#a lot of your favourite youtubers are probably involved

[firefly-fez]

Hyperfixation Forecast

Good evening, fellow mutuals! Tonight’s hyperfixation forevast is brought to you by my ADHD, the impusiveness of which is the dominant controlling factor in the content weather we see on this blog.

Tomorrow will be typical weather for mid February, with a 70% chance of star wars posts, a persistent front brought on by the recent disney plus release of the bad batch. We can expect this weather to continue throughout the year as the MANDOS3 and AHSOKASERIES storm fronts progress later in the year.

The following weeks will also be partly anime with sunshine brought by Spy x Family and the fact that Anya is just Too Dang Cute.

However, a drastic change is expected this weekend as the Project for Awesome goes live on February 17th, 12pm EST. The 16th annual charity livestream to raise money for Save the Children, Partners in Health, and community selected charities, is an exciting event expected to bring a steady barrage of posts to your dash over the next 48 hours. Mutuals wishing to adequately prepare for this discourse are advised to monitor the #p4a, #projectforawesome and #nerdfighteria tags for further information.

[batsplat]

do you have any favorite tennis matches? what's your favorite player and rivalry if you have one?

(note, I will be leaving both agassi + sampras out of this post as they have already been discussed in a fair bit of detail on this blog, though I might at some point make a post specifically about their matches. obviously they'd be pretty high up in all three categories with regards to favourite matches, players, and rivalries)

I have a lot of favourite tennis matches!! I'll throw a few of them under the cut, but honestly give me half a chance and I'll go on forever. my all time favourite tennis match is the 2003 us open semifinal between justine henin and jennifer capriati. it is available in full on youtube and I think you should watch it even if you have only the slightest interest in tennis. this is a match you need to experience for yourself and I will not spoil the result, but it features basically everything you could ask for:

very high stakes, both in terms of being a slam semi and for both players involved. it's an interesting stretch of henin's career, plenty of controversies that season and the potential for a rematch with countrywoman clijsters in the final. capriati during her noughties career revival had FINALLY managed to overcome her issues in late stages of slams and had won three of them... but her home slam at the us open was the one she wanted to win most of all. a history of semifinal choking she was attempting to conquer in front of her home crowd - fighting a woman six years her junior who had already tasted slam success that year

two very different personalities, the cold and calculating henin against the ferocious and passionate capriati... both not strangers to a little bit of gamesmanship, and of course you see that on display in this match too. keep an eye on the poor line judges

two contrasting but similarly engaging playstyles, the boisterous force of capriati coming up against henin's lethally elegant all-court game. henin's one handed backhand better than sex question mark. it's a great stylistic match-up, and produces some excellent tennis across the entire span of the match. just SUCH a great watch, like I really cannot speak highly enough of the level on display

a highly involved crowd who want their home favourite to win SO BADLY and are more than happy to do anything to help her cause. gets a bit wild, like the best us open matches tend to do

some truly insane momentum switches, many prompted by psychology and some prompted by physicality. one player's body starts letting her down in the final set in pretty striking fashion. one player's mind plays havoc with her, possibly even more memorably so. a very dramatic finale

the cruelty of tennis on full display. a match where you suffer for both players, who both want it so badly and are visibly fighting demons on the court. truly, truly brutal for the loser

I love this match so so much. I know it's very on-brand to direct you to a match from over two decades ago, but I promise you. it's worth it. sometimes the old stuff is the best

and do I EVER have a favourite player and rivalry!!!!!!

MY GIRLS. okay, look, they're both extremely retired and had their last match in 2010 BUT it is still my favourite rivalry!!!!!!! here, have another bit of my output for them:

wE hAvE aLwaYs ProTEcTEd tHis iMAge oF friENdShip tHat nEVeR eXistEd istgggggggg NOTHING WAS BROKEN BETWEEN US BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING TO BREAK

if you've ever heard someone be extremely annoying about federer's game, you probably can imagine what I sound like talking about henin. she's got my favourite backhand of all time, I genuinely think it is a work of art. I love how she moves, the way she unleashes on balls on the run, I love how she gets into the court in such a lithe and precise manner to pick up the next ball. I love how effective the serve is despite her height (number one commentating cliché for her lol, she's short we get it). the slices, the gorgeous drop volleys, the laser straight forehand... and again, the backhand. when she takes a swing at that thing and fucking pummels it past her opponent, stretches her wings to make the ball soar, it's just truly my favourite shot of all time. there's a specific backhand crosscourt on-the-run pass she hits in that aforementioned us open semifinal where... yeah. what can you even say. better than sex full stop

and well... okay, look, I am AWARE a lot of fans still hate her and I do get that she won't be everyone's cup of tea. but y'know. sometimes you just have to support women's rights and wrongs, and I do think some of the criticism of her is also a bit overblown. she's a cheater, yes, I won't argue with that. but I think sometimes cheating is interesting!! she really really really really needed to win, she was cold and ruthless about it - but also, I'm sorry, people would NOT have hated her quite so much if she were a man. and I'm also not saying a sad life story justifies cheating etc etc, but I do wish people were a bit more interested in why she needed to win so badly. she also has the number one athlete attribute that makes my brain go crazy - a deeply conflicted relationship with the sport itself. always caught between running towards and running away from tennis... yeah. god

the single best resource in tennis is a website called tennisabstract, it really is fantastic, I've contributed a bit to their match coding project before and definitely will again when my schedule's freed up a bit. I have a lot of time for the guy who runs it, I really do. there's this series he did, tennis 128, where he listed the top 128 players of all time according to his metric and wrote a piece for each of them... and I think they're all very interesting, it's a great project. but. there's a good chance henin got the most negative write-up of the lot, in a way I have to admit I take issue with. some excerpts:

well, tough luck. I don't care. the lgbt community has forgiven justine henin. look at what a cute tomboy she was as a teenager:

look at her holding a bird trophy:

wifey

the other half of that rivalry is her fellow belgian clijsters. very much a case of two narratives haunting each other!! do not separate!! anyhow, she's another player with a game I absolutely adore, these big scything groundstrokes but ALSO plenty of variety, like we're not talking a dull baseline basher here. and the movement!! sliding on a hard court is STILL pretty rare in the women's game, so it's very much seen as something associated with clijsters and clijsters alone:

life changing thighs is what I'll say

clijsters was everything henin was not - warm, popular in the locker room and with fans, a cheery outgoing personality who always had plenty of people rooting for her. she was also seen as too nice to win. and there are few things on this planet that get me going more than a choker. than somebody who just... freezes in the most important matches of her life. which for a while there had a nasty habit of involving henin, because of course they did

clijster's another one with a really fascinating career arc, one that is inextricably linked with henin's story - and thing is, she did get her happy ending. she's the feel-good story, proof that even chokers might be able to make it in the end. she conquered her demons... one of the very, very, very few to do so. she changed the narrative of her career completely. now I DO hate how this kinda... low key gets implicitly used as another stick to thwack henin with, this kind of, ooh!! look!! you can be a good person and be successful too!! which! idk. god forbid we root for a flawed athlete now and again. but I think this does a disservice to clijsters - not least because she WAS pretty nasty about henin in a way she wasn't about basically anyone else. henin and clijsters are more than just sinner and saint... don't let tennis fans tell you otherwise

and yeah, the two of them obviously had a bit of an emotionally tortured rivalry. belgium cooked up two insanely good tennis players born exactly one year and one week apart, the only two players of that stature the country has ever produced. they made each other better and they made each other worse. friends and enemies and something in between... and in the end, fundamentally inseparable. citadels have been built on less

anyway tbh I'm not going to pretend like anyone is summoning up that kind of narrative juice these days, but obviously I still have my faves. as regular blog readers may be aware, my favourite current player is this washed string bean who mostly just loses to more talented players and throws tantrums these days. I'll support him until his time runs up though. medvedev's got this fantastically unorthodox game that I could dissect all day, he's the smartest top player, he's funny as shit. his game should never have worked and he has no right to be as successful as he is. I could hold a lecture series on his forehand. I'm very much a pusher-inclined fan... I like counterpunchers, I like players who run around a lot and defend, and I also like tacticians. I was a pretty early adopter because I love a quirky playstyle and weird technique, which was then affirmed with the miami 2018 debacle (iykyk). but there was a moment I knew I would be his fan for life, and if you are a tennis fan you can probably guess what's coming:

