#but I didn't want that energy in this gifset

[absenthearted]

HISTORICAL WESTERN || HACKEARNEY + ALTERNATE UNIVERSES [2/?]

PERSONAL.—Gentleman, aged 56, Sheriff and owner of valuable mining property, seeking the acquaintance of a single or widow lady of any means, and with good character and disposition. Object matrimony if suited. Contact C. Hackett, North Kill, NY.

[...]

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY.—Apprenticeship available for a hardworking, dedicated Physician in mining town upstate. Lodging and transportation provided. Ability to serve both man and beast preferred. Contact C. Hackett, North Kill, NY.

Between dealing with roving outlaws, petty small-town disputes, and feral wild wolves, Sheriff Travis Hackett doesn’t have time for marriage and a wife. His meddling brother decides to help him out—whether he wants it or not.

Laura Kearney never thought she would become a mail-order bride, but she’s willing to do almost anything to pursue her dream of becoming an animal doctor.

In which a secret matchmaking plan goes terribly wrong, Laura gets rejected by her supposed fiancé on the same day that she meets him, and Travis makes a terrible first impression. [Inspired by @genevievedarcygranger’s prompt from the Hackearney Fic Exchange.]

[chippdhearts]

I want to try and post a good variety of stuff bc I'm scared that people who followed me for a certain thing will get upset with me for not posting a lot of it/at all. But also I really do go through phases of hyperfixation so I'll tend to dump a lot of one thing and move on.

[galedekarios]

plagiarism in the bg3 fandom

disclaimer: this post should not be taken as a springboard to harrass anyone involved.

-

as i've stated previously, i didn't want to make this post because i have a lot going on in real life, but i have been watching this being done to others and myself for months now and i can't not speak about my experience anymore.

laiostoudenn (prev urls: lathanderr/spellbooking/wizardblood) is a plagiarist and he has a history of stealing from other creators like @minthara, @mercymaker, @onewingedangels and others.

in this post, i, finally and after much and long deliberation, want to add my voice to theirs.

i'll try to give a chronological overview of what happened as i have come to experience it, through others and myself, and as condensed as possible and to make it easier for myself to tell:

the story

i became aware of this new blog after he @ me and he messaged me. he's been following me. i was slow to engage because i have a lot of things going on in my real life that cost me a lot of energy during the day. i have also grown cautious of too quickly becoming close to strangers online. i became aware, however, that he had been doing this with multiple bigger creators in this space, like my friend @hawke, who is also a creator in the bg3 space, and who has experienced the same behaviour. they asked me if i knew him and i replied that i did not.

that was it for me at that point and i didn't engage much beyond that because i didn't know him and i thought nothing of it - until later.

during that time, whenever i saw his creations pop up increasingly, either in the tags or on my dash, i noticed more and more that they looked familiar to the works of others, from @minthara, to @mercymaker, to @onewingedangels and other creators, including myself.

it was then confirmed that i wasn't simply imagining things when, months ago, two creators were brave enough to speak up about the fact that he has been plagiarising gifsets and edits from them:

@minthara and @mercymaker:

@onewingedangels original set posted on 31st december 2023:

his set posted on 29th january 2024 (now deleted):

this was done without consent, and after he had already copied prior sets from @onewingedangels.

i would greatly recommend reading the posts shared above, and looking at the examples provided in it, so that you get a clear picture of what's happening here. it's not one isolated incident.

if you take a look at the notes in the post, you can also see other creators speaking about their experiences.

@minthara has recently also uploaded a google docs with the screenshots of the sets stolen from them because they either have been deleted, or lead to nothing due to now multiple url changes.

i was made aware today that he, following the first posts detailing @minthara and @mercymaker's experiences, apologised at first and admitted to what he's been doing on 31st march 2024:

but sadly, this wasn't to last, and the opportunity to learn and grow wasn't taken.

instead what happened was now painted as "bullying" from other creators, as "clique" behaviour and as "gatekeeping", despite many of us operating independently from each other. i, myself, have only started speaking to one other creator involved now that i have noticed the stealing and copying still ongoing.

i have in my time on this website never gatekept anything. i have shared metas, gifsets, creations, mods, art, tutorials, and many other things freely.

but back to the matter at hand: after he has been trying to ingratiate himself to me for some time now, following me, unfollowing me, and refollowing me again until i blocked him for my own mental health, i tried to remain civil before this point, engaging rarely if at all, hoping everything would go away on its own - which was a mistake in hindsight, i realise - i noticed that once again he's been lifting entire concepts and frame-by-frame gifs and sets from me.

things that he now claims - likely after he has been made aware of my prior personal posts and @minthara and @mercymaker's post circulating again by being reblogged by other people who have been affected) - were simply "remade" or "expanded" upon, that he may have been "subconsciously" influenced, while simultaneously claiming that he didn't know these sets existed in the first place, that he came up with the ideas independently, and that it's simply inevitable to use the same scenes because it's a limited game.

this doesn't hold up under scrutiny, however.

i want to make clear that i very much understand and that i am acutely aware that i do not own scenes and i do not own mods or outfits. however, what i do like to pride myself on is coming up with concepts and scene choices and captions accompanying these concepts that are unique, inspired by my metas, headcanons pertaining to gale and my own ocs altonaufein and karl, all of which i have seen copied by him several times now.

this is not as simple as simply gifing the same lines of dialogue from a scene as he and others supporting him are now postulating and i want to make that very, very clear.

another reason why this statement doesn't hold up under any scrutiny and, what ultimately confirmed my suspicion that he has been copying me, was when he - after the first post exposing his behaviour by @minthara and @mercymaker was made - reached out to me, asking if it it's ok to copy a gifset i made (note: again, this happened after he was called out for plagiarising the first time):

i didn't respond quickly enough, so he went ahead and posted it without waiting for my response (the response i gave him is pictured above and for transparancy, i responded about a day later bc of work and irl obligations).

