#atypical euphoria culture is

[atypical-dysphoria-culture-is]

atypical euphoria culture is getting so much euphoria when people look at you and do a double take <3

📯

[historyinclusionist]

History Inclusionist

An "Inclusionist" who believes that identities which are 1) shown to be supported in the community's history 2) are harmless personal identities that don't pose harm to others are valid and should be included in their communities.

Overall:

"History Inclusionism" refers to being inclusive of personal identities based on the identity being:

A self affirmed personal identity (locatable only within a person's interaction with and relations to the world around you)

Historically shown to be included in an identity subculture (Such as in a notable number of personal accounts, poems, zines, books, or other media from a subculture)

Shown to be non harmful to other identities or persons (Such as in more than one professional study)

Examples: - Different studies over human history have concluded that being raised by gay parents doesn't cause inherent harm to children. Therefore, gay relationships are provably shown to be non harmful. They are included here. - Different self-reports, comics, zines, and other writings from the past 60 years mention male lesbians, bi lesbians, and lesbians in relationships with men. Therefore, it is historically shown to be included in lesbian culture, and is included here. - Studies, reports, and other examinations by professionals over the course of human history have come to the conclusion that minors in relationships with adults cannot properly consent and are harmed by those "relationships." Therefore, personal identities that try to justify these "relationships" are not included here.

"Personal Identity"?

"Personal Identity" is a purposefully broad term meant to apply to most self-affirmed forms of identification (plurality status, orientation, gender, etc).

Being a History Inclusionist means that you are in complete support of the following personal identities:

Plurality which does not attribute its origins to trauma

Lesbians who are also male / Gay men who are also female

Lesbians who are also mspec (bi, pan, poly, etc) / Gay men who are also mspec

Transgender / nonbinary people who don't experience dysphoria or only feel euphoria

Nonbinary genders, including xenogenders / nonbinary genders that are "atypical" (based on fictional characters, highly specific, based on animals, etc)

"Atypical" relationship formats such as polyamorous relationships, relationship anarchy, kink-focused relationships, etc (Or generally any other form of relationship between two or more consenting people that would not fall under anything on the list below this)

Gender presentations which conflict with and/or defy the expected norm (Women who use he/him pronouns, men who present feminine, etc)

Being a History Inclusionist means that you absolutely do not tolerate or support the following:

Acting on or encouraging attraction to children as an adult (Ped*philia)

Acting on, encouraging attraction to, or associating positive feelings with the attraction to one's family members (Inc*st)

Acting on or encouraging attraction to, or associating positive feelings with the attraction to animals (Z*ophilia)

TransID/TransX communities, the idea that someone can transition into or identify as an age, disorder, or condition they physically are not or do not have (transrace/diarace/trace, transabled/transdisorder/'transplural'/transautistic, and so on)

Arguing with other members of the LGBT community over who is allowed to use derogatory words (Q-eer, f-ggot, d-ke, and so on)

Tagging: @mogai-sunflowers @neopronouns @radiomogai

If you're interested in reading more about why I consider XYZ a good faith thing and why I don't consider XYZ the same, I made a Carrd! 📖🏳️‍🌈

[0rb0t]

One's choice is important, true, but that choice needs to come from the self really and not from expectations. I think many of us are expected to share our identities on social media, and refusing to do that somehow equates hiding something. It's not great to do, I understand the desire to know stuff beforehand, but I question where this desire comes from.

I am definitely not against sharing stuff with friends, but I'm a person that kind of needs to know someone much longer than a few weeks to really consider them a friend that I want to be vulnerable around. It's hard to really define it, and I think it's a subjective line.

I think it's always been weird to me that I know someone's diagnoses and identities before I even know what their hobbies are. It puts a weird amount of weight on stuff that I don't think needs to be shared unless validation is being sought after... and sometimes seeking validation from strangers can lead to more pain than euphoria.

I'm not against vulnerability with friends, but I do think our current online culture tells us we need to share a LOT of ourselves online to strangers, otherwise we're not trustworthy.

Like when a big news incident happens, and suddenly "everyone better put [emoji, hashtag, slogan, identity, political alignment] in their description and twitter name so we KNOW you're good"

But does someone putting something there automatically mean they are those things? I don't think so. People can lie, people can be honest. It's how they treat others that matters, which is why a person could have all the right slogans, emojis and use all the correct language, but if they treat people like garbage, they are not someone I'd like to get to know.

A person isn't more likely to be decent or kind just because they're atypical in some way from the accepted norms. That kind of thinking can be extremely damaging. It's better to just treat all people with decency and not make assumptions based on what isn't listed.

There's tons about me my followers don't know and I'm happy about that! All my followers and random strangers know is I like to draw and I write a lot of analysis posts about R&M and other stuff I like.

Any time I've written on my blogs about being queer or neurodivergent, it feels like an ID card to let me into a private area. It feels like permission to exist in a space, even my own just to share my thoughts on something.

I don't really like that. It's pretty much the number one reason I don't seek out friends based on shared identity, but rather, based on shared interests.

It's nice to be able to relate in ways about stuff, but I think this expectation that it needs to be done all the time leads people to feeling like they have to post about it or share it somewhere on their blog or social media, and I just don't think that's necessary.

Just be careful with what you're sharing with thousands of strangers online.

I remember back in 2016 I think it was, there was a friend group (I no longer talk to) that kept assuming I was neurotypical because I never used to say what mental illnesses I had (since I don't see them as a badge of honor, they are just things I live with and cope with daily).

Now that wouldn't be an issue, except, because of their false assumption, they'd use that as a reason why they were allowed to ostracize me, or assume I was ignorant, or assume I was stupid. It basically gave them a free pass to treat me as subhuman, because I guess to them, if I were neurotypical, then I was the scapegoat and/or avatar of all of their suffering at the hands of neurotypical people who've mistreated them.

That's wrong, we know that, right?

We should not be treating any people badly based on the things we assume them to be. Nobody owes you their diagnoses, their identities, their ANYTHING just as a way to avoid being mistreated online by strangers. I think "respect is earned not given" has messed with peoples brains because I don't need to respect you to be decent to you. Decency means I don't mistreat strangers, decency means I block people instead of trying to fight with them in public online spaces.

I respect myself so I am decent to others.

If someone doesn't know something and is using their ignorance to justify mistreating others, that's a whole other thing. And if educating them isn't working, then blocking them or whatever is I believe fine. These things are nuanced, not every situation is the same.

But I am really getting sick of this idea that you have to be open about very personal things (that really you should only be open with and vulnerable about with your friends and not every stranger online) in order to be given any form of decency. No, that's not true.

