#i haven't seen that stuff out of twitter but i'm glad to see it here

[coffeewithacold]

People you'd like to get to know better Tagged by @nnibarrel Tagging @grayishdragon

Three Ships: Jing Yuan x Luocha (two pensioners are drinking tea while their two hyperactive children are fighting in the background…) Maegar Varn x General (the protagonist of Varnhold's Lot dlc in pfkm) Kale (my friend Velya's cleric of Sarenrae) x Ende ( my antipaladin -> liberator of Nocticula) (Just let them go live in a vineyard in Taldor, not on all these crusades of yours)

Last Song: Ado - Odo (Cover by Sati Akura)

Last Film: Shrek. My colleague and her friend watched it on shift, and I came much earlier than the start of my own, so I watched a little with them.

Currently Reading: Patrick Weekes - Dragon Age: The Masked Empire... (I'm still trying.)

Currently Craving: I'm going to jail if I tell you what I want most (hello, homophobic laws in my country, you are not welcome), so... the return of the shrimp burger in Burger King

Also... Ende and Kale!! I love them soooo much, look at my boys!!! There is lrt no reason why Ende's hair is pink

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

04/16/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Samba Schutte; Outtakes; Weekly Calendar; Fiber Arts Auction; Some Nonsense in Bristol; Glad Ranker; Fan Spotlight: Never Left Podcast; Cast Cards; Our Drag Means Slay, Our Flag Means Fanfiction Minisode; Our Flag Makes a Difference Fundraiser; Schadenfreude; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika.

= Samba Schutte =

The big sighting today was Samba and his Outtakes BTS post!

== New Weekly Event Calendar ==

New event calendar is up! Check out the new Fiber Arts Brigade info below!

= SOFMD's Fiber Arts Brigade =

Some cool stuff is going on in SOFMD's Fiber Arts Brigade! There's an auction to benefit Sage, a US organization that provides amazing support and advocacy for queer elders! The Auction will be held June 14th . You don't need to be a member to donate items to the auction! Message @saveofmdcrewmates if you'd like to join in! sageusa.org

Jeff Art by @snejpowa

== **Big Sigh** in Bristol ==

I don't even know what to label this section. I'm just flabberghasted. The good news is they are not a member of the SOFMD team since there was a rumor going around that SOFMD was somehow involved. Link to the Bristol Post and SaveOFMD's Statement Below:

== Uproar Update! ==

Digital release moved up to April 23!

== Calls to Action ==

== GLAAD ==

Last day to vote for GLAAD!

Vote Here

Img Src: @AdoptOurCrew Twitter

== Ranker ==

Still looking to help OFMD stay up on Ranker? This is their main page and yo can choose from lots of different rankings going on and vote up OFMD and down other shows you think should be lowered.

== Fan Spotlight ==

== Never Left ==

Never Left Podcast has Hugo Pierre Martin on the show this week! Give them a listen on your choice of podcast platforms by visiting their Linktr.ee

Artwork was created by Amy Gleason, you can see more of her art @/AmysBirdHouse on IG.

= Cast Cards =

Our dear crewmate @melvisik has spotlighted one of the fisherman from the pilot episode that Stede pillaged the plant from! Ted Heyck!

== Our Drag Means Slay ==

For those of you not in the Chicago area, you can now sign up to see Our Drag Means Slay on livestream! Tickets are $5 for the Apr 27, 2024 7:00 PM show! All proceeds go to charity!

Ticket Link

Our Drag Means Slay Twitter

= Our Flag Means Fanfiction =

Our friends over at Our Flag Means Fanfiction have put out a minisode this week:

Minisode: Izzy Hands Ring Lore Fics Check it out on Spotify!

== Our Flag Makes A Difference ==

Great news! The eSIMS and Sanitary Products for Gaza fundraiser has finally reached it's goal! Thank you so everyone who shared links or donated, it makes a serious different in folks lives! For more info: Check out the campaign

== Schadenfreude ==

Thanks @seven_sugars on Twitter for spotting this 30% loss YTD!

== Love notes ==

Today was a tough one lovelies. I really want to thank all of you who reached out when I was struggling, it meant a lot to me. I know some of you said we didn't know each other-- but I just wanna throw out there that you're part of this crew, and even if we haven't talked or interacted much, your love means the world to me and everyone else you send it to. Every single one of you who's willing to reach out-- to a friend/crewmate who has asked, or hasn't asked and just looks like they need it, or you're just spreading a bit of joy-- you make this world such a better place. You take sadness and you turn it into solace and comfort. You share a little piece of yourself to make someone else's missing pieces start to be whole again.

I just want you to know how powerful that kindness is. It can mean the absolute world to someone when they are truly down, to know they are seen and cared about, even by the briefest of acquaintance. Seriously, thank you. You are a glimmer of sunshine on hard days and the impact you make is immense. Tonight, I just want to say thank you so so much for your kindness. Love you crew, I hope you're well.

== Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika ==

Tonight's theme is Freemanji, I don't know why, just felt like a Freemanji night. Look at Rhys in his little mustache and hat, and Taika in his goofy ass coat <3 Gifs courtesy of @neonpigeons and @ihadaweirdname

[dduane]

Hi! This might end up a super weird question, sorry in advance!

So just came across your twitter today and seeing your profile pic my brain is now convinced that you were the person who years ago shared this one really good bread recipe with oven baked garlic in it? Is it actually you? I tried to look through your tumblr but I didn't find anything so I'm so sorry if it's not you? But man that was the best bread I ever ate so I really want to find the recipe again! Thank you so much in advance... QvQ

No, it's not weird at all! Don't sweat it. :)

I've been baking for a long time, and have posted enough recipes now, here and there, that it's hard to keep track of them all sometimes. So I feel your pain. :)

...That said: I don't think I've done a recipe that involves actually baking garlic in the bread. ...Roasting garlic and then squeezing that into or onto already-baked bread, that I've seen around... though not in any of my own recipes. (Not that it's not a good idea: I just haven't been down that road myself.)

... @petermorwood just sent me this really quite sensual-looking garlic bread TikTok that does involve the roasted and squeezed-out garlic approach. I'll reblog it after this post, as I'm not sure how to pull the embed out of his.

Meanwhile, here's a garlic bread thread I did on Twitter some time back. (Pulling the images and contents into this post, because who knows what's going to happen to Twitter in the medium term...? But the thread starts here for those who want to link to that.)

"Tonight's garlic bread. Method follows. :) "

"...RIGHT. So this is based on many warmed-over/reheated Manhattan-based pizzeria dinners back in the 70s, when I was still doing hospital work and you were glad to either (a) reheat what you had from last night, or (b) make something very like it, but hotter and fresher.

"The basic approach: Buy in small cheap store-baked baguettes. (There is no POSSIBLE point in you using good homebaked bread on these. Buy cheaply made spongy bread that will SOAK UP THE GARLIC BUTTER SOONEST.)

"Slice each one more or less into five or six thickish slices (NOT all the way through, just 5/6 of the way to the back of the loaf.) Warm them a bit in the oven or microwave if they're cold.

"Mix together: Six to eight cloves of freshly chopped garlic: at least 300g but maybe more like 500g of butter. Some coarse-ground pepper: some salt: a little bit of onion powder. Herbs to your preference (oregano, parsley, whatever...).

"Additionally, as we did tonight: brown 6-8 slices of bacon by your preferred method. (I did it in the microwave because I could *not be arsed* to get involved with the frying pan.)

"Set up each sliced baguette in a piece of foil big enough to fold loosely around it (to keep the butter in) and undo without a whole lot of trouble. Pry the bread slices apart and stuff at least a teaspoon of butter or two between each pair of slices. (OR MORE.)

