16sydd16

[16sydd16]

[16sydd16]

i think they need to talk

(original)

[16sydd16]

big fan of these photos I took with a fisher price camera when I was like 8

[16sydd16]

[16sydd16]

[16sydd16]

It is with the deepest frustrations that I must report Microsoft has pushed out Copilot onto Microsoft Word no matter what your previous settings were. If you have Office because you paid for it/are on a family plan/have a work/school account, you can disable it by going to Options -> click on Copilot -> uncheck 'Enable Copilot'.

(Note, you may not see this option if you haven't updated lately, but Copilot will still pop up. Updating should give you this option. I will kill Microsoft with my bare hands.)

In addition, Google has forced a roll-out of it's Gemini AI on all American accounts of users over 18 (these settings are turned off by default for EU, Japan, Switzerland, and UK, but it doesn't hurt to check).

To remove this garbage, you must go to Manage Workspace smart feature settings for all your Gmail/Drive/Chat and turn them off. Go to Settings -> See all settings -> find under "Genera" the "Google Workspace smart features" -> turn smart feature setting off for both Google Workspace and all other Google products and hit save. (If you turned off the smart settings in your Gmail, it never hurts to open Drive and double-check that they're set to off there too.)

Quick Edit: I found the easiest way to get to the Smart Feature settings following the instructions above was to do it through Drive. Try that route first.

Now is the time to consider switching to Libre Office if you haven't already.

[16sydd16]

Reneé on the newest season of Sesame Street!

[16sydd16]

🌻😎🥳

From this ask game

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

...an unhealthy amount 😆. Reading fic is my #1 go-to when I'm trying to fill time (#2 is gaming...but I try to be good at that, and also, it's my job, so...less stress-relieving), so I've read a lot of fic, including my own. As it turns out, I like my own sense of humor. Go figure. HOWEVER...re-reading my own smut scenes is a little weird. Always depends on how much I can remove myself from the writing process of them (I literally write smut scenes with my eyes closed). If I can get enough distance from that, I always find myself going, "Yo...this shit slaps." Probably because unlike most writers...I hate reading. Blame my ADHD. I can only read fanfiction (all of it...give it to me), books that hit just right (I can think of 3 series), books that I read out of spite (looking at you, Harry Potter), or books that my family has read, because they'll talk to me about it (and I can cover for the parts where I completely zoned out).

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

Oh, all of it. Give me the, "This is canon, except for Cady wore polka dots instead of plaid on her first day of school." Give me the, "Fuck canon, everyone is an alien fighting for their existence." I have been in many a fandom, and any amount of canon has made me cry (and I am not an easy crier) and laugh and just enjoy. Like...as long as I can feel the person who wrote it cares about their concept/characters/plot/one of the above/all of the above/none of the above but something else/etc. I do not care how canon it is.

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

Okay...short version, because I can get rambling (there is a several-hours-long version of these events😆) . I used to write Spider-man stories and put myself in them when I was...maybe 6-7 years old? I am...OBSESSED with Spider-man, and we'll leave it at that for now lol. Cut to 15-16, and YouTube was a thing, and I was obsessed with Buffy, and people would make "Buffy AU videos (I could search Buffy AU, and there were 54 results. I distinctly remember than number), and one of the videos was a fan video for a fanfic site that someone set up called Buffy: The Chosen (I think? It's been a LONG time), and things spiraled from there. My first published fics were...very bad Hannah Montana fics, because it had a large enough audience at the time that I knew people would read it. Took a few more years for me to write stuff for fandoms that I actually cared about. And now, I'm here 😁

Thank you SO MUCH for the ask 🙏🏾

[16sydd16]

syd, are you okay? you’ve been MIA and i’m getting concerned about you. please be safe 🙏

You're so sweet! Thanks for checking on me💖 I'm okay! I'm chronically ill, and I've been especially ill this last year or so. The last couple months have been ROUGH. I had surgery last week, and I'm recovering well, so hopefully that will help! I'm hoping to be more active soon. Hope you're doing well, and thanks again for checking in!

