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magnifythesun · 29 days

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ianthony prompt: Anthony competing for attention for an oblivious Ian vs a protective cast over their papa ian hehe

heehee this one is cute, thanks for the prompt!!

(post writing note: trying to tread these character dynamics yet keep it feeling realistic is such a fun challenge! I hope I succeeded! this ended up being way more about the aftermath of a situation like this than examples of it happening lol but i hope you enjoy anyway)

When Anthony returned to Smosh, his first goal was to speedrun as many types of new videos on Smosh Pit and Games as possible. Try Not to Laugh, 2 Truths 1 Lie, Reading Reddit Stories, on and on the list went. His schedule was packed. Yet even during the chaos, Anthony started to notice a pattern.

When it was just him and the cast without Ian during a shoot, everything felt surprisingly comfortable. The big ensemble cast ones too, like the slapping video, great vibes all around (bit of a painful cheek though). They were all meshing so well, so quickly, and Anthony was eternally grateful that they were welcoming him with open arms. There was just one thing.

When a video was just him, Ian, and a couple other cast members, he was getting the strangest feeling. Not that they didn't want him there, he was pretty sure. That was the feeling he'd been afraid he'd get when he first came back. Rather, he got the feeling that they were constantly trying to pull attention away from him. Well, not the attention of the viewers. Just Ian's attention.

Anthony knew that he and Ian could get a little wrapped up in themselves sometimes. He couldn't really help it; with their long history together, they had a lot of inside jokes and an acute sense of what joke would break the other immediately. So they would share a glance and suddenly be laughing, giggling over some stupid joke like a couple of teenagers again, and it would be as if there were no other people in the room.

And each time, promptly, one of the other people there would interrupt, saying Ian's name, asking him a sudden question or pointing out something else so that Ian would look over there. Sometimes they'd even physically move Ian away, subtly of course. At first Anthony hardly noticed, but then it kept happening. And then he realized that often, it was accompanied by an almost pointed look at him by whoever was doing it.

Sometimes, they would get tag-teamed. For example, during a video of a light-hearted Mario Party competition, he and Ian were starting to 'yes, and' each other into oblivion, grinning and carrying on over some joke from a ten-year-old video, when suddenly Angela was pulling Ian's arm and getting him to react to something on the screen while Chanse tapped on Anthony's shoulder to show him a trick on the controller. Before Anthony knew it, somehow Angela had swapped spots with Ian on the couch. A little off-kilter, Anthony just bantered with Chanse for the rest of the video instead. To be fair, Chanse had a very similar sense of humor to Ian, so it actually went very well. Still, Anthony just couldn't tell why stuff like this kept happening.

He felt a little confused, and from that was a vague sense of hurt. Had he done something wrong? Ian never seemed to notice, so Anthony tried to push the whole thing to the back of his mind. Surely he was just reading too much into it.

On another video, Anthony, Ian, Arasha, and Courtney were facing off in Everybody 1, 2, Switch. When they went to pick teams, Anthony reached out a hand, ready to pull Ian to his side of the room, when Courtney suddenly popped up beside him, snagging his arm and raising it to the sky in victory.

"Anthony's my partner," They said gleefully, shooting a glance at Arasha, who was herding Ian to her side of the room.

"Heck yeah, dad and son team," Ian said, a little grin on his face as they high-fived. He shot a playful glare at Courtney and Anthony. "You're going down!"

"Dickbiscuit!" Arasha chimed in, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

"Gotta give them their father-son time, Anthony!" Courtney said, rather pointedly, and Anthony got that feeling again. Like there was a plot against him, but he wasn't sure why. It left a sour feeling in his stomach, and he felt bad about it. Anthony definitely didn't mind being on a team with Courtney instead of Ian, but why did it feel like she and Arasha didn't want him to be on a team with Ian?

It was time. He was at a point in his life where he'd rather just talk about something instead of letting the poisonous thoughts rot inside him. Right after they wrapped the video, he walked over to Courtney.

"Hey, could I talk to you over there?" Anthony asked quietly, trying to make sure Ian couldn't hear.

Courtney gave him an inquisitive look. "Yeah sure!" They headed to the little hallway behind the set walls. "What's up?"

Anthony shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Well, uh. Well, first of all, I may be totally misreading this."

Even as he spoke, he could tell he probably wasn't. Courtney's eyes had sharpened with understanding, and a slightly guilty yet defiant look was coming over her face.

"I've just been noticing—" He paused, thinking how best to say it. "Well, nothing specific, I don't think, but I can't help but feel like..." He took a quick breath and just got it over with. "Sometimes in these smaller videos with Ian, it feels like you guys don't really want Ian to talk to me?" He glanced at Courtney, stomach sinking as he continued, the worst fear coming to his tongue. "Or maybe you guys don't want me there?"

Courtney didn't look defiant at all anymore, now more gut-punched in a way that made Anthony feel terrible. Could he really have been misreading it all so badly?

"Or, maybe not!" He put his hands out placatingly. "I'm so sorry, I think I was maybe reading too much into things?"

"Oh god, well, no, um," Courtney stammered. "Look, I'm sorry too. You haven't been misreading."

Anthony's stomach dropped. They didn't want him here?

Courtney must have seen his expression and she reached out to grab his arm reassuringly. "Oh my god, not about not wanting you here. We're all really happy you're back, Anthony. This has been amazing."

The emotional whiplash was really starting to get to him. "Oh. Well, that's good!" He smiled weakly.

"We've just been," She paused thoughtfully, "A little protective over Ian, I think. There's an element of, you know, what if you decide this isn't for you after all, and leave again." She looked down, and continued quietly. "I think it'd wreck him, honestly."

Anthony's heart seized and he took in a shaky breath. "I can promise you," He said firmly. "That won't happen. He put a hand on their arm too, squeezing lightly to try and emphasize how serious he was. "This is what I want to be doing, full-stop. And running this whole thing with Ian means more to me than, than anything in the world."