No person is inherently worth more or less than any other person. "you don't list all your mental illnesses and differences from the 'norm' on your bio, therefore you must be someone who exists to oppress me and therefore I can do whatever I want to you and you can't say anything against it" is not the W you think it could be. I have no reason to be so vulnerable to strangers. We do not know each other, and that's okay, but you aren't entitled to that information.

Even that friend group was more like an acquaintance group at the time-- we were in a group together because we all liked undertale. it didn't make us tightly knit friends. We just had common interests! And I was within my right to tell them to go fuck themselves for being asses to me regarding their assumptions made. They were within their right to disagree with my disagreement LOL

But let's stop with the "you need to list your credentials before you can exist and if your credentials don't give you authority in some form of being oppressed, you are allowed to be bullied or harassed" rhetoric. It's unhelpful, and it actively hinders solidarity.

Plus it encourages people to perform their mental illnesses and such in ways that are "acceptable" for others and screws people up a LOT. I'm not inclined to try to match expectations of any of my "identities", and I'm certainly not inclined to match the expectations complete strangers have of me.

[bitches-soup]

what your favorite sapphic show says about you

she-ra: you’re a basic bitch, but honestly very chill and nice

the haunting of bly manor: you probably read a shit ton of sapphic yearning posts at 2 am

wynona earp: you definitely had an “i’m so edgy” phase in middle school

one day at a time: you are the mom of the friend group

the owl house: i feel like you used to be a she-ra stan, but now you just can’t stop watching little miss perfect and ordinary animatics

supergirl: i wish i had your amount of patience, and also you probably read a ton of fan fic

killing eve: no thoughts in your brain because that’s where villanelle lives

the 100: you can somehow live on even the tiniest sliver of representation, and you have a very intense love/hate relationship with the cw

legends of tomorrow: you’re kinda awkward, but actually so funny

euphoria: you’re very cool can we please be friends

atypical: you refuse to wear anything but flannels and converse

glee: you’re a theater kid

[blueaetherr]

bound 2 (falling in love)

pairing: mason mount x fem!oc (cece) [she/her]

warning(s): none

summary: the one where they go on vacation together

Stretching her arms over her head, Cece sighed as she glanced at Mason, her smile soft yet tired. "So what should we get up to?" she asked him as they reached their vacation destination.

With Mason finished with the football season and Cece done with her academics for the year, time was in their favour to go on vacation. A vacation—a getaway from the realities of everything—that was needed and well deserved by the couple. Some time away from football, away from the media, away from work, removing themselves from responsibility for a quick minute. That didn't seem all too bad to Cece and Mason.

Not only did the two deserve a vacation, but it was also an opportunity to spend time together as a couple. As true lovers, as partners—whatever suited the two the best. Most of their time together relied on borrowed time. When Mason returned home after a game during atypical hours, facetime calls when the two were apart and alone, those late nights conversations that were left undone because of sudden fatigue. Now, however, they could claim time as their own, using it as they could and pleased.

"I don't know," Mason said, offering Cece a hand as they walked down the plane steps. When they reached the bottom of the steps, he adjusted his hand in her own, squeezing it softly. He shrugged, "But I'm up for anything you want to do. Anything in mind?" Mason really wanted this holiday. Not for himself, but for and with Cece. That's why he asked for her opinion; he would be okay with anything she suggested. As long as she was happy then he couldn't find a reason to feel any different.

"I think exploring the city would be nice."

Exploring the city, the small towns and villages became the priority activity for Mason and Cece. Some discoveries offering new perspectives and interests. As they roamed through the quiet yet busy streets, locals cheerful and welcoming with every turn into every hidden location. Passing through the area riding bikes or walking with pace and ease, hand in hand as Mason and Cece took in the architecture, the culture and the unique sights.

In their eyes, besides the one they walked with, everything in sight was all too beautiful and fascinating to look away from.

Cece placed a hand over her heart when she witnessed Mason trying to hide his smiles. "I thought we agreed on no gifts." Entering a vintage shop the two planned on buying items for those back home. The friends, the family. It was supposed to be an easy task yet Mason failed terribly as he approached his girlfriend with more than he should carry.

"I could have bought the whole shop but I didn't," he said, causing Cece to laugh. She couldn't remain mad at him. Not that she was from the start. The act was cute, after all. "I was having a look at this and the shopkeeper insisted that I buy it for my beautiful wife." Mason stretched his arm into one of his many bags to reveal a small box which held a necklace. One that was original, primal yet simple. It's going to suit her so well.

She turned away from a clothing rack, a smile quickly growing across her lips. "Your beautiful wife?"

"Her words, not mine," Mason shrugged but his face broke out with euphoria. It wasn't the first time the two were mistaken to be something they had yet to claim. But with their adoring moments together—Mason constantly complimenting the appearance and presence of his girlfriend, Cece hyping up all of her boyfriend's Instagram shots, the pair refusing to let go of one another for a single moment—you would think Mason and Cece were in the honeymoon stage together. "Not that I disagree, of course."

"Now," Mason twirled Cece towards the mirror behind her, beginning to undo the necklace, "just do that for me..." Delicately placing the necklace along her neck, he pulled away and did a chef's kiss, watching his girlfriend cave from all the attention. "My, God! I'm at a loss for words. I mean—wow!" The perception that he had of his girlfriend was very much all love and dear.

Mason saw everything and anything in Cece, she simply had that much potential. The necklace was barely half of what she was. The figure, the presence, the personality—really, that was all her. Despite all of his compliments, he didn't think she understood the extent of how much of a figure of work she was.

Their evenings were spent deeper into the towns and villages. Venturing into the cute restaurants and diners, finding all kinds of activities to lose themselves in. Escaping into the night festivals that brought about so much spirit and community, dancing with the locals to lively tunes. Dancing with one another to the softer and slower tunes, a bit of romance and affection thriving between the two.

Mason and Cece were a bit lost in it all, smoothly drunk. The close hand placements, the outward body contact, the blurred and unsteady swaying across the pavement. But it didn't matter; it refused to cancel out all the fun they were having, laughs and smiles galore with each turn they took on the dance floor.

Cece let her hands run over his chest, letting them settle on his shoulders finally. "Something is going on in that mind of yours." She tilted her head and focused solely on him. "You wanna tell me about it?"

Is it wrong of me to say that I want to make you my beautiful wife? Mason shook his head, smiling with more than enough delight. "No, I don't think I want to," the two laughed as he carefully dripped Cece, bringing her back up with care as they fell back into the foreign tunes. "Thanks for the concern though."

"Some time by the beach doesn't seem too bad."

And the late, late nights were taken to the beach. They enjoyed themselves there. Where they could move away from the parties and the noise, where little to no one else found themselves. Where they could fully fall into one another on the low, the night sky concealing them from the others some distance away. Where their make-outs were soft and clumsy against the sand, bringing about laughs that were carefree and real and full of animation.