"(In our tonight-variant: Stuff a crumbled slice of bacon into the garlic butter between each slice.) Preheat the oven to sort of 180C/375F. Put each baguette and its foil in a baking tray. Shove the whole business into the oven and give them 10 minutes or so with the foil on.

"Pull the garlic breads out and unfold the foil from around them. Shove them back into the oven and give them another 10 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they won't burn. (f you want to put some cheese on top of one, this is your time.)

"Pull them out and let them cool enough not to destroy the human beings intending to eat them. After they cool (if anything's left) put a *faintly damp* tea-towel/dishtowel over them to keep them nice. If coming to them again later, heat them gently at first, then FIERCELY.

"...And now the pics. Mine:

"His (with the cheese):

...The roasted-garlic garlic bread follows in the next post. :)

("Why is this shot like a porno?" someone says plaintively in the comments. Well, why indeed? And why not.)

[craetor]

Another Death Note book, another Tumblr post of overanalyzing details within it

This is a literal reformatted Twitter thread that was collected as the book was read, so, in theory, one could just flip through the book & find the things addressed all in order. Enjoy my needlessly high IQ going to town on this damn legendary expansion pack AU spin-off novel...

This obviously contains spoilers to L Change The World

.

"I'm no good with girls" - L Lawliet, like 2004? (He probably had a real good time having Misa around)

L calls the kids of Wammy's House "letters" (*tries not to explode*)

It's verified that the orphans are entrusted with solving cases as grave as murders to prove & train themselves

Beyond Birthday is mentioned to crack his neck in LABB, which is oddly enough also a habit of Ryuk's. Shinigami urges, especially those of the rather unhinged kind

Suruga heard that L never even showed his face to Misora, meaning she kept quiet about their encounter to everyone until her very death. Which is pretty nice.

Tbh Beyond wasn't too far off about mocking L's behavior. He does tend to crawl when he's being frantic & is also a messy eater (from getting food on himself when not provided with utensils (even when he is...), to consuming excessive amounts of sweet toppings)

There's too many "god"s in DN names... ('Kagami' can be translated to 'nurse god' which is so stupid & uncreative /affectionately)

"L's back grew rounder as he sat on the sofa with his knees tucked tightly against his chest. [...] He seemed to be burdened by the weight of something very heavy that she could not see". L's slouch gets lower after Watari dies under his surveillance. Nothing new, just fantastic symbolism that I love about him.

Also how actually well L suppresses his emotions while working on cases is really outlined in this book. It gets to a point where he seems apathetic, as people who've seemingly gone through trauma reunite over tears in front of him, while minutes beforehand, he's exuded real sadness over Watari's passing. (this is not inherently negative or positive)

His reputation with the FBI really sticks to him like a tick, yet it's suppressing his humanity that gets L to do what's needed & initiate measures necessary (which earned him the ill-willed reputation of kinky bizarre murder-loving detective. Whereby I still can't quite locate the origin of the "murder-loving" part..)

"Nobody would think anything important to be in a bag of potato chips, don't you think?" Honey, first of all, how did you fit an entire notebook into a bag of potato chips without it looking like it's your 1 pound hershey's chocolate stash... Oh, and L has a pattern of emulating tricks that people have used to try and fool him

It seems that L wasn't lying when he said that he's a fan of Misa's work, though idrk what to make of that... Not everything in the half-canon is canon, kids. M went a bit too hard on that 'L is weird & creepy' at times. Until it's not even goofy and ridiculous anymore, I'm just.. concerned?

L seems fulfilled and glad when he's stressed about saving the world. Nothing like a superiority complex, just very INTJ.

L will know to evaluate people so much as to accept food from the ones trying to deceive him, if he knows they're pacifists. Having them vacuum his room & stuff, letting them think they're earning his trust. A side of him we haven't seen thus far, just thought it to be important to share.

Watari, now officially L's mentor and father figure (we knew this but i love it)

The fact that L prones to share sweets with anyone compatible to himself or whoever he wants to tempt is not just a quirky gesture of respect, but actually seems to write out, more than anything, 'let's put us on the same level here. Have this thing that indicates gross luxury within societal hierarchy while also being the thing that keeps me going on an everyday-basis'

Fem-disguise flirty L. He's enjoying the vibe & living vicariously. That's it that's the jot

And then there's page 151. And i wonder, am I needed here at all?

The "L-organization" Blue Ship made up is comically the truest hypothesis that has existed as a theory about L. After all, Wammy's House is the founding ground of 26 Ls each generation to come

Watari seems to be involved with the Wammy's kids more than initially thought. But this could also be Kujo's illusion, as having any contact with the one closest to L at all would be a big deal and in her mind more prominently

And finally, the relationship that was created between L & Light is closer to love and worship than friendship. Even best friends. L's reliance on the thought of Light even exists as comfort in heavily emotionally distressing situations. Your definitely romantically touched soulmate-other-half-comfort-human can be your best friend too is what I'm trying to say. Like, you don't have to choose. Just add it to the list.

Verdict: I assume the main point of the book is literally to clear up misunderstandings about L, hence information about him is being blatantly pointed out and aggressively reinforced around every corner. But I'm here anyways because page 151 exists for me and me only (and everybody else who's done their thing correctly before having read this thing) as a pat on the back and a hearty 'good job'. It was fun to have found a couple more hidden details along the way too though. L called Light his 'best friend' like he called Misora 'some guy in the US who told me about capoeira'

[cboffshore]

Hey there - I'm Lila!

If you're seeing this, it could mean any of the following: you're already a mutual, you like Ninjago, you really like Ninjago's infamous (ha!) sixth season Skybound, or you know me from something else entirely. Or it's none of those and you've just taken a super wrong turn. No matter what - I'm glad you're here!

Join me under the cut for a more detailed look at my account, or just venture off on your own - the choice is yours.

WHO I AM & WHERE TO FIND ME

You can call me Lila! I've been around the Ninjago fandom since 2011 under a whole bunch of different names and accounts, with all the bizarre stories and memories to show for it. Now, though, you can find me under one of two handles: @cboffshore (here and on Twitter, where I'm not as active as I used to be) or OffshoreWriter over on AO3.

My title as Skybound Analysis PhD holder was born from a joke (initially given to me when I overanalyzed Skybound's color scheme and then Flintlocke's development in a Discord server) but grew into, well, not a joke; I take Skybound about as seriously as someone can take a toy commercial cartoon. Through all of my years in the Ninjago fandom, I've never seen a season as misunderstood and contentious as Skybound. Unfortunately, I happen to like it a lot for what it is, and I'm willing to defend it very hard (but don't get me wrong, I know it's got flaws! I'm not completely nuts!). Read this ask for a detailed overview of my position on Skybound analysis.

Outside of Ninjago overanalysis, I'm into a few other things: crocheting, the occasional piece of digital art, music (special faves include I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, Fall Out Boy, and My Chemical Romance), and Bionicle (but only on a casual "wow cool vibes and killer writing" basis because that timeline does NOT make sense to me.).

SOME STUFF I DO

The best way to get into my work is just to explore all the nooks and crannies of my blog, but for those of you in a rush, here are links to some of my favorite projects:

On Sea, Sunlight, and Sky, aka OSSAS, is what I'd consider the crown jewel of my AO3 catalog: a Nya-centric series diving into her experience during the last few episodes of Skybound. Updated every December until I decide to lay her to rest (which, by the looks of it, will be the 2024 installment), this is my longest-term project that exemplifies how I approach Skybound as a season. If you only check out one corner of my work, make it OSSAS. You can find all things OSSAS under #ossas tag here on my blog (newcomers beware of spoilers!)

