Ben Paddon

@benpaddon / benpaddon.tumblr.com

British writer, comedian and internet person. Out on her Fanny, The Game of Rassilon, Jump Leads, and more. Non-binary, they/them.

At some point I reached over 1,500 followers. I have no idea how that happened! Was it my post about closed captions from a couple of years ago?

Anyway, I'll reintroduce myself. Hello! My name is Ben, I'm non-binary (they/them pronouns), and I'm a British-born writer, comedian and occasional voice actor living in Los Angeles.

I'm currently working on Jump Leads, which is an audioplay reboot of a webcomic I created back in 2007. That should be launching sometime this spring. Previously, I did a little YouTube show called PortsCenter which was reasonably popular for a while.

I co-wrote a Left 4 Dead parody YouTube series called Boomer's Day Off, and a six-episode Doctor Who parody called Dalek Gary. It's about a Dalek named Gary.

I was the GM for the first three seasons of the Doctor Who Roleplaying Game actual-play podcast The Game of Rassilon where I am now a PC on my second character after my first... well, spoilers. I also DM'd Hot Quest for Filmjoy, which was my first and, to date, only paid DMing gig - a lifelong dream!

What else? I co-host Out On Her Fanny: A Podcast About The Nanny with my wife, though that's currently on hiatus. My friend Alys and I used to do a podcast called The Life Toyetic about movies based on toys or games, and we reviewed a Barbie movie every 5 episodes.

I'm queer, I'm married, and I'm disabled. I have very strong opinions about cheeseburgers (short version: the brioche bun has single-handledly ruined the American dining experience).

I have a Patreon, and since I started posting regularly about post-production on the Jump Leads audios I have somehow lost patrons, so if you want to give me a leg-up I would deeply appreciate it. Twice.

Find me on other socials media!

Mastodon
Instagram
TikTok
Twitter (defunct, only used to promote stuff)

#doctor who #left 4 dead #barbie #D&D #podcasts #audio drama #queer creator #queer creatives #dalek #the nanny #the game of rassilon #jump leads #introductions

pocket-deer-boy

I love the specific ways in which AI is terrible

twilight-sparkle-irl

POV you’re about to play one of the most vile games ever produced

Do not let that rating deceive you this game is a hellhole of deadness and depravity, it starts out as a generic gross out game about a dog who poops on the floor for the first few levels and then at the final level of the game it starts off with you emerging from a doghouse during some kind of nuclear apocalypse with a ghostly demon choir looming over you

Then you have to enter a cat food factory where it’s revealed that all the dogs in town are being diced up and mashed into cans to create cat food. You have to shut the machine down while avoiding buzz saws and spikes and mortar plates covered in blood and dog intestines

Then you push the CEO of the cat food company into a meat grinder and she screams as she gets shredded into cat food and the game abruptly ends

3+!

Wait, what? I

I DIDN’T EVEN SEE THAT

More important takeaways from the notes!!! 😰

ANYWAY HERE IS A LINK TO THE FINAL LEVEL OF THE GAME FOR ALL OF YOU IN THE NOTES SAYING THIS IS FAKE

https://youtu.be/n7bC_kAR-wU

From the studio that brought you Elite Dangerous and Planet Rollercoaster!

#it's very telling that my abuser bought and ADORED this game

Uh oh!

Hello friends! I just got laid off from my day job, so this is a great time to consider supporting me on Patreon! Patreon supporters get bonus BTS content for Jump Leads, as well as exclusive bloggery and other such things.

Or, if you'd like to help more directly (or immediately!) I have PayPal!

So how am I looking?

I have a little time to find a new job, so I'll be focusing on that. If you'd like to help extend my timer, or just want to help, please consider the Patreon or PayPal.

(Oh, and if you're looking for a full-time Podcast Producer, Content Editor, or Project Coordinator working either remotely or in the LA area, hit me up!)

Thank you!

applejuicewithwater

applejuicewithwater

Going round in circles for fourteen months? Getting my information from the Junior Colour Encyclopedia of Space? The respect you have for me is awesome, innit?

"Oi, not your pockets! Dear oh dear, It's horrible down there. There's a big hole. It's an unbelievable view. Reminds me of that film, Attack Of The Killer Gooseberries."

#Red Dwarf #Holly

Enjoy Jump Leads? Sign up for @benpaddon's Patreon!

(If you haven't listened to Jump Leads yet, it's about a pair of queer tqwnty-somethings lost in the Multiverse, trying to find their way home. It's Doctor Who, Hitchhiker's Guide and Sliders all tied up in a neat bow. And it's free to listen to right now!)

We're in the planning stages for Jump Leads season 2, and a big part of that is budgeting. Did you know making things costs money? I know! It's wild. But hey, here we are.

We did some quick math, and we figure if we can get the Patreon to $200 per month, that will cover the lion's share of the budget for season 2 across a whole year. We're almost halfway there already! We're hovering around the $70 mark right now, which does help.