Courtney smiled at him, a shaky, slightly teary thing. "I think, deep-down, despite our fears, we could see that. It's obvious every time you look at him."

Anthony dropped his arm and dipped his head, a little embarrassed. "Well, I can't help but be excited about it, you know?"

Courtney laughed, "I'm sure. There is one other aspect to the whole thing you've been sensing though."

Anthony looked back up apprehensively.

"With you around, he doesn't do the bits he's built up with everyone else as much!" She laughed again, clearly more at herself this time. "It's silly, but we're all a bit jealous!"

"Oh. Oh!" Anthony didn't really know what to say. He raised his hands up guiltily and said, "Whoops."

Courtney covered her mouth to try to laugh more quietly. They were still only separated by the wall of the set from the crew, and presumably, Ian.

Anthony started laughing too, rather relieved about the whole thing. He'd been so worried that there was some really big grievance the whole cast been hiding, an anvil dangling, ready to drop on his head. "It's just like you said, right?" Anthony said as he caught his breath. "Gotta give them their father-son time!"

"Exactly!" Courtney beamed at him.

Anthony smiled, but he felt compelled to continue. "Look, I just want to reiterate. About the leaving thing."

"Yeah?" Courtney said.

"I just," There was a dragging pain in his chest like the words were being pulled out of him. "I love him, you know?"

He'd said it before to Ian, that he loved him, best friend to best friend. But there was something about saying it now, to Courtney, secretly behind this set wall like this. It was haunting almost, like a specter sneaking up behind him to tilt his world permanently on its axis. He wasn't unfamiliar with the feeling. It was often associated with something he needed to work out in therapy.

He shook it off, took a breath. "I never want to hurt him like that again. He means so much to me. I won't let us fall apart like that again."

Courtney tilted her head slightly, narrowed eyes studying his. His breath felt caught in his chest. A moment, then, "Woah." Her expression brightened, suddenly mischievous.

Anthony blinked at her. "What?"

They grinned, "No, no, nothing, haha!" They had that funny wild look in their eyes that usually only came out for the cameras.

"What?" Anthony asked again, a slightly unnerved smile taking over his face.

Courtney shook her head. "No, um, you know? I think this changes things! Sorry about everyone, haha, we're just— well, you know, he's our guy, our 'Smosh single dad,' 'the dad who stepped up,' our 'single working mother,' whatever! We were all just a bit protective of him, but hey look!" She threw her hands out like she was pitching a deal. "I'll pass the message along, that you're, well, uh. That you, um. That there's nothing to worry about here! Just leave some Ian for the rest of us, yeah?"

Courtney started to back away, looking like they were going to bolt and Anthony was so confused. "Sorry about that by the way? I didn't realize I was stealing him," Anthony said.

"No you, well—" Courtney stopped. "Anthony, you do know that whenever you're there, Ian's like, fixated on you, yeah?"

Anthony had not realized that and he was not quite sure why his chest felt all at once like he had just performed a long, far too strenuous yoga session. He kept looking at her as if an explanation would be forthcoming, but Courtney was just looking back at him with wide eyes.

In this moment that felt like it resided somewhere on the spectrum of Wild West duels, Ian came around the corner.

"Oh hey," He said, and then frowned at them when they both jumped. "What are you two doing behind the set?"

"Hey Ian!" Courtney said brightly, and Anthony could hear that hidden relief underneath. "Great to talk with you, Anthony! See you later!"

Ian watched them leave and then turned back to him, suspiciously.

"Are you two plotting some kind of video?" Ian raised his hand to his chin, thinking. "Like, a prank video on me I'm not supposed to know about or something?"

That would be a great idea, Anthony thought a little deliriously. "I don't know, Ian, I guess you'll have to find out."

Ian narrowed his eyes. "I'll have you know I'm great at getting revenge."

"Oh, should I beware?" Anthony teased, the tight feeling in his chest easing up.

Ian scoffed. "Beware all right. I'll get Arasha on my side and then it'll be all over for you and Courtney."

Anthony grinned and walked over to him, slinging an arm over Ian's shoulders to guide them both out from behind the set. "You know, I keep hearing about Arasha's scheme prowess. Wanna show me whatever video that comes from?"

"Oh god, it's a whole series of videos," Ian said, already pulling out his phone. "Brace yourself, it's a wild ride."

#ianthony #asks #my fanfic #aaaa i really like how this one turned out!! i hope y'all like it too!#thank you for the ask!!#i have a grand total of five more in the backlog right now #thank you all so much for sending them! <3

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ohmeadows · 5 months

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[20 Question Fic Writer Tag]

i wasn't tagged, i just wanted to do it 😌

How many works do you have on AO3? 10 currently. if we’re counting all past accounts and orphaned works… easily 50-60.

What is your AO3 word count? currently 149,834. if we account for the grand total, well. more. ha.

What fandoms do you write for? i’ve been in quite a few, mostly video game ones, but right now it’s mostly only honkai star rail on my mind though i have the odd rhaenicent idea rattling around.

What are your top five fics by kudos? you and me are a twisted fantasy (kafhime enemies to milkies), i’m on a leash called you (kafhime with dom himeko), da capo al fine (kafhime time loops), the dew of dying stars (ruanliu mara body horrors and cannibalism), and spark (kafxuan horny).

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? yes, i try to most of the time! i had a lapse this fall where i just didn’t have enough energy to do it for months on end, but i cleared my inbox of that backlog on january 1st. i’m trying to be more consistent going forward.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? none i can link bc orphaned or on old accounts, but i do love a good angsty ending if it makes sense for the way the story has been going. kinda aching to write one again i won’t lie.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most of them are quite happy in terms of endings! i know people doomed so hard about da capo was going to have a sad tragic ending but that was… never in the cards for me. i already have it written and i’m very excited about getting there.

