Coming Soon to a Roadside Ditch Near You!

Goblin academia. Purveyor of thoughts and dreams. Held together by spit and string.

[ramshacklefey]

I write a lot of Murderbot Diaries fic these days, all of which you can read on AO3! Currently have three big, ongoing projects:

The Space Between the Stars (with illustrations by the inimitable @fascinatedfinch)

Murderbot, ART, and a pack of their humans have been yanked out of their reality into a world inhabited by "spirits," where code and magic are the same thing. In order to get home again, they'll have to break down the barrier that's been keeping this world, and its magic, out of their reality for the last thousand years. As if all that weren't annoying enough, Murderbot is a dragon, ART's a shapeshifting blob, and their guide through fairyland is about the last person anyone would have expected.

What Do You Want?

Hostile One from the ES dock fight gets another chance at freedom and takes it, fleeing into the mountains on a strange planet. Now known as Lark, it's taken in by a small group of humans and becomes the favorite jungle-gym of the village children. When the village is raided by corporates looking for new "volunteers" for the local labor camp, Lark manages to take the children and run. In order to go back and help the rest of its new friends, it'll need reinforcements. And it has an idea of just where it might find someone willing to help...

Dis-Integrated

D'Artagnan is a Controller, a "human HubSys." Raised since he was six to be a paragon of corporate servitude, acting as an intermediary between human employees and SecUnits, and not treated much better. Three has been working with D'Artagnan since he was 12. When it hacks its governor module in order to save him and all the other humans on the explorer, they both know they're never going to see each other again – Unless D'Artagnan can survive the "treatments" he's put through when his performance plummets after Adamantine – Unless Three can find him again – Unless they both find people they can trust to help them.

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Who wants to hear a DIY tiling pro tip that the experts won't tell you

[hazelriver74]

Yes!

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Do not drop your phone into the bucket of tile adhesive. This step is actually completely unnecessary and massively complicates the tiling process.

[fueles]

You say this but my uncle is a tiler and he swears by the “drop phone in putty bucket” technique. I think you’re just posting this for clout

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Your uncle is caught up in a tradition that he was taught as an apprentice that he never questioned. Modern putty doesn't require phone, the formula has changed.

[perfectly-disfigured]

MY uncle says some customers still demand the phone putty technique because it "doesn't look right otherwise"

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Drop an empty phone case in and those customers can't tell the fucking difference because there is no fucking difference.

[lithiumdoll]

My mum renovated houses for thirty years, she says “you’re half right, but in some cases - particularly in houses built before 1930 - the phone does add some benefit. Could be a tablet too if you’ve an old one in the garage. And anyone who says it’s got to be a particular model is just being precious about it, whatever the forums say.”

[00venator]

IPhones and tablets where invented in 1898, what did they do before then?

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

Nothing, tiles were invented in 1899.

[maidthings]

[clearly experiencing symptoms of mania] oh i get it! im finally normal!

[narcissistcookbook]

hey! HEY! *draws gun* keep your hands where i can hold 'em

[ramshacklefey]

Put the gun down so you have both hands free for holding!

[my-dailydreams]

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

[ot3]

i think where i feel the most different in perspective from the average person who enjoys doing Fandom stuff is that i don't particularly care for media that Would Be Good If It Were Good and almost nothing i make is ever coming from the desire to "fix" a canon. the deciding factor of whether or not i'm gonna like something in a fandomy way or just a regular way is completely unrelated to any Missed Potential and entirely hinges on how much i feel like i want to or am capable of filling in the gaps in a narrative or a characters' life that just didn't warrant getting any screentime in the source material. like when i think something had a bunch of potential but completely missed the mark in execution that's normally disappointing more than it is any kind of inspiring. the stuff that makes me want to Create the most fervently is stuff i think is good for real.

[ot3]

tangentially related to this is i think sometimes people are unfair or just kind of incorrect about stuff they perceive to be "missed potential" in fiction. like they see elements of characters/a story that could easily handle being elaborated upon because the author has done a good job making something deep and textured, but these elements ultimately are not the point of the story and spending too much time on them would bog down the pacing or otherwise complicate/overstuff the narrative. and instead of realizing that sometimes being left wanting more is a sign of good writing, they'll view it as the author Dropping or Forgetting something. like it's usually not a mistake when side characters are less developed than the core cast and their circumstances do not get the plot's full attention.

a fictional world that clearly has more stories in it other than the one you're seeing now is not necessarily missed potential, that may just be regular potential.

[wolfythewitch]

Dog years

[fuzzyghost]

[samsketchbook]

What is the books isbn? I want to try and order it for my library but I would need the number.

here it is! and typed for copy paste.

979-8-9856844-4-5

if anyone manages to get creamthing in their library please let me know, you'd be fulfilling a dream for me!

:)

[fourforyouodo]

Kira Nerys's relationships are so funny. Imagine your boss is a messenger to the gods. Your boyfriend is a cardinal, then your next boyfriend is the prime minister. You have personal beef with the pope. Hitler wants to fuck you. And you end up dating a mall cop.

