#for those who don't know its a coding website

[rygreendraws]

Sillies

[marshemillow]

I definitely feel like there's been some kind of disconnect along the way, because as many people on this post have already pointed out, Wattpad and FFN still have "objectionable" stories all over the goddamn place, the only difference between those sites and AO3 is that everything on AO3 is accurately and meticulously tagged. The only time a fic isn't tagged thoroughly enough (in my experience anyway) is when a fic author purposely wants the story to be a surprise, which doesn't count as "undertagging" according to the rules of the site because "author chose not to warn" is still a clear warning (similar to "Viewer discretion is advised").

In fact, I support AO3 as the "objectionable" fic site specifically BECAUSE I hate upsetting fic, and it's so nice to so easily be able to avoid fic I don't want to read. I have NEVER stumbled onto something on AO3 that I wasn't expecting, and I promise you that is NOT the case with every other site I've used (aside from old DeviantArt, you know back when it didn't take a hundred years to load its shitty squarespace pages).

What I think happened was these new people who were driven from those old sites for whatever reason don't seem to recognize the reason why AO3 became so popular, but still want to pay lip service to the idea that some "content" is too morally objectionable to be allowed to exist. They somehow think there's a compromise between the old sites deleting at random, forcing authors to tag improperly so it doesn't get deleted, and AO3's approach, which is to just destroy the loopholes that allow mass deletions and censorship and allow anything and everything legal under US law.

AO3's code is open source. You can literally just copy/paste the code into a new domain and make the squeaky-clean censored fic site of your dreams! Hell, lots of people who use AO3 for its policies still make their own fic sites just in case something bad happens to the big site (which is good practice btw and is the reason why I have a special backup SSD I don't touch most of the time, so even if every website fails, I still have copies of everything I ever wrote) but these people don't want to do that because it's actually really difficult to run your own website with lots of traffic, so instead they cover their asses by proclaiming the immorality of AO3 while still using it because it is just objectively the best fandom site ever made.

Basically, they want to have their cake and eat it too. And this is me REALLY trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. 😅

It's hilarious to me when people complain about AO3 and its policies, and what they allow on the site - but it's ESPECIALLY funny when people complain like "Why can't the freaks make their own site and just go there?"

Sweetie... AO3 is the site for that. Y'all invaded our space.

Wattpad and FFN still exist. Go there. They're as shitty and G-rated as you want. You can't have the luxuries that AO3 offers if you're gonna be a little bitch about its policies. Imagine walking into a strip club and complaining about the alcohol and naked ladies when there's a god damn Dennys next door you could have gone to. Christ.

[cookinguptales]

You know... I had an experience about two months ago that I didn't talk about publicly, but I've been turning it over and over in my mind lately and I guess I'm finally able to put my unease into words.

So there's a podcast I'd been enjoying and right after I got caught up, they announced that they were planning on doing a live show. It's gonna be near me and on the day before my birthday and I thought -- hey, it's fate.

But... as many of you know, I'm disabled. For me, getting to a show like that has a lot of steps. One of those steps involved emailing the podcasters to ask about accessibility for the venue.

The response I got back was very quick and very brief. Essentially, it told me to contact the venue because they had no idea if it was accessible or not.

It was a bucket of cold water, and I had a hard time articulating at the time quite why it was so disheartening, but... I think I get it a little more now.

This is a podcast that has loudly spoken about inclusivity and diversity and all that jazz, but... I mean, it's easy to say that, isn't it? But just talking the talk without walking the walk isn't enough. That's like saying "sure, we will happily welcome you in our house -- if you can figure out how to unlock the door."

And friends, my lock-picking set is pretty good by this point. I've been scouting out locations for decades. I've had to research every goddamn classroom, field trip, and assigned bookstore that I've ever had in an academic setting. I've had to research every movie theater, theme park, and menu for every outing with friends or dates. I spend a long time painstakingly charting out accessible public transportation and potential places to sit down every time I leave the house.

Because when I was in college, my professors never made sure their lesson plans were accessible. (And I often had to argue with them to get the subpar accommodations I got.) Because my friends don't always know to get movie tickets for the accessible rows. Because my dates sometimes leave me on fucking read when I ask if we can go to a restaurant that doesn't keep its restrooms down a flight of stairs.

I had one professor who ever did research to see if I could do all the coursework she had planned, and who came up with alternate plans when she realized that I could not. Only one. It was a medical history and ethics class, and my professor sounded bewildered as she realized how difficult it is to plan your life when you're disabled.

This woman was straight-up one of the most thoughtful, philosophical, and ethical professors I've ever had, one who was incredibly devoted to diversity and inclusion -- and she'd never thought about it before, that the hospital archives she wanted us to visit were up a flight of stairs. That the medical museum full of disabled bodies she wanted us to visit only had a code-locked back entrance and an old freight elevator for their disabled guests who were still breathing.

And that's the crux of it, isn't it? It's easy to theoretically accept the existence of people who aren't like you. It's a lot harder to actively create a space in which they can exist by your side.

Because here's what I did before I contacted the podcasters. I googled the venue. I researched the neighborhood and contacted a friend who lives in the area to help me figure out if there were any accessible public transportation routes near there. (There aren't.) I planned for over an hour to figure out how close I could get before I had to shell out for an uber for the last leg of the trip.

Then I read through the venue's website. I looked through their main pages, through their FAQs to see if there was any mention of accessibility. No dice. I download their packet for clients and find out that, while the base building is accessible, the way that chairs/tables are set up for individual functions can make it inaccessible. So it's really up to who's hosting the show there.

So then and only then I contacted the podcasters. I asked if the floor plan was accessible. I asked if all the seats were accessible, or only some, and whether it was open seating or not. Would I need to show up early to get an accessible seat, or maybe make a reservation?

And... well, I got the one-sentence reply back that I described above. And that... god, it was really disheartening. I realized that they never even asked if their venues were accessible when they were booking the shows. I realized that they were unwilling to put in the work to learn the answers to questions that disabled attendees might have. I realized that they didn't care to find out if the building was accessible.

They didn't know and they didn't care. That, I think, is what took the wind out of my sails when they emailed me back. It's what made me decide that... yeah, I didn't really want to go through the trouble of finding an accessible route to the venue. I didn't want to have to pay an arm and a leg to hire a car to take me the last part of the journey. I didn't want to make myself frantic trying to figure out if I could do all that and still make the last train home.

If they didn't care, I guess I didn't either.

If they'd apologized and said that the only venue they could get was inaccessible, I actually would have understood. I know that small shows don't always get their pick of venues. I get it. I even would have understood if they'd been like "oh dang, I actually don't know -- but I'll find out."

But to be told that they didn't know and didn't intend to find out... oof. That one stung.

Because.... this is the thing. This is the thing. I may be good at it by now, but I'm so tired of picking locks. I'm tired of doing all the legwork because no one ever thinks to help me. I'm tired of feeling like an afterthought at best, or at worst utterly unwelcome.

If you truly want to be inclusive, you need to stop telling people that you're happy to have them -- if they can manage to unlock the door. You need to fucking open it yourself and welcome them in.

What brought all this back to me now, you may be asking? Well... I guess it's just what I was thinking to myself as I was tidying up my phone.

Today I'm deleting podcasts.

[youremyheaven]

Random Astrology Observations

Moon in the 1h is often talked about like 🥺🥺wears their heart on their sleeve🥹🥹uwu softie way but tbh Moon in 1h can make someone incredibly manipulative, they know just what to say and when to say it and know how to work their audience, this is perhaps why this placement is found in the charts of soooo many successful actors. ex: Leonardo DiCaprio, Audrey Hepburn, Henry Cavill, Charlie Chaplin, Priyanka Chopra, Antonio Banderas, Brendan Fraser, Benicio Del Toro, Jared Padelecki, Val Kilmer, Adrien Brody etc

I think this is a very manipulative placement, again manipulation is not in and of itself a bad thing, its what we use it for that matters. Some people completely lack the ability to manipulate at all (they don't have Moon influence)

2. Debilitated placements point to unconventional intelligence & wisdom in that area. I feel like they've cracked the code . They struggle a lot but when they triumph it's magic

3. I've mentioned this in other posts but many notorious sex offenders have Venus influence. Actions of this sort, as well as criticizing others' beauty, not taking care of yourself/surroundings, being shabby or disorderly in general are all things that harm your Venus. Abusing someone is the quickest way to ruin your Venus, you start corroding and that ugliness begins to manifest on the outside.

Ex: Harvey Weinstein looks like a cartoonish villain

4. As I explore the astrology content put out by others across different platforms, I've seen how the nature of the take themselves are so specific and unique to the person making them. Claire Nakti has a tendency imo to focus heavily on romance, sex and women's sexual behaviour and what sort of men they attract.

Going through her website, it's obvious that she's deeply immersed in occult & esoteric philosophy (all of which ties together with vedic astrology, philosophy, Buddhism etc because I truly believe that spiritual truths are universal and different schools of thought/religion/culture/mythology express these same truths in their own way with a LOT of recurring patterns) and Carl Jung as well.