"so I want all of you to know, when you sleep tonight, I won because of you" I fell in love

never ever has he let me down on the drama front. his "oops I did it again" basel 2018 instagram post, his "I think I killed someone? my apologies" from us open 2020, "if I die, who'll take responsibility" from olympics 2021, the "it's easier to enjoy life when you have no brain" paris 2021 monologue, the yawn at turin 2021, stomping on the ground davis cup 2021, the "his father can talk every point" ao 2022 rant, "I'm gonna pee as slow as this court" from iw 2023, when he got rid of the singles stick monte carlo 2023 plus the "look at yourself in the mirror" press conference comment, "vamo vamo vamo" from uso 2023... I could keep going. "shut your fuck up" has become a part of my vocabulary icl. I love his press conferences and watch a lot of them, just consistently a very interesting guy to listen to. he is unfortunately sort of hellish to follow as a fan, but y'know. sometimes it's not just trophies that make the journey worth it (cope)

women's tennis, my actual faves have basically disappeared from the scene this year so I'm not even gonna dignify them by mentioning their names. I am pretty ride-or-die for dasha kasatkina, a useless pusher who's also the wta's highest ranked lesbian and makes a vlog with her girlfriend I definitely recommend. I like her tennis a lot in all its horrendous pushing, she's very sweet and fun and produces an obscene number of cute photos with her girlfriend. beyond that, I suppose I am basically a swiatek and sabalenka fan this year, I find both of them highly engaging in different ways, I love how they're like... actually very good but are also seemingly constantly fighting demons. basically the two most compelling players in the game currently TO ME. I'm really really enjoying their rivalry, my main complaint is that I wish they played more (praying iga's new coach fixes her during the off-season). they produced by far the best match this year, madrid final, which I'd also absolutely recommend. but yeah, I generally vibe with all the top players of the women's game, if to differing extents!! really strong era at the minute that also promises to keep getting better. we pray

anyhow. a few more favourite matches - I'm going to try and hold myself back, because I really could go on forever. a lot of the old matches I watch are from noughties wta, but I'll limit myself because I'm aware this really is probably of interest to nobody and give just a further two - sharapova/henin wta finals 2007 and venus/davenport wimbledon 2005. both pretty normie picks, but sometimes the normie picks are normie picks for a reason

for my sins, I do have a few big three matches in fairly regular rotation, typically on in the background when I'm working. main ones are djokovic/federer us open 2011, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2019, djokovic/federer wimbledon 2014, and djokovic/nadal roland garros 2021. I also have a bunch of murray matches in rotation but I tend to mix it up for him more... my other go-to run is all of leylah fernandez's pre-final us open 2021 matches, which are just consistently bonkers in the best possible way. there's a few other recent-ish matches I really like to revisit, like iga/sublanko madrid 2023, fernandez/osorio monterrey 2022, kerber/juvan strasbourg 2022...

and then, of the more recent-ish men's matches, pretty obvious where my biases lie. medvedev/djokovic cincy 2019, med/wawrinka uso 2019, med/nadal atp finals 2020, med/thiem atp finals 2020, med/djokovic uso 2021, med/sinner atp finals 2021 (conceptually hilarious match), med/faa ao 2022 (go-to flight match, this one), med/tsi ao 2022, rune/djokovic paris 2022 (and honestly that whole rune run), med/zverev monte carlo 2023 (don't feel great about including this but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it), rune/sinner monte carlo 2023, rune/foki madrid 2023, med/alcaraz uso 2023 (I promised I'd sing the american national anthem if he won that match so that's a voice note that still exists out there)... and so on

I could keep going, but I'll cut myself off here. and end things with my personal favourite instagram post tennis has produced. from after the aforementioned rune/foki madrid match:

'personally I hold nothing against the Spanish people' dw king I'll do it for you

[podcastjam]

Project Spotlight #3: Eart(h) FM

The year is 2072, and we're talking about the solarpunk sci-fi pilot Eart FM with team member Ari!

Tell us a bit about yourself and your teammates!

Hi, I’m Clover! I’m a writer, voice actor, and audio engineer. I’m helping edit Eart FM, and potentially voice act in it. I’m working on a few podcasts, but none of them have released yet. My first and favorite podcast is Wolf 359. I technically have a tumblr account, but I don’t use it, so you can find me lurking on various podcast discords, mainly the official WOE.BEGONE discord.

@lotsadeer: My name is Izze Sykes, I'm an illustrator, writer, podcaster, game designer, voice actor, and wearer of many hats. I'll be doing the cover art for this podcast! The first podcast I ever listened to was Welcome to Night Vale, don't ask me my favourite podcast that's like asking me to choose children, and I'm involved in a few podcasts at the moment! Hope's Hearth, an actual play podcast; Abbey Archives, a Redwall reread podcast; SCP Research Archives, an SCP article podcast; Colchis, a sci-fi audio drama; and Cauterized, a horror audio drama. Plus a few podcasts that are in the works. I like podcasts.

@aclickbaittitle: Hello, I am Ari! I like to say I am a storyteller. I am the organizer (?) for Eart FM and I also plan to sound-design and write.  Like a lot of people I got into audio drama through Welcome to Nightvale and then it was history. My most recent project is a little short-fiction podcast called “Broken Hearted: The Friendship monologues”.

Hello, I'm Laurel. I'm a writer, digital artists, and self proclaimed voice actor. I will be voicing the role of "The Host" in Eart(h) FM! I have not participated in any projects publicly but I have be doing voice work for fun with friends and a bit on my joint youtube channel. My favorite podcast is definitely Penumbra Podcast, my younger brother showed it to me and I was hooked instantly. I don't use my tumblr anymore but you can find me on discord @ cyanosiis!

@timberfins/@elijahharpermusic: I'm Eli, or Timber, and I'm providing music! The first podcast I remember falling in love with was Welcome To Night Vale, but my current favourite is probably Within The Wires (unless we're also including non-fiction, where it's competing with Lingthusiasm). I sing with the Anguilliform Chorus in Eeler's Choice, and you'll also hear me in two Law of Names productions: Season 4 of Breathing Space and the upcoming Waterlogged.

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Fuent, I am a MBA student trying to survive in this trying world. I am a huge nerd, and love to travel. I have been to over 14 different countries and plan to expand that number. I also host my own podcast as well. My first podcast that I listened to was Campfire Radio Theater, and my favorite podcast is Midnight burger. Currently I am a writer for the podjam and happy to be here.

What's your podcast about?

Solar-punk sci-fi with anti space-colonialism sentiments. It is the year 2072, the poles have melted and humanity has taken for the stars, except for the HOST, . To cope with being the only human on earth, they’ve decided to create a Radio Show where they broadcast music from various times and places of the world. One day someone finally calls to the radio station an ECOLOGIST, living on the skirt of the iztaccihuatl bearing news that the earth is healing. Together they embark on a quest for other humans that still live on planet earth, finding various communities and people, and begin to help the earth one day heal.

What are you most excited about in this event?

To collaborate with other creators in order to tell a story that is very dear to my heart.

Any advice for other participants, or those on the fence about joining?

Consult it with the pillow, but if come morning you discover that is just the nerves and impostor syndrome keeping you from participating, take that leap. At the end of the day, we are all just a bunch of people trying to tell stories the same as you.

This team is still looking for new members, adding: "We are currently looking for the ecologist voice actor. We are specifically looking for a chicane / mexican-american voice actor since we are writing the ecologist with an experience specific to said identity (don’t worry, you don’t need to know spanish or anything, as long as you have a connection with the ethnicity or identity, you are welcome to join!)"

If you're interested in joining their project, you can find their casting call here, or you can reach out in the Podcast Book Club Discord server. If you want to know more about the jam first, be sure to check out this post as well!

[prince-rowan-of-the-forest]

You wanted questions about your sides, so here's one or two!

What hobbies do they have? And what do they like to drink? :3

Also I LOVE all of your designs! Willow is my absolute favorite though omg

I did indeed!! Love talking about these silly guys!

