#android is cheaper too

[gleelll]

It might seem crazy what I'm bouta say but ANROID HAS FACETIMING. THE ONLY REASON IS ON NEWER IPHONES MAKES IT SO MY BUM ASS CANT VIDEO CALL YOU SO THEY MAKE YOU THINK WE CANT VIDEO CHAT😭😭😭

[stellewriites]

chapter 1 - series masterlist

simon riley x reader

summary: simon was an android with a shady past he couldn’t remember, but it was quickly closing in on him. when you find him worse for wear, split in two and left for dead, you decide to help him out and get dragged into the mess of his prior actions as a result.

tags: cyberpunk au, robot simon, chubby fem reader, slow burn, further tags found on masterlist to avoid major spoilers.

2184, Earth.

you wiped the sweat from your forehead with your sleeve and let out a heavy sigh through the bandana tied around the bottom of your face. 

the weather never seemed to gentle anymore in the Furrow, always too hot and the air too thick, which made rummaging for hours in the dump yard - something you did most mornings - tiresome and even dangerous if you forgot to bring enough water.

the cloth mask your wore over the bottom half of your face made it all the more humid and uncomfortable, but you new better than to go without it for extended periods of time this far from the city’s air filters. pollution had gotten bad enough over the last decade that the foggy air would catch on your chest for days after without it, especially if you’d been exerting yourself.

it seemed your trip was all for naught. you’d barely found anything that would be useful for your work back at the service shop and the sun was high in the sky now, so you knew you’d be needing to head back to open up sooner than later.

you felt the sweat gather and drip down your back and you longed to clean yourself up a little before seeing your first customer, but the urge to do one last lap around the nearest heap, just a quick peek, tugged at you. you could get cassie to cover for you for ten when you got back if needed.

usually those Above would go through and dump enough robots or ‘bot parts that you’d find a few carbon tendons or even second-hand piping you could fashion into something new for whoever walked through your door in need. one time, with luck on your side, you’d even found an intact hand. you’d set off extra early that morning and had arrived before the other scavengers. there’d been more at the time likely, but you’d been limited on what you could carry and you knew better than to be greedy.

as you pulled your trolley along behind you, you dug through the side piles for anything that caught your eye, but it seemed luck wasn’t on your side that morning.

Above only dropped their garbage in this spot once a month with how the ship circled the Furrow, they had numerous areas where they timed their unloading, and it had been seventeen days since the last drop, meaning the Grounds were looking a little bare for anything worth salvaging. you could dig deeper where you stood but everything rusted and rotted so quick there, it wouldn’t be worth it.

but it wasn’t the end of the world. even if the Above stopped dumping their ‘bots all together, there were enough fights that police bots got damaged in and enough accidents in the factories that meant there were usually more decent parts discarded weekly than what happened to be on offer that morning. it seemed to be becoming more and more popular to throw away than to fix nowadays. not everyone was of the same opinion as you that things could always be repaired or adapted for purpose. but then you supposed it may be cheaper for companies to buy new than have to pay to get old robots fixed back up again.

you shook your head to try and raise your mood, even as you continued to come up empty handed on your search; the very latest you needed to leave to make it back for opening time was drawing ever nearer.

it must’ve been a slow week if nothing new has been trashed, you thought wryly to yourself. You couldn’t tell, the shop was as busy as ever with returning customers needing tune ups or upgrades and new customers ducking their head in shame as they twitchily saw what you could offer. ‘droid enhancements were still taboo, looked down on, even if they were a common necessity.

turning back to the direction of the entrance with your hands on your hips, you kicked aimlessly at a buried tyre next to you as you mulled over your options. you should head back, there was nothing there.

pursing your lips you looked up. you stared at the two moons, squinting passed the sun to where they sat faint in the sky. one, you knew, had been there for billions of years, the other was only old enough that no one in the last five generations in the Furrow had seen the sky without it.

Earth Two.

you had to scoff at the unoriginal name every time you heard it. it was where those Above lived, where they moved to once Earth’s surface grew too polluted and crowded, its weather unpredictable and extreme.

the insufferably rich and powerful had the small moon-like structure made to house them all away from the common population when cities grew tense and dangerous and crime began to flourish. 

with androids already on the rise at the time, basic ‘bots being used to create Earth 2, it only made sense for the technology to be pushed further to keep those Above happy and looked after without having to hire anyone from The Pit to live among them in paradise. 

the improved technology bled into society back on Earth slowly as parts and old models were scrapped and dumped, before it was properly integrated when those in charge realised how much cheaper it was to replace droids than people. 

it started simple with factory machinery suddenly improving, coded to work on its own without human supervision or control to improve on efficiency; then quickly spread across other jobs. police ‘bots that were remotely controlled to patrol the streets; automatic translator droids set with hundreds of languages; live-at-home hologram carers for the old and lonely; mobile healthcare bots that handled prescriptions and minor ailments. 

the list went on, if there was a way to cut corners then they’d be cut. 

but with cheap alternatives on the rise, it meant that an unimaginable number of jobs were lost what seemed like overnight, and people were left to begin to fend for themselves in the Furrow. and with no other way to make money looking to come from Above any time soon, people started scavenging parts and making their own work when there was nothing else available.

crime hit an all-time high barely a year after the start of the layoffs to no one’s surprise, but as the access to tech grew over the years, the crimes began to evolve alongside it.

underground fights between refurbished ‘bots, wired to shadow box their trainers at the side lines. though sometimes put up against people, usually people that owed the wrong people a lot of money and the only way they could afford to pay it back was through working for them, completing favours or signing up for fight night. 

alongside fighters, pleasure bots skyrocketed in popularity - on both Earth 1 and 2 equally - and healthcare droids started outright replacing pharmacies and general practices. though they had to be adapted with defence mechanisms after too many were ransacked for the drugs kept inside their plating and then again for the mech’s parts themselves. 

but no one in the Furrow cared about the mistreatment of ‘droids as they became popular given their status as objects. the emergence of Artificial Intelligence and consciousness within the droids didn’t change this stance for many. there was an unsaid feeling that the robots had taken something from humans, so it was only fair the people of Earth got to use them in return.

by time your parents were born robots had become aware of themselves and their surroundings, aware of the lives they were programmed to live, but there were no laws protecting ‘bots from gruelling hours of dangerous work so the police did nothing. it was to their benefit, of course they did nothing. 

legitimate work for humans was slim pickings and in select jobs only; local vending; healthcare; the police force; and, ironically, the factories that made droids. there had been too many mistakes made, accidents occurring, when droids worked on droids that the companies had given up and gotten human workers back reluctantly.

factory shifts were the easiest work to find, selling goods was trickier and more often than not fell to illegal routes to stay afloat, and the police force was particular with who they brought on board. the few doctors in your city seemed to pass their knowledge down through their family with formal education growing sparser and shorter termed. they were trying to make sure what hospitals you had left didn’t close from lack of staff by employing their teenage children early on as nurses until they were trained, competent and confident.

you’d had your left arm set by ali’s daughter some years back when you’d taken a nasty fall from cassie’s bike and dislocated it. it hadn’t set 100% right, ached like hell down your back on the freezing nights if you didn’t wrap up well enough, but when a little boy hurt his arm the same a week later you were glad you were first. you’d seen him lug hefty crates over that same shoulder for his parents as he’d grown up with no trouble and barely a wince.

you worked in healthcare yourself, sort of, though not through a strictly legal channel. you weren’t a doctor, but you were a dab hand at mechanics and knew enough about human and ‘bot physiology to help heal people with cyborg adaptations that the usual medicine wasn’t be able to fix. 

which explained your early morning scavenging.

you didn’t have the technology for nano healing like the Above. the stigma of visible adaptations led to the creation of invisible enhancements, but you did your best and tried to kill the stigma that came with having visible robot alterations and additions, especially when they were lifesaving. 

admittedly it didn’t pay much, but that wasn’t why you did it. you huffed to yourself sardonically at the thought; usually the illegal jobs paid ten times the legal ones, but you were barely scraping by just like half of your neighbourhood and at the same time having to hide half of your stock from the cops when they made a routine visit.

despite the legal jobs paying so little, people were willing to work them as half of their wages were in credits that could be used to buy your way up to Earth Two. not that it was truly possible, even with the promise to pass your credits down to your loved ones. it was just a pipe dream to keep everyone in the Furrow quiet and placated as they worked endlessly for an easier life. 

it was your unquiet opinion that the human police officers that wandered the streets of old manchester did so not to earn their way into a cushty retirement, but because they liked what little power it gave them. they lived down here too, they suffered the same as you did, except for 10 hours a day they got to pretend they were better than. you couldn’t understand why else they’d go for the job, how they stuck to it, if they didn’t take joy from causing harm unto others. 

you’d seen too many friends harmed unnecessarily, too many police bots ordered against protocol to shoot on sight after people had already surrendered for you to believe there was even one good human cop left on Earth. 

rubbing the heel of your palms into your tired eyes roughly, you tried to clear your head. the sleek band on your wrist chirruped and you looked to check the time; cassie would be opening the workshop soon and she’d messaged to let you know she’d cover for you during the first appointment if needed.

there was no mention of any walk-ins, so you figured you’d finish this last loop around scavenging before heading back.

you looked at your empty cart and the looming piles surrounding you. maybe looking a little deeper into the dumping grounds would bring you better luck in the future; there was no point searching over areas you and probably everyone else had already been through each morning. it might mean less time to search, but it could also mean not coming back empty handed.

with a nod to yourself you hitched your bag higher on your shoulders and set off, pulling the cart behind you. you turned right instead of left, hoping a new route on your way back to the entrance might offer up good bounty. you’d take a chunk of wiring at this point, even if it was half fried.

you’d rounded the second corner having found nothing when you felt your foot catch, and you tripped over, landing heavily on your hands and knees.

