whatever floats your stoat

xe/xem or they/them --Personal/Fandom blog. --A muppet in a human suit. --Unrepentant OC smuggler --Possibly a wolverine with a side of overexcited cockatiel. Which one is it actually? You decide! I strive to be radically angry and radically kind. Ask me about my butch lesbian agenda!

[toastweasel]

Hello and welcome to the sapphic sin bin!

I'm Toasty/Ty (they/xe), occasionally known as Budgie, always known as @tmkutawrites, and generally just your local queer, chronically-ill chaos gremlin.

If you know me, you probably know me from my fanfic, which can be read for free over on ao3. If you somehow found me from my original fiction--hello, hi, welcome, are you lost, can I offer you a beverage????

Otherwise, feel free to kick back and stay awhile--I'm just here being a weird lil lesbian on the internet!

Shameless plug:

I have a fun free little author newsletter I put out once a month in which I talk about my newest writing projects, fandom hyperfixations, and wild adventures working in construction and as anime/comic con public safety on the weekends. Also there's sometimes a fun little advice column from your rich lesbian pirate auntie! And cat photos. Lots of cute cat photos :3

You can subscribe here!

Y'know. If that's your thing.

[toastweasel]

my imagination will feed my hungry heart - Part 2

The love story of one Dr. Rebecca Gorin and her Harley-driving, butch dyke graduate student Connie Williams. From meeting to marriage, and everything in between. #GloriousScienceLesbians

Spinoff/backstory fic in the universe of holtzbabe’s “all the love I never gave (before I left you).” Written with her express and enthusiastic permission, because we are self-enabling Corin trash and I’ve lost all control over my life.

Dr. Rebecca Gorin © Sony. Connie Williams © toastweasel.

[tmkutawrites]

I have started re-posting My imagination will feed my hungry heart, which is the Rebecca Gorin x OC spin-off I wrote in my 2016 Ghostbusters fandom days. It’s a long story, but I am finally returning them to the ecosystem in which they belong (i.e. ao3). No need to have seen (or enjoyed) Ghostbusters: Answer the Call to read. As a character, Dr. Gorin appears for literally 30 seconds in an end credit scene and has two lines of dialogue. The entirety of the fic/novella was born from my unhinged and feral love of middle-aged lesbians and motorcycles. :) 

The only changes that have been made to the fic from the original are line edits from the lovely Skye Kilaen (who is awesome and whose books you should read because she’s the best), along with the 2017 moodboards I made back in the day inserted into the fic, ‘cuz we can do that now. So really, y’all get something better than my typo-filled, screaming lesbian mess: you get a LINE-EDITED, PHOTO-AUGMENTED screaming lesbian mess! :D

[lelif]

on survival

-// @aridante // @orivu // @buzzkillgirls // ? // ? // richard siken// @cemeterything // moomin, tove jansson// @disenchanted-killjoy // isn't that enough, shawn mendes// @ prettytheyswag on twitter// @ coletyumuch on twitter// ? // ? // bird by bird, anne lamott// undertale// @strawberrycircuits

[memeuplift]

[spiritbladed]

something something extremely sexy when magic users resort to physical violence. yeah i have the power of god and anime on my side but i also have THESE HANDS. i cast Punch You In The Face. i take my magic staff through which i channel the vast energies of the elements and the cosmos and i cast Severe Concussion And Skull Fracture. casting time for xenoglossy too long, chose the quicker route of Stab You In The Throat.

[dduane]

Your occasional reminder. 😏

[dduane]

Yeah, five months or so on from the last reminder, this is probably as good a time as any to reblog... :)

[gravitcat]

a thing for mermay i guess

[toastweasel]

my imagination will feed my hungry heart - Part 1

The love story of one Dr. Rebecca Gorin and her Harley-driving, butch dyke graduate student Connie Williams. From meeting to marriage, and everything in between. #GloriousScienceLesbians

Spinoff/backstory fic in the universe of holtzbabe’s “all the love I never gave (before I left you).” Written with her express and enthusiastic permission, because we are self-enabling Corin trash and I’ve lost all control over my life.

