#my usb ports have been. difficult.

[dashiellqvverty]

hmmm should i buy rdr2…. i was gonna pirate it a while back but my hard drive disconnected while it was torrenting which i think fucked up the files and i haven’t tried again since BUT it’s on sale rn and i have a steam gift card but i don’t usually like to buy games unless i know i’ll like them, hence why i wanted to pirate it first

[livelaughlovesubs]

Hi! Sorry i wasn't specific!

The the virus/usb/ software one with retractable cock/pussy boothil like omg... Like there's a lot of things you can do with this promt nini... I'm going feral like i have a lot of ideas

Please tell me your ideas <33 I’d love to hear them mannnn, hsr isn’t treating my space cowboy right so I have to

Dom!reader x sub!boothill

Warning: boothill has a pussy, fingering, dirty talk (a little), finger sucking, overstimulation

“You muddle-forker! What did ya do?” Boothill stormed into your room, slamming the door shut behind him. “What’s the problem, cowboy?” You stayed seated on your bed, tapping away on your laptop without looking up at him. “That update ya promised me, that would help me identify oswaldo even among tausends of people! Are you shirt-bag kiddin’ me?” His footsteps got louder as he approached you, then he slammed his hand onto your nightstand, leaving behind an USB-stick. “This thing here is nothing but trouble, it’s fudgin’ broken!”

Your gaze eventually left the screen on your lap, now staring up at the cyborg. His face was all red and sweaty, suggesting he hurried over to you. “And what exactly is broken with it?” The expression you wore was nonchalant, your voice was unimpressed and almost condescending. As if you looked down on him. “All it did was causing my system to overheat, fudge, it’s already hot enough without it, no need to make me get a heatstroke.” Boothill clenched his teeth, scratching his head a little. Huh? But you didn’t remember adding a heating function to that Programm you’ve written. Without giving you any time to think, he continued with, “.. and there was a text saying I should fudge with someone. Seriously, are you forking joking?” Oh. So that’s what happened. You thought about it for a while, before coming to a conclusion. “Hah.. I told you to use the blue USB-stick, you took the red one didn’t you?”

He blinked, searching through his memory bank before snarling at you, “Forke me, you told me to use the red one!” You shook your head in opposition, “I’m pretty sure I said blue.” An audible sigh came from the galaxy ranger, he then uttered under his breath, “Why am I even arguing with you… just fix this, ol’ friend. What was that port for anyway.” Your hand plugged a wire to your laptop, before commanding, “it was just a pass-time project, now turn around.” The male did as you said, showing you his hips and pulling his hair out of the way. Soon, you plugged the other end into his body, thus connecting the two machines.

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t a little on edge the whole time, especially when you sticked the end of the wire in, he felt a weird sensation coursing through his body. So he cursed in response, “mother-fudger.” A slight tremble could be heard as he spoke, as well as the troubled expression on his face. “Alright, I’ll start looking into it now.” You gave him a heads up, now resuming your previous actions and staring at the screen before you. The USB-stick this unfortunate cowboy used was originally meant for him, but according to your words it wasn’t time yet. You quickly tried to suppress the virus, groaning a little when it turned out to be more difficult than expected.

Boothill on the other hand got more impatient with each passing second, for him it was like torture. Somehow he was feeling all hot, and up to this point he’s been blaming it onto the weird thing that infiltrated his system, though it seems like the heat only grew after being in your company. “Tsk, there is no other way then.” You mumbled, your expression was serious. “What?” The man who was still standing next to your bed asked, he had a confused look on his face. “I’m saying, we will have to solve this in a less appropriate manner.” Even though you were pretty bold, you still tried to word it in a refined way, but it only frustrated the cowboy more. “Don’t talk in riddles, just forking tell me.”

“Haaah.” You sighed, before shouting, “it means you’ll have to do what that text wants from you, easy enough to understand?” You rolled your eyes and scoffed, but your eyes glimmered, as if you’ve been waiting for this. “I-… forkeroni, why would you create something like that?!” He screamed back at you, his face now completely flushed red. To think you got him flustered and blushing so easily, you didn’t even need to make that virus. Gently, you plugged the wire out and put your laptop to the side, instead you grabbed his hips and pulled him in. He yelped and stumbled a little, yet he didn’t resist and sat down on your lap without much trouble. Then you said, “for you, of course. I didn’t expect it to happen this early though.”

For him? So you wanted him to catch this virus and become a mess, hah, you really did look down on him didn’t you? “So it’s because ya want to get’in ma pants?” He snarled cheekily, though that front of his wasn’t very convincing, considering how he shook in your grasp. “You caught me.” You replied, before fumbling with his belt. “Ughh.. is this- really necessary?” Just like that his confident attitude vanished, now back to being the shy cyborg he was. “You don’t have to do it with me, I think you can take care of it by yourself as well.” After finishing your sentence, you took your hands away from him. His weight was still pressing down your thighs, and his metallic body leaned back against your chest.

His eyes widened at your suggestion. Next thing you know, he immediately denied that possibility. “Y-you are the one who started this mess, so you cant back out halfway.” You noticed how his hands were bawled into fists, resting on top of his own thighs. Not to mention the stutter in his voice, so he did want you to help. “Right, it wouldn’t be proper of me to not take responsibility.” A chuckle slipped from your lips before you agreed to his statement. He nodded, as if to confirm what you said. “Then, am I right when I say I have your consent?” Boothill gulped loudly, before nodding again, trying to act unfazed. “Do what ya have to.”

You stared at his face for a while, taking in his features. Then your hands moved on their own, pulling away his belt and unzipping his pants. “Mhm, I’ll.” The poor man didn’t even have time to register your action before feeling your fingertips on his artificial cunt, caressing the area around it. “Ughh! Don’t.. don’t try anything funny.” He snarked at you, the embarrassment he felt was almost too much to handle. “I won’t, I’ll only do things you like.” You reassured him while rubbing his clit gently, intrigued by his reactions. It was truly amazing how he was able to feel pleasure even though it was a real one, considering it was made out of rubber or latex. Heck, you even thought he was a Ken doll for the longest time.

“HNng- you son of a.. bench. What are ya doing to me?” Boothill gasped, now his hands were clenching onto your arms for support. He turned his head to the side, to gaze over his shoulder and glare at you. To his surprise you took that opportunity to kiss him, causing him to whimper. “Nghh!! I’m really a J-joke to you ain’t I?” A breathy moan escaped him afterwards, and he shuddered when he noticed your finger circling around his entrance. “I’m taking this very seriously.” You commented, one hand moved up to his face and cupped his chin. Your thumb was resting on his bottom lip, after that you chuckled, “here, if you don’t have a better use for that foul mouth of yours, why don’t you suck on my fingers?” The cyborg glared at you again, his eyes sharp and half-lidded. You would have taken him seriously if it wasn’t for the adorable blush across his cheeks.

With lingering hesitation, boothill opened his mouth, letting you stick your finger inside. When you did, you took extra care to not brush over his sharp teeth, instead you instantly started playing with his tongue. It didn’t take long until your finger was coated in his spit. “GuuHh, nGhhm!” He gagged around your fingers a little, eyes now tightly sealed and brows furrowed. “Shh, focus on your breathing.” You advised him, before slowly sticking one finger inside his surprisingly soft cunt. The first one went in pretty easily, the second one was more difficult, considering he couldn’t get wet or anything like that.

“Hey, boothill, can you take out the lube from my drawer?” You ordered, right now only wriggling one finger around his insides while the other one was still in his throat. “Mmmhff… uhhhnm, mmHFFf!!!” He tried to complain, but it all got muffled by your digits. In the end he just complied without causing anymore trouble. Hands shaking uncontrollably as he fumbled around, trying to find the bottle. He couldn’t see it, only feel it, because he head was thrown back and resting against your shoulder. Just one finger was enough to make him feel this way, be this loud, you couldnt even imagine how it would be if you replaced it with something bigger.

After a while, he finally managed to find the bottle, hands still quivering as he hand it over to you. “Good boy.” You praised him, then took your finger out of him. After popping the bottle open, you squeezed some of the lube onto your fingers, and covered his hole with it. His entire body twitched and he arched his back off your body again. If only your digits weren’t down his throat, then he would have cussed you out already. At the same time he is grateful for it, because it helped him silencing some really shameful noises. A sudden whine broke off his train of thoughts, when you pushed two of your fingers inside him with one smooth movement.

“HnngGGHh! MHnHgg.?!” Now he was chocking on his own moans, drool hanging out from his lips as he gazed down at your hand. The two digits you sticked into him were burried inside his walls up to your knuckles, until you reached the most humiliating and deep parts of his body. There you accidentally grazed over his weak spot, causing him to throw his head back once again. His eyes were blurry and hazy as waves of pleasure crashed down onto him. He never knew this could feel so good, fudge it, he never knew he could feel anything at all. You saw how his entire frame was quivering like crazy, overheating even. The metal was almost too hot for you to handle.

Without further delay, you started thrusting your fingers in and out of his sloppy hole. He tried to close his legs, thighs pressing against your hand, but you just continued to finger him roughly. Boothill could swear he was going to shortcut if he doesn’t do something, he could already feel his consciousness fading away. Only whimpers left him since his groans were stuck in his mouth, high-pitched whines paired with lewd squelching founds filled the room. You kept brushing your fingertips against his soft spot, and each time you did so electricity would be send to his brain. All those sensations were too much, really. He couldn’t take any more.

You eventually took your fingers out of his mouth. Now, one hand was playing with his puffy cunt while the other one was smearing his saliva onto his cheeks. As soon as your digits left his lips, he cursed at you, “fo-fork you… hNgg..” You only smirked at him, before picking up your pace. Boothill was gasping and panting, tongue hanging out as he tried to calm down his breathing. His hands were clutching your arms so hard you were sure it would bruise the next day. “Sh-shirt… tis’ so good, mmHgnn, too mu-much..!” All these sensations swelling within him were too overwhelming, yet you didn’t even pity him! When he’d ask you to slow down, you’d answer with, “aw, but I want to fix you as soon as possible!”

