its unreal how all of my favorite characters have exactly the same traits and hobbies and diagnoses as me

oh, have you been tricked into loving yourself?

oh my fucking god is that what just happened

weird little brain tweak/reframing that helped me out. i Often find that advice that seemingly helps Everyone Else doesn’t make any sense to me, in ways that are hard to describe, and it can be really frustrating. but when i find a way to explain it to myself that finally seems to break through and make it click, it feels really good

I read this and finally cleaned my room so thanks

UK government petition: Include abortion rights in the Bill of Rights

[ Sign petition here ]

The government are scrapping the Human Rights Act for some reason??? And replacing it with a “Bill of Rights”, but there are some rights from the old Act that are notably absent…

You can sign if:

Deadline: 5 January 2023

[ See graph of signature progress ]

no comment for this one.

It has just now occurred to me that what’s “visibly on the spectrum” is wildly different for autistic and allistic people. Most allistics don’t recognize autistic behavior (at all or anything more that weird/quirky) unless it impacts their ability to interface with an autistic person. That’s when allistics see someone as visibly on the spectrum. Other autistics can spot each other from a mile a way though over minor stuff.

For example every allistic I’ve ever worked with has told me “oh but you’re sooo good at socializing with people?!? I could neverrrr tell?!?!” If they learned I’m autistic.

However other autistic people meet me and are like: YOU. AUTISM.

James Acaster says trans rights!

PSA to Real Person Fiction (RPF) Writers

Had trouble pasting the video here, but @ao3commentoftheday posted this video about this announcement from Channel 4.

ALT

You can view Channel 4’s Twitter post regarding their new show at the link below, but I recommend you to read the full article announcing Channel 4’s fan fiction puppet series.

Here is a quote from the article:

According to @ao3commentoftheday, Channel 4 representatives are also already commenting on AO3 works asking writers to write RPFs for their show. AO3 is currently deleting the comments as spam.

What’s happening now is an issue in more ways than one. Beyond writers being exploited for their free content, their EROTIC fiction will be read out by their intended celebrity through puppets with the effect of making fun of the written content (nevermind the fact that it’s making fun of women and queer sexual expression) and potentially making these celebrities feel very uncomfortable.

It’s already mentioned in @ao3commentoftheday’s video, but TO ALL RPF WRITERS AND ESPECIALLY TO BRITISH RPF WRITERS—HIDE YOUR RPF WORKS, both current and future works.

On AO3, you have the option to private individual works so that they are only viewable to registered AO3 users (for those who are not AO3 users, your AO3 mutuals can send you an invitation). Tumblr also has settings to hide your blog from external search engines such as Google and only make it viewable to Tumblr registered users. I’m not sure what features are available on Wattpad or FFN in terms of hiding fan fic works, but if anyone uses those sites, please be sure to hide your RPF works from public view if possible.

As a fan fiction community, it’s especially vital now that we continue to prevent our works from being exploited and ridiculed.

Please jump in if there is anything I am missing—or something that I am saying that may unintentionally be misinformation.

Wow, what the fuck

@fecklesheckleshacklesschmeckles​  You may want to know about this.

@janamelie Bless you, pal! Don’t worry, already reached me. I never had any of the dubious comments, only a few of my RPF works are unlocked, and I don’t think they can use any stuff without permission. (I doubt they’d want mine either - they’re trying to convince authors to write stuff for them about the guests they’ve got booked “based on” the works they’ve written about different people… it’s bizarre upon bizarre.)

(At the risk of getting discursive: Maybe I should lock ‘em? My reasoning was that those are the ones I don’t care if the subjects find, either because they’re tame or because they’re clearly persona-based rather than real-person-based, and given that the existence of RPF is an open secret these days - hell, at least a couple of the people in the current British comedy scene have gone on record as having written fanfic/RPF in their youth - they’ve only themselves to blame if they go looking. Christ, if the only people who don’t lock are the naivest, mightn’t it look worse? I dunno, though; it’s been a while since I wrote them, and maybe my policy’s due a reappraisal.)

Oh, I see.  How odd although I suppose they’d want to tailor it to fit their guests and what they’d agree to perform.

It’s obviously up to you whether you decide to lock all your RPF but since they’ve targeted one of your fandoms, maybe you should.

