#(if you haven't checked out their podcast yet you are missing out!)

[jessicanjpa]

Catching up on @threebooksoneplot 's latest episode and I am so disappointed to learn that Edythe didn't eat Beau's tear???? !! ??

Although I guess it's even funnier if you think about the order the books were published in. With Life and Death, SM was probably relieved she could drop the tear thing completely. But then for Midnight Sun, when she had no choice but to retcon it, she embraced the weirdness and had Edward go full-on monologue about vampire physiology and how maybe Bella's tear will be inside him fOreVeR.

(at least for a while...)

[ofmdrecaps]

07/25-26/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Taika Waititi; Vico Ortiz: Classes; OFMD BTS; Galaxy Con Raleigh: Con, Nathan, Vico, Kristian; Gypsy Taylor; Andrew Deyoung; Boris McGiver; Adopt Our Crew Highlights: Articles; Prompts; Gold Derby/TellTale TV Voting Reminders; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika;

== David Jenkins ==

Chaos Dad, David Jenkins has been really active on Twitter and even poking his head into Instagram! I didn't share all of the ones he re-blogged today because I ran out of image space, but he's definitely keeping us all in mind. (I sure wish Kamala had really said that!)

Source: Djenkins Twitter

David also shared our lovely @cosmosart-s' recent Ed+Butterflies sketch on Instagram <3

Source: David Jenkins' Instagram

He also acknowledged what we've all been thinking and discussing in meta for a while now-- the differences in memory for the S1 "You Wear Fine Things Well" scene.

Source: David Jenkins' Instagram

== Rhys Darby ==

There's a new podcast available, this time with Rhys Darby visiting! Check out: Saving Sheep From a UFO w/ Rhys Darby!

Source: Looking Up Podcast

== Taika Waititi ==

Taika was out at the Louis Vuitton Foundation Party 2024 in Paris recently and boy is he looking suave.

Source: Rafhits Instagram / Icon France / VogueSpain / Anthonyghnassia /EmiliaPiaLuisaWickstead / VasJMorgan / etalkctv

More Time Bandits Interviews! Did you happen to watch Time Bandits yet on Apple TV?

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Consequence Daily (@consequencedaily)

Source: ConsquenceDaily

== Vico Ortiz ==

Vico has another acting class coming up September 1! Classes are Sundays 11a-4p September 1, 8, 22 & 29 * 9/8 will be taught by a SUBSTITUTE TBA You can enroll here!

Source: Vico Ortiz' Instagram

Vic has also been keeping up with our BTS needs by posting more on their Patreon! Here's some sneak peaks-- if you don't subscribe already and would like to see all the OFMD BTS as well as other works they do, you can visit Patreon.

Source: Vico Ortiz Patreon

== Galaxy Con Raleigh (Con, Nathan, Vico, Kristian) ==

Con, Nathan, Vico, and Kristian are all at Galaxy Con Raleigh this weekend! I'm combining their sections to make it a bit easier to keep track! They've all been kind enough to send us pre-convention photos!

Source: Nathan Foad's Instagram Stories / BigSamTompson's Instagram (Nathan's Tagged Photos)

Source: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

Source: Con O'Neill's Instagram

Source: Vico's Instagram

== Gypsy Taylor ==

Gypsy Taylor is working on a new show -- "All Her Fault" and it's going to be premiering on Peacock once it's ready! Keep an eye out for it!

Source: Gypsy Taylor's Instagram

== Andrew DeYoung ==

You may remember one of our lovely writers-- Andrew DeYoung, well he's written and directed a new movie, "FRIENDSHIP" a comedy that will premier in September at the Toronto International Film Festival!

Source: Andrew DeYoung's Instagram

== Boris Mcgiver ==

Our friend Boris Mcgiver, aka Father Bonnet has a new show "Teacup", a sci-fi horror thriller premiering on October 10th, on Peacock!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ashley Edner - Tancharoen (@ashleyedner)

Source: BorisMcGiver's Instagram Stories

== Adopt Our Crew Highlights ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew have been king everyone up to date with the latest articles on OFMD.

Source: Decider.com

They've also been keeping twitter engaged with some wonderful prompts! What's your favourite piece of OFMD Art? (Your own or someone else's!) @adoptourcrew would love to hear from you!

Source: AdoptOurCrew's Twitter

== Gold Derby Reminders ==

Thank you @adoptourcrew for the reminder! July 30 is the last day to vote! Please get your votes in if you haven't and you plan to! https://www.goldderby.com/leagues/

Source: Adopt Our Crew's Tumblr

== Tell Tale TV Poll ==

We're neck and neck yall! The poll is open through the end of July and you can vote every day!

Source: OFMD-Ann's Tumblr

== Love Notes ==

Miss you lovelies, sending so many good vibes your way.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SWATHY SIVRAM (@theartytales)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SWATHY SIVRAM (@theartytales)

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SWATHY SIVRAM (@theartytales)

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

It's been a minute since I've been blessed with this gif, so you too shall get to see Ed's heart eyes. Gif courtesy of the brilliant @captain-flint <3

[noirvette]

WE NEVER EXISTED

[band smau]

[THIRTEEN]

masterlist.

prev. | next.

Having the whole fiasco of figuring out the venue and then helping Kyle with his weird texter person problem, (of which he still hasn't bothered telling Stan about), and then a few surprisingly calm days, it's finally the day of the concert.

Nichole was loving the open venue, and was quickly styling herself away with simple tables and chairs a bit further out, having those separated by simple fences from the GA area. Currently, her theme for the night was orange and dark blue, the dark blue having some sort of shine when lights hit on them. It was absolutely gorgeous as you watched the test runs of the stage lights against them.

Kyle was doing a bit better, having gotten some sleep you could assume, and he's been busying himself all day by corresponding with another local yet small band that would be opening for you guys tonight. They had just shown up about 20 minutes ago and was going ahead with their sound check, which Kyle was graciously observing.

Clyde was..late again, however he did say he was going to stop and bring back food for everyone so you really couldn't stay mad at him, nor with him bringing back Kyle's favorite fast food, you're sure Kyle wouldn't object much either.

Stan was talking to the venue's owner and he definitely has never been more awkward in his life. At this rate, you're sure Kyle's gonna step over there and free Stan from the shackles of his poor social skills.

Craig, for once, has shown up to take pictures again, you can see him snapping away at some candid shots, those of which he'll probably use for his portfolio, beside him you're shocked to see Tweek, he doesn't tend to follow Craig that often to these rehearsal things, in fact Tweek doesn't come to the concerts much anyways, he attends a few, mainly to be with Craig. Tweek spots you and waves, you return the gesture and you can see Craig snap a photo of Tweek as you do so.

Giggling and turning your head away from them and staring back onto the open space, you let your mind wander again. You've been excited to perform, especially here in South Park, it's always been fun to perform here, the town surprisingly having been your guys' biggest supporters.

