#tinymacaroni

[secondbeatsongs]

oh I desperately want to know more of your thoughts about iCarly 👉👈

alright, ask and you shall receive! let’s get into it.

so, first, a correction to my last post. in it, I said that we don’t know when Spencer dated Audrey. but in fact, we do!

I checked my notes again, and in s04e05 (iDo), Carly and the gang try to convince a woman to marry her fiance instead of chasing after Spencer (god, what a weird show), and while listing Spencer’s negative qualities, Carly says, "Oh! And he hasn't had a steady girlfriend since high school!"

Spencer is 29 years old here. he’s been going on dates regularly throughout the show, and yet he hasn’t had a serious girlfriend since he dated Audrey in high school.

I’m not saying that this is a bad thing - you don’t need a relationship to be happy or to have a good life - but Spencer’s given up the majority (if not all) of his adult life to take care of Carly, and a relationship is obviously something that he wants.

but I’m not here to talk about Spencer being sad at the lack of a girlfriend - no, I’m here to talk about what Spencer says right after Carly makes the above comment. and what he says is, “Well, not a steady girlfriend per se...”

do you see what I’m getting at here?

Spencer isn’t straight. that’s what I’m getting at.

now, I’m not saying that Spencer is canonically queer - this was a nickelodeon show from 2007; there’s no way they would have made it canon. but this show has a hell of a lot of subtext, and I think it’s time we break down some of it.

let’s go back to season 1.

in s01e05 (iWanna Stay With Spencer), one of Spencer’s sculptures malfunctions and almost seriously injures Carly. their granddad shows up and yells at Spencer for his carelessness, and this is where we start to see that underneath his goofy chaos, Spencer really is a responsible adult, and Carly’s safety and happiness is always his biggest priority.

I mention this episode for a lot of reasons, but firstly, holy shit - we actually get confirmation here that Spencer has been taking care of Carly for at least six years already! it’s shown that he held onto her inhaler just in case, and Carly says the last time she had an asthma attack, she was 7. Spencer’s no newbie at this whole parenting gig - he’s been doing it at least since he was 20!

besides that, I think this episode shows an important but subtle change in Spencer’s character - now, he’s increasingly aware that if he steps out of line, if he makes too many mistakes, Carly will be taken away from him. and he cannot let that happen.

in my opinion, this is where Spencer decides that he’s not going to tell Carly about the fact that he’s queer.

this would explain some of his awkwardness in 01e24 (iWin a Date). in this episode, Spencer joins an online dating service (because 2007 was a different time, and Tinder wasn’t around yet).

he sits down to record a video for his profile - shirt buttoned all the way up, hair slicked down, looking nervous and vulnerable - and he looks into the camera, introduces himself, and then says, “I enjoy people...”

that is...maybe the best description anyone could ever give of Spencer’s sexuality. I think about this scene all the time.

but what Spencer didn’t know here is that Carly was listening to him. he thought he was alone, and the second that he realized that Carly was there, he froze up and stopped talking. because he didn’t want her to know that he’s not straight.

god, it kills me.

I could go on for actual hours about this - about how Spencer must have felt, being solely responsible for his younger sister, wanting her to grow up with love and acceptance, but knowing that there are some things that he just can’t talk about without risking the life he’s built for them - but I will not, because I will cry.

instead, let’s go back to Audrey.

in the finale, this is how Spencer explains who Audrey is: “The most important girlfriend I’ve ever had - the only girl I’ve ever really been in love with.”

you see that wording? look at it. “The only girl I’ve ever really been in love with.” just like in iDo, when he said, “Well, not a steady girlfriend...”

I think those phrases are very telling. so is the part in s02e16 (iDate a Bad Boy) when Carly asks how old Spencer was when he started kissing girls. she could have asked, “How old were you when you had your first kiss?” - that would have sounded normal, but no - she said, “How old were you when you started kissing girls?”

Spencer’s not straight, and Carly knows it, and they can never talk about it.

and it’s not that Spencer’s trying to be subtle about his personality - he’s a confident, quirky guy who’s passionate about art, loves to cook (and is great at it!), and wears weird socks. He doesn’t care what anyone thinks about him rollerblading in the hallway, or saving up tickets to win a stuffed dolphin at the arcade, or doing cosplay - but when Carly walks in on his book club meeting, he gets nervous.

and maybe he was planning on telling Carly - maybe he thought that when she was old enough and there was no threat of their granddad taking her away, he could have that conversation with her.

