#absolutely no judgement to the person i'm replying to on this post!

[sphorus]

I have to preface this as yes, this kind of post is always 100% designed to farm engagement. But I'm gonna take this reblogs advice and make it a learning opportunity for those unfamiliar with why this kind of expression is fundamentally ambiguous. Additionally, this is not about how ÷ is visually similar to +.

The original poster to this meme is correct.

There are two major flaws in this argument and the way I've been seeing a lot of people justify 9 being the 'correct' answer. The second of which is the more important one:

1. While PEMDAS is used in the USA, other completely valid acronyms to the order of operations are used elsewhere. For example, BEDMAS is used in Canada, BODMAS or BIDMAS is used in the UK, as far as I know. (Where B -> Brackets, O -> Order, and I -> Indices). (I am sure there are other acronyms and methods used in countries that aren't English-speaking, but I'm not very educated on what they are, nor is it particularly important to my argument.)

2. Math isn't formally done left -> right. It just isn't. The left -> right method, is exclusively convention, not a rule.

Let's break it down, from the start:

At it's core, the order of operations consists of 4 steps:

1. Parenthesis (()): any operations contained within brackets. For example, in the expression 2 x (1 + 4), (1 + 4) is grouped within a bracket, so you would do that part first. Therefore, it simplifies to 2 x 5 = 10.

2. Exponents (^, E): exponentials (powers) are done next, and take priority over additive and multiplicative groups. For example, 2 x 3 ^ 2 is equal to 2 x (3 ^ 2). Thus, the correct answer is 2 x 9 = 18, as opposed to 6 ^ 2.

3. Multiplication (x, *) and Division (÷, /): this is done after exponents, and can also be referred to as the the "multiplicative group". This is because dividing by a number can also be seen as multiplying by the inverse. For example, 6 ÷ 2 = 3 can be also written as 6 x (1/2) = 3.

4. Addition (+) and Subtraction (-): this is done as the very last step. Similar to multiplication and division, addition and subtraction can also be also referred to as the "additive group". This is because subtracting by something can also be seen as adding by its negative. For example, 3 - 2 = 1 can also be written as 3 + (-2) = 1.

Now, often times in questions like the one OP complains about, the problem lies with an intrinsic ambiguity that multiplication and division have. That is, there is no rules in mathematics that states math must be done from left to right. This left -> right assumption is one many calculators make, so that basic arithmetic doesn't output an error, or multiple outputs.

The ambiguity of the original problem is due to the uncertainty in whether it is asking 6 x (1/2) x (1 + 2) = 9 OR 6 / (2 x (1 + 2)) = 1

Both of these interpretations of the question are mathematically correct, and outside of these kinds of online questions, you will most certainly see the problem stated as either one or the other. It's very important when writing math problems like this to prioritize clarity with the use of brackets!

Here are some more ambiguous problems as food for thought - how would you interpret these? Are your interpretations all left -> right? (Examples from Knill, 2014):

3 / 4 / 5

3 ^ 3 ^ 3

5 / 2π

References (Where I get my talking points, and provide a more in depth explanation to the ambiguity of problems like these):

AMBIGUOUS PEMDAS, Oliver Knill, written as a collection and on the Harvard math website

Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College, Jae Ki Lee, Susan Licwinko, and Nicole Taylor-Buckner

"Order of operations" and other oddities in school mathematics, Hung-Hsi Wu

Stolen from twitter.

Remember that the ÷ symbol is never used in equations because it would create ambiguity. You can't give a correct answer to an incorrect equation.

[comfybirdie]

5 REASONS WHY I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THIS IS JUST ABOUT A TOUR

I don't think I'm smart enough for plausible theories, so this is just a vent of a long time fan. I also have not read many posts, because I've been busy with life, so sorry if someone also said these points.

1. The concept.

I hope this is an album, but I wouldn't pledge my life on it. What I think, however, this is going to be something that brings all the storylines together from previous albums. At least from the Black Parade and Danger Days definitely, but I'm also thinking a bit about Conventional Weapons, too. This is because while yes, the tour does carry the Black Parade name and comes right after everybody spent time crying about not being in the select few to attend the WWWY Fest, the Secretary was not part of the Black Parade storyline. The closest thing we had eas the Director of BLI in Danger Days. And I think we all knew who this woman was the moment she popped up on the screen:

So what if Gerard's costume for the tour was the now undead Director, who became the Secretary of the Dictator?

2. The storyline itself.

I know every word to every album, from the singles to the B sides to leaked ones. But there may always be a chance that I misinterpreted the whole thing, maybe we all did, but the Black Parade is about the afterlife. Whether you got there because of illnes, war, it doesn't matter, you become part of the Black Parade when you die. I believe it to be a celebration of life, or carrying on even after the end.

What the Black Parade has never been, was a personal celebratory National Band, which is exactly what the post writes as the story. I'm going to insert a screenshot with the story.

I saw a theory that the entire concept is going to be revamped, which it might as well be, but even it doesn't make sense.

3. Because that's not what My Chemical Romance is.

And right now I'm thinking about the captions under the pictures.

After seeing the Secretary, my first thought about these captions was that we - The Black Parade - originally must have answered by wanting to be killjoys, the rebellious ones, but eventually we broke and stood in line, becoming the Dictator's beloved National Band, to which the Secretary replied: "Good boy."

However, My Chemical Romance never stood for that. They would never reward us with a tour for standing in line and shutting our mouth. They would never become the corporate machine they stood against since the very beginning. They would never lead the Black Parade in this manner and for this purpose.

And maybe it's just my naivety, the long lost teenager somewhere deep in me saying this, but I still believe they would never do that.

4. Foundations of Decay.

Has it been 2 years since this song came out? Yes. Am I going to bring it up? Absolutely.

(This is definitely overthinking on my part, but I was a history major and with the current events, the parallels are unmatched.) So the thing about wars is, you need people to fight it for you. You need soldiers and military leaders and all of them have to be loyal and obey the orders. The easiest way to achieve that, is by building an ideological foundation you can use to sway their judgement and decision making. The mustache man started with the theory of the back stabbing of the nation. During the middle ages, Christianity provided this foundation for the crusades in the middle east. If you give people something to fear or you give them something to idolise, they will be willing to fight against or for what you want.

And this is the Foundation of Decay.

"you must build an altar where it wells"

"Take his body as a relic to be canonised"

"You stumble through your last crusade"

And is you ask me, this is why this one song came out so much earlier than the rest of the project. Because they lay the ideological foundation first, and you need people to absorb it and truly believe before you can lead them with it. So you tell them again and again and again. Play it at every show on a tour. And so that reunion tour is when the Black Parade became the National Band, instead of the Killjoys. Because we sang along to every word, we absorbed it and not just believed it, but lived it as we attended the tour and sang when they told us to, cheered if they just came on the screen. We became conditioned to follow Gerard's orders as he walked on the stage, just as we will follow the order to play for the Dictator, instead of standing against him.

5. But empires and dictatorships never last, do they?

Rome fell apart. There is a reason there was a Third Reich, because the first 2 also fell. The Ottoman Empire also eventually weakened and fell apart. And just because the Communist Party always said that life is great and everyone is happy "In the Concrete Age", everyone who has lived in a ex-soviet occupied country (hello to my fellow Eastern and Central European MCR fans), we can all tell you, it was everything but true.

And so it is only a matter of time before Dictator's reign has to see its end? Perhaps maybe even bought on by his beloved band, put together from the misfits who the Secretary had to break to stay in line.

But, this is all just my theory. Thank you for clowning with me and my tinfoil hat if you read it this far.

