of Breath, then? It sort of pairs with Blood, since they're both bodily functions, but I can't comment on their symbolic relationship, since Blood is still a mystery to me. Breath too, come to think of it - most of my John analysis has been about his Class.

TG: you GET things about space i dont TG: or you will

The most obvious entry-level Space ability would be teleportation - but the Medium already is lousy with Appearifiers, Transportalizers, and portal-wielding First Guardians. It's certainly possible that Bec could teach her to teleport, but I don't know if it makes narrative sense for Jade's new power to be old news.

Perhaps, then, Jade will develop the second most obvious Space power - telekinesis.

GG: i wish i had winter clothes [...] GG: im so horribly unprepared for this…. i have never even seen snow before, can you believe that!!! [...] TG: well ive never seen it either now that i think about it

I was three years old when I first saw snow, and I don't think I'll ever forget the experience.

Guys, I know you're on the clock - or, at least, Jade is - but you deserve to take a moment here, and breath it all in. You only get one chance to see it for the first time.

GG: why dont we play in the snow later

Jade's first decision as a full-fledged Player is the best she'll ever make.

TG: im not gonna play in the snow

Translation: the next page will be a jump-cut to Dave in the snow.

TG: maybe you missed those credentials i flashed which clearly stated me being too cool for that [...] GG: i know youre joking around, you are not too cool at all, you dont even think that TG: ok

See! Even Jade knows he's full of shit.

I don't think Dave even wants to pretend he's too cool for this. His brain's on ironic autopilot at this point - but after today, he'll have IRL friends to play with, and those walls will start come down.

Yes, you heard me, Dave. Play. You're not 'hanging out' with your friends, you're not 'chilling' with them - you're playing. Let yourself be thirteen.

[thewertsearch]

GG: dave i still dont know what youre actually doing here TG: whats it look like TG: im duplicating my server disc

So, how does this actually work, then?

The Sburb Server program is installed on its host machine, and continues to run after the disc is removed. Despite this, Dave couldn't just eject his disc, insert it into a new machine, and use that as Jade's server - he needed to make a new disc, at considerable expense.

GG: can you really be a server player to your own server player? TG: dont see why not

It seems like the duplicate disc can spawn a new Sburb Server, even though it's bit-for-bit identical to one that can't. The data may be the same, but Sburb seems to have tagged the alchemized disc as 'new', and no longer tied to Rose's client.

GG: i thought that john sort of….. GG: HAD to be my server? you know?

That's called a narrative instinct, Jade.

The problem is, you think the current narrative is 'let's play an adventure game' - but the actual narrative is 'let's break the game's rules'. This development isn't consistent with your understanding of the story, but from a reader's perspective, it makes total sense.

GG: dont you know already if itll work? TG: yeah more or less TG: i never really studied how it went down all that closely [...] TG: managing the loops is a balance of careful planning and just rolling with your in the moment decisions TG: and trusting they were the ones you were always supposed to make TG: by now im pretty used to having my intuition woven into the fabric of the alpha timeline

I think Dave's been having some of the same thoughts that I have. The Alpha Timeline is restrictive, but I can't think of a single time when predestination has forced a character to act against their nature.

The one stickler - as always - is Davesprite's timeline. Every decision made in that offshoot reality seems completely in-character for the person who made it - so why isn't it also an Alpha timeline?

Was it John's decision to trust Terezi and get himself killed? That certainly seems like something he'd do...

...but maybe he's not supposed to be quite that gullible.

[morrita-carvajal]

HD - Bárbara López for Marie Claire

[morrita-carvajal]

HD - Bárbara López for Tiffany and Co. - Grazia Magazine

[morrita-carvajal]

[HD] - Bárbara López at the STARZPLAY Spanish Language Original Series Panel on November 9, 2021 at St Regis México City

Introducing Señorita 89

The first Original Spanish show to premiere on STARZPLAY will be Express on January 16, 2020. It will be followed by Señorita 89 and Toda La Sangre.

(HQs without mark? - DM)