On 6th July, Channel 4 changed their press release - original here, updated version here - as follows:

So, they either haven't found any actual fanfic authors to write for them, or they've had to clarify that they're not going to try and steal anything, in the face of backlash :D

cc @searchforanotherway @ao3commentoftheday

(I still haven't locked my own RPF. It's half a dozen fics out of a tag of hundreds. If they find my stuff, they'll already have found stuff that'll scar them more. <shrug>)

PSA to Real Person Fiction (RPF) Writers

Had trouble pasting the video here, but @ao3commentoftheday posted this video about this announcement from Channel 4.

ALT

You can view Channel 4’s Twitter post regarding their new show at the link below, but I recommend you to read the full article announcing Channel 4’s fan fiction puppet series.

Here is a quote from the article:

According to @ao3commentoftheday, Channel 4 representatives are also already commenting on AO3 works asking writers to write RPFs for their show. AO3 is currently deleting the comments as spam.

What’s happening now is an issue in more ways than one. Beyond writers being exploited for their free content, their EROTIC fiction will be read out by their intended celebrity through puppets with the effect of making fun of the written content (nevermind the fact that it’s making fun of women and queer sexual expression) and potentially making these celebrities feel very uncomfortable.

It’s already mentioned in @ao3commentoftheday’s video, but TO ALL RPF WRITERS AND ESPECIALLY TO BRITISH RPF WRITERS—HIDE YOUR RPF WORKS, both current and future works.

On AO3, you have the option to private individual works so that they are only viewable to registered AO3 users (for those who are not AO3 users, your AO3 mutuals can send you an invitation). Tumblr also has settings to hide your blog from external search engines such as Google and only make it viewable to Tumblr registered users. I’m not sure what features are available on Wattpad or FFN in terms of hiding fan fic works, but if anyone uses those sites, please be sure to hide your RPF works from public view if possible.

As a fan fiction community, it’s especially vital now that we continue to prevent our works from being exploited and ridiculed.

Please jump in if there is anything I am missing—or something that I am saying that may unintentionally be misinformation.

Wow, what the fuck

@fecklesheckleshacklesschmeckles​  You may want to know about this.

@janamelie Bless you, pal! Don't worry, already reached me. I never had any of the dubious comments, only a few of my RPF works are unlocked, and I don't think they can use any stuff without permission. (I doubt they'd want mine either - they're trying to convince authors to write stuff for them about the guests they've got booked "based on" the works they've written about different people... it's bizarre upon bizarre.)

(At the risk of getting discursive: Maybe I should lock 'em? My reasoning was that those are the ones I don't care if the subjects find, either because they're tame or because they're clearly persona-based rather than real-person-based, and given that the existence of RPF is an open secret these days - hell, at least a couple of the people in the current British comedy scene have gone on record as having written fanfic/RPF in their youth - they've only themselves to blame if they go looking. Christ, if the only people who don't lock are the naivest, mightn't it look worse? I dunno, though; it's been a while since I wrote them, and maybe my policy's due a reappraisal.)

Would Love to re-normalize the idea of queer attraction. Like, yeah, Sometimes a butch lesbian and a gay twink fuck, sometimes they make out a punk show, sometimes they dance together in a queer bar. Gender and sexuality are social falsities and an attraction to other queer people for their queerness is actually incredibly common. It’s not weird that butch lesbians might be really into evil gay twinks and its not weird that gay twinks might be really into big butch dykes. Queer attraction, up until the liberal distinctions of enforced queer identities, was just something that we didn’t question – it was just there.

fuck everyone in the notes tbh, it’s so obvious y’all got all your opinions about queer ppl from twitter and tumblr. u are not and literally will never be an authority on queer identities. talk to a real life queer person for once in your life

anyways as a man who’s had butch and twink and femme and bear and gay and bi and lesbian partners thanks op. queer attraction is normal. screwing around with other queer people and not caring about labels apply is normal. In fact it fucking rules. make out with a hot person. who cares

“Then that started freaking me out, too. What’s a nice butch dyke like me doing fantasizing about a drag queen with a dick? But you know, so few people really turn me on that it seems kinda silly to get hung up on a gender thing. Besides, if I fuck him, I’ll still be a dyke because that’s what I am. Simple. I don’t want him the way a woman wants a man. I don’t even want him the way a fag hag wants a fag. I want him the way a perverted, horny bulldagger wants a young, tender drag queen in a tight black slip and combat boots, which is what he had on the day he really took me over the edge.” From the short story “Me and the Boys” by Trish Thomas, from the collection Leatherwomen, 1993.

Yes.