Do you get hate on fics? sort of. i wish people would offer up critiques instead of just leaving comments like “ew this is unhygienic”, “disgusting”, “can’t believe i read 8 chapters just for BOTTOM KAFKA” or whatever else pointless stuff i’ve deleted.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? mostly, yes. i think 99% of my writing stems from a very clear and vivid image of a sex scene, and then me building backwards to root that sex in a way that feels natural and consistent to both characters. and i'm always looking for some new angle in smut, or else it'll bore me, so that means exploring new kinks or dynamics each time.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? no, i frankly hate crossovers and it’s one of my blocked tags on ao3.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? oh yeah lol. sucks! what can you do! it always amuses me because if these people just bothered to talk to me in the way of “hey, i love x idea, i want to do my own take of it, can i discuss some ideas with you?” i’d be 100% down to help nurture that. i reblogged a post about it the other day but i definitely feel that fandom community has turned into a fandom clout competition which feeds into this, too many of us looking for a quick boost in some imaginary clout chasing.

Have you ever had a fic translated? several, yes. for a while i had a bunch of old fics translated into russian. it always flatters me that people would go through that effort with my works.

Have you ever cowritten a fic before? yes, i’ve written a ton of unpublished wips with others and enjoyed the process, and then one i co-wrote with junie and published in an old fandom. i’d love to do it again, tbh, it’s incredibly energizing and fun, but wrangling two people’s creativity together over an extended period of time is always a lot of work and agreements, as well as being able to actually produce. you both need to trust each other and deliver.

What's your all-time favourite ship? uhm. i don’t know. i really don’t. ships by themselves don’t make me feel that excited, weirdly enough, but rather what people make exist in them. i have absolutely lost interest in compelling ships because the fandom de-fanged them, pulled their punches or morphed every single aspect about them into “uwu soft healing together”. (i could go into a long rant about how healing tends to be kinda… ugly…. in interpersonal dynamics. but that’s for another time.)

What's a WIP you'd like to finish but doubt you ever will? most of my unfinished wips i’m completely at ease with leaving behind in the dust. most. i do spend a lot of time thinking about a dorothea/rhea court drama au.

What are your writing strengths? visuals, i think. i have a very vivid inner eye when writing and the scenes play out like a movie for me, so i pay a lot of attention to the choreography and details of the scenes, where everyone’s hands are, and so on, to try and translate my inner vision to text. i can be a very harsh editor which means i’m always looking at what effect each scene is striving for — does it make sense for it to meander, or does it need to be snappier, sharper?

What are your writing weaknesses? i feel like my vocabulary could do with enrichment. i spend a lot of time looking up synonyms because they never stick in my head, and most of my reading books is spent noting down words in a notepad i’d like to use. sometimes i leave too much to be fixed in editing instead of putting it all down in the first draft. i don’t like involving too many characters so sometimes i think fics can get a bit too narrow — and sometimes i can play that for good effect, i guess.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? if you know it, sure, if you want; or at the very least use a beta who knows the language. i tried reading some fics that made use of my mother tongue and my god was it jarringly obvious google translate as well as irrelevant. i think it is worth asking twice what effect it will have for the reader and if it will come off as jarring.

First fandom you wrote for? lord of the rings! man i loved my mary sue silly era.

Favourite fic you've ever written? completed: spark. the amount of research i poured into it, as well as dedicating myself to convoluting fu xuan’s internal voice and outlook on things was some real hard work, but satisfying in the end. incomplete: the dew of dying stars. this one pushed me to research more, think harder about what i wanted to convey, and make them be worse. it’s been a very fun shift in how much i allow myself to dig deep, and relaxing and trusting the audience more. truly a new level of sicko weirdo fic for me.

#meadows.txt #meadows writes

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daleisgreat · 3 years

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Speed

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Today’s entry will mark the first official 4K home video release I am writing about. I already own a few other 4K UHDs, and a couple of months ago, I watched my first 4K video at home with 2001’s The Fast and the Furious. However, I already covered that movie’s BluRay release here several years ago, so I will not be dedicating another entry for it, other than to say that the 4K upgrade pops and makes it look like a new release. Today’s entry is for 1994’s Speed (trailer). Before diving into this movie, I noticed one of the tracks from this film’s score repeatedly used throughout sounds awfully like one of the main themes I primarily associated with the Metal Gear Solid franchise. I have no idea if this was pointed out before, and I just overlooked it all these years, or maybe I am grasping at straws. Click or press here to take a listen and decide for yourself. 1994 was a hell of a year for Hollywood movies primarily transpiring from a highway with The Chase, Speed, and the OJ Simpson Bronco chase….oh wait (although I highly recommend the ESPN 30 for 30 on it, simply titled: June 17th 1994). The majority of Speed has a straightforward premise: serial bomber and local madman Howard Payne (Dennis Hopper) planted a bomb on a bus rigged to explode once the bus drops below 55 miles per hour. Police officer Jack Traven (Keanu Reeves) is alerted to this by the bomber himself to exact revenge on Traven after successfully rescuing hostages from an elevator Payne armed at the beginning of the film.

From there, for the middle hour of this nearly two-hour film, the action almost entirely takes place on the bus. Traven makes a grand entrance onto the bus by commandeering a Jaguar and having its owner (Glenn Plummer) take the wheel so Traven could heroically leap onto the bus and save the day. It would not be that easy of a rescue mission as Payne has eyes on the bus, and Traven has to play by his rules and get him his $3 million ransom to disarm the bus. Without question, the middle hour on the bus is the best part of the film. The opening half-hour is an excellent appetizer with the elevator hostage crisis that Traven and his partner, Harry (Jeff Daniels), successfully foil. However, once the action shifts to the bus is when Speed takes off. Shortly after taking control of the bus, one of the passengers freaks and inadvertently shoots the bus driver, and a fellow passenger, Annie (Sandra Bullock), takes over the wheel. Throughout the film, Annie and Traven have wonderful chemistry, and I could not help but root for the duo throughout. Every couple of minutes, there is a new potential conflict to overcome to keep the bus going over 55mph. The film wisely peppers in brief dialog exchanges to let the movie breathe just enough before the next hurdle makes itself present.