Okay so easiest is Wisteria, who basically mirrors my own hobbies, fae mostly does art and writing, she also loves generally making things in the imagination and just hanging out in there. Fae will drink anything colourful, especially if it has a fun or interresting name.

Aspen likes to sing and dance to music they put on way too loud, ae listen to a whole lot of different music so it's always a surprise, she also likes to collect things (obv he can't do that in my head really so Wisteria sets up places Aspen can go in the imagination to collect things). She drinks a whole lot of monster energy, their favourite flavour is Monarch

Willow lovessss to dress up and try on different outfits. She loves shopping too (which Wisteria also sets up for her in the imagination), she also does a lot of makeup art and cosplay/costuming. She drinks all sorts of tea, mostly herbal/fruit/floral teas tho

Hazel likes reading and also enjoys writing - they also spend a whole lot of time listening to music and watching YouTube/TV/Movies. Hazel also has a load of plants they like to take care of. They also drink tea but like specifically English breakfast tea.

Juniper will do pretty much anything when there's another person involved, they're the go to side for a shared activity. They also love baking for everyone. They drink far too much pepsi.

Eden does not have many hobbies, she's very work oriented. She will read on occasion though and likes going down Wikipedia research rabbit holes. Probably drinks sparkling water or lemonade.

Sequoia's hobbies involve a lot of make believe, playing pretend etc, once again it's a lot of stuff that Wisteria sets up in the mindscape for them, Fae loves watching documentaries and informational type programmes. They like hot chocolate and warm milk.

Yew is a weird case, they don't really have any hobbies unless you count lying on the sofa and complaining. They live on the sofa. They definitely share Aspen's affinity for energy drinks lol.

Thank you so so much for asking this nxjsksks these were very fun to think about /gen

[thegrimreaperisanerd]

hii i have a maybe somewhat difficult question:

how do you go about writing all of the police/detective stuff? I have no knowledge at all about that except having played the game a few times and watching bbc sherlock back when that was a thing.

I have so many cool kimharry things in my mind that i need to get on paper but i don't know how to involve all the cop stuff in a natural way because i don't know anything about it and don't want it to be too wildly incorrect.

so yeah.. how do you even learn the things for this?

thank you so much i love your work

Quite a difficult question I won't lie...... But I've answered at length so it's going under a readmore

This isn't my favourite thing to discuss online as it can trigger my psychosis, but I have an actual dismaying amount of experience with cops. I don't want to talk about it but... Bit like Cuno I suppose. Good ending for that kid is doing public services training ages 14 - 16, and going "oh this is shit actually" once he's got an out from his abusive parent, then working at a restaurant

I quite literally cannot go into detail - so don't ask because I WILL delete this post - but an ex military police officer told us a "funny story" about a "prank" he played on some kids in an occupied location during the late 80s that I recognised as psychological torture, but made my peers laugh. So I decided to become a faggot and poet instead.

~NOW FOR THE FUN ADVICE THAT IS ACTUALLY OF USE TO YOU!

Research:

Honestly, the amount of time I spend looking up stuff for writing is probably more than the time I spend writing. The internet's being fucked by SEO but it's a start. Like... There's plenty of info out there written on the police and their role in systematic oppression, I'm pretty sure there's free PDFs floating around on Tumblr actually...

If it's more "day in the life" I honestly don't know. Maybe reddit or if there's one of those "Ex-[blank} reviews [blank] in movies" videos on Youtube for cops, but obviously take everything said with a pinch of salt.

FAYDE:

Fayde is the best tool at your disposal. We bully Kim a lot for his dedication to the RCM but that makes finding out info pretty easy. EDC too! I've never played with high EDC so just typing in key words (especially names of other officers to try and get character info) and scrolling through is helpful.

Good keywords are "precinct", "RCM", "Militicia" as they'll bring up opinions/ info from other characters.

The RCM is not a traditional police force:

I would worry less about accuracy and more about being interesting. It doesn't need to be a perfect representation of police work since the canon makes a point of there being a distinction in the powers and roles of the RCM. Go listen to the collapsing tenement cut content. You don't need to write about them filling in forms if it's not relevant. It'll show in your writing if you're unsure/ bored.

Make them worse:

If you're going to write one of the officers doing something shitty (yes, that includes Kim and Harry) but worry that you've gone too far then I promise you haven't. Dickheads are drawn to positions of power and the impunity it gives them. There's a reason I wrote one of the 57's officers as a groomer.

Make them less competent:

Don't trust the police, but also don't expect anything of them.

As recently as Monday I had to call for the fire brigade because a lit (thankfully poorly made) petrol bomb had been left under a neighbour's car (I live an irritatingly interesting life for somebody who lives in the middle of fucking nowhere) nobody was harmed. Cop came to find me afterwards to get an interview from me since I'd spotted it and he told me, I kid you not, "Yeah, we're not gonna do anything unless anything else happens." Like, I expected as much but I wasn't expecting him to up and fucking say that. You're welcome for 85% of my council tax, you fucking moron.

Harry's a special case because he's, like, psychic and got "maybe if I solve *THIS* one my wife will let me sleep in the big bed" disorder, and nobody wants to read a case fic that they... don't solve (or do they..? *winks*) But if you care about realism you need dick-in-hand dipshits. Another favourite quote of mine from an officer two years back; "Is 'right wing' the good one or the bad one?" So the advice here is you're writing a cop well if you're reading it and thinking: holy shit please just go work at a TESCOs instead.

Don't worry so much:

You should write, first and foremost, for yourself. I like detective fiction, I have wasted an unfortunate amount of my life dealing with police due to my job and shit childhood. (I did originally write far more about this, but frankly it's better for myself if I don't bother. That's why it's taken me five days to answer this)

I've read/ watched a lot of detective fiction and I'm always more drawn to stuff that is less based in police work. Private investigators, investigative journalists, kid detectives like Nancy Drew, ect.

In particular my favourite book, perhaps of all time, is called Hideaway by Dean Koontz and is two fathers (one: the killer's father - a talented doctor who brought his shithead son back to life - and another, the doctor's most recent patient to be brought back from the brink who has developed a psychic link with the killer as a result) trying to stop him, but never actually meeting! It's one hell of a read if you need inspo.

Val McDermott is a good author for crime writing with less police input, too. She has a book called Killing The Shadows which is excellent. The Killer's motive is taking out crime writers who've romanticised psychological profilers after he was wrongly convicted. Fair enough! Until he starts... Killing about it? Sort of defeats the message... Anyway, what's fun about this book is that before each crime writer is killed (in the same way they wrote THEIR killers killing!! Love that) you get to read the first chapter of each writer's most famous work. So you are essentially getting six crime books in one (first chapter of at least) ...Also the main character's husband is a crime writer called Kit, which I've only remembered just double checking the book name now. Lol???

...This is just turning into me recommending books.

TLDR: write what you know, write what is fun, ACAB, don't even worry about it

[roryonic]

Tag Game Wednesday Thursday!

Thank you for the tags @spookygingerr @creepkinginc @doshiart and @jrooc

how did you get into the fandom?

Well, I was heavily obsessed with Wolfstar, then I saw a TikTok edit of another cute gay couple....and the rest is history.

how long have you been here?

A little bit over a year now.

what’s the first fandom channel you found? (Youtube, Reddit, Tumblr, Insta, Twitter, FB, other?)

TikTok

what’s your favourite now?

Tik to the Tok

which mutual have you known the longest in the fandom?

Probably @rayrayor. Rach was in the trenches in the comment section on one of my fics <3

which tumblerino’s did you have your first fandom crush(es) on?

Mmm, no one? I was oblivious to other people. Now? Might have a couple of crushes 👀

first Gallavich fan fic you read (or that blew you away that you remember)

Don't remember the first one, and I generally don't read a lot of fics 😶

fan art that blew your mind?

Probably @gallapiech's of one of mine. No one's ever done that before.

fanfic trope that you were sure wasn’t for you but now you low key (or high key) love?

Anything involving Yevgeny. Then, I wrote one myself and goddamn I love that kid like my own now hahah

what surprised you most about the fandom?