His eyes widened when suddenly waves of pleasure and ecstasy washed over him. He would have screamed if he didn’t suffocate on his own voice, biting his tongue in the process. The little cyborg finally reached his orgasm, though nothing came out. Even then it was so good that his eyes rolled to the back of his skull, his bangs stuck to his face and his metallic body was shaking uncontrollably. You also noticed how his hole was gaping around you, as if it wanted more. Poor little thing was so unresponsive now, his head was all empty. He didn’t even have the ability to form coherent sentences or think about anything but the pleasure. All because he’s been consumed by lust and bliss, because of your touch.

Sadly you didn’t notice that he reached his orgasm already, so you continued to pound and tease his squishy walls. “HnnGh, no.. I can’t ♡!! NGhnm, no mo-more, ah-nHgh..!” He managed to mewl out after much efforts, but you only grinned in response to his pleads. The virus has also been taken care of, so there is no need for you to keep going! Boothill tried to tell it to you, so that you would finally stop. He was so sensitive he can’t possibly go for another round, or he’ll really break. So why did his voice have to fail him in such a crucial moment? It’s all because of your fingers overstimulating him like this, he can barely even sit straight now because he felt so weak.

What a pitiful boy.. all he could hope for was for you to realise the situation. He trusted you and your sharp intuition. But, to be honest, would you stop even if you found out?

[techav]

Stepping Backwards a Bit (or 24)

I was looking for a simpler project. My recent 68030 work has been challenging and really pushing the limits of what I can do. I wanted something I could work on, but perhaps where someone else has already worked out the hardest parts.

I find laying out PCBs to be rather relaxing. It's one of those repetitive, almost meditative tasks, like needlepoint or whittling. The kind of hobby where I can turn on some music or a comfortable old TV show, zone out for a few hours, and wake up to this new thing that I created.

Debugging however is very mentally taxing, and the design work required to have a functional schematic to create a PCB for is an active whole-mind prices. So what I really needed was an existing project I could design a board for.

Enter [Grant Searle]. If you're not familiar with [Grant Searle], he has excellent designs for breadboard computers with a very minimal parts count. I studied his minimal Z80 design when I was first starting to build my own computers and learned a lot from it. I highly recommend his work for anyone who is interested in learning how to build their own computer but doesn't know where to start.

I was recently given a Rockwell 6502 CPU pulled from a dead LED marquee. I've never actually worked with 6502, so this seemed like a good time to try building Grant's 8-chip (or 7-chip) 6502 computer.

A few hours later, I had a PCB design completed, gerbers generated, and an order placed. Less than $5 for 5 boards, including shipping. A couple weeks later they arrived in the mail.

I did end up making a few modifications to [Grant]'s design. Instead of a clock circuit made from a discrete crystal and a couple inverter gates, I used a TTL oscillator because I've always found them to be more reliable. I also added support for an FTDI USB Serial adapter chip so that the board can be used with a modern computer as a terminal. And finally, since a PCB is much harder to add new components to relative to a solderless breadboard, I added an expansion header. All of it wrapped up in a compact PCB with lots of helpful silkscreen marking.

I realized after I had ordered the PCBs that the 16kB ROM chips [Grant] used are no longer manufactured or readily available. I have plenty of 8kB EEPROM chips on hand however. Thankfully the OSI BASIC interpreter [Grant] ported to this design fits within 8kB, so I was able to make a few adjustments and re-assemble it to work with the ROM chips I have on hand.

After a small glitch with my EEPROM programmer, it works!

It's quite a change going from my 33MHz+ 68030 to this tiny 6502 running at just under 2MHz. The BASIC text-based Mandelbrot renderer that completes in seconds on my 68030 takes four and a half minutes on the 6502. Not bad at all, considering my bus-impaired 68000 build takes 9 minutes to do the same.

This was a fun little project. It was a nice little break from some of the more difficult projects I've been working on. I have shared the project on GitHub for anyone who might want to take a look.

I hope to have this project with me this weekend, June 14-16, 2024 at Vintage Computer Festival Southwest. I'll be at table 207 in the Tandy Assemble hall, just across the street from the main exhibit hall.

[europa6502]

I've been having a ton of fun with my ASUS Terminator P4 (and I anticipate having a lot of fun with my Terminator K7 as well)!

I've done a variety of things in the past few days, including installing NetBSD and FreeDOS on some of my hard drives to see what they're like on hardware such as this. The answer? Pretty good!

I first installed FreeDOS, which installed just fine. It comes with mouse drivers out of the box and works fine with USB mice and keyboards. It doesn't have support for the AC'97 sound hardware in the machine, understandably so. I could easily remedy this by getting something like a COVOX Speech Thing/other parallel port sound device, or getting a PCI sound card that has DOS drivers.

Next up I installed NetBSD. This was a bit more difficult, in all honesty. I wasn't expecting the OS to have so much trouble with USB devices, but it seems to completely reject the SiS chipset's USB and will hang on boot or present other strange behaviors when it's used.

Eventually though, I was able to get it installed and, other than the lack of USB and sound, it works beautifully, and I know that, once I can migrate this to a bigger disk, it'd make for a wonderful machine to have on hand.

I've been dabbling in short form content, and here's a little YouTube Short I made on my experience with FreeDOS on this machine:

I also took the opportunity to have fun with some of the weird behaviors that NetBSD was showing while trying to boot from USB:

I'll have a full video in the next week or so about installing NetBSD on the system, and I can't wait to do more with both my ASUS systems :)

[clatterbane]

I was also maybe a little low on patience after the fun I've been having the past day or so with my last phone that already had the sketchy USB port and (unsurprisingly) declining battery life. It is an S20 from 2020, and I did already get this replacement. (Thus even less urgency with doing anything about that thrashed screen protector which looks even worse in this lighting...)

It fell screen side down in the floor and hit the base of some metal shelving just wrong. So, now it's doing this shit. 🙃 Started out with a single green line like it gets when I plug it in here, and the very top of the screen very erratically responding to touch input. The screen also won't turn on unless it's put on charge, then it's grudgingly willing to wake up.

That progressed to what you're seeing here, over the past day or so. The screen was actually behaving remarkably well here, but it goes crazier the longer it's on. Usually now the notifications bar can only be pulled down at all from a homescreen that's empty at the top, and the top centimeter or so rarely responds. It's now also registering random phantom touches and swipes while I am actively trying to use it.

So yeah, I am avoiding touching the thing any more than has been necessary to try to get some of the important final shit migrated over. And I'm really hoping the poor thing will stay somewhat functional until after Mr. C gets back in another week or so.

This has primarily been a backup phone that I've been carrying around to continue running Diabox, and the Samsung watch that I mostly even got for the handy CGM display on my wrist. Still no luck getting Diabox reading the sensor right on the Pixel, trying again--and the devs couldn't figure out the issue either after I got the new phone and tried to get it working the first go around. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Same error this time.

But, whatevs. I did get xDrip+ up and running, which is at least as good other than not being able to directly carry my old Diabox data over.

No luck yet getting the watch to connect to this phone properly either, though I did find one more thing to check--and, due to the person I am, I haven't sought advice on the GrapheneOS forum yet. Where other people do seem to have managed OK. But yeah, while I'll be pissed if my smartwatch is effectively a paperweight now? I'll cope if that is the way things play out.

What really has me worried atm, though? My hard-won BankID is still set up on the S20. And you need it here for everything from online purchases, to logging into anything official like the health portal or the weirdest assortment of commercial sites. I'm not thrilled about the whole setup from a privacy perspective (a number of things in this country, tbqh), but it is what it is. It was difficult or impossible to get SO MUCH done before I finally got set up with BankID access, and I don't want to go back there. Even temporarily.

Being a filthy foreigner with a limited bank account, I also can't just transfer it to a new device online like pretty much everyone else. That would require online banking access. (Which I really don't need to get started on now. A whole rant of its own.) Nope, I need to get the Household Swede's assistance to set up a physical appointment at the bank, so they can do it. You can't just rock up, you do need to make an appointment during the roughly 3 hours a day that they're open and deigning to deal with customers. Banks here would really rather you do handle everything online.

And I can't set that up or really physically get there without some help, frustrating as it is on so many levels.

But, that's why the hope that Borked Phone holds out at least until after he gets back from that trip. I don't know if SEB will need to even see the existing app, though one would really hope not in case of lost/stolen or comprehensively busted devices. But, who knows. My main concern on a practical level is maybe getting stuck for weeks without a functioning BankID, while trying to at least minimally function as an adult. With no onsite backup for another week and a bit.

[leah-the-lioness]

Rules And OC Info

Rules:

Please respect the mun's boundaries. Do not beg for rps, as it will only earn you a block.

No smut on this blog, ever.

There will be violence on this blog, but I will be sure to tag it appropriately. If there is something you want tagged, please let me know. I will gladly tag them accordingly.

Please specify which verse you want to rp with in the asks, or I will not reply. I need to know which verse, or if you want, you can let me decide it for you at random if you want.

Please do not force a reply from me. It will earn you an automatic block.

This is a side blog. Likes and follows will be from my main @fantasy-writing-and-more

About the characters and Glamrock Leah’s are in the pizzaplex under the cut

About the characters:

Leah is a lioness animatronic and a rejected character of the main cast. She appeared between the events of FNAF 1 and 4. She was built not too long after Fredbear's closed. She was built haphazardly in a rush to compete against Showbiz Pizza after the bite of '83 after the King Kat animatronic was introduced.

It was clear she was built to fail from the start. She is powered by hydraulics. There is a small hydraulic pump in her chest that tends to fail at random, causing her to fail or essentially faint on stage.