The film's standout moment is the major obstacle for the bus to overcome when it encounters a stretch of unavoidable highway under construction and missing a hearty chunk of the road. Traven’s solution is that since that stretch of a road is on an incline, they may clear that gap if they build up enough speed! That epic stunt hits all the right notes, and I got goosebumps all over again re-watching it, and odds are, I bet you did too if you have seen this movie. If you have not, then watch this scene and see for yourself by click or pressing here. A lot of the critical discussion in the aftermath of this movie was if that jump was realistically possible. The best thing I can do is to compare it to another film, Road Trip, which is likely a better indicator of what could happen when attempting such a feat. Once the middle bus portion of the film is over, there are still about 20 minutes left where Traven tracks and chases down Payne in a subway station. The movie felt over once the bus portion had such a satisfying conclusion that it almost feels wrong to keep sticking with the film by this point, but I recommend you do since there is a satisfying payoff in the form of Payne’s demise. I have to share a story now when I first saw this film at around 13 or 14 on VHS. My dad’s VCR had what seemed to me at the time was a revolutionary feature where if I kept pressing the pause button repeatedly, it would slowly, frame-by-frame, play the film in super slow-motion. At that age, I thought this was a fantastic way to get the most out of the biggest stunts in action scenes. My favorite moment exploiting this feature was seeing Traven and Payne wrestle around on the top of a subway train until Payne was not watching his field of vision, and a warning light lead to his sudden beheading. I slow-motion replayed that sequence countless times in my awkward, early teenage years. Suffice it to say, Hopper plays the out-of-his-mind bomber perfectly, going so far as to make sure he receives his appropriate cinematic comeuppance.

The director ensures the many passengers on the bus maximized their minutes to the point I where it feels like you are right there with them!

Two audio commentaries are the only extra features of the 4K disc in this 4K/BluRay combo pack. One is with the director, Jan de Bont, and the other is with producer Mark Gordon and writer Graham Yost. Props are to whoever decided to subtitle the commentary tracks. I very much appreciate it! I first started to bounce back and forth between the two commentary tracks, but Bont was way too relaxed and had too many pauses to hold my attention, and I finished up with his track within five minutes. However, Yost and Gordon are very much engaged from beginning to end and have fun cracking jokes and sharing memories throughout. Some quick takeaways I got from them were how they wanted to film a major scene outside of a sports arena, dealing with critics poking holes at how unrealistic their stunts were, and how watching the movie felt very different at the time of the commentary recording just two months after 9/11. The BluRay disc contains the remainder of the bonus features. Inside Speed is a four-part feature lasting just under an hour breaking down the visual effects, stunts, and location sequences, but half of it also contains an HBO First Look special hosted by Dennis Hopper that hits all the right kinds of cheesy mid-90s EPK nostalgia that it is worth checking out. Aside from 12 minutes of extended scenes and a Billy Idol music video that seems totally off base with the tempo of the film, there are a couple of Action Sequences mini-features breaking down some of the stunts. I highly recommend watching the one dissecting how they did the bus jump, as it shows raw footage of what really happened when they shot it, and showed footage of some of the specific safety measures they instilled to make that stunt as safe as possible and had some eye-opening interviews with the stunt driver before and after.

After watching that old VHS copy nearly a dozen times, Speed wound up being one of my favorite action films I got burnt out early on and never bothered upgrading to a DVD or standalone BluRay. Watching it again in 4K all these years later breathed new life into it for me. I am not an expert at breaking down video quality by any means, but watching the 4K disc on my 4KTV gave the impression of this having far more current production values. The editors somehow managed to remove all the old film grain defects for a smooth 4K upgrade. If you have not seen Speed yet, then it has everything you could want out of a mid-90s action movie with explosions, gripping thrills and stunts, dramatic rescues, plenty of zinger one-liners…..and a Billy Idol theme song. Pardon me while I attempt my best Dennis Hopper impression here, “Pop quiz, hotshot, which 1994 blockbuster that takes place primarily on a bus is a perfect candidate for beer and popcorn movie night at home?” Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Endgame The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve The Clapper Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dirty Work Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Inglourious Basterds Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Justice League (2017 Whedon Cut) Last Action Hero Major League Mallrats Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Nintendo Quest Not for Resale Old Joy Payback (Director’s Cut) Pulp Fiction The Punisher (1989) The Ref The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT Trauma Center The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

#random movie #speed #keanu reeves #Sandra Bullock #jeff daniels #dennis hopper #glenn plummer #jan de bont

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cyanmnemosyne · 7 years

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question meme

As tagged by @rinkafushi, so I figured I should do it before I fall back into my old habits of completely failing at human interaction. XD

(My inspiration does not currently extend to coming up with a new set of questions, but if you see this and want to join the fun, feel free to consider yourself tagged for this set. :D)

1. What’s the dumbest/most unlucky way you’ve ever managed to injure yourself?

Weeelll I think this is according to a slightly different definition of dumb, but when I was studying abroad in Japan, I’d joined the aikido club, and for our end-of-semester practice we had a horrifyingly long practice that started with knee-walking across the entire dojo twice.

As a result of which, I literally wore small patches of skin off both knees. XD

2. Chamomile tea, yay or nay?

Mmmm. :9 I don’t drink it often because I’m terrible at remembering to prepare any sort of tea, but it’s wonderful and soothing when I do remember.

