#I might do this. i’m bad at ‘popular’ social media and actively dislike it but shes funny and id like to share my lil dragon with the world

[sharkieboi]

okay really if I got on tiktok or w/e I think my channel gimmick would be “Showing Things To My Bird” cause Sansa is so reactive to the weirdest things and also completely non-plussed by the weirdest things

[cosmicjoke]

i’m the red flag question anon! i have no intention to start a fight so just tell me if you’ve had enough… (also this has nothing to do with gabi or levi hate, i love them both) i don’t understand your point about art. yes it does engender empathy and understanding, but it doesn’t morally bind us the same way real life does, because it’s fiction. if you play monopoly with friends, do you feel bad about making them go bankrupt? no, it’s fun. characters are the same in my opinion. it’s a game of imagination. you’re allowed to not feel the need to protect a child because no child is actually harmed, and it doesn’t say anything about your empathy or lack of empathy. you’re allowed to dislike a character just because you don’t like their haircut, you don’t even need a better reason than that, it’s fiction, it doesn’t hurt anyone. you can feel empathy and understanding for a character who does bad things because they’re interesting, and it doesn’t mean you want to do the same as they do. you can dislike a character even if they’re kind without disliking kindness. i understand that if people actively hate on gabi or levi and come pour their hate on a blog that doesn’t, it’s rude. but disliking levi isn’t enough to make someone cynical. nobody has an obligation to like him just because he is defined by compassion and kindness. it’s not a moral flaw to dislike a morally good character. i agree that the way we respond to characters says a lot about who we are as people, but i don’t think it’s in a linear way. you don’t respond to characters exactly the same way you would respond to a person. it shows what interests and questions you rather than how you act and what your qualities are as a person

I disagree. Certainly, you can dislike a character for any number of shallow and ultimately meritless reasons. But then the question is, why. Why would someone actively dislike or hate a character for something as shallow as what they look like? I'm not talking about general disinterest or ambivalence, I'm talking about conscious dislike and hate that manifests in negative discourse about that character online. It says something about the person, what the reasons are for their dislike and hate. And when that dislike turns to active aggression against fans, when it leads to the active harassment of people, then it becomes evident to me that it's driven by something deeper than some simple, surface level dislike based on shallow prejudice. If someone is deliberately seeking out fan blogs of a character they supposedly dislike or hate and sending that person hate messages about said character, that goes beyond being "rude" and turns into bullying, which I shouldn't need to explain, if you're bullying someone online and on social media, it's a safe bet to assume you would do the same to people in real life. It speaks volumes about a person's character, that they would harass and actively attempt to antagonize someone for liking a specific character. I've never seen anyone offer a legitimate reason for hating Levi that went beyond the most petty and shallow of reasons, i.e. Levi is now a "cripple", Levi lost in some popularity poll to Eren, what a loser, Levi is short and ugly, etc, etc... These are absurd reasons for hating anyone, and if they're to be taken at face value, speak to a kind of character totally lacking in empathy and compassion. They're attacks based on arbitrary characteristics, and the consistent and constant utilization of them is routinely and obviously employed by certain individuals in an attempt to make fans of Levi miserable and to destroy any chance of actual enjoyment they might find in engaging with the fandom. Most attacks on Levi are disingenuous and only rooted in the desire to make people in real life unhappy. However, if someone is genuinely willing to be so judgmental toward anyone for something so meaningless, fictional or otherwise, if they truly believe what they say, that they find Levi to somehow now be "lesser" because he ended up in a wheelchair, for example, or because he's short, or because he isn't charismatic, etc, etc... if they truly believe that, then I wonder what exactly would recommend them in real life as a good friend or person to want to associate with? So either you have people attacking Levi for things they don't actually hold against him, but like to use as ammunition against his fans with the sole aim of ruining their day and fandom experience, or you have people who genuinely believe it's legitimate to dislike or hate someone based on something as meaningless and arbitrary as their physical appearance or lack of outgoing personality, in which case, you have someone who's clearly deeply prejudiced and shallow in mind, and again, there's nothing to recommend them as a person anyone would want to know or associate with in reality.

And then you have a third option, which is people who, if they genuinely dislike or hate Levi for who he actually is as a character, meaning a character defined by and driven by empathy, then you're dealing with something more malicious still. Someone who is genuinely turned off by and hostile toward a character for being a good person. Someone who dislikes or despises what Levi represents within the narrative of the story itself. And anyone who feels that way about Levi should probably engage in some self-reflection and ask themselves why they're so turned off by and even threatened by a character who only wants to help people. I don't agree with you at all that our responses to fictional characters don't in any way indicate or reflect who we are in real life or how we might treat others in real life. People expose their biases all the time while discussing fictional characters and works of fiction. They expose their inner feelings and subconscious inclinations. If someone thinks it's okay to badmouth Levi for being disabled, chances are, that person is also likely to mistreat a disabled person in real life, consciously or not. If someone thinks it's okay to badmouth or victim blame a character for being abused, then chances are that person will do the same to a real life victim of abuse, again, consciously or not. Oftentimes, these people, while speaking so ill of fictional characters, are completely unaware of how it sounds and what it exposes about themselves, and it's indicative of a general lack of awareness on their part, which is very much a real life character flaw which doubtless spills over into their everyday, actual comportment. Someone so totally lacking in introspection is, generally, a very toxic person to be around. And those sorts of inclinations and prejudices and views, whether you want to admit it or not, can have very real world consequences. How you treat people online can have very real world consequences.

I don't think many Levi haters actually fall under this last category. I think most Levi haters are just assholes who are insecure and take that insecurity out on other people. But it still says plenty about them, that they do. They're okay with harassing other people and trying to ruin their day, simply for liking a certain character that they've deemed unworthy, for whatever inane reason they come up with. It shows them to be absurdly insecure, shallow and petty people. And if their reasoning is actually rooted in truth, and not simply an expression of some shallow prejudice, but an actual, substantial criticism of Levi's character, in particular, if they really believe Levi to be a fundamentally unlikable or repulsive character, based on his core characteristics, then, yes, they prove themselves to be deeply cynical and hateful human beings. Because why the hell would anyone hate Levi for being a good person, if they themselves aren't a bad person?

So either you "hate" Levi, or engage in hateful rhetoric about him because you simply feel insecure about yourself and are threatened by his popularity, because you enjoy making other people unhappy, or because you really are just that stupid and shallow, that you think hating someone for their looks is legit. Or because everything Levi stands for, compassion, kindness, empathy, nonjudgmentalism, grates against your own core characteristics and causes you to rebel against him. In either instance, like I said before, you would have to be an actual asshole to qualify for any of these scenarios.

[crosallin]

I more or less stayed off social media because of university finals and here is what I got:

-/- (ft. Life Update no one asked for)

Honestly, while being on (any) social media is a great way to connect yourself with people all over the world that have the same interests as you. Is. Great.

But the worst thing for me about social media is loving something so much while you were offline/you personally like it and then you step into the online world and majority of the users there HATE IT

Totally not me liking fairy tail for like 7 years then I got onto Twitter and everyone and their mom hates it like wtf guys

I mean when I look at almost every popular tweet or post or whatever it’s always the bad stuff and everyone loves the bad/negative stuff because it’s DRAMA- life is “boring” without drama that doesn’t involve you.

Personally, I kind of… dislike the community I’m in right now and I feel so much peace not logging in Twitter and just reading fanfics/draw for my other fandoms. There’s drama every single time I log in and I’m so tired- like I love the vtubers I follow but the community? I can do without them. I feel bad when I say I dislike the community because I should be grateful for the support but in all honesty… I have a low tolerance for crappy people. Instant mute/block.

As an artist I feel so burned out trying to create something everyday to keep up with what’s going on because I think my only selling point is relevancy so I’m trying so hard to be on top of things… I might lose interest in vtubers because I can’t catch streams but it’s ok! One day I’ll come back to it when I feel like it.

I think no one on my twitter is active enough to see this so I think I’m safe ig lol

Anyway if you made it this far I made a new account. Completely different from “Cro”. So I might be more active as another sona online than as the me you see right now :3

[yelenassecretlover]

youtuber au hcs [sfw] pt 1

anime: attack on titan

characters: Yelena, Levi, Mikasa

a/n: I love the idea of aot characters being youtubers so I might write a oneshot too…..we’ll see hehe

Yelena:

Didn’t even watch YouTube/twitch before she started streaming, Zeke just begged her to do it so he would have some quote on quote youtube mutuals, whatever that was

Blew up quickly, didn’t understand why because they would just play the game and occasionally make a comment. Quickly understood people were thirsting after her, because she made a comment on how she was 6’7

Now constantly posts thirst traps on her social media, flirts with the audience (Zeke is pressed she got more popular thanks to her height)

“Maybe show your abs and you’ll get more than just me as a viewer” “fuck off”

Gatekeep, Gaslight, Girlboss

Does everything in her power online to remind men she hates them, Did a hot tub stream just to piss men off and had their partner join them (got so many subscribers from it was tempted to do another one)

Plays video games, doesn’t have a specific game just plays mostly first person shooters (like Valorant) and whatever game is trending.

Hates peggle

Loves meeting her fans and their astonished faces when they truly see how tall she is

This woman is addicted to praise and reads every single comment, hate comments do not bother her she’s just too confident to ever care about an anonymous opinion

“If you really have a problem with me, let’s meet I can assure you if we do there will no longer be a problem :) ”

Levi:

Partner suggested they start streaming to develop a hobby and it surprisingly worked

No face streamer, thinks his face and scar would scare viewers away

Channel growth was slow and steady, but what brought them a lot of fans was their voice reveal. The internet really loves deep voices 0-0

His dry humor and sarcasm really appealed to people as well. He doesn’t consider himself funny at all, but his audience loves how unintentionally hilarious he is

“ I’m enjoying the character development in the game so far, but shit would It kill them to include a shower feature, I can see all the shit stains from here I don’t care if it’s the zombie apocalypse or not”

Nocturnal streamer, streaming gave him something to do when his insomnia won’t let him sleep

Extremely aesthetic layout, think study aesthetic, very pretty, dainty and organized

He streams horror games. He plays practically but also has a severe lack of priorities in the game (looking for the windex rather then freeing himself from the prison)

People dislike him due to his vulgar and upfront nature, they deem it rude he doesn’t put on a fake smile and act like the world's butterflies and rainbows

Despite that he’s never been in a scandal, has no racist past and is fairly unproblematic

Is not afraid to call big creators on their predatory/bad behaviors. On the same note cuts anyone off who exhibits that

Mikasa:

Her scarf is an iconic staple to her persona, sells merch of red scarfs

Started because Eren wanted the trio to have an activity they could do as a group

Got “cancelled” because people thought she had a boyfriend, but ended up getting a ton of support from other female streamers and her channel grew

Her partner comes into her streams to bring her hot chocolate, during these breaks she chats with her audience, she calls it chocochat time

Her office/computer space has the ac on at all times so besides the scarf she’s wearing a very comfy onesie, it changes every stream

Doesn’t like getting recognized in public as she is very socially awkward, makes her partner buy her all her necessities, and never leaves the house without them

took a break from her streaming after her partner was revealed and harassed online :(

“If you guys can not respect my partner, who’s apart of me, you do not get me. Learn to behave because she is not going anywhere, while I can go from you guys anytime”

Did not move to LA after fame, doesn’t like the city gives her bad vibes

Does a lot of YouTube collabs and only collabs with female identifying streamers on her YouTube channel. On twitch she collabs with men (Eren and Armin lol) but not on her YouTube channel.

Broke the internet after accidentally posting a bikini pic on her Instagram ( an anomaly to her usual aesthetic posts that don’t include her)

[fairyhee]

Chocolate eclairs (pt.1)

“Aren’t you a Valentine’s day hater, though?”

“Only because I don’t have a date and I’m bitter about it, but you can change that.”

🍫optional bias x reader (h/n means his name)

🍫enemies to lovers, kinda slow burn?, flirting (smut in pt.2)

🍫inspired by: 5sos-valentine

[I know Valentine’s Day has already passed but I got this idea while daydreaming a few days ago and I couldn’t help myself. And also maybe I love this made-up celebration a bit too much and I don’t want to accept it’s over. If you dislike cheesy stuff this might not be for you lmao]

When it comes to Valentine’s, people are always either hardcore fans or hardcore haters. While you were definitely part of the first category, you just couldn’t understand how anyone can dislike a celebration that’s meant to spread love. And also, the pretty lingerie, the sweets, the champagne and the sex, hello?? You would have them any day of the year if you could. And if you had someone to celebrate with, in the first place.

As for people in the other category, they could hate it all they want but in your eyes they were probably just painfully single. Not that you weren’t, but you never wanted to let that spoil the fun. So what if you were single? What one can do with a partner, you could very well do on your own. So every year you made plans to do everything you wanted, but on a solo date instead of with somebody else. Love yourself first, right?

So on the morning of february 14th, after you were done with your self-pampering ritual, you stepped out for coffee and pancakes. The plan was that after breakfast, you would stop by the lingerie store and treat yourself to a nice set, then buy some sweets from the french bakery, then go home and get all dolled up for the evening, when you had reserved a table at a pink-themed restaurant, beautifully situated on the top floor of one of the highest buildings in your town. It was definitely among the most popular spots for that day, but you couldn’t care less that you were going by yourself. You could have gone with one of your girl friends, if they weren’t all already taken and spending the day “watching netflix”.

Thinking about the peaceful day that was ahead of you, you had almost reached your first destination. Your favorite cafe held an event today and served red pancakes with chocolate hearts as a special menu, as well as v-day themed coffee cups that you couldn’t wait to take photos of. As you entered the cafe, you spotted a familiar silhouette by the counter. He didn’t have to turn around for you to confirm it was him, because as soon as you heard him order his ice americano, your perfect day was already ruined. It was h/n. 

Instead of saying hi, you groaned as you approached the counter. “Who drinks iced coffee in february? You have serious issues.”

He turned around, seemingly suprised to see you at first, but he quickly got to back to his usual self. “Only cool people can drink iced coffee, you wouldn’t understand. And also, a ‘good morning’ would have been enough.”

“It was good until I saw you, so now I can’t say that anymore, can I?” you said while scanning the menu. “One rose lemonade and the special strawberry pancakes with fresh cream, please.”

From where he was standing, you heard a dramatic gasp. “How can you tell me I have issues when you ingest so much sugar from this early in the day? If this is what you have for breakfast, what the hell are you having for dinner?” You wanted to slap that overly exaggerated shocked expression off his face.