below you can see the stolen post and what i managed to save from it:

the set was a 1:1 copy. he wanted a version for his oc so bad that he went ahead and stole my concept anyhow, without even waiting for the permission he asked for.

he went to take it down after my reply, made cautious most likely by his still fresh callout done in march 2024 by @minthara and @mercymaker, and i thought the issue was resolved and it wouldn't happen again, that he wouldn't take again without asking, despite having been told not only by myself, but by other creators as well, no. we are not comfortable.

but no. he "remade" the set, switching out gifs while complaining about how he "had to make it original":

my set in question was made on 1st february 2024, he reached out to me on 22nd april 2024 to "remake" the set. he is well aware of the existence of these ideas and concepts and sets he wants to copy, underlined by the need to ask for permission when it's simply too obvious to otherwise deny.

it's no coincidence.

like others have had the experience, i too noticed that he often would not engage with content he planned on stealing or did go through with stealing. he would sometimes present it as his own "remake" of a set he did, of another he was "inspired" or wanted to "expand upon", sometimes crediting, sometimes crediting someone largely unrelated, sometimes and, more often, not crediting.

as i mentioned above, this was not the first and not the only set/concept, which he copied from me - whether that was before asking or after asking, or not asking at all, if it was ok to copy.

i use this example mainly to show a clear pattern of behaviour that exists across the board: he takes concepts from other creators and inserts his own oc and/or favourite character into it because he wants a version of it so very badly. it does not matter if said creator might be hurt, if they told him no, or if they exposed his behaviour before. it doesn't matter how old the set is or how recent.

it is still going on today, the only difference is that he has stopped asking at all once again.

my story completely echoes that of @minthara and @mercymaker's.

concrete examples

i will now go into more detail about the concept sets he's been copying, include the caption or quote attached to it. i'm sorry that these will not be in chronological fashion. i will add at a later point, just like @minthara has done, a google document to better do side by side comparisons, highlight the similarities visually even more, and preserve some of the sets, which have now been deleted by him as recently as today:

the theme of hands in gale's romance

-> mine posted on 23rd september 2023

versus

-> his 1 posted on 24th february 2024

-> his 2 posted on 17th june 2024

i want to preface this by saying that the theme of hands was and still is incredibly important to story of my oc altonaufein and has concept of romance with gale. again, while i do not own these scenes, i wished to highlight a theme that i identified as poignant and profound within the relationship context. it's also why i added the poetry and quotes accompanying the set.

notice how even the caption format matches. the only thing lacking are my quotes / poems.

the format matches almost entirely: gifs from the same scenes (pulling gale out of the portal, the bench scene in an illusionary waterdeep, the astral sea scene, the boat scene, and more of the boat scene). the only thing that was added in this gifset are scenes that weren't available to me back then, namely the updated proposal scene, the kisses patches, and the epilogue as they came out well after i made my original gifset.

the second re-make even contains a gif that's not only the same minute detail of a larger scene - one that anyone who played gale's romance knows contains a multitude of other parts that could have been used - but also the same frames:

mine vs his:

i suppose adding that one to the original post with the same format i had chosen for mine would have made it too obvious, but that is only speculation.

gale + missing waterdeep/home

-> mine posted on 30th september 2023

versus

-> his (deleted on 18th july 2024) so i will have to include screenshots so you may compare:

same caption format, overlapping scenes chosen, only new additions are of content that wasn't available to me back when i first made my original set (the epilogue, kiss patches and proposal scene).

an attempt at "credit" even though he is only referencing my tags on an entirely separate set of a different creator, not the concept i came up with in my original set months prior.

and even though i have told him no before, just like others have told him no before.

i think it speaks volumes that this set is now, like some others, have been suddenly and coincidentally deleted.

gale of waterdeep vs gale dekarios

-> mine posted on 20th november 2023

versus

-> his posted on 13th may 2024

the concept is entirely the same, the scenes are largely overlapping, again, the caption format is almost entirely identical, with the sole difference of me including the full quote and devnotes as i'm wont to do.

gale + i love you

-> mine posted 16th september 2023

versus

-> his 2 (a "remake" of an "older" set of "his") posted on 13th may 2024

again, the concept is entirely the same, it's same caption format, the scenes largely overlap, some of the gifs added that were not available to me when i made my set (which, again, would include the epilogue, kisses patches, and the updated proposal scene).

mermay gale

-> mine posted on 13th may 2024

versus

-> his posted on 21st may 2024

it's the same concept again, the caption format is similar, it's the same setting (camp at baldur's gate), the same armour, the same armour tint, the same 3/4 pose except mirrored, and, this time, his tags were inspired too:

my tag: #i have the worst art block still and virtually no time but i still wanted to do smth for mermay so have this

his tag: #i can't do art so heres my mermay contribution i guess

copied oc post

-> mine posted on (likely) 30th september 2021

versus

-> his originally posted on may 7th 2024, which has also now been deleted on 18th july 2024:

the only thing different was the font. sadly, i deleted my oc post since i have redesigned some of them and wanted to make an updated version of it in the future.

thankfully i found the link on my friends blog, @ayrennaranaaldmeri.

as you can see, all of these happened after the first cases of plagiarism and after i personally told him that i'm not comfortable with him "remaking" my concept sets as his.

conclusion

there are many other sets that i suspect have been copied or plagiarised, i want to remain objective, however, and include the ones i feel are the most damning examples, supported by the fact that he has been deleting some of them today while again, trying to set up his narrative to his audience.