Dr. Rebecca Gorin © Sony. Connie Williams © toastweasel.

[tmkutawrites]

If you want some new and almost entirely original middle-aged lesbians to obsess over may I over you some #GloriousScienceLesbians?

I have also started re-posting My imagination will feed my hungry heart, which is the Rebecca Gorin x OC spin-off I wrote in my 2016 Ghostbusters fandom days. It’s a long story, but I am finally returning them to the ecosystem in which they belong (i.e. ao3). No need to have seen (or enjoyed) Ghostbusters: Answer the Call to read. As a character, Dr. Gorin appears for literally 30 seconds in an end credit scene and has two lines of dialogue. The entirety of the fic/novella was born from my unhinged and feral love of middle-aged lesbians and motorcycles. :) 

The only changes that have been made to the fic from the original are line edits from the lovely Skye Kilaen (who is awesome and whose books you should read because she’s the best), along with the 2017 moodboards I made back in the day inserted into the fic, ‘cuz we can do that now. So really, y’all get something better than my typo-filled, screaming lesbian mess: you get a LINE-EDITED, PHOTO-AUGMENTED screaming lesbian mess! :D

[cronchy-baguette]

pink goes good (well) with green

[memeuplift]

[toastweasel]

Hi! I know it’s been a while since you’ve posted ATLA or LOK stuff, but with the new Avatar movie being leaked and all (fear not I refuse to watch it until it actually comes out when the artists says so) it has reignited my desire for Lin Beifong content and I’ve been reading all your fics again

Could I pick your brain about Lin’s bad hip? I also have a bad hip and appreciate the representation :D

1. Most people with hip problems (myself included) have gait disturbances like a limp, abductor lurch, or a slight waddling to compensate. Does Lin have any issues waking or running because of it?

2. Internal and external rotation and flexion all suck butt when ur hip is dodgy so most of us can’t sit criss-cross or mermaid style for long periods of time without pain. Does Lin ever sit differently to accommodate it? Culturally they all sit on the floor a lot and imo it would probably hurt lol

3. Does she/will she ever use a mobility aid?

No need to answer if it’s not what you’re thinking about rn! I just love disabled representation in media, especially when it’s headcanons because they’re usually better than the written characters

Hi Anon! I'm glad you've been enjoying rereading my fic! I may not post as much about ATLA/LOK as I used to because I'm working on publishing my original work, but ATLA/LOK are evergreen fandoms for me and I especially love chit chatting about all my beifong family feels and Opinions hehe

I actually love the Lin's Bad Hip Headcanon @linguini17 hooked me into while writing my Korra fics because I love it when people take tiny details from canon and give it A Backstory. I think as a general disclaimer, I think and write Lin having a LOT of internalized ableism. She's a police officer and that's a Whole Thing, and she's also a Beifong which is a Whole Other Thing, and she's Chief of Police. So has a lot of baggage around being Strong Enough To Protect The City, and worries about image (mostly around her position as COP), and since society often sees physical disability as a weakness (ew), and haivng grown up in the hyper-masculine and macho police force and with Toph as a mother....yeah. That woman has a lot to unpack in therapy around her own disability. Also I think the contrast of her mother being blind but Lin struggling with ableism re: physical disability is an interesting character dichotomy, and goes to show the different levels of ableism even within our own communities.

ANYWAY! To answer your points:

I believe the way I wrote it in BSG was that Lin's gait is effected especially badly on bad pain days, which I believe I tied to barometric pressure changes and stress. After Amon, rain just becomes Bad. I could absolutely see her powering through a persistent daily limp. Imo she'd be very aware of it and try to "correct" it in everyday movement because She Has An Imagine To Maintain (that good ole internalized ableism). Which fucks up all her other muscles as they have to overcompensate, so she's in even more paint, and both Kya and Hui are like why are you like this. I think she uses cables and swinging as transportation unconsciously as a mobility aid with the excuse that it's faster (and hey, also less painful) than walking or running.