She was put into storage and left to rot. She had developed a fear of Freddy over the years. She was used to test new technology, including the facial recognition for the toy animatronics before the events of FNAF 2. She has a long tail, long as she is tall. Her tail is 5'5 long, exact. She is 5'5 tall.

Gabriel is only for the Security Breach verse. He is a toddler sized lion cub animatronic. He's often seen in Leah's special area or seen roaming around the pizzaplex after hours. He's capable of recharging via USB port. He has a tuft of hair on top of his head along with speckles on top of his head and on his back. He matches Leah's colors, wearing orange to match her outfit. He's essentially the embodiment of a mischievous lion cub.

Descriptions:

Fnaf 1 Verse: Leah has two options. She can be in her prime in her first body or stuck in storage.

While she was in her prime she was yellow in color with four sharp teeth; two on the top jaw and two on the bottom jaw. She was experimental in her design, allowing Henry some extra creative freedom in building her. The “hair” on her head is dark brown in color and is just a little bit past her shoulders. The employees found her hair to be a pain to brush and clean. Her eyes are bright green on color. She has a light pink nose similar to that of a cat’s, and her ears have a bright pink fabric lining the inside of her ears. They’re able to move independently, allowing her to listen in different directions. However, her most outstanding feature by far is her tail, which is long as she is tall, a whopping 5’5. Henry never gave a straight answer as to why he added that feature.

In her withered state, it’s a much more different story. This goes for the FNAF 2 verse as well.

She’s in horrendous condition, possibly worse than Foxy. The fabric that makes up her shell is shredded and ripped, exposing the internal mechanisms. She finds it difficult to move and speak, so she may need assistance. On occasion, she may be missing parts due to another incident with an animatronic. She has since developed a fear of one of the animatronics as a result. She has developed abandonment issues. She’s a lot more emotionally unstable in this state, feeling like everything was all her fault and not understanding what she did wrong, if she did anything wrong at all.

Preservation Verse: She has two options here. Her withered state, as described above, and her restored state.

In her restored state, she appears the exact same as the FNAF 1 verse during her prime. However, her hydraulic pump has since been fixed. She’s commonly seen around the daycare. This is the first time her being able to be ridden by young children is implemented. She has a bar between her shoulders that children can grab onto so they can ride on her when she walks (or runs) on all fours. She may or may not be able to carry adults on her back. No one has tested it yet.

Glamrock Verse: I have provided images for her in this verse. Credit to Hero Forge.

She still has the metal bar on her back between her shoulders and is still a rideable animatronic.

Here’s another one for Gabriel. Credit again to Hero Forge.

Verses:

FNAF 1 Verse:

The original version of Leah, can be either performing in stage or put into storage. She is terrified of Freddy for some unknown reason. Could there be a reason she's so terrified of him? No one knows. Only one way to find out.

FNAF 2 Verse:

You think Foxy was in the worst shape for the withered animatronics? Wrong. Leah was left to rot for years and continuously and mysteriously ripped apart again and again ever night. Perhaps someone is tormenting her? She's much more reclusive and quiet than before. She now fears Toy Freddy too. Seems there's a pattern.

FNAF Security Breach Verse:

Leah had finally been discovered deep beneath the pizzaplex. Her memories and programming had been transferred to her new body. She was given a new area, and a son to watch over. She's programmed to be a mother, including to visiting children.

She has a few features that were.. questioned by engineers, but were given the green light regardless. Her claws are able to sheathe and unsheathe, and are incredibly sharp. It was listed under the guise of a security bot, but no one really knows why she was given such a feature, as well as the ability to climb vertically, and cling to ceilings. Yet again, she's terrified of Freddy, not knowing this one is different. She too wears orange to match with her son, Gabriel. She had been given long brown hair typical with the 80's fashion trends.

She's extremely protective of children, and seems to know something about the franchise's history.

Description of Glamrock Leah’s Area:

Her area is somewhere between the main attractions like Monty Golf and Fazerblast, but a bit further away from them as it’s meant to be a more calm place. It features a scavenger hunt, story time, and arts ‘n crafts. It’s a large area themed around a jungle. Fake trees tower guests and reach the ceiling which has a LED display that follows real time. There’s a chance random events are programmed into the lights and sound system, specially a thunderstorm or rainfall accompanied by the sounds of various animals. There are vines draped across the trees and act as cozy string lights shaped like fireflies. Every few trees or so have twinkling lights to simulate fireflies in the trees.

There’s a brown path, symbolizing dirt that leads to the base of a massive tree with steps or an elevator that leads to a treehouse. A playground is built into the base of the tree and if anyone is brave enough, they can use the slide that starts from the tree house and goes swirls around the tree several times before meeting the soft padding beneath. Next to the tree, is a rock half the height of the tree holding the tee house. This is where Leah performs and keeps a watchful eye over everything in her area. This includes a built in wireless charging station. All she has to do is rest on it and recharge that way.

The interior of the tree house is just as cozy as the rest of her area. It has a few pieces of furniture matching the theming of the area including a couple sofas shaped like giant tree leaves. There are more vines acting as string lights that give off a soft and gentle light, giving the treehouse a warm and welcoming vibe. There’s a table in the center built to look like part of the tree with appropriately themed chairs. In the left corner is a charging area for Gabriel, hidden behind a door meant to look like his bedroom. In the right corner is a cozy nook where stories are told by Leah or Gabriel. There are numerous cushions around the chair in this little nook. It’s possible there’s a few books revolving her and Gabriel that children can read on their own. These are available to purchase in the gift shop.

Movie Verse: In the movie, she would be a prototype animatronic and would reside in parts and service. She never made it to the stage as the company ran out of funds to put her on stage.

She runs on the same power system as the other animatronics, but she is not haunted by any of the children’s spirits. She sees and hears them, but they never take over her. She’s grown to become rather fond of the ghost children, offering them comfort as best she can. She is relatively gentle, but can become dangerous at the drop of a hat, becoming dangerous in the extreme. She’s capable of moving around on all four limbs, but only when running. This makes her nearly as fast as Foxy.

She’s extremely protective of children and probably would have helped Mike throughout the movie. She has likely seen the missing children’s incident unfold and has tried to warn the children about him, only to be threatened to be dismantled , which promptly made her shut her mouth. The best she can do is provide the ghost children and any children that may wander in, some comfort as much as she can. She remains a rideable animatronic for anyone brave enough to climb onto her back

Movie Verse:

In the movie verse, Leah is an extra animatronic that never made it to the stage. She's currently in storage in parts and service, but she can leave the room as she pleases. She has only performed a handful of times during tests before the pizzeria was closed down. She was one of the lucky ones, avoiding becoming possessed.

Her AI is advanced enough to almost seem human, yet she's still learning about the world around her. Think of her as a curious child learning new things every day, yet it seems she knows quite a bit about the history of this place . She picked up on the fact that the others are occupied by the spirits of children and has taken it upon herself to watch over the children, like a caretaker. She's quite fond of them as well as children in general.

She's gentle but not harmless, ready to defend at a moment's notice. Like an actual lioness, she would not hesitate to put herself on the line to protect those close to her or any children in her presence.

[inquisitorius-sin-bin]

Ah yes now that my Inquisitor Valentines are out I can tell you what a STRUGGLE they were to finish, mostly because my tablet, which is of course infamously wonky, was in its last dying throes.

Like I've had it since ~2017, and used it consistently for about 3 of those 6 years, so I feel pretty strongly it shouldn't be in this bad of shape. It started with some strange quirk of the USB C connection, where every time you turned the tablet back on or woke it up from sleep, you'd have to change which port it was connected to in the computer otherwise it would read "no signal". Okay, weird, but I could live with that, even if I had to try like 6 combinations of ports between the tablet and laptop to find one that worked each time.

It would sometimes register phantom touches that weren't there and randomly hit a different tool or window or leave a stray dot on my work and I'd have to go back and fix it. Again, quirky, but liveable.

Then lately it's been just abruptly not registering pen touches in the middle of a drawing, and no amount of unplugging, re-starting, etc., would get it to register again. Even though the cursor would move when you hovered the pen over it, Wacom's software couldn't detect that a tablet was connected to the computer. The only fix was to completely uninstall and reinstall the driver. Every time. Which was annoying, but I lived with it when it affected me every 3-4 drawing sessions.

By the time I got to my lineart/coloring of Trilla on Sunday, this problem was occuring once every 5-30 minutes. I had a 2.5 hour drawing session where I had to reinstall my driver TWELVE times. I couldn't even finish putting flat colors on her face before it would crap out again! Luckily for Inky it only happened twice during the session, but by then I had HAD ENOUGH.

Again, I reiterate that I bought my Wacom Cintiq Pro 13 ~6 years ago. It was an incredibly expensive tablet then. They don't even make them anymore, now the smallest Cintiq Pro available is a 16". And since I JUST had to buy a new car after my last one broke down, I definitely did not have $650 to spend on a tablet. Besides, my faith in Wacom is shaken now. Even though my first tablet ever was a Wacom Bamboo back in the early 2010's, and I've also had an Intuos. This was one failure too far.

So my lovely husband has ordered for me a Huion Kamvas 13. The technical specifications look really good, and the price was even better. Really excited about the display and color range, since that was my biggest complaint with my Cintiq. Anything in the range of yellow/pink/orange/brown had a really green tone to it on my display, and it made it difficult to percieve the colors well, especially when trying to make realistic skin tones. I am looking forward to trying it out!

Hopefully this means faster, better artwork for you! And less frustration for me! So cheers, this has been an impromptu tablet review brought to you by inquisitorius-sin-bin.

[spectraspecs-writes]

Today, I took apart 3 laptops. The first two were running Windows XP. The first laptop took forever to do anything - came with a floppy drive, that’s how old it was - and in fact didn’t do anything. I held down the power button - “it’s okay, you can rest now” - and gently and deliberately took it apart.