The moment you see labels as prescriptive instead of descriptive is the moment you disconnect from the reality of living life.

how dare you leave this in the tags

I’d seen pictures and gifs of James Acaster before, but I’d never watched him actually do anything till I started watching series 7 of taskmasters. And I was shocked to learn that while having the physical appearance of a man dying of consumption in 1867, he has the physicality of a 12 year old boy who was just pent up inside for 9 hours given a grown man’s body on a whim, and the anger of a ferocious stray chihuahua. It’s like watching a particularly pissed off Punch and Judy puppet who was enchanted into a Victorian street urchin who was then enchanted into an adult with tuberculosis try and fistfight a mountain. Regularly. I had absolutely no idea this was the man who crosses my dash in image form every so often. It’s very enjoyable.

They told me to put my heart in everything I do. So that’s what I did, and I poured and I poured and I poured. Now they ask me why I am so empty and confused.

Alex on the Taskmaster Podcast

Ed: There’s gotta be some friction.

Alex: Yeah, you need stuff to grind against.

(No, I will not provide any context - ed. As in editor. Not Ed Gamble. This might get confusing.)

Alex: I haven’t had a shower yet today.

Ed: OK, good, this is all good information, good to know. But you’ve got a footie shirt on.

Alex: I did some exercise. In the garden with my dog. Yeah. I went to do some sort of running around in the garden, like, and…my neighbours, I think, watch. But my dog stole my shoe.

Alex *of Josh waiting till his turn in the prize task to complain about being set the solo task of singing along powerfully to the Taskmaster theme tune*: I like that that was bubbling away in his little head for ages.

(Alex’s quiet little sadistic tendencies showing - ed.)

Ed: And also, Greg can do what he wants, can’t he?

Alex: Yes, you say that to his face. He would say he can’t do what he wants. He has to do what he thinks people want him to do.

Ed: Right. But he never does.

Alex: And then he’s racked by guilt. No. And he’s not getting any better.

Ed: Still feels guilty about doing stuff?

Alex: Yeah, still feels guilt, and still makes incredibly irrational but also unmathematical decisions. It still bugs me when he goes, ‘Yeah, five points, two people get four points, and then the next person should get two.’ Anyway.

Ed: You can always see you get flustered with your iPad.

Ed: Well, it made me laugh the most.

Alex *deadpan*: Did it, now. That’s not the category, Ed.

Alex *of Greg and David Jason*: They have a really lovely, awkward relationship.

Alex: There are some secret things in the house, not all of which have ever been found.

(OMG, I need to know - ed.)

Ed: That would have panicked me too much, counting the rice.

Alex: Everything would have panicked you too much.

Ed: Well that’s true.

Alex: That’s true, Alex. Alex.

Alex: It’s always worth noting that that is somebody’s job. To count out the grains of rice to put in that drawer. And if they get it wrong…the fury that I possess.

Alex: So well done, Josh. I think he’s proud of himself. I love it when he’s proud of himself.

Ed: Yeah. You can tell. He wears all his emotions on his little face, doesn’t he?

Alex: I’d be a completely different person if I could do impressions, I think. It would change me. It would give me so much more ballsiness.

Alex: I’d love to do an American.

Ed: Any particular American?

Alex: Maybe a cowboy?

(Again, no context allowed - ed.)

Alex: Smashing things is probably the best thing, isn’t it?

Ed: Oh god, it’s great. 

(Such butch, manly men - ed.)

Ed: You’re absolutely obsessed with putting yourself in situations where you have to eat potentially disgusting things, aren’t you? (FINALLY someone has the guts to say it to his face - ed.)

Alex: I’m not. I’m not absolutely obsessed. *goes on to justify his oral fixation with a palindrome, which might be the most Alex Horne thing ever to happen*

Ed *of having to eat an edible mask off Katherine Ryan’s face*: I mean, obviously you feel uncomfortable in any situation like that, really, don’t you, Alex?

Alex: Well also, when she lay there, like, she looked like, you could imagine a model in Cosmopolitan doing that as a photoshoot. 

Ed: Yeah.

Alex: Cos she’s so…she was so still, as well. 

…

Alex: Also, it looked like either she was asleep or dead or something. So I was creeping up to her like this horrible man going to lick a sleeping model. Oh god.

Ed: Yeah, you’re remembering it and feeling just as uncomfortable now, which I love.

…

Alex: And I don’t know if there was a good way of doing it, if I’d just sort of marched up and gone in for a munch. I think you have to tiptoe up. Er… *regretfully* …Yeah.

Ed: Yeah, you definitely have to tiptoe up. But obviously you didn’t go for the lips, but you mentioned them, which made it worse.

