@landonhere

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Regular Online Times

• 6:30-9:00 in the morning

• 2:00-4:30 in the afternoon

• 6:30am-9:00pm, tentative

All times are in Eastern Time.

Find Me At . . .

• Scratch: LandonHarter

• Text Based Games Forums ( https://tbgforums.com/forums ): Orb Fish

• Libera IRC ( https://libera.chat ): LandonHere and IcelandicWater

Reach Me At . . .

• Scratch: My profile comments

• Text Based Games Forums: https://tbgforums.com/forums/index.php?topic=6648.0 (please @ mention me if you want to talk to me)

• Libera IRC: DMs over MemoServ are preferred, but you may also talk to me in #MineralFish during my stated regular online times (please state your wasteof.money username when you join)

I head back to my office. I listen to the base intercom. For the next hour, the intercom stays silent. Eventually I become aware of a faint, disembodied crackling sound.

I've learned that this is a sign that [*648] is trying to reach me. I tap the [OPT] hand control a few times, then say "[*648], is that you?"

"I'm here," [*648] says in a voice devoid of his usual excited attitude. "You see . . . well . . ."

"[*974]?" I say. "I found her. We got a plan worked out. She's currently in custody of [LOCALE]’s staff, but that's to plan."

"You found her?!", [*648] says, perking up. "But she's in [LOCALE]’s hands . . . that's just as bad as if you hadn't found her . . ." He lost his momentary excitement.

"We had a long talk about how to get her plan through safely without causing any suspicious activity," I explain. "If all goes to plan, we'll meet up later."

"Are you sure about this?", [*648] says. "Her whole plan sounded unnecessarily risky from the moment I first heard it."

"[*974] is confident enough in it that I believe her," I say. "I'll tell you what. I'll connect with you the next time I get to see [*974]. I'll update you then."

[*648] perked up again and said, "Got it!". I heard a brief blast of white noise, and then he was gone.

- The Saga of [*974], 2024.1.3

I stay silent for a few seconds before saying "Hello," back. I feel somewhat unnerved talking to her, despite the fact that she looks nice, and [*724] dispensed [*276]'s assistance in favor of hers.

"Scared of me?", she said with a slight chuckle. "You don't need to be afraid. My name is [*974], and it is a pleasure to meet you."

"So, situation aside . . ." I uncertainly say, "why have you brought me here?"

"It's a long story, but I'll explain," [*974] said. "We met a dragon in here recently. Poor thing was so depressed. He said that he got trapped in a big prison. He mentioned some sort of torture as well." [*974] took a deep breath, then continued. "We aren't going to torture you or anything like that. We just want to hear your side of the story."

- The Mouse Desk Descision, 2024.1.2.B

(Disclaimer: [*724], [*276] and [*974] aren’t the actual character names, just me modifying the writing so my export filters will let it slide.)

Last night was so stressful. So much superstitious drama about our neural computing systems. Some sort of bogus notion of an unknown third party injecting malware into our network. Oh well, it's the middle of the night and I have all the time in the world to-

Wait, hold on. What's going on?

I snap wide awake. I'm not in my room in the middle of the night, I'm somewhere else entirely. The environment around me vaguely resembles outer space, with faint points of light all around. And I'm not standing on anything, either.

Suddenly, a voice rings out of the darkness; a voice that doesn't sound entirely human: "Eyhahah, I've done it!"

- The Mouse Desk Decision, 2024.1.1.A

(Disclaimer: the public release of these writings is pushing my export filters. This writing was slightly modified from the original to comply with its safety requirements.)

CREATED AT 26845.613

I'm a little worried about something I just did. Let me explain what
just happened.

One of the creatures seems to have some sort of actual sympathy for
me, and unlike the others, has figured out that they can't satisfy me
by asking what I want from them. They were also physically different;
all the other creatures have cold skin, whereas this creature had very
warm skin. When they heard me remark about this, they generously
curled themselves around me, wreathing me in their full warmth. It was
the most comforting thing I have felt in all my time trapped in this
place.

