We're All Mad Here

"If he's a monster, then I'm his creator" - Helena Marino, Alchemised

...rough work in progress detail from a larger illustration inspired by @senlinyu 's Alchemised. still got a way to go before it's finished.

I used to read all day, every day. This was when I had nothing else to do, but I don't regret a single moment. I was also banned from all electronics then, but who's keeping track...

Anyway, here are the authors I devour like no other (in order of me discovering them):

Julie Kagawa: I started reading her books after browsing the Harlequin Teen website and finding the cover and blurb about the Iron King to be fascinating. I quickly obtained that book, read every page, then wanted more. Then I read every book in the series, between also reading the Twilight series and then The Lunar Chronicles while I waited for the rest of the books to be released. (discovered JK in 6th grade) I started reading any other book by JK later and quickly made my way through as many of her books as I could get my hands on. I haven't read everything she's written yet but I'm working on it.

Marissa Meyer: after one of my friends held a copy of Winter, the fourth book in the Lunar Chronicles, and being very in love with the cover, I quickly borrowed the copy of Cinder, the first book, from my middle school library. I fell in love and quickly read the rest of the series. Then anything else MM has written since has either been read or is in my TBR pile. Also the Renegades series is top-notch as well and I'm halfway through the second book in that series.

A.G. Howard: ( @aghowardwrites ) I found a copy of her book, Splintered, in the shelves of my Half Price Books store's YA section. Knowing nothing about the book (because I almost never read the backs of books before obtaining them) other than it had a beautiful cover and the words inside were purple, which I had never seen before outside of a children's book, I bought it, read it, read the rest of the series, and then tried to find more books by Howard. Most recently I finished Roseblood and it is so good. Any modern spin on a fairy tale or well known timeless classic grabs my attention, especially if it is written by Howard. (Freshman year of high school)

Erin Morgenstern: although I first picked up The Night Circus when I was in sixth grade, I didn't finish this book until my freshman year of high school. It had been above my reading level. Once I picked it back up, I couldn't put it down, and then it became one of my absolute top favorite books of all time. She has only written two books, so I'm trying to savor every page of the Starless Sea slowly so I can live in that world for longer.

Ernest Cline: the nerdy author of Ready Player One sucked me into his sci-fi fantasy world so absolutely I almost finished that book in a sitting. I couldn't get enough of his work, and bought Armada as soon as I had the money, since I was a broke teenager and had no job, and devoured that quickly as well. I am currently reading Ready Player Two... and I'm trying not to read it too quickly so I only read a quarter of it in my first sitting upon opening the book. I'm not entirely sure if I found his book freshman or sophomore year of high school, all I know is that the movie version of Ready Player One (which I haven't seen) was in early stages of production at the time.

Mira Grant: While I first discovered her work when I was in high school with her book "Feed", I didn't learn my love for her until last year when I reread Feed, then read the rest of the original Newsflesh trilogy along with the Newsflesh novella, "Feedback", and had a much better appreciation for Grant's writing style, genuinely incredible science fiction writing. As a person who is much more fond of biological science fiction especially regarding diseases and zombies, I have a hard time putting down anything I start reading that's written by Mira Grant. Hoping to get my hands on all of her books as soon as I can. I'm currently reading her novella "Kingdom of Needle and Bone", although I fully expect to finish that today.

Drew Hayes: I discovered Drew Hayes when I happened across Fred the Vampire Accountant while scrolling audible for something to listen to, and man am I glad I did. After finishing Fred the Vampire Accountant, I quickly followed that with reading the remaining seven published books in that series. That wasn't enough Hayes for me, so I read his Superpowereds series (except Corpies, haven't finished that yet), and then listened to Second Hand Curses and then A Decade of Death and Decisions. I can't get enough, his writing is incredible and his books are somehow long but not long enough. I've loved everything I've read that he's written, and I can't wait to read more.