Bebe and Wendy should be showing up soon, in fact you wouldn't be surprised if Wendy was already here and you just haven't spotted her yet. Bebe was trying to get Red to come along, it had been a while since you've last seen her, quite literally it was about 3 months ago when you and the other girls managed to squeeze a sleepover day in all of your busy schedules.

Annie said she was coming when Nichole shot her a text, and if Annie is coming usually that means Red would be too.

Your phone dings, bringing you away from your thoughts.

Groaning you call out to Kyle, "Hey, Kyle?" He turns his head, "Heidi isn't showing anymore we can thank Cartman's stupid ass."

He frowns, "Again, is it the podcast?" Seeing you nod he continues, "He made her miss our last show in New York City because of that god awful podcast. Remind me, why is she in that again?"

"Because she feels bad for him or something, also something about how it was technically her podcast first and she'd rather die than let him get away with the rebranding...?" You scratch the back of your neck, tone overall sheepish for not really knowing why.

"Didn't he.. technically get away with the rebranding though? I mean he calls himself the 'creator' of it?" Kyle pointedly asks.

"Yeah I'm not too sure about the whole reasoning either, Kyle. Oh! Hey so Clyde also should be coming back in about an hour? Maybe now like 30 minutes, I'm not sure he texted me a while ago now."

"Well he better, his sound check is at 3:30.. and if he's not here, I'm telling you now, I am NOT stepping in for him."

"You're gonna totally step in for him don't lie to me."

Kyle gives you a deadpan stare before turning back around to helping the locals, leaving you giggling to yourself quietly for a bit.

"Hey, Y/n," Stan says, sitting next to you on the edge of the stage, "You ready for tonight?"

You look up at him, "Oh, yeah, I'm just bummed that Heidi can't make it because of Cartman."

"Yeah.. Wendy mentioned that like 3 minutes ago.. all because of a podcast episode. Christ.." Stan trails off, "Why is he even doing a podcast episode today? Most of the entire town is attending tonight, who's gonna be listening to his podcast?"

"Well..." You check your phone again, "Heidi says he's going live during the set change between the opener and us, and you know how long those take, people are gonna be on their phones and they're bound to tune in for a bit."

Stan runs a hand down his face, "He's always gotta do something shady, aside from that, how are you doing?"

"I've.. been good actually Stan thanks."

"No problem, I've been worried about you since.." He trails off, you never realized how often Stan trails off before in conversations.

You let out an airy laugh, "No worries, Stan, really and I appreciate you checking up on me. However, you should check up on Kyle, have you noticed how tired he's been looking recently?"

Stan throws his hands up in the air, "YOU'VE NOTICED!" He freezes and suddenly realizes how loud that was, coughing into his fist, face red with embarrassment, "Sorry just.. I've tried, Kyle hasn't been the most... comfortable with talking his thoughts and feelings out, you know that. He just... would rather throw himself into his work than let me in.. you know?"

You both watch as Kyle runs back and forth from the stage to the backstage, "Yeah I get what you mean."

"And I've tried! Really I have but he just waves me off and says nothing important is really affecting him and that he'll 'figure it out' God knows how.. he's never figured anything out, well, whenever it comes to his emotions at least."

You shrug in return, "You've let him know you're there for him.. I guess you're gonna have to wait until he comes to you."

Stan nods at that and the two of you sit in a comfortable silence.

Your phone buzzes and you open the notification without checking what the exact notification was for.

Groaning as you realize who tweeted you're about to swipe and close the app before realizing you were tagged in the tweet, over your shoulder Stan takes a peek, "Cartman? What does he want?"

Turning your phone off you shake your head in annoyance and Stan snorts, "What have you done to make Cartman tag you on twitter?"

"He's so delusional I probably pissed him off in a dream or something." You and Stan laugh.

"Y/N! Your guitars are here, can you make sure they're tuned and good to go? If you want you could start early on your preliminary soundcheck." Kyle breaks the laugh attack you and Stan are having.

You give him a thumbs up and he does one back, going back to whatever he was doing just now.

"Well, gotta get this done," You stand up and stretch, "See ya around, Stan."

"Peace."

TAGLIST: @captivq @kimiesstuff @bwljules @the-cooler-kira @1one1person1 @kenny-the-ken @neenieweenie @n0tangeliccc @frogindisguise @revzxn @mirophobic @gonefiishiing @musiclovebot @bootsieboo @bonez4brainz @s0l4riss @1996kj @sweetadonisbutbetter @scinclaitnoir

[wowbright]

Recommendations?

Usually when I'm working on a big sewing project, I listen to podcasts, audiobooks, or watch non-demanding TV in the background. Lately, I found myself unable to get past the first couple chapters of most fiction audiobooks I check out. Nonfiction books are hit or miss. I am very picky about podcasts.

After finishing The Librarians, I found Elementary is a pretty good background TV show, but I hate the Moriarty episodes. Can anyone tell me if it's okay to skip them completely (and still understand what's going on in other episodes)? How many are there each season?

Also, since I don't want to watch 100 hours of murder and mayhem without a break, can anyone recommend lighter bingeable fare on Hulu, Netflix, or Kanopy? (Maybe also Peacock, though I haven't figured out how to log into it on my computer yet.)

Since I have to be able to understand what's going on in the show without looking at the screen too much, baking and home improvement shows are not good fits, and I prefer shows in English.

(you can also make a podcast recommendation if you want to, but like I said I'm picky about them in ways I cannot elaborate and it's very difficult to predict what I will like and what I won't.)

[utilitycaster]

The thing that confuses me about the facial expressions, and correct me if I'm wrong, but these are all Voice Actors. With the exception of Ashley Johnson, I haven't seen any of them in a live-action role. Laura Bailey's acting has been honed to fit her medium, a medium where people can't see her face. That's not to say she can't act through expressions or body language, but to me, it seems like her default would be to convey through voice, not expressions.

Additionally, and here's where you should probably fact check me, in the past, many of the cast, including Laura, has narrated non-verbal reactions their characters have had in different situations. If they want us, the audience, to know their character is reacting to a situation in a particular way, such as lying or putting on a brave face, they don't do that in subtle, easy-to-miss facial expressions or shifts in body language. They do it in narration.

Hey!

So, most of them have been in live-action roles - Taliesin did a lot of TV acting as a child, Sam and Liam both have considerable stage experience, and Travis was in Nip/Tuck. I also have no theater training but I would assume that even if you're alone in a booth - or perhaps especially if you are, and have nothing else to act against - it helps to physically act things out. I mean, no theater training...but I do have to talk to clients over the phone and putting on a fake smile does tend to help.