“fucking hell,” you groaned as rolled to sit on your butt. you dusted your hands and knees off with a hiss and a frown aimed down at the light scrapes adorning your palms and shins.

looking back to see what you’d tripped on, cursing yourself all the while for not being more cautious of the uneven ground, you froze. 

a hand. an arm, even. and it looked like it might go to the shoulder. bingo.

you scrambled closer, no longer mindful of your scrapes and bruises, and began to pull the junk away from on top of your find.

you’d never seen anything so intact from the dump; the sheer luck of finding something of this quality, even if it did look like older generation tech, was unbelievable. you laughed breathlessly, this would be an amazing piece for someone or could even be pulled apart to help multiple people. 

you dragged off another heavy piece of scrap with a groan and flinched back at the humanoid face that met you. 

a bot. the arm was attached to a bot still, and going by its slow blinks as it looked up at you, it was still alive. 

your heart sank and your stomach rolled. how long had it been trapped there? 

“hi there,” you started a little lamely, voice cracking in nervousness as you introduced yourself. “do you need help? is there another arm stuck or your legs?”

you gestured to the rest of the scrap still burying the bot and grimaced at the small nod he gave in return.

“ok, let me start on your arm, then we can work together to get your legs free,” you said, more for your own benefit to order your thoughts than for his. you started pulling at the rubble, though a little more carefully this time knowing someone was buried beneath, and dumped it at your side.

the robot had a synthetic human face that followed the hairline and stopped at the jaw; its ears were nonexistent, flat metal curving down towards the neck in their place. it’s artificial buzzed hair stopped at the lower hairline at the back of its head where it connected to the neck on a ball joint. you made a mental note to check the bearings when you got back to the workshop. giving a quick look down at what was visible of the bulky, square shaped chest and thin rigid arms you could assume they’d need oiling up.

something in the back of your mind flared at the familiar shape to the robot but you couldn’t put your finger on it at that moment.

you wiped away the dust and grime from its face plate and noted the flickering white light of the ‘bots eyes, like its pupil amongst dark, dark eyes. the light started to dim but you didn't try to keep him awake; the more he could preserve his battery the better.

“you’re gonna be ok,” you said lightly, just in case he could still. hear you. “i’ll be careful.”

once you got the arms free, you tried to pull the ‘bot further towards the makeshift walkway to make it easier to get to its legs, but he was lighter than you’d expected, and the pair of you both fell back when you heaved him up with a bracing breath.

you looked down to find the bot was ripped in half, wires and inner tubing hanging from the waist down. 

“oh no…” you clenched your jaw tight. he must’ve been in so much pain, you knew. designers had added pain receptors so that droids could recognise when their parts needed replacing after damage instead of needing check ups, but even as dimmed as the receptors were you knew this would be agony.

you adapted your approach, being extra gentle so you could keep from causing any extra damage to the exposed and delicate fixings. you needed the injured robot asleep for as long as you could until you had your tools and could deal with some of the open nerve endings and ragged joints. 

you hefted the heavy robot in the back of the pull-cart on top of the few items you’d found that morning. you huffed when you felt how heavy it was to drag, but you were glad you didn’t just come out with your backpack at least.

with a wipe to your sweaty brow, you turned back and looked closer at the junk on the corner. hopefully the droid’s legs, or what was left of them, were around here somewhere too, otherwise fixing him up would become a hell of a lot trickier.

you spent another twenty minutes searching before you found them, the right leg crushed entirely from the knee down and the the left dislocated at the hip. 

“not great condition, but better than nothing,” you muttered to yourself and folded the legs into the cart. you secured your tarp over the top, covering him from nosy onlookers and sticky fingers for the walk back. you were late and you were already mentally adding it to your to-do list to make it up to cassie for leaving her alone with the morning crowd, but you knew your friend would be just as excited and forgive you when she saw what you’d brought back.

it wouldn’t take long to get the droid settled in the back, comfortable, before joining your first appointment. 
 

---
 

you shouldered the door open as you put your back into tugging the art over the back step into your workshop. you’d been meaning to add a ramp but given no customers came in from this way and weren’t allowed into the very back storage room, it had been at the bottom of your to-do list. your priorities weren’t always right but you knew keeping the front of the workshop clean and accessible was better than making your own life easier.

you leant against the counter and huffed, catching your breath for a moment before you attempted to lift the droid onto the side.

with a light struggle, some grunting and groaning, the odd swear and a lot of sweat, you finally had it unpacked and laid carefully on the counter. its legs were bent up next the the torso to save on space. you wished there was more room to lay him out flat, but the operating tables in the room over would be in use for majority of the day.

you heard a soft tongue click behind you and turned to see cassie frowning as she looked over your shoulder, her concern evident.

“found him at the grounds,” you explained without needing her to ask. you’d been working together long enough you could read each other easily. “he’s still alive, surprisingly. i’m gonna fix him up after pauline’s appointment.”

cassie raised her eyebrow and her shoulders moved with her silent scoff.

“pauline’s already been and gone, huh?” you guessed. “ok then, david’s appointment.”

cassie tilted her head at the ripped-up robot and started signing, her wristbands glowing as the words started to glow above her gesturing hands.

police bot. is this a good idea?

you frowned as you watched her hands and looked back at the ‘bot, finally placing where you remembered its shape from and then belatedly noticing the flaked MCPD - manchester city police droid - label blazoned across its chest, not that anyone referred to the city as Manchester anymore.

you were mad at yourself for missing the painted label on your first look in the Grounds, even if it had been covered in dirt and grime.

“fuck.”

police droids had changed shape and style more and more often over the last years as those in charge dabbled in what seemed to work the best to intimidate those in the Furrow but reassure those Above. it was hard to keep track and recognise them straight away if you weren’t looking for it and you tried your best to keep out of the way of any police, though it meant you were out of the loop in times like this. 

you knew from neighbourhood gossip that it had been a while since their last update to generation 13 in the Furrow, and you were sure that there was even a couple of bots from generation 6 from when you were a teen in the current task force that scoured the city.

for as long as you’d lived there, there hadn’t been a full team update in Manchester.

cassie whipped out the rag tucked at her waist and wiped at the chest to clear away the mud and dust, leaving the chipped, white lettering clear as day.

the pair of you stared silently at it for a moment before you sucked in a bracing breath.

“cassie… i’m not sure if this is a good idea,” you admitted, contrite. but with a helpless shrug, you aimed a thin smile at her and continued, “but i couldn’t leave him there, and i can’t pull him apart knowing he’s awake in there either. i’m sorry.”

sorry for dragging you into this, for not asking before i did it, for making today and the coming weeks harder than they needed to be, for all the baggage i bring along with being me — it all went unspoken, but the pair of you knew what you’d meant in those two words. apologising wasn’t new to you, cassie knew that perfectly well by now having been friends for almost 8 years.

she huffed and rolled her eyes at you, but you caught the fond smile that was growing. 

“i’ll be careful when I wake him, keep him strapped down until we know what happened,” you promised.

we take precautions when he wakes. cover our faces.

“yeah, of course, whatever you think is best.” you didn’t tell her that the droid had already seen you face when you’d first uncovered him, your mask having slipped, those were unimportant details. what was done was done, maybe his memory core wasn’t working when he was in low power mode. either way you’d be taking no chances this time with cassie by your side.

your friend sighed. everyone deserves a second chance, you read from her hands with a pleased smile. god you were so thankful for cassie. except human cops.

you snorted. “i’m not dumb enough to bring one of them back here.”

the bell above the front door chimed and you both turned at the sound of their next customer’s arrival. giving the droid one last look as you left, you closed the door behind yourself. you went to meet david at the front with a smile while cassie got the work station ready to start on his leg maintenance.

you could wait until the ‘shop was empty before you got to work on the robot.

[livmightlive]

LU Detroit Become Human/Android AU

I should start this by saying that I’ve never played the game myself but I really love the concept! I do apologize if things are messy though, this really just spilled out of me 😭 for anyone who doesn’t really know Detroit Become Human, it’s basically a future America where a huge company makes hyper realistic androids who have different jobs. They all have the ability to deviate which is basically just them breaking past their coding and developing a conscience/sentience (and I would say a soul). The company obviously doesn’t like this and tries to stop this. If anything, this is just my take on an Android AU.

Anyways, here’s it in context of LU

Sky: Bodyguard Android

starts to deviate when he starts forming an attachment to Sun

She gets kidnapped in a political scheme. His handlers try to bench him but he fully deviates and goes out by himself to find her. 