I have Lin sitting "side saddle"/with her legs to the side when she sits on the floor, instead of criss-cross or kneeling, in deference to her hip injury. I imagine it takes her some time to get up off the floor and it's painful for her to do so, especially after long periods of sitting. This is, of course, "just how she sits, don't make a big deal about it" and she refuses to sit in a chair or on anything else besides a cushion if nobody else is...

See above about using cables as mobility aids, but I think after much cajoling/harassing by Kya and Saikhan (and possibly Su), that near the end of her career/after she retires Lin finally "gives in" and starts to use a cane. (Again, I think Lin is battling against a lot of internalized ableism and we all know she hates to be seen as """weak""" which using a mobility aid absolutely does not make you but we've all met Lin Beifong and we've all met society.) There is some talk in the press but honestly, most folks are surprised it's taken Lin this long at this point. Most people know of Lin's extensive injury count in name of keeping the city safe, and I think earthbenders in general probably have back/knee/hip issues. All that stomping can't be good for the joints... Su absolutely makes herself or commissions (her child?) a flashy silver/gold and green cane with lots of spirals and leaves and ginko designs for Lin. Lin purports to hate said cane but it comes out for special events when she has to dress up. She has a plain gunmetal black one or two, possibly with silver and/or gold accents that she has for every day use--all metal, of course, in case she has to bend it.

Otherwise, I think Lin has a pretty strict set of physical therapy excercises she includes as a part of her daily bending training, likely as part of her cool down. It doesn't always help but it makes her feel like she's doing something lol She knows every trickity-trick to release tight ligaments and muscles and Hui keeps a lacrosse/yoga ball on her at all times in case Lin needs it. Again, it doesn't always work, and sometimes we're on the couch/in bed in the dark with a hot pack and as much willowbark onboard as the body is able to tolerate safely.

[toastweasel]

Hello! Same anon who asked about the Lin hip stuffs. I just realized that I’m stupid and the headcanons is linguini’s 😅

My bad! Should I ask them instead?

Hey there anon! Sorry it took me a few days to respond to you, work has been cocoa banana pants. I'm sure pasta would love to talk to you about the hip headcanon, but I would as well! I just take a little longer to respond these days ^^' I'll respond to your other ask! We both worked together on the hc and putting it in BSG.

[tmkutawrites]

What To Do When Comforts…Don’t.

What do you do when your comfort no longer comforts?

As some of you know, over the last 6 months I have been battling the sudden onset of a new chronic illness. In the space of a month and change I was suddenly newly disabled, being gaslit by doctors, and slowly losing the ability to eat. As if this wasn’t distressing enough, this all was playing out over the backdrop over the holidays and anniversaries of the death of my mother and grandmother.

Worst of all? I found the things I usually do for comfort (cycling, traveling, writing, and engaging in crafts with friends) suddenly off limits. As my life turned into my own personal hell in late 2025, the world outside got bleaker and bleaker. I found myself growing more and more numb, unable to cope or escape in the ways I usually did. My friends started complaining their comfort books weren’t comforting the way they were used to. They were turning to cozier and cozier pieces of media and lashing out when those books weren’t what they were looking for.

The whole situation reminded me vividly of the problem many of us found ourselves with in March and April of 2020: Many of us lost or had to alter our coping mechanisms because of the pandemic. 

(Yes, yes, I know, don’t remind you.)

The pandemic’s effect on mental health was well documented and doesn’t need additional commentary by a little sapphic author. However, as someone who has recently found themself turning to old comforts to get through these trying personal and political times–and has found themselves struggling to find comfort in these once-comforting items– I thought I might share some thoughts on what I’ve been doing to get through.

(And yes, there may be some lessons from the pandemic thrown in there, too.)

Read on Patreon!

