#tech 350

[arcadebroke]

[linuxruntime]

some screenshots of android htc-2065.0.8.0.0, the earliest known android 1.0 beta, built on the 15th of May 2007 (15/5/07).

screenshots and further information here

[shadowthian]

i wanna start doing semi-regular minecraft singleplayer streams but im torn on a modpack to do (vanilla is great but i've been playing the game for 14 years- WOW THATS FUCKED UP- and modpacks spice things up wonderfully)

anyone got modpack recommendations? i mainly enjoy magic/farming/decoration mods and stuff that gives me extra blocks to build with. can be forge or fabric, preferably under 350 mods. open to checking out anything!

[fullslack]

Tektronix TDS 350 digital oscilloscope (1994)

[ttngummybear]

It has begun.

Got my case, and today I ordered my disc drive because it's gone on sale.

[abominare]

Kaden doesn't have a very good relationship with witches (I mean, he doesn't have a good relationship with ANYONE) for pretty obvious reasons. He's still admittedly bitter about the whole being accused as one back when he was still within a normal lifespan-—I'd probably pin the climax of it all with him getting accused and imprisoned for a trial at liiiike?? 16?

All things considered, the town was pretty chill. The kid was born to no apparent father, killed his mom in childbirth, was adopted, them and their house 'mysteriously' burned down, taken in AGAIN only for the same thing to happen before FINALLY they were like "bro I think this might be the Devil's work..."

And then, blah blah, he escaped and wreaks absolute havoc on colonial america. like if he'd been born just a bit earlier he woulda been the type responsible for Roanoke vanishing. Like he got up to that level of misbehavior consistently until the Divine stepped in like mmmmm you gotta like. Go away now.

[echoofawind]

My new oral appliance doesn't fit in my mouth right. It doesn't snap on my teeth correctly and it hurts. The hurt is lessening but it's not a one for one replacement. It's crooked and pulling my jaw to the side. My teeth don't line up. I like my dentist and she normally does very good work. I'm disappointed with this device.

[rianmobili]

The 10 Most Comfortable Maxi Scooters To Consider In 2024

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[ur-mag]

I dropped out of school to live in my Ford Escape & travel for less than $350 a week – all I had to worry about was gas | In Trend Today

I dropped out of school to live in my Ford Escape & travel for less than $350 a week – all I had to worry about was gas Read Full Text or Full Article on MAG NEWS

[marsoid]

answering these in one go

i got Sugar off a craigslist ad in 2016. she was listed for $9k but i got her for $8800, the seller knocked down the price literally just because he was nice and could tell i loved the car so much 🥹 my bank wouldn't let me pull out all the cash at once so i drove her home and paid him that Monday which is CRAZY but he trusted me to pay him and i did

when i first got her she didn't have power steering or power brakes (turned like a land yacht and stopped when she felt like it) so that was the first thing to address. fixed the horn and some other minor stuff that needed it. i also made the decision to replace the carburetor with EFI, which is kind of controversial in the classic car world lol but it's more fuel efficient

the EFI i had installed actually gave me the most problems over the years it was ALWAYS having issues and breaking down. but i recently had it reinstalled by someone who is NOT an idiot and I've had no problems for like 2 solid years I'm so fucking glad lol now she's more reliable than ever

she has a 350 small block V8 and auto transmission since she's my daily driver and allows for the smoothest ride possible as a commuter car. i don't race but she is fast lmao. I've never put pedal to metal but I've gotten her up to 80mph before without even flooring it so 😭 she can fucking Go lol. she kind of defaults to 30mph coasting so i have to have my foot on the brake to keep the speed limit in residentials

what else uhhh the cabin smells so good.... i love old car smell. I'm so lucky in her 53 years of being on the road she's apparently never had an owner that smoked inside the car i would have gone crazy if it smelled like cigarettes in there lmao

she has bench seats in the front and back which are like two little sofas. i used to nap back there on breaks when i was still working at a studio.

she has no airbags and you have to tighten the seatbelts yourself. there's an over the shoulder belt and separate waist belt. the passenger shoulder belt you gotta tug on after clicking it bc sometimes it comes loose on its own 😭 she is a death machine with no crumple zone so if i crash i will die 👍🏾 but I'm a very cautious driver and i don't even drive that much sooo IT'S FINE

she is very low tech besides the EFI and if there's ever an engine problem u can literally just look under the hood and mess with stuff until it's fixed. it's very spacious in there with a lot of room to poke around. cars in the 70s were made to last and because they are still so beloved to this day there's endless info online from enthusiasts about fixing stuff that pops up. some companies are still making new parts for classics so we don't have to dig through junkyards when we need replacements... unless u want to ofc, the hunt can be fun too LOL

i get people waving me down daily to ask me what year she is and tell me they used to have a Nova when they were younger or knew someone that did and how much they loved them and IDK IT'S SWEET!! ppl are always so happy to see her......... the antithesis of the cybertruck

thanks for reading here's some thirst traps

[egberts]

bruh 😭 last night when i was talking to cox customer service they were insistent that there was no outage in our area and that the internet being out all day must be a technical issue on our end and if they send a tech out and "find out" it's our fault (not specifying what that means even though i reassured them everything was connected and working except the network.) anyway i was salty af I was like "no we have already paid for two tech visits and still have constant internet problems, if this isn't fixed tonight I'm switching to at&t" and I ended the chat (politely) when they said they couldn't do anything and I'd need to schedule a tech I simply said "I don't want to do that" and left but today??? today on our block when allegedly nobody else in the area was having a problem? at least four cox trucks lining the road from our house and down the block. all with their cherry pickers up. but we were gonna have to pay a $75 tech fee because it could've been "our fault" 🙄 whatever I switched to at&t anyway and they gave us a first month free, a cheaper bill for the same speeds, and $350 in gift cards for switching. bye cox 👋

[soaringthroughthegalaxy]

Hello!! Congrats on your 350 followers! I'm sure that number will just keep growing the more people read your fics! I'm so excited about your event.

You've written some of my favorite Hunter fics, so I'm going to stick with him.

Companion: Hunter

Luggage: Fluff and maybe Family? I wasn't really sure what the family would entail, but with Hunter maybe it could be something with Omega?

Destination: Hoth (I like the idea of the freedom and new beginnings, like maybe after everything is over and everyone is happy he can start fresh being a dad, not a soldier) and/or Pabu (relaxation and peace.)

Extra: If a female character could be included, that would be awesome also...maybe the fluff part...someone he could end up with that would be a great mom for Omega.

I'm not sure if that's possible, so take what you can use out of that and add in anything you need (just so it's Hunter and is a happy ending I will be excited!)

Thanks!

Carol (@clonethirstingisreal)

Thank you for booking with Soaring's Tours. We're now ready to board your flight. Please mind the gap between the transport and the platform. We wish you a pleasant journey!

A Place Called Home

Determined to leave the fighting and running behind now that your little family are all together again, you settle into your new home in Upper Pabu.