[bunnakit]

my stand in ep 2 thoughts, feelings, etc.

alright i wanted to write this up nicely but it took me... two hours to get through the episode bc i kept stopping to write notes, so i'll do my best i guess.

weird thing about me is when i watch shows and write notes for these posts i always write the notes on napkins? i have like 5 different notebooks in arms reach at all times but i really like scribbling on a napkin for the true unhinged effect.

anyway blah blah reminder i'm just a silly dude on the internet, idk shit about dick, i just like to say shit, don't take me too seriously.

also please DO NOT leave novel spoilers in my reblogs, tags, or replies without some kind of warning label. please? it seems to happen with every show i write meta for and i LOVE that people get hyped but there's no way for me to avoid it when it's in my notifications like that.

some before the actual episode stuff; after learning last week that some of the kinnporsche people worked on this it really becomes apparent, especially in the style of the intro.

the music choices also seem a bit reminiscent of kinnporsche (and a little bit of not me) which i really enjoy. it feels kind of familiar and comforting.

immediately i loved how soft this episode started, the slight stubble on each of them, the way joe speaks so softly as if afraid to shatter their little bubble of peace, etc. i also love that the show doesn't skirt around the topic of sex and the fact that sometimes sex is awkward and clumsy, especially with a new partner and doubly so when it's your first queer partner.

and then the peace was shattered with ming kissing his back yet again. ouchies.

"will tong be at the set?" he's just not even trying to hide it. he basically said 'yeah ur great and all but tong????' but DAMN if poom isn't the absolute king of microexpressions.

at this point i can't really tell if tong is being a spoiled prince (derogatory) or if he's tired of acting in general? judgement withheld until a later date.

and then we jump into this actress being a parallel to ming and OOF OUCHIES MY ORGANS. she's a fan of tong but has to "settle" for joe - just like ming. and yet joe takes the time to be kind, to soothe her worries and put her at ease, because he has a heart of absolute gold. "it's her first movie but she was left to drown by the male lead." it's ming's first love and he has been left to drown in it.

mek's acting is really endearing. this is my first exposure to him (ive seen some of his social media and really like what he stands for as a person) and i'm instantly drawn to his performance. he also pulls off a great balance of adorable/sexy.

OOH THE SHOW SAID BISEXUAL OUT LOUD. A WIN FOR THE BI'S WE LOVE TO SEE IT.

i personally find ming's jealously hilarious. what a little caricature of toxicity.

anyway, it seems to me that if ming could get over his feelings and enjoy what he has in front of him he could be part of and enjoy a very sweet family, as it does seem tong IS giving him love, just not the exact flavor he craves.

the cut to joe's training made me laugh. little oat lore dump but my bio dad was actually a stunt man for movies (which is another part of why i was so excited for this show) and i can promise you nothing like this was part of it. what do i know, though, maybe things have changed since the early 2000s lol.

(no, they're probably not any movies you know, aside from maybe wild wild west [1999]. he mostly did westerns, historical docudramas, and historical fiction.)

ANYWAY AGAIN. with this little glimpse into ming's home life we get to see that he's very accustomed to doing what he wants and getting what he wants, which makes a lot of sense when applied to his almost obsessive behavior regarding tong - and now joe. i did absolutely LOVE linin and her sassy independence (minus the 'i can buy anything i need'.)

but... girl... did you just spray perfume in your mouth?

your actions are strange and unsettling. i like that in a woman.

ugh getting into ming venting his frustrations on joe's body. listen. liiiisten. while toxic without prior discussion... i'm into it. it may or may not be one of my favorite tropes in fanfic. toxic and unhealthy as fuck and i'm here for it.

AND THEN DAMN POOM THOSE NOISES. ACTING FOR YOUR LIFE BBY -- and the SNEEZE AT ORGASM LMAAAO oh i hope that's a running bit for some comedic relief.

because we then make a SHARP pivot into "then stop me" and there's so much potential for pain and self loathing there, for joe to think "i can't blame ming, i didn't stop any of it." i'm sat.

a little side bar, but i'm enjoying the fact that while there is discussion of topping and bottoming as a narrative device there really aren't any stereotypes here. i think on a surface level people would think "oh joe is the top" (pit babe style) and the show said no actually he isn't. love that for us.

"you can even move in haha jk" but the thing is, not jk, because joe would do that for ming - for anyone - bc that's the type of person he is.

[i had to stop and have a lil snack here]

hold up is this wut out drinking with them? OH SHIT IT IS. OKAY. it didn't give us much but at least it's a little connection to him finally. we knew joe knew him from his first life, just didn't really know how.

"i missed you" and when was the last time someone missed joe? not who he's replacing or the space he's filling, but HIM?

love ming's goofy ass locking the door and going inside just so he can make a dramatic ass appearance like he's 'the other woman' or some shit LMAO.

"what's in you to make me jealous?" quite possibly the worst dialogue tree choice ming could've picked.

[joe's emotional well being -45]

[everyone hated that]

"don't be so full of yourself" something joe has never been a day in his life. "you're just a stand-in." he knows. it's not something he ever forgets.

but after all that toxicity we have ming back home, seeking out joe's food for comfort, and we finally get to see him interact with his sister. i LOVE that she knows the importance of being a little silly as a treat, one of my biggest life mottos. we also get to see more of how ming is surrounded by love that he misses out on bc of his own wallowing and self sabotage.

oh, the homoeroticism of sparring with your bestie.

[everyone liked that]

oop- joe is wearing the shirt ming borrowed while sol is wearing a shirt with the word 'fantasy.' i'm good, i'm fine, gwenchana, gwenchana.

ough. sol with too many eyes on him and none of them sincere and joe with nothing but sincerity to offer but remains invisible. oof ouch.

enter ming with more religious imagery to match last week's cross scene. something something the sin of greed? confessing your sins? coveting - idk man, i don't have any religious trauma, my family let me just do my own thing.

but with ming knowing joe's true feeling every toxic thing he does is going to be 1000x more painful and i'm here for it. bring it you fucked up little guy.

"we can't mess with each other's privacy" don't mess with MY privacy. "you can't mess around with anyone else" emphasis on YOU, not we.

and then it's driven home what a romantic joe is, both with his workout heartbreak poetry and this little lady and the tramp noodle moment. this man, again much like pit babe, wants to be domesticated so bad.

and i know we all have hated on ming, that's the point, he's been a caricature of a toxic relationship spelled out in neon letters --

but when was the last time ming laughed with someone like this?

ok im exhausted, i'm falling into bed to read fanfic, but i'm absolutely in love with everything this is doing so far. i haven't written anything as in depth as this since last twilight (pre-betrayal) so it's really nice to feel insane again.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for inquiring after a blog that got deleted?

This happened several months ago and my friends have told me that I wasn't in the wrong, but my stupid anxiety keeps bringing it up and saying actually they only told me that because they like me. Maybe the judgement of strangers will finally get my brain to put it to rest. Repliers, please use she/her pronouns only for me, I don't like being called by they/them.

I'm keeping this vague to respect the privacy of the others involved; if you somehow recognize the situation, please do not give further details. Feel free to ask for clarification if something is confusing, but I will not be providing additional information like what fandom it was as I believe that would just risk revealing who was involved, and I can't think of any additional info that would affect someone's judgement of what I did. I would like judgement of what I did without risking violating anyone else involved's privacy. Also, sorry this is so long. It's the ADHD. I hate it too.

I'm relating the dms involved as closely as I can, but they won't be word-for-word.

I follow several roleplay blogs in the same fandom. One day I noticed one that I particularly liked seemed to have been deleted. I wasn't sure if they'd made a goodbye post I didn't see before deleting or something, so I made a post asking if anyone knew if something had happened with their mod, as it seemed to come out of nowhere to me. No one ever interacted with this post, but I have no way of knowing if people saw it.

I messaged a blog that I had seen interact with them a lot asking something like "hey, do you know if something happened with [blog]'s mod? I noticed they had deleted and was wondering if something happened." They replied with the single word "no" and I thanked them and apologized for bothering them. This one word was the only thing they ever said to me. I took this to mean that they didn't know if anything had happened, but didn't try to investigate further. I was vaguely concerned that they seemed to have suddenly disappeared without anyone knowing, but it wasn't my place to try and dig things up.