“None of your fucking business. Now if you don’t mind I’m gonna walk to my table and go on with my day. If I spend another minute with you I’m afraid it might turn bitter and cold, like you and your beloved americano.”

You were beyond irritated that you had to put up with his shit today, too. You had met h/n at a party during university because of a mutual friend, and you immediately found out you had absolutely nothing in common, except both wanting to excel in your field and to be right at all times. Both of you had strong opinions and just wouldn’t back down. Every time you met, your personalities clashed, and the useless arguments and snarky remarks wouldn’t stop coming. It certainly didn’t help that he was so handsome and so good at what he did (he was a singer in a band) and that everyone else always complimented and admired him, because that made his ego grow and everything just annoyed you even more. Handsome boys always had to be over-confident and you hated that with a passion. The worst part was that he had every right to be confident, but you would never admit that. You weren’t sure what his opinion was of you but you didn’t care to know.

While you were sat at your table, scrolling through your phone and trying to block the previous conversation from re-entering your mind, he just casually sat down across from you at the table, putting down not one, but two iced americanos.

For a few seconds you stared at him blankly. “Can I know what the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m gonna try to convince you that americano is the best coffee.”

“Ha, nice try. What makes you think I would even try it? It’s way too cold outside to drink. Haven’t I told you I don’t want bitterness in my life?”

He smirked. “I asked the barista to put 3 pumps of sugar syrup in it so it can be at least remotely drinkable for you. You will also need someone to watch over you, since I expect you to have a heart attack from all the sweetness, so, before you ask me to, no, I don’t want to leave your drink here and fuck off. So since you’ll be stuck with me until you finish your breakfast, tell me, what have I done to make you dislike me so much?” he placed his chin on his left hand and took a sip of his americano. “I’m curious.” rather than annoyed with you, he looked rather playful.

“Wow, you seem to be having a lot of fun interrupting my day. Glad at least one of us is having a good time. If you want me to touch that drink, you better take out at least half of that amount of ice cubes. After that, we can talk.”

You didn’t expect him to actually do what you said, but he stood up without a word and slowly walked to the counter to ask the barista to fix it. He was so tall, that the strings of the heart shaped helium balloons that were floating around the ceiling reached his eyes, so he walked around the cafe shielding his face with his hand. Why did you find that cute all of a sudden? It’s like you had just realized that his height was very attractive to you. When he turned around, you were smiling at him.

He gave you a wide-eyed look while he was placing your drink down for the second time. “Now you’re smiling at me? Did the sugar from those pancakes get to your brain already?”

“It’s just kinda funny seeing you between all those heart-shaped pink balloons after our last argument.” He had argued that all these holidays, like Halloween, V-day, Mother’s day and so on are made up for purely capitalist purposes and people who celebrate just feed into the consumerism. Besides, his social media posts had appeared on your feed the other day, because he had shared a bunch of memes poking fun at the cheesy traditions. “So what are you doing here today anyway, I thought you were a Valentine’s day hater?” 

“Only because I don’t have a date and I’m bitter about it, like you said. But you can change that.”

You quickly looked up from your plate to check for any sign that he’s joking, but he definitely wasn’t laughing. His eyebrow was cocked up and an annoying smirk was planted on his face. He looked so hot, it was absurd.

His proposal, combined with your own thoughts, made you burst into laughter. You were annoyed at the fact that you were considering it. “Aren’t you getting a bit ahead of yourself? Of course I can change that, but do you really think I will?” you asked ironically. You took a sip of the iced americano, hoping it would cool down your brain and help you think straight again.

He smiled. “I don’t know, but the fact that I just made you laugh is a good sign. Also,” he said pointing at the coffee, “you just drank that and didn’t complain. You just accepted my drink and I got you convinced it’s not bad, both at the same time. That’s three wins in a row for me.”

Shit, he was right.

“I love it when you talk back to me, so I’m almost feeling sorry I left you without any comeback to that.”, he laughed. “So what other plans do you have today? What else do I have to try to ruin?”

“Oh, just a bunch of uninteresting things. I’m sure a self-proclaimed cool dude like yourself would be bored just hearing about it.” That was it. Your defense had fallen, you were actually starting to like him, but you still wouldn’t admit it, so now you were adamant to prove you were completely uninterested in him and he didn’t affect you even in the slightest. You were even willing to accept him tagging along when you went shopping if he wanted. Half because you wanted to spend more time with him without actually accepting his half-hearted date proposal, and half because you wanted him to think you don’t care even if he tries to bother you.

“Well, I don’t have anything better to do today. You asked me what I’m doing here, I actually simply came to get coffee. So do you mind if I come with you? Annoying you is more fun than doing nothing on a sunday.” 

Perfect, you thought. You fake-rolled your eyes. “Whatever. You’ve already ruined my day, it can’t get worse no matter how much you’ll talk. Let’s go shopping, I know men are absolutely crazy over this activity, so let’s see how much fun you’ll have there.”

“Try me.” he said while finishing his drink. 

You smiled and, having finished your breakfast, you stood up.“You might want to have another americano to-go, to keep you from getting tainted with my sweetness. Get up, we’re going to buy chocolate eclairs.”

...

part 2

[bookofmirth]

In general, do you think social medias and fandoms can ruin our reading experience?

I know it is quite a generic question, but I realized that it has been a while since I picked up a book/book series and went into it not knowing anything about it, without any expectations. Nowadays, when you are on Bookstagram, Booktumblr, Booktwitter, etc., you come across a lot of fanarts, comments and just in general opinions that will likely influence the way you read and interpret a book (especially popular ones). You may go into the book knowing that a character is disliked by the fandom, and immediately go looking for bad traits, when you wouldn't have in the first place. You might also find some fanart of a certain couple, not knowing it is a spoiler for a twist in the series. I just think it gets harder, and harder once you are on social medias to start a book with a fresh mind. Yes, you can avoid major spoilers quite easily, but even the smallest spoilers can sometimes influence our reading experience.

Also once you are actively in a fandom (and this is something that I noticed since joining tumblr), you easily lose yourself in theories . When you spend a lot of time theorizing or reading theories it is easy to convince yourself, that one thing is canon or going to be canon, when in fact it is only fanon. I often have to remind myself that 95% of what I see here (SJM fandom) is likely not going to happen, so that I do not get disappointed and act as if the author ruined the books, just because it didn't line up with my fanon version, my own preferences.

I didn't want to make it sound like I hate social medias and fandoms. Honestly, I think they bring so much. Plus, having a place where you can exchange with people who share the same love for books and where it is possible to find fanarts of characters you love, is truly amazing. But, I often ask myself, how different my reading experience would have been, had I read a book in my little bubble, completely unaware of anything.

Yes! But I think that the important thing is to 1) know yourself and what will make it enjoyable for you, 2) don’t hesitate to act on that knowledge. Block people for nothing, block tags, only follow 7 blogs, whatever you have to do, do it. I think these platforms bring us so many great things, like you said! And there’s no reason for the experience to turn into a negative thing, especially when we are here for fun in the first place.

That’s also why I can’t read reviews before I read a book. If someone points out a big flaw or plot hole or whatever, like you mentioned, then that’s all I’m looking for and it almost becomes worse. What if I didn’t know the problem existed? It’s not even about spoilers at that point. 

However, I will say that I follow a couple of people on Goodreads strictly for their ratings because I know that if this one person loved a book, I’ll hate it and vice versa haha

[radialarch]

every once in a while on the internet we have another round of “is it good or bad for writers to want kudos” and i’m reminded that one time i answered this question for someone in way more depth than anyone wanted, and perhaps “after a months-long tumblr hiatus” is the best time to amnesty this into the void, who knows

------

Q: I think because of social media, the Internet, the masses (or their reaction rather) become so easily available, their power is also amplified. Maintaining diversity can become a real problem (or is it the contrary?). What are your thoughts and response to this? for people who are just starting to write, kudos and comments could be addictive. When should one follow or change?.. or you should stick to what you believe in?

Okay, so this is an issue I think about a lot, and I should probably preface this by saying that all of what I'm gonna say can be really difficult to do, and, depending on the reasons you are in fandom, it might not be the "right" approach for someone to take anyway.

I said earlier that fanfiction feels to me like a fairly homogeneous genre, and I think this is at least in part because of the existence of very popular, very widely known fics that many people read, and then, either consciously or unconsciously, go on to imitate in their own works. This isn't necessarily a bad thing for individual writers -- I also said that a lot of my first attempts at writing were imitative, it's a process everyone will go through in the path to becoming better writers -- but collectively, it contributes to this communal pool of works that ends up having the same sort of... textual flavor, if you will.

This is a phenomenon that troubles me because I firmly believe that diversity of works and ideas in a fandom are a good thing. Fandom, to me, works best when anything seems possible, when many different ideas can be examined without constraint. I won't always like some of the avenues that are explored -- there are tropes and ideas that I dislike, and I might pass a fic by without clicking if I see it contains those things -- but the proliferation of ideas means that there's much more of a chance that fandom will kick up an idea I love but might never have thought of otherwise.

The thing is, fandom -- the audience that's reading, leaving kudos or comments, bookmarking and reccing -- does not always reward the efforts of writers who are trying to experiment with different things, and I think when you run into that situation you have to take a step back and think about what it is that you want to achieve by participating in fandom via fic writing.

Praise feels really good. Most people like praise. Look, I love getting comments on fic that tell me readers enjoyed it. I'm not gonna lie and say that you should just train yourself into a state where feedback doesn't matter. So if that's what you're in fandom for -- to be social, to connect with other people, to have a fun time where your works will be well-received -- then I think that's a valid approach. Like, if that's what you want out of this experience, then you should feel totally free to do that, that's not a "wrong" way to do fandom.

But if what you want from writing fic is to become a better writer, then first you have to be very honest with yourself. Becoming a better writer involves taking a lot of (textual) risks. Sometimes, you try something and fail; sometimes, you try something and succeed, but what you end up with isn't what people in fandom want to read. And this isn't rewarding in a way that a ton of fannish feedback might feel rewarding, but the process should be rewarding in its own right. For me, writing a story that stretches at the limits of my technical ability and succeeding in it feels fantastic. Comparing a story I wrote a while ago with something current and noting ways in which I might've gotten better is a great feeling. And conversely, I don't like feeling like I've stagnated, that I've settled too much into a comfort zone and stopped trying to do something more ambitious. It makes me miserable. And if that's the case for you, then you have to accept that sometimes, you won't get comments and praise on what you write, and that will make you feel terrible -- but maybe not writing that would have made you feel worse, as a writer.

So I think that's a calculation everyone has to make for themselves. And it's really hard! It stings to see something you've put a lot of effort and time and, sometimes, personal experience into be ignored by other people. I don't know whether that will ever go away. It can help to have friends you can discuss writing with, who will be supportive of what you're doing even if this big thing called "fandom" isn't. You can try to be realistic about what kind of feedback you can expect (writing in a very small fandom, or even nonexistent fandom, can be an interesting way to calibrate your expectations). And some days it will still feel terrible, and you just have to keep asking yourself if it's worth it. And hopefully it is.

On a different note, if you want to do anything to encourage the diversity of ideas in fandom, there are things people can do from the consumer/reader side! For one, I'm not particularly sold on this idea of kudos/comments/bookmarks as a metric of quality. I know a lot of people will like, go to AO3 after they've watched a movie or a show or read a book and sort by kudos and read from the top down; and this is certainly an easy way to choose fics to read, but there are fics that are brilliant and gorgeous and wonderful that will never make it there. I know a lot of people think that, you know, if a fic is good then it will of course get "discovered" and you'll find out about it, but like. Sometimes the person who discovers it has to be you. Be an active participant in the process of choosing what you read (something that applies both inside & outside fandom!) and look, you'll wade through a lot of terrible fic but there are also some great fics buried out there that you might never see otherwise.

And then, when you find something you love, engage with it! Kudos, comment, rec it to your friends. I used to be a terrible lurker until I started writing fic; I still don't leave like, the best comments, but I do it a lot more because it really does mean a lot. Encourage other people in fandom who might be going through the same process you are, trying to decide if this writing thing is worth it, and hopefully, you know, someone else will do it for you.

[literaetures]

i was tagged by the always lovely @keiraknightlcygf and i'm tagging: @startingthecase, @jammeke, @brontes, @faslaidir, and anyone who wants to do this tag! 💌

1. Why did you choose your url?

it was years ago when i just switched my major to english in undergrad and i was really excited about it and wanted to get hyped and fall in love with the subject that i cared about on here too and it just stuck ever since! but i'm always thinking about changing it and never taking the plunge....... maybe one day...... one day

2. Any side blogs?

yeah! i have a multifandom blog, a reference blog, and a gradblr and i barely use any of them but they're still there!

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

oof since 2011 and now it's 2021 and i remember making it in like? august? so 10 year anniversary is coming up! and i never thought i'd be in grad school.... still on this site.... but wow the passage of time!

4. Do you have a queue tag?

nope! i tried using my queue a few times but i really just prefer reblogging one or two or a million things at once and then disappearing

5. Why did you start this blog in the first place?

i moved blogs bc a bunch of irl people were following me on my original one and i just didn't feel comfortable reblogging what i wanted to so i moved and i'm always glad i did that!

6. Why did you choose your icon?

it's lizzie bennet from 2005 p&p with the cutest background and i love her your honor i don't think i'll ever change it!

7. Why did you choose your header?

i just reblogged a pretty art piece and i thought "i could make a mobile theme around this color scheme" and then i did which is how my normal thought process for mobile themes goes

8. How many mutuals do you have?

oh no clue— is that something you can track? i know loving mutuals is the Thing now but i just like everyone i follow tbh otherwise i wouldn't follow them

9. How many followers do you have?

more than i'd ever thought would follow me! and i'm eternally grateful and totally shocked every time i look at it! i'm actually about to hit a milestone soon so i'm even more shocked that anyone would want to follow me! thank you all for being here and always being so kind! 💛

10. How many do you follow?

622! i went through and unfollowed a few inactive blogs but i know it's quite a lot lmao i like having a fast dash and i watch a variety of media so i like having new recommendations of things to watch

11. Have you ever made a shitpost?

yeah and none of them are funny but they make me laugh in the moment!

