#mechanical device

[buggachat]

youtuber/tiktoker/whatever-type-of-video-influencer marinette, where she makes crazy DIY and craft videos and debunks fake content-farm DIYs. she has a modest but loyal mass of followers that grow by the day as her crafts get increasingly intricate and cool. she catalogues all of her mistakes and is very earnest about the process. adrien falls asleep to videos of her sewing and making cool containers and explaining the mechanisms of the strange devices she makes

[nestedneons]

By synccreation

Audio on

[nemfrog]

Mechanical model of the solar system. La sphere artificielle ou armilaire oblique. 1716.

Library of Congress

[presiding]

you'll never guess which level we're up to in this dishonored 2 rewrite

[toacody]

Portal Gun (ASHPD)

A gun that makes holes... No, not bullet holes!

Source

Creator: gk733

[jamiesfootball]

I wasn’t going to send me flowers until you chomped through your stack but then I saw this one.

What a perfect gif to soft-launch my version of a ‘let’s do something about the gala auction’ fic, which will also fill ​my BTHB square for ‘don’t you dare pity me’

cw: gala-related unpleasantness regarding personal autonomy and boundaries

All things considered, it’d been a pretty good fucking day too.

After a few weeks of brutal traveling, a run of away games mixed with international matches, they’d finally hit a lull. The team was scheduled in or around London for the next ten days. The first day back had been a rest day, and when everyone rolled into training that morning they looked more refreshed and rejuvenated than Roy had seen them in weeks. They’d had a light session: conditioning in the morning and a long review session in the afternoon.

Jamie had followed him home, easily lured by the potential of free meal - and if Roy hadn’t precisely stuck to the nutrition plan, well. They had a tacit understanding now. So long as Roy decided on the meal, Jamie was allowed to eat whatever was put in front of him. So long as Jamie didn’t mention it, they wouldn’t discuss why Roy occasionally barked at him to go to sleep early. To go hit the showers. To call his mum.

Jamie spent the drive over telling him about a new episode of some reality show premiering that night. Roy had never watched it, but Jamie had been obsessed with it for weeks, and it sounded like the sort of proper trash telly to round out an easy day.

Roy had even found time to empty out his entire suitcase for the first time in weeks. While Jamie made himself at home, poking around his kitchen for an snack and rifling through the dishes in the sink when he couldn’t find his favourite apple knife, Roy dumped all his laundry in the wash in one go. By the time he finished, a small fruit plate waited for him on the counter and the dishes in the sink had been sorted out.

Good day.

Now lounging on his couch, the sound of the washer whirred in the background. Chicken ragu simmered in the kitchen, the smell of it dancing into the living room. The TV was turned low, and rounding out the symphony on a relaxing afternoon was the scratch of markers on paper as Jamie messed around with the art supplies his neice had left out the day before. Everything in the house seemed blissfully content, and Roy had a blissful six hours of nothing to look forward to.

It would be heaven, if only Jamie would stop pestering Roy with questions.

“What about that old lady?” Jamie asked, chewing thoughtlessly on the end cap of a marker. “The one with all the clunky old jewelry? Hapsmith or whatever?”

“Haversack,” Roy corrected. “I don’t know. Her husband had a heart attack or something- they might just send a check. And quit chewing on that. If you break it, you’re replacing all of Phoebe’s markers.”

Jamie withdrew the offending marker from his mouth. With a thoughtful hum, he scribbled something onto his paper before sticking the cap back in his mouth.

Tilting his head back against the couch, Roy closed his eyes again. He was allowed a few moments of mindlessness before Jamie kicked him in the thigh with the ball of his foot.

“What about Cheryl? The…handsy lady with a wig? Is she gonna be there?”

Roy frowned. “Until the day the robots seize control and wipe out humanity, yes. She’s never missed a gala. What the fuck are you asking for?”

“Nothing,” Jamie said quickly. He ducked his head, scribbling urgently. “What about Rupert Mannion? Is he going to be crashing the party again this year?”