If you're not sure whether to support Ben on Patreon, backers get access to:

Scripts for each episode, including early and alternate drafts!
A full behind-the-scenes post for each episode detailing production!
Regular Q&As where Ben answers your burning questions!

If we can cross at least the $100-per month mark, we may well launch a discord server too! Wouldn't that be neat?

So support independent art by queer creators! Help us to make Jump Leads season 2!

Actors and Animators should go on strike next tbh. Especially cgi animators. Put the fear back into Hollywood

creature-report

this is a very good post and i would like to add, though not about CGI, but people in animation are currently working to unionize!

Along with other studios that have already unionized their production teams, like the productions at Rick & Morty and Solar Opposites, the teams at Titmouse, and the teams at Nickelodeon, Walt Disney Animation production management have been asking to be recognized as a part of The Animation Guild (TAG) for 114 days as of this post! (may 31st)

Production workers in animation (assistants, coordinators, and managers) are NOT COVERED by ANY union, Animation Guild, Producers Guild, or otherwise.

“In attempting to unionize, worker-organizers are seeking to improve pay and gain portable health care that will travel with them from job to job. “For the majority of us this is our long-term career path; however, the current value tied to production workers does not reflect our worth,” says production coordinator Maggie Hughes in a statement. “We produce and deliver some of the most profitable franchises at one of the oldest animation studios in the world, it’s unreasonable that production workers can’t create a sustainable, comfortable future.”“ (Hollywood Reporter)

Disney is hoping that them asking for fair wages and sustainable work will get buried with the Writers Guild Striking, and the company knows if they agree to recognize their production management as a part of TAG it will cost them money, and it will set an example for other production departments at Disney to unionize to protect themselves as well (which will cost them even MORE money).

Production teams are often the least paid in the animation industry and the easiest to fire/hire since they have no protections. To work for such a massive company such as the Walt Disney company and not afford rent, to feel without worth, is sad.

Currently they have a petition on IATSE here, and an open letter/petition here. Hope you all share and support!

drgertiefremontphd

watching this 2h documentary on the history of half life and this dude takes a break in the middle of arizona to talk about one time he did magic shrooms backstage at a comedy club and thought he was having an auditory hallucination where he kept hearing the hl1 scientist voice talking to him only to peek at the stage google the guy on it and find out it was the original VA for kleiner doing a bit at the same club

Detail from a 1948 Kraft mayonnaise ad

eldritchcatpossumamalgam asked:

Had an idea you might be able to use for something: Klingon Soap Operas.

dduane answered:

(sigh)

Thanks for the thought. I appreciate your kindness!

But unfortunately, because you've sent me the idea and I've read it, I can now not use it, ever. No matter how much I might like to.

This isn't about you, you understand. And in its way it probably seems like a cruel paradox. You were only trying to be helpful! But if I was working on something for Trek and this concept came up even in casual discussion, I would be honor-bound (and contractually required) to inform them that the idea had come to me from a reader or fan. And then—rightly, from their point of view—they would forbid me to use it, because the idea's originator might some day, despite all their friendly intentions now, sue them over it. And the evidence that I was at fault would be easy to obtain. Sending a DM on any major platform generates an electronic "paper trail" that will confirm its target has opened and read the message in question. And that electronic record can be subpoenaed and submitted as evidence, and would stand up in court.

"Oh, come on, who'd do a thing like that, what are the odds...?" people will say. But it's not generally known that I've already been involved in a high-stakes lawsuit in which someone tried to sue Mattel over material I wrote when developing the initial form of the "Barbie: Fairytopia" universe (and the first Fairytopia film) for them. I'd never so much as met or communicated with the person suing them, had never read even a word of their work... but they still went to great trouble and expense attempting to prove that I'd had access to their material and used it without permission.

Mattel won the suit (as I'd frankly been expecting: the attorney handling their defense was one of the most expert IP lawyers in the US). But it gave me the chills... and made it clear how very wrong things could go, and the kind of damage that could be done to my career and my personal life, if I even accidentally used ideas from unauthorized sources.

Seriously, folks. I know you all mean well! But please don't make me tap the sign. DO NOT SEND ME STORY IDEAS, no matter how vague or general or unformed they may be. To do so is to absolutely guarantee that they will never, ever happen.* (And in my own universes, your innocently-meant suggestion could mean that neither you or anyone else will ever see that particular Young Wizards or Middle Kingdoms plot, no matter how much you'd like to... because I take this stuff seriously.)

...Thanks, all.

*This is also why I don't read fanfic set in my universes. Which you also shouldn't send me: please and thank you.

Please read this before you send me ideas or links to fanfic of any of my stuff. Please.

This skirt has a bit of a story (and this post has a discount at the end!)

The manufacturer for our fan-favorite skater skirts changed the material on those skirts at the start of Pride, to material which doesn't take print as well. Frustrated by this news - and the printer's refusal to take ownership of unacceptable-quality items - Spider & Jake went on a hunt.