For the last time, together and cuddled up on the sand, the two overlooked the moon hanging over the beach. They didn't want to let go of this moment, truthfully. Mason and Cece didn't want to leave it all behind. The newly found scenery, the evening festivals, the weirdly nice locals—claiming time as their own. It was all too entertaining and new yet comfortable. But it was okay. As long as they remained together, whether that be at home or on vacation, then it was already a good day.

[lilflowerpot]

Do you think the Galra have illegal and/or recreational drugs in their culture? And if they do would the Empire have a tight control over a thing like that or would it be left open to be purchased by citizens like alcohol (do Galra drink alcohol????) is to humans?

[[DISCLAIMER: I do not condone non-prescription drug abuse. I had a flatmate at uni who smoked copious amounts of weed in our flat at all hours, and it (1) stank to high heaven, (2) set off the fire-alarm at 4am more times than I can count, and (3) made both her and her friends even more insufferably obnoxious than they already were. In that same vein, neither do I condemn addicts: they are people in need of assistance and rehabilitation, not a prison sentence. So don’t do drugs kids (unless they’re over the counter prescription) because truly addiction is no joke. Also, if you’re going to smoke anything please be considerate of others and do it in a private space, because second-hand smoke is nasty at best, and at worst can aggravate respiratory conditions such as asthma and even anaphylaxis.]]

Now, onto the Galra!

At a base level, all drugs are simply substances that induce an artificial and atypical state in the individual exposed to them, particularly with regard to their brain chemistry. When divided by their major effects, there are four primary subdivisions:

Stimulants increase brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure, while often producing a euphoric effect, with some people feeling more alert, energetic, confident, and agitated. They may induce ill-effects such as insomnia, anxiety, panic attacks, seizures, headaches, stomach cramps, aggression and paranoia.

Depressants decrease brain activity, slowing reflexes to impair co-ordination, concentration, and judgement, while often relieving anxiety and producing feelings of relaxation, calm, and drowsiness. They may induce the ill-effects of nausea, loss of consciousness, and a potentially paradoxical increase in anxiety, aggression, and nightmares.

Opioids share some notable similarities with depressants in that they can produce a calm, relaxed state, along with feelings of deep pleasure and even euphoria. By breaking down and attaching to proteins in the brain (opioid receptors) they inhibit the perception of pain felt by the individual, but abuse runs the severe risk of nausea, lethargy, dizziness, fainting, and respiratory arrest.

Hallucinogens distort an individual’s perception of reality, (visually / aurally / emotionally) and so the effects of hallucinogens are difficult to predict due to being greatly altered by the mood of the individual and the context of use. Short-term effects include nausea, increased heart rate, dizziness, confusion, clumsiness, and emotional swings. Long-term use can lead to a range of serious physical and mental health conditions.

The Empire, therefore, would absolutely want to keep a tight leash on such substances for the fact that their first priority is protecting Imperial citizens, something that becomes awfully difficult to do if what are effectively poisons (albeit with pleasurable side effects) run rampant and completely unchecked.

However, as a highly advanced civilisation the Galra would have undoubtedly developed some non-addictive and relatively harmless substances for recreational use that can be obtained perfectly legally. Considering the baseline temperament of the Galra (typically prone to be high energy and err on the side of aggression) I do not think stimulants or hallucinogens would be easy to come by, as both are likely to aggravate the people of what is already a warrior people, and that seems... incredibly unwise. Certain depressives and opioids, however, may be in general circulation due to inducing a temporary flux of serotonin / oxytocin / dopamine production in the brain.

The most popular of these would be kosaaq [[ k-oh-s-ah-k ]], a gentle opioid that was carefully cultivated by the Dox from the roots of a grafted plant derived from several different types of flora native to Daibazaal’s jungles, and could be dried out and burnt like incense. Though carefully monitored to ensure that any given individual is only in possession of a controlled amount of kosaaq at any given time, culturally the Galra burn it when gathered in a comfortable and secure location with family and friends; it’s considered a bonding activity - a popular way to wind down after a long movement - and there are even warm, smokey pleasure-dens that serve this express purpose, with food, drink, live music, and comfy cushions galore.

[wanderluwst]

looking for blogs to follow!!

like or reblog this post and follow me if your blog has one or more of these:

tv series (euphoria, atypical, merlí, skam og and remakes, brooklyn 99 etc)

books (carry on, all for the game, harry potter, the hunger games etc)

lgbtq+ characters and ships

pop culture

exo and zhang yixing

aesthetic

animes (yuri on ice, love death and robots, disenchantment etc)

basic netflix:)

this is a follow for follow!!!

[bi-kisses]

Can you give me the compelling version of the transmed position? Like, one of my close friends says she shares a lot of the philosophy but goes in a very different direction, but I want to understand more than "gender is an intrinsic part of neurology identifiably only by dysphoria (and also mb nonbinary people don't exist)"

Gender is an intrinsic part of biology. Let’s start there. That’s the baseline transmed position, or at least MY position. This will be a long post, all info under the cut.

So gender, as a lot of anti-transmeds view it, is considered a social construct. Problem being this social construct is reliant upon variables such as gender roles (i.e. not universal concepts). This idea gives a LOT of leverage to anti-trans ideals because it implies that your gender itself alters when placed under the scrutiny of different cultural lenses, therefore it isn’t fixed. This means being trans isn’t inherent to who you are and is, thus, alterable. Itso facto, being trans is something you can opt out of because gender isn’t real, isn’t fixed, and isn’t reliant on any inherent part of you as a person.

But that ISN’T the case and it’s transphobic (as well as inaccurate) to describe it as such. Gender is based on the wiring of your brain. I’m reading a great book right now called ‘the sexual paradox’ that discusses a lot of this wiring and the differences between men and women in detail, so if you’re feeling research-y, check that out.

Essentially a lot of brain scans and other such studies have reliably observed trends between the brains of men and the brains of women. There’s a fair amount of overlap, so you can’t always tell the sex of a brain just at a glance, but there are components specific to each sex. I’m not going to claim trans women’s brains are 100% female, because they aren’t, but instead I’m going to claim this; the part of a trans person’s brain responsible for recognizing their body (for more info, look up ‘proprioception’) has been influenced  by hormones in the womb that change it to resemble that of the opposite sex. This causes gender dysphoria and, since your brain’s internal setup can’t be altered, will only be effectively treated by transition. This is the aspect of a person that makes them cis or trans.

The tucute position is confusing when placed in this context. They claim you can be transgender (i.e. require transition) without gender dysphoria. But when analyzed based on neurological data, the only accurate line to be drawn between a masculine female brain and a masculinized trans man brain is that part involved in recognizing your body. Every other aspect can be varied along the spectrum of male/female brains and, subsequently, doesn’t indicate anything about the person’s gender (instead it may reflect their personality but that isn’t wrapped up in your gender as many seem to believe).