Yours To Keep: Rethinking Skybound Through Fashion is an older project of mine that blends fashion design and Nadakhan character analysis. As in, I drew a trio of banger outfits and then wrote essays about what all their details meant. Trust me on this, it's a cool one! (This is a holdover from when my fandom involvement was almost exclusively Ninjago character analysis-based couture fashion art... you can thank Giles Panton for that.)

Sorrow is All The Rage: An Analysis of Sexual Assault in Jay-Centric Skybound Fanfiction is a two (technically, three) part essay detailing my attempts to come to terms with the (frankly rather concerning) trend of gratuitous SA inclusion in a surprising swath of popular Skybound fanfiction. (Spoiler alert: I still think it's weird as hell and I haven't come to terms with it... but I have gotten way better at using the block button to keep it out of my line of sight.) The link in the title will take you to part one; part two is linked at the end, and part three's mini update is lurking somewhere in those tags. Please note: this essay is not an attack, or a condemnation, although it may come across that way at times. This was written largely as a vent piece about an issue that has disturbed me deeply and affected how I go about interpreting Skybound, and that definitely impacted my tone. If you'd like to reference this for any reason, or if you have any questions, please shoot me an ask or DM.

[izicodes]

Don't know if you've touched on this topic before, but do you have any advice on dealing with discrimination within comp sci (specifically sexism)? I have bad anxiety and have constant thoughts telling me how I'll never be good enough or don't belong. My brother who is a senior dev has had a passion for computers since a small child while I just developed an interest within the past two years. My family takes his career seriously but then turn around and tell me how great of a secretary I'll be lol. Thanks for your time!

Hiya 💗

Just some background on me: I haven't had any sexist experiences in during my whole journey of learning software development during my apprenticeship and now working as a Junior Web Dev. I'm the only girl in the Dev team (6 of us in total), the only other woman is the Manager of the Dev team but she does databases + business oriented work so she doesn't code at all. I'm the youngest in the team also so they see me as "oh let's teach the kid of the group" kind of thing. So at work I don't feel any type of sexism, the lads are really open to teach me a lot stuff which I am thankful!

I don't know any other irl developers besides work so I'll move on to online. Online I know a lot more women developers; Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter (or X whatever it's called). Maybe it's because I've like cultured the content I see to them idk. I'm really glad to have that constantly on my timeline as it inspires me to push and do/become better because if those girlies can do it, so can I.

Though all the teachers/instructors I had were all men, they didn't make me feel small or not worthy to be in Computer Science, they were the opposite and pushed me to do it more. My Dad did Computer Science with CyberSecurity at university and he always pushed me to do computer science when I got older - not force but inspired me to do it (wanted to do medicine but too hard so switched to comp sci/programming)!

So, in my experience, I never had a really bad sexist interaction because I did computer science. People are shocked I am in programming in general but more like "Oooooh that's cool! Didn't know you did that!" kind of thing!

Now, this doesn't mean I haven't seen sexist remarks online, because I have but more through memes. I always ignore. Everyone, man or woman, should ignore such remarks/meme and move on. Don't let a bunch of people determine what you want and what's best for you! If you did, they would be controlling your life and not you yourself.

I don't know if that's easier said than done for you because I'm a hard person on people saying bad things to me. I just ignore you literally. I'm polite yes, but what you will say to me will go through one ear and out the other if it's really negative. Pretty much a "I don't care about your opinion, I will do me anyways" kind of person. E.g. if my brothers were to tell me "oh you a girl, don't do computer science" I won't listen to them at all.

And at the end of the day, what are they gonna do? Will your family members that are saying those stuff to you physically stop you from learning computer science? Especially since it's so accessible online so all you need a is a computer? All around the world, women are leaning computer science one way or another to change their lives and/or the lives around them.

They are making so much effort so for me to say "oh well.. you know some lads in my comp sci class say I can't do comp sci so I shouldn't" or "oh well I don't think learning programming is a woman's thing yknow because it's so dominated by men" - excuse my language here but that's flipping ridiculous!

This isn't some feminist or even anti-feminist thing here, it's a plain simple human thing: proving yourself and even the people around you wrong. Go into it and succeed. You're not too old or too young.

Why are their programs like SheCodes or BGIT (black girl in tech) that are making effort to help women push into tech? There's more women in tech now than there has been ever so if you're a woman and want to go into Tech but some lads are saying no? Do it anyways.

If a company has lads like that in them, that's the company's fault for hiring a sexist non-team player - says a lot about that company.

As humans we are never good enough so just get that out of your mind, less stress. Good enough for a job? all you got to do is keep going out it. Keep learning the theory, keep building the projects, keep redoing your resume and applying for jobs - keep going.

You quit, you let yourself down - especially when programming/ computer science is your calling!

I went on a bit of a rant but I hope some of this helps 🥳👍🏾💗

[fangirlmedstudentblog]

Well i make a brief comeback here to announce this, thought maybe i should share

But it's official that gemini and fourth are not in 23.5 anymore due to story changes and this is also intended to give them time to prepare for a new series?!

So that's the silver lining of a new gemini fourth series!

As much as I'm sad to see that gemini fourth aren't north night anymore (my mlm and wlw besties you'll be missed 😭) I'm honestly glad that it happened because the sheer amount of undeserved hate gemini and fourth have gotten over being casted in the series by certain*ahem* stans on twitter ever since the trailer released is just disgusting. They're still getting indirect hate in the tweet i linked as well.

So we can finally move on from that drama thank god. Also their replacements haven't been announced yet.

Plus i don't know how many of you follow their off drama appearances but they both have had some of the most hectic schedules I've seen for actors. They've had back to back promo shows, brand shows, concerts, fanmeets, solo activities too, and even a duo gemini fourth concert at the IMPACT ARENA for TWO NIGHTS coming up pretty soon (day 1 got sold out within hours and day 2 got added due to demand).

So i just hope gmm gives them a break too, those boys need their rest. They're just making appearances everywhere except in a damn drama at this point 😭

So anyways new gemini fourth drama confirmed wohoo!!!! At this point with how popular they are, it would've been weird if they hadn't gotten one, but you never know with gmmtv to be honest.

It wasn't anything we probably weren't expecting but it's still sad to let it be confirmed. Also gmm better change the damn side character names because at this point the names of north and night *are* associated with gemini and fourth so keeping them will lead to drama. (NorthNight are still GeminiFourth to me idc 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️)

I might watch this show whenever it releases, because i do like milklove and will be tuning in for them.

Call me weird, but I'd been wanting a show FOREVER where you know bl and gl couples could actually co-exist and you know, possibly be best friends, but i guess it's not this one.

So anyways, that's all i came to say.

Sorry i haven't really been active on here, but as you might know, real life is pretty hectic, with exam prep and stuff. I'll see if I'll be more active later on, but honestly no guarantees.

I will say I've been watching and enjoying Be My Favourite a lot, and honestly if gmm manages to stick the ending, it might be in my top 15 bls I've watched across all languages! Do give it a shot if you haven't!

Everyone take care of yourselves and remain stress free!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

It's felt like a vaguely depressing week in comedy, so here are a couple of happy things.

I haven't done one of my Chortle headlines roundup posts in a while, but here's one particularly excellent headline. I've thought for a while that it's odd John Kearns doesn't have any full stand-up specials released, not even in some smaller audio form or anything, as far as I can tell. This one that he's filming is The Varnishing Days, that got all those wildly good reviews last year and got nominated for that award in Melbourne this year, which is great, I can't wait to see it.

Stewart Lee filming Basic Lee is less big news just because I took it for granted that it would happen at some point, but I'm still pleased to have it confirmed. That show I have heard before but a version that'll be about two years old by the time this comes out, and I thought it was very very good, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it turned into.