You can watch the cast and they do often adopt facial expressions and postures in line with their characters. I think this is especially noticeable with Matt, since he plays many different people and his posture and expressions do noticeably change within the same episode. But we also have seen it in action. Liam as Caleb is a great example - note how he freezes when Trent's name first comes up in 2x17. Marisha and Travis are also very physical actors, and frequently embody their character's attacks. You can watch clips across campaigns and note differences in body language and expression among most of the cast depending on the character they play. They frequently narrate what their characters do as well, which I think is good both because a lot of people listen to the show as a podcast, because this is standard D&D practice, and because there's only so much you can embody while sitting down at a table. But there's a physical element and I don't think it's bad to attribute some acting in Critical Role to facial expressions.

I take issue specifically with like...well, if you're mentioning that Laura is biting her lip when she briefly glances at Liam or Marisha and claiming that this means she's secretly in love with them and those are the endgame ships, but leaving out, say, this:

or this:

you're transparently cherrypicking. There's quite literally hundreds of hours of the cast making all kinds of expressions both in and out of character, and you can probably find something that supports whatever you want, if taken out of context.

Here's actually a recent example of an out of context expression! Travis does make this face in that episode, but it happens much later in the conversation. Here's Travis when Ashton actually says he knows loneliness Laudna doesn't (around 1:48:50 in 3x49):

The expression in the post actually appears about 2 minutes later (around 1:50:40), as Ashton is asking Laudna what it was like to wake up and have people there, and if you watch it in context, it's not annoyance or rolling his eyes but intense listening to the conversation. (And, to be fair, it's possible they were just using Travis's face at a later point as a reaction...but it's still not even an annoyed face!)

You can find this constantly. It's in the Mighty Nein reunited; people claim that Caleb was dissociating when Jester says she died when he was in fact not even there (he was still polymorphed into a shark) because Liam happened to make a kind of blank expression, possibly because his character wasn't even there yet.

So it's not that the cast doesn't make expressions or embody their characters. They do! They do it a lot! But like...this is actually one of the things I was vagueing when I made this post about crumbs. People will be like LAURA BLINKED AND THIS MEANS SHE LOVES MY SHIP in an episode where Vex and Percy are fucking in the Whitestone vault, or Jester and Fjord are having a 10 minute intense conversation about the future. Expressions are just one piece (and I agree, what the cast actually deliberately says and narrates is far more important, usually, but expressions are still an important part of their acting - they're voice actors, but they're aware they're on camera) and they must be considered in the appropriate context because people will grab out of character moments or misrepresent when a cast member made a certain face or take a single frame and pretend it's a different emotion than was actually expressed to put forth a narrative they already support.

So: fine to include expressions! Great! If they weren't meaningful then our many fine gifmakers in the fandom would be wasting their time! But as with anything, they can be twisted or deliberately misrepresented, and when they're placed as immutable truth even when out of context, misinterpreted, and at odds with what the cast is actually doing and saying, it borders on deluded.

[mx-piggy]

Time for my weekly Futurama review. It's odd watching an Xmas episode two days after my birthday but it was definitely worth it. Spoilers ahead!!

I didn't think it would happen, but I Know What You Did Next Xmas has topped Children of a Lesser Bog for me. So far, this is my favourite episode of the revival. Johnny 2 Cellos said in his podcast with Toonirific Tariq (Cartoons That Curse) that this was his favourite episode of the first six. Considering how much I adored Children of a Lesser Bog (despite its expositional issues), I hadn't expected this to beat that episode quite like it did.

Just a head's up, this review is going to be a lot of 'I thought this thing was very neat', because I smiled for pretty much the whole duration of the episode.

I Know What You Did Next Xmas did pretty much everything right, especially considering this isn't from the show's original run. It's not up there with revival episodes like the Late Philip J. Fry (which comes to mind because of the very fun inclusion of the Professor's time machine), but it's certainly not far off. It has a really cool sci-fi concept in terms of the time travel elements, with the Professor going back in time to 'fix' Robot Santa, and with Bender and Zoidberg abducting Robot Santa and being the ones to save the day as a result. I'm not intelligent enough to figure out if any of this 'works', but I think it was cool. The humour was also very strong; I don't think it's the funniest episode of the revival so far, but it's definitely up there for me. And, the episode was really wholesome, which is surprising since the episode's A plot is Bender and Zoidberg kidnapping and trying to dispose of the body of Robot Santa.

Speaking of which, my favourite aspect of the episode was how incredibly sweet it was. Seeing the different families gathering together for the holidays was so lovely to see, even if we only got a couple of scenes with each of them individually. It was nice to see Fry spending the holidays with the Farnsworths because of how often he feels like he has no family seeing as he left his old one behind him in the past. The same goes for Leela; it's so lovely to see her finally get the family life she missed out on as a kid. The Kroker-Wong family gathering was really nice; it was fun to see them further explore the family dynamic with the kids. And, it was fun to see Hermes with his family, of course with them limboing. I also really love how the episode took the direction of everyone realising they'd forgotten to invite Bender and Zoidberg to their holiday celebrations, and actually wanting to spend time with them. The revival's been really good at presenting the characters like people who genuinely enjoy one another's company, definitely better than a lot of the Comedy Central episodes, which would sacrifice these heartwarming character interactions.

This revival's also been really good with continuity, in my opinion! It was a joy to see Kif and Amy's kids again, especially in the cosy setting that holiday episodes provide. The time machine was implemented really well. And, I really enjoyed the references to previous episodes, such as when the Professor was going back in time and it showed moments from (I believe) the Day the Earth Stood Stupid and Put Your Head on My Shoulders. I haven't seen Disenchantment yet beyond the first episode (I'll probably check it out once it's finished) but I still thought the cameo was neat. I also really liked the joke of the Professor saying he was going alone so no one would end up becoming their own grandfather (God, Roswell That Ends Well is such a good episode). I've seen people on here complaining that the revival is lazy in referencing or continuing from previous episodes of the show so frequently, but I really don't see the problem? Like, don't you want there to be a sense of continuity? It bothers me that a handful of fans have been thinking so uncritically about how the show implements topical elements and references to itself, but I digress.

If I had to nitpick, I guess I don't feel like Robot Santa had as much of a presence in this episode compared to previous episodes. It's a complaint I've had about characters like Mom or Zapp, where they don't feel nearly as much as scene-stealing as they used to. It could just be because of the overall different vibe of episodes from the original run compared to the show's various revivals. It's something I can't quite articulate or explain, but the Simpsons has the same problem. With the Simpsons seasons 2-8 and Futurama seasons 1-5, the episodes feel a lot sharper in their humour, if that makes sense? But, with episodes past a certain point, the humour just feels kind of dull and like it doesn't land as well; like Homer or Fry will say a half-funny line and then there will be some dead space that kills any humour. That's sort of how it feels, anyway. If you want me to elaborate on that, please feel free to ask me in the comments, a reblog or an ask. But, yeah, I thought the 'cookie' joke was funny considering how menacing Robot Santa normally is.

