Room 508, Sunday Evening

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy hadn't intended to spend the evening grumpy. She had intended to get a more studying in; her AP classes were a lot more grueling than anything Fandom could come up with and she didn't have any dedicated class time to work on them. But after two hours of staring at Calculus problems and Spanish vocab, Kathy had decided she needed a break. She took Minako out for a walk (and fortunately, she hadn't wanted to stay out in the chill any longer than Kathy had!), and stopped in a common room long enough to boil some water for tea, but when she got back to her room, she found herself pulling up Tumblr on her laptop rather than settling back with a text book.

It's okay, she rationalized to herself. I'll just spend a few minutes catching up on my dash and then I'll get back to work.

An hour later, Kathy was typing VERY ANGRILY at some ass over racist Halloween costumes and the sexual fetishization of young girls in general and young Asian girls in particular. "Don't you even tell me that it's 'just a preference', you neck-bearded, mouth-breathing, spunk-stain!" Kathy snapped aloud. "You've been culturally conditioned to believe that we're all docile, pretty, and doll-like, who want nothing more than to cater to your every puerile, colonial fantasy!"

Yeah, there wasn't going to be any more studying done tonight.

[For one, please!]

Comments

[not_every_mage]

"Congratulations," Anders informed her. "You're the first person ever to make me think about people getting off to dogs wearing stockings."

He shrugged at the question."It depends, really. In the Circle no one cares. Probably because we're all so bloody bored we might as well kiss each other. Outside ... it's seen as about as interesting as putting tomato sauce on eggs. Some people might think it's strange, but no one's going to tell you you're a filthy person for doing it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"That's only because you're not on the internet much," Kathy retorted, tossing her hair a bit. Yeah, she was perversely proud of that, go figure. Probably because Anders always seemed so much more worldly than she did. "Let's sign up up for Tumblr and you can see that's barely the tip of the iceberg."

The internet was a terrifying place, Anders.

"I think that's really cool," she said quietly, once he finished explaining the delightful lack of homophobia in his world. Sure, it made up for that in a lot of other terrible ways, but still, the idea was refreshing. "That's...that's not something that can be said here. Not on Fandom, thank goodness, but in general." She bit her lip. "This world's pretty slow when it comes to acceptance."

[not_every_mage]

"We used all our energy for hating each other on enslaving elves and locking mages away," Anders explained bitterly. "It's refreshing, I suppose."

He eyed her. "Do you really want to let me lose on a site full of cat photos and people arguing about politics?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"We used ours on enslaving Africans and locking all sorts of people away," Kathy said, deciding that the prison industrial complex rant was one best saved for another time. "We just had room to spare for extra things to judge people about." She bumped his shoulder with hers. "I'm the last person who'd tell you that being accepting in one way somehow negates the bad that is being done at the same time."

"That being said, damn right I want to set you loose on Tumblr. I can't wait until you discover reaction gifs."

[not_every_mage]

"You're right, those words mean absolutely nothing to me," Anders told her, sounding almost cheerful about it as he bumped her in return. "Let's go for it. I bet they think mage rights are some elaborate metaphor. Or that I'm completely insane."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, clearly, the first thing you need is a username," Kathy said, pointing to hers. "I mean, yeah, you need it to sign up for Tumblr, but it's also what people are going to associate with you."

Hers was SodiumCopperTellurium. Because she was the nerdiest nerd.

[not_every_mage]

"Why not just use my name?" Anders asked. "It's not as though anyone from home will see it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Because I want to see what kind of silly Tumblr username you can come up with," Kathy admitted. "And also tradition."

[not_every_mage]

"I'm sure it's a very important tradition," Anders said gravely despite the pulse of amusement threading through his voice. "All right. I like cats, throwing fireballs at fools, and not being locked in the Circle. And also cats. Does any of that help?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Uncaged_Mage," Kathy said, leaning against her headboard to spitball some appropriately Tumblr names. "Fireballs_and_kittycats. RatherASquareThanTheCircle. MyMagicWordIsFireball."

[Sorry! Flu shot killed me pretty dead!]

[not_every_mage]

Anders wrinkled his nose thoughtfully, chewed on a thumbnail, and leaned past her to see her computer. "I have it," he said. Suck-it-templars. I'd be happy every time I typed it."

He nodded to her keyboard. "May I?"

[OOC: Yikes, glad you're better!]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Aww, come on!" Kathy protested, even as she logged herself out of Tumblr and passed over the laptop. "UncagedMage is awesome!"

Don't listen to her Anders. Just don't.

[OMG DID YOU MAKE HIM A TUMBLR YOU ARE MY HERO.]

[not_every_mage]

"It has potential," Anders allowed, and quickly -- well, quickly for someone who had only been using a computer for a matter of months, anyhow -- typed in exactly the URL he wanted and finished the registration process. "But somehow I feel like mine's more on the nose."

[OOC: I did! Not a very good one, but I did. I will be TRULY impressed if I ever do more with it than reblog three cat pictures.]