To quickly address gender euphoria, which I’ve seen a lot of really good posts circulate about recently, gender euphoria is actually the absence of dysphoria. When your resting state is that of discomfort, sometimes you grow so used to it that you don’t realize it’s uncomfortable. Then, when that dysphoria is relieved and you feel what cis people feel, it seems incredibly liberating and joyful, being perceived as euphoric even though that’s not really the case. This is common to people with depression for example, where the absence of emotion becomes so normal to them that momentary relief from their mental illness is viewed as incredible joy when it’s really not. So gender euphoria is simply a misrepresented manifestation of gender dysphoria.

So to claim that you can be transgender without gender dysphoria is to claim that gender’s definition is NOT biological, NOT linked to actual tangible scientific data, and doesn’t make any sense. 

For links/sources and deeper explanations I beseech you to check out my discourse shortcut because everything is there and I really hate retyping the same thing over and over.

As for nonbinary people, that argument’s sources and info are all in the discourse shortcut above as well, but I will write out a tl;dr for you.

As stated above, female and male brains exist on an overlapping spectrum (picture a venn diagram if that helps). They vary along those lines and most people fall somewhere between the two. For a non binary brain to exist and cause non binary dysphoria, the hormones to influence said brain in the womb would have to be a mix of the two or neither, correct? That’s how most NB people identify (agender, bigender, demiboy/girl, etc), as far as I’ve seen. But the problem with those identities is they don’t make any sense and aren’t neurologically possible.

A lack of hormones influencing your brain leaves you with female aspects as, biologically speaking, that’s the genetic default. A mix of hormones isn’t exactly a viable situation logistically (due to factors such as hormone receptors, the mother’s own body and situation, etc). And, as previously noted, there is already a lot of overlap between men and women’s neurology, meaning even if you were in the precise middle, you’d be a normal person whose gender relies, again, upon their gender dysphoria. In summary, it’s impossible to have a brain that is evenly balanced between the two genders or lacks features of either. So that brings us to non binary dysphoria.

Essentially, atypical gender dysphoria isn’t well defined enough to make viable arguments for it. Either dysmorphia is being confused for dysphoria, or fluctuating dysphoria is being confused for non binary dysphoria. If you only are feeling dysphoria about certain aspects of your body I’d recommend digging down and finding the reasons you feel this way and what your ideal body would be. I’ve also heard a LOT that after top surgery, for example, trans men suddenly notice their bottom dysphoria even though it was non existent before. Sometimes your perception of your dysphoria is influenced by what’s most prominent to your brain, confusing you as to your true gender identity.

If you have further questions please feel free to ask, you can reblog this or DM me, I’m happy to elaborate or listen to rebuttals.

[massmurdera]

2019 & 2010s Best/Worst

Because I like lists and cataloguing the dumb shit I cared about. As my brother once said after seeing and reviewing NOW YOU SEE ME on a lazy Sunday, ‘Some would say it was a waste of time, others might say it was a colossal waste of time.’     

I’ll admit, it’s a bit over-the-top. Particularly including the Pats, but yeah, in the Tom Brady era that started when I was 14 as a Freshman in high school to 33 years old now and wrapping up soon-ish (?), there’s not a chance in hell I’ll care as intimately about this shit. I grew up with it at just the right time.

2019 MOVIES  TOP TIER 1) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2) Uncut Gems 2nd TIER 3) Knives Out 4) Parasite 5) Little Women 6) Midsommer 3rd TIER 7) John Wick III 8) Ready or Not 9) Marriage Story 10) Joker 11) Irishman 12) Shazam! 13) Us UNDERRATED Ready or Not TOO LONG John Wick III; Irishman SOLID El Camino GOOD BAD 6 Underground OK 21 Bridges; Avengers: Endgame; Dolemite is my Name; Dragged Across Concrete; Fighting With My Family; Hustlers; Knock Down the House; Longshot; the Report; Two Popes MEH Always Be My Maybe; Death of Dick Long; High Flying Bird; Spiderman: Far From Home; Standoff at Sparrow Creek DISAPPOINTING Hobbs & Shaw; Toy Story 4; Triple Frontier SUCK Laundromat; Under the Silver Lake OVERRATED Ad Astra; Booksmart; the Farewell FUNNIEST SCENE Dicaprio flipping out in movie trailer BEST CLIMAX/ENDING Once Upon a Time; Uncut Gems HAVEN’T SEEN 1917; Apollo 11; Beach Bum; Dark Waters; Ford vs Ferrari; Honey Boy; Jojo Rabbit; the Lighthouse; Star Wars 2019 TV  TOP TIER 1) Succession 2) Fleabag 3) Watchmen 2nd TIER 4) When They See Us 5) Barry 6) Unbelievable 7) Chernobyl 8) Sex Education DAMN GOOD Big Mouth; the Boys; Brockmire; Derry Girls; Euphoria; Loudest Voice; Mindhunter; Pen15; Righteous Gemstones; Veep WATCHABLE Atypical; Bosch; Dark; Goliath; Karate Kid; Kominsky Method; Mandalorian; Mr Robot; Mrs Fletcher; Russian Doll; Warrior HIGH/LOW I Think You Should Leave SHIT END FOR ALL-TIME GREAT Game of Thrones HALF-WATCH Living With Yourself; Raising Dion; the Society NOT UP TO STANDARD Stranger Things; GLOW; Killing Eve; True Detective BAD Luther; Shameless; Silicon Valley; SNL SUCK 13 Reasons Why; Big Little Lies; the Witcher FUNNIEST Desus & Mero DOCS 1) Fyre: both  2) Ted Bundy Tapes 3) American Factory 4) Leaving Neverland STAND-UP SPECIALS 1) Burr 2) Chappelle 3) Jeselnik 4) Birbiglia 5) Gulman BEHIND ON SHOWS I DIG Brooklyn 99; Catastrophe; Corporate; Expanse; Good Place; It’s Always Sunny; Letterkenny 2010s TV  DRAMA 1) Breaking Bad 2) Game of Thrones 3) Justified 4) Mad Men 5) Hannibal 6) Banshee ANTHOLOGY/LIMITED SERIES 1) Fargo SII 2) True Detective SI 3) When They See Us 4) People Vs OJ Simpson 5) Chernobyl 6) Show Me a Hero 7) the Night Of 8) Honorable Woman COMEDY 1) Atlanta 2) Fleabag 3) Veep 4) Big Mouth 5) Parks & Rec 6) Rick & Morty 7) Nathan for You 8) Review 9) American Vandal HIT/MISS Black Mirror OVERRATED Boardwalk Empire; House of Cards; Peaky Blinders; Westworld UNDERRATED Banshee; Brockmire; Hannibal FUN HATE-WATCH Newsroom DOWNHILL Homeland; How I Met Your Mother; Legion; Sons of Anarchy HATED Girls; Leftovers; Rectify UNWATCHABLE Twin Peaks BEST ENDINGS Breaking Bad; Justified; Fleabag; Parks & Rec DUMBEST ENDING Dexter; Sons of Anarchy LATE NIGHT Desus & Mero POLITICAL John Oliver 2010s MOVIES 2010 Social Network Animal Kingdom; the Fighter; Four Lions; Inside Job; Jackass 3; MacGruber; Shutter Island; Toy Story 3; True Grit; Winter’s Bone 2011 the Raid Descendents; Drive; Fast Five; the Guard; Mission Impossible 4; Take This Waltz; Warrior 2012 Magic Mike 21 Jump Street; Argo; Cabin in the Woods; Chronicle; Django Unchained; Goon; Looper; Queen of Versailles; Silver Linings Playbook; Skyfall 2013 Wolf of Wall Street Before Midnight; the Conjuring; Gravity; Her; Inside Llewyn Davis; Prisoners; Short-Term 12 2014 John Wick the Drop; Edge of Tomorrow; Gone Girl; the Guest; Lego Movie; Nightcrawler; the Raid 2; Whiplash 2015 Mad Max 7 Days in Hell; Big Short; Brooklyn; Creed; Ex Machina; Fast 7; It Follows; Logan; Magic Mike XXL; the Martian; Me and Earl and the Dying Girl; Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation; Sicario 2016 the Nice Guys Deadpool; Edge of Seventeen; Everybody Wants Some!; Green Room; La La Land; Manchester By the Sea; Moonlight; OJ: Made in America; Popstar; Sing Street; Weiner 2017 Get Out Blade Runner 2049; Coco; Dunkirk; Lady Bird; Logan; Thor Ragnorak; Tour de Pharmacy 2018 Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse BlacKKKlansman; Den of Thieves; Hereditary; If Beale Street Could Talk; Minding the Gap; Sorry to Bother You