Also, I will watch the Lucy Beaumont special, as that's another person whom you'd think would have had a full-length stand-up special released at some point already, but as far as I can tell, she hasn't. I've seen clips of her stand-up on YouTube, but Lucy Beaumont seems like an odd enough act so you probably need to see her stuff in context to understand what's going on (similar, in that specific way, to John Kearns again).

And secondly, I had a rare look at Twitter this week, and I'm glad I did because I am always disproportionately delighted at any modern content that calls back the Chocolate Milk Gang days. Like this picture that David O'Doherty posted the other day (from Australia, where all the comedians are now) of him in April 2024 shaking hands with Jermaine Clement over a mural featuring John Oliver.

Calling back, of course, to DO'D playing with Flight of the Conchords in Edinburgh in the early 00s, leading to him opening for them on some major tours in the later 00s, here he is backing them up on keyboards in Edinburgh in 2004:

And here he is passing half a cow to the Edinburgh crowd with John Oliver in 2003, with what I'm almost sure is Jermaine Clement backing them up on percussion just out of shot:

This screenshot also features Adam Hills, and I have to admit I briefly considered this week that part of me wants to put Adam Hills on my list of people to see in Edinburgh this year entirely so I can say I'm taking the opportunity to see anyone who was part of Cowgate and is still going to Edinburgh in 2024 (I already have DO'D tickets, I will of course scramble to pick up Kitson tickets the moment he announces anything in Edinburgh no matter what it is, and John Oliver/Demetri Martin/Flight of the Conchords have moved on with their lives, though there's still time to change your minds before Edinburgh 2024 starts, guys). And then I remembered there are good reasons why I've gone off Adam Hills and I can't dedicate a timeslot (and the cost of a ticket that's more expensive than most) to a guy I've gone off just for the sake of a 2003-based point (I mean, I still very much like a lot of things about Adam Hills in general, but I don't love some major aspects of the 2024 incarnation of him, and the 2024 incarnation is who will be showing up to Edinburgh 2024).

Anyway, this is a post about good things, and David O'Doherty shaking hands with Jermaine Clement in front of a mural of John Oliver 21 years after those men were all involved in late-night ritual cow sacrifice is a pretty good thing. It's probably the only good reason to keep Twitter around.

[systemrestart]

Remi's 2023 favorites!!

I used to do this on twitter but given what's happened to that site, I'm doing it over here this year! This was a brutal year for me MH wise, but at least I was introduced to some good stuff.

List under the cut

Starting off strong with my favorite thing of the whole year......

[FAVORITE VISUAL NOVEL]

Heaven Will Be Mine

Worst Girl Games has done it again. I am so glad I finally read this. Very few pieces of media have ever so perfectly captured what it means to feel 'inhuman', but still trapped by Earth's, humanity's, "gravity". The relationships between the 3 girls, and the circumstances that shaped them, put beautifully to the page feelings I know many other queer people share. There is nothing else like this out there.

[FAVORITE VIDEO GAME]

Mystia's Izakaya

Mystia's Izakaya is truly THE Touhou fangame to play. So many fun characters to get to know and serve food to, really great restaurant simulator with minor rhythm game elements, gorgeous pixel art in both character portraits and environment, so many challenges to try and outfits/music/items to unlock......!! And there's still more DLC coming out.

The love and effort put into this game is astonishing, and I am so glad I gave it a shot despite being nervous about restaurant sims. Highly recommend, even to non-Touhou fans!!!!

[FAVORITE SONG]

Psi

The lyrics seem to be a criticism of the extreme pace of 'content consumption' online nowadays, which I have mixed feelings on, but regardless, the song itself is absolutely killer. Particularly the verses. The effects with the TVs during the second verse are also great, capture the chaotic and mildly ominous energy of the song extremely well. This is definitely the song I listened to the most this year

[FAVORITE MOVIE]

Glass Onion

Watched this at the very beginning of the year. One of the best live-action movies I've seen in a long time, genuinely brilliant. Really hoping for more Knives Out films, they've knocked it out of the park so far. I also think this one and the first Knives Out will be very rewarding to revisit

[FAVORITE ANIME/SHOW]

I didn't watch anything this year. whoops

[FAVORITE MANGA]

Until I Love Myself

Most of the books and manga I read this year were autobiographical/semi-autobiographical, and this was one of my favorites. This is about a nonbinary mangaka dealing with sexual harassment as a editing job, and the subsequent struggles they have with PTSD, navigating life in the wake of the #MeToo Movement, and their difficult feelings on their gender and body, and how those things affect how others treat/see them. Reflected a lot of my own feelings and thoughts on these things, and very insightful. Can be a rough read at time, but I highly, highly recommend it.

[FAVORITE BOOK]

Stone Butch Blues

Absolutely life-changing read. It is extreme heavy, deals in police violence (including sexual violence inflicted upon LGBT people), labour rights and protests, severe discrimination based on gender and presentation, extreme poverty in part due to said discrimination, difficult and multifaceted relationships between queer women and lesbians......... there is a lot here. It is raw, and real, and while there is agonizing hardship here, there is also incredible, deep love, for the community that keeps up afloat, keeps us going. Please, if you can stomach the content, I beg of you all to read Stone Butch Blues if you haven't.

..... aaaand that's it I think!! Happy new year y'all!

[the-bi-fangirl-biatch]

go bestie expose your feelings about the ending😔✌️

before i say anything, these are my OWN opinions! no one take them as me speaking for everyone. you can either respectfully discuss in the reblogs/replies or make your own post if you disagree that much, thank you!!

everything else is under the cut bc oh gosh this is actually pretty long lmao (dw, I have a TL;DR at the end)

let me start with the LOWS of the episode and work my way to a more positive light :)))

first off, we had no resolution to the fob watch/timeless child arc. I can still understand this bit because it's part of the mystery, but it feels like there's so much plot whose ends they still haven't tied together. did she just drop the fob watch containing ALL HER PAST MEMORIES inside the TARDIS and ignore it?? did the doctor really not tell yaz about the memories? did she do that offscreen? like- what? they set up so many plots and didn't even end up continuing them like they deserve

next is how they handled sapphic ships, specifically lesbian ships. I don't know much about the classic companions but from what i've seen, tegan and nyssa are supposed to be together and ace is lesbian-coded, but what we got was retconned tyssa and ace flirting with graham?? and I also disliked how they implied that tegan's life was so dull after being left by the doctor.

they also didnt resolve thasmin at all like?? they gave yaz SO MUCH character development and it looked like her relationship with 13 was gonna have a better resolution because of how they added more of it in EOTD and LOTSD but no?? what happened to "I want to tell you everything" and "if it was gonna be anyone it would've been you"? they just ended it with a nod and walking away silently? now here, I can understand that they both don't want to say goodbye (the doctor bc she hates goodbyes and yaz bc she's holding out hope that they may see each other again) BUT we deserve more than just that. (maybe this is bc I was imagining a killing eve s3 finale-esque goodbye wherein both yaz and the doctor stop in their tracks and turn around for a final goobye kiss, but that's on me lmao)

in addition to that, why is it that the first sapphic doctor is the only one who didn't get a kiss in her entire run, when she had so much chances to kiss yaz? and please don't say "we know it's confirmed to be romantic so we don't need the kiss" bc we have had enough shipping based on subtext and post-show confirmations. i agree that physical touch doesn't define a relationship but can't we have it this once? would it be so hard to give us this on their final day?

finally, imo they hardly gave enough time for jodie to say goodbye to her role properly. it would still have been ok if the episode was only filled to the brim with classic who nostalgia, but then they made her regenerate to 10. instead of giving her (the first female doctor) or ncuti (the first black doctor) the spotlight, they decide to bring back the most popular (and most used) doctor, david tennant. don't get me wrong i LOVE david as a person, but there's a difference between bringing someone back for a cameo and overusing them. with all honesty, I'm tired of him and ten 🤷.