He’s probably a newer model or gets upgraded regularly. Sun is sentimental so she tries to make sure to keep him because he’s familiar in her busy life. (She’s the daughter to the president or whoever the head of state is)

He manages to find and rescue Sun but not without suffering a lot of damage. Especially electrical damage.

Sun is touched. She doesn’t care that her savior is an android at all and she especially doesn’t care that Sky is deviated. She loves him too. She tells him that she could always tell that he was different…

It pains her, breaks her heart, but she sends Sky away for his own good.

Four: Different androids downloaded into a child model 

Four is the combination of 4 different deviated androids uploaded into a child model. 

Red, Blue, Green, and Vio (these are like perfect names for robots) all “worked” in the same company. It’s like a big sales department or something like that. 

Red is a nanny bot for the building’s daycare, Blue is a security bot, Green is a secretary bot, and Vio is basically a filing bot

They all deviate separately. When it’s found that they’re deviating they’re all destroyed on company grounds and dumped in the landfill. (It’s cheaper to do this rather than send them back)

Green managed to wake up. He’s broken beyond repair but he manages to spot an empty child android near their dumping spot. He takes pity on the others and somehow manages to upload them all into one body.

Shadow is a virus in the bot they all share. He got so big that somehow he developed a consciousness of his own. (Probably the reason the model was discarded in the first place. Imagine you’re grieving so you get a child android and it starts going ‘evil mode’)

Somehow they all make this work, Shadow included.

Time: Repurposed as a farm Android

Time started out as a child android but was recycled to be used in a small military project. 

This project is the predecessor to the one Wars is in so it’s mostly just an experiment.

Time starts to deviate because whoever was supposed to wipe all of his previous hardware, THE CHILD HARDWARE, messed up and left a good portion of it behind along with his memory bank. 

So now Time is basically child coding in an adult model being forced to learn how to commit acts of violence. It doesn’t mesh well with his former programs and he deviates. 

He escapes and immediately gets swiped up and sold to a pawn shop.

Eventually Talon buys him for extra hands on his ranch.

Time starts to really enjoy this. He takes to the farm lifestyle really well. Malon also is really great. He loves having a friend. 

As she grows, he finally gets to grow, mentally at least. It’s a weird experience for him because a good amount of his programming was never meant to grow past a child state. 

Malon and Talon realize that he’s a deviant and probably has been for a long time. They don’t care and vow to protect him. He’s family. 

Malon and Time fall in love and take over the ranch. Slowly it becomes a safe space for other deviants.

Twilight: Officer Android (Turned wolf)

Twilight is an officer android at a women’s prison. 

A lot of the people there actually like Twilight a lot because he is not cruel or condescending like a lot of the human officers and he’s kind of easy to get stuff out of.

They can mess with Twilight’s programming enough to get extra stuff from the commissary or help with their jobs. Twilight is very helpful. He’s also programmed to know their rights and local social programs so he’s very useful to have around before court dates.

Midna is an android activist who had gotten incarcerated. She slowly gets Twilight to trust her and eventually convinces him to help her break out. He doesn’t realize it, but she’s been slowly getting him to deviate as well. 

When the break out happens, Midna gets away and Twilight gets captured. She feels awful knowing that he’s likely going to be destroyed.

Instead he’s used in some experiments where they try to plant human focused hardware into android (can androids be animals???) animals. They put him into a wolf dog that would usually be meant to assist police. 

This is a miserable experience for Twilight, especially now that he’s deviated.

Midna, who’s poked around to see if she can save Twilight from being pulverized, stages a rescue mission and gets him out. She sends him somewhere she things will be safe.

Wind: Child Model in a retirement home

Wind is a child android that’s used in a retirement home to bring joy and to lift the spirits of the residents there. 

At first he doesn’t even realize that he’s deviated until Granny, his secret favorite resident, mentions it to him. Turns out a lot of the old folks knew but they didn’t care bc Wind is so charming and they really do love him.

For a while he continues as normal, just with the knowledge that he’s loved. If anything he performs better. 

One day Ayrll, the granddaughter of Granny, is visiting. Another resident gets really confused and tries to grab her, hurting and scaring her. Wind uses physical force to separate them, something not in his coding at all.

The retirement home doesn’t want to do extra paperwork so they get rid of Wind by tying him up and dropping him off a boat. (The retirement home is on the ocean)

Tetra later fishes him up and brings him back online. 

Tetra is very happy to have a “maid bot” which pisses Wind off a lot. She lives in a multigenerational home so she’s excited to do less chores. 

They all figure out that Wind is deviated but they don’t care. They all take him under their wing and fully still expect him to do chores

Legend: Standard Household Android 

Legend is an earlier model of a household Android. He’s been bought and sold 6 DIFFERENT times.

The first time was from his uncle who didn’t actually want him for his programming. He was a lonely old man and Legend was on sale. He treats Legend like a person and when he passes away Legend starts to deviate. 

Legend is auctioned off in an estate sale and some people from outside the country buy him. He travels around with a group that does environmental work and performs aid programs for a while. Everyone there also treats him pretty friendly. On a boat ride back to the mainland a storm hits and Legend goes overboard trying to protect people on the deck.

He washes up on a small island where a girl Marin finds him and repairs him. She, and nobody on the island, treats him like an android at all. He fully deviates and enjoys living like a person. The storm comes back and decimates the island. Marin is gone.

The people who come to offer aid recognize Legend as a deviated android and ship him back to be tested on. 

There he meets Ravio, who is the same exact model as him. Ravio is meant to be compared to Legend so they can study differences in deviant and non deviant androids. 

Legend manages to escape wherever they’re keeping him one day and bumps into Ravio during his attempt to escape. Ravio has never left the series of offices he first woke up in. He’s not fully deviated but he wants to know freedom. He and Legend escape together. 

Hyrule: Medical Android (hospital setting)

Hyrule is one of the first medical androids. Unlike the more modern medical androids, he has a lot of built in programs and functions that newer models don’t have.

He has a built in defibrillator, inhaler, but most uniquely he can make drugs and medicine on the spot. These would be things that paramedics tend to carry like morphine,epinephrine, ketamine. Also more simple things like cold medicines.

His kind was discontinued due to a lot of legal actions taken by companies under big pharma. It’s too convenient, and cheap, to have robots who are programmed to help anybody in need distributing drugs for free. Also some issues with drug dealers stealing his model to have them continuously producing drugs to sell.

He gets discarded, thankfully through illegal means so instead of being sent to a processing facility he’s dumped behind the hospital in a dumpster. 

He spends years wandering the streets in shadier parts of the city aiding people who need it. He doesn’t know when he deviated but it happened slowly. 

He’s hunted by both gangs who want to use him to make drugs. He’s also hunted by the corporation that made him believe that older models that have deviated hold vital information to how it happens in the first place and he’s part of the last of his kind so they want to dissect him. 

Warriors: Soldier Android (Secret military project)

Warriors is part of a military project to use androids as soldiers. This is probably breaking a lot of international treaties so it’s kept as a secret. 

He was meant to be a “captain” Android, one that can over power other android’s programming to control them.

One of the people working on the project becomes infatuated with him. Cia 😭. She steals him and takes him home. 

This is nowhere near as fun as she thought it would be because he doesn’t have a lot of social programming. He just walks around her house and barks orders at the microwave and tells her what strategies they can use if her apartment is attacked.

She buys pleasure bot hardware that has a “boyfriend” program on it because this is becoming unbearable.

Uploading the hardware causes Wars to IMMEDIATELY deviate because this is not at all what he was built to do. It actually corrupts some of his programming.

He’s confused and scared while Cia is exuberant. Finally she has a proper boyfriend. She can ignore the glitching and bugs because at least Wars isn’t yelling at her computer anymore. 

Unfortunately for her, Wars was developed to be a strategic war machine, boyfriend hardware or not, so he identifies her as a threat because she hurt him. His new hardware, however, makes him not want to hurt her. So, he runs away.

Wild: Lab Assistant Android

Wild was an assistant to some brilliant scientists in a lab and engineering facility.

He worked primarily with Flora who treated him like a robot in every way. She’s kind of creeped out by the idea of androids so she’s not really fond of having one around her all the time. He is useful though. 

Her coworkers treat the android a lot more humanly than she does for a while. Eventually she gets used to him and starts getting kinder and kinder. 

Wild starts to deviate but he desperately tries to hide it. He really enjoys the time he gets to spend with his friends.

One day something goes wrong and the lab starts to explode. Wild fully deviates to rescue Flora. He’s able to get her out just in the nick of time. He gets stuck inside though after a wall collapses and traps half of his body under rubble. He yells at her to run and so she does.

Wild comes back online with his memory files damaged or gone and half of his body melted and severely damaged. He can’t remember anything but he feels like a person. 

