voxel | Reading

My computer is broken, and it has been for a few weeks now. Which means that my access to dreamwidth is gone until I get it fixed and get my VPN back. Or until I'm out of the state again. I've got a lot I want to say, but it will have to wait. I guess it means I get to actually draft and revise my posts, ha!

Anyway, as I write this I am riding past LA wetlands. It brings comfort - just saw a bald eagle. god, i love wetlands.

I will be out of state again in a week or so, so maybe I can share things then. I am bad at typing water on my phone, though.

Until then, be safe and I am very thankful for everyone here.

Godbwye

liondrakes

I am an antique among machines. At times, I am an automaton. At times, I’m not an automaton. In the moments when I’m not this kind of machine, I am but a fan admiring these creations from a distance. In contrast, I’m not passionate about the technology of this day and age. The same goes for the technology of the future, be it based in the aspirations of our current societies or in the imagination of storytellers and artists through science fiction. Whether it’s because of my familiarity with the former or my disinterest with the latter, my feelings towards either are neutral at best.

I look at the technology of the first and second Industrial Revolutions, and only then am I invested what is put before me. I love technologies of the past in general. The older, the better one might say. This is based on my curiosity regarding these creations’ utility, their evolution and significance to our world’s history, not on the basis of practicality. The astrolabe of the Hellenistic Period, Su Song's water-powered clock tower ("Cosmic Engine"), Munich's beautiful Rathaus-Glockenspiel… I love learning about devices such as these! With the exception of the latter's figurines, I look like none of them as an automaton. Regardless, they’re important to me not only as an alterhuman but from an animist standpoint as well.

In my opinion, there is life within these inventions. Anthropologically, they are the embodiment of innovation, the desire to create and reshape our society through said creations. There hasn’t been a moment in time where humans looked at something and didn’t go “I’m gonna fuck with this thing until I shift its whole purpose in my favor!”— sometimes for good reasons, sometimes absolutely terrible reasons. It is through humanity, its societies and those developments that life can be found in the machines representing them. No machine is perfect. A machine is bound to bug out or go through malfunctions (read as: make mistakes) through trial and error stages, and it can even cause irreversible damage like its creators. It is also capable of incredible feats and inspiring generations like its creators. That is life captured through artificial eyes. Alternatively, if you’re like me, one may sense life in every little piece before these projects are assembled. In a way, that life fully emerges once all the pieces fall into place and a model is completed.

( Lookin' for adventure? Click here! )

Current Mood: contemplative

schneefink

I played very little Silksong in the past 1-2 weeks and did pretty much everything I wanted to in my first playthrough (before the DLCs come out) so now is a good time to post the "epilogue" notes.

( Things I did after the true ending )

( Some more thoughts )

( LPs I watched )

I already know what I want to play next: Hades 2, of course. (But probably not this year, I have a huge backlog of books etc.)

gze

Author: E, G
Length: 9-15 minutes
Warnings: Mentions of blood and sexuality

Things are still kind of in crisis mode (not helped by seasonal depression, we’re only realizing just as we started writing this on December 6…cool, fun stuff), and we’ve poked at the start of some essays and another comic about it. That’s all depressing though! How about something a little more fun?

Kid logic for us is when something made complete sense in single digits without the rationality and knowledge of an adult. Things like irrational, inexplicable fears, or leaps of logic that usually amounted to ‘because I said so’. (That kind of will may have been a factor in our system creation! Who knows!) It can be very funny to look back on, so why not do so as a bit of levity? G and E have a ton of memories to throw around (and they overlap because they were one back in the day).

We’ll go memory by memory, no particular order except whatever comes to mind first.

( All memories below the cut! )

lb_lee

Rogan: It was a tie between "Old Man Yaoi" and "Cult Comix" this poll, but December is dark enough without cultery, so I exercised my blogly fiat. Besides, "Old Man Yaoi" has contextual relevance, because it's about Coming In or Staying Out, which is now officially up for sale in the violet and bubblegum pink Riso edition! $20, 24 pages, printing so pretty you'll want to rub it across your face!