A couple days later I was scrolling back through a different blog and I noticed an old post they'd reblogged from the person who deleted's sideblog, and the sideblog had also been deleted. I sent a dm asking something like "Hey, I noticed [blog] and [sideblog] were both deleted, and was wondering if you knew if the mod was alright" and received a response just saying that no one wanted to make what happened public, least of all the mod. I thanked them for responding, apologized for prying, and said I hoped things were alright, then deleted my post asking if anyone knew what had happened, so that people couldn't stumble on it, get curious, and try and pry themselves.

Very shortly after, I received an anonymous ask scolding me for prying into the mod's business when they wanted things kept quiet and continuing after being told no. I posted the anon and explained that I hadn't meant to pry - just was wondering if things were okay - and that I must have misinterpreted that first "no", apologized if I'd made anyone uncomfortable, and made it clear I would absolutely not ask further. That was the end of it, at least as far as I know.

I think I might be the asshole because: I didn't know the mod, we'd never talked beyond their answering some of my asks, but I asked people about them anyways. I was genuinely wondering if they were okay and was careful not to ask what happened, but I know I can have trouble finding the line between normal and nosy, and maybe messaging two people was too far, even if the first person seemed to not know anything.

I think I might not be the asshole because: I wasn't asking for details on what happened, I was just wondering if they were okay or if I'd missed a goodbye post, and backed off immediately after being told it was private. I don't think it's really my fault that I misinterpreted the first person saying "no" to me asking if they knew if something had happened, since I thought they were literally answering my question.

Again, please do not try to figure out who was involved in this if you think you recognize it; I just want my brain to stop turning this damn situation over and over and maybe having strangers judge it will do that.

So. AITA for asking after someone who deleted their roleplay blog?

What are these acronyms?

[cheshire-castle-library]

The op who made that "wahh why isn't fandom fun anymore" post LITERALLY maintags their hate lol, they've done it for ATLA characters and ATSV characters among others. It's so embarrassing.

See this is why I don't participate in many fandoms.

Honestly, everyone is a little blind about themselves once in a while. And you and I are no exception. I'm not in the business of checking into every op on every post on this website. I have like,,, a job and shit. I don't have time for that.

OP can be right and still mess up. OP might just have unpopular opinions that you don't like, and are assuming malice where there isn't any. I don't know, and I'm not here to put that OP on the coroner's table. All I can do is reply to you.

People are allowed to have opinions. People are allowed to share their opinions in fandom space (which is the main tag, I can send you scientific papers that explain this). People are allowed to have unpopular opinions, Publicly, and SHARE THEM. What they are not supposed to do, is lord those opinions over others and use them to hurt people.

What I was agreeing with when I peer reviewed those tags was when people vent into main tags, or frankly this kind of thing? Like, when people can't stay in their lane and have to make a "judgement call" on other people? Or when people are just straight up resentful of a character or fandom, and so they like spit vinegar at everyone over it? I don't know anything about the person you are talking about, and I don't plan to look for it, but unless they're literally pointing fingers and calling people evil for liking 'unlikable' characters, I doubt it's as serious as you're concerned it is.

Like for example, I don't like Twilight. I don't personally find it interesting. I've never read it, but my friends were really into it when it came out, and what I heard of it didn't like... sound fun to me at all. There was a while in my life when I was a little bitch about that, and I'd like make fun of Twilight and I didn't think about how that might upset my friends, and it absolutely never crossed my mind to try and read it and like idk trust my friends to have good taste?

So I try to be better now that I look back on that and see how much of a tool I was. Twilight has stuff in it that's unique. It has stuff in it that's silly and melodramatic too, but its pulp and it explores some interesting themes of romance and "otherness" and age and mental health and stuff like that. So I understand that it appeals to people and it has value, regardless of whether I personally find or make use of that value.

But if I were on tumblr in 8th grade when it came out, I 100% would have been maintagging Twilight hate memes, because I was just kinda tonedef and dumb. That's being a kid. But being a kid doesn't excuse the hurt it causes.

And that is what I think people need to be careful about. Not making fun of things they don't like. Not hurting people for no damn reason, when it would be healthier for everyone to just not interact in the first place.

So also like... this anon message you sent counts as that same thing. Sending an anonymous message (so there's no accountability for what you say) to someone over the character of a third party is not a responsible way to act, and innately causes drama and stress. The OP has nothing to do with me. I have nothing to do with them. I literally don't even know their URL, and I don't plan to go looking for it. Because I know how to stay in my lane and not go looking for drama. That's an important part of adulthood, is choosing your battles. Choosing what to spend your energy on, and not looking to cause problems for yourself and others where it's not absolutely necessary.

For instance, I'm choosing to reply to this, because I think there's something important I can share about my long years in fandom with not just you, but the rest of Tumblr as a whole. I also can take this time to clarify something that obviously wasn't as intuitive as I assumed it was.

Anon, I don't know why you sent this. I don't know whether your intent was out of innocence, whether you were cross with me for some reason, or some secret third thing that I can't fathom. But if you'd like to talk about it more, my dm's are open to everyone. I won't keep replying to anon's, because that's just going to gum up my followers and friends' dashboards; but I'd be more than happy to have a one on one conversation about what you are concerned about, and your fandom experiences, and mine and how fandom has changed over the years.

This type of message isn't very effective at communicating problems.

The best possible outcome of the message you sent me is me not taking it personally as an attack or judgement, and either replying like I am here with civil and clear communication, or me just deleting it and going on with my day. Which, isn't much of a positive impact. The worst possible outcome is you hurt me badly, trigger past traumas, scare me or cow me from ever voicing my opinion again, and cause me to cut myself out of fandom again. Which has happened to me, and enough that I only interact with precious few fandoms as it stands - something you should already know since I mentioned it in the tags of the post we're talking about.

So again, please DM me if you want to talk about this or have other concerns you need help working through. But hiding behind anon and not fully explaining yourself doesn't give me a lot to go on. I just don't know what your intent is, and I'm not going to bend myself into funny shapes trying to guess.

In all honesty, the words you wrote kind of feel like you want me to feel embarrassed about OP or about agreeing with OP or about something I did? And if not, you are asking me to agree to throw a stranger that I don't know and have no interactions with under the bus to validate your opinion.

This sort of thing is why its hard to exist in fandom spaces. This is "big brother" behavior, and turns fandom into a police state. Pointing fingers only makes people retaliate, it doesn't help fandom heal or grow.

That is what people need to stop themselves from doing.

[daboyau]

I- I uh I saw your answers to the writing ask game you posted and uhhhh

Would you... Mayhaps..... Consider collaborating on a fic if the other person was also a slow writer and there was no time limit or judgement? (There isn't an idea in mind)

(Aka a very inexperienced writer that's written one published work but thinks you're a really awesome person and wants to practice)

Absolutely NO PRESSURE but... I'm curious....

Also, I haven't read much of your writing (I need to it's on my list) but from what I have I think you're a really great writer!

(sorry about the anon but I will be stalking your blog if you reply absolutely no pressure though I just thought it sounded like it could be fun and I've never done it before)

Hi there!! This is a very flattering ask lol. I won’t say anything for sure yet, but if you want to come off of anon I’d be more than happy to chat with you and we can see where things go! Even if we don’t end up co-writing, I’d be more than happy to help you practice or give you my thoughts on your stuff if you’d like? (I love helping people with their writing, when I can.)

feel free to DM me or send another ask off anon if you’d like!

[vodika-vibes]

Stealing the Commander - Part 4

The Liberation of Ylesia. Cody considers his options.

I wrote this on my phone, so it's a bit short. And also, sorry for any spelling mistakes.