I'd love to see this revival focus on some more underexplored dynamics like Bender and Zoidberg because it was really fun seeing them together in this episode. They have such good chemistry due to their surface-level differences and inherent similarity. They're both incredibly sensitive and lonely individuals who crave friendship (which has some irony to it because robots are seen as being emotionless and Decapodians die when they reproduce, so in a way it's almost as if they're not made to have connections with others), but where Zoidberg is incredibly kind and openly tries to build connections with people, Bender is kind of a total jerk who tries to seem tougher than he actually is. Zoidberg's such a precious character and I'm hoping we get some more Zoidberg-centric stories in this revival. I'm also waiting for a Hermes episode, and possibly a Professor episode.

The song at the end was fun, in my opinion anyway. Definitely a good send off for Kwanzaa-Bot (I presume so, anyway).

I'm wondering if I missed something in the original run or the CC run, because they've made a surprising number of references to Leela drinking in this revival. Does anyone know what that's about? Maybe Leela's always been a drinker and I just don't remember it for some reason.

If I have any more thoughts about this episode because it was really that good, I'll make a follow-up to this post. As always, feel free to reblog, comment or send me an ask if you have anything you want me to elaborate on, or if there's anything you want to add!

[emma-nation]

The Curse Of Hackett's Quarry

Chapter 2 - The Hermit

Summary: After the events of a traumatic night, Emma Mountebank finds out she still a werewolf. While she learns how to deal with this new reality, new problems and feelings come to surface. Pairings: Emma/Abi, Emma/f!OC

Notes: Thanks for the comments and likes. It means a lot to me as it's the first fic I'm writing after a long break. I hope you enjoy what I've been planning for the next chapters! :)

Full Story:

The Hermit card generally indicates a period of soul-searching, introspection and solitude. A period of isolation attempting to heal from a difficult situation. 

The morning after her first transformation, Emma had a hard time cleaning herself before heading back to her dorm in college. She was so exhausted and sick that she missed classes for the next two days.

The second transformation by the end of October wasn't any easier, but she was more prepared this time. She knew what to expect and had enough time to improve the safety measures.

The third transformation was a little less painful. Emma started working out regularly, increasing it significantly by the week of the transformation. She wanted to run a few tests and it worked. The impact of the shifting was more bearable when her body was in a better shape. 

The last full moon of 2021 was the most terrible of all, considering Emma got very sick after waking up in the woods with her clothes torn off, during a cold Winter morning. 

She had never escaped from her restraints, so far. And with her mother being a dentist surgeon, she had no trouble stealing sedatives to keep the creature drowsy. Her priority at the moment was to find somewhere safe and warm where she could transform without any risks to herself or to other people. 

In her old bedroom, at her parents' house, she felt comfortable recording a video again. Not to post online or to show anyone. But she had to vent about everything that was going on.

"People are finally starting to forget about that fucking incident at that cursed Summer Camp. My respects to Mr. H and his family - I hope they found peace, but…" It was sincere. Emma liked Chris and his kids. She lamented their Summer ended in such a tragedy. She didn't know the rest of the family, but the other counselors, who had closer encounters with them, were scared. They seemed kinda dangerous. "I haven't. I'm not allowed to move on. That night will never end, at least for me."

At least the journalists stopped trying to contact Emma or her parents again. The negative comments about her around the internet decreased too. After an episode of the 'Bizarre Yet Bonafide' podcast about Hackett's Quarry Summer Camp, more people started to believe their innocence.

"Everyone else is moving on with their lives - Abi is going to Art School, Kaitlyn is traveling the world, Ryan has started his own podcast, Nick is taking a sabbatical year, Dylan is studying quantum physics and Jacob… well, fuck Jacob. I blocked him everywhere. The thing is, I wish I could do the same. But instead I'm… surviving. I'm learning to adapt to this new fucked up reality."

She hadn't told any of the other counselors she was still infected. No one had called her in months. Yet, she'd check their socials on a daily basis, searching for signs any of them could be struggling with the same issue. Which wasn't happening, after all she was the only one who was bitten by Silas Vorez. 

"And the question remains… if Silas is dead, why am I still infected?"

January 2022

There was a reminder flashing on Emma's cell phone screen. Full Moon. That was the reason why she had spent the whole morning working out hard. Now, she was starving and ready to devour as much food as she could. Her appetite had increased significantly that one time. 

"Hey, Abi," Emma attempted to call her best friend again while she followed to the campus restaurant. "How have you been? I… I'd love to hear from you. I can't wait to hear everything about Art School. Call me."

"Hello, Red Hood," she heard a familiar voice right behind her. Penelope Dalton. One of the popular girls who wouldn't leave Emma alone. "Who's Abi?"

She ignored the question. Back in High School, she used to be one of the popular girls too and she knew exactly how annoying and cruel they could be.

"Maybe she hasn't called yet because she was taken by the Big Bad Wolf," added Christina, one of Penelope's friends, raising giggles from the rest of their cliqué.

"Or maybe," Penelope continued, "she's a decent person who stood up by her friend, Jacob. After all, we know who caused that bloody fight in the camp, after a Truth or Dare game."

The incoming transformation always triggered Emma's worst moods. The mention of Jacob's name still ignited something inside her, feelings she was trying to bury. She automatically felt her skin burning, as well as the adrenaline pumping in her veins.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up."

Emma attempted to close her eyes and take a deep breath, fighting the urge to go feral and teach that girl a lesson. 

"Or what? Are you going to kill me and cry wolf ?"

Her attempt to be funny raised laughs. People were starting to reunite around them to watch the fight. 

Less than one second later, Emma's fist hit Penelope right in the eye. It'd certainly leave a nasty bruise.

"Your psychotic bitch! Look what you've done!"

Penelope advanced in her direction, pinning her to the ground, where she started pulling her hair. Emma's reflexes were increased due to her incoming transformation. Although Penelope was taller, soon Emma managed to switch positions and get on top of the girl, slapping her face hard.

It didn't take long for the campus security to arrive. In the end, Penelope only signed an incident report and Emma was punished with a disciplinary suspension. She was also warned about her recurring absences. 

During High School, Emma spent all those four years dreaming of college. Now, she didn't know if she wanted to be there anymore. She still could pursue her acting career without that.

After that Full Moon, she decided she wanted a break to find herself again. She decided to quit college and find herself a job. 

It wasn't an easy task. Not because she wasn't skilled, but whenever people ran a background check, she'd get rejected. People were still afraid of the negative attention her presence could bring.

That small diner in the heart of New York City was her last resort. 

"Name?" The owner, Addison Davies, asked while taking notes on a paper.

"Emma," she told, making a pause before adding her last name. "Mountebank."

The woman didn't seem to be paying too much attention, what gave her some hope. Maybe she wouldn't research her criminal records after all. 

"Do you have any experience as a waitress, Emma?"

"No, but I'm a quick learner. I'm also an aspiring actress, which means I have a lot of charisma dealing with people."