It's studying Jung that helped me understand that what we see or draw from something is a reflection of who we are. As a beginner to vedic astrology, I initially believed Claire's one dimensional portrayal to be the all encompassing truth of a nakshatra until I started doing my own reading and research.

The things I talk about or the patterns I find are a reflection of me and I get a lot of asks about why I don't do xyz nak and honestly it's not as simple as doing research for an essay for uni, you kind of have to have a gnosis or innate knowing of its themes, something to base your search off of. And different naks call to me at different points. I come across content that describes certain naks in lights i could've never imagined which is to say that gnosis or inner knowing is an important aspect of studying anything esoteric, it kind of has to be revealed to you and what you see, what you can discern is a reflection of you.

5. you have to have a strong Rahu to discern patterns and similarities because Rahu is maya/illusion and a well-placed Rahu will allow you to see through those patterns/illusions. it will be very hard for someone without a strong Rahu to find similarities or common tropes, patterns, themes etc. Seeing through the veil or fog is Rahuvian.

6. Claire Nakti made a video about Venusian men where she said they were the ideal type of man and tbh that just confirmed my suspicion that she's Moon dominant because I think Moon dominant people are attracted to Venusians but in my humble opinion both Venusian men and Moon dominant men are some of the most batshit crazy people (manipulative and controlling at the least, psychopathic at worst) basically men who have a lot of Yin tend to be psychotic

7. I've noticed that Revati people tend to speak in a very verbose way. Nigella Lawson, Revati Moon is a really good example. Obviously other placements will also impact speech

8. Moon dominant people hate it when others share sob stories. They're the type to have the least amount of empathy for others and will either react in a neutral way or like they don't understand why you're saying this stuff at all. They're bored by other people's mundane problems and make it known as well. Not people you want to open up to.

My former friend was this way, I once cried in front of her and she showed zero emotion and didn't even try to comfort me lol

9. The way others treat us is the way we treat others. ik this is a basic take but karma is cause and effect. if you're dismissive of others feelings, other people will be dismissive of yours. what you do is what will be done unto you. Its so crazy to see how people who've been treated like shit by their friends will turn around and treat other people like shit. this is sooo basic but genuinely dont do anything to others that you dont want done to you.

[queenlua]

ok, this Kevin Woo guy is the most fantastic chad i've heard of in a while:

The journalist who exposed Lambda School wasn't a journalist by trade. Vincent Woo was a successful entrepreneur best known for CoderPad, a collaborative coding website used extensively in programming job interviews. After he sold CoderPad for millions of dollars, he focused on the public interest, such as housing activism.

Woo's work on CoderPad gave him expert insight into the programming job market, and in 2019, Austen's outrageous hiring numbers set off red flags. Whenever pressed for more details on his outrageous claims, Austen said a full report was coming soon, but six months would pass without any updates.

Woo obtained an investment memo Lambda School sent out to Y Combinator titled, "Human Capital: The Last Unoptimized Asset Class." In it, they disclose, “We’re at roughly 50% placement for cohorts that are 6 months graduated,” contradicting the very front page of their website.

Where did the 86% on their homepage come from? In 2018, Lambda School submitted a single report about 72 graduates to CIRR. CIRR is an organization formed by the boot camp industry following the boot camp crackdown of the 2010s, to cleanup their image. Bootcamps are supposed to submit their hiring stats every six months, in one standard format, to prevent underhanded boot camps from fudging the numbers. In two years, Lambda School had produced nothing beyond that single, small report.

Woo reached out to Sabrina Baez, Lambda School's former Director of Career Readiness. Baez oversaw job placement in those early days, and Austen had reprimanded her for low hiring rates. She told Woo that probably only 50% to 60% of graduates found jobs.

Finally, Woo obtained private communications with investors revealing the quiet deals with hedge funds. This flew in the face of their marketing's, "We don’t get paid until you do," and Austen's now-deleted tweet, “We never, ever get paid upfront for ISAs.”

With all the damning evidence, the story was ready. Most reporters would now email their subjects for comment, but Woo elevated the story to performance art. He asked Austen for a recorded interview, without revealing its nature. Austen, lulled into a false sense of security by tech press puff pieces, agreed. What followed was the most riveting hour of tech journalism I've ever heard.

Austen: "Our goal right now, is that if a student is endorsed, call it graduation, that we place 80% within 120 days."

Woo: "Why did you tell investors 50?"

Austen: "What… I don't know… what communication you're referring to."

The interview went downhill from there, as Austen scrambled to invent excuses.

#rekt

bonus: check out this dude's hilariously understated linkedin:

(also, the whole article's worth a read. i'd been following the Lambda School saga for a while but there's a bunch of new fuckery here that even i didn't know about. smh)

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

ok so ive been rewatching psychoville and saw on the wikipedia that there were a bunch of websites made for the series (they were all written by reece and steve btw) which i've been looking through cos they are genuinely SO fucking funny & also just amazingly creative lol!

anyway i know people in the fandom probs already know about this (since the show came out literally 15 years ago pfft) but i thought i'd share some of my fav bits (but honestly would just recommend just checking them out if you haven't i have been crying with laughter for literally hours lol)

i will say that a lot of the media (videos, games, etc) no longer work on the archived sites rip but i'm sure people have uploaded some of the stuff (vids especially) to yt or other places lol

so a) i love that we get some background stuff on jelly and 2) 'captain CRACKERS' bernie clifton's dressing room reference question mark ??????? (ofc bcdr was AFTER this but i know love the idea that mr jelly trained under len pfft)

what that red raw stump do though 👀 (sorry pfffft)

mr jolly's website wasn't that interesting soz tho i did like him comparing being a doctor to being a clown lol

the comment about fag bears did make me wheeze i'm afraid lol i also loved the blurry photos of lomax's commodities lol (kinda reminded me of the bit in tlog w/ that terrible old photographer guy lol)

when i tell you i DIED with laughter at the 'now known as hull' bit like u just know reece wrote that bit pfft

not really a funny thing but this poem written by david honestly kinda breaks my heart lol... i think it also a lot of additional context to david's guilt when he thought he'd killed his father(faver) because perhaps he felt guilty about NOT feeling guilty you get me? like, it felt to me that when maureen told david it was SHE who killed her husband, it didn't feel like he was mad at her for doing it, but more that she kept the fact from him. it's about... the mutual oedipus-coded obsession with one another that couldn't even be destroyed in death and in this essay i will....

ghoul_lass23 is just like me but about tumblr lol fr

nothing feels more cursed than the phrases 'the river minge has burst its banks', 'crying creamy tears' and 'fleshy rapunzel' (which i've just noticed they misspelt lol... don't think that was intentional lol?) so if i had to read this so do you <3

the way that i kinda wish this actually existed tho pfft... also, it does kinda remind me of that video where jenny nicholson talked about that insane reality show 'opposite worlds' lol

'cross between seven and glee' is honestly sending me pfft

also on this part there was a script from stinkfinger (which is a show mentioned on the show) which sounded suspiciously like a reference to tlc lol

the less said about swastknickers the better

(will say i did nearly piss myself laughing at the nazi section of the hoity toity website lol which wasn't a sentence i thought i'd type today lol)

i just love these kinds of jokes pfft

also the whole biography sections of each of the pantomime cast are fab lol tho i AM kinda pissed they made debbie from yeovil and yet didn't give her a west country accent lol!!! (i guess they thought it'd be a bit much w/ joy being bristolian but i'm still mad about it lol)

also i know people have probably already pointed this out but i do find it funny that brian in the in9 episode last night of the proms is a closeted gay guy who likes watching drag was probably a reference to brian in this show that was a drag queen like... is anything these guys do NOT a reference??? u know those gaylor fans who obsessively look for clues in her songs about her apparent secret sexuality? all i'm saying is that i think they'd really like the extended reece shearsmith & steve pemberton universe pfft

all three of these made me cry with laughter lol

ohh this is interesting lol so obviously they suspected that some people might be all 'um why didn't the sprinklers go off during the fire at ravenhill? plot hole much!' so they wrote this into one of the websites so they could be like SEE! WE'RE ONE STEP AHEAD OF YOU DUMBASSES lol

both the jeremy kyle reference (remember when that was a thing? yikes... my mum used to watch his show CONSTANTLY...) and nurse kenshington's thoughts on david and maureen are interesting lol.. also there's a reference to the serial killer top trumps in this bit lol! (do people still play top trumps?? man i LOVED top trumps lol...)

the entire sunnyvale care home section is so fucking funny (both the website AND in the show lol mrs wren/mrs ladybird face is unironically probably my favourite character on the entire show) these were just some of my fav gags lol...

ok but why is this the SECOND reference to a guy punching a child who was apparently looking at his dick lol!??!! did this happen to one of you ??!!?!? reece did you punch a child ??!???!?!??