12. How often do you use tumblr a day?

pretty often since it's the only social media i actively go on— any time want to scroll through something i go on here

13. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?

i don't think so? i hope not! i really don't like hurting others or being mean or confrontation so i can't think of anything

14. How do you feel about ‘you need to reblog this’ posts?

i really dislike them bc usually those comments are from other people and i feel like they either derail or detract from the op's point or just encourage a passive activism that remains in a performative realm rather than actively researching or wanting find out more about a certain topic or issue

15. Do you like tag games?

i do! i like the thought that someone would tag me and i think they're fun but i'm always bad at doing them bc they tend to disappear from my notes or i just get swamped with work and forget fjsnkfdsjnf

17. Which mutuals do you think are tumblr famous?

ooo no clue there might be some but i genuinely don't care bc if i follow you it's bc i like the things you reblog or post and that's what matters not how popular or "tumblr famous" you are which is why i like that you can't see how many followers someone has it takes a lot of the pressure off of you and you can just enjoy the things you reblog instead!

18. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

all of them i adore you all and wish nothing but good things to happen to you!

[charmedseoull]

The Aftermath of Fanfiction Authors with Reba Interview

Before You Read the Interview

I contacted Reba after she posted a Reddit thread titled “When a fic becomes too popular and the author deletes their account and/or work. Explained.” on a throwaway account. We discussed details of the interview during December over email, then started the interview in January. This interview is not associated with a project and is its own independent work. Reba has chosen to remain anonymous.

She provides insight on potential reasons to why fanfiction authors abandon their work from the perspective of a fanfiction reader. She also answered general fandom questions and questions about herself so readers could understand her background.

Charmedseoul is a BTS-focused anonymous historian who documents fandom history using Fanlore. If you would like to be interviewed to help document perspectives in fandom, please contact her on Twitter @charmedseoul or on Tumblr @charmedseoull.

Parts of this interview have been edited with links to Fanlore and Wikipedia pages for understanding. Any information in [brackets] serves for further clarity for readers and elaboration of information.

Now presenting the interview with Reba, long-time fanfiction reader and participant in fandom:

When did you first join fandom culture?

I joined fandom culture in 2014. I feel like fandoms really peaked during this time. [Presence of SuperWhoLock and other Tumblr specific fandoms.]

What fandoms are you in? How have your experiences in them been?

I will be honest and say fandom culture isn’t for me- so I can’t say I’m active in any fandoms (I’m just a silent consumer) but growing up I was a fan of music artists mostly; Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande… I loved the IT 2017 movie adaptation for a long time (I still do), and early 2020 is when I got into BLACKPINK, then BTS. My experience with all of these has been good, and maybe that’s because I don’t see any of the drama and arguments online- but I don’t regret any of my past interests because they all made me happy at one point in time.

What do you like about fandoms?

 What I like about fandoms is how happy it can make an individual; getting excited for a new music video, smiling at behind the scenes photos… it can bring someone a little joy if they are having a bad day.

What do you dislike about fandoms?

I don’t like stan culture at all; fandom drama, arguing on twitter with strangers to defend an artist who doesn’t even know you… it all seems toxic. While I'm sure healthy stanning does exist, I don't think it's easy to achieve at all.

How long have you been an ARMY? What are your opinions about the fandom? How has your experience in the fandom been? 

I became an ARMY in early 2020 when Map of the Soul: 7 was released, so only a year. I really do like the fandom; ARMY is the only fandom I’ve seen where there are so many fans worldwide of all different ages, and that just shows how BTS and their music really is for everyone. There is so much BTS content that there’s never a dull day, so my experience in the fandom has been enjoyable!

Did you ever leave ARMY and take a break then come back?

 I’ve never left ARMY, that being said, I’m a newbie and haven’t been here for long.

When did you first start reading fanfiction? 

I have been exposed to fanfiction since 2014, but I wasn’t in any fandom back then and started reading fanfiction in 2017.

What do you think the purpose behind fanfiction is?

 We mostly read for entertainment but there is definitely a purpose to fanfiction, as for all art. Fanfiction is a great thing for both reader and writers, it can be an outlet for many people, a way to experience things that you don't have a chance to experience in your own life. It also can be a good base ground for people who want to start writing, or for someone who finds reading huge paperback novels difficult. Fanfiction is so easily accessible, you can pull up a story to read or share your work at the press of a button.

As you’ve read fanfiction over the years, do you feel like anything about fanfiction has changed?

Yes! Fanfiction is taken a lot more seriously now, people who write fanfiction treat it like an actual novel with plotting and editing- the quality of fanfiction in general is a lot better. Fandom ships have also changed; when I was a teenager Harry Styles fanfictions were crazy popular, now the fanfics that seem to be more popular are BTS! So that just shows when music evolves, pretty much everything else does too.

As a reader, how do you view authors?

I'm always amazed by fanfic authors because they practically write whole novels for free. Writing can be such a personal thing, and it does take talent; there is a story the author wants to convey, and when a story is told in a beautiful way, it leaves a lasting impact on the reader. I’m sure that must be a euphoric feeling for the author- it means they told their story, and they did it well.

Do you think many other readers share the same view as you?

No, not at all. There are readers out there who don’t really think about the time and effort authors put into their stories. I’ve seen readers expect so much, and criticise something so little. It’s sad- people should be able to write whatever they want, writing is supposed to encourage creativity. Authors shouldn’t have to fear backlash for doing just that. Being creative. 

Why do you think so many authors delete/orphan their work after it gains popularity?

When a story gains popularity- it attracts good and bad attention alike. Unfortunately the negative affects us a lot more, it’s just human nature. While authors do put their work out there, I don’t think they are ever prepared for their stories to become so popular. I am sure it is overwhelming and that’s why authors feel the need to distance themselves from it all and delete/orphan their work.

What stories prompted you to start thinking about why authors delete/orphan their works? 

I read a story called mixtape (IT movie) and I was around long enough to see chapters be uploaded each week. I also saw the struggles the author went through when their fanfic began to rise in popularity, which eventually led to the story being completely deleted from the internet. So I thought this could have been a one-off since I hadn’t read many fanfictions. I then moved onto BTS fanfiction and decided to read the most talked about ones first, only to see a lot of them were by orphaned accounts (so not just a one-off occurrence!). House of Cards by sugamins was the one that got me thinking, I thought “why would somebody not want to be associated with this amazing writing?!” That’s when I began to do some research and stumbled across your interview with the author!

How do you think backlash for a work harms an authors mental health? 

An immense amount of feedback, positive or negative, can take a toll on one person. A lot of authors can be reserved people and they write because they are passionate, as an outlet or just a hobby. So when their work does receive backlash it can be very upsetting- it could make them doubt their reasons and capabilities and affect an author so much they might stop writing all together.

How do you think some authors manage their mental health and not delete a work? 

This is a hard question because everyone deals with backlash differently. I know some authors who are not bothered by backlash and they choose to ignore it and move on with their day, and then there are other authors who are more anxious and have to put a lot of measures in place to protect their mental health; from your interview with sugamins they explain how they didn’t want to destroy their work, just distance themselves from it, so that’s always an option.

Taking time away from social media and getting enough rest, it is important to not neglect your well-being. Finding a way to cope when you feel low; animals tend to ground me and improve my mental health- they are loving and don’t judge you for who you are. Maybe you cope by talking with friends, or listening to your favourite song. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as it helps. 

At what point with mental health do you think authors start to consider deletion/orphaning?

I think an author starts to consider deleting/orphaning their work when it completely consumes them. It is not healthy to be fixated on something that is no longer bringing you happiness, you need to let it go. If you are an author reading this, just know you are not your feedback, it doesn’t define your existence, okay? Fanfiction should add to your life, not take away from it. 

Why do you think some readers invade an authors privacy?

Sometimes, people care more about the author than the work they have created. So when a fanfic has deeply touched a reader and helped them through so much, they want to reach out in any way and tell them so- this can be invasive if the reader is not careful about their approach.

How do you think authors manage this privacy invasion?

Stopping it before it happens; not using your real name, having a separate account for writing, don’t link social media accounts in your works etc. If privacy has already been compromised and a reader is making the author uncomfortable, then disabling comments on their works, making a new social media or changing their accounts to private would be smart. Just knowing how to keep safe online.

At what point with privacy invasion do you think authors start to consider deletion/orphaning?

When you are at risk of being doxed. I think when readers are going as far as finding authors’ personal accounts and messaging their friends- anything along those lines is scary and the reader is going from a supporter to an intrusive stranger real fast.

Why do you think anonymity is important for fanfiction writing?

When your full name is attached to everything you do, people have a very easy way to get back to you. This is why authors keep an anonymous profile, and it is important readers respect that.  Most authors don’t want their family, friends, employer etc to see that sort of stuff. It is completely okay to remain professional and keep fanfiction writing separate from personal life.

Do you think fanfiction writing should stay free? Do you think authors should be paid for their work? 

I do think fanfiction writing should stay free on the sites they originate from (AO3 for example). However, if the author wants to take their work elsewhere to earn money then I don’t see an issue in that. I am glad you mention copyright law with fanfiction in particular because the author of mixtape (the fanfiction I mentioned earlier) tried to self publish their work while keeping canon names, the author tried to justify it as a parody work and everyone was so concerned that they reported the book until it got removed. I have seen stories on Wattpad become published books to purchase, however, the names had been changed to original characters- I think this seems like a much more logical move to avoid any legal repercussions.

As a reader, how has an author’s work connected with you personally? 

I have had works connect with me on a personal level, one in particular is Somebody To Love by LOVERVMINS (orphaned). My standards are impossibly high after reading that fanfic and I don’t think I will ever come across something so beautiful again. Somebody To Love is a taekook fic that was uploaded to AO3 in 2019, the author ended up deleting all their works but thankfully left this particular story up. I was immediately captured by the incredible writing and unique plot; the story of two lovers who were never meant for each other, but destiny found its way anyway… I apologise in advance for how long this summary (with spoilers) is, but I think my thoughts are proof of how this story has connected with me so much!

(Spoilers for Somebody to Love by LOVERVMINS. Please feel free to scroll to the next bolded question to avoid spoilers.)

In this story, Taehyung is a successful lawyer while Jungkook is just a student, despite the difference in status and wealth, they are intrigued by one another from the very start. After meeting Taehyung, Jungkook is left feeling confused about himself, the internalised homophobia is strong to begin with but as the chapters progress Jungkook goes from someone who is afraid of society and what people may think, to strong and outspoken. Taehyung plays a fundamental part in this, because if Jungkook were to never meet Taehyung, he wouldn’t have realised who he really was, he wouldn’t have been brave enough to discover his sexuality and fall in love in a time where it was so unaccepting. Taehyung is bold and confident on the surface, giving little regard for anybody other than himself, but his concern for others soon changes after he meets Jungkook, he becomes a better man. He could have had his heart desires- but Taehyung was no longer selfish from those few months he spent with Jungkook, so he stayed with his wife to be a good father.

Taehyung makes Jungkook promise him he will find somebody to love (hence the title), and he does, Jungkook finds somebody to love and he is happy- Taehyung finds this out when they unexpectedly meet a few years later, this is the final time Jungkook and Taehyung see each other… but knowing Jungkook is happy, leaves Taehyung happy.

There are different kinds of love, some last forever, and some just for a chapter of your life. It is clear Jungkook was Taehyung’s forever. And I don’t think Jungkook’s love for Taehyung ever went away, he just found another kind of love like he had promised. Jungkook had to live his life; he couldn’t wait for Taehyung, to leave his marriage in the unforeseeable future, or watch him raise his kids from afar, this shows that even if society were accepting, their circumstances were too far gone- if only they met sooner, or in another life. It makes you imagine a world where they could have been together, it makes you think beyond the story even when it’s ended.

It has been a month or two since I read LOVERVMINS work, and I still feel a pang in my chest every time I think of Taehyung’s letter for Jungkook in the epilogue.

Why do you think others think they have the right to know an authors personal information?

I think in this day and age, everything about a person is on show, so people just expect that sort of information from you. Authors appreciate feedback- but they don't know the reader, their family or what they do for fun. Vice versa. You only see a small glimpse into the authors life, and the stuff you see is what they feel comfortable enough to show. That should be enough.

Do you consider writing an art form?

  I do consider writing an art form. Writing is like painting an image in the readers mind. I think it is better than visual art because when you are reading a story, not everyone is going to envision the exact same thing, it is up to the imagination. I think that is what makes it so beautiful- we all collectively love a story, yet, we somehow interpret it differently.

Why do you think Archive of Our Own is the ideal platform for fanfiction writing?

I think Archive of Our Own is ideal for fanfiction writing because they give you many options with your work so you are comfortable- it is easy to remove comments, delete an account, or orphan works while keeping your account etc. It is important authors get control of what happens to their work if they want to leave and go in a different direction.

Do you think other fanfiction writing platforms like Fanfiction.net and Wattpad are ideal or lacking?

I think Wattpad is ideal for younger audiences; it’s more visual with book covers and the layout in general is more appealing, I also feel like the stories on there are targeted for pre-teens. When I first got into fanfiction, I did start on Wattpad because it was easier to navigate. I look back now though and do think it is lacking in terms of quality, a lot of the stories are written for shock value and don’t really make much sense because of that. It is hard to find a story on Wattpad that ticks all the boxes (but not impossible). Wattpad also had a breach with data last summer and everyone’s emails got pwned so that made a lot of people move to AO3. I have never used Fanfiction.net so unfortunately I can’t speak for that one. Overall, AO3 has much more content, you can find a story with ease once you know how to use the site.

How has fanfiction writing affected the people in your personal life?

How did you find out that your sister is writing fanfiction?

My sister wrote a Harry Styles fanfic in 2014 which gathered around half a million reads on Wattpad, she got comments from people telling her how much her fanfic has impacted their lives pretty much every day. My sister and I are close and we share the same friends, I noticed when we would have sleepovers she was always on her phone and never paid attention to the movies we were watching. I think all the numbers did affect her for a moment and it wasn’t until my sister started her exams that she realised she had to put her concentration into those to pass, that’s how she came to the decision to delete the story. I asked her recently if she regrets deleting it and she told me she doesn’t at all, she now looks back and doesn’t think her writing was good back then. So I think that shows authors do know what they’re doing and what is best for them in the long run. 

My sister had a one direction fan account on Instagram that had 100k+ followers (insane!), she was always open with her interests and I found out she started writing fanfiction through that account.

What personal reasons do you think authors have for deleting/orphaning works?

The list is endless; maybe the author wrote the story in a bad time in their life and they want to delete it because it reminds them of that time, they could have left the fandom, or they simply do not like their story anymore- they grew up and know they can do so much better. It is okay for an author to grow apart from their work, it shows they are growing as a person too.