This was far, far worse than any of Alpha-17's surprise inspections back on Kamino. Turns out that Bug's attention to detail, and lack of humor when it comes to reckless behavior was on par with the Alpha he low-key considered his buir.

It was awful.

He spared a glance at Fira, who looked completely calm. Though there was a slight twitch in her fingers that made him think that, maybe, she was just as unsettled by Bug's judgemental silence as he was.

Was this how his vod'e felt when they were trying to sell a plan to him? If so he owed them an apology.

Well. Maybe not. His vod'e were dumbasses sometimes and they needed to know it.

Finally Bug looked up from the datapad, his expression severe, and he pinned Cody with a glare that had his back straightening. "You were supposed to be the reasonable one." Bug accused.

"I'm not sure why you would think that," Cody said, "Sir." He added belatedly.

"You're a soldier! A Commander at that!"

"And I, with the assistance of Fira, came up with a strategically sound plan that would see the slaves of Ylesia freed and receiving aid." Cody pointed out, "And Alderaan agreed to bear the weight of responsibility."

"That's not...you're not..." Bug stopped and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Fine. I don't see anything wrong with the plan you came up with. Or either of the back-up plans you also wrote up."

Fira flashed a small grin, "Told you it was a good idea."

Cody grinned back at her, though, when Bug cleared his throat, they both focused their attention on him. "I will sign off on this plan. But-" he held up a single finger, "The only people going are you two and Gray. I will not leave the ship, and neither will Juffo."

"The plan did account for that," Cody pointed out cheerfully. Amusement filling him at the look Bug shot him. He hadn't been able to be the little shit he was because of the war. But Fira wasn't interested in the Marshal Commander. She was much more interested in the man.

He appreciated that.

Especially since so many people didn't even view him as a person.

"Fucking idiots, the both of you." Bug groused, and then he jabbed a finger at Fira, "Get your boy some appropriate armor."

"Since when was I 'your boy'?"

"Since right now, I guess." Fira grinned at him, "I'm guessing you're not gonna let me paint your white armor black?"

"Absolutely not."

"His armor screams Republic Trooper, resize mine." Bug interrupted, and then he shoved the datapad into Cody's arms, "And get out of my office."

The pair left Bug's office, and Fira led him down the hall to the armory.

Unlike every other spot on the ship, the armory was well lit, and clean. Well, aside from some stains on the floor. Honestly, he was beginning to wonder if the ship had ever been cleaned.

He supposed his judgement wasn't all that fair. After all, he had seen the chore list posted on the fridge, and had even been added to it, though he was mostly just assigned to helping Camma with her chores.

He flickered his gaze around the room. Weapons of all makes and sizes were carefully, and neatly, attached to the walls, and against the back wall were several armor stands.

There was even a set of tiny black and orange armor for Camma. Cute.

Though. He was curious.

"Why orange?"

"Hm?" Fira glanced over her shoulder, looking away from the foot locker she had half buried herself in, "What was that?"

"The detailing on the armor. Why orange?"

"Oh," Fira dug around the foot locker a moment longer, and then pulled out a chest plate, "It represents freedom in Mandalorian culture. But you knew that. I mean, your armor has orange detailing on it too."

"It's gold," Cody replied dryly, "and you're not Mandalorian."

Fira paused and turned to look at him, bewildered, "It's clearly orange. And no, I'm not. But someone who once saved my life was, and this is how I chose to honor her."

"Orange means freedom, which is not something the republic wants us to have. Gold means vengeance, which is somehow fine."

Fira let out a laugh, and pulled a second foot locker over to herself, "You could have started with 'we're conning the pubbies', you know."

"We're not conning them!" Cody paused at her disbelieving look, "okay, maybe we're conning them a little."

"You're my sort of people, Commander."

Cody twitched, "yeah, yeah. Don't call me that."

Fira grinned at him, and tossed the rest of the black armor at him, "Here. They should fit well enough. You and Bug have the same body type."

"And what body type is that?"

"Built like a brick wall." Fira replied easily, "We'll have to use one of Gray's spare helmets, though."

Cody started tugging the armor on, and wasn't the least bit surprised when he realized that it fit just like Fira thought it would. He'd come to accept that Fira was far more competent than she acted.

And he kind of hated how attractive it made her.

Fucking competency kink.

His brothers could never find out. Period.

"Hm...it looks like it fits well." Fira was suddenly in his personal space and Cody worked hard to not twitch. She tugged on the chest piece, to make sure it didn't give, and Cody felt a surge of amusement.

"Does it meet your approval, mother?"

Fira flushed, "Shut it. I'm the one who has to pay the price if you get hurt."

Cody grinned even wider, "Do you check everyone's armor, or am I special?"

Fira flushed even more, and shoved a full face helmet into his arms, "put on the fucking helmet and grab some weapons, you absolute prick."

The door to the armory slid open, and Gray stepped into the room. He glanced at Fira, who had moved to her armor stand to start strapping on her own armor, and then he glanced over at Cody. "Did she check your armor?" He asked, his a deep voice carrying over to Fira who jammed her helmet on her head, though not before Cody caught a glimpse of her red face.

"She did." Cody confirmed.

Gray nodded, he towered over Cody, which was an interesting experience, "She does that to every new person. It's how she shows she cares. Camma's the only one who regularly needs it, at this point."

Cody grinned and pulled his new helmet on, "I think it embarrassed her."

"Absolutely. But emotions are hard for her." Gray smiled at Cody and pulled his own helmet on, "Your plan was well thought out. And good job on convincing Fira to accept the help of Alderaan."

"She didn't need much convincing." Cody admitted.

"She never does. Not when it comes to the well being of people like us." Gray confirmed. And then he turned to Fira, who just finished strapping on the last of her armor and weapons, "We're all set, boss."

"Right. Let's make this quick then."

********

Many people weren't aware of this, but Queen Breha Organa did not inherit the throne from a parent. No. She won it in battle.

She was a warrior queen, and though she much preferred peace, she was not afraid to get her hands dirty, if she had to.

So when her military advisor received word about a massive slave operation on Ylesia, Breha was already inclined to send aid to the people suffering there. And, as they got more and more information about the operation on Ylesia, Breha's thoughts changed direction.

She could not, would not, stand aside and do nothing while thousands of innocent people were enslaved while looking for a religious retreat.

So here she was, on the flagship of the Alderaanian fleet, dressed in her finest armor weave dress, reaching out to the small junker ship who messaged them originally.

The video feed snapped open, and Breha smiled, peacefully, at the pair on the screen. One, clad in black armor with orange and white detailing, was clearly in command, though her companion, much taller wearing black and orange, seemed to be the one feeding her information.

The man leaned closer to his commander officer and murmured something, Breha didn't hear what he said, but his accent was clear. She hid her surprise under a pleasant smile. She hadn't known that any of the clones were running around with known pirates.

"Your majesty," the young woman seemed very uncomfortable with the situation, "we weren't expecting you, or your fleet, for...well...until we finished."

Queen Breha smiled, "It is not in our nature to allow others to do all of the dangerous work. So, we are here to help."

The young woman tilted her head towards the man Breha suspected was a clone.

"Our plan only accounts for three people on Ylesia." He said. And, yes, he was definitely a clone. Breha vaguely remembered something about a Marshal Commander getting kidnapped by pirates but...

Well, he seemed content enough to listen to the Firebrand.

"Is there no way that your plan can be enhanced with several elite soldiers?" The Queen asked instead.

He paused, "Of course there is."

"We're already on route to Ylesia," Firebrand pointed out.

"Then my men will join you on Ylesia and you can work out a plan there." Breha nodded once. She would have to remain on the ship, she promised Bail that she would, but she would be watching closely.

******

With the aid of Alderaanian elite soldiers, the fight went startlingly quickly. Fira hated it. She was grateful, but she still hated it.

