#wycc

[semonx]

First good job with posterizing people! Yay!

[alexenglish]

idk any secrets about bot niall tell me some *eye emoji*

(while you count clouds) was supposed to be the prequel to a Nouis fic that was like, chock full of existential crises and deep ruminations about the concept of the soul and whether or not robots can fall in LOVE. loosely, Niallbot schedules an upgrade where they’re given human likeness (Zayn calls this a sex bot upgrade) and makes themself useless as a research bot (which is what Louis designed them for) and they have to be decommissioned so Louis sneaks them out of the facility he works at so they don’t end up as scrap, and Zayn’s connections hooks them up with a fake identity so they can live life as a human even though they’re NOT human and Louis is kinda like HOW DO ROBOTS FEEL HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT ROBOTS HOW DOES-- and all that kind of thing.

[alexenglish]

“I dream about you,” Niall says, eyes fluttering shut, mouth twitching like there’s a smile lurking under the sadness. “When I’m charging, y’know? Dream about sunshine and clouds, and holding your hand.” TALK TO ME ABOUT ROBOT NIALL

I KNEW YOU WERE GUNNA PICK WYCC. so the original ASW prompt was 

When you’re around I don’t know how to hide my feelings.  I count in binary, in my head.  zero one one zero one one and you count clouds. (while you count clouds)

I toyed with a couple of ideas for this one before settling on a robot and a creator. I liked this idea of the creator having the most literal way of thinking --for the creator, the robot is codes and computers, a product of invention -- while the robot is the one with emotional aspirations. 

Niall in this ‘verse is really obsessed with humanity. everything good about humanity, at least. there’s so much goodness, but most importantly there’s love and connections and most importantly, warmth. something that’s severely lacking from life in a laboratory. the only warmth Niall really feels is towards Louis. 

Louis, who doesn’t really think of Niall as anything other than computer and coding. Niall tries so hard to get him to understand that there’s so much more than that. that it doesn’t matter, built or born, there is so much similarity. Louis is reluctant to see that, but Niall’s stubborn. like the most stubborn, so there won’t be any giving up. it’s all about making Louis understand. this is set at a point in the ‘verse where Louis is worn down -- like he’s tired, and they’ve had the same conversations over and over, and Niall is so insistent. it’s hard to maintain this idea that Niall isn’t anything more than a hard drive and wires when Niall is picking Louis apart piece by piece and showing this understanding of Louis as a person that Louis himself can barely comprehend. Louis doesn’t believe that there are dreams, he doesn’t believe that there’s real emotion, but Niall does dream and those dreams are about Louis.

dvd commentary

[paulinedorchester]

Of possible interest to those of us in the Chicago area (everyone else is welcome to skip this if they’re so inclined):

We’re very fortunate here to be served by two PBS stations. The other one, with which a surprising number of people I know are unfamiliar, is WYCC, channel 20, owned and operated by the City Colleges of Chicago and on the air since 1983. They produce some original programming and are the local home of Miss Fisher and Dr Blake. They also rebroadcast PBS imported fare from years ago: The Jewel in the Crown and the 2002 version of The Forsyte Saga have shown up recently. Most importantly for me, in 2014-15 they replayed all of Foyle’s War from The German Woman through The Hide. That was what inspired me to begin writing fan fiction, so I owe WYCC a huge debt. (Either that, or I can blame them for my obsession. Whatever. I digress.)

Clearly working with a much tighter budget than WTTW, WYCC often broadcasts “standard” PBS imports a year or two after they have their U.S. premieres. Beginning on Tuesday, August 1st, they will be showing Home Fires, a fascinating, superbly acted, beautifully made, gorgeously scored, and (alas!) defunct series set in rural northern England during World War II.

The series takes place in the fictional village of Great Paxton, Cheshire, and deals with the experiences of members of the local Women’s Institute and some of their male family members and acquaintances. (It is inspired - rather than being based upon - a non-fiction book, Jambusters: The Story of the Women’s Institute in the Second World War by Julie Summers, which I also highly recommend.) I should tell you upfront that at times it can be painful to watch: some of the characters make truly terrible decisions (others make good ones), wrongdoing sometimes goes unpunished, and bad news always seems to be lurking around the corner. There’s a war on, after all. (There’s also a casting coincidence that is liable to make the Foyle’s War faithful smile ... and then squirm.)

Home Fires deserves a cult following. It has already inspired a blog here on Tumblr and a fair-sized body of fanfic. I can’t tell from the information that I have at present whether WYCC is going to show all twelve episodes or only the first six. Regardless, I urge you to check this series out.