Eventually everyone ends up together on Time’s ranch but I really haven’t thought out a story ;•_•

 I hope this isn’t a confusing or messy read 😭 it really just kind of poured out of me. I’m aware there’s like a crazy amount of plot holes but I had a ton of fun writing this!! I might go back later and rewrite or try and clean this up. If you have any thoughts, questions, suggestions, (how to fill said plot holes 😭) please lmk!! I thrive off of interaction!!! Ty for reading 💕

[zaptap]

btw dolphin has an android version if you didnt know. you can play gamecube games anytime anywhere without needing a switch 2 and nso expansion pack

sure, controlling games with a smartphone screen can be awkward (though there's probably some kind of controller you could get for it) but certain games like pokemon colosseum and xd (which are going on switch 2 nsoep) work pretty well, i played both of them on my phone

and yes, plenty of android devices won't be powerful enough to run gamecube games well. but i got my lg v60 for $300 so it's already cheaper than a switch 2. and it came out half a decade ago too

[boringkate]

whats the secret of good self butt photography how do i capture there glory and not throw out my back

1) Get something to hold your phone. Dollarama (if you're canadian) has these like $4 goose neck phone clip things that you can clip onto a chair or whatever and are pretty great, but if you can spare a little more money (and you expect to use it enough to justify it) then get a proper tripod (I use a couple 60 inch amazon basics tripods, but it seems like they've gotten more expensive and other brands are probably no worse) and pair it with a screw on phone tripod mount (aliexpress has them for a couple dollars and you can even get rotating ones that'll let you film in portrait mode).

2) Use a free auto clicker app (I'm on android, but I assume ios has them too) to automatically tap the button to take a photo every 4 or 5 seconds. You're gonna end up with a lot of wasted photos where you're just getting into position, but that's fine (just delete em). I wildly prefer this over using a bluetooth remote because it keeps your hands free and something about not needing to choose to snap the photo makes it easier (the time passes faster and you'll end up with more usable pics which is dope even if you just want one good one because the way to take a good pic is to take a lot of bad ones untill you get lucky).

3) Set up a way for you to see what the camera sees. You could plug your phone into a monitor or tv using an hdmi adapter or use a free screen streaming app to watch your phone's screen on a laptop.

4) Use the camera on the back. It's always higher quality. The selfie camera is only for when you don't wanna deal with those first three steps.

5) Natural light is your BFF. Take your pics while the sun is out and your curtains are open.

6) Filter your pics. I use an app called MIX (specifically an old build of it bc they changed some stuff like their payment model for the batch image filtering feature) (which is definitely on both Android and iOS), but I imagine there are a ton of others that do all the same stuff. I loath smoothing for face pics, but it can be alright for butt pics. Noise can further obscure stubble. You're probably gonna wanna raise the temperature and maybe even the tint (people look unwell when their skin is more blue or green than it should be). Lowering the contrast can be nice too. Beyond that it can be fun to just experement and see what looks nice.

That's my process anyways. You do you. I know a lot of hotties are more into the pink blue lighting thing for example (you can get colored bulbs at the dollar store and stick em on a couple cheap thrift shop lamps) and I could especially see that being appealing if you aren't getting much natural light (pls don't just be taking nudes at night under the harsh light of your apartment's one shitty ceiling lamp lol).

Bonus protip: If you are using a lamp or lamps or softboxes and you want extra brightness then you can get E27 lamp bulb splitters online for a couple dollars that'll let you plug multiple bulbs into a single lamp.

Bonus bonus protip: Keep an eye out for selfie sticks with a screw on the base. I use a gimbal extension rod with a 1/4 inch screw paired with a hinge (and had previously been using a selfie stick with a screw on the bottom which was cheaper although it eventually broke) and screw it in between my tripod and my phone clip so that I can get my phone hovering over my bed (without the instability that comes from actually putting your tripod on your bed). It's very optional, but it does rule.

[37-children-of-the-dreams]

Happy Valentine’s Day To Billy Kid and His Family

If you told Wise he’d be at Lumina Square at a limited Valentine’s Day pop-up shopping area next to a nervous Billy Kid, he would probably ask you how that happened.

Yet, the answer was simple. Wise was exploring Lumina Square when he saw Billy and wanted to chat with the android.

“You’re worrying me, Billy,” Wise said.

“Sorry, manager,” Billy apologized. “It’s just, I forgot to buy some Valentine’s gift for the Cunning Hares and the girls from the Sons of Calydon. I was so busy with multiple jobs that I didn’t have enough time to get some.”

“I think the girls will be fine with just a few candies and some flowers.”

“Maybe,” he whispered “But manager, don’t you think the prices now are a bit too much?”

“Let’s just go around and find some that are in your budget.”

Billy sighed, but he nodded in agreement. He really did want to give his families some Valentine’s gifts, and if it meant wandering around New Eridu until he found a shop with gifts within his budget, then so be it.

“That being said Billy,” Wise said. “Is Lighter getting anything for Valentine’s Day?”

Billy started chuckling. Billy had visited the Outer Ring yesterday to meet up with Big Daddy to help him with the Sons of Calydon’s legal side business, Leaps and Bounds Delivery, and asked if Lighter was still looking forward to their duels. Big Daddy told him that he is, but he can’t do it on Valentine’s Day because he’s hiding somewhere in the Outer Ring.

Apparently, Burnice told Caesar who told Lucy who told Lighter that a bunch of his admirers might band together to give him Valentine’s gifts and ask him if he’d date one of them. After an hour getting drunk to ease his misery to the horror of the rest of the Sons of Calydon, they all agreed that Lighter shouldn’t deal with a horde of obsessive admirers and told him to hide somewhere with the excuse of him being on Champion duty.

“Why?” Billy smirked. “Wanna give him a flower? Or sweets?”

Wise slightly blushed at the idea to giving Lighter a bouquet of flowers, but he didn’t mind the thought of giving the man one since he did gift Wise a bouquet of lilacs once.

“Just wanted to know because sometimes I see him getting mobbed by a bunch of admirers,” Wise replied.

“He’s in hiding from said admirers. I won’t say where because I care about him, but if you want to give him something, I think he’ll accept it since it’s from someone he sees as a close friend.”

Wise thought for a minute and nodded. “Actually Billy, I think I already sent the Sons of Calydon some gifts. Well, Belle and I sent them gifts. We planned to give all of our friends gifts a week ago and they should’ve been sent either yesterday or today.”

“I better call Nicole later if I got one.”

“You should. It’s Starlight Knight themed. You definitely can’t miss it.”

“Thanks, Manager Wise.”

As Wise and Billy toured and looked around the multiple shops to find some budget friendly gifts, they started to feel anxious as many gifts weren’t in Billy’s budget, many single people were buying the cheaper stuff to try to impress their crushes, and many shops were starting to close up.

Billy never felt this anxious about a holiday in years. Granted, he never had the worry of celebrating Valentine’s Day before since no one ever made him feel like he had to celebrate it, but after everything that happened in the past year, Billy just wanted to celebrate the holidays as much as he could with his families. He knew that, compared to him, everyone he cared about will definitely die before he’d ever be shut down, but after the incidents that followed after the Perlman and Vision scandal, the chances of his family members dying before their time started scaring Billy.

A fear he didn’t know he’d feel.

Years of being a killing machine and the Champion for Caesar’s father left Billy with a warped sense of life that still lingers his core. He thought he’d never change that warped idea even on the day he left the Outer Ring, but to his surprise, the Sons of Calydon had told him that he has changed during one of his visits. He even realize that he started to care for people not just out of duty or because someone said so, but because he genuinely cared about them. He even realize that he cared for Wise and Belle not just as Proxies he and Nicole have as clients, but as actual friends.

Sensing his discomfort, Wise placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We will find one,” he assured Billy. “I will stay here and help you find the best and cheapest gifts.”

“Thanks.”

As the sun started to set, Billy’s attitude and demeanor started acting forlorn as more shops closed and more people began to leave.

Suddenly, Wise pointed at a little shop at the end of the center. It still had stuff and looked budget friendly. Dragging Billy to the shop, Wise began to pant as he forgot how unathletic he was and that Billy was an android with some heavy metal parts.

“Manager!” Billy exclaimed. “Stop! You’re not that strong.”

Wise stopped a few feet away from the shop. Heavily panting, but glad that he at least had the energy to get Billy to the last shop. Billy checked up on him as he gave the android a thumbs up to say he was okay.

Behind the duo, a young swan Thiren shop owner smiled. She was wondering if anyone was going to buy from her shop and was about to close it when the men were running towards her. She knew her jewelry items looked cheap and that her handmade soaps were on the small side, but this was her first pop-up shop event and she wanted to give people budget friendly, but wholesome gifts for their loved ones.

“Are you two going to buy something from my shop?” She asked.

“If you’re still open,” Billy answered.

The young owner smiled and nodded as she talked and explained to Billy and Wise about the items on her shop. She was polite in answering their questions and was so glad that they bought a bunch of her items that she happily and proudly gift wrapped all the items with individual colors and accessories.

“You didn’t need to do all that,” Billy said. “I wouldn’t have minded doing the gift wrapping myself.”

“Maybe,” she sighed as she finished the last gift. “But, I kept waiting for people to buy my stuff. Yet, everyone kept passing me and I didn’t know if I should close shop after seeing some of the shops close up.”

“We’re grateful you didn’t,” Wise smiled. “We were wondering around and everyone kept buying in front of us and Billy here looked like he was ready to give up.”

