#after about an hour spent with how to videos all I've managed to produce is a tangled mess

[buckets-of-dirt]

I have a new toy! Coppergate sock replica here I come (after a LOT more practice)

[skitariiposting]

funct.print ("[statement] so. Just a little update on the imperator titan situation. I decided to sit down with the .stl files just to see what I'm working with. First off, most of them seem to be set up for a larger build plate, which is fine, I can cut most in half and just baaaarely fit them on a Mars 3. The problem is before I even do that there's already a funct. ton of models. Like holy shift so many models. I got like 4 or 5 sliced, just to see what I'm working with here and just those 5 added up to a little over 24 hours of printing. So when I say this'll be a long project, it's gonna be a long project.");

funct.print ("[optimistic] on the bright side, the poll I made is looking pretty positive, so if I did start the project, I know that at least at the beginning I'd have a couple people watching, which is a confidence boost. I wanna bring this up for people questioning the quality of the videos: I'm about to graduate as a Creative Media Production major. Producing high quality things is what I've spent four years of my life learning how to do and what I intend to do for the rest of my life to make a living. The question will be if it's entertaining or not, which I'm still worried about.");

funct.print ("[statment] I mentioned it in the replies, but if I started this project <and this is still a big if> I'd open a patreon to go along with it, because I don't think I can manage this project without a bit of support. One of the patreon rewards that I think would be cool is if you get the tier, I'll send you one of the pieces to paint however you like. No color scheme, no set amount of detail or quality, just paint it how you want to paint it. Scrawl your name in leadbelcher after painting it light pink for all I care, just no bare plastic. After I get everything printed, the patrons will send back their painted parts and then I'll assemble this big patchwork chaotic conglomeration of paint schemes and colors and we'll have a big art piece that the community helped to put together financially and physically. I've also been thinking more on the whole "giving me money" thing with patreon, and I have a morality thing I've reached a conclusion with. On top of paying for me to continue the project, any money I'd have left over that I didn't spend that month won't go to me. The budget will focus on the print first, video production second, helping with rent and groceries third, and then the excess past that. I'd feel guilty taking the excess money to pay for anything besides those three or four things. So instead, I'll use it to make donations to small upcoming creators in the community and artists, without sending it to the patreons for benefits or whatever. Just direct donations from my community to them. Because while yes money to buy more fun stuff for me is cool, I feel like if I'm taking money from the community, it's only fair I spend it on things for the community and give back to the community anything I don't spend.");

funct.print ("[statement] Now. I want to specify. This is all still hypothetical at this point. I'm still a college student living in their parent's basement with a part time job for three to four more months. While yes, I've been making connections with full time jobs, prepping for moving out again, <my roommate graduated, so I couldn't afford the dorm room anymore> and making plans, my future is not set in stone by any means. So, I'm not making promises that this is going to happen. More than anything I'm just sharing my idea to see if it's even a good idea and if there's anything I can do to improve it, or make it more enjoyable for people. So don't go holding this to me like it's 100% going to happen, it's just a project I'd love to do if I have the capability to. -Jerry");

[bebecue]

last night i suddenly thought about someone but i couldn't remember their name or if they were even a singer, actor, rapper etc- and they're also not super famous so there name won't be on any 'top x' lists like the only thing i could go by is that i knew he did an interview on this one yt channel but this yt channel has like 25k videos so it's impossible- anyway i finally found the guy I was thinking about and I've never felt more satisfied lmaoo like this was keeping me up last night

also the channel with 25k videos didn't even have the interview I was thinking about, it was a different channel but thankfully they interviewed this guy as well and I finally found him after what felt like hours of scrolling ( it was really just like 40 minutes total but still thats a lot, especially at 3 in the morning). And the interview wasn't nearly as funny as i remembered but i'm just glad i have a name to the face i was thinking about lmaoo so yeah that's how i spend my evening.

listen i 100% understand, i did the same thing looking for a song i heard in passing at a mall and i had no shazam.. the only thing i remembered was the producer/rapper/artist audio tag and so i spent 2 hours going through all of the artist's music and then i found out it was a collab between them and a bunch of other artists but yeah this is lowkey impressive, i'm glad you were able to get to sleep after all of that! and i'm even more impressed that you were on the wrong channel but still managed to find him.. 25k videos.. WOW

[larentsaloud]

Larry/Jikook anon here. YES lets be BFFs. What pisses me off is most people in BTS fandom (that I've talked to, weren't actually 1D fans) so they go off what they hear from antis & seeing TKK compared to Larries. HELL NO, don't dare speak on nothing you know about. TK ARE NOT HIDDEN BY MANAGEMENT. We are 1D fans, we seen what management separation looks like for the guys. H & L videos address management control. When Jikook were separated at their cars the other day it gave me Larry flashbacks.