[16sydd16]

Your portrayal of Regina's family is the most realistic one I ever saw of a toxic but loving household. Especially as someone who comes from a family who are pretty much nice, loving, and selectively supportive, but also caused some of my deep rooted issues, it's so hard for me to stay mad at Regina. Also as a Humanities student, you hurt my feelings with GIL.

You're a great writer!

Also some Cadina doodles for you :)

Sorry I'm so late getting to this! I've been ill and recently had surgery.

Thank you so much! I'm sorry you have to deal with that in your own life. I have definitely projected some of my familial issues onto the George family, so I feel you🫂

LMAO I'm sorry😭 If it matters, I was also a humanities student, and I also hurt me OWN feelings with GIL, so. Humanities students watch out, I guess. No one is safe👀 Thank you so much, you're so so sweet! I'm so glad you like GIL! And thank you so much for sharing the doodles! I love them! I have no visual art skills, so whenever I'm blessed with doodles, I really appreciate it. Hope you're having a great day, and thanks for reaching out!

[16sydd16]

✍🏾👓🥳

✍️ What's your ideal writing setup?

Okay, picture this: it's well after the sun has gone down, and I don't need to wake up early the next morning. I'm feeling good, just found my second wind. It's raining—like, thunderstorm type rain—and the world seems quieter because of the consistent noise of the storm. I'm in bed with something to sip on, my laptop propped up on my feet, and I've found my flow. Time passes, and I do not notice for a long while. When I finally catch the time and realize it's almost 2am, I don't worry, because there's no alarm to wake up to in the morning. Life is good🤓 More realistically, it's me, in my bed, with my laptop connected to the charger, my water bottle, and desktop spotify streaming straight to my ears through decent headphones. Maybe some twin snakes if I need a little boost😉 👓 What helps you focus when you write?

Music! I actually write best in silence, but I'm really easily distracted by outside sounds. So, when silence isn't possible (which is basically all the time lol), the predictable sound of music is my go to in order to focus. I'd say writing in a room alone helps, too. I'm a yapper, so if someone else is around, I usually want to chat.

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

Oh gosh, this is a big one! I think initially, I started writing it because I didn't know how else to cope. I'm chronically ill, and my chronic illness came on really suddenly in my teens. I was a very serious athlete and student before I got sick, and then when I fell ill, I had to quit school and sports. I spent (and still do spend) a lot of time in bed because my body doesn't like to do what I tell it. In that, I found fic! I started with reading it, then eventually moved onto writing it. We don't need to talk about the first fic from when I was 15🌝 But it helped me get through. I put fic down for a year, then picked it up again in college, when I was coming to terms with being queer. Fic helped me figure out that I was bi! In my last couple years of college, I put fic down to work on some original stuff, and got a degree in the literary field. My chronic illness became unmanageable during what was supposed to be my last semester of college, and I had to move 1000 miles back home. It's been a rollercoaster, but when I was searching for myself, I came back to fic. Writing Cadina fic led me to some of my best friends, and it's been an amazing thing to be a part of! That all sounds so dramatic and sad. Sorry. The REAL reason why I started writing Cadina specifically is because I saw MG2024 in theaters with my sister, took one look at Reneé and all of the gay staring between Cady and Regina, and said "someone has to have written fic about this." And they had! Woohoo! And then I wrote some more:) Fun fact, my sister actually looked over at me during meet the plastics because of the ungodly squawk I let out and said "are you okay?". She's only done that twice. Once then, and once when we saw Taylor do "Vigilante Shit" at the Eras tour. What can I say? Singing blonde women have always been a weakness for me😉

Thanks so much for the ask!!

[16sydd16]

💌💡📗

(Three because I’m greedy🌝)

Hehe you can have as many as you want!!!