Why do you think authors get backlash from writing dark themes?

I think authors receive backlash from writing dark themes because it can be triggering for some and can bring up unpleasant memories.

What do you think are the responsibilities of an author when writing dark themes?

 A safe bet would be to tag anything relating to abuse (physical, emotional, etc), mental illness (eating disorders, self harm, suicide, etc), graphic violence and rape/sexual assault. That’s what comes to mind. And if a trigger occurs only in a certain chapter, then having an additional warning in the chapter notes would be helpful.  

What do you think are the responsibilities of a reader when reading dark themes?

If dark subjects are included in the tags, don’t read the story if it could trigger you. It is as simple as that. People decide to read the fanfic then get mad at the author for triggering them. I am not trying to insult anybody who has triggers, maybe they read a story and their specific trigger was never mentioned in the additional tags… this is what the ‘chose not to archive warnings’ box is for, with this option, it is handled in AO3’s FAQ that major tags are not necessary. In shirt, this means there may be triggering content in the fic that is not disclosed by the author. Plus, there is usually a pop up banner before you click on a story which reads ‘this work could have adult content. if you proceed you have agreed that you are willing to see such content’. There are so many warnings, you can’t miss them. It is a case of reading at your own risk, you can’t blame the author if you do not like the result.

Do you think authors are facing too much pressure from readers about what themes they write?

I do think authors face unnecessary pressure with the themes they write; they are put on such a pedestal that when they write something that isn’t what the audience want, they receive a lot of negative criticism. Authors, no matter what themes you are writing, there is no need to worry if you are writing for yourself and putting out the content you set out to create.

Why do you think authors write dark themes?

 Dark themes are simply an exploration of difficult emotions along with unpleasant events or consequences. Authors write dark themes because it serves a narrative purpose. And authors don’t have to be ‘dark’ people or experience all of these unsettling things to write such content. 

Why do you think readers read dark themes?

Dark themes are not for everyone, I personally don’t think there are enough dark works out there. I read dark themes because it interests me more, I want to know how the characters are going to cope with the consequences, or heal from the trauma. Other readers might prefer dark themes for the graphic content, this is fine too. Fictional violence is not real- we all know this, so there is no reason to be terrified. 

Why do you think so many authors want to have their work get popular?

 People may disagree, but I think it has a lot to do with validation. Subconsciously, authors want people to like their work- a rise in popularity means readers are seeing the authors work, and hopefully taking enjoyment from it. This isn’t a bad thing as long as you realise validation does not equal self-worth. There are people out there who write and do not gain much attention, but that doesn’t stop them from posting their work anyway.

Do you think a work’s popularity is important?

I personally don’t. I read a range of fanfictions- some are super popular, others are not. It is the content I am more interested in, not how many hits/views it has.  

Should we judge authors for deleting/orphaning their work?

Not at all! I am sure authors have thought long and hard before coming to their decision.

How should we view situations where authors delete/orphan their work? 

For a reader, it can be upsetting when authors delete/orphan their work, especially if there is no possibility of reading that story again. However, we need to show compassion and view the situation from the authors perspective; gaining popularity on a fanfic isn't as pleasant as it might seem, it is much more complicated than that. A lot of feedback, both good and bad, can be overwhelming. Mental health is important, and if that means distancing yourself from something so popular, then it must be done. Privacy can be compromised, people in your real life might find out you write these stories and not be accepting, or readers become invasive which is a scary situation to be in. And a mixture of personal reasons, people are allowed to grow and change and want to distance themselves from things they are no longer proud of. 

What do you think authors should be aware of in case their work does get popular?

This is a good question… I think authors need to be aware that with good feedback, also comes bad feedback. You cannot please every single person on this earth, but that is not your job- so do not take it personally. 

Do you have any last messages to readers of this interview?

 I want to thank you in particular, Charm. This interview is probably the coolest thing I’ll ever get to do for the BTS fandom and I’m so grateful that our paths crossed so we could create this interview together. You are such a kind soul and it has been a pleasure from start to finish. 

For the authors reading this interview; I am just a reader, but I do understand how it can be hard for you to continue on when you are going through so many struggles readers don’t get to see. Just know you are appreciated, and you are supported no matter what you decide to do with your works in the future. Having popular works shouldn’t feel like a burden, there are blessings hidden in there- you have made readers feel a rollercoaster of emotions with your talent, you are able to engage with readers around the world, and you have created a beautiful story from nothing… you did that! 

For the silent readers like myself: let the authors of your favourite work know how much you loved it (in a respectful way) before it is too late! I so wish I had the chance to tell the author of Somebody To Love how their story broke my heart then healed it again. Treasure the fanfictions you love because they very well could be gone tomorrow!

Thank you for reading this interview. Further below are reminders and information about this interview and Charmedseoul’s Fanlore projects.

Reba has chosen to remain anonymous. No social media or information about her will be released publicly.

This interview was conducted through email from January 31, 2021 to February 1, 2021 with Reba’s consent and protections under Fanlore’s Identity Protection policies and the posting website’s privacy policies. Unauthorized reposting of this interview is forbidden. 

Due to the casual nature of this interview, repost of this interview is strictly prohibited. Linking and sharing is appreciated. Translation and unauthorized repost of this interview is forbidden.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

[evilelitest2]

Hey there. I recently wondered why Sanders didn't manage to be primary candidate for the democratic party (at least in terms of popularity). In fact, I got the impression that despite even social media hyping him up, quite a few weren't really that invested on what he had to say/wanted to do. As a non-American, I get the feeling that Americans themselves might be a bit averse to change, even though many do want it. Is the US generally more socially conservative which might explain Bernie's los?

Eh, its a mix.  The general conservatism of the US did mean that Sanders had a staunch opposition right from the word go, but I think Sanders also made a ton of mistakes during the 2020 race on top of that.  Because he really should have done better than in 2016, unlike then he had massive name recogonition, the DNC didn’t have the more sleezy rules anymore, he already had a massive fundraising apparatus, Biden was a weaker candidate, and the donor class/centrist politicians were divided.  But he made a few mistakes and I’m still of the opinion that he shouldn’t have run in 2020, and let somebody younger with less bad blood take up the torch.  So what went wrong beyond a centrists not liking socialism 

1) Sanders was too old.  This isn’t entirely his fault, but a 78 year old who had a heart attack on campaign is at a huge disadvantage, and people are wary for voting for him because of that.  Now Biden is a 77 year old man with his own health concerns, but it really didn’t help, doubly so with the heart attack

2) Sander has earned a lot of enemies for the 2016 election, sometimes for shit he did and often times for shit he didn’t do, but he was a divisive figure in a way that somebody like Warren would not be.  His hyper confrontational style made a lot of people dislike him, and probably helped contribute to the centrists dropping out when they did .

3) The vote was split with Elizabeth Warren, which he never found a solution too (see below) 

4) Ok but those first three things weren’t really his fault.  One of the things that was his fault is that he didn’t really...bother to campaign . At least in the traditional sense.  Sander’s entire strategy was to win the prmiary with only 30-35% of the vote, assuming that the Centrists would divide themselves until it was too late.  Not only was this not true in terms of Centrist unity, the problem with this plan is that it meant he didn’t really bother trying to win over the remaining 70% of the race.  Which mean that even though he won the first three states, he didn’t manage to capitalize on this by convincing people, if you didn’t like Sanders after Iowa, you weren’t going to like him after New Hampshire.  

5) He made no effort to court specific leaders.  This was the most evident with the Black Community (See below) but just in general, Sanders aimed his campaign at rallying people who liked him, and not on getting existing Democratic leaders to endorse him.  And I get that sentiment, but it really fucked him over in South Carolina.  He didn’t even bother to ask for Clyburn’s endorsement

6) Young people don’t come out to vote and his entire plan was based on the youth vote

7) Unlike a lot of class oriented Leftist, Sanders does believe in internationality (see below) but he still has a bit of a tin ear on the issues of women and minority issues.  hIs platform on both were good and I don’t think he is a sexist or a racist, but he tends to fall into this “A rising tide raises all ships” mentality which isn’t that helpful, he has always struggled to take his larger rhetoric of social revolution and apply it to racial issues or gender issues, which is very frustrating because race more than class has defined American politics.  A lot of black people didn’t really feel like he “got” how their issues are unique beyond just class, even though his platform was pretty good. 

8) Antisemitism.  It was a factor we shouldn’t ignore it 

9) He ran his campaign more on changing the dialogue about Socialism than he did to actually win.  Which in many ways is a really admirable strategy, and he did a great job on changing American minds on a lot of issues but it doesn’t help you actually win a race

10) Americans, especially Black Americans, didn’t really want to take a risk in 2020.  A lot of leftists in 2016 thought “oh Clinton lost so the dems will embrace a leftist” when in reality the message the Dems got was “Ok,....embrace a white man with a less controversial record”  And Biden is seen as safe.  The Black community in particular, who have been really hurt by the Trump administration, didn’t want to take any risks.  

11) In 2016 Sanders got a ton of working class whites in rural/industrial areas to support him against Clinton, so the assumption was “hey these guys are open to socialism”.  And in 2020 they all went to Biden, because it turns out they weren’t for Sanders, they just hated Clinton, and sexism played no little part in that 

12) Sanders didn’t do a good job reaching out to Warren.  He didn’t even bother to ask her for an endorsement until after Super Tuesday.  After that one debate (ugg) Sanders made no effort to reach out and or do Damage control, which effectively alienated him from the other wing of the Progressive Left.  

13) Sanders and especially his fans, did not take Biden seriously.  The entire primary assumption was that Biden was going to be like Jeb Bush in 2016, and the real threat would be Mayor Pete/Bloomberg/Harris/Warren/Booker/the ghost of Hillary Clinton’s career, anything but Biden himself.  And so Biden kinda...avoided most of the Ire of the Sanders campaign, and when he went into South Carolina, he had very little that actually hurt him.  Biden was the Front Runner from the start, and nobody really bothered to knock him off that perch 

14) Ok now we need to talk about the ugly side of things.  Sanders himself is a good man and not a bigot.  Some of his fans though...not so much.  The so called ‘Dirtbag Left” or the “Red Brown Alliance”, basically Class Reductionist “Anti Identity Politics” leftists who openly indulge in racism, sexism, homophobia and all types of abusive internet tactics.  Its a tiny minority of Sanders fans, but because they are super active online (and make a habit of harassing journalists) they start to dominate the conversation.  Podcasts like Chapo House, Cumbucket, True Anon, or Red Scare, pundits like Angela Nagle or Glenn Greenwald, or Taibbi, there is an entire cottage industry of so called “Socialists” who spend most of their time peddling conspiracy theories, indulging in bigotry (but its ok because they support Universal Healthcare) and above all harassing people online.  And a toxic fandom ruins your ability to reach out to people, which is sort of the point of an election.  This isn’t really Sanders fault because he is a 78 year old grandpa, but his campaign really didn’t make any effort to clamp down on the toxic fanbase that surrounded the movement and it ruined their ability to do outreach.  The tweeting of snakes at warren was a big part of this 

[hellzyeahwebwielingessays]

The Not-So-Amazing Mary Jane Part 37: How did we get here?

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As of this writing (but not of this posting) I have finally caught up with this series. As such I’m doing something a little different for this installment.

I’m going to talk about why I think this series has been received the way it has been.

To one extent or another, Marvel comics have been treating Mary Jane like utter shit for the better part of 15 years. The ways are too numerous to list.

Simply put they have dragged her through the mud whilst insulting her. Sometimes this is done overtly, other times slyly and underhandedly.

Without doubt the singular greatest example of this is the travesty that is ‘One Moment in Time’. It is nothing short of four issues of outright character assassination.

This treatment has naturally rubbed most Spider-Man fans the wrong way. This is because Mary Jane since her full debut in 1966 has been a very popular character. Even if some fans simply disliked her, judged her unfairly or took the times she was badly written to heart, the majority of fans felt differently.

The majority of Spider-Man fans (and in my experience particularly the female fans) like  Mary Jane. They like her unto herself and they like her relationship with Spider-Man in particular.

This attitude is particularly prevalent for fans who grew up on Spider-Man between 1987-2007 when Spider-Man’s marriage to Mary Jane was part of the status quo and there was an increase in the number of Spider-Man media adaptations. Naturally this meant MJ was also featured a lot in wider media and was typically framed as Spider-Man’s primary (or only) love interest.

Whether due to nostalgia, the merits of the stories or both, this generation of fans generally took to MJ.

As such there has been an underlying displeasure throughout the Spider-Man comic book fandom over MJ’s treatment beginning with ‘One More Day’ in 2007 and continuing up until Nick Spencer’s ASM v5 #1 in 2018.

I firmly believe it is this displeasure combined with affection for Mary Jane that accounts for the reception of this series. Or at least those are the primary reasons, perhaps there is a social/political element too, but I’m not interested in discussing that.

Whilst the source is certainly biased, the letters pages in AMJ #6 are a prime example of some of the praise the series has garnered.

Whenever I’ve seen reviews or commentaries for this series they’ve overwhelmingly been positive, echoing sentiments from the above letters.

Whether it’s from Spider-man fan sites, general comic book sites, Comixology or more controversial outlets, there are very few bad words being said about this series.

This is mind boggling to me because as I just detailed for over 30 essays, it is in fact bad. It’s downright awful.

But the immense problems with the narrative have seemingly been ignored or unnoticed by fandom at large.

Why? Simple. Because the situation is not as  bad as it was before.

When you are dying of thirst in the desert a drop of water can seem like an oasis.

Or to put it another way…

When a character you love has been maliciously  dragged through the mud and insulted for 15 years, seeing them dragged through the mud without  malice and celebrated can feel like they are being put on a pedestal.

Let me be clear as crystal.

I am not saying Marvel are working some kind of anti-Mary Jane agenda with Amazing Mary Jane, let alone Leah Williams herself.

On the contrary, I think 100% of everyone involved in the production of this comic book series has nothing but sincere love and adoration for Mary Jane. Leah Williams especially very obviously adores the character.

And that’s a big deal to Mary Jane fans because for far too long she was written by people who at best were indifferent to her and at worst actively disliked her

To have anyone  genuinely like the character and write her feels like a win. To have that happen in a story putting her as THE lead feels like a win. To have that happen in a story that so often frames Mary Jane in a heroic, capable, awesome and generally positive light feels like a win. *

And that is especially true if fans go into a story actively looking for it to be good and when the story has enthusiasm bursting through the pages.