Pairing: Hunter x f!reader

Word count: 3.2k

Warnings: spoilers for S3, clowning that CX-2 is Tech, fluff, sweetness, domestic goodness, happy family times, all the kisses, reader treats Omega like a daughter, flirting, quirofilia (a thing for hands), very small reference to knife play, sprinkle of innuendos, implied night together.

“I’m thinking forest green on this wall and leaving the other three as they are.” You muse, glancing around the room at the four white walls.

Between the credits Omega and Crosshair acquired during their escape from Tantiss and the credits you procured after tying up some loose ends on Ord Mantell, you all could afford a beautiful home in Upper Pabu. 

The boys and Omega had been excited to finally have a house – to have their own rooms. With your little family reunited and Tech’s memories starting to return, you’d put your foot down. There would be no more fighting, no more running. Echo had opted to stay with Rex and take care of Tantiss, and you’d received news last night that they’d successfully freed all of the clones being held captive and razed the place to the ground.

Wrecker was sad to miss the explosions. Echo sent him a holovid of them as an apology. 

“Whatever you’d like, cyar’ika,” Hunter answers, setting down the last box of furniture in the centre of the room. It had taken a few trips to bring all the newly purchased items back to Pabu, every bit of space in the Marauder utilised, and you couldn’t wait to set everything up.

Turning, you offer Hunter a soft smile as he approaches. A light breeze wisps through the room, the doors to the balcony overlooking the ocean thrown open. The early morning sun was already warming everything up and casting a golden glow across the tranquil island. 

“You get a say too, my heart.” You remind him.

Hunter draws you closer, wrapping his arms around you as you lean against his chest. Without his armour, he can feel the warmth of your body against his own through the thin layers of civilian clothing you’ve picked out for him - a new wardrobe for a new chapter of life. “I’m not bothered what colour you paint the walls, just so long as you’re happy.”

Pulling back from the embrace, you look up at the man you adore and reach for the small comms unit in your pocket. “Cross…” You speak as you flick it on. 

The line crackles to life a moment later. “Yes?” The familiar drawl comes through.

“Can you please pick up some forest green paint, too?” You ask sweetly, and you can almost picture the sniper’s eye roll in the following silence. He’d headed out a short while ago with a list of items to buy from the island’s stores, Omega and Batcher in tow. The lurca hound’s strength was being used, pulling a small cart for purchases.

“Anything else?” Crosshair questions.

Thinking for a moment, there was nothing else you wanted to add to the shopping list. But you did have a little surprise for them. “I slid some extra credits into the pouch. Make sure the three of you stop off somewhere nice and get some breakfast. We’ve got a long day ahead of us.”

“Goody.” Crosshair deadpans.

Chuckling softly, you shake your head. “I mean it, Cross. No skipping meals.” You’d been trying your hardest to help him regain some of the weight he’d lost on Tantiss.

“Understood.” He replies, his tone more serious now. “We’ll grab something decent.”

“Great. We’ll see you soon.” You end the call and slip the comms unit back into your pocket.

“Spoiling them again, are we?” Hunter teases, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

Playfully swatting at his arm, you offer him a grin. “Hey, they’ve been through a lot. They deserve nice things. You all do.”

“Fair point,” Hunter concedes, knowing that everything you do for him and his siblings is out of love and care. It was ingrained in your nature, and it’s part of why he’s been so drawn to you since you first met.

You smile up at him, feeling a rush of happiness and contentment wash over you. It still amazes you how far you’ve all come since the early days of the war. Back then, you never would have imagined ending up in this peaceful little corner of the galaxy, surrounded by people who care about you. “Come on, this furniture isn’t going to build itself.” You hate to break the moment, but you hadn’t been lying – it would be a long day to get the house ready to live in.

As you and Hunter assemble the furniture, the playful banter continues. Tools clink softly as you work, and occasionally, one of you laughs over a particularly amusing remark.

“You know, for a tough, stoic soldier, you’re surprisingly good at putting together furniture.” You tease, watching as Hunter carefully screws in a bolt.

He smirks, glancing at you. “I think you’ll find I’m a man of many talents.”

“And don’t I know it.” You murmur, handing him another piece of the dresser he’s assembling as your eyes rake over the length of his body before settling back on his deft hands.

Hunter can feel the weight of your gaze on him, smirk still firmly in place as he basks in your admiration. “Cyar’ika, you’re getting distracted.” He points out, voice low as his gaze flits across to you, nostrils flaring as he breathes in your scent.

“Can you blame me?” You ask, reaching out to slowly drag your fingers down his forearm towards his strong hands, enjoying the unrestricted access now he’s packed away his armour.

Hunter watches as you touch him, enjoying the warmth of the action. You’ve always been more physically affectionate - lingering hands and gentle caresses. It had taken some getting used to for his senses not to freak out at the contact. “I’m not even holding my vibroknife.” He teases.

“And now I’m thinking about that. Thanks.” You sigh, a smile tugging at the corner of your lips as your hand curls around his wrist.

Your joint laughter echoes around the room, and Hunter can’t help but lean towards you, stealing another kiss. Everything with you had felt so easy since the very first day. “Later. At least let me build the bed first.” He chides playfully, but a glint of desire shines in his eyes. 

You concede with a nod, earning a smile from him before you let go of his wrist. You focus on building the furniture, even though desire still pools in your belly. Each completed piece is placed in the middle of the room, and old tarps from the Marauder are thrown over it to protect it from potential paint splatters. 

As you work, footsteps climbing the stairs interrupt your progress. Glancing towards the door, you see Crosshair and Omega with paint cans, while Batcher has a bag hanging from her mouth full of brushes and rollers.

“We’re back!” Omega announces cheerfully, setting down the paint cans she’d been carrying.

Crosshair follows behind her with a hint of amusement as he observes Omega’s exuberance. “Got everything on the list,” he states, holding several other cans.

You smile warmly at them both, grateful for their efforts. “Thank you, both of you,” you say sincerely, moving to inspect the cans of paint - the perfect amount for the room. Reaching for Batcher, you pry a few brushes and rollers from the bag in her mouth, giving her a gentle pet of thanks afterwards.

“What colours did you pick?” You ask, handing one of the cans to Hunter as he finishes laying down some tarps to protect the floor.

“Purple.” Omega answers, pointing to one of the cans Crosshair was holding.  

“Grey.” Crosshair chips in. “Yellow for Wrecker. Orange for Tech.” He adds, lifting some of the other cans. 

Omega grins, patting her thigh, which prompts Batcher to return to her side, the hound sitting next to her. “We’re all doing feature walls,” she explains happily.

“Trendsetter.” Hunter nudges you, grinning. 

You chuckle, enjoying Omega’s lightness and enthusiasm - after everything that had happened to her, she deserved to be a kid and enjoy the innocence that came with it. “Alright, the sooner we start, the sooner we can get the furniture in place and spend the night here.”