The friendliness and safety.

moment in the show (or YT vids if you’re one of those) that you fell in love with Gallavich?

Probably "I want the gun back, Mickey."

"Gallagher?"

Ian or Mickey?

Why choose when they come in the same package?

which Gallagher or Milkovich are you?

Don't think I'm any of them tbh

Tagging @spacerockwriting @rayrayor @bawlbrayker @transmurderbug @lee-ow

@transmickey @stocious (if you've done this already, then ignore <3)

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay-adjacent Visuals: Jack's Lament

Can you feel me practically vibrating out of my skin???

On one hand, I'm a little sad because this is the last video I'll probably be making a post about for a while (though by the time you see this, Geoff might have uploaded a new video that I can actually talk about the visuals for (EDIT from future me: he did!), and if so, you'll be seeing a post for that one tomorrow), but on the other hand, this is my third (though in no particular order/ranking) favourite Geoff video on his channel so far, and I am so excited to finally be able to make a post for it!

Geoff's cover of Jack's Lament debuted on the 8th of October, 2023, though I didn't see it pop up in my YouTube recommended until the 29th (if you remember from my Hellfire post, I wasn't initially subscribed to Geoff or Voiceplay, and both channels somehow ended up dropping off my radar for a while. Jack's Lament was the first from either channel that I had seen in at least a year, and as soon as I saw that thumbnail, I knew it was going to be amazing, but oh my GOD it was even better (and with me stumbling upon Hellfire the very next day, well let's just say I was pulled even deeper down the Geoff/Voiceplay rabbithole than I had been the first time around 😅).

Anyway, I'm not sure if I'll hit image limit on this one, or how much actual commentary I may have, but regardless, let's freaking go!

One hell of an opening shot, not gonna lie. Geoff's very-skeletal-looking hands playing the piano (in a beautiful way, might I add), immediately sets a very spooky/eerie vibe!

And this is one hell of an establishing shot! I mean goddamn there is a lot to take in here! Though one thing I will point out (that I actually only just noticed myself ^^;) is the Haunted Mansion headstone on the left, memorialising Madame Leota!

(Also shoutout to Pattycake Production Studios where this was filmed!)

I of course have to give a MASSIVE shoutout and kudos to Rick Underwood for the makeup job in this one, like holy christ he really outdid himself here! (and I can't thank him enough)

Ngl, if I don't come up with any other ideas between now and October, then I kinda wanna dress as "Jack Skellington Geoff" (Geoff Caskellington? 🤔), makeup and all (or just attempt the face makeup at least)

And seriously take a look at his hands! If it weren't for the super-high-definition closeup of his hands on the piano at the start, you'd be forgiven for thinking those are just really well-fitting gloves, but nope! An amazing airbrush job from Mr Underwood!

Also, if you look at his neck and chest in both this image and the previous one, you'll notice that he's got airbrushing going on there too, highlighting (or more accurately, shading) his ribs and other bones!

Finally, on the subject of the body paint job, if you've been paying attention to some of my other Geoff posts (and some of my Voiceplay posts), you might notice what's missing...

No necklace, and no rings! Had to remove them for costume/makeup/character purposes, rip. Must have felt a bit weird without them, but all that paint must have felt weird too, so maybe the weird feelings cancelled each other out? 😅

(His acting in this is of course 10/10 👌)

This video is one that I do actually know involved Geoff deliberately colouring his hair to make it grey, and it still looks as lovely as ever!

(Also this picture is a better one to check out the airbrushed detailing on his chest! (if you're gonna leave a couple of shirt buttons undone and your chest exposed, might as well take advantage of it! 😁))

The "moon" in this video is apparently just some big spotlight with a moon cover on it or something? Apparently you can fairly easily find them online or something, and you can in fact see the pole it's attached to underneath in this image here, but you likely wouldn't notice the pole if you weren't looking for it, and the usage of the moon is 100% perfect! (I've seen/heard one or two people wishing the moon was yellow like in the movie, but eh, it probably wouldn't have fitted the overall colour scheme of the video as much)

I had to include the "jumpscare" of course I had to! 😁

Also I can't get any good screencaps of it, but the way Geoff shifts from sombre on "a longing that I've never known," to more theatric/dramatic on "I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light" is so good, and the acting/choreography is absolute chefs kiss

"Bonjour!"

(For those of you not familiar with the original, the line "and I'm know throughout England and France" is part of the original song, but the "bonjour!" bit is not 😆)

A Geoff head not connected to the body! It's happened again! 😂

Also it's cool the way Geoff is quickly jumping/flashing from one point to another, reminds me of his Headless Horseman video

"No animal, nor man, can SCREAM like I can!"

What can I say, it's a very cool effect! Really ups the "oomph" factor of the little belt moment!

Tiny pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns in his eyes!!

"But who here, would ever understand..."

(I'm not even at half the maximum image limit yet, so I'm 100% just throwing in an extra screencap (or two) just because 😁)

Geoff pats the side of his leg to call for Zero the ghost dog, just in in the scene in the movie! (Also shoutout to Kathy, who I believe helped with puppeteering for this bit?)

"...that the pumpkin king, with the skeleton grin,"

(Freaking obsessed with this video, I tell ya!)

"The fame and praise, come year after year, does nothing for these empty tears"

This is the last shot before we see the gramophone logo (a very gorgeous shot btw), but there's a little bit of a bonus bit for those who stick around for the Patron credits!!

It starts to snow! Like at the end of the movie! It's a sign of hope and good things to come! <3

The original song is good for the movie, sure, but Geoff's cover feels like it has so much more depth (in more ways than one!) and emotion! And his vocal range is ugh god absolutely stunning and mindblowing! I cannot get enough, can never get enough!

But anyway, I hope you've been enjoying my Voiceplay/Voiceplay-adjacent posts! If there are any videos I've skipped over that you actually would like me to make a post on, please let me know! (And don't worry, I am planning to do all the 2017-onwards Christmas videos for both channels eventually - maybe as a Christmas In July thing?) I'm typing this on the 22nd of February, and if Voiceplay uploads a video in March that I wanna make a post on (nope), well you reading this will have already seen that post, and if Geoff uploads something in March that I wanna talk about (he did), then you'll see that post tomorrow (you will!). But otherwise, thanks for reading!

[samantitheos]

Tag Game Wednesday

Thank you @juliakayyy @jrooc and @skylerwinchester for tagging me. <3

Name: sam.

Age: older than cam, younger than noel—that perfect sweet spot.

star sign: capricorn.

your first language: english.

second language: the education system (and my parents) failed me. i can kinda read latin,  i guess.

favourite lip product: blistex or maybelline baby lips.

the best food dish you can make without a recipe: sicilian meatloaf or this bacon-wrapped chicken breast dish with cream cheese filling.

If you drink tea, what kind?  black tea with a bit of honey.

If you drink coffee, what roast do you usually get? medium.

favourite thing to watch on youtube right now:  nothing? tho i do use it to play the lord of the rings trilogy soundtrack or best of hans zimmer when i’m working. 🤓

favourite thing to watch on youtube in 2012: guns n’ roses music videos probably lol.  

favourite item of clothing right now: since starting to work from home, definitely my mint green sweatpants and fuzzy slippers.

favourite item of clothing in 2012: based on my pictures from that year i wore this electric yellow tank top A LOT.

[please enjoy the super grainy quality and raging phallic energy]

fandom

three movies you recommend: life as a house, gladiator, the girl with the dragon tattoo (original swedish version with subtitles).

your favourite concert: i’m gonna cheat and say warped tour 2004.

have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion? lmaooooo the great mickey crop top controversy of 2019 (yes).

have you ever left a fandom because of the fans? i’ve only really been involved in the shameless fandom, but hearing about the fans in other fandoms (e.g., ofmd) has discouraged me from trying to get involved in them.

the best tv show you watched last year: daisy jones and the six, interview with the vampire, ted lasso.

do you have a fancasting you just can’t let go of? would loved to have seen tom hardy as james bond and would still love to see cam in a live-action hercules.

a ship you’ve abandoned: well this is before i knew what “shipping” was, but kate and sawyer on lost (he deserved better—and got it).

on a scale of 1-10 how willing are you to share your ao3 history? “ok, but just let me explain…”

do you have a fandom tattoo? (do you want one?) no, and if i got anything i would want it to be very subtle. i’ve thought about getting a serif dash on my left middle finger…

what fandom do you wish was bigger? i don’t really wish the shameless fandom was bigger, but i do wish the fic writing community was as big as it was a few years ago.

has a finale ever ruined a show for you? how i met your mother. absolute trash ending.

have you…

swam in an ocean? yes! and scuba certified. i did underwater archaeology for a few years. ever been vegan/vegetarian? no. gone skinny dipping? once. gone skiing? yes, but not since high school. been to a convention? only the boring academic kind.