Lucky for us (and for you) the manufacturers of our skater dresses just added a full-circle midi skirt in up to 5X, with pockets. The possibility of not just replacing a favorite but adding 3 sizes and pockets was too much to pass up. So Spider & Jake spent the last week hustling to change over all of our skirts to the new manufacturer and add some new designs and now we're ready to share them with you!

So we didn't have these at the start of Pride, but we can still give y'all an intro sale.

Use code SPINSPIN23 for 18% off until June 13th!

Anonymous asked:

i adored jump leads! wish i had some clever question to ask about it, but all i have is this: questionless joy. thanks for that. that being said, what part of it/character/setting/etc etc do you most wish someone would draw fanart for?

I would be happy for anybody to draw any fanart of any part of it! I think mostly I want to see other people's interpretations of Meaney and Llewellyn.

tobelovedandtohavebeenloved

tobelovedandtohavebeenloved

Anyone have a screenshot of Rimmer with the sign waiting for Lister to come back from Titan? I need it for something and can’t find the smegging thing anywhere.

Your periodic reminder that the Smegadrive exists.

So it turns out that ChatGPT not only uses a ton shit of energy, but also a ton shit of water. This is according to a new study by a group of researchers from the University of Colorado Riverside and the University of Texas Arlington, Futurism reports.

Which sounds INSANE but also makes sense when you think of it. You know what happens to, for example, your computer when it’s doing a LOT of work and processing. You gotta cool those machines.

And what’s worrying about this is that water shortages are already an issue almost everywhere, and over this summer, and the next summers, will become more and more of a problem with the rising temperatures all over the world. So it’s important to have this in mind and share the info. Big part of how we ended up where we are with the climate crisis is that for a long time politicians KNEW about the science, but the large public didn’t have all the facts. We didn’t have access to it. KNOWING about things and sharing that info can be a real game-changer. Because then we know up to what point we, as individuals, can have effective actions in our daily lives and what we need to be asking our legislators for.

And with all the issues AI can pose, I think this is such an important argument to add to the conversation.

mintypineapple asked:

When is season two?

In an ideal universe, tail end of this year. Realistically I'm projecting April 2024.

buzzfeed-unbound asked:

Hi! First off, I've been loving Jump Leads so far and can't wait for season 2!

So, I started reading the comic and noticed that the audio series starts out as a fairly close adaptation for the first couple of stories before drifting apart. What drove the decision to structure it like that instead of doing a direct adaptation the whole time, or doing totally different stories the whole time?

Also I couldn't help but notice similarities between episode 2 of this, and an episode of season 4 of The Game of Rassilon. At first I thought episode 2 was inspired by that episode of GoR, so I was surprised when I saw that story in the original comic. I guess my question here is: Did Riley take inspiration from the original Jump Leads comic, or was it a coincidence? What was it like as a player solving a mystery to discover that the solution was a story you'd already written elsewhere?

What niche reference are you proudest of?

I think the decision to separate from the comic pretty early was a desire to tell new stories. The webcomic had a pretty decent audience when it was current, and I have no idea how many people still think about or remember the comic, but I wanted to make sure that the audios could be enjoyed by those readers who wanted new adventures. Similarly, for new listeners I wanted the comics to be something they could go back and discover and enjoy as something fresh.

The original plan was for the first two episodes to be adaptations from the comic before veering off into uncharted territory, but during the scripting process it became clear that the alien attack in episode 2 was pulling focus from the characters from that story, who were a lot more fleshed out in audio than they ever were in the comic. It just wasn't working. If we'd kept the alien attack, it might've felt more like we were just doing the comic. It was @mandyquesadilla who suggested dropping the alien, which I was hesitant to do, but the story felt a lot tighter as a result and, hey, we get across the point that this isn't just going to go where the comic went a lot earlier.

The similarities between "Mutiny" and "Stowaways" were entirely coincidental! Riley even messaged me after the episode dropped to ask how I felt about the stories hewing so close to each other. Honestly I didn't have any issues with it! It's very different playing a story than it is reading it, so the nature of the story in "Stowaways" didn't even click with me when we were playing.

Niche reference I'm most proud of? Easy - the activation code that Lucas uses to turn on the Flurry in the first episode is the same code that Lester uses to enter his lab in Another World.

boombox-fuckboy

Ace Rep!, a podcast list curated by tals on Podchaser

A podcast list curated by tals. Fiction podcasts with ace rep! Shout out to additional compiliations at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet

Happy Pride month! I've got a bunch of lists full of queer rep in audio drama that I'll be sharing throughout the month of June!

Up first: Ace rep!

This is great! How would one go about getting their show added to this list? @jumpleadsscifi has a canonically ace main character.

My asks are open, and I would love to answer some questions about Jump Leads should anyone have any.

If you don't, or haven't heard it at all: hey, maybe listen to the first season! There are six episodes each around 30ish minutes long. You'll enjoy it!