Robin Johnson
@robinjohnson.bsky.social
Interactive fiction/gamedev/writer, audiodramatist
🎙️ Producer/writer/HPL in @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast
🏆 IFComp, Xyzzys
👨💻 XP: Gute Fabrik, Kythera
👾 versificator.itch.io
🌈ADHAu
covid is still a thing
nazis are bad
"ai" "art" is neither
he/him
🎙️ Producer/writer/HPL in @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast
🏆 IFComp, Xyzzys
👨💻 XP: Gute Fabrik, Kythera
👾 versificator.itch.io
🌈ADHAu
covid is still a thing
nazis are bad
"ai" "art" is neither
he/him
Pinned
Robin Johnson
@robinjohnson.bsky.social
· Jan 16
Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals
Each week, a group of storytellers gathers around a campfire. There's world-weary club MC Edgar Allan Poe, nerd dad Stephen King, violent goth Mary Shelley, squid-obsessed wimp HP Lovecraft, and other...
midnight-pals.simplecast.com
Tune in to "Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals" at midnight-pals.simplecast.com, or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favourite podcast site/app
(CNs: see show notes)
(CNs: see show notes)
Image now with alt text (please keep bluesky accessible!)
(I'm pretty sure it was about as much of an 'edit' as the Canadian broadcaster did with the Reagan speech, i.e., cutting down to a few key moments which correctly portrayed the general intent of the whole speech.)
(I'm pretty sure it was about as much of an 'edit' as the Canadian broadcaster did with the Reagan speech, i.e., cutting down to a few key moments which correctly portrayed the general intent of the whole speech.)
November 10, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Image now with alt text (please keep bluesky accessible!)
(I'm pretty sure it was about as much of an 'edit' as the Canadian broadcaster did with the Reagan speech, i.e., cutting down to a few key moments which correctly portrayed the general intent of the whole speech.)
(I'm pretty sure it was about as much of an 'edit' as the Canadian broadcaster did with the Reagan speech, i.e., cutting down to a few key moments which correctly portrayed the general intent of the whole speech.)
Reposted by Robin Johnson
if the lesson you take from all this is that folk need to “vote better” in one or three or five years, or that we just need to elevate better faces to high places to get your desired result, consider:
air travel workers have this leverage all the time
not without great effort, but it’s there
air travel workers have this leverage all the time
not without great effort, but it’s there
November 10, 2025 at 12:30 PM
if the lesson you take from all this is that folk need to “vote better” in one or three or five years, or that we just need to elevate better faces to high places to get your desired result, consider:
air travel workers have this leverage all the time
not without great effort, but it’s there
air travel workers have this leverage all the time
not without great effort, but it’s there
utterly blown away by del Toro's Frankenstein
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
utterly blown away by del Toro's Frankenstein
Reposted by Robin Johnson
[sits backwards on chair] we have a lot of fun here at midnight pals, but there's nothing funny about failing to read Moonflow, the book that you should all be reading
bsky.app/profile/bitt...
bsky.app/profile/bitt...
My deranged splatterpunk horror book MOONFLOW about a trans shroom dealer getting lost in a haunted forest and running afoul of evil lesbian hippies and their bound fungus god is available for preorder!! Buy it today or look really uncool!
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bitte...
www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/bitte...
Moonflow
Annihilation meets Manhunt in three-time Hugo Award nominee Bitter Karella’s debut horror novel—a gloriously queer and irreverent psychedelic trip int...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:00 PM
[sits backwards on chair] we have a lot of fun here at midnight pals, but there's nothing funny about failing to read Moonflow, the book that you should all be reading
bsky.app/profile/bitt...
bsky.app/profile/bitt...
Further thoughts: Karen, I mean Carol, is the ultimate US-centric Mary Sue. Not only is she the only person in the world that understands free will is good and collectivism is the opposite of it; she's also prone to temper tantrums which cause millions of deaths but aren't really her fault #pluribus
First episode of Pluribus is brilliant. Second is about only the American lady valuing individualism. blech.
November 8, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Further thoughts: Karen, I mean Carol, is the ultimate US-centric Mary Sue. Not only is she the only person in the world that understands free will is good and collectivism is the opposite of it; she's also prone to temper tantrums which cause millions of deaths but aren't really her fault #pluribus
This sucks. I was hoping imitative "AI" would go away when at least corporate entities* realised it was unprofitable (even if they didn't care it was bad.)
But nope. They don't even care that it DOES. NOT. BLOODY. WORK.
* which are basically AIs in the pre-2020s sense, implemented in bureaucracy
But nope. They don't even care that it DOES. NOT. BLOODY. WORK.
* which are basically AIs in the pre-2020s sense, implemented in bureaucracy
I just ran into a new (and impossible) security verification which I guess is being used to train AI, but what the hell.
For the record, the panda in overalls was NOT the correct answer, and the sheep with dots was ALSO not the correct answer.
