Islam tells us that on the unappealable day of judgement, all who have perpetrated images of living things will reawaken with their works, and will be ordered to blow life into them, and they will fail, and they and their works will be cast into the fires of punishment. I think of this whenever I configure a social media profile, or engage with a character creation screen, or even when I regard the online representation of another. In the small hours of the morning when their pilots are sleeping, and I look at the works of my friends and enemies, I am alone with their avatars; statues of philosophers, abstract geometries, renaissance paintings, anime schoolgirls, garish 90s clip-art, emotive frames of movie villains, or lean muscular torsos tempered by the sun. Surrounded by this assemblage of icons, where façades obscure façades, it's as if the characters we play have their own vitality apart from us, a spirit that inhabits the man behind the keyboard, a mask that wears the wearer. The divinity that breathes life into nature cannot be represented, but what becomes of divinity when it reveals itself in icons? It does not remain the supreme authority, incarnated in images as a visible theology; rather, the machinery of icons becomes a substitute for the pure and intelligible idea of God.
Like this story. I'm weirdly obsessive who/what I pick for an online avatar: I won't do absurdity, irony, or familiar memes b/c I feel like it taints any sincerity I might be trying to convey. On the other hand your avatar on SM especially Twitter is a strong indicator of what tribe you belong to. 2B has worked for me to this point as its aesthetic, waifuish and hints at where my interests and values lie. That being said, I've never met another 2B avatar I did not immediately like. I wonder if there's something to that, meeting your avatar-bro?
Every time I read one of your stories, I learn, and it makes me a better writer.
One quality that separates you from the vast majority of storytellers is the thoughtful intentionality behind every aspect of your stories — even when I disagree with the aesthetic design principles, I can puzzle out some of the logic behind these creative choices.
I enjoy this story very much, and don't think it feels anachronistic at all. Quite relevant theme, even today.
1) When I learned more about HP Lovecraft (from Radishmags and Archdruid Report), and about his racism, I always wondered what the guy would've thought about anime. I would think that the guy hated the transmogrification and uncontrolled blending of races and cultures would be horrified if he saw if he saw an episode of Lucky Star or Kyousougiga. I was thinking of anime avatars when I wrote this part.
2) Now that Musk has become enthroned upon Twitter, will you rise up to be a Doula for bluechecks who will be mass self-deleting their accounts, solemnly recording the final posts of the Disinformation Heroes?
Like this story. I'm weirdly obsessive who/what I pick for an online avatar: I won't do absurdity, irony, or familiar memes b/c I feel like it taints any sincerity I might be trying to convey. On the other hand your avatar on SM especially Twitter is a strong indicator of what tribe you belong to. 2B has worked for me to this point as its aesthetic, waifuish and hints at where my interests and values lie. That being said, I've never met another 2B avatar I did not immediately like. I wonder if there's something to that, meeting your avatar-bro?
https://twitter.com/TheCosmeticLane/status/1588984999319326720
Every time I read one of your stories, I learn, and it makes me a better writer.
One quality that separates you from the vast majority of storytellers is the thoughtful intentionality behind every aspect of your stories — even when I disagree with the aesthetic design principles, I can puzzle out some of the logic behind these creative choices.
I enjoy this story very much, and don't think it feels anachronistic at all. Quite relevant theme, even today.
0) I'm the "s**tlib". Also, you're not racist.
1) When I learned more about HP Lovecraft (from Radishmags and Archdruid Report), and about his racism, I always wondered what the guy would've thought about anime. I would think that the guy hated the transmogrification and uncontrolled blending of races and cultures would be horrified if he saw if he saw an episode of Lucky Star or Kyousougiga. I was thinking of anime avatars when I wrote this part.
2) Now that Musk has become enthroned upon Twitter, will you rise up to be a Doula for bluechecks who will be mass self-deleting their accounts, solemnly recording the final posts of the Disinformation Heroes?