“Not fucking likely, after what he did last year.” Roy lifted his head off the cushions; his neck creaked in protest. “Why don’t you ask Keeley, if you want the guest list so bad.”

“Not allowed, is it?” answered Jamie, irritatingly obtuse. He continued scratching away with the markers, swapping a Princess Pink for a Goldenrod.

Roy sat up, angling himself against the pillows so he could study Jamie. “What are you writing?”

Jamie hunched over his paper. “Nuthing.”

“Uh-huh,” Roy said. He pointed towards the window. “What’s that?”

Jamie swiveled. “What’s what- hey!”

Roy snatched the paper from his lap. He flipped it over, worrying for a moment that he’d need to make an excuse to grab his glasses.

He needn’t have worried. Most of the page was taken up with a grid box, a big star taking up the middle square; the rest were labeled with a letter and number. Off to the side was a list, where in blocky, colorful letters, Jamie had written out:

-Groped under the table, gala

-Groped under the table, date

-Back pocket grope

-Kiss on the cheek with tongue (wet!)

-“my husband’s got some pills”

“Roy,” Jamie whined. “Give it back.”

“Jamie,” Roy said numbly. “What the fuck is this?”

Jamie made grabby hands at the paper. “It’s my bingo card for the gala. We’re not supposed to share squares until day-of.”

[metanarrates]

orv scratches that good gamer itch in my brain because i learned about the term "ludonarrative resonance" once in class and now every time i see a mechanic that serves as storytelling fuel i start screeching with delight

[badolmen]

I can fix him*

*bad writing, underutilized gameplay mechanics, characters with unfulfilled potential, funded by bootlickers

[raycatz]

I bought,, a pre-owned joy con from gamestop and they sent me a 3rd party one AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[crustysteambird]

hello, mechanisms enjoyer. who is your favourite mechanism. what is your favourite album. what is your favourite song. what is your favourite photo. do you have a favourite live recording.

Oh hello fellow mechanisms enjoyer. I expected your arrival. Let’s get right into the questions. Favourite mechanism? I say I like them all equally, but honestly Marius is just…something. A silly guy. A funny little fella who definitely has a medical degree, a noble title, and the best outfits among the crew (two of these are a lie). Favourite album? It’s a hard tie between HNOC and TBI. On one hand Eldritch Horror, trains, and Lyf (my head is a lunar microwave and they’re constantly spinning in there), on the other HNOC has space cowboys and Galahad. A hard choice indeed. Both have amazing stories and are absolute bangers, so I guess they can both be my favourite. There are no rules in Space against this. Favourite Song? Does the second half of Terminus count? It’s not a song but it has wormed its way into my brain and refuses to leave. Actual song-wise, I’d say it’s The Once And Future King tied with Losing Track and the entirety of Alice. Hard to choose, they’re all amazing in their own way. Favourite Photo?

Classic. Iconic. Conveys chaos in ways I cannot describe. I dealt psychic damage to a violin-playing friend by showing her a cropped image of Tim from this pic.

This is a close second though. It just radiates joy. Favourite live recording? Revenge of Spaceport Mahon because it’s just happy and joyful and has amazing banter. On second and third places are the TBI debut and Tragic Horrors Act 3 respectively. Anyway, that’s it. Thank you for the questions. Farewell and until we meet again.

[happistar]

what's ur favorite bmc fanfic ever

OOOH okay this is a good question.

Ngl I don't think I could give you a solid "here is the one (1) best fic ever" so here's a whole bunch that I've rated 5 stars in my fic document!

Stammer - Excellent 100k fic, if you're looking for something long. Basically it explores Jeremy and Michael's relationship from when they were kids til a bit after the events of the musical. Really good character piece <3

Jeremy drops out of college during December of his freshman year - REALLY REALLY GOOD fic-- one of my favorites from Beth Harker. Basically Jeremy undergoes a lot of panic attacks and self hatred (some brought on by what remains of the Squip) as he and Michael go to college together. About 10k words.

in the back of my brain, the voices all sound the same - Pretty short ~1k fic that explores the idea of the Squip changing shape into things like Jeremy himself. Forever thinking about the implications.