For the record, the panda in overalls was NOT the correct answer, and the sheep with dots was ALSO not the correct answer.
November 8, 2025 at 5:55 PM
This sucks. I was hoping imitative "AI" would go away when at least corporate entities* realised it was unprofitable (even if they didn't care it was bad.)
But nope. They don't even care that it DOES. NOT. BLOODY. WORK.
* which are basically AIs in the pre-2020s sense, implemented in bureaucracy
But nope. They don't even care that it DOES. NOT. BLOODY. WORK.
* which are basically AIs in the pre-2020s sense, implemented in bureaucracy
🎵 spider clown, spider clown
sleeps in bed with a speiderdown
sleeps in bed with a speiderdown
November 8, 2025 at 3:44 PM
🎵 spider clown, spider clown
sleeps in bed with a speiderdown
sleeps in bed with a speiderdown
How hard can it be to find a grave of somebody who died in 1836? That's only like two Nicholas Parsonses ago
November 8, 2025 at 2:52 PM
How hard can it be to find a grave of somebody who died in 1836? That's only like two Nicholas Parsonses ago
Reposted by Robin Johnson
New @midnightpals.bsky.social is out! It's FINALLY Howard's turn at the campfire, and he's doing... Shadow over Innsmouth?? Ugh. Mary took his thesaurus and made a chilling bet. Listen at midnight-pals.simplecast.com
Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals
Each week, a group of storytellers gathers around a campfire. There's world-weary club MC Edgar Allan Poe, nerd dad Stephen King, violent goth Mary Shelley, squid-obsessed wimp HP Lovecraft, and other...
midnight-pals.simplecast.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:25 AM
New @midnightpals.bsky.social is out! It's FINALLY Howard's turn at the campfire, and he's doing... Shadow over Innsmouth?? Ugh. Mary took his thesaurus and made a chilling bet. Listen at midnight-pals.simplecast.com
Reposted by Robin Johnson
The choices of how to depict Greg Bear, as well as Swanwick and Zelazny, had me howling! It's so good!
The pride is back, baby! Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals: The Podcast is BACK, with a special Halloween treat -- the pals finally get back at those bullies over at Clarion West! midnight-pals.simplecast.com/episodes/the...
The Tale of Those Bullies at Clarion West | Submitted for the Approval of the Midnight Pals
Those stuck-up snobs at the most privileged literary circle of all, Clarion West, have perpetrated a despicable prank on the Midnight Pals involving a paper bag full of dog poop, a match, and Steve's ...
midnight-pals.simplecast.com
November 7, 2025 at 2:56 AM
The choices of how to depict Greg Bear, as well as Swanwick and Zelazny, had me howling! It's so good!
Reposted by Robin Johnson
OpenAI is well aware of how its products stoke manic, suicidal, psychotic, and other forms of unhealthy behavior, but company leadership insists publicly that the problem with the tech is that it isn’t reaching *enough* people. Bulldozing the vulnerable is corporate strategy
November 7, 2025 at 2:02 PM
OpenAI is well aware of how its products stoke manic, suicidal, psychotic, and other forms of unhealthy behavior, but company leadership insists publicly that the problem with the tech is that it isn’t reaching *enough* people. Bulldozing the vulnerable is corporate strategy
First episode of Pluribus is brilliant. Second is about only the American lady valuing individualism. blech.
November 8, 2025 at 2:31 AM
First episode of Pluribus is brilliant. Second is about only the American lady valuing individualism. blech.
As you can see, in writing this episode I did almost as much cultural and geosocial research as Lovecraft himself
The @midnightpals.bsky.social are back! This week HP Lovecraft tells “The Tale of the Shadow Over Innsmouth”.
Hear me as folksy inn keeper, Gilman. Gilman is your typical New England local who loves salt water taffy, hospitality and squid Jesus.
#MidnightPals #Podcast #HPLovecraft #SquidJesus
Hear me as folksy inn keeper, Gilman. Gilman is your typical New England local who loves salt water taffy, hospitality and squid Jesus.
#MidnightPals #Podcast #HPLovecraft #SquidJesus
November 7, 2025 at 8:15 PM
As you can see, in writing this episode I did almost as much cultural and geosocial research as Lovecraft himself
Reposted by Robin Johnson
This was so much fun 🐸🐸🐸! And the end of the post-credit scene brought a little tear to my eye...
November 7, 2025 at 3:52 PM
This was so much fun 🐸🐸🐸! And the end of the post-credit scene brought a little tear to my eye...
Out now on the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast: "The Tale of the Shadow Over Innsmouth", available on Apple Podcasts, Youtube, Pocket Cast, or wherever you find podcasts!
Howard tells an eldritch space squid story, and goes head to head with Mary Shelley in a high-stakes bet.
Howard tells an eldritch space squid story, and goes head to head with Mary Shelley in a high-stakes bet.
November 7, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Out now on the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast: "The Tale of the Shadow Over Innsmouth", available on Apple Podcasts, Youtube, Pocket Cast, or wherever you find podcasts!