Tagging @astaraels @crossmydna @deathclassic @darlingian @ian-galagher @krysmiss @lonelygallavich @palepinkgoat @sickness-health-all-that-shit @transmickey @heymrspatel @stocious @callivich @gallawitchxx <333

[cryptidsurveys]

Sunday, December 29th, 2024.

Emoji Questions Part 1🤣🎁🤗🟢

😀 what makes you smile? Falling asleep or waking up to rain or snow. My kitties and the kitties at the animal shelter. Silly conversations with my mom or dad. When one of my favorite YouTubers posts a new video. Joking around with people at the shelter. Gestures of kindness. Baking, especially when the final product turns out well. Yummy foods. Videos that Ollie sends to me. Pointing out the random "landmarks" on the way to the Mountain Park. Etc.

🥹 what trend can you just not understand? I can "understand" most trends. I can even "understand" what drives people to clamor over and fight one another to acquire the latest most popular item. Does that mean I'm going to participate? Probably not. At the very least, you won't see me yanking a Stanley out of a little ol' granny's gnarled hands. ;D

🥲 when was the last time you cried? I don't remember the last time I full-on cried. But one of the times I teared up recently involved a video of a rescue cat. He started off so hissy and scared, but over the course of the video, he gradually came around and started to trust and cuddle with his new owner. Very heartwarming.

☺️ do you use a lot of innuendos? Lol, today someone said over the radio, "Can someone grab Tucker's balls?" (Or ball? Maybe just one ball, but I heard the plural form, and I was instantly 12 years old.)

😇 what was the last good deed you did? Idk about the last good deed I did, but Natasha did something quite nice for me earlier today. I had balanced Millie's litterbox on one of the trash cans so I could scoop it out in a bit, and idk if she bumped it or if it just happened to fall in, but she was like, "Oh, was that your litterbox?" I said it was (seriously no biggie - it's a relatively common occurrence because we're often balancing them like that), and she cleaned it out and filled it with fresh litter for me. :')

😍 what celebrities or public figures do love/admire? Some of my favorite YouTubers. Especially when they're around my own age or younger because I'm just like daaang. Imagine if I had focused my energy like that instead of doing goodness only knows what random shit with my time. Just amazing to see someone delve so deeply into their interests and passions and create such quality content.

😛 are you quite a goofy person? Yeah. Especially around other equally goofy people. Sometimes a goofiness feedback loop is created and some serious nonsense ensues. Oh, what the video camera in cattery has seen…

🧐 what are you really fascinated in? Outer space, the whole history of the Earth and how it developed into what it is today, human history, megalithic architecture, paranormal phenomena, religions and the concept of God, etc.

🥳 what was the last thing you celebrated? Christmas. Kinda. I didn't really do anything on the day-of; it was more like little acknowledgements of the holiday season all along the way.

😠 what makes you really angry? When people say certain things and I don't have the guts or social finesse to speak up so I just have to stew about it.

🤬 when did you last swear? Earlier.

🤗 who was the last person you hugged? My dad.

🤭 are you easily embarrassed? Yeah.

🤢 when was the last time you were sick? My gastrointestinal issues have abated somewhat over the past few days, but I've been struggling on and off since shortly after Thanksgiving. As for the last time I was sick with something "catchy," I had Covid in early 2023 and then an approximately month-long bout of the sniffles in autumn of 2023.

👻 do you believe in ghosts? I'm not sure. I guess I believe in the possibility enough for spooky stories to be entertaining.

💀 do you believe in aliens? Sure. I think there's probably alien life out there somewhere.

🎃 do you celebrate Halloween? Do you enjoy it? I actually decorated a bit and handed out candy this year! I was anxious to start but ended up loving it. That's usually the case.

👍 what are some of your favourite things? Meandering chats with my dad, visiting the Mountain Park, listening to classical music while toodling along in my car, the darkness of winter, autumn leaves, coziness, feeling a sense of accomplishment, making art, coffee, baked goods and chocolate, laughing uncontrollably, that feeling when someone just gets you, going out to eat or a seeing a film with my mom, etc.

👎 what can instantly make you dislike someone? If I'm stopped at a turn and you honk yer horn at me to GO when I can't really GO because there's someone just around the corner in the middle of the road hooking up their car to be towed. Like, I'm not sitting here for no reason, dude. But I'll go. And then you'll see… ;D Okay, now that I got that out of my system, on a more serious note…my opinion can actually flip over relatively small things. My brain can be frustratingly "all or nothing." Knowing that, I try to keep things in perspective, but that doesn't necessarily stop my emotions from roller-coastering all over the place.

🦶whats your shoe size? Eight.

🫀 do you have a big heart or love and trust only a select few? I guess I have a fairly big heart, but I still only genuinely love and trust a few people.

👩‍⚕️ what did you last go to the doctor for?

👰‍♀️ do you want to get married one day? Yeah.

👩‍🍼 do you want to be a parent one day? No.

💅 do you paint your nails? If so, what colour? Not in recent years.

👚 what does your shirt look like that’s on you now? It's a dark blue t-shirt that says "[0] days without sarcasm."

👖 what does your bottom wear look like? Dark blue sweats.

🩴 what about footwear? Slippers with rustic design.

💍 what jewellery are you wearing? Snakebites and an Italian charm bracelet.

👜 do you have a handbag or a bag you carry around with you? What does it look like? I have a light gray backpack for the animal shelter + Mountain Park and a smaller black bag for shorter outings.

🕶️ do you wear glasses? When I drive or need to see a distant menu.

🐶 what’s your favourite bread of dog? I don't have a favorite breed.

🐱 do you like cats? Do you prefer them from dogs? Love cats. I do prefer them to dogs.

🦁 do you think you’re a brave person? I guess it's relative. I've definitely been brave in the context of my own life. I've faced things that have all but literally scared the shit out of me.

🐦 what’s your favourite kind of bird? Not sure. Maybe hawks, doves, or geese (well, maybe not geese up close, but watching them migrate).

🐴 Have you ever rode a horse? Yeah.

🐝 Have you been stung by a bee or wasp before? Once by a wasp when I was a baby and twice by bees as a child.

🪱 have you ever held a snake? Many snakes.

🕷️ are you scared of spiders? They still make me a bit anxious, but I'm much less afraid of them than I used to be.

🦀 have you ever ate crab? Yeah.

🦈 have you swam with dolphins? No.

🐏 have you fed a baby lamb? No.

🌳 what’s your favourite type of tree? Pine.

🪴 how many potted plants do you have? Zero.

🍄 do you like mushrooms? I don't mind them.

🌷 what’s your favourite type of flower? Idk.

🌞 what temperature do you enjoy it to be the most outside? Coooold.

🌚 do you prefer the full moon or a partial moon? Idk but the crescent moon over the pink sunrise clouds was really pretty the other day.

🌎 How much Geography knowledge do you have? You do NOT want to know what ridiculous things my brain does with geography. Similarly, idk why I constantly picture Jupiter as BLUE even when I know it's not...????

💫 Have you ever seen a shooting star? Yeah.

[dazedandinked]

Steddie fic recs (2/?)

Part 1

In the last six month I've read, saved and commented an alarming amount of Steddie fics. I finally feel ready to share some of my favorite so far with all of you because I think all the authors deserve kudos and new readers!

I'm not much of a writer, but I hope you'll like my suggestions. Feel free to RB, leave comments and recs for me.

This second part took me a while, but hey I made it!

Buckle up, this time we have: some very good famous Steddie au, one of my fav Punk Steve fics ever, a very sweet coffee shop au and some LARP!