again, i want to highlight the pattern is here with him. my post is not the first, my suspicious are the first.

he knows what he is doing wrong, highlighted by the fact of trying to ask for permission, by deleting sets in question, by, at first, apologising, whilst now talking about "gatekeeping", "bullying", "inevitable repeats of scenes", "taking inspiration", "scrolling by", being "subconsciously" influenced, etc.

as a conclusion, i can say nothing more on this topic other than that i'm very sad. it doesn't give me joy. it stressed me immensely then and it still does now. i wish he'd have taken the already admitted wrong-doing to heart and grown from it, instead of attempting to change the narrative and doubling down on his past behaviour, not examining what he has done and is doing several times over by now.

i have blocked him now, as have done many others, and will not engage further with him. we have been through this before and at this point, i don't think he will change.

what i do very much hope, however, is that this is the last i hear of this happening.

edit:

updated the links to lead to his "archive" so you can access the stolen sets that he still hasn't deleted and seems to have no intentions of doing so.

[buckybarnesss]

Someone recently called Derek a "whiny edgelord" and I was like, wow, so you've seen two gifsets and not the actual show then.

Literally everybody else complains more than Derek. I think Derek complains one single time and it's when he points out that Allison and Lydia screwed him over and never apologised.

Dude is literally dying during season 4, and is like "well, i'm 23, it's clearly my time to go" and just naps.

derek has peak millennial energy but what's so funny to me is that one of derek's major character features is that he refuses to discuss his traumas with anyone. ever. at all. he would rather die. it's a huge plot point that no one knows that kate argent was the one who killed the hales. except derek.

like, laura goes back to beacon hills and begins looking into the fire. she does the footwork that peter later uses for his killing spree. they don't know it was kate. derek does.

the fire was never a mystery to derek but he didn't tell anyone because of the guilt he felt for the role kate forced him to play in what happened. he never told a soul what kate did to him.

only stiles and peter figure it out once they have enough of the puzzle. neither of them advertise the information.

derek doesn't even speak to kate all that much when she taunts him in the tell and later when she captures him.

the closest we ever get is in code breaker when he says to scott in the strongest case of projection beacon hills has ever seen:

"you want me to risk my life for your girlfriend? for your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? you're not in love, scott! you're sixteen years old! you're a child!"

derek hale never talks about paige. other people talk about paige. not him. he never, ever says her name to anyone. jennifer and peter are the ones who co-opt the tragedy for their own purposes.

he doesn't talk very much about what's happening to him in season 4 and when this man is on his deathbed he tells stiles -- someone who means a lot to him and clearly is hesitating to leave him -- to go save scott.

derek hale don't talk about shit. sure he does get vocally angry about things and annoyed like you mention. he does with scott and stiles all the time and with lydia and allison in chaos rising:

this one [lydia], who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle--thank you--and this one [allison], who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack?

it's why his pants are so tight. they're holding in all his trauma. i mean what's he gonna do? talk about it? hell fucking no.

it's why stiles being derek's secret keeper is such a fascinating choice this show made. stiles learns all of derek's darkest secrets such as his involvement with kate and what happened to paige without derek having to explicitly tell him.

but derek knows stiles knows.

derek letting that lie and stiles not only never telling anyone else but never really confronting derek over these things is an act of trust.

anyway none of these characters were really whiny. not even jackson. they're just traumatized and that makes people uncomfortable.

[juanabaloo]

one day i'll learn to make gifs but until then you get this little unhinged BTVS rant (with bonus pieces of other people's gifs).

ep: 3x19 choices - Faith is fully aligned with the Mayor and in her spiral. But she hasn't killed Prof. Lester Wirth yet, that's not until 3x21.

AND THEN THIS!

ep: 6x21 Two to Go - Willow stole magic powers from Rack and is in her spiral. She killed Warren in 6x20 Villains and has JUST killed Rack.

"It's way too late," said casually and cheerfully versus "I promise it's not too late," said with such aching hope. How Faith lashes back at Willow for hurting her. How Willow lashes back at Dawn for (inadvertently) hurting her. More script quotes below the cut if you want this to gnaw on your brain.

ep: 3x19 choices - Faith is fully aligned with the Mayor and in her spiral. But she hasn't killed Prof. Lester Wirth yet, that's not until 3x21.

"Check out the bookworm." "Faith!" [Willow is surprised] "Anyone with brains, anyone who knew what was going to happen to her, would try to claw her way out of this place. But you, you just can't stop Nancy Drewing, can you? Guess now you know too much and that kinda just naturally leads to killing."

"Faith, wait. I want to talk to you." "Oh yeah? Give me the speech again, please. [Faith is sarcastic here.] Faith, we're still your friends. We can help you. It's not too late." "It's way too late. [Willow says this quickly, calmly, cheerfully, casually.] You know, it didn't have to be this way."

[Faith's smile fades, she retracts, very very slightly.]

"But you made your choice. I know you had a tough life. [Faith is back to smirking.] I know that some people think you had a lot of bad breaks. Well, boo hoo! Poor you. You know, you had a lot more in your life than some people. [Faith studies Willow here, considering her violent options.] I mean, you had friends in your life like Buffy. Now you have no one. You were a Slayer and now you're nothing. You're just a big selfish, worthless waste."

[Faith punches Willow in the jaw and she falls to the ground.]

"You hurt me, I hurt you. I'm just a little more efficient."

[Faith pulls her knife on Willow. It seems like Faith might actually kill Willow, but The Mayor interrupts.]

COMPARE TO

ep: 6x21 Two to Go - Willow stole magic powers from Rack and is in her spiral. She killed Warren in 6x20 Villains and has JUST killed Rack. "Dawnie, what are you doing here? 'Cause if you're looking for me? Now's not a great time." "You look terrible." "Do I?"