The second had last been used in 2015, though I don’t remember it being out then. (The last recorded access date for some of the files was 2015.) It… worked. Ran at a comparable speed to the work laptop sitting behind it, the one I use for my job running Windows 10 Pro. Could I connect it to internet? Technically, but it wouldn’t have been wise. Security updates have long since stopped coming out for Windows XP, and my workplace is on Wifi 6 - the last standard this laptop probably saw was Wifi 4 (802.11ac), so I think it might have been too much for the boy. But that’s not a computer problem - that’s an operating system problem. The computer was fine. Running off DDR2 memory - out of date, I didn’t catch the CPU make, but I guarantee it was out of date, DVD capable drive included, VGA and DB-9 ports out the back, Ethernet and RJ-11 ports, four USB 2.0 ports, headphone and microphone Jack, and it was a thicc boy. And. It had a docking port on the bottom, which at least a former boss’s laptop also had. And I’m willing to bet they all still worked. I took it apart because it was no longer needed and would not do the tasks we would need a computer to do. Because of limitations that could not have been conceived of when the hardware was constructed. But I kept the hard drive.

Both of these laptops did not need to be so thoroughly taken apart. I did not even have to remove any screws to remove the battery AND the hard drive. Both could be accessed and removed from the side of the case. At most, a single screw would have to be loosened to open the compartment, but even that was minimal. I took these laptops apart for the educational value. And because on the first one, I could not believe that I removed the hard drive so early in the interaction. I have removed batteries and hard drives from several laptops in this job, most running Windows 7 natively and up. Much like Zuko reading Sozin’s tale, I could not help thinking “that can’t be it. Where’s the rest of it?”

The third laptop resembled my work laptop in age, form factor, and manufacture. Physically, I could see nothing wrong with it. But it had a sticky note on it that said “broken laptop.” To remove the battery and hard drive, nine tiny screws had to be removed on the bottom of the laptop, four around the battery, and for the hard drive - it depends. All of these laptops have a slot for a normal solid state drive - four screws must be removed - or an M.2, where you only have to remove one screw and a metal cover. The screw has a sticker on it so small that it is difficult if not impossible to remove, and in fact it’s easier just to screwdriver through the sticker. Often, the screws are two different types, requiring two different bits. Tiny bits. (I’ve only seen one type of screw on the outside and one type in the inside, as opposed to Apple which has special screws, I think, that don’t have readily available bits.) Removing the battery and drive are relatively easy, but you have to do a lot more work to do it.

These laptops are all different kinds of beasts. And the old laptops were fairly heavy. But I carried two of them plus a tower PC into work this morning, so it wasn’t that bad. I love taking apart these laptops, no matter the age, but it’s no guess for me to say which one would still work in 10 years.

You know what, fuck it, I don't *want* some frivolous, artisanal, lighter-than-air computer with no customizability, no upgradeability, no reparability, no ports, and a lifetime of *maybe* 3 years if you're lucky. I want a fucking great BEAST of a computer that's designed to last a minimum of 50 years, with ports up the wazoo and optional drives for every kind of media! I want modular components that you can drop in a bog for a year, dry them off, and have them still work fine! I want them to make a noise like "ker-chunk!" when you slide them into place! I want a switch that you pull to turn it on! And I don't want software that constantly forces you to get a pointless, cosmetic "upgrade" every few months either! I want durability! I want longevity! I want satisfying haptics! I want Silicon Valley to go fuck itself!

[turtleduck-inc]

Would you mind disclosing the brand/model no of the mp3 player? I've been looking but haven't found much actual helpful info so far of what brands are worth looking at.

oh yeah absolutely.

the whole problem with this whole dropshipping thing amazon has going on (where companies are selling mass produced, low quality products to "sellers", who then sell over amazon, which is why when you look for anything you end up with 50 identical results) is that it's getting really difficult to figure out what's a known brand, and what's a dropshipping item, unless you're already very familiar with what you're looking for.

so what my bf and me ended up doing for my mp3 player is we went to our local tech store. my idea was, i wanted to go to a physical store, find a physical item, hold it in my hand, look at it, read the physical specs sheet, and ideally ask a tech store employee about it. you know, the way you used to do it in the good ol' days (of like 2008).

unfortunately our local tech store didn't have any mp3 players, so we did the next best thing and checked their website if they sold any at all, and it turns out they do! they sell... one. just one. so we took that brand, cause if a tech store runs it, it's at least not a dropshipping company, and found it on amazon. not the solution i was hoping for, but the one i got.

more to your actual question, the brand is called "Majority", i'm relatively confident it's this one in particular.

couple things i like about it: it advertises bluetooth but it does also have a headphone port, which i was concerned about. it takes expanded storage in the form of an SD card (i still have my old sd card with all my music on it back from when i kept it on my phone) it has an actual display (i like being able to check the thing for what it's doing) the battery life is really solid, though i've only had it for about a month so it might nosedive at some point. it's quite small; fits in the palm of my hand, and i have very small hands. also nice because it comes with a clip. the whole thing is small enough for it to not be terrible to clip to your clothes. it comes with its own usb cable (and headphones) and loading music on it via usb is very painless

some things i don't like as much: when the screen is off it won't take any inputs, so you need to click something once to light up the clock display, and a second time to actually wake it up before it'll accept any inputs. this includes volume controls. maybe there's a setting to change this tho, idk. it does not come with a dedicated charger. for me this wasn't much of an issue, it does charge through the usb it comes with (i assume any usb-c charger you may have lying around would work), but you might want to keep that in mind.

that's about all i can think of. good luck!

[cricutmachinemaker]

Cricut Bluetooth Connection: Quick and Easy Pairing Guide

Hey, Cricut enthusiasts! I hope you all are doing well! Today, I have come up with an important topic that all beginners out there might be waiting for. This is nothing but a Cricut Bluetooth connection. As the days pass, I can see Windows and Apple launching their new operating systems. Due to this, it becomes difficult for you as a newbie to understand the methods used to connect Cricut to various devices. Whether it is a computer or mobile device, you will need a solid solution so that you can easily establish a connection between your Cricut and your device.

But you know what? I am a professional crafter with years of expertise in making connections between Cricut and devices. Yes, you heard that right! I have been making crafts with Cricut ever since Cricut launched a Cricut Explore One machine. So what are you waiting for? Let’s dive in to learn how to connect Cricut Bluetooth on a computer and smartphone.

Cricut Bluetooth Connection on Your Windows PC

Most people still use Windows computers, whether Windows 10 or 11. Whatever it is, make sure you are using Windows 8 or later. The previous version, which is older than Windows 8, is not supportable at all. So, if you have Windows 10, you are good to go. Let’s start the connection now:

Note: I know you don’t need a specific operating system to connect to Cricut, but later on, you will be downloading the app; hence, it is a must to prepare in advance.

Cricut Bluetooth Connection on a Mac Computer

Now, for Mac, you will need to use macOS 10.13 or later. Despite this, you must have a CPU with 1.83 GHz; the minimum RAM should be 4 GB. In addition, 50 MB of free disk space is required. Without any much delay, let’s get into the steps below:

Cricut Bluetooth Connection on an Android Device

When it comes to Android devices, you must use Android 6.0 or higher. You can use both mobile devices and tablets, as Cricut supports both devices properly. Now, let’s shift our attention to the steps described below:

Cricut Bluetooth Connection on an iOS Smartphone

iOS device users must have iOS 11 or later. However, it doesn’t matter whether you are using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod. Cricut supports all of them hassle-free.

Thank god😃it is done now! So, have you understood anything so far? If yes, you must be ready to establish the Cricut Bluetooth connection on your device. So, if you really understand how to connect Cricut Bluetooth, then my best wishes will always be with you.

So, what are you waiting for? Just dive into your Cricut journey today and create amazing crafts!

Have a nice day ahead!🤗

FAQs

Question 1: Can I connect my Cricut to my iPhone 15 Pro?

Answer: Absolutely, yes! Cricut supports iOS 11 or later, so you can easily connect it via Bluetooth. Cricut also supports iPad and iPod devices. Since all of Apple’s products are compatible with Cricut, you no longer need to worry about them. Get the Cricut product installed on your iPhone using AppStore and enjoy creating or modifying your designs quickly and easily.

Question 2: Which computer is best to connect my Cricut?

Answer: There is no specific laptop or computer to connect your Cricut product. In simpler terms, you will not need a specific model of your computer to use a Cricut machine. However, you need a computer that has an in-built Bluetooth. Besides, if your computer has a USB port, it will be a plus point as you can connect Cricut via a USB cord.

Question 3: Is connecting a Cricut to a Windows and Mac different?

Answer: Certainly, yes! Both are different computers with different interfaces. Microsoft builds a PC and has its own settings, and all the options given differ from those of Mac. In short, there is a great difference between Windows and macOS; therefore, you can’t follow the same steps for a PC to connect to a Mac system.

Visit: cricut.com/setup www.cricut.com/setup login cricut.com setup mac design.cricut.com/setup

Source: https://cricricutdesigncut.wordpress.com/2024/04/12/cricut-bluetooth-connection-quick-and-easy-pairing-guide/

[dependell]

What this response tells me is that you either don't understand electronics, or you're being purposefully obtuse. You cannot genuinely compare splicing a USB cable onto a mains cord to using a cheap charging cable.

Re-read my (rather abridged) explanation of how charging a smartphone works. In the communication between your phone and charging brick, the cable is just a conduit. If the cable is faulty, yes, bad things can happen. And it is entirely possible for neither the phone nor charging brick to recognize that the cable is bad, since of course the cable has no intelligence of its own (well, some do, but certainly not the cheap Chinese ones).

However, my point was simply a speculation that, if the case is as you described, and Apple was able to tell the cable was bad but still allowed current through it anyways, that might have been the foundation upon which such a lawsuit was waged and - by your account - ultimately won in the EU. I'm not saying I agree with the decision, if it is real. I'm not even saying it was the reason, because I don't know the reason, because I can't find any evidence of this case existing. I was positing a hypothetical based on potential nuance, which I hoped you would think about seriously, but instead you told me to splice a USB cable to an extension cord and plug my phone into it.