3. What was the first fandom you participated in/really got into?

Ahahaha I think I started feeling fannish about either Pokemon or Ocarina of Time first, but my first sustained fanfic-writing fandom (and longest-lived tbh) was Sailor Moon~~

I didn’t really join fandom interactions until Natsume, though. <3

4. What was the most outrageous lie you’ve ever told and did you get away with it?

Ahahahaha. I am terrible at lying so I try to avoid it as much as humanly possible. XD

I guess for outrageous, when i was five? younger? I have this very vague memory of kicking my brother ... somewhere unfortunate, and then trying to get out of it by saying that I’d been trying to kick him in the crutch, which was totally different.

(.... ..... Yeah, I have no idea either. XD)

5. If you could get a/another pet, what would it be?

Ahahaha if it moves and has fur I am allergic to it, and have zero interest in anything else, and I have enough trouble bothering to take care of myself. XD So I’ll pass on pets, thanks.

Maybe a robot cat, if we ever got to the point where robot pets were (a) a thing, (b) hypoallergenic, and (c) did not actually require being taken care of in any way other than occasionally emotionally. XD

6. What’s the movie/show you can quote best? Examples welcome!

Pffft probably Spaceballs, if we’re going to be honest. XD

“Comb the desert!” *switches to image of minions dragging 8-foot-tall combs across sand dunes*

“Raspberry? Only one man would dare give me the raspberry. *slams helmet shut* LONE STAR.”

“Tell me the combination for the planetary shield!” “All right, all right ... It’s ... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” “1, 2, 3, 4, 5? That’s the kind of combination an idiot would have on their luggage!” ... *grand leader character enters* “So, do you have the combination?” “Yes, sir! It’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.” “1, 2, 3, 4, 5? That’s the same combination I have on my luggage!”

“My hair? They shot my hair? Son of a [bleep]” *takes gun* *promptly wipes out all available enemies*

“They’ve gone to plaid!”

(... I could probably keep going, but I’ll spare you any further. XD)

7. What subject did you hate most in elementary school?

PE for sure. :D I was so proud of the one semester I managed to get an A-. :’D

8. If you get lost in an unfamiliar part of the city, are you the kind who’ll stubbornly try to find the right way on their own or the type to ask passerbys for directions?

Ahaha depends on how lost I am, I suspect. If I know I’m near a highway / landmark I know how to navigate from and am just not exactly sure where, I’ll just flail around for a while without bothering to look up an exact route. And since I try to have my smartphone on me at all times, that’s usually my first port of call if I’m genuinely lost.

If I didn’t have my smartphone on me, I’d probably try to find a gas station or something? I’m not morally opposed to asking directions, I just have a decent sense of direction and usually don’t go to completely unfamiliar places. :’)

9. Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Any success in keeping them? Asking for a friend

Hahaha. :D I used to, not so much recently. Partly because I’ve started trying to be better about going ahead and making the changes I want to make regardless of time of year, but mostly because if I call them ~resolutions~ then I feel guilty if I break them (or something else I want to do more comes along, or whatever). And attempting to excise self-inflicted guilt from my list of most-commonly-used emotions has been on my list of goals for several years now. so. :D

So I like to reframe it as, hm. A loose set of things that I would like to see myself doing during the coming year. This year it’s probably:

- Keep up with my language learning via Duolingo (maybe look into Memrise?); ideally get to the point where I can start reading actual stuff in Russian (by way of looking up 80% of the words constantly hahaha why do I do this to myself ;______;)

- Actually make a dent in my backlog of to-watch anime / to-read manga, start trying to forge my way through some light novels again.

- Keep up ~current rate of reading books in English

- Play some video games too, it’s been too longggg

- Be better about actually sending the handful of original short stories I’ve written out on submission, maybe write a few more? (hahaha ;____;)

- Try to figure out what my brain has been doing w.r.t. making it so much harder to write recently, see if I can work through that block and start making actual satisfying progress on an original novel.

- But also be better about not forcing myself to write if it’s really not working - instead, make myself actually sit down and try to figure out why. :P

- Try to figure out some sort of way to be involved in making the world a better place that doesn’t just completely emotionally exhaust me and turn me into a bitter, cynical husk. (tw: cyan reluctantly cares about politics)

- STOP STRESSING OUT ALL THE TIME.

- STOP FEELING OVERWHELMED ALL THE TIME.

... So we’ll see how well all that goes. hahaha. XD

10. Do you have a favourite language to listen to with music? Or just in general?

95% of my music is in either English or Japanese, and I’ve mostly been listening to the Japanese music these last several years.

Although I have to make special mention of this delightful video that @izumisays posted a while back, which is a rewrite of the lyrics to the Russian Eurovision entry last year ... so that the lyrics reflect what occurs in the video. :D :D :D

I only know enough Russian to recognize maybe 10% of the words, but that’s what the English subtitles are for. :D :D :D :D

11. What’s the last song that got stuck in your head?

Whatever I’ve listened to most recently that I either like or know reasonably well, tbh. XD It’s really easy to get something stuck in my head.

Sooo, since I just finished listening to the ridiculous Russian video, currently that. :D (~что мой - только один~ XD)

#rinkafushi #thanks for the tag :D #meme time

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kristablogs · 4 years

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The Great American Outdoors Act proves that grassroots advocacy and democracy still work

National parks are the crown jewel of America's public lands. Now, they will finally get updates to their aging infrastructures. (NPS Photo/J. Tobiason/)

This story originally featured on Outdoor Life.

For decades, the conservation community has been advocating for the full and permanent funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), a program that uses royalties from offshore oil and gas operations to purchase new public lands and maintain public access. Today President Donald Trump—who has often been criticized by conservation and public land advocates—signed a bill that will do just that.

“We’re here today to celebrate the passage of truly landmark legislation that will preserve America’s majestic natural wonders, priceless historic treasures—and that’s exactly what they are—grand national monuments, and glorious national parks,” President Trump said before signing the bill. “This is a very big deal, and from an environmental standpoint, and just from a beauty of our country standpoint, there hasn’t been anything like this since Teddy Roosevelt, I suspect.”