Morning Anon.

I was thinking about how I came to the conclusions that Larry had a relationship and it stemmed from watching every interview of 1D, listening to their songs, as a band and also individually. I spent thousands of hours researching and reading master lists,too. And I really respect people who write master thesis on Larry. They are very cool. Dedicated. But no amount of writing could ever convince me, that a couple is real, you know?

I love watching compilations, but actually they are edits I indulge in only after I have formed an opinion. It's also important to note, that if I were to only restrict myself to reading the same master lists, timelines, talking to only 'larries' I would be just confirming my bias.

And that logic is dangerous because it encourages group think. As someone who has experienced brainwashing through cults and religions I have a strong response to that. In fact I am the kind of person that needs to be challenged by my peers, because sometimes I might inadvertently fall into a trap. I love it when people say hold on and I explore why I am hashtag triggered.

Listen, I have been refraining from posting Larry content, mostly because I am catering to such a thin client base, that I was little afraid of unleashing the dragon.

I almost started to feel safer in the jikook fandom until I discovered that every day a TKK will invade my asks and I have to block them, LOL.

In this fandom, if anybody is new and questioning the authenticity of Larry / Jikook or any other ship, I strongly suggest watching original footage, listening to music, reading up about the people and never stop questioning new data that is presented to you.

I remember when I was brand new, there was a really big blog called Portrait of a Larry on Fire, that believed in Larry and Jikook. For some reason they became (I am not sure what pronouns they use atm as they blocked me) an anti-larry. After almost 5 years I think. Isn't that incredible reversal?

So clearly in that person's mind they questioned their position on Larry and came to the conclusion it was all fabricated. I find that fascinating. They seemed like a perfectly logical thinker. But when I asked them about another ship (not gonna do this here) they replied in angst. And that convinced me that they had decided to stop questioning. Once you stop asking yourself WHY do I believe this, you are on a slippery slope into confirmation bias. Thereafter anything you consume will be aligned to what you believe and thus confirming your own opinion. It's like wearing blinkers to avoid seeing from you peripheral vision. Don't do it. It came become dogmatic.

I feel a lot less passionate about Larry now, then I did before. I have no desire to make anyone believe me, as long as you are not attacking me and spewing hate, I am OK with people who disagree.

Since BTS are an active band it makes the content readily available and there are constantly new moments to 'analyse' which can become a dangerous loop, too. People then use their ship as a vehicle. We should first and foremost enjoy what the band has produced as take it at face value.

If a sneaky or sweet Jikook moment happens I'll take it. But I AINT going to search for it, digging up and retrieving each glance and word spoken in order to get proof. Ya know?

As for Larry. I just feel fizzled out. There are only so many times you can watch the same clip, same interview, same moment before you find yourself thinking NOW what? I admire people who have been doing for 10 years. I am not capable. I have ADHD, bi-polar, depression, gender dysphoria, like I am a walking issue. I need constant new sources of stimuli. I absorb like a sponge (same with languages, I am learning Korean atm) and once I am done, I move on.

I still love their music, I am just not into the ship in a mad way anymore. I support them without making a fuss.

Because nobody can deny foetus Larry had a close vibe that became strained around 2013-4 and culminated in 2015 when people report they barely look at each other because the rumours tore them apart. Some people go as far as to say that they disbanded because of it. But Harry came ot support Louis to his Xfactor song debut after his mom passed. He was there, we have footage.

In that regard they are not enemies. If one narrative is incorrect, then how many narratives could be wrong?

Look at all the campaigning that Rebecca Ferguson has done for artists. I strongly suggest, that anyone who is interested in how music industry operates looks into her efforts in UK parliament to regulate the music industry.