&&&& that's it lol

there were a few websites i didn't spend long on or generally weren't that interesting (coughmidgetgemscough) but honestly? i was really captivated with just how funny and well put together all these sites were! you can tell they had a lot of fun making it and i'm sure fans at the time LOVED being able to have this semi-interactive element of the show lol

there was just something so wonderfully late 00's about these websites lol i genuinely don't think i've laughed this much at anything in literal months and all of this is just solidifies that psychoville is a criminally under-appreciated masterpiece lol

[madigankrauss]

✩♬₊✮˚Intro Post⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

So I’ve been on tumblr for a bit now and have been putting this off

Open to questions/asks/convos about anything

https://linktr.ee/madigankrauss

@madigankrauss • Pronouns.page

Name: Madigan

Pronouns: she/they

Age: not specific

My sexuality is unknown even to me

I’m on the aroace spec but still feel both romantic and sexual attraction and im pretty sure only to women

Hobbies: jr firefighter, robotics, trumpet

Country: USA

Zodiac: Aries

My fandoms: Marauders, Good Omens, Young Royals, Alice Osemen, Percy Jackson and others

Kins: James, and many others but mostly James

Likes: nature, robotics, coding, dogs, music, trumpet

Dislikes: assholes, turfs and homophobic people, … (you get the idea)

Currently reading: ATYD, Crimson Rivers, Forth Wing, and Son of Neptune

Pls send asks I’m bored all the time

I have only a couple friends in real life one got tumblr for a day then deleted it but besides that no one irl on tumblr

When I’m just yapping: #yap yap yap yap yaping

Soup and I yapping: #just soup

I’m also in a rp blog @marleneisabadbitch

Moots(tell me if i forgot anyone I don’t bite❤️):

@soupdeewoop @whythiskolaveridiii @whydousernamesevenexist @trans-autistic-and-miserable @spooked-starzz @barbie-wants-to-be-me-fr @stars-taylorsversion @hotteststar @yesiamprocrastinating @icarus-last-fall

Important posts:

Mental health/hotlines:

Elections:

Other:

https://www.tumblr.com/madigankrauss/767248300621594625/daddiesdrarry

My fav photos of me:

Other platforms:

[fangirltothefullest]

Thoughts on the welcome home update because YES. Spoilers below the cut.

That sleep aid pill is called remderem which is almost "remember" but the d would be backwards, and its also almost "murder me" while missing the u. Is this anything? I don't know. Im always looking for names of things in args.

We have seen through two puppets eyes. First it was Wally and his discomfort and/or dissociation, and now it's Eddie's discomfort and/or dissociation. Which is fun because we've heard that Eddie would do crafts for the show and you'd just see his hands so that was a fun touch.

First iteration of the website we had mail letters (Eddie) giving us clues. Second iteration had bugs (Frank?) and active drawings (Wally?) giving us clues. Now we have symbols giving us clues and they remind me of stickers a little bit so possibly a connection to Sally? Who else would give the tiny pictures? Questions questions.

At the end of that commercial before his existential crisis, they say Eddie has been invited and they did his job for him so he could rest. Eddie does not seem happy about them doing his job for him instead of letting him do it himself. I am reminded of how clumsy with the mail he seems to be sometimes and how much work they make him do in the other audio clips. I wonder if he is feeling extremely overwhelmed but also unappreciated and that they can do all this work to help and choose not to most days? Sally insists it was easy to do and Eddie does not sound pleased.

One thing i can't stop thinking about and i have to go back and really re-watch the commercials closely, is Poppy. When they invite Eddie to the party they say everyone is there but there's no Poppy in the picture? And earlier they poured gravy on an ornament that, to me, looked very oddly shaped and almost like meat, and we hear Poppy, but we don't see her. So... a pea on a plate..... "P" on a plate? My brain could be misconstruing but did they eat Poppy and is that what he's actually seeing and is that why it's all red? I'd he seeing the reality beyond the mask? Is it more than a pea?

Eddie says "where?" In his crisis as a response to Frank calling his name. People are talking about this as if he doesn't know where he is. I agree this is a likely idea but what if he's asking where Poppy is? Do we ever actually see her in any of the videos or do we just hear her?

Wally has feelings a lot which is good to confirm he has feelings! Eddie also said he would be happy with an apple every single day and my he is an innocentbautism creature wally agenda is flourishing.

The amount if commercials has me fascinated because people used to do that for TV shows (still do but those earlier type ones welcome home is referencing is spot on) commercials for basically everything is accurate and what is funny is the accuracy of what each person is selling. Howdy with the cigarette commercial- he takes every opportunity to sell you something no matter what even if it's not good for you. Sleepy looking Wally selling you sleeping pills happy with the thought of the dream.

Wally being nervous about getting the holiday correct. Is it because he's never done it or ia Home going to hurt him?

Did home hurt Eddie because he was upset during the party? It sure fucking looks like it with home watching him so intensely. Does the chair have something to do with it?

Eddie's scribbled writing reminds me of the people trying to decipher the code on the safe.

On the secret pages it's signed "-W." But it talks as if it's a human person who watched the show and is working either the WHRP team. It also talks too grown up to be wally. Who is this?? Is it the same person from the terrified scribbles of the hidden page previously? It seems maybe so because of referencing needing the cleanup.

[daftpatience]

Do you have any tips or advice for running an artists booth at a convention? I'm thinking about doing it eventually and been wanting to hear from people who have done it before :^)

yeah!!! lemme rattle off a few things off the top a my head also, pardon me 4 using amazon dot ca links for products that i mention. its just easy to find references that way (and often u can look up the brand and find their non-amazon store etc etc)

this got super long so im putting it under a cut!!

• join an artist alley group!! i'm in this artist alley discord and it is a fantastic place to get info about cons, table display ideas, manufacturer recommendations, etc. there are more than just this group out there and i think there are bigger ones but i personally really like this one ^u^ i make a ton of use of the display resources and manu recommendation channels!

• if you can afford it, be choosy about the events you apply to. there are a lot of cons out there that are fantastic, and a lot that aren't worth the trouble, and i don't necessarily mean small vs big cons. some of my fav events are smaller artist alleys local to me, and most of the artists i know avoid informa (fanexpo) like the plague. check out what other artists have to say about past events and keep an eye out for red flags: personally i find cons with really out of date/poorly advertised social medias and websites that have mismatched info are a warning sign of a mismanaged and not well attended event. • you don't need a lot of fancy display stuff to start, those sorts of things you can build up over time. im a fan of getting a ton of my display stuff from the dollar store >:)

when you're ready and need the space to display a good amount of art the main thing you wanna pick up is definitely something that gives your table some verticality, whether that's a pvc pipe style setup, pegboards, or modular cube shelving (we all used to use these big heavy grid ones until the plastic sheet covered ones came out and now we all use those. theyre cuter and lighter and fit better on a table and come in more colours yayay. im sure some people still like the grid ones since they fit gridwall accessories tho) there are lots of other ways to display stuff but these r what i am most familiar with. definitely helps to look at youtube and pinterest and discord groups for display ideas!!

another thing you will want to start is a tablecloth. not every con has their tables already covered! there are those plastic picnic ones at dollar stores, and you can thrift bedsheets/fabric too.

• depending on the type of display and art you do you'll need some way to attach signs/prints/charms/etc to your display. i just moved from blu-tack to magnets but i used to use sewing clips (back when i used the grid cubes) and before then masking tape. all of them are okay and cool! except blu-tack. don't make the same mistakes as me it adds like 40 whole minutes to teardown and it leaves gross oil on the prints after some time. evil

• if you don't have business cards you can make a sign with a qr code that links to you/your shop! there are lots of qr code makers online that u can even customize with images and colours and stuff. there will be people that wanna know how to find you again after a con!

• these days a lot of people don't bring cash to conventions and it's pretty vital to bring some sort of card reader or other digital payment method. most of us use square - they recently made it so that the phone app can accept tap! so you don't need to jump for the expensive physical readers. i've also got a paypal dot me qr code and my etransfer email (i think this is a canadian thing) on a lil sign on the table so people have lots of payment options. usually over 50% of my con income comes from non-cash sales!

• make sure to bring change!! we've forgotten in the past and done okay but it's always handy to be able to make change for people. you'll want a secure place to put cash as well, whether it's a locked moneybox that you keep out of sight or a place on your person (friend of mine uses a fanny pack!) you never wanna leave your table completely unattended but especially when it comes to the moneybox. if it's a multi day con this is an item you mustn't leave at your table overnight.

• keep count of your sales and expenses properly so that you can see how much you made at the end of the con. i really like spreadsheets but you can even just note it down in a book. here's a little example of one con for me:

• you'll want to make a checklist of stock and display stuff to bring, but don't forget to make a list of minor stuff like phone chargers and scissors and tape and glue and pens and paper. multiple types of tape and paper if possible. they don't feel super important until you're stuck because you forgot to make a price sign and have to get by with a sharpie and a napkin. don't let that be you!! dollar store sticky note pads are super useful for this type of thing.