Make no mistake. Williams writing is energetic. It’s loaded with fizzle and fun. She’s obviously having a blast writing this title and that fun is transmitting itself through the pages. That can be hypnotic to readers at the best of times, but when they so deeply want  the story to be good and so deeply want  their beloved character to be done justice the combined result is people will see what they want to see.

Fuck, go read my first impression of AMJ #1. I was on the whole very positive. Like everyone else I wanted  the story to be good. I wanted one of my favourite characters to be done justice.

I wanted this to be a win. So when I first read it, I saw a win.**

But it isn’t.

I’m not saying having an MJ solo story, a writer who likes her and a story that frames her positively is inherently a loss.

Rather, if all that is wrapped up in a mischaracterization, a lack of common sense, a broken moral compass, inconsistencies and just generally bad storytelling, then what might feel like a win in reality is a loss.

This story has creatively damaged Mary Jane to the point where nothing short of mind control or just ignoring the events of it can fix things.

I want this series to end as soon as possible. I want Nick Spencer, Jody Houser or anyone who doesn’t just understand some aspects  of Mary Jane to write her again. Leah Williams’ affection and enthusiasm can never be questioned.

But her competency on this title? That’s a whole other story.

And I wish, from the absolute bottom of my Peter/MJ shipper heart that was not the case.

I really, really do.

Next time…well actually I am not sure.

At the time of this writing AMJ hasn’t released yet. And my ability to write this tome of an essay series was reliant upon me reading the issues immediately after one another. By doing that I was able to bear everything in mind and carry over points from one issue to the next. I fear waiting weeks or months between issues will hamper my ability to do this. I might forget critical points and be more harsh or more lenient when it is not warranted as I forget important context.

As such I am unsure if this essay series will continue beyond issue #6. I’m sure I will still cover AMJ in some way, but in this format? We will have to wait and see.

P.S. I think there is also something to be said for many Spider-Man fans not necessarily knowing the specifics of Mysterio’s history. By not knowing that I think a lot of fans view him as far less insidious than he really is. He is often dismissed as a B-lister at best, and a joke at that. But when you observe what he has actually done and what he is capable of you can see why Williams’ framing him the way she did is problematic.

*This is in fact not dissimilar to what happened when ‘Spider-Island’ was initially released.

I distinctly remember Spider-Man/Mary Jane fans lauding it because MJ teamed up with Spidey and there were romantic vibes between them.

However, I was one of the few people not convinced. I remembered how Dan Slott wrote Mary Jane during the Paper Doll storyline and during the early issues of his solo-run on ASM.

I knew  the guy was a bad fit for the character. And I knew Marvel had done nothing but throw a bone to fans who by rights should have had the whole chicken and should never have had it taken from them in the first place.

Yet Mary Jane blogs and fans persisted. Spider-Island was a highlight for Mary Jane. Dan Slott was a good MJ writer. Spider-Island in fact was good specifically because it gave MJ fans the most meager of morsels to feed upon.

I’m not saying that Williams is merely throwing fans a bone. Rather, like Spider-Island she is being praised for delivering goods she never actually gave us. She and Spider-Island merely gave us something less bad  than what we had before.

**Even when I first read it stuff in it was niggling at the back of my mind. And it grew, and grew, and grew until I was downright anxious for the second issue to address my concerns.

It didn’t. It made them worse. But even I couldn’t have predicted just how bad this series would get.

I loathe saying that. I truly do. I wish this series was better and I wish everyone else could see the flaws that exist with it as I do. But more than that, I’ve never wished harder that I could not  see those flaws and enjoy the series like everyone else.

I do not enjoy being the lone voice on this subject.

But if I feel strongly something needs to be said I will say it. When Superior was going on that was the primary reason I began this blog. 99% of everyone lauded it. I saw it for the shit show it was and wanted to express that.

Seems history has circled back around. Sigh.

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[tonya-the-chicken]

Ok, someone (@gucciasswitch ) dared me to do whole list and who am I to resist

1. What was your first OTP? 

Probably Royai. FullMetal Alchemist was my first anime I watched on TV and I immediately fell in love with relationships between Riza and Roy. I used to fantasize about them all the time. I still do love them.

Also I remember I wanted Zuko to end up with Katara

2. What is your current OTP?

Definitely EnjiRei. I think about them and their family all the time. That's just what I do when I ship - I maladaptive daydream. What I like about them is ice and fire aesthetics is how fucked up everything is but Rei still somehow can forgive him or at least try to? He somehow remember her favourite things? I want to know more about them. Like, how exactly Enji found her? What happened to Touya?

I also like BakuCamie, ShinTsuyu, ZenNezu, still Royai, Huwumi, Natsuo x his girlfriend, maybe MomoIida, Jeankasa, Sabigiuy, Levihan, Miritama, Levifar

3. Do you have any OT3/OT+ ships? What are your favorites?

Mmmmmm, probably no. Though, I once saw OchaTodoDeku and it looks wholesome

4. What is/are your favorite trope(s)?

Tropes, tropes... I like what is called "unsexy erotica" by some author on ao3. Like, when characters are processing their feelings and it's the end it's not really sexy though it still somehow amazes me. It's not really a trope though, I saw only one fanfic with that.

I love redemption arcs made well, bad people turning good and having the love no one ever gave them before (duh)

5. What is/are your least favorite trope(s)?

Definitely soulmates au, it makes me cringe somehow. Or is it not a trope? Whatever

6. Do you have a certain kind of ship you’re more attracted to?

I often ship canon ships. Also for whatever reason I enjoy different-sex couples more often. Also if I see a person with fire powers I'll connect the dots them with someone with water/ice, it's just math... Jk... Unless

7. Are most of your ships “pure” or “problematic”?

Actually, they are mostly pure. But also I ship EnjiRei and someone gonna send me anon hate for this, ehhh

8. Who is the most shippable person you can think of?

Objectively it will be the main character of any series cause they have the most interactions. For me personally it's Enji cause I love him right now and I like to explore his relationship with everyone, like, I can occasionally ship him with Hawks, All Might, Burnin', Rei and some OCs

9. Are there any fandoms you don’t have any ships for?

The ones I am not in, duh. Actually, I am not really active shipper... In one punch man I don't ship anyone? But it's not like I am really in fandom khkhkh

10. Do characters have to have canon interactions for you to ship them?

Yeah, if it's not ship with OC (obviously). There can be exceptions like hetalia cause characters are basically countries

11. What makes a great ship in your own opinion?

Logic and some shared life philosophy/goal/struggles. Or just deep feeling and will to understand one another. Dunno

12. What drives you away from a ship?

If I don't understand why, basically. Also any mentor x student relationships are very big no-no for me. I don't like this power dynamic when one person is doomed to see another as they are above them. And also incest is nah

13. Is there anything you ship but refuse to interact with the community for?

Probably EnjiRei? I am kinda scared cause I don't want people to treat me badly based on that, ya know? Actually, I am trying to be more open about it cause fuck society, I am tired of your shit

14. Has a fanbase ever made you ship or not ship something? Why?

I stopped shipping eruri cause I got very fed up with fans being nasty, I guess. Like, they always tried to prove that it is canon and I just got tried and switched to levihan?.. Also I probably started to ship huwumi because of fanbase. I just never thought of the ship. But the most important deed is that fanbase brought me Dabi is Touya theory. Thank you, strangers on youtube

15. Do you like/participate in ship wars? Why or why not?

Define "ship war"? I sometimes enjoy observing people arguing but mostly I am annoyed when someone shit on character or ship. So sometimes I guess I can write something like "bitch can you stop" but usually I try to stay out of it. I guess I am pro-shiping and anti anti most of the time

16. Are there any ships you just can’t/don’t understand? What are they?

Ereri, Dekumight, RoyEd... Do you see the pattern? I highly dislike mentor x student ships. Also incest ships are no-no even if everyone is an adult for a simple reason - I actually have brothers and this shit creeps me out

17. Are there any popular ships that you just don’t like? What are they?

Ereri. It's the only banned tag I have (edit: not anymore, I am trying to ban enji antis). Also probably RoyEd but FMA fandom is not really active or I am not really into it

18. What is your favorite unpopular ship?

EnjiRei........

19. Do you prefer fluff, angst, or smut for your ships? 

It depends. I mostly don't like smut just for smut but if there's some feelings and processing of them, ya know... Angst goes well with everything though I recently found out I kinda dislike seeing violence and suffering in fanart... I actually like comedy more than pure fluff, I am kinda Mr Nighteye and believe in power of humor

20. Do you prefer bigger fanbases or smaller ones?

Bigger ones cause bigger fanbase = more content to CONSUME

21. Have you ever received hate for a ship you liked? 

The most close thing to hate I received was this: https://tonya-the-chicken.tumblr.com/post/189156146100/you-ship-enjirei-and-call-urself-a-feminist

Nothing more probably...

22. Do you have any ships that you ship, but would never want to see as canon?

I think no. I am quite ok with any of my ships becoming canon

23. Have you ever had a ship become canon, but you didn’t like how it was portrayed?

Nah... Though it still can happen since many of my fandoms have actively running mangas/animes

24. What is your favorite canon ship?

Define "canon ship"? Probably Royai

25. What are your favorite ships from a dead fandom?

Sweden x Ukraine from Hetalia. I used to ship ot hard XD I had a whole blog dedicated to it! I just don't know dead fandoms, ok

26. What are your favorite shipping scenes?

Nothing in particular but when a characters does something stupid/risk his life to save/help their love interest. Like, when Zenitsu wet to spiders forest to save Nezuko... Or when Jean saved Mikasa from titan.

27. What are your views on reader x canon ships?

You do you, I guess, but my opinion is NO

28. What is your best shipping advice?

Have fun yourself and don't ruin it for others. You are free to block anyone and anything, it doesn't make you a bad person. And also try to think critically about views shared on social networks, like, not everything in true.

I'll also add here about media affecting reality: aS A fuTuRE PSyChoLoGisT I can say that YES, THEY DO AFFECT EACH OTHER. But often Internet can't get all the nuances and ends up censoring everything. In university we had an assignment where we analyzed modern media. And TV news collected around 30 media risks meaning that materials can affect (usually child's) brain in negative way. What now, are we supposed to not show violence and war? "Destroy everything that can traumatize a child" is a bad solution because of many reasons. Kids are not supposed to read 18+ content, kids are not supposed to spend time on Internet without parental control, kids are not supposed to watch a lot of stuff without an adult's presence. But they do and it's not fault of people who create 18+ / "problematic" content.

29. Do you like OCs (Original Characters)?

Yes, I do, if it's not self-insert OC, you know? I have some myself but usually not for shipping

30. What are some of your favorite shipping blogs?

What is shipping blog?.. Ok, I guess that people who post about ship or what??? Eh...

I'll recommend you to just look up blogs I follow, whatever, I'm tired

[tamtam-go92]

Pleasantview with a Twist Recap Spring 1

So, yeah I actually only played one season of Pleasantview with a Twist but it might be one of my favorite saves ever (Go download it here, if you don't have it already)! Read the recap under the cut (probably huge).

Goth Family Part 1:

Bella (Romance/grilled Cheese – Become Media Magnate; bisexual +Logical, Creative -Fatness; OTH Tinkering; Cancer (7/3/5/3/7) – Hopeless Romantic, Perfectionist, Neurotic, Disciplined, Good) returned to her family

Cassandra (Family/Popularity – Own 3 first-class Businesses; straight +Swimwear, Jewelry -red Hair; OTH Tinkering; Virgo (7/2/5/7/4) – Cat Person, Nurturing, Techie, Neurotic, Neat) and Don (Romance – Marry off 3 kids; straight +gray Hair, Charismatic -custom Hair; OTH Fitness; Leo (1/7/8/5/4) – Romantic, Loves to Swim, Slob, Adventurous, Self Assured) got married and moved to Don's Condo.

Mortimer (Knowledge/Fortune – Become Captain Hero; straight +Hats, Creative -Perfume; OTH Nature; Cancer (4/6/4/7/4) – Mooch, Genius, Green Thumb, Easily Impressed, Outgoing) and Bella decided to renew their vows now that she was back.

They hired a butler.

Mortimer joined the Garden Club

Dina (Fortune/Romance – 3 Pets reach Top of Career; straight +red Hair, Charismatic -Great Cook; OTH Nature; Sagittarius (2/8/1/8/6) – Born Salesperson, Flirty, Eco Friendly, Couch Potato, Slob) didn't take it so well that her old nemesis Bella has returned.

She kept coming over to kick the bin but the butler always greeted her so Mortimer had the chance to apologize to her and they are on okay terms again.

Caliente Family Part 1:

Dina and Nina (Romance – Graduate 2 Kids from College; bisexual +Stink, Good at Cleaning -black Hair; OTH Sports; Great Kisser, Vehicle Enthusiast, Adventurous, Loner, Disciplined) headed out to Downtown with some townies.

Nina met Daniel Pleasant (Romance/Fortune – Have 10 simultaneous Lovers; straight +Workaholic, Good Mechanic -Great Cook; OTH Tinkering; Virgo (6/3/6/4/6) – Snob, Non Committal, Black Thumb, Never Nude, Active) there and they got along pretty well. But Mary-Sue (Fortune/Family – Become Sports Expert; straight +custom Hair, Charismatic -Stink; OTH Music; Gemini (5/8/6/3/3) – Workaholic, Jealous, Virtuoso, Good Sense of Humor, Evil) was also around so they had to be careful.

Nina got a job as dancer and was fired the first day due to a bad chance card.

Dina tried to befriend a wolf.

The twins went Downtown again with Brandi Broke (Family/Romance – Become Captain Hero; straight +Jewelry, Charismatic -unemployed; OTH Arts; Aries (3/6/4/6/6) – Commitment Issues; Family Oriented, Artistic, Slob, Cheerful) and Nina met Daniel again, but jet again Mary-Sue was also around (I'm pretty sure she's controlling him).

Burb Family Part 1:

The Burbs moved back to Pleasantview and got a nice house.

John (Family – Have 10 Dream Dates; straight +Fatness, Swimwear -black Hair; OTH Nature; Aries (4/4/4/7/6) -  Family Oriented, Sailor, Inabrobriate, Cheerful, Unlucky) and Lucy (Grow up, OTH Movies; Cancer (6/4/3/7/5) – Bookworm, True Slacker, Proper) wanted a dog so Jen (Fortune – Have 10 first Dates; straight +formal Wear, Full-face Make up -unemployed; OTH Music; Gemini (4/7/6/3/5) -  Materialistic, Dance Machine, No Sense of Humor, Outgoing, Adventurous) took her daughter Downtown to buy one. They brought little mixed breed Amigo.