With that, the room fills with activity. Crosshair excuses himself to deliver the other paint cans and start making progress in his own room, whistling for Batcher to follow. The lurca hound is more than happy to trail after her favourite human.

As the door swings shut behind the sniper, Hunter pries open a can of green paint, pouring some into three trays and placing a brush with each. He hands one to Omega, the other to you, and he keeps the third one. 

As you all begin to paint, Omega takes the lead, happily painting broad strokes of green onto the wall, only able to reach halfway up it. You focus on the edges, painting neat lines, while Hunter fills in the top section that Omega can’t reach. 

Continuing to work, it isn’t long until you and Omega are side by side. Feeling cheeky, you swipe a finger through the paint on the end of your brush, calling the young girl’s name to catch her attention. As she turns to look at you, you strike, smearing a streak of green across her cheek. 

Omega gasps in surprise, her eyes wide as she stares at you in disbelief. Then, a mischievous grin spreads across her face. “Oh, it’s on now!” She declares, dipping her finger into the paint and flicking it at you with a giggle.

Your laughter melds with hers as the paint splatters your bare arm, and Hunter watches the exchange with amusement, shaking his head fondly at the playfulness between the two of you. He appreciates how you always try to give Omega a childhood, even when you all fled the Empire and worked jobs for Cid. The way you doted on her warmed his heart. “Alright, let’s keep it civil, you two.” He interjects, holding up a hand in a gesture of peace, as if this were a serious fight, though the smile on his lips gives the game away.

You and Omega exchange grins, and before Hunter has time to stop it, you both smear green paint across his face, covering the bridge of his nose and his tattooed cheek. 

“Oops.” You mutter in faux innocence, batting your eyelashes.

Hunter blinks, looking momentarily stunned before a slow grin spreads across his face. “Oh, it’s like that, is it?” He says, his tone teasing. Without missing a beat, he dips his finger into the paint tray and swipes it across your forehead, leaving a streak of green.

You gasp, feigning shock, before pouting. “Hey, no fair!” You protest, trying your hardest not to chuckle as Omega’s laughter fills the room.

Hunter steps forward, balancing the paint tray in one hand as he slides an arm around your waist, hauling you in. You’re radiant in the midday sunshine, eyes sparkling with mischief, the smear of paint across your forehead incredibly endearing. Dipping his head down, his lips meet yours in a tender kiss, tongue sliding against your lips teasingly before he breaks the connection, aware that you have an audience. Mouth ghosting across your cheek, he pauses as he reaches your ear. “I’ll paint you with something else later.” He rasps quietly, teasingly squeezing your side before he pulls away, heat burning in his gaze. 

Stunned into silence, warmth flushes through you. You watch, mouth agape, as Hunter returns to painting, completely unruffled. 

Omega calls your name, snapping you out of your. “Are you okay?” She asks, unsure what Hunter said to you, though she’s pretty sure she doesn’t want to know whatever it was. 

You blink, shaking your head slightly to clear your thoughts. “Yeah, I’m fine.” You assure her with a smile. “Just got lost in thought for a moment.”

“Mhm.” Omega hums. She loves seeing you and Hunter openly affectionate and is still proud of the little stunt she pulled shortly after you all fled Kamino, which led to the two of you getting together. She’d always been intuitive and knew from the get-go that there was something between you. “Good, then stop slacking,” she teases, turning back to continue painting.

You rejoin her, and the playful banter and occasional laughter continue as you work together to finish painting the wall. The forest green paint covers the surface quickly, leaving behind a fresh, vibrant hue that transforms the room.

A sense of satisfaction washes over you as you step back to admire your handiwork. The colour stands out against the remaining white walls, adding a pop and some character. “It looks wonderful.” You remark, smiling at Omega and Hunter. “Great job, team.”

Omega beams with pride, placing her paintbrush back onto the tray.

“How about we take a break and grab an early dinner?” Hunter glances towards the windows, making a rough guess at the time.

The idea of a break sounds appealing, and you nod in agreement. “Sounds like a plan. I’m starving.”

“How about a barbecue?” Hunter suggests, figuring it was worth the little extra time it would take compared to rustling something up in the kitchen. “We can grill some food outside and enjoy the nice weather.”

“Sounds perfect.” You agree. “Go fire up the grill. Omega and I will tidy up in here.”

Giving you a small kiss, Hunter heads out to the backyard to start the grill, leaving you and Omega to clean up the painting supplies and put away the tarps. It doesn’t take long, and once the room is tidied up, you and Omega make your way outside to join Hunter. The smell of cooking food fills the air, making your stomach grumble, and there’s already a small spread of food on the table.

“Looks like you’ve got everything under control,” you remark, stepping behind Hunter to wrap your arms around his waist as he mans the grill.

A huff of laughter leaves Hunter. “When have I not had things under control?”

“You do not want her to answer that.” Tech’s voice cuts through the moment as he steps out into the yard to join you all, along with Wrecker and Crosshair. Although Hemlock’s reconditioning had stolen most of his memories, he’d spent his life recording everything and was working through clips to see if they jogged anything in his mind. Between that and all the stories you all shared, snippets were starting to come back to him.

The boys and Omega slide into chairs around the table. You chuckle at the remark and the thin press of Hunter’s lips, knowing full well that there have been plenty of times when his plans haven’t gone smoothly. “Alright, everyone grab a plate,” you call out, gesturing to the spread of food laid out on the table as you place down another one. 

“I’m starvin’,” Wrecker exclaims, reaching for a few Nuna drumsticks. The rest of the group follows suit, filling their plates with delicious food and settling around the table. The atmosphere is relaxed and cheerful, and laughter and conversation fill the air as you enjoy the meal together.

As you eat, contentment washes over you. You’d fought so hard for this - moments where you could enjoy each other’s company and revel in life’s simple pleasures. Your little family deserves it after everything that’s happened, and you soak it in, feeling grateful that the Kaminoans assigned you as a liaison to the boys all those years ago.

Once everyone has eaten, Crosshair cleans up the grill while the rest of you remain around the table, enjoying the warm afternoon sun, and eventually, the conversation turns to plans for the rest of the day. “We should start putting the furniture where we want it in our room.” You suggest, glancing at Hunter.

“I’ll help with the heavy lifting!” Wrecker volunteers, already pushing back his chair and getting to his feet. The rest of you smile at his enthusiasm.

As a unit, you clear the table, gathering up the remaining dishes before heading back inside. With everyone pitching in, the process goes quickly. It also takes little time for Wrecker and Hunter to put the bedroom furniture where it belongs. The newly painted wall is mercifully already dry, thanks to Pabu’s heat. 

With a shout of thanks to Wrecker as the big man leaves your room, you let out a deep exhale. This is home now. And you can’t quite believe how lucky you are. 