She was about to speak about her experience as counselor, where all the kids adored her. But she stopped herself. 

"An aspiring actress?"

"Yes. I signed up for a few auditions but while I don't have anything in sight, I need another source of income."

"When can you start?"

"Right now?" Emma furrowed her brows, already expecting another rejection.

It didn't happen. Either that woman didn't read the news or she really didn't care. 

"Great, come with me and I'll show you what to do."

Addison was very satisfied to see how good she was doing and how quick she learned. She never asked any questions about Emma's past. She even agreed to give her an extra day off, during one specific day of the month. 

Getting a new place to live was Emma's next goal. Her parents weren't happy when she dropped out of college. Living under the same roof was becoming impossible. They argued most part of the time. For many years, Emma did everything to please her parents and fulfill their expectations, but right now, she had other priorities in mind.  

During her free time at the diner, she'd check the newspaper for announcements.

"Looking for a place to live?" Jenna was Emma's co-worker. She treated her well since the first day, giving her some useful tips. They were becoming good friends. 

"Yes, do you happen to know any?"

"One of my roommates just moved out after graduating. Ben and I could really use somebody else to help with rent."

Benjamin also worked on the diner. He was more quiet and introspective, but very friendly. 

"Do you mind if I check it tonight?"

They lived in a studio apartment. The bedroom was large and comfortable, but what caught Emma's attention the most was the basement she noticed once she entered the building. According to Jenna, it was always locked and never used by anyone. That could be the solution to all of her problems. During the Full Moon nights, she could just lock herself in there.

"Do you think the landlord would rent it for me?"

"I don't know, you could speak to him but… why?"

"I… uh… I could use some space to record my videos and rehearse for my auditions, you know?"

Jenna didn't ask any further questions. Emma spoke to the landlord in the same week she moved to the studio. After selling her car, she paid him some cash to have exclusive access to the basement. As well as the permission to make a few adjustments.

Emma had everything prepared for the next Full Moon. Metal chains to restrain her body were installed in the basement. She didn't want the risk of an accident, in case somebody ever decided to open that door to investigate possible noises. There was also a small bathroom in there that she could use to clean herself when she became human again.

"What kind of videos are you recording down here?" Ben was in the basement, holding one of the chains attached to the walls. Wondering if she had forgotten to lock the door, Emma almost dropped the supplies she was carrying downstairs - snacks, water and fresh clothes.

"Horror. I'm really into horror movies and… I've been doing some auditions for a role in the genre."

"Every once in a month?"

She let out a breath. It was obvious they'd notice someday, but she didn't expect it to be so fast.

"Huh?" In that moment, Emma prayed she was really a good actress. She forced a confused expression. "What are you talking about? I come here everyday. When you're still at the diner."

"You were in a terrible mood earlier today," Ben crossed his arms, staring at her with a suspicious look on his face. "And you're the most cheerful and energetic person I've ever met."

"Have you ever heard of PMS?"

Benjamin let out a small laugh, before adding:

"You lost control of your strength and accidentally smashed a glass in your hand this morning."

"I'm a little clumsy sometimes," Emma lied again. 

"You made a deal with our boss that you couldn't take night shifts on one specific day of the month and the following morning," she never assumed they'd notice that one detail. "Each one of these nights have Full Moons."

She raised her hands defeated. Ben didn't look scared or even upset. He didn't even show any surprise.

"Don't tell anyone. Please? I'll find another place to live. I just need some time."

"I can help you, Em."

"What?! Why?! Are you out of your mind? I have no control of myself. I'll kill you."

Benjamin sat on a chair and asked Emma to sit too, in front of him.

"West Virginia. My uncle. One night he was hunting in the woods, when he got bitten," he started telling. "At first we assumed it was an animal, but… after that he'd transform every Full Moon. We had to keep an eye on him, to prevent him from slaughtering people."

"And…" Emma stared into his eyes. "Is he cured now? Did you find a way to break the curse?"

"He went missing," Ben answered after a mournful pause. "Dead. Most likely. The neighbors started noticing something was off."

Emma swallowed dry. If she wasn't careful enough, that could be her fate too.

"Do you think anybody else noticed something is wrong about me?"

"No, I only noticed because I became familiar with the signs. But you should tell Jenna. She's at nursing school, she could help you with the tranquilizers."

And like that, her roommates became her 'Wolf Pack', as Emma liked to call them. They didn't mind covering her shifts or staying awake monitoring her werewolf form through the cameras they installed in the basement. A shotgun with silver shells was always prepared in case the worse scenario happened. 

The mornings after her transformation were the worst. Emma would feel exhausted and sore. She'd spend hours under the shower, where she'd let her emotions flow. No one had seen her crying yet. All the time, she acted tough and confident. No one could tell there was something so traumatic going on in her life. But in the loneliness of the early hours of those mornings, she felt like a scared lonely child.

April, 2022

After months of agony and misery, everything seemed to be falling in place, but Emma still couldn't feel like herself. She'd still attempt to record videos as she used to do in the past. But it wasn't the same. Her venting always came back to the same subject. She couldn't even post that online - people would assume she had definitely lost her sanity. But at least it was a good kind of therapy.

Ben and Jenna were helping her with an extensive research, but she couldn't find any clues that lead to an explanation of why she was still infected.

"Ugh," she placed her laptop away from her. "Not even the detective I hired could find any information about Eliza and Silas Vorez. It's like they never existed."

"They were probably using fake names," Ben suggested. "The woman kept the guy caged like an animal. That's certainly illegal."

"We should try a psychic someday," Jenna said. "Do you think they'd know anything about werewolves?"

"I doubt it."

"The Deep Web?"

"Oh, no. Ben taught me how to access it and I found some very… disturbing stuff there."

"I warned you about the werewolf kink," Ben said, letting out a laugh.

"Please, don't say it again," Emma made a disgusted face. "I wish I could unsee it."

"Anyways, it's your birthday tonight and we should definitely go out to celebrate."

It was the first time Emma wasn't excited for her birthday. All the previous years she'd throw wild parties and crowd her house with friends. Now, she barely left the apartment. She was either working at the diner, researching werewolves and once in a while, she'd sign up for auditions. So far, her only work as an actress was a small internet ad she did to promote Addison's diner.

"Happy birthday to me," Emma spoke to her cell phone's camera later, when she was lying in bed. "I turned nineteen today. Yay!"

"It was different from my other birthdays. I didn't get so many messages or gifts. No wild parties either. No, crazy parties actually. I don't like the word 'wild' anymore, now it reminds me of…"

She didn't finish. It was always hard to say it aloud. Even to herself. 

"I went out with Ben and Jenna to try to forget about… that thing . Sometimes I can allow myself to act like a normal girl and have some fun. I met some people during our night outs. Guys and girls too. But dating is not an option right now."

"I mean… how am I supposed to even squeeze a relationship among all this crazy shit that has been happening to me? I know some freaks have a werewolf kink but I bet they'd run away the second I burst into that bloody mess of a monster."

