Oct 28, 2022·edited Oct 28, 2022Liked by Simon K Jones
Nothing like a little PTSD triggering to ruin your morning. Sorry, Zoltan.
In context the correct word is the correct word... For a moment, when you said the author's note would discuss AI collaboration, I thought it might be about how originally this chapter was a bit more erotic (you had to see the Twitter post, theoretical not-Simon reading this comment).
Because I'm a TTRPG player since 1979 and have a lot of classic AD&D under my belt, my brain was screaming "Mimic!" before the creature made its entrance. What you have isn't quite the same, but the Mimic does like to pretend to be a rug, tapestry and the like.
At least the contact neurotoxin carries an implication that the dead victim wasn't in pain. Small favors, right?
Again, with my TTRPG background and you knowing I often wrote up extended narratives of our adventures, I'm vaguely reminded of how my storytelling bounced back into the campaign. The Red might pick up details from the story I'd extrapolated or just added for color, and my takes on the other players PC's did begun to influence how they were played. Collaboration is collaboration, I suppose. And you're still using the AI to generate ideas or roughs for you to finish up. It's those who take the AI output whole and just call it done who are driving me crazy.
Coincidentally, the Midjourney render of the dopur looks like a Pierson's Puppeteer without the heads and with more fur. I wonder if the Puppeteer fan-art is among Midjourney's training library?
Assuming it's pronounced "DOPE-ur" is it a coincidence that it "dopes up the victim," or did you make a terrible joke?
Pretend I added another ten paragraphs here about how annoying it can be that several different nations use the same 26-character alphabet, but assign different phonemes to the symbols. Even the Irish can't pronounce Irish place names, and I never would have guessed "Ncuti" was pronounced "SHOOT-ee." Fortunately the man introduced himself in a video.
Anyways, it's "DOPE-ur" until you say differently.
Pierson's Puppeteer does indeed have a VERY similar silhouette! Interesting.
Yes, 'DOPE-ur' is the pronunciation I had in my head. And that's a coincidence rather than a bad pun. :P
It's not a mimic as such: it can't change form. It just happens to look like a green furry rug when it lies down and isn't puffing itself up.
As for the paralytic agent, not being able to move doesn't necessarily mean no pain: and even if there's no pain, it doesn't mean no awareness. Unpleasant regardless!
Eventually, across all of space and time, another creature was gonna arise similar to the Puppeteer - which is built a bit like a three-legged giraffe with two snake heads, if we just look at the torso/leg proportions. Although I really wouldn't be surprised if Puppeteers are among Midjourney's training, since Wikimedia is a huge source.
Unintentional puns are all the sweeter. But, way to remove the small silver lining in my assessment of the neurotoxin. It's almost like you want being devoured by a dopur to be truly horrific, or something! 😉
Yeah, I'd be screaming that too if a rug suddenly rose up on legs and tried to eat me.
I mean, *yikes*.
Gotta watch where you step.
Nothing like a little PTSD triggering to ruin your morning. Sorry, Zoltan.
In context the correct word is the correct word... For a moment, when you said the author's note would discuss AI collaboration, I thought it might be about how originally this chapter was a bit more erotic (you had to see the Twitter post, theoretical not-Simon reading this comment).
Because I'm a TTRPG player since 1979 and have a lot of classic AD&D under my belt, my brain was screaming "Mimic!" before the creature made its entrance. What you have isn't quite the same, but the Mimic does like to pretend to be a rug, tapestry and the like.
At least the contact neurotoxin carries an implication that the dead victim wasn't in pain. Small favors, right?
Again, with my TTRPG background and you knowing I often wrote up extended narratives of our adventures, I'm vaguely reminded of how my storytelling bounced back into the campaign. The Red might pick up details from the story I'd extrapolated or just added for color, and my takes on the other players PC's did begun to influence how they were played. Collaboration is collaboration, I suppose. And you're still using the AI to generate ideas or roughs for you to finish up. It's those who take the AI output whole and just call it done who are driving me crazy.
Coincidentally, the Midjourney render of the dopur looks like a Pierson's Puppeteer without the heads and with more fur. I wonder if the Puppeteer fan-art is among Midjourney's training library?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierson%27s_Puppeteers
Assuming it's pronounced "DOPE-ur" is it a coincidence that it "dopes up the victim," or did you make a terrible joke?
Pretend I added another ten paragraphs here about how annoying it can be that several different nations use the same 26-character alphabet, but assign different phonemes to the symbols. Even the Irish can't pronounce Irish place names, and I never would have guessed "Ncuti" was pronounced "SHOOT-ee." Fortunately the man introduced himself in a video.
Anyways, it's "DOPE-ur" until you say differently.
Pierson's Puppeteer does indeed have a VERY similar silhouette! Interesting.
Yes, 'DOPE-ur' is the pronunciation I had in my head. And that's a coincidence rather than a bad pun. :P
It's not a mimic as such: it can't change form. It just happens to look like a green furry rug when it lies down and isn't puffing itself up.
As for the paralytic agent, not being able to move doesn't necessarily mean no pain: and even if there's no pain, it doesn't mean no awareness. Unpleasant regardless!
Eventually, across all of space and time, another creature was gonna arise similar to the Puppeteer - which is built a bit like a three-legged giraffe with two snake heads, if we just look at the torso/leg proportions. Although I really wouldn't be surprised if Puppeteers are among Midjourney's training, since Wikimedia is a huge source.
Unintentional puns are all the sweeter. But, way to remove the small silver lining in my assessment of the neurotoxin. It's almost like you want being devoured by a dopur to be truly horrific, or something! 😉