THE BEST Mad Max BEST DOC OJ: Made in America FUNNIEST DOC Tickled UNDERRATED DOC Weiner HORROR Hereditary FAVORITE/FUNNIEST PERFORMANCE Ryan Gosling (Nice Guys) DESERVED 5 SEQUELS the Nice Guys SUPERHERO Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse WAR Dunkirk BEST FIGHT SCENES the Raid UNDERRATED any Lonely Island project NICE TRY Dark Knight Rises; Inception; Interstellar; Widows STAND-UP 2010s FAVORITE Bill Burr NEXT BEST Ali Wong; Anthony Jeselnik; Kyle Kinane; Bert Kreischer; Marc Maron; John Mulaney; Patton Oswalt; Rory Scovel; Tom Segura COMEBACK Chappelle DOWNFALL Louis CK DIED BEFORE PRIME Patrice O’Neal, Greg Giraldo UNDERRATED Joe Derosa MUST-SEE LIVE Robert Kelly  PODCASTS 2010s  BEST/FUNNIEST/UNDERRATED Walking the Room RUNNER-UP 600 Dollar Podcast ONE-MAN RANT Bill Burr Monday Morning Podcast SPORTS Pardon My Take RIFFING Bodega Boys HISTORY/COMEDY Dollop HISTORY DEEP DIVE Hardcore History MOVIES Rewatchables HATE-WATCH CRITICISM West Wing Thing POP CULTURE/FILM Frotcast MIXED Revisionist History GOOD/BAD Joe Rogan: GOOD: propping up comic friends; BAD: useful idiot for propping up bad faith fascists who should be put out to pasture INTERNET CURIOSITY Reply All LEFTIST POLITICS Chapo Trap House TRUE CRIME In the Dark ADVICE Don’t Take Bullshit From Fuckers LAME Pod Save America OVERRATED Missing Richard Simmons DIDN’T LIKE S-Town SERIAL Season 3>Season 1 TRUMP Trump, Inc SPORTS SCHAUDENFREUDE Fuck the Chargers OKAY Bill Simmons WTF WITH MARON good when he talks to comics MURDER My Favorite Murder OTHER GOOD ONES Hound Tall; Press Box