So, when the fighting was over, and the Hutt and the T'Landa Til were dead, and the slaves were getting the medical attention they so desperately needed, Fira was leaning against a building, with Gray and Cody standing next to her.

She tilted her head towards Cody, "You could go with them, if you wanted." She said lowly, grudgingly. She wouldn't hold him against his will, but she didn't want him to become a slave again.

Cody glanced at her, and then at the fleet at Alderaanian ships, "I could." He agreed.

"We would ship your stuff to Alderaan," Gray said quietly, "you could rejoin your brothers." As a slave, remained unsaid, but it was heard all the same.

Cody hummed an acknowledgement, but didn't say anything.

None of them said anything as Queen Breha walked over to them, a smile on her face, "Firebrand," She greeted Fira politely, "and two of your sparks, I presume?"

"They are," Fira agreed.

The woman nodded once, "Thank you for letting my people help with this." She said quietly, "None of us are fond of slavery, and this was particularly bad."

"All slavery is particularly bad." Gray said grimly. "The only difference is that the people here didn't know they were slaves."

Breha nodded slowly, "You're right, of course. But we can only do so much before the Senate slaps us with sanctions."

"No surprise there." Fira scoffed, "You can't be surprised by corruption in the senate."

"I'm not. Tragically there's only so much I can do without ordering Alderaan out of the Republic." Breha admitted.

"Would you?" Cody asked, "Leave the Republic?"

Breha's lips pressed into a thin line, "Palpatine has been Chancillor for eleven years. The maximum amount of time a person is allowed to be Chancillor is 8 years. He keeps giving himself more and more power."

"So why remain?" Gray asked.

"Becauae Dooku is a monster, and I don't trust him."

"You don't have any options outside of remain in the Republic and join Dooku?" Fira asked.

Breha paused and considered Fira for a long moment, and then a small smile crossed her lips, "Thank you, again, for allowing us to assist you. Please, if you ever need help against the various slave groups, don't hesitate to call." She gave a shallow bow, and turned away.

As soon as they were alone again, Fira glanced at Cody, "Last chance, love."

Cody was silent for a moment, and then he turned his back on the Alderaanian detachment, "If I don't return with you, Bug will hunt me down and drag me back. So it's better that I remain. For the time being."

Fira grinned at Cody, and Gray slapped him on the shoulder, "Good man," Gray said quietly.

"We're growing on you!"

"Like a fungus." Cody replied, before he turned towards the shuttle, "come on, we should go before the Republic really gets here."

A short walk to the shuttle, and a slightly longer flight to the Liberty, and then they were home free, disappearing into Hyperspace amongst the confusion of the Alderaanian vessels still swarming around Ylesia.

They returned their gear to the armory, and Fira grinned when she saw a new stand had been set up for Cody, though he looked surprised. And then they slipped through the ship, to the sitting quarters, where Bug, Juffo, and Camma were waiting.

"You're back!" Camma shouted in delight, "I made Safety Cookies!" They were decently sized triangle shaped sugar cookies, designed with orange frosting decorations, "Everyone gets one!"

"And I have tea," Bug added, "so yoi three can wind down safely."

Fira took a cookie and a cup of tea, and all but collapsed onto a stool. "I thought we were fucked when the fleet showed up." She admitted.

"You kept your cool, though. I had no idea you were freaked out." Cody pointed out as he hesitantly accepted a cookie from the adamant Camma.

"That's because Fira's the best!" Camma said with a delighted grin, darting around the table to bump Fira's side with her head.

"So it would seem," Cody agreed easily.

Camma let out a delighted noise, and scrambled up onto a stool, to regale her family of what she did while they were off playing heroes.

And the Liberty continued on its path through Hyperspace, heading towards their next destination.

*******

Two weeks later, Senator Bail Organa stood before the Senate, a grim look on his handsome face. His announcement was going to cause chaos in the senate, but...he couldn't bring himself to care.

"The Floor recognizes the Senator from Alderaan,"

Bail directed his platform away from the wall, "Chancillor. Honorable Senators," he began, his voice calm, "I am here to announce that Alderaan, effective immediately, is leaving the Republic."

Absolute silence followed his declaration.

"It is not our intent to join the Separatists, you need not worry about that, and we will defend our territory to the best of our ability. Thank you for your time." He bowed, returned his platform to its starting position, and left the room.

He had a flight to catch. And a missive to write to the Jedi Council.

[pianostarinwonderland]

saw that rollo catholicism post n i never knew that one day, being roman catholic will ever be relevant in anything, in something disney related no less 💀💀 but here we are hahahah for me, i interpreted rollo as catholic because of well, frollo, and the school itself is based on the notre dame which is a roman catholic cathedral!

anyway, i think i understand what you were getting at with the handkerchief bit: but i need to mention first that i am just one catholic, and not all catholics necessarily experienced the same thing as i have, having grown up in france and SEAsia compared to perhaps other ppl who grew up in, say, the US - so everything i say below is no way a generalisation and just personal experience

also i will say "we" alot, but i am not like this, there's a reason why i'm non-practicing lksdfjlskfjskd

alright so let's see if i got it right: i notice that in catholicism, there's this prevalent feeling of superiority? in a sense. that our way is the true way. the way we act and conduct ourselves, the way we pray and worship, etc. which naturally leads to a lot of judgement and even (hidden) disgust, even a lot of looking down to, towards others who do not lead a life similar to ours (a life of "virtue" by devoting oneself to only help and work in the service of others, by refusing help as it's a personal problem to be sorted between you and god, etc.) and do not practice the same religion ("worshipping the wrong god").

and evidently, when we come across people who inevitably are different than us, there's this sense of "oh they're lost little lambs who have strayed from god" kneejerk sentiment. that obviously we don't want to express aloud because it's not up to us to judge but up to god, so we just stay quiet and go along with it and smile and nod. it's all just:

and this whole thing can absolutely come off as patronising. where you just know there's silent and strong disapproval, and the fact that we're not saying it aloud makes it really uncomfortable and worse than if we had just said it out loud. and if we do say something, it's very… passive-aggressive.

p.s. i know we joke about catholic guilt all the time, but in my experience, there isn't a lot of conversations surrounding guilt. we place a lot more importance on repentance and contrition. dunno just wanted to added hahahahaha

[Reply to here!]

You managed to express what I was trying to say in a much better way than I could have XD it's that moral superiority!!! The silent judgment and disapproval, the desire to "correct" them, it's so fucking familiar

Want to talk about the p.s. part because it is pretty important XD it's true that most importance is on repentance and contrition, but that's what makes Catholic guilt so yummy (and shitty to experience). You're always told to say sorry, but nobody ever talks about the guilt you feel about committing a sin :')) and the way the culture of Catholicism is built, you can't really talk about that guilt??? Because you're then going to be told to go to a priest and tell him your sins. But you can't.. process that guilt properly, you know what I mean?