Crossing the room, you step onto the small balcony overlooking the ocean. Your hands wrap around the warm metal railing, and you take a moment to close your eyes and let it sink in. As you stand there, basking in the warmth of the sun and the gentle breeze, you hear the soft sound of footsteps approaching from behind. Opening your eyes, you turn to see Hunter stepping out onto the balcony, a small smile playing on his lips as he joins you. 

“Enjoying the view?” He asks, his voice quiet and gentle.

You nod, turning back to face the water, leaning against the railing as you see the endless ocean stretching out before you. “It’s gorgeous,” you reply, glancing over your shoulder at him. “Almost as gorgeous as you.”

Hunter shakes his head, flattered by the compliment but mad at himself for not seeing that you’d snatch the low-hanging fruit. He steps closer, pressing up against your back as he wraps his arms around you. You lean into his embrace, relishing the warmth and strength surrounding you.

“I’m glad we’re here.” He murmurs, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“Me too.” You whisper, letting go of the railing with one hand to intertwine your fingers with his. “I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.”

For a moment, you simply stand there together, enjoying each other’s company and the moment’s tranquillity. The world fades away, leaving only the two of you and the gentle sound of the waves below. Even the boys’ noise around the table in the yard, teaching Omega how to play Sabacc, fades into the background.

Eventually, Hunter breaks the silence, his voice soft and affectionate. “I love you.” He says, pressing a tender kiss to the top of your head.

“I love you too.” You reply. “More than anything.”

Happy, Hunter dips his head down, his nose finding the crook of your neck. In slow motion, he drags it up the length of your throat towards the back of your ear, breathing in your scent.

The sensation sends shivers down your spine, and you tilt your head slightly to give him better access, relishing in the moment’s intimacy. His lips brush against your skin, feather-light and achingly tender, sending a rush of warmth through your veins. You close your eyes, losing yourself in the sensation of his touch, his breath hot against your ear.

“Think it might be time to paint my favourite masterpiece…” He murmurs, his voice heavy with desire. 

You inhale sharply at his words, hand tightening around his own as desire curls through you. Turning in his arms, you press your lips to his in a passionate kiss, hands reaching up to hold his handsome face. 

Heat courses through Hunter as he grasps your rear, taking control of the kiss as he steps backwards into the room, drawing you along with him. 

There was a new bed to break in. 

Tag list: @clonethirstingisreal @starrylothcat @cw80831 @issa-me-bry-blog @leftealeaf @isaidonyourknees @padawancat97 @dangraccoon @jedi-hawkins @dreamie411 @sverdgeir

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[greenhorn-art]

World Champions | Artwork for World Champions by TheDefenestrator by TheDefenestrator, art by Blurb_brain

Fandom: The King's Avatar | 全职高手

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Category: Gen

Words: 71 944

At the end of season 4 of the Glory Pro Alliance, the government finally receives the information it has been waiting for: The other players have caught up. Or, In which Glory has been a government recruitment ploy for remote-piloted mecha operators all along.

About the Book

FONTS: Mundo Serif, Azonix [dafont], Segoe UI Symbol

IMAGES: Illustration by Blurb_brain [AO3]; cover image by NASA ID: 440611 [Rawpixel]; Planet Earth background ID: 6331593 [Rawpixel]; Circuit lines background ID: 3117935 [Rawpixel]; endpapers' image by Eric Eastman [Unsplash]; Swoksaar, Desert Dust, Lord Grim, Vaccaria, and Cloud Piercer [The King's Avatar Wikia]

MATERIALS: regular printer paper (8.5"x11", 96 bright, 20lb), 80pt bookboard, Iris Bookcloth (colour: Black Pearl), Neenah cardstock (8.5"x11", bright white, 65lb), waxed linen thread (white, 30/3 size), embroidery floss (shades 3750, 350, 3845, 370), leather cording (1.9mm diameter), Reeves’ acrylic paint (Mars Black, Phthalo Blue, Titanum White), Americana acrylic paint (glow in the dark), ph neutral pva glue (Books by Hand)

PROGRAMS USED: Typeset in Affinity Publisher, cover/title page/endpapers designed in Affinity Designer/Photo, QR codes generated with LibreOffice Writer, PDF arranged for printing with Bookbinder-JS

BINDING STYLE: quarto, case bound (slightly rounded, with oxford hollow, forgot to use tapes)

.

Fenes' "Glory's tech isn't handwaved" AU. This was great! Funny and creative, and I'm both amazed and full of admiration for Fenes' ability to juggle so many characters.

I was feeling excited and ambitious with this one. Tried some new fun things (double core endbands, painted edges) and used some new equipment (a lying press).

The Text

TITLE/HEADINGS FONT: Azonix says 'SciFi' to me, it's a bold, non-serif, sleek font.

BODY FONT: Mundo Serif, it's a decent serif body font I haven't used before. Felt like it worked with Azonix.

SCENE BREAKS: a special character in Segoe UI Symbol of a black & white icon of Earth, the globe showing Asia.

TYPESETTING: Finished typesetting the fic, left document open on my laptop, laptop's battery failed, file now crashes immediately upon reopening, issue persists with copied versions of file (；￣Д￣) . Thankfully I had a backup file for the typeset with the barebones of the text, so I didn't have to restart from scratch...

Title Page

My thinking: it takes place in space, the world's at stake, and it's the dawn of a new horizon for Earth. Glory and the titular champions are represented by Swoksaar, Desert Dust, Lord Grim, Vaccaria, and Cloud Piercer – the captains of what I'd call the 'big 5' teams. A circuitry board background element hints at the tech/mecha nature of the story's competition. It may not match Blurb's art, but I hope I was able to convey some of what the story is about.

The circuitry image is used as decoration throughout the book. I only used the avatars of the top five teams' captains because too many silhouettes would lessen their impact and readability. (Removing the backgrounds was tedious, but worth it.)

Here's what it should have looked like. The test prints for this and the BB art were fine, but I think my inkjet started running out of ink just when I printed the final copies and I didn't reprint them. (Too impatient, really wanted to finish up and read the book)

The Cover

World Champions is another Big Bang fic, and once again I based some of my design choices off of the accompanying artwork. The dominant colours of Blurb_brain's illustration are red and blue-green.

COVER PAPER: For the decorative cover material I used NASA's ASTER image of Poyang Lake. NASA has some really interesting photography some of which remind me of marbled paper, thought it could be interesting. I chose this image of Poyang Lake because 1) it's in China, 2) the colours were similar to Blurb's awesome illustration (fate strikes again, dropping matching images and artwork into my lap!), and 3) NASA is tangentially relevant to the fic, which takes place in space.

BOOKCLOTH: Verona bookcloth in the shade Black Pearl, a lovely dark navy blue colour. Thought it suited the cover paper and title page. (Bought it for this fic specifically, but the colour goes well with almost all of my decorative papers so it should see a lot of use in the future!)

Endpapers

The final decision that held this project at a standstill for two months. In the end I drew inspiration from the matchups against the final opponent in the story. The image I used is a little chaotic and a little too unrelated to identify why I picked it without an explanation, but this book is for me and I know why, so there. (Note that I played around with the colours and cropped the photo.)