Her point being that artists' management are not legally required to have any DBS checks (UK version of clearance check for working with youth, or vulnerable. Anyone who works in health or social care needs to have one, also teachers do etc.)

She has hinted at all the abuse she had endured and witnessed in her career, and the illegal contracts and lawyers and accountants. It's a fucking mess. Music industry is the last industry that has remained largely without a scandal followed by a reform cycle.

Artist and musicians currently don't stand a chance. My family is full of musicians and doctors (LOL) so I can speak from experience. My dad got an opportunity to sign with a German Label but when I was born he chose his family. He sort of understood it was one or the other. I don't know if he has regrets, but same goes for my mother who was a model and did not pursue the path (for the same reasons.)

They knew they couldn't have both.

Artists sign contracts and NDAs that control many aspects of their lives. In the west this often means PR stunts, just look at all the possible fake relationships that have been formed in order to gain momentum and entice interest.

Sorry to break it to you but no way Shawn and Camilla were ever in a actual relationship. If you think THAT was what a real love looks like...umm...please go and find out for yourself (if you are of legal age).

You don't have to be a genius to figure out that Elton John has been gay from day 1, yet he had a wife?

What's not clicking?

Musicians are used as a commodity.

That commodity is their sex appeal, availability.

I am new to K-Pop, but I am told by others that idols do not have boyfriends and girlfriends publicly. People leave bands when they are about to get married, because a married idol is no longer desirable.

In the west, over recent years we have got more queer artists and that's fabulous. We even had gay boy band members come out. If anyone is interested to learn more, go and find out.

I truly don't believe in serving up master lists and timelines on anyone's platter. Respect to those who do it. I think everyone should research their own fucking shit because that's how you stumble upon information and seeing it first hand hits different.

But even those queer artists, it seems are stuck in their own glass ceiling since they can't randomly go and perform in countries raging with homophobia. Do you see what I mean? Coming out could be the death sentence quite literally to some artists.

it's like this.

Once a musician is no longer marketable to the target female demographic they CAN come out if they wish. (Insert T&C that we are not privy to.)

How about that actor that had been married to a bloke for 18 years but had articles written about him about dating his costar. Yeah. He probably reached that age where it was felt that he can now be gay openly. Sorry but this how it reads to me. In any case, there are MANY gays that are not OUT in show business.

Sometimes it's because of casting (in movies), sometimes it's because the consumption has been designed to appeal to target audience and those are presumed to be cis het women. Can you tell that 'the rules' had been written by a perverted balding man with smelly socks and beer belly? Because same.

How did we end up in a society where people have to hide who they are in order to have a fucking career and deny their human rights in order to make a living?

Sometimes it feels highly unethical, other times it's plain violence. I'm sad we are where we are, but it seems to be even worse when it comes to boybands.

Phoebe Bridgers seems to be thriving though. I do wonder why female queer artists like her have it 'less complicated' than say a boy band, and then I remember the mass hysteria of large fandoms and suddenly shut up in my head. ( I mean idk if she has it less complicated lol, but just for compare and contrast I am supposing.)

Not sure how long will it take for Taylor to finally stop playing the opaque games and declare her girlfriend to us, because that would solve a lot of problems, but I am not holding my breath.

Nobody owes us a coming out ceremony.

Jesus.

If TKK are closeted I will personally fly to Korea and hand them a hand-written letter in Hangul and beg for their forgiveness, while bowing at 90 degree angle and wash their floor for two weeks straight. Anything.

I don't make it a sport assuming and shipping, but Jikook just have those vibes you see in any relationship. I never thought of gays as a unique breed that would experience love differently. Love is universal. When you are in love y'all behave the same whether you are black, white, gay or not, man or woman etc. So its pretty simple logic.

You can smell the love oozing out of them from the screen when they are together alone in a. frame, or whether they are surrounded by an audience and the band members, the love is still palpable.

If anyone has complaints about the way they love each other and the fact I am a huge supported of two people who have found something special, please submit your complaint to Bam their join representative and translator.

Sorry anon, I went on a very long nonsensical rant.

Wait I just logged back and saw you mentioned the car separation. 

that hurt. I was thinking the same TBH as soon as I saw the Jikook separation. My heart sunk. 

Here is awesome video by a lovely account I follow on YT about Jikook that explains things better than I can my lovely anon. 