Image and textual transcription behind the cut!

( Biff doesn't know what an anime is and he does not care. He liked The Wind Also Rises though. )

Current Mood: silly

lb_lee

Comics we got at MICE! All are great!

BE NOT AFRAID, by LSJM(?) Black, white, and red one-pager that’s like if the angel from Pet was giving you a Trump-era pep talk.
Secret Black Woman, by Ingrid Pierre. Autobio about anti-black racism, anti-Asian racism, passing, and being biracial.
Default, by JCJB. Poetry essay watercolor about fighting empire and suffering. We think Phosphor of hungryghosts would like this!
Prompted: an educator’s response to generative AI in the classroom, by Caroline Hu. Science, chatbots, and college. We think erinptah would like this!
Cannon Fodder, by Eric Alexander Arroyo. Queer mecha pilots in love during wartime. Got it for the sci-fi library; we have now purchased all three printings of this, haha.
Maintenance, by Cryptozoology. “What if a robot liked it when their creator performed upkeep on them (in a sexual way) and they were both girls???” Grabbed for sci-fi library.
Silhouette, by L/V. Navy blue Riso robot porn. May also end up in sci-fi library because the art is so gorgeous.

bedes

Finn's physical degradation is being paralleled by the degradation of Fionna's moral backbone.

She's losing herself. She agreed to work with her friend's abusive, power-hungry mother (thus pushing him away), and is obsessively chasing this fantasy with Phelix despite him having a girlfriend. She doesn't recognize the effort her friends put in to the event. She is single-mindedly chasing this fantasy of being a hero, while, in reality, she is hurting those she is trying to "save".

The threat looms — both of a physical death (Finn), and a symbolic death of the self (the "Fifi" future).

Current Mood: thoughtful

bedes

A lot of people in the MILGRAM fandom (especially English-speaking MILGRAM fandom) state that Haruka is autistic-coded, as if it's fact. Most recognize that Haruka is coded as disabled. (If you didn't recognize that, I hope this essay will help to explain why.) However, to state that he is coded as autistic specifically is incorrect. Haruka is coded as intellectually disabled.

Now, there are likely two things that contribute to this issue. One is the invisibility of intellectual disability as a whole, and another is the fact that a lot of this has to do with things that only someone who speaks Japanese would understand (such as complex vs non-complex words in Japanese).

In this essay, I plan to lay out what an intellectual disability is and how it differs from neurodivergencies such as autism or ADHD. After that, I want to discuss the way Haruka speaks and uses words, the symbolism in his MVs, and how this lends to him being coded as intellectually disabled. Finally, I want to discuss why this even matters at all. Because, in truth, viewing Haruka as autistic instead of intellectually disabled leaves the viewer misunderstanding his story in a huge way that seems far too common in English-speaking MILGRAM fandom. So, I hope you listen to what I have to say.

( Continue? )

Current Music: Weekness - MILGRAM Haruka CV Shun Horie
Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/19146.html

lb_lee

Rogan: holy shit guys, the color version of Coming In or Staying Out came out GORGEOUS. Just Right Press did an amazing job and I will absolutely be hiring them again! I cannot wait to put it up for sale and show it off!

And it’s been the bestseller at MICE so far! I’ll be working a final shift at table 32 from 11-2 tomorrow on Sunday; be the first on your block to have some pink trans dongs!

Current Mood: naughty

dreamdragon

I think sometimes I’m envious of those with uncomplicated ‘type.

Sure, dragon is a rather common ‘type, at first glance.

Once you dive deeper, you’d understand how diverse, how wildly different, how not alike many of us are.

( Read more... )

Current Mood: :/

chameleons3

( Read more... )

Current Mood: sad
Current Music: vector to the heavens - yoko shimomura

bedes

Rating: M

Fandom: MILGRAM

Characters: Muu Kusunoki, Rei

Relationship: Muu Kusunoki/Rei

Words: 2,467

Content Warnings: Bullying, slut-shaming, cannibalistic urges

Tropes: AU - Cakeverse, Internalized Homophobia (Muu), Metaphor, Angst

Summary: Nobody would think she was cute if the word got out that Kusunoki Muu wanted to eat her classmate.