• plan out your prices and do as much prep (counting, sign making, display planning, packing/sorting) as you can beforehand so that the event doesn't feel too stressful. make sure your merchandise is stored in an easily accessible way for you behind the table so you aren't scrambling or rummaging too much when people are asking for stuff!

• similarly, whatever you can leave out for people to just pick/grab themselves, the more of it you're likely to sell. things like stickers and charms are good for this - people like to touch stuff! and it makes it so you don't need to go fishing for items for people as frequently. generally i don't do this with more expensive items just to be safe.

• if you sell prints, people are gonna ask for sleeves to keep them safe, especially at outdoor events. sometimes people ask for sleeves/bags even if they dont buy anything. they're a good idea to have on hand and you can find em for pretty cheap online and for a bit more expensive at dollar stores (i use OPP bags. if you dont wanna use plastic you can always get paper bags/envelopes/glassine bags instead)

• a cushion for the chair is a good idea. lots of conventions have really uncomfy chairs. some folks even bring camping chairs instead!

• pack snacks/lunch/water/drinks/have lunch plans. if you have a table buddy that is able to run out for food that's always nice. you might be sitting but it uses a lot of energy to interface all day!! you'll be exhausted and hungry and it's gonna be important to get enough fuel for your brain to function properly. i genuinely would recommend juice/soda/coffee/energy dink alongside water and food if you wanna live, especially if its a multi day con. get good sleep on days between!

• if you're excited to do trades with other artists during the con, the general etiquette is to wait until later in the day/near the end when the crowds are winding down! it's always okay to ask if someone's doing trades, and don't be upset or press them if they aren't interested or have certain stuff they don't want to trade.

• speaking of con etiquette, depending on the type of vert you are (intro/extro) and or how much customer service experience you have, interfacing can be nervewracking. my general rule is that if they stop to look, i say Hello and let them browse. if they seem interested in my table i try and do some small talk. stuff like How are you/How's the event been for ya/compliments on their outfit/cosplay/merch they have on like pins etc are good! kids and old folks love this. as tiring as it is to do some of my favourite parts of cons is talking to nice people that like my art!! all the folks that say nice things about my work are what keep me drawing ;w; i keep my sketchbook with me to jot down/doodle nice and funny encounters just cus it makes me happy to look back on XD

• when it's teardown time try to put stuff away as neatly as you can. you might be tired and just wanna toss all your stuff into whatever it is you brought it in but i promise future you (especially next-con you) will be so thankful that you put all your price signs into one baggie etc etc.

• speaking of bringing and putting away merch - you'll need a way to get it all from your home/car to your table and back. lots of people use dollies and other types of utility cart (i can guarantee there are a bunch of those grandma grocery ones at your local thrift store!!) - i personally use a big luggage bag and a collapsible wagon, but back in the day we used to CARRY bin after bin of stuff from the car and back in multiple trips which i would NOT reccomend lol. not every convention hall is easily accessible or close to parking so not having to lift stuff if you can avoid it is gonna be vital.

[yurisorcerer]

I'm not gonna pretend I have anything super new or innovative to say about Mobile Suit Gundam. It's one of the most-analyzed anime ever, and I pale in comparison to some of the people who *have* analyzed it, but here I am, thinking about it regardless.

For context, I am watching this as part of a---as she called it---"comet swap" with my good friend @charaznablespeteevee, where I watch a mecha anime she is obsessed with (Gundam) and she watches one I am obsessed with (Code Geass). I'm not sure if I'm going to write a big long post like this about every episode (since I'm going to *try* to watch at least one per day, that would get quite exhausting), but I am liveblogging it more informally over on the worst website on Earth, if you're willing to put up with that Nazi-infested hellhole long enough to read some posts from yours truly.

In any case, Gundam and Code Geass. are many differences between these, the main ones being that Code Geass is more recent and also not widely hailed as a masterpiece of its form. It does *draw* notably from Gundam though despite having very different artistic aims and a different tone, so watching this makes sense in a way. I spent way too much of my teenagerhood obsessed with Lelouch, and now I'm watching the anime that his archetypal grandfather came from. (Goddess have mercy on my soul.)

My experience with Gundam as a franchise prior to this is very limited, but I do have some. For reference, I have seen all of:

Gundam 00, back when it aired on the SyFy channel when they had an anime block many years ago. I really liked this as a teenager but I don't remember it super well.

The Witch From Mercury, lesbian space combat, with a notable Code Geass staff connection. WFM was not perfect or anything but I loved it a lot and Suletta is very dear to me. I actually bought an Aerial gunpla a few months ago that is currently sitting unassembled in my closet.

the first Gundam 0079 compilation movie. Now, it might seem weird that I've seen this and am now going back to watch the TV series. But, while I remember the general outline of what happened, I was SUPER sick when I watched it, and I only remember what happened really, really vaguely. While I have some idea of the general outline of what's to come, I'm mostly going in genuinely blind.

like 4 or 5 episodes of Victory Gundam, which I liked but kind of fell off of. So we're giving the franchise a proper second go here.

I'm a mecha fan more generally, and I'll get into some of that as I write these, but for now that's the relevant stuff.

Anyway, my main impression of 0079's first episode is actually a structural one. It's REALLY well put together. We introduce the setting, we introduce our main characters, and we introduce the main conflict, all very economically and with a lot of style---more style than some shows with significantly less room to work with manage, in fact---and I'm immediately invested in the fate of our main character, Amuro Ray.

From what I gather here (and a little bit from outside information), my impression is that of a kid who loses his innocence very, very rapidly over the course of this story. Here, the space-hab-thing he lives on is attacked, and he ends up in the cockpit of an experimental superweapon called a Gundam (maybe you've heard of them?). I LOVE how the Gundam is framed here, like some kind of genuinely scary war machine. It's an intentionally othering effect i mostly associate with later mecha anime, especially those with outright monstrous mecha like Evangelion or even The Big O, so to see it here in such a comparatively early series in the genre is impressive.

The episode's climax sees him kill two soldiers from the enemy nation of Zeon, but it's not a triumphant thing, really. He's portrayed as kind of not really knowing what he's doing, flailing around inside this gigantic walking tank / mechanical war god. But then when he *does* figure things out, well, he has to deal with the fact that he just killed two dudes. Going by the cliffhangery ending here, it doesn't seem like his troubles are over, either.

[mushroompoisoning]

Good friend, I ask of you because I trust you, what are these "The Mechanisms" you are so fond of?

Okay I tried to type out an incredibly long summary but tumblr deleted it so you're getting a semi-sane version instead

The Mechanisms are a band of immortal, space-faring pirates travelling the universe singing about the tragedies they witness for our entertainment!

There are nine main members you'll hear about, with the tenth - Dr Carmilla - having left much earlier and making her own music 👍 ( there is technically an eleventh but they're more of a mystery easter egg than anyone we know things about )

Quick lore thing: the mechanisms immortality works from the mechanical part(s) they each have. They can die and get injured, but they'll revive whenever the narrative wants them too. All logic in this universe functions off of Would It Be Good For The Story

The cast is:

Jonny D'Ville (he/him) is the ship's first mate ( don't let him tell you otherwise ) and he's got a mechanical heart

Nastya Rasputina (she/her) is the ship's engineer and girlfriend! Yea the ship - Aurora - is alive btw. She's got me hanical blood

Ashes O'Reily (they/them) is the ship's quartermaster and best arsonist! they've got mechanical lungs

Drumbot Brian (he/him) is the ship's pilot and the only one with a moral code. It's controlled by a switch which flips between Means Justify Ends and Ends Justify Means with no nuance. everything is mechanical except for his heart

Ivy Alexandria (she/her) is the ship's archivist! Pretty chill, cares more for books than violence but that doesn't mean she disapproves of the latter. she's got a mechanical brain

The Toy Soldier (it/its) is the mascot and whatever else they tell it to be! it just wants to be involved. will follow anything you tell it if you ask nicely ( or with enough force ). it's not actually mechanized, and is instead a sentient wooden man

Gunpowder Tim (he/him) is the ship's master at arms! madman war veteran who I love dearly. he blew up the moon. he's great. I pick favourites. he's got mechanical eyes

Raphaella La Cognizi (she/her) is the ship's unethical scientist! nothing is off the table when it comes to research. nothing. theory is she mechanized her, but iirc that unconfirmed. she's got a mechanical spine and wings!

and Baron Marius Von Raum (he/him) who is neither the ships baron nor doctor. he claims to be both, though. Deeply unserious fella. he's got a mechanical arm

^ here are some good images for crew reference

OKAY! Now onto actual music

They have six albums and a couple singles!

Once Upon a Time (In Space) is an unconventional retelling of classic fairytales

High Noon over Camelot is a retelling of King Arthur

Ulysses Dies at Dawn is a greek mythos adaptation

and The Bifrost Incident is a norse mythos adaptation

there's also Tales To Be Told volumes I and II, and the two single Frankenstein and Death To The Mechanisms ( technically that one is part of an album but the album is just a bunch of their other songs from already existing albums )

The tales to be told albums contain some of the mechanisms origins!