Lucy also met Justin Kim (Grow up; OTH Fitness; Aries (4/7/6/4/4) – Dog Person, Good Sense of Humor, Mean) and befriended him almost immediately.

John and Jennifer are desperately trying for a second kid.

Lucy is quite lazy with her homework and doesn't do so well at school.

Lothario Family Part 1:

Don finds out that he's pregnant. He's not sure why, but he has an idea...

He still tells Cassy he was abducted by aliens and Cassy is super excited to finally see alien hybrids herself.

Cassy is a Cat Person so when she's at work Don drives downtown to get her a cat. He buys the fluffy kitty Belinda.

Cassy finds herself pregnant too and it's a real struggle to keep two pregnant Sims alive.

They hire a maid to keep the house okay and it's Remington.

Don gave birth to twin girls, Annabeth (Loves to Swim (Don), Night Owl (Kaylynn) and Bianca (Adventurous (Don), Brooding (Kaylynn)). Cassy is a bit disappointed that they don't have alien skin, but at least they got alien eyes.

Broke Family Part 1:

Dustin (Fortune/Family – Have 10 best Friends; straight +Glasses, gray Hair -formal Wear; OTH Nature; Aries (3/6/4/6/6) – Ambitious, Angler, Slob, Self Assured) is struggling with his aspiration but it gets better when he had his first kiss with Angela (Popularity/Family – Have 10 first Dates; bisexual +Stink, red Hair -Hats; OTH Nature; Aquarius (4/3/9/7/5) – Dog Person, Family Oriented, Loves Outdoors, Shy) .

He taught Beau (Grow up; Gemini (6/7/4/3/5) – Star Quality, Social Butterfly) how to talk.

Brandi finds herself pregnant by her late husband.

She tries to maintain a friendship with the Caliente twins.

Beau grew up into a child (OTH Music; new trait: Mature) .

Brandi started painting, to get another small income.

Oldie Family Part 1:

Herb (Romance/Pleasure – Raise 10 Puppies or Kitten; straight +Make up, Athletic -red Hair; OTH Nature; Libra (2/8/1/8/6) – Commitment Issues, Party Animal, Technophobe, Coward, Slob) and Coral (Family/Fortune – Become a Rock Goddess; straight +Charismatic, Artistic -Athletic; OTH Movies; Virgo (6/3/6/4/6) – Ambitious, Nurturing, Dramatic, Socially Awkward, Mature) live in a nice small apartment with charming neighbors like Mr. Big, the Diva and the (female) date-able slob.

Coral invited the family of her daughter and tried to get through to Lilith (Popularity/Family – Reach Golden Anniversary; bisexual +Full-face Make up, black Hair -Hats; OTH Sports; Aquarius (2/3/8/5/3) – Equestrian, Match Enthusiast, Slob, Athletic). Herb was more successful.

Coral got a part-time job in a record store.

Mr. Big and the Diva became a thing.

Herb has a small thing going on with the date-able slob.

Pleasant Family Part 1:

Daniel tried his best to restore the relationship with Mary-Sue.

It didn't help that he was nauseous all the time.

Mary-Sue went bowling with her parents and Daniel found out he was pregnant.

He talked to Kaylynn (Family/Knowledge – Become Minister of Education; straight +Glasses, Jewelry -Good at Cleaning; OTH Tinkering; Aquarius (6/1/7/4/7) – Genius, Nurturing, Perfectionist, Brooding, Night Owl) when his wife was at work and she told him, that she didn't know she was a Pollinator until Don Lothario turned out pregnant too and she got herself tested. Daniel had no idea how to explain things to Mary-Sue.

She didn't believe him being abducted, they don't own a telescope so they argued the rest of the round.

The twins were around too, Angela loves taking care of the garden and Lil' started smoking...

Dreamer Family Part 1:

Darren (Knowledge/Family – Become Criminal Mastermind; straight +black Hair, custom Hair -Hats; OTH Nature; Aries (4/4/4/7/6) – Computer Whiz, Family Oriented, Gatherer, Clumsy, Friendly) was invited Downtown by Mortimer Goth. He agreed to go, I the hope Cassandra would be there too, but she wasn't

He started a fire and painted.

Dirk (Fortune – Become Captain Hero; straight +brown Hair, custom Hair -Hats; OTH Tinkering; Virgo (6/3/6/4/6) – Frugal, Handy, No Sense of Humor, Good) actually has a career centered LTW so he got a part-time job and will go to College soon. His grades sadly dropped since he never had time to do his homework.

Darren still mourns Darleen and accepted that Cassandra choose an other man.

Frat Household Part 1:

Joshua Ruben (Fortune/Romance – Woohoo 10 Sims; straight +Fitness, Full-face Make up -brown Hair; OTH Sports; Leo (1/8/6/5/3) – Frugal, Flirty, Soccer Player, Slob, Daredevil) started dating Tiffany Sampson (Knowledge/Pleasure – Become Space Pirate; straight +Swimwear, brown Hair -custom Hair; OTH Nature; Aries (4/5/4/6/6) – Perceptive, Party Animal, Angler, Erratic, Cheerful).

Ashley (Romance/Family – Become Criminal Mastermind; straight +Hats, brown Hair -Logical; OTH Sports; Leo (2/9/7/6/1) – Dislikes Children, Family Oriented, Footballer, Can't stand Art, Charismatic) made a bet that he would get Allegra Gorey (Knowledge – Become the Law; straight +Fatness, blonde Hair -Glasses; OTH Fitness; Pisces (5/2/9/2/7) – Computer Whiz, Healthy Lifestyle, Brave, Shy, No Sense of Humor) into bed before he graduated and instantly went out on his mission.

Castor Nova (Knowledge/grilled Cheese – Become Mayor; straight +Fatness, Fitness -Underwear; OTH Arts; Virgo (4/4/6/5/6) – Genius, Photographer's Eye, Unlucky, Athletic, Good) made out with Heather Huffington (Romance/Knowledge – Become Hall of Famer; straight + Glasses, blonde Hair -Jewelry; OTH Nature; Sagittarius (1/7/2/9/6) – Supernatural Fan, Great Kisser, Eco Friendly, Slob, Absent Minded) on a toga party and made every other girl on the campus hate him.

He also had his first woohoo with Heather on a party.

The boys lives revolve around dating, studying and parties really. Oh, and Pizza.

Sorority Household Part 1:

The girls reconciled after they were mad at Heather for getting Castor.

Heather and Tiffany are outdoor girls, so the got a small garden extension.

They also threw some parties.

Brittany Upsnott (Popularity/Fortune – Have 10 best Friends; straight +custom Hair, Logical -Glasses; OTH Sports; Capricorn (7/7/8/2/1) – Dog Lover, Mooch, Basketball Player, Diva, Mature) got a basketball court.

As with the Frat Boys, their lives are all around dating, studying, parties and Pizza.

Bright Household Part 1:

Turned out that Martin Ruben (Knowledge/Pleasure – Become the Law; straight +Fitness, Workaholic -blonde Hair; OTH Cuisine; Capricorn (8/3/2/5/7) – Supernatural Fan, Unstable, Natural Cook, Hydrophobic, Proper) was the mom of the group.

The all went downtown with Allegra and Ashley and all of his friends.

After some drinks Jane (Family/Fortune – Become City Planner; straight +Fitness, Workaholic -Swimwear; OTH Tinkering; Cancer (72/7/3/6) – Born Salesperson, Jealous, Technology Lover, Never Nude, Mature) and Martin kissed (without my doing!).

Jane was insecure about the kiss and the next day she asks Martin if he was serious about this or if it was just out of a mood. But it seems, that Martin really likes Jane.

They all are real nerds and spent most time reading, or in front of their PC. But Allegra and Martin also have to work out quite a bit.

Martin and Jane finally fell in love before their exams for the second semester.

Jane wanted an orchard tree, but Martin is the one to take car of it.

Kim Family Part 1:

Cynthia (Popularity/Family – Have 10 dream dates; straight +Fitness, formal Wear -Stink; OTH Music; Aries (4/7/6/4/4) – Cat Person, Jealous, Colorblind, Charismatic, Supernatural Skeptic) got a job in Politics and Robert (Fortune/Knowledge – Become Hall of Famer; straight +formal Wear, black Hair -Stink; OTH Sports; Gemini (4/7/7/3/4) – Snob, Computer Whiz, Boxer, Disciplined, Self Absorbed) as an athlete.

Cynthia and Bella Goth befriend over the welcome wagon.

She's also really popular with her colleagues and tried to help her son with his school work.

Goth Family Part 2:

Bella helped Alexander (Grow up; OTH Nature; Cancer (4/6/4/7/4) – Animal Lover, Loves the Heat, Excitable) with his homework and started a fire.

The next day her and Mortimer celebrate their second wedding and she congratulates her daughter on her pregnancy (in fact she's absolutely horrified at the thought of being a grandmother).

Only seconds after their wedding Alexander grows into a Romance teen (Romance/Popularity – Have 10 Dream Dates, straight +Stink, Great Cook -Workaholic; new trait: Irresistible).

Mortimer and Bella go on a second honey moon to Takemizu Valley. Mortimer wanted to go there since forever.

They experienced a lot there but it almost always ended with them being chased by bees.

Back home Alexander's room got a little big boy makeover and he got the computer he wanted for his birthday.

He breaks the computer on the very first day and Bella almost dies trying to fix it herself.

Alexander is surprisingly popular with one of the exchange students and he experienced his first kiss.

Only thinking about this made him struggle with school.

Caliente Family Part 2:

Dina invited Brandi over and the twins were excited to become godmothers.

They also invited Goopy in, but none of them was really turned on by him.

There was a bad storm that ended with a burning palm tree and Goopy being stuck by lightning in the hot tub.

Nina invited Don over to woohoo.

Dina got a job as an architect.

Nina cut her hair short.

Dina really wanted a Dog and so the girls went to buy a proud rottweiler called Chino. And Nina ran into Daniel Pleasant again.

Nina got a Job as an Adventurer.

Nina invited Daniel downtown to go clubbing. The were only dancing, started to slow-dance, when they were captured by Mary-Sue. I'm telling you, she's spying on him! That was the dagger hit for their marriage.

Nina and Daniel still had a pleasant date and plan to see each other again.

Burb Family Part 2:

Jennifer is pregnant!

She uses her new free time to help Lucy with her school work, but that pregnancy is really draining her so they don't get far.

John loves his wife even more now that she's carrying their second child.

Jennifer invites the family over for Lucy's birthday. She has no idea, that her brother is pregnant too, and he's hiding it well (He's wearing an outfit without preg-morph).

Lucy grew into a knowledge teen (Knowledge – Become a General; straight +Hats, red Hair -blonde Hair; new trait: Perceptive).

She is finally able to catch up on her homework with her mother's help.

Lothario Family Part 2:

Living with twins and a pregnant wife drives Don crazy!

At night during a thunder storm their son, Christian Goth-Lothario is born (Self Assured (Don), Neurotic (Cassandra))!

The next day Cassy invites her family to meet the new family members.

Once the guests are gone, they head to practice for the next nooboo. Well Don enjoys the practicing, and Cassandra enjoys the thought of an other baby.

They have to move houses before the next round starts.

Broke Family Part 2:

Brandi gave birth to a third boy, David Broke (Commitment Issues (Brandi), Nurturing (Skip)).

Dustin is really good at school and brought an A+ home!

He is also really popular with all the young guys in his criminal field, his best friend is Loren Teens.

Brandi invites her friends to visit Club Dante were Dina meets Malcolm Landgaab.

Oldie Family Part 2:

Coral could talk Herb into adopting three siblings that lost their parents in a car crash. The children will arrive one after an other since the oldest is still hospitalized.

They make use of the elixir of life to be there for their new children long enough.

The next day they welcome the first of the three kids at their home: Baby Elizabeth (Nurturing (Coral), Coward (Herb).

When Coral is at work, Herb tries his best being a good new Dad to Liz, but he still maintains his affair with the date-able slob.

The next morning they welcome the second sibling, toddler Katja (Grow up; Mature, Slob). Her crazy real parents even died her hair blue!

Pleasant Family Part 2:

Once Mary-Sue is home from work she finds that Lilith invited her boyfriend Dirk and his father Darren over. Darren is a really handsome man to her...

She has enough of Daniel and his cheating. She senses that something is odd with his alien pregnancy and the twins of Cassandra's husband Don. They probably got involved with the same person and Mary-Sue really doesn't want to be in the center of this.

Angela is devastated about the divorce of her parents, so Mary-Sue buys her a small schnauzer called Dana.

Angela brings the same exchange student home, that Alexander Goth shared his first kiss with and she has to admit, that she's really cute...

The Burbs and the Dreamers are over and Mary-Sue and Darren REALLY get along well!

Dreamer Family Part 2:

Darren invited Mary-Sue over and well, things went well between them.

Dirk didn't take it that good and went outside to cry at his mother's grave.

Finally Mary-Sue and Darren fall in love and they have their first woohoo together.

Langerak Family:

Now that Mary-Sue kicked him out, Daniel is forced to move in with Kaylynn. She has a nice apartment with all her colleagues living in the same building.

Kaylynn is thrilled to be a real family. Daniel not so much. He always rolled wants about Nina Caliente.

He gave birth to twin boys, Fritz (Genius (Kaylynn), Active (Daniel) and Gunnar Langerak (Snob (Daniel), Perfectionist (Kaylynn).

Kay wants to be a teacher but yet she's stuck with her underpaid maid job.

Frat Household Part 2:

Joshua invited Tiff for a romantic home date and they experienced their very first woohoo.

There was more partying and woohooing.

After another wonderful date Josh proposed to Tiff.

Kevin (Family/Popularity) – Become Game Developer; straight +Fitness, Good at Cleaning,  -Logical; OTH Arts; Leo (3/5/6/5/6) – Cat Lover, Nurturing, Avant Garde, Slob, Friendly) feels extremely left out with all his brothers dating steadily.

Ash can convince Allegra to kiss at a party and later invited her for their first real date. He starts to take their relationship serious and almost forgot the bet he did with his brothers.

Al and Ash have their very first woohoo, too.

They all are doing well at school.

Sorority Household Part 2:

Heather's and Tiffany's parties are always a blast.

Brittany wanted to throw a party too, but that one was a total disaster so she went into aspiration failure.

I brought them a bubble blower to raise her aspiration and now all the girls always do is blow bubbles, even Tiff.