"There's one person though… nevermind."

She turned off the camera. The person she had in mind hadn't even called her yet. Not even to wish her a happy birthday. 

June, 2022

It was the beginning of another Summer. Almost one year had passed since that last night at Summer Camp. Emma was on her lunch break when got a call from an unknown number. Her heart skipped a beat - she was expecting a call about an audition she had done a few days later. But she never imagined the voice on the other side of the line would ruin that little balance she was attempting to keep in her inner world.

"Emma? It's me, Abi."

"A-Abi?" The corners of her mouth curled up in a smile. "It's… uh… it's been a long time. How have you been?"

"I'm home from college and I was wondering if you'd like to hangout."

[adrialae]

HI. HELLO. IM. TAKING YOU BY THE SHOULDERS AND SHAKING YOU. the fandom is Just Roll With It: Riptide!! it's a dnd podcast that i know for sure streams on youtube and spotify and i dont rember if it's anywhere else !

it follows 3 protagonists !!

Chip: a nineteen year old boy who survived a catastrophic event known as The Hole in the Sea

Jay: i dont know if i can describe her without giving a big plot point away i forget when it's revealed and dont know how much u care about spoilers so just know that she's really cool and has a gun mmhmm mmhmm

and Gillion Tidestrider Champion of the Undersea, Hero of the Deep, the most autistic fish you've ever seen in your entire fucking life, (all my homies love gillion tidestrider)

the podcast is. at. 114 episodes, and all are roughly 1.5-3 hours long. it will take a month to listen to all of it but IT'S SO WORTH IT IT'S SO GOOD. THE FANART IS BANGER. THEY ARE SO SILLY. it's dnd so there's ups and downs because it all depends on the dice. it will make you cry. it made me cry about three times in the past hour alone !!

there's two different ways to start- you can start with "The Hole in the Sea" oneshot that happened before the actual campaign - it's a oneshot that tells you the story of. you guessed it: the hole in the sea. baby chip is there, it gives you some backstory of three characters you'll meet later in the main campaign and it's honestly really cool :3

or you can do what i did and just start with the main campaign :D they will reference the hole in the sea but they describe it well enough that you're not really missing out on too much so dont stress about what order you go in :3

honestly it's just. really good. idk what else to say about it. i really like it. it's got found family and cool dnd magic and the character arcs will make you cry and all the fanart i've seen is so fuckin good and i haven't read any fics yet but im sure there's some pretty swag fics around and im just kinda. beggin at this point you should watch it if you need links lemme know ok love u bye

thank you!! sounds fascinating, i'll definitely check it out

[notsocheezy]

Brain Curd #193

Brain Curds are lightly edited flash fiction - practically first drafts - posted daily (haven't missed one yet!) and sometimes written with the express intention of being terrible… but, you know, in an endearing way. Please like and reblog if you enjoy - the notes keep me going!

He's gonna be Frank with you. Read the rest of The Frank Program here on Tumblr!

“Ladies and gentlemen…” Frank was focused intently on his hands and the desk. “Welcome back to The Frank Program.”

Big Mike had slept in the studio the night before - ostensibly. But he didn’t really get any rest. There were dark bags under his eyes. “Frankie… you’re rolling your own cigarettes now?”

Frank cleared his throat. “Ah… yeah, that’s right.”

He took the ‘cigarette’ and put it in his mouth to light it. He inhaled deeply, held it for a moment, and coughed. In fact, he coughed for a full five minutes before he was able to catch his breath and continue the show.

“Right, uh… our guest today is none other than…” He checked his notes. “Esteemed astrophysician, Dr. Terry Constantine Vernon. Welcome to the show, sir.”

“Thanks.”

Frank took another hit, and handled it much better this time. His eyes were a bloodshot and he yawned, reclining in his chair and stretching his muscles. He said nothing. Dr. Vernon said nothing. Mike broke the silence.

“Dr. Vernon, is there evidence to suggest that there is life after death?”

“No.”

“What about reincarnation?”

“Also no.”

The clock continued ticking, almost seeming to get louder with each tock. Frank seemed oblivious to the fact that he was recording a podcast, and Vernon sat there, just waiting for someone to ask him a question that wasn’t yes or no. Mike began to sweat. He wasn’t used to this length of dead air in his profession. By his count it had been thirty seconds now since any of them said something.

He leaned over to speak to Frank. “Hey buddy, do you have any questions prepared?”

“Eh, who needs that? I usually just ask whatever I’m wonderin’ about.”

“I tried that, Frankie, it’s not working.”

“Then wonder about something else and leave me be.”

“What’s gotten into you, man? Is this about your kid?”

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talkin’ about, Mike. Go interview the damn guest.”

Mike shrugged and leaned back into his seat. “Uh, alright… are soulmates a thing?”

Dr. Vernon shook his head.

“You gotta answer out loud. This is an audio podcast.”

“No.”

“What makes you say that?”

“There is no scientific evidence to suggest soulmates - or souls - exist. Pair bonding is a chemical reaction in the brain. Ever heard of oxytocin?”

“Yeah,” Frank said. “I got prescribed some of that after my back surgery.”

Mike glared at him. “Not oxycontin, you idiot.”

Frank rolled his eyes.

“Oxytocin,” Vernon explained, “is often called the ‘love chemical’. That’s absurd of course. That’s quite a complicated function of the brain. But it has been found to correlate with such feelings, notably with romantic couples and between parents and children.”

Frank burst out of his chair and leaned on the table. “Doc, are you saying all I gotta do to get my boy back is dope him up with this oxy whatever?”

“No. I am in no way saying or endorsing that.”

Mike raised his hand. “Would it work on my wife?”

“Absolutely not.”

Frank shook his head. “What good are you, then, anyhow?”

“Why doesn’t one of you ask me something about astrophysics?”

Mike and Frank looked at each other and silently agreed.

“Nah.” Frank said, then took another hit. “This…” He coughed a few times. “This has been… has been The Frank Program.” He started giggling. “Isn’t it funny that I always say the same thing, Mikey? Thanks for letting me be Frank… with you.” Frank’s lower lip quivered. “Daryl came up with that…”

[write-feel-live-love]

Welcome to the Happiness Project

So I don't know if you're familiar with Gretchen Rubin, but she has this thing called the Happiness Project. She also has a great podcast called Happier. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, if you want to learn more about her, go for it. I'm writing about my own Happiness Project, based off of hers. The gist of it is that you need to pick a theme per month (some aspect of self-improvement) and then pick mini goals to achieve that lead you closer to that theme.

So here's my first entry:

Month #1: Heal

I learned in therapy recently that I have been depressed for 6 years. Yes, this was news to me. I'm apparently really good at denial. Like.. Pro Level. Even more recently I discovered I've been depressed since I was 12. Again, Pro Level of denial.