and not only that, they took their most popular (white male cishet) doctor, aka the one that most if not all NMDs compare jodie to, and put him at the end as a cliffhanger? like he was the one they should have been waiting for? they must know that they're diverting people's attention away from appreciating jodie's ending and ncuti's beginning. I keep seeing stuff on twitter like "finally, the good doctor who! they're gonna restore doctor who back to its formal glory! this will prove that the female doctor was a mistake!" which is UTTER BULLSHIT

now here are the HIGHS of the episode because there were a lot of them too:

I LOVED how this episode gave closure to some of the classic companions, aka tegan and ace. I squealed when ace called the doctor "professor" and I'm glad they didn't shy away from showing that a previous companion was (rightfully) upset with the doctor. and all the callbacks! the nitro 9, ace's jacket, and her bat, too. don't even get me STARTED on the "support group for former companions" because that was amazing. IAN WAS THERE?!?!? and it gives such a good open end to them, not only for future projects but also for fanfiction lmao.

the plot of this episode was impressive and fun. its length contributed significantly because it defo wouldn't have worked if it wasn't as long. I really wasnt expecting it to make as much sense as it did because it was a great undertaking, but I'm glad it did. it showed the best parts of chibnall's take on doctor who (utilizing iconic classic who elements well and his own take on history).

THE CHARACTERS!!! gahdamn I loved how they gave the characters their own jobs that only they can handle, like kate and tegan with the cybermen (bc of their history with them), ace with the daleks (same reason, her history) and yaz saving the doctor (bg their PARALLELS here I wanna bawl).

I was also obsessed with the master in this episode!! Sacha played him as such an unhinged little pathetic brat man (affectionate) but he also proved that he was more than capable of delivering powerful scenes. compare the humour of the rasputin dance sequence vs the master so desperately wanting to be the doctor because he feels lonely. he's one of the consistently great things about this episode. i will be hearing RA RA RASPUTIN on repeat in my head for the foreseeable future (as well as thirteen's theme 😭😭😭).

Yaz taking charge!!! my little badass who's grown from being unsure about facing a potential threat in s11 to kicking (the master's) ass, saving ace, flying the tardis like it was nothing, and reversing a regeneration?!?! and not to mention Mandip's acting. she's proven that she has the range of badass action, deep emotion, hilarious comedy, and just raw heart. she's amazing, showstopping, phenomenal. and out of my favourite companions, yaz is the one I connect to the most, both with her struggles (in her mental health, in growing as a person, and in learning she's queer) and her strengths (hopefully her heart, her love for friends, her courage), so to see her grow at the same time as I have is so special to me.

finally, people may disagree with me on this, but I love thirteen's regeneration speech, due to the fact that she did not do it on her own, she didnt just talk to herself on that cliffside (that was just the last bit). most of her speech was to YAZ, her companion, her friend, the one who's supposed to be the viewer's stand-in. her entire message of "goodbyes only hurt because what came before was so special, and it's been so special. no body else got to be us, no body else got to live our days, no body. and my hearts are so full of love for all of you" was not just the doctor to yaz, but jodie and mandip to us. and idc if yall don't like her last words, "Tag, you're it" is SO THIRTEEN and is instantly iconic.

TL;DR I disliked: the abandoned fob watch plot, how they handled sapphic/lesbian characters, the way they hinted at thasmin but never properly resolved them, nostalgia overtaking Jodie's time to say goodbye, and yet another doctor played by david tennant, who I think is overused I LOVED: the closure this gave to tegan and ace, both of them and kate being given unique spotlight, the Former Companion Support Group™️, Sacha Dhawan as the Master, Mandip GIll as Yaz, seeing how much yaz has grown, Jodie Whittaker as The Doctor, aaand 13's regeneration speech (which was directed to yaz and to us, not just to herself)

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

I'm so glad you're normal about Taika/Rita because so many people haven't been. And unfortunately, a big chunk comes from people just not respecting Rita.

I'm not saying she's perfect, she's made some mistakes, she's human. But people have looked down on her for years, mostly for vey flimsy reasons like 'tries too hard'. I even found an article from 2014 that basically called her the 'punching bag of the music industry'. Even when she wasn't really on my radar, people on Twitter and Reddit kept saying shit like 'never seen a Rita Ora fan, how is she successful', even though its understandable to anyone with an actual brain who thinks about it for a minute.

I remember when it came out she and Taika were together, people were just so rude about her (this was a bit before the huge turn against Taika). Just saying stuff like 'what do they even TALK about???' etc. They clearly though she was beneath him. I know people can date for shallow reasons, but it was the just so mean and disrespectful. Not even considering that he might actually like her for more than just her appearence.

As i'm typing this, im realising this might be another reason they work together (obligatory i don't know them), they both know what its like to be unfairly targeted and ridiculed by the media and the internet. It's one thing to sympathise with someone, it's another to actual have them understand how it feels.

Hey Anon! Sorry for the delay, trying to catch up on asks, lots of write ins the last couple days! Thanks! I think a lot of us are a lot more normal about Taika/Rita but the assholes tend to be louder. I LOVE that I'm seeing so many people since that IG post of his really rally together and start pushing back. You all are so inspiring and sweet! I know some people are being shits though on twitter so remember to block if people start getting nasty because no one needs that kind of abuse. Some super sweet folks here are getting harassed on twitter and I'm getting very mama bear about it. To your point, you're right, she's human, she makes mistakes, we all do, seriously. If you don't like her, fine but don't be a dick about it? Like spreading rumors and being shitty does nothing but make you feel better (the royal you, not you anon!). That's an interesting point, it's possible they bonded over their both having to deal with trolls, and it seems like their personalities really match up-- they're both goofy and fun, so having someone who has had that same kind of life experience would be really helpful supportwise.

I think what we've learned from all of this is that people are just dicks sometimes and if we can, ignore/block them because not everyone feels that way and the more voice we give them the more they'll shout.

Anyway, thanks for writing in anon, I'm so glad to hear there's so much love and support for Taika and Rita despite their faults. <3 The more we talk about it, the more it'll become normalized again and we can help make that happen.

Hope you have a lovely weekend anon! Take care!

[peppertaemint]

I don't know if you've seen the new pic Kibum posted, but if you're online I'm sure you've seen the drama about it now...

I don't get it though, usually Key will say himself when he posts something if it shouldn't be shared, so I wonder if even he didn't see a problem with it at first? Why is one picture such a problem? Is Taemin not allowed to exist in public while enlisted?

This isn't a dig at Baekhyun cause I'm glad he was able to do these things, but didn't he have youtube videos coming out while enlisted? And I know he was all over his verified twitter all the time? How is just one picture different than that? Is it cause of the platform? Even though its not Taemin's bubble and he makes no money from it? Would their be so much drama if it had been posted to instastories?

I saw people saying there were articles, but there were articles written when Taemin went to Keys show?

I dunno where I'm getting with this, other than enlistment is confusing, I hope Key and Taemin in particular are okay, and I can't wait for this overlong awful enlistment to be over...

Hi Anon.

I have Bubble so I received the scolding directly via text! That was a shocker, lol. I'll give you my unvarnished opinion on this but as a warning, I'm going to be brutally honest about all of it. You're asking completely legit questions here.

The situation is nuanced, and I think for a lot of fans just the idea that they did something Kibum didn't like and felt the need to tell everyone off about was enough to either upset them or make them scared and 'fall in line." I deleted the posts I made and then I reflected because I never share Bubble content. But this time I made an exception — why did I do that? Because EVERYONE did.

