I'm listening to the latest Ear Biscuit and I've got to say that I haven't been *excited* about much of anything that R&L have put out in years but these vlogs actually sound really, really great and I'm actually looking forward to them

Thoughts from Beyond the Veil

Hey folks!

It’s been a long time.  Today @pringlesaremydivision tweeted about GMMore so I watched it for the first time in many, many months and it just opened the Pandora’s Box where I’ve been storing mental notes on Rhett and Link and GMM and Rhink and fandom for ages and I just thought I’d spill them out into this little corner of the world for old times sake.

So, I guess to start off, I wanna say that I miss you guys!  I look back on the bustling days of Rhink with a lot of nostalgia, we had so much fun and I met so many incredible people, not just on the internet but in real life, too!  There was so much frantic energy and laughter on here.  I remember getting these huge bursts of crazy creative inspiration and pounding away on my keyboard for hours just to squeeze out an idea.  I remember rushing home after work and just plugging in to the fantasy and writing away.  I’m still really proud of a lot of the stuff I wrote for you guys.  And honestly the response and support and validation from everyone around here was always so rewarding.  Every time!!

For almost 2 years (’16 & ‘17!) Rhink was my whole life!  It was fun.  But life’s a lot different now.  I’m almost done my Master’s Degree (hahahahaha ???? maybe i’ll hand this thesis thing in at the end of summer lololol ????) and I have a social life sometimes maybe?  Trying, anyway.  haha.  Oh and I stopped eating garbage and got off my ass and got hot again, so that’s cool.

But ANYWAY, this post is supposed to be about R&L.

I almost never watch GMM anymore.  Maybe one every couple weeks?  Other than the one I watched today, I honestly couldn’t tell you the last time I watched a More.  Over half a year?  Who knows.  Every once in a while I’ll throw on an Ear Biscuit while I cook or clean.  I still like those.

But listening to Link fill the silence of Rhett trying to figure that game out in More today (I should mention that I didn’t bother with the main ep at all)— I really felt and understood his meltdown.

GMM is sad these days, guys.  It’s not good.  The guys seem miserable.  The content is all little twists on old ideas and there’s nothing fresh or fun about it.  Gross-outs, snack tests, wacky products, reacting to wacky videos.... That’s not why I subscribed, guys.  From the scattered episodes I’ve seen I always get the impression that’s like “We’re grown men, we’re health conscious, we never eat chips anymore but that’s what was on the boardroom table this week and we’re going to do it to hopefully pander to our audience even though neither of us are getting any enjoyment out of this.”  The LTATs don’t do it for me at all, either.  But I guess Stevie never really did it for me in the same way that I know she does it for a lot of people.  Different strokes, and all that.

They must be suffering pretty badly if they need the Mythical Society to keep afloat.  I seem to recall Rhett talking about how they didn’t want to use that model in some sort of conversation (maybe an EB or was it the h3 podcast??) so things must be rough if they’re changing their tune.  And from the EBs that I’ve listened to it seems like they’re really pushing to get into the mainstream but... I dunno, guys.  Maybe I’m a cynic.  The scripted content and really all the acting work they did was never my taste.  Buddy System wasn’t great.  I don’t think I ever re-watched it.  I guess there’s a niche for the stuff they wanna make out there.  I’m curious to see what happens.

As for Rhink? I don’t see it at all anymore.  It never even crosses my mind.  I never see the fleeting pining moments.  I don’t interpret any touches.  They just seem like old buddies who are trying to cling onto their jobs and they seem tired.  Every once in a while I feel bad for writing multiple tomes of detailed smut about them on the internet.  I know they don’t like it.  But occasionally I see them pandering to the shippers and it seems awkward and forced, and like most of their acting, is neither believable or compelling and to me it looks like they’re trying to hold on to whatever audience they have left.  Maybe I’m thinking into that one too much.

Yikes.

It pains me to see them like this!  They used to have fun!  They actually used to laugh!  They actually used to be a creative part of the show and got some sort of satisfaction out of it!  I don’t see that anymore.

I’m not coming back to the Rhink fandom.  But I wanted to say hi!  And I guess unload my feelings a little bit, haha.  I probably don’t have many active followers anymore, but I’ve got a feeling there’s still a few of you left out there.

I’m never gonna finish Hungry Ghosts.  You can probably imagine the ending.  They move into their apartment and bang.  That’s it.  I don’t think HG was my most creative story, haha.  I have 1.5 chapters of a dark, drug-fuelled story already written that I never posted sitting around in a folder.  I actually think parts of it are pretty good, but again, I’ll never (ever) finish it so I don’t know if people would even want that, haha.

I have no idea what the climate is like on Tumblr anymore.  I don’t know if you guys are loving or hating the show or the guys or what or if this kind of post is going to get a lot of hate??  I hope not.  This is just how I’m seeing it after being removed from the fandom for about a year.

Anyway, you guys are great and I really do look back fondly on those wild late-nights chatting away and playing Cards Against Humanity and absolutely fucking SCREAMING about whatever antics the guys were getting themselves into.  It was fun guys.

Jenna Marbles' latest video made me weep. She is so humble and real and I am so, so happy for her.

Link Neal: first stop Slab City, next exit Black Rock

Alrighty guys I just listened to the new EB, how do I get R&L to come here and paddle board next to some icebergs????

Every spring/summer all that Arctic ice breaks up and comes flowing down the Labrador current and they're EVERYWHERE and they're BEAUTIFUL and oh also my old boss was a big windsurfing buff and he would take these cool dads out IN A SECOND and I would totally hook them up

I CANNOT believe they let Harley snort those grease chips

Also thanks guys for the shout out to 3000c, you wouldn't believe how many of my fics take place there

THIS EAR BISCUIT ALDJDGAGAKAKF

GRUMPS

Yesyesyesyesyes