I have a lot of regrets about that by @hairmetal666

The thing is: I just finished reading "Daisy Jones & The Six" (which I strongly rec) and my scrolling brought me to this fic. It's destiny, there's no other explaination.

I really enjoyed the interview writing style, it's nice to get multiple POVs about the events. The feelings and the pain between Steve and Eddie are so sincere it broke my heart in a few moments.

The ending is just delicious to me.

***

New York Hardcore by @grandmastattoo

Before adding a short comment, I'd like to underline the fact that this specific is quite intense - or it was for me.

Ok, so. I'm not sure where to start with this fic - and the whole series. I really enjoy Punk!Steve in every shape and color, but this fic has something that really left me so raw and tender.

***

The pain and grief are described magnificently, the images are so powerful. The healing process is long and complex but oh, so freeing to read. I love Steve being a weirdo, loving with abandon and without restraints.

Kudos to the author because they did their research and it shows: there are a lot of great references to places and music. The punk in this fic is so real, not some pop punk stuff!

Red Eye by @alinafewwords

This fic is still in progress. Not everyone reads incomplete fics, but I do and I felt the need to rec this one.

I think I mentioned this before, but I'm a modern au avid reader.

I really *love* this particular coffee shop au because it's the right mix of fluff and caffeine that keeps me alive. I particularly enjoyed the growth of Eddie and Steve's friendship, the soft intimacy surrounding their moments together. Also, the spicy six get to be there and there a good amount of buckingham, which is definetely a lovely plus.

***

The Shire in NOT on Fire by @kissesforcas

Is there someone out there who hasn't read this fic and loved it? I don't think so.

The idea of the Party joining a Reinfaire and LARP event is just so nice, I always love reading about them having a good time together - no trauma involved.

The idea of Steve and Robin being exposed to a whole world they don't know is just really funny, with all the costumes and roleplaying involved. Everything concerning Steve trying to resist Baby Byers when it comes to convince him to do whatever the Party asks him makes me cackle. I couldn't resist that puppy face either.

The plot is fun, the pining is delicious, the smut is even more delicious.

You don't know this fic already? Well, hop on the train right now!

***

Slither by @mixsethaddams

This fic is still in progress. Not everyone reads incomplete fics, but I do and I felt the need to rec this one.

Also, I didn't really mind the tag before reading because the themes don't really trigger me. However, it may not be your cup of tea.

I must admit, it took a while for me to start this fic because the setting isn't one of my usual au choices. I don't really read influencer/youtuber aus, but this fic was a blast - I couldn't put my phone down!

I loved reading about Eddie and Steve's blossoming weird friendship, and the PLOT! Like, I didn't expect the many heavy subjects to be described in such a different-but-insightful way (altought the author did a great job mentioning all of them, mind the tags guys and don't be like me).

Chrissy is probably my favourite so far, I love her, Eddie and Gareth being a team!

Finally, AUTHOR I FINISHED CH8 AND HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE LOVE LAUGH IN THIS CONDITION.

That said, see you next part guys!

Daze

[concubi-thoughts]

ALL OF THEM!!!!!!!!

ASSHOLE MAKING ME DO EM ALL. Under the cut so people don't gotta see a huge post lmao.

1. do you personally identify as a lee, ler or switch? what about tickling makes you feel one or the other?

Oh I'm a pure switch, I'll bounce off what someone else is feeling. But also I'm a sadist so give me an ounce of weakness and you're dead.

2. have you ever been tickled irl? was it by accident or on purpose?

Many times on purpose, I need it or I'll die.

3. would you prefer punishment or reward tickles?

Punishment by a LONG shot, it's way hotter and I'm a dickhead so I'll probably annoy you enough to cause it.

4. what kind of teasing gets to you most/what kind of teasing is your favorite to dish out?

As a lee, anything degrading really. It fucks with my head and makes it way worse. As a ler, I looooove pointing out how helpless and sensitive you are, mapping your spots and making sure you know I know them.

5. what does it take to make you flustered about tickling?

I'm generally not the most expressive person? So the fact that I'm laughing and I can't fucking stop it is really embarrassing and flustering when I'm usually so put together.

6. are you easily able to admit you like it?

No. If you try make me admit it ill try to bite you.

7. have you ever told someone outside of this community about tickling?

Lmao yes, once or twice by accident and also ill tell people if I'm drunk and they ask about kinks.

8. what's your favorite thing about being tickled/tickling someone?

Being tickled? The loss of control, how good the sensation feels. Tickling someone? The power trip, seeing what cute noises I can get out of them, testing each and every spot till I've mapped you out.

9. what's your laugh like?

Description from my boyfriend @suggestivevibes : "Well sometimes if it’s lighter stuff it’s all breathy and if I’m being squeezy and squishy it’s really giggly! But my favourite is when I get a really bad spot and you have to bury your head into the pillow cause you’re laughing so hard and it’s very cute!".

10. favorite spot to be tickled/to tickle?

Uhhhhhh. Nobody look. Love my thighs cause they're the worst. To tickle, tummy or underarms.

11. lees, would you prefer to be tied up or free in a session? lers, would you prefer a lee tied up or free in a session?

As a lee I'm big on being totally helpless. The tighter I'm tied up the better. As a ler, I love having someone tied and helpless but I also fuckin looooooove manhandling someone and tickling them till they're weak.

12. if you could be tickled by/tickle anyone (real or a fictional character!) who would you choose?

Fearne Calloway from Critical Role, easy answer.

13. wake up or before bed tickles?

Wake up.

14. do you like being teased? do you like dishing out teasing?

Is it even tickling if there's no teasing involved tbh??

15. who's someone in this community that you would love to meet or get to know better?

Uhhhhhh I've def enjoyed chatting to @tk-j lately! And @jordanswitches seems super cool and I love their blog so hey shout out to you, free promo lmao

16. do you have any uncommon spots/have you ever discovered any on someone else? where was it?

Uhhhhh collarbones is one. Also palms of my hands and between my thumb and forefinger lmao.

17. do you remember how old you were when you first realized you liked tickling?

God pretty young I'd say. I remember watching scenes on YouTube that I'd seen on tv from a young age. Probably around 12 when I realised it was a kink?

18. how comfortable are you with talking about tickling? why do you feel that way?

Definitely a lot more comfortable now! But I will still be faux angry about having to admit anything to do with it lmao.

19. what's your personal worst spot? what's your favorite "death spot" you'd wreck someone with?

Not that it's anyone's business nor should they use this against me, but right at the top of my inner thighs will make me scream bloody murder. Funnily enough that's ALSO my fav spot on others, thighs are just good.

20. are there any spots you personally find underrated? where are they?

Oh behind the knees easy. Everyone I've tried it on freaks the fuck out and it's so little talked about.

22. soft cuddly tickles or rough more intense tickles?

Both have their place, I love both! Rn while I'm cozy in bed, soft and playful. If I'm horny then obviously intense as me or my lee can handle lmao.

23. are there any tickle scenes you've seen that have stuck with you? what were they from?

I remember as a kid being FASCINATED by science shows that investigated tickling, none specific I remember but I'd play em in my head on loop.

24. upper or lower body tickles?

Is middle an option? Thighs and hips? Probably upper lmao.

25. is there's a specific position you'd like to be tickled in/tickle someone in? why that position in particular?

For me I'd love to be in like an x frame or some shit, whatever can hold me down best. But I would LOVE to have someone in stocks, they're by far the hottest bondage device.

26. do you have any "unpopular opinions" about tickling that you'd like to share?

Oh so many I'm a hater at heart. But to not go full hater lmao I'll say that I LOVE when a lee has body hair. It's hot as fuck and ill immediately tickle wherever it is.

28. is it difficult for you to be put in a lee/ler/ switch mood? what can make you feel that way?

No its the easiest thing in the world. If you wanna put me in a lee mood a vaguely detailed tease will do it. As a ler, if I see an exposed tickle spot I'm frothing at the mouth.

29. do you ever have tickle dreams? do you remember any that you've had if so?

All the fuckin time and then I wake up in a mood lmao. I think the most recent was being stuck hanging from something and below me something was tickling me to make me fall.