... "I have to go." [Dawn is nervous]

[Dawn moves to the door but Willow appears blocking her way. Dawn cries out, definitely scared.]

"Why? So you can run and tell Buffy?" "Willow … please, just listen to me." "You don't have to talk. Just think real loud. I can hear you."

[Willow advances menacingly.]

"You're freaking me out." "Oh, don't be like that. I'm just a little wired. And I have some things to do. I thought if anybody'd understand - " "I miss Tara, too! But this? [Something plays over Willow's face. I think she pauses for a second, she feels the pain a little more.] What you're doing here? This is not the way to go! You're only going to make things worse! [Willow studies Dawn, considering her options. I think she steels herself for what she plans to do, resigned to it.] But I promise, it's not too late to - "

[Willow proceeds to be very cruel to Dawn. She hurts Dawn with her words, efficiently.]

"You miss her?" "Yes." "Did you cry? [Dawn is shocked.] Of course you did. I get that. I understand the crying, you cry because you're human. But you weren't always." "Yes, I was." "No, please. You're telling me you don't remember? You used to be some … mystic ball of energy. Maybe that's why you're crying all the time, Dawnie. 'Cause you don't belong here."

[Willow continues, taunting Dawn and mocking her, super cruel.]

[Willow backs Dawn into a wall. It seems like Willow might actually kill Dawn, but Buffy interrupts.]

Gifsets of some of this, both by starryeyesxx ep: 3 x 19 choices ep: 6 x 21 two to go

I think S6 Willow is eons scarier than S3 Faith, but Faith could have killed Willow with her knife, maybe. I think Faith is super glad The Mayor interrupted so she doesn't have to decide. Good doggie Faith (affectionate). I think Willow wanted to hurt Dawn, and then as she got going she thought death by Buffy was an OK option, and what better way to ensure death by Buffy than killing Dawn?

Also later in 6x21 Willow says, "I've got big party plans." Just like Faith in 3x10 Amends!

[fatalwhims]

@tristampparty's Tristamp Anniversary 2024

Day 4 - Episode Four: HUNGRY!

Continuing with gifsets featuring my favourite tracks from the tristamp OST. Thoughts under the cut!

Previous days: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

I think that "Undertaker" is a nice track for the introduction of Wolfwood. It has this unsettling whistling tune because who the heck is this mysterious character that has shown up and is perfectly fine after being hit by Meryl's jeep? Then there are those quick notes played by the violin around 0:43 into the track which sound playful to me, and Wolfwood offers us some moments of comedic relief, like his outrageous burial service.

When I first heard "PLANET ZAZIE" used in the episode, I had no idea it was called that. It's the track that plays when Wolfwood finally reveals the Punisher, but it's also the reveal of Zazie. I do like how well it's used in the scene, with the heavy guitar rifts lining up with shots of Wolfwood and the more "exotic" (for lack of a better term, which is actually ironic since Zazie is indigenous to NML) interludes lining up with the shot of Zazie.

Anyways, I'm behind because you know...life. Going to try to catch up and finish these! Though that also means there's going to be no Episode 5. (I've been trying to re-watch episodes before doing these so I could potentially include tracks that I don't actually have on my playlist, but appreciate in the context of the episode. But truthfully I didn't have anything from episode 5 and don't have the energy to go back and rewatch it since I have eps 6+7 done already and I just want to get them posted ahhh).

Anyways, approximate timestamps from the episode that I grabbed these shots from:

Undertaker - 5:43

PLANET ZAZIE - 17:40

[epicbuddieficrecs]

You should change the name of the blog if you're are gonna rec Buck/Tommy fics don't you think? Also why in the world would youbl

Oh wow, baby's first anon hater!

I've been pondering how to answer for a little while, because on one hand, do I really want to take the time and energy to answer such an idiotic message? But on the other hand, you've given me a great excuse to set some things straight so thank you for allowing me to make an example out of you.

This is my blog. I can blog about whatever the fuck I want. I do try to be diligent abut tagging Bucktommy content specifically so people can avoid it if they want to. I identify the Bucktommy fics in my fic recs, I tag the Bucktommy content. If you don't like Bucktommy, tumblr has great muting and blacklisting features, so use them. You can also just unfollow if you're not happy about what I blog. Didn't you think of that before coming into my ask box to bother me about this?

I do not have to justify the way I run my blog to anyone, but your suggestion that I should change the name of my blog JUST because I've recced SOME Bucktommy is ridiculous to me. If I really wanted to be petty about it, I would count the number of bucktommy fics VS buddie fics in my recs just so I could shove it in your face that it's such a fucking small number, I don't even understand how you're bothered about it.

And if I was a die hard "OTP Bucktommy endgame" stan, then yeah, I might make a separate blog about it, but anyone with more than two brain cells who spends any amount of time on my blog can clearly see that it's not the case for me.

I'm kinda glad that you managed to mistakenly (I presume) hit send before finishing your sentence because the first one already didn't make you look so good, I can only imagine how much worse the second one would have been.

So let this be a warning to all of my followers: I'm not anti Bucktommy. There will be Bucktommy content here!!! I'm pretty neutral-to-positive about Bucktommy, which means that I will rec the few Bucktommy fics that I read. I will reblog Bucktommy gifsets. Deal with it or show yourself out.

[lacebird]

Making Hayden Christensen's tea 🫖 | Recipe

After seeing the gifset above (from this interview), I could not stop thinking about Hayden's ginger tea. So I did what any normal person would do and bought all the ingredients required to make this tea. I did some research before doing this and used all the tea knowledge I possess (I basically just winged it). This recipe is for a single serving, but I'm sure you could eyeball it to make a full pot.