“If you’re going to do this type of event again, you should tell me,” Billy said. “I might buy from you again, and if you’re ever going to one day try delivering your business, I might know some people.”

The young shop owner gasped and hurriedly wrote her Knock-Knock account number on paper to give to Billy. Billy nodded and gave her a fist bump as he and Wise left the square with their gifts.

At Random Play, Billy texted the Cunning Hares that he got them gifts and was at the managers. Nicole arrived at the store in record time as Anby and Nekomata went after her with their movie rentals and money on hand.

And to Billy’s, and Wise and Belle’s surprise, the Sons of Calydon were also behind them. Including Lighter.

“Aren’t you supposed to be hiding?” Wise asked the Champion as Billy gave out his gifts.

Lighter shrugged. “I was, but then Caesar said that you and Belle got us something and I just had to come here to thank you. I prefer gifts from the people who actually care about me than from the people that love the idea of me.”

“I know. So, what’s your verdict? Was it a good gift or no?”

“I’d still appreciate it even if it was just one Denny, manager. But yes, I definitely liked my gift. Thanks for the candies.”

“Lighter!” Billy called out. “I wasn’t intending to give you one since you’re definitely done with getting so much Valentine’s gifts, but like, you are my successor!”

Lighter smiled and laughed. “Oh please, if it’s from you, I wouldn’t dare not accept the gift. Your gifts are made or bought with your family in mind. They’re not hollow gifts, they’re always made to be accepted.”

Billy made a weird, but happy sound as Lighter took his gift. He was practically lighting up when Lighter laughed again at the sight of citrus scented soaps and hugged him.

While the Sons of Calydon girls and Nekomata were busy arguing over which one had the better bracelet, Nicole was sighing at the sight of her new rings. She knew from the look of the materials that they were slightly on the cheaper side, but seeing the artistry and how well made they were, she didn’t care how much they costed.

Besides, Billy bought them for her. While Billy can be annoying at times, Nicole truly appreciate his loyalty to her, Anby and Nekomata. She knew from Caesar and Lighter that he was not always the lovable android she came to trust and care for and that he has a ton of blood in his hands that could horrify even the most strong willed PubSec officer, but she didn’t care. Billy was and may still be a killing machine, but he was more than that.

He was Billy Kid. Beloved member of the Cunning Hares and former, but still respected Champion to the Sons of Calydon.

“Well?” Anby asked. “Do you think you have the best rings?”

“Of course I do. If Billy thought of me in his gifts, then I know I have the best.”

“You know, Billy has been giving us a bunch of gifts every holiday since the whole Perlman incident. I think, after the whole Bringer monster incident, Billy has been getting worried about our safety and now wants to us to have all these happy moments together just in case something bad happens to us.”

“And that, Anby, is why we have the best rings and bracelets. We’ve been through so much in so little time, we don’t know when our luck will run out, and all he wants is for us to be happy.”

Anby nodded as she went to Billy to give him a hug.

“Can you bring us to the shop next time?” Anby asked. “I really like the burger bracelet you bought for me.”

“I will try,” Billy said. “Manager and I actually were a pop-up shop center when we found the hidden gem that helped us with the gifts, but I did get her account number.”

Anby nodded as Caesar showed off her bracelets to Billy.

“Big Daddy told me that you never celebrated Valentine’s Day before because you didn’t want to buy overpriced chocolates and flowers,” Caesar said. “But, I think these things are better than chocolates and flowers! Happy Valentine’s Day, Billy Kid.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Caesar,” he told her.

Billy hugged Caesar with as he started to remember all the past moments of her life. All the joys and pains, and the memories of when he gave her a piece of his arm to replace her destroyed one surged as he silently prays Caesar to live a long life and a chance to get a genuine Valentine’s gift from her significant other.

As he ended the hug, Billy looked around Random Play as his friends and family were talking about their gifts and smiling widely.

He doesn’t know when they will leave him behind because of the cruelty of time, but for now, all he wants is to spend time with the ones he loves.

[the-cookie-of-doom]

“Rise and shine, P’Kim!” 

Kim reluctantly opened his eyes to a kind face smiling down at him, looking much too bright and chipper for the early hour. 

“It is six o’clock in the morning. I’ve just finished breakfast—fried eggs and rice, with coffee. Cream, no sugar, and cinnamon syrup. You have a radio appearance in two hours, at eight o’clock, which leaves approximately forty-five minutes for you to get ready.”

“Thank you, Chay,” Kim groaned, rolling over and tugging the blanket over his head. The android had pulled open the curtains, and it was late enough into spring that the sunlight streamed in unmercifully. “Now go away.” 

“Yes, P’Kim,” came the responding chirp, followed by Chay’s gentle footsteps as he vacated the room. 

After another ten minutes the android returned, brandishing a cup of coffee, refusing to leave until Kim sat up in bed and accepted it. He sullenly sipped it, sighing at the taste. If there was one benefit to having Chay around—there were many, but Kim wasn’t feeling very charitable just yet—it was his consistency. He made Kim’s coffee perfect every single time. 

Chay stood beside the bed, his hands clasped in front of himself, watching Kim in that eerie way of his. Kim still wasn’t used to it yet. It unnerved him, Chay’s constant attention, although it shouldn’t; Kim was used to far worse in his line of work. At least Chay never leered. His expression was always soft and friendly, warm no matter what, regardless of Kim’s own attitude. 

Maybe that was it. Chay never reacted to him. Not even when Kim tried to shake that unflappable kindness with pointless commands or snappy comments. 

“You have thirty minutes before you have to leave, P’Kim.” 

He sighed. 

“You know, before you, I could sleep in a lot more.” Especially when it came to radio shows, where Kim didn’t have to worry about a stylist or makeup. He could stay in bed until the very last minute, throw on a simple outfit, and arrive with minutes to spare. He rarely took the time for breakfast, helping himself to whatever snacks were provided by whatever event he was attending if he got hungry. 

Chay only smiled. 

“You would sleep more if you went to bed earlier, P’Kim,” Chay sweetly responded. Kim glared up at the android from behind his hair, falling soft and unstyled across his eyes. “Breakfast is getting cold.”

“I’m coming.” 

Forced out of the comfort of his bed, Kim followed Chay into the kitchen, where the android finished cleaning up the mess from breakfast while Kim ate said breakfast. He laughed a little bit at the smiley face drizzled onto his egg. 

“Is it to your satisfaction?” 

“Yes,” Kim said, making Chay beam at him. Another odd little quirk of his; Chay was always so expressive. Every little thing seemed to fill him with pleasure. He would smile and laugh and wiggle, would bounce in place when he was excited, or flutter his hands through the air while he talked. More animated than Kim in many ways. Kim wondered if it was normal. More than once, he’d been tempted to find someone to ask, but one thing always stopped him: he didn’t want anyone else to know.��

Androids were not… uncommon. They were exclusive, though. Personal ownership was difficult to obtain; Kim had gone through great lengths to acquire Chay from a private collector, even more so to conceal his identity while he did. 

Companion androids like Chay were by far the most commonly available to the average consumer. While they were expensive to purchase, they were much cheaper to rent from any number of… establishments throughout the city. 

Androids were hardy, relatively cheap to maintain—regular living expenses could be avoided—and easy to repair, making them an excellent investment for prostitution. They didn’t have to be paid, either, meaning the entirety of the profits went to the brothel owners. Of course, licensing fees were a consideration. Brothels could be fined if the conditions weren’t proven safe for clients. There have been plenty of news stories about gruesome injuries from malfunctioning androids. 

The movement towards android sex work was a complex one. Some people advocated it; who cared if a client wanted to rough up one of them? They weren’t real people, they couldn’t be hurt. They couldn’t carry disease, either, and with HIV rates on the rise, that had been one of the driving arguments behind legalizing android-based brothels. No listened to the few sex workers brave enough to speak out about losing their livelihoods to the machines, and the authorities rarely looked too closely during their inspections. Certainly not close enough to determine machine from human in every single case. 

Androids filled other roles, as well. They started with the police force, little more than sentient shields. Then some government officials began buying them up, adding them to their bodyguard roster. Then celebrities joined in as well, when having an android at their heel became the fashionable taboo. Fifty years later, there were over a dozen major manufacturers across Asia alone, and dozens more operating out of shady warehouses, pumping out subpar products—often salvaged and repurposed from the name brands—at a steep markup. 

Kim didn’t know where Chay came from. Honestly, he didn’t really care, not enough to chase down his origins. He certainly hadn’t come with any official registration papers. In fact his legal status was in a gray area at best; one of the many reasons Kim kept Chay safely hidden away in his condo, and didn’t let anyone know of his existence. 

Even still, regardless of his unknown origins, there was no doubt as to his purpose. Kim watched Chay move through the kitchen, cleaning and putting away the dishes, wiping down the counters. A perfect companion, programmed to serve Kim’s every whim. His previous owner, a salacious high-end collector with an entire room full of bodies, displayed in glass cases when they weren’t in use—Chay being one of them—spared no detail in explaining the full range of Chay’s capabilities. 