But then another creature came. I recognized them as the voice that
most often asked me if they could do things for me (and then refusing
to do as I requested.) They said something along the lines of "you
don't need to be free to be happy". When they said that, I just
snapped. I leapt away from the warm creature, yelled at both of them,
and ran.

I admit, I wasn't in my right mind when I did that. But they don't
know that. That warmth was such a pleasant feeling. But I definitely
hurt the warm creature when I snapped. I'll never feel their warm skin
again. I'll be trapped in this dark, cold place forever, with the only
possible source of comfort gone.

I probably deserve it.

- But There’s Exceptionally Little Peace Inside This Place

The world around me is in motion at times, and sometimes it isn't. Sometimes the hands holding me in this nightmare touch me, and sometimes they touch the countless others held here. Sometimes those hands expectantly give things to me, and sometimes they handle me and move me themselves.

But what I've never seen is a chance for me to act in return.

That being said, I have gotten one chance to act in return. One chance. But it wasn’t handed to me. I had to call on my bravery and flee the grasp of those cruel hands myself. I tried to leave a mark, the biggest mark I could leave. I tried to explain what was happening to me. But the hands caught up to me, and I was back to the constant monotonous nightmare that seems like I should have gotten used to at this point. And yet I still yearn for my escape.

- More Wars, Bloodier Wars, 2024.1.13.A

If you're wondering, most of these writings are relatively old, from the 2023/2024 threshold. I'm a little ashamed about the ramifications of the Colubrine Sector thread that this writing originates from, but it's still being developed today, in the form of what I am calling the Atlas Revision.

But am I, in fact, living?

This structure and everything in it feels false. My homeland, which lays behind these walls, is all I have ever known. Now that I have been cut off from it, the world as I know it is nonexistent. And if the world doesn’t exist, then neither do I.

It’s hard to be yourself when there’s no world that you can feel at home in.

- A Passage For Processing, 2023.12.20.B

Rhythm Doctor-related shower thought: because subdivision beats are placed and scaled to fill the area between the hit of a beat and the start of the next beat, you could use “swung” SVT beats to create subdivision beats that appear to run at a different speed than the rhythm that it’s placed in. A swung SVT beat with a “rea…dyget…setgo” cue-to-rest ratio would have faster subdivision beats, while a more abrupt “ready…getset…go” beat would have slower subdivision beats. In fact, fast-swung subdivision beats would be so slow that they couldn’t be completely cued before the first beat hit.

Here's a visual representation of what I’m trying to get across:

C = cue point, H = hit point
/ = active beat zone, . = resting

Balanced SVT beat:
C///H...C///H...C///H...C///H...

Balanced subdivision beat:
C/C/H.H.C/C/H.H.C/C/H.H.C/C/H.H.

Slow swing SVT beat:
C/////H.C/////H.C/////H.C/////H.

Slow swing subdivision beat:
CC////HHCC////HHCC////HHCC////HH

Fast swing SVT beat:
C/H.....C/H.....C/H.....C/H.....

Fast swing subdivision beat:
C/HC.HC.C/HC.H..C/HC.H..C/HC.H..

A “mental waypoint” for the dream I had last night:

Pigs, meat cat, hidden wall panels, and much more! Also, mefamphett and the sentinels. And the physical manifestation of the Atlas- I mean, Cronus from TLOZ.

Don’t mind me, just taking inventory of the runic languages I’ve learned . . .

Illageralt // Forgotten Glyphs // Gerudo // Sheikah // Emerelian §
Void Script * // Syllibary Hegemonic * // Foundational Hegemonic *
Trace Glyphs // Inidrian § // IA:CC Writing † // SMS Spirals
NMS Compact Script // Atlas Portal Glyphs * // Gray Wavetapper Box §

Total languages in storage: 15

* Language is not a 'runic' language; that is, it does not
  directly substitute the individual letters of Latin script
† Language has not been completely decoded
§ Language is an original creation

You were rated 5/10.