Step 1: Realize Comfort Is Transitory

We turn to our comfort medias, items, and tasks because we find regulation in media. We sink into models of the life we want, not the ones we have, but perhaps most importantly, we know what’s coming. There are no surprises in a piece of media you’ve already consumed and found comfort in. Our bodies and brains relax into the routine and muscle memory, etc. This is especially important for folks who are neurodivergent, who often need routine to thrive (whether we like to admit it or not).

However, the problem with life is that it isn’t routine.

Have you ever had an experience where you’ve spoken to someone further along in their life journey, and therefore trivializes your stressors while upselling theirs? Yeah, it’s like that. As we move through our non-routine lives, we react to different stimuli and stressors. Things that made you want to tear your hair out in high school make you go “oh, you sweet summer child” in adulthood. Things that stressed us out in 2016 seem banal to us in 2026.

So how does that apply to suddenly losing the ability to find comfort in your old favorite media piece?

Well, think of it this way: The human body has a million different enzymes and chemicals it releases in reaction to the different things it encounters every day. Enzyme A is meant to signal Cell A to attack Intruder A. Why? Because Cell A is specifically meant to be effective against Intruder A. So when you have been minding you own business and living your regular life, is it really fair to think the media that comforted you during your normal everyday life or when you were going through a break up can suddenly go toe to toe against a global pandemic or life-altering event?

No.

My ability to consume media took a nosedive after I got sick in October 2025.

Step 2: Realize Comfort Items Are Transitory, But Themes Are Not

Yeah, great, Ty, what does that mean? It means that while Comfort Media A might not be comforting anymore, there’s a reason why you liked it. Why it brought you comfort. 

Here’s some examples from my life. 

Example 1: Two of my favorite comfort medias, Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road, are both set in post-apocalyptic settings. It turns out, though, that when the world around you feels like an apocalypse (i.e. a global pandemic), you no longer find comfort in media set at or near the end of the world. Surprise, surprise, right?

However, both Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road both have themes where a “band of misfits” come together to save the world. There is cool technology, worldbuilding ripe for expansion, opportunity for deep character exploration, etc. I also love the fight and action scenes and the open, Happy For Now (instead of Happily Ever After) endings.

Step 3: Search and Apply Comfort Themes 

Once you identify why you liked Comfort A, and you identify why Comfort A no longer comforts like it should, you can then apply that to finding Comfort B (and C, and D, and E, and…) 

Ask yourself the following. For Comfort B, do I want something:

Almost Exactly The Same (Same Themes, Nearly Identical Execution)

Find canon compliant fanfic, podfic, or fanmixes for Comfort A

Check out comp titles for Comfort A

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates the exact same part of brain as Comfort A

Like knitting? Try crochet or needlepoint.

Find a new activity that moves your body in the same way as Comfort A

Like jump rope? Try trampoline.

Similar But Different (Same Themes, Similar Execution)

Read canon divergent fiction (universe alternation instead of alternative universe) for Comfort A

“What If” fics

Check out comp titles for Comfort A (but in an adjacent genre)

Cozy fantasy or romantasy instead of fantasy, 

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates a similar part of the brain as Comfort A

Like crosswords? Try Wordle

Find a new activity that moves your body similarly to Comfort A

Like running? Try soccer.

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Read or engage with alternative universe fanfic, podfic, fanmixes, etc

Coffee shop AUs, etc

Find new media with similar themes (found family, etc) but in a completely different genre 

Noir or epic fantasy instead of romantasy

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates a similar part of the brain as Comfort A 

Like Wordle or crosswords? Try Sudoku.

Find a new activity that moves your body in similar as Comfort A

Like flag football? Try ultimate frisbee.

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Engage in a new fandom

Read crossover fanfiction or engage in fanmake for series you’ve only consumed passively on social media or at conventions

Engage in a brand new genre

Only read sci-fi? Pick up a historical mystery.

Read a lot of fiction? Pick up some nonfiction.

Pick up a brand new hobby.