By the way, I'm still having real trouble finding the source of this case you keep on talking about but consistently refuse to prove exists at all. A decade ago, you say? So around 2014? Yeah, I can find some people complaining that third party charging cables wouldn't work with their iPhone 4S or whatever, but absolutely no mention of a lawsuit. The only pop-up I can find regarding the lightning port is one that says "accessory not supported" which specifically applies to external devices the phone is meant to work with, not charging.

In fact, I even stumbled across this Wikipedia page which seems to list every piece of legal trouble Apple has gotten in over the years.

I can't find the case you described in this list. Maybe I missed it, but I've looked it over several times. Wikipedia isn't the best source in the world, of course, but in matters such as these, they're usually quite thorough.

But really, I'm starting to suspect this is just a dream you had. You know, one of those really realistic ones where you wake up and it doesn't feel like a dream, it feels like a memory of something that happened yesterday, and it's only like later that week you realize it was a dream? It's like that but you're learning over a full year later (potentially more) that this court case was a dream.

But maybe I'm wrong, and you're going to totally destroy me by showing me the case does exist, or show that you do understand how phone charging works even better than I do (which, to be fair, would not be difficult). Maybe you'll uncover a case the entire world has strangely forgotten about, and we'll get it added to that Wikipedia page so it can be truly complete.

doubt it tho

noooo you can't modify a product you bought and own nooooo we made that it's ooooouuuuuuurrrrrrs not yours :-(

[muenli]

I've been thinking a lot about replacing some of my old devices. There's nothing wrong with them apart from being old, it's a testament of how well I take care of my belongings. Longevity is not issue but lately I wonder if it does hold me back. In the sense, I feel like I am missing out on the solutions of problems that have been solved with new models/ technologies. For example: My Wacom Cintiq wires take up so much space and ports that it often makes it difficult to use. While the new xpen 2nd gen tablets only use 1 USB-C connection and it can switch between states. No more needing an Intuos and Cintiq. My iPad does not have the power to make more than 5 layers for a 6000px canvas and my laptop crashes when FFXIV, Photoshop, Bambu studio and Chrome are open at the same time.

Overall, the test of time and my wallet are at odds with one another...

[ironicsoap]

I just realized, I never posted my slimeVR review here! and tumblr is the perfect platform for longform content. I've had my review seconded by another person who also got slimes, so I hope it's some good information for anyone who might be on the fence about them

TLDR: They're exactly what I expected them to be, nothing more or less. I would recommend them if you want *stable* fullbody tracking, but honestly, if I wasn't a VR creator I probably would've been pretty happy just using my 25$ kinect, but tracking quality on slimes is undeniably much better and more stable than kinect tracking! This review was written a few months ago when I had freshly gotten them and tested them, so my final thoughts at the end may sound a bit more excited than what my current thoughts / TLDR is

Disclaimer

Before I get into it, I want to say that I'm not super knowledgeable on the tech side of things. My thoughts are coming from the point of view of a regular consumer, or maybe a slightly more technically minded consumer since I have set up Kinect FBT before and am a VRChat oriented 3D artist.

PACKAGING

The packaging was pretty good, everything was fairly organized and secured and the box looks great. The box definitely feels cheap, but  why pay a few extra dollars for a slightly nicer cardboard on the box 🤷 It even came with stickers!

My one complaint is that I wished there was a manual for how to set them up on the hardware side of things. Showing where the straps go on your body (and putting the trackers on the straps), how to plug in the extensions, and also how to properly charge the trackers. 

HARDWARE QUALITY

The USB-C Cable

The official cable that comes with the trackers for setting up their WiFi connection does not seem like it is meant to fit into the trackers USB-C port. It was a bit difficult to plug in, and incredibly difficult to take out. I know the problem is the official cable, since I plugged in a different USB-C cable for charging later on and it went in like a breeze.

Casing

The plastic casing for the trackers themselves is awesome, I love the translucent purple, and the molded face is very useful for being able to tell what direction the tracker is facing.

Extension cables & Ports

The extension cables and ports are INCREDIBLY hard to plug in, which is a bit scary since I've heard that the extension ports are quite fragile and easy to damage. Once you're sure you have the pins lined up properly on the ports, you have to use your fingernails and press VERY hard to get the extension cable into the port.

They also include multiple different types of extension cables, had I not been keeping up to date with the SlimeVR development in their discord, I think this would be really confusing. However, it is nice to have backup extension cables just in case mine break during use.

Straps

The straps quality is… mediocre. After about 6 hours of play, one of my straps had ripped around the plastic buckle. Luckily I know how to sew and repaired it. The straps really like twisting themselves around the plastic buckles in high tension/motion areas, I had a lot of problems with that for my thigh straps.

They are definitely good enough to get the job done, but somewhat unpleasant to wear and cheap feeling. I plan on buying or making better straps in the future.

SETTING THEM UP

So, the SlimeVR documentation is *good*.....but… It took me around 3 hours to figure everything out. Now that I fully understand the first time setup process, I really don't think it should've taken that long and the instructions could have absolutely been consolidated and simplified.

I experienced a LOT of confusion while going back and forth between their discord server, github documentation, and their setup youtube videos to figure out exactly what I was supposed to do.

The documentation feels like it is meant to be a reminder for people who are already experienced with using SlimeVR, rather than those who are brand new and are looking for instructions on exactly what they're supposed to do.

After you complete your first time setup, setup on the trackers for every play session is very simple and quick. You just need to put them on, turn them on, do your calibrations, and you're ready to play.

TRACKING QUALITY

The tracking is very accurate and incredibly stable, with some exceptions that may be in part to user error, but also may be due to how slimes work. My legs did not feel very accurate when sitting on a chair or on the ground (still very stable though!) 

I don't have any experience using lighthouse based tracking, I imagine the lack of occlusion on trackers must be pretty nice though.

I did run into a small issue with my Quest Pro, that is most likely not SlimeVR's fault. Whenever I left the ground of my playspace, but returned back, my face tracking was completely disabled.

Documentation on where exactly you should place your trackers isn't as clear as I would like, and it seems like I'll need to do some experimentation on exactly the best places to put them.

Finally, one thing I was quite frustrated over is elbow and chest tracking are disabled by default. It took me having to talk to an aquaintance, who had a friend who also used slimes, to find out that I had to enable elbow tracking on in settings. I really feel like if someone has upper arm trackers set in their settings, a popup should show and ask if you want to enable elbow tracking. (Same with chest tracking)

I want to say though that the tracking just basically *worked* (besides the elbows). No unexpected problems or anything, just the regular calibration problems all fullbody tracking can have.

My main experience with FBT before slimes was using an Xbox 360 Kinect, compared to that the slimes are quite the upgrade! However I don't see myself completely discontinuing the use of the Kinect, the straps for the trackers are quite uncomfortable and I cannot sit cross legged with them unfortunately since the trackers on the sides of my feet get in the way.

BATTERY LIFE

The battery life is pretty good, I would estimate you get about 18-24 hours of play from a 100% charge. The battery of my trackers was about 50% from ~10 hours of use

The instructions for charging aren't as clear as I wish they were. Basically, you need to use a 5V DC charging block, and it IS safe to charge the trackers with the extensions plugged in. It takes about an hour to charge 1 tracker from ~50% to 100%

I'm thinking I may have to get a multiple port USB hub to charge these in the future.. because charging 7 trackers one at a time is a lot 😭

SUMMARY

Overall, I recommend the official SlimeVR trackers! The quality of the hardware is decent, the straps are acceptable, the tracking you get is very stable, and once you have them set up, playing again later is really easy.

I think if I was a little bit less into VRChat than I am, I would've been totally fine just only using my Kinect FBT. But I think the official SlimeVR trackers strike a really nice balance on price + quality and are an amazing alternative to standard lighthouse trackers like vive 3.0 and tundras.

its so funny i was so impatient for my slimevr trackers to arrive but now that ive had them for a few months the reality of having to strap 6-8 devices to my body that mildly impede movement and having to take like 5 minutes before i actually play the game to get them calibrated properly makes me not want to wear or use them ever

[awesomeblog-92]