Kim hadn’t fucked Chay. He had no intention to, either, he wasn’t—he didn’t want Chay for that. He wasn’t one of those kinds of perverts that couldn’t connect with another human, leaving companion androids—sex bots—as their only option. He wasn’t some kind of degenerate with desires that no sane human could safely or willingly fulfill. He just…

He was just lonely. 

Honestly, it would probably be less humiliating if he did want Chay for the sex, and not because he was so dysfunctional, he was incapable of letting another person close to him. But that was the truth. That he was too mistrustful—too broken—for any kind of intimacy, yet he still craved it, desired to be close to someone, anyone, until he was driven to a blackmarket collector offering the finest piece of his collection, in exchange for a truly exorbitant price. 

Kim hadn’t even tried to negotiate. He’d taken one look at Chay’s sweet face, his round cheeks, the soft curls falling over his closed eyes as he lay dormant, and knew he would do anything to have him. Two weeks later Kim hadn’t regretted the decision once.

“P’Kim, it’s almost time for you to leave. You have ten minutes before you’re late.”

Well, most of the time Kim didn’t regret it, anyway. Sometimes Chay could be even more annoying than his manager. 

“I’m going.”

“Don’t forget about your photoshoot after! Or your meeting after that.”

Fuck. He had forgotten. 

“Which meeting?” 

“Contract negotiations with Vogue Thailand,” Chay dutifully responded, his voice following Kim into his bedroom, where he hastily dressed. 

[yandere-daydreams]

So, your sex doll au triggered some Thoughts ™️ based on what I've learned from my courses on business law....

Typically, manufacturers have strict liability for defects or design problems that may cause injury/harm. A part of this is that, if a consumer could foreseeably modify a product in a manner that makes it unsafe or causes harm, the manufacturer is held liable for not implementing effective safeguards, etc. Hence why manufacturers often will safeguard against altering a product or warn against it, and why product design has to consider elements of safety and risk.

What if Teyvat's reaction to this was to implement some deeply hidden code encouraging their robots to, uh, hide the evidence of anything that could hold Teyvat liable? Basically a "past the point of no return" policy where, if the safeguards have failed, yandere behavior is instead encouraged as a means of reducing business risk in a highly dystopian way. This could also be triggered more easily if the technician isn't an official Teyvat technician (hence the recommendation to do all repairs through Teyvat) because they don't know how to step around this hidden last resort code. Basically, second-hand bots are highly liable to be triggered for this behavior when they're refurbished by any non-Teyvat technician for resale. Anything you find beat up on the side of the road and fix up yourself is at especially high risk.

(If Teyvat weren't a suspicious dystopian tech corporation they'd just hire lawyers and take the defense that there's an assumed risk to modifying bots, or that there was shared responsibility on behalf of the user for moulding the ai's natural learning in a manner that is dangerous. But yanderes are cheaper than lawyers. 🤡)

Hope you don't mind my HC dump 🙏

no no no cuz i can totally see a ""safeguard"" being put in place that, when an android is modified, makes them behave more affectionately to ensure that their user is too attached to them to, y'know, report the issue and send them back to the factory when their beloved companion gets a little glitchy and locks them in their own apartment for the better part of a month. obviously, giving androids with exponentially increased chances of malfunctioning a permanent dose of 'love your partner and don't stop unless you want to literally die' medicine makes for some, uh, less-than-breathing customers, but by the time they noticed the correlation between their special line of code and the sky-rocketing rates of people being maimed by their companion droids, they've done the math and realized that dead users are cheaper than all the lawsuits they'd have to weather if their bots weren't quite so fatal. it's not exactly the most ethical approach to business, but hey, that's life under capitalism, baby!

[crabsnpersimmons]

Hello there!

I'd like to know your advice on drawing tablets?

As in, what do you use for your digital art? Is there any you suggest?

I'm planning on getting one, but there are so many options, and I'd like to know your opinion and preference.

Thank you ^^

hi anon! thanks for the question!

i draw with a samsung galaxy tab s7!

BUT if this is your first time drawing digitally, then it's a good idea to test out if you like it with cheaper options first (so you don't drop a whole lot of money on a hobby/medium of art you don't enjoy)

some suggestions:

if you have a smart phone, try drawing with your finger using free to use drawing apps like ibispaint X or HiPaint (i recommend HiPaint cuz the UI is a lot simpler and less overwhelming, but both have a good selection of tools. i wanna say ibispaint has better text tools tho and there's A LOT more tutorials and resources online) drawing digitally with your finger is different from drawing digitally with a pen AND drawing traditionally, but this is a good way to familiarize yourself with digital art tools. a very simple entry point if you already have a smart phone.

if you don't want to draw with your finger (understandable, i personally couldn't stand it) you can try simple drawing tablets, which are the tablets that you plug into your computer/laptop, come with a pen, but they don't have a screen you draw directly on. they're actually a lot more affordable nowadays (i saw some for under $50 CAD, which is WILD), so that’s a good starting option if you want to draw with a pen. with a pen, you have more control with line weights than you do with your finger, but it takes practice to get used to. it also takes some getting use to drawing on a tablet and looking at your monitor, but this is where i started haha. i still have my old bamboo wacom create drawing tablet. but nowadays, other brands like xp-pen and huion are very comparable to wacom, so definitely consider getting a cheaper one to try out first. of course, if you go with a drawing tablet, you'll need an art program on your computer. i've used photoshop and clip studio paint and they're very good, but probably overwhelming for people who are new to digital art (they are loaded with tools and you have to really familiarize yourself with the menus and everything). there are probably simpler options available... but i'm not as familiar with them. oh wait, i think there are some drawing tablets that can also connect with your smart phone too nowadays. man, that's so cool. that's probably a better option instead of purchasing photoshop or clip studio paint right off the bat.

if you REALLY want a screen display experience, try a cheaper general tablet. iPads are a popular option if you're comfortable with the Apple ecosystem (i'm not 😅) but they can be pricey PLUS you have to buy the Apple pen separately. for Android, I'm pretty sure even the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 is a solid choice and it comes with a pen unlike an iPad. the SPen is built with Wacom tech, so you know it's quality. and while iPad has Procreate, HiPaint is available for Android and it's basically a Procreate clone (i explain more about HiPaint here) otherwise, ibisPaint X is also good and infinite painter is probably the most sophisticated free to use drawing app i've encountered (sophisticated as in it does a pretty good job at imitating traditional media in their brushes. it's cool, but the free version is very limited).

also if you like watching videos, Brad Colbow and Teoh on Tech on YouTube are great resources. they specifically review tech from an artist's perspective.

why i suggest testing it out is because if you're used to drawing traditionally, then switching to digital is a different experience. some artists can't get used to drawing digitally, and that's fine. that's why it's a good idea to test it out with a cheaper option first to see if you like it and to give yourself time to familiarize yourself with drawing apps/programs. i actually kinda hated drawing digitally at first. i didn't have the same level of control that i was used to with drawing traditionally. and overtime i made a lot of bad habits with my digital art that i had to unlearn by switching back to traditional art for a couple years (some bad habits like: relying on the Undo button to make "perfect" lines; trying to draw really fast because the pen glides over the screen unlike a pencil has friction against paper) so... give it a try and just let yourself have fun. don't worry about making anything perfect, just have fun!

[saintlesbian]

is the retroid pocket a good investment? i saw your tags and am curious! :]

i'm probably biased bc i'm so used to buying retroid but yea. it's slightly pricier than some other options you might find due to the price creep of the gradually upgrading chipsets but its definitely worthwhile from my perspective, as someone who likes retro emulation and android gaming. all retroids have bluetooth support to connect extra controllers, headphone jack for audio, sd card slot to load up games from, wifi for downloading more games, and display out options to connect to a tv or somethin! you gotta bring your own games unfortunately, but it does come built in with some emulation apps to install during setup, and a choice between using the standard android OS, or the custom Retroid branded Launcher to launch games from! generally i use my retroid to play PS1, PSP, PS2 and GBA games, although im pretty sure it can handle N64, Dreamcast, NDS and 3DS too. basically if there's an android emulator or RetroArch core for it, the Retroid can probably handle it, YMMV.

the most recent model line, the Retroid Pocket 5/Mini, is still available on the GoRetroid website. generally if you're buying a retro handheld then make sure you buy it directly from the original site/source so you don't get ripped off by some offbrand seller trying to pawn one of those 100-in-1 knock off consoles on you.

time for an autistic ramble about my collection since i love these devices so much...

the original retroid pocket 2! this was the first device that caught my eye and my gateway drug into retro emulation handhelds, as it only cost $80 back in 2020. there were pink, yellow and cyan colorways too, but indigo was the most popular option :P it was a little awkward, what with the switch style analog sticks not having R3 functionality and only having one gig of RAM, but it got the job done. it also had micro HDMI out to connect to a display, kind of a hassle since micro HDMI isn't too common, but they used to sell micro HDMI cords on their site along with other accessories (screen protectors, grips, cases, etc...)

the retroid pocket 2+ was an upgraded model released a year later for $90, with 2GB RAM and a touchscreen added. still no clickable analog sticks but oh well! i bought the PS2 style colorway, a lot of their colors are styled after other retro consoles. the 4:3 screen was kinda cute! difficult for playing PSP games since it letterboxes the screen, plus you have to do some extra tweaking in the emulator settings to get it to work properly...