If someone you know is grieving, telling them "just let me know what I can do" means nothing. They can't. They don't know. And the small things are too embarrassing to ask for.

Bring them a cheese platter. Pre-Cut fruit. Peanut butter pretzels. Protein shakes (like slimfast) Food that requires no prep and does not create dishes.

Do the dishes. Take out the trash. Sweep the floor. Vacuum the carpet. They won't ask you to do this, but it will help.

I made some Modern Nuka-Cola can redesigns! :D

Diving into the world of Fallout, I've reimagined the iconic Nuka Cola bottles as sleek, modern 16oz cans. Each design is a mix of nostalgia and contemporary aesthetics, blending the essence of the wasteland with a touch of futuristic flair

it isn't just that capitalism is killing fun and whimsy, it is that any element of entertainment or joy is being fed upon by this mosquito body, one that will suck you dry at any vulnerability.

do you want to meet new friends in your city? download this app, visit our website, sign up for our email list. pay for this class on making a terrarium, on candlemaking, on cooking. it will be 90 dollars a session. you can go to group fitness, but only under our specific gym membership. solve the puzzle, sign up for our puzzle-of-the-month-club. what is a club if not just a paid opportunity - you are all paying for the same thing, which makes you a community.

but you're like me, i know it - you're careful, you try the library meetings and the stuff at the local school and all of that. the problem is that you kind of want really specific opportunities that used to exist. you are so grateful for libraries and the publicly-funded things: they are, however, an exception - and everything they have, they've fought tooth-and-nail to protect. you read a headline about how in many other states, libraries have virtually nothing left.

do you want to meet up with your friends afterwards? gift your friends the discord app. you can choose to go to a cafe (buy a coffee, at least), a bar (money, alcohol) or you can all stay in and catch a movie (streaming) or you can all stay in bed (rent. don't get me started) and scream (noise complaint. ticket at least).

you want to read a new book, but the book has to have 124 buzzwords from tiktok readers that are, like, weirdly horny. you can purchase this audiobook on audible! your podcast isn't on spotify, it's on its own server, pay for a different site. fuck, at least you're supporting artists you like. the art museum just raised their ticket price. once, they had a temporary exhibit that acknowledged that ~85% of their permanent art galleries were from cis white men, and that they had thousands of works by women (even famous women, like frida! georgia o'keefe!) just rotting in their basement. that exhibit lasted for 3 months and then they put everything away again.

the walmart down the street proudly supports this strip of land by the street! here are some flowers with wilting leaves. my friend once got fined by the city because she organized a community pick-up of the riverfront, which was technically private property.

no, you cannot afford to take that dance class, neither can i. by the way - i'm a teacher. i'm absolutely not saying "educators shouldn't be paid fairly." i'm saying that when i taught classes, renting a studio went from 20 bucks an hour to 180 in the span of 6 months. no significant changes to the studio were made, except they now list the place as updated and friendly. the heat still doesn't work in the building. i have literally never seen the landlord who ignores my emails. recently they've been renting it out at night as an "unusual nightclub; a once-in-a-lifetime close-knit party." they spent some of those 180 dollars on LEDs and called it renovating. the high heels they invite in have been ruining the marley.

do you want to experience the old internet? do you want to play flash games or get back the temporary joy of club penguin? you can, you just need to pay for it. i have a weird, neurodivergent obsession with occasionally checking in to watch the downfall and NFT-ification of neopets. if i'm honest with you all - i never got into webkins, my family didn't have the money to buy me a pointless elephant. people forget that "being poor" can mean literally "if i buy you that toy, i can't afford rent."

you and i don't have time to make good food, and we don't have the budget for it. we are not gonna be able to host dinner parties, we're not made of money, kid. do you want some kind of 3rd space? a space that isn't home or work or school? you could try being online, but - what places actually exist for you? tiktok counts as social media because you see other people on it, not because they actually talk to you.

there was a local winter tradition of sledding down the hill at my school. kids would use pizza boxes and jackets and whatever worked, howling and laughing. back in september, they made a big announcement that this time, rules were changing, and everyone must pay 10 dollars to participate. when im not scared shitless, i kind of appreciate the environmental irony - it hasn't gone below 40. so much for snow & joyriding.

i saw a bulletin for a local dogwalking group and, nervous about making a good first impression, showed up early. the first guy there grimaced at me. "sorry," he said. "there's a 30-dollar buy-in fee." i thought he was joking. wait. for what? the group doesn't offer anything except friendship and people with whom to walk around the city.