Love,

Dxxx

[jleighwrites]

Through the Looking Glass [Unedited]

Quen inspected himself in the glowing mirror, knowing that the reflection was truly his own. He stood at 5 foot 8; a bit short, but he didn't mind. His ochre skin was clear and his hair was cut into a clean blowout. Apparently that was popular back in the 20's. His amber-colored eyes gleamed back at him, tarnished only by the dark circles underneath. Many of his acquaintances had gotten rid of theirs, but he liked how it made him feel human. 

When he was finished getting ready for the day, he stepped into the hall and made his way to one of his family's augmented reality chambers, or ARCs for short. When he reached the door, he took out his personal ID and held it in front of a small screen next to the door. It beeped once before flickering to life.

"Quenton Jarod Harris, Junior attending Paulson R. Stewart High. Would you like to begin Classes for the day?" it asked in a robotic voice.

"Yes," he replied.

"Creating Scenario… Connecting to server… Finalizing… Start-up complete. Have a good day, Quenton Harris."

He swung the door open and was met by a bustling school hallway. Dozens of beautiful faces were chatting with each other, walking past each other, and scrambling to finish assignments that should've been done the night before. He let the door creak shut behind him and it disappeared into the wall. He hadn't taken two steps before the robotic voice was back. 

"Message received. Sender : Juulia Brewer. Would you like to open the message?" Quen let out a heavy breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He regretted having skipped coffee this morning. The system repeated itself, "Would you like to open the message?"

"Yes."

An opaque, digital, blue message box appeared before him. As he walked, it stayed in the same position, phasing through classmates as he went, but they didn't flinch. To be fair, they couldn't even see it on their side.

Morning!! :DDD

In cafeteria.

Meet there??? uwu

Quen rolled his eyes at the emotes. Juuls had an obsession with "Millennial Texting", as she called it. In fact, she was kind of a nerd for it. She was the only one that had taken an interest in that era. American History classes taught them that the first 30 years of the century were dark times, but somehow Juulia managed to find light in them.

He reached out and pressed the X in the top right corner of the message box, causing it to blink away. "Hey, Google?" he called. 

"What can I help with?"

"Teleport me to the Cafeteria."

"Sure. Now teleporting Quenton Harris to the cafeteria."

The noises and sight of the hallway faded into a blue void. Here, it was relaxing. Here, he could breathe easy. And just like that, it was gone. The void transformed into the cafe and the garbled mess of voices was back.

He scanned the faces before him one by one, trying to discern his friend in the sea of Glowing radiance. On the days that he had to use ARC, it was always significantly harder to recognize Juulia. With ever-changing hair colors and styles, vast varieties of makeup, and feature correction, the only way he could tell the difference was when their name appeared in front of them when he met their gaze. 

A girl sitting a few tables down stood up and began to wave her arm around; he didn't have to see her to know it was Juuls. Disregarding the built-in recognition program, the greeting was a dead giveaway. She did this almost every morning, whether in person or through ARC.

He made his way through the crowd, literally. Instead of bumping shoulders with people, their holograms simply phased through him. The chamber, however, did produce realistic copies of inanimate objects. He plopped down on the nanobit replica of a bench at his school's lunch table.

"What's up?" he asked.

"Oh. Em. Eff. Gee. You literally took forever, lol," Juulia replied. A couple students around the two of them glanced their direction, giving them odd looks.

"Proximity chat," Quen reminded her. He took a moment to adapt to her new look. He assumed that she had been trying to look like one of those 'E-girls' that she was always on about. With neon pink hair, a beanie, and dark makeup, she looked completely different than she did yesterday.

"Oof. They just don't have good taste. The 20's were so… Lit."

"That's new."

"What? Lit? It just means, like, cool, but better."

"You're so weird."

"Pog."

And with that, the bell rang. Immediately, he was sucked back into the loading void briefly before being spit out into his first class of the day. He took his seat as the teacher appeared in the room. She was beautiful and could pass for 25, though she was actually 20 years older.

"Alright everyone, sit down please. Today, we'll be talking about why we're here. We all know that the early years were just about as bad as they could get. But they had some major influence on how things work in modern day."

Juulia would be bouncing off of the walls if she were here right now. Fortunately, she didn't have this class until after lunch. He was spared of her over-enthusiasm for now.