30. are you a fan of the idea of tools? which ones would you be up to trying if you are?

Oh I love the idea of tools, wish I had more. The temptation to buy that custom made tickle tool thing I keep seeing.........

31. AND FINALLY. do you believe in the tickle monster? what do you think they look like/appear as?

Idk but if some creature that can change it's shape to best tickle me to insanity DOES exist and isn't getting me rn then it's a bitch.

[olderthannetfic]

Been getting back into Star Trek after binge-watching it with my dad as a kid, and stumbled across the - ahem - "encounter" between Data and the Borg queen in Star Trek: First Contact. (I really didn't remember those scenes like this lmao.)

Soo, being a Data fan who does find him very aesthetically pleasing, I went to look for shippy fanfics involving those characters, and I gotta say, I was really surprised to find a total of 3 fanfics on AO3 that have their tag, and also just a few on FFnet, and none on a fanfic site in my language (then again searching stuff there is a fucking nightmare because people really aren't too great at tagging stuff accurately).

I hope this doesn't come across as whiny and complain-y, I will probably write about them at some point, once I'm past starting a new semester at university and have more time.

Basically just came here to say that I am quite surprised that there are such few fanfics about them (or that I'm just too stupid to find more, which is very likely lol), since they're technically temporarily canon, and I wonder if it's just because of the context and its kinda sorta dubious consent or if it just happens to not be on that many people's minds and there not being too many people who like the ship enough to write about it. (I am guessing the latter, since I also don't write about stuff that I don't think about heh.)

(Then again, I do tend to ship rarepairs and often pairs that are considered problematic for whatever reason, and where shippers get shit for shipping and writing fanfics. Though I don't know if this particular pairing is considered terribly problematic or not. Have read youtube comments on their scenes, and many people there absolutely despised their scenes and found it disgusting that there weren't more comments saying the scenes were disgusting lol. Also, kinda unrelated, but one of my favourite ships is Hotch/Reid from Criminal Minds, and I just recently read that there are quite some people on reddit who hate that ship because "bla healthy father figure bla - he's his dad not his daddy - bla" and use nasty words to describe shippers, but I am very glad that there are lots of fun fanfics for these two nonetheless, ha! :D)

Sorry for babbling for so long, it's half past one, and I should stop rambling at your inbox and get some sleep. Have a nice day/night!

--

Ahahaha. No, it being problematic is not why.

It's far, far more likely there's none (or none that's easily findable) because the bulk of the fandom activity around TNG was around later seasons of the show. Maybe the Riker/Troi and Crusher/Picard shippers were more into early seasons, IDK. But a sequel movie that lots of people didn't even like or didn't even see is not going to be the source of the big ships in a TV fandom.

On top of that, a lot of the shipping patterns get set relatively early in a fandom. Sometimes, a character shows up later and changes the fandom a lot (Methos, Castiel), but often, many fans stick with how they saw things towards the beginning of canon.

Adding to that is the fact that the number of fic writers in 1996 was vastly smaller than now. Spaces also weren't always set up to accommodate rarepairs or rare fandoms. A lot of archives and lists were topic-specific, and that topic could be one single juggernaut ship.

If there was fic, I suppose it was probably on Usenet or a mailing list. The great era of fannish archives was in the 00s. This movie came out in 1996. Perhaps we even grabbed a relevant list in our attempts to save yahoo groups' data, but it's definitely not going to still be up with an easily googleable set of contents.

[snootlestheangel]

For Bryn and Bailey

What is a weird superstition of theirs? Knock on wood? Don't walk under ladders? Etc.

Tell me about a one-off conversation you had with a stranger a long time ago. Why do you still remember this conversation?

Have you ever had a recurring dream? What was it about? How did it make you feel? What do you think it meant?

What YouTube channels do you subscribe to? If you don’t watch YouTube, what type of videos would you watch if you did?

What words or phrases do they overuse?

How do they display affection?

What kind of jokes gets them ugly laughing?

If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?

Describe their best friend.

What smells remind them of their childhood?

Are they fight, flight, or freeze?

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be?

What place would they most like to visit?

Are they kind of person to squish a spider/bug or take it outside?

What was the last lie they told?

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning?

What is their favourite fairytale?

I thought I sent these last night. Oopsie daisy. Hope you enjoy these too!

• Bryn has a lucky rabbits foot she takes with her everywhere. She got it from her grandmother and there's just something about having it that comforts her. Bailey is a big cross your fingers type person.

• Bryn, when starting her military career, had a conversation with a superior officer that so happened to be a woman as well. The officer gave her some advice for dealing with military men and it was just a very genuine "girls helping girls" conversation. Bryn still uses the woman's tricks to this day. Bailey once had an incident where she had been made fun of by her peers for knowing an obscure fact. It's kinda the reason she initially hides her intelligence in the form of just not talking about the things she knows.

• Bryn has a recurring dream that involves Price. Just him romancing her over and over. Poor Bailey currently isn't having very many dreams, and a common element in her nightmares is one of the guys in the survivor group that abused her during the quarantine.

• Bryn watches a lot of show and movie review videos. Videos that criticize/generally review movies. I can't think of a specific channel right now but yeah. Bailey actually watches a lot of video game playthroughs and such. Big fan of Markiplier.

• Bryn is constantly repeating "lord have mercy" under her breath. She grew up in a religious Southern family and that phrase is just part of who she is now. Bailey is constantly saying "okie-dokie"

• Bryn isn't always the most physically affectionate, so she shows her affection by asking things like "have you eaten? How much water have you drank today?" Those sorts of things. Bailey is very much "must hold your hand at all times" but she also constantly gives out random facts of things she thinks the person of her affections would like. It sometimes comes off a bit weird (either the fact itself is weird or the circumstances are awkward) but it's meant in a "I think about you constantly so here's this thing I learned because I love learning and I want to share it with you"

• Bryn is a big fan of puns. Terrible dad jokes will never not get her laughing. Bailey laughs pretty easily at most things, so it's hard to say what exactly gets her laughing the hardest. But for her it's probably more physical comedy accompanied with a snarky comment.

• Bryn would change her laugh. She's actually very self conscious about her little snort laugh. Bailey would change her eyes. She'd want to be rid of the permanent dark circles around her eyes.

• Bryn's best friend is a sassy nurse named Maya. She's loud and talkative and all around kind of a wild person but can be serious when necessary. Bailey's best friend was an extrovert who treated everyone with kindness. They were kind of the outcasts in their class, but they had so much in common that it didn't really matter. I kind of want Bailey to make a new bestie that happens to be like Gaz's younger cousin or something

• Bryn is reminded of her childhood by the scent of bread baking, cigarette smoke, and French vanilla. Bailey thinks of her childhood through the scent of a campfire, Fruit Loops cereal, and honeysuckle perfume that her grandmother used

• Bryn is fight. Bailey is freeze.

• Bryn is saving her cat. Bailey is saving her stuffed horse she's had almost her entire life.

• Bryn would love to go to France. Bailey wants to go to every national park she can.

• Bryn would take a bug outside. Bailey is terrified of creepy crawlies and is making someone else deal with it. She'd probably smush it though

• Bryn's last lie was "I'm fine". Bailey's last one was "I'm okay, it was just a bad dream"

• Bryn lays out her work clothes for the next couple of days. Bailey grumbles at having to go to school (hey new school is scary especially when you're not from the country)

• Bryn's favorite is probably Beauty and the Beast. Bailey's is something like the original Little Mermaid tale.