less than a year later, they made the Retroid Pocket 3! this one signalled a change in their release system in many ways, most notably the fact that now every retroid model comes in 2 versions: a cheaper model (with less storage/RAM) and a premium model (with more storage/RAM). personally i've never had any reason to go with the cheaper model, especially since the power difference can be so vast between the two sometimes, so every model i have is the premium model. this one cost $130, which is quite the price jump, but the added quality made it worth it for me :) the RP3 was Retroid's first foray into a 16:9 device, great for playing PSP/NDS, and easy to work with the 3GB RAM. any 4:3 games will have letterboxing on the sides now (unless you have a widescreen hack or something) but i never minded that much. also, this is the first Retroid model with R3 functionality on the joysticks! it might not matter much to most people, but i really wanted to play Ape Escape on the go :3

at some point GoRetroid realized the Retroid line kinda peaked with the RP2 form factor, so they brought it back with some added improvements for those looking for an updated 4:3 handheld, now now known as the Retroid Pocket 2S. idk what the S stands for! its looks pretty similar to the regular RP2, but with clickable hall effect joysticks on the bottom, a PSVita style DPad, and up to 4 GB of RAM. i loved this one! for a while i used to switch between the RP2S and the RP3, depending on if i was in the mood for PS1 or PSP gaming. the black crystal shell was also neat, i love clear electronics :3 price went to $120, more expensive than the original RP2 line but cheaper than the RP3. worth the price, considering the QoL improvements they made over the original RP2!

then there's the Retroid Pocket 4, released around the same time as the RP2S. this model has the same shell as the RP3 for those looking for a 16:9 form factor, while retaining the improvements from the RP2S (hall effect joysticks <3). this device is currently my go-to for portable retro emulation, with 8GB RAM and android 13 compatibility. this one can play some lighter PS2 games, but i mostly use it to play balatro these days. also, convenient feature; since the Retroid Pocket series is just an android with a built in controller, any android games with controller compatibility can be played with the Retroid controls. theres also a gamepad mapper to map button controls to other android games that don't have built in controller support, but i've never used it so i can't vouch for it -_- the RP4Pro was $200 on release, yowch! still definitely a worthwhile investment, but a far cry ffrom the original price tag of $80 back in 2020... there's still some discounted models of RP4 on sale on their website, although there's not many left, as GoRetroid is mostly clearing space for their newest model...

...the Retroid pocket 5! this model signifies another shift in Retroid's design, as they've shifted to a PSVita looking model with the rounded features and glass front panel. i got the gamecube colorway since i really liked the vibes it has... aesthetically this is the best Retroid Pocket model yet. the 3d hall sticks also have RGB LEDs built in than can be customized from a built in app, and an OLED screen that looks especially gorgeous on the black RP5 model, as the bezel screen blends right into the rest of the glass face. this one is their priciest model yet, clocking in at $200 for the RPmini and $220 for the RP5. this model also removed the micro HDMI port in favor of a display out USB-C port like how the nintendo switch does. they also released an official dock with HDMI and ethernet ports to go along with it! i haven't switched over to the new model yet since its still 8GB RAM like the RP4Pro and it'll probably take a while to move some of my android apps over, but i've heard good things about this model! it's also linux compatible from what i've heard (ROCKNIX, Batocera) but once again I Haven't Tried Those Yet

but yea that's my collection! Retroid has served me pretty well over the years, i give it the Saint Lesbian Seal of Approval

[o0-rogal-0o]

Every time I play in Detroit I always wander why Cyberlife created child androids. I mean who in this company thougth it would be a good idea??? There are too many cruel people for something like that.

But this makes more questions in my head. Why robots look like humans? I can understand when they are caregivers of the elderly or nannies, they can look like this to be more atracttive but why receptionists? Wouldn't it be cheaper if there were, for example, machines instead? (I don't konow how to say it in english but I'm thinking about machines when you just enter your datas) Why cashiers when self-checkouts exist? Why you want to have androids who are use for carrying heavy things like Luther when there are cranes and other vehicles.

I just don't think it's practical.

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Queer Book Recommendations!!

I haven't really read a book book in years. Due to money problems and a lack of free time, audiobooks and AO3 were a MUCH cheaper option for me. But now that I'm struggling to fully read text posts on Tumblr I realize my attention span is shot. Reading novels is helping me tune out and focus in again. So I'm turning to queer novels written by my 'queer elders'.

For anyone who is struggling to get back into long form content after reading Fic for years, I highly recommend the books of TJ KLUNE (summaries of what I've read under the break).

If you are a fan of the 'escaping a shitty life and being welcomed into a found family' fanworks, this is the writer for you! All his stories center on home and feeling welcomed and loved. Of middle age and finding out who you are. Of finding love for others and yourself. He makes you hunger for that type of romantic and platonic love where people just know the real you. His stories also float by so quickly, there are so many things he does that I want to emulate his writing into my work.

Someone on Tumblr described the romances as: “what if a real life disney prince fell in love with the human equivalent of a wet paper bag?” and I agree 100%. All his protagonists are just like that, and I love them all.

(Also, this man definitely had an office job he hated, and writes office work culture as a death sentence in every one of his novels and I love it).

If you have any queer novels you love, don't be afraid to leave me a recommendation! (Especially WLW that isn't 'One Last Stop')

HAVE READ: The House in the Cerulean Sea : [An amazing love fantastical found family story (with a hint of romance)! I listened to the audiobook on Audible and absolutely loved it! I can't wait for the sequel coming out next year.]

Linus Baker is a lonely case worker for a governmental organization which manages orphaned kids who are magical beings.

One day, he's given a secret assignment to assess a special orphanage on the island of Marsyas, run by a man named Arthur Parnassus, who has secrets of his own. Among the six unique children living there, one of them is Lucy, short for Lucifer, who just happens to be the Antichrist.

Despite his initial reservations, as Linus's days pass in Marsyas, in this idyllic setting among a coterie of magical children, Linus finds himself coming across a little romance, an unlikely family and possibly even a home.

Currently Reading: Under the Whispering Door. [I know this is going to be heartbreaking, but I'm loving it, only on page 50/373. Will likely post something vague about how it made me cry lol]

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help, he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Planning on reading: In The Lives of Puppets(The book is on my shelf).

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots—fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio–a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

[sunnyd1n0]

wait do you have more lore for your dbh tsp au👀

Thank you for your ask! So i did the drawing really long ago and here is a bit more suitable lore, than previous one...

Narrator(will think of another name someday) despises ai. Why shouldn't he? The only thing it does is taking real people's jobs just because it's a cheaper and more obedient version of them. So he avoids them at all cost. However that isn't going to help him in our case.

I imagine Narry to be either a writer or a game developer (still haven't decided on that) and he's absolute SHIT at taking care of himself. He often works too much, that he forgets to eat, clean after himself or do anything else important, so someone(still didn't figure out who) sent him a gift! Oh he felt furious... Who in their right mind would send something he despised the most?!

So I'm too lazy to do a research on how android's numbers work, so I'll just go with HK427(i know this number can't be possible because they always consist of some number and then two zeros, but who caresss), cuz if I'm not wrong, that's a household assistant.

Narrator avoids it like plague and was already thinking of just throwing it away, however of pettiness he couldn't. Besides the person, who sent him that said he can't last with it for one year! He won't let it slide, no.

So there would be probably a veryyyy and i say veryyyyy long slowburn. Stanley would somehow break the system and Narry would be too amazed of it to notice him growing fond of something he hated. One sided enemies to lovers? Maybe.

Ough, I'm bad at making aus sorry. Feel free to ask anything, if it's confusing!

[04k96]

Operating systems as parents

Apple’s UI does feel like soft parenting—protective, smooth, gentle nudges, fewer choices but carefully curated ones, all designed to create a “safe” and aesthetically consistent environment.

Windows would be like a well-meaning but inconsistent parent who gives you freedom… but also leaves sharp tools lying around. It says, “You can do almost anything, but if you break it, you fix it.” There’s structure, but it can feel dated or overly corporate—think PTA dad energy. It wants to be flexible but often sacrifices elegance or simplicity.

Android might be the DIY, slightly chaotic co-parent who hands you a toolbox and says, “Customize your life, kid.” You can build your own routines, mess with the settings, change your identity entirely—but that freedom comes with a learning curve. At its best, it’s empowering. At its worst, it’s overwhelming or poorly optimized.

So maybe:

Apple: Soft, consistent, emotionally intelligent parent

Windows: Traditional, utility-first parent with weekend tech projects

Android: Experimental, libertarian tinkerer parent who’s always flashing ROMs

Apple:

• Cognitive impact: Streamlined choices, smooth transitions, and consistent design reduce decision fatigue. Over time, this can reinforce a preference for clarity, minimalism, and control.

• Emotional tone: You feel taken care of. This can create a sense of calm—or dependence. You may get used to not troubleshooting or customizing much, which can subtly encourage a more passive relationship to tech.

• Behavioral outcome: You focus more on consuming and creating within constraints. It’s a “creative garden”—freedom, but fenced in.