So this is my opinion (don't take it as gospel because I have no access to anyone's thoughts). I think Key misjudged the reaction to that photo and how berserk everyone would go. He sees Taemin all the time; we haven't seen his entire face since his birthday in 2022 (lol). And, we've had virtually no communication from him in almost two years. "We" went nuts. Can anyone blame us? No. But Bubble is a paid service, and Kibum always reminds us not to share his shit. I never share anyone's shit publicly anyhow, but again it was ubiquitous, so I joined in. See the problem?

He had every right to get mad and remind of his boundaries and Bubble policy (there are financial penalties you can face for sharing stuff too btw). I also think he probably felt remorse over sending it in the first place since he likely misjudged what would happen. Is it all about breaking Bubble policy? No. And I don't think it's all about him being annoyed at fans breaking his trust either.

Baekhyun did have a personal YouTube account that he setup himself to use to communicate with fans during enlistment. It's my understanding he did this as a way to keep in touch without it having any links to promo/work. But, do you remember how he had to delete it all, and then he came online to tell us it's okay etc? I think that SM caught wind of extra scrutiny on people doing civil service enlistment, and it was a precaution. I also think this is why they've cooled it on Taemari, and it could be one of many reasons why Taemin stopped doing any posts at all. I'm not saying it's THE reason, but I think it's likely a factor.

There is a lot of criticism of celebrities who do civil service enlistment, and that criticism was present before the investigation involving Ravi and others came to light. People have been criticizing the option for years, saying it's how celebrities get out of doing "actual" service (let's put aside arguments about why that's wrong/insane, etc). Instead, put yourself in Taemin's shoes. He started service one way and is finishing it another. Wouldn't you want to avoid public ire and scrutiny over how you're spending your time in enlistment, ie. "living it up" etc. In my opinion, that's the worry over the photo being everywhere and now in news articles.

Why is the concert different? He went with Lee Soo-Man on the non-Beyond Live day as a private citizen, he kept his face covered the entire time—he even dressed low key. I have the same shirt that he wore (lol, imagine my surprise) except it's the branded version. He wore the non-branded version. Though he did have a Prada bag so maybe my argument falls apart but it wasn't like, in your face, was it? Anyhow, I hope you'll see my point. When he went to that soccer game, Jimin and Sungwoon were also there but they were in a fancy box. He did not sit in the box - he was just with the regulars in the stands. It wouldn't look so good to be in a fancy private box when you're supposed to be serving in the military, would it?

When Minho served, whenever he called Taemin he said he could never show his face. He was allowed to call him on VLives (or comment, lol) but he said specifically he can't show his face. They even argued about it. To bring this full circle, Bubble is a paid promotional, parasocial service. Even though for Kibum, sharing the photo is "private," it's still part of his work as an idol. So technically Taemin was in paid content. Is it a big deal? I really don't think it is (also is he definitely not discharged already?! o.O) so no one should feel sad or bad or whatever. Next time anyone shares anything on Bubble, I know it won't get shared. That's just how the fans roll. There's a level of respect here that is a breath of fresh air tbh.

Why is Baekhyun on Twitter whenever he wants but we don't hear from Taemin often? Personal choice. And that's a choice to be respected. It's not our business unless he chooses to share. Existential perspectives aside, we're part of "work" and the man is not in work nor getting paid for it right now, so he doesn't need to do shit. lol.

[golbrocklovely]

Im so glad I found older snc fans because I was starting to think it was just pretty young fans who can’t seriously discuss their relationships and lives and content.

this got to be a very long response, so sorry in advance lol

what i find very interesting about fandom culture as it is now is that when i first joined snc's fandom back in 2018, i was on insta only and literally there were confession accounts on there. basically in a similar vain to here, ppl would dm the person that owned the account "confessions" or opinions they had about anything related to snc and then the account would post it, and ppl would talk in the comments about it. usually those accounts would get out of hand eventually bc ppl would send in a lot of mean ones that would end up getting the person that owned the account in trouble.

wow, things haven't changed lol

but i think what ended those accounts was at one point there was an account that talked about a girl colby was possibly dating at the time, and the confession was shitting on her, and then colby commented on that post and said the equivilant of "hey i get you guys have opinions and i love that you want to share them and i don't mind seeing them, but if they are hurtful or mean i don't want that in my life". and i think that solidified the end of confession accounts, at least in this fandom.

i also think there was a major shift during the pandemic where ppl just didn't want to see anything deemed "negative" so now ppl are hyper vigilent to call out those that seem to be doing anything not positive. which i can understand sometimes, but i think a lot of fans take things too far. both sides do this.

my thing is, i've always enjoyed seeing other ppl's opinions, even when i don't agree. especially when related to fandom stuff. bc a lot of what we talk about on here is meant to be light-hearted and goofy and not to be taken seriously. i mean for christ's sakes we talk about the girls colby may or may not have hooked up with. and mind you, we barely have proof of any of them ! so again, it's all supposed to be silly and not urgent, important info.

but i think the reason why a lot of fans, sometimes younger, don't like seeing conversations like this is bc they think it's inappropiate or goes too far or bc it's not ultra positive all the time, it's deemed not worth having. which i get. i won't argue over that. my thing is….. yall are having these conversations too, you just keep it in dms and gcs. and if you pretend that isn't the case and "no i would NEVER talk about snc like this", you're lying. or you're very foolish to think that not everyone else around you is doing the same thing. the difference is i allow these conversations to happen publicly on my page.

i think bc i also allow ppl, for the most part, to vent about snc and others related to them, i'm seen as agreeing with their opinion - whether good or bad. but that usually isn't the case, but bc i'm allowing someone to have a voice when they otherwise wouldn't, i'm deemed bad or a hater.

on twitter, i think a lot of the disconnect comes from this idea of younger fans vs older. i think a lot of the younger fans don't want to interact with the older, and that's totally understandable. god knows 16 year old me wouldn't have wanted to talk to someone a decade older than me. and vice versa. i think the issue that arises is that the younger fans see the older ones as… too old to still be here. they see someone my age and go "why are you still around, you should have left already" or that i shouldn't be on social media to begin with. that whole idea is funny to me bc i've been online longer than some of them have been alive (but please note i ain't saying that as a flex lol). i also think a lot of older fans make younger fans uncomfortable, especially on twitter, for being very…….polarizing. and i think the older fans see the younger ones as annoying. like younger siblings that just won't fuck off.

do i agree with either one? no. i don't see younger fans as annoying, for the most part. and i don't see older fans any different. i think a lot of the problems that have appeared over the years is bc of the pandemic; too many ppl stuck inside for too long with nothing to do, mixed with a terrible world getting worse, and now everyone just feels the need to be assholes whenever they can bc they're sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time. and it's easier to take it out on one another in fandoms than it is to do it irl, but even that doesn't stop those from doing it.

i will note that there are a decent number of older fans on twitter in the snc fandom that make it very hard to be an older fan. like a lot of the ones that are on twitter say a lot of extremely sexual shit about colby. and look, i don't mind talking about that man sexually. but there's also a level to it. some of these women borderline write fanfics about him, but include themselves in it, and then all of that is one twitter. and that can be off-putting. i won't name names, but some just need to take it down a peg or two, that's all.

but that also isn't to say that younger fans don't do the same in some regard. i'm just saying some of the older fans take it farther than necessary.

i think there is a lot of nuance to this, and a lot of reasons why ppl act the way they do. i'm not trying to blame any one or any particular age demo, i'm just saying what i've witness and what i believe to be true. doesn't make me right however.