2010s MUSIC  FAVORITE anything Brian Fallon ROCK BAND Menzingers SONG Robyn-‘Dancing On My Own’ POP-PUNK BAND Wonder Years LIVE ALBUM Horrible Crowes-‘Elsie’ HEAVY BAND Every Time I Die ELECTRONIC Chvrches SOLO Rihanna COVER ALBUM Dustin Kensrue-‘Thoughts on a Different Blood’ GO-TO AT GYM Story So Far OFF THE INEVITABLE & IRRECOVERABLE DEEP END Kanye KIND OF LIKE THE MUSIC/HATE THE PERSON: LIKE KANYE Taylor Swift, Bieber THOUGHT I’D HATE BUT DOES NOT SUCK Lana Del Rey; Post Malone OTHER FAVES 1975; Arctic Monkeys; Beach Slang; Black Keys; Bon Iver; Carly Rae Jepsen; the National; Thrice MIXED Chance the Rapper; Kendrick Lamar I’ll be honest I spent far more time listening to podcasts nearly all the time and just listened to mostly the same couple of things I liked. 2010s PATRIOTS  2010s BEST GAMES 1) Seahawks Super Bowl 2) Falcons Super Bowl 3) Ravens 2015 Divisional 4) Chiefs 2019 AFCCG UNDERRATED CLASSIC Ravens 2015 Divisional BRADY/GRONK GO DOWN LIKE CHAMPS 1) 2018 Eagles Super Bowl 2) Broncos 2015 AFCCG: Brady’ offensive line was a sieve EITHER WAY Giants Super Bowl: game changed when Brady’s shoulder got fucked up by Tuck FAVORITE PLAYER TB12 MOST FUN/DOMINANT Gronk HEART OF TEAM Edelman BELOVED Wilfork ROCK SOLID 1) Hightower 2) McCourty 3) James White 1st BALLOT HALL OF FAMERS 1) Brady 2) Gronk 3) Revis LATER BALLOT 1) Edelman 2) Scarnecchia 3) Welker 4) Wilfork 5) Slater MAKING AN ARGUMENT Gilmore PATS HALL ONLY 1) McCourty 2) Hightower 3) Mankins 4) White 5) Gostkowski 6) Mayo 7) Chung UNDERRATED/GOOD VALUE 1) Amendola 2) Vollmer 3) Ninkovich 4) Chung 5) Woodhead DESERVED BETTER Welker UNSUNG Slater OVERRATED 1) Solder 2) Brandin Cooks NO-SHOWS Dolphins (Dec ’19); Jets Divisional (Jan ‘11) BEST REGULAR SEASON WINS 1) 2013 Broncos 2) 2017 Steelers 3) 2013 Saints BEST REGULAR SEASON LOSSES 1) 2012 49ers 2) 2016 Seahawks 3) 2014 Packers 4) 2015 Broncos LOL Miami Miracle: saved by winning Super Bowl LEAST TALENTED TEAM 1) 2013 by a mile 2) 2010 3) 2011 4) 2018 BEST TEAM 1) 2014  2) 2016 BEST PLAYS (NON-GRONK) 1) Butler INT Seahawks 2) Edelman TD pass vs Ravens 3) Buttfumble Jets 4) Edelman catch vs Falcons 5) Walk-off TD vs Falcons 6) Dan Connolly kick return 7) Brady TD pass to LaFell 2015 Divisional POUNDED TABLE TO DRAFT 1) Lamar Jackson 2) Kittle 3) AJ Brown 4) Honey Badger 5) Stefon Diggs WANTED BUT OUT OF REACH 1) Aaron Donald 2) Quenton Nelson 3) Derwin James 4) Hopkins 5) TJ Watt 6) Saquon 7) Keenan Allen 8) McCaffrey 9) Gurley WOULD’VE WON IT ALL IF NOT FOR INJURIES 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017. That’s football HEALTHIEST SEASON 2018 ROPE-A-DOPED/GOT BY ON VETERAN GUILE 2018: Belichick’s best coaching FAVORITE PICKS AT THE TIME OF GUYS I WANTED 1) Gronk 2) Hightower/Chandler Jones 3) Shaq Mason MOVES I HATED THAT I WAS WRONG ABOUT 1) Stephon Gilmore 2) trading Jamie Collins MOST IMPROVED Marcus Cannon BEST FIND Kyle Van Noy MOVE I LOVED getting Blount back the 2nd time IF BUTLER WASN’T BENCHED, DO THEY BEAT THE EAGLES? Yes 100%. If only because, if nothing else, he can tackle BUTLER’s INT KILLED THE ‘LEGION OF BOOM’ SEAHAWKS WOULD-BE DYNASTY Yes DRAFT REACH THAT MADE NO SENSE Jordan Richards: Tavon Wilson 2.0 BAD DRAFT MOVES 1) Dominique Easley 2) Cyrus Jones 3) Dobson 4) Mallett DIRTY SECRET Belichick sucks at drafting in 2nd round WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD IF HE STAYED HEALTHY Malcolm Mitchell HATE TO SEE WALK BUT COULDN’T AFFORD 1) Trey Flowers 2) Chandler Jones 3) Jimmy G 4) Talib 5) Akiem Hicks DEFLATEGATE fraud/power trip job by Goodell/owners BRADY OR BELICHICK MORE VALUABLE Brady 100% DISAPPOINTING/GAMBLES 1) Ochocinco 2) Michael Bennett: got him 2 years too late 3) Fanene signing 4) Haynesworth BEST SHORT-TERM 1) Martellus Bennett 2) Chris Long 3) Revis 4) Brian Waters SUSPECT CHARACTERS/EDGY PERSONALITY MACHINES Brandon Spikes; Brandon Browner…SERIAL KILLER Aaron Hernandez PERSONALITY DISORDER DISASTER Antonio Brown: bad signing/unexpected HOW THE FUCK DID WE LOSE TO THAT GUY? Eli Manning/Nick Foles LIFESAVER Scarnecchia MCDANIELS Frustrating—but continuity matters REFS FUCKED OVER Gronk  MISCELANNEOUS 2010s GOOD/ENJOY Bernie Sanders/AOC: people who actually want to get good done that’s long overdue…Lebron James; Stephen Curry; Kawhi; Zion Williamson; Luka Doncic...Lamar Jackson; Pat Mahomes; JJ Watt; Marshawn Lynch…Coach Ed Orgeron...David Ortiz…2011 Bruins…memes…Don Winslow crime novels…David Roth writing on Trump…David Grann non-fiction…’Book of Mormon’ DID NOT ENJOY Kyrie Irving…Deflategate…LeBron on the Heat…Bobby Valentine DON’T UNDERSTAND WHY PEOPLE LIKE ‘Between the World and Me’…Elon Musk…Lin Manuel-Miranda/’Hamilton’ INDEFENSIBLY AND INFURIATINGLY BAD THE MORE YOU LOOK AT IT Facebook��Obama Presidency/Democratic Party Leadership EVERYDAY DISASTER Media: CNN; Fox; MSNBC; NY Times Op-Ed…Trump/Republicans: Trump presidency was basically 2010s 9/11 for inevitable disastrous fallout & consequences my generation will never recover from…Grifters Trojan horsing way in shamelessly (Trump administration; Ben Shapiro; Alex Jones; Milo; Jordan Peterson, Tomi Lahren, etc.) and no repercussions...Republican Party basically one goal: to troll libs even with shitty ideas that suck FAVORITES WHO DIED Bourdain; Elmore Leonard; Garry Shandling; Muhammad Ali; Robin Williams; Tom Petty BEST TALENT CUT SHORT Philip Seymour Hoffman SHITTIEST PEOPLE WHO DIED Antonin Scalia; George HW Bush; John McCain; Osama; Steve Jobs; Whitey Bulger I FORGOT THAT SHIT HAPPENED Charlie Sheen loses it JEFFREY EPSTEIN did not kill himself WHAT DEFINES 2010s Amazon/Bezos…Climate Change/Gun Violence inaction…Journalism being taken over by Bane Capital-esque vultures/local places dying...one-sided Class War by the uber-rich…#MeToo…Netflix…Opioids…Outrage/Cancel culture…Police Injustice…Silicon Valley…Social Media…Superhero shit…Your mom

[redcarpetview]

ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES NEXT WAVE OF PROGRAMMING

       ATX Television Festival continues to announce major programming for season eight, which will take place June 6-9, 2019, in Austin, Texas.  

     ATX will premiere HBO's upcoming summer series "Euphoria," created, written by, and executive produced by Sam Levinson, as this opening night screening and panel on Thursday June 6th. "Euphoria” follows a group of high school students as they navigate drugs, sex, identity, trauma, social media, love and friendship. The screening will be followed by a panel conversation with creator/executive producer Sam Levinson, and cast members Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Barbie Ferreira, and Eric Dane. Executive producers also include Drake, Future the Prince, Ravi Nandan, Kevin Turen, Hadas Mozes Lichtenstein, Ron Leshem, Daphna Levin, Tmira Yardeni, Mirit Toovi, Yoram Mokady, Gary Lennon and Jim Kleverweis. "Euphoria" is produced in partnership with A24, and based on the Israeli series of the same name from Ron Leshem and Daphna Levin.