Like sewing? Try singing or playing an instrument. 

Move your body in a brand new way

Running? Try tai chi or yoga.

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

Reread old fanfics, watch old AMVs, and go find the fan content created by old fandoms

Engage in your favorite childhood, teenager, etc media

Pick up old hobbies gathering dust

Try moving your body in a way you used you love (older joints and current chronic illnesses allowing, of course)

Example 1: I finally determined I wanted something Similar But Completely Different/Completely different to Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road. I also, eventually, sunk back into old hyperfixations. 

Overall I changed my hobby habits for several months–I watched a lot of TV, which I don’t normally do. (Despite Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road being two of my favorite comfort medias, I’m not a screen person and rarely watch TV or movies). I also developed a new hyperfixation/fandom (space shuttle!) and fell back into an old one (The Legend of Korra).

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

I mainlined My Hero Academia, Fire Force, and Yowamushi Pedal

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

I got into The West Wing based on a recommendation from a friend

Watched the entirety of The Repair Shop on Netflix

 I read everything from my library on the space shuttle and NASA’s human spaceflight program. Listened to a bunch of podcasts, too!

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

I got really into The Legend of Korra again and wrote 300,000+ words of Kyalin fanfic in approx. six months

I rewatched Yakitate Japan, and from there watched Food Wars and a bunch of cooking shows on YouTube and Netflix (Tasting History with Max Miller, etc)

Once it was declared safe to go outside again, every evening I walked 5+ miles around my neighborhood playing Pokemon Go and listening to audiobooks/podcasts.

In late 2025, I tracked my health and did a ton of research. It was comforting because I was able to put words to my experiences, find others who were going through what I was, and I was able to start to piece together a picture of what I might expect.

Example 2: My chronic illness physically took away my ability to engage in many of my hobbies that helped me regulate, including cooking, reading physical media, and going on walks/going to the gym. I needed to find new ways to escape and to build routine.

As stated above, I’m not a TV or movie person. I was also really struggling with anything physical or mentally taxing. Standing for more than five minutes at a time was challenging. Even audiobooks and TikTok were too challenging for my brain. Writing, my main form of regulation in 2025, was out of the question. I also didn’t have access to streaming services. What was a butch to do?

Answer: Research my suspected new chronic illness, watch a lot of YouTube shows, and not much else. As I started to get a little better, I was able to listen to more audiobooks and work on my novel in fits and spurts, but I still very much watched a lot of YouTube shows.

Almost Exactly The Same (Same Themes, Nearly Identical Execution)

Oceanliner Designs (one of my hyperfixations is the Titanic and old ocean liners) 

Similar But Different (Same Themes, Similar Execution)

Watching Outdoor Boys, Metal Detecting WWII Battlegrounds, and Time Team, all very soothing shows

I run the Gail Carriger Fan Server Book Club, and a lot of the books we ended up reading during that time period were Similar But Different to books she has written, which was nice

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Started reading contemporary paranormal romance 

Started reading more “cozy” and less hardcore fantasy/sci-fi (but still with themes of found family, etc)

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Researching WTF was wrong with me

When in doubt, PubMed!

And Nature and Research Gate and and…

I started writing blog posts, because that was what my brain could write!

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

I rewatched Agatha All Along

I relistened to several comfort books from my childhood 

As I was able to handle audiobooks and mental stimulation again, I listened to several books on WW2 (a special interest)

Trainer Ty wants to battle!

Step 4: Profit?

It was strange–and frankly a bit distressing– to try and find new comforts while it felt like the world was on fire. It felt a bit like throwing spaghetti at the wall both in 2020 at the beginning of pandemic lockdowns and in 2025 when my health was disintegrating. It was easier in 2020 to find things that filled the void, and harder in 2025 when I was much more limited in what I could and couldn’t do physically and mentally.

However, once I found those items, I was able to find regulation and comfort. A relief for everyone!