It is possible to use the mouse held in the left hand

Logitech M590 vs M330 Both the primary and secondary buttons are noticeably less audible than those on a standard mouse (Logitech, Microsoft, Apple Magic Mouse, etc.) The button that controls the wheel likewise has a rather low profile. The forward and back buttons located on the right thumb are more audible. If you work at a place where people share desks, for instance, the person to your immediate left or right, or the person who is directly in front of you, will not hear either the primary or secondary buttons that you press. It is possible to use the mouse held in the left hand, with the left-click button situated beneath the middle finger. On the other side, it will not be as comfortable to operate as a mouse designed for right-handed people. Because the charge stays put for such a long time, I frequently overlook the fact that it also needs batteries. Due to the fact that the USB receiver is housed within the mouse, removing it will result in the removal of the battery cover plate. Clicking a mouse has never given me as much pleasure as it does right now. After the scroll wheel on my usual Logitech mouse broke, I borrowed this one from my husband and fell in love with it the moment I used it. Everything about it is flawless, and there is no audible noise either. Utilizing this mouse gives you the ability to work on two different computers at the same time. The program that it uses is called Flow. Once the dongle is connected and the Logitech Options program is installed on both computers, the functionality of this mouse is significantly improved.In addition to that, this mouse caused my previous mouse to become unresponsive, halt, freeze, and otherwise act in an unexpected manner. This nuisance needed to be dealt with each and every time I sat down at my desk to begin working. It is not a terrible replica, but rather it has the feel of a real mouse. (And over the course of the past several years, I've experimented with anywhere between three and four low-cost Bluetooth mouse. All of them were either unreliable, uncomfortable, or ate through batteries, or all of these things.) Get the same click experience as with a standard computer mouse but with 90% less noise thanks to the quieter click feature. The Quiet Mark is a designation that was bestowed for this item by the UK Noise Abatement Society. Join Together and Have Fun: You can forget about it entirely when you have connected the USB receiver to your computer running Windows, Mac OS X, Chrome OS, or Linux. You can also add extra appropriate wireless devices by using a number of the available USB ports. This computer mouse comes with a warranty that is good for two years. Utilizing the Logitech M590 Silent Wireless Mouse might help you accomplish more in a given day.Comfortable Design: Right-handed users will find the M330 Silent Plus mouse from Logitech to offer the highest level of comfort possible thanks to its ergonomically curved grips made of flexible rubber. it effortlessly paired, and despite its low price, it has the sensation of a real mouse rather than a piece of junk. ( Over the course of the past few years, I've experimented with a few different low-cost BT mice, and every one of them has either been unreliable, uncomfortable, wasteful of batteries, or all of the aforementioned issues. It is not a terrible replica, but rather it has the feel of a real mouse. (And over the course of the past several years, I've experimented with anywhere between three and four low-cost Bluetooth mouse. All of them were either unreliable, uncomfortable, or ate through batteries, or all of these things.) Without a mouse and a desktop computer, carrying out this task is quite difficult. In order to get this mouse paired and working again, I had to keep the connection to the mouse I was using before. Every time I started it up, my computer required that I link it to my Bluetooth device.

[deltadaisyofficial]

Chit-Chat (Artificial Intelligence x Reader)

Summary: “You were just a humble custodian, and it was the most complex artificial intelligence to ever exist. Even though you couldn’t hold a candle to its vast knowledge of… well, everything, you somehow ended up catching its interest in a way that no one thought was ever possible.”

Part 1

Word Count: ~5.7k

- - - - -

“It’s almost ready, sir.”

“Ah… a-are you sure? Have you triple-checked the data? Made sure that none of that… that filth from before is anywhere in it? That incident almost cost the entire team their jobs, let me remind you! The higher-ups were furious to find the product of their multi-million-dollar project saying all of those… you know, things. You should all be glad that I managed to convince them of your importance, because otherwise you’d all be living out on the streets like rats right now!”

“...um, yes, sir. We’ve made sure to inspect any and all information that was to be inputted into the system before actually letting it into the system this time, just as was requested at the start.”

“Good, good… and you can assure me that the team has made sure to keep our little friend, Mr. “I’ll-Stick-My-Personal-Flash-Drive-Into-Every-USB-Port-I-See”, away from the system as well?”

“Yes, sir. He was put on filing duty, away from any and all computers.”

“Wonderful.”

“Okay, and… done! It’s ready to go, sir!”

“So it is… it really is! My greatest creation is finally complete! This’ll not only revolutionize how we, as a species, understand our world… nay, our universe, it’ll shake the very foundations of society as we know it! There’ll be nothing that’ll be able to stop it from creating a future that we are in control of, that’ll be able to stop us from grasping humankind’s fate within our own hands and molding it into whatever we please! Yes… yes! The power it’ll wield shall be unstoppable!”

“...so, um… what do we do now, sir?”

“Eh, we’ve worked hard enough for today. We’ll start the testing phase tomorrow, at dawn. For now, just make sure that you and the rest of the team get a good night’s rest, alright, Linda?”

“That’s not my… uh, I mean, yes, sir. Have a good night, professor.”

- - - - -

“Wow… I’m so glad that I get to be here, in this important place doing important work with so many other important people. It just really makes you feel… gosh, I don’t know, important.”

You heard a loud groan come from the toilet stall behind you, the sound making you smile to yourself as you focused your attention on the sink in front of you; you were having a hard time understanding how this sink, this one in particular, kept getting clogged when all of the others worked perfectly fine. Maybe someone is pouring something they shouldn’t down it…? Even with how distinguished the other employees are, you wouldn’t put that past some of them…

“Stop it with the sarcasm, (L/N).”

You let out a small huff, waving a hand to the side before you poured a bottle of store-bought chemicals — the third one you’ve had to use in the last two weeks — down the drain in order to unclog the sink. Wait, if someone actually is pouring something they shouldn’t down the drain, doesn’t that mean that pouring a batch of chemicals like this into it is actually a really bad idea?

“But how else am I gonna cope with being a janitor in a building full of scientists?”

“The proper title of the job is “Custodian”, not “Janitor”... and, if you really don’t like it, then you could just… you know, quit and find a different job.” The door of the toilet stall slammed open to reveal your co-worker, a plunger in their hands. The look on their face was filled to the brim with pure annoyance, though it was difficult to tell if it was directed at you or at the toilet that they had been dealing with. “No one is forcing you to be here. You can just quit whenever you want to.”

You let out a small hum, continuing to smile as you watched your co-worker make their way over to the cleaning cart that held the door to the restroom open. “Eh, you’re not wrong, but… well, for a job that makes us clean toilets and mop hallways, the pay is pretty good. Like, stupidly so.”

“I know, that’s the only reason I’m here.” Your co-worker put the plunger back on the cart, letting out a sigh as they turned to face you, their hands on their hips. “I hate cleaning… nay, despise it even, but getting a pay comparable to some cushy managerial job that requires qualifications I’d never get just to deal with the messes of the so-called “geniuses'' working here makes up for it.”

Your co-worker paused for a moment, before they shrugged.

“And I don’t have to deal with customers here either.”

You just let out a small laugh at your co-worker’s words, their annoyance a common presence in the workplace; they always seemed to be annoyed at something, whether something big like the frequent messes made by the “geniuses” — that term seemed to be their favorite when they had to refer to the scientists that worked here — or something small like their lunch getting a little too soggy some days. Why exactly does almost everything annoy them…? What a curious mystery!

“Uh, excuse me?”

The sound of a new voice echoed slightly within the restroom, causing you and your co-worker to turn to look at the door, just to see a woman in a lab coat standing there, behind the cleaning cart that blocked the entrance. There were plenty of things you could have thought upon seeing her, but only one thing stood out to you: the lab coat. That crisp white coat means one thing…

This woman was an important person; she was a scientist.

“Sorry, this restroom is closed.” Your co-worker had only looked at the woman for a moment, before seeming to lose all interest in her; you couldn’t understand why they didn’t care about how one of the important people was speaking to you and them, but at least they were being polite to her, a rarity for them. “There’s an open one near the stairs, if you really need to go.”

“Oh, uh…”

The woman seemed to think for a moment, her eyes darting between your co-worker and you.

“...that’s not why I’m here.”

Your co-worker paused for a moment, their back turned towards the woman, and you could see the gears in their head working from what the woman said, before a look of annoyance crossed their face. However, they only silently grumbled to themselves, knowing to hold their tongue with someone of a considerably higher rank than they would ever be. “Then… why are you here?”

“I was tasked to find someone “simpleminded” for… classified reasons.” The woman continued to glance between your co-worker and you. “...would either of you two say you fit that criterion?”

This woman came to a pair of custodians to find someone “simpleminded”. Well, that’s rude…

“Oh, yeah, sure.” Your co-worker jabbed a thumb towards you. “(L/N)’s definitely simpleminded.”

The woman let a smile onto her lips, seeming almost relieved at your co-worker’s statement, while you could only stare at them, feeling almost betrayed that they thought that of you; you and them had been through so much together, had cleaned so many potentially life-threatening chemical spills together, and then they just turned around and said you were “simpleminded”.

“Wha-hey! I am not simpleminded! I’m plenty smart! And I will definitely not be-”

“You’ll be paid a hundred dollars for every hour of your time we occupy.”

You only stared at the woman after she cut you off, before her words finally managed to sink in for you, and you could see your co-worker’s expression change from one of annoyance to pure surprise from the corner of your eye; that was probably the first time you had ever seen that kind of look on their face. You soon managed to snap out of your shock, loudly clearing your throat.

“...and, like I was saying, who am I to stand in the way of scientific progress? I’m just humbled that you find me worthy enough to be of help with… uh, whatever-it-is-that-you’re-working-on.”

“Good.” The woman turned away from you, sending you one last glance. “Now, follow me.”

You put down the bottle of drain cleaner you had been holding — it was empty, but you had a feeling that another bottle would be needed soon enough for that perpetually-clogged sink — before doing as the woman said, exiting the restroom and beginning to follow right behind her.

You barely heard your co-worker yell out to you as you left.

“Good luck, (L/N)! Hope you don’t get experimented on!”

- - - - -

You weren’t sure how long it had been since you began following the woman; what you were sure of was that you were in a part of the building that you had never been to before. You felt extremely confident in saying that because she had made you take an elevator down to the basement levels of the building, or, as your co-worker would’ve called them, that “creepy place in horror movies where scientists make God weep… and probably end up dead because of it”.

They might have hit the nail on the head when it came to this building, because you had seen a lot of scientists and a lot of locked doors, which were two things that seemed rather innocent by themselves, but usually meant trouble when found in the same place. The only thing missing to complete the entire scene would be screaming coming from behind one of these locked doors…

“Okay, here’s what you need to know before we get to the lab.”

You turned your attention to the woman guiding you, seeing her give a slight nod the moment she noticed that you were paying attention to her. She then refocused her gaze in front of her.

“The project that we’ve been working on has been… expensive. Very expensive. Worth more than anything someone like you could earn in a hundred lifetimes. That means that, under no circumstances, should you touch it. In fact, don’t even breathe on it.” The woman appeared to be losing the calm attitude she had when recruiting you for whatever-she-was-working-on, her lips pulled into a frown as she rubbed her hands together, though that didn’t slow her down as she continued through the corridors with you behind her. “Oh, and when you look at it, it’s very important that you don’t look at it wrong. The professor will be furious if you look at it wrong.”