The Great American Outdoors Act achieves two main goals. The first is a decisive victory in the decades-old battle to secure full funding for the LWCF, at $900 million annually. Until now, advocates had to renew the case for funding each year, and their efforts have only ever been partially effective. Since its establishment in 1964, the LWCF has only been fully funded twice. And, if you tally up how much that appropriations process left on the table, as the LWCF Coalition has, you’ll find that Congress diverted more than $22 billion from public lands and waters over the past six decades.

Second, the GAOA will chip away at the $16 billion worth of maintenance backlogs on federal land by establishing The National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. This new fund—earmarked for deferred maintenance projects—will receive a maximum of $1.9 billion annually to be divided among federal land management agencies over five years. Like the LWCF, it’s funded by federal revenue from energy development. Most of this fund will be allocated to National Parks, which bear the lion’s share of maintenance issues, but it’s still a win for public land owners everywhere—especially since some politicians have used the backlog as an excuse to stop funding and acquiring new public lands.

Originally introduced in March, the GAOA since gained momentum with 60 total cosponsors from both sides of the aisle. In particular, senators Steve Daines (R-MT) and Cory Gardner (R-CO) championed the bill in the Senate, where it passed 73 to 25 in June.

“This is the only piece of legislation that I’ve worked on that I feel like is of the scale of the kind of thing that Teddy Roosevelt put in place when he was president,” says Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who also cosponsored the bill. “This is a systemic bill on infrastructure and on access and habitat. So I think, 30 years from now, people who won’t remember my name or my colleague’s name will see this for what it was—a really big deal—and they’ll be grateful for it.”

The GAOA is unquestionably great news. What’s more complex is how—and when—it passed. Our country is currently dealing with a global pandemic, a national reckoning over racism, the start of an economic recession, and a looming November election that promises to be bitterly partisan. And yet, somehow, Congress manages to come together to pass a bipartisan bill that Americans genuinely wanted … and that the president was willing to sign. How the hell did that happen?

Good politics at work

On March 3, President Trump surprised many in the public lands community when he tweeted: “I am calling on Congress to send me a Bill that fully and permanently funds the LWCF and restores our National Parks. When I sign it into law, it will be HISTORIC for our beautiful public lands. ALL thanks to @SenCoryGardner and @SteveDaines, two GREAT Conservative Leaders!”

Both Daines and Gardner face potentially tight races this fall in states where public lands are a key issue. This was a chance for them to bring a huge win back to their constituents.

“If you are going to run for statewide office in Montana or Colorado, you’ve got to be for public lands, and you better damn well be for the LWCF,” says Land Tawney, president of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers and a career advocate for LWCF funding. “[Daines and Gardner] were able to have an audience with the president and the president said, ‘What do you need?’ And what do they say? They could have said immigration, or they could have said the economy. They could have said any number of things, and they said the Land and Water Conservation Fund.”

The public support that Daines and Gardner received from the president was an important change in the political tide.

“That was the watershed moment … when the President said to Congress, let’s pass the park maintenance backlog bill and also fully fund the LWCF,” says Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt. “Those two things together were completely unprecedented. No president had said, to do those things together, [and make them both mandatory].”

Along with the conservation benefits, there’s a lot to like about this bill for an administration and a Republican party that, coming off coronavirus shutdowns, will be determined to create jobs and boost the economy. Visitor spending associated with national parks creates a $41.7 billion benefit to the nation’s economy and supports about 340,000 jobs, according to Bernhardt.

“Folks have projected that this bill could be significant [for creating jobs] and have thrown around numbers like 100,000 more jobs,” says Bernhardt. “At a time when we have tens of millions of people unemployed, having projects funded through this maintenance program and LWCF, that will be very timely and very helpful overall.”

Legislators on either side of the aisle avoided tacking on extras to the bill that would have made it unpassable. When legislators (from any party) introduce amendments to bills, the process often bogs down the original legislation. Fortunately, the clean GAOA bills in the Senate and the House found strong bi-partisan support.

A grassroots effort

The fact that Republican senators brought the bill to the floor (with the president’s support) is certainly one of the main reasons it succeeded. But President Trump’s tweet—”ALL thanks to @SenCoryGardner and @SteveDaines”—awards exclusive credit to the two Republican senators when, in reality, the battle for supporting the LWCF goes back decades. And in the past, Republicans have opposed it.

“The President’s budget request the last three years decreased requests for LWCF funding dramatically,” says Steve Williams, who served as director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the second Bush administration. “Even though everybody says the President’s budget is dead upon arrival—every President’s is—it still speaks to priorities. The facts are that this administration, in the past, hasn’t been very supportive of LWCF. Now, let’s give credit though…they’re very supportive right now [and] they deserve credit. Not all the credit. [The GAOA] initiated in Congress. It didn’t initiate with the administration. This is an election year, and it presumably will benefit all those who co-signed and supported the bill, both in the Senate and the House. Nothing’s done in Washington without thinking about the politics of it.”

The bill passed because of good politics, according to Tawney, but also because of years of advocacy to drum up not just support for the LWCF, but also recognition of its existence. When he first started mentioning the LWCF at meetings and conferences, only about five people out of every hundred would even know what it was.

“Now when I bring it up,” Tawney says, “Ninety-five percent of people not only know what it is, but they’re cheering for it.”

As the LWCF has become more recognizable to the conservation-minded public over the years, legislators have also recognized the value of public lands.

“We’re at a point right now where [supporting] public lands is bipartisan,” says Heinrich. “It hasn’t always been that way. There are many other Congresses where this kind of thing just couldn’t have gotten off the ground. And I think the sporting community gets a lot of the credit. Because left or right, we all need these places to hunt, fish, and camp and maintain our mental health.”

Groups like BHA, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many more have been working on getting the LWCF support and funding for years.

“These things don’t happen without a real energetic grass roots push,” says Michael Hacker, senior advisor to Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC). “At the end of the day, that’s what’s going to move a Cory Gardner or a Steve Daines to champion an issue like this. They need to know that the people want it.”