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

I'm sure it comes as a huge surprise that I'm a giant sucker for soft Cadina, especially Regina being soft with Cady. I've been trying to figure out ways to implement more of Regina's canon bitchiness into some of my fics, but I have such a hard time not making her just look at Cady and melt. They're too damn cute 😭

💡 How many WIPs do you currently have?

Ohhh god okay so

Pretty Good

SBAU

MBAU (hiatus)

Psych Ward (hiatus)

Alien AU (mega hiatus... maybe one day I'll actually pick that one back up again once I figure out an actual plot)

A collab I've been working on with @pinkkrypto that we admittedly haven't touched in months but still do want to do eventually

And there's always the chance more will pop up 😭

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

ABSOLUTELY. I would LOVE to be a published author, I just have a very hard time building up original characters/worlds/premises, but I hope to one day!

I don't know what about specifically, but definitely something queer, even if romance isn't the focal point, and perhaps something with themes of mental illness and recovery (shocking, I know).

From this ask game!

[16sydd16]

🏷️🚀💘

🏷 Is there a tag you like to search for when looking for fanfics to read?

It really depends on the ship, but I love me some good mutual pining

🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?

Outlining? The thing I do at work? No. I spend a lot of time thinking about ideas and don't write them down and forget half of them and then create new ones as I go.

💘 Is it easier to write angst or fluff?

Angst, probably

Fanfic writer asks

[16sydd16]

👻💡🎯

👻 What is your wildest headcanon? Oh gosh, there's so many. I don't know that this one is that wild, since I'm speaking to a fellow member of the Shane Oman fan club, but I HC Shane as being really selfless. Like, almost to a fault. I think he lets Regina boss him around not 'cos she's hot and he fears her, but because he genuinely cares about her. I think he's just a really sweet guy that wants everyone to be happy. I know Shane's your guy, so this probably isn't a crazy take, but I do think that for the general fandom, it kinda is. Also I HC him as being a maaaajor football fan🌝

💡 How many WIPs do you currently have?

If I count all the WIPs, I'll be here all day, because I love starting something and not finishing lmao. As far as Mean Girls goes, I've got three WIPS that have at least one part posted (two Cadina, one Shadina) and two others that have no parts posted. So that's 5 total, I guess. And like, a hundred unfinished oneshots lmao. 🎯 Do you have a writing milestone that you're working towards?

Finishing GIL! It's my longest story to date, fic or original work, and I think I'm going to feel really proud of myself when I finish it.

Thanks so much for the ask!💖

[16sydd16]

❤️🐇💛

❤️ What is your favorite line that you've written in a fic? I love writing fic, so this is a tough one! I'm proud of a lot of the goofy lines in you know what I mean, and you know what you need—especially my line of Aaron slander, since I'm the self-appointed leader of the Aaron Samuels hate brigade—but it's a little NSFW, so I won't share the line here. Feel free to check it out in the link! You'll know exactly the line I'm talking about when you see it😉 I also love this line from GIL. It's pretty run of the mill, but I'm feeling especially fragile and gay tonight: '“I’ve got you covered,” Regina promises, looking at Cady with such a softness that Cady actually has to look away."

(Remember when GIL was a fluffy little story about falling for your bestie? Yeah, me too😭 We'll get back to the fluff soon, I swear!!)

🐇 Do you write for yourself, for others, or both? At the risk of sounding selfish, it's mostly for me. I love getting feedback—I'm a comment fiend—but I think the mark of a good story is that you're desperate to write it even if no one else ever sees it. If you care about your story enough to write it just for the sake of you personally needing to know how it ends, I don't think it's a story worth writing. When other people read it and it strikes a chord with them, that's the coolest feeling. But that can't be the reason you write, or you'll run out of steam pretty quick. Comments certainly do help, though...😉 Writing for a popular ship in a relatively active, supportive fandom is a LOT of fun. Plus, I love sneaking little things from you guys into chapters and waiting for you to fall out over it! It makes me feel like we're having a weird (but enjoyable), mostly one-sided conversation.