Endpaper inspiration: the maps for the matches against the Infilhites

"a long bridge through an enormous tube-like hall, where light seem to come from every side through stained glass windows. It was visually confusing, limited lateral motion" "a warehouse, crates stacked on and beside metal racks that went all the way to the ceiling." "a house of mirrors, fully enclosed to be sure the Infhillte couldn’t fly out of it." "like a volcano, rivers of lava moving sluggishly down a slope, occasional vents of overheated air nearby." "a series of overlapping bridges between halls and stairways, level after level layered over an open abyss."

Trimming & Painting the Edges

Going all out, a 2-for1 deal: the opportunity to use my lying press for the first time and learn a new technique!

TRIMMING: Used a paring chisel and lying press.

CHISEL: The 1.25" wide paring chisel I used was form a modern manufacturer. (Vintage paring chisels are very thin, enough so that you can bend/flex the blade. But don't do that.) It's long and wide blade made it easier to register against the surface of the press for consistent cuts. Looks like this one below from Lee Valley.

LYING PRESS: My dad's project. Solid black walnut, hand carved screws and internal threads — he even made the tools to make the threads too! The jaws of the press are each 3 7/8" wide. It's big and heavy (though much smaller than full-sized professional ones omg), but there's enough of a flat surface to register the chisel against. A thicc boi, much like this one below from Bookbinding Supplies.

PAINTED EDGES: The idea was to have dark navy edges, speckled with white stars. I used acrylic from a tube to paint the edges — tutorials recommended it over liquid bottled acrylic, and I had an old set hanging around. Had to water it down because otherwise the paint just flaked off.

My test of trimming and painting went well. Then the trimmed book itself came out slightly crooked, the paint required significantly more watering-down than before, and the white paint did not want to be both opaque and speckle-able. Unfortunate, but still book-shaped! And now I have an idea of what to do differently next time.

Also, did not like the glow-in-the-dark paint. Looked too translucent in the light when compared to the white acrylic, and needed a thicker coat to be visible in the dark. (The thickness combined with the translucence and base colour kinda reminded me of boogers... Ended up scrapping most of it off, so there's not much left to glow.)

Endbands

Still in the mood to have fun and go all-out, I attempted double-core endbands for the first time.

TUTORIAL: YouTube @ BookbindersChronicle: Bookbinding 101 Sewing Headbands Session 2. Also watched @ DAS Bookbinding's Double-Core Endband // Adventures in Bookbinding, but I personally found Chronicle's closeup video easier to follow.

I used embroidery floss from a 100pk of assorted colours off Amazon, wrapped around a core of 1.9mm leather cording from Michaels. I drew from Blurb_brain's art for the general colours, choosing a dark base, with red, blue-green, and gold. The specific shades were picked to go with the cover.

[badbatchposts]

350 Follower Celebration!

Thank you to my 350 followers! I appreciate all of you who have decided my Bad Batch reblogs, occasionally silly commentary, and smut are worth having on your Dash. I wanted to do a little something to celebrate, so I put together an ask game for my thoughts/thots on our favorite clones (and guest stars)!

Pick a character and subject and I'll reply with my opinions!

Characters

Hunter

Crosshair

Tech

Echo

Wrecker

Omega

Rex

Howzer

Mayday

Phee

Cid

Fennec Shand

Saw Gerrera

Trace and Rafa Martez

Riyo Chuchi

Nala Se

Admiral Rampart

Royce Hemlock

Emerie Karr

Dara (my OC from Quiet Corners of the Galaxy)

Subjects

🔴Their sex life

🟠Their hobbies

🟡General personality as a kid and mischief they got into

🟢Their bad habits

🔵Their most treasured possession

🟣Their pet peeves

⚪️Their Modern AU profession/personality

Or, if you're curious about some other topic, feel free to ask anything that comes to mind!

[dragonflycap]

4 Trade Ideas for Caterpillar: Bonus Idea

Caterpillar, $CAT, comes into the week at short term resistance in a pullback and over the 20 day SMA for the first time in over a month. The Bollinger Bands® are squeezed in, often a precursor to a move and it has retraced 38.2% of the last leg higher. It has a RSI at the midline and rising, a positive divergence, with the MACD crossed up and rising but negative. There is resistance at 333.50 and 337.50 then 351.50 and 355.50 before 364 and 373 with the all-time high at 379.30 above that. Support lower is at 330 and 325 then 321. Short interest is low at 2.4%. 

The stock pays a dividend with an annual yield of 1.69% and will trade ex-dividend n July 24th. The company is expected to report earnings next on July 30th. The July options chain shows biggest open interest at the 330 strike on the put side and at the 350 call strike. The August chain shows open interest spread from 330 to 280, biggest at 290 then 310, on the put side. On the call side it is biggest at 330 then fades to 370. The September chain has biggest open interest at the 290 put and the 330 call strikes.

Caterpillar, Ticker: $CAT

Trade Idea 1: Buy the stock on a move over 333.50 with a stop at 321.

Trade Idea 2: Buy the stock on a move over 333.50 and add an August 320/310 Put Spread ($3.00) while selling the September 380 Call ($2.90).

Trade Idea 3: Buy the July/August 340 Call Calendar ($6.80) while selling the July 325 Puts ($2.70).

Trade Idea 4: Buy the September 320/340/370 Call Spread Risk Reversal (30 cents).

Start of Summer Annual Sale! Hi all the Start of Summer Annual Sale is entering its last day at Dragonfly Capital. Get an annual subscription for 38.2% off or pay quarterly for 15% off. Both auto-renew at that discounted rate until you decide to leave.

After reviewing over 1,000 charts, I have found some good setups for the week. These were selected and should be viewed in the context of the broad Market Macro picture reviewed Friday which with the 2nd Quarter of 2024 in the books and heading into the holiday shortened week, saw equity markets showing resilience with a rebound from a pullback and large caps and tech names holding at the highs.

Elsewhere look for Gold to continue its consolidation after the record move higher while Crude Oil consolidates in a broad range. The US Dollar Index continues the short term move to the upside while US Treasuries continue in their secular downtrend. The Shanghai Composite looks to continue the downtrend while Emerging Markets consolidate under long term resistance.

The Volatility Index looks to remain very low and stable making the path easier for equity markets to the upside. Their charts look strong, especially on the longer timeframe. On the shorter timeframe both the QQQ and SPY are showing signs of a possible reset on momentum measures as both are extended. The IWM continues to lag in a long term channel. Use this information as you prepare for the coming week and trad’em well.

[homestuckreplay]

some times video games, DOES CAUSE violence: Who Is Dave Strider?