In Summary:

Comfort Is Transitory. It’s Okay If Something Stops Comforting You

Identify Why Your Thing Comforts You (And Why It’s Giving You Troubles Now)

Try Something Almost Identical

Try Something Similar But Different

Try Something Old

Try Something New

The most important thing is to go in with an open mind and try not to feel upset or ashamed if something doesn’t work out. People try hobbies all the time and decide it is not for them! Why should comfort media be any different?

Good luck!

A Final Note: Be cautious about posting negative reviews and such during this time. You are in a period of transition. Is the media you just consumed really Bad, Awful, Harmful Hateful, and Categorically The Worst, or is it just Not For You At This Time? (It is possible for it to be both.) When in doubt, DNF and move on.

[beardedmrbean]

[tmkutawrites]

What To Do When Comforts…Don’t.

What do you do when your comfort no longer comforts?

As some of you know, over the last 6 months I have been battling the sudden onset of a new chronic illness. In the space of a month and change I was suddenly newly disabled, being gaslit by doctors, and slowly losing the ability to eat. As if this wasn’t distressing enough, this all was playing out over the backdrop over the holidays and anniversaries of the death of my mother and grandmother.

Worst of all? I found the things I usually do for comfort (cycling, traveling, writing, and engaging in crafts with friends) suddenly off limits. As my life turned into my own personal hell in late 2025, the world outside got bleaker and bleaker. I found myself growing more and more numb, unable to cope or escape in the ways I usually did. My friends started complaining their comfort books weren’t comforting the way they were used to. They were turning to cozier and cozier pieces of media and lashing out when those books weren’t what they were looking for.

The whole situation reminded me vividly of the problem many of us found ourselves with in March and April of 2020: Many of us lost or had to alter our coping mechanisms because of the pandemic. 

(Yes, yes, I know, don’t remind you.)

The pandemic’s effect on mental health was well documented and doesn’t need additional commentary by a little sapphic author. However, as someone who has recently found themself turning to old comforts to get through these trying personal and political times–and has found themselves struggling to find comfort in these once-comforting items– I thought I might share some thoughts on what I’ve been doing to get through.

(And yes, there may be some lessons from the pandemic thrown in there, too.)

Read on Patreon!

Step 1: Realize Comfort Is Transitory

We turn to our comfort medias, items, and tasks because we find regulation in media. We sink into models of the life we want, not the ones we have, but perhaps most importantly, we know what’s coming. There are no surprises in a piece of media you’ve already consumed and found comfort in. Our bodies and brains relax into the routine and muscle memory, etc. This is especially important for folks who are neurodivergent, who often need routine to thrive (whether we like to admit it or not).

However, the problem with life is that it isn’t routine.

Have you ever had an experience where you’ve spoken to someone further along in their life journey, and therefore trivializes your stressors while upselling theirs? Yeah, it’s like that. As we move through our non-routine lives, we react to different stimuli and stressors. Things that made you want to tear your hair out in high school make you go “oh, you sweet summer child” in adulthood. Things that stressed us out in 2016 seem banal to us in 2026.

So how does that apply to suddenly losing the ability to find comfort in your old favorite media piece?

Well, think of it this way: The human body has a million different enzymes and chemicals it releases in reaction to the different things it encounters every day. Enzyme A is meant to signal Cell A to attack Intruder A. Why? Because Cell A is specifically meant to be effective against Intruder A. So when you have been minding you own business and living your regular life, is it really fair to think the media that comforted you during your normal everyday life or when you were going through a break up can suddenly go toe to toe against a global pandemic or life-altering event?

No.

My ability to consume media took a nosedive after I got sick in October 2025.

Step 2: Realize Comfort Items Are Transitory, But Themes Are Not

Yeah, great, Ty, what does that mean? It means that while Comfort Media A might not be comforting anymore, there’s a reason why you liked it. Why it brought you comfort. 

Here’s some examples from my life. 

Example 1: Two of my favorite comfort medias, Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road, are both set in post-apocalyptic settings. It turns out, though, that when the world around you feels like an apocalypse (i.e. a global pandemic), you no longer find comfort in media set at or near the end of the world. Surprise, surprise, right?