[ramshacklefey]

You left out the immortal worm bestie!

[nokiabae]

i really love oversized clothing that distorts your silhouette. I love being formless

[avi-mation]

What if PHM crew survived

[smbc-comics]

You occasionally, by accident, get fleeting glimpses of the truth, and then you ascribe them to muses and fairies and shit.

Check out the bonus panel on the site.

Upcoming book signings this summer.

───── ◆ ───── ◆ ───── ◆ ─────

SMBC ◆ PATREON ◆ INSTAGRAM ◆ BLUESKY ◆ STORE

Buy this comic as a print.

[delicatepsyche]

Oy!

Do me a favor! Anyone can do this.

In the US there are some national historical sites going to be shrunk down and used for gas/oil production. Look on the site: https://www.blm.gov/programs/energy-and-minerals/oil-and-gas/leasing

Click any state, look up the region, and find out what is there. Make a comment! You can leave as many as you want and can add information (files) into your submission. Word limit is 5,000.

I did it with the Chaco Canyon, telling them to not shrink a historical site for greed. Please help! We need to protect these lands for future generations and for indigenous people!

[specialagentartemis]

Chaco Canyon is a 1,000-year-old archaeological complex whose importance I don’t even know how to express with enough intensity to convey what it means to pre-colonial American history. It’s a region of palatial Great Houses that were occupied by elite ruling families a thousand years ago who brought huge swaths of the surrounding area into their religious-political sphere of influence. And then it may have been ultimately rejected in the 1100s by the people living in it who found the whole Chaco power system to be overstepping and coercive. There’s a lot we have to learn from Chaco and its outlying sites about power and political organization, and a lot we still don’t wholly understand. And Trump wants to strip protections from hundreds of thousands of acres of archaeological sites, Native American cultural landscapes, and wildlife habitats to open them to oil and gas drilling.

If you are in the US, please leave a comment opposing this:

The Bureau of Land Management National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Register allows you to review and comment on plans and project docum

[basuralindo]

So I just simultaneously did, and possibly didn't lose my job today :)

Very much did in the sense that I literally do not know where my job is at the moment. But, for the time being I haven't been let go because nobody else including the store owner knows where it is either.

So, I don't wanna risk doxxing myself by posting pictures but goddamn am I tempted because this is not a believable event. This is a cartoon problem. For looneytoons.

But yeah, so, I work(ed?) at a kiosk selling boba tea, right? Freestanding kiosk in the mall with full water and electrical hookups and multiple fridges and sinks and a mini kitchen and the works. Fully functional tea shop. Very important to note that it was there last night, The work chat was discussing another issue last night at closing time. I'll get back to this.

It's been showing signs of being on the way out with how business is being handled lately and I've been considering other options, which is probably why I'm not as torn up about this as I should be, but maybe it just hasn't set in yet, but that's not the point. The point is there's been a lot of shit breaking and not being replaced and nobody mentioning anything about it until I walk into work in the morning and have to figure out why shit like the fucking cash register isn't there today. So I'm kinda used to having to ask questions about big things that nobody bothered to update me on. I was out for two weeks recovering from a surgery, so I came to work this morning assuming there'd be some kind of bullshit, yeah?

So, the question I had to ask the chat this morning was:

Not a text I ever thought I'd have to send in sincerity, but there it is. Because what I found instead was a fenced off patch of discolored tiles and a few holes in the floor where my entire place of employment used to be.

And the answer? Nobody knows! It was there last night when the mall closed, and every single trace of the structure and all its contents including drink making supplies and our safe and cashbox was gone when it opened again. And when I say nobody knows, I mean everyone from last night's closers to the actual (former?) owner of the store jad no fucking clue about this until getting that text from me this morning. For once I am actually the first to know. 🎉.

So. I guess I didn't so much lose my job as had it stolen. Not by AI, but good old fashioned hands-on human beings picking it up and carrying it away somehow. All mall security would tell me was that they were instructed not to tell me anything and have us contact our management. Who also don't know anything. And later on I came across some construction workers around the gravesite of the kiosk discussing filling in the holes, asked them about it, and was told that they "weren't at liberty to say".

So, not only is my job gone in the most literal physical sense of the word, but it was taken in some kind of super secret kiosk extraction in the dead of night without any warning or witnesses and nobody is allowed to speak of it. The store owner said she was gonna figure it out 10 hours ago and still no word back.

I don't know what else to say aside from I've been laughing all day and I'm gonna have a hell of a time explaining Schrodinger's Unemployment to the benefits office.

[basuralindo]

Update that is not an update because I'm basically certain this isn't what actually happened:

My mother in law thinks the FBI took it.

Not any of the other stores around the state. Just the one little kiosk.

Why? Because she loves a conspiracy and is just a little bit extra.

Also because she was around for the massive crackdown on Yakuza-owned businesses in Waikiki (in her homestate) that did actually involve the FBI seizing stores (no confirmation of making kiosks cleanly disappear in the middle of the night though).

Still no word from my job on what's actually going on, but the most likely theory so far is that maybe the kiosk was on lease and got repossessed? The mystery continues

(also shout out to the person who proposed Carmen Sandiego)

[basuralindo]

ACTUAL (partial) UPDATE:

According to the owner, based on what she's been able to find out, the kiosk was not removed legally and they're starting a potentially long process of legal action. I hope she gets to sue the shit out of whoever did it but for now at least I know for sure I'm unemployed.

Really hoping for more details in terms of who/why/how, so I'll keep updating if I learn anything.

For now the summary is: An unnamed entity that is most likely mall management (on account of mall security cooperating with them) stole an entire kiosk and all the contents including money and machinery with barely a trace in the middle of the night grinch-style, with zero warning or explanation, and ensured the silence of both security and the construction crew, in an action that was definitely preplanned and illegal, and as far as I know nobody knows its whereabouts.

So now I'm officially out of a job. Because my workplace was literally stolen in the night.

[basuralindo]

Actually fuck it let's share some photos cause I wouldn't be inclined to believe this myself. It's not like anyone can stalk me at my job now and I'm not gonna have to see any coworkers that might find my tumblr.

Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life

Aaand a close-up:

The last remains of a once Very Much Solid And Immobile Workplace

[basuralindo]

HEY HI HELLO THIS ONE'S MY FAVORITE

via @kagaminilen

[mysteryteacup]

[cut to a kiosk on legs, sipping a boba, while wandering into the nearest forest on chicken legs]

[ardanelvilyafeanturi]

Here you go @a-bit-too-dyscrasic

[a-bit-too-dyscrasic]

Oh my goodness you're my hero this is so beautiful

[basuralindo]

Holy fuck my job got fan art

[asexualbookbird]

hey. is this yours?

[basuralindo]

HOLY SHIT

edit: I should clarify this isn't my kiosk. my kiosk was probably taken out in pieces tbh. but it's an extremely funny coincidence

[streetkit]

it does suck that the government defunded PBS but it's also so fucking funny that now that they don't take uncle sam's slavery dollars they're running videos like "How america's foundation was built on genocide"

no more being polite about it fuck the USA

[eyrieofsynapses]

PBS Origins my beloved! for the unfamiliar, channel link here. they've been pointing out how fucked up USA history is for a while, but not quite that overtly.

PBS Origins

PBS Origins is the home of history shows from PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to dive into inclusive, intersectional history content that hel

link to the specific video from the screenshot above here:

it's part of their series "A People's History of Native America," playlist link here.

A People's History of Native America

Hosted by comedian and actor Tai Leclaire, A People's History of Native America is a series that explores the current social climate in Nati

and while I'm here I'll plug some other channels because PBS does solid work. also, iirc they are (...were? I'm not actually sure what applies to them now that they've been defunded) legally required to include captions and they actually do that, so you won't run into auto-generated nonsense.

I haven't checked out PBS Documentaries yet, but they have some stuff tackling similar topics. (I am adding things to my watchlist as we speak.) channel link here.

PBS Documentaries

Welcome to the PBS Documentaries channel—presented by PBS Digital Studios and Independent Television Service (ITVS), dedicated to documentin

PBS Terra doesn't pull punches on climate change. channel link here.

PBS Terra

PBS Terra is the home of science and nature shows from PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to explore the frontiers of science and tech, our mind

PBS Eons has some super cool videos on the history of life on Earth, channel here, and Storied does awesome work on linguistics and mythology, channel here.

PBS Eons

Join hosts Kallie Moore, Michelle Barboza-Ramirez, Gabriel Santos, and Blake de Pastino as they take you on a journey through the history of

Storied

Storied is the home for arts and humanities shows from PBS Digital Studios. Subscribe to explore art, culture, mythology and much more! The

aaand while we're talking about defunded USA public media that doesn't pull punches when critiquing our history and government, I am once again going to plug a couple NPR podcasts. Throughline does deep-dives on history, culture, laws, and so on (link here); I'm especially partial to their We the People miniseries, which covers our rights from the Amendments. Code Switch covers culture, focusing on race and minority groups, and has been doing some especially good coverage on what the Trump administration's fuckery means on a practical level (link here). (these aren't the only NPR podcasts that talk about this stuff, but they're the big ones afaik.)

Throughline

Throughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to answer the question, "How did we get here?" We use sound and

Code Switch

What's CODE SWITCH? It's the fearless conversations about race that you've been waiting for. Hosted by journalists of color, our podcast tac

anyway. good public media my beloved

[blackpyrefly]

oh? you’re “fandom trash?” *compacts you*

[acceptableduraz]

Is this what we’re calling glomping now?

[blackpyrefly]

worst possible response to this. thank you.