Character Deep Dive 3 - 7/7/2009

TG: im wearing them ironically TG: because theyre awesome TG: the fact that theyre ironic makes them awesome TG: and vice versa TG: are you taking notes on how to be cool?? jesus get a fucking pen (p.110)

With an ‘OH PSYCHE’ and a dramatic sword slash into the digital world, Dave Strider made his dramatic entrance into Homestuck on June 29, 2009. We’ve previously seen a few of his instant messenger chats with John, which establish him as a disaffected and irony-poisoned guy who values the idea of being ‘cool’ and dismisses his friend’s earnest interests. Actually seeing Dave as a point of view character gives a very different impression - he's emotionally dependent on the people around him, doesn't have a strong sense of self, and is scared to express an earnest thought. And he's not even the tiniest bit cool.

Below the cut is an analysis of what we learn about Dave in the first 350 pages of Homestuck, through the framework of his stated interests on p.315. It's about 4.4k words because much like Dave, I can’t shut up.

1 - You have a penchant for spinning out UNBELIEVABLY ILL JAMS with your TURNTABLES AND MIXING GEAR.

Dave’s computer (p.323) has two desktop files for his jams - ‘ILL BEATS’ and ‘DOPE RHYMES. SO DOPE’ which I can only assume are two separate musical genres that Dave understands the nuance of, even while his listeners do not. However, despite Homestuck regularly featuring music as part of the story, we don’t hear any of Dave’s sick mixtapes. Instead, we make them for him (p.338) - meaning Dave’s first stated interest is one that the audience has control over. This is like if on page 4, each reader got to enter a list of movies for John to love, and those movies were substituted into the later comic, giving every reader a unique experience of John’s taste. 

John is established as someone who has a very specific taste, staying firm while other characters and the narration criticize him. Dave is established as easily influenced by other people’s creative impulses and opinions on art. Whether the reader seriously creates something they enjoy, or layers all 16 or 20 beats at once in an unlistenable mess, the next page still reads ‘Those beats were so fresh they belong in the produce aisle’ (p.339). Dave thinking whatever the reader does is cool is similar to him thinking whatever his bro does is cool, which he mentions throughout his pesterlogs and narration in reference to diverse topics like the sylladex, video games, and puppets. 

He’s also easily influenced by John, perhaps even gullible, as John’s talk of a monster pissing in apple juice at the factory is enough to get inside Dave’s head and stop him from drinking the bottle he was excited about, and Dave switches instantly from parroting the GameBro review of Sburb to believing that Sburb can save Rose’s life, based only on what John says. A big question I’m interested in with Dave is what he actually likes, and where to draw the line between his own interests and opinions, and those of other people that he copies without exploring for himself.

Dave being a technology guy is the first thing we learn about him because of his username, turntechGodhead. We see Dave protective of his turntables, not wanting to spill anything on them (p.315) and we see him refer to his technology by the model name, suggesting that the specifics of the tech are important to him (p.337). Three of Dave’s six stated interests relate to music - unbelievably ill jams, bands no-one’s heard of, and phat rhymes. As music was notably absent from John and Rose’s interests, despite them being skilled instrumentalists, this over-focus on music is really notable. Dave’s musical interests explore the full spectrum of creating vs appreciating music, with Dave creating remixes as the exact middle point, a form of creation that is based on incorporating other artists’ work that Dave enjoys. This is kind of perfect for him as someone whose personality might just be a remix of his brother’s. 

We get no sense of Dave being religious, so the ‘godhead’ in his name apparently refers to how Dave presents himself and his creations. He talks as though his opinions are objectively correct, even in narration, and describes himself as being ‘worshipped’, with people prostrating themselves before him and kissing his shoes. However, music itself can be a religious experience. In Christianity, for example, songs of praise are a form of worship and a way to bring believers closer to God, and all major world religions have their own musical traditions. In secular culture, for many people, music intensifies emotions, creates community, and can create feelings of reverence and catharsis similar to those experienced in religious worship (see this article and this deviation for examples). I can easily imagine Dave feeling the same way, and music being his truest expression of emotion and therefore the thing that hits him most deeply and defines his life.

2 - You like to rave about BANDS NO ONE'S EVER HEARD OF BUT YOU.

We are taking this one on faith, because so far, we haven't seen Dave raving about any bands. He does own an extensive and colorful record collection which he keeps beneath his turntables, but he hasn't looked at any, or given the reader a chance to rifle through them the way we did with John's game collection. This interest parallels Rose's 'RATHER OBSCURE LITERATURE', and similarly, I don't think Dave's bands are genuinely underground - they're probably well regarded indie bands who aren't in the pop charts. If I’m headcanoning Dave’s favorite bands it’s Dirty Projectors, Porcupine Tree, The Streets, Animal Collective, Modest Mouse and LCD Soundsystem. The only real world media we know for sure Dave likes is Starsky & Hutch (2004), and Ben Stiller as an actor. Some of Ben Stiller’s work is definitely ironic comedy, but it’s still fairly mainstream.

It's also possible that Dave already got his only three friends to listen to his obscure bands, and now they have heard of them, meaning Dave can no longer act smug and superior about being the only one that knows them. This is a tragic and self defeating prophecy, and there's no direct textual evidence for it, but I came up with the idea while thinking about the Midnight Crew comic. Dave has a poster and bedspread of this comic but '[hasn't] looked at it in a while' (p.327), so he's less of a fan than he used to be. John also reads Midnight Crew and its predecessor (p.112), so I wonder if Dave got John into mspaintadventures and it then lost its magic of being something cool to Dave. There is a real loneliness in not being able to share your interests with somebody for fear that it will ruin them somehow, or that other people won't understand them the same way - Dave also mentions that it's hard to explain the 'subtleties' of his ironic appreciation (p.318). John likes everything so earnestly in a way that seems uncomfortable for Dave.

3 - You collect WEIRD DEAD THINGS PRESERVED IN VARIOUS WAYS.

Much like the record collection, we can see evidence of Dave's weird dead things in his room, but it's not an interest he's explored in the comic. Page 337 gives us a good view of his specimens, which appear to include an embryo in a jar of liquid, an assortment of scorpions, centipedes and beetles encased in solid material, a fish encased in a different solid, and various rocks, fossils and bones just chilling on the shelf. We don't learn whether Dave collects and preserves the specimens himself or buys them like this, but I found guides online for preserving specimens as a hobby using commercially available supplies, and those sunglasses are kind of like safety goggles (or at least better than nothing). Either way, this interest sticks out - all the others are very typical for a selfconsciously cool indie guy, but even if it's ironic, this is some confirmed nerd shit.

I do think Weird Science will become important to Homestuck. John's interested in ectoBiology and paranormal lore, Rose lives next door to a mysterious laboratory and has the ethos of a mad scientist, and now Dave displays biological specimens on a shelf. I'm always thinking about how the comic is setting itself up to explore some fascinating dichotomies (spectrums?) like physical vs digital and technology vs religion, and I'm now adding art vs science to that list.