However, both Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road both have themes where a “band of misfits” come together to save the world. There is cool technology, worldbuilding ripe for expansion, opportunity for deep character exploration, etc. I also love the fight and action scenes and the open, Happy For Now (instead of Happily Ever After) endings.

Step 3: Search and Apply Comfort Themes 

Once you identify why you liked Comfort A, and you identify why Comfort A no longer comforts like it should, you can then apply that to finding Comfort B (and C, and D, and E, and…) 

Ask yourself the following. For Comfort B, do I want something:

Almost Exactly The Same (Same Themes, Nearly Identical Execution)

Find canon compliant fanfic, podfic, or fanmixes for Comfort A

Check out comp titles for Comfort A

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates the exact same part of brain as Comfort A

Like knitting? Try crochet or needlepoint.

Find a new activity that moves your body in the same way as Comfort A

Like jump rope? Try trampoline.

Similar But Different (Same Themes, Similar Execution)

Read canon divergent fiction (universe alternation instead of alternative universe) for Comfort A

“What If” fics

Check out comp titles for Comfort A (but in an adjacent genre)

Cozy fantasy or romantasy instead of fantasy, 

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates a similar part of the brain as Comfort A

Like crosswords? Try Wordle

Find a new activity that moves your body similarly to Comfort A

Like running? Try soccer.

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Read or engage with alternative universe fanfic, podfic, fanmixes, etc

Coffee shop AUs, etc

Find new media with similar themes (found family, etc) but in a completely different genre 

Noir or epic fantasy instead of romantasy

Find a new hobby or task that stimulates a similar part of the brain as Comfort A 

Like Wordle or crosswords? Try Sudoku.

Find a new activity that moves your body in similar as Comfort A

Like flag football? Try ultimate frisbee.

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Engage in a new fandom

Read crossover fanfiction or engage in fanmake for series you’ve only consumed passively on social media or at conventions

Engage in a brand new genre

Only read sci-fi? Pick up a historical mystery.

Read a lot of fiction? Pick up some nonfiction.

Pick up a brand new hobby.

Like sewing? Try singing or playing an instrument. 

Move your body in a brand new way

Running? Try tai chi or yoga.

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

Reread old fanfics, watch old AMVs, and go find the fan content created by old fandoms

Engage in your favorite childhood, teenager, etc media

Pick up old hobbies gathering dust

Try moving your body in a way you used you love (older joints and current chronic illnesses allowing, of course)

Example 1: I finally determined I wanted something Similar But Completely Different/Completely different to Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road. I also, eventually, sunk back into old hyperfixations. 

Overall I changed my hobby habits for several months–I watched a lot of TV, which I don’t normally do. (Despite Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road being two of my favorite comfort medias, I’m not a screen person and rarely watch TV or movies). I also developed a new hyperfixation/fandom (space shuttle!) and fell back into an old one (The Legend of Korra).

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

I mainlined My Hero Academia, Fire Force, and Yowamushi Pedal

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

I got into The West Wing based on a recommendation from a friend

Watched the entirety of The Repair Shop on Netflix

 I read everything from my library on the space shuttle and NASA’s human spaceflight program. Listened to a bunch of podcasts, too!

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

I got really into The Legend of Korra again and wrote 300,000+ words of Kyalin fanfic in approx. six months

I rewatched Yakitate Japan, and from there watched Food Wars and a bunch of cooking shows on YouTube and Netflix (Tasting History with Max Miller, etc)

Once it was declared safe to go outside again, every evening I walked 5+ miles around my neighborhood playing Pokemon Go and listening to audiobooks/podcasts.

In late 2025, I tracked my health and did a ton of research. It was comforting because I was able to put words to my experiences, find others who were going through what I was, and I was able to start to piece together a picture of what I might expect.