One Eyed Jacks is Jonny's

Lucky Sevens is Ashes'

Lost In The Cosmos is Brian's

and Gunpowder Tim vs The Moon Kaiser I don't think I have to say

Nastya has an origin song, but it was never officially put on anything. You can find it on the @mechanismslorearchive ( you can get any lore you want on there )

They also have a number of live shows ( you can find those on youtube ) and written stories on their website! I recommend these if you wanna get to know the mechanisms as characters better

that is the basic rundown. I'm not an expert on the mechs so if you're looking to talk to a metaphorical seasoned nurse instead of a med student I'd go to @bugsinthebayou or @gunpowderdtim (sorry for tagging yall)

[visiblenostalgia]

small decently sized download came through mentally about what I see going forward with Pluto now firmly going into Aquarius for good.

Concerning the entertainment industry, if Hollywood is not going to be the center of the entertainment hub anymore (with celeb culture having an slow but egregious ego death, and then there being all the rages from lawsuits to workers rights being violated), then there will come from it a de-centralization of things. What I see going forth is more access to different ways of creating media. Centralized hubs will always exist in each state in some way shape or form. There will be studios designated to film and media, heavily relied upon by their peers in their hometowns. "World Class" will become just a "Standard" for many o' folk to be inspired by but build off of so there can be a "State Class" or something akin to a "People's Class" level education in film due to how decentralized it will become.

On another note, remember how TV channels used to be all about at least five big channels? Hybrid cable (digital signal with an antenna of some kind) will be a big proprietor. Think after the news wraps up at ten o' clock at night and the adult cartoons come on to entertain the peeps that come back from work that don't wish to use any other service other than their cheapest and most affordable network. The funds from that episode going on air coming from ad revenue like usual. Filling the pockets of the local show creators in a direct way (all local talent and local work going into such a project like that). Streaming is still available, but it'll be up to the creator's choice unless they're ready.

Social Media is also one of those things that will be bound to decentralize. It's become too global. And with many people clashing due to different viewpoints that it gets straight up murderous/psychopathic - it doesn't matter what side, all sides aren't immune to being delulu af (get real) - the quiet reserved, honest ones will become the people to start something anew. Squeaky wheels will not get the grease because said wheels have become defunct and unusable. So to speak. Algorithms have started to prove themselves to be hardwired addicting to people. And yet the same people who have shown us that research are probably still on their phones.

Read up on Cal Newport's book Digital Minimalism if you're looking to use tech still, but don't want those crazy algorithms to reign over your life. Highly recommend.

Not to mention maybe a greater emphasis on personal websites like SpaceHey or even NeoCities will be greatly beneficial due to their individualistic design. NeoCities of course letting people create their own websites for free or if you want more to the website due to how much coding it takes, an easy fixed and affordable flat rate monthly.

Also on point with Aquarius. It's a deeply detached sign. Often methodical. If one is to win out through this transit, then fighting for a cause is great and all. Yet, one has to be stoic and realistic about its consequences. If the cost benefit outweighs the cost negative then obviously go for it. Just prepare for repercussions in case there is any. If it's a cost negative outweighing cost positive, leave that idea be. Don't even come back to it. Save it, but don't come back to it. It will appear when it must. Those won't know under this transit, but they'll be prepared without thinking about it much.

So it stands reason to say congrats to those that watch their thoughts and pay attention to what they think. Unless someone has only thought about what people say they should think, then it's a deeply disturbing transit for those that don't think for themselves. It's a time where one learns HOW to think, NOT WHAT to think.

Also if there's any nerds out there, y'all are about to shine. It's for geeks, radicals, ostracized, unconventional peeps, weirdos and the small guys. Yes. Even the crude ones. Remember that talk about honesty? If you're a bit sensitive to the elements, just make sure to steer clear of a lot of mature stuff. Cause with Aquarius being as open to thought as a sign, it can take mature stuff with ease. No rage, emotion or anything. If someone likes the weird stuff, hell yea man! Enjoy it. But gatekeeping it because of morality superiority is gonna leave one dead in the water.

Smollest but most straightforward download: Pluto in Aqua hates the status quo. Trying to keep it (no matter perspective) will only further exhaust you.

All in all, people gonna be peepin'. That's what's up for Pluto in Aqua and that's what I see coming forth.

[dotthings]

"Maybe the divisiveness in the fandom has more to do with those who respect and understand canon versus those who don't. There are plenty of shippers of all kinds that just want to have fun with their ship and still understand canon vs headcanon."

I have nothing polite to say about this blatant attempt to pin blame on Destiel shippers for acknowledging queer coding in the canon, for saying the ship is canon. Nothing polite. At all whatsoever. This is a blatantly manipulative silencing attempt, blame-shifting, self-serving false equalizations. (From a "nice" Jared stan on twitter who frequently says really stupid things while posing behind a veneer of TFW/J2M positivity and civility).

This...honestly this is outrageous. To say that the cause of fandom conflict is shippers who support the canon text for Destiel AND NOT THE ANTIS WHO KEEP BEING HATEFUL.

Surreal.

Utterly surreal.

I do think it's willful. I think these stans know better and choose to be assholes due to their insecurities and their need to be controlling, maybe they do have some issue where they lack basic empathy, comprehension, media literacy, understanding, but at this point I feel like that's being too generous. It's purposeful. It's manipulative.

Just putting this out there to beware of this kind of fake reasonable take.

Unpack the words carefully.

Let's go over this bit again: "plenty of shippers of all kinds that just want to have fun with their ship and still understand canon vs headcanon"

This is a shot at Destiel shippers, they aren't reprimanding w*ncestis and their warped canon takes.

They're going after Destiel shippers who respect CANON. Who pay close attention to CANON. Who react to the CANON. Who refuse to bend over and bow down and simper for the denialism of ANTIS.

We're ruining things by not "just having fun" because GOOD SHIPPERS are quiet and demure and simper about how their queer ship could never ever really be canon, and that's the only Right and Correct Way to Ship.

And if we don't go along, we're The Problem.

Nope. Nothing polite to say here.

antidestiels who cannot sort out canon from a hole in the wall have lost all rights to tell destiel shippers one damn thing about canon. Period.

Bonus, is the reply going "TumblrNatural poisoned a lot of wells that way, unfortunately."

I have nothing. Polite. To say.

Twitternatural is a land of distorted warped bad takes on canon and lack of media literacy, on a disinformation platform run by a fascist, bigoted billionaire currently paying for the election campaign for a dangerous fascist. And the agitpropping and hatred and lack of accountability has seeped throughout the entire website, including into fandoms, as a gestalt, and it's rampant in twitternatural.

Twitternatural knows nothing about canon. tumblrnatural comprehends canon far better even on its worse day than twitternatural takes and I think it's just so fitting that twitternatural continues to try to bash tumblrnatural while we know the truth. Twitternatural is a poisoned well. And they do not know canon better than the media literate meta geeks on tumblr. Period full stop.

Antis will always tip their hand.

[thevernofficial]

Contacting your Rep 101

Hello my dear people!

I was chatting with one of my friends recently and we were chatting about contacting a representatives office because she didn't know who to call or what to say.

So (for the Americans) here is some advice from me:

(Disclaimer while I work in politics I do not represent the beliefs of the people I work for) (also every office is a little different)

Finding your Rep

Okay, here is the thing. We can only technically take opinions from Residents of our state. So its important that you find YOUR state representatives.

Find some by zip code here:

Generally your specific state will also have a website with state and federal representatives.

2. Call vs Email

So, many places will have email options rather than call. I will let you know at least for my office calls or voicemails are kept track of more often. We have a team of people on the phone lines.

I don't know if this is the case in other offices. But in general (if your comfortable with talking with someone for 2 minutes) calling is better than emailing. On those contact my rep info sites they also have the main phone lines for your representative.

3. What do you say?

I have a bit of a script here for those who have never called or are nervous about talking with an intern on a phone line.

Intern: (THE POLITICIAN) office how can I help you?

You: Hello my name is __________ I am a constituent of (THE POLITICIAN) and a resident of (YOUR STATE). I am calling today about (YOUR OPINION HERE). My phone/email is ______________.

Intern: Thank you for your voice and opinions. I want to assure you (Script that has been given to the interns). Is there anything else I can help you with today?

You: Yes/No. (If yes state more opinions and cycle repeats).

Intern: Have a lovely day then!

I have to say how IMPORTANT it is to say your name. In our office logs we take down all the names to send to our boss to know that there are different people calling in their opinions.

4. How many times?

In general we tend to notice if the same number has popped up more than 3 times in a day. Then we can't log it as a new opinion anymore. But if you call once a day, we record a new log for politicians everyday so you can get your name on the daily list again.

5. Does this even matter?

YES. I cannot stress enough. YES

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES!