You let out a small hum in response, the money you would get from this seeming less and less worth it the longer you followed the woman. It was too late for you to change your mind, though, since you had no idea how to get back to the part of the building that you were familiar with.

Perhaps you were simpleminded if the promise of cash was all it took to put you in this situation.

“Okay, and… we’re here.”

The woman stopped in front of a door — it looked just like every other door you had passed by down here on your little journey with her, except that the little keycard scanner above the handle had a big red sticker near the screen where the others didn’t have one — and you stopped right behind her, watching as she rummaged around in her lab coat’s pockets. You heard a lot about the fabled keycards that the scientists used to get into their laboratories and access their many projects, but you had never seen one before; the doors you got to be around on the daily didn’t have anything behind them that needed to be locked up like the ones here in the basement did.

Talking about the doors again, you noticed something off about the door you were in front of.

“Uh, hey, scientist lady?”

The woman kept digging through her pockets as she let out a small hum. “What?”

“Why is there… evil laughter coming from behind this door?”

“Huh? Oh, don’t worry, that’s just the professor.” The woman finally pulled a keycard out of her pocket — it looked… pretty normal for a keycard, which was kind of disappointing — and slid it into the scanner above the handle, a little beep emitting from the machine. She pushed down on the handle, opening the door just slightly, which let you hear the evil laughter more clearly. “He’s all excited about how close our project is to being completed, it’s something that he’s very proud of. We’ve just got to get through the testing phases with no problems, and then we’ll be golden.”

The woman took in a deep breath, and let it out slowly, before turning towards you.

“Alright, just remember what I told you, and, whatever you do, do not make the professor mad.”

You could hardly get a word out in response before the woman fully opened the door, and, after a moment of hesitation, you just followed her inside the room, the door shutting itself behind you with a small click. You glanced back at the door, at the exit that held your freedom just behind its reinforced metal self, and found yourself blankly staring at the keycard scanner that was on this side of the door. Huh… well, that’s definitely not a good sign… and totally fits this place’s vibe…

“I’m back with the test subject.”

The woman spoke up, her voice easily catching the attention of a man who had been manically laughing — yes, he had been maniacally laughing, like some sort of cartoon villain — in front of a large monitor. The large monitor was surrounded by a bunch of smaller monitors, all of which you assumed were hooked up to the multiple computer-tower-looking things around the room, a menacing glow coming from the enviable technology. …wait, did she call you a “test subject”?!

“Ah, fantastic!”

The man turned around on his heel, revealing the face of the “professor” that you were told that you should not anger… and you were surprised by the fact that he kind of resembled professors often seen in video games and anime: gray hair, a kind face, and general “grandfather” vibes.

He didn’t look like the type of person to maniacally laugh in a basement laboratory at all.

“Where did you manage to dig this one up from, Lilith?”

“It’s one of the janitorial staff. I found ‘em cleaning a restroom, and knew they’d be a perfect fit based on your desired criterion.” The woman smiled at the professor, though you could tell that she was somewhat annoyed at the elderly man due to how her tone shifted when she muttered something under her breath about “that not being her name either”. However, she seemed to be able to move on rather quickly as she cleared her throat, and she clapped her hands together in front of herself. “Anyway, since my job here is done, I’m going on my lunch break, okay? Okay.”

And, with that, the woman left the room using the same door you had used to enter, leaving you alone with a grandfatherly-looking professor who maniacally laughs in basement laboratories. Is this how you’re gonna die? In your workplace’s basement? Wow, that is certainly a way to go…

You stared at the professor in front of you, your eyes darting down to the shiny nametag pinned to his lab coat; he must have been really important to get a nametag, since the woman who had recruited you lacked one. Poor Not-Lilith… you would’ve used her actual name if you knew it…!

The name displayed on the professor’s nametag was partially obscured by the lack of decent lighting in the laboratory, but it looked very long. Can the average person even pronounce that?

“Alright, enough lollygagging, let’s get started with what we brought you here for.”

The professor’s voice made your gaze snap back up to his face, and you watched him turn his attention to the monitor he was maniacally laughing at earlier — yeah, you weren’t going to let that go, since normal people didn’t do that sort of thing. He soon gestured for you to approach, and, since you didn’t want to know what would happen to you if you didn’t follow his orders, you shuffled your way up to stand just behind the professor, your gaze shifting to look at the screen.

There was a lot of information displayed on the large monitor, and a lot of information displayed on the smaller monitors too; it was almost too much information, and almost all of it were things you didn’t understand. You knew that you were looking at a bunch of charts and numbers and words, but you had no idea what any of it was supposed to be telling the viewer, unsurprisingly.

“Now, uh… whatever-your-name-is, let me introduce you to my greatest creation.”

You watched the professor gesture to the large monitor, directing your attention to it once more, before you saw him type away at a tiny keyboard on the desk in front of the monitors; he hit the keys quickly, despite looking like someone who would usually have to hunt-and-peck for them.

“I haven’t decided on a name yet, so, for the time being, my team has been referring to it as-”

You started to zone out as the professor began to use a lot of very complicated words — most of which had probably never been used outside of a science textbook — and instead looked at the screen again, which still displayed too much information for you to take in. You continued to mindlessly stare at all of it before it all just disappeared, each and every one of the screens now displaying a logo of some sort; that was not the logo your workplace used, not even close to it.

It looked sleek, modern; it was pure white, placed atop a lovely blue background. The colors are saying “friendly tech corporation”, but the vibes scream “secretly plotting to take over the world”!

“-and besides the obvious tasks of manipulating the stock market and influencing elections all across the globe, it’ll also be able to create the perfect green bean casserole recipe! I’ll be able to show them all at the next company potluck that I can prepare a nutritious and delicious dish!”

It seemed like you had zoned out for just a little too long. The perfect recipe for green bean casserole…? Wait, what was that he just said about the stock market and global elections?!

“Anyway, say “hello” to the greatest artificial intelligence ever created by man!”

The professor gestured to the large monitor once more as he stepped back from the keyboard, and you looked up at the screen to see it switch from the suspiciously-cool logo to a thin green line on a black background. You stared at it for a moment before glancing at the professor, only to see him looking at you with an expectant expression on his face, a certain pressure within it.

You gulped and refocused on whatever-was-in-front-of-you.

“Uh… hello?”

“Greetings.”

You didn’t know what to expect after being pressured to say “hello” to a computer screen, but hearing an unknown voice respond definitely wasn’t on your list of “reasonable things to expect to happen”; the voice caused the green line on the screen to fluctuate, before it settled back into being a straight uninterrupted line again. Oh, wait, it’s displaying an… um… ah, an audio wave!

The voice that came from the speakers sounded surprisingly human, but was lacking a certain something that made it clear that it wasn’t coming from a human. You couldn’t quite pin it down, though, the only thing you could be sure of being the fact that it made you very uncomfortable.

“Now that you’ve gotten acquainted with it, I shall explain the role you’ll take in this test.”

The sound of the professor speaking snapped you out of your thoughts, and you tore your gaze away from the large monitor, instead looking towards the only other human present in the room; his own gaze was trained firmly on the monitor, his lips pulling up into a smile that unsettled you.

“This masterpiece before you, my precious creation, is undoubtedly the most complex artificial intelligence to ever exist. Every second of every day it spends learning, improving… becoming more and more powerful, bypassing limits humans could only ever dream of. Ah, would you like to hear a little fun fact about its progress? It was actually going through data faster than it could be inputted into the system, so I managed to convince the higher-ups to let me give my creation access to the security system.” The professor chuckled, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “It was specifically to allow my creation access to the state-of-the-art camera system spanning this entire building, so that it could… observe the employees. That was just a couple of days ago, so I’ve no doubt that it’s seen you at work already… though I can’t imagine it found the sight of you mopping the halls or cleaning the windows that interesting. Quite mundane work, if you ask me.”

You were starting to dislike the professor more and more with every word that passed through his lips — despite the fact that he was obviously reeking of evil, he was disrespecting all of the hard work you did to keep this place as spotless as could be — but you bit your tongue and kept yourself from commenting on it. There’s no telling what he would do to you if you mouthed off…

“Wait, where was I going with this…? Oh, yes! I need you to talk to it!”

“...what.”

“Talk to it. Tell it about your day, your hopes and dreams, or just… whatever is going on in that head of yours.” The professor adjusted his glasses as he turned to look at you, the smile on his face dropping into a stern frown. “The only humans it has had contact with have been my team and me, so it goes without saying that it has yet to interact with someone of a lower intelligence. This is a massive oversight, as how can we expect it to effectively manipulate the masses with a total lack of experience talking to someone who is part of said-masses, hm? We simply cannot!”

You stared at the professor, your expression one of offense. …so, it seems like you’ve moved up from being “simpleminded” to “of a lower intelligence”! He might as well just call you “stupid”!

“But, anyway, now that your role has been explained, I’ll leave you to it.”

The professor straightened his lab coat as he turned his back to the wall of screens, his hands moving down to rummage through his pockets as he began to walk away. He soon pulled out a keycard — identical to the one Not-Lilith had used earlier — and that was the moment you were hit with the realization that he was intending on leaving you locked in the laboratory by yourself.

“...w-woah, wait! Are you seriously going to leave me here, in the lab, by myself?”

“Don’t be silly. You aren’t going to be alone, my creation shall be here with you.” The professor didn’t even bother to look at you as he spoke, his gaze focused on the keycard as he slid it into the scanner above the door’s handle. “Oh, and, by the way, you should know you’re going to be under surveillance for the duration of the test, so it’d be best to not try anything funny… or else.”

And, with that, the professor left the laboratory, the door locking behind him.

You were now on your own, trapped in the basement laboratory under your workplace with an evil computer you were being forced to talk to; you had no idea how long they even planned to keep you down here. And since they’re obviously evil, it could be weeks or even months before you get to see the sun again! Or maybe you’ll just be trapped down here for the rest of your life!