"Did you know that ARC was developed a few years after the events of the Covid 19 pandemic? It took a while, but when it was released to the public it was an instant success. Can you believe they used to hold classes through video chats on a computer?"

A hand in the back went up. The teacher motioned towards the student, urging her to ask her question. "What's a computer?" It seemed that everyone had been wondering the same thing, Quen included, because they all shifted their vision from the student to the teacher.

The teacher chuckled. "It was a large device that used to be kept on desks before technology was integrated into Glass."

"They only had technology on the 'computer'?" another student asked.

"I mean, they had other forms of technology. They had smart watches, smartphones, smart TVs… But most of their time connected to the internet was spent on a computer or on the smartphone, which is what we now call our Shard."

Quen had to admit, everything about the early 21st century was something else. But where it intrigued Juuls, it brought up a bad taste for him. To him, it was just the beginning of the death of authenticity.

After what felt like hours of droning, the class was finally wrapping up. Google's voice broke him from his thoughts. "Message received. Sender : Crystalinne Harris. Message saved for later."

"I've sent an assignment reminder to all of you. Your homework is a 500 word essay on what 'Facebook' was before it created Glass."

He scoffed at the assignment before the next bell rang, whisking him off to his second class. 

When the final bell of the day rang, the low hum enveloping him whirred into silence as ARC powered down. Without the machine running, he stood in a room made up of nanobits. The tiny metal balls made up the walls, floor, ceiling, and even this side of the door. All of them worked to create the illusion of being in an actual school, when in reality, he'd been inside a room no more than 10 feet wide and 10 feet long all day.

He stepped out of the chamber and made his way into the kitchen, where he was met by his mother and father. "How was school today?" She asked. His father pulled a latte from the Keurig and sipped it as he waited for a response.

"It was alright. Just another day," he replied, "Dinner smells good."

"Oh, yeah. They delivered lemon pepper steak and asparagus today. All of our portions are already in the oven."

"That's… Lit," he said, a smug sense of pride flickering within.

"That's funny, son. Haven't heard that since Gran was alive. Get that from, what's her name? Jessica?" 

"Juulia. Yeah." His father's beard was getting shaggy, he noticed. Since he had started using Glass, he had been letting it grow out. Seemingly, it didn't bother him much any more. His father had been adamant about leaving Glass alone for most of his life and had taught him to do the same, but when Grey hairs began to appear, he decided to finally give in.

Honestly, he wasn't surprised. Glass was wildly popular internationally. It had originally been bought out by the American government in 2040, probably for facial tracking, and integrated into every single building since then. It was everywhere. He and his dad were two of only six or seven people that he knew of that didn't use it. But now, he couldn't even say that.

After dinner, he had decided to take a hot shower. The water on his skin felt nice and he let the steam relax his muscles. When he finished, he dried off and wrapped his towel around his waist. Stepping in front of the mirror, a pleasant chime sounded.

"Glass activated," a voice with a programmed British accent sounded through the surrounding speakers. The edges of the mirror lit with a white backlight and menus appeared on the screen in glowing, white letters. A box formed around his face, his name appearing above it. "User : Quenton Harris detected. Set nickname : Quen."

He began to comb his hair into place when the voice rang out, "Quen, would you like to use the Autofix function?" A white bar highlighted the "Autofix" option on the menu. 

"No," He replied sternly. 

He finished with his hair and quickly brushed his teeth. When he smiled so that he could check them, the voice came again, "Light enamel stains detected. Would you like to use the Autofix function?"

"No."

It was irritating to hear it trying to coerce him into using it, knowing that it used that method to get so many people addicted to it. He simply shook his head. That's how it starts. A quick fix here, a minor upgrade there…

He pulled on a sleep shirt and some sweatpants, tossed his towel into the laundry chute, and headed for his room. He needed to write his essay and get some rest for the next day. It would be Tuesday, which meant live classes. 

Quen's alarm beeped, rousing him from his slumber. He sat up in bed and stretched, before lowering himself to the floor. "1, 2, 3, 4…" he counted the sit-ups in his head as he started his quick morning workout routine. He had always been physically active. Staying healthy had been a big goal for him. The way things were now, even with the best Healthcare, people hardly ever made it past their 50's. He wouldn't let himself be a victim of the system.