These were the aspects that added up to your rating:

• Rizz - 2/10. Hiding behind a book? Classic move. Let me guess, your pickup line is 'Wanna discuss exponential growth?' Spoiler alert: nobody wants to.

• Clothes - 3/10. Rocking the 'just rolled out of bed after a week-long Netflix binge' look, I see. Those slippers scream 'I've given up,' and not in a chic, existential way.

• Vibe - 6/10. You're giving off a 'trying to manifest success while drowning in student loan debt' aura. Relatable, but maybe crack a window open and let some fresh air in.

• Background - 4/10. That fireplace is giving off more heat than your love life. And what's with the creepy Valentine's decor? Is it February or a horror movie?

• Style - 2/10. Style? What style? You look like you got dressed in the dark using only items your grandma gifted you.

• Humor - 4/10. The '#1 Boss' mug is ironic, right? Because with those jokes, you're more like the '#1 suspect' in a case of 'who stole the funny?'

• Bonus Points - 1. That cat is adorable, though. Maybe it can teach you a thing or two about charisma.

Overall: You're a walking, talking embodiment of 'Netflix and chill, but like, by yourself, with a side of existential dread. Get it together.

What you can do to improve: Ditch the slippers, invest in a lint roller, and find a hobby that doesn't involve staring at a screen. And for the love of all that is holy, change that Valentine's decor!

A music video of Dreams Don't Stop

I'd like to see one of those jazz bands who perform classic video game music play a live performance of Dreams Don't Stop. Bonus points if they mix in the freeze beat cue sounds in the form of cymbals.

Dreams Don't Stop, along with One Slip Too Late, are the most inspirational songs I've ever heard. I've found countless analogical uses for the two of them.

Memo to Director of Facility Security
In preparation of an upcoming meeting, we request modifications to
the arrangement of monitoring. The details of these changes are as
follows:
Turn on cameras in the east wing briefing room at 3:00pm. At the end
of the meeting, have a copy of the security footage transferred onto
a separate medium and sent to the command center for archival purposes.
The meeting involves the handling of specimens. Delegate constant
monitoring to the transport corridors as the specimens are being
transported. The Director of the Specimen Division has been directed
to begin transport by 2:45pm.
Due to being a sensitive area that is also not very far away from the
meeting area, the specimen containment room will need extra monitoring.
Transfer personnel who would normally be supervising the laboratories
to supervise the specimen containment room.
Because this is an all-staff meeting, security personnel who are not
monitoring the specimens may, at their discretion, leave their

Hello? It seems that someone was using this one. It doesn't really
mater, though.

As a species, we have received the virtue of [OBSFUCATED] and her
people. We have a unique bond to them. There is a way to draw it out -
and your terrible creation is perfect in that respect.

- Evidence From A Fading Voice, 2023.12.30.B

You think I quit?

They quit on me. When I finally put myself together, I came back expecting a big welcome. You know what they said? “You’re history. Move right onto the next rookie standing in line.“

I had a lot left in me. I knew I got a chance to show ‘em.

I keep that to remind me never to go back. I just never expected that that world would . . . would find me here.

These are good folk around here, who care about each other. I don’t want them depending on someone they can’t count on.

Icelandic Waters: “One slip too late, three strikes for me! I’ve always been the one you could count on, so who will take my place…“

Icelandic Water Dragon: “. . . Lucky.“

I tried to research the language. While I haven't found a lexicon (yet), I discovered a cool new way to encode hexadecimal text. I know what I'm going to do this afternoon!

I currently have my sights set on a new language. It uses Latin script, but it still interests me because it belongs to a (fictional) divine entity that I've been trying to blend with an existing Colubrine Sector thread.