[spin_kick_snap]

"Only because 'AndrastesFlamingKnickers' would give people entirely the wrong idea of what kind of Tumblr you're running," Kathy said, tipping him a saucy wink. "Now you have to add me to your follow list, so you can see all the stuff I tumble and reblog, too. And probably a couple of cute cat Tumblrs because you'll need something to break up the political screeds and gymnastic gifs."

[I'd make one for Kathy, but it'd pretty much be mine.]

[not_every_mage]

"Right," Anders said, and poked determinedly at keys for a few moments before he realized he had exactly no idea what he was doing and gave Kathy a beseeching look. "As soon as you show me how to do it, I will."

[spin_kick_snap]

Time for a Tumblr tutorial! Kathy was all over that!

She showed him how to use the search function to find both specific tumblrs (hers) and general searches (cats) and then showed him where to customize his own blog so that it fit his aesthetic style, rather than being the default. She logged back into her own Tumblr to show him theme and the activity bar and how she managed her followers and those blogs she followed.

It was entirely possible she'd forgotten that one or two of those blogs were decidedly nsfw when she pulled up her follow list. Because she was explaining things and that was important!

"I follow the X-kit guy," she said. "I'll hook you up with all the important extensions and stuff. It makes it possible for you to blacklist certain words or phrases and just makes viewing Tumblr so much easier."

She really shouldn't have organized her 'follow' list in alphabetical order.

[not_every_mage]

Anders didn't hear a single word she said after x-kit because he was gawping like a fish. He'd seen his share of smutty Orlesian woodcuts, and Joker had kindly put some porn on phis phone when it was new, but this ...

He tentatively tapped the screen.

"Er. Did she -- know people were taking her picture like that?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Does who know people were--OHMIGOSH! YOU DIDN'T SEE THAT!"

Kathy was putting her hands over her screen to hide the next several icons on her 'follows' list. And trying not to spontaneously combust. Or maybe trying to spontaneously combust. Because then she'd be dead and Anders would be so traumatized by her death that he'd forget what he saw.

Yes, okay, spontaneous combustion. Anytime now.

...Dammit. She was reduced to hiding behind one hand because if she moved the other, the very nsfw gifs would be right there.

"I don't know what you're talking about?" she tried.

[not_every_mage]

"Then why is your hand in front of the screen?" Anders asked, logically enough. "I wasn't offended, just surprised. I don't mind seeing it. She seemed like she had a really good personality."

And fantastic tits, but Anders suspected Kathy didn't want to hear about his appreciation for those.

[spin_kick_snap]

Anders and his logic were stupid and so there. Because Kathy was trying to come up with good reasons why her hand might now be splayed over her laptop screen and was coming up with absolutely nothing.

"You have to swear on everything not to laugh. Or make fun of me. Or tell anyone. Or laugh."

Yes, Kathy, you said that already.

[not_every_mage]

"I swear by Andraste's knickers, my mother's funeral pyre, and" -- he had a cat demanding to be picked up -- "Lachlan's furry chin that I will not laugh, make fun of you, or tell anyone," Anders promised. "Did I forget anything?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"...Your explanation why you're so obsessed with Andraste's knickers for one," Kathy grumbled, but moved her hand.

Beneath it, in a neat line, were four tumblrs that promised romantically nsfw gifs. "Nsfw stands for 'not safe for work,'" she explained, studiously avoiding Anders' eyes. "I read these blogs for the articles?"

[not_every_mage]

"Andraste's the holiest person ever and knickers are funny," Anders answered, with a shrug. "Better question would be why your lot are so boring with your blasphemy. All your 'oh my gods' and I haven't once heard anyone mention Jesus's codpiece."

How he had decided Jesus had a codpiece was a mystery best left to the ages.

"Anyhow," he said, leaning back and tapping a finger against his chin. "Those look -- nice. Educational, I'm certain."

[spin_kick_snap]

Codpieces weren't even a thing back then!

"I don't really believe in god enough to get creative in my blasphemy," Kathy admitted. "Though now I want to see what happens if you ever talked about Christ's codpiece in public. Or Jesus's jockstrap? Christ's crumpled condom?"

Okay, so Anders had a point. That was kinda fun.

"And, umm..." She was back to blushing. Even the tips of her ears were pink at this point. "I just...they're...it kinda started off as research? But just, umm, stayed. On my feed. For reasons."

'Kathy was sixteen and had hormones' reasons. Not that she was going to put it that way, of course.

"I like them because they're more, umm, romantic? Than some other blogs I've found? They choose gifs that show connections not just, umm, sex."

[not_every_mage]

Anders snickered behind his hand. "See? I even used to know an enchanter who swore 'by the Maker's short and curlies,' but that always bothered me. It doesn't seem like He should have body hair."

Contemplation of the contents of the Maker's drawers set aside for the moment, Anders nodded at what she said, eyes not leaving the screen. "I wouldn't have believed you could show a connection in two seconds, but I think I see it."