It's our civic duty to do so. But it also gives staffers of politicians reasons to lean one way or the other (regardless of what you call in about). Every call helps.

We take down the names every day and we listen to all the stories that are sent in. Trust that someone WILL listen to what you have to say and it will be written down and sent to the politicians. That is literally our job.

6. Phone Etiquette

Politics are emotional. These times are emotional. If you need to cry, do it. If you need to cry while on the phone with an Intern, do it. If you need to break away from the script and talk about everyday stories, do it. This is your call. The intern won't judge you for crying on the phone. If you want to shout or express your anger, maybe don't shout at the intern but you can express anger.

But please be nice to the people on the phone. They've had to listen to hundreds or thousands of people in these emotional times. And we're happy to do so. This is why we do this job.

But we're still human. So saying an occasional thank you, might not help your opinion, it does help the person on the other end of the line.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope this helps...for someone at least.

[j-a-nuary]

Robotwink 5000

WooSan -> WooSanSang, background SeongJoong (along with references to Princess & Puppy)

Warnings: 🔞non-explicit, but still nsfw🔞 Wooyoung is a sexbot but he's also so much more than that, supernatural elements, told from Hongjoong's POV kinda (I was going for a David Wong-ish thing), San is [checks notes]... it says here "a fucking loser"???, Hongjoong is a genius and knows way too much about his friends' sex lives, Seonghwa is being mysterious, Yeosang is only mentioned.

=====

Wooyoung was having an issue. A clash of sorts - not quite outdated hardware struggling to keep up with a driver patch. Most likely anyway. I hadn't run the diagnostics yet. It wasn't exactly a hassle to do it remotely, but there were other reasons I was hesitating.

When I got the little alert that a file path wasn't working correctly, I had checked if San and his boy toy were live.

They were.

"Something went thunk," Wooyoung moaned as San's hands gripped at his hair, "please try again."

For a second, San looked confused. But then Wooyoung opened his mouth and settled it onto his dick.

"Fuck… Woo…"

San's cumming face was… not as hot as one might expect. Then again, almost no one actually looks good when they're cumming. Except maybe Princess…

Wait, no, gotta focus. For diagnostic purposes, of course.

"Measly little error," Wooyoung positively purred, running his fingers through the streaks of cum San had so kindly deposited onto his face, "try again."

And that, ladies and gents, is how Choi San discovered he liked being degraded.

How do I know what that night was like? Well that's the thing people forget about the Robotwink 5000: he's always recording, and his memory can be downloaded.

Also he and San operate an erotic streaming site that specializes in "True POV".

Perverts.

=====

"Hyung! I have a massive problem!" San was looking around my garage, like he was expecting someone who gave a shit to pop out of the shadows.

"The sexbot I helped you build can only speak in those stupid error codes you wrote, and also you've had an awakening of your degradation kink?"

"God," he sighed deeply, momentarily looking off dreamily, "fuck yeah I have."

I nodded, eyes sticking back on the screen in front of me. I reached for my coffee cup. It felt too light.

"Welcome to the club. Did you bring him over?"

"Wait," San paused, looking suspicious, "how did you already know?"

I shrugged, glaring at my empty coffee cup.

"I saw the footage."

I also paused. For dramatic effect.

"Live."

If I hadn't heard the sounds San makes when he cums, I would have thought a teakettle was signaling its readiness. But I have, so I knew it was just the sound of a loser in distress.

"Should have thought of these things before making that website," I groaned. Standing and stretching for a moment gave San enough time to stop whining. I headed for the coffee machine.

"Can't you just do it remotely?" He asked, trailing after me.

"Sure," I shrugged, "but it helps to have him in front of me."

"Why?"

Something in San's tone made the hair on the back of my neck prickle. I set my cup under the nozzle and punched a few buttons before turning to speak with him.

"Don't you mean 'why's that hyung?'"

He had the decency to look embarrassed, but a defiant tightness remained in his jaw.

"Why's that hyung?"

"Better…" I pursed my lips, eyeing him for a moment before actually answering.

"Less chance of degradation of data if I'm doing tests in person. Also makes pushing any updates faster and easier."

The coffee machine spluttered and dinged, signaling that it was finished. I turned back around to grab it before returning to my work station.

"Fine," San relented, "I'll text him."

=====

"Something goofed!" Wooyoung smiled in greeting, "try again."

"Shit dude, it sure did." I gestured towards my work bench, "take a seat."

"Uh-oh," Wooyoung shrugged before hopping up onto the bench, "that's not available."

"Alright, I have an idea of what the problem might be," I held a cord out towards him, "do you mind?"

"That's just not possible," Wooyoung took the cord. His left eye rotated until the port was visible, and he plugged it in. "Try agaiiiiiiiiìììïîįīîı…"

His voice glitched, changing tone unpredictably until he eventually went silent and still. I turned towards my computer to take a look.

"Ugh," San shuddered, "I still don't understand why you had to make that his port."

"Easy to hide," I muttered, "did you try to teach him French?"

"Huh?"

I pointed at a file folder on my screen. San leaned forward.

"Why would I teach him French?"

I didn't have an answer for that.

"Maybe he did it on his own?" San pressed.

"How would that even happen?" I asked, exasperated. "My code might be good, but he's not going to spontaneously get ideas like that."

"I don't know," San huffed, "why does he know English?"

"Are you seriously going to tell me that hasn't come in handy at least once?"

"No, no, that was a good call I guess."

"This is going to take a while," I sighed, "you want to get dinner? I buy, you fly?"

San made a face, but nodded.

"What?" I asked, already tired of his shit.

"What what?"

"You're obviously feeling some type of way, so just say it."

San was visibly rankled by my calling him out.

"I'm not!" He protested, "I just…"

He glanced at Wooyoung.

I shrugged, laughing as it all came together.

"He was made to your specifications, not mine."

=====

"Puppy?"

I resisted the urge to fall to my knees at the call. Not in front of Wooyoung, inactive as he may be. Definitely not in front of San.

"Puppy?" San blanched, "what the hell?"

I could only shrug. Arguing would just highlight the nickname, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen.

"Ah," Seonghwa approached as quietly as ever, seeming to appear from the shadows rather than walk into the room. "Working on something important?"

I nodded towards Wooyoung's slightly limp form on my work table, "he's having some issues."

"Poor thing," Seonghwa sighed. He stepped closer, reaching out and running his hand through the black and blonde hair on the machine's head. He always did have a soft spot for… well… just about everyone and everything else.

I heard a choked sound from San, something between a cough and a growl. I rolled my eyes.

"Relax Sannie," Seonghwa laughed, "nobody's going to take your precious Wooyoung from you."

My eyes were getting sore from all the rolling they'd been doing today.

=====

"Puppy."

I worked myself closer to master, pressing my nose into his neck and licking at the slightly salty tang of sweat there.

"Let me take a look at Wooyoung's code."

I pushed myself up, sitting so I could give master a questioning look. He smiled up at me, reaching up to run a finger under my chin.

"Speak."

"Does master know coding?"

"Master knows a lot of things," his fingers trailed down to the collar I was currently wearing. He slid one through the loop, tugging me down roughly. "Including some code. Now," his other hand cupped my chin, fingers digging cruelly into the muscles of my jaw, "open up and stick that tongue out for master."

"!"

=====

Whatever Seonghwa did to Wooyoung's code fixed the issue. It did more than that though.

"There's something wrong with Wooyoungie."

San was pacing around a card table I had set up in my garage-turned-workshop.

"Wrong how?" I asked from my swivel chair.

I had several maps laid out on the table. One of just the country and Japan, overlayed with a transparency that I was using to track storms in the East Sea.

He paused, then quickly resumed his circle of anxiety.

"It's hard to explain," he stopped, tugging a milk crate from a shelf to use as a stool, "especially without sounding like an asshole."

"So you'll sound normal then," I laughed.

San cast a hurt scowl in my direction, pouting lips and sharp eyes.

"Sorry," I nodded at him, "tell hyung what's wrong."

He deflated then, slumping onto the only available space on the table. I tensed at the movement, but saw that he had landed on a section that had the Waterman butterfly projection laid out. I hadn't started working on that one yet.

"Hsdfynme," he mumbled into his arms.

"Speak up Sannie."

He groaned, then lifted his head just enough to rest his chin on his arms.

"He's defying me."

I stared at him, blinking as I deciphered his words. After a second, I spoke cautiously.

"You… wanted him bratty though?"

He groaned again, slumping back into his crossed arms. He must have left his mouth free from the material of his sweatshirt though. When he spoke, it was clear enough to be heard over the constant whirring of my assorted projects.

"I think he wants to break up with me."

I snorted, rolling my eyes in the safety of his slumped position.

"He's a robot," I reminded him, "he doesn't want anything."

=====

I want to note that the following has been reconstructed based on a combination of reviewing footage from Wooyoung's internal memory, and some drunken admissions from a night of drinking with just San, me, and Mingi. I've tried to avoid taking too much liberty with the narrative, but observation taints everything. Still, this is, more or less, an accurate depiction of a very personal and tumultuous moment in their relationship.