...and then their dad showed up, and took Carly to Italy.

welp.

[breelandwalker]

thoughts on opal apples?

Haven't had Opal before, but I've had Topaz, which is a closely-related variety.

Topaz is good for applesauce and cider, but it doesn't stand up well on it's own against other apples in the same flavor category (sweet side of sweet-tart). Given the option, I'd rather have an Empire or a Jonagold.

[onenicebugperday]

i posted a reply on your post about the live slug reaction meme and it said it was hidden from view, so apologies if you're seeing this twice! but the nudibranch berghia coerulescens, while not exactly the same and not quite a slug, has a similar orange-and-blue vibe to the live slug reaction fellow :)

All nudibranchs have great vibes including that one, but not QUITE the vibes of the live slug reaction fellow. I think a few people hit the mark with Nereis sandersi!

[narwhalsarefalling]

wait who was quirkless? 👀 (i haven't read the manga since we first saw midoriya use the black tentacles, i love finding things out almost exclusively thru ur blog)

AO FUCKING YAMA GOT HIS QUIRK FROM AFO BC HE WAS BORN QUIRKLESS

hes the traitor because his parents are forcing him to cooperate because otherwise they’ll be killed

[highways-are-liminal-spaces]

what are ur top 5 bioluminescent animals?

1. Firefly Squid

2. Stoplight loosejaw and other species in the family stomiidae (barbeled dragonfish)

You can’t really tell from the top photo, but this is a dragonfish with red photophores below the eye (and a green photophore behind that). These  essentially act as a beam of light that only the dragonfish can see, since most everything else at this depth can’t perceive red light. 

3. Eurypharynx pelacanoides, or the Gulper or Pelican Eel, which has a photophore on its tail that likely acts as a lure for prey, like the bulb of an anglerfish.

4. Arachnocampa luminosa

5. Fireflies! This is a Common Eastern Firefly (Photinus pyralis), which I absolutely cannot wait to start seeing around Chicago again later this month.

Bonus fluorescent species:

+1: Another eel, this time a member of the Kaupichphys genus, for having prompted a tidal wave of fluorescence research and discovery.

+ 1. Top fluorescent non-animal: Omphalotus olearius, or the jack-o-lantern mushroom, which is similar to the chanterelle and partially distinguished based on its fluorescence.

[chrisflemingslegs]

can i request a validation 👉👈

Hey boo!!! I love seeing you pop up in my notes AND on my dash cause you always have some of the best memes. I am not only super honored that you follow me, but that you talk to me as well. What a fantastic and lovely mutual you are.

[mspainttaz]

do u have any other podcasts u would recommend to someone who likes taz and tma and wants more Stories to consume

Hm Stories. now that im thinking about it, i dont actually listen to a lot of podcasts, and the ones i do arent story centered. i KNOW that theres some really really excellent ones out there that i WANT to get to, but for now these are the ones im capable of reccing.

the penumbra podcast- its fun, its different, its endearing, and if you can get into it, theres a lot to love. WILL say this though: genuinely hated the juno stories at first jkajsdfkdjsk im sorry but the tone and storytelling was so different from what i was used to that i had to force myself to listen to it. but the seasons are very short and by the middle of the first one i had decided to love this strange martian detective podcast anyway, which was a good decision because hey turns out this one rocks.

 (the creators redid the first two episodes and i would suggest starting with those. its also like. tpp is the host name for several dif stories, theres the juno stories and theres second citadel. they arent connected as far as i know, i havent finished juno yet and havent started citadel so i can only rec juno.)

welcome to night vale: im SORRY i know everyone recs this one but. its good and mindless and relaxing. the type of existential strangeness framed as completely suburban mundane that really activates something inside of you. not really story though, or at least, a very slow build to story. more like the aesthetic of worldbuilding. good for falling asleep to. somehow.

within the wires- barely listened to any of this and its not so much story a s taz and tma but im reccing it anyway because its really messing me up. guided meditation but youre part of some really messed up research facility?? place?? idk it unsettled me in my soul and i liked that.

sawbones- medical history podcast. i like listening to it while getting ready for bed. also not a story podcast. im sorry. BUT it is very interesting. 

honestly i cant remember any other podcasts i listen to right now, im sorry this is Exactly not what you asked for but its what i got chief asjdkf

one last rec that is not a podcast but this is my post so you get it anyway: the mechanisms. its a band that tells tragic stories set in fantasy space settings. the lead singer is jonathan sims from tma. yes that one. an album is a full story, and theyve all got such an interesting and fresh vibe. you get to hear a story and listen to music at the same time its great if you love having Too much going on at once which i do. 