[kkoct-ik]

hi hi hi hi hi i am genuinely really interested in what you have to say about the rise of self-diagnosis among young people and would really love to hear your thoughts, it can be a private reply to this or even dm me if you don't want it in a PostTM i am genuinely so interested to hear what you have to say <3

it is far too late at night for someone to invoke my autism but ok . ok

(the post being referenced)

im prefacing by saying im speaking as a guy with a sociology special interest (im obsessed w how social groups work and develop) and as someone whos been in mental illness communities since he was far far too young. ive been through subcultures built around competitive suffering like a baby through a machine car wash and that has left its mark.

certain friends of mine will know that i am currently obsessed with how mental health communities have formed in the past few years. absolute explosions of mental disorder centric communities, hashtags, whatever.

what has really completely enamoured me though is that these communities... are not built around competitive suffering. in fact they're barely about mental disorders at all. there's been an explosion of mental illness subcultures where people bond over totally normal human experiences, because they mistakenly think its something particularly neurodiverse.

the current climate of the internet is one where misinformation and oversimplification is rampant. and from that, these social groups exist, based around these simplified models of mental disorders. it's absolutely no wonder why it's so common to see people 'disorder hoard'.

for starters, its easier now more than ever to be told something you experience is a symptom, and a sign you have a specific condition.

for seconds, once you've considered having a condition and meet people who have been misinformed similarly— bonding only over your shared condition— it's very hard to socialise outside that. very quickly this condition can be all you know about yourself. i know this step personally, as something i'm familiar with from competitive suffering subcultures.

evaluation? i'm not sure what to make of it. that's probably why im so intrigued. im glad it's not competitive suffering. yeah, teenagers are having their self perception and social skills whacked, but at least it isn't worse.

i consider calling these communities anti-recovery, but when the communities are only about ailment on a surface level? i'm not sure. it genuinely depends case by case, on what behaviour goes unchecked, what attitudes are internalised, and so on. no sweeping judgements here.

there are multitudes of reasons why press about mental illness is on the rise. genuinely worsening life conditions. more accessible information about potential problems one can face. but i think this niche is something that's overlooked, and it's one quite personal to me.

no conclusion really. i'm just really autistic about certain specific online subcultures. thanks for asking lol

[pettybourgeoisblues]

just saw a post of a reddit screenshot about depression. don't want to reblog it because I want to be negative about it, which isn't really the vibe. But.

The post was the OP asking the question "does depression reveal the truth of reality?" like does living really just suck? and his full statement was cut off. The image was really just that of a comment where someone's like "no dumbass, your brain is literally broken."

But I'm not so sure about that. The other day I saw someone assert that suffering was the human condition. As usual, I first balked at those words but then considered it and agreed (In the past I would have just agreed, but without truly understanding). As someone who has struggled with depression, I do believe that life entails suffering, and that is the problem we are faced with. You can blame that on my brain, but its my brain. You can't deny my personal experience just cause my brain's a little fucked up.

So, dismissing the depressive mindset out of hand rubs me the wrong way. It conflicts with my worldview and experience. I have experienced immense suffering. Not so much materially mind you; thankfully I have a fair enough amount of privilege, but the levels of suffering my brain or mind has reached is ungodly. I cannot dismiss that. I have experienced it directly. I have looked at the world and seen the misery that takes place and has taken place and will take place and I have felt it, or at least as much as I possibly can and it is hell.

But I have also found its equal (or greater than), opposite, joy (note: this is the dichotomy of euphoria/dysphoria). Either greater than because there is actually more joy in the world, or, as I tend to believe, joy, by its very nature always overpowers sorrow. The smallest moment of great joy abolishes and makes worth the deepest sorrow, no matter how prolonged.

This is basically the implication of Nietzsche's demon of eternal return. The one that comes on the loneliest night and says that when you die, your life simply starts over again, but you can't do anything to change it. Do you wail and gnash your teeth at this curse, having experienced the deepest sorrow, rejecting life? Or do you hail this demon as a god, knowing you will experience great and greater joy, again and again and again, vowing to live a life worth living. To embrace convalescence, the great noontide, etc. etc. This is easy to do once you have experienced the greatest of joys.

Is it possible to experience sorrow just as deep to abolish joy? Yes. But again, that doesn't matter because it is temporary. Great joy is temporary too, but since joy will always be better than sorrow to us, that just doesn't matter. The mere fact that joy exists and we can experience it makes life worth living.

Theoretically, if someone was incapable of experiencing such joy, than their life would not be worth living. But I think at some point, anyone can. The post itself even points out that measures can be taken to relieve depression, affirming this.

I also take some issue with the total dismissal of a depressive worldview. By negating the statement "existence is bad" you are more or less asserting the opposite. It's not stated explicitly, but replying with "your brain is just broken and therefore your worldview is too", it at the very least is saying that "existence isn't bad;" you aren't supposed to feel that way, you are experiencing the world wrong, and you are wrong. But that doesn't automatically mean it is good, either. Feel free to call me a nihilist, but one should reject the absolutization of such value judgements. Existence merely is. We decide how we feel about it; those feelings are subjective. The real question is, which is the best judgement to make? I think the answer to that is clear.

So is existence bad? Is it good? It is neither and it is both. But the simple fact that it can be good is the only thing that matters, so focus on joy. This is the superior view. Depression doesn't give you the wrong answer per se, just the inferior one.

[notanotherinfjblog]

How would you describe aural memory and recall? It seems less accurate in INFJs but it's hard to describe why. Thank you.

Hi anon! :)

Just to be clear, you are talking about the ability to recall auditory stimuli like conversations, sounds, etc. over a longer period of time, right? Sorry, I'm sadly not a psychologist or neuroscientist or something like that, but I'll try!

I think the reason that it seems less accurate in INFJs (or NJs in general if you ask me) is the abstract nature of Ni. Ni abstracts away everything. For instance, I'm generally very good at recognising different voices of people and I can recall them in my mind relatively easily, but completely devoid of any words. Sounds strange and it probably is, but the exact words and the tone of voice do not get stored together in my brain. I usually don't remember the exact words someone said. I abstract them away, summarise them, draw conclusions, form judgements. That's what I store in my memory, so it will absolutely not be identical to what was actually said since it's tainted by my own interpretation of it. I've had quite a few discussions about memory with an ESFJ and an ISTJ and their way of processing and storing memories is vastly different from mine. They store this information in an Si way, can replay moments of their lives again and again in their minds like a movie, which sounds completely insane to me. My memories are by far not as detailed. They are fragmented. And so, yes, less accurate. An example that seems fitting here is an interview with Wes Anderson (an ENFJ) that I watched for (and linked on) my collection post of interviews with different MBTI types. At some point, the interviewer quotes him back to him. It was about something that Wes Anderson had said in a previous interview and the interviewer wanted some clarification on what he meant by that. And he replied something along the lines of "I said that? Huh. Well, I think I understand what I meant by that. And I think I agree with it." That's some complete Ni detachment to vaguely agree with your own former self as if it was another person, having no recollection of ever being them. And funnily enough, that's something I've heard other NJs say as well, but not any other types. Don't ask me what I said or did or believed in in the past. I have no memory of ever being a different version of myself than the one I am today.

Another aspect to consider here is how badly developed Se is in NJs. We are so very oblivious to the real world around us as we block out so much sensory information (of any kind), it's kind of ridiculous. An example: I've met an ENTJ recently and it's extremely funny to watch that low Se at work in another person from an outside perspective because we fail in the exact same way. Entering our small office building from the back entrance? Orientation lost. Other people approaching and asking to sit on the chair that ENTJ is resting his arm on? Gets startled by the chair suddenly disappearing from below his arm cause he didn't hear or notice anything. Knowing where the exit of the canteen is that we've been going to for years? Uh, give us a moment.

We need to abstract away the little sensory information that we gathered because otherwise we wouldn't be able to remember anything. I can't replay any conversations in my mind. All my memories are best guesses that I assume happened that way, but probably didn't. And I don't remember things in the right order. When I think back on a conversation that I've had with someone, then I remember it like I remember the way to supermarket: some landmarks in-between as orientation points, but the space between these landmarks is a void. I don't know which landmark comes first or second or how to get from one to the other. I only remember that they exist. So, when I think back on a conversation, I might remember that we talked about where we were going to celebrate Christmas, the rude thing my boss did this time, new office supplies, etc., but have absolutely no idea how we got to any of these points in which order or what else happened between them. I won't remember the exact words or the tone of voice or the facial expressions etc. etc. This all gets stored either completely separately from the content of the conversation or not at all.

[benevolentgodloki]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER.

○  NAME:  Pirate

○  PRONOUNS: She/her.

○   PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: tumblr IMs for introductions to discuss threads or chat to established role-play partners, Discord for a select few I gel with or especially if you're part of a server I'm in/a group thread is being written (I get overwhelmed with notifications so I can't have too many people in separate places). Asks for everything else!