Obviously, I don't know if this is how Hayden does it. Ya'll who'll be meeting him at cons this year can maybe ask him lol

Recipe and directions below the cut 💜

Hayden's mean cup of ginger tea

Ingredients

I won't give exact measurements because I pretty much eyeballed this, but it's pretty straightforward. Feel free to add more or less of something if you want!

Water (fill the cup you'll be drinking from + add a splash)

Ginger

Mint

Lemon

Cinnamon sticks

Directions

Wash the ginger, mint and lemon.

Fill the cup you'll be drinking from with water, place in a saucepan and bring it to boil on the stove.

While the water comes to a boil, smash and chop the ginger (I used a piece the size of my thumb, feel free to use more or less). Slice the lemon (I used one slice about a 1/2 cm thick). You don't have to peel the ginger and lemon since we washed them first (also who has the energy to peel stuff — not me). Pick a few mint leaves, I think I used about six, but I'd use more next time since I didn't really taste the mint that much.

Throw everything in the saucepan, add a stick or two of cinnamon. Cover and let it boil for about 10 minutes or longer depending on how strong you want the tea to be.

Pour the tea into a cup (strain it of course) and add some sweetener if you like. I'm vegetarian so I use agave syrup, but you could also use honey or plain sugar. Or since Hayden's canadian, I guess maple syrup could work too? Feel free to try whatever you want—it's your tea, not mine!

Photos

For the peeps that find pictures helpful!

Water added to a small saucepan. As it boiled, I washed the ingredients (except the cinnamon)

When the water was boiling, I added everything to the saucepan, put a lid on it and set a timer for 10 minutes.

Done! How adorable is this little teapot T_T

To conclude, I thought the tea was pretty delicious. It's very warm and cozy, a really nice drink for winter, I think! I hope you try this out! Let me know if it was any good! 💜

[a-reader-and-a-writer]

I think we need to clarify something. Everyone always says "I know notes and interactions don't matter but...."

No. Notes and interactions shouldn't matter. You should write/draw/create for the love of it, not for the recognition or love from others. You should post regardless of how your numbers compare to others. You should be fine with not receiving any asks praising your work or asking questions about it. That is how things should be.

But for most people, that's not really the case no matter how much they want it to be.

There is a reason we share our creations online and don't keep them in folders on our computers. We want to share what we create and have others enjoy it. We want people to make comments and reactions and share memes and freak out in the tags. We want to know that all the time and energy and love we put into our work is worth it. We want the motivation and encouragement to work on our next project.

And yes, it would be better to ignore all the numbers and comparisons to other blogs and we would all be happier if that was completely possible. However, it's extremely hard to do.

So don't beat yourself up for being disappointed because a fic flopped or your latest gifset or artwork wasn't a hit. It means you loved what you accomplished and wanted others to love it too.

But also know you are not alone. Notes and interactions don't always reflect quality so just because you didn't get the interactions you were hoping for doesn't mean your creation isn't any good. So keep going, keep creating, and keep in mind that even if only a handful of people interact with your post, it doesn't mean it didn't have a major impact on those people.

So while notes and interactions may feel like they matter, remember that you matter, your art matters, and the joy you bring to even a single person matters so much more. 💖

[pixelatedquarter]

Day 33 of Tourdust:

This was perhaps an unexpected entry into this journal, aware of some of our very own tumblrines in the crowd but expecting them to get outnumbered by the Sports People, who were there for the Champion of the Centuries at best.

It wasn't so. The barricade filled like a small venue with emos and other alt people, who brought so much energy that it had Patrick and Pete scrambling, plotting things on the dead mics as we watched in concern for those of us at the frontlines, through our communication with mandie, an old friend of ours.

They didn't quite plan for this, but this didn't mean they planned to keep things to old singles either, after all these years keeping her in the vault, they're standing up for their right to cheat at the stadium's parking lot, presumably with Gritty. And while they did not call this day's tour debut an 8 ball, I Don't Care, we don't care. We're too busy recovering from all the growling.

Our sights have not yet turned to suspecting Patrick of being online, in fact if he was, despite all the flourish and energy of today he would probably have avoided all the gestures that call back to these past couple of days' recurring gifsets. The drummer-to-drummer communication enhanced by mutual sunglasses that lead to a (more restrained) deviltricklike humping of his guitar in front of known soul punk girlie* Andy and the sunglasses getting placed on his shirt, straining that neckline further like a taxi driver sweating an ocean as he was. Perhaps it's best if we say nothing about the re-circulation of the locker room photoshoot this morning.

And so the whispers continued, to dead mics and among us, who became VAR referees in determining if there was contact on today's lean. The verdict, with witness accounts and 3 different angles, is that we'd red card them but we don't want them to be unable to play next show.

Like I said, we were not expecting much today, less so than for the festivals, and yet, even after we got what we thought was the stealth 8 Ball, a question was presented. Not to The Magic 8 Ball, but to this crowd of emos who against all odds were not being pussies and instead being energetic and crowdsurfing like this was a 2004 show:

"We don't always do this, because sometimes when we play these shows the crowd is not here for it, but should we play Saturday?"

In Spite Of It All, unplanned, among whispers to dead mics, fueled by the crowd cheering them on so much, it became a Saturday saturday.

I leave now to tend to the wounded and enjoy of the rare buzz of activity in foblr with a show at this early hour. Perhaps we do have some things in common with the Sports people after all. I wouldn't know, just like Patrick I know nothing about sports.

[razzek]

inspired by your tags on that gifset about blue eyed samurai: please tell me about the best and worst blind representation in media according to you

Had to wait until I was at a keyboard and had the energy for this one haha.