I also think we can interpret this interest non-literally, and think about what other things Dave might like to preserve. Vinyl was thought of as a dead medium for decades, until a recent indie resurgence that Dave is helping with. Photography, Dave's next interest, is a way of preserving a moment in time that can't be relived. And one popular argument for why the Internet is good is that while physical items like a paper book will degrade over time, digital data like a website can be preserved forever. Maybe part of the reason Dave feels a lot of responsibility towards his websites is because he knows that people could still be reading them decades or even centuries from now, when he himself is a weird dead thing. In a story where Sburb represents the near-limitless potential for creation and destruction, it is very interesting that Dave, the biggest Sburb hater, is associated with preservation.

4 - You are an AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER and operate your own MAKESHIFT DARKROOM.

Again, Dave hasn't discussed his photography, but his pictures are strung up around his room. This is fascinating because it implies that the makeshift darkroom is also Dave's actual room, not the bathroom or a spare room or closet. This might suggest that like John, Dave doesn't have much control over the rest of the house. His brother has puppets strung up in the hallway and bathroom, but Dave either isn't allowed to hang his photos there, or he's not comfortable hanging them where the rest of his family might see. It also suggests that Dave simply draws the blinds, switches off the lights and screens, and exists in his room in darkness, navigating by touch and memory alone. This might tie into how half his hobbies are related to sound, not sight - and Dave wearing sunglasses indoors could be a way of practicing finding his way around with reduced sight, or an effect of regularly doing so, if Dave spends enough time in darkness that he now struggles with bright lights.

Three of Dave's four visible photos are selfies of him in different poses, despite a host of interesting things to photograph in his room. I'm thinking of a line from House of Leaves where a character, famous for her smile, is described as practicing it every night in front of the mirror when she was fourteen. Dave is the same to me. He's regularly associated with muting and masking his emotions - for example, saying 'Nah.' to retrieving his arms from cinderblocks (p.313), where John and Rose had far stronger emotional reactions to similar commands (p.5, p.218). Dave photographing himself in the perfect expression or pose surgically designed to look effortless, then studying those photographs and iterating from there, is so easy to imagine.

Conversely, for someone who is so dedicated to concealing emotion to the point of wearing sunglasses and hiding his eyes even while alone, making art (like photography and music) is probably the only way Dave knows how to process his feelings. Sadly we are in a post-cassette tape world, but Dave is such a 'make a mixtape for his crush' type of guy that I can imagine him finding a bunch of limewire rips, compressing them into a zip file and emailing them to John, who replies like 'I don't know how to open this'.

5 - You maintain a number of IRONICALLY HUMOROUS BLOGS, WEBSITES, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILES.

We are treated to two of Dave's ironically humorous websites - sweet bro’s hella blog, a blogspot page, and SWEET BRO AND HELLA JEFF, a dot com that really exists (and redirects to the SBAHJ comic on mspaintadventures). This explains everything. A blogspot is one thing but owning a dot com makes you a Guy Who Owns Web Domains, which feels extremely cool despite being ultimately meaningless. These sites also establish how much Dave has to say - we see this in pesterlogs too, where Dave will message John every few minutes asking for updates on the Sburb beta (p. 26, 35, 110) or send twenty messages in a row even after John has said he’s leaving the chat (p.204). 

On sweet bro’s hella blog (p.325), Dave’s just yelling into the void with no real goal in mind, just an idea he thought would be funny. I do think his March review is pretty funny, but I also think Dave likes GameBro for real. He respects their opinions - ‘did you see how it got slammed in game bro????’ (p.26) - and changes the subject when John criticizes it. He’s also adopted the lexicon, as the GameBro review of Sburb (p.42) is written similarly to how Dave types. But mostly I’m interested in Dave’s blog’s followers. He has at least twelve, and maybe more. The Ghostbusters icon is almost certainly John, but none of the icons jump out as Rose or GG. They could be real people - or they could be more of Dave’s accounts, with him creating an extensive social network of characters who interact with each other’s posts ‘ironically’. If Dave is someone who craves social interaction, this could be a way he copes with loneliness.

In SWEET BRO AND HELLA JEFF (p.326), Dave is creating something. He’s a webcomic artist! He might even have been inspired by the Midnight Crew. He’s only made four comics so far, which I’ll call ‘stairs’, ‘HE HE HE’, ‘jelly’, and ‘BARACK’. These all feature two characters, who are presumably Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff, but it’s not defined which is which, so I’ll call them Red and Blue. Red’s mom makes an appearance in HE HE HE, and there’s a squirrel in BARACK, but these are side characters. The dynamic seems to be Red getting into situations, and Blue expositing/commentating on them. They are both gamers, might also be stoners, and Blue is possibly transmasc. BARACK suggests that the two characters might represent the American political parties, which makes sense, because the recent 2008 election is probably the first political moment Dave’s been old enough to have real knowledge and opinions on. 

SBAHJ is clearly intended to be near impossible to parse, filled with nonsensical dialog and plot points and horrific jpeg compression, so it’s extremely hard to analyze right now. I think this might be on purpose, and that part of Dave’s layers of irony are him not wanting people to learn too much about him through his art. The line between irony and sincerity is something really fascinating to me, because these concepts are so embedded into internet culture. Dave tells himself he’s making something that’s bad on purpose, and that he’s doing it ironically. But he actually believes that what he’s making is good. He thinks it’s good because of the irony, but he’s still making art that he’s proud of, he’s still showing vulnerability by posting it on the internet and getting people’s honest reactions, no matter how many layers he tries to cloak that in. 

Dave does think of his blog as a responsibility - ‘ive got a lot of shit on my plate, i am sort of a big deal ok?’ (p.333) - and I think that’s a really common feeling. Having any kind of following, even if it’s just John, his bro, and a couple of strangers on the internet, can easily turn into feeling like there’s an obligation to create content for them. If Dave’s cool bro has promoted Dave’s work, that becomes even more pressure, since those are people Dave probably wants to impress. So when he says he doesn’t have time to read Midnight Crew (p.332) or play Sburb with Rose (p.333), I don’t think he’s lying, or making himself out to be busier than he is.

Much like Dave’s sick beats (p.338), SBAHJ is the first time a Homestuck character has created something that also exists in our world. I think it’s very interesting that John, Rose and Dave all have meta roles to play in the story, but they are all different flavors of meta. John’s meta role is explicitly that of a character, but one that the reader, player, and narrator are all able to control at times through the various layers of the narrative (p.90, p.253, etc). Rose’s meta role is that of a player, able to control John’s environment in godlike ways and be immune to the commands of the Vagabond, another player (p.139, p.277, etc). Now, Dave’s meta role is that of the narrator, as he infodumps and exposits even when nobody is around, posts commentary, and creates an entirely separate narrative on his own website.

6 - And if the inspiration strikes, you won't hesitate to drop some PHAT RHYMES on a mofo and REPRESENT.

The phatness of rhymes can’t be quantified scientifically, but I did my best. I tried reading both of Dave’s raps aloud, doing my best to put them to a beat. The first four lines (p.287) went well, and it all fell apart from there. 