○    NAME OF MUSE(S): Loki

○    EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS/YEARS?): Idk like 22 years or something? I've been on tumblr for 10 years.

○    PLATFORMS YOU’VE USED: MSN, Skype, Discord, RolePages, Vulpine Imperium, Fantasmic, tumblr

○   BEST EXPERIENCE: Meeting my best friends through fanfic and role-play

○    RP PET PEEVES / DEALBREAKERS: Vague posts/call-outs/drama, persistent negativity, repeatedly dropping threads or refreshing entire blogs and moving before we can develop a relationship, splicing dialogue/writing it retrospectively in posts, openly complaining about something without being considerate to who might be reading it, jealousy, being fandom police, Pirate whining hypocritically about all this

○    FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT: A decent mix of all tbh. Over exposure to fluff or smut can get dull for Loki. Too much angst hurts him. I like hurt/comfort. Also, my 'smut' is not the same kind of smut that word tends to make you think of. I'm not really one for mechanically jamming two muses together anyway. My 'smut' can be quite plot heavy so it's more erotica-ish? If you don't like smut usually but you're curious, you can try it out with me (if Loki's interested) and see if you like how it goes. I've converted more than one person who didn't like usual smut to start with :P Absolutely no judgement on people who just like to get right on in there, it's more jarring for me without build-up and exposition. Sometimes I'm even happier to fade to black if we've done a lot of the same old thing.

○    PLOTS OR MEMES: Light plot or memes. I don't like heavy plotting unless we've been discussing something specific and got excited. I like to pants my way through threads usually until we spark something up. I don't reblog memes often but established partners can check my /memes tag and send things in and if I want to turn it into a thread I will!

○    LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: Short to medium. I'm very succinct with what I write and I don't always do a lot of introspection because Loki's a trickster so getting in his head sometimes reveals too much to a partner. I've also read too much Pratchett so I get to the point quite fast, except when Loki's waffling the hell on. Sometimes I do get 'hooked on a feeling' or there's a lot to say and the replies get longer. With partners I'm not always a fan of long posts unless there's a good reason for it e.g. Smaugie does lots of awesome exposition and world-building and character stuff. Some peeps however are fleshing things out a lot or they end up godmodding so it's very difficult for me to explain what my character was doing or to further the plot without my brain crying.

○    BEST TIME TO WRITE: Late morning to early eve

○    ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): I find lying incredibly uncomfortable unless I'm acting, so no XD I am also not a magical frost giant god with a religious following. I am however bisexual, pagan, and wish I could physically flip my biological sex and appearance at a whim. I don't like to take hard opinions on anything so I'm very middle-ground trickstery, but I'm also obsessed with order and schedules due to my (likely) autism. I'm also far more clever than I am wise, though I think I'm gradually exchanging Intelligence points for Wisdom as I get older. God I hope so.

TAGGED BY: @paragonrising :D

TAGGING: Anyone who hasn't done this before or wants to do it again!

[audioandart]

The New Comment Section Sucks

Or at least, it appears to be new, I got it a couple days ago (read, just a little over a week ago). It could be I just got it late 🤷‍♀️

I've sat with it. I've tried to see if it has merit. Any pros. I don't usually like change so I tried to be conscious of that and not let that cloud my judgement. I tried looking at Tumblr on multiple devices to see if perhaps any issues was my phone (it wasn't.)

The new comment section does not work. I haven't seen anyone else say this so honestly who knows, maybe it's just something with my account, but in case this is an actual problem and maybe there's someone else out there who's noticed it doesn't work and feels like they're losing their mind because they don't see anyone else talking about it, here's this post.

I'll start with the only pro I've noticed. The fact that you can immediately see which comments are in reply to other comments. Great! Something I've bemoaned in the past was the difficulty to find the start of comment chains. It wasn't too difficult or upsetting for me but it could definitely be a chore. It is pretty nice to immediately be able to see what is from where.

The cons. Oh dear. I'll go in least bad to absolute worst imo

The replies are not seen automatically in some chains. I'm not sure why some chains they are automatically visible and in some they aren't but I don't think it's good? One of the ways people communicate here is jumping into a conversation they see in the replies, but they don't do that if the effort to see the reply is too high. In many situations it's too high to press the small button (that I doubt people with vision issues of any sort can see) that also for some reason some times breaks the comment section and launches you back to the top. Most of this is a nitpick but the broken button and its size is a problem.

The new background. I don't have vision problems but I can't see, I cannot imagine it being good for anyone who does have them. The greyish blueish color behind black text is NOT helpful. Idk, I do know there are some people who this would actually be good for, but I think it's very important to at least maybe have to option to have the normal black and white, because some people need that to see. (Including me, please bring it back.) Honestly, the comments have just been made endlessly less accessible. I genuinely have to reread things multiple times because I cannot retain what I'm reading. Long story, but yes the background color affects what my brain retains. Iirc it affects everyone's brains but I digress.

When typing, the comment box (where you type) no longer stays at the part you're typing, but at the very top. You can no longer see what you're typing past a point. I'm also not sure this is or isn't my device, but I checked this on multiple and it still happened so I'm leaning towards the site. This started gradually before the change.

I cannot find my comments. This also started gradually before the change, and is why I thought my account was broken, but I was since informed by multiple people that my comments are genuinely just disappearing. Deleted it would seem, however it hasn't been staff. Small simple things like a little compliment on art. Literally just a "good job!" gone from the site. (And just in case someone thinks it might be the op deleting something on their post, about half of the people who informed me my comment was gone was the op. They were trying to respond to the comment I left for them and found it was no longer there, so it isn't them.) And it happens days and even months after the comment was posted, as well as completely randomly. However, some comments I've posted aren't deleted, because I'm receiving replies to them. They just aren't visible to me (and ONLY me) anymore. I also assumed this could have been my Internet, but I've tested that multiple times as well and found it is still just Tumblr. I've literally been in the middle of a comment convo when the person trying to respond to me will have to ask what I said because my comment(s) are suddenly gone. And I usually can't remember! This is usually at least a week or two after I posted it. This is not good. I also only was able to respond because comments weren't linked, and now that they are I won't be able to respond to the people asking about my comments because if I can't find the start, I can't find the replies.

Replies are also gone. This is the worst offender. Every single reply someone has left on any of my comments are GONE. I receive notifications on them, and not only are MY comments straight up gone, COMPLETELY, because for some reason all of a sudden, after this change ALL my comments no longer exist, but any reply left on my comments I can see don't exist. To everyone who's tried to reply to my comments recently and I haven't gotten back to you, this is why. I'm being super serious. I've received probably about 10 replies since the change. I know, I'm so popular. I haven't been able to find a single one. And from the little notifications I got, these seem to be pretty important replies! I would very much like to reply! But I can't! It's not just aggravating, or frustrating, but also very concerning. Someone out there, anyone, have any of you had this happen or is this one really just me? Etc etc if anyone has had this happen please feel free to reach out to me, I would appreciate the examples for if I bring this up again, thank you very much.

Basically, @staff, I say this out of frustration but also concern. While it's nice to have the comment sections just that tiny bit neater and slightly more intuitive in the sense that you immediately know what is in response to what, this feels very much like a monkeys paw situation. The rest of the comment section has broken. Almost in it's entirety... Please, PLEASE for the love of god fix this. I'm hoping that if anyone comments on this post, something about it being my post will let my actually see the damn things, but I don't know. We'll see!

And to everyone who's NOT staff, please if you have examples I would love to hear them. If I'm not responding to your comments below, send me a dm because I probably can't see them. I'm serious about appreciating any stories because it would help greatly to know it's not just me... 😅

[luukeskywalker]

20 questions writer meme.