       ABC’s record-breaking medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy” will screen the season 15 episode “Silent All These Years,” written by Elisabeth R. Finch and directed by Debbie Allen, which marks one of the series’ most riveting and emotional hours yet. The screening will be followed by a Q&A conversation with showrunner & executive producer Krista Vernoff, co-executive producer & writer Elisabeth R. Finch, and stars Camilla Luddington and Kim Raver, who will discuss the impact that the episode has had on viewers, as well as their approach to tackling topics of sexual assault and consent.

    Debbie Allen. Photo source www.facebook.com/TheRealDebbieAllen 

     This year’s festival will feature a screening of an all-new episode of Freeform’s “grown-ish,” followed by a Q&A with cast & creatives, including cast members Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Francia Raisa, Chloe Bailey, Halle Bailey, Emily Arlook and Jordan Buhat, and executive producer and writer Craig Doyle. “grown-ish” returns on Wednesday, June 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT to finish out its sophomore season and joins the ATX line-up alongside the network’s freshman hit “Good Trouble,” which was previously announced.

       FXX’s award-winning, long-running animated comedy “Archer” will host an advance screening of an episode from the series’ upcoming tenth season, “Archer: 1999.” This season finds Sterling Archer, Lana Kane and their crew of acid-tongued misfits onboard the M/V Seamus salvage ship as they explore deep space and try to outsmart giant aliens, intergalactic pirates and vicious bounty hunters. The screening will feature a once-in-a-lifetime, never-to-be-seen-again special version of an upcoming episode -- with an element added exclusively for the ATX audience. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the creative team behind “Archer,” including executive producer Matt Thompson, actor H. Jon Benjamin (“Sterling Archer”), producer/art director Chad Hurd, and lead storyboard artist Taylor Parrish. “Archer: 1999” premieres May 29th on FXX.

        Yara Shahidi. Photo source Popsugar UK.

    In addition, Stephen Falk, creator/executive producer/writer/director of FXX’s critically acclaimed comedy series “You’re the Worst,” will participate in a discussion with writers, producers, and advocates who are working to destigmatize the conversation around mental health and mental illness through story and visibility. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.

        Actor Kevin Bacon will join the festival’s previously announced presentation of the never-picked-up “Tremors” pilot from writer/executive producer Andrew Miller based on the 1990 film of the same name, featuring a selection of clips, a partial script reading, and discussion with cast and producers. Bacon, who was set to reprise his starring role as Valentine McKee, joins Andrew Miller, executive producer Jessica Rhoades, and cast members Toks Olagundoye, P.J. Byrne, Haley Tju, and Emily Tremaine for the panel.

             ATX’s non-profit foundation, The Syndication Project, will host a programming track for the second year, with a focus on encouraging actionable advocacy through storytelling. "Making Criminal Justice Matter," presented by the ACLU, in which writers and producers, along with a criminal law expert from the ACLU, will discuss the importance of working together to ensure authentic representations of current issues surrounding criminal justice, and  television’s impact on viewer opinions with regard to issues of police practices, racial profiling, and governmental and police abuses of authority. Confirmed panelists include co-showrunner/executive producer Sunil Nayar (“The Red Line”), showrunner/executive producer Joanna Johnson (“Good Trouble”), and showrunner/executive producer Anthony Sparks (“Queen Sugar”), with Twyla Carter, Senior Staff Attorney with the National ACLU's Criminal Law Reform Project, moderating. Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.

           “Resistance, Inclusion, and Creating Authentic Muslim Narratives” presented by the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s (MPAC) Hollywood Bureau will examine the collaborative efforts among consultants at MPAC and creatives and executives in the industry to raise the quantity and quality of Muslim representation on and off-screen. Confirmed panelists include showrunner/executive producer Carina Adly MacKenzie (“Roswell, New Mexico”), actress Nikohl Boosheri (“The Bold Type”), and Sue Obeidi (Director, MPAC's Hollywood Bureau). Additional panelists will be announced at a later date.

         The Television Academy joins The Syndication Project track with “Power(ful) TV,”  a panel discussion with writers & producers on how series can rise above trends and token characters by weaving in storylines of gender, race, religion, aging, immigration, health care, and more — all with the belief that exposing audiences to a variety of people, experiences, and worlds they might never encounter will foster understanding, empathy, and community. The conversation will be moderated by Television Academy President and Chief Operating Officer, Maury McIntyre. Panelists will be announced at a later date.

        Television Academy President and Chief Operating Officer, Maury McIntyre.       

    Previously announced programming includes:

 ●        “Presidents of the Guilds” panel, featuring Gabrielle Carteris, president, SAG-AFTRA, David A. Goodman, president, WGAW, and Thomas Schlamme, president, DGA

●        ABC Family series “Greek” reunion

●        Hulu’s “Veronica Mars” revival

●        Screening and Conversation with “One Day at a Time” Creatives & Cast

●        Hulu and Blumhouse Television’s “Into the Dark: Culture Shock”

●        “Letterkenny” screening and Q&A

●        An interactive conversation with Beau Willimon

●        “A Playwright Walks Into a Writers Room…” panel conversation with playwrights turned TV writers

●         “The House that Horror Built: Inside Blumhouse Television”

●        “Inside the Writers Room” panel with Starz’s critically-acclaimed series “Vida”

●        Closing Night Screening of Showtime’s “City on a Hill”

●        A panel exploring the “Power of Female Partnerships”

●        “Cancelled Too Soon” panel with “Men In Trees”

●        Freeform’s “Good Trouble”

●         “Let’s Talk about Sex (Scenes),” an honest discussion about empowering both writers and actors, and improving safe “sex” practices behind the camera

●        A panel presented by the Casting Society of America, featuring some of TV’s top casting directors

●        A one-on-one conversation titled “Scene Partners & Roommates,” with actors Margo Martindale and Shane McRae

●        “Everyone Is Doing Great” screening and Q&A

●        Netflix’s series “Atypical” panel

●        EPIX’s new series “Perpetual Grace, LTD” panel

●        An inside look at the “Tremors” pilot

●         IFC’s musical variety comedy “Sherman’s Showcase”

●        Comedy Central’s new sketch series “Alternatino with Arturo Castro”

●        Individual panelists Beatrice Springborn, Vice President, Content

    Development, Hulu; Jessica Rhoades, EP, “Sharp Objects,” “The Affair,” and Principal, Pacesetter; ATX Advisory Board member Kyle Killen, EP/showrunner of Showtime’s upcoming “Halo” series; and Mauricio Mota and Katie Elmore Mota, EPs, “East Los High,” and Co-Presidents of Wise Entertainment. 

       For the latest developments and information on how to attend, visit the ATX Television Festival official site www.atxfestival.com and follow us on Facebook & Twitter.

       For co-promotion, please link to @ATXFestival #ATXTVs8 on Twitter.

