Notices by The Duality of Xan (xanindigo@writing.exchange), page 2

@danlyke Ask why there isn’t an adequate public transport infrastructure.

“What have you done?” I grasp at my hair as I step into the lounge. A mess of scattered electronic parts surround what used to be the TV.

A grinning goblin peeks out from behind a piece of casing. “Fix things!”

“Fix things? How? It’s all in pieces!”

“No no. See.” The goblin presses a button. The screen inexplicably bursts into life. “Get free nets flicks now. Helpful goblin!”

“Err, thanks.” I sit down, dumbfounded. “Can you all least put it back together?”

“Maybe.”

#GoblinWeek

A pointy little creature, all elbows and awkward edges, with a cheerful smile stretched across its bright orange face. In the middle of my kitchen table, it was reclining against the teapot.

“Who–“ I hesitated. Frowned. “What are you?”

“Goblin.” A creaky, scratchy little voice like dry fish bones.

“Why are you in my kitchen?”

“Is home now!”

I had no idea what to say to that.

The little creature patted the teapot. “May I have tea?”

Well, it would have been rude to say no.

#GoblinWeek

Say what you will about Star Wars, but I love the idea of a future where some random kid with a box of spare machine parts can just build a robot in their spare time. That’ll never be possible in our world of proprietary hardware and devices which can’t be dismantled.

A bundle of clamouring voices, tiny as their owners with their colourful skins.

"But smells like food!"

"Is not food. You think everything food."

"Could be food. Has worms in it maybe?"

"No worms. Funguses though. Maybe tasty funguses."

"You try! Find out if good."

"Don't like funguses. YOU try!"

Stepping into the shed, I reached in through the squabbling crowd and picked up the sack from amongst them. "Can you all please leave the compost alone?"

#Microfiction #GoblinWeek

@aaribaud Oh, I agree with all of these points, believe me. But my point here is that there seems to also be something actively uncomfortable about the images themselves.

My darling, you are a glittering jewel, with so many sparkling facets. So much complexity and boundless potential. You are so, so many things, and I promise you can learn to be countless more. But a cactus is not one of them. Please drink some water.

So AI nonsense is now attempting to replace human talent for book cover art, writing, and audiobook narration. Make no mistake, this is all about profits and money. But at what point do we consider it an assault on our entire industry?

Capitalism is the enemy of creativity and it always will be.

I firmly believe that the need to earn money from creative endeavours has an inevitable destructive impact on creativity itself.

So many times I’ve seen online creators in particular who’ve fallen victim to burnout because their lives are full of pressure and deadlines imposed by sponsors and algorithms. And their work always suffers for it.

It’s no coincidence that some of the best creators are those who manage to achieve enough notoriety and support that they can have a chaotic and unpredictable schedule. But not everyone has that kind of freedom.

@Stoori This is absolutely why I’ll always support universal basic income. It would be nice to see a world where people could pursue creative endeavours without needing a “day job” purely to survive.

@Stoori Not to mention that, historically, many artists, scientists, and philosophers have been from wealthy families and could afford to spend time pursuing these things. It’s inherently classist to make the arts into a luxury which only the rich can afford.

A dusty evening on Mars. I love that we live at a time where we can just see photos from the surface of another planet as clearly as if we took them ourselves.

Credit for this one: NASA/JPL-Caltech/S Atkinson

@rui_monologue カレーパンは大好きがな〜

Honestly the kind of chaotic energy I aspire to. Hbomberguy is like some kind of trickster spirit.

It’s confusing sometimes, being both a scientist and a leftist. The word unionised can mean two very different things, and I’m glad those workers still have all their electrons.

It never stops being funny to me that Sappho was allegedly married to a guy called Kerkylas of Andros. "Yes, of course I have a husband. His name's... ummm… Dick. Dick Mycock. From Man Land. Yes of course he's a real person, how dare you insult my beloved Dick!"

A fair few people still adopt the Twitter mentality of being on a stage and talking to an audience. I hope they realise soon that it's far more enjoyable to sit around a coffee table and talk _with_ people instead. Soapboxes may be nice, but being on the same level is better.