Alex: Well it also looked delicious, all the food, and I had a job to do, I had to taste the mask.

Alex: I do understand that my discomfort is funny. You can’t fake discomfort, but you can sort of milk it slightly.

Alex: I’d like to think that I asked permission as well, before licking her face. I probably said to her, I don’t know if it’s on camera or not, do you want me to use a spoon or a tongue.

(Seems legit - ed.)

Alex *of Josh’s Alex Horne mask*: Every detail was accurate. Right down to the long, sugary-sweet tongue.

…

Alex: That was the one I was least embarrassed about, gobbling on my own face, I think.

Ed: Cos I suppose you’re always sort of eating your own face in a way.

Alex: Me specifically?

Ed: No, but everyone is always eating their own face cos they’re always in their own mouth, technically.

Alex: …Well I don’t want to argue with you on this, but I completely disagree.

Ed: Why do you disagree?! In your mouth is you.

Alex: I don’t think everyone is always eating their own face. In my mouth is not me.

Ed: Well who is it, then?! The inside of your mouth is part of you. You’re in your own mouth.

Alex: Right, I will concede that in my mouth is me, but I don’t think I’m eating my own face all the time.

Ed: But you’re swallowing and stuff, and like, your tongue’s in your mouth, so you’re always having a little chew on your tongue, right?

Alex: Fine. OK. Well I concede that I’m always licking me. I’m always licking the inside of me. But I’m very rarely licking the outside of me.

Ed *of Alex’s beard*: It’s nice and trimmed. I like it.

Alex *of Bob Mortimer’s mask*: I also was nervous, first of all, of eating my hero’s face. But because he pulled me in and kept saying that he’d sinned and that I could cure him, I really got into eating his mask.

(...Alex. Mate. - ed.)

Alex: A sneak preview for Series 13 - there’s more saliva in one task than we’ve ever had before. 

…

Alex: Honestly, you won’t believe it. The editors struggled with it as well, just seeing it. I can’t wait till you see that.

Alex *of Josh tidying up after himself*: He tried really hard, the little…little boy.

Ed. Little boy, nice little boy.

Alex: I try to ease off the blindfolds so that they only appear once a series.

Alex *of his little assistant suits*: I have worn them to a funeral.

Alex Horne: “I try to ease off the blindfolds so that they only appear once a series.” James Acaster:

Alex: ‘Oh dear, looks like I have to blindfold the cute twinky boy again, what a terrible shame, sorry, all part of the show, my hands are tied. Actually, that last bit gives me an idea.’

Alex on the Taskmaster Podcast

Ed: There’s gotta be some friction.

Alex: Yeah, you need stuff to grind against.

(No, I will not provide any context - ed. As in editor. Not Ed Gamble. This might get confusing.)

Alex: I haven’t had a shower yet today.

Ed: OK, good, this is all good information, good to know. But you’ve got a footie shirt on.

Alex: I did some exercise. In the garden with my dog. Yeah. I went to do some sort of running around in the garden, like, and…my neighbours, I think, watch. But my dog stole my shoe.

Alex *of Josh waiting till his turn in the prize task to complain about being set the solo task of singing along powerfully to the Taskmaster theme tune*: I like that that was bubbling away in his little head for ages.

(Alex’s quiet little sadistic tendencies showing - ed.)

Ed: And also, Greg can do what he wants, can’t he?

Alex: Yes, you say that to his face. He would say he can’t do what he wants. He has to do what he thinks people want him to do.

Ed: Right. But he never does.

Alex: And then he’s racked by guilt. No. And he’s not getting any better.

Ed: Still feels guilty about doing stuff?

Alex: Yeah, still feels guilt, and still makes incredibly irrational but also unmathematical decisions. It still bugs me when he goes, ‘Yeah, five points, two people get four points, and then the next person should get two.’ Anyway.

Ed: You can always see you get flustered with your iPad.

Ed: Well, it made me laugh the most.

Alex *deadpan*: Did it, now. That’s not the category, Ed.

Alex *of Greg and David Jason*: They have a really lovely, awkward relationship.

Alex: There are some secret things in the house, not all of which have ever been found.

(OMG, I need to know - ed.)

Ed: That would have panicked me too much, counting the rice.

Alex: Everything would have panicked you too much.

Ed: Well that’s true.

Alex: That’s true, Alex. Alex.

Alex: It’s always worth noting that that is somebody’s job. To count out the grains of rice to put in that drawer. And if they get it wrong…the fury that I possess.