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you've learned about writing? I think this question has two important answers for me! The first one is this: just because something is emotionally provocative doesn't mean that it's well written or "finished." Reading my journals from when I was 15 makes me fucking cry, but it's not because they're intelligently structured or beautifully crafted—it's because they hurt. When something provokes an emotional response, it means there's some real heart in it. Once you find that emotion in something, that means it's time to put in the work! The second thing I've learned is that bad writing is better than no writing at all. I've heard many people harp on making sure not to develop bad habits. While that can be important, the most important thing is just to keep writing. It's easy to make a bad or mediocre or pretty good thing better. It's impossible to create perfection out of thin air.

[16sydd16]

Fanfic Writer Ask Game

These are always fun so I wanted to make one! Reblog this and let others send you an ask based on any of these emojis/questions:

❤️ What is your favorite line that you’ve written in a fic?

💥 What is one canon thing that you wish you could change?

✨️ Out of the comments you’ve received on your fics, what are two or three of your favorites?

👻 What is your wildest headcanon?

✍️ What’s your ideal writing setup?

🚀 Do you like to outline your fic first or create as you go?

🎁 Have a piece of a WIP you want to share?

🏷 Is there a tag you like to search for when looking for fanfics to read?

⏰️ Do you like to post fics on a schedule or at random?

👓 What helps you focus when you write?

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

🐇 Do you write for yourself, for others, or both?

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

🍬 Do you write for multiple fandoms? If yes, what is your favorite fic of yours for each fandom?

🌻 How often do you read your own fics?

📗 Do you want to write something outside of fanfiction? If so, what about?

🎬 If a movie or show were based on your fic, which fic would you choose and who would you fancast?

💭 What inspires you and your writing?

🧪 Do you research for your fics?

😎 What fics do you prefer on a scale of canon compliant to wildly original?

💎 Do you often write about a relationship or focus on an individual?

🔥 Have you included any sexy scenes in your fics? If yes, do you find them easy or difficult to write?

💘 Is it easier to write angst or fluff?

🚦What sort of endings do you prefer to write: ambiguous, bad, happily ever after, etc.?

💡How many WIPs do you currently have?

🔎 Does anyone beta read or edit your fics?

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

🤩 What led to your interest in the fandom?

🤖 Are non-fandom friends aware that you write fanfic?

💛 What is the most impactful lesson you’ve learned about writing?

👑 Do you like writing short fics or long fics?

🎯 Do you have a writing milestone you’re working towards?

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

🤔 Would you ever want to write something canon if you got the opportunity?

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

🎨 If someone were to make fanart of your work, what fic or scene would you hope to see?

[16sydd16]

🦋🦈📚

🦋 Which character is your favorite to write?

Honestly, Regina. Girlie has SO much going on in that head of hers 24/7. I love probing into it and peeling back the layers piece by piece.

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

God, hm... Honestly, either Damian or Janis. I love them both very dearly, but I haven't really had opportunities to explore into the psyche in any of my fics in the ways I have with the other characters, so I feel like I understand them much less. Hopefully I can change that one day, but you know me, I'm too verbose for my own good 😭

📚 Is there a fanfic or fanfic writer you recommend?

There are so many good ones and I have many friends who write such incredible fics and I am so, so sorry if I'm missing anyone here:

ANYTHING from

@erikahenningsen (AO3: revengeparty), @pinkkrypto (AO3: pinkkrypto), @16sydd16 (ao3: 16sydd16), @chisamayas (AO3: chisamaya), @acetone4veins (AO3: acetone4veins), @sapphicrosti (AO3: sapphicrosti), @sapphic-chaos-rage (AO3: robinbuckleysidekick), and there's definitely more I'm blanking on and I am so so sorry 😭

There are SO many amazing authors in this fandom!!!

From this ask game!