[yegas]

💖💖💖 YES KNB!!! such fun times. that era honestly felt like the prime of my (tumblr) life HAHAHA! the fandom was amazing. and I definitely remember your akashi obsession!! YEAH GO FOR IT!!! rewatch for the nostalgia 🥲 for a while back, I would rewatch some scenes or certain eps just to relive the ✨good ol' times✨ like the old timer I am lmao

ngl, I still haven't found my soft spot for their new album yet and even with The Stage, there are only a few select that I really like.. I've been listening to them lately though, but always find myself going back to Nightmare down to the older albums

LOL I HAVE NOT OPENED TUMBLR ON DESKTOP SINCE THE PANDEMIC and I honestly don't even know how it looks like anymore.. but as I remember, even during that time, the system's been a pain in the arse (but having to contact customer support to help w your theme??? wtaf 🙃) and tumblr hasn't been... flourishing as it once did...at least that's how I see it. the interactions are so minimal.. these days, a post that would've gotten 1k notes instantly before would probably only have 300+ notes now, it's a little bit demotivating for graphic makers.. times have changed 🥲

where did you find her?? also relieved on your behalf that you did! I'm okay. currently going through some heartbreak rn but I'm surprisingly...well... (unless I'm running away and not processing my emotions properly looool) otherwise, yeah all is good!

same, the best era hands down! wish the manga was still ongoing :(

i get you, i never got into the stage at all for some reason. i love mattel and nobody off of LIBAD tho. my fav album of theirs is the self titled and nightmare goes right after it, although nightmare got me into them in the first place, it's great to this day!

really is the mobile app any good?? i don't have it yet, i don't even have any phone storage left right now lol i need to make some room, and my phone is ancienttt. yeh i noticed, it's unfortunate, i guess there's way fewer users nowadays. i've been looking for good & active anime blogs to follow these past few days and they're not nearly as easy to find as back in the day. it's cool tho how some many very old posts still get recognition once in a while, unlike on on other social media (tbh i only post stuff on instagram, and lurk around on fb groups and reddit, can't stand twitter and tiktok lmao)

she was hiding in a bush near my apartment building, probably wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't come out to hiss at a nearby stray cat lolol

ugh i'm really sorry you're going through this. i'm glad you're handling it well, but just know you don't have to hold everything in. i know it helps me a ton to process ended relationships by expressing my feelings & thoughts somehow, if you do want to vent about it i'm here for you!!

[babieken]

Your description of the majority of men reactors 💀 Oh yes, catling benson is one of those I enjoy as well! I wasn't sure if you were referring to them because I still haven't watched their last video, but I had the feeling something was going on. I'm glad she's being transparent about how she feels.

I think reactors often happen to have particularly excited or dramatic reactions and get/feel pressured to have the same reaction to everything they watch, also to avoid toxic fans comments... I'm sorry (not sorry) but I blame young new kpop fans for this, especially those coming from twitter, where these reactors seem to find most (if not all) rude (or worse) comments. Of course not all of them are like this, I know and see so many that are not, they are respectful and behave in a more human and chill way, but there's a big portion that does, sadly.

Anyway. I'm all for reacting to a limited number of groups, if I were ever to do such thing, I would react to my favorites and occasionally others. However, I also realize that for many this is or becomes a job, and so the wider the public the better... About authenticity, for me it's quite fundamental otherwise I just feel like I'm wasting my time...

My fav reactors are (apart from the two i've already mentioned), the safe cave (they're also been pretty transparent with subscribers over time, took breaks when needed and made clear how and what they react to, definitely my number 1) and Lktv (he does bang his head lmao but I enjoy his reactions, he does comment a lot most of the time.)

Recently I saw a few reactions from millennial men and katriinka, a vocal coach. They seem good, at least from what I saw. I knew i forgot something 🤡 choreography! Idk why is so hard to find good dancers reactions... there's jeff avenue, there was a time he used to explain even more stuff and it was 👌👌👌 Musa is too much for me 💀 too much... I also find it exaggerated, also because it's like a standard for him to react that way. And when there's an important message behind he doesn't seem to catch it? I haven't watched all his videos, but some made me mad lol so I was like, "okay, enough, thank u next".

Exactly! Like it’s to be expected for someone who’s reacting to kpop for the first time to be blown away by pretty much everything bc kpop is just on a different level than western music videos, but after a while it becomes the norm and u have to start being real… otherwise whats the point?

Yeah i also think that toxic stans are a huge part of the problem but i think its time for ppl to stop tiptoeing around and trying to fit their content into a mold just to avoid toxic stans bc all that does is give them more power. (Obv its easy for me to sit here and say this but idk i feel like we need to just do our own thing until these toxic stans learn that the world doesn’t revolve around them and their faves)

Oooh ive seen kaia’s vids on search but i dont think ive ever checked any of them out! I’ll definitely give them a shot! And I actually watched lktv’s reaction to beautiful liar and as far as enthusiasm goes they were pretty decent but one thing that kind of gave me the ick was the random korean words they threw around (and the korean greeting) idk it just gave me koreaboo vibes kdkdkdk

I remember there was this one vocal coach reacts who had really long hair and he was pretty real. Like he clearly wasnt doing it to appease kpopies. Their main reaction content wasnt even kpop but i havent seen them around (tho i didnt look them up either) in ages. Yeah… im sorry jeff avenue’s reactions are boring too.

[contradictoryenigmas]

2022 Postmortem: 10 Questions

Usually, I am on the ball when it comes to the 10 Questions piece for the past five years. It starts at the beginning of December when my mind starts to reflect on the past year and what I want to try and achieve for the upcoming year. For this year's piece, I didn't start this process until the week of Christmas.

I've been feeling like I have been pulled in all sorts of directions and not having any time to relax. Whether it be work, personal stuff, or the various crises the world seems to be in every day, it has made me not interested in doing anything outside of laying down or staring blankly at the wall. But that isn't to say there were moments of joy and hope, it just felt like they were few and far between.

I'm not going to say 2022 was the most difficult year in my life, but I would put it up there in my top five.

Author’s Note: If you are new to this or want to take a look back at previous pieces, you can click on the links here: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021.

What made up your body of work this year? Which parts are you most proud of?

I would to like answer this with some sort of writing. Alas, 2022 was barren of writing. I have some car reviews sitting on top of my printer from back in the summer that are awaiting any sort of editing. Others are waiting to be written. I could list various excuses as to why I haven't. It boils down to me not having any sort of energy to put words onto something. Despite the desire to write anything, along with efforts to try; nothing has been really able to flow out.

When it comes to personal writing, a brick wall seemingly pops up when try to write. There's a piece on Twitter that I started earlier this month that is only a few sentences in as I ran out of steam. The only place where I feel like I can make some headway is with a personal journal I keep for myself. I wonder if some of it comes down to being afraid of how people may react to something I've written. Being out of the game for a bit, I could see this as a possible reason.

All of my body of work for this year was with my day job as a specification researcher, now known as a data specialist. The only item I can ultimately be proud of is lessening my workload before going on holiday break. The past few months have seen me get slammed with many new vehicles and feeling like I won't be able to get through all of it. My coworkers have been awesome at helping me out whenever they could. But I can say that after every workday, I felt both mentally and physically drained due to how much work needed to be done.

What were your top 5 moments of the year?

Getting back into the swing of reviewing new cars

Continuing to exercise on a somewhat regular basis

Working on some smaller projects

Cooking more at home

Slowly stepping away from Twitter as a crutch for human interaction

What are you really glad is over?

I feel like a broken record as my answer is the same as last year - the day job! Aside from an intensive workload from late summer to the end of the year, we lost a few people throughout the year - two left in the summer to pursue other positions, and another was let go before the holidays. We do have a couple more people going through training that will hopefully start within the next month, I am wondering how much more I can hold on during the next year.

How are you different today than you were 365 days ago?

Feeling like I am in a constant state of tiredness. I know work is a big reason for this, but other items in my life zap the energy right out of me. What makes this worse is that my sleeping patterns vary; some nights I'm able to sleep decently, while on others I am rolling around in my bed with no sign of entering deep sleep. I try to take naps, but I find it to be more successful during the weekends as my eyes haven't been blasted by bright screens during weekdays. The tiredness has also affected other parts of my life from wanting to try new things, to watching TV.