50 sit-ups, crunches, and push ups later, he stood up. Began getting dressed for the day. A white button up and a tie, he wanted to look nice. Of course, Glass attempted to goad him into Autofixing himself, and just like every other day, he had none of it. 

Finally, he felt confident. He was ready for the day. He grabbed his backpack from the back of his desk chair after ensuring that his report on Facebook was packed. Since he was heading out of the house, he also snagged his Shard from the charging pad and shoved it into the pocket of his black jeans.

He strode down his driveway and stopped next to his mailbox. After a few minutes, a large, white bus with no windows arrived. He climbed in and heard a chime over the bus' speakers. The British voice spoke, "Quenton Harris has boarded."

He made his way to an empty seat and plopped down. The first thing he noticed, like always, was the smell. An amalgam of body odors swirled around the cramped space, making him sick to his stomach.

Inside the bus, you could see the surroundings on the installed Glass screens, almost like windows. He turned his focus to the passing buildings as he tried to block out the horrendous scent surrounding him. He was one of the last stops, so he wouldn't have to endure it for very long. He slid his Shard out of his pocket and began to read the day's headlines. The war overseas was still raging on, as expected. The weekly universal paycheck rate was 31 dollars more than the last. And another round of the Meta-Vaccine was going to be made available before fall, hopefully to prevent as many infections as possible.

The bus rolled to a stop in front of the real Paulson R. Stewart High. When the doors creaked open, the automated voice announced that it was time to evacuate. He passed by the empty driver's seat and stepped out onto the curb, letting fresh air flow into his lungs. For the first time since last Thursday, he smiled.

Quen enjoyed the few moments he had in the outdoors as he strode to the entrance. Biding his time, he held the door open for other students. Unfortunately, he knew he had to go in.

He stepped into the real hallway, which looked almost exactly the same as it did in the ARC replica. There were three main differences. First, the smell. Just like on the bus, it was everywhere. It absorbed every crevice, every corner. It was disgusting. As much as it bothered him, no one else seemed to mind.

Second, the students he saw today were nothing like the ones that had been in his simulation yesterday. Where beautiful faces surrounded him before, he was now engulfed in a sea of low effort. Hair was frizzy, tangled, and out of place. Clothes were wrinkled and stained. And the worst, it was obvious that most of his classmates didn't take care of themselves. They were supposed to reach the peak of their physicality at ages 16 through 18. If this is what "peak" looked like, he understood why the average life expectancy was decreasing.

Third, Glass was everywhere. It made up all of the windows, all of the mirrors, and even lined the walls in some places. It kept track of each student as they navigated the hallways. The 'Assistant' feature was turned off, which meant no obnoxious voice trying to pressure him into anything, but it still worked it's magic in the reflections. Each user's Autofix settings synced up with every Glass that was linked to the system, which was - legally - all of them.

It disgusted him, the way people walked around, acting all high and mighty. Just because they never had to see their true selves didn't mean that no one would. The problem was, they didn't care. After graduation, They would be assigned a home, a mate, and a job. And after that, the only ones that would have to see them would be their direct family. All other interactions would be carried out in ARC, which had a partnership with Glass.

These moments, here, in Paulson R. Stewart High, were the last bits of his fleeting reality. Someone bumped into his shoulder, causing him to stumble out of the way. A bigger guy wearing a pair of eyeGlass gave him a strange look. "Sorry, man. Hard to tell the days apart," his apology sounded genuine, "Your fix looks nice."

"Don't worry about it. And thanks, but it's not an Autofix," Quen replied. The guy chuckled for a moment before tilting his head down to peek over his eyeGlass.

"No kidding. Well, good for you, man. Between you and me, they really need to get it together," he said, looking over the crowd. He shifted his gaze back to Quen, "Compared to us, they look pretty rough."

The sad thing was, he probably hadn't seen his true self in years. "Yeah, man. Well, see you around." Quen left him behind and began walking towards the cafeteria. There was only one person he wanted to talk to.

An arm linked through his, and through a haze of vanilla scented perfume, a familiar voice chimed, "Bruh, you got here earlier than me today. That's wack." He didn't have to look to know who it was. When he turned to her, he was engulfed by her radiance. She was authentic. She was real.