THANKYOUUU @crimsonrainseekingflower FOR TAGGING ME!! <33

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

92!?!?!?!?!?!!?!?!??! WHEN DID THAT HAPPEN?!?!?!?!!?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

409,439 i feel a little lightheaded tbh

3. What fandoms do you write for?

erm a lot of them LMFAO but my main fandoms are star wars, mxtx novels, one piece, and then supernatural once in a while

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Pros and Cons of Keeping Wei Wuxian's Spirit Hostage - hua cheng keeping wwx's spirit safe during the time he was dead, 12k words, 4.5k kudos (this is insane)

there's a STALKER in the CLOUD RECESSES??? - hualian adopts wei wuxian and raises him, he goes to cloud recesses and causes trouble :3c, 5.7k words, 2.7k kudos (this is also insane to me)

sun beneath the sea - merman wangxian au i wrote for the mdzs reverse bang! 19.2k words, 1k kudos (this is slightly less insane)

Jin Ling and the No Good Very Bad Terrible Year of Cloud Recesses Bullshit - my first mdzs fic! 2.9k words, 912 kudos (thank you?!?!?!)

a kiss with a helmet is better than none - omg the first non mdzs fic on this list LOL, this was a short dinluke fic i wrote when i first got really back into star wars. 1.1k words, 911 kudos (LOVE U GUYS!!!)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

i do usually within the first two days! after that i tend to either get too busy and feel bad responding to comments super late or i just plain forget ;A; but i read every comment and they mean the absolute world to me!! i'm trying to get better at responding but it really isn't my strong suit.....

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

this is a tie imo between the precipice from my skywalker palindrome series (i prommy i will upload another installment.....eventually), and Star Light, Star Bright (which is about apollo dreaming of clay while he's in the hospital for the courtroom bombing)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

in my personal opinion it's gotta be No One Lives Forever, my deancas big bang - it was a labor of love, and also how much i wish certain plot lines could have been wrapped up more properly!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

occasionally i get a comment telling me they didn't expect my fics to be full of "gay shit" but i think those comments are mostly funny, like, bestie this is the gay shit fanfic website. but once in a while people will bookmark my fics with fairly negative comments/judgements and that's just like.......why make that public????

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

hehe. i love writing smut. idk what "kind" this would be but i tend to gravitate towards silly weird sweet kinda kinky sex???

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

i do write crossovers! i haven't in a while (unless you count mxtx novel crossovers which only half count imo LOL) but i think the craziest one i've ever posted is the star wars/animorphs one that is unfinished and will probably remain unfinished for a long time ;~;

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

i know i've definitely had elements of my fics show up in other people's work before but it's not something i keep track of these days, i don't have a lot of time to read fic ^^;; however a few months ago i did find some podcasters had read my fic aloud and commented on it and put it up on the free tier of their patreon??? they said really nice things about it which was a shocker but i feel my insides curdling whenever someone reads my ao3 username out loud HAHAHA

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i have had them translated a few times! i think pros and cons has a translation or two floating around, and i thiiink? some fics from skywalker palindrome have been translated? i know someone asked and it took me a few days to reply to tell them yes (again, terrible at replying, that's my bad)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

not exactly a singular fic but i love co-writing series together with my bestie!!!

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

AAUUUGH YOU CAN'T ASK ME THAT. I CAN'T ANSWER. but i did one time listen to wangxian.mp3 about fifty times in one day, recently

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

so many.

if i HAD to pick one, i guess i'd say....the straight up 10k of twilight au moshang i have hiding in my google docs. maybe i will just post what i have and leave it at that one day because that was a lot of work to never share it LMFAO

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue, visual description, characterization

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

FINISHING THE DAMN THING. both in terms of actually sticking to a fic long enough to finish it, and also the concept of endings as a whole.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

i don't think i've personally done it, but if i needed to i'd like to make sure it's accurate, readable, and translatable for someone who doesn't read the language.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

i actually can get a link to it if fanfic dot net is still working!! (spoiler alert: it is...for now!)

anyways, the first fic i wrote/published was for the lost boys. it hardly counts as a fic bc it's more like a meme that was going around at the time on ff.net, which was a "you've seen [x media] way too many times if...!" list of in-jokes. here it is. and if you want to look at some of my other extremely old stuff i wrote over ten years ago, be my guest i guess! fair warning a lot of it is not great!

20. Favorite fic you've written?

i know this is cheating but i have to say i think my favorite fic i've worked on is the skywalker palindrome as a whole. it's a series of fics but they work together to tell a story that remains an open-ended tragedy. we know where anakin ends up. luke knows who anakin becomes. and it seems like nothing luke can do will turn anakin away from that path. this is the rare situation where i actually have a very clear idea of how it all ends, and i just need to write my way there - which is going to take quite a while QAQ

tag time!!! @deusexvalerate GET TAGGED!!!!!

[hxhhasmysoul]

Different anon.

But I found this statement of your in your other post interesting:

“it's long, it's not perfect and replies to very particular statements made by someone i'm actually friends with rn, but it's pretty exhaustive.”

I would have never thought that you two would become friends. I personally won’t have spent a time of day with people like them, since they seem illiterate when it come to consuming media they claimed to love.

writing out all my thoughts using that post as a jumping off point will forever haunt me.

sometimes it turns out that when you talk to people directly you can find out you can communicate fine even if you come from different places.

sometimes people are just too quick in writing stuff out in a rush of emotion and they aren't really good at writing. it's happened to me a lot when i just write out my adhd and it's really nonsense but i'm feeling bad and i post it.

but most importantly i was right about them in the first few paragraphs of what i wrote there. they aren't malicious in their criticism. they aren't a clout chaser, unlike most people who say things like the previous anon, the cookie cutter stuff about the female characters in jjk and how gege is a misogynist. you can kinda sense it in the flavour of emotion in how these statements are made.

this person's, my new tumblr friend's, posts show a deep emotional connection to the text even if they read the text in a biased way and misinterpreted it.

the previous anon's statement shows this gotcha glee, this smugness of winning the internets. but absolutely no connection to the text. it's thoughtlessly repeating the supposedly morally winning theoretically conversation ending statement someone else came up with who knows how long ago. if you're already smelling the rightwing "check mate libs", you're right because this is what it is.

that's why i called their attitude "performative internet leftism". this is how i call it, i've seen "rainbow puritanism" for the more queer laced versions of this, i'm sure there are other names too. it happens when people, who haven't interrogated where their mindsets and value systems come from, engage in shallow leftism without actually doing the work of trying to understand leftist concepts and their implications. and because they were often socialised in very conservative and/or religiously fundamentalist societies they really need the world to divide into good and bad, and everything they engage with has to have a moral value and is also something that they think reflects on them and is a proof as to what kind of person they are.

that's why they can apply things like a feminist lens in a zero sum way. things like feminist theory, race theory, queer theory, gender theory and many other left leaning critical frameworks are tools for analysis and not judgement. they come from the academia and they are to help to understand systems and patterns. but "performative internet leftism" is about positioning yourself as a good person, as a person who's critical aka someone who will think long and hard enough to get to the problematic. and once they find the problematic and establish the moral value of something they can win the internets.

it's also extremely inflexible, that's why that anon completely ignored my reply to their first ask and proceeded to aggressive gender gege while straw manning some opinions.

that's also why the person, whose post i disagreed with yesterday, replied to my disagreement by saying they didn't finish reading what i wrote and calling themself "normal" and contrasting themself that way from me. because that poster established that they are "normal" and i'm not, they felt that it's okay to completely disregard everything i wrote. normal/abnormal or more often normal/degenerate is a very obvious far right way of dividing people and opinions. that person deemed themself a feminist and a leftist and yet they defaulted to a far right dogwhistle but in their mind they might have felt that they won the internets.

that reply of mine, a poorly phrased and emotional reply btw, is actually what prompted that anon.

so i likely wouldn't manage to be friends with anon or the normal poster, because i'm human, how i fail at leftism is that i'm bitter, and i couldn't not look down on them after what i've seen from them.