In other words, advocacy works. What may feel impossible on an individual level becomes achievable when other folks rally to the cause. You know all those calls-to-action you’ve been getting for years to contact your representatives and tell them you want funding for the LWCF and national parks? This is the end result. Even though such crowdsourcing may take years to see fruition, those campaigns actually have an impact.

“The silver lining of this is it shows that your voice matters,” Tawney says.

Wartime causalities

The GAOA marks the second robust public-lands package passed during the Trump administration; the first was the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act, which permanently reauthorized LWCF, which expired in 2018. Much of this can be attributed to the all-hands-on-deck efforts discussed above. But when you examine the conservation decisions that only the administration can control, critics say, there are glaring problems. In particular, iconic, pristine recreational areas are in danger of massive resource extraction projects.

This list of place-based battles with uncertain outcomes includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Tongass National Forest, and Bristol Bay, to name a few.

“When it comes to the Boundary Waters and the Pebble Mine [site at Bristol Bay], I would argue those places have never been under greater threat than they are right now,” says Steve Kline, chief policy officer for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

Lukas Leaf, the executive director of Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, echoes this sentiment. But rather than eroding support for place-based conservation, grassroots support for the LWCF and GAOA have actually bolstered efforts to conserve valuable public lands like the BWCA, according to Leaf.

“I think all of this work kind of goes hand in hand,” Leaf says. “Especially as we’ve seen the Trump administration gut the Clean Water Act and even slim down the National Environmental Policy Act rules that came out [this month]. The list goes on and on. So I think it’s actually rallied groups and coalitions more on these issues.”

Though a bipartisan bill designed to permanently protect the BWCA was introduced in January, it still needs support in the Senate to have a chance of reaching the White House.

“If it passes the Senate and reaches Trump to even get signed, I doubt he would even do it,” Leaf says. “Unfortunately, this bill has a much better chance with a new administration at this point, as we see the work the Trump administration is doing to jam this copper-nickel project through right now. The bill has all the tools we need [to conserve the BWCA]—we just need to get a few more folks behind it.”

Meanwhile, the Army Corps of Engineers released its final environmental review this summer regarding the proposed open-pit mine in Bristol Bay, paving the way for the controversial mine. The Environmental Protection Agency declined to delay this process despite noting that even the least environmentally damaging option risks a “world-class fishery,” plus thousands of acres of wetlands, streams, and more.

“Past practice has shown a real interest [from the administration] in developing lands for energy and minerals,” says Williams. “I don’t expect that to change. I’ve been on the ground and in the air at the Pebble Mine site … As a conservationist, it pains me to think that the mine would go through in that location … It’s mind-boggling what’s being proposed.”

The next fight for conservation

Fortunately, as we’ve discovered with the Great American Outdoors Act, there’s precedent for popular demand moving Congress and the president to prioritize public lands and waters. And it’s not too late to speak up on behalf of these places and demand action from your legislators.

“It’s not unlike when James Watt was Secretary of the Interior [during the Regan administration and Sagebrush Rebellion],” says Heinrich. “Congress was also able to pass some really big conservation bills because there was a reaction to that over development [on public lands]. Part of what made it possible to pass this bill—and palatable for a lot of the folks who aren’t on the tip of the spear, you know general republican colleagues who don’t follow public lands that closely—is the reaction from the public on what the administration is doing to places like Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Bears Ears and Bristol Bay up in Alaska. We were going to be dealing with those challenges anyway. So you have to take that opportunity to do good things when you can. It’s public land jiujitsu.”

In the interim, you’ll likely hear more about the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, the next major bipartisan conservation package that’s working its way through Congress. It’s also packed with all kinds of provisions hunters and anglers can get behind.

Ways to take action

Tell Congress to support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

Tell Congress we need dedicated funding in the 2020 Highway Bill to prioritize and build wildlife-friendly road crossings.

Tell Congress to protect the Boundary Waters via H.R. 5598.

Tell the EPA to veto the Pebble Mine.

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scootoaster · 4 years

Text

The Great American Outdoors Act proves that grassroots advocacy and democracy still work

National parks are the crown jewel of America's public lands. Now, they will finally get updates to their aging infrastructures. (NPS Photo/J. Tobiason/)

This story originally featured on Outdoor Life.

Good politics at work

Both Daines and Gardner face potentially tight races this fall in states where public lands are a key issue. This was a chance for them to bring a huge win back to their constituents.

The public support that Daines and Gardner received from the president was an important change in the political tide.

A grassroots effort

“Now when I bring it up,” Tawney says, “Ninety-five percent of people not only know what it is, but they’re cheering for it.”

As the LWCF has become more recognizable to the conservation-minded public over the years, legislators have also recognized the value of public lands.

Groups like BHA, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and many more have been working on getting the LWCF support and funding for years.

“The silver lining of this is it shows that your voice matters,” Tawney says.

Wartime causalities

This list of place-based battles with uncertain outcomes includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Tongass National Forest, and Bristol Bay, to name a few.

Though a bipartisan bill designed to permanently protect the BWCA was introduced in January, it still needs support in the Senate to have a chance of reaching the White House.

The next fight for conservation

Ways to take action

Tell Congress to support the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act.

Tell Congress we need dedicated funding in the 2020 Highway Bill to prioritize and build wildlife-friendly road crossings.

Tell Congress to protect the Boundary Waters via H.R. 5598.

Tell the EPA to veto the Pebble Mine.

0 notes

deniseyallen · 6 years

Text

Portman, Warner, Alexander, King Praise Committee Passage of Legislation to Address National Park Service Maintenance Backlog

Committee Approves Bipartisan Consensus Legislation to Address $12 Billion National Park Service Backlog in Deferred and Overdue Maintenance

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Mark Warner (D-VA), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME) praised the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passage of the Restore Our Parks Act, bipartisan legislation that would address the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog at the National Park Service (NPS). The measure passed by a vote of 19-4. The bill, which has been praised by key stakeholders, would establish the “National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund” from existing unobligated revenues the government receives from on and offshore energy development to fund deferred maintenance projects at NPS sites across the country.