Honestly, most blind rep is bad, to the extent that I avoid anything touting a blind character on instinct. Unless another blind person is recommending it, I prep myself to endure, at best, a lot of tedious stereotyping, and at worst something that will genuinely make me angry. I'm always surprised when I can unclench a bit over a blind character and be able to say just "eh he's alright".

But! There are a few blind characters I do like! While they are not perfect and somewhat fall into the realm of "blind in name only" (where magic or something else makes them function more like a sighted person), Toph from Avatar the Last Airbender and Terezi Pyrope of Homestuck get my nod of approval. While they both have some abilities that make them seem more sighted (Toph's earthbending, Terezi's super smelling/tasting), I find they get at some of the heart of what it's like to be blind. Toph has a viciously sharp sense of humor and leans into peoples' low expectations to tear them apart and the show isn't afraid to crack a few genuinely funny jokes about blindness. Similarly, Terezi is a delightful smartass who actually uses a white cane correctly (woohoo!) while taking advantage of peoples' ignorances. And both of them have friends who treat them as people first, which is incredibly rare in any media we're in. Terezi also has a very powerful moment in which she undoes a magical cure for blindness, something I have never seen anywhere else, which makes her stronger but also strikes at something the able bodied community always takes for granted: maybe we don't want to live in your world. That moment by itself was enough to have me make an homage to Terezi in my legal name when I changed it.

I have only seen the one movie so far but I like what I've encountered of Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. The stereotypes he falls into are not western ones so that kind of helps, and he has a fantastic confidence which he masks by playing up being a helpless blind man. It's very satisfying to watch him kick ass endlessly. :D

Also Gareth or whatever his name is from Quest for Camelot; it's a dumb movie but I will always give extra points for a character using a cane like we actually use them! The movie gets points for not curing his blindness and for a joke I quote to this day ("What are you doing?!" "I'm driving!"). XD Points lost for face touching though, GOD. Stop doing that, sighted people! It's weird and gross and the only time I ever want to touch anyone's face is with my fist!

In terms of the worst, if I ever meet the author of this one book I read which featured a totally helpless, whining blinded knight who becomes a total asshole when he's magically healed (also fuck magically curing disabilities), I will beat them over the head with their own shitty book and then make them eat it one page at a time. I didn't even finish that pile of trash, it made me so angry. Oh, and the entire book/movie titled Blindness. I'm glad that motherfucker is dead because fuck that guy. Not only is it a massive insult to the blind, it shits on what people are really like in a crisis. Honorable mention to that one very dumb movie where the blind war veteran is the movie monster, but it is at least good for a ton of laughs right up until it just veers off a cliff into "what the fuck?!" canyon, after which it is just a singularity of stupid.

[bengiyo]

The Eighth Sense Eps 1 & 2 Stray Thoughts

I've been so busy this week that I'm only now finally able to sit down and start this show. I've seen some reactions and gifsets, so I'm excited to begin.

Episode 1

The first two minutes are moody intro into in media res start. Okay, I see the indie film vibes folks called out.

What is up with folks going out to drink with old classmates only to be envious and salty? Goddamn.

Ah, nevermind. They're just being boys.

To think we had made so many strides to get folks to stop smoking only to be back here now.

I'm a fan of the bar owner.

I'm absolutely fascinated by the etiquette rules about drinking soju that come up in these shows all the time.

This drunk guy is so obsessed with Jae Won.

The country boy is so valid for not involving himself in a stranger's drama.

He is also valid for following that same guy the next way at school because he couldn't help but be curious about him.

This poor boy. They need to stop giving him a hard time about directions. He is an artist!

I just don't think Jae Won needs to talk to his ex if he didn't want to, and these guys' meddling isn't fun.

There is intense homosexual energy in the space between these two.

The coach is a little too friendly about the cutie pie thing, but I don't mind it.

I'm with Ji Hyun. He should be allowed to try new things without much explanation.

Well well well. We haven't shared earphones in a while. Welcome Back, old friend.

Episode 2

I am a bit worried that Ji Hyun hasn't disclosed that he can't swim.

Not sure how to read the separate zoom ins on each lead's face in the waking scene on the bus.

Damn, Jae Won. You don't need to be so broken up that you don't get to room with the freshman.

They're supposed to be surfing but everyone looks bundled up. That water is probably cold.

It's interesting how much this show is using its runtime to show mundane things like these two walking together.

The posture in the suit scene was deeply compelling.

I'm so glad Jae Won asked whether this boy could swim before they got into the water properly.

As a fan of Shelter (2007), I'm enjoying the surfing content.

What does Eun Ji know? Why is she so bitter about Jae Won hanging out with Ji Hyun?

Shower scenes where one asks the other way they're shy also never get old for me.

Eun Ji is mean mugging the fuck out of them at the grill.

Everyone seems really intent on who Jae Won may be dating.

Still, this swimming club campfire looks cozy.

Mmm, Jae Won and Eun Ji feel bitter.

Jae Won, my man, I need to understand you next week.

This show is in line with the aesthetics and vibes I enjoy in queer cinema, so I will be watching all of this. I plan to continue Stray Thoughts.

[hunter-sylvester]

Hi! I’m the anon who wrote the ask about Hunter’s parental issues and about his attachment to Kevin. Thank you for answering my asks, I absolutely love the way you write and how you explain everything! You’re extremely talented!🫶

I honestly didn’t notice how in love Hunter was with Kevin until I watched the movie a second time. It’s crazy how you can literally see all feeling in Hunter’s eyes when he looks at Kevin. I also loved how you said that their relationship fits a BDSM bratting dynamic, because I totally see it.

[and as someone who has ADHD and deals with RSD on a regular, I completely understand him. It sucks.]