( Notes )

( Read more... )

( Notes )

Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/18924.html

bedes

Rating: G

Fandom: Great God Grove

Characters: Click Clack, Thespius Green (mentioned)

Relationship: Click Clack/Thespius Green

Words: 932

Tropes: Internalized Homophobia (Click Clack), Autistic Character (Click Clack), Character Study, Denial of Feelings, Unconventional Format

Summary: Click Clack carefully edits his thought process (lest it leads to something he's not yet ready to face).

He can't let his mask fall off, after all!

( Notes )

( Read more... )

Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/18649.html

bedes

Rating: G

Fandom: Splatoon

Characters: Marie, Callie (mentioned)

Relationship: Callie & Marie

Words: 1,309

Tropes: Aromantic Character (Marie), Character Study, Coming Out, Unconventional Format, Seasonal, Worldbuilding

Summary: For our pride month special, I was honored with being the first to interview Marie since her coming out earlier this month made waves!

( Notes )

( Read more... )

Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/18423.html

hungryghosts

also to be included in a more polished essay later: old post we made about improving social skills

Well, at the risk of being pedantic, neither I nor anyone else can teach you how to make everyone like you. That's just impossible, and I'd also argue that trying for that just makes it harder to develop real social skills, since an important part of social interaction is accepting that you won't get along with everyone (even if both you and they are decent people! sometimes folks just aren't compatible)

Now that's been said, I've seen these resources recommended for improving your social skills:

https://www.succeedsocially.com/ (have not read this one myself)
https://captainawkward.com/ (read it back in the day, seems fairly sensible)

hungryghosts

To be polished into an essay later: old posts we made about hobbies

Hobbies that one or more of us have: writing, oldschool website-making, crochet, origami, fountain pens, digital and traditional art, cello, multiplayer gaming, mechanical keyboards, lucid dreaming, indoor gardening, reading miscellaneous nonfiction.

For starting points for the more accessible of these...

Writing: everyone hypes up writing a novel. You really don't need to write a novel. Write short stories, drabbles, single scenes, sequences of words that got stuck in your head, rants about this or that. Get into the habit of writing and prioritize writing something rather than something polished.

Oldschool website-making: there's a number of hosts around, Neocities being probably the most known, Nekoweb being a newer option that's pretty good. Look up tutorials on HTML and CSS (you don't need to touch JS)

Origami: lots of patterns around the web. Look for beginner ones. You don't need fancy paper, we made stuff out of printer and notebook paper for years. Just familiarize yourself with cutting your own squares (fold edge over until flush with the other edge to make a triangle, cut off the trailing paper, unfold triangle into square, ta-da).

Traditional art: hardest part here will be mindset. You'll compare yourself to other artists and angst about how you're not where you want to be a LOT, and it sucks. Think about it like a video game - any art you draw, no matter how shitty, is EXP, while no art means no EXP. Read the "50% Rule" on Drawabox.com and do your best to keep its principles in mind.

Multiplayer gaming: bunch of free multiplayer games out there. Of the ones we play, Warframe and Sky: Children of the Light probably give you the most access to the game without paying, just be prepared to be sad about not being able to afford many things. Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV are fun, but they only give you free access to parts of the game, and then you gotta pay for expansions.
Tbh, if you have a computer that can run it + mods, I would recommend buying Minecraft if you have money to spare - the huge modding ecosystem means you'll get objectively more game for your money than buying an MMO expansion.

Lucid dreaming: "Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming" by Stephen LaBerge is probably the most comprehensive book I've found on the topic, and you might be able to read it for free on Archive.org. I've personally found that reading about lucid dreaming + keeping a dream journal is usually enough for me to lucid dream without having to dip into the more involved techniques, but your mileage may vary. Be mindful of getting into this if you have chronic nightmares - lucid dreaming can help you manage them, but ime there's a transition period where you remember dreams more vividly but aren't lucid in them yet.