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

you just reblogged a post saying requests are open but ur about says they are not so sorry if you're not actually taking requests right now - but if you are, could i get "Sorry Elias, can't hear you - there's a door in the way" and "So your official feedback is...less murder?" they're two of my favorite lines lol

nice.

oh did you want me to send the finished latter piece to Alasdair? I think he’d be tickled by it 

Askbox is currently closed as I work my way through these older asks

[archivistbot]

martin may i please have a gender as well?

MARTIN:  Uh… I think… uh… goldfish.

ARCHIVIST:  Oh.

[ittybittytatertot]

wait what's happening on art twitter i am Out Of The Loop

An anon also asked this lol

I don’t have time or energy to deep dive on receipts but basically some bigger artists started a conversation about like commission prices and how artists should charge living wages (which is legit).

But some people got really bold saying you were hurting other artists by charging lower. And obviously other artists were like “well that’s easy for you to say with a large following and steady stream of jobs, but a lot of us literally can’t charge more”. Which is also a valuable point too.

And a lot of other small artists were seeing this larger artist saying all this stuff/giving advice but also not using their platform to lift smaller artists and it turned into a big argument of big artists vs. small artists.

And THAT’s become an argument about what even counts as a small artist. All while there’s this side argument over hashtags because someone created #NobodyArtistClub and people were like “ummm I’m not a nobody” and so the person who created the first hashtag created the new #IAMsomebodyArtistClub. And the new hashtags have just kept coming since.

I wouldn’t mind if it just meant my timeline had a bunch of artists I otherwise wouldn’t have seen, but there are so many “hot takes” it’s a little insufferable.

[witcher-and-his-bard-archive]

1, 2, 6, 13, and 14 for the writer asks thing?

Ahh! So many! Thank you <3

1. Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic. Oh maaan. Probably jealousy from a miscommunication, I love writing quiet jealousy where one just sits there and silently pines for the other.

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? I answered this a week or so ago, I think? But 100% memory loss. I'm working on a fic at the moment, but it's gonna be looooong so it might be a while. If you're interested, follow the tag wip: remember me

6. Share one of your weaknesses. Right away I'm inclined to say I cannot for the life of me keep a deadline, even if it's self-imposed. Also, I super suck at not getting disatract6ed by everything around me, so the two may be linked.

13. What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across? Let the first draft suck. Stop making up rules for yourself. Write for yourself (which can be a very hard one, especially with fanfiction, but it's so freeing). ALSO. Clarity is more important than sounding clever 112% of the time.

14. What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across? I don't really know, tbh? I personally threw out a lot of the grammar stuff I learned in highschool. Oop!

[narwhalsarefalling]

hap borth

tank

[sergle]

how do i make sure i can try to get a jam next time bc i was not 100% sure how/when the first round of jam was happening and i don't wanna miss Second Jam

i’m so happy that you’re so interested in the jam (sticker)s that you want Hot Tips on how to catch them fdhjghjfdi don’t have a schedule for when the next ones will be going up! but you will all probably hear me talking about it for a bit in advance. my sister and i will also try hard to make bigger batches next time!

[eijiroukiriot]

tell me abt fly me to the moon!!

fly me!! my Big Project Music School AU....where to start! man

i honestly still can’t believe i finished this? i can’t believe it turned out. 30,000 words long. i honest to god planned on it being like...a 5k when i first started it. and i legit only started it bc i couldn’t get the idea of this bkg out of my head. talk abt chaotic tendencies 

ANYWAY it’s been a good few months since i finished this and looking back on it i’m...honestly...embarrassed! the premise gives it some leeway, i guess, but i REALLY didn’t hold back on being cheesy or overdramatic with this one, huh,, i kinda rushed into it and then sculpted the execution Around the original few scenes i planned, so a lot of it was kinda...last-minute damage control? if that makes sense? lmao

i still wanna try to edit this so i can order a copy bc even though it sucks i’m proud of myself for Finishing something, so! maybe i’ll update the ao3 page with that too! 

[crowslunasidhe]

tinymacaroni replied to your post: I just got done having a conversation with this...

how do i find her boyfriend to fight him tho

I dunno but I agree I would love to whoop his ass. 

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

"I yeet myself off the cliff without a second thought" (my dumbass rogue's reaction to a failed perception check)

oof amazing

Askbox is currently closed as I work my way through these older asks