Alex: So well done, Josh. I think he’s proud of himself. I love it when he’s proud of himself.

Ed: Yeah. You can tell. He wears all his emotions on his little face, doesn’t he?

Alex: I’d be a completely different person if I could do impressions, I think. It would change me. It would give me so much more ballsiness.

Alex: I’d love to do an American.

Ed: Any particular American?

Alex: Maybe a cowboy?

(Again, no context allowed - ed.)

Alex: Smashing things is probably the best thing, isn’t it?

Ed: Oh god, it’s great. 

(Such butch, manly men - ed.)

Ed: You’re absolutely obsessed with putting yourself in situations where you have to eat potentially disgusting things, aren’t you? (FINALLY someone has the guts to say it to his face - ed.)

Alex: I’m not. I’m not absolutely obsessed. *goes on to justify his oral fixation with a palindrome, which might be the most Alex Horne thing ever to happen*

Ed *of having to eat an edible mask off Katherine Ryan’s face*: I mean, obviously you feel uncomfortable in any situation like that, really, don’t you, Alex?

Alex: Well also, when she lay there, like, she looked like, you could imagine a model in Cosmopolitan doing that as a photoshoot. 

Ed: Yeah.

Alex: Cos she’s so…she was so still, as well. 

…

Alex: Also, it looked like either she was asleep or dead or something. So I was creeping up to her like this horrible man going to lick a sleeping model. Oh god.

Ed: Yeah, you’re remembering it and feeling just as uncomfortable now, which I love.

…

Alex: And I don’t know if there was a good way of doing it, if I’d just sort of marched up and gone in for a munch. I think you have to tiptoe up. Er… *regretfully* …Yeah.

Ed: Yeah, you definitely have to tiptoe up. But obviously you didn’t go for the lips, but you mentioned them, which made it worse.

Alex: Well it also looked delicious, all the food, and I had a job to do, I had to taste the mask.

Alex: I do understand that my discomfort is funny. You can’t fake discomfort, but you can sort of milk it slightly.

Alex: I’d like to think that I asked permission as well, before licking her face. I probably said to her, I don’t know if it’s on camera or not, do you want me to use a spoon or a tongue.

(Seems legit - ed.)

Alex *of Josh’s Alex Horne mask*: Every detail was accurate. Right down to the long, sugary-sweet tongue.

…

Alex: That was the one I was least embarrassed about, gobbling on my own face, I think.

Ed: Cos I suppose you’re always sort of eating your own face in a way.

Alex: Me specifically?

Ed: No, but everyone is always eating their own face cos they’re always in their own mouth, technically.

Alex: …Well I don’t want to argue with you on this, but I completely disagree.

Ed: Why do you disagree?! In your mouth is you.

Alex: I don’t think everyone is always eating their own face. In my mouth is not me.

Ed: Well who is it, then?! The inside of your mouth is part of you. You’re in your own mouth.

Alex: Right, I will concede that in my mouth is me, but I don’t think I’m eating my own face all the time.

Ed: But you’re swallowing and stuff, and like, your tongue’s in your mouth, so you’re always having a little chew on your tongue, right?

Alex: Fine. OK. Well I concede that I’m always licking me. I’m always licking the inside of me. But I’m very rarely licking the outside of me.

Ed *of Alex’s beard*: It’s nice and trimmed. I like it.

Alex *of Bob Mortimer’s mask*: I also was nervous, first of all, of eating my hero’s face. But because he pulled me in and kept saying that he’d sinned and that I could cure him, I really got into eating his mask.

(...Alex. Mate. - ed.)

Alex: A sneak preview for Series 13 - there’s more saliva in one task than we’ve ever had before. 

…

Alex: Honestly, you won’t believe it. The editors struggled with it as well, just seeing it. I can’t wait till you see that.

Alex *of Josh tidying up after himself*: He tried really hard, the little…little boy.

Ed. Little boy, nice little boy.

Alex: I try to ease off the blindfolds so that they only appear once a series.

Alex *of his little assistant suits*: I have worn them to a funeral.

Alex Horne: "I try to ease off the blindfolds so that they only appear once a series." James Acaster:

this is the worst thing I’ve drawn yet

(inspo)

this has… literally never happened to me before… i’m so proud :’)

‘thanks for your appeal! a real live human will review this post’ ENJOY THE POST, REAL LIVE HUMAN XD

this banner just shows up every time i look at the post now and imo it makes it better