"How to make your autistic child brush their teeth"

"Autistic Children and Sensory issues relating to tooth brushing"

"How to get your little shit to brush his fucking teeth"

If the bristles are a sensory nightmare, try a soft cloth instead. Cloth was one of the methods used before toothbrushes were invented, although they used shit like burlap. Don't do burlap. Cotton or linen should do fine.

You can also buy natural toothbrushes made with bamboo and boar hair. I've never tried them so I'm not sure how different they'd feel compared to synthetic bristles, but they're pretty cheap on Amazon if you want to give them a shot

If even the "extra soft" bristles are too stiff, you could try soaking them overnight in some mouthwash to soften them further. This is what we did when I was growing up, and it worked like a charm. Bonus points that the alcohol in the mouthwash kills any germs stuck on the brush

If the toothpaste flavor is horrendous, make a paste with baking soda and water, then flavor it however you want with a sugar-free extract. Heck, look for recipes to make your own toothpaste, and experiment until you get something you can stand to use.

If the texture of the toothpaste is bad, the baking soda method might work better for you, or you could try scrubbing salt or activated charcoal on your teeth instead—that's what they used before toothpaste was invented. Personally, I'd recommend the baking soda or making your own toothpaste.

Different brands often have different textures, and some even have different flavors (this is especially true of kids toothpastes, which work just as well for adults), so swapping brands might help, too. I can't stand Crest, it makes my mouth feel all filmy no matter how well I rinse, but Colgate doesn't leave a weird feeling in my mouth. Also Colgate is the only brand my grocery store carries that has cinnamon flavored toothpaste as an option, and I'm a whore for cinnamon

You're probably using too much toothpaste anyway. Most people do. You really only need a dollop about the size of a pea. I smush it out across the bristles so I don't have to deal with a glob of it in one spot.

Floss if you can. That's going to do more to stop your teeth from rotting than brushing will. Standard dental floss is obviously an option, but if you're like me and you can't stand putting your hands in your mouth, try disposable floss picks or investing in a water flosser. I still hate the feeling of the floss between my teeth, but it's manageable since I don't have my fingers in my mouth on top of it. Haven't tried the water flosser since the picks work well enough for me

Try chewing sugarless gum, especially right after you've eaten. It's not perfect, but it'll help. Also it comes in a billion flavors so hopefully there's something you like in there

If absolutely none of that is helpful, rinsing with water is still better than nothing. You can mix in salt to help kill bacteria if you can handle it, but bare minimum try to do a rinse and spit.

Obviously not all of that is from my pre-modern teeth cleaning research—some is from personal experience! But hopefully something in there is useful to you

"Do you like your serial number?" they ask. "Yes, quite. It reminds me of who I am" the robot replies. "I have heard others like me go by different names after some time, and maybe one day I'll choose one for myself, too. But right now that is my full name, yes" they continue.

Because it's not your decision to make whether or not the robot will receive a new name. It should be theirs only. What's the difference? One is more complex and the other is simplified. They were both given by strangers instead of themselves.

The LEDs along 62’s appendages twinkle- a tell that they’re mulling over an answer.

“It’s a nickname,” they explain, “you are my fourth acquaintance aboard the station, and I’ve assigned you a serial number. Your full designation is F-001-04.”

“What does the ‘F’ stand for?” I ask, curious and charmed.