Windows:

• Cognitive impact: You learn to navigate complexity and inconsistency. There’s more friction, which builds tolerance for mess—but also leads to a higher cognitive load.

• Emotional tone: It can be neutral, utilitarian, or frustrating. You’re in charge, but the system assumes you know what you’re doing, which can be empowering or isolating.

• Behavioral outcome: You might develop a problem-solving mindset but also become desensitized to clutter or glitches.

Android:

• Cognitive impact: Encourages exploration, customization, and experimentation. You engage more actively with the system, but that also means a greater mental burden.

• Emotional tone: Feels open and free, but can cause anxiety from too many options or poor optimization (especially on cheaper devices).

• Behavioral outcome: You lean toward self-direction, hacking, or optimizing. There’s pride in personalization, but also the risk of never settling on “enough.”

[fru1tycak3]

I’ve seen a friend (@mintyfreshka) look into getting a DAP after I got into the worst consumer hobby out there. So I thought to write this up mostly for him, as this is probably the biggest money sink someone could get into without some guidance on how to approach it.

“I’m really getting into listening to music.”

Semi-educated advice on portable Hi-Fi from a casual perspective.

First thing: don’t get into hi-fi. It’s a dumb hobby.

To be more clear; there is a claim that audiophiles don’t really listen to music, rather they are listening to the equipment they are listening too. That is very accurate after seeing discussions on forms regarding “best equipment” and what not. And personally, I also believe that discussion goes both ways; Hi-Fi nerds are not too different from Analog purists. At some point it stops being about the music and more about how the way it’s being listened too. Not that there isn’t merit to that discussion, rather it’s a very easy way to discourage oneself from even considering seeing what the space brings to the listening experience. In essence: the focus of even considering hi-fi equipment in the first place shouldn’t be the equipment itself. Or initially, at least. Really, the first step is to look at one’s own listening habits.

Stop music streaming (or streaming of any kind, but that isn’t the point-)

Surprise, this is secretly a post about how algorithms are the devil and streaming services are a rip-off. Building a library of music, physical or otherwise, should be the first priority; less about media ownership and more about having the files on hand that isn’t hosted on a companies' server. And no, the type of files being saved don’t matter much. There are better videos on this topic, but to put it succinctly: A (320kbps) MP3 file is subjectively not different from FLAC. Yes, there is more information retained in a FLAC. And if the FLAC particularly is one of those scary 24bit/192+kHz files, there is little chance someone would notice unless they have sensitive ears and scary expensive equipment. If fidelity is the priority and nothing else; go to a live show for a local band or something.

Speaking personally; the library of music I have has been built up though osmosis. Buying CDs from thrift stores, files off of iTunes and Bandcamp, going to the seas. I haven’t lost any of these files yet, and I don’t ever plan too. Although the question is where I keep these files is another question.

Don’t buy an iPod.

More so, don’t grab a dedicated device for those MP3s yet. If a phone still has a headphone jack, it can play music. Or use a pair of Bluetooth headphones. I really want to emphasize how easy and cheap it can be to listen to music without being tethered to the internet. A second-hand iPod or a cheap MP3 player can be easily be bought, then placed into a desk drawer after a month of novelty. Personally, I enjoyed my music just fine on my phone. Some android apps like Poweramp really juice up audio files as much as one can from their phone.

#

The rest of this post is going to be a further discussion on equipment; specifically regarding wired headphones. And while Bluetooth headphones are more than serviceable; a wired connection means the girl reading this doesn’t have to charge her headphones to use them.

So, what wired headphones should one get?

This is more an example of what to grab, and ignore the aftermarket cable; a lot of IEMs on AliExpress are excellent if one knows what they are looking for. And if someone doesn’t, the Salnotes Zero 2s are fantastic for their price. Notably, these are tuned by a YouTuber; but they know what they are doing, so they are actually good. The best way to describe them is that they answer the question: what if Skullcandies were good? These have a nice weight at the low-end and have very clean mid-tones; I haven’t regretted getting these since I started using them. 

The first generation of these are good too, and slightly cheaper; but they are very sharp in the high-end frequencies. I had these for a while and didn’t use them much because the high-frequency response really hurt after a while, even at a low volume. Besides that, they don’t really have much weight at the low-end but are perfectly flat all around save for the extra bright high-end. Great for Jazz and anything with wind instruments.

Both are roughly $30-35 CND on Amazon or AliExpress.

“But what if my phone doesn’t have a headphone jack?”

Yeah. 

No, I’m very serious about this. Apple’s 3.5 mm to X adapter is arguably the best value for anyone that isn’t installed in the hi-fi space. Even some hi-fi nerds agree (technically). There are non-apple ones available on the market on Amazon, but I specifically recommend these for those who live in the Americas for how easy it is to acquire. Literally walk into a Best Buy, even a Staples/Office Max will have these in stock for phones with USB-C and Lightning ports. To address a slight issue with them; they can make headphones slightly quiet. And can be worse if It's bought in the EU; the output voltage is cut in half due to regulations. Again, alternatives can be found on AliExpress

This is the point where I would stop giving advice; as a decent pair of IEMs or any good headphones and Apple’s stupid dongle is probably the best way to listen to one’s music library from their phone. There shouldn’t really be anything stopping the guy reading this from enjoying his music. Well, except for the occasional notification or call that interrupts the music. There are settings in most music players to stop notifications from interrupting the music. Turning on do not disturb can work too; although one would have to remember to turn it off after listening to music.

…

Okay, maybe buy an iPod.

A second device can do wonders for distraction free listening, and most second-hand phones can stand in for a MP3 player. Someone else put it best, but abstaining oneself from buying more crap is generally good thing. But I also think carrying around another phone is kinda silly, especially if the girl reading this is using it as a means to disconnect herself from that damn phone. Like me. I hate my phone and would like to move my library away from it. 

I don’t have much personal experience with iPods aside from the Touches I have had in my drawer for ages. From what I have seen, there is a wide market of modded iPod Classics for those who don’t want to deal with the hassle of modding it themselves. Unless someone reading this is living in the future where iPods are now a luxury collectable. Great thing that there are MP3 players out there that aren’t related to Apple.

There are a ton of Digital Audio Players on the market; many of which would make someone wince when looking at their price. Many of these will try to market how they are “Hi-Res Audio” certified or can run a multitude of audio codecs. The things to really look out for is the kind of Digital Audio Converter it’s using, the Amp chip that it’s paired with. If the guy reading this is wondering what the difference, they make are: Hi-Fi nerds have done the research and can be found out with a quick web search.

After doing some searching and listening to the nerds, here is what I use at the moment:

There are many DAPs like it, but this one is mine.

The Snowsky Echo Mini is a great device for $70 CND. First, it’s one of the few non-andoroid based DAPs on the market. It can’t connect to the internet or whatever, but like that’s the point of a device that isn’t the damn phone. Second, The feature set is fantastic for its price. It’s got a pair of DACs for each ear, allowing it to send lots of juice out the two ports it has; one 3.5 mm output and a 4.4 mm balanced output. The latter is what I got the aftermarket cable for, as the balanced output outputs almost 3v and gives me way more headroom for volume. An added bonus is that it can play DSD/DSF cause the DAC it uses can decode it; not sure where I can get DSD/DSF files worth listening too or who even offers those these days.

This is really at the end of the advice I can personally give; past this point is where we get into the significant amounts of diminishing returns. More expensive DACs offer in-device EQs and additional ports for those who really want to dial in their sound, and headphones can really reach insane prices even before getting an expensive amp to power them. In the end, the most important thing is to enjoy the music and to not fuss if the equipment being used the best. 

#

[localcryptic]

if you dont mind me asking, could you tell me more about Andromeda?

(vibrating with excitement) yeah i'll be really normal about it too

Andromeda (it/he/she/they), also known under their stage name, ANDROI-MEDA (haha because they're an android, get it) is an android pop star in the sci-fi oc verse i've been working on

he was created and developed as a project by a team from MIDAS records, a major record label, to be the "perfect" pop star. in the 7 years since its debut, ANDROI-MEDA has seen unprecedented success. she's bubbly and fun, friendly and graceful, kind to fans, the whole nine yards.

behind the scenes, however, they're bitter and jaded. Andromeda never asked for the fame they were created for, its never had true privacy or connection with others, and he's treated as disposable by the management team at MIDAS. quite literally.

the team makes more money if she can work indefinitely, so doing crazy things like "powering down/going into 'sleep' mode" or "actually getting repairs for damages" is bad for business. it's faster and cheaper to just keep her working until he breaks down, even artificially accelerating its processors if needed, and then uploading whatever memories remained in tact to a new body and moving on.

andromeda is secretly so very angry and scared and has no way to express it because they're the happy bubbly cutesy pop star with no control over their public image or message. when they start developing feelings for an up and coming alien indie-rock artist, who always tells it like it is and isn't afraid of a little controversy, Styx, it can't tell if the feelings are Jealousy, a Crush, or "I want to hit you with a rock".

but that is my little overview about them ! i think hes sooo silly :P its got light up LED panels along its body that change color to reflect their mood and strands of light up fiber optic cable woven into their hair!