Reading miscellaneous nonfiction: again, Archive.org is your friend! If you have a library card, Libby lets you borrow ebooks from your library.

Regarding web development, I fully believe that you have it in you. CSS is daunting, often arcane. But in our experience, it does not remain that way forever. Some years ago, it took us hours to center a single element; now, we delight in debugging others' CSS and have written all of the styling on our site by hand. Like fronting, there is only one way to improve, and that is practice.

As for resources, I will disclaim that we haven't used all of these. But we have seen them recommended by several others.

Free and Newbie-Friendly Static Site Hosts

Neocities (The best-known host, by far!)
Nekoweb (This is the place that our site is hosted. We began on Neocities; it is more established and populous, but we enjoy Nekoweb more.)

Resources for Learning

HTML for People (We have only taken a cursory look at this. But we liked what we saw!)
Kevin Powell's Youtube channel (We have not used this. But people speak very highly of him.)
freeCodeCamp's course on responsive web design (Once again, we have not used this. But people speak highly of freeCodeCamp.)
CSS Diner (A little game to help you learn and practice CSS selectors. We have not delved deeply into this one.)
Flexbox Froggy (Another CSS game, this time with a focus on flexbox. We have not played this, but people speak highly of it.)

Documentation

MDN Web Docs (The most comprehensive reference for HTML, CSS, and Javascript, maintained by Mozilla, Google, and many volunteers.)
w3schools (I have seen people say to take this one with a grain of salt. But it has been generally helpful to us. We prefer the MDN documentation, but we will often cross-reference the two if we're unsure how something is used.)

lb_lee

On Saturday December 6, 10:30-2 and 4-6 PM, Sunday December 7, 11-2, we are tabling with the Boston comics Roundtable at table 32 at MICE! Sorry for the double post, but we got an extra shift!

Current Mood: working

bedes

Rating: G

Fandom: Pokemon

Characters: Bede, Opal, Chairman Rose (mentioned)

Relationship: Bede & Opal

Words: 3,201

Tropes: Banter, Character Study, Domestic, Families of Choice, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort (light), Seasonal, Worldbuilding

Summary: Bede seems inherently avoidant to discussing both his past experiences with the holidays, and learning about the Fairy-types he's supposed to master. However, he, notably, does not seem to avoid the subject of food — and Opal can work with that.

( Notes )

( Read more... )

Crossposts: https://fairyfic.dreamwidth.org/18111.html

schneefink

I'm feeling better, but I went to the doctor's office and to the pharmacy and to the store this morning and afterwards I was absolutely wiped.

Too tired to catch up on chores just yet, but I can start catching up on reviews, at least.

Three weeks ago, friends and I went to see Maria Theresia the musical at Ronacher. I rarely go see musicals in Vienna; the last one was the Falco musical in the same place around 1-2 years ago, both of them premiered there. I enjoyed "Rock Me Amadeus" more than expected, so I was very curious about a new one about empress Maria Theresia. A key figure of Austrian history; I only remembered bits and pieces of what I learned about her at school and during museum visits etc, but I briefly looked at her Wikipedia page beforehand just in case.

I had a good time! The beginning was the weakest part imo, but then it picked up the pace and focus. Of course they took plenty of liberties with historical facts but that was inevitable. I liked the music (not especially memorable but I am also not great at remembering music in general tbf) and staging, and especially some of the things they did with the lights. I found Falco too loud in places, but not this one, possibly because we sat further back.

( Spoilers )

Afterwards I was in the mood to read a book about the Habsburgs, and the only one currently available as an ebook from the library was one about "scandalous love affairs of the Habsburgs," by Hanne Egghardt. Fortunately a quick stop to any romanticizing of the Habsburgs through sheer, hm, mundanity. It features several scandalous affairs throughout the centuries, from the wife of the emperor falling in love with and almost certainly having an affair with her sister-in-law, to Napoleon's widow having kids with a general sent to look after her, to several archdukes falling in love with "commoners" - with varying degrees of happy endings that all showcase why such relationships were viewed with much skepticism.
It was often mentioned that these nobles had allowances of specific sums of money that all sounded like a lot, but I have no context how much so-and-so thousand guilders were worth back then so I couldn't say whether they were extremely rich or just moderately wealthy for their station.

bedes

(Cross-posting from the holiday_wishes community.)