Bright Household Part 2:

Heather came to visit her friend Martin and Allegra and her got into a fight.

Jane is really focused on her studies as she's graduating soon.

Shortly before her last exams Martin asked her to marry him once he's older and she agrees!

They go on their first real date and while I initially wanted them to wait until after their wedding, they did it in a changing booth...

Jane graduated with honors and threw a great graduation party.

Life goes on for Martin and Allegra as always, studying and taking care of the house. They hope to move in a third roommate soon though.

Kim Family Part 2:

Cynthia climbs the career ladder at an amazing speed.

Robert is about to get Justin into private school and after getting the house ready on his day off, they invite the headmaster over.

Cynthia makes Comfort Soup and Justin is accepted into private school!

Stacks Family:

Jane moved Downtown and rented a small very green house. Her neighbors are Brandi LeTourneu, Goopy GilsCarbo and  Arcadia Bradshaw.

On her first night as an adult she went out with Castor Nova and some of his friends.

[mademoisellempala-blog]

In the past weeks and months I have been thinking a lot in the midst of entering a new age. I have been hesitant to write this mostly for the reason because I don’t see myself in a place of wisdom yet to be able to share profound things I have learned throughout my short life on this planet. But it is through recent conversations and events that I have felt the need to write about something that is so vital to life itself and my journey for this whole year. I have realised to have reached an age where I’m asking myself more questions about life, its meaning and purpose overall since I’m still figuring out all this while taking each day at a time. We all go through life lessons and circumstances that strengthens or weakens us but most importantly what I figured is how we decide to go on about them. Making decisions and having the possibility of choice is a powerful tool I am learning to use in order to build and shape a life that I really want for myself and I consider worth living. In this regard there are many different aspects of life I learned which are crucial.

Live with integrity and conviction

I have learned that conviction or strong beliefs in something is important to live a full and purposeful life. When you know what you stand for and what you believe in, it is easier to go through life because you won’t be drifting where the wind takes you. Conviction helps you to stand firm to your beliefs and stay true to yourself. In a world of many information and noises, it can be difficult to know what one stands for because one doesn’t want to offend others with an opinion that appear critical in the eyes of an other. But we cannot go through life trying to shape our beliefs depending on who is in front of us and change our views to please others. I realised about myself that I grew up being a people’s pleaser and was doing just that and at some point realised I didn’t know who I was or what I even stand for because I didn’t want to be disliked, so I changed with my surroundings and environment. I believe that having core beliefs of what is right and wrong are fundamental to live a life of integrity that should first of all please you. Because without integrity, compromise of your own values will become common. So every day I try to live full of conviction in what I believe no matter if someone agrees with it or not. And yes, the emphasis is on try, because it’s something that needs to be developed innit?

What you consume, you become

This is something I learned to appreciate and accept throughout the past year. It’s a great realisation that my view of the world can be dramatically shaped by what I consume. Be it opinions of people, news, movies, shows, music, social media or vibes. Being informed and up-to-dated about what happens in the world is not only important but I find a necessity to live because political, societal and economic events affect our everyday life whether we like it or not. At the same time, the news is ever more negatively loaded with pessimism and end-of-the-world thoughts. If that’s the only thing I consumed, my world would be shaped by hopelessness and despair. The same goes for the other things we consume on a daily basis; this is to say that the more things we watch, read, or talk about are filled with hope and expectation, that’s when our perspective on this world can change drastically. When I catch myself reacting a certain way to a situation, I think of what I have been filling my spirit with during the day or in the past weeks because it turns out that it is those things that manifest. What comes out of you, words and behavior, is the result of what is inside of you. Therefore, I am not just concerned about what I say or how I behave but most importantly with what is inside of me since ultimately it is that what is going to come out of me. Being filled with hatred, anger and comparison is not going to bring out love, patience and peace – it’s just as simple as that. There is this popular saying from commercials that say “start your day right” and there is so much truth in it because the first things one does in the morning determine the course of the day. Taking time in the morning to relax, pray or meditate for a few minutes instead of rushing to my phone and check the newest posts on social media and news-outlets has had a tremendous impact in going with a positive mindset into the day.

Know the ‘why’ behind the ‘what’

Not too long ago I have started to become more critical about what I do as my choice of studies, professions and other activities. I want to be sure that I’m doing things for the right reasons with no ulterior motives. I don’t want to be doing things just for the sake of doing them or ‘because that is what everybody else is doing’ or because of long traditions that say ‘this is the way we have always been doing things’. In the journey of discovering my purpose, I want to have purpose in everything I do that contributes to my growth and the person I am. However, this is not to say that I have my life is completely planned out and I’m not ready for spontaneous nonsense because these are also part of living in the moment. I guess what I’m trying to say is not to settle for less than what I know is out there for me and be critical of my decisions to not pursue things (degrees, jobs, careers, activities etc.) for the wrong reason. It is how, especially this year, I started things and found myself quitting on them because I afterwards realized that it didn’t bring me peace since the reason behind me doing them were not the right ones.  

Set boundaries

This is something I’m still learning every day to set boundaries of what I can/should/want to tolerate because I feel there are people out there who don’t respect boundaries or whatsoever. So, having conviction of what you want in your life and don’t want is key to not accept everything that makes you uncomfortable. Drawing the line is for you and not against another human being because you’re the one living in your reality and knows best what you can take in and what you cannot accept. Now I have decided what I want and everything that isn’t it, I say ‘no’ to them.

Not everyone can have a seat on your table

As painful and hurting as it can be, it is true that with life moving on, not everyone can move with us into our future. Sometimes we try to hold on to friendships because we’ve been friends for so long and grew up together, but ways go apart and life directions do too. Therefore, it’s fine when the seats at your table consists of only a few numbers of people who love and support you in your decisions and dreams. Not everyone can understand your dreams and thus will not be supportive and it’s ok because the few people who are left will always be more than enough. I’m not a fan of Drake’s lyrics saying “no new friends…” because it’s a narrow and unhealthy way of viewing the world and relationships because true friendship is not defined by the number of years you’ve known each other but the quality of time when you spend with the people. And truly quality doesn’t come in numbers..

Make a decision

Decisions, decisions. Indecision is a peace killer… It is important to make decisions just for the sake of peace. If you don’t sort the trap of indecision you will live in constant imprisonment to your own indecision. Often times I find myself in situations where I seem not to be able to make a concrete decision between choices. I figured I have put myself in such situations and created them even though deep down I exactly knew what I wanted. And that initial feeling is most of the times the one we lean towards to. Because a lot of times we are making up stuff and creating room for indecision and call them options. Having options is a luxury and nothing bad but pretending to have options that are overwhelming and take away your peace, is surely not the best option neither.

Travel alone at least once

This year I had the dream to travel solo around the East Coast of the USA. It was the first time I travelled alone for a longer period of time where I could just do what me, myself and I desired to with no consideration or regard for someone else. And it was AWESOME! Travelling by yourself is one of the greatest growing experience a person can have because you learn more about yourself by spending time with you and rely on only you and no other person. I enjoyed going to parks and read a book while lying on fresh-cut grass with marvelous city views. I loved waking up when I felt like it and start the day off by having brunch or breakfast, or just eat a fruit on my way to a museum to then have amazing lunch from the food truck afterwards. Taking walks in big cities not knowing where I was going was very adventurous. I love doing nothing in pretty Cafés and enjoy my solitude (not loneliness because there is a big difference), I loved going out for dinner at restaurants I discovered around the corner when going for a walk and attending poetry nights in the mind-blowing city of New York. It’s the most refreshing and deliberating feeling since you are the only person you have to spend time with for the rest of your life; so you might as well like spending time with yourself, right?

Document your journey

Now this is just for those of us who want to grow personally and see change in our character. Although we as humans are naturally made to continually evolve and grow, some are comfortable staying the same, which is fine because everyone makes their own decisions, right? At the beginning of the year I started to document my journey weekly, sometimes daily or monthly to affirm myself of my growth. It’s also a nice way of keeping track of what one has experienced and can always go back and read about it because I tend to forget quickly what I did even two days ago haha. It helps remember different experiences that happened and reminisce back. Anyways, I find it helpful to see that I’m not the same person today I was a few months ago and that I have gotten to a different place mentally and spiritually.

Enjoy the journey of becoming

I’m learning this patiently every day that it is not about the destination of where I want to be in life but the journey to that is as important as the goal. Having this mindset also shifts the way I perceive happiness, disappointments, good news and defeat. It becomes relative when I’m aware that individual incidents don’t determine my path or the person I am.

Don’t do it alone

Life is not meant to be lived alone no matter if it’s a happy life or a life filled with hardships. I may be more of an introvert person who enjoyyy her alone time more than group hang sessions. But I don’t take them for granted neither – because friendships are precious, and we should cherish the once who are strengthening us in life. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but strength because one acknowledges the limits of one’s power. Living in a western-cultured society that puts the individual in the centre of success and defeat implies that everything that I have ever achieved is because of me, myself and I. But in reality, no human being can ‘make it’ with their own effort since from the moment we are born and in our infant ages our simple survival depends on the people who nourish, protect, and take care of us.

Be more self-reflective

I guess this post is a way for me to reflect on what I have learned especially this past year and take it to where I want to progress in life. I try to be more critical of my views and perspective while also not being too hard on myself when I don’t figure something out right away. I am more open to correction and new learning experiences because I will never reach a level of complete knowledge. I’m still learning to be more empathetic toward others and understand their point of view by accepting the reality of opposing views.

Surround yourself with positivity

This! This is so crucial for when you want to live a positive-filled life. One need to like what one does, and one needs to have a positive environment. That’s why choosing the right people in your circle and what you consume, as mentioned above, are essential if you want to have a positive world surrounding you.

Soo this ended up being more than I actually wanted to write but if you’ve made it to the end, kudos to you & thank youuu!

xx

    TWENTY-FIVE In the past weeks and months I have been thinking a lot in the midst of entering a new age.

[kinetic-elaboration]

May 6: Too Many Circle Thoughts

So I think the reason The Circle (s1) got into my head and is now going to be living there for a bit is that it’s just so damn wholesome, and I didn’t watch it for its assumed wholesomeness (I watched it because I thought it would be dumb and mindless) but that’s where we are. It was cheesy and it often tried too hard, and it talked up a big game of ~strategy and ~drama and judging books by covers blah blah blah but what it really proved to me was that people on average actually do want to like each other and be liked on a genuine level and will form friendships over rivalries whenever possible. It’s an encouraging lesson.

I have a variety of theories as to why it turned out like that, one of which is that the game is not really a social media competition and it doesn’t actually mirror real social media at all. Thus the lessons/assumptions of social media are not relevant to it. People aren’t becoming popular by appealing to the largest mass audience possible, as irl influencers do; they’re forming alliances, friendships, and partnerships in a supremely limited environment: only 7 other people at a time. Very little of importance happens, especially after the first day, in the realm of status updates, photos, new posts, likes, etc. It’s all about group and private chats. In other words, social media really may reward shallowness and superficiality, but on the show, people are rewarded for how they talk to other human beings. I do think there was an emphasis on the overly happy, overly positive genre of writing that social media has definitely spawned, and some of that was a little fake--as you can tell from also seeing people talk just to themselves alone--but tbh I actually think more of it was genuine than not. The language, or the code they were using, was that cheery, upbeat, bright, optimistic, over the top, emoji and hashtag strewn dialect of online speak, but the sentiments were real underneath a lot of the time, and that was rather heartwarming to me.

My other and more specific theory, though, was that it was Shubham. He might not have been the winner, but he was the center of the show; he made the season what it was and defined the tone and the unspoken set of rules that essentially governed who was eliminated and when. By which I mean, despite all the big talk about strategy and gameplay, on average, the players rewarded people who were genuine, and penalized those who were too blatantly playing the game. I think the reason they did this was Shubham.

This is obviously a generalization and not every blocking precisely fit the pattern. But I think it’s broadly true, especially if you differentiate ‘blatantly playing the game’ from ‘is a catfish.’ You can use your real photos and still have everything out of your mouth be, if not a lie, a calculated statement to get you to a certain place. And you can be using someone else’s photos and acting just as if they were your own--like Sean, for example, for the 12 hours she decided to catfish.

Antonio was one of the Players I thought was most blatantly playing the game; I can’t remember him saying anything that wasn’t for the purpose of gaining something. Yes, everyone thought to some extent about what their statements or interactions meant, but he seemed to have no other motives. Similarly, Karyn/Mercedeze was a catfish, but she was also a strategy player. She lasted a little longer than Antonio because she was a little bit more real, and she had a real friendship with Chris, but you could tell from her monologue outside of the chat that she was in strategy mode all the time. It didn’t serve her well. Adam was a catfish who only lasted as long as he did because he spoke as some kinda version of himself with the guys--even having only watched the season once, I suspect that he was saved by his male friendships, not his creepy flirting. Four of the five finalists were not only not catfish, but they were people who had pretty consistently just said whatever they thought was right, not what they thought would be the most effective strategy-move at all times.

So obviously there are some exceptions to the pattern, but imo, not strong enough to break the theory. Alana hardly counts as anything because she was eliminated based on almost nothing. They all barely knew each other at this point. If anything, I think what doomed her was Sammie being an influencer, and her ill-conceived “skinny bitches chat.” Sammie didn’t like that, and with so little other evidence to go on... there she went. Miranda I think was just a casualty of bad luck and, to some extent, the handicap of all later additions: that everyone else knew each other better than they knew her. Similarly, Bill was 100% a casualty of his timing. Coming in with another player, and leaving with another player, while having almost no time to distinguish himself from the superficially extremely similar Bro, Adam, was his undoing.

Rebecca to me is apparently the biggest wrench in the theory but actually, I think she proves it. She is a catfish who made it to final five. BUT.

First, I could argue she was more genuine than she seemed but tbh I have no idea; I still can’t figure out if Seaburn is an amazing liar or if he really is that shy/sweet and just only felt comfortable behaving that way in the game if he wore a female face. Or something in between. Like Karyn, he made some contradictory statements about his persona, strategy, and rationale.

So I won’t argue that.