Hey 🤘 [prev ask for context] Yeah I obviously couldn’t be 100% sure they were from the same person but it definitely makes the most sense lol

Thank you so much! I’m really glad you enjoy my rambling thoughts about Hunter as a character <3

If you do like my writing, I’m tempted to sheepishly gesture over to my actual Metal Lords fics over on Ao3 if you haven’t checked them out, even tho it makes me feel like a bit of a dick to do so 😅 (They are mostly locked to registered users, blame AI data scraping. The only Metal Lords fic not locked rn is a tiny ficlet. An Ao3 account is free tho 👀)

In any case, I really appreciate that you pushed me to do a bit of analysis again. Because sometimes I tend to forget that all the stuff that lives in my head as “obvious” isn’t always stuff I’ve said out loud on here lmao

There’s a lot to pull from the film if you’re willing to be a bit mentally ill about it.

And you’re absolutely right about the way he looks at Kevin, I mean, it happened enough for me to make a whole ass gifset of it lmao

Look at him. The boy is smitten. Clueless, of course. But smitten.

Which I credit basically entirely to Adrian Greensmith, as it was a vision he had for the character. I really can’t imagine Hunter having been played by anyone else as he brought so much to the role. (Fun fact, if I remember correctly: Noah Urrea, who plays Clay, originally auditioned for Hunter. No harm but I'm very glad he didn't get that. He makes a good Clay and Hunter just needed to be played by Adrian.)

One of the key things Adrian brought to the role also being, probably accidentally, his anxiety.

"I spent a lot of Metal Lords feeling a bit anxious [...] and in hindsight I wonder if some of that was just a sign that Hunter was quite an anxious character [...] I mean his body's so tense all the time." - Adrian Greensmith.

I shortened that quite a bit so I'm including a slightly longer clip of the interview audio for more context. (I can upload a subtitled video clip if anyone wants that as well as link the video on yt but I'd have to do a bit of a search for that)

Aside: If I had to guess I'd say he's probably referring to Peter Sollett who directed Metal Lords when he mentions a 'Pete'.

And yeah the bratting thing was a little bit of a joke but mostly not a joke. Without going absolutely off the deep end, the mentality behind bratting is something I really see in Hunter.

Evie Lupine has a wonderful video about bratting and why people would be interested in it (and why some people hate it) but a short snippet that always spoke to me from that is the following:

"The motivations behind bratting are pretty varied. I think one of the main ones would be a sense of security and comfort. This is when the acting out is sort of a way to be reassured that even when you, break rules, even when you push at things, the partner that you're with is not going to abandon you." - Evie Lupine

Obviously, with Hunter's fear of abandonment, it's easy to see why this would appeal to him.

He also just...idk he has brat energy - sincerely, a brat.

And Kevin does just play out the counterpart to that. He doesn't always have Hunter under control but he tries to.

And he does mostly act as that safe person to brat against, which again amplifies the impact it has when Hunter starts to think he's actually losing Kevin, destroying that feeling of safety.

Aside: I obviously don't think that these characters, in universe, negotiated for a bratting dynamic. In universe it'd be something that just sort of organically developed within their friendship/relationship. But even more than that it's an archetype of a dynamic that we as the audience can easily read into their interactions if that makes sense.

Can you believe the shit they will accidentally put in movies? lmao

And yeah, I have ADHD as well. And RSD is something that affects me pretty fucking severely. I've only really become more aware of it in the past year or so as my partner has pointed it out more and more.

So it's definitely something that I then noticed more and more in Hunter too.

Obviously this is all just my take on the character, and other people might have totally different interpretations. That's the beauty of art, we all get to find what we need in it and read it in our own ways, influenced by our own life experiences.

Thank you again for asking, Anon 🤘 (if you want to use a nickname or smth to identify that you're the same Anon, let me know. If not, that's totally okay too, but I might not always know it's you)

[destinationtoast]

first thoughts on Ted Lasso premiere

Phoebe remains the absolute best.

DRESSED LIKE AN UMLAUT

Ted being all sad and rumpled and rumpled and sad 😭 he needs comforting but also antidepressants and some serious rejiggering of his parenting life lbr 😭 looking forward to the fic

love everything with Nate and Rupert and the whole West Ham sterile environment...it's so deliciously fucked up. And the panicking + spitting under the table?? FUCK. oh, Nate. i look forward to the fucked up fic

I'm not sad to have some Roy x Keeley angst... hoping with @wildwren that it goes angstier before or gets better! (WREN I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR FIC 👀👀👀👀) but also I love them and want there to be a very satisfying arc of them working their shit out and getting back together and fucking Jamie

I really don't think I followed the sewer metaphor right.. it sounded like a suggestion to form a human centipede?? 😹 i don't look forward to that fic, but god bless if that's your kink.

also was not expecting crotch shots as they descended into the sewer... looking forward to the gifsets

much good himbo-ness!

Disco, lol

what's Beard reading now, and why is he leaving it on Roy to carry all of Nate's old job?

yes thank you for sharing your bosoms with Keeley, Rebecca! please do more; Keeley is sad and deserves boobs looking forward to the fic

oh fuck, it didn't occur to me that Keeley's office would be joyless thanks to her VCs appointing the CFO, ... didn't she hire some of the people, though?? why aren't those ones at least fun and awesome?? I'm going to be bummed if she fails at running her own company or hates it... but that doesn't feel like a move the show would pull, i hope? she should have success and JOY. may need to write the fic

Sam shirtless yes thank you

Jamie's hair lol no thank you

he's okay to drive but forever changed, haf... of course Beard knows toad venom. there was no doubt in my mind.

press conference duel YES. I love Nate taking Ted down and Ted lifting Nate up. even if Ted's too distracted and depressed to have his full joke mojo, that was great.

what must Nate be thinking after he angrily closes his laptop. look forward to he fic and meta

get it, Sharon! (that's not anyone we're supposed to recognize in her bed, right?)