Example 2: My chronic illness physically took away my ability to engage in many of my hobbies that helped me regulate, including cooking, reading physical media, and going on walks/going to the gym. I needed to find new ways to escape and to build routine.

As stated above, I’m not a TV or movie person. I was also really struggling with anything physical or mentally taxing. Standing for more than five minutes at a time was challenging. Even audiobooks and TikTok were too challenging for my brain. Writing, my main form of regulation in 2025, was out of the question. I also didn’t have access to streaming services. What was a butch to do?

Answer: Research my suspected new chronic illness, watch a lot of YouTube shows, and not much else. As I started to get a little better, I was able to listen to more audiobooks and work on my novel in fits and spurts, but I still very much watched a lot of YouTube shows.

Almost Exactly The Same (Same Themes, Nearly Identical Execution)

Oceanliner Designs (one of my hyperfixations is the Titanic and old ocean liners) 

Similar But Different (Same Themes, Similar Execution)

Watching Outdoor Boys, Metal Detecting WWII Battlegrounds, and Time Team, all very soothing shows

I run the Gail Carriger Fan Server Book Club, and a lot of the books we ended up reading during that time period were Similar But Different to books she has written, which was nice

Similar But Completely Different (Same Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Started reading contemporary paranormal romance 

Started reading more “cozy” and less hardcore fantasy/sci-fi (but still with themes of found family, etc)

Completely Different (New Themes, Completely Different Execution)

Researching WTF was wrong with me

When in doubt, PubMed!

And Nature and Research Gate and and…

I started writing blog posts, because that was what my brain could write!

Take It Back Now, Y’all (Return To Old Hyperfixations/The Nostalgia Hit)

I rewatched Agatha All Along

I relistened to several comfort books from my childhood 

As I was able to handle audiobooks and mental stimulation again, I listened to several books on WW2 (a special interest)

Trainer Ty wants to battle!

Step 4: Profit?

It was strange–and frankly a bit distressing– to try and find new comforts while it felt like the world was on fire. It felt a bit like throwing spaghetti at the wall both in 2020 at the beginning of pandemic lockdowns and in 2025 when my health was disintegrating. It was easier in 2020 to find things that filled the void, and harder in 2025 when I was much more limited in what I could and couldn’t do physically and mentally.

However, once I found those items, I was able to find regulation and comfort. A relief for everyone!

In Summary:

Comfort Is Transitory. It’s Okay If Something Stops Comforting You

Identify Why Your Thing Comforts You (And Why It’s Giving You Troubles Now)

Try Something Almost Identical

Try Something Similar But Different

Try Something Old

Try Something New

The most important thing is to go in with an open mind and try not to feel upset or ashamed if something doesn’t work out. People try hobbies all the time and decide it is not for them! Why should comfort media be any different?

Good luck!

A Final Note: Be cautious about posting negative reviews and such during this time. You are in a period of transition. Is the media you just consumed really Bad, Awful, Harmful Hateful, and Categorically The Worst, or is it just Not For You At This Time? (It is possible for it to be both.) When in doubt, DNF and move on.

[not100bees]

They should invent a method of asking for reassurance that nobody secretly hates you that doesn't make people secretly hate you.

[god-monsterr]

this reply deserves to be here.

[jam-etc]

…I want to just draw a fashion zine of just Miss Piggy, oh my god. she is so underrated and underutilized, where is my succession-like muppets satire thing LOL I want it so bad. let me do it disney call me pls

EDIT FOR JAN 2025: I’M MAKING A ZINE OF MISS PIGGY FASHIONS. It is happening, I have heard your comments. Please stay tuned to my instagram for updates!! Here’s a preview:

thank you for like, a bajillion notes!!!

[jam-etc]

ugh sorry guys, I got a job literally right after posting this and it’s been insanely busy, forgive me…. I’m gonna post what I was gonna put in the zine here, no need to pay or anything (but if you like I have a kofi, I’d hugely appreesh hehe)

sorry to string you guys along for I guess a whole damn year, hahahah