I do think that Seaburn had two big things going for him as Rebecca; first, that her sweet/shy/nice persona was exactly the sort of thing that most of the players, coming in good faith, wanted to believe in and were drawn to; and second, her incredibly strategic alliance with Shubham, which came to her rescue especially when the first advantage broke down. Rebecca was a pretty consistent third ranking and I think that general popularity was a product of the shy persona. She wasn’t most people’s favorite-favorite, but they did like her. BUT, when people started doubting it--when her odd statements started adding up, and people like Ed, with no loyalty, voiced doubts that let other people feel safe at the very least talking amongst themselves--it all would have broken down but for that Shubham alliance. It was too well known that Rebecca was his girl (”sister” lmao ok; funny how that word didn’t come up until she started flirting with actually-kind-of-grew-on-me-in-retrospect catfish-Adam). And in fact when Joey had the decision to make between her and Sean, he chose Sean to get rid of specifically, actively, and admittedly, because his bro Shubham would be upset if he blocked Rebecca. And like, part of that was strategic because he didn’t want to break an alliance with a betrayal (not know that at that point it barely mattered anymore) but I think a lot of it was straight up friendship too. He didn’t want to hurt someone he cared about. I felt bad for Sean and I could understand her deep betrayal, but if it had somehow weirdly worked out that it was her or Shubham, I don’t think she would have thought twice about the deeper meaning of Joey’s decision, because it would be so clearly straightforward, and this was essentially the same, just in equation form. Ultimately, she was blocked because she came onto the game way too late to form any alliance that could compete with the relationships among the OGs and that’s that. I’m sure she couldn’t see it at the time, but it’s really to her credit that she would have probably made top 5 but for that Rebecca/Shubham/Joey triangle, because Joey speaking for himself, would not have picked Rebecca over her.

Anyway, so you see Shubham directly influencing the makeup of the top 5 and, somewhat ironically given his own value system and dislike of catfsh, directly facilitating the the original catfish’s entrance into the finale, but imo he was also behind the whole general ambience of the group, the greatest influencer, pun intended, on the value system that everyone roughly adhered to throughout the show. I’m not saying that Joey, Sammie, Chris, and the rest were complete blank slates, and maybe it would have turned out the same otherwise just based on general casting. But my theory is that some people were coming in with no other thought than strategy, and Shubham was coming in with an express mission to Be Himself with as little artifice as possible, but most people were somewhere in the middle: playing as themselves, trying to be likable, trying to make good decisions for themselves as Players, but also wanting to make friends, to be nice, to be personable because people like pleasant interactions with other people, not just because Nice People Win Popularity Contests. I mean the reason being nice is a good strategy move in a popularity contest is that people don’t want to be around others who are mean!! It’s not arbitrary!

I think Chris would have been the absolute same no matter what--frankly, even more than Shubham (who did have a strategic mind himself, and not only in that he had something to prove or a thesis to test), I think he was playing as his genuine, real self, without recourse to strategy, 98% of the time. But Sammie, Joey? I don’t know. I think they, and some of the later players too, would have behaved differently if the overall mood of the game were different.

I think what happened is that Shubham being ranked eighth was the real turning point in the game. Because he was so sure that meant he was going home--that his hypothesis was just wrong at its core--so he said things honestly and sadly simply because he had nothing to lose. That triggered honest, genuine, good hearted sympathy from these, I really believe, basically good hearted people, and the ones who reached out to him then both earned his loyalty, and came to genuinely like him. Thus, a cycle: the good feelings he engendered put him at the top again and again, and his loyalty to his core people redounded to their benefit again and again. People were not ranking him high to be strategic, though. Toward the end, they actively admitted that they were ranking him too high for their own good! They were ranking him high because they honestly thought he deserved it.

There are a variety of values the group collectively could have chosen in making their rankings: pure selfishness (penalizing anyone they thought could hurt them, or sabotaging people they thought others would like--though if everyone takes this strategy, it would soon devolve to chaos); attractiveness; personal connection; personal favor. But they seemed to pick being genuine, not necessarily in a (non) catfish sense, but in an interpersonal sense. Genuine friend versus strategic player. I think that’s because being genuine was Shubham’s most cherished value, and he made this very and explicitly clear, and everyone, or nearly everyone, aligned themselves to that both because he was (/they’d made him) so popular, and because they genuinely liked him and were won over by him and agreed with him.

Not that this kid invented thinking honesty was a virtue lol. I just really felt like it was a revelation of over-thinking that he defined the whole game.

But he didn’t win lol. Of all the players, I think Joey probably did deserve the title most. I think Chris deserved the money most, though, which was my only thing.

Well, that and.. Joey is my favorite himbo and I think he was for real. But every now and then he had moments that made me almost go galaxy-brain in wondering if this was the biggest con: not just axing Miranda and Sean directly after flirting with them, or thinking Antonio was fake, but piling on with accusations against Mercedeze and Rebecca, things like that.

That said, he was one of the premiere narrating-to-my-room contestants, and that monologue, which had no strategic value, was... 100% certified himbo. So, good for him.

[clr-flr]

bubbuh lol

PART 1: THE BASICS

What is your full name? Maestro Bubbuh T. Guhm PHD of Rubbishry III

Where and when were you born? I was born in a fairy circle before things got STANKY MY BOY

Who are/were your parents? (Know their names, occupations, personalities, etc.) They were hawkers. Not much to say about graves.

Do you have any siblings? What are/were they like? I’m the sole special one child.

Where do you live now, and with whom? Describe the place and the person/people. I live in my machine shop, a very respectable business. I host my little robo-mate Castor in various spaces there.

What is your occupation? I’m a master-of-all trades, but I’m a specialist in weapons engineering. I can be swayed into most jobs for the right price.

Write a full physical description of yourself. You might want to consider factors such as: height, weight, race, hair and eye color, style of dress, and any tattoos, scars, or distinguishing marks. I’m very tall, taller in my power heels, strong and efficiently built, dirt with a bit of dried blood colored - clay maybe? I like my pauldrons sharp, my sunglasses sharp, my stilettos sharper. I’m a fan of feathering scarification. Got my hair in my top knot like the warriors in those old VHS things I’ve found. It’s hot.

To which social class do you belong? Same as everyone else in the age. Surviving.

Do you have any allergies, diseases, or other physical weaknesses? Monthly bleeding, that fucking sucks. Good for war paint, though.

Are you right- or left-handed? Left handed. Or right handed. Versatility!

What does your voice sound like? Saucy. With a hint of spice.

What words and/or phrases do you use very frequently? New ways to string curses together.

What do you have in your pockets? Nutz.

Do you have any quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics? No, of course not. ;^m

PART 2: GROWING UP

How would you describe your childhood in general? Birds.

What is your earliest memory? Birds, big gloves, then the Big Stink.

How much schooling have you had? Not much, Big Stink happened too fast.

Did you enjoy school? I probably might’ve IF I HAD GONE.

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities? On my own, tinkering, a few mentors here and there. Pulling things apart and putting them together - experimenting - experience.

While growing up, did you have any role models? If so, describe them. Me, me and uhhhh……maybe my good old jizz lump boy.

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family? Who knows? Been a while.

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? Fuck if I know.

As a child, what were your favorite activities? Whatever.

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display? I don’t fucking remember!!

As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like? Dude…Probably.

When and with whom was your first kiss? Shit…Doesn’t matter.

Are you a virgin? If not, when and with whom did you lose your virginity? I don’t remember that shit either. Shit don’t matter.

If you are a supernatural being (i.e. mage, werewolf, vampire), tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities. If you are just a normal human, describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today. Hah - I’m just a human. We have aliens and robots and cyborgs and radiation fuckers roaming around these days, but I’m not one of them. I’m this way because of my situation. That’s all.

PART 3: PAST INFLUENCES

What do you consider the most important event of your life so far? The end of civilization. Fuck yeah.

Who has had the most influence on you? Fuck you, me.

What do you consider your greatest achievement? Being alive.

What is your greatest regret? Pass.

What is the most evil thing you have ever done? That’s a matter of opinion…

Do you have a criminal record of any kind? In reference to what?????

When was the time you were the most frightened? When I thought I didn’t get my wings perfect on my eyeliner.

What is the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to you? Associates’ failures that make me look bad, of course.

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why? I can change things now in the present, so why linger on things I can’t change??

What is your best memory? The ones I’m having now.

What is your worst memory? Worrying about potential futures.

PART 4: BELIEFS & OPINIONS

Are you basically optimistic or pessimistic? I don’t think either is necessary, or even useful. I work on a reactionary basis.

What is your greatest fear? I’d rather not divulge that. So in a way, that gives you some insight.

What are your religious views? There’s lots of spiritual uprisings these days that are pretty...interesting. But I don’t follow any.

What are your political views? Politics don’t survive here. If you mean in lawful morals - I guess I could go that oldies tabletop alignment route and say maybe a chaotic neutral.

What are your views on sex? It’s sassy.

Are you able to kill? Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable? It’s always acceptable and required in a majority of cases. I won’t do in in rare exceptions when people give me a reason not to.

In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do? Brainwash them into false hope to drain them of their ability to fend for themselves - especially to sustain their own survival at the expense of dumbasses. I get it to an extent, but save some dumbasses for the rest of us, asshole.

Do you believe in the existence of soul mates and/or true love? That survive long enough to get to that point?? Hardly.

What do you believe makes a successful life? Living.

How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings (i.e. do you hide your true self from others, and in what way)? I’d like to think I’m genuine enough.

Do you have any biases or prejudices? Who has time for that, really?? It doesn’t really matter anyways. We’re all equally fucked.

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why do you refuse to do it? I refuse to be a savior or a hero to mankind. I probably could, but fuck that shit. Not my job.

Who or what, if anything, would you die for (or otherwise go to extremes for)? I dunno, a spaceship to planet of sexy aliens made to worship and bang me?? That’d be nice.

PART 5: RELATIONSHIPS W/OTHERS

In general, how do you treat others (politely, rudely, by keeping them at a distance, etc.)? Does your treatment of them change depending on how well you know them, and if so, how? I shoot first and ask questions later. If they make it past that point, they’re probably a fairly good resource of something or another. I generally treat everyone at that level the same. I guess Castor’s more like my personal butt-boy though.

Who is the most important person in your life, and why? Me, because, well, look at me.

Who is the person you respect the most, and why? Fucking look at me.

Who are your friends? Do you have a best friend? Describe these people. Blobulon the jizz parasite is a pretty cool dude. I always forget his real name. But he’s one of the goopy parasitic aliens that helped cause the Big Stink, what a guy. We’ve known each other a while. Cactus I run into off and on. Loves drugs. Pretty reliable chemist. Castor has a nice butt and a lazy eye, other than that I can kill him with a push of a button so I have him under my heel so there’s that.

Do you have a spouse or significant other? If so, describe this person. Does my right hand count? Dildos. Castor’s weener and butt? If not, nope.

Have you ever been in love? If so, describe what happened. It was a misty summer morning, I groggily rose from my bed, half nude. I stumbled into my bathroom - head pounding from the night before. Then I saw him. My reflection.

What do you look for in a potential lover? Didn’t I already describe my physical build??

How close are you to your family? I don’t remember where their bodies are dude.

Have you started your own family? If so, describe them. If not, do you want to? Why or why not? No because fuck that shit.

Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help? My ass, it’s very wise.

Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who, and why? My vagina, it’s super flexible and strong. Kegals, bro.

If you died or went missing, who would miss you? The universe would be missing a star.

Who is the person you despise the most, and why? I don’t have time to waste thoughts and energy on useless fools.

Do you tend to argue with people, or avoid conflict? I tend to fuck them up and move on.

Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations? I usually have to, but not by choice.

Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not? No because of mob mentality. That shit’s rough.

Do you care what others think of you? I care about what the most important person thinks of me: my ass. He has opinions. Strong ones.

PART 6: LIKES & DISLIKES

What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes? I enjoy a good tinker, a good shit, sleeping upside down, anal beads, sharpening heels to a deadly point, and smacking Castor’s head so his eye falls out of place.

What is your most treasured possession? My antique hall. I collect pre-stink artifacts and refurbish them to working condition. I guess that’s my all time favorite pastime.

What is your favorite color? Who cares.

What is your favorite food? Crickets.

What, if anything, do you like to read? Anything with tanks or monkeys.

What is your idea of good entertainment (consider music, movies, art, etc.)? I love those uh...I guess genre?? Of media...Kaiju stuff. Big monsters or robots wrecking shit or saving things. In video games, comics, movies, shows - any of it. Love it.

Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If so, why? Do you want to quit? I smoke and drink. I don’t use drugs regularly, but I use them casually. Why not?

How do you spend a typical Saturday night? When’s Saturday?

What makes you laugh? Other people’s misfortune or clumsiness.

What, if anything, shocks or offends you? Disrespect towards me specifically. Expect violence.

What would you do if you had insomnia and had to find something to do to amuse yourself? Have sex until I pass out probably.

How do you deal with stress? Just busy myself with work or go scavenge - do something productive.

Are you spontaneous, or do you always need to have a plan? A little of both.

What are your pet peeves? People fucking things up for me by being idiots or directly putting my life in danger through incompetence.

PART 7: SELF IMAGES & OTHER

Describe the routine of a normal day for you. How do you feel when this routine is disrupted? There’s no routine, so it’s fine.

What is your greatest strength as a person? Just one??

What is your greatest weakness? I’d say it’s actually the inability to form strong alliances. I keep people away which keeps my net from growing and it only holds me back. Oh well.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? Having a dick would be nice.

Are you generally introverted or extroverted? Introverted I guess. 

Are you generally organized or messy? I’d say a weird version of organized. I like restrained clutter - it looks confusing to keep others at bay but everything does have a place.

Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at, and three things you consider yourself to be very bad at. Living, being hot, and business. People, riding horses, singing.

Do you like yourself? Oh, I don’t know, take a wild guess-a-roonie.

What are your reasons for being an adventurer (or doing the strange and heroic things that RPG characters do)? Are your real reasons for doing this different than the ones you tell people in public? (If so, detail both sets of reasons…) Because if I don’t I’ll die. That’s pretty much all there is to it, I’m surviving after a huge apocalypse, if that wasn’t clear.

What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime? Nothing big really. Make a giant mecha I can pilot.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Even sexier than now and with bigger delts.

If you could choose, how would you want to die? Burning to death in radiation or acid.

If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left. Just one thing. Have sex with a man for the entire 24 hours, so long that he dies in the process. Taking you down with me baby.

What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death? I climbed these garbage mountains in 7 inch heels, fuckers.

What three words best describe your personality? Bitch, Ass, Fuck.

What three words would others probably use to describe you? Prick, Dick, Dong.

If you could, what advice would you, the player, give to your character? (You might even want to speak as if he or she were sitting right here in front of you, and use proper tone so he or she might heed your advice…) Stop.