“Today’s committee approval is good news and an important step forward in our efforts to address the long-delayed maintenance projects at our national parks,” Portman said. “For more than a century, the National Park Service has been inspiring Americans to explore the natural beauty of our country. But in order to keep that work going, we need to ensure that they have sufficient resources to maintain our national parks. This bipartisan legislation will help tackle the more than $100 million maintenance backlog at Ohio’s eight national park sites. I’d like to thank Senators Warner, Alexander, and King as well as the cosponsors of this legislation for their leadership on this issue and urge my colleagues to support it when it comes to the floor.”

“For over a year, I’ve led bipartisan efforts in the Senate to address the state of disrepair of critical infrastructure in the National Park System. It’s alarming the rate at which the maintenance backlog at the Park Service continues to grow, with Virginia adding $250 million in the last year, surpassing a billion dollars and ranking third among all states in total deferred maintenance. We can no longer wait to fix the $12 billion maintenance backlog at our national parks and ignore the long-term effects of allowing these national treasures to simply crumble. I’m very pleased that the bipartisan, consensus bill we introduced earlier this year has now cleared this important hurdle and look forward to working with my colleagues from across the aisle and the Administration to make sure it becomes law,” said Warner.

“This legislation could do more to restore national parks than anything that has happened in the last half century, and the reason we need to restore them is so Americans can enjoy the 417 sites -- from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Grand Canyon to Yosemite – for generations to come,” Alexander said. “The bill will cut in half the nearly $12 billion deferred maintenance backlog in our parks and prevent situations such as with the Look Rock Campground on Chilhowee Mountain in the Smokies which once served 5,000 families a year, but has been closed for repairs for five years. Today’s approval of this bipartisan bill puts it one step closer to becoming law, and it is my hope that Congress is able to pass our proposal to help restore our parks this year.”

“Last month, I accompanied the Acting Director of the National Park Service to Acadia National Park – and while the views were as beautiful as ever, the situation behind the scenes is not so picturesque as the park grapples with serious maintenance backlogs,” said Senator King. “Acadia has delayed a number of important projects worth a total of $60 million that are vital to ensuring that visitors can continue to enjoy the park’s natural wonders with a high quality visitor experience. It’s not alone in that struggle, as national parks across the country currently face a backlog of $12 billion. These lands are a national promise to leave behind a better world than we received, but these massive backlogs show that we’re not currently living up to that responsibility. Today’s markup is a step in the right direction for a bipartisan bill that will address this backlog and protect our national parks for future generations."

“Rebuilding National Parks infrastructure has been at the top of my priority list since before I was even sworn in to office. I'm happy to see the Restore our Parks Act pass with such strong bipartisan support. We have 417 national parks across the country, unfortunately we also have a $12 billion backlog in maintenance needs spanning everything from roads and bridges to visitors centers and restrooms. Thanks to Senators Portman, Warner, Alexander, and King national parks are one step closer to getting the vital funding they need to rebuild the aging infrastructure,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.

“The importance of preserving our history, culture and public lands is something we can all agree on,” said Theresa Pierno, President and CEO for National Parks Conservation Association. “Tackling the deferred maintenance in our national parks is not a political issue but an American one, and all who are supporting this important legislation recognize that. We commend the dedication and leadership of Senators Portman, Warner, Alexander and King for working to push this important bill through congress, and making a strong investment in our national parks.”

"Key committees in the Senate and House of Representatives have given their bipartisan stamp of approval to legislation to fix our aging and deteriorating national parks,” said Marcia Argust, who directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ campaign to restore America’s parks. “With strong bipartisan support for our parks not only on Capitol Hill but in communities across the nation, Congress should act now to get the legislation over the finish line this year.”

“OIA applauds this bipartisan effort to solve the National Park Service backlog issue and appreciates the dedication of Senators Portman, Warner, Alexander and King to this effort,” said Amy Roberts, Executive Director of the Outdoor Industry Association. “The backlog impacts the recreation economy and Americans’ ability to explore and enjoy their public lands. As we know, and passage of bills like the Restore Our Parks Act out of committee shows, the health and vitality of America’s public lands system is a bipartisan issue that unites us. We look forward to continued progress and appreciate the Senate bill Sponsors’ focus on the critical infrastructure that supports the growing $887 billion outdoor recreation economy.”

“Our nation’s parks can be key economic engines for many gateway counties across the country,” said National Association of Counties Executive Director Matthew Chase. “With National Park Service infrastructure in need of repair, the visitor experience is diminished, and surrounding communities see declines in tourism. We thank Senators Portman, Warner, Alexander and King for sponsoring the Restore Our Parks Act. Counties urge action on this legislation to strengthen our national parks, support conservation and cultivate outdoor experiences that are second to none.”

“Our national parks are a huge attraction for visitors from all over the world. Not only are our national parks environmental treasures, but they are also an incredible economic engine for our country. In 2017 alone, the national parks generated $18 billion in economic demand, supporting thousands of local jobs and businesses. The Restore Our Parks Act, would help protect our National Parks for future generations by investing in their maintenance. We applaud Sen. Portman and bill supporters for ensuring our parks can be accessed and enjoyed well into the future,” said Tori Barnes, Senior Vice-President of Government Relations, US Travel.

NOTE: The Restore Our Parks Act would establish the “National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund” to reduce the maintenance backlog by allocating existing revenues the government receives from on and offshore energy development. This funding would come from 50 percent of all revenues that are not otherwise allocated and deposited into the General Treasury not to exceed $1.3 billion each year for the next five years.

###

from Rob Portman http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=CF56CA9D-81D8-4B17-8C28-94DA30000F5F

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