"I want to fuck Yeosang."

San gripped Wooyoung's hips so tight that he could feel the unnatural sharpness of his frame through his synthetic flesh.

"Y…" he faltered, not quite believing what was happening. "What?"

"Actually I want Yeosang to fuck me," Wooyoung clarified. "And I want you to watch."

San was no longer interested in testing the limits of the new lube they were trying out.

The lube was less viscous than their usual brand, less likely to gunk up the works of Wooyoung's self-lubricating system. I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I spent working on this, but it actually has more applications than you might think.

"Why'd you stop?" Wooyoung asked.

San released his hold on Wooyoung. Unsteady on his knees, he quickly fished through the sheets to find his boxers.

"Sannie?"

San ignored the call of his name. He had gone pale, feeling ill. Tugging the boxers on, he scrambled over to his desk. Stacks of mail, magazines, and seemingly every other bit of paper that filtered through his life were lifted and ruffled through.

"What's wrong?"

San grit his teeth, wishing Wooyoung would stop talking. He should have accepted my offer of a remote control. He should have just stuck to fleshlights. He should have fucking organized his desk!

"San…" Wooyoung was quieter now, but the call of San's name was accompanied by a soft touch against his arm this time.

"Don't touch me!" San lashed out, shaking his arm away from Wooyoung.

"Sannie just talk to me," Wooyoung pleaded.

No, San thought to himself, robots don't know how to beg.

"I can't believe my fucking sex toy wants to fuck other people," San muttered, turning his attention back to his search through his desk.

"I'm not your sex toy San," Wooyoung snapped, "I'm your boyfriend."

San whirled, clenched fists at his sides, only to be met with Wooyoung sulking.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"

"I don't know," Wooyoung pouted. "I don't like when you say things like that. At least not when your dick isn't in me at the same time."

San shook his head, turning once more towards his desk. He knew the manual had to be somewhere around here.

"You literally don't like anything. You don't dislike anything. You do what you're programmed to do except now there's some fucking error that makes it so that even my glorified fucking fleshlight says I'm not fucking good enough," he continued his search as he spoke, "as if I didn't specifically commission you to avoid exactly this fucking issue. Finally!"

San held the very unofficial, very handwritten, user manual in his hands. Turning to face Wooyoung, he started flipping through the pages.

"I know there's a fucking off switch…" he mumbled, trying to decode my handwriting.

Note: my handwriting is perfectly fine. San is just a dumbass.

"Off switch? Sannie, what are you planning to do?" Wooyoung took a few steps back from San.

"A full fucking reset," San didn't look up, still piecing together the scrawl on lined paper, "if I have to."

"San… baby," Wooyoung took stock of how he was, unfortunately, on the opposite side of the room from the door, "you don't want to do that. Not really, right? Let's just talk about this, okay?"

"Vol… volume control?" San read aloud, "god this would have come in useful a few times."

"You can't do this," Wooyoung kept trying to get through to him, "you'll end up regretting it!"

"I already do!" San finally looked up from the papers in his hands.

"You don't mean that."

"Mute…"

"San don't!"

"Authorization…"

"Please!"

"Number…"

"Baby please!"

"8-1-8-1."

Wooyoung's mouth kept working but no sound came out. He looked confused for a moment, then angry. San shook his head and turned back to the manual.

"Fucking stupid," he muttered.

He ran his fingertip down the page, looking for anything that seemed relevant.

Wooyoung took to throwing a silent tantrum. He threw pillows at San, who simply lifted an arm to guard against them as he read.

"Can't believe I fell for a fucking machine…"

Wooyoung tore the blankets off the bed next. They proved much less throwable than the pillows however.

"Should have known he… it, couldn't love me back…"

Wooyoung paused.

San wasn't reading anymore. Not really. He had found the power down command already. Now he was just trying to psyche himself up to actually use it.

Normally, he could have just asked Wooyoung to shut down. He didn't think he'd agree in the current situation however.

"Power down, authorization number 8-1-8-1."

The room was still. Silent.

"Just one person that didn't eventually get bored with me," San finally looked over to Wooyoung.

Wooyoung stood, still as a statue, duvet still in hand. He held it against his chest, as he had thought it might protect him.

"Was that really so much to ask for?"

=====

"What did you do to his code?"

Seonghwa looked up from his book with mild curiosity.

A frantic knocking had interrupted our perfectly good warming session. Seonghwa had given me permission to answer the door before casually tucking himself away as I made my way across the apartment.

I ran my tongue along my bottom lip, nervous about him possibly guessing what master and I had been up to.

"Hello to you too, San."

"Hyung," San gripped the front of my shirt. He looked like he was about to cry, "what did you do to him?"

"It wasn't Hongjoong," Seonghwa called from his position on my couch. "I fixed the verbalization issue."

San dropped his hands from where he was holding onto me, pushing past me to stare at Seonghwa.

"You did something to him," he almost whispered, "you changed him."

Seonghwa shook his head.

"No," he said curtly, "I only let him speak freely. So he could tell you what he wants."

"What does that even mean?!" San was getting angry now. I stepped forward, trying to place a calming hand on his back.

"Get off!"

The shove sent me teetering, dangerously close to falling.

Immediately, Seonghwa was on his feet. I felt his hand on my arm, saving me from falling to the floor. I regained my feet, offering a quiet thanks to him as we watched San start his pacing.

"He's a machine hyung. He doesn't have wants or needs. He serves a purpose!"

Seonghwa caught him by his collar. San let out a strangled yelp, trying to pry Seonghwa's fingers from the cloth and get away.

Seonghwa's grip only tightened.

"You should be kinder to the things you care for, Choi San."

Maybe I should have reviewed the patch that Seonghwa had written. When Wooyoung had passed testing with flying colors, I hadn't bothered. I trusted Seonghwa. Besides, if anything, Wooyoung had done better than when he was first judged as operating well enough to go to San. Before the errors had started. There had been zero indication that any problems would arise from the fix.

"I am kind to him!" San argued, "I give him everything he needs!"

Seonghwa only stared at him. I knew that look, very well. He would stay silent as long as it took for San to finally te-

"At least I thought I did."

San deflated, putting some of his weight onto Seonghwa's hold on him.

Seonghwa and I both stayed quiet, letting him say what he needed to.

"But he doesn't want me anymore."

I frowned. That was literally impossible. Wooyoung was built specifically for San. He was basically coded to be obsessed with him, including tons of specific coding to avoid any potentially harmful behaviors that could arise from that obsession.

"Did he say that?" Seonghwa asked, "did he say that he doesn't want you?"

San was crying. I'm not saying that to embarrass him, it's just the truth of the matter. He was crying and leaning forward to cry against Seonghwa's shoulder.

"No… but he…"

Seonghwa, reading the situation with the same ease as always, took a few steps backwards. He kept San with him, bringing him to the sofa to sit and let out everything we needed to know.

"He told me he wants…" San swallowed thickly, unable to look up yet, "he wants Yeosang."

"You fucking idiot," I couldn't help but let out a derisive laugh. "He doesn't want Yeosang!"

San looked up at me, watery and confused.

"Well maybe he does," Seonghwa shrugged.

I shot Seonghwa a dirty look. He smiled in return.

"Okay fine, but that's not the point."

"What do you mean?" San's voice quavered.

"I mean," I took a seat in one of the chairs I had recently bought to replace the folding ones that usually stood in my living room, "that it's you who wants Yeosang. Wooyoung just picked up on it."

San's mouth opened, surprised. He worked it shut and open and shut a few times.

"Why don't you tell us exactly what Wooyoung said, hmm?" Seonghwa gently asked.

"He said… he said he wanted Yeosang to," San cleared his throat.

We waited.

"He wants Yeosang to fuck him," he finally admitted, "while I watch."

It was Seonghwa's turn to laugh. He immediately apologized, patting San's shoulder softly.

"Sorry," he laughed again, "really. Sorry."

I groaned, leaning back and making a decision.

"Sannie," I started, "I'm going to explain something. I don't really want to talk about it a lot though, okay?"

San nodded.

"You know that I'm bisexual, right?"

Seonghwa's eyebrows lifted, unsure about where I was about to go with this.

San's head tilted, eyebrows furrowing.

"Really?" His lips formed a pout, "I didn't know. But why is th-"

I waved a hand to cut him off.

"It's not important. But on top of that I…" I glanced at Seonghwa.

He was watching me, a single eyebrow lifted. Thanks to San still leaning against his chest, San missed the expression.

"I was, until recently, in a relationship with two people."

San's mouth dropped open. It stayed open this time.

Seonghwa had a strange expression on his face. I would have said it was unreadable, but I knew him better than that. It was a warning. Don't share too many details, puppy. That's what the expression was saying.

"You…" San started, then shook his head. "Did they… know? About each other?"

I nodded.