I've always been someone to take my labels seriously and when I heard this news, I spiraled for a hot minute. I didn't know how to adjust this new label into my current life: Mother. Wife. Teacher. Where does Pro Level Depression Denier fall?

So I decided maybe it was time to step back and heal. Before I get too deep, you need to know one thing. It's been almost a year since I had my second child and post-partum depression/ anxiety has kicked my ass.

Goal #1: Start a new vitamin to combat the hair loss that my beautiful baby caused. Surprisingly, this one might actually be working. I showered tonight and not nearly as much hair fell out of my head as usual. Still could have been a wig for a small doll, but we're getting there!

Goal #2: Do a session of yoga or walk on the treadmill for 15 minutes every night. This one has also gone surprisingly well. I've only missed one might when depression hit a little harder than normal. But with the support of my fantastic husband, we got back on track the next night. Again, I started this project mid-way through March so this might not actually be THAT impressive, BUT I have 2 children under the age of 5. I think it's a pretty fucking great start.

Goal #3: Continue to work on banishing oil. I'm working my way into a new religious path. Part of which values protection. Right now, I'm working on banishing negativity from my life. Hence, banishing oil. Currently basking in the moon light charging up so I can actually use it in a ritual this week. (P.S.- No judgment please, I'm not here for it.)

Goal #4: Make Spring Break plans! I'm a teacher. I'm a burnt out teacher. Who has two small children I still have to watch over Spring Break because I created them and am responsible for them. Hence, we need to get the fuck out of the house next week or I'm going to go fucking crazy.

Goal #5: Identify the Top 3 things bugging the crap out of me at work (bonus if you can make a plan to work on them). I'll be honest here. I haven't gotten to this one yet. Work is hard right now. State testing is upon us, the kids know Spring Break is coming. Every one is burnt out and checked out. I still have a week left of March. I got time!

Goal #6: Make a list of the things that make me feel sexy. My sex life is in the trash. Post-partum and regular depression have taken my will to bone. I used to be a machine. So, to combat this, I need to find what makes me feel sexy again. So far, and pathetically, clothes have been it. Until I thought about it, and realized that somehow dancing also works. I need to give this some more thought, but yeah. We're getting there.

Last Minute Goal #7: 24 for 24. Also stolen from Gretchen Rubin. As indicated by the disclaimer. This one is last minute. So I don't have an update for this yet. It's coming.

So yeah. If you've read this, thanks. If not, it's all good. This is more for me than for anybody else anyway. I've been told that if you want to be a writer, write. I used to write all the time to express my thoughts and learn how I really feel. (Kind of informs the name of this blog, which I'll explain some day.) So here I am. Writing to figure out who this new person is, if the old me is in here somewhere, and how those two people are going to get along for the rest of my life.

[sabriel-13]

Pressure vs. Patience

I just had a super interesting chat with my boss.

In March, I was given Atlas of the Heart for my birthday by the team I work in. I am certain she was the person who came up with it.

Today I mentioned that I haven't checked it yet and I am hoping to make the mental space for it - and she tried to convince me to start a book club together and read the book together.

"I cannot tell you how much I don't want to do that," I said. "I am probably not ready."

"But how to do you know that you're not ready for something? Maybe it's THE book, or THE movie, or THE podcast and you are missing out because you don't feel ready." I proceeded explaining that I finally realized that my subconscious and my body know exactly what I need at a given point in time. That I have not been listening to We can do hard things, and today I just realized that I want to, so I started.

My boss really likes to pressure herself into uncomfortable things. She claims she thrives in awkwardness. She it very hard-willed and I find her very impressive.

I learned that I need a softer approach and pressure is not good for me. I learned to be patient with myself, to say "I am going to do it when I am ready and that's fine". I learned that I DO HAVE the time.

I grew so much. I am now able to say "No." to someone that I really like and admire. So we're not doing book club yet. She will be convincing me to start it, and I am going to keep practicing my No, and we're both gonna learn something.

[spacetravelwriter]

Langblr Reactivation Challenge

Week 1

Day 2: Write a list of goals you have for your target languages. Make both long term and short term goals. An overall goal could be to have the ability to talk with native speakers with ease and a smaller goal would be to finally learn that difficult grammar point that's been plaguing you for ages. How will you achieve them?

Basque: my main target language

Weekly: I plan on sticking to 1 lesson a week from the book "The Basque language: A practical introduction" by Alan R. King. I'll stick to 1 lesson weekly because I bring my notebook with me to uni and do excercises during boring lectures and breaks I have in between (15-min breaks) and I don't even have to do anything at home. It's easier for me sticking to a habit like this.

Small habit: listen to a podcast 2-3x a week (it doesn't matter if I don't, because I listen to Basque songs a lot and on a daily basis anyway). These podcasts aren't to be listened only once because my level is still too low to understand. At this point I just get to understand more of the context of the podcast every time I listen to the same one.

In the next month (until 2023): I need to review all grammar I learned because I feel like I brushed over some parts a bit. I won't force myself to master that grammar but I need a reminder. Same goes for vocab, especially those fillers, words like "just, anyway" etc.

In 6 months: I want to be comfortable enough to go on Tandem app and talk to euskaldunak there. My goal until May-June is to become conversational, so that would be my test to check if I managed it.

Spanish: daily used language

Short-term goals: I don't have because I don't even sit to study anymore, I just pick up things by using it online all the time.

Small habits: I already do the comprehension excercises by listening to Real Madrid players speak Spanish, but I want to find some fun podcasts to listen to sometimes

1 thing on my wishlist: I want to read a book in Spanish, I have bought a middle grade book which I haven't yet had the courage to start because I had a bad experience at trying to read German books, but I know my Spanish is much better, I just kind of have this fear

Long-term goal: take the DELE C1 exam in autumn 2023/spring 2024 (I'm missing some of the basic vocabulary, even for A1, so I need to work on that)

German: I need to regain the level I had

I'm not excited about this because my German is school-taught and I finished school 2 years ago. Now I have a completely different language learning system and I don't know how to apply it to the language I had a broken system for studying. I want to get back to it, hopefully next year, but I still don't know how

Figure out which language to learn next

I won't force myself for this but Here's the list of languages I think I want to take up (from most excited about to somewhat excited/not sure at all):

Japanese

Arabic

Korean

Portuguese

Polish

Turkish

Russian

Keep in mind this list can change anytime, I'm kind of getting the idea of learning Finnish or Hungarian, so I might just randomly take up one of those. My brain is unpredictable but it's also better to listen to my guts than force myself to decide on a language. This is exactly how I took up Basque 😅

[torpublishinggroup]

Hey beautiful! Do you have any recommendations for supernatural horror with lesbians? Thank you for considering!