Howard tells an eldritch space squid story, and goes head to head with Mary Shelley in a high-stakes bet.
Howard tells an eldritch space squid story, and goes head to head with Mary Shelley in a high-stakes bet.
The mega-rich are deeply unhappy and catastrophically cruel
The world’s first trillionaire initiated a move that has left more than half a million people dead, most of whom are children.
November 7, 2025 at 2:45 PM
The mega-rich are deeply unhappy and catastrophically cruel
This is how we finally get the Star Trek vs Star Wars movie
The Lego ‘Star Trek’ Set Is Here, and It’s Exactly What You Want gizmodo.com/lego-star-tr...
The Lego 'Star Trek' Set Is Here, and It's Exactly What You Want
Boldly go with the USS 'Enterprise'-D in Lego form when it hits shelves in late November.
gizmodo.com
November 7, 2025 at 11:46 AM
This is how we finally get the Star Trek vs Star Wars movie
Once again I am begging podcast listings sites to learn that fiction exists
from rephonic's listing of the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast:
from rephonic's listing of the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast:
November 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Once again I am begging podcast listings sites to learn that fiction exists
from rephonic's listing of the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast:
from rephonic's listing of the @midnightpals.bsky.social podcast:
Whoever decided to print the nutritional info on these noodles "per 1/5 pack" and divide the noodles into six cakes, please report for a slap
November 6, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Whoever decided to print the nutritional info on these noodles "per 1/5 pack" and divide the noodles into six cakes, please report for a slap
Reposted by Robin Johnson
*clearing my throat meaningfully at Labour*
This needs more attention: Zohran SPLIT the straights with Cuomo. ALL of his margin was from LGBTQ+ voters. Every Dem who ever said “we should abandon the transes” needs this shoved down their fucking throat with a ramrod.
November 5, 2025 at 1:20 PM
*clearing my throat meaningfully at Labour*
Reposted by Robin Johnson
Such a mystery, what MASS DISABLING EVENT could have happened after 2019 to cause this?
The number of people aged between 16 and 34 who are out of work due to long-term sickness increased by 76% between 2019 and 2024
UK ‘sliding into avoidable crisis’, major review into workplace sickness warns
The number of people aged between 16 and 34 who are out of work due to long-term sickness increased by 76% between 2019 and 2024
www.independent.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 9:14 AM
Such a mystery, what MASS DISABLING EVENT could have happened after 2019 to cause this?
Reposted by Robin Johnson
Rockstar union workers have set up a solidarity fund to help them survive and fight after 30 of them were fired in an attempt to destroy the union.
Help them fight back! If you can, any little bit you can donate will massively help their efforts.
actionnetwork.org/fundraising/...
Help them fight back! If you can, any little bit you can donate will massively help their efforts.
actionnetwork.org/fundraising/...
Support Rockstar Workers Fighting Unfair Dismissals!
Last week over 30 members of staff at Grand Theft Auto VI developer Rockstar were fired en masse in a “calculated attack on workers”. The IWGB described Rockstar’s actions as ‘the most blatant and rut...
actionnetwork.org
November 4, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Rockstar union workers have set up a solidarity fund to help them survive and fight after 30 of them were fired in an attempt to destroy the union.
Help them fight back! If you can, any little bit you can donate will massively help their efforts.
actionnetwork.org/fundraising/...
Help them fight back! If you can, any little bit you can donate will massively help their efforts.
actionnetwork.org/fundraising/...
Reposted by Robin Johnson
Bigotry and fascism, its political outcome, will be with us for as long as democratic systems regard hate as a valid outlook.
Both have impacted my life, but I still believe that most ppl are essentially reasonable and the just will win through in the end.
I'm hopeful we're starting to see that.
Both have impacted my life, but I still believe that most ppl are essentially reasonable and the just will win through in the end.
I'm hopeful we're starting to see that.
November 5, 2025 at 9:24 AM
Bigotry and fascism, its political outcome, will be with us for as long as democratic systems regard hate as a valid outlook.
Both have impacted my life, but I still believe that most ppl are essentially reasonable and the just will win through in the end.
I'm hopeful we're starting to see that.
Both have impacted my life, but I still believe that most ppl are essentially reasonable and the just will win through in the end.
I'm hopeful we're starting to see that.
Reposted by Robin Johnson
Trans rights is a winning platform. Pro immigration is a winning platform. Taxing the rich is a winning platform. Affordable housing is a winning platform. Free childcare is a winning platform. Hating Andrew Cuomo is a winning platform. SOCIALISM IS A WINNING PLATFORM
November 5, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Trans rights is a winning platform. Pro immigration is a winning platform. Taxing the rich is a winning platform. Affordable housing is a winning platform. Free childcare is a winning platform. Hating Andrew Cuomo is a winning platform. SOCIALISM IS A WINNING PLATFORM