The room went quiet. San was obviously digesting the information. Seonghwa was busy boring into me with his eyes. I ignored it, knowing I was creating a discussion for myself. What did he want me to do? If I said or did anything in reaction, San would definitely put two and two together - regardless of how upset he was.

"So, what?" San finally spoke up, "what are you suggesting?"

I sighed, leaning forward to place a hand on his knee.

"San, you have held onto your feelings for Yeosang fo-"

"I don't have feelings for Yeosang!" He protested. He squirmed, freeing himself from Seonghwa's arm and standing up again. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Wooyoung is just offering you what you want," Seonghwa explained. "Although he may have miscalculated his approach."

"I don't want to watch Yeosang fuck my boyfriend!"

I glanced at Seonghwa, sharing a lifted eyebrow across the small living space.

"I thought he was just a machine?" I prodded.

"He's… I didn't… it's none of your business what he is to me!"

"If I had to guess," Seonghwa sat forward, crossing his legs to rest his arms against his knee, "Wooyoung didn't just pick up on your attraction to Yeosang…"

San started stuttering out protests, but Seonghwa just kept talking, pushing the conversation forward.

"He probably also picked up on your hesitancy and anxiety about it. He knows you want him, but won't let yourself have him."

I nodded, thinking it over. It was barely a secret between our group of friends and coworkers that San was hopelessly pining for Yeosang. If we could pick it up, Wooyoung - with his array of sensors that could pick up the most minute of changes in a person - would have had no problem noticing it.

"That makes sense," I agreed, "honestly his offer isn't half bad. He probably just didn't propose it properly."

=====

I'll have to admit, the following was shared with me exclusively by Wooyoung. I'm unsure if San knows that I know this. Overall, it doesn't really change anything about how things ended up. It does, however, show that San - for all his blustering mood swings - truly does have a caring heart.

Wooyoung swayed slightly, his booting up taking an extra moment. Typically, he was restarted in a seated position, or laying down. Starting up while standing made him take a few extra microseconds, as his system prioritized his balance before anything else.

He then took a brief moment to himself to review his memories.

Everything seemed to be where he had left it.

"Baby?"

He zoomed in, zoomed out, refocused. The voice was immediately in front of him. San came into focus, crisp as a granny smith apple and clear as crystal.

"You didn't wipe me."

Wooyoung could see the tears gather along San's lower eyelid, building up until the surface tension broke.

"I'm sorry baby," San whispered, reaching up to hold Wooyoung's face, "I should never have said that."

"You scared me Sannie."

"I know. I'm so sorry. I would never do that to you," more tears slid down San's cheeks, "you know that right?"

"You were so mad," Wooyoung replied simply, "I didn't know what you would do."

San let a full sob out, throwing his arms around Wooyoung and crying into his shoulder.

Wooyoung lifted his arms, holding San close.

"I'm so sorry baby. I really am. I would never wipe you! You're perfect right now. I was just so scared!"

"You still shouldn't have said it," Wooyoung admonished. He didn't think the time was quite right to forgive San. Not yet.

"I know! I won't baby. I'll never say it again, I swear!"

San stood up straight, once again taking Wooyoung's face into his hands.

"I was so scared," his voice cracked as he explained, "I thought you were tired of me. I thought you…"

His lips and chin quivered, betraying his efforts to keep from crying more.

Wooyoung leaned forward, kissing his cheek gently.

"I could never be tired of you, Sannie."

San pulled his face so that he could kiss him properly. He laid wet kisses against Wooyoung's lips between his words.

"I know."

Kiss.

"I love you baby."

Kiss.

"I need you."

Kiss.

"I love you."

Wooyoung stopped him from kissing him again.

"You're dehydrated Sannie. Let's get you some water."

San pouted, but let Wooyoung go.

Wooyoung made his way into the small kitchen, trailed by San. He got down a glass and filled it at the sink, all while San plastered himself to his back.

Wooyoung turned in San's arms, holding up the glass.

"Drink."

Obediently, San took the cup. He drained it and placed it on the counter next to Wooyoung.

"When did you last eat?"

San mumbled something, but Wooyoung knew what he needed. Internally, he placed an order.

"Food will be here in about half an hour," he said.

"You don't have to-"

"I already ordered," Wooyoung cut him off. "Now explain."

San blinked, like he had somehow forgotten about Wooyoung's wifi connection. He shook his head and sighed.

"When you mentioned Yeosang…" he paused, as if he was unsure about what to say. "I thought you wanted to leave me."

A few pieces slid into place for Wooyoung.

"But you love Yeosang."

"No, baby," San shook his head again, "I love you."

"I know. But you also love Yeosang."

San stared at him.

"You don't have to choose. I just thought you might feel better about it if it was all three of us."

San didn't say anything for a solid minute. He just stood there, staring at Wooyoung like he didn't know if he wanted to kiss him or force him to power down again.

"Three?" Was all he managed to say once he eventually got his voice working again.

Wooyoung nodded.

"But…"

San visibly gulped.

Wooyoung waited.

"If you knew… why would you…"

Wooyoung lifted a hand to San's cheek, an attempt at encouragement.

"Why would… you said…"

"Why would you only watch?" Wooyoung offered.

San nodded vigorously, glad to not have to say it himself.

"Well," Wooyoung shrugged slightly, slipping his hand slightly lower so it could rest at the base of San's throat. He ran his thumb back and forth against San's adam's apple - multi-tasking at monitoring his heart rate, and slowly adding a sexual edge to the moment.

"Well?" San whispered, trembling slightly under Wooyoung's touch.

Wooyoung's thumb came to a stop, opposite his fingers on San's throat. Gently, just enough to make San's eyelids flutter, he tightened his hold on San's neck.

"Do you think you deserve to touch Yeosang?"

=====

I want to note that at this point in the video review, I stopped the recording and turned to Wooyoung.

"San requested that you be submissive."

Wooyoung shrugged, "things change."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to wrap my head around this development.

"I programmed you to be a sub, albeit a bratty one."

Wooyoung tilted his head, flashing me a smile that made my stomach churn.

That smile should not have been possible. I knew the countless rotors and joints that made up the structure of Wooyoung's face. They could not produce what I was seeing.

"And Seonghwa programmed me to be proactive."

I blinked, not sure if I liked the information I was receiving.

"And we both know how good Seonghwa is at getting others to be more…" Wooyoung hummed, as if thinking of the correct word, "authentic."

He leaned in, lowering his voice as he kept that impossible smile on his face.

"Don't we? Pup?"

=====

Suffice to say, Wooyoung was essentially using San's degradation kink as a tool to ease him into the poly situationship they have going on now.

I still don't know exactly what Seonghwa did to his code. Wooyoung stopped letting me work on him. He says he prefers Seonghwa's contributions, though I still don't know where Hwa learned to do it. I have caught a glimpse of the work though.

It was unrecognizable. It looked like some language I've never seen. I don't mean coding language either. I couldn't tell you what alphabet it uses anymore. It looked like Klingon or something.

As for San… well… he's still a loser. You can tell him I said that. Wooyoung still runs that site, which now features Yeosang, in addition to San, more times than not. I'll openly admit that I still tune in from time to time. More out of morbid curiosity than any sort of erotic urges. It's a gooey window into the mental health of one of my more fragile friends.

Look, we all know things we'd rather not about the people we care about. I just get my information from a live feed sometimes. There's no shame in caring.

=====

Ateez Masterlist

[moonpie016]

*Screams with no rhyme or reason.*

Sooo, I got the book of Bill.

(Haven't gone to the website to figure out anything. Again, not good with codes like this. But still curious. Though I have seen some things here and there. Just wanna do it myself to see anything.)

I'm not going to say anything specific about it because that would be spoiling.

Just a vague sense.

And yeah, so now I have two things to fixate on for...I don't know how long. Huh, that doesn't normally happen. Anyways, I enjoyed it's weirdness and very pretty (pretty in way the pages were designed because. It just reminds me of something. The use of IRL things and drawings. Familiar.)

But enjoyed it nonetheless.

---

(This drawing was done weeks ago.)

---

I drew him. I've only drawn Bill three...or a small amount through the years. (I also drew Dipper and Mabel.. but I don't think I have those drawings anymore because they were old.)

Gravity Falls is now entering my brain.

Watched the show long ago in its entirety.

So it's semi nostalgic. Watched stuff about it years later, and here we are. Still haven't finished Journal 3 yet. Almost done with it though.

Was thinking of making a small Bill to just have. Idk why.

(Everything I consume is so cool and also hard to explain to people who either don't know, or have a vague memory of it.)

Drawing Bill as a person would be.. something. Not gonna make him "attractive". Cus...look at him. He's. Well.

---

I also, because music is something, I wanna make another animatic. Or drawing to audio thing. And it's HMS related, can't not be. It's what's in ma brain. Whenever I do that, you'll see it here.

---

Lots of words, but yay.

Goodness, it was mostly Bill (taking over the mind/j)

---

Anyways, enjoy this. No clue what this was but enjoy!

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