[zackmartin]

okay ry here AGAIN i apologize for the rant im gonna leave in your inbox cuz after being both a film major and mildly pretentious cinephile that conversation set off something in my brain okay. so i understand that high school stories are in the zeitgeist and has ascended past popularity and in to american cultural identity and all that but seriously people will say this over and over but i’ll say it again: most of these with would not only make sense but be marginally more interesting (1/????)

in kamealoha md *specifically* wouldn’t it be more palatable if this was a college student taking an internship or at least getting a medical degree??? and tangentially related ive watched bits and piece of both atypical and that old 90s cosby show spinoff a different world and those were infinitely better at the navigating life aspect than ANY show or movie ive watched set in high school. this is something we need more of. but then again (2/???)

i am pretentious and one of my favorite movies is scarface and am a closet al pacino stan so maybe im just mean lol. ok insane asylum rambling over thank u for listening

Ry, homie, you ain't ever gotta apologize for sending me stuff, it's all good. I do agree with you to an extent, and I'll touch on that, but in the case of Doogie, I wasn't really using the example of her being a teenager as a reason not to watch it, I was more just kinda saying it made me specifically feel :/ but I recognize that's because the show isn't made for me.

Spoilers for the first episode ahead, but ofc 27 year old me is going to watch this kid go through the pain and trauma of losing a patient and wonder how her mother, who is also a doctor herself so she knows firsthand what that's like, can let her daughter do this. And, in the case of you and I, it would be more palatable if we were watching an 18+ college student doing a residency or getting their medical degree etc, but I can tell the show was made for the preteen/teenage demographic, so it's definitely going to be much more interesting for them to watch someone their own age (or close to it) juggle being a full-time doctor while also dealing with stuff they're dealing with, like getting your license, trying to get more freedom from your parents, getting your first steady boyfriend/girlfriend/significant other, etc etc than if it was a college student.

(like I know sometimes when I bring up HD, I talk about how it sucked that Ray hired someone so young to be a sidekick and threw him into that world, but I wouldn't really ever use that as an example not to watch it, because I get that it's a kids show, so ofc they're going to have the 13-year-old be the sidekick. the whole point is to have the kids see themselves in him)

The times that I really agree with you, are when we're talking about shows that are made for an older audience, like the gossip girl reboot or pretty much any CW show, Euphoria, and so on. Like, gossip girl would be soooo much more palatable for me if I was watching college kids deal with this anonymous entity rather than watching these high schoolers deal with it (especially given the premise but i won't get into it cause spoilers) (and ESPECIALLY when it comes to the graphic s*x scenes. Like, to be real that shit makes me uncomfortable anyway, but watching these 20+ actors doing graphic shit knowing the characters are supposed to be 16-17 or even younger, it's just,,,, no thanks. I don't need it. You can just tell me through dialogue what happened or fade to black. I can piece together what happened without seeing it)

Like, I think teenagers should have shows for them, that's sort of in-between Nickelodeon and like, gossip girl, but in the case of shows marketed towards young adults and older I def agree with you that we should veer away from stories set exclusively in high school.

[atypical-dysphoria-culture-is]

atypical euphoria culture is feeling so happy making/drawing yourself with heterochromia

📯

[exhilaratingx]

k.

You’re addicted to this person. Love changes the brain. In early-stage relationships, that euphoria that people feel appears as heightened neural activity in dopamine-rich areas of the brain—areas linked to the reward system—and in areas associated with the pursuit of rewards. There’s even some hint of activity in the anterior cingulate, the area of the brain linked to obsessive thinking, which is a classic experience when people are falling in love (Aron, Fisher, Mashek, Strong, & Brown, 2005). As a relationship progresses into a long-term partnership, thinking about the partner activates the reward centers as well as brain areas implicated in attachment, but less so obsessive thinking (Acevedo, Aron, Fisher, & Brown, 2011).

You really want your friends or family to like this person. New evidence shows that people are often motivated to “marshal support” for someone they are dating (Patrick & Faw, 2014), which is consistent with the idea that the people in a person’s social circle often play an important role in the success of a relationship (Sprecher, 2011). Being attuned to how your family and friends might think about your partner or potential partner is a good sign that you are becoming increasingly attached to the person.

You celebrate this person’s triumphs (even when you yourself fail). If you’ve fallen in love with someone, you probably have an atypical reaction when witnessing them excelling at something you don’t. Because romantic partners feel connected and can share the outcomes of each other’s successes, romantic partners will often feel pride and positive emotions when they see their partner succeed, even at something they themselves can’t do, rather than feeling negative and inferior (Lockwood & Pinkus, 2014).

You definitely like this person, and this person likes you.   Liking is different from love, but is often a prerequisite for falling in love. In a cross-cultural study, researchers showed that a critical factor recognized as directly preceding falling in love is reciprocal liking, when you both clearly like each other (Riela, Rodriguez, Aron, Xu, & Acevedo, 2010). In addition, an evaluation of the other person’s personality as highly desirable tends to be a precursor to falling in love.

You really miss this person when you’re apart. In many ways, how much you miss a person reflects how interdependent your lives have become. If you are questioning whether you love someone, perhaps consider how much you miss him or her when you’re apart. Le and colleagues (2008) showed that how much people miss each other tends to correspond with how committed they feel to the relationship.

Your sense of self has grown through knowing this person. When people fall in love, their whole sense of self changes. They take on new traits and characteristics, growing in the diversity of their self-concept through the influence of their new relationship partner (Aron, Paris, & Aron, 1995). In other words, the you before falling in love is different from the you after falling in love. Maybe you feel the difference, maybe others notice it, but the things you care about, your habits, how you spend you time—and or all of this is subject to the (hopefully positive) influence of a new romantic partner.

You get jealous—but not suspicious. A certain amount of jealousy is actually healthy, not toxic. From an evolutionary perspective, jealousy is an adaptation that helps relationships stay intact by making its members sensitive to potential threats. People who are jealous tend to be more committed to relationships (Rydell, McConnell, & Bringle, 2004). Keep the jealousy in check, though: Reactive or emotional jealousy is the type that is predicted by positive relationship factors like dependency and trust—but people who engage in suspicious jealousy, which includes taking actions like secretly checking a partner's cellphone, tends to be associated with relational anxiety, low self-esteem, and chronic insecurity (Rydell & Bringle, 2007).

Falling in love and building an attachment are a wonderful basis for a healthy relationship, but keep in mind that staying in a relationship (or, for that matter, choosing to start one) is often based on more than satisfaction and feeling good in another person’s presence. Models of relationship success (such as Rusbult’s investment model) show that the staying power of relationships takes mutual investment and commitment. If love is passion, security, and emotional comfort, commitment is the necessary decision made within one’s cultural and social contexts to be with that person.