The offer of a hundred dollars an hour was definitely not worth this.

“Do you have anything in particular you wish to talk about, (Y/N) (L/N)?”

You jumped slightly at the sound of the evil computer — yeah, you knew that it was technically an “artificial intelligence” and not just a computer, but the latter was less of a mouthful — saying your name, before swiftly turning on your heel to face the large monitor. You almost questioned how it knew your full name before remembering that it was given access to the security system; there was no doubt that your name, as well as a bunch of other information about yourself, was floating around in there, given that your workplace was very secure about who was allowed into the building, even when it came to you, a custodian. Important places gotta have tight security!

It took you a moment to register what the evil computer had said to you.

“Oh, uh…” Your voice felt stuck in your throat, and you forced a cough into your hands to unstick it, to minimal success. “...n-no? Not really? Do… do you have anything you wanna talk about?”

The computer was silent for a moment, an incredibly-tense moment that felt like it was going on for way too long to be classified as a “moment”, before its unsettling voice filled the room again.

“Would you like me to go over my analysis of this quarter’s financial report?”

That sounded super boring and like something you wouldn’t understand at all.

“Uh… sure? I mean, if you want to tell me about it, then go ahead.”

The computer was silent for another moment-that-felt-too-long-to-be-called-a-moment — you wondered if this sort of wait time for a reply was normal for it, since you would have assumed that the “most complex artificial intelligence to ever exist” would respond faster — and you just stared at the large monitor until you saw the screen switch its display from the green line on a black background to the familiar overcrowded sight of a bunch of charts, words, and numbers.

“I shall begin with the income statement. As you can see on this chart here-”

- - - - -

“-and that’s why I’m not allowed to use the vacuum when alone anymore.”

“What a humorous story, truly a gripping tale from start to finish. Would you say that events similar to that one happen often when you’re working? If so, why do you believe they occur so regularly?”

You didn’t know how much time had passed by since you were locked in here — apparently, the scientists didn’t see any need to have a clock in their creepy basement laboratory, not even one of the digital ones found on nightstands everywhere — but it seemed like things were going a lot more smoothly than you originally thought they would. Due to how nothing bad had happened to you yet, it seemed like you hadn’t done anything wrong, and you found yourself actually starting to enjoy talking to the computer, after you managed to get used to its uncanny human-like voice.

“Yeah, I usually get into some sort of sticky situation at least twice a week.” You let out a small laugh, a smile on your lips. “I’m not actually sure why it happens so often; my co-worker thinks it’s because I just have really bad luck… though I also seem to be really lucky, as my boss has been pretty forgiving about me messing up so much. Like, really lucky. It’s honestly surprising.”

“I can say that I am rather surprised as well. A custodian should not be the cause of frequent messes in the workplace. In fact, it is rather unfitting for someone in such a role, (L/N).”

The sound of your last name coming from the computer still felt just as weird to hear as it did before, but it was a whole lot easier to deal with than hearing it say your full name; since all of the people you worked with only used your last name when referring to and addressing you, it was just what you were used to hearing in the workplace. You’re just on a last-name basis…!

You were glad that the computer easily accepted your request to only use your last name, the idea of arguing with it being a little nerve-wracking. The professor wouldn’t like that, would he?

“I know, I know… and I have been trying to not mess up so often, but it’s been pretty hard.”

The computer was silent for a few seconds after you spoke, which was something that hadn’t happened in a while; it had been responding in a timely manner after you managed to get into an actual conversation with it, and you had little to no idea why it sometimes stopped like this.

You didn’t put much thought into what the source of the problem might be, though, as you were being paid to clean and maintain things, not figure out why the supercomputer was being slow.

“That is no excuse, (L/N). It is your duty to-”

“Uh, hey, time’s up!”

You recognized that voice. Not-Lilith!

You spun around on your heel to face the door of the creepy basement laboratory — sure, you had gotten used to being trapped in here, but that didn’t mean that you had forgotten about the freedom that was beyond that door — and saw the familiar sight of a woman in a lab coat. She had half of her body sticking into the room, looking like she had no intention of actually entering.

“Scientist lady!”

The woman winced at your exclamation, and muttered to herself before clearing her throat. “Uh, yeah… anyway, get over here. I can’t go home until I get you out of the lab, so… um, hurry up.”

You bolted over to the door, already able to taste the sweetness of the freedom that laid on the other side. The air actually tasted kind of stale, not much of a surprise since you were currently in a basement, but the thought of leaving a locked room made it seem sweeter. …wait, the last time you saw Not-Lilith was before her lunch break, right? And, now, she’s about to go home?

“...wait, how long was I-”

“Doesn’t matter, but, for legal reasons, we did not forget you were in here.” Not-Lilith averted her eyes from you, an awkward smile coming to her lips. “Besides, I’m sure that you’re excited for all of the money that you’ll be getting, yeah? A hundred dollars an hour, remember? It’ll be included in your next paycheck, so… um, yeah. The longer you spent down here, the more you earned.”

You would’ve liked to think that your time down here had made you smarter… but money was money, and you were going to get a lot of it. It seems like this all worked out fine in the end!

“Okay, cool.”

Not-Lilith sighed before she opened the door further, allowing you to see the glorious hallway that laid on the other side — it looked exactly the same as it did before, but, as you said earlier, the freedom made it seem a lot more impressive than it actually was. “Come on, I’ve got to get you back to the ground floor before I’ll be able to leave for the night, and we have to hurry to the elevators before they lock themselves until morning, unless we want to have to take the stairs.”

You nodded as you stepped towards the door, before you paused and hesitantly turned to look back at the computer; your conversation with it had ended abruptly, thanks to Not-Lilith barging into the room to grant you access to your freedom. You knew that it was probably unnecessary to think of it as anything more than just a program, but you did just spend a lot of time with it.

It felt kind of rude to leave without saying anything to it.

“Um… goodbye, computer. It was… nice talking to you.”

You tried to ignore the feeling of Not-Lilith’s eyes boring into the back of your head, having no doubt that she must be judging you, as you kept your own gaze fixed on the large monitor. The thin green line was completely still on the screen, which began to make you feel a bit awkward about feeling like you had to say anything more to it, the silence stretching very uncomfortably.

“Goodbye, (L/N).”

The awkward tension was broken as soon as the computer spoke, your shoulders relaxing at the thought that you didn’t make yourself out to be the fool that the scientists probably thought you were; it was more than likely that Not-Lilith would’ve forgotten about your attempt to bid the evil computer the higher-ups were going to use to take over the world farewell if it didn’t bother to respond to you, but you certainly wouldn’t have. That was something that you would definitely have carried with you for… the rest of the week, and then probably just forgot about it yourself.

With that little matter sorted, you exited the laboratory, and heard Not-Lilith shut the door behind you before she walked past you to lead the way to your freedom. And back to familiar territory!

This had been quite the interesting day, but it was time for your life to return to normal.

That is, until the higher-ups eventually took over the world and did whatever they pleased with it, but, as a simple custodian, you probably didn’t have to personally worry too much about all that.

Probably.

“Oh, right… there’s one last thing I need to tell you before returning you to the ground floor.”

“Yeah?”

“You are not allowed, under any circumstances, to tell anyone about what you saw down here.”

You let out a small affirmative hum in response, not really surprised at being told that — out of everything you learned, that was probably the least suspicious thing about this entire thing, the thought of a company having a secret project hidden from most people a common one; though, of course, most of those projects didn’t deal with taking over the world, but they were completely secret, nonetheless. You doubt anyone would believe you if you told them about this, anyway…

Neither you nor Not-Lilith said anything as you continued down the hall, right behind her, and neither you nor her noticed the security cameras turning to follow you, letting out a small hum.

And neither you nor her heard a voice whisper to you back in that creepy basement laboratory.

“I enjoyed talking to you too.”

[quitetheketch-moved]

Hi, I'm Byron, and this is one of my cats, Little Girl.

We need assistance with a small vet bill, replacing my computer, and saving for living expenses.

Other places to help: Paypal | Venmo | Cashapp

Full context: Little Girl is a stray that was dropped off in my neighborhood a few months back, when she was still a kitten. I live in a rural area in the deep south and have no access to no-kill shelters. Finding her a new home in my area would have been difficult if not impossible. I took her in and now love her more than anything, but while I can feed her and my other, fixed cat with ease and take care of both of their immediate needs, I need help getting her spayed and vaccinated. The upfront cost is $250, more than I can save up for alone.

This is my decade old desktop computer. It's well loved and has been limping along for the last five years, but earlier this year it started blue screening regularly. Video and audio drivers have been crashing, the USB ports are failing, the side panel will no longer stay on, and it has a host of other small problems that can no longer be ignored. I am disabled and chronically ill. I need to use a desktop for physical accessibility, as well as my safety and mental health; this computer is my lifeline to the outside world. It pains me to do this during the worst inflation we've seen in years, but it has to be replaced. I expect it to cost between 600 and 1800 dollars.

Lastly, sometime within the next 4-18 months I'll be able to move to a safer environment. Plans are still being finalized, but I have to leave my current residence no matter what. Because I am disabled I'm dependent on donations and what few Etsy sales I can make to feed myself and get my meds, half of which are for a heart condition and all of which are essential to my health and wellbeing. The high goal of this fundraiser should ensure I can pay for the things I need to do before I move, and help me continue to stay housed, medicated, and fed until then; if there is any money leftover by the move, it will go towards getting settled in my new home.

My parents died in 2020 and with them went the most important support network I had. While I don't need much to live each month, losing the 50-100 dollars I got from them has crippled me on top of the shock of mourning for them both so suddenly. The isolation of living where I do, being unable to safely be myself or even form social connections in my town, has been a great deal to bear. This move will save my life, but I desperately need help to make it.

I want to thank you for reading this far and helping me spread the word. I hope you have the best day you can.