This didn’t feel like a fair test as I’d never usually read rap lyrics before listening to the song - so I read the lyrics to Lil Wayne’s 2008 song A Milli, and Kendrick Lamar’s 2009 remix of the same song, which I hadn’t listened to before. These were both much easier to read in rhythm, and when I listened to the songs afterwards, they were decently close to what I’d imagined. To further control the variables, I read Andrew Hussie’s 2005 comic And It Don’t Stop, which centers around rap battles. Here, too, the rhymes and rhythms are crisp - so this is a Dave issue, and not an author issue.

Dave is trying to use the word ‘McConaughey’ in a rap. He is probably inspired by far more experienced rappers who might be able to pull that off, but Dave definitely can’t. I think he’s skipping steps and trying to make something complex before he has the basics nailed down. His raps also highlight how self centered he is, much like his infinite recursion of ironic websites. John reveals that his life was in danger, and Dave’s instant reaction is: ‘how can I make this about my art?’ 

However, I’m concerned about the cultural implications of Dave’s raps. We don’t know Dave’s race and he definitely could be black, but there’s no specific indication of that. He’s represented in #ffffff, which is closer to a white skin tone than any other - many black and white comics use shading to denote a dark skinned character. Due to the nature of white privilege, white is culturally seen as the ‘default’ or ‘unraced’ option. In books, race or skin tone will be described for characters of color but not mentioned for white characters, and both Lego and The Simpsons use yellow skin for the majority of their characters as an ostensibly universal option, but still depict characters of color with brown skin tones, implying that the default yellow actually means white. 

Written by a white author, it’s likely that Homestuck has the same problem - and two factors make this even more concerning. The first is And It Don’t Stop, which was co-created by Black artist Tauhid Bondia, but was entirely written by white artist Andrew Hussie. The comic includes multiple instances of the n-word as well as a couple other race related jokes. The second is Dave’s raps themselves, one of which is an irreverent analysis of black presidents in movies at the start of the Obama era. Real life black people have incredibly varied opinions on race and politics, but Dave is a fictional character, and even if he is intended to be textually black, it’s uncomfortable for a white author to write him rapping about living in a post-racism world. 

I think it’s likely that the author - and by extension, Dave himself - are justifying their racism by claiming that it’s ironic and doesn’t represent their actual beliefs, failing to see that the effects of their words are exactly the same. I can give Dave the benefit of the doubt because he is 13 years old and doesn’t exist, but I think the very real 29 year old creator of this work should do better.

7 - The Absence of Gaming

John and Rose shared one common interest, which was video games. We know that Dave reads GameBro, owns the Sburb beta, and has played Problem Sleuth and And It Don’t Stop with John (or at least enjoys the art of these games). And yet, he doesn’t cite gaming as an interest, which I've been puzzling and theorizing over in my mind.

Dave likes gaming unironically and loves playing games with John. He reads GameBro to find out what the Correct Contrarian Takes are that’ll be socially acceptable in Cool Guy Circles. He does this to keep up with his bro, who he has a ‘campaign of one-upmanship’ with (p.314) not dissimilar from the Prankster’s Gambit between John and his dad, and who plays a very important role in his life. The magazine is called GameBro, Dave’s comic features Sweet Bro, and Dave effusively compliments his brother in both pesterlogs and narration, such as ‘my bro taught me a few tricks he basically knows everything and is awesome’ (p.35). 

Dave tells John to brush up on his data structures and allocate his strife specibus, but never actually demonstrates his own knowledge of data structures, and doesn’t know the specific procedure for allocating the specibus (p.35). Dave’s not an expert himself, he’s just parroting the sylladex tricks his bro taught to him. Dave never states a reason for his disinterest in Sburb beyond ‘it sounds so HELLS of boring’ (p.110), and we know that Dave’s bro also doesn’t plan on playing Sburb (p.314). Dave also implies that he’s a little bit scared of his brother with the mildly threatening ‘hes not gonna be happy about [my taking his Sburb discs]’ (p.294).

It’s highly possible that Dave’s love of irony also comes directly from imitating his bro, who is probably a 16 year old high schooler involved in a weird theater kid subculture, based on typical sibling age gaps and the puppets strung around the house. To Dave at 13, of course an older, alternative teen is going to be the absolute height of cool, even while it all looks silly to an outsider. I think that John’s stack modus is actually a very standard option for a sylladex, and that Dave and his bro are the weird ones insisting that hash map is usable - I can imagine them being like ‘why is everyone always using “plates” and “bowls”? I eat all of my meals out of aluminum foil folded into the right shapes.’ 

Dave’s post-ironic hipsterism isn’t exclusive to men, of course, but it is a very specific type of masculinity - ironic sexism is a known phenomenon. Dave, who confines his emotions to an expressionless nod, solves the minor problem of someone getting his name wrong by making a violent sword attack, and makes gay jokes but gets defensive the second someone suggests that he might be gay, is definitely falling into some toxic masculinity. 

Gender roles (both male and female) are unachievable ideals for even the most cisgender and perisex of people, but I think there’s a reading of Dave as a transgender man who came out when he was young and passes well, but always has to put in more work than the other men around him, because he has to work against biology and other people’s perception of his gender. Whether Dave is trans or cis, I think his ninja sword could be a metaphor for masculinity - it’s allocated to his strife specibus, but his actual strife portfolio is empty, and the sword is displayed on the wall. To me this says that Dave is a man, but he’s more concerned with the outward performance of masculinity than actually buying into those gender roles.

Final Thoughts

Just like Rose, Dave has meticulously crafted the personality he wants to have, but there are plenty of cracks in his facade. All three of our main characters so far are easy to understand and easy to relate to - right from their early appearances, we can see the clear disconnects between characters’ words, thoughts and actions, and effortlessly synthesize them into a coherent character. The author is simply gifted at characterization. The patterns of character introductions are very cool too, making readers both want and expect to see certain things, such as the characters allocating their strife specibus or playing a haunting tune (personally I’m most excited to explore Rose and Dave’s houses further like we have John’s). Establishing these patterns means I have a better sense of where the story is, and don’t have as many questions, though of course some mysteries remain, such as:

Just what is Dave’s cool brother’s deal, really? 

Will Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff (the characters) eventually cross the boundary into the Homestuck universe? Will we ever find out which one is which? 

Are the characters’ interests intended to be things they’re bad at (when they’re skills)? Could this be why music isn’t featured in John and Rose’s lists of interests, but is in Dave’s? Could this mean that Dave kicks ass at video games? 

To what extent are the images in Homestuck literal and to what extent are they representational? Or, in other words, do Dave’s sunglasses really gleam when we get his name right?

Dave’s message to John about apple juice (p.324) is almost identically worded to the preceding narration (p.320). Is the narration a perfect representation of character thoughts for everyone all the time, or is this only true for Dave because he’s positioned closer to the narrator?