Ted asking sad questions and Beard not answering except to point out that they already passed his apartment 😭 Beard what is up with you rn??? looking forward to the fic

Very curious about what Trent is up to. 👀👀 looking forward to the fic

as I expected might be the case, I was vibrating with New Canon Energy the whole time and it was a bit distracting... I definitely need to watch it again soon now that I know the basics of what happens. but I liked a lot of things in this episode, and i am not angry about anything, all of which is a delight and a relief since last time I joined a fandom during a hiatus it was Sherlock, and my feelings about the following episode were Complicated

[stormyoceans]

Sorry for ranting in your ask box idk if any of this will make sense but I've been thinking if jimmysea do get a series with jojo I really hope it's them as a standalone and not an ensemble. I don't hate other gmm actors (ik ppl want a hia gang drama tbh idrc about that) but seeing the mess during only friends, I don't want jimmysea being subjected to that same discourse especially when they've been bl fandoms punching bags before *war flashbacks of vvs era*.

Not to be confused with me fearing jimmysea will be overshadowed by others or their screentime will diminish when they can definitely hold their own but just for their protection from other fandoms (and for my sanity) I just don't want them in a ensemble but knowing jojo he loves a big ol' cast so we'll see.

i completely understand you on this, anon, we've truly been in the trenches with vice versa just fighting for our life begging people to at least be respectful to jimmysea in their own damn show that i feel like the moment we hear that someone - ANYONE - is gonna be in a show with them we immediately start to have flashbacks of war like you said and PANIC

and i get that only friends didn't really help to calm our worries because those few months were ROUGH. i feel like the only reason i was able to enjoy the show in any way is because i kept my opinions to myself and avoided getting too involved with it outside from reblogging some gifsets, which is kinda the opposite of what a fandom should be imho like. if i have to refrain from actively joining a particular fandom because im afraid the experience is gonna be so negative it will actually affect my personal enjoyment of the show, then that kinda defeats the point of fandom itself. but i digress ;;;;;;;

the thing is. i feel like discourse and disputes between fans can arise regardless of how big a cast is, and while im the first one to recognize i'd rather not have jimmysea share a show with certain actors not because of the actors themselves but because of a particular category of fans of said actors, i also wouldn't want to preclude them any possibility for growth. if that makes sense ;;;;;;

in the end despite all my worries and fears and personal preferences, the most important thing to me is that they're gonna have a new show together in the future. i'd definitely rather have them be the sole focus of it, but if it's gonna be an ensemble cast with multiple pairings then i will just hope for the best and focus all my energies on supporting jimmysea

IF WE GOT WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT WAS ONLY 50 OF US AND WITH THE MOST POPULAR FANDOM AT THE TIME AGAINST JIMMYSEA THEN BY GOD WE CAN WITHSTAND EVERYTHING AND COME OUT OF IT EVEN STRONGER THAN BEFORE

[shinelikethunder]

Regarding your tags about Good Omens not making your brain go brrrr - it's really interesting because early on while I was watching the new season, I found myself asking, like, "Is this actually good or do I just enjoy it?" And very quickly I decided the answer was "Well, you see, I enjoy it so much."

But as a result I've been thinking a lot about how I define whether or not a story is "good" because surely that indefinable quality of Makes Brain Go Brrrrrr should figure into it somewhere. And there's the inverse phenomenon to account for, of things that are like a dead fish to the fictive libido. I think that might be even more subjective, though.

It's not that I think quality is a totally meaningless concept when assessing art, I've just been thinking I might need to make more space within my metric for things like "joy" and "energy" and "vibrates my brain like a tumble dryer". As opposed to seeing those things as incidental and trying to take my own emotional response out of the equation.

it's a factor for sure, but if SPN proves anything, it's that "vibrates my brain like a tumble dryer" can be completely orthogonal to quality and enjoyment... sometimes the vibration is from canon having a two-for-one flash sale on hate crimes and writing crimes, y'know? sometimes episodes i find genuinely excruciating make me want to dissect them like bugs. (and on the flip side, there are plenty of works i do very much love on their artistic merits and enjoy, but not in the specific way that makes me want to scream in the tags of a tumblr gifset.)

like, yeah, variants of that Roger Ebert Reviews The Mummy (1999) reaction of "i can't even say what this has to recommend it except that i enjoyed the shit out of every minute of it" do deserve space as merits in their own right, but also, for me personally at least, that Brain Go Brr quality of... investment? engagement? obsessive need to poke at it and roll around in it and rotate it on the blorbo rotisserie?... doesn't necessarily have a straightforward relationship with quality or enjoyment. see previous reblog tags re: liking nbc hannibal perfectly well the first time around, but only losing my absolute shit over it when approaching via some borderline-unreadable thomas harris nonsense that managed to sink the first hooks in. and also many previous rants about the brain-go-brr-ness of rtd's doctor who being at its height when the show was most direly in need of fixing.

all of which is kind of a digression from good omens 2, which provoked neither fandom brainrot nor any particularly strong other type of enjoyment - i was sitting there going "this is... nice i guess?" amidst an increasingly acute realization that whatever quality of the book it was that originally hooked me in, pratchett's barbed sense of humor was absolutely vital for making the silliness land for me. i wish everyone who can get in their OTP Feelings about GO2 the joy of it, and will mostly be saluting from a distance as i scroll past on the dash. it seems to have succeeded reasonably well at the things it set out to do--and it turns out those things didn't do it for me, on any of the levels i might've wanted them to. the strange nature of it all is, i'd probably have much more specific criticisms if it had grabbed me.