Play it in Reverse - Really cool podfic that brings in the musical aspect of bmc and acknowledges it! With the Squip's help, Jeremy tries to fix the events of the musical by changing the lyrics. About an hour to fully listen to.

flesh & bone - AU where Jeremy is an android and the Squip Squad find him and repair him. LOVE the dynamic of everyone in this fic, but it's unfortunately unfinished. About 40k words and still worth a read despite this.

Loaded, Recoded, Unsorted - Ngl I think this was the first ever bmc fic I read?? Anyways, it still lasts in my brain despite being unfinished with about 15k words in total. Basically, Michael slowly becomes a squip with all the fun psychological horror that comes with that. Honestly if you like this I'd recommend checking out more of Nez's work. Excellent squip horror writer.

The Mechanics of Compromise - Ngl pretty much everyone I've come across has read this fic and it shouldn't be a surprise that its on this list. Absolutely adore how they handle everyone's dynamics and manage to create a really fun plot as everyone recovers from the events of the musical. Another really good 100k+ fic.

Only One Is Mine - Holy shit this fic is almost coming up on 100k words. Anyways this fic is so so so good. Basically it deals with the rising squipocalypse after the musical as Jeremy accidentally fuses with his squip and has to learn what it means to be half human, half supercomputer. LOVE this concept so much and love how its handled. Honestly one of my all time favorite fics in general-- really cool stuff!! Shoutout to Jordan fr <3

Honorable mentions:

Ophiocordyceps nippon - TRAGICALLY short fic that meant i actually rated it only 4 stars but I thought I'd share because I am still thinking about it. Basically what if the Squip was a fungus.

Same As It's Always Been - I've only read 2 chapters, since it was coming out at the time I was reading it, but its finished now!! I really enjoyed what it was when it was coming out, so I'm sure it's still a good read. Basically Rich is forced to repeat Halloween Night-- time loop style.

[gender-trash]

hey do you think you could whip me up a little robot guy to flip over all the puzzle pieces to be right side up? I feel like that would really enhance my jigsaw puzzle experience. should probably only take a day or two right?

tbh this sounds pretty doable if you're willing to use a jigsaw puzzle table of a very consistent color and jigsaw pieces with undersides of a very consistent color and a consistent lighting setup and a robot arm with a vacuum gripper, and you stay out of the room until it's done... ACTUALLY hang on puzzle pieces are usually shiny on the top and matte on the bottom so i can just shine a bright light from the top down and ignore all the reflective pieces with color segmentation. and build a custom table that'll jiggle around until all the pieces are flat and not on top of each other, because i do NOT have a depth camera lying around with fine enough resolution to tell stacked and unstacked pieces apart. but assuming all that works out the actual grasp poses are really straightforward!

okay i got this give me an ikea table i can hack apart, some beefy fucking vibrating motors, a dozen jigsaw puzzles you don't mind getting mangled in testing, a robot arm with a vacuum gripper, and six months 👍

also the arm will cost $30k ^_^

[thatoneluckybee]

HI HOW DO I CONVINCE WORLD'S STRICTEST PARENTS TO CHANGE A RULE LIKE. NOW?

[carmillatism]

i like to think that when Ivy talks its less deciding to move her vocal cords in order to make noises and more an aac device in her brain

OH I ADORE THIS OH MY GOD. this is just. so real. i also think she has a physical aac device on its own and uses sign language both for hearing impairment and when she is unable to speak!

@bloodbot-brian, u would love this

[shadowgasps]

Am I the only one worried about the fact that they have an EMP and an FCG.....

[the-cooler-newton]

me, speaking to the Working Class Woman outside the bookshop: why are there so many dialogue options about her missing husband. she's already told me that her husband isn't missing?? Harry why are you so weird

me later, when I learn the dead body we found on the boardwalk was her husband: