#draft from January 26 2024

[clfixationstation]

Protective

[aiscapades]

lots of discussion about touchstarved names but has anyone linked kuras with "cure" or have i missed it. also vere like revere/reverence. also ace (ais) like in playing cards originally meant bad luck but changed to a positive meaning, like an expert at something ("ace magician"). also mhin like min like minimum because they're tiny <3

also this post that has been sitting in my drafts since january 26, 2024

but i'm now certain ais comes from aisling bc of the dream/vision meaning and all of the eye symbolism around him

[kiwiana-writes]

2024 Writing Round Up

Thanks to @cha-melodius for the tag a couple of days ago—I put this in draft to wait for my Christmas gift fic to be published, even though I still have a couple of 2024 deadlines remaining. This is... a long fucking list, so under the cut it goes. I’m tagging everyone mentioned below abs anyone else who wants to play!!

JANUARY

None of my love will go to waste [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 5,306 words] Henry has made peace with the fact that he's in love with his straight roommate. When he walks in on said "straight" roommate with a man, though, he may need to re-evaluate. [A gift for @clottedcreamfudge]

All the Lonely Starbucks Lovers [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 5,895 words] Five times Henry puts his foot in his mouth in front of his customer crush, and one time he puts his dick in his customer crush's mouth instead doesn't.

[PODFIC] Going Platinum [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 2:11:26 long] Podfic of Going Platinum by @cricketnationrise

FEBRUARY

[PODFIC] but if you could see us from a distance, you’d know i’ve always been so close to you [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1:03:31 long] Podfic of but if you could see us from a distance, you’d know i’ve always been so close to you by @anincompletelist

A thousand dreams that would awake me [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 5,935 words] Henry visits a sex club to get spanked the way he's craving.

MARCH

Pankakke [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 644 words] The first trickle of syrup that hits him is always the best. He gasps, opening up his batter bubbles to allow more in, writhing in pleasure as the maple tips his bottle until he's spent. Henry moans appreciatively as he absorbs the thick liquid, welcoming it in.

Thus may poor fools believe false teachers [RWRB; Oscar & Rafael; rated T; 1,808 words] Rafael's POV of the Dad's Way cancellation; a prequel to With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) [a gift for @inexplicablymine]

APRIL

What a beautiful tone [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 2,345 words] First time rimming but make it really, really introspective.

Warm like the glow that you feel head to toe [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 5,131 words] Alex is a senator; Henry is a prince who knows exactly what he wants.

Nature's infinite book of secrecy [RWRB; Alex/Henry, Oscar & Rafael; rated T; 1,981 words] Five times Rafael tried to figure out when Henry might propose and one time Oscar did something with that information; a sequel to With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest) [a gift for @cricketnationrise]

[PODFIC] …But My Boyfriend Is [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 0:16:40 long] Podfic of ...But My Boyfriend Is by @clottedcreamfudge

MAY

[PODFIC] kiss me like you love me [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 0:14:47 long] Podfic of kiss me like you love me by @getmehighonmagic

[PODFIC] You're So Attractive; How Did That Happen [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 0:15:28 long] Podfic of You're So Attractive; How Did That Happen by @sparklepocalypse

[PODFIC] I Hear It (When I Look at You) [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated M; 0:37:45 long] Podfic of I Hear It (When I Look at You) by @affectionatelyrs

[PODFIC + LIVE READ WHILE BAKING] An Amateur's Guide to Piping That Cream and Beating That Meat [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated T; 0:38:29 long (podfic), 0:45:24 long (live read)] Podfic of An Amateur's Guide to Piping That Cream and Beating That Meat by @firenati0n

Like loving the stars themselves [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 7,219 words] Alex is a Time Lord, and time is complicated; Henry keeps meeting him out of order, and it's been a while.

Steep my senses in forgetfulness [The Pairing; Kit/Theo; rated G; 416 words] Theo can hear the way the ocean rolls up to the shore, lapping up over the beach before falling back, summoned into the chill of the Atlantic.

A Prince in the Pâtisserie [RWRB/The Pairing crossover; Alex/Henry, Kit/Theo; rated T; 588 words] “Parlez-vous anglais?” Alex Claremont-Diaz asks, his smile somehow even more blinding in person than it is on TV—and, yeah, maybe Kit only really started paying attention to US politics when Ellen Claremont was elected. Sue him. “I really hope so, cause I’m pretty sure Henry’s getting sick of translating for me.”

[PODFIC] No Ordinary Friend [The Pairing; Blond Calum/Ginger Calum; rated M; 0:22:25 long] Podfic of No Ordinary Friend by @cha-melodius

The wind in our free-flowing sails (and the liquor in our cocktails) [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1,889 words] Henry is a speakeasy bartender, and Alex is the surface for body shots. Then they fuck about it. That's the fic. [A gift for @sparklepocalypse]

When a man has fallen down upon his knees [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1,886 words] Henry is a Broadway star, and Alex is his principal dresser. There are a LOT of quick changes. [A gift for @blueeyedgrlwrites]

A compass that fell silent at the sound of song [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1,542 words] The golden age of piracy has come and gone, but every ending is a new beginning. [A gift for @cactusdragon517]

One day we'll be living in the stars [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated M; 1,262 words] Alex is a new settler on Mars, and Henry helps him settle in. So to speak. [A gift for @ashesfromashes]

JUNE

[PODFIC] Through His Stomach [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1:21:59 long] Podfic of Through His Stomach by @frostingway for @aroyallybigbangrwrb

With his educated eyes (and his head between my thighs) [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 2,110 words] Savile Row tailors have spacious dressing rooms. [A gift for @sparklepocalypse]

Just let me get that, slick back [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 2,069 words] Henry's hair is long, and Alex feels extremely normal about it. Honest.

A midnight medication (just show me where it hurts) [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated T; 2,121 words] Henry became a paediatrician to help sick children—not to flirt with their adults. [A gift for @sail-not-drift]

JULY

Naturally adapted for bodily exertion [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 1,954 words] Alex and Henry are competitors in the Olympic Pentathlon... in 444BC. [A gift for @three-drink-amy]

Never want to live (or die) without you [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 9,999 words] Alex Claremont-Diaz is a pretty ordinary guy with a pretty ordinary life. He has a kinda shitty corporate law job, a nice apartment, and an incredibly sexy husband. It's a good life, overall. He's not anticipating any major changes to that life anytime soon. Major changes like, for example, eating some sketchy shellfish during a client lunch meeting and suddenly finding himself undead and with an irresistible craving for human flesh. You know. Hypothetically. (A Santa Clarita Diet AU)

I pictured you with other girls in love [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 5,187 words] Henry has an unfortunately physical reaction the first time he meets Alex... and it's not the one you're thinking of. [A gift for @sparklepocalypse]

AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

Brain break(down)

OCTOBER

SERIES: Kinktober 2024 [RWRB; various pairings; rated E; 40,000 words total]

Collars

Incubus/Succubus

Wax Play

Xenophilia

Somnophilia

Rough Sex

Nipple Orgasm [Alex/Nora]

Service Top

Tentacles

Cigar/Ash Play [Oscar/Rafael]

Hair Kink

Mutual Masturbation

Wing Kink

Magical Healing Dick

Boot Worship [Zahra/Shaan]

Biting

Hand/Finger Kink

Exhibitionism

Merpeople

Belly Bulge

Voice Kink

Fisting

Selfcest [39-year-old Henry/38-year-old Alex/19-year-old Alex]

Glory Hole

Double Penetration [June/Nora/Pez]

Orgasm Delay/Denial

Dry Humping

Dendrophilia

Omorashi, Humiliation [two prompts combined because I missed a day]

Sex Toys, Power Bottom, Knotting [all three prompts used for the last day of Kinktober!]

NOVEMBER

Someday your rainbow will come smiling through [Cinderella; trans man Cinderella/Cinderella's Prince; rated G; 3,108 words] A trans take on Cinderella [originally written as an original short story and shared on AO3 when it wasn't submitted for publication]

[WIP] Years of dreams just can't be wrong [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 13,330 words currently published] An Anastasia AU.

We gonna need some brand-new jeans [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 930 words] Finding a use for Thanksgiving leftovers. [Written for Smutsgiving 2024]

DECEMBER

Make heaven drowsy with the harmony [RWRB; Zahra/Shaan; rated M; 2,630 words] Zahra and Shaan's story before and alongside With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest). [A gift for @cricketnationrise for @fandomtrumpshate]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered [RWRB; Liam/Pez; rated E; 3,682 words] Five times Pez brings in something ridiculous to post to his friend in the States, and one time Liam has to put his foot down. [A gift for @onthewaytosomewhere for @fandomtrumpshate]

I only want you under my mistletoe [RWRB; Alex/Henry, Liam/Pez; rated E; 5,649 words] Pre-Christmas shopping is hell, but some retail workers make it more than bearable. [A gift for @everwitch-magiks]

[TBD by the end of the year] Inside you the time moves [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 10-20k] A gift for @amanita-fierce for @fandomtrumpshate

[TBD by the end of the year] All my promise and my pride (all my fear and all my fight) [RWRB; Alex/Henry; rated E; 10-20k] A gift for @larkral for @fandomtrumpshate

[thepromptfoundry]

The prompt theme for January 2024 is a January of Firsts!

If you use this list, please tag me here @thepromptfoundry, I’d love to see your writing and art!

Feel free to combine different days' prompts with each other, or combine them with other seasonal events! Use your OCs, your favorite characters from media, whatever tickles your fancy.

Respond to as many prompts as you want or as interest you, don’t worry about missing or skipping any. Remember, this is supposed to be fun!

Plain text list below the cut:

1) First impression 2) First step in a journey 3) First snow 4) First blood 5) First fitting 6) First gift 7) First take 8) First touch 9) First day at work or school 10) First chair 11) First love 12) First loss 13) First meeting 14) First star 15) First cut 16) First look into the unknown 17) First kiss 18) First point 19) First class 20) First time on their own 21) First choice 22) First in line 23) First word 24) First draft 25) First spark 26) First runner up 27) First base 28) First aid 29) First born 30) First taste 31) First night

[summerlinenss]

out of curiosity, if Max doesn’t release its metrics, then what metrics are you actually using to make these statements about the show’s popularity? what does “it’s currently in the 99.7th percentile of the comedy genre, meaning it’s in higher demand than 99.7% of all comedy series in the u.s.” even mean? How are you measuring what’s “in demand” - by who? Where? It’s bold to claim that this show was wildly popular (despite the fact that I never hear about it outside of tumblr, tho that’s a personal anecdote) but cancelled just for being queer, so I would be really interested to know where you’re getting all these numbers from. Thanks!

hey anon! first of all i am so sorry for the delayed response. i started typing something up and then i got distracted with something else and totally forgot about this in my drafts.

sure, i have no problem citing sources. i probably should’ve linked some in my original post, that’s absolutely fair.

this ended up way longer than i planned so bear with me, but a quick overview of what i’ll be going over:

1) what are the stats/where did they come from?

2) how is the show so popular?

3) was it really cancelled for being queer?

(also just a disclaimer that this will contain spoilers for the show)

1) first, the numbers

you’re right that hbo doesn’t release metrics to the public. in fact, ceo casey bloys tried to justify the cancellation to the hollywood reporter by saying “the numbers weren’t there,” despite refusing to say what exactly those numbers were or where they came from.

however, there are websites dedicated to researching/analyzing the data of different media. one of those is parrot analytics, who focus on industry insights like audience demand, competitive analysis, and content valuations. they’re trusted as a reliable source by forbes, the new york times, reuters, the wall street journal, and more.

this is what we can learn from them about our flag means death from a basic google search (note that all of this data is relevant to the last 30 days as of january 26 2024):

audience demand for our flag means death is now 33.6x greater than the average tv series in the united states. as explained in the “about demand distribution” section, this means it’s one of only 0.2% of all u.s. shows to fall in the “exceptional” performance range compared to the “average” demand benchmark of 64.1%.

the change in demand for ofmd in the u.s. has increased by 7.5% compared to the average tv series.

ofmd now actually ranks at the 99.8th percentile in the comedy genre in the u.s. i’m not a math person, but in basic terms, this is like a scale of measuring and comparing performances to create an average score. essentially, ofmd is performing at the very top of all comedy series in the u.s.

ofmd has 100% home market travelability. as it says above, the market of origin is always 100%, so in fairness i included the graph of international markets for comparison. some of these aren't super high, however (as explained by parrot analytics themselves) one of the key issues with the international market is accessibility to content, which has been an ongoing struggle for international fans. many people (i guess fittingly) have resorted to pirating ofmd because they don’t have access to max or affiliate streaming services in their country.

there are more stats i could have and wanted to go more in-depth into but it would make this even longer than it already is, so i’ll just leave some links you can check out if you’re interested and move on:

• comparison of ofmd's success to shows like ted lasso, euphoria, and peacemaker

• ofmd's placement as #1 most in-demand breakout series in the u.s. for 8 weeks

• ofmd's impressive 94% critics score and 95% audience score on rotten tomatoes

• how ofmd evolved from sleeper hit to a flagship series at max

• a list of ofmd's past and present award nominations/wins

• praise and recognition from news/entertainment sites: the atlantic (2022); the new york times (2023); tv guide (2023); vulture (2023); forbes (2023); the los angeles times (2022); vanity fair (2023)

2) so why haven’t you (or others) really heard of the show outside of tumblr despite all this success? likely because max did a terrible job marketing it.

ofmd first aired on hbo max (pre-merger before it was “max”) in march 2022. the entire season aired over one month, every thursday at 12am pst. season 2 followed a similar release schedule in october 2023.

season 1’s marketing was almost non-existent, pretty much relying on taika waititi’s name being attached. there was one teaser and one full-length trailer, as well as a few clips on youtube of taika and rhys darby answering pirate-themed trivia, all painting the show as a “silly pirate workplace/buddy comedy.” but hbo max didn’t put any real effort in because they didn’t care. david zaslav and the other higher-ups had no faith in the show and expected it to fail.

most people weren’t aware it was actually a romance due to the poor marketing, and although there were many romantically charged scenes between them, many were still wary to believe it wasn’t queerbaiting until ed & stede confessed their feelings and kissed.

showrunner david jenkins has said in interviews that he had no idea how deeply queerbaiting had hurt audiences and impacted their ability to trust what’s on screen without feeling like they’re being ridiculed, despite the fact that he was calling it a love story the whole time. it wasn’t until people realized they weren’t being queerbaited and that it was a funny, sincere show with a compelling plot that word-of-mouth began to spread. by the time the season 1 finale aired, there was a decent-sized fandom that continued to grow as it received more praise.

it was a fight to even get the show renewed for season 2, and david jenkins and the cast have majorly credited that renewal to the unexpected and massive fan response to the show, which basically forced hbo’s hand.

max didn’t bother trying to properly promote the series until season 2, when they begrudgingly accepted that it was one of their most profitable and successful shows. ofmd had huge billboards in times square, downtown los angeles, and on the side of hbo headquarters. they started accurately marketing the show as not just a workplace comedy at sea, but a heartfelt romcom. max began selling long-demanded merch (which became best sellers) and spent money on an FYC campaign.

i will emphasize, whether they liked it or not, they knew ofmd was their new moneymaker (especially with the recent end of succession, which was obviously a cash cow for hbo).

photo credit: @/bookishtheo

3) now if it was that successful, was it really cancelled just for being queer?

i mean, i can’t say that definitively. no one can. there are several potential factors at play that we may never know, and there have been a lot of rumours and speculation (many of which i don’t feel comfortable discussing in case they aren’t true) since the cancellation.

but do i believe the fact that it’s a queer romcom was one of those factors, especially since max has a history of cancelling and scrapping its most diverse projects? absolutely.

first and foremost, i can’t stress enough that this isn’t just a show with a few characters thrown in for token representation. ofmd is built on a diverse, intersectional cast and narratives, including:

• lgbtq+ representation: 5 main couples are explicitly queer (including mlm, wlw, nblm, and nblw relationships). multiple characters are implied to be poly, and there’s a polycule forming in season 2 that was hinted to be developed more in season 3. beyond relationships, it’s confirmed that (similarly to the way wwdits depicts all vampires as being pansexual) all of the pirates are somewhere on the queer spectrum.

• bipoc representation: the majority of the main cast are people of colour. this includes david fane, joel fry, leslie jones, samson kayo, vico ortiz, anapela polataivao, madeleine sami, samba schutte, ruibo qian, and taika waititi, as well as many guest actors (like rachel house, simone kessell, and maaka pohatu) and extras.

• disability representation: multiple characters have physical disabilities, most notably amputated/prosthetic limbs and visual impairment. a lot (actually most) of the characters also deal with mental health issues, particularly coping with severe trauma and suicidal ideation/behaviour.

• the show has been praised for addressing difficult and serious themes like toxic masculinity, colonialism, and self-discovery, all while still managing to be a witty comedy and not come across as “preachy.”

• the diversity also extends off-screen, with a team of directors, writers, and additional crew comprised of numerous bipoc, women, queer people, and trans/non-binary people.

my point isn’t just the quantity of representation, but the quality. they take great care and respect into every marginalized group depicted on-screen. the actors would often be consulted about their characters’ costumes, hair, tattoos, and the kind of language they use. it’s not a world where discrimination magically doesn’t exist, they just have zero tolerance for it. if a character does something homophobic or racist, you can guarantee they’ll quickly (and often violently) be punished.

so okay, sure, it’s got great representation. what does that have to do max cancelling it?

because they’ve been interfering with production from the start.

i already mentioned the marketing issues so i won’t get into that. it was also revealed in interviews with david jenkins after season 2 that hbo cut their budget by 40%, which is why they had to do everything they could to save money. this included letting go of some of the original cast (and even still having episodes where some of them don’t appear at all) and moving the entire production to AoNZ. the budget cuts also meant two less episodes, so they had to rush to fit an entire season’s worth of plot into eight half-hour long episodes.

but one of the biggest frustrations is hbo’s (alleged) censorship of the show. samba schutte revealed that the entire plot of episode 2x06 was completely different in the original script. before it was rewritten as “calypso’s birthday,” the episode took place during lucius & pete’s wedding and focused on the crew getting sick of the sexual tension between ed & stede and trying to get them to hook up (this aligned with lucius & pete getting engaged and ed & stede deciding to take things slow in the previous episode).

vico ortiz and writer jes tom have also commented that many scenes between jim, oluwande, and archie establishing them as a polycule were cut, including one of the three of them emerging from a bedroom in their underwear. jes has mentioned other elements of season 2 that had to be cut out or rewritten, like the implication of other poly dynamics between the crew and more sexually explicit scenarios and jokes.

considering that ofmd is an extremely sex-positive show that isn’t afraid to be raunchy or taboo, it’s clear that either higher-ups at hbo forced them to cut these things out or they had no choice but to cut them out due to tight budget/time restraints.

in addition to this, a recent article citing an “anonymous insider” has alleged that hbo was uncomfortable with and was unsure how to market the “shock violence” in the show (the same network that aired game of thrones), which david jenkins outright called out as being bullshit. ofmd is rated TV-MA and the posters and trailers all show the audience that it contains violent content. there is literally nothing more graphic in ofmd than any other pirate show — it’s probably a lot tamer than most of them, actually.

violence on the show is most frequently used in a comedic context, in the sense that it’s not meant to be seen as scary or taken seriously. the few instances of serious graphic imagery on the show are meant to invoke a mood shift, like ed’s transformation into the kraken or ned low’s murder. it should also be noted that some of the most graphic deaths are reserved for bigots, like ed snapping the neck of a colonizer who was ridiculing stede’s love letter.

it’s also most often used in a sexual context — not sexual violence, but violence as a sexual metaphor. more specifically the act of stabbing as a metaphor for penetration, as seen with both ed & stede and anne & mary. bearing all this in mind, it seems like the real issue here isn’t executives struggling to market explicit violence to a mainstream audience, but rather explicit gay content.

as much as we joke and affectionately call it the “gay pirate show,” ofmd has always been nothing more than an opportunity for rainbow capitalism for hbo (e.g. the fact that they waited three months to announce season 2 just so they could do it on the first day of pride month). like other cancelled queer media, ofmd was a way for hbo executives to show how “inclusive” and “accepting” they are when it was convenient (aka profitable) for them, but they never actually respected the show or us as a community.

it’s impossible to be certain of what the exact reasoning for cancellation was, especially when they won’t give us a clear answer themselves. and maybe it had nothing to do with ofmd being a queer romcom at all. maybe that’s all a horrible coincidence. but for hbo/max to axe a critically acclaimed and beautifully inclusive show that’s successful by every metric, with an extremely devoted fanbase, especially after casey bloys just had the nerve to ask “gay twitter” to hype up the gilded age? it doesn’t exactly put them in the best light regardless.

in summary, i’ll leave you with this editorial, which details how the campaign to save ofmd isn’t just about one show, but a fight to save the future of all queer art.

[j-trow-95]

Six (or seven) Sentence Sunday

Thanks for the tags this week @blackberrysummerblog @orange-peony and @thewholelemon .

So, this week marked the end of 2024's PaWriCo (an alternative to NaNoWriMo), and while I definitely didn't meet my target of 100k, I did manage to crank out over 40k in three months, which I'm super pleased with.

Since November I've been working steadily on another rewrite of my original novel, A Survivor's Revenge, which is a speculative fiction espionage thriller (with a dash of romance, a heavy heaping of sass and banter, and lots of low fantasy elements). I'm feeling so excited about this draft and the bits of discovery writing I'm getting to do with it.

So, word counts:

30 Dec - 5 Jan: 0 words

6-12 Jan: 4,531 words

13-19 Jan: 5,389 words

20-26 Jan: 2,297 words

27 Jan - 2 Feb: 1,519 words

JANUARY TOTAL = 13,736 WORDS

And with no further ado's, here's a few sentences. This is from an earlier chapter, featuring a few code names.

“Metropolitan and InterPol forces are gathered in the rocky outcrop just north of the base,” Clarissa says over our earpieces. “Waiting on orders, Whiskey Eye.” “Rodger that, Molotov,” I reply. “Still can’t believe that was the one that stuck,” Clarissa grumbles. “Why do you two get the cool code names?” “It’s not our fault you got too excited the first time we worked with the demo teams,” Ada tells her. “You never know when a molotov’s gonna come in handy.”

On the topic of code names, I am still trying to work out a few, so if anyone wants to help brainstorm/has any ideas for field code names please don't hesitate to let me know (coming up with names is my least favourite part of writing original characters!).

Currently I have: Whiskey Eye; Shadowstep; Molotov; Deadeye.

Tagging for this week:

@artsyunderstudy @aristocratic-otter @blackberrysummerblog @bookish-bogwitch @cutestkilla

@confused-bi-queer @emeryhall @erzbethluna @hushed-chorus @iamamythologicalcreature

@ic3-que3n @ileadacharmedlife @ivelovedhimthroughworse @letraspal @martsonmars

@mooncello @nausikaaa @nightimedreamersworld @orange-peony @shrekgogurt

@skeedelvee @theearlgreymage @thewholelemon @you-remind-me-of-the-babe 

[penaltybox-gossip]

back again🫡 So I didn't realize but a lot of it doesn't line up because for all the brothers to have been on vacation together, UMich spring break and all stars would have to be the same week, which doesn't really happen.

2020: Quinn went to All stars in St. Louis, it took place at the end of January. Luke would've been in high school and i doubt spring break would take place that early so I don't think it's this.

2021: already said but all star break was cancelled. umich spring break was cancelled, but actually Luke might've been in grade 12 for this so sorry bout that one. Either way Quinn was trapped in Canada and there was no NHL break anyways. The season ended in May, so it could've been after that, but that would be summer break. And Luke had surgery March 2021 and was focused on the draft in July so I'm not feeling it

2022: UMich spring break was Feb 26-Mar 7. Jack went to All Stars in Vegas Feb 4-5. Quinn went with and got Covid. He had to stay in the US for protocol and stayed in Michigan for 3 games (he said this in interview).

2023: Jack went on the All Star break which took place in Florida Feb 2/3-4. UMich Spring Break took place Feb 25-March 6. Nope. (Btw Luke made Devils debut April 2023). I don't know if Quinn was there, but I watched a few Jack interviews and he doesn't mention him. Neither does Petey.

2024: Quinn and Jack were at All stars in toronto, Luke rumoured to be there too. Both Jack and Quinn were in relationships at this time, and Jack also left early to go back to NJ before the weekend was up. Given 50% of the Canucks went Quinn would've been travelling on the team plane (shoutout Alessandra who confirmed this on a live)

Thank you anon. That's why I kept saying these dates weren't adding up at all. The dates and the mannerisms of which they said these guys had didn't match. We've also never heard of these events from any credible source that went to umich and was around these boys

This all screams fabricated for clicks because if it's old, why bring it up? And it's easy for old tea to get screwed up when passed through different people

[dearfuturehusbandblog]

God Is An A****** And Other Life Updates

Dear Future Husband,

2024 was supposed to be my "year of health." Or at least, that's what I decided towards the end of 2023 when everything I ate was upsetting my digestive system and I was convinced I had developed some weird tumor or something. But suddenly, out of the blue, I had health insurance (I don't think I've told that story yet....) and so it seemed like 2024 would be the year I could just get myself in order.

Well, it's now December 2024 and I can confidently tell you the lie detector determined THAT was a lie.

Not only was it not my year of health, it has in fact been quite the opposite.

At this point I don't know if I'll ever get back to that draft about the beginning of this year, so I'll just tell you - in January I had a bad fall and broke my arm, which led to surgery, PT, and essentially three months of being unable to work.

Which leads me to include that 2024 was also supposed to be my year of financial stability.

Oh, if you could hear the raucous laughter in my mind right now.

Why did I ever assume Hashem would finally grant me one good year? The entirety of my relationship with Him is built on the confidence that I'm his punching bag.

Why do I even still allow myself hope? It always just ends in heartbreak.

So January I injured myself.

February I had surgery.

March I had PT.

April I finally started driving again, and I was back at work but still couldn't do heavy lifting which severely crippled my abilities to do my job.

Now, back in January, a few days before I fell and maimed myself, I got a speeding ticket from a highway speed camera that was outside of a work zone but claimed to be in a work zone. I was just trying to keep up with traffic and I have no idea how nobody else got ticketed. Maybe cuz they weren't in the lane closest to the camera.

Well, I alerted MotherLivelyHeart to the ticket before it even arrived in the mail because I'd seen the flash when I was driving, and had full intentions of paying it.

But then I was out of work for like three months and all the funds I'd had up until that point dwindled while paying bills so that when the ticket came in the mail, I couldn't afford the $30.

Based on our conversation about it, I was under the impression MotherLivelyHeart was going to cover it, since the car is in her name (I think I've discussed this nonsense), and I'd pay her back when I was working again.

But come MAY and it's still not paid and now they've increased the fine.

Great.

So since I was working again, I paid all $42 of it.

And now it's December. And it's been SEVEN MONTHS.

SEVEN MONTHS where we've had radio silence, as far as I'm aware.

And NOW, SEVEN MONTHS LATER, they've sent us a message in the mail that the car has been flagged because of the citation in January/May and with the flags on the car we can't renew the license plate or something.

WTF.

Oh, but wait, the story gets better, because of course it gets better.

I discussed briefly in my last post that I was going away for a month and a half this summer. I can't go into the details of why I went away, but what was supposed to be 6 weeks ended up being 12 weeks.

That's 12 weeks of bliss away from MotherLivelyHeart but also 12 weeks of not working.

So in total this year, I've worked approximately 26 weeks. At part time wages. For a business that my boss can't decide if she wants to keep open much longer, so inventory is dwindling and business sucks because we never have anything in stock.

FML.

I've been working for this company for about 8 years as a 1099 employee, except a 1099 is not an employee, it's an independent contractor... but I'm an employee. And basically the only employee. Which I just found out makes my 1099 filing essentially illegal, since there are some benefits that employees are supposed to have which is why it's a different filing of w2.

FML.

But getting back to the whole "I basically work full time in a part time job position" thing... I didn't make a lot in 2023. And with bills to pay, I didn't have a lot in January to begin with, but with my January wages I should have had enough to pay my taxes.

Except that in January, the beginning of my new year of financial stability, Hashem caused me not just an injury but a work-stopping injury. Which means I not only had to stop working while still paying bills, but the money that I had originally allotted for my taxes was not only not there, but also not enough.

So FMFL.

But wait, it gets better.

I created an account with the IRS's payment portal (id.me or whatever) several years ago and I signed up using my home phone number.

Well, BigSis was the one who paid the bill for the phone line and at some point she stopped paying it, which meant that when I tried to log into my IRS account to see what my options were or try to make a partial payment, it wouldn't accept my information because I couldn't confirm my phone number because I no longer had access to it.

Great.

So I tried to do the other things it wanted with photos of my state license and passport and it stuck me in a loop and wouldn't accept either of them.

GREAT.

So there I was, injured, in pain, not working, not able to keep most foods down, my tiny allotted funds dwindling, and not able to log into my IRS account to figure out what to do.

So yeah, it ended up getting back-burnered.

I know it's stupid. I knew it was stupid then and I know it's stupid now.

Especially because last year I made barely $11k at that job and the IRS wants $1,100 of that. Which is to say, they want more from me than I made in a single month.

FML.

I kept getting these update letters in the mail of the IRS adding on interest and increasing the amount, and I somehow hoped that Hashem would show me the way to be able to afford to pay it.

But no.

Because FMFL.

So now I've been notified by the IRS that they want to seize my property.

Over $1100.

But also, what property? I have nothing.

Literally not even the car I drive is in my own name.

So, just to recap:

I've worked approximately 26 weeks this year (part time financially, full time stressfully)

I now owe $1200 to the IRS that I don't have, and that's just for the 2023 taxes, not even including what I'll owe for this year

The car may not be able to be renewed because of the flag for the speeding ticket I got in January that I already paid off and that I've heard NOTHING about for SEVEN MONTHS

Should we keep going? Sure, let's keep going.

SPIRITUALITY

After a nightmare of a year, I can't really explain why but I had some kind of spiritual awakening at the beginning of 5785. I davened more this past R"H and Y"K than I have the past like 10 or 15 years combined, including during the Aseres Yimei Teshuva and through Simchas Torah.

And I decided this would be my year of Bitachon.

I was riding a spiritual high and I had more calm and positivity for about a month than I've had in a long time.

Spoiler alert: that's gone.

One of the things that affected that deeply was that I had one sefer in particular I decided would be my guide this year for all things Bitachon. And less than a month after deciding that, the author of that sefer was diagnosed with Stage-4 Non-Smoker's Lung Cancer.

Do I feel like my personal bad mazal rubbed off on him by mere association? 100000000000000%

WORK

Because things have been weird at work and I'm not sure how much longer my boss will be keeping the business open, I starting looking for a new job.

Using my new found bitachon, I discovered two businesses in my neighborhood that were hiring for a position I could do in my sleep, and were willing to pay well were open.

Such mazal! Hashem must be working His magic!

I had a phone meeting with the first company that was excited to have me in for an interview. We arranged a date and time, and then that day a few hours before I got a text that something came up and they'd like to reschedule.

That was.... a month and ten days ago and I've heard nothing.

The second company called me for an in-person interview which I went to erev Shabbos and thought it went really well. They said they were hoping to hire before Chanukah and they'd be in touch.

That was.... a month and nine days ago and I've heard nothing.

Now, for the second company that could have been my bad. It's been so long since I've had an interview that I forgot the etiquette to send a thank you note afterwards. I also answered the question "what do people critique you the most for" honestly by saying time management. Though I'd think that showing up 10 minutes early to the interview itself would have been enough to assuage that concern. I also did explain that it's something I'm working on and the rest of the conversation seemed to go really positively so I guess it's just Hashem giving me hope again just so He can pull the rug out from under me. Again.

MEDICAL

I started writing about this in its own post and still might but let me just go over the highlights here:

I haven't had insurance for like 5 years.

When I signed up for the insurance originally I selected a DO for my Primary Care Physician because I want a doctor who will treat the whole person and understand how different aspects of the body interplay with each other when it comes to diagnosis.

Well, fast forward to me suddenly having insurance for the first time out of the blue motzei yom kippur (if that wasn't a bad omen....), the DO I selected five years ago is no longer accepting new patients.

Fine. I'll look into new doctors. Whatever.

Except, no! Because then I broke my arm.

And did you know that before surgery you need a workup done by your PCP?

And did you know that if the doctor listed on your insurance isn't accepting new patients, you have to run around like a nut last minute to find someone who will do a workup so you can get emergency surgery?

In the end I went with a local urgent care that could handle that kind of thing.

Fun.

And when I was finally clearheaded enough after the surgery (which took over a month, mind you) I scheduled a new patient appointment with the other DO in the same practice as the first one I'd chosen (five years ago). She was booked out until October.

Fun.

So, fine, I scheduled for October.

Then I went away for the summer and in September I got a voicemail from the doctor's office that the doctor would be leaving the practice at the end of October and did I still want a new patient appointment with someone I wouldn't be able to see past that month?

Mygod.

I went back and forth with the staff of this place several times before we decided I'd go with the new patient appointment anyway to at least get preliminary stuff out of the way and start a series of blood tests to try and figure out what the hell is wrong with me physically.

I had one appointment with her, got bloodwork done, and October was over.

My files were switched to another doctor in the practice who could read the results of the blood tests and order more if needed. Which she did.

And all the results have come back inconclusive.

Because getting an actual answer is just too much to ask for, I guess.

Oh, and also the doctor I'm working with now is about to go on maternity leave and once she comes back she'll be working from a new location that's almost an hour from where I live.

FML

And that's not even everything. That's just what I have the energy to write right now.

I'm so tired of this life.

I'm tired of having hope and being let down constantly.

I'm tired of financial stuff being the literal bane of my existence.

I'm tired of being tired.

I'm so over this life that my brain has just stopped recording information.

One of the things the doctor set me up with in October was a collaborative care thing associated with the medical practice that's supposed to help get me on a good path mentally, so I've been working with a therapist, but we've met maybe 4 times and I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be getting out of these sessions other than explaining to her how my circumstances just absolutely suck over and over again in more detail.

Except that every week or two weeks she asks me how I've been since our last session and I literally can't remember what I've done or how I've felt.

I'm just so over all of this nonsense.

I keep doing things to try to give myself purpose in this world, like what I was doing over the summer, or reconnecting with this high school friend that I've been spending time with on the weekends lately, or helping out old acquaintances who just had babies, but all I feel like I'm doing is creating a larger pool of people to mourn for me when I'm gone because none of them know the real me.

I'm not suicidal but I do just wish I'd die already.

I don't see the purpose in any of this life.

I'm stressed beyond stress and Hashem isn't helping.

I feel like I've been set up for failure and if failure is my goal, then I'm the most successful failure that's ever existed.

I'm still broke.

I don't know if I'll have a job in a few weeks.

The IRS wants to seize my nonexistent property.

I may not have a car to drive soon.

Nobody knows what's wrong with me medically.

Every goddamn tap in my apartment has issues (literally my shower, toilet, bathroom sink, and kitchen sink all have problems).

My ceiling is still open to the elements. (yep, that's still a thing)

Oh, and I lost 40lbs this year between January and June, and gained basically all of that back since September.

FMFL.

Can it just be over already?

Sorry, I'm not in a good place right now, my dear future husband.

I mean, you're a fantasy anyway, so who even cares.

-LivelyHeart

Every day in harachaman in bensching we say

"וְאַל תַּצְרִיכֵנוּ ה' אֱלֹקֵינוּ לֹא לִידֵי מַתְּנַת בָּשָׂר וָדָם וְלֹא לִידֵי הַלְוָאַתָם, כִּי אִם לְיָדְךָ הַמְּלֵאָה הַפְּתוּחָה הַקְּדוֹשָׁה וְהָרְחָבָה".

"Do not make us dependent, Hashem our God, on the gifts of flesh and blood or on their loans, but only on Your full, open, holy, and generous hand."

And yet... Hashem has not provided for me, despite my begging and pleading. Despite my davening and working really hard on bensching after every meal.

We also say "פּוֹתֵחַ אֶת יָדֶךָ וּמַשְׂבִּיעַ לְכָל חַי רָצוֹן" both in bensching and in davening - "You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living being."

And yet, my desire is to not be in debt with the threat of losing things. But somehow, here I am, and where is God?

So maybe random strangers are the tools of Hashem, and relying on you all is really me relying on Hashem "working in mysterious ways" or whatever.

I don't know, but if you care and have anything to share, I have a cashapp: $HaShemshouldblessyou

[hoenn-betadex]

Introduction

In October 2024, a massive data breach of Game Freak occurred, leaking tons of internal data for Pokemon, in what has been coined the "Teraleak".

As a big fan of beta/unused content in video games and Pokemon, I've always been extremely fascinated by the design work that goes behind each Pokemon, and how each generation seems to pick up its pieces a little differently.

In this blog, I'll be discussing each Pokemon in the Hoenn Pokedex, ordering and grouping them by their development history. We'll take a deep dive into each one, and hopefully we can learn more about the development of Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire together!

This blog is heavily inspired by the amazing Asmorano's blog about Pokemon Gold/Silver's beta dex, which you can find here.

I'd like to give a special shoutout to TCRF and /vp/ for sorting through this data.

Timeline

Since we'll be going over each Pokemon, it only makes sense to order them Chronologically. This will give us a good sense of which Pokemon were designed first, what types of changes they went through, and more.

January 26, 2001 (Trademark Era)

A short list of Pokemon names that were trademarked on January 26, 2001, predating all leaked development files. These Pokemon are especially interesting, as they were designed and finished very quickly to begin advertising the games.

There are also two Pokemon who are exceptions to this, Duskull and Wynaut, who went through a similar process later in development (September 25, 2001).

August 28, 2001 (Monster Era)

The earliest pieces of concept art for Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. This collection of monstrous designs are mostly dated for July 29, 2002, but one of the images predates the rest by an entire year! This is almost certainly evidence that this entire batch are actually from August 28th, 2001, which would make sense considering the extreme art style difference.

November 1st, 2001 (Voting Area)

The first set of actual sprites for Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire. This is a "first draft" point in development, with many designs being unfinished. During this time in development, internal polls were conducted to see the opinions on designs, and some even include short notes about the Pokemon.

March 25-31, 2002 (Festa Demo)

The next batch of Pokemon is significantly smaller, with many Pokemon, both beta and final, being removed. While it's possible this is just an incomplete data set, it's more likely that this was an attempt to finalize a small roster to showcase at the Pokemon 2002 Festa Demo, which would go on to show off the games. Since this demo was shown off starting on June 10, 2002, it would make sense for them to be finishing off a set of Pokemon to prepare for the event.

It should be noted that this is still a work in progress roster, since Volbeat is missing, despite appearing in the Festa Demo.

July 2002 Scratchpads

This is a set of scratchpad files the developers used to draw up drafts of different sprites. By this point, the final Pokedex had been settled on (besides 5 cut Pokemon who only existed in the data briefly.)

Unfortunately, these files are missing dates, but we can assume they come from July-October 2002, considering these are later revisions than the Festa Demo, but still predating the final designs from November 2002.

The reason I suspect July is due to Pokedex files dated July 17, 2002 that has a nearly completed Pokedex, with only a few missing/changed Pokemon.

Since these are scratchpads meant for testing, there are usually multiple drafts, unfinished sprites, or even completely different Pokemon making appearances!

I'll be going through each era of the game's development, looking at each Pokemon from their initial draft up until their final designs.

I will be using the following format (shamelessly ripped from Asmorano) for each Pokemon. For Kecleon, we have the earliest version of the official artwork uploaded online, as well as every rendition of its sprite. The unused "Other" row will be used in case there's anything extra to put.

Hope you're all as excited as I am to go on this journey!

[usafphantom2]

A Flight of Four Mustangs Celebrates WWII Fighter Pilot’s 100th Birthday

March 20, 2024 Vintage Aviation News Warbirds News 0

The formation of four Mustangs flying over Lake Lanier, north of Atlanta.

United Fuel Cells

Mission accomplished! On Tuesday, March 19, World War II pilot Paul Crawford fulfilled his dream of flying in a P-51 Mustang like the one he commanded 79 years ago in China, where he flew 29 missions until he was shot down in 1945. Now 100, Buckhead resident Crawford was delighted when the Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation took him up in a TF-51D on a perfect blue-sky day for flying.

TF-51 “E Pluribus Unum” piloted by owner Bob Bull with Paul Crawford in the back leads the formation over Lake Lanier. The camera ship was a Bonanza piloted by long time Liberty Foundation’s pilot Cullen Underwood.

For the occasion, four P-51 Mustangs landed at the Dekalb-Peachtree Airport and parked at Atlantic Aviation, the FBO that supported this unique event. Mr. Crawford lovingly touched the nose and wing of one of the Mustangs when he first walked up to it, reuniting after a 79-year separation. LtCol Ray Fowler, Liberty Foundation Chief Pilot, and pilot Bob Bull helped Crawford into the back seat of the TF-51 and gave him an exhilarating 30-minute ride.

The organizers envisioned the participation of only one P-51, but a quick round of calls sparked the interest of other owners who enthusiastically decided to participate in the event. Bob Bull, Steve Maher, and Rodney Allison flew their Mustangs to Atlanta bringing the total number to four:

P-51D “Old Crow” (N451MG) – Pilot Ray Fowler – Liberty Foundation P-51D “Rebel” (N3BB) – Pilot Rodney Allison P-51 “E Pluribus Unum” (N351B) – Pilot Bob Bull – P-51 “Ain’t Missbehavin” (N51K) – Pilot Steve Maher

The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and Paul graduated six months later, during which time Congress passed the law to draft 18-year-olds. “I knew that I was going to be drafted so I went to Atlanta to talk with the Army Air Corps [sic] and the Navy about flying,” shared Mr. Crawford. ”The Navy said they would accept me for flight training but wanted me to go right then to their Great Lakes training center. The Air Corps told me they would accept me, but to go on back to college and they would notify me when to report.” said Crawford. Paul went back to Americus, entered Georgia Southwestern College, and shortly thereafter he received his draft notice to report to Fort McPherson in Atlanta on January 2, 1942.

Paul Crawford in his P-51 ‘Little Rebel’ ( photo by Paul Crawford Collection)

Paul had an older brother, Tim, who had gone into the Air Corps before Pearl Harbor and was flying B-26s, a medium bomber. He ended up flying combat in the B-17 Flying Fortress out of North Africa. The older brother influenced Paul’s choice, convincing him that the Air Corps had better aircraft, “I thought the water was, as they say, too deep and too wide to swim!” said Mr. Crawford.

With about 100 hours on the P-51 and 250-275 hours total, Mr. Crawford was sent off to Chengtu, China assigned to the 311th Fighter Group, 529th Fighter Squadron protecting the B-29 bases. As these B-29s transferred to the Pacific Theater, his squadron was transferred to Hsian headed for combat. At the time, Mr. Crawford was estimated to have only accumulated another 60 hours of flying time.

On his 29th mission, Mr. Crawford was shot down by ground fire while strafing a small railroad facility. After getting hit, he bailed out and was picked up by Chinese Communist guerillas. A few days earlier one of his housemates had been shot down and captured by the Japanese who cut his head off and put it up on a gate post. After a 200-mile-long walk, chased by the Japanese a couple of times, yet still evading capture, Mr. Crawford ended up at a compound owned by a wealthy family. A few miles from the compound was an airstrip where the OSS (U.S. Office of Strategic Services) brought downed airmen out. After the flight, Mr. Crawford talked about his experience: “When I recall my time in World War II, I always start by saying, I was not a hero! I was just there! That is not false modesty because it is the way I have always felt. I flew the P-51 Mustang.”

Mr. Crawford who has time in P-40, P-47, A-24, and P-51C, believes that the P-51 was the best fighter plane of its day. “There’s nothing in the world like that airplane,” Crawford said. “I loved doing the maneuvers again.” Paul Crawford was surrounded by several friends, his son-in-law, Tommy, and dozens of Liberty Foundation and Inspire Aviation Foundation members eager to have their pictures taken with him, shake his hand, and thank him for his service.

Ezoic

After serving in WWII, Paul Crawford finished college at Georgia Tech with a degree in Industrial Management. That’s also where he met his wife, Jean. They had a daughter and were married for sixty-one years when Jean passed away. Paul worked in the paper industry and for the U.S. Envelope Company until he retired in 1988. Paul currently lives in Atlanta and participates in aviation and historical WWII events.

This special event was made possible thanks to the support of Bob Bull, Ray Fowler Chief Pilot of The Liberty Foundation, Steve Maher, Atlantic Aviation FBO, Cullen Underwood with Vintage Flights, and Inspire Aviation Foundation.

Paul Crawford after the successful flight with (L to R), Cullen Underwood (Camera ship pilot), Bob Bull, Ray Fowler, and Rodney Allison.

[cornelis-rage-poetry]

The diary of an Underground Writer January 16, 2025

In 1980 on my fifteenth birthday I got this amazing present from my parents "26 Griezelverhalen" (26 Horror Stories) by Edgar Allen Poe. Published by Hollandia, in a translation by Simon Vestdijk (a well known Dutch writer in his own right) and with illustrations by Arthur Rackham.

I remember it was at the top of my wish list, I don't remember how or why I, as a young man had become interested in the works of Poe, but for some reason I was drawn to it, fascinated by the dark and mysterious nature of his stories. And in later years I bought several other publications of his work either in hardcover or paperback, always with a somewhat secretive desire in the back of my mind, to one day read his work in the original English language.

And now, practically a lifetime later, again it's my birthday, today I turned 60 (can you believe that? yeah I know I'm an old boomer)(hehe), and to mark the occasion I bought this present for myself, usually I don't buy presents for myself, but because I turned 60 (!!!) I thought: oh well, might as well buy something special and make myself happy. And so I bought this Barnes & Noble edition of "The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe", in the original English language. And it feels like a circle closing from then, way back in 1980 when I was just a boy, to now as I've become an old man.

And I've also noticed as I've become older, the more I feel this desire to go back to how things once were, it's not just this feeling of a circle closing, it's also with a sense of nostalgia, you know like the glow of moonlight, glistening on the surface of a river at night, as the water tries to finds it way back home, to the sea.

Update on my writing, everything goes forward with a steady pace, the formatting of my poetry collection into an ebook for kindle and kobo is mostly a technical formality and doesn't require much time. However the rewrite of my little novel does require time and attention too. I finished the first draft half way December of 2024, and now half way January I'm almost done with the second draft. And it's not only about rewriting, it's also about bringing balance to the story and the style in which it is written, as I've noticed that earlier chapters have a slightly different writing style than the later, as it's been written over the span of about one year, and one's writing style always changes a little bit over time. One might say, as it matures within the story.

And in the rewrite I'm trying to bring the writing style of the chapters closer together, bring balance to the story as a whole and make the reading experience more homogeneous. I hope to finish this second draft later this month, or perhaps early February, I will then let it sink in for two or three weeks, and give it another read to see how it holds up, maybe do some more rewriting, if needed. The plan is to round it all up in March and April, and then hopefully bring the poetry collection as well as my little novel out on kindle and kobo before spring sets in, so they can surf the waves of warm and sunny days.

Alongside these two projects, I've also started working on a third project. It's about the story of why we are here, the story of the Universe and evolution and stuff like that. I've started making notes a few years back, and at the time I had no idea what it was all about. But in recent times, I've started to notice a thematic structure in all those little scribbles and now (like two weeks ago) I've started organizing these notes by theme and topic, to get a better understanding of what it's all about and what it all means and then once it's all organized, usually the main story will show it self. I know it's a weird way of working, but for some reason it works for me, the same thing happened with my little novel. For now let's give it the working title "Project 3", I do have some ideas of what to call it, but it's still very early to give it a real title, and besides I'm not yet sure if it's a little novel or a collection of related stories and or meditations.

Anyway, today was my birthday and it was a good day. I've slept for seven hours, it's cold outside and I'm at peace.

[bvannn]

Weekly Update January 26, 2024

I am still very sick. I just took my second increased dose of the medicine, hoping it will help. Whatever stomach issue I was having a bit ago appears to have returned as well, or it could be more side effects from the surgery. Or something else. I don’t know. I tried fasting on Wednesday and felt physically better but also guilty, and I don’t want to keep doing it because I know it’s dangerous. I’m still a healthy weight for my height so I can probably get away with doing it like, once a week, but I don’t want to accidentally lose too much weight either because I’m already a 22 year old adult who buys clothes in the kids section I don’t need to be any smaller. I’ll figure it out, I’m trying to focus what I am eating on fruits and nuts, hoping it’ll detox me a bit.

I did a couple drawings this week. Kinda. The one I posted was actually sketched back before the surgery I just hadn’t digitized it yet. I only posted the one drawing because I want to hold on to the other for a bit because it’s part of that epithet prompt set I made. I’m fully not expecting to do every one of those prompts, but I figured hey since I missed a few I can do a batch of the missed prompts and release them at once. I sketched the one for this week and planned on finishing it on Wednesday but I got sick again. Once I’m feeling better I’ll try to focus more on drawings. I think I gotta scrap the big animation project I was working on due to circumstances beyond my control, which sucks but theoretically I can try other animation things too. I’ve been sitting on an idea for a short Detective Conan animation, maybe I’ll do that. Or maybe I’ll stay sick. Idk. I kinda want to figure out how I would animate Shaun, since he’s a ghost so I’d have to deal with both transparency and glow effects, plus certain aspects of his design that were meant to be more flowy, like his shirt-tail-thing. I could poke after effects again but it seems a lot more tedious than I had hoped.

I did review over comic stuff this week too, although I haven’t made any progress since I really started getting the surgery after effects. I like how it’s flowing for the most part, but I’m probably going to have to do second drafts of a few pages. Kinda sucks that everything feels so rushed, since I want to fit the whole introductory chapter into ~32 pages, which I’m totally able to do but I have to hold off on some little dialogue exposition conversations that I think people would like. Any story with ghosts is going to have people wanting to fully understand how the ghosts physically work, especially when it becomes relevant, but some of that can be put off until later because character moments are more important. Whatever, I can always keep going.

I feel super bad about not being able to do anything but I’m still so screwed up. I want to take another stab at music, and maybe I will, but I need to sit upright to play piano which screws with my stomach, and in order to pick out VSTs I want on a song I need to be able to have a midi that resembles what the final will sound like and I need to be in the headspace to listen to music without going into sensory overload. I’m pretty sure all of this is sleep related, I have the weekend to hopefully catch up on sleep, but I need to do some homework as well. And I need to stop waking up in the middle of the night. I’m afraid to double dose on sleep medicine because even though I know it’s safe after 6 or so hours, I don’t want to be reliant on sleep medicine because that’s how Michael Jackson died. Might have to wait for my surgery bs to subside before I can try to detox though.

I don’t know what to do with myself right now. I feel awful, I feel like my insides are rotting, but I know they’re not since I’m not in pain from it (or at least not enough pain to really believe that). Plus surgeon looked at me before I moved back to Uni and seemed really impressed with how quickly I was healing. Even though I probably disobeyed her ‘don’t lift more than 20 pounds’ rule. Like a lot. I did feel better this week than I did last, so I’m hoping I can bounce back pretty quick. I’ll give it another week or two before I ask my primary if I need another medicine. I’m hesitant right now because both she and the surgeon seemed to agree beforehand that I wouldn’t, and I want to trust them. I don’t know. Time providing I’ll try to do more drawings this week.

[ojcobsessed]

interview with ahmad from filmupdates - he mentions he's "finishing up" a project in april and i'm pretty sure that means they're completing the handful of episodes of surface s2 that they didn't get to do because of the sag-aftra strike last summer!

JANUARY 26, 2024

Oliver Jackson-Cohen is ready to step out of his comfort zone. The actor, known for his performances in The Invisible Man, Apple TV+ series Surface and Prime Video series Wilderness, has mostly been typecast as intense, overly-confident men who may seem like the poster boys of toxic masculinity. (A GQ article from 2022 is titled “Oliver Jackson-Cohen Is Worried He’s a Little Too Good at Playing Creepy Husbands”) His latest film, the action thriller Jackdaw from director Jamie Childs, is a change of pace for the actor; his character Jack Dawson is more reserved and grounded compared to the roles Jackson-Cohen is known for. And despite his phenomenal turn in the film (the actor delivers a haunting, searing performance that elevates the film from standard action thriller to fascinating character study of man forced into a tragic situation), Jackson-Cohen was initially not convinced he was the right man for the job.

Jackson-Cohen was filming Wilderness in the US when he first crossed paths with Childs, an up-and-coming director who has helmed episodes of shows such as The Sandman and His Dark Materials. Childs knew someone who worked on Wilderness and decided to visit the set for a few days. “We were traveling around America and Jamie sort of came along for the ride,” says Jackson-Cohen. “He started talking to me about Jackdaw. He was like, ‘Yeah. I’m thinking about writing this thing,’ or I think he already had written a first draft of it. We were sort of just talking [about the film] as mates, and then we got back after we had wrapped Wilderness, and he called me and said, ‘It’s done. Can you have a read of it?’ And so I did.”

Clocking in at just north of 90 minutes, Jackdaw is the type of lean, mean action thriller they don’t make much of these days, with a simple premise and a hook that may initially seem familiar and old-fashioned to genre veterans but slowly grows into something more as the film progresses. It follows Jack Dawson, a former motocross champion and army veteran who is now caring for his younger brother. Broke, he agrees to do an open water pick up of a mysterious illegal package in the North Sea. A resulting double cross and his brother’s disappearance set him and his old bike on a violent nocturnal odyssey through England’s northern rust belt.

More John Wick than James Bond, Jack is a haunted man mourning the loss of his career as a motocross champion and struggling to look after his younger brother. With a taciturn, stoic demeanor that rarely betrays his thoughts or feelings, Jack mostly conveys intent and emotions through actions and his physicality rather than his words. Jackson-Cohen was surprised when Childs initially offered him the role of Jack on the spot. “I was like, ‘I really don’t think I’m the right person for you,'” he says. “So I started throwing these ideas out, like, ‘You should get this actor, you should get that actor.’ But Jamie was like, ‘No, it has to be you.’ And because I feel like I’ve never really done something like this, I think I was quite skeptical. But Jamie is such an exciting director and such an exciting new talent; his vision and his references were so bonkers, that I just thought he was going to make something special. The story is a familiar story. It’s not reinventing the wheel in that way, but the way he executes it just felt so incredibly original. I just really think all of us jumped on board because of our belief in Jamie.”

As Jack is a man of a few words, it could have been very easy for audiences to feel apathetic and disconnected from him and the film as a result. However, in Jackson-Cohen’s hands, he comes across as a troubled and tormented man with a tragic past. From the moment he appears on screen, the actor manages to captivate audiences with his raw and emotionally charged portrayal of a man grappling with his inner demons. The actor worked closely with Childs to capture the vulnerability that lies way beneath the surface of Jack’s tough exterior. “The movie was fast-tracked so Jamie wrote the script in the summer and then we were shooting by November,” he explains. “The script that he had sent me was a finished script, but it was an early draft so we sat down and hashed it out over two nights. I was like, ‘We need to bring the aspect of the mother back in,’ and so it was a bit of a scramble to get the character together and ready in time. But Jamie is incredibly collaborative and so we just sort of made some quite quick changes. It did feel important because you’re following this guy that’s mainly in a motorcycle helmet for the bulk of the movie. So we knew we needed to pepper in character. It can’t just be this sort of robotic person, and I don’t think that’s what Jamie wanted either.”

Jackson-Cohen also worked closely with Jenna Coleman, who he also co-starred in Wilderness with, to develop the history of the relationship between their characters before starting production. “We had a day where we sat down with Jenna and went through all the history there of what their relationship was,” he reveals. “And then we just sort of peppered those things in throughout the movie.” While the two play lovers in both projects, their dynamic couldn’t have been more different. “It was amazing,” says Jackson-Cohen of getting to work with Coleman again. “We wrapped Wilderness like four weeks prior and then we were already on set to do Jackdaw. We basically spent 7 months of the last year working together. When you have a sort of shorthand with an actor that you’ve worked with before, or you’re friends with an actor, there’s already a sort of trust there. So I felt really lucky to be able to work with her again.”

While Jackson-Cohen has a vast and incredibly diverse filmography, ranging from the heartbreaking mini-series Man in an Orange Shirt to the 2020 hit The Invisible Man to aforementioned Apple TV+ series Surface, some of his best work is in Mike Flanagan‘s Haunting anthology series. The actor appeared in both seasons of the show, Hill House and Bly Manor respectively, playing two wildly different characters, showcasing his versatility as an actor. In Hill House, he took on the role of Luke Crain, a recovering addict haunted by the traumas of his childhood. He manages to bring a poignant vulnerability to the character, capturing the emotional depth and the complexity of Luke’s journey. In contrast, his role in Bly Manor as Peter Quint is markedly different, showcasing his range as an actor. As the charming but sinister Quint, Jackson-Cohen brings a chilling charisma to the screen, infusing the character with a sense of menace and unpredictability that slowly unravels as his backstory is revealed.

“.

As for what he has planned next, Jackson-Cohen says he’s still figuring out, taking it one step at a time. “I was doing an interview the other day and I was talking about how everyone gets put into a box,” he says. “People love to categorize you as this sort of thing or that sort of thing. The exciting challenge is to keep on pushing yourself in order to change what people think your parameters are, or even what you thought of yourself. It’s an interesting thing. With Jackdaw, when I got the script, I was like, ‘I’m not right for this, this is not in my wheelhouse,’ and Jamie had to really coax me into it, believing that I could do it. And so I think the exciting thing about this job is that you have to keep it as varied as possible for yourself. I’m finishing something at the moment in April and then I’m just going to take a minute and really think instead of just going from job to job to job. Just go, ‘What have I not done and what do I want to explore a bit more,’ you know? You can’t keep on doing the same thing over and over again.”

Jackdaw is now playing in theaters in the UK.

[merrock]

HAPPY FIRST OF DECEMBER !

It's the last month of the year... can you believe it?! Whether it was a good or a bad year for you, it's coming to an end and a fresh start can begin... very soon! We have a few things to go over, as usual, to wrap up November and jump into December. Then we'll be full steam ahead into the holidays and hopefully a shiny, fun, prosperous 2024!

HAPPENING IN DECEMBER !

WINTER FUN PARTY (ic: December 2, ooc: November 30 - December 6) -- happening at Blades in the countryside, a chance to get out and do all of the cold weather fun stuff!

WINTER HOLIDAY MARKET (ic & ooc: December 17-23) -- happening at The Hideaway Market! Come do all of your last minute shopping or just enjoy an old fashioned market!

NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY (ic: December 31, ooc: December 26 - 31) -- a glitzy night out to celebrate the last day of the year, and have some fun together!

DECEMBER'S MINI-EVENTS !

December 21 -- first day of winter -- needs no explanation, it's just the first day of winter, who doesn't love that?

Holiday Season Stuff -- but you can check out this post for lots of information about happenings in Merrock!

EXTRA BIT OF FUN !

Since we have a lot of holiday-centric things happening this time of year, I thought for our task, we'd do something a little different! Lindsey actually came up with this idea last year, so we're implementing it now. Our very own Merrock wrapped, for you to dive in to what your character listened to, watched, and did through the season. Enjoy! However, if you do want to do holiday tasks, we will allow task #3 (the wonderful world of winter) and task #7 (holly jolly season) to be done in December, as well.

IMPORTANT NOTES !

as usual, be sure that you have read over our rules -- nothing major has been updated at this time, but it never hurts to refresh!

please follow all blogs (except the promo blog! you can skip that one!) relating to Merrock, and unfollow those no longer in the group. double check our list right here!

as always, be sure to check the starter page frequently and give them some love! it's the best way to make people feel included.

... but! please don't queue starter replies and/or reply to them from drafts (at least not without double checking they're still open), as it often times pushes them past cap/closure.

it's a busy time of year, we understand! just be sure that you are keeping your characters active within our guidelines, and if you play multiples, they are all active.

BEHIND THE SCENES !

as I've mentioned, all events for December and January are completed, drafted and ready to go!

additionally, the images for the entire year have been saved, which means things just have to be picked away at.

but there are some events we will be asking for your help on, whether it be choosing a theme, or deciding what to do, so always keep your eyes open!

that being said, January will see the Polar Plunge and the royal gala, as well as mini events like houseplant appreciation day, strawberry ice cream day and world snow day!

we'll be deciding after the holiday if we want to keep our cap at 30, or go ahead and lower it once again, as well as deciding on rolling acceptances vs. slated days.

you'll likely see changes in 2024 regardless -- updated pages, re-formatted acceptances, updates to forms that are filled out, all that good stuff. start fresh, right?

if you haven't already, please read this mod post to know what the activity expectations are through the next few weeks.

HAPPY DECEMBER !

[geneajournals]

52 Ancestors: Military

My father, Daniel R. Salter (1920-2013) was a member of the “Greatest Generation.” He was a college student when the 7 December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor shocked the United States and the world.

On 14 February 1942 Daniel registered with the Macon County, Alabama draft board.

"Alabama, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945," database and images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/en/search/collection/2691991 : accessed 26 April 2024), Daniel Roosevelt Salter, serial no. 384.

He enlisted with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Enlisted Reserve Corps on 12 October 1942.

Record for Daniel R. Salter; Record Group 64; National Archives; Access to Archival Databases at www.archives.gov.

Daniel entered active duty on 21 March 1942 and was sent to Camp Blanding in Jacksonville, Florida. For the next nineteen months, Daniel spent his service in the continental United States. Initially he was transferred to Augusta, Georgia, as part of an Army Air Force squadron, for advanced training. From Georgia Daniel was shipped to Hill Field, a major maintenance and supply base for the USAAF, in Ogden, Utah.

In November 1944 Daniel’s squadron was shipped to Seattle, Washington and transported by ship to San Francisco where the ship joined a convoy. The convoy sailed to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and from there to Guam. The transport ship arrived at Guam on 12 December 1944.

Daniel's USAAF squad was stationed at Naval Base Guam and assigned to search the surrounding jungle for stray Japanese soldiers. On two occasions the squad captured several Japanese soldiers and were awarded a battle star. Daniel was stationed on Guam until General MacArthur signed the peace treaty with the Japanese in September 1945. During the demobilization period, Daniel hopped a navy transport boat to Saipan. He stayed on Saipan until being shipped home in January 1946.

After serving three years, four months and thirteen days in the Army Air Corp during World War II, Corporal Daniel R. Salter received an Honorable Discharge on 24 February 1946 at Camp Blanding, Jacksonville, Florida.

Honorable Discharge; Enlisted Record and Report of Separation for Daniel R. Salter 14 117 637 Corporal, 459th Aviation Squadron, Army of the United States, 24 February 1946; privately held.

His record shows that he received two battle stars, and two marksman badges ("Expert" on the M1 carbine rifle, and "Sharpshooter" on the Browning automatic). Corporal Salter also was the recipient of the Asian Theater of Operations (ATO) Medal, the Asian Philippines Theater of Operations (APTO) Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal.

Each honorably discharged soldier received a Certificate of Appreciation from their commanding officer.

Army Air Forces Certificate of Appreciation, signed by Henry “Hap” Arnold, Commanding General of the Army Air Forces. Daniel R. Salter; privately held.

President Harry Truman also sent a letter to all honorably discharged veterans thanking them for their service.

The White House, “Letter of Gratitude from President Harry S. Truman” (1945). Daniel R. Salter; privately held.

As a veteran my father received military honors at his committal service at Alabama National Cemetery.

[holly-poly]

Less than two days to deadline!

This is a reminder that the deadline for posting your assignment is 11:00am UTC on 26 January 2025, which is in a little over 2 days. Please click here to see a countdown.

Please remember that we're only allowing extensions of 48 hours as standard. If you'll need one, send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com before the deadline gets here.

We have one outstanding Pinch Hit that we really need a creator for so reveals can move forward as planned. Check out the latest Pinch Hit post to check it out.

Posting your assignment

You have two ways of posting your assignment:

RECOMMENDED - Go to your Assignments page (https://archiveofourown.org/users/[YOURUSERNAME]/assignments), find Holly Poly 2024 and click Fulfill. AO3 will fill in the collection and recipient details automatically so you just need to fill in the rest.

Go to the AO3 Collection and click Post to Collection. Fill in the deatils as any other work you post on AO3. Don't forget to add your recipient in the field Gift this work to (copy/paste your recipient's username to make sure you have the correct one).

Posting your Treats

To post a Treat for someone you weren't assigned to, for a Pinch Hitter (find Pinch Hitter requests here), or to the Collection:

Go to the AO3 Collection and click Post to Collection. Fill in the details as any other work you post on AO3. Don't forget to add your recipient in the field Gift this work to (copy/paste your recipient's username to make sure you have the correct one).

Make certain that your assignment is actually posted by the deadline and not still a draft!

For fics, if you're posting something that's multiple chapters then make certain all chapters have been posted by the deadline. If a work is still clearly unfinished at the deadline, it will not count as being posted even if you've started to post it.

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We'll be working hard reviewing and approving works during the following days. If your work has not been approved yet but you have not received an email from us, don't worry, we're still working on the queue.

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