Hi, hello! My name is Azure, and I'm a queer and disabled young adult, and certifiable fandom geek. I'm look forward to fulfilling some wishes (I have a few bookmarked and fulfilled a few already!). In the meantime, here is my list!

˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ୧ ✉️ ‧₊˚ .⛸️ ❄︎ ⋅

1. Help me move! I'm currently saving up to move out of my parents' home! They forbid me from going on HRT, so I'm trying to move ASAP. Plus, I live in a red state with lots of anti-trans legislation.

My Paypal.me is here, and my Ko-fi is here!

2. Comments on my fics! I am AzureMist on AO3, and some fandoms I've written for include Dungeon Meshi, MILGRAM, Splatoon, and Pokémon, among other things! If you're familiar with any of the fandoms I've written for, from 2021 onward, I'd really, really appreciate it if you could spare some kind words!

3. Rec me your favorite indie games! I loooove indie games!!! Especially queer indie games. If you know any hidden gems fitting that description, please, tell me about them! Break out your niche itch.io faves!!! Some of my favorite games along these lines include In Stars and Time, Bad End Theater, Celeste, Fields of Mistria, Great God Grove, Smile For Me, Our Life: Beginnings & Always, and Dead Plate! (No games with incest, please.)

4. Digital giftcards! Specifically Nintendo eShop, Steam, Pokémon Center and DoorDash gift cards! I have a long gaming-related wishlist, so if you could help make even a dent in that, it would be very appreciated. The Pokémon Center is the official Pokémon merch store, and Pokémon is my one true fandom, so it makes sense why I would love some items from there (especially Pokémon plushies, as I collect them)! And lastly, DoorDash cards will be used for yummy holiday treats like cookies~!

5. Pledge to support the Starbucks strike! I know, I know, believe me, I know! This is the best time of year for Starbucks! But Starbucks workers are currently undergoing a national ULP strike to end the company's union busting, and demand better wages, amongst other things. I worked for Starbucks for a brief time this year, so it'd mean a lot if you could pledge to not cross the picket line.

6. Paid time on Tumblr! I'm azuremist! Tumblr is my main online platform of choice, so I'd get a ton of usage out of it.

7. Art of my OCs! I'm basically always looking for art of my fursona and persona! Since they're both fat like I am, it can be hard to find artists willing to draw them, so it'd be super appreciated. Linked is a page with each character's information and gallery!

8. Steam games! Steam gift cards too much of a hassle? I understand. (What kinda digital store doesn't let you send an e-gift card by email? In 2025??) Then maybe consider gifting me a game more directly with Humble Bundle! Specific games on my wishlist include Great God Grove, Volcano Princess, and Ikenfell! (Maybe even get me a surprise game, based off of my likes listed in #3? Yes, this is me inviting you to try to indoctrinate me into your video game fandoms!)

9. Support for my art accounts! A share, a kind comment, or maybe even a follow for any of my art accounts would warm my heart!! It's brutal out here for us artists online in this day and age... I am primarily active on Tumblr and Bluesky!

10. Spare my beloved's site some kind words! This one's a secret, okay? Don't mention that I sent you! But my long-suffering husband has a simple website! It contains things like some of his art, and a work-in-progress guide to shiny hunting. Pup often gets discouraged with pups site, and hasn't updated it in a while because of it. So, please consider looking around, then signing the guestbook at the bottom of the homepage with some kind words!

˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ୧ ✉️ ‧₊˚ .⛸️ ❄︎ ⋅

Thank you and happy holidays to you all! My email is azures.mist@protonmail.com, and my Steam account is azuremists!

Current Mood: thankful
Current Music: Maybe This Year - Eggtan