Another issue that has popped up recently is feeling very lonely. With the pandemic and working from home for the past couple of years, I've been feeling alone and wanting to be around people that I care about. I have friends, but most are out of state and I cannot travel to see them at the moment. Thankfully there are phone calls and Twitter (before Elon Musk started making a mess of it). I do find myself wishing that I had some people closer to me to hang out with. Getting myself to that point is difficult being that the pandemic has made me lose a lot of the social interaction skills I somewhat had.

On the upside, my mental health has been improving throughout the year, partly due to some new medication I started towards the end of last year. I'm not having as many depression episodes. When it does appear, I'm able to resolve it much faster. My ADHD is slightly better as I can focus on certain things, but there are others like aspects that throw wrenches into my day that I'm still working out.

Also been trying to read a bit more when I go to bed to try and help with my sleep. This is to help keep my eyes from looking at a tablet or even my Kindle which causes me to stay awake longer, even though I want to sleep. It has been hit and miss with the sleep, but I am happy to be reading regularly again.

Is there anything you achieved that you forgot to celebrate?

I almost forgot about this, but I was asked by a friend of mine about what they should do next. Their current job was driving them to burnout and wanted some perspective from someone who was in the same boat. I gave them my perspective and hoped that I was able to help them reach their final decision.

What have you changed your perspective on this year?

Twitter. Ever since Elon Musk bought the social network, it has become messy. Trying to list various changes, layoffs, and controversies would take up a fair amount in this piece. But I have started to use it less and less. I realized once again that I had been using Twitter as a replacement for actual human interaction. Twitter is nice if I want to make a stupid joke, catch up with someone quickly, or show off something. But spend too much time and it can become a bit too much with the feeling of FOMO.

I'm still on Twitter and will likely be there when it sinks (or something else). But it has moved away from something I check regularly - Mastadon and CoHost are serving that role.

Who are the people that came through for you this year?

Numerous people deserve a huge thank you. They include my coworkers at my day job, my therapist, folks on Weird Car Twitter and Mastadon, and some very close friends. All of them played a key role in keeping me from going completely crazy throughout this year.

What were some pieces of media that defined your year?

Zelda: Breath of the Wild

An honorable mention last year, it has now moved up to the main stage this year. I finished this back in February and was blown. I've never really played a Zelda game before - only playing a few minutes of A Link to the Past and Link Between Worlds. But something about Breath of the Wild made me sit down and play for around 90 hours. The story unfolds in a way that you find yourself wanting to explore and understand how the world got to this place. I wasn't so fond of the weapon degradation system because I may break it in the heat of battle, and hoping that I have something capable to replace it.

I am wanting to do another play-through next year to get ready for the sequel.

Car Mechanic Simulator 2021

Over 300 hours. That is what Steam says how much time I have spent playing Car Mechanic Simulator 2021. I can't fully explain what got me to start playing this simulator - don't really want to call it a game - aside from it being on sale on Stream back in the spring. It has been something to help me unwind after a long day of work. Just something about taking apart a vehicle, fixing the various issues, and putting it back together that feels oddly fulfilling.

What If 2 by Randall Monroe

If your book cites Smooth by Santana feat. Rob Thomas to describe the temperature of Earth, you have my instant respect. I loved the first What If book, and the second continues the trend of people asking absurd questions and Monroe (creator of the fantastic XKCD cartoon) putting in the research and work to answer them. I actually started re-reading this book again towards the end of the year because I laughed so much.

God Gets A Little Busy Sometimes by Izo FitzRoy

I have a small playlist of songs that I tend to play whenever I'm in a depressive state to remind myself that it will get better in due course. The latest addition came from Izo FitzRoy in December. I can't fully explain how this song helps me out when I'm in a depressive mood, but I think the gospel undertones play a role.

Honorable Mentions: The Beatles - Get Back documentary; iPhone 14; Gran Turismo 7 for Playstation 4; modding a new Nintendo 3DS XL; Jazz FM in the U.K.; Linux Mint on a HP laptop; Mario+Rabbids - Kingdom Battle; Paramount Plus; Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD by Tamara Rosier Ph.D.

What will you be leaving behind in 2022?

The answer is the same as 2021: "I don’t know if there is anything I am leaving behind at the end of this year. Feels like I am making plans on things that I’ll be leaving next year." Hopefully, 2023 doesn't throw as many issues into this as 2022.

What do you hope to accomplish in 2023?

There are several things that I want to try and work on in the coming year. How many I can work on depends on a big elephant in the room; the day job. I'll split this up into two categories; projects I will be working on throughout the year, and projects dependent on the elephant.

Projects throughout the year:

Various electronic projects: I did some small stuff this year with various electronics such as modding a New 3DS XL to allow backs and slowly upgrading my work laptop to have a spare machine. There are some projects on the block including an iPod Classic upgrade to use a jukebox in my car and fixing up an old Dell XPS gaming computer to play older Windows games.

Clear up the auto review backlog: Having various vehicles from back in the spring needing to be written up has been nagging me throughout this year. Want to get those done and up somewhere. It would remove a big weight and allow me to start asking for media vehicles. I instituted a new rule a few years back that I cannot ask for any media vehicles until the backlog is fully completed. On one hand, this keeps me honest and not overwhelming me with more work. The downside is having a backlog that I don't touch for months.

Figure out a better way to get reviews out the door faster: Once the backlog is done, I want to figure out ways to help me get reviews out in a more timely fashion. Remembering to take notes is a difficult one, along with trying to block out some time every week to organize and start putting down thoughts.

Continue to make my apartment my own: Aside from getting various posters framed and hung, I need to work on better organizing parts of the apartment. Currently just feels like I don't have enough space and have items stacked in piles. I would love to have a bigger apartment or storage unit where I can throw various items, but that feels so far away at the moment. For now, going to make the best of what I can do.

Money Stuff: This year has been tough on my finances and I know that I can do better. Some items I have started to implement are cooking more at home, using a vacuum sealer to keep food longer, and using apps for coupons and cash back. For the new year, I'm planning to get back on an application I used before - Simplifi - to track where money is going and help me figure out where I can cut back. Also in the cards is setting up some automatic transfers to start stashing money away for items and trips I would like to do.

Projects dependent on the elephant:

Getting back to writing on a somewhat regular basis: I mentioned earlier that I really miss writing and want to get back to it. But not having the energy does put a major damper on it. For the automotive stuff, I would like to branch out and work on the history of various cars. I have a stockpile of old magazines, books, and an insatiable curiosity to explore. Now, I just need to get the energy to pull this off. Also been thinking of starting a newsletter to post various thoughts, but I don't where to even start with that.

The personal stuff is another area I want to try and tackle. Part of this is moving from Tumblr, which has been a good home for the life of the blog. But I feel having a new place to post would help increase my desire to write.

Traveling: I cannot remember the last time I went somewhere that wasn't with my parents or in the state of Michigan. I have the desire to explore and visit various parts of the U.S., along with the rest of the world. Money is a big factor in this, along with figuring out where I want to travel first.

Working towards a new car: My current Ford Fusion has a litany of issues and it causes me a fair amount of stress. Having something newer and fewer miles would help immensely.

As I sit in my old room on Christmas day working on this piece, I think how I'm at a set of crossroads wondering which road to take. 2022 has been a year where I had originally planned to make some big moves, but various monkey wrenches have put a stop to many of them. The end of the year has me feeling wanting to break out and do some new stuff. But there is another part of me that wants to take it easy and be at a place where I feel comfortable with everything around me. Seems counterintuitive, but I think it is fitting for a blog with the title of Contradictory Enigmas.