Hey there 😉

tysm tysm for asking this bc do we ever! Okay so literally just off the cuff, if we're talking movies we HAVE to plug Jennifer's Body (2009) and the Fear Street films. If we're talking shows, it might be redundant to call The Haunting of Bly Manor absolutely bone-chillingly haunting, but if by chance you haven't watched yet, it's gorgeous and beautiful and gay, which seems kinda like ur forte!

If you're into graphic novels...one-million-hundred percent please check out Monstress by Sana Takeda & Marjorie Liu! Adventure with hefty horror seasoning. Girl's arm is a monster and likes to eat people. Cruel world, good friends, and not-so-good friends! Chef's kiss of a series. C'est Magnifique~

Audio horror... The Magnus Archives written by Jonny Sims and produced by Rusty Quill has some wlw ships, though the cast doesn't really start pairing off until the later seasons. If you're willing to wait for your gay, check this one out! It's so so so so so so good. Pseudopod is an incredible podcast for short horror fiction and has a dearth of queer stories of every kind, but two recent ones that float to the top of the head are Episode 807: The Bleak Communion of Abandoned Things by M. A. Blanchard, and Episode 775: Miss Mack by Michael McDowell (screen credits include Beetlejuice and collabed on The Nightmare Before Christmas).

Okay. Now books because we are Tor Books lmao. While not expressly horror, more space opera with decidedly horrific elements, Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir and the entire Locked Tomb series about gay space necromancers kick so much ass! Also check out Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin—it's a gloriously gory genderplague apocalypse story about exhausted, desperate, often despairfully horny trans people fighting zombies and militant terfs.

As for upcoming books?? We are blessed, truly. The Scourge Between Stars by Ness Brown is horror with space lesbians. Camp Damascus by "World's Greatest Author" / almost black belt / dinosaur erotica extraordinaire Chuck Tingle is a story about a conversion camp designed to help steer those gone-astray queers back to holy God via means truly devilish. Tell Me I'm Worthless by Alison Rumfitt is a gay AF story about trans identity and a house haunted by fascism. Good things are coming! And by good things, I mean bloody horror!

Wishing you a big sapphicly gay day 🌈

[vaspider]

I was able to make friends with another nonbinary person!!! I went over their place to bleach her hair and while we were talking I found out they had just come out and we were able to bond over gender things.

Also, if you have the energy, do you have any tips to getting to meet other trans individuals in person? I'm not sure what to even look up to find a group that isn't just a Facebook group which feels mildly unsafe since it's attached to personal information. But I dont want my only exposure to the LGBT community to be online. Thank you for any information you're able to give

It depends on where you live. Let's pretend for the sake of argument that you live where I live: Portland, Oregon.

I do want to say up front that in this time of COVID especially, I consider any "intentional time-specific gathering," whether on Zoom, Discord, or any other way, to be "in person." I realized I'd never clarified this when I talk about this stuff. I haven't been to anything where I sit around with other humans and breathe the same air intentionally since February 2019 save for like... 2 weeks last summer when I got to go to 2 outdoor Shabbat services in that little window between "full vaccination" and "Delta", and ECCC, which we had spent like $6k on before Delta and couldn't afford to miss.

Since we're gonna have COVID for a fucking while yet, and because even after COVID is gone, online solutions will always be an important accessibility tool for a lot of disabled people, I think it's useful to recalibrate our ideas of what "in person" are, and the value we give to those video/call/chat options.

So with that in mind, I'd start by (if you're not comfortable using Facebook, which unfortunately is one of the better places to find local meet-up groups which aren't awful) finding a local college website and searching "LGBT resources" or just searching "LGBT resources near me" or "LGBT resources [zipcode]" on the search engine of your choice.

For me, that pulls up SMYRC, the Q Center, Basic Rights Oregon, Brave Space, The Living Room, the TransActive Gender Project, and more.

From there I'd winnow down the list to what's appropriate to me (some of these are youth-focused, though getting involved as a volunteer with those might be a good option for you to meet other trans adults who are also volunteering), and go poking through. The Q Center has a Community Events calendar which lists events outside the Q Center itself (like a play called "The Queers" which was at Backdoor Theater), a Q Center Events calendar (all events currently virtual), and a Free Resource Events calendar, which includes things like pantries, name change clinics, AA meetings for LGBTQ+ folx, support groups for bipolar, late-in-life queers, and all kinds of things.

Since I'm Jewish, I would also look at Keshet's Equality Directory to find queer-friendly rabbis near me (which would likely indicate there are queer and trans folx at that synagogue). If I were Christian, I would check GayChurch.org instead. I didn't find a directory like that for pagan folx but I did see some local FB groups. There's a list of resources for LGBTQ+ Muslims on Muslims For Progressive Values.

I had some luck on Twitter also. There are a bunch of relatively loud local activists on there, and being on Twitter doesn't require you to give up much personal information. Emet got involved with local leftists by looking for people like Robert Evans, who does the podcast Behind the Bastards, and then looking at who he was talking to locally and just poking around from there.

There are also a bunch of clubs and bars and stuff, which are constantly advertising on local FB groups and sometimes on Twitter. I'm not doing those right now for obvious reasons.

If you are in a rural area, you might want to look at the nearest city, even if it's a relatively small city. I used to drive down to Bethlehem from the Poconos when I was in HS for Rocky Horror (which is another thing you can look for - RHPS hasn't aged well, but it meant a lot to us older queers and a lot of us forgive its failures and faults the same way we forgive our unintentionally offensive grandpa who tries real hard) and into Philly from Lancaster for stuff. The good news is that with stuff being virtual rn, you can test out a community without driving hours!

I'm sure there are things I didn't think of, so if anyone has other suggestions, please put them in the notes!

[peternureyevplsdontbetraythecrew]

after dreading it for a couple of days I finally got to it and listened to the last episode of Wooden Overcoats

not only did I sob for a good half an hour, I also laughed a lot and ended up smiling like an idiot, equal parts satisfied with the ending and already missing the show

the whole podcast meant a lot to me cause, beside being generally insanely good and having one of the best soundscape I've ever seen in podcasts, it also had one one my favorite found/actual-family mixed group of insane little people

please if you haven't given it a listen yet, you definitely should check it out, so in honor of the finale I'll share the synopsis in an attempt to get you hooked and I will tell you that yes, it's as ridiculous and good as they make it seem :

so yeah, I am going to miss them all a lot

[tobeornottotc]

Listen Here

Still trying to process this episode! It was crazy but so great! Here is the new podcast episode where we break down and analyze every moment in this episode, from the mirroring with the past episode to this episode, to explaining why this episode was done so well in terms of structure, plot, and of course chemistry and depth. This episode had it all. I could talk and analyze this show all day, but I am still shell shocked by the last part of this episode. I am falling more and more in love with this show. So if you want to see what I would be writing as essays, you could listen to those thoughts on here. Let me know what you think, and I hope you enjoy. :) Okay see you later going back to fangirling about this show. 

Thank you again @badprophetvx for joining me to speak about this show. <3 you very much