[rainbowpixiecat]

Getting back into Tumblr

Been meaning to for a long time now. I've been away for several years. Probably a lot, actually. I lost track of time. But yeah, I'm making an effort to get back into this site and all the things I love on here. Once I get new fanart of characters, I'll share it! I'm kinda broke cause I'm unemployed rn but I know some artists who'll let ya do payment plans, so that's my backup plan for now. And I plan to cut back on the rps and spend time focusing on finishing all those ABDL/emeto WIPs I have saved on my computer and Google docs. Right now, I'm really obsessed about Nightwing/Dick Grayson and the Batfam. I am watching a dub on YouTube of the Wayne Family Adventures comics and I wanna buy them, they're so good. The VAs for that are brill btw. ^w^ I'm still obsessed with Fresh from Worldview and Homestuck and Undertale as well. I seem to be finding new things to add to my list of things/characters to obsess over and be inspired by and love. Umm, oh, I found some amazingly well written fanfictions on AO3 by user alchemistsarego. My absolute favourites so far are Shaking in Your Arms Tonight and Connected. So FUCKING GOOOOD! Ha ha, definitely go give them a read if you love cute sick boys and the Batfam. <3 I sent their writer a couple messages asking if they do commissions (God, I so hope they do...) Cause I am thirsty for more of their writing and I already read all the Dick Grayson emeto fics I could find. XD Umm, what else...well, my emeto server is a thing! I've been trying to be more active on there lately too. And it's slowly growing. ^_^ I'm so happy. It's a safe place for anyone who loves emeto to come enjoy it. I came up with 2 new Mushi inspired sicknesses based on Mushi-Shi (I love that series). Of course they involve vomit. It's me. X3 Oh and I'm trying to limit the amount of rps I'm in. I visit Gaia Online and Neopets daily, as well as Discord. I'm also on Diapered Anime and Daily Diapers. I email Ah Bagels every now and then. Just sent one the other day, actually n' waiting to hear back, ahehe! Oh and I'm totally into Momma CQ and Worldview by Alaina Prana. They are awesome comics. Go check 'em out and give her all the love. <33

[cq-studios]

20, 15 and 3 please :3

3. a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

The fandom has helped me appreciate so many characters way more than I did initially but I’ll have to say the most drastic is Kairi. 100% Kairi.

Like when I got into KH I kinda just branded her as bland anime girl love interest with nothing going for her (which is a mindset I’ve been working hard to get out of and I’m confident I’ve made progress in) but the fandom actually helped me see there was more to her than that. And I know in a lot of situations it ends up being the opposite but learning about the evidence for and shipping Soriku (specifically Violet Howler and Tennelle’s videos) actually helped me understand and like her more. Taking her out and away from this ‘fated’ romance with Sora for a bit actually helped me see the traits that I otherwise would have dismissed. Because her not wanting Sora to leave her behind (because she’s in love with him) became her not wanting Sora to leave her behind (because she’s afraid of change, because she’s scared he’s going to drift away like Riku did, because she doesn’t want to become an afterthought) and other stuff that I could probably write more about if I wasn’t half asleep rn lol

I think part of the issue is that I have a sort of negative knee jerk to straight romantics relationships because they’re so often poorly written or I just don’t connect to them because I’m Ace/Aro and I already have a hard time connecting to any romance in general (queer stuff is easier for me to connect to because it’s representation and it feels like a victory when it happens) and that leads me to just sort of write off both characters who are involved as boring to me (for a long time I wasn’t really a huge fan of Sora either, which feels insane to say now lol).

Sora was saved a bit faster just because of his sheer amount of screen time and focus. I hope Kairi will get a chance to shine in a future game, and that opinion is mostly because the fandom helped shine a light on the things I missed that make her a character.

15. the character that always makes you smile

See it’d be cheating to say all of the NULs (like, man, I love those guys so much, but y’all know, you’re here) so I’ll switch it up today and say Xion. I love her so much. And I mean, I think literally in my last post I was gushing about her, but you know sometimes I just have to talk about Xion. I feel like I don’t talk about Xion enough. Like, she always makes me so happy (except when everything goes wrong at the end of Days then she makes me sad, so very sad but in a good way lol).

She and Roxas were my favourites before KHUX came in with the steel chair, and while I still like Roxas, Xion was the one who’s still up there with the NULs despite it all as a comfort character. Love her, wish I had smart things to say about her lol

20. your very first fandom!

Littlest Pet Shop and/or Pokémon. I honestly do not remember… I was like 3 or 4, I think.

I used to watch so many LPS YouTube skits and series and just scroll on Google for hours looking at Pokémon fanart. I avidly collected (and still collect) both things. I probably shouldn’t have been able to just have free rein watching/looking at all that at that age, but my parents didn’t really know how to parent yet (I’m their oldest kid lol).

Probably watched some Elsa-gate level stuff at some point because I remember my mom telling me not to watch any LPS skits that were made by men???

Also y’all remember Pikachu X Ketchup? I think about Pikachu X Ketchup every day…

[rudhira]

I got tagged by @esotheria-sims - thank you!

1. What’s your favourite sims death?

I don’t think that I really like any of them...? Electrocution, I guess, since it’s the easiest and fastest to do yourself.

2. Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis Match all the way! Well, most of the way. I guess the hairs I use aren’t really Maxis Match, though they have pretty matte textures.

3. Do you cheat when your sims gain weight?

If anything, I cheat to make them gain weight because it seems to never happen on its own. More often than not I have Sims who need a few Body skill points for promotion and they all get fit instead.

4. Do you use move objects?

Sparingly. I like having it turned off all the time, because I don’t want to accidentally place an item that ends up blocking something or being unusable, and then I just turn it on when I need it.

5. Favourite mod?

Same sex pregnancy.

6. First expansion/game/stuff pack you got?

When I first got the game, I had the Deluxe edition, so Nightlife. I don’t remember what I got after that.

7. Do you pronounce “live mode” like aLIVE or LIVing?

Like alive.

8. Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

I don’t really make Sims myself, but I guess Naomi, one of my models. She has black hair and tends to wear green, if you wanna look for her in my previews.

9. Have you made a simself?

Yes, but ages ago. Like, a decade and a half ago.

10. What sim traits do you give yourself?

Oh, Sims 3? Right now I would probably give myself vegetarian, neurotic, computer whiz, good sense of humour and clumsy.

11. Which is your favorite EA hair colour?

This is definitely not a Sims 2 question. I like the purple colour that’s available for rpchoppy and shortcute.

12. Favorite EA hair?

longpart for sure, an astounding number of my legacy founders had that.

13. Favorite life stage?

Adults.

14. Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

Gameplay! I avoid building as much as I can, and generally will just download lots or copy floorplans online.

15. Are you a CC creator?

I guess? Not because I really want to create CC, but because there are things I want in my game that nobody else seems to be making.

16. Do you have any simblr friends/a sim squad?

Yes!

17. What’s your favorite game? (1, 2, 3, or 4)

Sims 2 easy.

18. Do you have any sims merch?

I have a Sims 3 lanyard that I got from a friend who I think was involved with marketing for the Sims somehow, like a decade ago. I also have a plumbob flash drive that I got for preordering The Sims 3. I used to also have a Sims 3 T-Shirt and some of those rubbery bracelets, but they’re long gone. And some sort of metal container shaped like a house that I think was for storing your games?

19. Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Uh, not really? I have a YouTube channel where I post Sims 2 tutorials, if that counts, but I also post speedrunning content there.

20. How has your “sim style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Like, the style of my Sims or the style of my gameplay? For the former, I’ve gotten more consistent in what I download, but I do kinda miss just downloading whatever and putting it in my game. For the latter, I’ve learned to enjoy just sticking to a neighbourhood and seeing how it plays out.

21. What’s your Origin ID?

No idea! I’m terrified of opening Origin ever again so I don’t really know.

22. Who’s your favourite CC creator?

If I’m picking only one, @serabiet. The quality of their content always exceeds my expectations, and it’s also versatile and usable for many different styles.

23. How long have you had a simblr?

I’ve had this blog itself for like over a decade, but I’ve only used it as a simblr since uh... May 2016?

24. How do you edit your pictures?

I resize and crop them. If I posted more gameplay pictures I might edit them more, but I only really post previews for downloadable content and I really don’t like editing those as I want people to see what the content will look like in game.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack do you want next?

Honestly? Something like Sims 3 Aspirations but without the going to work part. I’ve always liked that EP for the tattoos and the laundry, and natively having that in TS2 would be nice.

25. What expansion/game/stuff pack is your favorite so far?

I honestly don’t know. As a child, I think I was the most excited by Seasons, I still vaguely remembering reading through the booklet while the game was installing and barely being able to wait. I guess probably Nightlife, part of it is because I’ve always had it so I couldn’t imagine playing Sims 2 without it, so it adds a lot of features I take for granted.